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ULTRA MUSIC FESTIVAL Announces Phase 3 Talent Additions
Artists confirmed for the 15th annual ULTRA MUSIC FESTIVAL next month run the gamut of what is the most diverse, forward thinking line-up ever procured for a major electronic music festival. Not only does the billing reflect the highest caliber of star power DJs, there are also electronic influenced live acts and bands, rappers and emerging producers. Today, Thursday, February 14--the festival taking place March 15-17 and 22-24 in downtown Miami--has announced Phase 3 of its line-up marking the final round of artists to be added to the bill.
Over 40 talents from around the world have been added to ULTRA MUSIC FESTIVAL, an event heralded by Billboard magazine in their last "Maximum Exposure" special (11/3/12) as "EDM's Ultra Moment." Weekend 1 artists on the Bedrock Stage are Marco Bailey, Christian Smith, Pig and Dan, Henry Saiz (live) and Quivver, while the UMF Radio stage will feature Bass Station artists like DJ Marky, Tantrum Desire, Drumsound & Bassline Smith, Dieselboy and Black Sun Empire. Over on the Toolroom Knights' stage Mark Knight, Sander Kleinenberg, Chus & Ceballos, Butch, Friendly Fires DJ set, Mihalis Safras and Doorly are now set for Weekend 1. On Weekend 2, the Toolroom Knights stage also brings the likes of Funkagenda and Wally Lopez. Other acts that complete ULTRA's line-up include Alex Gaudino, Green Velvet, Kerli and Tommie Sunshine. The complete list follows below.
To sweeten Phase 3 even more, ULTRA has just relaunched www.ultramusicfestival.com as a cutting-edge, virtual environment where fans can view YouTube videos, fan-sourced photos, tweets and more. The new and improved site has everything needed to prepare for the festival, including brand-new artist profile pages. ULTRA will slowly unveil more features leading up to and during the festival when so that those that are not lucky enough to attend the festival itself will still get a chance to experience its magic from it's web-enabled devices. The platform was developed by LessThan3 (a company recognized as one of the most respected EDM blogs around). They've worked for years to help fans find the best music around and fall in love with new artists. Now they're aiming to give fans a voice and strengthen the artist-fan connection in a whole new way. ULTRA is the first to adopt this new technology.
The complete list of Phase 3 additions to ULTRA MUSIC FESTIVAL are:
Alex Gaudino
Black Sun Empire
Christian Smith
Christopher James
Chus & Ceballos
Concord Dawn
DJ Bambi
DJ Marky
Drumsound & Bassline Smith
Dzeko & Torres
Edu Imbernon
Federico Scavo
Friendly Fires (DJ Set)
Green Velvet
Henry Saiz Live
Ida Engberg
Kidnap Kid
Marc Marzenit
Marco Bailey
Mark Knight
Mark Storie
Matrix and Futurebound
Mihalis Safras
Peter Griffiths
Phunk Investigation
Pig and Dan
Riva Starr
Sander Kleinenberg
Stefano Noferini
Stelios Vassiloudis
Steve Bug
Swanky Tunes vs. Hard Rock Sofa
Tantrum Desire
Tommie Sunshine
Wally Lopez
**For full info on all acts confirmed, please refer to http://ultramusicfestival.com/lineup/
About Author
- Casting Roundup: Sarah Chalke, Kim Raver Headline New Pilots
- ADVENTURE TIME Headed to the Big Screen?
- Pilot Season Roundup: Colm Feore, Daniel Stern, Dave Annable to Star in New Shows
- James Franco to Star in New Fox Comedy, WHY HIM?
- Christopher Meloni to Star in WGN America's Slave Drama UNDERGROUND
- Check Out Alex Dunphy's Full College Essay from Latest MODERN FAMILY Episode
- Photo Flash: HBO Reveals Key Art for GAME OF THRONES Season 5
- Syfy to Honor Leonard Nimoy with Special Programming This Sunday
- Grammy Winner Kelly Clarkson Exclusively Premieres New Music from New Album on MTV, VH1 & CMT First
- CONSTELLATIONS' Jake Gyllenhaal and Ruth Wilson Set for THEATER TALK This Weekend


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Covers the practices in applying standard techniques in landscape construction and estimating for landscape trades. Reviews the rules, regulations and licensing laws governing landscape contractors set forth by the State of California. Includes an exploration of the field of landscape contracting and business practices associated with the landscape industry.
CSU-Transfers to the California State University System for at least elective credit.
Prerequisite: None
Corequisite: None
Recommended Preparation: None
3 UNITS: 3 hours lecture

subset: commoncrawl


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VIDEO: Sneak Peek - Lady Sybil Goes Into Labor on Next Episode of PBS's DOWNTON ABBEY
|Related Links
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June 30, 2015
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|Related: DOWNTON ABBEY, PBS, previews & teasers
On the next episode of DOWNTON ABBEY's Season 3 on PBS, Lady Sybil goes into labor and struggles with the idea of giving up her and her husband Tom's wish of having their baby christened in Ireland rather than at Downton. Luckily for Sybil, Mary steps in and attempts to make her little sister's dream come true. The episode airs Sunday, January 27th at 9 p.m. ET/PTon PBS. Get a sneak peek below!
Written and created by Julian Fellowes, the series won an impressive six Primetime Emmy Awards and a Golden Globe in its first season. Recent honors for Season 2 include multi-category nominations from the Critics' Choice Awards and from the Television Critics Association.
The cast also includes Hugh Bonneville, Dame Maggie Smith, Elizabeth McGovern, Michelle Dockery, Jim Carter, Penelope Wilton, Joanne Froggatt, Brendan Coyle and a host of others, joined by Shirley MacLaine (Oscar for Best Actress, Terms of Endearment), who plays Martha Levinson, the very American mother of Cora, Countess of Grantham (McGovern).
About Author
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- Discovery Family to Premiere New Episodes of TRANSFORMERS RESCUE BOTS, Today
- Telemundo to Present FUTBOL ESTELAR: LEON VS SANTOS, Today
- Telemundo to Give Viewers Sneak Peek at Upcoming Programming on LO NUEVO, Today


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The Quinceanera celebration is a time honored Hispanic tradition as Quince teens go from being recognized as girls to women. Quinceanera.com and the Quinceanera.com Expo and Fashion Show have always sought to help these fashion loving, social media and pop culture craving young bilingual Latina teens and their families as they prepare for the special occasion.
By offering unique content related to each birthday party planning checklist, Quinceanera.com visitors and opt-in e-mail recipients ensure that each Quince, as well as her Chamberlain and Court look spectacular, the food is delectable, and that the decorations, music, and every detail make the celebration a night Quince teens and their families will never want to forget.
Also, to further help Hispanic Moms and Dads and their young bilingual Latina teens plan for the special party, Quinceanera.com presents six major Expo and Fashions Shows throughout Southern California. Each expo allows for the party planning families to meet directly with various product merchant and service providers to help with the celebration preparations and includes a locally relevant special supplement to help reinforce advertiser efforts among Hispanic families planning their daughters 15th birthday party.


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Hilary Putnam, (born July 31, 1926, Chicago, Illinois, U.S.), leading American philosopher who made major contributions to metaphysics, epistemology, the philosophy of mind, the philosophy of language, the philosophy of science, the philosophy of mathematics, and the philosophy of logic. He is best known for his semantic externalism, according to which linguistic meanings are not purely mental entities but reach out to external reality; his antireductionist philosophy of mind; and his persistent defense of realism, the view that truth and knowledge are objective. In his later years he became increasingly sensitive to the moral aspects of epistemology and metaphysics and, more generally, to philosophy's moral calling.
Early life and career
Putnam was the only child of Samuel and Riva Putnam. His father was a writer and translator, an active communist, and a columnist for the Daily Worker, the newspaper of the Communist Party of the United States of America (CPUSA). Putnam studied mathematics and philosophy at the University of Pennsylvania and attended graduate school in philosophy at Harvard University and the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA). At UCLA he wrote a dissertation, under Hans Reichenbach, on the concept of probability, obtaining a Ph.D. in 1951. He taught philosophy at Northwestern University, Princeton University, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) until 1976, when he joined the philosophy department at Harvard. He retired as Cogan University Professor Emeritus at Harvard in 2000.
At Princeton, where he became acquainted with the logical positivist Rudolf Carnap and the mathematical logician Georg Kreisel, Putnam immersed himself in mathematical logic. Among other projects, he worked on one of the 23 unsolved problems in mathematics identified by David Hilbert in 1900: that of finding a general algorithm for solving Diophantine equations (polynomial equations, named after Diophantus of Alexandria, involving only integer constants and allowing only integer solutions). The basis for a proof that the problem is unsolvable was provided by Putnam, Martin Davis, and Julia Robinson in 1961 and completed by Yuri Matiyasevich in 1970.
During the 1960s Putnam was deeply involved in the antiwar movement that opposed U.S. participation in the Vietnam War. He was active in Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) and in the Progressive Labor Party, a Maoist group, but by the early 1970s he had become disillusioned with far-left political ideology. At about the same time, he developed a sustained interest, both personal and professional, in his Jewish heritage.


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The Bachelorette
The League's Paul Scheer Reveals Bachelor/Bachelorette Obsession — Exclusive
Even though The League star Paul Scheer has appeared on Bachelor/Bachelorette spoof Burning Love, we never expected him to be so obsessed with the show. When we caught up with him and his Adult Swim show NTSF: SD: SUV castmates at the ATX Television Festival in Austin, Texas last week, he revealed that he not only loves both shows, but has a bracket with his wife (and co-star June Diane Raphael), too.
Check out the video to see what he has to say about franchise alums Emily Maynard and Sean Lowe, and his feelings about current Bachelorette Desiree Hartsock!


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Rasheed Wallace
Top Rated
he's gonna bring a toughness to the team, a low post game and he knows how to win..
Welcome Sheed... a entire year to rest and should be injury free compare to the other vets who were active.. but at the same time he's older... BATTLEGROUND NY and we have the LEAD!!!
Why not? We have nothing to lose. High reward, low risk and he'll add some toughness and scream on Melo when Melo allows LeBron to dunk and wants to hug him after.
hes a beast
i hope he not tco old and can still play he WAS a beast
If he can still post defend and shoot (spread the floor) it will be and excellent signing!
Did he get a deal yet??
Long arms, defensive minded, and motivational guy
All aboard, we obviously are going with player experience over potential to fill out our roster. We have ten players 30 or younger and five 35 or older. Being that on most teams half of their players would have little chance of contributing much to a win, we have a good mix of experience and seasoned potential, crossing my fingers, that will allow us to contend for the chip.
We need to try new things in order to find the one that works. He can be a great help for our defense.
he would be a big plus
Rasheed will bring in that mentally defensive minded hunger to the knicks locker room and floor. He has alot to proove as does the team. Plus the Knicks need another big body that can intimidate the opposition.
Tough Defender, great experience
Two years off might have some rust but he is rested. As long as he is committed to play why not. K-Mart won't sign and we need back up PF and he is a skilled PF that can post, defend, rebound and shoot the 3. Yes.
Sheed will bring knicks to finals!
Top Rated
old and techincal foul machine
If you want toughness, bring back Oak or Mase.
it wont work if hes in as good of shape as he was in detroit then totally! but hes lost it unfortunatley but hey we'll see! lets go knicks!
Too old and too many T's
too old
Ehhhhhh... 'Sheed said that it was "Knicks or nothing"... But if it was up to me, I wouldn't sign him. Sure, 'Sheed's that tough vet who knows how to win, but don't we have that already with J-Kidd, Camby, and Thomas? We need more youth on this team, not a FOURTH over-38-year-old. I'd rather get Lou Amundson, John Shurna, Sean Williams, or even Chris Copeland at PF.


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Congratulations to our June 11th Axe Society Members of the Match – Jere and Becky Hall!
As part of our inaugural group of ticket holders, Jere and Becky won the chance to have a VIP experience for the Portland Timbers vs. FC Dallas match on June 11th, including KeyBank Club seats, and a chance to visit with Timber Joey on the field!
We asked Jere and Becky a few questions after the match.
What was your first memory of/first match supporting the Timbers?
We moved to Portland in 2010, just before the Timbers inaugural MLS season, and were encouraged by our good friend (and long-time Timbers supporter) Eric to get season tickets before they were sold out. He was, of course, 100% right, and we look back on buying our seats in the TA section as one of the best decisions we've ever made! We were there for the first home match against the Fire (an incredible 4-2 win!), and the memories that stand out the most for us involve the exceptional passion of the fans: thousands of fans in green and gold singing and chanting hours before kickoff; the TA-led National Anthem; flags, scarves, and streamers flying through the air; and hugging and high-fiving strangers after every Timbers goal. The experience we had during that first match definitely made us Timbers fans for life!
What was your favorite moment of the match tonight?
Becky's favorite moment was Kah's incredible game-tying goal in stoppage time. For Jere, seeing Will Johnson insist on taking the PK (did we really get a PK call at home?!?!), grab the ball to sprint it back to midfield, and then pound his fist on the Timbers crest on his jersey while screaming at his teammates really exemplified the passion that the Timbers played with throughout the second half.
Who would you nominate as Player of the Match?
He only played a half, but for us Danny O'Rourke was the MOTM. He was hustling all over the field, did a good job disrupting the Dallas attack and frustrating their players, was a calm presence on the ball, smartly got forward a few times, and just generally brought a gritty attitude to the backline that helped us keep a clean sheet in the second half. Valeri definitely deserves an honorable mention for his effort on the night as well… Dallas obviously paid him a lot of attention, but he was still dangerous on offense and put forth nice effort pressing forward on defense.
What is your prediction for the next match – Timbers versus Orlando City U23s?
We'll probably see a lot of guys on the pitch that we don't normally see in league matches, which should be a lot of fun. Jere predicts a 6-2 victory with 2 goals each for Wallace and Urruti, a goal for Powell, and one for Tshuma off the bench to round out the scoring; he also predicts that balloon #1 wins the RE/MAX race before the match.
What else should we know about your Timbers fandom?
Before most home matches you'll find us waiting in line for TA wristbands with the Coffey brothers so that we can try to snag seats in Section 104. While the weather can sometimes be a little wet and chilly, and the wait a little long, it always ends up being a good time (especially once you add in a few breakfast burritos, some Pellegrino, and the warmth of friendship).
While we did miss our crew in the TA section, our Axe experience was truly exceptional, and we were very impressed by how friendly all the staff were throughout the match. While everyone we encountered was very helpful, Bonnie deserves a special shout-out for being one of the nicest ladies we've ever met! Ryan, Chris, and Maddie were also great, and really represented the organization well.
Congratulations again, Jere and Becky, and thank you for your terrific support!
If you are an Axe Society member and would like to enter to win the title of Member of the Match, please register here.


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About The Sapphire
The Sapphire is our flagship autoclave, powerful, unique, reliable and state of the art; this new autoclave is ideally suited for heavy duty work where capacity and reliability are key.
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- 330, 440, 550, 660 & 770 litre variants
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- Accelerated water cooling by means of a water jacket
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- Loading trolley
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More Information & Technical Specs
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Discover a selection of top forums blog scoring on the internet. Come to share your passion on forums blog scoring and meet other fans of blog scoring. Then, why don't you create your own forum of blog scoring ?
Sharing everything about beauties: vietnamese beauties, world beauties and member beauties. . .
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Free Fan Forum: Come discuss Michigan Football
Yes, Heroes is cancelled. But we'll love it forever, and it will always be remembered as being awesome.
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Free forum : Friendly place to chat about anything really. . .
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Outdoor tips from outdoor people
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Poetry, prose, love
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This is the forum to belongs with the starstream blog. Main subject is RPG and fairytales.
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forum for members/fans of the Free Falling To Nowhere blog.
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An advanced/serious role-playing forum, FoG caters to aspiring and acknowledged writers with literate capabilities beyond that of the average person.
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Free forum : Our blog project for Ms. Spaan's science class. 2008-09 It's on HG Welles's novel "War of the Worlds". We hope you enjoy it!
Tokio Hotel Slovenija
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A forum for discussion of different topics.
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This is a forum for my blog Yellow Matter Custard. This is for me to get in better contact with all fans of the blog.
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for followers of shubibinman on youtube, turboStar on GamEscape Online's blog site, and for nerds and knuckleheads worldwide!!
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text: Our Secret Wishes Catwoman Costume includes deluxe goggles that'll accentuate those sexy eyes of yours and a jumpsuit that's sure to show off those curves! When you're ready to team up or outwit the Caped Crusader (depending on your mood), you can't go wrong with this costume! Pick it up today!


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Streep's performance drew rave reviews from critics and later earned her many award nominations, including her record-setting 14th Oscar bid, as well as a Golden Globe for Best Actress in a Comedy or Musical. Blunt also drew favorable notice and nominations, as did many of those involved in the film's production. While critical reaction to the film as a whole was more measured, it was well received by the public becoming a surprise summer box-office hit following its June 30 North American release. The commercial success and critical praise for Streep's performance continued in foreign markets, with the film leading the international box office for most of October. The U.S. DVD release likewise was the top rental during December. Ultimately, it would gross over $300 million, mostly from its international run, and finish in 2006's top 20 both in the U.S. and overseas. It is also the highest-grossing film in Streep's and Hathaway's careers. A television series is being developed.
Although the movie is set in the fashion world, most designers and other fashion notables avoided appearing as themselves for fear of displeasing U.S. Vogue editor Anna Wintour, who is widely believed to have been the inspiration for Priestly. Many designers did, however, allow their clothes and accessories to be used in the film, making it the most expensively-costumed film in history. Wintour later overcame her initial skepticism, saying she liked the film and Streep in particular.
Andrea "Andy" Sachs, an aspiring journalist fresh out of Northwestern University, lands the magazine job "a million girls would kill for": junior personal assistant to icy editor-in-chief Miranda Priestly, who dominates the fashion world from her perch atop Runway magazine. She puts up with the eccentric and humiliating requests of her boss because, she is told, if she lasts a year in the position she will get her pick of other jobs, perhaps even the journalistic position she truly craves.
At first, she fits in poorly among the gossipy fashionista who make up the magazine staff. Her lack of style or fashion knowledge and fumbling with her job make her an object of scorn around the office. Senior assistant Emily (a name Miranda also uses to refer to Andy) Charlton, her coworker, is condescending to her. Gradually, though, with the help of art director Nigel, Andrea adjusts to the position and its many perks, including free designer clothing and other choice accessories. She begins to dress more stylishly and do her job competently, fulfilling a seemingly impossible request of Miranda's to get two copies of an unpublished Harry Potter manuscript to her daughters.
She also comes to prize chance encounters with attractive young writer Christian Thompson, who helped her obtain the Potter manuscript and suggests he could help her with her career. At the same time, however, her relationship with her boyfriend Nate, a chef working his way up the career ladder, and other college friends suffers due to the increasing time she spends at Miranda's beck and call.
Shortly afterwards, Andrea saves Miranda from social embarrassment at a charity benefit when the cold-stricken Emily falters in reminding Miranda who an approaching guest is. As a result, Miranda tells Andrea that she will accompany her to the fall fashion shows in Paris, rather than Emily who had been looking forward to the trip for months. Miranda warns Andrea that if she declines, it could adversely affect her future job prospects. Emily is hit by a car before Andrea can tell Emily the next morning, making her choice moot.
During a gallery exhibit of her friend Lilly's photography, Andy again encounters Christian, who openly flirts with her, much to the shock and disgust of Lilly, who witnesses it all. After Lilly calls her out and walks away, Andy bumps into Nate, who, when she tells him she will be going to Paris, is angered that she refuses to admit that she's become the girls she's made fun of and that their relationship has taken a back seat. As a result, they break up in the middle of the street the night before she leaves for Paris.
In Paris, Nigel tells Andrea that he has got a job as creative director with rising fashion star James Holt, at Miranda's recommendation, and will finally be in charge of his own life. She also finally succumbs to Christian's charms, and sees her boss let down her guard for the first time as she worries about the effect an impending divorce will have on her twin daughters. In the morning, Andrea finds out about a plan to replace Miranda as Runway editor with Jacqueline Follet, editor of the magazine's French edition, later that day. Despite the suffering she has endured at her boss's behest, she attempts to warn Miranda but is seemingly rebuffed each time.
At a luncheon later that day, however, Miranda announces that it is Jacqueline instead of Nigel who will leave Runway for Holt. Later, when the two are being driven to a show, she explains to a still-stunned Andrea that she was grateful for the warning but already knew of the plot to replace her and sacrificed Nigel to keep her own job. Pleased by this display of loyalty, she tells Andrea she sees some of herself in her. Andrea, repulsed, said she could never do to anyone what Miranda did to Nigel, primarily as Nigel mentored Andrea. Miranda replies that she already did, stepping over Emily when she agreed to go to Paris. If she wants to get ahead in her career, that's what she'll have to be willing to do.
Andrea gets out of the limo at the next stop, going not into the show with Miranda but out into the street, where instead of answering yet another call from her boss she throws her cell phone into the fountain of the Place de la Concorde, leaving Miranda, Runway and fashion behind.
Later, back in New York, she meets Nate for breakfast. He has accepted an offer to work as a sous-chef in a popular Boston restaurant, and will be moving there shortly. Andrea is disappointed but her hope is rejuvenated when he says they could work something out, implying they will have a long-distance relationship in the future. At the film's conclusion, she has finally been offered a job as a newspaper reporter, greatly helped by a fax from Miranda herself who told the editor that Andrea was her "biggest disappointment ever," and if they didn't hire her they would be idiots. Andrea calls Emily and offers her all of the clothes that she got in Paris, which Andrea insists that she doesn't need anymore. Emily accepts and tells Andrea's replacement she has some big shoes to fill. In the last shot, Andrea, dressed as she was at the beginning of the film but with a bit more style, sees Miranda getting into her car across the street. They exchange looks and Miranda gives no indication of a greeting, but gives a soft smile once inside the car, before sternly telling her chauffeur to "go."
While the basic plot elements of Weisberger's novel remain in place, many changes were made to the specifics. Screenwriter Aline Brosh McKenna created an entirely different crisis at the end of the story, and this required changes to many of the characters.
To set up the climax, details along the way were changed or added. Irv Ravitz, head of Elias-Clark, was given a far bigger part in the movie. The scene where Andrea succeeds where the sick Emily faltered at the benefit was adapted from a similar scene in the novel which did not involve Emily. Her inability to go to Paris in the novel is due to a bout of mononucleosis. McKenna and Frankel decided to have her suffer the car accident instead of Lily to let Andrea out of a moral dilemma that could have made her less sympathetic in viewers' eyes.
Afterwards, the novel's Andrea sells her leftover clothing to a second-hand shop for $38,000 and finances her writer's life for the next year. She, too, eventually returns to publishing when she sells a short story to Seventeen, and then returns to Elias-Clark to discuss freelance writing assignments with another of the company's magazines, The Buzz.
Lily underwent the most significant change. Her role in the novel is far larger: she has been Andrea's best friend since eighth grade and the two went through college together. Instead of running an art gallery, she is a graduate student in Russian literature at Columbia University. Stressed from her studies, she starts to pick up men in bars and develops a drinking problem, which leads to her car accident and the climactic confrontation between Andrea and Miranda.
She, Andrea, Alex/Nate and Miranda are all depicted as having come from Jewish backgrounds. The film makes no reference to any character's ethnicity.
Among the minor characters, James Holt and Jacqueline Follet, who figure prominently in the film's resolution, were created for it and do not exist in the novel. Likewise, several gay male Runway staffers were combined into the film's Nigel, very different from the original in the book modeled on André Leon Talley. Miranda's nanny Cara and the Elias-Clark security guard Eduardo were also eliminated. Only Christian is similar to his text counterpart (and his name was changed as well.)
Director David Frankel and producer Wendy Finerman had originally read The Devil Wears Prada in book proposal form.It would be Frankel's second theatrical feature. He, cinematographer Florian Ballhaus and costume designer Patricia Field, drew heavily on their experience in making Sex and the City.
Tucci was one of the last actors cast. Supposedly, the filmmakers had auditioned Simon Doonan, the creative director at Barney's and E!'s Robert Verdi, both openly gay men highly visible as media fashion commentators, for the part. Verdi would later claim there was no intention to actually hire him and the producers had just used him and Doonan to give whoever they ultimately did cast some filmed research to use in playing a gay character (he would end up with a walk-on part as a fashion journalist in Paris). Tucci claims he was unaware of this: "All I know is that someone called me and I realized this was a great part." He based the character on various people he was acquainted with, insisting on the glasses he ultimately wore. Sunjata had originally read for Tucci's part, rather unenthusiastically since he had just finished playing a similar character, but then read the Holt part and asked if he could audition for it. Baker auditioned by sending a video of himself, wearing the same self-designed green jacket he has on when he and Andrea meet for the first time.
Weisberger is widely believed to have based Miranda on Anna Wintour, the powerful editor of Vogue. Wintour reportedly warned major fashion designers who had been invited to make cameo appearances as themselves in the film that they would be banished from the magazine's pages if they did so. Vogue and other major women's and fashion magazines have avoided reviewing or even mentioning the book in their pages. Wintour's spokespeople deny the claim, but costume designer Patricia Field says many designers told her they did not want to risk Wintour's wrath.
Only Valentino, who had designed the black gown Streep wears in the museum benefit scene, chose to make an appearance. Coincidentally, he was in New York during production and Finerman dared Field, an acquaintance, to ask him personally. Much to her surprise, he accepted. Other cameos of note include Heidi Klum as herself and Weisberger as the twins' nanny. Streep's daughter's film debut as a barista at Starbucks was cut.
Principal photography took place over 57 days in New York and Paris between October and December 2005. The film's budget was $35 million.
Hathaway prepared for the part by volunteering for a week as an assistant at an auction house; Frankel said she was "terrified" before starting her first scene with Streep. The older actress began her working relationship with Hathaway by saying first "I think you're perfect for the role and I'm so happy we're going to be working on this together" then warning her that was the last nice thing she would say. Streep applied this philosophy to everyone else on set as well, keeping her distance from the cast and crewmembers unless it was necessary to discuss something with her.
She also suggested the editorial meeting scene, which doesn't advance the plot but shows Miranda at work without Andrea present. It was also her idea that Miranda not wear makeup in the scene where she opens up to Andrea and worries about the effect on her daughters of her divorce becoming public knowledge.
Frankel, who had worked with Patricia Field, before on his feature-film debut, Miami Rhapsody as well as Sex and the City, knew that what the cast wore would be of utmost importance in a movie set in the fashion industry. "My approach was to hire her and then leave the room," he joked later.
While none appeared onscreen, designers were very helpful to Field. Her $100,000 budget for the film's costumes was supplemented by help from friends from throughout the industry. Ultimately, she believes, $1 million worth of clothing was used in the film, making it the most expensively costumed movie in cinema history. The single priciest item was a $100,000 Fred Leighton necklace on Streep. Hathaway's most expensive item was a Yigal Azrouël angora coat, valued at $2,005
Chanel asked to dress Hathaway for the film, and Dolce & Gabbana and Calvin Klein helped Field as well. Although Field avoids making Streep look like Wintour, she dresses her in generous helpings of Prada (By Field's own estimate, 40% of the shoes on Streep's feet are Prada). Field added that much of the audience would not be familiar with Wintour's look and that "Meryl looks nothing like Anna, so even if I wanted to copy Anna, I couldn't." But, like Wintour and her Vogue predecessor Diana Vreeland, the two realized that Miranda needed a signature look, which was provided primarily by the white wig and forelock she wore as well as the clothes the two spent much time poring over look-books for. Fields said she avoided prevailing fashion trends for Miranda during production in favor of a more timeless look based on Donna Karan archives and pieces by Michael Vollbracht for Bill Blass, a look she describes as "rich-lady clothes." She didn't want people to easily recognize what Miranda was wearing.
She contrasted Andrea and Emily by giving the former a "textbook" sense of style, without much risk-taking, that would suggest clothing a fashion magazine would have on hand for shoots. Much of her high-fashion wardrobe is, indeed, Chanel, with some Calvin Klein thrown in for good measure. Blunt, on the other hand was "so on the edge she's almost falling off." For her, Field chose pieces by Vivienne Westwood and Rick Owens, to suggest a taste for funkier, more "underground" clothing. After the film's release, some of the looks Field chose became popular, to the filmmakers' amusement.
Tucci praised Field's skill in putting ensembles together that were not only stylish but helped him develop his character:
She just sort of sits there with her cigarette and her hair, and she would pull stuff — these very disparate elements — and put them together into this ensemble, and you'd go, "Come on, Pat, you can't wear that with that." She'd say, "Eh, just try it on." So you'd put it on, and not only did it work, but it works on so many different levels — and it allows you to figure out who the guy is. Those outfits achieve exactly what I was trying to achieve. There's flamboyance, there's real risk-taking, but when I walk into the room, it's not flashy. It's actually very subtle. You look at it and you go, "That shirt, that tie, that jacket, that vest? What?" But it works.He found one Dries van Noten tie he wore during the film to his liking and kept it.
She even chose separate computer wallpaper to highlight different aspects of Blunt's and Hathaway's character: Paris's Arc de Triomphe on the former's suggests her aspirations to accompany Miranda to the shows there, while the floral image on Andy's suggests the natural, unassuming qualities she displays at the outset of her tenure with the magazine. For the photo of Andrea with her parents, Hathaway posed with her own mother and David Marshall Grant. One of the purported Harry Potter manuscripts was later sold at auction for $586 on eBay, along with various clothing used in the film, to benefit Dress for Success, a charity which provides business clothing to help women transition into the workforce.
Aside from the clothing and accessories, some other well-known brands are conspicuous in the film.
The crew was in Paris for only two days, and used only exteriors. Streep did not make the trip.
Frankel praised Livolsi for making the film's four key montages — the opening credits, Miranda's coat-tossing, Andrea's makeover and the Paris introduction — work. The third was particularly challenging as it uses passing cars and other obstructions to cover Hathaway's changes of outfit. Some scenes were also created in the editing room, such as the reception at the museum, where Livolsi wove B-roll footage in to keep the action flowing.
Composer Theodore Shapiro relied heavily on guitar and percussion, with the backing of a full orchestra, to capture a contemporary urban sound. He ultimately wrote 35 minutes of music for the film, which were performed and recorded by the Hollywood Studio Symphony, conducted by Pete Anthony. His work was balanced with songs by U2 ("City of Blinding Lights," Miranda and Andrea in Paris), Madonna ("Vogue" & "Jump," Andrea's fashion montage & her first day on the job, respectively), KT Tunstall ("Suddenly I See," female montage during opening credits), Alanis Morissette ("Crazy," Central Park photo shoot), ("Our Remains," Andrea picks up James Holt's sketches for Miranda; Bittersweet Faith, Lily's art show), Azure Ray ("Sleep," following the breakdown of her relationship with Nate), Jamiroquai ("Seven Days In Sunny June," Andrea and Christian meet at James Holt's party) among others. Frankel had wanted to use "City of Blinding Lights" in the film since he had used it as a soundtrack to a video montage of Paris scenes he had put together after scouting locations there. Likewise, Field had advocated just as strongly for "Vogue."
The soundtrack album was released on July 11 by Warner Music. It includes all the songs mentioned above (except Madonna's "Jump") as well as a suite of Shapiro's themes. However, among the tracks not included is "Suddenly I See," which disappointed many fans. It became popular as a result of the film although the single did not crack the U.S. Top Forty. It nonetheless became a popular radio hit.
The studio also put together a trailer of scenes and images strictly from the first three minutes of the film, in which Andrea meets Miranda for the first time, to be used at previews and film festivals until they could create a more standard trailer drawing from the whole film. But, again, this proved so effective with early audiences it was retained as the main trailer, since it created anticipation for the rest of the film without giving anything away.
Initial reviews of the film focused primarily on Streep's performance, praising her for making an extremely unsympathetic character far more complex than she had been in the novel. "With her silver hair and pale skin, her whispery diction as perfect as her posture, Ms. Streep's Miranda inspires both terror and a measure of awe," wrote A. O. Scott in The New York Times. "No longer simply the incarnation of evil, she is now a vision of aristocratic, purposeful and surprisingly human grace." Kyle Smith agreed at the New York Post: "The snaky Streep wisely chooses not to imitate Vogue editrix Anna Wintour, the inspiration for the book, but creates her own surprisingly believable character." "Wintour should be flattered by Streep's portrayal," agreed Jack Mathews in the Daily News.
David Edelstein, in New York magazine, considered the film thin but loved Streep as well for her "fabulous minimalist performance." J. Hoberman, Edelstein's onetime colleague at The Village Voice, called the movie an improvement on the book and said Streep was "the scariest, most nuanced, funniest movie villainess since Tilda Swinton's nazified White Witch [in 2005's The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe]."
Blunt, too, earned some favorable notice. "[She] has many of the movie's best lines and steals nearly every scene she's in," wrote Clifford Pugh in the Houston Chronicle. Other reviewers and fans concurred. Roger Ebert gave the movie "thumbs down," while Richard Roeper gave it a "thumbs up."
While all critics were in agreement about Streep and Blunt, they pointed to other weaknesses, particularly in the story. Reviewers familiar with Weisberger's novel assented to her judgement that McKenna's script greatly improved upon it. A rare exception was Angela Baldassare at MSN Canada, who felt the film needed more of the nastiness others had told her was abundant in the novel.
But those who weren't and even some who were found it a predictable morality play that was enjoyable to watch for Streep if nothing else. David Denby summed up this response in his New Yorker review: "The Devil Wears Prada tells a familiar story, and it never goes much below the surface of what it has to tell. Still, what a surface!" Many felt that the scenes away from the magazine were a drag on the story.
Reactions to Hathaway's performance were not as unanimous as for many of her costars. Denby said "she suggests, with no more than a panicky sidelong glance, what Weisberger takes pages to describe." On the other hand, to Baldassare, she "barely carrie[d] the load."
It had a very successful run in theaters, making nearly $125 million domestically and over $325 million worldwide, a career high for Meryl Streep.
The Devil Wears Prada topped the charts on its first major European release weekend on October 9, after a strong September Oceania and Latin America opening. It would be the highest-grossing film that weekend in Britain, Spain and Russia, taking in $41.5 million overall. Continued strong weekends as it opened across the rest of Europe helped it remain atop the overseas charts for the rest of the month. By the end of the year only its Chinese opening remained; it is was released there on February 28, 2007.
Most reviews from the international press echoed the domestic response, heaping praise on Streep and the other actors, but calling the whole film "predictable." The Guardian's Peter Bradshaw, who found the film "moderately entertaining," took Blunt to task, calling her a "real disappointment ... strained and awkward." In The Independent, Anthony Quinn said Streep "may just have given us a classic here" and concluded that the film as a whole was "as snappy and juicy as fresh bubblegum."
In most markets the title remained unchanged; either the English was used or a translation into the local language. The only exceptions were Argentina, Ecuador, Mexico and Venezuela, where it was El diablo que viste Prada and El diablo se viste a la moda. In Poland, the title was Diabeł ubiera się u Prady which roughly means "The Devil Dresses At Prada's" rather than "The Devil Wears Prada." In Turkey, the title was "Şeytan Marka Giyer," roughly translated as "The Devil Wears Brand-Names." In Romania, the title was "Diavolul se îmbracă de la Prada," which roughly means "The Devil Dresses itself from Prada."
The Devil Wears Prada' is an energetically directed, perfect-fit of a film that has surprised some in the industry with its box-office legs. It has delighted the country, much as did Lauren Weisberger's book, which is still going strong on several national bestseller listsThe film was honored by the National Board of Review as one of the year's ten best. The American Film Institute gave the film similar recognition.
The film received ample attention from the Hollywood Foreign Press Association when its Golden Globe Award nominations were announced on December 14, 2006. The film itself was in the running for Best Picture (Comedy/Musical) and Supporting Actress (for Blunt). Streep later won the Globe for Best Actress (Musical/Comedy).
On January 4, 2007, her fellow members of the Screen Actors Guild nominated Streep for Best Actress as well. Four days later, at the National Society of Film Critics awards, Streep won Best Supporting Actress for her work both in Devil and A Prairie Home Companion. McKenna earned a nomination from the Writers Guild of America Award for Best Adapted Screenplay on January 11, 2007.
The following day, the British Academy of Film and Television Arts announced its 2006 nominations; Blunt, Field, McKenna and Streep were all among the nominees, as were makeup artist and hairstylists Nicki Ledermann and Angel de Angelis.
On January 23, 2007 Streep received her 14th Academy Award nomination for Best Actress, lengthening her record from 13 for most nominations by any actor male or female. Field received a Costume Design nomination as well. Neither won, but Blunt and Hathaway presented the latter award, amusing the audience by slipping into their characters for a few lines, nervously asking which of them had gotten Streep her cappucino. Streep played along with a stern expression before smiling.
Closed captions in French and Spanish are also available. The DVD is available in both full screen and widescreen versions. Pictures of the cast and the tagline "Hell on Heels" were added to the red-heel image for the cover. It was released in the UK on February 5, 2007.
A Blu-ray Disc of the film was released simultaneuously with the DVD. The featurettes were dropped and replaced with a subtitle pop-up trivia track that can be watched by itself or along with the audio commentary.
Frankel generally approved of his editor's choices, but differed on one scene, showing Andrea on her errand to the Calvin Klein showroom. He felt that scene showed Andrea's job was about more than running personal errands for Miranda.
Booth Moore at Los Angeles Times chided Field for creating a "fine fashion fantasy with little to do with reality," a world that reflects what outsiders think fashion is like rather than what the industry actually is. Unlike the movie, in her experience fashionistas were less likely to wear makeup and more likely to value edgier dressing styles (that would not, however, include toe rings). "If they want a documentary, they can watch the History Channel," retorted Field. Another newspaper fashion writer, Hadley Freeman of The Guardian, likewise complained the film was awash in the sexism and clichés that, to her, beset movies about fashion in general.
However, Charla Krupp, the executive editor of SHOP, Inc., says "It's the first film I've seen that got it right ... [It] has the nuances of the politics and the tension better than any film - and the backstabbing and sucking-up." Joanna Coles, the editor of the U.S. edition of Marie Claire, agreed:
The film brilliantly skewers a particular kind of young woman who lives, breathes, thinks fashion above all else ... those young women who are prepared to die rather than go without the latest Muse bag from Yves Saint Laurent that costs three times their monthly salary. It's also accurate in its understanding of the relationship between the editor-in-chief and the assistant.Ginia Bellefante, former fashion reporter for The New York Times, also agreed, calling it "easily the truest portrayal of fashion culture since Unzipped" and giving it credit for depicting the way fashion had changed in the early 21st century. Her colleague Ruth La Ferla found a different opinion from industry insiders after a special preview screening. Most found the fashion in the movie too safe and the beauty too overstated, more in tune with the 1980s than the 2000s. "My job is to present an entertainment, a world people can visit and take a little trip," responded Field.
There is none of this in the film. Instead, Nigel tells Andrea that, as a child, he told his family he was attending soccer practice when he was really taking sewing lessons, and read Runway under the covers of his bed at night with a flashlight. Finerman also says that during his first scene in the film, his visit to Andrea's hotel room in Paris to celebrate his imminent promotion, they had not yet decided how "extravagant" he would be. The film also gives no indication that he is involved in any traditional marriage or relationship with a woman. No other male staffer or editor has a significant part and indeed there is no reference to homosexuality at all. Jeffy and James, two of the gay men in the novel, were eliminated. One viewer, David Poland, pointed out this aspect of the film on his blog, The Hot Button, but noted it was part of a general desexualization that led him to call the movie No Sex in the City. On the other hand, a gay viewer who blogs about gay content in movies as Queer Beacon, found Tucci's portrayal refreshingly free of overdone stereotypes, while another gay blogger expressed his displeasure that a movie about an industry well-known for its openly gay men seemed so determined to avoid the subject. Controversy notwithstanding, readers of Gay.com voted the film the best of 2006. William Maltese, from AfterElton.com, called it "refreshing that the jokes in Devil do not come at Nigel's expense or because of his sexuality." It is also mentioned that Nigel is key for Andy's transformation from ugly-duck-to-swan propels her into the second half of the film.
Queer Beacon also wondered if Doug might be gay, since he is more aware of Miranda's importance to fashion than Andrea; also, later, when Lily takes him from Andrea at the gallery to introduce him to "someone he might find interesting," she doesn't specify that person's gender. Sommer says on his blog, however, that Doug was not written to be gay and was merely based on a friend of McKenna's.


text:
LOS ANGELES, March 25, 2014. Verde Media Group Inc. (OTC: VMGI) announces scheduled inspections have taken place on time to close the P&S agreement by its Diversified Agency Division (VDAD) in Denver, Colorado. The property at 795 S. Jason Street is a 6,000 square foot industrial space that will house Verde's first partnered, OPC growing facility operated by master grower, Ryan McGowan.
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The company received its Phase I Environmental Assessment and property site plan by the architect for applicable zoning
Press Information:Verde Media Group, Inc.1901 Avenue of the Stars, 2nd Floor
Los Angeles, CA
90067Contact Person:William VevePresidentPhone: 310-954-9160email: emailWeb: www.verdemediagroup.com


text:
The San Francisco 49ers are wrapping up training camp, and with two preseason games in the bag it is time to start analyzing the roster to determine the first line of cuts (the roster will go from 90 to 75 players), get ready for the one preseason game that should give us a real look at this team going into the season, and overreact to a few things here and there.
What follows are my observations of the offseason/preseason thus far, and I've taken a few days to write it so that I will not overreact (I think):
* The offense will be fine: There are legitimate concerns about the 49ers' offensive depth at every position other than running back (and maybe tight end), but the starting unit is pretty much the same that helped this team reach the Super Bowl last season. Colin Kaepernick is a special talent at quarterback, and he will make those wide receivers you are unsure about (that is, everyone but Anquan Boldin) look a lot better than they have so far with his athleticism and cannon arm. The offensive line is still one of the very best in the NFL, and so long as their level of play remains elite this offense will be a threat to score 30 points any given week.
* The concerns about the backup QB position are REAL: Getting Colt McCoy for a cheap was a good deal by Trent Baalke, but I was never excited about McCoy as a backup QB and I expected Scott Tolzien to overtake him at some point. As expected, McCoy has not been very impressive in two games thus far, but unfortunately Tolzien has not looked too good either. Personally, I though Tolzien slightly outplayed McCoy in the first game against the Broncos, and I thought they were equally disappointing in the most recent game against the Chiefs (although I felt that Tolzien's last drive of the second quarter was the most impressive of any QB in the first half). Thankfully Kaepernick has been a durable player during his college and professional career, because should he suffer a significant injury you can pretty much give up any hopes of a return to the Super Bowl.
As far as BJ Daniels goes, let's give him his own bullet point since he's a hot topic at the moment.
* BJ Daniel is ... : To use Oscar Aparicio's analogy, the new Nate Davis. We need to realize that a big part of the reason why Daniels is getting so much hype is due to the fact that McCoy and Tolzien are stinking it up. Look, when the 49ers picked Daniels in the 7th round of the draft I was short-sighted and wondered what the hell they were doing - I've seen plenty of Daniels in college and can tell you that, although successful at USF, he just isn't NFL QB material. Once I learned that they were looking to use him all over the field at different positions, including as a scout QB, I warmed up to the pick. He is an outstanding athlete who fits well into the vision this coaching staff has had for him, but there are several reasons why you should be concerned about him as a QB for this team.
He hovers around 6 feet tall (ESPN.com lists him at 5'11", 49ers.com lists him at 6'1"), and he is no where even close to the talent Russell Wilson is. As good as he looked on Friday night, he is consistently inconsistent with his accuracy at this level, and this has been reported throughout training camp. Furthermore, because he has been used in such an expanded role with this team (RB, WR, ST), he has not been able to focus entirely on playing QB and, of course, hasn't received a lot of reps at that position throughout camp. Granted, we've learned today that the team plans to increase his reps to around the same number that McCoy and Tolzien will get, as it was publicly announced by the 49ers that he is officially in the mix for the backup QB spot, but he is far from becoming a solid backup QB option. Other than the game winning drive on Friday, Daniels didn't really look much better than his competition, and, again, the opportunity to be in this mix is a much better reflection of the below-average play we've seen from McCoy and Tolzien than anything else.
* Let's not panic about special teams yet: I have excuses for all three big returns the unit has given up thus far:
1) Trindon Holliday's 44-yard kick return: the Broncos' speedster received the kickoff about halfway in his own endzone and broke forward and slightly to his right, avoided a low arm tackle by undrafted cornerback Darryl Morris, and broke lose to about the Denver 40-yard line. As evidenced by Morris' presence in the unit, the 49ers did not have their top ST unit out on the field. Not concerned.
2) Quintin Demps' 107-yard touchdown kick return: I won't completely excuse the 49ers here, but we also need to admit that the Chiefs' special teams unit is pretty good, as their performance this season has been significantly better than anything they showed last season. There were no missed tackles on Demps return, just a nice alley for him to break through untouched and with his speed (he ran a 4.39 forty at the 2008 combine) not even Perrish Cox was able to catch up to him. Again, not concerned.
3) Devon Wylie's 52-yard punt return: nevermind that this play, again, did not have San Francisco's top special teams unit out on the field, the Broncos' rookie punt return came after a penalty on Nate Stupar nullified a Colton Schmidt punt that had been fair-caught inside the Kansas City 10-yard line. Schmidt's ensuing punt was not as good as his previous one, and that plus some good blocks by the Chiefs paved the way for Wylie's return. Once again, not concerned.
Of course, after a disappointing performance by the unit last season, I am still concerned about how special teams will perform this season. However, we shouldn't be jumping to any conclusions about their performance in these first two games. Next Sunday the Vikings and electric rookie Cordarelle Patterson come to town and they should provide a good test for the 49ers.
* Quick hits: I'll wrap it up with some quick liners on other players/subjects:
--> Chad Hall will make the 53-man roster. Aside from the reports of him performing well in practice, he's looked good in both games so far, especially in the most recent game where he hauled in two catches for 39 yards and may have caught a touchdown pass from Colin Kaepernick if he wasn't so damn short (the joke there being he's as tall as me).
--> AJ Jenkins gets enough ink, around the nation apparently, so I'll keep it short. Am I disappointed? Yes. Do I want him cut? No. Will he make the team? Yes.
--> I am excited to watch Kyle Williams and Quinton Patton next week. I also expect both of them to make the team.
--> Tramaine Brock and Nnamdi Asomugha have looked good in these first two games, a very positive sign for all of us concerned about losing Culliver for the season. Furthermore, Perrish Cox has put together back-to-back excellent games in the preseason and I fully expect him to make the roster as a dime CB.
--> If you focus on the trenches while watching these first two games, Ian Williams jumps out at you, especially in the run game. Holds up the point of attack really well allowing the linebackers to be effective at what they do.
--> Speaking of the linebacker position, both inside and outside, they are easily the deepest position group on the team. More importantly, as far as rushing the passer goes, there are several players on this team that can get to the quarterback. I can't remember the last time I was able to say that.
--> Rookie free safety, Eric Reid, has looked solid in these first two games with more positives than negatives. The team's beat writers project the LSU product to be the starter in the season opener, and maybe as soon as next week's game against Minnesota.
--> And finally, I hope we can see Vance McDonald in action in this next game, because I loved what I saw from him vs the Broncos. I'll give another shout-out to Oscar here: he reminds us of Eric Johnson circa 2004.
As always, feel free to leave your comments/questions below. Follow me on Twitter at @DiegoDelBarco.
Straight Out of the Rabbit's Hole: Observations after two preseason games.
Sunday, August 18, 2013 at 3:50 PM | 8 comments
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The views within this article are those of the writer and, while just as important, are not necessarily those of the site as a whole.
By: FrankDate: Tuesday, August 20, 2013 at 9:18 AMComment: I'd say your judgement WRT Daniels may be a bit premature...that is, as you pointed out, he's been all over the field, playing different positions. He hasn't been able to focus on QB. That said, the drive he put together in KC was noteworthy because of those facts. Don't fall into the hype that shorter guys can't play QB. Look at Brees. What I'd say instead is let's see what he does with his next two preseason games. Even if he ends up being 3rd string, that's quite an accomplishment, going up against two QB's with a lot more experience. At a minimum, Harbaugh declaring it's a 3-horse race for b/u QB should prompt both McCoy and Tolzien to step it up.Response: Good point that his drive is noteworthy given his limited QB reps. I'm not saying ALL short guys can't play QB, but for the most part that is the outcome. It takes a special talent to overcome that and I'm not ready to say Daniels is a special talent. I would LOVE Daniels as a #3 while he continues to develop, but not as the backup this season, and the team needs to address that #2 QB spot, because this team is ready to win now, and right now it's painful to say the championship run lives and dies with Kaep's health.
By: Jersey9erDate: Monday, August 19, 2013 at 3:00 AMComment: Hey Diego, great article, but the one thing i have to disagree with is that the offense will be fine definitely. I dont know if u remembered last year and the year before. Everytime we got too confident, we were in for a rude awakening. I too believe that Kaep is a special talent, but as i said in another thread, he helped get us to the SB, after taking on a winning record of 6-2. And pretty much took the football world by storm being the new kid on the block. Things have changed, he's no longer the new kid, Crabs is out for a while, Boldin and Davis are the only sure fire pass catchers, and although Kaep may very well make them better, there's no guarentee either. We are entering the 3rd pre-season game and kaep should at least play a full quarter maybe two, to get that continuity with our WR core in live game action. Not a knock on him, but I mean we have the proven vets around the league that are playing continously to build that bond, and a little far-fetched to believe the lights are just going to come on, once the season starts with only playing one series per pre-season game. Its like we are all just going on blind faith, which can work sometimes, and sometimes not.Response: Thank you. I try not to compare my expectations from this year to the previous years because there's a different, undisputed guy behind center, who is quickly becoming the face of the franchise. While I would like to see Kaep play more I don't completely disagree with Harbaugh's strategy of keeping him away from any "freakish" incidents. He's put in more than enough work this offseason, by all accounts looking outstanding in practice. I'm not too worried.
By: FreddiePSoftDate: Sunday, August 18, 2013 at 11:49 PMComment: I agree with the overall assessment. Although, I see the S.T. being a major cause of let down this year besides the injuries. The culture should be there for stopping the opponents inside the 20's on kick-offs. That's not there now, whether it's pre-season or not. The kill instinct on S.T. from two years ago vanished. I do think, though, we made upgrades in tight-end, D-Line and C.B. for sure. We would have made upgrade at Safety for long term. But this year, there may be a lot of learning troubles for Eric Reid. Let's enjoy another year of stellar O'Line play and may be the finale of Frank Gore in 9er uniform. Let's get Frank a ring fellas!Response: I hear you on the "culture" and "kill instinct". I agree on the upgrades at TE and DL, CB remains to be seen. I would love to see Reid get a start this Sunday and see how he performs in extended time vs the Vikings' starters, even if Christian Ponder isn't the toughest test out there.
By: Mike SDate: Sunday, August 18, 2013 at 8:17 PMComment: Lockette has been a disappointment so far. Harbaugh's firing him up with his comment Lockette rooming with Kap to advance learn the playbook gave me high hopes. A legit deep threat would make this Kap Offense COMPLETE & Unstoppable with #7's firepower. I want one BAD. That real deep threat would make it almost impossible to stop the run & our WR's short w/YAC & intermediate. It would allow us to attack the D at every level & side of the field. Makes me salivate. Lockette flashed on a couple plays if I remember right..not nearly enough but at least in it's in the right direction & there's still some hope he might breakthrough. For that reason if the Staff feels he's shown the ability to possibly reach becoming a real WR as you mentioned I hope he keeps up his ST's play I think Collie is a wildcard if he can get back to form & STAY HEALTHY (a big IF) with his starting experience. I want Lockette or AJ's SPEED. So damn frustrating with AJ so far. If we were to release him I think with his overdrafted status & media pressure coming off his back here he will find success someplace else with his fresh start & on the team that didn't draft/OVER-draft him. C'mon AJ!Response: I agree with you on a couple of things: I too would like to see Lockette's potential translate into production out on the field, but maybe he's still too raw. I think he has a decent shot at earning a spot on this roster on ST while he develops, otherwise I would love to see him get to the practice squad. And yes, I would love to see someone with speed keep defenses honest and take advantage of Kaep's outstanding arm, but nobody is stepping up.
By: Das DweebDate: Sunday, August 18, 2013 at 7:29 PMComment: Very excited by the pressure they've brought so far, although if I remember correctly, Fangio blitzed it up last preseason as well before finishing the regular season with the fourth-least blitzing D in the league. Just hope last year's collapse after Cowboy's injury proved to him we need to get after the QB. The draft picks imply he has learned that lesson. And I'll pick AJ for the practice squad. Too much help needed to waste a spot on a guy who doesn't seem to have his head in it. Ironically if Crabs were healthy, they might feel comfy enough at WR to keep AJ active.Response: The key isn't so much blitzing as it is being able to get to the QB with your basic pass rush so you don't expose the secondary too much. That's what the 49ers were able to do when healthy, of course mixing in some blitzes here and there. As far as Jenkins, I don't think he makes it through waivers so I doubt he'll be a PS option.
By: MattDate: Sunday, August 18, 2013 at 5:50 PMComment: On the kickoff return for a TD, I saw a pretty clear case of holding. It was confirmed by what I saw on the replay. I was watching the Kansas City feed and they froze the action to show the lane that had opened up. A KC player had his arm wrapped around the SF player closest to the returner from behind. It doesn't matter how good the 49ers are on special teams if the other team is cheating and the refs won't call it.Response: So I have more excuses? SWEET!
By: Michael IDate: Sunday, August 18, 2013 at 5:43 PMComment: My only observation, albeit overly simplified, is that the 49ers defense should be lights out if the way the second and third team units are performing is any indication.Response: Yes, I didn't want to hammer out too much on what seems obvious, but we should also remember these are still preseason offenses that we're facing, so we're not getting fully tested just yet.
By: Mike SDate: Sunday, August 18, 2013 at 4:26 PMComment: Nice write up Diego How many ST's starters were we missing? I like LMJames on kick/PR's..hopefully he continues to get better. I was hoping for more breakaways & "pop" in his runs & more explosiveness. I thought he would be more dynamic than he's shown so far & I wish that Roman would design more plays for him "out in space" like Peyton does for Sproles in NO's. On returns I think we've always lacked that dynamic fast explosive specialty returner except when we had Alan Rossum. Would love for us to try & address that better. James s/b alright for that for now. Love Lemonier, Ian Williams so far, & the DL/LB quality depth. Also Vance McDonald but he needs to get more consistent catching the ball (follow VD & hit the jugs daily pls) We will have our hands full with Seattle..they do look loaded..s/b fantastic games!! I think Palmer Arians gives AZ a bigtime boost & could be a division sleeper. GO NINERS baby!!!!!Response: Thanks Mike. I'd have to go back and watch it again, but off the top of my head I remember numbers 28, 38, 36, 46, 47, 5 (Daniels), 18, 83. That would be, in order, Darcel McBath, Morris, Michael Thomas, MarQueis Gray, Daniels, Kevin McDermott, Ricardo Lockette, and Demarcus Dobbs. I remember Dobbs being in the unit last season, and Lockette's only chance to make the roster would be in ST as well. Everyone else on that list are not likely to make the final cuts. I like LMJ a lot more in kick returns than punt returns, he just doesn't look too comfortable with the punts at this point (Cox, for example, looks a lot more comfortable).


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PARK RIDGE, N.J., April 24, 2014 — Craig Harper has joined Sony Electronics' Professional Solutions of America group as director of business development for the house of worship market. Harper, a broadcast industry veteran and active church member and volunteer, brings a unique combination of technology expertise and worship insight to his new role, expanding Sony's capabilities to work more closely with faith-based organizations of all sizes.
Sony production equipment — including cameras, switchers and displays – is widely used from the smallest ministries to mega-churches. Harper noted, however, that products are only one component of the total approach necessary to fully serve and support ministries, so they can position themselves for growth and keep members engaged.
"Ministries need to be well-versed in all the technical and creative aspects of professional production, from acquisition to editing to acoustics to lighting," Harper said. "That's in addition to all the other day-to-day demands and logistical challenges that come with running any organization. Our goal is to take some of the technical burden off their shoulders, continue to listen to their needs and develop the best technology options to help them not only communicate with their members more efficiently and effectively but also expand their congregations."
Harper brings to Sony extensive experience in senior leadership roles in the broadcast industry, most recently as Vice President and Chief Technology Officer for Belo Corp., the Dallas -based television station and cable network group owner. He has also held engineering and operations roles at a number of local TV stations.
He has served as chairman of the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) Television Technology Committee and as a member of the Advanced Television Standards Committee (ATSC) technology standards committee. He has spoken often at the National Association of Religious Broadcasters (NRB) annual meetings.
Harper's professional broadcast experience is complemented by his lifetime commitment to church and community involvement. He began playing with his church's PA system when he was 10 and his first paid job at the age of 15 was playing records and reading news at a 3,000 watt FM Christian station in his hometown of Waco Texas.
Harper is also very active at Prestonwood Church, as a founding board member of its international broadcast ministry "PowerPoint with Jack Graham" and as a technical director for its weekly services and music department's DVD projects and annual Christmas program that is broadcast nationally and is seen by more than 50,000 people each year in person.
Prestonwood Church uses Sony HD cameras and MVS switchers, so Harper is already familiar with Sony technology at work in the house of worship market, as well as the company's ongoing efforts to identify new opportunities for its production equipment in "non-traditional" applications like faith-based organizations.
"Sony has worked with churches and ministries for several years, and while we've had great success, we realized the market needs a dedicated expertise," said Alec Shapiro, president of Sony's Professional Solutions of America group. "Craig fills that bill perfectly, and is the right choice to lead our efforts in house of worship."
Harper agreed there are many special factors to consider when working with faith-based organizations.
"The decision to incorporate A/V solutions is often highly personalized, as churches need to balance what enhances their message versus what detracts from it," he said. "Many ministries rely on volunteer staff, so equipment needs to be intuitive, and training and support needs to be easily accessible and readily available. Also, A/V implementations often extend beyond just the sanctuary, for example, web streaming, multi-site campuses and broadcasting."
That diversity of end-user needs matches Sony's breadth of capabilities and depth of resources, Harper said.
"We want to communicate that we're here to listen and learn, and we're committed to the needs of the worship market," Harper said. "We have the tools and resources to help fulfill a ministry's vision, but more important, we understand the special technology requirements of the worship market."


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The fighting in Casamance seems to be winding down as information gathered from the refugees residing in Bulock, Foni Brefet Distrcit of West Coast Region, indicate that an estimate of 65 percent of those residing in a settlement called Katonge, in the outskirts of Bulock village, few metres from The Gambia-Senegal border,
has returned to their native villages during mid 2012 and several others are planning to return this year as well. Most of these refugees have been residing in the said area for more than a decade.
According to Famara Colley, a native of Kuram Village in Casamance, he and his entire extended family fled into The Gambia in 1998, when fighting broke out between MFDC combatants and the Senegalese Army. Colley said since then he and family were residing in Bulock. Colley said at first it was very difficult for them to settle among the Bulock villagers, but later the Alkalo and the village elders decided to give them a plot of land where they built their houses and do farming. He said though they have peace of mind but could not get the adequate land to do as much farming as they were doing in their native villages in Casamance. Colley indicated that several families from his native village have decided to go home mid last year. He added that he and family decided to stay for a while to allow their school going children to reach high school.
Dawda Badjie from Kabakel village said, he and his family came to the Gambia and settled in Bulock in 1998, after the heavy intervention of Senegalese forces thus making the entire villagers to flee to Bulock village, the nearest to them. He said though, several of his fellow villagers have relocated to Brikama, Kombos and Serrekunda, for a better life, he decided to stay and do cross border farming as the land allocated to them is very small.He asserted that before the end of this year he would leave for his native village.
Ousman Colley, a native of Gurack, posited that he and his entire villagers fled to Bulock in early 1997, when fighting broke out in their village, prompting the MFDC rebels to set up a camp in their village. He said more than 500 people from the surrounding villages fled into Bulock leaving behind all their ruminants. Ousman said his family had about 50 heads of cattle, but made it to Gambia with only 5 cattle, 10 goats and 3 sheep. He said some of his sisters and brothers are currently residing in Brikama, Serrekunda and other towns doing petty business to make ends meet. He said his father, mother and the elderly members of the family have all returned to Gurack. He stated that he could not go because all his children were born in Gambia and are going to school.
Malang Jarju, a native Kabakel said he would be going home soon. Malang stated that their family left behind an orchard of mangoes, oranges, cashews and could not afford to continue losing that. He said he used to cultivate back in Casamance sustain his family for the entire year. He indicated that in Bulock they were only given few hectares of land for farming, which is very small for the entire refugees. Malang asserted that he has a family of 15 heads feeding them through farming and cannot continue to depend on the small piece of land given to him. He said back home they have inherited a vast area of farm land big enough to cultivate several different crops and fruit trees.


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Lovingly restoring the worst bike I've ever ridden.
Three of us recently went to Vietnam, bought three Minsks, and rode through Vietnam, Laos, Thailand, and Cambodia. At the end of the trip, we thought it would be fun to have the bikes dismantled and shipped back home. We were wrong. It ended up taking 6 months and a lot of money to get them here. But in the end it will be pretty sweet to have what are probably the only three Minsks in the US.
Here's a couple shots of the bikes over there

I am finally getting around to writing the Ride Report (http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=617754), and I thought it would be fun to do a build thread.
The owner of the awesome hotel we were staying at (E-Jay at Scan Hotel, GO THERE) told us our bikes could sit in his gated parking area for as long as we needed, so we could work out the logistics from home.
I figured out that it would be cheaper (and easier to get past customs) if the bikes were imported as parts rather than as complete bikes. I found a shop that said they would disassemble them for $20 each, so then it was just a matter of finding a shipping company. Easy, right? Not so much.
Anyway, six months, hundreds of emails, tons of frustration, and thousands of dollars later, bikes arrived at the port of San Francisco.
The box was, uhh, large.
Beer, tin snips, and motorcycles, always a good combo.
All out of the crate, everything was individually boxed. How fancy!
ok... so when I talked to the guys who were going to disassemble the bikes, I told them to do the bare minimum. Take the wheels off, engine out of the frame, seat off, and that's about it. I guess they figured that if a little dis-assembly is good, alot must be GREAT!
I did not expect this
This is a project for which I am uniquely suited, as the original build quality of these bikes falls somewhere between "Barbaric" and "Completely unsafe to ride", which means my superbly mediocre fabrication skills will be "Authentic" rather than "Sloppy and dissapointing"
After seeing how far disassembled the bikes were, I decided I should put them back together one at a time, so this is the first one...
Step one: grind off what is left of the broken right-side foot peg, cut off random pieces of metal that had been booger-welded to the frame over the years, weld up a few cracks here and there, and take the frame to be sand blasted. Then, forget to take pictures of any of this. Move directly to primering the frame and test fitting the Soviet engineering marvel that is the 125cc 2-Stroke engine.
Also, make sure you run out of grey primer half way through, then finish up with black so it looks extra terrible.

http://lh5.ggpht.com/_QMRLyAEclGA/TI...0/IMG_9375.JPG

From Minsk build

Next: Lose interest in this project because your assortment of bolts hasn't arrived from McMaster-Carr yet. Proceed directly to the swing arm.
This is the lower shock mount. A bolt welded to the tab. The bolt itself looks as if they cut it to length using a dull hatchet, which apparently worked just fine until they cross threaded the wrong nut onto it so many times that the threads are pretty much gone.
While in the process of replacing both lower shock mounts, I noticed that the swing arm itself is cracked, top and bottom. Very Nice!
Cracks welded up and ground down
Better than new. No, really.
Here are a few of the things I have to look forward to
What is going on here? why is there a bent bolt welded to the frame right there? I'm assuming the washer is some kind of cable guide, or maybe where the brake light switch goes?
Now here is something REALLY cool: See that big nut right there? Yeah, thats the swing arm mounting point.
And I actually added weld to that, it originally wasn't welded at the top.
Hopefully I'll have some time to do more work soon!
Let me know what you think! Got any suggestions?
You're gonna need a Lot of Beer.
But other than that cool!
Whoa, that is some awful fabrication. Pretty cool what you are doing there though. Looking forward to watching it materialize.
Wow, I feel much better about my projects now.
You should form the Minsks owners group, USA chapter. Go ahead and vote yourself in as president. After all that work You deserve it :D
I'm not an expert welder but I bet you could weld some plate steel over some of the questionable areas and really strengthen up the frame.
Did they write up a manual when they disasembled those bikes? Did it come with a wiring schematic? Where does the GR-BL wire go?
And what are you going to do if the cylinders are a few thousadth's out of spec? Better have 'em bored and nikasil plated.
Enjoy the puzzle! Looking forward to the build thread. Thanks.
Oh... I get it...!
One drunk night in Viet Nam :freaky ya'll guys made a bet with each other and no one was willing to call things off untill ya'd spent thousands upon thousands of dollars, importing $20 worth of worn-out motorcycle parts into the US. :huh
It also appears as if your buddies have finally sobered up, they've reconsidered the whole charade of reassembling these things and are staying home watching the thread instead of helping out! :poser
Whatever... This promises to be one of the best threads of the year and if you build a cafe out of one of em, they'll probably end up being the next ADV Rider cult bike!
Think of the possibilities!!! :evil
Hell no they didn't write instructions!
A few thousandths out of spec? I bet these damn things are a few tenths off. I think I forgot to mention just how bad these bikes are. They are listed as having 10hp when new, and I have no idea how old these bikes are. No odometer, no speedometer. But I'd wager that they have no more than 6hp. When I get the first one done I will be taking it to Derek at Motolab to put it on the dyno, just for laughs.
Where can we get some original Minsks decals for the tank?
You sir are an engineering GOD. :bow :bow :bow
My skills (& bikes) pale in comparison.
Yours in awe
If these do become ADV cult objects of adoration you need to get the rights to the US distributorship ASAP
It's an opportunity waiting to happen, and waiting and waiting and waiting
Be the first on your block :evil
it is already a cult object of adoration for me. :lurk
perhaps we should set up a collection for beer, duct tape, a fire extinguisher or two, a box of helicoil kits, more beer, and more gray primer?
That's what you get when labor's cheap and parts aren't. It's like an economics lesson in the form of a motorcycle. I love it.
Are you going to try to get them street legal?
You spent HOW much money to bring those POS's home? Hell, the fact that they were crap shoulda been obvious to ya over there!!! No matter how much welding you do to fix the original engineering, just how comfy are ya gonna feel riding them things on the public streets?
If it feels good to ya, head on...just lemme know when you ride thru my town so's I can run for the hills!!!!
I am definitely going to try to get them street legal. Does anybody have any good resources for info on registering highly questionable machinery? Tips? Tricks?
I don't know if I should go in and try to register them as Minsks, or just say they are something I cobbled together out of spare Tatra parts and tissue boxes.
I'd say they are home built. Then pretty much all they need in any state is an inspection of the safety equipment. BUT they need DOT markings on the tyres and maybe the headlight and taillight.....plus, you need to have numbers stampped into the motor and frame which match.
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Bryan Alkemeyer
Assistant Professor (on leave Fall 2015)
Department/Affiliation: English, Comparative Literature
Phone: 330-263-2506
Office Address: 222 Kauke
Curriculum Vita (.pdf)
- B.A., University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, 2005
- M.A., Cornell University, 2009
- Ph.D., Cornell University, 2012
Courses Taught
- ENG 120: Animals in Literature
- ENG 210: Sex and Gender in the Restoration and Eighteenth Century
- ENG 220: "I am not what I am": Race, Gender, Sexuality, and Class on Shakespeare's Stage
- "The Natural History of the Houyhnhnms: Noble Horses in Gulliver's Travels," The Eighteenth Century: Theory and Interpretation, forthcoming.
- "Rational Elephants or Hominoid Apes: Which is Early Modern?," with Laura Brown, Journal for Early Modern Cultural Studies 13, no. 4 (2013): 61-68.
Research Interests
My research focuses on British literature of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. I am also interested in Renaissance literature, the history of science, animal studies, and scholarship on teaching and writing. I am currently working on a book manuscript about stories of human-animal transformations.


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April 12, 2008
Complete Results in PDF Format
Charlottesville, Va. - The women's track and field team traveled to Charlottesville, Va., on Saturday to compete at the Lou Onesty/Milton G. Abramson Invitational. The women placed 12 athletes in the top 10. Tiffany Reid (Poughkeepsie, N.Y.) broke the school's 100-meter record which she previously held, with a time of 12.36.
Amanda Dupis (East Sandwich, Mass.) lead the Crusaders with a third place in the high jump with a leap of 5'3". Other top finishers were Lesley Bautista (St. John's, Newfoundland) in the pole vault with a jump of 11'5.75" to earn fourth place and Sarah Croteau (Westminster, Mass.) in the 3000-meter run with a time of 10:39.80 to place fourth.
The women's 4x100-meter relay broke the school record with a time of 48.42 taking eighth place. The team included Dannielle Meder (Chicopee, Mass.), M. Siobhan Straub (Mattituck, N.Y.), Bautista and Reid.
The Crusaders compete again on April 16-17 with the Holy Cross Heptathlon.