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High summer allotment harvests
I know that the end of June isn't really high summer, at least not in climate terms and at least not usually, in the UK, but this year seems different. The garlic has been suggesting it's ready for several weeks and the shallots are definitely ready (in fact most of them are already curing in the shed at home, lightly covered with a net curtain to stop them getting too hot) while almost all the oriental salads and leaf greens are bolting within a day or so of germinating!
So we're fighting something of a rearguard action at present – harvesting at a time when we'd usually expect to be putting most of our efforts into weeding around newly sown crops. Lots of seeds just aren't making it this year: maybe it's too hot for them to germinate without the seedling getting scorched by the next day's sun, so we're at a bit of a loss to find the rhythm of allotment life right now. The container-grown carrots are fantastic, and as they use up the soil that's already been used to grow our early potatoes in containers, we get double the harvest from our intensive labour.
I had a sowing of scorzonera that didn't germinate at all, so I've grubbed up the row and given that space over to beetroot. I'm resowing scorzonera this week, but it won't be ready to harvest until autumn next year, which is a bit annoying. The greenhouse is so hot I keep expecting to find the tomatoes have pre-cooked themselves! I'm watering the floor daily, as well as the plants, but it's impossible to keep a greenhouse on plot at a reasonable temperature in all this heat.
The broad beans are over, so we've taken out the row which finished earliest and planted some mini-cauliflowers under fleece. We harvest them when they are fist-sized (OH's fists are the measure, being that much bigger than mine!) and they are a bit of a luxury as they require a high level of input (raising in pots, transplanting, fleece, slug pellets, regular watering) but they make a delicious Thai curry or cauliflower cheese flan!
As we take out beans and peas, a row at a time, we try to put something else in their place, but in the first year on a new plot and with such unusual weather, we've really been caught out this year by not having crops ready to take the place of those that are gone.
Labels: allotment carrots, allotment scorzonera, allotment-cauliflowers, allotment-crops, allotment-garlic, allotment-shallots, container carrots
Allotment heat!
The heat is on in all kinds of ways for us. The heatwave is refusing to bring its promised storms and we've decided to enter the 'Most Creative Allotment' competition. Judging is early in July so we have a lot of work on hand to try and get this very new (to us) plot looking presentable. We're not doing it because we expect to win, we don't, but to try and encourage other people to enter allotment competitions and/or to look at innovative ways of growing crops that:
1. Improve health and wellbeing
2. Conserve planetary resources
3. Re-use and recycle existing materials that would otherwise go to waste.
Some of our 'creative' ideas will get good marks, we hope: we conserve water in butts and don't use a hose-pipe, we mulch many crops and we try to use our small ecosystem effectively so that plants are in the best location for them to do well without intensive inputs of water, shading, external nutrients etc. An example is our basket herbs on the greenhouse deck – they are all sunlovers, but they are mulched with gravel to keep in the root moisture that they get from their water bottles and the containers were all rescued from bins and skips (with the owners' permission) to be re-used.
Other ideas may raise eyebrows. The edible landscaping might be considered a bit 'weird' and the summer zigzag is bound to cause comment (and maybe consternation). It's a zigzag of coriander, dividing up compartments of radish, salad onions, beetroot, oriental lettuce and spinach. In other words, it's a complete meal in a bed. I'm about to sow the casserole zigzag, which contains parsnips, radicchio, winter radish and swede – much the same idea but for winter harvesting. Well, we'll see how we get on. Even if we come last, I promise to be honest about the results!
Labels: allotment competitions, allotment containers, allotment herbs, allotment-herbs, summer sown crops, winter crops
Allotment mulches
This week we've mulched the borlotti beans. They get grass clippings to keep the moisture in and the weeds down. In the middle of the rows are large bottles that we water with watering cans (or if we are desperately short of time, with the hose) and usually six big bottles of water twice a week, with mulch, is enough to keep borlotti beans alive. One reason for this is that they are beans you only harvest at the end of the summer, not pick daily beans like French, runner or snap beans, so they take much less water as they aren't constantly producing bean pods to replace the ones that have been harvested.
As you can see, we've moved the outward-leaning bean poles to plot 103. The bean frame is designed to ensure all the beans hang away from the plant and can easily be seen. Bean wigwams, pretty as they are, tend to hide vast amounts of beans on the inside of the wigwam, so you have to poke around to find them, and risk damaging smaller beans that aren't ready to be picked. It takes two minutes to pick our bean frame, compared to ten minutes to pick a wigwam.
The pumpkins and squashes get cardboard over which we lay some wood chippings which are given away free by our local council. This helps keep the fruit off the damp soil and conserves moisture too. In the corner of each pumpkin bed is a little plant like a leek or a marigold that can take a bit of bullying from a cucurbit and still offers added value in terms of pollination, harvest or just prettiness.
We also mulch the strawberries with barley straw while they are fruiting, and grass once they stop and the net has been off for a couple of weeks. That gives the birds time to get in and harvest any lurking insects that interest them, and then the grass rots down over the autumn and winter to provide nutrients in the soil for the following year's strawberry crop.
Labels: allotment-mulch, borlotti beans, cucurbits, pumpkins
Recycled allotment containers
I'm teaching a series of classes (details below) and in advance of the first one, I've been looking at the planters on plot 103 and sprucing them up. Half the galvanised ones have been given an accent of pink paint to harmonise with the rocking chair and the new repurposed cart.
Our neighbours threw the cart away, presumably as their youngest child had outgrown it. We (with their permission – do NOT skip-dive without permission, it's theft!) took it home and OH covered up the pastel paint and pictures of ducks and frogs with the new hot pink vibe, drilled holes in the bottom and then took it to the plot. It now contains a mixture of sand and old compost (that means compost that's been used once, such as for our first early potato containers) over a thin base of gravel to ensure drainage.
When the sowing medium has settled, in about 48 hours, we will sow carrots in it. This serves several purposes: it re-uses the potting medium to produce a second crop (carrots will fang if the soil is too rich or has stones in); it re-uses a container that would otherwise have been burned or ended up in landfill; it stops carrot-fly finding the carrots and riddling them with slimy, horrible bore-holes; and it makes people smile when they walk past.
The carrots we're going to grow are Kuttiger, white carrots that we're actually putting in a little late but I have planted them later than this in previous years and they've done fine. They are wonderful plants that get sweeter as they age in storage, which means that by the end of the winter, you can make a carrot cake with them that needs only half the sugar of a summer made carrot cake!
Grow and Tell
2 hour workshops combining horticulture and literature, £3.00 per person for upkeep of Weald Site. Meet at 11:00 at Weald Avenue Allotment Gate, Hove, East Sussex. Each session includes time to explore a little of the allotment site and finishes at the shop so people can buy seeds and supplies.
24 July 2011, 11:00–14:00 People, Places and Plants. How to create a container garden and writing about the relationship between people and plants. A longer session to allow time to enjoy the Weald Allotment Open Day and all its attractions!
18 September 2011, 11:00–13:00 Reaping what you Sow. How to harvest and store crops and writing stories with appropriate pace and detail.
13 November 2011, 11:00–13:00 Digging deeper. Preparing a growing bed and exploring motivation and character in stories.
15 January 2012, 2011, 11:00–13:00 Planning for Spring. Looking at the plot and seeing how it can be improved!
Prior booking is essential as each session is limited to eight people. Please email email@example.com to reserve a place on a session.
Labels: allotment carrots, allotment containers, allotment-carrots, allotment-containers
Allotment rain at last
And quite a lot of it too! It seems like it hasn't rained all year, although that's not true, we had some pretty good downpours in April, but since then the allotment has really suffered. It's worse for plot 103 than for many of its neighbours because they are mature plots, while the longest established plants on 103, apart from the trees and the currants, are the raspberries that we moved up in November. This means that nothing on our plot has much of a root system, and that more than 80% of what we're growing is annual or newly planted, with small roots, a tender stem and lots of new green growth: all of which adds up to being totally at the mercy of the sun and wind, of which we've had plenty!
So to have rain, solidly, for 24 hours was wonderful, although we could have done without the strong winds that blew up at around 3pm on Sunday and made the last hour of allotment work a chilly, gusty, torment.
While OH finished off the greenhouse and worked on setting up water conservation systems on that and the celestial greenhouse (formerly known as the voodoo shed), I repotted three of the four mint that live under the apple trees: spearmint (for cooking); ginger mint (for deterring insects) and chocolate mint (for the sheer glorious fragrance) – we also have eau de cologne mint but we don't have a planter ready for it yet. I put some mint offshoots into smaller pots to sell for Practical Action, the charity we support with plant sales at the classes I teach.
Then we had to brave the rain to divide and plant the tub of golden raspberries that I 'found' at a garden centre on Saturday. They are the autumn fruiting Allgold variety which has the best flavour (in my opinion) of the golden ones, and from the one pot we managed to make four good canes, meaning that they cost £2.50 each – you get around a kilo of fruit for each 30 cm of cane, and in the shops you pay £2.00 for 250 grams of British grown golden raspberries in October, so we should more than earn back our expenditure in the first year! Except we'd never sell our raspberries of course, but it's interesting to think about what we spend and what we gain: I describe our allotment growing as ensuring we are 'self-sufficient in the luxuries' because I couldn't afford, on a regular basis to buy the top-of-the-range soft fruit, early vegetables and exotics that I grow and consume with a greed bordering on gluttony. I do give produce away too though!
And by then we were so soaked it really didn't matter, so we picked peas and beans and went home to hot showers, podding and freezing!
Labels: allotment rain, allotment-containers, allotment-herbs, allotment-soft-fruit, golden raspberries
Allotment Book review: Grow your food for free, well almost!
There is a plethora of allotment books in the world right now, one could almost say a glut! And of course I've added my own book to the heap, so I have no right to complain, but some of the books out there are really not much use to the serious grower, and misleading to the novice one.
Not so Dave Hamilton's Grow Your Food for Free, well almost. It's a book that fills a niche (which is the whole point of a specialist subject book, there are far too many coffee table style allotment books out there, full of lovely pictures and devoid of useful information) and that niche is upskilling and informing the environmentally conscious (and conscientious) frugal food-grower. I can't recommend it too highly because, apart from anything else, I am horrified at the amount of money I see new allotment-holders spending on their plots, only to vanish after a couple of months: all their expensive kit gets thrown away, or ruined by the weather and then the next person to take on the plot, all too often repeats the same process.
Dave shows people how to create paths, make wicking beds, build a compost heap (although if you are a novice composter, think twice before using the fence corner as he suggests: you may rot out your fence if you don't get your compost mix right!) and even how to build a shed. He also focuses on rarely discussed areas of allotment life such as foraging. As I am about to make rose petal jelly from foraged rose blooms I really do applaud this approach: once you get used to growing your own, it's a simple change of focus that reveals food everywhere, going to waste, and allows you to harvest and consume it without damaging the environment.
The illustrations may not suit those more used to stylish allotment books but they have the virtue of being accurate and detailed. The tips, hints and ideas are all superb – if you are a seasoned grower you will still learn something from this book.
I recommend it, even if you don't have a plot of your own yet, because you can get on with foraging, cooking and storing food even before you reach the top of the allotment list. It's the best book on allotments (apart from my own, of course) that I've read for many a year!
Labels: allotment book review
Allotment rain at last
And it may just be enough, with the drop in temperature, and the cloud cover, to save the peas! Peas are a cool season crop, which means that when the temperature rises above a certain point they put on a mad thrust to reproduce, and that means creating the biggest fattest peas possible before the roots of the plant become too dry to feed the seed growth. This fantastic surge to pass on their pea genes to the next generation means that even little pea pods begin to swell and it's a sign that the pea season may be about to end.
Hot dry winds just speed up the process. Usually peas tend to fill their pods from the ground up, which means the biggest peas are always lurking in the leafy undergrowth and difficult to find, but when the weather is hot and dry, the pods also start to mature at the top of the plant, even though they haven't attained full size, as the stressed plant tries to maximise survival opportunities for its seeds.
As an example, look at these three pea pods. On the far left, a normal sized pod. On the far right, an immature top-of-the-plant pod. In between a pea pod from the top of a stressed pea plant – still small but fully filled (as far as it ever will be) and with the colour change that indicates that the peas have already started to dry inside the pod, which is what peas do to get them through the summer until they germinate next year. Once you see the pods become opaque you need to take them off the plant, even if they are small, as they contain a chemical compound that then instructs other pods on the same plant to start to dry out … that's why when you miss a filled pea pod, that plant really slows down its pea production factory!
So with any luck the peas will revert to growing more pods and leaves, not putting all their energy into filling existing pods.
Labels: allotment peas, allotment rain, allotment-peas, harvesting peas
Allotment whitefly
My list of hates is endless, at least when it comes to allotments: slugs, snails, tomato blight, potato blight, carrot fly, wireworms, eel worms, greenfly, blackfly and whitefly. The one at the top of the list is usually the most recent one I've come across. Last week it was slugs after discovering that camouflaged monster lurking on plot 103 and today it's whitefly.
When we were on plot 201 we have problems with whitefly on our brassicas – they were almost at epidemic proportions on the kale there.
I started our brassica growing on plot 103 with high hopes and high hygiene: I decided to grow Redbor, which is a red kale with a high degree of resistance to most kinds of attack, I didn't plant them out until they were six inches tall and therefore pretty robust (ie not tender) and I hoped that using the edible landscape technique would reduce predator attack. In that respect at least, edible landscaping hasn't worked! Every single one of the 13 kale in the ground has got whitefly. Some just had one or two, some were infested to the point where a cloud of off-white speckles rose into the sky as soon as I touched the plant. Under the leaves, where they prefer to lurk, I found the white blotches that show were the eggs have been laid and the larvae have emerged.
A female can lay around 200 eggs on a plant, and their lifecycle is short, so they reproduce rapidly and become a massive problem. The larvae eat the sap from the plant but then leave a sticky deposit on the plant which can allow a mould, called sooty mould, to develop and that kills off the plant very quickly.
I tend to use soapy water in a spray to deal with whitefly – it's not organically approved (but then we're not an organic allotment) and you can't use it if there is any hope of getting other insect life in the way as soap sprays have an ill effect on everything. So, for example, I'd never use soapy water on blackfly on my broad beans because I know that once the blackfly appear, the ladybird larvae will follow soon after and enjoy feasting on the flies. The problem with kale plants is that they don't seem to have much appeal for ladybirds and I checked for the larvae very carefully before I sprayed.
I'll have to spray every two or three days to keep the whitefly at bay. From now on I'll try to encourage more insectivorous birds through the winter by putting out feeders for them but I fear that our allotments are simply going to be full of whitefly forever. So despite the lovely haul of peas, strawberries, sweet peas and the first courgette, I am a bit fed up.
Labels: allotment-courgettes, allotment-kale, allotment-peas, allotment-sweet-peas, allotment-whitefly
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This is my rundown on Beachbody workouts. Beachbody is known for creating top of the line fitness programs. You ordered the application, waited for it to come, and once you had it, you had a world class trainer is created by by access to a program that you would do right in the comfort of your own home. Fairly awesome, right? It was, if you understood you'd enjoy the program that you just purchased and had $120.
Beachbody on Demand shifts everything. Thanks to their newest program, you can now get over 10 distinct, entire work out programs for $2.99 per week. Is it worth it? I took a tour through the application, and here is what I found. These aren't economical workouts that you are getting. You get total access o 10 Minute Trainer, TurboFire, P90X, P90X2, P90X3 (p90x3schedule.net), Insanity, Madness The Asylum and more of their top selling programs. Financially, I think that Beachbody on Demand makes a lot of sense.
One of my favorite programs in Insanity The Asylum. You understand that you simply need lots of space to do it if you have ever done this application. That has always been tough for me, since my home gym (my office), is not quite huge.
Sadly, there are some limitations to this program. They're not all on there while there are over 10 entire programs. Body Animal, the program that I'm doing right now, is not on there. It is not the same as having the ability to work out along with the video, although Personally, I bring the workout sheets from he plan and do it at the gym.
A big ace pf this plan is that they have all 3 P90X software. That gives a tremendous savings to you. The long-term goal if for Beachbody on Demand to continue to grow, with them adding more plans as time continues. They'll also be offering special memberships to get particular programs (the newest ones) for a little extra fee.

subset: commoncrawl


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To the Editor:
If Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani wants to be remembered as the leader he has been during our city's terrible crisis, he should not seek to prolong his tenure in office (front page, Sept. 27). Trying to achieve that goal would only cause controversy and diminish his standing.
Instead, he should be anointed as New York's good-will ambassador to the world at large. Not only would he be a symbol of the city's resilience wherever he goes, but his determination would also bring a new flow of capital to the city when it is most needed. The next mayor should create an ex-officio place for Mr. Giuliani right away. Everybody would benefit, and our courageous mayor would indeed go out a hero.
New York, Sept. 27, 2001Continue reading the main story


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Lifestyle Tip: Find Times to Turn off the Technology January 4, 2013
Sometimes, in a regular day with personal computers, computer games, iPods and iPads I feel that we're losing our ability to be creative in play and fellowship with family.
To talk to nieces and nephews and my friends' kids, you have to wrench (well, gently coax) them away from the computer screen or pop the iPod ear-buds out of little ears to get their attention.
Don't misinterpret me; my personal and professional life is so much more enhanced by the technology I tap into today.
I have an iMac, regular PC desktop and a laptop and recently purchased a iPad … finally. That's not counting the technology used for work.
The other day, I gathered around the computer with my nephews and nieces watching them play a game. A bridge was slowly disintegrating while these funny little people were trying to cross it. The way I conversed with them was asking them questions about the game. They were having too much fun to tear them away from the game this time.
But I walked away cheated thinking I didn't get to have a decent conversation with them. Often, their daddy will come in and tell them to turn off the computer and come out into the living room to visit.
Then we talk and it's fun.
I remember Patrick and Curt, the little brothers, play on the farm. In the 1960s and 1970s we didn't have iPads or iPods to play games on. So we created our adventures. I can remember Patrick and Curt building roads and tunnels in the mud. Everything they did, (myself included) was a made up adventure. We had wide open spaces and so much to explore.
So, now, I have a few rules. I don't check my email on weekends when I'm with family and friends, I shut off my cell phone. A good friend of ours always says, "The cell phone is for me, not for you. If you don't get me leave a message and I'll call back."
And many Mom and Dads are banning computer games when family is over. In fact, one of our farm families we work with has a rule when the grandkids come over. He makes them put all electronics and gadgets in a basket he then hides and they don't get them back until they leave his home. It works. He has the best time with his family and they love their grandpa and grandma.
Is is time to put away all the "stuff" and just have a good conversation?
- Posted in : General,Lifestyle Tips
- Author : freshair
- 1. Peggy Jo Goodfellow - January 4, 2013
Great article! I haven't had to gather phones, ipods, etc. yet but I won't hesitate to do it. As it is, we have too few visits with family members to not actually have a conversation with each other when we have the opportunity.
- 2. Sonia - January 5, 2013
You are the perfect person to post this, miss media. Wrench was the right word! I wholeheartedly agree and this is one of the reasons we don't have wifi at home, among spending too much time and not doing other things and having to filter content (especially as the boys move into puberty!). Good for you declaring email fasts! We also limit tv time. My little 6year old cousin can't really hold a conversation except about tv characters…sigh.


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Night Moves (1975): Part 2 of 2
Director: Arthur Penn
Writer: Alan Sharp
Cinematographer: Bruce Surtees
by Jon Cvack
Continued from Part 1 of 2...
The largest issue is that the film feels entirely too 70s. I've mentioned it before, but PTA said him and the costume designer had to restrain themselves from being too true to the year for Inherent Vice, as the fashion would look like an exaggeration. Night Moves proves this to be true. It seems to so heavily honor the exact, present year it took place in that everyone's wardrobe and the places they live look antiquated to the point of parody. And it makes me wonder if it's because the costume designers on these shoots were told to utilize the present styles rather than providing a general flavor of the styles; as though they're using the trendiest clothes instead of finding what others might wear as an alternative, more muted style.
There is a strange and uncomfortable Pulanskish fetishizing of the sixteen year old girl Delly Grastner (Melanie Griffith). Although the situation was wildly uncomfortable, knowing she was underage and being molested, Arthur Penn nevertheless objectified her in wearing tight outfits, which slowly through the remaining half, came off more and more. The girl is attractive (I'm saying this knowing Griffith was of age while filming; seee note below*), but when when I kept recalling the fact I started feeling more and more creepy. This isn't to criticize Arthur Penn (though the objectification of an underage girl is gross and unwarranted), so much as raises a second ethical issue in that no matter what conclusion you come to with the above situation, Arthur Penn was trying to be honest with the material. I assume some sixteen year girls might be more developed and sexually open compared to others her age and Penn was simply portraying that. But then - why work with such uncomfortable material at all? This seems an example where an equally intricate plot without the pedophilia could have and might have worked a bit better.
It also just didn't look that great. I suppose I could blame this on the DVD and a bad conversion, and maybe the Blu Ray would look better, but I still have my doubts of any improvement, with maybe an exception of the closing scene. The film grew on me by the midpoint, as the piling on of characters leveled off and I accepted the strange 70s look for what it was. Still, there is a great and original moment as we watch Harry and Ellen's relationship. Contrary to the trope, Harry is married, and seems to genuinely love his wife. Combined with a hardboiled attitude it's set up for disaster, as he catches his wife cheating on him. In one amazing scene, he heads over to his wife's new lover's house, seeing the two glasses of wine, and hearing muffled sounds coming from the bedroom. There's a pain that Hackman expresses that seems very real, as though he knows there's no one else he could be with, or would want to be with him. All he can do is accept the situation. Of course, Penn kind of makes us lose our sympathy when he sleeps with Delly's surrogate mom Paula (Jennifer Warren; who looks exceptionally 1970s-like, which I'm struggling to understand how this works, functioning very much as "I know it when I see").
The best part of film noir is how much more confusing and dark the stories get as we head down the rabbit hole. There are dark moments in Night Moves, but I think Penn distracted us with too many other things - the 1970s Florida setting; the marriage; Delly's oversexualization. In Chinatown, we witness and feel the bleakness. Night Moves never goes that far. Still, it's worth seeing for Hackman and the closing action sequence alone.
*Such a plot point raises an interesting ethical problem with sexualizing underage girls in film - is it right to ask an eighteen year old girl to pretend she's sixteen in such a salacious role, as because she's eighteen, she can elect to get naked, yet while acting like an underage girl; and thus, while men might think she's of age, they're willing to either a) forget she's sixteen and acknowledge her beauty as an adult (a sign of a bad movie if one were to lose their suspension of disbelief), or b) you don't suspend your disbelief, but actually think the girl is sixteen and attractive, thus asking viewers to participate in some strange near or mild pornographic/pedophilic fantasy.
BELOW: Some dude talking about Night Moves on Turner Classic Movies. I can't find much else.
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Saturday Night Fever (1977)
Director: John Badham
Writer: Norman Wexler
Cinematographer: Ralf D. Bode
by Jon Cvack
I remember my friend told me about the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack in my fourth grade class, and for Halloween he dressed up John Travolta's iconic white suit. I recall picking up the VHS and popping it in and 'Staying Alive' lit up the speakers and I was hooked. I've heard this song so many times that it's completely lost its magic. I hadn't watched this film in over a decade, back when I was nineteen years old. I always enjoy discovering a central character in a film who I considered so much older and mature, is now years younger, with his immaturity and irascible attitude coming out in brilliant and awkward moments.
The story is of dancer Tony (John Travolta) living in Brooklyn during Disco's peek. What I love about the film is its ability to portray a moment in time. Soon Disco would become the brunt of jokes, with the great album burning at Wrigley field, and even up through the nineties, when I first saw the movie, there was still a sour taste for the era. In 2017, the first film I could compare it is to The Naked City, in which we got a genuine taste of the spirit of 1948 NYC. Saturday Night Fever is not a great film, but it does capture a very unique and niche moment in time, which really has no other competitors.
Tony is surrounded by his dead beat friends who enjoy drinking, snorting coke, and taking turns with girls in the back of their one car. The film has moments of such grotesque misogyny that I was more terrified over the fact that such behavior was evidently more regular back then and acceptable for the screen, further supported by a recent interview I listened to with Norman Mailer back in 90s on Book Worm where he mentions that 9 out 10 men genuinely believed that "No" in no way meant no, and allows you to at least rest assured that we've come a long way with how popular cinema portrays women.
For instance, in one of the film's more powerful scenes, in a relentless and demeaning attempt to make Tony jealous, a friend zoned Annette (Donna Prescow) takes up with one of his friends, Gus (Bruce Ornstein). The pair leave with Tony and his other buddies, start having sex in the back of the car, and just when it's over, Annette is forced to stay in the back while Double J (Paule Pape) then rapes her, with Tony and the others doing nothing, until they stop at a bridge, where their diffident and diminutive friend Bobby C. (Barry Miller) ends up falling off the bridge and Tony castigates Annette for having done what she did. It's a scene that leaves you feeling dirty, despising Tony in a way that the film never really vindicates.
The film abides by the presently uninspired, mumble core premise of working a dead end job, going out on the weekend, partaking in the same debaucheries night after night, living paycheck to paycheck, always hoping for something more. That all changes when Tony meets the older and more mature Stephanie Mangano (Karen Lynn Gorney) - a masterful dancer who could provide Tony with a genuine shot of winning the 2001 Odyssey Disco Dance Club grand prize of $500. Tony is enamored with Stephanie, though constantly puts his foot in his mouth as his refractory short temper is unleashed time and again, such as when he can't walk her home he kicks a garbage can; when he catches Stephanie dancing with the Dance Studio owner he flips out and storms away; when he can't get the afternoon off he unleashes a profane maelstrom against his boss, finally quitting. Individually, these tirades are some of Travolta's most brilliant moments. In terms of overall story, they have the opposite effect. It creates a person who is so volatile you can't understand why anyone would give him the chance, whether for his love or for his talent. The only defense I can muster is believing that it was all about the dancing, acting as some type of noble pursuit, in which case the era's hilarity returns as you wonder how Disco Dancing could ever possibly hold this much meaning for a person, with so many willing to overlook his volatile temper, violence, and intensity just because he's that good at Disco Dancing.
Tony's brother Father Frank Manero, Jr. (Martin Shakar) is one of the film's great roles and characters, along with their mother Flo (Julie Bovasso) and Frank (Val Bisoglio) as the father. Flo embodies the spirit of late middle aged dissatisfaction, compulsively crossing herself at every single mention of her son Frank, Jr. (Martin Shakar). Shakar is a flawless cast, falling far short of Tony's good looks, appearing a bit awkward, but with a respectable persona, looking like someone you could spill your guts to. Finally, we learn rather creatively that Frank, Sr. has been laid off from his job, with most of the information exchanged through passing moments, rather than someone coming into the kitchen and declaring it. Midway through the story we learn that Frank has left the parish, no longer interested in the priesthood. He comes home and heads out with Tony.
While he watches Tony dance, Bobby C. (pre-suicide) asks him about an abortion for his girlfriend and Frank has little beyond hallow platitudes. Frank, Jr. then takes off the next day. They built up a character as a legend, and when he finally arrives he runs away. A perfect opportunity for insight and direction was all prepared, and the story wasted the opportunity. I suppose I can imagine some type of silence acting as a metaphor, but I think it could have been done better with Tony's flaring temper and Frank, Jr.'s empathy coming into battle.
A lot of the film feels like should have turned right when it went left. While I once recalled this as a melodramatic story told amidst a shitty moment in time, I now would put this more in the direction of A Bronx Tale, Diner, or Liberty Heights, albeit falling far a bit short. Historically, it's as good as it gets, especially understanding that it's appealing to the generation that enjoyed Disco. I wouldn't look to this film for universal truths or grand philosophies but rather as a historical piece. It makes the darker scene far more dark, as you realize that men like Tony and his friends are meant to look like the Male Ideal. It was meant to inspire, and we have this story to highlight that moment in time with genuine Sexist Disco Bros.
BELOW: One of the strongest hooks in popular cinema (at least in terms of simplicity)
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Dog Day Afternoon (1975)
Director: Sidney Lumet
Writer: Frank Pierson; based on "The Boys in the Bank" by P. F. Kluge and Thomas Moore
Cinematographer: Victor J. Kemper
by Jon Cvack
I haven't seen this movie since working my way through the AFI Top 100 - the mission any fresh cinephile completes. I must have been eighteen or so and honestly I just didn't like the film all that much. Still, I purchased the Special Edition Double Disc which doesn't really make sense, though probably because it was directed by Sydney Lumet and felt cool to put another one of his films on my shelf. With nothing looking good on Netflix and having just moved into a new place, it was sitting on top of my rubbermaid bin that held all my films. I popped it in and for the first five minutes I was bored, remembering why I didn't like the film. After five minutes, as the bank robbery was getting under way, with all its farce and hilarity, I was hooked and wondered what I had missed the first time around.
This film has everything - incredible characters, a fresh take on an old story, it looks at media and entertainment, gender and sexuality, and that which links us all together. What we discover very quickly is that Sonny (Al Pacino) and Sal (John Cazale) have absolutely no idea what they're doing. Their third partner Stevie (Gary Springer of Jaws II fame) ditches out and so they're left trying to figure how to pull the heist off, managing the six bank tellers/hostages, led by their supervisor Sylvia (Penelope Allen) who fluctuates between finding the situation thrilling and growing overwhelmed with fear.
The situation is kicked off with Sonny trying to remove his gun from the flower box, as it gets caught on the ribbon, which many know was a mistake made by Pacino that he played through, portending the entire story in that Sonny and Sal have no idea what they're doing. The three grand they were looking for hasn't arrived and so they're left with $150. Fortunately, Sonny knows banks; what to do with and where the cameras are. He decides to burn the teller receipts, which in a pre-computer age is pretty brilliant as it'll wipe away the money record and avoid anyone tracking them down. Soon the cops arrive. Sonny tries putting the tellers in the bank vault, and then one of them has to use the bathroom, where he then discovers another woman who failed to notice the robbery at all.
The demonstration of what media would become is eerily prescient. There's the moment when the Bank Manager turns on his small television, which has a news anchor discussing the breaking story. Sonny gets on the phone with the anchor and begins explaining the situation before launching into a perverse tirade, only to have the program cut to black: no matter violence, networks have a zero tolerance policy toward bad language. Of course, this then makes the tellers even more excited, seeing themselves as characters in a national news story.
One of the film's great characters is Sergeant Eugene Moretti (Charles Durning) who is one of cinema's all time greatest detectives. Eugene's trying all the tricks in the book to placate and satisfy Sonny, but as the crowd falls in love with the guy, Eugene quickly learns he's dealing with a fairly smart robber who knows a con when he sees one. In the film's best scene, the two argue over one another, edited with such lightning speed that it plays like a great jazz song as they rapid fire exchanges and insults with such awesome intensity that you find yourself catching your breath at the end.
It's when we learn that Sonny has a gay lover, and that the money he was attempting to steal was all for this person's sex change that there's a sudden shift. The crowd that loved him now voice their bigotry. They can't be on the side of a homosexual; once again serving as a harbinger of the politics to come. It's been over forty years since the film was released, and with such vast progress having been made with gay rights, there still remains a solid minority of folk that despise homosexuality and transgender folk. Lumet was willing to examine this hate; to put a magnifying glass upon it light years ahead of when anyone else would, placing it within a story with extraordinarily badass characters, completely disrupting the stereotypes that so many hold.
The film's humor was much more apparent now that I'm older. John Cazale delivers a magnificent and creepy performance. Watching the "Behind the Scenes" his involvement was due to Pacino, who urged Lumet to hire him rather than - what I believe - was suppose to be a much more vanilla casting decision. Cazale is quiet in the beginning, though after the robbery gets underway and the cops arrive, with Sonny threatening to kill the hostages and kill themselves if the police try anything, Cazale looks right in his eyes and asks if Sonny is serious - because he is and they agreed to go all the way. I don't know many actors that could pull off this line without slipping into melodrama. Cazale's delivery is so frightfully candid, with Pacino's reaction driving it home, that we truly believe we're watching a madman unwind. Every line and interaction he has feels as though he's about to snap, standing to kill everyone in the room.
I had forgotten how the film ended exactly. I just knew they didn't get away. A solid gauge for any film is to maintain an irrational hope that the characters act a bit smarter the second time around - that Sonny would direct them to pull closer to the plane, or keep a closer eye on Agent Murphy (Lance Henriksen). I'm not sure where this comes from, or how our minds can create such a silly hope that maybe the film will play differently. It seems a symptom of any great movie, where you love the characters so much that you're willing to excuse your own irrationality in order to root for their success. The ending is dark, with Sal getting shot in the head, and Sonny taken in, knowing he'll spend the majority of his life behind bars. And yet beyond his individual punishment is realizing the people will no longer care; his wife and children will remain on welfare; his mother will never understand; and the world will hate them after what they learned.
BELOW: The best scene of the movie (and the entire period)
Bed and Board (1970)
Director: François Truffaut
Writer: François Truffaut, Claude de Givray, and Bernard Revon
Cinematographer: Nestor Almendros
by Jon Cvack
Yet again, Netflix spoils the film by revealing what happens after nearly 60% of the film is over. Regardless, the story is Truffaut's fourth in his Antoine Doinel series; a character that's a more exaggerated version of Truffaut himself, perhaps most famous as the lead character from The 400 Blows. Doniel is played by Jean-Pierre Leaud, who embodies the look of a selfish, shitty, self-centered person. In Bed and Board, Doniel is now a street florist, trying to discover the best way to use food coloring to create the perfect red carnation, at times with literally explosive results. As with many of Truffaut's films, about half of it takes place in an apartment containing a colorful cast of characters, including the strange neighbor who watches and attempts to help Doniel's floral concoctions, and a concupiscent woman, making countless failed attempts to seduce Doniel, who seems more oblivious than uninterested.
He's married to Claudine (Claude Jane), whose elegance and patience is unfounded. We're not entirely sure what she sees in Doniel, but given that I haven't seen The 400 Blows in years or Antoine and Colette ever, I'll assume I'm leaving something out.
Eventually, Doniel gets a job at some shipping company, in which he's in control of an incredibly ornate quay model, in which he gets to drive radio controlled ships around a pond. I'm not sure what this has to do with anything and it seems more McGuffin in design, given that it's what eventually leads to his meeting Kyoko (Hiroko Berghauer). The two enter into an affair, just as Claudine gets pregnant. Doniel's job was pretty funny, but similar to the movement in many of the 00s comedies, where there seemed to be a race between who could come up with the goofiest job for the slacker main character. Those decisions are all the more uninspired after revisiting Truffaut.
Nevertheless, Doniel grows on you as the film progresses. He's a loveable idiot, who's clearly trying, although completely weak-willed. It's clear that a mixture of boredom and fear of further descent into adulthood has caused him to pursue Kyoko. Not having any particular passions or motivations, he maintains a childish regard for all his actions. Doniel doesn't even see his infidelities as all that bad, and neither do we. In some ways we too want to forgive him, since it seems almost more of a mental defect than a deliberate choice. The relationship eventually goes stale as he discovers that beneath the exotic superficialities of Kyoko there is very little else. They have nothing to talk about, and their indiscretions start taking on a clockwork mundanity that makes his marriage look fresh and exciting. In a great final sequence, while at dinner with Kyoko, Doniel keeps going back to the payphone to call Claudine and complain. Again, as despicable as the act is, we can't help finding it cute and celebrate his return home. It'd take nine years before Truffaut would return to Doniel with Love on the Run, which will be checked out later this year.
BELOW: Antoine Doinel tries to speak English at his new job; love Truffaut's casting of an American businessman
Director: Sam Peckinpah
Writer: Sam Peckinpah and Gordon Dawson
Cinematographer: Alex Phillips, Jr.
by Jon Cvack
I'd consider this a slow moving Tarantino film. At nearly two hours, I figure if someone dared challenge Mr. Peckinpah it could have been a phenomenal movie. Instead, we are left with a lot of meandering, watching a couple talk about things that aren't all that interesting, which eventually results in a the main character going around with the actual head of Alfredo Garcia, talking to him per the likes of Wilson from Cast Away, and participating in some of type of revenge caper film per the likes of Kill Bill or Django Unchained.
The film opens up in a Mexican Mansion. We see hombres and cowboys, packing their rifles and six shooters and we have no idea when the film takes place. There's a young, pregnant teenage girl standing before mob boss El Jefe (Emilio Fernandez). Demanding she tell him who the father is, they strip her down naked, and she finally spills it - Alfredo Garcia. The father demands his head. And in a maelstrom, the men leave the small town, driving and flying all over the country, as we now discover that it's all taking place in modern times.
Two bodyguards head to rural Mexico where we meet pianist and alcoholic, Bennie (Warren Oates). I first thought Bennie was Alfredo Garcia given the similarity to the picture, though after about twenty minutes I understood he wasn't and rather a retired Army Officer with thick teeth and insatiable thirst for the bottle.
He's been courting prostitute Elita (Isela Vega) who passes her crabs onto Bennie, who picks them off and cracks them apart in one of the great uses of subtle sound effects. The two embark on a journey across rural Mexico. We head from urban area to urban area, each more begrimed and disgusting than the last. We understand that the couple is being followed and will likely get killed. What we don't expect is the random pair of bikers who stop the couple after a prolonged, mawkish dialogue that Ebert loved and I lost patience with. The biker pair is led by Kris Kristofferson, who in foil to his wholesome role in Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore (same year 1974), plays a rapist who requests the act with his typical calmness, which results in frightening command. I enjoyed Elita's confusing choice to either play along, or feign interest. We know that Bennie will approach the pair - and in a brilliant switch, we no longer doubt that he'll kill the biker, so much as if he'll kill Elita as well.
And thus, approximately halfway through the film, the story finally takes off (and we get our first Peckinpah Slow Motion Action Sequence), and we begin to witness the disintegration of Bennie. Ebert highlighted that this film in large part reflects that a "...real director's at his best when he works with material that reflects his own life pattern." At this point in his life, Peckinpah was completely drunk each and every day. It's easy to see the film as his own rebellious act after believing the studio deliberately screwed him on his previous project The Ballad of Cable Hogue. What begins as a simple story, descends into madness as Elita gets murdered, and Bennie stops at nothing in order to bring in the head and avenge her death. The script almost feels improvised, as though Bennie and Elita were going to bring in the head, drive off into the sunset, and instead Peckinpah went on a binger one night, saw his life pass by in front of him, and said fuck it, pulling the crew further into rural Mexico.
Bennie's complete and utter rage from Elita's death onward, while seeming initially shallow, became more apparent after reading about Peckinpah's history. In fact, shortly after watching this, I ran into a woman I met while taking the ferry to Catalina Island, who was visiting from Florida and worked out in LA for three or four years as a nurse. She said she met Sam Peckinpah in the hospital a few times, always due to his drinking. There was something very real hearing this from a random stranger, who didn't have much interest in film and could hardly remember his name. His alcoholism was memorable enough even for Nurses.
It ends similar to other films from the period - Bonnie and Clyde, Easy Rider, The Graduate, etc. After all he achieved, it all came back to him. There's something about him being a retired Army Officer that makes me think this a pretty heavy insight, obfuscated by all the guns, sex, and drinking. Bennie was waiting on his comeuppance for a long time, as was Sam.
BELOW: The opening scene, taking place in what feels to be the Wild West
The Friends of Eddie Coyle (1973)
Director: Peter Yates
Writer: Paul Monash
Cinematographer: Victor J. Kemper
By Jon Cvack
This might enter into the top 10 most underrated films I've rarely heard of. I came across the title here and there, always recognizing the Criterion cover, but it was after watching Ben Affleck's "The Town" and its making of where Affleck mentioned this film's influence on the story that I bumped it up in my Netflix queue. I now have a bit less appreciation for that film (less in the sense of taking a couple of sprinkles of a birthday cake), mostly for the fact that FoEC makes the masks and 'cool' dialogue in The Town seem a bit uninspired,
The story involves old man Eddie Coyle (Robert Mitchum, in one of his all time greatest roles, think his classic Crossfire/Murder, My Sweet Philip Marlow, told within a highly realistic manner) who's currently under investigation for driving a truck of stolen goods, and hoping to get the heat off his back. As side work he's running guns for a mafia-backed series of bank robberies. His one friend is a fellow ex-con and current bartender, Dillon (Peter Boyle). Unbeknownst to either party, both are talking to the cops about all the activity that's going on.
Meanwhile the gunrunner, Jackie Brown (Stephen Keets; hmm, what a familiar name..), is a highly paranoid and intelligent guy, who's dealing with both Eddie and a married couple living out of an old ice cream truck. So the guns go from Jackie Brown to Eddie to the bank robbers, all while Eddie is swayed by the ATF to reveal some information in the hopes that he could get off the stolen goods wrap, while Dillon is trying to stay clean.
What makes me this movie so incredible is that it takes some badass dialogue and action, integrating them within a naturalistic story. The fall weather creates a chill through each and every scene. True to noir, there's a feeling that each person is doomed or cursed, and simply biding time while they're on the road to damnation. Contrary to The Town, there's no romance here. Just heartache, and the tail end of a life of bad decisions. The robberies aren't exciting, or badass. They're terrifying. Initially we're not sure who's wearing the masks. And against a gray sky and a broken town, we're not sure what they're going to do. There's no redemption; there's no one who's really all that cool; except for Eddie, and even he turns on us. It's rare that I resent a character in a movie so much. For eight months of jail, he could have kept quiet and maintained his life. But he wanted more. He wanted Florida.
BELOW: One of the master's greatest monologues
The French Connection (1971)
Director: William Friedkin
Writer: Ernest Tidyman
Cinematographer: Owen Roizman
by Jon Cvack
Even as I was getting into film, I didn't understand a lot of my sister's friends interest in older films. I'm not talking the AFI top 100 and stuff like that, but more obscure fair. Yet the older I get the more I appreciate film's ability to capture moments in time. One of the greatest examples is The Naked City ('48), which films on location all over 1940s New York City, allowing us to see the city as it was, instead of dressed as the filmmakers wanted us to see.
The French Connection provides a glimpse into New York City during the early 1970s. I had watched this film while working off the AFI Top 100 list, and like many of the films, it was too early for me to understand what the film had accomplished. It's shot in a gritty hand held realism style, feeling much more like a documentary about two undercover detectives than the traditional polished narrative about officers hunting down some drug dealers. There are moments where we seem to just miss what we are about to see, or can't hear what we're suppose to because a truck drives by or the character mumbles. We are pulled along the narrative, figuring it all out as it occurs, hoping to capture the relevant information between all the overlapping dialogue and diegetic sounds. As Ebert notes, the story line hardly really matters. It's about following the characters, getting a taste of the city, and becoming immersed within all of the real locations.
I'm embarrassed to say I didn't even know this was based off a real story. Turns out the opium trade migrated to France as Turkish and Indian farmers were allowed to produce poppie opium for legal drug use during the 1960s and 70s. However, the excess was sold to the black market, which then made its way to the states. It got to the point where the dealers were smuggling in about 200 pounds of Heroin every other week, with the Feds only seizing about 200 pounds per year.
By 1971, the year The French Connection was released, the Turkish government officially banned its opium seed production. The trafficking continued, with the French smugglers bribing police and military personnel to assist with the imports. It eventually led to one of the biggest corruption cases in US history, involving the NYPD. The details were never discovered, but it involved officers replacing the seized heroin with flour and cornstarch. Eventually, it was discovered that insects were eating these bags of faux-heroin, uncovering the ill-dealings that were going on for years.
The French Connection wasn't the only film that alluded to these dealings (although it was the most direct). Others were The Godfather I & II, Prince of the City, American Gangster, and, of course, The French Connection II. However, one of the most fascinating elements of the entire situation was that the downfall largely began after The French Connection was released. I haven't found any evidence that it contributed to the bust, or how much, but I'm sure it was at least partially significant to shedding light on the situation.
Of course, the most memorable moment is the famous car chase, often regarded as one of the best ever produced. Given that it was all filmed on actual New York streets, it's fascinating to read about the ways they achieved such a realistic action sequence. Cinematographer Owen Roizman undercranked the film to 18fps so that he could speed up the sequence, along with working with William Friedkin to find the best lenses that could cheat distance - something that Spielberg would eventually use for his famous feature-length car chase film, Duel.
However, it's the end that I had forgotten all about. The fact that Popeye (Gene Hackman) shoots the federal agent and Charnier (Fernando Rey), but Mulderig (Bill Hickman) ends up getting away just never stuck with me. After all of the dirt, grime, and grit, after they bend the law as far as they can in order to a job well done, the man escapes. Popeye and Buddy are transferred out of narcotics. I haven't seen the sequel yet, but I do know that Popeye makes a comeback. Though like any sequel, you can't really use that to the judge the original. In some ways the movie's ending is extraordinarily depressing. In others, it's perfectly fitting given how far the law was bent to capture their suspects and the comeuppance they faced.
BELOW: A documentary about the actual French Connection
The Candidate (1972)
Director: Michael Ritchie
Writer: Jeremy Larner
Cinematographer: Victor J. Kemper and John Korty
by Jon Cvack
The Candidate precedes what would be established in Network and carried onto into Studio 60 on Sunset Strip, Bulworth, The Newsroom, and what we're currently experiencing with the rise of Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders. The formula is simple - a politician finally speaks the Truth. However, counter to the idealism of the films that followed, The Candidate takes a look at how far the individual would go in order to gain the power, even at the cost of sacrificing their integrity. I never really picked up on this during the film so much as after, though I think that's more on account of how much more recent films bash you over the head with the same idea. The descent into losing one's soul is minute and subtle.
McKay (Robert Redford) begins as a successful environmental lawyer who's recruited - for a reason I'm entirely not sure of - to challenge the incumbent Crocker Jarmon (who indubitably has the best challenger name in any political film; played by Don Porter). As he tries to gain ground, repeating the same talking points about inequality, housing, poverty, crime, and abortion, director Michael Ritchie follows along in a docu-drama way. It is clear that McKay doesn't really know how he's going to deliver on any of these promises. In the end, in pure 70s narrative ambiguity (see The Graduate), a victorious McKay takes his campaign manager Marvin Lucas (Peter Boyle) into a hotel room and asks what they're suppose to do now that they've won. Lucas can't hear him over the celebratory noise, unable to offer any insight.
What's most gripping about the story is how prescient it was about the role of media in politics. Marvin and his team find the best way to say everything. They hire the best video producer who churns out inspiring and cheesy campaign videos after following McKay around manufacturing plants and inner city neighborhoods. Instead of saying he's pro-choice (I'm not sure this phrase was developed yet), McKay is instructed to refer to the ongoing research. He has a script, and while veering away from it, never says anything too divisive.
And that's what makes the whole film so prophetic. It's as though we're entering into an age where people know that most candidates walk on eggshells when giving any type of answer and films like this and others helped demonstrate why. When I hear Ted Cruz and Hillary Clinton speak all I see are very carefully crafted talking points, based on marketing research and designed by the campaign team. Everything is polished. And then you have the Left and Right populist candidates who're willing to shoot from the hip, drawing massive crowds on account of it. And it's because polished candidates don't seem real, especially as social media plays a more central aspect, that we want real people, not the manufactured candidates of yesteryear. It's as though we're entering into a new age of what politics could be. While before television and radio people depended on newspapers and possibly a chance to see them in person now we want to know everything - we want to know they are real people. Those who want to cater to the antiquated method of researching every point will not last long. It's off the cuff that works. The Candidate saw what politics had become. It also saw where it was going. Strange to think that most of what these candidates discuss is the same - the Right thinks there are too many entitlements which make people lazy, and the Left is a champion of the poor and trying to even out the playing field. Nearly 45 years later and it's the exact same. With the exception of the abortion-research talk, this movie could easily be remade with the same script and stay just as relevant. Talking off point or not, that's kind of a bummer.
BELOW: 70s'style ambiguous ending
Killing of a Chinese Bookie (1976)
Director: John Cassavetes
Writer: John Cassavetes
Cinematographer: Mitchell Breit and Al Ruban
by Tory Maddox
A bonus feature features an interview with Ben Gazzara who was initially frustrated with the movie. He didn't get it. Why would John Cassavettes - the father of moder independent cinema - desire to make a genre piece? John sat him down and said Ben was missing the idea. It was a film about crushed dreams and the integrity required to maintain them. It represented John's view of all the producers and money men who tried to tell him how to make his films throughout the years. Coincidentally, if you read the '76 New York Times review we discover this film also fell victim to the financier's editing, cutting down Cassavete's original 138 minute vision to 108 minutes of incoherence (which he'd later get back to critical acclaim).
Like John's other work this movie is unlike anything I've ever seen. There's something so real that it becomes heartbreaking. Cosmo (Gazzara) owns a rundown strip club called Crazy Horse. All of the strippers are non-actors, hosted by the bizarre emcee played by Cassavete's screenwriter Robert Meade in truly one of the great non-actor performances of all time.
Cosmo falls into a $23,000 gambling debt while out with his stripper girlfriends and is forced to assassinate a Chinese crime lord in reparation. He agrees and the movie is a brilliant, intense, and thrilling story as Cosmo tries to retain his club against all odds. It's a film that makes you excited to finish John's filmography and see what other magic he delivers. This man was determined to make art with cinema. He despised the studio system that aimed to churn out a homogenous crop of films year after year. 35 years later and the issues John explores are still prominent. Just as they struggled in 1978, people are still fighting to make personal films. Some have the courage to do whatever it takes, others do not. He admired fellow filmmakers John Boorman and Robert Altman as they put their deepest fears onto the screen. He respected all those who attempted to do the same and fought to maintain their dreams and express themselves without impediment.
Yellow Barrel
Thoughts on films, old and new
© Jonathan Cvack and Yellow Barrel, 2015 - 2017. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this site's author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Jon Cvack and Yellow Barrel with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.


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Peter Crouch scored his first two goals following his return to Portsmouth in 4-1 victory in a friendly against Bournemouth.
Crouch who rejoined from Liverpool in an £11million deal earlier this month, linked up impressively with England strike partner Jermain Defoe.
Crouch: Scored a brace at Dean Court
Another former Liverpool striker, Robbie Fowler, made his debut for Blackburn but could not stop them losing 3-1 to Bundesliga newcomers TSG 1899 Hoffenheim in Austria.
Fowler, who was at Cardiff last season, is on trial with Blackburn now managed by former Anfield team-mate Paul Ince.
David Bentley, a target for Tottenham and Aston Villa, did not play with the club saying the winger had returned to England for treatment on a hamstring injury.


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Late periods
I had taken an i-pill in the month of Jan even though my boyfriend and I had safe sex, Feb I had my periods almost 12 days early (12th Feb instead of 26th) and now in March I am almost 10 days late. Please suggest me why this can be happening and what should I be doing? Should I visit a gynaecologist? p.s. I have been taking Thyronorm (50 mcg) for quite a few years now. My thyroid levels are above normal.
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Hello there...., In a normal menstrual cycle, a balance between the hormones estrogen and progesterone regulates the buildup of the lining of the uterus (endometrium), which is shed during menstruation. If a hormone imbalance occurs, mentrual irregularities occurs.. Periods can be delayed for a single cycle or it can be delayed in every cycle. If the delay is in only a single cycle, the most likely cause is a temporary cause like stress.. Kindly consult Gynecologist for further advice...
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Now in our 66th year - Dedicated to Protecting, Preserving and Promoting
The interests of The Eloise Butler Wildflower Garden and Bird Sanctuary
Of New Jersey Tea, Eloise Buter wrote: "This plant has historic interest as well as refined beauty. It is well that it grows in prodigal masses in wide distribution. For, after the Boston Tea Party, a brew of the leaves of the Ceanothus plenished the teapots of our revolutionary forebears."
New Jersey Tea is a small native perennial woody shrub, growing to 3 feet in height on green stems with fine hair. Stems branch in the upper part and the bases become woody with age. It is drought tolerant and does best in full sun with well drained soils. It grows from a deep reddish taproot. When burned off in prairie areas, it re-sprouts energetically from the roots. The numerous tiny flowers, with skinny petals, all on long stalks in a round umbel give, as Eloise said, the appearance of "sea foam and mist."
Massachusetts clergyman Manasseh Cutler wrote in 1774: "The leaves of this shrub [New Jersey Tea] have been much used by the common people, in some parts of the country, in the form of India tea; and is, perhaps, the best substitute the country affords. They immerse the fresh leaves in a boiling decoction of the leaves and branches of the same shrub, and then dry them with a gentle heat. The tea, when the leaves are cured in this way, has an agreeable taste, and leaves a roughness on the tongue somewhat resembling that of the bohea tea."
The hills are faint in a cloudy blue,
That loses itself where the sky bends over,
The wind is shaking the orchard thro',
And sending a quiver thro' knee-deep clover.
The air is sweet with a strange perfume,
That comes from the depths of the woodland places,
The fields are hid in a wealth of bloom,
And white with the sweep of the ox-eye daisies!
And farther down, where the brook runs thro',
Where the ferns are cool in the prisoned shadow,
We still may see, thro' the morning dew,
The swell and dip of the daisied meadow.
And then when the wind across it blows,
And the wavering lines of silver follow,
We catch the gleam of her heart of gold,
While over her skims the fleet-winged swallow.
Clear and simple in white and gold,
Meadow blossom of sunlit spaces, -
The field is full as it well can hold
And white with the drift of the ox-eye daisies!
The Friends need your help! Phase One of the Garden's Boardwalk was dedicated in 2015 and has won three landscape architecture awards. Phase One only covered one-third of the wetland area that needs a firm boardwalk surface.
Your donation can help us continue the boardwalk further into the wetland.
All funds The Friends raise will go toward the construction of Phase Two of the Garden's Wetland Boardwalk. You can walk on the award-winning completed Phase I portion to see wetland plants and visualize where Phase II will complete this beautiful and functional walkway over the entire Wetland.
Please consider making a donation to this critical Garden project. Details on the boardwalk, and how to donate at this link.
Illustrated Article: Eloise Butler charms the birds.
Last site update: 06/24/17. Next planned update: 07/01/17


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Use a Vacuum Sealer to Save Money
Most of use have at least heard of a vacuum sealer, but what is it exactly? And, no-it doesn't have anything to do with cleaning. A vacuum sealer is primarily used for preserving food, but it can also be used for a wide range of other things. It's a very handy tool to own an can save you hundreds in food costs every year. It's also pretty easy to use. Once you invest in a good food sealer, all you need to buy are the sealing bags and accessories.
If you are using your vacuum sealer for food storage, you can preserve virtually any and all foods. It's ideal for preserving fresh or frozen produce such as strawberries, peppers, broccoli, peas, blueberries, kale, chard, green beans, corn, and pretty much anything else. Vacuum sealers are also great for preserving bulk dry goods such as flour, sugar, herbs and spices, and dried fruit. You can actually extend the shelf life of these foods substantially by vacuum sealing them.
According to VacuumSealerLand.com, you can "use your vacuum sealer to reseal cracker or chip bags" – because we all know how quickly those can go stale once the seal is broken. Those chip clips and clothespins only work so well-air can always make its way into your bags-but not if you vacuum seal your bags shut. This is an especially useful tool if you buy a lot of bulk items like herbs, spices and baking supplies.
Once you break the seal on a can or jar, then they are going to expire a lot more quickly. Wine is especially prone to expiring more quickly once the seal is broken, but if you have a bottle stopper attachment, you can actually seal jars. You can also seal jars of herb infused oil or vinegar.
You can even use your vacuum sealer to prevent corrosion. Air and moisture are the enemy of food and metals and vacuum sealing prevents air and moisture form corroding or tarnishing metals over time. You can use your vacuum sealer to protect your ammunition or even fine silver.
You can also use your vacuum sealer to package emergency items like band aids, first aid supplies. Even band aids will break down over time, but not if you preserve them. You can even seal up camping supplies so they don't get wet-like your matches.
So how much longer do vacuum sealed items really last? Quite a lot longer. For example, beef, game and chicken normally would last about 6 months in your freezer. But if you vacuum seal it, then it will last as long as 2 to 3 years. That's quite a big difference. Cheese can last about 1-2 weeks in your fridge, but if you preserve it with a food saver, it will last up to 4-8 months. Even your pantry items can live longer-flour and sugar normally has a shelf life of 6 months, but if preserved, it will last 1-2 years. So as you can see, it's well worth it to preserve your food.


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|Message view
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|"Caldarale, Charles R" <Chuck.Caldar...@unisys.com>
|RE: URL is "null" and HTTP 404 error when using FROM authentication
|Fri, 13 Jun 2008 05:32:58 GMT
> From: exkor [mailto:firstname.lastname@example.com] > Subject: URL is "null" and HTTP 404 error when using FROM > authentication You have some weirdness in your web.xml and context.xml that should be straightened out before attempting any further analysis. > <servlet> > <servlet-name></servlet-name> > <display-name></display-name> > <servlet-class></servlet-class> > <load-on-startup>0</load-on-startup> > </servlet> I have no idea what should be done with an empty <servlet> declaration, and it's possible Tomcat doesn't either; get rid of it. > <auth-constraint> > <role-name>admin</role-name> > <role-name>manager</role-name> > </auth-constraint> ... > <security-role> > <role-name>admin</role-name> > </security-role> Either you have an extra role listed in <auth-constraint>, or you're missing one under <security-role>; get them in synch. > My context.xml: Where is your context.xml file? It should be in your webapp's META-INF directory. If you've changed the global one in Tomcat's conf directory, put it back the way it was and put your <Context> element in the proper location. > <Context path="/hamula" reloadable="true" crossContext="true" > debug="99"> The path attribute is not allowed in a <Context> element in context.xml; remove it. > <Logger className="org.apache.catalina.logger.FileLogger" > prefix="localhost_hamula_log." suffix=".txt" > timestamp="true"/> There is no <Logger> element in Tomcat 6; remove it. > <Resource name="jdbc/hamula" > auth="Container" > type="javax.sql.DataSource" > driverClassName="com.mysql.jdbc.Driver" > url="jdbc:mysql://localhost:3306/hamula?autoReconnect=true"/> > username="root" > password="skywalker" > digest="MD5" > logAbandoned="true" > removeAbandoned="true" > removeAbandonedTimeout="10" > maxActive="20" > maxIdle="10" > maxWait="-1"/> The above is obviously broken, since you have terminated the <Resource> element twice. Regardless, it seems odd for the <Realm> and the application <Resource> to be using the exact same data base; is that what you really want? > <Realm className="org.apache.catalina.realm.JDBCRealm" Change the <Realm> back to the MemoryRealm for testing with FORM login; once you get that working, then move on to the JDBCRealm. One step at a time. You say you have httpd 2.0 in the mix; don't use it for testing, go straight to Tomcat's http port. Only after that works should you introduce any further complications. All of the above may not to fix your problem, but it will remove some confusion from your situation. - Chuck THIS COMMUNICATION MAY CONTAIN CONFIDENTIAL AND/OR OTHERWISE PROPRIETARY MATERIAL and is thus for use only by the intended recipient. If you received this in error, please contact the sender and delete the e-mail and its attachments from all computers. --------------------------------------------------------------------- To start a new topic, e-mail: firstname.lastname@example.com To unsubscribe, e-mail: email@example.com For additional commands, e-mail: firstname.lastname@example.com
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Navigation Model for Windows XAML Applications
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The XAML Application Framework initially introduced with Windows 8.0 is now available on Windows Phone 8.1. This session will cover an overview of Navigation Model for XAML Applications including In-App and App-to-App navigation, similarities and differences between Windows and Phone and UX Guidance for Back Button and Fast Application Resume.
For more information, check out these courses on Microsoft Virtual Academy:
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Level:200 - Intermediate
Room:Room 2001
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Event HomepageBuild 2014
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Universal Windows Application Lifecycle: From Activation and Suspension to Background…
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|Club Retro Custom - Next Event
|Sunday, 07 August 2011 00:00
We will be attending VW Action 2011 at Santa Pod Raceway from Friday 2nd September to Sunday 4th September. This is traditionally one of the best shows of the season and a perfect show for all the family!
This year, the show theme is 'Pirates And Ninjas', so if you fancy getting into the spirit of things then bring your pirate or ninja costume!
We have a large dedicated Club Retro Custom camping area and many people have already confirmed their attendance. Everyone is welcome to join us so please let us know if you intend to camp with us so we can allocate the available space accordingly.
Tickets cost £31.50 for advance weekend tickets (including booking fee) and £35 on the gate for the weekend. If you fancy just going for the day, it is £15 per day for a one day pass on both Saturday and Sunday. All customers will be required to book their own tickets for this event and just let us know if you plan to join us for the weekend in club camping.
We will be posting up the meeting time and place if you wish to cruise with us to the show in the near future. Please note, we will be leaving on Friday 2nd September in the afternoon.
For further information check out www.vwaction.com
Monday 14th February 2011
On Saturday 19th February we will be cruising to the 8 Ball Diner Grand Opening, on the A12 in Witham, Essex.
We will be assembling at Baldock Services from 4.15pm and leaving at 4.30pm sharp for 5.45pm arrival at the 8 Ball, so if you wish to join us, please be there before then.
The 8 Ball Diner opening is expected to draw VW's, Hot Rods, Custom Cars and even scooters and motorbikes from all round the country and should offer a fun packed evening at a completely new venue run by petrolheads for petrolheads!
For more information on the 8 Ball Diner, Click here


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Eastman Kodak Co. is launching the first digital, wireless picture frame featuring organic light emitting diode (OLED) technology for the consumer market. The frame, which has an ultra-thin, 7.6-inch diagonal digital panel that produces crisp image detail regardless of viewing angle, will retail for $999 starting in November.
The OLED Wireless Frame incorporates an ambient light sensor that optimizes the viewing experience by adjusting display brightness based on the surrounding light. Company officials said the device will have built-in Wi-Fi, memory card reader, and USB port and 2 GB of built-in internal memory.


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Official 350 Austin Kick Off
Jim Hightower and Bill McKibben are pitching in for the official launch of 350 Austin! We've been up and running for a few weeks, but we wanted to wait until after the holiday craziness before hosting our official kick off. Come watch Bill McKibben, founder of 350.org, address Austin in a video he has made (More...)
Why 350?
What's the best way to introduce the world to 350? With over 4000 languages spoken around the world, it's probably not with a bunch of words. We did our best to boil down the science of global warming and vision of the 350 Campaign in 90 seconds–and with no words. (More...)
Do the Math – the Movie
A mini-documentary about a rising movement to take on the climate crisis and fight the fossil fuel industry. (More...)
350 Founder Speaking at UT Austin
350.org founder, environmental activist and author, Bill McKibben spoke at the University of Texas at Austin on the moral issues of climate change. (More...)


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- Diamonds and Stones studded
- Pearls and Silver
- Durga Jewellery Mall Details
- Jewellery & Watches
Akshaya Tritiya Offer – Buy One and get two at Durga Jewellery Mall
Akshaya Tritiya is supposed to be one of the most auspicious days to buy gold as per Indian belief. But before buying, lets take a look at the pros and cons of the most attractive gold investment options available in the Indian marketin this Akshara Tritiya most attractive gold investment Options available in market occasion of Akshara Tritiya. on Products of Gold Jewelry, Gold Bars/Gold Coins / Gold Material and E-Gold Investments, E-Gold Transactions, Exchange Traded Fund
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Snapdeal Akshara Tritiya Offers :
Lowest price On Gold Coins – Upto 10% CashBack On BIS Hallmarked Gold Coins
Buy Gold Coin Get A Free Silver Coins this Offer Available only At Snapdeal.com
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Akshaya Tritiya Special Offers and Akshaya Tritiya Special Offer On Gold Akshaya Tritiya Today Special Offers Discounts For Sale Gold Silver Discounts on Akshaya Tritiya Festival Special Akshaya Tritiya Amazon.com Special Gold rates Offers Akshaya Tritiya Flipkart Offers


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My Application Form StatusCheck the status of your application form with Angel Broking.
My Application Form StatusCheck the status of your application form with Angel Broking.
The most popular question which new investors ask is, "What are Equity funds?" The equity funds are a kind of mutual fund by which one can buy ownership in a business. Hence, the term equity is used. These are in the form of publicly traded common stock. Sometimes the ownership is in the form of private equity funds which are a part of a private company not traded on the stock exchange.
Equity funds are different from bond funds or money funds. The aim of equity fund is long-term growth through capital gains. Some equity funds may focus on a specific sector of the market. The size of the equity fund is determined by the market capitalization and investment style. They are also categorized by whether they are domestic or international.
Equity funds are an ideal investment option for small investors. It is also considered as a practical investment for most of the people. The attributes which make equity funds most suitable for small investors is low risk, small capital for investment and diversified portfolio.
According to Nifty returns of past 15 years, Indian stock market has returned about 16% on an average in terms of increase in share prices or capital appreciation each year.
Another reason why equity funds are an ideal investment option because of a sheer number of funds available. As of 2015, there were 4500 different kinds of funds available in the market. The funds are available to match every risk profile and investment aim that one has.
Equity Linked Savings Scheme is a major tax saving mutual fund along with high returns. It is also the most popular option for savvy investors. If you are ready to take some risk, then Equity Linked Savings Scheme is the right plan for you. Let us see below some of the advantages of the Equity Linked Savings Scheme.
An ELSS invests in share market and has to face the fluctuations of the share markets. As Equity Linked Savings Scheme goes under 3 years of lock down period, one might get fewer returns than the amount invested. Hence, one must be prepared for such an outcome.
Despite the risk of loss, Equity Linked Savings Scheme also has high return potentials. In a long term, the investment in shares might give high returns. In the last 20-25 years, Equity Linked Savings Scheme has given high returns to investors.
SIP is the most suitable for Equity Linked Savings Scheme as it assures the required investment amount for tax saving. SIP does not always give the desired results but reduces the risk factor.
The investors should choose equity funds which are doing well in the bear markets also. One should know how a fund behaves and performs when the market goes bad. This allows one to understand the maximum damage caused by a fund.
As an investor, you should also look for consistency rather than point to point returns. Trailing the returns can give a wrong picture as they will show how a fund has performed lately. Before investing, one should look over 3-5 years of performance.
The aim of the investment should be to stay invested for a long period of time. People feel that investments should not be done during peak times. But, if invested during peak times and continue for a long period of time, it will give good returns.
The price of equity fund is based on the fund's net asset value fewer liabilities. A diversified portfolio means the less negative effect on the adverse price change on the portfolio.


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* NEW * Kirihimete Activity Pack Te Reo MāoriThis resource uses Te Reo Māori. Help your children to familiarise themselves with the key vocabulary for this topic using this fun Christmas themed pack. Celebrate Te Reo Māori.Save for Later
Learn Personal Pronoun Flashcards Te Reo Māori/EnglishThis resource is a set of handy flashcards using Te Reo Māori and English. These flashcards focus on using personal pronouns. Personal pronouns are an important foundation when learning Te Reo Māori. These simple flashcards highlight the speaker and the listener. Use them with your class when learning about how to use and understand personal pronouns in daily conversations. Kōrerotia Te Reo Māori! Akina Te Reo Māori!Save for Later
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COMPETITION: Looks like a great Mother's Day prize
By Ciaran McGrath in Local People
TO the world's greatest mums – flowers are beautiful and simnel cakes are yummy, spa vouchers are relaxing and days out are fun, new pans are useful and homemade is thoughtful.
However, none of these are any use if you can't see them.
With this in mind, Specsavers in Palmers Green are helping you show mum she's one in a million this Mother's Day (Sunday, March 26) with the chance to win one of three pairs of glasses – one pair of designer frames worth £149, one pair worth £125 or a third worth £99, complete with single vision lenses.
From the new Kylie Minogue range, to Love Moschino and Max & Co, let your mum select from the stylish selection of frames to help set off her spring look.
Complete the sentence below and also let us know when your mum was at her most beautiful for your chance to win one of the prizes:
* The traditional cake to bring to your mum on Mother's Day is... a) Chocolate cornflake cake b) Simnel cake c) Mud cake.
* My mum was at her most beautiful when...
Visit the store at 359 Green Lanes, Palmers Green, London N13 4JG, call 020 8920 3150 or visit www.specsavers.co.uk/palmersgreen
Send your answer, with your name, address and a daytime telephone number, to: Specsavers competition, North London & Herts Newspapers, 187 Baker Street, Enfield, EN1 3JT, or send your answer, with
contact details, to competitions @nlhnews.co.uk, with "Specsavers" in the subject line, by noon on March 23.