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This past Tuesday, September 4, was opening day for《The Expendables 2》in China, an event much-anticipated by many filmgoers there. This was not only because mindless Hollywood action films are as popular there as elsewhere in the world (I suspect such films are made with the overseas proceeds uppermost in mind), but also because of the casting of well-regarded Chinese actress Yu Nan as the first female "Expendable." (We recently posted a translation of an interview with the actress on her experiences making the film.)
《The Expendables 2》has been retitled《Gansidui 2》敢死队 for mainland release, a title more indicative of the movie's content for Chinese audiences. Translated into English, that means either "Death Squad" or implicitly,"Suicide Squad". In Taiwan, the release title will be《Yuxue Renwu 2》浴血任务, which translates as "Bloody Mission."
Unlike in the U.S., where Friday is the usual day for major new releases, Tuesday is the common day in China, since Tuesday is also half-price ticket day, and a common marketing strategy is to release films on that day in order to attract a good first-day box office then use that as a loss-leader, relying on word of mouth to promote later sales. I haven't been able to find the total number of screens showing it nationwide, but it opened on 92 screens in Beijing alone. Chinese critics, both professional and amateur, have given it mostly good reviews. At Mtime.com, the most comprehensive of the various Chinese movie websites, 2,844 subscribers contributed ratings, giving it an average of 7.9 out of a possible 10; at douban.com, another popular review site, out of 6,155 ratings, the average was 3.5 out of a possible 5. In both cases, the highest rating by category was 8.1 for imagery, while the lowest was 6.4 for plot (no argument there). The two most common criticisms, which I have also seen expressed in western movie blogs and forums: 1) the advanced ages of some of the action heroes demanded from viewers a bit of what in theater appreciation classes is called "suspension of disbelief," and 2) disappointment at the brevity of Jet Li's appearance, little more than a cameo, or in Chinese slang, "soy sauce."
One cast member whose career will probably get a major boost from this is Yu Nan. (The Chinese release posters -- two of them reproduced here -- include her with the men.) In addition to the natural pride Chinese audiences would take in seeing one of their own in an important, non-villainous role, critics also noted the poise and demeanor of her character: as one put it, showing the "wisdom and calm of the Chinese woman." Decades of being portrayed by Hollywood as evil stereotypes (e.g.《The Thief of Baghdad》and《Welcome Danger》) with the Charlie Chan movies being welcome exceptions, have made the Chinese a bit sensitive in that regard. In addition, critics expressed approval of Yu Nan's having a significant role, not just a decorative "flower vase," the Chinese equivalent of what Americans call "eye candy." The day after this film's release was the actress's birthday, and its success in her home country was probably a welcome present.
[With the US release this weekend of《The Expendables 2》, in which Chinese actress Yu Nan (余男) plays the first female expendable, a closer look at the actress and her career to date might be of interest. The following is a slightly abridged translation of an article that originally appeared in the Shanghai magazine The Bund Pictorial earlier this summer. Comments in brackets, like this paragraph, are those of this site's editor, added where he thought clarification or additional information was desirable.]
Yu Nan: an artistic woman wields a submachine gun
When this reporter encountered Yu Nan looking for her gate at the Beijing airport, she was dressed in black, not wearing sunglasses or makeup, her hair tied casually at the back of her head. She looked nothing like a career actress, and her plain and simple appearance made her look even less like a fashionable young woman.
However, there is a considerable gap between the on-screen image and the real person. On the big screen, the 34-year-old is always featured with her sexy lips and a strong air of Eastern beauty; while in real life, she is just an ordinary girl from northern China. "In the movies, I need to be the focus, but in life, it is not necessary at all," said Yu.
[left, Yu Nan in paramilitary uniform in 《The Expendables 2》
Yu Nan is also known for taking up a diverse variety of roles. In《Tuya's Marriage》,which won the Berlin Golden Bear, she played a Mongolian woman who agrees to divorce her disabled husband so that she can remarry a man willing to take care of both of them and their children. In《Design of Death》released this April, she plays a mute widow, using only her eyes and hands to express her character's deep down sexiness; and in the movie《The Expendables 2》, to be released this summer, she will take up a machine gun and fight side by side with the elite group of men known as the best mercenaries in the world.
"Guns Aren't Sexist"
When Yu Nan was selected for《The Expendables 2》, a report in the foreign media said, "No matter whether you believe women are no match for men in the world of violence, they can still wield a gun against bad guys. Guns aren't sexist."
Beginning with Gong Li, a typical route to success for Chinese actresses has been to forge long-term alliances with powerful directors, and Gong Li's alliance was with director Zhang Yimou. For Yu Nan, this was supposed to be with Wang Quan'an, one of the best-known sixth-generation directors. But to everyone's surprise, Yu did not follow Gong's path, and instead struck out on her own.
Her feature film debut in Wang's《Lunar Eclipse》(1999) earned her the Best Actress award at the Deauville Asian Film Festival. She made three more films directed by Wang: 《The Story of Ermei》, which gained her the Best Actress Golden Rooster Award and the Best Actress prize at the Paris International Film Festival in 2003;《Tuya's Marriage》for which she won the Golden Bear prize in 2007 at the Berlin International Film Festival and the Best Actress prize at the Chicago International Film Festival; and《Weaving Girl》, which won the Jury Special Grand prix and the FIPRESCI prize at the 2009 Montreal World Film Festival.
Yu has also worked with other major Chinese directors, including Wang Xiaoshuai in 2008's《In Love We Trust》, which won the Best Screenplay Silver Bear prize at the Berlin International Film Festival the same year, and Ning Hao, in his Chinese Western film《Western Sunshine》in 2010.
[right, back home in Beijing, Yu Nan presents a more civilian look]
This year, Yu Nan has made seven films, including《Design of Death》,《The Expendables 2》and the Tsui Hark-directed《Zhua Hou》(抓猴) [literal English title《Catching Monkey》, official English release title not set]. After that, she immediately left for South Africa to join the crew of《Black South-easter》, a crime film from South Africa-born female director Carey McKenzie. Although they had agreed two years ago to work together, the actress and the director had never met, but after having seen each other's work they discussed the possibility online.
Doing Her Own Stunts
《The Expendables》movie franchise is known for its all-star cast of strong male leads. While the first movie saw the role of women confined to that of damsels in distress, the sequel will see Yu standing side by side with her male team members and wielding her own weapons. She plays Maggie from China, assisting the character Bruce Willis plays.
The story behind her casting is a little unusual, not least because she landed the role unprepared. When she was notified that she would be auditioning for the part, she was shooting another movie in Thailand [action film《The Five》]. At this time, another Hollywood studio also sought her out, for《Resident Evil: Retribution》, which [Chinese actress] Li Bingbing is now making.
Exhausted from her work in Thailand, Yu was extremely reluctant to audition for the role. When she landed in Beijing at one in the morning, her agent told her, "You have to try out for《The Expendables 2》. If you land the part, you'll start shooting in three days." So less than ten hours after she had arrived, she found herself once more at the Beijing airport with her bags, headed to the United States. As soon as she arrived in Los Angeles, she was handed over 10 pages of script for the audition.
After going through several lines with Yu, director Simon West realized that she was completely unprepared and asked if she had even read the script, which led to an argument between the producers and Yu's agent, each blaming the other. In the end, Yu had to act as peacemaker, saying: "Let's have the audition right now. What do you need?" After it was all over, Yu went to her hotel room and fell into an exhausted sleep. The next morning her agent phoned to awaken her, saying "Pack your bags, you'll be leaving for Bulgaria tomorrow." She had landed the role.
When Yu Nan arrived at the set in Bulgaria, she found that it had been transformed into a 1940s New York street littered with debris from many things blown to pieces. She went to introduce herself to Sylvester Stallone, who was sitting in a truck with its motor running, surrounded by people carrying guns, getting ready to shoot a scene. Yu said to him, "Hey, hello!" Stallone replied, "Hello. I'll talk to you tomorrow, but right now I have to go "kill" a few people." After saying this, he started the truck and drove off. Yu Nan stood there laughing, feeling that the serious-faced Stallone had quite a sense of humor.
For an actor to win the respect of others ultimately relies on performance. Yu Nan stayed on the set for two months. The first month was spent training for her action scenes, and the second filming the actual scenes. One of her few previous action films was《Diamond Dogs》, and arriving on the set in Bulgaria she was surprised to see a familiar face, as the action director was the same director she had worked with in《Diamond Dogs》. "I told you that you can fight. Remember that?" he said.
Yu Nan's training sessions began at eight in the morning with a two-hour warm-up followed by running, kungfu and side kicks. After she completed her training for the day, she would have to sit and rest for more than an hour. However, despite the difficulty of her training, it was nothing compared to the actual grueling filming itself. Jet Li once remarked that making《The Expendables》had been like a holiday for him, because he received the best treatment, and could hang out with the other action stars, eating and drinking and having a good time bragging about their movies. But the demands on Yu Nan were different. Stallone expected her to do her own action stunts because her stunt double was not able to do them as well as he wanted. So the others all said to Yu, "You're young, and we're old, so you shouldn't need a stand-in." And that is how Yu Nan came to perform all her own action stunts.
Although she had wielded handguns in other movies, Yu Nan had no training with a submachine gun, in fact had never even touched one. When it came time for her to use one, the director handed it to her and said, "There are 12 rounds in it. Shoot when you are ready." The first time she held it, she staggered underneath its weight. At first she thought it would be too difficult, but she kept very calm, aware that the male actors were watching her, a bit amused at her nervousness. When she was done firing, the director came up to her and asked, "Why didn't you blink at all when you were shooting?" Yu Nan replied, "I didn't? Really, I didn't even notice. The gun was shaking so much I just concentrated on holding it steady." Yu Nan thought there was nothing unusual about this, but later, a crew member told her, "Do you know, very few people can shoot without blinking, especially not a woman."
Foreign Languages Open Foreign Doors
On the set of《The Expendables 2》, all the principal cast members had their own individual shed to rest in on breaks from filming. Initially, most of the others were unacquainted with Yu Nan. As she sat in her shed, she could hear others outside, whispering, "This actress just sits there all day, and never says anything." So Yu Nan took the initiative to approach the others and say hello and "How are you today?" Gradually, everyone got to know each other.
Yu Nan's work ethic and relative fluency in English made it easy for her to make friends with the other lead actors. However, unlike most Chinese actresses who began studying English only after becoming famous, she learned it when she was young from her grandmother who had been an English teacher. It was always expected that her English abilities would lead to her studying at a general, comprehensive university, but she surprised most who knew her by enrolling at the Beijing Film Academy instead.
When Yu Nan first entered the Film Academy, there were very few students in her dormitory on weekends, and often she was the only one there. When she would have nothing else to do, she would listen to foreign music or take a favorite book down from the shelves to read. She had a cousin who was studying at the Beijing Foreign Languages Institute, who found a female foreign student with whom Yu Nan could exchange English-Chinese conversation practice. The two girls hit it off, and began spending their free time together. Studying English became a major spare time pursuit for Yu Nan, and when other dorm residents would stop by to see her hard at learning the language, they would ask: "What are you doing? Preparing to go abroad?"
Her mastery of French came later, after she had graduated. 《Fureur》, her second movie, was made in France, and required she learn some French. After returning to Beijing, she rented a house with an American girl who couldn't speak a word of Chinese, so all their conversations had to be conducted in English. Later, another girl joined them, an Italian who spoke French fluently. The three young women lived together for a few years, and it was through her everyday interactions with her housemates that Yu Nan gained her own fluency in the two languages.
Her multilingual abilities have been an asset in landing her roles in foreign movies. At the same time, making artistic films has honed her performing skills and shaped her very distinctive personality and image. But in 2008 she experienced a low in her career and in her personal life when she parted ways with her long-time collaborator, director Wang Quan'an. It was Yu Nan who made the break, saying at the time that she chose to leave because, "I want more freedom." [In the following year she was twice quoted as saying her decision was due to "aesthetic fatigue." In other words, she had tired of making art house movies, Wang's specialty.]
After that, Yu Nan began appearing in commercial films, paired with Francis Ng in《Deadly Delicious》and in Ning Hao's《Western Sunshine》, then in Gao Qunshu's《Wind Blast》and Tsui Hark's《Catch Monkey》. Her performance in these films was nothing surprisingly different, but seemed rather a natural adjustment to the different atmosphere of the commercial film.
"Maybe this is growth. I never thought I could do these things before. But if you don't give it a shot, you'll never realize your true potential," said Yu Nan.
"I'm Someone Who's Always Adjusting"
Reporter: You really surprised me by becoming a hit woman. You're still an artistic young woman, what led you to make this career move?
Yu Nan: It's very interesting, but action movies actually found me, and I'm not the least surprised. It was not because I had a foundation in kungfu, but I found I could do it, although I don't know why. It might be because I love sports, or it might be related to my personality, I like doing things that are tough. But even my family asked why did I suddenly want to switch from making purely artistic movies to doing fight scenes.
Reporter: Many people who ordinarily make artistic films, and then turn to making commercial films, find it feels strange to them. But you go between commercial films and art films almost without a hitch. How did you bring off such a conversion?
Yu Nan: I have to approach my work wholeheartedly, regardless of ability, or what the motives of others might be. In fact, I'm someone who's always adjusting, and the moment I'm not acting I relax myself. At those times I restrain myself.
When I first [changed genres], it created some personality problems for me, but I didn't know it then. Nothing is certain in this world, and we must always be aware of our surroundings, the world we are living in. I slowly came to realize that while you might want things to go a certain way, they will follow their own direction, not yours. You can strive to achieve little things, and with some success, but not necessarily with the big things. And I've become a bit more comfortable with that. You know, we can't control our own lives and deaths, but we can control our relaxing on the road from home to workplace.
Reporter: It can't be easy for an actor filming in someone else's movie culture. Do you agree with that?
Yu Nan: It's true in my case. I've been fortunate in that there's been nothing in my work that I had to do, which would be especially difficult for me. Agencies can sometimes be tough, finding some difficult roles that they think you have to play, for example in《The Expendables 2》, but in the end it all turns out OK. I really dread having others pressuring me, pushing me. But when I go to do the job, I feel like it's fully in my control. I don't want to get up early, but I have to get up early to make movies, these are the choices you make in work and life.
In 1928, Ruan Lingyu left the Mingxing company in protest of Zhang Shichuan's decision to make Hu Die the studio's principal leading lady and relegate Ruan to supporting roles, often negative characters. Between that time and 1930, when she joined the newly-formed Lianhua studio as its principal leading lady, Ruan made six films for the Da Zhonghua Baihe studio. Formed a few years earlier by a merger of the Da Zhonghua (Greater China) and Baihe (Lily) studios, Da Zhonghua Baihe (hereinafter DZB) had flourished in the late 1920s, and in 1929 had the largest production output of the major Shanghai studios. But by 1929 it had entered a state of decline. This was due in part to audiences tiring of martial arts fantasies, an important part of the studio's output, and in part to a general economic downturn which hurt the whole industry at the box office. Until it merged into Lianhua in early 1930, DZB survived by making films aimed primarily at the Chinese communities in Southeast Asia. We have already discussed one of Ruan's DZB films, which written records show was exhibited in Singapore, but not shown in Shanghai until a 1935 Ruan movie retrospective was held there after the actress's suicide. Only one of these DZB films is known to have been shown in Shanghai during Ruan's lifetime.
In addition to the previously discussed《A Woman's Heart》(1930), Ruan's five other DZB films were: 《Passion's Precious Mirror》(1929),《Flower of the Silver Screen》(1929),《Nine Dragons Mountain》(1930),《The Pearl Cap》(1930) and《A Lonely Swan's Calamity》(1931). I have added these directly to the appropriate filmographies in the sidebar to the right. Chinese sources list two of them as being 1929 releases, two as 1930 releases, and one as 1931. For the sake of consistency I have gone along with that, although with one exception there is no surviving evidence as to the actual release dates. Regardless of release date, however, it is certain that all were actually made in 1929.
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[left, the author out of costume]
[In the winter of 2011-12, the Chinese magazine Times Online ran a series of articles in which Chinese who had distinguished themselves during the latter part of the 20th century reviewed their careers, and how they remembered those years now. The writers were from various areas, including government, politics, business, etc. One of the contributors was from motion pictures, including a favorite of the author, the actress Brigitte Lin Qingxia 林青霞. The following is a translation of that article. Comments in brackets, like this one, are the editor's, added where he thought clarifcation might be useful.]
One hundred years ago, the comedy short《Stealing the Roast Duck》initiated Hong Kong filmmaking, and from that initial step onto the road, we have gone from silent to sound, from black-and-white to color and widescreen, and now these are coupled with computer graphics. Along the way, movies have emerged from Hong Kong, from Taiwan, from the Chinese mainland, and then gone out to many corners of the world where they have taken home numerous international awards. As a Chinese filmmaker, what do I feel truly proud of?
I entered show business right off the street in 1972, with my first movie《Outside the Window》, and it changed my life forever. If I averaged, say, one film a year, my career would have stretched out for 100 years. That career spanned three decades, the 70s, 80s and 90s, and in addition to a film career, it covered three stages of my life.
In the 1970s it was aesthetic romances. The 1980s saw social realism and witty comedies. In the 1990s it martials arts sword films.
A year after making《Outside the Window》I went to Hong Kong to promote the film, and I found the people there very welcoming. The media dubbed me the "ingenue". 《Outside the Window》grossed HK$650,000 [US$84,000 at the current exchange rate], a high box office return for an artistic film. I became famous overnight.
This screen adaptation of a novel by [Taiwan woman writer] Qiong Yao 琼瑶 [foreign name Chieung Yao, (1938- )] was popular among both men and women. After obtaining the movie rights, the film producer signed Qin Han, Chin [Qin] Hsiang-lin, Brigitte Lin and Lin Fengjiao to contracts, leading the media to say this was the era of "the two Qins and the two Lins." During the time we were filming, I was shooting as many as six scenes a day, so busy I didn't sleep in my own bed for two weeks. There was one time I fell asleep standing up against a wall, awakened only when the director shouted "Get ready, get ready!", and it was only then I would be startled awake. When I recall those days now I miss them, demanding as they were.
Fame brought pressure and long-term exhaustion, to the point where I couldn't bear it any more, so on December 29, 1979 I left the movie world for California, USA, to further my education and enjoy some freedom to spend my time as I chose.
During the 15 months I was in the United States, I made《Love Massacre》, a movie directed by Patrick Tam. Shot entirely in Los Angeles and San Francisco, this film was distinctive, not only because it was very bloody, but because in order to express feelings of coldness or passion, the director shot all the scenes against a blue or a red background. With this film I entered another stage of my movie career, and my life.
Returning to Taiwan in March, 1983, I found the movie industry had undergone a major shift, and artistic films were no longer popular. Martial law had been lifted, and film censorship had been relaxed to allow a more diversified selection of movies. In the rest of that decade I tried all genres of films, trying to adapt with the changing times and audiences' tastes in motion pictures. At first I tried to maintain a reserved attitude, with a few witty comedies, and then I made director Chu Yen-ping's witty and female-oriented action film《Pink Force Commandos》, which set some records at the box office. From that point on, my movie career left Taiwan and began its roll in Hong Kong.
I made Tsui Hark's《Zu: Warriors From the Magic Mountain》, and after that I was bonded permanently to Hong Kong. As the times changed, Hong Kong and Taiwan films began doing location shooting on the mainland, and in 1990 I went for the first time to Changchun and Harbin to film《Red Dust》, a love story against a background of the era's turmoil, and this movie brought me my only Golden Horse Best Actress Award.
In 1992 I made《Swordsman II》as "Invincible Asia," and of the 17 movies I made after that, 11 were martial arts sword films. With Tsui Hark I made a succession of successful movies,《Peking Opera Blues》,《Dragon Inn》and《Swordman III: The East Is Red》.
[right, the author in character as Invincible Asia; and you thought Darth Vader was bad news....]
So in the 22 years from 1972 to 1994 I went from being a sweet and innocent teenager to playing a sword-wielding man, and witnessed the fluctuating ups and downs of motion picture trends. I made 100 films, and portrayed 100 characters, but actually Brigitte Lin's most difficult role was playing that of Brigitte Lin.
In the history of martial arts films, the name Fen Juhua 粉菊花 is little known outside of Asia, if at all. Yet while her own movie acting career was limited to a handful of films many years ago, she had a massive and long-term impact on Chinese movie history, particularly that of Hong Kong.
[left, a rare surviving photo of the young Fen Juhua]
Fen Juhua's precise birthplace is unrecorded, but it is known that she was a Cantonese, raised in Shanghai and originally surnamed Sun 孙. Trained from childhood in classical Peking opera, she specialized in playing wudan (a female martial type, a role that demands performing difficult acrobatics). She was already a major stage star when she made her first film in 1925, acting the title role in《Heroine Li Feifei》, which related the story of a female Robin Hood type. It created a sensation among the public, in part because of its casting: Fen Juhua and her male lead Lin Yongrong (林雍容)were two major stars of the Shanghai stage, both now making their first screen appearance. Also, while the use of wires to simulate flying (a technique which later became known in the West as "wire fu") was nothing new in Chinese film, and while heroic swordswomen were not unknown, this movie is believed to be the first in which an actress performed flying roles.
[right, program notes for《Heroine Li Feifei》. Fen Juhua is at the center, with Wu Suxin directly above her (12 O'clock); co-star Lin Yongrong is at 1:00. Click on any image to view full size.]
Following that initial success, Fen Juhua went on to make a few more silent films based on Chinese folk tales or historical novels, but after that she concentrated exclusively on stage work for the rest of her mainland career. In 1949, she left Shanghai and relocated to Hong Kong, where she at last fulfilled a dream she had held for some time. This was an acting school, the Chun Chow 春秋 School of Drama, which aimed to revitalize classic Chinese opera by preparing young performers to carry on the tradition. In the years to come, her school became legendary for the number of HK stage and screen actors and actresses it trained. One area of particular excellence for her school was in teaching aspiring young performers the art of what is known as "acrobatic fighting" (武打) (the use of movements which simulate actual combat by actors and actresses who are not actually martial artists). This became an important source of talent for Hong Kong action films, especially women, for while there was a plentiful supply of young men who had martial arts training, often from childhood, relatively few aspiring actresses had undergone actual martial arts training. So a school that could turn out a pool of female "fighting" talent would be a major contributor to the fast-growing Hong Kong action film industry. Numerous future movie, stage, opera and TV stars owed their success in large measure to Fen Juhua's training. Among her disciples are names which would be recognized by any Hong Kong film fan, such as Ching-Ying Lam, Josephine Siao, Panpan Yeung, Austin Wai, John Lone ... as well as many others perhaps not as famous but eventually to become mainstays of Hong Kong action films.
[right, Fen Juhua with Li Lihua in 1956's《Blood on the Snow》]
In the 1950s and 1960s, Fen Juhua still made occasional screen appearances, but was more involved with motion pictures as an advisor/consultant, sometiimes well down in the credits, if credited at all. In 1961, she and Peking opera impresario Li Guoxiang (李国祥) co-founded the Chun Chow Film Company to make a film which would showcase Fen Juhua's apprentices from her acting school. This production, released February 14, 1962, was《The Capture of the Evil Demons》, which introduced such future talents as Chi-wah Sum, Connie Chan Po-chu and Lulu Zhang to the screen. We don't know if it gave Fen Juhua the inspiration, but it is reminiscent of the Shanghai Mingxing studio's 1922 comedy short《The King of Comedy Visits Shanghai》, which provided a role of some sort to every student in the studio's acting school.
In 1990, Fen Juhua relocated (along with her son and his family) to her ancestral home of Guangzhou. She lived out her days there, dying in 1994.
Filmography (credited roles only; all as actress, unless noted):
Heroine Li Feifei ... Li Feifei
The Cowherd and the Weaving Girl ... Sister Hua
Princess Lotus, pts. I-III ... Princess Lotus
Three Kingdoms: Seven Captures ...
Sorrowful Glory ... bride's counselor
General Chai and Lady Balsam (guest asst. director)
Beauty Contest ... contest judge
Blood in the Snow ... Wen Yanmi
The Story of Lu Siniang (Li Lihua's personal trainer)
Les Belles (dance director)
The Invincible Yeung Generals (action director))
(aka The Conqueress; aka Female General Mrs. Yeung)
The Capture of the Evil Demons ... Madame Chiu (also executive producer)
(aka Battle of Sizhou)
The Magic Sword of Tianshan (martial arts consultant)
Representative Work:
Nüxia Li Feifei (1925) 女侠李飞飞 (Swordswoman Li Feifei)
Tianyi. B&W. Silent. 10 reels. Premiered: December 16, 1925 at the Palace Theater in Shanghai. Direction: Shao Zuiweng. Screenplay: Shao Cunren, Gao Lihen. Cinematography: Xu Shaoyu. Principal cast: Fen Juhua (Li Feifei), Lin Yongrong (Hong Yulin), Wu Suxin (Hui Zhu), Wei Pengfei (Zhang Shen), Gao Lihen (Chen Shu'an), Tan Zhiyuan (Guo Houzhai).
Swordswoman Li Feifei is beloved by the common people for her Robin Hood persona, i.e. protecting them from tyrannical landlords, etc.
[left, Hu Ping. Click on any image to view full size.]
Hu Ping 胡萍 was one of the more unique Chinese stars of the 1930s. In addition to her acting ability, she was also a talented writer, and published several stories and essays, and several screenplays, although only one went into production. She was also somewhat reclusive for a top star, consenting to interviews but never revealing much about herself or her personal life. The mystery that surrounded her is only complicated by the uncertainty regarding what became of her after the outbreak of the Sino-Japanese War in 1937.
We know for certain that Hu Ping was born and raised in the city of Changsha, Hunan. Her family owned and operated a coffee house where she was working as a server when by chance writer-director Tian Han came in as a customer, and recruited her for his Shanghai theater. Although she had never acted in a production at any level and never had any theatrical training, she showed considerable promise in several major stage productions, including "Street People," a popular success at the time.
In 1931, Hu Ping joined the movie industry, appearing in《Hero on the Sea》(1931) and《Greenwoods Girl》(1932) for the Youlian (Friendship) and Bai Hong (Rainbow) studios, respectively. Later in 1932 she joined the left-wing Dramatists Union, aligning herself with the progressive filmmakers of the time. From 1932 to 1933 she appeared in seven films for the Mingxing (Star) studio, acting the female lead in two of these,《Love and Life》and《Sister's Tragedy》. She also contributed the screenplay for the latter film, which was directed by Gao Lihen, and with Zheng Xiaoqiu in the male lead. In the autumn of 1933, she moved to the progressive Yihua Film Company, starring in《Flames》.
[left, Hu Ping and Gao Zhanfei in 1934's《Cotton Blossom Village》]
During 1934 and 1935, Hu Ping was the Yihua studio's mainstay actress, either starring in or holding important supporting roles for its major films, and working with some of the top filmmakers of the time: 《Women》(1934), written and directed by Shi Dongshan;《Cotton Blossom Village》(1934) from Cai Chusheng;《Life's Sad Song》(1935), written and directed by Yang Hansheng;《A Hero of Our Time》(1935), written by Hong Shen,》, and what was considered Ouyang Yuqian's masterpiece,《New Peach Blossom Fan》.
[left, Hu Ping, with Zhou Wenzhu in《Song at Midnight》
Hu Ping then moved to the Xinhua Film Company to star in director Shi Dongshan's《A Night of Madness》(1936) and《Youth on the March》(1937). Perhaps her most memorable film role, however, was her last,《Song at Midnight》(1937), a Chinese version of《Phantom of the Opera》.
When full-scale war erupted with Japan, Hu Ping is known to have been active in the resistance, but her eventual fate is clouded. It is known that she left Shanghai, but where she went is a matter of some controversy, with several sources saying she returned to her hometown of Changsha, and was still living there in the 1960s. Another source claims she went to Hong Kong and became the mistress of a wealthy man there. Whatever the case, and whatever her eventual fate, she effectively disappeared from the movie scene after 1937.
Filmography. All as actress unless indicated.
Hero on the Sea
Greenwoods Girl
Revival of the Soul of China
Love and Life ... Zhou Guannan
Adventures on the Battlefield
Cosmetics Market ... Miss Yang
The Iron Men
Romance in Spring ... Hu Qiong
The Future ... Pan Xuefen
Sister's Tragedy ... Meng Yuying [also writer]
Flames ... Ah Zhen
Cotton Blossom Village ... Huiniang
Golden Age ... Tao Li
Women ... Jin Ling
A Hero of Our Time ... Zhou Manli
Shadow ...
The Beginning of Life ... Suzhen
Life's Sad Song ...
New Peach Blossom Fan ... Xie Qinfang
A Night of Madness ... Annuo, the county administrator's wife
Youth on the March ... Jin Di
Song at Midnight ... Li Xiaoxia
A note on sources:
The principal resource for this article, and others I have published at this site, is the Shanghai Library's online database. In addition to original articles by the library's research staff, the database includes numerous digitized reprints from pre-1950 Chinese film magazines. Unfortunately, these do not always include citations. Also, Chinese periodical publications in those days were usually not paginated, so by modern standards citations were usually incomplete. (In addition, the Shanghai Library file on Hu Ping includes several selections from her diary which were published in various magazines in the 1930s. None of these were used, because while they show her to have been an insightful observer of the filmmaking process, they reveal nothing of the actress herself, not surprising given the actress's private nature.) The following sources were used:
Bai, Shan 白珊. "Hu Ping." in: Film Stars of Old Shanghai (1916-1949). Shanghai Pictorial Press, 2000. [Reprint of an article in the series feature "Selections from the Literary Arena," in the magazine Greenlands 绿土地, undated but probably ca1939.]
Ke, Ping 柯萍. "An interview with Miss Hu Ping." [Interview is online at the Shanghai Library database, no citation given]
"Retired to Hong Kong: the whereabouts of the mysterious Hu Ping." Movie News no.13, June 2, 1939.
"The Talented Hunan Lady: Hu Ping." Original article in the Shanghai Library database.
Wang, Wenhe 王文和. "The author actress: Hu Ping." in: Film Stars Known by Nicknames. Beijing: Xuefan Publishing House, 1990, pp.123-142. ISBN 7-5077-0208-1.
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Huang Naishuang 黄耐霜 was a native of Beijing (then called Beiping), born Huang Yunyin 黄云茵 on February 18, 1912. As with so many early Chinese filmmakers, her family had Cantonese origins, but growing up in Beijing and mastering standard Mandarin gave her a career boost with the coming of sound. She entered movies in 1930 with the Jinan Film Company, at a time when the mania for martial arts fantasies was at its zenith, and soon found herself much in demand for major supporting roles. However, like several male actors we have written about earlier (Wang Xianzhai, Sun Min, Hong Jingling) she was quickly typecast as negative characters, usually in her case promiscuous young women whose main objective was to lure the heroes into debauchery. But while this typecasting was something she resented at the time, in later years she acknowledged that she had actually been better in those roles than when she portrayed more conventional and modest women. Later in her career, Huang succeeded in making the transition to character roles, playing older women, but as she notes in the interview following this article, the transition was difficult at first, due largely to her younger image as a sexy tart. After the founding of the People's Republic, she continued screen acting in supporting roles, but the last credit I could find for her was in 1959.
Practically nothing is recorded of Huang Naishuang's personal life, which is most unusual for a prolific filmmaker, especially one who worked for most of the major Shanghai studios and had prominent roles in numerous major 1930s productions. We don't know if she ever married, who her lovers were, or were there any scandals involving her (exceptional for a 1930s actress). According to an Internet posting by her nephew, she died in 1967.
But for her professional career, Huang Naishuang's own testimony is best, as related in the accompanying interview. While I have made a few comments and appended a filmography to the interview transcript, I believe Huang's story is best told by herself. It also provides us with some unique insights into the earliest Chinese filmmaking, and shows another similarity with Hollywood during its Golden Age: actors' contractual battles with studios. In fact, Huang Naishuang's troubles with the Shao (Shaw) Brothers' Tianyi studio brings to mind the problems Bette Davis and James Cagney had with Warner Brothers a few years later, although unlike those Hollywood stars, Huang's grievances never wound up in court.
Continue reading "Huang Naishuang (1912 - 1967): The Flying Tart " »
[left, Ruan Lingyu in a Lianhua studio publicity photo. Click on any image to enlarge.]
On June 6, 2005, in the midst of China's celebration of its movie centennial, CCTV-10 (China Central Television's Science Channel) broadcast on its daily program "Lecture Room" a lecture on the most famous actress of its silent film era, the legendary Ruan Lingyu. (Despite its name, the Science Channel carries a broad range of cultural programming topics, including those in the humanities and social sciences.) The Chinese Mirror has obtained a transcript of that lecture. The speaker, who goes by the single name Chunzi 淳子, is a talk show host on Shanghai's ERS (Eastern Radio Station). She is also a prolific author, having published two novels, a variety of TV and film scripts, and numerous articles, in particular on the geographic and architectural history of Shanghai. In 1993 she began research on the Chinese woman writer Zhang Ailing (Eileen Chang), particularly the latter's Shanghai connections, which led to the publication of Zhang Ailing City Map《张爱玲城市地图》a scholarly monograph tracing the places where Zhang's writings were set. The author's lecture topic here was very suitable to her research, given Ruan Lingyu's ties to Shanghai.
[right, author, lecturer and talk show host Chunzi]
[Comments in brackets, like this paragraph, are those of the The Chinese Mirror's editor, added where he thought that further clarification or information was desirable. We have appended a bibliography for further reading at the end of the lecture, and an afterword noting a few relevant points either omitted in the lecture or which conflict with the findings of other researchers. Images in this article are all Chinese Mirror file photos; click on any image to enlarge.]
The translated lecture transcript follows:
I want to speak today about a woman, a famous woman, an outstanding silent film actress of the 1930s. Her name was Ruan Lingyu. As Chinese cinema reaches its centennial, Ruan Lingyu appears before us now from 70 years ago, March 8, 1935. That evening, dressed in a qipao [cheongsam], she took her own life. She left us a message, written on her dress: "Gossip is a fearful thing, gossip is a fearful thing." Anyone who has read this bit of history, and discussed Ruan Lingyu and her death, has probably reached the conclusion that because she was someone who feared gossip, and could not bear that gossip, she had to die.
Continue reading "The Brief Life and Tragic Death of Ruan Lingyu: a TV Lecture" »
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[On August 21, 2007, China Central Television (CCTV) aired a documentary which examined the marital life of one of China's leading movie stars of the silent and early sound eras, i.e. the "Empress," Hu Die, (aka "Butterfly Wu"). As we noted in an earlier article, the marriage was for some years a troubled one; not because of spousal discord, but because of one very powerful - and ruthless - man's desire for the actress. The Chinese Mirror has obtained a transcript of the program, and what follows is a translation of that. During the program, archival film footage and photographs were interspersed with comments by several authorities on movie history or the political/social history of the era. Sections in italics are the broadcast's voiceover narrative, while those in brackets - like this one - are the translator's, added where it was thought further comment or clarification was desirable. The illustrations accompanying this article are from The Chinese Mirror's archives.] [Hu Die, above left. Click on any photo to view full size.]
In November 1935, the Mingxing movie studio's top actress Hu Die was wed to Pan Yousheng (潘有声), an employee of the British trading company Jardine Matheson. From that moment on, the course of their life together was one of sincere emotional attachment combined with misery. In the troubled years ahead, their marriage was plagued by war, exile and intense pressure from powerful forces.
One spring night in 1944, a distinguished female visitor arrived at the living quarters of a man holding the rank of Major General in the ruling Nationalist (KMT) government's military. He was director of the Chinese Military Council's Investigation and Statistics Bureau, an innocuous-sounding organization which was actually the KMT's secret police. His name was Dai Li, and he was the second most powerful man in China after Generalissimo Chiang Kai-Shek (Jiang Jieshi), and, as "China's Himmler," Dai Li was the most feared man in the country. [Dai Li, right]
Learning of the visitor's arrival, Dai Li ordered an aide to bring her in at once, and a few minutes later a well-dressed, mature and elegant but somewhat gaunt woman entered. She was no less than the reigning "Empress of Movies," Hu Die. Her purpose on this late night visit to Dai Li was to rescue her beloved husband -- Pan Yousheng.
Hu Die (original name Hu Ruihua) was born in Shanghai in 1908. Her father Hu Shaogong was a railway inspector. In 1924, she chanced upon an ad for a Chinese film school recruiting potential movie performers; since she had loved theater from childhood, Hu Die applied to the school, determined to join China's fledgling film industry.
Continue reading "The Actress, her Husband and the Despot" »
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PETA protesters heat up downtown Windsor
Two scantily clad women in lingerie protesting animal cruelty were verbally attacked by a PETA supporter Friday for "demeaning women."
At noon Friday Emily Lavender, 24, and Brandi Dugal, 20, were wearing frilly panties that barely covered their butt cheeks, garter belts and bras while standing at the corner of Ouellette Avenue and Chatham Street to tell people about their animal cruelty message. They were holding signs with the message, "Be an angel: Don't wear animal skins."
Lavender is an employee of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), while Dugal, a Windsor native, is a University of Waterloo student. The women, wearing wings and halos to emulate angels, were standing on a mound of cotton balls sculpted to look like a cloud as part of campaign to urge shoppers to avoid buying leathers, furs and other animal products during the Christmas season.
Kathy Peacock thought the women were degrading themselves.
"You are demeaning yourselves," Peacock told the women. "This is not intelligent conversation. I support PETA too, one thousand per cent. This is (expletive). Show me an alternative to leather and suede. Don't show up in your underwear."
Dugal told her she will go to any length to show her support for animals.
"It's sexist to tell women to cover-up," Lavender said.
The shouting match continued for several minutes before Peacock crossed the street.
"I get irate when I see this," she said walking away from the women. "It's not serious."
She argued the women should have dressed in hemp or bamboo, alternative materials to leather, rather than being near naked.
On their tour of Hamilton, Waterloo, London and Windsor, most people have been supportive, Lavender said.
"People are getting our message and we are opening eyes to this," she said.
Most of the people who stopped to take flyers from the women were men. Drivers honked their horns and one nearly caused an accident as a man stopped his car in the intersection to take a picture and was almost hit when the light changed. Several men gathered around the women to take pictures, some had friends take pictures of themselves with the women. Few people objected to the protesters attire. One woman took a flyer describing the cruelty animals suffer to harvest leather and wool for clothing, but told the women she was glad she wasn't their mother. Another woman told the ladies they were going to get sick.
PETA, based in Norfolk, VA., is fully supportive of women dressing in skimpy lingerie or being naked if they want to be in put out the organization's message.
"This is a campaign where we are using a provocative image to get people's attention to they pay attention to the cruelty of the fur industry," said Ashley Byrne, PETA campaign specialist based in New York City. "We have something available for anyone who wants to educate the public about the cruelty of fur. Some people hold graphic signs. If people want to protest naked, they can make a statement that way. We give away leaflets because we know the people will be distracted on site."
Lavender said dressing sexy was an upbeat way to draw attention to her cause.
"This is a way to make angels stand out," she said.
The women were fortunate this year as the weather at noon hovered around 7C and was sunny. It took almost 30 minutes for goose bumps to appear on flesh. Last year's near naked protester had to brave near freezing temperatures .

subset: commoncrawl


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By Stephanie Hopper, Information Security Engineer
Passwords are something you use every day, from accessing your email and banking online to purchasing goods or accessing your smartphone. However, passwords also make you vulnerable. It is your weakest security element. If someone learns your password, they can steal your identity, transfer your money, or access your personal information. Strong passwords are essential to protecting yourself. Instead of thinking about them as passwords, we should be thinking of phrases – passphrases.
What is a Passphrase?
Passphrases are simple phrases or sentences that are easy to remember, but hard to hack. Here is an example:
Where is my Mind?
This passphrase is strong because it is 17 characters long and uses upper and lower case letters as well as symbols (spaces are nothing more than symbols). You can make your passphrase even stronger if you replace letters with numbers or symbols, such as replacing the letter "I" with the "!" symbol, the letter "o" with the number zero, or the letter "a" with an "@." If a website or program limits the number of characters you can use in a password, use the maximum number of characters allowed.
Using Passphrases Securely:
Be careful how you use passphrases. Using a passphrase won't help if criminals can easily steal or copy the phrase.
- Be sure to use a different passphrase for every account or device you have. For example, never use the same passphrase for your work or bank account that you use for your personal accounts, such as Facebook, YouTube or Twitter. This way, if one of your accounts is hacked, the other accounts are still safe. If you have too many passphrases to remember, which is very common, consider using a password manager or a "password safe." This is a special program that securely stores all of your passwords or passphrases. That way, the only passphrases you need to remember are the ones to your computer or mobile device and the password manager program. Additionally, many password safe applications automatically encrypt your information.
- Never share a passphrase or your strategy for creating them with anyone else. Remember, passwords and passphrases are secrets and should be regarded as highly confidential. If anyone else knows your passphrase, it is no longer secure. If you accidentally share your passphrase with someone else or believe it may have been compromised or stolen, be sure to change it immediately.
- Just like passwords, avoid easy-to-guess or commonly used passphrases. For example, the phrase, "four score and seven years ago," is not a good passphrase, since it is so well known.
- Do not use public computers, such as those at hotels or libraries, to log in to a work or bank account. Since anyone can use these computers, they may be infected with malicious code that captures all of your keystrokes. Only log in to your work or bank accounts on trusted computers or mobile devices.
- Be careful of websites that require you to answer personal questions. These questions are used if you forget your passphrase and need to reset. The problem is that the answers to these questions can often be found on the Internet, or even on your Facebook page. Make sure that, if you answer personal questions, you only use information that is not publicly available. Alternatively, you can use fictitious information you have created. Password managers can help with this, as many allow you to store this additional information.
- Many online accounts offer two-factor authentication – also known as two-step verification. This requires more than just your passphrase to log in, such as a six-digit number sent to your smartphone. This option is much more secure than just a passphrase by itself. Whenever possible, always use these stronger methods of authentication.
- Mobile devices often require a personal identification number (PIN) to protect access. Remember, a PIN is nothing more than another password. Longer PINs are more secure. Many mobile devices allow you to change your PIN to an actual passphrase.
- Finally, if you are no longer using an account, be sure to close, delete, or disable the account.
Using passphrases is one of the most effective steps you can take to protect your identity and information.


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Wednesday, October 3, 2007
Adams Globalization, Translations.com Merge
Austin, Texas-based Adams Globalization, a provider of software localization services, has merged with New York-based Translations.com. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. Adams Globalization will become a division of Translations.com, the companies said. Both firms translate software text into other languages for the international market, which is known as software localization and internationalization.


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Topeak Twin Head Upgrade Kit Replaces existing floor pump head and hose with Topeak TwinHead and hose. BuyTopeak Accessoriesfrom Chain Reaction Cycles, the Worlds Largest Online Bike Store.
Thank you for visiting Topeak Twin Head Upgrade Kit on oakleysbikes.co.uk
We bring the products from many websites to one website for you to search, save and compare.


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FL also nabs win in SEC opener
Clint Riese
Sports Editor
Strong showings from the top part of the lineup helped Forest Lake place third at the eight-team Herzog Invitational in Stillwater on Saturday.
Senior Dusty Boyer and ninth-grader Toby Boyer earned the team's best finishes by winning the top two singles flights. Dusty lost just three games over three matches and beat Apple Valley's Sam Hoyt 6-0, 6-0 in the finals. Toby lost only five games and beat Stillwater's Sam Stiff 6-1, 6-2 in the finals.
Senior Zack Decker was tripped up in the semifinals of the third singles flight, losing 6-7, 4-6 to Apple Valley's Dan Scislow. Decker went on to beat Mitch Johnson of Stillwater in straight sets to take third place.
After losing the opening match to the eventual champions from St. Paul Harding, Forest Lake's top doubles team bounced back to win two matches and place fifth. Senior Zak Buckley and junior Austin Riedeman rolled Hill-Murray's top duo 6-1, 6-0 in the fifth-place match.
The rest of the lineup was pieced together, as two Rangers were out with injuries and a third was taking the ACT. Eighth-grader Hunter Shortly and sophomore Sam Hamilton beat a Stillwater team in the opening match at No. 2 doubles and placed fourth. In the third doubles flight, junior Eben Matti and eighth-grader Sam Bostrom also won their first match before falling twice to place fourth. Eighth-grader Ben Bowes went 0-3 in the fourth singles flight.
The event was rained out last spring, so Forest Lake was technically the defending champion by virtue of its 2010 win. St. Paul Harding totaled 29 points on Saturday, beating Apple Valley by five. The Rangers scored 21 points.
"It might have been different with everybody playing," said coach Greg Patchin. "It will be nice to have a full team as Nate [Riedeman], Ryan [Renard], and Austin [Morris] should be aboard for this coming week."
Forest Lake 4,
Stillwater 3
The Rangers opened Suburban East Conference play with a tight home win over Stillwater last Thursday. The 4-3 final came via three wins in singles and one in doubles. The Boyers and Decker all won handily. Renard and Shortly prevailed 6-3, 6-4 at No. 2 doubles, meaning all four wins came from the same positions they did the prior week in Forest Lake's 4-3, season-opening win at Centennial.
"Stillwater always has decent players and is well coached," Patchin said. "Dusty, Toby and Zack all did a good job of front-running their overmatched opponents and then had to wait around for someone to get the fourth [point]. Ryan Renard and Hunter Shortly seem to be able to win close sets and got the needed 'W'."
Patchin added that he feels fortunate that the team is 2-0 because he is asking a lot by playing three eighth-graders in the varsity lineup.
Forest Lake played at Woodbury on Tuesday and hosts White Bear Lake this Thursday. The Rangers play in a tournament in Maple Grove on Saturday.


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NASCAR return 'a no-brainer' for Montoya
June 11, 2014, David Caraviello, NASCAR.com
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When it came time to discuss the idea of returning to NASCAR to make one more run at the Brickyard, it didn't take Juan Pablo Montoya very long to tell Roger Penske yes.
"We talked about it, and we both thought it was a great idea," said Montoya, a two-time winner on NASCAR's premier series. "I mean, when he mentioned it to me, with the cars they've got right now, it was a no-brainer."
Montoya stepped away from NASCAR after last season, his seventh full campaign with Chip Ganassi Racing, and returned to his open-wheel roots with Penske. But although Montoya won races on the road courses at Sonoma and Watkins Glen and once made the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup, his stock-car resume still lacks an oval-track victory. Now he'll have two chances in Penske equipment, with Michigan this weekend serving as a table-setter for another attempt at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on July 27.
In both races he'll work as a teammate to regular Penske NASCAR pilots Brad Keselowski and Joey Logano, who both have race victories to their name this season. Although Montoya never cracked the top-five at Michigan in his Sprint Cup Series career, he famously let two chances to win the Brickyard slip away -- in 2009 when he led 116 laps and dominated until a late pit-road speeding penalty, and the next year when he paced 86 until pit strategy went awry. His best finish at the Brickyard remains second in 2007, his rookie season in NASCAR.
"I think it's a great opportunity that I have to be in really competitive cars" Montoya said during a recent media event in Charlotte. "And (Penske) hasn't won the Brickyard, and I'm pretty good there."
As his track record, which includes an Indianapolis 500 victory in 2000, would attest. Although Montoya is once again a full-time open-wheel racer who is coming off a fifth-place finish in this year's Indy 500, the Colombia native and current Miami resident is well aware that he has unfinished business in a stock car on the same 2.5-mile track.
"It would be pretty special," he said of a potential Brickyard triumph. "It would be very special, because we threw away a lot of them. We were really good at that. So it would be nice."
But first comes Sunday at Michigan, where Montoya will slide behind the wheel of a stock car for the first time since his finale with Ganassi at Homestead last season. Greg Erwin, who won five Sprint Cup races with Greg Biffle at Roush Fenway Racing and finished as Nationwide Series runner-up with former Penske driver Sam Hornish Jr. last year, will work as crew chief. Montoya is not scheduled to run either Sprint Cup road course races this season, because a pit crew is not available for either event.
The Montoya that will return to the Michigan garage area Friday is a more svelte version of his former self, down 15 pounds thanks to a cycling regimen. And he's clearly pleased to be in the employ of Penske, who owns 15 Indy 500 victories as well as the 2012 Sprint Cup championship, and was an owner whom Montoya says he idolized in a previous open-wheel stint that included the defunct CART circuit and Formula One.
"I feel really good. I feel really happy," Montoya said. "I think in a way, the change was really good. I don't really want to start comparing teams or anything, but the way things are handled (at Penske) -- it's awesome. Honestly, put it this way: when you grow up racing ... you looked at Team Penske like, 'Oh my god.' Everything was perfect. ... When you step back and look at all the history and everything that I've done, to say I've raced for Roger Penske -- that's a freaking honor."
It was Montoya's long friendship with Ganassi -- with whom he won the Indy 500 in 2000 -- that led the driver to NASCAR in the first place, and sustained him through personnel shakeups and performance difficulties that followed a breakthrough victory at Sonoma his first season, and a Chase berth in his third. Results dipped sharply over his final three NASCAR seasons, which all concluded with points finishes in the 20s, and midway through the 2013 campaign it was clear Montoya's contract would not be renewed.
The Ganassi team has rebounded somewhat this season, with Jamie McMurray winning the Sprint All-Star Race (although still ranked 23rd in the standings) and rookie Kyle Larson maintaining 10th place in points in the same No. 42 car and with the same crew chief that Montoya left behind. Asked to compare his current and former programs -- which both field entries in NASCAR and IndyCar -- Montoya said the biggest difference is that all Penske cars are housed under one roof in Mooresville, North Carolina, and overseen by team president Tim Cindric. Ganassi's teams are split between Indianapolis and Concord, North Carolina.
"The Ganassi organization, it's two different (sets of) management for both organizations. I think that's the main reason one has so much success and the other one doesn't. The other one is like a heartbeat," Montoya said, referring to a vital sign that goes up and down.
"Jamie (won the All-Star Race), but next year, you don't know if they're going to get better or they're gong to run 25th. You look at Hendrick, Gibbs, Roush, Penske, all the big teams, and you know they're going to be there next year. With (Ganassi), you don't know if they're going to be back there or (over) here. They've put a lot of things in place to get more stable, but if everything was under one roof, it would be a lot better."
Even so, Montoya knew -- or thought he knew -- the Penske reputation: serious men in starched buttoned-down shirts. As his occasionally freewheeling NASCAR teammates Keselowski and Logano might attest, things on the inside proved quite different. Still, at the outset Montoya was unsure of how he and a car owned known as "the Captain" might mesh.
"You look at Penske from the outside, and it looks really serious and really strict, and I'll be honest, that was a concern of mine," he said. "I was worried they were going to be too serious of an organization, and I wasn't going to fit it. And it was completely the opposite."
He had nothing to worry about. During open-wheel weekends, he finds Penske in his command trailer -- known as "RP1" -- watching NASCAR action on television. "He watches everything," Montoya said. "And I admire him, because he really cares. He loves racing. And that is really unbelievable."
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Rising to the Challenge
September 15, 2005
Tempting as it may be, now is not the time to point fingers about the imperfect initial response to Hurricane Katrina. There will be plenty of time later to evaluate failures and apportion blame. Right now, all of our energies need to be focused on helping the victims of Katrina's ravages. They need our best effort.
Over the course of a career dealing with the world's most tragic situations, I have seen the most amazing and transformative human enterprises emerge from the depths of despair and tragedy.
In every disaster, we see outpourings of human courage, compassion and selflessness. The real challenge ahead — once lives have been saved and the situation stabilized — is crafting a recovery plan that exceeds in vision and hope what Katrina wrought in suffering and tragedy.
We need a plan that reflects the very best of the American spirit, one that strengthens common bonds that have been strained by this hurricane. Here are some ideas:
First, President Bush should immediately appoint a Katrina relief-and-recovery coordinator to oversee and lead our nation's response. This person needs to be a widely respected national figure with a reputation for nonpartisanship, action and integrity: Colin Powell, George Mitchell, a modern-day Herbert Hoover.
The coordinator would ensure that federal resources are mobilized in a timely, nonbureaucratic manner; that mechanisms for coordination and accountability are put in place; and that a working, practical compact between government, the private sector and the nonprofit community is established.
Second, we all need to recognize that those most affected by this disaster are the best agents of their own recovery. We need to find dignified ways to fully engage affected communities in the relief-and-recovery process — from planning responses and assisting in relief, cleanup and recovery efforts to evaluating the effectiveness of various initiatives.
Those perpetrating the looting and lawlessness in New Orleans provide a special challenge. There are multiple and complex root causes for their various displays of anger and despair — not the least of which are unfathomable urban poverty and disenfranchisement.
While Americans may debate solutions to these root causes, we can all agree on this: We need to find dignified ways to engage young, urban, mostly African-American people in the positive, hopeful experience of cleaning up and rebuilding their communities.
As part of the recovery process, we need to give that group the skills and training to help now and to prepare for a brighter future. If we miss this opportunity, we fail an important test of social justice.
Third, we need to promote ownership as a key theme in the recovery process. In several decades working on international development, I have learned one lesson above all others: Progress will never be durable if the target population does not feel strong ownership over the process.
Finally, we need to practically and symbolically engage all of America in responding to Hurricane Katrina's devastating aftermath. Donations are necessary but not sufficient.
As displaced families get resettled in communities all over America, local nonprofits, faith communities and civic organizations working with local government are the best clearinghouses for finding homes, essential services, schools and jobs. Airlines can freely transport these families. Local employers can commit to hiring 5 percent of new employees from among the resettled families.
Local law firms can provide legal services. Vouchers can be worked out with local stores and outlets for the purchase of food, medicines and other vital goods.
Our nation's major home and building supply companies — Home Depot, Lowe's and Wal-Mart, to name a few — can jump in with materials, supplies and technical help for repairs and rebuilding. Voluntary tutors and "big brothers and big sisters" can be organized for the children of Katrina.
There is so much that America can do in so many ways to honor and help the survivors of Katrina. For any of us who cannot directly help, let us instead help the most vulnerable and suffering members of our own communities.
In reference to the tsunami, former President Clinton challenged the world "to build back better." Let us challenge ourselves to respond to the Hurricane Katrina tragedy in ways that build back a better America.


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I had a horrible run of luck with a Toshiba DVD-ROM drive (see my dabs.com story for the gruesome details), so I got this one. I thought the slot drive looked really cool and had heard good things about this drive. Everything was true. The speed is excellent, the slot takeup of discs is just right - not so slow that you feel like you're shoving it in, but not so fast that it gobbles the disc out of your hand like a sugar cube deficient donkey. It has been 100% reliable so far and performs good digital audio extraction (a must for listening to CDs properly and for ripping to MP3). If I had to make a complaint, it's all too easy to leave a disc in the drive and shut down your computer. As there is no emergency eject (too complicated to implement I suppose) you have to power up the machine to eject your disc. I'm sure you get Windows programs that will eject the drive at shutdown. I've always meant to look into that. Of course, being a slot drive, you can't use small (8cm) or odd shaped discs (like those business card shaped ones) - but it's a small price to pay. All in all, unless you have to have a tray for odd shaped discs, this is the one to go for.
Pioneer's DVD-106S is Pioneer's top DVD-ROM drive (in terms of spec) that they currently produce (at the time of writing). It boasts a 16x DVD read speed, and 40x for CD-ROMs. The one major difference with this DVD-ROM drive compared to other DVD drives is that this has a slot mechanism rather than a tray that pops out when you press the eject button. However, if you don't like the idea of a slot, you can get the "identical" drive but with a tray. That one is called the Pioneer DVD-116. The slot-in design makes the drive look very nice once fitted into your computer. Installation is simple. Open the case. Find a free drive bay. Put drive in and screw screws in. Plug power cable in, and connect IDE cable. Connect digital audio cable if available and set jumper to Master, Slave or cable select, depending on your settings. Since I have my hard drive running in Master, I have this drive in Slave as they are on the same cable. Another nice feature is the ATAPI interface that boasts transfer speed of 66Mbs. UDMA66. My motherboard supports this and so it works well. Most DVD/CD drives only support up to UDMA33, but UDMA66 just makes it that much faster. Note: you need a purpose designed cable to attain UDMA66 or higher standards. As far as I can tell, it can read almost any DVD/CD format apart from DVD-RAM, which are slightly more complicated (and expensive), but they aren't currently that popular due to their price so it doesn't really matter. Access times are also great: High speed average access time: DVD-ROM: 95 MS, CD-ROM: 80 ms High speed average seek time: DVD-ROM: 85ms, CD-ROM: 70 ms The lower these figures the faster it is! Simple as that. High data transfer rate: DVD-ROM: 6.6X - 16X (8.9MB/s-21.6MB/s), CD-ROM: 17.2X - 40X(2.6MB/s-6.0MB/s). These figures show great transer rates compared to older DVD drives. Noise: On Pioneer's website,
they say that it is 2dB quieter than DVD-115 & DVD-114, older drives. However they don't state the actual sound level of this drive. From my experience of running this drive, I can't say it is quiet, simply because it's not. Compare the sound level to other drives, it is considerably quieter. I have also noticed that when I put my finger over the slot it blocks out a considerable amount of noise. When I find time, I think I might just add a few bits to my computer. Back to the slot-in mechanism. You push in the CD about 3/4 of the way, then something grabs it by the edges, sucking your CD inside. It then starts spinning. When you eject it, it pushes is out so that the hole in the middle can be accessed easily. Pioneer has done this so that it reduces the amount of touching on the surfaces of the CD, and if used properly, you should never need to touch the surface of the CD, thus reducing scratching. Region coding on DVDs. Not many people think about this when buying DVDs. But if you like to get stuff from all round the world, it'll be quite hard to watch them if the drive does not support that region. This drive DOES have region coding. Default factory setting is 0. When you insert a DVD, i.e. Region 2, it will change that setting to 2. Should you insert one that is Region 4, it would change to 4. The number of changes allowed is 5. After the 5th, you can't do anything. Well that's what they want you to think. I've heard one case where someone tried it, but now they are unable to read DVDs, so proceed with caution. I have made my drive completely region free. So that it will read any DVDs. The drive version was originally 1.09, but I upgraded it by flashing the chip with a patched version of 1.09 which makes it region free. Note: the procedure must be done carefully or you can ruin the drive, and you do so at your *own* risk! The DVD drive must be connected on the secondary IDE port and set to master
. Boot into DOS via a start up disk (not under Windows!). Run the flash program, and once complete restart the computer. I can't remember the site for patch, but I have a copy of it for this drive only!! DVD-106s. Searching on the internet is how I found it, and be warned that if you can't see the exact model number for your drive that will patch it, don't go for a similar one, as it will quite possibly ruin your drive. If it isn't there, just wait for another time. Finally, I bought this drive from Dabs.com (see below). It was the OEM version, because I don't really need the retail product. What you miss in the OEM version is a nice box (which you'll throw out anyway), 2 DVDs with a game and software on. However, the one at dabs comes with a differet drive, that is not as high class as this one, but still performs just as good. Another highly recommended product, epsecially for replacing CD-ROM drives that are too fast (read my short but important opinion on Aopen's 52x CDROM). __________________________________ Pioneer DVD-106S. 16x DVD 40x CD. OEM £66.97 inc. VAT @Dabs.com QuickLinx: X15WS ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
For some time now Pioneer has been producing great DVD-ROM drives. This new 16x model is no slouch. Personally I have the 10x version of this drive in the tray-load variety, but I have installed, and worked with many of this new model of drive. Traditionally, slot-load drives have been noisier than their tray-load counterparts but Pioneer have really cleaned up with this drive. This one spins up quickly, which in the past has been another major fault of DVD drives, it's time seeking tracks is impressive as well. Match this drive with a Realmagic Hollywood Plus DVD decoder, and you have a killer combination, and you needn't have a killer system to enjoy DVD movies on your computer.


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Plus, he disses the Roman Empire, and I'm always gonna support 'dissing Empires'. All Empires fail, and are only about making your slave-life Hell in the name of Economy, Prosperity and Cities.
Echoing my own Free Planet thoughts, Tim Shadla-Hall explains in the first part that ancient Britons were, "...people adopting the principle of least effort. They're intelligent like us, they do no more than they need to. They kept their populations levels low enough..." KEY POINT. Low enough. Yes, I'm of the opinion that 'there are too many of us humans' for the Limited Resource that is a FIXED-SIZE planet to sustain us AND ALL THE OTHER LIFE FORMS this planet can sustain. Modern Economies are built on the principle of limited choice i.e. manufacturing.
"And so the population was gradually led into the demoralising temptations of arcades, baths and sumptuous banquets. The unsuspecting Britons spoke of such novelties as civilisation when in fact they were features of their enslavement," Tacitus understood the situation well.
Would you like more fries with that?
HEARTHS, CIRCLES, BURIAL MOUNDS: okay, so it's a couple of hours later and the content of that two-parter are starting to rub up against each other and jar in my head. I'm a little confused, is what I'm trying to say. I 'understood' that these monuments were astrological calendars but this is not exclusively so:
it sounds like 'one interpretation' of how a Stone Circle grows is that a 'hearth' of an old (king's?) roundhouse goes cold, the roof and walls crumble and the foundation circle is used as a guide for imported standing stones.
as happened at Stonehenge, outer stones in the circle (namely the blue stones) made their way from an earlier (outer) position to a more homely or internal position within the monument.
these magnificent stone circles were sometimes 'butchered' and some of the outer stones eventually became the New Home of the dead which were then covered over by a burial mound.
It seems (obviously) that, despite the enormity of the stones, Neolithic man considered them 'mobile'. The bluestones of Stonehenge for example are Welsh, and have been either quarried in or removed from a Welsh site down to Stonehenge. As has happened elsewhere, the stones are impermanent, alive.
And the stones that were moved into the centre of the circle representing The Members of the Family. I really like this, that you could visit a circle and go up to the stone named Uncle Frank, and it would be his, it would be him. Then what are the FIVE trilithon or topped sarsen-units of inner Stonehenge? Are these family-stone units? Five families? Then what are the ring of lintel'd sarsens all around, the family of man? Or the tribes of the region? Tribes of Europe?
And (back to the original design) what of these stoneless 'safe zones' between ring-fenced farmer-land where special meetings used to take place. These became formalised into great proto-hill fort spaces where wider clans gathered to do 'whatever they did'. Notice the four entrances on many of them, as there are four entrances to Avebury, also in Wiltshire, where a series of stone circles then grew.
It also sounds like 'spirit' or 'soul' or 'the continuing cycle of death and rebirth' seems to have come from the concept of plants i.e. farming, and how 'seemingly dead things' like the crop seeds can miraculously grow into wheat and corn and barley and trees. Spiritualism then is a response to a change of culture from Hunter-gatherer to Landed-farmer?
is that the answer? Stonehenge was part of the life-death processional-way version of existence where life is shepherded through the phases and celebrated at both ends. Maybe Stonehenge originated from a Great Neolithic King's roundhouse foundation and the hearth had become the centre of the encroaching stone monument until... but then it was never capped. It never achieved its Burial Mound status. Instead, all around Stonehenge more private or smaller burial mounds grew, dotting the Wiltshire landscape.
My real question is, "Was Stonehenge designed to UNIFY Wiltshire with its farm-trading neighbours across Europe (these Bell Beaker people maybe?) and something (some dispute or change of heart/mind?) happened such that an enormous burial mound never came to fruition?" There were people involved in the Stonehenge story who hail from as far away as the Swiss Alps. Travellers, trader people, technologists, or maybe just imported signs of an outward mentality.
There was a suggestion that the 'archer' found at Stonehenge wasn't an archer at all but but a stone axe-wielding Sentinel of the monument who was KILLED by an imported (foreign) archer who then took up his role of axe-wielding Sentinel. That there was some ritualistic or sport element to the security/function of the circle. Custodians implies protecting something from some one or some thing.
I haven't even started to consider how Stonehenge may be connected to similar sites like Carnac in France, or which may have influenced or help evolve which. Maybe stone circles are as varied as the regional accents or local mindsets of their creators? Oh, too many questions, still... which is good. :)


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Hey all, I need a recipe for all occasion cake. Everybody is welcome to post there recipes here. Thank 4
I think you can search the recipe section just fine as well.
Yeah, you will find great recipes on CC. There's no difference between recipes for a wedding cake, birthday cake, anniversary cake, celebration cake or all-occasion cake, so any of the great recipes will work great for you.
are you meaning you want to decorate a cake with all occasions?
Just made a fantastic cake - Golden Vanilla Cake - from Kingarthurflour.com
It was very simple to make. I make it in a 10 x 3 pan. It makes 6 1/2 cups batter. Filled this pan and made a 2 1/4" layer. I put a towel wrap around it to keep the baking even. First time I used this method and was very happy. My husband said it reminded him of a pound cake.
Also, the description that the website gives of the cake is right on. Good luck.


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Our Wedding Venues on Orchard Road
From grand ballroom galas to intimate poolside ceremonies, your dream wedding begins with one of our elegant wedding venues on Orchard Road. Discover the effortless sophistication of our Picasso Room - a classic space that can cater to both cocktail and banquet-style receptions or experience contemporary style in our Van Gogh Room - a modern setting with space for up to 100 guests. No matter what kind of celebration you have in mind, our exquisite wedding venues on Orchard Road and our team of professional planners will help you bring your special day to life.


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Panobook 2014 participants: vote for your favorite panorama to be printed for the Panobook cover!
What happened in 2013?
In 2013, we decided to let the Kolor Panobook contest participants choose the cover panorama of the Kolor Panobook. We received a lot of votes and the panorama named "Symbole Valaisan" shot by Samuel Gachet was selected as the Kolor Panobook 2013 cover.
Vote to choose the 2014 Panorama cover!
Now that we know the winners of our panoramic photos contest, the Kolor Panobook 2014, it is now time to choose a cover panorama for the Panobook.
All the participants sent us great panoramas and it was really hard for our jury to choose only around 150 of them. Thus, it will be even harder to choose the cover image. That is why we will let you, the participants, take this decision once again!
We selected ten panoramas among those which both content and ratio could fit in the Panobook cover and we'll let you take the final decision.
You have until the 30th of June to vote for your favorite image, the one you want to see on the 2014 Panobook cover. Please visit the official Panobook website to submit your vote.
What is the Kolor Panobook?
Kolor Panobook is the world's biggest contest of panoramic photography leading to the publishing of a book. Hundreds of amateur and professional photographers join this contest every year to try to become the best panoramic photographer of the year!
Launched in 2008, the Kolor Panobook is the leading panoramic photography contest. Visit the official Panobook website if you want to get a sneak peak of the previous editions.
What's next? Printing of the book
We will dedicate the coming weeks to the layout of the book and the printing. Hopefully, we expect to receive hardcover books in September. As soon as we get the actual Panobook you'll be able to order them through our online store and some of you will have special deals:
- All Panobook 2014 participants will have a discount on the purchase of the Panobook. The percentage discount has not been determined yet.
- All Panobook 2014 winners will get the Panobook at cost price!


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11 Bold & Beautiful Blog Designs
If you are planning to start a blog or are running one already, then one of the most important things that you should know is that content is king. If, on your blog, you have unique content of high quality, then you are guaranteed a good amount of hits. But if you combine your awesome content with bold and beautiful blog designs, you can literally multiply your number of unique visitors every week. It is no wonder that the most successful blogs have both great content and great designs.
Think about your own habit of surfing the web. Most people tend to visit websites with good designs more often and also recommend them to their friends. This gives a major boost to the visitor count and in turn returns greater profits for your blog. So the next time you think that good content is enough to get a substantial reward out of your blog, think again, because blog designs, along with a host of other factors plays a great role in determining the final outcome of your blog.
You do not even have to be a web designer to revamp your blog with a new design. There are many free templates available all over the internet and you can access them with simple Google searches. If you want to go for more unique and fancy designs that are not that commonly used, then you can always hire freelancers to actually design your blog for you according to your specifications. Or better yet, you can take video tutorials from YouTube or elsewhere on the internet to design websites yourself. This way, you will not only improve the design of the blogs that you run, but you can add another skill to your toolbox; a skill that is in great demand all over the world.
Cult Foo Blog Design
Sparklette Blog Design
The Pixel Blog Design
Leffetcrea Blog Design
I Love Color
Theoleg Blog
Bongo Blog
Epicagency Blog Design
Matblogg Design
N Design


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I get it. When you're used to being a busy, fast-paced person, slowing down fills you with a lot of guilt- especially when it's so sudden.
Personally, I feel guilty that I can't make plans to do things. People say, "lets do this on this day" and I can't commit because I don't know how I'm going to feel. I hate forcing myself in to doing things and suffering. I feel guilty because I'll have to sit out of certain things. My boyfriend will go places and I'll stay home. I hate the way it makes me feel. I feel so worthless. I've had to take off work for the last few weeks and I feel guilty. I feel scared. Like I'm going to get fired. I feel like no one understands. I feel like I'm ruining my relationship because of illness and because I can't be normal and because everything just makes me so emotional and I cry a lot.
So, basically, you're very much not alone.


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The contenders for the women's title at the Australian Open will descend on Melbourne Park today, keeping their cards close to their chest as they try to plot their way to victory in the first grand slam of the year.
If you listen to the pundits, the title is Serena Williams' to lose. The world No.1 has won here five times and will be hungrier than ever, having seen Victoria Azarenka win "her" title in each of the past two years. Azarenka is the only player who has been able to regularly push Williams over the past 18 months but, invariably, the American has come out on top.
Victory here - she opens against the Australian wildcard Ashleigh Barty - would give her a sixth Australian Open title and mean she moves on to 18 grand slams.
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The significance of that will not be lost on Williams, who would move level with Martina Navratilova and Chris Evert in the all-time list.
With Maria Sharapova not having played in three months after injury - and not having beaten Williams since 2004 - Evert believes Azarenka is the only player who can stop the world No 1. Azarenka was roundly booed by the Melbourne crowd last year when she took a lengthy medical timeout at a crucial time in her semi-final against Sloane Stephens.
Evert believes the Belarussian is mentally strong enough not to be affected by that this time around. "I think she's very tough mentally and her memory is short," she said. "I don't think she's going to give one thought to that whatsoever. I think it's another year, life goes on and I think she's looking ahead.
"This tournament is very special to her because she's won it a couple of times; she's had great success, she's had some big wins, and I think she loves the surface. She likes the speed of the court, she likes the moving and I think she's going to be very dangerous here. I don't think what happened before will affect her whatsoever."
Britain's Laura Robson, whose left-wrist injury continues to improve, faces last year's Wimbledon semi-finalist, Kirsten Flipkens of Belgium.
n Bulgaria's Tsvetana Pironkova, a former Wimbledon semi-finalist, won her first WTA Tour title at the Sydney International with a 6-4, 6-4 final win over Germany's fifth-seeded Angelique Kerber. She had to qualify but went on to eliminate Sara Errani and Petra Kvitova, seeded Nos. 3 and 2 respectively.


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DARREN BENT sent a timely reminder to potential buyers: he may be rusty but
his right foot is still trusty.
Villa's £24million forgotten hitman returned from injury to grab his first
goal since September against the club where he made his name.
Trailing to a Michael Chopra first-half goal, Bent struck just after the break
to inspire a Villa comeback.
Boss Paul Lambert had another golden oldie to thank as Shay Given produced a
couple of wonder saves to deny Chopra and Aaron McLean as Villa wobbled.
But sub Andi Weimann changed the game when he came on and came up with a
stunning header seven minutes from time.
After his Christmas horribilis, Lambert had the comfort of seeing some injury
worries ease.
Bent was given a rare start after recovering from a hamstring problem. He was
joined by Charles N'Zogbia, missing with a knee injury since mid-December,
and veteran keeper Given, 36.
N'Zogbia produced a delightful chip for Jordan Bowery at the back post in the
opening minute, but his header was clutched under the bar by Scott Loach.
Ipswich responded and Given had to get down low to deny the little predator
At the other end, Bent smashed a free-kick into the wall with the venom of a
man who was in the mood to wipe out months of frustration — and a few
Ipswich defenders.
Soon after he flashed in a wicked low cross but Bowery just failed to get a
scoring touch.
But it was Ipswich who gave their Premier League opponents a lesson in
finishing when they snatched the lead after 31 minutes.
Once again, Villa's eggshell defence cracked under the slightest pressure.
Nathan Baker slipped at the wrong moment and Chopra stole in behind the
exposed back line to smack in a low shot, which hit the leg of Villa's Eric
Lichajon the way in.
TV replays suggested Chopra's effort was going in anyway so he was credited
with the goal.
The home side thought they had equalised with a Ciaran Clark header, but Loach
produced a stunning reflex save.
After the restart Bent took just 38 seconds to turn the tie on its head. Barry
Bannan fed N'Zogbia, who played the ball through to Bent, and he was on it
like a flash to expertly drill his shot into the far corner.
Villa had Given to thank for again keeping them alive 10 minutes from the end
with a flip-over of McLean's close-range effort.
And that was the moment that broke Ipswich hearts because Villa wrapped up the
game three minutes later.
Joe Bennett whipped in a wonderful delivery to the front post and Weimann, who
had made the perfect run, rose majestically to flick a header beyond Loach.
ASTON VILLA: Given 7, Lichaj 6, Clark 6, Baker 5, Bennett 7, Albrighton
5 (Weimann 8), Bannan 6, Delph 7, N'Zogbia 7 (Ireland 6), Bowery 6
(Agbonlahor 7), Bent 7. Subs not used: Guzan, Benteke, Stevens, Carruthers.
IPSWICH: Loach 7, Hewitt 6, Kisnorbo 6, Smith 6, Cresswell 7, Martin 6,
Reo-Coker 6, Hyam 6, Emmanuel-Thomas 6 (McGoldrick 6), Chopra 7 (Mclean 6),
Murphy 6 (Edwards 6). Subs not used: Lee- Barrett, Chambers, N'Daw, Whight.
Booked: Kisnorbo, Hyam.


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Paul McGinley has been chosen to lead Europe in their defence of the Ryder Cup at Gleneagles in Scotland next year.
The 46-year-old Dubliner, who becomes Ireland's first captain in the event, takes over from Jose Maria Olazabal against an American side that will have golfing great Tom Watson back in charge at the age of 65.
McGinley holed the 10-foot winning putt on his debut at The Belfry in 2002 and was also part of the victorious sides in 2004 and 2006 before becoming an assistant to Colin Montgomerie three years ago and then Olazabal at Medinah - both wins as well, of course.
McGinley said: "It's a week that I'm really looking forward to."
McGinley added: "I'm obviously very pleased to be in this situation. This is a position that I'm really thrilled to be in, and it's also a very humbling experience. I can't wait to get into the role of being the captain.
"I'm relishing the thought of taking on one of my great heroes, Tom Watson.
"He's not only a wonderful person abut a great ambassador for the game of golf.
"I've never had an opportunity to go up against him in a playing sense.
"To go up against him in a captaincy sense will be a real thrill for me.


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Upping the Ante
The rise in all markets on Tuesday was enough to penetrate the resistance we were looking at: 1425-1430 in the S&P 500. So now we are looking for a new turning point in a market that just has become more overbought. The Federal Reserve action had a fleeting effect on Wednesday. One gets the impression it is repetitive and old news, as far as traders are concerned. The immediate rally soon ran into selling.
The low reading on the Arms Index yesterday was offsetting similar readings from 10 days ago and five days ago, so nothing much changed there. However, the 21-day, shown below, and which we looked at two days ago, is even more extreme. That does not bode well for the longer term. I said then "beware." I repeat that caveat....270 more words left in this article. To read them, just click below and try Real Money FREE for 14 days.
There's no substitute for a trading floor to get great ideas, so Jim Cramer created a better one at Real Money and blogs there exclusively. We then added legendary hedge fund manager, Doug Kass, with his exclusive Daily Diary and best investing ideas. Staffed with more than 4 dozen investing pros, money managers, journalists and analysts, Real Money Pro gives you a flood of opinions, analysis and actionable trading advice found nowhere else, and allows you to interact directly with each expert.
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Water Baptism is an outward declaration of a decision in your heart to follow Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord of your life. Not only does the Bible command us to be baptized but Jesus himself was water baptized. We are simply following his example in doing the same. It is the next step after meeting Jesus personally!
"When all the people were baptized, it came to pass that Jesus also was baptized…" Luke 3:21 "And he commanded them to be baptized in the name of the Lord." Acts 10:48
You can be water baptized at any of our Seattle Campuses. Click the button at the top of this page to find out dates and times you can be baptized at your campus.
Have you attended BELONG class yet?Attend a Belong Class


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Asked by:
Database View
Following a C# book that requires the creation of a SQL express database. This is Visual Studio 2008 Team Suite. Have done so but the attending''database view" has not presented to replace the solution view. How can one induce this view. Guidance sought
- Moved by lucy-liu Tuesday, April 17, 2012 7:36 AM it is not a msbuild issue (From:MSBuild)
All replies
Hi MNewsome,
The "Database View" means the database explorer?
We can access Database Explorer, choose Database Explorer on the View menu. More information: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/x603htbk.aspx
If I have misunderstood anything, please feel free to let us now, and describe this issue in detail. Or provide some steps or sample code for us to reproduce this issue.
Thank you for your understanding!
Lucy Liu [MSFT]
MSDN Community Support | Feedback to us
The issue is this… I am following a textbook exercise that requires the creation of a database. Having created the database one is supposed to see a Database Explorer in the Toolbox. It was seen the first time the database was created but has not been seen since. I would want to know if the Database Explorer is a one-time event, is there and issue with the installation, or have I followed the correct steps to generate the database explorer. I need to gain complete familiarity with the basics of my studies. Your continued guidance is appreciated
You "bold"ed every words, so I think you need to control your temper.
Like Lucy described, you can always open Database Explorer/Server Explorer via View menu. So obviously it is not a one time event.
By the way, if you are following a text book, discuss your mates or teachers and interchange ideas on how to understand it. You are not supposed to post every question you meet online, as responses from Internet are typically slow and not straight forward. Choose the right communication channel and be patient.
Lex Li (http://lextm.com)


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As Wisconsin women's basketball head coach Bobbie Kelsey's glasses slipped out of her hand and flew into the stands, the lead and the game were almost lost along with them. Luckily, after Kelsey received a technical foul on that play with a little more than a minute remaining – the Badgers recovered and were able to stave off a last second three-point attempt to defeat their in-state rivals Marquette 71-68.
Wisconsin (5-3) found itself up by 15 early in the game, but Marquette (4-3) utilized gritty defensive play and hot shooting to diminish the Badger's lead. However, Arlesia Morse's 30-foot three-point attempt fell well short at the buzzer, and Wisconsin held on for a hard-earned win – and an important one according to Kelsey.
"This is so important for our team because we can build on this," Kelsey said. "You got to win some of these games to build on them; it's not good to say we tried hard, we lost. You got to win them."
The big story in the game for the Badgers was the absence of senior guard Taylor Wurtz and freshman guard Dakota Whyte, forcing Wisconsin to go with a six person rotation for almost the entire game. Wurtz was out for the third straight game with a back injury, and Whyte sat out as a precautionary measure because of a sore knee. All five starters logged more than 34 minutes in the game, with sophomore forward AnnMarie Brown the only other playing seeing significant time at 17 minutes of total play.
Despite their lack of depth, Wisconsin started the game fast and looked ready to run away with the game early. After Marquette scored the first basket of the game, the Badgers went off on a 15-0 run and proceeded to sink five threes to hold their biggest lead at 21-6.
After the game Golden Eagle head coach Terri Mitchell commented on the Badgers' fast start, along with the atmosphere of the game when Marquette made the game close again.
"I give Wisconsin a lot of credit for the way they jumped all over us to start the game. The eight threes they had in the first half, they got in a rhythm, and once we settled and responded it was a chess match," Terri Mitchell. It was a lot of fun to coach; it's a lot more fun when you win, but I don't walk out of here wondering about the hearts of my team."
Allowing the Golden Eagles back into the game was some sloppy play by the Badgers, and a scary moment for Wisconsin. On a fast break, Wisconsin junior forward Cassie Rochel went up for a layup, and following a miss, she landed awkwardly on one of her knees. After a made basket by Marquette, Rochel was tended to by the medical staff and made her way gingerly off the court.
Rochel returned to the bench following several minutes in the locker room, and she then appeared back in the game, but in her time gone, the damage was done. Marquette's 18-2 run came at this point, and Marquette took the lead 24-23. But Wisconsin kept Marquette at bay and promptly took the lead back, with the help of a Nicole Bauman, who came up big for the Badgers, totaling a career high 16 points.
Even though Marquette took the lead briefly, as Rochel left the court with her injury, she had confidence in her teammates' ability.
"I think it was more of just shock than anything. My knee buckled when I went up for a layup but walking out of the gym I had no worries," Rochel said. "The freshmen [and bench players] are ready to step up at any time, and they know that whether I go down or any of the guards go down, the players on the bench are ready to step up whenever they are called upon."
There were few players on the bench to call on in this game, but the players that were called on stepped up to the task. Rochel recorded 10 points, sophomore forward Jacki Gulczynski had 14 and junior guard Morgan Paige had 19 to pace the Badgers.
When the Badgers needed it the most up only three with 1:38 remaining, Gulczynski hit a cold-blooded three pointer from the top of the arc, to give the Badgers some breathing room. Following two technical foul free-throws and subsequent three-pointer by Marquette, Wisconsin's lead was cut to one, but Bauman sank two free-throws with 14 seconds left to secure the Badger win.
"Even us being young and inexperienced, it was really, really encouraging to see us being together and really fighting through to get this win," Paige said.