Aadam Jacobs :- Now Online: a Treasure Trove of 1000s of Secret Concert Recordings

"I am not poor. Poor are those who desire many things." 

~ Leonardo da Vinci

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Sorry to be overly sincere for a second, but here's why we decided to persevere through all of the bullshit and take over InfoWars. There's just gotta be a line somewhere. Thank you @pablo.show for letting me talk so openly about this.

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The Fight to Protect Elections

Last month, President Trump issued a second executive order aiming to single-handedly rewrite federal election rules. The Brennan Center and other groups are challenging the action in court, as the Constitution gives only the states and Congress the power to regulate elections. Among other things, the order attempts to require the U.S. Postal Service — an independent agency with no authority over elections — to decide who is allowed to vote by mail and to refuse to deliver ballots cast by anyone not on newly created lists of approved mail voters. The order also threatens state and local election officials with prosecution for simply doing their jobs as they have in the past. A Brennan Center expert brief details the order’s provisions and their potential impact. A year ago, Trump similarly tried to take control of elections using an executive order, and multiple courts have blocked most of it. But litigation is only one tactic in the plan to protect the midterms. For every aggressive move the Trump administration is taking to undermine elections, defenders of democracy are pushing back.

• New and Old Challenges for Election Officials in 2026 As with every election year, election officials are preparing to ensure a safe and secure democratic process. The Brennan Center’s 2026 survey of local election officials highlights the challenges they face, including the rollback of federal support for election security and persistent worries about political interference, safety, and misinformation. Our election experts summarize the takeaways.

Now Online: a Treasure Trove of 1000s of Secret Concert Recordings

Kottke: “For decades, a guy named Aadam Jacobs has been recording live music shows. His collection of over 10,000 shows since 1984 feature the likes of Nirvana, R.E.M., The Pixies, Björk, Depeche Mode, Liz Phair, Sonic Youth, The Cure, Phish, Fugazi, and so many more. With the help of archivists, the entire collection is making its way onto The Internet Archive.

The growing Aadam Jacobs Collection is an internet treasure trove for music lovers, especially for fans of indie and punk rock during the 1980s through the early 2000s, when the scene blossomed and became mainstream. The collection features early-in-their-career performances from alternative and experimental artists like R.E.M., The Cure, The Pixies, The Replacements, Depeche Mode, Stereolab, Sonic Youth and Björk.

There’s also a smattering of hip-hop, including a 1988 concert by rap pioneers Boogie Down Productions. Devotees of Phish were thrilled to discover that a previously uncirculated 1990 show by the jam band is included. And there are hundreds of sets by smaller artists who are unlikely to be known to even fans with the most obscure tastes.

All of it is slowly becoming available for streaming and free download at the nonprofit online repository Internet Archive, including that nascent Nirvana show recording, with the audio from Jacobs’ cassette recorder cleaned up.

Some of the shows, like this pre-Dave Grohl one from Nirvana, were recorded before the bands hit it big. It’s wild to hear their performance of About a Girl get about three claps from the audience…”

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10-Minute Chair Yoga for Beginners

 

10-Minute Chair Yoga for Beginners

If you have limited mobility or balance concerns, these modified poses can make the practice more approachable.

While yoga can be a welcoming and inclusive practice, the poses aren’t always accessible for everyone. If you have limited mobility or balance issues, you may not be able to move easily from a standing to a seated position on the ground, or you may need a little extra support to hold the poses. In those cases, chair yoga can be a more approachable alternative.

You can come to chair yoga “at any age, from any background in physical activity — and that includes having no background in physical activity,” said Lesley Ward, research fellow at Northumbria University, who has studied chair yoga and teaches yoga.

You can do the poses from a seated position or while standing and holding the chair for balance. “You can make it whatever you want it to be,” said Justin Smith, an assistant professor of physical therapy at Wichita State University and a geriatric specialist.

And getting an assist from a chair doesn’t take away from yoga’s many benefits. Anna Guest-Jelley, a yoga instructor in Oregon and founder of Curvy Yoga, an online yoga studio, said: “You can still have increased flexibility, strength and mobility. You can connect with your breath. You can feel more present in your body.”

Staying in a seated position can also help you focus on your breathing and on performing poses properly, Dr. Ward said, which can be ideal for people who are new to the practice or returning to it after a break.

But even regular practitioners can gain something from chair-based poses. “You feel the mechanics of a pose in a different way in a chair,” Ms. Guest-Jelley said. You can then bring that new awareness of your body and breath to your practice without the chair, she said.

This routine, designed by Ms. Guest-Jelley, includes both seated and standing poses using a chair. Choose a sturdy chair, preferably with a back but no arm rests, Dr. Smith said. If you’re in a wheelchair, be sure to lock the wheels. Sit so that you are balanced on the seat with your feet planted on the ground. If your feet don’t reach the floor, rest your feet on a folded blanket or blocks, Ms. Guest-Jelley said.

Mountain Pose

Sit in the chair. You should feel centered and stable, with your knees bent at 90 degrees and your feet planted on the ground, approximately hip-width apart. Stack your head and torso over your pelvis, and draw your shoulder blades down your back, gently lifting your chest. Let your arms hang alongside your body, palms facing forward. Engage your body, rooting your feet into the ground and extend through your fingertips. Hold for five to 10 breaths.

Upward Salute

From mountain pose, reach both arms overhead. Depending on your mobility, your arms can be parallel to your ears, or your arms can make a V-shape. Keep your head level and chin slightly lifted. Hold for five to seven breaths.

Side Bend

Sit in the chair evenly and with your feet flat on the floor. Reach your left arm overhead on an inhalation. Lengthen the side of your body by extending through your fingertips while keeping your hips grounded in the chair. On an exhalation, bend as far to the right as feels comfortable. As you bend, reach your right arm toward the ground. Hold for five to seven breaths. Come back to center and let both arms rest alongside your body for a breath or two. Then, switch sides.

Cat-Cow

Sit in the chair with your feet planted firmly on the ground. Your arms can rest alongside your body. If you want more support, hold the side of your chair. On an inhalation, arch your back and lift your chest. Keep your belly soft. On an exhalation, round your spine and bring your belly inward, allowing your chest to curl in and your head and chin to drop. Alternate between the two poses five times, moving slowly with your breath.

Wide-Legged Forward Bend

Sit up tall toward the front of your chair, but not so far forward that you feel unstable. Walk your feet out to a wide stance, as far as is comfortable. Your feet should be firmly planted on the floor with your toes slightly turned out. Rest your forearms on your thighs and lean forward, letting your head drop and chest come between your legs. Stay here, or bring your hands down to the floor or to blocks. Hold for five to seven breaths.

Warrior II

Link this pose with the next two poses to create a sequence that flows from one pose to the next. Complete the sequence on one side before switching sides.

Sit toward the front of your chair and walk your feet wide, opening up your hips. Keep your left knee bent and point your toes to the left. Extend your right leg to the side, toes pointing forward. Root down through both feet and sit up tall. Raise your arms out to the side, and gaze over your left arm. Reach through your fingers and hold for three to five breaths.

If you have less mobility in your hips, you can take a shorter stance. Or modify the pose by keeping your right leg bent and your knee pointing forward. Open your left knee out to the side, letting your left leg rest over the left side of the chair. Your legs should form a 90-degree angle. Raise your arms out to the side and gaze over your left arm.

Side Angle

From Warrior II, place your left forearm on your left thigh. Actively press your forearm into your thigh to help keep your chest lifted. Lift your right hand up toward the ceiling. Stay here or reach your right hand over to the left, arm by your ear. Hold for three to five breaths. Return to Warrior II.

Reverse Warrior

From Warrior II, flip the palm of your left hand to face the ceiling. Reach your left hand up and over, moving into a side bend. Your right hand can rest on your right thigh. Hold for three to five breaths. Return to Warrior II before dropping your arms and returning to a neutral seat.

The Supreme Court’s refusal to stand up for press freedom is catastrophic

When Peter Thiel said, “I no longer believe that freedom and democracy are compatible,” he wasn’t talking about your freedom. He was talking about his own. You don’t exist. 

When Musk took a chainsaw to the federal government as part of the inside joke he called DOGE, he did so with the air of a man who believed that nothing matters—poverty, chaos, human suffering. He was having fun. It didn’t even matter that the entire destructive exerciseultimately yielded no practical financial gains. For him, the outcome was a foregone conclusion: He could only win, because losing had lost its meaning.

Since the 2024 election, there has been a philosophical shift on the right, and especially among tech billionaires, to vilify the idea of empathy. Musk has called empathy “the fundamental weakness of Western civilization.” He sees it as a weapon wielded by liberal society to bludgeon otherwise rational people into operating against their own interests. Empathy is something done to you by others—a vulnerability they exploit, a back door through which they gain access to your resources and will. This rejection of empathy as a human value gives cover to people who don’t want to feel anything at all. If empathy is the problem, then lack of it isn’t a deficiency—it’s an advantage.

WHAT I LEARNED ABOUT BILLIONAIRES AT JEFF BEZOS’S PRIVATE RETREAT For the richest men on Earth, everything is free and nothing matters.

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Where workers don’t just show up but get to be their best

Isabella FreelandReporter

An aesthetics clinic software service, an engineering company and a communications group may not appear to have much in common. But they’re together bound by one thing: a genuine care for organisational culture. Tossing aside buzzwords and putting people, not PR, at the forefront of their culture strategy makes them the gold standard.

These companies have been recognised by Bendelta as some of the best places in Australasia to work, applauded for their excellent organisational culture and leadership.

Paola Molino, head of people and culture at TAL, says culture needs to be authentic. Louise Kennerley

Bendelta uses the “BEING at work” framework to measure a company’s success, which utilises five dimensions to create a data-driven picture of what makes a good place to work: Belonging, Energising, Integrating, Nurturing and Generating.

The data comes from the policies and practices of the organisation and the employee experience as determined by a survey.

TAL, a life insurance company, won in the “Belonging” category, recognising an organisation that “creates a culture of inclusion, empathy and connection where every person feels valued and safe to contribute”.

TAL has a robust diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) strategy and expanded leave options, including wellbeing leave, which a third of employees made use of in the last year

Bendelta 'BEING' Special Awards

Table with 2 columns and 5 rows. (column headers with buttons are sortable)

Belonging	TAL
Energising	Fresh Clinics
Integrating	Aurecon
Nurturing	Publicis Groupe
Generating	Judo Bank

Source: Financial Review

All employees have access to LinkedIn Learning, allowing them to upskill in a flexible and tailored way. This has been particularly useful in the age of AI, allowing employees to feel more confident in their abilities.

Paola Molino, head of people and culture at TAL, says that for them, culture is all about listening to people. She described their culture as caring, relationship focused and purpose aligned.

“[Culture] doesn’t need to be a fancy initiative. It is simple. It needs to be authentic,” she says.

TAL regularly seeks structured feedback by sending out a survey to employees bi-monthly.

“That tells us the experience of our people, where the opportunities are, and importantly, we can then respond very quickly,” Molino says.

“We’re very keen to share the stories from our people, as opposed to corporate scripting and those things.”

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She also spoke about the robust nature of TAL’s DEI program, which has existed for a long time.

“Where we have focused on is leveraging the diversity of thought ... for all of our people to feel that they can contribute in different ways, and we know that that creates stronger collaboration across the organisation and ensures that we have better outcomes for our customers.”

Fresh Clinics, a cosmetic and aesthetic clinic software company, won the “Energising” category, meaning they “build a vibrant, mentally healthy workplace that sustains motivation, wellbeing and performance”.

Chief people officer Ally Atkins at Fresh Clinics’ office in Surry Hills, Sydney: “We’re adults, and we reward impact and outcomes.”   Louise Kennerley

Fresh Clinics offers an unlimited global employee assistance program, four wellbeing days and a fully flexible agreement, with no expectation of in-office attendance. “Work Your Way” is its declaration of radical trust, allowing employees to work whatever hours suit them. It also runs monthly “brunch and learns” to improve employee development and foster a sense of camaraderie.

Ally Atkins, chief people officer at Fresh Clinics, says “culture, for us, is ultimately the bedrock of everything we do. It’s how we show up for one another, and ultimately, how we show up for our members.”

For Fresh Clinics, actions speak louder than words. Atkins talks about “glitter moments”, a moment in the day when you do something small that makes people feel like they matter.

“Culture is not just something that you’ll see on the walls. It’s not like we have these posters of our values. It’s actually the company’s operating system.”

She also spoke to the importance of everyone being on board with culture strategy, rather than it being a top-down approach.

“Everyone’s responsible for it, and we have a hard expectation that you don’t have to be a cultural fit, because everyone’s diverse and different; you have to be additive to that culture, and if you’re not additive to it, then we have to have a conversation.”

Fresh Clinics’ focus on flexibility also shines through in the way it measures success.

“We’re adults, and we reward impact and outcomes. We don’t reward time on a desk,” Atkins says. It’s about what you produce, not how long it took you to produce it.”

Aurecon, a design, engineering and advisory company, took home the “Integrating” win, recognising its promotion of “flexibility and autonomy, helping employees align work with personal values and life rhythms”.

Incoming Aurecon chief executive Louise Adams says the country is now in the “age of the engineer”. Louise Kennerley

The Aurecon Way is the company’s framework for culture and ways of working. Its strongest message is “choosing optimism”, empowering employees to counter negativity by embracing an optimistic mindset.

Louise Adams is passionate about optimism, and when she came into the CEO role last year, disseminating culture in a style people understood was important to her.

“If we could bring real honesty and plain language into [our optimism-focused culture strategy], then it would be more likely that people were coming in for the right reasons and staying with us for the right reasons,” she says.

Optimism can be as simple as reflecting on positive things that happened at the end of each day, she says. It’s about training your brain to consider the good, not just the bad.

Adams says it “worked really hard on making sure that it wasn’t fancy marketing speak, but really easy to understand, and we’ve had a lot of feedback from our own people about how refreshing that is”.

She emphasises the importance of honesty, making sure employees understand the expectations on them, and not promising things Aurecon can’t deliver.

“We weren’t saying it’s all going to be easy and happy. We are actually saying what we do is hard work, what you think about may often be really difficult and complex,” she says.

Publicis Groupe ANZ CEO, Michael Rebelo.  

Publicis Groupe, a communications company, won the “Nurturing” category, recognising the way they “support continuous growth and mastery through meaningful development and self-determination”. Publicis was an important driver initiating the Psychosocial Safety Code of Conduct, launched by the Media Federation of Australia, which provides practical guidance to reduce psychosocial risks.

Additionally, its Carers Collective employee resource group assists parents and carers, particularly through the empowered parents program which offers coaching sessions to help employees before and after parental leave.

The winner of the “Generating” category was Judo Bank, which also won bronze in its industry category of banking, financial services and superannuation. 

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