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Are Trends Becoming Obsolete? In a Ph.D. dissertation from The Danish Design School, Maria Mackinney-Valentin studies how and why fashion trends change, and whether there have been any changes in trend mechanisms in the 21st century. Read her article in the new, 10 volume set encyclopedia of world dress and fashion
Danish Design Research
The Encyclopedia has a number of contributions from unique Danish research profiles. Maria Mackinney-Valentin is one of them - and she is now holding a position as lecturer at The Danish Design School - still following trend mechanisms and teaching within her field of research.
Find the encyclopedia here
Berg Publishers: www.bergfashionlibrary.com/page/encyclopedia/-berg-encyclopedia-of-world-dress-and-fashion
You will find it at The Danish Design School's Library


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We all know the value of quarterbacks raises as the draft gets closer. We also all know that significantly altering a player's grade based on Combine performance is a quick way to get a scouting staff fired.
That said, there is an increasing belief among NFL teams that as many as five quarterbacks could wind up in the first round, following strong performances from Ryan Mallett, Jake Locker and Christian Ponder at the Combine.
Mallett unquestionably has first round skills. While his struggles at the podium in front of the media has been well documented, league sources tell our own Len Pasquarelli of The Sports XChange that teams who interviewed him in Indianapolis "came away impressed with him."
Locker, too, has unquestionable talent. His career-long struggles with inaccuracy remain a concern for many, but there was no denying he enjoyed a strong throwing session at the Combine, throwing some of his most accurate passes on the deep outs, fly routes and post-corners that are generally considered the toughest throws scouts ask quarterbacks to make at the Combine. Some teams will take this as evidence that he's made strides under former pro quarterback Ken O'Brien -- and is likely to continue to do so under NFL coaching.
Perhaps the most surprising quarterback generating recent first round buzz is Ponder. His multiple arm surgeries make his medical grade the most important result from the Combine (and teams won't have these complete results for awhile), but there is no question that the former Seminole is building momentum following a Senior Bowl MVP performance and a strong showing during passing drills. Considering his intelligence, mobility and accuracy to the short to intermediate levels of the field, Ponder is viewed by some as the top true West Coast Offense quarterback in the draft.
In last week's mock draft I had only two quarterbacks (Missouri's Blaine Gabbert and Auburn's Cam Newton) projected in the first round. With virtually every one of the front office executives and head coaches acknowleding during their Combine interviews the supreme value of the quarterback position and another two months for the hype around these three to build, we could end up seeing that number more than double by April 28.
Could five QBs wind up in the first round?
We all know the value of quarterbacks raises as the draft gets closer. We also all know that significantly altering a player's grade based on Combine performance is a quick way to get a scouting staff fired.
Since: Dec 2, 2011
Posted on: January 9, 2012 9:24 pm
Could five QBs wind up in the first round?
Instructional web page, book marked your website equipped with anticipations to examine much m ore!
Since: Dec 2, 2011
Posted on: December 7, 2011 11:41 pm
This comment has been removed.
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subset: commoncrawl


text:
Joseph S.J. Tanner Environmental Education Center, John H Kerr Reservoir (Buggs Island Lake), US Army Corps of Engineers
The Joseph S.J. Tanner Environmental Education Center offers a chance to get "hands on" and experience some of the native wildlife in the area. It's a great chance to learn about local bird and mammal species and have the opportunity to feel real animal furs.
Also, check out the Butterfly Garden out front of the Tanner Center. It's a great place for the pollinator enthusiast to observe and photograph these beautiful creatures.
Normal Operations: Saturday and Sunday, April 1 to October 31, 9-Noon and 1pm-4pm
Summer Operations: Thursday through Sunday, Memorial Day Weekend to Labor Day Weekend, 9-Noon and 1pm-4pm
Open for groups or programs by special request. Call for additional information: 434-738-6143


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Life Is PeachyInside Atlanta's Music Recording Scene 6/01/2004 8:00 AM Eastern
On a deceptively quiet street located in a pleasant neighborhood near downtown Atlanta, Butch Walker is staying ultrabusy at being loud. The suddenly ubiquitous, simultaneously incognito Walker — a successful rock producer, engineer, songwriter and artist — has spent the afternoon listening to his work with pop idol Avril Lavigne, discussing his upcoming Epic solo album and reminiscing about recent productions for Sevendust, A Simple Plan, Midtown and Default, all while deftly dodging a ringing mobile phone. Walker makes it clear that Ruby Red Recordings — his impressive two-studio, SSL-equipped recording spot — is not for everyone.
"This place will never be an advertised, fully commercial facility," explains Walker. "It's going to be an invite-only studio. If I don't get a good feeling from someone, then they're not coming here." Think that's an interesting business plan in this new recording industry? Don't question Walker, because it's working well for him in his favorite town.
Walker's is only one of the unique stories within Atlanta's music recording market. After visiting a variety of Atlanta studios, it quickly became clear that virtually every studio in town has an equally original compelling theme, each featuring an entertaining cast of creative, passionate characters. From the city's unusually large number of private production facilities (OutKast's Stankonia Recording and Dallas Austin's DARP Studios, to name a few) to vibed-out, fully commercial studios with conscientious business plans, Atlanta is a recording city unlike any other.
The impetus behind Atlanta's unique recording market has always been its dynamic music scene. Although most have R&B and hip hop in mind when thinking about the music of the ATL (an idea recently reinforced with the worldwide success of OutKast), the city boasts and hosts a huge collection of talented artists of all genres. While urban music producers glean lots of media attention in Atlanta, rock producers such as Brendan O'Brien also call the city home and frequently bring high-profile superstar artists like Pearl Jam, Korn and Bruce Springsteen to town. (The majority of Springsteen's Grammy
By being the unofficial "capital" and culture center of the South, Atlanta also attracts a variety of independent musicians specializing in blues, jazz, classical and every other style imaginable. While the recording scene isn't as large as it is in cities such as Los Angeles or New York City, the music created in Atlanta is arguably as diverse and does not perpetuate preconceived notions of musical style like, for instance, Nashville might. Simply stated, there's more going on in Atlanta than you're probably aware of.
Atlanta's role as an important secondary market for music recording poses interesting challenges to each of its studios. It is clear that this city has proven to be a hotbed of innovative and financially lucrative musical productions, but for the town's studio scene, operating like facilities in New York, Los Angeles or Nashville isn't, and never was, an option. As a result, the biggest complexes feel strangely "grass roots" when compared to equally built and equipped rooms in larger markets. On the flip side, smaller facilities seem to operate on a grander scale.
At Tree Sound Studios, one of Atlanta's larger, multigenre facilities, sessions run the gamut of possibilities: Superstar lockouts by folks such as Elton John and Whitney Houston happen alongside spec-deal sessions with unsigned local talent. At Tree, you can find private production rooms leased to independent engineers and producers, and on Tree's second floor, Atlanta-based A&R reps, management companies and other industry-related businesses inhabit offices.
This, according to Tree studio manager Nina Baldridge, helps make the studio a synergistic place to work. "There's more to it than the room and the gear," she explains. "There's a community of music professionals here and it benefits everybody. [Local producer/engineer] Rick Beato was originally considering building a studio in his house. After thinking about it, he told me, 'Let's do it here instead.' It's a place where everybody is scratching everybody else's back."
A somewhat similar arrangement is happening over at ZAC Recording, engineer Jim Zumpano's recording community, located near trendy Buckhead. While the studio was originally conceived as a fully commercial, multiroom facility, Zumpano has allowed his business plan to evolve. "During the years that I've built this place, the business model of recording studios has fallen apart, from the label structure all the way down to kids making their first recordings. I built my place on the old model." Acknowledging this, Zumpano is leasing three studio spaces to indie engineers, while continuing to book his large SSL-equipped studio and a mid-size Pro Tools/ProControl room. "So I'm still 'commercially' working it, although I'm not the one out there searching. I've got the rooms rented, and I've become a bit of a landlord."
Photo: Carolyn Richardson
Even the Atlanta recording studios with more traditional business models seem to offer more than "big room, big console" appeal. Legendary studio Southern Tracks has been rocking for more than 20 years, and studio co-owner Mike Clark considers the studio's unpretentious, relaxed environment as important as its extensive classic microphone and outboard gear collection. "It's not corporate," Clark says, "and things aren't so palatial, like, 'Oh, don't touch that.' I hate to use the word 'vibe,' but that's what it is." Southern Tracks' comfortable environment obviously works well for many; according to Clark, the one-studio facility with a 2,800-square-foot tracking room stays booked 300 days a year.
In 1995, Atlanta Falcon Bob Whitfield and business partner Curtis Daniel III founded Patchwerk Studios shortly after launching their own record label. The duo's studio quickly became the commercial facility of choice for many hip hop and R&B clients recording in the city, and has since hosted a wide variety of very successful projects. In Atlanta, a city with an unusually large number of private, producer-owned production rooms, Patchwerk built its reputation on being a world-class studio for everyone and is always ready to do what is necessary to make its clients happy, as many of them — or their producers — have facilities of their own. "This is everybody's studio," declares Daniel. "And even though some of these artists have their own studios, they work here, too. It's all in the name: Patchwerk; we're ready to work. That's our image."
A perfect example of a premier Atlanta private facility is R&B superproducer Jermaine Dupri's Southside Studios. Originally built for Dupri by Sony Records, the studio, with a reported $5 million price tag, is more like "a cool hangout," according to studio manager Brian Remenick. Besides its Studio 440 design and an SSL 9K console, Southside boasts creature features such as a 2⅔3-scale indoor basketball court, two bedrooms and a private garage. "Since we don't take outside clients, Jermaine can just pull into the garage, walk in and start working without having to see anybody," Remenick says.
The private setup is similar at Ruby Red Recordings, albeit on a slightly smaller scale — and without an indoor basketball court. "Honestly, it's the same basic situation for both me and Jermaine, except we're from two different worlds musically," Walker says. "We just work on more of an 'indie' rock budget, which goes to show how much money is in R&B and how much is in rock 'n' roll!"
However, Ruby Red is not so private that Walker doesn't find ways to get involved with Atlanta's up-and-coming musicians and bands. The studio's full-time engineer, Rusty Cobb, is a producer in his own right, and works at the facility on non-Walker productions when scheduling allows. "Half the reason I got this place was to give bands a place to record using their own money," says Walker. "I give special rates to struggling musicians whenever there's time available."
Photo: John Briglevich
While not private, engineer John Briglevich's Sonica Studios is a place where the owner is often involved in the sessions. If a client is working at Sonica, you can bet that Briglevich is interested in the music. "I'm not the absentee owner," he claims. "I'll do whatever it takes, from playing on records to helping out with the engineering. I have a lot of pride in this place, and it is basically a reflection of me."
While this sort of owner involvement in a studio usually happens in smaller, project-type studios, Sonica is far from a project facility. It features a custom API console, large rooms and mounds of classic gear, amps and microphones — all of which are proudly "not on lockdown," according to Briglevich. This laid-back philosophy echoes the recurring theme of the relaxed, yet serious Atlanta studio: "In Atlanta, we know where our place is. It's a secondary market and none of the studios are ostentatious. They are all predicated on function, first and foremost."
No matter who you talk to, if you're discussing Atlanta's music industry, the subject of "Southern hospitality" will arise. It clearly isn't just a cliché, because many involved in Atlanta's studio business find it to be one of the most appealing aspects of working in their town.
"Southern hospitality is real," exclaims Baldridge, a veteran of the Los Angeles recording scene. "L.A. has a real clique as far as studios are concerned, and while there's a clique here, there's a big difference in how we deal with each other. For instance, I know that I can call Mike at Southern Tracks if I need something. I'm here for him, and he's there for me. Also, I may say to someone, 'I can't get you in right now, but Jim Z at ZAC might be available.' We all know what our capabilities are as far as sessions are concerned, and we all help each other out."
The camaraderie even extends to lending each other equipment as needed, as both Briglevich and Ruby Red studio manager Christie Priode point out. "It's always, 'Hey man, I've got this high-profile client coming in. Do you have this particular mic?'" says Briglevich. "There's a lot of that, and I think it filters from the top down."
"I don't know about other studios, but I feel that we're all friends," says Priode. "It's just one big community and we all feed off of each other."
Baldridge often sees the hospitality and relaxed atmosphere positively affect her clients at Tree. "It's that vibe that totally sets Atlanta apart," she explains. "We sit outside all the time. The Indigo Girls would sit out on the lawn, reading books until, 'Oh, it's time for my overdub.' I sat out on the lawn and played guitar with Ed [Kowalczyk] from Live while they were here. That doesn't go down in L.A.!"
Of course, not everything is peachy in the Atlanta studio scene. They've been dealing with the same economic woes and business challenges facing other recording facilities throughout the industry. Particularly in Atlanta, commercial studios aren't competing with each other as much as with private facilities, many of which comprise artists and producers operating out of their homes.
The problem isn't really about producers such as Dupri or Walker having their own recording spots. According to Baldridge, it's the sheer number of workstations in the hands of those who really aren't engineers (or who don't employ adept ones) in the first place. "When the economy shifted and when more people started to build studios in their basements, we had to diversify. It is a concern now — it seems like everyone has a Pro Tools rig at home. Thankfully, many of those people realize that a professional studio environment is priceless."
Daniel agrees: "For the longest time, the standard was yourself. You're up against yourself until they say, 'We're going to build a place like this at home.' Once they get that, and when they have a bad experience, that's when they appreciate us, our work, sessions starting on time and real engineers."
Filling open calendar dates became a little easier for Zumpano when he started focusing a bit more on indie and unsigned artists. While he admits that his studio ignored this potential income stream in the past, it is now an integral part of his business. "This is now my plan for survival, and it helps me shield myself from the down time. I used to be just a label guy, a big-dollar dude. The little guys couldn't afford me, and it didn't really matter because the label thing sustained me. With less of that source now, we've gotta do this."
While many have re-evaluated the way they attract business, most feel that business is better in Atlanta than in other markets. With an ever-increasing amount of music being created and less commercial facilities compared to other cities, there seems to be a light at the end of the tunnel and, hopefully, enough to go around.
"The grass-roots music industry is thriving in Atlanta," says Baldridge. "New bands are forming all the time, and so there's a 'damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead' kind of attitude prevalent with a lot of the studio owners. We're hanging in there to see what happens."
Strother Bullins is a North Carolina-based freelance writer specializing in the professional audio and entertainment industries.
Tree Sound's massive live room
• For more on Jermaine Dupri's Southside Studios, click here.
• Click here to read up on Sonica Recording and Patchwerk Studios, and check out more pics.
• Click here for more Ruby Red images and studio info.
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- Adult Adventure
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The Power Gym is a specially designed intimate exercise device made for comfort and pleasure. It is easy to use and it gives excellent results.
The Power Gym exercise toy includes rubber hand grips so your hands will never slip during use. The toy also has powerful, strong metals that will provide a tighter grip you will sure enjoy.
The Toys listed on our site are for use by consenting adults only as either a Novelty Items, Fashion Accessories, or Sexual Toys. We assume no responsibility for Unsafe, Improper, or Illegal use of these items. Please be Safe, Consensual, and always use Common Sense!


text: The Redline K9 Protection Training Leg Sleeve is one of the finest leg sleeves on the market today. This leg sleeve crafted from heavy Bite Suit Linen and is excellent for working police K9, military and ring sport dogs. The handle is fixed inside to help avoid accidental bites and the Velcro straps are easy to release for quick rewards.The front bite surface is double thick! Leg length is 34".


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- Filed Under
Stephen Lomazzo's modest 1961 house in Melbourne is a place of memory and inspiration, where the retro culture he loves fuels his many passions, not least of which is his art.
He seems quiet, at least at first. You wouldn't necessarily know he's a resident artist at Off Center Art Center in Eau Gallie and an illustrator whose work is featured in children's magazines. And you definitely wouldn't guess he sings as Robert Plant in Led-Hed, a successful Led Zeppelin tribute band.
"Stephen Lomazzo, if you go to his house, it's decorated in the '50s, and that definitely inspires his art, I think, ...


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Zen and the Bar of Motorcycles
It is no insult to the detective series "Zen" to say that one of the best things about it is the opening music, which establishes a retro 1960s vibe—part Bacharach, part Bond—with graphics to match. The series is set in modern-day Rome, where the women wear tight skirts, the men are in sharp suits, and even the corruption is exquisite in its labyrinthine complexity. What gives the show an older-fashioned feel is the character of Aurelio Zen (Rufus Sewell), a murder investigator famous for his integrity in a city where the police are infamous for having very little.
Sundays, 9 p.m. EDT, on PBS
Like the '60s, Zen is hip but still innocent in a way, not yet coarsened or jaded. Separated from his wife, he lives with his chic mother and seems to regard all women with respect or at least protectiveness. To the extent that "Zen" is a fable about a good man navigating a bad world, the cinematography sets the stage for a struggle, featuring dark interiors, dissolute mansions, crumbling hillside ruins and scenes of amphitheater starkness where the only colors come from white marble and conspirators in black.
None of that is why anybody watches a detective series, though. And this one, originally made for the BBC and drawn from a series of Zen thrillers by British author Michael Dibdin, is full of complicated mysteries and plot twists and turns.
Each of the three episodes in the series opens with a crime. This week begins with the assassination on a lonely mountain road of a judge—to be followed by two more if the killer has his way—targeted for a classic vendetta. But Zen's assignment, at least initially, is to deal with the aftermath of another crime, the murder of three people in a villa, to which someone has confessed.
In what will be a recurring dilemma for Zen, he is ordered by powerful politicians and their bureaucrats to resolve the case in a way that will keep certain secrets buried forever, but has nothing to do with justice. Although, as one bigwig tells Zen during a clandestine meeting: "This is Italy. There's a chance that the government will collapse in the next couple of weeks and then you'll be off the hook."
And so it goes throughout the series, as Zen maneuvers under his own pressure to discover the truth about kidnappings, murders, apparent suicides and conspiracies—but always under countervailing pressure from government ministers, prosecutors and the like to solve cases only the way they want him to.
Dissolute scions hidden in villas, nymphomaniac wives, a feral child, killers, schemers, louche scamps, virtual saints and "Da Vinci Code"-type plotters—these and dozens more cross Zen's path and test his ability to stay true to his moral values. Perhaps because this is Italy (the cast is almost entirely British, but you forget that easily enough) there also seems to be an ominous guy on a buzzing motorcycle in every episode.
True to his name, the Venetian-born Zen remains preternaturally calm through it all, at least on the outside. Not cool or detached, mind you, but determined not to flap or flounder. When his emotions do come to the surface, it's painful to see.
He does, finally, meet a beautiful woman (played by former Bond girl Caterina Murino) who has a sultry Anna Magnani look and yet all the tenderness Zen deserves. When she asks, throatily, "Are we going to have an affair?" he answers, "Yes." But Zen isn't the type to just hustle anyone off to bed, so we, like she, are in for a wait. Which ends, like each episode of the series itself, only after a long, slow denouement.
With "Bar Rescue," Spike TV takes a reality-show formula about failing businesses that has worked well for restaurants and hair salons, and gives it a he-man treatment. The result is strangely illuminating—who knew that the sight of six motorcycles parked outside a bar will keep 88% of female customers away?—and sometimes hilarious.
Bar Rescue
Sundays, 10 p.m. EDT, on Spike TV
The basic format will be familiar from series like Fox's "Kitchen Nightmares," but it is even more like the one used on "Tabatha's Salon Takeover" on Bravo. On a typical episode, restaurant and bar consultant Jon Taffer comes to a dying watering hole, takes over for a week and whips the place—and its failed owner—into shape. The staff is lambasted for lousy habits and then retrained. The establishment gets a design makeover and reopens for business just as Mr. Taffer and his team prepare to wave farewell.
This week introduces us to Angel's Sports Bar, in the working-class Corona Beach community some 50 miles southeast of Los Angeles. When its owner first bought the bar in the early 1990s, it was a thriving hangout for bikers and other party animals. Two decades later, it's a smelly dive with foam stuffing escaping from ripped bar-stool seats, stains on the carpet and heavily tattooed female bartenders in bikini tops (and other small garments) who don't look too clean either. No wonder owner Renee is losing $4,000 a week.
There are barely any customers inside the establishment, and there are rat holes clearly visible in the foundation outside. When Renee tells Mr. Taffer that these are holes made by squirrels, and she can't cover them over because the nests inside might contain babies, he blows up. She's about to lose her business, he bellows, "And you're worried about the child of a squirrel?"
Some of the bar no-nos make sense once they are pointed out, such as a ban on neon signs indoors, because, as Mr. Taffer correctly notes, "neon light makes women's skin look terrible, and affects the length of stay." Other tips and mixology tricks come as revelations that will make your next bar visit more fun. One hint will do for now because there are so many more to come: Do not let the long pour fool you.


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KANATA, Ont. – Here are the projected lineups for a Saturday afternoon game between the Ottawa Senators and the Edmonton Oilers at Scotiabank Place:
Milan Michalek – Jason Spezza – Bobby Butler
Colin Greening – Kyle Turris – Daniel Alfredsson
Kaspars Daugavins – Zack Smith – Erik Condra
Nick Foligno – Jim O'Brien – Chris Neil
Filip Kuba – Erik Karlsson
Jared Cowen – Sergei Gonchar
Chris Phillips – Brian Lee
Craig Anderson
Alex Auld
Craig Anderson returns as the starting goaltender, while Zenon Konopka and Bobby Butler remain as the healthy scratches.
Taylor Hall – Sam Gagner - Jordan Eberle
Magnus Paajarvi – Shawn Horcoff – Ales Hemsky
Ryan Smyth – Eric Belanger – Lennart Petrell
Ben Eager – Anton Lander – Ryan Jones
Ryan Whitney – Cory Potter
Ladislav Smid – Jeff Petry
Andy Sutton – Tom Gilbert
Nikolai Khabibulin
Devan Dubnyk
Andy Sutton will return to the lineup, after sitting out the last two games as a healthy scratch. Cam Barker will likely sit versus Ottawa.
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (shoulder) remains out for approximately seven-to-10 days.


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Seeing What's Next by Clayton M. Christensen, et al
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Joined: Feb 15, 2002
Posts: 959
Aug 07, 2005 22:06:00
Author/s :
Clayton M. Christensen, et al
Publisher :
Harvard Business School Press
Category :
Review by :
Valentin Crettaz
Rating :
9 horseshoes
Having innovative ideas is one thing. Developing, positioning and selling those innovations are completely different matters, which necessitate a sound and well-researched knowledge of the market. How many times have you told yourself "Wow, this is a great thing, I'm pretty sure people need that"? How many times have you realized that the idea you had was not the next big thing anymore because the market changed in unexpected ways and you were incapable of correctly interpreting those stimuli and adapting yourself?
In "Seeing what's next", the authors adopt a highly pragmatic approach and teach you how to use the theories of innovation for listening to the market and its actors in order to correctly interpret and capitalize on the signals it is sending. Using real-world case studies from five large industrial sectors, such as telecommunications and health care, they show you how to decorticate macro and micro facts that happened in the past in order to help you predict how your industry is expected to change in the future, how to come up with highly inventive business models and how you can make your pioneering company become tomorrow's market leader.
Small print for mystic readers: This book is based on sound scientific theories. It is not a crystal ball and it does not provide any stock buy/sell recommendations. This book will help you tune all your senses to the correct frequency for listening to market signals in a productive and static-less way.
More info at Amazon.com
More info at Amazon.co.uk
I agree. Here's the link:
subject: Seeing What's Next by Clayton M. Christensen, et al
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Review: In 'World's End,' one hilarious apocalypse
This film publicity image released by Focus Features shows, from left, Martin Freeman, Paddy Considine, Simon Pegg, Nick Frost, and Eddie Marsan in a scene from "The World's End." (AP Photo/Focus Features, Laurie Sparham)
Sci-fi movies, we all know, create unlikely heroes, and this summer's no exception.
Remember Brad Pitt as a U.N. inspector in "World War Z"? He just wanted to hang at home with his family, but he had to save the world from raging zombies. And Matt Damon in "Elysium"? He played a reformed car thief who just wanted to heal himself — and suddenly, he needed to rescue the planet.
But Simon Pegg in "The World's End," the latest work of brilliant inanity from director Edgar Wright, takes this whole reluctant-savior-of-humanity thing to a new plane. Twenty years after high school, Pegg's scruffy, unshaven, never-gonna-grow-up, substance-abusing Gary can't hold down a job. His idea of a relationship is a quick tryst in the loo of a pub. This is a guy who's gonna save us — or at least, parts of suburban England — from an alien invasion? Lord help us.
Of course, if you're a fan of Pegg's earlier two films with Wright, the 2004 "Shaun of the Dead" and the 2007 "Hot Fuzz," you'll know that such plot absurdities are not only par for the course, but crucial to the delightful sensibilities of this genre-twisting oeuvre.
Wright has called this movie the last in a trilogy, and what unites the three is that each is a sendup — though a loving one — of a genre: "Shaun" is a zombie film, "Hot Fuzz" a buddy cop movie, and "The World's End" one of those bittersweet coming-home films that show how difficult it is to really, well, go home. Because it's never the same.
This film publicity image released by Focus Features shows, from left, Nick Frost, Eddie Marsan, Simon Pegg, Paddy Considine and Martin Freeman in a scene from "The World's End." (AP Photo/Focus Features, Laurie Sparham)
We begin with a flashback: On the last day school in 1990, five mates in the nondescript village of Newton Haven attempt the Golden Mile, an epic, 12-pub crawl. But they fall short and never make it to the final watering hole, called, fittingly, "The World's End."
Flash forward 20 years, and Gary (Pegg), their onetime leader, has a plan: Rally the boys — "just like the Five Musketeers," he notes — to conquer the Golden Mile once and for all.
"It's about closure," he declares. For some reason, they all show up.
One of the film's delights is how Pegg and Nick Frost, his masterfully funny co-star in all three films, have reversed personalities since "Hot Fuzz." Whereas Pegg was an uptight, overachieving cop there and Frost the bumbling sidekick, now it's Pegg who's the bumbler — scruffy and unkempt, in a long black coat and dark shades, hilariously messed up. Frost, just as hilarious, is the pudgy, very square lawyer in thick glasses and a pressed trench coat who drinks only water on a pub crawl.


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The Candidates 2008
Hillary Clinton and Universal Healthcare (#101)
Senator Hillary Clinton suggests that the struggle for universal healthcare has been a long one.
Bill Richardson and Experience (#101)
Governor Richardson, as Chief Executive of New Mexico, says that he is prepared to be President.
Joe Biden and Healthcare Leadership (#101)
Senator Joe Biden says public policy leadership is the key to effective federal healthcare proposals.
John Edwards and Prescription Drug Benefits (#101)
Former Senator Edwards places the blame on the system for a flawed prescription drug benefit.
John Edwards and Pension Reform (#101)
Former Senator Edwards says that if pension reform is to take place, it would be a top-to-bottom pension overhaul.
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The Manitowoc County Metro Drug Unit has seized 300 marijuana plants from rural property in the town of Mishicot.
- Filed Under
Investigators from the Manitowoc County Metro Drug Unit seized nearly 300 marijuana plants worth up to half a million dollars on rural property this week.
Investigators estimated the plants would yield 150 to 200 pounds of harvested marijuana with an estimated street value of $300,000 to $500,000.
Unit Supervisor Lt. Dave Remiker called it the largest outdoor marijuana growing operation ever seized in Manitowoc County. ...


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"Civilians balk at recognizing that one of the most traumatic things about combat is having to give it up."
"These hillsides of loose shale and holly trees are where the men feel not the most alive — that you can get skydiving — but the most utilized. The most necessary. The most clear and certain and purposeful."
Of all the things Junger wrote about in this book on the topic of war, what struck me most were the passages like these, the ones that emphasized that not all aspects of war are hellish.
I've often had trouble understanding why anyone would want to go to war. In high school, I read pieces like Wilfred Owen's famous poem, "Dulce et Decorum Est", which is famous because it rebukes the idea that war is glorious, which I am told was the predominant opinion at the time (the early 20th century). But I'm not sure that that is the predominant belief anymore. At least in my experience growing up in the 90s and the past decade, there has always seemed to be much more evidence that war is traumatic than that it is in any way desirable. Modern movies and journalism and books focus largely on war as unnecessary and brutal; sure, there's a little bit of camaraderie and yes, sacrificing oneself for one's country is noble, but mostly it is, as Junger writes, "so obviously evil and wrong that the idea there could be anything good to it almost feels like a profanity." So personally, I thought it was really interesting to read, especially in the last few chapters of the book, not about how devastating military service is, but about how invigorating it is.
I'm not sure why there's been such a dramatic shift in public opinion, considering that things were apparently so different less than a hundred years ago–but actually, now that I think about it, it's probably because the nature of war itself has changed so dramatically over that time, as well. Before the World Wars, which saw the invention of automatic weapons and planes and large-scale bombs, perhaps war really could be seen as a much more desirable thing. Back then, being a soldier was even more about skill and self-discipline than it is today, because armies just didn't have the weaponry to do massive damage from a distance the way we can today, what with airstrikes and such; you had to engage your opponent close up and if you wanted to survive, you had to be a better fighter than him. That still holds true to some extent, but as Junger points out earlier in the book, modern methods of warfare make survival much more about luck.
To deal with that lack of control, soldiers lean heavily on their fellow soldiers, and that's where the vibrancy of war life can be seen. O'Byrne and the men learn to really rely on each other and love each other and they basically live to protect each other. They all have a strong sense of purpose, which is something that civilian lives can sometimes lack. I think that's a valuable insight–and definitely not something I expected to find when I first opened my e-reader and started reading WAR.


text: CVSROOT: /cvs Module name: src Changes by: aaron_(_at_)_cvs_(_dot_)_openbsd_(_dot_)_org 2001/01/29 17:00:34 Modified files: sys/arch/i386/conf: files.i386 sys/arch/i386/i386: conf.c machdep.c sys/arch/i386/include: pccons.h types.h sys/dev/isa : files.isa etc/etc.i386 : MAKEDEV ttys Log message: Support for the wscons machine-independent console driver on the i386. To become default in a few moments once deraadt commits new kernel config files. IMPORTANT NOTE: A few important pieces are still required to be worked out over the next few days. Users (and developers) relying on X should probably stay away from -current until further notice. This should not take long, but here is your first heads up. If you decide to upgrade your kernel anyway, be sure to update your /etc/ttys file to use vt100 instead of vt220. The rest of the fallout from this should be minor.


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The Oregon Ducks have yet again lost to Oakland, which in my opinion is sad. Nothing against Oakland, but a team with the resources and talent that the Ducks have shouldn't be losing early exibition games.
All I want from this year is to see the Ducks grow as a team. We lost a lot with Hairston, Taylor, and Luenen all graduating so it will take time to recover. I just hope that we might have a shot next year because Porter is someon that can really help a team and he would help them.
It would be interesting to see the team under a new coach, but that's not going to happen this year so I don't think we even need to go there.
The Ducks should still be able to better than 7th in the Pac-10 which is where I've seen them slated in most articles, and they will get better. The program will continue to get better and I can't wait until they reach that level.


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Turkish Philanthropy Funds (TPF) seeks to maximize the impact of giving, with a particular focus on Turkey. With the plethora of NGOs, knowing where to invest your charitable dollars is a challenge. TPF finds and funds the most effective programs, and partners with them to maximize results.Our aim is to take philanthropy beyond the "feel good" into significant and measurable impact. TPF does this by strengthening individual giving and by providing information, solutions and community. Trust is our guiding principle.
VISION:Turkish Philanthropy Funds is dedicated to being the leading US foundation for high-impact social investments in Turkey.
MISSION:Our mission is to enable donors to realize their philanthropic passions for Turkey.


text:
As I'm working towards more real foods and fewer processed foods (don't miss the "working towards") one of my biggest struggles has been the need to find a substitute for the good old standby "cream of ________________." You can insert chicken/mushroom/celery, etc. We used to use these all the time in casseroles and slow cooker dishes. I used to have a years supply of Cream of Chicken and Cream of Mushroom soups. Then we (read ME) started moving towards a more mindful approach to things like food.
Have you ever read one of these soup labels? Checked out the ingredients? Seriously, the labels are SCARY! Things like MSG (monosodium glutimate), autolyzed yeast extract, disodium phosphate, etc. I don't want to be feeding my kids that stuff!
So I went digging. I remember in high school I had copied down a recipe that my mom had for a cream of soup substitute….and I dug and dug…and I found it! Written in my 17 year old handwriting was this little nugget.
I have modified it just the smidgiest bit, and created a mix to keep in my pantry to throw together when I need a can of condensed soup. And seriously…throw together is no lie. It is faster than superman and able to leap tall buildings in a single bound….really!
When you use it, you can add in different additional herbs based on what you're making to make your creation seriously gourmet.
The process goes like this:
Gather up your ingredients….a little non fat milk powder, chopped dried onion, bouillon, pepper, basil, thyme, cornstarch….
Dump it all in a big bowl, mix it together and store it in an airtight container.
To make some, mix 1/3 cup mix with 1 1/4 cup cold water and heat…..
…..Til nice and thick and bubbly….it smells so good and tastes even better! Use it in all of your old recipes that call for condensed soup….you will not be disappointed with the flavor, lack of chemicals, or reduced fat! I promise! And….AND…it really doesn't take much longer than finding the can opener so you can open that old can of condensed soup…seriously.
I must admit to being nothing like those ladies that have cute pantries and labels and all of that…..the idea is really cute, but I'm pretty much so busy keeping my family fed and alive that the pretty extras aren't really high on my priority list….but I know you guys'll forgive me, cause you're cool like that!
Cream of Anything Soup Mix
Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 10 minutes
Total time: 20 minutes
- 2 cups non-fat dried milk powder
- 1 1/2 cups cornstarch
- 1/2 cup chicken, beef, or vegetable bouillon
- 1/2 cup dried minced onions
- 2 teaspoons dried basil
- 2 teaspoons dried thyme
- 1 teaspoon dried parsley
- 1 to 1 1/2 teapoons black pepper
Cooking Directions
- Mix together in large bowl.
- Pour into lidded container.
- For the equivalent of one can of condensed cream soup, mix 1/3 cup of mix with 1 1/4 cup cold water.
- Cook until thickened.
- Add additional ingredients as desired.
One of my favorite variations is to saute some onion, grated carrot, and chopped cauliflower til tender. Add to the soup with some cooked cubed chicken, some milk and some broth….then add……wait for it…..curry powder! Curry and cauliflower are a match made in HEAVEN! I'll be posting that recipe soon, and be watching on Wednesday for a slow cooker recipe that I've been eating since I was a kid (a recipe of my mom's) that I recently used the cream of soup mix instead of condensed soup in….it turned out fabulous!


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Updated 08/12/2012
Just beyond Gamboa, adjacent to the Parque Nacional Soberanía and near the start of the Pipeline Road, lies the Panama Rainforest Discovery Center, operated by the local Eugene Eisenmann Avian Wildlife Foundation. Its centerpiece is a 32-meter (105-ft) steel observation tower giving ample opportunity for observation of life in the rain-forest canopy. Three other decks are positioned at about each of the quarter-way marks. A solar-powered visitors' center contains exhibits about avian life in the Panamanian rain forest. Leading from the visitors' center is 1.1 km (2/3 mi) of hiking trails. They open at 6 am, which is the best tme to see birds. Capacity is limited to 25 visitors at a time during the peak viewing hours, before 10 am, and to 50 people for the rest of the day, so you should reservations at least a day ahead from December to April.
3 km (2 mi) northwest of Gamboa, Gamboa, Panama
507-6588–0697; 507-6450–6630-in Panama City
Website: www.pipelineroad.org
Sight Details:
Updated 08/12/2012
No Thanks


text:
As kids, we're all taught to dial 911 in the case of an emergency only. Now, more and more people are dialing 911 as a joke and police say it can be extremely dangerous.
Technology has allowed people to prank call others using disguised numbers, but now some are taking that a little too far.
"Prank calls to the police have always occurred, it's the nature of these call that are alarming," says Lt. Robert Larson with the Reno Police Department.
The fake calls are called "swatting," a fake 911 call that sounds extremely serious, and requires special resources, like the SWAT team.
"We take a certain type of response based on the call those people aren't expecting. They're unaware and their safety is at risk depending on how we are entering that building we may be entering with guns drawn or things like that," says Lt. Larson.
In the past two months, Reno PD has responded to eight swatting calls. He says the calls can have negative effects both on the victims and the department.
"Obviously if we are responding to a call that is unreal, it takes resources off the street, and then if we do have real calls during that time we don't have the resources to respond to a call that is actually occurring," says Lt. Larson.
Swatting calls do have serious consequences. On a local level, you can be charged with filing a false police report and abusing 911. If the SWAT team breaks down a door, you can be held liable for the damage, and you can also be held liable to any injuries.
But that's not all, Lt. Larson says you can face federal charges as well.
"Depending on how the call is placed the FBI or federal agency may come in and go after more serious charges," says Lt. Larson.
The FBI has been investigating swat cases since the early 2000's.
In just one four year period recently, there were more than a 100 victims of swatting around the country, resulting in a quarter of a million dollar loss in police resources.
"Everyone's resources are fairly limited these days and to lose some of those resources for a false call when they could be used elsewhere is just not good," says Lt. Larson.
Reno police say they have tracked down swatters, and want to remind people the consequences can be severe.


text:
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Introduction to the New Testament, Volume 2
T. & T. Clark, 1909 - Bible
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according Acts Acts of Paul Acts of Peter apostles Aramaic Asia Minor Barnabas bishop called Christ Christian Churches Clement connection Corinth Crete death disciples discourses Ephesus Epistles Eusebius exhortation expression fact faith false teachers follows Forsch Galatia Gentile Christian Gospel Gospel of Peter Greek hand Hebrews interpretation Irenaeus Irenseus Jerome Jerusalem Jesus Jewish Christians Jews John journey Jude language later letter Lipsius Luke Marcion Mark Mark's Matt Matthew means mentioned missionary narrative Onesiphorus original Palestine Papias passage Paul Paul's persons Peter Phil preaching prophecy prophets readers reference regard relation Roman Rome Simon Magus speak Spitta statement teaching Tertullian Thess Timothy tion Titus tradition translation Tychicus viii words writing written xxii xxiii xxiv xxvi xxvii
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Page 460 - Now after that John was put in prison, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, and saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel.
Page 198 - And account that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation; even as our beloved brother Paul also according to the wisdom given unto him hath written unto you ; As also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things ; in which are some things hard to be understood, which they that are unlearned and unstable wrest, as they do also the other scriptures, unto their own destruction.
Page 324 - Wherefore Jesus also, that he might sanctify the people through his own blood, suffered without the gate. 13 Let us therefore go forth unto him without the camp, bearing his reproach.
Page 168 - ... Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia," he seems to intimate that they were the strangers newly scattered by the Roman wars ; for those were the only strangers there belonging to his care. ' This account of things agrees best with history when duly rectified ; for Justin and Irenseus say that Simon Magus came to Rome in the reign of Claudius, and exercised juggling tricks there. PseudoClemens adds, that he endeavoured there to fly, but broke his neck through the prayers of Peter. Whence...
Page 496 - And He came and took her by the hand and raised her up ; and the fever left her, and she ministered unto them.
Page 7 - At mine answer no man stood with me, but all men forsook me." With that apostle he experienced that the Lord stood by him, and strengthened him, and he was delivered out of the mouth of the lion. His defence, as we have seen, was such as to demand praise from his adversaries, and his written confessions recapitulated his former views upon the subject.
Page 46 - Titus, in which the latter had informed him of the difficulties with which he had to contend in carrying out...
Page 456 - Qui autem Jesum separant a Christo, et impassibilem perseverasse Christum, passum vero Jesum dicunt, id quod secundum Marcum est praeferentes Evangelium, cum amore veritatis legentes illud, corrigi possunt.
Page 133 - God (1 Tim. i. 1, ii. 3, iv. 10 ; Tit. i. 3, ii. 10, iii. 4), and once even "our great God and Saviour Christ Jesus
Page 185 - Ergo abolendo rumori Nero subdidit reos et qusesitissimis pcenis affecit, quos per flagitia invisos vulgus Christianos (or Ghrestianos) appellabat.


text:
Chapter 6:
I don't know if I should be excited or worried about Cinna's idea for mine and Clarice's costumes for the Tribute Parade. He is right, on some extent, that President Snow can't really do anything to Clarice and I in the real world since it would all be Cinna's idea, but he could certainly have the Gamemakers take it out on us during the Games if he really felt the need. I asked Haymitch about it and he told me not to worry, that worse things have happened before; including someone trying to assassinate President Snow when he came on the balcony of the Tribute Parade's hallway. The results of that were gruesome to say the least.
"Just let Effie and I worry about what Snow does, okay? You two need to mentally prepare for the Tribute Parade, and get your game face on because this is where most of the sponsors choose the tributes that they're going to help keep alive during the Games." Haymitch said, giving us walkie talkies. "These are fir emergency use only, got it?"
We both nodded and ate the rest of the fruit that was on the platter that the waiters and waitresses brought out for us. As soon as we had finished the first one, they kept refilling it which gave us the urge to keep eating more. By the time we were done eating the second platter, we told them not to bring out another one and that they could relax for the rest of the night while we were at the parade. They nodded and smiled, then poured each other some drinks and went down to the living room in our penthouse and turned on the TV and watched previous Hunger Games which featured their own favorite tributes. Unfortunately, most of their favorite tributes were killed, some very brutally to where no description of the death could not make anyone want to throw up immediately after hearing it.
Effie walked in with Cinna and told us that the time for the parade was ready, so we got off our seats and brushed our teeth, since our breath probably smelled like a mixture of all the fruits and dips that we just had, and washed down our spit with some cold water. Cinna gave us a mint leaf to suck on while we were walking down our penthouse hallway and to the elevators, which were stainless steel on the outside, but gold on the inside. It also had 12 with a circle around it on the ceiling of the elevator.
"I feel special that everything seems to be dedicated to us." I said, but was quickly turned down by Haymitch who told me that that's exactly what the Capitol wants us to think, that they like us and want us to feel like we're special, which we're not. Only a piece in their bloody Games, and that was it. If we made it out alive, than we could consider ourselves somewhat special.
We made it to the basement of the Games Penthouse where all the other tributes were being dressed and fitted into their costumes. Some stylists were running around frantically, after just finding out that one of their tributes doesn't like the way they look in their outfits or if they're missing a very essential piece for their costume. We walked past District 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, and that's when I saw him. But I thought for sure that I might have heard something about him, or that Arabella would have said something. I saw Peyton and the girl tribute from his District, which was District 10, suited up in their golden metal costumes, which made them look like Spartans from the Middle Ages. When they stood in their chariot together, they were equipped with fake metal golden swords that were linked together to form an X, which showed how they were fighting as one, as a team, in the arena. Can't say I was impressed, since it was sort of original and mostly every year District 10 does something with golden metal. I just don't know whether or not I could actually kill the kid in the arena if it ever came down to it, considering Arabella would probably hate me for it. During these thoughts is when Clarice interrupted them and pointed Peyton out, since when I spotted him I didn't say anything to her.
"Yeah I know, I wonder how Arabella is holding up."
That's all I said. I didn't mention anything about killing him, because I know how much he means to Arabella and how Clarice probably would say the same thing as me. If it came down to it, we would kill him if there was no other way of surviving, but we were hoping someone else or something else would kill him off before that opportunity was handed to us. We didn't know any of the other names of the tributes, but would find out eventually in a matter of about ten minutes when we all rolled out into the big, wide platinum hallway where citizens of the Capitol and the tributes mentors were sitting in seats on both sides of us. At the end of the hallway, is where the balcony was, which is where President Snow is currently sitting, with the other head members of the Capitol. I hated them so much. If I ever got the chance to kill Snow myself, I would in a heartbeat. An arrow directly in the middle of the face would do great pleasure after everything he is about to put my family through, and many other families as well. Especially if I'm forced to kill Peyton in the arena, my relationship with Arabella would never be the same.
Everyone else's costumes were pretty cool, and unique. That's when Cinna handed us our outfits to try on, which were a jet black, made so light could collide with it, giving the jet black a weird, but cool dark glow. The outfits, just like everyone elses, were tight to our bodies. I slid the jet black jacket on my chest and fitted the pants onto my legs. I slipped my feet into the jet black boots as well. When I looked at Clarice's I saw a design that was engraved into her back, which is when Cinna pushed my face away.
"Don't look just yet, it'll be better if it's a surprise." Cinna said, almost warningly, as if I would disagree entirely with what he had done to our costumes. This made Clarice look at me weirdly, as if she was worried about our costumes too. What has Cinna done?
"Now, I'm going to turn on your costumes and everyone is going to see it. No matter what you hear, do not look at the back of each other's costumes. Got it? You'll see on the TV screens made of cloth hanging from poles as you pass down the Tribute Hallway, okay?" Cinna said, almost excitedly.
We both nodded and climbed into our chariot, and that's when Cinna turned on our costumes. From looking down at our sleeves, the whole costume was glowing and fading in and out, sort of like embers at the bottom of a fire pit, only more enhanced. That's when the glares came at us. Some of the stylists covered their mouths and gasped, others laughed and said, "You're good as dead in the arena, 12!" District 1 had the courtesy of saying that.
We were then all assembled and lined up into positions. Chariots were following each other by district number, so 1 being first, 12 being last. Great, we were going to be the last chariot people would be viewing, which meant that they would remember us the most. Especially since some of the tributes were still giving us glares.
"What is the problem with all of them?" Clarice asked, and I shrugged my shoulders. "I don't know," I said, "but I can't wait to see Snow's face when he seems whatever it is Cinna did to our costumes. The sponsors will either love it, or hate it."
A whistle blew and before we could continue our conversation, we were being hulled out by the horses into the Tribute Hallway. First, District 1 was out.
"And here they come ladies and gents! The Tributes putting their lives into the 74th Annual Hunger Games! Starting with District 1, as always, we have Keaton and Kadence in their stunning turquoise outfits, along with a complimentary silver crown, Keaton having the left side of the crown, and Kadence having the right! Show's partnership and cockiness, which District 1 has the right to show off!" Caesar Fleckerman, the official spokesperson of the Hunger Games. "Then we have District 2, Grayson and Harper with what seems to be tridents in their hands and a glowing red costume, showing off their fiery and rage! Very cool, next from District 3 are Ashton and Cecilia with a bright yellow and blue ensemble, with wings attached to their backs and feet! Shows endurance and fatigue, very nice!"
So far I could already make out who the good ones are going to be, because after they announce District 4 who are Blaine and Sierra, Caesar doesn't describe Districts 5, 6, 7, 8, or 9's costumes very enthusiastically, almost as if they were already chopped meat. I did catch District 7's names though, Griffin and Ashley. They seemed almost glad to be here, as if they had volunteered for their chance to fight in the arena. They didn't look the tough type though, but I'm not under estimating them either, because one of them could kill me or Clarice. Peyton's name was announced as we came closer and closer to appearing out of the tunnel we were in before entering the Tribute Hallway, our embered costume lighting up the whole tunnel around us.
Our hearts began to race and plunge into our stomachs. We were scared for what Cinna had done to our costumes. Soon, District 10 went out and their names were announced, and so was 11's. That's when our chariot had appeared out of the tunnel. We felt something hot on our backs, which meant that Cinna was probably lightning up whatever was engraved in our costumes. I was right.
Left and right people were screaming, chanting, smiling, yelling good and bad things, gasping, fainting, drinking more and more as they watched us, and some laughing, but the laughter was overtaken by the amount of fuss that was being spread around by our costumes. Clarice and I looked up with so much anxiety and curiosity that we too almost fainted at what Cinna had done to our costumes. On my jacket, the left side of my broken shield tattoo was lighting up with small flames, and the right side of my tattoo which was on Clarice's jacket, was doing the same. When it began to fully connect, we saw what else had been added into the tattoo. The Capitol seal was burning in flames as well as the rest of the tattoo. The tattoo on the jackets were divided simply by the lightning bolt crack, which determined which side of the tattoo Clarice and I had. When we stood close together, the tattoo formed as one and on the giant screen ahead of us, hanging below the balcony where President Snow was watching us directly, the tattoo formed to create a burning shield broken in two, by a crack in the shape of a lightning bolt, along with the Capitol seal burning and broken in half by the lightning bolt crack as well. Caesar wouldn't say this directly to everyone, but my tattoo now officially stood for the breaking of the Capitol and its defense. Ever since the woman from the market held up that flag, I feared that my tattoo would soon become the face of something greater than the Games itself. I feared that it would become the face of a rebellion, which my tattoo had just sparked onto the entire nation of Panem.
Chapter 7:
Realizing what Cinna had just done, I feared getting assassinated on the spot when we pulled up into the Tribute Circle diagonally below the balcony where President Snow stood, glaring at me with such calm, but growing fury in his eyes. Clarice caught glimpse of his eyes staring at us and looked away immediately, being easily intimidated by his evil glares. I, however, glared back, realizing that what was done was done and there was no backing down now. I wondered if the woman from the market had this all planned out, from the beginning, when she gave me my tattoos. I wondered if she knew that the shield being broken by the lightning bold shaped crack would soon have a Capitol Seal also being cracked down the middle, representing the falling of the Capitol. If she did, she set me up for something I don't know if I can carry out. Cinna obviously was in on it too, since he had time to make out our costumes. He couldn't have just done it after seeing the flag on the screen, making those costumes took time and effort to get everything perfect.
Before I could many anymore of the situation at hand with our costumes, President Snow tapped on his old fashioned silver microphone and calmed down the audience from screaming, shouting, laughing, drinking, talking, and any other activities that could take his spotlight away from him. He began with placing both hands in front of him to completely silence the crowds of sponsors, citizens, and mentors, and then began his welcoming speech.
"Welcome, tributes. Happy Hunger Games! And may the odds be, ever in your favor." He began. When he said that line he glared at me and Clarice again, causing some unresting feeling in my stomach. It's not even like I had a choice if I wanted to start this rebellion or not, I mean yeah everyone in the Districts, well mostly everyone, were against the Games and would love to see it crumbling down in the Capitol's face. It's a matter of finding someone to do it, and acting upon it. Little did I know they had an 18 year old boy and his 17 year old cousin as the leaders in their heads. But as important as it is, it's not important these next few days. I have to focus, and be ready for the Games in four days, after three days of non stop training, and at the end of the third day, our rankings were to be decided, which meant going in front of the Gamemakers and showing off our "special skills" with our "special weapon". During training you're not supposed to show off your real skill with the weapon of your choice, because someone could use that knowledge they know before the arena about your skills and try to adapt to it, knowing how to kill you. Pretty much, if I show my skills with my bow, and Clarice with her knives, someone could purposely take both those weapons in the arena so we can't use them, or grab them instead of us whether or not they are also trained with those weapons, and use them against us, leaving us with weapons we barely know how to use skillfully.
"Over the course of these next four days, you will be trained in the Training Academy, and then evaluated and given results of your evaluation on live television so people can make bets on which one of you are going to walk out of the Capitol and back to your district alive. Once all of this is completed, you will be given that night to train more, sleep, or think of a plan for whatever is left of your lives. The coming fourth day will be when the Games will officially begin…Thank you, tributes, and costume designers for putting on an…interesting show." President Snow ended, giving me one last glare and walking out the door up on the balcony, back into the lounge where he awaits the tributes for the Tribute Parade.
We were wheeled back into the room where we first began the parade and hopped off the chariots. We were greeted by Cinna, Effie, Haymitch, Fulvia, and the rest of our prep team. They congratulated us on our performance and had us walk to our penthouse for further planning, considering everyone was giving us glares as well. If looks could kill…
Once we were back in our penthouse, we got washed up and changed into comfortable night clothing and all sat down for dinner. Effie had us toast to a good performance during the parade and Haymitch counter toasted it with Cinna's "amazing" costume design. I wasn't all happy with Cinna's all the sudden choosing of me and Clarice to be rebellion leaders, especially when he knew that we weren't even in the Games yet. Why would he do all of this, while knowing we might be killed in the arena? What was so important about us being the leaders of the rebellion that me and Clarice weren't informed about? All of these questions began pouring into my head, and the only thing that sputtered out of my mouth was "Why?"
Everyone looked at me and Cinna jumped the gun before anyone else could comment.
"We have reason to believe that President Snow purposely had the names in the glass bowls rigged so only yours and Clarice's names would be called. It's just a theory, because normally, there aren't two tributes from the same district who are chosen to be tributes in the Games. It's actually never happened before, which is why people are reacting the way they are when they found out you're cousins. Citizens in the districts who are old enough to remember Snow's vicious cycle of killing important members of the Capitol secretly with poison or hit men know how he operates, whether or not it's broadcasted or not. Some are already convinced with what we believe to be is true, but whether or not they're going to say anything is unknown to us." Cinna said.
We're dead. As soon as me and Clarice enter the Games we're probably going to be automatically executed before the Games actually start.
"So what happens if we die in the arena? Does the rebellion still live on?" I ask, wondering why I keep asking questions about the rebellion. If I do survive the Games, and there is still a rebellion sparking, that's the time to worry about it. Until then, I told Haymitch and Cinna that whatever they have to say about the rebellion is to be kept among them. I can't be over thinking all of this while trying to survive the Games. They agreed and stopped the conversation immediately.
"So tomorrow training begins?" Clarice asked, swallowing the last of her calamari before another plate was brought out to the table. The waiters and waitresses did their rounds and refilled everything that was emptied on the table, including everyone's water and wine glasses.
Haymitch nodded, "Which is why you both need to hit the sack pretty soon, training begins at 7 in the morning. You'll have only six hours to rest. Best get going."
Clarice and I excused ourselves from the table and walked into our separate rooms, not speaking of any rebellion or Games business, just relived we had some alone time to ourselves until training the next morning.
It came quicker than expected and I found myself awakening to the alarm clock, which had a hologram of Snow's face which muttered the woods, "Training." I jumped in bed after seeing his face, which was already a terrible way to begin my day. It's like Snow doesn't want us to forget who's in charge, and by placing that hologram in our alarm clocks to wake up to every morning, it sure was going to work.
I got out of bed, showered, and got dressed and made my way into the dining area of our penthouse, where Clarice and Haymitch were sitting at the table eating breakfast. There was a limited choice of foods for the morning, including just fruits and vegetables.
"It'd be better if you ate something healthy and something that's going to benefit you. You have a long day of training ahead of you, so you need to be full on nutrients and vitamins to put on good performances." He said, after seeing my facial expression when I noticed all that there was to eat was fruits and veggies.
"Yeah, c'mon code, eat up. He's got a point you know." Clarice said as I sat down and forced mouthfuls of fruits and vegetables in my mouth.
After we gulped down some more food and a couple glasses of water and milk, Haymitch took us down to the Training Academy, which was a floor above where the chariots are placed for the Tribute Parade. We saw the other tributes with their mentors, and saw Peyton as well. He tried avoiding our looks and stuck to himself. He didn't really talk to anyone much, and when we were told to enter the training room, which was very big filled with all sorts of weapons, some of which I've heard of or seen, and some of which I never knew existed. On the ceiling there were rows of thing rope crossing each other in all sorts of directions so we could practice surviving in high grounds, there was a station where you could practice camouflaging yourself with paint, a station where you can learn the most important survival skills like learn traps for forest animals to obtain food, a station to create fires, to memorize different leaves and trees, and of course the combat stations which included sword fighting training, archery training, knife training, short sword training, axe training, spear training, fist fight training, and all sorts of other extraordinary weapons which we could train with. The ground of the training arena was black, and so were the walls and the ceiling. There was a red stripe going around the room of the arena in the middle of the wall.
We walked in a line file which was by district number, which meant Clarice and I were last. We were all given suits to wear, which were made of stretchy, tight, thick fabric which adapted to the shape of your body and muscle weight. They were all black suits, with two red stripes going down the short sleeves with our district numbers sewed on top of the two lines on both sleeves for the shirts, while the bottoms were all black. We were then given these uni-sex black leather combat boots which rose about eight inches from our ankles. The boys were then given bandanas to wear, which we had to wrap around our heads and tie the knot, so the front, which each had our district number on it, with a silver circle around it, was showing. The girls got the same outfit and boots, although they were given ribbons which were black, with their district number on both tails of the ribbon.
"Now that we're all dressed, please form a circle around me as I instruct you on what you will be doing while you're down here today, and the next two days." Atala said, the head trainer. She was a black woman in her early thirties, maybe late twenties.
We all formed the circle around her and awaited her to speak. She put her finger on her ear and said, "Okay." She was communicating with the Gamemakers who were watching us in an open window room, where they had all these refreshments and seats to enjoy while watching us train to kill one another.
"Welcome to the Capitol. I'm Atala, I'll be your head trainer for the next couple days you're in here. You may choose not to come, whether or not you do is your decision. So while I have you all here…"
While Atala was speaking, I could see that Keaton, Kadence, Grayson, and Harper all formed their Career alliance, while a second Career alliance was formed by Ashton, Cecilia, Blaine, and Sierra. They were all eighteen, which also means they were deadlier. Now that we could see them closer to us, we noticed things about them. Keaton was a tall, had dark brown hair, and was very built. Kadence was very pretty, in good shape for a girl, and had long blondish hair. Grayson was average height and was thin, but cut. Harper was a short black haired girl, with a few freckles on her face, and always had some sort of intimidating, angry look to her. On another note, Ashton has scruffy dirty blonde hair, and was built, Cecilia was a pretty black girl, long black hair and had a thoroughly toned body, Blaine had dark brown hair and had the biggest built of muscle out of everyone in the arena, and lastly Sierra had short blonde hair and had no muscle showing on her body, but was rumored to be deadly with a short sword. They were all ignoring Atala and peering at all the weapons, hungry to start training and show off their skills to intimidate everyone. Clarice seemed to notice this too and looked at me and laughed, "I think they already know who our alliance consists of."
The two of us. Against these 22 other tributes? The odds didn't necessarily look to be in our favor, but I could see that everyone else that wasn't in an alliance had already formed one with their tribute mate as well. Except the boy and girl from District 5, because the boy was 18 and the girl was 12. He was not really the nicest kid, almost seemed really shady, and told her pretty much that she was on her own. He had a decent muscle tone to him, but wasn't as big as Blaine or Keaton. We got a glimpse of Griffin and Ashley, the kids from District 7. Griffin had short blonde hair and was average height like me, and had a decent toned body like me as well. Piper was just as tall as me, and had blonde hair that reached down to her shoulders. Clarice wanted to introduce ourselves and have her join our alliance, but that would be unwise. We can't gain any feelings for any other human in this arena while we're in the Games, it'll hold us back. We have to stay an alliance of two, and remain an alliance of two if we're going to survive. We've already adapted to our skills when fighting with each other, which gives us an upper hand like the Careers have. Including someone else would only confuse us and maybe get us killed if the newest member of our two man alliance were to mess up.
"…there is also a fire station, and last but not least all of the weapon training stations. I'd advise you to ignore the weapon training more than you would the survival skills, you'll have plenty of time to test your skills against each other in the arena. Most of you will die from natural causes such as freezing to death, starvation, dehydration, disease…" Atala continued, and then finished by giving the percentages of who will die of natural causes and from weapons. Once she was done, she showed us physically each station, and then left us to train by ourselves.
"What do you want to do first?" I asked Clarice, as we watched the Career packs immediately go for the weapon training, and everyone else scatter to join the Careers in weapon training or the survival skills. Clarice decides we should learn some survival skills, since we already know how to use our weapon of choice very well, and figured it wouldn't hurt to learn some of the skills. We walked over to the fire making station, and it took us two hours of scrubbing stones and sticks together until we sparked a fire. We learned how to make deadly traps for animals roaming around in the forest, and then learned traps for humans, which took longer, but had the same idea to them as the animal traps. It was all a matter of just tying knots in designated areas and tightening them.
I heard a faint scream and me and Clarice whipped around and saw that two boys, Keaton from District 1 and Blaine from District 4, were on the ground brawling. The girl who screamed was the 12 year old girl from District 5.
"It's normal for the two head Career boys to get into heavy arguments the first day, each wanting their Career packs to have this station and that station. Don't focus too much on them if they intimidate you, learn your skills." The trainer from the knot tying portion of the survival skills station said.
We both nodded and left the knot tying station. We then moved to the tree climbing station, which we really learned how to climb on a rock wall. We weren't harnessed by anything, because what would the point be to try and climb with help, when in the Games you're not going to have any help at all besides the training you learned here. It took me no time at all to learn how to climb masterfully, but Clarice slipped once or twice and was then good to go for tree climbing. By the time we reached the monkey bars, which were to help us train how to keep strength while climbing in between branches or hanging onto a cliff if we were to slip on an edge, the first day of training was already almost over. We had three more hours to finish up at least two more station and then go back to our penthouse to rest and for dinner. While I was waiting in line, I looked down and saw the boy and girl from District 7, Griffin and Piper, training with spears. Griffin took one step back, adjusted the spear in his hand, and threw it so accurately and straight, that it sank right into the target that was 50 feet away from him. He threw a few more and sank them directly in the middle of the targets. Ashton, the Career tribute boy from District 3 and Sierra, the Career tribute girl from District 4, each from the second Career pack, came over and watched Griffin throw his spears. They nodded and muttered to each other, "Not bad." And walked towards their Career partners, Blaine and Cecilia, whispering something to each other. They all nodded and walked away towards the survival skills training.
The first Career pack watched Griffin too, but didn't make any comment towards his performance besides a few nods of approval. Next up was Piper, who could wield two axes at the same time and fight with them simultaneously. She grabbed two rubber ones next to the real, but blunted all shiny silver metal ones, and walked over to a weapon training specialist that specializes in axe training. Piper and the trainer got real close, and began fighting. They swung at each other left and right, criss crossing the axes while they swing, ducking and lunging back to avoid slice swings. The trainer used his left hand to swing his left axe at Piper, but stopped during the middle of the swing and instead tripped her when she was unhinged off her feet, focusing on the axes. While she was on her back, the trainer lunged forward and struck an axe down to her face, where Piper criss crossed her axes to form an X, and blocked the death blow. She then twirled her waist around and moved her legs so quick and sharp, that the trainer didn't see it coming and was tripped to the ground where Piper sprung up and jumped on top of him, putting both rubber axes to his neck. That's when he smiled, tapped out, and Piper got up off of him and put both axes in her left hand and swung her right arm out to the trainer, who grabbed it and pulled himself up.
"Holy…shit." Clarice said, which seemed to be many of the same reactions on everyone else's faces. This time, the first Career pack nodded in agreement and then actually had Keaton, which I guess was now the official leader of the first Career pack, the most deadly out of everyone in here, approach Piper and move her to the side.
"What's he doing?" I asked Clarice, while we were still waiting in line. The person who was on the monkey bars held the line up for so long because he was watching Piper's practice fight with the trainer. Everyone did, it was amazing.
When Piper smiled and shook hands with Keaton, who then turned around and put two thumbs up to his Career partners, they smiled and nodded and all left the training arena early to relax.
"Looks like they just added another member to their vicious Career pack." Clarice said in a sarcastic tone. She's always thought that the Career packs were stupid, and that everyone involved in them were too full of themselves. "Wait till they see what you can do with a bow, they'll be asking you to join them next."
I laughed, "And you'll be asked once they see your skills with knives."
It was her turn to do the monkey bars and she went through them swiftly, not missing one. When it was my turn, I was able to do them just as well and we figured we had that skill down already, the rock climbing wall helping us greatly keep our momentum and strength in our arms.
We decided to take a break from training and sit on the benches below the open windowed room where the Gamemakers were watching everyone train, taking brief notes down on everyone. We decided to watch both Career packs train with their specialized weapons, which Haymitch advised us not to do. But since they were all in Career packs, the most deadliest kids in the Games this year, they didn't care because who was going to try and stop them from getting their weapon of choice? No one. Everyone was too scared.
We watched Keaton, the muscular tall kid from District 1 and leader of Career pack 1, making him the deadliest out of all of us. He picked a long sword out of the sword rack that was hanging from the wall near the station. He picked the real sword, naturally trying to show off his "bravery" and lined up with the special swords trainer who chose a real sword as well. They stood face to face and began during quick and agile movements with the swords, which then became a real fight as Keaton noticed his skills improving. The special swords trainer actually had to tell Keaton to stop, otherwise he feared Keaton would fight him till one of them got hurt. He took the sword from Keaton and told him to leave for the day, and we all watched Keaton storm out of the training room screaming profanities.
Next up was Kadence, the pretty blonde girl from District 1 who specializes with a spiked mace, which was a ball of steel with sharp spikes coming out of it. She swung it from dummy to dummy and knocked heads off, created holes in every dummy body there was, and ended her training with it by throwing it at a target, hitting the target directly in the face. She then dismissed herself, pleased with what she had done, leaving the mace in the target. Next we watched Grayson, the Career boy from District 2, come along side with five placed in front of him. He grabbed a long axe, which was an axe with a bigger, rounded blade and a very long handle, as big as someone's leg, and watched him swing it many different fluent ways, chopping arms, legs, and heads off of each dummy around him. Once he was done, he pulled over a long axe specialist in the room and went to the back of the training arena to have a quick private lesson to enhance his already very enhanced skills with a long axe. Next was Harper, the black haired girl from District 2, who's weapon was a dart pole. She stood at the archery range where more targets for her weapon were, and grabbed a dart pole. She took the long silver pole with one opening for the darts and one small hole to blow into, and put a dart in the pole. She raised it to her mouth, aimed, and blew into the pole. The dart was launched from the dart pole and found its way to the center of the target. She did this a few times before she thought she was set, and then did something else. Instead of blowing into the dart pole, she loaded the dart pole with multiple darts, raised the dart pole up and across her body, and swung it diagonally across her body, not letting go of the dart pole. Six darts flew out of the dart pole and all found themselves homes in each target open.
"I've never seen anything like that before." I said to Clarice, who was amazed as well. Only skilled dart pole fighters could master something like that. She must have had to be training since she could walk.
"I'm glad we're watching all of these, I feel a little more comfortable with knowing how all of them work." Clarice said, and I nodded. "Where's that girl from 7? Piper." I asked her, but she must have left with Griffin because they both were not in the training arena anymore.
We watched a little bit of the 2nd Career group's training and noted down that Ashton, the scruffy blonde haired boy uses a weapon called a trident, a long pole which has three thick, metal spikes on top of it, Cecilia, the pretty black girl specializes with axes just like Piper, Blaine, the muscle head of the whole arena uses two small warhammers, and Sierra, the girl with short blonde hair, uses a short sword.
"So that covers the fire training station, the traps station, tree climbing, and monkey bars. And we've noted down what all the deadlier kids weapons are. Should we call it quits today and leave?" I said, rubbing my hands together under some water near a fountain in the back of the room where all of our normal clothes were in duffle bags. Clarice looked around and we both noticed that both Career packs were gone, including Griffin and Piper, and the only ones left were the 18 year old boy from District 5 who we later found out was named Gunner, the tributes from District 6 and 8, and Peyton, who was at the survival skills training.
"I want to play around with some knives, why don't you shoot some arrows or something just casually so you don't really show what you can actually do, and we can call it quits." Clarice said, walking over to the knife station which was a couple stations down from the archery station.
I walked over to the archery station, picked up a bow, and started messing around with my shots. I didn't want to make myself look bad while the Gamemakers were looking right at me, of course. So I shot multiple targets one after another pretty quickly, and hit my targets directly in the face or in the center of the target. From the looks they were giving me and each other, they were actually pretty impressed with what I could do with a bow. They haven't seen nothing yet.
When I was done I walked over to Clarice who put down the knives she was training with, and from the holes in the center of the targets, I could see she was thinking the same thing. What was Haymitch thinking when he said we shouldn't use our preferred weapons in the training arena until evaluation day? Stupid.
We made our way to our duffles, got changed back into our original clothes, and put our training suits into the duffle's. We swung the duffle bags over our shoulders and walked out the training arena, hearing shouts of anger from Gunner every time he swung a sword around and saw glimpses of the red and orange sunlight coming into the windows of the training arena from the sunset that was leaving us after our first day of training.
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Saturday, January 29, 2011 - Veteran recalls WWII and other life experiences
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Veteran recalls WWII and other life experiences
Saturday, January 29, 2011
By Jane Elling
Staff Writer
CHERRY TREE - Louis Jacobs of Cherry Tree has a history of serving his country, teaching students for many years and volunteering in many ways.
He was drafted into the U.S. Navy in 1944 after high school graduation and was sent to Great Lakes, Ill., for basic training. He said he was fortunate because he was assigned to be a company clerk; that meant handing out passes, helping with health records and other duties.
Then it was on to the University of Wisconsin to study Morse code and radio that led to a promotion as radioman third class.
From Wisconsin he was sent to Pearl Harbor and assigned to a sub-chaser along with 17 other men. Sub-chasers were small ships used to "hit and run. They would drop depth charges to destroy an enemy sub. As soon as it was dropped, they ran."
He said the sub-chaser they were on was designated as the communication ship. When plans were being made to invade Japan they were told they would be the first wave to hit Japan. They were also told that the chances of going back home were "nil to none." Fortunately, he added, Harry S. Truman gave the OK to drop the atomic bomb and they were not sent at that time.
He remembers very well a day when during Mass on a ship, word came that the war was over. He was standing on the bridge of the ship and could see all the sailors kneeling in a prayer of thanks. There was no yelling, just thankfulness.
He also said, "I was privileged to be present when the Japanese carried the sword up the gangplank onto the Missouri and placed it on the table, signifying the formal surrender of Japan. I am glad to have had the experiences of being in the Navy and proud to have served my country."
Jacobs related another story about being in the hallway of Allegheny General Hospital when two men were talking and arguing and telling a woman about President Truman "killing all those innocent women and children when the bomb was dropped."
He spoke up and gave the illustration of how he and his fellow sailors were told when they went ashore not to get friendly with the people because "they sharpen bamboo and when they can get close enough they will put this in your gut. I bless the good Lord for Harry Truman." The woman thanked him for speaking up and said her husband was in the same situation and believed Harry Truman did the right thing.
Jacobs has some good memories including showering at a waterfall in Okinawa, but there were also things he didn't like, such as being told everything, even how to dress for the day.
Something else he appreciates about his Navy service is being able to go to college on the G.I. Bill. He said he was in the first class of veterans to go to Indiana State Teachers College, now Indiana University of Pennsylvania. He received a business education degree. After graduation he began teaching at Cherry Tree High School and went on to Duquesne University during the summers and on Saturdays to get a master's degree in administration, also using funding from the G.I. Bill.
When Harmony School District was formed with students from Cherry Tree and Westover boroughs and Burnside and Chest townships, he began teaching in the new school. His teaching career lasted 40 years followed by volunteering at the school for 12 years through the Clearfield County Area Agency on Aging Inc. He assisted with reading and other deficiencies.
He is no longer volunteering but does assist with raising funds at the Retired and Senior Volunteer Program dinner to honor all volunteers.
When Jacobs was at ISTC, he met his future wife, Joann, who he calls Joie, from Mount Lebanon. They eloped Dec. 30, 1948. He laughed as he told of his future mother-in-law telling her daughter three rules, she was not to marry someone of foreign descent, a Catholic or a school teacher because they did not make enough money.
They had two children, a son, Kristin, and a daughter, Jacqueline. Joie had left college but after they were married decided to go back and get her degree at ISTC. He helped with the children while she was seeking her education.
After graduation she began teaching in Purchase Line School District, became a head teacher and was told if she got her principal certificate, she could be a principal.
She was the principal at North Elementary School for a number of years, and Jacobs said this was at a time when women were not administrators.
They were married for 47 years. He said it was a beautiful marriage and he was more in love with her at the end of her life and stated, "We got along great."
One of his hobbies was sewing, which he learned at ISTC when his electives were in home economics. He made the curtains, draperies and bedspreads in the house they built in Cherry Tree. He told about making a skirt for his daughter using newspaper to make a pattern.
Jacobs was born in Nanty Glo, one of eight children of Samuel and Elizabeth Jacobs. He is the last left and said this is a lonesome situation.
The family had a store that Elizabeth took care of when her husband was away. He traveled to various countries in Europe as he learned to play the violin and became skilled with the language of each country.
Elizabeth had no formal education but she was able to remember what each person purchased and relate this to Mr. Sam, as the customers called him, and he could list this in the store's book.
Jacobs has his father's violin hanging in his living room. In the home are assorted other family treasures. As he related his memories he said his philosophy is "Life is what you make it."