Ex. Winter Forge // United States Army

RECAP: LOUIS TOMLINSONS "FAITH IN THE FUTURE" TOUR

Photos by Tage Stenner

In the midst of the whirlwind 'Faith In The Future' tour, and under the shadow of a disastrous hailstorm at Red Rocks that led to fan injuries just days prior, Louis Tomlinson delivered a stellar performance in Vancouver at the Doug Mitchell Thunderbird Sports Centre on June 26th, 2023. It was a night filled with heart, energy, and music that created an atmosphere of unity and resilience in the face of adversity.

Tomlinson, the former One Direction member, started the concert with an electrifying rendition of "The Greatest." This poignant opening number served as an uplifting affirmation of strength and set the tone for an evening of celebration, solidarity, and cathartic release.

The 'Faith In The Future' tour follows hot on the heels of Tomlinson’s successful 'Walls' tour and coincides with the release of his highly anticipated sophomore album. As he discussed in a SiriusXM interview, this album and tour represent a creative evolution for Tomlinson: “It's really important to me in the live show, but also in how the tracks are produced as well,” he explained. That boldness and expanded artistic vision were on full display throughout the Vancouver concert.

With the support of opening act Andrew Cushin, Tomlinson wove an emotional narrative through the night. His setlist, which encompassed hits like "Kill My Mind," "Holding on to Heartache," and "She Is Beauty We Are World Class," showcased his diverse range and continued evolution as a solo artist.

The crowd erupted as he introduced two nostalgic numbers from the One Direction repertoire: "Night Changes" and "Where Do Broken Hearts Go." The fan favourites injected an irresistible dose of nostalgia into the night, uniting both newer and long-time fans in shared history.

A riveting cover of Arctic Monkeys' "505" was yet another testament to Tomlinson's growth, highlighting his ability to honour his musical influences while offering a unique twist that is distinctly his own.

The night ended on an indelible high note with Tomlinson’s encore performance of "Silver Tongues," one of his most acclaimed numbers from the new album. The Canadian crowd, awash in the afterglow of a performance that seamlessly blended heartfelt honesty with energetic entertainment, responded with a thunderous ovation.

The 'Faith In The Future' tour is proving to be about more than promoting Tomlinson's new album; it's about resilience, about forging ahead through challenging times, about holding onto hope and, indeed, about faith in the future.

In light of the Red Rocks incident, Tomlinson’s commitment to continue his musical journey with his fans is a poignant demonstration of his strength of character and his dedication to the healing power of music. As the 'Faith In The Future' tour travels across the U.S., Canada, and Europe, it is set to leave behind an inspiring legacy of resilience, connection, and unadulterated passion for music.

[2.7.2023]

“If your pictures aren’t good enough, you’re not close enough.” That’s probably the most common mistake, but we can’t really complain about the image above? Valmets and Aimpoints in the Winter Warfare Training during Arctic Forge 2023, in our Photo Of The Day.

Above you see Spc. Grey, a U.S. Army Soldier assigned to 2nd Squadron, 183rd Cavalry Regiment, Virginia Army National Guard, aiming at a target downrange with a Finnish RK62M1 rifle during foreign weapon familiarization training at the Sodankylä Garrison, Finland.

Below: This is how you support your Valmet during winter! Get some!

Exercise Arctic Forge 23 is a U.S. Army Europe and Africa led umbrella exercise that leverages the host nation exercises Defense Exercise North in Finland, and exercise Joint Viking in Norway, taking place Feb. 16 through March 17, 2023, focused on building capabilities and cooperation in support of the U.S. Army’s Arctic Strategy.

Multicam versus something slightly better in the snow.

It looks a bit cold, but you wish you were there, don’t you?

My Thoughts on 2023

Firstly are you ok?

I did consider whether or not to write my annual round up this year, given the horrendous things happening in the world right now, but it’s always been a kind of yearly catharsis for me so I’ll forge ahead as per usual, avoiding the topics of war and genocide because there’s no humour or satire to be found in the horrors currently taking place which are entirely beyond my comprehension.

2023 kicked of with a visit from Thor – not the god of thunder but a wandering Arctic walrus who decided to spend New Year’s Eve in Scarborough. However instead of going on a massive bender Thor just hung out on the beach after realising the local Wetherspoons no longer served Skol. The council cancelled its planned firework display so as not to disturb Thor which seemed entirely reasonable since his visit was the most exciting thing to happen in Scarborough since Cannon and Ball did a Summer season there in 1983. No doubt the usual suspects decried this as ‘health and safety gone mad’ and accused Thor of being a ‘woke walrus’ before sending him packing off to Iceland.

February saw the tragic death of Nicola Bulley and the discovery of her body resulted in the arrival of a small army of one of the most peculiar and disturbing phenomenons of the 21st century – the web sleuths. No crime scene is complete now without a seething mass of vlogging Columbos all trying to achieve influencer status by hampering investigations, tramping all over evidence and generally ignoring the feelings of the victim’s relatives and friends. 

In May we were treated to the biggest cosplay event since Comic Con with the coronation of old sausage fingers Charlie. Stealing the show for middle aged men was voluptuous sword mistress Penny Mordaunt. Regally attired in a Poundland themed dress, Penny demonstrated that her magician’s assistant training made her capable of simultaneously holding a sword and walking. Up and down the land blood pressures were going through the roof and you could hear the loud collective ‘phwoar’ emanating from the suburbs. 

Tragedy struck again in June with the disappearance of the Titan submersible as it was en route to the Titanic (possibly not the best omen). A group of very rich people paid $250,000 each travel in a vessel which according to the waiver they signed “has not been approved or certified by any regulatory body, and could result in physical injury, disability, emotional trauma or death.” The incident did confirm for me something I’d long suspected – that being a billionaire is rubbish. I mean, I’m sure it beats living in poverty, but constantly having to fill the monotonous void of your existence with increasingly ridiculous and dangerous pastimes seems like a lifestyle choice I’d rather forgo. Also you have to spend your time hanging out with other billionaires which seems about as much fun as boiling your own head.

Speaking of billionaires, July saw memelord Elon Musk instigate the worst rebrand since Marathon became Snickers, with the renaming of Twitter as ‘X’. Gone was the genial birdy icon and in came an aggressive looking X which pretty much sums up the platform’s decline. X just doesn’t really work as a verb the way ‘tweet’ did. “That’s funny, I’m gonna X that!” Nope. Not feeling it. Maybe it’s because Elon Musk believes that we don’t really eXist and are in fact al living in a version of the MatriX. But it’s probably because he’s a knob.

The cultural highlight of 2023 was the cinematic Ying Yang known as Barbenheimer. What started as a joke became a PR start so cunning that no one who works in PR could ever have thought of it. Apparently the way to do it was to see Oppenheimer first then watch Barbie (preferably dressed in pink) as a kind of palette cleanser. Maybe this will pave the way for future contrasting film mashups – ‘Saw Patrol’, ‘Mission Impaddington’,  ‘Killers of the Flower Dune’ anyone?

The Tories gathered in Manchester for the annual round of infighting and back stabbing collectively known as the Conservative Party Conference. Bizarrely the hot ticket seemed to be Liz Truss who managed to pack the room for her speech whilst the main hall was littered with just a few old duffers looking for somewhere to kip. Whether they had turned up to hear her speech or just to see if she could find the door this time is anyone guess. Meanwhile Rishi Sunak decided that his visit to the north (or Plebland as he calls it) would be the perfect opportunity to announce the cancelling of the HS2 train line to, you guessed it, the north. So pumped was he with cancelling fever that he went on to cancel a load of stuff which didn’t even exist. Sunak seems to have decided that his political fate lies in the hands of ‘Meldrew Man’ – someone too old to worry about climate catastrophe but is incandescent with rage about pot holes. However nothing could top sexy sword queen Penny Mordaunt. She went full Henry V with a speech encouraging the nation to “Stand up and fight – because when you stand up and fight, the person besides you stands up and fights…” Fortunately most people in the auditorium were too old to stand up so it didn’t all kick off but it did leave everyone a little perplexed as to what exactly they were supposed to be fighting against.

2023 saw a run of celebrity scandals. In May we had Phillip Schofield who had apparently not been honest about something or other he’d done in the past that I thought everyone knew about anyway. It was a bit confusing but it was probably just payback for the cardinal sin of jumping a queue the year before. The most bizarre bit was Holly Willoughby taking on the role as a kind of light entertainment grief counsellor for the nation. It was never like this with Frank Bough. 

In July heat was taken off Phil with The Sun running a story about a “high-profile BBC presenter” paying a 17 year old for “sordid images”. Obviously the ‘newspaper’ wanted to create a bit of mystique around the identity of the presenter to increase sales, prompting an intense period of Shaggymania with just about every eligible BBC presenter declaring “it wasn’t me”. 

Then in a turn of events even less surprising than having Dave Grohl turn up at a gig and perform a guest spot, along came the ‘shaggers shagger’ Russell Brand. In recent years Russy Wussy has rebranded himself as a kind of cosmic guru and – yawn – champion of free speech. Obviously sensing his #MeToo moment was on the horizon he’d been assembling an army of useful idiots eager to believe whatever conspiracy theory he spouted who would rush to his defence with claims of ‘witch hunts’ and plots against him by the ‘mainstream media’. Let’s hope he gets some time to contemplate his actions in ‘jailey wailey’.

November saw political and technology leaders from around the world gather Bletchley Park for the AI Safety Summit. Elon Musk and Rishi Sunak also turned up and set out to prove their tech bro credentials by demonstrating that they had both seen The Terminator. Personally I welcome our AI overlords. Recent history has shown that democracy isn’t all it’s cracked up to be and maybe humans are not quite evolved enough to but put in charge of anything more dangerous than a bouncy castle. I’m all for future government policies being written by ChatGPT, or even a roomful of monkeys with typewriters.

A round up of 2023 couldn’t go by without a mention of Suella ‘Priti, hold my beer’ Braverman. This was the year she went rogue and became the nation’s twisted firestarter in the hope of becoming PM before the next election. Suella was fired for suggesting that people choose homelessness in order to get a feature spread in Hello magazine and was replaced by James ‘spike my beer’ Cleverly – surely the most ironically named man in politics. Jame’s replacement as Foreign Secretary was none other than David ‘put my beer in an offshore trust’ Cameron, the man who had ostensibly screwed everything up in the first place then whistled a jolly tune as he trotted off to his million pound ham cave. Bravo.

Finally, I discovered a new word this year:

weltschmerz

(n.) lit. “world-pain”; the depression you feel when the world as it is doesn’t reflect what you think it should be.

I guess it sums up how I’ve felt since I began writing these. However, this year I’m gonna take hot Penny’s advice and stand up and fight – well maybe after I’ve had a cuppa.

Happy New Year. X 

DOD Featured Photos

Arctic Forge Soldiers compete in a relay race during Arctic Forge at Sodankyla Garrison, Finland, Feb. 21, 2023. �� Photo Details > Pod Partners Navy Seaman Nomar Rodriguez, left, and Petty Officer 2nd Class Nick Svoboda secure a frequency-jammi… Photo Details > High Angle Shooter A soldier participates in high angle shooting training in Djibouti, Africa, Feb. 13, 2023. Photo Details > Light…

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Clean Arctic Alliance Applauds Expedition Cruise Industry Ban On HFO

Talking about the report that the 30 member companies of the Association of Arctic Expedition Cruise Operators (AECO) have come together and agreed on putting a ban on the use of heavy fuel oil in the Arctic, the Lead Advisor of Clean Arctic Alliance Dr Sian Prior said, “With an International Maritime Organization ban on the use of carriage of heavy fuel oil in the Arctic coming over the horizon, we welcome the decision made by AECO’s 30 expedition cruise companies to get ahead of the crowd, and for forging a path towards powering Arctic shipping with cleaner fuels.”

“That so many shipping and associated companies have recognised the risks associated with HFO, including both oil spill risks and black carbon emissions, by signing up for a ban, sends a strong message to decision-makers in Arctic governments and all International Maritime Organization Member States – who must pay heed. AECO members are demonstrating that not only is it possible to end the use and carriage of HFO in the Arctic, but that the expedition cruise sector is prepared to lead the way. In comparison, the conventional cruise industry still has a long way to go towards getting rid of HFO on board its ships: it should take note, and follow the lead of the expedition cruise industry.”

The announcement by AECO comes before the IMO’s decision to ban the usage and carriage of HFO as fuel by ships that are operating in the Arctic globally which was to be put into force in February 2020.

“Amid reports this month that some Arctic islands are 8 degrees warmer than normal, and Scientific American reporting that ‘scientists have been underestimating the pace of climate change, it is particularly welcome that the expedition cruise sector is prepared to demonstrate leadership and take action to reduce the amount of black carbon, a short-lived climate-forcer, being emitted in Arctic latitudes.

“While we anticipate that a global ban on the use and carriage of HFO as fuel by ships operating in the Arctic will be in place by 2023, it would be wonderful if other shipping operators followed AECO’s lead. The Clean Arctic Alliance launched the Arctic Commitment – a declaration of intent to not use or carry HFO as fuel in the Arctic – with expedition cruise operator Hurtigruten nearly three years ago, and we would welcome Arctic Commitment signatories from other parts of the shipping industry – the container sector, general cargo sector or even the bulk sector,” continued Prior.

AECO signed to the Arctic Commitment to remove the use of heavy fuel oil from Arctic shipping. The Arctic Commitment was launched in January 2017 at the Arctic Frontiers Conference by the Clean Arctic Alliance and Hurtigruten (an AECO member). The major goal of the Arctic Commitment is to save the communities and the ecosystem of the Arctic from the negative impacts of the HFO. It urges the IMO to ban the usage and carriage of HFO as a shipping fuel in the Arctic. In the Antarctica, HFO has been banned since 2001.

  Reference: hfofreearctic

from WordPress https://www.maritimemanual.com/clean-arctic-alliance-applauds-expedition-cruise-industry-ban-hfo/

Clean Arctic Alliance Applauds Expedition Cruise Industry Ban On HFO

Responding to the news that the 30 member companies of AECO, the Association of Arctic Expedition Cruise Operators, have agreed on a mandatory guideline banning the use of heavy fuel oil in the Arctic, Clean Arctic Alliance Lead Advisor Dr Sian Prior said:

“With an International Maritime Organization ban on the use of carriage of heavy fuel oil in the Arctic coming over the horizon, we welcome the decision made by AECO’s 30 expedition cruise companies to get ahead of the crowd, and for forging a path towards powering Arctic shipping with cleaner fuels.”

“That so many shipping and associated companies have recognised the risks associated with HFO, including both oil spill risks and black carbon emissions, by signing up for a ban, sends a strong message to decision-makers in Arctic governments and all International Maritime Organization Member States – who must pay heed. AECO members are demonstrating that not only is it possible to end the use and carriage of HFO in the Arctic, but that the expedition cruise sector is prepared to lead the way. In comparison, the conventional cruise industry still has a long way to go towards getting rid of HFO on board its ships: it should take note, and follow the lead of the expedition cruise industry.”

Representation Image – Credits: hfofreearctic.org

AECO’s announcement comes ahead of a decision on global action to ban the use and carriage as fuel of HFO by ships operating in the Arctic by the International Maritime Organization (IMO), which is due in February 2020.

“Amid reports this month that some Arctic islands are 8 degrees warmer than normal, and Scientific American reporting that ‘scientists have been underestimating the pace of climate change, it is particularly welcome that the expedition cruise sector is prepared to demonstrate leadership and take action to reduce the amount of black carbon, a short-lived climate-forcer, being emitted in Arctic latitudes.

“While we anticipate that a global ban on the use and carriage of HFO as fuel by ships operating in the Arctic will be in place by 2023, it would be wonderful if other shipping operators followed AECO’s lead. The Clean Arctic Alliance launched the Arctic Commitment – a declaration of intent to not use or carry HFO as fuel in the Arctic – with expedition cruise operator Hurtigruten nearly three years ago, and we would welcome Arctic Commitment signatories from other parts of the shipping industry – the container sector, general cargo sector or even the bulk sector,” continued Prior.

AECO was an early signatory of the Arctic Commitment, which calls for a phase-out of polluting heavy fuel oil (HFO) from Arctic shipping. Launched at the Arctic Frontiers conference in January 2017 by the Clean Arctic Alliance and expedition cruise ship operator Hurtigruten (an AECO member), the Arctic Commitment aims to protect Arctic communities and ecosystems from the risks posed by the use of heavy fuel oil, and calls on the International Maritime Organization (IMO) to ban its use and carriage as marine fuel by Arctic shipping. An HFO ban has already been in place in Antarctic waters, since 201.

Reference: hfofreearctic.org

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LONDON CAFE

Let’s have good Faith In The Future with Louis Tomlinson

JUNE 3, 2023 / MÉLANIE LAPIERRE

Louis Tomlinson knew where to go on his second album Faith In The Future with rockier and smashing indie songs from Britpop inspirations to modern indie classics. His Place Bell’s Laval show was no exception with a stellar performance and the stage scenic effects on point.

First to hit the stage were Snarls from Columbus, Ohio with their fine twist of indie pop. With their fun guitar chords and dancey rock beats, it was such a refreshing and enjoyable time. The female-fronted band were solid on their first performance on Canadian soil with their jolly and emotive lyrics, singalongs and beautiful melodies.

Snarls set up for what was going to be a magical night, all smile on stage with such good vibes. Those who loves Haim, Tegan And Sara, jangly and strong riffs will be served. Discover them on Spotify below.

We knew Irish indie-rock is catchy right now with the rise of many bands like Inhaler, Fontaines D.C, New Dad, and Louis Tomlinson brought in another one, The Academic. Hailing from Mullingar (yeah that’s why the accent sounded familiar, hello Niall Horan!), the crowd was all over it, singing along dancing and jumping around on the upbeat indie pop songs.

Blending elements of pop with magnificently driven chords, the songs are powerful whether they sing rock songs or emotional ballads. Crowd went crazy on Girlfriends, singing a Capella on melancholic soothing drum snarls and bright riffs. Here’s a little snippet of The Academic performance that brought the magic to the French Canadian city. What a blast!

While waiting for Louis Tomlinson and the band to come on stage, pre-show playlist drove us back in time from Nirvana to Black Rebel Motorcycle Club and Pixies while going in depth into British culture with some Foals, Maximo Park and obviously lots of Arctic Monkeys and never forget Oasis Supersonic banger from Definitely Maybe, a fire throwback to 1994’s Britpop era.

While roadies prepping the set up and Louis Tomlinson’s scribbling Faith In The Future on the big screen, people were so loud even before he hit the stage. Through the huge screams and claps, Louis and his band then hit the first note of The Greatest for a solid intro. Kill My Mind followed with such a viral energy and the fans iPhone lighting effects and singalongs. While playing Bigger Than Me on the opening night Uncasville and skipping it the next show, Laval was so happy to get it back on the set list, this is such an anthem and live it’s totally an incredible vibe. Louis Tomlinson energy was all over going from side to side of the stage, interacting with the fans like a proper rock star (and we absolutely adored it!) while teasing and laughing at his amazing musician.

Britpop inspiration floated from every side of the 10,000 cap almost-full arena alongside the live versions of Lucky Again and the slick guitars of Isaac Anderson and Michael Blackwell. Louis Tomlinson’s vocals were solid and very emotional, happiness and smiles flowing all around the people crowd. We were definitely Holding Out To Heartache when the concert finished later on! The Doncaster-born singer never let negativity bring him down and he proved it with Face The Music. Rock and indie was always his thing and he finally step up on his last record to find his genuine sound. He’s thankful for the fans and never forget where he belongs. Dedicating We Made It for his supporters, people sang along loudly to the chorus. Forging his career since 2010 and even from a younger age, Louis Tomlinson is humble, grateful and gave us a very strong and rockier edition of his former band One Direction’s with Night Changes and the crowd was really into it screaming at the chorus.

Emotional and so impossible to describe the feeling, the Yorkshire singer-songwriter got this special bond with his fans. With few words, laughs and drinks, he sang back to back hits from Faith in The Future new album and bonus tracks with soulful songwriting like Chicago, Saved By A Stranger and kicked in with the dance feeling of Foals-esque number Written All Over Your Face, pointing his mic through the crowd with the infamous “SING IT” vibes. Louis Tomlinson knows how to rock in style with his eclectic influences and props to his musicians sparkling some magic with his wonderful new-wave infused mega mix of All This Time and She Is Beauty, We Are World Class. His stage presence and pyrotechnics effects were just incredible and added some spice and energy to the show.

How do you make a perfect setlist? Mix some rockier song with heavy tearful ballads. Following A Copy Of A Copy Of A Copy and the Oasis-inspired first album titled song Walls, Louis Tomlinson surprised the fans with Bebe Rexha’s collab Back To You. Add more guitars, hectic drums and you got a truly better indie version. It was so original and that’s the kind of rendition that could attract brand new audiences. Of course, we can’t skip how his voice truly fits Alex Turner’s shoes on his brilliant cover of 505 by Arctic Monkeys. Indie Louis is a pure gem. The Angels Fly in the room with all the phone flashlights moving in sync and people humming the chorus with Tomlinson. The singer brings hope and joy to the world and the confetti exploded in the room to the jolting guitar riffs of Out Of My System. People jumped around and Louis Tomlinson did his traditional hop in the front pit to interact with fans.

Lights went off and fans shouted and cheered for the encore. Few minutes later, Louis Tomlinson’s offered three last songs, kicking it with Where Do Broken Hearts Go? He gained such confidence slaying on the high notes on some guitar-centred version, inspired by The Who. It was theatrical and emotional just like the beginning of Saturdays and the lights blinking like stars all across the arena. The night closed the Britpop fashion way with Silver Tongues in such a very electric way. Louis Tomlinson presence on stage was so on point all over the show that we would even have take more and more! What a night!

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