AT a dark club in east London last weekend I walked into Optimos latest London party to find a room full of bank holiday clubbers bathed in a transmission of beatless, meditative drones and crackles. The piece remained constant and unchanging for 10 minutes or more, and people seemed to love whatever it was, despite the incongruously ravey setting of a Wapping warehouse in the middle of a seemingly endless weekend of electronic music. It was a highly unusual thing to hear in that setting, but then Optimo are highly adept at making people type those words, and I carried on with my night without asking about the source.

The next day I was talking to Lewis Cook of the Glasgow synth-pop/kosmische duo Happy Meals about he and his musical partner and girlfriend Suzanne Roddens new album for the So Low label, Full Ashram Devotional Ceremony Vol IV-V. He said with delight that hed heard second-hand on Facebook that the whole album had been played from start to finish in a club in London the previous evening, and we both laughed as I belatedly twigged that Id been there. I think its funny and wonderful to think of all these people being out and ready to party and then this entire record, which is heavily rooted in spirituality and meditation and has an opening track that is just long tone drone, gets played in full.

Spirituality and philosophy have often been fraught territory for musicians, but Cook has studied widely and is the precise opposite of the fortnight-in-Goa Britpop poseur of yore. (He also has the look of a terrifyingly handsome, terrifyingly persuasive California shaman to him that really couldnt be carried off without extensive background knowledge to back it up.) Though he was just back from an exhausting five-week European tour with his other band, The Cosmic Dead, when I talked with him, Cook mapped out Happy Meals vision for the record with clarity and enthusiasm, and his knowledge and ideas always impressive when Ive spoken to him on other topics were, as ever, well worth considering in full.

The reason theres a spirituality in the record is that theres a sad tendency to reject spirituality in the modern world, he begins. It has become associated with institutionalised religions that have been so confining and had such negative effects on people. But in another way we accept a lot of dogmas take the dogma of austerity for example and tend to accept that they are just the way things should be. I think by parodying that a bit we can take it to an extreme and maybe de-program it a bit.

The main idea of the record is the need to push things forward, he continues, and to look at the future as something that might be good. That idea of futurism is quite rare people usually think of future as big glass high-rise buildings and things like that. The record is about trying to recapture a sense of positivity about the future the kind of thing you saw in TV programmes in the 1960s. Its not necessarily about repeating those things musically or aesthetically were not in the 1960s any more but rather about trying to project a vision of that into music and trying to capture it as a concept. Thats what the album is basically: an artistic vision of that world.

Utopianism crops up a lot in Cooks ideas for the record too, and he is at pains to properly contextualise the idea as they wish to explore it. Utopianism is kind of a dirty word and I use it slightly tongue in cheek, he says. You cant be too prescriptive about this stuff and how its done. I think were entering a world in which technology allows us to be less prescriptive with these worlds, and were not necessarily limited in that now by scarcity of resources. For example, vinyl is a limited commodity, but I was able to send you our new record today, and it didnt cost either of us anything. Theres something almost utopian about that, but I dont think its been fully harnessed yet, its sitting in the system somewhere. Music offers one example of a new world, and music can lead into a playful meditation on utopianism.

These things arent necessarily liberating by default, though, he continues. They require a vision to actually reinterpret some of the things we take for granted, and also some of the things we see as a pain in the arse. If you look at Charlie Brookers Black Mirror, for example, it continuously characterises technology as this total pain that will make everything terrible.

It quite possibly could do that, but as much as that might actually turn out to be the case, the job of an artist now is to reclaim a vision of the future. Our projection on the record is pretty obtuse its not a point-by-point manifesto on how to do it but it is an attempt to encourage people to begin to think of new ways to engage with technology, to imagine a future not necessarily dictated by technology and not dictated by the current political and social hegemony.

Black Mirror comes up in an interesting way again a little later as Cook goes further into his desire to promote a positive vision of the future rather than a bleak, dystopian one. A lot of electronic music these days, by James Ferraro and Holly Herndon and the like, is quite negative and bleak. I really love those records but to me their take on the future sounds a bit like the Black Mirror of music a kind of parody of humanity extrapolated to an incredibly bleak point. Thats an influence too though, because I love these records, but I come away feeling like I want to take something else out of them.

This sounds like Im setting the record up to be this huge manifesto, he laughs, suddenly checking himself, possibly concerned (unjustifiably, I should add) that he might be tumbling down a philosophical rabbit hole.

Its not supposed to be that at all though, its a just small gesture towards a larger idea and its not our ideas necessarily. The writer Mark Fisher has been a big influence his book Inventing The Future was really inspiring to me. I wrote my dissertation on how progress doesnt exist and how technology is creating the potential for disaster. I really believed that at the time but that book, while it doesnt invalidate that idea, points out that its just a way of looking at things rather than solid facts.

How we engage with the concept of the future can change the way we look at things, and this record is our effort to put as positive a spin on that as possible.

Happy Meals Full Ashram Devotional Ceremony Vol IV-V is out on June 17 on So Low. Happy Melas play live at the Glasgow School of Art degree show on June 9 and the Iona festival on July 1

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Music: Happy Meals serve up their new album Full Ashram Devotional Ceremony Vol IV-V - The National

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ST Bernadettes Catholic Primary School in Port Kennedy hosted double World Aerobic Champion and creator of the Jump Jam childrens aerobics programme Brett Fairweather.

The visit was part of the schools Health and Physical Education program.

The school has been using the Jump Jam fitness program since the beginning of the year.

Jump Jam is a cardiovascular fitness program that incorporates dance, drama and music, while also allowing students to learn about movement and the science of how they move.

Originally from New Zealand, Mr Fairweather incorporates cultural elements into the choreography including the Haka, Polynesian, Latin, Indian, South African, Spanish and also martial arts elements.

Jump Jam school co-ordinator Ethel Murphy said dance and movement was a great form of self-expression.

She said the program got students geared up and motivated for learning in the classroom.

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St Bernadette's to host Jump Jam aerobics creator - Community Newspaper Group

Water aerobics, kids yoga classes planned

New Hillsboro recreation classes in water aerobics and yoga for kids will begin in June.

Holly Nickel, a certified group instructor, will teach the one-hour water aerobics class at 9 p.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays, starting June 6, at Hillsboro Family Aquatic Center.

Each low-impact class will cost $5 and will focus on improving muscle strength, posture, balance, and mobility and flexibility of the joints.

The other class, from 10 to 10:30 a.m. each Monday from June 12 through July 31, will feature Lesli Beery teaching kids ages 3 and older to play yoga and experience how their breath and body move together.

Each session will cost $2. Group discounts are available for day care centers. Children 5 and younger must be accompanied by an adult. Caregivers may participate for free. Participants are being urged to bring their own mats. A limited number of mats will be available for rent at $1 per session.

Additional information about both classes is available from rec director Doug Sisk at (620) 947-3490 or recreation@cityofhillsboro.net.

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Water aerobics, kids' yoga classes planned - Hillsboro Star-Journal

The slow, eastward creep of hipster Portland is pushing past 82nd. For proof of what's happening, which until now has been a sprawl of chain spots and drive-thrus, look no further than two new vegan spots specializing in offers for the dewy after dawn.

Jet Black Coffee Company(11150 NE Weidler St., 503-889-0739, facebook.com/jetblackcoffeecompany)is an all-vegan coffee shop inspired by every punk rock-lifer's least favorite Jawbreaker record. Aside from the bright and woodsy shop's namesake, which is borrowed from a brooding middle track off the East Bay pop-punk legends' 1995 swan song, "Dear You," there's a copy of the album proudly propped against the double-headed La Marzocco, as well as their in-house blend, Dear You, which owners Travis Coe and Karla Nolt dialed in with the help of Water Avenue Coffee.

For playing the role of canary in the coal mine, Jet Black's gambit is paying off handsomely. In spite of the Portland coffee scene's longstanding allergy to any small-batch roast one could construe as being on the dark side, the aforementioned Dear You Blend ($2.50 for a 12 ounce) has a delicately smoky flavor up-front with a familiar tang in the finish that's distinctly the work of Water Ave. On account of being all vegan, the cappuccino selection ($3.50 for an 8 ounce; no traditional 5 ounce size was offered) was a mixed bag. Almond and coconut milk varieties yielded a smoother finish with much less separation between the foam and the espresso, while the hemp and soy were a tad overcooked and heavy on the big, sloppy bubbles that leave an undesirable blob floating on top.

We loved the blueberry danish ($4) from Sweet Pea, which was smooth and sugary on top with a flaky and tender crust that defied logic of being completely butter-free. The tempeh "bacon" and scallion cream cheese croissant ($2) was salty and tender and easily able to get away with being twice the size, but the price was right for a quick, on-the-go savory snack you'd expect from a proper coffee shop. Skip the cinnamon roll from Shoofly ($4), which was dry and dearly suffering of not having a proper substitute for the rich buttery finish of a regular cinnamon roll.

The overall aesthetic of the shop is heavy on unfinished wood and succulents, giving it a very Austin-meets-Etsy chic. This dovetails perfectly with the non-caffeinated beverage selection, which includes four flavors of La Croix and bottles of Topo Chico (all $1). The outside patio is one of the best in the neighborhood, and is likely to be at capacity from now until November. The ambience of the drag of Weidler Jet Black sits on is still a bit too traffic-y to feel charming, but that's how it's gonna be in these parts for the foreseeable future. Either way, getting pushed out of Portland proper is getting more and more bearable thanks to the efforts of owners like Coe and Nolt. PETE COTTELL.

Hard to believe, but Doe Donuts(Doe Donuts, 8201 SE Powell Blvd., 503-333-4404, doedonuts.com) is the city's first vegan donut shop. Located on the corner of Powell and 82nd, the shop's early May debut was met with the sale of 1,000 donuts in a mere four hours. And while Voodoo might have a few vegan options lurking up their sleeve, they've got nothing on Doe's thoughtful, well-balanced creations like "The Oregon Trail" (pecans, kettle chips, strawberries and chocolate chips) and the strawberry-milk flavored namesake, "Doe!"

The love child of dynamic baking duo Carly Sitner and Crystal Wegener, Doe Donuts took shape when the two worked together at an organic grocer.

"My partner and I started making donuts at our last job, and it just became a hit," says Sitner. "We thought, 'Well there's no vegan donut shop in Portland, and there's one in every other major city, so let's do it before someone else does.'"

Two years of word-of-mouth sales and one successful Kickstarter later, and that dream has finally become a reality. The shop itself is a former Pizza Hut, a small space complete with a giant, leering doe and a wooden donut case housing two racks of donuts laid out on cooling sheets.

"We were looking for a second-generation spot, a spot that had already been a restaurant in this neighborhood. It took about six months to just find anything that was open," Sitner adds. "When this was open it used to be a Pizza Hut for 30 years and it did not look anything like thisit was rather terrible. So we just jumped on it."

Pricing ranges between $2.75 and $4 per donut, and ingredients are locally sourced, non-GMO and organic. There are six core flavors on the menu at any given point, and a few seasonal creations that rotate out, with fall flavors beginning in September.

Doe's signature donut, dubbed "The Golden Child," proclaims to be the only chocolate raised donut in the city. It's a chocoholic's wet dream come true complete with chocolate chips, shavings, ganache and golden pearls, and it is sold out for the second day in a row. I console myself with a bite of the "All or Nothing," a donut filled with cookie butter and topped with ganache and cookie dough. The donut itself is springy and aerated, achieving a texture that's a mix between a more traditional cake dough and bread, and far less sugary than your standard donut.

It's a decadent (albeit thrilling) bite compared to the vanilla bean donut whose warm, spiced vanilla flavor is more than just another sugar bomb waiting to go off. The Thai Tea flavor doesn't taste like iced tea, but instead tastes of nutty, faintly toasted coconut, and has a crunchier, more satisfying dough than the rest of the donuts.

If no one told you these were vegan, you'd never be able to tell.

"We're just trying to create a really high-quality product," Sitner says. "You notice you won't see the word 'vegan' anywhere?It shouldn't matter, should it? The vegans already know, so I don't have to tell them. We just want to make a good donut." JANELLE ALBUKHARI.

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East Portland Now Has the City's First Vegan Doughnuts and a Brand-New Vegan Coffee Shop - Willamette Week

Since giving up meat at the age of 21, Alicia Silverstone has been amajor advocate for goingveganand shes raising her 6-year-old son, Bear Blu, to do the same.

In a video for the nonprofitFarm Sanctuarys Compassionate Meals program, the 40-year-oldCluelessstar explains why she is so passionate about this lifestyle.I just have always been really interested in the truth in all areas of life, she saysas they eat veggie burgers and kale salad. And so knowing the truth about where our food comes from is just so disturbing to me. Once you see it, theres no way to go back from that for me.

Additionally, she believes that people inthefood industryare intentionally deceiving the public into eating meat. Our food is being hijacked and theyre telling you lies about what your food is, says Silverstone. Its just constant lies so that youll make choices that go against your nature.

When Bear is asked what his favorite thing about being a vegan is, he responds: That you dont have to eat yucky meat.

FROM PEN:How Alicia Silverstone Maintains a Strict Vegan Diet For Her Son Without Judging Other Moms

Silverstone says she has no trouble feeding her child vegan foods, whipping up dishes like tacos and stir fry at a moments notice.I can make all those things based on whats in the fridge. You always have a bean, you always have a whole grain.

The amazing thing about it is that its turned me into a health nut, because youfeelso good, you feel so different, she adds. So being able to do something that is good for the Earth, good for the animals and good for you all at the same time seems like such a no-brainer. Its like the biggest Duh!'

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The actress previously made headlines in 2012 when she posted a video of herself chewing up food and feeding it directly into Bears mouth from her own.Its his favoriteand mine. He literally crawls across the room to attack my mouth if Im eating, she said at the time.

Andeven as some have criticized the idea of feeding children a vegan diet, Silverstone has staunchly defended her familyslifestyle.[Bear] lovesthe food I give him, she told PEOPLE in 2014.Hes not being deprived of anything. For him, having amazing fruit is like candy!

Despite her passion on the subject, Silverstone has beenclear that she doesnt force her eating habits upon others.I totally dont judge anything anyone else does, she recentlysaid on thePeople/Entertainment Weekly Network. Im only interested in helping provide information in case you want to know a piece of this secret Ive found If you dont, all love and peace.

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Alicia Silverstone Says Feeding Her Son a Vegan Diet Is 'Such a No-Brainer' - PEOPLE.com

And that doesn't seem fair, especially when you consider that Detroit is one of the nation's more vegan friendly towns.But, as such, it was only a matter time 'til someone fixed the situation, which is what will happen in August when Chili Mustard Onions - Detroit's first vegan coney shop - opens in Brush Park.

Owner Pete LaCombe, aka "Vegan Chef Pete", says to expect everything one might find your standard coney island, but meat and animal product free. A good portion of the menu will also be organic and non-GMO. So that means meatless and healthy coney dogs, gyros, hamburgers, chicken lemon rice soup, spinach pie, Hani, grape leaves, salads, fries, soups, and weekly or daily specials.

The chili that LaCombe uses on his dogs will be similar to that at National, he says, though slightly thicker and spicier, as it's made with 10 spices and a soy crumble.

LaCombe also highlights his take on the Big Mac, which he calls the Big Mock. It comes complete with two non-beef patties, special sauce, lettuce, cheese, pickles, onions on sesame seed buns.

"I don't like a ton of different fake meat patties. If I do anything, it's usually more of a veggie patty. But if I taste something that I like and know I can use it, then I'll make something out of it," he says.

For dessert, LaCombe will develop a menu around vegan soft serve ice cream with cones, sundaes, and flurries. He'll also have other treats like doughnuts and a Sanders bumpy cake.

As far as price points go, LaCombe says he is still working out those details, but a coney will run in the $5 range while the Big Mock will be somewhere in the neighborhood of $8.

The restaurant will be among the first businesses in the beautiful Victorian homes under renovation in Brush Park. LaCombe says he fell in love with his space, located at 3411 Brush St., and jumped at it when it became available.

"I fell in love with the food we made, and I've always had a love of cooking," he says. "Different experiences in life brought me back to that passion, except now I'm vegan, and my wife and daughter are vegan. Iwant to make a difference and change world with food - vegan food."

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Detroit's first vegan coney island, Chili Mustard Onions, to open in Brush Park - Detroit Metro Times

Runner's World

I Went Vegan and Didn't PR. WTF? Runner's World I just spent 4 hours and 18 minutes chasing the sub-four marathon my vegan diet was supposed to help deliver. I'd become lighter and faster since the change, and was on pace until mile 19. Then the wheels fell off. My mouth watered as I took a creaky ...

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I Went Vegan and Didn't PR. WTF? - Runner's World

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The owners of Eden Burger will be holding a soft opening in early June. Credit: Sara Stacy

A new restaurant is bringing a vegan alternative to American staples like burgers and milkshakes to Columbus.

Eden Burger set to open in the next two weeks will be serving burgers, milkshakes and fries made from all organic, plant-based ingredients.

A lot of people think that when you go on a plant-based diet you just have to give up some of your favorite things, said Chad Goodwin, one of the restaurants co-founders. The driving factor behind the concept was to offer something thats so fundamentally American: burgers, fries and milkshakes.

Burgers will be crafted using ingredients such as beans, rice, pumpkin seeds and a variety of spices. Eden Burgers owners have also been trying out several milkshake recipes using vegan-friendly items, such as coconut milk, bananas and avocados.

According to Sebastian Kovach, one of the restaurants co-founders, Eden Burgers recipes are the result of trial and error after modifying online recipes.

Were pretty proud to say weve gotten a nice burger feel, consistency, and burger bite that will keep together, he said. Youll find a lot of black bean burgers, vegan burgers, dont keep together. (Burgers) should be something you can hold in one hand with something in the other.

The owners of Eden Burger started out by serving from their home in December 2016. Later on, they had the opportunity to bring their concept to restaurants and bars around the city.

Co-founder Alex Raabe said their first foray into the Columbus restaurant scene was by hosting pop-up events at Barrel on High.

(Barrel on High) gave us our first nod, he said. They were the first ones to believe in us and give us an opportunity to feed the people.

After just a couple of months holding pop-ups, they were able to secure a space on High Street to test out their concept on a larger scale.

The fast-casual restaurant is located directly between campus and the Short North, occupying the space of the former DareDevil Dogs, which closed earlier this year.

With several new apartments and businesses moving into that area, Goodwin said they believe theyll be getting more traffic than the previous tenants.

We have people from campus coming this way, and well have people coming from the Short North. said Goodwin. We can be a quick, easy option for them to fill their bellies and be on their way for a relatively affordable price.

Currently, Eden Burger offers typical burger fare at about $10 for burgers and $6 for milkshakes. Since securing their own restaurant space, however, Goodwin said they plan to lower their prices.

Goodwin said they also plan to collaborate with The Village Idiot bar, which is located next door to Eden Burger. The establishments will share a patio space and will have a window connecting the bar to Eden Burgers kitchen for direct service.

With more and more plant-based menus popping up around Columbus, the owners of Eden Burger said they aim to stand out by being a quick, cheap option for vegans and carnivores alike.

We definitely want to be a vegan restaurant that can appeal to the non-vegans, something for people that maybe just want to eat lighter one day, or maybe want to experiment or try something plant-based, said Kovach.

Goodwin also said he hopes to bring the restaurant to the acclaim of well-known fast food restaurant chains.

From the onset, our version has been that we want to franchise this, we want to make this like the vegan McDonalds or In-N-Out, he said. We dont want to just have one restaurant in Columbus for the rest of our life.

Eden Burger is located on 1437 N. High St., and will debut with a soft opening in early June.

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Eden Burger serves up vegan American fare - OSU - The Lantern

Miami Herald

Clovermint has it all, except the meat Miami Herald The Place: Clovermint Vegan Caf & Market is in an unnamed plaza with an Express gas station and curbside American and Cuban flags. The spacious and charming room where bell-shaped stained glass lights hang overhead is filled with knickknacks like a ...

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Clovermint has it all, except the meat - Miami Herald