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Active Essentials: Zombie Flesheaters Part 1
Brains... Brains... moan.... Part 1 of Gabe Powers' list of walking dead essentials
The modern zombie is usually characterized by three key elements:
1.A zombie is a dead person who has been reanimated. Though he or she may appear alive, they are, in fact, dead.
2.A zombie cannot be killed again except by a severe head trauma, like a gunshot.
3.A zombie craves living human flesh, or at the very least, wants to murder living humans, and they relentlessly exist for this reason alone.
These rules were, of course, made to be broken, though for the most part they are the key components to the genre. Another basic rule of some of the best zombie films is that the zombies themselves remain somewhat incidental to the plot. Quite often a bite from a zombie will cause the recipient to become "infected" with the zombie's essence, in effect causing them to become a zombie too. This, along with the thought of grievous bodily harm at the hands of loved ones, is what supplies the modern zombie film with its fear quotient. Zombies are giant, relentless germs that could destroy humanity if left to their own devices.
Because there are different kinds of zombie movies, I've divided my choices into categories, based mostly on sub-genre. I tried to stick to the rule of including films that depict flesheaters only, but have allowed my self some leeway in a few cases. You will notice I've not included Voodoo classics like Jacques Tourneur's I Walked with a Zombie or Victor Halperin's White Zombie, nor have I included modern takes on the non-horror living dead like Robin Campillo's They Came Back. I apologize to all fans of subtlety.
The Dead Rise: The Romero Films
Night of the Living Dead (1968)
We start at the beginning with the films of the genre's originator, George A. Romero, who came up with the concept of cannibalistic, dead humans with co-writer John Russo in 1968 with Night of the Living Dead. The film was made mostly as an experiment in feature length filmmaking, and was not expected to gain any popularity or to make any money (which, because of fumbled rights issues, it basically didn't). Night's eerie mix of documentary style filmmaking, unprofessional actors, shocking (for the time) violence, and scathing political context made it an instant classic. Though nearly forty years old the film is only slightly dated, and still surprisingly potent.
The life of Night of the Living Dead on DVD has been a tough one. Due to a lapse in rights, the film is technically classified as public domain, which means any company who gets their hands on a print can legally release a DVD. This, unfortunately, means that there are a lot of awful, bargain bin copies floating around. Elite Entertainment released the best version, which was more or less a straight dupe of their original Special Edition laser disc release. This version has a sharp transfer, clean audio, and an insightful commentary from Romero and some of the film's actors/producers. This disc was suped up later, with unnecessary 5.1 surround and a few more extras under the Millennium Edition title. Either version is a must own. The Anchor Bay 30th Anniversary Edition incorporated new footage shot by co-creator Russo, and is generally regarded as one of the biggest travesties in DVD history. It is best avoided at all costs.
An honorable mention goes out to make-up maestro Tom Savini's 1990 remake, which cannot be confused for a classic, but is still a nice Bush Senior era take on the story. Scripted by Romero, Night of the Living Dead '90 was made in the hopes of recuperating some of the money lost due to the original film's copyright issues. This adaptation is of personal interest as it was one of my first steps into the horror genre. I have fond memories of watching it on Joe Bob Briggs' Monster Vision when I was about 10 years old. It was one of the first horror movies I didn't simply switch off because my intrigue outweighed my discomfort. Watching it as a jaded adult, the film loses much of its impact but still manages to stick with me mostly for the great performances and well executed (if not somewhat stilted) gore effects.
Dawn of the Dead (aka: Zombi, 1978)
Dawn of the Dead may be my favourite film of all time. The first review I ever wrote for the site was of Anchor Bay's truly essential Ultimate Edition release. It still stands to this day as one of my longest reviews. What follows is a drastically edited version of that review.
The horrible events of Night of the Living Dead continue. Every dead body that is not properly disposed of gets up and kills. The people they kill get up and kill. The zombie plague has pushed the public into a state of Marshal Law, and it doesn't look like things are getting better any time soon. The dead will walk the earth, and the living can do nothing but run and hide. Four survivors — Steven (a helicopter pilot/traffic reporter), Fran (a local news producer), Peter, and Roger (newly acquainted SWAT members) — commandeer a helicopter and escape the big city where the living dead congregate in the thousands. They search in vain for someplace safe; someplace the epidemic hasn't yet spread. They end up in an abandoned shopping mall. At first it's just a stop for supplies, but soon the travellers find themselves seduced by a consumer paradise where all they could ever need is theirs for the taking.
The Mad Max films bore witness to dusty landscapes, where all traces of society had been blown to ruins and humanity had started over as a new, improved, more exiting breed of animal. There were no real laws, police, or governments, just rugged survival and a Darwinian battle for supremacy. This is a rather (admittedly skewed) romantic rendition of the apocalypse. Dawn of the Dead, in contrast, just rots. It shows us Judgement Day in flux, not the action packed after-effects. Before 1978, there hadn't been many horror films (sci-fi perhaps) that presented such an epic scope of horror. Our four protagonists represent a very small portion of the goings on in this morbid universe, but we as an audience know that this kind of thing is happening everywhere. In every part of the world there are people struggling to survive this Judgement Day, slowly losing their humanity through escalating acts of violence against each other. Like many great horror stories, the line between humanity and monster perpetually blurs until nothing is left.
Then there's the humour. Some of it is rather subtle, like when the cast exit JC Penny's wearing fur coats out of sheer boredom. Some of it isn't so subtle, like the zombie vs. biker pie fight that comes out of nowhere. A really jaded and/or morbid viewer could actually see the film as purely comedic, where even the graphic violence is so over the top that it has to be funny. 'Look, that man just had his guts pulled out and eaten by a bunch of moaning, groping ghouls. Hilarious!' The humour is there, no mater how ghoulish the viewer's outlook. According to the DVD commentary, Romero really wanted to make a romp (he uses the word a lot), a more light-hearted answer to the utterly nihilistic Night of the Living Dead.
Personally, however, it's the drama and the message that make Dawn of the Dead a classic for me. On the surface, there is the obvious metaphor of mass consumerism creating zombies of humanity. Under this there's a metaphor carried over from Night of the third world and poor consuming the wealthy and the ignorant. This is abundantly clear in the opening sequences where the Marshal Law government enters a project-housing complex to exterminate their dead. They are over run, and suffer heavy casualties. The casualties get up and kill them, making more casualties, and so on. It's fascinating that in the world of zombies, alliances can change with a single bite.
Way back in April of 2002 Anchor Bay Entertainment announced the release of an 'Ultimate Edition' of Dawn of the Dead. I was overjoyed. I marked the date on my calendar. I made my friends mark the date on their calendars, whether they wanted to or not. I was going to throw a party to celebrate a cleaner transfer, crisp sound, numerous documentaries, and commentaries. Most of all I was going to celebrate never having to flip the DVD halfway through the damn film ever again. Alas, the sands of time continued pouring through the hourglass, and no DVD appeared. After two long years of waiting I had all but given up hope for that Ultimate Dawn of the Dead DVD. I'd be stuck flipping that DVD for the rest of my life. Then, in September of 2004, Anchor Bay finally made good on their promise.
There are three versions of the film included in this four-disc set, and each one has been digitally re-mastered. The US Theatrical Cut (apparently Romero's preferred version) is the best looking of the three, presented in its theatrical presentation ratio 1.85:1 in anamorphic widescreen, and is marked as part of Anchor Bay's 'Divamax' series. The colours are rich and bold, much nicer than the older discs which were mostly washed out. It appears that some of the colours have even been altered, particularly the blood red, which is great because it always looked a bit off in previous releases (kind of Pepto-Bismol pink). This is the best Dawn of the Dead ever has, will, or should look.
Aside from the presence of two alternate versions of the film, Anchor Bay saw fit to supply loads of commentaries, advertising materials, and two solid documentaries, making this a truely indespensible DVD set, and one worthy of the title 'Ultimate Edition'.
Read my full review here.
Day of the Dead (1985)
In Day of the Dead humanity has all but lost its war against the ever-swelling masses of the living dead. Warm-blooded folks are forced into hiding by their zombie counterparts, who now outnumber them more than 400,000 to one. But like the previous films in the cycle it is not the zombies that offer up the real antagonism, but other living humans. When an Army protected, underground science lab dedicated to finding a "cure" for the menace is left without orders or contact for too long, there is dissent within the ranks. Darwin's law dictates that the fittest survive, and when left to their own devices the military bullies take advantage of their physical strength and numbers. There is no room for Science in a might-over-mind dictatorship, and the compound researchers are left fighting for their lives against an ever-angry military presence.
Romero offered up his socio-political views on the 1980s with the darkest and goriest of his initial trilogy of 'Dead' films. The film was released the same year as Dan O'Bannon's comedic and hip take on former Romero compadre John Russo's novel entitled Return of the Living Dead. O'Bannon's film was met with enthusiasm, and grossed a hefty sum, whereas Romero's film was dead in the water (pun is, of course, intended). Even fans of Night and Dawn weren't exactly ecstatic about the finished film. The irony is, of course, that the public treatment of these two films was very much in keeping with Romero's metaphor: Americans in the 1980s weren't big on being told what was wrong with them, they simply wanted to be entertained.
Day of the Dead was the result of a studio refusal to back an unrated production. Romero had written an epic script but was left to choose between toning down the production and toning down the gore. Most fans would agree that he made the right decision in going with a more modestly budgeted film that was true to the style of the previous two films. After the initial disappointment died away, not to mention the blind apathy of the '80s, Romero's third zombie opus was reevaluated positively by viewers and critics alike. Some fans even consider it their favourite of the series.
The professional double (and sometime sextuple) dippers at Anchor Bay studios re-released the Romero's third living dead film in 2003. The two-disc set wasn't exactly overflowing with features, but was and is effectively the best version on the market. The disc's remastered audio and video, along with an entertaining commentary from the ever warm hearted Romero. Purests have raised concern over unexplained dialogue changes, but to my mind these were very minor. Those who own older releases may want to hold onto them for these reasons.
See what Paul Greenwood had to say about the R2 Arrow Films release, and what Brian Kelley had to say about the R1 Anchor Bay SE.
Land of the Dead (2005)
Romero finally created his fourth installment in the series last year, and though met with plenty of resistance, I found it to be an excellent continuation of the series. Read my full Unrated Director's Cut review here, and if you really didn't like the film just pretend I didn't include it.
The Depressed Dead: Fulci's "Trilogy"
Zombie (aka: Zombi 2, Zombie Flesheaters 1979)
Lucio Fulci first foray into the lives of head-hunched and haunted dead people was just as much a watershed moment for the genre as Romero's films, but for different reasons. Though lacking in a credible story, the film is caked with atmosphere that no big budget blood-feast could ever buy. Zombie is another film I've already reviewed in depth for the site, and an edited version of that review follows.
A derelict boat enters New York Harbor. When the Coast Guard boards the ship, they find no crew aboard, just a mess of half-eaten food, body parts, and lots of creepy looking bugs. Just when they think they stand to make a big bonus for bringing the ship into port, a mysterious and blood soaked fat man breaks through a locked cabin door and kills one of the officers. The other officer has no choice but to shoot the man, who falls off the boat and into the harbour. A local periodical sends out their resident British reporter to cover the macabre story, and soon circumstances lead the him and the daughter of the boat's owner in search of an elusive Caribbean island. Upon reaching island, they discover that the dead are coming back to life as flesh eating zombies. Now they have to fight their way back to their boat, and off the cursed island.
Zombi 2 was originally produced in response to the European box office earnings of Romero's Dawn of the Dead, which was re-edited for the region by producer Dario Argento and released under the title of Zombi. The two movies ended up being entirely different, despite the implied sequel in the title of the latter, which was made within a year of the formers' release. Known simply as Zombie in the US, Lucio Fulci's film is a much moodier affair than Romero's masterpiece, with less emphasis on social commentary and black humour, and more emphasis on classic zombie themes and straight out gore.
Zombie is not exactly what an average moviegoer would call a 'good movie'. There are stark inaccuracies: reanimated corpses of Spanish Conquistadores still have lots of rotting flesh, despite being dead for hundreds of years. Silly situations are sold as exciting ones (a lethargic shark and zombie fight), and the dialog can be very bad ('…The skipper of that ship must be a real turkey.'), but despite of all these inherit flaws it remains a loveable movie. Like most Lucio Fulci films, and in turn most Italian horror films, it has beautiful cinematography and craftsmanship. Every shot and camera move is lovingly composed, no matter how fantastic or ridiculous the events unfolding. Every moment is played dead serious, without the wink-wink sensibilities of most modern American horror films. There is a very distinct overall feel of dread in this world where even the zombies walk with their heads down, like depressed, dirt-caked mental patients.
The appeal (or lack of appeal) of Zombie can be best nut shelled by its most 'celebrated' sequence (spoiler warning). Zombies attack Olga Karlotos while home alone. She starts the scene showering (with a mirror behind her so both her nude front and back can appear simultaneously) while a dead, blue hand gropes the foreground window framed in front of her. Having not noticed the window groping, she dries off, gets dressed and takes a pill to calm her nerves. A sudden sound (like a snake's rattle) alerts her to the impending danger, and she quickly attempts to barricade her self within a nearby bedroom. Just when everything seems safe again, a rotting hand bursts through the door and grabs her by the hair. Olga is then slowly pulled into a large splinter of door, beautiful eyeball first. The effect is very convincing, especially considering the budget constraints of the picture.
While this is an exciting, even enticing sequence, one can't help but admit that it's more than just a little gratuitous. To move the plot along all the movie needed was for the zombies to kill and eat Olga. Killing and eating is a violent act, but it doesn't usually need to involve an erotic bathing sequence or massive ocular damage. It could be argued that the showering could be perceived as a reflection of the actresses vulnerability, but the ocular attack (common in Fulci films) really doesn't deem itself necessary. In spite of action that any first year screenwriting student would tell you were unnecessary, this is the most memorable sequence in the movie.
Zombie had already been released twice by Anchor Bay studios, both times with the same decent looking (but rather artefact-filled) non-anamorphic transfer and lack of meaty extras. Shriek Show and Blue Underground both cleaned the film to a point of impeccable clarity, and the film ended up looking too good. There were glimpse of dirt and grain here and there, but for the most part, Zombie looks like a new movie. The film had been cleaned to death. The fine detail and lightened images really show certain appliances (specifically the gushing neck wounds) for what they are, just special effects. Several gore effects lose their mystique, and that really works against the appeal of the movie. The greater crime though, is that Fulci's trademark dusty, gloomy landscapes have become sort of unclean midday beachscapes. Several night scenes are so much lighter that they now appear as day scenes.
Shriek Show's disc was a special edition, whereas Blue Underground's simutaneous release was more bare-bones. The extras on Shreik Show's two disc set were worth the purchase, especially considering the fact that both releases can be found for essentually the same price, but there was nothing truely indespesible about either release. The best bit is the feature documentary entitled 'Building A Better Zombie', which runs longer than the film itself. Though perhaps not the 'definitive edition' some may've liked (due mostly to video problems), this release has twice the special features of any other.
Read my entire analysis of Shriek Show's 25th anniversary edition release (under the Italian title of Zombi 2) here.
City of the Living Dead (aka: Paura nella città dei morti viventi, Gates of Hell, 1980)
After the mega success of his Dawn of the Dead rip off (some even claim that Zombie out sold Romero's film), Lucio Fulci found the time to make three more zombie themed films. This time the director was able to experiment with the nearly plotless succession of horrific images he'd longed to attempt. 'Pure cinema' was what he called it. City of the Living Dead is the grossest of these films, and some might say the creepiest.
The story is psudo-Lovecraftian, involving a damned priest whose pre-credit suicide opens one of the seven Gates of Hell (the film's US release title) in the imaginary town of Dunwitch. When Mary Woodhouse (played by British actress Catriona MacColl, one of the constants in the loose trilogy) witnesses the suicide via psychic séance, she drops dead. Reporter Peter Bell (played by b-movie icon Christopher George) becomes interested in her death, and happens to be on hand when she comes back to life minutes before being buried alive. Our heroes journey to the town of Dunwitch to stop the evil undead priest, and save the world.
City of the Living Dead makes zero sense and its dialogue is often wooden as Pinocchio, but Fulci's nightmare vision is undeniable. Though most famous for his filming of the impalement of Olga Karloto's eye in Zombie (arguably the most iconic image in Italian splatter history), Fulci really outdid himself in this later film's two most stomach churning sequences. In one instance, the demonic priest performs a bit of coitus interruptus on a pair of unsuspecting teenagers, played by Fulci fave Daniela Doria and soon to be classic Italian director Michele Soavi. He hypnotizes Doria (the meaning of this power is unimportant) causing her to enter a trance state where she cries bloody tears. While Soavi helplessly looks on, Doria manages to slowly regurgitate her entire intestinal track. Later, town miscreant and murder suspect Bob (played by favoured Italian whipping boy Giovanni Lombardo Radice, aka: John Morghen) is cornered by an angry father who slowly presses Bob's head into a power drill.
Between the maggot showers, earthquakes, and scenes of suffocation by worms, it's sometimes easy to forget that zombies play an important part in the film. Though possessing supernatural powers and only once seen eating human flesh (for the most part they seem to rip off the backs of victim's heads), the final half of the film sees Dunwitch overrun with the undead. Fulci, in his own special way, effectively creates a different kind of zombie, one that sticks somewhat to Romero's film ("When there's no more room in hell, the dead will walk the earth"), while emitting a definite Lovecraftian eeriness.
Anchor Bay's North American DVD release of City of the Living Dead is dry on special features, but gets the A/V right. The anamorphically enhanced image is clean, much cleaner than the dingy VHS versions circulating throughout the world, but doesn't over do it, maintaining just enough dirt, grain, and darkness to maintain the film's nightmarish tone. The 5.1 audio remix is one of the best of its kind, effectively enveloping the viewer without too much over the top addition.
The Beyond (aka: E tu vivrai nel terrore - L'aldilà, Seven Doors of Death, 1981)
Fulci's City of the Living Dead follow up is widely considered his best film by fans, including Quentin Tarentino who re-released the film under his Rolling Thunder banner in the late '90s. With the exception of one excruciating and overlong tarantula attack scene, I agree with the general consensus. The Beyond takes the plotless excesses of the director's previous film and cranks the hallucinations up to eleven. The film is so dreamy that trying to make sense out of it is absolutely maddening.
The, ahem, plot involves (to quote Roger Ebert, who hated the film on its re-release, "excuse me for a moment, while I laugh uncontrollably at having written the words 'the plot involves'...") another gateway to hell ready to open in the basement of a creepy New Orleans hotel, which Catriona MacColl has just inherited. When a contractor tries to fix the flooded basement the gate is opened, and strange things begin to happen all around the city. The Beyond is less H.P. Lovecraft, more Hieronymus Bosch, with a splash of The Sentinel for good measure.
Like City of the Living Dead, the zombies in The Beyond serve more as elements of the evil forces plaguing our heroes than characters, or even living dead flesheaters. Time and space seem to be torn asunder as these rotting beings warp throughout the city at will. They, and their living counterparts often appear back in various rooms of the cursed hotel after being removed. This unexplained phenomena goes hand in hand with the film's many "creative deaths", including the aforementioned death by tarantulas, a direct rip off of Suspiria's seeing eye dog secret attack, and an impromptu death by a precariously placed acid vat. Fulci seems to have taken the idea of evil incarnate killing through these "accidental" means from Donner's The Omen and made them absurdly graphic, slow, and unimaginable to the nth possible degree. A common criticism is that most of the characters in these films would make it out alive if they just removed themselves from harm's way.
Needless to say that The Beyond isn't a movie made for everyone, but it is an ample follow up to Zombie and City of the Living Dead, even if it's not pound for pound as gory. Fulci's command of gothic supernatural imagery is eerily beautiful, and from even a salivating fan's point of view it really was all down hill from here for the Godfather of Gore. I was personally shocked when in 2004 the US Bravo network included this obscure little title in their 100 most scary movie moments, and was even more shocked when they showed the exploding head of a preteen girl in all its visceral glory on a standard cable network broadcast.
Most DVD releases of The Beyond are similar, but the best seems to be, again, Anchor Bay's R1 release, which they co-produced with Grindhouse releasing. Like Media Blasters' release of Zombi 2 Fulci vision is somewhat compromised, and some of the ace Giannetto De Rossi effects are overexposed due to digital cleansing. The 5.1 track is also a bit on the artificial side, but Fabio Frizzi's melancholy score (probably the composer's best work) sounds great, and there is a much needed bass boost on the low end. Special features are a bit on the amateur side, including an incredibly cheesy Necrophagia music video shot in what appears to be the band's basement. There are a couple of Easter egg trailers to be found throughout the sharp menus, however.
Unofficial Inclusion
The House by the Cemetery (aka: Zombie Hell House, 1981)
Probably the biggest cheat on my whole list (had I officially included it), Fulci's final zombie epic is the tale of a self-made zombie who never once eats human flesh. Basically I've written a little something about it because Fulci's fan base insists on referring to it as the last part of a three film series. Personally I'd prefer to consider Zombie the first part and The Beyond the last part, but I digress. In a way The House by the Cemetery actually brings something new to the table in that the film's zombie isn't so much on of the living dead as an ancient man that refuses to die. Dr. Freudenstien (a not so clever name) lives secretly in the basement of his estate and survives by murdering visitors and harvesting their organs.
Of course that's not the whole story, which concerns Catriona MacColl moving into the titular house with her husband and son. Her husband is a professor trying to continue the work of the assumed dead Doctor, and he sees fit to drag his family to the house to do it, putting them in immediate mortal danger. In a direct rip off of The Shinning MacColl's son, Bob, is warned away from the house by a spooky little ghost girl, but his cries of protest go unnoted. How the family can possibly fail to notice a heavy breathing zombie-man in their cellar until the last act is immaterial, as is the bizarrely ambiguous finale.
Again, Anchor Bay seems to have us covered on the DVD front, with a clean (but not too clean) anamorphic transfer, and a more than serviceable Dolby Surround track. The only thing missing from the disc are extras, unless one is honestly excited by the prospect of a few trailers. There is a Dutch release from EC Entertainment that refers to its transfer as Ultrabit, but I've not seen it myself and cannot vouch for it's actual improvement over Anchor Bay's disc. The folks over at DVDcompare.com list an Italian release with a decent collection of extras, but these are not available with English subtitles. Readers should avoid 'budget' releases, if not for quality reasons alone, because they often contain the US video cut, which is missing footage and edits some scenes out of order (making the senseless picture even more senseless).
The Spaghetti Dead: The Best Euro Riffs
Let Sleeping Corpses Lie (aka: Non si deve profanare il sonno dei morti, Breakfast at the Manchester Morgue, Don't Open the Window, 1974)
This early Spanish/Italian co produced entree in the post-Romero Euro-zombie lottery might have gone entirely unnoticed had it not been for its banned status in the U.K. during the Video Nasties crisis. Unlike most films in the sub-genre, Let Sleeping Corpses Lie was made in response to Night of the Living Dead rather than Dawn of the Dead. When its age is taken into account, its by-the-numbers Dawn-rip style is surprising. The film looks and acts as if it were made 5 or 6 years after it was initially released.
The story follows the adventures of two put-upon strangers exploring the English countryside who happen upon a few flesh-craving ghouls. It seems the dead are being brought back by a device meant to destroy crop-eating insects by attacking their tiny nervous systems. The insects are then expected to eat themselves into oblivion. The duo is trailed by a fascist cop who's convinced of the "dirty hippies" direct involvement in the zombie related deaths. Though very run of the mill at its base, Let Seeping Corpses Lie puts itself ahead of the pack with gorgeous green photography and a unique use of Stereo sound, not to mention some juicy pre-Savani gore.
Anchor Bay's DVD release is pitch perfect, with only a lack of meaty (yes, again, pun intended) extras holding it back. The U.K. release is said to be the same, plus a few extras. The video presentation is wonderful, providing lush greens and sharp reds without losing any of the film's grimy essence. The already impressive Stereo soundtrack has been remixed into a surprisingly natural and effective 5.1 Dolby Digital track. This one can be hard to find these days, but is worth a look for every zombie coinsure.
Zombie Holocaust (aka: Dr. Butcher, M.D., 1979)
In some ways Zombie Holocaust is the ne plus ultra of schlocky Italian cinema. It is exploitative on every level, from graphic (yet unconvincing) violence, to gratuitous nudity and racist depictions of imaginary third world peoples. It also conspires to rip off dozens of previously successful, and ultimately better films. Not content to simply take advantage of the (at the time) newly developed Italian zombie craze, the film also features living human cannibals fresh from the Ruggero Deadato/Umberto Lenzi inspired craze that was slowly coming to an end. The film also features actors from previously popular exploitation flicks, including two from Fulci's money bagging Zombie.
Above all, Zombie Holocaust is cheap, cheap, cheap, yet somehow the film manages an uncanny charm, and is infinitely more watchable than the majority of the country's bottom-of-the-barrel output. Oh, and the dialogue is to die for, including a bit where scientist Alexandra Delli Colli, who looks about as scientifically adept as a drowned fish, insists that every primitive culture has engaged in cannibalism, without exception.
The film starts off as most Italian cannibal/zombie movies, with an impossibly daffy anthropologist, a cop, and of course, a news reporter, leaving the ever popular city of New York to pursue interesting cannibal occurrences on a forgotten island somewhere in the third world. The film's first half features surprisingly innocent native cannibal action (no real-life animal slaughter here), and in a way the appearance of zombies almost comes as a small surprise (had it not been for the spoiler laced title, of course). I'm sort of cheating here, as these zombies end up not eating flesh and are effectively the good Dr. Butcher's slaves (to use the false character name of the hilarious U.S. release's title, the M.D. stands for Medical Deviate), but I figure the undeniable Italian feel of the film affords me some wiggle room.
Shriek Show's DVD is a prime example of the polishing of the preverbal turd. The anamorphically enhanced video is a bit on the fuzzy side, but Zombie Holocaust has always been a video favourite, and to clean a transfer would ruin some of the fun. Included is the alternate U.S. video opening sequence featuring zombie footage from an American produced short entitled Tales to Tear Your Heart Out, and a brief discussion with the footage's director, including his thoughts on the finished film that utilized his footage. This disc also features the original score, rather than the revamped Dr. Butcher electronic garble.
Other classics in the classically awful Euro-zombie sub-genre include Hell of the Living Dead, Burial Ground, and City of the Walking Dead, all of which can be found on DVD in most regions.
Cemetery Man (aka: Dellamore Dellamorte, 1992)
Here's another film and DVD I've covered in great length during a standard review. As before, what follows is a truncated version of my original review.
Buffalora cemetery has a little problem. For some reason the dead have decided to rise from their graves 7 days after death. Ultra apathetic caretaker Francesco Dellamorte has taken it upon himself to simply shoot these flesh craving zombies in the head and rebury them, rather than fill out the correct forms. Besides, reporting the situation could lose Dellamorte his job.
Frustrated yet content in his lot, the caretaker continues his detached existence, with only a mentally retarded, mute assistant Gnaghi (pronounced Nah-Gee) to keep him company. But everything changes the day a beautiful and unnamed woman enters his cemetery after losing her elderly husband. Dellamorte is smitten, and an affair ensues.
Director Michele Soavi was called the savior of Italian fantasy cinema when he made his fourth film, Dellmore Dellamorte (Of Love, Of Death, also a play on the main character's full name), which was retitled for American distribution as Cemetery Man. Soavi had grown as a filmmaker under the wing of Italian genre greats Dario Argento, Lucio Fulci, Aristide Massaccessi (Joe D'Amato), and was a contemporary of Argento protégé Lamberto Bava (son of Argento mentor Mario Bava), and worked for these maestros in various capacities.
His first intention was to be an actor, and can be seen losing the back of his skull in Fulci's City of the Living Dead, killing girls while dressed in drag in the younger Bava's A Blade in the Dark (oops, spoiler), and getting a knife in the gut in Argento's Opera. Soavi worked as first and second assistant directors on several Italian fantasy/horror productions, and made his directorial début with Dario Argento's World of Horror, a documentary on his egomaniacal and eccentric mentor.
All but ignored by Argento, it was sleaze merchant Massaccessi that finally offered the fledgling director a chance to strut his stuff on the ace slasher flick, Stage fright (aka: Deliria, Bloody Bird). The film was a modest success and proved to the hesitant Argento that Soavi had what it took to make memorable feature films. Soavi's second break came when he was hired by American based enfant terrible Terry Gilliam to act as second unit director on his doomed production of The Adventures of Baron Munchausen (this collaboration was reinvigorated on Gilliam's equally doomed The Brothers Grimm 17 years later).
Soavi then made a pair of films working under producer/co-writer Argento, a man notorious for harping on his directors when acting in a production role. The Church, the pairs first collaboration, was originally intended to be a second sequel to Argento and Bava's successful Demons series, but due to varying factors (clashing egos, Argento's short attention span, etc), the project was morphed into a sort of Demons/ In the Name of the Rose/ Rosemary's Baby hybrid.
This was followed by another shaky collaboration on The Sect[i] ([i]La Setta, another visually appealing, but muddled production concerning the birth of the Anti-Christ (it seems Soavi and Argento are real fans of Polanski)). Soavi then proceeded to separate himself from Argento, his specific reasons are revealed during an interview for Alan Jones' Profondo Argento, the book that made me realize how much of a self-centered brat Dario Argento could be in his everyday life.
It was around this time that Soavi began to be praised by his peers as the savior of the dwindling Italian film industry, and he began production on a loose adaptation of Italy's number one comic book series, Dylan Dog. The character of Dellemorte is visually based on Dylan (ironically the comic character was actually based visually on actor Rupert Everett), the comic actually has more in common with Mike Mignola's Hellboy series (which was, of course adapted rather faithfully itself by Guillermo Del Toro in 2003). Cemetery Man (as I shall refer to it from here on out to avoid further confusion) is a much more layered and cerebral story than the plight of Dylan Dog. One might refer to it as a psychoanalytical zombie movie.
Around the second act Cemetery Man, in true Italian fashion, loses interest in telling a linear, plot driven story, and begins to pile on subtext and mystery by the gallon. Dellamorte's sanity comes into question, as does that of the audience. Are we experiencing the story through the eyes of a schizophrenic, or does the world actually revolve around our protagonist. Does the world even exist? Is this the afterlife? The film raises more questions than ten Agatha Christy novels, and refuses to answer any of them. Every time appears that Dellamorte's truth will be revealed, another question is raised in its stead, and yet somehow Soavi manages to make the film fascinating rather than the umitigatedly frustrating mess it should be.
Visually, the only thing that holds Cemetery Man back is its modest budget, but Soavi manages to make the best of it. Several key frames are obvious representations of works of fine art from various backgrounds, including paintings, comics, and other films. The scene where Dellamorte and "She" (the character is never named officially, but does carry names in various incarnations) first kiss through a red piece of silk fabric, while the camera longingly wraps around them, may very well be the most sensual shot I've ever seen committed to film (though there are quite a few Wan Kar Wai films I've still not seen). This baroque romance in the face of graphic violence, coupled with the dreamy, avant-garde quality and loose narrative make Cemetery Man a true classic and a truly original film. There is nothing quite like it in any genre or any country.
Anchor Bay's delayed R1 release is, from what I understand, the best looking version of this elusive film on DVD. Though the black levels are uneven, grain is prevalent through-out, most viewers should be more than satisfied. The Dolby Digital soundtrack is a bit thin, but dialogue is descenable, and Cemetery Man was never meant to be much of an audio assault. Unfortunately Anchor Bay didn't see fit to go all out with special features, but the disc's brief featurette is good enough for those new to the realms of Michele Soavi, though basically I just summed up it's statements in my review without even knowing it.
Read my entire review here.
Stay tuned for Part Two of Essential Zombie Flesheaters, which will cover zombie comedies, Asian zombies, and modern takes on the genre that belong in every Zombiephiles collection.
Editorial by Gabriel Powers
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(CNN) -- Venus Williams secured her 40th career title with a comfortable straight sets victory over unseeded Frenchwoman Virgine Razzano in the final of the Dubai Open on Saturday.
Venus Williams shows off the impressive Dubai Open trophy, the 40th title of her impressive career.
Williams took the title with a 6-4 6-2 victory, moving into the top five in the world rankings for the first time in six years in the process.
The last time the two players met, in Tokyo two years ago, Razzano saved three match points before going on to claim a surprise victory.
However, that result never looked likely to be repeated as Williams won a seventh WTA Tour title from her last eight finals.
"I have had a lot of struggles in this event in the past," Williams -- whose previous best result in Dubai was reaching the semifinals in 2002 -- told the official tournament Web site.
"Virgine plays well and she had a great game plan just to come out and attack. She would be in trouble if she let me control the point and I ended up playing a lot of defense.
"I'm used to people playing well against me. A lot of players I play do come out and go for broke, so I have to learn to be able to fight against that and to play the best shot I can.
Following her victory, Williams is already looking forward to returning next year to defend her title. "I think they do an excellent job with this tournament," she added.
"They really do care about making a great event and they do care about the players. There is a difference here. It makes you enjoy the tournament. It makes you want to come back. I would definitely love to defend my title next year."

subset: commoncrawl


text:
ARM Continues To Drive Performance Of Highly Reliable Applications With New Breed Of ARM11 Cores
ARM1156T2-S core and ARM1156T2F-S core address the requirements of fast, reliable and energy efficient applications for next generation devices
CAMBRIDGE, UK, - Oct. 13, 2003 – ARM [(LSE: ARM); (Nasdaq: ARMHY)], the industry's leading provider of 16/32-bit embedded RISC microprocessors solutions, today announced at the Microprocessor Forum in San Jose, Calif., two new microprocessors from the ARM11™ family, the ARM1156T2-S™ core and the ARM1156T2F-S™ core . These new CPUs are based on the ARMv6 instruction set architecture and are targeted at a wide range of deeply embedded storage, automotive networking and imaging applications such as high-performance disk drives, digital still cameras, engine management units and cable modems.
The new cores extend the range of the ARM11 family of cores to provide new levels of CPU performance and throughput while adding specific functionality to help solve the design challenges of next-generation devices. Features added to the architecture include fault tolerant memory capabilities that are vital in the development of safety critical applications such as automotive safety critical systems.
The ARM1156T2-S and ARM1156T2F-S cores will be the first CPUs released that integrate ARM Thumb-2 core technology extensions, enabling Partners to further reduce memory system related costs. Thumb-2 core technology is a blended 16-bit and 32-bit instruction set architecture for low power, high performance and small footprint code, this delivers software solutions that are 26 percent smaller than existing ARM solutions and 25 percent faster than existing Thumb solutions. The ARM1156T2-S and ARM1156T2F-S cores also conform to the new AMBA™ 3.0 AXI bus specification for high-performance systems requiring high data throughput.
"In an increasingly competitive environment, system developers strive to balance the conflicting requirements for high-performance embedded systems with the need to maintain low costs while extending battery life," said Richard Phelan, embedded cores manager at ARM. "With a new operating frequency of up to 550MHz worst case figure for high performance foundry process in 0.13u process, Thumb-2 instruction set efficiency and the data throughput capabilities of the AMBA 3.0 AXI system bus, the ARM1156T2-S and ARM1156T2F-S cores equip Partners with the Intellectual Property (IP) necessary to address the high-performance requirements for a wide range of emerging embedded control applications."
The increased capabilities of the ARM1156T2-S and ARM1156T2F-S cores provide an easy path for existing ARM946E-S™ and ARM966E-S™ core-based designs requiring extended capabilities and higher performance. The ARM1156T2F-S core includes a vector floating-point unit to accelerate the complex calculations necessary in automotive and imaging applications.
Both the ARM1156T2-S and the ARM1156T2F-S cores include the ARM-Synopsys RTL to GDSII Reference Methodology within the standard deliverables. The reference methodology significantly streamlines the process used by ARM Partners to port synthesizable ARM microprocessor cores to their chosen technologies, by potentially reducing the time required to harden and model the core.
Availability and Tool Support
The ARM1156T2-S and ARM1156T2F-S cores are compatible with the ARM CoreSight™ enhanced debug and trace solution, also announced today at the Microprocessor Forum (see press release…CoreSight Debug and Trace Technology Available for Complete System-on-Chip Designs… Oct. 13, 2003). The ARM CoreSight solution builds on the company's Embedded Trace Macrocell™ technology (ETM) and provides developers with benefits such as higher compression of trace information, system bus monitoring and trace units and on-chip trace buffer technology. The ARM1156T2-S and ARM1156T2F-S cores are also supported by the ARM RealView® Developer Suite software.
The ARM1156T2-S and ARM1156T2F-S cores will be released to ARM Partners in Q2 2004.
About ARM
ARM (LSE: ARM; Nasdaq: ARMHY) is the industry's leading provider of 16/32-bit embedded RISC microprocessor solutions. The company licenses its high-performance, low-cost, power-efficient RISC processors, peripherals, and system-on-chip designs to leading international electronics companies. ARM also provides comprehensive support required in developing a complete system. ARM's microprocessor cores are rapidly becoming a volume RISC standard in such markets as portable communications, hand-held computing, multimedia digital consumer and embedded solutions. More information on ARM is available at http://www.arm.com/ .
ARM and RealView are registered trademarks of ARM Limited. ARM946E-S, ARM966E-S, ARM11, ARM1156T2-S, ARM1156T2F-S, Embedded Trace Macrocell, AMBA and CoreSight are trademarks of ARM Limited. All other brands or product names are the property of their respective holders. "ARM" is used to represent ARM Holdings plc (LSE: ARM and Nasdaq: ARMHY); its operating company ARM Limited; and the regional subsidiaries ARM INC.; ARM KK; ARM Korea Ltd.; ARM Taiwan; ARM France SAS; ARM Consulting (Shanghai) Co. Ltd.; and ARM Belgium N.V.
Michelle Spencer
Tel: +44 1628 427780
Email: firstname.lastname@example.com


text:
ROCCAT Kave XTD 5.1 Digital Headset with USB Remote & Soundcard
Captain Kavemaaeeeeaan
- Gaming sound system upgrade based around some great headphones
- 2 40mm driver units + 1 30mm vibration unit per ear cup
- Pairs with phone via Bluetooth 3.0
If you're a hardcore gamer, you already know ROCCAT. Scroll down for the specs.
If ROCCAT is new to you, allow us. Guten tag. ROCCAT Studios out of Hamburg, Germany specializes in producing high-end gaming peripherals with incredible attention-to-detail. Our gaming buyer calls them "The BMW of gaming gear." They're huge in Europe and Asia, but just catching on in America. Their software integrates seamlessly with their hardware and extends the already-impressive functionality significantly. Yes, we're biased, but we wouldn't be selling it if we didn't love their stuff.
Some of y'all said you were looking at the ROCCAT Kave 5.1, but you didn't have the 5.1 soundcard for surround sound playback. That's where this product comes in. This Kave headset comes bundled with the soundcard, plus it features the added bonus of a USB Remote. You basically update your entire sound system at once. Later add some 5.1 speakers by attaching them straight into this system's remote, and you're good to go.
Product Specifications
- Gaming sound system upgrade based around some great headphones
- Real 5.1 Surround Sound: 3 driver units per earcup aligned at a 12° angle
- 2 40mm driver units + 1 30mm vibration unit per ear cup
- Adjustable vibration unit
- Center/front/rear drivers
- Pairs with phone via Bluetooth 3.0 (backward compatible with 1.1, 1.2, 2.0 +EDR and 2.1)
- Noise-canceling rotatable microphone with a mute LED (also removable)
- Fully-equipped desktop remote included (with soundcard built in and 5.1 speaker ports)
- Dual sound profiles (for movie vs. gaming)
- Ergonomic, adjustable, cushioned headband and high-comfort leatherette ear cushions
- Powered via USB (so you must have one USB port free)
- Dimensions: Tangle-proof 11.8 ft. cable
- Weight: 11.8 oz.
- Additional info on Details & Specs tab


text:
The first time I saw Black Tie Dynasty was at a little club on the crusty edge of downtown Dallas called The Double-Wide. A little after midnight, the band shoved their way onto the stage as I waited, sipping a drink in the back of the darkened, bunker-like room. Eventually things settled and their set began.
From the start I had a shuddering suspicion I was feeling something I'd felt before. Near the end of the second song, I placed it. It felt like the reveling I'd done, years ago, in the newness and genius glow of bands like The Smiths, Echo and the Bunnymen, and The Jesus and Mary Chain.
But make no mistake, Black Tie Dynasty do not make lame references to or rehash music from our past. They don't ape genres or imitate styles. Instead, they channel a sound that has been fermenting for years in the minds of the musically aware, like good whiskey in an oak barrel. Filtered through the terrific noise of that first night, I began to realize what was going on: This band was going places. They may very well be The Next Big Thing.
Since signing with Idol Records in 2005, Black Tie Dynasty have done nothing but climb upward, hand over hand, toward musical success. With nationwide radio airplay and a seemingly endless touring schedule, they are a band that is graciously living in their prime. By that I mean Black Tie Dynasty knows what it takes to make it. They possess the valuable skill of making not only the performance aspect of great music seem effortless, but the day-to-day business aspects as well. Like a rare athlete, there is some part of them, at their core, that's not even trying—because trying would imply they're not doing exactly what they were built to do. And that subject just isn't open for debate.
This Wednesday, you'll have the chance to witness the good-natured and flawless performance of Fort Worth's favorite (and slightly prodigal) sons. I have yet to miss a BTD appearance in Albuquerque. And if you have, then it's high time you got caught up.


text:
Language Arts Division Home
ESL Home
English Verb Tenses is a reference
for ESL students. In this book, I've tried to explain almost everything
you might need to know about the verb tenses of English. You'll find
To read the book, click here!
WARNING! If you want to print this book, you should know it's really
BIG (174 pages). If you don't want to print all of it, you can just print
the pages you want.


text:
Heshe Women's Leather Shoulder Handbags Cross Body Bags Hobo Totes Top Handle Bag Satchel and Purse for LadiesNavy Blue-h Navy Blue-h -
[Material]: Top Grain Leather.Smooth zipper closure. High quality silver Hardware. bronze interior polyester lining.
[Interior Pocket]: A main zippered pocket. Including 1 inner zipper pocket a interior compartment, one with a cell phone pocket and the other with a small zipper pocket.
[Exterior Pockets]: A Rear Zippered Pocket and 2 Zippered Pockets in front easy taking things with or out. Two Exterior Side Pockets.
[Strap]:The bag is so special, in addition to a long shoulder strap, and attached a short-hand or a single shoulder strap;Convenient & Comfortable to wear in 3 ways: Tote, Shoulder and Cross Body.
[Color]:Black. Maroon.Brown.Navy Blue.Light Grey. Khaki.Available 6 classic colors,suitable for any age(Teenage or Adult Female) and any occasion(Traveling, Work Place , Dating, Shopping.). It's Fashion, Vintage, Creative, is a very useful accessory brighten up your look, also as a gift.
[Size info]:(L)11.81\"x(H) 9.45\" x(W) 3.93\u201d in and the weight is about 1.72 pounds.


text:
HOMEWOOD, ALABAMA -- About 3 weeks ago, I called Charter and set up an appointment with them to get their phone, cable, and internet bundle installed in our home. They were to come between 10 am and 12 pm Monday morning. By 1 pm, there is not one. At 1 pm Monday morning, (on my cell), I get an automated message telling me that the technician is running late (really? Thanks for helping me figure that one out!) and will be at my house between 2 pm and 4 pm. Okay, my husband is off, we can wait. 3 pm rolls around, no tech and another automated message.
I go to work and when I get back, I find out that the tech never came but they scheduled us an appointment between 8 am and 10 am Tuesday. Okay, no problem, I am off. 11 am - no tech but an automated message saying the tech is running late. This happens all day until the tech shows up around 5 pm. At least the tech is here. But he doesn't have all of the proper equipment with him due to the setup of the house. We schedule another day and finally on that day by 6 pm the cable and internet are installed but someone different has to install the phone.
We schedule an appointment for the phone to be installed. Same saga but it gets done. The tech leaves and we need to use the phone. It doesn't work. We call the number the tech gave us and he promises to come back out. He never does. We call Charter and set up yet another appointment. The tech misses this appointment. I call Charter again and by this time, I have lost my patience. However, the lady on the other end puts up with my rant and sympathizes with me. Over my cell phone, she directs me as to what to do to get a dial tone. We find out that the tech had plugged something into the wrong port on our modem. At least we have a phone...
Only, it only works in the downstairs jack. Good thing it is a portable phone. Well, the very nice and very helpful lady on the phone sets up another appointment with a different technician to get the upstairs phone jack working. This time, only one automated message saying that the tech is running late. He comes over around 1 pm and leaves at 3 pm with no results. It is too complicated, he will have to get his supervisor and a lead tech to come over. He tells me he put in the work order and his supervisor will call Monday (This is now two weeks after the cable and internet has been installed) to tell me what time he will be over. Perfect, my husband is off Monday.
No one shows up Monday. Tuesday, I call the number on the work order believing it is the tech's number. I explain the situation and find out the number is the supervisor's number. The supervisor tells me, he remembers being told about this (I guess he thought Tuesday was Monday?-it happens right?) and he will be over with his lead tech as soon as they are finished with the job they were on. The techs show up after 5 pm and leave around 7 pm. The jack does not get fixed. The solution: "You have to buy a satellite phone".
Through this entire ordeal, the techs that we dealt with were very nice but the one person who made the whole ordeal better was the lady we spoke with on the phone who went above and beyond to assist us. In the end, we do have phone, internet, and cable. It only took nearly 3 weeks to get the Charter bundle.
GEORGIA -- Last year, Charter came out with a digital box system for their system. I went down to the office and inquired about why we could not get certain channels. We were told that we were to RENT boxes to get a signal and that their techs had to come to my home and install these boxes. We had to make an appointment, we did. Two contractors showed up smelling of alcohol, one heavier than the other. They put a large box on, the side of the house. Requested that this box not be installed. It was to prevent rain from making contact with the Cable. They grounded their system to an insulated power company box.
Ask what was wrong with the ground rod that was installed by them in 1981 that was 8 feet long? The installer said that was not an acceptable ground. He strung wires all over the side of the house. We have experience at wiring houses since I am an electrician. These gentlemen did some sloppy work that would not be acceptable in our profession. They left and come to find out we were not getting an HD signal of 1080, just a 480 DPI signal and one of the boxes did not even work at all. Still did not get all the channels that they advertised.
Called Charter service department. I was told it would be at least 2 days before they could get back to me to make adjustments to the system. We waited and in the meantime a fellow electrician went about removing the big box from the side of the house and reinstalling the ground wire to the ground rod. We ran the wire inside the house and made all connections inside the house and took pictures of the shoddy work that was done before by the techs.
On Sunday one tech came by and found the problem and reset the box and found 'filters' on the pole at the street. He stated that the install techs should have found this problem and had corrected it at that time. Showed him the pictures of the shoddy work that the install techs did and how it was corrected by my electrician friend who installs computers and low voltage service. Told us that we had done a very professional job. Told this tech who works for Charter about the techs who came out to install the system and their "condition." He called his supervisor.
We wound up taking one box back and told the office about this. They reduced our rate and thought it was a good thing and that would be our rate from now on. We are retired. Well today a letter arrives saying that or rate was going up by $5. Went back into the sales office and ask why. It was not going up by $5 but by almost $20 per month. Was told that we had 125 channels, on demand movies, and music channels. If we want music we turn on the stereo. Do not have time to watch movies and do not watch the shopping networks or the Spanish channels. Wish we could get only the channels that we want and forget about the rest of them.
Charter wants us to bundle, no way and will not come off their price at all. So now we are looking for another service. Look forward taking their boxes back into the office and doing away with Charter.
When I signed up for Charter services back in March of this year, I was told by a sales representative that my installation fee would be waived and my bill, INCLUDING, taxes would come to $150 a month. I was fine with that. It turned out to be an issue with the apartment I was supposed to move into and the rental office let me move into a different apartment. I call Charter and inform them of this before two days before the tech was scheduled to come for the installation. The process was flawless.
So, I'm enjoying my new Charter services quite fine until I get the bill which is over $400!!! That's a huge jump from $150 that I was told my service would come to. So I call Charter. Not only do I not receive a bill from Charter until the 28th, when I open the bill it states that I have a past due amount! So I'm at a complete lost wondering how I incur a past due amount on my very FIRST bill from Charter??? My services were installed April 2nd or 3rd... but apparently my billing due date turned out to be the 10th of the month but of course I didn't receive a bill until the 28th of the month, so how was I supposed to know? Anyway, that's neither here nor there.
I promptly call Charter only to be told that they bill a month in advance and that I'm late on the payment. Let's keep in mind I haven't even had the service for a full month yet. So I asked the woman, why wasn't I told upfront that I would be billed a month in advance? Also, my bill is supposed to be $150, so billing a month in advance shouldn't make the bill come to be over $400. Well, apparently I was charged $49.95 twice for tech having to come out and install new service; one charge for internet and cable and another charge for phone service.
OK. Now I am upset because I was told the installation would be free. And no, people, I don't have that in writing because it was done over the phone and a verbal agreement had been made which is just as valid as a written agreement - granted harder to prove but in a court of law still can be proven since all their calls are recorded. But anyway.... so I argue with the Charter representative. After some quick calculations, there's nearly $60 in charges that is unaccounted for. And no, that $60 is not from the taxes.
Anyway, regardless of my bill being over $400.... a $100 credit was supposed to have been applied to my account from a deposit I had made. So technically that should drop down the amount owed to being around $300. I eventually ended getting a representative who actually knew what she was doing and she goes in and fixes everything for me. My second bill is like $80 something after all the credits and what not the very nice lady added for me. Third bill.... right back at $400.
So I call to cancel my service because I refuse to pay $400 for service. So I get another representative who offers my credits and promises to give me a $24 month guarantee under a contract, stating that Charter can't and won't change my bill under the contract no matter what. He says "pay $400... the next bill will be lower... and then it will level off." Mmmhmm... like I really have $400 to throw away.
Anyway, I decide to remove services to see if that would lower my bill. I was told I could sign up for free 30 day trial to their Epix movie channel and cancel anytime if I was not satisfied. OK. Fine. I tried it. Found that they showed mostly really old movies. After about two weeks, I cancelled only to be told that my "free" trial would be pro-rated on my next bill. Really?
Apparently, this is seems like a common practice for Charter as I have spoken with many other Charter customers who have complaints about the bill. An acquaintance of mine that I ran into said she canceled Charter service because she too was sent a bill for $400 and all she had was internet service. My co-workers who have Charter all have similar stories. Apparently, for people on bundled packages, it seems like many of them never get a bill for lower than $200.
I will admit all Charter services work great and they're really good at getting technical issues resolved quickly but their billing practices leave something to be desired. In my opinion, if Charter wasn't screwing me over with the bill, I would have nothing but a glorified review of the company. The only reason I went with Charter in the first place is because I had cable at my old address from a different company called Bright House and I never, NEVER, had any problems with them. The bill with Bright House fluctuated at times but never that dramatically where I felt I needed to call customer service to get an understanding of how and why it happened.
Unfortunately, where I moved to, Bright House doesn't service the area. Charter does and it's been a complete nightmare with the billing. I'm on a budget and by Charter not honoring what they said my bill would be really puts a strain on me financially. Honestly, I would have been OK with Charter billing me a month in advance if they had been upfront about that from the beginning so I could have prepared to pay the bill. But I will definitely be cancelling my service, leaving my only other option for service being AT&T. And heaven knows I hate DSL but I really can't afford Charter service.
This is just a warning for anyone considering Charter Cable. Be prepared for your first bill to ridiculously higher than whatever you may have been be quoted and expect no help or sympathy from the billing representatives.
MISSOURI -- Charter's service, I must say was nearly perfect as far as good cable signals, few service outages, and price that is until about three months ago when everything began to fall apart. First our cable was turned off a week before it was supposed to be and then after it was turned on at the new place the signal in one room was terrible. I exchanged cable boxes, bought a new HD television and exchanged boxes again and called customer service more times than anyone should ever need to. Finally, a repairman came out to check the box and signal.
He unhooked all of my equipment not just the cable box or TV and said that my personal DVR was causing the problem. Not true! Not only did he take a rude stance but he complained the whole time that he was in my bedroom, where the television was located, that his back hurt and he was going to get in trouble yet again for missing work to go to the chiropractor. First of all, how does that concern me or my cable signal? He asked to sit down and because I was, at this point, simply wanting to get him out of my home as fast as possible I said yes, so he could write up what he did and click through the channels to check the signal.
After this he left and was supposed to check the line at the pole in front of my home. I watched him and he did walk out to the pole and look up but that was the extent of his attempt to be certain there wasn't a problem with that connection.
We had another problem with our signal and we called to report a problem and even though we did not schedule a repairman to come, because of the fear of the last guy returning, Charter sent the same man out again, unscheduled. I told him we did not schedule an appointment and told him to go goof off for whatever time he was supposed to be at my home, mostly because I wanted him to just go away and because he wasn't coming into my home again under any circumstances. Another occupant in the home reported this unprofessional behavior to Charter to which they apologized that we were unhappy... that really, didn't, make me feel any better.
Then we began having trouble with all of our cable boxes and took them in to the local office to switch them out, they did this without problem but we had one that couldn't be activated, this was when the real trouble began. About two weeks after this activation problem and repairman visit, it was a different man this time and he was very professional, we had a problem with Video On Demand. I rented a movie that didn't remain available in MY RENTALS for at least 24 hours. I tried to call it up in MY RENTALS and it was gone.
No one, no one no matter how many times I asked could tell my why it disappeared but they wanted to send yet another repairman. This time I requested someone with lots of experience come out, they said they sent a supervisor. He came out couldn't really do much, because he too was baffled as to why the movie disappeared.
Next... our telephone stopped working. It dropped calls, so I called and they wanted to send another repairman out. OK, so this time they said they would send a supervisor out again. I told them I just had two different guys out in three weeks' time but they were certain the problem must be in my house, or with my equipment. OK, so I scheduled the visit. On the Friday night before the week he was supposed to come.
My Internet stopped working. UGH! I called technical support because I've had to have the IP address reset a couple of times and that fixed the problem right away. I understand that all services can have outages... but this was getting ridiculous.
So, the tech representative wanted me to reset all my network settings on a brand new computer that was working fine only moments early, and no changes had been made to any setups, so I said no. She was rude to me and said she had been doing her job a long time and I informed her that I am tech savy so I know how to troubleshoot my own equipment! So, I ended up telling her that when the repairman came, he would check everything from inside to the pole!
He showed up and was very thorough. He checked the modem/router, the line to the computer, the signal strength of everything, the lines coming into the home, the line to the pole where he changed out a rusty connector, the box on the house that holds the split cables to our many rooms and even AT&T's phone box and phone lines for noise. He could find absolutely nothing wrong. So...
After he left everything worked fine for a few hours and then out went the Internet. I called and demanded a credit. I called to ask about disconnecting all services and they promised me things that did make a difference and would have made it worth my while to put up with the problems until they could figure out what was causing them and fix them, but... the girl who helped me and promised me things wasn't well trained enough to get the promotional codes into the system. She tried so hard and she was more upset and frustrated than I was by the end of the call. If she ever reads this, I still plan to name a heroine in a future novel after you!!!
She came back to me after trying to get a supervisor's help and said she didn't have any help and she was so sorry she couldn't do what she promised and asked if I simply wanted to disconnect everything... poor girl I think she may have quit her job! I said I understood how it was to be thrown into the fire and left to figure things out on my own and told her to note what we talked about and I could call and see if another agent could help me.
I did this and the man I spoke to next was the rudest person ever, he said he couldn't find any such notes, couldn't promise me anything close to what she did and basically didn't give me what he promised anyway. He promised to upgrade my Internet to the fastest speed free for a year... well I checked this and it never happened in fact my service went out two more times after our discussion. I finally called back to see how long it would take to disconnect services and was granted by a supervisor to have the penalty dropped for breaking our contract because we had suffered so many problems. We shall see if this turns out to be true.
My services are being disconnected and still while I was trying to schedule the disconnect they tried to get me to stay with promises I know from experience won't be kept. It is sad because prior to the last month or so, our service wasn't that bad. The phone always worked, the cable was a little problematic but not too bad and the Internet was the best thing ever... it is too bad that their customer service department and tech department couldn't find the problem or do something to make up for all the problems.
But... relief at last. I switched to AT&T and DirecTV. I've heard bad things about DirecTV and the contract makes me nervous but if it doesn't... plan C will be put into place which includes Netflix, HuluPlus, CinemaNow, Amazon.com, or whatever rentals and purchasing means necessary to view the movies and shows I want. I hope that the satellite and cable companies realize that the technical revolution is approaching when consumers will be bombarded with choices that no longer make their services necessary! I will be on the front lines signing up for better services and better pricing!
FORT WORTH, TEXAS -- Charter is the only available cable option at my address. They are ridiculously priced as I am a single student that has basic cable with only hd/DVR added and basic internet and pay well over $100 per month. The installation took 3 hours and it has been trouble for the past 7 months. Internet is constantly out and when I called repeatedly after they tried to tell me it was the router of mine, they finally on the 4th service call in 2 days sent someone after I agreed to purchase yet another service from them by renting their own router because I was so sick of having them tell me that their poor service was my fault.
So, the service call shows up literally 2 hours late after I waited at home for an entire 3 hour window only to have him call 15 minutes before the deadline and announce he was running late. So 5 hours of waiting later, He showed up and told me that he was out of cable boxes and the modem that I was purchasing and he instructed me to call back and reschedule the appointment and inform them of his dilemma. I waited 5 hours and he didn't have either of the things that Charter promised.
I still have yet to receive a new cable box because my repeatedly blacks out for a few seconds. By repeatedly, I mean like about 4 times in a one hour show. It also rarely makes it all the way through a recorded show so I miss many of the recorded shows that I am paying them to record. Charter is CONSTANTLY "working" on the lines which leaves the internet and cable down from midnight until 6 am. They are completely unapologetic and almost seem to treat me as if they know that they are the only cable option at my address.
I would pay any other company much more money if only I could get away from this cable company. I have literally cried on the phone with them multiple times. It is so frustrating to constantly have problems when I have no one to help me deal with such rude customer service. I would advise that if you have any other option that you avoid them at all cost. I hope this warning helps someone else avoid the discouragement that they have been to me.
BOONE, NORTH CAROLINA -- Charter installed a "temporary" line that ran from my backyard that lies on the ground, across my neighbor's driveway, and eventually to a pole. The line is not of high quality and I'm told that they cannot install the permanent one until the "subcontractors" have the time to do it and that it was beyond their control. It was originally installed in November 2010 and they said it would not be done until probably late Spring of 2011. In the meantime my LCD TV gets horrible resolution and the internet keeps bumping me off. I've had three workers come over and tell me three different things, and when they leave, I still have the same problem.
I keep calling the office and they keep telling me that the person coming over will bury the line and replace it. The workers that come say that it is not their responsibility, but that of subcontractors who set their own time. The last worker said that the cable box was outdated and that I should go in and replace it since he did not have one in the truck. He said it might help a little in the meantime. Why did they put one of the old ones in the first place? Each guy criticizes the previous guy, but they do not solve the problem either. I asked the last guy if all this was going to go on record, and he said there was not enough room in his "device" to enter everything.
The second guy also criticized the first for installing too many splitters. Well, when he left, the problem was the same. I am cancelling the service ASAP and would not recommend them to anyone. In this company, the left hand does not know what the right hand is doing. Also, after all this, I get another call from someone who has no clue what's going on trying to sell me upgrades to more Charter services.
TRUSSVILLE, ALABAMA -- A rep came to house and we were told price guaranteed for 2 years. After first year I got a notice my bill was going up nearly $50. Called to cancel and was transferred to a "customer retention" agent. I explained how I and several of my friends had been told by the same agent that we were told the price was guaranteed for 2 years. All representative said was that prices are for one year only.
I agreed to return DVR and pick up HD box and go to lesser channel package. Still about $5 more than was paying. Now have less service for more money. Will probably switch back to Dish in the next week or two. It may require a contract, but at least I will have something in writing. Charter baits and switches. They do not honor what their sales reps tell customers.
FT. WORTH, TEXAS -- First of all I have worked in some type of customer service since I was 14. Charter's customer service is an experience from Hell. I was told one thing by the sales agent who could not have been better, that was the high then it was like jumping the Golden Gate Bridge. Installation was terrible as they did not check the TV to make sure the setting were correct leading to me not having TV service for 5 days.
In addition, the installers left trash on floor, tracked in mud and did not put furniture back in place. I called the phone number when TV was out and for 2 days was told there was an outage in the area. Finally they sent a tech out, who was 1.5 hours past the time window, and adjusted the TV then I found out they are charging me $45.00. I am so upset I would not refer an enemy to them.
SPRING TEXAS -- DO NOT LET THEM IN YOUR HOME. Pay the extra money and get a better service. The man was not professional and showed up with music blaring. The Charter sign was falling off the truck and no company shirt. Came in, was not even polite. Walked around like he lived here. Turned on my TV then turned to me and asked why I bought this TV and said it wasn't a good one. Not even a brand name. Then asked why it was so loud and proceeded to hand me the remote and said I should turn it down. Then moved the TV, took the ornament beside it and dropped in the garbage basket.
I was so upset as it was a gift from my family. Didn't even apologize or permission to move it. I was sitting right there. Next, he asked me why my dog smelled. This type of disrespect went on a few more minutes. I finally left, and went to the local Charter office to complain. Absolute disrespect... bad service... on top of that the TV was not working quite right and we had to have another guy come out. Come to find that he put in the wrong wires. So, do yourself a favor... don't go out for that weekend dinner and pay for a better cable service. Thanks.
HICKORY, NORTH CAROLINA -- When using the phone to call Charter there is a somewhat easier way to go. When calling into Charter the automated service will ask you a question and when you answer, just say Tech support. You may have to say it 2 or 3 times to different questions but it seems to get through a little faster. I understand that a lot of things can't get fixed over the phone with a tech like billing or them telling you to unplug the receiver and restarting it and after being on the phone with them for 30 minutes and it still doesn't work.
If your receiver as a SO900 showing on the screen that means that the receiver is dead and will need to be replaced. This might save you some time. If you live in Hickory or Boone NC and are still having trouble getting a billing or other issue resolved. ** is the Technical ops manager for these areas and his email is **. He doesn't like receiving email complaints but will get it straightened out so he doesn't have to hear from anyone again. You may have to email 2 times but it will be taken care of.


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BEDFORD, N.Y. – Following a loss in his second match at the Lindenwood University Wrestling Tournament, Illinois red-shirt freshman Steven Rodrigues went on a tear.
Rodrigues, a Fox Lane graduate, won six consecutive matches in the consolation round to finish third in the 141-pound weight class Saturday.
Rodrigues received a bye in the first round, then secured a 20-5 technical fall against Steven Bradtmueller of McKendree. Joshua Myers of Ouachita defeated Rodrigues, 8-6, in a second-round match, sending the Illini wrestler to the consolation bracket.
The road to third place began with a pin of Missouri's Tony DeAngelo at 6:32. Rodrigues eliminated the top seed, Nicholas Hucke, also of Missouri, with a 6-1 decision. Rodrigues blanked Iowa's Connor Ryan, 5-0, decisioned Iowa's Josh Dziewa, 9-4 and avenged the earlier loss to Myers with a 5-0 triumph, sending him into the third-place match against Julian Feokert of Oklahoma State.
Rodrigues concluded his run through the consolation bracket with a 3-1 victory. Rodrigues has placed in all three tournaments he has wrestled in this season, including a win at the Loras Open.
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10 Celebrity Couples That Deserve Magazine Covers
Jay-Z and Beyonce
Okay let's start with the most obvious. She's the reigning Queen of R&B and he runs hip-hop. Together, Jay-Z and Beyonce are the quintessential celebrity dynasty. If daughter Blue Ivy makes a cameo, the (Roc) La Familia portrait would top all celebrity magazine covers.


text: This address by Dr. King was delivered to the Episcopal Society for Cultural and Racial Unity the day before it was announced that he had been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. In addressing the topic "Remaining Awake Through a Great Revolution," Dr. King argues that the church must inspire it's members to be active and advocate against injustice, reaffirm the misconduct of racial segregation, and work towards social change in a nonviolent and peaceful manner. His argument uses references ranging from Washington Irving's "Rip Van Winkle" to humanist Erich Fromm's "Art of Loving." Dr. King affirms that these actions will be a struggle, but together, "we shall overcome."


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Curious as to which music videos made the most impact this year, or which current musicians broke out by getting hyped on the internet? Enter YouTube's first ever Music Awards, a global event that asks viewers (that would be you) to vote on the best, the craziest, the most controversial music and artists of the year.
The award show, hosted by Jason Schwartzman and Reggie Watts, will take place November 3rd at Pier 36 in New York and will host a bevy of performers, including Avicii, M.I.A., Earl Sweatshirt, Tyler the Creator, Walk Off the Earth, Eminem, Lady Gaga, Lindsey Sterling, CDZA, and Arcade Fire for the live show. YouTube will also be hosting a series of live shows leading up to the awards in cities all over the world like Seoul, Tokyo, Moscow, London and Rio, which will be available to live stream at the YouTube Music Awards channel.
An amalgamation of fan retweets, shares, and likes will determine the winners of the soon-to-be-coveted award. Here are the categories and nominees:
Video of the Year: Honoring the world's most loved music videos, these nominees represent the videos with the most fan engagement on YouTube over the last year:
‣ Epic Rap Battles Of History -Barack Obama vs Mitt Romney
‣ Girls' Generation- I Got a Boy
‣ Justin Bieber- Beauty and the Beat feat. Nicki Minaj
‣ Macklemore & Ryan Lewis (feat. Mary Lambert) – Same Love
‣ One Direction- Best Song Ever
‣ Selena Gomez- Come and Get it
Artist of the Year: Honoring YouTube's most loved acts, nominees represent the most watched, shared, liked, and subscribed-to artists over the last year:
‣ Eminem
‣ Rihanna
Response of the Year: Honoring the best fan remix, parody or response video, these nominees represent the top "unofficial" fan videos on YouTube based on the videos fans watched, shared or liked:
‣ Boyce Avenue (feat. Fifth Harmony) -Mirrors
‣ Lindsey Stirling and Pentatonix- Radioactive
‣ ThePianoGuys- Titanium / Pavane
‣ Walk Off the Earth (feat. KRNFX)- I Knew You Were Trouble
YouTube Phenomenon: Recognizing the YouTube trends that the world could not get enough of, nominees are based on the songs that generated the most fan videos:
‣ Diamonds
YouTube Breakthrough: Honoring music's breakout new acts, nominees represent the artists who experienced the biggest growth in views and subscribers over the last year:
Rudimental Innovation of the Year: Starting with videos selected by an international panel of musicians, YouTubers and creative luminaries, we then selected the creative video innovations that resonated most with fans on YouTube, based on views, likes, shares
and comments.
‣ Anamanaguchi- Endless Fantasy
‣ Destorm – See Me Standing ft. Alexandra Govere
Phew, okay, one more link: Here's Reggie Watts explaining how to cast your vote.
Who are you going to vote for? What videos and artists are you bummed out didn't make the cut? Am I the only one who felt super-irrelevant realizing I hadn't seen most of these videos? Let me know! Leave a quemment below or tell me on Twitter!


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The Avengers Review (Spoilers)
The Avengers will be here soon and the world will be safe once more (where "here" equals a theater near you, and "safe" equals relatively). Still, it's a nice idea. With that said, let's jump right into my review of The Avengers! WARNING: Thar be SPOILERS ahead!


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|New Qualified Teachers: Impact On/Interaction with the System (Trinidad & Tobago) (CIE, 2000, 29 p.)
MUSTER is a collaborative research project co-ordinated from the Centre for International Education at the University of Sussex Institute of Education. It has been developed in partnership with:
· The Institute of Education, University of Cape Coast, Ghana.
· The Institute of Education, The National University of Lesotho.
· The Centre for Educational Research and Training, University of Malawi.
· The Faculty of Education, University of Durban-Westville, South Africa.
· The School of Education, The University of the West Indies, St. Augustine's Campus, Trinidad.
Financial support has been provided for three years by the British Department for International Development (DFID).
MUSTER is focused on generating new understandings of teacher education before, during and after the point of initial qualification as a teacher. Its concerns include exploring how new teachers are identified and selected for training programmes, how they acquire the skills they need to teach effectively, and how they experience training and induction into the teaching profession. The research includes analytical concerns with the structure and organisation of teacher education, the form and substance of teacher education curriculum, the identity, roles and cultural experience of trainee teachers, and the costs and probable benefits of different types of initial teacher training.
MUSTER is designed to provide opportunities to build research and evaluation capacity in teacher education in developing countries through active engagement with the research process from design, through data collection, to analysis and joint publication. Principal researchers lead teams in each country and are supported by three Sussex faculty and three graduate researchers.
This series of discussion papers has been created to provide an early opportunity to share output from sub-studies generated within MUSTER for comment and constructive criticism. Each paper takes a theme within or across countries and offers a view of work in progress.


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The bones of the fingers
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Keywords: 3d medical illustration, anatomy, back view, black background, bone, bone structure, bone structure of the fingers, bones, bones of the finger, bones of the fingers, close-up view, colour, finger, finger bone structure, finger bones, fingers, glow, human, illustration, phalanges, phalanx, portrait, stylised, with skeleton, x-ray, xray
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Responding to angry shareholders, Dell (NASDAQ:DELL) said Monday its special committee and consultants explored an "array" of strategic options before sealing a $24.4 billion to be taken private by founder Michael Dell and Silver Lake Partners.
Continue Reading Below
Shares of Dell dipped slightly lower early on Monday, the first trading day after the PC maker's largest outside shareholder unveiled plans to use "all options" to block the leveraged buyout, saying it "grossly undervalues" the company.
Dell defended the transaction through a Securities and Exchange Commission filing, saying the deal "offers an attractive and immediate premium for stockholders and shifts the risks facing the business to the buyer group."
Round Rock, Texas-based Dell also noted that the leveraged buyout includes a so-called "go-shop" period that allows the company to find a superior offer.
Dell said its special committee of directors "considered an array of strategic alternatives," huddled with independent financial advisors and retained a "prominent" management consultant to "assess the company's strategic position."
"Based on that work, the board concluded the proposed all-cash transaction is in the best interests of stockholders," Dell said.
Michael Dell, the company's founder and CEO, is teaming up with private-equity firm Silver Lake to pay $13.65 a share for Dell. The offer represents a 25% premium from the stock's close before M&A buzz began swirling around the company but a 26% discount to its 52-week high of $18.36 set in February 2012.
The management takeover "appears to be an effort to acquire Dell at a substantial discount to intrinsic value at the expense of public shareholders," Southeastern Asset Management, which owns about 8.5% of Dell's outstanding shares, said in a filing on Friday afternoon.
Pointing to a series of acquisitions and other valuations, Southeastern argued Dell is worth about $24 a share -- a level the struggling PC maker hasn't seen since the middle of 2008. The firm said it will consider all options, including suing to block the deal.
The architects of the Dell buyout aren't taking Southeastern's opposition lightly, The Wall Street Journal reported. Southeastern paid an average price for Dell in the mid-teens, including all accounts the firm manages, the paper said.


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The Talented Mr. RipleyRSS
Tom Ripley (Damon) is a bright and charismatic sociopath who makes his way in mid-'50s New York City as a men's room attendant and sometimes pianist, though his real skill is in impersonating other people, forging handwriting, and running second-rate scams. After being mistaken for a Princeton student, Tom meets the shipping tycoon father of Dickie Greenleaf (Jude Law), who has traveled to the coast of Italy, where he's living a carefree life with his father's money and his beautiful girlfriend, Marge (Gwyneth Paltrow). Dickie's father will pay Ripley 1,000 dollars plus his expenses if he can persuade Dickie to return to America. As Ripley and Dickie become friends, Tom finds himself both attracted to Dickie and envious of his life of pleasure. In time, he decides that he would rather be Dickie Greenleaf than Tom Ripley, so rather than go back to his life of poverty, Ripley impulsively takes matters into his own hands.
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University at Buffalo
Department of
Art & Design
Art History
Visual Studies
Dr. S. Hollis Clayson talk "John Singer Sargent's Paris Moon Light: Twilight Disenchanted?" | March 28, 2013
March 4, 2013 by: Dom
Renowned Scholar of French Art and Culture to Speak at Buffalo History Museum
Talk investigates impact of electrification of Paris on turn of the century art
The University at Buffalo Department of Art is pleased to host Dr. S. Hollis Clayson, professor of art history and Bergen Evans Professor in the Humanities at Northwestern University. Clayson's talk, titled John Singer Sargent's Paris Moon Light: Twilight Disenchanted?, will explore her work analyzing the electrification of Paris and its impact on the art of the time. Clayson will speak at 7pm on Thursday March 28, 2013, at the Buffalo History Museum. The talk is free and open to the public.
Specializing in the social history of nineteenth-century Parisian art, Clayson has organized 2 exhibitions and has written: 2 books; more than 30 articles, book chapters and exhibition catalogues; and given more than 100 conference talks. The recipient of numerous grants and fellowships for her scholarly work, her excellence in teaching has also been recognized by several awards. Her long career has culminated in appointment as next year's Samuel H. Kress Professor at the National Gallery of Art, one of the most prestigious academic appointments in the world.
Jonathan D. Katz, Director of the Visual Studies PhD program will introduce Clayson and said of her work: "Long celebrated as one of the premier voices in the study of 19th century French art, Holly Clayson has worked on everything from the image of the courtesan in Impressionism to the conditions of life and art in Paris under the siege of 1870-71. After earning recognition for redefining Impressionism through including the perspective of the unheard, Clayson now sets out to chart the impact of the unseen; the electrification that literally redefined visibility in the last quarter of the 19th century."
Of late, Clayson has begun turning her attention to the effects of electricity in the development of modern painting, and it is out of that research that this project emerges. Entitled John Singer
Sargent's Paris Moon Light: Twilight Disenchanted?, Clayson argues that Sargent's supposedly most "impressionist" canvases, the two Luxembourg Garden paintings of 1879, are nothing of the kind. They are read instead as extraordinary redefinitions of the Whistlerian nocturne that respond explicitly and imaginatively to the electric street lights that newly impinged upon the Jardin du Luxembourg, the largest green space on the Left Bank. From within the matrix of illumination discourse, Sargent's canvases displace the brutality of electric into the poetry of reflected moon light.
Hosted by the University at Buffalo's Department of Art, Clayson's talk is co-sponsored by: the Buffalo History Museum; M. Pascal Soarès, Honorary Consul, Consulat Général de France; the Alliance Française de Buffalo, and the New York Power Authority.


text: The innovative knitwear brand Wool and the Gang was founded by design due Aurelie Popper and Jade Hardwood. The two met while studying Textile Design at prestigious Central Saint Martins in London, and soon after launched The label. Wool and the Gang sells its sustainably made knitwear either as Ready to Wear or as 'Knit Kits', enabling knitters to make their own accessories at home. Wool and the Gang knitwear are instant wardrobe staples. Keep stylishly warm with this collection, featuring chunky styles in a range of contemporary designs and timeless shades.