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The Conduit
- Genre:
- Shooter
- Release Date:
- 3/14/2013 (Mobile); 3/13/2013 (); 6/23/2009 (Wii)
- Publisher:
- Sega
- Developer:
- High Voltage Software
By: Goldpanda94
Just a vid on something that happens sometimes when you try to join a match.
Views: 614 | Posted: 05/25/2011
By: 64supermario
Watch more on my youtube channel or if the link below doesn't work go here and click on the site link on my description: http://www.youtube.com/user/64supermarioreturns Follow this link to go to : http://conduitforum.webs.com/ Talk on forums and introduce yourself Enter tournaments and wipe the floor with all your competitors. Join a Clan and fight rival clans and enter in intense wars. Develop stratigies and tatics online. Chat online live different Conduit players. Join Club N... I mean Conduit Forums today Mac
Views: 536 | Posted: 05/25/2011
By: psibukLaos
Seeing is Deceiving!
Views: 1,251 | Posted: 05/25/2011
By: KM91
Taking out a room full of aliens and destroying portals with rocket launchers. Does it really get much better than that?
Views: 448 | Posted: 05/25/2011
By: Mike
Here are 2 new screens
Views: 388 | Posted: 05/25/2011
By: james-rules93
This is a video I made showing you a couple of awsome games which are similar to Halo 3. Medal Of honor: heroes 2 has amazing online play and the conduit has the same level of graphics as shown in trailers and has online multiplayer
Views: 3,785 | Posted: 05/25/2011
By: DariusEnigma
Boss Battle. Shamelessly taken from IGN.
Views: 1,329 | Posted: 05/25/2011
By: ZombieZapper
New 30-second gameplay clip will have you drooling for more. This game will have a 16 player online, with the usual modes [DM, CTF, TDM] more. This game looks & sounds amazing.
Views: 969 | Posted: 05/25/2011
By: chimino
The Conduit - Gameplay
Views: 748 | Posted: 05/25/2011
By: Joggy
Sega released this new trailer of The Conduit showing some environments from the Washington DC level. Not bad at all for a Wii game.
Views: 407 | Posted: 05/25/2011


text:
Chemistry: An Introduction to General, Organic, and Biological Chemistry, Eleventh Edition | 9780321693457
ISBN-13: 9780321693457 See more
Author(s): Karen C. Timberlake
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Timberlake's Chemistry: An Introduction to General, Organic, and Biological Chemistry is designed to help prepare students for health-related careers, such as nursing, dietetics, respiratory therapy, and environmental or agricultural science. Assuming no prior knowledge of chemistry, it aims to make this course an engaging and positive experience by relating the structure and behavior of matter to its role in health and the environment. Timberlake maintains the clear, friendly writing style and the real-world, health-related applications that have made this text a leader in the discipline. The Eleventh Edition introduces more problem-solving strategies—including new Concept Checks, more Guides to Problem Solving, and more conceptual, challenge, and combined problems. CourseSmart textbooks do not include any media or print supplements that come packaged with the bound book.
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subset: commoncrawl


text:
black satin 'Mohawk' beaded clutch
designer's notes
BCBGMAXAZRIA makes youthful, fun accessories loved by starlets and socialites alike.
color: Black Satin exterior Polished silvertone spike hardware along trim Push lock closure Clip removable 21'' gunmetal chain strap with 9�'' drop Ribbed fabric interior lining with single organizational pocket Measures approximately 7�'' at widest x 4�'' tall at center x 1�'' deep; weighs lbs. Shell: 70% Cotton / 30% Silk; Lining: 100% Polyester; Imported; style# 319318501


text:
New York Knicks v Brooklyn Nets
Pablo Prigioni of the New York Knicks in action against C.J. Watson... Fotografia de notíciasAtleta,Basquetebol,Basquetebol - NBA Pro,Brooklyn Nets - Equipa de basquetebol,C.J. Watson,Desporto,EUA,Estado de Nova Iorque,Horizontal,NBA,Nassau Coliseum,New York Knicks,Pablo Prigioni,Partida - Desporto,Pré-temporada,UniondalePhotographer Jim McIsaacCollection: Getty Images Sport 2012 Jim McIsaacUNIONDALE, NY - OCTOBER 24: (NEW YORK DAILIES OUT) Pablo Prigioni #9 of the New York Knicks in action against C.J. Watson #1 of the Brooklyn Nets during a preseason game at Nassau Coliseum on October 24 2012 in Uniondale, New York The Knicks defeated the Nets 97-95. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images)


text:
Dear Abby: In response to "Contemplating Change," who is considering retiring with a friend to a city with a warmer climate, I offer the advice we have given our friends. She'll need to be proactive in developing a social network in her new location.
My wife and I also moved far south when we retired. We wanted neighbors with a variety of ages, so we purchased a house in a "normal" neighborhood instead of a retirement community. We soon realized that, unlike us, our neighbors had jobs, family responsibilities and little time for us.
Without jobs to occupy our time and give us a framework for social contact, we found ourselves isolated. So we joined organizations and did volunteer work to meet new friends. Our story has a happy ending, but it took some effort to make it happen.
-- Mike in Nevada
Dear Mike: "Contemplating Change" asked if readers had experience moving far away at her age (late 60s). You and many others wrote to share overwhelmingly positive feedback. Read on:
Dear Abby: For the women planning to buy a retirement home together, please tell them there are wonderful places everywhere. I have moved 15 times since the age of 70, and at 91, I'm moving again. (No, I am not trying to stay ahead of the sheriff.) I have sought more pleasant climates as well as the company of ambitious writers.
-- Lifetime Writer
Dear Abby: I want to encourage "Contemplating." Renting first is excellent advice. Research what you want in your new destination. Make sure it's a growing community where transplants will be welcome.
Be outgoing. Join a church, community center or other place to meet people. No one will beat a path to your door or care about your former home. Don't make negative comparisons to locals, and don't cling to your old friend. If all goes well, consider buying a twin home/duplex where you can be close but have your own space. I'm glad I moved. I now have more diverse friends than ever before.
-- Retiree in South Carolina
Dear Abby: Yes, rent first to check housemate compatibility. As to a new social community, check out nearby colleges or universities. Many offer programs for creative learning in retirement or something similar. One can make friends with shared interests through classes. Also, find a local "newcomers club."
-- Nancy in North Carolina
Dear Abby: My suggestion would be to consider buying what is referred to as a park model (manufactured home) in an RV park. They could even try renting one in a few different parks to get a feel for the park and location. These parks have all kinds of activities from morning 'til night.
-- Michigan Snowbird
Write Dear Abby at DearAbby.com or P.O. Box 69440, Los Angeles, CA 90069.


text:
Customer Promises
Every relationship holds a promise – it's what keeps us together and helps each of us grow. The relationship Kent Nutrition Group holds and values with our customers is no different. It is in the mutual interest and benefit that we make and live up to our promises.
– We will do the right thing — and what we say we are going to do.
– We will share our real-world knowledge of animal nutrition.
– We will focus on select opportunities to create sustainable value for all of our stakeholders.
– We will innovate with products and services to meet the changing needs of our customers.
– We will satisfy customer needs — guaranteed.


text:
We had fun and it was the perfect place to go on our actual anniversary since it was on a Monday. It was super casual, laid back and perfect!
March 16, 2010
We had fun and it was the perfect place to go on our actual anniversary since it was on a Monday. It was super casual, laid back and perfect!
64 comments:
Dearest Mara,ReplyDelete
You could not be any cuter.
Love, Morgan
I completely agree with Morgan! You are so stinkin' cute! And that food looks yummilicious!!ReplyDelete
This is making me hungry!!!!! :)ReplyDelete
That photos totally make me want to go get Pad Thai!!! They look absolutely delicious and you guys look adorable as always!!!ReplyDelete
The food looks so good! And Happy Anniversary again!ReplyDelete
Mmm that looks amazing! You guys are adorable! Happy Anniversary!!! :)ReplyDelete
I love Thai food!!!! And, the picture of the two of you is adorable.... you are lovely!!! XOReplyDelete
i used (ask in a few months ago) hate thai food. the peanut flavor just grosses me out. even though i love actual peanut butter. but then i found tom yum gai the soup sooo good and pad see ew or something like that. delicious! my boyfriend is very happy nowReplyDelete
I love Thai food as well. There is a place in Glendale called Indra Thai or something like that, and the food there is so good! :] Just thought you might wanna try it out sometime.ReplyDelete
mmmm THAI FOOD IS THE BEST!ReplyDelete
and i am loving your bun! it reminds me of carrie bradshaw who i of course love!
i'm glad your anniversary was so delightful!!!
You guys are such a cute couple. Looks like fun! I have never had thai food before, but I am not a fan of anything spicy, so I'd probably hate it! Love your necklace too by the way!!ReplyDelete
Hey :)ReplyDelete
...and all I have to say is pass the salt...ahahaha. Somebody's meal looks wonderfully delicious!
you are so beautiful! happy anniversary :D i've never tried thai food..i think i need to!ReplyDelete
MMM i love thai! I like a little bit of a kick but I hate when you ask for mild and it ends up really really spicy!ReplyDelete
oh that sounds like my worst nightmere...spicy food is just unbearable...ReplyDelete
but, smashing outfit!
thai food is the best.ReplyDelete
when you find that one place that you both love, it's all over. you know you'll be spending lots of cash with dinners out! Theres a vietnamese place next to our house that kills my bank account!
Pretty pretty lady... you should have seen what I looked like when I got Thai food last week. OH BOY. It wasn't quite "people of Walmart" worthy, but I was a sight!ReplyDelete
The food looks so good! I'm craving it now!
This Thai Food looks amazing. It's making me crave a second dinner!ReplyDelete
Yum! Thai food is so delicious! There's a Thai restaurant nearby that my boyfriend and I always go to. We never try any other place because we love this one so much! Ha!ReplyDelete
Happy anniversary! Looks like you guys had a fun night! :)
We love Thai food so much that there a two separate Thai places in Auckland where they recognise us. Maybe a bad thing, but the Thai takeaway place always gives us a free drink or something so I think we can live with that!ReplyDelete
Glad you guys had a great night!
Looks like you had such a good time, and you look so chic - love the bun!ReplyDelete
cutttteeee date night Mara!ReplyDelete
woah i didn't know that about milk, but i hate milk anyways :PReplyDelete
i'm hungry now thinking about thai food haha and i really like your necklace!
Good Night, you two are adorable!ReplyDelete
You two are darling. And I LOVE your necklace and jacket!ReplyDelete
xxoo Josie
i love thai! I had this amazing place on Sunset called Toi on Sunset. It was super cool with rock and roll posters on the wall.ReplyDelete
:) PAD THAI FOR LIFE! lool.ReplyDelete
I love Thai food too... more spicy the better. What a fun way to celebrate the anniversary. xoxoReplyDelete
Ya know I love Pad Thai! :) No more comment there...my stomach's making weird noises now...no wonder. It looks so delicious and I kinda think I'm already smelling some Pad Thai now...hmmmmm......ReplyDelete
i love love thai food! that place looks so delicious and authentic!ReplyDelete
I lovelovelove Thai food....sooooo yummy! That pad thai looks delicious!ReplyDelete
Thai food is my FAVORITE!! Sounds like an awesome anniversary dinner. :)ReplyDelete
Adorable!! Love your cardigan paired with that t-shirt and necklace.ReplyDelete
Thai food is the best!! One of my favorites! And your outfit is adorable!ReplyDelete
Thai food is one of my favorite cuisines...ever! Next time, you should definitely think of getting the Thai Ice Tea. That has milk, which kills the burning...and it's also very yummy (if they make it right!). BTW, your package should be arriving today.ReplyDelete
Love Thai and love your necklace! :)ReplyDelete
Looks like a fun dinner! You guys are so adorable. I absolutely love Thai Food, my fav is pad thai & fried tofu. We have been searching for good Thai around here since Ryan has never tried it. Glad to see you enjoyed it! And ya milk or bread help with spice.ReplyDelete
i have yet to try thai food! i don't know what my deal is! i really want to though :) and i love these pictures of you guys! you always look perfect :) hope you had a great anniversary mara!!ReplyDelete
Love it! Happy Anniversary!ReplyDelete
Mmmm Thai food is great! And you couldn't look any cuter! I love that necklace!ReplyDelete
One of the many benefits of living in the Central Valley comes with the food: they automatically assume you DON'T want it spicy. And you know what? When it comes to me, they're right.ReplyDelete
Happy anniversary!
Mmmmmm... I LOVE THAI FOOD!!!ReplyDelete
And you two are adorable as always :)
You are beautiful <3ReplyDelete
That food looks yummy! And I love your necklace and jacket!!ReplyDelete
I LOVE Thai! omg! Such cute pictures and love your hair, very cute!ReplyDelete
Oh I love your necklace! And I crave thai food. Yum.ReplyDelete
Thanks to J. Gold, Krua was added last month to my ever growing cell-phone-check-list of restaurants to try. Glad to hear you enjoyed! I will have to make it there for my next Thai craving:)ReplyDelete
That food look awesome and it looks like you guys had a fun night!ReplyDelete
Oh how I LOVE Thai! You two are too cute! :)ReplyDelete
thanks for stopping by my blog lady!
looks yummy yummy, happy actual anniversary!!ReplyDelete
Looks like a lovely time! I love that you took the time to really celebrate your anniversary. It's so important to take that time & celebrate the milestones! xoReplyDelete
Hubs and I had Thai food this weekend too! We had leftovers for 2 days yum. You're making me crave some more now.ReplyDelete
Y'all are the cutest! I have never eaten Thai food, but I might just have to give it a try now. Hope your having a great day! xoxoReplyDelete
I have never had thai, but it looks yummy!!ReplyDelete
I'll have to try it out next time I'm in LA. Thanks for the tip!ReplyDelete
the two of you are so incredibly adorable! even better, you wear great clothes haha. i love your necklace and jacket, and his sweater.ReplyDelete
i crave some thai now...
Mmm, that looks delicious! I love your necklace, too. I've been wanting to do something similar with leather and chains!ReplyDelete
I love Thai! You're so adorable and make a fantastic couple.ReplyDelete
Your hair is really cute up all high like that.
And thanks for entering my giveaway and for your suggestion. I actually haven't read Emma yet but I had a beautiful Penguin Classic copy given to me for my birthday.
This is totally making me crave Thai food (at 7 in the morning). And how adorable are you in that fabulous jacket and necklace!ReplyDelete
Love Pad Thai! I'll Have to check that place out when/if I ever get to LAReplyDelete
crap. now i have to go buy thai food.ReplyDelete
How is it that by looking at pictures of good food you then NEED to go eat that food?!?ReplyDelete
Happy (late) anniversary! So fun :)
yum i love thai food too! this looks so delish! i'm glad you anniversary was wonderful!ReplyDelete
ooooh! i love thai food! especially the kind that makes your nose run and your mouth burn...but the good burn of course :).ReplyDelete
hope you're enjoying a lovely weekend!
♥ ♥ Thanks for stopping by my blog! I do my very best to respond to each and every comment but if you have a question please feel free to email me at email@example.com. It might be responded to a little quicker!


text:
Marijuana Blog
Alien OG Bubba (AOGB)
Category: Nugs | Posted on Mon, May, 20th 2013 by THCFinder
Blurry Line on Pot-DUI Cases
Category: News | Posted on Mon, May, 20th 2013 by THCFinder
As some states relax laws on pot possession, lawmakers are struggling to create rules for how police officers should identify motorists who are driving under the influence of marijuana.
The problem: Identifying pot impairment isn't as clear-cut as testing for alcohol. There is no broad agreement over what blood level of THC—marijuana's psychoactive ingredient—impairs driving. Breathalyzers can't detect marijuana levels, and only a small percentage of police officers are trained to authoritatively identify pot-DUI cases.
When voters in Washington state legalized recreational pot use last fall, they decreed that drivers with five nanograms or more of THC per milliliter of blood—a level that some studies suggest is associated with increased accident risk—are under the influence. In Colorado, which also last year legalized pot possession, lawmakers passed a bill earlier this month that sets the same limit, but gives drivers a chance to prove that they weren't impaired. In Montana, where medical marijuana is legal, the governor signed similar legislation last month.
But the correlation between THC levels and impairment isn't scientifically straightforward, said R. Andrew Sewell, an assistant professor of psychiatry at Yale School of Medicine. He said the compound leaves the blood quickly and that regular pot smokers who have built up a tolerance and maintain higher levels may not be impaired at the new legal limits. Setting these limits "is going to cause a lot of impaired drivers to be missed and it's going to cause a lot of innocent people to get arrested," he said.
Read more: http://online.wsj.com
Get HIGH grades
Category: Fun | Posted on Mon, May, 20th 2013 by THCFinder
Study Finds Marijuana Helps Control Blood Sugar, Waistlines
Category: Culture | Posted on Mon, May, 20th 2013 by THCFinder
(VOA) – Marijuana has been used for centuries to relieve pain, improve mood and increase appetite. A new study finds that the herb also has a positive effect on blood sugar levels, suggesting it could be helpful in diabetes control.
Researchers analyzed data collected from more than 4,600 patients who completed a drug-use questionnaire and provided blood samples. Nearly half had never used marijuana, about 2,000 others had used it in the past and the rest were current users.
Participants who reported using marijuana in the previous month had the lowest levels of fasting insulin and the highest levels of the so-called 'good' cholesterol – indicators of a lower risk for both diabetes and heart disease.
The study also found the marijuana users tended to have smaller waistlines. Large waist circumference, typically associated with obesity, is linked to diabetes risk.
Read more: http://insidecostarica.com
Lavender Nugs
Category: Nugs | Posted on Mon, May, 20th 2013 by THCFinder
Jewish Girls Gone Wild? Marijuana Lab Found in Haredi School
Category: Odd | Posted on Mon, May, 20th 2013 by THCFinder
When authorities discovered a lab full of marijuana plants in a bomb shelter beneath an all girls Orthodox Jewish school south of Tel Aviv, they proposed that outsiders must be responsible – because Haredim girls would never smoke pot, right?
A queer smell arose from the bomb shelter of the Kiryat Gat school for Haredi girls located about 35 miles south of Tel Aviv, The Jerusalem Post reports.
One teacher followed her nose, so to speak, and stumbled upon a professional growing lab in a bomb shelter below the school, which was complete with all the special lamps and irrigation technology required to grow twelve marijuana plants in a dark, enclosed space.
But here's where it gets funny. Perhaps to divert negativity away from the Orthodox community, law enforcement officials were quick to say they will explore the possibility that a stranger to the school had coveted the space for their illegal drug operation.
In fact, they are going to launch a full-scale undercover operation to root out the bad guy (girl?) with an attitude reminiscent of that recently directed towards 269life vegan activists who protested the meat industry with decapitated animal heads scattered in visible public places in Tel Aviv and surrounding neighborhoods.
Most rabbis consider all kinds of smoking to be a form of self-endangerment, so – given marijuana's mild mind altering qualities caused by the presence of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) – it's probably safe to say that finding a pot growing lab at an Orthodox school is pretty darn scandalous.
However, and this is the case with so much in Israel, the country has a split personality when it comes to marijuana.
Read more: http://www.greenprophet.com
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text:
Review: Skyfall–a bit of a downer
Spoiler Alert
I have mixed feelings about Skyfall, the new James Bond film directed by Sam Mendes (American Beauty).
Since 1963's Dr. No, and until the current set of three (Casino Royale, Quantum of Silence and Skyfall), Bond films have given audiences beautiful people, cities most of us will never see, and fantasy. Evil geniuses hatched outlandish plots to rule the world, requiring ridiculous amounts of money, often wagered in elegant casinos full of tuxes and evening gowns, up-dos and bow-ties. There was always a seduction, with Bond making love to a dangerous goddess-like bad girl. He would growl and of course, she stretched and purred as the music crescendo-ed. Then, there was the action, involving Secret Agent gadgets, long stretches of chases, fights, dodges and jumps moving through exotic streets and narrow alleys crowded by costumed extras. All of it was played out by vivid characters, whose barely there emotions let us thrill to the stunt because we owed them no empathy when they met their cinematic ends.
We expected dreamy, gleaming surfaces that offered an occasional flash of something darker, a secret, a hint of the forbidden. Or at least we did until the last few with a new Bond, and a new kind of Bond.
James Bond has become emotionally complicated. Now he has a past. There's still some fantasy. The chases, as always, are entertaining, but the convoluted plot, takes us to all those far away places for show, and they have little to do with what is at the heart of the Skyfall plot–betrayal and abandonment of both Bond and the bad guy, Silva, by "M," whose cold pragmatism allows her to apply the cost/benefit dynamic to those who serve the Crown so valiently. The resulting blow-back (literally) is caused by Bond's seeming death and Silva's (Javier Bardem) transformation from a dedicated agent to a relentless enemy. Underneath M's steely professionalism there's a maternal caring that both Bond and Silva perceive. And that makes her betrayal and abandonment of each all the more painful–a pain we the audience can see and understand. No more mere glimpses of dark secrets, we learn of the sacrifices both men make and it makes us and them question M's decisions.
And so I was never sure how to feel.
Javier Bardem, as usual, was the best thing in the movie. Daniel Craig is growing on me. I'd had my heart set on Clive Owen for the new Bond, but Craig has this battered charm that works. I wonder if the scripts are going to get even darker in tone, sort of in keeping with the reality of the world today. If so, the character may be named Bond, but he will no longer be the same tuxedo-ed hero we knew. I did like Judi Dench's "M." Along with the crisp manner, she brought a light humor to the more recent Bond offerings, before they became so dark. Sorry to lose Judi Dench, (if you've made this far, I hope you took the spoiler alert seriously), but Ralph Fiennes can send me on a mission any time.
The script could have been way tighter. I did like the youth versus age and experience theme., but I found myself wanting to keep Bond a mystery. I hope they can find a way back to that cool spy and lover we found so irresistible, the man who was unknowable. As director Kevin DiNovis, recently commented, "There's a place in the world yet for exploding pens and volcano lairs." I agree, but perhaps that place lies in the "discovered country" of the movies that spoke to who we were–moviegoers relishing a new world that was breaking away from the rules of the past and we were breathless at the idea of all that glamor and sex. Change has sped up and it's a little disconcerting. We may not be able to jettison the past so easily now.
For the time being, I'll look for the gleam in those Arctic- blue Ralph Feinnes eyes and the steely pale blue gaze of Craig's as the new "M" sends 007 out to save the world again.
Ah the mysteries behind those sexy blue eyes. In the next Bond film, I hope they reveal a secret formula or two.
A movie review: Cloud Atlas the movie connects the drops.
I saw Cloud Atlas this weekend, and I recommend it, especially if you have read the book.
Before you read this review, I recommend you read my review of the book, Cloud Atlas.
Whether or not you enjoyed reading the book, (I enjoyed some of it but I still wanted to throw it against a wall at the end) I believe most people will enjoy at least parts of the movie without wanting to toss Tom Hanks off a highrise. I did not go into see this movie with high expectations. Okay, here it is–my reason for not expecting much: I hated The Matrix and Cloud Atlas was co-directed (with German director Tom Twyker who did Run, Lola, Run, a movie I remember liking ) and co-written by the Wachowskis who gave us The Matrix.. Go ahead and hate me. Although virtual reality stories hold special interest for me (see my The Thirteenth Floor review and marjoriekayesbabylondreams.com website) I found The Matrix pretentious and sophomoric. No way would anyone look that buff after spending a lifetime in a pod and those aliens using us to power their alien stuff didn't make sense. We wouldn't be cost effective. Plus the long coats, the dippy mysticism and all the martial arts got on my nerves. I could go on but it won't convince anyone who loved Matrix the movie. Another thing, I should disclose that I briefly worked on casting the Matrix sequel (nothing fancy–just set up auditions for the secret service guys and you'd have thought we were guarding the secrets of the universe rather than a few pages of barely there script).
Regardless, in my opinion, Cloud Atlas the movie is better than Cloud Atlas the book.
The problems that I had with the book centered on Mitchell's failure to adequately connect the six stories.
I felt like Mitchell the writer was showing off. I wanted more than he gave in terms of connecting the stories. It was all icing and very little cake. Then those last two pages of "The Pacific Journal of Adam Ewing," the first and last story. They were the last frickin' frackin' two pages of the novel, and might as well have started with "So you see boys and girls . . ." The movie was able to stitch the stories together. Movies have more options in terms of pacing, plus visual and audio devices, something a novel lacks. As small a thing as a shiny blue button on a 1930's vest that becomes a beautiful stone prized by a goat herder helped me connect. The music helped. Casting the same actors in different stories helped a lot and most of all, the editing, which blended the parts of each story, pacing them all to build and crest like music wove the narratives into a satisfying ending, an ending that differed from the book. The stories had been simplified, characters pared and the plots crafted to suit the film and it helped.
This film conveyed the message, the universal theme that Mitchell meant for us to discover in his novel. I felt Mitchell said it rather than showed it. The movie, on the other hand, did what movies do best. It made us feel it so that we could think it. The reviews I've read of this film have been mixed. At three hours, it is very long. All I can say is that I liked it, and so did the others in the audience. There was applause at the end, and I doubt many had read it. It didn't matter. They felt it; so did I, shiny blue buttons and all.
13 reasons to sleep with the lights on.
OEDB is short for Online Education Database . A lady named Dollie sent me a OEDB link to 13 Horror Classics, books and stories that are scary and manage to be literature as well, so I'm sharing the link.
I checked it out and I've read all but one or two. How about you?
A book review: Cloud Atlas: Six stories in search of Ovaltine
Spoiler Alert
If you plan on reading the book or if you plan on seeing the movie, this Cloud Atlas review may rain on your plan.
The movie, Cloud Atlas is due to be in theaters on October 26, and the trailer looked very interesting, so I decided to read the book and compare it with the movie. The novel, Cloud Atlas, is the third book by British author, David Mitchell. Cloud Atlas has won awards, including the British Book and the Nebula. Cloud Atlas is a collection of six related stories, described as a puzzle or a set of Russian nesting dolls. I think paper dolls would be closer.
Each of the six stories takes place in a different time and setting. Mitchell writes all but one in first person and that is where the similarity ends. Each story is written in a different style. Mitchell's command of the narrative style of the 19th century, his inventiveness in terms of language, and detailed settings of the future worlds in stories five and six are impressive. Five stories are in two parts. Story six, in one piece. is in the middle of the novel and it follows the five half stories. After story six, "Sloosha's Crossin' an' Ev'rythin' After," Mitchell completes the other five in reverse order, with story five, "An Orison of Somni-451" resuming after six until he ends the novel by completing story one, "The Pacific Journal of Adam Ewing."
"The Pacific Journal of Adam Ewing" is written ala Herman Melville (the story takes place around 1850) by a thirty something American notary, Adam Ewing. We are introduced to Ewing as he waits on a South Pacific island. There's been a shipwreck and along with Ewing, we meet his companion, Dr. Goose, an eccentric English physician. Following this story was tough sledding. Ewing learns about the victimized peace-loving Morioiris, enslaved by the Maoris (part of the evil "White Man" plan). All of this is revealed as Ewing witnesses a Moriori being flogged. When exploring the island, Ewing discovers thousands of carvings of faces. Frightened, he scrambles to safety and encounters a beating heart hanging from a tree. He speculates on what kind (hog, human?) but never solves the mystery. As his sea voyage continues via a Dutch ship, Ewing rescues a stowaway, Autua–the Moriori he saw being beaten. The mid sentence ending thing was annoying.
Story two, "Letters From Zedelghem" takes place in 1931 Europe, beginning in England then moving to Belgium. A young English musician/composer, Robert Frobisher, writes his best friend and lover, Sixsmith, telling him of his plans to travel to Belgium and exploit Ayrs, a famous composer who hasn't written anything since contracting syphilis. Frobisher is something of a snot and the black sheep of his family. Leaving a trail of bad debts, he asks Sixsmith to send him money. Frobisher means to convince Ayrs that he, Robert, will help him to continue his work. Rather than Frobisher exploiting Ayrs, crafty old Ayrs takes credit for Frobisher's new compositions. There's no sympathy for Robert. He's a narcissist and a schemer. Out of the blue, not related to anything else in the story, Robert finds the first half of Ewing's journal. Also, we learn that Robert has a crescent shaped birthmark on his shoulder. We're left hanging, the story unfinished. There isn't been one character in either story whom I've found interesting, nor have I cared.
Story three, "Half-Lives: The First Luisa Rey Mystery," has two ties to story two ("Letters …") and one to story one. Three is the only one of the six written in third person. It's the 1970″s and we know this because Disco music plays. Luisa Rey, a journalist in her 30's gets stuck in an elevator with Sixsmith, a sixty-something scientist and Frobisher's friend from story two. Although they are strangers, Luisa and Sixsmith spend over an hour together feeling very comfortable talking. Luisa has a birthmark on her shoulder, just like Frobisher's. Sixsmith has written a report, blowing the whistle on plans for a dangerous new energy plant–an atomic energy plant like Three Mile Island. And so the killing begins. First, Sixsmith, and you know Luisa's on that list. Luisa is the daughter of a cop, a dead hero. There's a hit-man named Smoke after her, and we leave the story as her car is plunging off a bridge and into some deep water. I found story three to be the weakest. The plot would have been at home on any Hawaii Five-O, Columbo, or Rockford Files episode. The characters were paper thin and totally forgettable.
Story four, "The Ghastly Ordeal of Timothy Cavendish" begins with a murder. A reviewer who panned a book is thrown off a balcony by the author. Oops, better be careful. Timothy Cavendish, the book's publisher, is in his late sixties. When the book starts making money, Cavendish joyfully pays off debts until the imprisoned author's thuggish brothers threaten him, demanding 60,000 pounds. Before he flees, Cavendish receives a submission: Half Lives, The First Luisa Rey Mystery. Cavendish begs his own estranged brother (Cavendish slept with his wife) for help and when the story breaks, Cavendish, courtesy of his sneaky brother, is trapped in an old folks' home with a Nurse Ratched running things. This story was marginally more interesting because of Cavendish's chaotic nightmarish journey, randy reminisces of past romances and Mitchell's use of a florid narrative style. Mitchell showcases literary flourishes while the character declares: "I disapprove of flashbacks, foreshadowings, and tricksy devices; they belong in the 1980's with M.A.s in post-modernism and chaos theory." Style-wise, the story goes from being The Lavender Hill Mob to One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest with Alec Guinness as McMurphy.
Story five, "An Orison of Somni-451" is a dystopic science fiction piece set in Korea. Corporations run what's left of a polluted world. The narrative is a dialogue between Somni-451, a rebel "fabricant" and the "Archivist." Somni began her life as a customized clone, working for "Papa Song" a fast food franchise where fabricants serve twelve years, and then are rewarded with a glorious retirement in "Hawaii." Tinkering with her programming results in a wiser, more informed Somni, who becomes a pawn of the "Union," the rebel entity trying to upend the Establishment. Most of the story involves her on the run to rebel headquarters, where she will become a figurehead and mentor to facilitate a fabricant uprising. Along the way, Somni encounters a statue of Buddha and we encounter the first "author's message," when a nun explains the meaning of the symbol. Whenever I see an overt message in fiction I always think of Woody Allen's movie, Bananas, or maybe it was Take the Money and Run, (I'm not sure but I do remember the joke ) where during dialogue the words "author's message" keep flashing. This was the first story I actually enjoyed, but I noticed elements of other sci fi. The layered corruption and Asian setting evokes Philip Dick's Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep. Somni's reflection on the Union's true purpose brings to mind O'Brien's speech in 1984. And what really happens aboard that fabricant ship bound for Hawaii? Think Charleton Heston screaming, "It's people!" Before her execution, Somni asks to finish seeing a movie, The Ghastly Ordeal of Timothy Cavendish, a connection imposed on the story, rather than an outgrowth of plot or character development. Why does Somni want to spend the remaining minutes of her life seeing a movie? Somni has a crescent shaped birthmark on her shoulder.
Story six, "Sloosha's Crossin' an' Ev'rythin' After" is in the middle of the book and is all in one piece. We're in the future, way past the time of Somni, and, other than a few pockets of ocean and islands, the world's atmosphere is mostly toxic and full of bad germs. This first person narrative is delivered by an old man on an island, what used to be Oahu. The story, told in a dialect with nods to hillbillies and the Australian outback concerns what happened when Zachry, the narrator was sixteen. A ship carrying a bunch of "Smarts," a more technologically advanced and sophisticated group landed and the result was that Zachry and his family hosted a "Smart," Meronym, a dark-skinned woman of fifty (an impossibly old age by the standards of Zachry's people). Her stay was six months and during that time she studied the cultures on the island. Along with Zachry's peace-loving goat herders, who believe in re-incarnation and pray to the goddess, "Somni," there are militant groups, including the predatory warriors, the Kona. Despite his distrust of Meronym's motives, Zachry became her guide, including a trip to Mauna Kea, to see the "observ'trees." Meronym, who has a crescent birthmark, rescued Zachry from slavery and before leaving, she gave him a piece of technology, an egg-shaped device that projects a holographic image of the fabricant, Somni. This is kept and wondered at by Zachry and his descendents. Before she left on a ship decimated by illness, Meronym told Zachry that his culture is one of the most advanced left in the world.
After story six, Mitchell completes the rest of the stories, starting with five. As I said, I did enjoy Somni's story and I got a kick out of the wild prison break in the Cavendish story. The only intriguing part of Luisa Rey was her recognition of Frobisher's music, a device I believe could have been used in the other stories effectively and also, Luisa's hesitating when she passes The Prophetess, the ship in "The Pacific Journal of Adam Ewing." Frobisher's suicide in story two made me shrug because he was so unlikeable. I read part two of story one, "The Pacific Journal of Adam Ewing," with the expectation that Mitchell would lock in a piece that would unite all the stories into one, universal narrative. I couldn't find it. I read again, assuming I didn't read it carefully enough. The last two pages were pure "author's message" and I was reminded of another movie, A Christmas Story. It's 1939's Middle-America and Christmas time. Ralphie, a nine-year old boy, schemes for a b-bee-gun to be under the tree. Ralphie is also a fan of Little Orphan Annie, and he has sent in all the boxtops to get a decoder ring. When it finally arrives in the mail, he eagerly listens to the radio show for Annie's secret message, only accessible to those in the inner circle of decoder ring-bearers. Then, he locks himself in the bathroom, ignoring the wails of his younger brother who has "to go." As he huddles in the bathroom, defiant and decoding, the secret message Ralphie discovers is "Be sure to drink your Ovaltine." Disgusted, Ralphie feels Little Orphan Annie has played him. When I read the rest of "The Pacific Journal of Adam Ewing,"I knew just how Ralphie felt.
A Movie Review: The House at the End of the Street — resting on a tired plot
Attention: Spoiler Alert
As I write this review, The House at the End of the Street is in theaters. I doubt it will stay there long before it sinks into the depths of Netflix one point five stardom. This film, directed by Mark Tonderal (Hush) with story by Jonathan Mostow (Terminator 3 and U-571) and screenplay by David Loucka (Dream House) offers a worthy cast headed by Jennifer Lawrence, Elizabeth Shue and Gil Bellows.
The House at the End of the Street shows its cards in the first scene where it's night and a woman hears a bump. She rises from her bed, and we see a figure and a mop of blond hair covering the face of whoever made the bump. One determined blue eye peers out from the mop as a hand takes a long sharp knife from the kitchen. Right before the woman encounters the business end of the knife, we see the mad determined gleam in the blue eye. Despite the efforts of all involved, we also see part of a face that could use just a smidge more estrogen. The woman says, "Carrie Anne? What are you . . ." We assume Carrie Anne, from her toned bicep, must be working out. Then it's shower curtains as Carrie Anne's knife meets the woman's kidney. Soon, the woman's waiting-in-bed husband becomes victim number two. Okay let's jump ahead.
A woman (Elizabeth Shue) and her daughter (Jennifer Lawrence) move into a big house. Sitting in a rustic area with trees and a hint of wilderness, this prime real estate is a steal because of property values dropping in the neighborhood. The crime of the notorious Carrie Ann refuses to be forgotten. They never found her, you see. Now her brother (Max Theriot) lives there alone. The woman and her daughter are at odds. There's been a divorce and rather than the absent rock musician father, the woman, a doctor, has custody of the daughter. Of course there's lots of fighting and predictably, the misunderstood neighborhood boy living alone becomes the center of it all. The girl can't resist the tortured blue eyes of her studly handsome neighbor, who wasn't around when the murders happened. He went to live with an aunt when he was seven you see. Now, all he wants to do is fix the place up and sell it, he tells her. He doesn't tell her about his sister, Carrie Anne, tied up in the cellar. They were twins, and he feels responsible for her. Unfortunately, crazy Carrie Anne manages to get away and he ends up chasing her down and killing her. In the meantime, the neighbor girl decides to seduce the tortured but cute neighbor, much to the distress of her mother and annoyance of various high school bullies, who make it their business to drive him out by harassing him. Poor soul, he's all alone now that Carrie Anne's gone. Or is she?
I kept waiting for something to surprise me in this pre-fab project. The lack of originality had me shaking my head as we see that those neighborhood punks had the right idea. Lonely boy finds another girl to be his crazy sister and it's official, he was Carrie Anne when the murders occurred. It turns out that his mom and dad were so angry when the real Carrie Anne fell off her swing and died, that they forced him to take her place. Fed up, dealing with puberty as a girl, he killed them. Understandable. Predictably, neighbor girl figures his secret out and she and mom have to fight him off. The movie ends with him on Thorazine as he stares glassy-blue-eyed at a jigsaw puzzle.
Young Mr. Theriot is playing Norman Bates in a TV production, Bates Hotel. Ah good plan.
For the life of me, I'll never understand how projects like this are made and released while more worthy scripts are met with indifference. The plot and characters were indifferently written and trite. The actors, including Mr. Theriot will appear in more worthy projects. And if the writers and director do another one of these clunkers, I hope the ghost of Alfred Hitchcock haunts them, hopefully inspiring more original fare.
LUMINARIUM: There's nothing like a brain.
In commenting on the solar system family photo taken by Voyager 1, Carl Sagan referred to the "blue dot" as home to every human who has ever lived. Now, we're looking at potential lots on Mars, and using real cash for virtual reality property. LUMINARIUM explores computer generated virtual reality as well as the different realities created by the brain itself.
LUMINARIUM is the second novel by Alex Shakar. His first novel, THE SAVAGE GIRL, a fantasy about Pop Culture, was a New York Times Notable Book.
LUMINARIUM begins in the New York of August 2006. Protagonist Fred Brounian sits in a black vinyl recliner as someone attaches wires to a helmet that he's wearing. Fred is a paid lab rat, part of an experiment by neuro-scientists at NYU. Several sessions have him wearing the helmet. Each session will stimulate a different part of his brain. The aim, the attractive researcher explains, is for Fred to experience an after-death "Rapture," without the death part. The goal is to induce the "God" experience, freeing the subject from the "ignorance" of faith.
Fred, a thirty-something software designer, needs the money. Fred is paying for the hospital care of his identical twin brother and business partner George.
George, whose cancer has nearly consumed him, has been in a coma for months. George and Fred were CEO partners of a software company whose virtual reality program "Urth" "an anime style world of pastoral villages and underwater bubble towns…" should have made them rich. A "best laid plan," it fell apart when 911 happened. Slick operators stole the company. Quirky little Urth now belongs to Armation, a military enterprise in Florida, where "a ready pool of Disney Imagineers, Pixar animators, and Electronic Arts programmers" convert Urth into a military simulations program. George had wanted to start over and create a game of "spiritual evolution." Fred accused him of thinking "reality was up for grabs."
Sam, George and Fred's younger brother, is an executive in the new Armation order. Sam is helping the move to Florida, and suggested that Urth software would be useful in simulating urban disaster search and rescue. Sam's need for control is right out of the Steve Jobs playbook. His social skills make Jobs look like Bill Clinton.
There have been glitches in the new search and rescue program, and a suggestion of sabotage. Fred is the most likely suspect. There were hard feelings, but Fred needs his old job back. Fred's first lab rat session results in a hyper-awareness that causes him to shadow an old woman in pin-curls, who meanders into a store and shoplifts. This results in his arrest for shoplifting tweezers. That's right, tweezers. In addition, Fred receives emails from comatose George, a situation that threatens his already tentative hold on reality. As Fred struggles to regain stability in his life, the disorientation caused by the lab experiments, and more messages from George result in him questioning his sanity. He wonders if someone is playing a cruel joke.
Fred is surrounded by illusion and mysticism. His father is an actor and magician. Fred's mother practices Reiki, a Japanese brand of energy healing. Mom believes that George emanates a healing energy from his hospital bed. As Fred tries to make sense of his expanded senses, the product, we assume, of the lab experiments, we, along with Fred, have difficulty sorting out reality. Shakar's use of stream-of-consciousness in these sequences reminded me of the movie Altered States with a swirl (the old woman's pin curls, "this infinite pinwheel of shit," "The spiral had twisted shut again…") of the senses that blurs the lines between different realities.
The cryptic emails from George contain the word "avatara." Researching Hinduism, Fred discovers identical twin avataras, Nara and Narayana, who represent the human and the divine. The concept of "duality" is used throughout the novel. Fred clings to his identical twin. He reads stories to George about simultaneous twin occurrences, which "according to Carl Jung are …the dual manifestation of a single collective unconscious." Fred questions how he could "stand the two-sided coin on edge"– experiencing the divine, the supernatural, knowing that he would never be able to verify. He wonders if existence is the result of some cosmic plan. Is everything random?
Under all of this searching for alternate realities and the exploration of religions is the fear of death. Calendar pages mark dates leading to the fifth anniversary of the loss of the Trade Center Twin Towers. The enormity of this event permeates LUMINARIUM. Fred contemplates death, but can't imagine not being somewhere. New York copes, but is forever changed. Fred faces a future where he is no longer a twin.
Creating different realities is a way of coming to terms with death. Besides the programs of various virtual worlds, Shakar takes us to a Florida mini-golf course , which is a virtual world modeled on pre-911 New York. Armation Florida employees live in the planned community "Celebration," designed for controlled reality. Pre-fab reality is predictable and as safe as the womb. Sam yearns for it; Fred is both attracted and repelled.
George coins the word "holomelancholia…the inevitable disappointment of virtual worlds." This concept fascinates me. I wrote my second book (currently in revisions) in response to Kurzweil's prediction of the utopias that await us via mind-uploading. In Bali Hai, the "post-biological destination" setting of my novel Babylon Dreams, everything is perfect but the past. Through mind-uploading, we can escape death, but we can't escape ourselves. Our bodies wear out, but can the human spirit live on indefinitely? One thing that makes life worth living is the luck of the draw, the chance that dreams can be realized or taken away. As Eric Packer, the protagonist of Cosmopolis (see my August 27, 2012 film review) did, I think eventually, we would all choose the "void."
In his letter to readers, Shakar puts it this way: "How do we deal with a changed world, with a universe that one day seemed with us and the next seems to turn against us and oppose us at every turn?"
LUMINARIUM is the third literary novel that I have reviewed at length on this blog. It is the first that I totally recommend. The stream of consciousness style is dense. The long paragraphs were a challenge to my short-attention span, but I kept on reading. There were a few places where I felt he was doing a research paper rather than telling a story, but not too many to lose my interest in what happens to Fred. In his comments on LUMINARIUM in the New York Times Sunday Book Review (September 2, 2011), Christopher R. Beha remarks, "This premise, however ingenious, might have yielded a schematic novel of ideas, if Shakar weren't so committed to showing his readers a good time." I feel that Shakar's respect for his readers is reflected in this commitment to "show us a good time." Shakar gives us a complete, heartfelt story. Telling a story well and entertaining readers should not be limited to genre writers. Along the way, Shakar looks for answers, but doesn't claim success.
If mind-uploading happens before I face whatever waits on the other side of that coin, I would like to float around in a place like Shakar's "Urth," especially in one of those underwater bubble towns. Maybe I'll find Ringo's Octopus' Garden.
Cosmopolis: A huge throbbing chainsaw and a cream pie
Right before I entered the theater to see Cosmopolis, a 2012 film written and directed by David Cronenberg from a 2003 Don DeLillio novel, a fellow middle-aged lady asked me why I had decided on seeing it. "I almost went," she said, "but people kept telling me how boring it was, and so I decided on something else." She said the name of the movie she had decided on; I forget which one.
I told her that I had heard the same thing, but I liked Cronenberg movies. I had read mixed reviews regarding Pattinson. Having worked in casting in a previous incarnation of my professional self, I was curious to see what kind of chops this young actor was sporting since he traded in his fangs.
Okay, let's get this over with. The dialogue of the Cosmopolis script is dense, artificial, and extremely inaccessible. Do you think I came up with the "huge throbbing chainsaw" on my own? Nope, it was one of the script's many gems. The whole script reminds me of those scenes I'd get assigned in acting class when I was at UCLA. Existential works are often assigned to nineteen-year old students, who spend a lot of time imagining their glorious futures. We'd mouth lines, pretending to know what was going on, and since most of our fellow students were as clueless as we, it wasn't a total humiliation. In fact, this script might have worked better in a theater in terms of audience enjoyment. In theater, audiences are an active part of the whole experience.
Movies are inclusive, but the audience is passive. The aim is to immerse you in a point of view and in a world. For the most part, when watching films, you feel rather than think. That's how movies communicate–by manipulating our responses.
I think that deprivation is the point. Cronenbeg wants us to feel like outsiders, straining to understand what is going on behind those tinted limo windows.
In Cosmopolis, a character remarks on how the future is cannibalizing the present, and time is broken up into infinitesimally smaller bits. People can't keep up with how fast things change or deal with the necessary "creative destruction." Eric Packer (Pattison), a self-made multi-billionaire recalls that when he was four, he calculated how much he would weigh on each planet of our solar system. The kid must have been interesting to potty-train.
One thing hasn't changed. Eric, the protagonist of Cosmopolis, is every bit as bloodless as Edward the lovesick vamp. Most of the action takes place in the interior of a white stretch limo where Eric, a 28 year old self- made capitalist, holds court. Along the way, various minions enter the womb-like limo interior. We see all the symbols of wealth on numerous small screens, but the only tangible evidence is isolation from the damage caused by the machinations of the rich and entitled. Eric stares impassively through the bullet-proof windows at the rage of on-going riots. One by one, these employees report and/or perform. Reports he receives from two of his even younger male staffers reveal that Eric has lost all of his money, and all the capital of his clients. The news has no effect on him. He's restless and bored. Two of the women, including his art dealer/mistress (Juliette Binoche) bask in his attention, reflecting back to him his narcissistic approval. One employee (Emily Hampshire) forced to interrupt her day off, strokes the nozzle of her water bottle as a doctor (inside the limo which hosts an ultrasound and mini-lab) performs what, for Eric, is a highly erotic prostate exam. Eric's attention to the woman ends as the exam ends. He is only affected by the doctor's comment that his prostate is asymmetrical.
I've known people like Eric. There's an unspoken message: Impress me; entertain me. Make me care; make me notice. And the people in Eric's small world do try. It's not enough. Eric has a hard time feeling anything. His outer shell is a white limo that becomes increasingly defaced as it crosses through an urban nightmare. Several times, during the course of the day, he encounters his new wife, an equally bloodless blonde. Each time, he coerces her into having a meal with him. She rejects him sexually, saying that her writing (she's a poet) takes too much of her energy. Her rejection is what he finds compelling.
When his "I deal in theory" servant (Samantha Morton) sniffs at the sight of a man self-immolating on a sidewalk, dismissing it as an unoriginal gesture (it's been done), Eric wonders at all that pain to just make a statement, to say something.
The movie is a journey. Ulysses, the character from Homer's epic, The Odyssey (okay technically he's Odysseus), as well as James Joyce's novel inspired DeLillio. Both works (Ulysses) were also an influence on Mark Rothko, the artist whose "Rothko Chapel" Eric means to buy. Talk about entitlement; Eric assumes everything's for sale. The trip is a slow crawl through Manhattan traffic, its street arteries clotted by a POTUS visit. "We (as in the royal we) want a hair cut." Eric announces. The barbershop in question is across town. It is a space, that for Eric, means the comfort of the familiar–mirrored walls, swivel chairs, etc. He dismisses his bodyguard's warning that someone means to kill him. This devourer of the future craves the illusion of the past.
Very little elicits an emotional response from Eric or from us, the audience. One sweet exception is a cream pie that gets smashed into titan boy's face. The pie is wielded by a man with his own film crew. The man, who has smashed pies into the faces of countless heads of power, assures Eric that he's nonpartisan. Castro got served too. So after a spectacularly bad hair cut, and an off the wall murder, Eric faces his end in a run-down building and a bare-foot, hang dog (even more than usual) former employee (Paul Giamatti). Before he was downsized, this employee went nuts trying to keep up with the rate of changes in the way things are calculated. How's that singularity thingy workin' out for ya? Now the man has no identity. For him, "no identity" means no appointments, no plans, and no credit card receipts.
Eric forgot, the man accuses him, that all the Universe's symmetry and repetition means nothing without the isolated exception, an exception, like the asymmetrical prostate, a benign condition he and Eric both have. Worse, this man has a fungus between his toes, and it urges him to kill Eric. In the words of the long-ago church lady, "Isn't that special?" Eric has failed to save him, you see, and so Eric must die. Eric doesn't seem too concerned. Death is new; it's something he hasn't done.
We all have this in common. We all fear death and want someone to make it better. Some of us find comfort in religion and others in superheroes. No wonder vampires are so popular. Unlike zombies, you're undead and you get have sex and you keep your marbles (smarts).
As far as Pattinson's chops go, he's got them. The vivid desperation of the other characters collides with the impassivity of Pattinson's face. He's a neutral so that the colors are more vivid. I'll be interested to see what he does and how he is cast as he ages. I think he'll welcome the chance to do character work, and I hope he can keep working.
Regardless, I suspect some of those scenes will be showing up in actor showcases. There are some things that don't change.
A movie review: Prometheus–an alien nation of infection
Attention: Spoiler Alert!
PROMETHEUS, the prequel to the ALIEN films is now in theaters. Directed by Ridley Scott, who directed ALIEN, the first in the series, PROMETHEUS is one of two eagerly awaited science fiction movies of the the 2012 summer. The other movie is THE AVENGERS. Although there are other science fiction movies debuting this summer, PROMETHEUS and THE AVENGERS are the ones that fans have been waiting for. I saw THE AVENGERS and I didn't care for it. What little I did like included performances by Robert Downey, Jr. and Mark Ruffalo. Because I wasn't a fan of the comics and not familiar with the characters, I didn't think it right to review it. On the other hand, I have seen every one of the ALIEN series and really liked the first two.
PROMETHEUS was a disappointment.
The opening is beautiful.
A bald, blue, giant man, stands on the edge of a precipice, and far below is a scary Niagra-like waterfall. He drinks from what looks like a coconut shell with little bean-like things in it. Not a good idea. He isn't jolly and this isn't a valley–ho, ho, ho. The blue skin starts mottling a nasty black spider pattern. He keels over and plunges into the water where we see images of organs and vessels pulsating. The images take us into his cells where we see his DNA breaking apart and blending, we assume with all that water.
Skip ahead with me to a new time and place,
where a pair of archeologists discover an ancient cave drawing of a giant being (with a bald head so start doing the math). It's one of many drawings featuring giant men discovered in the artifacts of ancient cultures all over the world. Thousands of miles separate these drawings done by artists with no possible way to communicate. The discovery scene with the digging and brushing off the find, as well as the excitement of the scientist love-birds reminded me of the opening scene from JURASSIC PARK.
Now, we're on a spaceship, off to an unknown galaxy.
The crew is in hyper-sleep, tended by an android played by Michael Fassbender, a good actor whom I find both creepy and sexy. The android reminded me of a baby-sitter where the kids are asleep and the absent grownups have a great sound system and supply of dvds. He walks around taking notes, peering into a female crew member's dream (not nice) as he listens to music and watches old movies including LAWRENCE of ARABIA. His glowing yellow visor contrasts beautifully with the gleaming surface of the ship. Why did they put him in flipflops? That was odd. The beauty and serenity of this sequence reminded me of the opening of 2001, A SPACE ODYSSEY. The android's name is David. Remind you of anything–like maybe HAL's friend, "Dave"?
Next we have the briefing of the crew.
They all sit around, joking and drinking coffee while Charlize Theron (one of the best things in the movie and is she ever on a roll this year) gives a presentation that includes graphics showing the similarities of drawings and how they point to a different creation process in terms of how we got here . There's also an explanation of the mission by a holographic message. It's the powerful Weyland, the ninety-something owner of the company. Weyland is played by Guy Pearce in the worst old-age make-up I've seen since the last eighth grade production of Arsenic and Old Lace. Really guys? That totally took me out of the movie. There are a lot of seventy plus name actors who could have convincingly played twenty years older. Pearce is at the most fortyish. This was bad casting as well as bad make-up. The whole scene with the wise-cracking crew reminded me of the Marine grunts crew-briefing in ALIENS. Where's Bill Paxton? They could have used him. The hip black captain (Idris Elba) tried, but just couldn't supply enough of the required "cool" factor with so many science nerds making lame jokes.
So the mission is for us to find "where we humans came from."
Darwin was a quack and the bald men planted us on earth. Those drawings were an invitation, weren't they? The planet landing sequence was cool. We see these big domes. And . . . they're hollow! One by one, like an Agatha Christie play, scientists start dying–with a little help from Android David, and the stowaway–you guessed it! Guy Pierce who happens to be Charlize's father–a plot line thrown in like an extra onion to the stew. Didn't help. When it comes to an invitation, BYOB takes on a whole new meaning and all the aliens, alienettes and mini-aliens slithering in that dome consider the spaceship a giant kegger. At the end of it we find out that the big blue bald guys were cooking up weapons of mass destruction at a safe distance from their world.
Yes, they were in our little corner of the universe and yes, they are our daddies.
However, they weren't satisfied with how we turned out and were planning to come back to re-do us using some of their other little works of art–the ones with two sets of razor-teeth. Unfortunately for them, someone didn't mind the stove and there was an accident. All the aliens died a long time ago. Or did they? David the Android manages to not only spike the drink of one of the scientists with alien juice, but also intends to harvest a little alien bun-in the oven, planted in the unfortunate scientist girlfriend. She outsmarts him and does her own c-section before the little nipper gets too frisky. Okay then, David's last trick is to wheel his old boss out to see the one remaining bald alien who has been in some kind of super sleep for a zillion years. David figures out how to wake him up. Ah, good plan! Does the alien give away any trade secrets–say to eternal life? The old man eagerly awaits. The big blue guy grins, kills Weyland and rips David's head off. David isn't particularly upset.
By now, what's left off the crew has figured out that they need to destroy the big alien ship.
It was on its way to earth and after the long layover, the remaining alien will be off to off us. With a heroic "it's been a privilege captain" every one blows up. Everyone, that is except the bald alien, who is finally killed by the "little bun in the oven" that's all grow'd up. David (in two pieces now) tells the remaining scientist he has figured out how to pilot one of the small remaining alien ships. Does she want him to take her home? Nooooo. Of course not. She wants an explanation, so off they go to find ET's home. She explains that because she's human, she needs to know. Really? Just call me Data.
A Movie Review: Snow White and the Huntsman–Hi ho-hi ho-politically correct we go!
No Spoiler Alert!
(Hello–It's Snow White)
As I write this review, SNOW WHITE and the HUNTSMAN, a 2012 release, is a currently in theaters. Directed by Rupert Sanders (first film) and co-written by Evan Daugherty and John Lee Hancock (director of THE BLIND SIDE), it stars Charlize Theron as Ravenna (the evil queen), Kristen Stewart (Snow White) and Chris Hemsworth as the studly huntsman.
If you enjoy films with great visual effects, you 'll enjoy this film.The story, however, is muddled.
In my opinion, the movie's too long. I became restless about three-quarters into it. The story meandered. It may be that the writers were working from other versions of the fairytale and we're all used to the Disney version. Regardless, it seems that they failed to settle on one version. Unfortunately, the result is muddled and questions like why Ravenna doesn't kill Snow White when she kills the King and who this Huntsman really is are not answered. We're left with too many loose ends.
Where is Prince Charming? He's been demoted. His name is "William" (Sam Claflin) and he's the son of a duke. Ravenna's overly devoted brother "Finn" Sam Spreull (Hamlet called and wants his hair back) keeps a handy supply of local maidens in the dungeon for those occasions when Ravenna needs a dose of youth to freshen up. Ravenna tricked the King, Snow White's father, into marrying her. Ravenna has issues with men–and everybody else–and makes it her business to spread misery like a bad rash over the entire kingdom. Too bad she has no other outlets. Ravenna could do a mean blog and likely, the Facebook friend from hell.
Charlize Theron makes a believable evil queen–very intimidating. I wouldn't want to get on the wrong side of her. This actress is good in just about every role she does.
For some reason Ravenna keeps Snow White alive as a permanent dungeon resident. That is until The Mirror announces Snow White is "the fairest in the land." Ravenna is not happy (she never is). Especially when she learns Snow White can kill her. There is good news though. Snow White's heart is a permanent beauty treatment. If Ravenna eats it, there need be no more messy maidens.
Kristen Stewart is okay as Snow White. She simply isn't compelling. There's a heaviness to her acting. No perceivable sense of humor.
When Finn comes to collect Snow White's heart, Snow White escapes. Then Ravenna sends out the Huntsman and one thing leads to another, including Ravenna impersonating William and handing Snow White the poison apple. She bites, falls dead and guess whose kiss wakes her up. Not wimpy William–it's Hunky Huntsman.
So now Snow White is really annoyed–that apple was the last straw. The result– Snow White leads an army and storms the castle to end Ravenna. The huntsman and William, and six of the seven dwarfs (one dwarf dies) join in the battle. Several well-known non-dwarf actors hi ho it to the castle including Bos Hoskins and Ian McShane. The dwarf scenes have lots of bathroom humor and though funny, they're not in sync with the tone of the narrative. Not surprisingly, this cast was a major issue for working actors who are in fact dwarfs. Of course they win and Snow White kills the queen. Kristen's soulful Twilight stare helps Ravenna into the light.
This reworking of the Snow White fairy tale sounds a feminist note. It ends with her coronation. Who is going to be Mr. Snow White? Will it be the devoted William, the tormented rough-around-the edges Huntsman, or maybe a dwarf? Wait for the sequel. One thing for sure– no white charger, no "Some day my prince will come" for this girl. She has a kingdom to rule.
A Movie Review: Episode 50–The Devil (and my agent) made me do it.
Netflix, Netflix, Netflix … whaat WERE you thinking? I trusted you Netflix. You said two and a half stars! Nooooooooooo!
EPISODE 50, a 2011 release, has 2.5 stars from the Netflix fairy. This 2011 "offering," written and directed by Joe and Tess Smalley begins benignly enough with yet another "found footage" paranormal premise. This time it's for a paranormal reality (think Ghost Hunters) show–only these guys are out to show us the smoke, mirrors and faulty wiring that panic folks into thinking their places are haunted. These dudes (and one dewy-eyed dudette) are out to shine a light on superstition and vivid imaginations. Their purpose is to put this poppycock silliness to rest so that "real science" will get more attention. When a dying rich guy who fears going to hell offers them the chance to investigate the West Virginia Lunatic Asylum, the site of several unexplained and gruesome deaths, they see "Season Finale" or "Episode 50!!" So they load up the van and head for West Virginey–visions of Emmys dancing in their heads.
Trouble (along with a ghost in the window) arises when they encounter a rival group called "ASK" (don't ask) a trio of God-fearing folks from UCLA. ASK is convinced that the Devil is real. So of course the two groups start circling each other like the Sharks and the Jets until the dewy eyed dudette calls a halt while her counter-part in the ASK group, a rather mousy medium looks panicked at the thought of picking up whatever signals the asylum is beaming. They agree to work together–or rather the TV show crew will work and the church people will take notes. The rest of the film devolves from the formatted "Ghost Hunters" to a plot mess more complicated than three seasons of "Dark Shadows." Towards the middle of the film we're treated to music supporting the "found footage" and ghosts start staggering, crawling on the ceiling, and locking people in rooms that just happen to contain the files that help the investigators to figure out that it's just one bad guy-ghost (a serial-murderer, what a surprise!) who is holding all the spirits there and not allowing them to "go into the light children." There's a gate to hell and it's not even at the hospital; it's in an old prison. And so off they go to the old pokey. Right. My favorite line was "I never pay attention to crap like 'The Exorcist.'" Oh reeeally? You mean that ole' black magic movie? This masterpiece ends with a show-down–mano vs cloven hoof as the "Devil' (the Devil looks like a bare-chested guy with a mean set of horns) guarding an old gate with flames, etc. The big bad Devil is vanquished by the skeptic TV guy wielding a crucifix (after the church guy dies heroically). Priceless. Netflix—how about half a star?


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Press Releases & Statements
May - June 2011
Canines Trained Under Merida Initiative Help Mexican Officials Find $2.4 Million Hidden in Phone Cable
Mexico City, June 29, 2011 — A trained canine provided to the Government of Mexico under the Merida Initiative was instrumental in helping Mexican officials seize $2.4 million in cash. On June 16th, Mexican customs inspectors found more than $2.4 million in cash rolled up and stuffed into spools of telephone cable headed for Venezuela. A trained dog alerted his handler to the suspicious contents of the spools at the Mexico City airport.
Remarks ONDCP Director Gil Kerlikowske at the 9th Annual U.S./Mexico Drug Demand Reduction Conference
Mexico City, June 22, 2011 – We seek cooperation with nations and international organizations and are consulting broadly on our policy, with academics and non-governmental organizations as well as within government. The impact of U.S. drug control policy can be seen in the literally millions of citizens who today are in recovery from drug addiction...
U.S. Embassy Congratulates Mexico on the Arrest of Presumed Leader of "La Familia Michoacana"
Mexico City, June 22, 2011 – Chargé John Feeley said, "As Mexico's federal police and armed forces continue to improve their tactical capabilities to investigate and take down organized criminal networks and their leaders, impunity shrinks and Mexico's people become more secure."
USAID and Mexican Secretariat of Public Security Sign Agreement to Offer Master Degree in Human Rights
Mexico City, June 9, 2011 – The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) signed on June 7, 2011, a letter of agreement with Mexico's Secretariat of Public Security (SSP) and the Latin American Institute of Educational Communication (ILCE) to create a master degree in human rights under the Merida Initiative framework.
President Obama Announces More Key Administration Posts
June 8, 2011.- Today, President Barack Obama announced his intent to nominate individuals to key Administration posts
New U.S.-Mexico Telecommunications Agreement Will Ease Burdens on U.S. Manufacturers
Paris, France, May 27, 2011 – United States Trade Representative Ron Kirk and Mexican Secretary of Economy Bruno Ferrari today signed an agreement that will ease burdens on U.S. companies, especially smaller manufacturers, seeking to export telecommunications products to Mexico
U.S.-Mexico Bilateral Framework on Clean Energy and Climate Change
On May 18, 2011, in Mexico City, the United States and Mexico participated in the second annual meeting of the U.S.-Mexico Framework on Clean Energy and Climate Change. The Framework was announced by Presidents Obama and Calderon in April 2009 to promote the development of renewable energy, energy efficiency and green jobs, sustainable forestry and land use, low carbon energy technology development and capacity building.
Remarks by the President on the Middle East and North Africa
The State Department is a fitting venue to mark a new chapter in American diplomacy. For six months, we have witnessed an extraordinary change taking place in the Middle East and North Africa. Square by square, town by town, country by country, the people have risen up to demand their basic human rights.
Remarks at the U.S.-Mexico Foundation's Mexican American Leadership Initiative
Washington, D.C., May 16, 2011, This is an independent organization, but I am proud to have been part of the initial conversation about MALI's creation. I remember last spring talking with Foreign Secretary Patricia Espinosa from Mexico about the special role that ethnic communities play in the countries of their parents and grandparents here in the United States. Obviously, we know many examples of that around our country. And with one billion in trade and one million people crossing the border every single day
Remarks by the President on Comprehensive Immigration Reform in El Paso, Texas
El Paso, Texas, May 10,2011.- President Obama: And it was a reminder of a simple idea, as old as America itself: E pluribus unum. Out of many, one. We define ourselves as a nation of immigrants -- a nation that welcomes those willing to embrace America's ideals and America's precepts.
Excerpt from Remarks by the President at the White House Correspondents Association Dinner
Washinton, D.C., May 1, 2011.- THE PRESIDENT: . . . I've got faith that the journalists in this room will do their part for the people who have been affected by this disaster (in Alabama and across the South) –- by reporting on their progress, and letting the rest of America know when they will need more help.
Readout of the President's Phone Calls on the Death of Osama bin Laden
Washington, D.C., May 2, 2011.- Since yesterday's operation, the President spoke with numerous world leaders who expressed their congratulations on the successful American action to kill Osama bin Laden, which will make both the United States and the world more secure.
Remarks by President Obama on the death of Osama Bin Laden
Washington, D.C. May 2, 2011.- The United States has conducted an operation that killed Osama bin Laden, the leader of al Qaeda, and a terrorist who's responsible for the murder of thousands of innocent men, women, and children.
Remarks on the Killing of Usama bin Ladin
First, I want to offer my thoughts and prayers to the thousands of families whose loved ones were killed in Usama bin Ladin's campaign of terror and violence,


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There simply has never been a better time to enjoy everything that New Zealand has to offer. Emirates flies daily to Auckland from Sydney, Melbourne or Brisbane and to Christchurch from Sydney.
With its vibrant city culture and stunning natural beauty, New Zealand offers a vast array of highly accessible activities and attractions including the world-famous wine regions, where you can enjoy delicious food and amazing wine in some of the most beautiful countryside New Zealand has to offer.
Emirates starts your culinary escape in the air with award-winning, chef-prepared gourmet food and wine, up to 1,400 channels of entertainment, and a generous 30kg baggage allowance. And if you're flying from Sydney or Melbourne to Auckland, you can start your journey on board our flagship Emirates A380.
Whether it's island hopping in Auckland Harbour, walking through native forest, or sipping wine at world-class vineyards on a Waiheke Island wine tour, you'll find it all on New Zealand's North Island.
Then there's the South Island, on which to continue your journey of discovery. From Christchurch, you can cruise amongst the immense peaks in Milford Sound or walk along the icy glaciers in Franz Josef. If you're after some excitement, experience the rush of water rafting in the Baller River or an invigorating cycle through the majestic mountains surrounding Lake Wanaka.
No matter what kind of escape you're after, there's no better place than New Zealand to unwind and connect with friends.
Book now
Image courtesy of Tourism New Zealand. Photographer: Gareth Eyres
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In spite of continued growth in computational resources the idea of a computational laboratory serving as surrogate to physical reality still faces conceptual and technical challenges. Chief among these is the characterization of physical reality itself, under conditions of incomplete knowledge and information, reflected in observed variability and fluctuations. The quantification of this uncertainty has, in recent years, grown from a collection of scientific ideas into a sub-discipline of computational science that attempts to provide a quantitative description of incomplete knowledge for use in conjunction with model-based computational resources, algorithms, and software.
Uncertainty exists in all branches of science and engineering. Accordingly, in recent reports and initiatives on scientific computing, uncertainty quantification (UQ) has been recognized as a critical element necessary for continued advancement in prediction science, life-cycle design, and societal sustainability. The topic of uncertainty, in general, remains rather nebulous and susceptible to philosophical arguments. Significant progress has been made in recent years within a subset of related problems in science and engineering, namely those for which the behavior can be suitably modeled with conservation or variational laws containing stochastic coefficients. Also in recent years, there has been an increasing awareness of complexity as an essential theoretical challenge in many problems of great societal relevance the hallmarks of which are interacting phenomena, nonlinearities and emergent behavior. Network Science has been developing in response to these challenges and has gained both in mathematical maturity and scope of applicability. In turn, developments in network science have spurred significant research activity in computational social sciences and in particular social networks.
This Workshop on Opportunities and Challenges in Uncertainty Quantification for Com
|Contact: Eric Mankin
University of Southern California


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15 Injured In Collision Of Express Train And Truck
In this aerial image, police officers investigate the accident site... NyhetsfotoBild,Japan,Nära,Olyckor och katastrofer,Poliskår,Prefekturen Hyogo,Räddningsarbetare,Tågolycka,Utforskning,VertikalPhotographer The Asahi ShimbunCollection: The Asahi Shimbun 2013 The Asahi ShimbunTAKASAGO, JAPAN - FEBRUARY 12: (CHINA OUT, SOUTH KOREA OUT) In this aerial image, police officers investigate the accident site that Sanyo Electric Railway Co. train and a truck collided near Arai Station on February 12, 2013 in Takasago, Hyogo, Japan. Fifteen people injured by the accident. (Photo by The Asahi Shimbun via Getty Images)


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Lillian Goldman Library and Labyrinth Books sponsored a discussion of a groundbreaking new book by Professor William Eskridge titled "A Republic of Statutes" with Commentary by Professor Bruce Ackerman.
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The BMW M5 is subtly mad
There's no point in pretending the BMW M5 is anything other than a benchmark car. The M Division creates cars that are a perfect balance between the mentalism that falls out of AMG, and the point-and-shoot weapons from Audi's RS team. The M3 may be the poster car, but the M5 is the one that people really lust after.
The 5 Series, classically, is the next step up the ladder. It's the car you go for when you've reached the top of the chain and need something to show off just how well you've done. … Read more


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By John Ohler
In the late 1920s, Martinak bought the land as a private hunting and fishing camp, later donating it for preservation as a recreational facility and a natural area for the enjoyment of all. The park supports a wide variety of plant and animal life, and boasts 63 improved campsites, several picnic shelters and great fishing and boating opportunities.
In the last few years, Martinak State Park has benefited from a series of facility upgrades and more are scheduled for the near future. Two new playgrounds, camper cabins and improvements to the Watt's Creek Amphitheater beckon new visitors. Within the next year, additional trails and walkways will be completed along with improvements to the restrooms and camping facilities. This quiet park has been home to a loyal "family" of campers, many who have been patrons for over 25 years.
During the course of the year, Martinak hosts several special events including a free summer concert series enjoyed by young and old alike. Another very popular activity is the Annual Fall Fest, where families make scarecrows, decorate pumpkins, and take turns helping to shell corn or stir a 30-gallon kettle of homemade apple butter. In December, Santa's Magic Workshop draws residents from all over the mid-Shore region to the park to enjoy a light display, train gardens, crafts and a visit with Santa.
Martinak was one of the first Maryland state parks to be designated a Chesapeake Bay Gateways Network site. Coordinated by the National Park Service, Gateways is a system of over 120 parks, wildlife refuges, museums, historic communities and trails around the Bay watershed through which one can experience and learn about the Chesapeake. Along with the Gateways designation came the opportunity to apply for federal funding for interpretive displays and improvements to the park's Nature Center.
Martinak's Nature Center was created in the late 1970s when park staff enclosed a portion of a large pavilion. The building was improved over the years as the staff collected an interesting array of display materials, tables and AV equipment, many which were hand-me-downs from other parks and Department of Natural Resources (DNR) facilities.
With financial support from the Friends of Martinak State Park, Inc., the park was able to begin a complete renovation and enlargement of the Nature Center during the fall of 2002. Staff installed new flooring, ceiling, lighting, windows and doors to enhance the interior, and cedar siding was installed on the exterior to give the building a rustic, natural feel. In addition, the Friends group donated new tables, chairs and additional equipment allowing the main room to be used for meetings, classes and training sessions.
The Nature Center's interpretive displays are reaching the final stages of completion. A striking mural painted by local artist Kurt Plinke features commonly found flora and fauna, including a nearly life-sized great blue heron and bald eagle. Other displays highlight the Delmarva Peninsula's Native Indian population, including a collection of artifacts found in the area by retired park ranger Joe Reinhardt. A large picture window offers a tremendous view of a bird and butterfly garden being developed with the assistance of a local Girl Scout troop. The Center's children's corner includes a library with books, games and hands-on displays.
The main feature of the Nature Center will be an 800-gallon aquarium containing a variety of species from the Choptank River and nearby Watt's Creek, including largemouth bass, channel catfish, white and yellow perch, chain pickerel, darters and striped bass. Crayfish, freshwater crabs and other invertebrates will be stocked in the tank as well.
The Nature Center is open on weekends during the summer as well as selected days during the spring and fall. DNR's popular Park Pals (for 4 to 6-year-olds) and Junior Rangers (for 7 to 14-year-olds) programs use the Nature Center as a base to learn about and explore a variety of outdoor topics. The staff of Martinak State Park invites you to visit this quiet gem on the Eastern Shore.
For more information on Martinak State Park, visit the park's website at dnr.maryland.gov/publiclands/eastern/martinak.html or call the office at 410-820-1668.
John Ohler is the manager of the Tuckahoe State Park Complex. An avid hiker and outdoorsman, he completed hiking the Appalachian Trail from Georgia to Maine last year.


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Oakland Police Chief Retires After 27 Years
December 23, 2010 2:08 PM
OAKLAND, Md. (AP) — Oakland's chief of police for 27 years, John K. Sines, has retired.
Sines has been with the police department since 1983 and was appointed chief the next year. He oversaw a staff of three.
Lt. Randy Wright will act as chief until the position is filled.
(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)


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LION IN WINTER A royally entertaining match of wits and wills, with Treat Williams as a ruggedly charismatic King Henry II and Jayne Atkinson skillfully blending fire and ice in her portrayal of Eleanor of Aquitaine. Director Robert Moss demonstrates a sure hand on the reins as he guides a strong ensemble through James Goldman's 1966 play, proving this warhorse still has plenty of giddyup. Through July 13. Berkshire Theatre Group. Fitzpatrick Main Stage,
Stockbridge. 413-997-4444, www.berkshiretheatregroup.org
An early Shakespeare comedy in which one of the gentlemen of the title becomes smitten with the other's beloved, and knavery ensues. This production, directed by Steven Maler, choreographed by Yo-el Cassell, and featuring a five-piece jazz band, is described as "inspired by Rat Pack-era Vegas.'' Free. Through July 28. Commonwealth Shakespeare Company. Boston Common. For reserved chairs, which cost $35, or for additional
information, 617-426-0863, www.commshakes.org
Bertolt Brecht's drama entwines the stories of Grusha, a kitchen maid who cares for an abandoned child, and Azdak, an impoverished, drunken, intellectual scribe turned judge who must deliver a ruling on the child's fate. Directed by Danielle Fauteux Jacques, with an original score by David Reiffel. Free. July 10-27. Apollinaire Theatre Company. Mary O'Malley Park, Commandant's Way, Chelsea. Information: 617-887-2336, www.apollinairetheatre.com. Performed in English on Thursdays, Saturdays, and Sundays, and on Wed., July 17, and Wed., July 24. Performed in Spanish on Wed., July 10, and on Fridays.


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Darius Syrossian has lodged a pretty big allegation against Mexico's BPM Festival—that he was beaten up onstage before he challenged some of the festival's policies. Of course, there's two sides to every story, and you can read them both, along with plenty more news from around the dance-music world, in today's link roundup.
– Wait—what happened at the BPM Festival? According to the Frontliner, DJ Darius Syrossian claims he was beaten up onstage for challenging some of the festival's policies, after having to pay to get there in the first place. Naturally, the promoters have a different tale to tell. It's all a doozy: (full story)
– Getting booted off the decks was a pretty big trend last year. It doesn't bother Shawn O'Sullivan, who holds such ejections like a badge of honor. (full story)
– If you've ever been curious as to what inspired Sir Mix-A-Lot's "Baby Got Back," you need to read this oral history of how the video went down. (full story)
– So what inspired Actress' latest work? Oh, just pain, drug addicts, and homelessness, he tells Mixmag. (full story)
– Production school extraordinaire Dubspot has a lot going on right now. Not only have they cracked the lid on their LA location, but they're in the midst of dub month right now, premiering a bunch of new tutorials and hosting dub god Lee "Scratch" Perry in their NYC studio. (full story)
– Future Music magazine recently tapped the young dance star Martin Garrix to talk at length about his crazy-huge hit "Animals." Here's the teaser for the full episode that will air tomorrow.
– More from CES: Hercules' DJControlWave, a 100% wireless bluetooth DJ controller for iPad. (full story)
– If you're new to the DJ game, you'd do well to heed the advice of legend Danny Tenaglia, who recently dropped a few tips on how to manage yourself professionally. (full story)
– Here's everything you need to know about NYC club Rinsed, courtesy of Vice's Thump subsite. (full story)


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We are pleased to announce that we have Elitch's park exclusive use for homeschoolers on Friday, May 10th! Click on the image above to go to the webpage for further information and to register. Mike Chapa Executive Director
We held our annual Homeschool Day at Elitch's last Friday and it was a beautiful day with all the rides in operation. I have negotiated with Elitch's that next year we are guaranteed 100% exclusivity for homeschoolers! Over the last … Continue reading


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Ojo morado
El ojo morado es causado por la presencia de sangre dentro del tejido que rodea al ojo, lo cual ocurre con frecuencia después de un trauma. El término médico para este tipo de amoratamiento es equimosis.
Last reviewed 5/1/2011 by Linda J. Vorvick, MD, Medical Director, MEDEX Northwest Division of Physician Assistant Studies, University of Washington, School of Medicine. Also reviewed by David Zieve, MD, MHA, Medical Director, A.D.A.M., Inc.
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©1997 - A.D.A.M., Inc.Any duplication or distribution of the information contained herein is strictly prohibited.


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Last year, we took a preliminary look at one of Summer 2014's early tentpoles--X-Men: Days of Future Past--and broke down some of its keys to contending for the 2014 domestic summer box office crown. Thanks to your enthusiastic responses toward that original story, we think it's only fair to highlight the season's other contenders in what looks to be the first summer in years with more than one or two legitimate front-runners.
Thus, Part Two of this "5 Reasons..." series looks at the potential of another fan favorite: The Amazing Spider-Man 2.
It's no secret that Sony has big plans for their new iteration of the popular series. Sam Raimi's trilogy delivered some of the biggest box office numbers in history between 2002 and 2007, while 2012's reboot was a global success in its own right. Now, which elements could inspire major blockbuster status for director Marc Webb's second foray into web-slinging territory?
#1) Franchise Precedents & The Summer-Starter Effect
Considered by Hollywood as the official start to the season, the first weekend of May has delivered the eventual summer box office victor for the past two years (The Avengers and Iron Man 3). Believe it or not, that's far from the norm. Prior to 2012, only two movies had ever won a summer after opening on that weekend: 2007's Spider-Man 3 and 2002's original Spider-Man... (more)
Full Story: http://www.boxoffice...est-blockbuster
Edited by ShawnMR, 13 March 2014 - 09:34 AM.