text:
Out on the highway exploring the surrounding community? Want to get off the beaten track? "Places to Stop" spotlights local businesses along busy interstate corridors. Our goal is to shine the spotlight on places you'll want to pull off and explore.
All of the businesses featured on this page are Oregon Travel Experience highway business sign, travel kiosk, or Travel Plaza customers.
High atop the pinnacle of a giant fir tree is a place usually reserved for nesting birds or licensed arborists. Most people don't scamper along suspension walkways or zip across the treetops 30-feet above ground—unless you've found your way to Tree to Tree Adventure Park in Gaston, Oregon.
Tree to Tree (or T2T as it's called by co-owner Julie Beres) is an aerial paradise that encourages people to step outside their comfort zone in a safe and certified, outdoor environmental "classroom."
"The course is designed to meet our guest's challenge," said Beres. Beres' family started the business in 2010 following a visit to a friend's tree adventure park in the Adirondacks. Read the full article.
Oregon visitors and motorists are truly lucky—in fact, one might pose the following question: Where on the planet is there a more scenic place for a drive than Oregon? Heading east from Portland on I- 84, the scenery transitions quickly from urban jumble to the first sightings of Rooster Rock, Multnomah Falls, and the awe inspiring Columbia River.
If you happen to make the journey to Eastern Oregon and beyond, Hood River is a great stopping point. The town is a favorite recreational destination for boaters and windsurfers. Four miles past downtown on the Mt. Hood Scenic Byway, the Gorge White House has stood as a landmark for more than a century.
"We are a 103-year old 'house-wine-tasting-room,'" said Camille Hukari, whose family has owned the working farm and National Historic Register home since 1947. Read the full story.
Brian Olson is the general manager at Cannon Beach Vacation Rentals, an OTE highway business sign customer who promotes his community with gusto. "I think Cannon Beach has to be one of the best beaches on the Oregon Coast, and that's saying something since I grew up in another coast town north of here," said Olson. "Cannon Beach is the kind of place where you can find the perfect quiet spot or be right in the middle of the downtown action. And it's only a day trip to many other destinations along the Oregon Coast like Tillamook, Astoria, and Seaside."
Olson's agency is owned by Linda Beck Sweeney and has been open for 14 years. Olson and his wife run the day-today operations. "We manage about 70 properties," said Olson. We handle everything from studio-sized condos to six bedroom houses. Our business is very much family based, which is apparent by the types of people who return year after year. Read the full story.
Owners Jim and Debbie Blodgett have owned and operated Fish Lake Resort for 10 years. At an altitude of 4,600 feet and nestled near Mount McLaughlin's base, the resort is accessible and open year-round via Highway 140. The drive from Medford, Oregon to Fish Lake and old growth forest can be made in under an hour.
Fish Lake Resort features 11 rental cabins—from rustic studios to fully equipped, two and three bedroom lakeside cottages, completely stocked with linens and kitchen tools. If cabins are not your thing, 45 recreational vehicle sites (with electricity) are available. Tent sites for backpackers, hunters, and cyclists accommodate more adventurous outdoor enthusiasts. Amenities include shower and laundry facilities, and boat rental and moorage. Read the full story.
Creative minds often do their best work when the space around them empowers dreams. Oregon landscape artist Michael Gibbons and his wife Judy carried this premise one step further when they created an environment which not only sustains them creatively, but also enriches the community in which they live.
Gallery Michael Gibbons is located in Toledo, Oregon—an historic hamlet established in 1866. As the local timber industry unraveled, the Gibbons' experimented with a new paradigm—and ended up reshaping the center of their town into an artist-driven and supported destination. Their gallery and museum now attracts visitors from around the globe. Read the full article.
The Iverson family has been in the tulip business for almost 40 years. Much of the product grown at the Woodburn farm is sold locally at Fred Meyer and Trader Joes. Locally produced products mean fresher flowers for the consumer as well as strength for the local economic infrastructure.
Susie Schriever, the farm's event coordinator, explained to OTE how the tulips are hand cut in the fields, transported back to the sheds, and then washed, bundled, and packaged. Wooden Shoe keeps a close eye on the quality of their tulips from the time they leave the farm's refrigerated packing house until they reach the retail venue. The farm also means local jobs for local people; Wooden Shoe employs both seasonal and year-round staff. Read the full story or watch the video slide show below.
Imagine barreling down white water rapids on the Rogue River, screaming with joy all the way. From the numerous customer videos on You Tube, it's evident this popular attraction in Grants Pass is just the kind of fun people of all ages enjoy.
Hellgate Jetboat Excursions is a family owned business with a unique sense of paying their success forward, and in many ways could be identified as one of Oregon's "heroes." The Hamlyn family relocated to Grants Pass in the 1980s and fell in love with the river. From designing and manufacturing boats locally, to employing area residents, the Hamlyns evolved into dedicated stewards with a mantra to give back. Read the full story.
Oregon Travel Experience's Director of Sales Harry Falisec spends an enormous amount of time thinking—and a great deal of his brain workout occurs while driving down I-5 and I-84. A few months ago, Harry was behind the wheel in the Portland Metro region and realized he wasn't seeing a well-known pizza company's logo on OTE's highway business signs.
Pizza Schmizza is a local company whose roots connect to numerous stores near interstate exits. Since part of Harry's work includes promoting local economic development, he figured Pizza Schmizza was an ideal candidate for a highway business sign. Harry decided to visit the franchises in person and see if their owners knew how to "sign up." Read the full story.


text:
Donate Now
View all resources.
In the Drug Policy Alliance's first installment of its 2015 Telephone Town Hall series, which is designed to expand the breadth and depth of those concerned with ending the drug war, the organization's Movement Building Team presented Rev. Dr. Frederick D. Haynes III, senior pastor of the 12,000-member congregation Friendship-West Baptist Church in Dallas, Texas. He was interviewed by DPA's grants program director, asha bandele.
¿Hace la guerra contra las drogas más daño que bien? En una charla audaz, el reformista de la política de drogas Ethan Nadelmann hace un apasionado alegato para acabar con el movimiento "retrógrado, despiadado y desastroso" para erradicar el tráfico de drogas. Da dos grandes razones de por qué deberíamos centrarnos, en cambio, en una regulación inteligente.
In the third installment of a series of discussions presented by the Drug Policy Alliance's Movement Building Team, DPA's asha bandele interviewed Dr. Stanton Peele, author and pioneer in the study of addiction. During the conversation, Dr. Peele discussed the differences between problematic drug use and addiction, realistic treatment options, and the relationship between addiction, stigma and drug policy reform. The call also featured robust listener participation. Dr.
The traditional plant medicine ayahuasca, which has been used in its native Amazon for millennia, has blossomed in influence around the globe. Millions of people are seeking it out for religious and medical purposes, as well as for personal and professional growth. But the future of ayahuasca policy is up in the air. Despite a favorable 2006 U.S. Supreme Court ruling allowing ayahuasca's use by certain organized religions, it remains criminalized in the U.S. and many other countries.
Every 48 seconds someone is arrested for marijuana possession in the United States. Most of these arrests are of people of color, despite the fact that white people use and sell marijuana at higher rates.
In the second installment of a new series of discussions presented by the Drug Policy Alliance's Movement Building Team, DPA's asha bandele interviewed Eugene Jarecki, the filmmaker of the award-winning documentary The House I Live In. During the conversation, Jarecki reflected on how the movement has changed in the two years since his film was released and what he's learned about engaging with groups who have not yet been convinced of the drug war's failure.
In the first installment of a new series of discussions presented by the Drug Policy Alliance's Movement Building Team, DPA's asha bandele interviewed Michelle Alexander, the best-selling author of The New Jim Crow. Over 300 people listened in on their conversation which touched on familiar issues – the decriminalization of all drugs, ending mass incarceration – but also delved deeper, allowing Alexander to discuss what truly transformational change means to her, and more personally, what she would like to do next in her own work.
"Taking Drugs Out of the Criminal Justice System," a keynote talk by Ethan Nadelmann at the Justice on Trial Film Festival at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles, CA. This two-day Film Festival presented a compilation of films that critically examine America's highly-racialized mass incarceration system defined by harsh drug sentencing, jailhouse beatings, solitary confinement, stop-and-frisk humiliations, selective prosecutions, and unreasonably long sentences.
California State Director, Lynne Lyman shares her experiences as a mother and discusses the need for reality-based drug education programs in schools. In addition, Lynne shares the harmful long-term impact zero-tolerance policies have on students by introducing them to the criminal justice system at an early age. Instead of punitive policies, Lynne calls for schools to use a restorative justice approach with students, as a means of keeping students engaged in ac
This clip shows Republican congressional members from California along with other national leaders speaking out against the unjust racial disparities in sentencing between powder and crack cocaine during passage of the federal "Fair Sentencing Act of 2010" that narrowed the federal disparity in sentencing from 100:1 to 18:1.
Sign up to receive action alerts and news about drug policy reform.
Tell Congress to adopt health-based solutions to prevent overdose deaths.
You can help promote drug policies based on science, compassion, health, and human rights.
Together, we are fighting for responsible drug policy. Join us. Give Now.
Copyright © 2017 Drug Policy Alliance. All Rights Reserved

subset: commoncrawl


text:
William and Leticia Jarvis are unlikely Napa Valley wine owners. He was raised in a "dry" state, Oklahoma, and she was raised in Pueblo, Mexico. After mutual successes in business, they met, married and adopted France for a part time residence.The Jarvis's developed a passion for Bordeaux Reds and gravitated to the Napa Valley where in the 1980's they purchased 37 acres of vineyards. In 1995 they developed the stunning underground 45,000 square foot cave-inspired Jarvis Estate Winery, located East of Napa and tunneled into the Vaca Mountains. It has an underground stream and magnificent waterfall. The "Crystal Chamber" is lit with large amethyst crystals and a large ballroom holds memorable galas, including the American Wine Classic Auction Napa Valley Barrel Tasting and Auction, planned this year for June 1.
The deepest chamber of the cave is bigger than two basketball courts allowing all fermentation tanks and other processing equipment to be underground. The stream and underground water system maintain a humidity level at an ideal level for barrel aging.
Since 2008, Ted Henry has been the winemaker, closest to the daily care needed for high quality, crafted bottles. He is fortunate to have Dimitri Tchelistcheff, considered the wisest scholar of Napa winemaking, as his consultant winemaker. He is a member of the Vintner's Hall of Fame.
Tchelistcheff began his winemaking career some 68 years ago. He has done it all!
Jarvis varietals include: Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cab Franc, Petit Verdot, Chardonnay and Tempranillo. The winery produces 9,000 cases a year. TASTE OF WINE recommends the 2007 Lake William Blend, with 93 points from Wine Enthusiast. The 2005 Reserve Cabernet has a 94-point award from Wine Enthusiast and 92 points from Robert Parker.
For more information on Jarvis Estate Winery, visit jarviswines.com, or call (800) 255-5280.
Fresh Casual is the Way to Go for Restaurants
The front-runners in the competition for the restaurant dollar are clearly fresh, farm to table cuisine, simply done and served. The food is locally sourced and nutritionally natural. Meat, fish, produce, all with a seasonal flair, have caught the wave of diner favor.
The wineries have connected with savvy chefs who respect what wines can do for food. They spend valuable time tasting wines and presenting menu items that match up with a Pinot Noir, Cabernet or Merlot.
American food and wine palates are more adventurous than ever, thanks to TV Food channels, chefs and wait-help in restaurants that can spin the nutritional, natural flavors of food and wine in these fresh-casual formats.
Light Italian such as Rosotto, Gnocchi and Caprese seem to top many casual
menu lists, as well as wood oven-baked pizzas Margherita style, with light cheese, tomato, sweet basil and a dash of "funghi" ( mushrooms.)
The hotels and resorts have sat up and taken notice of these trends. The new still-being-built Hilton Carlsbad Oceanfront Resort & Spa with Carlsbad beach views from its Chandler's Restaurant site, has brought in Executive Chef Pascal Vignau, who brought Savory to Encinitas 8 years ago. He is widely known for his simple, brilliant style of comfort food, brought together with seasonal menus and world-class wines.
The trend to fresh casual menus is going uptown.
Wine Bytes
Meritage Wine Market in Encinitas is going with Spicy Reds: Grenache, Syrah and Zin at its event March 24 at 6 p.m. Six reds offered. Get your spice for $20. More info at (760) 479-2500.
North County Wine Company in San Marcos has a couple of fun tastings March 28 at 5 p.m. and then an Italian Wine Party March 30 at 4 p.m. for $10. This one has special pizzas and calzones. Call (760) 744-2119 for details.
Europa Village in Temecula Wine Country presents a Sommelier Workshop with wine & food basics March 20 from 6 to 7:30 p.m. Learn new trends on how to make wine and food dance. $49. RSVP at (951) 216-3380.
Cal State San Marcos presents Managing Wine Style from Grape Production to Bottle March 31 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. This seminar includes six Pinot Noir tastings, lunch & refreshments. $75. Call Jill at (760) 750-8705.


text:
|Page 1 of 48:
|[1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11]
|479 reviews in total
While on a mission one of the "Expendables" gets himself killed, this
leads the crew to go on a mission of revenge. But is it too much to
I was severely disappointed in the first Expendable film, the mediocre action, the use of CGI blood and the unimpressive villain ruined the experience. So I was hoping that the second time around they would correct these issues. I can safely say, they did and they did it in spades. The big change is Stallone is no longer behind the camera, so he is more focused on his role of Barney and his mind isn't split between two separate places. The biggest change though is the tone, The Expendables 2 does not take itself seriously at all and neither did I, so I had a blast watching what is ultimately a parody of the action genre.
I can look past the acting, lack of story and plot because the film doesn't try to give you one. It's a simple film with a simple purpose. Get as many of these big guys into one film, make it a guys flick with lots of action and killing and they succeeded. The biggest misstep this film has is the motivation behind the revenge. The wrong person dies. A character is killed off that we have almost zero emotional connection with, it would have made more sense if it were another character that disappears early on in the film. It seems this character's sole purpose was to have these characters get their revenge on, which makes it less engaging for the viewer.
I was surprised at how underwhelmed I was by the action in the first film, here it is more stylized and fun. The film steps on the gas from the very beginning and almost never lets up. We are thrown into this action sequence at the start, which is better than anything the original had to offer. A more competent action director is behind the lens this time, Simon West who gave us Con Air and the more recent Mechanic. He understands what is needed and delivers some wild action sequences.
As I mentioned before, the film does not take itself seriously and it has a very tongue and cheek demeanour about it. It's not afraid to wink at the camera, specifically when Chuck Norris enters the screen and steals the show with the funniest line in the entire film. The film is full of one liners you would expect from an action film. During a fight, one characters exclaims, "Let's wrap this up" he then proceeds to take a chain and wrap it around another character's neck to choke him out. Another scene we have a bad guy get shot a dozen times by everyone and Stallone retorts, "Rest in pieces". Finally, my favourite, Stallone says "heads up" then proceeds to throw a head to some people. Yes, this movie is violent, so no fear about the PG-13 rating.
So what about the guys? Well, they all come back, some have a lot more to do than others. Lundgren is basically the comedic relief. Crews and Courture again get short shifted and feel like background characters. Schwarzenegger, Willis and Norris all have more in depth cameos and finally Van Damme shines as the villain. Van Damme really deserved more screen time. We are introduced to him, then we cut back every so often as he tries to steal his plutonium, then we have him fight at the end. He deserved more screen time, so did his right hand man, Scott Adkins. Both are more martial arts type fighters than big gun shooters and since this is a Stallone film, this is a big gun shooting movie. They get their fight sequences, but both of them I thought could have been a bit longer. Especially the Van Damme/Stallone fight.
So in the end, The Expendables did exactly what the first film should have done. It's a hilarious parody of the action genre and has non-stop excitement from start to finish. This is finally the film from these guys that I've been waiting for.
First off, yes, much better than the first.... thank god, more
locations, funnier and better put together.
No time from opening credits, its straight into the action, which is more epic imo, and is what should have been seen in the first film but maybe due to a low budget we were subjected to a lesser affair The team work well, all of them and Hemsworth does really well as the new boy on the block and second time round and you kind of know these guys. Arnie, bruce are seen more but are not seen as much as the usual gang, and li is seen the least.
Norris is great, seen here and there, great entrance and more of a cameo, and van damme makes good his role as the villain.
The story pretty much straight forward, better than the first, but nothing special, some dialogue was hard to hear, and sly does try to be serious in some scenes which got a laugh and I don't think its how it was intended but its not that much of a big deal really as there are funny moments in the film, more so than the first film.
Fight scenes were better this time round, not too prolonged, timed well, and the one on ones didn't drag on too long. Sly & van damme's fight could have been a bit longer but I guess after all the chaos leading up to that point it was sufficient enough without getting too silly, reminded me of a Rocky fight here and there....he he One liners were good, dolph was great, the girl is good also, be good to see her in exp3, locations and sets fab, cgi was not obvious and edited well.
One thing I will say is sly does have issues coming across as funny and I don't know why. He's funny in real life and was funny in rocky but its hit and miss and it shows here in some scenes.
Its not 10/10 in my book. Maybe when i see it again it may be better in my mind, but like i say a better story would of helped If there is a 3rd, I would like to see more of a story if that is at all possible, see what you think guys when its out, but it's a big improvement on the first and that's a good sign
I saw The Expendables II this morning at a pré screening. What can I
tell you about this movie. Firstly, it's really action packed. You're
blasted off in the first few minutes leading up to the actual story.
Obviously, this is not a film with a great script or impressive
acting.However, the story works well for what it's supposed to do! It
is greatly entertaining if you are looking for an action packed movie
loaded with iconic action stars like Stallone,Willis and many more. The
addition of Chuck Norris and van Damme to the cast worked out well.
It's really good to see Chuck Norris in action again and he really
pulls it off! I expect that the people who will like this movie most
will be the fans of the old guard like Stallone, Schwwarzennegger and
Norris and the other cast members. Someone I really liked was Liam
Hemsworth who did a great job and stood his own between these action
giants! Nan Yu as Maggie was also a good casting choice an did what she
was supposed to do.
Aside from the "overdrive" action the film also had a lot of humor, which gave some counterweight to the action.
I hope, but quite frankly expect this will do really well in cinema's globally. As a long time Sylvester Stallone fan I can only hope that he (and his family) will find the strenght to overcome the loss of his son.
To the people who are going to see this extravanganza, I hope you'll enjoy it as much as I did!
What we have here is an almost contemptuous lack of respect for
property and human life. But, when that human life is vile, murderous,
plutonium pilfering dirtballs, then its time chop, break, snap, blast,
liquify, incinerate and decapitate (repeat).
There's very little point in going into a great deal of explanation of what makes this so worth a trip down to your local cinema. Suffice to say Sylvester Stallone has once again saved action movies and put the meat back on the bone.
Here he is aided and abetted by messrs Schwarzenegger, Willis, Norris, Van Damme, Statham, Li, Lundgren, Crews, Couture, who all dive into the proceedings with an enthusiastic amount of esprit de corps, taking the carnage to a hitherto undiscovered level.
This is an action movie with both feet planted firmly in the 80's and there nothing wrong with that one iota. The guys banter, crack jokes, shoot and cause things to blow up, the bad guys are hissable, murderous wretches to a man and are blown up.
Everybody is clearly having a blast, so in translation, so do you, of particular note, Jean Claude Van Damme provides a standout performance as sneery and arrogant Jean Villain.
If you like proper action movies i would be bewildered if you didn't enjoy this. Sly, you did it again, you are without a shadow of doubt "the man".
If they can deliver Eastwood, Ford, Cage, Snipes, Russell, Biehn, Weathers and T for the next one, then my money is already spent.
*** This review may contain spoilers ***
I have no idea why so many people like this movie, maybe I have high
standards, but i have to say, all the characters in this movie just
don't mix. You can't have all the characters the MAIN character and the
story is just pure garbage.
The only bit I liked in this movies was the part where Chuck Norris flashes into the scene, other than that it's just a bundle of shooting and screaming and nothing else really.
The whole story didn't even have a feeling that something was happening. The plutonium was considered a piece of candy that was stolen and everyone was focused on being a 'badass'.
If all mercenaries would be crying babies like this guys, how will they ever survive a seeing a small puppy on the side of the road? In my opinion it's just pathetic.
At least the first movie had a topic, people were talking in their native language, here everyone knows English, no matter where they are from.
Truly I give up, since most of this actors are some of my favorite, but repeating old movie lines (I back, I'm coming back, You came back enough), just makes them look like clowns.
One good thing about this movie is that they did get the character of Jean-Claude Van Damme right. He is a true psycho, but they just found out this right now.
Other than this, the movies deserve a 3 star rating, and this is generous considering that the director of the movie just bashed all the characters head on raw concrete with his amazingly stupid script.
*** This review may contain spoilers ***
I don't care if I'm the minority here but seriously if anyone has ever
seen a decent movie before then they would realize how ridiculous this
film is. So much talent can be had from this cast as most of us have
seen over the years. If the dialogue from this movie wasn't enough to
deter me from liking it then it was the multiple references to previous
action films starring the individual cast that did it. The addition of
Liam Hemsworth playing billy the kid was a strong move considering his
part was by far the most interesting and well portrayed. Better kill
off the greatest part in the film (it was pretty evident and cliché
that Billy was going to die due to the fact that in every film where
someone is about to leave or better themselves in some way leads to
their death). Another thing that really bothered me about this film was
the fact that Jason Statham's "honey" bothering him throughout the film
had literally no relevance, yet they led the audience to believe it
The editing in this film was tragic... Ever since Stallone has been making a "come back" with action films, the animated blood that is featured is some of the most unrealistic i've seen. When I first witnessed this odd looking blood was in the most recent "Rambo". I thought then that it was interesting looking but eventually due to the excessive amount of it being used i grew tired. There is a scene in The Expendables 2 where they have cleared out a small church filled with Van Damme's cronies and only one enemy is left. They proceed to light this man up, (which i found comical) but once again the terrible editing in this scene ruined it. You can clearly see his entire torso covered in poorly edited bullet holes that don't even move with the mans body.
With a cast and crew like this, I'd think they'd be able to fund for some fantastic special effects. Thanks for the disappointment though.
*** This review may contain spoilers ***
The first thing that strikes me about this movie is, why does it look SO bad? Is it the feel or style they are going for? I dunno, it just looks bad. Maybe they are trying to Vaseline screen the aging stars, who are all in great shape by the way, or are they saving on film? Do they even use film anymore? SPOILER ALERT Virtually every action scene here is over the top and totally unbelievable except for a short scene with Jet Li. The initial escape scene makes NO SENSE! Sly gets shot while going down a seemingly infinite zip line? Statham's got his back so he stays behind while they are surround and the rest of the team continues the escape on the water high speed style. Out of nowhere Sly and Jason are rescued by fledgling team member snipers them out of the situation. Sly grunts "Time for plan b" back to the water chase. Jet skis, for no apparent reason appear from nowhere and the team abandons the boat. Just when all is lost, Stallone and Statham zoom overhead in the plane they arrived in. How is this plan b? Wouldn't the boats and jet ski's be plan b. Jet skis shoot into the ramp of the plane as the plane struggles get get enough lift to take off before they crash into a huge damn. Hey, since we are having trouble gaining altitude, let's head for the HIGHEST POINT on the dam! Most of the action scenes pretty much follow this level of nonsense. Oh well, maybe the writing is good? Nope! Back story for the newbie team member to make us care about him when he gets killed pretty much goes like this, "So, how did you get into this line of work?" " I was in Afganistan for three years when my platoon got trapped in the oil zone. By the time we got out, four of my friends were dead. When I got back to base, they had shot the dog I was taking care of, so, I'd had enough killing for the day"! That's it? That's the best the writes of this mega budget could come up with? Also to the character, since you had enough killing you decided to become a mercenary where you would kill people all day! Speaking of death, I read a stunt man died making this POS. people die everyday, on the subway, in their sleep, lots o reasons, but honestly, I can't think of a bigger waste of life than to die for this movie.
It takes a certain mindset to appreciate a movie like "The Expendables
2". One has to be a fan of the action genre of the 1980s and early
1990s, as well as enjoying those action heroes' persona and screen
presence whenever they appear on-screen. They did not necessarily have
to act well, but they had to be tough, heroic, stoic, larger than life.
Realism need not really apply here - it's all about the fun factor.
People paid to see these guys blow away the scum of the earth as they
only know how.
"The Expendables 2" is the first sequel (and it most certainly would not be the last) to Stallone's 2010 surprise blockbuster which was intended as a glorious throwback to the films of that era. This one is no exception. However, it is a rare sequel which is better than the first. The story may not be important in these types of movies, but in this one the screenplay had a much clearer and stronger narrative than the first film, making it clear that the stakes are raised, thus enabling the story, however shallow, to be more engaging for the audience.
Director Simon West ("Con Air") did wonders with the action sequences as he usually does with his movies. The majority of the action sequences are well shot with wide angles and much better stunt choreography (with CGI touches added here and there, but not as pervasive as the first film's CGI blood; good ol' squibs are used here mostly) which gets annoying with the film's rapid editing at times. Brian Tyler's music score was fairly engaging but didn't really stand out. Overall, the technical aspects of the film really shows off the big budget for the film, and it pays off ultimately.
But what about the characters? If you've seen the director's cut for the first film, that's about as close as you can get for character development. Like the first, this is all-out action, but it has some dramatic moments too. There is a line about coping with death that Barney Ross mutters that feels kind of sad knowing Stallone's own real- life predicament. Van Damme's having a blast as the Villain, and a menacing one at that. The biggest disappointment was that of Jet Li's very minimal screen presence, like a cameo. Hopefully an extended version will fix that problem.
The film's biggest entertainment value comes in the constant one-liners from and between the action icons of the eras, as well as their presence and their dispatching of the bad guys. The banter here is certainly more hilarious and less bland than the first film - there is much more chemistry between the characters. Their screen presence needs no explanation: Sylvester Stallone. Arnold Schwarzenegger. Bruce Willis. Jean-Claude Van Damme. Chuck Norris. Dolph Lundgren. Jason Statham. Jet Li. Need I say more? Cult or mainstream, these guys each has hordes of fans - and they have good reason to.
I grew up on these types of movies and ultimately "The Expendables 2" satisfies my craving for good old-fashioned movie bloodlust in wake of the ever-rising wave of PG-13, CGI-laden action films ("Total Recall" remake, anyone? Oh Arnie, where art thou?). That being said, I expect an extended director's cut as I feel that some parts were awkwardly put together, and hopefully these removed scenes will make the film better as a whole. For now, "The Expendables 2" is very good entertainment, as shallow as it is technically well-made and ends the 2012 summer movie season with a big bang.
Now bring on "The Expendables 3" with Steven Seagal and Wesley Snipes (to basically complete the cycle of 80's/'90s action heroes). Mel Gibson, Kurt Russell, Harrison Ford, Nicolas Cage and Clint Eastwood (my #1 action hero) are also most welcome indeed.
Overall rating: 65%
Action movie rating: 75%
*** This review may contain spoilers ***
It's incredible, the amount of money this movie has supposedly made .
I am a huge fan of action movies; I have watched and rewatched all the flicks with Stallone , Schwarzenegger, Stratham, and many of those with the other known actors .
The first Expendables movie I enjoyed a lot; however, this one is taking it way beyond the silly, yet entertainable threshold .
Where to start ?
The acting is wooden, to say the least . Granted, the dialogues are poorly written, and the attempts at humour and the references are clumsy and forced .
But most of the known actors in this movie can do so much better, have done so in other roles , and are so experienced, that I find it hard to comprehend how they could agree to do this script . The money, of course, yet I somehow think that their performance in this movie will seriously hurt their career prospects .
This is sad for veterans like Van Damme and Lundgren, who did great in their recent projects to add some substance to their pedigree, but where cast as 2 dimensional morons for this .
The action is decent, though not very original, and very much on the silly side . I don't mind if it's realistic, but this is just action for action's sake, and thrown in like random video clips ; the action scenes don't even pretend to be real, as they do in any good action movie, but are intentionally created like circus acts .
Which brings me to editing; you know those over-sized Legos for toddlers ? The kids can put them together , it's easy and they fit , but it's just a bunch of bricks, no gaps but the colors don't match and there is no discernible shape . That's this movie .
The pieces somehow fit, never match, but everything got squeezed in that was available and deemed necessary , no matter how poorly executed . All boxes ticked, job done . Some parts even seem to have been shot seperatly and poorly stuck together, like some of the Schwarzenegger appearances; scenes jump from one environment to the next, held together by some half sentence in the previous scene .
What really killed it for me, was Chuck Norris - the straw and the camel's back .
It's not just that he is such a bad actor, and doesn't even look like himself anymore; take Steven Seagal as an example - he is horrible, but he can be made fun of easily and blended into this kind of movie (if the writers had had any sense of humor to start with) . But Norris isn't funny, nothing about him is . An empty shell with a beard glued to it, his legacy is being known for not worth being known .
Yet still he got a big part in the later stages of the movie - randomly and inexplicably thrown in, like everything else .
It's truly bad movie, and goes to show how marketing can even make a skeleton effort of a movie into a success .
The mercenaries are back! And if the response from the box office is
stellar, I suppose The Expendables can build upon a formula that's
established through the two films to date, that somehow follows how
James Bond would have done it, with its longevity inspiring similar
treatment. There's the opening big bang action sequence, followed by
Bruce Willis' shady CIA operative Mr Church coming on to provide Barney
(Sylvester Stallone) and his team a challenge they cannot refuse (by
way of blackmail). Technology and weapons go down to bare basics with
loads of guns, knives and brass knuckles, with room for a female
companion somewhere, against a mob boss played by somebody well known.
The Muscles from Brussels Jean-Claude Van Damme had agreed to step into the shoes of the villainous boss called erm, Villain, and shows he still got the moves with his signature roundhouse kicks. His plan is to make billions through mining weapons grade plutonium from a mine mapped out by the CIA, and together with lackey Hector (Scott Adkins), snarl in cocky fashion for the most parts, with Hector doing most of the dirty work of enslaving villagers to do their dirty bio-hazardous work. I guess egos got put aside when both got signed on to play villains amongst hundreds of faceless goons who are plain fodder when the Expendables come knocking, no thanks to a personal vendetta being set up early in the movie, giving Barney just cause for tracking, hunting, then killing.
Don't expect The Expendables sequel to be any brainier than the original of course, since nothing is cerebral here, and anything that exhibits a little bit of ingenuity, or brains, get mocked at. Just look at how Dolph Lundgren's Gunner Jensen got treated throughout as a mad scientist equivalent. It's really all about the bigger the guns, muscles and explosions, with the first scene establishing just how our heroes would plough through their adversaries - with ease like hot knife through butter. There's plenty of CG blood, gore, decapitations of various appendage done in a myriad of styles, they're all dumbed down to somewhat cartoony violence - where no matter what the faceless goons throw at The Expendables, nothing sticks, with vice versa accuracy the other way round. You may balk at scenes involving high caliber weapons literally ripping through a hole in someone's body or blowing up heads to smithereens, but it's the way the heroes become executioners, all without remorse.
Directing duties are given to Simon West, and in all honesty, he ensured a better way to shoot all the action, that is a leg up from how Stallone decided to do it, which was a blurry mash of clashing bodies in extreme closeups. Here we get to see who does what, with some incredible stunts filled with movie logic loopholes, you'd fare better if you leave your inhibitions at the door, and enjoy this action film for what it is. The screenplay by Richard Wenk and Stallone doesn't leave any room for character development, except for the continued buddy bromance between Barney and his right hand man Lee Christmas (Jason Statham). And their crew also got pared down with Jet Li appearing in just the first two scenes, with the team made up most of the time by Barney, Lee, Gunner, Hale (Terry Crews) and Toll (Randy Couture), with Yu Nan replacing Li as the token female and Chinese character who balances brains, guts and brawn.
What this outing now had, is plenty of jokes. It doesn't pretend to be what it's not, and junks seriousness, ever willing to trade in laughs at every opportunity. There are enough corny one liners here, and action set ups, that parody the action careers of Stallone, Willis and Schwarzenegger combined, the trio whom most audiences are really here to watch gracing the same screen together. And let's not forget good old Chuck Norris as Booker, with a tip of the hat going in the direction of the countless of Chuck Norris jokes that get a leg up when told by the legendary man himself, with his Booker having a reputation of being much of a lone wolf, coupled with a knack of appearing when needed, and given the abilities of all his action film roles combined.
The story centers on a vendetta to be settled between The Expendables and Villain, and being a personal one too, with a handful of emotional scenes for Stallone to flex his acting chops a little. In what would be an uncanny coincidence, Stallone himself had to battle personal loss during the promotional tour of this film with the passing of his son. Despite having his crew made up of veterans of action roles past, Stallone continues to show that he has a fun-filled, violent action franchise that's picking up traction, and has enough legs to warrant more films to come, especially when more names like Snipes and Eastwood have been bandied around as potential inclusions. Action fans, this is something that you won't want to miss, especially if you've grown up in the 80s and 90s!
|Page 1 of 48:
|[1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11]
|Plot summary
|External reviews
|Parents Guide
|Official site
|Plot keywords
|Main details
|Your user reviews
|Your vote history


text:
Former Alabama signee Brandon Hill recommits to Crimson Tide
The No. 1-ranked offensive tackle in prep school reaffirmed his commitment to Alabama on Christmas Day after committing to Ole Miss in November.
Hill, a 2012 Alabama signee who failed to qualify academically, spent the past season at Hargrave Military Academy. He reopened his recruitment this year and committed to the Rebels on November 16.
"They say it ain't over until it's over. Well, it's over," Hill's mother, Erica Lee, told 247Sports following her son's pledge to Hugh Freeze.
That statement proved to be false Tuesday as Hill, a three-star prospect, announced publicly to Andrew Bone of TideSports.com that he had recommitted to Nick Saban and the Crimson Tide.
The 6-foot-5, 330 pound, Memphis native plans to enroll at the Capstone in January and will provide much-needed depth along the offensive line. Saban will lose senior All-American linemen Barrett Jones and Chance Warmack to graduation and junior tackle D.J. Fluker is seriously considering a jump to the NFL after the BCS National Championship.
Hill became Alabama's 21st commitment for a 2013 recruiting class that is currently considered the top-ranked collection of prospects in the country by both Rivals and 247Sports recruiting services and comes less than a week after five-star receiver Robert Foster committed to the Crimson Tide.
Alabama receivers coach and recruiting coordinator Mike Groh was Hill's lead recruiter.


text:
Jakubiak focused on getting more minutes
PUBLISHED: 11:00 22 January 2015
Dave Simpson/TGSPHOTO c/o 27 Plaiters Way, Braintree, Essex, CM7 3LR - Editorial Use ONLY - FA Premier League and Football Leagu
Watford youngster is enjoying his time at Victoria Road
Alex Jakubiak finally got his first start for Dagenham & Redbridge last weekend during the 1-0 defeat to Northampton Town, but he admits he is only focused on getting minutes to aid his development.
The 18-year-old moved to Victoria Road on an initial one-month loan at the end of November, but that has since been extended until January 31.
He has made six appearances under Wayne Burnett, scoring on his debut against Bury, but only earned his first start against the Cobblers on Saturday.
And though the attacker admitted himself he didn't make the most of the opportunity, he is happy to be learning at Daggers.
"The main thing for me is minutes, obviously I would prefer to be starting," admitted Jakubiak.
"But I just want to get as many minutes as I can during my time here.
"I settled in quite quickly and I knew quite a few of the lads from before, Ayo Obileye was one of them.
"He has given me lifts and that, but everyone has made me feel welcome and I feel I am part of the team properly."
Daggers are without a match this weekend due to Cambridge United's involvement in the FA Cup, but they travel to Abbey Stadium next Tuesday for an important league fixture.
Jakubiak believes the short break of 10 days could be a positive as they look to get back on track against the U's.
He also discussed what it has been like to be training in parks regularly over the past few weeks with Daggers training ground affected by the poor weather.
"When you lose you just want to get back out there again and bounce back as quickly as you can," Jakubiak added.
"But this little break might help in a way because we can get our heads back together and start working again.
"I think everyone has done well to adapt to the conditions. The training ground is not in the best quality, the pitch isn't the best.
"No one is complaining about training in parks, though, and we have all got on with it.
"When someone slips we just laugh about it, but considering the quality of the pitches at this time of season everyone has done well to work with it."


text:
April 7, 2004
COLUMBIA, S.C. - The 21st-ranked South Carolina Gamecocks recorded their second SEC East series win as they defeated the fifth-ranked Georgia Bulldogs 2-0 in game three Wednesday afternoon. McKenna Hughes hit a solo home run and Kristin Hall hit an RBI-single to give the Gamecocks the win. Pitcher Stacey Johnson improved to 13-4 and won her fourth straight appearance.
Katie Griffith took the loss for Georgia and fell to 14-4. Griffith struck out five and walked three batters in six innings pitched. The Gamecocks are now 21-13 and 10-11 in the SEC while the Bulldogs fall to 36-9 and 13-5 in the conference. Johnson held UGA to three hits, all singles, and allowed one walk.
USC scored its two runs in the fourth inning when Hughes led off with a solo shot, her third career long ball, and Hall singled to drive home Samantha Jennings from second, who reached on a walk. That would be enough offense for USC as solid defense kept the Bulldogs at bay. A double play turned by Chrissy Schoonmaker and a diving catch by Hall in the seventh inning sealed the deal for USC.
Hughes has scored in four of USC's last six games, all are games that the Gamecocks have won.
The Gamecocks return to action this weekend when they travel to Gainesville, Fla. to face the Florida Gators in a three-game series. Since snapping a six-game losing streak, the Gamecocks are 4-2.
Gamecock Videos
Shop Now


text:
Iron Man has been brought to console with some success by Sega, and has steadily moved up the charts since its release - claiming fifth spot in the ChartTrack/ELSPA All Formats rankings in the UK last week.
According to the BBC, The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian took $56.6m (£29m) between Friday and Sunday at US cinemas to bump Iron Man off the top spot after two weeks.
The Disney game is due for release on 360, PS3, PS3, Wii, PC, DS and PS2 on June 9th in Europe.
Iron Man took $31.2 million (£15m) in the period.
Romantic comedy What Happens in Vegas, starring Cameron Diaz, took $13.9m (£7.1m) to hit the third spot.
Speed Racer – which has been brought to console by Warner Bros – was fourth, taking $7.6m (£3.9m) in its second week.
Jeff Goldstein of the film's studio Warner Bros' said next weekend - which is Memorial Weekend in the US - was "do or die" for the movie, which cost $120m (£61m) to make.
The eagerly-anticipated Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, which had its premiere at the Cannes Film Festival on Sunday, will open in cinemas in the US and Canada on Thursday.


text: Diagnosis By Mayo Clinic Staff Print You generally won't need to see your doctor for keratosis pilaris. If you do visit your doctor, he or she will be able to diagnose the condition by looking at the affected skin. No testing is needed. Request an Appointment at Mayo Clinic Symptoms & causesTreatment Aug. 08, 2017 Print Share on: FacebookTwitter References AskMayoExpert. Keratosis pilaris. Rochester, Minn.: Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research; 2014. Keratosis pilaris. American Osteopathic College of Dermatology. http://www.aocd.org/skin/dermatologic_diseases/keratosis_pilaris.html. Accessed Nov. 4, 2015. Keratosis pilaris. Merck Manual Professional Version. http://www.merckmanuals.com/professional/print/dermatologic_disorders/cornification_disorders/keratosis_pilaris.html. Accessed Nov. 4, 2015. Keratosis pilaris. American Academy of Dermatology. https://www.aad.org/dermatology-a-to-z/diseases-and-treatments/i---l/keratosis-pilaris/who-gets-causes. Accessed Nov. 4, 2015. Goldsmith LA, et al., eds. Keratosis pilaris and other inflammatory follicular keratotic syndromes. In: Fitzpatrick's Dermatology in General Medicine. 8th ed. New York, N.Y.: The McGraw-Hill Companies; 2012. http://www.accessmedicine.com. Accessed Nov. 4, 2015. Dermatologists' top 10 tips for relieving dry skin. American Academy of Dermatology. https://www.aad.org/dermatology-a-to-z/health-and-beauty/general-skin-care/dry-skin-tips. Accessed Nov. 4, 2015. Retin-A. U.S. Food and Drug Administration. http://www.accessdata.fda.gov. Accessed Nov. 5, 2015. Goldsmith LA, et al., eds. Epidermal growth and differentiation. In: Fitzpatrick's Dermatology in General Medicine. 8th ed. New York, N.Y.: The McGraw-Hill Companies; 2012. http://www.accessmedicine.com. Accessed Nov. 5, 2015. Keratosis pilarisOverviewSymptoms & causesDiagnosis & treatmentDiagnosisTreatmentPreparing for your appointmentSelf-managementMore aboutIn-DepthMultimediaResources Advertisement Mayo Clinic does not endorse companies or products. Advertising revenue supports our not-for-profit mission. Advertising & Sponsorship Policy Opportunities Ad Choices Mayo Clinic Store Check out these best-sellers and special offers on books and newsletters from Mayo Clinic. The Last Diet You'll Ever NeedNEW! Mayo Clinic Guide to Integrative MedicineStop Osteoporosis in its TracksMayo Clinic Health LetterThe Mayo Clinic Diet Book Diagnosis & treatmentRequest an AppointmentDiagnosisTreatmentPreparing for your appointment CON-20155451 Patient Care & Health Information Diseases & Conditions Keratosis pilaris


text:
Is There Such a Thing as a Wild Yeast Fermentation? In the August issue of Wine Business Monthly, writer Andy Perdue presents some new research on the topic.
That exotic yeast you used to ferment your wine? It probably didn't. That wild yeast fermentation you prefer? It probably isn't. So suggests three years of research at the University of British Columbia (UBC) in Canada.
"The winemaker assumes that what they inoculate with is what they get in their fermentations," said Dan Durall, a biology professor at the University of British Columbia, Okanagan in Kelowna, British Columbia, who has led the research since 2010.
His investigation indicates that likely is inaccurate: The yeast strain you think is fermenting your wine probably isn't doing the job—unless it is a dominant commercial strain. The study began in 2010 when graduate student Jessica N. Lange spent time at three Okanagan Valley wineries to study yeast during multiple stages of fermentation in Pinot Noir. Lange collected samples during cold soak then during early, mid and late stages of fermentation.
What she found was startling: Regardless of which yeast started the fermentation—indigenous or otherwise—a dominant commercial strain took over during the process, essentially wiping out any other forms of yeast that might have been present, Durall said.
For the full story, look for the August issue of Wine Business Monthly, hitting mailboxes late July.


text:
As more organisations undergo business and technology transformation to cope with renewed economic pressures, one Melbourne company is reaping the rewards.
DB Results, a consulting firm whose work its chief executive Andrew Dean says is 90 per cent dependent on new technology implementations, has doubled in size two years ahead of schedule.
In August 2011, it told the Victorian government it would create 100 new local jobs by 2015, but having done so by now, on Thursday it committed to a further 100, with 80 or more of those in a technical capacity. The 220-staff outfit has an annual turnover of $40 million derived from large clients in the utilities, telecommunications, banking and insurance sectors including Telstra, Sydney Water and Origin Energy. It has smaller offices in Sydney and Hong Kong.
"Fundamentally we provide big transformation services. We typically follow a company like [consultancy firm] McKinsey, who's done the strategy, and we plot out a complete transformation program and business and IT process change," Mr Dean said.
The company has always been able to source talent locally, he said, going overseas for staff only on "odd occasions". It favours candidates within "two degrees of separation": those recommended by current employees or associates, or by someone they know. It also takes in eight to 10 graduates into its graduate program every year.
Mr Dean said workers – from project managers to analysts – need to be technically competent and also business aware, reflecting a hybrid skills trend IT recruiters say is here to stay.
"We require business skills and IT skills, no doubt," Mr Dean said.
The growth plans are music to Victoria Minister for Technology Gordon Rich-Phillips' ears. Mr Rich-Phillips has been on a steady drive to create new IT jobs in the state, hoping to cement Victoria as a place for technology companies to do business with the government and with others.
"To see a homegrown Victorian ICT firm go from $0 to $40 million in turnover in just under a decade is exhilarating and speaks highly of Victoria's outstanding capabilities in ICT," he said.
Mr Rich-Phillips has committed to creating 1000 jobs in ICT this financial year. In October he tallied another 120 new jobs at Melbourne-born IT consulting firm nSynergy Group.
If achieved, the goal will go some way to counter-balance the job losses experienced by the ICT sector recently, including up to 1500 jobs at IBM and hundreds more from banks and technology companies, such as Hewlett Packard and Alcatel-Lucent, lost to cost-cutting and or offshoring programs.


text:
Decleor Aroma White C+ Intense Translucency Fluid will transform the appearance of dull skin, leaving it looking bright and radiant. Enriched with vitamin C to brighten the skin and improve its translucency, the fluid will also nourish your skin to keep it soft and supple. - L.M.
Directions for Use: Apply to your skin twice a day.


text:
Commercializing Advanced Biofuels in Nevada, Iowa
Over the last 10 years, DuPont has invested hundreds of millions of dollars and challenged our top scientists to deliver on the potential of cellulosic ethanol. With construction of a cellulosic ethanol plant in Nevada, Iowa, DuPont stands by its commitment to the commercialization of advanced biofuels.
Learn more about DuPont's path to commercialization with this infographic. Click here to download a PDF.


text:
REDWOOD CITY, Calif., Aug. 14, 2012 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Versant Corporation (Nasdaq:VSNT), a worldwide leader in developing data management software infrastructure for complex, mission-critical applications, today announced that Versant's Vice President of Technology, Robert Greene, will present at DATAVERSITY's NoSQL Now! conference about overcoming issues associated with NoSQL adoption. Taking place August 21-23, 2012 in San Jose, California, NoSQL Now! covers the dynamic field of NoSQL technologies, offering objective evaluation processes to match the right solution for the business challenge. Robert's presentation will take place on Wednesday, August 22 during the Hadoop track. During the session, he will examine how a lack of standards-based programming techniques contribute to adoption problems with NoSQL technology, describing how better integrations with standards based API's like JPA can be used to overcome these hurdles allowing users to leverage the power of Hadoop's MapReduce without having to radically shift the programming paradigm. Robert's presentation will feature Big Data deployment examples from the utilities and energy management sectors, showing how things like consumer energy demand response analysis can be performed at high speed and scale using Hadoop and Java. Additionally, at the show Versant will reveal a new whitepaper examining NoSQL in the enterprise, focusing on the core value delivered by early NoSQL technology and exploring implementation issues within the context of soft-schema development. Furthermore, Versant will unveil a recent set of PolePosition performance benchmark tests detailing how well Versant JPA for NoSQL and the Versant Object Database (VOD) perform compared to leading document stores. As the test results reveal, after extensive testing against several different database technologies, both NoSQL and relational, Versant's object-based technologies outperformed others in 8 out of 10 performance benchmarks. "Big Data has the potential to have a hugely positive impact on businesses of all types and sizes, enabling them to capitalize on this influx of information for things like better customer care, streamlined procedures and deeper insight into business processes," said Versant's Vice President of Technology, Robert Greene. "NoSQL is viewed as one of Big Data's big saviors but has some problems when it comes to adoption, especially reliance on proprietary languages that can cause vendor lock-in. I'm excited to show attendees that by leveraging JPA with NoSQL they can more easily conquer Big Data in a coding language with which they're already familiar."
- Log In
- Newsletters
Access insights and guidance from our Wall Street pros. Find the product that's right for you.
- Action Alerts PLUS
- Daily Swing Trade
- Income Seeker
- Quant Ratings
- Real Money
- Real Money Pro
- Stocks Under $10
- Top Stocks
- Trifecta Stocks
- Real Money Pro Portfolio
- Chairman's Club
- Compare All


text:
Let me introduce myself. My name is Mark Sisson. I'm 63 years young. I live and work in Malibu, California. In a past life I was a professional marathoner and triathlete. Now my life goal is to help 100 million people get healthy. I started this blog in 2006 to empower people to take full responsibility for their own health and enjoyment of life by investigating, discussing, and critically rethinking everything we've assumed to be true about health and wellness...Tell Me More
Hello, everyone! I thought I'd give this "Dear Mark" format a try again. I literally get dozens of emails every day from readers. I try to respond to every last one of them, and the best questions (or at least those I want to rant in response to) get reserved for Monday's "Dear Mark" posts in which I usually go into a good deal of detail. But sometimes it's fun to just publish half a dozen short Q&A's at once. Hit me up with you questions and comments in the comment board. Enjoy!
How many pounds can you lose doing cardio?
I have been thinking about this for a while and was hoping you might be able to shed some light on the subject. Please help. I really appreciate your help.
I say you can't lose any.
How much weight can someone very heavy lose per week?
I am trying to figure out what is important. I was hoping you might be able to give me some insight.
Any help would be appreciated. Thanks.
2 pounds per week is comfortable and results in 100 lbs per year.
My husband LOVES bread. Is there any bread that is good for you? As he was eating his 3rd slice at dinner last night, I read aloud the long list of ingredients. Any suggestions?
Thank you
In my opinion there are NO good breads. Period. Full stop.
Hi Mark,
As one of those people in the category of "endurance athletes who also want to go as primal as possible", I've read with great interest all your blogs that address this conundrum. I understand the reasons for going primal, but I also get so much out of training for triathlons and the like. I don't want to give either up. I've read several times now your advice to this group to calculate as precisely as possible the number of carbs that one needs, on a daily basis, for replenishment from training loads. I've been asking myself lately how exactly would I go about calculating this number….do you have any advice on this? I understand that I could go and have a metabolic test done where they figure out the percentages of cho and fat burned at various intensities while biking/running, but the budget just doesnt allow for that right now. Would there be a simpler, albeit less precise method? Thanks for your help. Also, I was thinking it would be really helpful if there was sort of a compendium or category for all your posts that have been addressed, more or less at the category of the "primal endurance" athlete. Thanks again.
The only way to figure your needs is to start with 100 grams carbs a day as a baseline and then add more into the mix from there…but that depends on how hard you train. If you trained at <70% all the time, I might say you never needed to go above 150 grams a day. If you train at 80% for two hours a day, I'd say you need an extra 200-300 grams a day. It all boils down to how good you are at fat burning and how much high intensity stuff you plan to do. There's no test for it. You need to experiment, trial and error.
I might do a separate program for you crazy endurance guys after the book comes out.
Hey Mark,
I've reread your piece on the effects of a carb-binge multiple times, but I guess there's still something that I'm not quite "getting" about the whole insulin response process. Just why is it that the more insulin-resistant folks who regularly eat hundreds of carbs every day don't seem to be as acutely & negatively affected by their daily/hourly infusions of cereal, crackers and cookies, compared to my primal self on an increasingly-occasional off-plan over-'indulgence', which makes me feel like I've been sideswiped by a truck? What's happening (or not) in their systems compared to the way my body reacts to a sudden sugar/grain attack?
As always, thanks for your thoughts and time!
When you are insulin resistant, you generally have a lot of sugar in your bloodstream all the time. Even as sugar gets stored as fat, it takes longer to get rid of it all. So your body is used to having all this sugar and it almost never drops below a certain level. Since the brain runs on sugar, it has adequate fuel. Meanwhile the rest of your body has grown accustomed to the presence of sugar (not that it's good – just that you're used to it and it has no effect that you can feel).
Conversely, when you are insulin sensitive (healthy) and you eat a ton of carbs, your pancreas shoots out a ton of insulin and it very effectively and quickly removes all that sugar from your bloodstream (because it can so nicely store it inside muscle and liver cells…and fat cells). The result is that now there's very little sugar in the bloodstream to fuel the brain. Your brain goes "Holy crap, I have no more fuel…I'm stressed…I gotta eat" and the roller coaster continues.
Make sense?
How's your cholesterol? Do you have it checked? Your HDL, LDL, total triglycerides?
Last test I had (for life insurance, because I don't have it tested normally), total was 180, HDL 80, Trigs 70.
How many lbs can you lose through exercise?
I am trying to figure out what is important. I was hoping you might be able to give me some insight. Please help.
I am very grateful for your help. Thanks.
Trying to lose weight through exercise alone won't work. 80% of your weight loss (or more) will come from how you eat.
Dear Mark: Weight Loss and Workout Routine
Dear Mark: Fiber, Fat and Fasting
If you'd like to add an avatar to all of your comments click here!
39 Comments on "Dear Mark: Rapid Fire Edition"
You should do these more often… good stuff!
The SoG
Nice light reading. I wouldn't COMPLETELY dismiss cardio though. The kind of cardio most people may be very far from ideal, or effective, but that doesn't mean it's completely worthless.
Question…How would my endurance change by only training HIIT and weight lifting (no more long jogs/rowing) and following the Primal Diet? Will I begin to fade earlier then before? I would still like to play hours of full-court basketball. Thanks.
I agree with SoG. I would be happy to see this done more often! 🙂
"Pick Mark's Brain"… yum~
LOL. As one of those "crazy endurance guys", I look forward to any work you do in that direction.
I've done well sticking to 100 grams/day, oftentimes less. The key for me has been making sure I get a good dose of quality carbs immediately after a long/hard workout. For the shorter/harder workouts, I'll stick to healthy protein/fats (e.g. nuts, eggs).
But I just need to figure out a good primal way to stay fueled during these 60K+ runs that I've really taken a fancy to.
How many calories do you intake per day on average?
I will disagree somewhat with Mark about bread. You can make your own almond-flour or coconut-flour bread and make some fluffy pitas, or a breakfast coconut flour muffin. Just look for the Primal Pizza recipe and check out some of SOG's creations on his website. I made a Primal Pizza the other day, and it was better than any bread-based pizza I've ever had, even authentic Italian Pizza!
JE, semantics, man. When I say "bread" I am talking about that stuff made with grains. If you make some baked concoction with coconut flour or almond flour – and avoid grains – that falls outside my definition of bread. But I do agree that those variations are tasty and probably more healthy.
"How many lbs can you lose through cardio"
Just to qualify Mark's response (which I agree with as a quick fire response!) I would say you can lose plenty of lbs through cardio if you have the willpower to ignore your body's cries for calories generated by the cardio. So if you love making life hard for yourself and have a will of iron, use cardio to lose weight…
Reid, my intake is very sporadic. Some days I get 700 calories and some days 3,000. I guess my average intake is around 2300 per day.
Bill, when you train really long or actually do the 60k+ races, you can use carb gels in real time to help fuel muscles. That won't affect fat usage, since there will be no appreciable insulin release when glucose goes right to working muscles. OTOH, in most shorter training, your best bet is to dial in that pace where you really burn fat the best and stay away from the gels as long as you can.
Mark, you mentin in a post above that slow long aerobic, with intense short burst is the best way to burn fat…Ok, what is slow and what is long? What % in HR should i stick to? and for how long? for me 45 minutes is long, maybe for you 2 hours is long…so just so i get an idea…
Mike, it all depends on current state of fitness. 55-75% of max HR is what I can thr true fat-burning aerobic zone (a little higher for top athletes). 45 minutes is long for some people at 75%, while 2 hours at 55% is "short" for Bill above training for Ultras. I say anything within that range counts toward aerobic efficiency…but it's really the sprints and weight work that ramp up the fitness
Bread should be none, but if you must, the cinnamon raisin Ezekiel bread made with organic sprouted grains and no added wheat gluten is probably the best bet. The other ones you find in health food stores all have gluten added, stay away.
George, in keeping with the tenor of today's post, "don't eat so much garlic and onions."
OOPs, meant to address that to "madMUHHH"
Great post man! I am actually writing up a series of "the primal eating plan for endurance athletes" right now. For those who are interested (and if Mark is ok with it), I will post the link to it here when its done (within a week or so).
Ryan Denner
Meh, if people can´t stand my breath, that´s their problem! 😀 (Onion/garlic lover here! :D)
Nah, it's not like it's such a great problem anyways. I mean, a mint every now and then certainly wont kill me. But that doesn't mean I couldn't just switch to healthier alternatives in case someone knows something better.
in response to garlic breath, i have found that ginger counteracts it. like ginger candy, ginger snaps, fresh sliced ginger tea with lemon and honey, perhaps the pickled ginger served with sushi?
A lot of tough questions, with good answers.
Dang! Where were you when I was in school having to wrestle with questions like "If a train leaves Chicago at 3 p.m. going 45 miles per hour and another train leaves Winnipeg going 45 kilometers per hour, who's buried in Grant's Tomb?"
I like this Monday post!
I see several questions on weight loss. I've already had someone come to me and asked can i "eat more" if i exercise more. My answer to that is when you want to lose weight burn up more calories than what you eat, and watch your calorie intake. Also, jot down everything you eat and the calories, keep a guideline.
What are your thoughts on the raw food diet? I have met and read about many people who have felt better eating raw food and juicing, even though they have given up all animal protein. Personally, I do better with animal protein. But do you think it is possible that some people are healthier and feel better on this kind of diet?
Mark – thanks for the response.
That's exactly what I do. I don't touch the gels, etc., unless the run goes longer than two hours. Although I still quite enjoy fresh fruit in my drop bags.
But I'm still adamant about refueling immediately after my workouts. The short ones get protein and fat with a bit of carbs, while the longer ones get a larger percentage of carbs.
It's worked quite well so far.
Rad, way to go. Congrats on your progress. Send pics!
Alina, the raw foodists I know that are healthiest also eat raw meats (and fish, and shellfish, etc).
Bill, that's exactly what I'd do if I were forced to run long distances 😉
Hi Mark
I'm partially on primal blueprint since last 2 months. I said partial because I'm a vegetarian (except for eggs). I have already lost 9lbs and I didn't even exercise!! Other plus points are:
I don't feel hungry more often
My concentration is certainly improving (I'm an engineering student, so it helps a lot :P)
You WON'T believe it but I don't FEEL sad (I guess has to do something with my eating habits!)
Now I want to follow PB completely. Any suggestions on how to turn non-veg? (I hope PETA are not seeing this!)
Hermant, you already eat eggs. That's a good start. I'd be sure to get some protein powder (whey protein) if you don't already. There's no offical process to move off the vegetarian lifestyle. Anything will work, but I'd move to chicken and/or turkey first, then maybe some fish, and finally some grassfed beef.
Trinkwasser….Gluten, soy, bran and yeast? Today is April Fools day in the USA. You serious?
Hey Hemant!
I BELIEVE IT! Oh yes, your good mood, great concentration, lower appetite, that does all come from eating Primal!
I'd like to make a "suggestion". Have you tried Mark's Responsibly Slim Protein Powder. I think you'd really like it, it's high protein, preserves muscle tone, increases energy, it's totally awesome! AND Delicious.
Mark gave you the perfect advice, you're doing great, good for you!!!
HI, love this section, as previous posters have said, please do this again! For the onions and garlic person, they just had a show on Food Detectives about the best bad breath fresheners, and they found that brushing, flossing, and tongue brushing worked the best, with fennel seeds and gum being next. Mints, parsley didn't do anything. Just for your FYI.


text: Tonight, the new CW dramas Star Crossed premieres. The elevator pitch for the show would be Roswell meets District 9 as a group of very good looking aliens who live in an alien refugee camp "integrate" an American high school resulting in a forbidden teen romance. The cast includes CW alums Matt Lanter (90210) and Malese Jow (The Vampire Diaries) as well as Friday Night Lights star Aimee Teagarden. Monday has been a weak night for the CW all season. Debuting against the Olympics certainly won't make it any easier for Star Crossed to attract an audience. The CW's Monday night shows Hart of Dixie and Beauty and the Beast have been averaging 0.3 and 0.4 adults 18-49 ratings. So how do you think Star Crossed will fare tonight?


text:
MADRID – Kei Nishikori will become the first Japanese to crack the top 10 of the ATP rankings following a 6-4, 6-4 victory over Spain's Feliciano Lopez in the Madrid Open quarterfinals on Friday.
The 24-year-old Nishikori is currently 12th in the world, and his previous high was 11th which he reached in June last year. In the WTA, only Kimiko Date-Krumm and Ai Sugiyama have made the top 10, ranking as high as Nos. 4 and 8, respectively.
"I'm happy about it because it's been a huge goal of mine all along, but it means nothing if I'm there for only a week," said Nishikori, who will face another Spaniard in David Ferrer in the semifinals.
"I need to be able to stay there over the course of an entire year. It'll be important to play well consistently to keep my ranking, but it does mean something to have achieved a goal."
Nishikori had been 2-2 in his career against the big-serving Lopez, whom he managed to break twice. Lopez aced Nishikori nine times, but Nishikori never lost serve in rolling to a straight sets victory.
The Barcelona Open champion needed medical attention in the second set to treat his back, but claimed he would be fine for his next match.
"There was a little pain in my lower back but not enough for me to pull out," Nishikori said. "I should be OK.
"(Lopez) has a strong service game, but I'm pleased I managed to break him. I took the few opportunities he had. I just wanted to stay aggressive."
Nishikori beat Ferrer at the Sony Open in March on a hard court, but expects a very different proposition this time.
"He's a clay-court specialist," Nishikori said of world No. 5 Ferrer. "He's at a different level compared to the others in the field, and I've got to raise my game a notch if I want to stand a chance."
Elsewhere, defending champion Rafael Nadal gave his clay-court doldrums a boost by reaching the semis with a dominant performance against Thomas Berdych.
In the women's tournament, two-time defending champion Serena Williams withdrew with a leg injury, while Maria Sharapova ousted Li Na in the quarterfinals.
The top-ranked Nadal had lost his previous two quarterfinal matches on clay for his worst run on the surface in a decade. But buoyed on by a partisan crowd, Nadal overpowered Berdych 6-4, 6-2 to advance at the Magic Box.
"I brought great energy and intensity to it and that's the best news, that it's my best (on clay) yet," Nadal said. "The things that, historically, I've done well on this surface I managed to do them again today."


text:
GWEN IFILL: Now: the second in our Global Health Unit reports from China.
Tonight, Ray Suarez looks at the growing problem of obesity.
RAY SUAREZ: China's economy is getting bigger, an amazing 9 percent to 10 percent a year, even during a worldwide recession.
China's cities are getting bigger. Vast apartment complexes rise from land cleared for rebuilding. There's a constant hum of construction cranes and motion across the horizon. China's middle class is getting bigger, better educated, better paid. Millions of new consumers flock to the new shopping centers, freed from the hard physical labor of their parents and grandparents.
All that change has consequences. The Chinese are getting bigger, too, and fast. "The New England Journal of Medicine" reports that 19 million people in China are now obese. And while the small percentage of overweight people here still falls well short of America's epidemic, China's rapid rate of increased obesity, 30 to 50 percent annually — that's six million to 10 million more each year — has alarmed health officials.
In the course of just a few decades, China has moved from being a society with a fear of periodic famine to one where the rapidly rising rate of obesity is a serious public health threat.
Dr. Mi Jie is a pediatrician who is studying the phenomenon.
DR. MI JIE, pediatrician (through translator): During the last 30 years of economic development, people's living standards have improved rapidly. Their lifestyles have changed enormously. More money means more food.
RAY SUAREZ: Dr. Mi is trying to convince parents that giving their children more food just because they can afford more food will eventually become a health burden for that child.
DR. MI JIE (through translator): Most obese children don't have an immediate health risk, but health problems, such as high blood pressure, diabetes and cardiovascular diseases, will occur in 20 or 30 years, when they become adults, because health problems don't appear until adulthood. Parents don't see the problems. And they don't take action.
In fact, the traditional thinking in China is that children need to be fat, and that means the child is healthy and strong. This concept, of course, is wrong.
RAY SUAREZ: Western fast-food restaurants have become part of urban Chinese culture.
I just want to know what everybody's favorite food is at McDonald's.
CHILD: Hamburger. Coke.
WOMAN (through translator): The kids these days, they can eat whatever they want. When I was young, I was from a poor family, and we didn't have enough to eat. All we had were potatoes.
RAY SUAREZ: Paul French is the author of a soon-to-be-released book titled "Fat China."
PAUL FRENCH, author, "Fat China": They are extremely proud. And what we have here, of course, is a one-child policy, which is not enforced everywhere, but is still the norm.
So, now we have a generation coming through that not only have no siblings, but have no aunts and uncles. This has led to what we might term here the six-pocket syndrome, which is where every child, or little emperor, as they're known here, has two parents and four grandparents.
And those four grandparents and two parents don't really have anything to spend their money on except that child. So, they are lavishing that child. They are arguably spoiling that one child. And, of course, after generations of — of not having enough, people don't want to say no to children. They want to give them everything. They want to let them enjoy the prosperity, rather than the austerity that they knew in their childhood.
RAY SUAREZ: According to the World Health Organization, between 5 percent and 10 percent of Chinese youth are now obese. Some of them make their way to the equivalent of a fat farm.
Here at the Aimin Fat Reduction Hospital, patients are not only introduced to healthier foods and daily exercise; they're also given traditional Chinese medical treatments, like acupuncture.
DR. SHI LIDONG, chief executive, Aimin Fat Reduction Hospital (through translator): With acupuncture, we want to control the appetite, the desire of eating, and so they won't feel very hungry. We use it to improve digestion and to break down the fat.
RAY SUAREZ: Dr. Shi Lidong is the hospital's chief executive.
DR. SHI LIDONG (through translator): The appearance of the body is not important to us. Our goal is to change their lifestyle, help them understand what to eat and what not to eat.
RAY SUAREZ: The parents of 19-year-old Ma Chanwang paid for his visit to Aimin. His goal is to lose 40 pounds. Now in his fifth day, he's already lost 15.
MAN (through translator): I started gaining weight when I was 8 years old. And I never stopped gaining. I like to eat deep-fried food, and I can't control my appetite.
RAY SUAREZ: As American-owned fast-food joints pop up around the country, they have been followed by another American cultural symbol: Weight Watchers. At Weight Watchers in Shanghai, program director Shan Jin works with clients to limit the amount of food at mealtime.
SHAN JIN, program director, Weight Watchers China: Unlike the Western countries, where people are very used to cups, spoons, teaspoons or tablespoons, we don't have that. It's hard for people to find out how much they — they have eaten.
RAY SUAREZ: Chinese meals are often eaten from serving dishes in the middle of the table for all to share. People eat straight from the communal serving until the food is gone. How would you know how much you have eaten? It's tougher to limit your portions.
SHAN JIN: Sometimes, we would ask them to put their foods in the — on the plate in front of them, so that they could have a portion, they could get a sense of their portion before they eat it. And — and that would also slow the process down. So, we — we're asking people to change their eating behavior a little bit, a tiny little bit.
RAY SUAREZ: The dramatic increase in obesity here has been followed by a similar jump in the number of type 2 diabetics. In fact, China is now home to the most cases of diabetes worldwide. And experts worry about the implications that has on the country's fragile health care system.
PAUL FRENCH: The problem with obesity is, once people are fat, that they are prone to certain diseases. And those diseases will work themselves out in the health care system. And it's the fragility of China's health care system that is the big worry.
RAY SUAREZ: Bigger portions of higher-fat foods are not the only culprit. Not long ago, China's streets, even in the big cities, were full of bicyclists. Now that people have money, cars and motorbikes have taken the place of bicycles.
There are 20 million cars on the road. That number has tripled in just 10 years. The tradition of morning exercise in the park still exists, but it's mostly China's older generation that can be found doing their daily routines that keep them moving, keep them limber. Today, people are doing more indoor work, sitting at computer screens or television sets.
PAUL FRENCH: The great trend in China is urbanization. People are moving into the cities. They're moving away from the countryside, 10 million, 12 million people a year. And that's projected to go on for at least another decade. And those people are coming into the cities.
Increasingly, they're getting white-collar office jobs, and they're getting up in the morning. They're getting the subway to work. They're getting the elevator to the office. They're sitting in a cubicle all day. Then they're getting the elevator downstairs. They're getting the subway home, and then they're sitting in front of television at night and ordering in food.
So, they're leading a much more sedentary lifestyle than they used to. And, of course, you know, many more people are driving around in cars, where they used to ride bicycles. And, also, particularly for children, sport is not a major part of the school curriculum, you know, because of the concentration on passing exams and so on.
So — so, in general, from — from toddlers up to elderly people, people are just more sedentary in the cities than they used to be.
RAY SUAREZ: Fast-moving China will get first to wherever the developing world is going, and won't be alone in a fatter future. The World Health Organization recently described the concerns over China and worldwide obesity rates as a problem of "globesity."
GWEN IFILL: Tomorrow, Ray continues his series on China with a visit to the 2010 World Expo in Shanghai.


text:
GAINESVILLE - The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) has scheduled the seventh National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day which will take place on Saturday, April 26, from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.
This is a chance for those who missed the previous events, or who have subsequently accumulated unwanted, unused prescription drugs, to safely dispose of those medications. The service is free and participants remain completely anonymous.
The Drug Free Coalition of Hall County says the Hall County Sheriff's Office, the Gainesville Police Department, and the Braselton Police Department are providing take back sites in Hall County:


text:
Reviews - The Grand Hotel4
Coast Road, Malahide, Dublin
Customer Reviews
Our reviews are from genuine LateRooms.com customers. We verify that the customer has stayed before leaving a review.
Very Good
100% would recommend it to a friend
Customer service
Food quality
Room quality
The Grand Hotel
Great location and friendly staff.
My concert trip
I was given a ticket for a concert and had trouble finding accommodation, but I was delighted with your speedy response.
Grand hotel, excellent stay
Excellent stay again, looking forward to my next stay here.
G reat location, not too far from Dublin City. R eally friendly and helpful staff. A ll the food is excellent, whether it's dinner or just a snack in the bar. N o hassles checking in or out. D o try and get a room with a sea view, as the view from these rooms are very good.
Read More Less
The Grand Hotel
Courteous staff..comfortable hotel.
The room was in the older part of the hotel and I found the bathroom in need of refurbishment, not up to the price tag.
Nice hotel, great location
The reception and bar area were looking in need of a little TLC with scuff marks and chipped paintwork, but other than than a pleasant hotel experience, location is excellent.
Room was outstanding with a view of malahide estuary and food was outstanding.
Staff were helpful and very friendly, made checking in and out easy, great stay in a great hotel.
Read More Less
top draw
stayed several times.
top spot. would love a freeby.
Read More Less
Ireland away
We came to watch England play Ireland.
The Hotel is lovely in a lovely setting. Though probably too far from Lansdown Rd. If we had tagged on another day then it would have been perfect. We did 2 days and I took my wife and two youngest children. The only problem and I was aware of this from other reviews was of no wifi.
Read More Less
Great hotel
Great hotel, super staff, wonderful location and vista, not the cheapest, but worth every €
- < previous
- 1
- 2
- 3
- page 1 of 3
- > next


text:
News out of Europe also unnerved markets. Leaders warned that unemployment could remain high for years, and the European Commission cut its forecasts for the region's economic growth through 2013. German industrial orders fell by more than expected in September, portending possible tough times ahead for Europe's largest economy.Debt- and recession-mired Greece took a step forward with parliament's passage of an austerity bill that will further slash pensions and salaries. Approval of the cuts and tax increases worth ⿬13.5 billion ($17 billion) over two years was a big step for Greece's efforts to secure the next installment of its international rescue loans and stave off imminent bankruptcy. The country's international creditors have demanded that the bill and the 2013 budget, due to be voted on Sunday, pass before they consider releasing an already delayed ⿬31.5 billion installment from Greece's ⿬240 billion bailout. Without it, Greece will run out of money on Nov. 16. Among individual stocks, weak quarterly earnings drove down South Korean construction firms, Yonhap News Agency said. No. 1 Hyundai Engineering & Construction fell 4.8 percent and GS Engineering & Construction plummeted 10.9 percent. Also being watched by investors is Thursday's opening of China's Communist Party congress ⿿ the once-in-a-decade forum to name China's top leadership. Markets will be looking for hints on how the new leadership plans to tackle the nation's economic slowdown. Wall Street saw its sharpest sell-off of the year. The Dow Jones industrial average plunged 2.4 percent to 12,932.73. The S&P 500 fell 2.4 percent to 1,394.53. The Nasdaq composite index lost or 2.5 percent to 2,937.29. Benchmark oil for December delivery was up 47 cents to $84.91 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract fell $4.27 to close at $84.44 a barrel in New York on Wednesday.
- Log In
- Newsletters
Access insights and guidance from our Wall Street pros. Find the product that's right for you.
- Action Alerts PLUS
- Daily Swing Trade
- Income Seeker
- Quant Ratings
- Real Money
- Real Money Pro
- Stocks Under $10
- Top Stocks
- Trifecta Stocks
- Real Money Pro Portfolio
- Chairman's Club
- Compare All


text: The OOH theme year is "The BIGGER Picture" and refers to a keen understanding of where out of home fits into the "the big picture" of media. What the strengths are and where it is getting lost. Why brands are still apprehensive in adopting the medium. What the domains' challenges are including still being unorganised, unaccountable and unsatisfactorily measurable. Accepting ground realities, moving around them to not only capture the brands attention but positioning out of home as the dominant media through ad campaigns. Further, while the world over the OOH medium embraces digital, in India it still is only 10% of the universe. In such a scenario isn't OOH still ill equipped to embrace creatively the real power of the digital integration. What are the roadblocks? While the world is pegging a 2020 vision India OOH is still stuck 20 years back. To this increasingly complex big picture – lets look at putting solutions to work – it may require shifting focus from working in cilos on out of home advertising, to looking at the essential role out of home can play in the broad advertising perspective.