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Let it play: Beatles demo up for grabs

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Screenshot from YouTube user polina7778

The Beatles were told “they had no future in show business” when their demo tape was rejected by a record company executive. Half a century later, the historic recording, which has never been released, is due to go under the hammer.

The decision by a Decca Records executive proved to be one of the worst ever made in music history, the Telegraph reported, as within a few months The Beatles signed with EMI taking the world by storm.

It’s the first time the 10-track demo the band recorded at Decca’s London studios on New Year’s Day in 1962, has been made public.

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The recording reportedly features such titles as Money (That’s What I Want), Like Dreamers Do, Take Good Care of my Baby, Three Cool Cats, Love of the Loved, Memphis and Crying Waiting Hoping.

The recording spotlights three members of the legendary Fab Four, as soon after signing with EMI the Beatles’ original drummer Pete Best was replaced by Ringo Starr.

The Beatles’ manager, Brian Epstein gave the tape to an executive associated with EMI. In 2002, it was sold to a private collector who is now auctioning it off with a pre-sale estimate of $46,000, according to the Telegraph.

Sharia police state? Saudi husbands can track wives’ travels electronically

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AFP Photo / Amer Hilabi

Saudi Arabia introduced an electronic tracking system that alerts men by text message when their wife is leaving the country, even if they are traveling together. The system was swiftly condemned by activists and Twitter users.

Saudi women – banned in the country from driving, denied the right to travel without their husband’s consent and required to wear a veil from head to toe – are now to be monitored by a new electronic system that tracks cross-border movement, AFP reported.

Woman in Saudi Arabia are not allowed to leave the ultraconservative kingdom without the permission of their male ‘guardian,’ or husband, who must give his consent by signing a register known as the ‘yellow sheet’ at the border or airport. Now, husbands will receive a text message to remind them even if they’re traveling outside the country alongside their wife.

The move was quickly condemned and ridiculed on Twitter, which has remained an island of free speech in the repressive Islamic nation:

“Hello Taliban, herewith some tips from the Saudi e-government,” one user wrote.

“If I need an SMS to let me know my wife is leaving Saudi Arabia, then I’m either married to the wrong woman or need a psychiatrist,” user Hisham wrote.

“Why don’t you cuff your women with ankle bracelets too?” user Israa joked.

User Raza Ahmad quipped, “Good going Saudi Arabia, what’s next chastity belts?”

“The authorities are using technology to monitor women, it would be better for the government to busy itself with finding a solution for women subjected to domestic violence,” columnist Badriya al-Bishr said, criticizing what she called the “state of slavery under which women are held.”

Saudi Arabia is the only country in the world where women are not allowed to drive. In June 2011, female activists lead by Manal al-Sheif launched a campaign to defy the ban. But many were arrested and forced to sign a pledge that they would never drive again. In a similar incident in November 1990, 47 women were arrested after staging a demonstration in their cars.

Read the whole story…

Cop cars to be replaced with drones by 2025

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Credit: Honda R&D Americas, Advanced Design Studio, California

Law enforcement agencies across the US are lining up to be among the first to use drones to serve and protect, but unmanned vehicles are likely to replace the traditional cop cruiser in just a few short years.

In places like CaliforniaTexas and Washington State, police officers in recent weeks have intensified their demands for surveillance drones, a necessary addition they say to their arsenal of tools to help thwart crime. The Federal Aviation Administration has yet to finalize plans to put drones in US airspace, but by the end of the decade as many as 30,000 UAVs are expected to be soaring through the sky.

By 2025, those drones are predicted to take the place of the police patrol car as unmanned vehicles operated by cops are being considered a likely inclusion on our roads of tomorrow.

Leading up to this year’s Los Angeles Auto Show, carmakers were asked to put together prototypes showing what they envision highway patrol vehicles to look like in the year 2025. The entries, from big manufacturers like BWM and Honda, are largely based on the still primitive drone technology that is used in military and surveillance missions overseas.

The car show’s organizers asked designers to develop a vehicle that “should empower highway patrol officers to meet new demands and effectively both ‘protect and serve’ the public while considering not just enforcement needs but emission concerns, population growth and transportation infrastructure.”

According to the New York Times, drone devices are far and away the popular choice.

“By coincidence or destiny, designers at several companies came up with concepts for robotic, autonomously driven vehicles on ground, water and air. These future police cruisers — usually presented as story boards rather than actual vehicles — recall today’s Predator and Global Hawk drones, stars of the anti-insurgency efforts. They may give new meaning to those signs that read ‘Speed limit enforced by aircraft,’” writes the Times’ Phil Patton.

In the prototype unveiled by BMW, a larger “ePatrol” vehicle is equipped with up to three individual drones that can be deployed to follow suspected criminals in high-speed chases across busy highways. Once one of the smaller can catch up with a targeted car, those individual drones would then be able to send an impulse to startle the driver. One of those smaller drones would be able to fly on its own, and the other two unmanned vehicles could roll on two wheels through busy roads.

At Honda, designers there envision a similar concept: a large all-electric patrol car that could dispatch at the drop of a hat unmanned motorcycles to catch up with criminals and maintain coverage at high speeds for long distances.

In addition to the BMW E-Patrol (Human-Drone Pursuit Vehicle) and Honda’s CHP Drone Squad, Subaru also sent into the car show designs for the SHARC, or Subaru Highway Automated Response Concept. PSFK online describes it as “an autonomous, zero-emission patrol vehicle” meant to “augment reduced highway patrol budgets by providing remote 3D video to officers who can control the vehicle via goggles and voice command.”

The winner of this year’s design challenge will be announced November 29 in Los Angeles.

Remembering Jack Becker

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Jack with his beloved therapy dog, Diva.

“Jack was a role model to me…. He strongly believed in educating our community and so he would come out with us [humane education staff] to present at schools. He would talk about his dogs and about Animal Samaritans with such love…. I will miss him greatly.”  — Diana Martinez, Animal Samaritans Humane Educator.

 Jack Becker passed on November 10 from Cancer. On November 20, the City of Desert Hot Springs declared November 18th through the 24th Volunteerism Week in honor of Jack and his wife Lorraine Becker.

 Jack was the Group Leader for the Hospital’s Division of Animal Samaritans’ Animal Assisted Therapy (AAT) Program.  In 2012 alone, he expanded the program at Desert Regional Medical Center in Palm Spring beyond the rehabilitation unit, and advanced relations at Eisenhower Medical Center so that AAT members and their dogs could move freely about the hospital without volunteer assistance.

 With one of his faithful standard poodles at his side, either Diva or Da Vinci, Jack also paid visits to special needs children in schools across the Valley. What’s more, he was a reliable volunteer for Animal Samaritans’ annual Critter Camps for children.

 As someone dedicated to disaster preparedness, for humans and animals alike, Jack played a prominent role in helping disseminate Animal Samaritans’ Pet First Aid and Pet CPR education.

 During the holidays, Jack made a wonderful Santa Claus.  He played Santa to disabled children in classroom around the Desert. He would also take his dogs to The Christmas Store in Desert Hot Springs, where low-income parents could select two free gifts for their children and get their pictures taken with Santa (Jack) and his “canine” reindeer. Jack and his dogs were there from opening until closing, all week long before Christmas.

 Instead of flowers, Jack’s family asks that those who wish to honor him consider doing so by making a donation in his name to Guide Dogs of the Desert or Animal Samaritans. To reach Animal Samaritans online donation page, click here.  In Honor and Memory of Jack.

 The entire Animal Samaritans family would like to express our gratitude to Jack for his selfless contributions to our organization and the community. Jack, you were an inspiration and we will miss you dearly.

Dezart Performs “The Mating Games”

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Three One-Act Plays to be performed Nov. 29 through Dec. 9 in Palm Springs

Tickets are now on sale for “The Mating Games,” a delightful evening of three original one-act comedies, being presented by Dezart Performs, the Palm Springs-based non-profit performing arts group that focuses on bringing high-quality, innovative theatrical works to the Coachella Valley.

The evening of original one-act plays will be performed at the Palm Springs Woman’s Club (314 S. Cahuilla Road, Palm Springs) over two weekends:

Thursday through Saturday, Nov. 29 – Dec. 1, 2012 at 7:30 pm. and Sunday, Dec. 2 at 2:30 p.m.

Friday and Saturday, December 7 and 8 at 7:30 p.m., and Sunday, December 9 at 2:30 p.m.

Tickets are $17.50 in advance, $20 at the door. Advance ticket purchase is by phone at 760-322-0179 or online at www.dezartperforms.com

The three one-act comedies that comprise “The Mating Games” were the overwhelming audience favorites last spring, when Dezart Performs staged readings of seven new plays during its Fourth Annual Play Reading Series. Following tradition, the favorites are then fully produced as the season opener in the fall.

The plays are:

FEEDING TIME AT THE HUMAN HOUSE

Written by David Wiener

Directed by Lenny Ripps

Synopsis: Wonder what it’s like for zoo animals to observe people from the other side of a cage? Fran and Bernie Baboon know what it’s all about and are more than happy to share their feelings in “Feeding Time at the Human House.”

 

THE BLIND DATE

Written by Tanis Galik

Directed by Don Cilluffo

Synopsis: Seniors Dr. Stanley Cramer and Alice Adler prepare for what may be one of the scariest things they will ever encounter in their lives – a  blind date.

 

MOURNING GLORY

Written by Richard Orloff

Directed by Michael Shaw

Synopsis: A comic look at longing and libido, in which a very recent widow and a male friend try to balance propriety and desire at the wake of the widow’s deceased husband.

“It’s not often that you get the opportunity to pull together an evening of theatre that includes dating, a funeral, and monkeys, but we have somehow managed to do it thanks to the talent of three very funny playwrights,” said Michael Shaw, artistic director of Dezart Performs. “If these don’t get you laughing, you should probably schedule an appointment with your doctor,” he quipped.

For more information about Dezart Performs’ “The Mating Games” and to purchase tickets for this delightful evening of one-act plays, please call 760-322-0179 or go to  HYPERLINK “http://www.dezartperforms.com” www.dezartperforms.com

An Evening with Sutton Foster

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Story and photos by Pat Krause

The Annenberg Theater Council presented an Evening with Sutton Foster. This is their 10th annual Opening Night Benefit. Proceeds from this concert go to support the Art Museum Theatrical programs in the Valley. Wells Fargo Foundation was the supporting sponsor for this event.

The concert started around 6pm in the Annenberg Theatre in the Palm Springs Art Museum. The evening continued with cocktails and dinner in the main Art Museum area after the program. This was a sold out performance with the guests all heading upstairs for cocktails after the performance.

Sutton Foster is an Actress, Singer and Dancer. Foster has received 2 Tony awards for best actress in a musical for her work in the theatre. Foster has sang in some of the most highly regarded venues such as Carnegie Hall, The Kennedy Center and many New York Stages. Foster is now playing a lead role in the ABC family drama series, BUNHEADS. Foster sang many Broadway hits. One of final songs she sang was when she brought out her little dog to sing to it on stage. Sutton said she loved the Palm Springs area and was thrilled with the audience.

The concert raised over $200,000 that will be used to bring art and the theater to our local children with the many programs the Council provides in the Coachella Valley. Foster met with Museum Staff, Donors to the Art Museum, Wells Fargo VIPs, Members of the Theatre Council and local philanthropists in a private area in the Theatre. Senator Barbara Boxer and her husband Steward Boxer were excited with Foster’s performance and thrilled to meet her.