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George Ellison| Nature Journal

Ornithologist and artist Roger Tory Peterson had at least four publishers turn him down before Houghton Mifflin agreed to give his book proposal a modest try. In 1934, the publisher printed 2,000 copies of a manual with mostly black-and-white illustrations titled "A Field Guide to the Birds, Including All Species Found in Eastern North America."

The first printing sold out within two weeks, launching Peterson's career as the most celebrated American ornithologist of the modern era. The four editions of "A Field Guide to the Birds" published during his lifetime sold more than 5 million copies.

Peterson also wrote or edited nearly 50 other books, including a series of Houghton Mifflin natural history guides numbering 21 volumes known as the Peterson Field Guide Series. In the opinion of many, his most engaging book is "Wild America: The Record of a 30,000-Mile Journey Around the Continent by a Distinguished Naturalist and his British Colleague," published in 1955. The "British colleague" was James M.C. Fisher. It relates the now-legendary 1953 trek from Newfoundland's coastline to the Great Smokies and South Florida, then down into Mexico and, finally, up the West Coast to Alaska made by two of the 20th century's most competent field naturalists.

Fisher was a broadcaster, naturalist and writer. A leading authority on the natural history traditions of his country, he made more than 1,000 radio and TV broadcasts on nature-related topics, especially ornithology. His writing and broadcasting played a role in the growth of interest in bird-watching in the United Kingdom during the 20th century, similar to Peterson's impact in the United States. He died in a car crash in 1970.

In the prologue to "Wild America," Peterson noted that since Fisher had escorted him on field trips throughout "wild Europe," he told his colleague: "If you come to America, I will conduct you around the continent and you will see a more complete cross section of wild America than any other Englishman, and all but a few North Americans, have ever seen."

"Wild America" is the record of that journey woven together from their combined notes. It was made in Peterson's "new, shiny green Ford country sedan, seventeen feet long, loaded with gear." Despite Fisher's sharp wit, which could be barbed at times, and Peterson's self-admitted temper, they got along well. For anyone interested in natural history, "Wild America" is a compelling book. Here is Fisher's awed description as if he were an Alice lost in a wonderland of his first venture into a cove hardwood forest deep in the Smokies:

"April rained itself out in the small hours of the first of May and the morning sun, shining down from blue sky, sparkled in thousands of raindrop lenses. Quickly the forest dried as we drove up the middle prong of the Pigeon River, swollen with rain from the Tennessee slopes of those great wooded hills, LeConte and Chapman. Led by Arthur Stupka and his wife and the Glidden Baldwins, who are authorities on the big trees of the Smokies, we left the cars near the meeting of two streams which had cut down to staircases of smooth, pebble-worn rock, all overhung by the forest hemlocks, and giant shiny-leaved rhododendrons. It was a steamy valley, cushioned with moss and full of the good smell of rotting wood. To our north rose Greenbrier Pinnacle, to our south all 6,430 feet of Mount Chapman. As we took the trail up the Ramsay Prong the valley closed in, and the forest grew bigger, and wilder. ...

"Near the beginning of the trail a tulip tree towered higher than any tree I had even seen in Britain; and from then on big trees of at least six kinds thrust up from the tangled forest floor for about a hundred feet or more. The forest track wound under them, through dense undergrowth; rhododendrons of enormous size formed dark jungles through which our uphill trail became a leafy tunnel.

"Every now and then we paused like dwarfs at the foot of some great bole: a Canada hemlock the big Tsuga Canadensis 8 feet or more across at the roots, and five at man height; a tremendous silverbell; a pair of yellow buckeyes, each nearly 100 feet high; vast smooth-trunked beeches; the biggest maple tree I had ever seen, a sugar maple; and a 70-foot wild pin-cherry, the grandfather of all cherry trees, whose top was lost in the green canopy and whose lowest branch, a great horizontal arm, must have been 40 feet above us . . .

"Leaving the great forest was like coming out of a dream; not a sinister dream, for there is nothing terrifying in the grandeur of Great Smoky's deciduous woodland. It is just big beyond belief, and benign in its bigness. I thought it was the most beautiful forest I had ever seen."

George Ellison is an award-winningnaturalist and writer. His wife, ElizabethEllison, is a painter and illustratorwho has a gallery studio at 155 Main St.,Bryson City. Contact them at info@georgeellison.com or info@elizabethellisongallery.comor write to 3880 Balltown Road, Bryson City, NC 28713.

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Classic Nature Journal: Tall trees of the Smokies inspired early naturalists - Citizen Times

It only takes 30 seconds. Just a half-minute into Gilla Bands Most Normalthe chaotic Irish noisemaker's brand new and brightest, relatively speaking, LP to dateon opening track The Gum, you know that the quartet has lost none of the ferociousness that established it, making them one of the most thrilling bands of its generation. In fact, The Gum is such a little studio-concocted handful that as the group known until last year as Girl Band prepares to head out on a European tour, its proving to be one of the more challenging to pull off live. It was written in kind of a haphazard way, says bassist, engineer, and preeminent Gilla Band jokester Daniel Fox, with a laugh. All the measures of everything are very unintuitive, and its just a really jerky kind of song. Getting the sounds isnt too hard, but then stitching it all together is challenging. And weve had to come up with some clever ways of being able to some of the effects and things live.

Post-punk, indie rock, art rock, post-Goth, and most frequently, noise rock: all those genre names have been affixed to Gilla Band, but they all struggle to do justice to the sound of this singular outfit. On their first EP, 2012s France 98, released under that previous band name, they toyed with a more traditional chord-driven indie-garage sound. But Gilla Band found its footing by forging a bolder, left-leaning template on the breakout 2014 single Lawman, a ferocious cover of Blawans Why They Hide The Bodies Under My Garage?, and their electrifying 2015 debut album Holding Hands With Jamie. They melded pummeling rhythms, hypnotic grooves, buzzsaw guitars, and all manner of magnificently abrasive sounds and effects with a singer-reciter-shouter-screamer like no other. It was sensational, and they built on the feat again four years later with The Talkies, a denser and more claustrophobic second full-length.

I have now been lucky enough to interview Gilla Band for each of their albums. The day we speak, over Zoom, its three-quarters of the group: Fox, guitarist Adam Duggan, and front man/vocal force of nature Dara Kiely, all in great spirits and eager to discuss Most Normal. (I would later email with drummer Adam Faulkner.) Theres one word they all come back to in contrasting the new album with its predecessors. We wanted the record to be really direct in its sound, says Fox. Part of that directness came from writing and recording in the more intimate confines of their rehearsal spacethe very room from which Duggan is Zooming inand Sonic Studios in central Dublin, where Fox works as an engineer.

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Most Normal was written and recorded in 2020 and 2021. And you know what that means. For the Dubliners, the early months of Covid lockdown meant about a million Zoom meetings, recalls Fox. It was really just an excuse to hang out and have a couple cans. And wed talk about music, but really vague, more talking musical ideas as opposed to concrete ones. One of those early ideas was to make a record contextualized in dreams, something that, once the lads finally were able to meet in person, didnt really come to fruition, though Kiely says he manifested something of a dream state on Backwash a driving banger replete with Kielys trademark wordplayhis deftness with rhyming couplets, or just seemingly free-association references is one of Gilla Bands signatures. Kiely is nothing if not a wordsmith, even when venturing into the goofy. The title Most Normalan excerpt from a lyric in the track I Was Awaymight seem a strange one for a band that is anything but conventional in its sounds or experimental impulses, but, as Kiely says, it was the best of a bad bunch. It was kind of getting close to the deadline, he recalls.

And while the band didnt impose any parameters on the new album as they did with The Talkies, on which they wrote all songs in the key of A and Kiely completely avoided pronouns in all of his lyrics, the pandemic allowed them the time to be more exploratory than ever. Duggan adds that there are plenty of new sounds and textures throughout the LP. We used this self-oscillating noise synth box, and its all over the record, he explains. Theres a lap steel on lots of tracks, theres organs, stuff like that. And then there was little production-y things, like at the start of The Weirds, on Gushie or Pratfallthey all have this like sidechain going on, where it all sort of sucks into the kick.

Gilla Band has had no shortage of challenges in its history, due in part to Kielys struggles with mental health. In the press run before Jamies 2015 releaseincluding in an interview with me for Live Nation TVhe was remarkably, refreshingly candid about a dark psychotic break hed had in which he imagined himself a god. (His encounter with a therapist is memorably, mind-blowingly recounted in the song The Last Riddler.) If that sort of opennessat once discomforting and darkly funnyis more commonplace now, even among male musicians, it wasnt then, and certainly, Kiely says, not within his family, though he adds that they have come a long way since. But riding high on the acclaim of their debut, Gilla Band had to cut short its 2015 tour in the interest of his wellness. There was another similarly truncated tour in 2017, which left the guys, by 2018, if not back at square one then certainly without much of the momentum theyd recently built. All of which, of course, paled in importance to the well-being of a friend and bandmate. But Gilla Band was something of a blank slate with an unknown future when they set about working on The Talkies, a record whose opening track Prolix, meant to record Kielys breathing exercises, a part of his practice of mindfulness meditation, ended up capturing a real-time panic attack. The group wisely supported The Talkies gingerly, with only limited live shows. One bright spot? They could get started on a third album sooner. Then of course, Covid happened. So, yeah: challenges. You cant win.

From left: lan Duggan, Adam Faulkner, Dara Kiely, and Daniel Fox.

Or can you? Time can be a healer, and in the case of a band that labors over its songwriting, make for an even more interesting LP. Gilla Band say they are blessed to have in Rough Trade and its founder Geoff Travis, a longtime champion of the band, a label that doesnt sweat them about meeting a deadline. A couple of things immediately stand out about Most Normal. Only one song, centerpiece The Weirds, is longer than five minutesthis from a band known for routinely sailing past that time mark. While they say that wasnt deliberate, its noticeable, as is a more lighthearted touch. On summer single Eight Fiver, Kiely, in very Kiely fashion, rails about spending all my money on shit clothes, rattling off a string of shop names that most Americans might have to Google, with the exception of JCs where he got my bootcut jeans. Im very grateful for a lot of things in my life, Kiely explains. But Ive never thought I looked cool dress-sense wise. And Ive been asked a few times, So what are you shittiest clothes? and um, there was a time whenmy brother was older than me by like ten years. And hes also shorter than me. So I inherited all of his clothes. There would be like, flared jeans that hit my shin, or like a t-shirt that had like a dog on it, just stupid crap. So Ive never really been confident in that way, and I thought it would be interesting to try and do that in a track.

Self-deprecation, thy name is Dara Kiely. For years, knocking himself about his looks, style, hair, weight, confidence, you name it, has been his lyrical muse, though its done in such a wry and witty way that you cant help but chuckle. There was the matter of erectile dysfunction in early single Da Bom Bom, and fan favorite Pears For Lunch immortalized the line I look crap with my top off. On Most Normal its the clothes. Binliner Fashion, a song that ends up in a near primal scream while Duggan wires out and Faulkner rides the snare and hi-hat, actually begins with Kiely musing on dressing in plastic bags and not being able to wear hats. There are dentistry troubles, haircut slags, and a verse on giving up on general hygiene, financial savings, and exercising. He is relentlessly hard on himself, and his self-image was done no favors, he says, by Covid quarantine. I can really go into my head a lot and think about things and take it out on myself, he admits. A lot of it was written when I was in lockdown, and I also turned 30 during then. I just kind of reflected on my life, cause I had a lot of time to think. To be clear, this is a very good-looking guy, who could probably pass for a cousin of Ronan Farrow. But he was hardly a natural born front man. As a kid he was painfully shy, the type to go red in a second and get made fun of for it. Eventually he came out of his shell, but, as he says, pandemic isolation had him fold back inwards. Im kind of creeping out of that now, he adds. He still feels like hes not much of a pure singer, but thats almost beside the pointbetween a droll and deadpan spoken register; a shout tinged with just enough angst; a lilting falsetto thats used sparingly but effectively; and a full-bore scream that could peel the paint off a venues walls, its one of the most extraordinary vocal arsenals I know of, in any genre.

Kielys also found it in himself to be more open than ever on one track. Nowhere on Most Normal does he excel more than on closer Post Ryan, which must be given its own shout-out. It was a tough song to finish, says Fox, one they might not have even been able to complete earlier in the bands history. The song is an electro-stomper, with an infectious beat taken from the old A Flock of Seagulls chestnut I Ran, overlaid with an insistent self-oscillator buzz, Duggan grinding and chiming on guitar, and Kiely, with the most warts-and-all honest lyric hes ever written, less about bad haircuts than actual feelings. Im in between breakdowns / Im constantly in recovery he flatly states. Took it all for granted / Gonna end up homeless.

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Theres also tough assessment of his penchant for witty, non-sequitur lyrics: I hid behind the surreal / Im a bit too much? A bit too much for who? I ask. Im just not that comfortable sometimes, he says. So thats why the lyrics were actually difficult, not really to write, but to actually show the guys. And later in the song more musical insecurities creep in: I couldnt sing for shit, so I shout about crisps / And I never take risks. And maybe most wrenching: Ive never been an asset. From an outsiders perspective, such confessions are nothing short of heartbreaking.

But to his mates? The ones who know him best? Theyre actually able to see lightness in the lyrics. That Ive never been an asset line, says Fox. I thought he was saying Ive never been on acid! Likewise, Duggan said he saw humor in much of it, like the crisps line, and one in which Dara evokes his band nickname Safety Thumbsbestowed on him after the guys once saw him bracing himself with his thumbs in a car in LA.that was only going about 45 miles an hour. (Im a very safe guy! laughs Kiely.) I did find a lot of them funny, says Duggan. But heartbreaking as well. Theyre my favorite lyrics on the album, but we just asked him, Are you comfortable with doing this? Disarmingly honest, Faulkner calls them. Quite incredible and revealing. And says Fox: It takes a lot of guts to go out and do that in from of x amount of people. You know, everyone can think negatively about themselves. But not all of us could express it in such a public forum.

Aw thanks, guys, says Kiely, only half-jokingly, adding that he is gratified at the response to the song. Its very therapeutic and a cathartic kind of feeling, writing that way. As the band prepares to head out on the road, Kiely knows its likely hell encounter strangers who approach him wanting to talk about their own mental health. Hes okay with it. I did a university course in Dublin, when we were doing The Talkies, in peer support work, in mental health. I worked in a hospital there, a clinic, where you kind of share experiences and stuff like that. So, Im used to talking to people in that kind of mindset, I guess. And it can be a bit intense, having people come up and say all this stuff, or whatever. But its always really positive.

Gilla Band is prepared to head out on the road and, as Kiely (back row, left) says, ready to have some deep chats with fans.

Finally, I cant let the guys go without addressing the uh, Gilla in the room. It was less than a year agoNovember of 2021that the band known for a decade-plus as Girl Band announced that it was changing its name, along with a statement apologizing for choosing a misgendered name in the first place, and to anyone who has been hurt or affected by it. Whether people thought the change was long overdue or utterly unnecessary is irrelevant to the band. The real question has less to do with the decision than its timing. Fox had been asked by Noisey about the band name and its history of use as a dismissive, demeaning term for women in music as far back as 2015, a few months after FADER included Girl Band in a piece on acts with problematic names. But after a while, the probing seemed to fade, The Talkies came out, the band toured, and the world seemed to have moved on. So why the change in 2021? Fox says the critical press wasnt the point. Our reasoning in coming towards the decision to do it was more of a collective personal arrival, he explains. All four of us thought it was the right thing to do. As opposed to a reactionary one, where it was like, Were getting shit, we should do something about this.

As for the new name, Gilla is an Old Irish given name that, Fox says with a laugh, was the result of a few more Covid Zoom meetings. It was a tedious process, he recalls. Because its a weird thing to do, even though were happy to have done it. Like imagine trying to come up with a new name, if you thought, Okay, I dont feel comfortable being John. Its weird to think about something like that! We knew we wanted to keep the initials and the band part of it. Because it was just changing the word, that was the important thing that we wanted to do. It was likeGloop Band? Go-Go Band? Guinness Band?

And now, for how long do they expect to see their new name with fka Girl Band attached? Oh, that will happen for a bit, for sure. It might happen forever, I dont know! says Duggan, while Fox, who seems to have heard quite enough about the topic, is blunter: I dont really care!

John Norris is a veteran music journalist, who began his career as a writer, editor, correspondent and anchor at MTV News. Following MTV, he served as Managing Editor and Host of the music discovery site Noisevox, and as Supervising Producer of News at Fuse. His freelance work includes music and culture writing for Billboard, GQ, The Daily Beast, VICE, SPIN, Pigeons & Planes, VMAN and Lyrical Lemonade, and hosting and writing for Sirius XM, The Recording Academy, South By Southwest, and the Bonnaroo and Sasquatch music festivals.

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Gilla Band on New Name, 'Most Normal,' and Mental Health - Esquire

The Cleveland Cavaliers 2022-23 season has begun somewhat similarly to how it ended in defeat. Thankfully, for Clevelands sake, these games dont count right now.

With a 113-112 preseason road loss to the Philadelphia 76ers on Wednesday night, the Cavaliers fall to 0-1 in preseason play. Sure, there isnt much to glean from the final score since, lets be frank, its the preseason. But, there are some interesting subplots within the main event could be worth monitoring as Cleveland shifts focus to hosting Philadelphia at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse.

Amidst the endless speculation on who will be the teams starting small forward, Caris LeVert got the first crack at things for the Cavaliers. Looking to shake some of the notions surrounding him based on how last season ended, LeVert played well. He finished the night with 7 points, 1 rebound, 3 assists and a block. LeVert primarily played as a complimentary piece on both ends of the floor to Darius Garland, Donovan Mitchell and Jarrett Allen, not looking to dominate the ball. All in all, not a bad look for LeVert and now has a few more chances to audition for the starting job.

After LeVert, Dean Wade got a shot with the starting lineup to begin the second quarter. He didnt do much with the starting group he connected on a single three-pointer and forced one Philadelphia turnover. Wade finished the night with 11 points, 5 rebounds and 1 steal. You could tell that at times Wade is still getting the hang of playing small forward he had 2 fouls. But, for what Cleveland needs as a starting three, he fits the bill.

Following Wade off the bench were Isaac Okoro and Cedi Osman, who were both a bit of a mixed bag. Okoro finished the night with 7 points, 3 rebounds and several misses from beyond the arc. Osman, meanwhile, had 5 points, 2 rebounds and 2 assists. Osmans was a bit more of a contribution stat-wise compared to Okoro. But, Okoro looked much more composed within the new offensive scheme Cleveland is rolling with, with his non-shooting deficiencies being covered by how bombs away the Cavaliers were elsewhere on the floor.

As a team, Cleveland connected on 14-33 three-point attempts. Kevin Love looked like his usual self out there hitting on 3-6 attempts from beyond the arc. The tandem of Mitchell and Garland, meanwhile, individually took advantage of the gravity their backcourt playmate possessed. Mitchell was able to connect on 3-4 three-pointers while Garland was able to move the rock all over the floor due to the sudden lack of defensive pressure. Garland finished the night with 4 assists along with 12 points on 4-7 shooting. Mitchell, meanwhile, had 16 points, 2 rebounds, 5 assists and a steal.

Not a bad debut for Clevelands new star backcourt. Again, its just the preseason but seeing these two looking so comfortable with one another already is a great foundation to build upon. Its going to be a process for the Cavaliers all season long but it feels like theyve at least gotten the bitter taste of last seasons end out of their mouth already.

Up next: The Cavaliers have their annual Wine and Gold Scrimmage on Saturday at Cleveland States Wolstein Center. After that, they host these same 76ers on Monday night for more preseason action.

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Final Score: Cleveland Cavaliers preseason begins with a 113-112 loss to the Philadelphia 76ers - Fear the Sword

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Brandon Anderson: What was once a potential AFC playoff preview now feels like an early elimination game. The Colts have the worst offensive and rushing DVOA in the league, and now Jonathan Taylor is an injury question mark. Denver has been almost as bad running the ball and just lost Javonte Williams.

Could that weirdly end up helping the Broncos? It might force them to pass more, and thats where Denvers been better. This is the sort of game you get Russell Wilson for. Hes 29-18-4 ATS (62%) after a loss and 15-7-2 ATS (68%) at home in primetime. Its also a bad spot for the Colts as a road Thursday underdog coming off a multi-game home stand (35% ATS).

I lean Broncos but prefer the under. Indianapolis unders are 4-0 and the Colts have little chance against a good Denver defense. Broncos unders are 3-1 themselves after going 12-5 last year, and Denver isnt exactly scoring well either. Thursday night unders are 3-1 after 11-5 last season. These teams have only gone over 43 once in their eight games this season.

Chris Raybon: Gordon has a lot working against him clearing his rushing prop tonight.

First and foremost is his fumbling issue, which could have an impact on how much he sees the field even with Javonte Williams lost for the season with a torn ACL. Gordon has already put the ball on the ground four times this season, and seven times in his last 13 games dating back to last season. His most recent one came just four days ago and got him benched for third-stringer Mike Boone, who out-snapped Gordon 19-10 against the Raiders.

Even if Gordon starts the game, as expected, its highly likely that Boone enters early and often to form a committee just as Gordon did with Javonte Williams. Boones snap count has every week (3, 7, 14, 19), and hes averaging 6.2 yards per touch to Gordons 4.2.

If you read between the lines of offensive coordinator Justin Outtens so-called endorsement of Gordon, you can see that he immediately brings up Boone in the next breath and then goes on to wonder aloud who else he can use in place of Gordon.

With Melvin hes going to carry the load obviously, Outten said. Well have a mix of Boone and after that, weve got to figure out who can spell and who feels best in that position.

If you trust a guy to carry the load, youre not openly wondering aloud to the media about a theoretical replacement thats not even on the roster yet (the candidates are the newly signed Latavius Murray and practice squadder Devine Ozigbo).

On top of the uncertainty about Gordons planned role, theres also the possibility of another fumble, which will almost certainly plaster him to the bench for the remainder of the game.

And even if Gordons seizes the opportunity and protects the rock all night, this is still a brutal matchup. Per Football Outsiders, the Colts rank second in run-defense DVOA (-28.4%), third in stuff rate (26%), and second in second-level yards allowed per carry(0.50). Defensive tackle DeForest Buckner, who ranks eighth of 124 qualifiers in PFF run-defense grade (76.8), practiced in full this week and was left off of the final injury report after playing just 35% of the defensive snaps last week due to an elbow injury.

Gordon is averaging just 3.8 yards per carry with a long of 13 this season. The Denver offensive line has afforded its halfbacks just 0.97 yards before contact per carry this season, which is 27th in the NFL.

Im projecting Gordon for under 50 rushing yards tonight and would take this down to 50.5.

Nick Bretwisch: The Colts have already had a horrific time generating offensive production (32nd in overall Offensive DVOA and 32nd in Rush DVOA). Theyre simply going to need to move the football in creative ways to stay in this game.

Denvers defense almost exclusively runs Cover-3 and Cover-4 zone defenses, but it also has a top-five blitz rate in the NFL. When faced with Cover-3, Cover-4 and blitz-heavy opponents, Matt Ryan leans on his lower Average Depth of Target (ADOT) pass catchers in Michael Pittman, his running backs and tight-ends.

Yes, well likely see some Kylen Granson, but over the past two weeks, Mo Allie-Cox has been the clear-cut TE1 on this team. In that time period, Allie-Cox has over 20% more snaps than Granson, while running 20 more routes not to mention big Mo has led this entire Colts team in Yards After Catch since Week 2.

This number at 18.5 receiving yards at -110 is simply a price bookmakers should have thought twice about before posting.

Sam Farley: When Javonte Williams went down on Sunday, it was a hammer blow to the Broncos. The running back has been hugely impressive since being drafted in the second round of last years NFL draft. Since the injury the Broncos have swooped to grab Latavius Murray, who will form a committee along with Gordon and Boone.

The focus will be on Denvers backs but the most important thing to remember in this game is how good the Colts run defense is. Indianapolis has allowed an average of just 89.5 yards along the ground, the sixth-lowest total in the league. Combine that with a running back room consisting of a fumbling Gordon and a newly acquired Murray, it makes sense for the Broncos to target the passing game.

Jerry Jeudy erupted for 102 yards and a touchdown in Week 1 before an injury slowed him down for the next two weeks. Last Sunday, fully healthy he was targeted five times, hauling in four for 53 yards and a TD.

I expect Jeudy to be targeted more on Thursday night and to eclipse the line of 51.5 receiving yards. Id take this bet for anything up to 56.5.

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Colts vs Broncos Picks: Our 4 Best Bets for Thursday Night Football - The Action Network

Sebastian Rubino / sebastian@thereflector.com

Billy Blues Bar and Grill in Vancouver will raise money for families in the area who have autistic children to help lessen the financial burden of the holiday season during a fundraiser dubbed Rock For Autism on Oct. 15.

This will be the sixth year co-owners Kodi and Billy Gianukakis will host the event. The duo is personally connected to the autism community through a friend of theirs.

All day for Rock For Autism we will be raising money for ARRO, (the) Autism Research and Resources of Oregon and Southwest Washingtons holiday assistance program, Kodi said.

The event will include live music, a 50/50 raffle and other raffle items that include a stay at the Skamania Lodge and a round of golf for two.

Kodi said they will have T-shirts, collectible pint glasses and other items for sale as well. All of the proceeds from the sales will be donated. There will be multiple beers on tap from Windmer Brothers in Portland and Bale Breaker. Sweetheart Bakery will also provide cake pops for $6 each.

For anyone who opens a tab at the bar from 8 a.m. to 2 a.m., Kodi noted 25% of the final bill will be donated to ARRO as well. The event will also include live music from Shoot to Thrill, an AC/DC tribute band, as well as PDX Rock All-Stars.

ARRO is a 501(c)3 that basically benefits area families with one or more children on the autism spectrum disorder, Billy said. This is their holiday assistance program, and what they primarily do is theyre working for families with one or more autistic children, primarily single parents, who basically cant essentially afford a holiday, and what it does is it gets them some money during the holiday season so it allows them to have a holiday they might not otherwise have.

Billy said parents of autistic children can struggle with holding full-time employment while also taking care of their kids, which is why the fundraiser is helpful.

We have a very good friend who is involved with this. Hes the one that approached us originally, he said. Their youngest son, who I believe is now 17, he basically needs 100% full care every day. These individuals that are by themselves that are single parents, its a lot for them, and so this is just basically something that comes in right at the holiday season, lifts them up (and) allows them to do some things that they might not otherwise be able to do.

During their previous fundraiser, Billy said the event was able to raise just shy of $25,000.

As each year has gone, our event has grown more and more and more, so even this year, we did some corporate sponsorships where ilani stepped up and partnered with us on this, which allowed us to do some things, which is huge for them to reach out to another business thats doing charity work and to collaborate together to make this whole thing happen, Billy said.

With the holiday assistance program, Billy specified the fundraiser will help provide funds for food and gifts the family wouldnt be able to afford otherwise.

Kodi said the event is sponsored by ilani, Integrity Machinery Moving and Jacqueline Moore.

Billy Blues is located at 7115 NE Hazel Dell Ave., Vancouver. Entry is $15 at the door.

The event will start at 7 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 15.

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Billy Blues Bar and Grill to host 'Rock For Autism' fundraiser - The Reflector

Oregons 45-27 victory over Stanford is just the latest showing of how good the Ducks can be.

A week after Bo Nix threw for a career-high 428 yards at Washington State, he showcased his legs, running wild for 141 yards, while still throwing for an efficient 161 yards and two touchdowns on 16-of-29 passing.

At the end of the first quarter the Ducks had 161 rushing yards to the Cardinals 30 yards of total offense.

MarKeise 'Bucky' Irving who has solidified himself as the Ducks'premier back alongside other backs like Noah Whittington and Jordan Jamesand ran wild for 78 yards in the first quarter alone.

The Ducks cruised into the red zone on their first possession before a plethora of penalties stalled the drive, forcing the Ducks to settle for three.

On their second drive Irving once again gashed the defense, moving Oregon into threatening position before penalties once again killed the momentum, forcing Nix to do one of his newly practiced punts which pinned Stanford in their own 10-yard line.

On the Ducks' third possession they finally broke into the end-zone with a 49-yard screen pass to Chase Cota, his first touchdown as a Duck.

From there the Oregon offense began heating up, displaying the capacity to be highly lethal.

Before the half Nix and the Ducks drove into the red zone, where on third-and-nine Nix stepped up in the pocket, then bought time, rolling out to his right, before finding his new favorite target Troy Franklin who toe-tapped in the end zone for six.

The Ducks then forced a turnover on the first play of the next Cardinal drive as Bennett Williamsknocked the ball loose from Benjamin Yurosek, giving the Ducks another chance to capitalize from good starting field position.

This time Nix opted to score it himself, as he craftily used a variety of pass fakes to slow down his pursuing defenders and find a hole to the end zone.

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The play of the night was Nix's 80-yard breakaway run in the second quarter which ballooned the Oregon lead to 28.

After successfully pounding the rock all night resulting in 351 rushing yards, Nix pulled a zone handoff, then checked his targets before darting into an opening in the middle of the field for what looked like a potential 20+ yard gain.

However, instead of sliding as defenders closed in, Nix stepped on the gas, picking up blocks from Franklin and tight end Terrance Ferguson as he left everyone in the dust.

The Oregon defense also shined in the win. Brandon Dorlus, Defensive Line coach Tony Tuiotis preseason Alpha of the defense, had two sacks and three tackles for loss.

Cornerback Christian Gonzalezcontributed with two pass breakups, furthering his case as one of the best cover corners in the country.

If it werent for a handful of early turnovers the Ducks couldve put this game away significantly earlier, which is incredible considering the score was 31-3 at halftime.

The Ducks will look to play a more complete and disciplined game when they travel to Tucson to face Arizona next week.

Follow Eric on Twitter: @EricBerniker

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Oregon Shows Signs of Greatness in 45-27 Win Over Stanford - Sports Illustrated

Long ago, Community was the lesser-loved child of the NBC sitcom lineup. The Office, Parks and Rec, and 30 Rock all had their glory days with various NBC tie-ins and one-off reunions, but Community was often left out of the conversation. Which, to be fair, is a very Community thing to happen, so it kind of works! NBC effectively canceled the series in 2014, before a sixth and final season was ordered by Yahoo! Screen (remember that? Probably not.)

One of the long-running jokes from the series was that it would never fully be complete until there were six seasons and a movie. When the final episodes aired in 2015 on the abandoned Yahoo! Screen, it seemed like the prospect of a movie was long gone. While the cast and crew would often mention the shows mantra and tease the potential movie, it seemed like nothing was really going to move forward. UNTIL NOW!

This morning, Peacock announced they would be reviving the series once more for a movie to finally fulfill the prophecy. Most of the original cast seems to be on board, including Joel McHale, Danny Pudi, Alison Brie, Gillian Jacobs, Jim Rash, and Ken Jeong. The very dedicated fan base finally came out of hibernation to express not only their excitement but also say that they knew the movie would happen all along and they never once doubted it!

The Community movie currently has no release date, but maybe there is time to bring back Yahoo! Screen for another quick runaround!

Excerpt from:

'Community' Fans Are Hyped Up About The Movie Getting Made - UPROXX

Willow Smith has spoken out about claiming space in rock in a new interview, saying that all people should be allowed freedom to express ourselves in all kinds of different ways.

The star, who will release her latest album next month, shifted into the rock genre with her 2021 album lately I feel EVERYTHING.

Smith has previously spoken out about the reaction to her wanting to make a rock record from music industry executives, citing her race as a Black woman as the reason behind their response.

When I wanted to do a rock album, there were a lot of executives that were like, Hmm, she told Glamour earlier this year. If I had been white, it wouldve been completely fine; but because Im Black its, Well maybe lets just not and making it harder than it needs to be.

Credit: Matthew Baker/Getty Images

Speaking to the Observer recently, the 21-year-old described her claiming space in rock as a politically-charged move that is about stepping into places where marginalised communities havent been accepted and saying: Im human, and Im allowed here, too.

All of us should be allowed freedom to express ourselves in all kinds of different ways, and one of those ways is rock music, she said. Music is not just music, it is also activism. Throughout history, music has driven some of the most intense shifts in humanitys thought processes.

Smith also referred to the history of rock, which has its roots in Black communities. One of my favourite musicians, Sister Rosetta Tharpe, was playing rock with an electric guitar in the 1940s, she said.

Blues was the birthplace of rock, but that history was put out of sight for social and political reasons. There are still many people who dont want people of colour, women, people of the LGBTQ+ community to rise and know their history.

Earlier this month, the artist shared another taste of her upcoming album in curious/furious. It followed the previous singles its my fault and hover like a GODDESS. will be released on October 7.

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Willow Smith on claiming space in rock - NME

Last updated: September 19th, 2022 at 17:23 UTC+02:00

Fortnite players will soon have access to a new Party World themed after The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon. The late-night show is joining the metaverse in Fortnite as part of a Samsung sponsorship, and players will have the opportunity to play games, including pong on rooftops, and race up 30 Rockefeller Center.

The new Fortnite map will also feature iconic locations, such as the Tonight Show writers room and a virtual Samsung store. Furthermore, gamers can embark on a quest to help Jimmy Fallon get to Studio 6B. (via NextTV)

The Tonight at the Rock experience, which is enabled by Samsungs Galaxy products and sponsorship, will be released on Tuesday and showcased in greater detail on Wednesdays Tonight Show.

Senior VP of mobile experiences at Samsung Electronics America said At Samsung, were always looking for opportunities to give users one-of-a-kind experiences with their Galaxy devices.Tonight at the Rockempowers fans with a unique social adventure right in the heart of 30 Rock, all enhanced through in-game Samsung power-ups made possible by the Galaxy ecosystem.

Fortnite is available for numerous platforms, including PC, consoles, and Android OS.

In case you missed the news last month, this isnt the first time Samsung has made an appearance in Fortnite. The company also released its Smart City in the Fortnite metaverse to promote the launch of the Galaxy Z Fold 4 and Galaxy Z Flip 4.

The entire virtual city is made up of structures that resemble Samsungs products, from foldable phones to the Freestyle projector. Smart City went live in Fortnite on August 18.

As for the new Tonight at the Rock interactive map, NBCU said it isnt sponsored or administered by Epic Games. More details should be unveiled later this week during The Tonight Show.

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The Tonight Show and Samsung are coming to Fortnite metaverse this week - SamMobile - Samsung news

We talked for an interview in the summer of 2020 about making Candid and how difficult it was for Julien to inhabit the voice of David Byrne, for example. How much did making that record influence how you wrote SPARK particularly the opener, Nothing Remains?

Julien Ehrlich: That was a transition into me trying to utilize the low end of my falsetto and pull as much warmth out of it as possible. If you go back and listen to Light Upon the Lake and some songs on Forever Turned Around, it's way deeper in my throat, like Kermit the Frog. While making SPARK, it felt a lot more comforting to sit into a warmer zone in my voice.

There are parts where there just isn't falsetto. It was one of the first things that hit me about the record, like, "Oh, this is quite a big risk." Were there nerves about that?

JE: The thing that feels most risky is performing the new songs live: It's way harder to drum or do anything else while focusing [on the vocals]. Where I'm singing on most of SPARK is the most delicate [part of my voice]. To do Kimmel, I really had to work on breathing at the right times. It was so much more meticulous than any of our ramshackle songs off Light Upon the Lake, where I can just soar. As far as recording it, a lot of the record does feel risky to us, but for different reasons.

Max, I know it took a lot of work to try and fit the covers on Candid into the Whitney universe. Did that arrangement process have an impact on you guys blowing up the sound on SPARK?

Max Kakacek: Candid, to me, represents the most organic capture of the live band. We'd pick a song in the morning and everyone would take an instrument, and the whole start of the cover would happen completely live. Then we'd add in arrangement parts to bring out certain melodies people were playing.

On SPARK, partly as a function of us being isolated from the live band in Portland, it became a much more meticulous studio project, where capturing a live performance wasn't the focus; it was more creating a world, just the two of us.

JE: That Kelela cover with Tucker Martine, which we did after recording the bulk of the live band stuff We mixed, mastered, and basically finished it all in one day. We started SPARK two weeks later, and it was like, "Oh, shit. We can probably make a really crazy record together."

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On SPARK, Whitney are rebuilt in glass and neon - The FADER