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Posted by Abe Fried-Tanzer
Welcome back to Awards Material. After a quiet start to the summer, we're back just in time for Emmy nominations, which will be announced next week. But first, let's take a look at a new show that won't contend until next year's awards. Ray Donovan premiered on Showtime last Sunday night, June 30th, immediately following the final season premiere of the network's long-running flagship series Dexter. Like that show, this one features a protagonist who employs violence in his daily occupation, but who can still be described as a "good guy."
Advertisements for Showtime's latest include the tagline "No one can ever know…Ray Donovan." Liev Schreiber's main character is certainly complicated, loyal to his family but not opposed to the occasional extramarital fling and hell bent on preventing his father, recently released from prison, from establishing any sort of relationship with his children. Schreiber, an esteemed Tony Award-winning Broadway actor, should be familiar to audiences for, among others, his recent role in the 2008 film Defianceas Zus Bielski, one of the real-life leaders of a group of brothers who saved over a thousand Jews during the Holocaust.
Ray and his family are definitely not supposed to be Jewish, and their Irish names, Boston accents, and previous run-ins with a priest confirm that beyond a doubt. But there is a prominent Jewish character played by a very familiar Jewish actor whose first appearance on screen immediately cements his religious affiliation. Elliott Gould, who played Reuben Tishkoff in the Ocean's Eleven film series and recurred on Friends as Jack Geller, is no stranger to playing Jewish characters. On Ray Donovan, he's Ezra Goldman, a good friend and business partner of Ray's who shares a checkered history with both him and his father.
Ezra bursts onto the scene in the show's pilot when Ray arrives at his home to pay his respects following the death of Ezra's wife. Ezra is distraught to find his mistress in attendance, deeming it a "shanda" that she should be present for such an occasion. Puzzled at his use of Yiddish, everyone dismisses Ezra's sudden burst of Judaism as a result of his grief. In episode two, however, Ezra returns again, making quite an entrance. When questioned about why he is not sitting shiva, Ezra cites "pikuach nefesh," the value of saving a life over all other aspects of Jewish observance. Of course, Ezra is really only concerned about a client in despair, and his violation hardly holds water. At the end of the episode, Ezra is seen leading visitors at his home in the Mourner's Kaddish, once again returned to his contemplative honoring of his late wife's memory.
This is not the first time that Showtime series have featured an unexpected infusion of Judaism. Both The Big C (as described in a previous post) and Weeds did so recently, and other shows such as The L Word have explored characters' Judaism in surprising depth and accuracy in the past. Gould is too good an actor not to showcase on a regular basis, and it stands to reason that Ezra will continue to have a part to play. Whether or not his Jewish identity recesses after his mourning period ends remains to be seen, but it's nice to see him embrace it in a time of crisis. If he falters, Ray can always rely on his loyal henchman, the very obviously Israeli Avi, another supporting player who may have a bigger role to play.
7.8.13 at 8:20 am | A look at Showtime's newest series and its major. . .
5.21.13 at 5:06 am | Cathy finds religion - sort of - in the series. . .
5.17.13 at 4:49 am | An overview of the themes and plot points from. . .
4.28.13 at 10:29 am | A look at those films from the 2013 Tribeca Film. . .
4.7.13 at 6:55 am | Jewish Superman is an unexpected character in the. . .
3.24.13 at 6:48 am | A look at a terrific Passover seder scene from. . .
3.11.13 at 5:24 am | A look at Seth Rogen's recent guest appearance on. . . (5)
7.8.13 at 8:20 am | A look at Showtime's newest series and its major. . . (4)
1.28.13 at 3:33 pm | Don't miss Fill the Void, an incredibly strong. . . (4)
May 21, 2013 | 5:06 am
Posted by Abe Fried-Tanzer
Last night, Showtime's The Big C aired its final episode. After three seasons of half-hour installments, this comedy returned for a shortened final season consisting of four hour-long episodes. Subtitled The Big C: Hereafter, this final round took a more dramatic approach as protagonist Cathy (Laura Linney) entered the more serious stages of her cancer. As expected, the finale was extremely emotional, and provided a fitting sendoff to Cathy and her television family.
About ten minutes into the episode, Cathy sits in hospice and notices a priest, a rabbi, and an imam walk in to the room. Acknowledging that this could well be the start to a punch line, Cathy seizes on the opportunity to talk to the three clergy members to ask them about death. The rabbi is overdressed for the occasion, understandably wearing a yarmulke to signify that she is in fact a rabbi but unnecessarily also wearing a tallit (prayer shawl) in case viewers were unclear. This excess wardrobe is, however, made up for by the quality of what she says to Cathy. Like another Showtime series that was paired with The Big C on several occasions, Weeds, this show has surprisingly deep Jewish thoughts.
The rabbi tells Cathy that Judaism focuses on "Olam Hazeh," the here and now, and then quotes a famous midrash that describes souls in the afterlife sitting down to a huge buffet. Cathy's adopted daughter Andrea chimes in at this point that she likes Jewish food, and the priest heartily agrees. The imam states that illness does not exist just to test the sick, but also to show the compassion and generosity of others. This notion is similar to the idea that the Misheberach, a prayer for those in need of healing, and the Mourner's Kaddish, recited by those who have lost loved ones after their death, are both just as much about providing consolation to the person saying the blessing as the one for whom it is said. In addition to prayers from the priest and the imam, Cathy receives her own Misheberach before leaving hospice.
Cathy has always been a character who has greeted her illness in an unusual way, refusing to be bogged down by the certainty that she will succumb to the disease and instead choosing to embrace life. Throughout the show's four seasons, she has prepared for the eventuality of her death, buying her son gifts for a number of birthdays in the future, and, more recently, planning the details of her own funeral. Her openness to the concept of religion and its healing power, however minor, is both surprising and affirming. Perhaps best looked at as a necessary step on the road to accepting her condition, it serves as a warm – and wonderfully inclusive – look at what religion can mean to those who are not religious in a time of need.
That doesn't mean that Cathy takes her encounter with Judaism to heart, of course. When she returns to her home after her insurance no longer covers hospice, Cathy learns from her new nurse that lard is a crucial ingredient of any good pie crust. She confirms that the decidedly unkosher substance is a "dirty word," yet still promises to bring Cathy a pie. Though I won't spoil the details of the episode, I will confirm that Cathy has the opportunity to enjoy a piece of strawberry rhubarb pie, lard and all, before the end of the episode. Some people like Jewish food, and others aren't that particular. For Cathy, she got to experience a meaningful moment of Judaism and eat her cake (pie) too.
May 17, 2013 | 4:49 am
Posted by Abe Fried-Tanzer
Opening this weekend at Laemmle's Music Hall 3 is a very hot-button new documentary called State 194, which follows the recent history of Palestine. Many will approach this film with trepidation, since it is difficult to find any piece of journalism, be it in print or on film, which does not choose sides, demonizing either Israel or the Palestinian Authority for its lack of participation in the peace process. State 194 centers on the trajectory of the construction of the state of Palestine as a political entity and comes close to a balanced perspective in its imperfect portrayal of a complicated situation.
State 194 starts in 1947 and runs up until the present day. Salam Fayyad, who served as Prime Minister of the Palestinian Authority until last month, is the film's protagonist. He stresses the importance of building institutions that can sustain a state before building the state itself, copying the successful Israeli model employed decades earlier. Fayyad travels throughout his land overseeing construction projects and championing the right of the Palestinians to have their own state. Palestinian bloggers appear, advocating for peaceful resistance, and the Parents Circle, a group of Israeli and Palestinian families who have lost children in the conflict, is seen frequently educating those on both sides about the vitality of a two-state solution.
Difficult subjects like settlement building and terrorist activity are acknowledged, if not fully covered. Israelis are interviewed and showcased, explaining their perspectives on what they see as obstacles to peace. Former Shin Bet director Avi Dichter, last seen arguing vigilantly for the Palestinian cause in the Oscar-nominated documentary The Gatekeepers, points out that terrorism does exist in Gaza. Tzipi Livni, a past candidate for the Israeli Prime Minister post, meets with residents of settlements to voice her feelings about continued building as problematic. The scathing and emotional critique of settlements, including a boycott on settler goods, dominates the film's second half, while the reverberations of the 2005 Israeli disengagement from Gaza, portrayed so powerfully in the documentary Unsettled, which showed at film festivals in 2007, is touched on only lightly.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu enters the picture in the film's third act, making a tour emphasizing that the peace process must involve the Israeli people because it cannot be achieved otherwise. The film almost achieves true neutrality when it includes a clip from the AIPAC Policy Conference in 2011, though its effectiveness is minimal since it merely serves to underscore Netanyahu's commitment to a defense of current borders. J Street, on the other hand, gets a good deal of screen time, as executive director Jeremy Ben-Ami voices his opinions on what the Palestinians need. The film closes with the words "The time to act is now," implying that this issue is far from resolved.
There are moments when it seems like State 194 truly does see the whole picture, but its trajectory ultimately implies that, much like the Palestinian bid for statehood to the United Nations, this is a process that need not be resolved through negotiation but through political action. Director Dan Setton's previous films have examined Jewish participation in terror and concentration camps, among other things, and while a liberal-minded investigative Israeli journalist is a positive notion, it would be reassuring to see a project that is both pro-Palestinian and pro-Israeli, equally applauding both sides for their efforts and sternly instructing them both on what each needs to bring to the table next.
April 28, 2013 | 10:29 am
Posted by Abe Fried-Tanzer
Today concludes the 2013 Tribeca Film Festival, which marks the twelfth year of this New York-based cinema extravaganza. It's no surprise that, among the over two hundred feature-length and short films showcased, a few of them deal with Jewish themes or come from Israel. One short, The Cup Reader, despite being listed as coming from the "Occupied Palestinian Territories," avoids any sort of controversy or conflict in its subject matter, instead offering an amusing and entertaining take on cultural interpretations of romance and fate.
The three films attributed to Israel this year all embrace extremely intriguing topics. Big Bad Wolves, from directing duo Navot Papushado and Aharon Keshales, who premiered their previous film, Rabies, at Tribeca two years ago, once again delve into the horror genre to create a frightening film starring omnipresent Israeli superstar Lior Ashkenazi. Documentary Dancing in Jaffa explores ballroom dancing in the multicultural city and how it can bring people of different backgrounds together. Six Acts is a surprisingly explicit and unsettling portrait of teenage romance and the pitfalls of popularity and promiscuity. It's an unexpected, inarguably diverse slate that demonstrates that, even with just a few films on the docket, Israel has plenty to say and to contribute to the movie world.
And then there's a short subject documentary about one of the most filmed Jewish topics: the Holocaust. Reporting on the Times: The New York Times and the Holocaust runs eighteen minutes and was shown as part of the "History Lessons" shorts program, which also features shorts on guns, sports, and rock and roll. What this particular history lesson covers is the fact that the New York Times ran precious few stories during the Holocaust about what was happening to Jews throughout Europe and in the Nazi camps, and those that did make it to print were buried in the back pages.
This information may not be startling to some, but it is jarring to think that the world really didn't know what was going on during the Holocaust, partly because the horrific stories submitted to and written by reporters for the Times were ultimately shelved. Those interviewed in the film acknowledge that we have no way of knowing if things would actually have turned out differently had the stories of murder and extermination been plastered on the front page, and that it's much easier to look back now and analyze how things should or could have been.
One of the main reasons that the Times shied away from focusing too heavily on reporting about Jews is that its publisher, Arthur Ochs Sulzberger, was Jewish. To compensate for his religious affiliation, which was hardly a secret, Sulzberger was nervous about over-relying on his heritage and turning off readers. It's likely that, had the Times published stories about atrocities in Europe on a regular basis, it would have exposed the American readership to more but also been deemed a personal pulpit for Sulzberger to advocate for his people. The eternal question, once again, is whether it would have made a difference.
Reporting on the Times offers incredible statistics about the sparse nature of Holocaust coverage which prove mind-blogging in an age where information is so readily available and nothing goes unreported for long. While genocides in Rwanda, Sudan, and other places occurred without much direct interference from the world, watching as the U.S. now gives aid to rebels in Syria and steps up to its internally perceived role as world peacekeeper, it's astonishing to think how much difference awareness makes. This documentary may be brief, but what it represents is thought-provoking and completely relevant to world happenings today.
April 7, 2013 | 6:55 am
Posted by Abe Fried-Tanzer
Sometimes, a mention of Judaism on television just comes from completely out of nowhere. When I sat down to watch the premiere episode of ABC's new comedy How to Live with Your Parents (For the Rest of Your Life) last Wednesday night, I wasn't expecting to hear anything about Judaism. Perhaps I should have suspected something, given that Elizabeth Perkins was a series regular for years on Weeds, a show that actually managed to address Judaism in a coherent and detailed way, and Brad Garrett famously referenced his Judaism with a joke about Jews breaking into show business when he won one of his Emmys for his work on Everybody Loves Raymond (Perkins was a multiple-time Emmy nominee also). Yet this show's intersection with Judaism had nothing to do with the grandparents played by Perkins and Garrett.
The show's title sums up its focus, which finds Polly (Sarah Chalke) coming with her young daughter to live with her parents, portrayed by Perkins and Garrett, after separating from her kindhearted but irresponsible husband. The ex, Julian, is still in the picture, coming by very frequently to try to innocently assert his place in the family, but Polly isn't opposed to the idea of dating. While she touts her skills as a juice bar employee and playfully interrupts her manager's attempts to speak to her by turning on her blender, she is surprised to learn that a frequent customer of the juice bar is in fact interested in asking her out. That customer? Jewish Superman.
Why her prospective new boyfriend is called Jewish Superman is a mystery. Perhaps it's meant to refer to his physical appearance or his money-related tendencies, but there's nothing to illustrate either of those things. Instead, while out on his date, Jewish Superman suggests to Polly that he shouldn't drink since he took medication which does not interact well with alcohol. Familiar with the medication after years of living with her alcoholic mother, Polly assures him that it will be fine. Several drinks later, Jewish Superman is completely out of commission, and after hi-jinks at Polly's home result in Polly driving him home with Julian, he ends up left unconsciousness outside his house while the alarm goes off, triggered by Julian's ill-advised attempt to break into his home and leave him inside.
That doesn't exactly recommend the concept of Jewish Superman too well, unable to hold his liquor and relegated to a punch line after serving no practical purpose throughout the episode. This show just got started, and it's a peculiar thing to feature in its first episode, mainly since there's no point or relevance to it. Why this character had to be Jewish or to be referred to by that odd nickname is unknown, and I wouldn't call it especially positive or creative. I'm not opposed to seeing how the show does in its second week, but this first airing left me with an odd taste in my mouth.
March 24, 2013 | 6:48 am
Posted by Abe Fried-Tanzer
When I think about Passover on film, there are two different types of stories. The Ten Commandments and The Prince of Egypt are two diverse examples of realizations of the Passover story, which each picked up one Oscar apiece, for Best Visual Effects and Best Original Song, respectively. Remembering the exodus is a crucial part of the Passover seder, but seeing the Passover seder on screen can be compelling too. It didn't win any of its three Oscar bids, but Woody Allen's Crimes and Misdemeanors uses its Passover seder to excellent dramatic effect.
Woody Allen got his Oscar start in 1977 in a big way, winning Best Director and Best Original Screenplay for Annie Hall and earning his one and only Best Actor nomination. His film also won Best Picture. Annie Hall already represented a departure from Allen's sillier previous works, and the following year he netted Best Director and Best Original Screenplay bids for the even more serious Interiors. By the time Crimes and Misdemeanors was released, in 1989, Allen had picked up an additional seven nominations and one win, for penning the script to Hannah and Her Sisters.
Crimes and Misdemeanors, like all Allen films, presents a charismatic, conflicted individual at its center, one who is moderately successful but hardly happy enough to stay monogamous. The film splits its time between that thread and a far more comic one, which features Allen as a squirrely filmmaker and Alan Alda as his pretentious brother-in-law. In the primary plotline, Martin Landau, who scored a second consecutive Oscar nomination for this role, stars as Judah Rosenthal, an ophthalmologist who has the typical Allen problem of being both married and in another committed relationship. When Anjelica Huston's mistress informs Judah that she plans on telling his wife, he consults two future Law and Order stars, Sam Waterston's rabbi and Jerry Orbach's brother, and decides to have her killed.
This sharp and dramatic event prompts Judah to contemplate the severity and impact of his actions. The film's best scene finds Judah wandering back to his childhood home and asking its new owner for a few moments to look around. After a minute, Judah conjures up a Passover seder he remembers, where his father struggles to lead a prayer-filled service, only to be interrupted constantly by the naysayers in his family. Judah listens as his father is accused of exhausting "mumbo-jumbo" and superstitions, and is told that he is afraid that, if he does not obey the rules, God will punish him. He replies that God punishes only the wicked, which prompts Judah to become a living character in his own memory, asking what happens if a man commits a crime, and if he kills. "One way or another, he'll be punished," his father tells him. When he is told that murder is murder, Judah responds in shock, "Who said anything about murder?" His aunt concludes, ultimately, that he will be fine if he can do it and get away with it and not be bothered by it. The scene ends as Judah's father defends his convictions, saying that, even if all his faith is wrong, he'll still have a better life than those who doubt.
This philosophical and religious discussion represents a sincere enhancement over the admittedly hilarious "D'Jew" obsession Allen's character Alvy Singer has in Annie Hall. At another point in that classic film, Alvy has dinner with his Christian girlfriend's family and imagines himself perceived in Hasidic garb by her anti-Semitic grandmother, while the tranquility of that meal is compared with a loud and boisterous Singer family dinner. What Crimes and Misdemeanors represents is a somber, important investigation into the Judaism that has helped to shape Judah's life, and comes back to him only when he has done something truly immoral. Right before a holiday so centered around food, this particular meal is excellent food for thought.
March 11, 2013 | 5:24 am
Posted by Abe Fried-Tanzer
FOX's successful new comedy, The Mindy Project, which just got renewed for a second season, won't air a new episode until next week, but its most recent installment contains a highly worthwhile encounter with Judaism. For those unfamiliar with the show, series creator Mindy Kaling portrays spunky young doctor Mindy Lahiri, who, among other peppy traits, has an immutable fondness for romantic comedies. Some previous episodes begin with her recounting the splendor of romance in the movies and how it doesn't always play out in real life. Episode sixteen, "The One That Got Away," starts somewhere different: Mindy's childhood days at a Jewish summer camp.
Mindy begins by recalling that her parents would only send her to a sleepaway camp if it was in the "gentle hands of the Jews of the Berkshires." Upon arrival, Mindy notices a definite difference in her appearance when compared with the rest of the campers, and, one day at lunch, she is interrogated about her religion. After explaining that Camp Takanac has been open to non-Jewish campers since a court case (Chan vs. Takanac) in 1989, Mindy is rescued by the curly-haired Sam, who tells his friend that she is Sephardic. When she questions him about the remark, he skips the explanation and assures her that the joke landed.
That subtle moment is the catalyst for the entire episode, and it's interesting to see such a quick reference that many viewers won't understand serve as the beginning of a great friendship. It's especially notable when taken next to the subject of my previous post, Seth MacFarlane's poorly-received Jewish joke at the Oscars, something which everyone watching definitely understood. Sam is Jewish because he is at Jewish summer camp, with only his typically Jewish appearance to help identify him further. Aside from a slight instance of intolerance from that other camper, Jews get a pretty good reputation in this episode, and it only helps that Sam has grown up into someone who happens to look a lot like Seth Rogen.
Rogen's casting seems obvious, but it merits further examination. Rogen recently starred in the comedy The Guilt Trip opposite Barbra Streisand, as a budding entrepreneur who ill-advisedly asks his mother along on a business road trip. I spotted a challah on a Friday night dinner table, but otherwise Judaism is never mentioned, a puzzling move for a film with such prominent Jewish actors, both of whom have hardly kept their Jewish heritage secret. It's particularly jarring considering an earlier Rogen role, one that he himself wrote, which was as Officer Michaels in Superbad. In one hilarious scene, dumb cop Michaels gets a description of a robbery suspect from a store clerk and concludes that he must be a Jewish African because he looks both like the African-American clerk and his character, who is, unsurprisingly, a Jew. Rogen milks his religion for all the comedy it's worth.
As Sam, Rogen doesn't reference his Judaism, leaving that to Kole Selznick Hoffman, who portrays the younger Sam at Camp Takanac. What Sam represents, however, is a missed opportunity for Mindy, who could have had this wonderful romance with her dream guy, funny, charming, and attractive. Sam's enlistment in the military prohibits him from sticking around to pursue a relationship, and, after a short time of exploration and intimacy, he is gone, just another whirlwind adventure in Mindy's story book. Objectively, there was no reason Sam needed to be Jewish, and it's fun to see this positively-portrayed character pop up with a genuine and familiar back story.
February 26, 2013 | 9:36 am
Posted by Abe Fried-Tanzer
Most of the winners were expected, and the speeches weren't groundbreaking or over-the-top, especially since some of the lesser-known winners had their thank-yous unceremoniously cut off by the main theme from Jaws. Tributes to the James Bond franchise and recent musicals dominated a portion of the evening, and audience members gasped at the first tie in almost two decades, which happened in the Best Sound Editing race. Yet one of the evening's briefest moments has been the talk of many blogs and articles since the show, and that was the appearance of Ted, voiced by host Seth MacFarlane.
After introducing the awards with the assistance of William Shatner's Captain James Kirk, who warned MacFarlane about all of the offensive things he did in an alternate future during the show to merit an awful review, his most memorable potential misstep came when he wasn't even seen on stage. The central character of his successful June comedy, foul-mouthed teddy bear Ted, came out to announce a category with Mark Wahlberg. Ted proceeded to recognize several actors present – Alan Arkin, Daniel Day-Lewis, and Joaquin Phoenix – noting that they all had Jewish heritage. He then asked Wahlberg if he was Jewish, and, after hearing that he was in fact Catholic, told him "wrong answer" and suggested that he should be Jewish and donate to Israel if he wants to continue working in Hollywood. Ted closed his speech with a mention of receiving a private plane at the next secret synagogue meeting.
It's actually surprising that this was the sole Jewish moment of the Oscars this year. Other awards shows in the past have had equally humorous Jewish shout-outs, like Brad Garrett's proclamation upon winning an Emmy for Everybody Loves Raymond that his victory could pave the way for Jews to finally break into Hollywood. What Ted said, however, has earned criticism from, among others, the Anti-Defamation League, which deemed it "offensive and not remotely funny." Jewish Journal editor-in-chief Rob Eshman took the time to respond to that statement, explaining that this could be an opportunity for people to look at why Hollywood is so populated by Jews in a positive manner.
More interesting is the timing of Ted's words. This ceremony was otherwise completely Judaism-free. While some of the winners, Day-Lewis being the most notable, have Jewish ancestry, almost none of the films nominated had Jewish content. Christoph Waltz won his first Oscar three years ago for playing a Nazi in Inglourious Basterds, a film with much controversial Jewish content, and this year triumphed for Django Unchained, a film with wholly different themes. Helen Hunt's role in The Sessions was the only overt instance of Judaism I found among this year's nominees. Ted's quip about donating to Israel was especially interesting considering two of the nominees for Best Documentary Feature. 5 Broken Cameras and The Gatekeepers both espouse opinions that run contrary to Israeli public policy. Calls for donations to Israel from Hollywood at this time seem unlikely at best.
Ted's remark has troubled many, but it seems more representative of the fact that, with the percentage of Hollywood that is made up of Jews, that population is entitled to one joke over the course of a three-and-a-half-hour telecast. Ted didn't specifically disparage anyone, and though the connotations of donating to Israel might suggest otherwise, being money-grubbing wasn't a characteristic attributed to the Jews. MacFarlane didn't come on to the Oscars purporting to be safe, and while some were also put off by his alleged sexism and racism, I think most people got what they expected from this boundary-pushing comedian who, to be frank, didn't push the envelope all that far. Ricky Gervais closed one of his Golden Globes telecasts by thanking God for making him an atheist, and MacFarlane's sins wee hardly more severe.


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Hudson Star Observer
Compromise in works on frac-sand proposal; P&P officer accused of lobster theft, more state news
Common Core vote expected Thursday; Iron River couple found murdered; more state briefs
Reindeer in the Park moved because of cold weather
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June 13, 2013
Day by Day: Head in the clouds takes some getting used to
I had thought the day when I found myself in a cloud, I would be dead, resting in peace somewhere. Instead here I am working in one every day -- just wishing I was. It happened a couple of months back. The Star-Observer is being created in "the cloud," or at least I think it is....
opinion / columns
June 13, 2013 - 8:20am
June 5, 2013
Margaret's Musings: The rule of law?
You never know what might come across your path. On a recent trip to visit family and friends these are some of the statements that were made: "The Koch Brothers are evil. They are Nazis."; "Our government is two hundred years old.
opinion / columns / government
June 5, 2013 - 11:46am
May 24, 2013
Jon's Jottings: On Memorial Day, remember those who went before
The origins of Memorial Day, when citizens honor those who paid the ultimate price for American during all conflicts, goes back to the years...
opinion / columns
May 24, 2013 - 9:04am
May 20, 2013
Guest view: Board members have access to district records
All Board of Education members have access to the information they need about the district and our work. This includes, and is not limited to, access to public records of the district and responses to questions about those records. No board members are treated differently in this...
opinion / columns / education
May 20, 2013 - 10:07am
May 16, 2013
Book Report: The choice is yours: Lovely poems, exploding tourism
University of Iowa Press has just re-issued a book of poetry by Philip Levine, winner both the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry and the National Book Award, and who served for a year as United States Poet Laureate. The book is "Sweet Will," published by Prairie Lights after being out of...
columns / life
May 16, 2013 - 4:36pm
May 3, 2013
Doug's Diggings: New photos of '65 flood
The Star-Observer ran a few historic photos this spring regarding the 1965 flood. The flood, of course, was the worst ever recorded in Hudson,...
opinion / columns
May 3, 2013 - 9:53am
April 25, 2013
Randy's Ramblings: Grifter takes advantage of people's generosity
I'd rather report the news than be a part of it. Nevertheless, the line got blurred for me on Wednesday of last week. After the morning staff meeting to semi-plan this week's Star-Observer, I stopped by the Walmart store to pick up a few items from the shopping list on our refrigerator...
opinion / columns
April 25, 2013 - 10:32am
April 17, 2013
DAY BY DAY: The time has come to talk openly about suicide
Over my 23 years as a reporter for the Star-Observer, I have told some pretty sad stories that have involved our families, friends and neighbors. They have included the loss of loved ones from disease, accidents, natural causes and even criminal acts. It is always difficult to tell...
opinion / columns / health
April 17, 2013 - 2:47pm
April 11, 2013
Book Report: Another word on former presidents; waxing poetic on the death of a fly
Three American presidents lead off this week's roster of books: Franklin Roosevelt, Dwight Eisenhower and Richard Nixon. You could fill libraries with what has already been written by these guys, but leave it to the scholars -- they can always find a niche that's unfilled. Such is...
columns / life
April 11, 2013 - 1:53pm
April 4, 2013
Book Report: A new Scandinavian thriller takes the stage
I'm way behind in my coverage of the Scandinavian thriller surge in world publishing, not having even read a Stieg Larsson thriller, so I'll try to make it up by reviewing a finely wrought thriller by first-time Swedish author Alexander Soderberg. It's "The Andalucian Friend," (Crown,...
columns / life
April 4, 2013 - 4:28pm
March 27, 2013
DAY BY DAY: Age, wisdom and a whole host of other myths wasting on the young
What a difference a year can make. When I turned 60 last April, it was hard on me. I usually don't mind birthdays but that one made me think about what it would be like to be young -- well at least younger. But here I am a year later now wishing I was 64, about to be 65, and done...
opinion / columns / politics
March 27, 2013 - 12:29pm
March 22, 2013
Book Report: Indiana, no, make that Wisconsin Jones
When I was a kid in a small Wisconsin grade school, one of my favorite subjects was Wisconsin history, taught to me by my sixth-grade teacher, Mrs. Lily Reich. One of our texts was a book called "Men Who Made Wisconsin" or something like that. The book contained brief profiles of...
columns / life
March 22, 2013 - 12:33pm
March 15, 2013
Margaret's Musings: Breaking the silence -- what does OFA mean to you?
Remember when politics was fun and friends could banter back and forth civilly? Over the last two years you have followed me on a discovery journey. Completely lost is my naïve attitude that all is right with the world as long as one simply votes. I find that, given the opportunity...
opinion / columns / politics
March 15, 2013 - 11:21am
March 14, 2013
Book Report: Glowing endorsements for new poet
River Falls poet Thomas R. Smith writes that Kristin Laurel's new book of poetry will "burn itself on your memory." Minnesota poet Deborah Keenan writes that Laurel's work is "the start of a remarkable career." Endorsements from Smith and Keenan are good enough for me, so I plowed...
columns / life
March 14, 2013 - 9:45am
March 2, 2013
Doug's Diggings: Stupidity injury offers teachable moment
I suffered a stupidity injury on Valentine's Day. I somehow got into a fight with my snow blower -- guess who won. The result was an injured finger and a three-hour stint in the emergency room at Hudson Hospital on Valentine's evening. The reason I consider it a stupidity...
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March 2, 2013 - 10:22am
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I won't be going anywhere for quite awhile yet so don't get your hopes up--lol. And I'm still buying green bananas
Shortly after this post Tom passed away from Colon Cancer. I can personally tell you, along with many of the original members of this site that Tom was a a true gentlemen and an asset to any site he belonged to.
In 2005 he was voted "2005 Best Non-Jets Poster", which showed, even as a Patriots fan, how loved and appreciated he was on this site. He had over eleven hundred posts full of insight and knowledge, and while he loved the Pats, he was always the first to congradulate us on a Jets victory.
For some time now the Moderators and some older members have been trying to decide how to honor Tom on this site. We have decided to rename The Big Dog Cigar Bar in his honor. He enjoyed that forum and on any given night you could run into him trolling the posts.
So far we've come come up with:
"The Nightowl Pub "
"Night Owl's Pub"
So before we change it, if anyone else has any suggestions please post them here? Thank you


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You're watching...
Secret to reducing stress
Mindfulness is a powerful practice for your mind and body. It's a technique that Marines, top athletes, CEOs and even members of Congress are using ...
Apr 23, 2012
Tim Ryan
You're watching...
Mindfulness is a powerful practice for your mind and body. It's a technique that Marines, top athletes, CEOs and even members of Congress are using ...
Apr 23, 2012
Tim Ryan
Also in this playlist...
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Auto-advanceThis transcript is automatically generated
Hello and welcome to health talk and Julie Banderas sitting in for Dr.
Manny mindful -- it is a powerful practice for your mind and body it's a technique that marines' top athletes CEOs and even members of congress are using.
To change their lives joining me now is congressman Tim Ryan he's the off there.
Of a mind formation thank you so much for coming in -- right first of all here we have your book in front of me.
What is mindful the next.
Mindful -- is paying attention to the present moment on purpose.
Wherever that moment is bringing -- so you and I talking right now or.
Putting on our socks or dancing or swimming or running -- at whatever moment you're end.
It's about disciplining your mind and having that mental discipline to really ground yourself into the present moment.
And everyone can do it and that changes everything.
You know it does because when you say -- it reminds me of interviewing when you -- someone you can watch how some people tend to listen right there mindful of what their guest is saying and rationing tuna but often times people will be having a conversation but really their mind is somewhere else right.
And it does affect your overall performance at work.
Sure -- it's it's not productive with your awareness is on something else while you're doing a task one of the great examples is when you get the car and you start driving in the end up somewhere and you think.
How -- I get here I now think you're -- hearing running.
And that can bring a lot of anxiety.
And that stress level can cause a lot of health issues.
Decrease in your immune function from heart disease high blood pressure type two diabetes -- all of these things and then we as Americans spend a lot of money on prescription drugs.
And even the prevention methods that we have now the screenings your blood pressure whatever.
It's still down -- what's causing your heart disease now you know what's causing your high blood pressure.
It's in many instances -- stress and so we have a very simple cheap effective technique that we can all use and learn to reduce our she.
-- in mind over matter I mean we've all heard of that expression it really really does ring true here but why we.
I guess less mindful now more than ever.
I think the information that the speed of our society right now in many instances the inequality the gap in between the rich and the poor the anxiety of just trying to make and -- make ends meet -- fifty years ago.
You know we had a stronger middle class and we have today.
And all of that life so much simpler life and I talk a lot about -- my information about my tying grand parents Jeff who my grandfather worked at a -- will -- a good living he get off work at 3 o'clock.
He go work in his garden -- at happy hour there'd be a family dinner together we can picnics with the family you know that was a simpler time and I think actually.
We want to get back there I think that's really where all the anxiety in our politics and our discourse of coming from we're not living in the kind of like you know -- There is so true getting back to back because it when you talk about people over prescribing themselves and not -- true there are so many people that are -- themselves from these disorders that did not.
-- they just did not exist back in the day and we you'll find.
Right I mean it it seems that that.
The lack of mindful -- is is is bringing down our society as a whole I mean how do you find found mindful this to be useful in your life for.
-- of disturbed stress reducer and helps you not just take in all of the negative information I mean think about all the information we have today you can -- -- -- -- Tokyo newspaper on your iPhone right now and all of the information is bombarding you so.
This is why it's important and schools we yell -- our kids to pay attention but we never teach them how to pay attention when it's more essential and it's ever been because of all this information coming in.
My infamous if you're wired -- present moment like a finely tuned athlete you're gonna pick which information is really essential for you to have in what you need to let go by.
And if you start holding on to all of it the negative news in the newspaper and TV and everything in in your own life that builds up a certain amount of stress.
So how well are members of congress receiving the message of mindful -- -- if there are.
If there was one group of people that maybe too much going on in their mind is and congress I -- -- got a lot of prop.
Runs on -- Staff members of congress aren't any different than a single mom you know who's trying to make and meet or make ends meet or someone who's working double shifts are two jobs or whatever stress distress -- -- what you're rich and run and wild or you're.
You know trying to make ends meet -- family that's all that's all stress and what your body wants to do is naturally heal itself.
There's a great study we talk about an error of psoriasis patients -- -- one group just goes and you get a treatment in a light box and one.
Group just -- and another group one in practice mindful -- the mindful in this group because the study suggested they were reduce their stress killed four times quicker.
Then the group that just -- in -- your body wants to heal itself.
And what I'm saying is a policy -- is if we start teaching all of our citizens this technique we can prevent a lot of these problems we can heal quicker.
And save our health care I think hundreds of millions and if not billions of dollars in the long.
What kind of tips can you teach.
Those who are watching right now on what they can do to better their lives and better their health their mental health by by using some of these technique in the back of the book as a resource section Lugar and buying CDs of guided meditations you can see with the Marines are doing you know it's all basically the same technique to meditation -- -- -- meditation is is the essential one.
And it's basically your minds like of a boat.
And your breath as like an anchor.
That keep -- grounded and so you try to keep going back to your breath keep trying to ground yourself in your breath.
Because that's the present moment and you can find yourself over time if you practiced.
Where your mind's going it's going on problems that.
May never happen.
-- and the only way you'll be able to deal with that problem -- -- does happen is to be completely awake in the present moment -- and to start off just think about your socks when you're putting on your socks just focus on your gas prices as well John -- a great UCLA basketball coach that was his first.
That was his first class that was his first teaching of how to put on your side.
At a starting -- pay attention somewhere congressman Tim Ryan thank you very much pick up does become mindful nation it's a must read thank you very much -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- thank -- and that's gonna do it for me I'm Julie -- thanks for watching.
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State statutes require open and fair competitive examinations to measure specific job-related knowledge, skills, abilities, behaviors, and other competencies of qualified applicants. Examinations may include, but are not limited to, one or more of the following: written, performance, oral, panel assessment device, physical, training evaluations, experience evaluations, or performance evaluation ratings. If multiple components are used in an examination process, applicants may be required to pass one component before proceeding to the next component.
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You're watching...
Who deserves to be 'Person of the Year'?
'The Five' sound off
Dec 13, 2012
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'The Five' sound off
Dec 13, 2012
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Welcome back to the Bible Barbara Walters revealed her most fascinating person pick last night and we'll tell you our thoughts on that in a moment.
But first her -- inspired -- along with time magazine's upcoming person of the year naming.
To hit the streets and ask Americans who they think deserve the type.
What do you think should be.
Person of the year.
Hey that's.
-- that and accident.
Zealand and some of the president.
I think Mitt Romney.
I think I mean it's hard to be the runner up yeah.
While buffalo -- -- there's not Santa Claus the vs you who.
You noted a four year old girl just gave me that exact same answer great minds think they'll like -- the.
-- -- with that I should be person of the year for putting up with you Bob.
I'm like yeah okay right okay so last night Barbara Walters went down -- list of the most fascinating people on it was.
Ben Affleck I guess.
Greg you can make a lot of movies and to have -- bombing you can still be considered fascinating -- Douglas EL James the author of fifty shades of gray.
One direction and Prince Harry.
But she also put Chris Christie.
On her list.
And last night she asked him and this is one of the reasons why I love Barbara Walters.
He had the guts asking a question that a lot of people have been talking about his way.
There are people who say that you.
Couldn't be president because you saw happening what do you say to -- That's ridiculous.
We that's ridiculous for people watched me for the last number -- -- -- -- doing eighteen hour days so I don't really think that would be a problem.
What do you think what -- what -- what a week in week question there are people who say.
Barbara who said -- he would use static from departments is -- I think your fat.
I think you're fat that's a decent associated there are people who say what -- what seaquest registry you don't.
We hope that a lot of people talk about that a lot of people who.
Mean I -- yeah yeah I don't know they say.
They say yeah they say so some day today -- they are already warning here's another example of something that who say who I can't about which -- Kids and he got Hillary Clinton and -- of her listen to this she asked the question.
About Hillary's or something we don't think about.
You hear me.
-- -- I know that it's one of the great to have facet nations of arts high and to my amazement I do not travel with any.
Hairdresser and I'm not very competent myself I didn't admitting that for years -- -- should be obvious to everyone so.
I said enough we're just gonna try to go with that as simple as possible.
Somebody explained in the first off who's his band that they named -- heard of before and they've cheaper honey Google or any -- That that little chick -- that get more publicity for doing nothing.
But livid it without them I'm glad that actually got a -- of little it says most fascinating at the bottom as you find your best I don't.
I do well if we talk about it and everyone wants to hear how proud I got back to wrap half the group at the people who watch are -- the other half are enamored.
That's fascinating that's she's right of that little kids.
Really that we'll kick it adds up but lately there's been quite a division of the -- is it.
It would have one player and -- like your daughter play like them maybe might be updating you have a one direction lunch -- Yes but I haven't haven't let up for every day of the week yet Monday through Friday and it I think my lunch and it's very well bounce all the little like baby and it's -- -- little I -- how you view you that you used -- -- little happy face on your -- Do breaking and what do you think of the list I have.
I don't I liked Hillary Clinton adding that that was what I have to that you don't Clinton.
Was pretty fascinating series came back from kind of -- have been out the public I much it helps President Obama win again I was weird I I would've put.
I public's help monolith please note that it looks very good reason.
-- you know you've got -- -- -- -- -- the week.
And her top number number one yet and number one is David Petraeus and I actually I agree without -- Creative very good point it does it didn't break is what they've changed don't this year chipped it and there was too he's done I looked I looked up we got coming up -- I get -- -- on her back alienating person to -- who think you'll uses the word.
When they're describing somebody nobody -- don't.
-- to decide for me real good -- go hey.
Hey I just render the most fascinating person no planets are fascinating.
Scientific discoveries are fascinating.
-- is fascinating people not fascinating people of people.
Well that I had time.
Comments later tonight and I go to Vegas and that national finals rodeo I'll tell you might think Blake Shelton should have been on the light he -- a good reason not just because he didn't think -- -- -- began but -- dive for.
-- -- -- -- -- -- I just to keep in the Ramona and let it be one of the most that's -- thing I didn't you know -- On that note you're absolutely right Bob you might just be the most -- everything at least here at the spot.
They the broke the bullet just -- -- sand coming.
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Lawyers for Beats Electronics filed the lawsuit against Yamaha Corporation of America last week, in US District Court, Central District of California.
The lawsuit claims that Yamaha is marketing a line of "PRO" headphones that copy the design of Dr.


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December 13, 2013, 02:10:33 PM
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Topic: The best city in China to live in... (Read 3144 times)
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Posts: 2102
Re: The best city in China to live in...
Reply #15 on:
October 28, 2010, 03:04:53 AM »
mixed feelings about DL. Some scenery, but not a lot. I still love walking along Binhai lu, and hiking up Dahei shan, but after that it gets a bit thin. A few nice parks.
Shopping has definitely changed in the past 8 years. It ain't BJ or Shangers, but DL is definitely getting its share of big-city neon and flash and big city prices. Problem is no one seems to have money to buy right now.
Traffic has definitely gotten worse in the 8 years I've been here. That not only makes the daily grind that much worse, it also adds to the noticeable deterioration of air quality. Then there was the oil spill this summer. Officials are all beaming with pride about how quickly and how well it was cleaned up. Hmm. I've given up eating seafood for a while. To tell the truth, even before the spill I'd noticed that the beaches weren't as clean as they used to be. That many people using them, that much more garbage in the water.
Maybe I'm jaded, maybe its time to move. But after 8 years, this place is home to me now, warts and all.
The Local Dialect
Global Moderator
Posts: 3519
Re: The best city in China to live in...
Reply #16 on:
October 28, 2010, 03:06:30 AM »
Quote from: mlaeux on October 28, 2010, 01:51:42 AM
What about Beijing?
Real estate prices in Beijing are way too high. I seriously could buy a house back home in the States for less than what it would cost to buy a modest apartment in Beijing. I don't think buying here is realistic unless you buy outside of the city, but then you need a car to get anywhere.
I lived in Kunming for five years and loved it but when my husband and I have talked about purchasing an apartment in China we've mostly been considering the area around Lijiang. The only drawback is that local schools there are awful and there are no international schools, but that wouldn't be a concern for everyone. It really depends what you're going for though -- convenience, natural beauty, availability of Western stuff, housing prices, etc.
I think Kunming (or Lijiang, Dali), Xiamen, Hangzhou, Suzhou, Dalian, Zhuhai, Sanya, and Guilin would all be decent choices, depending on what it is you're looking for.
Lord of Avalon
Benevolent Despot
Posts: 2064
Re: The best city in China to live in...
Reply #17 on:
October 28, 2010, 03:12:46 AM »
Quote from: mlaeux on October 28, 2010, 01:51:42 AM
What about Beijing?
I wouldn't buy in Beijing.. price per sqm outside the 5th ring road is about 15,000 RMB/sqm . Downtown, we're looking at prices starting around 30,000rmb/sqm
Also, the pollution can get to you sometimes but it's been better than before. we're used to blue sky days whereas we only had half a dozen of them before
that said, I don't think i would be able to live anywhere else at this point. This city has something going on every walking hour of every walking day and it just does not stop... I love it.
alors régressons fatalement, eternellement. Des débutants, avec la peur comme exutoire à l'ignorance et Alzheimer en prof d'histoire de nos enfances!
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Con ate dog
Benevolent Despot Wearing a Stupid Paper Hat That Says "Trainee"
Posts: 5047
Re: The best city in China to live in...
Reply #18 on:
October 28, 2010, 03:11:49 PM »
Suzhou. Gorgeous. Real estate is high, but will just climb from here. Interesting things to see: ancient inner city full of canals, nearby water towns, Shanghai.
Chengdu's pretty cool, too.
Depends in the end on your preferred climate, exciting/peaceful index, size and cuisine.
And there is no liar like the indignant man... -Nietszche
Nothing is so fatiguing as the eternal hanging on of an uncompleted task. -William James
Posts: 1634
Re: The best city in China to live in...
Reply #19 on:
November 17, 2010, 06:36:47 AM »
It also depends quite a lot on what you want to do, and what you want out of life.
The major coastal cities are where most of the action is. If you want a high-paying job, or if you have plenty of money and just want to be in a place with Western food, decent music, et cetera, then Shanghai or Beijing are first choices, with Hangzhou, Suzhou or Guangzhou close behind.
Just a nice coastal city with reasonable facilities but not too massive an expat scene? Xiamen, Zhuhai, Qingdao or Dalian might suit.
If you want exotic, lots of minority culture and a good base for travel, then the Southwest is one good place to be. Kunming or Chengdu top of the list if you want a city, Yangshuo or Dali for tourist towns, but there are almost no good teaching jobs there.
Alternately, for a more Silk Road and Muslim exotic China, perhaps Xi'an.
Who put a stop payment on my reality check?
Posts: 368
Re: The best city in China to live in...
Reply #20 on:
November 17, 2010, 07:20:54 AM »
I loved Harbin when I visited it.
Of course, you'd have to like the idea of your nuts getting frozen over for most of the year. But man, did they know how to throw a party... kinda nutcases up there. There's also warm wine and the Northern Lights, snow festvials and the ice city which is outstanding. Forests with tigers on the prowl (not many though) and cheapo caviar.
Train + China + Spring Festival = Torture
Posts: 224
Re: The best city in China to live in...
Reply #21 on:
December 09, 2010, 02:44:03 AM »
Quote from: pydilyk on October 26, 2010, 12:32:33 PM
xiamen is definitely up there with hangzhou for me
I heard from some people that Xiamen is nice place and one of the best cities in china to live in.I also like south.
Harbin is nice,but it's so cold there in winter, I don't like cold weather,moreover it's polluted.
Beijing is too crowded and polluted too. Dalian is not bad at all,I am also of good impression of Dalian, clean and nice sightseeings.Hangzhou is good for traveling, but not for living there,for it's heated not good in winter.
So,My choice now is Xiamen or Weihai.chengdu and Suzhou are also under consideration.
Thank you,guys!!!!
Posts: 2109
Re: The best city in China to live in...
Reply #22 on:
April 13, 2012, 05:51:27 AM »
Expats rank Chinese cities
BEIJING, Apil 10 (Xinhuanet) -- The results of the "2011 Amazing China— The Most Attractive Chinese Cities for Foreigners" election are released. Expats choose Beijing, Shanghai, Tianjin and other cities as China's 10 most attractive cities for foreigners.
More than 180,000 expats living in China participate the election through both paper and online voting, and about 1,000 have been surveyed during the second half of 2011 for their opinions on 18 aspects of Chinese cities. There are about 600,000 expats living in China, according to the 2010 national census.
Twenty cities emerged out of 353 Chinese cities (excluding Hong Kong SAR, Macau SAR and Taiwan) as candidates. Based on the results of both paper and online ballots, a list of the top 10 cities was compiled.
The cities that made the top 10 list are: Beijing, Shanghai, Tianjin, Shenzhen, Wuhan, Guangzhou, Suzhou, Chongqing, Xiamen and Hangzhou.
The "2011 Amazing China" election is the only Chinese city ranking based on the votes of expats in China. Votes are cast by expats in a wide array of professions and social ranks, ranging from Nobel Laureates and Chinese Friendship Award recipients to foreign employees based in China.
The survey collects opinions about four major indicators including policies, administration, working conditions and living environments of each candidate city. Each of the four indicators is further broken down into three to six subcategories where expats are invited to choose up to three of their favorite cities.
I have my standards. They may be low, but I have them.
- Bette Midler
Posts: 4294
Re: The best city in China to live in...
Reply #23 on:
April 13, 2012, 07:59:40 AM »
Did anyone here participate in this poll.
Posts: 921
Re: The best city in China to live in...
Reply #24 on:
April 13, 2012, 09:06:21 AM »
WTF, are these foreigners retards or something? Wuhan, chongqing...but no Hong Kong or Taibei? Weird. Maybe the participants weren't told they could choose those places, or like a lot of foreigners don't actually consider them part of China - Taiwan certainly isn't.
"Beijing is a wonderful city and with its history, culture and Olympic venues, is an excellent capital city that has a charm that is special and unique. The strong efforts being made to improve air quality and traffic control will make Beijing even more enjoyable." said William Peter Poirier, with his balls firmly pressed between a vice and in between violent bouts of coughing brought about by bronchitis.
And the pictures are nice but, c'moooooon hahaha.
Posts: 1229
Re: The best city in China to live in...
Reply #25 on:
April 14, 2012, 03:44:43 AM »
Quote from: NATO on April 13, 2012, 09:06:21 AM
WTF, are these foreigners retards or something? Wuhan, chongqing...but no Hong Kong or Taibei? Weird. Maybe the participants weren't told they could choose those places, or like a lot of foreigners don't actually consider them part of China - Taiwan certainly isn't.
Yeah, read it again, it says "excluding Tawain, HK and macau."
I'm not surprised about some, but I thought others, like Dalian or kunming would be on the list.
Posts: 921
Re: The best city in China to live in...
Reply #26 on:
April 14, 2012, 03:54:28 AM »
Oh right, haha. I read it on here and on the Xinhua website still came away thinking it said "including"
. Well I can calm down now and restore some of my faith in people.
Posts: 758
Re: The best city in China to live in...
Reply #27 on:
April 14, 2012, 04:01:32 AM »
but the big question is who they surveyed. From the description it would appear that most of those who voted were here on expat salaries so they are not focused on the same standards of living that those who are teachers would share. They can afford to go to the better locations within those cities that we would only see as we walk by on our way to the next hole in the wall.
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Create and Maintain Active Directory Objects
These questions are based on 70-640 – TS: Windows Server 2008 Active Directory, Configuring
Self Test Software Practice Test
Objective: Create and maintain Active Directory objects.
Sub-objective: Configure GPO templates.
Single answer, multiple-choice
You are the network administrator of your company. All servers on the network run Windows Server 2008. The company's network consists of a single Active Directory domain, and the client computers all run Windows Vista.
You create some custom ADMX language-specific files on your Windows Vista administrative workstation. You want to copy all language-specific ADML files to the central store on the domain controller to ensure the ADML files are automatically available to all Group Policy administrators in the domain. Which tool can you use to perform this task?
- Ntdsutil.exe.
- Group Policy Object Editor.
- Xcopy.exe.
- Group Policy Management Console.
C. Xcopy.exe.
You can use the Xcopy.exe tool to copy ADML files from your Windows Vista administrative workstation to the central store on the domain controller. The ADMX files are language-neutral resource files. The other type of registry-based policy settings are known as ADML files, which are language-specific resource files. ADMX and ADML files replace the ADM files that were used in earlier versions of Windows. To ensure ADMX files are recognized by Group Policy tools, such as GPMC and Group Policy Object Editor, you must be running a Windows Vista-based or Windows Server 2008-based computer. ADMX files are not stored in individual Group Policy Objects (GPOs).
If you have a domain environment, you can create a central store location of ADMX files that can be accessed by anyone with permission to create or edit GPOs. The central store is a folder created in the SYSVOL folder of an Active Directory domain controller and is used to provide a centralized storage location for ADMX and ADML files for the domain. In addition to storing the ADMX files shipped in the operating system in the central store, you also can share a custom ADMX file by copying the file to the central store, which makes it automatically available to all Group Policy administrators in a domain. The default location for .ADML files on a domain controller is the %systemroot%sysvoldomainpoliciesPolicyDefinitions[MUIculture] folder. For example, the United States English ADMX language-specific file will be stored in the %systemroot%sysvoldomainpoliciesPolicyDefinitionsen-us folder.
Windows Vista does not contain any user interface for populating the central store in Windows Vista. You can use the Xcopy.exe command-line tool to copy all ADMX language resource files from your Windows Vista administrative workstation to the central store on your domain controller. You should use the following syntax: xcopy %systemroot%PolicyDefinitionsEN-US* %logonserver%sysvol%userdnsdomain%policiesPolicyDefinitionsEN-US
The options stating Ntdsutil.exe, Group Policy Object Editor and Group Policy Management Console are incorrect because these tools cannot be used to copy all ADMX language resource files from your Windows Vista administrative workstation to the central store on your domain controller.