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DEET

luna — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 05:53:52 +0000

History

DEET was developed by the United States Army, following its experience of jungle warfare during World War II. It was originally tested as a pesticide on farm fields, and entered military use in 1946 and civilian use in 1957 (marketed as 6-12). It was used in Vietnam and Southeast Asia.

Preparation

A slightly yellow liquid at room temperature, it can be prepared by converting m-toluic acid (3-methylbenzoic acid) to the corresponding acyl chloride, and reacting with diethylamine:

Mechanism of action

DEET was historically believed to work by blocking insect olfactory receptors for 1-octen-3-ol, a volatile substance that is contained in human sweat and breath. The prevailing theory was that DEET effectively “blinds” the insect’s senses so that the biting/feeding instinct is not triggered by humans or other animals which produce these chemicals. DEET does not appear to affect the insect’s ability to smell carbon dioxide, as had been suspected earlier.

However, more recent evidence shows that DEET serves as a true repellent in that mosquitoes intensely dislike the smell of the chemical repellent. A type of olfactory receptor neuron in special antennal sensilla of mosquitoes that is activated by DEET as well as other known insect repellents such as eucalyptol, linalool, and thujone has been identified. Moreover, in a behavioral test DEET had a strong repellent activity in the absence of body odor attractants such as 1-octen-3-ol, lactic acid, or carbon dioxide. Female and male mosquitoes showed the same response.

Concentrations

DEET is often sold and used in spray or lotion in concentrations up to 100%. Consumer Reports found a direct correlation between DEET concentration and hours of protection against insect bites. 100% DEET was found to offer up to 12 hours of protection while several lower concentration DEET formulations (20%-34%) offered 36 hours of protection. Other research has corroborated the effectiveness of DEET. The Center for Disease Control recommends 30-50% DEET to prevent the spread of pathogens carried by insects.

Effects on health

As a precaution, manufacturers advise that DEET products should not be used under clothing or on damaged skin, and that preparations be washed off after they are no longer needed or between applications. DEET can act as an irritant; in rare cases, it may cause skin reactions.

In the DEET Reregistration Eligibility Decision (RED), the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) reported 14 to 46 cases of potential DEET-associated seizures, including 4 deaths. The EPA states: “… it does appear that some cases are likely related to DEET toxicity,” but observed that with 30% of the US population using DEET, the likely seizure rate is only about one per 100 million users.

The Pesticide Information Project of Cooperative Extension Offices of Cornell University states that “Everglades National Park employees having extensive DEET exposure were more likely to have insomnia, mood disturbances and impaired cognitive function than were lesser exposed co-workers”.

When used as directed, products containing between 10% to 30% DEET have been found by The American Academy of Pediatrics to be safe to use on children as well as adults but recommends that DEET not be used on infants less than two months old.

Recently, DEET has been found to inhibit the activity of a central nervous system enzyme, acetylcholinesterase, in both insects and mammals. This enzyme is involved in the hydrolysis of the neurotransmitter acetylcholine, thus playing a role in the function of the neurons which control muscles. Because of this property, many insecticides are used to block acetylcholinesterase, which leads to an excessive accumulation of acetylcholine at the synaptic cleft, causing neuromuscular paralysis and death by asphyxiation. DEET is commonly used in combination with insecticides and has the capacity to strengthen the toxicity of carbamates, a class of insecticides known to block acetylcholinesterase. These findings bring evidence that, besides having known toxic effects on the olfactory system, DEET also acts on the brain of insects, and that its toxicity is strengthened in combination with other insecticides.

Effects on materials

DEET is an effective solvent, and may dissolve some plastics, rayon, spandex, other synthetic fabrics, leather, and painted or varnished surfaces including nailpolish.

Effects on the environment

Although few studies have been conducted to assess possible effects on the environment, DEET is a moderate chemical pesticide and may not be suitable for use in and around water sources.[citation needed] Though DEET is not expected to bioaccumulate, it has been found to have a slight toxicity for coldwater fish such as the rainbow trout and the tilapia, and it has also been shown to be toxic for some species of freshwater zooplankton. DEET has been detected at low concentrations in waterbodies as a result of production and use, such as in the Mississippi River and its tributaries, where a 1991 study detected levels varying from 5 to 201 ng/L.

Alternatives

Studies have shown eucalyptus-based repellents which contain the natural oil eucalyptol to be a highly effective and nontoxic alternative to DEET. Also, plants such as lemon grass have proven effective against mosquitoes.

Icaridin (Picaridin) is another insect repellent of strength comparable to DEET, but it is less irritating and doesn’t dissolve plastics.

A test of various marketed insect repellents by an independent consumer organization found that synthetic repellents, including DEET, were more effective than repellents with atural active ingredients. All the synthetics gave almost 100% repellency for the first 2 hours, whereas the natural repellent products tested were most effective for the first 3060 minutes and then required reapplication to be effective over several hours.

Citronella oil has been used as an insect repellent for 60 years. Its mosquito repellency qualities have been verified by research; however, the repellency duration of DEET is much greater. While most essential oil based repellents are not as effective as DEET, research also shows that some essential oil based formulas can be comparable to DEET, and somewhat better specifically as mosquito repellent.

Research suggests that distilled nepetalactone, the active ingredient in catnip, repels mosquitoes ten times more effectively than DEET, but that it is not as effective a repellent on skin.

See also

Chikungunya

Icaridin

Permethrin, a pyrethroid

Citronella oil

lemon eucalyptus

Beautyberry

Mosquito coil

References

^ Committee on Gulf War and Health: Literature Review of Pesticides and Solvents (2003) (available online). Gulf War and Health: Volume 2. Insecticides and Solvents. Washington, D.C.: National Academies Press. ISBN 978-0-309-11389-2. http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=10628.

^ Wang, Benjamin J-S. (1974). “An interesting and successful organic experiment (CEC)”. J. Chem. Ed. 51 (10): 631. doi:10.1021/ed051p631.2. http://jchemed.chem.wisc.edu.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/Journal/Issues/1974/Oct/index.html.

^ Donald L. Pavia (2004) (Google Books excerpt). Introduction to organic laboratory techniques. Cengage Learning. pp. 370376. ISBN 9780534408336. http://books.google.com/books?id=ega5c11VHvkC&pg=PA370.

^ a b c Anna Petherick (2008-03-13). “How DEET jams insects’ smell sensors”. Nature News. http://www.nature.com/news/2008/080313/full/news.2008.672.html. Retrieved 2008-03-16.

^ Mathias Ditzen, Maurizio Pellegrino, Leslie B. Vosshall (2008). “Insect Odorant Receptors Are Molecular Targets of the Insect Repellent DEET”. Sciencexpress 319 (5871): 1838. doi:10.1126/science.1153121. PMID 18339904.

^ Scientists Identify Key Smell that Attracts Mosquitoes to Humans, U.S. News and World Report, October 28, 2009

^ For mosquitoes, DEET just plain stinks (Boston Globe)

^ Syed, Z.; Leal, WS (2008). “Mosquitoes smell and avoid the insect repellent DEET”. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 105 (36): 13598. doi:10.1073/pnas.0805312105. PMID 18711137.

^ Matsuda, Brent M.; Surgeoner, Gordon A.; Heal, James D.; Tucker, Arthur O.; Maciarello, Michael J. (1996). “Essential oil analysis and field evaluation of the citrosa plant “Pelargonium citrosum” as a repellent against populations of Aedes mosquitoes”. Journal of the American Mosquito Control Association 12 (1): 6974. PMID 8723261.

^ University of North Carolina (3 July 2002). “Independent study: DEET products superior for fending off mosquito bites”. Press release. http://www.unc.edu/news/archives/jul02/fradin070202.htm.

^ “Protection against Mosquitoes, Ticks, Fleas and Other Insects and Arthropods”. Travelers’ Health – Yellow Book. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 2009-02-05. http://wwwn.cdc.gov/travel/yellowBookCh2-InsectsArthropods.aspx.

^ a b c “Insect Repellent Use and Safety”. West Nile Virus. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 2007-01-12. http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dvbid/westnile/qa/insect_repellent.htm.

^ “Reregistration Eligibility Decision: DEET.” U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Prevention, Pesticides, and Toxic Substances. September 1998. pp39-40

^ “DEET”. Pesticide Information Profile. EXTOXNET. October 1997. http://pmep.cce.cornell.edu/profiles/extoxnet/carbaryl-dicrotophos/deet-ext.html. Retrieved 2007-09-26.

^ Corbel et al. (2009). “Evidence for inhibition of cholinesterases in insect and mammalian nervous systems by the insect repellent deet”. BMC Biology 7:47. http://www.biomedcentral.com/1741-7007/7/47.

^ Purves, Dale, George J. Augustine, David Fitzpatrick, William C. Hall, Anthony-Samuel LaMantia, James O. McNamara, and Leonard E. White (2008). Neuroscience. 4th ed.. Sinauer Associates. pp. 1212. ISBN 978-0-87893-697-7.

^ Moss (1996). “Synergism of Toxicity of N,N-Diethyl-m-toluamide to German Cockroaches (Othoptera: Blattellidae) by Hydrolytic Enzyme Inhibitors.”. J. Econ. Entomol. 89 (5): 11511155. PMID 17450648.

^ U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. 1980. Office of Pesticides and Toxic Substances. N,N-diethyl-m-toluamide (Deet) Pesticide Registration Standard. December, 1980. 83 pp.

^ Mathai, AT; Pillai, KS; Deshmukh, PB (1989). “Acute toxicity of deet to a freshwater fish, Tilapia mossambica : Effect on tissue glutathione levels”. Journal of Environmental Biology 10 (2): 8791.. http://md1.csa.com/partners/viewrecord.php?requester=gs&collection=ENV&recid=2427671&q=DEET+fish+-permethrin&uid=791055180&setcookie=yes.

^ J. Seo, Y. G. Lee, S. D. Kim, C. J. Cha, J. H. Ahn and H. G. Hur (2005). “Biodegradation of the Insecticide N,N-Diethyl-m-Toluamide by Fungi: Identification and Toxicity of Metabolites”. Archives of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology 48 (3): 323328. doi:10.1007/s00244-004-0029-9.

^ “Errol Zeiger, Raymond Tice, Brigette Brevard, (1999) N,N-Diethyl-m-toluamide (DEET) [134-62-3] – Review of Toxicological Literature” (PDF). http://ntp.niehs.nih.gov/ntp/htdocs/Chem_Background/ExSumPdf/DEET.pdf. Retrieved July 20.

^ “The Claim: Listerine Can Ward Off a Swarm of Mosquitoes”. http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/24/health/24real.html?ex=1372046400&en=5fae59840001d0c7&ei=5124&partner=permalink&exprod=permalink. “Several studies, including one by the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, have found that eucalyptus-based repellents can be extremely effective, and nontoxic to humans.”

^ Picaridin

^ “Test: Mosquito repellents”. CHOICE. December 2005. http://www.choice.com.au/viewArticle.aspx?id=105015&catId=100281&tid=100008&p=5&title=Test%3a+Mosquito+repellents. Retrieved 2007-09-26.

^ “Citronella (Oil of Citronella) (021901) Fact Sheet”. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. November 1999. http://www.epa.gov/pesticides/biopesticides/ingredients/factsheets/factsheet_021901.htm. Retrieved July 20, 2007.

^ Jeong-Kyu KIM, Chang-Soo KANG, Jong-Kwon LEE, Young-Ran KIM, Hye-Yun HAN, Hwa Kyung YUN (2005). “Evaluation of Repellency Effect of Two Natural Aroma Mosquito Repellent Compounds, Citronella and Citronellal”. Entomological Research 35 (2): 117120. doi:10.1111/j.1748-5967.2005.tb00146.x.

^ Ibrahim Jantan, and Zaridah Mohd. Zaki, Development of environment-friendly insect repellents from the leaf oils of selected Malaysian plants, ASEAN Review of Biodiversity and Environmental Conservation (ARBEC), May 1998.

^ Trongtokit Y, Rongsriyan Y, Komalamisra N, Apiwathnasom L (2005). “Comparative repellency of 38 essential oils against mosquito bites”. Phytother Res. 19 (4): 3039. doi:10.1002/ptr.1637.

^ a b M. S. Fradin and J. F. Day (2002). “Comparative Efficacy of Insect Repellents against Mosquito Bites”. N Engl J Med 347 (1): 1318. doi:10.1056/NEJMoa011699. PMID 12097535.

^ Collins, D.A.; Brady, J.N.; Curtis, C.F. (1993). “Assessment of the efficacy of Quwenling as a Mosquito repellent”. Phytotherapy Research 7 (1): 1720. doi:10.1002/ptr.2650070106.

^ Trongtokit Y.; Rongsriyam Y, Komalamisra N, Krisadaphong P, Apiwathnasorn C, Krisadaphong P, Apiwathasorn C, (2004). “Laboratory and field trial of developing medicinal local Thai plant products against four species of mosquito vectors”. Southeast Asia J, Trop Med Public Health 35 (2): 32533. PMID 15691131.

^ Dennis Loney (2001-08-28). “Mosquito Repellents”. American Chemical Society. http://www.chemistry.org/portal/a/c/s/1/feature_ent.html?id=4acf6768ce1b11d5f2944fd8fe800100. Retrieved 2007-08-28.

^ Chauhan, K.R.; Klun, J.A.; Debboun, M.; Kramer, M. (2005). “Feeding Deterrent Effects of Catnip Oil Components Compared with Two Synthetic Amides Against Aedes aegypti”. Journal of Medical Entomology 42 (4): 643646. doi:10.1603/0022-2585(2005)042[0643:FDEOCO]2.0.CO;2.

Further reading

M. S. Fradin (1 June 1998). “Mosquitoes and Mosquito Repellents: A Clinician’s Guide”. Ann Intern Med 128 (11): 931940. doi:10.1059/0003-4819-128-11-199806010-00013 (inactive 2010-01-07). PMID 9634433. http://www.annals.org/cgi/content/abstract/128/11/931.

External links

DEET General Fact Sheet – National Pesticide Information Center

DEET Technical Fact Sheet – National Pesticide Information Center

West Nile Virus Resource Guide – National Pesticide Information Center

Health Advisory: Tick and Insect Repellents, New York State

US Centers for Disease Control information on DEET

US Environmental Protection Agency information on DEET

Review of scientific literature on DEET (from a RAND Corporation report on Gulf War illnesses)

Categories: Household chemicals | Insect repellents | Aromatic compounds | AmidesHidden categories: Chemboxes which contain changes to watched fields | All articles with unsourced statements | Articles with unsourced statements from June 2008 | Pages with DOIs broken since 2010

Direct drink machine water appliances market: Who's "cake"?

betty — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 05:52:46 +0000

Water appliances have been gradually entering the mainstream consumer electronics market circles, the

Drinking

But the increasing popularity of "secondary pollution" problem is also rampant in the market environment, from Japan, Europe and the United States and other developed countries, consumption of drink straight blowing winds of the water market is expected to start a new drinking revolution, and who to act as a leader in this field, a trial of strength seems inevitable.

Relevant institutions Statistics show that 70% of American families and other developed countries have been in use with nanofiltration and ultrafiltration-to-drink machine. This direct drink machine is connected directly with the municipal water supply, water treatment of cutting-edge aerospace technology, can achieve high purity water purification. Direct drink machine probably from 1998 began to enter the domestic market, to today, the market system of water large and small enterprises are more terminal, according to incomplete statistics, more than 300, but no major

Capital

Group and large enterprises involved, the industry is still relatively weak on the one hand, there is no amount to anything, on the other hand is more a lack of norms and

Standard

Guidance. At present, China's direct drink machine penetration rate is only about 1%.

2005 In the autumn, Shenzhen

Water Group

Deep Heiner affiliated companies suddenly Sharu drink straight market, how much for this little bit quiet since the industry some waves, but will also let people have more speculation and reverie: drinking water straight from the engineering of large span to face end consumers drinking water, deep water Heiner drink straight how the company markets in the success of it?

Deep Heiner water company, according to general manager of Shenzhen Water Group Haibo introduced since 1996 involved

Pipeline

Drinking Water market now, deep water fields in the straight Hainer has 10 years experience. Direct drink machine products and pipeline direct drinking water system is for end users while also providing

Health

Direct drinking water, its product mix and operational means are quite different, the former project, which is face the end consumer. Li Haibo that not only does not produce two

Competition

, But also is complementary synergies to the Shenzhen Water Group, under the big platform to maximize the energy, the

Brand

Influence and financial strength is what this emerging industry is currently lacking.

Said Li Haibo, Sham Hainer has established a consultancy

Team

This team includes the technical level water treatment technology

Expert

The company macro

Operation

Level experts and

Marketing

Level expert advisory team. The company also has set up a direct drink machine division, and hired the water industry for many years immersed with good professional ethics manipulator, its core the establishment of a lean

Operate

Team. In product R & D, Sham Heiner up the most advanced technology and domestic

Digestion

Absorption, so that features, fashion. Sham Hainer also is the largest provider of direct drink machine brand 0ASIS of China partners.

Once a mature and emerging markets, will attract more enterprises to enter the competitive and are actively seeking a wide range of major household appliances enterprises involved in direct drink machine market seems to be just a matter of time, will face deep Hainer competitive pressure? The question for journalists, said Li Haibo, their advantage lies in the water industry was a more thorough understanding of all staff have some technical background to support, control and professional water treatment technology. In addition, more direct drink machine is semi-finished products, there are still water treatment equipment installation and piping arrangement of the problem. Not like

Washing machine

, Refrigerator,

TV

So, get away with selling. If you really come home appliances business, you can end the system of water a piece of "cake" bigger, this is a good thing.

Some experts predict that, with the development of the market, our home

Water purifier

Market at least a billion dollars each year in the market space. Thus, the sector's full competition has not yet commenced. From multiple areas of strength and brand appeal with the entry of business on the effective development of the industry, the most important thing is to quickly regulate the market, the development of relevant industry standards.

How to Get Back With My Ex Girlfriend – 5 Steps That Will Not Fail You

netbiztips — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 05:52:44 +0000

If you are pondering over this question, “how to get back with my ex girlfriend” please understand that this is a very delicate situation. Feelings may be badly hurt on both ends and anything that you may do now or not do may cause even more hurt.

Pet Shop Boys

luna — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 05:52:44 +0000

Musical history

Formation and early years (19811984)

Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe met in an electronics shop on Kings Road in Chelsea, London in August 1981. Recognising a mutual interest in dance music, they began to work on material together, first in Tennant’s flat in Chelsea and from 1982, in a small studio, in Camden Town. It was during these early years that several songs that would later appear on future albums were created, including “It’s a Sin”, “West End Girls”, “Rent” and “Jealousy”.

Starting out, the two called themselves West End, because of their love of London’s West End, but later they came up with the name Pet Shop Boys, which derived from some friends who worked in a pet shop, in Ealing. They said that the new name “sounded like an English rap group”.

Their big break came in August 1983, when Tennant was assigned by Smash Hits to interview The Police in New York. The duo were obsessed with a stream of Hi-NRG records, made by New York producer Bobby Orlando, simply known as Bobby ‘O’. According to Tennant: “I thought: well, if I’ve got to go and see The Police play, then I’m also going to have lunch with Bobby ‘O’.” They shared a cheeseburger and carrot cake, at a restaurant called the Apple Jack, on 19 August (two years to the day since Tennant and Lowe had met) and Orlando suggested making a record with Pet Shop Boys, after hearing a demo tape that Tennant had taken with him. In April 1984, the Orlando-produced “West End Girls” was released, becoming a club hit in Los Angeles and San Francisco. On 2 November it was voted “Screamer of the Week” by listeners of Long Island, New York radio station WLIR. Though the track did not do well in the UK, it was a minor hit in France and Belgium.

Signing with Parlophone: the debut album Please and the remix album Disco (19841986)

In March 1985, after long negotiations, Pet Shop Boys cut their contractual ties with Bobby ‘O’, with a settlement giving Bobby ‘O’ significant royalties for future sales. Hiring manager Tom Watkins, they signed with the London-based Parlophone label. In April, Tennant left Smash Hits (where he had progressed to the position of deputy editor) and in July, a new single, “Opportunities (Let’s Make Lots of Money)”, was released, reaching number 116 in the UK. The B-side to this single, “In the Night”, later resurfaced, in a longer remixed version, as the opening track to the duo’s first remix album, Disco, in 1986. This version was also used as the theme for the UK television series The Clothes Show.

Unperturbed by the low chart position, the band returned to the studio in August to re-record “West End Girls” with producer Stephen Hague. Released in October 1985, this new version initially entered the charts at a similarly low position, but began a slow rise, so that, by January 1986, it achieved the top spot. It was subsequently Number One in the USA, Canada, Finland, Hong Kong, Lebanon, Israel, New Zealand and Norway and sold an estimated 1.5 million copies worldwide. It remains the most-heard Pet Shop Boys song to date.

After the success of “West End Girls”, Pet Shop Boys released a follow-up single, “Love Comes Quickly”, on 24 February 1986. The single reached number 19 in the UK Singles Chart and was followed by their debut album, Please, on 24 March. In June 1986, the band announced a European tour; however, their plans for a theatrical extravaganza proved to be too expensive and the tour was cancelled. Please started Pet Shop Boys’ penchant for choosing one-word album titles, which Neil Tennant has since stated is now a Pet Shop Boys “signature thing”, akin to e.e. cummings’ use of exclusively lower case letters. New versions of second single “Opportunities (Let’s Make Lots of Money)” and album track “Suburbia” were also released in 1986, followed by a remix album, Disco, in November.

“Imperial phase” with Actually, the four UK Number 1s and the movie It Couldn’t Happen Here (19871988)

1987 started with Pet Shop Boys receiving both BRIT Awards and Ivor Novello Awards for “West End Girls”. Later, on 15 June, they released what became their second Number One single, “It’s a Sin”. The single caused some controversy: Neil’s school, St. Cuthbert’s Grammar School, in Newcastle-Upon-Tyne, chastised him in the press, while Jonathan King accused them of plagiarising the Cat Stevens song Wild World. Pet Shop Boys later sued King and won damages, which were donated to charity. The video to “It’s a Sin” also saw their first collaboration with director Derek Jarman.

The continued success of “It’s a Sin” was followed by the release of “What Have I Done to Deserve This?”. on 10 August. Co-written with Allee Willis and also featuring Dusty Springfield on vocals, the single reached number two on the UK Singles Chart and the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart. Although the duo had wanted to release this track on their debut album already, they had been unable to track down Springfield and were reluctant to record it with any other female singer, despite their record company’s suggestions. Springfield’s manager finally contacted them in 1987, following the release of Please and towards the end of that year, she travelled to London to record “What Have I Done to Deserve This?” with them. It was the first track to be recorded for the duo’s second album. Pet Shop Boys had been told that Springfield was “difficult” to work with and even that she could no longer sing; however, her performance on the track put any such concerns to rest and they began a collaboration with her, which lasted until the end of the decade. Included on their then forthcoming second album Actually, the song became a massive worldwide hit and resurrected Springfield’s career, leading to her 1990 album, Reputation, on which Pet Shop Boys were major contributing producers. This duet was also the start of a series of collaborations with high profile musicians, going on throughout the band’s career.

Also in August 1987, Pet Shop Boys appeared on Love Me Tender, a UK television programme, on ITV, commemorating the tenth anniversary of Elvis Presley’s death. They were asked to perform one of their favourite Elvis tracks and they narrowed it down to two options, “Baby Let’s Play House” and “Always on My Mind”, eventually settling on the latter. Curiously enough, their Presley cover would later be re-released in a 12″ version, consisting of a medley, along with an acid house track by the duo, entitled “In My House”. This extended version, consistently called “Always on My Mind”/”In My House”, would later be included on Pet Shop Boys’ 1988 album, Introspective, with the 12″ medley attached to the vinyl edition of their Actually album and only marketed in the United States in such double release. 7 September 1987 indeed saw the release of the duo’s second studio album, Actually, followed by the single “Rent” in October, which reached number 8 in the UK. The final song on the album, “King’s Cross”, was revealed to have a strange prescience, when there was a fatal fire at the London underground section of the station, in November of that year (part of the lyrics read: “Dead and wounded on either side/You know it’s only a matter of time”). The Sun newspaper in the UK subsequently tried to get the track released as a charity single, but Pet Shop Boys would not allow this.

Towards the end of 1987, Pet Shop Boys started work on an hour-long film, that would incorporate the songs from Actually. Working with director Jack Bond, the short film grew into a full-scale movie, It Couldn’t Happen Here, starring Barbara Windsor, Joss Ackland and Gareth Hunt. The film was eventually released in 1988 to mixed reviews. Footage from the film was also used for the music video to “Always on My Mind”, now released as a single on 30 November; it became both the duo’s third Number One single in the UK and the Christmas number one single for 1987, infamously beating out “Fairytale of New York” by The Pogues.

1988 started with another collaboration. Patsy Kensit’s band, Eighth Wonder, had the song “I’m Not Scared” written and produced for them by Pet Shop Boys. The song became her biggest hit single and Pet Shop Boys included their own extended version of the track on their Introspective mini-album. March 1988 saw the duo achieve their fourth UK Number One single (and their last to date), with a remixed edit of “Heart”, different from the album version. This single version would be included in their first greatest hits album, Discography: The Complete Singles Collection, whereas the album version would be used for their second retrospective, the double Pop Art: Pet Shop Boys – The Hits. The video to the single, directed by Jack Bond, was a retelling of the Dracula story, starring Ian McKellen as the vampire who steals Neil Tennant’s fictitious wife. It was seen to be extremely ironic, since McKellen was a well-known gay figure at the time (he came out in the 1988)[citation needed].

Introspective, Behaviour, the Performance tour, Discography, and “The Crying Game” (19881992)

In the 1996 BBC Radio 1 documentary About Pet Shop Boys, Neil Tennant noted that their “Imperial Phase” ended in 1988. On 12 September 1988, Pet Shop Boys released a brand new single, “Domino Dancing” and in the documentary Neil recounts his disappointment when hearing the news that the single had reached number 7 in the UK Singles Chart. He felt that their major success was now over and that it was going to be a challenge to remain successful going forward.

The duo’s third studio album, Introspective, was released on October 10, 1988 (1988-10-10). This was in fact a 6-track mini-album and was followed by the Trevor Horn-produced Top-5 single “Left to My Own Devices”, and a cover version of the Sterling Void single “It’s Alright”, in 1989. 1989 also saw the start of Pet Shop Boys’ first tour ever, in which they performed in Hong Kong, Japan, and Britain. The tour followed the ideas of the extravaganza that could not have been afforded earlier in their careers. Derek Jarman returned to direct the performance and he provided several films that were projected during the shows.

On 24 September 1990, a new single, “So Hard”, was released, reaching #4 in the UK and Pet Shop Boys’ fourth studio album followed, on 22 October 1990. Entitled Behaviour, it was recorded in Munich, with producer Harold Faltermeyer. The album was never intended to be a dramatic change in mood to their earlier albums; However, it is noticeably subdued. It included the fan-favourite “Being Boring”, the second single from the album, which, despite being a fan favorite, only reached #20 in the UK Singles Chart, their lowest placing at the time. The song was inspired by a quote by Zelda Fitzgerald: “…she refused to be bored chiefly because she wasn’t boring”, and was widely thought to be a commentary on the AIDS epidemic. The music video was directed by film-maker Bruce Weber. By this time, the duo had also parted ways with manager Tom Watkins, replacing him with Jill Carrington, who had previously been marketing director at Polydor.

In March 1991, a cover of U2’s “Where the Streets Have No Name” as a medley with “Can’t Take My Eyes Off You”, the 1960s pop song by Frankie Valli/The Four Seasons, was released as a double a-sided single, with a remix of the album track, “How Can You Expect to Be Taken Seriously?” by Brothers In Rhythm. This was followed by the duo’s first world tour. Named Performance, the tour kicked off in Tokyo, on 11 March 1991. The tour also visited the United States, Canada, France, Belgium, Germany, Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Czechoslovakia, Austria, Hungary, Yugoslavia, Switzerland, Italy, Spain, the Netherlands, Ireland, and the United Kingdom. The shows were designed by David Alden and David Fielding, who had designed several sets for the London Opera House. Before taking a break in 1992, Pet Shop Boys released, in 1991, an 18-track compilation commonly referred to as Discography, which included all of their single releases up to then, two new singles, “DJ Culture” and “Was It Worth It?”, and only omitted “How Can You Expect to Be Taken Seriously?” (although it did appear on the video companion called Videography). While “DJ Culture” had a fair success, “Was it Worth It? became the duo’s very first single to miss the UK Top 20 since their two Bobby ‘O’ debut singles.

During this period, Pet Shop Boys continued to collaborate with many high-profile musicians. They worked again with Dusty Springfield, on the singles “Nothing Has Been Proved” (which was a song written for their soundtrack for the film Scandal about the Profumo political scandal in Britain) and “In Private”. The duo later went on to produce half of the tracks on her 1990 solo Reputation album. Pet Shop Boys were also asked to write and produce an album for Liza Minnelli, in 1989. The album, Results, generated four singles, including the hit single “Losing My Mind”, a cover version of the Stephen Sondheim song. The duo’s own version of this appeared on their “Jealousy” single as a B-side. Neil Tennant also worked with Bernard Sumner and Johnny Marr on their first album as Electronic, whose first single, “Getting Away with It”, co-written and co-produced by Neil Tennant himself, was released on 4 December 1989. Later, in 1991, Lowe also contributed to the Electronic project, by working on the track “The Patience of a Saint”, for their 1991 album. Finally; in 1992, Tennant sang lead vocals on their non-album single “Disappointed”, which was featured on the soundtrack to the movie Cool World. In addition, a remix of “So Hard”, by notorious electronic music duo The KLF, released as a separate single, led to Tennant re-recording his vocals for the song entirely.

Pet Shop Boys set up the Spaghetti Records label in 1991. Their most successful release was the soundtrack to the 1992 film The Crying Game, which featured Boy George performing the title song “The Crying Game”. The song was produced by Pet Shop Boys and featured Tennant on backing vocals. Other artists on the label included Scottish singer Cicero, The Ignorants, and Masterboy.

The Very era: Very, “Absolutely Fabulous,” Disco 2 and the Alternative B-sides album (19931995)

In June 1993, Pet Shop Boys infamously re-invented their image and made a strong return to the UK Singles Chart with “Can You Forgive Her?”. Taking its title from the Anthony Trollope novel of the same name, the single reached number 7 on the UK Singles Chart, while its iconic music video featured the duo in orange body suits and tall dunce caps, in a world of computer-generated imagery. The theme was continued with the follow-up single, often considered as their signature song, a cover of the Village People single “Go West”, which reached number 2 in the UK, with another computer-generated music video, this time inspired by the Soviet Union. The duo’s fifth studio album, Very, followed on 27 September and is the only Pet Shop Boys album to ever reach Number One on the UK Albums Chart. It was produced by Pet Shop Boys and mixed with additional production by Stephen Hague, who had produced their first album and subsequently produced records by OMD, New Order and Erasure. The other singles from Very, “I Wouldn’t Normally Do This Kind of Thing”, “Liberation” and “Yesterday, When I Was Mad”, continued the theme of computer-generated videos, peaking with the “Liberation” video, which contained almost no real-life elements at all. All these videos were directed by Howard Greenhalgh, who continued to work with Pet Shop Boys well into the next decade. Very was also released in a limited edition to include an entirely new album, Relentless, which was composed of six all new heavy dance tracks, with a darker tone to the perky Very.

In 1994, Pet Shop Boys offered to remix fellow Parlophone act Blur’s single “Girls & Boys”; it was a club hit throughout Europe and started a sporadic trend for Pet Shop Boys to remix other artists’ music. Also in 1994, Pet Shop Boys released the 1994 Comic Relief single, “Absolutely Fabulous”. The song started when Tennant and Lowe were playing around with samples from the BBC sitcom Absolutely Fabulous in the studio. They wanted to release a single, so approached lead actors Jennifer Saunders and Joanna Lumley and suggested releasing it as a charity single. The single was released under the artist name of ‘Absolutely Fabulous’ too. Tennant and Lowe do not consider it as a Pet Shop Boys’ single release and it was not included on any of their next best-of album. The video to the single featured clips from the sitcom, along with newly recorded footage of Tennant and Lowe with the characters of Edina (Saunders) and Patsy (Lumley).

On 12 September 1994, Pet Shop Boys released the follow-up to their 1986 remix album Disco, in the form of Disco 2. The album featured club remixes of the singles released from Very and Behaviour, in a continuous megamix by Danny Rampling. Then, in October, Pet Shop Boys began their Discovery tour, which would see them visit areas that they had never performed in before: Singapore, Australia, Puerto Rico, Mexico, Colombia, Chile, Argentina and Brazil. The following year, a new version of the 1986 B-side to “Suburbia”, i.e. “Paninaro”, was released to promote a B-side collection album, Alternative. The single, called “Paninaro ‘95″, is based on the live version from the Discovery tour.

Bilingual, Nightlife and the musical Closer to Heaven (19962001)

In November 1995, Neil Tennant saw David Bowie live at Wembley Stadium and met him backstage. Whilst discussing Bowie’s recent album Outside, Tennant mentioned that his favourite track was “Hallo Spaceboy”. Jokingly, Bowie said that Pet Shop Boys should remix the track and a week later, phoned Tennant asking for this to happen. The new version was completely re-recorded and featured Tennant on backing vocals, using additional lyrics from Bowie’s first hit song, “Space Oddity”. The single was released on 19 February 1996, with Pet Shop Boys joining Bowie to perform the song on the BRIT Awards and Top of the Pops.

In April, Pet Shop Boys released a new single, “Before”, leading up to their forthcoming album; the single reached number 7 in the UK Singles Chart. That same month, Tina Turner also released her Wildest Dreams album, which featured Pet Shop Boys-produced track “Confidential”. In August, Pet Shop Boys released a follow-up single, “Se a vida (That’s The Way Life Is)”, a Latin American music-inspired track, featuring a drum sample from a track called “Estrada da paixo” by Brazilian act Olodum. This preceded the sixth Pet Shop Boys album Bilingual, which was released in September. In December 1996, Neil appeared live with Suede, singing the Suede song “Saturday Night” as a duet with Brett Anderson and Pet Shop Boys track “Rent”. Both live tracks were released with the Suede single “Filmstar” in July 1997.

Pet Shop Boys kicked off Summer 1997 with a sold-out three-week residency at the Savoy Theatre, in London, in June. Entitled Somewhere and being promoted by a cover version of the song “Somewhere” from the musical West Side Story, the shows used projections filmed by the artist Sam Taylor-Wood. Pet Shop Boys would later work with Sam Taylor-Wood again: in 1998, they recorded a version of “Je t’aime… moi non plus”, originally by Serge Gainsbourg, with her and again in 2003, they covered the Donna Summer track “Love to Love You Baby”, and gave it a limited edition release credited to Kiki Kokova, a pseudonym used by Taylor-Wood for this project.

The majority of 1998 was spent with a series of live dates and minor releases, including a charity album of Noel Coward songs, called Twentieth Century Blues. The album included Pet Shop Boys’ version of “Sail Away”, along with songs performed by Elton John, Texas, Marianne Faithfull, The Divine Comedy, Suede, Damon Albarn, Vic Reeves and Robbie Williams. Tennant also co-produced the Williams track and provided backing vocals for Elton John. Tennant also provided backing vocals on Robbie Williams’ “No Regrets” single, along with Neil Hannon from The Divine Comedy. Meanwhile, the band switched managers again as Carrington resigned and was succeeded by Mitch Clark, who had previously worked for EMI International as Head of Promotion.

During this time, Pet Shop Boys also began to work with playwright Jonathan Harvey on a stage musical project. In 1999, many of the tracks recorded ended up on the duo’s seventh studio album, Nightlife, which also included the Top 20 singles “I Don’t Know What You Want But I Can’t Give It Any More”, “New York City Boy”, and the Top 10 hit “You Only Tell Me You Love Me When You’re Drunk” as well a duet with Kylie Minogue, “In denial”, about a father (Tennant) coming out to his daughter (Minogue) and “Closer to Heaven”, which would later become the title of Pet Shop Boys’ musical. Minogue later performed the track live, during her 2005 Showgirl tour, singing to a pre-recorded Neil Tennant. This is not the first time that Pet Shop Boys have worked with Minogue: in 1994, they indeed wrote a song for inclusion on her eponymous Kylie Minogue album, called “Falling”, which was based around an unreleased remix of “Go West” with new lyrics by Tennant; however, Minogue and her record company did not like the production sound of Pet Shop Boys’ demo and asked Farley & Heller to finally produce the track.

1999 ended for the duo with a world tour, which continued well into 2000, this time with the stage sets designed by architect Zaha Hadid. The tour took them to the USA, Canada, Japan, Europe and the UK. In the Summer of 2000, they also played a series of festival dates in Europe, including a performance at the Glastonbury Festival, where they performed on the main stage, on Saturday night, at 9.30 pm, to a triumphant reception. In 2000, they won their third Ivor Novello Award, honouring their “Outstanding Contribution” to music. Throughout 2000, they continued to work on their musical and in May they started workshopping the project and finalising the plot and songs to be used.

The musical, Closer to Heaven, opened at the Arts Theatre in London, in 2001, with financial backing from Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Really Useful Group. Reviews were mixed and although the run was initially extended, it closed earlier than expected, due to poor ticket sales, in October 2001. Around the time of the London closure, Tennant said that they were in talks to take the musical to various locations in Europe (particularly Germany, which is a big market for Pet Shop Boys) and to take it to New York. Nothing further has been issued by Pet Shop Boys or Really Useful Group regarding these performances; in 2005, a series of performances were done in the Brisbane Powerhouse, Australia, though they were independent to Pet Shop Boys and the Really Useful Group.

Release, Disco 3, PopArt, Live 8, Back to Mine and Battleship Potemkin OST (20022005)

After the mixed fortunes of Closer to Heaven, Pet Shop Boys returned to the studio to start work on their eighth album. After toying with genres including hip hop, they went for a stripped back acoustic sound as a complete change to the over-the-top dance music of the musical. In 2002, they released the modestly successful album Release. Most of the tracks were produced by the duo themselves and many of the tracks featured Johnny Marr on guitar. The first single, “Home and Dry”, featured a very peculiar video, directed by Wolfgang Tillmans, mostly consisting of raw camcorder footage of mice, filmed in the London Underground. The follow-up single, “I Get Along”, had a video filmed by Bruce Weber and following this they embarked on another world tour, although this time it was a stripped back affair, with no dancers, backing singers, costumes or lavish sets. They used two extra guitarists, (Bic Hayes and Mark Refoy), a percussionist (Dawne Adams) and regular programmer Pete Gledall and keyboardist Jordan Scott-Michael.

The Release tour took them first to several universities around the UK; not officially the Release tour, but entitled The University tour, these dates saw them perform at Bristol University, Keele University, University of East Anglia in Norwich, University of Teesside, Middlesbrough and De Montfort University, Leicester. The proper Release tour then took them to Germany, USA, Canada, Spain, Italy, France, Belgium, The Netherlands, Denmark, Sweden, then another series of dates in the UK again, Switzerland and onto Japan, Singapore, Hong Kong and then a first ever date in Thailand as the final show, at the large Bangkok Impact Arena, in front of 9,000 fans. The Bangkok concert was considered a “triumphant success”, Neil Tennant later commented on the official Website. A third single, “London”, was only released in Germany, at the request of EMI Germany. It was never planned for release in the UK, although a promotional video was shot by the distinguished photographer Martin Parr and it was serviced to some UK radio stations. Following a live stint on the John Peel show on Radio 1, Pet Shop Boys released Disco 3, in February 2003. The album followed their previous Disco albums, but this one also included new songs as well as remixes.

In 2003, Pet Shop Boys launched two new labels, Olde English Vinyl and Lucky Kunst, their Spaghetti Records label being defunct. The first release on Olde English Vinyl was Atomizer’s “Hooked on Radiation”, followed by Pete Burns’ “Jack and Jill Party” in 2004. The only Lucky Kunst release to date is the mentioned Kiki Kokova’s version of “Love to Love You Baby”. They also remixed Yoko Ono’s “Walking on Thin Ice” in 2003 and Rammstein’s “Mein Teil” in 2004. Another new manager, David Dorrell, was brought on board to replace Clark. In November 2003, Pet Shop Boys released a second greatest hits album, Pop Art: Pet Shop Boys – The Hits, a double compilation, commonly referred to as PopArt, with two new singles: “Miracles” and “Flamboyant”. Not chronologically arranged, as in the previous Discography, the tracks were divided into two discs: Pop including the most traditional pop songs and Art instead containing those works which were considered as being most experimental.

In September 2004, Pet Shop Boys appeared at a free concert in Trafalgar Square, in London, where they performed, with the Dresdner Sinfoniker orchestra, a whole new soundtrack to accompany the seminal 1925 silent film Battleship Potemkin. There were four further live performances of the work with the Dresdner Sinfoniker, in Germany, in September 2005 and the Battleship Potemkin soundtrack was released on 5 September 2005. In November 2004, Pet Shop Boys played at the Prince’s Trust concert called Produced by Trevor Horn, a festival with artists who worked with famous British producer Trevor Horn. Other artists included Grace Jones, ABC, Seal and Frankie Goes to Hollywood. In 2005, Pet Shop Boys was selected as the headline act for the Moscow Live 8 concert, in Red Square. They were received extremely well by the crowd in Moscow. Also in 2005, Pet Shop Boys was asked to put together the twentieth release to the Back to Mine series, an ongoing anthology showcasing artists’ favourite music selections, with an emphasis on afterhours chill out music. As a condition, Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe were given one disc each, whereas all previous releases in the series consisted of only a single disc per group (see Back to Mine: Pet Shop Boys).

Fundamental, touring, Disco 4, Catalogue, Concrete and Cubism (2006 – 2008)

Pet Shop Boys began 2006 remixing Madonna’s single “Sorry”, for release in February. The single reached Number One in the UK and Pet Shop Boys’ remix included new back-up vocals, performed by Tennant. Madonna subsequently used the Pet Shop Boys’ remix, including Tennant’s vocals, on her 2006 Confessions Tour. In April, Pet Shop Boys released a new single that reached #8 in the UK, “I’m with Stupid”, a commentary on the relationship between George W. Bush and Tony Blair. The promo video featured Matt Lucas and David Walliams, better known as the team behind Little Britain. Lucas and Walliams portray Tennant and Lowe, parodying two of the duo’s previous videos, “Go West”, and “Can You Forgive Her?”. The ninth Pet Shop Boys studio album, Fundamental, followed in May, reaching a strong #5 in their home country. The album was produced by Trevor Horn, who Pet Shop Boys had previously worked with on “Left to My Own Devices”, in 1988. The album was also released with a limited edition remix album, called Fundamentalism, which included a version of “In Private”, a song originally written and produced by Pet Shop Boys for Dusty Springfield, as a duet with Elton John and “Fugitive”, a new track, produced by Richard X.

The week that Fundamental was released, a documentary, entitled Pet Shop Boys – A Life in Pop, was broadcast on Channel 4, directed by George Scott and produced by Nick de Grunwald. The original broadcast was an hour long. In October 2006, a significantly expanded version lasting 140 minutes was released on DVD. The liner notes explain: “From their trailblazing first single “West End Girls” to their current position as Britains foremost pop duo, A Life in Pop traces every ground-breaking step in the 20-year career of the Pet Shop Boys. Starting in the respective home towns in the north of England, Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe retrace their remarkable journey in their own words. The film features some previously unseen live performances, rare television appearances (including their first ever from Belgium, in 1984) and interviews with famous fans, collaborators and colleagues including Robbie Williams, Brandon Flowers, Tim Rice-Oxley, Jake Shears and Bruce Weber. The DVD also included all of the promo videos that had been made since the release of “PopArt” with the exception of the promo for “Flamboyant” which only appeared on early pressings of the DVD and was subsequently removed for unknown reasons. A Life in Pop is a fascinating in-depth documentary film chronicling the Pet Shop Boys’ enduring success”.

The second single to be taken from the album was the UK Top Twenty “Minimal”. The duo filmed the video to the single in Paris, with Dan Cameron. The single was the first of theirs to be playlisted by London’s biggest radio station, Capital Radio, in a decade. Pet Shop Boys began a world tour Fundamental tour in June 2006, in Norway. The show was designed and directed by Es Devlin, the award-winning British theatre designer and choreographed by Hakeem Onibudo. Between 15 June and 10 September 2006, Pet Shop Boys played a series of concert dates across Europe, mainly at assorted festivals and outdoor venues. These included two dates at The Tower of London, on 28 June and 29 and a single show at Thetford Forest, supported by Lorraine. These dates also included performances of Battleship Potemkin, in Germany and Spain. On 1 May 2006, Battleship Potemkin was also performed at the Swan Hunter shipyard, in Newcastle-upon-Tyne, with Pet Shop Boys accompanied by the Northern Sinfonia orchestra.

On 3 October 2006, the long-delayed U.S. release of their PopArt hits package was issued by Capitol Records. During 2006, Pet Shop Boys worked with Robbie Williams on his new album, Rudebox, producing two tracks: a cover version of “We’re the Pet Shop Boys”, written by My Robot Friend (which they have also recorded themselves and released as a B-side to “Miracles”, in 2003) and “She’s Madonna”, a duet with Tennant, allegedly about Guy Ritchie’s affair with Tania Strecker, prior to his relationship with Madonna. On 10 October 2006, Pet Shop Boys embarked in Montreal, on the North and Central American leg of their world tour, which took them through Canada, the USA and Mexico, concluding on 16 November. A DVD of the show in Mexico City was released on 21 May 2007, entitled Cubism. It was recorded on 14 November 2006, in the Auditorio Nacional, Mexico City and the film was directed by David Barnard (who has in the past directed similar films for Bjrk and Gorillaz).

On 16 October, Catalogue was released from Thames & Hudson, a 336-page hardcover book, written by Philip Hoare and Chris Heath, detailing their entire visual output (photography, as well as the design of records, videos, tours, books and fan club magazines) from 1984 to 2004. Neil Tennant comments in the book: “In the beginning we made a decision – and it was in our EMI contract – that that we would have control over how everything worked; that obviously the songs mattered hugely, but the way they were presented was going to matter hugely as well; and that we were never going to give up on that.” Pet Shop Boys supported the publication of the book with signings in London, New York City, Los Angeles and Berlin. Also on 16 October, the third single from Fundamental, “Numb”, was released. It was written by Diane Warren and is the only song on the album not written by Tennant and Lowe. “Numb” became only the second Pet Shop Boys single in their career to miss the Top 20 since their 2 Bobby ‘O’ debut singles.

On 23 October 2006, Concrete (originally titled Concert but changed at the last minute to the originally-planned title) was released. It is a double CD of the complete Mermaid Theatre concert, with the BBC Concert Orchestra (musical director: Trevor Horn), featuring guests Rufus Wainwright, Frances Barber and Robbie Williams. A 90 minute “director’s cut” of the concert aired on BBC 6 Music, on 28 August 2006. To coincide with the publication of Catalogue, a small exhibition of portraits of Pet Shop Boys opened in the Bookshop Gallery of London’s National Portrait Gallery, on 30 October 2006 and ran to 28 February 2007. On 7 December 2006, Pet Shop Boys were nominated for two 2007 Grammy Awards. These were ‘Best Dance Recording’ for “I’m with Stupid”, and ‘Best Electronic/Dance Album’ for Fundamental.

Pet Shop Boys were supposed to conclude 2006 and commence 2007 by performing at the Concert in the Gardens at Edinburgh’s Hogmanay party, but the event was cancelled at short notice, due to bad weather conditions. In February 2007, their ‘Stars Are Blazing’ remix of The Killers’ “Read My Mind” was released. During this period, the Pet Shop Boys said that they were in the studio, writing and recording new material. During the latter part of 2006 and early 2007, Neil Tennant served as executive producer on Rufus Wainwright’s new album, Release the Stars, recorded in Berlin. He also sang backing vocals on a number of tracks, most notably on “Do I Disappoint You”, and “Tiergarten”.

Pet Shop Boys continued their world tour, albeit with a slightly different production and set-list, on 14 March 2007, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil then played concerts in Argentina, Chile, New Zealand and Australia (as co-headliners of the V Festival 2007), Norway, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Germany, Switzerland, France, The Netherlands, Great Britain, Denmark, Ireland, Sweden, Italy, Spain, Belgium and Singapore. Pet Shop Boys released the mentioned live DVD, Cubism, in May 2007, via Warner Vision. The DVD features a live show, recorded at the Auditorio Nacional in Mexico City, in November 2006. Pet Shop Boys “played” at the free festival Secondfest, in the online virtual world Second Life, on 30 June.

On 8 October 2007, Pet Shop Boys released Disco 4, the latest in their series of remix albums. Previous sets have focussed on remixes of recent tracks (or including new songs, in the case of Disco 3), but the fourth in the set differed in that it was largely made up of remixes, completed by Pet Shop Boys, of other artists’ work, over the past decade. These include The Killers, David Bowie, Yoko Ono, Madonna, Atomizer and Rammstein. Only two tracks by the Pet Shop Boys, remixed versions of Fundamental tracks “Integral” and “I’m with Stupid”, were included. The Fundamental tour ended in Bucharest, Romania, in November, 2007.

Yes, Pandemonium Tour,Christmas EP, and Pandemonium Live Album/DVD (2009 onwards)

According to their official website, Pet Shop Boys completed their newest album late 2008. Recorded with Xenomania and released in UK on 23 March 2009, “Yes” was a critical success and hit #4 in the UK, their highest album chart in more than a decade. Pet Shop Boys also appeared on Girls Aloud’s new album Out of Control, collaborating on the Top-10 track “The Loving Kind”, released on 12 January 2009 as a single.

In February 2009 Pet Shop Boys received The British Phonographic Industry’s most prestigious accolade, the award for their outstanding contribution to British music, at the 2009 Brit Awards ceremony held at the Earls Court Arena in London. During the performance at this show, Pet Shop Boys collaborated with Lady GaGa and Brandon Flowers (of The Killers). This also helped their collection album PopArt chart at number 18 on the UK albums chart, higher than when it was originally released.

On 22 March 2009, the first single from the album “Love etc.” charted in the UK at number 14, and on 29 March 2009, the album “Yes” charted in the UK at number 4. Subsequent singles to be released from the album are “Did You See Me Coming?”, the Germany-exclusive “Beautiful People” with, according to their official website, plans for a new worldwide single soon.

On 10 June 2009, Pet Shop Boys started the summer leg of their Pandemonium Tour in Saint Petersburg, Russia and ended on 21 July 2009 in Tel Aviv, Israel where they played their first concert there in nine years, playing the Manchester Apollo and the O2 Arena on 18 and 19 June 2009 respectively. The second leg of the tour started on 29 August 2009 at the Metropolis, in Montreal, Canada.

The Pandemonium Tour showcases songs from the recently released album “Yes” as well as older songs such as “West End Girls”, “It’s a Sin” and “Always on My Mind”. The tour also showcases songs that have not been performed live in the past, such as “Two Divided By Zero”, “Why Don’t We Live Together?” and the b-side “Do I Have To?”.

On November 4 Pet Shop Boys celebrate the Brazilian leg of their 2009 Pandemonium tour by releasing an album entitled Party which includes both past hits and some newer material. Party will be released in Brazil only through TV Globos record label, Som Livre, with a TV campaign on TV Globo. “Party” also includes songs that were heavily featured in the following TV Globo soap operas: “Being boring” (Meu Bem Meu Mal OST), “Domino dancing” (O Salvador da Patria OST), “West End Girls” (Selva de Pedra OST) and “King of Rome” (currently being featured on the soap opera, Viver a Vida).

The two internationally-released singles from “Yes:” “Love etc” and “Did You See Me Coming?” both hit the top spot on the US Dance Chart, their ninth and tenth #1’s on that chart.

On December 14, 2009, Pet Shop Boys released an EP of covers, remixes, and new material, titled Christmas. On December 20, 2009 the Christmas EP entered the UK Top 40 Chart at 40.

On February 15, 2010, Pet Shop Boys will release a live album/DVD double-pack called Pandemonium. It contains the soundtrack and footage recorded from their December 21, 2009 show at the O2 Arena in London.

It has been annouced through the band’s Twitter profile that they are back in the studio recording.

Style and image

Band dynamic

The dynamic of Pet Shop Boys’ image lies in the duo’s public personalities Tennant is perceived as an erudite intellectual, articulate and verbose in speech; while Lowe, now almost always seen in his trademark attire of hat and sunglasses (since as early as 1985), appears as guarded yet fun-loving, terse yet flippant and casual. They have maintained a consistent pattern for interviews, in which Tennant is the primary speaker, answering questions at length, while occasionally being interrupted by brief, generally humorous interjections from Lowe (which is comparable to the concept of a comedic double act).

They have also been seen as wilfully contrary, defying expectations of record labels and the music industry in terms of commercial image, self-promotion and the nature of their own music. In their early years, Pet Shop Boys seemed to be mostly defined by the things they refused to do. A 1986 quotation by Lowe, taken from an Entertainment Tonight clip and subsequently sampled in their own song “Paninaro”, is often cited as the prime example of this:

I don’t like country and western. I don’t like rock music, I don’t like rockabilly or rock and roll particularly. I don’t like much, really, do I? But what I do like, I love passionately.

This also formed the foundation of the band’s early reputation as being anti-rock music and more properly aligned with disco and dance music culture. (See, e.g., their appropriately titled 1997 B-side, “How I Learned to Hate Rock and Roll” and their then new 1991 song “DJ Culture”, from the Discography compilation.) Eventually, however, these differences were reconciled a process that symbolically culminated with Pet Shop Boys’ performance at the 2000 Glastonbury Festival, which was the surprise highlight of the three-day event. Tennant expressed his gratitude to the crowd by thanking them for “being kind to us”, and that they were “Glastonbury virgins”.

Image

This band dynamic has played a role in their public image as well. Early in their career, the duo were frequently accused of lacking stage presence, said to be a deliberate reaction to the hyper-cheerful music of the time, demonstrated by bands such as Wham!. A typical early performance featured Lowe in the background hitting the occasional note on a Fairlight synthesiser keyboard and Tennant singing, but otherwise passive, in the foreground.

However, when they first began touring, in 1989, they were heavily influenced by opera and theatre staging. Derek Jarman staged their first tour, making a series of films to be projected behind the costumed singers and dancers. In 1991, they brought in David Alden and David Fielding, from the English National Opera, to create the staging and costume design, for a show which made no attempt to involve or even acknowledge the audience and pushed the choreography and staging centre stage. Subsequent tours have used artist Sam Taylor-Wood and architect Zaha Hadid for stage design. Their previous tour in 2006 and 2007, was conceived and designed by theatre designer Es Devlin, with choreography by Hakeem Onibudo. Es Devlin has also conceived the 2009 Pandemonium Tour as well.

Traditionally, Pet Shop Boys have always favoured avant-garde tailored fashions. Tennant has referenced the designers of his suits in certain interviews and Lowe has often sported outfits and glasses made by Issey Miyake, Stssy and Yohji Yamamoto’s Y-3 for Adidas. Presentation has always been a major theme for the Pet Shop Boys and the duo have dramatically “re-invented” their image twice in their career. In 1993, when promoting their Very album, they wore brightly coloured costumes and used state-of-the-art computer technology to place themselves in a modern computer graphic world. This concept of re-invention was revisited for the promotion of their Nightlife album, in which they transformed their look, wearing wigs and glasses, with stylised futuristic urban wardrobes. In 2006, both Tennant and Lowe were seen on stage and in photographs wearing clothes designed by Hedi Slimane/Dior Homme.

The duo have always been interested in the artwork, design and photography for their own releases. Photographer Eric Watson helped shape the original image of Pet Shop Boys, creating many of their photographs and videos, from 1984 to 1991. In design they have primarily worked with Mark Farrow, who designed the cover of their first Parlophone album release, in 1986. The collaboration between Mark Farrow and Pet Shop Boys is comparable to the designer/band relationship of Peter Saville and New Order, Anton Corbijn and Depeche Mode, or the epic-length collaboration of Simon Halfon and Paul Weller. Their record sleeves are quite often very minimal and the attention to detail is obvious, down to the font type and style. In October 2006, British art publisher Thames & Hudson published a 336-page hardcover book entitled Pet Shop Boys Catalogue, showcasing the group’s accomplishments in artwork, design and of course music. This retrospective of work, by the writers Chris Heath and Philip Hoare, is one of the most comprehensive anthologies any music artist could have. A German-language edition was also published. An exhibition of photographs of Pet Shop Boys was organised at the National Portrait Gallery in London to coincide with the publication.

Even the band’s fan base has been subject to commentary. In 2001, music theorist Fred Maus wrote that, contrary to the ideologies of anti-commercialism and authenticity embodied by “serious” discussions of popular music such as rock, Pet Shop Boys fans exhibit “an undisguised love of commercial success”. This was demonstrated through mailing list discussions from 1998 onwards, in which fans voiced concern over the “most commercially promising selection and marketing of singles” for the then-upcoming Nightlife, and debated the quality of the then-recent Bilingual, spurred by the album’s poorer performance in sales. Most posters, Maus summarized, feared that the band’s appeal would become essentially limited to a cult following; “dissent, along the lines that the fans would always have the Pet Shop Boys, no matter what happened commercially, was scarce and ineffectual”. Noting the fact that the Pet Shop Boys “began their career with hits”, Maus made the point that this early success was valued by fans: the band’s “large audiences” were just as important to “many fans” as the making of “distinctive music that individual fans loved”.

Live performances

In a 1991 interview with Chris Heath, Chris Lowe noted how the duo’s backing tracks were generated:

Apart from the guitar and extra keyboards, it’s all sequenced using MIDI. You set it up and it just plays. The machines are rack mounted and each one plays a different part.

This arrangement has continued to their most recent tour, with the majority of the music provided by backing tracks sequenced on a computer playing sounds from a rig of synthesisers. The duo employ programmer Pete Gleadall to oversee the computers and play keyboards, as well as backing singers, who often include long time singer Sylvia Mason-James. The boys have used Katie Kissoon in the past for vocal duties and have used other musicians: Danny Cummings, Jodie Linscott and Dawne Adams (percussion); Scott Davidson, Peter Schwartz and Dominic Clarke (keyboards / programming); Mark Refoy and Bic Hayes (guitarists), as well as the late J.J. Belle (guitars and percussion).

Visuals often play a large part in the duo’s live performances. For their first tour in 1989, Derek Jarman provided films and costumes to accompany the performances. In 1991, the duo, working with theatrical director David Alden and designer David Fielding, constructed a tour entitled “Performance” which featured a tangible storyline and a troupe of choreographed, costumed dancers. Their 1997 residence at the Savoy Theatre featured films by Sam Taylor-Wood; and their 1999 Nightlife tour had its stage designed by Zaha Hadid.

Influence

As of 2003, Pet Shop Boys were ranked by Billboard’s Joel Whitburn (in his book Billboard’s Hot Dance/Disco 1974-2003) as the fourth most successful act on the U.S. Dance/Club Play charts, behind only Madonna, Janet Jackson and Donna Summer.

In October 2005, a Swedish tribute band called West End Girls had a number three hit single in their home country, with a cover version of “Domino Dancing”. In January 2006, they released their own version of “West End Girls” and an album was also released in June. Pet Shop Boys also have several tribute bands in the form of Birmingham-based Pet Shop Noise, who have been performing locally for many years and Seattle-based West End Boys.

Madonna’s album Confessions on a Dance Floor, released November 2005, includes a track called “Jump”, which has close similarities to “West End Girls”.[citation needed] An interview at Popjustice with Stuart Price, who produced Madonna’s album, revealed the track “Jump” was a complete Chris Lowe inspiration. Pet Shop Boys then remixed “Sorry”, the second single from the album. Madonna has used their version in her 2006 Confessions tour. The history between Madonna and Pet Shop Boys goes back to 1988, with the song “Heart”. In the liner notes to their 1991 greatest hits album, Discography, the band states that:

When we wrote this song (“Heart”) we wanted to submit it to Madonna but didn’t dare risk disappointment.

The Pet Shop Boys kept the song for themselves and it ended up going to Number One in the UK. Later, in 1991, Madonna was referenced in a tongue-in-cheek lyric, in the song “DJ Culture”, soon after she and Sean Penn had divorced. Tennant writes: “Like Liz before Betty / She after Sean / Suddenly you’re missing / Then you’re reborn”. Tennant refers to the “re-invention” Madonna was going through at the time.

Actor David Tennant, former star of Doctor Who, took his stage name from Neil Tennant. The actor’s real surname is McDonald, but he needed a stage name for Equity, as there was already an actor registered with the name David McDonald.

There is a musically (and visually) accurate parody of “West End Girls”, entitled “Inner City Pressure”, which features in Episode 2 of Season 1 of Flight of the Conchords.

Sexuality

Neil Tennant, who neither denied nor confirmed gay rumours throughout the 1980s, “came out”, in a 1994 interview for Attitude, a UK gay lifestyle magazine. Lowe, meanwhile, has not disclosed his own orientation. He has said (in the 2-part 1996 BBC Radio 1 documentary, About), rather, that there is only “(human) sexuality” – which suggests that he may consider the terms “gay” or “straight” to be constricting, inadequate, or inappropriate labels. The duo are sometimes incorrectly assumed to be a couple (in the 1990 biography Pet Shop Boys, Literally, Tennant recalls that even their ex-manager, Tom Watkins, was under this impression for a time, which inadvertently fueled even more rumours about their orientations). About was released as a 2-CD set via their fanclub in 1997.

Pet Shop Boys are seen as significant figures in gay culture for such songs as “Can You Forgive Her?”, “It’s a Sin” (for which gay director Derek Jarman produced the video), “New York City Boy”, and their cover of Village People’s “Go West”. They have written a song about a young male fan spending a night with a rapper, based on Eminem, called “The Night I Fell in Love”, and a song about coming out, “Metamorphosis”. Their 1990s single “Being Boring” dealt with the gay experience and the devastation wrought by the AIDS crisis; the song (and its supporting video, filmed by Bruce Weber), though being one of their lowest-charting singles, remains one of their most popular. However, Neil Tennant has stated many times that his lyrics are not specifically gay. Many of their songs are written from an ambiguous view point, that can be taken any way the listener perceives it and this goes some way to explain why a large segment of their die-hard fans are heterosexual.

Pet Shop Boys have performed and worked with many artists considered to be gay/bisexual icons, such as Dusty Springfield, David Bowie, Elton John, Liza Minnelli, Boy George, Kylie Minogue, Madonna, Pete Burns and Lady Gaga. Pet Shop Boys attempted to organise and perform in a planned 2001 tour of out gay musicians, entitled Wotapalava. However, the plans were later put on hold and the idea seems to have been discarded.

Grammy nominations

1997: Grammy Award Best Dance Recording for “To step Aside” (Nominated)

2003: Grammy Award Best Recording Package for Release (Nominated)

2007: Grammy Award Best Dance Recording for “I’m with Stupid” (Nominated)

2007: Grammy Award Best Electronic/Dance Album for Fundamental (Nominated)

2010: Grammy Award Best Electronic/Dance Album for Yes (Nominated)

Discography

Main article: Pet Shop Boys discography

As of 2009, Pet Shop Boys have released 56 singles and 10 “proper” studio albums, as well as 22 among various types of compilations, remix albums and EPs, including two live albums and two soundtrack and score albums.

References, sources and footnotes

Harrison, Andrew (April 2006), “The Pet Shop Boys talk for Britain”, The Word (38): 98106

^ “Pet Shop Boys official website, News section”. Petshopboys.co.uk. http://www.petshopboys.co.uk/. Retrieved 2010-01-04.

^ Cowton, Michael (1991) (PDF). Pet Shop Boys: Introspective. Pan Macmillan. ISBN 0-283-99825-3. http://www.italo-disco.net/programs/eBooks/Bobby%20O%20&%20PSB.pdf.

^ “WLIR & WDRE 92.7 FM Screamer & Sheiks of the Week”. Advancedspecialties.net. 2004-01-09. http://www.advancedspecialties.net/wlir.htm. Retrieved 2010-01-04.

^ Elizabeth Landau (2009-04-07). “Pet Shop Boys come back with a lot of ‘love, etc.’”. Cnn.com. http://www.cnn.com/2009/SHOWBIZ/Music/04/07/pet.shop.boys.yes/index.html. Retrieved 2010-01-04.

^ Heath, Chris (2001). In Behaviour [CD liner notes]. London: Pet Shop Boys Partnership

^ Kenneth, Stephen. “A-Z of PSB”. So Pet Shop Boys. http://www.sopetshopboys.co.uk/a-z.htm. Retrieved 2006-06-14.

^ Mosler, Tomas. “Chronology”. Pet Shop Boys at dead of night. http://psb-atdeadofnight.net/chronology.php. Retrieved 2006-06-14.

^ “Pet Shop Boys release ”Cubism” live DVD”. Side-line.com. http://www.side-line.com/news_comments.php?id=22784_0_2_0_C. Retrieved 2010-01-04.

^ “Pet Shop Boys to play live in Second Life”. Side-line.com. http://www.side-line.com/news_comments.php?id=24087_0_2_0_C. Retrieved 2010-01-04.

^ Gordon Smart (2008-10-03). “Cheryl’s song plea to Ashley”. The Sun. News International. http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/showbiz/bizarre/article1767103.ece. Retrieved 2008-10-03.

^ http://twitter.com/petshopboys/status/8245661391

^ “Pop Perfection”. The Guardian. 1995. http://www.petshopboys.net/html/interviews/news2.shtml. Retrieved 2006-06-09.

^ Sawyer, Miranda (5 September 2004). “”I refuse to be restricted by background – or fear”". The Observer. http://www.petshopboys-online.com/index.php?from=psb&menu=interviews&interview_id=14. Retrieved 2006-06-09.

^ Perera, Sasha (25 May 2006). “Pet Shop Politics”. SX News. http://www.evolutionpublishing.com.au/sxnews/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=380&Itemid=40. Retrieved 2006-06-09.

^ “Broadcast Yourself”. YouTube. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KholKYBaGJc. Retrieved 2010-01-04.

^ Maus, Fred E., “Glamour and evasion: the fabulous ambivalence of the Pet Shop Boys”, Popular Music 20 (3): 38182, ISSN 0261-1430

^ Close (2007-07-09). “”The”. Guardian. http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2007/jul/09/mediatop1002007.mondaymediasection22. Retrieved 2010-01-04.

^ “>> arts >> Pet Shop Boys”. glbtq. 2008-09-20. http://www.glbtq.com/arts/pet_shop_boys.html. Retrieved 2010-01-04.

^ “Absolutely Pet Shop Boys Unoffical web site – Interviews – Outrage, October, 1994″. Petshopboys.net. http://www.petshopboys.net/html/interviews/otherinter10.shtml. Retrieved 2010-01-04.

^ “Pet Shop Boys – About (2xCD) at Discogs”. Discogs.com. 2008-11-06. http://www.discogs.com/Pet-Shop-Boys-About/release/412094. Retrieved 2010-01-04.

^ “Absolutely Pet Shop Boys Unoffical web site – Interviews – Attitude May 2002″. Petshopboys.net. http://www.petshopboys.net/html/interviews/othermag45.shtml. Retrieved 2010-01-04.

^ “ARTS: AN ATTITUDE THING – Arts & Entertainment”. The Independent. 1996-04-21. http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/arts-an-attitude-thing-1306010.html. Retrieved 2010-01-04.

^ “For Hard-Core Petheads: The Tennant Interview In Full – The Daily Dish | By Andrew Sullivan”. Andrewsullivan.theatlantic.com. 2009-06-05. http://andrewsullivan.theatlantic.com/the_daily_dish/2009/06/for-hardcore-petheads-the-tennant-interview-in-full.html. Retrieved 2010-01-04.

^ “Pet Shop Boys Interview || Chaos Control Digizine”. Chaoscontrol.com. 2006-10-28. http://www.chaoscontrol.com/?article=petshopboys. Retrieved 2010-01-04.

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Pet Shop Boys

External links

Pet Shop Boys official website.

PSB discography detailed discography site.

Pet Shop Boys discography at Discogs.

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Pet Shop Boys

Chris Lowe Neil Tennant

Studio albums

Please Actually Introspective Behaviour Very Bilingual Nightlife Release Fundamental Yes

Compilation albums

Discography: The Complete Singles Collection Alternative PopArt: The Hits Story- 25 Years of Hits Party

“Disco” albums

Disco Disco 2 Disco 3 Disco 4

Live albums

Concrete Pandemonium

Extended Plays

Christmas

Soundtracks and scores

Closer to Heaven (Original Cast Recording) Battleship Potemkin

Singles

“West End Girls” “One More Chance” “Opportunities (Let’s Make Lots of Money)” “Love Comes Quickly” “Suburbia” “Paninaro” “It’s a Sin” “What Have I Done to Deserve This?” “Rent” “Always on My Mind” “Heart” “Domino Dancing” “Left to My Own Devices” “It’s Alright” “So Hard” “Being Boring” “How Can You Expect to Be Taken Seriously?”/ “Where the Streets Have No Name (I Can’t Take My Eyes Off You)” “Jealousy” “DJ Culture” “Was It Worth It?” “Can You Forgive Her?” “Go West” “I Wouldn’t Normally Do This Kind of Thing” “Absolutely Fabulous” “Liberation” “Yesterday, When I Was Mad” “Paninaro ‘95″ “Before” “Se a vida (That’s the Way Life Is)” “Single-Bilingual” “A Red Letter Day” “Somewhere” “I Don’t Know What You Want But I Can’t Give It Any More” “New York City Boy” “You Only Tell Me You Love Me When You’re Drunk” “Break 4 Love” “Home and Dry” “I Get Along” “London” “Miracles” “Flamboyant” “I’m with Stupid” “Minimal” “Numb” “She’s Madonna” “Integral” “Love etc.” “Did You See Me Coming?” “Beautiful People” “It Doesn’t Often Snow At Christmas”

Other Songs

“King’s Cross” “The Loving Kind” “The Night I Fell in Love” “I’m Not Scared” “In Private” “Nothing Has Been Proved” “So Sorry, I Said” “Don’t Drop Bombs”

Film, Stage and Television

Closer to Heaven It Couldn’t Happen Here A Life In Pop

Notable Tours & Concerts

MCMLXXXIX Tour Performance Tour Discovery Tour Somewhere Residency Nightlife Tour University Tour Release Tour Fundamental Tour Pandemonium Tour

Related articles

Discography Songs Spaghetti Records Reputation Results Electronic West End Girls

Categories: Pet Shop Boys | English electronic music groups | British house music groups | Musical groups established in 1981 | 1980s music groups | 1990s music groups | 2000s music groups | Disco groups | Electronic music duos | LGBT musical groups | Parlophone artists | BRIT Award winners | Remixers | SynthpopHidden categories: Articles lacking reliable references from August 2008 | All articles with unsourced statements | Articles with unsourced statements from December 2008 | Articles with unsourced statements from November 2007

The Olden times of Halloween

NialWilson — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 05:52:43 +0000

The Olden times of Halloween

You might call Halloween the one day within the year at what time we stop to reflect on the possibility of the supernatural.

October thirty one is Halloween (also named as Hallowe’en or Holloween). It is the night that citizens young in addition to elderly dress up in costumes and move to Halloween events. Small little ones go “trick or treating.” They dress up in costumes and trek from entry to entry (hopefully under the supervision of a reliable adult) demanding sweets or other goodies. They tap on doorways and shout, “Trick or treat!” The owners of the houses open the entry, admire the costumes, and provide the treat to keep from being tricked.

Miracles are Thoughts from God, Believe in Miracles

JamesMurray — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 05:52:43 +0000

Believe in miracles and get outside every day. Miracles are all around us and are waiting everywhere. There are some people in this world that claim miracles are not possible. Is this true? Miracles are possible and miracles are real; they are thoughts from God. God is demonstrating his underlying normal activity in remarkable ways. These amazing miracles in St John’s Gospel are referred to as “signs”. In the New Testament Jesus explains that miracles are performed by faith in God.

G.652 and G.655 fiber composite applications Attention

bees — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 05:52:43 +0000

0 Introduction The end of 2004, the national total length of cable to reach 3.384 million line km, long-distance fiber cable length 646 000 km.

Where most of the fiber-optic cables using G.652 and G.655 fiber, only a very small amount of fiber-optic cables using G.653 fiber. G.652 and G.655 fiber applied to the widely used from the beginning of 20 years of development history, after several generations of product upgrading, and now the Internet cable lines is several generations living under one roof. Therefore, network applications optical communication system is bound to encounter different species, different brands, different era, different sub-class product portfolio in an online application problem.

1G.652 and the evolution of G.655 optical fiber technology

With the communication network on the growing demand for bandwidth surge in single-wavelength optical transmission equipment, data rate, low rate of application from the beginning, rapidly increased to the current 10Gbit / s, and even 40Gbit / s, while optical fiber put forward higher requirements. Therefore, the optical communication system constantly upgrading the technology and products to promote the rapid evolution of optical fiber technology, and development of this only from the standard G.652 and G.655 fiber can be continuously updated to show.

1.1G.652 fiber 1984 , ITU-T developed a G.652 single-mode fiber optic cable the first version, 1988,1992,1996,2000 and 2003 after 5 changes it made in 2005, the 6th amendment The latest version of the formation of the current (seventh edition). In the sixth version of the G.652 fiber derived will be divided into G.652A, G.652B, G.652C, G.652D, a total of 4 sub-categories.

G.652 fiber is the first single-mode fiber in the web application is the most widely used communication network, the largest number of an optical fiber. Since G.652 fiber development early, therefore, stable and reliable product quality, product standards are also very mature and no matter which one optical fiber manufacturers, their consistency are better. Bureau of Guangdong Telecom long distance lines of G.652 fiber from different vendors were docking test, the results show that the weld decay are relatively small. Guangdong Telecom Engineering Company on the Internet using the different companies, different times of the fiber dispersion was widely tested and the results show that the dispersion was stable, 1550nm wavelength dispersion is basically no more than 18ps / (nm? Km). This is for the transmission network planning, design and construction of a great convenience.

1.2G.655 fiber G.655 fiber in 1994 specifically for the new generation DWDM optical transmission systems to enlarge the design and manufacture of new optical fiber. In 1996, ITU-T developed a G.655 non-zero dispersion shifted single mode optical fiber and cable characteristics of the first version of the standard, in a few short years, after the 2000 and 2003, Amendment 2, the latest version of the formation of the current (third edition). The latest standards G.655 fiber into G.655A, G.655B, G.655C, a total of 3 sub categories.

G.655 fiber is driven by market demand in recent years, the development of new products, the relative standard G.652 fiber in terms of technology is not very mature, taking into account the interests of all manufacturers, it is the mode field diameter and dispersion of the standard set s loose. Different vendors can create their own processes and technologies that meet stringent standards of different products, therefore, product diversity (different effective cross sections and dispersion configuration), which brings to users a certain amount of trouble.

2 fiber composite applications should pay attention to the problem

2.1G.652 fiber composite applications should pay attention to the problem

G.652 fiber consistency of very good products, line maintenance products from different vendors can replace each other to use.

Finnish whisky

betty — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 05:52:43 +0000

Finnish distilleries

Panimoravintola Beer Hunter’s

Panimoravintola Beer Hunter’s was founded on 8th of April 1998 in the city of Pori. However, at first it only served as a restaurant and a brewery. On 8th of November 2001 at six PM, self-taught Mika Heikkinen begun distilling the first batch of malt whisky produced in Finland. The first batch’s casks are to be opened in 2034 when Mika Heikkinen turns 60 years of age. An auction of 100 bottles of Old Buck whisky from the second batch was held on the 1st of December 2004 and the rest was resealed back into the casks. Future batches will mainly be sold to wholesalers in hand blown bottles made by Estonian Tarbeklaas. The copper stills used by Beer Hunter’s were manufactured by German Arnold Holstein and the casks used are old sherry casks from Spain and new ones from Portugal. In April 2004, Beer Hunter’s had produced a total of 2000 liters of malt whisky. Beer Hunter’s Old Buck second release was also chosen by Jim Murray as the “European Mainland Whisky of the Year” in his “Whisky Bible 2009″. Murray describes the whisky as “pure bourbon: with the nose offering every degree of honeycomb-liquorice imaginable”. According to Mika Heikkinen “If there was to be a page written about us, I do not know how we would be described. I feel that we can produce malt whisky like Glenfiddich without a smoky aroma, as well as Laphroaig style smoky whisky.”

Teerenpeli Distillery and Brewery

Teerenpeli (Dalliance, literally: Black grouse play) started brewing beer in 1995 in the city of Lahti. The distillery begun its operations seven years later, in 2002. Teerenpeli Distillery is independent company owned by Mr and Mrs Anssi Pyysing. In 2008, Alko (Finnish national alcoholic beverage retailing monopoly) begun retail sales of their first entirely Finnish whisky: Teerenpeli Single Malt 5 yo. Teerenpeli Single Malt 5 yo is bottled at 43% alcohol by volume and the manufacturer describes its palette as vanilla with a fruity aroma. At 2009 was new release of 6 yo. Teerenpeli Single Malt. The bottle and the label were designed by Markus Pyrl and Valtteri Vitakoski of Lahti University of Applied Sciences’s Institute of Design. Teerenpeli Single Malt is distilled with entirely Finnish malted barley from the Finnish malter Viking Malt and with fresh groundwater from the Salpausselk ridge. More information www.teerenpeli.com

Kolme Leijonaa

Kolme Leijonaa (Three Lions) is not a Finnish whisky per se despite its Finnish name. Kolme Leijonaa comes as a “blended” and a “pure scotch malt whisky” and both of them are actually “authentically distilled and matured in Scotland, selected, imported and bottled by Altia Corporation, Helsinki, Finland”. Kolme Leijonaa has since been discontinued.

Prohibition

Main article: Prohibition in Finland

Prohibition started in Finland on the 1st of June 1919 and lasted almost 13 years, during which the production, import, sales, transportation and storage of alcohol products was only allowed for medicinal, scientific or technical purposes. A referendum on the continuation of prohibition was held starting on the 29th and closing on the 30th of December 1931. The referendum closed with a 70% majority and resulted in the ending of prohibition on the 5th of April 1932 at 10:00 when the new state owned alcohol retail stores opened their doors to customers.

See also

Panimoravintola Beer Hunter’s

Whisky

List of whisky brands

References

^ http://www.kolumbus.fi/juomanlaskija/arkisto/2004-4/25-mallasviski.html (cited in 24.5.2009)

^ http://www.karstulaviski.com (cited in 24.5.2009)

^ http://www.kolumbus.fi/juomanlaskija/arkisto/2004-4/25-mallasviski.html (cited in 24.5.2009)

^ http://www.beerhunters.fi/tislaamo.htm (cited in 4.5.2009)

^ http://www.beerhunters.fi/tislaamo.htm (cited in 24.5.2009)

^ http://www.kolumbus.fi/juomanlaskija/arkisto/2004-4/25-mallasviski.html (cited in 24.5.2009)

^ http://www.ruokakori.fi/finfood/finnfoo1.nsf/uutisetetusivulle/6D5C35A96FFF0942C22574F80038EFF6?opendocument (cited in 24.5.2009)

^ http://www.uusisuomi.fi/viihde/40217-vihdoin-ehtaa-suomalaista-viskia (cited in 24.5.2009)

^ Kolme Leijonaa labels

External links

Panimoravintola Beer Hunter’s Official site (Finnish)

Teerenpeli Official site

Karstula Viski Official site (Finnish)

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Seattle Salon – What You Should Know About The Latest Trends In Hairstyling

ChristinaMeier G. — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 05:52:43 +0000

If you’re looking for a good Seattle salon there are few things you should know about the latest trends and treatments for one of your greatest assets: your hair – short or long, straight, wavy or curly. Nowadays there are so many great kinds of treatment, which instead of damaging, drying and frizzing your hair, make it more beautiful, shiny and healthy than it was on its own.

Puerto Rican Pottery

pretty — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 05:52:42 +0000

Production of Pieces

The pieces were shaped and designed with the intent of reflecting artistically the best traditions of Puerto Rican culture and history. Lasky encouraged the artisans he stewarded to express themselves as they saw fit. Theirs was a collaborative effort.

In a 2004 account Lasky wrote:

The first thing I did was to take away all the Pre-Columbian patterns they had been working with and in my halting Spanish told them they were now free to design anything they wanted at anytime. They were obviously shaken; for them “designers” were either god-like people or Americans and they immediately began to copy the cheap seconds that at that time flooded Puerto Rico. I let them get that out of their systems and some three months later they began designing things they thought would please me.

ittle by little I began encouraging them to use “found tools:” a broken hair comb – I picked up from the floor in front of them, used and discarded pencils – showing them the faceted sides and rounded eraser end as options. One of the best tools turned out to be old fashioned hair pins women wore in the forties.

hat emerged was an expression which can properly be described as a considerable leap beyond sgraffito. When using colored engobes (thin coatings of different colored clays over the redware clay body we were using) instead of thinly scratching through to reveal the contrasting red clay beneath they made strong, broad, energetic sculptural carvings if you will. Matte glazes were used almost invariably to more thoroughly reveal the sculptural “carving” technique. Each person signed their own design work and had the satisfaction of seeing their initials permanently fired into their pieces. They were free at any time to stop any work they were doing and create their own designs.

uring this period of time I made it my business to keep away from the work table area where they did the designing. I didn’t want even my presence near them to interfere with their own self expression. I would wait until they had left for the day to go into the damp room where the daily work was placed for slow initial drying to see what creatively had emerged. Imagine, if you will, the profound thrill I would experience as with each ongoing week the design “personalities” of each would become more strongly expressed so that it was no longer necessary to look for each signature to determine whose work it was.

Significance

The pottery’s significance was twofold. Artistically and culturally it was a melding of 20th Century design on what was then a traditional culture. It was also the first time that Puertorriqueo artisans were able to express themselves freely in clay since the time of the Tainos. Economically and politically it was part of the opening gambit in the rapid economic development of the Island by the US after World War II. The pottery supplied pieces and works for then burgeoning tourist trade.

References

Photo showing group selection of pottery is compliments of TheDeepArchives.com. Material based on Hal Lasky interview October 2004, written transcription by Hal Lasky October 2004, and articles on Puerto Rican Pottery/Hal Lasky on Vasefinder.com.

External links

Photo

Photos

Collector Group

Categories: Companies of Puerto Rico