Three men are on trial after a cannabis farm was discovered in a Roborough business unit which could have resulted in producing hundreds of thousands of pounds worth of the Class B drug, prosecutors have claimed. Appearing at Plymouth Crown Court for trial Jakub Allaraj, aged 33 and Isidor Vasilie, aged 33, face one charge…
Shah Rukh Khan Cameo: Shah Rukh Khan will have a cameo in Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s love and War, and will share the screen with Ranbir KapoorShah Rukh Khan Cameo: Ranbir Kapoor’s film love and war is in a lot of discussion. There are reports of Shah Rukh Khan doing a cameo in the film. Actor Ranbir Kapoor, alia bhatt, and Vicky Kaushal’s film love and war is in a lot of discussion these days. There are reports that Shah Rukh Khan is going to be a part of this film. There will be a special sequence with Shah Rukh Khan in Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s film ‘Love and War’. Shah Rukh and sanjay leela bhansali also had a meeting regarding this.According to the report, if everything goes according to plan, Shah Rukh will shoot for his cameo in january 2025. Shah Rukh’s character will enter in the second half of the film. Where he will explain to Ranbir’s character, that is, there will be a conversation scene between him and Ranbir. This is going to be an intense scene.Let us tell you that shahrukh khan also did a cameo in Ranbir Kapoor’s film ‘Ae dil Hai Mushkil’.Let us tell you that this movie will be released in theaters on 20 march 2026. alia and Ranbir have started shooting for the film. A few days ago, photos of Ranbir and Vicky together also went viral. In the photos, the actors were seen in casual T-shirts and trousers. He was also wearing sunglasses and a cap. He was seen posing for the camera with a fan.On the work front, Ranbir was last seen in Animal. This film made record-breaking earnings. Now Ranbir has two films in his hand. He will be seen in Ramayan Part 1 and love and War. At the same time, alia Bhatt was seen in the film Jigara. This film did not get a special response. It flopped.Talking about Vicky Kaushal, he will be seen in the film Chhava. He was last seen in Bad News.
Warner Bros.
Table of Contents
The Christmas movie is a genre unto itself, but Thanksgiving deserves a little more love. Sure, there are plenty of people who prefer Turkey Day to any other day of the year, but there are also plenty of great movies about Christmas’ lead-in.
We’ve pulled together a list of five great comedies set in and around Thanksgiving, each of which has different things to say about the holiday. Like any tradition, Thanksgiving is only what you make of it, and these movies prove that Thanksgiving can be anything from magical or horrible, depending on who you spend it with.
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We also have guides to the best movies on Netflix, the best movies on Hulu, the best movies on Amazon Prime Video, the best movies on Max, and the best movies on Disney+.
Planes, Trains and Automobiles (1987)
PLANES TRAINS AND AUTOMOBILES | Official Trailer | Paramount Movies
A brilliant comedy that stands the test of time, Planes, Trains and Automobiles follows a high-strung man who finds his travel plans derailed as he attempts to get home to his family for Thanksgiving. When he finds himself journeying with a talkative man he finds annoying, the two of them bicker and butt heads as they journey across the country.
The film’s ultimate message, which is that we never know exactly what other people’s stories are and should be kind to them as a result, is the perfect message to consider as you celebrate a holiday all about gratitude. It’s also pretty funny, with great performances by leads Steve Martin and John Candy.
You can watch Planes, Trains and Automobiles on Paramount+.
Thanksgiving (2023)
THANKSGIVING – Official Trailer (HD)
Thanksgiving is ostensibly a horror movie, but you’re much more likely to find it hilarious than horrifying. The movie tells the story of a masked murderer who enacts revenge on a small community one year after a Black Friday riot ended in tragedy.
From the cartoonishness of the opening Black Friday sequence to the fact that it seems to think people still mob stores on Black Friday, Thanksgiving is downright silly, and seems to be at least mostly in on the joke.
You can watch Thanksgiving on Netflix.
Hannah and Her Sisters (1986)
Hannah and Her Sisters – Official Trailer – Woody Allen Movie
Set over several Thanksgivings, Hannah and Her Sisters uses those gatherings as a framing device to tell its larger story. While you may or may not want to watch a movie directed and written by Woody Allen, Hannah and Her Sisters undeniably represents one of the pinnacles of his career.
It tells a series of interweaving stories about three siblings and their extended relations, and is a meditation on love, death, and all the reasons we stay in live in spite of it all. Hannah and Her Sisters is brilliant, but we get it if it’s also a little too icky to watch.
You can watch Hannah and Her Sisters on Tubi.
You’ve Got Mail (1998)
You’ve Got Mail (1998) Official Trailer – Tom Hanks, Meg Ryan Movie HD
A rom-com about meeting on the internet that was made at the first moment it could have been, You’ve Got Mail is charmingly quaint about our digital lives, but survives largely on the combined star power of Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks.
Like many a Nora Ephron movie, You’ve Got Mail has major autumnal vibes, and it’s also about a time when small bookstores were being destroyed by major chains (Amazon wasn’t a thing yet). You’ve Got Mail is a movie about two people who fall in love over a chat, and it’s still one of the best movies about texting there is.
You can rent You’ve Got Mail on Amazon Prime Video.
Mistress America (2015)
One of Noah Baumbach’s most underseen and underrated movies, Mistress America takes place almost entirely in the lead-up to Thanksgiving. The film follows a bored college freshman living in New York City who decides to fill her days by getting wrapped up in the life of her soon-to-be step-sister.
Barbie director Greta Gerwig is utterly magnetic in this central role, and the film revolves in large part around her various delusions and beliefs about herself. The miracle of Mistress America, though, is that the movie manages to make its narcissistic central characters lovable and compelling instead of utterly repugnant. It’s one of the more entertaining movies of the past decade.
You can rent Mistress America on Amazon Prime Video.
CHICAGO – Chicago police warned local business owners after a lengthy series of smash-and-grab burglaries across several neighborhoods. In each incident, the suspects broke the front glass door or side window to gain access to the business, according to a CPD business alert. The suspects were described as four to five males wearing dark clothing,…
Moana 2 is out in theaters. The sequel has already been controversial, as the feature film started off as a Disney+ series and has been reworked into a theatrical release. The seemingly panicked pivot to put a sequel to a successful film in theaters following the box office bomb of 2022’s Strange World and the disappointing performance of 2023’s Wish suggests that Disney is retreating to sequels above new ideas, which is discouraging. Next year’s movie is Zootopia 2. A third Frozen is coming in 2027. I loved Zootopia and Frozen, and that shit still sounds bleak to me. But before this pivot to sequels, Disney’s latest era has been full of bangers. Some call the movies that started with 2008’s Bolt the “revival” era, and it’s an apt description considering how excellent some of these movies have been. So we figured we’d rank them as we get ready to see what’s next with the arrival of Moana 2. We’ll probably update this list after we see the movie this week. For now, here’s the best and worst of Disney’s modern era. Wish is a hot mess. The 2023 film was meant to be a celebration of Disney’s 100th anniversary, and it instead ended up being one of the low points of the company’s animated canon. Yes, it’s gorgeously animated, employing a beautiful marriage of watercolor and 3D animation styles, and its music, penned by Julia Michaels and Benjamin Rice, is lovely, albeit undermined by awkward lyrics. But beyond that, it’s an incoherent, clichéd story that’s only notable for suggesting that numerous Disney characters and concepts all emerge from the same shared universe. It might end up giving Kingdom Hearts some cool tools to work with for its Disney crossovers, but it’s a movie that’s mostly better off forgotten. However, Chris Pine’s King Magnifico is in the running for hottest Disney villain. So it’s got that going for it.2018’s Ralph Breaks the Internet still confounds me six years later. Modern Disney may be pretty synonymous with bleeding a property dry, but that tendency historically was not reflected by Walt Disney Animation Studios itself, which typically made one movie and then moved onto something else, leaving the other arms of Disney to do all the direct-to-video sequels and animated series. This sequel to 2012’s Wreck-It Ralph, however, was an arbiter for what would come, as Disney has become a sequel machine in the years since. However, Ralph Breaks the Internet is such an odd pivot from the video game tribute of its predecessor that it makes the entire “series” feel like an amorphous, malleable thing for Disney to play with. The heroes of Ralph Breaks the Internet enter a physical recreation of the world-wide web, including search engines, social media, online games, and what essentially equates to a digital theme park based on Disney properties. Sure, it’s got some great scenes, like when Vanellope meets the Disney Princesses, but the movie feels like an attempt to replicate Inside Out’s clever realization of concepts of thought, but without the thematic coherence to make it a compelling story. It’s a theme park experience of a movie, just throwing a variety of things at you to make you laugh and entertain you while narrative and meaning falls by the wayside, which is at least one thing that makes it consistent with the first film.There are a few movies more forgotten in the current era of Disney than Bolt, and that’s despite it arguably being the movie that brought the company into a new age. Its premise of a superpowered spy dog actor having a fish-out-of-water experience as he breaks containment is a ton of fun, though today it feels a little dated by its early 2000s, Dreamworks-style smarminess. Bolt may not have had the staying power of the movies that would follow it, but we likely wouldn’t have had modern classics like Tangled and Frozen had it not been for Bolt’s story about letting go of a glamorous life for a simple one with the people you love.While the Winnie the Pooh franchise is certainly not forgotten, it does feel like the 2011 film has been lost amidst the bigger hits of Disney’s past decade. The movie carries the distinction of being the last 2D animated film Disney has released in a theater, which is fitting, as it does feel like the last bastion of a different era. Its animation style is one thing, but it’s also distinct from most movies on this list for not adhering to the same tendency toward quippy dialogue and sassy heroes that typify modern Disney. It’s simple, and that makes it refreshing compared to most movies Disney puts out these days. It’s a shame that Raya and the Last Dragon came out when it did, a year into the covid-19 pandemic, because it didn’t have the chance to be the ticket-driving cultural phenomenon that so many Disney movies get to be. The Kelly Marie Tran-led film has a lot going for it, including a story that feels timely and relevant as it examines warring tribes divided by distrust, eventually brought together by a younger generation who fights to reunite the people. It also has some of the best action scenes in Disney’s catalog as it draws inspiration from classic martial arts films. The film’s mythology is interesting in a vacuum but was subject to criticism when viewed through the lens of its Southeast Asian influence. Raya and the Last Dragon has its heart in the right place and is wonderfully acted and animated. It just maybe could have used another pass or two.I was outnumbered on this one. In my opinion, Wreck-It Ralph is a cool idea with messy execution. Its early scenes, like a group therapy session showing the titular arcade game baddy working it out alongside video game icons like Mario’s Bowser, Street FIghter’s Zangief, and Sonic’s Eggman, feel like vignettes from a more focused movie. Wreck-It Ralph is a pretty good Disney movie but a half-hearted video game tribute. It starts strong with a bunch of really good cameos in the beginning, but loses its grip on its premise as the movie goes on. That being said, Ralph and Vanellope’s respective journeys to self-actualization in the face of pushback from society are still wonderful and heartfelt. The fact that the sequel loses the plot even more has retroactively soured me on Wreck-It Ralph, but others at Kotaku enjoy it more than I do, so it gets an upward nudge.Like Winnie the Pooh, The Princess and the Frog feels like a relic of the past compared to other movies on this list. The last 2D animated film featuring a Disney Princess remains a sore spot for some in the studio’s canon because it has been wielded in debates about the company’s trajectory and the perceived marketability of films starring a Black woman protagonist. But on its own, The Princess and the Frog is a delightful, classic Disney affair that shuns the company’s usual musical theater sound in favor of a gospel-infused, soulful, jazzy soundtrack fitting for its 1920s New Orleans setting. The Princess and the Frog turns a fairytale standard into a period piece, following Princess Tiana’s rise from rags to riches. It’s one of Disney’s most interesting spins on the fairytales it usually draws from, and despite the bullshit that surrounded it, Tiana has had staying power alongside her Disney Princess contemporaries.Strange World is one of Disney’s most criminally underrated movies, full stop. The pulpy adventure film incorporates the Disney-standard generational trauma narrative to great effect as it follows three generations of the Clade family. Each has an idea of who their family is meant to be, and as the grandfather, father, and son of the family each reckon with their own beliefs, Strange World also delivers some of the most visually stunning animation Disney has ever put into (not enough) theaters. Strange World takes inspiration from adventure films like Indiana Jones, while also weaving in environmentalist themes propped up by a gorgeous alien universe. The titular world is made up of stunning, otherworldly vistas, lively characters both human and otherwise, and fascinating creatures that are, well, strange. And while its world is full of weirdness, its conflicts remain pretty human. The Clade family struggles to understand each other, and it takes reaching dangerous, unexplored places to consider the obvious. Tragically, Disney undermarketed the film, making it one of the biggest box office bombs in history. If you’ve got a Disney+ account, the movie is streaming, and it fucking rules. God, it deserved better.Strange World is one of Disney’s most criminally underrated movies, full stop. The pulpy adventure film incorporates the Disney-standard generational trauma narrative to great effect as it follows three generations of the Clade family. Each has an idea of who their family is meant to be, and as the grandfather, father, and son of the family each reckon with their own beliefs, Strange World also delivers some of the most visually stunning animation Disney has ever put into (not enough) theaters. Strange World takes inspiration from adventure films like Indiana Jones, while also weaving in environmentalist themes propped up by a gorgeous alien universe. The titular world is made up of stunning, otherworldly vistas, lively characters both human and otherwise, and fascinating creatures that are, well, strange. And while its world is full of weirdness, its conflicts remain pretty human. The Clade family struggles to understand each other, and it takes reaching dangerous, unexplored places to consider the obvious. Tragically, Disney undermarketed the film, making it one of the biggest box office bombs in history. If you’ve got a Disney+ account, the movie is streaming, and it fucking rules. God, it deserved better.I fucking love Encanto. I do not like half of its soundtrack. Lin-Manuel Miranda and I have never quite gelled, and that doesn’t change when his music is attached to an otherwise excellent film. “We Don’t Talk About Bruno” is one of my karaoke go-tos, but otherwise I find most of Encanto’s music either plagued by Miranda’s usual grating sing-talky style or just dreadfully dull compared to that of most Disney movies. With that giant boulder pushed out of the way, Encanto is probably the best exploration of the generational trauma Disney has become synonymous with. It follows the Madrigal family, who have been gifted superhuman powers with which to aid their community. Those powers also come with the great weight of expectation from heroine Mirabel’s grandmother, who has been the matriarchal backbone of the family since she escaped a war-torn Colombia with her children. Encanto portrays a family fractured by expectations with a great deal of empathy for each generation. It’s cathartic to see younger generations finally find the courage to advocate for themselves after years of being held to an unreachable standard, and Encanto shows that, within reason, even the most fractured connections can be repaired.Zootopia is a complex onion of a movie to unpack because it has its heart in the right place but its mixed messages have made it harder to go back to in the years since it premiered in 2016. On the surface, Zootopia is a film about prejudice. Its titular metropolis is meant to be a paradise where anthropomorphic predators and prey live together in harmony. Rookie cop Judy Hopps moves to the city and discovers that idealized vision is not as it seems, and is forced to reckon with her own privilege after seeing how the social hierarchy affects predators like con-man fox Nick Wilde. The core allegorical premise is strong, and leads to some of the most emotionally affecting moments in recent Disney memory, it’s the pro-cop framing that feels harder to swallow eight years later. Sure, the movie examines the “bad apples” in the system, but feels largely uncritical of the institution it idolizes. It’s a Disney movie, so it’s not going to be particularly radical in its thinking. Its discussions of prejudice and privilege are apt and it does a good job of presenting those in a way that the average child (or adult, let’s be frank) might take something away from, but I’m interested to see if next year’s Zootopia 2 interrogates some of its core premises, though I’m not holding my breath. All that said, Zootopia has some of Disney’s sharpest writing, funniest comedic setpieces, and best performances from Ginnifer Goodwin and Jason Bateman as its two leads. Nick remains one of my favorite Disney characters. I’m a mark first and a hater second. I can’t wait to see these two in theaters again next year.It’s been 10 years since Big Hero 6, and I’m surprised that it’s still the only Marvel property to get an official Disney animated adaptation since the company acquired the comic book maker back in 2009. Big Hero 6 is a loose adaptation of one of Marvel’s more obscure properties, and what sticks out to me all these years later is its exploration of grief, which it notably examines through the experience of a young boy. Big Hero 6 is a superhero origin story for protagonist Hiro Hamada, but more than that, it’s an extended, action-packed therapy session as he learns to let go of his anger and to embody the best parts of those he’s lost. This is all facilitated by Baymax, one of Disney’s most instantly likable characters in recent memory. The puffy, robotic doctor is a source of some of the film’s best gags, but is also the movie’s beating heart, embodying the transformative themes of Big Hero 6 with each scene he’s in. I’d say the movie left me wanting more, but since it led to an animated sequel series and a Disney+ spin-off, we haven’t exactly been lacking for stuff set in the film’s universe, even if Disney hasn’t pushed for a proper sequel yet like it has with numerous other recent hits.The final three on our list are widely considered to be the modern classics of Disney’s revival era, and I could easily see any of them in the top spot on any given day. But we can’t give them a three-way tie for first place (I mean, I don’t think we can), so I’ve gotta give Moana the third-place spot. Moana’s journey from a begrudging leader to a bold, trailblazing one takes her across oceans she’s only ever dreamed of, having been kept sequestered on her home island by her parents her whole life. But dreaming of something is one thing; reckoning with the reality of what you feel you’re capable of is much harder. Moana is a story of self-doubt and resilience, and knowing that the two feelings intermingle. Accomplishing anything means always finding your way back to the latter.AdvertisementThankfully, Moana leans less into Lin-Manuel Miranda’s more annoying bag of musical tricks than Encanto did, and Auliʻi Cravalho’s soaring vocals deliver empowering anthems that elevate the film’s most emotional beats. I’m curious to see if Moana 2 can live up to its predecessor with new songwriters at the helm.2010’s Tangled was the blueprint for modern Disney before it reached near caricature status with Wish. The studio’s take on Rapunzel’s story is full of youthful joy, sharp wit, delightful earworms, and top-of-the-class animation. As a first attempt to bring the Disney Princess formula into 3D animation, Disney got it in one. Mandy Moore and Zachary Levi (damn, talk about a drop-off) have great chemistry as Rapunzel and rogueish criminal Eugene, and Broadway veteran Donna Murphy is brilliantly cast as Rapunzel’s scheming mother. Disney’s depiction of Rapunzel as a sheltered but exuberant young woman looking for a life beyond the monotonous one she’s suffered her whole life inspired multiple Disney heroines in the decade that followed. Even after all those imitators, however, Rapunzel still feels like one of the most genuine depictions of the archetype. Her story ends in the tower where it began, but she and Eugene return to the prison changed, both willing to sacrifice themselves for the other. Those selfless expressions are what ultimately free them from their old lives and allow them to find something new together.If Tangled was Disney establishing that it could translate its previous successes into 3D, Frozen was a subversion of what everyone believed a Princess movie to be. The 2013 adaptation of “The Snow Queen” is built upon pulling the rug out from under you. For most of its run, it’s an endlessly charming story about two sisters who have been driven apart by fear, to the point that when they grow up, they barely know each other. One has been taught to fear the other, and the other has been made to fear herself. It puts them at a standstill, desiring closeness but unable to facilitate it. But this is a Disney movie, and as far as popular culture believes, Princess Anna doesn’t need her sister, she just needs to find a man and then her life will begin. First leaning into most people’s expectations of the Disney formula, Frozen then stabs viewers in the back, twists the knife, and kicks them down a stairwell. It’s both a pointed commentary on the blind spots in the company’s earlier work and a declaration of the studio’s ethos moving forward. That on its own makes Frozen one of the best films Disney has ever put in a theater, but the pitch-perfect casting of Idina Menzel and Kristen Bell helped shape two of the most recognizable pop culture characters of the past decade. The two leads give voice to some of the best songs in Disney’s catalog, tying together what remains the best example of a modern classic Disney has to its name. Frozen II’s exploration of Anna and Elsa builds beautifully on top of the original’s foundation, but even if it hadn’t, the story of two sisters reuniting without fear still exemplifies the best that Disney has to offer.
Transform your digital environment. When you think of iStore, the first thing that likely comes to mind is our bright, welcoming retail spaces brimming with the latest Apple devices. But did you know that the company does a lot more than simply serve as a supplier of cutting-edge technology? Under the iStore Business division, on…
TULSA — The nearly 50 album covers spanning one of the walls of the Bob Dylan Center also span many of the top acts in the pantheon of popular music: Eric Clapton, George Harrison, Ringo Starr, Cher, Leonard Cohen, Rod Stewart, Leon Russell, Steve Miller Band, The Pointer Sisters, Arlo Guthrie, Neil Diamond, Joe Cocker and, of course, Dylan himself.The common thread that connects all the albums in this eclectic collection happens to be the late Jesse Ed Davis, an often overlooked Oklahoman and Native American guitarist whose contributions to rock ‘n’ roll history are finally seizing the spotlight.”This is maybe half of everything he played on, just some of the greatest hits or the deep cuts that are really interesting. Just that alone, the stature of it, is telling,” said writer and historian Douglas K. Miller during a tour of the new Bob Dylan Center exhibit “Jesse Ed Davis: Natural Anthem.””This is the 80th anniversary of his birth this year … so it was time for this.”Along with writing the new biography “Washita Love Child: The Rise of Indigenous Rock Star Jesse Ed Davis,” which made Kirkus Reviews’ list of best nonfiction books of 2024, and co-producing a new double-LP collection of Davis’ previously unreleased recordings titled “Tomorrow May Not Be Your Day: The Unissued Atco Recordings 1970-1971,” which is due out Nov. 29 for Record Store Day Black Friday, Miller co-curated the new Bob Dylan Center exhibit with former U.S. Poet Laureate and recent National Humanities Medalist Joy Harjo.Need a break? Play the USA TODAY Daily Crossword Puzzle.”For it to all come together like this, with an album, with a book on his life and a show that’s incredible with some of his guitars and stories and images, it’s just really exciting to honor him and his legacy — and it’s an important legacy for Oklahomans. … I’m just really honored to get to be part of this whole project to bring his legacy into focus,” said Harjo, who collaborated with Davis near the end of his tragically short life.”He’s very underrated, but you know what, all these … younger guitar players adore him. He’s like the guitar god still: He probably has more of a following now than when he was here.”Who was guitarist Jesse Ed Davis?Known as the “guitar hero’s guitar hero,” Davis was born Sept. 21, 1944, in Norman. An enrolled citizen of the Kiowa Nation who was also Comanche, Cheyenne, Muscogee and Seminole, he was the only child of Jesse Edwin “Bus” Davis II, a noted Native American artist, and Vivian Mae “Bea” Saunkeah Davis, the first Kiowa woman to graduate from the University of Oklahoma.Both his parents were musically inclined, and their son, known as a child as “Eddie,” embarked on his first tour, with the musical television show “American Bandstand,” when he was just 16. By the time he graduated from Oklahoma City’s Northeast High School in 1962, he’d already been in bands with other talented locals.While attending OU, Davis got his first major gig, backing former OKC resident and future Country Music Hall of Famer Conway Twitty. In the mid-1960s, the guitarist moved to Los Angeles, where he reconnected with The Band’s Levon Helm, whom Davis met on his “American Bandstand” tour. Helm introduced Davis to fellow Oklahoman Russell, who helped the musician get work on recording sessions.”He was coming of age as a musician in an important time. He was out in L.A. when Leon Russell was out there, and the Tulsa Sound was coming together in the studios of L.A. from all these Oklahoma people,” Harjo said.From the late 1960s through the mid-’70s, Davis played alongside some of music’s biggest stars on some of the most iconic records and at some of the most legendary events in rock ‘n’ roll history. He joined influential bluesman Taj Mahal’s band, which led to him playing at the 1968 Rolling Stones’ “Rock and Roll Circus” in London, where he befriended another big-name collaborator in John Lennon, and even to him inspiring Duane Allman to take up the slide guitar.The Oklahoma native performed at 1971’s “Concert for Bangladesh” alongside organizer Harrison, Clapton, Russell, Dylan and Billy Preston. He played on and produced Gene Clark’s second solo album, “White Light,” provided the scorching solo for Jackson Browne’s chart-topper “Doctor, My Eyes” and performed on a slew of famed records and albums, including Dylan’s “Watching the River Flow” and “When I Paint My Masterpiece,” Lennon’s “Walls and Bridges” and “Rock ‘n’ Roll,” Harrison’s “Extra Texture” and Starr’s “Goodnight Vienna” and “Ringo’s Rotogravure.”Many of his famous friends contributed to Davis’ three solo albums: 1971’s “¡Jesse Davis!,” 1972’s “Ululu” and 1973’s “Keep Me Comin’.” In 1975, he played on Rod Stewart and The Faces’ final tour.”He was a great session man. He was a great sideman. He was a solo man who made three records of his own. He was an innovator. He was one of the most beloved guitarists of his generation, among the great artists of his time,” Miller said.Like many rockers, Davis also struggled with drug abuse, which caused him to drop out of the music scene. In 1985, Davis formed the Grafitti Band, which paired his music with the poetry of Native American activist John Trudell, with their album “AKA Grafitti Man” becoming a personal favorite of Dylan.Davis died from a drug overdose on June 22, 1988, in L.A. at the age of 43.”I was sitting having brunch on a Sunday afternoon, because I remember it was relatively warm for the Bay Area, and reading the San Francisco paper. And then I saw the little notice about Jesse Ed Davis OD’ing In a laundromat,” Harjo recalled.”It was (a shock) because the man that I knew briefly … was just a beautiful soul.”Rediscovery of Jesse Ed Davis’ musicAlthough Davis was posthumously inducted into the Oklahoma Jazz Hall of Fame in 2002 and the Native American Music Hall of Fame in 2018, his rock ‘n’ roll contributions have largely been overlooked.”Around 2017 or so, I was listening to a Gene Clark album that Jesse Ed Davis produced and plays guitar on. It’s one of my favorite albums … and I sort of sat up and thought, ‘How come we don’t know more about Jesse Ed Davis? His name is on so many albums in my collection,'” Miller recalled.”When he passed, his story had not been told in a long time. There were a couple of years when Jesse was essentially homeless. There just wasn’t a sort of infrastructure … for Jesse to have been easily remembered the way so many other artists have been. But it’s a credit to his fans, his family, his friends, his music partners, that just enough of a spark of his memory persisted all these years.”In 2019, the PBS documentary “Rumble: The Indians Who Rocked the World” brought renewed interest in Davis’ legacy, and Tulsa-based Native American filmmaker and showrunner Sterlin Harjo, who has listed his own Davis documentary among his many upcoming projects, featured the guitar hero’s music on his acclaimed series “Reservation Dogs.””He had this extraordinary career that, I think, Native people rightly want to sort of rally around. … A lot of people played with John Lennon. A lot of people played with Leon Russell, but Jesse was at the center of some of that music, some of those albums, some of those live concerts, as a real insider, and not as a token Indigenous person,” Miller said.”He was somebody who was really producing music and contributing some essential components of the sound that was going to define the late ’60s and ’70s music that still endures to this day.”Over five years, Miller did hundreds of interviews with Davis’s bandmates, family members, friends, and peers — including Browne, Bonnie Raitt and the late Robbie Robertson — for his new book “Washita Love Child.” Along the way, he and co-producer Mike Johnson combed through about 30 hours of Davis’ unreleased music for the new collection “Tomorrow May Not Be Your Day.”Miller is celebrating both new releases in Davis’ hometown from 3 to 6 p.m. Dec. 1 at The Standard in Norman with a concert featuring Oklahoma legends and Indigenous musicians, including Terry Tsotigh & The Redmen Blues Band, AJ Harvey, Terry “Buffalo” Ware & The Sunday Flyers, Mike Hosty, Felix Linden (aka Flea), Chebon Tiger, Scott & Kody Keeton with Nathan Roberts and special guests The Redstone Singers, a Kiowa/Anquoe family drum group. The Music Moves Mountains Foundation is hosting the concert to raise funds for a music scholarship for Native musicians in Davis’ honor.Bob Dylan Center brings together Jesse Ed Davis’ famed collaboratorsAs artist in residence at the Bob Dylan Center, Harjo proposed a project to honor Davis that became the “Natural Anthem” exhibit.”The director hadn’t heard of him — and I love these moments of synchronicity — so I Googled Jesse Ed Davis, and up popped an image of him with Bob Dylan, which was perfect. Once he knew who he was, it was a no brainer to focus on him for a show,” she said.It was another moment of synchronicity that brought Harjo together with Miller to co-curate the exhibit.”I was talking with our senior director of archives and exhibitions, Mark Davidson, and said, ‘Joy has a really interesting idea, something about Jesse Ed Davis.’ And he said, ‘Well, you know, Doug Miller came through to do all this research for his book,’ so he told me more about Doug and what Doug was able to find in the Bob Dylan Archive,” said Bob Dylan Center Director Steven Jenkins.”Then, we’re thinking, well, let’s see if we can get Doug and Joy together to talk.”On view through April 27, the career-spanning exhibit features previously unheard recordings and unseen images; Davis’ instruments and personal mementos; an array of photographs of Davis and his fellow music luminaries; and original video installations about his life and career.In conjunction with the exhibit, a tribute concert featuring Browne, Mahal, Harjo and the Grafitti Band is set for Feb. 6 in Tulsa. Details are to be announced soon.”He was a great musician, but he also surrounded himself with other great talents — and that was something he was doing from when he was a teenager forming his first band. He loved big band music. He loved the idea of a lot of people on stage creating a really communal sound,” Miller said.”To see all these people who were touched by him and played with him just reminds me of his spirited approach of ‘Music’s about bringing people together and lifting people up.” And that’s what I see here.”‘Jesse Ed Davis: Natural Anthem’When: Through April 27.Where: Bob Dylan Center, Tulsa.Information: https://bobdylancenter.com.Jesse Ed Davis Tribute ConcertWhen: 3 to 6 p.m. Dec. 1.Where: The Standard, Norman.Information: https://musicmovesmountains.org.
Craig Stewart, Managing Director, Altron Digital Business. (Image: Supplied) In today’s rapidly evolving business landscape, organisations constantly seek innovative solutions to optimise their operations and gain a competitive edge. The largest and most valuable businesses globally have streamlined their operations, cut unnecessary spending, use real-time data to make decisions, employ real-time analytics and optimise customer…
Vermont Business Magazine The White River Valley Chamber of Commerce has named John Baumann, Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of DuBois & King, Business Executive of the Year for 2024. The Business Executive of the Year designation recognizes professional success and exemplary contributions to a business’s growth, vitality, financial health, success, and sustainability. Based in Randolph, the Chamber is made up of businesses and organizations in eleven communities in central Vermont. An award ceremony will be held in early spring 2025. Baumann’s relationship with DuBois & King—a multidisciplinary consulting engineering firm headquartered in Randolph—goes back 43 years when he worked at the company part-time during high school. Following graduation from Norwich University in 1989 with Bachelors of Science in economics and business administration, Baumann joined D&K full time as a staff accountant. Within five years, he was promoted to controller, at that time, the senior-most financial position in the company.
In 2005, following significant investment in DuBois & King, Baumann was elected to the Board of Directors, and in 2008, he was elevated to chief financial officer of DuBois & King, just in time for the arrival of the great recession. As a principal and as CFO, he played a key role in guiding the company through the recession, meeting commitments to the firm’s creditors while protecting jobs. Although many companies endured several rounds of layoffs as they fought to survive the recession, Baumann’s meticulous and strategic leadership—in concert with his fellow principals—ensured DuBois & King did not lay off a single employee during the financial downturn.
Baumann’s leadership has been instrumental in DuBois & King’s steady growth and success. In 2008, when Baumann and his partners assumed control of the company, the firm employed 64 people and operated in three offices in two states. Despite navigating the recession, followed up by many challenges resulting from the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020, DuBois & King now has more than 160 staff around nine offices in four states and has increased its annual revenue by more than four hundred percent since 2008.
Baumann was elected as Vice Chair of the Board of Directors in 2016. Over the last two decades, Baumann has steadfastly focused on retiring DuBois & King’s debt burden while balancing the cash flow demands placed on a company bound to invest in sustainable growth and remain locally owned. His financial strategies and ethical leadership have fiscally strengthened the firm and positioned the company for its growth and success, leading the Chamber to select him for this year’s Business Executive of the Year honor.
A lifelong resident of Randolph, Baumann lives in Randolph with his wife, Barbara.
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Vermont Business Magazine NFIB State Director Shawn Shouldice is urging Vermonters to support local shops and restaurants this weekend on Small Business Saturday, Nov. 30th. “In addition to creating good-paying jobs and strengthening the local economy, small businesses shape our communities by volunteering their time and financially supporting charitable organizations,” said Shouldice. “A recent NFIB report highlights how small business owners and their employees benefit their communities, beyond operating their businesses.”
“Every dollar people spend at a local small business helps sustain and strengthen our hometowns,” continued Shouldice. It’s estimated that 67 cents of every dollar spent at a small business stays in the community. As we kick off the holiday season, I encourage all Vermonters to shop small, especially on Small Business Saturday, and thank a small business owner for how they enrich your community.”
Background:
Sandwiched between Black Friday and Cyber Monday, Small Business Saturday began in 2010 as a way to help local stores and restaurants recover from the Great Recession. It has quickly transformed into a Thanksgiving weekend tradition, becoming one of the busiest sales seasons for small business owners nationwide.
CLICK HERE to view the 2024 Small Businesses’ Contribution to the Community report.
About NFIB:
For more than 80 years, the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) has been the voice of small business, advocating on behalf of America’s small and independent business owners, both in Washington, D.C., and in all 50 state capitals. NFIB is nonprofit, nonpartisan, and member driven. Since our founding in 1943, NFIB has been exclusively dedicated to small and independent businesses and remains so today. For more information, please visit www.NFIB.com.
Source: MONTPELIER, VT (Nov. 27, 2024) – NFIB
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