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Chris Columbus and Craig Titley in a free-wheeling interview discussing 'Percy Jackson & The Olympians'
It amuses me greatly that the first formal interview I'm doing with Craig Titley is for a film that deals with Gods as the fathers of mortal children.
Why? Well, it could be because I'm aware that Titley has spent the last four years plus working towards a doctorate in mythology, making him pretty much the perfect guy to write a film about gods as fathers. And it could also probably have something to do with the fact that he's the actual godfather of Film Nerd 2.0 himself, my son Toshi.
Yes, that's right... Craig Titley is family. Figuratively speaking. I actually met Craig a decade ago at the premiere of "Detroit Rock City," when Kiss played the afterparty and the two of us ended up standing front row center and talking between songs. At the time, I knew him as a writer who had several scripts floating around that I'd read, including an early pass at the live-action "Scooby Doo" that was dead-on perfect, and a Bugs Bunny feature film that never got made. We bonded over mutual interests and both having last names that sound just plain dirty. We used to joke that we should open a law film for porn stars with a producer friend called Suckle, Titley, and McWeeny. When I did the long-running "Jedi Council" articles at Ain't It Cool, Craig was one of the guys who attended almost every single one, and he hosted quite a few of them. He's been a good friend at some hard times over the years, and when Toshi was born, Craig stepped up to stand with us at his baptism, and since then, he's been an active godfather, having fun in the role. He's the one who has given Toshi the full line of books that we read at bedtime, each one about a different movie monster, and thanks to a birthday gift of a puppet theater and some animal hand puppets, his full name is, according to Tosh, "Craig Puppet Show." He's also part of "Bat Out Of Hell," the film Scott Swan and I wrote for Joe Dante to direct, a producer who was invaluable in helping us refine the screenplay. So consider that a whole fat lot of full disclosure, and read on fully aware of our ties.
When Craig started work on this, he went radio silent for a while. It was only in the last few weeks that we finally talked about the film, when he suggested that I should talk to him and to director Chris Columbus together. Craig started his career as an assistant to Joe Dante, who directed the first script Chris wrote, "Gremlins," and I know Craig has had a professional history with Chris as well. Craig's one of those writers like Laeta Kalogridis who has suffered through a lot of lame development quicksand, trying to get something made that they're genuinely proud of, and in the last two years, Craig has fulfilled twin ambitions: he's written episodes of "The Clone Wars," meaning he's actually written dialogue for Obi-Wan Kenobi and R2-D2, and he's also written a film for Chris Columbus, a movie that wears its influences on its sleeve.
And, no, I wouldn't say "Harry Potter" is the film's biggest influence. I haven't read the book by Rick Riordan, so I have no idea how "Potter" they are or aren't. I understand the characters as written were younger, more like the first Potter, and I have no doubt the books were published to capitalize on the Potter publishing craze. But the film looks like it draws on Columbus's own filmography from the start of his career as much as it draws on anything else for inspiration. Having recently rewatched both of the first two "Potter" films on BluRay, I was already interested in talking to Columbus, and this seemed like a good opportunity. However, press schedules being what they are, even with Craig playing middle-man, it was incredibly tricky to get everyone on the phone together. Last night, just as I was getting out of a screening, I got a call from Craig asking if I could hop on the phone at 10:00 with him and Chris. It was my last shot at getting them together, and so once I got home, I got out my tape recorder and, without having time to prep, hopped on with the two of them.
We cover a lot of ground here, including Columbus's work on the "Harry Potter" films, directing special effects, how Columbus taught Titley to write without ever realizing it, and much more. Surprisingly, there are very few spoilers for "Percy Jackson," so there's little need to worry about that. Dig in:
Drew: Hey, what's up, gents?
Craig Titley: Chris, you there?
Chris Columbus: Yes.
Craig: Drew?
Drew: I am. Thank you very much, Chris. I can't believe how last minute this is and I'm so sorry to do this late at night like this.
Chris: Oh, that's fine. I don't know if it's Athens or Rome or wherever we just were, but it was some sort of off-time that I'm still set to, so I'm up.
Drew: I just wanted to say, first of all, I really enjoyed it today.
Chris: Great.
Drew: I thought it was… I told Craig this earlier... it really was the Chris Columbus that I first enjoyed.
Chris: Oh, excellent.
Drew: It felt to me like if I had walked out of the theatre and I had looked at the poster and it had the Amblin' logo on the corner and it said copyright 1985, I would have gone, "Yup, sure."
Chris: Well, I definitely… there's no question we were going for that. There's absolutely no question.
Drew: It seems like that is an increasingly difficult thing for people to do, though. To make a film that is kind of unapologetically aimed at a certain audience and that treats them seriously but doesn't ask them to then also make the jump into borderline R-rated material...
Chris: Right.
Drew: ... and I think a lot of it is that we've bought into the thing where it has to be PG-13, almost R. It has to be "extreme," and it has to be for older teens to do anything at the box-office. But I remember the feeling when I was a kid and I'd see these movies, and it felt like movies were for me at that age. Like the early '80's, every movie that came out felt like, "Oh, okay, that was for me."
Chris: Right.
Drew: I love the empowerment of this one. Like I think the kids are just the right age to empower younger kids. When did you first find the book and then at what point did you bring Craig on and decide that this is something that you guys wanted to do together?
Chris: Well, you know, when I first read the book, my daughter was listening to the book... and I was aware of the book. I just wasn't that interested in reading it. But she said, "Dad, this is a story about a kid like me." Now, she has Dyslexia, so I don't want it to sound overly sort of sentimental, but that really was the original reason I got into the book. And then I saw that it had something much more than that, aside from the issues of empowerment, which are truly, you know, a great sort of base for doing a movie like this. The concept of dealing with the myths and the creatures and everything that we haven't really seen recently in terms of Greek mythology, combined with modern contemporary American society... I just thought, "Well, that's unique. I've never seen that before." So, for me, that was really the only reason to get into a film like this, because I thought, "If you're going to do a film that's going to take two years of your life and this amount of green-screen and intense action sequences"... all of those things when you're dealing with something like that... you really want the story to feel completely original. So, when I realized this is what I wanted to do next, it wasn't long. There was a script that existed at Fox for a while. I don't know if Craig read it, but I read it and it's so… as opposed to making kids feel like this is a movie for them, it really spoke down to kids. I think the protagonists were more the same age as the protagonists in the book. They were 11-year-olds, and it just felt like a Nickelodeon kind of adventure as opposed to what I really wanted to do with the movie. Then I talked to Craig about it, and this is my recollection... Craig had a lot of really terrific ideas for opening up the movie. And let me say that when I got into this, I didn't have the pressure that I felt on "Potter", which was really sort of a baptism by fire for me. When we did that first film, there was this sense of the eyes of the world looking at us.
Drew: And then some, yeah.
Chris: We had, "Who are you going to cast? Are you going to be extremely faithful to the book?" And a million more. So that was sort of a version of being in a directorial straightjacket. I really had no way I could direct except within a framework, within a box. As we got to the second one and then the third one, we sort of earned some trust with the fans, so we had a certain amount of freedom. And obviously by the time they got to "Goblet of Fire" and the other pictures, you know, it felt like they were really thinking about the film first. When I got into this, I said to myself, "I'm really going to think about the movie first. I really want the movie to exist on its own terms." And the book is a great starting place, but I just wanted to make a movie that was so viscerally exciting and feels like... again, that feels like those movies that I was writing in the '80's, which I've just never had a chance to do. So I got in touch with Craig, and Craig had all these amazing ideas for the script. Plus his background in Greek mythology was sort of the real thing that convinced me that that, "Oh, this is the guy for the job."
Drew: That's one of the things... I know you and Craig have a history, but the idea that this is what Craig was doing anyway in Santa Barbara, that this is what he's been kind of consumed with for the last few years... it just seems like one of those perfect storms of, "Oh my God, this is the right piece of material and I've got to put it in front of him."
Chris: Right.
Drew: Craig, what was your response when you first were approached by Chris, and what it was that you responded to?
Craig: I had literally finished all my classroom work about three weeks prior, so to have this land on my desk, you know, right after being immersed in this study for three years? It was perfect timing. You know, Greek Gods, Medusa... sign me up. And then the chance to work with Chris... I think Chris had a vision for this thing from day one, which just made it that much more exciting. So yeah, it was the perfect storm.
Drew: I've got to say, I just recently revisited the first two "Potter" films on Blu-ray when they put out the big giant ultimate editions…
Chris: Oh, yeah, yeah.
Drew: And I'm going say this on the record, because I want to say it to you directly. I really feel like you should have been nominated for Best Director for the first film.
Chris: Oh, well... thank you. I appreciate that.
Drew: People confuse "Best Director" with "Director of the movie I liked most," and I think it's something different. I think it should be for people who do the impossible in some way. And the reason why I feel like that about the first "Potter" is when I look at what you did with the kids... like forget about all the decisions you had to make just to get the world up and running, and forget about the fact that you set a template that is still successfully being played off of all these films later... what you did with the kids in terms of finding the right young actors and then shaping those performances with them? I really don't think I understood how insane that process was until I looked at this new edition. And it seems unbelievable to me. Is there a sense of pride now as you look at them and the actors they've become?
Chris: Certainly from a technical standpoint as a director. You know, those first two films were really part filmmaking and part acting class, because these kids had no prior experience of being on a set... except Daniel Radcliffe had some small BBC thing, a supporting role where he played young David Copperfield. But I think that was about it. And you know, just to get the kids to actually speak one line without looking into the camera or looking up at the lights was really a bit of a challenge, I have to say. My role on that film was just basically guiding them through those performances, so by the time we got to the second film, they were able to get through... almost get through an entire scene. I can't really remember whether or not we were fortunate enough to ever do something in one shot, which would have been a dream come true for a director, you know? You don't have to cut. By the time we got to "Prisoner of Azkaban" and Alfonso was directing, then it was seamless. They really were primed as actors and they were really prepared for work each day. So I felt that I had turned over professional actors at that point after a total of 300 days of shooting. So I felt good about that. I felt great about that. I felt great about the fact that what the films have become was exactly what the four of us... the four of us meaning David Heyman and Jo Rowling and Steve Kloves and myself... would sit in a room for hours and hours and hours and really plan the next seven pictures. And at the time, there were only three books, and we got the galleys when we were almost a third of the way through shooting, we got the galleys for "Goblet of Fire", so we saw the direction. We really had a clear idea of the direction that the books were going, this darker direction. So the concept of the films was that the first film was going to be this beautiful, rich, very saturated storybook version of the first Potter book. And then by the time we got to the second film, it was a little darker, with a little less saturation in terms of color, and by the time we got to the third film, you know, most of the color is gone from the pallete. Things are really getting a more intense. Some of the magic is starting to seep away and the pictures are getting, as I said, progressively darker. And that was just the goal throughout the seven pictures. Now, remember, when I initially started, when all those intense meetings were taking place, I was scheduled to do all seven films. At the time, I had no idea. I was just extremely naïve in terms of this concept of me just being able to do the films back to back to back to back and being able to do seven, which has now become eight. So by the time I finished the second film, I realized that I physically and mentally could not do a third right away. There was just no way I could direct. So I needed to recharge my batteries, and that's why we started to bring in... we brought in Alfonso. And then I just needed to get my family back to the States at that point. My kids wanted to get back to school in the States. I really, in answer to your question, when I go see these films now, it's sort of with a bittersweet quality because I do feel this enormous sense of pride. I think the kids have aged gracefully. They've become really, really fine actors. And I like the direction that the films have taken. I think they're visually rich and dense and beautifully crafted. And as a fan, I'm really looking forward to the seventh and eighth film. I think that the eighth film... particularly as a fan of films like this, I think the Battle for Hogwarts hopefully will take much of the eighth film, and I think it's going to be spectacular.
Drew: It seems like there were two really crazy gambles at the beginning of this decade: "Lord of the Rings" and "Harry Potter." And they were both totally different challenges. It's amazing to me that it looks like both are going to cross the finish line well. Not just, "Okay, we finished them," but "Wow, we really did what we set out to do," and I looking back, I got a whole different level of admiration for the accomplishment of the first film in particular. I can't imagine the effort.
Chris: Oh, well, thank you. I appreciate it. Thanks a lot.
Drew: On this film, it doesn't feel like you are necessarily as series oriented as it was single adventure oriented. I really like that about this movie. This quest feels like it was done. If there is something else, then great. But it didn't feel like there had to be. I like Logan in the film. I thought he was very strong and he has a lot of character. He's an unusual kid. Was it that same sort of process where you really had to go looking for a kid that you felt like, "Okay, he's got to be our surrogate in this, and he's got to be the person we go with, and I've got to find just the right one." How did you come to him?
Chris: Well, he was always in the back of my mind because I saw "3:10 to Yuma," and I thought, "Wow, that's a pretty strong performance for a teenager," you know? So I brought... and before we really... I think by the time Logan came into the office, we realized that Percy was going to be 17 years old. So Logan was really the first person I brought in, and I was really taken with him in the office. And then we did a screen test, and he blew everyone away, basically because of his emotional depth as an actor but also because of his instincts. He's got amazing technical abilities as an actor. Sort of far beyond his years. So I thought, "Well, this puts me in a really great position as a director. I can actually focus on... I can take a step back and actually direct an actor who is experienced." And at the same time, I felt he was really appropriate for the film because the film and the character of Percy do deal with some intense emotional things. You're dealing with a kid who's dealing with parental abandonment. He's also got dyslexia and ADHD, which we find out are actually empowering things for him, his ADHD being his battle skills and his dyslexia being his ability to translate ancient Greek into English. And also this concept of visualizing the battle sequences and thinking that the battle sequences themselves had to have a real urgency, intensity, and threat about them. These are life and death circumstances for these kids. These kids are learning to battle against the dark forces of the outside world. Imagining 11-year-olds doing that seemed a little scary, and I didn't know if we… remember, "Potter" was about wands and spells and it really was a much, much less dangerous undertaking for someone 11 years old. But two 11-year-olds learning how to fight with real swords, that's a whole other different ballgame, and I just felt that to adjust it for an 11-year-old's abilities would mean wooden swords and paper hats. And I was concerned that it would just feel too light on its feet. So that was really, in terms of casting Logan... he was the epicenter of this film. And I felt that he grounded it in a great way. And he grounds it in a way that makes it really accessible for kids who are 7 or 10 or 12 or 14, you know? They aspire to be him in this world of fantasy, you know?
Drew: My fear when I see a cast list with people like Sean Bean and Pierce Brosnan and Steve Coogan, all very, very strong actors, is they'll overpower the young cast. And I don't think that's the case at all in this movie. I think you used them very sparingly. I will say that Coogan's entrance is fantastic when he finally shows up in human form.
Chris: Thanks.
Drew: There's something great about it being Coogan of all people that plays Hades.
Chris: Right.
Drew: But you really keep the focus on the young cast and the chemistry between Logan and Alexandra and Brandon. Was there a lot of working with them together before you started shooting to create chemistry, or did you want it to grow as you were shooting?
Chris: No, we had a couple of weeks of rehearsals, pretty intense rehearsals, reading through the script, and then just the very nature of the training certainly brought Alexandra and Logan very close together, and also Jake Abel as well, who plays Luke. All of them were training daily for six to eight hours, so that coupled with the fact that we were doing an hour or two of readings per day really developed... they developed this real chemistry between themselves. And I encouraged them to hang out together, but you can encourage actors to hang out together, but if they don't like each other... these guys actually really liked each other, which was a huge plus. And they continue to this day to spend a lot of time together. So I think that it's really... it also helps that they were so enthusiastic about doing this movie, and I feed off that as a director, whether or not the cast is eleven or seventeen. It helps when you're working with younger people, because first of all, they're happy to have a job, but it's also just wonderful to see this enthusiasm and the energy every day that they bring to the set.
Drew: I like that you worked with Rosario again.
Chris: Yeah, it was great. I realized when we were doing "Rent" that she had a great sense of humor and she was one of the funnier people I've ever met. And we weren't really able to utilize that in "Rent." I never really was able to direct her in a dramatic or comedic scene in "Rent" because it was really all mostly about singing and dancing.
Drew: I think she's one of those assets that people really haven't figured out yet. I think when it happens, when there's the right role, it's just going to be unbelievable, and so right now it's just when you see her in something good and she's good in it, it's a pleasure.
Chris: Yeah, she's great.
Drew: Can I ask you about working with effects? Because I like the approach in this movie, in that they seem simply part of the fabric of the world and not like you stop the show for the effects. "Harry Potter" to me is far more, especially in the first one, about "We're going to introduce you to each element of Hogwarts," and I think it came from the expectation, like, "I want to see the moving staircases. I want to see Headless Nick. I want to see the Quidditch." So you kind of had to showcase those things.
Chris: Right.
Drew: Here it feels so much more organic. Were you more comfortable with it this time around?
Chris: Well, I certainly... you know, one of the regrets I have about the first "Potter" film particularly is the way we went about doing the effects. The studio backed us into a release date. We weren't able to do the more complex visual effects sequences first. We didn't have time to build the sets, so things like Quidditch and certain other elements of that first picture suffered because of that. And I realized that when I got into this picture that we would do the most complex visual effects sequences immediately in terms of production, in terms of shooting. So the very first day of shooting was the Hydra sequence, because I realized that we were dealing not only with a Hydra. We were dealing with fire and water and interacting with these kids. Kevin Mack is the guy. Kevin Mack is our visual effects supervisor, and he won an Oscar for "What Dreams May Come," and he really is an amazingly brilliant guy. Our goal was to make the effects as seamless and real as possible so that they don't take the audience out of the movie. I didn't want these kids who see the movie to stop at any point and say, "Oh my God, that looks fake." Or, "That doesn't look real." I wanted them to feel as if, as you said, these effects were really organic. So it meant really, really working hard in terms of dealing with Steven Goldblatt, our cinematographer. Interactive lighting is key. Interactive lighting and actually having the actors have something tangible. I think for me, when it starts to get a little difficult is when it's an entirely green-screen stage. And I know for some directors that works brilliantly, but for younger actors they need something tangible. They need a real set because if you're dealing with... you know, they have to react to a monster that's not there anyway. We need to give them something that's real. So, you know, we built all of the sets. The Nashville Parthenon was a complete replica done on soundstage. A replica of a replica on a soundstage in Vancouver. And it really helped the actors. I think that helps when the performance of the actors are sort of guiding the CGI as well. That helps with the reality and the perception of a scene in terms of quality.
Drew: Kevin Mack... I've been a fan of his since "The Fifth Element" and "Fight Club," and I think his work on "Speed Racer" was groundbreaking. I really do.
Chris: Yeah, it was unbelievable. Underappreciated.
Drew: It's nice that it feels like there's a comfort level to your work with the effects that makes it feel very... I guess the way I would describe it is it's off-hand. It doesn't feel at any point in the movie like you're reaching for anything. In particular, the last fight between Luke and Percy and the flying stuff between them, because I know you talked about being dissatisfied with Quidditch, and you've said how if you were ever given the opportunity to go back and maybe rework the Quidditch a little bit or play with it, that it's something that has nagged at you, and that you would love to be able to do that...
Chris: Right.
Drew: ... well, this is really convincing. Is that something where you thought, "Okay, I know I'm going to be doing flight in this, and I know I'm going to be dealing with altitude and velocity, and I want to make sure I get it right this time."
Chris: Yeah and it comes down to moving the camera. It's a combination of camera movement and lighting. Lighting is crucial because... lighting particularly. If you go back to "Potter" and you look at that first flying lesson sequence when Malfoy and Potter are in the air, it just looks like not just CGI but it looks like blue-screen from the 70's. And the reason is because the visual effects supervisor on that particular picture never really had... he was not giving enough information to our cinematographer, so when John Seale, who's brilliant, was not given enough information from our visual effects supervisor, he's lighting something in the dark basically. He has no concept of what the final sequence is going to look like. With Kevin Mack and Stephen Goldblatt, we made absolutely certain that every shot was planned out in terms of lighting and in terms of movement. For instance, you know at nighttime when you're up in the air like that over Manhattan, your face isn't... obviously your face is not going to be lit all the time. There has to be an intense variation of light on their faces and on their bodies, and all of that has to be in perfect conjunction with the way they're moving throughout the city. So, again it comes down to that very simple rule. and those three words that if any 10-year old utters, it just sends shivers up your spine: "It looks fake". So I just avoid... I kept that as my mantra as we went through these visual effects shots every day. Kevin and I, we'd go through each shot every day and say "No". We'd send them back to the vendor and some of the shots, you know, they have numbers on them for how many times we send them back, and we were on shot, like, 497, or shot 532. I mean, we sent them back and back and back and back until we got them where we wanted. We probably would still be doing that if we didn't have a release date.
Drew: Well, speaking of release dates, it's interesting because you guys are coming out the same weekend now as "Wolfman," and I certainly think that both films deal very directly with issues about parentage.
Chris: Really?
Drew: It's just kind of one of those weird coincidences that the movies would share a release date and have a theme that was similar. Obviously the other movie this year that's playing with Greek mythology is "Clash of the Titans," but from such a different sort of take and perspective, and obviously it's set in the period. When something like that is going on, how hard is it for you as a filmmaker to just kind of put that aside and focus on the film you're making? Does the studio put extra pressure on you?
Chris: Well, we can only think about the other one in terms of release date, in terms of "Clash of the Titans". You know, we knew we wanted the first Greek mythology movie released, not that that... who knows if that means anything, you know? At the time, it felt like the right thing to do. I see our film now and it certainly feels like a summer movie. It feels like it should have been released in the summertime. It feels like it's a hot day in July, and you want to go see a movie like this. I think of movies like "Gremlins," and certainly that's the feeling that I was trying to bring to this picture. We really were... I had to agree to a release date when I did this picture. So for me, that was up front, and then when I was shooting it, I couldn't think about that. I had to think about making the best possible movie for my 12-year old self, you know? I wanted this movie to feel like if you were 12 years old sitting in a theatre, whether it was 1985 or 2010, your head would explode with the excitement and the possibility of living in this world. And so I felt good about that, and I knew the other pictures weren't really trying to do that, you know? That's what I'm really trying to get back to. I think that critics and fans give a lot of cred to movies like... and I'm not going to name the movies, but movies that are supposedly made for children, but which are actually much more adult oriented. And pictures that, although they're beautiful films, they sort of leave kids in the dark, you know? Kids really can't relate to some of these films, but critics can. And it's frustrating for me, because I really like to see these films through a 10 or a 12-year old's eyes. And that really helps me in terms of reaching out to these kids. So I know if those kids come this weekend, they'll love it, and they'll recommend it to their friends. We just have to get them into the theatre.
Drew: That's something I think the comic industry has run up against. There are a lot of comic fans who started reading them when they were young, and now they want comics to be for them as adults. But what they don't see is that when they were young, comics appealed to them, and that was when they got hooked. And it feels like they've almost selfishly taken that away from the next group of readers who are going to be growing up. Because I agree with you... I think that there is… look, I came out of the screening this morning, and I talked to Craig about this afterwards... there was a decidedly cynical air. And then I was talking about my response to it and how much I looked forward to showing it to my son and the way I felt like it really spoke to a younger age group. And somebody dismissed me and said, "Yeah, but what about me?" And I'm like, "Well, what about you? Your job isn't to be entertained by every single thing like it's targeted at you. It's to talk about whether it works for the audience that will go and that it's made for."
Chris: Right.
Drew: It's weird that criticism has become so selfish in a way.
Chris: Yeah. And it's frustrating because quite honestly, it is for the parent as well. It's not just, you know... it's a movie that you should be able to enjoy with your kid or your niece or your nephew or your godson or your goddaughter. It's not really about... I had no intention of isolating the parents. I think these pictures work best when they work on two levels, certainly. But at the same time, there's that sense of magic that you don't want to lose, and sometimes it's lost along the way. Those pictures seldom work in terms of... I don't want to say in terms of box office... but the pictures that seem to work the best and reach a lot of people are the pictures that really speak to children and adults on a kind of an equal level, you know?
Drew: Like I said, the "Chris Columbus" narrative for me began when I was reading about you as an NYU student writing "Gremlins," and then you get to work with Spielberg and, god, in the '80's, that was like winning the lottery. That was it. I think as a writer, the chance to work with him and that company at that time... Craig, when you sit now and you look at the finished version of "Percy Jackson" and you've had the experience with Chris, is there a feeling that you've now contributed to that sort of lineage of films, and are you satisfied with the final product of what you've done?
Craig: Yeah. I mean, when I watched the film, I was completely engulfed in it. Like I'd forgotten I'd been involved at all. I was at the edge of my seat and just totally along for the ride. What's funny... and I've mentioned this to a few people, but Chris, I don't know if I've even told you this... but it's funny how it's come full-circle. When I was Joe Dante's assistant way back in my first job, I hadn't read a lot of screenplays and I knew your name from "Gremlins", "Goonies", and "Young Sherlock Holmes," so I actually taught myself to write by reading your scripts.
Chris: Oh, that's cool. I never knew that.
Craig: Yeah, I read every draft of "Gremlins," and then they had a few drafts of "Young Sherlock Holmes" around, and you were the modern writer who I knew. I knew about Billy Wilder and Preston Sturgis, but you were sort of the contemporary writer, and I just really studied your scripts, and I even notice now there are a few idiosyncratic things I took from you, like I think we both like to capitalize a lot of words in scene descriptions.
Chris: Right, exactly.
Craig: When we were doing our back and forth working on "Percy," I was like, "Oh, that's why I capitalize so many words. I took a little from Chris."
Chris: (laughs) I love that.
Craig: So it's kind of fun that I taught myself to write reading your scripts, and then it's come full-circle in a fun kind of way.
Chris: Yeah, I never realized that, and the interesting thing is I'm always beating myself up over it, and I can't stop myself. It's sort of, you know, I'd say to myself "Stop capitalizing all these words in these action sequences," but that's truly, you know, that's growing up on Marvel comics in the '60's. It's truly like everything had to be… it was the world of Stan Lee, and it just got into my head.
Craig: You like capitalizing the verbs and I do the nouns, I think. Between us, it's like everything is capitalized.
Chris: That's true. Exactly.
And with that, my phone died. Literally just gave out. It's a shame, too, because we were really starting to settle into the conversation. I enjoyed finally talking to Chris, and I'm amazed at how much vehemence is directed towards him when he's mentioned among fanboys. They treat some of his early work like holy writ, like "The Goonies," and my theory is that he moved on to make films that fanboys wanted no part of, and now no matter what he does, they hold that against him. In a world where guys like Adam Shankman and Shawn Levy are major A-list filmmakers, it blows my mind when people rail on Columbus.
I'll have a review up for this one a little later. Again, feel free to read the start of this piece, and if you think me incapable of laying out my feelings on it, I won't be offended, but I do have some thoughts, and I look forward to the conversation.
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text:
CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCIV) -- Two westbound lanes of I-26 are shut down at exit 217 after an accident, according the South Carolina Department of Transportation.
According to the SC DOT, the two right lanes of I-26 westbound near the Meeting Street exit are closed.
We will update this page as more information becomes available.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
realmagick.com The shrine of knowledge.
Fish Belly Flap Gates
A selection of articles related to fish belly flap gates.
Original articles from our library related to the Fish Belly Flap Gates. See Table of Contents for further available material (downloadable resources) on Fish Belly Flap Gates.
- Aviary at the Gates of Heaven: Examining the Bird Symbolism in the Thoth Empress Card
- "This card, summed up, may be called the Gate of Heaven." Book of Thoth, p. 77. Eight birds adorn the fourth card of the Thoth Deck Major Arcana, The Empress. These eight birds, their variant symbology united, point at one overarching meaning -- as...
Tarot Cards >> The Major Arcana
- King James Bible: Revelation, Chapter 21
- Chapter 21 21:1 And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea. 21:2 And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for...
New Testament >> Revelation
- Religious Tolerance In Springfield and the Greenleaf Coven
- Religious intolerance is alive and well in Springfield Missouri. The question is, to what degree, and in the terminology of "The Burning Times", how high are the flames? In 1999, the court case of Jean Webb vs. The City of Republic was a headliner...
Paganism & Wicca >> True Stories
- King James Bible: Deuteronomy, Chapter 16
- Chapter 16 16:1 Observe the month of Abib, and keep the passover unto the LORD thy God: for in the month of Abib the LORD thy God brought thee forth out of Egypt by night. 16:2 Thou shalt therefore sacrifice the passover unto the LORD thy God, of the flock...
Old Testament >> Deuteronomy
- Bellis perennis
- This small plant was already used in medieval times to heal wounds and bruises. The secret is that Bellis contains a substance which contracts the muscles in the veins; therefore the blood will circulate well again on places of venous congestion. Bellis...
Remedies >> Remedies B
- Preparations for Sex Magick
- "Spectacular achievement is always preceded by spectacular preparation." Robert H. Schuller The first thing is being a good body with your body ! Human bodies are beautifully shaped and wondrously working temples of the soul; in sex magick the body...
Body Mysteries >> Sexuality
- King James Bible: Deuteronomy, Chapter 28
- Chapter 28 28:1 And it shall come to pass, if thou shalt hearken diligently unto the voice of the LORD thy God, to observe and to do all his commandments which I command thee this day, that the LORD thy God will set thee on high above all nations of the earth:...
Old Testament >> Deuteronomy
Fish Belly Flap Gates is described in multiple online sources, as addition to our editors' articles, see section below for printable documents, Fish Belly Flap Gates books and related discussion.
Suggested News Resources
- 30 stone at 13: meet the obese teenagers going under the knife
- I sit on a leather sofa in a pristine sitting room with a large TV and a tropical fish tank. Two English bulldogs, Frankie and Winston, doze behind a baby gate in the kitchen.
- Oxford: Where time is fluid, Latin is far from dead and every stone tells a story
- In Oxford, England, past and present run together like watercolor. Students texting as they saunter down the High Street wear long black academic gowns that have barely changed since the 13th century.
- Giving a fish a physical exam at the National Aquarium
- Each year, about 500 of the 20,000 critters living at the Aquarium get the same kind of annual wellness exams given to humans — though the animals, at least, don't have to put on paper gowns that flap open at the back.
- Dinosaurs on Other Planets, a short story by Danielle McLaughlin
- He handed it to Oisín, then returned the rest of the things to the box, closed the cardboard flaps. "O.K.
- The beautiful bait: False albacore (aka bonita) make for handy baits all year
- "You can cut a small bonita strip and have a small profile so any fish can eat it," said Smith, who typically trolls strips four to seven inches long rigged behind a Sea Witch at 6.5 knots.
Great care has been taken to prepare the information on this page. Elements of the content come from factual and lexical knowledge databases, realmagick.com library and third-party sources. We appreciate your suggestions and comments on further improvements of the site.
Fish Belly Flap Gates Topics
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The Latest From Life Dynamics
Our Websites
Here, at Life Dynamics, we use different projects in order to help save unborn children's lives. Each project is different, and each project has its own unique role in the pro-life movement. In this section you will find links to all of our websites, including our social media pages.
Right Now on the LifeDynamics.com Blog
New FastForward Video Reveals Decades Old Secret The Abortion Lobby Hid From The Black Community
Today, Life Dynamics has released the second of their new, hard-hitting FastForward video series. Video screenshot. The pro-life organization began the series in August of this year as a unique way to expose the true nature of America's abortion industry and shock America into action. Life Dynamics president, Mark Crutcher, says these videos are doing just that. "The first…


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text: The Islanders have traded Peter Regin and Pierre Marc Bouchard to the Chicago Blackhawks for a 4th Round Pick in this year's draft. Two free agent busts that were signed over the summer are sent packing in what could be the first of multiple trades for the Islanders over the coming weeks. ESPN's Pierre LeBrun reports that the Islanders are retaining half of both Regin and Bouchard's remaining cap hits in the deal.Bouchard, who was sent through waivers to Bridgeport on December 10, had 9 points in 29 games for the Islanders. In Bridgeport, he tallied 17 points in 20 games.Regin had seven points and was a -10 in 44 games this season.Both players had been signed to one-year deals during the off-season.


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Current Progress on the VF for Console Effort Document
The 389 pages (77% of the 500 page document), only takes into considertation the messages people left in the VFDC petition thread. When we combined the messages gathered from the Japanese website, vfdojo.net (Kamaage's website), we have more than 1000 messages from people living in 47 different countries! It is likely we have reached the 500 page goal we set or at least very close to it!
Thanks for anyone who read this and helped contribute to the cause!
It is not too late to contribute!
The deadline for writing a message to Sega on giving the international community the opportunity to purchase/play the latest versions of Virtua Fighter is tomorrow (see the below links to the petition thread and addtional information)! After that, we will be putting the final touches to the document (purpose of the document, introduction of the effort, etc.)
Thanks again,
This is an international community effort to compile a 500 page document that will be handed directly to Sega. The purpose of the document is to convey to Sega that there is widespread interest around the world for a console release of the latest version of Virtua Fighter 5 (whether it is VF5 R of VF5 Final Showdown). For more information and to be part of the effort please check the two links listed below.


text:
Human Migration Polynesian Migration
A selection of articles related to human migration polynesian migration.
Original articles from our library related to the Human Migration Polynesian Migration. See Table of Contents for further available material (downloadable resources) on Human Migration Polynesian Migration.
- Survivalists' Guide for the New Millennium: Chapter 7
- MAKING FRIENDS WITH NATURE AND NATURAL LAW The fall of human society has not occurred overnight. It has taken many centuries, many millennia in fact, for the Divine potentials and inherent genius of the human being to degrade into the modern...
Philosophy >> Survivalists Guide for the New Millennium
- The Earthmind Material
- Part 1 | Part 2 Author's Note All references made in the first person(s) herein, are grammatical conveniences created for the sake of the reader. Such words as "I", "OUR", and "I/WE" are therefore not meant to be taken as literal...
Mind >> World Mind
- Transforming World Mind Inertia (GM7)
- Our entire world society is ultimately governed by the components of consciousness, not governments, corporations or institutions. Regardless of the apparent creativity of the architectural sciences, engineering or the ideologies we create, the true...
Mind >> World Mind
- The Perpetual Raising: Part 3
- (Part 3 of 5) The body is an instrument through which we interact with the physical plane, as souls or conscious beings. As we refine this instrument through meditation, and ideally with pure foods and sufficient exercise, the body becomes, "a spiritual...
Mind >> World Mind
- Gebo
- Today we'll consider Gebo, the seventh rune in the first aett. We're now almost a third of the way through the futhark! An alternative Common Germanic name for this rune is Gybu. Derivations of both names show up in later Germanic languages, such as Gothic (Gi...
Divination >> Rune Stones
- Human Evolution
- The first hominids evolved some 3 or 4 million years ago, and so we have only limited means of determining how they evolved. Although human evolution is an important phase of the history of religion, the evolution of humans in itself is more a matter of...
Saga of Times Past >> Archaeology
- Bibles Do Not Equal Wisdom
- Bibles do not equal wisdom. In other words, all forms of spiritual text no matter how eloquently stated, cannot actually grant wisdom to the reader, merely through the act of reading. Words are only the representations of things, but not the things themselves....
Religion & Philosophy >> Religions
Human Migration Polynesian Migration is described in multiple online sources, as addition to our editors' articles, see section below for printable documents, Human Migration Polynesian Migration books and related discussion.
Suggested News Resources
- How to get to the world's most remote islands
- "This is my island," he says in Polynesian-accented French, grinning with a flash of dazzling white teeth. "You are very welcome here." ...
- 3000-year-old burial ground may reveal secrets of Polynesian migration
- Evidence from an ancient graveyard has begun to illuminate one of the great mysteries of the human journey: the peopling of the Pacific.
- The man making genes democratic
- "They took blood samples to alleviate Type 2 diabetes and then used those samples to assess schizophrenia, inbreeding and migration patterns which challenged their origin stories. The community were furious," said Mr Fox. They successfully sued the ...
- Genetics reveal 50000 years of independent history of aboriginal Australian people
- Further study is needed to answer questions such as how the dingo did get to Australia and why other people such as the seafaring Polynesians didn't settle on the continent. Expanding the genetic analyses beyond the Y ...
- Aboriginal Australians Were Isolated For 50000 Years: Study
- The first complete Y chromosome sequencing study found no evidence of ancient migration. Instead, it revealed a nearly 50,000-year isolation. The modern humans who arrived in Australia almost 50,000 years ago were one of the earliest groups who settled ...
Great care has been taken to prepare the information on this page. Elements of the content come from factual and lexical knowledge databases, realmagick.com library and third-party sources. We appreciate your suggestions and comments on further improvements of the site.
Human Migration Polynesian Migration Topics
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Freshmen Succeed with Mendenhall Summer Institute
In the Mendenhall Summer Institute's largest class, 56 students earned six credit hours and took part in activities that successfully prepared them for their first semester of college. The five-week program allows incoming freshman to start their college career early by participating in either the STEM or CELT track of study. Read more
As you get ready to begin your college career at the University of St. Thomas, consider starting early in our summer program – the Mendenhall Summer Institute.
The Mendenhall Summer Institute is a five-week program that starts on July 6 and ends on August 4 for incoming freshmen with proven academic abilities and involvement in co-curricular activities.
This program allows students to start their college career early, in addition to having an opportunity to earn a grant for tuition at UST.
The Mendenhall Summer Institute has two separate tracks of study, each with 6 hours of college credit:
A limited number of students selected from the Institute will receive a grant towards UST tuition. A selection committee chooses recipients first based on their financial need and then their performance in the program. Students must fill out a FAFSA to be considered for the grant.
The Institute will provide the skill building necessary to prepare students for the UST core curriculum and college learning. Students will participate in workshops in college success, learning and information literacy skills, regardless of track. Social activities will be provided to further enhance community building among all Institute students.
Any freshman student who has been admitted to UST for the fall semester can request admission to the program.
Ideal candidates will:
The nominal student fee of $800 for students living off campus covers course instruction, testing materials and daily lunch. Student's interested in living on campus should refer to the program cost in the Housing section. Some limited financial aid is available to offset these costs. Text books are not included in the above price, but are estimated at approximately $200.
Living on campus is highly encouraged during the summer institute. The program cost for students living on campus is $1550, which include everything but text books and the refundable housing deposit. Students interested in living on campus should:
*Students who choose to live on campus will be required to attend an additional orientation on Tuesday, July 5.
Dr. Rebecca Dowden
Educating Leaders of Faith and Character
Copyright © 2016 University of St. Thomas. All rights reserved.
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More of the same from Jake Davis: his latest "Test Shots" subject exposes Nick Wooster on the streets of New York City. Without saying a damn word, the man comes off in a pleasant manner that showcases a total commitment to his own personal style. It is a fast viewing and worth a look if only to examine the garbs Mr. Wooster wears. Brought to us by Park & Bond.
Selectism is now part of Highsnobiety. To read more stories like this, click here!Selectism
Watch | Nick Wooster Test Shot
What To Read Next


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Newport Things to Do
Newport Castle
Although not a lot of it left it still looks impressive either from the river Usk or from the train as you are passing. It was built in the early 14th century on the site of a previous Castle, There is not enough to walk round really it's just a matter of going to look at it and then coming away again.more
Ye Old Murenger Pub
This could equally be a 'Nightlife' or a 'Restaurant' tip. The Old Murenger House is an incredible building, but easy to miss on the edge of the city centre. A 'murenger' was a civic tax collector.The building dates from circa 1530 and the sort of thing that no longer exists in any nearby towns and cities. It is the last old timber-framed building...more
Museum, Gallery, Tourist Information...
On John Frost Square you can find the Newport Museum and Art Gallery. And the Tourist Information Centre. And the town Library. The building is possibly one of the ugliest buildings I have seen and inside it feels like a 1970's hospital in places, however...The Museum is on the upper floors. It has a whole load of extremely interesting and helpful...more
The most amazing town clock ever!!
Right in the centre of Newport is the modern John Frost Square. Right in the middle of John Frost Square is an enormous metal clock, in the shape of a Greek temple. A bit dull, you might think at first sight.Well... I urge you to wait till the big hand is on the 12This is what Newport likes to call "In the Nick of Time".On the hour, every hour, the...more
Newport Wetlands RSPB reserve
Newport Wetlands is a haven for all sorts of Wildlife. It is situated right next to the Severn Estuary which is a Site of Special Scientific Interest. The Wetlands attract Birdwatchers from around the Country. The reedbeds attract Bitterns, Bearded *** and Water Rail to name a few. The Visitor Centre here at Newport Wetlands was opened in March...more
Newport Wetlands at Goldcliffe
Goldcliffe is a fabulous nature reserve situated at the Northern end of the Gwent Levels overlooking the Severn Estuary. It is an area which has great scientific importance in providing lagoons and saltmarsh habitats for a number of wading birds. The lagoons are situated just a short walk away from the road and have viewing screens and with seating...more
Tredegar House (and the eccentric...
Undoubtedly the best attraction in the Newport area is Tredegar House. It is a large country house set in parkland just off the main A48 road en-route to Cardiff. The rich (and very strange) Morgan family lived here for 500 years until 1951.For £5.60/£4.10 admission (2007) you get a guided tour of well over 1 hour. It was probably the best tour...more
Newport's Cathedral ~ St Woolos
Follow the steep road next to the Westgate Hotel, up Stow Hill out of the city centre. At the top, on a large island of grass and trees is St Woolos Cathedral. I was amazed at how lovely this cathedral is. Far nicer, in my opinion, than Cardiff's cathedral at Llandaff.There has been a place of worship on this hill since the 6th century. The east...more
Civic Centre on the skyline
It is hard to avoid seeing the tall white tower which looms high over Newport. You see it from a long distance away if you arrive by train. This austere looking stone building is, in fact, Newport's Civic Centre and Law Courts, which opened in 1940. This is where Newport's Council sits.You can reach it, if you want, by following the road from...more
Chartist Statues
In the Square between High Street and Commercial Street are a collection of bronze statues dedicated to Newport's Chartist movement. Yes, around ever corner you seem to find something to remind you of the Chartists :-) Good! They were brave men!!This collection of sculpture was made in 1989, to celebrate the 150th Anniversary of the Newport...more
The lost town Cross
Well the good news is that the Newport's lost cross has been found again. A remarkable story. When the town was building Clarence Bridge in 1925 the top half of this medieval stone cross was found in the mud of the River Usk! If you look today at the submerged shopping trolleys and rubbish in the thick brown river mud, you will wonder at the minor...more
"Steel Wave/Y Don Ddur"
Hard to miss. You see it by the river as you enter Newport by train or bus. The "Steel Wave" or "Y Don Ddur" is a massive bright red 15m high sculpture by artist/architect Peter Fink.It was made in 1990 as "a tribute to the Newport steelmakers and seafarers", sponsored by 17 companies including British Steel.The artist had to collaborate with...more
Newport Hotels
Gateway Hotel
Just returned form a weekend in Cardiff and Newport. This hotel offers excellent value and is much...more
Hilton Newport
Hilton Newport is mostly known for the golfing in the area. The hotel is nice, not that genuine UK...more
The Kings
Good and clean hotel "middle of the road" for a UK hotel, meaning as compared to the UK standards....more
Newport Restaurants
Great Food
After a visit to Chepstow we stopped off at the Rock And Fountain on the A48 at Penhow for something to eat but it was closed. Behind it is the Indian Cottage so we went there and we were not Disapointed.The Indian Cottage is a great restaurant that serves fantastic food in a lovely old building. It is a cross shaped building with a high roof....more
God's vegetarian and wholefood...
A very unusual location for a restaurant. In a working church. No, not in a separate building attached to the church, I mean in the church itself!St Paul's City Centre Church was gutted and restored around around two years ago. The restaurant opened about this time, an imaginative way to keep the church in constant use and raise some money.The...more
Newport Hotels35 Hotels in Newport
Newport Nightlife
Newport's legendary music venue
Well, I won't tell you how long ago it was, but I went on several occasions to TJ's in Newport to watch new bands. And some more famous examples too. Usually wild thrash punk bands. I must have fried my brain because I can't remember any names at the moment. Apparently Kurt Cobain visited here. Ah, those were the days! TJ's is still fairly small ~...more
Great beer
This is a great pub I spent alot of my uni years in. It has the greatest lager called Dpils which is very strong and makes for a fun night after a few.Its a samuel smiths pub so has a good selection of drinks. The crowd is usually young studenty but good atmosphere well worth a visit anythingmore
Sweaty Alternative Fun
Great nightclub in Newport South Wales, both for clubbing and seeing bands. Popular as part of the circuit for many bands on their tours especially up and coming, pretty much everyone has played there in indie/alternative over the years. Bit of a dive as all great places should be, quite young crowd but fun. Anythingmore
Newport Transportation
Navigating Your Way Around Newport...
Is an absolute nightmare! We seemed to be crossing bridges every two minutes, and even the locals didn't seem to have clue on the best way to get to our location. We made the mistake of popping in to town for food before making our way to the Newport County Football stadium, and ended up being about half an hour late for kick off, after countless...more
By train to Newport
It's quite easy to get to Newport by train. From London Paddington you take the train to Swansea. If comming by plane, the Heathrow Express train goes to Paddington station every 15 minutes.more
Newport (Gwent) - just off M4,...
Newport (Gwent) - just off M4, couple of junctions from the 2nd Severn Crossing. There are regular train services (until about midnight) from Cardiff, and most of the London-Cardiff trains stop off at Newport. National Express coaches from London to Cardiff/Swansea also stop in Newport Bus Station.more
Newport Shopping
Newport Indoor Market: Newport's hidden Indoor Market
Honestly I only discovered Newport Indoor Market very recently, despite visitng Newport for many years!
The Market is just off the High Street, between Market Street and Griffin Street. From the outside it looks like a drab stone building. But inside it opens out dramatically, with two levels and an impressive, vaulted cast-iron roof. To the north end is a massive modern multi-coloured galss window.
On floor one you have a mixture of colourful shops and stalls, selling everything you could want - fruit, veg, meat, carpets, pet food etc.
Above the shopping floor is a mezzanine level, which is used as a big open space for music, jazz bands, tables and chairs. Around the edge are craft shops and a large cafe.
Great place to visit if it is raining (which is often in Wales).Related to:
- Arts and Culture
- Food and Dining
- Budget Travel
Newport Local Customs
Chartists ~ all over the blimin' place
You will soon realise how important the Chartist movement is to Newport's history and identity. I mean to say, there are murals, sculptures and references to them all over the city. John Frost Square, Newport's main plaza, is named after a leading Chartist.
Chartism is a political movement which developed rapidly in Britain in the 1830's. They were unhappy that 'democratic' reforms were benefitting the super rich gentry at the expense of the workers and middle-classes.
In 1838 The Peoples' Charter was written, demanding democratic reforms, particularly the vote for all men over 21 years old (yeah, the idea of women voting was too advanced for most). Within a year The Charter was signed by more than 1 million people, not a mean feat before the age of mass communications!
Chartist demonstrations and uprisings took place across England and Wales. In November 1839 three marches were planned to converge on Newport. They were demanding better, safer working conditions for the iron- and coal-workers of Southeast Wales.
However, the plans went a bit pear-shaped. Not all the demonstrators reached Newport at the agreed time. On Monday 4th November, those who did were fired on by soldiers from the Westgate Hotel. 20 were killed.
John Frost had led the march from Blackwood. He was a draper in Newport and had also been Mayor of Newport in 1836. He was transported to Tasmania for 17 years.
Zephaniah Williams was an innkeeper who led the march from the top of the Valleys. He was shipped off to Tasmania too and died there in old age.
I guess we have to be grateful to the men who died for the democratic reforms we now all enjoy in the modern world. Fair pay, free trade unions, safe working conditions, the Vote ~ they didn't come cheap!Related to:
- Historical Travel
Newport Tourist Traps
Bullet holes? What bullet holes?
The Westgate Hotel was the site of the famous 1839 battle, between Chartist demonstrators and soldiers. I have read in many books and internet sites that "you can still see the bullet holes in the doorway of the Westgate Hotel". So I thought aha, great photo opportunity.
However, the lady at the Tourist Information Centre knew nothing about them. In her view, they did not exist and she was sure the door had been replaced.
Well, I found the main door to the Westgate Hotel. The bottom part is definitely modern. The old, stone top part was sooo worn with age that there was no way of telling whether the holes and bumps were caused in battle, or by bullets.
So don't expect Newport to look like downtown Sarajevo. You have to be a forensic archaologist to spot a bullet hole, if they exist.
Unique Suggestions: Opposite the Westgate Hotel are a collection of statues commemorating the Chartist rebellion.
Well, actually around every corner there is something commemorating the Chartist Rebellion. You will begin to spot a theme :-)
Fun Alternatives: (a) go to the Museum in John Frost Square and read the story.
(b) bring a semi-automatic machine gun with you and create your own holes as required.Related to:
- Historical Travel
Newport Off The Beaten Path
I was glad to finally locate the bus to Caerleon, where the teaching campus is located. The people in Caerleon were a much nicer breed: they actually smiled and were helpful. This was a pleasant surprise, as in most of my trips across the border I have always sensed the kind of suspicion you get in old movies where strangers turn up in remote public houses to be met with complete silence. That was north Wales, though. My friend's parents bought a hotel in the valleys of north Wales, and their welcoming present from the locals was a dead cat hanging from the front door. They would only speak to them once the name on the door was changed from his fathers name, a Yorkshireman, to his wife's Welsh maiden name of Jones.
The most bizarre thing about Caerleon was the number of children. When I left the town the place flooded with so many school children that didn't seem feasible for such a small population. There were literally thousands of school children on every street corner, in every shop and filling up the bus as I returned to Newport; this is about the same as the actual reported population of Caerleon. It was almost as if the desperate population of the city were sending their children away from the hideousness that is Newport out into the wilds of the surrounding villages and vales. This idea was supported by the huge traffic jam created by the early afternoon workers returning from their jobs in the city to the pleasantness of rural Caerleon.Add to your Trip Planner
Newport General
Newport - a brief history
Favorite thing: Despite only recently becoming a city, Newport has a 900 year history. Unfortunately for Newport it has always been second best to Cardiff, 12 miles down the road!
If you arrive in Newport by train or car from England you will see the Castle, sandwiched between the railway bridge, road bridge and dual-carraigeway to the Bus Station. Built between 1093 and the mid 1400's it is now completely ruined.
The famous Welsh leader, Owain Glyndwr attacked and burnt Newport to the ground in 1402!!
Not until the Industrial Revolution of the early 19th century did Newport become anything significant. It developed into a busy port, with a canal bringing goods all the way from Brecon.
More will be said about the famous failed Chartist Unprising of 1839 in my other tips...
Today the city centre has one or two pleasant main streets which wind along their old routes. I quite like Newport's main shopping route - Commercial Street. But large dual carriageways and road systems have destroyed some of the city's character. Maybe one day things will change!
Check the localhistories.org pages on Newport for a more comprehensive history:
http://www.localhistories.org/Newport.htmlRelated to:
- Historical Travel
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of all beliefs, cultures and traditions
where everyone is invited!
the entire State of Nebraska and beyond
through the Arts
with organizations and communities
in the Arts, humanity and the "Art of Living"
in the visual and performing arts
About Hildegard
The vision for Hildegard Center for the Arts is to be THE Center that bridges cultures and communities through the Arts. It will be a place of creative inspiration where everyone is invited to share in the change we wish for our world!
Current Events
Unique experiences throughout the year involving the Arts.
Standing Bear: A Ponca Indian Cantata
New in 2016…
Just as past themes at Hildegard Center for the Arts have inspired such award winning projects as "Heroes Among Us," the Wyuka Theatrical Tour, "Art in Non-Traditional Spaces" and "Doorways to Hope," so too have we launched another exciting initiative called "Bridges." We are using the arts in fresh and innovative ways to help "build bridges" in our communities, the greater Nebraska area and far beyond. There will be many…read more here!
Bridges Photo Call
The exciting partnership between HCFA, the Nebraska Tourism Commission and the Nebraska State Historical Society called both amateur and professional photographers everywhere to capture images of historic sites and hidden treasures from all of Nebraska's 93 counties. The Nebraska 150 Commission officially endorsed the Photo Call as a Signature Event/Program for the Sesquicentennial Celebration.
The winning photos will be featured in a yearlong statewide traveling exhibit in 2017 and will be showcased in a digital catalog. ALL submitted photos will join a virtual exhibit on the HCFA website.
WINNERS ANNOUNCED Jurors Joel Sartore, Bobbi and Steve Olson and George Tuck carefully reviewed over 800 photo submissions and the results are in! Read more…
Art Bridges
Online Art Lesson Plans for Enrichment, Growth and Healing.
Hildegard's exciting initiative "Art Bridges" is now available FREE to download! This online collection includes over 120 art lesson plans, activities and articles that encompass visual art, storytelling, writing, poetry, music enrichment and drama. Lead by Project Chair, Anne Woita, "Art Bridges" encompasses over a year of research with participating artists, teachers, music and art therapists, and counselors from as close as Lincoln, NE to as far away as Spain.The piloted lesson plans are easy to implement and suitable for a wide range of audiences with varying ages, challenges, needs and interests. Read more…
Standing Bear: A Ponca Indian Cantata
Friday, November 4, 2016, 7pm, at the Lied Center's Carson Theater—Hildegard Center for the Arts of Lincoln, together with sponsoring partner, Southeast Community College Division of Humanities, will premiere a compelling musical work by Emmy Award-winning Chickasaw classical composer, Jerod Impichchaachaaha' Tate, titled "Standing Bear: A Ponca Indian Cantata."
The 25-minute cantata—written for solo baritone, piano and string-sextet—was commissioned by Hildegard Center for the Arts to share with a new generation the timeless story of Ponca Chief Standing Bear. Read more…
"Standing Bear: A Ponca Indian Cantata" to be live-streamed on NET!
– World Premiere, November 4, 7pm
– Go to netnebraska.org and click on "Live and On Demand"
– OR copy/paste the following URL into your browser
– http://netnebraska.org/interactive-multimedia/culture/standing-bear-ponca-indian-cantata
Tickets to the November 4, World Premiere are currently "sold out."
Visit the Eventbrite page to add your name to the wait list!
Who is Hildegard?
The name-sake for Hildegard Center for the Arts is Hildegard von Bingen, a German Abbess who lived the Middle Ages (1098-1179). She was a prolific writer, theologian and composer who is considered one of the most identifiable woman artists of the Middle Ages. She helped to undo many prejudices of her time and in 2012 was canonized Saint Hildegard and designated a Doctor of the Church. Her contributions to the arts and message of hope, healing and care for the earth make her timeless. Now is the time for Hildegard Center for the Arts! READ MORE >
HCFA is now registered at AmazonSmile ~ a simple and automatic way for you to support your favorite charitable organization every time you shop, at no cost to you. When you shop at smile.amazon.com, you'll find the exact same low prices, vast selection and convenient shopping experience as Amazon.com, with the added bonus that Amazon will donate a portion of the purchase price to your favorite charitable organization…like Hildegard Center for the Arts!


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