text:
Disc 1
1. All That Remains
2. Who Am I to Be?
3. Consequence of Power
4. Watching in Silence
5. Dead of Dawn
6. Into the Wind
7. In This Life
8. Out of Nowhere
9. Revelations
10. Blood of an Angel
11. Heal You
12. Open Season
13. Echoes
14. Out of Reach
15. Forgiven
16. Redemption
Disc 2
1. Every Last Thing (Single Version)
2. The Circle
3. Sentenced
4. Take Back Yesterday
5. The Middle of Nowhere
6. Soul Breaker
7. Darkness Rising
8. Into the Wind (Acoustic Version)
9. Shadows
10. Symptoms of Fate
11. Stay
12. Watching in Silence (Live Version)
13. Burden of Truth (Acoustically Enhanced)
14. Against the World
15. Evermore (Live Version)
16. Strung Out
1. Diamond Blade
2. Without A Sound
3. Killing Death
4. Epiphany
5. End Of Emotion
6. Dreams That Never Die
7. Seasons Will Fall
8. Never Gonna Stop
9. Isolation
10. Sweet Despair
11. Downshot
12. Only Yesterday
– Zak Stevens / Vocals
– Mitch Stewart / Bass, Vocals
– Bill Hudson / Guitar, Vocals
– Christian Wentz / Guitar, Vocals
– Henning Wanner / Keyboards, Vocals
– Adam Sagan / Drums
Review-I want to say right off the bat I was a huge fan of Jon Oliva's Savatage stuff, though when Zak took over all the vocal duties in later Savatage records, it was hit and miss for me. I dislike Edge of Thorns so much, but I love Handful of Rain and was a fan of most of Dead Winter Dead, but gave up after that. Zak since Savatage called it a day has been in Circle II Circle, and most recently I finally decided to give them a chance. I decided to start with their greatest hits, and then go to their upcoming cd. I love greatest hits compilations from bands I never checked out before, because I know to listen to them I will know what this band has to offer and know if I am the fan for this band. One thing is for sure Circle II Circle has some great guitar riffs, and a singer who if you are familiar with later day Savatage you know he can go.
My issue with this cd is there is just too much music on it, that some of it feels like it was just thrown on this cd just to take up space. Now, I am not saying this is a all out bad record, but I think this cd is more for the die hards then the new fans. Now that being said, there are plenty of tracks on this cd that I am a fan of, and makes me want to listen to the cds they came from like The Circle and Sentenced, this is power metal heaven, and it sounds like a modern day Savatage with the guitar riffs that just reek of 90's metal glory. I am just not a fan of having live songs mixed with studio songs; it takes away from the experience of the concert and the feeling of being there. Is it so hard, to make either a live record or a cd of studio tracks, why mix both it takes away from the experience. They do a acoustic version of Into The Wind which sounds like Geoff Tate inspired, and Zak shines but I love the Zak metal vocals more than the ballad Zak. Though, the acoustic one is a million times better than the regular studio one. To me, Circle II Circle shine more when they let that guitar rip and let Zak go with the flow.
The big problem with this collection is that there are so many songs that it just felt like overkill, how many piano ballads do we really need from a band who has such a talented group of musicians that can rip and tear and create some great power metal. On this record the guitar playing on every track of this cd delivers, even when the rest of the ingredients are a fail. Revelations is awful, and it sounds like they were inspired by lesser albums like Load and any commercial record you guys have hated. You have so many powerful tools in this band that I feel they are trying too hard to be accepted by mainstream fans that they are scared to fully give us the best they can deliver. This is a greatest hits compilation, and it felt like a few good songs, some fair songs and the rest a band that is trying way too hard to revive a past that was not that successful for one of them.
5 out of 10
Seasons Will Fall-coming out Jan. 25th 2013
Review-After listening to the greatest hits, I was ready to see what Circle II Circle 2013 is going to offer me. First off, I am a fan of this so called Power Metal or as some call it Theatrical Metal. Circle II Circle comes out the gate with a little fury and power song called Diamond Blade it is a straight forward power metal song that could get people excited about what the rest of the cd has to offer. Zak with his operatic vocals and the guitar fury seems to really get the ball moving. Without a Sound keeps it going with the mid tempo piano and guitar duet that Zak keeps things going in almost a Dead Winter Dead flow. Killing Death is another decent straightforward power metal gem that seems to know how to keep Zak in the forefront with his vocals against a little guitar riff that seems to flow till the piano break that Zak tries to do some operatic chorus that really was a little out of place, but the song was ok despite it. As the cd keeps going the sound goes into more Savatage inspired ground, and not just from the vocals but all involved they want to revive Savatage. I know Oliva has sworn to keep the Savatage flag flying with his solo band Pain, but does he know that also TSO and now Circle II Circle seem to keep that flag flying as well. I know Zak is an ex singer for the band and he was a decent one for his time, but he is not Oliva, and I know in Savatage the fans let him know that, but I feel with this band he thinks the fans forgot when they let him know and he is again feeling like he is stuck in that shadow.
I know the musicians in this band are talented, but the music is average at best. With a song here and there that may get you excited but by midway thru the cd, you just sit there and wish they would put some imagination, heart and maybe anything to make the songs better than they are. The music on this cd all sounds alike to me by the time I got to the last song, I thought I was listening to some bad 1997 Savatage demos. The drums, guitars while they sound very good as do the vocals, they sound just so generic when you start to really think about what you just heard. This is just another one of those bands that seem to exist for no other reason but to say they put out a record. I love Jon Oliva's Pain, I think that Jon has really tried to break the chains of Savatage and create different music then where Savatage was heading after Gutter; I feel Zak still feels like this is still his calling. I look at Handful of Rain as where Zak needs to take his sound. Maybe get a member to your band you do not let go after a tour or cd and start to get a face, a presence. Zak is so much more talented than this, all in all this cd I would say is for diehard fans but let's face it even though I did not follow this band since its inception, I am still a fan of what Zak brought to Savatage. What a wasted opportunity to really make a statement.
4 out of 10


text:
The Delhi high court on 22-03-2016 reserved its verdict on a plea brought by power companies—Monnet Power Co. Ltd, Mandakini Exploration and Mining Ltd (MEML)and Jaiprakash Power Ventures Ltd— seeking clarification over capping of the fixed charge component of the rate of electricity generated from plants that won coal block auctions earlier.
A bench comprising justices Badar Ahmed Durrez and Sanjeev Sachdeva reserved orders for the three power companies and asked them to submit a short note on the main points of arguments within one week.
The court also allowed Jaiprakash Power to take part in the bidding process for procurement of electricity while subjecting it to the final outcome of the case.
"The fixed cost consists of several components - return on equity, interest on loan, interest on working capital, depreciation and operation and maintenance expense. These elements will all be different in each cases so capping them would be discriminatory and unconstitutional," Kapil Sibal, lawyer for MEML, told the court.
The power companies had opposed the idea of capping the fixed component of electricity tariff and told the court that such a move would be contrary to the regime of open bidding process adopted to determine electricity tariff.
MEML had earlier contended that the proposed cap would amount to change in bidding conditions of coal mines for power sector and could potentially destroy the company. The cap is to prevent thermal power plants from increasing tariff on the electricity they generate.
The power ministry in April had amended guidelines for power procurement by states, under which state power distribution companies in consultation with their regulatory commissions could determine a ceiling for fixed costs for every unit of power.
Under this system, the fixed cost would be indicated in advance to all bidders before distribution companies invite bids for power supply.
Source- Mint

subset: commoncrawl


text:
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text:
Oldest Copy of the Gospel of Mark?
Found in cave seven at Qumran was a very small papyrus fragment consisting of five lines of text and twenty visible letters (7Q5). Some have argued that this is actually a fragment of the earliest copy of Gospel of Mark. They consider it to be part of Mark 6:52-53. If this identification is correct, then the date of the Gospel of Mark should be pushed back to the 40's CE, since the fragment has been dated between 50 BCE and 50 CE. The issue is complicated, but suffice it to say that the evidence for the identification of this fragment with the Gospel of Mark falls well short of proof.
4. Where was the Gospel of Mark written?
4.1. Internal Evidence
4.1.1. The existence of Latinisms and Latin translations of Greek words in the Gospel of Mark implies Latin readers.
4.1.2. The reference to the woman in Tyre called "a Greek, racially a Syro-Phoenician" implies that the Gospel of Mark was written for Romans (Mark 7:24-30).
4.1.3. That Alexander and Rufus are identified as the sons of Simon the Cyrene suggests, as explained above, that the intended readers are Roman Christians; if true, this may imply that (John) Mark wrote the Gospel of Mark in Rome, where Alexander and Rufus reside.
What does this evidence suggest about the place of composition of the Gospel of Mark?This evidence suggests that the Gospel of Mark was written in Rome. Since the existence of Latinisms and Latin translations of Greek words in the Gospel of Mark implies Latin readers, it is probable that Rome (or Italy) was the place where it was composed. Since the reference to the woman in Tyre called "a Greek, racially a Syro-Phoenician" implies that it was written for Romans, it is probable that the place of the composition of the Gospel of Mark was Rome (or Italy). The fact that the identification of Alexander and Rufus as the sons of Simon the Cyrene implies that the intended readers are Roman Christians further suggests that Mark wrote his gospel in Rome, where Alexander and Rufus resided.
4.2. External Evidence
4.2.1. The external, direct evidence from the second-century points to the conclusion that Gospel of Mark was written in Rome:
A. As already seen, Eusebius claims that Papias wrote that Mark composed his gospel for Peter's hearers in Rome (H.E. 2.15.2). This implies that Mark wrote his gospel in Rome.
B. As cited above, Clement of Alexandria implies that Mark wrote his gospel in Rome.
C. Irenaeus, as already quoted above, implies that the Gospel of Mark was written in Rome.
D. As cited earlier, the fragment of the Anti-Marcionite prologue placed the composition of the Gospel of Mark "in the regions of Italy."
4.2.2. The fact, as already indicated, that Peter and (John) Mark are placed together in Rome in the early sixties (1 Pet 5:13) constitutes external, indirect evidence that (John) Mark wrote the Gospel of Mark in Rome.
4.3. What do you conclude about the place of composition of the Gospel of Mark?
The internal and external evidence points to Rome as the place where
Mark wrote his gospel.
5. What is the Gospel of Mark?
5.1 Introduction
5.1.1. Mark 10:1 is the major transition in the gospel: when Jesus sets out from Galilee (Capernaum) (9:33) to Judea. From what is said previously (8:31; 9:31) and is reiterated subsequently (10:32-34), Jesus leaves Galilee for Judea in order to allow himself to be arrested and executed by the Jewish authorities. Before the transition in 10:1, Jesus moves about in Galilee with some excursions into the surrounding regions. After the transition he is either on his way to or in Jerusalem.
5.1.2. The section before the major transition can be divided into three sub-sections. Relevant events prior to the beginning of Jesus' proclamation of the Kingdom of God are provided in Preparation for Jesus' ministry (1:1-13). Following this is the First Phase of Jesus' Ministry in Galilee (1:14-5:43). This section ends with Jesus' returning to his hometown, Nazareth. Then comes the Second Phase of Jesus' Public Ministry in Galilee (6:6b-9:50).
5.1.3. The section after the major transition consists of two sub-sections: the Judean Period of Jesus' Ministry (10:1-13:37) and Passion and Resurrection narratives (14:1-16:20).
5.2. Outline of the Gospel of Mark
A. 1:1-13 Preparation for Jesus' ministry
1. 1:1-8
John the Baptist is introduced and said to be the fulfillment of Mal 3:1 and Isa 40:3. John preaches a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins, and predicts that after him would come one greater.
2. 1:9-11
John baptizes Jesus. Afterwards, the Spirit come upon Jesus like a dove and a voice announces, "This is my son in whom I am pleased."
3. 1:12-13
Satan tempts Jesus in the wilderness.
B. 1:14-5:43 The First Phase of Jesus' Ministry in Galilee
After his baptism, Jesus begins to preach that the Kingdom of God has drawn near and that people should repent and believe his message. With his disciples, he travels around Galilee for the most part, preaching, healing, exorcising and performing miracles. He encounters some opposition. This section ends with Jesus' returning to his hometown, Nazareth, where he is rejected.
1. 1:14-15
Jesus begins his ministry, proclaiming that the Kingdom of God has drawn near and that people should repent and believe the good news.
2. 1:16-20
Jesus calling of four fishermen to be disciples, Simon, Andrew, James and John.
3. 1:21-28
In Capernaum, Jesus exorcises a man with an unclean spirit on the Sabbath in the synagogue.
4. 1:29-34
From the synagogue, Jesus goes to the house of Peter's mother-in-law, whom he heals. That evening many sick and demon-possessed come to the house to be healed and exorcised.
5. 1:35-39
Jesus travels around Galilee, preaching, healing and exorcising.
6. 1:40-45
Jesus heals a man with leprosy.
7. 2:1-12
In Capernaum, a paralyzed man is let down from an opening in the roof by four men in order that he be healed. Jesus says that his sins are forgiven, which offends scribes, because they claim that only God has that right. To prove that the son of man has the authority to forgive sins, Jesus heals the man.
8. 2:13-17
Beside the Sea of Galilee, Jesus calls Levi, the tax collector to be a disciple. While dining with Levi and other tax collectors and sinners, Jesus is criticized for associating with such people. He defends himself by saying that he has come to call sinners not the righteous.
9. 2:18-22
Jesus is criticized for not requiring his disciples to fast, as the disciples of John the Baptist do. Jesus responds by saying that only when the bridegroom is taken away will they fast. Following this are two sayings: no one sews a patch made of new cloth on an old garment; no one puts new wine in old wineskins.
10. 2:23-28
Jesus defends his disciples against the accusation that they broke the Sabbath by plucking grain. He uses the example of David's eating consecrated bread to prove that their actions were warranted. He concludes by saying that the Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath.
11. 3:1-6
In a synagogue, Jesus heals a man with a withered hand on the Sabbath. The Pharisees take offense and plot to kill Jesus.
12. 3:7-12
Jesus heals and exorcises many near the Sea of Galilee.
13. 3:13-19
Jesus calls his twelve disciples to be with him, to send out to preach the good news and have authority over demons.
14. 3:20-30
Jesus responds to the accusation that he casts out demons by the power of Beelzebub by saying that Satan cannot drive out Satan, because this would mean that his kingdom would be divided. Following this are the sayings about the binding and plundering of the strong man and the unforgivable sin against the Holy Spirit.
15. 3:31-34
Jesus says that his true mother and brothers are those who do the will of God.
16. 4:1-34
In this section are found several of Jesus' parables, along with an explanation of why Jesus teaches in parable.
a. 4:1-9
Parable of the sower: A man sows seed in his field. Some of the deed falls on the path and is eaten by birds; some of the seed falls on rocky soil, grows up but withers under the hot sun, not having deep roots. Some of the seed falls on soil covered with thorns, grows up, but is choked out by the thorns. The rest of the seed falls on good soil, grows up, and produces fruit of varying quantities.
b. 4:10-12
Jesus says that his purpose in speaking in parables is to conceal his message for those on the outside; he cites Isa 6:9-10 as explanatory of his aim in using parables. Only to those on the inside is the mystery of the Kingdom of God given.
c. 4:13-20
At the request of his disciples, Jesus explains the parable of the sower. The seed is the word, which is received by four types of hearers, represented by the four types of soil. The path represents those who hear and immediately Satan takes the word that was sown in them. The rocky soil represents those who hear the word, receive it with joy, but later fall away under persecution, since the word does not have root in them. The soil covered with thorns represents those who hear, receive the word initially, but who have it choked out of them by worries, the deceitfulness of wealth and other desires. The good soil represents those who hear the word, receive it, and produce fruit of varying quantities.
d. 4:21-25
Several parabolic sayings are grouped together. Jesus warns against putting a lamp under a bowl or a bed. He says that whatever is hidden will be revealed, and then warns that with whatever measure one uses, it will be measured to you. Following this, Jesus says that whoever has more will be given and whoever lacks what little he has will be taken away.
e. 4:26-29
Jesus compares the Kingdom of God to a seed that when sown grows up by itself without the help of anyone. When it is mature, the harvest then comes.
f. 4:30-32
Jesus compares the Kingdom of God to a mustard seed, which, although the smallest seed, grows to become the largest of all garden herbs.
g. 4:33-34
It is said that Jesus spoke other parables and that he used only parables, explaining them to his disciples in private.
17. 4:35-41
That day, when evening comes, Jesus and his disciples set out across the Sea of Galilee. Asleep in the stern, Jesus is awakened by his fearful disciples when a storm comes up. Jesus calms the storm and rebukes them for their unbelief. The disciples marvel that even the wind and the waves obey him.
18. 5:1-20
Jesus exorcises a demon-possessed man in the region of the Gerasenes (Gadarenes or Gergesenes). The man was possessed by numerous demons, who called themselves "legion," and he dwelt among tombs. Jesus sends the demons into a herd of pigs, which rush headlong over a cliff. Becoming fearful of Jesus, the local people request that Jesus leave their district.
19. 5:21-43
Crossing the Sea of Galilee, Jesus' heals a woman with the bleeding problem, who touches the hem of Jesus' garment believing that she will be healed. He also raises Jairus' daughter from the dead.
20. 6:1-6a
Going to Nazareth, his hometown, Jesus is rejected. He remarks that a prophet has no honor in his hometown, and he cannot perform many works of power because of the unbelief of the Nazarenes.
C. 6:6b-9:50 The Second Phase of Jesus' Public Ministry in Galilee
After he is rejected at Nazareth, Jesus then sets out again to preach, heal and exorcise mostly in the region of Galilee, but with some notable exceptions. He sends out his disciples in pairs to do the same, giving them authority over unclean spirits. Jesus performs more miracles, and comes into conflict with the Pharisees. Also the death of John the Baptist is described. On two different occasions Jesus explains to his disciples that he must be rejected and executed.
1. 6:6b-13
Jesus' sends out of his disciples two by two, giving them authority over evil spirits. They preached that people should repent, exorcise and healed many by anointing them with oil.
2. 6:14-29
King Herod thinks that Jesus is John the Baptist raised from the dead. Herod unwillingly killed John at the request of the daughter of Herodias, his wife.
3. 6:30-44
With five loaves and two fish, Jesus feeds five thousand men along with women and children. Two baskets of leftovers were collected afterwards.
4. 6:45-52
Jesus sends his disciples ahead by boat to Bethsaida. The disciples have difficulty making headway because of the wind. That night Jesus walks out on the water to them, who are terrified until they realize that it is Jesus. When he climbs into the boat, the winds subside.
5. 6:53-56
When they have crossed over to Gennesaret, Jesus heals the sick there.
6. 7:1-23
Jesus criticizes the Pharisaic traditions of the fathers, and calls the Pharisees hypocrites, citing Isa 29:13 as descriptive of them. He accuses the Pharisees of using their traditions to avoid obeying the Law, giving the example of the Korban tradition. Jesus explains that what matters is not so much the ritual purity of food, but more the state of the heart, from which comes forth all sorts of uncleanness.
7. 7:24-30
Going to the region of Tyre, Jesus exorcises the daughter of the Syro-Phoenician woman, although at first he is reluctant because she is not a Jew.
8. 7:31-37
In the region of the Decapolis, Jesus heals a deaf and dumb man.
9. 8:1-10
Jesus feeds four thousand men along with women and children with seven loaves of bread.
10. 8:11-13The Pharisees demand an authenticating sign from Jesus, who refuses.
11. 8:14-21
Jesus warns his disciples about the leaven of the Pharisees and that of Herod, which the disciples wrongly interpret to be a criticism of them for not bringing enough bread along.
12. 8:22-25
Jesus heals a blind man at Bethsaida.
13. 8:27-30
In the villages around Caesarea Philippi, Jesus asks the disciple who they think he is. Peter confesses that Jesus is the Christ, but Jesus warns him not to tell anyone.
14. 8:31-33
Jesus begins to teach his disciples that he must be rejected and killed, but will after three days be raised up. Peter objects to what Jesus says, but Jesus rebukes him as the mouthpiece of Satan.
15. 8:34-9:1
In this section is found a series of sayings relating to discipleship. Jesus teaches that becoming his disciple requires taking up one's cross and that whoever loses his life for him and the good news will save it. Following this is the saying that it profits nothing to gain the whole world but lose one's soul. Then there is attached the saying that when he comes in glory, Jesus, the son of man, will be ashamed of anyone who has been ashamed of him and his words. Jesus next says that some among his hearers will not die until they see the Kingdom of God come with power.
16. 9:2-13
Jesus is transfigured in the presence of Peter, James and John. On the mountain, Moses and Elijah appeared to him. As they are descending, Jesus is asked why the scribes teach that Elijah must come first and restore all things. He responds that Elijah has already come, and that they did to him whatever they pleased
17. 9:14-29
Jesus exorcises a boy with an unclean spirit, whom his disciples could not. Jesus tells his disciples that this type of unclean spirit only comes out with prayer.
18. 9:30-32
Passing through Galilee, for a second time, Jesus predicts that he must be betrayed, killed and raised from the dead after three days.
19. 9:33-37
In Capernaum, after the disciples argued over which of them would be the greatest, Jesus teaches that the true nature of greatness lies in service to others. Taking a child, he says that whoever welcomes such a one in his name welcomes him and the one who sent him.
20. 9:38-41
The disciples attempt to forbid a man unconnected with their circles from exorcising in Jesus' name. Jesus, however, allows it.
21. 9:42-50
In this section there are grouped together several sayings, connected with a shared word. In the first saying, Jesus teaches that it is perilous to cause a disciple to stumble; connected with this are a three related sayings stressing by means of hyperbole the need to remove all obstacles to entering life or the Kingdom of God. Then follows a saying about being salted with fire and another relating to the need to remain salty.
D. 10:1-13:37 The Judean Period of Jesus' Ministry
In this section Jesus goes to Judea, visiting Jerusalem more than once. Some of what Jesus says and does during this time is provided. Some of what Jesus says in this section relates to the consequences for Jerusalem and the Jewish people of the rejection of the Kingdom of God and its herald.
1. 10:1-12
At the instigation of the Pharisees, Jesus teaches that it was never God's will that a man divorce his wife, contrary to what is said in the Torah. A man or woman who divorces his spouse and marries another commits adultery.
2. 10:13-16
Jesus blesses some children, after his disciples attempt to deny them access to Jesus. He says that one must enter the Kingdom of God as a child.
3. 10:17-22
A rich, young ruler asks Jesus about how to inherit eternal life. Jesus answers that it is through obeying the commandments. His interlocutor responds that he has kept the commandments, to which Jesus says that there is one more condition that he must meet: he is to sell all his possessions and follow him.
4. 10:23-31
Jesus explains that it is difficult for a rich man to enter the Kingdom of God. His disciples are surprised at this saying and wonder who then can be saved. Jesus responds by saying that what is impossible for man is possible for God. Then Peter says that he and the others have left everything for Jesus, and Jesus promises that anyone who has made sacrifices for him and the good new in this age will be rewarded in this age and receive eternal life in the age to come. But there will be a reversal in the age to come.
5. 10:32-34
On the way to Jerusalem, Jesus predicts for a third time that he will be killed and raised up after three days.
6. 10:35-45
James and John ask Jesus to grant to them the honor of sitting at his right and left hands when he comes into his kingdom. Jesus asks whether they are able to participate in the fate that awaits him, and says such honors are not his to give. When the other ten disciples hear what happen, they become indignant. Jesus then teaches them that greatness consists in service, just as the son of man came to serve and give his life as a ransom for many.
7. 10:46-52
In Jericho, Jesus heals blind Bartimaeus, who calls Jesus "son of David."
8. 11:1-11
Jesus enters into Jerusalem riding on a donkey, and is received by the crowds reciting Ps 118:25-26.
9. 11:12-14
On the next day, Jesus' curses a fig tree because it has no figs, even though it is not the time for figs.
10. 11:15-19
Jesus clears the Temple of money changers and livestock dealers, saying that they have turned the Temple, which should be a house of prayer (Isa 56:7) into a den of thieves.
11. 11:20-26
The next day, the disciples are amazed to see that the fig tree that Jesus cursed has withered. Jesus takes this opportunity to encourage them to have faith in God. Following this are three more sayings about faith and prayer: Jesus says that by faith one can do what seems impossible, such as saying to a mountain to be removed to the sea; he then tells them to believe that they have already received what they request in prayer and it will be given to them; finally, he tells them to forgive others before praying, in order that God may forgive them.
12. 11:27-33
The chief priest, scribes and elder question Jesus about his authority to do clear the Temple of money-changers and livestock dealers. He asks them by whose authority John the Baptist baptized. Jesus' opponents are silenced, because they are afraid to deny in public that John's authority came from heaven.
13. 12:1-12
Jesus tells the parable of vineyard and the tenants. A man leased his vineyard to tenant farmers who would not give him a portion of the harvest. Instead they killed all the agents he sent to them, including the owner's son. Jesus says that the only recourse open to the owner is to destroy the tenants and give the vineyard to others. Jesus then quotes Ps 118:22-23, which speaks of the rejected cornerstone.
14. 12:13-17
Some Pharisees and Herodians, hoping to trap him, ask Jesus whether it allowed paying taxes to Caesar. Jesus evades the question by saying that they should give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and to God what belongs to God.
15. Mark 12:18-27
The Sadducees challenge Jesus' belief in the resurrection by offering him the hypothetical situation of a woman who has been widowed seven times. They want to know which of her seven husbands will be the woman's legitimate husband after the resurrection. Jesus says that the Sadducees do not understand the scriptures or the power of God. He adds that, at the resurrection, there will no longer be any marriage.
16. Mark 12:28-34
A scribe asks Jesus which is the greatest commandment. Jesus says that there are two greatest commandments: to love God with one's whole being (Deut 6:4-5) and to love one's neighbor as oneself (Lev 19:18), to which the scribe assented and added that these are more important than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices. Jesus says that the scribe is not far from the Kingdom of God.
17. Mark 12:35-37
Jesus asks how the Messiah can be David's son when in Ps 110:1 Yahweh says to David's lord, the Messiah, to sit at his right hand.
18. Mark 12:38-40
Jesus warns against the scribes who love to be honored and who exploit widows.
19. Mark 12:41-44
In the Temple, Jesus commends a woman for giving all that she had as a gift to the Temple.
20. Mark 13:1-37
In this section, Jesus describes the coming destruction of the Temple and the coming of the son of man.
a. Mark 13:1-2
Jesus foretells the complete destruction of the Temple.
b. Mark 13:3-8
Later, on the Mount of Olives, Jesus is asked what the signs will be when all these things are about to occur. Jesus says that there will be those who will come in his name, claiming, "I am he," but the disciples should not be deceived. There will be wars and rumors of wars, earthquakes and famines.
c. Mark 13:9-13
Jesus warns his disciples that they will be hated and persecuted, but also reassures them that the Holy Spirit will give the words to say for their defense at their trial. The good news must first be proclaimed to the gentiles.
d. Mark 13:14-20
Jesus warns that when the abomination that causes desolation is set up where it ought not to be that those in Judea should flee. This will be a time of unparalleled suffering.
e. Mark 13:21-23
Jesus warns against being deceived by false Messiahs and prophets.
f. Mark 13:24-27
In those days, after that suffering, Jesus says that they will see the son of man coming in clouds; he will gather the elect from the four corners of the earth.
g. Mark 13:28-31
Jesus says when they see these things occurring that they should expect the coming of the son of man and that this generation will not pass away until all these things have taken place.
h. Mark 13:32-37
Jesus exhorts them to be watchful because the time of the coming of the son of man is unknown.
E. 14:1-16:20 Passion and Resurrection Narratives
This section contains the plot to kill Jesus, Jesus' last Passover meal with his disciples, his arrest, his trial, crucifixion, burial and resurrection.
1. 14:1-2
The chief priest and scribes plot to kill Jesus.
2. 14:3-9
While dining, Jesus is anointed by a woman at Bethany. When some criticize her, he says that she has anointed his body for burial.
3. 14:10-11
Judas agrees to betray Jesus for money, and begins to look for an opportunity to do so.
4. 14:12-26
Jesus celebrates his last Passover with his disciples. He sends two disciples to make Passover preparations. During the meal, Jesus says that the bread is his body and the cup is the blood of the covenant poured out for many. He adds that he will not drink of the fruit of the vine until he drinks it anew in the Kingdom of God.
5. 14:27-31
Jesus predicts that his disciples will desert him, in fulfillment of Zech 13:7. When Peter objects, he says that Peter will deny him three times.
6. 14:32-42
Jesus prays in Gethsemane, asking God to remove this cup (i.e., destiny) from him. His disciples, however, cannot remain awake during his prayer ordeal. Then Jesus says that the hour has come for the son of man to be betrayed into the hands of sinners.
7. 14:43-50
Jesus is arrested. Judas kisses him as a sign that he is the one to be arrested. In Jesus' defense, one of his disciples cuts the ear off of one the servants of the high priests. Jesus remarks that it is unnecessary to arrest him with such a show of force, since he was regularly in the Temple teaching; but this is to fulfill scripture.
8. 14:51-52
A young man follows, but, when his linen garment is taken hold of, he is forced to flee naked.
9. 14:53-65
Jesus is taken to the high priest, and all the chief priests, elders and scribes are assembled. Witnesses who do not agree are brought forward to testify against Jesus. Finally, the high priest asks Jesus whether he is the Messiah, to which Jesus answers in the affirmative, citing Dan 7:13 and Ps 110:1 of himself. Claiming this to be blasphemy, the high priest and the others condemn Jesus to death.
10. 14:66-72
Peter denies Jesus three times before the rooster crows twice.
11. 15:1-5
In the morning, Jesus is sent to Pilate, who asks him whether Jesus is the king of the Jews, but Jesus refuses to answer.
12. 15:6-15
At the request of a mob, Pilate releases Barabbas; the mob, however, shouts for Jesus' crucifixion.
13. 15:16-41
Roman soldiers mock Jesus by dressing him in a purple robe and a crown of thorns, hailing him derisively as the king of the Jews. Jesus is crucified, and the titulus reads "King of the Jews. " Some hours later Jesus dies, and the curtain in the Temple is torn in two.
14. 15:42-47
In the evening on the day of preparation, Friday, Joseph of Arimathea, with the permission of Pilate, buries Jesus in his own tomb.
15. 16:1-8
When the Sabbath is completed, on the morning of the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James and Salome go to Jesus' tomb to anoint Jesus' body. Wondering who would roll the stone away for them, they discover that the stone is already rolled away and the tomb is empty. Entering the tomb, they saw a young man who tells them that Jesus has been raised. The women leave in terror.
Most manuscripts have a longer ending to the gospel consisting of Jesus' appearances to Mary Magdalene (16:9-11) and to two disciples (16:12-13), the risen Jesus' commissioning of his disciples (16:14-18) as well as Jesus' ascension (16:19-20). It is argued, however, that Mark 16:9-20 is not original, but was added to gospel. This would explain its absence from the two oldest Greek manuscripts: Codex Sinaiticus and Vaticanus. There is also a shorter ending to the gospel attested in some manuscripts.
5.3. The Non-Chronological Nature of the Markan Narrative
5.3.1. The Episodic or Paratactic Nature of the Gospel of Mark
Within the larger framework of a Galilean and Judean period of Jesus' ministry, the Gospel of Mark exhibits no clearly defined structure. Rather one finds merely loosely connected single units of traditions and collections of traditions with some redactional connections supplied by the author. One could say that the gospel is episodic or paratactic in terms of its structure. This is what "the presbyter," as quoted by Papias, seems to mean when he writes that Peter "used to give teaching as necessity demanded but not making, as it were, an arrangement of the Lord's oracles, so that Mark did nothing wrong in thus writing down single points as he remembered them" (see above). This lack of structure is most obvious in Mark 1:14 to 11:1, the point in the gospel when Jesus arrives in Jerusalem. (After this point, Jesus' last two weeks or so of life are described, so that the material is partially chronological in presentation.) These chapters consist of isolated narratives or chronologically connected complexes of narratives together with collections of parables and sayings. Mark usually links his material together with the connective "and" (kai). Even within the complexes of narrative the traditions are simply strung together, again usually using the connective "and" (kai). Thus, as K. L. Schmidt pointed out in 1919, "As a whole there is no life of Jesus in the sense of an evolving biography, no chronological sketch of the story of Jesus, but only single stories, pericopae, which are put into a framework" (Der Rahmen der Geschichte Jesu, 317).
Based on this evidence, how would you describe the nature of the Gospel of Mark?
The Gospel of Mark is a selective record of what Peter remembered Jesus to have said and did, culminating in Jesus' passion and resurrection; as Papias indicates, Mark did not place the events described in order, i.e., according to correct chronology. Consequently, one could describe Marks gospel as episodic in its organization arrangement.
This is not to say that the organization of the isolated material until 11:1 is chronologically arbitrary, but that a chronological arrangement of the material was not the primary concern of the author. Probably, the order of the appearance of many of the isolated traditions and complexes of traditions is chronologically correct. It makes sense, for example, that Jesus begins to speak about the necessity of his death for the first time only towards the end of his Galilean ministry (8:28), when opposition to him has solidified. Likewise, the four traditions in Mark 10:17-52 appropriately are set during Jesus' journey to Jerusalem. Also, some sense of chronological progression may be provided in Mark by means of the author's uses of the adverb "again" (palin) (see Mark 2:1, 13; 3:1; 5:21; 8:13). (Whether this indicates real chronology or is for the sake of reminding the hearers/readers that previously Jesus had been to a particular place is open to question.) But clearly not every tradition is chronologically placed. The principle of the organization of the series of conflict stories in 2:1-3:6, for example, is thematic: Mark placed together a collection of similar traditions.
5.3.2. Connective Clauses in Mark
Typically the connective clauses between individual pericopes in Mark function merely as transitions between one pericope and another, as well as providing introductions to each periscope. See Appendix B: Connective Clauses in Mark. How do the connective clauses in the Gospel of Mark confirm that the author's interest was not to give a chronological account of the life of Jesus?
5.4. The Connecting of Sayings in Mark
It is probable that Mark or a pre-Markan redactor (perhaps Peter) joined together individual and originally isolated sayings of Jesus into larger units thematically or by means of link words. 5.4.1. Mark 2:1-3:6
At the beginning of the Gospel of Mark are found a collection of five conflict stories, in which Jesus answers the accusations of his opponents. These five pericopes are loosely connected with one another chronologically (see above). Probably, Mark or a pre-Mark redactor collected these conflict stories together based on their sharing the theme of conflict with opponents.
A. Mark 2:1-12 (Jesus' healing of a paralyzed man)
B. Mark 2:13-17 (Jesus' calling of Levi)
C. Mark 2:18-22 (The question about fasting)
D. Mark 2:23-28 (Plucking grain on the Sabbath)
E. Mark 3:1-6 (Healing
of man with withered hand)
5.4.2. Mark 4:21-32
After the parable of the sower and its explanation, there are found four parables, sayings in which Jesus uses metaphorical language. Each is introduced by "And he said [to them]." It is possible that Mark or a pre-Markan redactor was responsible for grouping this material together, on the basis that thematically these traditions are all instances of parabolic discourse.
A. 4:21-23 Jesus' saying about the lamp's not coming in order to be hidden under a bushel, and how everything hidden will be revealed.
B. 4:24-25 Jesus' saying about how one receives in accordance with the measure with which one measures out and how the one who has will receive while the one who does not have will lose the little he has.
C. 4:26-29 Jesus' parable of the seed growing by itself
5.4.3. Mark 8:34-9:1
After Jesus explains to his disciples for the first time that he must die and be raised from the dead, Mark includes several of Jesus' sayings concerning discipleship. Thematically they belong together and serve to draw out the implications of following Jesus, whose destiny is to be executed.
A. 8:34 The need for self-denial and taking up one's cross
B. 8:35 Saving and losing one's soul
C. 8:36 Gaining the world and losing one's soul
D. 8:37 In exchange for one's soul
E. 8:38 Being ashamed
F. 9:1 The Kingdom of God in power
5.4.4. Mark or perhaps a pre-Markan redactor seems to have organized isolated sayings of Jesus together by means of link-words. (A link word is a key word that two or more sayings have in common), The next two collections of sayings are examples of this.
|42 Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe to stumble, it would be better for him if, with a heavy millstone hung around his neck, he had been cast into the sea. 43 " If your hand causes you to stumble, cut it off; it is better for you to enter life crippled, than, having your two hands, to go into hell, into the unquenchable fire, [44] 45 "If your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off; it is better for you to enter life lame, than, having your two feet, to be cast into hell [46] 47 "If your eye causes you to stumble, throw it out; it is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye, than, having two eyes, to be cast into hell, 48 where their worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched. 49 "For everyone will be salted with fire. 50 "Salt is good; but if the salt becomes unsalty, with what will you make it salty again? Have salt in yourselves, and be at peace with one another.''
How many sayings are there in the collection represented by Mark 9:42-50? How are these sayings connected to one another by means of link words?
There are seven sayings in this collection, although sayings two, three and four are actually variations of the same saying: "If X causes you to stumble ." Saying one (9:42) is linked to sayings two, three and four (9:43-48) by word "to cause to stumble" (skandalizo). Saying four (9:47-48) is linked to saying five (9:49) by the word "fire" (pur). Saying five is linked to saying six (9:50a) by the word "salt" (alas), and likewise saying six is linked to saying seven (9:50b) by the word "salt."
B. Mark 11:22-25
1. 11:22 is linked to 11:23 by word "believe / belief" (pistis / pisteuô)
2. 11:23 is linked to 11:24 by word "believe"
3. 11:24 is linked to 11:25 by word "to pray" (proseuchomai)
5.4.5. Contrary to the views of many commentators, the material in Mark 13:1-37 requires a different explanation of its origin, since its component parts are not short sayings. From all appearances, it seems to be a summary of an extended eschatological discourse of Jesus, just as Mark records it.
5.5. Oral Legacy of Markan Material
It has been demonstrated that Markan narrative bears the traces of an "oral legacy": Markan narrative style reflects the needs of oral presentation. This is consistent with the external tradition that traces the gospel's origin to the preaching of Peter; Mark recorded his oral narrative material as Peter told it, not fully adapting it to the medium of written discourse. (As indicated, this also accounts for the episodic nature of Mark, since each narrative or narrative complex was likely a self-contained unit or oral tradition.) The following stylistic and rhetorical features contribute to the gospel's oral flavor:
5.5.1. The use of the third person plural rather than the passive is a mark of oral narrative (e.g. 8:22; 10:13).
5.5.2. The excessive use of the historical present, which tends to magnify dramatic intensity, is a feature of oral presentation.
5.5.3. Preference for the use of direct speech rather than indirect speech is part of Mark's oral legacy (e.g.'s 9:11; 11:17).
5.5.4. Mark is characterized by duplicate features. These duplicate features consist of redundancies and repetitions. Markan duality derives from the origins of Mark's material in oral tradition. Oral presentation requires such duality, for without access to written texts repetition is required in order to retain the facts in memory.
6. Why was the Gospel of Mark written?
6.1. Internal, direct evidence for Mark's purpose in writing is found in Mark 1:1: "The archê of the gospel of Jesus Christ." It is possible to take this verse as a title for the entire work, so that Mark's intention is to explain to his Christian hearers/readers the beginning or the basis (archê) of the good news that they believed. If this is the meaning of the term archê, what is the purpose of the Gospel of Mark?
Mark aims to give more information about Jesus, the focus of the proclamation of the early church. The Roman Christians believed the good news consisting of Jesus Christ, but needed to know more about the life, death and resurrection of the one in whom they believed, the arche of the gospel of Jesus Christ. From the contents of the gospel itself, he stresses Jesus' passion and resurrection, but also includes many accounts of Jesus' healings, exorcisms, controversies and some teaching. Mark does not intend, however, to provide a completely chronological account, as already indicated.
6.2. If Papias and others who hold the same view of the origin of the gospel are correct, what is the purpose of the Gospel of Mark?
If Papias is correct, Marks purpose seems to have been to preserve Peter's eyewitness testimony and depository of traditions about Jesus for the Roman church.


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Good Questions: Can Anyone ID this Chair?
Ryan is looking for some info: My girlfriend and I were watching the show "It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia" online (hence the watermark) and both said "Whoa! Cool chair!" In the scene it's used on an outside patio at a cafe. Looks like blue vinyl on a metal tube frame. Any idea where it's from?(Note: Include a pic of your problem and your question gets posted first.
Email questions and pics with QUESTIONS in subject line to:
Can anyone help out with and ID on the chair? If so, let us all know in the comments...


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"What we're doing is serious business. But that don't mean it can't be fun, too."
This week's episode of Vice Principals is the one that sets the bar for how demented the rest of the season might turn out to be. The catalyst is Lee Russell, bringing along a darkness in a leading character that, heretofore in Jody Hill and Danny McBride's oeuvre, has been reserved for clear antagonists. Neal Gamby is dangerous in that his emotions easily get the better of him, but despite his blustery behavior, he's capable of feeling guilt. Lee Russell doesn't have a remorseful bone in his body.
The seeds of this revelation are planted early on, as Gamby and Russell rendezvous in the woods behind the school to discuss how to take down Dr. Brown. Russell produces a binder from his Louis Vuitton rip-off messenger bag containing "personal data, government documents, [and] financial papers," (which is later revealed to contain everything from news clippings to a print-out of Belinda's Facebook page) confessing shortly afterwards that he has a similar binder on everyone at North Jackson High. The most troubling information that he's found is that Belinda has fired every other vice principal she's ever worked with, raising the stakes for Lee and Neal as they work through an alliance that is still testy at best. Considering how poorly Neal's attempt at coercing the school board went, Lee tells him they'll be doing things his way, this round. (Dayshawn spots them coming out of the woods afterwards, Gamby gesturing for Russell to put more of a distance between them, and is understandably bemused.)
The threat of being fired becomes tangible when Brown brings in an evaluator, Blythe Sason (Danny Boushebel, looking like a cross between Steven Seagal and Jason Mantzoukas). She also tasks Gamby with bringing in biscuits for the staff in the morning, a request Gamby complies with after only one complaint once he sees Sason start taking notes. He uses his driver's ed duties as a shortcut ("I know driving doesn't come natural for women, but I am impressed with your abilities"), and has the students take him to Bojangles' to pick up the biscuits.
Unfortunately, Belinda's second task for him is much less pleasant: Sason's discovered that the school secretary, Mrs. Libby (Celia Weston), is less than good at her job, and wants Gamby to fire her by the end of the day. It's not an encounter that goes well, especially not with Sason sitting in. It's sad on two fronts: Neal is brutal in laying out what Brown's told him about Mrs. Libby's performance without naming Brown, herself; the second, the things Neal says to try to comfort her are, in part, a reflection of his own dependence on his role at the school, as he tells her that, in time, "You won't feel as much of a … a person has nothing [without the school]." The coda — Mrs. Libby asking if Neal would like his office door open or closed even after crying at him and knocking over everything on his desk — is a hysterical ending note, a perfect example of the contrast between the manners expected of the show's characters and their increasingly insane circumstances.
The cut kicks Lee's plan into high gear. He and Gamby take the driver's ed car to Brown's house to go through her trash, though they make a stop at Lee's place, first. ("Is this where she lives? What a shithole." "This is my house, motherfucker! It's a mid-century sea ranch!") It's the first glimpse we get of Lee's home life, and what we see is an instant indicator of why he feels the need to assert control over the school: he has close to none at home. He goes in to retrieve his bag, and he is chased out by his mother-in-law, who continues to scream at him (in Korean — mostly "get back here" and "you son of a bitch," for those of you who're wondering) from the door even as they drive away.
Both Russell and Gamby are capable of a fair deal of mayhem, but what they're capable of together is the kicker. (It's the first scene that's really reminded me of how insane Eastbound & Down could get — remember this?) They enable each other into being worse and worse, it's just that Gamby isn't aware of what's happening until too late. Russell, on the other hand, knows just how to take advantage of Neal. After they break into Brown's house after finding nothing in the trash, he eggs Neal into trashing the place, using his bitterness at being passed over to goad him into breaking a mug emblazoned with the words "World's Best Principal" and escalating from there. It's like watching someone feed a child too much candy and then turn them loose — Neal's continued chant as they wreck the house is just, "Watch this!" Russell cheers on Neal's destructive impulses, and partakes in them as well, both of them screaming as they tear the house to shreds. The sequence isn't played for humor — the show knows just how terrible its characters are being. (Granted, there's one second that got me to laugh: the two of them slam chairs into a wall hard enough to get them to stick there, and for a split second, Neal's shown brushing the seat with a clothes brush.)
The scene comes to a head when we see Neal stabbing a pillow with Psycho-like fervor. More importantly, however, we see Russell in the background, perfectly calm and composed, smiling as he watches Neal and then produces a lighter to set fire to the house. The flames snap Gamby out of his bloodlust immediately, and there's genuine horror in his expression where Russell is still utterly serene. Gamby spends the rest of the day in shellshock, though it's nothing compared to Brown's reaction when she receives the call that her house has burned down.
His paranoia follows him to his daughter's horseriding competition, where he bails on a conversation with Gale and Ray (still painfully earnest — "I got you a [pop]corn, Neal." "I'm not hungry, I didn't ask for that, no thank you, Ray"), who tell him that Janelle's interest in horses has been fading as she becomes interested in Ray's profession, motocross. When he thinks he sees Sason across the field, he abruptly leaves to follow him to the parking lot, kicking the door of his car only to realize, when the man gets out, that it's not Sason at all. (Worth a note: he is credited on IMDB as "Not Blythe.")
As Lee has been dodging his calls, Neal drives directly to his house and is greeted by his wife (Claudia Park), who takes Neal's immediately greeting her in a stereotypical Asian accent much more gracefully than I ever would have, and invites him in. Lee is understandably unhappy at finding Gamby in his home, and blows off Gamby's protests that he'd thought teaming up had just meant making her look bad, and "school-related shit." He tells Gamby that he'd thought he was a loser until seeing him let loose in that house, and it's immediately obvious that the idea of Lee's approval and respect is enough to mitigate Neal's guilt about what happened, and compromise his morals — whatever they're worth — going forward. Lee makes a further point about his tactics by sharing how he deals with his mother-in-law (who told him he "ate pubic hair with pepper paste — now, that's about the meanest thing you can say about somebody in Korea," not something I can verify, though the pepper paste part is hysterically specific): he hocks a loogie into his mother-in-law's tea, and watches with Gamby as she proceeds to drink it. He also reveals that he'd looted Brown's house while they were wrecking it, giving Gamby a diamond-studded brooch as his share of the spoils. Gamby refuses but, when Russell prompts him again, ends up taking it with him, using it to pay off his daughter's horse's stable fees. His dramatic exit is unfortunately foiled by the fact that he's running his errands, once again, with his driver's ed students, who make what is less of a five-point turn and more of a fifteen-point turn before managing to leave the stables. (In the meanwhile, the incidental music remains reminiscent of Glee in that it's largely from the drum corps, a nice touch that helps keep everything in its high school context while the events unfolding onscreen get wilder and wilder.)
The next day, both Russell and Gamby are called to the principal's office. It's a summons that leaves the two of them looking like students caught red-handed as they sit waiting for Dr. Brown, but her reason for calling them in isn't to confront them about the fire. As it turns out, Sason has judged both of them to be excellent vice principals, and Brown has called them to ask for their support. They don't even wait to be excused to gloat. Belinda asks them to pray with her, and when she closes her eyes, Russell and Gamby pull faces at each other across the table.
Like the pilot, the second episode ends with an impeccable music cue. This time: Shawn Lee's "School House Funk," which boasts a touch of "The Ecstasy of Gold" about it. It's an appropriate up for the ante considering the escalation we've seen. Lee Russell is capable of a lot more than arson. The fire was nothing to him, a fact that's made clear by what he tells Gamby: "What we're doing is serious business. But that don't mean it can't be fun, too." The episode has also set a delicate balance, i.e. though they're co-billed, Walton Goggins' performance threatens to supersede Danny McBride's. The Hateful Eight proved he's got the chops to play leading man (to the point that I thought that he ought to have had top billing), and he's magnetic in Vice Principals.
Insult of the Week:
- For its simplicity: "I think you're stupid, and your face is ridiculous to me. Fuck your face. Fuck your butt."


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Some years ago, I opened a savings account for JJ in a bank along Jalan Gaya, and because she was then under 12 years old, I had to be her guardian. However, I have since lost her savings passbook. A few weeks ago, I went back to the bank to enquire what should be done, and was advised that I should close that account, and then reopen a new one. But since JJ is now over 12 years old, she can own a savings account independently; there is no need for my name to be there as her guardian. Just that she is required to appear in person to sign some documents, thumb prints etc.
That is a little inconvenient; school is from Monday to Friday. I asked the teller if they're open on Saturdays. He said as a matter of fact, they will start operating on Saturdays beginning from 21 March. So I went to the bank on that date, which was last Saturday, only to find that it was closed!
This afternoon I went to that bank again to investigate if perhaps I understood them wrongly when they said they're going to be open on 21 March. Well, they were supposed to be open on that day, but somehow they weren't. I'm not sure why. Sorry for the inconvenience.
I shared the above on my facebook, and then asked, "What should I do?"
My cousin replied shortly later, with a suggestion to "put in a formal complaint maybe."
I couldn't help but smile when I saw that suggestion. It's almost like a knee-jerk reaction. I was, like, that is so typical of Malaysians. Elsewhere in this blog, I have posted on the curious favourite national pastime of Malaysians in generallodging formal complaints. I bet if the chicken crosses the road, many people would react almost instinctively by lodging a police report or some sort of formal complaint, perhaps just for the sake of lodging a police report; because that's what's expected of Malaysians.
Have you ever wondered what would the recipients of all those tons of so-called "formal complaints" do with all those documents? My best guess is maybe file them in an orderly fashion in duly-referenced files and then put them in a huge cabinet somewhere to be forgotten. Then each day perhaps retrieve a couple of those files for reading pleasure?
This reminds me of the time when I myself lodged a police report for my stolen motorbike as posted here. It was a very long time ago, of course, when I had a different idea what police reports are all about. If you are not careful, you may even be in danger of becoming impressed when seeing how these people do their job of recording the reports!
Let me tell you that the making of formal complaints is almost like a beautiful art. You spend a lot of time making it; and some people spend a lot of time staring at it in admiration. And then in the end, you just hang it on the wall where it shall remain undisturbed for a long time.
That's how things go; get over it.
That's how things go; get over it.


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Learn how to make soup label wall art the easy way! It's inexpensive and unique, and you can do this with little to no crafting experience.
So I was in Target not very long ago and notice the special edition, Andy Warhol inspired Campbell's soup labels. I squealed in delight. I love color, and I like modern art in general (including Andy Warhol) so these were particularly thrilling.
I'm happy to have Vanessa of Punkin Patterns guesting to show you how to make canvas wall art from these wonderful labels. Here's how she did it.
Thanks Amy for having me here at Mod Podge Rocks! I'm Vanessa of Punkin Patterns, and I'm excited to share with you today a fun art project. You can check out some of my other Mod Podge projects over on my blog.
I'm a big fan of art – all kinds, all periods. I've wanted to do an homage to Andy Warhol's Campbell's Soup Cans for a while.
I had thrown around many ideas in my head, but hadn't really done much yet. Well, for the 50th anniversary of the artwork, Campbell's Soup came out with some colorful labels.
Soup Label Wall Art
I started with an 8″ x 8″ canvas and painted it a metallic can color (I used Martha Stewart's Metallic Acrylic Craft paint in Sterling). The 8″ x 8″ canvas is large enough to hold six labels easily.
Carefully remove the label at the back of the can with a craft knife. (If you're not using the can of soup right away, grab a sharpie and write what it is on the can.) Carefully trim the labels to the size you'll need to fit on your canvas.
Once you have your labels trimmed, layer a small amount of Mod Podge on your painted canvas and start placing the labels.
Once they've all been placed, smooth it out using a brayer or bone folder, add then add another thin layer of Mod Podge over the top.
Once it's dry, we're going to age it with a bit of transparent iron oxide acrylic paint. Mix some water with a bit of the paint and using a paper towel, apply it to the surface of the canvas in a circular motion. A little goes a long way, and you can age it to your liking.
Once this is dry, add a few more coats of Mod Podge, allowing it to dry completely between coats. And enjoy your modern soup label wall art!
Don't forget to visit Vanessa at her blog, on Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest!


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If I Only Had a Brain
- Artist: Andrea Ketcham
- Format: CD
- Release Date: 12/23/2008
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From the first chorus of Andrea Ketcham's debut CD If I Only Had A Brain, it is obvious that the music is unlike anything heard before. "Someone To Watch Over Me" has been recorded a countless number of times but this version, which has pianist Cedric Piromalli starting out in 5/4 time, becomes a very ragged 4/4 when Andrea begins singing. Beats are purposely skipped or halved, the music is given unusual rhythms and accents, and the performance is full of surprises yet somehow both the singer and the pianist are perfectly together, thinking as one. The words and the melody of "Someone To Watch Over Me" are present and the music swings in it's own fashion but the results are essentially a brand new song. The other performances on If I Only Had A Brain are just as unusual, displaying Andrea's inventive and often-witty approach to jazz improvising and music in general. "It is very important to me that musicians sound like themselves when they are playing with me. I want them to be who they are and I don't want them accompanying me. They should play as if it was a solo concert and then I can do my thing along with them. That way it becomes sort of like a cat and a mouse or Tom & Jerry, where it is not obvious who is leading the music. I always want the performances to be fresh and fun." As can be heard on If I Only Had A Brain, it worked very well. The performers clearly had some real fun with the vintage material while operating as equals and creating wild and spontaneous flights. After the wondrous version of "Someone To Watch Over Me," "Happy Together" is turned into a somewhat demented waltz. Andrea's sad and expressive singing on a gloomy version of "My Funny Valentine" is particularly haunting. The hyper spaced-out boogie-woogie piano on "I'm Old Fashioned," the countermelody given "If I Only Had A Brain," and the way Andrea and Cedric breathe together on "My Favorite Things" are all quite memorable. "Nature Boy," which has Andrea reciting the lyrics while Cedric makes eerie sounds from inside the piano, is a bit spooky, while the contrast between the thunderous piano pattern and the soft vocal on "They Can't Take That Away From Me" is dramatic. A Monkish "That's All" and a touching "We'll Be Together Again" conclude this unique and very creative recording. A great deal more will be heard from the innovative Andrea Ketcham in the future.
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Sanjaya said, "When the combatants of both armies, strong in number, were thus disposed in battle array, all those unretreating heroes, O Bharata, set their heart upon the region of Brahma.[485] In course of the general engagement that followed, the same class of combatants did not fight with the same class of combatants. Car-warriors fought not with car-warriors, or foot-soldiers with foot-soldiers, or horsemen with horsemen, or elephant-warriors with elephant-warriors. On the other hand, O monarch, the combatants fought with one another like mad men. Great and dreadful was the calamity that overtook both the armies. In that fierce slaughter when elephants and men spread themselves on the field, all distinctions between them ceased, for they fought indiscriminately.
"Then Salya and Kripa, and Chitrasena, O Bharata, and Dussasana, and Vikarna, those heroes mounted on their bright cars, caused the Pandava host to tremble. Slaughtered in battle by those high-souled warriors, the Pandava army began to reel in diverse ways, O king, like a boat on the waters tossed by the wind. As the wintry cold cuts kine to the quick, so did Bhishma cut the sons of Pandu to the quick. As regards thy army also, many elephants, looking like newly-risen clouds, were felled by the illustrious Partha. And many foremost of warriors too were seen to be crushed by that hero. And struck with arrows and long shafts in thousands, many huge elephants fell down, uttering frightful shrieks of pain. And the field of battle looked beautiful, strewn with the bodies, still decked with ornaments of high-souled warriors deprived of life and with heads still decked with ear-rings. And in that battle, O king, which was destructive of great heroes, when Bhishma and Dhananjaya the son of Pandu put forth their prowess, thy sons, O monarch, beholding the grandsire exert himself vigorously, approached him, with all their troops placed ahead. Desirous of laying down their lives in battle and making heaven itself their goal, they approached the Pandavas in that battle, which was fraught with great carnage. The brave Pandavas also, O king, bearing in mind the many injuries of diverse kinds inflicted upon them before by thee and thy son, O monarch, and casting off all fear, and eager to win the highest heavens, cheerfully fought with thy son and the other warriors of thy army.


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Russian Outsourcing and Software Summit 2006 (ROSS 2006)
Venue: Imperial hotel, Moscow
|Event Date/Time: May 31, 2006
|End Date/Time: Jun 02, 2006
|Registration Date: May 25, 2006
|Early Registration Date: Apr 30, 2006
|Abstract Submission Date: May 01, 2006
|Paper Submission Date: May 15, 2006
First time the conference was held in 2001. In 2006 year the Sixth Russian Software Summit will be held in Imperial hotel, Moscow.
The main goals of the Summit are
- to get up-to-date information about state and prospects of export software market in Russia and CIS, about practices of development of this industry in the leading competitive countries
- to share experience of software market participants in Russia and CIS
- to establish direct contacts between customers and service/product providers in the sphere of software development
As always the official program of the Conference will include an unforgettable cultural program, which will give the participants the opportunity to get acquainted with culture and architecture of the city and to communicate to each other.


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The club, which is based in
Shankill in south county Dublin meets every two weeks on Sundays, usually
at either 9.00a.m. or 10.30a.m., depending on the walk length.
Non-members are welcome to join the club on two walks .
Further information on joining the club can
be found here
The walks list has been updated to include all walks up to June 2012
For more information contact


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Twitter is a great place to share things as they happen. Consider what your customers would like to know about your restaurant and start tweeting about that. Tweet about timely information, like your daily specials, or the soup of the day. Take it a step further by uploading photos of your best menu items to Twitter.
Restaurants can also be a hub of community activity. Use Twitter to get the news out about your local events. A couple of tweets throughout the day reminding people that you're hosting a special wine tasting, or that you've got a happy hour special, could give people enough of a reason to pay you a visit.
Offer Exclusive Daily Deals
Offer daily deals, exclusively to your Twitter followers, to give your casual customers a push to come in more often. For example, offer a free appetizer to the first person who mentions your promotional tweet, or a discount to everyone who retweets your daily special.
Throw a Contest
Extend the concept of promoting your restaurant on Twitter by throwing a contest, or using Twitter as a piece in a bigger contest campaign. For example, try a weekly gift certificate draw for your Twitter followers. Ask followers a skill-testing question to enter them into the draw, and encourage retweeting for additional entries. You can organize entries by asking your followers to include a hashtag with each contest tweet.
Create Group and Tweetup Specials
If your restaurant has space for large groups, you can incentivize your Twitter followers to gather a group to get a discount. For example, try tweeting something like, "Any group of 10 or more will get 15% off its food order by mentioning this tweet after 5pm."
A lot of Twitter enthusiasts welcome the idea of meeting fellow tweeters in person. A good idea to get people through the door is to organize an event for a good cause. Align your business with a charity that you'd like to contribute to, and organize a tweetup around it. Consider selling tickets to the event, or donate a percentage of your profits for the night to the charity. Tweetups can be a fun and feel-good way to get people to check out your restaurant.
Deal with Customer Feedback
One of the most important things you'll do with your Twitter account is to deal with customer feedback, and it's not always going to be positive. Though Twitter can be a casual social network, you should still deal with customer complaints as though the person is standing right in front of you. Keep it professional, and try to be as helpful as possible.
On the positive side, you also want your customers to know that you're listening, and that you appreciate their feedback. Be sure to thank as many tweeters as possible, and send direct messages where more personal responses are warranted. It's also a good idea to retweet the occasional stellar Twitter review of your restaurant, especially if your follower has shared a delectable photo.
Have you had success using Twitter for your restaurant? Please share your experiences in the comments below.
[Image credits: John Walker, bookchen, Groupon, Xavier Encinas, Dominic Alves, vistamommy]


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This article is about the character from the Toy Story franchise. For the TV series, see Jessie (TV show).
Jessie the Yodeling Cowgirl (better known simply as Jessie) is a major character in the Toy Story series, first appearing in Toy Story 2. She is a vintage pull string cowgirl toy from the 1950s and a former member of Woody's Roundup Gang.
At first, Jessie only intends to be collectible, and dislikes the fact that Woody has an owner, Andy, and a space toy friend, Buzz, but when the cowboy and space ranger rescue Jessie from the plane bound for Japan, she accepts her true purpose: to be played with.
Jessie is a friendly, excitable cowgirl doll. She likes being loved by any child and has the power to yodel. She hates being in storage ― as it makes her claustrophobic ― and not having someone to love her. A girl named Emily had once loved her until she gave her up and put her in a charity box, which emotionally scarred Jessie forever.
Physical appearance
Jessie is a lanky plastic doll. She has green eyes, hair made from red yarn with a ponytail in braids and a yellow ribbon that has tied to the bottom of her ponytail, pink lips, rosy cheeks, auburn eyebrows, small nose white long-sleeved western-style shirt with both yellow blouse and cuffs that have red doodles, blue jeans, a belt made from brown plastic with a buckle made from gold plastic, white chaps that have cow spots all over, cowgirl boots made from brown plastic, a cowgirl hat made from crimson plastic, and a pull string on her back with a white loop attached to it.
Toy Story 2
In Toy Story 2, she is the second toy that Woody meets in Al McWhiggin's apartment after Bullseye and before Stinky Pete the Prospector. She is sassy, sweet, cute, athletic, and has a habit of yodeling when happy or excited. They reveal to Woody that he is a vintage Sheriff Woody collectible doll and the star of a forgotten children's TV show, Woody's Roundup. After watching an episode of when Woody has to save her and Pete being trapped in an abandoned mine & Pete accidentally lit a stick of dynamite thinking it was a candle, she turns it off, and Pete tells Woody that the show was canceled after the launch of Sputnik 1 led children to become more interested in Space Toys. When they revealed that they're going to the Konishi Toy Museum in Tokyo, Japan, Woody refuses to go since he still has an owner and has no intention of going there with the Roundup Gang. Jessie begins to hyperventilate for fear that she'll go back into storage again. She then begins to mock Woody for still having an owner. When Al went back to his apartment with his camera and placing the toys, Woody's arm was ripped when the string was caught.
That night, after Woody's attempt to retrieve his ripped-off arm is foiled when the TV suddenly turned on, causing Al to wake up and put Woody back in his case, Woody spotted the remote in front of Jessie's case and accuses Jessie of turning on the TV, to which Jessie responds by fighting Woody. The Prospector breaks up the fight, and Jessie still feels bitter about Woody caring only about Andy. The next day, after Woody's arm has been fixed, Jessie sarcastically lets Woody leave, but the Prospector convinces Woody to speak with Jessie to make amends. When Woody talks to Jessie, she tells him the story about Emily (seen during the "When She Loved Me" musical sequence), a little girl that had been her owner. Throughout her years as Emily's toy, Jessie has enjoyed being played with, such as being taken for a horseback riding, a drive in her car, and a swing on a tire. However, years have passed, and Emily has found more mature activities to do, forgetting about Jessie until finding her under the bed one day. Jessie had spent one more time in the car with Emily, only for Emily to place her in a charity box, leaving her shocked and heartbroken that she has been given away. Being in a box for a long period of time, Jessie has developed claustrophobia. After hearing that story, she said that "you never forget kids like Emily and Andy, but they forget you". Woody felt sorry for Jessie, but she tells him to go, but with more of the Prospector's convincing, Woody, thinking that the same fate will happen to him as Andy grows up, warms up to the idea of going to the museum, and Jessie's feelings of bitterness and sadness brightens up to happiness and excitement. Later that day, they have a little fun by making a show with Woody, who accidentally falls off Bullseye, then Jessie tries to help, but soon tickles him after he stated that he is ticklish.
Woody's friends, Buzz, Potato Head, Slinky Dog, and Hamm, burst through the air vent using Rex's head. Slink ties Jessie & Bullseye so they can escape with Woody, but they were stopped by Andy's Buzz, which the other one was a Utility Belt Buzz from Al's Toy Barn. Woody refuses to go back to Andy & his friends left. But after watching a video of him singing "You Got a Friend in Me" on the TV, Woody decides to go back to Andy so he wouldn't miss him growing up, but not until offering to take the Roundup gang with him back to Andy's house after having a change of heart and deciding to go back to Andy's room with Buzz and the other toys. Jessie initially feels uncertain, but Stinky Pete, now showing his true colors, locks them in Al's apartment. He even turned off the TV revealing that last night, he turned it on and framed Jessie. Woody and Jessie try to stand up to the Prospector, but they learn that the Prospector has never been sold from a dime store shelf, which makes him feel more determined to get himself and the others to Japan, where he believes he will finally be appreciated. Al started to come & Jessie, Bullseye & Woody were packed up to be taken with Al to the airport.
At the airport, Buzz and the toys extricate Woody and get rid of the evil Prospector, but are unable to free Jessie from the case, despite Bullseye being able to escape, as the case gets loaded into a plane bound for Japan. Determined to rescue Jessie, Woody whistles for Bullseye, whom he and Buzz mount and gallop across the airfield to rescue Jessie.
Woody, after being separated from Buzz again, follows the case into the plane's cargo hold. There, Woody again offers to take Jessie back to Andy's house. She initially fears that Andy will not like her, but Woody tells her that it will not be so bad because Andy has a baby sister. Excited, she agrees to go with Woody (and the other toys), but the two become trapped in the plane. Finding another escape route, they exit the plane. But Woody slips, prompting Jessie to grab hold of Woody's arm. Using his pull-string, Woody and Jessie swing down from the plane and land on Bullseye right behind Buzz, finally completing the mission just seconds before the plane takes off. As they celebrate their success, Jessie describes Woody rescuing her as "Woody's finest hour".
Back at Andy's room, when Andy comes home from Cowboy Camp, he is pleased to see Jessie and Bullseye added into his toy collection, calling them Bazooka Jane and her jet-propelled horse. With Andy's name printed on the bottom of her boot, Jessie is overjoyed to feel appreciated again. Buzz clearly, but nervously, develops a crush on her and the two enter a relationship somewhat similar to the way Woody and Bo Peep have done, before Jessie shows off as she uses the Hot Wheels car and track to reach the doorknob to open it and let Buster out to use the bathroom. The two couples are seen standing together as they enjoy watching a newly-fixed Wheezy sing "You've Got a Friend in Me".
Toy Story 3
In Toy Story 3, she is first shown in an opening sequence taking place in the Wild West. When Woody is knocked off the train by bandits One-Eyed Bart and Betty (Mr. and Mrs. Potato Head's characters, respectively), Woody is seen riding on Bullseye behind Jessie as they chase after the train. After Bart explodes a railroad bridge and escapes with One-Eyed Betty and their stolen loot on a Corvette that the Aliens are driving, Jessie and Woody rush over to stop the train to save the orphans aboard. Woody jumps into the locomotive and pulls on the brakes, but the train goes off the bridge and into a ravine, leaving Jessie to assume that Woody has died, along with the orphans. But then, to Jessie's surprise, the train shoots out of the ravine, lifted up by Buzz. Woody, Buzz and Jessie then attempt to stop the criminals, but they are interrupted by a spaceship controlled by Evil Dr. Porkchop (Hamm's character), who warps the criminals back into the spaceship and executes Death by Monkeys to capture the three heroes. As One-Eyed Bart prepares to finish them off, the scene cuts to Andy's room, revealing that the sequence has actually taken place in Andy's imagination.
During the main events of the film, Jessie continues to have fond affections toward Buzz. When Andy attempts to put her and the other toys in the attic, she and the others do not realize that his mom accidentally threw them out and refused to listen to Woody. To keep herself from reliving the trauma life she had when thrown out by Emily, she convinces the other toys to go to Sunnyside Daycare.
She is excited to learn that the children at Sunnyside are replaced with new children when they get older, meaning that they will always be played with no matter what. She tries to convince Woody into staying, but he turns down the offer and calls her 'selfish', leaving to go back to Andy alone. This hurts Jessie. After recess ends, she and the other toys realize that they have been put in a room where the children that, roughly but innocently, abuse them and are too young to even handle them. Later, after Buzz disappears to talk to Lotso, Mrs. Potato Head sees Andy with the eye that she left in Andy's room. Jessie and the other toys realize that Woody was right, that Andy still wanted them. They decide to return home to Andy but are imprisoned by Lotso, who had Buzz reprogrammed and think that he is a space ranger again, turning him against them. Buzz sets down the prison standards, and in order to make sure they obey them, Lotso gives them Woody's hat (which he left behind). This causes Jessie and the others to believe Lotso killed Woody.
The next morning, Jessie and Bullseye are the ones who have been mourning Woody's apparent "death". Jessie also appeared to be mourning greatly as she felt her decisions had cost both Buzz and Woody. When Woody returns to rescue them, after hearing a sad story about Sunnyside and Lotso by one of Bonnie's toys named Chuckles, Jessie and the others are super happy to see that he's still alive and give him his hat. Jessie apologizes for not listening and Woody apologizes for leaving. They make a plan to escape and Jessie is soon reunited with Buzz, who had been reset to the Spanish mode of his space ranger self; a romantic version of Buzz who is far more outspoken about his feelings for Jessie (the reset had temporarily erased his memories). At first, she is uncomfortable with the change but finds that she also rather likes this romantic version, too.
When they get stuck in a garbage truck, Buzz saves Jessie but is soon flattened by a television. Thinking that he is dead, she starts to despair but Buzz reawakens to his normal self, not remembering a thing that happened prior to being set to Demo mode and Spanish mode. They soon fall into a landfill and end up falling down an incinerator. As they accept their fate of doom, they are saved by the squeeze-toy aliens, who had run off to the "claw", with the giant "Claw".
They all return to Andy's house and with Woody's intervention, are donated to Bonnie, the girl that found Woody outside of Sunnyside. Jessie and the others are all played with by Andy one last time and quickly adjusts to her new life with Bonnie. Towards the very end, she takes advantage of Buzz's new Spanish side and they dance together to "Hay Un Amigo En Mi" (the Spanish version of "You've Got a Friend in Me").
Toy Story 4
Toy Story of Terror!
Jessie returns in the special as the protagonist. During a road trip, she is reminded of her traumatizing years in storage after she gets trapped in a small tool box. They stay in a motel for the night with the Andersons. When her friends are stolen by the motel's owner along with some other toys, it's up to her to save them from being shipped to a toy collector and to do that, she must face her claustrophobia.
Video games
Kinect Disneyland Adventures
Jessie appears in the game as a meet-and-greet character at the Big Thunder Ranch in Frontierland. She also asks the player to help track down some rustlers that are supposedly in the area.
Disney INFINITY series
Jessie appears in Disney INFINITY as a playable character. She is part of the Toy Story in Space Play Set along with Buzz.
Woody and Jessie share a sibling-like relationship. Since meeting each other in Al's penthouse, the two share a close bond. The two are shown to have pretty heated arguments from time to time, but they deeply care for each other nonetheless.
Both Bullseye and Jessie bonded when they were in storage for an unknown number of years. Since then, the two have been inseparable.
Buzz Lightyear
Her romantic relationship with Buzz was only hinted at the end of Toy Story 2 when Buzz became instantly lovestruck with her looks and her adventurous personality. In Toy Story 3, their relationship hadn't evolved much since Toy Story 2, but it's shown that Jessie is fond of Buzz, and he is protective of her. While the film progress, Jessie becomes attracted to Buzz because of his Spanish mode. After Lotso leaves the toys to die, Buzz grabs Jessie's hand. After the aliens save them, Buzz is still holding Jessie's hand. At the end of Toy Story 3, the two finally seal their relationship, with Jessie taking the initiative for the two to dance an exciting pasodoble that closes the trilogy.
- Jessie seems to be scared of going in cases. In Toy Story 2, it is revealed she has claustrophobia, a fear of which she gets over in Toy Story of Terror.
- Jessie's claustrophobia is basically post-traumatic stress disorder as being abandoned in a box and in storage for so long traumatized her.
- Given that other toys were not seen in Jessie's flashback, it is implied that she was Emily's only toy, which is possibly another reason for her fears.
- It is unknown how many sayings Jessie has by pulling her pull string, but in the series it can be assumed she can say nine like Woody and Stinky Pete, including her trademark yodel.
- When Jessie first meets Woody, she exclaims, "Sweet mother of Abraham Lincoln!" Abraham Lincoln's mother was Nancy Hanks, a blood relative of Tom Hanks. Tom Hanks is a direct descendant of an uncle of Nancy Hanks.[1]
- When Jessie fights Woody after he accuses her of turning on the TV, Jessie's position (pinning Woody on the ground, foot on his back, pulling his arms back) is the same as Buzz's when he fights Woody underneath Andy's car at the gas station in Toy Story.
- Jessie outgrowing her owner in a flashback is very similar to when Buzz discovers that he's just a toy in Toy Story.
- John Lasseter's wife Nancy suggested that in Toy Story 2 that there should be a strong female character, which soon led to the creation of Jessie.
- Jessie was originally going to be a cactus called Señorita Cactus, but it was decided later on that she would be a cowgirl.[2]
- A Jessie doll makes a cameo in Monsters, Inc. as one of the toys that Boo gives to Sulley after she returns to her room.
- Notably, in the Monsters, Inc. comic mini-series Laugh Factory, Boo's Jessie doll is prominently featured in the third installment, "Toy Worry". In that story, Sid, using the monsters' door-traveling technology, steals Jessie from Boo while she isn't looking, as he is trying to "save" other kids from being terrorized by living toys like he was. After Mike and Sulley return Boo's Jessie doll to her at the end, they scoff at the idea of toys coming to life, but Boo's Jessie doll gives a knowing wink to the reader.
- Jessie is the only female toy in Andy's room who solely belongs to Andy, while the other female toys belong to Molly.
- She is a female counterpart to Woody (just like Mrs. Potato Head is to Mr. Potato Head), but has a different personality.
- While all the other toys have brown, blue, and black eyes, Jessie is the only one with green. Also, she is the only toy with red hair.
- Since Jessie is from the 1950s, it is possible that she is approximately 50+ years old.
- She has red hair and a red hat. Meanwhile, Woody has brown hair and a brown hat. It is unknown if this was done on purpose or just a coincidence.
- Even though he is Woody's horse, Bullseye seems to be more attached to Jessie. Whenever Bullseye is around, she usually has an arm around him. Other times during dramatic situations, he hides behind her, or Jessie holds him close.
- Jessie was honored with the Patsy Montana Entertainer Award from the National Cowgirl Museum and Hall of Fame.
- Jessie appears, with Bullseye and Woody, in Meet the Robinsons.
- Buzz and Jessie's dance moves during the end credits of Toy Story 3 are choreographed by Tony Dovolani and Cheryl Burke of Dancing with the Stars.
- In Toy Story 2, Andy names Jessie "Bazooka Jane". But in Toy Story 3, when Andy introduces Bonnie to her, he calls her by her real name. It is unknown how Andy learned her real name, but it is possible that he found out about Woody's Roundup and learned her name. It is also possible that like real Jessie dolls, one of her pull string quotes does include her saying her name
- Another thing which makes it possible Andy heard about Woody's Roundup, is the fact in the show she can summon animals by yodeling, which she does when Andy plays with her at the beginning of Toy Story 3.
- Jessie may have romantic feelings toward Buzz, which were briefly shown in Toy Story 2 and throughout several times in Toy Story 3, especially in the Spanish Buzz scene. Whether this will continue into Toy Story 4 is unknown at this point.
External links
- Jessie on Pixar Wiki
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TVs with Internet are television sets that are capable of accessing the Internet without additional equipment except for those that support Ethernet connection. Most of these TVs, however, access the Internet via wireless connections which makes content acquisition more efficient for users.
Vizio M221NV 22-Inch Full HD 1080p LED LCD TV with VIA Internet Application
The Internet apps included in this full HD LCD TV include Amazon Instant Video, Flickr, VUDU, Netflix, Rhapsody, Twitter and Yahoo! TV Widgets. You can get more content from other content providers by browsing through the app catalog that appear live on the TV. Internet access can be acquired via wireless connection or the Ethernet port. Its ability to connect through Internet services and content come with great image quality thanks to the 50,000:1 dynamic contrast ratio, ambient lighting and a full high definition resolution. You can buy it for $272.99.
LG 42LD550 42-Inch 1080p 120 Hz LCD HDTV with Internet Applications
This LG TV features full HD 1080p resolution, a 150,000:1 dynamic contrast ratio and TruMotion 120Hz technology that minimizes motion blur in fast-moving content like sports and action movies. In addition to this set of TV viewing features, it also has NetCast Entertainment Access that gives users the ability to access movies, TV shows and other information via Internet applications like YouTube, Netflix, VUDU, Picasa and Yahoo! TV widgets. You can get it for $699.99.
Samsung LN46C650 46-Inch 1080p 120 Hz LCD HDTV
This 46-inch TV has a full HD resolution with 120 Hz clear motion rate. Its other notable features include ConnectShare Movie, which is the capability to play media from thumb drives or mobile devices, Game mode, Wide Color Enhancer Pro, Allshare and of course, Internet connectivity. It can let you access different services like Blockbuster, Amazon Instant Video, YouTube, Flickr, Facebook and other content from other service providers. You can buy it for $1,097.
Panasonic Viera TC-P42ST30 42-Inch 1080p 3D Plasma HDTV
This TV from Panasonic supports high definition 3D playback, making it one of the first TV sets offering this capability. The amount of 3D content for home viewing is still limited, but if you are an early adopter of cutting edge technologies, this is a good place to start for you in terms of 3D home movies. In addition to this capability, this TV has Viera Connect, which is a feature that lets users connect to Hulu Plus, NBA Game Time, NHL Game Center, Facebook and other online content. You can buy it for $898.99.
Sony Bravia EX308-Series LCD HDTV
With the Sony Bravia Engine 3, a fully digital video processor, and a 720p resolution, this TV offers quality high resolution images. In addition to that, it has a USB port that allows users to connect devices like external hard drives and cameras for media playback. A Wi-Fi adapter is built in to allow for Internet connection that is instrumental to a number of online content available to users via this TV. You can buy it for $489.21.
These TVs with Internet capability are designed not only to provide great image quality but also an extensive amount of available content from online content providers. Internet-ready TV sets usually have built-in apps for acquiring Internet content, but more and more of them are allowing users to get content from somewhere else.
References and Image Credits


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China still hasn't taken serious steps toward rebalancing, and some areas of the economy are getting even more unbalanced, Michael Pettis says in his latest newsletter.
For instance, this ridiculous anecdote about copper-fueled ponzi schemes:
Since January I've been writing about - and trying to figure out - the strange happenings in the Chinese copper market...
China had been importing for many months far more copper than was needed for real use - and this in spite of a huge surge in domestic infrastructure and real estate development which has boosted the demand for copper. Imports continued even when London prices exceeded Shanghai prices by more than the equivalent of China's value-added tax.
Instead of being shipped to end users, it seems that copper was being stockpiled in warehouses. Why? One possibility of course was pure speculation. If you think domestic Chinese copper use is going to soar, and with it prices too, then it might make sense to buy copper and hoard it. But there seemed to be a lot more hoarding than normal, and anyway with London prices often above the tax-adjusted Shanghai prices, why would anyone want to speculate on foreign copper when it could be bought more cheaply domestically?
It turns out, that the copper purchases were not entirely, or even mainly, speculative. They were part of a financing scheme for companies that, in spite of the avalanche of new lending occurring both within and outside normal RMB lending, were having trouble accessing bank credit.
This difficulty in accessing credit is, by the way, noteworthy enough. Everyone says credit conditions in China are tight but, as I wrote last week, it is hard to think of credit "tightness" in the context of such ferocious credit expansion. What is happening here in China is not that credit growth is too slow, but rather that infrastructure and real estate investment is so high that it has overwhelmed the available sources of credit.
But to get back to copper, it seems that credit-starved companies were importing copper because they could obtain trade finance or some other sort of foreign financing, and then used the physical copper (or warehouse receipts, I guess) as collateral for domestic borrowing. The financing was continually rolled over. Buying copper was just a way to borrow for companies that needed loans and were otherwise unable to get them.
As I mentioned two weeks ago, when I discussed this in February with a senior executive in a major commodities company, he responded by saying that he thought the same thing might also be happening in soya. Borrowers are resorting to some fairly convoluted and expensive ways of obtaining short-term credit largely because they cannot obtain financing from the local banks.
Commodity demand
That doesn't mean there isn't liquidity in China. There is tons of it, but much of the credit is being disintermediated because of constraints on bank lending. For example on Saturday the South China Morning Post had this article:
Just two years ago, mainland investor Jim Zhang finished capital-raising for his first real estate private equity fund. Today, he is calling on fellow investors to contribute to his fourth real estate fund. "There is a lot of liquidity in China. Many wealthy individuals are interested in investing in real estate private equity funds in anticipation of a positive market outlook in the long run," he said.
Later in the same article Raymond Wang, head of investment at DTZ's Northern China division, is quoted as saying "Fund-raising is easy as liquidity is strong."
So China's problem isn't that liquidity is tight - how could it be with so much credit expansion and hot money inflow? The problem is that much of the real investment growth seems be funded outside the normal lending channels.
So far I am just rehashing the old story I've written about before on the role of copper in raising financing. But on Tuesday my friend and co-instructor in the central bank seminar, Logan Wright of Medley Advisors, sent me a Reuters headline garlanded with exclamation points: "Chinese copper exports up 1133% ytd, 36,768 tons in March vs. lower imports of 192,161 tons...net refined copper imports down 30.6% ytd."
Apparently copper exports in the first three months of 2011 have soared, even as China is still importing copper. So what's going on? I can't say for sure, but if our copper-financing story is right, then this strange round-tripping sort of makes sense.
Here's how it works. Even when London prices are above Shanghai prices, companies eager for loans are importing copper in order to get back-door financing, whereas local traders, noticing that domestic demand isn't strong enough to justify those import quantities, and perhaps eager to arbitrage the prices, are selling copper abroad. The weird distortions in the banking system, where credit isn't rationed by price but by quantity and hierarchy, has turned China, at least temporarily, into a revolving door for copper imports and exports. This is great for copper traders, of course, but perhaps not so good for the overall economy since someone has to pay for those outsized trading profits.
I still need to find out more about this. I am only speculating and I don't have real data to support me, but it does fit together nicely into a pretty consistent narrative on everything we are hearing in China, both about copper and about credit. By the way it is worth noting that while Shanghai's importance as a major commodity-trading center has certainly risen rapidly in recent years, some of those high trading-volume numbers might be overstated - a consequence of artificially-induced buying and selling related to this financing scheme.