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Excerpted from A Painted House by John Grisham. Copyright © 2001 by John Grisham. Excerpted by permission of Dell, a division of Random House LLC. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
"Captivating . . . This is John Grisham's best work."—CNN
"John Grisham is about as good a storyteller as we've got. . . . The pages turn. The characters take on their own lives. And at times, as the cotton bolls glisten in the sun, you can't help thinking of other coming-of-age novels from the South: Huckleberry Finn or To Kill a Mockingbird."—The New York Times Book Review
"The kind of book you read slowly because you don't want it to end . . . Never let it be said this man doesn't know how to spin a good yarn."—Entertainment Weekly
"Characters that no reader will forget . . . prose as clean and strong as any Grisham has yet laid down . . . and a drop-dead evocation of a time and place that mark this novel as a classic slice of Americana."—Publishers Weekly
1. Luke Chandler is exposed to events that many adults have never even seen. What is the effect of reading about these circumstances—from a difficult childbirth to the possibility of financial ruin—through the eyes of a seven-year-old narrator?
2. The Chandlers cannot afford some of the hallmarks of the1950s American dream, such as a television set or a stylish-looking car. Yet other aspects of that time period, such as the Korean War, make an unmistakable impression on them. How does the Chandler household measure up to your own memories or impressions of that era?
3. Several generations of women are presented in A PAINTED HOUSE, including Gran, Luke's mother, and Tally. How do contemporary women compare to those three characters?
4. Baseball is a central theme in the novel, providing Luke with heroes, dreams, and a diversion from the exhaustion of picking cotton. When the Arkansans challenge the Mexicans to a baseball game, however, Luke sees a darker side to competition. In what way does this scene foreshadow the conclusion of the novel?
5. How might the novel have been different if Luke's father or mother had narrated it?
6. How does your opinion of Cowboy change throughout the novel? What do you think attracts Tally to him? How did you react to his final showdown with Hank?
7. Discuss the role of Ricky in A PAINTED HOUSE. Though we never meet him directly, he does play a key part in the progress of the plot. What is the effect of his absence, and the letter writing it inspires? In what way does his experience differ from that of modern soldiers?
8. What keeps Pappy from giving up on farming?
9. What role do the Methodist and Baptist churches play in the Black Oak community? How well do religious teachings serve Luke during 1952?
10. In what way is Black Oak a snapshot of the world at large?
11. Luke says that most members of his community are descended from Scotch-Irish immigrants. What are some of the legacies of this ancestry?
12. The weather is a powerful force in A PAINTED HOUSE; floods, heat, hail, and tornadoes all add suspense to the novel. What is it like for the Chandlers to live at the complete mercy of the weather? How is their situation different from that of the cousins who perform indoor industrial work up north? What are the costs and benefits of relying on the natural world for your livelihood?
13. At the end of the novel, Luke and his parents become migrant workers themselves, venturing off to a new part of the country solely for employment opportunities. Twenty-first-century workers are often asked to transfer to a new part of the globe in order to further their careers. What is the best way to make decisions between financial security and family or cultural ties?
14. Poverty is a highly relative concept in A PAINTED HOUSE. Though they have no indoor plumbing and have perilously high debts, the Chandlers nonetheless give generously to those in need. How do you define "rich" and "poor"?
15. The Chandler house itself conveys a meaningful message. What is the significance of the way in which it gets painted? Do you believe that Pappy really does finish the job after Luke and his family leave? What is the effect of that detail? What causes Luke to set aside his dream of ordering a Cardinals jacket and instead use his meager earnings to buy paint?
16. In terms of plot and writing style, are any elements of John Grisham's legal thrillers evident in A PAINTED HOUSE?
17. Discuss your own coming-of-age story. What are your first memories of home? Who were the first people you loved?
18. A PAINTED HOUSE ends with tantalizing possibilities. Speculate about how Luke's life unfolds after his family leaves the Arkansas Delta.


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I'm Manuela Kjeilen, mom to 5, baker, bloger, author, lecturer and photographer and baking is my passion.
Hope you will find inspiration on this blog and make you want to pick up your rolling pin and start baking with me.
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Click on your Region (Area) to view units and upcoming events in your area
Read more: Region Map
by Richard Jirius
WBCCI Legislative Chairperson
Also published in the Blue Beret
If half of what we read hear and is forecast, sequestration will inevitably affect most Airstream life styles. I would urge all members to pay attention to your surrounding areas both National and State, how this may affect your future plans, and any Wally Byam rallies or caravans. Items I have read include the delay of opening both the north and south rim of the Grand Canyon and reducing operating hours of their visitor centers, reducing education programs in many parks, closing half of the visitor centers on the Blue Ridge Parkway, closing one visitor center on Mt. Rainer, and delaying the opening of the Going to The Sun Road in Glacier National Park. Campgrounds will be closed in The Great Smoky National Park, and a visitor center in the Grand Tetons.
Read more: Effects of Sequestration on RVing
The vast majority of WBCCI members who do not renew have belonged to the club only one or two years. Let's think about why members do not renew and try to make our club more responsive to their needs.
Here are some ideas to try at rallies and caravans that will help units to retain members:
Read more: Ideas for Member Retention
Welcome You are now a member of the Wally Byam Caravan Club International (WBCCI). As such you are now entitled to participate in all WBCCI activities. This includes all unit activities across the Canada and the United States, as well as all national, region, and unit caravans. You can attend the International Rally, as well as region rallies, special events rallies, and national rallies. You are also welcome to partake of courtesy parking. There is also the wealth of RV lifestyle know-how that you can tap into through the many new friends you will meet.
We are glad that you have chosen to be a part of our Airstream Family. Our members come from very diverse backgrounds, but are equal in their love of traveling. We have compiled information about WBCCI, which we hope will help you understand what everyone is talking about so you can fit right in with seasoned members.
Who was Wally Byam? Born July 4, 1896, died July 22, 1962. He was one of the pioneer manufacturers of the travel trailer. He founded the company, Airstream, Inc. He was a leader in developing both the romance and enthusiasm associated with the automobile and recreational vehicle culture. Wally traveled extensively, and his adventures were the inspiration for the formation of the Wally Byam Caravan Club International (WBCCI). The Club was founded in Kentville, Nova Scotia, Canada, in 1955, and has grown to about 6,000 member families.
The Wally Byam Creed
In the heart of these words is an entire life's dream. To those of you who find in the promise of these words your promise, I bequeath this creed...my dream belongs to you. - Wally Byam
Code of Ethics
Read more: New Member Information
WHY JOIN WBCCI? There are many reasons:
Read more: Membership Information
WBCCI Central Office803 E. Pike StreetP.O. Box 612Jackson Center,OH 45334Ph 937-596-5211Fax 937-596-5542


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Game 147: Nats at Mets
Sep 14, 2011, 8:11 PM EDT
File photo by Mark Zuckerman / NATS INSIDER
Brad Peacock makes his first career start tonight at Citi Field.
Couple of significant (or not-so-significant, depending on your point of view) things could happen tonight in New York. 1) With a win, the Nationals would get to 70 for the season, surpassing last year's total. 2) With a win, the Nats would be tied with the Mets for third place in the NL East.
And the third thing, of course, is that Brad Peacock is making his first career start, hoping to bounce back from a ragged big-league debut out of the bullpen on the night Stephen Strasburg returned from Tommy John surgery. Peacock, who dominated at both Class AA Harrisburg and Class AAA Syracuse, doesn't seem like the type who would let that one shaky outing get to him. I would expect a solid performance from him tonight.
Typical lineup from Davey Johnson, the only exception being Jesus Flores behind the plate instead of Wilson Ramos (who will probably start tomorrow afternoon's series finale).
Enjoy the game and the conversation…
NATIONALS at METS
Where: Citi Field
Gametime: 7:10 p.m.
Radio: WJFK (106.7 FM), WFED (1500 AM), XM 183
Weather: Chance of storms, 77 degrees, Wind 8 mph out to CF
SS Ian Desmond
CF Rick Ankiel
3B Ryan Zimmerman
LF Michael Morse
- Drew8 - Sep 15, 2011 at 3:12 AM
Rick Ankiel has a lot of value off the bench — power, great arm, good jumps and glove in center. But his on base percentage just edges .300 so I wouldn't want to see him start in CF.I still think B.J. Upton is Mike Rizzo's objective.Jayson Werth's improving OPS — .732.B.J. Upton's improving OPS — .734.Rizzo knows the Upton family. Upton grew up with Zim in Tidewater and Rizzo thinks Zim would be a great influence. Upton is a 20-30 guy with a career on base percentage of .341.An offseason deal with Tampa that involves some combination of Desmond and/or Norris and/or Marrero wouldn't surprise me at all.
- Gonat - Sep 15, 2011 at 3:26 AM
Drew8, BJ Upton is a Free Agent after next season and he hasn't been leadoff for a while. I hope you are wrong and Rizzo says NO. Need to save players for July in case the Nats are in the playoff hunt and need to make deadline trades.BJ Upton is a 1 year rental. After the season, Desmond has had since the trade deadline, no way I trade him.Of the names you mentioned, I would trade Norris straight up for BJ Upton.
- Drew8 - Sep 15, 2011 at 3:52 AM
Gonat:Obviously Desmond has been much better after the All-Star break, with a .330 on base percentage built almost exclusively on base hits.My problem with Ian is that he does not draw walks, so his on base percentage lives or dies on whether he's swinging a hot bat.In September he has 51 at bats and ONE walk. His on base percentage for this month is .288!I'm sure Rizzo wouldn't deal prospects for Upton unless he got a window to ink him to a long-term deal, as he tried to do with Greinke.Even if they don't go get Upton, I think they'll eventually move Ian to make room for Rendon. I'd be happy with this lineup for your NL champion 2014 Nats:Goodwin cfRendon 2bZimmerman 3bMorse 1bHarper rfWerth LfEspinosa ssRamos cStrasburg p
- Analytical Nat - Sep 15, 2011 at 11:28 AM
In all honesty the Ankiel catch was slightly more than a routine catch. Just wasn't what most of you have make it out to be. Don't get fooled by showmanship, but I like it.
- The Dude Abides - Sep 15, 2011 at 11:37 AM
Has anybody heard from that famous "69 wins" neganon lately?The last I remember, he had hedged and started saying "71 wins".He's still hedgein' (I bet).
- Joe Seamhead - Sep 15, 2011 at 12:00 PM
Screw 2014 . We're in it to win it in 2013! Those last three home games against Philly next year will be meaningless, as we will have the NL East sewn up by then! Regarding Ian Desmond, I'm supportive of him for now, though I'm "not feeling it" so far as to him being the SS when we win our World Series title.
- NatsJack in Florida - Sep 15, 2011 at 12:10 PM
Hey Seamhead…. I'm all for spending the Lerners money and signing Jose Reyes…. screw the injuries… I'll take my chances….Can you imagine that infield? Zim, Reyes, Espinosa and ….. oh hell, lets get Fielder while we're at it.
- YankeeLover - Sep 15, 2011 at 12:14 PM
Twitter: @BHarper3407 Bryce Harper Just crushed some Benihana sushi! So good! Hiro is a great sushi maker! Oh and he likes the Yankees! #legit
- Anonymous8 - Sep 15, 2011 at 12:19 PM
The Dude Abides, the Orioles anon's have disapearred suddenly. It will be interesting to see from here who the Nats can leap frog in better records. Any chance they can catch Manny Acta's Indians? Looks like the Nats can surpass the Pirates to.
- Gonat - Sep 15, 2011 at 12:28 PM
Steve M. said… Here's my random thoughts on Peacock tonight. He is facing an offensively challenged team so he needs to do what Detwiler did for his 1st 5 innings on Monday: Shut down Reyes and Wright. You don't have to be perfect, but those are the 2 to keep off base. September 14, 2011 10:51 AM ______________________He didn't let Wright on base and the only time Reyes got a hit on him was with 2 outs after the ump blew a 3rd strike call.2 hits and no runs in 5 innings w/ the Win is a nice box score. The 3 walks and throwing 95 pitches tell a story of many pitches thrown per batter.The ump may have also squeezed the strike zone as some pointed out which added to the pitch count and Zimmerman missing that foul popup cost Peacock to throw 6 or 7 extra pitches.Next start has to be more efficient with his pitches.
- Mark'd - Sep 15, 2011 at 12:36 PM
Will Bixlers and Lombo be the starting middle infield today? HenryRod hasn't pitched since Sunday, hope we don't see him today although Davey needs a spot closer.The Mets offense looks worse than the Nats did during that losing streak 2 weeks ago.
- NatsLady - Sep 15, 2011 at 12:40 PM
Maybe Henry for 7-8 and Burnett to close. Let's hope Milone can go 6. How about my man Clip last night?
- A DC Wonk - Sep 15, 2011 at 12:48 PM
Analytical Nat said… In all honesty the Ankiel catch was slightly more than a routine catch. Just wasn't what most of you have make it out to be. Don't get fooled by showmanship, but I like it.I agree that it wasn't really a _diving_ catch — he could have caught it without diving, although diving was probably the safer route (so that he wouldn't trip or fall as he had to lean so far).On the other hand, he got a great jump on the ball, read it well, and used good speed to get to it, as the ball was curving away from him.The Mets offense looks worse than the Nats did during that losing streak 2 weeks ago.The Mets have the second highest BA in the NL — perhaps they are in a slump, but some amount of credit needs to go to the Nats pitching — particularly the bullpen.As far as Rendon goes — somebody a few days back asked if it was possible we'd see him sooner than other draft picks, since he's a hitter rather than a pitcher, and because he's a college guy.That seems logical to me. Great college hitters have the highest percentage of successfully making it to the big leagues, and also the quickest. I'm looking forward to hearing reports about him from the Instruc League, and the Ariz league.
- Gonat - Sep 15, 2011 at 12:50 PM
NatsLady, I think that was his most dominating performance between last night and Monday. The mix of pitches is looking like a 3 PLUS pitch reliever. When people said he wasn't as good as Venters I think he took it to heart. Word is that he has been working on the big breaker.
- A DC Wonk - Sep 15, 2011 at 12:53 PM
Speaking of Burnett — anyone catch that story that he's been solidly lights out since he moved where he stands on the pitching rubber.Key quote:The results have been dramatic, a small change making a huge difference. Since Burnett switched sides of the rubber, he has appeared in 22 games and allowed three earned runs in 19 2/3 innings, good for a 1.37 ERA. "He's been as good as anybody I've had out there for the last 30 games," Manager Davey Johnson said.Full story here
- NatsLady - Sep 15, 2011 at 12:57 PM
Wonk, saw that story. Remember when there was a "closer competition" between Burnett and Storen? Seems like forever ago…
- NatsJack in Florida - Sep 15, 2011 at 12:57 PM
Ok everybody…. I should be able to provide 3 or 4 weekly "eyeball" reports from Fall Instructional League starting late next week…. And Rendon is definitely on top of my "watch" list.I'm looking forward to reconnecting with Robbie Ray and A.J. Cole as I got to know them both fairly well last Fall. There are going to be a BUNCH of arms to monitor this Fall.
- RIchard - Sep 15, 2011 at 1:02 PM
Boz has an column this a.m. re the Nats potentially being Werth and the Home Growns next year. I hope so. So many free agent big buck contracts go wrong. There's a huge, ugly list. And the Nats' attempts in that regard (Marquis, LaRoche, and, dare I say it, even Werth — altho' I like the guy's game) that ya gotta hope the Nats stand pat. The center fielders avialable for a one-year deal don't seem much better than Ankiel (wow! re the last two nights!) and company. Ankiel deserves another year IMO and they have Bernadina for occasionally duty and could use Werth in CF and re-sign Gomes and Nix presumably to help in the corners and off the bench. All this until Harper is ready, hopefully in June 2012 but maybe 2013 … unless the Nats think Morse's success is flash in the pan stuff.
- Wally - Sep 15, 2011 at 1:33 PM
NatsJack in Florida said…Ok everybody…. I should be able to provide 3 or 4 weekly "eyeball" reports from Fall Instructional League starting late next week…. And Rendon is definitely on top of my "watch" list.I look forward to this, NJ, and appreciate it. Rendon and Purke are high on my list to hear about.When does the AFL start, November?
- NatsLady - Sep 15, 2011 at 1:34 PM
Honestly, I'm not so worried about 3rd place as I am about not dropping 5 of 6 to the stinkin' Fish. With the new kids around, there should NOT be any fear of a last-place worn out club… The Fillies and Braves will be resting their regulars to charge up for October, so we should have a good chance. GO NATS!!
- Mark'd - Sep 15, 2011 at 1:46 PM
NatsLady, Fish have a day night doubleheader in Philly which should hopefully tire them out
- N. Cognito - Sep 15, 2011 at 1:46 PM
The Braves are still fighting for the Wild Card. They have only a 4.5 game lead over the Cards.
- NatsJack in Florida - Sep 15, 2011 at 1:47 PM
Wally…. AFL starts up about the third week in October. Looking forward to a great afternoon of baseball. Get off work at 11:30 AM for a long week end then head to my local watering hole to quench my thirst for both the Nats and Miller Lite.
- Sec 3, My Sofa - Sep 15, 2011 at 1:52 PM
Starts Oct. 4, actuallyArizona Fall League schedule here (PDF)("Arena Football League?? Why does he want … oh. Nevermind.")
- Sec 3, My Sofa - Sep 15, 2011 at 1:54 PM
N. Cognito said… The Braves are still fighting for the Wild Card. They have only a 4.5 game lead over the Cards.So you're saying the Nats can do some damage here, eh? EX-cellent!Have I mentioned that I don't like the Braves?
- NatsLady - Sep 15, 2011 at 1:57 PM
N. Cog, would rather have the Braves get it (hopefully clinched) before we see them. Let them wear themselves out fighting… Am not a friend of StL. Nothing against the Braves except the tomahawk chop, but isn't their rotation falling apart? I see them as the team to beat next year in our division.
- sjm308 - Sep 15, 2011 at 1:59 PM
Natsjack – will be looking forward to your reports just like I enjoy spring trainingDCWonk – that was me asking about Rendon and I hope he will make great strides and move quickly thru our systemNatslady – no no no to HRod going two innings – just one please and we have plenty of arms out there to keep the mets humble – yes Burnett has been lights out and I actually like him to close today if we need it (could also use Coffey)Anon8 – I am just like you, watching how many teams we can finish ahead of. Was surprised how far we are ahead of the Twins, we have crushed the Pirates as well. I made a bet early in the year that we would finish with a better record than Manny's tribe and it looks like I am going to owe one of my ex-swimmers a fitted curly W hat unless the Indians go totally spastic and we stay on the great roll (just for the record, if I did win the Indians hat it would not be worn except doing yard work)5 more win please!! (and then we will reprogram)go nats!!
- sjm308 - Sep 15, 2011 at 2:04 PM
I realize not many will miss my missives but I will miss communicating here. Its a great release. Off to Montreal and then up the St. Lawrence for the next 8 days. I will not have my computer but will have use of an ipad if my spousal type person is in a good mood. hard for me to write but I will be reading with great interest. Thanks to all of you for making this an important part of my day.5 more wins please!!go nats
- NatsLady - Sep 15, 2011 at 2:04 PM
Go, Scorpions!!! Another Mark Buerhle story here.
- NatsLady - Sep 15, 2011 at 2:06 PM
sjm308==> I'll miss you. Have a great trip!
- Steve M. - Sep 15, 2011 at 2:24 PM
sjm, have a great trip and lets hope for at least 5 more wins. 10% improvement over last season would be a very good sign which is 76 wins.NatsLady, good Buerhle info on his durability. The one thing I noticed on his durability is that he also drops off in the latter part of the season. He is one of these pitchers who will help you more April to July like Marquis. His ERA in the 1st half was 3.42 and 2nd half 3.88. Still have to wonder how he would do facing 8 and a pitcher vs 8 and a DH. –My big negative on him is that he is poor on the road and that concerns me–.Like JD and I discussed before, for the right price you get him. He will be one of the top Lefty arms on the market.
- jd - Sep 15, 2011 at 2:25 PM
If we are trying to figure out Rendon's ETA a great barometer is Dustin Ackley; I believe it took him a year and change to graduate; translation June 1st 2013.
- NatsLady - Sep 15, 2011 at 2:25 PM
From Fangraphs, as of this morning. Tyler vs. Jonny Venters!!! (WPA – Win Probability Added)WPA: RelieversTyler Clippard 5.36Jonny Venters 5.23John Axford 4.56Jonathan Papelbon 3.94David Robertson 3.84
- PAY TO PLAY - Sep 15, 2011 at 2:28 PM
jd, didn't Ackley also have a position change? 1st base to 2nd base or am I thinking of someone else?
- Sec 3, My Sofa - Sep 15, 2011 at 2:29 PM
sjm, don't give up the cap. They're only 3 back of Manny in the loss column, and Cleveland has that 162nd game to lose.
- jd - Sep 15, 2011 at 2:33 PM
A lot of Nats pitching prospects questions on Klaw's latest chat. Summary: 1)Between Peacock, Milone, Rosenbaum – all # 5 starters at best. 2) Solis # 4. 3) A.J.Cole – Higher than a No. 3. So to extrapolate a future rotation may look something like this:1)SS2)J Zimm3)AJ Cole4)Solis5)Peacock? There is of course also: Meyer and Purke. I,m sure I left out others (Ray?) but there's a lot there.
- Nats Outsider - Sep 15, 2011 at 2:37 PM
NatsLady, I *hope* the Phils will be resting their regulars when the Nats play them, but that's not certain yet. The Philthydelphia papers noted that the team has only cliched a playoff berth, not the division, and certainly not home field advantage through the playoffs. It will take several more wins before they do that. That may include our games, unfortunately.
- Oldguy - Sep 15, 2011 at 2:39 PM
Just went through our current roster and weeded out the obvious (Cora, etc.) Was left with 27 players, none of whom I would want to get rid of. (Too many pitchers–not a bad problem.) I'm with Richard–you take what's in house and make it work. There's not a guy on our team who can't hit or can't pitch–though they don't always do it. And I have been listening to Davey's manager's reports with Charley on 106.7 almost every night. Although I had problems with him at first, he has talked a lot about conversations he has had with a number of players–Danny, Desi, Bix and a few others. And the results show. He likes all three of those guys, and I'm betting none of them are going anywhere. Regarding FA's, there are a few out there that make the Werth deal look great–John Lackey, for example. (Pitchers are especially dicey in this regard. Pitchers can lose games without any help, whereas position players rarely do.) And that list of 27, by the way, did not include Harper and the other young guys who are still out there, like Rendon, etc.
- jd - Sep 15, 2011 at 2:39 PM
PTP, He absolutely did; from the outfield to 2nd base actually. NatsLady, No doubt about it. Clippard is our best reliever; you should have heard the Mets broadcasters gushing over him. They couldn't believe he wasn't left in to close last night.
- NatsLady - Sep 15, 2011 at 2:40 PM
And, just for fun, if you go by WPA, Clip and Venters beat out ALL the starting pitchers, Halliday, you name him. Pitchers ranked by WPA It's not really comparable, but, for those who think starting and closing are the "glamour" jobs…
- Sec 3, My Sofa - Sep 15, 2011 at 2:41 PM
P2P, yes, the Mariners moved Ackley to second after they drafted him.from his Wikipedia page:"He came to University of North Carolina as a shortstop but later moved to centerfield, and then later to first base. UNC coach Mike Fox first tried to play Ackley at second base, but later settled in the outfield."
- Steve M. - Sep 15, 2011 at 2:41 PM
So Milone gets to face the Mets again. Last time he barely got through the 4th but that game set up the Zim walkoff broken bat hit to right field.Milone was not getting his inside strikes to the RH batters and it hurt him the 2nd time through the order as they hit him well.His challenge will be seeing if the umpire will give him the inside pitch. If he gets it, I think he can be effective today. Not sure if Turner will start today but if he does, he could have Reyes and Turner from the right side. He did well against the LH Duda so the Mets should rest him and go with a very RH lineup against him. Wright will probably bat 3rd or cleanup. Pagan is another switch hitter so Milone may only see 1 or 2 lefties at most today.This is Milone's biggest test. The Mets are hungry to get a win. Day game after a night game and Milone has to show he can make it through the 6th. The bullpen could use the rest also.
- Wally - Sep 15, 2011 at 2:45 PM
SJM – have a great time. I did a trip like that with my wife a while back (pre-marriage). Old town Quebec was fun. Big hotel right on the water (Frontenac, maybe?) – didn't stay there but it was very beautiful. Enjoy.P2P – yes, that is Ackley and he switched from 1B/Cf to 2B. He is a good comp, I think. Very similar profiles coming out of school
- jd - Sep 15, 2011 at 2:47 PM
Steve M. I view Milone as a cheaper version of Lannan at best. I'm no expert but he seems to lack a putaway pitch. In the minors his biggest asset was that he didn't walk anybody and that's a very good thing.
- PAY TO PLAY - Sep 15, 2011 at 2:48 PM
Thanks jd/NatsLady for the Ackley points. I thought he was a position change. He was a very good hitter in College and Rendon is better than Ackley.Lets hope it translates that way at the MLB level also.
- NatsLady - Sep 15, 2011 at 2:49 PM
You like how I'm giving Clip points for his arbitration? According to fangraphs, he was "worth" $5mill this year. Pay the man! Him and RZimm.jd, OK, thanks, for fun, I will go back on MLB.tv and listen to that. I think Clip was not left in to close because of Storen. Partly because of their relationship, but also because Storen needs to learn how to close consistently with less "drama." (He didn't learn it last night, though). You may not want to consider the wishes/feelings of pitchers, but you have to. Also, the two inning jobs do drain a guy. You want to save those for when he has to strand a couple of inherited runners and then work another inning–although I'm starting to like Coffey in the fireman role, and HotRod could/should be getting to where he could strand a runner and come back in for another inning.I have no problem with Davey not leaving Clip in. This is a NICE problem to have.
- jd - Sep 15, 2011 at 2:50 PM
Wally, Chateau Frontenac – Beautiful hotel. SJM, Enjoy your trip.
- Wally - Sep 15, 2011 at 2:52 PM
Mark – FYI – I had a site comment. It gets a little cumbersome to post when the comments go over 200. When you start typing, it takes you back to the old comments (1-200) as you are typing, and then when you finish, it also brings you back to the original comments. So you don't get the benefit of seeing whether anyone posted newer comments (which is why I responded to P2P after three others about Ackley).Is there any way to have it keep you on the newest strand of comments?
- NatsLady - Sep 15, 2011 at 2:53 PM
I was in the car driving or I would have posted it last night when they were speculating–there was ZERO chance Davey was leaving Clip in for the 9th. None.
- Sec 3, My Sofa - Sep 15, 2011 at 2:57 PM
I don't think Davey manages by the seat of his pants like that. Storen is the closer; he was available last night; he's pitching the ninth there, because that's his job.
- NatsLady - Sep 15, 2011 at 3:04 PM
Sofa, exactly. Davey is not going to have Clip take saves from Storen. In a pinch, he might put Burnett in there, or if he's in a teaching mood, HotRod. But not Clip.
- Steve M. - Sep 15, 2011 at 3:09 PM
jd, better control than Lannan. He needs that inside corner.I unfortunately/fortunately concur with Klaw on the Nats pitchers. Every team needs a #5 pitcher, but you hope for some of these guys to step up and show they can be mid-3's for ERA and become a #3 or #4. Have to like what he thinks of AJ Cole. I really like Purke and hope he can be there in the mix. When the Nats are playoff bound, they may have to make a pickup to get them over the top. Other thought is AJ Cole could be further away than Purke may be.So far out of Wang, Detwiler, Milone and Peacock, I am most impressed by Peacock. To get out of the bases loaded in the 4th and also get out of a squeezed strike zone and mis-calls, Peacock was better than his pitch count. Reyes was struck out and he got a hit. The 3 walks were really his biggest problem. I was glad he started his 1st game in NY. It can build confidence as it is a pitcher's park.His next start will be the one to really see improvement.
- A DC Wonk - Sep 15, 2011 at 3:12 PM
jd said… A lot of Nats pitching prospects questions on Klaw's latest chat. Summary: 1)Between Peacock, Milone, Rosenbaum – all # 5 starters at best.Why in the world does Klaw think Peacock is #5 "at best"? He had a killer AAA season, and he hit 95 mph a number of times last night.I'm not saying Peacock is a lock for better than #5 — I have no idea. But how can someone say he will _never_ be better than #5? What am I missing here?
- Sec 3, My Sofa - Sep 15, 2011 at 3:13 PM
Wally, that's a "known issue" with Blogger, at least with this standard template–not sure if other templates offer a work-around yet, but I haven't heard of one, and a quick google came up empty, so I'm doubting it.
- Sec 3, My Sofa - Sep 15, 2011 at 3:23 PM
Wally–but you asked for a workaround to stay on the last page, not for the 200 comment limit, didn't you? Try this, it may be a little better: Open the latest page (like this one here) in a new tab. When you post, use the first page to submit it, then switch back to this one and refresh it (F5 key). Not much better, really, but it's all I've got.
- jd - Sep 15, 2011 at 3:28 PM
DC Wonk, Klaw never said that Peacock will never be better than #5; his scouting impression is that Peacock tops at #5. To Klaw's credit; he acknowledges when he's wrong and admits that he's wrong a lot of the times. So basically it's just his opinion based on what he sees.
- natsfan1a - Sep 15, 2011 at 4:53 PM
Of course we'll miss you, sjm. Have a good trip!I can't root against Manny's (and my aunt's) tribe, but I'll root to pass other teams in the standings.
As ESPN-980 AM's Nats Insider, Mark makes daily appearances on the station's various shows. Here's the 2015 schedule (subject to change)...
MON: 12:45 p.m.
TUE: 2:30 p.m.
WED: 4:30 p.m.
THU: 2:30 p.m.
FRI: 5:30 p.m.
SAT: 10:30 a.m.
*All times Eastern. You can also listen to the station on 94.3 FM, 92.7 FM and online at ESPN980.com. Click here for past audio clips.
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- Zimmermann contract talks "not looking good"
- Another Nats injury: Zimmerman banged up on diving play at first
- Former Nats All-Star wins closer job with Oakland Athletics
- Harper back in lineup as Nats face Cards
- Nats make 6 cuts as roster begins to take shape
- Forbes: Nats nearly doubled in franchise value from 2014 to 2015
- Gonzalez settles down, with help from Scherzer
- Former Nats pitcher earns rotation spot with Texas Rangers
- Ian Desmond ranks highly among shortstops, according to ESPN
- Gio Gonzalez faces Mets in Viera


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ThunderThighs wrote:************************
MENS: Anvil
Sorry I'm late.
Confirmed. Gold box will be added momentarily.
I feel that the confirming what blanks are being used should be done with more gusto, like so:
BTW- anyone find it odd that back when computer processors ran at 33mhz - the operating system was QUICKER to load than it is today with our fancy quad cores and bazillion gigs of ram.
I'm not even a computer nerd and that FORMAT C: command still strikes terror into my soul!
seahokedrama wrote:BTW- anyone find it odd that back when computer processors ran at 33mhz - the operating system was QUICKER to load than it is today with our fancy quad cores and bazillion gigs of ram.
Depends what you're running - my linux laptop (6 years old) runs MUCH faster than my significantly newer windows laptop!
Despite growing up in an age where DOS prompts were on their way out, I really love this shirt simply because there are plenty of times where I still type "CMD" just because it's the best way to do stuff.
Plus the utterly simplistic nerdism of this is fantastic... so I'm in.
seahokedrama wrote:If I wore that- my wife would be prompt to format *.* me.
I just made an rm *.* joke to the hubby.
He got it.
probably a huge chunk of us still get nostalgic at the very sight of C:\BARDS_TALE
Ten characters in a directory name? What wizardry is this?
cornellbigred wrote:What's a C: drive?
Exactly. I wonder how many folks would understand
Oh, for the days of PIP, ERA, STAT and SYSGEN.
And not to forget the repetitive grinding sounds, cringing as one waiting for the famous BDOS ERR ON A:
THOSE were the days!
Raise your hand if you know what day of the week January 1, 1980 was.
(If you don't know why I know, trust me, it's relevant.)
bluejester wrote:I feel that the confirming what blanks are being used should be done with more gusto, like so:
I'll work on that.
amreli wrote:Oh, the nostalgia! You captured that green glow so well.
Would be even awesomer if it glowed in the dark!
I'm too young to get it, and I am not ashamed.
at1003 wrote:someone should make a bluescreen of death shirt
There was sort of one several years back.
Congrats Kevlar51! A very nostalgic design!
"We call this color: COLOR 07. By which we mean, the background is Black."
Maybe it was COLOR 0F because look at that phosphor glow! (Or y'all had the intensity turned way up!)
In the old BASICs, it would be COLOR 10, 0 for light green on black, assuming a color display such as CGA, EGA or VGA.
With with an MDA or Hercules-compatible card, the color would still work as 2-7 normal "white" (or in this case a green phosphor shirt), 10-15 were high intensity, 0 and 8 were black plus 1 and 9 being underlined normal and high intensity, respectively.
So with that logic, it could be COLOR 0A, as well.
Now I'm going back into hiding because I just remembered the commands for a Soroc IQ 120, Hazeltine 1500 and a TeleVideo 950....
this shirt is a close second to
serenityx wrote:C:\> 4 8 15 16 23 42 EXECUTE
love... this made me giggle.
Needs a ~ and a #.
I don't need this DOS-ism.
... I bought it anyway.
I don't know about the rest of you, but I see this all the time; one can't easily back up a Windows system or remove viruses without it!
wrwine3 wrote:echo off
for %a in (THIS, SHIRT, IS, AWESOME) do echo %a
echo on
rem if placing in a batch file, replace "%a" with "%%a" (without the quotes)
Thanks for commenting your code; nice programmer
when are we gonna get one that has a bash prompt? i hate microcrap! :P
goldfire wrote:Ten characters in a directory name? What wizardry is this?
Came here to say this.
My DOSBox returns: directoryname is longer than 8 characters and/or contains spaces.
Still bought the shirt, though.
Narfcake wrote:C: drive? Bah. You and your fancy schmancy computers with multiple drives. Why, back in my days, we made due with a single floppy drive! And I had to walk uphill in snow both ways!
Here's a map of your neighborhood.
Seriously there was nothing better to woot...congrats to the artist tho < = more
yaw4god_emt wrote:Came here to say this.
My DOSBox returns: directoryname is longer than 8 characters and/or contains spaces.
Still bought the shirt, though.
You can technically get around it with C:\BARDS_TA.LE\> but by then you're just opening yourself up to all sorts of Fun Problems.
(Fun fact: You actually could make file names with spaces back in the MS-DOS days.)
quark613 wrote:Aw, it's DOS. WordPerfect 5.1, best word processor EVER.
WordStar - everyone should navigate with [CTRL]+[] commands, even to move the cursor. Or we could just use edlin I suppose.
Oh man, I want to buy this for my development team. They would LOVE this. Now can I get matching one of MS Paint for my designers??
Congrats on the win!!
Thanks everyone! I'm happy to see this has brought back so many wonderfully terrible memories for people!
ckeilah wrote:If only it were a root shell prompt in "amber screen"....
Oooh, I like!
JamesDelsman wrote:Raise your hand if you know what day of the week January 1, 1980 was.
(If you don't know why I know, trust me, it's relevant.)
ROTFLMAO! I kept thinking it was January, 1, 1970.
I'm sorely disappointed that that awesome space shuttle shirt didn't make it, and instead this overly simple shirt did. This one's okay.
Nice. But I would have preferred:
A good PR#6 or Peek & Poke visual pun.
And I'd gladly buy three shirts if someone can pull off a decent Beagle Bros homage.
Ha! This statement makes me nostalgic because I grew up listening to my dad complain all the time about Works and Word and his constant struggle to keep using WordPerfect for as long as possible.
But I'm also bitter about this theme because I took summer school in high school to skip computer literacy and we learned how to use DOS, only to be told the next fall that the course no longer counted because it was outdated.
This makes me want to settle down and play some Zork III.
arryielle wrote:Depends what you're running - my linux laptop (6 years old) runs MUCH faster than my significantly newer windows laptop!
But, does it load faster than DOS used to?
Sweet I was born in 1981!
We still ran DOS on our home computer in 1990 (because we didn't have Windows, not because we ran them both). My youngest daughter was 2 that year, and learned to type in her name to bring up her favorite animated batch file. She learned her alphabet that way, too, and the correspondence between upper case (keyboard) and lower case (what appeared in glowing green on the screen). Back in those days, the worst thing you could do to a computer was crash it. No internet, no viruses. Then we got Windows...
Being born in 1981 I feel like I should buy this, but being not that big on the design I think I will pass. I'm holding out for the Reagan attempted assassination based 1981 shirt.
It's baaaack...
make it $sh or $bash and I'd think about it.
View All →


text:
Sweet and charming, one lustrous 8-8.5mm pink cultured freshwater pearl is cradled in quality 14 karat white gold in this fashion ring. Add in 22 round diamonds, at approximately .11 carat total weight, and you have an extremely fetching design.
Order now for delivery on or before
Thursday, April 09, 2015
using FedEx 2nd Day.


text:
Oklahoma's making the news with a proposed ban on hoodies. Mind you, Oklahoma is an open carry state. So waltzing around with a gun is OK but wearing a hoodie is part of the problem. It would also outlaw people wearing masks in public (save for Halloween or masquerade parties) because lord knows that when robbers break into a store and put a mask on to thwart cameras, they just walk around all day in the masks. I mean, if someone is ignoring the whole ban on armed robbery, is a ban on a mask really going to act as some sort of deterrent?
I really wish Right Wing Gun Supporters would use their gun logic when attacking other American freedoms. Can people not really wear something to protect their head in the rain or cold because criminals use them while committing crimes (oh, and wearing a hoodie or mask while committing a crime is already against the law in OK.)
On an unrelated note, if you were ever wondering why people hated gentrification, it's when people move into a condo next to a playground and then complain that the playground should be torn down because it's too noisy. Kids playing for four hours a day is too much for these people. They think these children should walk down the block to a different playground. I want to be more positive in 2015 but, honestly, I think the best resolution would be to lower one's faith in humanity and you won't be as disappointed or frustrated all the time.
If you're a fan of the BBC's Sherlock and need a fix, I'd recommend Miss Fischer's Murder Mysteries, currently available on Netflix. Essie Davis gives a great performance as a 1920's socialite who decides to become a private investigator and thorn in the side of the police. I've only watched the first two episodes but it's a fun little trifle that has strong performances yet doesn't take itself too seriously.
During my years in reality TV, I've become all too aware of the "Wouldn't It Be Great" note. It usually comes down from a network executive who, after watching a cut of the show, conjured up something that never happened and wonders if we could put it in the show. "Wouldn't it be great if these two got into a fist fight?" "Wouldn't it be great if something more exciting happened?" Well, yes, it would be great but, when working in reality TV, there's only so much we can do with the footage we have to work with. If something doesn't happen, it doesn't happen. In scripted, however, you can make these things happen and it seems like the people involved with "The Imitation Game" opted for flashy over factual. In the end, "The Imitation Game" is a somewhat ironic name for a movie that seems completely unconcerned with actually presenting much in the way of truth when it comes to Alan Turing.
Once you get past the fact that this probably should have been called a film inspired by Alan Turing than a movie actually about what happened, "The Imitation Game" is a solid enough movie carried by top notch acting from everyone involved. The script also does a nice job switching between multiple timelines.
Ultimately though, this one seems like a rental to me.
I recently saw "Selma", the new biopic about Martin Luther King Jr. focusing on his presence in and the marches in Selma, Alabama in 1965 and I can't recommend it enough. Not only is the film exquisitely made by director Ava DuVernay alongside Director of Photography Bradford Young (a talent whose time/recognition has finally arrived) with a powerful performance by David Oyelowo but it highlights the problems of the modern civil rights movement and the Occupy Era in general.
What makes "Selma" such a great movie is that it doesn't deify Martin Luther King Jr. like many movies have (and likely will). It shows King as a flawed man who made mistakes. He was a man who grew tired of fighting one battle after another: The Equal Rights Amendment, Bussing, voting right, etc. It also showed how "victories" were often small steps of progress. In fact, there was one particular use of the n-word at the end of the film that was an absolute gut punch and elicited a gasp from some in the audience. By the end of the film, a comparison to The Walking Dead popped in my head – no matter what battle King and his supporters won, they were still surrounded by racism and victory just meant that it was time to move to another front to fight and they knew that they probably wouldn't live to see the end of the evil.
But perhaps most interestingly, the film did not shy away from the fact that, to a certain extent, MLK was a "race-baiter". That term has become a rallying cry for conservatives and Fox News but this film makes no bones about what the marches and protests were aimed to do. Early in the film, there's an important discussion about how the protests in Albany failed because the sheriff there was smart and knew that if he didn't crack heads, there'd be no story for the media to tell and nothing would happen. King and the Southern Christian Leadership eventually had to move on. And move on to Selma they did because they knew that there sheriff there was a Good Ol' Boy who would make the mistakes and cause the ruckus that was needed to capture the cameras and get the attention of the world.
Watching the film, it was impossible not to think of current events but it was also impossible to ignore how much better prepared and focused the protests of fifty years ago were. After Ferguson and Eric Garner, there were protests across the country but what was the goal? I feel like many people look at the protests of the 60's and just think they were all about a blanket "Fight for Equality" however, as this film shows, each protest had a specific focus. In Selma, the issue was voting rights and if they could show how awful things got in one city, they could help push a nationwide bill. In short, Martin Luther King Jr. protested for something while today we just seem to gather against. How many people at the protests or who wear the "I can't breathe" shirts would be able to answer the question, "What's next?" Today when people exclaim, "Something must be done", what's to be done is no more conceived than the abstract "something".
With Occupy, it's even worse because not only do many people not seem to have an idea of what they want to do but they are arguing against countless different issues and have no singular voice. While the Congress passes laws that push us right back to the brink (the latest move being allowing Freddie Mac to give loans with little money down), Occupy has little power or voice to even shed light on the moves, nevermind try to make a change.
I'm starting to ramble now and I'd hate to push people away from "Selma" because of all of this political talk – it's a great movie even beyond everything I've written here – but it's all a little frustrating when you see so much made of people speaking out about things like Ferguson or Eric Garner but not really saying anything productive or making any actual moves to make a change. (Nevermind the fact that, all too often, riots have replaced non-violence.) At this point, I think pro athletes need to put away their t-shirts and pick up their checkbooks and start supporting local candidates or legislation that could make a difference. But, then again, after saying all this, I look myself in the mirror and say, "Well, what are you going to do about it, Mr. Smarty Pants" and the extent of my action is a blog post so maybe I should heed my own advice before faulting others.
Officer Darren Wilson won't stand trial for the murder of Michael Brown. While this has received the lion's share of the press coverage, it's just one example of what is becoming an American Epidemic. There was a minor uproar when John Crawford III, a black man carrying a BB gun he was going to buy at Walmart, was gunned down by police and even less when no indictment was passed. 12 year old Tamir Rice was recently gunned down by police in Cleveland for holding a BB gun despite the fact that a) Ohio is an open carry state and b) the person calling 911 said that the gun might be fake. The bottom line is that We have more of these grand juries on the horizon and, unfortunately, little chance that we've seen the last black person gunned down by police, so it's time to look for possible changes to the system.
1. Reassessing how we try police officers
Here's a write-up on the prosecutor Bob Mcculloch from CNN in August.
McCulloch's father was a police officer and was killed on the job in 1964 by an African-American man, when McCulloch was 12, McCulloch's spokesperson Ed Magee confirmed to CNN. In addition to his father, McCulloch's brother, an uncle and a cousin all served with the St. Louis Police Department, and his mother worked as a clerk at the department, Magee said. McCulloch, who as a teenager lost a leg to cancer, made it his career ambition to become a prosecutor. He was quoted by the St. Louis Post-Dispatch as telling a reporter, while first campaigning for the office: "I couldn't become a policeman, so being county prosecutor is the next best thing."
I mean, this is a guy who'd get dismissed in a millisecond if he was in a jury pool and instead he's the prosecutor? Listening to his tone deaf speech before reading the grand jury's decision, it was hard to believe that he wasn't working for the defense. To me, it seems unreasonable to make the same people who work with cops every day to make cases against criminals be the same people who try police officers in court. The conflict of interest seems overwhelming. I believe it is time to accept the fact that the prosecutors and police have failed to self-regulate themselves and there needs to be some sort of move to add some accountability to the cops who are giving their departments a bad name.
There seems to be three options here. 1. Moving Internal Affairs departments from out of the Prosecutor's Office and giving them their own legal team that will handle all officer related cases. 2. Creating some civilian oversight committees with some teeth to help regulate what is going on in police departments and prosecutors' offices. They won't be able to do much in the courts but they could have some say in discipline for these officers. At the very least, Darren Wilson panicked and did a lousy job protecting himself and the community. It was the classic example of adding a gun to the situation just making matters far worse. 3. Have the Federal courts handle all potential felony indictments/cases of police officers. Currently, federal prosecutors only take on these cases from a civil rights angle but it seems like they might want to handle the main cases as well, because of the aforementioned conflict of interest with prosecutors and police.
2. Body Cameras on All Police
I noticed a lot of politicians tweeting about body cameras but the question is, how many will do anything besides tweet about it? A recent study in Rialto, CA showed "more than a 50% reduction in the total number of incidents of use-of-force compared to control-conditions, and nearly ten times more citizens' complaints in the 12-months prior to the experiment."
But, again, can we count on the state governments to make these moves? Politicians often rely heavily on support of police unions. How many would cross them by enacting a law that requires all cops and/or cruisers to have cameras? Should this be something that has to be mandated from the Federal level?
3. Investment/Training in Alternate Weapons/Tactics
Darren Wilson's testimony stated that he did not have a taser because the police department only had a few of them and Wilson didn't like them because they were uncomfortable. This is horrible reasoning for not carrying something that could help avoid killing people.
It's the 21st century and we live in the epicenter of the gun loving world. If we don't have viable alternatives to help police officers simply pulling out a gun when they feel threatened, we need to get on it. And we need to work on training cops to rely on the less lethal forces when possible.
4. Boost in police/IAD budgets
Instead of the federal government spending money to militarize the police, how about we spend some coin training our officers and making sure they have non-lethal ways to protect themselves? Many of the recent police shooting have involved rookie or newer officers. I'm not sure if anything can be done about the nerves that rookies feel when first put into the field but I think we have to take a look at the training that these officers are receiving. And things like body cameras or tasers for all cop cars, etc. cost money. We need to invest money in our police departments not to just help them keep us safe from criminals but, sadly, to help keep us safe from the bad officers out there.
Now that the fires are out and all of the symbolic protests are over, it's time to focus on making some actual changes that might help prevent future tragedies like this.
I haven't checked in lately and I've seen a bunch of films so I should throw out some quick thoughts. To the surprise of not many, I wasn't wowed by any of them.
American Sniper
This is a well made action movie. Unfortunately, I went in to this movie with high expectations and walked out a disappointed. I was expecting more depth when it came to Chris Kyle's struggle to re-acclimate to life stateside and would go more into his work with veterans and helping them get themselves back on their feet. But those scenes were just peppered him between and rushed through after the battle scenes. On top of that, the key adversary in the film was a fictional character, something which I don't think the film needed, especially given how it affected Kyle's motivation.
Now, that being said, the battle scenes are indeed well-crafted and tense and worth the price of admission. Just don't go in expecting too much from the script side of things. Then again, the film I'd compare it to is Foxcatcher, another film that seemed to only graze the struggles and emotions of the characters, but many people have been singing the praises of that film so what do I know?
FINAL RECOMMENDATION: I'd recommend going in expecting a well crafted action film. If you take more from it, it'll be a pleasant surprise. If not, you'll have gotten what you went for.
A Most Violent Year
Early on in "A Most Violent Year", Oscar Isaac's Abel, our hero for the film, states that he stares his customers in the eye and tell them the truth. And that is what director J.C. Chandor does, for better or for worse. While his debut film "Margin Call" is still one of my favorite movies of the decade and I was a bit let down that that film's crackling dialogue didn't appear in this film, the truth is that it shouldn't have. Wall St. doesn't sound the same as the heating oil business of 80's NYC. And while those suits in "Margin Call" were moving and shaking and shifting to avoid their downfall, Abel was standing his ground, trying to show that he could make it due to hard work and commitment; he didn't need to commit fraud or break the law to succeed. While "Margin Call" featured forces of nature, "A Most Violent Year" is about a rock that refuses to be moved.
The problem, of course, is that forces of nature are more interesting to watch than rocks. Especially when the driving force behind our hero is simply that he's driven. He's not a man who loves his job; he simply sees it as a great business opportunity. Again, it's a well made film but it just lacked someone to really connect and hold on to. Near the end of the film, a climatic scene elicited laughs from the audience, even though I'm pretty sure it was supposed to be more of a gut punch that tickle.
FINAL RECOMMENDATION "A Most Violent Year" is a good film that will likely be forgotten sooner than later. If you have a taste for 70's cinema, it could be a pleasant night as a retnal but it's not a film that I personally would recommend to everyone.
Inherent Vice
The biggest problem for Inherent Vice is that it is a bizarre stoner detective comedy, which means it is going to draw comparisons to "The Big Lebowski". It doesn't stand up to those comparisons. The film certainly has its laughs but the motivation behind the film and the stakes are lacking. Whereas Lebowski was a stoner getting himself in deeper (and weirder), "Inherent Vice" often feels more like a stoner wandering around and discovering new things that are weird and seem only tangentially related to the main purpose, which doesn't seem to even need much detective work to start with. In fact, the main purpose becomes the secondary purpose somewhere along the way.
FINAL RECOMMENDATION: While it won't be nearly as divisive as Paul Thomas Anderson's previous films "The Master" or "Magnolia", this is one that will likely be embraced by his fans, hated by his critics, while most people walk out of the theater thinking, "So, that happened." Head in with lowered expectations and you might walk out with a pleasant enough buzz.
The Gambler
The Gambler features some great writing and knockout performances by the supporting cast of John Goodman, Michael K. Williams, and others but the main character was simply too bratty for me to get into it. Honestly, for much of the film I felt like Mark Wahlberg's character was having more of an early mid-life crisis than he was suffering from gambling addiction. He seems less like a man struggling with the impulse to keep gambling and more like someone who was trying to commit suicide by loanshark. Brie Larson (Short Term 12, 21 Jump Street) does a solid job with absolutely nothing to work with. Her character is sorely underwritten. On the bright side, the direction by Rupert Wyatt is top notch and its the first time in a while that I've seen a gambling movie that has you really feeling the wins and losses. He did a great job building the tension of those scenes but the rest of the film was just too aimless.
FINAL RECOMMENDATION: Wait until Netflix and, even then, there's no need to rush to see it. It's not bad but it's not good either.
The Judge
I went in expecting a kind of schmaltzy "Big city kid comes home to his small town and refinds himself and his way" and the film wasn't even able to knock that out of the park. Robert Downey Jr. and Robert Duvall make the film watchable but there are simply to many b-stories that don't go anywhere or go places that make you think, "Wait, THAT is where you're ending it?!" I'd really like to read the original script to see what inspired people to make the film and what they did to it to come up with this final piece of work.
FINAL RECOMMENDATION: This is a hungover and nothing else is on and you stumble across it on HBO type movie.
The lives of driven, broken men are at the heart of "Whiplash" ad "Nightcrawler", two of the best films of the year. They follow two men who strive for greatness – one is a broken man hoping to find his place while the other is about a young man who might have been broken by his pursuit of greatness. While I would highly recommend both films, I do have to say that I would not recommend watching the trailer for either of these films as they give up too much (WAY too much in Nightcrawler's case.
"Whiplash" is about a music student who sheds literal blood, sweat, and tears in his pursuit of being one of the great drummers in history. His drive to be remembered is cultivated by his teacher played by the amazing J.K. Simmons. Simmons's character is as obsessed as Teller's but his drive manifests itself in a maniacal, emotionally abusive approach to teaching. The film is an terrific conversation starter about the price of greatness, the drive it takes to get there, and, of course, if it's all worth it in the end. Does being remembered by the world really matter if, while you're around, you have little involvement with the world around you? How far is too far? When is enough enough?
As for "Nightcrawler", it is basically the embodiment of George Bernaard Shaw's quote, "The reasonable man adapts himself to the world; the unreasonable one persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. Therefore all progress depends on the unreasonable man." Jake Gyllenhaal plays an unhinged man who stumbles upon the profession of being a nightcrawler – freelance videographers who chase ambulances, fire trucks, and cop cars in hopes of nabbing footage of crime scenes. Jake's character is a sociopath who has learned on the internet how to be in the business but has never learned how to actually be human – a trait that, as luck would have it, helps when it comes to dredging up news footage that fulfills the famous Evening News mantra of "If it bleeds, it leads." Every step forward that Gyllenhaal's character takes pushes on someone else's morality. Again, the question is raised – how much is too much? How far is too faR? When is enough enough?
The tone of "Nightcrawler" is pitch perfect. It's darkly comedic but the comedy never infringes on the sense that the film takes place in the real world. That's a crucial element for films; far too often, dark comedies go too far and become farce. Gyllenhaal toes that line perfectly and will likely see some nominations at year's end because of it. It's one of the wickedest films I've seen in some time's and the final act is absolutely superb.
Both of these films have been lost in the hype surrounding Birdman and the upcoming Interstellar but neither should be missed. If you don't see them in the theater, you should definitely flag them for movies to catch as soon as they are available on DVD/streaming. Which reminds me, 22 Jump Street is now available on streaming (to buy, not on Netflix yet) and I'd recommend checking that out. Ice Cube and Channing Tatum have a couple of scenes that had me laughing out loud in the theater and are locks for any list of funniest scenes of the year. Also, "Chef", my #2 movie of the year, is available to watch at home. Here's the trailer for it; thankfully, it's the type of trailer that let's you get the gist of the movie but doesn't give away the store while trying to sell the film.
First off, I have to say that if you're a fan of ultra-violent b-movies, than you should disregard this review. "John Wick" is a film that apparently feeds the needs of the fans of the genre and is wildly popular but it is most certainly not a film like "The Raid" or "Taken" that will have much crossover appeal.
The gist of "John Wick" is, well, John Wick wants revenge and kills a bunch of people while trying to get it. And he kills most of them by shooting them in the head by close range and his plan of attack is usually little more than a. Walk In b. Start Shooting. The lack of creativity or, well, much of anything besides martial arts and head shots is what disappointed me the most. There were a couple of moments that made me sit up but those two were more for the brutality than anything else.
The film did serve up its fair share of b-movie dialogue which was funny but it wasn't enough to make the movie all that entertaining. Again, if you're a fan of the genre, apparently this movie is for you. But if 100 minutes of arm twisting and people getting shot in the head doesn't suit you, then you should pass. Or just watch the trailer because "John Wick" makes for a great trailer but a forgettable movie.
BIG WIN! Finally had some picks come through for me last week so I made a decent chunk of change. Going off of my Yahoo! Pick 'Em league, I'm 42 – 33 against the spread and 52 – 24 in picking winners straight up. Sadly, the games I choose to bet usually seem to be the ones that I get wrong.
Still, last week I won $275, which I believe leaves me at around $200 in the black for the two weeks that I've actually gotten around to betting this weekend. Let's see if I can keep the momentum.
Colts -3 over TEXANS: Well, I didn't have faith in the Texans last week and they covered the spread (but lost the game) however I like the Colts better than Dallas and the short week could slow Arian Foster down. I'm going with Colts -3 for $25.
Patriots -3 over BILLS: While I am a Texans doubter, I'm still a Bills believer and am not sure if the Patriots will be able to maintain the momentum (or the concentration) that they had last week against Cincy. Also, I think the Bills' defense line could cause a lot of problems for Tom Brady and Co. I'll take the Pats to win but I'm not betting on it.
Carolina +7 over CINCINNATI: I might change this, depending on what's up with AJ Green. My original thought was that Cincy would be focused to make up for their awful performance on Sunday Night (and the game is at 10am and nobody will be watching them so they won't choke) but if Green is hurt, they might not have enough weapons to cover the spread. For now, I'll go with Carolina to cover but no bet.
Pittsburgh +2 over CLEVELAND: Old habits die hard but I just think the Steelers are the better team. They haven't been blowing me away, however, so I'll stay away from betting on this one.
Jacksonville +6 at TENNESSEE: Obviously I'm not putting money on Jacksonville but I think they could give the Titans problems, especially since they are on their third string QB right now. And moving on from the Toby Gerhart experiment will probably help the offense. Not sure that they can take the road W but I'm feeling pretty good about them keeping it close.
Packers -3.5 over DOLPHINA: The Packers offense is finally clicking and their defense is making enough plays to be a semi-respectable unit. Ryan Tannehill is feeling good after a throttling of the Raiders in Londom but I think the Fish come back down to Earth when they face a real NFL team. $25 on Packers -3.5.
Detroit 1.5 over MINNESOTA: I'm a fool for always picking Detroit on the road but I can't seem to help it. At least I've learned not to put money on the Paper Lions.
Denver -8.5 over NY JETS: NY always seems to rally whenever their coach is in peril. The Giants are better at it but the Jets have done enough to keep Rex Ryan employed. However, I think that run is about to end. The Jets simply aren't a good team and I'm not sure how fired up many of them are to keep Rex around. $20 dollars on Broncos -8.5.
Baltimore -3 over TAMPA BAY: Tampa Bay stunned the Steelers but I'm sure the Ravens are aware of that and won't let themselves get surprised by the Bucs. Also, Vincent Jackson is a little banged up so the passing attack, already down Mike Evans, might not be able to carry the day.
San Diego -7 over OAKLAND: The Raiders are terrible and the Chargers have enough injuries each week to keep them from resting on their laurels. MAYBE Oakland shows some pride and saves face by keeping it close but I'd be surprised if the Chargers didn't put the hammer down on them early and often. $15 on Chargers -7.
Chicago +3 over Atlanta: Like Pittsburgh, Chicago is a team that I have a hard time believing aren't as good as I seem to think they are. But also, I think the Falcons are a mess and Matt Forte should be able to have a monster game against them. No bet.
Washington +3 over Arizona: I'm wavering on this one because Arizona is banged up and Washington isn't THAT bad and they kept it close with Seattle on Monday Night. Ultimately though, I think Arizona is pissed off and, well, I have to eventually pick a home team, don't I?
EDIT: Or maybe I don't. With Carson Palmer out and Drew Stanton recovering from a concussion, I'm going to put my hopes in Washington to surprise the Cardinals on the road.
Dallas +8 over Seattle: I might end up changing this one but for some reason, my gut is telling me that the Cowboys are able to keep this one close. The one reason I might change it, besides the fact that I'm picking yet another road team, is that the Seahawks played a VERY sloppy game on Monday so they might be more focused than usual. Obviously, no bet on this one since I can't even decide who to pick when no money is on the line.
PHILLY -2.5 over NY Giants: Eli is back! stories are starting to pop up which means it's probably time for a return of the Eli face. This could be the game of the week but ultimately, I'm going to go with the home team.
San Francisco -3.5 over ST. LOUIS: The Niners have blown some games so they need to take care of opponents that they know they can beat. And they know they can beat the Rams. And so do I so $25 dollars on San Fran -3.5.
As for Teasers/Parlays:
$100 6 point teaser on Denver -3, Chargers -1.5, San Fran +2.5
$20 parlay on Denver -9, Green Bay -3.5, Colts -3, Chargers -7.5, Niners -3.5
$20 6 point teaser on Bears +9, Broncos -3, Packers +2.5, Colts +3, Steelers +8.5, San Diego -1.5, Niners +2.5
Progressive Parlay: Ravens, Bears, Broncos, Packers, Colts, Steelers, Chargers, Niners (the line for each game; just got too lazy to type them all out again.)
Again. SPOILERS.
OK, now that that is out of the way, "Gone Girl" was basically everything I feared it would be when I heard who was directing it and who was cast as the leads. Not that I dislike David Fincher but I think he's a little too cold to sell the first half of the book. Now part of me thinks the problem might have been that, having read the book, I knew what was going to happen but even still I didn't think Fincher's tone and choices helped sell Amazing Amy as the book had.
Also not helping was Rosamund Pike, who I feel like always seems a bit disconnected and icy in her roles. I didn't really feel like there was much of a change to her Amy. She didn't sell the original, filled-with-life Amy to me. I think the role needed someone you were used to seeing in those roles and then have them subvert that take. Rachel McAdams would have been a good choice. Even Gwyneth Paltrow could have done a better job. Similarly, I never bought Affleck as a Missouri guy pretending to be something else. I think he's too ingrained as a Northeastern Liberal Elite for me to buy into him in this role. Or as a guy who liked reality TV and Outback. Not to pick the It Boy of the moment but someone like Chris Pratt would have been a better choice.
And the ending. Man, the ending. While I loved most of the book, I felt completely disappointed by the ending and I had read that they had altered it to fix it. Instead, what they took away (if I remember correctly) was that Amy was holding something over Nick's head which kind of forced his hand a bit. Although staying was still his choice and, well, it fell as flat in the movie as it did in the book.
All of that being said, the movie was fine. I thought it was better than Girl with the Dragon Tattoo but I think it'll be a film that is forgotten over the years. Also, I have to agree with the tweet that I read that complained that Fincher had become rather conventional. While I was impressed with how they handled the plot device of the diary entries, direction-wise, there really wasn't anything that felt all that inspired. I'm not saying that I need something like "Panic Room"'s camera moving through coffee pots but the whole thing just felt as cold as Amy was believed to have been.
The best part of the movie was the humor. I know that a lot of people point out the social satire in the movie but do we really need more jokes about how awful cable news is? About how perception is more important than reality? Isn't the Catch 22 of it all that in order to be in on the jokes about the stupidity of the shows that the masses watch, one has to watch the shows themselves? Don't get me wrong; the moments were funny and well one but I just felt more of a nodding acknowledgement of the joke than anything that laugh out loud funny. And on a related note, I'm sure many Republicans will start calling themselves Nick Dunne, victims of the out of control "War on Women" that is labeling honest men as criminals and the media painting them as victims. Obviously, that's not the point of the movie but since when do these guys ever need to care about actual points being made.
I was pleasantly surprised by Tyler Perry. Kim Dickens and Carrie Coon but did great jobs, Scoot McNairy nailed another small role, and Neil Patrick Harris was sufficiently creepy in the role of Desi.
In the end, "Gone Girl" was just fine. Again, maybe some of that has to do with the fact that I knew where the story was going but whereas the book inspired enthusiasm, the movie simply kept my attention.
"Gone Girl" is one of those films that I won't argue against but I certainly would never argue for. I can understand why people like it and agree with the people who didn't. I expect it to end up in a lot of Snubbed lists come award season; unless this Winter is terrible, I just don't see it garnering the love that many people were projecting for it.
Bands to Watch 2014
Terriers: A couple of down and out private detectives get in over their head. From The Shield's Shawn Ryan and Ocean's 11 scribe Ted Griffin. 13 episodes on Netflix.
Luther: Starring Idris Elba (Stringer Bell in The Wire) as a driven, angry, and dangerous London detective who pushes the limits and sometimes steps over the line. 10 episodes on Netflix (Season 3 not yet available.)
Sherlock: Modern day take on Sherlock Holmes. 6 episodes on Netflix (episodes are longer than normal, around 90 minutes or so.)
The Good Wife: Alicia Florick gave up her dreams of being an attorney when she became the wife of a rising politician. When he is arrested and sent to jail, she has to decide whether to stand by her philandering man while raising her family and getting back into the legal world. Season 1 - 4 on Hulu Plus.
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text: Rolling In It: Plush Cars Of The Stars Category Autos Best of Nightlife & Music Shopping & Style Tesla Roadster owned by Matt Damon - MSRP $100,000 (credit: Vince Bucci/Getty Images) At the price of $100,000 you might think this car is expensive. But for mega rich celebrities like Matt Damon, this car is a bargain. Besides it having a sleek and sexy design, this car works completely on electric power. Whoever said an electric car couldn't be badass should take it up with Matt Damon. Fisker Karma owned by Leonardo DiCaprio - MSRP $100,000 (credit: MIGUEL MEDINA/AFP/Getty Images) This luxury hybrid vehicle will definitely get you your money's worth, if you are rich enough to afford it. If you can't afford it, don't worry! You get to see Leonardo DiCaprio driving it around via internet pictures. Mercedes Benz G Wagon owned by Christina Millian - MSRP $100,000 Mercedes Benz G Wagon owned by Christina Millian - MSRP $100,000 (credit: mbusa.com) For those who prefer bigger vehicles, here is the luxurious Mercedes Benz G-Wagon. At a mere $100,000 this beautiful SUV has caught the eye of many celebrities like Christina Millian and Kris Jenner. Funny thing is, these celebrities would consider this car to be cheap. It must be nice to be a millionaire! Maserati Quattroporte owned by Sharon Stone - MSRP $120,000 (credit: Bryan Mitchell/Getty Images) Owning a Maserati might be a dream to those who cannot afford it. But when you are a legendary actress like Sharon Stone, riding a Maserati is just an everyday thing. Aston Martin V8 Vantage Roadster owned by Katharine McPhee - MSRP $130,000 (credit: astonmartin.com) Like the car? Well you're in luck! All you need to do is to be one of the top participants of American Idol and then land a hit TV show on a major cable network. Sounds too hard? Then maybe this car isn't for you. Maserati Gran Turismo owned by Britney Spears - MSRP $150,000 (credit: STAN HONDA/AFP/Getty Images) This car will make your jaw drop quicker than you can say, "Hit me baby one more time." When you see the pricetag, you may hit the ground. At $150,000, this Maserati can only be owned by someone who can pay the high maintenance and insurance, and there are very few people than can actually do this. But for pop princess Britney Spears, this is a luxury that she is able to afford easily. Ferrari F430 owned by Kim Kardashian - MSRP $180,000 (credit: STAN HONDA/AFP/Getty Images) Want to have Kim's ride? All you have to do is become famous for being curvy and good looking and have a mom with all the right connections. Who says it isn't easy to be rich and have nice things? Aston Martin DB9 owned by Kanye West - MSRP $180,000 (credit: astonmartin.com) A rapper who is known for enjoying the finer things in life is Kanye West. Although he isn't really well liked by everyone (President Barack Obama, for example), he has millions of dollars and cool cars like this Aston Martin to comfort him. Not too bad, huh? Ferrari California owned by Jack Osbourne - MSRP $190,000 (credit: Cameron Spencer/Getty Images) Jack Osbourne might not be as famous as his dad, but his taste for cars is certainly the same. Following in his dad's footsteps, Jack decided to get a Ferrari at a mere $190,000. Who can't afford that? Lamborghini Gallardo owned by Missy Elliot - MSRP $200,000 (credit: Thorsten Wagner/Getty Images) Missy Elliot is the most badass female rapper of her time. So it is no surprise that her vehicle of choice is a sexy, sleek Lamborghini Gallardo. Too bad most people wouldn't be able to afford this car even if they sold their home. Lamborghini Diablo owned by Mark Wahlberg - MSRP $270, 000 (credit: TAO-CHUAN YEH/AFP/Getty Images) Marky Mark is all grown up and this amazing Lamborghini Diablo is proof of it. At a price of $270,000, most of us wish we had been on New Kids on the Block. Time to start a boy band everyone! Audi R8 owned by Scot Disick - MSRP $280,000 (credit: audiusa.com) Scot Disik is known for being an extremely flashy fashion icon and his chrome Audi R8 reflects his personality perfectly. Even though no one is really sure how he is able to afford all this luxury, we are certain that we all wish we had that kind of money. Rolls Royce Ghost owned by Meek Mill - MSRP $300,000 (credit: MIKE CLARKE/AFP/Getty Images) It is public knowledge that rappers enjoy fancy rides and Meek Mill is no exception. This spectacular Rolls Royce worth $300,000 is definitely an eye-catcher and a reminder of the finer things that we all wish we could afford. Ferrari 458 Italia owned by Kobe Bryant - MSRP $330,000 (credit: Cameron Spencer/Getty Images) Kobe Bryant is not only a famous basketball player and Olympic gold medalist. He is also the proud owner of some amazing luxury vehicles, one them being this gorgeous Ferrari 458 Italia worth $330,000. Think you can afford it? You may want to think twice. Pagani Zonda C12 owned by Wyclef Jean - MSRP $350,000 Famous Haitian Wyclef Jean has come a long way from his early years. He is definitely an example that anyone can achieve success if they work hard. Unfortunately not everyone gets as lucky as him, so this $350,000 car might be a dream that the majority of us will never be able to achieve. (credit: Pagani.com) Lamborghini Aventador owned by Cristiano Ronaldo - MSRP $370,000 (credit: Thorsten Wagner/Getty Images) Are you a soccer superstar? Probably not. So how high are the chances you can afford a vehicle worth almost $400,000? Not very high. But for Cristiano Ronaldo, this sexy Lamborghini Aventador is only worth a very small fraction of his large fortune. But don't be sad, maybe if you sell your home (and a kidney) you'll be able to afford a car like this one day. Lamborghini Murcielago owned by Jason Statham - MSRP $400,000 (credit: J. Emilio Flores/Getty Images) Well known badboy Jason Statham doesn't just have a sexy girlfriend, he also has one of the sexiest cars in the world. At $400,000 the Lamborghini Murcielago is a beautiful machine that is a guaranteed chick magnet. Don't believe it? Why don't you ask Rosie Hutington-Whiteley? Rolls Royce Phantom Drophead owned by David Beckham - MSRP $407,000 (credit: Bill Pugliano/Getty Images) No one can bend it like Beckham, and that is why many cannot afford what he can. His custom Rolls Royce is worth a little bit more than $400,000 and with that face of his, every woman around the world is secretly hoping that Victoria Beckham vanishes. Maybach 57S owned by Lebron James - MSRP $415,000 (credit: Francois Durand/Getty Images) Basketball superstar Lebron James isn't only amazing at basketball, he also has great taste in cars. The brand Maybach does not only scream luxury, it also screams, "You can't afford me" to most of us. Porsche Carrera GT owned by Jerry Seinfeld - MSRP $440,000 (credit: Phil Walter/Getty Images) This Porsche Carrera is one of many Porsches owned by comedian Jerry Seinfeld, who is rumoured to have one of the largest Porsche collections in the world. But with a fortune valued at around $800 million, this $440,000 car may be like buying a pack of gum for him. Mercedes Benz SLR McLaren owned by Jay Leno - MSRP $450,000 (credit: slr-uk.com) Car aficionado Jay Leno possesses all sorts of interesting vehicles. So even though to him this $450,000 Mercedes is just one of his many cool cars, to us regular people this is one sexy, special machine. Ferrari Enzo owned by Nicolas Cage - MSRP $670,000 (credit: Charley Gallay/Getty Images) Nicolas Cage is known for owning some very eccentric and over the top things like a castle and an octopus. Thus, this Ferrari Enzo might be one of the most normal things he owns. At a price of almost $700,000, don't we all wish that was our normal too? McLaren F1 LM owned by Ralph Lauren - MSRP $970,000 (credit: MEHDI FEDOUACH/AFP/Getty Images) Do you own a clothing empire? No? Then you definitely cannot afford this McLaren F1 LM. Maybe you can ask Ralph Lauren if he could give it to you as a gift? Probably not, but one can always dream. Bugatti Veyron owned by Simon Cowell - MSRP $2,000,000 (credit: Sean Gallup/Getty Images) Don't let the funny haircut fool you! Simon Cowell has a fortune valued well over 300 million dollars! With that kind of money this 2 million Bugatti Veyron is no big deal to him. While we all waste our time hating him, he can laugh at home with his fortune saying, "haters gonna hate." Maybach Exelero owned by Jay Z - MSRP $8,000,000 (credit: Cameron Spencer/Getty Images) Last but not least, we have the Maybach Exelero. This luxury vehicle is one of the most expensive vehicles in the world. At a whopping $8 million, this car can't even be afforded by most celebrities. But when your name is Jay Z and you have a net worth of over $400 million, this car is certainly a luxury that you can afford. Next Gallery: Britain Celebrates The Diamond Jubilee Of Queen Elizabeth II View Comments


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This is much more comparable than it used to be.
Phoronix: Intel Windows vs. Linux GPU Performance Q4'2010
Yesterday we shared benchmarks of the ATI R600 Gallium3D driver compared against the classic Mesa R600 driver and then the proprietary AMD Catalyst driver. The proprietary driver was much faster than the open-source drivers were, but the Gallium3D driver did possess higher performance in most of the tests than with the classic Mesa driver. This is similar to the R300 Gallium3D driver being faster than its now-deprecated R300 classic driver. Meanwhile though Intel continues to back only their classic Mesa DRI driver and there are no signs of them switching over to the Gallium3D architecture anytime soon. It is not as if Intel's current Mesa driver is feature-complete and performance-optimized as our tests from earlier this year show Intel's Linux graphics performance being far behind their Windows driver. In this article though we are seeing where the Intel Mesa performance is at when using the very latest DRM and Mesa code.
This is much more comparable than it used to be.
Yeah, when I read the title I said "Meh!" but when I read the post I was surprised with the boost of Linux driver.
I looked at the previous benchmark, and wow, the improvement is huge.
In this benchmark, there were four tests. In two Linux is the clear loser (OpenArena, Nexuiz), but by a factor of two at the maximum, which is bad but not devastating. In one, Urban Terror, it was kinda a tie -- Linux the winner at lower resolutions, Windows the winner at higher ones. And Warsow was a clear Linux win.
The previous benchmark of half a year ago had only two tests (which in itself implies Intel is now able to execute more tests), in one of which -- Nexuiz -- Linux was lagging behind by a factor of ~10, and the second (Warsow) was slightly behind.
Maybe Phoromatic should start tracking mesa-git? Seems like that is where a lot of work is going currently.
This beats AMD and NVIDIA by a long shot in relative terms. At least AMD supports Open Source, but for both AMD/ATI and NVIDIA, the open source drivers are several times (2 to 10) times slower than their best (binary) drivers. For Intel, the open source drivers are in the same ballpark, which is MUCH, much better.
In my book, Intel > AMD/ATI > NVIDIA
I wish Intel will start producing discrete graphics card, they would become the obvious choice (right now it is AMD for me).
Just see larabee thats your example. Also Intel developers don't seem to be able to loose on CPU building habits and because of that their GPUs are truly crippled CPUs.
That would still be fine with me if they can compete with AMD/ATI's pricing at the low and mid range. We'll see. Cheers!
I'd doubt we'll ever see larrabee, at least in any form resembling a discrete, graphic-focused chip. I could imagine seeing something of a coprocessor, or something like this.Oh, I had forgotten about Larrabee! Thanks for the pointer. I would like to see some performance and pricing analysis before jumping to conclusions. But according to the performance preview in Wikipedia, it seems like they will probably not compete in the high end, at least initially:
Good to see that the Intel OSS drivers are catching up (at least compared to last year's OSS drivers), and being on par with the proprietary drivers in some areas.
It could be that the intel drivers are limited by other things than the GPU (since they show flatline performance in some games), perhaps CPU limited (bad coding in the Win7 stack?), or some sync/energy save mode kicking in?
Seemingly, investing in OSS drivers pays off in the end. This is actually pretty close to the ~80% closed-blob performance that are often named as a maximum for OSS drivers.
I'd argue that especially the radeon drivers have not yet caught up to their closed blob couterparts this much because their cards have a *lot* more potential to be used by the fine-tuned blobs. Relative to previous versions, the (gallium) radeon drivers' catching-up is already failry impressive, i think.


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ivin_dono7 January 9, 2013
i would drill her pussy so hsrd,i would make her cum 100 time.
Surprised I'm not the only girl =P August 7, 2012
I must meet this man....and fuck his brains out.
ggggggggggggg October 24, 2012
i learn how to fuck now i fuck my gilrfriend in same way thanks keep it up
@@@@@ September 13, 2012
He's so fuckin hot and gorgeous! Who is he?
horby August 24, 2012
fuck ,m,e
LoveItHard December 21, 2012
I would love to be fucked deep and real hard in my hot pussy just like that! Makes me lick and suck that dick real good! Hmmm my juicy pussy and mouth is horny as hell!
Chip January 2, 2013
whos this girl ?
Fifty shades Fan January 23, 2013
Would make a great Anastasia Steele and Christian Grey
Lady Penelope January 21, 2013
Oooohhhh just what I need, hot as!
J December 30, 2012
The guys name is Tony Tedeschi.
! July 6, 2012
they looked like two teenagers fucking hard in the parents house as they're out of town. Major turn on!
..... February 6, 2012
he's Tony Tedeschi....
look January 13, 2012
fast, strong.
hey December 19, 2011
Drone what is the name of the movie?
Oh wow February 28, 2012
that was hot!!
pussy June 7, 2012
THATS WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT MAN ! hard & fast i'll go know fuckin my pussy like that !
jordynn June 30, 2012
Omgg that guy i fuggin sexxiii
Princess June 18, 2012
Hmmm nice ♥ Are there any more vids with him?
juicylucy June 11, 2012
now thats how i like it, a good hard fast pussy fuck, leaves us both knackered, then he licks and sucks my clit till i cum all over his face, then we do it all again in the shower... mmmmm
bored February 17, 2013
not a fan of hairy pussy.
love February 19, 2013
I want to get fucked the same way. It looks so good.I love it. It is the best Cum ever please make more I love it .
I love it fast and hard February 14, 2014
This is how my husband does me...
3:49 September 29, 2013
Is there anything MORE beautiful, no sir, there is not!
SOooo HOT July 25, 2013
What Passion!
Paigey July 18, 2013
Damn thts hot I want him to fuck me like tht
mary March 23, 2014
Getting fucked hard damn me next
sexybitch April 11, 2014
damn her pussy is hairy
TeenPussy November 8, 2014
That guy was so hot!
Kate September 5, 2014
On the counter? Nasty
Kaleyy July 23, 2014
I loved at the end when he was groaning while she gave him a handjob
Bookmark this July 11, 2013
Holy Crap! One of the hottest scenes I've seen here, she's really comfortable enjoying herself.
Yummy cock June 18, 2013
Talk about a white cock... But damn dem balls
slute March 2, 2013
damn what a hairy pussy you should shave that.
d February 26, 2013
MizzCumforme February 22, 2013
She is so cute. Great fuck. I love it when pornstars seem like they enjoy fucking eachother. Kind of wish it were a creampie though. Well, maybe not. Hairy pussy? Yikes! Ha! These two do remind me of Fifty Shades of Grey. Great porn, shitty book.
Joan March 13, 2013
mmmharder March 23, 2013
So wet right now
Sexy roni May 15, 2013
Omg someone needs to fuck me like this. Nice and hard drilling my tight pussy
XXX April 29, 2013
Damn, he's got a lot of stamina!
looi March 25, 2013
WTF HIS HAIR!!!! So 80s....but otherwise decent!
shewoman December 10, 2011
likd very much d 1:03 to 1:37 part......
sexy sexy November 4, 2011
wow that fuck was amazing im master right now
Irish September 8, 2010
She gets pounded into that counter, thats wat i like 2 c, a good, hard, sore pounding
fwooar September 6, 2010
Amazingly fast, you porns soo much better than pornhub/redtube! Love it! And its free!
imbi September 3, 2010
this was great, wow i am so amazed, the guy and the girl were both hot as hell.... And their way of doing it was so natural.... some more of this please!!!!!
ace August 30, 2010
why can't the fuck like this in porn nowadays?
Squirtgirl September 22, 2010
THAT'S the way I like to be fucked - hard, balls slapping against my ass. Mmmmm....
pepito October 30, 2010
hay weyyyyyyyyyyyy
:) December 28, 2010
sei December 21, 2010
best video I've found so far
sexy hot women November 6, 2010
hmmm meine pussy zuckt
ashish August 24, 2010
my goodness, how i miss a great fuck
gidde August 10, 2010
my husband fuck hard i felt crying... it is too painful...
king June 30, 2010
she needs to shave that pussy!
lake gal June 24, 2010
prime!, better than most superficial crap thats around, it goes to show you need more than a pretty face or big cock! you need passion and or talent!nomnom
RMICKE June 18, 2010
greatlord July 6, 2010
oh god im so horny
horny babe July 11, 2010
my goodness, how i miss a great fuck, it's been 6months....those balls bounce so nicely
damb July 29, 2010
i blew my load in in first 30 sexonds
she ra July 24, 2010
no way unshaved all the way! its natural, but hey if you like your vagina to look undeveloped thats sick, at least leave a landin strip...but i digress..fuck these two are hot as hell..rarr
axelina July 21, 2010
dam...hairy pussy.!!!
horny December 30, 2010
whats her name!?
Art January 30, 2011
Nikki Dial
drone July 19, 2011
a classical video, watched it around 5 yrs back in college,, again found it and downloading now.
need... July 15, 2011
...his NAME!
slither1492 July 11, 2011
Now THAT was a GREAT fuck!!!
qjuan July 27, 2011
dame ill beat my nut's off again 2 that
Evergreen August 27, 2011
I like very well different types of funking.
foxxxx October 11, 2011
wowwwwwwwwwww i want to taste that pussy
--XxX-- October 10, 2011
my bf fucks me lik that... OOOOhhhhhYYYYaaaHHH...
maple September 14, 2011
wow that fast
Krissi June 22, 2011
I Loove The Raw Passion & Dominance He Gives To The Girl Starting @ 2:00 - 3:06 . At About 1:30 , It Looks As If You`re Watching Me And A Guy I Know Have Some Really Nice Sex . That REALLY Turned Me On . (:
kimi June 20, 2011
what's HIS name? damn, i want some meat shoved in my pussy too
horny4sex March 1, 2011
I want to fuck her like tis with my 14 inch cock..
67 February 11, 2011
holy crap i want her puss
liza January 30, 2011
i like to be fast fuck..that why i like this video nice :d
sssss April 2, 2011
rubsris April 12, 2011
nice fudi
jenny June 20, 2011
my boyfriend looks just like this guy except with reddish blonde hair but he fucks the same way. he likes to play rough, i love it ;)
jizzy May 25, 2011
hey here 'fudi' means to 'pussy' of girl
4biddenfruit May 19, 2011
Hmmm....now that is good old fucking, None of those weird position and real emotion..mmm I love being fuck like this...Now this vid is now in my favorites.
sweetey May 25, 2010
nice:) what a great looking guy!!!
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