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CA:Problematic Practices
- 1 Potentially problematic CA practices
- 1.1 Long-lived DV certificates
- 1.2 Wildcard DV SSL certificates
- 1.3 Email Address Prefixes for DV Certs
- 1.4 Delegation of Domain / Email validation to third parties
- 1.5 Issuing end entity certificates directly from roots
- 1.6 Allowing external entities to operate subordinate CAs
- 1.7 Distributing generated private keys in PKCS#12 files
- 1.8 Certificates referencing hostnames or private IP addresses
- 1.9 Issuing SSL Certificates for Internal Domains
- 1.10 OCSP Responses signed by a certificate under a different root
- 1.11 SHA-1 Certificates
- 1.12 Generic names for CAs
- 1.13 Lack of Communication With End Users
- 1.14 Backdating the notBefore date
- 2 Other considerations when updating the CA Certificate Policy
Potentially problematic CA practices
This page contains draft comments about various CA practices that have been the subject of discussion in past CA evaluations. In general these practices are not explicitly addressed by the Mozilla CA certificate policy, and we do not necessarily consider them security risks. However we want to highlight them because they've occasioned controversy in the past and have in some cases caused approval of applications to be delayed. Some of these practices may be addressed in future versions of the policy.
Long-lived DV certificates
A domain-validated SSL certificate attests only to ownership and control of a domain name, and the owner of a domain name may have acquired it from others. It is therefore possible for the previous owner of the domain to have a still-valid DV certificate for the domain. If such a valid certificate (and associated private key) were to be used in conjunction with a DNS spoofing attack it would allow a malicious site to masquerade as a legitimate site and bypass the protection afforded by SSL.
Some CAs issue DV SSL certificates that have expiration times several years in the future. This increases the time during which the possibility of such an attack exists.
Important: According to section 6 of the Mozilla CA Certificate Inclusion Policy CAs who issue long-lived SSL certs must "verify that all of the information that is included in SSL certificates remains current and correct at time intervals of thirty-nine months or less"
Wildcard DV SSL certificates
Some CAs issue domain-validated SSL certificates that can function as wildcard certificates, e.g., a certificate for *.example.com where the CA verifies only ownership and control of the example.com domain, and the certificate subscriber can then use the certificate with any site foo.example.com, bar.example.com, etc. This means that a subscriber could establish malicious SSL-protected web site that are deliberately named in imitation of legitimate sites, e.g., paypal.example.com, without knowledge of the CA. Concerns have been expressed that wildcard SSL certificates should not be issued except to subscribers whose actual identity has been validated with organizational validation (OV). (There are no EV wildcard certificates.)
Email Address Prefixes for DV Certs
- DRAFT Re-Write under discussion in mozilla.dev.security.policy
Mozilla's CA Certificate Inclusion Policy requires CAs to conform to the Baseline Requirements (BRs) in the issuance and management of publicly trusted SSL certificates. This includes the BR restrictions on the use of email as a way of validating that the certificate subscriber owns or controls the domain name to be included in the certificate. CAs are expected to conform to BR Section 11.1.1 (section 220.127.116.11 in BR version 1.3), which restricts the email addresses that may be used to authenticate the subscriber to information listed in the "registrant", "technical", or "administrative" WHOIS records and a selected whitelist of local addresses, which are limited to local-parts of "admin", "administrator", "webmaster", "hostmaster", and "postmaster".
A CA that authorizes certificate subscribers by contacting any other email addresses is deemed to be non-compliant with Mozilla's CA Certificate Inclusion Policy and non-conforming to the Baseline Requirements, and may have action taken upon it as described in Mozilla's CA Certificate Enforcement Policy. CAs are also reminded that Mozilla's CA Certificate Policy and the Baseline Requirements extend to any certificates that are technically capable of issuing SSL certificates, and subordinate CAs that fail to follow these requirements reflect upon the issuing CA that certified it.
Delegation of Domain / Email validation to third parties
Domain and Email validation are core-requirements of the Mozilla CA Policy and should always be incorporated into the issuing CAs procedures whenever possible. Registration Authorities (RA) or other third parties performing such functions must provide attestations about their procedures and/or should be audited together with the issuing CA. The CA must demonstrate clear and efficient controls attesting the performance of its RAs. Delegation of domain/email validation to third parties should generally be avoided.
Issuing end entity certificates directly from roots
Some CAs issue end entity certificates directly from the root (i.e., signed using the root CA private key). This is not as secure as using an offline root and issuing certificates using a subordinate CA.
Allowing external entities to operate subordinate CAs
Some CAs authorize external entities to operate their own CAs as subordinate CAs under the original CA's root. This raises concerns relating to whether or not such external entities are audited in a manner equivalent to the root CA, as well as what legal and technical arrangements constrain the external entities.
Where a root from a CA signs an intermediate certificate used by an external CA to then sign subsidiary intermediate certificates or subscriber certificates, that situation needs to be disclosed. That disclosure should include documentation of what requirements are imposed by the CA owning the root upon the operations of external CAs. Further, the public audit report for the CA owning the root must indicate how and when the operations of the external CAs have been reviewed for compliance with those documented requirements.
You must provide a clear description of the subordinate CAs that are operated by external third parties, and an explanation as to how the CP/CPS and audits ensure the third parties are in compliance with Mozilla's CA Certificate Policy requirements as per the Subordinate CA Checklist.
Distributing generated private keys in PKCS#12 files
It is reported that some CAs generate the key pairs for their subscribers, rather than having the subscribers generate their own key pairs, and once generated, those CAs distribute the private key, together with the issued public key certificate and its chain, to the subscriber in a PKCS#12 file. The issues include:
- The user doesn't know or control who else possesses and can use his private key (decrypt his private messages or forge his signature), and
- The distribution channels used (e.g. unencrypted email) may not be adequately secured.
CAs must never generate the key pairs for signer or SSL certificates. CAs may only generate the key pairs for SMIME encryption certificates. Distribution or transfer of certificates in PKCS#12 form through unsecure electronic channels is not allowed. If a PKCS#12 file is distributed via a physical data storage device, then
- The storage must be packaged in a way that the opening of the package causes irrecoverable physical damage. (e.g. a security seal)
- The PKCS#12 file must have a sufficiently secure password, and the password must not be transferred together with the storage.
Certificates referencing hostnames or private IP addresses
The standard model for SSL on the web assumes that an SSL certificate references a domain name that is resolvable using the public DNS infrastructure (e.g., "www.example.com") or an IP address that is reachable from the public Internet. However it is also possible to include in a certificate a hostname not resolvable through the public DNS (e.g., "home") or a private IP address (e.g., 192.168.1.101); for example, this might be done for a corporate intranet with SSL-enabled servers behind a firewall and employees who don't want to enter fully-qualified domain names.
We consider this a problematic practice for a public CA because a subscriber who obtains a certificate of this type could in theory use it in contexts other than the one for which the certificate was obtained, and in particular could use it to help enable an SSL MITM attack on users in other organizations who are using the same hostname or IP address for their own SSL-enabled servers. (Depending on the hostnames and private IP addresses used, this vulnerability might also affect users of home networks with SSL-enabled home gateway devices.)
Guidance on the Deprecation of Internal Server Names and Reserved IP Addresses
CA/Browser Forum Baseline Requirements for the Issuance and Management of Publicly-Trusted Certificates, BR 9.2.1 (section 184.108.40.206.1 in BR version 1.3): "As of the Effective Date of these Requirements, prior to the issuance of a Certificate with a subjectAlternativeName (SAN) extension or Subject Common Name field containing a Reserved IP Address or Internal Server Name, the CA shall notify the Applicant that the use of such Certificates has been deprecated by the CA / Browser Forum and that the practice will be eliminated by October 2016. Also as of the Effective Date, the CA shall not issue a certificate with an Expiry Date later than 1 November 2015 with a SAN or Subject Common Name field containing a Reserved IP Address or Internal Server Name. As from 1 October 2016, CAs shall revoke all unexpired Certificates."
It is also a problematic practice to issue a certificate with non resolvable DNS or private IP and resolvable DNS adresses together.
It is not standards compliant for printable ASCII representations of IP addresses to be placed in any certificate field that is intended to hold DNS names, including the subject common name and the DNSName field of the Subject Alternative Names extension. There is a place in a certificate specifically intended to be where IP (v4 or v6) addresses may be placed. It is in the Subject Alternative Names extension. The SubjectAltNames extension has places for both additional DNS names and for IP addresses. The place for IP addresses takes them in binary form, not in printable ASCII (e.g. dotted decimal) form. See bug 553754.
Issuing SSL Certificates for Internal Domains
It has come to our attention that some Certification Authorities may have mistakenly issued SSL certificates to non-existent .int domain names. This appears to have happened because the .int domain may have been confused with internal domain names, and not all of the CAs and RAs may be aware that .int is an ICANN approved TLD.
Section 7 of Mozilla's CA Certificate Policy states that CAs need to take "reasonable measures to verify that the entity submitting the certificate signing request has registered the domain(s) referenced in the certificate." There are different interpretations as to what this means in regards to internal domain names such as non-valid TLDs, hostnames, and IP addresses. However, there is consensus that there are problems associated with issuing certificates for servers on internal networks under the same CA hierarchy as certificates for servers on public networks. Mozilla is currently discussing whether the CA Certificate Policy should be updated to add more explicit requirements on this practice, or even to disallow it altogether.
If you have issued certificates for internal domains within your CA hierarchy, Mozilla requests that you take the following actions:
- Perform an internal audit to look for certificates that have been issued within your CA hierarchy which have .int domain names in the Common Name and/or as DNS Names in the subjectAlternativeName. For each of these certificates, check to see if the certificate subscriber owns/controls that domain name, and revoke the certificate if they do not own/control that domain name.
- Review your controls/procedures (both internally and your RAs) for correct identification of internal and external domain names and verification that subscribers own/control the domain name to be included in their certificate. Please refer to these documents:
Mozilla also recommends that you
- Implement automated checks to signal a red flag for domains such as .int and null characters in the Common Name and subjectAlternativeName of certificates.
- Maintain your own list of ICANN approved TLDs that are eligible to be used for domains in certificates issued within your CA hierarchy. If a new TLD is created by IANA, make an explicit decision whether or not to add the new TLD to your list.
OCSP Responses signed by a certificate under a different root
CAs who issue certificates with OCSP URLs in AIA extensions should make sure that the OCSP responses conform to RFC 2560, and work correctly for Mozilla users without requiring the user to find and install the OCSP responder's certificate, that is, the certificate with which the OCSP response signatures are verified.
RFC 2560, sections 2.2, 2.6, 3.2 and 126.96.36.199 define the requirements for the OCSP response signer's certificate and certificate chain. NSS enforces these requirements exactly.
When an OCSP responder URL is included in end-entity certificates, Firefox will by default attempt to check the certificate's status via OCSP. If the OCSP signer certificate is not the certificate of the CA that issued the certificate in question and is not issued by the CA that issued the certificate in question, the OCSP check will fail with an NSS error code for OCSP, such as SEC_ERROR_OCSP_UNAUTHORIZED_REQUEST or SEC_ERROR_OCSP_UNAUTHORIZED_RESPONSE.
For a detailed explanation about why an OCSP responder should not use a self-signed OCSP responder certificate and depend on Trusted Responder Mode within the Firefox browser, see: Details about OCSP Trusted Responder Mode.
Please test your OCSP responder within the Firefox browser by enforcing OCSP as per our CA Recommended Practices for OCSP.
SHA-1 Certificates
SHA-1 certificates may be compromised when attackers can create a fake cert that hashes to the same value as one with a legitimate signature, and is hence trusted. Mozilla can mitigate this potential vulnerability by turning off support for SHA-1 based signatures. The SHA-1 root certificates don't necessarily need to be removed from NSS, because the signatures of root certificates are not validated (roots are self-signed). Disabling SHA-1 will impact intermediate and end entity certificates, where the signatures are validated.
There are still many end entity certificates that would be impacted if support for SHA-1 based signatures was turned off. Therefore, we are hoping to give CAs time to react, and are planning to turn off support for SHA-1 based signatures in 2017. Note that Mozilla will take this action earlier if needed to keep our users safe.
- CAs should not be issuing new SHA-1 certificates, and should be migrating their customers off of SHA-1 intermediate and end-entity certificates.
- If a CA still needs to issue SHA-1 certificates for compatibility reasons, then those SHA-1 certificates should expire before 2017.
- If you aren't sure whether or not your site is using SHA-1, please see https://shaaaaaaaaaaaaa.com/.
- Security Blog Post Regarding SHA-1 Based Signature Algorithms
Generic names for CAs
In various contexts Firefox and other Mozilla-based products display to users the names of root CAs, issuing CAs, and intermediate CAs in general. In some cases CA names are very generic, e.g., "Secure Server CA"; this makes it difficult for users to ascertain who operates the CA without undertaking a detailed investigation.
Our recommendation is that all CA names incorporate an organizational name or product brand name sufficiently unique to allow relatively straightforward identification of the CA.
Additionally, the issuer and subject information in the root certificate should provide clear indication about who owns or operates the certificate. Generic issuer and subject information inhibits the users' ability to establish a chain of trust, and to pursue complaints when appropriate. For instance, the following issuer information would not be acceptable in a root certificate to be included in NSS.
- CN = Root CA
- OU = Certification Authorities
- OU = Services
- O = admin
There is no information in this issuer that can be linked back to any particular CA. There is no distinguishable company name or brand name. All of the information in this issuer is too generic to do a search on and hope to find the CA.
Important: Both the O and the CN must be meaningful, and not generic terms such as "admin" or "root". It is not acceptable to have the O be a generic term such as "Admin" because it could mislead users that rely on the issuer details, such as when you hover your mouse over the domain or organization section in the address bar.
Lack of Communication With End Users
CAs should be contactable by, and accept and act upon complaints made by, those relying on their assertions of identity. For CAs included in Mozilla, this will include being responsive to members of the general public, including people who have not purchased products from that CA.
Backdating the notBefore date
Certificates do not contain an issue timestamp, so it is not possible to be certain when they were issued. The notBefore date is the start of the certificate's validity range, and is set by the CA. It should be a reasonable reflection of the date on which the certificate was issued. Minor tweaking for technical compatibility reasons is accepted, but backdating certificates in order to avoid some deadline or code-enforced restriction is not.
Other considerations when updating the CA Certificate Policy
Many of the descriptions of the practices above will provide food for thought when and if we are making further updates to the CA Certificate Policy. Other issues which might be considered at that time include:
Root Count Restrictions
It has been suggested that, when the CA cert policy is revised, we restrict the number of roots any one CA may have to e.g. 3. This is because more roots increases the download size of the product.
Restrict government roots to their TLDs
A suggestion for a future revision of the policy is: we should restrict government run/sponsored roots to only issuing certificates for the corresponding TLD.
There are, of course, questions such as:
- What defines a government root
- What if they have all the necessary audits anyway
and so on. These would need to be discussed.
Minimum Key Sizes
One suggestion for a future revision of the CA Cert Policy is that we should specify minimum key sizes, either just for roots or for roots, intermediates and end entity certificates.
The exact restrictions would need to be discussed, but doubtless we would take into account the views of our crypto team and advice from places like NIST.
Dates for Phasing out MD5-based signatures and 1024-bit moduli
Max Time Between Audits
It has been suggested that, when the CA cert policy is revised, we specify the maximum period allowed between audits. WebTrust currently specifies 12 months, and the same is (I understand) recommended for ETSI audits.
Actual Paperwork
It has been suggested that CAs should submit some paperwork by postal mail as well as electronically. A formal inclusion request and general details from the CA in question might help Mozilla in the case of legal problems in the future.
Apparently Apple and Microsoft do require physical paperwork.
Improve definition of "independent"; add idea of "trustworthy"
Currently, the guidelines talk about an auditor having to be both "independent" and "competent". It has been suggested that the definition of independent should be changed to be more like that the inverse of the MPL's definition of You:
"For legal entities, "You" includes any entity which controls, is controlled by, or is under common control with You. For purposes of this definition, "control" means (a) the power, direct or indirect, to cause the direction or management of such entity, whether by contract or otherwise, or (b) ownership of more than fifty percent (50%) of the outstanding shares or beneficial ownership of such entity."
Additionally, a new "trustworthiness" requirement would be added, which would address some of the issues currently listed under "independent", such as being bound to render a true judgement. This is because one could imagine an auditor who was (under the above definition) independent and also competent, but may nevertheless always provide "the right result" on payment of a fee.
Validate all Data included in Certificates
Only data that has been verified to be correct should be included in a certificate. All information that is supplied by the requester must be verified to be correct before it may be included in the certificate. For example, for SSL certificates, alternative names need to be validated just as well as the subject. And for email certificates, if only the email address of the certificate subscriber is verified, then the CN should not include any unverified element that the subscriber supplied.
DNS names in SANs
It would be appropriate for Mozilla CA policy to mandate that CAs put all DNS names for a cert into SANs. It would not be necessary to go beyond that and disallow CAs to ALSO ADDITIONALLY put one DNS name in the subject common name for the benefit of VERY old (more than 12 year old) browsers that don't recognize SANs. It is only necessary to make it clear that ALL the DNS names (not all but one) must go into the SAN.
Some CAs mistakenly believe that one primary DNS name should go into the Subject Common Name and all the others into the SAN. That's wrong. ALL should go into the SAN.
Then, modern browsers should stop paying attention to Subject common names (bug 552346). Doesn't matter what CAs put there as long as browsers don't look there.


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Hello Does anyone out there order and buy TRAMADOL online. I have been using this one website for about a year now but now the prices are going up to $100 for 90 pills. I have been looking for some thing cheaper and trust worthy. Please Help me!
Are you joking? Painkillers, on eBay? So, your question is: "Where can I find prescription drugs on eBay?" Answer: YOU CAN"T. And also SHOULDN'T buy anything requiring a legal, written prescription from a real doctor online.
Plus, Tramadol sucks anyway lol. If you are in pain, just go to an urgent care center. That's all they will prescribe you, and I promise, it's extremely cheap when you do it the legal way. Til then... try Aleve....

subset: commoncrawl


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This is the continuation of a series of flights I took for my sabbatical. The Perth portion was covered in an earlier trip report. After reporting back to base in Singapore, there were still a few more flights to complete mainly up north to KUL and BKK. I seldom lump two trips into one report but seeing how these sectors have been covered ad nauseam, I will just do a quick run through of the flights. SIN to KUL / BKK is after all one of the busiest routes one can experience in this region!
Singapore Changi Airport Terminal 1 – Kuala Lumpur International LCC-T
Air Asia Berhad
Airbus A320-214 (9M-AFE, ABL-Jet)
Duration 1hr 5min
Mainly pictures for the outbound flight with limited narrative. I thought the return journey would better to write about since I flew out from KL's LCC-T.
Renovation for Terminal 1 is more of less complete. Now it looks like a scaled down Terminal 3 so we've lost the iconic clack-clack gigantic FIDS.
Terminal 1 airside… Looks green enough. What are missing are apes hanging from the ceiling.
Some of the sights out into the busy apron include an unshowered Frenchie and a Lion who loves getting his tail scratched.
Let's see, who's going where tonight?
Jetstar recently started SIN-AKL / MEL with a pair of daily A330s. No wonder SQ is getting her underarms damp trying to get into the long haul LCC game. With Air Asia X up north - and in SIN we have Jetstar and Durian Emeritus Airways (who knows what the new SQ LCC will be called?), very interesting times ahead.
I know there's rioting in London at the moment, but come on! Margaret Thatcher would definitely throw her scented hanky over this shit!
Here's my ASEAN Basketball League vessel. No sweaty players on board, just indifferent passengers like me getting from point A to B.
A quick glimpse of my fellow passengers – included a pair of proud parents photographing their first child's every moment to a Falungong disciple who thinks she can attain enlightenment by meditating sitting crossed legged on the floor facing a pillar. This is an A380 ready gate which explains the larger than normal space for a departure holding lounge.
And in we go….
Air Asia hosties in tightie-reds.
Seat pocket junk. That's a lot of crap!
Approach to KLIA saw us journey up north towards KL before turning back south.
Arrival at 2015H saw this as one of my longest SIN-KUL flight to date, no thanks to airspace congestion.
With no check in baggage to claim, I headed straight for the exit to look for that elusive shuttle bus which would take me to an express train station to end up in KL Sentral. No luck, a sign at the ticket counter read "CLOSED. PROCEED TO DOMESTIC ARRIVALS". Headed to domestic arrivals but to no avail. Didn't see any sign for this mentioned service so ended up in the side terminal to take another bus directly to KL Sentral, negating the need for a train transfer. No big deal.
Kuala Lumpur LCC-T – Singapore Changi Airport Terminal 1
Air Asia Berhad
Airbus A320-214 (9M-AFL)
This trip up to Kuala Lumpur was at insistence of friends up there who were determined to get my butt into the throbbing nightlife that has come to be associated with this city. Thus, this rather out of habit flight to KL was part of the itinerary. It is actually much more convenient to drive up there from Singapore. Fun, there were lots. Food, there was even more. Clubs, there were only that many I could humanly grace. Plans for a "Sunday brunch" were thrown into disarray when I was rudely roused from bed at 4pm on a sultry Sunday afternoon.
"WAKE UP!!! You are supposed to be at the airport!!!"
Crap… I was running late.
Pathetic, I did feel like an aging party animal in this aspect. Didn't even get a chance to shower, we hastily dressed and rushed out into the car for a quick sprint to KL Sentral. Thank God I was a t-shirt / jeans type of man and had little hair on my head to tease.
"I thought you were supposed to wake me up for brunch?" I asked my friend
"I thought you were supposed to wake me up so we could go?" was her response
There was no winning this. In record time, I made it from bed to train in 30 minutes.
While the area for flights check-in was a picture of upmost tranquillity, radiating the charm of a mausoleum…
… the central atrium where several lines of inter-suburban trains meet was teeming with activity and human traffic. KLIA Transit was relegated to this area.
Hell bent on trying the KLIA Transit to LCC-T, it involved a ride on a hybrid express / commuter train to Salak Tinggi (this train eventually goes to KLIA via a few stops en route) before a hop on a shuttle bus for the final leg of the journey to LCC-T. Unlike the inbound, this time everything fell together seamlessly with well posted signs to show the way forward. There was no guessing involved where what was, and what was where. If only all facilities in Malaysia could be like this.
Malaysia's federal administrative centre, Putrajaya.
Salak Tinggi train station, before a bus transfer to LCC-T. Looks like a view we'd see after coming through the slimy birth canal of a giant bitch ALIEN and our face ends up in between her legs looking out. Ripley, here we come!
Configuration of the transfer bus had a most peculiar configuration. Makes it more comfortable, actually!
Arriving at LCC-T, I was keen to explore a little bit more of this airport because my last experience was rather horrendous with all the renovations going on, really a construction cess-pool. By now it should have been completed.
From the exterior, the LCC-T looked similar from what I remembered. However, real changes were on the inside. It has been expanded perhaps two or three fold. Retail and F&B options seem to have multiplied with all of them well placed at different locations with a little bit of something for everyone.
However this being the hazy, cloudless and sunny day it was, the very high late afternoon temperature outside was easily conducted by the metal structure of this terminal building into the interior. Air conditioning was having a difficult time coping with large parts of the terminal engulfed in a stuffy stench which was hard to hide from.
Heading into international check in area, it was filled with nothing but Air Asia signs and counters. Different areas were allocated depending on where your flight was headed to and mine bound for Singapore, was lumped together with flights destined for Philippines, Myanmar, Vietnam, Thailand, Cambodia and Brunei. My preferred aft window seats were all taken so no choice but to take the ones in front of the aircraft.
I find it very difficult not to be impressed by Air Asia's achievements judging by their growth pattern and balance sheets especially in such a short time.
Not wanting to feel left out, MAS and subsidiary Firefly inch in on the action despite not flying out of this terminal.
As Air Asia moves towards a self-serve modus operandi, there will be less of manned check-in counters in time to come – with more self-serve kiosks being placed throughout. My last experience with the latter was unfortunately unsuccessful because it failed to recognise my non-Malaysian passport. Hopefully this issue has already been resolved.
All thanks to the quick commute and fast check in process, I had time to indulge in a pet weakness of mine – Sheperd's Pie! But not before freshening up by brushing my teeth first!
I'd kill a guy for Sheperd's pie! I'd die for Sheperd's pie! I'd cry for Sheperd's pie! More importantly, I love to taste Sheperd's pie from all over to see how it doesn't compare to mine. Hahaha…
Soon it was time to head airside.
A glimpse into the distance at KLIA's satellite terminal…
Thought I spotted someone familiar…
Oh hello, 9M-MTD! How have you been since we last met on my flight back from Perth a few weeks ago?
There was nothing but MAS planes there but the immediate vicinity of LCC-T didn't yield anything more interesting either – it was full of Air Asia planes.
I did mention earlier how the interior of this building has changed. The difference between then and now is like night and day. Airside alone has expanded into the horizon with ample room for passengers to wait for flights, unlike the morbid mad house it was before. More shops have opened up (of course) with island counters peddling anything from Tune Mobile's (Tony Fernandes' telcom business unit) items to tasty Malaysian "kueh".
Then… Mar 2009.
At the rate Air Asia is expanding, it isn't any wonder why a brand new LCC-T has to be built nearby. Unfortunately this airline is being held at the mercy of feet-dragging government officials and the new airport's operationally-ready date has already been pushed back many times. At least some signs of construction have already begun.
At roughly 30 min past 7pm, boarding call was announced for my flight and an orderly process was ensured. To make sure we didn't walk to the wrong plane, the assigned gate was flashed on the LCD screen beneath our flight number albeit slightly smaller in fonts. I wonder if anyone had boarded the wrong aircraft seeing how there weren't any ushers along the way?
9M-AFL, my ride home to SIN.
We could choose to board either from the front of rear doors, although there didn't seem to be any specified pattern as to which one to choose.
Air Asia's interior needs no introduction. Typical LCC layout clad in smart black leather for all its fleet covering every franchise. It was indeed a full flight and I was relegated to the front just ahead of the aircraft engine. Boarding was completed very quickly but we still had to wait for our slot for pushback despite us being about 10 min early.
Sun had crept below horizon by the time we taxied. Since it was a night flight, views out of windows were rather limited to lights from sporadic kampungs and cars along the highway. Really nothing interesting other than looking at my seat neighbour's knees and observing how different they looked from mine.
Cruise time of slightly over 20 min, there were people who actually ordered meals. Perhaps they didn't know how short airborne time was.
Cabin darkened for landing in SIN. Some passengers across the aisle were still wolfing down their food quickly as we were on final approach into SIN. Take a note people, KUL-SIN flight time only allows you half a fart, at most.
2050H: Docked safely at Gate C11 which is about as close to immigration as possible at Changi Airport Terminal 1. I do wonder about these budget carriers sometimes who get assigned to these "golden gates" at airports. Do they pay an extra premium for it? This flight was really too short to experience any proper service. The Air Asia hosties did all they could and as far as I could see, not much fault to be seen. Although, I did encounter a Filipina stewardess on this flight. Could a Pinoy Air Asia be in the horizon? I sure suspect so…
Singapore Changi Airport Terminal 1 – Bangkok Suvarnabhumi International Airport
Thai Airways International (code share with Air Madagascar)
Boeing 777-3D7 (HS-TKA, Sriwanna)
Duration 2hr 10min
Before I could get settled, I found myself heading to the airport again after a day – this time bound for Bangkok. With bags packed and raring to go, I hopped into a cab for a quick ride to Terminal 1 again for the 2nd time in so many hours.
Quick summary of the outbound is in order.
Check in was a leisurely affair this being a mid-afternoon flight. Elsewhere around the empty terminal, the other island which had any sign of activity was – of course, the Air Asia one.
How lovely Terminal 1 looks now…
Sky rockets in flight, afternoon delights.
You've got to be kidding me. Have they started Business Class AGAIN after how many failed attempts?
I miss the GIANT black clacking flipping FIDS. These LCD ones are so boring!
Terminal 1, airside.
It's time for Air Asia to tell everyone to kiss her butt because she's just bought a stake in Malaysia Airlines!!!
Feeling lost, Jimmy wonders what to do after waking up from a slumber to find out he's missed his flight…
Dee khaaaa… The royal jumpee awaits my arrival.
I really love the way Terminal 1 looks now.
HS-TKA looked immaculate from the inside out. This plane, I am assuming, is TG's very first 777-300 which was delivered way back in 1998.
And in we go…
Look at this picture, makes you want to savour the floral scented scenery doesn't it? Makes you want to sniff your computer screen, no?
A TG welcome by the ladies is always unparalleled. So I was a little perturbed by a steward who was thankfully on the other aisle who remained in that same expression throughout the flight.
Oh hello, knee shot time!
Safety video failed to start leading to an urgent announcement "Flight attendants! Oxygen mask, seatbelt, lifejacket… Manual safety deee-monstration positions, please!"
As these poor girls ran to get their equipment and stood at their assigned locations, the video came back on leading to the stewardess near me to silently mouth something in Thai which I assumed could only mean "WTF?". Hahahaha…
Off we go into the sky.
All the 3 terminal in its entirety.
When you have 3 seats to yourself, make the best out of it!
Stretch out!
Past FL100, meal service preparation began in earnest.
Cabin was pretty empty where I was.
Very quickly - even before we reached Kuantan, meal trays were already being distributed. Two choices were offered (chicken or fish).
Fish curry… Succulent, flavourful, rich! Came with a Thai taro dessert and tuna salad.
Dessert was most interesting. A layer of glutinous rice with smashed pieces of tako (yam) held together with coconut milk, topped with a jelly fruit cocktail cocktail. The yellow garnished was best described as a heavily jasmine flavoured jelly shaving (??). Whatever the name of this is, I want more of it!
This caused service to be halted. It was bad enough for flight deck to yell over the blower for everyone to be seated, including flight attendants. The roller coaster ride caused spilled drinks on our meal trays, but it wasn't anything I have not encountered before.
Strapped in during turbulence, same expression from before – yes? Should he join the ranks of Wilma from EK? Madame Tussaude bound? Definitely not customer service oriented. Just as well he had a double chin.
By the time lunch and turbulence played themselves out, we were approaching the Gulf of Thailand.
A bit of shut eye after lunch.
By now, these ladies have changed out of their lovely Thai outfits into the ground uniform.
Coasting in over Meuang Rayong.
OMFG, is that a ghost of EK's Wilma creeping about?!
I wanted to try the express train to Makkasan this trip so decided to head to the bowels of this airport.
Of course, the interior cannot be compared to KLIA Express.
Nice view of the airport compound as train sped away from Suvarnabhumi.
Makkasan station. Felt like I had to talk in whispers because it was so quiet.
Overall the train + taxi option to the hotel saved me about 100 baht (USD3.00). On a quiet day like this with no traffic jam, I'd say hop into a taxi directly from the airport and save the hassle of lugging your bags on and off the train. Savings is not worth the trouble.
Bangkok Suvarnabhumi International Airport – Singapore Changi Airport Terminal 1
Thai Airways International
Boeing 777-2D7 (HS-TJF, Phanom Sarakham)
Duration 2hr 10 min
Recalling my unsuccessful nightmarish commute attempt to Suvarnabhumi during a weekday rush hour about a year ago, I decided to cater ample time for the taxi ride this time without any last minute diversions to Makkasan. While the express train to the airport is a God-sent for a city like Bangkok, it just isn't THAT much cheaper considering you still need to take a taxi to the station.
Check in was a little adventurous. Since I was travelling with a friend, the agent informed us we got assigned separate seats in the aircraft. However, he was nice enough to put a remark in the system for us to be seated together once boarding commenced. Apparently, this flight was 100% sold. Not surprising this being a Friday evening, it would have been a popular flight for those here on work trips returning home to SIN.
It's been a nice getaway and having 3 weeks' worth of holiday time at one go, that is pretty rare for someone like me. It seems as if everyone I knew was in BKK for the weekend because of a long holiday ahead, so I was glad to be avoiding the crowd. As I headed out for lunch earlier, throngs of eager Singaporean shoppers were already within earshot, evidently having arrived on the first few flights. Just hearing them already sent my blood pressure rising into stratospheric levels.
Not sure if I have gotten used to how shitty this airport looks airside, but it doesn't seem to offend me as much these days. Is it my imagination, or have they solved the air conditioning issue? No more warm spots experienced.
Just as I was mentioning how everyone is in BKK, I heard my name being hollered across the hall and there she was – a friend from Jakarta was in transit bound for Brisbane. F&B options were never the highlight for me at Suvarnabhumi, so we settled down at Mango Tree for a quick dinner which was good but not fantastic. I do miss the old Don Mueang Airport where TG operated a few splendid restaurants dotted about the terminal serving awesome curries and other mouth-watering Thai staples.
Meanwhile, my other friend who was travelling with me and didn't join us for dinner had already boarded first. I received a cryptic text on my phone from him which left me puzzled…
"I am going to kill you!"
Not knowing what that meant, after a shrug of my shoulders and a few looks into the mirror to make sure I looked gorgeous – the boarding gate D7 beckoned.
"Good evening Mr Soh…" ok, the gate agent seemed happy to see me.
"Hello." I replied, ego slightly boosted from this unexpected hospitality.
"Your friend inside plane waiting already. Now I put you two together side by side, ok?" she smiled.
Ok? Of course it was ok. It was all "OK" until I saw her scribble "50E" on my boarding pass. Oh no, THAT'S THE MIDDLE BLOCK! NOT JUST ANY MIDDLE BLOCK, BUT RIGHT SMACK IN THE MIDDLE-MIDDLE-BLOCK!
"Wait, wait… I want…."
"Bye bye Mr Soh, preasant fry ok?" she shooed me off.
As I held on to my boarding stub looking out into the dark towards the 777-200 waiting for me, it felt as if I was forced to purchase something I didn't ask for. I bought a pair of Calvin Klein killer boxer briefs which would have made me look like Mark Wahlberg back in the day, but instead when I got home - all I found in the bag was a pair of winter leggings meant for the Olsen twins with a little Hallmark card embellished with words like "let us remind you about our no return / no refund policy due to stupidity…".
Now my friend's SMS suddenly made sense to me. You see, both of us are plane fanatics and window seat whores. This being an evening flight, we had already planned for him to take the window seat since there was not much of a view outside anyway so no big deal for me. But now neither one of us could stare outside – what's worse...
"Mr Soh, welcome on board!"
… TG assigned a non-PTV 777-200 on tonight's flight to SIN.
As I arrived at 50E, my friend was already there at 50D with a pseudo stroke looking all contorted and unhappy.
"Enjoy your middle seat", he quipped dryly
Looking at the bright side of things, at least it was a bulkhead so it wasn't THAT disastrous after all. But my PTV… Where's my PTV? I had one huge white screen in front of me which I had to be a Chinese acrobat in order to look at it, either that or a giraffe with a really long neck. It was totally useless.
Seriously miffed about the seat mishap…
I……. can't…….. see…….
With that drama behind us, it was time to take in the surroundings of this refurbished plane. HS-TJF belongs to the first batch of 777s delivered in 1997. As TG rebranded herself some 7 years ago (Geez, has it been that long?), interior refurbishments were carried out in earnest resulting in this multi coloured concept for YCL.
Taxi out to the runway was painstakingly slow due to heavy traffic. Or it just felt like that since I had no window to get a gauge of our position?
For the first time in a long while, I had really no idea which runway we departed from. It was just a blur of lights from distant windows flashing by in a darkened cabin. From what I could tell, these undeserving window seat passengers weren't interested in even remotely perusing that hole in the fuselage.
Cologne in a YCL toilet. Not bad!
As much as I have raved about TG's catering prowess in the past, this is probably the first time a correction has to be made.
Dinner service commenced quickly as soon as we stabilised on climb and none too soon, a steward appeared and asked if we liked the prawn or chicken. Recalling the tasty orgasmic prawn curry from a last flight, I immediately opted for the former while my friend the other option.
Lifting the foil off, a hot casserole dish contained fried rice and an omelette.
"Where's the prawns?" I remarked rather loudly
"Sir, it's inside the egg." said the steward who was still nearby and heard my diva-esque tantrum
It was absolutely tasteless. The rice, omelette, dessert… I could not even finish the meal. Chicken was a stir-fry type with plain rice which wasn't a culinary delight either. Goodness TG, what's wrong with you? Did you run out of ideas - Fried rice and omelette? And that panna-cotta dessert - did you forget sugar? Dessert needs to be sweet? Hello? Ding dong bells… Anyone home?
Horrendous, horrendous, horrendous. Thank god for Mango Tree earlier on because I would have hated to board the plane with an empty stomach from an all-day meeting only to be presented with this meal.
Can't take another bite
With no IFE, we resort to our own.
Some of you might say "Oh if you fly in the US, see you if you even get a meal blah blah blah…". But darlings, this ISN'T the US of A. This is Asia, where passengers do not get urinated on while they sleep.
Thank god the meal was cleared away in no time and cabin darkened for passengers to take a cat nap before arrival.
Sigh… What sort of entertainment is anyone supposed to have on such an aircraft?
In no time, the aircraft nose inched downwards and arrival process commenced. By now, the TG Girls would have magically transformed themselves into their ground uniform as if by magic and giving out brooches of fresh orchids to female passengers.
One thing which didn't fail on this flight was the service. Regardless of male or female, this team was very much together in putting up a concerted effort to please.
That's the end? I am afraid so.
Yes, this concludes the end of a series of flights I took for this rather lengthy holiday of mine. No matter how long a holiday is, going back to reality is always a pain. But going back to reality feeling all recharged is another matter altogether.


text:
"Hell erupts and Heaven can only CRY." Comics? Bad for your soul, but I read 'em anyway!
Posted by: John Kane on July 9, 2011
Categories: Reviews
Tags: Ariel Olivetti, David Lapham, Deadpool MAX, Gene Colan, Iron Man 2.0, Jason Aaron, John K (UK), Marv Wolfman, Matt Fraction, Mighty Thor, Nick Spencer, Night Force, Olivier Coipel, RM Guera, Scalped, Shawn Crystal
I read some comics. Did a little dance. Wrote some words. So I guess this me asking, "Something for the weekend, sir?"
THE MIGHTY THOR #3 by Matt Fraction(w), Olivier Coipel/Mark Morales(a), Laura Martin(c) and VC's Joe Sabino(l) (Marvel, $3.99)
"The Galactus Seed 3: Stranger"
Galactus lolls about on the moon as Asgard engages in pointless fights and wonky dialogue and all the while the people of Broxton become ever more tedious! Also: Sif's bongos revealed!
This month The Priest With The Least is having problems with the concept of tolerance. Boy Howdy, those Theological issues are getting a real seeing to and no mistake. Priesty and his cronies are also now drawn with a somewhat demonic aspect. Hopefully this is foreshadowing their true natures rather than just ham handed caricaturing. Hey, a boy can hope even though the lack of subtlety or nuance in this thing is pretty substantial. There's just a total lack of attention to anything beyond the surface dazzle and bluster, both of which exist purely thanks to the efforts of Olivier Coipel. Rather than being an actual Thor comic the whole lifeless exercise comes across as a bad cover version of a Thor comic. It's dispiriting is what it is and that makes it EH!
IRON MAN 2.0 #4 by Nick Spencer(w), Ariel Olivetti(a) and VC's Joe Caramanga(l) (Marvel, $2.99)
"Palmer Addley Is Dead Part 4"
The notionally moving tale of a talented boy who fell through the cracks is eviscerated by a total disregard for the comics medium! 'Nuff said!
Oh boy, this thing right here. There are no less than 8 pages of talking heads and this follows 6 pages of a woman in a library simply gaining access to a file, reading it and being a bit upset by the contents. There are 4 double page splashes intended to be emotionally affecting but, alas, each totally fails in this due to the inept execution. Respectively these resemble: an outtake from Commodore64 version of Toy Story, an illustration to a magazine article on predatory sex pests, a scene from a fumetti entitled "When Bins Attack!" and an advert for Lego City: Urban Shooting Playset. This is a horrible comic because it isn't a comic it's an (ineptly) illustrated TV script. One that relies for any impact on the fact that you too have seen the same generic scenes and that you will bring the emotion you felt when seeing these scenes in a, hopefully, better realised context, to bear on this pallid vacuum and give it some semblance of interest or verve. This is not a comic and so it is AWFUL!
SCALPED #49 by Jason Aaron(w), R.M. Guera(a), Giulia Brusco(c) and Sal Cipriano(l) (Vertigo/DC, $2.99)
"You Gotta Sin To Get Saved: Ain't No God."
Paths are crossed.Secrets are revealed. Scores are settled. A decison is made.
When a character does something that's totally out of character? That's bad writing. But when a character does something out of character and then you realize they haven't, instead it was you who you had the character wrong? That's pretty good writing. If you've read this issue you already know what I'm talking about and if you haven't read it you best be waiting for the trade, lovehandles, because otherwise you're missing out on some damn fine comics. Golly, it was beautiful. I was thinking, "Of course. How convenient!", and then I ended up with cake on my face. The cake of fools. 49 issues in and these characters are still growing and still developing in ways which, while never predictable, are entirely consistent. It's easy to lose sight of the subtleties of SCALPED embedded as they are in the lurid and sensational aspects which surround them but they always rear up into view at precisely the right point. And the art, well, let's just say that R. M. Guera is often close to Moebius, and that's pretty much like being close to God. In a good way.
I may be a fool but not to the extent that I'd doubt for one second that Aaron and Guera would be totally okay with this being a TV show. Yet in the first instance they created a comic which worked as a comic. And worked very well as a comic at that. Ambitions towards other media shouldn't result in a lack of ambition in the source material. Yeah, the bit with the phone alone was EXCELLENT!
DEADPOOLMAX #9 by David Lapham(w), Shawn Crystal(a), John Rauch(c) and VC's Clayton Cowles(l) (Marvel, $3.99)
"Bachelor Party For Bachelors"
Bob's not getting married in the morning but is that going to stop his zany scarred assassin pal from giving him a night he'll never forget? You can bet your sweet caboose it's not!
I'm not proud of this but I should probably tell you that the last couple of weeks I've been pulling a "Bobby Shaftoe" and amusing myself by substituting the word "sh*t" for the words "Fear" and "Flash" in everything I read about Marvel and DC's annual sales spike stunt comics. See, and it's dead clever this, you get stuff like "Sh*t Itself" and Sh*tpoint" right off the bat and then the tag lines become "Do You Sh*t…Tomorrow!" and "Everything Changes – in a Sh*t!" and there's now a "Sh*t wave" covering the earth and, this is my favourite this one, Professor Zoom – The Reverse Sh*t!
So, y'know, I have childish aspects to my personality is what I'm getting at. So maybe the fact I don't find DEADPOOLMAX very funny is actually a good thing? You'll notice Kyle Baker hasn't drawn any of this issue which is better than him not finishing drawing some of the previous issues, which has been happening quite a lot. So I make a noise like EH!
DC COMICS PRESENTS NIGHT FORCE #1 by Marv Wolfman(w), Gene Colan/Bob Smith(a), Michele Wolfman(c) and John Constanza(l)(DC Comics, $7.99)
NIGHT FORCE – they force the night to surrender its secrets! If the night needs forcing that means it's time for NIGHT FORCE! When the NIGHT FORCE…my lonely heart calls! Oh, I wanna dance with somebody!
Ah, sweet Gene Colan. Gene "The Dean" Colan. Truly a unique and delightful force in mainstream genre comic art. Beyond the oft-commented upon use of shadows and light I always found his work very similar to that of Gil Kane but less rarefied and more grounded. Where Kane's work had an operatic fluidity Colan's was more workaday hustle. While Kane's characters soared and thrust, Colan's figures stumbled and lurched within a POV that was more hectic than roving. His work had life bursting out of every panel but it was the life of a bloke rather than that of a demi-god. You could aspire to be a Kane character given enough genetic engineering and a high tolerance for pain but you probably already were a Colan character. And although Colan seamlessly grafted his style onto all manner of genres his art possessed an intrinsic familiarity to draw the reader in no matter how fantastic the four colour shenanigans. He was The Dean. He will always be The Dean.
This package collects NIGHT FORCE #1-4 from 1982 A.D. The issues show Baron Winters recruiting a motley group of people with sad pasts in order to prevent supernatural evil elements from ensuring the world itself has a very sad future. Baron Winters is one of those oh-so-spooky chaps that appears never to age, has a different garden every time he opens his patio doors and owns a leopard called Schnorbitz. Sorry, I meant Merlin. (Obscure reference? Check and mate.) He's also under some kind of supernatural house arrest, hence his need for human agents who can move freely in the world abroad! So we have Jack Gold (bitter smoker with a poor employment record), Donovan Caine (a professor of parapsychology who has a wife and child who, let's face it, shouldn't be starting in on any DVD box sets) and Vanessa Van Helsing (a kind of psychic nuclear attack in the form of a lady). The three are manipulated into close contact via the Baron and the government's interest in Caine's experiments. Taking place on campus these seem to involve trying to open the Gates of Hell by stimulating Ms Van Helsing's nascent powers via the repeated application of orgies. Which is eerily similar to my experiences of not-studying at Coventry Polytechnic. Anyway stuff goes wrong and all kind of bad hoodoo gets a-cooking!
It's fast pulpy fun which is either enhanced or undermined, your call, by its attempts to try and inject some maturity into the whole exercise. There are references to "open marriages", "alimony" and, while the "orgy" word isn't ever used, it's clear that quite a lot of people are having quite a lot of fun in a confined space via the medium of physical interaction. Sure it's clumsy and unconvincing but kind of endearing. Of course it was all for naught as in 1984 Howard Victor Chaykin would demonstrate how to graft a more mature sensibility onto genre comics. But this was 1982 and Wolfman and Colan have a pop at it and it doesn't really work but, hey, they sure snuck a lot of stuff past the Comics Code.
There are many things wrong with this comic but pretty much all the worst of them are due to sloppy (re)presentation rather than the creative types involved. The last page in particular is a right horrorshow. I guess no one could find a copy of this page so they asked someone who had read it when it came out to describe it over a faulty phone line to someone with a cheap pen and the delerium tremens and then everyone just crossed their fingers. It's bad.
And, I really don't want to sound like Andy Anal here but, the paper stock is all wrong. Mr. Colan has gone to some effort use some exciting techniques, mostly with craft tint (is that right? That dotty stuff.), but these depend on a layering effect to succeed and they fail totally because the image just sits right on top of the glossy paper with exactly and precisely no differentiation between the layered elements. The paper also works against the inking which is too sharp for the necessary haziness of Colan's pencils. Okay, that was probably the case in the original but the old timey soft paper would have mitigated this while the new timey , oh, look even I can't believe I'm talking about paper stock, but that's just how much it doesn't work. It makes it look like Gene Colan doesn't know what he's doing. Gene Colan knew what he was doing but the people who assembled this didn't. Or did but didn't care, which is worse.
Still, it was The Dean so it was GOOD!
So, yeah, COMICS!!! Buy 'em from your LCS – I do!
26 Responses to " "Hell erupts and Heaven can only CRY." Comics? Bad for your soul, but I read 'em anyway! "
Iron Man 2.0 4 Decompressed Filing Is Not Dead Part 1
too much superheroes crap reviewed on this site.
try to muscle up some taste. Like read the newest GOON.
Tell us how you really feel, dude.
That crackling commentary got me juuuust interested enough to check out some goon previews on dark horse digital. Opened Goon #8. First three pages covered character Peaches Valentine grunting (muscling up some taste perhaps?) ahem a load of excrement into a diaper and then rubbing it over his own head. Then narrator shot character through the head while proclaiming it all a joke. At least it was a 6 panel page? No file cabinets were involved?
Well played Eric Powell. Well played. Cover trumpets Eisner Award winning status.
There's my preview review. Based on that preview it will be the only Goon I ever read in my entire life. Guaranteed.
John, you are the king of the comic blogosphere. Absolutely phenomenal reviews that made me laugh and made me think.
Spot-on description of both Gene Colan's character work and the perils of glossy paper. Seriously; Captain America 601 looked good but having to tilt the paper to get around the light reflecting off the art and seeing a loss of depth in the art was annoying. It's like better newsprint-type paper was vinyl and the glossy stuff is c.d. or mp3.
I'll take an old failure like Night Force over the current crosssover sh*t.
Some really sharp reviews here, and especially the take on Night Force. I haven't read those issues in years, but your assessment of Colan is fantastic. I could write thousands of words about how great an artist Gentleman Gene was, and they'd all be my struggle to say something as eloquent and concise as this:
"His work had life bursting out of every panel but it was the life of a bloke rather than that of a demi-god. You could aspire to be a Kane character given enough genetic engineering and a high tolerance for pain but you probably already were a Colan character."
You're raising the game 'round here, mister.
I have never read any Scalped before. But now I want to. You have intrigued me.
I too love the Dean yet never read this Night Force. I'm aware of its existence, especially of Baron Winters. His art is delicious to look at in all those Marvel Essentials, so I'm looking forward to finding a copy of this. Also, hinted-at orgies, haha :) Did Gene Colan do any other relatively more obscure stuff like Night Force?
So Matt Fraction kind of failed on Uncanny, and he's apparently failing on Thor as well as on Fear Itself. I find it interesting, considering how much people seemed to love him when he was just doing Casanova? Is Casanova really that good, or is the phenomenal artists working on it that elevate that series? Or is it Marvel sucking the good out of him?
Tried the Goon once, didn't like it very much. I'm assuming, mckracken, that you read Dungeon, if you look broader than superheroes? That's the one series I think every person on the planet should read. It's hilarious and awesome and they get some of the grooviest art on it.
And I like newsprint, so much better than current stock. Old comics feel and look right. Even 1998 comics feel better than today's. When you get a perfect storm of blacks actually looking black while at the same time the paper feels a bit old, then it's bliss.
I was just thinking about series I'd give to others as recommended reading, and it's almost always something more self-contained, not part of a larger universe. Yet the larger superhero universe is what first attracted me to both Marvel and DC. Does that indicate that both publishers have squandered the potential of their concept by ignoring the shared universe while at the same time having everything hinge on continuity?
And one can't say continuity doesn't/shouldn't matter because any great series I can think of (Lucifer, Preacher, Sandman, Swamp Thing, Y the Last Man…) hinges on its own continuity. Or maybe it's that Marvel and DC have a tendency to leave their stories unfinished/suddenly changed, whereas all the previously mentioned books don't tend to do that, they reach a proper conclusion and so everything that went on during it, served a purpose.
I dunno, just ruminating here. Got nothing to do with the awesomeness of the reviews. Thanks for the Sunday morning entertainment! :D
I think you hit it on the head with your comments on continuity. Those titles you mentioned were largely contained to one (or a small series of) author(s). Or, failing that, they were a series with a definite endpoint.
With all the sharp turns and quick changes continuity on a 20 – 30 year old book is like a terrifying game of telephone.
On the newsprint thing I've seen it put forward by tptb as a situation where the talent demands their work be presented to the highest possible degree of quality re: the paper and printing used (Wait, What?) Like these guys they're scooping off of DeviantArt and on foreign talent searches are gonna walk if it's not super glossy? Whatever. I think it's a chicken / egg deal because they can get more using glossy costs to justify the price.
Nobody cuts a dollar off a 3.99 product if they absolutely have to get it to cover costs. No way.
@Peter Adriaenssens
Gene Colan pencilled 8 issues of 2 4 issue mini-series of Nathaniel Dusk, a wonderful 1930s' detective series written by Don McGregor for DC in the mid-80s. The pencils were then coloured without inking, the whole effect is gorgeous. There is a good Gene Colan article at TCJ (see the link below) which shows the original art for the front cover. A Google image search reveals several scans of various pages from the series.
@Peter Adriaenssens: "So Matt Fraction kind of failed… Is Casanova really that good… Or is it Marvel sucking the good out of him?"
CASANOVA's pretty damn good, and I'd say this is yet another example of mainstream comics' own version of the Peter Principle — to quote Wikipedia, "'in a hierarchy every employee tends to rise to his level of incompetence', meaning that employees tend to be promoted until they reach a position at which they cannot work competently."
Fraction's failings are the latest example of the problem with DC and Marvel using indie and Vertigo titles as the farm teams for the superhero big leagues… and, unfortunately, what makes for excellent writing in crime / horror / humor /avant-garde-post-mo whatever comix doesn't always translate into spandex. Especially when part of the remit is to hammer one's square peg of talent into a round hole of Editor Mandated Event Plot Points.
So this isn't just a problem with Fraction — it's also with writers like Ed Brubaker, Greg Rucka, and Jason Aaron who clearly thrive on and prefer writing crime comics though the market forces them to write superheroes. And guys like Garth Ennis and Warren Ellis, who openly hate superheroes. And offbeat writers like Peter Milligan who have to check their eccentricities at the door. Or indie darlings like Judd Winick, who discover that their sins against superhero-dom quickly wipe out all the good will earned from their B&W underground hits. Don't get me started on Bendis.
Fraction showed off his chops in CASANOVA, a wild blender of a story that satirically pissed all over spy-fi conventions, with particularly skewering pokes at beloved Marvel concepts like SHIELD and MODOK. Now that he's forced to play with others and color inside the lines, and it's nowhere near as fun.
Some have suggested Fraction's IRON MAN annual featuring the Mandarin can be read as a complaint by Fraction about just what you describe.
Thanks everybody for the generous feedback (I think you are all nutty but in a nice way)and a whole bunch of comments which have given me some stuff to roll around the inside of my mind.
@kiwijohn is right that NATHANIEL DUSK is awesome ( so I should replace the copies I used to have) and that TCJ picture of Cap and a gorilla falling to the center of the earth is pretty much the best thing that happened to me all weekend. For the gorilla, maybe not so much.
I think DC are releasing a h/b of NIGHT FORCE soon so they'll probably print that on newsprinty stuff like the Kirby Omnibooks. Or maybe they won't. I'm glad everyone got that the whole paperstock thing isn't just an old man failing to move with the times (although I am certainly doing that too!) and more an aesthetic thingy. Anyway it'll all be null and void when we are cyber-eyeing comics in mindspace. Which is a week next Tuesday by my reckoning.
I shall now carry on thinking about the thoughts you have all raised in my head. Cheers, and I thank you all for your continued, yet inexplicable, interest.
"Now that he's forced to play with others and color inside the lines, and it's nowhere near as fun."
That's as much a criticism of the creators as the state of the industry. John Buscema may not have prefered super-heroes, but I don't think you could ever say his work with them suffered in comparison to other genres.
@Adam: I gave up on Fraction's IRON MAN a long time before that Annual came out, but I'm intrigued enough to check it out.
@Mbunge: You've got a point… but I can't help but wonder how much is the Industry (and editorial mandates) vs. the Creators. I mean, it appears the general motive is to revive / reanimate / reimagine existing characters and there doesn't seem to be a whole lot of impulse to create anything NEW. (I mean, I find it dispiriting that, with the keys to the whole Marvel U, Bendis has added virtually no major new characters to the mix — sure, he's infused some intriguing supporting characters (Jessica Jones, Maria Hill, Victoria Hand)… but mainly he's just been shifting the chess pieces: reviving Bronze Age characters and working in characters like Noh-Varr, The Sentry and The Hood from the last era (a decade ago?) where anyone was trying to add anything NEW to the Marvel U.)
"there doesn't seem to be a whole lot of impulse to create anything NEW."
When Marvel was in the comic book publishing business, they were interested in selling as many comics as possible. That's how we wound up with stuff like WEREWOLF BY NIGHT in the 70s and THE PUNISHER in the 80s. It's why the company used to do licensed comics because while most of them would be like STARRIORS or NFL SUPERPRO, every so often they'd get lucky with a STAR WARS, ROM, G.I. JOE or TRANSFORMERS.
Marvel today, even more so than DC, isn't in the comic book publishing business. It's in the intellectual property warehouse business.
"Bendis has added virtually no major new characters to the mix — sure, he's infused some intriguing supporting characters (Jessica Jones, Maria Hill, Victoria Hand)… but mainly he's just been shifting the chess pieces: reviving Bronze Age characters and working in characters like Noh-Varr, The Sentry and The Hood from the last era"
Oh, that's funny– I think of that as one of his strengths, actually, the way he's put characters like the Hood and Sentry out front. I've never liked anything I've ever read with the Sentry in it, and I don't know if he's done a great job on all of them– the stuff I've seen with Marvel Boy… seemed like he didn't have much of a take there.
But I think if you look how other people write those books– those characters would have languished otherwise, and he's not only kept them around but there's something at least a little gutsy about putting them in the pole position. And I think it's smart for everybody– it rewards the people who read that stuff to begin with, it advertises the older stuff for the new people, it maintains the illusion of the "universe" concept, etc.
Plus: say what you will but you at least can't lay the "he's only writing what he liked when he was 14" charge at his feet.
Where everyone's weakest to me is villains. Revitalizing old villains– I mean, it's obviously been done, but, power them up, power them down, whatever you do, the Wrecking Crew is going to be incredibly lame. Any villain that's been around a while isn't going to be scary– they're going to be the "get beat up a lot club." And having them comment on that isn't going to help either. (But then they're stuck fixing villains who are already too perfect to "fix"– old Red Skull >>>>> annoying lady Red Skull; old Red Skull is crazy perfect– he's a guy with a red skull, the end).
On the other hand, look at all the hoops they're jumping through to impress people with the new guy, Moustache Pete from Fear Itself, and maybe people are going for it, and going "Oh no, Moustache Pete is going to get me" or whatever but… I don't know– tricky job, that job…
"I think of that as one of his strengths, actually, the way he's put characters like the Hood and Sentry out front…"
I completely agree, for exactly the reasons you cite (even though Bendis's take on the characters makes me wonder if he actually *read* GM's MARVEL BOY or Vaughan's HOOD, or if he just skimmed their wikis).
But in looking back at his extended run in the Marvel U, I'm kinda stunned by Bendis's lack of ambition in actually CREATING new stuff. During Vaughan's brief run at Marvel, he gifted them with not only The Hood but the whole Runaways mythology, replete with the Gibborim, the Pride, etc. During Joss Whedon's brief stint in the Marvel U, he cooked up whole planets, Agent Brand & SWORD, a couple of X-rookies, and a whole waiting-to-be-mined Gilded Age superhero mythology with the Street Arabs and Sinners.
Bendis has been practically running the show over there and we've got, what… Maria Hill, and Luke Cage's baby and baby mama thereof. And Ronin, the superhero that can be any other pre-existing character.
Not a problem with just Bendis — it's a general symptom of the Big Two's malaise. @MBunge is right, it's now "the intellectual property warehouse business."
Why should they create NEW stuff? So they can sue in 20 years when obscure supporting character X gets the movie treatment or whatever? Even if today they get a better deal then Kirby or Wolfman they would be pretty stupid to invent the next Wolverine. They wouldn´t have ownership.
I fondly remember how exciting it was when the Wolfman/Colan series was announced after the exodus of all those writers and artists from Marvel to DC, and how this was a big disappointment.
"Why should they create NEW stuff?"
Uh, because they're getting paid?
I had not heard the old IMAGE argument for sooooo long. One remembers how Liefeld, McFarlane et al asserted now that they owned the propoerties, they could "quit holding back."
The slap at professionalism – both to their mainstream colleagues and at readers – was truly shocking.
I wonder if Rob Liefeld advised DC that he will have to hold back on DCnU Hawk and Dove. I'm guessing Jim Lee will be holding back on Justice League too.
I'm actually sympathetic to the Creators' Rights arguments…
(And @AndyD / Corey (Ottawa) — that "Image" argue is not an unfair one… for DECADES, freelance writers in TV & film have gotten screen credit and money when their characters were recycled by the studio. (Hence, the "created by" credits you see on films & TV shows.) Unfortunately, in the comics industry, writers' unions and Creators' Rights never really got off the ground.)
However, with Bendis, who obviously has a special relationship with Marvel's editorial staff, the equation feels a little different… part of the ongoing multimedia trend where the Corporate Masters are more interested in reviving / reimagining / reanimating old properties instead of taking a risk on anything new.
@Steve D and the rest of the threead since about #13 – I am totally sympathetic to creator's rights, having been in fandom long enough to have watched it with the Siegel/Shushter showdown in the 70s, Marvel vs Kirby in the 80s, the Swamp Thing/Jesus crisis, and the TCJ, Frank Miller and Dave Sim led fights of the 90s.
Two things I was trying to get across: I don't agree with the argument that its morally defensible to do sub-par work simply because you work for a corporation. You are a creator – please create to the best of your ability.
And my second point was that I'm not sure I see corporate malfeasance behind Bendis, with the suggestion he's being told to re-use properties in lieu of being creative. Could it not be he actually LIKES to use old characters, and give them the ole' Bendis twist? He's certainly doing that in Moon Knight. Hell, he did it with Night Nurse in DD. But there is new IP also, like POWERS and SCARLET. I think he has, like Fraction and others, more than once creative itch to scratch.
Certainly Morrison isn't being a stooge for the WB in bringing back Lord Death Man to avoid paying royalties, so why do we assume BMB is? (and I say this without any particular attachment to his work, which I currently don't follow)
So while (and I may be reading you wrong Steve D) I think you are saying that companies are trying to stifle creativity, I believe rather that it is because they haven't a clue about the marketplace. The old, "Kids don't want that, they want THIS!" line of reasoning, which gets the DCnU looking like its 1993, and gets Chris Samnee's THOR cancelled and his Superman stillborn, and gets 20 Bat/Spider/Wolver/ books. Kids love that stuff.
You may think (and you may be right) that nobody has an incentive to create the "next Wolverine" (Wolverine created by Len Wein and Herb Trimpe, who criminally, can't seem to get work).
Well, I think rather people are too afraid to create much of ANYTHING. As compared to the 70s, the line editorial cabal (not the exec editors, the working crew) are not former creators, but rather, now seem to be project managers. I think THAT is a very telling point. The market is now brutally critical and unforgiving, and nobody sticks with a book for a 'few years' hoping it turns around. Which is why, I suspect, we get re-hashed material and anodyne 'characters'.
Reusing old characters (Freedom Fighters or the Champions, as an example) I think is done not because people don't want to create new super teams, but becsuse it's felt to be safer as some segment of the market likely has an emotional identification with a property, and will try it, even if only for nostalgia reasons. I personally liked both of those.
IDW and Dynamite and Dark Horse and Moonstone and, and, and….pay big bucks for franchise licenses, because its seen as a safe way to get material out. Would Richardson rather have creator-owned Concrete, 300, and other books available as monthlies? Probably. But Star Wars, Buffy and Conan pay the bills. Do we need five GI Joe comics? I dunno, but how else will a "war" comic from a small publisher get published? Red Sonja, Phantom, Honey West, Dark Shadows, Galactica, Green Hornet, hell, even Doc Savage. "Safe." "Proven."
This all takes us rather farther afield than we started. Which was really on how great Gene Colan is and how missed he will be; how crushingly witty John K(UK) is; and how – yeah – the 80s were a pretty creative time, even at the Big Two. I just thought I was being seen as opposing creator rights or somehow opposing Image. I support the former quite strongly, and think the market is better for having the latter in it, whether or not I read their books.
Comics: I like em.
@Corey: Hey, didn't mean to cast aspersions… though I do object, a little, to the idea that it's a "slap in the face" or utterly unprofessional for a creator to suggest that he's reserving his best original ideas for materials he owns/controls.
Frankly, what editorial and many fans seem to want is simply clever rearrangement of the existing chess-pieces. (e.g., OMG, Bullseye is Hawkeye! Iron Fist is Daredevil! Thomas Wayne is Batman! etc., etc.) Frankly, a freelance writer hired for those gigs are basically being paid to move units and Protect the Franchise. Great storytelling and original ideas are, frankly, secondary concerns — at best.
Maybe Bendis is wise to this, which is why he saves his original material for the creator-controlled ICON imprint. I can't help but think it's also what the Lords of Marvel want — and arguably, what the fanbase, voting with their dollars, have demanded. As you point out, the existing properties are safer bets for publishers — as they are with movie studios, TV, gaming companies, etc.
But this isn't just about the conservatism of the audience — it's the conservatism of the corporate shepherds who don't trust any idea that isn't already a Property that can be exploited and owned. Christopher McQuarrie, who won an Oscar for the original screenplay THE USUAL SUSPECTS recently commented that in the current Hollywood market, "I wouldn't even pitch an original idea anymore."
Which is a roundabout lament for Gene Colan, whose work really shined in the most eccentric creations of early 1970s — he gave an underpinning of reality to the wild, free-ranging, groovy-gothic pulp of TOMB OF DRACULA and made the angst of HOWARD THE DUCK feel all too real.
And with that Steve D, we should close this thread.
For we are truly, all of us, trapped in a world we never made.
To be fair, hasn't Avengers always been about using characters who were created elsewhere? How many successful characters were actually created for that book – Vision, Mantis, and that's about it, surely?
[…] filler. The inner illustrations are rife with splash pages that have no reason to exist at all. This guy with the first name that defines a real man tells is just like it is. The art tricycle has been […]


text:
Saturday, April 16, 2011 - Trial 2
Related Results
Saturday, April 16 (Trial 1)
Saturday, April 16 (Trial 2)
Sunday, April 17 (Trial 3)
Sunday, April 17 (Trial 4)
-- Kathryn Albrecht--
Ch. Kandansk Amun-Re Sheldaro
Owner/Breeder: Kandansk Poodles
Judge: Katherine Stoner
Golden Retriever OTCh Wynwoods Rising Son
|Novice A - Katherine Stoner
|No Qualifiers
|Novice B - Katherine Stoner
|No Qualifiers
|Open A - Katherine Stoner
|No Qualifiers
|Open B - Katherine Stoner
|OTCh Wynwoods Rising Son
|Golden Retriever
|Peter & Rose Tomicic
|Mach Ten Mataya
|Belgian Shepherd Dog
|Anne Stockman
|Braewood Class Action
|American Cocker Spaniel
|Fred & June Schreiber
|Paevalley's Bring On The Rain
|Labrador Retriever
|Mickey Weyenberg
|Utility - Katherine Stoner
|OTCh Wynwoods Rising Son
|Golden Retriever
|Peter & Rose Tomicic
|Ch Trymine Xzotic Flair V Domtom
|Doberman Pinscher
|Tamara Champagne
|Ch Kandansk Lucky Charmed One
|Standard Poodle
|Kathryn Albrecht
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"Voters approve tax, bus service continues"
"The buses are back.On Tuesday, Island County voters cast a collective vote in support of Island Transit, approving a 0.3 percent sales tax hike for the transit system.The $1.6 million the tax hike represents will mostly fill the budgetary hole at Island Transit created by Initiative 695. The initiative slashed car tab prices, as well as Washington's public transit budgets, when voters approved the measure in November.In the aftermath of the I-695 vote, Island Transit ended its Saturday bus service and was looking to make drastic weekday service reductions later this year. The new sales tax, in addition to another 0.3 percent sales tax approved in 1983, will bring the transit system's 2000 budget to 80 percent of its 1999 budget.Island County residents gave resounding support to the tax hike, with an unofficial 59 percent of the total 6,580 votes cast coming up yes in favor of transit. Martha Rose, Island Transit's director, said Thursday that heavy support from South and Central Whidbey made the difference.Thank you, thank you, thank you South Whidbey, Rose said. Even as staffers in the Island County Auditor's Office were counting the last 350 transit ballots Thursday afternoon, it was business as usual for bus drivers on their regular routes. For the 4 p.m. run at the Clinton ferry dock, some commuters climbed aboard for a short trip to the Clinton park and ride, while others settled in for the long trip to Oak Harbor.Bill Hocksberger, one of the afternoon drivers, was all smiles when his regulars boarded the bus. Hocksberger retired Friday, a move that would have eased staff reductions had the sales tax measure failed at the polls. But many drivers would still have been laid off if the tax measure had failed.As the situation stands now, Rose said, Island Transit must hire a number of new drivers before it can start Saturday service again.We're going to get Saturday going as soon as possible, she said.Riders at the ferry dock were pleased to know that their ride to work would continue to run. Amanda Howell, who works at Shirley's restaurant on the dock, said she would have hated to lose her ride.I've very glad because I'm without a car right now, Howell said. But some Island County citizens who opposed the tax were disappointed after the votes were tallied. Reece Rose (no relation to Martha), campaign manager for Citizens for Fair Transit, said her group preferred to see a fare box installed aboard the buses. There is no reason, she said, for all Island County taxpayers to foot the bill for bus riders. We don't want this to be an entitlement, she said. Martha Rose said Island Transit welcomes continued input from the Fair Transit group. She said a years-old debate over whether to charge fares aboard buses -- one objective of the Fair Transit group -- will undoubtedly continue, even with the new tax support. The transit system will have to take some budget-cutting measures over the next few months, since the new tax does not give the system the same amount of funding it was used to. Those cuts will show up in a few of the system's existing routes.On South Whidbey, the Scatchet Head-Langley feeder route could be cut back to one bus every other hour. On North Whidbey, routes 2, 3, and 9 might be combined. Martha Rose said Island Transit will not make any changes until it holds community meetings in the areas that might be affected by route changes.The sales tax increase will not take effect for four to five months because the state needs time to notify Island County businesses of the change.The only other issue on the election ballot Tuesday was in Oak Harbor where the school district was trying to pass a maintenance and operations levy. It needed 60 percent approval to pass but didn't even hit 50 percent. Oak Harbor hasn't passed a major school levy since the 1970s.Bus tax, by the numbersCountywide, 59 percent of the 6,580 voters who cast ballots Tuesday in the Island Transit election approved of a sales tax hike to fund the transit system. Broken down by precincts, South Whidbey had the highest approval rating at more than 77 percent. Unincorporated North Whidbey voters turned out in the greatest numbers, but 52 percent of its 1,684 voters cast ballots against increased transit funding.South Whidbey - 77.5% yes, 22.5% noCentral Whidbey - 73% yes, 27% noCamano - 57% yes, 43% no North Whidbey - 48% yes, 52% noOak Harbor - 54.5% yes, 45.5% no "
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Join the festivities during Historic Holidays at Fosterfields Living Historical Farm in Morris Township on Thursday, Dec. 6; Friday, Dec. 7; and Saturday, Dec. 8, from noon to 4 p.m. Experience what a 1920s Christmas could have been like for the resident Farm Superintendent Edward Woods and his family.
After a wagon ride to the farm, explore British baking and decorating traditions. Meet the farm animals and help with chores, such as cracking corn and feeding the hungry chickens. Lend your voice to sing Christmas carols, and see how the house has been decorated for Christmas.
Stop by the visitors' center to see the interactive Transportation Exhibit and Caroline Foster's restored 1922 Model "T" Ford. Each day the Center holds different special holiday craft activities.
Admission for The Woods Family Country Christmas is $6 for adults, $5 for seniors (65+), $4 for children ages 4 to 16, and $2 for children ages 2 and 3; free for ages 2 and under and Friends members.
Morris County Park Commission, is one of the region's best park systems in the state of New Jersey, currently protects and maintains 18,600 acres at 38 distinct sites and a year-round calendar of events and activities.


text: Based in Jerusalem, Heartbeat is an international non-profit organization uniting musicians, educators, and students to build mutual understanding and transform conflict through the power of music. Founded in 2007 under a Fulbright-MTVu award, Heartbeat creates opportunities and spaces for young Israeli and Palestinian musicians to work together, hear each other, and amplify their voices to influence the world around them. Sharing in sustained music-based dialogue, Heartbeat youth develop creative nonviolent tools to express themselves and become a voice for their communities. Check out Heartbeat's website for more information: http://www.heartbeat.fm/ [3]


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SEOUL, Oct 13 (Reuters) – South Korean President Lee Myung-bak said on Tuesday it was premature for the country to end its crisis management status, saying the world economy was not out of the woods yet. (more…)
Financial Regulatory Forum
G20 takes charge of world economy at U.S. summit
By Sumeet Desai and Chris Buckley
PITTSBURGH, Sept 25 (Reuters) – The Group of 20 will become the forum for global economic management, giving rising powers such as China more clout, and roll out tougher rules on bank capital by the end of 2012, a draft communique said on Friday. (more…)
EU to support stimulus, push on trade talks at G20
By Jan Strupczewski
BRUSSELS, Sept 16 (Reuters) – The European Union will support maintaining policies that poured trillions of dollars into economies and call on a G20 meeting for progress on trade talks to help boost a recovery, a draft policy document said.
Major central banks, regulators working on exit strategy system – official
PARIS, Sept 15 (Reuters) – Central bankers are working on a system to ensure they coordinate exit strategies to avoid any untoward consequences of removing stimulus at different times, a Financial Stability Board official said on Tuesday.


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Lawrence Yun, Chief Economist and Senior Vice President of Research at the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS, will provide economic data and commercial real estate trends that will provide direction for 2014 and beyond. Yun directs research activity for the association and regularly provides commentary on real estate market trends for its 1 million REALTOR members. Dr. Yun creates NAR's forecasts and participates in many economic forecasting panels, including Blue Chip and the Harvard University Industrial Economist Council. He appears regularly on financial news outlets, is a frequent speaker at real estate conferences throughout the United States, and has testified before Congress. USA Today in 2008 listed him among the top 10 economic forecasters in the country and he has been named among the 100 Most Influential Real Estate Leaders by INMAN News. Dr. Yun received his undergraduate degree from Purdue University and earned his Ph.D. from the University of Maryland at College Park. The commercial real estate & economic outlook session has had a consistent place of importance on the agenda throughout the history of ACREcon.
Martin A. Mayer, President & CEO of Stirling Properties, will deliver the keynote address for the 2014 Alabama Commercial Real Estate Conference & Expo to be held on February 7th at the Cahaba Grand Conference Center in Birmingham. The real estate education conference is presented by the Alabama Center for Real Estate located within the Culverhouse College of Commerce at the University of Alabama.
Mayer will share why his 37 year-old Louisiana-based company is bullish on the future of Alabama's business environment and commercial real estate market and why Stirling recently decided to setup shop in Mobile, AL.
Stirling Properties is one of the most diversified full-service commercial real estate companies in the country. Regionally focused and nationally acclaimed, Stirling utilizes a comprehensive set of resources and a team of trusted experts in Brokerage Services, Development and Redevelopment, Acquisitions and Investments, and Property and Asset Management over a wide array of property types to deliver long-term value to their clients across the Gulf South.
Grayson Glaze, ACRE executive director points out that "Successful companies will foster an environment that rewards creativity and innovation, remain flexible, diverse and responsive. Future success requires thought leadership, which is the key to sustainability, productivity, profitability and growth. It sets the tone, provides the vision, and brings out the best in people and will be the topic of the conference's keynote address at lunch. As we enter 2014, what can you do to ensure that your business is not just one of the survivors, but one that prospers under new market realities? More than ever, companies must engage rapidly changing market conditions, competitive pressures, and shifting customer demands and expectations, to look ahead and put themselves in a position to seize the opportunities presented in today's commercial real estate market."
One-click conference registration HERE.
Stabilizing economic indicators in conjunction with favorable commercial real estate sales & leasing trends are opening a long awaited opportunity of engagement for real estate practitioners and affiliates. ENGAGE will be the theme for the 14th annual conference (ACREcon).
Daniel Corporation serves as the event host and Beech Street Capital as the title sponsor. ACREcon, the only statewide commercial real estate conference in Alabama, in its 14th year, has a projected 2014 attendance of 500 business and real estate industry leaders. Each year's conference format incorporates a slate of key industry speakers for continuing education and professional development while providing ample time for networking with peers.
Mark Polon, CCIM, will provide the morning keynote presentation. Mr. Polon is a national best-in-class commercial real estate instructor and was recognized as the 2013 Instructor of the Year by the CCIM Institute. He also serves as the President of RIISnet, L.L.C. where he oversees all company activities and serving as primary liaison to clients and the real estate brokerage community.
Effective communication = Efficiency, Efficiency = Profitability. Your marketing has got their attention. Now What? Conference attendees will learn from Mr. Polon how to turn initial interest into a lasting business relationship by participating in "Communication Skills, Doing it Live", a 75-minute presentation designed to give you the tools to win the business and then keep it." When enough people have similar talents and are competing for the same opportunities the real differentiator is interpersonal skills," shares Mr. Polon. "Your customers and clients are more interested in how you handle yourself in a business relationship than they are about the content of your reports. Communication Skills will improve your speaking skills, listening skills, telephone skills, email and texting skills, as well as your presentation skills. Getting what you want is more dependent on how you present your ideas than about the ideas themselves. Your ability to effectively communicate will create greater efficiency in your work, and that will translate to greater profitability for you and your company. Whether you are in the boardroom, addressing a large group, or one on one, the key to getting what you want is not your content, but your delivery. Learn how to communicate persuasively and effectively on the phone, in person, and through written materials including emails, texts, reports, and proposals.
Market Knowledge. NAIOP, the National Association of Industrial & Office Properties, a commercial real estate development organization, kick-offs the morning session - a conference highlight as University of Alabama MBA students and their NAIOP mentors take the stage to present a statewide market review of the four major Alabama markets by property type.
ACREcon's lead partner is the ACRE Corporate Cabinet. The conference day begins with registration and continental breakfast at 7:30am and concludes after the keynote address at lunch. Conference participates will have the additional option (no additional cost) to attend a risk management CE course for commercial real estate practitioners during the afternoon. Participants licensed by the Alabama Real Estate Commission will be eligible earn up to 6 hours of approved continuing education credit during the entire day (3 hour per morning/afternoon session). Other real estate affiliates such as appraisers, lawyers and accountants may also seek approval for continuing education from their respective licensing boards.
The conference admission also includes an invitation to the Pre-Conference Networking & Business Development Reception hosted the evening prior by Burr Forman from 5:00pm to 7:00pm and includes complimentary appetizers and beverages. Visit with professional colleagues in a truly relaxing environment while enjoying the best skyline views from atop the Wells Fargo Tower in downtown Birmingham.
For registration and sponsorship information, visit the conference website at acreconference.ua.edu, or contact Rachel Jennings, ACRE Outreach Coordinator, email@example.com or direct at (205) 348-0188.