text:
15 random thoughts, observations, and questions for the week.
1. Hurricane Katrina was the big news this week, and rightly so (I think vacation time is over, Dubya, and it's time to get back to "work"). This sucks for New Orleans, and it's a tragedy, but doesn't the hike in gas prices seem a little...I don't know, convenient for the White House? Way to gouge those prices. I bet another war would bring those down. Assholes. And Katrina, I ask you: why couldn't you have wiped the VMAs out, instead? We had the chance to destroy Sean "Dip Shitty" Combs and the too-powerful, money-wasting, self-important culture he stands for. All I ask is that Nick and Jessica live. Otherwise...would anyone really miss Paris Hilton?
2. Speaking of high gas prices, this just means the box office slump is going to get worse. Look for another wave of piracy lawsuits when studio executives can't figure out why everyone is limiting their drives to the necessities for the next few months. Sorry, but movies are not a necessity, especially when they're Underclassman.
3. Somebody's making a movie about Johnny Stompanato with fucking Keanu Reeves in it. As if that weren't bad enough, there's a big fight brewing over who should play Lana Turner. Catherine Zeta-Jones has been cast, but Sharon Stone insists that Lana Turner once told her she should play the role. How about we say that neither one of those hags is talented enough for it and leave it at that?
4. This story is so stupid that it makes me laugh. Britney Spears is in the final weeks of her pregnancy, and you know how that can go–an emotional rollercoaster. Supposedly, her sister Jamie-Lynn got into a fight with her Zoey 101 co-star Alexa Nikolas, so Britney came down and (allegedly) yelled at the 13 year-old Nikolas, called her "an evil little girl," and reduced her to tears. Britney's publicist, the always-honest Leslie Sloane-Zelnick (wink, wink) says that Britney just gave the girl "a sisterly talking to." My question is: why was Britney even involved? Jamie-Lynn needs her sister to fight her battles for her? Man, what a crybaby.
5. Speaking of Britney, she says she's glad that Jessica Simpson beat her for the role of Daisy Duke. Funny, I've seen Crossroads, so I imagine that audiences are, too.
6. Vivica Fox got all pissed off at Jimmy Kimmel the other night and told him she was going to kick his ass for making fun of her pal Star Jones-Reynolds. Viv, is this really where you want to go? Because there are a lot of more fun ways to ruin your rep than by sticking up for the most self-important woman since Oprah.
7. Lots of negative buzz over the idea of casting Crispin Glover as the Joker in the sequel to Batman Begins. Why? He'd be perfect. And fucking comic book fans want Sarah Michelle Gellar to play Wonder Woman, so they shouldn't be allowed in on casting sessions, anyway. I heard someone say they want Peter Sarsgaard to play the Joker without any makeup. Why? Is this Batman, or not? When did comic book fans get so fucking pretentious about it?
8. Russell Crowe has hit out against celebrities who use their fame to campaign for causes. He donates quietly without drawing attention to it, saying: "I do my bit to improve the world, but I think it's very important to get things done on the quiet. I'm sick to death of famous people standing up and using their celebrity to promote a cause. If I see a particular need, I do try to help. But there's a lot that can be achieved by putting a check in the right place and shutting up about it." I have to say I agree with him; Live 8 seemed like Bob Geldof's monument to himself and his influence in the record industry. In fact, so did Live Aid.
9. So, I've got the Aly & AJ album now, and I'm thinking about buying the Raven-Symone album. Am I Disney's bitch, or what? And after I spent all day listening to Willie Nelson, Johnny Cash, and Dolly Parton, too...
10. I just stupidly caught an episode of The Surreal Life on VH1. Dude, I know it's not popular to say so, but Omarosa is fucking hot.
11. A lot of reports coming out from Budapest, where Steven Spielberg's production of Munich is pissing off a lot of Hungarians. Apparently the invading Americans are acting all arrogant and cavalier, without any regard for the way their production is disrupting their daily lives. I'll let a source from Page Six tell it: "The best part is, [Spielberg's people] keep saying, 'This is biggest this ever to happen to Budapest,' which is true if you discount the whole Roman and Ottoman Empires, World Wars I and II, the fall of communism and the European Union's accession." Classic! Oh, snap, take that, Steven Shitburger.
12. ABC is talking about delaying its new show Invasion, which centers on a park ranger whose family is destroyed in a hurricane. Warner Bros. delayed V for Vendetta, which is about a man who terrorizes London with bombs. Dude, it's just a movie and TV series, they were made months ago, they're not about you. Why are people such fucking wusses? Quick, let's not make any more movies about car accidents, someone may have died in one once. Buck up, losers. If you're too sensitive to go to the movies, then don't go. I won't miss seeing you there.
13. Alas, the legendary club CBGB's is no more. The forces that be have decided to evict owner Hilly Kristal. The glam and punk eras are truly gone. Damn it all.
14. Pamela Anderson: "Women love me and admire my honesty." That's funny, I have yet to meet any... Except for my bisexual girlfriend, who lusts after Pam.
15. Here's my favorite story of the week: Colin Farrell's old schoolmates are talking about what a wuss he used to be in a new book, Colin Farrell: Living Dangerously. They're saying he used to be a rather posh mama's boy, and that his accent is a put-on. One says: "He was seen as effeminate. They thought he was a sissy so he got picked on." Another says: "He pretends he's from a tough part of Dublin, but he's not." I just love it because...it's Colin Farrell, and I have no idea how someone so untalented and unattractive became such a chick magnet. I fucking hate him, and hearing anything bad about him makes me smile. It's petty, but so be it.
Friday, September 02, 2005
Throwdown 9/2
Posted by SamuraiFrog at 3:41 PM 0 comments
Labels: Throwdown
Thursday, September 01, 2005
For All You Bettie Page Fans
It's been a long wait, but there's finally some real news about the long-awaited Bettie Page movie. It was supposed to have aired this past summer on HBO under the title The Ballad of Bettie Page, but it's now getting a limited theatrical release under the better title The Notorious Bettie Page. The film is made by director/writer Mary Harron and co-writer Guinevere Turner; between them, they've made American Psycho, I Shot Andy Warhol, and Go Fish. At long last, we have our first pictures of Gretchen Mol as Bettie.
Posted by SamuraiFrog at 8:37 AM 0 comments
Labels: Beautiful Women, Films, Retro Hotties
Wednesday, August 31, 2005
Film Week
A review of the films I've seen this past week.
A whimsical fairy tale about a prince (Omar Sharif) who falls in love with a peasant (Sophia Loren). A lot of fairy stories don't get the level of whimsy right, and this being an Italian film, I wasn't expecting very much (sorry...), but I fell right in love with it. Great score, great costumes, lavish sets, and a great love story. Sophia Loren is remarkably lovely and wonderful in this **** star movie.
Jean Jacques-Annaud, director of one of my favorite films, The Bear, cuts right to my heart again with another movie about animals. This tells the story of two tigers, separated as cubs, whose lives take parallel paths. There's an awful lot of dialogue scenes, though, with Guy Pearce as some kind of archaeologist and Freddie Highmore as a boy who briefly owns one of the tigers. I could have used more of the tigers, magnificent animals that they are. Still, even with the manufactured story, the beautiful cinematography and the sincerity of the project carry this film to **** star territory.
I didn't see the original version in theaters (who knew it was only going to be around for a week and a half?), and this version is all they had at the video store. I hear this version is faster-paced, which means the original must have been like watching a dog slowly die of heat, because this was slow, slow, slooooooow. And bad, just so, so bad. It's not like there's anything specifically wrong or historically inaccurate, really, so much as it's just a boring, badly made snooze-fest. Let's start with what I liked about it: great costumes (even though, as always, they were ludicrously clean), the reconstruction of Babylon was amazing, the Battle of the Hydaspes was awesome just for the elephants and for the amazing scene of Bucephalus's death, the Vangelis score was nice without being reverent, Angelina Jolie was quite good, as was Christopher Plummer in his two scenes and Jonathan Rhys Myers in a tiny role, and I liked Val Kilmer. He was over-the-top, sure, but in that Richard Burton "Less Is More, But Let's Do More" kind of way. He basically played Philip as Oliver Reed would have. What did I hate? Everything else. The Battle of Gaugamela is impossible to watch with any clarity. Jared Leto is a shitty actor. Rosario Dawson was beautiful but had nothing to do; Roxanne might as well have not been in the movie. Anthony Hopkins's voice over is pointless and says nothing of interest or import to add to the film. Almost everyone in the movie is Irish for some reason. Colin Farrell is one of the shittiest actors who ever lived; he can't handle the role. Are we supposed to like Alexander, sympathize with him, want him to succeed, be sorry when he dies? Or are we supposed to hate Alexander, lament how he overreached, be glad when he dies? The overwhelmingly fatal flaw of Alexander is that Oliver Stone and his writers can't decide whether Alexander is to be feared, pitied, despised, admired, or revered. Stone seems to have made this movie without ever making up his mind about how he felt about his main character. Therefore, you can't ever identify with the guy, and the movie has no emotional drive. It's simply stuff that happens that you can never really care about. No one else in the movie ever registers as a character, so there's no entry point into the film for the audience. Two other things. First, why do they have to make Alexander blonde? Was he supposed to be blonde? His parents, in this film, have black and auburn hair, so why is he blonde? Is it proof that he's the son of Zeus, or just poofy excess (they could have done without the highlights–why not frosted tips next time)? Most of the Classical depictions I've seen of Alexander show him with dark hair, anyway. Why bother? It just makes Colin Farrell look even more ridiculous, especially since he's so swarthy. And lastly, what's with the gay stuff? I realize it's a point of historical contention whether or not Alexander was gay, or bisexual, or whatever. First of all, that's a modern distinction, not an ancient one. Second of all, if you're going to "handle" it, at least handle it in a way that's remotely interesting, dramatic, or realistic. Stone and his writers must have zero experience with real gay people, because the "love story" between Alexander and Hephaestion is so over-the-top it plays like a John Waters movie. Boy, that would have been much more interesting. The ridiculous dialogue doesn't help. An overwhelming failure that rates 1/2 star for the nice scenery.
Involving character drama about the romance between sick, bed-ridden Elizabeth Barrett (the wonderful Norma Shearer) and the boisterous Robert Browning (Frederic March, one of my favorite actors). The heart of this movie is the overwhelmingly dysfunctional relationship between Barrett and her father, played with an almost scary level of emotional coldness by the great Charles Laughton. I found it hard to turn away from. Maureen O'Sullivan rounds out a truly great cast in a truly excellent character drama. **** stars.
Since the sixties, they always cast teenagers in the roles, so it was hard at first to go back and see a version from the 1930s with adults playing the leads. But, once you get used to it and just enjoy the acting, there's some first class acting in this film. Norma Shearer as Juliet, and the now-underrated Leslie Howard as Romeo. Tybalt and Mercutio are the most interesting characters in the film, and they're played by Basil Rathbone and John Barrymore, respectively, and just watching them bounce Shakespeare's words off of one another is a dream. And any movie with Edna May Oliver is impossible to not like. *** stars.
Not overly historically accurate (it makes the Affair of the Diamond Necklace look like the direct cause of the French Revolution), but hang it all, it's a lavish MGM costume drama with an amazingly good performance by Norma Shearer at the heart of it. A little long, perhaps, and a little melodramatic, but certainly not a waste of time. Shearer starts out with Marie as a teenage girl dreaming of bigger things, and eventually becomes a hardened woman, afraid of her destiny but trying to face it with courage. It's all so very tragic, but mostly believably so. ***1/2 stars.
Jesus, that's a lot of star cameos, isn't it? I like this new breed of ridiculous comedy, and this is one is pretty funny; let's just say, though, that this movie knows when to cut and run, because it's only something like 88 minutes long. Will Ferrell is hilarious as the fashion designer/evil genius Mugatu, and Owen Wilson is actually funny for a change. Milla Jovovich is, as always, insanely hot. And I will never forget Ben Stiller's hilarious pronunciation of "eulogy." *** stars.
Johnny Knoxville gives his best performance so far as Phil Kaufman, the road manager who stole his best friend's body to cremate him out in the desert under the Joshua trees. That friend? The great Gram Parsons. The movie does have it's problems; even at something like 92 minutes, it seems to run long. It feels a little padded out, and the stuff with Christina Applegate seems almost unneccesary. But I liked it a lot; it was a nice movie, with Johnny Knoxville's performance a real delight. God, who'd have thought? *** stars.
Ouch. The filmmakers think they've made Gettysburg, so there's a few self-important speeches and some very, very obvious "lessons" to learn. It's not a terrible movie, it's just so damn ordinary that you have to wonder why they bothered. Billy Bob Thornton comes across well, even if he plays Davy Crockett with a little too much self-importance (which is interesting, since they've made him kind of a coward). Dennis Quaid is as reliable as ever as Sam Houston. Jason Patric plays Jim Bowie by mumbling or whispering all of his lines–Patric, you're still trying to emulate Brando? Get over it. The guy I really feel bad for here is Patrick Wilson, who plays the thankless role of William B. Travis with as much sympathy as he can. Wilson was so excellent in Angels in America, and has had the bad luck to go on and be good in two really bad movies–this one, and Phantom of the Opera. Here's hoping he catches a break. This ain't it. **1/2 stars.
You just never know what you're going to get with Noel Coward, but it's usually dated. This comedy, about a couple who were once married and now divorced (Norma Shearer and Robert Montgomery), and who both coincidentally honeymoon with their new spouses at the same getaway, and who then run off together, is kind of cute, but not very good. Some funny, risque pre-Code jokes, though, and Norma Shearer in a very thin nightgown. So there's a little bit of liveliness. **1/2 stars.
Boy, this film's getting a lot of average reviews. This is the first film in seven years to come from my absolute favorite director, Terry Gilliam, and I wasn't disappointed in it. Sure, it does feel like a script that Gilliam has had to graft his own personality onto, but at least somebody gave him some money to work with for a change. Matt Damon and Heath Ledger are both good, and Peter Stormare's over-the-top performance is typically Gilliam-esque. And when did Lena Heady get so fucking hot? And Monica Bellucci... oh, Jesus, Monica Bellucci... Anyway, I adored this movie, and I liked the way so many fairy tale elements were pulled into one story; Gilliam, at least, understands the intrinsic horror value of true fairy tales (though there is a bit of Gilliam whimsy, too). An interesting side note: some of the CGI is bad, but isn't interesting how, thanks to people like George Lucas, you just expect CGI to be bad? We don't even care much anymore, do we? It's already been ruined. **** stars.
Yet another porn documentary from HBO, this one about cuter-than-cute Katie Morgan. Unlike Thinking XXX, this one is insightful and interesting, even though the basic conceit of these things is still this offensive notion that people are surprised to find out that people who do porn are just normal people. *** stars.
Well, it's a nice attempt at addressing issues of masculinity, despite the limitations of being a film from the 1950s, when you couldn't talk about sexuality. For the most part, this story about a college student who is tormented by his peers for not being manly enough is quite interesting and involving. But a lot of things detract from it, too. Vincente Minnelli was probably the wrong choice of director, because his frame is so big and wide that we don't get many close-ups or even medium shots so that we can read emotions better. It's in color, and the colors distract from the drama. It's far too melodramatic to take seriously at times. It's too bad, because the performances–especially Deborah Kerr's–are quite good. There's also a framing device that's just bullshit to mollify the censors. It's an admirable try, but it never quite makes it. **1/2 stars.
Posted by SamuraiFrog at 9:19 AM 2 comments
Labels: Film Week
Tuesday, August 30, 2005
Wanna Taste Me? Sure You Do.
Yesterday, I took the Find Your Flavor personality quiz on absolut.com out of basic boredom. And, apparently, it only takes 6 questions answered within 90 minutes to figure out that my flavor is Absolut Mandrin. As a result, I get a signature drink, which is undoubtedly the signature drink of everyone who is an Absolut Mandrin. But, just for the hell of it, here's the recipe.
Absolut Mandrin Mirage
1 part lime juice
1 part Midori melon liqueur
2 parts ginger beer
1 part Absolut Mandrin
2 dashes Creme de Fraise
Pour the lime and Midori into a longdrink glass. Fill with crushed ice. Add gubger veer. Stir the vodka and creme with ice in a separate glass, and then float the mixture on top of the rest.
I don't know, it doesn't sound very good. But, since I'm too cheap to actually buy all of this liquor, if you happen to mix and drink, you can let me know: how do I taste?
Posted by SamuraiFrog at 6:56 AM 2 comments
Labels: Quizzes
Monday, August 29, 2005
Fall Movie Preview 2005
Well, this summer was mostly a suckfest, and not in a good way. Fall, with its Oscar bait and it's self-important crap, looks set to suck a whole lot more. Here's a rundown of most, but not all, of the releases for the next four months:
2 September
The Constant Gardener: Another movie about how white people discover Africa isn't just a sunny land of fun naked people and starving children. I don't know, it's getting good reviews, and it has actual good actors in it, so it might be decent.
A Sound of Thunder: This one has been hiding for years, constantly shuffled around to a time that would be both less-embarrassing and make it some tiny little bit of money. It's directed by Peter Hyams, which should be enough of a clue as to how bad it is. This fall's Stealth.
Transporter 2: The first one was dumb, but fun. Is it so hard to make these things fun? Jesus, Stealth, what was your problem?
Underclassman: How can I be this sick of Nick Cannon already? God, I fucking hate him, I'm so fucking sick of him. And this is the kind of shitty "white people are ascared a black people, till one done teach them to be funkified" comedy that every black person has to make. Chris Tucker getting a little popular? Shit, make Money Talks, so he can scare the rich squares. Martin Lawrence need a movie? Why, here comes Nothing to Lose, so he can teach a rich white man a lesson about being all cool and relaxed. Queen Latifah? Bringing Down the House, please; teach those scared suburban assholes the meaning of 'hood life. I'm sure Jamie Foxx did one, but I can't think of it off the top of my head. Jesus, when does it all stop? You know, if black people would just stop making these movies, there wouldn't be any, and we could all move on with our lives, and black filmmakers and actors could make funny movies like Barbershop and interesting, excellent movies like Soul Food, or even crap-but-still-hilarious movies like Scary Movie, but stop making these racist comedies. White people, I still blame you. Maybe Stealth is playing at the second-run theater...
9 September
The Exorcism of Emily Rose: This drama, based on the true story of a legal battle surrounding an exorcism, sounded really interesting until I saw the previews and realized they were taking the exorcism seriously. Great, drama gone. Of course, no American movie would have the guts and moral fortitude to put religion on the stand and force someone to defend the exorcism, because American's are boring, frightened little creatures who can't think for themselves.
The Man: Oh, good, another comedy about how white guys and black guys are different. Ooh, sociological. It almost looks funny because Eugene Levy is unable to be unfunny, but I'm so sick of these fucking movies. They should call each one: I Am Meeting a Black Man, and He Is Meeting Me. Cue the Stevie Wonder music. Assholes.
An Unfinished Life: This is another one of those movies that's been held hostage by Miramax while the Disney feud went on. This is also another one of those horrible, boring Lasse Halstrom-directed films that doesn't go anywhere or have anything to say, and then the Weinsteins bully people into nominating it for Oscars. The Shipping News? The Cider House Rules? Chocolat? How much did the Weinsteins pay for Lasse Halstrom's soul. And this one has–wait for it–Jennifer Lopez in a serious role! Ooh, thank you for playing...
16 September
Cry Wolf: Students create a serial killer as a prank and then people start dying and blah blah blah blah blah and zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.....
Just Like Heaven: Yet another of those ghost romance stories–she's dead, he's alive, it's wacky! It looks like it could be cute; I like Mark Ruffalo, but I don't care for Reese Witherspoon (maybe she'll strike another blow for feminism!). That faggy, stupid, only-able-to-deliver-a-line-one-way Napoleon Dynamite kid is in it, too. Jesus, when is this One-Trick Pony going to be put into Ed Wood movies where he belongs? Ladies and gentlemen, the new Tom Green. Anyway, this movie is directed by Mark Waters, and I loved Mean Girls and Freaky Friday, but he has yet to prove he can make a good movie without Lindsay Lohan in it. So...maybe.
Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang: Shane Black is back, and he's still making homoerotic action comedies! This looks like a Tony Scott movie from the late eighties, and it stars Robert Downey Jr. and Val Kilmer long after anyone cares, but it looks like it might be a fun throwback.
The Libertine: Johnny Depp is in it, that's all I need to know. It got great reviews in England.
Lord of War: I hate movies about rich terrorists, I fucking goddamn hate Nicolas Cage, Ethan Hawke, and Jared Leto, and this movie looks like shit. No one's going to see it, anyway, but I mention it to lament the sad career path of Andrew Niccol. In 1997, he wrote and directed Gattaca, one of the greatest science fiction dramas ever made. Then he wrote The Truman Show. Alright, great concept, but it got a little muddled and overstated because of Peter Weir (a heavy-handed director) and Jim Carrey (a... well, he's Jim Carrey). Carrey's casting was fatal, if only because it was his first non-comic role, and people are stupid and couldn't figure out why he wasn't funny (assuming he ever really was). And then Andrew Niccol came back to directing...with Simone, another movie with a great concept that got killed in the acting. And now, it's like he's given up and decided to be crappy. Great... well, at least we got the one.
Proof: Gwyneth Paltrow reunites with her Shakespeare in Love director (quick, name him–if you said his name was "No one fucking cares," you're right!) to make a movie I am guaranteed never to see. And it has Anthony Hopkins, who used to be interesting, played Hannibal Lecter again, and went right back to coasting.
23 September
Daltry Calhoun: I have no idea what it's about, but Johnny Knoxville's in it, and I love the guy. Still hate Jackass with a passion, but I love Johnny K.
Dirty Love: Give me your dirty love, like you might surrender to the dragon in your dreams. There are other Zappa fans out there, right? Anyway, I don't know what this is about, but Jenny McCarthy stars in it, wrote it, and directed it, and her co-star is Carmen Electra. Now, I'm sure it's not as good as I'm thinking right now, but I've always thought Jenny McCarthy could be really funny and interesting if she had a chance. This is her chance. Will she screw it up? Either way, I'm sure I'll have masturbation material for years. Cook me up some dragon lotion for your dirty love.
Flightplan: Jodie Foster's on a plane, her child disappears, people tell her the child never existed, and viola: another version of Panic Room. I don't know...maybe. The trailer didn't exactly boost my thrusters with excitement. But, Panic Room's did, and I ended up not liking Panic Room. I don't know what that proves, but man, wasn't Panic Room surprisingly dull?
A History of Violence: I have a history of not liking movies directed by David Cronenberg, but this odd revenge drama stars Viggo Mortensen, Morgan Freeman, Ed Harris, and the great William Hurt. With a cast that good, why did Cronenberg have to settle for Maria Bello in the female lead?
Oliver Twist: Roman Polanski's latest, which is reason enough to give yet-another-version of the Dickens novel a try.
The Prize Winner of Defiance, Ohio: Granted, the plot sounds awful–a woman in the fifties deals with an alcoholic husband while winning jingle contests in the 1950s–but it's written and directed by Jane Anderson, who made a wonderful movie for HBO a while back called Normal. That was a surprisingly sensitive drama about a man who had a sex change operation, and is a very touching movie. So, based on that, I have some hope for this one.
Roll Bounce: Oh, good, more Nick Cannon.
Tim Burton's Corpse Bride: Aw, Tim Burton made a movie about Helena Bonham Carter. I'm a little sick of the preview, and I'm a little sick of hearing about how Tim Burton "saved" stop-motion animation (anyone ever heard of Ray Harryhausen, assholes?), but I know I'll see it and probably love it.
30 September
Capote: I'm not sure I care enough about Truman Capote to endure watching Philip Seymour Hoffman play him, but I'll wait to see how much the critics cum on it.
The Greatest Game Ever Played: Oh, yeah? Well, we'll see about that! From Walt Disney Pictures, who brought you Remember the Titans (football), The Rookie (baseball), and Miracle (ice hockey), comes the newest deification of a sport through the ascension of an ordinary guy who plays like a god and thus shows us how important dreams and such are. This one's about golf. Anyone want to place bets for next year? I want to lean towards horse racing, but I'm pulling more towards skiing.
Into the Blue: Jessica Alba is a fucking idiot. Okay, I'm sorry, but if you're not willing to take off your clothes to play a role, you're not an actor. It's one of many criteria in my head. You are not an actor, because you're obviously not committed. She wouldn't take her clothes off to play Nancy Callahan in Sin City (despite the fact that the character is so nude in the comic book that the image has become one of Sin City's chief icons), and she had to go and make a big deal about how she can be sexy without being nude. The jury's out on whether or not she can be, but whatever. But here she comes in Into the Blue. Have you seen the trailer? She plays a diver. And the whole movie seems to be about putting her in a bikini and getting her butt up in the camera as often as possible. So, she'll exploit herself, but she won't get naked? Cuz that's not hypocritical at all...
MirrorMask: Finally, this film–directed by Dave McKean, written by Neil Gaiman, produced by the Jim Henson Company–is getting a release. An ultra-limited release, to be sure (in all of Illinois it's only playing at the Landmark Theater in Chicago), but that just means we're closer to seeing it on DVD. I've been hearing about this movie for a couple of years now, so I'm glad it's finally coming out.
Serenity: One of the worst television series I've ever seen is Firefly, and the fans are the worst. Look, I know you think it's too cool and awesome to be another SF show, but you're still just Trekkies. Have fun at your shitty movie, losers.
7 October
Good Night, and Good Luck: This drama about Edward R. Murrow and the Red Scare is George Clooney's second picture as director, and I absolutely loved Confessions of a Dangerous Mind.
In Her Shoes: Have you seen the previews for this fucking thing? Ugh. I'm sick of these fucking Chick Lit movies–ladies, life is not all about whether you feel beautiful and whether you find a date for the wedding and whether people like you. And, God, why do you let men (like Curtis Hanson, who directed) tell your stories, by extension telling you who you are? And why, why are we still letting fucking Cameron Diaz star in movies?
Two for the Money: This gambling drama, about a guy who is incredibly good at picking winners in football games, looks like shit. Matthew McConaughey is going to, I guess, spend the rest of his career looking bored, and Al Pacino as the shady guy who tempts him? I've seen it so many times I could recite it in my sleep. Pass.
Waiting: Like Office Space, only incredibly bad.
Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit: I've been waiting very patiently for this one; I love W&G, and I hope this movie is as good as the shorts. Look for some dumbass to write an article about how "stop-motion is back!" and how this and Corpse Bride are fighting some kind of battle at the box office. It'll be in Entertainment Weekly. Might make the cover, if Cameron Diaz doesn't.
14 October
Domino: I just hate Keira Knightley so goddamn much. And I hate Tony Scott, too; he directs like a schizophrenic monkey having an epileptic fit. If he holds his dick like he holds his camera, hitting the toilet is besides the point. Domino Harvey, the real life model-turned-bounty-hunter whom this film purports to be the story of, died just a few weeks ago, but not before denouncing this movie; she was a lesbian, something the film decides to not include. I'll just read her autobiography, thanks. It doesn't have Keira Knightley in it.
Elizabethtown: Cameron Crowe's newest ode to misogyny. I don't really know or care what it's about, but it stars Orlando Bloom and Kirsten Dunst, so it should be boring as hell. Crowe's movies are always about misogyny in some way, but he's cute about it, so women find him charming. The little scamp. I'm bored just talking about it.
The Fog: A remake of John Carpenter's worst film, starring TV actors. I've already forgotten it.
North Country: This is the second film from Niki Caro, who directed the excellent Whale Rider, and it's about the Jenson v. Eveleth Mines case from 1984, which was a landmark in being able to sue for sexual harassment. Charlize Theron stars, so it's tough to say it'll be any good, but I am very interested.
21 October
Doom: Who cares? It'll be as bad as Alien vs. Predator.
Dreamer: Boy, it sure sounds like a Disney movie. Dakota Fanning rescues an injured horse and with the help of her father, Kurt Russell, they turn it into a racehorse and win a high-stakes race and a role in a remake of The Black Stallion. Okay, maybe I made up the last part to make a sarcastic point about how I've seen this movie done a million times. Why do people in movies think that the most honorable thing you can do with a horse is train it to run a circle faster than anyone else?
Shopgirl: Steve Martin wrote it, based on a novella he wrote that I have yet to read. Sorry. Well, I like Steve Martin, at any rate, but this film has yet to raise my interest.
28 October
The Legend of Zorro: I loved The Mask of Zorro, and I love Antonio Banderas, but I have to wonder if Catherine Zeta-Jones is going to be any good this time around. She's so damn full of herself now. Either way, I'm actually pretty excited about this one.
Saw II: I didn't see the first one, but I understand people like it.
The Weather Man: Great; they didn't actually release it last spring, so I can be forced to hate this trailer all over again. I hate Nicolas Cage, I hate director Gore Verbinski. I'm just so full of hatred; why does Hollywood keep forcing the cycle? Oh, I also hate movies about how men just can't stop whining and deal with society. Right, right, "Mad as hell" and all that. It's been done.
4 November
Chicken Little: The animation community is going to be placing this film under a lot of scrutiny; Disney abandoned traditional animation, but did they abandon the bad storytelling that actually killed Brother Bear and Home on the Range? I have some hope for it, but at this point, with Disney's credibility so squandered, who can tell?
The Family Stone: Sarah Jessica Parker plays a socially awkward, tightly-wound businesswoman (always a favorite archetype, he said with sarcasm and barely veiled annoyance) who goes to visit her boyfriend's family of New England snobby pseudointellectual freaks for the first time. Endless joy, the mother's played by Diane Keaton! Halfway through fall, and I already want to be hooked up to a machine and go into a coma.
Jarhead: Sam Mendes directs crap, Jake Gyllenhaal sucks. 'Nuff said.
The Matador: Why doesn't Pierce Brosnan just give up?
11 November
Bee Season: Richard Gere bores the crap out of me with Jewish mysticism.
Get Rich or Die Tryin': So, this is the new rapper thing? They all have to play themselves in movies about themselves? I'll pass, thanks.
The New World: Well, after Alexander, I'm not really too keen to see Colin Farrell in another historical drama. And Terence Malick is such a bad, overrated director, anyway. This could be interesting, but I doubt it'll be any more interesting than the bad 1995 movie about Pocahontas with Miles O' Keefe in it. Malick'll ruin it with a bad voice over, too.
Rent: You know, I loved La Boheme, but you know what would make it even better? Contemporary music, AIDS, and poor gay people in the artistic community who take themselves with the most extreme seriousness. I love Rosario Dawson (and Taye Diggs, for that matter), and I've never actually heard or seen Rent. Ten years, and I can't come up with a reason to. I don't know, can anyone convince me otherwise?
Zathura: From the writer of Jumanji and the director of Elf comes...Jumanji. Only in space. Could be cute. Maybe.
18 November
Breakfast on Pluto: Only two of Neil Jordan's films have been remotely memorable (arguably three or four, but for the wrong reasons), so I won't take the trouble to care.
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire: I couldn't be more excited about this one, naturally.
Pride & Prejudice: Oh, great, yet another fucking version of Jane Austen! I thought the 1995 Colin Firth-starring version of Pride & Prejudice was just fine. So was Bridget Jones's Diary. I hear Bride & Prejudice is quite good. I don't need to see any more versions of this novel of questionable quality, especially if it stars Keira fucking Knightley!
Walk the Line: I don't like any of James Mangold's movies (Heavy, Cop Land, Girl Interrupted, Kate & Leopold), but he does know how to direct actors. His movies always feel overwritten and then heavily edited. But I've seen the trailer, and Joaquin Phoenix looks and sounds so much like Johnny Cash, and I just love Johnny Cash (how can you not love Johnny Cash?!), so I'll be there for this one.
Wolf Creek: So, there's some kids, and guy hunts them down, and I get bored and leave early. I'VE ALREADY SEEN IT!
23 November
Ice Harvest: I'm honestly on the fence about this one. A guy (John Cusack, yuck) embezzles some money from the Mob on Christmas Eve, then he and his partner (Billy Bob Thornton, meh) try to skip town with his stripper girlfriend (Connie Nielsen, yawn) when an ice storm hems them in. And it's directed by Harold Ramis, who is apparently trying to make his Coen Brothers movie. Could be weird in a good way, or weird in a bad way.
Just Friends: Hee, they're perfect for each other but they just don't know it and they can't figure it out! HILARIOUS! OR AM I JUST BEING ANNOYINGLY SARCASTIC? From the useless director of Cruel Intentions (and, I believe, Cruel Intentions 2) and The Sweetest Thing.
Syriana: Ooh, George Clooney has a beard, and the media just can't get over it. Ooh, and he had to gain an enormous 35 pounds for the role! Jesus, I'm bored. And every movie Stephen Gaghan's directed has blown.
Yours, Mine & Ours: Why, God, why remake this movie? Rene Russo is no Lucille Ball, and the Cheaper by the Dozen remake was bad enough.
2 December
Aeon Flux: I just saw a trailer for this yesterday, and it looks like crap. It's not Aeon Flux, so much as Aeon Flux as a really shitty action movie. I always hated the cartoon–when it went to series, it turned out that what was an excellent short series on Liquid Television couldn't sustain itself past seven or so minutes. Nice work, Charlize–prove you deserved that Oscar.
The Kid & I: Tom Arnold wrote this movie about a man and his cerebral palsy-afflicted son. Penelope Spheeris directs. I don't know if I care. Sounds a little self-important.
Goose!: A boy tries to protect his talking goose from Chevy Chase. No, really. Yeah, I know. Hey, I'm ashamed for even writing it.
9 December
Brokeback Mountain: Ang Lee returns to sensitive drama with the story of two gay cowboys (Heath Ledger and, no surprise, Jake Gyllenhaal) and their long-suffering wives (Michelle Williams and Anne Hathaway). I fucking love Anne Hathaway, and I'll see her in anything. Wonder if those gay cowboys eat pudding...
The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe: This could be the fantasy epic I've been waiting to see my whole life, which is funny, because I don't care for C.S. Lewis's thinly-veiled Jesus novels (yeah, Aslan is God, I get it). And The Lord of the Rings were some of the greatest movies ever made. But this one has so many creatures in it, it looks like what's been going on in my mind since I was a child. Can't wait.
Memoirs of a Geisha: I love Zhang Ziyi, so I can't wait to see her in this one.
16 December
All the King's Men: I hate Sean Penn, so I don't care.
Big Momma's House 2: Oh, get fucked.
King Kong: Well, come on. Peter Jackson. A giant gorilla. A remake of one of the greatest movies ever made. This. Is. Going. To. Fucking. Rock.
21 December
Fun with Dick & Jane: The original version starred Jane Fonda, and she was having anything but fun with dick. Boring the first time, probably boring this time. Did you know Jim Carrey's a perfectionist. And this is the best he can do?
Munich: Steven Spielberg + Jews = massive pretension. The first Eric Bana movie I won't go see, and I saw Troy. And my ass still hurts, thank you for asking.
The Producers: I love the 1968 movie, but I don't care about the Broadway version. I don't know, maybe I'll see it (Will Ferrell plays the Nazi playwright), but I won't exactly rush out the door.
The Ringer: Johnny Knoxville plays a guy who pretends to be disabled so he can bet on and win the Special Olympics. I liked it when they did it on South Park three years ago... but I like Johnny Knoxville, so I hope it's good.
25 December
Casanova: More fucking Lasse Halstrom! His movies are boring and last forever!
Match Point: I do love Woody Allen, and I hear this is his best film in years. Of course, someone says that about all of his films, but this one has Scarlett Johansson, so I'm there.
Rumor Has It: Rob Reiner directs, Jennifer Aniston and Kevin Costner star, SamuraiFrog stays at home.
Posted by SamuraiFrog at 9:51 AM 0 comments
Labels: Films
Sunday, August 28, 2005
Applied McScience
So there's this woman, Merab Morgan, who is claiming that she lost 37 pounds in 90 days at McDonald's. I haven't decided whether or not I like this woman or what she's done. Apparently she wanted to prove Morgan Spurlock and his Super Size Me documentary wrong, which is a noble cause. I fucking hate Spurlock and his movie, which is not a documentary so much as a lecture from a skinny lightweight who can't even handle a little McDonald's meal without puking. It's a character piece, an actor's reel for Spurlock--"Look how sanctimonius I am, gimme my own TV show!" I don't know who this guy is, but I don't need him wagging his finger in my face and telling me I eat too much food.
Well, this Merab Morgan woman didn't like him either, and apparently felt that he was being unfair in blaming McDonald's for making people fat. And I agree with that, too. That fucking idiot who tried to sue them for making him fat--dude, did the burgers come to life and shove themselves in your mouth at night while you slept? No? Then you don't get to sue. And to be fair, Morgan Spurlock only gained 30 pounds, which is less than a pregnant woman. Fucking whiny, skinny, lightweight piece of shit excuse for a human being. Apparently a lot of people don't like Spurlock, either--another woman, Soso Whaley, has made a documentary called Me and Mickey D, in which she chronicles losing 36 or so pounds while eating McDonald's. I kind of which she'd called the film Fuck You and You FX Series, Morgan, or indeed No Shit, Spurlock. I mean, Jesus--did anyone really need a movie to prove to them that eating nothing but McDonald's will make you fat?
The obvious difference, of course, is that Whaley and Merab Morgan were picking and choosing, sticking in the salad category, eating lighter desserts, and not just chowing on the same meal every day as Spurlock did. Spurlock likes to stack the deck, ordering the way he does so he can smugly blame McDonald's for serving way too much food rather than taking any responsibility for himself. You don't have to finish all the food, do you?
I'm sure that McDonald's is out secretly pushing Morgan's story just to have some good publicity for once. And what they don't mention often enough is that Morgan is, in fact, a construction worker, which certainly helped her lose some weight (trust me, I was a lot less fat when I moved boxes on my feet all day instead of just sitting around and studying occasionally). But Morgan is ultimately right when she says of her weight loss that "the truth of the matter is that beauty is power, and if you're fat, or your overweight, then people don't really take you seriously."
Which explains why I'm such a prick right out of the gate. I have to cram my intellectual power down everyone's throat.
Now, if only McDonald's could just solve the "their food tastes like garbage" problem...
Posted by SamuraiFrog at 7:51 AM 0 comments
Labels: Real Science, Social Concerns


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How to Size Ballroom Dance Shoes
The smooth glide of a couple dancing a ballroom routine unfolds as dancers read their partner's motions and fluidly link together the moves of ballroom dance. A good pair of ballroom louboutin outlet dance shoes makes those fluid movements possible. Women have the option of a standard ballroom shoe with a closed toe, or an open toed Latin shoe. Both types of shoes have heels between 1 and 3 inches high. Male dancers typically roger vivier heels wear black Oxford style dress shoes with dance soles, though Cuban style shoes with higher heels are also used for Latin ballroom dancing. For a smooth dance, these shoes must be properly sized.
Consult a sizing roger vivier outlet chart. (A link to an online sizing chart is provided in the Resources section of this article.) There are many different sizing systems in use for shoes; if you are special ordering dance shoes from abroad they may be sized in mbt shoes sale European sizes, or in centimeters. A chart will let you see the range of sizes that match your shoe size. If you don't know your size, you can measure the length of your foot from your heel to the tip of your big toe. Measure mbt shoes for men in centimeters, then convert to sizes using the chart.
Ballroom dancing brings to mind formally dressed couples waltzing across polished wood floorboards under the sparkling lights of crystal chandeliers. Traditionally mbt mens shoes .
How to Pick Tap Dance Shoes
You can tap without the shoes. Picking the right pair of tap shoes can be just as important as the moves you.
Framework for Smooth Ballroom Dancing
Learn tips on the mbt trainers correct framework for smoother ballroom dancing in this free instructional dance video.
Cuban Motion in Ballroom Dance
Ballroom dancing has moved from a recreation activity to a sport in recent years with the introduction mbt shoes outlet of Latin motion. Learn the.
How to Know if Shoes Are the Right Size
Wearing the right sized shoe is extremely important in order to prevent not only future foot problems, but also knee, hip and.

subset: commoncrawl


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I been around the world thrice times, I mean what I say
From that Panama sun, to France's Champs-Élysées
from Clipse (Ft. Ab-Liva, Pharrell Williams & Roscoe P. Coldchain) – Cot' Damn Lyrics on Genius
Pusha's traveled to, among other places, Panama, a tropical South American nation. He's also seen Paris's Avenue des Champs-Élysées, one of the world's most expensive and famous streets. It is host to a number of famous monuments, most notably the Obelisk Of Luxor and the Arc de Triomphe.
The obelisk is in the foreground and the Arc is in the background.
To help improve the quality of the lyrics, visit "Cot' Damn" by Clipse (Ft. Ab-Liva, Pharrell Williams & Roscoe P. Coldchain) Lyrics and leave a suggestion at the bottom of the page


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Welcome to The Palms Hotel & Villas in Kissimmee
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Whether you're visiting us for a much-deserved vacation with the family or an exciting group trip, expect a home-away-from-home experience when you stay at The Palms Hotel & Villas. From our comfortable accommodations and upgraded amenities, to our convenient features and friendly staff, you'll find everything you need!
Choose from 125 one- and two-bedroom suites, while taking advantage of complimentary features* that include:
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The repurchase market and shadow banking: Resources
By Mary Fricker
How do you make sense of the complicated nature of the repo industry? What are some basic resources reporters on this topic should start with? Use the list below to get started.
Check out these visual presentations.
* The Financial Times, "How the repo market works," April 15, 2009.
* American Public Media, "The 'Repo' Market," 2009.
Have repo news and information flowing into your in-box.
*Set up "repo," "repurchase market," "repurchase agreement" and "shadow banking" searches with Google and the Financial Times.
* Subscribe to Securities Finance Monitor and the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.
Reach out to me.
* Check out my web site, RepoWatch.org. Contact me: (707) 823-4411 or firstname.lastname@example.com.
* Shadow banking primer: One important reason for reporters to understand the repurchase market is that it's a simple portal into understanding shadow banking. The financial crisis of 2007-2008 happened mainly in shadow banking, not traditional banking, and all business reporters need to understand it. When you're ready, check out "An overview of shadow banking for journalists" and Shadow Banking: Part 1.
An introduction
Story ideas
Tips for localizing
Talk to financial and credit market officers at the organizations on your beat.
* Don't be deterred by blank stares. Sometimes even financial and credit officers don't understand repos very well.
Here's the best repo data
* Weekly Release of Primary Dealer Positions, Transactions, and Financing.
Click on Excel.
Click on sheet "pressrelc4."
See "Repurchase Agreements" at the bottom.
These are totals for the Primary Dealers authorized to trade with the Federal Reserve. These dealers do at least half of the repo trading in the U.S., maybe much more, and they're the best repo data we have.
* International Capital Markets Association – European repo.
* Securitization is an organization that wants to get a repo loan must have securities to use as collateral. Often these securities are U.S. Treasuries, but often they're securities backed by pools of consumer and business loans (like mortgages) through a process called securitization. Here's a trade association that has information and data for securitization: Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association.
* Securities lending are organizations that have securities can also make money by lending them. Securities lending is a close cousin to repo.


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Toci/The Toltec Center's Refund/Cancellation Policy: All deposits are non-refundable. If the deposit is for a workshop, journey, retreat, or apprenticeship program that does not have lodging associated with it: The deposit can be applied to another program by the same teacher as the original order. If there is lodging associated with the event: the deposit will not be returned or applied to anything else. All payments (non-deposit) are non-refundable unless the following criteria are met:
Blessings! |


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Pressure mounts for 2013 national meet
-A A +AWednesday, November 7, 2012
CEBU City has been producing the bulk of the athletes representing Region 7 (Central Visayas region) in the Palarong Pambansa. And now, Region 7 will be hosting the national meet in 2013.
That is why, in the Cebu City Olympics, set to open tomorrow, Thursday, at the Cebu City Sports Center, the pressure to come up with the best selection mounts.
"We will have the homecourt edge in the Palaro, so it gives us all the more reason to double our efforts to come up with the best team that will finally improve our finish in the Palarong Pambansa," said Cebu City Schools Division Superintendent Rhea Mar Angtud.
Region 7 had placed fourth overall in at least six years.
The organizers are giving a lot of importance to the team events as these stake more points compared to the individual events. The winners in the city meet will represent Cebu in the regionals in Dumaguete City, which is also the venue for the Palarong Pambansa in 2013.
To be assured of getting the best teams for the regional meet, before the Cebu City Olympics, cluster eliminations were held for the team events. Only those who topped their respective clusters will compete in the Cebu City Olympics to play the winners of the Cebu Schools Athletic Foundation Inc. (Cesafi), the premier school-based athletic competition in Cebu.
"It is a good thing that there is unity in Cebu. There are no conflicts now so we can all move toward coming up with the best lineup for the regional meet," said Ballesteros. The City Olympics had a scheduling conflict with Cesafi last year.
"If ma-unite lang, lig-on gyud ta," said Ballesteros.
Technical head Danilo Villadolid also expressed confidence that they will be getting the best players to compose the Cebu City team for the regionals and nationals because of the new format being used this year.
"Na hashasan na gyud ang mga muduwa sa City Olympics because of the cluster eliminations. Also, the format won't be like last year, where the knock-out system was used. This format is very dangerous because one mistake and the best teams will be out of the game. This year, we will divide them into brackets and will play a round-robin format," said Villadolid.
Meanwhile, the coach who was found to have submitted an erroneous record to the Milo Little Olympics will be banned for life in that event. He will, however, have another lease on life as all he got from the Department of Education was a slap on the wrist and he will be allowed to showcase his elementary boys volleyball team in the Cebu City Olympics.Angtud said the coach of the elementary boys volleyball team from Tejero Elementary School received a stern warning from her. But after his explanation, his team was still given a chance to show what it is made of.
The coach submitted a birth certificate of an athlete who was overaged in the Milo Little Olympics. The coach said he just submitted the records given to him by the
"Nauwaw man sad mi ato. But nonetheless, we will be allowing the school to join the Cebu City Olympics since it has a strong volleyball team. And we don't want to drag the entire team because one player sent an erroneous document," said Angtud.
In tomorrow's opening, the Cebu City Sports Commission's Edward Hayco said they will be brandishing the certification from the Guinness World Records for the largest chess tournament in the world.
University of Cebu swimmer Michael Ichiro Kong will be lighting the urn. UC arnis coach Dexter Opalla will lead the oath of sportsmanship, while the oath of amateurism will be led by Milo Little Olympics most outstanding player Dexter Opalla.
Published in the Sun.Star Cebu newspaper on November 07, 2012.
Forum rules: Do not use obscenity. Some words have been banned. Stick to the topic. Do not veer away from the discussion. Be coherent and respectful. Do not shout or use CAPITAL LETTERS!


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This Tour at a Glance... ~ Courtesy premium hotel pick-up and drop off. If you are not picked up within five minutes of your pick-up time, do not wait. Please CALL US IMMEDIATELY. TOUR TIME: TOUR LENGTH: TOUR UPGRADES: MEMBER OF The ORIGINAL Grand Canyon Tour Company providing quality tours to Las Vegas Visitors for 30 years! ... read more |
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Display Your Colors
Announcing a Battles of Westeros miniatures painting contest |
Battles of Westeros | Published 06 April 2011 |
Stannis touched the Painted Table. "Look at it, onion knight. My realm, by rights. My Westeros." He swept a hand across it. "This talk of Seven Kingdoms is a folly. Aegon saw that three hundred years ago when he stood where we are standing. They painted this table at his command. Rivers and bays they painted, hills and mountains, castles and cities and market towns, lakes and swamps and forests ... but no borders. It is all one. One realm, for one king to rule alone."
- George R.R. Martin, a Storm of Swords
The sun-scorched tans of Dorne, the lush greens of Highgarden, and the chilling grays of Winterfell... Westeros is a realm of vibrant colors. Today, you can contribute its splendor; submit your entry to the Battles of Westeros miniatures painting contest!
Join the Tourney
Earlier this week, we featured the final chapter in a Battles of Westeros beginner's painting guide by enthusiast Giles Dorrington (whose work is shown on the right). Whether you were inspired by Giles' work or wish to show your own skills, the Battles of Westeros miniatures painting contest is your chance. Here are the details:
You must:
Our panel of judges will select a winner based on neatness, faithfulness to the novels, and general aesthetic. We'll announce a winner on May 3rd, and that lucky fan will receive one copy of every Battles of Westeros release to date, including the upcoming Tribes of the Vale expansion!
Show off your painting skills to the world and get a chance to win exciting prizes. Send photos of your entry to firstname.lastname@example.com today!
Set in the rich and vibrant world of George R.R. Martin's Song of Ice and Fire series, Battles of Westeros is a board game of tactical battlefield combat for two players. With scenarios that include beloved characters and settings, players can recreate the most significant battles from The War of the Five Kings.
does the unit type have to have the corresponding commander? or can we mix and match? for example i would like to submit a Lanister commander with a stark unit type. is this ok?
Hi, congratulations for this contest: its really a good idea.
I've a question on the submission however, regarding this:
<<- Submit your entry by April 26th. Send it to email@example.com with the subject line "Battles of Westeros Painting Contest."
- Agree to our submission terms, including the acknowledgement that any content you send becomes property of FFG. We are thereafter entitled to use that content for any purposes we deem necessary. >>
Where are this terms I've to agree? I'd like to see theme prior to make the submission 'cause, for instance, I'm ItalianI want to know if the contest is available to non USA residents.
Please let me know, thanks.
[ADMIN: This contest is open to all participants, worldwide. You will now find the submission terms above; simply include the bold text verbatim with your submission. Good luck! ]
I wish there was more time to get ready for this, I'd be all over it. Any chance this can be done again?
Can I just check what you mean by a unit. Is it, for example, three figures and a commander for an infantry unit, two figures and a commander for a cavalry?
This makes me wish I had any painting skill whatsover. I can't wait to see the winner's submission though! Love that this game is getting so much attention from FFG, it's fantastic to play. Cant' wait to see what else you guys have in store.


text: This Bouncer is suitable from birth to about 6 months and will provide hours of fun for your baby. It has a 3-position lie-back backrest, carrying straps and a 3-point safety harness. The bouncer can be made static, for feeding etc, and can be folded for storage. Colours: Almond, Capri, Tango. HAUCK helpline: 0870 8406727. |


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Webster Shamu Spiritual ProfileWelcome to the inner world of Webster Shamu - a Celebrity, who was born on Wednesday June 6th 1945, in Unknown. You can now gain new insights into Webster's traits of character, relationships, strengths and weaknesses, likes and dislikes, compatibility with you and with others, and much more. The rare and special wisdom used to prepare this spiritual profile is based on well accepted practices of Astrology, Numerology and other well-established spiritual modalities. You and WebsterYou may also check your compatibility with Webster Shamu, and find similar traits between the two of you. We invite you to create your own celebrity profile, in private and for your eyes only!. Other Celebs Born That Day
We do not have Webster Shamu's photo on file yet. Please let us know that you wish his photo to be published. |


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Colombia Official Travel Guide
You are here:
The savanna of Bogotá is located in the geographic center of Colombia, along the Eastern Andes Mountain range. It has an average temperature of 13.5°C, fluctuating between -5°C and 26ºC.
Bogotá is known as the epicenter of golf in Colombia due to the quality and maintenance of its courses and, above all, for its fresh climate, which gives the sensation of constantly playing with air conditioning, allowing the player to practice golf 365 days a year.
Bogotá is considered the nucleus of the country's golfing activity.
The savanna in this central region of Colombia has 24 of the country's 50 golf courses. Owing to the altitude and the winds, playing golf in the savanna is always a challenge. The variety of designs, unexpected challenges and different styles of the courses make Bogotá's savanna a paradise for ardent golfers.
© Procolombia


text: you asked... How to get partner to quit smoking? I'm pregnant and my partner smokes. What can I do to get him to quit? Want to participate? Log in to share your thoughts Re: I'm pregnant and my partner smokes. What can I do to get him to quit? Secondhand smoke poses some very real and immediate risks to your baby's health -- even when she's still in the womb. If you're having a hard time relaying that message, print this out and hand it to your partner so he can take a look at the facts:Cigarette smoke contains more than 4,000 chemical compounds. Many of these are toxins that are actually found in higher concentrations in secondhand smoke than in firsthand smoke. Secondhand smoke could cause low birth weight and restricted uterine growth, as well as preterm delivery. And a baby who is consistently exposed to smoke -- even when she's still in the womb -- is more likely to die from SIDS (sudden infant death syndrome).Okay, so now he's convinced. Here are some stop-smoking strategies to help him out: Telephone counseling. Most states offer free programs linking callers with counselors who can provide personalized tips and strategies -- research shows people who use telephone counseling are twice as likely to stop smoking! Support groups. Check out Nicotine Anonymous or ask your doc to recommend another local support group for quitters. Nicotine replacement therapies. Nicotine patches or gum can help curb cravings; plus, they eliminate the secondhand smoke factor and keep your home smelling a lot cleaner. Prescription medications. These can be even more effective, so have your partner ask his doc for meds that could help. Alternative methods. Some people swear by hypnosis, acupuncture and other drug-free methods. Ask around for practitioner recommendations. Your pediatrician. Some doctors have been known to threaten parents who smoke by telling them they won't treat their child unless the smoker promises to quit. So you can always ask your OB or pediatrician to lay on the guilt factor. Remind your partner that it's smart to quit now so baby won't be exposed to his secondhand smoke not only in the womb, but after she's born too. Plus, more from The Bump: Is it safe to be around smokers while pregnant? Ways to make smoking less harmful while pregnant? What causes low birth weight? Melissa M. Goist, MD, assistant professor, obstetrics and gynecology, The Ohio State University Medical Center How to get partner to quit smoking? you can make anyoone else quit. they have to want to. My husband and I quit the day we found out. besides health issues we faced financial issues so that helped us. You can ask them to quit to support you and your baby, but the most you can expect fairly is to have them not smoke around you. jessandandy09 | How to get partner to quit smoking? My DH and I quit together about a year ago. This was months before we got pregnant, but he had often said that he could easily go back to smoking. I simply tell him "I love you. You can smoke, but it has to be outside. The baby cannot be around smoke it's not healthy." He has not picked the habit back up. Good luck! snickers1015 | Want to participate? Log in to share your thoughts


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Labour NO to AV has announced the names of 375 Labour Party councillors from across Britain who will be voting no to the Alternative Vote on 5 May.The names are featured in a full page ad in the Guardian today. The campaign is also launching a three point leaflet, simple message: "No to a Lib Dem fix. No to Nick Clegg. No to AV". Read more on Labour No To AV launches No to Clegg push…
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Market Hustle: Futures Slip on Weak Jobs Report Ahead of Bank Earnings
NEW YORK (The Street) -- Major U.S. stock futures were pointing to a lackluster start Monday amid investor caution ahead of fourth-quarter bank earnings and uncertainties surrounding the pace of Federal Reserve tapering.
S&P 500 futures were falling 4.25 points, or 2.72 points below fair value, to 1,833.5, Dow Jones Industrial Average futures were slipping 17 points, or 4.05 points below fair value, to 16,364, and Nasdaq futures were dipping 7 points, or 3.68 points below fair value, to 3,554.5.
Markets closed mixed on Friday after a worse-than-expected December jobs report underlined the rocky nature of the economic recovery. The addition of 74,000 jobs missed expectations by a wide margin and was the worst monthly government job report in three years.
The December Treasury budget statement is to be released at 2 p.m. EST.
- Atlanta Fed Bank President Dennis Lockhart is scheduled to speak on the economic outlook in Atlanta at 12:40 p.m.
- December retail sales data will be out on Tuesday and December inflation reports are due on Tuesday and Wednesday.
- Fourth-quarter earnings reports in focus this week include banks such as JPMorgan Chase (JPM) and Wells Fargo (WFC) on Tuesday, Bank of America (BAC) on Wednesday, Goldman Sachs (GS) and Citigroup (C) on Thursday, and Morgan Stanley (MS) on Friday.
- Lululemon Athletica (LULU - Get Report) was plunging 12.75% to $52 after slashing its current-quarter sales and earnings outlook.
- Wendy's (WEN - Get Report) was surging 8.18% to $9.13 after reporting upbeat 2014 guidance and preliminary fourth-quarter earnings driven by same-store sales growth. The company also unveiled a $275 million share buyback program.
- Beam (BEAM) was soaring 26.18% to $84.50 after Suntory Holdings said it will buy Beam for $13.6 billion in cash.
- The benchmark Shanghai Composite index shed 0.19% to a five-month low of 2,009.56 after plans by China's securities regulator to tighten its supervision of initial public offerings did little to ease liquidity concerns.
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Martha Speaks
Martha Speaks | Here's Martha! | PBS (#137)
Full Program: Martha hosts a television show in which she translates pets' language for their owners. 14:00
Martha Meets Puppies | MARTHA SPEAKS | PBS KIDS
Martha and Skits encounter a pack of puppies at the shelter. Catch Martha Speaks' Puppy Week starting Monday, June... 00:43
MARTHA SPEAKS | The Puppy Tooth Fairies | PBS KIDS
Martha and Skits offer to fill in as Puppy Tooth Fairies! Catch Martha Speaks' Puppy Week starting Monday, June 24th... 00:56
MARTHA SPEAKS "Puppy Week" | Coming...
It's puppies, puppies, puppies starting Monday, June 24 on PBS KIDS (check local listings)! The all-new MARTHA SPEAKS... 00:31
Save Burger Boy... The Musical! | MARTHA SPEAKS...
When the gang brainstorms ways to save their favorite restaurant from closing, Alice has the perfect idea: a musical... 01:06
- Watch more video from this program »
Information For Teachers
- Grade Levels
- PreK-2
- Curricular Areas
- Literacy & Languages
- Series Length
- 118 episodes
- Average Episode Length
- 28 minutes
- Record Rights
- Record and retain for 1 year from each broadcast. No duplication allowed.
- Visit the Website for Teacher Resources
- http://pbskids.org/martha/
Visit the IPTV Education website to access timely, relevant resources for your classroom.
News & Announcements
Learn more about Martha Speaks Reading Buddies in Iowa
Iowa Public Television Expands Martha Speaks Reading Buddies Programs for Iowa... more » -
Watch IPTV Education Programs Online
Increasingly, many of the educational programs IPTV provides are available online. Below is a... more »
Series Description: "Martha Speaks" is an animated series that is designed to enrich the vocabulary of 4- to 7-year-olds. The series is based on the classic books by Susan Meddaugh that have charmed and captivated millions of children. Each episode uses Martha's unique linguistic abilities and the hilarious consequences to engage kids and help build their vocabulary skills.
All Upcoming Episodes
Martha's Market/Bye Bye Burger Boy (#404)
Martha and her canine co-workers pitch in to run Tio Jorge's market when everyone else is busy. [28 minutes]
- Sun, February 1, 1:00 PM on IPTV Learns
Return Of The Bookbots: The Case Of The Missing Words, Part One & Two (#405)
Armed with the power to bring nouns from books to life, the Announcer wreaks havoc on Wagstaff City. [28 minutes]
- Mon, February 2, 11:30 AM on IPTV
Itchy Martha/Martha and the Thief of Hearts (#121)
Martha has to wear a cone on her head because she has ear mites. The gang makes homemade valentines. [28 minutes]
- Tue, February 3, 11:30 AM on IPTV
- Sat, February 7, 1:00 PM on IPTV Learns
There Goes The Neighborhood/I Scream (#122)
Martha can't understand why a fuss is being made about a kitten. Truman has never tried ice cream. [28 minutes]
- Wed, February 4, 11:30 AM on IPTV
- Sun, February 8, 1:00 PM on IPTV Learns
Cora! Cora! Cora!/Cora Encore! (#409)
When Kit leaves her dog to travel with an acting troupe, Martha and actor Ham Johnson hatch a plan. [28 minutes]
- Thu, February 5, 11:30 AM on IPTV
Nurse Martha/Td Gets The Scoop (#123)
Martha gets a job as the vet's assistant but has trouble understanding incomprehensible puppy talk. [28 minutes]
- Fri, February 6, 11:30 AM on IPTV
Alice Twinkle Toes/Martha Fails The Course (#124)
Alice secretly wishes she could take ballet lessons. Martha decides she wants to be an agility dog. [28 minutes]
- Mon, February 9, 11:30 AM on IPTV
Martha Sings/Td Makes The Band (#125)
Martha wakes up singing and she can't stop! TD sets out to write a hit song about Belgium. [28 minutes]
- Tue, February 10, 11:30 AM on IPTV
- Sat, February 14, 1:00 PM on IPTV Learns
Monkeyshines Martha/Dog Daze (#406)
Professor Monkey's wacky inventions propel Martha into a world of new adventures. [28 minutes]
- Wed, February 11, 11:30 AM on IPTV
- Sun, February 15, 1:00 PM on IPTV Learns
Skits under the Weather/Martha the Weather Dog (#126)
Martha and Skits hate the sound of thunder. Skits gets fed up and tries to outrun the storm. [28 minutes]
- Thu, February 12, 11:30 AM on IPTV
Martha in the Doghouse/Martha Models (#127)
Helen and the gang try to make Martha a nice quiet place to nap. Martha joins a dog costume parade. [28 minutes]
- Fri, February 13, 11:30 AM on IPTV
TD and the Steak Tree/TD and Martha Gopher Broke (#128)
Weaselgraft and Pablum sell TD a tree and convince him it will blossom steaks instead of flowers. [28 minutes]
- Mon, February 16, 11:30 AM on IPTV
Virtually Martha/Martha Vs. Robot (#129)
While playing with Alice's laptop computer, Martha hits the wrong button and gets zapped inside! [28 minutes]
- Tue, February 17, 11:30 AM on IPTV
- Sat, February 21, 1:00 PM on IPTV Learns
Eyes on the Skies/Camp Truman (#408)
Truman is worried T.D. will embarrass him in front of his idol, Astrophysicist Neil DeGrasse Tyson. [28 minutes]
- Wed, February 18, 11:30 AM on IPTV
- Sun, February 22, 1:00 PM on IPTV Learns
Martha Speaks Martha's Dirty Habit/Helen's All Thumbs (#130)
When Martha's digging gets her in trouble, the family decides put her bad habit to good use. [28 minutes]
- Thu, February 19, 11:30 AM on IPTV
Martha Bakes/Martha Makes Scents (#131)
Martha and Skits try to bake a cake to cheer up Helen. TD's dad OG creates a pooch perfume. [28 minutes]
- Fri, February 20, 11:30 AM on IPTV
Martha Speaks Martha The Witness/Martha Takes A Stand (#132)
Mrs. Demson wants Martha to appear in court after seeing and accident that destroys her furniture. [28 minutes]
- Mon, February 23, 11:30 AM on IPTV
Martha Goes to School/Td and the Light Bulb of Doom (#133)
Martha gets a job as substitute teacher and takes it very serious. TD hurries to finish a project. [28 minutes]
- Tue, February 24, 11:30 AM on IPTV
- Sat, February 28, 1:00 PM on IPTV Learns
Too Many Marthas/Too Much Martha (#410)
Martha gets mixed up with another a dog on the day she is to sing at an animal rescue fundraiser. [28 minutes]
- Wed, February 25, 11:30 AM on IPTV
Martha Speaks Martha Treads The Boards/Martha's Pack (#134)
Martha has a part in a community theater production and Mom and Dad get trapped in a dressing room. [28 minutes]
- Thu, February 26, 11:30 AM on IPTV
Puppy Skits/Dinosaurs In Trouble! (#501)
Skits may have been a time-traveling puppy! Milo and Truman try to save a museum's fossil exhibit. [28 minutes]
- Fri, February 27, 11:30 AM on IPTV
Past Episodes
These episodes of Martha Speaks aired in the last few months on Iowa Public Television.
- Best In Show/Truman on the Ball (#118)
- Martha Runs The Store, Part 1 & Part 2 (#120)
- Martha Speaks Martha Gets Spooked/Martha Changes Her Luck (#119)
- Martha's Market/Bye Bye Burger Boy (#404)
- Martha Doesn't Speak Monkey!/Martha and Truman Get Lost (#117)
- Bulldozer Versus Dinosaur!/Carolina Tackles Football (#403)
- Escape From Flea Island/No Dogs Allowed (#114)
- Raiders of the Lost Art/Martha Says It with Flowers (#116)
- Martha Ain't Nothin' But A Pound Dog, Part 1 & Part 2 (#115)
- Martha In Charge/Truman And The Deep Blue Sea (#113)
- Verb Dog, When Action Calls!/Martha's Adverb Adventures (#402)
- Oh, Noooo!/Bye, Martha (#110)
- Martha The Hero Maker/Starstruck Martha (#112)
- Martha Walks The Dog/Martha's Got Talent (#111)
- The Dog Who Came to Dinner/Martha Calling (#109)
- Martha And The Canine Caper/Perfectly Martha (#107)
- Martha Blah Blah/Skits Behaves (#106)
- Billy Collins Speaks/Milo's Reading Buddy (#401)
- Firedog Martha/Martha's Pickle (#108)
- Down on the Farm/Martha Runs Away (#105)
- Tomato, You Say/Martha Questions (#606)
- Martha and Skits/Martha Plays A Part (#102)
- Martha to the Rescue/Martha Camps Out (#104)
- Martha Takes The Cake/Codename: Martha (#103)
- T.D. Gives A Report/Martha's Canine Cleaners (#608)
- Martha Speaks/Martha Gives Advice (#101)
- Thou Callest Me A Dog/Martha's Paper Chase (#604)
- Martha's Holiday Surprise/We're Powerless! (#607)
- Bookbots 3: Fit Fights Fat/Grandpa Bernie Cleans (#603)
- The Return of Ralph/Little Bo's Sheep (#508)
- Alice Tells A Story/Pirates and Princesse (#601)
- Stanley Saves The Day/Milo Goes for Gold (#507)
- My Mother The Dog/Martha's Must-Have (#504)
- The Puppy Show/Never Forget to Remember (#503)
- Mouse Patrol/The Big Knockover (#506)
- Martha's Puppy/The Cheating Chum Caper (#505)
- The Puppy Tooth Fairy/Martha's Blue Period (#502)
- Cora! Cora! Cora!/Cora Encore! (#409)
- Eyes on the Skies/Camp Truman (#408)
- Puppy Skits/Dinosaurs In Trouble! (#501)
- Too Many Marthas/Too Much Martha (#410)
- Monkeyshines Martha/Dog Daze (#406)
- Martha's Sweater/The Mystery of the Missing Dinosaur (#602)
- Return Of The Bookbots: The Case Of The Missing Words, Part One & Two (#405)
- Martha's Thanksgiving, Part One & Two (#407)
- Skits and Mr. Scruffles/Brave Truman (#302)
- Skits On Ice/Martha's Steamed! (#213)
- Wagstaff Races/The Missing Metal Mystery (#314)
- Myth Me?/Td's Myth Take (#310)
- Martha Acts Up/Ronald Is In (#309)
- Martha's Slumber Party of the Weird/Return to Martha's Slumber Party of the Weird (#313)
- Patrol Dog Martha/The Crooning Crook Caper (#312)
- The Dog Did It/Martha Out West (#311)
- Alice Covers Up/Carolina Picks A Lily (#305)
- Truman's Mad/Dog for a Day (#304)
- Td's Magic/Scaredy Cat (#308)
- Martha: Deadline Doggie/It's The Giant Pumpkin, Martha (#307)
- The Opera Contest/Maestro Martha (#306)
- Martha's Millions/Carolina's Gifted (#303)
- The Martha Show, Part 1 & 2 (#301)
- Martha: Secret Agent Dog, Part 1 & 2 (#215)
- April Fools/Bully for You! (#605)
- Martha's Life In Crime, Part 1 & 2 (#211)
- Dogs In Space/Dogs from Space (#210)
- Martha and the One Thousand Fleas/Nice and Crabby (#214)
- Martha Plays Favorites/Martha and the Doggie Lover (#212)
- Martha in the White House, Part 1 & 2 (#206)
- Martha in the Hold/Get Along, Little Doggies (#205)
- Que Pasa, Martha/Td Is Talking Dog (#209)
- Paws and Effect/The Trouble with Teddy (#208)
- The Jakey Express/Martha, Sled Dog (#207)


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Newegg.com - A great place to buy computers, computer parts, electronics, software, accessories, and DVDs online. With great prices, fast shipping, and top-rated customer service - once you know, you Newegg.
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Your account | Today's news index | Weather | Traffic | Movies | Restaurants | Today's events | ||||||||
Friday, January 16, 2004 - Page updated at 12:00 A.M.
Iraq Notebook
Siemens' U.S. affiliate, Siemens-Westinghouse, is working to win a contract to supply two power stations with parts in conjunction with the U.S. engineering giant Bechtel, company spokesman Peter Gottal said. The U.S. last month excluded firms from countries that opposed the war from bidding on reconstruction projects, but they are not barred from subcontractor work. This week, the Bush administration said it was reconsidering and might allow companies from anti-war countries to bid as primary contractors. German firms built much of modern Iraq, including the Baghdad-Istanbul railway, the central bank, Baghdad's main power station and university and many of the country's dams, bridges and roads. Business ties began to decline after the start of the eight-year Iran-Iraq war in 1980. Radioactive material found in steel reportedly from Iraq AMSTERDAM, Netherlands A recycling company found uranium oxide a radioactive material also known as yellowcake in a shipment of scrap steel it believes originally came from Iraq, the company said yesterday. Paul de Bruin, spokesman for Rotterdam-based Jewometaal, said the shipment was passed on last month from a Jordan metal dealer who was unaware it contained any forbidden materials. "I've dealt with this man for 15 years, and he says he's sure it came from Iraq," De Bruin said. Nuclear experts say that although not highly radioactive, uranium oxide can be processed into enriched uranium usable in a nuclear weapon but experts said about 2 pounds of yellowcake, the amount found, would not be useful for either a bomb or fuel. Dr. Alan Ketering, a researcher at the nuclear research plant at the University of Missouri, Columbia, said yellowcake contains less than 1 percent of U-235 used in nuclear weapons. He said it would need to be refined many times with sophisticated technology before it was dangerous and the amount found in Rotterdam would not be nearly enough. President Bush came under heavy criticism last year when he asserted in his State of the Union address that Iraq was shopping in Africa for uranium yellowcake intelligence that turned out to be based on forged documents.
WASHINGTON Pentagon auditors have asked the Defense Department inspector general to investigate a deal between a Halliburton subsidiary and a Kuwaiti company to import fuel into Iraq after finding "evidence of potential unlawful activity," a Defense Department official said yesterday. The Defense Contract Audit Agency had been reviewing how much the subsidiary, KBR, charged for the fuel under a contract with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. A draft audit report by the agency last month concluded that KBR may have overcharged $61 million by importing more costly fuel from Kuwait instead of from Turkey. Pentagon Comptroller Dov Zakheim said KBR had done nothing improper and blamed the potential overcharge on an antiquated accounting system. The referral Monday to the IG signals that the auditors now believe they have evidence of wrongdoing by either KBR or the Army corps, which directed KBR to buy the fuel from Kuwait. Also ... Army Spc. Lori A. Piestewa, a member of the Hopi tribe who was the first American servicewoman killed in Iraq, will be honored at the Sept. 21 opening of the National Museum of the American Indian. Piestewa, from Tuba City, Ariz., was traveling with Pfc. Jessica Lynch in a convoy that was ambushed by Iraqis on March 23. ... The killing of two journalists in a Baghdad hotel by a U.S. tank shell on April 8 was the result of "criminal negligence," Paris-based watchdog group Reporters Without Borders said in a special report. The group said it was not a deliberate attack on the media, but U.S. soldiers should have been told by their commanders that many journalists were based in the hotel. Copyright © 2004 The Seattle Times Company |
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The Other Best Bands of Bonnaroo 2012
What you should see at Tennessee's great music festival that's not Radiohead. Not that you should not see Radiohead. (Listen to this week's playlist on Esquire Spotify and come back every Music Monday.)
By Andy Langer
Trixie Whitley, "A Thousand Thieves"
Because Michael Kiwanuka won't be the only one at Bonnaroo with a set of mind-blowing vocal chords. Her voice is fire and ice, every bit as terrifying as it is rapturous.


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Making Decisions about Cancer Prevention Medications for Breast Cancer
Name of the Trial
Study of Factors Influencing Decision Making about Chemoprevention Agents in Women at Increased Risk for Breast Cancer (NSABP-DMP-1). See the protocol summary.
Principal Investigators
Dr. Christine Holmberg and Dr. Angela Fagerlin, National Surgical Adjuvant Breast and Bowel Project
Dr. Christine Holmberg Principal Investigator |
Why This Trial Is Important
Breast cancer is the second most common cancer among women in the United States, with more than 200,000 new cases diagnosed each year. Some risk factors for developing breast cancer include age, race, prior breast cancer or breast carcinoma in situ, number of first-degree relatives with the disease, age at onset of menstruation, whether a woman has given birth and at what age, and a history of breast biopsies.
With a risk assessment tool, such as the Gail model, these factors can be used to determine whether a woman is at higher than average risk of developing breast cancer. The Gail model calculates the probability that a woman will develop the disease over the next 5 years and over her lifetime. Women with a 5-year risk of 1.7 percent or higher are considered to be at increased risk and are eligible to take the drug tamoxifen in order to reduce that risk.
Tamoxifen and a similar-acting drug called raloxifene (Evista) are selective estrogen receptor modulators, or SERMs. These drugs block estrogen's ability to stimulate the growth of breast cancer cells. Large chemoprevention studies have shown that tamoxifen and raloxifene substantially reduce the risk of breast cancer in women at increased risk of this disease.
By some estimates, more than 10 million American women qualify to use a SERM for breast cancer prevention based on their level of risk. Despite proven benefits, however, most women at increased risk of breast cancer either choose not to take these medications or simply do not come to a decision, even after discussing the drugs' risks and benefits with a health care provider and perceiving a personal high risk of disease. Cancer prevention researchers are eager to understand how women make choices about whether to take these drugs for cancer prevention.
In this study, women age 35 or older who discuss the use of a SERM for breast cancer prevention with a health care provider will be asked to complete a questionnaire about their discussion and whether they have come to a decision about using a SERM for risk reduction. Women who indicate that they have made a decision will be asked to complete a second questionnaire about their decision-making process. If a woman has not indicated that she has made a decision within 6 months of completing the first questionnaire, the second questionnaire will be mailed to her.
"We want to know how people actually make decisions—what's important for their decision-making," said Dr. Holmberg. "[Researchers and health care providers] are focusing on numbers all the time, but increasingly we know that numbers are not the deciding factor. We need to be sure that we present numbers appropriately, but we also need to understand what other factors play a role in decision-making" about breast cancer chemoprevention.
"We are interested in the decision-making process, so we are fine with any woman who decides she is not going to take a SERM," she explained. "We just want to know, how did you make your decision?
"Our ultimate goals for this study are to use the information we collect to guide us in making better decision aids, and finding out what people's needs are for chemoprevention drugs so that we know what type of drugs we need to focus our efforts on," Dr. Holmberg concluded.
For More Information
See the lists of entry criteria and trial contact information or call the NCI's Cancer Information Service at 1-800-4-CANCER (1-800-422-6237). The toll-free call is confidential.