text:
No headline G27caps
Capsule descriptions and starred mini-reviews by The Commercial Appeal movie writer John Beifuss.
opening today
I Know Who Killed Me (R, 107 min.)
Peabody Place 22, Stage Cinema 12, Majestic, Collierville Towne 16, DeSoto Cinema 16, Cordova Cinema, Paradiso, Hollywood 20 Cinema.
No Reservations (PG, 104 min.) See review on Page 12.
Peabody Place 22, Forest Hill 8, Stage Cinema 12, Majestic, Collierville Towne 16, DeSoto Cinema 16, Cordova Cinema, Paradiso, Hollywood 20 Cinema, CinePlanet 16.
Rescue Dawn (PG-13, 120 min.) See review on Page 15.
Studio on the Square, Cordova Cinema.
The Simpsons Movie (PG-13, 87 min.) See review on Page 11.
Peabody Place 22, Forest Hill 8, Stage Cinema 12, Wolfchase Galleria Cinema 8, Majestic, Collierville Towne 16, DeSoto Cinema 16, Studio on the Square, Raleigh Springs Cinema, Cordova Cinema, Paradiso, Palace Cinema, Hollywood 20 Cinema, CinePlanet 16, Southaven Cinema, Summer Quartet Drive-In.
Talk to Me (R, 118 min.) See review on Page 4.
Ridgeway Four, Majestic.
Who's Your Caddy? (PG-13, 92 min.)
Peabody Place 22, Stage Cinema 12, Majestic, Collierville Towne 16, DeSoto Cinema 16, Raleigh Springs Cinema, Cordova Cinema, Paradiso, Palace Cinema, Hollywood 20 Cinema, CinePlanet 16, Southaven Cinema.
Special Movies
American Stories (Not rated, 82 min.) Former Memphian Rob Lucas wrote and directed this multi-part, made-in-Ohio independent film in which the four members of a no-budget touring rock band swap tall tales involving a bogus "couple's counselor," a possibly sinister butcher's shop, a mom who's got it going on and a double-date with twins while they wait for their van to be repaired. The cast includes local musicians Brian Winterrowd and Tim Regan; the influences include Kevin Smith, Richard Linklater and such "lo-fi" slacker films as "Mutual Appreciation" and "The Puffy Chair." The screening marks the movie's Memphis debut.
8 p.m. Sunday at the Hi-Tone Café, 1913 Poplar. Admission is $5. A performance by musician Ron Franklin will follow. Visit americanstoriesmovie.com.
Deep Sea: The newest IMAX underwater adventure runs through Jan. 2. Narrated by Johnny Depp and Kate Winslet with an original score by Danny Elfman, the movie leads viewers around the globe beneath the ocean's surface. Tickets: $8 ($7.25 senior citizens); $6.25 children (ages 3-12); children under 3, FREE.
Crew Training International IMAX Theater at Memphis Pink Palace Museum, 3050 Central. Call 763-IMAX for general information or 320-6362 for reservations.
The Godfather (R, 175 min.) Marlon Brando with an orange slice in his mouth, a bullet hit through an eyeglass lens and a horse's head in a bed are among the unforgettable images in Francis Ford Coppola's 1972 Best Picture Oscar-winner.
The Orpheum, 7:15 p.m. Saturday. Tickets are $6 each (cash only). Visit orpheum-memphis.com or call 525-3000.
Gone with the Wind (G, 238 min.) However dubious its romanticization of the Old South, producer David O. Selznick's 1939 adaptation of Margaret Mitchell's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel remains a stunning achievement of grandiose Old Hollywood melodrama and spectacle, brought to life through the collaborative effort of an army of artists and technicians, director Victor Fleming, uncredited director George Cukor and a perfectly chosen cast.
The Orpheum, 7:15 tonight (with intermission). Tickets are $6 each (cash only). Visit orpheum-memphis.com or call 525-3000.
Hurricane on the Bayou: "A festive, blues-infused celebration and a somber environmental warning for America's most unique city," narrated by Meryl Streep. IMAX film runs through Nov. 9. Sponsored by the Weather Channel; locally sponsored by MLGW. Tickets $8; $6.25 children (ages 3-12); seniors (55 and older), FREE.
Crew Training International IMAX Theater at Memphis Pink Palace Museum, 3050 Central. Call 763-IMAX for general information or 320-6362 for reservations.
The IFC Free Film Fest: Free screenings of "Raising Arizona," "The Princess Bride" and "Napoleon Dynamite" on the lawn of the Memphis Pink Palace Museum.
Tuesday through Thursday; grounds open at 6, movies start at sunset. Visit ifc.com/freefilmfest or call 320-6362.
The Land Before Time (G, 70 min.) Don Bluth ("The Secret of NIMH") directed this Steven Spielberg-produced 1988 animated film about orphaned prehistoric reptiles -- Littlefootfoot (an Apatosaurus), Cera (a Triceratops), Spike (a Stegosaurus), Ducky (a Parasaurolophus) and Petrie (a Pteranodon) -- searching for a legendary valley of plenty while trying to elude a hungry "Sharptooth" (Tyrannosaurus rex).
The Orpheum, 2 p.m. Sunday. Tickets are $6 each (cash only). Visit orpheum-memphis.com or call 525-3000.
The Rape of Europa (Not rated, 117 min.) Inspired by the National Book Critics Circle Award-winning best-seller by Lynn H. Nicholas, this documentary, narrated by Joan Allen, examines the systematic theft and deliberate destruction of Europe's art treasures during World War II. Variety called it a "mesmerizing morality play, rich in rare archival footage" that reveals that Hitler's "'final solution' for so-called inferior or degenerate artwork was nearly as far-ranging as his program for human genocide."
Memphis Brooks Museum of Art, 7:30 p.m. Thursday. Tickets: $7 each, or $5 for museum members. Visit brooksmuseum.org or call 544-6208.
now showing
Are We Done Yet? (PG, 92 min.) Ice Cube as Cary Grant? The now family-friendly former gangsta rapper returns in a sequel to "Are We There Yet?" that's actually a remake of 1948's "Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House."
Winchester Court 8, Bartlett 10.
Black Book (R, 145 min.) Although it contains the violence, nudity and sex we expect from Paul Verhoeven, "Black Book" -- the first movie the director has made in his native Holland in almost 25 years -- moves with the narrative drive and surprise of a war film from decades past. Garbo-elegant Dutch actress Carice van Houten stars as a Jewish refugee in Nazi-occupied Holland who dyes her hair blond and agrees to romance (euphemistically speaking) a German SS commander to gather information for her country's underground freedom fighters. She falls for the Nazi, and the troublingly sympathetic portrayal of this sexual relationship is integral to Verhoeven's belief that the world is painted in shades of gray and inhabited by morally conflicted people.
Forest Hill 8.
Blades of Glory (PG-13, 90 min.) Stupid is as stupid does, and "Blades of Glory" does stupid right. The prissy, Spandexed flipside to last year's NASCAR-approved homage to high testosterone, "Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby," "Blades" again follows Will Ferrell and a funny sidekick (Jon Heder of "Napoleon Dynamite," this time) through an inspirational sports movie spoof in which the heroes must hit rock bottom before they can triple-lutz back to the top. Like "Ricky Bobby" and "Anchorman," the movie (directed by feature newcomers Josh Gordon and Will Speck) is enacted in a style that could be described as deadpan mugging: The characters are utterly, absurdly over-the-top, yet they never wink at the audience or betray any awareness that they are trapped inside a live-action cartoon. Maybe that explains why people at the screening I attended literally gasped aloud during the "suspenseful" ice-competition climax.
Bartlett 10.
Captivity (R, 85 min.) Looks like another typical "torture porn" horror movie, but the director is twice Oscar-nominated Roland Joffé ("The Mission," "The Killing Fields") and the story is by the always inventive Larry Cohen ("Q: The Winged Serpent").
Majestic, DeSoto Cinema 16, Raleigh Springs Cinema, Palace Cinema, Hollywood 20 Cinema.
Disturbia (PG-13, 104 min.) This teen "Rear Window" apparently is functioning as a suitable My First Horror Film for the young audiences that have turned it into one of the year's unequivocal hits; expect it to be a tween slumber party favorite for years to come, thanks to director D.J. Caruso's emphasis on high school comedy and romance and mother-child drama for at least half the runtime, before sinister neighbor David Morse begins to menace housebound juvenile offender Shia LaBeouf and house-next-door hottie Sarah Roemer.
Bartlett 10.
Evan Almighty (PG, 88 min.) Claptrap for the feeble-minded, director Tom Shadyac's self-consciously cute, Bible-inspired comedy should offend rather than reassure any thoughtful members of the faith community at which it's cynically aimed. Like its predecessor, "Bruce Almighty," it infantilizes the Judeo-Christian concept of the Creator, presenting a God (Morgan Freeman) who gets wisdom from bumper stickers (He recommends practicing "acts of random kindness") rather than from the Bible. Steve Carell plays the title character, a newly elected Congressman whose promising career and happy family life are thrown into chaos when God appears outside his suburban McMansion and tells him to build an ark; soon, this "new Noah" is being tailed by animal species that travel in pairs, and his beard grows long, white and uncuttable. The fact that God is depicted here as a black man makes this post-Katrina tale of a flood particularly disturbing: Apparently, the Most High wasn't concerned with finding a single righteous man in New Orleans' Ninth Ward, but He was moved to make a rare incarnate appearance on Earth to save the rich white residents of "Prestige Crest" from drowning.
Stage Cinema 12, Majestic, Collierville Towne 16, DeSoto Cinema 16, CinePlanet 16, Summer Quartet Drive-In.
Evening (PG-13, 117 min.) Adapted by Susan Minot and Pulitzer Prize-winning author Michael Cunningham ("The Hours") from Minot's much-admired novel, director Lajos Kotai's decades-spanning film probably works best as a date movie/bonding experience for mothers and daughters of all ages. The cast includes Vanessa Redgrave and her real-life daughter, Natasha Richardson, as a mother and daughter; and Meryl Streep as an older version of a character played in the movie's 1950s Rhode Island scenes by Streep's dead-ringer of a daughter, Mamie Gummer. Constructed mostly from sequences that represent the deathbed memories and fantasies of a dying matriach (Redgrave), the glossy, handsomely mounted film is basically a highfalutin soap opera -- a romance novel bound in polished leather, to give the appearance of literature. The cast includes Claire Danes, Toni Collette, Patrick Wilson and Hugh Dancy, who steals every scene by virtue of being the story's only drunk.
Ridgeway Four, Cordova Cinema.
Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer (PG, 89 min.) At rare moments, this sequel -- directed, like its predecessor, by Tim Story -- delivers something of the escapist thrill and epic sense of wonder that readers expected during the original "Marvel Age of Comics," when "The Fantastic Four" accurately billed itself as "The World's Greatest Comic Magazine!" Gliding on his board and grappling with Dr. Doom (Julian McMahon), the Silver Surfer himself is pretty cool; unfortunately, the film -- half comedy, half adventure, all kiddie-oriented -- is more cheesy than impressive, with the effects budget apparently devoted almost entirely to the computer-animated Surfer. When Reed Richards (Ioan Gruffudd) stretches, the flatness of the effect suggests a video from the early days of MTV; the Thing -- mostly played by Michael Chiklis from inside an old-fashioned non-CGI costume -- not only looks but moves like a rock. With Jessica Alba as a pretty but dull Sue Storm and likable Chris Evans as the Human Torch.
Majestic, DeSoto Cinema 16, Raleigh Springs Cinema, Hollywood 20 Cinema.
1408 (PG-13, 94 min.) In "1408," John Cusack tries to spend the night in a hotel room in which a haunted radio repeatedly plays "We've Only Just Begun" by The Carpenters; in other words, this is a room so fiendish it could only have been devised by the mind of Stephen King. Almost a one-man show for Cusack (who plays another of King's troubled writers), director Mikael Hfstrm's unbloody thriller is admirably Old School (its transparent phantoms could have floated over from William Castle's "13 Ghosts") but not very scary; the enterprise becomes especially dispiriting (pun intended) when it attempts to locate the writer's anxiety within a family tragedy, to make the film "meaningful" instead of simply scary. Eventually, the supernatural activity becomes unfrighteningly literal and overt. No joke: It's much spookier when the roll of toilet paper in the haunted bathroom mysteriously returns to its intact state than when a rotting corpse attacks the hero in a crawlspace.
Peabody Place 22, Wolfchase Galleria Cinema 8, Majestic, Collierville Towne 16, DeSoto Cinema 16, Raleigh Springs Cinema, Cordova Cinema, Paradiso, Palace Cinema, Hollywood 20 Cinema, CinePlanet 16, Southaven Cinema.
Hairspray (PG, 117 min.) Like a shellacked beehive hairdo standing proud on a blustery day, "Hairspray" defies expectations. The current Broadway fashion for mining recent movies for musical material may represent popular culture's most depressing and unimaginative trend, but this movie of the musical of the original 1988 John Waters film is a wonder of unflagging good will, high spirits and happy period production design, even if it delivers its pro-underdog social message with a heavier hand than did Waters' low-budget original. Director/choreographer Adam Shankman stages and cuts the song-and-dance numbers with wit and care, creating a paean to the liberating -- even integrationist -- power of rhythm-and-blues and rock and roll, as "short and stout" teenager Tracy Turnblad (irrepressible newcomer Nikki Blonsky) battles station manager Velma Von Tussle (Michelle Pfeiffer) to bring full "Negro" participation to a local TV dance party program in 1962 Baltimore. John Travolta in fat-suit drag as Edna Turnblad is a gimmicky distraction, but the rest of the cast -- including Queen Latifah as Motormouth Maybelle, Elijah Kelley as Seaweed J. Stubbs and James Marsden as Corny Collins (who knew Cyclops of the "X-Men" could sing and dance?) -- is a delight.
Peabody Place 22, Forest Hill 8, Stage Cinema 12, Wolfchase Galleria Cinema 8, Majestic, Collierville Towne 16, DeSoto Cinema 16, Studio on the Square, Raleigh Springs Cinema, Cordova Cinema, Paradiso, Palace Cinema, Hollywood 20 Cinema, CinePlanet 16, Southaven Cinema.
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (PG-13, 138 min.) Daniel Radcliffe has visibly matured since the fourth film in the series, which may explain why raging hormones now seem as threatening as raving Dementors to the happiness of everybody's favorite boy -- make that surly adolescent -- wizard; even a first kiss with Hogwarts charmer Cho Chang (Katie Leung) leads to insecurity and (apparent) betrayal. Directed by BBC television veteran David Yates with a proud anti-Chris Columbus grimness, this is the darkest "Potter" yet, literally as well as thematically: The sets are as gloomy as the plot as Harry fights the influence of the resurrected Dark Lord (Ralph Fiennes), who materializes in the no-nose flesh during a spectacular climactic wizards' duel. Unfortunately for Hermione (Emma Watson) and Ron (Rupert Grint), most of Harry's now huge support staff has little to do, but the newcomers make an impression; these include Evanna Lynch as a fey young witch named Luna Lovegood and scene-stealing Imelda Staunton as self-righteous disciplinarian Dolores Umbridge, a Ministry of Magic moralist whose reactionary presence adds contemporary political resonance to a story that's as earnestly anti-Fascist as a British World War II movie.
Peabody Place 22, Forest Hill 8, Stage Cinema 12, Wolfchase Galleria Cinema 8, Majestic, Collierville Towne 16, DeSoto Cinema 16, Studio on the Square, Raleigh Springs Cinema, Cordova Cinema, Paradiso, Palace Cinema, Hollywood 20 Cinema, CinePlanet 16, Southaven Cinema, Summer Quartet Drive-In.
The Hills Have Eyes II (R, 90 min.) The 2006 remake of Wes Craven's savage 1977 cannibal classic spawns a noxious followup that's almost as wretched as the original film's idiot 1985 sequel. (Got that?) If Alexandre Aja's savvy and ultraviolent remake reimagined Craven's mutants as U.S. military-spawned terrorist insurgents reacting to those who "invade" their space, Martin Weisz's part two literalizes the idea by recasting the victims as National Guard soldiers on a training mission in the desert. Unfortunately, this cheap topicality (complete with death by "friendly fire") inspires mostly ugly, offensive and sometimes sexual violence, visited upon trainees who are almost dumb enough to deserve their fates. Stick around through the end credits for the stirring rock theme song, by a band called LoudLion: "The hills have eyes/ They'll eat you alive...," etc.
Bartlett 10.
I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry (PG-13, 110 min.) Firefighters Adam Sandler and Kevin James pretend to be gay in order to receive domestic partner benefits and much hilarity ensues.
Peabody Place 22, Forest Hill 8, Stage Cinema 12, Wolfchase Galleria Cinema 8, Majestic, Collierville Towne 16, DeSoto Cinema 16, Raleigh Springs Cinema, Cordova Cinema, Paradiso, Palace Cinema, Hollywood 20 Cinema, CinePlanet 16, Southaven Cinema.
Knocked Up (R, 126 min.) Title emphasis notwithstanding, writer-director Judd Apatow's raunchy but sweet follow-up to "The 40-Year-Old Virgin" isn't really about a pregnant woman but about a carefree man confronted by the repercussions of a careless act; taking gender into account, "Knocked Upside the Head" might be a more accurate title, judging from the dazed expression star Seth Rogen wears through much of the film. Elevated from his usual second-banana status, Rogen plays Ben Stone, a jobless slob of a stoner. He's forced to make his belated debut into adult society after a one-night stand impregnates a beautiful, smart and successful blond angel of an on-air TV personality (Katherine Heigl), who -- in the unlikely conceit of the script -- decides Ben might be suitable life-mate material. This is a male fantasy of rescue from irrelevance if there ever was one. As Ben's potential future in-laws, Paul Rudd and Leslie Mann (Apatow's wife) steal every scene and drip some necessary vinegar onto a premise threatened by its own cuteness.
Hollywood 20 Cinema.
La Vie en Rose (PG-13, 140 min.) If this biopic of the passionate and tragic singer Edith Piaf were a Hollywood production instead of a French film with English subtitles, Marion Cotillard would be the front-runner for next year's Best Actress Oscar. Resembling a Gallic Judy Garland, the saucer-eyed Cotillard is convincing and astonishing, and she anchors a film that is less show-biz formulaic and more intriguing than its recent American counterparts ("Walk the Line" and "Ray"). Chronologically jumbled, the film follows "the Little Sparrow" from her post-World War I childhood (she was raised in a whorehouse and a circus) to her death in 1963; director Olivier Dahan has a nice eye for the lurid yet romantic detail, and he envelops much of the action in Piaf's wonderful songs. (The booming sound system of a theater definitely enhances the movie's impact.)
Ridgeway Four.
License to Wed (PG-13, 90 min.) Rev. Robin Williams prepares a grueling marriage-preparedness course for a young couple (Mandy Moore and John Krasinski).
Majestic, Collierville Towne 16, DeSoto Cinema 16, Cordova Cinema, Paradiso, Hollywood 20 Cinema, CinePlanet 16.
Live Free or Die Hard (PG-13, 130 min.) Send John McClane to Iraq. Even the title of the fourth "Die Hard" film suggests that Bruce Willis' supercop is just the one-man troop surge the President needs to restore order to the world's No. 2 failed state. I wish the film didn't equate manhood with killing (the computer hacker played by Justin Long finally earns respect when he shoots a guy), but director Len Wiseman ("Underworld") delivers the implausible action goods: The body count is high, the destruction is gargantuan, and McClane's attitude is as weary and ugly as ever as he tackles the terrorists who have reduced much of the U.S. to a Baghdad-like state of economic and infrastructure collapse.
Peabody Place 22, Stage Cinema 12, Wolfchase Galleria Cinema 8, Majestic, Collierville Towne 16, DeSoto Cinema 16, Raleigh Springs Cinema, Cordova Cinema, Paradiso, Palace Cinema, Hollywood 20 Cinema, CinePlanet 16, Summer Quartet Drive-In.
Meet the Robinsons (G, 101 min.) Viewers may feel a kinship with the hypercaffeinated scientist voiced by Laurie Metcalf after experiencing this manic and overstrenuously wacky but beautifully designed and animated expansion of William Joyce's picture book. Directed by Stephen J. Anderson, Disney's second post-Pixar CGI feature tells the story of a genius orphan boy propelled into a zany future of singing frogs, sentient bowler hats and mind-boggling time travel paradoxes; the result is something like a Douglas Adams yarn for kids with ADD.
Winchester Court 8, Bartlett 10.
Mr. Brooks (R, 121 min.) Kevin Costner is a serial killer; Demi Moore is a tough detective; and Dane Cook is a wannabe murderer. Yeah, that old triangle.
Winchester Court 8, Bartlett 10.
Nancy Drew (PG, 99 min.) Somehow, Nancy Drew -- spunky amateur sleuth and welcome teen role model -- manages to survive everything her new movie throws at her. I'm not referring to the plot's conspirators and assassins but to such menaces as a winking, campy sensibility that threatens to turn Nancy into a youthful version of Daphne from the "Scooby-Doo" movies; a Hollywood mystery story that seems motivated by a desire to save money by shooting in Los Angeles; and indifferent direction that -- coupled with the overfamiliar California scenery and Nancy's comic supporting entourage -- gives the movie the vibe of a Nickelodeon TV pilot. Oddly, the film begins by mocking the validity and relevance of its own source material; but Carolyn Keene be praised, wholesome, intelligent Nancy (Emma Roberts) ultimately remains true to her non-mainstream ideals and interests, which makes her a fitting heroine for fledgling Riot Grrrls and virginity-pledge signers alike.
Hollywood 20 Cinema.
Ocean's 13 (PG-13, 122 min.) Steven Soderbergh reconvenes George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Matt Damon, Don Cheadle, Carl Reiner and the rest of his Rat Pack wannabes for another glossy crime caper.
Collierville Towne 16.
Perfect Stranger (R, 109 min.) Drops of belladonna in the eyeballs might be less damaging than exposing said orbs to this trashy murder mystery, which could earn "Catwoman" star Halle Berry her second Worst Actress Golden Raspberry Award. Unconvincing and ridiculous from the get-go but more dull than campy, the film seems almost like a "Grindhouse"- style re-creation of the lurid glossiness of such Joe Eszterhas-scripted, post-"Showgirls" flops as "Sliver" and "Jade." It's an artifact from an alternate universe where Halle Berry (as an investigative reporter) and Bruce Willis (as a high-powered ad exec) star in "Basic Instinct" rip-offs for Roger Corman's New Horizons Home Video company. The mystery builds to a "shock" solution, but the only real surprise here is that the director is James Foley, whose admirable filmography includes "At Close Range" and "Glengarry Glen Ross."
Bartlett 10.
Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End (PG-13, 168 min.) Disney has asked film critics not to reveal "the many plot resolutions" that occur in "At World's End." Heck, I wish they'd reveal them to me: The third "Pirates" film -- already dubbed "At Wit's End" by many a pencil-pushing landlubber -- is as incomprehensible as its predecessor, an almost post-narrative maelstrom of astonishing production and costume design, extravagant special effects, unmotivated action and, of course, the no-longer-novel but still amusing presence of Johnny Depp as the swishy Capt. Jack Sparrow. Here, death -- traditionally a forceful way to wrap up a story -- has little sadness and no permanence; it's as if the characters, being part of a mostly CGI world, are destined to exist forever in digital limbo, like deleted e-mails.
Hollywood 20 Cinema.
Ratatouille (G, 115 min.) Brad Bird makes cartoons, yet I don't think there's a filmmaker anywhere with more respect for his audience. Bird's movies -- "The Iron Giant," "The Incredibles" and now the Pixar-produced "Ratatouille" -- work on levels that appeal to kids, teenagers and adults, yet he never panders to a specific demographic or cheapens his scripts to expand his audience. His movies suggest the influence of Walt Disney and Steven Spielberg, but his real role models may be Billy Wilder and Preston Sturges: filmmakers who believed that smart and popular weren't mutually exclusive terms. The rather bizarre computer-animated story of a lowly rat (voiced by Patton Oswalt) who befriends a restaurant garbage boy (Lou Romano) to pursue his dream of becoming a great chef, "Ratatouille" celebrates the spirt of artistic collaboration (as represented by the staffs of both the restaurant and Pixar) while acknowledging the singular vision of the artist (be it a chef or Bird) who directs the effort. The alliance between the boy and the rat (who hides beneath the boy's hat, like a second brain) is a beautiful metaphor for the artist's divided self -- for the old conflict between mind and body (the brilliance of inspiration vs. the clumsiness of physical expression), and the need to unite the two to create art. The movie's inspirational message is surprisingly honest: "Not everyone can become a great artist, but a great artist can come from anywhere."
Peabody Place 22, Forest Hill 8, Stage Cinema 12, Wolfchase Galleria Cinema 8, Majestic, Collierville Towne 16, DeSoto Cinema 16, Raleigh Springs Cinema, Cordova Cinema, Paradiso, Palace Cinema, Hollywood 20 Cinema, CinePlanet 16, Southaven Cinema, Summer Quartet Drive-In.
Shrek the Third (PG, 93 min.) Now more a green version of Kevin James from "King of Queens" than a foul swamp beast, Shrek (again voiced by Mike Myers) essentially plays straight ogre to a comic supporting cast (thank goodness for Pinocchio, the Gingerbread Man and Puss-in-Boots) in a skillfully animated but forgettable pastiche of sitcom dialog (both wisecracking and inspirational) and situations (Princess Fiona is pregnant, ay-ay-ay!). Tackiest movie moment of the year: The dead serious use of Paul McCartney's "Live and Let Die" during the funeral of the Frog King. With Justin Timberlake as the voice of nerdy young "Artie," the future King Arthur.
Winchester Court 8, Bartlett 10, Hollywood 20 Cinema.
Sicko (PG-13, 123 min.) Whatever one thinks of Michael Moore as a filmmaker, personality or provocateur, the man has a gift for finding the piquant example -- the tragic yet comic human interest story that illuminates his thesis. An evisceration of America's compromised medical system and a passionate plea for universal health care, "Sicko" is loaded with compelling stories and may prove more influential than the director's previous documentary, "Fahrenheit 9/11." The movie loses something of its persuasiveness when it touts the wonders of health care in Canada, Great Britain, France and -- in the most controversial segment -- Cuba; we're only too aware that a filmmaker with a different agenda could find people who had experienced disastrous medical treatment in those countries. Such objections aren't especially relevant, however. Like "Fahrenheit," "Sicko" is about a nation's moral obligation. Questions about Moore's accuracy don't sink the film's argument that hard-working Americans shouldn't be forced into bankruptcy by heart attacks and cancer.
Studio on the Square.
Spider-Man 3 (PG-13, 140 min.) "We always have a choice," says Peter Parker (Tobey Maguire), in the latest Spider-sequel. "We can always choose to do what's right." Sure enough, the makers of "Spider-Man 3" choose forgiveness over revenge -- a very responsible choice, especially for the purveyors of a pop-culture action epic in the age of the so-called War on Terror. Unfortunately, most of director Sam Raimi's other choices are duds. After spinning two wonderful superhero yarns, Raimi and his collaborators finally have run low on the webbing of inspiration; the movie is overwrought, overlong, overpopulated (newcomers such as Bryce Dallas Howard as Gwen Stacy serve no purpose), overplotted (yet marred by story shortcuts), overbroad (the "bad" Peter Parker's John Travolta-as-Buddy Love nightclub routine is embarrassing), overbusy (with physics-defying special effects), overthematic (does a series already inhabited by the Green Goblin really need to saddle Spider-Man with dark Jekyll-and-Hyde desires?) and overbudgeted (a reported $300 million). The movie needs less of the "symbiote" Venom and more of Thomas Haden Church as the soulful Sandman.
Winchester Court 8, Bartlett 10.
Transformers (PG-13, 144 min.) The "giant toy death matches" between the heroic Autobots and the evil Decepticons are impressive, and the CGI transformations of the alien "robotic organisms" into trucks, tanks, planes and even boom boxes and cell phones are knockouts. But overkill-crazy director Michael Bay ("Armageddon," "Pearl Harbor") substitutes eyeball-jiggling, hard-to-follow action close-ups for the sense of awe that executive producer Steven Spielberg brings to his own special-effects epics, and the plot is gobbledygook. The movie works best when it focuses on the comic boy-and-his-robot relationship between an 11th-grade underdog (Shia LaBeouf) and a guardian Autobot named Bumblebee, who comes into Sam's life in the form of a used Camaro and helps him win the heart of a high school hottie (native Memphian Megan Fox). But Bumblebee is no Lassie: At one point, the Autobot essentially urinates (with "lubricant") on an annoying federal officer. It's hard to believe Bay or Spielberg or the screenwriters think this incident is funny, but they no doubt think it will amuse moviegoers less sophisticated than themselves. This is pandering at its worst, and it reveals a lack of respect for the audience, kids and adults alike, as does the incessant product placement. Or is it ridiculous to complain about advertising in a film inspired by a 1984 line of toys and the cartoon series that promoted it?
Peabody Place 22, Forest Hill 8, Stage Cinema 12, Wolfchase Galleria Cinema 8, Majestic, Collierville Towne 16, DeSoto Cinema 16, Raleigh Springs Cinema, Cordova Cinema, Paradiso, Palace Cinema, Hollywood 20 Cinema, CinePlanet 16, Southaven Cinema, Summer Quartet Drive-In.
Vacancy (R, 85 min.) People check in but they don't check out in this creepy and unpleasantly efficient roach motel of a thriller, which replicates the horror movie experience by placing its leads (bickering couple Luke Wilson and Kate Beckinsale) in a dark, boxlike room, where they are menaced by loud surprise noises and scary images on a screen. Nothing like being assaulted by psycho snuff-film producers to save a marriage. Directed by one Nimród Antal.
Winchester Court 8.
Wild Hogs (PG-13, 100 min.) John Travolta and Martin Lawrence on a motorcycle trip.
Bartlett 10.
You Kill Me (R, 92 min.) If people liked watching mobster Tony Soprano share his feelings with a psychiatrist, they ought to love a story about a mob hit man who joins Alcoholics Anonymous when his "substance abuse problem" interferes with his assassinations. That seems to have been the inspiration behind this dark-themed yet weirdly lighthearted crime comedy, which both satirizes and celebrates the forgiving, nonjudgmental nature of 12-step recovery programs. The film's jokey morality might have been less palatable if director John Dahl had enlisted a less appealing cast, led by Ben Kingsley as the taciturn hit man, with Tea Leoni, Luke Wilson, Bill Pullman, Dennis Farina and Philip Baker Hall in support.
Ridgeway Four.
Subscribe to The Commercial Appeal
Need Help? Call us at 1-888-789-0831.
Monday-Friday: 6am-5pm / Saturday: 6:30am-11:30am / Sunday: 6am-1pm


text:
Led by a team of highly skilled professionals/solution providers with more than 20 years of experience in the Aerospace and Defence industry, Epicos is a dynamic and leading edge company striving for the very best - from the way we conduct business to the way we reward our employees. A key element to our success has been the creation of an effective and efficient team of professionals with specialized expertise in their area of focus.
We all work together for the achievement of a unified objective: how to better serve our customers today and every day! The Epicos team is engaged and committed to continue the amazing success of Epicos in the worldwide Aerospace and Defence market. Such a highly skilled and smart team can only result in the realization of some basic and core values that characterize each activity we do:
Mr. Talamagas worked for Accenture (formerly Andersen Consulting) with focus on IT projects in the financial sector in Greece and Spain. He joined EFA in 1998 and has been involved with the management of offsets contracts. He has also been engaged in IT projects, the development of the Epicos B2B e-business portal and other various projects of the group.
Mr. Talamagas is the Chief Operating Officer of Epicos since September 2007 but has been with the company since its initial conception back in 2000. Working in the defence market since 1998 he has brought a significant experience, of the international aerospace and defence industry, as well as offsets and industrial cooperation into Epicos.
Mr. Purewal holds a BSc (Hons) in Politics & Law from the University of London. Prior to joining Epicos, Jacques had worked for a number of International Information Technology Companies in the capacity of Sales and Business Development in the United Kingdom.
He joined Epicos in 2001 as the Sales & Marketing Director. In his current role, as VP - International Business, his primary focus has been on International Offsets, specifically responsible for Markets, namely Europe and South America.
Mr. Karakatsanis holds an MA in European Policy & Economy from Brunel University in London. He has worked as a Sales and Marketing Manager for New Media companies in the United Kingdom and Greece.
Michael joined EPICOS as a Sales Account manager in 2003. He is currently responsible for the global sales of EPICOS products and Services while he is also occupied with EPICOS world-wide marketing activities.
Mr. George Menexis is an Electrical and Computer Technology Engineer, from the Polytechnic School of Patras, Greece and holds an MSc in Engineering Business Management, from the University of Warwick, UK.
Before joining Epicos George has worked for three years in THALES Electronic Systems S.A., part of THALES Group, as Bid Manager for large turn-key projects and as a Program Manager for defence programs involving the production of electronic equipment and sub-systems. He has also worked in INTRACOM S.A., with responsibilities in Product Management for ALCATEL digital microwave radios and Project Management for digital microwave radios contracts in Greece and the Balkan countries.
He is the Senior Project Manager responsible for the implementation of Epicos Block Deals, supervising a team of Country Project Managers, ensuring customers benefit to the maximum of the services provided within each Block Deal country.
Dr. Potsis holds a Ph.D. degree in Electrical & Computer Engineering from the National Technical University of Athens, Greece. He also holds a Diploma in Electrical & Computer Technology from the University of Patras- Polytechnic School.
He was presented with fellowships throughout his diploma studies by the Greek Ministry of Education. He was also awarded with a scholarship from the European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company – EADS for his main Ph.D research. He was awarded by the Technical Chamber of Greece for excellent scientific achievements.
Dr. Potsis has worked at the German Aerospace Centre, Institute of Radar Systems, as a Member of Scientific Staff in the Digital Signal Processing Department. and he was involved in the fields of Radar electronics, Radar signal processing and Electronic Warfare Systems.
He has worked at the European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company as an external technical consultant and he was involved in several defence related programs. He has also worked for INTRACOM Defense Electronics as a Product Marketing Engineer and he was responsible for new products development as well as for international cooperation in the field of electronics and sensors.
Athanasios joined Epicos in 2006 and he is responsible for the development of new business opportunities for Industrial cooperation through indirect offsets in Global scale.
Mr. Petros Eritsos holds an MSc in Information Technology and a BSc in Computer Science from the University of Toronto, Canada.
Prior to joining the Company, he held similar position for Intralot S.A. where he managed several IT projects for international clients in Cyprus, Poland, Bulgaria, Spain, and New Zealand. In his previous positions he played a major role in the architecture, design and delivery of enterprise systems and storage solutions, and headed the Research and Development activities of the Companies.
Petros joined Epicos in 2007 and leads the Company's Technical Department focusing on the Information Systems and the implementation of the new Epicos platform.
© 2010 Epicos

subset: commoncrawl


text:
What's on in Devon
Looking for something to do? Why not pop along to one of the fantastic events raising funds for us?
We don't run many events ourselves. The majority are put on by our fantastic supporters. There's bound to be something in your area to go along to. If not, why not consider putting on one yourself? It's great fun and we are here to support you.
Here are just a few events you may be interested in - but there are many more in our events diary - simply click on the month of interest.
DAAT Ride Out
5-6 September 2015
National Air Ambulance
Week! 21-27 Sept 2015
|DAAT One Mile Sea Swim
13 September 2015
|Dragon Boat Festival
27 September 2015
|Commando Challenge
10/11 October 2015
Have you seen our What's On little booklet yet?
Why not download one now? Or you can pick up a copy at one of our charity shops or any events we are attending.
Event: Off Road Racing Day
Time: 10:00am - 4:30pm
Date: Sunday 5th July
Location: Cotton Farm, Nr Tiverton
On the 5th July C.O.R.E Off Road Events Ltd will be holding a 3 x45 minute Endurocross
Endurocross and free practice for all !!! Why?
C.O.R.E states " Well we all have received Or know someone who has used the services of the Air Ambulance...
Event: Band & BBQ on the Beach - Ferry Boat Inn, Dittisham
Time: 1:00pm - 4:00pm
Date: Sunday 5th July
Location: Dittisham
The Ferry Boat Inn will be hosting a Band and BBQ on the beach event from 1pm to 4pm in support of Devon AIr Ambulance Trust - see you there!
Event: Charity Beer Festival
Time: 11:30am - 11:00pm
Date: Thursday 9th July - Sunday 12th July
Location: Exbourne, Okehampton
Come and enjoy an evening out at the Red Lion Inn, Exbourne, Charity Beer and Music Festival supporting Devon Air Ambulance Trust.
Event: Tiverton Hot Air Balloon and Music Festival
Time: 8:00am - 10:00pm
Date: Friday 10th July - Sunday 12th July
Location: Tiverton
The Tiverton Hot Air Balloon & Music Festival is an exciting aerial extravaganza taking place on the 10th, 11th & 12th July 2015 at the combined Tiverton High School & Petroc College campus just minutes off Junction 27 of the M5...
Event: Crediton Area Family Market
Time: 10:00am - 1:00pm
Date: Saturday 11th July
Location: Crediton
Event: Crash Box and Classic Car Club of Devon Historic Vehicle Gathering
Time: 10:00am - 4:30pm
Date: Saturday 11th July - Sunday 12th July
Location: Powderham Castle, Exeter
The Crash Box and Classic Car Club of Devon will be running its annual Historic Vehicle Gathering at Powderham Castle over the weekend of 11 and 12 July. It will be raising funds for four local good causes which includes Devon Air Ambulance Trust.
Gates open at 10am on both days
Event: DAAT Motorcycle Ride Out Event
Time: 10:00am - 4:00pm
Date: Sunday 12th July
Location: Trago Mills Newton Abbot to Teignmouth
Why not enter online now? Here's the link.
Or click
here to download a form.
Why not enter our Motorcycle Ride Out Event now?
Why not take part in our 10th anniversary Ride Out? This year starting at Trago Mills in Newton Abbot, finishing on The Den in...
Event: Mid Devon MAG Bike Nights
Time: 7:00pm - 10:00pm
Date: Thursday 16th July
Location: The Fishermans Cot Bickleigh EX16 8RW
Are you a keen biker?
Why not pop along to the bikes nights organised by Mid Devon MAG (Motorcycle Action Group) being held once a month from May to September.
21 May
18 June
16 July
20 August
17 September
Entry is by donation of £2 per bike. This will include you into a raffle which will...
Event: North Tawton Tour
Time: 2:00pm - 11:45pm
Date: Saturday 18th July
Location: Starting at The Railway Inn and finishing at North Tawton Rugby Club
North Tawton Tour in aid of DAAT organised by The Copper Key Inn.
For £5 per head participants walk around all of the points of interest in and around North Tawton. All organisations such as the fire station, football club, cafe etc will have stamps for participants to stamp on their card...
Event: Brendon Family Fayre
Time: 11:00am - 5:00pm
Date: Sunday 19th July
Location: Lynton
Brendon Family Fayre, Sunday 19th July 2015, 11am -5pm at the field behind the Staghunters Inn, Brendon.
Fun for all the family, refreshments, stalls and Devon Air Ambulance Trust Stand in attendance - see you there!
Event: Open Garden
Time: 11:00am - 5:00pm
Date: Sunday 19th July
Location: Newlands Farm, Chittlehamholt, Umberleigh, EX37 9PE
Open garden from 11am to 5pm. 50% of proceeds to DAAT, 50% to Children's Hospice South West
Would you like to organise an event?
Fancy getting involved and holding an Event for us? Why not ask us for further information or download one of our event packs here. We'd love to hear from you. Simply ring 01392 466666 or email .


text:
Jarell Perry
Song & Album Downloads
Artist: HSVN
Featuring: Jarell Perry
Song: Supreme
Album: Supreme
Up till now, we in the Booth have known HSVN chiefly as the architect behind indie soul singer Jarell Perry's sound. Though they're still paired up on the newly-released Supreme, this... More
Posted 11 months ago
Song: Taboo
Sometimes a forbidden love is the strongest. And for whatever unconventional reason, Los Angeles native Jarell Perry is in the clutches of the sweetest one. The indie R&B/Pop singer's new... More
Posted one year ago
Song: Blow (Beyoncé Cover)
Late last month, Jarell Perry impressed Boothgoers with a soulful reimagining of Own It, a cut of Drake's 2013 Nothing Was the Same LP. Now, the indie crooner has put his stamp on a sensual... More
Posted one year ago
Editor's Pick
Song: Braindead
Fresh off earning reader acclaim for This Is Spinal Tap-inspired lead single Eleven, Jarrell Perry returns to The DJBooth with another fresh single off his next digital release. This slow-burning... More
Posted one year ago
Editor's Pick
Featuring: Chuck Inglish
Song: Eleven
Why settle for 10 out of 10, when you can go all the way to Eleven? Like Nigel's amp from This Is Spinal Tap, Golden State R&B buzzmaker Jarell Perry has the ability to bring it up one... More
Posted one year ago
Editor's Pick
Featuring: Locksmith
Song: Don't Run From Me
Starting in mid-November, Cali buzzmakers Jarell Perry and Locksmith will be linking up to play a series of shows in L.A., New York and San Francisco. While Boothgoers have had plenty of opportunities... More
Posted one year ago
Editor's Pick
Artist: Locksmith
Featuring: Jarell Perry
Song: Broken
Album: The Green Box
Thus far in 2013, Locksmith has one hell of a winning streak going. Livin' Loaded, Transitions, Be Free and F**k Love have each won him more acclaim than the last. Today, the Cali native... More
Posted one year ago
Editor's Pick
Song: Getaway
Introduced to our pages via July 2012's reader-acclaimed Healing and subsequently heard delivering a guest chorus on THURZ' Keep Livin', rising R&B singer Jarell Perry finally... More
Posted about 2 years ago
Sample Text - Sample Link


text:
Re: Chase Ink Cash Approved!
We don't travel a lot that's why the lounge thing isn't a big benefit for us, and the concierge never tried it... I mean what can they do for me that I can't do myself. But on the other hand I am vet pleased with their 24/7 customers service.....awesome !!!
(1,056 Views)


text:
Get the Wolves newsletter
Get the latest news from Wolves delivered for FREE to your inbox.
10:48 10th March 2014
Manchester United the visitors
Wolves Under-21s take on Manchester United in the Barclays League tonight in a game being played at Molineux (7pm).
The two players with senior experience involved for Wolves are Jamie O'Hara and Anthony Forde.
Admission at Molineux is free for Season Ticket Holders – otherwise £4 for adults and £1 concessions.
WOLVES: Flatt, Iorfa, Hause, Tank, Cranston, Forde, Whittall, Kostrna, Parry, O'Hara, Reid. SUBS (from): Dutton, Jakobsson, Kellerman, Torras, Erdei, Keita.
Final fixture confirmed/Margate kick off time
24 Jun 2015
Five friendlies confirmed
19 Jun 2015
Young defender, Sylvain Deslandes, is set to sign for Wolves on a ....
10 Jun 2015
The Under 21s Coach believes winning the Bitzer Cup in Germany was....
28 May 2015
Penalty shootout seals excellent performance
25 May 2015
Wolves winger, Jordan Graham, expressed his excitement as the youn....
22 May 2015


text:
|▼ Size
|33.5 Mm x D4cm Country goods
|▼ Comments
| Like old antique feel cool nice watches.
Hanging in the kitchen or living room, directing the American!
To the warmth of the wood to your life...
| Quantities limited ★ sale 20%
| There are enlarged photos and click on the image.
This product cannot be shipped to United States from the store.
Please contact the store for further information.


text:
The empty Telfer House office building in the Merchant City will be refurbished into a 96-bedroom Ibis hotel, to be managed by RedefineBDL.
Maven said it was using benefits under the Business Premises Renovation Allowance.
That allows up to 100% capital allowances on costs incurred with the transformation of empty commercial properties.


text:
Tim Martin
Twitter |
Host of The "Martin in the Morning Show" -Cumberland's longest continuously running Radio Show, on the air for over 30 years. (and boy are our lips tired)
Host Tim Martin is joined by talented radio veteran Rhonda Keefer. (The glue that keeps this factory running) and legendary radio news veteran Jim Van. (just ask him)
Live each morning from the GO 106 state of the art digital studios, The Martin in the Morning show features a ton of great music, local information, news, weather, birthdays, contests, and traffic updates from the area's most accurate traffic information source....radio hill. (okay so we look out the window and tell ya' what we see)
More people tune in to Martin in the Morning than any other Rock n' Roll morning show in the tri-state.
Barry McKay
My Blog |
Rhonda Keefer
Brad "BZ" Zimmerly has been a fixture in Tri-state radio for years. He has kept afternoon listeners company each afternoon since the 90's and is proud to call Cumberland his home town.
BZ loves anything with wheels or wires. From motorcycles to ham radios, he loves new stuff, and loves to bring you the rock every day from 3-7 on GO 106.
Jim Curtis
Facebook |
Twitter |
LinkedIn |
Playing the best classic rock on GO-106 every Saturday 3PM - 7PM and Sunday from 3PM to 9PM. Tune in while you're out and about for the Tristate's Best Classic Rock.
Jimmy Van
Nik Carter
My Website |
Facebook |
Twitter |
An edgy, killer Classic Rock Radio Show on GO 106, broadcast from The Rock Bar in Times Square. Exclusive interviews, classic rock songs and so much more! Tune in Monday through Friday 7pm to Midnight.
Alice Cooper
Carol Miller
My Website |
DJ Carol Miller has been on the airwaves since the early 70s, with her primary aim to play what the listeners want to hear. And she definitely does that, hosting Get the Led Out, Sundays at 8PM and our daily vignettes "Led Before Bed" each weeknight at 9PM. Focusing on the heaviest, most influential rock band in history, Led Zeppelin.
Check out our web site at: http://www.ledzeponline.com/pages/6851242.php
Dee Snider
Uncle Joe Benson
Joe Benson has hosted the nationally syndicated OFF THE RECORD program since 1998. Not only does Uncle Joe share his vast knowledge of classic rock artists and play their their best music, through his in-depth conversations with the artists, you'll hear many of their behind the scenes stories. Off The Record airs weekly on over 90 stations nationwide.
Check out our show schedule at: http://unclejoe.com/xotr.html
Bill St. James
Jeff Parets
Check out our web site at: http://www.acousticstorm.com
The Acoustic Storm features the best variety of acoustic-based rock. With an emphasis on acoustic guitar-driven songs, Jeff Parets presents the full spectrum of acoustic rock, including rarely heard "unplugged" versions of classic tunes in their purest form.
Each week, the show spotlights an artist in "The Eye of The Acoustic Storm" with music, bio information and sound bites.
Here's the kind of music you'll hear on The Acoustic Storm:
Hall of Fame Acoustic Rock:
Beatles; Stones; Fleetwood Mac; Tom Petty; CSN; Seger; Who; CCR...
Unplugged Classics:
Eagles: "Hotel California"; Clapton: "Layla"; Springsteen: "Born to Run"...
Bob Dylan; Paul Simon; Jackson Browne; Van Morrison; Joni Mitchell...
Acoustic Oldies:
Kinks, Hollies, Otis Redding; Lovin' Spoonful...
Riki Rachtman
Lisa Berigan
My Website |
Facebook |
Lisa Berrigan invites you to imagine for a moment…The concert of a lifetime is coming to your radio. Fleetwood Mac,
Elton John, and Bruce Springsteen are opening for Eric Clapton. Or, Queen, Genesis, and U2 are opening for The Who. Each Sunday, we'll re-live the most memorable performances in the history of rock and roll. You'll hear your favorite bands like never before on GO 106.
Bob Malik
Bob Malik, an avid collector of Beatle memorabilia, hosts The Beatle Years on GO 106. He currently has more than 30 years of radio experience, but launched his career as an on-air personality at KFIV Modesto. Malik joined K-EARTH 101 in November 2001, prior to which he was with KFRC in San Francisco. Programs are now available ON DEMAND from the GO 106 website. Click ON-DEMAND, and select Beatle Years for the On Demand list.
Maxx Music
All Classic Rock, All Night Long.
Home | EEO | Employment Opportunities | Advertising Information | Contests | Contest Rules | Contact Us


text:
Watch TV Stations Online Free Streaming
Internet TV Channels watch stations online video streams
Web TV Services by Country
Web TV Services by Language
web tv services support center
Internet Television Streams from A to Z
Live Web TV Stream Services in USA
Daystar USA channel live online
USA internet tv streams Christian TV Channel.
More Live Web TV Stream Services
web tv services suggested links
Web TV List
webtvlist.info is an officially licensed site and a service of EZ Goal Network
Alex Shagov. Find us on Google+. Privacy Policy. Terms and Conditions. All rights reserved. DMCA / Copyright Policy 1999 - 2015.
Reproduction in whole or in part in any form or medium without express written permission is prohibited.


text:
I'd love to see the various management consoles in Windows get streamlined into one, and feature a Ribbon. The Windows 95 look on these are quite awful to deal with anymore.
This! They already have the Microsoft Management Console as the base for everything. Now just to slap everything together in a cohesive way and make management easier.
There really is no need for a separate Device Manager, Disk Management, and GUIs when the same things are accessible through the Computer Management GUI which itself is an extension to the MMC. Even the Hyper-V management GUI is again an extension to the MMC. Surely these things can be unified in a good way into a single GUI?
EDIT: Another step that should be taken in the future, unify the exposed configurations in the old Control Panel and the new one. Everything that is accessible in the first should be accessible in the second, and vice versa. While they're at it, they should fix the old Control Panel to have a consistent feature exposure, as some things are not available in all view modes.


text:
The Vancouver Canucks traded long-time fan favourite and veteran blue-liner Kevin Bieksa to the Anaheim Ducks on Tuesday, the eve of NHL Free Agency Day, for a second-round draft pick in 2016. Here are some of Bieksa's best moments — and imagined moments — in Vancouver.
If you must indulge, pick just one favourite and maybe share, dietitian suggests
Great travel photos from around the world
A spellbinding - albeit brief - journey to the ancient city.
On the outskirts of Beijing, it's easy to find a ride to the Great Wall.
In the last four years river cruising in Europe has gone on an expansion spree that has delivered ships mainly for the traditional major rivers in Europe...
There are many strange tourist destinations in this world. Thanks to global warming, you can now land a seaplane on lakes forming on icebergs drifting...


text:
Quadro 4 900 xgl X86config-4
I have been trying to get my quadro 4 900 xgl working in Redhat 7.3. Does any one have an example X86config-4 I can look at.
I realize my settings will be different, but I would like to study a X86config-4 that works.
Create an XF86Config-4 file using Xconfigurator. After that's done you need to make a few modifications to it. You need to edit the modules section. In there you need to disable/remove the lines that load GLcore and dri and you need to check if there's a line that loads glx.
After that you need to change the video driver in the device section from nv to nvidia. That's all.
Thanks, I know about the steps you indicated below, but I'm still having problems. I'm also still in the process of learning linux. After I have modified my XF86Config-4 how do I get linux to configure my mouse and keyboard?
Thanks for the help.
I've got a Quadro-4 750 XGL up and running on Red-Hat 7.3.
I've attached my XF86Config-4 file.
Don Zimmer.
1 Attachment(s)
I thought I attached the XF86config-4 file.
Trying again with a .txt extension...
Don Zimmer
Excellent! Thanks Zimmer. :D
|All times are GMT -5. The time now is 01:25 AM.
Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.7.1
Copyright ©2000 - 2015, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.
Copyright ©1998 - 2014, nV News.


text:
Real, honest-to-goodness holograms are a thing now
If you're retiring soon, take these steps now
Join the NASDAQ Community today and get free, instant access to portfolios, stock ratings, real-time alerts, and more!
FactSet Research
) reported second quarter 2012 earnings per share (
) of $1.05, ahead of the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.00.
FactSet reported total revenue of $199.4 million in the second
quarter of 2012, up 12.2% from $177.6 million delivered in the
year-ago quarter. The company experienced strong growth in Annual
Subscription Value (ASV), which is mostly derived from the
company's buy-side clients and the remaining from the company's
sell-side firms conducting M&A advisory work and equity
Annual client retention was greater than 95.0% of the AVS,
almost flat with the year-ago ASV. On a client basis, annual
retention rate improved to 92.0% compared with 90.0% in the
year-ago period, thereby reflecting a reduction in the client
turnover rate.
Annual Subscription Value
ASV for the month of February was $803.0 million, up 11.0% year
over year. 81.0% of the total ASV was derived from buy-side
clients, while the remainder came from the sell-side firms. ASV
from U.S. operations was $548.0 million, while the same from
international operations was $225.0 million.
Operating Results
FactSet's operating margin was 33.7% in the quarter versus 32.7%
in the year-ago quarter. Cost of services, as a percentage of
revenue, remained flat year over year as higher compensation
expense due to new hirings in consulting, engineering and content
was offset by lower depreciation and third-party data costs.
Moreover, the company succeeded in reducing its SG&A expense
margin by 95 basis points from the year-ago quarter, attributable
to lower stock-based compensation and monetization of state tax
credits. The company also increased its headcount by 66 employees
to over 5,500 employees at the end of the quarter, thereby
registering an annualized growth of 16.0%.
Net income during the quarter came in at $46.7 million, up 3.3%
from $45.2 million in the year-ago period. On a fully-diluted
basis, quarterly EPS was $1.02 versus 95 cents in the year-ago
quarter. Adjusted net income (excluding amortization of intangible
assets from acquisitions, but including stock based compensation)
of $1.05 per share was ahead of the year-ago level of $1.00 per
Balance Sheet & Cash Flow
FactSet exited the quarter with $184.9 million in cash and cash
equivalents, compared with $193.7 million in the previous quarter.
The company has no long-term debt.
During the second quarter, capital expenditures were $4.6
million. The company repurchased 507,800 shares for $45.1 million
during the second quarter. At February 29, 2012, the company had
$83.0 million remaining under its existing share repurchase
The company expects third quarter 2012 revenues between $200.0
million and $204.0 million, representing a year-over-year growth of
9.0% to 11.0%. Operating margin is expected in the range between
33.5% and 34.0%. GAAP diluted EPS is estimated in the range of
$1.03 to $1.05, while non-GAAP diluted EPS is expected between
$1.14 and $1.16, reflecting a year-over-year growth of 12.0% to
Our Take
FactSet reported decent second quarter results, with revenue
increasing on a year-over-year basis and earnings exceeding the
Zacks Consensus Estimate. The company is witnessing a decline in
cash balance despite an improvement in operating performance.
On the other hand, the recent economic turmoil in the European
markets had a negative impact on the financial services companies,
thereby restricting spending on investment tools. Moreover, FactSet
faces competition from
MSCI Inc
. (
), which might rationalize the growth prospects of the company in
the coming quarters.
FactSet holds a Zacks #4 Rank, implying a short-term Sell
Enter up to 25 symbols separated by commas or spaces in the text box below. These symbols will be available during your session for use on applicable pages.
You have selected to change your default setting for the Quote Search. This will now be your default target page;
unless you change your configuration again, or you delete your
cookies. Are you sure you want to change your settings?


text:
Learn more about BUMPER DOG BED NAVY - MEDIUM:
Manufacturer: West Paw Design
Mfg Part#: P-INVWPDBEDMNAVY
Sku: 248976035
See more in Pets
|The Bumper Bed provides comfort, cushion and luxury your dog deserves! Each bed is filled with thick denier 100% recycled IntelliLoft polyfill, making your furry friend feel like the king/queen of their world. The twill fabric was carefully chosen for its durability and is brushed for an added softness. The cushion can easily be separated from the rest of the bed and has a zipper opening cover which can be tossed in the washing machine for easy maintenance. Measures at outside 28 inches x 25 inches x 9 inches (711 mm x 635 mm x 228 mm) pillow: 18 inches x 15 inches (457 mm x 381mm) can hold 21-40 lbs. Available in navy and chocolate.


text:
The invention relates to an implantable medical device having an hermetically tight housing, which houses an electronic unit as well as an electrochemical energy storage for supplying the medical device with current. The energy storage is arranged directly within the hermetically tight housing without having a separate housing.
1. An implantable medical device comprising a hermetically sealed housing which is constructed of a size and of materials suitable for implantation in a living being and which houses an electronic unit and an electrochemical energy storage for supplying electrical current to the medical device, wherein the energy storage is disposed directly within the hermetically sealed housing and does not have a separate housing.
2. The device as claimed in
3. The device as claimed in
4. The device as claimed in
5. The device as claimed in
6. The device as claimed in
7. The device as claimed in
8. The device as claimed in
9. The device as claimed in
10. The device as claimed in
11. The device as claimed in
12. The device as claimed in
13. The device as claimed in
14. The device as claimed in
15. The device as claimed in
16. The device as claimed in
17. The device as claimed in
18. The device as claimed in
19. The device as claimed in
20. The device as claimed in
21. The device as claimed in
22. The device as claimed in
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention in general relates to an implantable medical device comprising an hermetically sealed housing which houses an electronic unit and an electrochemical energy storage for supplying electrical current to the medical device. In particular the present invention to a hearing aid.
2. Description of Related Art
The active implants with which the present invention is concerned can be in particular systems for rehabilitation of a hearing disorder as they are further described in the prior art documents referred to in the following.
In recent years rehabilitation of sensorineural hearing disorders with partially implantable electronic systems has acquired major importance. In particular this applies to the group of patients in which hearing has completely failed due to accident, illness or other effects or is congenitally non-functional. If in these cases only the inner ear (cochlea) and not the neural auditory path which leads to the brain is affected, the remaining auditory nerve can be stimulated with electrical stimulation signals and thus a hearing impression can be produced which can lead to speech comprehension. In these so-called cochlear implants (CI) an array of stimulation electrodes which is controlled by an electronic system is inserted into the cochlea. This electronic module is encapsulated hermetically tightly and biocompatibly and is surgically embedded in the bony area behind the ear (mastoid). The electronic system, however, contains essentially only decoder and driver circuits for the stimulation electrodes. Acoustic sound reception, conversion of this acoustic signal into electrical signals and their further processing always take place externally in a so-called speech processor which is worn outside on the body. The speech processor converts the preprocessed signals coded accordingly onto a high frequency carrier signal which via inductive coupling is transmitted through the closed skin (transcutaneously) to the implant. The sound-receiving microphone always is located outside of the body and in most applications in a housing of a behind-the-ear hearing aid worn on the external ear and is connected to the speech processor by a cable. Such cochlear implant systems, their components and the principles of transcutaneous signal transmission are described, by way of example, in published European Patent Application No. 0 200 321 A2 and in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,070,535, 4,441,210, 5,626,629, 5,545,219, 5,578,084, 5,800,475, 5,957,958 and 6,038,484. Processes of speech processing and coding in cochlear implants are described, for example, in published European Patent Application No. 0 823 188 A1, in European Patent 0 190 836 B1 and in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,597,380, 5,271,397, 5,095,904, 5,601,617 and 5,603,726.
In addition to rehabilitation of congenitally deaf persons and those who have lost their hearing using cochlear implants, for some time, there have been approaches to offer better rehabilitation than with conventional hearing aids to patients with a sensorineural hearing disorder which cannot be surgically corrected by using partially or totally implantable hearing aids. In most embodiments the principle consists in stimulating via a mechanical or hydromechanical stimulus an ossicle of the middle ear or directly the inner ear, and not via the amplified acoustic signal of a conventional hearing aid in which the amplified acoustic signal is supplied to the external auditory canal. The actuator stimulus of these electromechanical systems is accomplished with different physical transducer principles, such as, for example, by electromagnetic and piezoelectric systems. The advantage of these processes is seen mainly in the sound quality which is improved as compared to conventional hearing aids, and for totally implanted systems, in the fact that the hearing prosthesis is not visible.
Such partially and filly implantable electromechanical hearing aids are described, for example, by Yanigahara and Suzuki et al. (Arch Otolaryngol Head Neck, Surg, Vol. 113, 1987, pp. 869-872; Hoke, M. (ed), Advances in Audiology, Vol. 4, Karger Basel, 1988), Lehner et al.: "Elements for coupling an implantable hearing aid transducer to the ossicles or perilymph by cold deformation", in HNO Vol. 46, 1998, pages 27-37; Baumann et al.: "Basics of energy supply to completely implantable hearing aids for sensorineural hearing loss", in HNO Vol. 46, 1998, pp. 121-128; Lehner et al.: "An osseointegrated manipulator device for the positioning and fixation of implantable hearing aid transducers", in HNO Vol. 46, 1998, pp. 311-323; Lehner et al.: "A micromanipulator for intraoperative vibratory hearing tests with an implantable hearing aid transducers", in HNO Vol. 46, 1998, pp. 507-512; Zenner et al.: "First implantations of a totally implantable electronic hearing system for sensorineural hearing loss", in HNO Vol. 46, 1998, pp. 844-852; Leysieffer et al.: "A totally implantable hearing device for the treatment of sensorineural hearing loss: TICA LZ 3001", in HNO Vol. 46, 1998, pp. 853-863; and are described in numerous patent documents, among others in published European Patent Application No. 0 263 254, in commonly owned U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,277,694 and 5,411,467 which are hereby incorporated by reference, as well as in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,764,748, 4,352,960, 5,015,225, 5,015,224, 3,557,775, 3,712,962, 4,988,333 and 5,814,095.
Many patients with inner ear damage also suffer from temporary or permanent noise impressions (tinnitus) which cannot be surgically corrected and against which up to date there are no approved drug treatments. Therefore so-called tinnitus maskers are known. These devices are small, battery-driven devices which are worn like a hearing aid behind or in the ear and which, by means of artificial sounds which are emitted via for example a hearing aid speaker into the auditory canal, psychoacoustically mask the tinnitus and thus reduce the disturbing noise impression if possible to below the threshold of perception. The artificial sounds are often narrow-band noise (for example, tierce noise) which can be adjusted in its spectral position and its loudness level via a programming device to enable adaptation to the individual tinnitus situation as optimum as possible. In addition, there since recently exists the so-called retraining method in which by combination of a mental training program and presentation of broadband sound (noise) near the auditory threshold in quiet the perceptibility of the tinnitus is likewise supposed to be largely suppressed (H. Knoer "Tinnitus retraining therapy and hearing acoustics" journal "Hoerakustik" 2/97, pages 26 and 27). These devices are also called "noisers".
In the two aforementioned methods for hardware treatment of tinnitus, hearing aid-like, technical devices must be carried visibly outside on the body in the area of the ear; which devices stigmatize the wearer and therefore are not willingly worn.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,795,287 describes an implantable tinnitus masker with direct drive of the middle ear for example via an electromechanical transducer coupled to the ossicular chain. This directly coupled transducer can preferably be a so-called "Floating Mass Transducer" (FMT). This FMT corresponds to the transducer for implantable hearing aids which is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,624,376.
In commonly owned co-pending U.S. Patent applications Ser. Nos. 09/372,172 and 09/468,860 which are hereby incorporated by reference implantable systems for treatment of tinnitus by masking and/or noiser functions are described, in which the signal-processing electronic path of a partially or totally implantable hearing system is supplemented by corresponding electronic modules such that the signals necessary for tinnitus masking or noiser functions can be fed into the signal processing path of the hearing aid function and the pertinent signal parameters can be individually adapted to the pathological requirements by further electronic measures. This adaptability can be accomplished by the necessary setting data of the signal generation and feed electronics being stored or programmed by hardware and software in the same physical and logic data storage area of the implant system, and the feed of the masker or noiser signal into the audio path of the hearing implant can be controlled via the corresponding electronic actuators.
Further systems for masking tinnitus are known for example from German utility model No. 296 16 956, published European Patent Applications Nos. 0 537 385 A1 and 0 400 900 A1, WO 91/17638, W096/00051, WO 90/07251, DE 41 04 359 C2 and from U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,697,975, 5,788,656 and 5,403,262.
For all of the above rehabilitation devices it today appears to be very sensible to design the systems such that they can be implanted completely. Depending on the desired function, such hearing systems are comprised of three or four functional units: a sensor (microphone) which converts the incident airborne sound into an electrical signal, an electronic signal processing, amplification and implant control unit, an electromechanical or implantable electroacoustic transducer which converts the amplified and preprocessed sensor signals into mechanical or acoustic vibrations and sends them via suitable coupling mechanisms to the damaged middle and/or inner ear, or in the case of cochlear implants a cochlear stimulation electrode, and an electric power supply system which supplies the aforementioned modules. Furthermore, there can be an external unit which makes available electrical recharging energy to the implant when the implant-side power supply unit contains a rechargeable (secondary) battery. Especially advantageous devices and processes for charging of rechargeable implant batteries are described in commonly owned co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/311,566 and in commonly owned U.S. Pat. No. 5,279,292 which are hereby incorporated by reference. Preferably there can also be a telemetry unit with which patient-specific, audiological data can be wirelessly transmitted bidirectionally or programmed in the implant and thus permanently stored, as was described by Leysieffer et al.: "A totally implantable hearing device for the treatment of sensorineural hearing loss: TICA LZ 3001", in HNO Vol. 46, 1998, pp. 853-863.
In addition to the above fields of application of the present invention, the active implants may also be comprised of other systems for rehabilitation of a bodily disfunction, such as cardiac pacemakers, defibrillators, drug dispensers, nerve or bone growth stimulators, neurostimulators, pain suppression devices, and the like, wherein a secondary, rechargeable, electrochemical cell is used as energy source for operation.
In above incorporated U.S. Pat. No. 5,279,292 there is disclosed an implantable hearing system in which, in accordance with a first embodiment, control electronics for the actuator of the hearing system as well an energy storage which can be recharged from an external transmitter coil via a receiving coil are disposed within an implantable housing. In accordance with a second embodiment the control electronics is housed within a separate implantable housing which is connected via a plug connection with the implantable housing that contains the receiving coil and the rechargeable energy storage.
From commonly owned U.S. Pat. No. 6,192,272 which is hereby incorporated by reference there is known an implantable hearing system in which an electrochemical energy storage is disposed within a housing that preferably is hermetically sealed and which in turn is housed together with a control unit and a telemetry unit within an implantable housing. The energy storage can be a primary cell or a secondary cell, and in both cases can be a lithium based cell having a solid polymer electrolyte.
From commonly owned U.S. Pat. No. 6,143,440 which is hereby incorporated by reference there is known an implantable hearing system in which a rechargeable electrochemical energy storage is disposed within an hermetically tight housing. An electronic unit for monitoring the charging of the energy storage as well as a receiving coil for charging the energy storage are housed in separate housing. The hermetically tight housing of the energy storage is provided with a mechanical detector unit which is mechanically responsive to deformation due to the escaping of gas from the energy storage and which interrupts the charging process to prevent damage of the energy storage and of the housing due to impermissible operating states of the energy storage.
In commonly owned co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/359,050 which is hereby incorporated by reference there is described an implantable hearing system, wherein a rechargeable, electrochemical energy storage which is provided with a housing is arranged within an hermetically tight housing which is equipped with a mechanical monitoring arrangement responsive to impermissible escape of gas from the energy storage and which then, if necessary, interrupts the charging process to prevent damage to the energy storage or the housing. The hermetically tight housing is arranged within a further hermetically tight housing which in accordance with a first embodiment additionally comprises an electronic unit for controlling the charging and discharging process, means for supplying a charging current and an additional electronic unit for monitoring mechanical housing monitoring arrangement. In accordance with a second embodiment these components are arranged within a separate housing, which further contains the control electronics of the hearing systems. The hermetically tight housing which contains the hermetically tight housing of the energy storage is connected to the main housing which contains the control electronics by means of a releasable, rigid mechanical connection.
From commonly owned U.S. Pat. No. 6,154,677 which is hereby incorporated by reference there is known an implantable hearing system wherein in accordance with a first embodiment a rechargeable electrochemical energy storage having a housing is arranged within an hermetically tight housing, which is provided with mechanical monitoring means responsive to impermissible escape of gas from the energy storage. In accordance with a first embodiment this hermetically tight housing of the energy storage is connected via a cable connection with an implantable main housing which contains an energy receiving coil, a corresponding electronics for control of the charging and discharging process as well as the control electronics for the hearing system. In accordance with a second embodiment the hermetically tight housing of the energy storage is housed, together with the components mentioned above, within the main housing.
From commonly owned U.S. Pat. No. 6,227,204 which is hereby incorporated by reference there is known an implantable hearing system in which the electronic unit for monitoring and controlling the charging process is designed such that the charging of the electrochemical energy storage is done dependent on the internal resistance of the energy storage, wherein during a first charging phase a constant charging current flows and during a second charging phase the charging current is adjusted such that the cell voltage that is measured during the charging process is maintained approximately at a predetermined constant value.
In commonly owned co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/627,449 which is hereby incorporated by reference there is described an implantable hearing system with a rechargeable, electrochemical energy storage wherein the electrodes of the energy storage are arranged directly, i.e. without additional housing in an hermetically tight housing that is monitored by means of a mechanical unit responsive to impermissible gas evolution within the housing and which then mechanically interrupts the charging process. Furthermore, a temperature sensor is provided within the housing to monitor the operational state of the energy storage and, if applicable, to electronically interrupt the charging process by means of a monitoring electronics. The monitoring electronics can also be caused by the mechanical monitoring unit to interrupt the charging process. Apart form the energy storage and the temperature sensor, the monitored, hermetically tight housing of the energy storage does not contain any further components.
In commonly owned co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/809,087 which is hereby incorporated by reference there is described a device and a process for operating a rechargeable storage for electrical energy, wherein the charging strategy of the energy storage is determined dependent on an adaptive model which takes into account data describing the state of the energy storage before start-up as well as data acquired during operation, and wherein the charging strategy can be automatically and continuously optimized using the data acquired during operation.
In commonly owned co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/824,242 which is hereby incorporated by reference there is described an implantable energy storage arrangement for a medical implant comprising a monitoring unit that is independent of a unit for controlling the charging process and that detects the voltage of the energy storage independent of the control unit and is designed such that it assumes control over the charging path when a sensed storage voltage lies outside of a predetermined range.
In commonly owned co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/824,212 which is hereby incorporated by reference there is described an implantable energy storage arrangement for a medical implant comprising means that is externally activatable to bypass an actuator within the charging path.
In commonly owned co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/369,184 which is hereby incorporated by reference there is described a fully implantable hearing system for rehabilitation of a pure sensorineural hearing loss or combined conduction and inner ear hearing impairment, which system comprises at least one implantable sensor which generates an electrical audio signal, at least one signal processing and amplification unit in an audio-signal processing electronic hearing system path, at least one implantable electromechanical transducer and a unit for supplying power for the implant system, which power supply unit may comprise a secondary, rechargeable element. The hearing system is furthermore provided with an implant-side measurement unit which acquires the electrical sensor signal(s) electronically by measurement engineering and electronically conditions the signal(s). Also, a wireless telemetry unit is provided on the implant side which transfers the electronically conditioned sensor signal(s) to the outside to an external display and/or evaluation unit. In a preferred embodiment the signal processing and amplification unit, the implant-side measurement unit for generating and feeding the signals necessary for the audiometry function and the telemetry unit are housed together with the power supply unit in a hermetically tight and biocompatible implant housing to form an electronic module.
When the electrochemical secondary cell(s) is/are arranged within a separate hermetically gas tight protective housing that prevents the escape of substances from the cell which might be toxic to the electronics of the implant system and/or of gases which might damage the electronics and/or might lead to an impermissible pressure rise within the implant housing, and/or if a detector is provided that is in mechanical connection with the protective housing of the cell and which interrupts further supply of energy during the charging process and/or also interrupts the discharging process in cases of an impermissible or unwanted operational state, such additional protective measures cause additional costs, are troublesome in particular from a constructional point of view and increase the space requirements of an active implant. The latter can be of particular disadvantage when the implant is to be applied to a body region in which, by nature, there is only very little space available. This applies in particular to the implants for rehabilitation of a hearing disorder which were described in detail above, wherein in most cases the electronic module is positioned in the region of the mastoid on the scull cap, in which case the requirement is of particular concern that the size of the implant should be as small as possible. Especially in such a case the protective measures mentioned above are of particular disadvantage because often space in the direction of the height of the implant is required.
The primary object of the present invention is to devise an implantable medical device that is constructed as simple as possible but yet provides for sufficient operational safety with respect to the energy storage.
In accordance with the invention this object is achieved in that in an implantable medical device comprising an hermetically sealed housing which houses an electronic unit and an electrochemical energy storage for supplying electrical current to the medical device, the energy storage is disposed directly within the hermetically sealed housing and does not have a separate housing. The solution in accordance with the invention is advantageous in that due to the energy storage being arranged directly within the hermetically sealed housing and not having a separate housing, the construction is made more simple and therefore the production of the implantable medical device is facilitated.
In preferred embodiments of the invention the energy storage is a lithium based battery with solid electrolyte system, which battery is monitored with respect to its operational state by the electronic unit to prevent damage of the electronic unit. This is of particular importance when the energy storage is a rechargeable battery. Preferably the electronic unit further serves to control the medical device.
These and further objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following description when taken in connection with the accompanying drawings which, for purposes of illustration only, show several embodiments in accordance with the present invention.
FIG. 1 schematically shows, in part in sectional view, a first embodiment for the structure of an implantable medical device in accordance with the invention; and
FIG. 2 shows in a view similar to that of FIG. 1 a second embodiment for the structure of an implantable medical device in accordance with the invention.
In the embodiment shown in FIG. 1 an implantable, biocompatible, hermetically tight housing 10 houses an electronic unit 12 and a rechargeable electrochemical secondary cell 14. The secondary cell preferably is a lithium based battery with solid electrolyte system, such as a polymer electrolyte system. The anode of the battery 14 can be a lithium metal or lithium alloy electrode, whereas the cathode can be for example an inorganic or organic interstitial or redox electrode. Alternatively the anode also may be comprised of a lithium intercalation electrode. These systems are characterized in that at least when an electronic monitoring of the battery state is provided for, i.e. monitoring the state of the battery by monitoring certain electric parameters, disadvantageous evolution of gas may be prevented, which could be a hazard for the electronic unit 12 or could lead to an impermissible high pressure within housing 10.
In addition to electronically monitoring the battery 14 as will be described below, means 16 for binding gas can be provided within housing 10, to bind, i.e. adsorb, gas which might escape from battery 14. Preferably the gas binding means 16 can comprise a molecular sieve adsorbent (such materials are known as zeolites). In this manner gas possibly escaping from battery 14 can be bound at least to a certain extent and hence the internal pressure of housing 10 can be kept low.
Electronic unit 12 and battery 14 are mounted on opposing sides of a mechanical support or carrier 18, which in the present embodiment is in the shape of a plate. Carrier 18 can for example be designed as a printed circuit board, on which the electric components of the electronic unit 12 are mounted in surface mount technique (SMD). The electronic unit 12 or at least parts thereof can be mounted on carrier 18 in integrated form. When the battery 14 comprises a solid polymer electrolyte, the battery 14 may be assembled in layers on the opposite side of carrier plate 18. The electronic unit 12 is connected to the battery 14 through carrier 18.
A receiving coil 20 is arranged at a narrow face of the hermetically tight housing 10 within a biocompatible polymer enclosure 22, with the receiving coil 20 being connected with the electronic unit 12 via hermetic signal feed-throughs 24. Coil 20 is arranged so as to project from the narrow face of housing 10 and to be in mechanical connection with housing 10, for example by means of gluing, forming or molding. The design of receiving coil 20 shown is known for example from above-incorporated U.S. Pat. No 6,154,677. Since housing 10 does not contain coil 20 as shown, it can be formed of metal, with the outer side thereof being provided with a biocompatible coating. Charging coil 20 serves to recharge battery 14 if the charging state thereof falls under a lower limit, wherein receiving coil 20 is transcutaneously supplied with electrical energy via a transmitter coil of an external charging device (not shown). Such an arrangement is shown for example in above-incorporated U.S. Pat. No. 5,279,292.
The electronic unit 12 is designed such as to comprise a unit which monitors charging and discharging of battery 14. This is done in that, during the charging process, the electronic unit 12 measures the charging current by means of a shunt resistance as well as the voltage of battery 14. A charging process based on this principle is described in above-incorporated U.S. Pat. No. 6,227,204, wherein at the start-up of the charging process the charging current is controlled such that a relatively high charging current may flow which is restricted to a predetermined higher limit. As soon as the measured battery voltage reaches a predetermined limit (wherein not the no-load voltage is measured but rather the voltage at a flowing charging current), in a second charging phase the charging current is adjusted such that the measured battery voltage is maintained at at least approximately a predetermined constant value which at least roughly corresponds to the value of the voltage reached at the end of the first charging phase. The charging process is terminated as soon as the measured change over time of the charging current falls below a predetermined minimum value. The control of the charging current can be effected for example by means of pulse width modulation or a resistance with controlled voltage. Thereby charging of the battery is regulated in dependency of the internal resistance of the battery. Thus it is guaranteed that only as much energy is supplied to the battery as is allowable for the electrochemical state, without extensive gas evolution or warming-up of the cell. In this manner hazardous operation states are prevented which could lead to damage of electronics 12 due to the escape of gas or to an extensive pressure rise within housing 10. The charging strategy automatically is adapted to aging phenomenons of the cell by adapting the charging strategy to the internal resistance of battery 14. In addition, a temperature sensor may be provided, as is indicated in FIG. 1 at 26, the signal of which also is considered in monitoring the charging process to thus detect and prevent an extensive warming-up of battery 14.
As soon as during operation the voltage that is measured over battery 14 falls below a predetermined minimum value, the electronic unit 12 generates a signal to cause the implant wearer to conduct a charging process to prevent excessive discharging of battery 14. Concepts which serve to guarantee rechargeability of battery 14 also in the under voltage range are described in above-incorporated co-pending U.S. patent applications Ser. Nos. 09/824,242 and 09/824,212. A charging concept which can react in an even more flexible manner to variations of battery characteristics in time is described in above-incorporated co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/809,087. Here basically the entire operational history of a specific battery is recorded based on voltage and current measurements and is evaluated by means of an adaptive model, so that the charging strategy can repeatedly be actualized and hence optimized.
The components described so far form part of an implantable hearing system which comprises a sensor unit 28, in particular in the form of a microphone, as well as an actuator unit 30, which for example can be an electromechanical transducer which can be coupled mechanically to the ossicular chain or hydromechanically to the liquid filled spaces of the inner ear. Such transducers are described in detail for example in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,277,694 and 5,411,467 and in commonly owned published European patent application No. 0 831 674 and do not require any further description herein. Electronic unit 12 is designed such that it constitutes the control unit for actuator 30 and which basically comprises a processing stage for the signals supplied by transducer 28 as well as an amplification stage to operate actuator 30. The control unit further comprises a microcontroller as well as analog-to-digital-converters. The microcontroller also may be used for monitoring and controlling the charging process.
At least actuator 30 is designed as implant and is connected via implant lines 32, a plug connection 34 as well as hermetical signal feed-throughs 36 to the electronic unit 12. Similarly, sensor 28, which likewise may be implantable is connected via lines 32, the plug connection 34 as well as hermetical signal feed-throughs 36 with electronic unit 12.
The battery 14 does not have a housing for its own. Rather it is arranged directly within hermetically tight housing 10, which thus facilitates the production of the system. By selecting the appropriate battery type (see above) and by providing an electronic monitoring of the charging process as well as optional additional measures, such as the provision of gas binding means 16, escape of impermissible amounts of gas from the battery 14 can be reliably prevented. Therefore, redundant mechanical monitoring of the hermetically tight housing 10, for example by means of a mechanical sensor and a switch which respond to a pressure rise within the housing, is not required, which allows for a compact design of housing 10 and for facilitated production thereof
For applications that consume only little energy, the battery 14 can be a (non-rechargeable) primary battery rather than a (rechargeable) secondary battery, in which case, of course, no monitoring function for a charging process is implemented. Instead the electronic unit 12 can be provided with a function which displays the charging state of the primary battery, for example in terms of the remaining duration of operation until exhaustion of the battery.
The electronic unit 12 further can be connected to a data telemetry coil 38 to enable an exchange of data with a data transmitting device external to the body. In this manner for example the program which controls actuator 30 can be actualized, if necessary, or can be adapted to the specific circumstances of the implant wearer. Such an actualization of data of programs also can relate to the monitoring program of the charging process.
In FIG. 2 there is shown an alternative embodiment which differs from the embodiment shown in FIG. 1 basically in that the portion of the electronic unit which controls the operation of actuator 30 is arranged in a separate biocompatible, implantable, hermetically tight housing 150. This control electronics is designated with reference sign 152. Housing 150 furthermore contains a data telemetry coil 138. The control electronics 152 is connected with the charging electronics 112 via conduits 132, a plug connection 134 as well as hermetical feed-throughs 136, wherein charging electronics 112 performs the monitoring and control functions described above during the charging process of battery 14. Temperature sensor 26, gas binding means 16 as well as charging receiving coil 20 correspond to those of FIG. 1. In the embodiment of FIG. 2 housing 10 together with the components contained therein or attached thereto constitutes an energy supply module 100 for control unit 152. The energy supply module 100 can also be directly connected to housing 150 of the control unit 152, rather than via a plugable cable connection 132. In this case a coupling member is provided which provides for a releasable, rigid mechanical connection of energy supply module 100 to housing 150. Such coupling member simultaneously serves to provide for a releasable galvanic connection of battery 14.
If the battery 14 is a primary battery, the electronic unit 112 which was described in connection with the embodiment shown in FIG. 1 can be provided with a function for displaying the charging state rather than with a function for monitoring the charging process.
Control unit 12 or 112, respectively, can be designed such that it controls the energy delivery within battery 14 or that it apportions it to the individual consumers.
While several embodiments in accordance with the present invention have been shown and described, it is understood that the invention is not limited thereto, and is susceptible to numerous changes and modifications as known to those skilled in the art. Therefore, this invention is not limited to the details shown and described herein, and includes all such changes and modifications as encompassed by the scope of the appended claims.
Patent Citations
Non-Patent Citations
Referenced by
Legal Events
Original Image


text:
Treat your tresses like you treat yourself—with only the finest quality, toxin-free products that make your locks lush, lovely, and most likely to be touched. This Firm Hold Gel from Number 4 provides flexible body control with color-protecting and anti-aging benefits. So you can get that smooth back into your hair, and keep the squeaky-clean style comin'.
5.1oz bottle. Shine and flexible hold. Sulfate, sodium chloride, paraben, and gluten-free. 100% vegan. Fragrance: tonka beans, patchouli, and Spanish moss.
This product has no reviews yet. Be the first to review this product. Write a review
Enjoy 10% off your first order*


text:
Browse Topics — Health
205 results found.
Rose Aguilar
Host of Your Call; Reporter;KALW News
San Francisco, CA
Areas of ExpertiseEnvironment, Health, Politics, Social Justice
Lovette -Luvvie- Ajayi
The Red Pump Project and Awesomely Luvvie
Writer, Social Media Strategist, Activist
Chicago, IL
Areas of ExpertiseHealth, Media and Entertainment, Philanthropy, Social Justice, Technology and Science
Katrina Alcorn
Author, consultant
Oakland, CA
Areas of ExpertiseBusiness and the Economy, Health, Social Justice, Technology and Science
Amy Alexander
The Chronicle of Higher Education
Content Producer, Journalist, Author
Washington, DC
Areas of ExpertiseEducation, Health, Humanitarian, Media and Entertainment, Philanthropy, Politics, Religion, Social Justice
Dr. Sharon Allison-Ottey
The COSHAR Foundation
Executive Director/Director of Health and Community Initiatives
Washington, DC
Areas of ExpertiseHealth, Social Justice
Isadora Alman
Sexologist and Psychotherapist
San Francisco Bay, California
Rita Arens
Deputy Editor, BlogHer.com; author of THE OBVIOUS GAME; Editor and Blogger
Lee's Summit, Mo
D. Arnie Arnesen
Arnie Media, LLC
Radio and TV talk host and political analyst/former Congressional and gubernatorial candidate
Concord, NH
Areas of ExpertiseEducation, Environment, Health, Politics, Religion, Social Justice
Jessica Arons
Reproductive Health Technologies Project
President and CEO
Washington, DC
Areas of ExpertiseHealth, Legal, Politics, Religion, Social Justice
Veronica Arreola
University of Illinois at Chicago
Director, Women in Science & Engineering
Chicago, IL
Areas of ExpertiseEducation, Health, Media and Entertainment, Social Justice, Technology and Science
Angelika Arutyunova
Where is the Money for Women's Rights?, Association for Women's Rights in Development
San Francisco, CA
Areas of ExpertiseEurope, Health, Humanitarian, International Issues
Cailen Ascher
Owner and Founder
Doylestown, PA
Areas of ExpertiseBusiness and the Economy, Health
Charon Asetoyer
Native American Community Board/Native American Women's Health Resource Center
Sioux Falls, SD
Joanne Cronrath Bamberger
PunditMom Blog, Broad Side Strategies
Author, Speaker and Political Analyst
Chevy Chase, MD
Stacy Bannerman
Author, Director of Sanctuary Weekends for Women Veterans
Medford, OR
Areas of ExpertiseHealth, Religion, Security and Military, Social Justice
Joy Bauer
Joy Bauer Food Venture/ Nourish Snacks
Rye Brook, New York
Leslie C. Bell, Ph.D.
Sociologist, Psychotherapist, Author
Berkeley, CA
Areas of ExpertiseHealth, North America, Social Justice
Taina Bien-Aime
Coalition Against Trafficking in Women (CATW)
Executive Director
New York , NY
Areas of ExpertiseHealth, Humanitarian, International Issues, Social Justice
Susan Blumenthal, M.D.
New America Foundation
Senior Fellow in Health Policy; Former U.S. Assistant Surgeon General; www.4globalhealth.org
Washington, DC
Areas of ExpertiseHealth, Security and Military
Minal Bopaiah
Subscription Site Insider
Washington, DC


text:
Andrew McCutchen
MVP Debate: Should Clayton Kershaw Be Eligible For The Award?
Scott, Jeremy and Jason got into the debate about Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw, and whether he should even be considered for the MLB Most Valuable Player award.
5 Faces Of Major League Baseball
Let's take a look at the five faces of Major League Baseball when the post-Jeter era begins in November.
National League Mid-Season Team MVPs
Sometimes a team's best players don't make the All-Star team. Here are the National League's mid-season team MVPs.
Fantasy Baseball Preview: Outfield
CBS Local Sports breaks down the top players in the outfield for your fantasy baseball draft.
Pirates' Starling Marte Has Superstar Potential
With a little time, Starling Marte and the Pirates could make waves throughout baseball.