text:
Alias (2001–2006)
Sydney: Why are you looking at me like that? Did you guys break something of mine?
[to Vaughn]
Sydney: We'll find each other... we'll always find each other.
Vaughn: I'm going to say something, and it will either be obvious to you or seem presumptuous, either way I'm going to say it. This isn't working. I've been thinking about this for a while, I don't know what the hell to do.
Sydney: What?
Vaughn: I think you know what.
Sydney: I need you to tell me.
Vaughn: You need me to tell you what, that when you're on operations I can't sleep at night, that when we're in debrief I have to force myself to remember what the hell we're supposed to be reviewing when all I want to do is kiss you.
Sydney: Sometimes it is hard to remember what we're supposed to be talking about.
Vaughn: That's what I'm talking about, and the thing that drives me insane every day is that the people who would kill us if we were ever seen together-the Alliance, SD-6, Sloane, are the very forces that brought you into my life. What kind of a sick joke is that?
Sydney: So what are you thinking, that maybe we shouldn't be working together?
Vaughn: Yes, that was what I was thinking, but we're great together, and the more we work together the sooner the Alliance gets destroyed.
Sydney: So, what are you suggesting?
[Agent Weiss interrupts]
Sydney: You've lost weight.
Agent Eric Weiss: Yeah, I stopped eating all the foods I like. I'm miserable, but I look really good.
Sydney: Weiss, have you seen Vaughn?
Weiss: That's all I am to you - just a conduit to Vaughn. Have you ever seen Vaughn and said "Hey, where's Weiss?"
[talking about Sydney]
Weiss: So she gave you a drawer, huh?
Vaughn: It was a gesture of convenience.
Weiss: And, uh, what did you put it in?
Vaughn: Why do you care?
Weiss: What do you mean, why do I care? Do you know how spoiled you are? You know, a drawer! I wish I had a girlfriend to say 'Hey, do you want a drawer?'
Vaughn: I'll give you a drawer at my place.
Weiss: I don't want a drawer at your place.
Vaughn: Even though everything's changed... some things don't... I'm not going to lose you twice.
[Sydney and Vaughn walk into Syd's apartment, Vaughn's cell phone rings]
Vaughn: Hello?
Agent Eric Weiss: Hey, Kendall has something he wants to show you.
Vaughn: Ah, can it wait?
Agent Eric Weiss: Apparently not, he wants to Sydney too. Are you with her?
Vaughn: Ah, no. I haven't seen her.
Agent Eric Weiss: You're in bed with her right now, aren't you?
Vaughn: Trying. Just find out what he wants.
Sydney: Is something wrong?
Vaughn: No. I'm just getting old, I guess.
Sydney: You expect me to believe that?
Vaughn: I've just had a lot on my mind lately, that's all. It'll pass.
Sydney: Yesterday was the day, wasn't it? The anniversary of your father's death?
Vaughn: How could you remember that?
Sydney: I remember what missing him does to you.
Sydney: Vaughn?
Vaughn: How come you never call me Michael?
Sydney: I call you Michael sometimes.
Sydney: Vaughn.
Vaughn: [to Sydney] When you're at your absolute lowest, at your most depressed, just remember that you can always... you know. You got my number.
Vaughn: [smashes Sark's face into a table] See, when I have a gun, I don't just pull the trigger.
Sark: Thank you.
Vaughn: [smashes Sark's face again] Where's Sloane?
Sark: Not a problem; my loyalties are flexible.
Agent Marshall Flinkman: Syd, this guy buried you alive.
Sydney: Yeah, but he cheated, he hit me with a car first!
Vaughn: This watch belonged to my father. It's broken now, but it used to keep perfect time. And when he gave it to me, he said you could set your heart by this watch. It stopped October 1st. The day we met.
Sydney: Me too.
[Sydney and Marshall have just talked their way past a security post]
Sydney: What did you say to him?
Agent Marshall Flinkman: [nervous] I don't know. I think it was "Go away I can smell you from here" in Ewok.
[Vaughn and Weiss watch as a sleazy bad guy leers at Sydney while she's in disguise as a prostitute]
Vaughn: That son of a bitch!
Weiss: Easy, come on.
Vaughn: I swear I'm gonna to kill this guy.
Weiss: There's no way that guy smells as good as you do.
Vaughn: It's aftershave, I got a new aftershave.
Weiss: Yeah, well, I'd lighten up on it a little.
Vaughn: Yeah?
Weiss: Oh yeah. To the point of non-use.
Agent Eric Weiss: Did you ever stop to think that the reason you and Sydney work so well together is because of the feelings you have for each other?
Agent Eric Weiss: How's that for spin?
Vaughn: Pretty good.
Vaughn: Are you romantically interested in anyone?
[She looks at him weirdly]
Vaughn: It could be a question.
Sydney: No, I'm not.
[Machine jumps to 56]
Vaughn: Interesting.
Sydney: Wait, ask me that again.
Vaughn: No, I don't have to. We have our answer right here. That's very good. Moving on.
Kendall: Just so we're clear, Mr. Vaughn, I know all about your participation in busting Agent Bristow out of federal custody. Convince her to talk to her mother, or face charges of obstructing justice and harboring a fugitive.
Vaughn: Guess it's two-for-one day on blackmail.
Sark: Put the gun down, Agent Vaughn. Drop the gun.
Vaughn: Not a chance, you drop yours.
Sark: Put the gun down now.
Sydney: No, Vaughn, don't!
Sark: Drop it. If you love her, you will put the gun down now.
[Masked figure looks at Vaughn]
Sydney: Vaughn, don't!
[Vaughn drops the gun]
Vaughn: I hate you but I love Sydney more, thats the only reason you're not dying tonight.
Sydney: Hi. How did you find me?
Vaughn: You told me a couple of months ago that when you feel the need to disappear, you go to the observatory. But the observatory was closed. And then I remembered you said the pier calms you down. But you weren't there. And you weren't at the bluffs and the palisades, either.
Sydney: You didn't really go to all those places.
Vaughn: Yeah, I did. And then I remembered you liked the train station, too. Normal people going to their normal jobs.
Sydney: I can't believe you remember that.
Weiss: Hey, you sure you don't want to talk about this?
Vaughn: There's nothing to talk about.
Weiss: I share my fights with you.
Vaughn: No you don't.
Weiss: Yeah I do. Remember when Alan pissed in the living room?
Vaughn: That was your dog!
Weiss: Yeah, but I was angry about it and I let you know how upset I was.
Agent Jack Bristow: Any complications?
Sydney: Well, I think I lost us about $900,000, depending on the exchange rate...
Francie: "Dear Aunt Stephanie. Unfortunately, as my mother has informed you, the wedding is off so I am returning your kind gift of a coffee maker because, as it turns out, the man to whom I was engaged is a deceitful, two-faced, sex-crazed jackass. All my love, Francie."
Sydney: It's not too harsh.
Sydney: What about Will?
Agent Jack Bristow: [turns to Will] You're gonna have a hard time.
[Marshall is offered a job with the real CIA]
Vaughn: Hi, I'm Michael Vaughn. Welcome to the CIA.
Agent Marshall Flinkman: Uh, yeah I've heard that one before.
Vaughn: [to Sydney] No, but, what you said about wanting to go to a hockey game... wanting me to be part of your life... I think I wasn't clear about something. That it would be nice to be in public with you, to actually get to look at you. Grab a pizza or go to a hockey game. I just... I wasn't clear that I would really like that, too.
Sydney: You didn't think about it. Not once. The possibility that Rambaldi could be right about me.
Vaughn: No. I didn't.
Sydney: Why not?
Vaughn: Because I believe in you. Do you think I'd just throw anyone in my trunk?
Agent Jack Bristow: When I look at her, when I look at the little girl who raised herself to become one of the most extraordinary human beings and one of the finest agents I've ever had the privilege of knowing, I see only the promise of my own redemption. Turning myself in was the only way I could think of to make that clear to her, to prove that despite... my limited abilities as a father, I love her more than I could ever say.
[Weiss has just prompted Vaughn to finally ask Sydney out on a date while on a mission in Nice]
Weiss: And?
Vaughn: We're going to dinner.
[Weiss breaks into a celebratory dance]
Vaughn: I'm going to keep my comm channel open. I need you to monitor the RF frequency.
Weiss: Got it. Okay, in exchange I get an eclair.
Vaughn: No, I'm serious, any suspect signal and I want to know about it. Anything.
Weiss: If they're small, bring at least two!
Weiss: Okay, whenever you want to have that talk...
Vaughn: What talk?
Weiss: About the cologne or whatever the hell you're wearing.
Vaughn: I'm not wearing cologne.
Weiss: Well, something's going on. No man naturally smells as good as you do right now.
Sydney: [after Vaughn kisses her] Dinner's ready.
Vaughn: You do have an oven you know, we can reheat.
[Sydney and Vaughn are returning to the US from a mission in Russia]
Vaughn: You know, we have operational command of this aircraft. The pilot could take us anywhere we want...
Sydney: [playfully scolding] Our orders are to proceed with our extraction. If we were divert this aircraft for our personal use, we would get into a lot of trouble.
Vaughn: Yes.
Sydney: [disappointed] Yeah...
Vaughn: Wanna have dinner with me in Paris?
Sydney: [without hesitating] Absolutely.
[they kiss]
Sydney: You know any jokes? Because I could use one.
Vaughn: This grasshopper walks into a bar and the bartender says, "Hey, we have a drink named after you." And the grasshopper says...
Sydney: You have a drink named Doug?
Vaughn: Well, I was gonna use Phil.
Agent Marshall Flinkman: [to Jack, randomly and smugly in the middle of an intense op] Vaughn asked me to lunch.
Irina: [Sydney is confronted by her mother for the first time since she was six] I've waited almost thirty years for this... You must have known this day would come. I could have prevented all this, of course... You were so small when you were born. It would have been so easy... Tell me... Sydney... Who sent you here? You must tell me.
Sydney: Or what? I'm grounded?
[Irina shoots Sydney in the shoulder]
Irina: Tell you what. Think about it. I'll come back and ask you again.
Agent Marshall Flinkman: [after a random woman kisses him in a bar] I think I just got Hepatitis
Irina: I remember the first time you introduced me to Sloane. You were both working at the CIA, he came to the house for dinner. You were true friends.
Jack: Yes. We shared a similar unsentimental patriotism... and a devotion to our wives. But Sloane changed and... it was Rambaldi that did it. I'm not sure what it is - he never told me - but Sloane has a personal connection to Rambaldi.
Irina: I lived for years with the same obsession, to find a higher meaning in Rambaldi's work. I never understood how you managed to avoid getting caught up in it.
Jack: I had something neither of you did.
Irina: Sydney.
Irina: I see through you. You must know that.
Sloane: This is who I am.
Irina: You may need to think of yourself as an honorable husband, a father figure. But I don't. I will never see that man in you, which frankly is why we have this agreement.
Sloane: You need to get some rest.
Irina: Never talk to me about your love for Sydney again.
Rachel Gibson: Your father is kind of scary.
Sydney: Tell me about it.
Will: I know, I just don't want to miss the previews, though. They're, like, my favorite part.
[discussing Will's hickey]
Will: It's very embarrassing.
Sydney: What, the fact that I saw it or just that it's there at all?
Will: Look at it. I feel like I'm 15 years old.
Sydney: That's about the age of your intern.
Agent Marshall Flinkman: That sound that you're- you know, that 'boom'? That's my mind blowing.
Will: You awkward?
Sydney: Yeah, small eyes and big teeth, and I was always a foot taller than everybody else so I kind of hunched over.
Will: I wish I could've seen that.
[Vaughn is watching Syndey seduce an obese enemy agent]
Vaughn: I'm going to kill that guy.
[after Sydney asks if he is married]
Vaughn: Wife? I don't have a wife. You thought I was married this whole time?
[about Kendall]
Agent Jack Bristow: Legally he's right, Ethically he's an ass.
Sydney: Some people go miniature golfing with their parents. We go to India to look for nukes.
Vaughn: Yeah... I'll break into the Vatican with you.
Francie: Okay, seriously, we are not putting chocolate chips in the pancakes.
Will: I got news for you. Oh yes we are.
Weiss: By the power invested in me by the United Church of Mammals, I now pronounce you man and wife.
Jack: I used to think you didn't have much of a spine.
Vaughn: Has that assessment changed at all?
Jack: No.
Marshall: You've got the looks. I've got the brains.
Vaughn: I've got the looks? You've got the brains?
Agent Jack Bristow: [to Sloane] Personally, I would have found it anticlimactic, that after expecting to assemble a weapon of ultimate power, you ended up with a revelation you could have acquired from a fortune cookie.
Marcus Dixon: Listen, while you're grabbing the Rambaldi manuscript, if you happen to see a sandwich...
Sydney: You got it.
Vaughn: You asked me some questions. I told you I'd answer them if you helped me. You did help me. And I thank you for that.
Irina: I didn't do it for you.
Vaughn: I'm trying to live a normal life... which was always hard, given what I do. But it's gotten harder since I met your daughter. It's not that knowing her hasn't made my life better. It has. But it's also made it that much worse... I think I've said enough.
Irina: The problem, Mr. Vaughn... Is that to the one person who matters... You haven't said anything at all.
Vaughn: Listen, this may not mean anything to you, this may not be something you understand, or appreciate, but we have rules. Very clear, important rules that govern the relationship between a handler and his asset.
Irina: And between a man and a woman?
Sophia Vargas/Elena Derevko: Eric, you have no idea how exited I am to meet you. Nadia says the most beautiful things about you.
[she walks away]
Agent Eric Weiss: [obviously happy] Really?
Nadia Santos: She asked me if you were tall, dark and handsome. I told her you were tall.
[they kiss]
Vaughn: I've... I've got this aunt, umm, Aunt Trish. She's the insane one in the family. She uh speaks to the dead, goes to readings, uh, she's a crop circle worshipper.
Sydney: Aunt Trish
Vaughn: Yeah. This whole Rambaldi thing reminds me of something she would tell me about.
[Vaughn is beating a punching bag, obviously angry]
Agent Eric Weiss: The bag is dead, I think you can stop now.
Vaughn: Thanks for coming.
Agent Eric Weiss: Thanks for sweating.
Vaughn: Half a can only. I don't want to come back to a fat dog.
Vaughn: Now, the guys say it's bitchin, so I assume it's... bitchin.
Agent Marshall Flinkman: My name is Marshall J. Flinkman, and I'm here to rescue you.
Vaughn: So, I was thinking, later tonight when we get the code key, maybe we can check it out?
Sydney: What, the restaurant?
Vaughn: Yeah. Well, it's almost too good not to.
Sydney: Unless SD-6 spots us there and has us killed.
Vaughn: Well, the food's so good it's almost worth the risk.
Marshall: I've lost my keys. Where are they?
[Marshall and Carrie get married]
Marshall: I love you Mrs. Flinkman.
Carrie Bowman: I'm keeping my name.
Marshall: Okay.
Vaughn: I hate you - but I love Sydney more. Which is why you're not dying tonight.
Weiss: So, in a case like this, we start by digitizing all the news coverage that covered the bombing. You, uh, you like Italian food?
Christine Phillips: I have a boyfriend.
[Weiss looks up as Vaughn walks in the room]
Weiss: Yeah, me too.
[Jack is doing Nadia's psych evaluation and giving her hypothetical situations]
Agent Jack Bristow: While tapping the phone line of a target in New Delhi, you're spotted by the enemy. Your partner tells you to continue with the mission objective while he neutralizes the target. Do you obey him, or fight back?
Nadia Santos: Is the phone system PBX matrix?
Agent Jack Bristow: Just answer the question, please.
Nadia Santos: Why is my partner a man?
Agent Jack Bristow: The sex of your partner is irrelevant.
Nadia Santos: Oh. No, I would not obey. I'd help her fight him off, then she and I could finish the job together.
Sydney: [while following Francie's boyfriend, Francie starts the car immediately after he leaves his house] No, wait until he's a block away.
Francie: Look at you getting all into it!
Sydney: [embarrassed] Everyone knows you wait.
Francie: I didn't know you wait.
Sydney: You wait.
Agent Marshall Flinkman: Sloane gave me the finger.
Agent Marshall Flinkman: [attempting to gouge out the eye of a dead man to use it for a retinal scan] Ewww. It's oozing.
Agent Jack Bristow: That eye's no good, you'll have to move on to the other one. You'll need some kind of a scooping object. Do you have a spoon?
Agent Marshall Flinkman: I have a spork.
Agent Jack Bristow: What's a spork?
Agent Marshall Flinkman: It's... like... a combination of a fork and a spoon.
Agent Jack Bristow: That'll work.
Sark: Wait. If that's the wrong wire...
Rachel Gibson: I thought you liked risks.
Sark: I also like my body. And as I recall, so do you.
Agent Jack Bristow: How was the first briefing with Lauren?
Sydney: [sarcastically] Wonderful.
Agent Jack Bristow: I'm not asking because I'm a fan of inter-office gossip. Tell me how it went.
Sydney: What if whatever we're looking for isn't metal?
Agent Jack Bristow: Then we're screwed. Not an unfamiliar situation.
Sydney: I'm writing a paper with soul. It's got lots of soul.
Sloane: Marshall, would you please go back to work?
Agent Marshall Flinkman: Just to clarify, I'm not being fired?
Sloane: Back to work means not fired.
Sydney: How do I look?
Marcus Dixon: For the record, that's a question you never have to ask.
Agent Marshall Flinkman: [showing off his ring gadget] Mr. Bristow, will you marry me?
Sydney: [talking to Sloane] The thought that I did something for you that might give you a warm and fuzzy feeling makes me want to kick my own sister out of my house.
[to Vaughn]
Agent Jack Bristow: And, just because you have gotten comfortable with my daughter doesn't mean you can get comfortable with me.
Irina: Ultimately, you will do whatever you want. That's what free will's all about.
Irina: [Vaughn has come to ask a favor of Irina] Tell me how you feel about my daughter.
Vaughn: That's none of your business.
Irina: Are you in love with her?
Vaughn: I don't know why that matters.
Irina: [cutting him off] I don't have the advantage of observing casual behavior... I'm curious.
Vaughn: Help me... and I'll tell you what you want to know.
Sydney: [to Vaughn] There's something that happens when you discover the truth about someone. I know a little about this. The truth changes everything. There's this woman, a personality, like a collage I've put together from the photographs, the few memories I have, the scraps of stories I've heard, the clothes of hers I've got, her books. And none of its real. She wasn't that woman at all, she was - she was a horrible person... Who killed you father... Vaughn, I just wanted to say... that I'm so sorry.
Agent Jack Bristow: [Jack and Sydney are sitting in silence] This is the best conversation we've had in weeks.
Weiss: Jack is going to shoot you in the face.
Vaughn: Just give me a half-hour head start. Tell him that she called your phone and you gave it to me. We only have ten hours to find Kaplan.
Weiss: If we end up sharing a cell in federal prison, I'm not giving you a drawer.
Agent Eric Weiss: You really want some space, or are you and I going to go get drunk? 'Cause there's this bar - you won't even remember it tomorrow.
Sydney: What are you, twelve years old?
Agent Jack Bristow: If you tell anyone about this conversation, you will no longer be able to wear a hat.
Sydney: I just wanted to rip his finger right off again. Does that make me a bad person?
McKenas Cole: Oh, wow, that was a moderately clever retort.
Will: So, I'm not annoying to dead people.
Sydney: My name is Sydney Bristow. Seven years ago I was recruited by a secret branch of the CIA called SD-6. I was sworn to secrecy, but I couldn't keep it from my fianc". And when the head of SD-6 found out, he had him killed. That's when I learned the truth: SD-6 is not part of the CIA. I've been working for the very people I thought I was fighting against. So, I went to the only place that could help me take them down. Now I'm a double agent for the CIA, where my handler is a man named Michael Vaughn. Only one other person knows the truth about what I do, another double agent inside SD-6. Someone I hardly know - my father.
Marcus Dixon: We kill ourselves to do the right thing, meanwhile the bad people keep coming back.
McKenas Cole: [to Sydney] Now, I know I'm not the subtlest guy when it comes to women and I probably said something insanely inappropriate, because you told me if I ever talked to you again, you'd break my kneecaps. Which just made me love you.
Agent Jack Bristow: The illusion of freedom is better than none at all.
Marcus Dixon: [shouting] Are you ready to party?
Sydney: Are you ready to party?
Marcus Dixon: I speak nine languages. Techno is not one of them.
Vaughn: You're probably gonna say no to this, but I wanna go to India.
Kendall: Go.
Vaughn: "Go"? What... Are you trying to get rid of me?
[an alarm will go off in 15 seconds if set off]
Vaughn: So you said you could disarm it in under 20 seconds, how far under 20?
Sydney: I work better under pressure.
Agent Jack Bristow: Your mother was sent to the United States to steal secrets from a ranking officer of the C.I.A. How she and I happened to meet, how she supposedly fell in love, I thought it was all true. But it was just a set-up.
C.I.A. Therapist Dr. Judy Barnett: Did you purchase a Christmas gift for Agent Bristow?
Vaughn: Uh... I'm not familiar, Dr. Barnett, with the regulations preventing officers from celebrating with their co-workers, a fairly widely recognized holiday such as Christmas.
Will: I have a contact who tracked your credit card from another one of your flights out of L.A.X. From that, they got your social security number. I did a trace on it. See, here's what doesn't make any sense, Kate Jones. You died in 1973.
Vaughn: Noah Hicks - you mentioned him in the initial background report you wrote when you first made contact with the CIA.
Sydney: We met when I was a trainee. We actually dated for a while.
Vaughn: Really.
Sydney: We kept it under the radar. SD-6 discourages, you know, fraternization among agents.
Vaughn: So does the CIA.
NSC Director Robert Lindsey: If you're finished, this is the men's room.
Sydney: Who let you in?
Vaughn: If you betray her, no matter what it costs me, I will kill you.
Sloane: No need to worry, I love her too.
Lauren: Are you ready for our first job as senior management?
Sark: You're so ambitious, I love it.
Lauren: The job's in Vancouver. Requires a breach of a data storage facility.
Sark: Really? What's the prize?
Lauren: A plasma charge. Next generation destructive power.
Sark: I thought those were just theoretical.
Lauren: Apparently not in Vancouver.
Sark: All right. I'll meet you there in four hours.
Lauren: Three. We have to be first in line. The CIA's sending agents.
Sark: Who?
Lauren: One guess.
Sark: Sweetheart, this should be fun.
Lauren: I'll see you in Vancouver. Don't be late or call me sweetheart.
Sark: Ambitious and domineering. Fantastic.
Vaughn: Freeze! Give me the bomb. Give it to me.
[Sark activates the explosive]
Sark: With pleasure.
Sydney: [about Allison/Francie] Why didn't she kill me?
Weiss: Maybe she likes you.
Sydney: Weiss, I'm serious.
Weiss: So am I! Come on. She lived with you for months. She doubled herself as your best friend. Maybe in that time, she started to like you. I could see that happening.
[about Vaughn]
Sydney: After 30 years, you're still haunted by your wife's betrayal. Will it be the same for him?
Jack: Absolutely.
Irina: There were times when the illusion of our marriage was as powerful for me as it was for you.
Rachel Gibson: I'm the new girl, I panicked on the last mission, and everybody's questioning whether I can do it or not. And the truth is... I don't know. I'm terrified. But I'm more terrified of not trying. So I'm gonna put on my strappy shoes and my tiny dress and I'm gonna try. And by this time tomorrow, we'll know if I can do it or not.
Rachel Gibson: Oh, my God, you're...
Kelly Peyton: Not dead?
Rachel Gibson: I was gonna say evil, but...
Irina: [Irina, Sydney, and Jack are walking through a mine field] So, Sydney, how's school?
Sydney: I'm working on my dissertation. Supposedly.
Agent Marshall Flinkman: [in a briefing, discussing where the exchange of a WMD will take place] Sounds awesome!
[everybody stares at him]
Agent Marshall Flinkman: What? Brazil... Isn't that where they have those... string... not bikinis... what do you call them?
Agent Jack Bristow: Thongs?
Rachel Gibson: What happened?
Sark: I overestimated my friendship with Masari. He assumed I was betraying him and took the money and left.
Rachel Gibson: Oh. So then he knows you pretty well.
Weiss: How are you doing?
Vaughn: Fine.
Weiss: Hey, guess what? It's me. Come on, how're you doing?
Vaughn: I'm hanging in there.
Weiss: How's Lauren about it?
Vaughn: She didn't remember.
Weiss: And, you didn't say anything?
Vaughn: No. I mean, she's got a lot on her mind.
Weiss: Yeah, that's probably it.
Agent Marshall Flinkman: He also happens to own the largest collection of pornographic art in all of Madrid. Which... I thought was an interesting fact. Sorry.
Sark: [repeated line to Lauren] Not if I see you first, love.
Irina: I'll tell you what you need to know.
Sydney: Get off the ledge NOW!
Irina: Sloane believes he's been chosen to realize the word of Rambaldi. But you, too, have been chosen.
Sydney: If you think I'm bluffing...
Irina: It's you in the prophecy, Sydney, not me. Only you can stop him. Good luck, sweetheart.
Sydney: Get down now!
Irina: I love you.
Sydney: Is that a hickey?
Irina: Ultimately you'll do what you want, that's what free will's all about.
Jack: [during Sydney's hallucination] Shh. Don't talk. You can't imagine how much I hate it when you talk. I had a desperate need to stop her voice from ringing in my ears. What torments me now is that every time I look at you, I see your mother's face.
Arvin Sloane: No! Do you think this is what this is about? Immortality? You bought the rumor, you simple-minded dilettante! The mystery, the true secrets of these creations will always be kept from you... the unworthy!
Suit and Glasses: [leaning over Sydney, who is cuffed to a chair] I'd rather not make this too painful.
Sydney: Me too. Thanks. Glad we're on the same page. That's good.
[after Marshall has been recruited to A.P.O.; on their first mission]
Agent Marshall Flinkman: [to Dixon] How cool is this? Stealing a sword so we can find a bad guy... in order to catch an even bigger bad guy? Come on... come on, you'd have never let us do this back at the CI... you know, when you were double-breasted, serious
[mechanial voice]
Agent Marshall Flinkman: Robot Dixon...
[Dixon is not amused]
Agent Marshall Flinkman: I mean, not that you were... authoritative... Sorry...
Kazu Tamazaki: [preparing to torture Sydney] Did you eat breakfast?
Sydney: Why? You wanna grab something?
Lauren: Hello?
Sark: It killed you, didn't it, seeing him drop the gun for Sydney.
Lauren: No it isn't a good time, can I call you in the morning?
Sark: He's there with you, is that it? Though he'd rather be with her. You know, it's quite a charade you two are engaged in.
Lauren: I think we both know how dedicated I am to this assignment. If you have any issues, take it up through the proper channels.
Sark: Don't mistake me. It's not your dedication that I question.
Lauren: We'll talk about this later.
Arvin Sloane: [to Agent Jack Bristow] One night - oh, this was years ago, maybe two years before you and I met - I had just finished my first Far East briefing in the White House. I was new to the CIA. After that meeting, everyone got into a limousine to head back to Langley, but I didn't. I told them I was gonna walk for a while. They all looked at me sort of funny, I mean, it was a cold night. So I said 'I need to get some air,' but the truth is... I was overcome. It did occur to me, as I was walking down the White House steps, that I was living in a perfect moment. Everything was filled with promise: my role in the CIA, my relationship with a wife that I had not yet met. Still, I could feel the darkness coming. So I wandered around for a while, ended up at Jefferson Memorial. It was always my favorite one. Looked out across the basin. Lincoln, right there. I didn't know how it would finally materialize, the darkness. I had nothing to base it on. It wasn't as if the CIA had just betrayed me, or my wife had just been diagnosed with lymphoma. None of that had happened yet. So whenever life takes an unfortunate turn, as it has this week, I just remind myself that I could see it coming all along.
Lauren Reed: Not everything was a lie.
Agent Jack Bristow: Those Cyrillic codes you found in those books - yes, they were orders from the KGB and yes, they were orders to kill. An agent received those orders and carried them out, murdering officers of the C.I.A., including your father, Mr. Vaughn. All this is true. But, Sydney, I was not that agent. Your mother was.
Francie: No, no, no. We need a professional. We need a hit man. If there's one, there are a thousand. Rats breed hourly.
Agent Jack Bristow: Mr. Vaughn, you're young and you're eager, and I understand that. But one thing you're not, and this is something only time can provide, really, is wise.
Agent Marshall Flinkman: They're super-swank.
Sydney: My name is Sydney Bristow. I've seen you in the office. I always wondered what you did. Aah. I guess this is what you do.
McKenas Cole: I am now standing in Sloan's... tastefully minimalistic office.
Sydney: Why does that guy have such a guilty look on his face?
Francie: Yesterday, Ginger told Rod that Gavin was Ruby's pimp, but Rod didn't even know that Ruby was a prostitute...
Sydney: Who's Gavin?
Francie: Ruby's father.
Sydney: Ew.
Sydney: This is ridiculous, let's just get the son of a bitch.
[repeated lines of Sydney's contact code]
Sydney: [answering a phone] Hello?
Person on Phone: Joey's Pizza?
Sydney: Wrong number.
Francie: What? You kissed Will Tippin? Are you kidding me?
Sydney: The highlight of my social-life was my dorms salad-bar.
Sydney: Your dancers... suck.
Agent Marshall Flinkman: Sorry I've got hives.
Sydney: OK so you're acting really freaky.
[the Francie clone has hypnotized Will Tippen]
Francie: [as Allison] Now I'm going to count back from five, and when you wake up, you will remember nothing of this conversation. All you will remember is that you had the best sex of your life.
Sark: You know it's a pity we're traveling separately. We could've used the opportunity to get to know each other better.
Sydney: Yeah, I'm broken up about that too.
Sark: You're surprisingly adept at keeping your curiosity in check.
Sydney: Don't flatter yourself.
Sydney: The idea that the CIA is willing to work with Irina Derevko is insane.
Agent Jack Bristow: Worse, it's naive. Your mother didn't just conveniently turn herself in. This is all part of the manipulation.
Sydney: Well, she's their problem now. She's not yours. And she's not mine.
[When putting on her jacket, she winces a little bit]
Agent Jack Bristow: You okay?
Sydney: My shoulder's healing, if that's what you mean.
Agent Jack Bristow: It's not, actually.
Sydney: I don't support the death penalty. I but I hope she dies for all that she has done. I really do.
Vaughn: Respectfully Syd, I don't think your father can think clearly where your mother is concerned.
Sydney: And you can?
Vaughn: I'm trying and she has nothing to gain by lying.
Sydney: Dad, we need to get moving.
Agent Jack Bristow: I know. I'm just preparing myself to let Irina out.
Sydney: Call waiting for spies.
Noah Hicks: I told you to meet me in San Pedro.
Sydney: I never got a letter.
Noah Hicks: I didn't send you a letter. I wasn't allowed to discuss my reassignment. I encoded a message in a junk e-mail. You should've been able to pick it up from the subject line.
Sydney: I always set my computer to filter out junk e-mail.
Agent Eric Weiss: You don't poop where you sleep.
Sydney: I fought myself. I killed myself.
[the assassin Sark is introduced as an ally]
Marshall: Hi. Welcome. Don't kill me.
Lauren: This better be good.
Sark: And a good morning to you, too.
Lauren: You paged me on my NSC cell phone. You know that they track all incoming numbers.
Sark: This cell phone's been cloned, so you have nothing to worry about. We've just learned that a freelance munitions expert has created a cutting edge technology, one that he's since sold to one of our rivals. We need you to filter back any CIA intel that might help us get a lock on it.
Lauren: You called me to remind me to do my job?
Sark: Darling, it's not like that.
Lauren: [sarcastically] Yeah.
Lauren: Stop the car!
Sark: What are you talking about?
Lauren: Stop the car, now. Pull in here.
[they begin to make out]
Sark: Tell me, did they spot us?
Lauren: No, I don't think so. According to the transport order, the ship docks in 16 hours. We should get going.
Sark: You should know that you are amazing. Before, I mean. Typically, this is where you return the compliment.
[Lauren ignores him and gets out of bed]
Sydney: I thought you'd be home by now.
Jack: I was about to say the same to you. The plasma charge, it's in our hands.
Sydney: Sark isn't... the Covenant.
Jack: Have you had dinner? If memory serves, you always liked Mitchellis.
Sydney: I haven't eaten there since I was eight.
Jack: I do eat, you know.
Sydney: I'd like that, actually.
Lauren: [to Sydney] I see what's going on between you and Michael, so let me be clear: stay the hell away from my husband.
McKenas Cole: Welcome, Miss Thorne. The work you'll be doing for us requires a certain commitment.
Sydney: [brainwashed as Miss Thorne] Of course.
McKenas Cole: Who this man is, is not important. What is important is this knife on the table. Use it. Kill this unimportant man.
Will: Syd, you've been going over this since the beginning of time. You'll figure it out.
Sydney: What makes you say that?
Will: Because you're you.
Jack: [to Sloane] I'm not going to help you. Since this is the last conversation we will ever have, I want to make this perfectly clear. What you have done to my daughter is nothing compared to what I will do when I find yours. Salud.
Jack: Surprised you didn't get the reference. Modified kaexelate cocktail washed with tetrodotoxin presented in a bottle of Chambertin Clos de Bez. Just like we used in Saigon. But understand, this was not done out of compassion. I orchestrated this because and only because I need you.
Katya Derevko: I find you sexy, Jack - deal with it.
Agent Eric Weiss: What is this, the flirting corner?
Irina: Truth takes time.
Sydney: Dad... I'm going to find her. I have to.
Agent Jack Bristow: Searching for that woman will accomplish nothing! No good can come from it!
Sydney: I need to know where she is.
Agent Jack Bristow: Sydney, we don't even know if she's still alive!
Sydney: I know
Agent Jack Bristow: Even if she is, it doesn't change what she did!
Sydney: Dad, I know!
Agent Jack Bristow: Do you expect her just to say..."I'm sorry"?
Sydney: I don't know what to expect!
Agent Jack Bristow: Well, you better know exactly what to expect!... What could she ever say... that would satisfy you?
Sydney: I'm not like other mums.
Agent Jack Bristow: [convincing his friend in British intelligence to investigate her own agency, thus committing treason] What's a little treason between old friends?
Lauren: Michael, what are you doing?
[Vaughn looks at her phone]
Vaughn: Sometimes I hate my job.
Lauren: Baby, what's going on?
Vaughn: You know how doctors always make you wait?
Lauren: What?
Vaughn: When you go in for an appointment. My dad hated that. He used to say he'd always kept his appointments, and everyone else should do the same.
Lauren: You okay?
Vaughn: Yeah. I just... I was looking for my house keys and I found this.
[shows her the watch]
Lauren: Why? Were you looking for your house keys?
Vaughn: I couldn't sleep. I thought I'd go for a jog.
Lauren: What time is it?
Vaughn: I dunno. It's broken.
Lauren: Are you sure you're all right?
Vaughn: Yeah, I'm fine.
[they kiss]
Vaughn: I'll see you later.
Sloane: She was a KGB spy who cared nothing about you or me. I've always thought that you understood your relationship with Irina was nothing more than that. But now that your schoolboy crush on the woman who destroyed your life is preventing you from saving mine, I will have to revise that assessment.
Sydney: [sing-song] I'm going shoppin'.
Sark: Are you comfortable? Do you feel comfortable trading priceless documents for a low-grade reporter?
Agent Jack Bristow: You should read Tippin's stuff. It's not so bad.
Weiss: Will he ever open his eyes?
Marshall: Babies sleep, Weiss, you know. That's what they do, except when they're screaming. Last night, from midnight to six.
Sydney: He's gorgeous, Marshall.
Marshall: Thanks.
Vaughn: My wife betrayed me! She betrayed all of us! You can't expect me to pretend that never happened.
Jack: I'm not sure you have a choice.
Vaughn: And why's that?
Jack: Because you're the one that married her.


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Celebrating with style
A beach party in the mountains? That's not everyone's idea of après-ski. If you're looking for a place to chill, enjoy some jazz or go all-out glamorous, check out these three locations.
Beach Mood at Altitude
If the après-ski music at the Kristalhütte in Zillertal sounds suspiciously like the legendary Café del Mar compilations, it's because that's what is: DJs from the Balearic Islands often play here in the Austrian Alps. Equally fantastic: the view from nearly 2200 meters up.
Wild or Relaxed
Dance, house, electro: The Archiv Bar in Lech am Arlberg is just the place to party the night away, whereas at the Fux, you can enjoy a fireside evening of sophisticated jazz with Scotch, wines and cigars laid on.
All in the Name
At King's Club, the legendary disco in the noble ski resort St. Moritz, the champagne flows freely for an international crowd of stars, who come to see and be seen. But to make it past the bouncers at this exclusive nightspot in the elegant Badrutt's Palace Hotel, they have to be dressed appropriately.

subset: commoncrawl


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Cafehead necesitaba un nuevo diseño de logotipo y lanzó un concurso de diseño en 99designs.
Un ganador ha sido elegido entre 73 diseños de 19 diseñadores freelance.
Free Run Wine Distribution
Free Run Wines will import wines from NZ and further afield to supply Australian retailers: wine bars, restaurants, specialty wine stores and the bigger chain stores too.
We believe life > work and wish to reflect an enthusiastic appetite for life in every interaction. Of course wine and life fit together pretty well.
"Freerun" is a winemaking term. When wine is drained from the vat without being pressed, it goes straight into barrels as freerun wine (vin de goutte). It's the good stuff! It's the first and the best. We will aim to be first and/or best in our particular niches.
Buyers of wine for retail outlets including wine bars, specialty wine retailers, restaurants, sommeliers, supermarket buyers, chain stores. The range is from the relatively emotionless buyers for the big chains to the passionate resellers who love a story and a passionate producer.
Just some ideas for the vibe.
Clean, informal, avoiding cliches. Inofrmal, professional but warm. Edgy is OK. Use in basic business comms, cards, product lists and on line use. Maybe no grapes...
Distribution isn't an exciting term but it also makes it clearer we don't sell to general public. Can the logo support the idea that we'll get you your order promptly and without fuss.
Free Run Wine is probably how we'll be known and recognised. Maybe even Free Run within the industry. Have fun with it. Express a fairly irreverent personality. We're not wine snobs but some of our suppliers and customers are for sure. We probably need to find a balance between looking recognisably serious and yet easy to deal with a very focused on customer happiness!
Please ask questions, email or phone if that's better for you. The middle of Australian and New Zealand business hours for phone calls (travelling back and forth). I won't make much sense if you wake me up at 5am.
Descubre cómo funciona un concurso de diseño u obtén más información sobre nuestros servicios de diseño de logo.


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by Tom Utescher
After the majority of scholastic rowers in the area had bundled away their oars for the season, three boatloads of locals were down in Oak Ridge, Tenn. last weekend for the "big show," the U.S. Rowing Youth National Championships.
While a girls' lightweight double from Springside Chestnut Hill Academy and the varsity eight from Mount St. Joseph found the competition daunting indeed, the Mount lightweight eight was able to end its season on an upnote, winning the "C" final in its class.
The Youth Nationals not only feature elite single-school crews such as the ones which competed in the Scholastic Rowing Association of America national regatta on Memorial Day weekend, but also club crews made up of athletes from more than one high school. In addition, there are also strong single-school boats from New England, crews which never appear at the SRAA's because a separate New England championship is held on the same weekend each year.
The U.S. Rowing races are 2000-meter contests, whereas high school crews such as the Mount and SCH compete regularly on a 1500-meter course. They had some opportunities to race and train at the longer distance, but a number of their rivals in Tennessee row full 2K's day in and day out.
Springside Chestnut Hill juniors Maddy Canning and Alana Noble were racing in the lightweight double last weekend in Tennessee, having qualified for the Youth Nationals at the Philadelphia City Championships back on May 5.
The following weekend, the U.S. Rowing Mid-Atlantic Junior Championships were held at Lake Mercer in New Jersey, and this was the regatta that Mount St. Joseph chose as its qualifier for U.S. Rowing's big dance.
Both the varsity eight (Mary Raggazino [cox], Steph Eble [stroke], Leah Ramos, Maddie Lawn, Kierra McCloy, Lauren Matchett, Kait Loftus, Michela Karrash, Natalie Simms) and the lightweight eight (Annie Tenzinger [cox], Emily McHugh [stroke], Liz McKernan, Maura O'Donnell, Bridget Fitzpatrick, Kate Mirabella, Josie Marrocco, Lexi Meister, Abby Shreero) finished second in the finals, making the cut for Tennessee with one place to spare.
Down in Oak Ridge, the SCH Blue Devils' double was the first of the area boats to race, starting off Friday morning with a fifth-place finish in the first of four heats. While the four heat winners went directly into the semifinal bracket, everyone else was assigned to the repechage round.
Here again there were four races (with fewer boats in each one), and the crews that took the top two places in each section would round out the semifinal field of 12 boats. In each semifinal, the top three finishers would advance to the "A" final (formerly known as the grand final), and the next three would be slotted in Sunday's "B" final, which, in essence, determined places seven through 12 overall.
The four boats that placed third in the four repechage heats would go into the "C" final, along with the two fourth-place boats that posted the fastest times. These crews would make up the third six-boat race in each category on Sunday.
Unfortunately for the Springside Chestnut Hill duo, they missed inclusion in the "C" final by one spot. The Devils came in fourth in their "rep" with a time of seven minutes, 51.01 seconds, and the last berth in the "C" final was taken by Greater Dayton Rowing Association (7:49.04).
The weekend at Youth Nationals also ended a little early for Mount St. Joe's varsity eight. Sixth in the third of the four opening-round heats in their class, the Magic joined most of the other competitors in the repechage.
Early on Saturday afternoon, the Mount V-8 came in fourth in the first of the reps. That in itself didn't prevent the Mounties from moving on, but their time did. Clocking in at 7:29.97, Mount St. Joe came down the course more quickly than three rival crews in the overall field, but the Magic were slightly slower than California's Los Gatos Rowing Club (7:24.07), Washington state's Bainbridge Island Rowing Club (7:27.37), and the Orlando Area Rowing Society (7:28.68).
Only the top two in this group, Los Gatos and Bainbridge Island, would be able to race in the "C" final the following day.
The MSJ lightweight eight, on the other hand, did survive until Sunday, having started out with a fourth-place showing in Friday's heat racing. In their repechage contest, the Magic lights came in third to gain a berth in the "C" final. Their time in the reps, 7:29.00, was actually a little faster than one boat from another section that was able to make the semifinals with a second-place finish.
The third race was a charm for the Magic, who left the starting line a little after noon on Sunday, and finished first in the "C" final with a time of 7:10.88. They won their own race by four seconds over runner-up Cincinnati Junior Rowing Club, and they covered the 2000 meters more quickly than four of the crews in the "B" final.
The lightweight eight from New Jersey's Holy Spirit High School, which won both the Stotesbury Cup Regatta and the SRAA nationals last month, finished fifth in the "A" final in Tennesse. Virginia's James Madison High, the 2013 Stotesbury and SRAA gold medalists in the varsity eight, placed fourth in the "B" final at Youth Nationals.


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Talk:Alexander Schmorell
While this article is interesting, and described an interesting life of an Orthodox believer, (as there amy be many others) I don't see that the article fits into the Orthodoxwiki genre. Unless there is something that I'm missing, it should be deleted! Wsk 20:09, December 11, 2008 (UTC)
- He's up for canonization, I believe. —Fr. Andrew talk contribs (THINK!) 01:33, December 12, 2008 (UTC)


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Welcome to the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality's free e-mail subscription service. This service provides subscribers with automatic notices of updates to the Oregon DEQ Web page on topics they select.
If you would like to subscribe to this service, please complete the following information. You can change your subscription profile or cancel your subscription at any time. The information you provide will not be shared with any individual or organization outside Oregon DEQ, and will not be used to send you unsolicited materials.
Your contact information is used to deliver requested updates or to access your subscriber preferences.


text:
"I just wanted to send you a quick note and thank you for being our consultant for DMS. We enjoyed working with you and are proud of your team and your proactive approach to resolve problems. Your continued support and suggestions have helped us to grow into a better company."
TS Manager, Ambatovy


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Cibolo Agricultural Lawyers
David Matthew Collins
San Antonio, TX Agricultural Law Attorney
(210) 212-6700St. Mary's University School of LawUniversity of Texas - Austin and San Antonio CollegeTexas and U.S. Supreme CourtState Bar of Texas, State Bar of Texas, University of Texas School of Law Board of Advocates and University of Texas School of Law Board of AdvocatesBastrop County Bar Association, Rotary Club of Bastrop County...
Kyle Farmer
Austin, TX Agricultural Law Attorney
(737) 781-7521State Bar of Iowa
Mr. Wm G. Burnett
Sinton, TX Agricultural Law Attorney
(361) 364-2809St. Mary's University School of Law
Stephen Boyd Moon
College Station, TX Agricultural Law Attorney
(979) 431-0692Texas Wesleyan University School of Law - Texas Wesleyan UniversityTexas A&M University - College StationTexasTexas Oil and Gas Professionals and Executives and Brazos County Bar Association
Wayne T. Rife
College Station, TX Agricultural Law Attorney
(979) 485-8100University of Houston - Main CampusTexas A&M University - College StationTexasTexas Association of Defense Counsel, Texas State Bar...
James M. (Duke) Johnston, Jr.
Waco, TX Agricultural Law Attorney
(254) 300-8769Texas Southern University Thurgood Marshall School of LawUniversity of Dallas and Trinity UniversityTexasTexas State Bar
Lori Peterson Perez
Rio Grande City, TX Agricultural Law Attorney
(956) 488-0122St. Mary's UniversityTexas A&M University - College StationTexasTexas State Bar
Donald Kaiser
Irving, TX Agricultural Law Attorney
(214) 441-3000Oklahoma City University School of LawUniversity of Texas, PBTexasTexas State Bar
Jess Bailey
The Woodlands, TX Agricultural Law Attorney
(281) 738-5005South Texas College of LawNova Southeastern University and University of Missouri
The LII Lawyer Directory contains lawyers who have claimed their profiles and are actively seeking clients. Find more Cibolo Agricultural Lawyers in the Justia Legal Services and Lawyers Directory which includes profiles of more than one million lawyers licensed to practice in the United States, in addition to profiles of legal aid, pro bono and legal service organizations.
Researching Attorney Discipline


text:
Welcome to your personal Handball shop - SPORTFABRIK Leipzig.
Bonjour, buenos días, dobrý den! - wherever you're from, you came to the right place. We're a German based Handball shop and in business since 1997. We offer a wide range of handballs, bags and backpacks, Handball shoes, Volleyball shoes and much more.
You'll also find casual clothes and training clothes as well as running shoes and gear. Just check out our Puma shop, our hummel fashion section or our O`Neill corner.
If you visit Germany, make sure you'll stop in Leipzig. We would love to welcome you in our store where you can try your favorite piece and enjoy well-founded assistance. Our team of experts has more than 20 years' experience in Handball and sports in general.
You can of course order as a team and enjoy a special team discount. On that note we like to let you know, that we also print on tracksuits, jerseys, bags - and other stuff.
As an official dealer of brands like hummel, Puma, Kempa, adidas, asics, Mizuno, Molten, SELECT, Erima and other leading brands, we have a great selection of fine sport goods and clothes to offer.
In our online shop you can enjoy our products 24/7. And if you need some advice: Our experienced team is happy to help you out. Write us an email to email@example.com and we get back to you in no time.
We hope you enjoy your stay at our store and online at SPORTFABRIK Leipzig! Don't hesitate to contact us with anything that's on your mind.


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This is an advance summary of a forthcoming article in the Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Environmental Science. Please check back later for the full article.
Ecotourism is an evolving field that originated in the 1980s, when leading conservationists explored and wrote seminal papers on how tourism could contribute to the conservation of natural areas. Hector Ceballos Lascurain coined the first definition, and the International Union for Conservation of Nature, the World Wildlife Fund, Conservation International, and The Nature Conservancy all undertook research and documentation of the benefits and potential risks of ecotourism in the 1990s. The International Ecotourism Society, founded in 1990, brought together conservation organizations and businesses to create the first definition that was globally accepted in short form: Responsible travel to natural areas that conserves the environment and sustains the well-being of local people.
Small group tour operators flourished during the 1990s, bringing travelers to a growing number of natural areas worldwide, together with top guiding, high-caliber interpretation, and strong ethical contributions to local wellbeing. Many important micro, small, and medium sized enterprises were founded in high biodiversity regions of Latin America, Asia, Africa, Antarctica, Australia, and throughout the Pacific Islands and the Caribbean, offering life-changing experiences while helping build conservation economies and inspiring positive action.
In 2015, nature-based tourism was estimated to have an economic value worldwide of hundreds of billions of dollars annually in protected areas alone, driven by the growing need of a rapidly urbanizing world to experience and reconnect with wild nature. However, this growth has not resulted in growing budgets to safeguard and manage natural areas, which are increasingly under threat. Scientific concerns that poor business practices under the guise of ecotourism might irreversibly damage fragile natural areas have led the conservation community to de-emphasize ecotourism as a conservation tool in favor of business certification. But these efforts have reached only a small percentage of the corporate sector of the eight trillion dollar global tourism industry.
Although the net economic, social, and environmental contributions of ecotourism have not been fully accounted for, the research to date has confirmed the conservation value of ecotourism—among the first examples of social enterprise. One well-documented case is Wilderness Safaris, an $89 million company operating in 58 destinations in Southern Africa in 2015, which reinvests at least 5% of its gross profit (before taxation and depreciation) to help protect the natural assets and support local communities on which the business depends. This example suggests that ecotourism can yield benefits for the conservation of biodiversity and can benefit local communities on a large scale. To increase ecotourism's role in sustainable development, more businesses will need to scale up, and government management of tourism will require improved impact measurements, updated regulatory strategies, and effective policy mechanisms to garner a greater portion of tourism revenue.


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Central European Modernism: Berlin to Belgrade
The First World War shook the political and cultural maps of Europe. The new sovereign states, created in the centre of the continent, embraced modernity as their template. Our Central European Modernism: Berlin to Belgrade short course examines the diverse ways of engaging art in building the new worlds across the territory of the 'New Europe', in dialogue with both West and East.
Topics include: the new 'isms'- Hungarian Activism, Czech Poetism, Polish Formism, Yugoslavian Zenitism; new towns; avant-garde periodicals; photography and the café as the site of cultural exchange. Each class will focus on the booming art scene of one Central European city, to include Prague, Budapest, Warsaw, Łódź, Bucharest and Belgrade.
15 credits at level 4
Entry requirements
Entry requirements
Most of our short courses have no formal entry requirements and are open to all students. You may have to fulfil specific prerequisites for some intermediate-level or advanced-level courses, but these will be specified where relevant.
Visa requirements
If you are not from the European Economic Area (EEA) and/or Switzerland and you are coming to study in the UK, you may need to apply for a visa.
The visa you apply for varies according to the length of your course:
- Courses of more than six months' duration.
- Courses of less than six months' duration.
- Pre-sessional English language courses.
International students who require a Tier 4 visa should apply for our full-time courses (with the exception of modular enrolment certificates of higher education and graduate certificates), as these qualify for Tier 4 sponsorship. If you are living in the UK on a Tier 4 visa, you will not be eligible to enrol as a student on Birkbeck's part-time courses (with the exception of some modules).
For full information, read our visa information for international students page.
How to apply
How to apply
You enrol directly onto the classes you would like to take, using the Enrol Now link below. Classes are filled on a first-come, first-served basis - so apply early. If you wish to take more than one short course, you can select each one separately and then enrol onto them together via our online application portal. There is usually no formal selection process, although some modules may have prerequisites and/or other requirements, which will be specified where relevant.
First class: Tue 14-Jan-20 2pm-4pm
This class has already started. You can no longer enrol on this class.
Fees and payment
With government loans for undergraduate and postgraduate study, fantastic financial support packages and flexible payment options, there's never been a better time to study at Birkbeck.
Life at Birkbeck
Birkbeck offers a unique combination of evening study and a matchless central London location, right in the geographic and academic centre of the city, giving you exceptional opportunities.
Student services
Discover more about our comprehensive range of student services, which offer all the support and assistance you need.
Financial support
Birkbeck is committed to helping you finance your short course study. Find out about what is available for short courses students, and the advice and support we provide.
Evening study explained
Birkbeck is London's only specialist provider of evening higher education. With classes held 6pm-9pm, your days are free to study, work, volunteer, or just do your own thing.
Visit us
There are lots of ways to come and visit us and meet our staff and former students, including Open Evenings, Open Days and guided campus tours. Discover more here.
Short courses explained
Find out everything you need to know about studying a short course at Birkbeck.
The Birkbeck experience
Birkbeck is different: our classes are held in the evening, so your days are free - to study, work, volunteer or just do your own thing.
How to apply
Once you've found the course that's right for you, here's what to do next to get your place at Birkbeck. We can give you the advice and support you need.
Arts Weeks 2020
This year, Birkbeck's Arts festival has gone completely virtual and will run from 18 May to 19 June. Highlights include a Birkbeck academic in conversation with author Deborah Levy and live performances from Louise Wilcox and Shabnam Shabazi.
Birkbeck launches 'Birkbeck Inspires', a series of free events and resources
'Birkbeck Inspires' our new series of thought-provoking and entertaining events, resources and activities, has launched. Read more about the series.
Bank backs a new style of local during coronavirus crisis
Louis Edwards credits the skills he learned on the Central Saint Martins Birkbeck MBA for helping secure financial support during the coronavirus crisis, keeping his venture – a refreshed take on the great British pub – afloat.
Podcast: Overcoming the odds
Student Warren O'Keefe talks about overcoming homelessness and addiction to achieve his academic goals at Birkbeck.
A day in the life
of Dr James Hammond who visited Chile as part of his research in to earthquakes.
Reframing human-predator relations
Dr Simon Pooley investigates if humans and predators can coexist in areas where habitats are shrinking.


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Blogwatch: NYC Pie Chart
Pizza reviews in NYC.
Slice reader Matt Olson (aka olsomatt) recommended this post from Pizzacentric to Slice. And while Pizzacentric has been on the Slice radar, I had not yet seen this post and accompanying chart that measures the growth of New York pizzerias using data collected from the Yellow Pages microfilm collection at the New York Public Library. I personally love(d) the Yellow Pages and lament their absence in my life since the internet happened. They were a great way to get a lay of the land (commercially speaking) but have essentially become an under-utilized reference now relegated to the task of propping up short people in low chairs (that and demonstrating feats of strength). But here Michael Berman of Pizzacentric has harnessed the power of the Yellow Pages to chart the growth of pizza domination in the most pizza loving city in the States. Here's are some of the conclusions that he was able to draw:
The count is not definitive, but the results are telling: the greatest decade-over-decade citywide increase came between 1960-1970 (+231%). Factoring in the two years of available data prior to 1960, the 1958-1970 increase was 735%. Wow!
Oh yeah and if you visit the original post you can click on the graph to show a chart of the raw data.
Using the numbers as a platform, the post launches into an exploration of the ascent of pizzerias in the city. One of the largest contributors to the expansion of shops across the boroughs, the post goes on to say, was a restaurant equipment shop owner names Frank Mastro. Mastro developed the gas deck oven by working with Blodgett company. The benefit:
Gas made pizza-making much easier. A craft that was limited to bakers skilled in working very hot, huge, and finicky coal ovens became a career for people without baking or pizza skills. Instead of stoking coal, pizzaioli now had only to turn a dial.
The fact is that for all the love we have for pies produced by coal-burning ovens, we wouldn't even be in a place call ourselves pizza fanatics if it weren't for these oven innovations. It made me realize that the gas-oven really is the pizza history hero! How did this not occur to me before? Without them pizza could never have gained the culinary foothold that it enjoys in America today. It kind of makes me think that Frank Mastro is like America's pizza Johnny Appleseed.
I dug around a little to find out more about Frank Mastro and came across this truly remarkable video on Mastro's Wolrd's Fair Pizzeria:
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The editors of Sudden Denouement Literary Collective know that our strength is our writers. We hope that you enjoy getting to know them through our new Writer Interview Series.
What name do you write under?
Nicole Lyons
In what part of the world do you live?
Beautiful British Columbia, Canada. I live where one must dress for all four seasons in one day.
Tell us about yourself.
I have the heart of an angel and the mouth of a drunken sailor. I am loyal to a fault and I always bet on the underdog. I dislike crowds and most people in general, and if it wasn't for fear of depriving my daughters, I'd move us to a cabin in the woods near a secluded little lake to live out the rest of my days.
Where do you publish your work?
The Lithium Chronicles
When did you begin your blog and what motivated you start it?
A few years ago now, I can't recall exactly when. I had been writing for some online magazines and mental health websites and decided to start my own and name it after my FB page I had started years before. I had finally accepted my diagnosis of bipolar disorder after many years of denial and I started to chronicle my journey on and off of meds and the bumpy road to stability. Sometimes I still wonder if I'll ever reach that place.
What inspires/motivates you to keep blogging?
My head is a terrible, and sometimes a wonderful, place to be stuck in and I find writing not only helps me escape but also helps a few people who like to read my work.
How did you find your way to Sudden Denouement?
I stumbled onto the site and read Jasper and Sam and was blown away and had an overwhelming urge to submit, so I did.
What does "Divergent Literature" mean to you?
It's fearless, it's raw, and it's honest. It's nothing like everything you've always been told to read, and it's everything any writers worth their salt will strive to nail down and pen for themselves. If art was a school and genres and mediums were the students, divergent literature would be the kids that come from all walks of life, all classes of society, all races and religions, that have little to nothing in common but the one burning thing that finds them all in detention together on a Saturday morning.
Jasper Kerkau frequently talks about Sudden Denouement writers using the 'secret language.' What is it?
If I told you that it wouldn't be a secret anymore. If you have to ask, you wouldn't understand.
Tell us about your literary influences.
Bukowski, Sexton, Plath, Leonard Cohen, Gordon Downie
Has any of your work been published in print? How did that happen?
My second book of poetry, I am a World of Uncertainties Disguised as a Girl was published by Jasper and Sudden Denouement Publishing.
What are your writing goals?
To not stop
Which pieces of your own writing are your favorites?
Drawing a blank
What else would like to share about your writing, Sudden Denouement, or yourself?
It's in the acknowledgments of my book 😉


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You Won't Be Clownin On BulletBall Man After This: The Man That Spent 26 Years Of His Life Inventing This Game.. It is Helping People In Little Ways!
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Man steals $7,000 necklace from flea market, deputies say
Sheriff's deputies in Volusia County are hoping someone recognizes a man who stole a $7,000 dollar necklace from a vendor at the Daytona Flea and Farmers market.
The man can be seen clearly on surveillance video at Oscar's Estate Jewelry on Saturday just before 11 a.m.
The video shows the man standing over a display case and frequently glancing around to see if anyone was watching. He then worked hard to nudge the sliding door to the case open, but when the owner neared, he moved away, officials said.
The thief then paced around until he finally managed to snatch the necklace and take off.
Authorities said the necklace is 18kt gold with a half carat of diamonds in a heart-shaped pattern.
Officials said the man is described as standing 5 feet 8 inches to 5 feet 11 inches tall and is heavy-set with a pronounced stomach. He has brown hair and a beard but no mustache.
The thief was wearing a blue Chicago Bears shirt and baggy checkered shorts. He has tattoos on the underside of both forearms, officials said.
Anyone who recognizes the man is asked to call the Sheriff's Office at 386-323-0151.


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EDITORIAL: All aboard!
12 May 20 -
EDITORIAL: It's a long way from Montreal to Paris
4 Sep 19 - By ADELIA HALLETT | The Montreal Protocol an international treaty to save the protective ozone layer that covers the Earth has worked.
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Music mecca
Austin boasts more live music, from country to trippy, than anywhere else in the U.S. At the SXSW Festival, the Texan metropolis looks to the future.
The Continental Club, Monday evening, just after 7 p.m. Guitarist Glenn Peterson performs a mellow solo and Dianne Scott knits. Bass player Alex Peterson picks the first chords of the Al Green classic "Take Me to the River," and Dianne Scott knits. The Peterson Brothers play blues, soul and funk; their audience, in their 20s to 60s, listen, drink beer or wine, and some dance. Knitting, Dianne Scott holds the fort on her swivel chair backstage. She used to organize concerts in New York, but for the past 26 years, the 68-year-old has worked at the Continental Club – in the evening as the security detail on the back door, and by day, dealing with social media and the club's homepage.
The Continental is one of more than 60 music clubs in Austin, Texas. Most of them are located north of the Colorado River, downtown, and all around Red River Street and 6th Street. In 1991, the city of approximately 950 000 began calling itself the "Live Music Capital of the World" because nowhere else in the U.S. has more live music venues per head than Austin does. Most are open daily, often as early as 6 p.m.
Austin pays homage to its heroes. On Lady Bird Lake, right by the river and with its back to the glass office towers, there's a larger-than-life-sized statue of blues/rock guitarist Stevie Ray Vaughan, who died in an accident in 1990. A sculpture and a mural pay tribute to country music star Willie Nelson, who is very much alive and turns 86 this April. He originally found fame in Nashville, but then moved to Texas because he didn't want the Nashville studios to polish his music into smooth pop. In Austin, he became a member of the country outlaw movement. Its protagonists grew their hair long and took the music back to its roots. The University of Texas also attracted free spirits, and so the capital of one of the most conservative U.S. states became a liberal oasis – partly also because it lowered the legal drinking age to 18. It's now back at 21 again, but the libertarian spirit remains. Created in 2000 to promote startups and small businesses, the slogan "Keep Austin Weird" still adorns T-shirts and tailgates, and marks out Austin mostly as a hipster metropolis, often over and above Portland and Seattle.
The annual Keep Austin Weird Fest, renamed the "Fun Stop 5K & Fest" in 2018, and the city's vibrant, often music- based history contribute to this. Bars – always home to "real cowboys"– occupy many traditional buildings on Rainey Street. Craft beers are standard there, and also in the popular Whip In Parlour Café, where the menu lists Cranberry Sour Ale, sweet stout, Cuban espresso and cocoa nibs. The Magnolia Café is famous for its brunch – pancakes, tacos and its signature smoked turkey omelette – and for a former tradition of staff and guests performing the Magnolia's own "Omelletry Song" at the end of a long night.
Country with jazz elements – experiments make it interesting
For its first few years, the city on a bend in the Colorado River was called "Waterloo," hence the name of John Kunz's record shop – a haven for hunters and gatherers still or again keen to play or just hold vinyl in their hand. Kunz stocks every pop music genre on 600 square meters and has one wall devoted to Texan music, much of which sounds like country. "Obviously," says Kunz, "but Texas also has music that plays around with jazz, folk, soul and rock – experiments make the music interesting."
With hip-hop and electronic beats dominating charts and playlists today, blues, rock and country almost count as "weird" again. Austin's young musicians avidly soak up the city's glorious guitar legacy, then create something completely different – sensitive ballads, like those of singer-songwriter David Ramirez, or The Deer's dreamy indie folk, or the cool psychedelia of The Bright Light Social Hour. The term "Texas trippiness" was coined for this, and even young musicians, like the grouchy southern rockers Cowboy Diplomacy and guitar wizard Eric Tessmer, are already outstanding live acts. It seems that everyone here always has a gig somewhere. Everyone making music in Austin also lives it, everywhere, all the time.
John Kunz is 67. Because he loves the music, he tours the clubs with his wife five nights a week. He has brought his store through every crisis in the recording industry: "The advent of Napster, the digital music exchange, in the late 1990s, spelled the beginning of the end for many record shops," says Kunz, "Ninety percent of those who were in business 20 years ago have since closed." But he doesn't curse streaming providers like Spotify and iTunes. "They're a good way to discover music," he concedes, "but people should then pay for the songs and albums." His customers come from all over the world. When big festivals are on, like South by Southwest (SXSW) and Austin City Limits, he always hears foreign languages.
The SXSW organizers have their offices close by, on Bowie Street. On their door, they've inserted a "David" in front of the name. Their festival is the world's biggest music fair; young bands dream of snagging a slot in hopes of being discovered. "We've really grown," says Roland Swenson, 62, who cofounded the festival in the 1980s, when real estate prices exploded and clubs were forced to close. "We got together with a few people and thought about how to carry on." A festival, spread across different clubs, seemed to be a good idea. At its 1987 premiere, they hoped for 150 visitors: 700 came. This year, the organizers are expecting up to 60 000 to come between March 8 and 17.
Then the music – all manner of pop, alternative rock and folk, jazz and soul, electronic music and hip-hop – will be playing in clubs and outside on the streets and in parking lots, at night and also during the day. Since 1994, SXWS has also had a film festival, which directors like Richard Linklater (Boyhood) and Roberto Rodriguez (Sin City) have attended. The festival week begins with the SXWS Conference, which is now one of the world's most important digital fairs. The organizers have named ten trends this time around, and lectures and discussions will be held on the future of work, legal cannabis trading, and of course, music. One question up for debate is whether the Blockchain technology really has led to greater transparency and fairer pay; another is how important we humans are now that the industry uses artificial intelligence to program playlists and discover new musicians.
Its first employee and now its chief programming officer, Hugh Forrest has been with SXWS since 1989 and keeps track of all the events. He landed the job because he owned a computer – "back then that was something special." In 2007, SXWS sent shock waves around the world when Twitter held its launch party there. "Now people come hoping to get the next Twitter started," explains Forrest.
But the digital economy doesn't just visit Austin: Apple is investing over a billion dollars in a new campus here. "Silicon Hills" is the locals' optimistic name for the hills just outside the city that have already attracted many startups. The cost of setting up a new business is still far lower in Austin than in California's famous valley, Forrest says. He is proud of the Conference but also says that it could not have become established without the music, which is still the biggest thing in town." Musicians are able to earn a living with gigs here now that the CD business has shriveled and people who stream their music on Spotify don't bring the musicians much financial gain.
At the Continental Club, Dianne Scott has finished her hat and lays it on the pool table beside the other five. She isn't worried that she hasn't sold any today. Dale Watson – red guitar, gray quiff – comes on stage, his musicians on pedal steel guitar and double bass indicating that it's Texas music time. Watson is pleased that the place is packed: "Monday is the new Friday." The 56-year-old plays some 300 gigs a year, in Texas, around the country and in Europe. This summer, he's in Hamburg, Germany, on June 11. But Watson likes Austin best. "I could tour this city all year and still play for different people every time."
Famous albums and songs made in Austin: rock, country, blues, post-punk, alternative and psychedelic rock, hip-hop and new guitar
• "Kozmic Blues" (1969) – Janis Joplin
• "Texas Flood" (1983) – Stevie Ray Vaughan
• "The Future's So Bright" (1986) – Timbuk 3
• "For Real" (2005) – Okkervil River
• "Come Together" (2017) – Gary Clark Jr.
• "Whiskey River" (1973) – Willie Nelson
• "Beats So Lonely" (1985) – Charlie Sexton
• "Pepper" (1996) – Butthole Surfers
• "Infinite cities" (2015) – Bright Light Social Hour
• "Good So Bad" (2018) – Eric Tessmer
Hotspots in Austin
1 University of Texas
2 Waterloo Records
3 6TH Street
4 Austin Convention Center (SXSW Festival)
5 Stevie Ray Vaughan Statue
6 Rainey Street
7 The Continental Club
In March, Lufthansa is flying daily from Frankfurt (FRA) to Dallas (DFW), and starting May 3, 2019, five times weekly from Frankfurt to Austin (AUS). Use the app to calculate your miles: www.miles-and-more.com/app


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There are a lot of axioms that get tossed around in creative writing courses, books on writing, and of course, the Internet. Often, these little gems are explained to new writers as though they were fact, to be taken for granted.
Just as often, experienced writers will respond by saying "there are no hard and fast rules when it comes to writing", or "rules are made to be broken".
So, the purpose of this question is to provide a place where we can list these axioms or "rules" of writing, and also weigh in on whether they are really self-evident truths or utter garbage (or maybe even something in-between).
Please limit each answer to a single "rule" and express your thoughts on it in the answer itself, or in a comment.


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Brian Ching knows, perhaps better than any other member of the Houston Dynamo, what it takes to get a big goal when the club needs it most.
In the second leg of the Eastern Conference semifinal against the Philadelphia Union on Thursday night, Ching struck the lone goal to give Houston the win and seal passage to the conference final for the fourth time in six years. In the final reckoning, the Dynamo beat the Union 3-1 on aggregate and now move on to face Sporting Kansas City on Sunday at LIVESTRONG Sporting Park.
In a game that lacked as many quality chances as the first leg, it was a familiar script that resulted in Ching's goal and Houston's win. As first-half stoppage time ticked away, Houston's Brad Davis whipped in a cross from the left side that was met by an on-rushing Ching, who angled his header in at the far post. It was Ching's first goal for the Dynamo since August 20, and the eighth playoff strike of his 10-year career, second among active players.
Houston coach Dominic Kinnear stuck with the same starting 11 that earned the victory in Philadelphia, while Union manager Peter Nowak came out in a revamped lineup. Nowak inserted teenage striker Jack McInerney and recently recovered midfielder Veljko Paunovic for Justin Mapp and Stefani Miglioranzi. Neither, however, were able to put their stamp on the match, other than a decent shot from Paunovic in the 59th minute that Houston goalkeeper Tally Hall dove to his left to save.
Instead, a predictably rough-and-tumble second leg played into Houston's hands, as wingers Davis and Danny Cruz attacked the Philadelphia outside backs and earned numerous set-piece opportunities — the bread and butter of Houston's attack.
In the 66th minute, the Union made a rare triple substitution, bringing on Mapp, Freddy Adu, and Roger Torres. The changes provided a spark for the Union attack, and Adu had a good look at goal, but his half-cross, half-shot sailed past the far post.
The loss ends a relatively successful sophomore season for the Union. The club finished third in the Eastern Conference and made its debut playoff appearance. Houston now travels north to face Sporting on Sunday in the Eastern Conference championship game with a berth in MLS Cup on the line. The Dynamo will bring with them an eight-game unbeaten streak that includes six wins.
The Dynamo's last loss? A 3-0 defeat on September 10 at none other than LIVESTRONG Sporting Park.
Philadelphia Union vs. Houston Dynamo
November 03, 2011 -- Robertson Stadium, Houston, TX
Eastern Conference semifinals -- Game 2
Scoring Summary:
HOU -- Brian Ching 1 (Brad Davis 2) 48+
Philadelphia Union -- Faryd Mondragon, Sheanon Williams, Danny Califf, Carlos Valdes, Gabriel Farfan (Roger Torres 66), Sebastien Le Toux, Brian Carroll, Veljko Paunovic (Freddy Adu 66), Michael Farfan, Danny Mwanga (Justin Mapp 66), Jack McInerney.
Substitutes Not Used: Zac MacMath, Stefani Miglioranzi, Kyle Nakazawa, Amobi Okugo.
Houston Dynamo -- Tally Hall, Andre Hainault, Bobby Boswell, Geoff Cameron, Corey Ashe, Danny Cruz (Je-Vaughn Watson 57), Luiz Camargo, Adam Moffat, Brad Davis, Brian Ching (Carlo Costly 81), Calen Carr (Will Bruin 91+).
Substitutes Not Used: Tyler Deric, Alex Dixon, Hunter Freeman, Jermaine Taylor.
Misconduct Summary:
PHI -- Carlos Valdes (caution; Reckless Tackle) 30
PHI -- Gabriel Farfan (caution; Reckless Foul) 51
HOU -- Calen Carr (caution; Reckless Foul) 67
Referee: Ricardo Salazar
Referee's Assistants: Craig Lowry; Peter Manikowski
4th Official: Edvin Jurisevic
Attendance: 24,749
Weather: Clear-and-58-degrees


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Welcome to Hollywood Guest Inn
Since 1994, Hollywood Guest Inn have provided its guests comfort and cleanliness at an affordable price.
The Hollywood Guest Inn Los Angeles is independantly owned and operated, our friendly staff is available 24 hours a day to ensure that your home away from home is memorable and affordable. Whether you're traveling for business or pleasure, you're always a welcome guest at our inn!
The Hollywood Guest Inn is located in the heart of Hollywood on famous Sunset Boulevard which is 2 blocks from the new Kodak Theatre, Manns Chinese Theatre, Walk of Fame, Hollywood Boulevard,and Wax Museum. It is a 5 minute drive to famous Universal Studios and 15-20 minutes to Santa Monica Beach and Beverly Hills and more. The Hollywood Guest Inn is well secured with courtyard parking and walking distance to many restaurants and entertainment. Great location for family or business trips.


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Details - Awesome Dad Can Cooler
Looking for a unique gift for your Dad that tells him how special he is? Choose from a range of designs, then personalize the back with your own special message with Four Lines and 18 characters of text per/line.
Never mistake your drink again with a personalized can cooler. Makes the perfect gift for Father's Day, Christmas or for his Birthday.
Can Cooler wraps around your drink and seals with a velcro flap to keep your drink cold.
Product Size: 4 21/64" high by 2 31/64" wide (Flat: 8 17/64" x 4 21/64").


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I spent some time this weekend looking at the recent VC funding data for this past quarter to see if any trends jumped off the page. While much of what I could discern in the data felt consistent with what I experienced in the market, there were some surprising themes buried in the details.
In general investment activity this past quarter continued to show some resilience: $7.0 billion was invested in 898 deals, which was an increase of 17% in dollar terms and 11% in number of deals from 1Q12 but importantly was down 12% in dollar terms and 15% in number of deals from 2Q11 (arguably a more relevant comparison). This past quarter, when annualized, was tracking to an investment pace below 2011's aggregate amount of $29.5 billion but ahead of 2010's level of $23.4 billion – so evidence of continued recovery from the depths of 2008/2009 recession.
Some other interesting high (and low) lights from the 2Q12 data:
- A major storyline was the strength of the Early stage market. In terms of number of deals, the 410 deals ($2.4 billion) was the highest quarterly level since 1Q01 – over ten years ago. Average deal size was $5.2 million.
- When Seed and Early were lumped together they represented 53% of all deals in the past quarter; in 1Q12 they were 46% of total deals and 48% in 2Q11. Maybe funds are investing earlier to extend the investment runway of their existing funds? It also reflects the continued robustness of the "micro-VC" model which has come of age.
- Average size of Seed deals was $3.2 million, which frankly does not sound like a seed deal to me.
- $2.1 billion was invested in 193 Later stage deals for an average size of $10.8 million. Later stage declined 10% on a dollars basis and 11% on number of deals basis over the past two quarters – which is not what I would have expected as VC's look to invest closer to the liquidity event.
- "First time investing" – that is the number of companies raising VC dollars for the first time was up 27% from the prior quarter and represented nearly 15% of dollars invested and 31% of all companies which raised capital this past quarter.
- As a reflection of the broad rotation away from industries that are capital intensive with long product development cycles, life sciences was really hurt this past quarter, attracting only $1.5 billion of the total $7.0 billion invested (or 21% of the total). In 2Q11, the life sciences attracted 29% of all VC dollars. Notably biotech declined from $1.4 billion to $0.7 billion across those two quarters.
- Software category strengthened this past quarter increasing to $2.3 billion across 290 companies which ironically was the same number of companies although only $1.7 billion in 2Q11.
- Another fascinating storyline involved cleantech – which many analysts had written off for dead. On a dollars basis cleantech investing increased 8% from prior quarter but the number of companies was down 28%. The average deal size for cleantech was $18.9 million, and in fact, the top three deals in the quarter were all cleantech investments (Fisker Automotive, Harvest Power, Bloom Energy – together those three companies raised $360 million or 5% of all VC dollars invested last quarter).
- The top ten deals in 2Q12 raised $876 million or 12% of all VC dollars. Interestingly, as the VC industry consolidates, are we also going to see more consolidation around which companies attract VC dollars? Worth watching.
- Nothing terribly interesting when one looks at the region data. Silicon Valley still dominates having attracted $3.2 billion of the $7.0 billion invested (46%) which is up strongly from 39% in 1Q11. New England, which remains comfortably in the Silver Medal position at $843 million invested, was only 26% of the amount for Silicon Valley. The New York Metro region attracted $567 million, which is a 52% increase from the prior quarter but down 15% from the prior year's second quarter.
- And one of my favorites: there were 10 states which had zero venture deals and 27 which had three or less – another sign of VC consolidation – many states are at risk of being left behind as the VC industry consolidates.
Obviously the venture industry is now comfortably a global phenomenon so I also looked at some headlines from overseas…
- Interestingly, and quite surprisingly, Europe VC investing activity increased by 37% to 1.26 billion Euros in 273 deals this past quarter.
- China, though, decreased by 45% to $1.9 billion in the first half of 2012 when compared to first half 2011 (which compares to $13.1 billion in the US) across 103 deals, which was down 38% year-over-year (as compared to 1,707 deals in the US in first half 2012).
Read more posts on On the Flying Bridge »


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So Tom Brady got a contract extension. Big deal.
Well, yeah - for the three-time Super Bowl winner and for the Patriots.
There's nothing unusual about one of the game's best quarterbacks and leaders being coveted by his team. Or being rewarded.
What's rare is how well the three-year extension works for both Brady and for New England.
The two-time NFL Most Valuable Player did not really take a pay cut with this new deal. It might sound that way with salaries of $7 million in 2015, $8 million the next year and $9 million in 2017, far below the going rate for superstar QBs.
But Brady gets a $30 million signing bonus and $57 million overall in a contract that will run through the 2017 season. And New England gets space under the salary cap to spend on top free agents.


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The Holy See is getting a considerable amount of flak from the United Nations, self-appointed victim advocacy groups, and the media about not having firm world-wide policies requiring all sexual abuse cases to be reported to local law enforcement. We've had such a policy here in the United States for years, and it's been very effective. It's a high standard — it shows how seriously we take sexual abuse cases, and demonstrates our commitment to eradicating it from our midst.
So here's an interesting question — why aren't people giving the White House the same kind of flak?
The Administration just issued a report on sexual violence on campus. It garnered a great deal of media attention, and was applauded for showing a deep commitment to fighting this very serious problem.
But their new guidelines won't require colleges to report all allegations of sexual assault to local law enforcement. In fact, not only do they not require it, they justify the practice of not reporting cases, and instead encourage schools to do their own independent investigations and hold their own quasi-judicial proceedings. (See page 15 of their recent report). In contrast, we not only report all credible allegations, we defer to law enforcement authorities in the handling of cases, and have strict policies that ensure that we do nothing that would interfere or impede those efforts.
So, the Catholic Church has a stronger policy against sexual violence than the United States Government and American universities.
Does anyone expect that the Church will get any credit for that in the media, or that the US Government will ever be accused of "torture" because of their policies?
There are standards, and double standards.


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Twenty-six MLS players have been called up to international duty in this week's FIFA fixture date, though two will not report for their countries.
MLS Rookie of the Year Andy Najar declined an invitation from the Honduran national team, while New England Revolution winger Kenny Mansally will not travel to Hebron due to a cancellation of Gambia's scheduled match against Palestine.
The US lead the way in MLS call ups, with Bob Bradley calling nine players into camp. Three of them will be earning their first cap for the Nats: 17-year-old striker Juan Agudelo's strong performance against the San Jose Earthquakes in the Eastern Conference semifinals earned him a look, while teammate Tim Ream will make the trip after being edged out by Najar for top rookie honors. Teal Bunbury has caused a stir, as the Hamilton, Ontario, native has seemingly decided not to represent Canada.
Like Bunbury, the Seattle Sounders' Steve Zakuani was faced with a choice of which national team to represent. The winger has made that decision and will represent the country of his birth, the Democratic Republic of Congo, in their match against Mali in the Parisian suburb of Evreux.
In Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., Jamaica and Costa Rica square off, and the two teams have called four and two MLSers, respectively. Lining up for the Reggae Boyz, Dane Richards will face New York Red Bulls teammate Roy Miller.
Sunil Chhetri's availability is in doubt for India's Thursday clash against the United Arab Emirates in Dubai. The Kansas City Wizards forward missed out on the team's last two matches, a 2-0 loss to Iraq on Nov. 11 and a 9-1 blowout at the hands of Kuwait on Sunday.
Chicago Fire: Logan Pause (USA)
Chivas USA: Jonathan Bornstein (USA), Giancarlo Maldonado (Venezuela), Michael Umana (Costa Rica)
Columbus Crew: Eddie Gaven (USA), Brian Carroll (USA), Robbie Rogers (USA), Shaun Francis (Jamaica)
D.C. United: Andy Najar (Honduras, declined call-up)
Houston Dynamo: Lovel Palmer (Jamaica)
Kansas City Wizards: Roger Espinoza (Honduras), Sunil Chhetri (India), Teal Bunbury (USA), Shavar Thomas (Jamaica)
New England Revolution: Kenny Mansally (Gambia; fixture vs. Palestine canceled)
New York Red Bulls: Roy Miller (Costa Rica), Bouna Coundoul (Senegal), Tim Ream (USA), Juan Agudelo (USA), Dane Richards (Jamaica)
Philadelphia Union: Alejandro Moreno (Venezuela)
Real Salt Lake: Nat Borchers (USA), Robbie Findley (USA), Jean Alexandre (Haiti)
Seattle Sounders: Steve Zakuani (Congo)
Toronto FC: O'Brian White (Jamaica)


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Robert Lester Blackwell was a farm boy from nearby Hurdle Mills, the son of a Confederate war veteran. In a yellowed newspaper clipping I once read, Lester (as he was called) was described by a neighbor and school mate as a young man �full of hope, cheer and comfort. He always had a sunny disposition and never took on the reckless life that entangle other young men.�
When World War I broke out, Lester joined up. He became part of the 119th Infantry Company K 30th Division, fighting in Belgium and on the Hindenburg line.
On Oct. 11, 1918, Pvt. Blackwell was a week past his 23rd birthday. It was a month away from the Armistice being signed, the end of war.
On that day, a great battle was being fought near St. Souplet, France. Pvt. Blackwell and a few of his fellow soldiers got cut off from their regiment by German artillery fire. Unless someone got word to the regiment, all of them would be captured or killed. They also knew that any man who tried to get through the German fire would probably be killed.
The commanding officer asked for volunteers to carry a message. Without hesitation Blackwell stepped forward. He took the message and plunged into the hail of shells that churned up every foot of the ground. A shell struck him. The brave soldier fell dead. Lester Blackwell was buried in Somme American Cemetery and Memorial in France, joining the ranks of the immortals. Another Gold Star was posted in Person County.
About three months later, on behalf of his son, Blackwell�s father was presented the Congressional Medal of Honor, the highest honor any soldier can receive, �For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity above and beyond the call of duty.� A statue was erected at the Person County courthouse in honor and memory of the heroic native son. The medal was donated to what is now the N.C. Museum of History. A state historical marker to Robert L. Blackwell was erected on N.C. 49 at Whitfield Road, southwest of Roxboro.
I REMEMBER Fred Reaves Jr. as Freddy, the young man who played touch football in the 1950s with the neighborhood boys in the spacious yard beside the nurse�s home on the small campus of the General Hospital on Rainey Street in Burlington.
I know we wild boys drove the nurses nuts. The young women were trying to get some sleep after working night shifts and we�d be hollering for a pass or arguing about a first down just outside their windows. Many a time a stern woman would come out on the porch and run us off.
The hospital property sat between my house on Rainey Street and Freddy�s house on Bowman Avenue. The remainder of the block was an undeveloped lot, full of broomstraw and small pines. We built forts from the trees and played war there.
I remember sunshine days, just like we are having now, when Freddy would meet us to play ball. Although all the boys were about the same age, we didn�t all go to the same school.
That�s because Freddy was colored. That was the word used then. I recognized it from signs above restroom doors and on water fountains.
I can remember asking my mother one time why Freddy didn�t go to my school. She simply told me he went to another school, which at the time satisfied my curiosity. I never thought that the school he went to was any different from Glenhope. It was years later I came to know terms like Jim Crow and �separate but equal� and knew why Freddy and the other kids who lived a football pass from my house went to a different school.
Our paths diverged. I went to college. Freddy went to Vietnam. Years later, quite by chance, I heard he had been killed in Vietnam. On Feb. 22, 1968, Army Sgt. E5 Fred Reaves Jr., of the 101st Airborne Division, was cut down by small arms fire in Thua Thien, South Vietnam, barely two months after his tour began. He was 23 years old. The same age as Lester Blackwell.
Fred�s name is on panel 40E67 at the Vietnam Wall in Washington and it�s cut into the granite of the war memorial outside the Criminal Courts Building in Graham.
I also discovered Fred was memorialized on the Stardust spacecraft, the first U.S. space mission dedicated solely to the exploration of a comet. Stardust was also billed as the first robotic mission designed to return extraterrestrial material (star dust) from outside the orbit of the moon. Over a million names, including all those listed on the Vietnam Wall, are on a microchip on the spacecraft as a way of honoring them.
In 2011, Stardust�s mission ended. Its fuel was gone and its transmitter was switched off. The last anyone heard from it, it was 194 million miles from the earth, in the embrace of the stars.
When I think of Lester Blackwell taking a deep breath and stepping out into a field of zipping bullets, screaming shrapnel and certain death or of Fred Reaves cut down by the enemy in southeast Asia, I think of the life I have been free to live due to the loyalty and patriotism of these two brave men and many thousands like them. And I look to heaven through damp eyes and say a prayer of thanks.
Jay Ashley is managing editor of the Times-News. Email firstname.lastname@example.com


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Invasive species pose a significant threat to Maine's iconic flora and fauna, yet many questions remain unanswered. What impact are invasives having today? How will climate change impact invasive and native species? What long-term impacts are mitigation efforts producing?
Vital Signs partners Maine students with scientists and citizen scientists to investigate these issues and contribute valuable data to real environmental research.
Participants explore local habitats, collect evidence, and post their observations to the Vital Signs website – a powerful online learning environment that connects them to a community of experts and each other. Through the site, students and citizen scientists can comment on each other's observations, species experts can confirm findings, and scientists can pose research questions and then use the data to inform their studies.


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Mac PowerPC is finally back posting more material on our blog! After some much deserved time off (although we were checking e-mail and sharing some random material on our Facebook page + Twitter) we decided to officially start the year! So let's start the year right, and fully understand just what kind of machine we own. I found an excellent app that does the job very well.
Mactracker – http://www.mactracker.ca
Mactracker 6.51 – (Free) PowerPC Leopard 10.5. It's a database of all Mac models, full of information about every Apple computer. Now no more doubts about your Mac – with Mactracker its easy to find which version you are using!
Here (in archive) you will find the old versions for 10.4/10.3/10.2/9.2.2/8.5
Also http://everymac.com is a great website with tons of information about the mac you own, in case you don't feel like having this app on your computer.