- Israeli military claims to find Hamas terror base in hospital where ‘hostages were held’: IDF says it has disc Daily Mail
- Israel clashes with Hamas at major hospital Yahoo News
- Israeli military says it found signs hostages were held in Gaza hospital, claims it was Hamas’s base ThePrint
- Israel-Gaza latest: US says it has own evidence Hamas using hospital for ‘command mode’ – as militant group responds Sky News
- Israel-Gaza latest: ‘Terror tunnel’ found inside mosque, Israel says; warning communications in Gaza could fail in two days Sky News
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Tag Archives: disc
Mozart is no aid in mild Alzheimers – SlippediscSlippedisc | The inside track on classical music and related cultures, by Norman Lebrecht – Slipped Disc
- Mozart is no aid in mild Alzheimers – SlippediscSlippedisc | The inside track on classical music and related cultures, by Norman Lebrecht Slipped Disc
- Secret of keeping the brain young? Learn to play a musical instrument, says new study Fox News
- Music to Your Ears and Brain: Long-Term Musical Training Can Keep Your Brain Young Neuroscience News
- Successful aging of musicians: Preservation of sensorimotor regions aids audiovisual speech-in-noise perception Science
- The beneficial effects of music on memory may depend on how it is listened to Medical Xpress
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King Charles commissions 12 Coronation anthems – SlippediscSlippedisc | The inside track on classical music and related cultures, by Norman Lebrecht – Slipped Disc
- King Charles commissions 12 Coronation anthems – SlippediscSlippedisc | The inside track on classical music and related cultures, by Norman Lebrecht Slipped Disc
- Who’s Performing at the King’s Coronation Concert? Everything You Need to Know The Royal Family Channel
- Bette Midler cuts a laidback figure in West Hollywood before performing at King Charles’ Coronation Daily Mail
- Take That, Katy Perry and Lionel Richie for coronation concert NME
- Environmentalist ‘honoured’ to write song for King’s coronation The Independent
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Berlin Philharmonic plays out its appy end – SlippediscSlippedisc | The inside track on classical music and related cultures, by Norman Lebrecht – Slipped Disc
- Berlin Philharmonic plays out its appy end – SlippediscSlippedisc | The inside track on classical music and related cultures, by Norman Lebrecht Slipped Disc
- Apple’s Classical App Explained: What’s Fun — and What Falls Flat CNET
- Column: I wanted to hate the new app Apple Music Classical — but for the most part I couldn’t Chicago Tribune
- Apple Fifth Avenue celebrates Apple Music Classical with special Today at Apple performance AppleInsider
- Apple Wants to Solve One of Music’s Biggest Problems The Wall Street Journal
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Legendary Philadelphia disc jockey Jerry ‘The Geator’ Blavat dies at 82
PHILADELPHIA — Jerry Blavat, the legendary disc jockey known as “The Geator with the Heater” and “The Boss with the Hot Sauce” has died, Action News has learned. He was 82.
He passed away at 3:45 a.m. Friday at hospice at Jefferson-Methodist Hospital from the effects of myasthenia gravis and related health issues.
He leaves behind four daughters, grandchildren, great-grandchildren and his longtime partner Keely Stahl.
Blavat was recently suffering from medical issues related to a shoulder injury and had to cancel an upcoming show at the Kimmel Cultural Campus due to his health, according to his website.
Born in South Philadelphia to a Jewish father and Italian mother, music ran through his veins from childhood. “The Geator” was widely known as one of the early rock-and-roll DJs who revolutionized the profession and developed the “oldies” format.
Blavat appeared on several television shows and films including “The Monkees,” “Desperately Seeking Susan,” “Baby, It’s You” and “Cookie.”
In 1953, he debuted on the original Bandstand at the age of 13. Producers of the Channel 6 show in Philly discovered their popular dancer was below the age limit, but let him stay to help pick records.
Years later, he went on to host “The Discophonic Scene,” a dance show that featured some of the biggest stars of the era.
Blavat’s enthusiasm, talent and natural knack for knowing what would hit with teens led first to a syndicated radio show, then a TV show in the 1960s.
For decades, he entertained crowds with shows across the Philadelphia region and spent his summers down at the shore where he owned the popular dance club “Memories in Margate.”
It was a career that led to many friendships with big entertainers like Sammy Davis Jr., Don Rickles and even Frank Sinatra.
“Everybody’s been there. My mom cooked for (Frank) Sinatra there. She also cooked for Sammy Davis, Jr. there. Chuck Berry appeared there,” Blavat said of “Memories” during a 2022 interview with the New Jersey Stage.
With his famously adopted nicknames “The Geator with the Heater” and “The Boss with the Hot Sauce,” he hosted countless dances and helped break many acts, including the Four Seasons and the Isley Brothers, also boosting Philadelphia artists like Bobby Rydell.
He appeared regularly in the Italian American Parade in Philadelphia and was a guest for many years in 6abc’s Thanksgiving Day Parade.
In 1993, Blavat was inducted into the Philadelphia Music Alliance’s Hall of Fame. You can find his name on the Walk of Fame along the Avenue of the Arts in Center City.
Since 1998, he appears in a permanent exhibit in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame; he was inducted into the Broadcast Pioneers of Philadelphia’s Hall of Fame in 2002.
When asked about his career as a disc jockey and rise to fame, Blavat told the New Jersey Stage, “So my life has been about wonderful people. And if it ends tomorrow, I’ll have no regrets because I made people happy, and by making people happy, it fulfilled my life.”
Blavat never wanted to stop sharing his love for music and Philadelphia.
No matter what, that beat will always pulse throughout this city’s veins with the vibrancy and zest only the “Boss with the Hot Sauce” could spread.
—-
This story has been updated to show that Jerry Blavat is part of a permanent exhibit at the Rock and Roll Hall Fame, but was not an inductee.
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Sort of PS5 Slim: No hardware upgrades and no disc drive compatibility with PlayStation 5 Digital Edition for the modular PS5 “Gen 2” console
There might be some considerable criticism heading Sony’s way soon if new details about the so-called modular PS5 shared by Insider Gaming’s Tom Henderson are true. The source has frequently discussed upgrades and changes to the PlayStation 5, and he revealed that there was work ongoing with a console that would have a detachable disk drive, which will eventually replace the current PlayStation 5 and PlayStation 5 Digital Edition devices. This “PS5 Gen 2” would have a slimmer profile thanks to its modular nature, so it could even end up being the widely expected PS5 Slim.
While official word about a PS5 Slim would undoubtedly excite the community, Henderson’s latest tweet about PlayStation matters will likely not. Firstly, he states, “doesn’t seem like there are any major hardware changes from the original console”. So, this apparent PS5 v2 device will clearly not be any kind of PS5 Pro machine, and it won’t be the frequently rumored console coming with an improved custom SoC from AMD inside it. A sort of PlayStation 5 Slim console may be the best fans can hope for in regard to something new turning up in 2023.
However, Henderson rubs salt into the wound with the second part of his post, claiming, “disc drive likely won’t be compatible with the current digital version”. So, all those PlayStation 5 Digital Edition owners out there, and there are millions of them, may feel a pang of disappointment and even disapproval that this modular next-generation PS5 will be incapable of sharing its detachable disc drive with them. Some commenters have even called this potential situation a kind of money grab from Sony.
According to the source, production of this PlayStation 5 revision will start in April, and it could be available to buy in September. This means there will be a lot more leaks about the device to come yet, and it seems likely that Sony will make sure a PS5 Gen 2 will have plenty of selling points. If this rumored 2023 variant actually does end up being the PS5 Slim, there will still be many flocking to buy a slimmed-down and lighter PlayStation 5 console, regardless of it having a detachable and backwards incompatible disc drive.
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My interest in technology began after I was presented with an Atari 800XL home computer in the mid-1980s. I especially enjoy writing about technological advances, compelling rumors, and intriguing tech-related leaks. I have a degree in International Relations and Strategic Studies and count my family, reading, writing, and travel as the main passions of my life. I have been with Notebookcheck since 2012.
Wall Street ends mixed; Salesforce selloff pressures Dow
Dec 1 (Reuters) – Wall Street ended mixed on Thursday as a selloff in Salesforce weighed on the Dow, while traders digested U.S. data that suggested the Federal Reserve’s interest rate hikes are working.
On Wednesday, the S&P 500 surged over 3% on optimism the Fed might moderate its campaign of interest rate hikes.
U.S. manufacturing activity shrank in November for the first time in 2-1/2 years as higher borrowing costs weighed on demand for goods, data showed, evidence the Fed’s rate hikes have cooled the economy.
The personal consumption expenditures (PCE) price index rose 0.3%, the same as in September, and over the 12 months through October the index increased 6.0% after advancing 6.3% the prior month.
Excluding the volatile food and energy components, the PCE price index rose 0.2%, one-tenth less than expected, after gaining 0.5% in September.
“On a normal day, the package of data this morning would be pretty risk-on, but after the rally yesterday, I think it’s not quite good enough to push another leg higher,” said Ross Mayfield, an investment strategy analyst at Baird.
Wednesday’s rally drove the S&P 500 index (.SPX) above its 200-day moving average for the first time since April after Fed Chair Jerome Powell said it was time to slow the pace of interest rate hikes.
Traders now see a 79% chance the Fed will increase its key benchmark rate by 50 basis points in December and a 21% chance it will hike rates by 75 basis points.
Salesforce Inc (CRM.N) tumbled after the software maker said Bret Taylor would step down as co-chief executive officer in January.
Dollar General Corp (DG.N) fell after the discount retailer cut its annual profit forecast, while Costco Wholesale Corp (COST.O) dropped after the membership-only retail chain reported slower sales growth in November.
According to preliminary data, the S&P 500 (.SPX) lost 2.31 points, or 0.06%, to end at 4,077.80 points, while the Nasdaq Composite (.IXIC) gained 15.22 points, or 0.13%, to 11,483.21. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (.DJI) fell 193.24 points, or 0.56%, to 34,397.42.
A report from the Labor Department on Thursday showed initial claims for state unemployment benefits dropped 16,000 to a seasonally adjusted 225,000 for the week ended Nov. 26.
Investors now await nonfarm payrolls data on Friday for clues about how rate hikes have affected the labor market.
With a month left in 2022, the S&P 500 is down about 14% year to date, and the Nasdaq has lost about 27%.
Reporting by Ankika Biswas and Shreyashi Sanyal in Bengaluru, and by Noel Randewich in Oakland, Calif.; Editing by Shounak Dasgupta and David Gregorio
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
Modern Warfare II Disc Is Nearly Empty
Players who received early physical copies of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II have reported that the discs included contain only about 72MB of data, forcing players to connect to the internet and download the other 100+ GB of data to actually play the game.
Officially, Modern Warfare II isn’t out until tomorrow. But as usual, a few copies of the upcoming military first-person shooter slipped out of the warehouses a bit early and ended up in the hands of some lucky players. In theory, this disc should contain the game’s campaign, which was released early digitally, and it should also include its multiplayer, which fully launches for all tomorrow on the official release date. But as reported by Eurogamer, that’s not the case. Instead, players who got early copies of Modern Warfare II discovered that the disc was basically empty and they would have to download and install the entire game via the internet before they could play.
Kotaku has reached out to Activision about these dummy discs and if the company plans on offering actual retail copies of the game in the future.
Modern Warfare II–-after the latest patch—is reportedly over 150+ GB large when you include campaign and multiplayer. (And that doesn’t include the yet-to-be-released Warzone 2.0 that’s out in November.) While some players will be able to download the game easily and quickly, for others the large file size could take hours or days to download and it could push them over their existing internet data cap. Another problem, as pointed out by Eurogamer, is that in some parts of the world, energy costs are rising rapidly, and leaving a large, next-gen console running for hours to download a game could be a costly situation.
Read More: The Tricky, Essential Art of Preserving Canceled Games Like Starfox 2
But even if everyone in the world had great internet, low energy bills, and tons of free time to wait around for MW2 to download, it wouldn’t change how inconvenient this dummy disc situation is. It ends up making it harder to preserve console versions of the game legally, another blow to game preservation. And sure, this isn’t the first time a publisher has shipped nearly empty discs, but it still sucks that it’s happening again as it makes preserving games much, much harder for what is one of the biggest franchises in the world.
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Plus, what happens when the Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 servers die one day? Well, you can probably guess. Unless Activision changes something in the future, the disc and all 72MB of its data will just become a paperweight once the servers die. At least you can play the other 46 Call of Duty games that are also called Modern Warfare instead.
Random: Wii U Owner’s Son Stuffs A Bunch Of Switch Carts Into The Disc Drive
If you’re even remotely present on the veritable hellscape that is Twitter, then you’ll have no doubt seen a meme in which gamers take photos of their Switch console docked with a game disc from another platform resting on top; a metaphor of the user’s desire to see a port of said game arrive on Switch.
Very droll, we’re sure you’ll agree, but ultimately a harmless way of inviting a few likes and retweets. But what if you tried it the other way around? Popping a Switch cart into the disc drive of a Wii U certainly sounds like a recipe for disaster, and unfortunately that’s exactly what one owner in North America had to deal with after their son got his hands on both systems.
In a post on Twitter, user Jose A Cruz shared photos of a gutted Wii U console in order to remove a bunch of Switch carts from the disc drive. Looking at the photos, it looks as though there are four carts in total, and while it’s not possible to see all of them, we can see that three of the four are Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus, Mario Party Superstars, and Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze.
How this exactly came to be is anyone’s guess. Perhaps the owner’s son mistakenly thought the Switch carts would work on the Wii U? Maybe it was an act of rebellion? Regardless, we’re just picturing the look on the poor owner’s face when they realised where their missing Switch carts were – imagine!
Thankfully, it looks like everything ended on a positive note; in a follow-up tweet, the Wii U disc drive appears to be working fine and the Switch carts have been safely removed with no sign of damage. Happy days!
Let this serve as a cautionary tale, however; if you have children – particularly young ones – then be sure to keep your valuables well out of reach. Switch carts might taste pretty disgusting, but that doesn’t mean they won’t end up in other hard-to-reach places!
Have you lost a Switch cart only to find it in the most perculiar of places? Share your own stories in the comments below!
Stocks struggle as China rate cut sends oil tumbling
FILE PHOTO – People pass by an electronic screen showing Japan’s Nikkei share price index inside a conference hall in Tokyo, Japan June 14, 2022. REUTERS/Issei Kato
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LONDON, Aug 15 (Reuters) – Global shares struggled to advance on Monday while investors digested news of an unexpected cut in Chinese interest rates as data pointed to faltering growth in the world’s second largest economy, sending oil prices nearly 2% lower.
Weaker U.S. stock index futures also weighed on sentiment, while a steadier dollar knocked gold.
The MSCI all country index (.MIWD00000PUS) was barely firmer, a month-long advance having whittled away the benchmark’s decline for the year to about 13%.
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China’s central bank cut key lending rates to revive demand as data showed the economy unexpectedly slowing in July, with factory and retail activity squeezed by Beijing’s zero-COVID policy and a property crisis. read more
Until now, investors have been grappling with how much further central banks in the United States and Europe would hike rates when they meet next month.
Hopes of smaller rate hikes on signs that U.S. inflation may be peaking helped Wall Street clock up its fourth straight week of gains by Friday.
The gains on Wall Street and steady growth figures for Japan helped the Nikkei (.N225) share average in Tokyo jump to its highest in more than seven months.
“China, I think, is a different situation than the rest of the world. They’ve got a self imposed recession that they’ve created from the zero COVID policy,” said Patrick Armstrong, chief investment officer at investment house Plurimi Group.
“I do think it’s going to be Fed driven if there is another leg down in markets. Quantitative tightening, I think, will begin in earnest in September and that’s going to withdraw liquidity from the market,” Armstrong said.
Markets are still implying around a 50% chance the Fed will hike by 75 basis points in September and that rates will rise to around 3.50-3.75% by the end of the year.
The Fed will publish minutes on Wednesday from its last rate-setting meeting, but investor hopes of them showing the central bank beginning to pivot on rate hikes could be dashed.
“I don’t think (Fed Chair) Powell is going to say that, I don’t think the minutes are going to indicate that,” Armstrong said.
In Europe, the STOXX share index of 600 leading companies was up 0.13% at 441.43 points, still down around 10% for the year.
U.S. FUTURES EASE
S&P 500 futures and Nasdaq futures were both down around 0.5% after last week’s gains.
Earnings from major retailers, including Walmart (WMT.N) and Target (TGT.N), will be scrutinised for signs of flagging consumer demand.
The cut in Chinese interest rates failed to stop Chinese blue chips (.CSI300) easing 0.13%, while the yuan and bond yields also slipped. read more
Geopolitical risks remain high with a delegation of U.S. lawmakers in Taiwan for a two-day trip. read more
The bond market still seems to doubt the Fed can manufacture a soft landing, with the yield curve remaining deeply inverted. Two-year yields at 3.27% are well above those for 10-year notes which were trading at 2.86%.
Those yields have underpinned the U.S. dollar, though it did slip 0.8% against a basket of currencies last week as risk sentiment improved.
But on Monday the dollar regained some poise, with the euro down 0.2% against the greenback at $1.02345 after bouncing 0.8% last week. Against the yen, the dollar steadied at 133.51 after losing 1% last week.
“Our sense remains that the dollar rally will resume before too long,” argued Jonas Goltermann, a senior economist at Capital Economics.
Gold was down 0.8% at $1,786, losing nearly all of its 1% gains last week.
Oil prices eased as China’s disappointing data added to worries about global demand for fuel.
The head of the world’s top exporter, Saudi Aramco, said it was ready to ramp up output while production at several offshore U.S. Gulf of Mexico platforms is resuming after a brief outage last week.
Brent slipped 1.8% to $96.35, while U.S. crude fell 1.9% to $90.34 per barrel.
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Reporting by Wayne Cole; Editing by Sam Holmes, Raju Gopalakrishnan and Ed Osmond
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.