text:
Freeheld stumbles over too many hurdles to recommend it. The film's heart is in the right place, but its focus is not.
Freeheld stumbles over too many hurdles to recommend it. The film's heart is in the right place, but its focus is not.
Cassel's latest movie that smartly keeps his innate menace on a slow, low simmer, isn't nearly as convincing or compelling as its star.
"The Ballad of Narayama" is a Japanese film of great beauty and elegant artifice, telling a story of startling cruelty. What a space it opens…
Patrice Leconte's "Monsieur Hire" is a tragedy about loneliness and erotomania, told about two solitary people who have nothing else in common. It involves a…
A review of Steven Spielberg's "Bridge of Spies" from its NYFF premiere last night.
A NYFF report on new films from Chantal Akerman and Michel Gondry.
An article about "The BlackWhite Love Play."
Our monthly series digs into the career of Wes Craven and comes out with his 3D 2010 film, "My Soul to Take".
A FFC review of "The Look of Silence."
A review of "A Girl at My Door".
An obituary for filmmaker Chantal Akerman.
This month's short film, "Air Conditions," and an interview with its director.
* This filmography is not intended to be a comprehensive list of this artist's work. Instead it reflects the films this person has been involved with that have been reviewed on this site.
Highlights of the live-action portion of 2015's D23, featuring "Star Wars: The Force Awakens," "Captain America: Civil War," and more!
When Harvey Weinstein is in the house, you know it's a big deal. After all, one of his possible Academy-bait babies was taking its first steps in public at the bustling Scotiabank theaters before the press and industry on Monday. He is not going to leave that special occasion to chance.Day 5 at Toronto brought the unveiling one of the most anticipated pieces of the Oscar-prediction puzzle—"August: Osage County" a.k.a. When Meryl Met Julia—and, judging from the "I like it but…" comments exchanged by audience members as the film came to a close, the reaction was one of tempered admiration.The comically caustic domestic situation, based on the 2008 Tony-winning play, concerns a contentious Oklahoma clan called the Westons who reunite following a family crisis. With a cast jammed with recognizable faces ranging from Sam Shepard's hard-drinking poet of a patriarch to Abigail Breslin's precocious pot-smoking teen, it sometimes comes off like one of those "We Are the World" all-star songs where everyone involved gets a for-your-consideration solo in order to shine.Of course, there are soloists and then there are divas. Nothing can be that bad when there's Meryl Streep as a pill-popping, cancer-ravaged matriarch who puts the diss in dysfunctional as she engages in a verbal dinner-table death match with movie daughter Julia Roberts. Imagine "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf" filtered through "Terms of Endearment." The explosive results left some in the theater gasping.A couple of the casting choices seem wonky (Ewan McGregor is out of place as Roberts' roaming husband while Dermot Mulroney is basically playing the Dermot Mulroney role as a sexy self-serving jerk).But some of the most enjoyable portions are when the Weston sisters—joining Roberts' Barbara are Juliette Lewis' flighty Karen and Julianne Nicholson as dark horse Ivy—kick back with glasses of wine and trade stories about their challenging mother and personal secrets.All could be up for Oscars, including Margo Martindale as Streep's big-mama of a sister. The real question is whether it can be justified to place either Streep or Roberts in a supporting category to avoid competing with one another since they are both clearly co-leads. And that is where the mighty Harvey comes in. It has been finally decided: Meryl is lead and Julia is supporting, The negotiations over Syria probably have nothing on the intense discussions that went into that move.As for best picture chances, that is up to Harvey and his magical marketing machine. "August: Osage County" is more certain to fill several acting nomination slots, but just the fact that Roberts and Streep—who have only previously collaborated in the animated "The Ant Bully"—are together at last is a powerful reason to applaud this movie as much as possible.
Marie writes: As the dog days of summer slowly creep towards September and Toronto starts getting ready for TIFF 2013, bringing with it the promise of unique and interesting foreign films, it brought to mind an old favorite, namely The Red Balloon; a thirty-four minute short which follows the adventures of a young boy who one day finds a sentient red balloon. Filmed in the Menilmontant neighborhood of Paris and directed by French filmmaker Albert Lamorisse, The Red Balloon went on to win numerous awards and has since become a much-beloved Children's Classic.
Marie writes: Welcome to "Good Books", an online bookseller based in New Zealand. Every time you buy a book through them, 100% of the retail profit goes directly to fund projects in partnership with Oxfam; projects which provide clean water, sanitation, develop sustainable agriculture and create access to education for communities in need. To increase awareness of Good Books' efforts to raise money for Oxfam, String Theory (New Zeland based agency) teamed up with collaborative design production comany "Buck" to create the first of three videos in a digital campaign called Good Books Great Writers. Behold the award winning animated Good Books Metamorphosis.
Marie writes: As some of you may have heard, a fireball lit up the skies over Russia on February 15, 2013 when a meteoroid entered Earth's atmosphere. Around the same time, I was outside with my spiffy new digital camera - the Canon PowerShot SX260 HS. And albeit small, it's got a built-in 20x zoom lens. I was actually able to photograph the surface of the moon!
(click to enlarge)
Marie writes: Christmas is almost upon us, and with its impending arrival comes the sound of children running free-range through the snow, while grown-ups do battle indoors in the seasonal quest to find the perfect gift...
Marie writes: Behold a living jewel; a dragonfly covered in dew as seen through the macro-lens of French photographer David Chambon. And who has shot a stunning series of photos featuring insects covered in tiny water droplets. To view others in addition to these, visit here.
(click images to enlarge)
When: Through Oct. 25
The winner of the Academy Award for Best Picture will be Ben Affleck's tense new thriller "Argo." How do I know this? Because it is the audience favorite coming out of the top-loaded opening weekend of the Toronto Film Festival. Success at Toronto has an uncanny way of predicting Academy winners; I point you to the Best Pictures of the last five years in a row: "No Country for Old Men," "Slumdog Millionaire," "The Hurt Locker," "The King's Speech" and "The Artist."
Marie writes: It's that time of the year again! The Toronto International Film Festival is set to run September 6 - 16, 2012. Tickets selection began August 23rd. Single tickets on sale Sept 2, 2012. For more info visit TIFF's website.
Beasts of the Southern Wild
• Chaz Ebert in Cannes
The Cannes 2012 Palme D'Or was indeed won Sunday by Michael Haneke for "Amour," the best film in the festival. And what an emotional moment to see its two stars, Jean-Louis Trintignant and Emmanuel Riva walk up on stage with Haneke to accept the award. A juror, Jean-Paul Gaultier said they gave the most emotionally real performances of any film in the festival. He said he bawled his eyes out. This was the second time in three years that Hakeke won the Palme, after "The White Ribbon" in 2009.
And surprisingly, three out of four of my award speculations also won prizes. However, if you listened carefully to the reasoning of the Jury you can conclude that actually all four of the lineup would have won.
Above: Bill Murray, madras paparazzo. (AP photo)
The pizza they make in Cannes is unique: a less-is-more creation that is flat and crispy, thoroughly Mediterranean and packed with Riviera flavor. Alleged "European-style" pizzas peddled in the U. S. never seem to achieve that micron-thin crust covered by the faintest wash of tomato sauce, a mere garnish of cheese, and earthy ingredients that can include artichokes or thinly sliced eggplant, generous oregano, and tiny Cannes-grown olives (complete with pits). It's seared in an oven at an impossibly high temperature so that that everything melds into a glorious crackly flatbread that has nothing in common with the doughy excess of American pizza.
The opening day of the 65th Cannes Film Festival is a little like that local pizza, tasty and unique, providing a full range of experiences with just a few carefully chosen ingredients. The various competition events will be in full swing starting tomorrow morning, so today functions as a bit of an appetizer.
Even as festival workers were putting the final touches on the red carpet covering the famed steps up to the Grand Theater Lumiere for tonight's gala festival opening, the opening film, Wes Anderson's "Moonrise Kingdom," was previewing for the international press at the Debussy Theater next door. Although Anderson is the darling of many critics, the only film of his that I've previously warmed up to was his droll animated feature "Fantastic Mr. Fox." "Moonrise Kingdom" had me enthralled from the first frame, and made me think that I need to take another look at his earlier work.
"Perfect Sense" (89 minutes) is now available via IFC On Demand and can be rented or downloaded via iTunes, Amazon Instant Video, SundanceNOW, XBOX and PlayStation 3. The film will also begin a limited release in theaters on February 3rd.
by Jeff Shannon
The cause of the disease is unknown, and there is no cure. It could be a cluster of diseases, nobody knows for sure. The experts say it's not contagious, but that's just a futile ploy to prevent panic. It's spreading throughout the world as a full-blown epidemic. The symptoms are brutal and unrelenting: Slowly but surely, your senses fall away -- first you lose the sense of smell. Then taste, and eventually hearing...panic strikes you anyway, and the world around you ceases to make any kind of sense. How can you possibly survive the onslaught of sensory deprivation? What can you do when you're overwhelmed by an escalating sense of infantile helplessness?
Welcome to the apocalypse of "Perfect Sense," an imperfect yet deeply affecting film from David McKenzie, a British director who's been quietly building a list of respectable credits (his latest is the rock 'n roll comedy "You Instead") since 1994. (He also regularly casts his actor brother Alastair, perhaps best known for his role in the popular BBC series "Monarch of the Glen.") "Perfect Sense" was well-received at Sundance last year, but it's not the kind of film that makes distributors see dollar signs in their eyes. It's an actor's showcase for Ewan McGregor and Eva Green, who meet the challenge head-on. Technically impressive and beautifully filmed (by Giles Nuttgens), quite frankly it's too distinctive -- choke on that, distributors! -- to be easily pigeon-holed and marketed to the masses.
Marie writes: Okay, this is just plain cool. This is clearly someone using their brain, in combination with "what the hell, let's just go ahead and try it..."
Dr Julius Neubronner's Miniature Pigeon CameraIn 1903, Dr Julius Neubronner patented a miniature pigeon camera activated by a timing mechanism. The invention brought him international notability after he presented it at international expositions in Dresden, Frankfurt and Paris in 1909-1911. Spectators in Dresden could watch the arrival of the camera-equipped carrier pigeons, whereupon the photos were immediately developed and turned into postcards which could be purchased. (click images to enlarge.) - from The Public Domain Review. Visit the site to see even more photos.
This is a free edited sample of the Christmas Newsletter.
For Roger's invitation to the Club, go here.
From the Grand Poobah and Mrs. Poobah:
Seasons Greetings Everyone!
From the Poobah: Chaz and Roger Ebert wish you Peace in the New Year!
Marie writes: If you're like me, you enjoy the convenience of email while lamenting the lost romance of ink and pen on paper. For while it's possible to attach a drawing, it's not the same thing as receiving hand-drawn artwork in the mail. Especially when it's from Edward Gorey..."Edward Gorey and Peter Neumeyer met in the summer of 1968. Gorey had been contracted by Addison-Wesley to illustrate "Donald and the...", a children's story written by Neumeyer. On their first encounter, Neumeyer managed to dislocate Gorey's shoulder when he grabbed his arm to keep him from falling into the ocean. In a hospital waiting room, they pored over Gorey's drawings for the first time together, and Gorey infused the situation with much hilarity. This was the beginning of an invigorating friendship, fueled by a wealth of letters and postcards that sped between the two men through the fall of 1969."
Marie writes: I was browsing the 2010 National Geographic Photography Contest Galleries and came upon this amazing shot - click to enlarge!
The Birth Of Earth: Photo by Terje Sorgjerd"Getting close or getting too close? Photo taken of the Eyjafjallajokull volcano eruption that would grind most of europe air traffic. This is the scariest moment in my life, and also the most beautiful and frightening display of raw force I have ever seen." - Terje Sorgjerd
Marie writes: Behold an extraordinary collection of Steampunk characters, engines and vehicles created by Belgian artist Stephane Halleux. Of all the artists currently working in the genre, I think none surpass the sheer quality and detail to be found in his wonderful, whimsical pieces...
Left to right: Little Flying Civil, Beauty Machine, Le Rouleur de Patin(click images to enlarge)
Marie writes: Roger recently did an email Q&A with the National Post's Mark Medley, which you can read here: "Roger Ebert's voice has never been louder". And in a nice touch, they didn't use a traditional head-shot photo with the article. Instead they went old school and actually hired an illustrator. Yup. They drew the Grand Poobah instead! And here it is...pretty good, eh?
Illustration By Kagan Mcleod for the National Post(click to enlarge)
Marie writes: my brother Paul recently sent me an email sharing news of something really cool at the Capilano Suspension Bridge in North Vancouver. For those who don't remember - as I'm sure I've mentioned it in the Newsletter before, the Capilano Suspension Bridge was original built 1889 and constructed of hemp rope and cedar planks. 450 feet (137m) long and 230 feet (70m) high, today's bridge is made of reinforced steel safely anchored in 13 tons of concrete on either side of the canyon (click images to enlarge.)
● Jackboots on Whitehall (DVD/VOD/Digital cable July 26) ● American Grindhouse (DVD/Hulu July 26)
by Steven Boone
The animated comedy "Jackboots on Whitehall" does its best to tweak every British stiff-upper-lip stereotype ever perpetuated in film and popular culture since World War II. This satire employs puppet animation techniques familiar from "Team America: World Police" and classic George Pal puppetoons, but with exquisite production design more akin to Wes Anderson's stop-motion "Fantastic Mr. Fox." Instead of marionettes or stop-motion, however, filmmakers Edward and Rory McHenry employ animatronic dolls enhanced with CGI.
The period detail in this account of Hitler's alt-reality occupation of London is stunning: a convincing re-creation of Whitehall, the road whose major landmarks comprise the seat of British government; the airship Hindenburg, which, in this reality, never blew up and now serves as a Nazi attack vehicle; Hadrian's Wall and the hills of Scotland; vintage fighter planes, palaces, tanks, luxury cars... Equally meticulous is the costuming, from Winston Churchill's pinstriped suit to the Raj soldiers' blue turbans.
While the McHenry brothers' puppets aren't articulated beyond some binary limb and neck movements, they are sculpted with such expressive character it's easy to suspend disbelief. Exuberant character voices help. Timothy Spall as a gruff Churchill, Alan Cumming as a fey Hitler and Tom Wilkinson as a simpering Goebbels play it lip-smackingly broad. Richard E. Grant portrays a tightly wound priest so perpetually furious that its possible he gave his entire performance through clenched teeth. Ewan McGregor lends the unlikely farm boy hero some warmth. Along the way, some downright filthy jokes fly by almost subliminally, under kids' radar (including a visual joke last seen in "Boogie Nights"). In fact, so much of the humor is adult, whether in raunchiness or complexity, that Jackboots on Whitehall is less a family film than one for liberal parents and their precocious teens. The DVD includes a fascinating behind-the-scenes documentary that details just how much love went into this handcrafted epic.
"I love music so much and I had such ambition that I was willing to go way beyond what the hell they paid me for. I wanted people to look at the artwork and hear the music." - Alex Steinweiss
Marie writes: allow me to introduce you to Travel Photographer, founded by Chris and Karen Coe in 2003 and their annual contest "Travel Photographer of the Year".After years spent working in the travel industry as a professional photographer and finding it was mostly conventional images making it into print, Chris decided to create a way to showcase great travel photography and broaden people's perception of what it can encompass - namely, that it can be much, much more than a pretty postcard image.The contest is open to one and all; amateur and professional photographers compete alongside each other. Entrants are judged solely on the quality of their photographs. There's a special competition to encourage young photographers aged 18 and under; Young Travel Photographer of the Year. The youngest entrant to date was aged just five, the oldest 88. The competition is judged by a panel of photographic experts, including renowned photographers, picture buyers, editor and technical experts.And the 2010 winners have now been announced. Here's a few random photos to wet your appetite - then you can scroll through the amazing winners gallery!
Enal is around 6 years old and knows this shark well - it lives in a penned off area of ocean beneath his stilted house in Wangi, Indonesia. Photo: James Morgan, UK (Portfolio Encounters: Winner 2010) [note: click images to enlarge]
Linked here are reviews in recent months for which I wrote either 4 star or 3.5 star reviews. What does Two Thumbs Up mean in this context? These films are worth going out of your way to see, or you might rent them, add them to your Netflix, Blockbuster or TiVo queues, get them by VOD, watch for them on cable, anything. Many of the older titles are already streaming on Netflix and Amazon.
"Another Year" (PG-13, 129 minutes). Tom and Gerri (Jim Broadbent and Ruth Sheen) and long and happily married. Their frequent visitor is Mary (Lesley Manville), a unhappy woman with a drinking problem who needs shoring up with their sanity. Mike Leigh's new film is one of his best, placing as he often does recognizable types with embarrassing comic and/or dramatic dilemmas. One of the year's best films. Four stars
"My Dog Tulip" (Unrated, 83 minutes). The story of a man who finds love only once in his life, for 15 perfect years. It is the love of a dog. It may be the only love he is capable of experiencing. This is an animated film combining elating visuals with a virtuoso voice performance by Christopher Plummer. Nor for children. Foe adults who will admire its beauty and profundity. Directed and animated by Paul and Sandra Fierlinger. Four stars
"Inspector Bellamy" (Unrated, 110 minutes). Gerard Depardieu stars as a famous Parisian police inspector who is on holiday when a man tells him, "I committed murder...sort of." Claude Chabrol's final film, written with Depardieu in mind, is inspired in part by Simenon's Inspector Maigret, and follows Bellamy as he unwinds the strange story of the murder, while also, like Simenon, becoming fascinated by side characters, such as Bellamy's troubled half-brother. Marie Bunel is warm and supportive of her husband, and a good confidant during pillow talk about crime. Three and a half stars.
"The Illusionist" (PG, 90 minutes). A magician named Tatischeff fails in one music hall after another, and ends up in Scotland, where a young woman takes care of him and believes in him, even when he's reduced to performing in store windows. An animated film based on the final screenplay of Jacques Tati, and directed by Sylvain Chomet ("The Triplets of Belleville"). Four stars
"Barney's Version" (R, 132 minutes). Paul Giamatti stars as an unremarkable Montreal TV producer who drinks too much, smokes too many cigars, and discards two women in quick divorces before finding at last one far too good for him (Rosamund Pike). Dustin Hoffman has a smallish but particularly good role as his father. Giamatti won the 2011 Golden Globe award as best actor. Three and a half stars
"All Good Things" (R, 101 minutes). David (Ryan Gosling) is the rebellious son of a wealthy Manhattan family that owns sleazy 42nd Street real estate. He marries Katie (Kirsten Dunst), and they move to Vermont to open an organic products store. But his father (Frank Langella) pressures him to return to the family business, and he undergoes alarming changes eventually connected to two murders. Based on one of those true stories Dominick Dunne used to write about in Vanity Fair. Three and a half stars
"Blue Valentine" (R, 120 minutes). Ryan Gosling and Michelle Williams as Dean and Cindy in two seasons of marriage: Six years ago when love was fact, and today, when love proves unable to support the weight of real life. Director Derek Cianfrance closely observes the details as his couple fail to comprehend the larger picture. Dean thinks marriage is the station. Cindy thought it was the train. Three and a half stars
"The King's Speech" (R, 118 minutes). After the death of George V and the abdication of his brother Edward, Prince Albert (Colin Firth) becomes George IV, charged with leading Britain into World War Two. He is afflicted with a torturous stammer, and his wife (Helena Bonham Carter) seeks out an unorthodox speech therapist (Lionel Logue) to treat him. Civilized and fascinating, this is the story of their unlikely relationship. (The R rating, for language, is absurd; this is an ideal film for teenagers.) Four stars
"True Grit" (PG-13, 110 minutes). An entertaining remake of the 1969 film, and more. Jeff Bridges as Rooster Cogburn easily fills John Wayne's boots, and Hailee Steinfeld is very special as young Mattie Ross, who hires the old marshal to help her hunt down the varmit what killed her old man. Not a "Coen Brothers Film," but a flawlessly executed Western in the grand tradition. Strong support from Matt Damon, Josh Brolin and Barry Pepper. Three and a half stars
"Somewhere" (R, 96 minutes). Johnny Marco Stephen Dorff is a movie star. He has access to sex, booze, drugs, but feels no pleasure. He sits in a Los Angeles hotel room, stuck. His 11-year-old daughter (Elle Fanning) comes to stay for a few days, but he clearly has no feeling for fatherhood. He's given an award in Milan but hardly notices in the confusion of strangers around him in a hotel suite. He retreats to the same famous West Hollywood where John Belushi died, which for him might have been a recommendation. Sofia Coppola's film, winner of the Golden Lion at Venice, is a masterpiece of observation of hopelessness. Four stars
"Rabbit Hole" (R, 91 minutes) Becca (Nicole Kidman) and Howie (Aaron Eckhart) are trying their best to get on with things. This is the tricky and very observant story of how a married couple is getting along, eight months after their 4-year-old ran out into the street and was struck dead by a car. They were leveled with grief. Their sex life stopped. They lived for a time in a daze, still surrounded in the house by the possessions of the child who no longer lives there. I know all this sounds like a mournful dirge, but in fact "Rabbit Hole" is entertaining and surprisingly amusing, under the circumstances. Three and a half stars
"Black Swan" (R, 108 minutes). Natalie Portman in a bravura performance as a driven perfectionist, a young ballerina up for a starring role at Lincoln Center. Her life is shadowed by a smothering mother (Barbara Hershey), an autocratic director (Vincent Cassel) and a venomous rival (Mila Kunis) and her deposed predecessor (Winona Ryder). A full-bore melodrama, told with passionate intensity, gloriously and darkly absurd. Directed by Darren Aronofsky. Three and a half stars
"Carlos" (Unrated, 332 minutes). A remarkable portrait of a despicable man, the terrorist Carlos ("the Jackyl"), who from 1975 to 1994 directed a shadowy group of violent militants that dealt in kidnapping and murder. Edgar Ramirez is powerful in the title role, as an egomaniac whose primary cause seems to be himself. With reckless boldness he eludes an international manhunt until finally even his masters grow tired of him. Unflinching, detailed, absorbing. Directed by Olivier Assayas. Three and a half stars
"White Material" (Unrated, 105 minutes). Isabella Huppert plays a French woman in Africa, managing the coffee plantation that was her ex-husband's. War stirs in the land, and she is warned to evacuate. She finds that unthinkable. This is her home, this is her farm, and she will bring in the crop. The movie doesn't sentimentalize or make a political statement; like its heroine, it doesn't have theories. A beautiful, puzzling film; the enigmatic quality of Huppert's impassivity draws us in. Three and a half stars
"I Love You Phillip Morris" (R, 98 minutes) Jim Carrey in the true life story of outrageous con man Steven Russell, who impersonated doctors, lawyers, FBI agents, and corporate executives. He convinced prison officials he had died of AIDS, successfully faked a heart attack, and escaped from jail four times (hint: always on Friday the 13th). Ewan McGregor plays his cellmate Phillip Morris, who Steven falls in love with. Thereafter his life consists of trying to get Steven out of jail, or trying to escape to be with him. Audacious. Jim Carrey's mercurial personality was almost necessary to even make this movie. Three and a half stars
"Hereafter" (PG-13, 129 minutes). Clint Eastwood considers the idea of an afterlife with tenderness, beauty and a gentle tact. Matt Damon stars as a man who believes he has a genuine psychic gift, and suffers for it. Cecile de France is a French newsreader who has a near-death experience. Frankie McLaren is a small boy seeking his dead twin. The stories converge, but in a way that respects the plausible. Not a woo-woo film but about how love makes us need for there to be an afterlife. Four stars
"Made in Deganham" (R, 113 minutes). Delightful serious comedy about the historic 1968 in Ford's British plant that ended its unequal pay for women, and began a global movement. Sally Hawkins plays Rita O'Grady, who caught the public fancy as a strike leader. Bob Hoskins is a sympathetic union organizer, and Miranda Richardson plays Barbara Castle, the minister of labor who unexpectedly sided with the striking women. Three and a half stars
"Monsters" (R, 93 minutes). An American photojournalist (Scoot McNairy) shepherds the daughter of his boss (Whitney Able) north from Mexico though a dangerous Infected Zone occupied by an alien life form. But this isn't a "monster movie," or an exploitation film. It's an uncannily absorbing journey transformed by the fact of Beings who are fundamentally different from any life form we have imagine. Writer-director Gareth Edwards, who also created the special effects, builds toward a climax combining uncommon suspense and uncanny poetry. Three and a half stars
"Unstoppable" (PG-13, 98 minutes) A runaway train hurtles at 70mph, and the movie is as relentless as the train. Denzel Washington and Chris Pine try to stop it, and Rosario Dawson is the hard-driving dispatcher. In terms of sheer craftsmanship, this is a superb film. Directed by Tony Scott. Three and a half stars
"Morning Glory" (PG-13, 110 minutes). Rachel McAdam transforms a conventional plot into a bubbling comedy with her lovable high energy. She plays an ambitious young producer on a last-place network morning news show, who forces a reluctant TV veteran (Harrison Ford) to do the kind of TV he despises. A lot of laughs, including Diane Keaton as Ford's veteran co-anchor, Matt Malloy as a goofy weatherman and Jeff Goldblum as the boss who considers the show dead in the water. Three and a half stars
"127 Hours" (R, 93 minutes). The harrowing true story of James Franco, a rock climber whose arm was pinned to a Utah canyon wall by a boulder. In desperation he amputated his own arm to free himself. James Franco stars in Danny Boyle's film, which is gruesome but not quite too gruesome to watch. It's rather awesome what an entertaining and absorbing film Danny Boyle has made here. Yes, entertaining. Four stars
"Buried" (R, 93 minutes). Paul Conroy (Ryan Reynolds) is a truck driver working for a private contractor in Iraq. He comes to consciousness in blackness. He feels around and finds a lighter. It its flame his worst fears are realized. He has been kidnapped, buried alive, and is a hostage. Taking place entirely within the coffin, this is a superior suspense picture that's ingenious in devising plausible events inside the limited space. Three and a half stars.
"Tamara Drewe" (PG-13, 110 minutes) A mischievous British comedy, set in a rural writer's retreat where egos and libidos are in contention. When a once-homely local girl returns home with newfound fame and an improved nose, all the men perk up with unfortunate results. With Gemma Arterton, Roger Allam, Dominic Cooper, Luke Evans and Tamsin Greig. Directed by Stephen Frears. Delightful. Three and a half star
"The Social Network" (PG-13, 120 minutes). The life and times of Mark Zuckerberg (Jesse Eisenberg), who created Facebook, became a billionaire in his early 20s, and now has 500 million members on the site he created. A fascinating portrait of a brilliant social misfit who intuited a way to involve humankind race in the Kevin Bacon Game. Everybody likes Facebook--it's the site that's all about you. With Justin Timberlake as Sean Parker, the Napster founder who introduced Zuckerberg to the Silicon Valley fast lane, Andrew Garfield as the best friend who gets dumped, and Armie Hammer as the Winklevoss twins, who sued Zuckerberg for stealing their idea. One of the year's best films. Four stars
"Secretariat" (PG, 116 minutes). A great film about greatness, the story of the horse and the no less brave woman who had faith in him. Diane Lane stars as Penny Chenery, who fell in love with Secretariat when he was born, and battled the all-male ring fraternity and her own family to back her faith in the champion. A lovingly crafted film, knowledgeable about racing, with great uplift. Also with John Malkovich, Scott Glenn, James Cromwell, Nelsan Ellis, Dylan Walsh. One of the year's best. Four stars
"Last Train Home" (Unrated, 87 minutes). Begins as a documentary about an annual New Years migration from cities to villages by 180 million Chinese, and focuses on one family; the parents have labored at low factory wages for 15 years to pay for their children's education back home, and now, as their daughter graduates high school, they may find only heartbreak as repayment. Shot over three years, it's one of those extraordinary films, like "Hoop Dreams," that tells a story the makers could not possibly have anticipated in advance. Works like stunning, grieving fiction. One of the year's best. Four stars
"Inside Job" (Unrated, 108 minutes). Exactly how Wall Street thieves eagerly sold bad mortgages, bet against them, and paid themselves millions in bonuses for bankrupting their own companies. And the Street is having another good year at our expense, because Financial Reform is as far away as ever. An angry, devastating documentary. Four stars
"Let Me In" (R, 115 minutes). A well-made retelling of the Swedish "Let the Right One In," which doesn't cheapen the original but respects it and adds some useful events. Owen (Kodi Smit-McPhee) is a bullied, neglected boy, and Abby (Chloe Grace Moretz of "Kick Ass") is the girl who moves into the next apartment and has "been twelve for a very long time." The same cold, dark atmosphere of foreboding, in a doom-laden vampire drama. Not for Team Edward. Three and a half stars
"Scrappers" (Unrated, 90 minutes). A portrait of Otis and Oscar, two self-employed collectors of scrap metal, who troll the alleys in their trucks and vacant lots of Chicago for metals that can be sold. They work hard, they support families, they perform recycling on metals that might end up buried in garbage, and they like the work--its freedom, its independence. But metals dropped from $200 to $300 a ton to $20 with the economic collapse, and now their trade is desperate. See this and you'll never look at a scavenger with the same eyes. Three and a half stars
"Never Let Me Go" (R, 104 minutes). In an alternative time line, test-tube babies are created solely for the purpose of acting as Donors for body parts. Raised in seclusion, they accept their role. Are they really human, after all? In this sensitive, teary adaptation of the Kazuo Ishiguro novel, three of them begin to glimpse the reality of their situation, and its tragedy. With Carey Mulligan, Andrew Garfield, Keira Knightley, Charlotte Rampling, Sally Hawkins. Four stars
"Nowhere Boy" (R, 97 minutes). The Beatles are only distantly on the horizon in this deeply-felt biopic of young John Lennon growing up in Liverpool. He's at the center of a tricky relationship involving his mother, who he didn't know growing up, and his aunt, who raised him. From these years perhaps came and simultaneous elation and sadness of many of his songs. Aaron Johnson as John, Kristin Scott Thomas as his Aunt Mimi, Anne-Marie Duff as his mother Julia. Three and a half stars
"Waiting for Superman" (PG, 102 minutes). The new documentary by Davis Guggenheim ("An Inconvenient Truth") says the American educational system is failing, and dramatizes this failure in a painfully direct way, saying what is wrong, and what is right. He points to existing magnet schools that draw their students by random lottery and virtually guarantee high school graduation and acceptance by a college. He explains why bad teachers who cannot be fired are a national scandal. The film is alarming, fascinating, and in the end hopeful. Three and a half stars
"Easy A" (PG-13, 93 minutes). Funny, star-making role for Emma Stone, as a high school girl nobody notices, until she's too embarrassed to admit she spent the weekend home alone and claims she had sex with a college boy. When word gets around, she uses her undeserved notoriety to play the role to the hilt, even wearing a Scarlet Letter. And she's able to boost the reps of some of her pals by making up reports of their process. Sounds crass. Isn't. Three and a half stars
"The American" (R, 95 minutes). George Clooney is starkly defined as a criminal as obedient and focused as a samurai. He manufactures weapons for specialized jobs. He lives and functions alone. He works for a man who might as well be a master. He used few words. Only his feelings for a prostitute named Clara (Violante Placido) supply an opening to his emotions. Zen in its focus. Four stars.
"Flipped" (PG-13,90 minutes) Juli (Madeleine Carroll) has adored Bryce (Callan McAuliffe) ever since he moved into the neighborhood in the second grade. Bryce has been running away from her ever since. Now they're 14 and they seem to be flipping: he more interested, she less. Rod Reiner's warm human comedy tells their stories by showing the same crucial events from both their points of view. He returns to the time of his "Stand By Me" with the same endearing insights. Rating: Four stars
"Mesrine: Public Enemy No. 1" (R, 133 minutes). Continuation of the brutal life of France's most notorious criminal, who survived a 20-year series of bank robberies, kidnappings, prison breaks and murders. Vincent Cassel makes him brutal, ugly, powerful and inscrutable. Winner of French Oscars for best director and actor. Three and a half stars
"Mesrine: Killer Instinct" (R, 113 minutes) He was a ruthless killer, bank robber, kidnapper and prison break artist--and a self-promoting egomaniac who wrote books some compared to Camus. Vincent Cassel stars in a hard-boiled performance as the French criminal who killed on three continents and was in love with his image. Three and a half stars
"Salt" (PG-13, 100 minutes). A damn fine thriller. It does all the things I can't stand in bad movies, and does them in a good one. Angelina Jolie stars as a CISA agent fighting ingle-handedly to save the world from nuclear destruction. Hardly a second is believable, but so what? Superbly crafted, it's a splendid example of a genre action picture. Directed by Philip Noyce. Four stars
"Inception" (PG-13, 148 minutes). An astonishingly original and inventive thriller starring Leonardo DiCaprio as a men who infiltrates the minds of others to steal secrets. Now he's hired to implant one. Ken Watanabe is a billionaire who wants to place at idea in the mind of his rival (Cillian Murphy). DiCaprio Assembles a team (Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Tom Hardy, Ellen Page) to assist him, in a dazzling achievement that rises above the thriller level and enters the realm of mind control--in the plot, and in the audience. Written and directed by Christopher Nolan ("Memento," "The Dark Knight"). Four stars
"The Kids are All Right" (R, 104 minutes). A sweet and civilized comedy, quietly satirical, about a lesbian couple, their children, and the father the kids share via sperm donation. When they meet him, they like him, he likes them, and their moms are not so sure. What happens is calmly funny, sometimes fraught, and very human. With pitch-perfect performances by Julianne Moore and Annette Bening as the moms, Mark Ruffalo as the dad, and Mia Wasikowska and Josh Hutcherson as the 20-something children. Directed by Lisa Cholodenko. Three and a half stars
"The Girl Who Played with Fire" (R, 129 minutes). Noomi Rapace, electrifying in last year's "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo," returns for the second film drawn from Stieg Larsson's Millennium Trilogy. Once again she's following the same crimes as journalist Mikael Blomkvist (Michael Nyqvist), but they don't meet until late in the game as a murder trail leads to old family secrets. Well constructed, good cast, not quite up to the "Dragon" standard. Three and a half stars
"Restrepo" (R, 94 minutes). A documentary shot during the 15 months an American company fought under almost daily fire in Afghanistan's Korangal Valley, described as "the most dangerous place on earth." The Taliban is a constant presence; the Americans take fire three, four, five times a day; they establish the strategic Outpost Restrepo, named for the first of their number to die, and it seems to turn the tide in the Valley. The 15-month tour is hard duty, and our admiration grows for these men. The film is non-political; the men are fighting above all to simple survive. Four stars
"9500 Liberty" (Unrated, 80 minutes). A law similar to Arizona's controversial recent measure was passed and briefly enforced a few years ago in Virginia's Prince William County, and what happened there may be instructive. This documentary shows the rise and fall of a movement led by a right-wing blogger, and the groundswell of opposition (including many whites and Republicans) that ended it. The cost of the law in higher taxes, exposure to lawsuits and the city's image was startling. The doc shows the rise and fall of the county law, and centers on the American tradition of citizens speaking out in town hall meetings. Three and a half stars
"A Small Act" (Unrated, 98 minutes). A documentary about a Kenyan boy named Chris Mburu who grew up in a mud house, graduated from Harvard Law School, and is today a United Nations Human Rights Commissioner. His education was made possible by a $15-a-month gift from Hilde Back, a Swedish schoolteacher whose parents were Holocaust victims. Mburu started a foundation in her honor to grant more scholarships, and in the film they meet and she is honored by his village. To call it "Heartwarming" would be an understatement. Three and a half stars
"Cell 211" (Unrated, 111 minutes). Very effective thriller about a man's attempt to save his life by thinking quickly. A new prison guard, being given a tour, is left behind when a riot breaks out. Pretending to be a new prisoner, he improvises well enough to become a de facto leader of the riot, and develops a subtle relationship with the rock-hard leader of the prisoners. Winner of eight Goya awards, the Spanish Oscars, this year, including Best Picture. Three and a half stars
"I am Love" (R, 120 minutes). A sensuous and fascinating story about a modern family of Italian aristocrats. Tilda Swinton plays a Russian who has married the oldest son, learns her husband and their son will take over the family textile business, then suddenly finds herself in the middle of an unexpected affair. Masterfully direct by Luca Guadagnino. One of the year's best. Four stars
"Cyrus" (R, 91 minutes). Two lonely people (John C. Reilly and Marisa Tomei) meet at a party and like each other. She has a 20ish son (Jonah Hill) who welcomes Reilly to their home and invites him to stay for dinner. But a comedy of social embarrassment develops when it becomes clear that the son is jealous and possessive of his mother, and perhaps to physically familiar with her. No, it's not incest; let's call it inappropriate behavior that his mom doesn't seem to discourage. Reilly is caught in an awkward position, which the film simply regards, leaving us to wince in a fascinated way. Three and a half stars
"Winter's Bone" (R, 99 minutes). Jennifer Lawrence is brilliant as a 17-year-old girl who father has skipped bail and left his family threatened with homelessness. In a dirt poor area of the Ozarks, she goes seeking him among people who are suspicious, dangerous and in despair. Winner of the Grand Jury prize at Sundance 2010 and the screenwriting award, this film by Debra Granik is one of the year's best. Four stars
"Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work" (R, 84 minutes). Rivers was 75 in this film, and never tires of reminding us of that fact. She remains one of the funniest, dirtiest, most daring and transgressive of standup comics, and she hasn't missed a beat. The doc follows her for a year as she relentlessly pursues the career that her daughter, Melissa, says was like having another sister. She violates her own privacy, speaks from the heart, does not know tact, and makes us laugh a lot. If you've only seen Rivers on TV, you ain't seen nothing' yet. Three and a half stars
"The Karate Kid" (PG, 126 minutes). Faithfully follows the plot of the 1984 classic, but stands on its own feet and takes advantage of beg shot on location in China. Jackie Chan dials down convincingly as the quiet old janitor with hidden talents, and Jaden Smith (son of Will and Jada Pinkett Smith) holds the screen with glowing charisma. The obligatory final fight climax is unusually well-handled. Three and a half stars
"Solitary Man" (R, 99 minutes). Michael Douglas in one of his best performances, as a once rich and famous car dealer, now in hard times but still tireless as closing the hardest sell of all--himself. He's a seducer, a cheater, a user, but running outgo of options, in a smart comedy/drama with an excellent supporting cast including Jesse Eisenberg, Jenna Fischer, Danny DeVito and Susan Sarandon. Three and a half stars
"Please Give" (R, 91 minutes). Catherine Keener and Oliver Platt play a Manhattan couple who have a daughter and run an antique store and live next to a mean-tempered old lady (Ann Morgan Guilbert) . When she dies, they can buy her apartment. The old lady has two granddaughters, played by Rebecca Hall and Amanda Peet. When the couple invites everyone over for dinner, events are set in motion that are true, funny, and ruefully observant. Writer-director Nicole Holofcener is so perceptive about women whose lives are not defined by men; that's rare in the movies. Three and a half stars
"Death at a Funeral" (R, 92 minutes). The best comedy since "The Hangover." A big family home is the setting for a funeral that's just one damn thing after another. Remake of a 2007 Brit comedy, but a lot funnier. All-star cast includes Chris Rock, Martin Lawrence, James Marsden, Peter Dinklage, Loretta Devine, Regina Hall, Zoe Saldana, Tracy Morgan, Luke Wilson and on and on. Three and a half stars.
"Home" (Unrated, 98 minutes) A family live in a small home in the middle of vast fields and next to the highway, which hasn't been used for ten years. Then big trucks arrive to lay down a fresh coating of asphalt, and the arrival of traffic puts unbearable pressure on a family that seems a little strange from the first. With Isabelle Huppert and Olivier Gourmet. 2008 winner of the Swiss Film Prize. Three and a half stars.
"Date Night" (PG-13, 88 minutes) Steve Carell and Tina Fey play a perfectly nice married couple from New Jersey who simply want to have a great night out together in Manhattan. Mistaken for another couple, they're spun into a nightmare involving a mob boss and an unpaid debt. Funny, because they seem halfway plausible. With Ray Liotta, Mark Wahlberg, James Franco. Directed by Shawn Levy ("Night at the Museum"). Three and a half stars
"Greenberg" (R, 107 minutes). Ben Stiller in one of his best performances as a chronic malcontent who returns to L.A. to house-sit, nurture his misery, and reconnect with people who quite rightly resent him. With Greta Gerwig as an aimless but pleasant young college graduate who feels sorry for him, and Rhys Ifans and Jennifer Jason Leigh as survivors of his troublesome past. Directed by Noah Baumbach, of "The Squid and the Whale." Three and a half stars.
"Vincere" (Unrated, 128 minutes) The long-suppressed story of Mussolini's early mistress, who bore him a son and then was pushed into the shadows after he made a respectable marriage. She obsessively follows him, confronts him with their child in public, and is finally locked away by the fascists in an asylum. Giovanna Mezzogiorno's performance as Ida, the mistress, reminds me of Sophia Loren in the way she combines passion with dignity. Directed by the legendary Marco Bellocchio. Three and a half stars
"Leaves of Grass" (R, 105 minutes). Edward Norton plays a dual role as brothers: One a professor of philosophy at Brown, the other still back home in Little Dixie, Oklahoma, growing the best marijuana in the state. He may be the better philosopher. With Susan Sarandon as their mother, and Richard Dreyfuss as the state's drug kingpin. Norton gives two inspired and entirely different performances. Written and directed by Tim Blake Nelson, who also plays the best friend. One of the best films of 2010. Four stars
"45365" (Unrated, 90 minutes). An achingly beautiful portrait of small town America. The title is the zip code of Sidney, Ohio, and brothers Bill and Turner Ross grew up there and spent seven months on 2007 creating this portrait in sound and images of ordinary people, mostly nice, living their lives. No obvious structure, no message, just an appreciation of daily life that becomes haunting in its poetry. Winner of the Truer than Fiction Award at the 2010 Independent Spirits. Four stars (3/27/10)
"Mother" (R, 128 minutes). A mentally-deficient 27-year-old seems almost certainly guilty of murder. His mother, who has protected him all his life, is determined to prove his innocence. She is a remorseless force of nature, in a South Korean thriller that moves far beyond our expectations, into labyrinths deeper than reality. Written and diffracted by Bong Joon-ho ("The Host"). Three and a half stars
"Chloe" (Unrated, 96 minutes). A woman doctor (Julianne Moore) suspects her husband (Liam Neeson) of cheating, and hires a young call girl (Amanda Seyfried) to test how he might respond. She is fascinated by the girl's reports. Her jealousy shifts into curiosity. And the call girl? What's in this for her? Egoyan weaves a deceptive erotic web. Three and a half stars
"Waking Sleeping Beauty" (PG, 86 minutes). A privileged inside look at the Disney animation studio from 1984 to 1994, a golden age that essentially recreated feature animation in the form we know it now. From "The Little Mermaid" to "The Lion King," interviews, archives, home movies and interviews recreate a time of creative turmoil and backstage rivalries. It was the best of times, it was the worst of times. Three and a half stars.
"The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" (Unrated, for adults, 148 minutes). Compelling thriller with a heroine more fascinating than the story. She's Lisbeth (Noomi Rapace), a 24-year-old Goth girl with body piercings and tattoos: thin, small, fierce, damaged, a genius computer hacker. She teams up with a taciturn Swedish investigator to end a serial killer's 40 years of evil. Based on the international best-seller. Intense and involving. The planned Hollywood remake will probably have to be toned down. Four stars.
"Diary of a Wimpy Kid" (PG, 92 minutes). Nimble, bright and funny comedy about the hero's first year of middle school. Zachary Gordon stars as the uncertain newcomer, and Robert Capron is his pudgy best pal, who still acts like a kid. Chloe Grace Moretz sparkles as the only student who's nice to them, and the movie amusingly remembers the tortures of early adolescence. Based on the books by Jeff Kinney. Three and a half stars.
"The Green Zone" (R, 114 minutes) Matt Damon and his two-time "Bourne" director Paul Greengrass team up for a first-rate thriller set early in the war in Iraq. Damon's chief warrant officer finds that U.S. intelligence is worthless, and his complaints lead him to discover the secret conspiracy intended to justify the American invasion. Greg Kinnear is the deceptive U.S. intelligence puppet-master, Brendan Gleeson is a grizzled old CIA hand whose agency has always doubted the stories sabot Saddam's WMD, and Amy Ryan plays a newspaper reporter who served Kinnear as a pipeline. Four stars.
"A Prophet" (R, 154 minutes). An unformed young man is imprisoned, and behind bars he terrifyingly comes of age. A remorseless consideration of the birth of a killer. With Tahar Rahim as the clueless young prisoner and Niels Arestrup as the powerful boss of the gang controlling the prison. Swept the 2010 Cesar awards ("the French Oscars"), won the Grand Jury Prize at Cannes 2009, a 2010 Oscar nominee for best foreign film. Directed by Jacques Audiard. Four stars
"The Ghost Writer" (PG-13, 124 minutes). In Roman Polanski's thriller, a man without a past rattles around in the life of a man with too much of one. Ewan McGregor plays a ghost writer hired by a former British prime minister (Pierce Brosnan), whose previous ghost has mysterious drowned. In a rain-swept house on Martha's Vineyard, McGregor meets the PM's wife (Olivia Williams) and his assistant/mistress (Kim Cattrall), as an international controversy swirls. A splendidly acted and crafted immersive story. Four stars
"Red Riding Trilogy" (Unrated, for adults, 302 minutes). An immersive experience based on the infamous Yorkshire Ripper killings and the subsequent revelations about deep corruption in the Yorkshire Police Departments. Brilliantly cast, filmed in segments each offering a distinctive look and feel, beginning with a serial killer and then tangling the investigation with deep-seated local corruption. Not so much about what happens objectively as about its surrounding miasma of greed and evil. Four stars
"The Art of the Steal" (Unrated, 101 minutes). The most valuable collection of modern and impression art in the rod, valued at $250 billion, was intended by its rich collector, Dr. Albert C. Barnes, to reside forever in the Barnes Foundation in suburban Philadelphia. He hired the best lawyers to draw up an iron-clad will to assure that would happen after his death. He specified it not go to the Philadelphia Museum of Art, which he felt had scorned him and his collection. This absorbing documentary tells the story of how and why his art is in that museum today, the film calls it the "art theft of the century." Three and a half stars
"Shutter Island" (R, 135 minutes). Leonardo Di Caprio and Mark Ruffalo are U.S. Marshals called to a forbidding island in Boston bay, the home of an old Civil War fort now used as a prison for the criminally insane. A child murderer has escaped her cell. Martin Scorsese relentlessly blends music, visuals, special effects and all of film noir tradition into an elegant horror film as fragmented as a nightmare. If you're blind-sided by the ending, ask yourself: How should it have ended? How could it have? Three and a half stars
"Fish Tank" (Unrated, adults, 123 minutes). The harrowing portrait of a 15-year-old girl on a reckless path toward self-destruction. Her mother, only about 30, is a drunken slut and she seems on the same path. Covers a few days of fraught experiences with sex and anger. Superbly acted by newcomer Katie Jarvis. Winner of the Jury Prize at Cannes 2009. Directed by Andrea Arnold. Four stars.


text:
Similar to the current peak oil theory, a century ago the Victorians were worried about running out of coal. I guess it was sort of the steampunk version of peak oil with brass fixtures and handlebar mustaches.
Similar to the current peak oil theory, a century ago the Victorians were worried about running out of coal. I guess it was sort of the steampunk version of peak oil with brass fixtures and handlebar mustaches.
The top story of the year is that global crude oil production peaked in 2008.
The media, governments, world leaders, and public should focus on this issue.
Global crude oil production had been rising briskly until 2004, then plateaued for four years. Because oil producers were extracting at maximum effort to profit from high oil prices, this plateau is a clear indication of Peak Oil.
Then in July and August of 2008 while oil prices were still very high, global crude oil production fell nearly one million barrels per day, clear evidence of Peak Oil (See Rembrandt Koppelaar, Editor of "Oil Watch Monthly," December 2008, page 1) http://www.peakoil.nl/wp-content/uploads/2008/12/2008_december_oilwatch_monthly.pdf.
Peak Oil is now.
Credit for accurate Peak Oil predictions (within a few years) goes to the following (projected year for peak given in parentheses):
* Association for the Study of Peak Oil (2007)
* Rembrandt Koppelaar, Editor of "Oil Watch Monthly" (2008)
* Tony Eriksen, Oil stock analyst and Samuel Foucher, oil analyst (2008)
* Matthew Simmons, Energy investment banker, (2007)
* T. Boone Pickens, Oil and gas investor (2007)
* U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (2005)
* Kenneth S. Deffeyes, Princeton professor and retired shell geologist (2005)
* Sam Sam Bakhtiari, Retired Iranian National Oil Company geologist (2005)
* Chris Skrebowski, Editor of "Petroleum Review" (2010)
* Sadad Al Husseini, former head of production and exploration, Saudi Aramco (2008)
* Energy Watch Group in Germany (2006)
Oil production will now begin to decline terminally.
Within a year or two, it is likely that oil prices will skyrocket as supply falls below demand. OPEC cuts could exacerbate the gap between supply and demand and drive prices even higher.
Independent studies indicate that global crude oil production will now decline from 74 million barrels per day to 60 million barrels per day by 2015. During the same time, demand will increase. Oil supplies will be even tighter for the U.S. As oil producing nations consume more and more oil domestically they will export less and less. Because demand is high in China, India, the Middle East, and other oil producing nations, once global oil production begins to decline, demand will always be higher than supply. And since the U.S. represents one fourth of global oil demand, whatever oil we conserve will be consumed elsewhere. Thus, conservation in the U.S. will not slow oil depletion rates significantly.
Alternatives will not even begin to fill the gap. There is no plan nor capital for a so-called electric economy. And most alternatives yield electric power, but we need liquid fuels for tractors/combines, 18 wheel trucks, trains, ships, and mining equipment. The independent scientists of the Energy Watch Group conclude in a 2007 report titled: "Peak Oil Could Trigger Meltdown of Society:"
"By 2020, and even more by 2030, global oil supply will be dramatically lower. This will create a supply gap which can hardly be closed by growing contributions from other fossil, nuclear or alternative energy sources in this time frame."
With increasing costs for gasoline and diesel, along with declining taxes and declining gasoline tax revenues, states and local governments will eventually have to cut staff and curtail highway maintenance. Eventually, gasoline stations will close, and state and local highway workers won't be able to get to work. We are facing the collapse of the highways that depend on diesel and gasoline powered trucks for bridge maintenance, culvert cleaning to avoid road washouts, snow plowing, and roadbed and surface repair. When the highways fail, so will the power grid, as highways carry the parts, large transformers, steel for pylons, and high tension cables from great distances. With the highways out, there will be no food coming from far away, and without the power grid virtually nothing modern works, including home heating, pumping of gasoline and diesel, airports, communications, and automated building systems.
It is time to focus on Peak Oil preparation and surviving Peak Oil.
Clifford J. Wirth, Ph.D.´s last blog post..Top Story of the Year: Global Oil Production Peaked in 2008
Peak Oil,
Soon to be followed by Peak Corn and then Peak Pork.
I thought the Victorians were worried about Peak Whale Oil…
What about peak real estate? They're not making any more of it, you know.
W.C. Varones´s last blog post..Greenspan's Body Count: Mike Upham, stucco businessman
Natural gas can be compressed to 3600 psi at which point it contains more energy per pound than gas or diesel. Even if peak oil occurs, liquid fuels like CNG and LNG will take up the slack. Now try to convince me we're running out of natural gas.
@Tolbert: Peak Pork? I suspect that's the one we'll never see.
Folks, let's think, I mean THINK for a minute. As they say, the stone age didn't end because they ran out of stones, it was because the bronze age began. And as I recall from history, there were no government subsidies for bronze, it was just a better material (followed by the iron age, the steel age, the sperm oil/whale age, the oil age, etc., etc.)
And when will the stupid politician age end? I sure don't see any sign of that peak! In fact, I think that age is just reaching its inflection point up!
Dateling- 3 Jan. 2314
Why aren't people concerned about peak rocks? Big rocks are being turned into sand.
On a more serious note we are past peak sunspots and they don't seem to be coming back.
M. Simon´s last blog post..Sex And Self Help
Sure, we can compress natural gas to 3600 PSI, bc, but is it a good idea? And is it practical?
Some county bus systems are doing something like that right now, with good results. But for the general public, the answer today is no.
Come on – "Peak oil" is a top in production rate in the face of RISING prices. What we have now is a false "peak".
"Peak stupidity" is nowhere near, unfortunately.
Sasol, in South Africa, has proven that one can convert coal into gasoline and diesel for under $60/bbl equivalent on a large scale. They've been doing it for decades now. Peak oil will only mark the point where substituting coal will become economically feasible in the long term, thus justifying the infrastructure investments to build coal-to-liquids capacity. (And that will incidentally destroy OPEC, since the U.S., China, and India have the most coal, and thus will be able to supply themselves.)
As a matter of long-term economics, peak oil is accordingly utterly irrelevant. There will by necessity be a short adjustment period while coal-to-liquids plants are brought on line, of course.
Hey Whatever happened to Peak Toothpaste?
"Oil production will now begin to decline terminally."
Doomsayers have been saying this for over a century. Here's my question: if oil production goes up in 2009, and again in 2010, will the "Peak Oil" lunatics admit their error? Or will they simply adjust their dates to some time in the future?
Yes, this is a rhetorical question.
PS I'm not worried any any of these shortages. So long as we never hit "Peak Donuts"
I've seen this, or variants of it, written before: "once global oil production begins to decline, demand will always be higher than supply."
So oil demand is completely price inelastic? If oil supply declines, there is no upper limit on price that would constitute a market-clearing rate? There is no elasticity of supply such that sources which are uneconomical to extract at a given price are viable at a higher price?
Unless I'm missing something – and I feel I must be – this sounds like nonsense.
It's nonsense on stilts to claim that oil demand is inelastic when we are in a period of lowering demand.
Peak oil, even if it is happening geologically (which I do not believe due to the wide areas where governments bar private drilling and also do not invest very much in exploration), the economics does not play out as the peak oil people claim.
TMLutas´s last blog post..I've had it with my scanner
"Then in July and August of 2008 while oil prices were still very high, global crude oil production fell nearly one million barrels per day, clear evidence of Peak Oil (See Rembrandt Koppelaar, Editor of "Oil Watch Monthly," "
Gee Sparky, ya think the drop in production may have been an effort to prop up those high prices in the face of crashing demand? DUH!
Well, I suppose you could guarantee Peak Oil by simply not allowing any new sources to be opened. No one would be that stupid, would they? /sarc off
There's another problem that no one has yet commented on: Peak Anti-Freeze.
It's not just my imagination either. I've seen it.
Pingback: Last Era's Lunacy « Tai-Chi Policy
Is it just me or do I see a correlation between peak oil price and peak oil production? If I had oil in the ground and the market offered me $140/barrel for it I would sell it in a heart beat. At $30 not so much. Also peak oil assumes that all resources are available and in production. That will never be reached until ANWR, the outer shelf and the equivalent areas of the rest of the world are explored and exploited.
Wow, A Ph.D.
I will accept that oil PRODUCTION hit a relative high this year.
Please enlighten me as to the DIRECT relationship between Productionand the amount of oil reserves left in the ground.
Otherwise, nice distraction, but not really meaningful, unless you can get a dissertation out of it.
After all, I can get production down to zero rather rapidly – would you then state there's no oil left? Isn't that the essence of your peak oil arguement, that since production fell, then reserves must also have fallen?
Key sentence: There is no plan nor capital for a so-called electric economy.
Translation: All you peons are, for a little longer, still free to make your own decisions with your own money, and like the troglodytes you are, you dispose of those dollars in ways your betters do not approve of.
On planet Cliff there is no independent self-interested decision-making, no individual initiative, and no corporate will outside government. Absent top-down, third-party (read: government) decision-making, all undesirable trends continue to their natural end point or until disaster strikes (which is usually one and the same, see above) and the system cannot continue. It must be a terrifying place.
Cliff, allow me to recommend the following:
I don't care how much energy per pound 3600 psi CNG has vs diesel. I care how much energy per gallon CNG has vs diesel.
Methane has to be compressed to ~14,000 psi to have the same energy per gallon as diesel. Thus, it must be compressed to ~14,000 psi to give the same driving distance per storage volume.
I'll skip all the inefficiency arguments and cut to the chase: I have no intention of driving around on a bomb. Not a 14,000 psi bomb, and not a 3600 psi bomb. CNG as a general transportation fuel is a bad idea.
For the record, CNG is not a liquid, and it hits energy per mass parity with diesel at ~12,000 psi, not 3600.
There isn't much oil being found to offset the depletion in known reserves. Mexico (one of our largest sources for oil, and just one example) is likely to go from a net exporter to a net importer within a few short years, provided they can afford to import any. The North Sea is getting less out of its reserves as well, causing difficulties in Britain and Norway.
As for natural gas, I don't see any more reason to hope there's another series of stores just waiting around to be tapped than I do for oil. We pretty much have searched far and wide to find it, and are still stuck with the same old scenario for the future: not enough.
We can drill everything and everywhere we know or suspect there's oil, gas, coal, methane, and whatever else might provide power, but the numbers I see say there's just not enough.
What does it tell you all that the United States Navy's next generation of ships is pretty much all nuclear? It tells me that nuclear is a damn good source, but it also makes me wonder if the United States Navy isn't sure it will have enough diesel fuel.
And nuclear, solar, wind, water, and the rest can help, but there's still a huge need for oil in our world. So much depends on oil: agriculture, fertilizer, transportation, aviation, distribution, and just about everything plastic. I see hard times ahead, no matter how much I want to believe some technology will make everything non-reliant on oil. I don't want to sound glum, but I am.
Here's what I see: energy too expensive, economies too wrecked to buy it, worldwide instability, and loads and loads of death and destruction. I hope I'm wrong, we can ride out the worst of it, and that wondersource comes on line pronto. But I am a pessimist, and I'm not alone.
"Because oil producers were extracting at maximum effort to profit from high oil prices, this plateau is a clear indication of Peak Oil."
What an idiotic statement. I can't take anyone seriously who would write such a thing. The writer needs to take a course in logic, as well as look into the fact that much of the world's known reserves are not in production, but could be if not for political constraints.
Peak oil production will be achieved someday. It won't matter, but it will happen.
19th Century Peak Whale Theory
One Oil Shock does not a Peak Oil make. Several major oil producers (Iraq, Nigeria, Venezuela, the US(due to political restrictions) are far under-producing from their potential peak.
And coyote…we did kinda hit peak whale…thank god for petroleum…otherwise the whales would have been completely wiped out.
A few words:
Oil Shale. Oil Sands. These two sources in North America contain as much oil as the rest of the world. This amounts to several trillion barrels. To burn through one trillion barrels of oil, at 30 million a day, takes 100 years. Canada is ramping up production in its oil sands to 10,000,000 barrels per day. If we want energy independence, this is one of the main ways. Others are nukes, solar power satellites, a 10% tariff on foreign oil, $1.00 a gallon tax on gas, subsides to replace gas guzzlers, (a buy and crush program) , and make all mass transit free. If we were serious about the problem, (which isn't a shortage of energy, but the money that now goes to some very nasty people), we could start the tax, tariff, subsidies and free mass transit almost immediately, and cut the red tape on constructing nukes, and developing oil shale, so they go on line as soon as possible.
Oil shale and oil sands are not profitable right now, we're not sure we can make it work as much as we need it to, and might not be easy enough to get out of the rock at a profit or even at a break even point. And that's not to mention the incredible amount of water and energy that's needed at the extraction sites (places where the grid is underdeveloped and the water is scarce.) Yes, it's certainly worth looking into, but the doubling of the world's reserves idea isn't exactly comparing apples to apples. Light sweet crude it certainly ain't.
But no, I'm not against trying.
"Oil shale and oil sands are not profitable right now, we're not sure we can make it work as much as we need it to, and might not be easy enough to get out of the rock at a profit or even at a break even point."
I can't comment on Oil Shale, but this is a pretty ridiculous statement for Alberta Oil Sands. Go to finance.google and look up the ticker for Suncor Energy (SU on the NYSE). Looks pretty profitable to me. $12b in gross profit in 2007, in business for over 40 years in the Oil Sands. Their operating break-even from current facilities today is about $25/bbl. And if oil gets to $25/bbl and stays there for a while, then "Peak Oil" will be demonstrated as Peak BS.
"And that's not to mention the incredible amount of water and energy that's needed at the extraction sites (places where the grid is underdeveloped and the water is scarce.)"
Energy use is always an issue, but that is not insurmountable (nuclear anyone?). That issue is more regulatory than anything else. As the technology improves water demand is also reduced. As an example, Suncor will be increasing production from 350k to 550k Barrels per Day by 2013, but will use no more water than currently.
Will Oil Sands alone solve all oil demand? No. Will this be easy or cheap to do? No. But there are a bunch of things that can be done (such as ditching bogus CO2 abatement requirements), this is achievable.
Peak Oilers like Cliffy make the argument that if cheap oil is gone, and if the world runs on cheap oil, then civilization collapses (and no other alternatives should be considered because they "won't work").
I'd rather focus on the solutions than on preparing to build a bunker somewhere.
EscutcheonBlot -
Sure, we hit peak whale. And then we substituted something. Sasol has already proven that you can effectively replace oil with coal as feedstock for liquid fuels at a reasonable price. (Not as cheap as 1990s oil, but reasonable.) Which means peak oil is as much an economic threat as peak whale.
It's not an environmental irrelevancy; converting coal to liquid fuel is higher-impact than petroleum-to-fuel. But peak oil warnings are not generally phrased as "soon the environmental impact of driving cars will be marginally worse!"
We're all doomed – - – peak oil – global warming – war in the middle east – it's the end times *****
or maybe not. Happy New Year!!!
In a free market, we can never run out of oil. NEVER. This is because as the inexpensive oil is pumped out and consumed, the market price of oil will rise, and consumers will respond to the higher price by altering their behavior, investing in more efficient equipment and seeking alternatives.
Over 100 years ago, a common fuel for home lights was whale oil. We transitioned from "peak whale" when the price of that oil could no longer compete against lamp oil made from coal. Later, in the lifetime of my grandparents, we made a decades-long transition to lamp oil from petroleum.
Humans in a free market produce and consume essential products according to the natural laws of supply and demand, not by consulting some table of supply statistics. The only thing that we need to know about the supply of crude oil is the price of the fuel product at the pump.
When oil rises in price above the projected break-even cost of suitable substitutes, investors will rush to supply the market from this new source. The US has seveal centuries worth of coal that can be converted into liquid fuels at costs below what we have recently experienced. The recent oil price bubble has helped to move many converstion projects.
Indeed, the Office of the Secretary of Defense, in a presentation on the future fuel supplies for the US military, has compiled maps and charts that document the US has over twice the convertable hydrocarbons than Arab OPEC has in the form of crude oil.
Putting, coal, oil shale, crude oil and natural gas deposits aside, our modern society is awash in hydrocarbons that can be converted into liquid fuels at costs no higher than we already have lived through. These souces include municipal waste, sewage sludge and wastes from processing agriculture products.
Right now, for example, a company in Carthage, Missouri is converting the wastes from processing Butterball turkeys into a form of diesel fuel.
"Peak Oil" is no more about the price of fuel at the pump than "Global Warming" is about the ever-changing climate. Both are for more about justifying political and social change that destroys personal liberty and reduces our prosperity.
It's a big world. There may well be large stores of oil that have yet to be discovered. But even if there aren't all that "Peak Oil" would mean is the end of really cheap light crude. There are plenty of other fossil fuels that can be substituted for oil at a price lower than the price of oil was 6 months ago, with current technology. And if we do start running out of the easily pumped stuff the technology will get better, and extraction will become less expensive. We might never have the equivalent of $15.00/barrel oil again, but we can live with substitutes that are the equivalent of $40.00/barrel oil.
You people that deny peak oil or see it as merely a trigger for transition are totally ill informed. Now, pay attention to this. Saudi Arabia's biggest oil field, Gharwar, is in decline, so are other major oil fields in Saudi Arabia. Mexico's Cantrell field is in very steep decline. Saudi Arabia's overall production is in decline, and I'm not talking about their recent cuts, I'm talking about pumping as fast as they possibly can with all the pressure from other countries and the incentive of $147 per barrel, and failing to raise production anyway. The overall rate of decline from existing oil fields world wide is 3.7%, thats taking into account massive declines in some fields, and rising production in some other new fields. We are totally dependent now on finding new fields to offset production from declining old fields. We need to find, and bring online, and refine an additional 3.7% of worldwide production, just to stand still. Rising demand over the years still makes us go backwards even then. Add even 5% increase demand between now and say 2012, then take away 10% from declines over that time, that means we have to find an additional 15%. 15% of 87 million barrels a day equals 13.05 million barrels. So we have to find production greater then Saudi Arabias highest ever production just to stand still, in three years. Do you think there are any more Saudi Arabia's out there, and even if you do, do you think we can find them, and ramp up production from them to 13.05mbd in 3 years. If you do, you don't live in the real world.
Pingback: Oil sands petroleum extraction is already profitable | Les Jones

subset: commoncrawl


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text:
7th Heaven is more unrealistic than 24
Oh, come on!
I know that twins run in families, but this was, like, nutso. Have they been going through some weird scientific experiments or something? It was as if the writers said, "you know, a happy ending to the show isn't enough, let's make it a double happy ending!"


text:
Police searching for men in Ventura shooting; victims expected to survive
Two 23-year-old males were injured when they were shot multiple times near the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Ventura early Saturday, officials said.
They suffered injuries that did not appear to be life-threatening and were taken to a hospital, Ventura police said.
Officers responded at 1:43 a.m. to reports of gunshots heard near the beach promenade. The two victims, from Ventura and Simi Valley, were found at the scene, authorities said.
Police said they learned that the two victims were walking near the hotel when a confrontation occurred with two males in their late teens or early 20s. One of the males apparently attacked one of the victims, and the other male allegedly began firing a gun, police said. Both victims were struck several times, officials said.
The two unknown males were last seen running across Harbor Boulevard near California Street, police said.
The investigation is ongoing. Anyone with information regarding the incident is asked to call 339-4467.
Subscribe to the Ventura County Star
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text:
Please add Functioning folders that are collapsible / expandable
Current lack of folders and the way we have to "stack" tasks is inefficient and difficult to work with.
As it currently is, we make top level projects the "folders" and the actual projects themselves become sub-tasks of the folder.
When juggling more than 20 projects, the left side of the screen in extremely tedious to work & manipulate. I am forced to create longer project names so that I can identify parent projects for tasks in the "Today" task list.
Really wish you would crate a better system.
Emmulate Omnifocus and keep the collaboration aspect you have and it woudl be a MUCH improved end product.
All responses
Hi Jamie,
Right now, you can create sub-projects to organize your projects. Can you please elaborate how the the folder structure would be different? Thanks!


text:
WASHINGTON – Senator Thad Cochran announced today that the Department of Homeland Security's Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has released over $13 million in Federal grants for the state of Mississippi associated with Hurricane Katrina.
"I am pleased FEMA has decided to provide further funding for Mississippi's recovering coastal communities," Sen. Cochran said. "We must continue to take every possible step to ensure that the Federal Government does its part to assist in rebuilding damaged areas still feeling the devastation of Hurricane Katrina ."
Senator Wicker added, "Although these grants should have been processedmuch earlier, these funds will be critical as we continue to rebuild from the devastation of Hurricane Katrina."
Funds have been awarded to the following areas:
• City of D'Iberville – $1,167,419.40 for restoration of public utilities.
• Bay St. Louis School District – $3,536,330.82 for relocation of North Bay Elementary.
• City of Pass Christian – $2,223,488.81 for repairing and replacing roads and bridges.
• City of Pass Christian – $2,251,057.67 for restoration of damaged infrastructure.
• City of Long Beach – $1,987,341.75 for repairing and replacing roads and bridges.
• City of Pass Christian – $2,298,999.67 for repairing and restoring roadways, curbs, gutters, drainage, and infrastructure.


text: Monday night, Mitch Albom was inducted into Sportswriters Hall of Fame in Salisbury, N.C. He joins the likes of Grantland Rice, Red Smith, Damon Runyon, Jimmy Cannon, Dave Anderson and more. His co-inductee was Dick Vitale of ESPN on the broadcast side. Each spoke and was given a plaque as well as an engraved Louisville slugger. For his 30 years in the business, Mitch was recognized as one of the best ever at what he does. He thanked his fellow colleagues - and all his readers everywhere - in a speech that drew a standing ovation. "You have graced me with this honor and I do thank you very much," Albom told the crowd.


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You are here
Scotch Broom
Common Name: Scotch Broom[1]
Scientific Name: Cytisus scoparius
Thomas Jefferson incorporated both Scotch and Spanish broom (Genista hispanica) into his early landscape schemes at Monticello, including his design for the grove and for an enormous labyrinth on the north side of the mountain.[2]
The plant had a variety of uses. It was recommended for hedges in Virginia and for feeding pigs and sheep.[3] It was also used for medicinal purposes, cloth and paper-making, and as a substitute for hops and coffee.[4] However, its most well-known function was as a broom, hence its name.[5] Today Scotch broom is found naturalized at Monticello and along the Virginia roadside. It is a hardy, spring-flowering shrub with bright yellow, pea-like flowers and thin, evergreen stems.
Primary Source References[6]
1807 May 13. (Jefferson to Edmund Bacon). "I wish him [Wormley] to gather me a peck or two of clean broom seed, when ripe."[7]
1813 March 13. (Jefferson to John H. Cooke). "Th: Jefferson presents his compliments to mr Cocke, whose servant is desired to take as many Broom plants as he pleases, but having never found them to succeed by transplantation, he sends him some seed, which generally suceeds. altho sometimes it does not come up till the second spring."[8]
- ↑ This article is based on a Center for Historic Plants Information Sheet.
- ↑ See "Feb. 1790 Planting," University of Virginia and Jefferson's plans for a garden or pleasure grounds, 1804 Coolidge Collection of Thomas Jefferson Manuscripts at the Massachusetts Historical Society. See also Jefferson's notation on March 16, 1812. The 1812 seeds came from Edinburgh via James Ronaldson. Betts, Garden Book, 475. Manuscript and transcription at the Massachusetts Historical Society.
- ↑ Ann Leighton, American Gardens in the Eighteenth Century (Amherst: The University of Massachusetts Press, 1986), 414; Alice M. Coats, Garden Shrubs and their Histories (New York: Simon and Schuster, 1992), 63.
- ↑ Coates, 64.
- ↑ Ibid.
- ↑ Please note that this list should not be considered comprehensive.
- ↑ Betts, Garden Book, 248.
- ↑ Ibid, 507.
Further Sources
- Look for more of Jefferson's references in his Garden Book
- Thiébaut de Berneaud, Arsenne. Du genêt, considéré sous le rapport de ses différentes espèces, de ses propriétés et des avantages qu'il offre à l'agriculture et à l'économie domestique. Paris: Chez D. Colas, 1810
- Thomas Jefferson Center for Historic Plants


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April 17 2014 - Products
SAF-Holland introduced what it says is the industry's first integrated yoke mount air suspension axle system, the CBXy Series, designed for lowboy and dropdeck trailers.
Tags: Trailers, Suspensions, Axles, SAF-Holland, Lightweighting
April 8 2014 - Products
Talbert Manufacturing
Talbert Manufacturing introduces its new E3Nitro. The nitrogen-assisted equalizing system provides the versatility haulers with East Coast trailers need to run in 3+1, 3+2 or 3+3 spread-axle configurations.
Tags: Trailers, Talbert
March 31 2014 - Products
Hallco Industries
MATS, LOUISVILLE -- Hallco Industries unveiled a new product called the Accelerator that can unload trailers up to 30% faster. The Accelerator enables truck operators to quickly unload their cargo, thereby saving time especially for operators with frequent load turns.
Tags: Trailers, Mid-America Trucking Show
March 29 2014 - Products
MATS, LOUISVILLE -- ATDynamics and Kentucky Trailer say they've formed a partnership to offer the DropFrame version of the TrailerTail as a standard order option on new trailer orders.
Tags: Trailers, ATDynamics, Aerodynamics, Mid-America Trucking Show
March 28 2014 - Products
Trail King
MATS, LOUISVILLE -- Making its debut this week at the 2014 Mid-America Trucking Show is Trail King Industries' prototype All-Aluminum Center Frame Step Deck trailer.
Tags: Trailers, Anniversary, Trail King, Lightweighting, Mid-America Trucking Show, Flatbed Trailers
March 27 2014 - Products
East Manufacturing
MATS, LOUISVILLE -- The new aluminum wheels and landing gear together can save 90 pounds per trailer while maintaining high strength.
Tags: Trailers, Alcoa, East Manufacturing, Jost International, Lightweighting
March 26 2014 - Products
Bendix Commercial Vehicle Systems
MATS, LOUISVILLE, KY -- The Bendix TABS-6 Advanced trailer roll stability system now offers automatic lift axle control, which can help reduce tire wear and fuel consumption by maintaining proper per-axle weight load.
Tags: Trailers, Bendix, Mid-America Trucking Show, Axles, Roll Stability
March 11 2014 - Products
Prime Transport Solutions
TMC, NASHVILLE -- Just in from the United Kingdom is a pneumatic landing gear product that replaces hand-cranked gear and promises to eliminate injuries and save time and money.
Tags: Productivity, Drivers, Trailers, Landing Gear
November 26 2013 - Products
Carrier Transicold
Carrier Transicold says its multi-temperature Vector 8600MT trailer refrigeration unit is now available with "smart" remote evaporators for easy installation along with improved reliability and operational efficiencies. Like other Vectors, the 8600MT is a diesel-electric "hybrid" and uses no drive belts.
Tags: Trailers, Reefers, Carrier Transicold, Refrigeration units
November 19 2013 - Products
Van trailers can become tankers with a new bulk liquid transport system announced by two Texas companies who say that it will increase trucking and intermodal backhauls and lower shipping costs.
Tags: Trailer, TTS, Trailers
October 23 2013 - Products
ORLANDO -- SkyBitz announced a trailer-tracking analytics feature, SkyBitz InSight Trends, and new hardware, the Falcon GXT3000, during the American Trucking Associations' annual Management Conference and Exhibition.
Tags: Information Technology, Trailers, Analytics, Trailer Tracking, SkyBitz, ATA2013
September 26 2013 - Products
Thermo King
The new Thermo King Athenia AM HVAC platform, the Athenia AMII Series, provides a 10% weight reduction and features a design that reduces installation time while enabling improvements in serviceability to reduce maintenance costs.
Tags: Trailers, Thermo King, Refrigeration units
August 22 2013 - Products
Phillips Industries
Phillips Industries has increased the brightness of its Permalite XB interior trailer dome lamp by 30%, which makes the entire trailer interior well lit with contents clearly visible, increasing efficiency in loading and unloading operations.
Tags: Trailers, Phillips Industries
August 20 2013 - Products
Havco Wood Products
Havco Wood Products has announced a new water-resistant treatment for the top surface of hardwood floors in Dry Freight Van trailers. Floor Shield by Havco provides exceptional moisture protection and fast drying times with environmentally preferred properties.
Tags: Havco, Trailers
August 14 2013 - Products
East Manufacturing is introducing its new all-aluminum flatbed trailer with narrow-neck design. East has combined its new flatbed trailer with Sliding Systems Inc. all-aluminum Curtainside unit, resulting in one of the lightest weight trailers in the industry.
Tags: Trailers, East Manufacturing
July 18 2013 - Products
Phillips Industries has integrated its swivel S7 socket technology with its anti-corrosive swinging gladhands pre-fastened to a galvanized mounting plate to offer the new Sta-Dry S7 System.
May 29 2013 - Products
SAF-Holland's new lightweight SAF CBX69 Tridem Slider Suspension system is now available for trailer applications. The company says the SAF CBX69 sets a new standard for lightweight tridem suspension slider axle systems.
Tags: Trailers, Disc Brakes, Brakes, Suspensions, SAF-Holland
May 22 2013 - Products
The company said the camshaft head and shaft splines are induction-hardened for long life and durability, forged camshaft heads for precision-sizing and strength, and a nationwide 12-month warranty.
Tags: Trailers, Aftermarket Parts, Camshaft
May 21 2013 - Products
Amsoil introduces its Synthetic Fifth-Wheel Grease, which is engineered to provide protection for, and improve performance of, fifth-wheel hitches operating in trucking and trailer applications.
Tags: Trailers, AMSOIL, trailering, Fifth Wheels
April 18 2013 - Products
Bustin, a division of R·O·M Corp.
Bustin has introduced a sturdy, compact platform and step system that can be mounted on existing equipment. The 28-inch-deep Slide & Go Space Saver Platform fits most truck bodies, including flatbed trailers and vocational trucks.
Tags: Medium-Duty Trucks, Trailers, Truck Bodies
March 25 2013 - Products
LOUISVILLE -- Trail King announced its Continuous Belt Super Hi-Lite Rolled Side Ag Trailer (ASHR-C) at the Mid-America Trucking Show last week.
Tags: Trail King, Trailers
March 11 2013 - Products
Bendix says its new Trailer Information Module is an easy-to-use stand-alone system that offers comprehensive access to key trailer data.
Tags: Trailers, TMC, Bendix, Diagnostics, ABS, Shop Tools
March 6 2013 - Products
Utility Trailer Manufacturing Company
The Utility Side Skirt 120A-4 is a new advanced aerodynamic side skirt design, is U.S. EPA SmartWay verified to achieve greater than 5% fuel savings.
Tags: Trailers, Utility Trailer, Aerodynamics
February 6 2013 - Products
Freight Wing
Freight Wing has announced a new trailer side skirt, the AeroFlex Composite, which has been SAE/TMC tested to improve fuel economy by up to 7.45%. The skirts are SmartWay-verified.
Tags: Trailer Skirts, Trailers, Aerodynamics, MPG, Fuel Economy


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Windies knock out Pak in World T20 Super-10 clash to reach semi-finals
Defending champions West Indies have charged ahead into the semi-finals of the World Twenty20 on Tuesday with an impressive 84-run win over Pakistan in their 'must-win' Super-10 match in Dhaka.
The West Indies, who finished second behind unbeaten India in Group 2, will clash with Group 1 champions Sri Lanka in the first semi-final in Dhaka on Thursday, while India will meet South Africa at the same venue on Friday.
According to the Sydney Morning Herald, the Caribbean side recovered from a top-order meltdown to post 6-166 after electing to bat first, before three wickets each by spinners Samuel Badree and Sunil Narine skittled Pakistan for 82 in 17.5 overs.
The report mentioned that West Indies captain Darren Sammy (42 not out) and Dwayne Bravo (46) led a dramatic rescue act by adding 71 for the sixth wicket off just 32 balls and the team plundered 71 runs in the last four overs, taking 21 runs in the 18th bowled by seamer Umar Gul and 24 in the 19th by off-spinner Saeed Ajmal.
It is the first time Pakistan, finalists in the inaugural World T20 in 2007 and champions in 2009, failed to reach the knock-out rounds in the five editions of the tournament, the report added.
(Posted on 02-04-2014)
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text:
Call of Duty: Black Ops
- Genre:
- Action Games, Shooter, First-Person
- Release Date:
- 9/27/2012 (Mac); 11/9/2010 (PC, Wii, PS3, Xbox 360, DS)
- Publisher:
- Activision
- Developer:
- Treyarch
By: YoungRydah
Views: 4,081 | Posted: 05/30/2012
By: StitchJones
Team Deathmatch at Nakotomi Towers. Will John McClane reach his killstreak in time to save the hostages? Watch and find out!
Views: 305 | Posted: 05/07/2012
By: LPKaz
Call of Duty: Black Ops - Inverted TV (PS3)
Views: 571 | Posted: 09/26/2011
By: WarDragon989
This is the never before seen zombies trailer featuring the song 115 by Kevin Sherwood and Elena Siegman.
Views: 961 | Posted: 09/12/2011
By: antou
Lol awesome skills !
Views: 576 | Posted: 07/10/2011
By: pennyman
Call of Duty: Black Ops Annihilation DLC interview with game design director David Vonderhaar. Robert Welkner of COIN-OP TV with an exclusive visit to Treyarch studio for a one-on-one interview on the new Annihilation Maps. David responds to questions about balancing 'perks' in the game, how and when they decide to start creating DLC maps and on the decision to remake the 'Cliffs of Hazard' map (now called Hazard) from Call of Duty: World at War.
Views: 1,622 | Posted: 07/03/2011
By: BOiNGinc
Clips from the free Steam weekend BLOPS had recently. A promotion was held whereby the FULL Black Ops multiplayer was made available for free, for three days.
Views: 305 | Posted: 06/20/2011
By: DigitalScream
A bunch of clips that show you how to suck in black ops. lol Some of these are really funny. After playing a few games I started joking around and almost my whole team was doing the same thing. Jumping off of high places and dying, stabbing each other, and just stupid stuff, but it was one of the funnest nights on Blops, which is rare. Really just a bunch of clips of people having fun.
Views: 2,464 | Posted: 06/14/2011
By: cloud2795
Interviews with Danny Trejo, Michael Rooker, Robert Englund and Sarah Michelle Gellar, stars of Call of Duty: Black Ops' Call of the Dead
Views: 933 | Posted: 05/30/2011
By: cadvan6
Sorry this is in SD, the HD version was too big. Part 2 of 14 of my zombies game. Enjoy.
Views: 265 | Posted: 05/25/2011
What once started as an Easter egg in Treyarch's Call of Duty: World at War...
Posted: Sep 18, 2012
Posted: Jul 3, 2012
Posted: Jul 3, 2012
Posted: Jun 28, 2012


text:
Atlanta works to recover from housing bust
Jim Burress
Feb 14, 2013 Atlanta's unemployment rate still tops the national percentage, but city residents hope the worst is finally behind them.
David Leonhardt on making tough decisions to fix the economy
Kai Ryssdal
Interview by
Feb 13, 2013 The New York Times Washington bureau chief talks about the choices we have to make with respect to our debt and the national deficit.
U.S. trade deficit plunges
Jeremy Hobson
Interview by
Feb 8, 2013 The nation's trade deficit plunged in December, likely giving the U.S. economy an unexpected boost to round out the year.
A larger trade surplus can be a positive sign for U.S.
Scott Tong
Feb 8, 2013 Other countries may not be buying as much of our stuff, but our buying more of theirs is an indication of consumer strength.
What your local coffee shop can tell you about U.S. productivity
Mitchell Hartman
Feb 7, 2013 Productivity fell at the end of last year at the fastest pace in two years -- about 2 percent.
With stocks up, is the individual investor back?
Chris Farrell
Interview with
Feb 1, 2013 The Dow jumped almost 6 percent in January -- its best start to the year since 1994. Does this mean the individual investor has returned to the stock market?
Will jobs numbers follow GDP to show slower economy?
Mitchell Hartman
Feb 1, 2013 January unemployment numbers will help economists figure out which direction the economy is headed.
January layoffs down 24 percent from 2011
Mark Garrison
Interview by
Jan 31, 2013 According to a new report, January layoffs were up 24 percent from December but down 24 percent from the previous year, which could indicate relatively low unemployment rates for the month. The Bureau of Labor Statistics is scheduled to release the latest unemployment numbers on Friday.
How Americans think about the economy and their lives
Frank Newport
Interview with
Jan 31, 2013 When asked about how the economy directly impacts their lives, most Americans give the obvious answers -- and a couple of surprises too.
GDP drops 0.1 percent but other economic indicators continue to rise
Mark Garrison
Interview by
Jan 30, 2013 A Commerce Department report out today shows that GDP fell 0.1 percent last quarter, but consumer spending, business investment and employment continue to rise.