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The Numbers News
|← July 2016
Weekend Wrap-Up: Don't Breathe Made the Box Office Gasp with $26.41 million
August 29th, 2016
Don't Breathe topped the weekend box office chart earning $26.41 million. This was double its nearest competitor, Suicide Squad, and more than three times the other new release, Mechanic: Resurrection. The overall box office fell 12% from last weekend to $117 million. This is 33% higher than this weekend last year, which is really impressive for a year-over-year comparison. Year-to-date, 2016's lead over 2015 has grown to $480 million or 6.5% at $7.81 billion to $7.33 billion.
Home Market Releases for August 30th, 2016
August 29th, 2016
We are in the heart of TV on DVD season with a dozen such releases on this week's list. Unfortunately, while there are a few that are worth picking up, none of them have the extras needed to be Pick of the Week contenders. The biggest release of the week is The Jungle Book, which is one of the biggest hits of the year. I got a chance to review it, so you can compare my opinion to the critics. As for the best of the best, there weren't a lot to choose from. In the end, I went with The Commitments, which is making its Blu-ray debut this week.
Featured Blu-ray / DVD Review: The Jungle Book
August 28th, 2016
The Jungle Book is the latest live-action remake of a classic Disney cartoon. The film is the third biggest domestic release of the year so far. (It just topped Deadpool this weekend.) It also earned 95% positive reviews. Is it truly one of the best films of 2016? Or am I going to be in the minority when it comes to this movie?
Weekend Estimates: Don't Breathe Launches with Impressive $26.1 Million
August 28th, 2016
Fall season begins in earnest this weekend with the low-budget suspense flick Don't Breathe taking over at the top of the box office chart. Sony is predicting a $26.1 million debut for the film, which will be the best debut for a horror or suspense film since The Purge: Election Year's $31.5 million in July, and the best for a non-sequel since Annabelle's $37.1 million in October, 2014. Don't Breathe has the advantage of really good reviews (currently running at 84% positive on Rotten Tomatoes), although it will have a lot of competition over the next few weeks, with films aimed at a broadly similar audience coming out every week for the next three weeks (not to mention a truckload more arriving in October).
Friday Estimates: Don't Breathe Inhales $10.02 million
August 27th, 2016
Don't Breathe earned a stunning $10.02 million on Friday, which isn't that much less than some people predicted it would earn over the entire weekend. Its reviews are among the best of any wide release to come out this year. Its CinemaScore was a B+, which is better than most horror films manage. (Like I've said in the past, there are two schools of horror fans: gorehounds and those who demand high tension. It is nearly impossible to appeal to both groups, so these movies have a hard time doing well in this metric.) Horror films tend to have a low internal multiplier, but the film is still on pace for $23 million, which is ahead of predictions.
Limited and VOD Releases: Stone Cold Releases
August 26th, 2016
While there are a lot of films on this week's list, none of them look like they will be box office hits. Southside with You is one of the best releases this week, but it is playing in over 800 theaters, which is likely too many. There are a number of other films that are worth seeing, like Floyd Norman: An Animated Life, but most of them are playing on Video on Demand, so their box office chances are nearly zero.
Morgan Trailer
August 26th, 2016
Sci-fi thriller starring Kate Mara, directed by Luke Scott opens September 2 ... Full Movie Details.
A corporate troubleshooter is sent to a remote, top-secret location, where she is to investigate and evaluate a terrifying accident. She learns the event was triggered by a seemingly innocent "human," who presents a mystery of both infinite promise and incalculable danger.
Thursday Night Previews: Don't Breathe Knocks Out the Competition with $1.88 million
August 26th, 2016
Don't Breathe earned $1.8 million during its midnight previews, which is coincidentally almost exactly the same amount as Lights Out opened with earlier this summer. Don't Breathe does have better reviews than Lights Out earned, plus it has less competition. On the other hand, this weekend is a weaker weekend at the box office. It does look like it will beat expectations and an opening of more than $20 million is likely.
Contest: Doing Hard Labor
August 25th, 2016
Next weekend is Labor Day, which is historically one of the worst long weekends at the box office. There are two wide releases debuting, Morgan and The Light Between Oceans. While the latter will likely have better legs, Morgan should start faster and because of that, it is the target film in this week's Box Office Prediction contest. In order to win, one must simply predict the opening weekend box office number for Morgan.
Whoever comes the closest to predicting the film's opening 3-day weekend box office (Friday to Sunday), without going over, will win a Frankenprize consisting of a previously reviewed full-season TV on DVD release, two previously reviewed movies, or three single-disc kids DVDs. Whoever comes the closest to predicting the film's opening 3-day weekend box office (Friday to Sunday), without going under, will also win a Frankenprize consisting of a previously reviewed full-season TV on DVD release, two previously reviewed movies, or three single-disc kids DVDs. Finally, we will be choosing an entrant from the group of people who haven't won, or haven't won recently, and they will win the final Frankenprize, as described above.
Entries must be received by 10 a.m., Pacific Time on Friday to be eligible, so don't delay!
Note: It is a long weekend, but we only use the three-day, Friday through Sunday box office for this contest.
Weekend Predictions: Will the New Releases be a Breath of Fresh Air?
August 25th, 2016
It's the last weekend of summer and a number of schools are already back, so the box office prospects are really low. That's not to say there's nothing to look forward to, as Don't Breathe is earning stellar reviews. On the other hand, Mechanic: Resurrection still has no reviews. (There was another movie, Hands of Stone, that was expected to open wide, but that is no longer the case.) This weekend last year, Straight Outta Compton completed its threepete with $13.13 million. The best new release was War Room, which only managed $11.35 million. This year, the two wide releases will topped the combined numbers of those two films, while the holdovers will push 2016 over 2015 in the year-over-year comparison.
Theater Counts: Don't Breathe Starts in 3,051 Theaters
August 25th, 2016
A horror movie getting genuinely good reviews leads the new releases into theaters this weekend. Don't Breathe is expected to top the chart, and is helped by its debut in 3,051 locations, easily the most among the new releases. Mechanic: Resurrection is playing in 2,258 moviehouses, which will likely translate into a struggle at the box office. It could end up neck-and-neck with Southside with You at the box office this weekend. The Obama date dramatization opens in 811 venues, about the same as Hands of Stone (we don't have an official count for that one yet). Hands of Stone is expected to be slightly behind that pack at the box office.
The Disappointments Room Trailer
August 25th, 2016
Supernatural horror starring Kate Beckinsale, directed by D.J. Caruso opens September 9 ... Full Movie Details.
International Box Office: Pets Claws Its way to the Top With $43.8 million
August 25th, 2016
The Secret Life of Pets rose to first place with $43.8 million on 12,049 screens in 55 markets for totals of $327.20 million internationally and $674.03 million worldwide. The film opened in first place in Russia with $9.92 million in 1,284 screens over the weekend for a total opening of $16.24 million, including previews.
Contest: Three Prizes for Two Strings: Winning Announcement
August 24th, 2016
The winners of our Three Prizes for Two Strings contest were determined and the entrants with the closest predictions for Kubo and the Two Strings opening weekend were...
Theater Averages: Darkness has a Lovely Start with an Average of $18,585
August 24th, 2016
Natalie Portman's feature-length directorial debut, A Tale of Love and Darkness, was the only film in the $10,000 club earning an average of $18,585 in two theaters.
Home Market Releases for August 23rd, 2016
August 24th, 2016
There are not many major hits on this week's list, but there are several releases that are contenders for Pick of the Week. This includes TV on DVD releases like Ash vs The Evil Dead: Season 1 (DVD or Blu-ray), as well as limited releases like Maggie's Plan (DVD or Blu-ray). However, in the end I went with The Nice Guys on Blu-ray Combo Pack.
Rings Trailer
August 24th, 2016
Supernatural horror starring Matilda Lutz opens October 28 ... Full Movie Details.
Weekend Wrap-Up: Squad, Sausage Top Dogs, Strings as Summer Ends
August 23rd, 2016
Well, summer is over, that much is obvious from the weekend results. The "best" new release of the weekend was War Dogs and it earned less than $15 million earning just third place. The worst new release, Ben-Hur, didn't even reach the top five. The overall box office fell 23% to $132 million. However, this is still 24% more than this weekend last year. The year-over-year gain is impressive, but not surprising, as the worst new release this year still opened better than the best new release from last year, Sinister 2. This helped 2016's year-over-year lead grow to 5.6% or $400 million at $7.64 billion to $7.24 billion.
Featured TV on DVD Review: Ash vs The Evil Dead: Season 1
August 22nd, 2016
Bruce Campbell returns to Evil Dead, this time in the TV show, Ash vs The Evil Dead. Turning a movie into a TV show, especially a cult classic from 30 years ago, seems like a risky prospect. Does it pay off? Will fans of the show want to pick it up?
Weekend Estimates: Newcomers Can't Dislodge Suicide Squad
August 21st, 2016
Three even-matched debutants proved to be no match for the incumbents at the box office this weekend, with Suicide Squad taking a third straight victory at the box office with $20.71 million, according to Warner Bros.' Sunday morning projection. Sausage Party stays in second with $15.3 million, and that leaves the new entrants in 3rd, 4th and 5th. This was a weekend where diversity isn't the problem, but novelty is.
Friday Estimates: Suicide Squad Leads Slow Night with $6.03 million
August 20th, 2016
Suicide Squad led the way on Friday with $6.03 million. This is almost perfectly in line with predictions and it should finish with just a little above $20 million over the weekend.
Limited and VOD Releases: No Monster Releases
August 19th, 2016
There are a number of interesting limited releases on this week's list, including Lo And Behold, Reveries Of The Connected World, Morris from America, Imperium, and Closet Monster. Unfortunately, while all of them are earning good reviews, none of them are likely to be hits in theaters.
Thursday Night Previews: Dogs Go to War with $1.9 million Preemptive Strike - Updated with Ben-Hur Numbers
August 19th, 2016
War Dogs got off to a surprisingly strong start with $1.9 million during its midnight previews last night. This is about 20% more than Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates made a few weeks ago. The two films are great comparisons, but we don't have a lot of other films to work with. This is good news for the film and makes it likely that it will beat predictions by a small margin.
Contest: Hold Your Breath
August 18th, 2016
There are two and a half wide releases next weekend with Don't Breathe being the widest release and very likely the only film earning good reviews. I think it is the easy choice for the target film in this week's Box Office Prediction contest. In order to win, one must simply predict the opening weekend box office number for Don't Breathe.
Whoever comes the closest to predicting the film's opening 3-day weekend box office (Friday to Sunday), without going over, will win a Frankenprize consisting of a previously reviewed full-season TV on DVD release, two previously reviewed movies, or three single-disc kids DVDs. Whoever comes the closest to predicting the film's opening 3-day weekend box office (Friday to Sunday), without going under, will also win a Frankenprize consisting of a previously reviewed full-season TV on DVD release, two previously reviewed movies, or three single-disc kids DVDs. Finally, we will be choosing an entrant from the group of people who haven't won, or haven't won recently, and they will win the final Frankenprize, as described above.
Entries must be received by 10 a.m., Pacific Time on Friday to be eligible, so don't delay!
Weekend Predictions: Dog Days of Summer are Here
August 18th, 2016
Summer is over, at least as far as the box office is concerned. There are three films opening wide and another expanding wide-ish, but none of them are expected to crack $20 million over the weekend. War Dogs should come the closest, but even then, it is only aiming at the midteens. Kubo and the Two Strings is the best of the new releases, but recent history isn't kind to stop-motion animated films. The final wide release of the week is Ben-Hur. This film cost nearly $100 million to make and it is expected to bomb spectacularly. Hell or High Water is expected to expand semi-wide, perhaps wide enough to score a spot in the top ten. Suicide Squad will likely win the box office race, but this has less to do with the film's strength and more to do with the weak competition. Speaking of weak competition, this weekend last year, Straight Outta Compton earned more than all three wide releases combined. 2016 won't be able to match it at the top of the chart, but there's much better depth this year than last year, so 2016 should win in the year-over-year comparison.
Theater Counts: Suicide Squad Remains Top Dog
August 18th, 2016
Suicide Squad will lose 331 venues this weekend, but remain the film in widest release. The theater count hasn't been announced yet for Kubo and the Two Strings, but Focus Features had it pegged around 3,100 this time last week, and it will clearly fall far short of the 3,924 claimed by Suicide Squad for the weekend. War Dogs will land in 3,258 locations and is the widest new release to have reported so far. Ben Hur will launch in 3,084, which is a weak number for a film that needs to make a lot of money.
International Box Office: Suicide Slips, but Still Tops Chart with $58.7 million
August 17th, 2016
Suicide Squad saw its numbers fall dramatically, but still held onto top spot on the international chart with $58.7 million in 62 markets. The film's totals rose to $242.5 million internationally and $465.1 million worldwide. The film's two biggest new markets were Argentina, where it earned $2.5 million, and Italy, where it pulled in $2.15 million. Its best holdover was the U.K., where it remained in first place despite falling 62% to $5.52 million in 587 theaters for a two-week total of $28.90 million. At this pace, the film will be over $500 million worldwide before the weekend, while it is on track for $750 million worldwide in total. That should be enough to break even before its home market run.
Contest: For Pete's Sake: Winning Announcement
August 17th, 2016
The winners of our For Pete's Sake contest were determined and the entrants with the closest predictions for Pete's Dragon opening weekend were...
Theater Averages: Hell of a Good Time
August 16th, 2016
Hell or High Water led the way on the Theater Average Chart with an average of $19,417 in 32 theaters. The studio was hoping for only half of that, so this is a fantastic start. The biggest new release of the week, Sausage Party, was next with an average of $11,042, while the overall number one film, Suicide Squad, was right behind with $10,232.
Home Market Releases for August 16th, 2016
August 16th, 2016
There are a lot of releases on this week's list, but most of them are like The Angry Birds Movie on DVD, Blu-ray Combo Pack, or 4K Combo Pack. They are good, but not good enough to be a Pick of the Week contender. The best new release is The Fits, but it is only coming out on Video on Demand.
Weekend Wrap-Up: Suicide Slumps to $43.54 million, Sausage Soars with $34.26 million
August 16th, 2016
The overall box office was a little weaker than expected with Suicide Squad falling nearly as fast as Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice did. On the other hand, Sausage Party opened better than expected earning a solid second place. Overall, the box office pulled in $172 million over the weekend, which is 25% smaller than last weekend. Compared to the same weekend last year, the box office was 16% higher and that's the most important number. Year-to-date, 2016 has pulled in $7.43 billion, putting it 5.3% ahead of last year's pace. The box office just needs to maintain its $380 million lead throughout the rest of the summer to be considered a success.
Featured Blu-ray / DVD Review: Ratchet and Clank
August 15th, 2016
Ratchet and Clank opened in late April, which is a bad time of the year to release a movie, as the first of the Summer blockbusters is just around the corner. Even so, Ratchet and Clank was a serious box office disappointment. Is it as bad as its box office numbers? Or would it have thrived during a better time of year?
Weekend Estimates: Pete's Dragon and Suicide Squad Soft, Sausage Party Firm
August 14th, 2016
A precipitous drop from last weekend won't be enough to knock Suicide Squad off its perch at the top of the box office chart, according to studio estimates released on Friday. But a 67% fall is steep, even by modern standards. On the bright side, it is less than Batman v Superman's 69% decline in its second weekend earlier this year, at least according to the estimates. A weak Sunday would put the two films basically neck-and-neck on that front, and it looks increasingly likely that Suicide Squad will end with less than $300 million domestically.
Friday Estimates: Sausage Squad
August 13th, 2016
Sausage Party actually earned first place on Friday with $13.5 million, putting it just ahead of Suicide Squad. That lead won't last, as new releases almost never has an internal multiplier as big as holdovers do. The film does have excellent reviews, but only earned a B CinemaScore. This could mean critics liked the film more than its target audience and it will have short legs. Or it could mean it is a more niche market release and it will be a cult classic in a few years. Regardless, a $33 million opening is in the works, which is excellent for a film that cost $19 million to make.
Rogue One: A Star Wars Story trailer
August 12th, 2016
Sci-fi adventure starring Felicity Jones and Diego Luna, directed by Gareth Edwards opens December 16 ... Full Movie Details.
A rogue band of resistance fighters unite for a daring mission to steal the Death Star plans.
Limited and VOD Releases: High Water Mark
August 12th, 2016
This week's list of limited releases is full of films that are earning good reviews, but not great reviews, and they will struggle to survive in limited release. Then there's Hell or High Water. The film's reviews are just shy of 100% positive and it is going to expand wide next week. It should have the most impressive opening out of all of the films on this week's list. It might not even be close.
Thursday Night Previews: Sausages get the Drop on the Dragon
August 12th, 2016
Sausage Party got off to a fast start with $3.25 million in previews. By comparison, Bad Moms earned $2 million during its previews two weeks ago, on its way to a $23.82 million opening weekend. If the two films had the same legs for their opening weekends, then we would be looking at a $38 million debut. Sausage Party does have better reviews that Bad Moms earned, but Bad Moms is aimed at a female demographic and generally speaking, women are less likely to rush out to see a movie during previews. So I think it is wise to be a little more cautious, but an opening weekend of over $30 million is still reason to celebrate.
Contest: Three Prizes for Two Strings
August 12th, 2016
Summer ends next week, as none of the three wide releases are expected to do well. That said, Kubo and the Two Strings is the only of the three films that are expected to earn good reviews. Since no film is expected to be a major hit, we might as well choose the best film as the target film in this week's Box Office Prediction contest. In order to win, one must simply predict the opening weekend box office number for Kubo and the Two Strings.
Whoever comes the closest to predicting the film's opening 3-day weekend box office (Friday to Sunday), without going over, will win a copy of Ratchet and Clank on Blu-ray Combo Pack, which comes out on the 23rd of August, so the winner will be announced on the street date. Whoever comes the closest to predicting the film's opening 3-day weekend box office (Friday to Sunday), without going under, will win a Frankenprize consisting of a previously reviewed full-season TV on DVD release, two previously reviewed movies, or three single-disc kids DVDs. Finally, we will be choosing an entrant from the group of people who haven't won, or haven't won recently, and they will win a second Frankenprize, as described above.
Entries must be received by 10 a.m., Pacific Time on Friday to be eligible, so don't delay!
Weekend Theater Counts: Pete's Dragon Leads Charge Against Suicide Squad
August 11th, 2016
Suicide Squad won't pick up any extra theaters in its second weekend in release, but it will remain the most widely-distributed film currently playing this weekend. Pete's Dragon will be the widest opener as it debuts in 3,702 locations on Friday. Suicide Squad is expected to repeat at the top of the chart, and it will be helped by having over 500 more theaters: it stays in 4,255 venues this weekend.
Weekend Predictions: Party Time
August 11th, 2016
Before we talk about the weekend predictions... If you can read this, it means my transfer worked well enough and I can do work from my parents house while pet-sitting. I will be at my parents place for three weeks looking after their dog and cat. I was at their house for less than 30 minutes before stepping into a puddle of dog drool. It is going to be a very long three weeks. ... As for the releases for the week, they are all amazing. The film earning the weakest reviews at the moment is Sausage Party, which is earning 82% positive reviews. 82% positive is the weakest of the three wide releases. That's amazing. On the other hand, it won't be the biggest release of the week. Pete's Dragon has a better than 50/50 chance at reaching $100 million in total; however, as a family film, it will start relatively slow, but have good legs. Finally, there's Florence Foster Jenkins, which is an early Oscar contender. It is not opening in a lot of theaters, so it is going to need great word-of-mouth to thrive. None of these new releases will match last year's number one film, Straight Outta Compton, so it will be up to Suicide Squad to keep 2016 on the winning track. I think it will collapse by more than 60%, but 2016 has a lot better depth than 2015 and it will come out on top.
International Box Office: Squad Scores $132 million Opening
August 10th, 2016
As expected, Suicide Squad easily won the international box office race pulling in $132 million in 57 markets. However, its results in individual markets were mixed when compared to its domestic opening, as well as when compared to Batman v Superman. For example, the film earned first place in Russia with $11.42 million over the weekend, while BvS opened with $7.84 million. It is also a little better than its debut here, given the size of the two markets, and the slumping rubles. On the other hand, the film managed $13.9 million in the U.K., compared to BvS's opening of $20.66 million. Likewise, a $13.9 million opening in the U.K. is equivalent to about $90 million here, which is much less than its debut here. That's still a huge opening, but not a monster opening. BvS finished with over $500 million internationally; if Suicide Squad finishes with just under $400 million internationally, it will break even, so the studio can't be too upset. They could yell, "Damn the critics, full speed ahead." and let the D.C. Extended Universe turn into another Transformers. Hit after hit, but critically reviled.
Contest: Live or Die: Winning Announcement
August 10th, 2016
The winners of our Live or Die contest were determined and the entrants with the closest predictions for Suicide Squad opening weekend were...
Theater Averages: Operation Excellence
August 9th, 2016
Operation Chromite, the South Korean war movie, opened on first place on the theater average chart with $31,662. This put it just ahead of the overall box office champion, Suicide Squad, which earned an average of $31,418. Little Men was next with an average of $15,184 in two theaters. The re-release of Elevator to the Gallows was close behind with $14,334 in its lone theater. The final film in the $10,000 club was Equity, with an average of $13,629 in four theaters during its second weekend of release.
Weekend Wrap-Up: Suicide Starts Strong with $133.68 Million, but Signs of Long-Term Weakness
August 9th, 2016
Overall, the weekend lived up to expectations, with Suicide Squad doing a little better than expected at the expense of some of its competition. For example, Jason Bourne had one of the worst sophomore stint declines of the summer. The overall box office rose 20% from last weekend hitting $229 million. Suicide Squad earned more this weekend than the entire box office earned this weekend last year, so it should come as no surprise that the year-over-year growth was stunning at 73%. Year-to-date, 2016 saw its lead over 2015 grow by more than $100 million hitting 5.3% at $7.16 billion to $6.80 billion.
Home Market Releases for August 9th, 2016
August 8th, 2016
It is a really slow week on the top with only a couple of main releases worth being a contender for Pick of the Week: Supergirl: Season 1 and Sweet Bean on DVD. The Nice Guys would also be a contender, but it is only coming out on Video on Demand this week and it is worth waiting for the Blu-ray Combo Pack. With only two real choices, Sweet Bean is my Pick of the Week.
Weekend Estimates: Suicide Squad Crashes into August Record Books
August 7th, 2016
One of the most talked-about debuts of the year is shaping up to be one of the better ones. Suicide Squad will open with about $135 million, according to Warner Bros., easily the biggest weekend in August, beating Guardians of the Galaxy's $94.3 million in 2014. It's also the 3rd-best weekend in 2016, and should earn a little more than Deadpool's $132 million debut. In spite of these awesome stats, there's about as much negative press for the film as positive, and some of it not entirely fair.
Friday Estimates: Suicide Sets August Daily Record with $65.13 million
August 6th, 2016
As expected, Suicide Squad broke the record for the biggest day in August with $65.13 million on Friday. Its opening day to preview multiplier was 3.17, which is not that much worse than the 3.28 earned by Guardians of the Galaxy in 2014. This is surprising, as Suicide Squad's reviews have fallen to just 26% positive, while Guardians of the Galaxy earned 91% positive reviews. You would think word-of-mouth would tank Suicide Squad. Granted, it is just one day and perhaps it will fall as fast as Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice did throughout the rest of the weekend. Or perhaps moviegoers liked the movie significantly more than critics did. Its CinemaScore was a B+, which is not good, but not terrible. Or perhaps the lack of A-list comic book characters means it wasn't able to get the average moviegoer as excited as they were for BvS, so it won't be as front-loaded despite the worse reviews. Given this opening day, the film is on pace for $137 million, according to our model, which is on the very high end of expectations. That said, things might change tomorrow when we get the weekend estimates: the model's range of uncertainty goes from $119 million at the low end to $154 million at the high end.
Limited and VOD Releases: Little Men leads Big List of Limited Releases
August 5th, 2016
There are quite a few limited releases on this week's list that are earning good reviews. Little Men is the biggest new release, but there are many that should be seen. This includes The Little Prince, which is on Netflix starting today.
Thursday Previews: Suicide Has more than 20 million Reasons to Live - Update... sort of
August 5th, 2016
Suicide Squad started its domestic run last night with $20.5 million from its Thursday previews. This is the best previews since Captain America: Civil War and nearly double the previous August preview record of $11.2 million, held by Guardians of the Galaxy. This is great news for the studio. ... except for two small problems. This is 26% lower than Batman v. Superman and the two films earned identical reviews. If the two films have identical legs during their opening weekends, it will mean Suicide Squad will make $123 million over the weekend and $244 million in total. That's not enough to revive the hopes of a DC Extended Universe that can rival the MCU.
Contest: For Pete's Sake
August 5th, 2016
Next week is likely going to be the last weekend of summer, as Pete's Dragon is the last film coming out this summer with a realistic shot at $100 million at the box office. The other two releases, Florence Foster Jenkins and Sausage Party, are pure counter-programming. If they make $100 million combined, then at least one of them will be seen as a success. Pete's Dragon might not earn first place over the weekend, but it is the only real choice for the target film in this week's Box Office Prediction contest. In order to win, one must simply predict the opening weekend box office number for Pete's Dragon.
Whoever comes the closest to predicting the film's opening 3-day weekend box office (Friday to Sunday), without going over, will win a Frankenprize consisting of a full-season TV on DVD release, two previously reviewed movies, or three single-disc kids DVDs. Whoever comes the closest to predicting the film's opening 3-day weekend box office (Friday to Sunday), without going under, will also win a Frankenprize, as described above. Finally, we will be choosing an entrant from the group of people who haven't won, or haven't won recently, and they will win the third Frankenprize, as described above.
Entries must be received by 10 a.m., Pacific Time on Friday to be eligible, so don't delay!
Weekend Theater Counts: Suicide Squad Lands in 4,255 Locations
August 4th, 2016
Suicide Squad may end up not living up to the hype, but it won't be for lack of trying. The dark superhero movie will open in 4,255 theaters this weekend, according to Warner Bros.. That's far more than Deadpool's 3,558 back in February, which was enough for a $132 million opening weekend. It's on par with the 4,242 theaters that played Batman v Superman, which delivered a $166 million debut, on the back of similarly-dismal reviews. A performance somewhere between those two numbers is widely expected, although an August release date works against it, and we're going with a more modest $125 million.
Weekend Predictions: Suicide Hopes to Have Long Life at the Box Office
August 4th, 2016
Before we talk about the weekend predictions... Warner Bros. owns D.C. Comics and a 30% share in Rotten Tomatoes. So accusing Rotten Tomatoes of having an anti-D.C. bias is silly. Starting a petition to shut down Rotten Tomatoes is a sign you really need a more productive hobby. I suggest Magic: The Gathering. ... Moving on... Suicide Squad is the last major release of the summer. Unfortunately, its reviews are among the worst of any $100 million movie released this summer. The counter-programming this week is Nine Lives, a talking animal / body swap movie that still has no reviews on Rotten Tomatoes. Many analysts think it will fail to reach the top five during its opening weekend. This weekend last year was the weekend Fantastic Four opened. Suicide Squad should crush that movie at the box office. In fact, it should earn more than the top ten earned last year.
International Box Office: Jason is a Bourne Leader earning $50.74 million
August 4th, 2016
Jason Bourne opened in first place on the international chart with $50.74 million in 5,006 theaters in 48 markets. There were two markets that had a claim for biggest opening for the film: South Korea and the U.K. The film earned third place in South Korea with $8.02 million on 826 screens over the weekend for a total opening of $11.39 million. Meanwhile in the U.K., it earned second pace with $10.09 million in 561 theaters. The film earned first place in Australia with $5.85 million on 554 screens. Compared to the biggest hit in the franchise, The Bourne Ultimatum, these results were mixed. On the one hand, Ultimatum finished with less than $15 million in South Korea during its total run there, so an opening of over $11 million is amazing. On the other hand, Ultimatum opened with nearly $13 million in the U.K., which is close to 30% more than Jason Bourne's opening. It will take a few more openings, plus a look at the film's legs, to tell where it has finished.
Contest: Bourne Free: Winning Announcement
August 4th, 2016
The winners of our Bourne Free contest were determined and the entrants with the closest predictions for Jason Bourne opening weekend were...
Trolls Trailer
August 3rd, 2016
Animated adventure from DreamWorks Animation, with the voices of Anna Kendrick and Justin Timberlake opens November 4 ... Full Movie Details.
Theater Averages: Don't Think has earned First Place Twice
August 3rd, 2016
Don't Think Twice repeated as champion of the theater average chart. It expanded from 1 to 5 theaters but still earned a very healthy average of $31,022. It will expand further. Indignation was the best of the new limited releases, earning an average of $23,281 in 4 theaters, while Equity was close behind with an average of $20,609 in 4 theaters. The overall number one film, Jason Bourne, was next with an average of $14,708. Hieronymus Bosch, Touched by the Devil earned $12,064 in 1 theater over the weekend and $19,076 from Wednesday through Sunday. A couple of documentaries rounded out the $10,000 club. Miss Sharon Jones earned $10,323 in 1 theater, while Gleason managed an average of $10,176 in 9 theaters.
Home Market Releases for August 2nd, 2016
August 3rd, 2016
It is the beginning of August, a.k.a., the beginning of TV on DVD season. While there are a few prominent releases in that category, the biggest release is Batman: The Killing Joke, which is still a hot mess, but this time on Blu-ray. There are plenty of smaller releases that are worth picking up, including April and the Extraordinary World. Its reviews are nearly 100% positive and the Blu-ray Combo Pack is the Pick of the Week.
Hacksaw Ridge Trailer
August 2nd, 2016
War drama starring Andrew Garfield, directed by Mel Gibson opens November 4 ... Full Movie Details.
The true story of Desmond Doss who, in Okinawa during the bloodiest battle of WWII, saved 75 men without firing or carrying a gun. He was the only American soldier in WWII to fight on the front lines without a weapon, as he believed that while the war was justified, killing was nevertheless wrong. As an army medic, he single-handedly evacuated the wounded from behind enemy lines, braved fire while tending to soldiers and was wounded by a grenade and hit by snipers. Doss was the first conscientious objector to ever earn the Congressional Medal of Honor.
Weekend Wrap-Up: Jason Bourne Treks to the top of the Chart with $59.22 million
August 2nd, 2016
There was no surprise at the top of the weekend box office chart, as Jason Bourne easily won with $59.22 million. This was on the high end of expectations, but not quite as strong as Star Trek Beyond's opening last weekend. Both of the other two new releases, Bad Moms and Nerve, also did well. In fact, none of the films we talked about before the weekend missed expectations. The overall box office was down a little compared to last weekend, but a 3.1% decline is hardly noteworthy. More importantly, the box office was 30% higher than the same weekend last year. Year-to-date, 2016 saw its lead over 2015 nearly double to $260 million or 4.0%. Being ahead $6.84 billion to $6.58 billion at this point of the year is a good position to be in, but it wouldn't take a major collapse for 2016 to fall behind 2015 by year's end.
The Hollars Trailer
August 1st, 2016
Ensemble comedy directed by, and starring John Krasinski, with Anna Kendrick, Sharlto Copley, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Charlie Day, Margo Martindale and Richard Jenkins opens August 26 ... Full Movie Details.
John Hollar, a struggling NYC artist is forced to navigate the small middle-American town he left behind when news of his mother's illness brings him home. Back in the house he grew up in, John is immediately swept up in the problems of his dysfunctional family, high-school rival and an over-eager ex-girlfriend as he faces impending fatherhood with his girlfriend in New York.
2016 Preview: August
August 1st, 2016
July did reasonably well, thanks mostly to The Secret Life of Pets, which will top $300 million shortly and could earn double its nearest competitor when all is said and done. That said, there were also a quartet of $100 million hits as well, so the month had good depth as well. August isn't as lucky. There is one film that is expected to earn $100 million during its opening weekend, Suicide Squad, and one more that is expected to reach $100 million in total, Pete's Dragon. There could be a surprise hit among the rest of the releases, (my long shot with a shot is Sausage Party) but for the most part, the rest of the wide releases would be happy with just $50 million at the box office. Last August was a disaster and Straight Outta Compton was the only hit of the month. Unless Suicide Squad bombs compared to expectations, 2016 will come out ahead in the year-over-year comparison.


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XEYED jam was top notch amazing. hood was great as well... and axilla... those three songs worked really really well.
on a side note... is missjohnnybgood serious about boycotting phish because of the mkdevo thing?
why do you think ticket prices are so high... because no one buys music anymore... you know why? because of people like mkdevo...
i loved his vids, and i dont hold it against him. but c'mon, do you really think phish is supposed to just give away their intellectual property? he was posting hd video and sound of every show. how entitled are you that you think you deserve free hd audio and video to every show?

subset: commoncrawl


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Central-Bank Gold Buying Seen Reaching 493 Tons in 2012 by GFMS
Central banks will increase gold purchases to 493 metric tons this year as they keep expanding reserves to diversify from the dollar and guard against a potential gain in inflation, Thomson Reuters GFMS said.
The banks bought 273 tons in the first half, 34 percent more than a year earlier, and will purchase 220 tons in the current half to raise the full-year total by 7.9 percent, the London-based researcher said today in a report. They bought 457 tons last year, GFMS said. Gross first-half purchases rose to 278 tons as sales slid 83 percent from a year earlier to 5 tons.
"We expect the official sector to remain a significant gold buyer for some time to come," GFMS said. "Although we expect to see continued purchases, a more aggressive scale of acquisitions than current levels is highly unlikely due to the limited size of the gold market, particularly when compared with some countries' foreign-exchange holdings."
Bullion lending by central banks has remained "broadly flat" after the first increase in more than a decade last year, the researcher said. There was growth in "very short-term" lending from certain central banks to earn extra yields as well as to avoid storage charges, said GFMS, a unit of Thomson Reuters Corp.
Bloomberg competes with Thomson Reuters in selling financial and legal information and trading systems.


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Critical Read
What: Office of Management and Budget's Guidance for Providing and Using Administrative Data for Statistical Purposes
Why: This OMB guidance gives agencies a roadmap for leveraging certain types of data to use in developing policy and improving program outcomes. The government collects all kinds of information as a natural function of program administration that can't be released to the public as open data for privacy reasons, or to protect trade secrets. However, such administrative data can be used by government under certain conditions. The move by OMB is of a piece with President Barack Obama's management agenda, which seeks to leverage government data to improve performance and efficiency.
In her covering memo, OMB Director Sylvia Burwell suggests a few examples where government might overlay and analyze disparate datasets, including comparing veterans' health and labor market data to design programs to find employment for disabled or injured vets, or using crime reports and data on crime-prevention policies with an eye to discovering what works and what doesn't.
The detailed guidance, mostly of interest to government officials and data-policy geeks, spells out how agencies should work to overcome institutional barriers to using such data through collaboration across programs and agencies, and the responsibilities of keepers and users of administrative data in making sure that privacy rules and data integrity principles are followed. It also tasks agencies with creating their own policies for making such data more visible and accessible to potential users.
OMB also provides agencies with a standardized agreement for agencies to use when sharing data, with provisions for data security, data quality and penalties for unauthorized disclosure. The absence of such a template for data sharing among agencies was lamented in a GAO report made public just two days before the OMB guidance was released.
Verbatim: "In particular, high-quality and reliable statistics provide the foundation for the research, evaluation, and analysis that help the Federal Government understand how public needs are changing, how well Federal policy and programs are addressing those needs, and where greater progress can be achieved."
About the Author
Adam Mazmanian is executive editor of FCW.
Before joining the editing team, Mazmanian was an FCW staff writer covering Congress, government-wide technology policy, health IT and the Department of Veterans Affairs. Prior to joining FCW, Mr. Mazmanian was technology correspondent for National Journal and served in a variety of editorial at B2B news service SmartBrief. Mazmanian started his career as an arts reporter and critic, and has contributed reviews and articles to the Washington Post, the Washington City Paper, Newsday, Architect magazine, and other publications. He was an editorial assistant and staff writer at the now-defunct New York Press and arts editor at the About.com online network in the 1990s, and was a weekly contributor of music and film reviews to the Washington Times from 2007 to 2014.
Click here for previous articles by Mazmanian. Connect with him on Twitter at @thisismaz.
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Steve Kelman contends that a recent report on agencies' prize challenges tells only half the success story.
OMB's Data Center Optimization Initiative gives agencies new metrics and goals for fiscal 2018.
NSA and the CIA have revamped themselves in the past year. FCW asked officials how well Fort Meade and Langley are collaborating in cyberspace in pursuit of their separate missions.
The latest version of the Defense Department-wide Enterprise Service Management Framework places more emphasis on managing IT risk.
Despite GSA's efforts to accelerate the FedRAMP approval process, the lack of agency reciprocity puts the program's central goals at risk.
Got some early-career colleagues who are doing great things in federal IT? Nominate them for FCW's 2016 Rising Star awards.
The agency software inventories required under the draft category management policy will be treasure maps that lead to efficient, effective, streamlined buying and unprecedented savings.
As experts warned of the "dire" threats posed by outdated federal technology, lawmakers grilled top feds, debated workforce issues and inched closer to backing a $3.1 billion fix-it fund.
The agency is making strides in developing and deploying border technologies but still has some weaknesses.
with an eye to discovering what works and what doesn't (and where.) Since we are interested in collect stats WHERE is a huge consideratioin. What works in Detroit (for example) may not work in LA. And the cost of thhe solution varies from place to place. Just a thought!
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- Collect them all!
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A young player on a metoric rise, Brazilian forward Neymar is one of the most remarkable athletes in the world. Known for his energy, explosive speed, creative dribbling and ruthless finishing, Neymar came to Barcelona in June 2013 from Santos FC (Brazil). Neymar is a classic Brazilian player, equipped with deceptive dribbling and fearlessness.
This small figurine is incredibly realistic. The result - your favorite star is instantly recognizable. 2.5" tall resin.
Apoya a Neymar y al Barcelona con esta figurilla coleccionable de resina que mide 2.5" de alto.


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By David VergunFebruary 5, 2014
WASHINGTON (Army News Service, Feb. 5, 2014) -- Army doctors diagnose and successfully treat a host of potentially lethal diseases in Soldiers and family members on a routine basis, without much fanfare.
Maj. Andrew D. Mosier, an Army radiologist, said it's all in a day's work. But he also said the cause of a malady isn't always readily apparent and sometimes it takes some skillful sleuthing to discover its identity -- an especially important part of a radiologist's job.
Mosier's efforts as an Army doctor payoff twofold. First, they can save a Soldier's life. And second, they help the Army maintain a ready, healthy, fighting force.
By using technology to bring medical teams together from around the world, and putting minds from multiple medical disciplines on solving a problem, Army medical professionals are able to protect the health of the Army community.
Last year at Ireland Army Community Hospital, Fort Knox, Ky., for instance, Mosier said he detected a small, malignant cancer in a female Soldier's breast just prior to her scheduled one-year deployment.
"Had she not had this screening mammogram, she would have been overseas with a cancer progressing in size without knowing it," he said. "Instead, after my biopsy proving breast cancer, she was able to have it resected, with follow-on chemotherapy and radiation."
After her follow-up treatment, Mosier said, the Soldier chose to catch back up with her deployed unit.
"I am a firm believer that the health of our Soldiers begins at home," he said. "If a Soldier's family is well taken care of, then they can firmly focus on their mission."
Mosier's belief that taking care of families is part of taking care of Soldiers recently hit home when he looked into the chest pains experienced by Lt. Col. Brian Borek, of Army Human Resources Command. Borek is Mosier's cousin.
In early 2013, Borek started experiencing chest pains during physical training. He said this was unusual because he's been keeping physically fit ever since joining the Army in 1985.
He said he went to a clinic and the physician assistant who saw him thought he might be experiencing gastroesophageal reflux disease, or GERD, a non-cardiac chest pain that does not result in heart disease or a heart attack, Mosier said.
But despite receiving medication for GERD, had said the pain persisted. In April, he called his cousin, the Army doctor.
Mosier said he became concerned because he knew that Borek's family has a history of heart disease. Mosier and his wife, Susan, got permission to examine Borek's medical records. Susan, currently a civilian pediatrician, is a former Army brigade surgeon.
After looking at his records, Mosier worked with Borek's primary care provider to get him a cardiolite stress test. The test assesses the heart for areas where blood flow may not be present or adequate.
The radiologist who administered the test told Mosier that the test came back positive, with a 99 percent blockage of Borek's left anterior descending artery, the largest coronary artery that supplies blood to the left side of the heart.
Mosier said the test showed that some 50 percent of the blood flow that should have been flowing to Borek's heart muscle wasn't getting there.
Mosier added that "the left side of the heart is the most important because it is responsible for pumping blood to the rest of the body. Blockage of this artery is called a 'widow maker' and it can kill instantly if left untreated. Brian's was fortunately discovered just in time."
Borek was immediately rushed to the nearest cardiac center from Fort Bragg, N.C., where he was then stationed. There, he underwent a cardiac catheterization and stent placement to open the largest artery in his heart, Mosier said.
"Had this been unsuccessful, he could have needed an open chest cardiac bypass," Mosier said.
"Brian will continue his recovery for six to nine months after the stent placement as restored blood flow returns to the stunned heart muscle," Mosier continued. "He's already experienced an immediate boost in energy, an immediate decrease in fatigue and resolution of his chest pain."
Mosier said he takes just a small measure of credit for returning Borek back to good health -- he's now doing physical training with his unit. Mosier said that Army medicine is like an infantry squad where each Soldier has an important role to play and each must rely on others in the squad.
Mosier said he credits the Army's centralized database, which allowed him to access Borek's medical records at Fort Bragg, from Fort Knox, where Mosier was practicing medicine at the time. And finally, he credits TRICARE with smoothly and efficiently getting Borek's cardiolite stress test within 24 hours of reviewing his medical records.
And finally, Mosier praises the good collegial relationships between military hospitals and surrounding civilian hospitals. In Borek's case, "without that relationship it wouldn't have been possible to arrange for the urgent same-day cardiac catheterization with stent placement."
In essence, Mosier said Soldiers and their family members can be confident that the teams that make up Army medicine will be there for them should the need arise.
Currently, Mosier is on a fellowship at the Cleveland Clinic Foundation, practicing and studying breast radiology, mammograms, ultrasounds and magnetic resonance imaging, as well as biopsies. He has also co-authored a book with Dai Kohara, "Osteopathic Medicine Recall." Mosier said the book was written to help medical students quickly and easily grasp the fundamentals of osteopathic medicine.
(For more ARNEWS stories, visit http://www.army.mil/ARNEWS, or Facebook at www.facebook.com/ArmyNewsService)


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Items Tagged "Find A Church Near You"
4 Tagged Items Found
Find-A-Church Goes Global
Find-A-Church, the online directory of United Methodist churches, is going global. A mapping project is expanding Find-A-Church to include information on churches outside the U.S. for the first time. Read More
Stem Cell Research
...stem cell research, including somatic nuclear cell transfer, offers great potential for healing... Read More
Being the Church Amid Disagreement
Local congregations, study groups, cabinets, clusters and districts, annual, central and General Conferences can be holy and hopeful places of discord. Regardless of our positions on controversial issues, we can practice a ministry of mindfulness of the impact of our discord. Read More
Adoption in a Global Context
In a time when many parents are seeking to adopt children, and when many children are needing a loving, caring family, The United Methodist Church affirms adoption as a means to create and strengthen families. Read More


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Search Results for: label/15 minutes to a better blog
15 minutes to a better blog + blogging + Life + Tori Bowman / Thursday, 28 Feb 2013
Tips for a better blog: how to use Pinterest
15 minutes to a better blog + giveaway + Life + Tori Bowman / Thursday, 21 Feb 2013
Tips to a better blog: How to work with a designer and GIVEAWAY!
by Tori Bowman of That Pair of Crutches. Tori contributes bi-weekly with blogging advice. See her others posts here. See her amazing giveaway after the jump (you can win a blog redesign!)
We've talked a lot about simple ways to improve the look of your blog, but when you don't have design training or knowledge of coding, there's only so much you can do. If you really want to take your design to the next level, chances are, you're going to have to hire a designer.
Scared? Don't be. It can be a bit scary to hand your blog over to someone else, but here are a few tips to help you through it.
1. Know what you want. Before you turn your vision over to someone else, make sure it's clear to you. It's important to know the feel you want your brand to portray, and to know exactly what your budget and timeline are. You also need to nail down details like what you can live without if they don't fit within your budget. What are your non-negotiable items?
Once you've nailed down those terms, start to work on the feel. Do you want your readers to think of their grandma's kitchen when they see your brand? Or their cool older sister? Create a Pinterest board and figure out the emotions and imagery that you want people to associate with your brand.
2. Be open to different options. I know, I know… You spent all that time figuring out exactly what you want and now you need to be open to other ideas? But hear me out: you are handing your idea of what your brand should be over to a someone who creates brands for a living. They know what they're doing and they are going to do all that they can to create the brand that fits you perfectly. While it's great to have a "feel" nailed down for your blog, don't be too rigid on specifics like, "It has to have a banner," or "Polka dots or bust." Keep an open mind and give your designer room to create something amazing. You hired them for a reason.
3. Speak up!That being said… If you don't love it, tell them! And tell them right away. Don't wait until three proofs in to tell them that you actually hate the mark they've created for your brand. They won't be offended, I promise. Be very specific about what you do and don't like. Knowing what what is working for you is just as important as knowing what isn't. Remember that you're creating a brand that will define everything you do and that you're creating something that will last. Things like that take time and deserve effort.
4. Listen and obey. Ok, you've got your brand. Your mark in three different colors and the two fonts you were told to stick to, no matter what. Your designer has outlined how all of the elements should be used and made sure you understood how they should not be used, ever. Now listen! Trust them! It will keep your brand looking cohesive and keep you looking like you know what you're doing. You will not regret it.
So there you have it. How to be the perfect design client and get exactly what you want. Everyone wins.
Thank you Tori for the great info. Sometimes the process can be rough, so hopefully, this helps you.
With that in mind, Tori, a graphic designer, is offering a blog redesign giveaway today and I'm already so jealous of the winner. The winner of this giveaway will receive a custom header, favicon (the small square image on the tab of your browser), social media buttons and sidebar headers, and minor adjustments to the theme code.
To enter: Visit Tori's blog, That Pair of Crutches, "like" That Pair of Crutches on Facebook or Twitter
@tpocblog and then leave a comment below telling us your plan for your redesign.
Good luck everyone!
The giveaway ends Thursday, February 28th.
Picture from A Proper Pinwheel
15 minutes to a better blog + blogging + Design + Tori Bowman / Thursday, 7 Feb 2013
Simple Tricks to Redesign Your Blog
by Tori Bowman of That Pair of Crutches. Tori contributes bi-weekly with blogging advice. See her others posts here.
The month leading up to Alt Design Summit was the month of the blog redesigns. The people of the blogging world were getting their virtual space cleaned up and ready to be seen by the attendees of the conference and let me tell you… those bloggers didn't disappoint. There have been so many good redesigns, and so many unique approaches to the problems that we all face with our blogs, that I wanted to share a few of my favorite facelifts with you and pass along a few tips from each for you to use on your own blog!
First up is the Coterie blog (above)
If you aren't familiar with Heather, you're missing out. The lady is a doll, with the little cutest boys you will ever see. Her love from her family oozes out of every post and you can't help but leave her site feeling inspired to not only create cool stuff, but to live a little bit better and be happy with what you have.
You also can't help but be inspired by the design. When I was in design school, the one things my teachers tried to drill into my head was that simplicity was king. Create something and then simplify it as much as you can before it loses its meaning. It's a fine line and Heather has hit it right on with her new design (and the help of her designer husband :).
Want take a page out of heather's book and go for the ultra simple look? One simple way to do this that doesn't require vast graphic design knowledge is to stick with a type-based header. There are so many beautiful fonts out there that can help you create the look you're going for, while keeping your site looking nice and clean. Try mixing multiple fonts and playing with the arrangement of the words. Brittany here has a header that does just that and feels totally put together and complete.
Jordan is one of the funnest ladies you'll ever meet. Every post is so full of life and unique, even when she's talking about basic things that we hear about all the time. I promise she'll leave you wanting to "create like crazy." (ha!)
Again, her blog is very simple, but she adds interest in simple ways that you can recreate very easily! First, take advantage of things you can control, like photography. A post full of beautiful pictures can do so much for the look of your blog. Second, pick great colors and roll with them. I love how the color of Jordan's date tab matches perfectly with her profile picture and the image from her header. You can also adjust the colors of your sidebar headers and text links to fit with your look. Third, don't be afraid to mess with the code. Just go into the backend of your site, copy and paste the existing code in case you mess up and want to start fresh, and experiment away!
Finally there's Grey Likes Weddings
The beauty of this site is in the details. Two fonts are used throughout the entire site to keep things looking cohesive. They've shaken things up a bit by changing the color of some of the words, making the links in the content the second font and a different color. It is far from boring and keeps their theme and look flowing throughout every piece of their site.
Second, they weren't satisfied with the standard options. All of their buttons and icons are customized to fit their look and brand, they've left nothing out. From their search form, to their page links, to their social media icons, they have their hand in every piece of the site. While it's not easy and a lot of bloggers don't know how to do all that coding, here's an easy way to customize your site: you Use free Illustrator-like programs such as Gimp to create custom buttons and page links and upload your images to Picasa Web Albums. Once you've done that, right click on your image, copy the page location and then stick customize the following code:

All you have to do is stick that piece of code into a HTML widget on your site and you're set! Make sure that you create the right size of buttons (if your sidebar is 300 px wide, make sure your image is too!) to make sure everything fits!
While it's difficult to create the blog of your dreams without the help of a professional designer or coder, but these simple tips can help you create a space that's a little more you and a little less cookie cutter. It's a road that involves a lot of trial and error, but you'll be happy you tried! Good luck and once you're done, please share your links so we can see!
Thank you Tori! Noted!
15 minutes to a better blog + Design + Life / Friday, 30 Nov 2012
15 minutes to a better blog: fonts, fonts, fonts!
15 minutes to a better blog + Design + Life / Thursday, 15 Nov 2012
5 Pinterest lessons from a real pin board


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Crews have closed a Boone County road after a mudslide.
The road closure is on Kentucky Route 20 between Kentucky Route 8 and Kentucky Route 212, just north of the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport.
A spokeswoman from the Kentucky Department of Transportation said the road would be closed through the week as crews cleared debris and made any necessary repairs.
Route 8 is also known as River Road.
The area is busy in the mornings because it is near the Anderson Ferry.
CVG recorded 1.3 inches of rain in the last two days.
A dispatcher said crews have not yet started clearing the mud, so it's not clear how long the road will remain closed. Crews said the slide happened at at 4 a.m. Tuesday morning.
WLWT News 5 has a crew on the scene and will update information as soon as it becomes available.


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Rapid Increase In Radio And TV Channels In Africa, Says New Report
Issue 320
WASHINGTON and LONDON, March 5 2008 - A rapid increase in the number of radio and TV channels in Africa over the last three years has piqued interest in the continent by international media players. A recent report, African Broadcast and Film Markets, published jointly by Balancing Act and InterMedia (see details below), has documented the growth.
The report -- a detailed look at the state of broadcasting in 40 African countries, including 17 in-country audience surveys – provides data and insights broadcasters, advertisers and governments can use to find and develop markets, increase their reach and strengthen their impact among African audiences.
The report finds that liberalization of radio broadcasting in many countries has led to an explosion in the number of radio stations, particularly those broadcasting in local languages. Known in East Africa as the "vernaculars," these stations have been a high-growth area over the last five years. The most vivid example of this trend is in Uganda, where there are now more than 150 radio stations, 69 percent of which cater to audiences in the country's 38 different languages.
Television broadcasting outlets have also increased steeply; out of 40 markets (1) surveyed in Sub-Saharan Africa, the report finds nearly half (18) have licensed Free-To-Air TV channels.
"African broadcasting is undergoing a period of major growth as more countries are liberalizing and increasing the number of channels," says report author Russell Southwood. "The level of radio and television ownership has kept pace, also increasing very rapidly. International media players are paying close attention to this dynamic situation."
"The most striking trend in terms of audiences is the rise in radio listenership. There is a huge appetite for FM music radio; consumers also hunger for entertainment television," says InterMedia analyst Allen Cooper.
"Africans, both sub-Saharan and North African, surround themselves with music in cars, public transportation, shops and homes. Wherever deregulation has taken place, multiple FM channels have emerged. Growing cable and satellite subscriber bases suggests more people are willing and able to pay for services," he says.
Alongside this interest in music and entertainment television, African listeners and viewers also hunger for news. However, the report finds they tend to trust either the new private broadcasters or NGO-run radio and TV stations for news more than they do government-run broadcasters. This is particularly true in North African countries like Morocco, Tunisia, Algeria and Egypt, where channels like Al Jazeera attract large audiences.
New technologies are spreading quickly across the continent, as well. Legalization of Voice-over-Internet Provider service (VoIP) has already come to seven of the 22 countries in West Africa covered in the report; the majority are likely to follow in the next three years.
This will dramatically change the structure of both the internet and telecom industries; the report looks at how this might occur and at the kinds of new operators offering VoIP calling, both domestically and internationally, that will emerge. Without the need to protect the incumbent telephone company, VoIP can be seen as a technology for gaining competitive advantage in liberalized national and international markets.
West Africa will see more rapid growth in this area for a number of reasons, the report finds. Several of the incumbent telcos have already made "under-the-counter" deals to allow companies to operate. For example, Mali's Sotelma has made VoIP agreements with four local companies, making them, in effect, retail VOIP sellers, using Sotelma for their bandwidth at an agreed rate.
Further, the CEO of the leading regulator in the region -- the Nigerian Communications Commission's Ernest Ndukwe -- has already adopted a progressive stance on the issue. He has said clearly that regulation should be "technology-neutral."
Additionally, the report finds that with the introduction of competition into the pay TV market, there are an increasing number of people with access to a wider range of programs than are currently available on terrestrial television, particularly sports events, like the UK Premiership and the recent Africa Cup of Nations. These services are largely delivered by satellite, although there are now a small number of IP-TV and cable operators. The majority of pay TV subscribers are found in Africa's urban areas. This trend towards pay TV is likely to receive a further boost when a number of operators introduce "triple play" – a combination service that includes voice, internet and TV programming services -- later in the year.
African Broadcast and Film Markets report also includes:
-- an overview of the broadcast industry across the continent
-- the impact of liberalization versus state control
-- the battle for Pay-TV subscribers and potential market size
-- the costs of local and international programming
-- the digital switchover and high-definition
-- the continent's mobile TV roll-out
-- Survey-based analyses of 17 countries: Algeria, Angola, Burundi, Egypt, Ghana, Kenya, Morocco, Mozambique, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, South Africa, Tanzania, Togo, Tunisia, Uganda and Zimbabwe.
The Report
African Broadcast and Film Markets draws on years' worth of InterMedia survey data, interviews, research, analysis and strategy, all gathered into one accessible resource that provides an expansive yet detailed picture of markets across Africa, both sub-Saharan and North Africa.
Balancing Act
Balancing Act is an online publishing and consultancy business covering broadcast, telecoms, Internet and computing in Africa. It is one of the primary sources of information and expertise in this area. It publishes African Broadcast, Film and Convergence and Balancing Act's News Update, a weekly e-letter which goes out to subscribers in French and English.
InterMedia is a leading international media research, public opinion, evaluation and consulting organization creatively equipping clients to understand their audiences, gauge their effectiveness and target their communications in transitional and developing societies worldwide. Based in Washington, D.C., and London, and active year-round in more than 60 countries, InterMedia helps clients understand complex issues in challenging research environments. The company's strengths include its people -- area experts skilled in scientifically-based research and focused on client solutions -- its vast global network of local research partners and contacts and its rich data archive of more than 600 media and opinion surveys carried out over the past 15 years.
1) Angola, Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Chad, Congo-Brazzaville, Cote d'Ivoire, Djibouti, DRC, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea Bissau, Kenya, Lesotho, Liberia, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Sao Tome, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Africa, Swaziland, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
Source: InterMedia
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Definition of rendezvous in English:
noun (plural same /ˈrɒndɪvuːz/ /ˈrɒndeɪvuːz/)
1A meeting at an agreed time and place: Edward turned up late for their rendezvous
More example sentences
- Not many get the chance to have a rendezvous with the 1980 All England badminton champion.
- While we're at it, we should throw in the fact that he so vividly recounts a rendezvous with an Antiguan immigration officer.
- The contestants had a rendezvous with the 'super cop' himself, the City Police Commissioner.
informal date
literary tryst
1.1A meeting place: you'd be welcome to use this place as a rendezvous
More example sentences
- It's a marital rendezvous, a meeting place for Paul and me after one of his weeks away.
- We always have our annual spring picnic at our secret rendezvous which is at Central Park.
- University campuses became the rendezvous of students' organizations.
meeting place, venue, place of assignation
literary trysting place
1.2A bar, restaurant, or similar establishment that is used as a popular meeting place: a lively West End restaurant rendezvous
More example sentences
- Sissi House may sound like a camp rendezvous but this charming 17th century Jdeide mansion is a cut glass restaurant.
verb (rendezvouses /ˈrɒndɪvuːz/ /ˈrɒndeɪvuːz/, rendezvousing /ˈrɒndɪvuːɪŋ/ /ˈrɒndeɪvuːɪŋ/, rendezvoused /ˈrɒndɪvuːd/ /ˈrɒndeɪvuːd/)[no object]
Meet at an agreed time and place: I rendezvoused with Bea as planned
More example sentences
- After the bell finally rang, dismissing the classes and flooding the halls with ravenous students, the two friends met in the corner of the hallway where they had rendezvoused for the past semester.
- That evening we rendezvoused with a rambunctious fisherman who had motored down to meet us from his home in Pelican.
- Before we know it, they have, indeed, rendezvoused at Dulles airport.
Late 16th century: from French rendez-vous! 'present yourselves!', imperative of se rendre.
For editors and proofreaders
Line breaks: ren¦dez|vous
Definition of rendezvous in:
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Great point. And I would add that fans of a losing team seem to exaggerate their faults. Nothing seemed wrong with the effort and the performance during the last homestand. As I told REDREAD in another thread, when the team is winning, everything seems better. The players are smarter and more talented, the manager makes better moves, the beer is colder and tastes better and seems like more of a bargain. Ticket prices seem to be more affordable and your seat at the ballpark is better.
For those who believe, no proof is necessary. For those who don't believe, no proof is possible
This team is much better than they were the last 3 years. The problem they have is that the division is much better. It took a .500 record to almost win the division very recently. Now that the Reds are close to playing .500 ball it will take much more than that to win. I guess it is that time of year again...Talking about who to trade at the deadline instead of who to obtain - Oh what fun.
Tim McCarver: Baseball Quotes
I remember one time going out to the mound to talk with Bob Gibson. He told me to get back behind the batter, that the only thing I knew about pitching was that it was hard to hit.
At the risk of over simplifying... Dusty Baker. If you watched his tenure in Chicago, this season should look (and sound) VERY familiar.
Games are won on run differential -- scoring more than your opponent. Runs are runs, scored or prevented they all count the same. Worry about scoring more and allowing fewer, not which positions contribute to which side of the equation or how "consistent" you are at your current level of performance.
What's wrong? The team isn't very good.
When Bob and Wayne came to town they should have realized that Rome wasn't built in a day and proceeded as such, instead of wasting money and resources in pretending like they had a shot at legitimately competing. They would be in year 3 of the rebuilding plan with similar past results while being better positioned for the future.
The biggest problem is the unreasonable expectations. Temper your expectations and they look better.
In the same way that a baseball season never really begins, it never really ends either. - Lonnie Wheeler, "Bleachers, A Summer in Wrigley Field"
The Baseball Emporium - Books & Things, that's Rallyonion.com
The Baseball Bookstore
In the same way that a baseball season never really begins, it never really ends either. - Lonnie Wheeler, "Bleachers, A Summer in Wrigley Field"
The Baseball Emporium - Books & Things, that's Rallyonion.com
The Baseball Bookstore
In the same way that a baseball season never really begins, it never really ends either. - Lonnie Wheeler, "Bleachers, A Summer in Wrigley Field"
The Baseball Emporium - Books & Things, that's Rallyonion.com
The Baseball Bookstore
These are the positive and constructive occurrences with the Reds that we see and appreciate that are in existence and have become a sign that the team is moving forward and should continue too with Jocketty making better choices, decisions, adjustments and adaptations on top of the foundation that has been given to his trust.
The two sided vision from one to the other exposed by the fans have a coexistence and is to be expected. One the growth and promising development of a very good team in the making, the other residue from the old and defeated that has yet to be dealt with but is in the works to be renovated with future upgrades when timing has opened, lent itself for Jocketty to do so.
In the meantime the management, coaches and players need to be seen doing what has been empowered in them to do, they should be making the adjustments and corrections that are within their abilities and powers to do now forward until Jocketty can have the opportunity to make the necessary changes to take the team above and beyond inconsistencies that lead to, simply put, that have led them to losing more games than they win
How one appreciates and views Dunn, Volquez, Harang, Votto, Bruce, Cueto, Phillips and Keppinger is as real and valid as how one, who passionately questions how long are they, the Reds, willing to accept on the job training from a Belisle, Bailey, Encarncion, Coffey, and when can one expect the Reds to distance themselves from that which needs to be extracted from the mediocrity or below as routinely witnessed from an underachieving group such as Fogg, Patterson, Ross, Valentin, Bako, Freel, Hopper, and Majewski remodeling the memory of seven long years of their predecessors.
There are two very distinct sides to this team, both of which are a part that makes it presence known. Two that are in conflict with achieving the goals of a better team. The more weightier being that part which concludes with results that are stated within the win, loss column becoming a continuous history. One group of fans rightly believes that the scales need to be tipped in the favor of win, the other side rightly expresses a desire and belief that the scales are being tipped in the favor of win. How can we not agree with both and naturally we will be seen at various times voicing both sides at a time, one is the sour, one is the sweet and we believe that the sour will be dealt with, it is just that some of us believe that even though there are some things that the Reds cannot do anything about at this time, that the Reds need to be doing now, what they can do.
The Reds surely run both hot and cold in their present state as the quote below perceives within their fans who follow them in response to their journey on the playing field.
It's just that some days
Sometimes the beer runs cold. Sometimes the beer runs warm.
Sometimes the ticket prices are affordable, sometimes the ticket prices are not.
Sometimes the players are smarter and more talented, some days they are not.
Sometimes the manager gets out of the way, some days that manager gets in the way.
Last edited by Spring~Fields; 06-11-2008 at 01:35 PM.
Homer lost the game, IMO. Things like Janish batting #2 and Patterson making one of the last outs of the game are minor in comparison.
Thank you Walt and Bob for bringing winning baseball back to Cincy -- it was nice while it lasted..
Nov. 13, 2007: One of the greatest days in Reds history: John Allen gets the boot!
While the future looks brighter than it has in a while, it would look even more favorable if they came to grips with the situation a bit earlier.
Like signing Bradford instead of Stanton. If nothing else, that would've made the rebuilding more tolerable to endure. It would've also given them more trade flexiblity.
While we have some young talent at the ML level, we aren't very deep. With 13 pending FAs (I think that's right), there's going to be a lot of holes to fill this winter. We don't exactly have any surplus talent to trade either (that other teams want).
Thank you Walt and Bob for bringing winning baseball back to Cincy -- it was nice while it lasted..
Nov. 13, 2007: One of the greatest days in Reds history: John Allen gets the boot!
One was LH (Stanton), and one was RH (Bradford) and Todd Coffey and Weathers had that slot, as well as a hope that Majewski could rebound.Like signing Bradford instead of Stanton.
While signing Stanton was not the right choice the comparison doesn't work, they throw with different arms and that's the reason they never pursued Bradford and why they signed Stanton.
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By George Neumayr on 8.26.10 @ 6:10AM
Why does a significant chunk of the American electorate think Obama is a Muslim? Let's count some of the reasons: he speaks of his "Muslim roots," says he hails from "generations of Muslims," was born to a line of Muslim males and given by them an Arabic name, went to a Muslim school in Islamic Indonesia, speaks glowingly of Islam whenever he gets the chance, holds a Ramadan dinner in the White House, tells his NASA head to turn the space agency into a Muslim outreach program, and last but not least insults doctrinal Christians routinely.
The voice of the people is the voice of God, the pander bears and demagogues of the left usually say. But not on this one. With great impatience they have appeared on cable shows this week to lecture the American people on Obama's "real" religion. Has the left-wing chattering class ever been more eager to pronounce a president Christian?
The American public hasn't seen this level of hyperactive defensiveness from them, or what they would call a "teachable moment," since that terribly insensitive New Yorker cover depicting Obama in a turban. Or was it the time that Hillary Clinton slyly said that Obama isn't a Muslim "as far as" she knew? Or was it the time the Hillary campaign allegedly sent to the Drudge Report an image of Obama in Muslim garb? Or when Hillary-consultant Mark Penn's offensive memos leaked out saying that he couldn't "imagine America electing a president during a time of war who is not at his center fundamentally American in his thinking and in his values"?
Oh well; all is forgotten in politics. But, wait, what did Mitch McConnell say again? "I take him at his word" that he is Christian, said the Senate Republican Minority Leader last Sunday. The left is in no mood to forgive that one, since "his word" counts for so little in the eyes of Republicans like McConnell.
So what religion is Obama? Probably the most generous description of Obama's elusive religious identity, should one take him at "his word" as it appears in his slippery memoirs and speeches, is that he's neither Muslim nor Christian; he's something else. His late mother, whom he once called a "Christian from Kansas" but actually was a non-believing anthropologist from Kansas, would have found classifying him tricky too. But perhaps he can be clinically described as a practicing agnostic, with deep roots in and sympathy for Islam, who views his now-professed, politically necessary religion with barely concealed disdain while allowing himself from time to time bursts of syncretistic sophistry and quasi-religious uplift.
At least this much is clear: his greatest fear is not radical Islam abroad but the growth of doctrinal Christianity at home. Imagine if he treated Muslims in the same arrogant manner that his administration treats pro-life Christian doctors, nurses, and pharmacists; imagine if he imposed secularism on imams the way his administration uses it to silence Christians opposed to "LGBT rights." Islamic groups like CAIR would accuse him of rank persecution.
His de facto culture war with Christianity is of more interest to him than the real and ongoing one with radical Islam. He is the Harvard agnostic and dilettante who stands above all religions, save Islam, and judges their "rationality" and usefulness to the utopia to come. Islam is an intrinsically peaceful religion by his lights, while Christianity, unless it assumes the platform of the Democratic Party and sees Jesus as a forerunner to Saul Alinsky, is dangerously bigoted and an impediment to "progress." Obama's America has a friend in Islam, but Christians can be "un-American," as actor Tom Hanks once described Proposition 8 proponents.
The more irrational a religion, the more Obama-style "rationalists" and relativists like it, and if the religion is non-western their enthusiasm grows still more. Obama's gushing about Islam stems not only from his "roots" but also from the western agnosticism to which he essentially converted: relativists quietly admire the rupture in the relationship between religion and reason in Islamic culture because they engineered a similar rupture in their own.
Radical Islam and relativism take different routes of irrationality -- the former adopts "faith" without reason while the latter adopts "reason" without faith -- but come out on the same trail of blood: a culture of death, with daily abortions in the west, suicide bombings in the east, and a "leader of the free world," who reads secularist propaganda at the Huffington Post with memory's ear cocked to the "call of the azaan," blind to both.
Click to view image: 'Obama'
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|HylaFAX The world's most advanced open source fax server
Alexander Moisseev wrote:Lee Howard wrote:Alexander Moisseev wrote:Is there any way to retain in resulting file information about received fax?
Or more elegant way to split incoming fax on pages?
If using Class 1 you can configure in your modem config file to not permit unlimited length pages. This will get you supporting only A4 page length on reception:
Class1PageLengthSupport: 0
I don't want to reject such faxes.
I want to split it on A4 pages.
It doesn't *reject* those pages, but it requires the sender to keep them limited to A4 length.
____________________ HylaFAX(tm) Users Mailing List _______________________ To subscribe/unsubscribe, click http://lists.hylafax.org/cgi-bin/lsg2.cgi On UNIX: mail -s unsubscribe hylafax-users-request@xxxxxxxxxxx < /dev/null *To learn about commercial HylaFAX(tm) support, mail sales@xxxxxxxxx*


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The City recently established a Stormwater Utility.
The City's stormwater collection system is made up of 740 catch basins, 182 discharges, 23 drop inlets and 16 miles of pipe. The first major project the City is undertaking is to have all 182 discharges inspected and cleaned. Many of these discharges are plugged due to barnacle accumulation, debris build up and/or pipe collapse. Clearing all of these discharges will immediately improve drainage and even reduce flooding in some areas. While this project is underway, we will also be updating our almost 20 year old Stormwater Master Plan to prioritize all of the other needed stormwater improvements with the ultimate goal of improving stormwater drainage and treatment to protect our surrounding surface waters.
Stormwater Assessment Rate Study
NPDES Educational Efforts: http://youtu.be/pTMre6vdLt0
"Under Florida law, e-mail addresses are public records. If you do not want your e-mail address released in response to a public-records request, do not send electronic mail to this entity. Instead, contact this office by phone (727) 367-2735 or in writing."


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Maus: A Survivor's Tale
by Art Spiegelman
Maus: A Survivor's Tale Book I, Chapter 5 Summary
Mouse Holes
- Art is woken up at 7:30 am by a call from Mala, who's frantic about his father. Vladek has decided that he's going to clean the drainpipes, despite his weak health. Art agrees to come out, but after he hangs up, reconsiders and calls Vladek back. But Vladek tells him that he's found a neighbor to help out with the task.
- A week later, Art goes to Vladek's house, where he finds Vladek in the garage sorting nails. Vladek seems out of sorts, so Art heads into the house, where Mala tells him that Vladek had discovered the comic Art had drawn about his mother's suicide.
- (Spiegelman inserts the actual comic into his narrative here. In the comic, called "Prisoner on Hell Planet: A Case History," Art is dressed in a prison outfit. Coming out of the subway, he notices a crowd in front of his house. His cousin leads him to the doctor, who informs him that his mother committed suicide. At home he finds his father completely distraught, and at the wake, his father causes a scene. Art flashes back to the last time he saw his mother. She had asked him if he loved her, and he had answered with a surly "Sure, Ma." The comic ends with Art locked up in prison.)
- Vladek shows up and asks Art to walk to the bank with him. Art apologizes for the comic, but Vladek seems to be more hurt by the memories brought up by the comic, rather than the comic itself. Art asks Vladek if he's found Anja's diaries yet, but Vladek says he hasn't.
- On the way to the bank, Vladek takes up his story again in the year 1943. The Jews in Sosnowiec are moved to a village called Srodula. Every day they are marched back to Sosnowiec to work in the shops and factories there. Anja and her sister Tosha work in a clothing factory, while Vladek and his nephew Lolek work in a woodwork shop.
- Later, Wolfe's uncle Persis shows up. Conditions are better in his town, Zawiercie, and they decide to send the children, including Anja and Vladek's son Richieu, to live with Persis. Tosha and Wolfe accompany Persis and the children.
- They believe the children are better off with Persis. That spring, the Germans clear a thousand Jews from Srodula, most of them young children. When the children cry, the German soldiers throw them against the wall, killing them.
- But they find out later that Richieu is not better off with Persis. The German soldiers Persis has bribed have been replaced by other German soldiers, who arrive to take more Jews to the camps. When Tosha hears the news, she feeds herself and the children poison, preferring death to the camps.
- But Vladek, Anja, and the Zylberbergs are safe for a little while. They build a bunker in the coal cellar to hide in whenever the Gestapo searches their home.
- When they move to yet another small house, they build another bunker in the attic. They leave in the evenings to search for food. One evening, they are surprised to see another Jew in their house. They let him go, but the next day, the Gestapo searches them out in their bunker and takes them away. The stranger in their house had been an informant.
- As Vladek and his family wait in a detention area in Srodula, Vladek recognizes a cousin, Jakov Spiegelman, and gestures that he is able to pay for his help. Jakov and another cousin, Haskel, are able to smuggle out Vladek, Anja, and Lolek, but they are unwilling to risk smuggling out Anja's parents. A week later, Anja's parents are taken away to Auschwitz.
- Haskel is on good terms with the guards, so he's able to arrange for Vladek and Lolek to get work in the factories. Art remembers that at one point, he uncovered a corpse to discover that it was the same stranger who had informed on them to the Gestapo – Haskel had had him killed. Haskel was never sent to the concentration camp, and survived the war, hidden by a Polish woman.
- Suddenly, Vladek feels a pang in his chest. Art hands him a pill of Nitrostat, and that seems to help Vladek's heart condition.
- Back to 1943, Vladek remembers how much influence Haskel had with the German soldiers. One night, Vladek is walking when he is accosted by a German soldier, who lets him go when he realizes he is related to Haskel. Later, his cousins tell him that this particular German soldier shoots a Jew every day just for fun.
- There's a rumor that Persach, another cousin, is selling cake, made from flour and sugar left behind in the homes of Jews taken away to Auschwitz. But what they don't realize is that some of the flour is actually laundry detergent, and many Jews fall ill from the cake.
- The story returns to present day, where Vladek is recovering from his heart pains. Vladek tells Art that his cousin Miloch also survived the war and emigrated with his family to Australia. Miloch had died the past year, from a heart attack on the street. Unlike Vladek, he didn't have his pills on him.
- By the end of 1943, most of the Jews have been taken from Srodula to Auschwitz. Haskel has arranged for a hidden bunker in a pile of shoes, and there Vladek and Anja hide with their relatives. Lolek refuses to hide and is taken away to Auschwitz. At about the same time, they learn of Richieu's death.
- After some time, Pesach comes over to their bunker, and he tells them of a plan to bribe German soldiers to let them escape. Vladek is suspicious, but hides behind a corner to see what happens. He hears shooting and runs back to the bunker.
- Finally, it seems quiet outside, so everyone leaves the bunker, careful to mix in with the other Polish workers. While others have people to hide them, Vladek and Anja have nowhere to go.
- Back to the present day, Vladek and Art have finally arrived at the bank. Vladek shows Art a safety deposit box, where he keeps jewelry that he was able to hide in a chimney through the entire war.
- Vladek wants Art to know where the safety deposit box is, and to hide it from Mala, who has been pestering him to change his will to provide for her.


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Hi Paul,
To answer your questions ;
1) I don't think it can be turned off globally, it's a per client setting -
but I may be wrong. Can anyone else confirm if there's a setting (hidden or
2) At the risk of sounding obvious - If you turn VSP off you may have locked
files that do not get backed up.
Now for my spiel...
I assume that you are running on Windows. I also assume that you are using
VSP, and that OTM is not available. If your client was previously a v4.5
client, and has been upgraded to v5.1 then OTM should still be available.
If your clients are fresh v5.1 installs then OTM will not be available. OTM
requires a licence on your master server. OTM was the open file handler
before VSP. OTM is not avauilable on v6.0 clients. OTM has different
parameters that can also be tuned, similar to VSP, but different.
I would experiment with your problemattic clients. Not all clients have
problems with locked files, so some clients don't need VSP at all. What I
mean is, that you may be using VSP on clients that don't need it. The proof
of the backup is did it finish with a status 0. It's taken me a long time
to eradicate status 1 completions from my backups, and I still have a few
that crop up from time to time.
Make sure that you are not scanning any live database files (e.g. Oracle,
SQL, Sybase, Domino), as it is best to take these files using separate
special agents/policies. At our site we don't even use the Oracle agents,
although we do use the Domino and MS SQL agents. Our Oracle DBA's prefer to
export their databases, and then our clients run to take the copy, and we
explicitly exclude the live database folders.
You should aim not to have any "status 1" backups. You are looking to
always achieve "status 0". Maybe there are certain files that do not need
to be secured. Talk to your application owners to see what can be done. We
have a few files with some apps, and after discussing with the system owners
we've found that most of the locked files were just that - temporary lock
management files that do not need to be backed up - so we simply exclude
them. Always check first though. You don't want to exclude a critical file
that requires some other solution.
In the client properties you can specify which drives can and can't be used
to store the VSP cache file. I believe that it's a common problem to be
left with VSP cache files until you tune it properly. You can do this by
adjusting how much free space NetBackup VSP can use.
Note that it can sometimes require a reboot to remove the old cached files.
They get left behind sometimes because the NetBackup client software has
crashed or run out of space because you haven't tuned the VSP settings.
Sometimes a reboot will automatically remove the old VSP files for you, but
sometimes it won't, so sometimes you have to reboot and then remove them
manually. This was a problem for us too with v5.1. You'll be glad to know
that the v6.0 client does a much better job of ensuring that they don't get
left behind. In v6.0 the NetBackup client, creates a special
\NBU_VSP_CACHE\ folder on the root of each drive, and I guess this allows
the locking mechanism to handle problems a lot better.
It is worth checking how much free space is available on each drive, and
tuning your VSP settings accordingly.
Remember, VSP waits for the system to quiesce (i.e. waits for a quiet
moment, a minimum period of 5 minutes with little or no disk activity), so
that it can start VSP. We tend to specify C: in the exclude list for VSP,
for clients that have more than one drive. This doesn't mean do not use VSP
on the C: drive, it means do not store any VSP cache files on the C: drive.
Normally the C: drive is very busy, and you definitely do NOT want this
drive to fill up with VSP cache files, so there's not a lot of point writing
a large write cache file to a busy disk, it just slows the machione and
backup down. Of course this doesn't help VSP during it's wait for a quiet
Before you complain about VSP, you must remember that NBU is an enterprise
product. VSP works out of the box on most clients, but we all have some
upon which it doesn't. If most of your clients are a mess with disks that
are nearly full, then you're going to have a problem with most of your
clients. Also, remember that it's a general recommendation that no NTFS
disk ever go beyond 70% used space.
Tuning VSP is your key to success.


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MAR 28, 2013 - Yahoo! News
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For those who like a little glitz but don't want permanent body art, temporary tattoos might appear to be a good hedge. However, you might want to reconsider getting that temporary tattoo after a warning from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
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Journal of Educational Leadership in Action
A global platform for ongoing dialogue in research based practice of educational leadership
Editorial: The Language is Changing
John D. LongWhen I began teaching full-time this fall in the undergraduate teacher education program at Lindenwood University, it was following a full career in K–12 public education. During that previous career, which included twenty-one years as a principal...
[ Read Full Editorial ]
Editor's Note
Lynda LeavittWelcome to the inaugural issue of ELA, Journal of Educational Leadership in Action. In this issue, you will find Lindenwood University's Lighthouse Award winning dissertation, a study on Professional Learning Communities, research on elementary...
[ Read Full Editor's Note ]
Lindenwood University
Journal of Educational Leadership in Action
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