text:
Tortured Logic
I went to see Zero Dark Thirty last night. It's a magnificent film that immediately leaped into my top ten list for 2012. Don't hold your breath waiting for the list though. I'm not putting it out until I feel comfortable saying that I've seen all I need to see from last year. Which could be Thanksgiving at this rate.
Katherine Bigelow not getting an Oscar nomination for Zero Dark Thirty is mystifying. There were so many cheap bad ways this movie could have been made and she skipped them all. It is not a jingoistic ra-ra action flick. It is not political navel gazing. It does not preach at us. It simply tells the story of a real CIA agent. We don't know her name (she's called Maya in the movie and played brilliantly by Jessica Chastain) but she was tenacious in hunting down the courier who would be the key to finding Osama Bin Laden.
Bigelow, working from Mark Boal's script, gives us a movie that is as focused on Maya as she was in finding her quarry. The camera very rarely leaves her, usually only doing so to give other characters a chance to talk about her or to give us parts of the hunt she didn't personally witness. The only other time is to show us terrorist attacks, making sure we don't forget how serious this is.
That single minded attention to one character gives us an emotional attachment to a procedural story. There isn't any glamour to this kind of spy work. It's tedious drudgery for the most part. Except for the torture.
This is the part of the movie that is generating a bit of a backlash. We know that torture was used to try and get information about Al Qaeda from suspects. This is not amongst our country's prouder moments. It's downright embarrassing actually. But it happened and because it did, it belongs in this story. The charge against the movie is that is showing torture to be useful and effective.
I disagree.
We see a particular prisoner being tortured in a variety of ways. He doesn't offer up much of value. Another scene shows him throwing out random bits of information, clearly hoping that one of them is what the interrogator wants to hear. There is no indication that he is speaking real information, just a desperate attempt to make it stop. Eventually a useful nugget of information is obtained from this man, but only after they have changed tactics and stopped torturing him. So it's a bit murky on whether the torture produced any useful intelligence.
All of that doesn't mean a thing. The question is whether or not the movie presents a pro torture message. What I described simply depicts the events and not how a message is sold. For this movie to be pro torture it would have to have characters being in favor of torture or depict the torture in an exciting way. The torture scenes are grim and unpleasant to watch. Maya routinely appears highly uncomfortable during or immediately after torture scenes. Not once do you hear a character saying it would be a good idea to torture someone. The one time Maya attempts torture without her partner, she gets nothing at all. When she asks her partner if he wants to take a shot, he declines and then indicates that he can't take doing it anymore. Another scene shows agents talking in a conference room with a TV on in the background showing Obama insisting in an interview that the US does not use torture. The agents all turn to look with blank expressions and then return to their conversation without comment.
Over and over again, the movie skips opportunities to champion torture. And it takes plenty of opportunities to make you look at how awful this war is. The most positive viewpoint you can find is that the agents are willing to try torture in the hope that it will help. But there is no indication that it is their first choice or that they even think it's a good idea. The torture in this movie is there because it is part of what happened, right or wrong.
If you want to rail against the use of torture, have at it. I'll be right there with you. If you want to condemn the people who did it or pushed for it, I'm with you. If the depictions of torture in the movie made you uncomfortable, good. It was supposed to. But calling this movie pro torture because it depicts torture, that's just declaring that we can't even bring up the issue without being in favor of it. Being unwilling to talk about a subject doesn't show much confidence in the strength of your argument.
One of the things I love about this movie is its unflinching gaze. It insists on looking straight at every awful part of this war, forcing the viewer to think about it. People fighting against terrorism do unspeakable things. Damage is never confined just to the bad guys. There is collateral damage and you have to look at it. War is a miserable wretched thing to be avoided. Making people confront that is not a bad thing. And there's nothing wrong with enjoying a violent action movie. But it doesn't hurt to remind yourself of the realities of war, lest we start to think that it's like the movies, full of mayhem without consequences.
Moving right along
By the end of my day, which will probably be around 4AM, I'll be into the outlining stage of the script. That's the update for the day.
In the meantime, enjoy this interview with Quentin Tarantino. I enjoyed his brutal honesty about junket interviews and the interviewer's obvious discomfort with that honesty.
Pleased to meet you
There are all sorts of weird holes in my movie knowledge. Certain directors, genres, actors or writers whose work I've never caught up with for some reason. I'm starting to close one of those holes this week and it's a bit of a startling one.
Marilyn Monroe.
For reasons unknown to me, the iconic actress has managed to largely escape my attention until now. I use the word iconic based almost entirely on reputation. I had seen Some Like It Hot a couple times and the movie My Week With Marilyn, which was about her making the movie The Prince and the Showgirl. Not coincidentally, that is where I began correcting the oversight.
Over the years, I've noticed that when going back to look at the great movies, it can sometimes be hard to appreciate them. They tend to be influential, which means I've probably seen a dozen or more movies building off of those greats. And then the original won't feel original. Ironic, but true. There are, of course, movies so distinctive that no amount of time will rob of their luster. But sometimes it requires a bit of perspective to appreciate them.
None of that means a damn thing when talking about Marilyn Monroe. There is a reason she is an icon. The first couple scenes of The Prince and the Showgirl are deceptive in that she does little of note, simply existing as a pretty face. But then comes a rather lengthy and extraordinary scene in which she is invited to the Carpathian embassy in London to spend the evening with that country's regent (Laurence Olivier). At this point Monroe is unleashed, commanding the screen with a rather astounding performance that I was unprepared for.
Monroe's performance is a marvel for the subtle complexity of what on the surface is a dumb blonde act. There is nothing dumb about it though. She switches gears in the blink of an eye, going from ditzy to irritable to over the top sexy to mocking, all without ever allowing her character to seem conscious of it. Playing opposite the legendary Olivier, she reduces him to playing the sputtering straight man, just trying to hold on and keep up with her. There is no way to determine in this scene what her character is really after but there is no doubt she is in control.
This is not a woman just playing off her considerable sex appeal. It's much more than that. She is keenly aware of that appeal, using it not as a full frontal assault but as a leverage point for going in other directions. She's completely capable of turning her sexiness up to full volume and melting the brain of every man in sight. Instead she uses only a bit of it here and there to disarm and confuse, keeping Olivier's regent off balance and out of his element, even though he believes himself to be the one in a position of power. The guy who is supposed to rule an entire nation can't even rule the room with this woman around.
I have several more of her movies backlogged on the DVR but this one is enough to convince me that this woman deserves the status of a legend. Oddly enough, Some Like It Hot didn't convince me. It's often described as one of the greatest comedies of all time and I like it just fine. But it never made me laugh enough to belong amongst the greats. Which is odd, considering that all of that movie's principals convinced me of their greatness elsewhere.
A couple of side notes. Monroe is great but the movie is not. It's oddly paced and lacking much narrative tension to drive it along. Also, after watching it, I like My Week With Marilyn a bit less. The sad unstable woman that movie portrays doesn't seem to click with the sort of sharp mind needed to carry off a performance like this. Maybe that's wishful thinking on my part but it sure feels like they were selling her a bit short.
That old icky feeling
A couple nights ago I watched the documentary How to Survive a Plague. Immediately it moved on to my top ten list of the year's movies. It's that good.
The movie documents the organization ACT UP, which emerged in the 1980s as a response to the AIDS crisis. It was an act of self defense by the gay community, who felt the government, pharmaceutical companies and religious organizations were actively contributing to the spread of the disease. They protested, harangued, shamed and committed acts of performance art at anyone who stood in the way of stopping this epidemic.
Right off the bat, they had me. I love a good protest. I even enjoy bad protests. Anytime a group of people is so moved by something that they take to the streets and engage in civil disobedience to try and force change, I love it. Even if I don't agree with them. In the case of ACT UP, I whole heartedly endorse their actions. This was protest as an art form and it was a thrill to watch. But that makes it sounds like I'm trivializing what they were doing. Not at all. These were people who felt this was a matter of life and death. Protesting was a way to try and save lives. It's tough not to respect that.
I won't go into details but the movie is beautifully constructed. It isn't maudlin and it isn't an endless stream of talking head interviews. No, the ACT UP folks were so media savvy that they videotaped everything they did. Usually from multiple angles. This gives the documentary an almost electric energy because those cameras captured the raw anger and frustration of the protesters. It also captured their genuine fear. It is riveting.
I won't go into much detail on this because I don't want to ruin the film for you, but the construction of it is exquisite. For the last couple years, in service of my screenwriting, I've become obsessed with structure. The way How to Survive a Plague is put together makes it somehow better than the sum of its parts. What it chooses to show you and what it chooses to hold back make for an even better story. It is brutally honest, not just in thrashing horrendous people like Senator Jesse Helms, but in admitting the movement's mistakes. This gives the story a lot more weight by causing the tension to rise and fall as victories turn out to be failures and seeming follies turn into victories. I could go on forever but that would just take away your joy of discovery. The movie is on Netflix Watch Instant right now. See it. You won't regret it.
On a personal level, it made me reflect on the way I've evolved over the years on gay matters. The doc picks up in the mid 80s, when I was a dumb teenager. I know, that's redundant. I'm from upstate New York, growing up in a lily-white, largely conservative community. It's a bit less so today, but not radically different. It was a time when racist jokes were thrown around with glee. And it would be a lie to say I wasn't involved. My upbringing was pretty liberal, so there wasn't any hate in my telling of such jokes, I just never gave any thought to who they might hurt. And why would I? The people smeared by the jokes didn't seem to be amongst us.
The first time I can recall meeting an openly gay person was in college. In high school, this would have been considered supremely icky. In truth, apart from the openly gay part, this meeting wasn't notably different from any other I'd have in college. He was just this guy, you know?
College for me was an education in economics. This tilted my personal politics to the libertarian. As Penn Jillette likes to say, "Take a hard right on money, a hard left on sex and then it's straight on to paradise." It would take me the next couple decades to get an intellectual grip on this but the most important concept here was a deep love of liberty. Pretty much everything I care about gets filtered through that.
The other good thing about college was it led me to meet my wife. And she's an important part of this evolution because not long before I met her, she had lost an important member of her family to AIDS. This is where my feelings on gay people shifted from one of discomfort to some level of understanding and empathy. This was no longer an abstract idea that I hadn't had to deal with. It was now a real person, a warm loving human being cut down in his prime. Later, after we were married, we took a trip to Washington D.C. where the AIDS quilt was being displayed on the lawn of the national mall. That moment rattled me rather hard. First off, the sheer scale of the thing was deeply unnerving. But then on a smaller scale, seeing friends and family locating the square belonging to their loved one and being overcome, that was heartbreaking. And yes, when we located the square we were looking for, it was a profoundly sad moment.
In the last decade, as the fight over gay marriage became more public and heated, I took the last step. A small part of that step was going to see Brokeback Mountain. When Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal have their first sex scene, I felt a flash of that ickiness from the high school days. By the end of the movie I was crying. That was the end of that childish response. It never returned. Now I'll cheerfully watch movies about gay characters and never give it a second thought. I'm just embarrassed that it took me that long to get over it. Amusingly, I now roll my eyes at people who can't believe I went to see that movie. No, I have no reason to feel smug about that and my penance is to admit all this here.
The rest of the story wasn't a changing of my attitude but strongly asserting another one. As the debate over gay marriage began to rage, so did I. Without that stupid icky thinking clogging up my brain I saw the issue on a very simple but powerful level. Telling one group of people it was okay to get married while telling another group no was an offensive violation of liberty. Everyone in this country should have the exact same level of liberty. I've listened to all manner of arguments against gay marriage and not one of them holds any water for me. Giving a right to some people and denying to others is just wrong. Try and explain it away any way you like but it still comes down to favoring one group over another. Liberty doesn't work that way. Either everyone has the right or no one does. And if you try to argue otherwise, I promise to look down on you for it.
Probably my proudest moment politically was harassing my state senator, Steve Salland, to vote in favor of a law allowing gay marriage in New York. He had voted against such measures in the past and I let him have it for it. But that last time, he ended up casting the deciding vote in favor of gay marriage. I remember reading his comments in the newspaper the next day. They sounded eerily similar to what I kept writing to him. In no way do I think I was the one to convince him, but hearing him change his mind that way warmed my heart and gave me the only moment in my life when I felt the political process had worked properly.
That was pretty similar to the way How to Survive a Plague ends. Important changes have been made that make the world a better, safer place. They are by no means the end of the fight but it marks a big step in the right direction. Hopefully we can all keep going.
84th Oscars Recap
The Artist and Hugo tied for the most wins but most people will give the edge to The Artist because it won Best Picture. The biggest losers were War Horse and Moneyball which had six nominations each but brought home zero wins. The Moneyball losses bother me the most. It was one of my absolute favorites for the year.
There were a few surprises for the night, which is always nice. Meryl Streep's win was startling, if for no other reason than we've come to expect that she'll be nominated almost every year and then lose. I saw a fair number of people coming down on her for false modesty in her speech. Have we become so cynical that's impossible to believe that someone can be genuinely moved to win? Just because she's famous and nominated repeatedly doesn't mean she can't appreciate the moment. There are a lot of huge egos in Hollywood but most of the time you'll find that the most talented and hardest working people are the most modest. Don't shit on her moment. She's earned it.
The other big surprises were in technical categories, so the average person probably didn't even notice. The editing win for The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo left me gobsmacked. I had just bored my wife to tears with my dissertation on why Moneyball deserved it but wouldn't win, and why Thelma Schoonmaker was a legend but wouldn't win and why The Artist would win, and then the one I neither mentioned or even seriously considered got the win. She laughed long and hard as I sat there with my jaw hanging open. And then there was the win by Hugo for visual effects, which I picked but still have trouble believing won. Make no mistake, the VFX work in Hugo is magnificent, but it is mostly the sort that is so seamless, you might not have realized you were looking at effects. Compared to the flashy effects of the competition, Hugo might have seemed a serious underdog. But the Academy often gives the award to the movie that best integrates its effects into the story. Considering that, it's not such a huge shock.
As for the show itself, it was fine. The Cirque de Soleil thing was cool and weird, so that was appreciated. Billy Crystal was just fine, but thoroughly safe. Chris Rock's brief moment on stage had me hoping he'd come back to host, Sean Penn be damned. Will Ferrell and Zach Galifinakis had a nice little bit with the cymbals. Angelina Jolie made me giggle when she struck a pose and then the writers of The Descendants made me laugh more when they struck a pose. Emma Stone looked stoned but was funnier than just about anyone. The focus group film with Christopher Guest and his band of comedians was great. The show was a big improvement over last year's debacle but very safe. I'd really love to see them take more risks and try to be more about film and less of a stage show.
I picked the winner correctly 17 out of 24 categories. Not bad, but far from my best effort. Below are all the categories with my predictions and the winners.
Best Picture
Who Will/Did Win: The Artist
Lead Actor
Who Will/Did Win: Jean Dujardin
Lead Actress
Who Will Win: Viola Davis - The Help Who Did Win: Meryl Streep – The Iron Lady
Supporting Actor
Who Will/Did Win: Christopher Plummer -Beginners
Supporting Actress
Who Will/Did Win: Octavia Spencer - The Help
Animated Feature Film
Who Will/Did Win: Rango
Art Direction
Who Will/Did Win: Hugo
Who Will/Did Win: Hugo
Costume Design
Who Will Win: Hugo Who Did Win: The Artist
Who Will/Did Win: Michel Hazanavicius - The Artist
Documentary Feature
Who Will Win: Pina Who Did Win: Undefeated
Documentary Short
Who Will/Did Win: Saving Face
Who Will Win: The Artist Who Did Win: The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo
Foreign Language Film
Who Will/Did Win: A Separation
Who Will Win: Harry Potter 8 Who Did Win: The Iron Lady
Original Score
Who Will/Did Win: The Artist
Original Song
Who Will/Did Win: Man or Muppet from The Muppets
Short Film - Animated
Who Will/Did Win: The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore
Short Film - Live Action
Who Will Win: Raju Who Did Win: The Shore
Sound Editing
Who Will/Did Win: Hugo
Sound Mixing
Who Will/Did Win: Hugo
Visual Effects
Who Will/Did Win: Hugo
Adapted Screenplay
Who Will/Did Win: The Descendants
Original Screenplay
Who Will Win: The Artist Who Did Win: Midnight in Paris
84th Annual Oscars Predictions
I'm a big fan of the Oscars. I know it's cool to dump on the Academy Awards and complain about everything they do wrong. But for me, that's a lot of their charm. As movie fans, there is little we like more than debating and arguing about movies. And so the Academy's imperfect record makes for good debate. As for the ceremony itself, the goofier and more weird, the better. Again, the quirks and flaws add to their charm. We have an extra debate every year about how to fix the Oscars. To my eye, the better run the show, the less interesting it is to watch.
So lets get right to the picks.
Best Picture
Who Will Win: The Artist
Who Should Win: Hugo
There are nine nominees but realistically this is a three horse race between The Artist, The Descendants and Hugo. I saw The Artist back in October at a film festival and enjoyed it but wondered how well a modern silent black & white movie would play to general audiences. I still don't think we have an answer to that but it clearly plays well to purple who hand out awards. I don't expect the Oscars to be any different.
Lead Actor
Who Will/Should Win: Jean Dujardin
This one seems to come down Jean Dujardin and George Clooney. Clooney is probably about as well liked guy as there is in Hollywood, which makes it feel like folks are just looking for an excuse to give him an award. But that won't be enough to hold off Dujardin. His showy performance is the linchpin for a silent film that likely goes down in flames without him. Dujardin doesn't merely succeed, he shines in the role.
Lead Actress
Who Will/Should Win: Viola Davis - The Help
This is a tough deep category this year. When Tilda Swinton's amazing performance in We Need to Talk About Kevin can be left out, the rest of the field is formidable. I can easily see Michelle Williams, Meryl Streep or Viola Davis walking away with it. Normally I'd favor the young pretty starlet, in this case Williams playing Marilyn Monroe in My Week With Marilyn, because that's the tendency of the Academy voters, but the winds don't seem to be blowing that way this year. Streep has a lot of heat this year, playing British prime minister Margaret Thatcher, but the 17 time nominee has to overcome a lack of love for the movie The Iron Lady. Davis, on the other hand is in the crowd pleasing film The Help, and serves as its emotional core.
Supporting Actor
Who Will/Should Win: Christopher Plummer -Beginners
There are plenty of excellent performances in this category but the heavy favorite is Christopher Plummer for Beginners. His biggest competitor was the guy who wasn't even nominated, Albert Brooks in Drive.
Supporting Actress
Who Will/Should Win: Octavia Spencer - The Help
This is another category with a strong favorite. Octavia Spencer was a force of nature in The Help and won't be easily overlooked.
Animated Feature Film
Who Will/Should Win: Rango
The biggest surprise here is the lack of an entry from Pixar. Cars 2 wasn't a hit with critics but Pixar laughs all the way to the bank on that one. It will pay for the next few movies all by itself in merchandising. As for the actual nominees, this is a strange mix. Puss In Boots and Kung Fu Panda 2 are both fine films but not the sort that are remembered for the ages. A Cat In Paris and Chico & Rita are almost entirely unknown to American audiences at this point. We just don't know anything about them. That pretty much leaves Rango. Which is just fine with me since I declared it the favorite for the award when it first came out. It's a fun weird movie with something to say.
Art Direction
Who Will/Should Win: Hugo
I was tempted to pick The Artist for the simple reason that it seems to have a hell of a head of steam going. But I went with Hugo for the rather astounding attention to detail of the movie, not just in this area, but pretty much every element. If you learn anything about the making of this movie, it's just about impossible not to be in awe of the work done in it. I'm going with my heart a bit here, which is usually where I get pasted in picking, but it feels right.
Who Will/Should Win: Hugo
This category is a brute to predict. There is some exemplary work in all of these films. I could make a strong case for the photography of any of them. But I'm going to go with Hugo. For one thing it looks gorgeous. For another the camera moves in fascinating ways that will make you scratch your head in confusion if you stop to think about how they must have been shot. And finally, it uses stereo imaging and makes it work well. I am not a fan of the 3D craze and this is probably the first movie I've seen in 3D where I felt like it was adding something to the film and not just being a gimmick.
Costume Design
And let's make it three in a row for Hugo because it just rocks all these elements.
Who Should Win: Martin Scorsese - Hugo
Who Will Win: Michel Hazanavicius - The Artist
Hugo is a movie that grows on me the more I think about it and the more I learn about how it was made. It just seems like this bottomless well of fascinating choices and information. I really love what Scorsese did by pulling together all these craftspeople to build the delightful world of Hugo. Scorsese's deep love of film history and his campaigning for film preservation come together here in a way that just tickles me to no end. So he is my unequivocable choice for this award. He won't get it. Michel Hazanavicius made something that seems to have tickled Hollywood just a little bit more. It's a fine film and he has my respect for it. I hope he enjoys the win. He just wouldn't be my choice.
Documentary Feature
Who Will Win: Pina
I haven't seen any of these so I have no direct opinion of them. I'll be rooting for Danfung Dennis and Hell And Back Again because he shot it on a Canon 5D and that's pretty cool. But I'm guessing Pina will win for the very simple reason that it's the only one I've heard people talking about. That must mean something.
Documentary Short
I'm sorry to say I haven't seen any of these either. Generally, this category goes to the most "important" topic so I'm going to guess the winner will be Saving Face because scarring women with acid is just wrong.
Who Should Win: Moneyball
Who Will Win: The Artist
If you ask me which movie has the best editing I'll answer Moneyball without hesitation. It was a tough task to pull that movie together and it was pulled off with style and grace. But it won't win. More likely it goes to The Artist or Hugo. I'm giving the edge to The Artist simply because I'm calling it for Best Picture as well. But don't be surprised if legendary editor Thelma Schoonmaker takes the prize.
Foreign Language Film
I'm picking A Separation because I hear people talking about it a lot and speaking very highly of it. But I haven't seen it or any of the competitors so it's purely a guess.
Old age makeup is tough to get right and by all accounts The Iron Lady accomplishes the job effectively. But I suspect the award goes to Harry Potter 8 for being flashier and because it needs to win something.
Original Score
John Williams is nominated twice here, for Warhorse and The Adventures of Tintin, so he'll probably cancel himself out. Not that it matters because the easy choice here is The Artist. It's a silent film. There's no dialog to drive the story, leaving the score to do all that work. And since it works well, that inescapable score stands out much more than any other film.
Original Song
Man or Muppet from The Muppets. Duh.
Short Film - Animated
I've seen only one of these, The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore. And based on that diverse knowledge, I'll pick it to win.
Short Film - Live Action
Who Should Win: Time Freak
Who Will Win: Raju
For the first time ever, I've seen all of these before the ceremony. And instead of randomly picking one, I actually have to think about this. My favorite is Time Freak, mostly because it made me laugh the most. Pentecost is funny too but slight. Actually, all but one of these are comedies. Raju is serious and has a social conscience, making it a serious contender. The Shore is sweetly funny and has lovely acting, but it feels lacking in weight to me. Tuba Atlantic is a nice mix of laughs and sadness which could make it the best crowd pleaser. I'm going to go with Raju though. It has an emotional weight the other four can't match and wrestles with some tough moral quandaries.
Sound Editing
Who Should Win: Drive
Who Will Win: Hugo
At this point in my predictions, it's starting to feel like Hugo will run wild through the technical awards. I'm pulling for Drive just so it can win something though.
Sound Mixing
Who Should Win: Moneyball
Who Will Win: Hugo
I really loved the work in Moneyball but as I said, Hugo is on a rampage.
Visual Effects
Who Should Win: Rise of the Planet of the Apes
Who Will Win: Hugo
I'm going out on a limb on this one thanks to this guy. My gut is loudly screaming that he's wrong and Rise will get its richly deserved win. But man do I want to be on the right side of an upset win, so here's the stab at that.
Adapted Screenplay
Who Should Win: Moneyball
Who Will Win: The Descendants
In case you haven't noticed by now, I loved the hell out of Moneyball. Considering that it took a book about sabremetrics, an area of baseball even a dedicated fan like myself can't get interested in, and made it into a great movie, that's some genius work right there. But every time I pick what I think is the best script, I get it wrong. So let's go with The Descendants. It's a fine film and I'm a big fan of Alexander Payne. I suspect a lot of Academy voters feel the same way.
Original Screenplay
Who Will Win: The Artist
Who Should Win: Midnight in Paris
The Artist is great work, particularly when hampered by the lack of dialogue, and it deserves a lot of praise. It will win. But I would personally go with Woody Allen's Midnight in Paris which is utterly charming and smart as hell. And I'm not even much of an Allen fan, so that's high praise. The dark horse is Bridesmaids which represented a bit of a tidal shift in Hollywood regarding how it thinks women should be treated as material and served as an audience. But Hollywood only tends to get that sort of thing a few years down the road, so it's probably way too soon for an award this year.
Don't Try This At Home
Conservatively guessing, I probably watched Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome a dozen times in the eighties. I saw it when it came out and watched it over and over again on cable later. I was aware that there were earlier films but didn't actually make any attempt to see them. I was a teenager, the nearest rental store was three miles away and I didn't have a car. My movie watching in the eighties was strictly whatever came on HBO or Showtime and whatever I could hitch a ride to see in a theater. My dad did all the VHS tape renting and his taste was awful, so I took what I could get when I could get it.
A couple years ago I finally got around to watching The Road Warrior, thanks to Netflix. Good stuff. I enjoyed it thoroughly. It lacked the polish and grandeur of Thunderdome but it was batshit crazy and dripping adrenaline. And it helped fill in the world of Mad Max for me a bit. I was pleased.
Now I've finally watched the original Mad Max, and I hate to say it but I didn't much care for it. This isn't really meant as criticism of the film. I did something director George Miller never could have expected when he made it. I came into the series backwards. As such, the plot of Mad Max is predictable. And I spent most of the movie thinking that the world looked to be in much better shape than it could have. The second two movies sell the post apocalyptic angle a lot harder, so much so that the original doesn't even feel like the world had come crashing down. So combine my confusion over the setting with being ten steps ahead of the plot at all times and then layer on an over the top score. It almost began to play as a comedy.
Keep in mind, I'm not trashing Mad Max. It was shot for next to nothing and discovered a genuine star in the making in Mel Gibson. For what it was, they did a great job. The fault is mine for watching in reverse order. So don't yell at me for putting down Mad Max. If you have to bitch at me, do it for my poor sense of chronology.
But holy shit did that movie not work for me.
Back to Reality
Like every year, I spent a five day chunk of my life immersed in a film festival, FilmColumbia to be specific. It's a great festival and a truly surprising one considering it takes place in small town upstate New York. You know, that mythical part of the state north of "The City."
It was a great time and over five days I saw 18 feature films and a half dozen shorts. If you follow this blog you'll notice I wrote a ton on the movies the first couple days and then stopped. This is normal. After that the number of films starts to become overwhelming and the lack of sleep starts to get to me and I just stop writing. I did mostly keep going on Twitter though.
I would recommend pretty much everything to some degree but of course there are stand outs. Anonymous opens this week and is worth a watch, even if it's just for the shock value of watching Roland Emmerich not blow up the world in a movie. I fell madly in love with Downtown Express, but at this point it doesn't have distributor, so finding it may be tough. If you like a slow burn, Martha Marcy May Marlene is well worth your time. If you want to be greatly unsettled, We Need to Talk About Kevin should be on your to do list. The Descendants is another great offering from Alexander Payne. Coriolanus can simultaneously scratch your action movie and Shakespeare itches. And finally, My Week With Marilyn is immensely charming and beautifully shot.
But for me, the highlight will be the screenwriting panel on Sunday morning. Writers bring in a piece of their script and real working actors perform it live for an audience. I brought in a section of the short script No Big Deal that I've been working on since the summer. I was a nervous wreck during the whole event. Until someone else looks at my material, I don't really know what I have. All I know is that the idea interested me enough to write and that I've done my best to write it. There were some really strong entries and my script was the last to be read. By the time they got to mine, I had convinced myself that I had written utter crap and it would be booed off the stage.
This did not happen. The actors were Anna Acciani, Gian Murray-Gianino, Kevin Craig West, Lily Balsan, Glen Heroy and Parker Posey. They knocked it out of the park. I couldn't be more delighted with their performances, particularly Heroy and Posey who found a style and rhythm to an older couple in the story that I never imagined. And what they did was more interesting than what was in my head when I wrote it. Always leave space in your writing for the actors to work in. If they're at all talented, they'll elevate your material if you don't put them in a straight jacket.
After the reading there was discussion and the reaction was easily the best I've had at one of these events. People were fascinated with the idea and my plan for making it. After it was over I was able to talk to most of the actors and pick their brains about producing this short. To say it was informative is a huge understatement. And after the whole thing was over I actually had people in the audience stop me on the street to talk about it. If you're writing scripts, get them read out loud, you won't be disappointed.
So that's it. The fun is over and now it's time to go back to reality. And that first day back is pure drudgery. After a high like Sunday, Monday at the regular job is a big let down. No offense to my co-workers, who are lovely people, it's just not the same.
Downtown Express
I'm writing this out of great selfishness. Downtown Express does not have a distributor at this point, which means that an album of the film's music is not available for sale. And I want that album badly. So I'm going to write about the movie in the hope that it will get more attention and get a distributor so I can get that album. C'mon, somebody pick it up. I'm standing here with cash in hand, ready to give it to anyone who takes a chance on it.
Downtown Express is the story of Sasha (Philippe Quint), a Russian immigrant brought here by his father Vadim (Michael Cumpsty) to study music at Julliard. Sasha is a gifted violinist, trained since the age of three by his cellist father. Sasha is working hard with his teacher Marie (Carolyne McCormick) to prepare for a recital which will launch his career. Vadim's passion for music is off the scale and he often barges into the lessons to correct Marie's interpretation of Tchaikovsky. Sasha is a bit more broad minded about music. We see him walking the streets of New York, thrilling to variety of street musicians he finds along his way. He goes to see the band Downtown Express play at a bar and is so taken with them, and particularly their singer Ramona (Nellie McKay), that he asks to join the band.
What follows is a lot of musical brilliance as Sasha tries to meld his classical violin with a modern alternative style band. The movie's story isn't anything new. The son clashes with the traditional ways of the father but earns his grudging respect by excelling in his own way. But the way that story unfolds, fueled by some truly gifted and charismatic musicians, takes this from something ordinary into something transcendent. Yes, I'm outright gushing here. I'm a guy who has struggled his whole life to put aside other people's expectations to pursue my own artistic creations. The phrase "But artists don't make any money" has haunted me over the years, as well meaning parents tried to push me into more lucrative careers. Money doesn't mean a damn thing to me if I'm miserable earning it. Pursuing art of my own is something I'd do for free. Learning to be okay with that has taken me my entire adult life. This movie is exactly about that struggle. There is a moment when Sasha is rehearsing with the band as they try to perfect their sound on the way to an important gig that literally brought tears to my eyes. This wasn't actors pretending to be musically brilliant as they evolve before our eyes. They really did it. And it is a beautiful thing to behold. Writer/director David Grubin has made something truly magical here.
I can't say enough about Philippe Quint as the lead. He is a monstrously charismatic fellow who backs it up with electrifying violin playing. He's a musician who learned to act for this movie and it's a spectacular debut. He has great chemistry with Nellie McKay, who has acted before but is also a wonderful musician. Cumpsty and McCormick are veteran actors who add a great layer to the movie with their sweetly developing romance. And in the smaller roles, I liked the band members and Sasha's cousin a lot too. It's just a great cast.
So, again, somebody pick this up for distribution. I'm ready to put cash down on a movie ticket, album and DVD right now. Please, take my money.
Despite swearing off being a film critic, going to a film festival brings it right back out of me. And since I'm spending pretty much all week at FilmColumbia, you'll forgive me a few critical indulgences.
Lars Von Trier is a provocateur, plain and simple. And he is very good at it. I have a strong reaction to every film of his that I see, mostly negative. Melancholia is a bit tougher to place than his previous work but it still managed to wind me up. The movie starts with a long section of surreal slow motion shots, mostly featuring Kirsten Dunst staring moodily into the camera while something bizarre occurs, like birds falling from the sky or electricity rising from her fingers. And then the segment concludes with an impressive shot of a rogue planet slamming into the Earth and destroying it. Then the movie backs up and starts over at the wedding of Justine (Dunst).
I found this part of the movie fairly maddening. It has moments of great charm and great humor. But it also has moments of pure acid rancor and self-destructive behavior. By the end of the wedding, I know with great certainty that Justine is someone I don't want to spend time with. Clearly she's suffering great mental pain, but because the style of the film is to jump into the middle of Justine's story, I couldn't find a place to get a grip on her. Similarly, her family is tough to figure out and I needed more than half the movie to make sense of them. This isn't me complaining about not being able to sympathize with the characters. I don't need that. I don't even need to like them. I do need to find a way to get a handle on them though. Something I can sink my teeth in, a point to build from. I've read a few reviews of the movie and from them I learn that Von Trier has suffered from severe depression and that fueled his previous film Antichrist and this one. With that in mind, Justine starts to make a lot more sense to me. Without it, I spent much of the movie wondering what the hell was wrong with her. Her character was opaque to me.
The second half of the movie switches the focus to Justine's sister Claire (Charlotte Gainsbourg). This part worked a lot better for me but at the same time I found it much less engaging. Justine was intriguing, even if I couldn't understand her while Claire was much easier to understand and subsequently less interesting. This section has a lot more to do with the rogue planet and has some interesting stuff about how people process disasters and the inevitability of death. But this is also where Von Trier started to get under my skin. There is an unpleasant nihilist streak running through it that I find it impossible to relate to. He's taking such a polar opposite to my own world view that he might as well just show a photo of himself flipping me off. Same effect. I'm going to avoid discussing this in detail, because you should discover it for yourself, but there is a scene that feels like Von Trier giving us his view of things that turned me off completely.
Von Trier knows exactly what he's doing here. This is a filmmaker in complete control of his medium and from a technical view, I can admire the hell out of that. I can and do disagree with some of his choices, most notably the handheld camera style, but I'm not putting his work down, merely voicing a difference in taste. What strikes me as most odd is that last night I watched Roland Emmerich's Anonymous, made entirely without world ending vfx, and tonight I watched Von Trier make prominent use of world ending vfx. The world has gone mad.


text:
customer service
(sign out)
click here
for assistance.
Your version of Internet Explorer is out of date. For best experience please upgrade to Internet Explorer 7 or above.
Create creamy, frozen drinks in seconds with the Ninja Master Prep Professional Blender. It chops, blends and crushes ice up to 2 times faster than conventional home blenders.
Blender set includes:
450 watts. All pieces except the power head are dishwasher safe. Imported.
select all options before proceeding
Save For Later
©jcp Media Inc.,
All Rights Reserved

subset: commoncrawl


text:
New look U.S. MLPs riskier, but may be worth it
Sussed out
The $350 bln tax-privileged master limited partnership sector mostly involves safe, fee-based energy assets like pipelines. Newcomers like Texas-based Susser Petroleum, a fuel distributor, aren't so predictable. But high yields - 8.5 pct for Susser - can make up for the dangers.
This content is for Subscribers only
To access full Breakingviews.com content you must be a subscriber. Please use the following link to request a trial.


text:
Forgot your password?
Dont have account? Register Here
Enjoy our delicious Lebkuchen selection. We have a variety of brands from Schulte to Schuhmann.
Our wide assortment of Liquor Candy has arrived. Our Brandy filled chocolates are just the beginning of what we have to offer .
From Niederegger to Anthon Berg we have all the marzipan you want for the upcoming Holidays.
Woodruff Syrup
Prost! Enjoy a German classic. Add a bottle of Woodruff Syrup to your order and make your next toast a special one.
German Deli
Schaller & Weber stocks our shelves with the finest meats of Germany.
Holiday Treats
Our Christmas Selection has just hit the shelves. Wunderbar!


text:
TED Translators are volunteers who subtitle TED Talks, and enable the inspiring ideas in them to crisscross languages and borders.
Volunteer Bob Prottas shares why he transcribes TEDx talks, making them available for translation into 100+ languages.
Meet some of the TED Translators who attended TEDActive 2015 and learn about their conference experience in this mini documentary!
As a TEDx organizer, how can you turn your audience into active participants, strengthen your local TEDx community, and make your event's ideas accessible? TEDxMadrid's Antonella Broglia and Javi Garriz figured out the solution: host a transcription marathon!
A true dancer at heart, Gustavo Rocha knows how to take the floor — and teach fresh moves in six languages. Gustavo advocates to improve public education in his home country, Brazil. Naturally, he's a driving force behind translating TED Talks into Brazilian Portuguese, and advancing his language community.
Asqat Yerkimbay translates TED Talks into Kazakh to prove his native language can express today's big ideas. Through his NGO and a weekly gathering called Chay-Fi (tea + wifi), Asqat brings together volunteers who are helping to
increase the use of Kazakh — online and offline.
Watch the story of Shadia Ramsahye, a Mauritian-born digital media student in Paris who translates TED Talks into French and Urdu.
Translation stats
21,319 translators
93,016 translations
Translator news
Can I help translate TEDx Talks if I only speak English? Yes. Meet Camille, an English language coordinatorCamille Martinez is a native English speaker who's fluent in Spanish. In her career, she's run a language school, worked in medical translation and interpreting, and even start...
40 brilliant idioms that simply can't be translated literallyWhat does it mean to "have tomatoes on your eyes?" Find out below… It's a piece of cake. You can't put lipstick on a pig. Why add fuel to the fire? Idioms are those phrases th...
Need help? We're here for you.
Contact us at firstname.lastname@example.com.
Help us translate!
Join our global community of volunteers to bring TED into your language. Get started.


text:
Via Buzzfeed
Wednesday, June 20, 2012
Recovering From Disaster
Wednesday, June 20, 2012 Hurricane Katrina , Joplin Tornado , Natural Disasters , Rebuilding , Tsunami No comments
Media always document the before and after of natural disasters, cities wasted by the fierce nature of the weather, but what about the recovery that follows? These photos capture the amazing (and sometimes long) process of rebuilding and restoring life around the world.
Via Buzzfeed
Via Buzzfeed
0 comments :
Subscribe to: Post Comments ( Atom )


text: So I am relatively new to track racing and had a few questions for those with the track experience. Currently I ride at the out door velodrome in san jose california, it is cement with mild banking (22.5 degrees) so its real nice for us beginners (i've been out twice). Anyways, I've been riding mountain bikes for about a year and a half now and fully enveloped myself in the sport (I work at a bike shop as a mechanic and have a decent knowledge of mountain bikes). I have a fixed conversion right now that I am planning on giving some new wheels, some super record hubs converted to fixed laced to deepv's (make em nice n sturdy for commuting). At the same time I am planning on buying a true track frame (I've got my eyes on the s-works langster frame) and was thinking of building a decent wheel set for it. Im pretty set on phil hubs, and I'm thinking 32 hole (I weight about 170, tho that weight may go up). As for spokes I'm considering using a straight 15 gauge dt swiss spoke, laced radially in the front, and 3x on the rear. I am a little hung on the rims though...I would like to try out tubulars, but I dont have any experience with them and dont know if I really should be using them. I found some ambrosio rims which back in the day seemed to be pretty nice, and I also looked at both the velocity escapes (which appear only available as machined) and the pro elite (which seems a little heavy...my mtb rims weigh more). I also saw some araya adx-1s which look real enticing but I have no clue where to get them. Anyone have any ideas? Should I try for some tubular rims? Or maybe just stick to Deep Vs or Aeroheads, maybe CXP 22s?


text:
May 29, 2016
In two weeks, you can get a sneak peek at the state's first new utility plant in 25 years.
The Lansing Board of Water and Light's Cogeneration Plant in Reo Town will make both steam and electric power.
The plant's grand opening is July 1. Ceremonies begin at 9 a.m. and the public tours start at 10 a.m.
The plant is located at 1203 S. Washington.
Click Here to access the online Public Inspection File
Viewers with disabilities can get assistance accessing this station's FCC Public Inspection File by contacting the station with the information listed below. Questions or concerns relating to the accessibility of the FCC's online public file system should be directed to the FCC at 888-225-5322, 888-835-5322 (TTY), or firstname.lastname@example.com.


text:
UK developer Red Redemption is finishing up work on a global strategy game for the PC that will have players attempting to solve a variety of world crises, including climate change, over population and an under abundance of food.
Fate of the World is set in the year 2020, and will have players serve as the president of the Global Environmental Organization, described in the New York Times as a "fictional group with the ability to dictate economic, environmental and social policies around the world," or, as a Red Redemption developer labeled it, "a U.N. with teeth."
Routes to saving the world could include overthrowing wayward governments, adding "contraceptives to the water supplies of nations resistant to birth control," and even releasing a "a genetically engineered virus to crash the world population."
A further description offers, "As the years progress, resources dwindle, temperatures climb and ecosystems around the world crumble, raising the stakes."
Those who pre-order the game now will be among the first to receive access to Fate of the World's beta.
Thanks Stuart!


text:
Now is YOUR chance to get involved and hopefully you won't get sprayed.
There will be an action on October 7th at many locations around the country. Find out all about it HERE. It is called "Occupy Together."
Now is YOUR chance to get involved and hopefully you won't get sprayed.
There will be an action on October 7th at many locations around the country. Find out all about it HERE. It is called "Occupy Together."
… as atheists, I mean …
Kevin killed himself playing Russian Roulette with what I must assume he thought was an empty gun. The gun was not empty, but even if it was he should not have been playing Russian Roulette with it. Bottom line: A handgun was in the hands of a person who should not have had access to it. Someone owns that gun and needs to take responsibility for it.
The Magic of Reality: How We Know What's Really True looks good.
I did need to watch the video twice to get the bad taste out of my mouth,
but we must move forward and I don't see that situation changing any time soon.
People will get mad at me, disown me, hate me, and perhaps even tweet me if they think that I'm suggesting for a moment that anyone should ever not do whatever comes to mind when using any social media. Of course I don't think that. If you have a twitter account, a facebook page, whatever, just do whatever you want and if someone identifies that there were negative consequences to your actions, tell them to STFU.
(Below the fold, what I really think. If the above paragraph made sense to you, please don't go below the fold.)
Just go read this. And then do something about it.
Don't miss these two upcoming events:
Sketpically Speaking: Changing Planet
This week, we're looking at the medical effects of global climate change. We're joined by Dan Ferber and Paul Epstein, to talk about their book Changing Planet, Changing Health: How The Climate Crisis Threatens our Health, and What We Can Do About It. And on the podcast, Josh Rosenau, of the National Center for Science Education, joins us to compare the denial tactics of advocates against climate change and evolution.
We record live with Dan Ferber and Paul Epstein on Sunday, October 2 at 6 pm MT. The podcast will be available to download at 9 pm MT on Friday, October 7
And somewhere near you, Richard Dawkins will be hawkin his book.
This is one of the most commonly asked questions on the internet (judging by it's position in various search engine listings). The answer of course, is, "be bisexual, then." But a related question that I used to hear more often a few years back but less so these days is this one: "Is everyone basically bisexual?"
My friend Carol would say that all the time. Her husband would look right at me and say "She's wrong. Just so you know." Made me laugh.
Anyway, the question is now both asked and answered in an excellent post by fellow ftb.com blogger Greta Christina. Go here and have a look.
Personally, I think most people are sexual, and then individuals are filtered, and they are filtered to varying degrees and there are times when the filters can change. Somehow, depending on cultural and often linguistic factors, those filters get translated into categories. Did you know that in some cultures a man who has sex with other men as a "top" is considered straight, perhaps even very straight?
Anyway, Greta has what might be a slightly different take, but thoughtful and well informed. Go have a look.
Sometimes, when you put it all on a graph, it makes total sense!
Who cares about hockey. A bunch of guys sliding around on ice whacking each other with sticks and trying to pretend like they are not fighting when the whole point is fighting. Trogs on ice. But I digress.
Ripple in Stillwater has been keeping track:
Michele Bachmann has failed to show up for work in Congress 58.7 percent of the time since July 1, missing 145 out of 247 roll call votes. The last time Bachmann even cast a vote was August 1. If we were to pay our goldbricking congresswoman on a pro rata basis for the time she was actually working for us in the past three months, we would dock her $174,000 annual paycheck $25,534.50.
… earlier this month, something quietly snapped as I listened to two Jehovah's Witnesses at my door. Actually, I only listened to one — there's always a Talker and what I guess you'd call…a witness. The Talker had started by reading me a weirdly mundane verse from Psalms, then asked for my reaction. What follows is as close to verbatim as I can recall.
This is brilliant. Go read it now.
Thanks Natalie for sending me the link.
Edit the Pledge of Allegiance to remove the phrase "Under God"
The Pledge of Allegiance is said every day in schools across America. It is a government sanctioned speech, and should remain neutral in matters of religion. In its current state, it supports the existence of God, which goes against several religions, and supports others. This bias should not be supported by the country according to the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment to the United States Constitution.
There's a petition you can sign. Here.
This, if real, is over the top cool.
I go to a private school that is rather strict. Recently, the principal and school teacher council released a (very long) list of books we're not allowed to read. I was absolutely appalled, because a large number of the books were classics and others that are my favorites. One of my personal favorites, The Catcher in the Rye, was on the list, so I decided to bring it to school to see if I would really get in trouble. Well… I did but not too much. Then (surprise!) a boy in my English class asked if he could borrow the book, because he heard it was very good AND it was banned! This happened a lot and my locker got to overflowing with the banned books, so I decided to put the unoccupied locker next to me to a good use. I now have 62 books in that locker, about half of what was on the list. I took care only to bring the books with literary quality. Some of these books are:
Hat Tip Sean Archer
The extreme anti-choice members of Congress have launched yet another all-out attack on Planned Parenthood.
This time, Congressman Cliff Stearns, as Chairman of the House oversight committee, has initiated a massive investigation into the activities of Planned Parenthood and its affiliates based on the blatantly incorrect assertion by rightwing activists that Planned Parenthood misuses federal funds to pay for abortion services
Go here and sign the damn petition!
Banning books is so hard to do these days that the new phrase we use is "challenged." Which makes sense. I mean, really does a list of books banned in North Korea or Iran have any purpose other than pointing out the obvious? What is more interested is seeing which books get challenged by self righteous citizens or groups in the context of a "free" society.
So let's have a look.
Continue reading
I am not surprised but I am annoyed.
Google's Android Marketplace is selling smartphone owners of all ages an app which promises to answer what they think is a pressing question: "Is My Son Gay?"
If we alert the Google team to this outrageous questionnaire, we're sure they'll do the right thing and shut it down.
Apparently the original bill has been watered down a bit, but not enough, and it shouldn't exist anyway.
The bill provides for charnging women who have miscarriages due to "intentional or knowing acts." The previous version of the bill included reckless acts along with willing acts. So, being a poor driver and getting into an accident and your unborn fetus being killed would make you a criminal. The new bill still would allow that to happen, of course, if vehicular homicide is a crime, this would presumably be as well.
But, the details are complex and rather nuanced. I recommend this piece at alternet.
Hat Tip Betsy McCall
But right now, they're doing it rong!!!
According to an exclusive report in Salon:
Holy moly. They were all tripping!
The reason I mention this is that we've heard that Pastor Mac Hammond has re-invigorated his relationship with Michele Bachmann. Dump Bachmann has the story. You can go here an watch the good reverend shit all over the US Constitution starting after 22 minutes.
If you are charged … and found guilty … with certain lower level crimes in Bay Minette Alabama, you can totally get out of any legal proceedings by opting out of the legal system and instead taking the baby Jesus into your heart.
Veeeeery interesting. Hat Tip Steve Petersen.


text:
More New and Used
from Private Sellers
Note: Supplemental materials are not guaranteed with Rental or Used book purchases.
Tennessee Football 2009
ISBN13:by Unknown
Trade Paper
Independent Pub Group
How much do you know about your favorite team? Do you know how to quickly find anything you don't know? Do you want an easy and handy way to find out who was an All-Pro or All-American and who lead the team in passing, rushing, and receiving? How about draft picks, assistant coaches, and awards? Statistically oriented and presented in a unique year-by-year format, this new series provides a whole lot more, including a look back at last year along with a glimpse at the upcoming season. It includes information you can (and can't) find in the media guide or on fan websites, everything from rivalries, records, playoff games, star players, team leaders, and important notes.
Author Biography
Christopher Walsh is an award-winning sportswriter who writes for the Tuscaloosa News. He has been nominated twice for the Pulitzer Prize and is the recipient of the First Amendment Award, the Herby Kirby Memorial Award, and Enterprise Story of the Year from the Football Writers Association of America. He lives in Tuscaloosa, Alabama.


text:
GENE JOHNSON, Associated Press
SEATTLE (AP) - The Army says it will seek the death penalty against the soldier accused of massacring 16 Afghan villagers during pre-dawn raids in March.
The announcement Wednesday followed a pretrial hearing last month for Staff Sgt. Robert Bales, who faces premeditated murder and other charges in the attack on two villages in southern Afghanistan.
Prosecutors say Bales left his remote base in southern Afghanistan early on March 11. Prosecutors say he first attacked one village, returned to the base, and then slipped away again to attack another nearby compound. Sixteen people were killed, nine of them children.
No date has been set for his court martial, which will be held at Joint Base Lewis-McChord south of Seattle.
(Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)
Associated Press


text:
Texas Tech Partners with StubHub
Aug. 17, 2011
StubHub, the world's largest ticket marketplace, today announced that it will become the Official Fan to Fan Ticket Marketplace for Texas Tech University Athletics, facilitated through its existing relationship with Paciolan, the leading provider of ticketing, marketing, and fundraising solutions in college athletics.
StubHub's ticket marketplace offers Red Raider sports fans a convenient online destination where tickets can be purchased in a trusted environment. Ensuring quick delivery and legitimacy, StubHub's FanProtect Guarantee backs every order so Red Raider fans can purchase tickets with confidence. With its new integration, fans will now be able to print Texas Tech football and basketball tickets purchased on StubHub from the convenience of their home. Ticket Holders will also be able to list tickets via a streamlined process and reach a broader audience. StubHub is now working with 22 NCAA properties nationwide and through Paciolan, is fully integrated with nine NCAA universities.
"StubHub is proud to integrate with Texas Tech University," said Danielle Maged, head of StubHub partnerships and business development. "We are excited to offer Red Raider fans a safe and secure place to both purchase and sell their tickets to Texas Tech athletic events."
Paciolan's leading software integration with the university enhances the overall fan experience. The product integration allows fans to buy tickets online and print them at home, which, combined with StubHub's expertise in the secondary ticket marketplace, provides Red Raider fans with a stress-free purchasing process.
"Texas Tech is pleased to team up with StubHub and Paciolan to provide Red Raider fans with an enhanced ticketing platform that has a long track record of secure transactions," said Texas Tech Director of Athletic Ticket Operations Jarod Huddleston. "This partnership will expand our fan's ability to buy. We know that the Stubhub integration into our existing online ticketing platform will provide the entire Texas Tech community with a trusted destination for Red Raider Athletics tickets."
"We pride ourselves on ensuring the overall sporting event experience goes well," said Dave Butler, CEO of Paciolan. "Together with StubHub and Texas Tech, we are bringing the ultimate in convenience and customer service to fans. Our advanced technology options continue to streamline and simplify buying and selling tickets to all Red Raider sporting events."


text:
- HaitiRetailFunding via Entrepreneurs du Monde - Palmis Mikwofinans Sosyal
JosieHaitiFoodFunding via Entrepreneurs du Monde - Palmis Mikwofinans Sosyal
Tete Ansanm...HaitiRetailFunding via Fonkoze - Zafèn
Ines' Group
Through the fist six loans, Ines has been with Esperanza for almost four years, and during those four years she has maD. significant changes in her life. She recently bought a freezer with her savings, and has maD. other improvements to her home. She currently lives alone, and when I asked her if she wanted to make any other improvements in the future, she told me she wanted to find a husband and then asked me to join her. This led to abrupt laughter from the entire group. She was only kidding, and she reiterated her desire to improve her home and her business. Her next step is to buy cinder blocks to surround her house, because they proviD. better support in the event of a strong storm.
As each day passes, Ines and her niece are expanding their customer base. Ines explained to me that women in the Dominican Republic spend a lot on their appearance, so she believes there is no reason for her business to suffer. She sees an increasing demand for her products and plans on providing the needed supply.
Additional Information
This is a Group Loan
In a group loan, each member of the group receives an individual loan but is part of a larger group of individuals. The group is there to provide support to the members and to provide a system of peer pressure, but groups may or may not be formally bound by a group guarantee. In cases where there is a group guarantee, members of the group are responsible for paying back the loans of their fellow group members in the case of delinquency or default.
Kiva's Field Partners typically feature one borrower from a group. The loan description, sector, and other attributes for a group loan profile are determined by the featured borrower's loan. The other members of the group are not required to use their loans for the same purpose.
About Dominican Republic
0View loans »
Success!! The loan was 100% repaid
- Repayment Term
- 8 months (Additional Information)
- Repayment Schedule
- Monthly
- Pre-Disbursed:
- Jul 23, 2009
- Listed
- Aug 1, 2009
- Currency Exchange Loss:
- Covered
- Ended:
- Feb 15, 2010


text:
At Least 10 Israelis Share Names of New Dubai Hit Squad Suspects
Video: Dubai releases footage showing 15 additional suspects police believe involved in Mabhouh killing.
Dubai has identified 15 new suspects in the assassination last month of a Hamas official, and 10 of those suspects share the names of Israelis who hold dual citizenship, Haaretz has learned.
Dubai police said Wednesday the total number of people believed involved in the death stands at 26.
Hamas military commander Mahmoud al-Mabhouh was killed last month in his hotel room in what Dubai police have said they are near certain was a hit by Israel's Mossad spy agency. Police said the killers travelled to the Gulf Arab emirate using European passports.
Dubai authorities had earlier named 11 suspects, who they said travelled on fraudulent British, Irish, French and German passports to kill Mabhouh. Six were Britons living in Israel who deny involvement and say their identities were stolen.
"Dubai investigators are not ruling out the possibility of involvement of other people in the murder," the statement said.
The suspected killers' use of passports from countries including Britain and France has drawn criticism from the European Union that diplomats said was aimed at Israel. Some of governments involved have summoned their Israeli ambassadors.
"Friendly nations who have been assisting in this investigation have indicated to the police in Dubai that the passports were issued in an illegal and fraudulent manner," the Dubai government statement said.
It said that pictures on the passports did not correspond to their original owners.
In a statement on Monday that European diplomats said was intended as a rebuke to Israel, EU foreign ministers said that the assassination was "profoundly disturbing."
Israel has not denied or confirmed it played any role but Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman said there was nothing to link it to the killing. The United States, Israel's main ally, has kept silent about the affair.
The new suspects were identified as: Daniel Marc Schnur, Gabriella Barney, Roy Allan Cannon, Stephen Keith Drake, Mark Sklur and Philip Carr, traveling on British passports; Ivy Brinton, Anna Shauna Clasby and Chester Halvey, on Irish passports; David Bernard LaPierre, Melenie Heard and Eric Rassineux, on French passports, and Bruce Joshua Daniel, Nicole Sandra McCabe and Adam Korman on Australian passports.
Photos: AP and Reuters
An Israeli Foreign Ministry spokeswoman in London on Wednesday said, "We will seek to make contact with these individuals and offer consular assistance as we have the previous individuals."
Dubai police said the suspects arrived from cities including Zurich, Paris, Rome, Milan and Hong Kong.
"This was to take the camouflage and deception to its utmost level and to guarantee the avoidance of any security supervision or observation of their movements," the statement said.
Once their part in the operation was completed, the suspects again dispersed to different parts of the world, with two suspects leaving Dubai by boat for Iran, it said.
Dubai police also released credit card details of some of the suspects. At least 13 credit cards used to book hotel rooms and pay for air travel were issued by the same small U.S. bank.
Two Palestinians suspected of providing logistical support were in detention and Dubai's police chief has said he believes the operation could not have been carried out without information from inside Hamas on Mabhouh's travel details.
An official from the movement was quoted as saying last week that Hamas had launched an investigation to try to discover "how the Mossad was able to carry out the operation.
Mabhouh's killing was the third high profile murder in less than two years in trade and tourism hub Dubai, one of seven emirates in the UAE federation, where violent crime is rare.
Want to enjoy 'Zen' reading - with no ads and just the article? Subscribe todaySubscribe now


text:
London 2012 - Sir Chris Hoy of Great Britain wept tears of joy when he collected a gold medal winning the Men's Track Cycling Keirin final. The win was his sixth gold, surpassing Sir Steve Redgrave's previous best for a British Olympian. Watch highlights of the race.
London 2012
Cycling Track


text:
Carlsbad Surf School
"Life is less about finding the perfect wave
than it is about enjoying the search."
San Diego's Premiere Surf School for people of all ages and skill levels! With an annual average temperature in Carlsbad of 72 degrees, we teach surf lessons 365 days a year to people of all ages, skill levels, shapes and sizes. Every day is a good day to surf. ALL EQUIPMENT PROVIDED (foam board, wetsuit & rash guard)
All of our instructors are professionally trained, are CPR certified, and have over 15 years of surfing experience. We are currently taking reservations for all of our programs, and classes are filling up fast, so give us a call and we'll set up a surf lesson to be remembered!
We have a variety of classes available, ranging from a single instructor with a student, all the way on up to corporate team building events (groups of up to 25 can be accommodated).
Carlsbad surf school promotes, teaches, and supports surfing for people of all ages and abilities. Carlsbad surf school also preaches preservation of our beautiful beaches.
So what are you waiting for, fill out the lesson request form or call us directly
at (442) 264-3777. After all, we have a guarantee that none others
can match
"Our Guarantee, 8 or 80 years young, after our two hour class, you will stand up the first time out, OR YOUR MONEY BACK!"


text:
2013 UX Awards: Who Judged, Who Attended, and Who Won
Published: July 8, 2013
This year marked the third year of the User Experience Awards (UX Awards)—a milestone in the evolution and influence of user experience. The UX Awards took place on May 21, 2013, in New York City, and garnered more submissions and attendees than ever, with approximately 350 people attending the event this year.
Consider the contributions that technology and user experience have made to our culture and the institutions that have arisen to recognize those achievements: The rapid evolution of technology and user experience brought digital media into more households through mainstream adoption of the Internet. So, to celebrate Internet excellence, the Webby Awards began in 1996. As the adoption of digital media has continued its rapid acceleration, digital devices have become ubiquitous in American households. Digital media—whether for art, communications, or practical utility—have transcended any one platform or device. The user experience on and across platforms and devices has received increasing attention, as has the holistic evaluation of the customer experience beyond its online components. In response to the greater attention that user experience has received, the UX Awards—the first awards whose specific purpose is to celebrate exceptional user experiences—held its inaugural event in 2011, in New York City.
This year, my AnswerLab colleagues and I attended the 2013 UX Awards with a plan to interview attendees, judges, and winners and get their perspectives on the significance of the UX Awards. In case you're not familiar with how the UX Awards work, anyone can submit a digital experience for consideration. This year's submissions came from companies small and large, agencies, nonprofits, individuals, and students. The projects spanned all types of digital user experiences, including Web, desktop, mobile, and tablet applications; kiosks, interactive TV, social media, interactive displays, and digital campaigns.
Who Judged the UX Awards?
Eight UX experts judged the submissions. The judges represented a wide range of UX professionals, including UX community leaders from IxDA, UXPA, and NYCIA; consultants; and folks in influential research, design, and product roles at leading companies such as Netflix, Google, and Mashable.
Salon.com CEO and UX Awards judge, Cindy Jeffers, told us, "The quality of the submissions was really exciting. There were a lot of people pushing the boundaries in various industries." Judge Lis Hubert, IxDA New York Leader, added, "What I took away, and what I hope others do, is a sense of humility—in the sense of other people doing great things. It made me reflect on my own career and think about what I could work on to do better. To take the time to reflect and say, 'Wow, I really want to do better,' is what I hope people take away from this event." Other judges shared their enthusiasm during the opening remarks that they made before presenting the awards, including Chris Jaffe, Director of Innovation at Netflix; Tomer Sharon, Senior Researcher at Google; and John Payne, Principal at Moment Design.
Who Attended the UX Awards and Why?
Among the hundreds in attendance were those who had submitted projects for consideration; professionals ranging from veterans in UX design and research to development and product management; as well as people who are interested in starting a career in user experience. Plus, there were recruiters and entrepreneurs looking for talent.
Although attendees came from diverse professional backgrounds, they all shared a desire to see excellent UX work, network, and build relationships. On the night of the event, when we asked Ashley Delose about her motivations for attending the UX Awards, she said, "To connect with others in the UX community. And I looked forward to hearing from the esteemed lineup of jurors."
Attendees' penchant for developing connections was evident before and after the presentation of the awards. As the crowd ramped up for the event, CTO of Mashable, Robyn Peterson, socialized with those gathered for refreshments in the courtyard of Parsons New School of Design. Following the awards, the networking with the newly crowned winners, attendees, and judges continued at a nearby restaurant.
Among those who we interviewed at the UX Awards, nearly all saw the event as an opportunity to be inspired. The event brought exposure to new UX ideas, teams, processes, verticals, and platforms. "It was great to meet such a cross-section of UX designers—beyond just those focusing on Web-based products. To be exposed to UX design outside of one's area of specialization and think about UX on a broader level," said UX Awards judge Anders Ramsay, a UX design consultant and agile UX coach who leads the New York City Information Architecture Meetup and The Agile Experience Design Meetup, which also takes place in New York City.
Who Won the 2013 UX Awards?
The 2013 UX Awards winners ranged from startups to nonprofits to Google, the company that organizes the world's information. The winners spanned various industries and approaches and showcased how fast and how much technology has become embedded in our lives.
The 2013 UX Awards winners included the following:
- Effective UI: Water for People—Won for Most Persuasive Use of Data by helping a nonprofit tackle the challenges in offering access to water and sanitation systems in developing countries. (See Figure 1.)
- ZocDoc—Won Most Useful Consumer Health Care Service and helps consumers find a doctor and make appointments online. (See Figure 2.)
- Belkin: WeMo—Winner for Best Consumer Device. As the video shows, WeMo remotely controls electronic devices such as lamps, TVs, and heaters through dynamic events, using motion detection, temperature changes, and so on.
- Virginia Tech: Activ—Won Best Accessibility Innovation. Activ provided a universal design solution to help individuals who have only one arm to better use their mobile devices. (See Figure 3.)
- Schema Design, LLC: Actively Learn—Winner for Best Social Learning Platform. Actively Learn provides a dynamic and interactive way to customize and enrich the learning experience within educational settings. (See Figure 4.)
- Google now—Google took home the Grand Prize and won Best Everyday Utility for its proactive and contextually aware assistant for smartphones. (See Figure 5.)
Figure 1—Water for People, winner for Most Persuasive Use of Data
Figure 2—ZocDoc, winner for Most Useful Consumer Health Care Service
Figure 3—Activ, winner for Best Accessibility Innovation
Figure 4—Actively Learn, winner for Best Social Learning Platform
Figure 5—Grand prize winner, Google now
Peter Ng flew from San Francisco to take part in this year's UX Awards. Representing the Google Now team, he accepted the Grand Prize Award, saying: "Google has evolved from tech to design, and we're just scratching the surface on a whole new way of thinking about design." When we asked him what advice he would give to others who want to attend or are considering submitting a user experience to next year's UX Awards, Ng said simply, "Do great work." His aspirational advice provided a reminder of how important it is to follow the design principles behind great user experiences.
The UX Awards may not have the red carpet, the velvet ropes, or designers jockeying to talk to TV hosts before the show that the Oscars and Grammys do, but all of these events share a common history of technological innovation. We can expect the trajectory of the UX Awards to be long if the torrid pace of innovation in user experience continues—as it has in the three years since the event's inception.
Topic: UX Community
Join the Discussion


text:
Step 4: Making a Plan for Services - Your IFSP
Strategies for a successful IFSP meeting
Some families have said the IFSP is hard work! It is very important for you to take an active part in the meeting. This is the BEST way to the BEST plan for you and your family.
- Think about – and make plans for – someone to help you if your baby or toddler and/or other children will be at the meeting. Even if your meeting is at home, children can be distracting!
- Plan to start on time.
- Be prepared. Make a list of questions or matters you want to discuss. Have paper and a pen or pencil ready to take notes.
- Listen to what other team members have to say.
- Be clear about what you want.
- Ask questions when you don't understand something.
- Don't be afraid to ask for help!
At the IFSP meeting
Working on the IFSP is a team effort! You, your service coordinator, your child's evaluators, your Early Intervention Official, and others who take part will:
- Review all the information that has been gathered about your child.
- Talk about your family's resources, priorities, and concerns.
- Develop the outcomes - or goals - expected for your child and family from early intervention services.
- Work on strategies, activities, and services that will lead to the outcomes you hope to reach.
- Agree to the measures and timelines that will be used to look at the progress your child and family are making.
You have the right to say yes or no to any of the services talked about at your IFSP meeting. To include a service in your IFSP, you and your Early Intervention Official (or Early Intervention Official designee) must agree to the service. Others can give their opinion – but you and the Early Intervention Official have the final decision.
If you and the Early Intervention Official disagree about an early intervention service you think your child needs, you can ask for a mediation and/or impartial hearing to settle your differences. In the meantime, the early intervention services you and your Early Intervention Official do agree on will be provided.
You will be asked to sign your IFSP when the plan is finished. Participating in the Early Intervention Program is voluntary. When you sign the IFSP, you show that you were at the IFSP meeting and that you agree to the services in the plan. You are also giving your permission to start early intervention services.
The IFSP is an important document! If you need extra time to think about the plan, ask for it. You may want to discuss the plan with other family members or review it to make sure it meets the needs of your child and family.


text: Rules of the Game Plaque Item #: 130015 $19.99 $2.97 Qty: Sorry, this item is currently unavailable online. Ship to Home Ship to Store (FREE) Perfect for your little varsity all-star's room, this Rules of the Game Plaque features motivational quotes. Its perfectly finished in All American hues of red, blue, and cream. Plaque measures 19L x 1.5W x 19H in. Crafted of wood composite Features sports quotes Hues of red, blue, and cream Comes ready for wall mount; no hanging hardware required Care: Dust with a soft, dry cloth. Contact your local Kirkland's store for availability. Quantities and selection may vary by location. Sorry, this item is currently unavailable online.


text: The Tigers caged the Gamecocks last night 90-68 in Columbia, South Carolina. Missouri guard Keion Bell scored 18 points in the first half and 24 on the night. Tiger's guard Jabari Brown had 23 points making 8-of-10 field goals. Missouri coach Frank Haith won his 50th game with the Tigers as Mizzou improved to 20-8 overall and 9-6 in conference. The Tigers return home to play LSU on Saturday.


text:
Please submit only those sites whose content is primarily devoted to some or many aspects of Trinidad and Tobago Carnival.This category is for all Websites exclusively devoted to Trinidad and Tobago Carnival in any and all of its manifestations, whether by Carnival artistes and bands or by them, whether by Trinidadians or about them.
Venues in Trinidad & Tobago onlyDiscos, clubs, nightspots
Please submit only those sites with content that is primarily devoted to music in Trinidad and Tobago, whether by or about certain musical traditions, bands or artists, whether of commercial or informative nature, by or about Trinidadians.Trinidad and Tobago is a multiethnic country with cultural influences from several continents around the globe. This category lists those sites that feature that various musical traditions of the country.
This is a broad level category, therefore, only submit those sites that cut across the boundaries of its subcategories or that cannot neatly fit into any one of those subcategories.
Please submit only those sites that pertain to theatre and dance in Trinidad and Tobago.This subcategory is reserved for sites pertaining to theatre and dance in Trinidad and Tobago, aside from Carnival or any of the other major Festival arts.


text:
Cooking Challenge - Pies
by Luvmegrub
Since watching Maggie Beer make her Pheasant Pie on Australian TV show Master Chef, I've been wanting to try her sour cream pastry. I used a chicken, bacon and leek filling.
The pastry was way too rich for my family and rather bland as it was made with unsalted butter and did not require the addition of any salt. I'm glad I tried it but won't bother using that recipe again - I could honestly feel my backside spreading across the chair as I ate it
Login or register to make a comment
by jutta73
Oh that is interesting. I had expected from the response on Masterchef that the pastry must have been amazing. I think I will continue to search for good pastry recipes. For sweet pastry, Jamie has never let me down.
by Tara
It came out looking lovely Luvme, was the filling worth a repeat?
by Luvmegrub
The chicken, bacon & leek is just a bog-standard pie filling I use, it's from one of those little Women's Weekly books that sometimes come free with the mag or are next to the check-out at the supermarket, think it's called Winter Warmers. It's just chicken, bacon, leek and mushrooms if you like them, fry it all up with garlic, S&P and make a creamy sauce with butter, flour and half milk half cream. Sometimes I throw a splosh of white wine in before I add the creamy sauce if I've got a bottle handy. I have a bit of the filling left over which will be great for using in the pie machine.
by Tara
That sounds delish Luvme.


text:
Estate agents and letting agents in TA1
Featured agents
53 High Street, Taunton, TA1 3PR - We also cover TA2 and TA4
Award-winning estate agency Connells was founded in 1936 and is one of the country's leading ... more
Fox & Sons
52 East Street, Taunton, TA1 3NA - We also cover TA2 and TA3
Fox & Sons estate agents in Taunton would love to SELL or LET your home! We are here to sell ... more
Palmer Snell Lettings - Taunton
43 High Street, Taunton, TA1 3PN
Palmer Snell Sales
43 High Street, Taunton, TA1 3PN
Palmer Snell was established in 1811 and is now one of the largest estate agency groups in the ... more
Ware & Co
53 Bridge Street, Taunton, TA1 1TP
Your Move
48 High Street, Taunton, TA1 3PR - We also cover TA2
Apple Lettings (Taunton) Ltd
Normans, Lonrun Lane, Bishops Hull, Taunton, TA1 5AY
Hello from Apple Lettings. We are a letting agency that specilise with large portfolios of ... more
Bradleys Estate Agents
49-50 East Street, Taunton, TA1 3NA
Bradleys Estate Agents are the South West's largest independent estate agents with 33 offices ... more
4 Mendip House High Street, Taunton, TA1 3SX
When Let-it opened its doors in 2003 we quickly established a reputation as a straight-dealing, ... more
Newton King
East Street, taunton, TA1 3NA - We also cover TA2
14A The Bridge, Taunton, TA1 1UG
A warm welcome to Townsend, your local independent specialist Letting and Management Agency ... more
18 The Wyvern Centre, Taunton, TA1 1SE


text:
cz 455 lux
Posted 11 January 2011 - 02:40 PM
Posted 11 January 2011 - 05:03 PM
Hey everyone I would like to know what the difference between the the 455 lux and the 452 lux is?
The 452 barrel is threaded into the receiver and thus permanently mounted. The 455 barrel is secured to the receiver by two screws and it is designed to accommodate barrel/cartridge type changes.
I heard that the 455 can be changed into a 17 hmr?
Probably true.
Is the 455 as aCcurate as the 452? also is it as good quality?
In my opinion - no.
Posted 11 January 2011 - 05:13 PM
Happy Shooting!!! Chance...
Edited by chance_of_rain, 11 January 2011 - 07:54 PM.
Posted 11 January 2011 - 06:28 PM
With the success of the 452/3 rifles, it's hard to believe the 455 is an improvement, but a step backward. I can't believe the average American shooter will prefer the "change barrel" setup to the threaded... it may be a European thing. Maybe due to the red tape involved in owning a rifle, a second barrel might be easier to obtain.
If you are looking for a good rifle, I'd look for a dealer that still has a 452 or 453 in stock, or find a good used one.
The Constitution is not an instrument for the government to
restrain the people; it is an instrument for the
people to restrain the government-lest it come to
dominate our lives and interests"
Patrick Henry
Posted 12 January 2011 - 09:20 AM
What I see coming in my rather dull crystal ball is a similar reaction that was witnessed in the Winchester line of rifles. Pre-64 vs. Post 64. Even today, the Pre-64 rifles are highly prized and kept. They still sell a lot of post 64 guns, of course, and many are excellent rifles, but good is good, and excellent is excellent...
Posted 15 January 2011 - 12:48 PM
Posted 15 January 2011 - 02:19 PM
I do like some of the changes that come with the move to the 455. I think the settling down on where and how many action screws you are going to get is a very big positive feature of the 455's. 452's are fickle, with several of the other family products in the 452 line wearing actions labeled "American" when the rifle is clearly NOT an "American". The CZ folks do not seem to place high regard on the consistency of a product line. That makes what a person gets vs. what he thinks he is getting, somewhat of a chance of fate. The 455's will solve that issue it seems. Based on the ability of the Ruger 10/22 barrel attachment method with a good quality barrel and properly fitted bolt to post 1/4" to 3/8" groups from many of the custom builders tells me the double screw attachment method for the barrel is good enough to keep the accuracy level up.
Also, part of this equation, which is difficult if not impossible to determine via internet noise, is who this audience is. My guess would be that many are like me here, in their 50's and 60's with some even deeper roots than that. I know change is more difficult after the moon has passed over your head a few thousand times!!!
But if you had a brand new 22 rifle ammo, that would put 10 out of 10 inside a 0.100" C-C group each and every time, the VAST majority of us older coots would be in line for this NEW stuff... so there is still hope for us!! Just needs to be a remarkably better solution than the ones we already own!!
Hope that helps you see where we are coming from!!
Edited by LongPlay, 15 January 2011 - 02:20 PM.
Posted 15 January 2011 - 03:29 PM
Posted 15 January 2011 - 04:51 PM
Of course there are dovetail grooves on the receiver that will accept aftermarket rear sights, so later upgrades are possible. And I hear band mounted front sights can be had as well. So it is not like the 455's can never wear nice irons, but you will need to drop another $150 or more to make it happen. And the 452's are a bargain with the knowledge of just what those sights are really worth....
Posted 15 January 2011 - 06:32 PM
Thomas Jefferson
A strong body makes the mind strong. As to the species of exercises, I advise the gun. While this gives moderate exercise to the body, it gives boldness, enterprise and independence to the mind. Games played with the ball, and others of that nature, are too violent for the body and stamp no character on the mind. Let your gun therefore be your constant companion of your walks.
Thomas Jefferson
Posted 15 January 2011 - 06:53 PM
My internet has been down since Monday due to Snowpocolypse 2011. For the same reason, a number of machines at work are curtailed for the weekend so I came to Huntsville to visit my brother. We made the usual rounds and ended up at Larry's. I didn't really have the intention of buying anything, but sitting in the rifle rack was a barely been fired 452FS. It was and early model with the drilled out bolt handle. Intentions or not, I was in love, so it walked out the door with me. I lament the loss of the 452 product line, because at some point in the future buyers are going to realize how good these guns are and the prices are going to go through the roof for a 452.
Way to go John
for Zach, Everett, and Lilly
Posted 15 January 2011 - 07:24 PM
Hope yours is a shooter. They usually are. Mine even groups nicely with CCI Blazer:
Posted 15 January 2011 - 07:38 PM
Posted 16 January 2011 - 12:49 AM
i know you can switch out the barrel on the 455 will this affect the accracy or not really?
Changing a barrel on any gun will effect accuracy, even the act of putting rubber O Rings on a heavy barrel gun will effect barrel harmonics.
for Zach, Everett, and Lilly
0 user(s) are reading this topic
0 members, 0 guests, 0 anonymous users


text:
Some Onslow county residents will be without water starting Monday night.
ONWASA officials say some residents and businesses in Swansboro will experience water outages as crews work to make valve repairs.
The service interruptions will begin at 11:00pm Monday night and continue until 6:00am on Tuesday morning.
Customers should boil water for human consumption as a precaution. ONWASA will notify residents when lab tests confirm the water system is operating normally; testing will take at least 24 hours.


text:
Seckman Tournament...
Pacific 73 Seckman 38. Caroline Rogers scored 22 for Pacific with Meagan Wakefield adding 16 and Ellen Rogers 10.
Pacific will play Seckman Saturday at 4... more
The college bowl schedule continues with three games on Friday.
Dwyane Wade netted 24 of his 31 points in the first half and the Heat spoiled LeBron James' return to South Beach with a 101-91 win over the Cavaliers.
Hark! the herald Angels sing, Glory to the new-born King, Peace on earth and mercy mild, God and sinner reconcil'd. Hark! the herald Angels sing, Glory to the new-born King.
Rams rookie defensive tackle Aaron Donald and defensive end Robert Quinn were selected to the Pro Bowl last night.
Barry Odom was named the new defensive coordinator and linebackers coach at Missouri on Tuesday. The former Mizzou linebacker spent the last three seasons as the DC at Memphis.
Semyon Varlamov denied all 26 shots he faced as the Avalanche blasted the Blues 5-0 at the Pepsi Center.
The St. Louis Cardinals and reliever Jordan Waldon are avoiding arbitration. The two sides have agreed on a two-year deal, that includes a club option for 2017.
The Cardinals did not win the right to negotiate with Korean infielder Jung-ho Kang. The Pirates have won the bidding on the shortstop and will now have 30 days to try and work... more
The Blues battle the Avalanche in Denver this evening. St. Louis has been off since suffering a 3-2 overtime loss to the Sharks on Saturday.
The KLPW Radio Athlete of the Week is Sophomore Lauren Gerlemann from New Haven High School.
Our nation's founders were well versed in the lessons of the history that preceded them. They knew of power's natural tendency to escalate into greater power.
So they included the Bill of Rights, based on the notion of individual self-determination.
Never talk about Sex, Religion or Politics.
Honey draws more flies than vinegar.
These adages seem to have gone by the wayside in today's world of the social-network connected.
Intolerance and groupthink are not the domain of a single party, candidate or ideology.


text:
Kickboxing And Crime In Searing First Trailer For Dutch Action Drama WOLF
The Dutch film industry continues to surprise with what feels like a restless reinvention of itself over the past few years with the latest upcoming effort to catch the eye being Jim Taihuttu's Wolf, a film that blends elements of organized crime and kickboxing in a gritty package sure to catch the eye of early Nicolas Winding Refn fans.
The trailer includes English subtitles but let's be honest here: The most important language at play is the one spoken by his fists. Check it out.Majid (Marwan Kenzari) is a talented kickboxer from a grey, anonymous suburb in the Netherlands. As his fighting prowess brings him increasing notoriety, both in and outside the ring, the lines of demarcation between the worlds of kickboxing and organized crime begin to blur, and Majid begins to lose sight of what it is he really wants...
Around the Internet:


text:
Underage Nevada Teenager in Legal Trouble After Drunk Driving Arrest
By John Clark
A 15-year-old resident of Reno, Nevada, was arrested for a DUI this week in addition to a grab bag of several other charges after rolling a vehicle on a state highway, according to a report from the Las Vegas Sun.
Sources say the teenager, whose name has not been released due to his status as a juvenile, was driving a 2005 Ford Focus on a Reno highway when he started veering into the right edge of the roadway.
There is no indication of how the teenager obtained the services of a vehicle, although sources do not say the car had been stolen.
After veering too far to the right, the teenager's car reportedly hit a drainage culvert, which forced the vehicle into a wild spin, according to sources.
The Ford rolled several times before miraculously coming to a stop on its wheels about 40 feet from the road, sources say. The accident reportedly happened at 6:20 a.m.
When officers arrived at the scene of the accident, which, fortunately, only involved the teenager's car, the driver showed "several signs of intoxication," which prompted officers to quickly give a breathalyzer test.
After the teenager failed the breath test, he was reportedly taken to a local hospital, where he was treated and released for minor injuries. Of course, after he was released, he was immediately arrested by Reno police.
However, due to his juvenile status, the teenager was taken due to a juvenile detention center, rather than a regular county jail. At the detention center, the driver was charged with drunk driving, possessing alcohol as a minor, failing to maintain a travel lane, and driving with a license or proof of insurance.
At first glance, it may seem odd that a person who was too young to drive could be charged with actual traffic offenses.
When a driver takes to the road, however, despite his age, his is subject to the rules of the road, even if he isn't aware of them when he takes the wheel.
As a result, this teenager will likely have a lengthy history of driving violations before he is even old enough to be eligible to legally drive.
Remarkably, despite his foolish decision to get drunk and then drive without a license, the teenager did show some foresight by driving with a seat belt on.
According to local police officers, the teenager's decision to wear a seat belt dramatically reduced his risk of injury, and may have even saved his life.