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Sunday, November 21, 2010
The Last Airbender: Ten Point Review
Before I jump into the ten points, let me say this: I really wanted to like this movie. I really wanted the M. Night Shyamalan of Unbreakable and The Sixth Sense to find a way to thrill us again and Darling Wife had the same hopes. Instead, what we got was a muddy story, a silly script, and some of the worst acting I've seen outside of Mystery Science Theater 3000. Is M. Night Shyamalan at all relevant as a director anymore? Not that I can see.
Saturday, October 16, 2010
Moscow on the Hudson through Fresh Eyes
It has been a long time since I saw Moscow on the Hudson--probably since I was in high school--but I remember liking the movie. Netflix, one of my new bestest friends, streamed the movie into my home tonight and looking at it is a little like looking back into a time capsule. In some ways, it is also like looking at a better version of America.
For those who don't remember, the movie is about a Russian musician (Robin Williams) who defects in a Bloomingdales in New York City. It follows him from Moscow, through his defection, and through learning to live in America. It isn't a completely easy journey for him and it shows both him and his adopted country with warts and foibles and a bit of complexity.
With all the references to the old USSR, KGB, and the Reagan presidency, it is a look at a world that doesn't exist any longer--it excites some of the same nostalgia bursts as Red Dawn without the campy overtones. But if you look past that little, gentle nostalgia, there are also some wonderful moments in watching the immigrants' journey that put me in mind of an America that lives mostly in my hopes and may never have been entirely real. It glorifies hard work and opportunity over government handouts, it despises hyphenated allegiances at the cost of an American identity, and, in the end, it praises, if you'll pardon me, the spiritual necessity of liberty over the state-controlled and, theoretically, perfectible society.
Two scenes really stand out to me. First, early in the movie, the immigrant watches a room full of new citizens taking the oath of citizenship. It is very quietly affecting as the judge gives her statement before administering the oath: "Today you will become citizens of the United States of America. No longer are you an Englishman, Italian, a Pole or whatever, neither will you be a hyphenated American. From this day you are no longer a subject of a governement, but an intergal part of the government, a free man."
Then, nearer the end, when William's character has suffered an assault and he is questioning the value of freedom when liberty is put to particularly dark purpose, he is reminded by a diner populated mostly by immigrants (a Cuban, another Russian, a Chinese man, and the American server) of the words of the Declaration of Independence. And while, as a scene in a movie it feels almost glib and you would be forgiven for wondering how such a moment might have calmed the anger Williams was showing, I can't help but enjoy watching these folks extolling the virtues of freedom.
It's no great movie. The character's transition, for all the difficulties, still comes too easy. Too scripted. It also makes the emotional choices a little too simple for Williams giving a relatively tidy ending where some of the reality is bound to be messier. Still, I enjoyed it and have to say that a few of the performances are remarkably good. Williams, himself, is wonderful. He's a good deal better than the script and he gives the whole thing more gravity than it might deserve.
More than anything, though, it was like a visit with an old friend. Not challenging, not new, but warm and comfortable.
Moving from there to Every Which Way but Loose, is particularly strange, though. Time has done precisely nothing to make Sandra Locke's singing any easier to stomach…
Wednesday, September 08, 2010
A Few Late Night Observations
Filed under: Culture Movies Sports Basketball Football NHL Technology
Thursday, July 15, 2010
This Ain't TMZ (The Mel Gibson Edition)
I've tried to ignore them, but there's like a critical mass of Mel Gibson content out there that makes it hard to miss the audio that is being released. And, boy, he's a mess. There is a scary, out-of-control quality to his anger and he comes across as entirely unhinged.
I don't feel entirely comfortable listening to other peoples' fights. It's like being in a restaurant while the couple in the both next to you is having an argument--I don't want to know who has done what to whom and I don't want to see that raw emotion thrown out for everyone to see. It makes me squirm a little and it's hard to escape the feeling that Oksana Grigorieva is baiting him and poking at him to get the response that she wants. It isn't pleasant listening and her apparent manipulation doesn't forgive his threats of violence (and, potentially, real acts of violence) and vicious words.
Here's the thing: Mel sounds like he's one bad movie review away from killing someone. I'm not sure if it would be himself or someone else, but if all of those snippets of audio are genuine, then he should be spending some quality time with mental health professionals.
One thing is very clear: the Mel Gibson as public construct isn't much like Mel Gibson the real person. As we've seen more and more of the real Gibson over the last few years, it's become increasingly hard to find something to like about the guy.
Resurrectionsong isn't TMZ, but this link will take you to that star-stalking site of celebrity obsessives. I almost feel dirty just for linking to them. Or if that seems like a link to far, here's one to Fox where you can listen to some of the audio.
Sunday, June 27, 2010
Carter Must Be Lovin' It
Is it just me or has this entire administration seemed a little like one long malaise speech? It's making the Carter years look positively upbeat.
In between telling us that we've turned a corner (when we obviously have not), we get messages about how things are horrible and, just maybe, it isn't going to get better.
More than a year on, the message remains just how bad the last administration was, how unlucky they were to have inherited such a mess, and, gosh, life is tough. Here are a few messages I really think President Obama and Vice President Gaff-o-Matic need to learn if they want to do something other than offering excuses for the next few years before being ushered out of office with nothing to show for their effort but a pair of "I'm With Stupid" t-shirts (which I'll be happy to send on my own dime--assuming I have any dimes left after the program of threatened tax hikes, fee hikes, energy cost spikes, and new health care costs that have been leveled toward me like the barrel of a freakin' 12-gauge).
Businesses are like consumers: when they understand the rules, when they know the costs and risks, they adjust, they expand, they take calculated risks in hopes of creating reward. The problem comes when the rules and risks aren't understood, when folks believe that the rules are changing faster than they can keep up have no space from which to take those risks. They have no way to judge whether the potential reward is worth the cost.
None of which changes the fact that Youth in Revolt, (which, in the simplest terms might well be described as a quirky, humorous look at a boy suffering a psychotic break who obsesses dangerously over a pretty girl) is absolutely wonderful. Smart, beautifully shot, entertaining, and morally questionable, it's still not for everyone. But if the sound of seeing Better Off Dead as written and directed by Wes Anderson sounds intriguing, then this might be the movie for you.
Update: Michael Steele hasn't quite been the person that I expected when I supported him for his job as head of the RNC, but on this issue I find that I am echoing his words:
Saturday, May 22, 2010
Robin Hood: The Ten Point Review
Three stars, then, mostly for the battle scenes, the amazing costumes and sets, the wonderful rapport and chemistry between the lead characters, and the fact that I'm a big fan of knights, swords, archers, and anti-tax sentiment in popular culture. A decent movie, then, but only just. I'm a fan of Ridley Scott, but this is one of his lesser efforts.
If you do find the Robin Hood myths, then Stephen R. Lawhead's King Raven Trilogy is worth your time. It isn't your standard view of Robin Hood, and purists will be disappointed, but the story-telling and period details are wonderful. Similarly, his take on the Arthur myths are remarkable (give a skip, though, to Avalon, a singularly unsatisfying book and a wholly unnecessary add-on to the end of the series).
Saturday, April 24, 2010
Quick Hits from a Nicely Spent Saturday
Darling girl and I have started haunting a little used book store here in Aurora. It's run by an older couple and it sits in an anonymous little strip mall where the only real draw is the book and those two who seem to have been running the place for something close to ever. Anyway, when I was finishing up my run, I happened to spy a little hardback copy of Bill Mauldin's Up Front.
I grew up with "Up Front," which was Mauldin's World War II infantry-eye view of World War II. Mauldin himself was an infantryman and his characters, Willie and Joe, were one of the most honest looks at the infantry that you could find, warts and all.
It may sound strange to hear that I, who wasn't born within decades of WWII, grew up with those guys, but it's true. One of my father's friends had this same book and another (the name escapes me, sadly), and I read through not only the cartoons, but Mauldin's commentary about the soldiers, the war, the cartoon, and the stories that inspired it all. I would still say that if you want to get an idea of who wartime grunts really are, this is a great place to start. It doesn't sugarcoat the guys, but there is an obvious, gentle affection to the poor bastards who carry the load.
The technology and some of the terminology have changed, of course, and there is an old-fashioned feeling to the cartoons, but there is a reason that his fellow soldiers loved him, there's a reason that he enraged Patton and the Eisenhower protected him, and there's a reason that he won a few Pulitzers for his work. I have no idea what kind of a guy he was in the real world, but "Up Front" was as much a love letter to the infantry (and more authentic) as Heinlein's Starship Troopers.
Of course, I picked up the fragile old book--pages yellowing and tearing in a few places--and brought it home with me.
Mauldin had a very obvious concern for his fellow soldiers and was concerned that the returning soldiers wouldn't be taken back in by the country that sent them off to war. A bit that I read pretty close to the front of the book probably bears repeating today:
Absolutely right.
If you see a copy next time you're in your local used book store, I highly recommend picking it up. It's well worth the few bucks you'll spend. Mauldin passed away a few years back, but he'll be remembered as long as his doggies have to go to far off lands to fight wars on behalf of the rest of us. Mauldin told their story, perhaps, better than anyone else has ever managed.
I also picked up a copy of PJ O'Rourke's wonderful Parliament of Whores. It might seem a little dated--the book is nearly two decades old at this point and some of the stories stretch back to 1988--but it's still a fun romp at the expense of the political class (finished with a painful look in the mirror).
Anyway, here's a quote for you. It's from the opening paragraph of the chapter entitled, "The Three Branches of Government: Money, Television, and Bullshit."
I grew up reading this stuff: is it a wonder that there is a streak of cynicism in me that rears up now and again?
Lastly, we also picked up Crazy Heart since the local Blockbuster didn't have one to rent.
No regrets on that. It's a wonderful movie with absolutely stellar performances and surprisingly good music. It might be a little smaller than some people might expect--there are no grand gestures and no earth-shattering themes--especially given all of the Oscar talk. But it's that tightly-focused look at one lonely, old, alcoholic that keeps the movie good.
No politics, no "brave" agenda about racism or sexuality or any supposedly hot-button issue of the day, and no overblown sentimentality leave it being a wonderful movie with more humanity, by far, than something like Avatar. Of course, I'm also of the opinion that District 9 was the best science fiction story last year, so take that as you will.
Anyway, I thoroughly enjoyed the movie and I have to say it again: the music was surprisingly good. Jeff Bridges, as Bad Blake, actually made a credible country music artist. I didn't realize that he sang so many of the songs in the film, but was pleasantly shocked by just how well he pulled it off.
That's not my favorite song from the movie (that would be "The Weary Kind", but that song isn't sung by Bridges) but it has the bonus of featuring Collin Farrell, too. Again, surprising.
And here's one more for the road.
I hesitate to throw this story in the mix, but I can't stand not mentioning it. I realize that not everyone is heroic in action or willing to sacrifice for others--although I hope that if I'm ever tested, I would would be both--but this story is not only one of the saddest things I've read in a very long time, but also one of the most shameful. Not shameful to me, of course, but to those people who saw, who knew, and who still did nothing.
If I were to say a prayer on this day it would be that I am never so callous, never so uncaring, never so low as to leave a man dying in the streets while I did nothing. I'm sure that some of the passers never noticed, never saw the blood, and never realized what had happened, but, just as surely, some of them did see.
This man deserved far better not only because he had acted with courage to save a woman that he didn't even know, but because he was a human being dying in the streets. He didn't have to die and he deserved far, far better than this.
Shame, shame, shame on those people who let the man die.
Thursday, April 15, 2010
Screw Context
OK, fine, here's your freakin' context.
Feel free to add your own to the list, but you'll have to provide your own context this time.
Sunday, April 04, 2010
Share a Moment with the Zomby
If you'd like to share a moment with the Zomby, fire up From Russia, With Love and fast-forward to the girl-on-girl Gypsy fight scene. Because that's some fun stuff.
Disappointing only for its lack of gratuitous nekkidness. Sean Connery, however, was at his very pretty best in this film.
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
Hey, Maybe We Should See Movie Title This Weekend…
I dunno. I think I've already seen that one.
Catchphrase. Laugh laugh laugh laugh.
Corey Haim, RIP
Poor, stupid, little boy.
The tragedy isn't so much that he ended up dead of a drug overdose (accidental or otherwise), but that he represents a wasted life. He couldn't grow up enough to take responsibility for his life, he couldn't be strong enough to stop abusing drugs, and that he threw away the friendship and opportunities that he had in his too short life.
To be honest--although not without a point--the world didn't lose a hugely talented actor. Neither of the Coreys were great actors, they were great, fun personalities. Where Corey Feldman seems to have grown up and moved on with life, Haim just got stuck. The value of a life isn't in how good an actor a person is, but in what they do with the years that are given them; the world didn't lose a great actor, it just saw another person who failed to find a way to give his years any meaning.
I'm sad for the people who cared for him, but I wonder how many of them are actually surprised? I watched a part of the A&E show The Two Corey's and knew that sooner or later he would end up dead or in jail because no matter how many chances he had, no matter who reached out to him, he had an amazing drive to self-destruction.
Tuesday, March 09, 2010
Lindsay Lohan: I'm Not a Milkaholic!
The funniest news of the morning comes to us from AdFreak:
I had been wondering where the insane little starlet had gone; it's good to know that she hasn't lost all her crazy.
(Okay, no, I wasn't really wondering where the insane little starlet had gone. It just fit the flow of the narrative.)
Sunday, March 07, 2010
There I Was, Watching the Oscars…
...And Tyler Perry shows up to present an award. He had this to say: "They just said my name at the Oscars. I'd better enjoy it because it'll probably never happen again."
Yeah, that's probably true. Thing about Tyler Perry is that, firstly, he seems like a nice enough guy, secondly, his heart seems to be in the right place in his films, and, thirdly, he doesn't come close to deserving an award. Of course, many of the movies don't deserve their awards, but his tend to be phenomenally bad. Not only does he scrape up every racial stereotype possible, but the scripts, the direction, and the acting are usually atrocious.
The same kinds of people who will tell you that Tyler Perry movies are good in any kind of an artistic sense are the same kinds of people who would tell you that the Left Behind books are artistically satisfying, that The Gamers: Dorkness Rising had good art direction, and that contemporary Christian pop music is something other than uninspiring pablum.
Okay, there may be a few exceptions to that last part, but the point still stands.
Those people so strongly believe in the subject matter that they entirely ignore the artistic flaws. There is a difference between artistic merit and personal preference; the Oscars may not always find the artistic merit, but it should always be their goal. Tyler Perry doesn't deserve that kind of recognition, regardless of how nice of a guy he is and how much he tries to make moral movies.
The Oscars this year were a bit of a fumble, though, weren't they? A few funny bits here and there, a fun intro with the resurgent Doogie, a great dance number, and some worthy winners were nice. It was also (up to the point where I am writing this, at least) pleasantly politics-free. On the other hand, the camera cuts were horrendous (especially noticeable at the beginning of the memorial section), the Baldwin-Martin team was uneven (although not horrendous), and a goodly number of the presenters proved themselves incompetent without a script and without good editing (Cameron Diaz, you'd be number one on that list).
Cheers to Jeff Bridges (goofy, strange acceptance speech aside) and all the other winners on the night, though. Whatever lack the show might have, it is always an honor to be recognized by your peers.
On a more important note, now that I know that Morena Baccarin is in it, I might have to watch V.
Update: Forest Whitaker's introduction of Sandra Bullock for the Best Actress nominations was top notch. Some of the others, for both Best Actor and Best Actress, were nice, too, but Whitaker's was pitch-perfect.
Update to the Update: The previous note was convenient since Sandra Bullock won and gave a touching and funny speech of her own. Love her.
That said, leave it up to Barbra Streisand to point out that we could have the first female or black director winning an Oscar this year. It turned out to be the first woman (Kathryn Bigelow for Hurt Locker) and a well-deserved win on merits.
But did it really need to be about that? Couldn't it just be about the movie or even just about her talent?
Tom Hanks just noted that Casablanca was the winner the last time there were 10 films up for consideration. I watch it somewhat regularly and, though it's a little old-fashioned, it has maintained its relevance artistically, culturally, and even politically through the decades. A wonderful movie.
Will any of the movies nominated this year wear as well? A few of them might, but I doubt that any of them will be as well-remembered as Casablanca. Which isn't to say that it was a horrible class of movies (I liked Up, Hurt Locker, and Inglorious Basterds. I'm still pondering A Serious Man. Both District 9 and Blind Side were surprisingly good.
Casablanca is tough to live up to, though, in the same way that Lawrence of Arabia would be hard to live up to.
All that prologue aside, Hanks' announcement of Hurt Locker winning Best Picture was a bit anti-climactic, wasn't it?
No Appreciation for the Classics
My wife, the lovely woman that she is, has no appreciation for the classics. For example, after fifteen minutes watching Caveman streaming from my Netflix account, she stated flatly: "This might be the dumbest movie ever."
Crazy talk. Ringo Starr has never been better (well, never been better as an actor, anyway) and neither has Shelley Long. Dennis Quaid, on the other hand, did go on to bigger and better things.
Maybe I'll make her watch the Dudley Moore anti-classic, Wholly Moses later…
Sunday, February 21, 2010
Misplaced Praise, Second in a Series of 562
Watching Sweden's and Finland's Olympic hockey teams beating up on each other, I was just informed that the "Titans will clash!"
Brilliant bit of marketing, that. I hear that when the movie is released, all of the new material will be re-branded. "Titans are clashing at a theater near you!"
(Warning: That is one slow loading site.)
Thursday, February 11, 2010
What Do We Want?
Global warming!
When do we want it?
Well, global warming and more muay thai on ESPN 8, the Ocho.
Thanks to Steve for sharing the good stuff.
Sunday, January 31, 2010
Spartacus: Blood and Boobs
I just episode one of Spartacus: Blood and Sand.
Well, what to say about that?
It makes 300 look subtle. It makes The Passion of the Christ look bloodless. And it has more boobs than you can count count. That last bit may not be strictly true. You probably could count the breasts on display, but it would take a sharp eye and strict attention to the task, which sort of takes the fun out of it.
That's not all. You also get ridiculously bad acting, over-the-top writing, uproariously strange sex scenes, and some full frontal male nudity for the women. What you don't get is compelling story-telling, interesting characters, or a moment's respite from the overly stylized presentation.
I enjoyed 300,, but this takes the same ingredients and, somehow, screws up the recipe. I would say that the urge to oversell the comic book aspects of the violence, with explosions of blood consuming the screens, limbs flying willy-nilly, and even the smallest moments of violence given slow-motion treatment and imposing music. The sex scenes, well-short of the graphic nature of pornography but exhibiting the same skewed sense of fantasy sensuality, is just as off-putting as the stylized violence.
I suppose that's a long winded way of saying that I thought that 300 stepped over the line of good story-telling and good taste in some of the same ways as Spartacus, but I still found something worth enjoying. This new Spartacus, on the other hand, left that line so far behind that all I could find was the urge to point and laugh when our hero's wife fairly exploded into a wash of blood during the climax of one particularly strange dream sequence. I'm sure there's something good about the show outside of its admirable commitment to gratuitous nudity; but, then, it fails even at that titillation when you realize that the writhing girls and simulated orgasms are an insult to anything remotely resembling real intimacy.
Don't even get me started on the mismatched accents…
Filed under: Culture Movies Television
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Tuesday, January 26, 2010
And Now for Something at Least Mildly Different
While I don't think that the US has fallen into a second Great Depression, I do think that we can look back and enjoy some music.
And when I go home tonight, I think I'll torture my wife by making he watch Cinderella Man. Just to keep the mood going.
Thursday, January 14, 2010
Lethal Drinking: Mashed Blogging
With the war between Conan O'Brien and Jay Leno--ably flamed on by Jimmy Kimmel (Seriously, did you see him on the Leno show tonight? The audience was getting uncomfortable by the end of that 10@10 piece.), and commented on by the wonderful Craig Ferguson--I have to admit to watching shows I wouldn't normally watch. Normally, I'd avoid Leno's crap prime time show, I'd skip right over Conan's awkward humor, and I'd spend my time working. So, late night wars and NBC's wholly inept handling of a bad situation have given me a little bit of a break from my usual rut.
Which is nice for me.
But it doesn't change the fact that it grows harder and harder for me to enjoy Lethal Weapon as the years go by. Not just because Mel Gibson's mullet is so outdated, but because Gibson is a boozy anti-Semite and Danny Glover is a dictator loving loon of Pat Robertson-esque proportions (the loon part, that is, not the dictator part).
Damnit, I used to love that movie.
Which brings me to the point. Drinking. Drinking is precisely the thing that helps us cope in times like these. In times where late night hosts are locked in cycles of anger and aggression, where Gibson can't be trusted in polite company, and where Glover poops on pretty much everything that gave him a better life than I'll ever know (at least in a material sense--whenever he opens his mouth, I feel significantly blessed on the intellectual side of things).
What was I saying?
Oh, yes, drinking.
In the Rockies? Blogger or blogging groupie or unreformed alcoholic? Or any combination of the above (which are beside and not actually above, but that's beside the point). Well, good, because the Bill with too many LLLLL's is calling out to all of us to come drink at the Rocky Mountain Blogger Fest.
Check it out here to, RSVP, and vote for a date. I'm planning to be there whatever date is chosen and I'm looking forward to drinking the memory of my own mullet into the trash bin of history.
Filed under: Culture Movies Television Rocky Mountain Bloggers
Tuesday, January 05, 2010
I Know She Can Get the Job, but Can She Do the Job?
I feel a little for Amanda Simpson because she's right.
When the focus of a person's career trajectory is on their status as a member of a protected class, then the automatic question becomes one of competence. Did she get the job because she's a sop to the gay and lesbian community or did she get the job because she's actually competent to do the job? I rather hope it's the latter and I'll happily give her the benefit of the doubt. It doesn't help much that this is an appointment (senior technical adviser in the Commerce Department's Bureau of Industry and Security) that would normally draw very little attention; the attention has come because of the novelty of the moment.
I'll be happier when we can move beyond focusing on the novelty and appreciating the professional qualities that drive a person--regardless of skin color, religion, or current disposition of dangly bits--to succeed in some very tough jobs. Give me the best person for the job, not the best demographic mix for the moment.
Good luck to her, though, in her new position; now don't let us down.
And if you have no idea where that title came from, you're poorer for the lack. Here's a clip from the wonderful Joe vs. the Volcano, one of my favorite movies of the 90's.
And for those of you who do remember the movie, here's a moment for you: after seeing the movie with my friend, Jerry, some time after my divorce, he looked at me and said, "I have some baggage, but, damn, you have Joe vs. the Volcano baggage."
Which, yeah.
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Still obsessing over the "can a grown woman wear socks" question? Us too. So how great was it to see SJP sporting a pair of grey over knee socks while filming the forthcoming Sex and the City movie - as we all remember from the TV show, whatever she wears on screen ends up in our wardrobes sooner or later. That settles it, then - a pair of Jonathan Aston ribbed over knee socks in charcoal coming up.
SJP image: Rex

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Several people who saw Keynotopia asked me if there is something similar for Axure. After doing some research, I found that most options aren't good enough. So with the help of a couple of designer friends, we created Axutopia, an awesome collection of Axure widget libraries for prototyping apps for iPhone, iPad, Android, Facebook, Web and desktop.
We've also put together a free Twitter bootstrap widget library for Axure that you can download and try out.
I'm putting together a design standard for the best possible widgets for date and time entry/selection. Anyone have examples that fit all or at least some of these requirements? I understanding that this is contextual and there is no one size fits all):
1. Supports multiple input methods – mouse (click and scroll), keyboard (explicit values as well as arrows, tabs, spacebar, enter) when the platform allows it.
Hi all,
I am a UI designer for a start up company and I'm conducting a
usability test for our web product for the first time.
I've read a few books including "handbook of usability testing"
and "a practical guide to usability testing", and I've read a ton
of resources online.
The product we are testing is a web widget which is going to be
integrated in other websites (blogs, portals, etc.).


text: For this winter season, the confirmed American Vintage collection is intensified with pointed details and refined soberness. Actually, this boutique for men combines the classicism and rock attitude. Making the happiness of the fashion addicted, American Vintage mixes perfectly the influences and materials. Besides, this boutique is located at 62, rue Tiquetone.


text:
I've put a lot of effort into the FractalTerrain module in the last couple of weeks and I made good progress since the last post. Since then I've implemented a couple of more Noise generator modules (like a Worley noise module for example) and improved the procedural multitexturing of the terrain meshes. I've also added some simple water shaders and a nice-looking skysphere. Also new is a landscape module, which generates some small terrain chunks (like Blockmania does) to support the fast generation of vast landscapes using multiple cores.
For the volumetric part I've added support for ambient occlusion to "simulate" global illumination. The module for generating the surreal terrain has been completely rewritten and now features small plateaus.
I can not release the complete source of the components. But if anyone is interested in any part of the module, I could write about some of the mentioned techniques and/or modules. Just let me know.
One Comment
This is beautiful!


text:
The Standard & Poor's speculative-grade composite spread expanded 16 basis points (bps) yesterday to 549 bps, while the investment-grade spread expanded 2 bps to 173 bps. By rating, 'AA' spreads expanded one basis point to 123 bps. 'A' and 'BBB' spreads each expanded 2 bps to 153 bps and 204 bps, respectively. 'BB' spreads expanded 13 bps to 399 bps, 'B' spreads expanded 17 bps to 582 bps, and 'CCC' spreads expanded 20 bps to 834 bps. Industry spreads widened across the board as well, by an average of 4 bps, leaving financial institutions at 267 bps, banks at 229 bps, industrials at 268 bps, utilities at 177 bps, and telecommunications at 289 bps. Spreads began 2011 by tightening through...
Standard and Poors RatingsXpress Credit Research provides in-depth coverage of international corporates, financial institutions, insurance companies, utilities, sovereigns and structured finance programs. RatingsXpress Credit Research lets users determine the credit rating of holdings and identify key factors underlying an issuer's creditworthiness, distinguishes the different risk exposures for new and existing deals, and provides an understanding of how their analysts interpret key regulatory, political and environmental events and their economic impact.
Research Type: Commentary
Criteria articles describe the thought process and methodology Standard & Poor's analysts use in determining ratings. These commentary pieces discuss both the quantitative (economic and financial) and qualitative (business analysis and caliber of management) aspects of the analysis, as well as legal issues.
Credit Trends: U.S. Composite Credit Spreads Daily (June 16, 2011) Jun 11
- June 2011
- Region: United States
- Standard & Poors


text:
Retired Intrepid Museum President, Bill White Books First NY Legal Gay Wedding at the Four Seasons. The guest list will include Barbara Walters, Anderson Cooper, Gen. David Petraeus and Bill and Hillary Clinton. GOP fund-raiser and longtime friend of Bill White, Georgette Mosbacher will hold a reception the day before the Four Seasons event at her Fifth Avenue home.
I am a lawyer by profession. Through my career, I have got lots of questions regarding law, crime and prisons. In this blog, I have collected the important details and feedback to users for their questions.
Thursday, June 30, 2011
Wednesday, June 29, 2011
FM Global performs annual inspections at all 17 Electrocomponents plc sites
Allied Electronics Achieves Perfect Safety Evaluation. Allied Electronics recently received a perfect score on its annual safety inspection by FM Global. The report is used for insurance underwriting purposes and to bring hazards and areas for improvement to clients' attention.
See here
See here
Posted by Law and Order Details at 2:44 AM No comments:
Tuesday, June 28, 2011
Dr. Jack Holladay is the inventor of the Brightness Acuity Tester
/1888PressRelease/ - Dr. Jack Holladay Article on Improving Toric IOL Outcomes Recently Published in Ocular Surgery News. He has also developed various software programs, which are currently used worldwide by ophthalmologists to help restore their patients' vision following cataract removal and obtaining the best results following.
Posted by Law and Order Details at 6:08 AM No comments:
Monday, June 27, 2011
NASA has been focused on human-robotic interaction for more than a decade
NASA, NSF Collaborate to Develop Advanced Robotics. The National Science Foundation (NSF) will take the lead with NASA and two other federal agencies to support the administration's National Robotics Initiative. "To help everyone from factory workers to astronauts carry out more complicated tasks, NASA and other agencies will support research into next-generation robotics," President Obama said during a speech Friday at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh.
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Monday, June 13, 2011
Luxury and leisure pontoon boat manufacturer Manitou Boats secures patent for V-Toon Hull
Manitou Pontoon Boats Receives Patent For V-Toon(R) Hull. On May 31st, Triton Industries was issued a United States patent (NO.: US 7,950,340) for their revolutionary V-toon style pontoon boat. The design is featured in every triple hull currently being produced under their Manitou brand name.
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Wednesday, June 8, 2011
Merge Healthcare Commences Consent Solicitation
Merge Healthcare Incorporated (NASDAQ:MRGE) ("Merge") announced today that it commenced a consent solicitation (the "Solicitation") with respect to proposed amendments to the indenture (the "Indenture") governing the company's outstanding $200 million in aggregate principal amount of 11.75% Senior Notes Due 2015 (CUSIP Numbers 589499AB8 and 589499AA0 and ISIN Number USU58948AA53).
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The Global Climate Observing System Reports on its 2007-2008 Activities
19 December 2008: The Global Climate Observing System (GCOS) Steering Committee has published a report on GCOS planning and implementation activities during 2007-2008. The Global Climate Observing System (GCOS) is a joint undertaking of the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission of UN Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), the UN Environment Programme, and the International Council for Science.
The GCOS aims at providing comprehensive information on the total
climate system, involving a multi-disciplinary range of physical,
chemical and biological properties, and atmospheric, oceanic,
hydrologic, cryospheric and terrestrial processes.
The GCOS report
notes good progress with the implementation and further development of
the System during 2007-08, in particular with regard to the main
components on which it is built: the Global Ocean Observing System; the
Global Terrestrial Observing System; and the WMO Integrated Global
Observing Systems. The report also highlights the preparation of a
comprehensive report on the GCOS to the Subsidiary Body for Scientific
and Technological Advice of the UNFCCC for its consideration at its
30th session in June 2009.
In addition, the report provides advice
for the GCOS Sponsors for updated governance arrangements for the
System and underlines the need for strengthened support for the GCOS
Steering Committee, Panels and Secretariat. [GCOS Report]


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Producers Guild 2013 Awards: 'Argo' Wins, Also 'Homeland', 'Searching For Sugar Man', 'Wreck-It Ralph', 'Game Change', 'Modern Family', 'Amazing Race', 'Colbert Report'
UPDATED WITH ALL WINNERS AND SPEECHES: The Producers Guild of America announced its 24th annual film, television, and digital award winners tonight during a ceremony at the Beverly Hilton. Cheers erupted when Warner Bros' Argo won the top feature film honor, the Darryl F. Zanuck Award. Ben Affleck exclaimed: "I am surprised." The thriller now takes the lead in what is still a very close Best Picture Oscar race. Because the PGAs since its start in 1990 have selected 16 of the 22 winners to that the Academy Award – a 73% success rate. And since 2008 (when No Country For Old Men won) the PGA has been on a 5-year hot streak.
Disney's Wreck-It Ralph won best animated film and Sony Pictures Classics' Searching For Sugar Man best documentary feature. Showtime's Homeland won best drama series. ABC/Twentieth TV's Modern Family won best comedy series. HBO's Game Change won for best long-form TV. The PGA Awards categories also include animated movies, feature documentaries, non-fiction programs, talk shows, competition shows, sports programs, children's programs, as well as digital TV series. This year, the Producers Guild awards special honors to The Weinstein Company's Bob and Harvey Weinstein (who cried onstage), Bad Robot's J.J. Abrams, Working Title's Tim Bevan and Eric Fellner, and Def Jam founder Russell Simmons. the PGA recognized several producers with honorary awards including Bob and Harvey Weinstein (Milestone Award), Tim Bevan and Eric Fellner (David O. Selznick Achievement Award in Theatrical Motion Pictures), J.J. Abrams (Norman Lear Achievement Award in Television), Russell Simmons (Visionary Award), and BULLY (Stanley Kramer Award).The 2013 Producers Guild Awards Chair is Michael DeLuca.
On the scene are Deadline Awards Columnist Pete Hammond and Awardsline's Anthony D'Alessandro:
The show kicked off with PGA President Mark Gordon featured in an opening video clip singing a parody of The Sound Of Music's 'Do Re Mi' with Hawk Koch, Paula Wagner, Michael DeLuca, Norman Lear and others complaining about the challenges of producing films. The lyrics included this line: "When your job is on the brink, you will be trashed on Nikki Finke." Deadline reporters say 'The place went nuts.' (I'm truly flattered by the diss, PGA.)
No doubt the longest acceptance speech of the night belonged to Harvey and Bob Weinstein in part because they received the Milestone Award from Robert De Niro, Quentin Tarantino, and Robert Rodriguez. De Niro took the podium first alone, saying "They've been my neighbors in Tribeca and have always been there for me… They're enormous. But I'm not afraid of 'em! (Harvey said it was OK for me to say that.)" De Niro ribbed about their Silving Linings Playbook: "When they came to me with a movie about mental illness, I asked which brother do they want me to portray?" Next came Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez who said: "Talking about them is like talking about how your family sacrificed everything for you. I watched Bob build Dimension, and when he believes in you as a filmmaker, he gives it his all. I can't think of any producers who sit with you and go through it line by line." Rodriguez then launched into a gruff imitation of Bob Weinstein. "He told me not to do test screenings for Sin City and he never questioned when I wanted to go from horror films to family films." Rodriguez recalled how ecstatic Bob became over the first Friday grosses of Spy Kids 3D. Quentin Tarantino took the mike and said: "It is safe to say my filmography and my career would not be the same without the Weinstein Brothers. Bob is always there to hear me when Harvey can't. To me, Harvey is the only game in town."
Everybody in the ballroom rose to their feet when Bob and Harvey took the stage. Bob spoke first, "There isn't a chance in hell I would be up here if it wasn't for Harvey. That's what he told me to say." Bob launched into the origins of their partnership, how he was making $35,000 in 1988 at Miramax and Harvey less. "Brad Grey worked for us and even then he thought we worked for him." Bob mentioned how he almost took a $60+K exhibitor booking jib in 1988 and abandon his and his brother's dream of a film studio. But then Bob passed on the job. The brothers gave it another go for a year and in 1989 released My Left Foot, Cinema Paradiso and Sex, Lies, And Videotape and never looked back. He also thanked former New Line heads Bob Shaye and Michael Lynne. "If Macys needed Gimbels, if Ali needed Frazier, then we needed them," said Bob. And to his brother Harvey, Bob said: "Like all geniuses, you are murder to live with. There is a 60-40 chance that he and I will have a fight before the night is done. Also thank you to Miriam and Max," ended Bob with a note to his parents.
Harvey took the mike and said: "I had no idea he was that funny!" In a teary speech, Harvey remembered how Bob and he went to the Cannes Film Festival for the first time, shared a mattress, and had Sean Connery ensure they weren't kicked out of a screening. He called Tarantino the company's 'Babe Ruth' and mentioned De Niro's generosity post 9/11. He covered numerous topics from how the power of movies obtained Nelson Mandela's freedome, the executives and agents like Brad Grey and Robert Newman who have passed through their Miramax and Weinstein hallways, as well as "my kids who are the best marketing research team in the world."
J.J. Abrams accepted the PGA's Norman Lear Achievement Award. Jennifer Garner presented, recounting when Abrams first called her in late 2000 with the script of the TV show Alias. ("The more he imagines, the taller his hair gets.") A clip showed off Abrams' TV and film work, including Felicity, Lost, Alias, Mission: Impossible 3, Super 8, and Star Trek. "Typical week!" quipped Abrams, winking at the headlines he made about his new Star Wars directing job for LucasFilm. "I stand before you accepting the Norman Lear Award. What the hell has happened to our standards?" The producer recalled watching Norman Lear's sitcoms as a kid in his family's living room, particularly All In The Family. "Like life itself, the nuanced dialogue mattered more tham 3D itself." Abrams poignantly segued to his late mother's memorial service last June. "I walked into my father's house and there was one guest who arrived first. It was Norman Lear. We laughed and drank. I was there once again in my parent's living room – with Norman Lear."
Bradley Cooper presented the Stanley Kramer Award to the Bully filmmakers, producers Lee Hirsch and Cynthia Lowen, citing the statistic that "every 7 minutes a child is bullied at school. Bully is about standing up, not standing by. This film continues to change lives." Director Lee Hirsch thanked Harvey Weinstein for distributing the film. "You made a lot of promises when you bought the film, and you made good on them. If there was one thing Bully gave people something to point at, it was 'This is going on at my school.'" Producer Cynthia Lowen added, "Bully was the result of those extraordinary voices of those families who were courageous enough to come forward with their painful stories and to make this film create change. We made this film for the brave kids who walk through their schools."
Working Title's Tim Bevan and Eric Fellner received the David O. Selznick Achievement Award from their Les Miserables co-star Anne Hathaway, who read a witty letter that their frequent collaborator Richard Curtis wrote to her about the pair: "They are decent men and they calm things down in post production. Love Actually was a disaster until they gave me two months. Fellner said: "Thirty years ago, we were trolling the streets of Soho, dodging hookers and perverts which in the end prepped us for Hollywood. If we get to do Les Miz 2, all those guys will be in the movie." Fellner listed his mentors throughout the years including Jeremy Thomas, David Puttnam, Brian Grazer, and Kathleen Kennedy. "These were people we wanted to be like. This is a tough thing we do. We are blessed. We see ourselves as enablers of really talented people, to make the best version of their projects. Years ago, we were looking for 70% of our budgets from the studios. Today you are lucky to get that percent of your budget from Harvey!" Tim Bevan followed. "I didn't think 26 years ago I would live a career like David O Selznick. Doing this with someone is a lot better than doing it on your own. People always ask me what my favorite point of filmmaking is. First day of principal photography is always my favorite. Then there's the magic moments in absolute moments of laughter and silence when you are with the cinema audience."
Russell Simmons accepted the Visionary Award presented by LL Cool J who praised what a force he has been with Def Comedy Jam and Def Poetry Jam. Simmons kept it brief and humble, talking about how he has recently transplanted from New York to LA: "I've been staying at Brett Ratner's house while I buy one here. Now what I really want to do is earn this award."
2013 Producers Guild Of America Award Winners
The Darryl F. Zanuck Award for Outstanding Producer of Theatrical Motion Pictures
Argo (Warner Bros.)
Producers: Ben Affleck, George Clooney, Grant Heslov
Ben Affleck and Grant Heslov accepted the Darryl F. Zanuck Award for Outstanding Producer of Theatrical Motion Pictures. (George Clooney was in Berlin.) The Beverly Hilton ballroom erupted in cheers when Nicole Kidman announced that Argo was the winner. Ben Affleck exclaimed: "I am surprised and I am not even in the PGA. I would be remiss to say that I am still acting." He went on to thank Harvey Weinstein for all his compliments in his tribute speech and Bob Weinstein who "showed me longer isn't always better". Grant Heslov said: "The hardest thing about this movie is working with two producers who are the Sexiest Men Alive. That puts pressure on me."
The Award for Outstanding Producer of Animated Theatrical Motion Pictures
Wreck-It Ralph (Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures)
Producer: Clark Spencer
Clark Spencer explained why the film was greenlighted: "I joined Disney 23 years ago during difficult times and always wondered when I should leave. But I always believed in the studio. There is a renaissance going on at the studio – and that is John Lasseter."
The Award for Outstanding Producer of Documentary Theatrical Motion Pictures
Searching For Sugar Man (Sony Pictures Classics)
Producers: Malik Bendjelloul, Simon Chinn
Malik Bendjelloul and Simon Chinn accepted the award from Julianna Margulies. Bendjelloul said: "This is a film about a man who lived his life as a constructor worker in Detroit not realizing he was more famous in South Africa." Chinn added: "It is wonderful that people are discovering the musician Rodriguez."
The Norman Felton Award for Outstanding Producer of Episodic Television, Drama
Homeland (Showtime)
Producers: Henry Bromell, Alexander Cary, Michael Cuesta, Alex Gansa, Howard Gordon, Chip Johannessen, Michael Klick, Meredith Stiehm
The David L. Wolper Award for Outstanding Producer of Long-Form Television
Game Change (HBO)
Producers: Gary Goetzman, Tom Hanks, Jay Roach, Amy Sayres, Steven Shareshian, Danny Strong
The Danny Thomas Award for Outstanding Producer of Episodic Television, Comedy
Modern Family (ABC)
Producers: Cindy Chupack, Paul Corrigan, Abraham Higginbotham, Ben Karlin, Steven Levitan, Christopher Lloyd, Jeff Morton, Dan O'Shannon, Jeffrey Richman, Chris Smirnoff, Brad Walsh, Bill Wrubel, Danny Zuker
The Award for Outstanding Producer of Non-Fiction Television:
American Masters (PBS)
Producers: Prudence Glass, Susan Lacy, Julie Sacks
The Award for Outstanding Producer of Competition Television
The Amazing Race (CBS)
Producers: Jerry Bruckheimer, Elise Doganieri, Jonathan Littman, Bertram van Munster, Mark Vertullo
The Award for Outstanding Producer of Live Entertainment & Talk Television
The Colbert Report (Comedy Central)
Producers: Meredith Bennett, Stephen Colbert, Richard Dahm, Paul Dinello, Barry Julien, Matt Lappin, Emily Lazar, Tanya Michnevich Bracco, Tom Purcell, Jon Stewart
The Award for Outstanding Sports Program
Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel (HBO)
The Award for Outstanding Children's Program
Sesame Street (PBS)
"The Weight of the Nation for Kids: The Great Cafeteria Takeover" (HBO)
The Award for Outstanding Digital Series
"30 Rock: The Webisodes" (www.nbc.com)
It is torture sitting through this show-
Whatever possessed you to attend…S & M?
Torture is waiting outside the Beverly Hilton in the limo waiting to drive y'all home.
Good lord, "Game Change," again.
Look, I've seen it and unless you're a "Sarah Palin hater" the film is incredibly terrible.
This over good stuff like "Political Animals," and "Hatfields and McCoys," Thanks Producers, for confirming you really a bunch of political tools.
Come to table 16 and have a drink
Gosh, I'd be really really disappointed if Argo went on to win Best Picture. It's an ok film, but to call it the best of 2012 – one of the best years in film – is an absolute travesty. Life of Pi, Zero Dark Thirty, heck even Cloud Atlas and Skyfall, were all so much better, all had so much artistic merit. Seriously, what was so good about Argo? Someone explain to me? Theme? Visuals? Message? Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!???
Never mind, I get it now. It's a movie about movie producers saving the world. Of course, they got it, haha haha.
"Argo" is all about liberal politics. Hollywood liberal Politics. Hollywood content, with Liberal Producers helming the product. Hollywood patting itself on the back for trying to do something good during the Iran hostage crisis. This of course because Liberal Hollywood does have a hard time coming up with true authentic liberal films to produce as they have very few liberal heroes and when they do find a story that fits their politics well it only well to reward it and as we know heaven forbid if they produce some film that has anything that conservatives can grasp as their politics like "Zero Dark Thirty". They crap on these films no matter the artistic quality of the films.
Holy elephants! Bitter much? Scrape the Romney bumper sticker off your car and move on. I'm sure there are better things for you to get enraged about other than liberal movies. Go attend a gun rally or an anti-abortion protest and cheer up!
Well said. Totally agree. Argo is an OK film, lacking an emotional core, but it's the best shot to deny Spielberg a boatload of Oscars and that's apparently enough for the anti-SS crowd.
Did you even see Argo? It's not Hollywood patting itself on the back. The mission wasn't anyone in Hollywood's idea, it was a CIA agent's. Argo's success has nothing to do with politics – it has to do with a successful actor becoming a competent director, and Hollywood falling all over themselves to give him accolades. It's happened before with Warren Beatty, Robert Redford, and of course, conservative darling Clint Eastwood. Starfucking knows no political boundaries, so kindly lay off the Republican BS.
Secondly, love how you're trying to co-opt "Zero Dark Thirty" as a film with conservative values. Last I heard we killed Osama during a liberal's administration.
Love your comments. 99% spot on.
Only disagree on the Eastwood part. He's no conservative. Heck, not even a republican anymore. He hasn't been one since the 1980's. He is listed as an interdependent with libertarian leanings. He even said at the GOP convention that the election wasn't about liberal vs. conservative or democrat vs. republican. For him, it was about who the best man for the job was.
Of course I completely disagreed with him, and thought Romney was the "wrong" man, but just wanted to clarify.
Argo has won the best of the critics awards, now one of the major guilds. It was the best reviewed mainstream film of 2012 on Rottentomatoes. It has made close to 200 million internationally. Yeah, that's worse than Skyfall, Life of Pi and ZD30.
One can love one movie without denying the credits of another. Argo is the best film of the year according to most critics. Love it or hate it.
Hopefully there is a best-director Oscar waiting for Affleck when he makes Whitey or Live By Night.
"Argo is the best film of the year according to most critics. Love it or hate it."
Wrong, that honor actually goes to Zero Dark Thirty. And it's only my second favorite after Life of Pi, a film with so much heart and soul. Best of luck to the actual best film of the year, anyway!
I'm sure you are just counting Metacritic critics. Just yesterday Argo took the top Golden Tomato. A much more democratic reviewer site than all.
So, not wrong.
Mohammed, Zero Dark Thirty won the most 2012 critic group awards in North America. That is what Haggar is stating. Forget about a rottenttomatoe award.
sp, that's not true, Argo did.http://www.hitfix.com/in-contention/the-2012-2013-film-awards-circuit
How pathetic to deride "liberal" Hollywood. What has the reiichwing contributed lately? Atlas shrugged part 2? If you don't have a dog in the fight you are not really in the game are you? Go back to watching glen beck on the Internet . Loser.
Reichwing? Lmao!!! I think I just found my new favorite political nickname term!
Btw, I wonder if liberals troll all the conservative websites as much as the conservatives seems to troll the liberal ones?
Couldn't agree more. It's a fine film but best picture? I'd add silverlining to the conversation and also concur about Skyfall in particular. It's the complete package but because its Bond it gets snubbed
SLP is good, but I've rarely seen that much overacting from multiple actors in ONE film. It takes great talent to achieve such a thing.
There were between 16 and 21 presenters for Ben's award…but only 4 got to speak.
Home land hand up!!!
I would of bought into Argo more if a latino instead of a white guy played the lead part. Seems like Hollywood is just a "good ol' boys club"…….
What difference does it make?
Actually you are wrong. Go to the critics top ten list part of metacritic and you will see that zero dark thirty is the most acclaimed film of the year. By the way, rotten tomatoes scores are only the percentage of good reviews a film gets. Metacritic is an acghal score
"Hatfield & McCoys" screwed again so "Game Change" can get another hand out. To bad Hanks and his crew don't know what hollow victorys they've been having, getting awards they don't deserve.
Game Change was forgettable. The team at HBO making movies under Len Amato makes the same meaningless crap with whatever movie stars or directors Amato has a creative crush on. His taste in films has the depth of a piece of paper. They used to make films from all points of view. All their films now are about how hard it is to be a middle aged white man. The content is loathsome.
Argo was an exciting, tense and at times very funny rendering of a true event. It didn't seem political to me — just good story-telling and a socko finish that had audiences applauding at the end. I don't know anyone who didn't like it.
Ben Affleck is a very good director; I think he deserved Oscar nominations for "Gone Baby Gone" and "The Town, " and the fact that he was passed over as director of "ARGO" was deplorable. actually think "Zero Dark Thirty" is a better more important film but "Argo" was a very skillffully done, excellently directed film and part of its success at the various awards presentation is due, in my opinion, to a well deserved sympathy for Affleck who has been unfailingly gracious. I wouldn't be unhappy if "Argo" won a best film Oscar. And shame on the Academy for snubbing Affleck and Katherine Bigelow and Tom Hooper whose work was superior to Spielberg's muddled direction of "Lincoln."
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GRAND RAPIDS, Mich.--- Consumers in West Michigan are more optimistic about what 2015 will bring.
In fact, consumers in this market are the most optimistic in the region, according to a new study released by Huntington Bank. The financial firm found local residents say they are much more likely to buy a new vehicle this year; 17 percent said they plan to purchase a new car, compared to just four percent in 2014.
Home improvement stores may also be busy; 47-percent of West Michiganders surveyed for the Huntington Bank Midwest Economic Index said they were planning some home renovations for 2015, compared to 32 percent in 2014.
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich.-- Local First and Boxed GR are collaborating this fall to offer the Local Treasure Holiday Box - a holiday gift box full of full-size and sample products and gift cards, all from West Michigan retailers and specialty service providers.
The box's contents are valued at more than $350, but only cost $32, making this limited edition gift a smart and easy way to give local goodies to those who love all things Michigan.
Unwrap the following items in the box:
The Grand Rapids Art Museum will be host to the 2015 the 1st Bridal Show of the year, come January 5th from 5 – 9pm. Additional information can be found at www.kohlerexpo.com
The area's best bridal vendors will be on hand to help newly engaged brides put the finishing touches on their spectacular wedding day. Meeting vendors face to face is a real plus when planning such a special event.
There will be bridal exhibitors there to help with Ice Sculptures, Flowers and Decorations, Limousines, Honeymoons, Catering, Wedding Cakes, Reception Facilities, Wedding Dresses, Tuxedos, Photography & Videography, Favors, Photo Booths, DJ's and Bridal Registry.
This event is open to the public with admission at the door. A $1 coupon is available at the site listed above. Information also available at www.GRBrides.com
The Girls Scout of Michigan Shore to Shore, Goodwill Industries of Greater Grand Rapids, Goodwill Industries of West Michigan & Goodwill of Northern Michigan are teaming up to make this dress drive possible.
This campaign will make a difference for those giving & those receiving. Those giving, it will help clean out closets, which in-turn provides giving back to the community. So, donate your dresses to ANY Goodwill Industries of Greater Grand Rapids, West Michigan or Northern Michigan store through November 14.
Then, get social! Share the "Every Dress Has a Story" initiative with all your social networks. Post your commitment to this campaign with the hashtag #EveryDress & share a picture of the dress that you're donating plus the story behind it.
(WYOMING) - Godwin Hardware is offering you the chance to learn some basic plumbing skills.
Join us for our annual free hands-on plumbing clinic where licensed plumber Brian Vance teaches how to repair the most common plumbing problems. We'll have snacks and a drawing for great prizes!
Thursday, October 16th - 5 pm to 10 pm
GRANDVILLE, Mich.—The back-to-school shopping season is here, and Macy's is giving customers a charitable reason to open up their wallets.
The department store is holding its ninth annual "Shop For A Cause" event on Saturday, Aug. 23. Customers who purchase a $5 shopping pass at any of Mel Trotter Ministries four thrift store locations can enjoy special discounts, entertainment and http://www.meltrotter.org exclusive events at the Macy's in Grandville. All proceeds from the pass sale will go to Mel Trotter.
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Long Road Distillers
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Saint Petersburg, Fla. -
Firefighters from Stain 9 responded to a call from Mitchel McNeally about trapped ducklings in a storm drain in St Pete today saving 9 ducklings while their mother watched nearby.
The storm drain was located behind the Old Navy store at Tyrone Square Mall, which is where the firefighters removed the drain cover and entered the murky pit to scoops up the lost and helpless ducklings who had apparently fallen through the cover's openings.
Nearby the mother was visibly upset and stood watch until all of her flock was rescues.
The ducklings promptly ran to their mother who gave the a good look over. The family then went on its way.


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Top Definition
Brown wings are an honour bestowed to a good chap who has had anal sex with a female (human).
Brown wings have an 'expiry time' of twelve months and are revoked after that period unless you keep up your 'air-time'. This constitutes at least one trip up bourneville boulevard from the initial date that you joined the Brown Squadron. Failure to do so will see you grounded,and no airman wishes that upon himself. Sticking your finger up her bum does not qualify you as a holder of brown wings, you will only be ranked as air cadet for this particular feat.
od uživatele Ring Commander Bear 09. prosinec 2004
Trending Now
Can you define these popular missing words?
To experience anal sex for the first time
"I got my brown wings with Sarah the other night"
od uživatele BM 07. červenec 2002
To have had anal sex, generally hetrosexual.
Dude, I just earnt my brown wings with my girlfriend last night, she was so shocked when I put it in her arse.
od uživatele CyberTech 14. srpen 2006
Another word for the act of eating out a girls asshole.
John is allways trying to redwing Jane but now he is trying to brown wing her being he only gets once a month to redwing
od uživatele troylevibenson 02. únor 2011
An "honour" bestowed on somebody who has just had anal sex for the first time.
Similar turn of phrase to when pilots are awarded their wings for flying solo for the first time.
Similar turn of phrase to when pilots are awarded their wings for flying solo for the first time.
"I fucked that slut Jane last night, she wanted it up the arse"
"Congratulations mate, you know have your brown wings"
"Congratulations mate, you know have your brown wings"
od uživatele Knob Ed 11. prosinec 2007
honour given to a guy who has given anal sex for the first time.
As in "have you earned your brownwings yet?"
"Have you given your bird one up the arse yet?"
"Yes I have earned my brownwings"
"Have you given your bird one up the arse yet?"
"Yes I have earned my brownwings"
od uživatele david sidebotham 19. duben 2006
Imaginary award earned by one who has eaten asshole.
Brian earned his brown wings last night when he scarfed Jenna's chocolate starfish.
od uživatele brownwings 03. duben 2011


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Paper Arts taught by Alton DuLaney
Learn professional gift-wrapping tips, discover the joy of pop-up greeting cards and spice up your living space with trendy paper decor.
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The International Myeloma Foundation held the Inaugural IMF - China Myeloma Symposium—Advances in Diagnosis and Treatment on October 20, 2007 in Beijing, China.
Dr. Brian G.M. Durie, National Program Director for Multiple Myeloma and Related Disorders and Senior Advisor for Hematologic Malignancies at Aptium Oncology was the meeting Chair. IMF Scientific Advisors joining him as faculty were Dr. Mario Boccadoro Director of Hematology at the University of Torino, Italy and Dr. Sundar Jagannath, Chief of the Multiple Myeloma Program at St. Vincent's Comprehensive Cancer Center, New York City.
Also participating as faculty were
The Symposium began with welcoming comments from Dr. Brian Durie and Susie Novis, who thanked the attendees for attending the symposium and their work in myeloma. She expressed the IMF's interest in continuing to collaborate with doctors throughout Asia to help patients and to work together to find a cure for this disease. She noted the IMF's long history of holding symposiums around the world to form collaborations with doctors and researchers and pointed out that it was in Singapore in 1993 that the IMF had held its first international symposium.
The day began with Dr. Durie's presentation—Myeloma 2007, which covered the biology of myeloma, etiology and epidemiology, staging and clinical applications for new technologies.
Next Dr. Wen-Ming Chen presented New Technologies in Diagnosis and Prognosis, focusing on genomics and proteomics, serum Free Light Chain Immunoassay, and biomarkers as treatment and prognostic factors.
Dr. Sundar Jagannath presented Current Approachs to Frontline Therapy. He broke up his talk into 6 modules:
His talk prompted many questions from the audience and led to an interesting discussion.
After a short break, the symposium continued with Dr. Jian Hou's presentation, Current Status of Multiple Myeloma: Perspective from China. Dr. Hou showed the incidence and features of myeloma in Chinese patients, the treatment modalities used, and what the future directions are for myeloma treatment in China.
Dr. Xiao-Jun Huang next presented the Experience with Novel Therapy in China. His talk covered the clinical application of Bortezomib in Chinese myeloma patients, and Bortezomib in refractory and relapsed patients, and then discussed what they have learned so far from this experience and what the future directions are in therapy for patients in China.
During lunch Susie Novis had the pleasure of meeting a patient who informed her that there is now a patient group in China, and he expressed interest in collaborating with the IMF to help patients in China.
The symposium resumed with Dr. Mario Boccadoro's presentation of the Role of High Dose Therapy and Transplantation in Myeloma. His talk focused on the current trends in high dose therapy, transplant in myeloma patients both with autologous transplantation as well as allogeneic transplantation: perfect match or mismatch of an allele.
Dr. Brian Durie gave the final presentation of the day with his talk on Current Clinical Research in Multiple Myeloma. He presented combination modalities of novel therapies, treatment of refractory and relapsed myeloma and ongoing clinical trials on Bortezomib.
The day ended with a panel discussion that included the entire faculty who spoke about how to improve therapeutic outcomes for multiple Myeloma patients and what the potential is for collaborations with Chinese investigators.


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Welcome!Michael Corey is a senior news applications developer at Reveal in Emeryville, California.
Recent updates
- Tutorial part 2: Create beautiful hillshade maps from digital elevation models with GDAL and Mapnik
- Tutorial: Create beautiful hillshade maps from digital elevation models with GDAL and Mapnik
- Google Maps API hands-on training, part 2
- Location-aware potholes map lives!
- Google Maps API hands-on training, part 1
News and posts Archive
Location-aware potholes map lives!Posted on March 9, 2010 | 1 CommentWe launched a beta today of our mobile potholes map, which features extensive use of geolocation using the user's Web browser. This has been on my and James Wilkerson's plate for a long time, and it feels really good to […]
Frustrated with all things BlackBerryPosted on March 2, 2010 | 1 CommentThis week I'm getting to sink my teeth into one of my big priorities for the year: building mobile websites. Yes, websites and not apps. I'd love to be building phone apps as well, but for now in the interest […]
New project: Killing potholes with user input, local government supportPosted on February 26, 2010 | No CommentsLocation awareness, Facebook Connect and the first time we've ever sent data TO a local government.
Denmark photos!Posted on November 27, 2009 | No CommentsLots of photos from my trip to Denmark are now posted! Highlights include Koldinghus: Tivoli at Jul, with København city hall in the background: Smørrebrød in Amagerbro:
Danmark, farvelPosted on November 25, 2009 | No CommentsI'm waiting groggily (not the Tivoli kind of grog) and a bit grumpily for my flight out of København. I've had a great time in Denmark and will have a lot more to say in the next few days, but […]
Danmark, her kommer jeg!Posted on November 10, 2009 | 3 CommentsHello, Denmark visitors! I can see some traffic coming in from the GeoForum site, and rest assured, I'm plugging away and putting the finishing touches on my presentation for Kortdage 2009 in Kolding next week. I'll be talking about the […]
Guatemala project wins national APME awardPosted on October 20, 2009 | No CommentsI haven't done a full project posting for this one yet (it's a bit older than this site), but clearly I'm going to have to now: The Des Moines Register's Guatemala: Hope At Any Cost project is a winner of […]
Buddy Holly, Parkersburg projects win regional Emmy awardsPosted on October 20, 2009 | 2 CommentsIt's been a long time since I've posted, but I can't forget to mention the biggest news of late: The Des Moines Register took home two regional Emmy awards last month! Buddy Holly: 50 Years After the Crash That Changed […]
The map that plays musicPosted on July 30, 2009 | No CommentsAndy Woodruff is a cartographer and developer who has been helping me out immensely with some shapefile functionality I've been struggling with for a long time (hope he's not tired of me yet!). I just checked in on his site, […]
New favorite wordPosted on July 29, 2009 | No CommentsNeocartography. It's what I do (at a relatively low level). Just didn't have a word for it. Thanks, Internet! See also: http://highearthorbit.com/sxsw-interactive-panel-neocartography/ http://neocartography.com http://indiemaps.com/


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The Fraud Advisory Panel and Charity Finance Group's new guide to reduce fraud against the charity sector
25 August 2012
The Fraud Advisory Panel and Charity Finance Group have today launched a new guide as part of a wider collaborative project to reduce fraud against the charity sector.
'Giving Safely: A guide to making sure your donations really count' has been produced by the Fraud Advisory Panel to provide simple, practical advice on how to avoid potential scams and how to ensure that your donations really do reach the good causes you wish to support.
The guide is aimed at individual charitable donors in England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. It is hoped that charities themselves will embrace the guide and make it widely available to donors.
The guide can be downloaded from the FAP's website in leaflet form or as a series of targeted posters covering doorstep giving, street collections and making donations online.


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Bicyclists of Altoona need to follow the laws when it comes to riding the roads.
All bicyclists - just like cars, trucks, motorcycles - are required to stop at red lights.
What I have encountered, at least on Chestnut Avenue, is that bicyclists are not stopping at the red lights like the rest of us.
They also are taking an entire lane of traffic away from other motorists thus forcing us to either come to a stop while others are driving behind or just go around them to keep traffic flowing.
These bicyclists were not children but rather grown adult men who just rolled through a red light on that road with no regard whatsoever of the other traffic including those in the opposing direction, which had a green light to go.
I hope that this trend does not continue in Altoona because it makes it extremely dangerous for all the other drivers out there.
If they want to be on the roads with us, that is fine. But how about obeying the laws of all people using the roads, which also includes bicyclists?
Paula Sherry


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► ASPCA 3-Piece Pet Gift Set with Bed, Pillow & Fleece Throw - $24.97 / Set
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Craftsman 6.75 Torque 190cc 21" Briggs & Stratton Rear-Bag Push Lawn Mower
This powerful, 6.75 torque Rear-Bag Mower is the perfect mowing option for homeowners. Featuring a large, 21" mowing deck, and EZ attach rear bagger with dust blocker, not only does this mower cut well, but it offers maximum performance with less cleanup.
- 6.75 torque 190cc Briggs & Stratton Platinum Series engine
- Ready start/smooth start & MRS starting systems for advanced starting with fast, reliability
- 7" front and 11" rear tires for maneuvering on all types of terrains
- Dual height adjusters with six positions
- 21" precision cutting deck with deck wash
- 3-in-1 mulch, rear bag & side discharge for more cutting options and easier cleanup
- EZ-attach Rear bagger with dust blocker reduces amount of dust while moving
- Mulch plug to recycle clippings and encourage a healthier lawn
- Front deck handle to clean easier
- Engine power values are as rated by the engine manufacturer
- Weight: 75 lbs
- Color: Black
- Some assembly required
- 2-year limited warranty
Specifications & Dimensions
Product Documentation


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it's what we call a cigarette, mix between "ciggy" and "smoke".
you wann go have a smiggy?
by Kelley March 19, 2004
Trending Now
Can you define these popular missing words?
Top Definition
A small woodland creature.
did you see that cute little smiggy run through my backyard.
gotta love it! <3
gotta love it! <3
by sssssmeggggg June 17, 2005
a word used to described a good or bad situation based on the tone used when saying the word
i found twenty dollars in my pant, SMIGGY !!!!
by Razewashere July 04, 2010
slang for cigarette
Hey I'll be back in a few minutes I'm gonna step out side and have a smiggy.
Im gonna go relax and have a smiggy.
Hey ill be back im gonnna go smig.
Im gonna go relax and have a smiggy.
Hey ill be back im gonnna go smig.
by 40ozToFreedom24 January 26, 2010
To Fart or pass gas. To release gas from your ass.
I just made a smiggy from eating that bean burrito.
by Danger T January 12, 2007


text:
Donya Renae Williams and Benjamin Lee Snead, both of Lubbock, were married March 20 at Westmont Christian Church in Lubbock. The Rev. Jim Snead officiated.
The bride is the daughter of Rhonda and Dwight Rogers of Amarillo. Parents of the groom are the Rev. Jim and Anita Snead of Levelland.
Honor attendant was Kara Williams.
Best man was Jeremy Snead.
The wedding reception was held at the Baker Building in Lubbock.
The couple plans a honeymoon to New York City.
The bride graduated from Randall High School and earned a degree in public relations from Texas Tech University in Lubbock. She works for Admarc Advertising.
The groom graduated from Levelland High School and South Plains College in Levelland. He is director of promotions at NBC Channel 11 in Lubbock.
The couple will reside in Lubbock.
© 2016. All Rights Reserved. | Contact Us


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NEW YORK - A corruption probe at the New York Police Department has cast a harsh light on how people get handgun permits in a city that boasts some of the nation's toughest gun laws.
NEW YORK - General Motors agreed to pay $900 million to fend off criminal prosecution over the deadly ignition-switch scandal, striking a deal that brought criticism down on the Justice Department for not bringing charges against individual employees.
NEW YORK - A federal judge put the NFL on the defensive Wednesday over its four-game suspension of Tom Brady, demanding to know what evidence directly links the New England quarterback to deflated footballs and belittling the drama of the controversy.
NEW YORK — A Pakistani man was found guilty Wednesday in a failed al-Qaida bomb plot after a New York trial that featured spies in disguise, evidence from the raid on Osama bin Laden's compound and the defendant's questioning of an admitted co-conspirator.
NEW YORK — A Pakistani man who's acting as his own attorney at a U.S. terror trial told a jury in closing arguments Monday that there's no proof he plotted with al-Qaida to cause death and destruction at a busy British shopping mall.
NEW YORK — When the trial of reputed al-Qaida operative Abid Naseer begins this week, jurors are expected to hear an opening statement from the defendant himself, the latest terrorism suspect prepared to act as his own attorney in an American courtroom.
NEW YORK - Three men accused in the latest Russian spy case didn't hide behind fake identities and weren't stealing military secrets. The evidence even suggests they were annoyed that their assignment wasn't more like a James Bond film.
NEW YORK — Big-city police departments and union leaders around the country are warning the rank and file to wear bulletproof vests and avoid making inflammatory posts on social media in the days after a man ambushed two officers and shot them to death inside their patrol car.
NEW YORK — The gunman who fatally ambushed two police officers in their squad car had a long criminal record, a hatred for police and the government and an apparent history of mental instability that included an attempt to hang himself a year ago, authorities said Sunday.
Moments before opening fire, Ismaaiyl Brinsley approached people on the street and asked them to follow him on Instagram, then told them, "Watch what I'm going to do," Chief of Detectives Robert Boyce said.
NEW YORK - The police killings of two unarmed black men came barely three weeks apart, generating immediate and potentially volatile outrage.
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text:
By Michael Moroney
It is no secret that our education system needs reform, but what direction to take and how to get there present a formidable challenge. Countless studies have shown that our children's math and science skills are dangerously below average. Test scores for eighth-grade Pennsylvania students have remained stagnant since 2005, and in 2011, about 61 percent of students scored basic or below basic on standardized tests. Schools continuously report failing test scores while our federal government pours unprecedented amounts of taxpayer money into an ineffective system.


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Joined Jul 2007
49 Posts
jetcat p70 vs wren MW 54
Guys im seriously thinking about going to the dark side and ordering my first 'real' turbine model. The new skymaster F-86 looks soooo nice and its not too massive to fit in my smallish car either.
On to motor options though, out of the p70 and Mw54 which would you rate higher?
Here in the Uk the p70 ready built is about the same price as an MW54 autostart kit. Add another couple of hundred for a ready built 54.
Which would be my better option? Wren are fairly local which is a big plus point but is My two hundred quid extra going to buy me a better package than the jetcat option??
Im eager to hear what you guys have to say
Joined Jul 2007
49 Posts
Joined Nov 2004
85 Posts
Well you are not really comparing like with like,the p70 is 17.5 lbs of thrust and the mk3 is 14+,the supersport would be the one I would go for regardless of price, the Wren service is astounding, second to none, I also think the service costs would be less.
But I have to say that the price Ali is quoting you sounds very good and I know he will do his utmost for you should you have servicing problems, cos he a great guy. The Wren would use a lot less fuel by the way.
At the end of the day the choice is still yours.
I have an old second hand Mk1 54 and am really pleased with it.
I have a Supersport in a scratch built model & my flying mate has the P-70 in a Baby Boomerang. The P-70 is a bit bigger & a bit heavier than the SS but puts out a similar thrust. I think the P-70 uses more fuel, he gets similar flight times as me on the same amount of fuel & my SS works harder as my plane is quite a bit bigger & heavier.
Both engines have run faultlessly although the Jetcat seems a bit less fussy.
The P-70 achieves the same thrust at much lower RPM & is quieter. The P-70 is completely different to the P-80 which is almost the same physical size as the P-120.
Wren service is second to none.
Both are fine engines ,if the SS & P-70 were the same price it would be difficult to decide between the two. But you are choosing between a lower thrust MW54 engine in kit form versus a more powerful ready to run P-70. If it were me the decision would be easy. - John.
Joined Jul 2007
49 Posts
Guys thanks for the input. I had originally decided on the 54 before i saw the p70 at such a great price.
@Boomerang i think you hit the nail clean on the head.... more thrust, ready built, great price, from a reputable source. The p70 is looking like a clean winner.
Thanks again.
wren had a sale on not so long a go which means they might do you a good deal try giving them a call and see what they can do for you, give them all the above reasons you never know !!
tonyabw60, I have only had one real problem with the engine. The legs holding the starter came loose on the second flight with the engine. From what I can tell the starter then rubbed on the compressor nut, was spun to a speed it was never designed to do & the resulting vibration as the starter fell apart resulted in the engine moving forward in the mount jamming the remains of the starter against the compressor nut stalling the engine. Probably someone failed to loctite the screws or some other simple mistake.
Wren repaired the engine very promptly with no questions asked & I took the opportunity to have the new FOD screen fitted at the same time so the problem cannot reoccur (now fitted as standard on all starter equipped Wrens, with Jetcats you still have to cobble something together)
I have had the occasional failed start but it was probably my fault pointing the exhaust into the wind. Using the recommended oil (Castrol TTS) it has tightened up a bit between use due to I think the residual oil being sticky on the bearings. A change to Mobil jet oil seems to have fixed the problem. I sometimes leave the engine for months between use, the Castrol oil may be o.k. if used more often. With every problem I have had Wren have been most helpful and have always answered emails very promptly. The Australian distributor, Perth RC has been very helpful as well. There's lots of new things to learn with turbines, I'm probably mr average, experienced at normal models & new to turbines. One thing I forgot to mention in my last post was that the SS has faster throttle response than my mate's P-70. I'm certainly a satisfied Wren Customer.
My mates's Jetcat has had no problems whatsoever, perfect. I cannot comment on Jetcat service as I have never used it. The Australian distributor is Intairco, another company with a reputation for excellent service so I expect no problems there. - John.
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