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Table tennis a tough sport, where high level eye-hand coordination and lightning quick reactions are very important. It is very difficult for players to last more than 10 years at the top level.
However, there have been a few special exceptions. The irrepressible Swede, Jan-Ove Waldner is such a sportsman. He has been playing competitions at the highest level for more than 20 years. His last appearance on the global list was in May 2008 and at that time he was listed at number forty-three.
His first major tournament was the European Championship, where he reached the finals in 1982, at the age of 17. He lost the match to his teammate Mikael Applegren. Waldner is known as 'the evergreen tree' in China, where table tennis is a passion. He is given grand receptions whenever he visits China and he is a legend there. People fondly call him Lao Wa in China. He has also been called 'Mozart of table tennis', as well as 'Michael Jordan of table tennis.'
Waldner was born on October 3, 1965 in Sweden. As per the 2008 rankings, he ranks 43rd in the world, while he is at the thirteenth place in Europe. However, he is still number one in his native country of Sweden. He won the World Championship twice, in 1989 and 1997. He also won the gold medal in the Olympic Games conducted in 1992 in Barcelona and a silver medal in 2000 Olympics in Sydney. In 2004 Olympics in Athens, he surprised and impressed everybody by reaching the semifinals at the age of 39.
Waldner is called 'Mozart' because of the artistic display in his games. His wide variations in service and service returns, as well as topspin shots, played with ease both with forehand and backhand, are a treat to watch. When Waldner was nine years old, the Swedish Table Tennis Association was impressed with the talent in the young boy and invited him to a training camp. At the age of 12, he made his debut in the Swedish League's top division. He won his first singles match, beating Dennis Pettersson. Waldner was only 4' 8" tall at that time and it is said that Pettersson commented, "How can one beat someone one cannot see?"
The formidable Chinese have great respect and admiration for Waldner, lovingly calling him 'evergreen.' Let us take a look at some of the comments by Chinese coaches and players on him. China's head coach, Cai Zhenhua, said, "He shows the world that age isn't a problem for table tennis players and that's why I encourage Chinese veterans Kong Linghui and Wang Nan to carry on." Former world champion, Jiang Jialiang, observed, "I didn't expect much from him in the 2000 Olympics but he made it to the final. Four years later in Athens, I believed he could pull off some surprises as a veteran good at controlling his rivals and spectators. I felt sorry for his loss to South Korean Ryu Seung Min. He told me in an interview that he would rather lose to South Koreans than Chinese because he wanted to prove Chinese were not unbeatable." Wang Tao, former Olympic doubles champion, commented, "He had single-handedly confronted six generations of Chinese players. Wherever he is, he is a brand of table tennis. People give him applause no matter he wins or loses. He is a legend, an example, a symbol."
Waldner gave good wins in the European Champions League and The German Bundesliga. He did however, lose against Ma Long and Zoran Primorac in the 2009 Energis Master Tournament. Waldner was the undisputed king of the German Bundesliga in 2008 as well, winning all matches in both Bundesliga's of the year! Waldner has taken many courses for the Development Department of the International Table Tennis Federation and is currently the National Coach in the United Arab Emirates.


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Standing Stone Brewing Co.
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Ride the Mountain Bike Trails of Ashland
Up to 10 times a week in the summer, Bill and SueRousselload a van full of mountain bikers and gear into their shuttles, drive up to the Mount Ashland Ski Lodge and let riders navigate down 5,000 feet of fast, flowingsingletrack. Depending on…

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6 CE Hours. Consider the following presenting problems: Explosive anger, smart kids failing school, lying, sibling rivalry, stealing, poor decision-making, freezing up, tuning out, memory problems, social problems, rageful frustration. Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder, or ADHD, may be a factor in any of these problems. This workshop considers how to tell when undiagnosed ADHD may be underlying a child client's presenting problems. You'll also learn how to tell when apparent ADHD is actually some other problem, ranging from pediatric bipolar disorder to too much video time. The workshop will include demonstrations and group exercises in differential diagnosis, and you can present descriptions of clients whose difficulties are hard to figure out. You'll deepen your understanding of ADHD by learning about the brain, body, attention, judgment, emotional regulation, and other differences associated with the disorder. We'll cover how ADHD medications and other interventions work. You'll develop an understanding of what it feels like getting through a day with ADHD in a world, especially school, that is not well suited for an ADHD brain.
Jim Foley, MSW, LISW, has been providing psychotherapy and mental health assessment for over 25 years, in Boston, Syracuse, and Ohio, working with children and families challenged by ADHD, school/learning problems, anxiety, depression, autism spectrum disorders, and relationship/social problems. He has served clients in agencies, homes, and in schools at every level from pre-K to college. He teaches psychology courses at the College of Wooster, and writes material for psychology textbooks for Macmillan Publishing. He is now a psychotherapist in private practice with Summit Therapy in Wooster, OH.
Registration deadline: June 13, 2014


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Foreclosures, recession hit renters hard
Though legislators are currently paying more attention to homeowners, renters are among the most adversely affected by the foreclosure crisis and the recession.
Stop foreclosures - support the Trodys
Last Friday twelve members of the Trody family were kicked out of their home in Liberty City and forced to live in truck over the weekend. On Monday they took the right action and reclaimed their home defying an eviction order from Miami Dade County Sheriff.
Detroit mayoral candidates pressed on foreclosure crisis
DETROIT — Three of this city's zip codes are among the nation's top 25 for number of foreclosures. So it's not hard to see why the housing crisis and jobs are pressing concerns as Detroiters prepare for the Feb. 24 mayoral primary. Fourteen candidates are vying for the office.


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Competence Remains Competence? Reopening Decisions that Violate Community Law
Jan H. Jans
University of Groningen - Department of Administrative Law and Public Administration, Faculty of Law
A. T. Marseille
University of Groningen - Department of Administrative Law and Public Administration
Review of European Administrative Law, No. 1, pp. 75-86, 2007
This paper discusses the question what should administrative bodies do in cases where they have adopted decisions that turn out to be contrary to Community law, but these decisions have become final because the parties concerned have not made use of the possibilities of judicial review available to them.
Number of Pages in PDF File: 12
Keywords: European law
JEL Classification: K33
Date posted: November 1, 2007 ; Last revised: June 23, 2013
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SBA launchs first national Impact Investment Fund
The U.S. Small Business Administration today licensed the first nationally-focused Impact Investment Fund to make equity investments in clean technology and other technology companies to help create jobs.
The fund — called SJF Ventures III — is part of an SBA initiative to invest up to $1.5 billion in high-growth small businesses in underserved areas or markets that have been defined as national priorities across the country in the next five years. Such investment plans are part of Startup America, a White House initiative to bring together public and private groups to drive entrepreneurship.
SJF Ventures, a 13-year-old venture capital firm based Durham, N.C., will manage the fund. Citi Community Capital, the community development lending and investing arm of Citi, is the lead investor in SJF Ventures III.
"Our challenge is to identify the companies that may fit," said Herbert Austin, director of the SBA's Dallas-Fort Worth district office, which covers 72 counties. "These companies are everywhere."
The new fund is set up as a Small Business Investment Company fund, which will commit up to $75 million in capital over the next five years. It will focus on high-growth companies in underserved areas or communities with a lack of access to capital in the areas of: efficiency and infrastructure; recycling; sustainable agriculture; food safety; and technology enhanced services.
SBICs are privately owned and managed investment funds licensed by the SBA that use their own capital and money borrowed with an SBA guarantee to make equity and debt investments in small businesses. SBICs provided $2.83 billion to 1,339 U.S. small businesses in fiscal year 2011, which ended Sept. 30.
This is the latest piece of the SBA's broad investment initiative. In July, the SBA licensed InvestMichigan! Mezzanine Fund to invest in states or regions, primarily Michigan.


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BY JOAN LOWY and JOSHUA FREED
Associated Press
WASHINGTON — Boeing has developed a plan that it intends to propose to federal regulators to temporarily fix problems with the 787 Dreamliner's batteries that have kept the planes on the ground for more than a month, a congressional official told the Associated Press on Wednesday.
Boeing Commercial Airplanes CEO Ray Conner is expected to present the plan to Michael Huerta, head of the Federal Aviation Administration, in a meeting on Friday, the official said. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he wasn't authorized to speak publicly.
Boeing Co. spokesman Marc Birtel said the company doesn't talk in advance about meetings with federal officials.
"Everyone is working to get to the answer as quickly as possible, and good progress is being made," Birtel said.
The FAA and overseas aviation authorities grounded all 50 of the planes in service worldwide after a lithium ion battery caught fire on a plane parked in Boston and a smoking battery led to an emergency landing by another plane in Japan.
Japan's Transport Ministry said Wednesday its investigation has uncovered a new problem: The aircraft's auxiliary power unit, which contains a lithium ion battery, was improperly connected to the main battery that overheated.
Among the measures being discussed to make the batteries safe enough to return the 787 to the skies are adding more ceramic spacers between battery cells to contain any short-circuiting and fire within that cell.
More ceramic spacers would make the battery larger, which would require a bigger box to contain the battery cells. A more robust box lined with material to prevent any fire from spreading is also under discussion.
Boeing hasn't said how much the 787 grounding will cost it. Imperial Capital analyst Ken Herbert estimated last week that it could cost Boeing $25 million a month in direct costs, with the total price tag climbing past $1 billion, including spending to fix the problem and expenses for delayed deliveries.
Boeing is still building five 787s each month, and has said it still wants to speed up to 10 a month by the end of the year. The company had orders for 800 of the planes at the time they were grounded.
It would take a delay of more than a couple of months for Boeing to back away from its speed-up plan, UBS analyst David Strauss wrote in a note on Wednesday.
Eight airlines in seven countries have 787s in their fleets. United Airlines, the only U.S. carrier with 787s, has cut its five 787s out of its schedule through the end of March.


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Roland Dow and Jessica Linscott face charges in connection with the beating of Linscott's then-3-year-old son, James.
Early in November 2012, the child was brought to Exeter Hospital with severe bruising and burns across his body. The couple claimed the boy had self-inflicted wounds.
When doctors saw the severity of the injuries, the boy was taken to Children's Hospital in Dartmouth, where he underwent surgery. Police said he now has vision impairment.
Police later said the little boy's condition was improving, but he has a long road of recovery.
Police said that Linscott had not called the hospital to check on the status of her ailing son since she disappeared with her boyfriend.
The couple then vanished, despite promising to turn themselves into police.
Police later searched their Main Street duplex in Plaistow but found no sign of the couple.
Dow's grandmother, who lives next door to the couple, defended her grandson, telling News 9 Monday night, "Oh, I know he wouldn't do it. He has a baby himself, and he wouldn't hurt her or anybody's baby. He would never do it. I'd be able to hear it next door if there was anything going on like that."
Arrest warrants were put out for Dow and Linscott days after they disappeared.
A wanted poster was released soon after.
In a news conference on Nov. 21, 2012, authorities announced upgraded charges of first- and second-degree assault against Dow.
Linscott, meanwhile, faces misdemeanor charges.
Rockingham County Attorney Jim Reams announced those charges.
As of Nov. 21, 2012, James's condition was described as "improving, but serious."
Helen Nicholson grew so frantic over the search for the missing couple accused of beating her grandson James, she went out searching herself on Nov. 25. Sightings were reported in New Hampshire and Massachusetts, but still, there was no sign of the couple.
Then on Nov. 28, 2012, Linscott and Dow were arrested at a theme park in Florida for the alleged abuse of Linscott's 3-year-old son, James.
Authorities released new photos of the couple Nov. 28. The two were arrested the same day at Universal Studios.
Linscott is taken into custody.
Dow is taken into custody.
Authorities in Florida released the mugshots shortly after the arrests. Here is Roland Dow's mugshot.
Here is Jessica Linscott's mugshot.
Authorities held a news conference in Plaistow on Nov. 29, 2012, the day after the arrests. Jim Reams said the couple may not return to New Hampshire from Florida until next week.
A truck is parked, blocking the entrance to the home of Jessica Linscott's parents on Nov. 29, 2012.
Linscott (seen here at Logan Airport) and Dow arrived back in New Hampshire on Dec. 1, 2012, after agreeing to waive extradition.
News 9 cameras caught a police vehicle carrying Linscott to Rockingham County Jail on Dec. 1, 2012.
Linscott was arraigned by video monitor first on Monday, Dec. 3, 2012. She was ordered held on $100,000 bail.
Click here to watch raw video of her arraignment.
Dow, accompanied by a lawyer, was arraigned shortly thereafter. He was ordered held on $500,000 bail.
Click here to watch raw video of his arraignment.
No trespassing signs were posted at the home of Helen Nault, Dow's mother, on Monday, Dec. 3, 2012.
James was released from the hospital Dec. 4, 2012. He remains in state custody.
Donated toys have poured in to the Plaistow police department for James.
Roland Dow was formally indicted on Dec. 7, 2012. The indictments against him and Linscott were released on Dec. 11, detailing the charges against the couple.
On March 6, 2013, Linscott asked a judge to have direct contact with her son. That request was denied, but she was allowed to write letters to him.
On March 11, 2013, Dow and Linscott were charged with two counts of witness tampering. The two allegedly coached James on how to talk about his injuries. Each also face one count of breaking New Hampshire's wire-tap statute.
Dow was found guilty on 11 of 12 counts against him on June 19, 2014.
Roland Dow was sentenced to up to 67 years in prison on Aug. 14, 2014.
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In most parts of the country, brilliant amaryllis flowers are only seen during the holidays, grown in festive containers and occasionally used in fancy arrangements. However, if you're lucky enough to live in a region where hard freezes don't occur, you can grow these beauties outdoors. When allowed to settle in and grow for years in sunny gardens, amaryllis develop into clumps of bulbs that produce spectacular spring flower shows. Lots of stems, each with multiple blooms. And yes, the rest of the country is envious.
The reason you rarely see amaryllis grown this way has nothing to do with fussiness; they are remarkably easy to please, much like crinums and amarcrinums. Instead, the explanation hinges on timing. When people are designing their spring gardens these bulbs aren't available. Since that's a shame, and a loss for warm weather gardeners, we've made special arrangements with a top notch amaryllis farmer to supply bulbs in the spring. Voila! New, showy, easy care plants to include in this year's garden.
Many people don't think of outdoor garden sites when they consider amaryllis. But for enormous blooms, year after year, these plants really shine. Showcase 5 - 7 bulbs on either side of your front door for a display that guarantees tremendous curb appeal and prompts a satisfied smile when you step out of the car.
© Copyright 2013 Easy to Grow Bulbs. All Rights Reserved.


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Born and raised just outside of Boston, Danielle DiLorenzo grew up the eldest of three children in a small town called Lynnfield.
DiLorenzo was then recruited to play Division One soccer at Quinnipiac University, where she studied marketing. Unfortunately, a knee injury during pre-season kept her from playing her first year. She decided to transfer to Northeastern University, where she eventually earned a Bachelor of Science degree in business with a concentration in both finance and marketing.
After graduation, DiLorenzo moved to Floridam where she currently works for a medical sales company. Her proudest accomplishment to date is the purchase of her first home in Boca Raton, Florida. She currently resides in Pompano Beach, Florida.


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There is no softwares that can complete Bluray movie BD50 disc to identically and same as source disc to BD25 discs now. As the sound files in Bluray movies (Dolby True HD, Dolby digital, DTS HD, DTS, etc.) couldn't be compressed because of their authorized structure. It is unbelievable that some softwares said they fit with same as original(same resolution, same format, same scale) after compressing. In fact, those tools made it work by re-encoding and demuxing the Blu-ray HD audio into AC3, etc. for shrink BD50 to BD25.
I got some experiences that when ripping from a BD50 to a BD25, a typical movie will fit onto a BD25 without actually re-encoding the video at all. I'd say the max video size I typically see is 20GB. If you're limiting yourself to one audio track (I stick with AC3 640kbps, and on a rare occasion will use DTS 1.5mbps), you should almost always have enough space on a BD25 to completely avoid having to spend hours re-encoding.
For lots of people, the lossless audio isn't worth the space. AC3 at 640kbps sounds pretty damn good. Some people argue that DTS at 1.5mbps is better. I can't tell much difference besides volume levels and the sound is more "sharp" with DTS. So, even if it's better, it's not 2.3 times better! On that same note, DTS-MA and Dolby TrueHD DEFINITELY aren't worth the space waste on my BD-25s. If you stick with DTS or AC3, you're not going to have many issues with movie only without re-encoding video to a BD-25.
If you want to compress BD50 to BD25, it is highly recommended to keep only movie with 1 language and 1 subtitle and get the best quality for that.
There maybe a lot of ways available in the market, i just want to introduce one of them. Here i will introduce a paid way – compress BD50 to BD25 with Blu-ray Copy.
How to Shrink BD50 to BD25 easily?
Blu-ray Copy can compress a Blu-ray disc in 50GB size onto smaller discs BD 25 without noticeable quality loss. What you need:
2. Free download Blu-ray Copy
There is no complicated operations for shrink Blu-ray 50GB to Blu-ray 25GB. You can need to load the Blu-ray disc you want to deal with and choose the "Full Disc" or main movie option.
Note: It is recommended to check the "Remove HD Audio" option. And in the main movie mode, you are allowed to choose the audio track and subtitle track for output.
First, Full Disc modecompress BD 50 to BD 25(Check "Remove HD Audio" for compression);
Second, Main Movie mode, compress BD 50 to BD 25(Choose Main Movie and one audio track/subtitle for output).


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Newegg.com - A great place to buy computers, computer parts, electronics, software, accessories, and DVDs online. With great prices, fast shipping, and top-rated customer service - once you know, you Newegg.
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USB3.0 to 10/100/1000Mbps gigabit ethernet.
Half/full duplex 10/100/1000Mbps operation self-adapting 10Mbps, 100Mbps or 1000Mbps network adapter.
Superspeed data transfer rate via USB3.0 Port and backward compliant to USB version 1.0/1.1/2.0.
Powered by USB port, no external power adapter required.
Support IEEE802.3az, 802.3 802.3u & 802.3ab.
Support all USB3.0 power saving models.
Support wake-on-lan function.
Support green ethernet.
Support IPv4/IPv6 pack Checksum Offload Engine (COE) to reduce CPU loading.
System requirements:
Windows XP/Vista or Windows 7 or Windows 8 or Macintosh OSX 10.6/10.7.
Available USB port (USB3.0 port preferred)
Input interface: RJ45 to network cable
Output interface: USB 3.0 to computer side
Color: Black
Total length: Approx. 21cm / 8.27in
Item weight: Approx. 23g / 0.81oz
Package size: Approx. 17.5 * 14.5 * 3cm / 6.89 * 5.71 * 1.18in
Package weight: Approx. 110g / 3.87oz
Package includes:
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1 * CD driver
1 * Quick installation guide
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Other projects made by ChrisCreations:
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|Here are some details about my project:
|Casual, Funky, Whimsical, Cute
cute lol
How do I get this pattern? It is reall cute. I find it hard to find the pattern's, even if there is a fee for it, on this site.??I would love to have it if possible.
I'm sorry. I wrote this and did not mean to get it uploaded because I was not finished and go interrupted.Is this pattern for sale? Very cute idea. It is hard to figure out this website to know where to purchase patterns. I see there has been no one posting since Oct 26 , This is Dec 1. Please let me know so I can possibly use it for Christmas crocheting.
There is no pattern for this one, I made it once and haven't tried making another one. When I do I will write down the pattern and post it here.
very lovely


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- Table View
- List View
Han Feizi: Basic Writingsby Burton Watson
Trenchant, sophisticated, and cynical, Han Feizi has been read in every age and is still of interest today when people are more than ever concerned with the nature and use of power. Han Feizi (280?-233 B.C.), a prince of Han, was a representative of the Fa-chia, or Legalist, school of philosophy and produced the final and most readable exposition of its theories. His handbook for the ruler deals with the problems of strengthening and preserving the state, the way of the ruler, the use of power, and punishment and favor. Ironically, the ruler most influenced by Han Feizi, the king of Qin, eventually sent Han Feizi to prison, where he later committed suicide.
Select your format based upon: 1) how you want to read your book, and 2) compatibility with your reading tool. To learn more about using Bookshare with your device, visit the Help Center.
Here is an overview of the specialized formats that Bookshare offers its members with links that go to the Help Center for more information.
- Bookshare Web Reader - a customized reading tool for Bookshare members offering all the features of DAISY with a single click of the "Read Now" link.
- DAISY (Digital Accessible Information System) - a digital book file format. DAISY books from Bookshare are DAISY 3.0 text files that work with just about every type of access technology that reads text. Books that contain images will have the download option of 'DAISY Text with Images'.
- BRF (Braille Refreshable Format) - digital Braille for use with refreshable Braille devices and Braille embossers.
- MP3 (Mpeg audio layer 3) - Provides audio only with no text. These books are created with a text-to-speech engine and spoken by Kendra, a high quality synthetic voice from Ivona. Any device that supports MP3 playback is compatible.
- DAISY Audio - Similar to the Daisy 3.0 option above; however, this option uses MP3 files created with our text-to-speech engine that utilizes Ivonas Kendra voice. This format will work with Daisy Audio compatible players such as Victor Reader Stream and Read2Go.


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|Kaedrin Weblog
Sunday, January 31, 2010
2009 Kaedrin Movie Awards: Arbitrary Awards
So we're finished with the formal awards, but there are always some other awards that I don't really bother to come up with other nominees for... and there are some movies that have something so uncommon that it's worth bringing up. Interestingly, some of these awards have actually become a yearly thing, despite never really being conceived as such. In any case, here they are:
Posted by Mark on January 31, 2010 at 06:43 PM .: link :.
Friday, January 29, 2010
2009 Kaedrin Movie Awards: Best High Concept Film and 2009's 2008 Movie of the Year
The nominations for the 2009 Kaedrin Movie Awards were announced last week. This week, I'll be announcing two winners every day, culminating in a post with my top 10 movies of the year and possibly some other wrap-up posts.
Best High Concept Film: Stingray Sam
An obscure pick, to be sure, but I had a lot of fun with this eclectic Musical/Comedy/Sci-Fi/Western film. In an homage to old SF serials, the movie is actually constructed as a series of six ten minute shorts, each with their own opening and closing credits as well as faux sponsors. The storylines are beyond absurd, and the music is actually pretty entertaining (this from a guy who doesn't normally like musicals). The official website actually has the first 20 minutes or so available to watch online (the second episode has the most awesome song in the whole movie too). It's a pretty weird movie, but I had fun with it. Other nominees were pretty good as well, but nothing approached the sheer strangeness of this movie.
2009's 2008 Movie of the Year: Tell No One
There are always movies that I wanted to see but which I couldn't see until later in the year, so this category is for a discovery made the year after a film was released. Tell No One is a French thriller, and it's actually quite good. It most certainly would have made my top 10 of last year, and if I wasn't lazy, I probably would have updated the top 10. But now it's here, along with several other quality nominees. Still, this was an excellent film.
And that about wraps up the formal categories. Stay tuned for more Arbitrary Awards on Sunday. I'm not sure when I'll actually get to the top 10, but it should be within a week or two...
Posted by Mark on January 29, 2010 at 12:18 AM .: link :.
Thursday, January 28, 2010
2009 Kaedrin Movie Awards: Best Action Sequences and Best Plot Twist/Surprise
The nominations for the 2009 Kaedrin Movie Awards were announced last week. This week, I'll be announcing two winners every day, culminating in a post with my top 10 movies of the year and possibly some other wrap-up posts.
Best Action Sequences: Chocolate
In terms of traditional action set-pieces, the Thai martial arts film Chocolate takes the cake. The film is certainly not perfect, but you can't fault the action sequences, which are well choreographed and a whole lot of fun. Some of the action recalls early Jackie Chan prop-driven stuff, though it doesn't really approach that level either. None of which is to detract from the other nominees. Red Cliff certainly had some excellent action, though it's more of an epic battle variety and the real strength of the film are the strategic/tactical planning, rather than the individual fights. Avatar certainly puts quick-cutting morons like Michael Bay in their place, and while I have my problems with the movie, the action sequences are superbly executed (if only I cared about the outcome). The Hurt Locker had some of the most suspenseful sequences of the year (especially the sniper sequence - ironic considering the bomb defusing focus of the film), but they're more harrowing than exciting. Watchmen had it's moments, as did Taken. Crank: High Voltage is so crazy insane that its action is more for comedic effect, but still worthwhile. In the end, I guess I was just in the mood for some martial arts rather than big explosions this year.
Best Plot Twist/Surprise: Inglourious Basterds
Naturally, any discussion of this would ruin the whole point. I will say that Inglourious Basterds doesn't feature a traditional twist a la Shyamalan. It's more that the film is just so shockingly audacious in what it's doing. The other nominees had solid twists, but I have to admit that some of them were easy to see coming, and in at least one case, predicting the twist ahead of time nearly sinks the movie. Still, they're all solid films... but I just can't get over Inglourious Basterds.
And coming down the homestretch, tomorrow we've got the final categories: Best High Concept Film and 2009's 2008 Movie of the Year
Posted by Mark on January 28, 2010 at 12:33 AM .: link :.
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
2009 Kaedrin Movie Awards: Best Sequel & Biggest Disappointment
The nominations for the 2009 Kaedrin Movie Awards were announced last week. This week, I'll be announcing two winners every day, culminating in a post with my top 10 movies of the year and possibly some other wrap-up posts.
Best Sequel: Star Trek. Or maybe Crank: High Voltage!
Dammit. For a category with only 3 nominees, this is hard. Star Trek is definitely the better of the two. It took an old, crusty franchise and made it fresh and interesting again. This isn't a small feat, especially when considering that I never really cared much for the original series/crew. In fact, the only real series I got into was The Next Generation, so the prospect of a prequel wasn't all that exciting to me. But JJ Abrams seems to be building his movie directing career on resurrecting franchises (like he did with Mission Impossible). Anyway, I've already reviewed Star Trek, so I'd like to talk for a minute about Crank: High Voltage, which is one of the biggest surprises of the year for me. When I first saw the previews my reaction was something like: That movie looks soooo bad... I can't wait to see it! As it turns out, my enthusiasm wasn't entirely misplaced. This really is a giant ball of outlandish fun. Sure, it makes no sense, but I'll be damned if it isn't playful and energetic filmmaking at its best. Of course, it wasn't much of a hit with critics... or audiences, for that matter, but I really enjoyed it. Sue me.
Biggest Disappointment: Avatar
Earlier this year, I posted a list of 5 Upcoming Movies I Want To See Even Though I Know They'll Suck (at the bottom of that post). At the bottom of the list was Avatar, with the note that "I'm pretty sure this movie won't suck." My expectations were drastically lowered by the previews for the movie, and even then, the film was disappointing. True, the first time I saw it, I was a bit taken by it. Indeed, I've already established that Avatar is a jaw-droppingly gorgeous movie to look at, but for me, the story is the most important part of a movie. Now, Avatar doesn't necessarily have a bad story, after all, it's the same story we've all seen a thousand times. There isn't anything inherently wrong with that, and I think there's something to be said for a really well executed cliched film. Unfortunately, aside from special effects, Avatar was terribly executed. The dialog is among the worst of the year (I think we'll talk more about this when we get to the arbitrary awards). The character development is nonexistent (I've read a lot of reviews that claim otherwise, but after seeing the movie twice, I think what's happening is that people have seen the same story so many times that they can just fill in the blanks with character development from other, better, movies). The Na'vi, while animated through technological brilliance, aren't a particularly interesting race. As portrayed in the movie, they're homogeneous and bland. Their monolithic nature could perhaps be explained away by the genuinely interesting idea that Pandora is basically a giant, living computer or distributed brain... but the entirety of that concept lives in a throwaway line in the middle of the movie. Sigourney says it, then the Burke character ignores it and that's pretty much that. Incidentally, Sigourney argued that whole thing wrong. She should have said something like "This entire planet is a gigantic biological computer. That's got to be worth billions to the biological weapons division!" There's a lot to explore in that concept, but it was mostly wasted in favor of stupid mechas with proportionally sized Bowie knives (seriously? I mean...really?) Speaking of the mechas, I have to wonder how differently that last battle would have played out if the humans were using real tanks (or other mechanized armor).
I don't think I'll ever get around to a full review of Avatar, but while I'm ranting, I might as well bring up a few other things. A lot of critics seem to dismiss the bad story stuff by saying something like "yes, it's James Cameron. You're not there for stellar dialogue, intricate storytelling, or nuance. And you're not going to get it." As MGK notes:
But this is exactly why Avatar disappoints so on this score: because James Cameron movies traditionally have all of those things.The really depressing thing about Avatar is that it fails so spectacularly at things that Cameron has always been great at. Remember in Aliens, after the Colonial Marines get their ass whooped by the aliens and everyone's arguing about what to do? Ripley immediately cuts through the crap and says "I say we take off and nuke the entire site from orbit. It's the only way to be sure." This makes so much sense! It's so rare that a character in a movie says something that rational that it's become a modern geek aphorism. Again, Cameron used to be great at this sort of thing. But in Avatar, there are a million questionable plot points. Why use mechas when tanks will do just fine? Why not use jet fighters to deliver the bomb to the tree of souls (No! No! We have to use slow moving helicopters so that the Na'vi will have a chance to fight back!)? Hell, as a race, the humans have mastered interplanetary travel. You mean to tell me the can't figure out orbital bombardment (even just kinetic weapons would do the trick)? And why wouldn't the humans just come back in a few years and obliterate the planet? The list goes on and on and on and on.
This award has traditionally been difficult because I have to account for expectations. Often a disappointing film is not truly bad... it just doesn't meet lofty expectations. This was the case with most of the other nominees (except for Terminator: Salvation, which I knew would be bad). But Avatar still wins. There's a lot of potential there, most of which is wasted.
On deck: Best Action Sequences and Best Plot Twist/Surprise
Posted by Mark on January 27, 2010 at 07:43 PM .: link :.
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
2009 Kaedrin Movie Awards: Most Visually Stunning & Best Sci-Fi or Horror Film
The nominations for the 2009 Kaedrin Movie Awards were announced last week. This week, I'll be announcing two winners every day, culminating in a post with my top 10 movies of the year and possibly some other wrap-up posts.
Most Visually Stunning: Avatar
For all its faults, you have to admit that Avatar is a gorgeous movie to look at. Amazingly, the Na'vi seem real. James Cameron has somehow vaulted across the uncanny valley and emerged unscathed on the other side. While I don't know that his use of 3D is really all that revolutionary, I appreciate the fact that Cameron doesn't take the opportunity to poke me with stuff (like every other 3D movie). Pandora (though a ham-fisted name for a planet) is a fully realized planet. Well, actually it's not, but visually, it is. The rest of the nominees are pretty good, but none can really match the spectacle of Avatar.
Best Sci-Fi or Horror Film: Paranormal Activity
This is always a difficult category, probably because I mix two of my favorite genres. Usually there's not enough SF to warrant a full category, but this year there were 3 pretty solid SF films. Of course, only Moon even comes close to a true hard SF story, with the other two (Star Trek and District 9) lacking a little science in their fiction, but even Moon had me nitpicking over plot details. It's definitely worth watching, if only for Sam Rockwell's performance(s), but it didn't quite hit me the way horror films did this year. I had a blast with Drag Me to Hell and 4bia (a lame play on the word phobia) was an early favorite, but no horror film stuck with me the way Paranormal Activity did. It got a bit too hyped, which is never good for scary movies, but it still worked well for me. While the "found footage" premise is hardly unique, they did provide one major innovation for the sub-genre: the tripod. There's still some shaky camera footage, but for the most part, it's sitting on a tripod, and it's more effective because of that. Anyway, my favorite horror movie of the year and it will probably find a spot on my top 10.
Coming tomorrow: Best Sequel and Biggest Disappointment
Posted by Mark on January 26, 2010 at 08:27 PM .: link :.
Monday, January 25, 2010
2009 Kaedrin Movie Awards: Best Comedic Performance & Breakthrough Performance
The nominations for the 2009 Kaedrin Movie Awards were announced last week. This week, I'll be announcing two winners every day, culminating in a post with my top 10 movies of the year and possibly some other wrap-up posts.
Best Comedic Performance: Zach Galifianakis in The Hangover
Truth be told, I'm cheating with this one because the award isn't so much because Galifianakis was the funniest part of the movie, just that the movie was probably the funniest of the year. For some reason, there weren't any really standout comedic performances this year. Sacha Baron Cohen was certainly an option, but after Borat, his shock value seems to have waned for me. Bruno was all about shock value, and once you got accustomed to it, it fell a little flat. I also seriously considered giving this to Michael Peña, but I think his role ended up being a little too small, and while he was fantastic, the movie wasn't really that funny (but it was still a solid movie, just not in a straightforward comedic way). In any case, this was a difficult award and I'm not entirely happy picking a winner... I guess being nominated will have to be award enough...
Breakthrough Performance: Tom Hardy in Bronson
Another impossible category, except this time there were too many standouts. I would be happy giving the award to any of the nominees, but in looking at the criteria I had laid out for this award, I had to go with Hardy because I had seen him before and totally dismissed him as an actor. Yes, he played the villain from the absolutely terrible Star Trek: Nemisis, and despite looking almost the same, he's a completely different actor in this movie. He's a total force of nature and his performance is really what holds an otherwise uneven movie together. The real competition for the award comes from Christoph Waltz in Inglourious Basterds, who I've already established as being fantastic (having won the Best Villain award). I also totally fell in love with Rinko Kikuchi in The Brothers Bloom. I was surprised to learn that her previous high-profile role was a rather serious one in Babel... yet her comedic timing in the underrated Bloom was spot-on. In the end, it comes back to the forceful performance of Tom Hardy.
Next up: Most Visually Stunning and Best Sci-Fi or Horror Film
Posted by Mark on January 25, 2010 at 08:03 PM .: link :.
Sunday, January 24, 2010
2009 Kaedrin Movie Awards: Best Villain/Hero/Badass
The nominations for the 2009 Kaedrin Movie Awards were announced last week. This week, I'll be announcing two winners every day, culminating in a post with my top 10 movies of the year and possibly some other wrap-up posts.
Best Villain/Badass: Colonel Hans Landa, played by Christoph Waltz in Inglourious Basterds
In a year of lackluster villainy, Christoph Waltz's scenery chewing performance as Colonel Hans "The Jew Hunter" Landa was without a doubt the best selection here. The other nominees don't even come close. As I've commented before, Waltz plays Landa as a Jew hunting, Nazi version of Columbo. Charismatic and disarming, he draws you in and makes you comfortable before pulling the rug out from beneath you. He plays the character with a slightly effeminate panache and you grow to hate him pretty quickly. Best villain of the year.
Best Hero/Badass: Rorschach, played by Jackie Earle Haley in Watchmen
This category was a little more difficult as there were lots of good heroic performances this year, but none quite so effective as Jackie Earle Haley's turn as as a morally uncompromising sociopath/superhero. He's the most memorable character in both the comic and the film, and despite his ruthless tactics, you find yourself rooting for the guy. Honorable mention goes to Liam Neeson for his surprisingly badass performance in Taken and also Yanin Vismitananda for her spectacular martial arts skills in Chocolate. Tom Hardy's titular performance in Bronson is also worth a note, but that will come up later in the week. In the end, this is all about Rorschach. I've had him penciled in to this award since March, and no one managed to knock him off...
Up next: Best Comedic Performance and Breakthrough Performance. Check back Monday for the winners.
Posted by Mark on January 24, 2010 at 03:34 PM .: link :.
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
Yet Another Link Dump
Interesting stuff seen on the web recently:
Posted by Mark on January 20, 2010 at 07:09 PM .: link :.
Sunday, January 17, 2010
2009 Kaedrin Movie Awards
As of today, I've seen 74 movies that would be considered 2009 releases. This is on par with the past few years, if not a little bit more than usual. Believe it or not, this is probably a lot less than your typical movie critic, but it's also a whole lot more than your average moviegoer. In any case, this post constitutes the kickoff of my year end movie recap (only a few weeks late!) The categories for this years movie awards are mostly the same as last year (with one notable addition), and will proceed in a similar manner. Nominations will be announced today, and starting next week, I'll announce the winners (new winners announced every day). After that, there might be some miscellaneous awards, followed by a top 10 list.
2009 seems to have been a decent year for movies... better than 2008 and possibly 2007 too. Perhaps we've finally emerged from the black whole of bad writing caused by the writers strike, though I think we're still seeing some of the effects. In any case, the top 10 has come together relatively quickly, though the last couple of spots are still a bit of a challenge to fill. There are a couple of movies I'm still hoping to catch up with before I release my top 10, but there's no reason to delay the awards for that. Besides, one of the points of these awards is that they allow me to give some love to films that I like, but which aren't necessarily great or are otherwise flawed (as such, the categories may seem a bit eclectic). Some of these movies will end up on my top 10, but the grand majority of them will not.
The rules for this are the same as last year: Nominated movies must have been released in 2009 (in the US) and I have to have seen the movie (and while I have seen a lot of movies, I don't pretend to have seen a comprehensive selection - don't let that stop you from suggesting something though). Also, I suppose I should mention the requisite disclaimer that these sorts of lists are inherently subjective and personal. But that's all part of the fun, right?
Best Villain/Badass
It's been a pretty lackluster year for villainy... Some easy choices, but this was a hard category to populate this year. As with previous years, my picks in this category are for individuals, not groups (i.e. no vampires or zombies as a group).
It's been a pretty damn good year for heroic badassery. Again limited to individuals and not groups.
Not a particularly strong year when it comes to comedy, but there still seem to be plenty of good performances, even in films I wasn't particularly fond of...
Not a particularly huge year for breakthrough performances either, but definitely several interesting choices. As with previous years, my main criteria for this category was if I watched a movie, then immediately looking up the actor/actress on IMDB to see what else they've done (or where they came from). This sometimes happens for even well established actors/actresses, and this year was no exception.
Sometimes even bad movies can look really great...
I'm a total genre hound, despite genres generally receiving very little attention from critics. Interestingly, SF makes a pretty good showing this year, even though I wish there was a little more science in the fiction for most of the nominees. As usual, some solid horror films round out the list well enough...
Honestly, I only saw a few sequels this year, so this was a difficult category to populate (as it is every year). Still, there were a few decent options (even if I cheated a little with one of them, which is more prequel/reboot than sequel)...
Always a difficult award to figure out, as there are different ways in which a movie can disappoint. Usually, expectations play just as big a part of this as the actual quality of the film, and it's possible that a decent movie can win the award because of astronomical expectations. This year had several obvious choices though.
This was a decent year for action, though not especially a standout year. This award isn't for individual action sequences, but rather an overall estimation of each film.
Not a particularly strong year for the plot twist either, though there are a few standouts.
This is always a strange category to populate because the concept is a bit nebulous, but nevertheless, there are a few interesting choices...
A 2008 movie I didn't get to see until 2009... This is always a problem for the amateur movie lover. Towards the end of the year, 500 movies come out, but they only play in New York or LA for a grand total of like 3 hours (enough for 2 showings at each theater!) Plus, there's always a movie I dismissed and neglected to see which I end up seeing a year later and loving. Last year, I was having so much trouble putting together a top 10 that I even revised the list to include Mad Detective. But there were a couple other interesting 2008 movies that I didn't catch up with until later...
It looks like Ingourious Basterds is leading the way with 5 solid nominations. Following that with a solid 4 nominations is Star Trek. Surprisingly, Avatar was also nominated for 4 awards, but one of those is "Biggest Disappointment" which I think puts it behind Trek. At 3 nominations, we've got Watchmen and Crank: High Voltage, while a whole slew of other films garnered 2 noms, and an even larger amount earned a single nomination. As I mentioned earlier, I'm going to give myself a week to think about each of these. I might end up adding to the nominations if I end up seeing something new. Winners will be announced starting next Sunday or Monday. As with the last few years, there will be a small set of Arbitrary Awards after the standard awards are given out, followed by the top 10.
Posted by Mark on January 17, 2010 at 08:59 PM .: link :.
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
Noughtie Preconceptions
So the other day I was perusing other answers to Dennis' quiz (my answers here), and came across Veronique's blog, where she has an interesting list of Least Favorite Preconceptions of the Decade. It's probably not a comprehensive list or anything, and I have to admit that I haven't been as immersed in the decade-end naughtie lists as some other folks, but I did have some thoughts...
1.) There Will Be Blood = greatest movie of the decade and Daniel Day-Lewis = greatest performer. Do you ever feel like you just saw a completely move than everyone else?Yes, yes I have, and in fact, I've had the same thought with respect to There Will Be Blood. When exiting the theater after watching the movie, I distinctly remember hearing a guy remark to his lady friend that the movie "was like a 2 hour handjob without the happy ending." Well that pretty much sums it up, doesn't it? It's a sumptuously photographed movie and Daniel Day Lewis is a force of nature in that movie, but other than that, there's no real reason to put this movie in the top 10 of the decade. This is perhaps not surprising coming from a guy who didn't even put it in his top 10 of 2007. At the time, I remember liking it a lot, but I simply can't get over the fact that for a movie that is ostensibly a character study, it provides no actual insight into the character, leaving you with a feeling of "Why?" when you get to the end.
2. Kate Winslet can do no wrong. Count me one of Winslet's few detractors -- possibly her only one. Choosing highbrow, award-bait material does not a great actress make.I don't really have much to say regarding this one, but I will offer up a half-hearted response that good roles for female actresses these days are somewhat few and far between, so I think it's worth cutting some slack. That said, I can assure you that Kate Winslet is capable of doing wrong...
3. The American public doesn't go to see Iraq /Afghanistan war movies because they are overwhelmed with war coverage already/don't care about politics/just want to see context-free car explosions. I've read many an article with some version of this thesis, and I don't buy it. While it is true that movies like Stop-Loss, Home of the Brave, and In the Valley of Elah haven't been hits, I would point to the films' quality to explain why they bombed.On this one, I think I'm going to have to disagree with Veronique. The reasons why the American public doesn't go see Iraq/Afghanistan war movies are probably more varied than the examples given, but I still don't think that people will go to see one of these movies until there's something genuinely compelling to say about the wars in question, and I don't think that's going to happen anytime soon (not the least of which because we're still mired in the war, and that it's an unusual war in a lot of ways). I agree that the quality of the films released is probably part of the issue, but on the other hand, quality doesn't always translate to poor box office performance (see Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen). I think another part of the puzzle is that most movies with a really strong political viewpoint in general aren't very good and almost can't be very good. When an artist takes a really strong political position, they almost always lose the ability to see the world through the eyes of everyone, including people who have varying degrees of beliefs on different issues. I suppose the exception to this sort of thing is when such positions are forwarded through metaphor and symbolism. For instance, you could consider The Dark Knight (one of the most successful movies of the past two years) an Iraq war movie that comments on various current events. Perhaps it's something about removing the story from it's immediate context that allows viewers to better internalize the message better (or not, if they're not inclined to do so). It's also easier to insert your own political viewpoint on something that is mediated by metaphor and symbolism than it is for something baldly presented as true (which most Iraq war movies are).
The Hurt Locker* is a new and recent exception: a critically-acclaimed Iraq movie actually set in Iraq. And it's been a hit commercially.While The Hurt Locker was a low budget film (supposedly around $11 million) and ultimately eeked out a profit, I don't think this qualifies as a commercial "hit." It made about $12.5 million domestic (a total of $16 million worldwide), but that's not exactly lighting the box office on fire. What's more, its widest release was in 535 theaters - again, hardly a big number. For reference, the aforementioned Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (one of the worst movies of the year) made about $400 million domestic (a total of around $800 million worldwide) and was released in 4,293 theaters. Now, The Hurt Locker is a fine film (and it probably is the best Iraq war movie), but I also don't think it's a very commercially viable film either. It has some great action/suspense sequences, but there's little in the way of a story, and not a whole lot of insight into the whole adrenaline junkie aspect of the story. Add in the fact that we're in the midst of a global economic depression, and movies like this which don't even pretend to offer any sort of escapism aren't going to do so well.
4. Judd Apatow and his merry band of hilarious slacker-imps are the future of Hollywood and romantic comedies made for women are a bunch of treacle and/or slush. I actually think the former opinion has been trumpeted less obnoxiously of late. That's probably due to the fact that Funny People didn't do terribly well at the box office. ... offshoots like I Love You, Man and Role Models, these movies get praised to the high heavens at the same time the reviewer admits they're kind of trashy. However, trashy woman-oriented romantic comedies get the short end of the stick. Yes, some of them are unbearable and sure, the formula could use some loosening up. However, there were plenty of '00s romantic comedies that were both smart and fun to watchI think the Apatow thing is definitely winding down, but it will still limp on for the next few years until something new comes along. I think part of the reason these movies were so well received was that they really were something new and interesting. The genre of Romantic Comedies was once synonymous with chick-flick, but now it's not. Ultimately, this is a good thing, and I'm betting this sort of male-oriented romantic comedy will continue to do well. You can see something similar happening with animation, and in particular Pixar. Traditional Disney fare was always a sorta female dominated affair. Lots of princesses and love stories and yada, yada, yada. There were the occasional male-dominated stories, of course, but overall, animation was female dominated. One of the big things Pixar did to establish itself as something new and different was to focus on boys (which is why people complaining about Pixar's gender problem are kinda missing the point). Back to romantic comedies, I think the reason woman-oriented movies are getting the short end of the stick is that they've been dominant for the past 20-30 years. The formula is stale and you end up seeing a lot of bizarre gimmicks. None of which is to say that there can't be a well executed woman-oriented romantic comedy anymore, and Veronique points to a few good examples. Indeed, one thing I'd like to see more of is a female equivalent of the so called "bromance" movies. There are tons of stories of male bonding and friendships (heck, even the recent Sherlock Holmes movie is mostly notable due to the bromance between Holmes and Watson), but relatively few about female bonding and friendship. Hey, maybe someday we can reach a sort of Hegelian synthesis and produce some romantic comedies that are equally appealing to both sexes.
5. The House Bunnyis a nuanced comedy about gender relations. Well, I do think Anna Faris is funny and comedically gifted. However, out of all the movies from this decade to pick as a great feminist oeuvre, why not Mean Girls?Mental note: see both these movies.
Well that about wraps this post up for now. In typical Kaedrin fashion, the 2009 movie recap festivities will begin this weekend (yes, a few weeks after the year ended) with the announcement of the nominees for the 4th annual Kaedrin Movie Awards (previous installments: 2006, 2007, and 2008). The top 10 of 2009 will probably come sometime in February, once I've had the chance to see a few films that have eluded me (notably A Serious Man, Black Dynamite, and The House of the Devil), mostly because of small releases (this is frustrating for me almost every year, and I live in a relatively movie-friendly city). I haven't even really considered best of the decade stuff, but perhaps someday...
Posted by Mark on January 13, 2010 at 06:48 PM .: link :.
Sunday, January 10, 2010
Computer Desks
I have recently come into possession of a second LCD monitor, and hooked it up to do some dual monitor awesomeness (amazingly enough, I didn't even need to upgrade my graphics card to do so). The problem is that my current desk is one of those crappy turn-of-the-century numbers that assumes you only have one monitor and thus doesn't have space for the second. I managed to work around this... by ripping off the hutch portion of the desk, but I could still use a new desk, as this one really has seen better days.
So I started thinking about what I need my desk to do, and have quickly descended into Paradox of Choice hell. At a minimum, a new desk would need to be able to handle:
In terms of taste, I tend to be a minimalist. I don't need lots of flying doodads or space-age design. Just something simple that covers the above. In looking around, this seems to be a rarity. As per usual when it comes to this sort of thing, Jeff Atwood has already posted about this, and the comment thread there is quite interesting (and still being updated, years later).
The best desk I've found so far seems to be the D2 Pocket Desk. Of course the big problem with that one is that it's obscenely expensive (even on sale, it's wayyyy to expensive). But it's perfect for me. It's notable almost as much for what you don't see as what you do see - apparently there's a big compartment in the back that's big enough to stuff all the cables, wires, routers, etc... that I need (and you can see the two little holes meant to corral the wires into that area). It being as expensive as it is, it's not something I'm seriously considering, but I'm trying to find a cheaper, but similarly designed option (perhaps something that doesn't use cherry wood, which is apparently quite expensive). I'm kinda surprised at how few computer desks even attempt to account for cable management. Anyway, here's a quick picture:
The other notable option I found at Jeff's site was from a company called Anthro. Not the model he mentions, which is a monstrosity. However, Anthro features lots of models and everything is customizable in the extreme. While they seem like good quality desks, they're also much more reasonably priced. Unfortunately, their configuration tool does little to help you visualize what I'll end up with. Still, the 48" AnthroCart seems like it would fit my needs and given the modular nature of the desk, I can always add on to it later. If you look at the 3rd picture on that page, it's kinda what I'm looking for (but without the bottom shelf and maybe a filing cabinet attachment)
The big questions I have about the AnthroCart are how well their keyboard/mouse solutions work (all of the varieties have seem to be quite small - and my current option is actually kinda large, which I really like for some reason...) There's also the question of how well those extra shelfs on the top and bottom work. And color. Yeah, so this one is definitely in Paradox of Choice territory. However, they're apparently pretty agreeable and will help guide you in choosing the various accessories, etc... So maybe I'll start up a chat with a rep when I get a chance...
Some other stuff I've been looking at:
Update: Desk 51 from BlueDot (via) is pretty interesting. I'm wondering how sturdy it is.
Again Update: This Landon Desk from Crate and Barrel has grown on me a bit, especially after seeing a similar desk on Flickr. The good thing about C&B is that there is a store near me, so I can at least check it out in person...
Another Update: Well, that's an idea... which I suppose also brings up the "Build your own" option, which could be a rewarding experience.
Yet Another Update: For reference, here's a pic of my desk as currently configured, and here's the surprisingly sturdy keyboard tray.
Posted by Mark on January 10, 2010 at 07:00 PM .: link :.
Wednesday, January 06, 2010
Stephenson For Beginners
Long time Kaedrin compatriot Sovawanea has recently started a blog chronicling her quest to read 96 books in 2010. One of her sub-quests is to read all of Neal Stephenson's novels (truly a woman after my heart). Knowing my love of all things Stephenson, she asked me for some advice: "Any suggestions on which order I should tackle Stephenson in? Baroque Cycle first?" To which I replied "Noooo!"
I like the Baroque Cycle as much as anyone and it is true that it's a standalone story. However, unless you're a die-hard scholar of late seventeenth and early eighteenth century European history, I think you'd be much better off reading Cryptonomicon first, then easing into the Baroque Cycle later. There are many advantages to this approach. First off, Cryptonomicon is about 1800 pages shorter than the 2700 page Baroque Cycle. Second, Cryptonomicon's settings (WWII and present day) are more accessible. Third, the entire series focuses on characters from around 2 major families, with several other side character families, and I think the introduction to these families is better made in Cryptonomicon. This provides you with a sorta shorthand when encountering characters in the Baroque Cycle, allowing you to focus on all the other stuff Stephenson is throwing at you without being totally overwhelmed. Finally, I think Cryptonomicon is just plain better than the Baroque Cycle, though I really enjoyed both. But this also begs another question - is Cryptonomicon the best place to start? If not, what is?
It's a truly tough question. I think Shamus really nailed Cryptonomicon and Stephenson in general with this statement:
In fact, I have yet to introduce anyone to the book and have them like it. I'm slowly coming to the realization that Cryptonomicon is not a book for normal people. Flaws aside, there are wonderful parts to this book. The problem is, you have to really love math, history, and programming to derive enjoyment from them. You have to be odd in just the right way to love the book. Otherwise the thing is a bunch of wanking.When I read Anathem, I got a similar feeling, but with different subjects. And when I think about the rest of his work, I find myself struggling to find an ideal starting place for Stephenson. I've come up with some ideas below, but I'd certainly be interested in any of my 5 readers' (at least a couple of whom have read some Stephenson) thoughts on the subject as well. In any case, I think the best place to start (perhaps not coincidentally) is the same place I started: Snow Crash. It's more accessible than most of Stephenson's later novels, and it's not nearly as long either. It's also a lot of fun.
Now, there are some things about Snow Crash that might be off-putting to new readers. For instance, it belongs to a specific sub-genre of science fiction called Cyberpunk. To be honest, I'm not especially in love with that sub-genre. William Gibson popularized the concept with his novel Neuromancer, which was kinda like futuristic Raymond Chandler, and that's widely considered to be the best cyberpunk novel. Snow Crash is almost (but not quite) a parody of cyberpunk tropes, while still being an excellent example of the sub-genre. One of the things I don't like about Cyberpunk is that it's infused with a sorta earnest nihilism or cynicism. Stephenson doesn't take it as seriously and has a lot of fun with the typical tropes of the sub-genre, which makes some of the more ridiculous stuff go down easier. There's a satirical element to the book that I don't get from a lot of other cyberpunk, and that makes the proceedings more interesting to me. Once you get past the initial culture shock at the beginning of Snow Crash, things rocket along pretty quickly. There's plenty of action and even the occasional info-dump doesn't slow things down too much. The characters are fun and the ideas are interesting. What's more, I know lots of people who have read and enjoyed this book, which seems to indicate that it's perhaps not as narrowly focused as something like Cryptonomicon. It's also widely considered to be one of his best novels and also one of the best SF novels of all time. For all these reasons, I think this is probably the best place to start. After that, you could go any number of directions.
I suppose one purist way to look at it would be to read his books in the order they were written. The big issue there is that you start with The Big U, which I did have some fun with, but which is really only for Stephenson junkies who have read everything else.
However, you could make a compelling case for starting with Zodiac, which I think is one of Stephenson's more underrated or at least, forgotten books (perhaps because it was written before Snow Crash). It's also probably his most accessible book, and it's subject matter is surprisingly relevant even today (it's about a group of environmentalists). If the concepts behind Snow Crash turn you off, you might still enjoy Zodiac a lot. It's a present day story, and not nearly as stylistic as Snow Crash. It also might be his shortest book.
The Diamond Age is a good book for those who loved Snow Crash and it makes for an interesting bridge between Snow Crash and Cryptonomicon (not surprising, as it's the book that was written between those other two). It has a similar Cyberpunky setting, though you are also starting to see a real historical influence, as Stephenson establishes a Victorian undertone layered on top of a more typical SF setting (with nanotech and immersive interactive books, etc...). The one bit of warning about Diamond Age though: I'm convinced that Stephenson's undeserved reputation for bad endings is due to this book (which has a deservedly bad, or at least strangely abrupt ending). It's something I want to revisit at some point to see if the ending makes more sense upon rereading, but still.
Cryptonomicon is great, but as previously mentioned, it's relatively long and it seems to rub some people the wrong way. Still, I consider it to be Stephenson's best novel and it's actually my favorite novel of all time. Following that with the Baroque Cycle makes sense, as they're both part of the same series.
Anathem is his most recent novel, and it is very good. Perhaps not as good as Cryptonomicon or Snow Crash, but excellent in its own right. The only real caveat with this one is that Stephenson kinda invents a new vocabulary in the story, and it takes a little while to get used to the style. That said, it's not a gimmick and there actually ends up being a pretty good reason for it. It's up there towards the top of my rankings, but I also don't think it's an especially good one to start with.
One other interesting idea for a place to start with Stephenson would be the novels he wrote under a pseudonym (Stephen Bury) with his uncle, J. Frederick George - The Cobweb and Interface. They're both written in a more prosaic style and read more like a techno-thriller than Stephenson's other novels. They start with absurd premises (the blurbs about their plots make the books sound awful), but the authors make them seem realistic and populate the world with good characters, then have a less realistic ending. I actually really enjoyed them a lot more than I thought I would, and you can clearly see Stephenson's influence, but they're not as deep as the rest of his stuff. I'd recommend holding off on these until later, but they're definitely worth reading if you're a fan (and maybe even if you're not).
I think that covers all his fiction novels. In terms of Non-Fiction, he actually has a few great books (or, er, reallly long essays). In the Beginning Was the Command Line is horribly out-dated (it's about operating systems, but it was written 10 years ago - before OSX, Win XP, Ubuntu, etc...), but still an entertaining read. Despite being out-dated, it's still relevant because he spends a lot of time talking about cultures and history of the computer and operating systems, etc.. It's also available for free online. In the Kingdom of Mao Bell and Mother Earth Mother Board are two absurdly long articles that Stephenson wrote for Wired in the 90s. The most interesting thing about them is that you can really see how his experiences writing those articles influenced his later novels.
So in terms of a recommended order to tackle his books in, my thoughts seem to point to something like this: Snow Crash, The Diamond Age, Cryptonomicon, The Baroque Cycle, Anathem, Zodiac, Interface, The Cobweb, and finishing off with The Big U. It's a little top-heavy in that his best works are at the front of the list, but I think that's generally how people approach authors anyway.
That list is, of course, purely subjective. I'd love to hear other people's thoughts on the matter...
Posted by Mark on January 06, 2010 at 06:27 PM .: link :.
Sunday, January 03, 2010
Link Dump
Just a few interesting links I've run across recently:
Update: It appears I forgot to actually include the link to the Demons Soul's review. It's there now. Also, added a quick clarification about the Star Trek reviews...
Posted by Mark on January 03, 2010 at 08:32 PM .: link :.
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text:
The Detroit News's Eric Lacy says that a certain writer for ESPN the Magazine has decided to fill in for Jay Leno as he's not allowed to bash Detroit for one day:
June 10, Detroit News: Detroiters: You know the drill. Another national media outlet is piling on our city and its sports teams. This time, Ted Bauer of ESPN The Magazine takes a shot at practically everyone -- even the Shock.
"If you're a Detroit fan, savor the present, the future just doesn't seem to hold much promise," Bauer writes.
Bauer praises the Red Wings for the Stanley Cup but believes "it may be a rocky road for a while."
Bauer paints a sobering picture of the Tigers, a team that is "essentially treading water." Of Michigan and Michigan State football, he says, "If you're a Big 10 fan rooting for anyone except OSU, you're doomed."
And his outlook on the Pistons is equally troubling: "The East may be weak, but 11 months out, we can't see the Pistons making seven straight conference finals."
Yeah, Red Wings fans are in for a rough, rough road. Sure.


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Dismissing the Class: A Practical Approach to the Class Action Restriction on the Legal Services Corporation
Joshua D. Blank
New York University School of Law
Eric A. Zacks
Wayne State University Law School
Penn State Law Review, Vol. 110, 2005
The class action lawsuit has emerged as an effective legal device for addressing common harms. Claimants who might not litigate their claims individually are empowered by the opportunity to speak with one voice. The class action device, however, has been made largely unavailable to legal services lawyers representing the poor. Congressional restrictions enacted in 1996 prohibit legal services organizations that receive federal funding from the Legal Services Corporation from using that funding to initiate or participate in any class action lawsuit. This article examines the social, legal and professional impact of the class action restriction on the Legal Services Corporation and on the recipients of its funding. This article concludes that the class action restriction has adversely affected the poor and, consequently, should be reconsidered. In the event that the class action restriction is not revised or repealed, this article suggests practical alternative strategies for delivering effective group representation to the poor.
Number of Pages in PDF File: 40
Keywords: LSC, Legal Services, Class Action, Legal Aid
JEL Classification: A1, H00
Date posted: September 27, 2005 ; Last revised: January 30, 2009
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Heath Evans' Super Bowl blog: Back to training camp!
|02.03.10 at 1:44 pm ET
Injured Saints fullback Heath Evans, a former Patriot, is WEEI.com's guest blogger in the days leading up to Super Bowl XLIV in Miami. While helping the NFC champions in their preparations for the Colts, Evans is sharing his thoughts about taking part in his second Super Bowl, two years after helping the Patriots reach the NFL's ultimate game.
Heading to practice at The U! You'd think Jeremy Shockey was a God around here … lots of attention. Beyond that, this practice will be our usual "back to work" practice after a travel day and a media day. We'll put the shoulder pads on and start into each other like it is training camp — knocking each other around a bit and getting the rust off.
The emphasis will be on balance and complementary play. Running and passing, offense and defense, all of it combined with special teams. We want everyone on the same page: short field for us, long field for them. We all know we've got a game ahead of us. For the rest of the world it is a spectacle, but for us it is a game we've got to prepare for mentally and physically. We've got guys who have been to the Super Bowl before, and we are emphasizing the focus needed. Each week is a game — game plan, physical preparation, razor-sharp focus.
Back to the weather again: While the weather has smoothed out and gotten to be more South Florida-like, we were all laughing about how we woke up to icicles in the hotel rooms — great AC! Almost made us think we were back in some northern city with little sunshine and less warmth!
Geaux Saints! Thanks to all the great fans — from NOLA and around the country — who are getting behind this team and this city! Who Dat!!!
Latest from Bleacher Report
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text:
IRVING — Dallas Cowboys running back Felix Jones sat out practice again Wednesday because of hamstring tightness.
While Jones worked on the side during practice, he wasn't involved in any work on the field for the second day in a row.
"It seems like he's getting better," said coach Jason Garrett, adding that Jones had been in all offensive meetings. "We just felt it was the right thing to do today to not practice, and obviously keep him engaged with our team and hopefully he'll get some work here in the next couple of days."
NFC East-leading Dallas (8-6) plays its home finale Saturday against Philadelphia (6-8).
Executive vice president Stephen Jones expressed confidence that Felix Jones will play and said the Cowboys are being cautious because they are so thin at running back.
"I'm planning on him. I'm hoping to see what he can do either today, tomorrow," running backs coach Skip Peete said.
"At the end of the week, obviously we've got to be able to see him be able to do some things to make a decision on whether or not he can play in the game or not."
Linebacker DeMarcus Ware (stinger) and nose tackle Jay Ratliff (rib muscle) were back on the field Wednesday, but still limited. Both defensive starters missed Tuesday's workouts.
Jones is coming off consecutive 100-yard rushing games for the first time in his four NFL seasons. He matched a career high with 22 carries at Tampa Bay, where he ran for 108 yards.
Garrett hasn't said which hamstring is bothering Jones, or when it started hurting. The running back again wasn't in the locker room when it was open to reporters.
Rookie running backs DeMarco Murray, the team's leading rusher with 897 yards, and Phillip Tanner are already on injured reserve. That leaves Sammy Morris, a 12-year veteran who made his season debut at Tampa Bay after signing with Dallas last week, and Chauncey Washington, signed to the practice squad Nov. 30.
Morris and Washington again split time at practice Wednesday.
Jones already missed four games this season because of a left ankle sprain.
When Murray broke his right ankle in the first quarter against the New York Giants two weeks ago, Jones took over as the primary back and ran 16 times for 106 yards. He followed that with the 108 yards against the Tampa Bay defense.


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Kris Allen heads back to 'American Idol' next week for Haiti benefit
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Kris Allen next week will make his first appearance on "American Idol" since winning the show last year, to help raise money for earthquake-ravaged Haiti.
As part of the Fox TV show's "Idol Gives Back" charity effort, Allen will travel to Haiti with the United Nations Foundation. He'll share video from his visit and sing on the Thursday, Feb. 25, episode of "American Idol."
Fox said Wednesday that viewers will be asked to make donations online or by text-messaging, with the money going to the Idol Gives Back Foundation to help support the U.N. Foundation's work in Haiti.
"Idol Gives Back" takes place on the April 21 episode of "American Idol," raising money for five charities, including Feeding America and Malaria No More.
Copyright (2009) Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.


text:
|« Today in Earthquake History: Sichuan 2008
|Tragedy in the Heart of Italy »
Another Kind of Earthquake Wave
Fig 1 (oil film). Photo: Horst Rademacher
Earthquakes make waves. That's a trivial, commonplace statement, given the fact that seismic waves can violently shake the ground and topple buildings. But there is another kind of wave generated by temblors, which can only be seen after heavy numerical manipulation of the data from certain types of satellites.
Fig 2 (InSAR), Map courtesy of INGV and ESA (Click to view larger image.)
Here is how it works: About a half dozen of the satellites currently circling the earth continuously send out radar beams to probe the Earth's surface. They have a separate sensor on board which registers the radar beam's reflection off the ground. The primary mission of these "Synthetic Aperture Radars" (SAR) is to exactly map the altitude of the surface with a precision of one half inch or less. To the delight of earth scientists, the radar sensors have an additional benefit. Every few weeks, the satellite path repeats. That means it passes over the same regions of the Earth in the same order. It is then possible to detect slight changes in the elevation of the Earth's surface which have occurred from one fly-over to the next.
Let's apply this to seismology: The European satellite "Envisat," which carries a SAR sensor, flew over the Abruzzo region of Central Italy on February 1, 2009 and then again six weeks later on April 12. In the mean time, a devastating earthquake occurred near the town of L'Aquila, killing more than 260 people (see blog April 6, 2009). Italian scientists compared the radar pictures taken during the two successive orbits using a numerical technique called "Interferometry," essentially subtracting one picture from the other. The result is a map of colored waves, similar to the iridescent patterns one can see on a soap bubble or when an oil film covers a puddle (see Fig 1). Just as a physicist can use these color patterns to determine the thickness of the oil film or the bubble walls, Earth scientists can interpret the maps. Each colored ring is a measure of how much the ground has moved as a result of the earthquake. In this case, each ring represents a movement of just over an inch.
Figure 2 shows this pattern for the Abruzzo quake. The large green square represents the location of the main shock; the smaller green squares show large aftershocks. Along the yellow line east of
L'Aquila geologists found an alignment of surface breaks after the quake, which indicate the orientation of the rupture. The colored wave pattern follows those breaks exactly, indicating that the ground had moved a total of seven inches down to the left side of the yellow line. This movement is also represented by the black and white fault plane solution on the left. More on these "beach balls" in one of the next blogs. (hra037)


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The New York Rangers lost to the Los Angeles Kings by the score of 3-2 in overtime in Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final. The Kings lead the series 1-0. For a box score, go to Yahoo! Sports.
…since most of you likely need a pick me up after that demoralizing loss, just remember that in 1994 the Rangers also lost Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final by the score of 3-2 in overtime.
…to the game, that was exciting stuff as the action was back and forth all night. The Rangers came out exactly the way you'd hope. They used their speed to blitz a Kings team that you thought might have a bit of a letdown after the Blackhawks series. The Rangers dominated puck possession as they did an outstanding job on the forecheck and cycling down low. And obviously they were rewarded with two quick strike goals.
…unfortunately, the Stepan giveaway was the turning point of the game (get that man some Windex for that face shield) as it gave the Kings life and you could see the momentum begin to turn. The Rangers had a chance to swing it back in their favor early in the second period, but as was the case most of the night they couldn't bury their opportunities. The Rangers attempted 63 shots and just 27 of them found their way on net.
…obviously a large majority of those shot attempts happened in the first two periods as the Rangers completely stopped skating in the third period. Fatigue? When you can't even get a puck towards the net on a 3-on-1, you know your offense is struggling. My concern is that the Kings finally woke up from their early game slumber and the remainder of the series is going to look like that third period. The Kings were the #1 possession team in the league during the regular season, so if the Rangers want to tie this thing up, they need to look at the tape from the first period and start getting pucks deep again. Too often in the third period the Rangers attempted to skate the puck into the offensive zone and then make a lateral pass which won't work against this physical defense that is looking to stand the opponent up at the blueline.
…it's real easy to kill Girardi for the final play in overtime but the puck took a bad bounce, the forwards fled the zone and the Rangers defenseman was a sitting duck. Could Girardi have gone behind the net with it? Absolutely, but that's easy for me to say sitting on my couch. Having said that, that final gaffe was pretty much the icing on the cake for what was a forgettable night for Girardi. He wasn't alone, as Staal was only a smidge better.
…if Lundqvist continues to play this way he's going to win the Conn Smyth no matter who wins this series.
…the Rangers made life way too easy on Quick tonight. Sure he had some exceptional saves, but similar to last series, not nearly enough traffic in front or second chance opportunities.
…how about that final minute in the third period? Thankfully the frame ended as it allowed me the opportunity to change my underwear…
…the most amazing part of that Pouliot breakaway goal is that he didn't take an offensive zone penalty.
…at least it looked like the Rangers fans attending the viewing party at Bryant Park had a good time tonight (via misterdevore)…
…Hagelin is becoming a dominant offensive force right in front of our eyes this postseason. With his goal tonight, he now leads the Rangers with seven.
…Doughty is obviously majoring in #Plekanecing at the Montreal School of Diving.
…although, he did have the last laugh when he absolutely abused the entire Rangers defense…
…i thought Nash had a great start as he was very aggressive, but as the game wore on he had difficulty generating dangerous scoring opportunities which was exasperated when he failed to even produce a shot attempt on that third period 3-on-1.
…Stralman summoned his inner Buekeboom tonight as he was hitting everything that moved…
…just four shots on goal from the defense tonight, expect John Moore back in the line-up for Game 2.
…i keep worrying about the undisciplined penalties the Rangers have been taking this postseason, but time and again the penalty kill bails them out. In fact, the PK has become more dangerous offensively than the power play which is again in a prolonged slump (1 for their last 19).
…tonight, the Rangers were introduced to the cardiac kids that are the Los Angeles Kings. They seem to thrive on adversity even better than the Rangers do. They never stop working, won't lose their cool and they are never out of a game no matter what the deficit.
…while the loss was obviously frustrating as they missed a golden opportunity to steal Game 1, the first period performance should give every Rangers fan confidence that when the Blueshirts skate hard they can absolutely compete with the Kings. Yes, the Rangers were completely outplayed in the third period, but they were still able to get the game into overtime and give themselves a legit chance to win. Plenty of positives to take away from this defeat.
…a couple of days off then Game 2 on Saturday night.
Post game talk…