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Case Western Reserve University School of Law
11075 East Boulevard, Cleveland, Ohio 44106
Featured Speakers:
Stephen Bainbridge
Barbara Black
J. Robert Brown Jr.
Eric A. Isaacson
Richard W. Painter
Ashley C. Parrish
Andrea Seidt
This symposium is co-sponsored by the Federalist Society's Litigation Practice Group and its Corporations, Securities, & Antitrust Practice Group as well as by the Case Western Reserve University School of Law.
On October 9, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear Stoneridge Investment Partners v. Scientific-Atlanta, arguably the most important securities law case to reach the Court in a decade. In Stoneridge, the Court will consider whether primary liability under Section 10(b) extends to third-parties, such as auditors, attorneys, or vendors, who engage in allegedly fraudulent transactions with a public corporation.
In Central Bank of Denver v. First Interstate Bank of Denver (1994), a divided Supreme Court rejected claims of secondary liability under Section 10(b). Stoneridge calls upon the court to revisit Central Bank and reconsider the limits on liability for third-parties in securities litigation.
This case is of tremendous importance to all those with a corporate law or securities practice, as well as those who work with financial services or retirement and pension funds. Numerous trade associations and thirty states, including Ohio, have already participated in the case as amici, with more to follow.
Panelists confirmed to date:
- Prof. Stephen Bainbridge, University of California, Los Angeles - School of Law
- Prof. Barbara Black, University of Cincinnati College of Law
- Prof. J. Robert Brown, Jr., University of Denver College of Law
- Mr. Eric A. Isaacson, Lerach Coughlin Stoia Geller Rudman & Robbins LLP
- Prof. Richard W. Painter, University of Minnesota Law School
- Mr. Ashley C. Parrish, Kirkland & Ellis LLP
- Ms. Andrea Seidt, Deputy Chief Counsel, Office of the Ohio Attorney General Marc Dann
For more information, including a detailed schedule, please click HERE.
All participants may register online. The symposium is free and open to the public. Pending approval, 3.5 hours of Ohio CLE credit will be available for a $100 fee to lawyers who attend. Registration deadline is Friday, September 21, 2007. Space is limited. We encourage early registration. After the deadline, please call Case Western to see if there is space available.
Click HERE to register online.
The program will be broadcast live in a video webcast HERE.
Please call Case Western at (216) 368-6619 with any questions.


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My Olive Nerite Snail Eggs Hatched
That's right. I have at least 6 new ones. They're extremely tiny, otherwise, I'd include a picture. My water is within normal parameters--not even close to being brackish. I don't have any other snails but olive nerites in my tank either.
You sure they aren't limpets?
or ramshorns?
Sometimes they come in on plants, other times they are accidentally scooped from the sides of a tank while getting the invert you want.
They may have hatched for some reason but will die as well. Look at amano shrimp, they will hatch in freshwater and you can see the zoa's in the water, but they have to be moved to saltwater quickly after hatching or they won't make it.
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subset: commoncrawl


text:
I've gotten tired of all of the threads where people are asking how to prepare for rallyx/mud/gravel/dirt/etc. driving. Here's my guide. Feel free to add if I'm forgetting things, or comment if you'd like, but hopefully this will save on some of the repetitive questions.
If you're going to do the occasional rallyx, stock tires/wheels work very well. If you're going to get more serious, upgrading to rally wheels and rally tires is helpful. You can find used 15" rally wheels fairly easily, and rally tires can be found pretty easily used from rally teams that don't use them after a couple stages. I'd suggest running 40psi on the stock wheels/tires to prevent rolling the tire off the bead.
I picked up some urethane flap material from www.rallylights.com and cut them to shape. I anchored them with drywall anchors using existing holes, and they are very sturdy. Other people have used truck flaps from auto parts stores in place of the urethane.
Skid plate/rear diff protector
I picked up a rear diff protector from www.duffguards.com shortly after I got the car, and I recently got a primitive front skid plate. This protection isn't absolutely necessary, but it'll help if you're on an exceptionally rough/rocky rallyx. I've got a few scratches on my rear diff protector, and not too many on the skid plate so far, but they help with piece of mind.
The stock suspension seems pretty capable for rallyx duty. As you get more serious you may want upgrades, but stuff like DMS suspension isn't cheap.
Another great resource is www.rallycabal.com. Join the forums and ask questions. If you're in the midwest you can probably meet up for a rallyx in the area. They have a FAQ that is very good at http://www.rallycabal.com/resources/faq.php .
OK...I'm done for now. Feel free to add if anybody has suggestions, or PM me with questions.


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Apartments in Phoenix
Renaissance Apartment Homes provides a full array of recreation and conveniences. From relaxing by the pool or spa, strolling among the relaxing courtyards, enjoying a game of billiards in the clubhouse, or playing fetch with your dog at the dog park. Gather with friends and family on a Sunday afternoon and enjoy a cook out with our new BBQ grills or just come in for our Saturday brunches at the clubhouse. It's easy to call Renaissance your new home today!
All of our one and two bedroom homes include full size washer and dryer, fully equipped kitchens, wood burning fireplaces, and beautiful courtyard views. Our location provides easy access to I-17, Loop 101, major employers, Arizona State University and the Thunderbird School of International Management. Fast food restaurants and shopping are all at your fingertips with many stores walking distance to our community.
While Renaissance Apartment Homes offers convenient access to services, recreation, transportation, and employment, our community also provides a landscaped refuge from much of the hustle and bustle of city life. You can enjoy the grounds, the facilities, the activities, and the peace and quiet of your new home. Our friendly and professional team does everything it can to make our residents feel at home! Call today to schedule a visit.
Renaissance Apartment Homes
13421 N 43rd Ave Phoenix, AZ 85029
Office Hours
Mon-Fri 9am-6pm
Sat-Sun 10am-5pm


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Mmmmm, great review James, looked on Amazon and there are many unhappy owners of this, do you think id me mad to sell my TomTom 940 and get the Garmin? anyone else done the same?
@Wayne Harris Actually, yes, you would be mad! If you've still got the LIVE services on the 940, it will be a pretty handy device. Much more chunky, but very effective.
On the Amazon review front, I only found a few negative reviews when I looked. I agree that rerouting and route finding is slower than TomTom, particularly the GO 1000. But I didn't encounter any instability or crashes during testing. The 3790T was pretty dependable.
Hi james, i really can't make my mind up between this and the tomtom go live 1000. I hear the 3790t has issues when acquiring satellites? i'm also concerned that people say the 3790t cant get you from a to b? i've never had a sat nav but have found both are now within £10 of each other,which would you rec? many thanks
I have a 3790t and I've not had any problems with it acquiring satellites when outside or in the car. It's been very reliable. As for getting from A to B, again, I've not had any problems.
I am underwhelmed by three features of my 3790T.
First, the traffic update is sporadic. For much of any long journey, the normal green 'traffic info' is 'greyed' out and not being udated. Indeed sometimes, the symbol doesn't come on at all. I used to have a gizmo that picked up updates from the trafficmaster blue roadside posts which, while primitive, gave me instant data when I passed them. The is a step backwards.
Secondly, the system warns you not only of upcoming fixed gatsos but also tells you when you are in a mobile camera zone. That appears to include most of the main roads in Norfolk, with the result that it's sending you pinging warnings about this non-stop for minutes on end. I can't find any way if disabling this.
Thirdly, unlike my old Tom Tom, it DOESN'T give an audible warning when you exceed the speed limit, which is what I would like (or, if it does, I can't find how to do it). Call me old fashioned, but what I want to do is to keep within speed limits, not just to slow down to legal when there might be a camera about.
Garmin nuvi's are a very good brand. They have come a long way.
More information -
Trusted Reviews is part of the Time Inc. (UK) Ltd Technology Network
Get TrustedReviews' award-winning reviews and advice delivered to your inbox for free!


text:
related products
1 of
Our anti-gravity lounger features a stretch cord suspension system that conforms to each individual body for personalized comfort and ergonomic support. Multi-position adjustable recline, an adjustable pillow and weather-resistant fabric ensure that everyone can call this their personal favorite.
It's great for a nap on the patio or a relaxing day at the lake or by the pool. It also features a slide-out side table with cup holder.
L 22.8" x W 22.8" x H 18.9" / H 44.88"


text:
Share a Babysitter With a Neighbor
If you spend hundreds a month on childcare, consider splitting the services with a friend or family member. Maureen Dempsey, a 34-year-old mother in Brooklyn, saves about $400 a month by splitting the cost of a nanny. Four days a week, Dempsey drops off her 15-month-old daughter, Clemens, at a friend's house, where a sitter watches Clemens and another child of the same age. "Besides saving us a bundle, this arrangement gives my daughter a built-in playmate," says Dempsey. To find a sitter share in your area, post a message on care.com, a website where parents and providers can list their needs.


text:
Track using Order ID
Login and do more!
- Track individual Orders
- View your entire Order history
- Cancel individual Orders
- Conveniently review products and sellers
This is a good product I have ordered from flipkar . Class 10 means 10MBPS per second. Actually I have digital camera which record HD720 quality video. I have one Class 4 memory card free with camera but while recording high quality video sometime the video hangs a little bit. And after taking photo with class 4 memory card it used to take a little more time to save the picture to memory card and ready camera again. Transcend 16 GB Class 10 memory card solved the problem & I can record High quality video and can take high quality picture without any problem & delay.
Transcend MP330 is an Excellent device at cheap price. Previously I had Samsung YP-U2 MP3 digital audio player and its cost is very high. Features almost same. Transcend MP330 has additional features like display of date & time & line in recording, but Its display height is small.
Overall ,Transcend MP330 player is good in all aspect.
I recommend you to buy Transcend Mp330 at the price than other available brand.
The product is good. I have ordered & received at my doorstep within 3 days. The fruit filter for soft fruit is very good. but suppose you are going to extract apple with cutter - that would spread totally to the top transparent lead.


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Kevin Smith, the self-professed pothead and creative force behind such cult classics as
, makes a return visit to Toronto this week as part of his onstage series,
Kevin Smith: Live from Behind
The sold-out event features the 41-year-old film director, alongside long-time comedic partner Jason Mewes, performing their overwhelmingly popular podcast Jay and Silent Bob Get Old, followed by a Q&A session synonymous with Smith's public — and profane — appearances.
Although Smith will be interacting with his Toronto audience in the flesh, he'll also be broadcasting the event live to local theatres across North America, transforming the downtown Scotiabank theatre into a pseudo recording studio for the evening.
"I don't know if they have any idea what they're in for," the director says of his possibly unsuspecting audience. "It's like half of it is literally watching two dudes talk to each other. It sounds boring, but it's so f–king riveting because the guy I'm talking to [Mewes] is probably one of the 10 most interesting human beings that ever lived."
Known for his unreserved persona — a drug reference here, a sex joke there — Smith's monologues-turned-podcasts are, in a way, quickly becoming more popular than his own films.
"We don't talk about amazing things — we talk about the mundane and the struggles [of] being fat or being a drug addict," says the 41-year-old, whose most recent picture to hit theatres was the conservative-baiting horror flick
Red State
. "You know, just all the s–t that normal people talk about so, I don't know, it's oddly compelling."
Podcasting has been an unexpected choice of medium and career change for Smith, who sees the technology as a
viable and exciting form of entertainment, giving everyone the power to create something.
"We're all little content generators now and back in the day we used to sit in seats and say, 'Show us the entertainment, do the things that none of us could do, make the magic!' " Smith says. "Now we all know we could all make the magic. Sometimes it's a movie, but movies are kind of costly so sometimes you want to find another way to express yourself."
The director is also adding more television to his résumé, taking on executive producing credits with the new AMC show
The Comic Book Men
. The unscripted series, which premieres Feb. 12 after
The Walking Dead
, chronicles the comedic lives of the fanboys that work in his New Jersey comic book shop, Jay and Silent Bob's Secret Stash.
"I believe in trying it all. I'm like a f–king bisexual when it comes to that s–t," Smith says of his multi-faceted career. "I don't want to be that idiot that cuts himself off and goes, 'No I'm a filmmaker, a filmmaker only!' You just span all the arts, you take your shot at everything."
Kevin Smith: Live from Behind takes place Feb 2. at 9:30 p.m. at the Scotiabank Theatre in Toronto. For more information, visit scene.ca.


text:
By default, any time a web site uses the target="_blank" attribute on a link (like this one), Safari 4 will open that link in a new window. If you'd prefer it to open in a new Tab, follow the instructions outlined in this brief tutorial.
Start by opening a Terminal window (Applications -> Utilities -> Terminal). Enter the following command:
defaults write com.apple.Safari TargetedClicksCreateTabs -bool true
Now restart Safari. Links that used to open in a new Window (like this one) will now open in a new Tab instead.
If you decide you want to change back, just re-enter the command but replace true at the end of the command with false.


text:
Editors' Note: The "Download Now" link directs you to the iTunes App Store, where you must continue the download process. You must have iTunes installed in order to open the link, and you must have an active iTunes account to download the application. This download may not be available in some countries.
|Educational Software
|Map Software
Publisher's Description+
What's new in this version:
Fixed: occasional crash Fixed: occasional duplication of overlay data.License-managed maps can now be loaded from your PC to the app via iTunes file sharingGPS position icon is larger & has user-selectable colorMarks & waypoints have choice of icons and colorWifi upload removedRegister button removedMap detail shows whether the map was Downloaded from DMS or loaded into the iTunes shared documents folder.Sort map list by name, scale or distanceSort overlay data by name, date or distance


text:
Anchor Tag Attribute Disappearing
i know there was a lot of work done prior to 3.5 release to fix embed issues in the editor. i found one that others may encounter, as well. Twitter recommends that users set a custom width="" attribute for an anchor tag when styling a twitter feed (see https://dev.twitter.com/docs/embedded-timelines). However, this attribute disappears after page updates or switching between Text/Visual mode. Can anything be done about this? Thanks!
- The topic 'Anchor Tag Attribute Disappearing' is closed to new replies.


text:
Energy leads TSX higher as U.S. data fuels optimism
By John Tilak
TORONTO (Reuters) - Canada's main stock index closed stronger on Friday, led by energy and materials shares, which benefited from a rise in commodity prices after positive U.S. economic data.
U.S. non-farm payroll jobs rose in January and gains in the prior two months were bigger than initially reported, supporting views the economy's sluggish recovery was on track despite a surprise contraction in output in the final three months of 2012. <MKTS/GLOB>
Another report showed factory activity in Canada's largest export market rose last month, reaching the highest level since April.
"Investors are assuming that U.S. and global GDP growth will surprise on the upside down the road," said Sid Mokhtari, market technician and director, institutional equity research, CIBC World Markets.
The analyst noted investors in general are turning more positive on equity markets, shifting to stocks from bonds, a phenomenon some have dubbed "the great rotation".
"There is some vitality to underlying economic trends. We seem to be getting back on track," said Fred Ketchen, director of equity trading at ScotiaMcLeod. "The employment reports have not been blockbusters, but they are better than some estimates."
The Toronto Stock Exchange's S&P/TSX composite index .GSPTSE closed up 83.59 points, or 0.66 percent, at 12,768.83. Nine of the 10 main sectors on the index were trading higher.
Energy shares rose 0.9 percent, tracking higher oil prices. Brent crude climbed above $116 to hit a four-month high on economic optimism. <O/R> Continued...


text:
Emily Miller reports on two "criminal" cases.
Scumbag news turd David Gregory:
"Investigated" for possession of a high-capacity magazine in Washington, DC.
Employer asked for permission to display said high-capacity magazine in David Gregory's segment on gun control.
Permission denied by DC and its draconian enforcers.
Knew exactly what law he was violating when he started waving the magazine around during his Meet the Press segment.
Has not been arrested, and we don't even know if the turd was interviewed in connection with this incident.
Granted an interview with the President, despite being under investigation by DC police.
Handcuffed, arrested and jailed in DC for having a few rounds of ammunition in his bag.
Did not know it was illegal to possess unregistered ammunition in the city.
Charged with a crime and forced to accept a plea bargain to avoid a protracted legal battle.
Army medic and combat veteran now has criminal record and placed on DC's firearms offender registry like a common criminal.
News turd = privilege.
Combat veteran = time in the pokey.
Where's the justice?


text: We are very pleased to announce several new classes available to you & your friends in nearby Mountaindale, NY. Our very popular Zumba class has been expanded to 2 nights per week – Mon & Wed from 6:30PM to 7:30PM. We are looking at beginning a Cardio Bellydancing class on Tues nights if there is sufficient interest. Additionally, because we strongly believe in the great value of involving young children in Music, there will be a Music Together series for toddlers, beginning w/ a Free Demo Class at 5:15PM on Mon, March 28th. Additional info is attached. (more…)


text:
Registrars Office | FAQs
Frequently Asked Questions
Click the questions below to view the associated answer:
- How do I request a copy of my transcript?
- How do I know when I can register for classes?
- How do I appeal my academic dismissal?
How do I request a copy of my transcript?
Students can access unofficial transcript through the My KV Student Information Portal. If an official copy is needed, the Request for Transcript form must be filled out and submitted with payment.
How do I know when I can register for classes?
Each semester students will be notified through email when the registration period opens. Current matriculated students are given an opportunity to register one week prior to new incoming students. It is recommended that students register as soon as possible to ensure enrollment in their preferred classes.
How do I appeal my academic dismissal?
You can find complete instructions on the appeal process by accessing the Academic Dismissal document.


text:
I ran across this on Drudge this morning and found it comical. Here is a neighborhood that claims wild dogs are terrorizing them. OK, that might be a legit complaint... but its one easily fixed. Anyway, one guy decides to make a video of the dogs (or in this case, dog). So he finds one dog, chases it towards some girls waiting for the school bus... "See, the dog its terrorizing these girls!" Not only was the dog leaving the girls alone, but the girls seem like they couldn't care less.
Anyway, here is the article and video. Enjoy.
Are Packs of Wild Dogs Roaming the North Side Of St. Louis? « CBS St. Louis


text: To get from Mira to Udine by train you can catch one of the 18 trains that everyday travel between these two cities. The first train to Udine leaves from Mira at 06:00 and the last train departs at 22:24. If you choose a local train the trip lasts on average 01:50 hours. For your trip from Mira to Udine by train you can choose to leave from one of Mira main stations: Mira-Mirano On Wanderio you can compare all schedules, fares and railway companies to Udine and book the best itinerary starting from Mira.


text:
Besides all the documentation below, we also have a shiny new help center which contains all our FAQs! So, if you have a specific question, look there first. If you can't find the answer there, you can ask us right from the help center by clicking on the smiling speech bubble or by emailing email@example.com.
How To...
Table of Contents
- Preface
- How to Start a Book From Scratch
Step One: Create A Leanpub Account & New Book
- Leanpub Homepage
- Create Account Page
- Write
- Progress Bar
- Previews
- Dropbox
- Your Book's Landing Page (Web Page)
- About the Book
- Adding Content To and Editing Your Book
- Adding a Cover Image
- Editing a Chapter
- Creating a New Chapter
- Markdown
- Selecting the Content for Your Book
- Editing the Book Sample
- About the Author
- Setting Your Book's Pricing
- Review Changes To Your Ebook
- Step Three: Publish Your Book
In this book we will show you how to make and publish a book from scratch.
Rather than simply setting out some dry instructions, in this book and the accompanying video we hope you'll follow along by going through the process yourself. (The latest video and more information can be found at http://leanpub.com/help).
In the following chapters, we'll walk you step-by-step through:
- creating an account
- creating a preview of your new test book that only you can see
- editing that preview and your sample text
- viewing the effects of your edits
- publishing your test book on Leanpub
Since what you'll be making as you follow along is just a test book, you can simply delete it when you're done. So you don't need to worry about any snafus along the way - just have fun playing with Leanpub!
One last thing before you get started: like many other Leanpub books, this one is also a 'living' book that will be changed in response to reader comments and suggestions. So if there's anything you'd like us to cover that we missed, or if you have any suggestions for improvement, please email us at firstname.lastname@example.com.
The Leanpub Team
How to Start a Book From Scratch
This book follows the Leanpub video 'How to Start a Book from Scratch', in which we show you how to create a Leanpub account and take a new book from creation all the way to publication.
You'll learn about a number of Leanpub features, like easily creating a landing page / web page for your book, setting the minimum and suggested price, and more!
You can watch the video on Leanpub's Help page at http://leanpub.com/help and on YouTube.
The three steps to creating a Leanpub book from scratch are:
Step One: Create A Leanpub Account & New Book
Step Two: Create a Preview and Edit Your Book
Step Three: Publish Your Book
Step One: Create A Leanpub Account & New Book
Leanpub Homepage
The first step is to go to Leanpub's homepage at leanpub.com and click 'Sign Up' at the top right of the page. This takes you to the 'Create Account' page.
Create Account Page
On this page, you'll be asked to enter some basic information about yourself and about the new book that Leanpub will generate for you. All of this information can be changed later on, so you don't need to worry about being stuck with the choices you make right now.
Enter Your Name and Username
You will be prompted to enter your first name and your last name and to create a username for your account. The name you choose is what the public will see, and you can choose a pseudonym if you wish. Leanpub will automatically generate a username for you based on your first name and last name, but you can change this if you want to, or if someone has already taken that username.
Enter Your Email Address and Create a Password
Next you enter the email address you'd like to use when you're communicating with Leanpub. You'll also be asked to create a password for your account.
Enter Book Name
Next you'll be asked to create a title for your book. You can always change this at a later time. Since for now you're just making a book to test out Leanpub, you can call it whatever you like.
Enter Book URL
At this stage you'll also be asked to enter a URL for your book. This is the address of the web page that Leanpub will automatically create for your book. Until you have your first sale, you can change this URL at any time. It can't have any spaces and it's best to keep it all in lower-case letters, since that looks better in Internet browser address bars. This will be the landing page or public staging area for your book, and you want it to look great!
Select Book Style
The last thing you'll need to do is select a 'Book Style'. Leanpub has three default book styles, Business, Fiction and Technical, each of which has different default settings for things like page size, font size, and other parameters. You can change the book style at any time, and you can also play with a number of formatting options available within each book style. In the video, we went with the plain Business style.
Click 'Create Account and Book'
Now that you've filled everything in, it's time to create your new Leanpub account and the template files for your first book! Just scroll to the bottom of the page and click this button:
After you click this button, you'll be taken to a page where you can start writing your book.
At this point, Leanpub has already done some background work such as setting up a folder for your new book, creating the web page for your book, and giving you access to Leanpub's online services.
The page you are now on will guide you through the steps required to start writing your book. Once you are done, it will ask you to create a preview of your new book.
Progress Bar
At the top of the page you'll also see the handy blue Leanpub progress bar, which shows up whenever you've given Leanpub a task to complete. In just a moment, you'll see Leanpub complete all the steps in the creation of the files and folders for your new book! When it's done, the progress bar will indicate that the book creation process is complete:
A Preview is a version of your book that only you can see. You generate Previews whenever you've made changes to your content or formatting and you'd like to see how they look in the ebook. Essentially, a Preview is a kind of 'working copy' of your book. When you're happy to release your book to the public for the first time, or when you've updated the book and want to release the latest version to the public, that's when you'll go to the Publish page in the book tools - but more on that later!
Previews are created in all three ebook formats that Leanpub produces for published books, namely PDF, MOBI and EPUB. PDF files can be read on any computer using a PDF viewer like Preview (for Macs) or Adobe Reader (which you can download for free). EPUB format ebooks are for the iPad and a number of specialized ebook readers. The MOBI format is used for reading ebooks on the Amazon Kindle. So your Leanpub ebook will be available to be read on a number of different devices in a variety of formats.
Leanpub offers you two ways to write your book. You can use our online editor that we have already gone over, or you can use Dropbox.
Leanpub works with Dropbox by setting up a shared folder for your book online. Dropbox is a file hosting service that offers cloud storage and file synchronization, and you can sign up to use it for free. When you're working on a shared folder in Dropbox, any changes you make on your computer are synchronized online. That means that the next time you save a change on your computer, Dropbox registers the change, and Leanpub will be working from your very latest files.
To access the shared Dropbox folder that Leanpub has created for your book, click on "Settings" in the navigation bar. On the following page, click on "Writing". Here you can select the "Sync with Dropbox" button and then click "Switch to File Mode". This action will send you an email with directions on how to access your Dropbox folder.
Open the email, scroll to the bottom and click the blue 'View' link and you'll sync your Dropbox folder on your computer with the new folder for your book.
At this point you'll be taken to a sign in page for Dropbox (unless you're already signed in to your Dropbox account). Once you're signed in, you'll be prompted to accept a Dropbox sharing request.
You can also create a Dropbox account at this point, if you don't already have one, and once you're done setting it up on your computer, that's when you'll be prompted to accept the shared folder invitation for your book.
Once you've accepted the shared folder invitation for your book, Dropbox will get to work syncing your computer with the shared folder, which exists online. Whenever Dropbox has finished syncing the files on your computer with the online folder, you will see a green checkmark in the Dropbox icon in your computer's menu bar.
Your Book's Landing Page (Web Page)
Once the progress bar shows you that the generation of your Preview is complete, click on 'Public Page' in the book tools.
This will take you to your book's 'landing page' or public web page, the one Leanpub created as soon as you clicked 'Create My Account and Book'.
Here's a screenshot of an example landing page:
On the landing page, you'll see:
- the book's title (and subtitle, if there is one)
- some text indicating that the book is currently unpublished
- the author name
- a section where a visitor to the landing page can enter their name and email address, and the price they'd be willing to pay for the book, and a blue button she can click so she can be notified when the book is published
- an 'About the Author' section which will, by default, include any information about yourself that you've entered in your account (we'll work on this a bit later)
About the Book
In order to enter some information for the 'About the Book' on your book's landing page, click on 'Settings' in the book tools. This is the most important book tool you have for changing the parameters of the book you're making, and for adding details to your book's web page. It's here that you can change the book title, add a subtitle, change the book's URL (until your first sale!), font size, page size, and a number of other details!
If you click on the tab that is labelled "Landing Page" you will be redirected to the page where you can add information for your "About the Book" section.
When you scroll down a bit, you'll find the 'About the Book' section, where you can enter information that will appear on your book's landing page:
Whenever you've made changes to the Settings page, please scroll to the bottom of the page and click the 'Update Book' button to make sure the changes are implemented:
After you click the 'Update Book' button, you'll can go back to your book's landing page, where you can see the impact of the changes you've made on the Settings page. For example, in the screenshot below, you can now see the content in the About the Book section:
(Please note that any time you spot an error on your landing page you can just go back to the Settings page and correct it immediately).
Adding Content To and Editing Your Book
Now let's take a look at the shared folder that was created for your book using Dropbox. In the video we're using a Mac, so we navigate to different folders using the Finder; if you're using a PC, this will look different, as you'll be using Windows Explorer.
When you navigate to your Dropbox folder, you'll find a folder in it for your book; in the video our example book folder is 'howtogettomars'. In that folder you'll find the 'manuscript' folder, which is the all-important folder where all the files with your book's content are kept:
Before we start editing content in the manuscript folder, let's first take a look at the Preview ebook that has already been created for you. In order to do that, go back to the Preview page in the book tools, and you'll see that you now have links where you can download the ebook in the three formats that Leanpub generates:
You'll note on this page that whenever Leanpub generates Previews, it makes Previews of both your 'Full Book' and your 'Book Sample'. The 'Full Book' is, naturally enough, your complete book. The 'Book Sample' is an ebook that Leanpub generates from just a small part of your full book, and is made available for free download to readers who come to your book's landing page. You can decide what to include in the Book Sample (we'll be showing you how to easily edit its contents below), or you can decide not to make a sample available at all.
However, we do encourage you to make a free sample available. This replicates an important part of the traditional book buying process. In a physical bookstore, a reader can go in, browse the shelves, and actually take down your book, maybe read a blurb about it on the back, and see some information about you, the author. All of these 'features' are provided virtually on Leanpub, via its Bestsellers page and your book's landing page. But the reader in a physical bookstore can also open up the book and take a look at some of the contents, to see if they like your writing. The Book Sample on Leanpub is the virtual version of this feature of buying a book the traditional way, and potential readers really appreciate the chance to get a look inside before they buy.
Now let's take a look at the PDF Preview that was created from the template book files. The first thing you'll see is the title page, which Leanpub generates automatically in black and white:
(Please note that in these screenshots, taken from the video, we'll be looking at the PDF in Preview. This will look different if you're using a different PDF viewer, like Adobe Reader).
The second page of your Preview will be the 'verso' page that Leanpub generates with some standard publication information, including the date on which this version of your book was created:
The next page you'll see is the Contents page, which Leanpub also generates automatically. At this point, you'll just see one section, 'Chapter One', which was created as part of the default new book template:
If you click on sections in the Contents page, you'll navigate directly to that page in the ebook.
The next page is the default Chapter One text that Leanpub inserts in every new book template:
Next, we're going to show you how to make some changes to your Preview. We'll show you how to insert a cover image, how to edit the text in Chapter One, and how to create a new chapter.
Adding a Cover Image
Adding a cover image to a Leanpub book is easy, but you have to have a cover image ready in the first place! For now, let's just use the default cover image that Leanpub provides in its sample books. To download the sample book for a 'Business' style book, you can click on this link:
Once you click on the link, you'll download a file called 'samplebusiness.zip'. Once you unzip and open the file (you should be able to do this by just double-clicking on the file), you'll see some folders similar to those in the book you're working on:
If you go into the 'manuscript' folder and then into the 'images' folder, you'll find a file called 'title_page.jpg'.
When you generate a Preview on Leanpub, it looks in the 'images' folder to see if you have a cover image. Specifically, it looks for a file called 'title_page.jpg' or 'title_page.jpg' (jpg and png are two different image formats). So if you create a cover image, just rename it 'title_page.jpg' and put it in the 'images' folder for your book, and it will be the new cover image for your book.
For now, you can just copy the 'title_page.jpg' file in the current folder, and then paste it into the 'images' folder for the book your working on (in the video, once again, the book folder is called 'howtogettomars'):
Next time you create a Preview, you'll see this image will be used to create the cover for your book.
Please note that different book styles have different size requirements for cover pages. You can find these requirements in The Leanpub Manual and on the Leanpub Documentation page at http://leanpub.com/docs, but don't worry about it for now - just play around with this default cover image to see how this process works.
Editing a Chapter
Now let's edit that default text in Chapter One. In order to do that, in the 'manuscript' folder for your book, go to the 'chapter1.txt' file:
… and double click on it to open it up. In the screenshots below and in the video, we use TextEdit, to edit .txt files; on your own computer you might have a different program set as your default text editor, so this might look different to you.
To change the text that appears in your book, just change the text in the chapter1.txt file. Here's what we did in the video:
When you save your changes to chapter1.txt on your computer, Dropbox will synch those changes, so that next time you generate a Preview on Leanpub, Leanpub will be looking at the latest version of the file, and you'll see your changes reflected in your next Preview.
Creating a New Chapter
To create a new chapter, go into TextEdit (or whatever text editor you're using), open a new file and add some text. Save the file as 'chapter2.txt' and make sure it's saved into your book's 'manuscript' folder. Here's what we did in the video:
If you take a look in the 'manuscript' folder, now you should see the 'chapter2.txt' file is there:
One thing you'll have noticed in the 'chapter1.txt' and 'chapter2.txt' files is that the first lines were preceded by a number sign, like this:
# Chapter One
The number sign tells Leanpub that what follows is the text for a 'header'. The 'header' appears in the Table of Contents and as bold text, in a large font size, before the text that follows.
Using the number sign to indicate that you're invoking a 'header' is a part of writing in Markdown, the text format that Leanpub uses to generate ebooks. You'll learn more about Markdown as you become more familiar with writing on Leanpub. Essentially, it's a really simple way of formatting books so that the formatting appears correctly in different ebook formats (PDF, EPUB and MOBI). For more information about formatting in Markdown, you can check out the Markdown 'syntax' page at http://daringfireball.net/projects/markdown/.
Selecting the Content for Your Book
Now for the really important part! When Leanpub generates a Preview from the content in your 'manuscript' folder, it needs to know which files to include, and in which order.
This function is carried out using the 'Book.txt' file that Leanpub creates in your 'manuscript' folder. 'Book.txt' is a list of the files that you want included in your book, in the order that you want them to appear. Here's what it looks like by default:
Pretty simple eh? Remember, the Preview we looked at just had one section: Chapter One. That's because when the Preview was generated, Leanpub looked in 'Book.txt' and saw that the only item in the list was 'chapter1.txt', so that's all it included when it made the Preview.
What this means is that you can actually have content in your 'manuscript' folder that isn't included in your ebook. Only the files listed in 'Book.txt' will appear in your book. This is useful if you're working on new chapters that you don't yet want to include in the latest version of your book, for example. You don't have to take the file out of 'manuscript'; you can just take it out of the list of files in 'Book.txt'.
So, in order to make sure our new chapter is included in our next Preview, we just have to type in 'chapter2.txt' in the 'Book.txt' file and save the change:
Now, when we create a new Preview, Chapter Two will appear after Chapter One.
Editing the Book Sample
Next, let's confirm the content we want to be included in our Book Sample, which will also be created next time we generate a Preview of the book.
To tell Leanpub what to include in the Book Sample, you use the file 'Sample.txt' (which is also in your 'manuscript' folder) in exactly the same way you use 'Book.txt'. 'Sample.txt' is a list of the files in the 'manuscript' folder that you want to appear in your Book Sample, in the order you want them to appear. So if we open up the 'Sample.txt' file currently in the 'manuscript' folder, here's what we'll find:
… which makes sense of course, because the PDF of the Book Sample we looked at earlier only had the one chapter.
In this case, we're making a full book with just two chapters, so it makes sense to show just one chapter in the Book Sample. Therefore we can just leave 'Sample.txt' as it is, listing just 'chapter1.txt' for inclusion in the Book Sample.
Now we're ready to create a new Preview of our book, to see the impact of these changes! To do that, just go back to your Internet browser and back to the Preview page in Leanpub, and click the 'Create a Preview of My Book' button.
About the Author
While Leanpub is working on the new Preview, let's take a moment to add some 'About the Author' information to the book's landing page. One way to do this is to add information to your account; since you've just created your new Leanpub account, it's a good idea to add some information about yourself anyway.
When you're signed in to Leanpub, at the top right of the screen you'll see the name you entered when you created your account. If you click on your name, a little menu will appear with some options. To edit your account, click on 'Dashboard' and then "Account".
This takes you to your 'Edit Account' page. This is where you can set up and change various aspects of your Leanpub account, like your Full Name, your Username, and your email address:
If you scroll down, you'll find a section called 'About You'. Any information you enter here will be used by default in the 'About the Author' section for all of your Leanpub books. Here's the information we entered in the video:
Once you've made changes to the 'Edit Account' page, scroll to the bottom of the page and click the 'Save Account Settings' button to make sure the changes are registered:
To see one impact of this change, go to the top right of the screen again and click on your name, and then click on 'View Your Profile' in the menu that appears:
Then you'll be taken to your Leanpub profile page, where you'll see the text you entered in the 'About You' section just a moment ago:
Note that you'll also see information about your Leanpub books (in this case, you just see the new book you've created). If you click on the blue title text for your book, you'll be taken to the book's landing page, where you'll see that the 'About You' information is now appearing in the 'About the Author' section:
Setting Your Book's Pricing
Since we're almost ready to publish our book, it's time to set the pricing. In order to do that, go back to the Settings page in the book tools, select 'Sell', then 'Pricing' and you will see the 'Minimum Book Price' and 'Suggested Book Price' sections. Let's change the Minimum Book Price to $10.00 and the Suggested Book Price to $15.00:
The reason you set two prices is that Leanpub uses 'variable pricing'. In the more familiar model of buying things, a buyer is just given one sticker price, and that's it, take it or leave it. With variable pricing, a buyer is presented with a suggested price, and then chooses how much she wants to pay. She can just accept the suggested price, or she can pay less, down to the minimum price amount. But she can also pay more, and we find that buyers do often do that. We suggest you experiment a bit with your pricing, since you can sometimes get surprising results.
For example, lowering the suggested price can often mean you make more money, because people think the suggested price is too low, and they opt to pay more. That means that if your initial suggested price is, say, $15, people might feel that's too steep, and go down to your minimum price of $10. But if you lower your suggested price to $12, people might feel that's too low, and instead opt to pay you $17.
Please note that with Leanpub, your minimum book price can be as low as zero, but the next lowest price is $0.99 - that's because financial transactions cost money, and at a price above zero but below $0.99, we'd actually be losing money on every sale.
Finally, as always, go to the bottom of the page and click the 'Update Pricing' button to make sure the changes you've just made are registered!
Note that when you go back to your book's landing page after updating the price settings, you still won't see them appear, because your book has not been published yet.
Review Changes To Your Ebook
So, we've generated a new Preview of the book after making some changes, and now it's time for us to review the impact of those changes and confirm everything's ok, before we go ahead and publish.
To do this, go back to the Preview page in the book tools and click on the .pdf link for the Full Book in order to download the latest version:
Right away you'll notice a big change - now you have a title page for your book! In this case of course it's the Sample Business Book image we downloaded from Leanpub, but now that you know how to do this, you can replace it with your own cover image anytime.
To see another change, check out the Contents page:
Now, instead of seeing just 'Chapter One', you'll see the titles of two chapters, and that the titles are the same ones we typed into the 'chapter1.txt' and 'chapter2.txt' files, like this:
Here's what the changed text for Chapter One looks like in our new ebook Preview:
Now let's check out the Book Sample. We could download it the same way we just downloaded the Full Book, but instead, let me show you another neat Leanpub feature.
Go back into the Dropbox folder for your book, and now go into the folder called 'preview':
Here you'll find that whenever you create a new Preview of your book, Leanpub automatically puts copies of the ebook files in the 'preview' folder that is kept in the shared Dropbox folder for your book. So you don't have to download copies of your ebook from your Leanpub account - you already have them on your computer and you can just open them directly!
If you double-click on the PDF of the sample book and scroll down to the Contents page, you'll see that it just shows Chapter One. That's because in the 'Sample.txt' file, we only listed the 'chapter1.txt' file. Here's a screenshot of the ebook contents page and the 'Sample.txt' file side-by-side:
So everything looks good! The book may still be in progress, but that shouldn't prevent us from making it public, and starting to get feedback from readers, and develop a following. It's time to publish our book!
Step Three: Publish Your Book
Publishing the Latest Version of Your Book
To publish the book, click on the Publish link in your book tools. This will take you to the following page:
One thing you'll notice right away is that there is a section here for 'Release Notes'. When your book is published, anyone who clicked the green button on your book's landing page asking to be notified of publication, will be sent an email from Leanpub telling them that your book is now available. If you want to send them a customized message, you can enter it here - telling them that this is the first version of your book, or the latest version, or the final version, or whatever you like.
In this case we know no one has signed up for this book, so let's just leave this section empty, and go directly to the bottom of the page and click the 'Publish My Book' button.
Now you'll see Leanpub's progress bar telling you that it's on its way to publishing your book!
Leanpub's Royalty Structure
In the meantime, here's some information about Leanpub's royalty structure. As soon as your book is published, people will be able to pay for it, so it's important that you have some information about how much you're going to get from each sale.
Traditionally, when someone buys a print book, they go to a book store and pay the sticker price. Let's say that you've had your book published in print and the sticker price is $20. When someone buys the book, half their money goes to the bookstore and other middlemen, leaving 50% for your publisher, or in this case $10. In a typical publishing contract, an author might get 10%. But that's not 10% of the sale price - that's 10% of the publisher's take. So in this example, when someone pays $20 for your print book, you get $1.
Now, let's say you're also selling your content as an ebook on Leanpub. Since it's an ebook and not a print book, people would expect the price to be lower, so let's say that in this case you set the price at $10 (which is the minimum price we set earlier for the book we're working on right now). With Leanpub's royalty structure of 90% - 50 cents (per transaction, to take care of transaction costs), you'd get $8.50 of the buyer's $10.
Just to put that in some perspective, let's say you sold 12 copies of your book as a Leanpub ebook. Then you'd make $8.50 x 12 = $102. But you'd have to sell 100 copies of your book in print form, with a traditional publisher, in order to make $100, since your take would be just $1 per print book sale. And that's true even assuming that the price of a print book is twice the price of an ebook!
Let's go back to the Publish page in Leanpub to see if the book we're working on has been published:
You can see from the blue progress bar that the publication process is complete. So now you can just click on 'Your Book' in the top left to see the impact this has had on your book's landing page:
As you can see things are quite different. Now the 'Unpublished' text is gone, and so are the boxes where interested readers could ask to be notified of your book's publication. Instead, there's a green button that says 'Buy Now', and underneath the button there's a link allowing readers to download your Book Sample free, in PDF format. Also, readers can see the minimum and suggested price for the book.
When someone wants to buy your book, they click on the green button and are taken to the following page:
On this page, you'll see something really cool: Leanpub's variable pricing 'sliders'. The top slider lets buyers set the price they're going to pay for the book. In this case, the suggested price for the book is $15, so that's where the slider starts. If the buyer wants to pay less, she can grab the slider and drag it to the left, until she gets to your minimum price:
But the buyer can also drag the slider to the right to pay more, or they can just type in the amount they want to pay by clicking on the price:
And when the buyer is happy with the price she's selected, she just scrolls to the bottom of the page and can purchase via Credit Card or PayPal:
Just one last thing about pricing: you may have noticed that in addition to the 'You Pay' slider on top, there's also an 'Author Earns' slider on the bottom. The two sliders move in tandem: when you drag the 'You Pay' slider to pay more, you see that the 'Author Earns' amount is also going up.
This is a really powerful tool, and a big change in the way people think about what they're doing when they're buying something. For example, one thing we found after we put these sliders on our site, was that people were paying odd prices for books, like $11.67. When we looked into it to see what was going on, we discovered something pretty neat. People weren't selecting the price they were going to pay; they were selecting how much they wanted to give the author.
In the $11.67 example, what was happening was that buyers were choosing to give authors $10.00 even:
Which is pretty cool!
Marketing Your Book
Now that your book is published, it's time to tell the world about it. We're not going to spend a lot of time here telling you how to market your book. But since you already have a landing page set up for your book, you're already well on your way. Just copy and paste the URL from the landing page and head over to Twitter, and/or Facebook, or whatever social networking site your prefer, paste in the URL and send a message to your followers to get the ball rolling.
Thanks very much for reading this section, and thanks for being a Leanpub author!


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Jump to:Page Content
Home > News & Events > News > News Archive > HKS in the News April 4, 2012
1. The 2012 US election - through the prism of the economy (Kamarck) PublicServiceEurope.com
2. China's Wen urges breakup of bank monopoly as growth slows (Overholt) Reuters News
3. The momentum to remove fuel subsidies (Mawardi) The Jakarta Post
The 2012 US election - through the prism of the economy
April 3
Commentary by: Elaine Kamarck
Topic: The upcoming 2012 general election campaign
... While former governor Mitt Romney has not had an easy time convincing hard core Republican primary voters that he is the 'real deal' and conservative enough to be the nominee - his persistence, his money and his organisation will most likely make him the presumptive nominee sometime this month. The pivot from a nomination to a general election contest has already started with several hard-hitting speeches by United States President Barack Obama. As the campaign pivots, the debate changes – away from the social issues like contraception and abortion that preoccupy the Republican base and towards a set of issues that engage a broader electorate.
China's Wen urges breakup of bank monopoly as growth slows
Reuters News
April 4
Quoted: William Overholt, Ash Center
Topic: Chinese economy
...As the economy has slowed, the role of state banks in rationing credit has come more into focus. They prefer to lend to other state firms, starving smaller entrepreneurial companies that must then borrow from informal lenders at high rates.
Only last week, Beijing approved financial reforms for Wenzhou - known as the country's cradle of private enterprise - to encourage private investment in local banks.
Experts said the need for further steps was apparent, though it remained to be seen whether the views of Wen, due to step down next year in China's biggest leadership change in a decade, would translate into action under the new leadership.
"The basic need for drastic financial reforms is clear," said William Overholt, senior research fellow at the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University and author of "Asia, America, and the Transformation of Geopolitics."
The momentum to remove fuel subsidies
The Jakarta Post
April 4
Commentary by: Izhari Mawardi MPP 2012
Topic: Fuel subsidies in Indonesia
If Bank Indonesia (BI) cuts three zeros in the Indonesian rupiah, the nation's consumers would lose confidence in our currency. For many old enough to remember, it would be the sanering or slashing of the currency's value of 1959 all over again.
If we handle the redenomination quickly, these pains can be minimized. But for the redenomination to work, BI must also expedite the redenomination to maximize the momentum gained from the potential elimination of fuel subsidy.
This selection of media appearances is compiled by the Office of Communications and Public Affairs.
To submit an item please email Jane Finn-Foley


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The Washington Post is reporting WR DeSean Jackson , while being covered by cornerback Darrelle Revis in a joint practice with the Patriots, "made a cut to the inside but suddenly started hopping on his right foot and made his way to the sideline unable to put pressure on his left foot." It seems to be a left ankle/foot injury which was wrapped and iced while Jackson missed the rest of practice. The injury doesn't appear to be significant, but he is expected to miss the Redskins' first preseason game.
Fantasy Analysis:
We'll update with more information as it's released. As long as the injury is not significant, Jackson can be viewed as a solid WR2 option with upside under new pass-heavy head coach Jay Gruden. He will surely blow the top of opposing defenses with his lightning speed and agile frame.


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Samuel L. Jackson and Chris Evans Brighten Up the Morning Commute
Keeping low profiles before their massive movie event, Chris Evans and Samuel L. Jackson arrived in London on the Eurostar in preparation for the UK premiere of "Captain America: The Winter Soldier."
Ready to head off to their respective hotels, the Marvel men each sported casual threads, looking a little disinterested as fans and cameras surrounded them upon their arrival.
Taking to his Twitter account to share his excitement over public transportation, Jackson wrote, "About to hop a train to London! Never done this."
Attached to his post was a fun selfie of the 65-year-old with the massive train station over his shoulder. "Captain America: The Winter Soldier" makes its way to theaters April 4th.


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iptables, snort, rkhunter, SELinux, bastion-linux (it's a script, start with this one).
You can also do things like use OpenVAS to check the security of your local system, it's a good way to figure out what has changed when you start a new service, and the issues inherent to each service you enable.
Others will have a few more tools to suggest, those are the ones I think to start with.


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It's something we all know from experience: the speed of your broadband connection depends on where you live. And we all have an anecdote about a previous address we lived at, or a friend or relative's house, which seems to offer up rather different speeds to our own home. But it's difficult to get the wider picture and understand quite how much broadband speed varies across the UK.
And the latest analysis of official figures by regulator Ofcom reveals some startling differences. The Labour Party is highlighting that there is a very real divide between town and country, with rural areas suffering from broadband speeds less than half those of urban areas.
According to the figures, Omagh in Northern Ireland is the worst-connected area of the UK in terms of basic broadband coverage, with 27.4% of homes with internet not getting at least 2Mbps. Moreover, there are significant areas where 25% or more of the premises which are connected to the internet are receiving less than 2Mbps, the threshold for a service qualifying as 'broadband' under the definition by Ofcom.
Barely-there broadband
Overall, the analysis found that the average speed for rural areas is 5.9Mbps, compared to 14.6Mbps for urban areas. That the digital divide between town and country is yet to be bridged is a criticism backed up by a study last month from uSwitch that highlighted the enormous difference between speeds which can exist on a street-by-street level.
According to the report, Cromarty Road in Stamford, Lincolnshire, suffers from a "barely-there" average download speed of 0.132Mbps – more than 500 times slower than the UK's fastest road, Willowfield in Telford, which recorded an average of 70.9Mbps. The national average is around 9Mbps.
uSwitch also highlighted the challenge facing the government, whose plans for rolling out superfast broadband by 2015 would mean 90% of the UK would see headline speeds increasing to more than 20Mbps. The policy also aims to effectively eradicate slow internet connections, with the aim of providing universal access to standard broadband speeds of at least 2Mbps.
Something to bear in mind is that the reported speeds enjoyed by residents in these 'state of the nation' tests don't necessarily highlight whether infrastructure for faster speeds is in place – just the actual speeds residents are getting. In some areas generally slow speeds may be due to the fact that the residents are on the whole choosing not to use the facility which is available to them.
Making the most of it
So, depending on where you live, the maximum broadband speed you can get may be out of your hands. But there are some steps you can take to make the most of what you have.
Firstly, it makes sense to try a free online speed test, such as the one from uSwitch – when you know what you are currently getting you can make an informed decision about whether you think it is good value. Try using this broadband comparison chart from TalkTalk to get an idea of different broadband packages.
Regardless of where you live, you can try these simple tips to make sure you are not hampering your broadband speed:
- Avoid downloading or streaming content at peak evening times.
- Make sure your Wi-Fi is password-protected to block unwanted people siphoning off your bandwidth.
- Stay close to your broadband router – and adjust its position if necessary.
- Update your favourite browser to the latest, most efficient version.
- Close unwanted applications running in the background – particularly video players or TV download programmes.
- More about:
- Insurance
- Justice
- Property
- Social Media


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INTERVIEW-Valeant CEO receives unsolicited buyer interest for core assets
(Adds CEO comments on asset sales)
By Rod Nickel
Aug 9 (Reuters) - Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc has received unsolicited interest for its core assets, although the company is not actively shopping them, Chief Executive Officer Joe Papa said on Tuesday.
Earlier in the day, the Laval, Quebec-based company said it would sell billions of dollars in noncore assets to pay down debt. Valeant shares jumped 19.4 percent to $26.75 in midday N.Y. trading.
Valeant also maintained its earnings forecast for the year, to the relief of investors, although its second-quarter results missed expectations.
Papa stressed to analysts on a conference call that Valeant was focused on selling pieces that are not central to its business. But in an interview he said he would not rule out going further.
"I have had some inbound interest expressed in some of our core and noncore assets," Papa told Reuters. "We have to think about any alternative in front of us as we look to improve shareholder value. We're going to take anything that we get, from an offer or unsolicited bid, very seriously."
Papa declined to comment on whether he had received interest in a takeover of Valeant since assuming the helm in May.
Valeant has labeled its Bausch + Lomb eye care, dermatology, Salix gastrointestinal and consumer over-the-counter businesses as core. Papa would not say if Valeant received interest in Bausch, which he said is "one of the most valuable assets we own." Continued...


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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 5/2/2014 (1236 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
WASAGAMING — Winter is part of what makes Canada special and getting outside to enjoy winter activities is the best cure for cabin fever.
That's the message that Friends of Riding Mountain National Park is sharing during Winter Adventure Weekend being held Friday through Sunday at Clear Lake.
"Hibernation is for bears. We like to face winter with enthusiasm and a sense of adventure," said George Hartlen, CAO of Friends of RMNP, a not-for-profit organization promoting the enjoyment and protection of southern Manitoba's only national park.
"'Getting outside together' is our theme this year. There are so many ways to enjoy our longest season, and it adds to the fun when you get out there and take part with friends and family."
Whatever your interest, young or old, new to winter or seasoned veteran, there are lots of activities and challenges to choose from this year. Local businesses and not-for-profit organizations are pitching in to make this year's event the best one yet.
A few new elements have been added this year. On Friday night, the Foxtail Cafe will be hosting a concert and dinner, while kids can enjoy themselves at the Onanole Hall where a supervised evening of age-appropriate activities is planned.
Saturday will feature everybody's favourite treat, Beaver Tails, horse-drawn wagon rides, a boot hockey tournament, Clear Lake Winter Olympics, maple syrup rolling, a photography workshop, snowshoeing, scavenger hunts, tobogganing and the ever popular Valentine's skate at the Elkhorn Resort's skating rink.
"Winter isn't something we just have to suffer through," said Scot Shellborn, president of the Onanole and District Recreation Centre. "Fresh air and physical activity are the secret to enjoying the season. Winter Adventure Weekend gives visitors and locals alike the chance to try out a lot of new activities to see which they like best."
Winter Adventure Weekend also coincides with the annual Onanole Men's Hockey Tournament at the Onanole Rec Centre. On Saturday, there is a family friendly pizza parlour, and a beer garden. There will be lots of great hockey and even some not-so-great-but-hilarious-nonetheless hockey.
The annual Cabin Fever Reliever Social will round out the day. The playbill will feature a reunion of the Smokey Hollow Band, as well as Better Than so the dance floor will be packed as usual.
One of the more out-of-the-ordinary activities is the Snow Hotel located at the Friends of RMNP Learning Centre.
Visitors are invited to book a room (space is limited) for a night of winter camping. No experience is necessary. Guests will be able to learn from experts as several skilled winter campers will be on hand to guide you. There will also be handy warm up facilities and an indoor washroom available throughout the night if needed.
During the day, there will be demonstrations about how to build your own snow shelter or quinzee. Advance booking is encouraged but if you want to build or bring your own shelter, you can just drop in.
Sunday's activities will include activities such as snow painting and sculpting, a s'mores making clinic around the campfire and snowshoeing.
For more information, visit friendsofridingmountain.ca or call 204-848-4037.
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The 5-year-old Italian-bred snagged his second group I prize, having won the Queen Anne Stakes (Eng-I) at Royal Ascot in his last start. With the victory, Ramonti became the first horse since Rousillon in 1985 to complete the Queen Anne/Sussex Stakes double.
Frankie Dettori settled the Godolphin color-bearer into fifth place as Trinity College and Archipenko, stablemates of Excellent Art, set a torrid pace up front and quickly drew several lengths clear of the rest of the field. South African invader Asiatic Boy raced in third, with favorite Excellent Art being held up in seventh by jockey Jamie Spencer.
Ramonti rolled smoothly to the front with two furlongs left, and was soon a length or two clear of the field. By this time, Spencer had Excellent Art under a furious drive on the outside, but the pair could never quite reach Ramonti, falling a head short at the wire.
Sir Michael Stoute's Jeremy rallied gamely to capture third over Asiatic Boy, 1 3/4-lengths behind the top pair.
Time for the mile was 1:37.62 over a turf course rated good.
Winning trainer Saeed bin Suroor told reporters after the race: "It is great to see Ramonti win another group I, and our horses are flying at the moment. (Ramonti) is improving all the time, and he was kicking and squealing during his last piece of work, which told me he was good enough to win today."
The Queen Elizabeth II Stakes (Eng-I) Sept. 29 was mentioned as possible for Ramonti's next start.
Ramonti is a 5-year-old horse by Martino Alonso out of Fosca, by El Gran Senor. He was bred in France by SPA Siba.


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Johnny Winter "Live Rockpalast 1979" DVD and Guitar Gods Limited Edition Collectible Figure Arrive July 26
Live Rockpalast 1979 features Johnny and his three piece band live on Germany's famous Rockpalast TV show in 1979... Straight up blues like only Johnny can deliver, lean and mean. Johnny and the band also blaze through some killer covers like the Rolling Stones' "Jumping Jack Flash" and "Suzie Q."
Of this program, guitar journalist Sean McDevitt writes:
Johnny Winter had nothing to prove by the time April of 1979 arrived. Thirty-five years old, he was an established international star and already a decade removed from his seminal 1969 debut-a groundbreaking record followed by an unforgettable appearance at Woodstock, scores of sold-out arenas, a well documented stint in drug rehabilitation, and a steady stream of celebrated albums.
But as this performance makes clear, Winter's musical soul wasn't entirely at peace the night he stepped before a massive audience in Essen, Germany, to record a performance for the popular German television program Rockpalast ("Rock Palace"). The Texan, armed with his Gibson Firebird was on a mission to reaffirm for his audience-including millions watching the broadcast across Europe-his devotion to the blues, the music that consumed him as a young man during the 1950s and '60s but was later cast aside as rock stardom beckoned.
The proof can be found in the night's setlist: "Hideaway," the guitar workout made famous by Freddie King, kicks things off. It's followed by "Messin' with the Kid," a staple of Chicago harp master Junior Wells. "Walkin' by Myself," co-penned by another Chicago great, Jimmy Rogers, follows.
But it's not just what Winter plays that tells the tale; it's what he says. "I hope there's some people out there that get off on blues," he offers. "I know we've got a lot of rock and rollers. But you've gotta remember that if it wasn't for the blues, there wouldn't be no rock and roll."
And with that, the master goes deep into the Delta, unleashing a breathtaking, 17-minute reading of Willie Brown's "Mississippi Blues," an undeniable highlight of this unforgettable night. Winter follows up with Sleepy John Estes' "Divin' Duck" before attacking Dale Hawkins' "Susie Q."
Ever gracious, on "I'm Ready," Johnny picks up a bass as his bassist fires away on guitar. The arrangement continues for "Rockabilly Boogie," a joyous performance replete with some crowd-pleasing showmanship. But then it's back to the blues.
"Well I know I'm fighting a losing battle, but I'm gonna to try to do some more blues," Winter says. "I hope there's somebody out there that might understand what that is and might want to hear a little bit of it."And with that, Johnny delivers a master class medley that leads off with Robert Johnson's "Stones in My Passway."
The artist finally throws a bone to the rock enthusiasts with a cover of the Rolling Stones' "Jumpin' Jack Flash." But it's best to think of this offering as a reward, not a concession. Johnny Winter's statement on this night had long since been made.
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Also, arriving next month is the first figure in the Guitar Gods series... None other than the legendary master blues guitarist Johnny Winter.
The figure is limited to 1500 numbered units, stands at 7 inches tall, and is made of a lightweight poly resin.
Displayed in a window box, here Johnny is not only accurately sculpted right down to his signature black hat, boots, and guitar, but also has movement at both the arm and head, and yells "Rock N' Roll" at the push of a button! Click HERE to listen to the sound clip...
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Illustration by Craig Holloway...
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Pest control companies-opinions
Last season I called Ehrlich pest control company out to my house to deal with the carpenter ant invasion in my garage. Initially, I though they were a local company and went with them because of bad things I had heard about the national chains- inadaquately trained techs etc. I was impressed enough with them that I bought their annual maintainence plan this spring which cost about the equivalent of two pest control visits. I figured it would be worthwhile since we deal with the same problems every year, ants in the spring, bees and flies in the summer, occasionally, mice in the fall.
What are the experiences of others, good and bad, with pest control companies?
My last house I had sprayed etc right after I bought it
Termites, ants, yellow jackets, bumble bees ( I killed), roaches etc etc
Place was a mess
Can't remember who it was - but I never had a problem after that
I sprayed the foundation myself every year & the wood fence
1g sprayer & concentrated stuff that you mix
This house we have never had a problem
I do not spray every year...only when the wife complains she saw an ant
I have had Ehrlich for years with no problems.:thumbsup:
Ehrlich is now owned by a company in England (not New England!) but across the ocean. Their operators and practices were good and their prices were equal to what the smaller, private companies charged, prior to their sale. If their operators are basically the same, then you will get the same good service. Service companies perceived effectiveness and reliability boils down to the individual(s) that come to your particular property. Talk to people in your area that are serviced by the same branch and operators-see what they think. Put a lot of weight into their "word of mouth".
Before they came I hit the attic, house & crawlspace with bombs
They also put a paste down that the roaches eat
He said it would take 2-3 weeks to work
If I saw one after 4 weeks call & they would come back out
I had Abell spray my house for spiders, they did mostly outdoors and he did part of my basement for free as there was on small area I wanted him to just quickly spray and he ended up doing the whole basement.
It helped a lot. I still see spiders and spider webs here and there, but it's not as bad as originally.
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GeekGirlMeetup Hackathon with The Giving Lab
General Assembly London
Saturday, October 13, 2012 at 10:00 AM - Sunday, October 14, 2012 at 6:00 PM (BST)
GeekGirlMeetup Hackathon with The Giving Lab
Saturday, October 13th from 10:00am - 10:00pm, and Sunday, October 14th from 10:00am - 5:00pm
Lady-hackers--ever considered using your coding skills for a charitable cause? Join us at General Assembly for a hackathon in collaboration with GeekGirlMeetup and The Giving Lab. For two days we will bring together talented women to develop new methods of charitable giving, whether it be fundraising tools, games, or social media apps. The team with the most promising concept will be awarded a cash prize, classes at General Assembly, access to mentors, and a year's free membership to MyNewsDesk.
GeekGirlMeetup is an un-conference for women about web, code & startups, creating new female role models, networks and active knowledge exchange.
The Giving Lab is an initiative by See the Difference which aims to develop new methods of giving to charity. They are supported by NESTA, Comic Relief, The Baring Foundation, Cabinet Ofice, Nominent Trust, Garfield Weston Foundation, Pears Foundation and Seene.
General Assembly London is a campus for technology, design, and entrepreneurship. We provide educational programming, space, and support to facilitate collaborative practices and learning opportunities across a community inspired by the entrepreneurial experience.
Join millions of people on Eventbrite.
In order to purchase these tickets in installments, you'll need an Eventbrite account. Log in or sign up for a free account to continue.


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Returns & Exchanges
At UNKNWN we stand behind our goods & services and want you to be satisfied with them. Our goal is to deal with you fairly and reasonably; we hope you will be fair and reasonable with us.
Returns and exchanges may be accepted within 14 days of customer's receipt for exchange or UNKNWN credit only. Returned items must be unused and unworn in resalable condition with all original packaging intact, price tags attached and with the original invoice.
Only items purchased on www.unknwn.com, our online store, may be returned by mail. To properly return item(s), please include the form below with your return/exchange, filled out with accurate information.
All returns and exchanges should be shipped to:
19501 Biscayne Blvd.
Suite #810
Aventura, FL 33180
Without proper documentation, returns/exchanges will not be accommodated.
We do not accept or assume responsibility for loss of or damage to returned goods while in transit from the customer. Once the returned items have been inspected and confirmed a refund in the form of store credit will be issued to the customer.
Original shipping charges and return shipping fees will not be reimbursed. However, shipping costs for a replacement item is FREE up to one time per item.
We reserve the right to deny a return if the merchandise returned does not meet our requirements.
All international orders are FINAL SALE and NON-REFUNDABLE. Please note you are responsible for all Import duties and import taxes.
All SALE items are FINAL SALE and NON-REFUNDABLE.


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Iowa Private College Week
Check out Simpson College this summer!
Iowa Private College Week is August 5-9, 2013
Don't miss this opportunity to see what Simpson has to offer! There are two sessions to choose from each day. While you are on campus you'll have the chance to learn why Simpson is the place to be.
Register for a visit during Iowa Private College Week now!
Your day will begin in Blank Performing Arts Center.
And here's what's happening on campus each day:
8:30 a.m. – 9:30 p.m. & 1 p.m. – 2 p.m
Talk with professors about our outstanding academic programs! Plus find tons of information on how to get involved on campus.
9:30 a.m & 2 p.m
Welcome to Simpson!
9:45 a.m & 2:15 p.m
Student-guided tour of campus-and their best "insider" stories and tips!
11:00 a.m & 3:30 p.m
Q & A to get your questions answered! The panel includes students, residence life staff, academic center personnel, faculty and admissions/financial aid counselors.
11:30 a.m & 4 p.m
Interested in playing sports? This is your chance to meet the Storm coaches & learn everything you'd want to know about athletics and Simpson! (Coach availability will vary by session–please call ahead.)
Get your red and gold Simpson t-shirt & Dairy Queen Dilly bar or Cherry Starkiss on us!
Plus a chance to win…By visiting 3 or more Iowa private colleges throughout the week you are eligible to win a $500 bookstore voucher at our bookstore. We will draw two and all you need to do is enroll at Simpson to use it! For official rules visit www.thinkindependently.com
Lunch is available at the end of the morning session. You can enjoy lunch on campus, or take it to go!


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CANADA STOCKS-TSX at one-week high as Couche-Tard, financials gain
(Adds strategist comments, updates shares)
* TSX up 27.7 points, or 0.18 percent, at 15,367.47
* Seven of the TSX's 10 main groups higher
By Solarina Ho and John Tilak
TORONTO, May 4 (Reuters) - Canada's main stock index hit a one-week high on Monday, helped by strength in the financial sector and shares of Alimentation Couche-Tard.
Convenience store operator Couche-Tard was by far the most influential gainer on the index. Its shares climbed 4.6 percent to C$47.59, recouping some of last week's losses, after the company issued a statement to clarify that the Circle K Corp referenced in a Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing in the United States was not its subsidiary.
Other influential movers on the index included Manulife Financial, which rose 1.3 percent to C$22.39, and Bank of Nova Scotia, which advanced 0.5 percent to C$67.13. The heavily weighted financials, which make up about a third of the index's weight, climbed 0.5 percent.
The Toronto Stock Exchange's S&P/TSX composite index closed up 27.7 points, or 0.18 percent, at 15,367.47. Of the index's 10 main groups, seven rose.
"There will be periodic swings, bouts of volatility, but overall the trend will be positive," said Elvis Picardo, strategist and vice president of research at Global Securities in Vancouver. Continued...


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Insurance Policies (for a non-cooperative person)
I want to get an insurance policy on my dad. I'm sure he doesn't have one and my family has been asking me to get one on him. He's not sick, they are just worried what would happened if something happened to him.
I just found out that my dad's cousin (my 2nd cousin) passed away this week due to renal failure. (I think I'm still in shock). So as the family tries to decipher his insurance policy, it's a reminder to me that I need to worry about my parents.
is it possible to get an insurance policy on someone with little or no cooperation? I'm about 99.9999% sure that my dad won't take a phyisal exams. What are my options?
How old is your dad?
It looks as if there are policies available without a physical exam. The premiums would probably be a bit higher.
You can get life insurance on a person without that person even knowing about it. The premiums will be higher without a physical exam though. If he's over 65, it might not be worth it to get a policy at all, because the premiums are exorbitant for older folks, with or without a physical.
I'm assuming you're talking about health insurance...or are you talking about life insurance?
Life insurance. My dad is 53
You can get life insurance on someone else without them knowing about it? That doesn't seem right. Couldn't you then murder them and collect the benefits (Not YOU Scrills, just in general)?
My husband is an insurance agent and he said you'd at least need a signature from your dad as the "name insured". Though I suppose that might vary from state to state.
I personally wouldn't get insurance for someone who doesn't want it. I'm one of the tiny minority of people who don't believe in life insurance, especially huge policies. I know all the arguments - money for funerals, money to put kids thru college, paying off mortgages etc. Sorry, just don't believe in making money on the dead. If I have to pay for my dad's funeral, it will be something that I can afford and nothing more. Kids can put themselves thru college. Survivors can pay off the mortgage or sell the property. But that's just my own feelings about it.
Others should do what makes them comfortable.
1) serial killers in Cleveland
2) getting a life insurance policy on someone without them knowing it
It wouldn't be a big policy, just enough to cover the funeral and the mountain of legal fees I will have sorting out my father's affairs. He lives a complicated life and no one knows who owns what. plus he is living with a woman (they've exchanged rings but they aren't legally married). My dad has agreed (but we haven't done it yet) to give me power of attorney upon death so that I can be in charge of taking care of everything.
again, my dad isn't sick, but with the relatives fighting over how to bury my cousin this week, i realize that I need to think about it. he wanted something simple (cremation), but in their grief, his kids want to have a big funeral/viewing
Scrills, it's smart of you to think of these things ahead of time. Lots of unexpected things happen in life, and it's good to be prepared.
My father had a neighbor who was struggling with her husband's estate. He had assets all over the place and no list. She found uncashed checks in the house -- big ones, some over $50,000. It turned out that he had never re-made his will after they married, so his old will left his estate to some relatives that weren't even alive any more. It was a real nightmare. I hope your father's affairs aren't that bad, but if they are even a tenth as messed up, you will need legal help for sure!
Edited to add: You should see if you can get a power of attorney that can be invoked if your father becomes incapacitated for some reason. This is especially important since he's not married to the woman he's living with -- he needs a family member to be able to help with medical and financial decisions.
Considering your dad is only 6 years older than me, it would kinda tick me off if one of my kids was already planning my death. Sounds like his kids are all grown and he's living his life how he wants to. I'd let him.
oh, I don't care what he does, that's not the issue. I get along with his girlfriend/wife. It's the finances that will be an issue.
1) My father partially supports several people (my mom, my sis, his aunt, and now a couple of his brothers live with him). If something goes wrong, they will be coming to me for support. and there are a couple houses that I'm not sure who owns them and where they are in terms of finances (and one is in the multi-million dollar range)
2) The problem is that every time there is a death in the family, are are scrambling to figure out how to pay for the funeral. I want one a policy for both my parents. My mom is ok with it, my dad doesn't believe in Western Medicine = no physical exam.
i work in life insurance. trust me, unless you're wealthy, it's nice to have. funerals and burials are very expensive and it's not the kind of thing you shop around to find a better price on when you need it!!! i've witnessed this first hand. the last thing you want to have to worry about when your loved one dies is how you're going to pay to bury them and what costs you can cut to "save money".
it doesn't sound like you're trying to get a policy to pay for school or buy you a house so i don't see the harm in it, again unless your dad is wealthy and would leave enough to pay for everything but even with that money is often tied up and you wouldn't get access to it for weeks or months after the person has passed.
i DO think it is responsible to get a life insurance policy if you have young kids because that loss of income should a parent die could impact their quality of life and it just feels like the right thing to do for the surviving spouse or parent. of course it's cheaper to buy the younger you are and better to buy before you have any major health issues which will surely jack up your premiums.
you CAN buy life insurance without the person ever knowing but it is tricky and generally frowned upon in the industry now.
the physical required for underwriting is not invasive. they can come to your home or place of business, weigh you, draw blood and get a urine sample. based on your dads age they might order medical records, if he doesn't have them he doesn't have them but the price of the policy will probably be higher given the absence of medical records.
you can get free insurance quotes on-line and that might give you an idea of if it's worth it to you financially to get a policy on your dad of if you want to have a discussion with him about how he would suggest things be handled should he die.
i'm "younger" with no dependents, except for my 2 dogs which i've specified to my parents i wish should be taken care of....anyway, i have a policy. i've told my mother about it and hopefully i'll marry and have kids and it would be there for them. i got a 30 year level term with return on premium so if i live the whole time i'll get a nice check back totalling all the premiums i've paid at the end of the 30 years but if i die during that time my burial at the very least would be taken care of and my family and/or dependents would at least not have to worry about such a great financial loss too. i feel that dealing with these things are not glamorous or fun to talk about but i can tell you it's super hard to have to think about these things and make some decisions when the person dies, especially if it's suddenly like in a car accident or something.
If anyone I love dies and I get to plan the funeral, they're getting: a casket from Costco (or a piece of plywood and a bolt of linen to wrap), a viewing and memorial service in my living room, a trip to the crematory in the back of my truck, and a vase for the ashes from Pier1 Outlet. Total cost: under $500.
plus that's your view on how you would handle a loved one. what if it was you that passed? does your family know that you'd want the bare bones in burial and even if they do, do they have your estimated $500 to cover it? what if you and your hubby passed together such as a car accident? would your kids be able to (financially) and know how to take care of you and your husbands burial? do they not need any money other than what's in your bank account currently to survive in the short and long term? insurance is clearly for those left behind, not the person who has died so i see it as a way to limit someone burden should i pass.
***eta these were all rhetorical questions that do not need to be answered, just posed for discussion purposes.***
What exactly is it that you'll need money for? I understand that his finances are complicated and you'll need information to sort them out. Has he already granted you power of attorney in his will? If so, as much as it won't be a fun conversation, I'd sit down with him and ask him for detailed paperwork outlining all his assets/finances, and his wishes for them when he passes. As far as what you'll need money for.... attorney, funeral.... anything else? If you'd be paying the premiums on his life insurance policy, you may be better off just investing that money instead so you'll have it set aside when the time comes. Since you have no way of knowing when he'll pass away, maybe you could invest in something like a CD so the money is earning a little more interest than a regular savings account, but will still be relatively liquid. It just seems that at his age and in the absence of an exam, the premiums will be so high that your money might serve you better in another way.
Oh, I agree. My kids are still young and do need money, so we have life insurance. I've thought about getting a policy on my ex husband also, because I depend on some of his money and I know he doesn't have me listed as a beneficiary on any of his stuff. I'm just playing devil's advocate to the OP. Her dad isn't all that old and he's apparently married, so the onus probably won't fall on her for quite some time, if at all.
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New wave, making waves or breaking waves: foreign movies have the edge.
In the late '50s and early '60s, France was the epicentre of cinema, as Francois Truffaut, Jean-Luc Godard and Claude Chabrol led the celebrated "New Wave" of filmmaking. Then, in the '70s, directors including Martin Scorsese, Francis Ford Coppola and Steven Spielberg turned the US into the world's most exciting filmmaking hot spot.
And in 2003? Sure, in box office terms, Hollywood remains king, but where is today's powerhouse in terms of innovation and audacity? To answer, we've enlisted the help of a few experts to examine various regions, with reference to the films opening over the summer and beyond.
Among Scandinavia's directors are Denmark's Lars von Trier (Breaking The Waves, The Idiots, Dancer In The Dark), Thomas Vinterberg (Festen) and Lone Scherfig (Italian for Beginners, Wilbur Wants To Kill Himself), Sweden's Lukas Moodysson (Show Me Love, Together, Lilja 4-Ever) and Finland's Aki Kaurismaki (The Man Without A Past).
There seems to be a shared sensibility that is edgy, bleak and politically pointed. "There are so many great films from Scandinavia," says Andrew Mackie, the joint general manager at Dendy Films.
The foremost Scandinavian filmmaker is undoubtedly von Trier, whose films polarise audiences. On SBS's The Movie Show, Margaret Pomeranz gave Dancer In The Dark five stars, while David Stratton awarded it zero. Trier's new film Dogville opens on Boxing Day.
"In Australia, there is an enduring love affair with French cinema," says Mike Selwyn, the managing director of UIP Australia. "Top quality German and Scandinavian films, say, don't seem to do as well at the box office. Last Christmas was a good example. You had 8 Women from France and Mostly Martha from Germany, and 8 Women did better. I'm not convinced it was the better film."
Perhaps not, but 8 Women had more sex appeal, fitting the stereotype that French films are often saucy. That doesn't hurt at the box office.
The recently released French film The Housekeeper (Une Femme de Menage) directed by Claude Berri (Jean de Florette, Manon des Sources), is a comedy about a bachelor seeking a young woman to do housework. It's raunchy, too.
"It's an old story - he's 50, she's 19," says Alex Meskovic, who runs the Chauvel in Paddington. "It's a sweet little film. It'd be sleazy if it was American."
Meskovic says there is an interesting wave of French films that are highly confronting, including Romance and Baise-Moi.
"One is Irreversible," he says. "We're just waiting on the censorship decision. If it gets passed, that'll be out next year."
"The country that is probably more interesting than most at the moment is Germany," says Meskovic. "It started with Run Lola Run, and now they've got Goodbye Lenin, and a few others."
Set in Berlin, Goodbye Lenin is a comedy about an earnest youngster, Alex, whose communism-loving mother lapses into a coma. When she awakes, the Wall has been toppled, but Alex tries to pretend otherwise. It's already been a huge hit overseas and opens here on Boxing Day.
"Internationally, it's the second highest-grossing non-American film released this year," says Sandie Don, the marketing and acquisitions manager at Hopscotch.
Another German film to look out for is The Story Of The Weeping Camel, opening at Dendy at Easter. Says Mackie: "That was made by two German film school students as their graduation film and it got into the Toronto Film Festival where it became a sensation. These students went into the Gobi desert and stayed with a family herding camels. One of the camels gave birth and rejected the baby and the film is all about the family getting the camel to take the baby back. It's so moving."
"The whole South American and Mexican thing is going through roof," says Don. "There's a real vibe about the South American film festivals."
21 Grams, by Mexican director Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu, is the keenly awaited follow-up to Amores Perros. A drama about a sick mathematician (Sean Penn), a grieving mum (Naomi Watts) and an ex-con (Benicio del Toro), it opens on January 22.
In Once Upon a Time In Mexico, Robert Rodriguez (El Mariachi, Spy Kids) enlists Antonio Banderas, Johnny Depp, Willem Dafoe and Salma Hayek in a tale of corruption, espionage and a hitman. The film opens on January 29.
"Hong Kong is exciting," says Amber Ma of CLPR, a PR company that specialises in spruiking boutique films. She traces it all back to Reservoir Dogs, Quentin Tarantino's not-so-subtle homage to Ringo Lam's City of Fire.
"The pace of Asian films is really different," says Ma. "With Asian films, there seems to be a lot more playing with the narrative. They're not always chronological, so you've got to get into the rhythm [of the film]."
Infernal Affairs, a clever Hong Kong police thriller that has been compared to Michael Mann's Heat, opens on January 1.
"Infernal Affairs was the biggest film in Hong Kong last year, and the remake rights have already been bought. The rumour is that Brad Pitt will star," Ma says.
Selwyn points to another fascinating development: fusion. "I think a lot of films are trying to be a fusion of Asian style with American sensibilities," he says.
Lost in Translation, which opens on Boxing Day, is such a film. Directed by Sofia Coppola, Francis Ford's talented daughter, it's the story of two Americans (Scarlett Johansson and Bill Murray) who spend a week in Japan.
"In filmmaking terms, you're getting more of a global look," says Selwyn. "I think The Quiet American is another interesting film like that."
Another hybrid effort is The Spanish Apartment, a French/Spanish co-production. It's about a flat in Barcelona where students from Paris, Rome, London, Berlin and beyond form their own mini-EC. With Audrey Tautou starring, it won the Audience Favourite award at this year's Sydney Film Festival.
Of course, the regional listing above is not exhaustive. Italy, for instance, has been producing some strong features recently. The latest is Il Cuore Altrove (A Heart Elsewhere), a romance opening on Boxing Day. Written and directed by Pupi Avati, it won the Italian Oscar for best director and opened this year's Italian Film Festival.
And then there are the winners that come from the unlikeliest corners. "French Canada hasn't always been so vibrant in filmmaking," says Don. "But we've got The Barbarian Invasions coming up in the new year, from Denys Arcand, who did Jesus of Montreal. It won best screenplay and best actress this year."
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