News Topic - Tunisia
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Rich history, vivid jazz
That sound you hear coming from WNSC-FM out of Rock Hill is no longer jazz. It's getting harder to hear this original American art form on local radio. But if you were among the crowd of about 75 at the Excelsior Club on Sunday night, you heard trombone and voice engage in a friendly competition over which could hold the opening note of Dizzy Gillespie's “A Night in Tunisia” the longest. Voice lost, this time. The audience won. A Sign of the Times brought its Going Through Changes ensemble to what has become an occasional Sunday night gig at the historic Excelsior on Beatties Ford Road. Though Charlotte is still not known as a jazz town, more places in the area are offering jazz events, as a look at the Observer's entertainment calendar will prove. At the Excelsior, which has been a gathering place since 1944, owner James Ferguson says it's about more than entertainment.Ferguson, 65 – civil rights attorney and club owner – made it a point to visit the Excelsior when he was a student at N.C. Central University in Durham. He knows its history as a club for African Americans and the larger community to share political views and ideas, as well as a good time.“Jazz is the original American music and the only music that we can claim,” he said Sunday night. “We have to preserve it and share it.” He'd like to see the dissatisfaction over the lack of radio jazz push people into exploring live events in Charlotte. “I cannot figure it out,” Ferguson said. “Everybody says they love jazz, but it's not translated into action.” The Excelsior features jazz with Michael Porter's Porterhouse on Wednesday nights.On Sunday, the crowd grew as A Sign of the Times loosened up. Former state Rep. Pete Cunningham – the previous owner – slipped in for the last set. Tyrone Jefferson – on his day job, as a systems analyst for Mecklenburg County, he's known as Keith – formed the group in 1999 when he moved back to Charlotte from Brooklyn, N.Y. They had their first public performance in Greensboro in 2000. A Sign of the Times grows and shrinks in incarnations that play rhythm and blues, swing, Latin and other styles. A set might include, as it did Sunday, Charlie Parker and Herbie Hancock, or a lick from James Brown, whose band Jefferson played in – off and on – from 1979 to 2006.“People need to be educated about jazz, to understand how rich our culture is,” Jefferson, 55, said. “Preserving the legacy” is the slogan for his non-profit organization dedicated to music education, music performance and production. His hope is that diverse jazz musicians in Charlotte come together to share their knowledge. The group plays throughout the Carolinas, Virginia and Maryland, but its members are based in the area. Jefferson's own Charlotte roots run deep. He was introduced to the trombone by teacher LeRoy Augustus Paige at Northwest Middle. Paige's son, LeRoy A. Paige Jr., plays alto saxophone in A Sign of the Times. And the voice that barely lost the duel? It belongs to Toni Tupponce, Jefferson's wife since 2005. For Valerie Todd, Sunday night was a return visit. Todd, principal at Plaza Road pre-K, is a Charlotte native who appreciates the music and the Excelsior. “It's right in the heart of the community,” she said, “a small, intimate setting, up front and close to the performers.” She grew up with some of them. She said it's a kick to see them onstage, making outstanding music.“You can feel it.”
Charlotte.com – Jul 24, 2008 02:43 AM [GMT] ¦ comment?
found in Local: North Carolina: Charlotte
That sound you hear coming from WNSC-FM out of Rock Hill is no longer jazz. It's getting harder to hear this original American art form on local radio. But if you were among the crowd of about 75 at the Excelsior Club on Sunday night, you heard trombone and voice engage in a friendly competition over which could hold the opening note of Dizzy Gillespie's “A Night in Tunisia” the longest. Voice lost, this time. The audience won. A Sign of the Times brought its Going Through Changes ensemble to what has become an occasional Sunday night gig at the historic Excelsior on Beatties Ford Road. Though Charlotte is still not known as a jazz town, more places in the area are offering jazz events, as a look at the Observer's entertainment calendar will prove. At the Excelsior, which has been a gathering place since 1944, owner James Ferguson says it's about more than entertainment.Ferguson, 65 – civil rights attorney and club owner – made it a point to visit the Excelsior when he was a student at N.C. Central University in Durham. He knows its history as a club for African Americans and the larger community to share political views and ideas, as well as a good time.“Jazz is the original American music and the only music that we can claim,” he said Sunday night. “We have to preserve it and share it.” He'd like to see the dissatisfaction over the lack of radio jazz push people into exploring live events in Charlotte. “I cannot figure it out,” Ferguson said. “Everybody says they love jazz, but it's not translated into action.” The Excelsior features jazz with Michael Porter's Porterhouse on Wednesday nights.On Sunday, the crowd grew as A Sign of the Times loosened up. Former state Rep. Pete Cunningham – the previous owner – slipped in for the last set. Tyrone Jefferson – on his day job, as a systems analyst for Mecklenburg County, he's known as Keith – formed the group in 1999 when he moved back to Charlotte from Brooklyn, N.Y. They had their first public performance in Greensboro in 2000. A Sign of the Times grows and shrinks in incarnations that play rhythm and blues, swing, Latin and other styles. A set might include, as it did Sunday, Charlie Parker and Herbie Hancock, or a lick from James Brown, whose band Jefferson played in – off and on – from 1979 to 2006.“People need to be educated about jazz, to understand how rich our culture is,” Jefferson, 55, said. “Preserving the legacy” is the slogan for his non-profit organization dedicated to music education, music performance and production. His hope is that diverse jazz musicians in Charlotte come together to share their knowledge. The group plays throughout the Carolinas, Virginia and Maryland, but its members are based in the area. Jefferson's own Charlotte roots run deep. He was introduced to the trombone by teacher LeRoy Augustus Paige at Northwest Middle. Paige's son, LeRoy A. Paige Jr., plays alto saxophone in A Sign of the Times. And the voice that barely lost the duel? It belongs to Toni Tupponce, Jefferson's wife since 2005. For Valerie Todd, Sunday night was a return visit. Todd, principal at Plaza Road pre-K, is a Charlotte native who appreciates the music and the Excelsior. “It's right in the heart of the community,” she said, “a small, intimate setting, up front and close to the performers.” She grew up with some of them. She said it's a kick to see them onstage, making outstanding music.“You can feel it.”
Charlotte.com – Jul 24, 2008 02:43 AM [GMT] ¦ comment?
found in Local: North Carolina: Charlotte
Glencairn Balfour Paul: Diplomat, scholar and poet with a lifelong love of the Middle East
Glencairn Balfour Paul was a soldier, diplomat, traveller, explorer, scholar and poet, and excelled in all these diverse careers and vocations. Above all this floated an original dream of becoming an archaeologist, a dream which had to be abandoned because of family responsibilities. In the field of diplomacy, for which he was best known, he served in the Sudan Political Service and in Chile, Lebanon, Dubai and Bahrain before becoming ambassador to Iraq, then Jordan and Tunisia.
The Independent – Jul 23, 2008 11:06 PM [GMT] ¦ comment?
found in Top Stories: Obituaries
Glencairn Balfour Paul was a soldier, diplomat, traveller, explorer, scholar and poet, and excelled in all these diverse careers and vocations. Above all this floated an original dream of becoming an archaeologist, a dream which had to be abandoned because of family responsibilities. In the field of diplomacy, for which he was best known, he served in the Sudan Political Service and in Chile, Lebanon, Dubai and Bahrain before becoming ambassador to Iraq, then Jordan and Tunisia.
The Independent – Jul 23, 2008 11:06 PM [GMT] ¦ comment?
found in Top Stories: Obituaries
Tunisia convicts, sentences 5 in terrorism case
AP - Two government officials have been convicted and sentenced to prison in connection with an alleged plot to carry out terror attacks and overthrow the Tunisian government, according to their lawyer and court documents.
Yahoo! – Jul 18, 2008 3:14 PM [GMT] ¦ comment?
found in Top Stories: Terrorism
AP - Two government officials have been convicted and sentenced to prison in connection with an alleged plot to carry out terror attacks and overthrow the Tunisian government, according to their lawyer and court documents.
Yahoo! – Jul 18, 2008 3:14 PM [GMT] ¦ comment?
found in Top Stories: Terrorism
John Dore: Archaeologist of northern Britain and Libya who was a specialist in Mediterranean ceramics
John Dore's archaeological career was unconventional and adventurous, involving numerous projects in the north-east of England, Italy, Portugal, Tunisia and, particularly, Libya.
The Independent – Jul 11, 2008 12:37 PM [GMT] ¦ comment?
found in Top Stories: Obituaries
John Dore's archaeological career was unconventional and adventurous, involving numerous projects in the north-east of England, Italy, Portugal, Tunisia and, particularly, Libya.
The Independent – Jul 11, 2008 12:37 PM [GMT] ¦ comment?
found in Top Stories: Obituaries
Tunisia dominate Confed Cup
Four Tunisian sides are in the battle to reach the group stages of this year's Confederation Cup.
BBC News – Jul 11, 2008 09:43 AM [GMT] ¦ comment?
found in World: Africa
Four Tunisian sides are in the battle to reach the group stages of this year's Confederation Cup.
BBC News – Jul 11, 2008 09:43 AM [GMT] ¦ comment?
found in World: Africa
Obituary: David Caminer
David Caminer, who has died aged 92, was one of the leaders of the postwar computer revolution. When the modern electronic computer was invented in the last years of the second world war, it was seen as a technology that could help in scientific and technical computations - the first American electronic computer, Eniac, was designed specifically to help the military with the calculation of the trajectories of shells. At that time, David was a soldier in the Green Howards, serving in north Africa. He was wounded at Mareth in Tunisia in 1943, losing a leg, and returned to civilian life by going back to his prewar job with J Lyons & Co, of teashop and Swiss roll fame. He had joined in 1936 as a management trainee. On his return, he was appointed manager of the influential systems analysis office under the direction of John Simmons. In 1947 Simmons sent two colleagues, TR Thompson and Oliver Standingford, to study office innovations in the US. They came across the new electronic computers and realised that they could be used to solve the problems of keeping track of and accounting for Lyons' multiple activities in the catering and food processing world. Astonishingly, the idea was accepted by Simmons and the Lyons board. A new venture, the Leo (Lyons electronic office), was started under the direction of Thompson: its task was to build and bring into use in Lyons offices the world's first business computer, based on the Cambridge University Edsac. David joined this band of pioneers and saw immediately that the computer could do more than copy what was being done in offices by clerks with conventional business machines. With proper design, the computer could be used to support management activities and improve the way the company was run. As a result, many of the systems designed by David and his team were as advanced in concept as any are today. For a brief period, the work at Lyons led the world in the application of computers to business problems. As one of his team, John Aris, later suggested, David invented what we now call systems engineering. By 1953 the team, under David's detailed and imaginative guidance, were turning out a succession of business applications for Lyons and other companies, and in the following year the Lyons weekly payroll for nearly 1,700 bakery workers was automated, along with a stock system for the 250 teashops. The systems analysis office learned that successful systems depend on a complete under-standing of the business processes being examined and the need to work with the people who operate them. For those of us who worked for him, there was constant excitement as new ground was being broken. At the same time David's fierce and rigorous enforcement of meticulous standards could become a source of misery. He frequently drove his team to achieve the unattainable. By the time a piece of documentation had been returned to its author half a dozen times to correct the content, language and style, frustration might have set in. But the lessons were learned. Working with David proved to be the most important period in our lives. In the 1970s, with the merger of the various branches of the UK computer industry into ICL, David was entrusted with the management of one of the largest projects attempted at that time, for the European Community. For completing that project on time and budget, David received his OBE (for services to British commercial interests overseas) in 1980 and, in 2006, he received an honorary doctorate from Middlesex University. In his later years, he could not understand the prevalence of failed computer projects. Would the methods he devised in the early years, combined with his vision, have saved many of the failed or failing projects? David retired in 1980, then set up the Leo Foundation and spearheaded the 2001 conference at the London Guildhall to celebrate the running of the world's first business application on a computer 50 years earlier at the Cadby Hall headquarters of Lyons. He was the principal author of Leo: The Incredible Story of the World's First Business Computer (1998). Born in Hackney, east London, David went to Sloane school, Fulham, and was a keen rugby player in his earlier years. He never lost his love for cricket - he was a member of the MCC - football (Chelsea) and rugby union. He was also an opera lover. He and his wife Jackie were still going to concerts, plays and sporting events until his final illness. Though not a man of strong religious beliefs, he had a high regard for the traditions of the Jewish community, to which he was highly committed. He took an active part in the battles against Oswald Mosley in the 1930s and 40s, culminating with his appearance as a platform speaker at a rally in Trafalgar Square rally in 1943. He continued to have a lively and trenchant view of politics. In later years, he took an active role in his local Labour party and spearheaded the Anti-Apartheid Movement, personally welcoming Archbishop Desmond Tutu to his borough of Richmond upon Thames in support of the campaign. He is survived by his wife, two daughters, a son and five grandchildren. · David Tresman Caminer, business computer engineer, born June 26 1915; died June 19 2008
The Guardian – Jul 10, 2008 11:14 PM [GMT] ¦ comment?
found in Technology
David Caminer, who has died aged 92, was one of the leaders of the postwar computer revolution. When the modern electronic computer was invented in the last years of the second world war, it was seen as a technology that could help in scientific and technical computations - the first American electronic computer, Eniac, was designed specifically to help the military with the calculation of the trajectories of shells. At that time, David was a soldier in the Green Howards, serving in north Africa. He was wounded at Mareth in Tunisia in 1943, losing a leg, and returned to civilian life by going back to his prewar job with J Lyons & Co, of teashop and Swiss roll fame. He had joined in 1936 as a management trainee. On his return, he was appointed manager of the influential systems analysis office under the direction of John Simmons. In 1947 Simmons sent two colleagues, TR Thompson and Oliver Standingford, to study office innovations in the US. They came across the new electronic computers and realised that they could be used to solve the problems of keeping track of and accounting for Lyons' multiple activities in the catering and food processing world. Astonishingly, the idea was accepted by Simmons and the Lyons board. A new venture, the Leo (Lyons electronic office), was started under the direction of Thompson: its task was to build and bring into use in Lyons offices the world's first business computer, based on the Cambridge University Edsac. David joined this band of pioneers and saw immediately that the computer could do more than copy what was being done in offices by clerks with conventional business machines. With proper design, the computer could be used to support management activities and improve the way the company was run. As a result, many of the systems designed by David and his team were as advanced in concept as any are today. For a brief period, the work at Lyons led the world in the application of computers to business problems. As one of his team, John Aris, later suggested, David invented what we now call systems engineering. By 1953 the team, under David's detailed and imaginative guidance, were turning out a succession of business applications for Lyons and other companies, and in the following year the Lyons weekly payroll for nearly 1,700 bakery workers was automated, along with a stock system for the 250 teashops. The systems analysis office learned that successful systems depend on a complete under-standing of the business processes being examined and the need to work with the people who operate them. For those of us who worked for him, there was constant excitement as new ground was being broken. At the same time David's fierce and rigorous enforcement of meticulous standards could become a source of misery. He frequently drove his team to achieve the unattainable. By the time a piece of documentation had been returned to its author half a dozen times to correct the content, language and style, frustration might have set in. But the lessons were learned. Working with David proved to be the most important period in our lives. In the 1970s, with the merger of the various branches of the UK computer industry into ICL, David was entrusted with the management of one of the largest projects attempted at that time, for the European Community. For completing that project on time and budget, David received his OBE (for services to British commercial interests overseas) in 1980 and, in 2006, he received an honorary doctorate from Middlesex University. In his later years, he could not understand the prevalence of failed computer projects. Would the methods he devised in the early years, combined with his vision, have saved many of the failed or failing projects? David retired in 1980, then set up the Leo Foundation and spearheaded the 2001 conference at the London Guildhall to celebrate the running of the world's first business application on a computer 50 years earlier at the Cadby Hall headquarters of Lyons. He was the principal author of Leo: The Incredible Story of the World's First Business Computer (1998). Born in Hackney, east London, David went to Sloane school, Fulham, and was a keen rugby player in his earlier years. He never lost his love for cricket - he was a member of the MCC - football (Chelsea) and rugby union. He was also an opera lover. He and his wife Jackie were still going to concerts, plays and sporting events until his final illness. Though not a man of strong religious beliefs, he had a high regard for the traditions of the Jewish community, to which he was highly committed. He took an active part in the battles against Oswald Mosley in the 1930s and 40s, culminating with his appearance as a platform speaker at a rally in Trafalgar Square rally in 1943. He continued to have a lively and trenchant view of politics. In later years, he took an active role in his local Labour party and spearheaded the Anti-Apartheid Movement, personally welcoming Archbishop Desmond Tutu to his borough of Richmond upon Thames in support of the campaign. He is survived by his wife, two daughters, a son and five grandchildren. · David Tresman Caminer, business computer engineer, born June 26 1915; died June 19 2008
The Guardian – Jul 10, 2008 11:14 PM [GMT] ¦ comment?
found in Technology
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