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Select an option to view Cruise Details:
|Seattle, Washington, US
|Days at Sea
|Scenic cruising Stephens Passage
|Juneau, Alaska, US
|Hubbard Glacier
|Sitka, Alaska, US
|Ketchikan, Alaska, US
|Victoria, British Columbia, Canada
|Seattle, Washington, US
Prim and proper with a mix of stately buildings and English traditions, Victoria is like a breath of fresh air. Its British heritage is apparent in double-decker buses, the Royal British Columbia Museum and High Tea at the Empress Hotel. Pay a visit to the renowned Butchart Gardens, where sunken floral beds reflect international themes.
Stretching over 90 miles long and covering over 1,350 square miles in area, Hubbard Glacier is the largest tidewater glacier in North America. It is also one of the most impressive, a 300-foot wall of ice rising sheer and jagged from the ocean. You may hear the rumble and see the monumental splash as the glacier severs into great ice chunks, known as "calves."
Accessible only by air or sea, Alaska's capital is surprisingly urban and cultured for such a remote destination. When you arrive by sea, you will be greeted dockside by numerous flags and an abundance of summer flowers. For further insight into the Inuit culture and crafts, visit the museum. Take the short drive to Mendenhall Glacier, the only glacier inside city limits! Take a helicopter ride for an amazing aerial view of Juneau and area, or go fishing for silver salmon. Then, just kick back and relax with a cool one at the famous and colorful Red Dog Saloon.
Ketchikan is the salmon capital of the world. The canneries are busy and the stream below Creek Street's rustic boardwalk bustles with life. Visit the ancient grove of Totem Bight, the largest collection of authentic totem poles anywhere. Make a flight to nearby Misty Fjords--a breathtaking vista of Alaska's unspoiled wilderness and America's newest national monument; or try a little salmon fishing.
Situated on Puget Sound, Seattle's lush vegetation has earned it the nickname the "Emerald City." The futuristic Space Needle offers a 360-degree view of the city's skyline, Puget Sound and Mt. Rainier. At Pike Place Market you can shop for handcrafted clothes and jewelry, and enjoy the amazing variety of flowers, famous fish markets and more.
Sitka's Russian heritage and magnificent setting make it an enchanting destination. The city features a harbor studded with islands, a backdrop of mountains and spectacular Mt. Edgecumbe, a volcano often compared to Japan's Mt. Fuji. Sitka displays its past in such attractions as St. Michael's Cathedral with its striking onion-shaped dome, the Russian Blockhouse and world famous New Archangel Dancers. Visit the Historic Park, with a ruined Indian fort, where Tlingit Indians battled Russian settlers in 1804.
Please note that the staterooms shown below are samples only. Actual cabin decor, details and layout may vary by stateroom category and type.
2 lower beds convertible to 1 king-size bed, bathroom with dual sink vanity, full-size whirlpool bath & shower & additional shower stall, large sitting area, dressing room, private verandah,1 sofa bed for 2 persons, floor-to-ceiling windows.
2 lower beds convertible to 1 king-size bed, bathroom with dual sink vanity, full-size whirlpool bath & shower & additional shower stall, large sitting area, dressing room, private verandah,1 sofa bed for 2 persons, floor-to-ceiling windows.
2 lower beds convertible to 1 king-size bed, bathroom with dual sink vanity, full-size whirlpool bath & shower & additional shower stall, large sitting area, dressing room, private verandah,1 sofa bed for 2 persons, floor-to-ceiling windows.
2 lower beds convertible to 1 queen-size bed, bathroom with dual-sink vanity, full-size whirlpool bath & shower & additional shower stall, large sitting area, private verandah, 1 sofa bed for 1 person, floor-to-ceiling windows. Accessible includes roll-in shower, wide interior & exterior doors.
2 lower beds convertible to 1 queen-size bed, bathroom with dual sink vanity, full-size whirlpool bath & shower & additional shower stall, large sitting area, dressing room, private verandah, 1 sofa bed for 1 person, floor-to-ceiling windows.
2 lower beds convertible to 1 queen-size bed, bathtub & shower, sitting area, private verandah, floor-to-ceiling windows. Ambulatory accessible rooms have roll-in shower only.
2 lower beds convertible to 1 queen-size bed, bathtub & shower, sitting area, private verandah, floor-to-ceiling windows. Fully accessible rooms have roll-in shower only.
2 lower beds convertible to 1 queen-size bed, bathtub & shower, sitting area, private verandah, floor-to-ceiling windows.
2 lower beds convertible to 1 queen-size bed, bathtub & shower, sitting area, private verandah, floor-to-ceiling windows.
2 lower beds convertible to 1 queen-size bed, bathtub & shower, sitting area, private verandah, floor-to-ceiling windows.
2 lower beds convertible to 1 queen-size bed, bathtub & shower, sitting area, private verandah, floor-to-ceiling windows.
2 lower beds convertible to 1 queen-size bed, bathtub & shower, sitting area, private verandah, floor-to-ceiling windows.
2 lower beds convertible to 1 queen-size bed, bathtub, shower.
2 lower beds convertible to 1 queen-size bed, bathtub & shower. All HH-category staterooms have fully obstructed views.
Large inside Staterooms include two lower beds convertible to a queen-size bed, shower.Approximately 185 square feet
Large inside Staterooms include two lower beds convertible to a queen-size bed, shower.
Select from the deck options below.
With the collective experience, passion and creativity of seven world-class celebrity chefs, the Holland America Line Culinary Council® brings global influence and expertise to dining venues across Holland America's fleet. Onboard ships, each of the executive chefs is a member of the prestigious Confrérie de la Chaîne des Rôtisseurs, an international food and wine society.
The Dining Room - For an elegant breakfast, leisurely lunch or unforgettable multi-course dinner, The Dining Room is your destination. Behind the scenes, Culinary Council®, an elite team of seven world-renowned chefs, and the talented onboard executive chefs have worked to bring each dish to perfection. For dinner, choose from classics such as Boneless Lamb Loin en Croute, Rosemary Roasted Chicken, as well as regionally inspired cuisine and artfully prepared vegetarian dishes. Enrich your journey with an extensive selection of wines, carefully selected by the Wine Curator, world-renowned wine critic James Suckling.
Canaletto - In Italy, there's nothing more important than coming together to celebrate the joy of great food. This is the inspiration for the onboard Italian restaurant, Canaletto. Enjoy amazing Italian classics like braised chicken cacciatore al forno, branzino ai ferri or garlic shrimp ravioli. And for dessert: tiramisù, cannoli alla Siciliana, gelato, and more. Buon appetito!
Dive-In offers a variety of casual culinary classics, using the highest quality ingredients. Enjoy a burger, grilled to perfection and served on a toasted brioche with Holland America's own trade-marked secret sauce. Savor a succulent Nathan's Famous gourmet hot dog with golden French fries. Or choose a grilled chicken breast sandwich or juicy portabella mushroom stack. Dive-In is the perfect spot to dine poolside on the best burgers at sea.
Lido Market - Explore a world of intriguing culinary possibilities in the Lido Market. Steps from the Lido pool, this modern marketplace includes a curated selection of delicious options that you can grab on the go or have made to order: Breadboard, with freshly baked breads and pastries; Wild Harvest, offering a bountiful selection of hearty salads; Homestead, serving up comfort classics; Distant Lands, featuring global; Sweet Spot, for ice cream creations and desserts; Roasting Pan, hand-carved meats, fish and other hearty entrees; Perk, freshly brewed beverages and chilled juices; Quench, premium coffee, beer, wine, and soda; Rise, savory quiches, croissants and sandwiches, and more.
Pinnacle Grill - Reserve a table in the intimate Pinnacle Grill for lunch or dinner and celebrate the day's adventures with cuisine inspired by the bounty of America's Pacific Northwest. In this elegantly appointed room, service is warm and engaging, and a meal is an event. The menu focuses on premium ingredients expertly prepared—from wild-caught king salmon from Alaska to sustainably raised beef from Washington State's Double R Ranch. And, every evening in this venue offers a chance for you to experience the signature recipes of Culinary Council Chef David Burke. Complementing your perfectly prepared meals are boutique wines from the Pacific Northwest and other celebrated vineyards from around the world.
At Explorations Café, presented by The New York Times, relax in a comfortable, coffee house environment where you can browse through one of the most extensive libraries at sea, view a wide array of audio and video programming, or simply read the morning paper. Guests can also enjoy fresh pastries and their favorite espresso drink.
Rudi's Sel De Mer (Pop Up) - Named for Master Chef Rudi Sodamin, Rudi's Sel de Mer is an intimate brasserie featuring classic French dishes reimagined with contemporary flair. Menu selections include whole Dover sole meunière with shaved pink Himalayan sea salt, oysters on the half shell, fruits de mer, and salt-crust baked branzino, as well as favorites such as steak frites, duck cassoulet and coq au vin. Conclude your dinner with a classic dessert and fine French cheeses. (On Oosterdam m ship, the Rudi's Sel de Mer menu is available on select evenings in Pinnacle Grill.)
24-Hour In-Room Dining - Sleep in and have breakfast delivered. Enjoy an early dinner on your verandah before an evening excursion. Order a salad, sandwich or entrée any time. In-Room Dining is only a phone call away. All selections are included in your cruise fare unless otherwise noted on the in-room menu.
Explorer's Lounge - The Explorer's Lounge is an elegant and refined space to enjoy a glass of wine, a cocktail, or your favorite liqueur.
The Explorer's Lounge is an elegant and refined space to enjoy a glass of wine, a cocktail, or your favorite liqueur.
Crow's Nest - Holland America Line offers you a wide selection of lounges onboard. The panoramic view takes center stage in The Crow's Nest at the top of the ship, where you can relax just about any time of day and enjoy your favorite drink.
Gallery Bar - This sophisticated venue is adorned with an eclectic and whimsical mix of artwork including portraits, landscapes, still life and abstract pieces. Order your favorite cocktail or try one from the signature cocktail menu created in partnership with the Master Mixologist Dale DeGroff, a James Beard "Who's Who" inductee.
Ocean Bar - Enjoy live music in this popular bar perfect for pre-dinner cocktails.
Lido Bar - Sip refreshments poolside in shaded seating around the bar or delivered to your sunny chaise lounge.
Sea View Bar - Sip refreshments poolside in shaded seating around the bar or delivered to your sunny chaise lounge.
Pinnacle Bar - The Pinnacle Bar serves the Pinnacle Grill and is on the Lower Promenade Deck.
Neptune Lounge - Guests choosing Pinnacle and Neptune suites enjoy access to a private lounge and the services of a personal concierge for organizing spa, dining and shore arrangements.
Meeting Rooms - offer flexible and functional meeting facilities including full audio/visual capabilities. The room provide the ideal private settings for group meetings and other gatherings.
The Mainstage - Showcasing comedy, song, dance and more, the Mainstage presents myriad performances and presentations to entertain and inform throughout your voyage, including Holland America Line exclusives such as the BBC Earth Experiences live show Planet Earth II in Concert.
America's Test Kitchen - Holland America Line guests can experience America's Test Kitchen's enticing array of live onboard cooking shows and hands-on workshops. Learn foolproof techniques and user-friendly recipes for making delectable dishes with confidence. Designed exclusively with Holland America Line, this new culinary programming is currently available on select ships.
Explorations Central - Transform Your Travel Experience. Discover the connections that unite us across borders and cultures. Explorations Central™ (EXC™) is immersive onboard programing designed to make your journey more engaging, vivid and meaningful. From EXC Talks™, to EXC Encounters™ to a chat with your EXC Guide™, you'll feel the spirit of a region come to life.
B.B. King's Blues Club - Direct from Beale Street, B.B. King's All Stars bring the best of Memphis music to sea. From funky and fast to soulful and smooth, this eight-piece band performs in the B.B. King's Blues Club in the Queen's Lounge where you can enjoy specialty cocktails like the Lucille and Rock Me Baby.
Onboard Wonder with BBC Earth Experiences – Holland America has partnered with BBC Earth to bring you unforgettable new ways to experience the world's natural wonders. Through the innovative and breathtaking programming, guests will be taken closer to the ocean and the natural world through a ground-breaking concert, films, game shows, trivia, children's activities, and feature cruises.
Lincoln Center Stage – In an exclusive partnership with the world's leading center for the performing arts, Holland America proudly presents Lincoln Center Stage, showcasing outstanding musicians performing multiple programs of chamber music most evenings, as well as afternoon recitals during leisurely days at sea.
Billboard Onboard - Fifty years of chart-topping hits rock the house as two pianists play music that you know and love. It's all part of Billboard Onboard, an interactive experience made possible by a partnership with Billboard, the leading global destination for charts, news, trends and innovation in music. Between nightly sets, guests are part of the show as they sing and play along with trivia questions presented on screens throughout the room.
Casino Action - Play perennially popular slot machines and enjoy blackjack tables and the latest in sophisticated gaming. The Casino is staffed with professionals eager to help you learn new skills.
Digital Workshop - Drop by the Digital Workshop powered by Windows and learn new technical skills taught by Microsoft-trained hosts. These complimentary small-group sessions, designed for all abilities, translate the latest technology into useful tips everyone can use. Each stand-alone session takes place in the dedicated Digital Workshop, equipped with the latest technology. From photo editing and movie/slide show creation, PC organization, Cloud Storage and security, choose to attend all or drop in as you please. Each session is offered several times throughout your cruise.
Art Gallery - Holland America takes great pride in the onboard art collections. Now, fine art goes high tech. Take a self-guided walking tour highlighting your ship's eclectic collection, valued at tens of millions of dollars.
Onboard Shopping - Enjoy a wide variety of duty-free shopping in the Signature Shops such as Merabella, a luxury jewelry boutique featuring high-end watches and pieces from noted designers.
Fitness - Stop by the professionally staffed Fitness Center equipped with the latest cardio and weight machines. Try one of the classes on indoor cycling, Pilates and more or work out at your own pace. You can also head out for fresh air and exercise on deck, where you'll find basketball and volleyball courts, and refreshing pools. Some classes may have a nominal fee.
Greenhouse Spa & Salon - Refresh, Relax and Rejuvenate. During a leisurely day at sea, few places help you refresh, relax and rejuvenate like the Greenhouse Spa & Salon. This heavenly retreat nurtures every aspect of your well-being with renowned spa rituals and healing touches. In the spa, pamper your skin with facial treatments featuring premium, naturally sourced ingredients. Nurture your body, too, with massage treatments employing time-honored, hands-on massage techniques gleaned from around the world.
Club HAL - Holland America Line's youth activities program, Club HAL, offers an array of entertaining events for kids and teens ages 3-17, supervised by a full-time, professionally trained staff. They'll have an opportunity to join other kids their age for arts and crafts, sports, video game competitions, scavenger hunts, challenging team games and themed parties.
Kids Programs (Ages 3-6) - Highlights for kids ages 3 to 6 include "Painting Picassos," and "Sing-Along Storytime," as well as theme parties, such as "Dino-Mite Night" and "Ships Ahoy Pirate Treasure Hunt Adventure."
Tweens Programs (Ages 7-12) - From ice-cream eating contests to gaming tournaments and theme parties, tweens will have plenty to enjoy.
Teens Programs (Ages 13-17) - Teen cruisers enjoy mocktail parties, karaoke and trivia contests, jewelry making, video games, staff vs. teens volleyball tournaments, themed events and more. Teens have their own places to hang out in The Loft for late-night sporting competitions, yoga and dance classes, cooking demos and teens-only nightclub events.
Port Day Activities - Club HAL activities are available from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. on port days. Lunch is available for participants between the hours of 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. Children must be registered and signed into and out of programming by a parent or guardian.
Special Needs - Children with special needs are invited to attend Club HAL activities based on their chronological age; Holland America's staff is trained to work with special needs children.
· Elevators
· Duty-Free Shops/Boutiques
· Dry Cleaning/Laundry Service
· Concierge Desk
· Safe Deposit Boxes
· Business Center Services
· Infirmary/Medical Center
Accessibility/Special Needs
· Visual Assistance (Visually Impaired)
· Auditory Assistance (TTY/TTD)
· Assisted Listening Devices
· Closed Caption TV
· Braille Signage
· Accessible Gaming (Casino)
· Accessible Showroom Seating
· Accessible Public Areas
· Accessible Public Restrooms
· Refrigerator in Staterooms
· Sharps Disposal
· Oxygen
· Accessible Tendering
Wheelchair Accessibility
· Wheelchair passengers accepted
· Elevators accommodate regular wheelchairs
· Elevators accommodate narrow wheelchairs
· Staterooms with wide doors
· Staterooms with low or no doorsills
· Staterooms baths with hand rails
· Staterooms available with ramps
· Public rooms available with ramps
· Public rooms accessible by wheelchairs
· Decks with ramps
Holland America's youth program accommodates 4 different age groups from 3 to 17 years old. Children 3 to 12 years old have their dedicated center at Club HAL while teens 13 to 17 years old have their exclusive areas The Loft and the Oasis. All activities are hosted and supervised by permanent, full-time staff who hold degrees in education, childhood development, recreation, leisure studies or related fields.
*If your child has special needs, please advise Holland America when booking your Alaska cruise reservation. They are welcome to attend activities based on their chronological age. Staff are trained to work with special needs children.
Club HAL®Kids: ages 3-6
Club HAL® Tweens: ages 7-12
Teens: ages 13-17
The Youth Program is offered at the following times:
Kids and Tweens
Kids and Teens Culinary Arts Program
For kids ages three to seven and eight to fourteen. Teenagers 15 and older may participate in adult classes. All classes are complimentary and last about an hour. Kids learn the basics on cooking and receive copies of recipes they prepared.
Babysitting Services
Holland America guests in Alaska must be 21 years of age or older for alcohol purchase and consumption.
Guests 21 and older may each bring one bottle of wine (no larger than 750ml) onboard at embarkation. Additional bottles will incur a $18 US corkage fee. Beer, boxed wine, or other liquors and spirits are not permitted to be brought onboard.
Violation will result in the following:
Holland America automatically adds a hotel service charge to your shipboard account which are gratuities for the dining room wait staff, room stewards, and galley and laundry staff. The amount varies by stateroom and may be adjusted at your discretion at the end of your cruise.
A 15% bar service charge is automatically added to bar charges and dining room wine purchases. You are welcome to give more for exemplary service if you wish.
During the day, it's relaxed and casual onboard. At port dress in layers in Alaska. For the evening, bring formal wear and smart casual. There are two formal nights on a 7-night Alaska cruise. T-shirts, swimsuits, tanks tops and shorts are not proper attire in the restaurants or public areas during evening hours.
Women are permitted to board if pregnant for 24 weeks or less on day of disembarkation. A physician's letter must be faxed to Access and Compliance (800-577-1731) for women in any stage of pregnancy.
Infant minimum age is 12 months of age for trans-Atlantic sailings or any other itinerary which in the opinion of the Medical Department present a significant risk to infants between 6 and 12 months of age; minimum age is 6 months for all other sailings.
This offer is available on a first come first served basis and can sell out at any time. Please call and speak with a live agent, or submit a quote request to receive the most up to date availability.
Terms and Conditions
All rates are per person and based on double occupancy. Government taxes, surcharges and fees are additional. Limited Availability and based on minimum fares for select departure dates. Other dates may be higher. All rates, promotions and exclusive offers advertised are for new individual bookings only. Not responsible for last minute changes of price or itinerary by cruise line, or any errors or omissions in the content of this ad. Some restrictions and cancellation penalties may apply.


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Howdy Johnny Wander PeepsThursday, January 8th, 2009
So I'm at work, see, just going through the paces and Marty from Art Fight High School says I might want to check my traffic. Instant anxiety. I'm pretty new at this whole shebang, so you all seem to have caught me in the midst of figuring it all out. Welcome. I hope you find it as fun to look at as it is to make.
I've told Amu about all of the eyeballs and she's tickled silly. If you're going to be at Katsucon, check out the Art Auction for some of Amu's amigurumi, as she'll have at least a couple of things for sale there. We should also have some posters out and about, so be sure to look for them if you're at the convention.
Thanks Ananth and Yuko for the mad pimpage. It was great to see you guys be awesome at December's Super Art Fight show. I really hope to see you guys around sometime, and maybe I'll find a way to get the butterflies out of my gut and say Howdy in person.

subset: commoncrawl


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Rentech Nitrogen Acquires Fertilizer Producer Agrifos
Rentech, Inc., Los Angeles, has announced that its majority-owned subsidiary, Rentech Nitrogen Partners, L.P., has entered into a definitive agreement with Agrifos Holdings Inc. to purchase all of the membership interests of Agrifos LLC, for an initial purchase price of $158 million. Agrifos owns and operates a plant in Pasadena, TX, that produces primarily ammonium sulfate fertilizer. The acquisition is expected to be accretive to cash distributions per unit paid by Rentech Nitrogen to its unitholders beginning in 2013. Rentech currently owns 23.25 million units of Rentech Nitrogen, a publicly-traded partnership that owns a nitrogen fertilizer manufacturing plant located in East Dubuque, IL.
In conjunction with the closing of this transaction, Rentech Nitrogen has secured commitments from its existing and new lenders to amend its existing debt facility, and expand its borrowing base from $135 million to $300 million. The debt facility will continue to be guaranteed by Rentech Nitrogen. The transaction, which is subject to customary closing conditions, is anticipated to close within one week of the date of this announcement.
Commenting on the transaction, D. Hunt Ramsbottom, CEO of Rentech and Rentech Nitrogen GP, LLC, stated, "We're very pleased to have executed on this transaction. Growing Rentech Nitrogen is one of the pillars of our strategy to enhance returns for Rentech shareholders." Mr. Ramsbottom continued, "Agrifos' business is expected to provide incremental cash flow and diversifies the products, markets, location, and raw materials of our existing natural gas-based nitrogen fertilizer plant in East Dubuque, IL. Not only do we expect this business to be accretive to cash available for distribution beginning in 2013, but the facility comes with several growth opportunities, the first of which we have included in our financing package for this transaction. This growth at the Pasadena plant would add to the growth in cash flow that we expect from the expansion projects currently underway at Rentech Nitrogen's existing fertilizer plant."
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Engadget is hosting a handful of images from the the Microsoft and Industrial Designers of America competition where contestants have to "rethink the Windows-based PC experience and the role it plays in people's lives." Two US$50,000 prizes will be awarded along with one US$25,000 prize.
Some of the stuff is pretty cool, but the visor is so corny. Come on! Invent it if you like, but I'm not sure how many nerds are going to wear that on a sunny day. On the other hand, I like the concept behind the "frame":
The frame concept focuses on ease of use; verbal commands such as "power on" and the frame turns on. Advanced technologies such as circumference projection create an on-screen visual. When the display is turned off the just the frame remains. The keyboard uses Projected key caps that appear graphically on a travel mat; made of partial soft elastomer with rigid substrate. The keyboard docks within frame when transported. The user navigates menus with a wearable ring mouse. For increased portability the frame includes an integrated strap provided for fashionable mobility. The Plastic frame is made from unique recyclable polymer. Plant it and a flower grows!
Very unique. The "frame" may be a distant dream, but a lot of the concepts featured here aren't all that crazy. Maybe we'll see some of these in a few years?
You can view all the designs and cast a vote for your favorite at the startsomethingpc.com website.


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Audi A1 Sportback still turning heads
I wouldn't go as far as to say I'm a religious person, but I am a born-again motorist. In a good way, I might add.
By Iain Dooley
The combination of wanting to better previous fuel consumption figures and the need to be extremely well behaved after the intervention of Her Majesty's Constabulary meant that rather than dashing across the country as quickly as (ahem) legally possible, I've been cruising, pootling and maintaining a general mood of steadiness over the last 1,000 miles or so.
That might sound like a recipe for middle-lane snoozing, but in actual fact I've been arriving at my destinations far more unstressed than before and often only a few minutes later than if I'd been trying a lot harder. And although this A1 wears the Sport tag that delivers stiffer suspension as well as bigger wheels, it's been more than happy to play along.
The S tronic gearbox gives a lovely tall seventh gear, and although a motorway incline tackled with just a sniff of throttle usually means a single downshift for the most part it will hum along with around 2,000rpm on the rev counter at the legal limit. If there's one further wish to be granted it would be for cruise control, but frankly that was an omission from the options list on my part rather than the fault of the car. Silly me.
I've also been trying hard to keep the A1's cabin de-cluttered, the only problem being is that it is rather good at swallowing it in the first place. The front cupholders are almost always occupied, swiftly followed by the one in the driver's door. Even with a cup in there you can still stuff plenty of crisp packets and parking tickets in the space behind it, and the packet of biscuits that are kept on standby as emergency snacks for the kids has stayed untouched in the armrest cubby for several months on the trot. Anything A4-shaped (paper, not the car) is an arm's length away in the pocket on the back of the passenger seat, and the space underneath the boot floor has housed emergency wellies and an umbrella without a problem. Small it may be but the A1 has swallowed everything I have reasonably asked of it, and sometimes a bit more.
I'm also more in love with its looks than ever. Lots of armchair experts are keen to predict the end of white as a fashionable colour for cars, but this A1 is still turning heads as well as making me turn and look wistfully at it as I lock and walk away. I've been extra good and treated it to a personal wash and a proper spruce-up at the hands of someone who really knows what they're doing, and although it's fun to give the local kids the opportunity to write rude messages in the dirt it positively zings when it is immaculately clean. And behaving myself on the road means it stays clean for longer too.
Next to a three-door A1 with a bodykit installed it looks a little plainer, but it sits nicely in the space between discreet and posh. A sporty coupe version would look the absolute business.
Another hard month has also proved that even this smallest Audi doesn't just look nice inside, it's tough too. The parcel shelf attachments, so often the first thing to fall off with heavy use, remain stubbornly in place and doing their job. All the buttons and switches still operate with the same slickness and robust feeling as they did on day one, and despite having almost everything thrown at them the seats and their fabric trim have shrugged off numerous stains. It might not look like a family car at first but it's fit and ready for the job.
And when I very occasionally allow myself a bit of fun on a deserted back road it still dives into bends with aplomb. The 1.4-litre TFSI petrol unit has a useful wodge of torque low down but happily revs high up too, feeling much like a larger-capacity naturally aspirated engine. It's also a pleasure to give the gearshift paddles a workout, and the sports suspension comes into its own.
Time is almost up for the A1 and although it's a month away from heading off into the sunset, I'm already starting to miss it. There'll be some kind of replacement to follow it but unless it's the Batmobile or Schumacher's championship-winning Ferrari I can't help thinking I'll be wishing the A1 was still here.
Facts at a glance
Audi A1 Sportback 1.4 TFSI Sport, £17,680 list, £20,085 as tested
Engine: 1.4-litre petrol producing 120bhp and 147lb.ft of torque
Transmission: Seven-speed dual clutch gearbox driving the front wheels
Performance: Top speed 126mph, 0-62mph in 9.0 seconds
Economy: 53.3mpg combined (official), 44.13mpg (this month)


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Admittedly, I've been a bit surprised by A-Gon this year. I actually expected a bump in his power numbers due to the GABP effect. However, I wasn't expecting the shoddy glove work.
That said, GABP used to have an unusual park effect for errors. When the park first opened, it was much more likely that an infield error would be made at GABP than other NL parks. Accordingly, I thought I'd check it out to see if A-Gon was making significantly more errors at home.
I started by looking up the fielding park effects for GABP and over the past three years (2004-2006) infielders were 9% more likely to make an error at GABP than the average NL ballpark.
So, on the year, A-Gon has already made 12 errors. I looked up the type of error and the location to see if there was anything in particular going on.
Here's what it looks like:
H/A: Catch__Groundball__Throw===Total
So, much to my disappointment, A-Gon has actually made twice as many errors on the road. And, as to be expected, he has made the most errors on groundballs.
Sad to say, I'm not sure what's going on with A-Gon. I never bought into him being a great defensive shortstop, but I certainly expected him to be above average.
Unfortunately, the truth may ultimately be that this is the real A-Gon. His fielding percentage is currently at .960, which is far from great, but he's actually posted a .960 or lower fielding percentage three other times in his career. So, this actually isn't quite the outlier that we might think.
Fielding percentage certainly isn't everything, but so far his range is only middle of the road. A-Gon's bat has been solid, but it would be nice if his glove lived up to its (perhaps undeserved) reputation.


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In past seasons when the water has been warm for this long, it has a tendency to continue to stay that way all through October and possibly into November.
I like warm water as much as anyone, but it can wreak havoc for both the wetsuit manufacturers and the retailers who sell them.
Neither of these groups of business people want to overproduce or stock just to have the latest and greatest cold-water gear hanging around warehouses and retail stores. The end result usually means less suits built, so a decent supply will be limited.
This also means that with a lower inventory level, deals on wetsuits will be unlikely. My advice is to shop early and be prepared for when the water temperature does drop down, which always happens. Wait too long and you run the risk of having to wear your old suit throughout the season. Color and style options will be limited as well.
Speaking of wetsuits, seriously consider what you really need before you plunk down big bucks for a suit with a limited lifespan. Is all that super-stretch, triple-stitched technology really going to be needed or used? With decent suits ranging in price from around $150 to $550, serious consideration is in order.
All suits will keep you warm; some longer than others. The same is true for flexibility. Most often, the higher-end suits can be a bit warmer with more stretch, but don't expect to get much more than a season out of them if you surf on a regular basis.
For my money, I stick to the mid-price suits in the $195 to $300 range. This means plenty of warmth and stretch for me with at least twice as long of a lifespan.
Do not buy a top-branded suit, as all are not created equal.
A bit of common sense and a rinse out on a regular basis will help to protect a suit, which in turn protects you from that cold winter water.


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Browsing Centres by Author "Heath, Christopher"
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A Comparative International Analysis of Innovation Incentives from Patent Indemnification RulesReitzig, Markus; Henkel, Joachim; Heath, Christopher (København, 2002)[More information][Less information]
Abstract: Abstract: This paper contributes to the fundamental discussion of setting optimal liabilities in restitution law by analyzing the effects that the existing multitude of indemnification rules for patent infringements have on innovative and imitative activity. From a theoretical legal standpoint, the choice of patent law is particularly enlightening due to its hybrid public and private nature. From an economic perspective its relevance lies in regulating the driving forces of welfare in highly industrialized societies. Our analysis of regulations from six different jurisdictions (US, JP, DE, UK, FR, NL) reveals that from a scholarly standpoint none of the regulations sets optimal liabilities in general. Our major finding is that an expectation damage rule based on a renegotiation outcome from an ex-ante perspective (falling in between the generic legal notions of 'lost profits' and 'infringer's profits') between licensor and licensee appears optimal in patent infringement cases to avoid dynamic inefficiencies. The result is intuitive, however, was not predicted by the existing literature on indemnification law. Keywords: Patents, litigation, damage awards, innovation, infringement JEL-Classifications: K41,L00, L20 URI: http://hdl.handle.net/10398/6827
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|Parent's Place
|Some of these links will leave our school district site. Links that leave our school district site are not under the control of the district, and the district is not responsible for the contents of any of these linked sites or any link contained in a linked site, or any changes or updates to such sites. The district is providing these links to you only as a convenience, and the inclusion of any link does not imply endorsement of the site by our district.


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Hubert Kenneth McNees, Jr.
June 20, 1944-Nov. 13, 2013
Pleasanton, CA
Submitted by Graham-Hitch Mortuary
Contact the submitter
Ken was born in Phoenix, AZ to Hubert Kenneth Sr. and Betty McNees. He was raised in Exeter, CA where he learned the value of hard work and ingenuity as the only son on a citrus and walnut farm. Ken graduated from Exeter High School and was drafted into the U.S. Army while studying at Fresno State. After a two-year tour in Germany, he completed his degree and began a 35-year career in the automotive industry, working for Firestone Tires, Hughes Aircraft, Peterbilt, and NUMMI. He could fix anything. His talents ranged from car and boat restoration to fine furniture making, always with unparalleled attention to detail. His family cherishes the pieces he created.
At Fresno State he met his future wife, Jody, in the fall of 1968. They were married in May of 1973 in Lafayette and resided in Long Beach, CA. In 1977 they moved to Pleasanton, CA where they started a family. Ken was widowed in 2010 when Jody lost a valiant battle with brain cancer. Those who knew Ken saw that throughout Jody?s illness and their 42 years together, Ken lived for Jody and their family.
Ken is survived by his two daughters: Lauren McNees of Winters, CA, and Andrea McNees of San Francisco, CA, both UC Davis graduates. He is also survived by his sisters Becky Coppola of Visalia, CA and Marsha Fulik of San Diego, CA. Ken will be missed by many, especially his daughters, family members and countless friends and colleagues.
Services will be held at St. Clare's Episcopal Church in Pleasanton, CA on Sat., Dec. 14, at 2:00pm with a reception to follow. In lieu of flowers, please make donations to: American Brain Tumor Association, 2720 River Road, Des Plaines, IL 60018 or St. Clare?s Episcopal Church, 3350 Hopyard Rd, Pleasanton, CA 94588.


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Bran Stark might have had an easier time learning those House mottos if he'd grown up with a book like this. mrstater posted this series from the imaginary children's book of Game of Thrones houses, inspired by Eric Carle's Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?
[mrstater via Popped Culture]


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Infinity Aqua Cushion
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MAXTON, N.C. - "Every trigger pull is training."
And that training can be paramount for a special agent, according to Special Agent Jim A. Stillman, with the 6th Military Police Group (Criminal Investigation Division) out of Joint Base Lewis McChord, Wash.
Stillman is one of many instructors leading training during the 200th Military Police Command's 2012 Annual Special Agent Training exercise, held from Sept. 20--30 in Maxton, N.C.
The training exercise, held at the Gryphon Group's Fort Bragg Combat Training Center, brings together U.S. Army Reserve and active duty CID special agents, and other personnel in military and civilian law enforcement together to train on advance and unique training.
Stillman instructed participants on proper stance, loading and reloading of weapons and effective communication skills required during protective services. They're skills the Sterling, Okla., native knows firsthand can help keep agents alive during a very unique job assignment.
He said protective services can be summed up into "months of sheer boredom separated by seconds of sheer terror."
The protective services training included reacting to gunfire and safely transporting a VIP through various scenarios.
During one scenario, a team of special agents responded to simulated gunfire while transporting a VIP in a vehicle. Within seconds, the team had exited the vehicle, firing back at the attackers and safely moving their VIP into cover.
After taking out more attackers, the team made their way from cover to cover--switching between weapon systems and continuously firing at attackers--until finally reaching their getaway vehicle and transporting the VIP to a safe location.
For some teams, the process took less than a minute. Others took longer but that is exactly the point, said Stillman.
"You see your weakness here, and can go back home and work on [improving] it," said Stillman.
Special Agent Tony Perez, with the Army Reserve's 307th Military Police Detachment (CID) out of Jacksonville, Fla., agrees with using more scenario-based training.
"More real-world training and familiarization with all weapons used is extremely important," said Perez, a Cape Canaveral, Fla., native who works with the Port Canaveral Police Department.
Another unique real-world scenario Perez and the other participants were put in was shooting through various openings at stationary and moving targets.
Each participant was provided with training ammunition and stationed in front of three, different colored wooden panels, each with six openings of various sizes numbered one through six.
Each panel had a small staircase in front of it, which participants could use to fire through higher openings but also served as an obstacle for lower openings. On command, they were given a color and a number, and within seconds were required to fire at all three targets. Every two to three seconds, another color and number combination was yelled out by instructors. It wasn't long before the exercise turned into a hectic scramble to keep up.
"That was difficult to remember while firing -- what he's calling out. It showed my weakness and I need to be faster," said Perez. "But my muzzle awareness was good."
"It was great training and it's something the Army CID needs to incorporate [more of]," said Special Agent Rishi R. Rupchand, also with the Army Reserve's 307th MP Det. (CID). This is the second year at ASAT for Rupchand, an Orlando, Fla., native.
"Really important for our agents to do [training]. You never have enough trigger time," said Stillman. "I was satisfied the way everyone was performing."


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Christie LW551i projector
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Posts Tagged 'watchmen'
My Favorite Comic Books
My list of top ten comics was rejected by The Hooded Utilitarian for their recent poll of comics creators and critics, asking them to list their top ten favorite comics. Their poll result is here, but my list is below. Despite being rejected, it's interesting to me to see how many of my faves were mentioned by those who were invited to participate. I also thought it interesting that even the top vote getter, Peanuts, received only 24% of the vote (50/211). Is that enough to claim that there is a consensus for this list of best comics? I don't think so. All that you can say is that the largest minority grouping thinks Peanuts is tops. But the much larger majority (76% of the vote) disagrees. The headline should refer not to Peanuts being number one, but to the fact that there was no agreement about which title should occupy the number one slot.
Anyway, here's my list. The one I submitted was limited to ten titles, but I'm not bothering to meet that limit here.
There are always more comics to add to my library. My want list is here.
Cowboys & Aliens: The San Diego Premiere; or Why Life Is Just One Big Chase
I consider the Cowboys & Aliens film to be just part of a larger experience that revolved around the film, but if you only want to read about the film you can skip down to the "The Film" section.
When Jon Favreau announced that he wanted to say thanks to the fans at San Diego Comic-Con by holding the world premiere of his film Cowboys & Aliens in San Diego, we immediately placed getting tickets
at the top of our list of things to do at this year's Con. We knew it would not be easy, and it wasn't. Last year we were one of hundreds, perhaps thousands, who stood in line for the Cowboys & Aliens Hall H panel only to be shut out. That was the panel during which the infamous eye stabbing occurred, but it was also the panel during which Harrison Ford made a surprise appearance.
This year we vowed that we would not be shut out.
No one knew how the tickets would be given away. The first hint came by way of the huge Hilton Bayfront Hotel poster. After sending a text message to the number on that poster, we received these messages Wednesday: "Be on the lookout for Cowboys & Aliens gold bricks. Get one and you could win tickets to the world premiere," and "Starting Thursday look for cowboys handing out gold bricks at Comic-Con. They could be your ticket to the premiere." Luckily, we had a phone capable of receiving these messages. Throughout the week we received many text messages. Each time a text message came through, the phone went "Ding!," like a small bell. That "Ding!" came to mean one thing: Run! We heard it so many times, that even now, days later, we automatically, without thinking, launch into our run mode when we hear a bell. We know how Pavlov's dogs must have felt when Pavlov conditioned them to slobber when he rang a bell. Perhaps we should ask Jon Fabreau to pay a shrink to decondition us.
The first message about gold bricks being handed out came through Thursday morning when we were on the second floor of the Convention Center. It said that 50 gold bricks were being handed out at a 7-11 store several blocks from where we were. We started running.
Despite using our phone's GPS, we went the wrong way and arrived much too late to get any gold bricks. The most memorable moment of this round was when a woman in an apartment several stories above yelled, "What are you guys standing in line for?" One of the answers was "Slurpees." She expressed some skepticism, but there was more truth in that answer than we realized at the time because each gold brick also came with a 7-11 coupon for a Slurpee. We accumulated so many of these that we could live on Slurpees for the rest of the year.
The next text message came about 30 minutes later. This time our running put us in line in time to get our first gold bricks and our first "Sorry! Try Again" lottery cards.
This round took place outside the World Market at 4th and J, one of the three main locations throughout the Gold Rush. We learned some useful information: the 7-11 stores were running their own promotion and the odds of winning a ticket there were lower than for the one run by Universal. So that was it for 7-11. We also learned where the Cowboys & Aliens gold rush crew was headquartered, and we made it our headquarters too for the next few days, sitting, when possible, on a bench in the shade and a nice, cool breeze. About 50 feet north of us was a large and very loud Sprint exhibit tent which gave out prizes, including premiere tickets. The emcee liked to make cracks about how nice it was to get out of the Convention Center into the fresh air. A surprisingly large crowd moving constantly back and forth. Frank Miller and Paul Pope passed close enough for us to smell them. But all of this barely registered as we waited for the appearance of the Cowboys crew wearing dark shirts and pulling black tote bags filled with gold bricks. The longer the wait after an earlier round, the greater the tension became. Sometimes a pedicab would pass by and ring a
bell, causing us to jump into our running mode before we realized it was a false alarm.
Of course, sitting on our bench meant sacrificing many of the other events on our list. We missed Francis Ford Coppola, James Steranko, Grant Morrison. However, we didn't turn the bench into our home away from home. Thursday afternoon was spent mostly in Hall H along with Favreau, Del Toro, and Rodriguez. It was at the latter's panel that we learned about the Frank Frazetta exhibit at the IGN Oasis/Hard Rock Hotel Friday afternoon.
The Frazetta exhibit was great, but of course it meant missing a round of bricks. We also missed out on some bricks when, not at our bench, our sense of direction was completely screwed up and we ran in the opposite direction we should have run in.
Sometimes our 14 year old son, Tristan, was with us. One of those times was especially memorable. It was Saturday afternoon and the penultimate gold rush. By that time hundreds of people had figured out where the Cowboys were headquartered and that the best way to get bricks was to hang out there and follow them to the next location. When all of these people saw the Cowboys cross the street, a huge crowd appeared out of nowhere, following them. I was hanging out near the "Begin" sign in the picture below and had a great view of what happened next. The crowd of hundreds of people suddenly stopped in the middle of the street, reversed direction, and ran into the front lobby of the Hilton Gaslamp Hotel. The text message had just come through and these people had apparently interpreted it to mean that the round would take place inside the hotel. Tristan had been in front of all of these people first going across the street, then into the hotel. He says that the look on the hotel desk clerks when they saw the mob of people coming in was priceless. Someone yelled, "Stop!," and it was eventually conveyed that the line was supposed to be in front of, not inside, the hotel. Here's the funny thing. Despite being inside the hotel and in front of this huge crowd, Tristan managed to end up first in line. I had lost track of him and was surprised when he appeared at the front of the line. How he did it, I still do not know, but this is a Convention about characters with super powers. Too bad he didn't win any extra points for being first in line.
So there was one more round. Tristan left for a panel in the Convention Center leaving us with just one more chance. After what had happened during the previous round, and with even more people waiting for the crew to emerge, it seemed almost certain that the last rounds would be in front of the hotel like the previous round. At that time we still expected that there would be three more rounds, but the next one would actually be the final one. We got our bricks, brought them to our bench and opened our 19th and 20th bricks. This is what they said: "Sorry! Try again." But there would be no again. Kelly asked if she should thank the Cowboys & Alien crew. We were disappointed, of course, but I for one did not feel it was a complete loss. It had been fun chasing the gold. It was no different than the chase for tickets to the convention itself. No different from the game of getting hotel rooms. We had a lot of time to think while we were sitting on that bench and we could not help but think that the chase for fool's gold was nothing less than a metaphor for life itself. We're all chasing after something that everyone else wants. Sometimes we're the lucky ones, sometimes we're the unlucky ones. But we had had fun. The crew had been very nice. So Kelly went over and thanked them. We were about to experience an unexpected and sudden reversal of fortune.
I stayed near our bench and waited, taking pictures. I had no idea what was going on. Then she told me that we had tickets. Four fucking tickets! I was completely surprised. The premiere was just hours away. While we walked several blocks to the Cowboys & Aliens Saloon to register and get our tickets, we tried to think of someone we knew to whom we could give our extra ticket. We asked several friends and none of them could make it. We even tried to find someone at the Civic Center to give the ticket to, but everyone in line there already had a ticket. We still have the ticket.
This was the ultimate Hall H experience. You cannot top seeing a new film with two thousand super excited fans. As we went from the waiting room to the theater, we crossed the red carpert where the celebrities were. The guy in front of me yelled, "Oh my god, we're walking on red carpet! I have to get this on twitter!"
Before the film was shown, Jon Favreau appeared on stage and introduced the actors, producers and writers one by one. Yes, Harrison Ford and Daniel Craig were there with Ron Howard and Stephen Spielberg. The writers were introduced last. I thought it a bit funny that there wasn't enough room for all of them at the end of the line so they had to angle out to fit. Writers are the Rodney Dangerfields of the movie business.
Apparently only Jon Favreau stayed with us while we watched the film. We did not get a chance to talk to him and only saw him as he made his way to his limo, which apparently took him to the real premiere party. My son was lucky to get his ticket signed by Favreau, but it was a bit disappointing to not have a chance to talk to the diretor after hearing, at earlier panels at Comic-Con, him, as well as the producer, Spielberg, talk about how much the fans' opinions meant to them. At the Tin Tin panel, Spielberg had said that fans had made his films possible and that he should be sitting in the audience. Well, he passed up a great opportunity to back up his words with action. If Spielberg and Favreau had not said things like this, perhaps it would not have mattered as much that they were not there. But they did, and they weren't.
How can I best describe how we felt when I saw Favreau leaving so early? A little disappointment, perhaps, but it was really more like being jilted. I felt Favreau was sincere in everything he said about wanting to give back to Comic-Con fans. This made his exit all the more disappointing. Perhaps he wanted to stay, but the others did not and for whatever reason he could not stay while the others left. If I had been him, I would have wanted to stay and find out first hand from the fans what they thought of my film. Despite this minor disappointment, I hope that this is the start of a new trend of premieres at Comic-Con along with gold hunts.
Thanks, Jon. It was fun.
"Jeesh! What some people will go through to see a movie!" – A comment on this post from Facebook.
1. This is a film made by someone who is obviously a fan of the master of stop-motion animation, Ray Harryhausen. In particular, it made me think of The Valley of Gwangi, an old Willis O'Brien project that Harryhausen made in 1969, that brings together cowboys and dinosaurs.
The aliens in this Cowboys & Aliens move quickly and are shown in shots that do not last very long, whereas the monsters in Harryhausen's films move slow enough to be seen. The lighting, composition, and animation of a Harryhausen monster are almost always such that the monster can be clearly seen. This is probably the main reason that fans love to see Harryhausen's models on display. Even minus their animation, they are distinct characters. The most notable exception to this is Clash of the Titans, in which Medusa is shot in shadows and closeups that rarely show all of her, but even there her movements are slow and deliberate and you do not need to worry about missing anything if you blink. Of course, I don't think there's anything necessarily wrong with aliens that move very fast, but the danger is that this can become monotonous. There's no chance for the kind of suspense that Harryhausen gets out of the slowly coming to life and squeaky movements of Talos in Jason and the Argonauts or the tension that builds as the skeletons, ready to pounce, but not yet pouncing, spring from the ground one by one in the same film.
This is a Western. I would have loved to see variations of classic Western shootouts between an alien or two and a gunslinger. Or a version of the Mexican standoff, that Leone loved so much, but with aliens, Indians, and cowboys. These situations are all based on the rhythm of stillness and sudden release that is missing in Cowboys & Aliens. I thought one of the most memorable scenes in the film is the one in which the boy is trapped by an alien in a rock opening. It is effective is because the alien is in one place, threatening the character.
Is it an accident that this is similar to a scene from King Kong?
Cowboys & Aliens is hardly the first film to mix Western and science fiction elements. That honor appears to go to the Gene Autry serial, The Phantom Empire (1935). I remembered this film when speaking to my Dad about Cowboys & Aliens. (My Dad gave a copy of the film to my stepmother, a Gene Autry fan. She watched it until the science fiction elements entered, then said, more or less, "WTF!? Turn that crap off!" The Cowboys & Aliens producers should have taken note.) I saw The Phantom Empire, or at least part of it, many years ago when I stumbled upon it when it was being broadcast in the wee hours from a New York City station. Who could not be intrigued by a Western with a robot? The truth is that despite the advances in special effects evident since 1934, when The Phantom Empire was made, Cowboys & Aliens did not have any of the charm or sense of the marvelous as did the micro-budget Autry film. Read more about it here.
It's certainly not the first time that the story of cowboys vs aliens was told. Although I'm sure this wasn't the first time a comic book told this story, here's a comic book cover featuring a story called "Cowboys and Aliens" which was published in 1995. The story is basically the same as that in the film: natural enemies cowboys and Indians put their differences aside to fight their common foe: monster invaders from outer space.
2. Themes.
Former US President Regan said:
…I couldn't help but say to him, just think how easy his task and mine might be in these meetings that we held if suddenly there was a threat to this planet from some other species from another planet outside in the universe. We'd forget all the little local differences that we have between our countries and we would find out once and for all that we really are all human beings here on this earth together. (See him say it here.)
Sometimes Cowboys & Aliens plays like a direct illustration of Regan's hypothesis. The alien invasion unites all of the main natural enemies of the Western genre: good guys, bad guys, and aliens. The film shows them overcoming their differences and uniting against the aliens.
(Update: 8/17/11: The notion of salvation through alien invasion has popped up again, but apparently economist Paul Krugman was not inspired by Cowboys & Aliens, but by a nearly 50 year episode of Outer Limits, "The Architects of Fear," when he recently said:
No, there was a Twilight Zone episode like this in which scientists fake an alien threat in order to achieve world peace. Well, this time…we need it in order to get some fiscal stimulus. (Source.)
Krugman's mistaken in citing Twilight Zone as the source for the idea, but he could just as well have cited President Regan or even Watchmen, the Alan Moore/Dave Gibbons well-known graphic novel. Imagine Paul Krugman as Ozymandias!
But there's also another theme. The town is called Absolution and it's presumably for a reason. Perhaps we're supposed to think everyone is guilty of some kind of sin, or something as simple as not appreciating their loved ones enough until they are abducted by the aliens. You might even say that at least some of the characters are a bit like the aliens in that they value humans more for their gold than their value as a human being.
The abductions appear to follow a pattern. Saloon owner and wife fight, wife is abducted. Harrison Ford and his son fight, son is abducted. But this pattern is not developed enough to amount to anything. There's enough of it to suggest a pattern, but not enough to make us sure the pattern is not accidental.
In the end, I would have preferred no theme at all, to all of these under-developed and confusing themes. Ford tells the kid to yell when he spots their "people" coming back, that is, the ones that were abducted. The truth is that I did not care whether or not they returned.
3. I love the idea: a mashup of the Western and alien invasion film. What I love most about this idea is that the replacement of Indians with aliens allows for the reintroduction of the mystery and wonder that explorers must have felt when discovering new lands and the strange people, as well as strange creatures in general, that inhabited them. The mashup can bring the sense of wonder that is the bread and butter of science fiction back to our own planet. But I think it would have worked better if the Western part of the equation came from a pioneer type Western. That is, pilgrims setting forth in covered wagons looking for the promised land out West, not knowing what strange encounters awaited them. Perhaps even better would be a Lewis and Clark type expedition with a small group heading into uncharted territory. They don't know what they will be encountering and aliens would fit right in. After all, even today there's enough unknown in the West to allow for the existence of Bigfoot, but more common is the experience of finding pretty much the same thing wherever we go: a McDonald's and a Starbucks on every corner.
Of course, the pioneer idea is a different film, but if we like the idea of bringing back a sense of wonder and mystery to our own back yard, then we should get rid of the Olivia Wilde character. Her character is similar to the Indian guide that helps the white men track rebel Indians or translates whenever there's an enounter with an Indian tribe. She's also a bit like Star Trek's Spock, especially in the similarity of her sacrifice to Spock's in Wrath of Khan. But why do we want a character who can explain mysteries away so easily? The aliens are not like Indians because in Westerns the first encounter between White men and Indians already occurred centuries ago. In this film, the cowboys are encoutering the aliens for the first time. A translator character is helpful for the cowboys, but it hurts the impact of the story.
4. It appears that this is the season for alien abductions. First Super 8, now Cowboys & Aliens. Both produced by Steven Spielberg who also made Close Enounters of the Third Kind and, as a teenager, Firelight, two other films about alien abductions. It seems he's really into this subject. No complaints, although I do wonder if they would be made without Spielberg. But I'd like to see someone do a mashup of Super 8 and Cowboys & Aliens.
5. Sure, it's a great iconic image, but I'm not sure that I like Daniel Craig's arm bracelet weapon. At least not how the film starts off with him already having it. It seems to give the cowboys too much of a head start. When you hear Cowboys & Aliens, you immediately wonder: how the devil can cowboys beat aliens? But when you see Craig with the weapon in the very first scene, you no longer are thinking that. Starting the film this way makes the film miss out on what could have been a great David vs Goliath story. One can only wonder how the cowboys could have won if they had not had the weapon or the help of the Olivia Wilde character.
I love how the film essentially began with nothing more than a poster produced by Scott Rosenberg's Platinum Studios. (Read the story here and here.) That poster was apparently pretty much the same as the image that was used as the cover for the comic:
So when critics refer to this film as yet another comic book movie, they are technically incorrect. They should be calling this a "poster movie." The only precedent that I can think of for a poster movie is Glen or Glenda, as shown in Tim Burton's Ed Wood. Ed asks the producer if there's a script. "F@!k no! But there's a poster."
Was this scene the secret source of Scott Rosenberg's inspiration?
There is a Cowboys & Aliens graphic novel, but this was produced years after the poster that originally sold the concept. According to my son, who may be one of the few to have actually read it, the graphic novel has little in common with the film.
I love this story because I also began one of my projects, Star Man, with nothing more than a poster:
Another film that began as a poster:
The second project I sold on one line was when I was Creative Head of Cannon Films. I was talking to Stan Lee (creator of Spiderman, the Hulk, and other comic book heroes) and asked him if he had a super hero that was not tied to a studio. He said Captain America was available. I asked him to give me a poster of the ol' Cap.
I took that poster into my boss' office; Menachim Golen was an Israeli who probably didn't know Captain America from Magic Johnson. I held the poster in front of Menachim, and said, "Menachim, you of all people should make this movie!" He looked at this masked hero with his skin-tight red, white, and blue uniform, a white star on his shirt, and said, "Let's do it." (Source.)
The relative failure of Cowboys & Aliens at the boxoffice may not have come as a total surprise. Here is Jon Favreau at the Visionaries panel at Comic-Con more than a week before the film's opening:
I think really what happens is if your movie makes money, you're on a good list, if your movie doesn't make money you are not on the good list and that changes all of the time. Right now after the IRON MAN movies I'm there, if this one works out I'll be there, if not I'm in a different spot….
I started off with very little being an actor, I learned to live with not much and as I've built up I've never gotten cautious and even this movie to hear everybody cheer it is wonderful, because this was not the safe move, but I figured I was in a position to do something different, because as the movies get bigger to be honest with you they start to be the same. A lot of the movies this summer were versions of other things you have seen before and so I took a big risk. The secret though is that when it pays off, it's wonderful, and if you fail and you are comfortable with that, then you've got to just keep doing it and then you stop taking the risks.
When Favreau said, "…if not I'm in a different spot" and "if you fail" suggest, in retrospect, that he was already preparing himself for the film's failure and himself being "in a different spot." Perhaps he premiered the film at Comic-Con knowing that this was one place where it was certain to be cheered and "to hear everybody cheer it is wonderful."
1. Who were the people doing the grunt work of running the Treasure Hunt? Interns, according to the people at Cowboys & Aliens HQ. What that most likely means is that they were unpaid workers, working as "interns" for the summer in the hope that such a credit will look good on their resume or that they will make connections that will lead somewhere they want to go. I hope it worked out for them. The Industry would be very different without its "interns." Most people outside of the film industry have no idea how much work is done without pay by interns. They are not necessarily called interns. I did it myself, working without pay on Watchers III part time for a couple of months, mostly syncing dailies. Roger Corman has an executive producer credit on it and the work I did was done at his Concorde studio in Venice, California, not far from where Orson Welles shot much of Touch of Evil. (Unfortunately, I did not get to meet Corman.) What I remember most is when Peter, my supervisor, informed me upon my arrival at work that I had screwed up. The sound had been out of sync for that morning's daily screening. Quite embarrassing, but not surprising given the lack of traditional sync markings on much of the footage. Also unsurprisingly, the job led nowhere. I didn't even get a credit.
2. Promotions similar to the Cowboys & Aliens treasure hunt might be something we will be seeing more of in the future. Smartphone + texting + running legs = a lot of people chasing after something having to do with a promotion. You could be next!
The president of Universal Studios, Ron Meyer, was surprisingly candid in his assessment of this film this week at the Savannah Film Festival:
Cowboys & Aliens wasn't good enough. Forget all the smart people involved in it, it wasn't good enough. All those little creatures bouncing around were crappy. I think it was a mediocre movie, and we all did a mediocre job with it. […] Cowboys & Aliens was a big loss, and Land of the Lost was a huge loss. We misfired. We were wrong. We did it badly, and I think we're all guilty of it. I have to take first responsibility because I'm part of it, but we all did a mediocre job and we paid the price for it. It happens. They're talented people. Certainly you couldn't have more talented people involved in Cowboys & Aliens, but it took, you know, ten smart and talented people to come up with a mediocre movie. It just happens. (Source.)
Does anyone believe that Meyer would be saying anything like this if Cowboys had lit up the box office? What does he mean when he says "we paid the price for it?" Who is "we" exactly? He, for one, does not appear in danger of losing his job. Perhaps he had to give up some stock? That's really paying the price. I wonder if he knows what "good" is. Did he know the movie was "mediocre" before it was shown to audiences, or did it slowly dawn on him as he watched the box office returns come in?
How would you like to win a gold brick containing a Large size T-shirt, a wristband and a 7-11 drink coupon?
This is what you have to do:
Blog, tweet or post to facebook about this contest, making sure that you link back to this blog.
The more ways you publicize this contest/blog post, the more likely you are to win.
Each blog post, tweet, facebook post, etc counts as one point.
Make sure that you leave a comment with a link about your blog post, tweet or facebook post. Please don't forget to include your email address so that we can get in touch with you (if you win!)
The contest ends Friday, August 5th at midnight PST. Winner will be chosen and announced on Monday, August 8th.
One winner will be selected randomly.
Thanks and good luck!
Congratulations to contest winner Samantha Harriman! Many thanks to everyone who participated.
My Favorite Things 8: Comic Books
There are always more comics to add to my library. My want list is here.


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Dog food reviews
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4 Star Premium Dry Food
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Naturapet Innova Large Breed Adult Dry Dog Food
Date of last review
Sun April 12, 2009
Recommended By
Average Price
Average Rating
100% of reviewers
None indicated
None indicated
Calorie Content:
3,701 kcal/kg (95 g = 1 cup)
380 kcal/cup (3.3 oz = 1 cup)
Turkey, chicken, chicken meal, barley, brown rice, potatoes, rice, chicken fat, pea fiber, natural flavors, flaxseed, apples, sunflower oil, carrots, herring oil, egg, cottage cheese, alfalfa sprouts, pumpkin, dried chicory root, glucosamine hydrochloride, chondroitin sulfate, direct-fed microbials, lecithin, rosemary extract, vitamins/minerals
Guaranteed analysis:
Crude Protein (min) 25 %
Crude Fat (min) 14 %
Crude Fiber (max) 5 %
Moisture (max) 10 %
Linoleic Acid (Omega-6 Fatty Acid) (min) 2.5 %
Calcium (min) 0.9 %
Phosphorus (min) 0.7 %
Vitamin E (min) 300 IU/kg
Ascorbic Acid (Vitamin C) (min) 500 mg/kg
Omega-3 Fatty Acids (min) 0.5 %
Glucosamine (min) 600 mg/kg
Chondroitin Sulfate (min) 500 mg/kg
Total Microorganisms (min) 90000000 CFU/lb
DHA plus EPA 0.1 %
Typical analysis:
Moisture 7.5 %
Protein 25.85 %
Fat 14.21 %
Linoleic Acid 2.65 %
Omega 3 0.63 %
Arachidonic Acid 0.09 %
Carbohydrates 45.33 %
Fiber 2.93 %
Ash 4.79 %
Calcium 0.9 %
Phosphorous 0.7 %
Magnesium 0.11 %
Sodium 0.13 %
Potassium 0.66 %
Chloride 0.25 %
Iron 114.11 mg/kg
Zinc 192.2 mg/kg
Copper 13.79 mg/kg
Iodine 2.78 mg/kg
Manganese 26.28 mg/kg
Selenium 0.4 mg/kg
Arginine 1.81 %
Histidine 0.49 %
Isoleucine 1.04 %
Leucine 1.77 %
Lysine 1.62 %
Methionine 0.58 %
Met-Cysteine 0.87 %
Phenylalanine 1.06 %
Phe-Tyrosine 1.8 %
Threonine 0.99 %
Tryptophan 0.27 %
Valine 1.23 %
Taurine 827.22 mg/kg
Choline 1557.14 mg/kg
Vitamin B2 (Riboflavin) 4.49 mg/kg
Vitamin B1 (Thiamine) 5.8 mg/kg
Vitamin B3 (Niacin) 50.52 mg/kg
Vitamin B6 (Pyridoxine) 5.78 mg/kg
Folic Acid 0.77 mg/kg
Vitamin B5 (Pantothenic Acid) 21.19 mg/kg
Biotin 0.11 mg/kg
Vitamin B12 (Cyanocobalamin) 70 ug/kg
Vitamin A 23093 IU/kg
Ascorbic Acid (Vitamin C) 501.13 mg/kg
Vitamin D 2231.45 IU/kg
Vitamin E 300.67 IU/kg
Vitamin K 239.14 ug/kg
Glucosamine 694.95 mg/kg
Chondroitin Sulfate 567.93 mg/kg
Calculated Calorie Content* 3699.11 kcal/kg
*Calculated amounts may differ from packaging as some packaging values are based on available feeding trial data.
Nutritional statement:
Animal feeding tests using AAFCO (Association of American Feed Control Officials) procedures substantiate that Innova Large Breed Adult Dog Food provides complete and balanced nutrition for maintenance, gestation and lactation. This product is NOT intended for growing puppies or dogs under 2 years of age. Refer to Innova Large Breed Puppy for the nutritional needs of puppies and developing large and giant breed dogs less than 2 years of age.
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Registered: October 2005
Posts: 3953
Review Date:
Sun April 12, 2009
Would you recommend the product?
| Price you paid?:
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| Rating:
First three ingredients are named meat products, good quality ingredients
Insufficient meat content
The first three ingredients of this food are named meat products. The first two of these are inclusive of water content (about 80%). Once that is removed, as it must be to create a dehydrated product, the ingredients will weigh around 20% of their wet weight. It is thus likely that these dry ingredients may be more accurately placed much further down the ingredient list than the wet form (ingredients are listed in order of weight). Since the ingredient list is still headed by a meat meal ingredient, this does not cause considerable loss of confidence in the likely meat content of the food.
Behind the main meat ingredient, there are three grains and potato. With only one true meat meal ingredient ahead of the grain content, it appears likely that this food contains a greater amount of grain than meat (note this includes two forms of rice). The grains are, at least, good quality whole grains.
Pea fiber is filler, though this is a minor ingredient in the food. There is a range of oils high in omega 3 & 6 fatty acids, as well as some amount of fruits/vegetables and egg. We appreciate the range of probiotics.
Overall, this food appears to be of good quality and uses decent ingredients. It would appear to be rather grain heavy, however, and animals may benefit from the addition of real meat to the diet.
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"Mad Men" star January Jones is adamant she shouldn't be pitied for raising her son on her own, insisting life as a single mother is a "joy."
The actress became a first-time mom when she gave birth to Xander in 2011, but she has refused to name the child's father and is bringing up her little boy without a partner.
However, Jones argues others shouldn't feel sorry for her because her life is now better than ever.
She tells Britain's Glamour magazine, "People keep saying, 'Oh poor you, being a single mom.' But I don't want to be pitied. I can do anything I want to do. I work, I date, I have friends. I have time for everything I had time for before.
"I just have an added amazing thing in my life. I don't think being a single mom is something I need to feel sorry about or need to go to group therapy over. It's really a joy in my life and that's it."
The blonde beauty also admits she relishes the challenge of balancing her career with motherhood, adding, "I'm the sort of person who likes to juggle many things at once. I manage my time better when I have a lot going on. So I feel good with that energy about the baby and making sure he's on schedule. And I don't require a lot of support. I have a great family and friends, and I know they'd be there if I needed help, but I feel like I'm doing it fine on my own. Being a mom is something I always wanted to do and I love it."


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I'm a wargamer and am building some ruins to represent (among other things) Dale. I wanted to put some graffiti on the walls as a little in joke (the building I'm taking inspiration from has some on) but I wanted it in a middle-earth language.
Could some one please help me translate the following into any language that uses the roman alphabet:
Dragons go home
Age of Sigma sucks
3rd edition rules
and then in khuzdul
at least we had wizards then
Many thanks


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Ohio Lawyer Sues Punxsutawney Phil, The Groundhog
CINCINNATI (AP) — A shadow of a different kind is hanging over Punxsutawney Phil.
Authorities in still-frigid Ohio have issued an "indictment" against the famed groundhog, who predicted an early spring when he didn't see his shadow after emerging from his lair in western Pennsylvania on Feb. 2.
Spring arrived Wednesday, and temperatures are still hovering in the 30s in the Buckeye state and much of the Northeast. While it's not the coldest spring on record, it's a good 5 degrees below normal, said Don Hughes, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Wilmington, Ohio.
So the heat is on against Phil, and the furry rodent has been charged with misrepresentation of spring, a felony "against the peace and dignity of the state of Ohio," wrote prosecutor Mike Gmoser in an official-looking indictment.
"Punxsutawney Phil did purposely, and with prior calculation and design, cause the people to believe that spring would come early," Gmoser declared.
So what's the penalty?
Death, Gmoser said, tongue firmly in cheek.
That's "very harsh," given the nature of the allegations, said Bill Deeley, president of the Punxsutawney club that organizes Groundhog Day.
The backlash to Phil's dead-wrong prognostication has not gone unnoticed in and around his hometown of Gobbler's Knob, Deeley said, and security precautions are in place.
"Right next to where Phil stays is the police station," he said. "They've been notified, and they said they will keep watching their monitors."
The chubby-cheeked animal also has his defenders. "Phree Phil!" declared one supporter on his Facebook page. "We're with you, Phil," wrote another.
As for spring, there's no relief in sight from the wintry conditions. A storm moving into the region Sunday could bring between 4 and 8 inches of snow, said meteorologist Hughes.
That might be particularly hard to swallow after last spring, when the U.S. saw the warmest March in recorded history.
While Gmoser's indictment made no mention of any co-conspirators in the false early spring prediction, the state's own groundhog forecaster, Buckeye Chuck, also failed to see his shadow when he emerged from his burrow.


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Aspiring Bakers #23: Desserts on a plate (September 2012) closing date has been extended to 7 October 2012.
As everyone is busy with mooncakes and exams and this month's theme is also more challenging, Swee San and I have agreed to extend the event for another 7 days.
If you don't know or not sure about what plated dessert is, the rule is to make a main dessert with at least 2 other components (except for garnishes like cut fruits and snow powder, etc).
Some of the suggestions by Swee San are:
- panna cotta with berry coulis and almond tuile
- chocolate molten lava cake with homemade vanilla ice cream and hazelnut brittle
- wine poached pear with caramelized nuts and dark chocolate sauce
- pavlova with whipped lavender cream and poached strawberries
- pandan chiffon with coconut sago and black sesame tuile
- sticky date pudding with honey ginger ice cream and salted caramel sauce
- mango sorbet with coconut tapioca soup and cake stick
If you have great ideas on plating a dessert, do participate and share with us. Look forward to all your entries.
Lastly, the new theme will be announced on 1 October as usual.
Happy Mid-Autumn Festival!


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Slip on your shades, slap on your sunscreen, turn up your radio and have some fun!
Life's Great on Holiday FM
Holiday FM the official soundtrack to summer 2010.
With the UK's biggest stars, headline news and sports from back home and abroad plus the best songs under the sun, to your sunbed.
Take your mobile on holiday receive free calls and texts.... To learn more CLICK HERE
4200 British
nationals were hospitalised overseas last year. Don't get caught
out on holiday get TRAVELWISE click here
Know before you go the FCO essential travel advice website Find out more.


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Click for larger image
- Details
Double Vinyl Album
2 x 180g black Vinyl. Includes download code of the digital album.
- Mehr
1. Lonesome Street
2. New World Towers
3. Go Out
4. Ice Cream Man
5. Thought I Was A Spaceman
6. I Broadcast
7. My Terracotta Heart
8. There Are Too Many Of Us
9. Ghost Ship
10. Pyongyang
11. Ong Ong
12. Mirrorball
Please visit our FAQs page to see if your question has already been answered.
There is a link to our contact us form at the bottom if you still need your question answered.


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(Aaron M. Sprecher/PictureGroup)
MTV announced that Beyoncé will be given the Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award at the 2014 MTV Video Music Awards.
The show, which will be broadcast live from The Forum in Inglewood, Calif., will also include a performance from the singer, who is up for eight awards including Video of the Year for "Drunk In Love."
She has previously won 11 VMAs.
Related: Listen to Lil Kim's Remix of Beyonce's 'Flawless'
MTV unveiled a promo for the Beyoncé award and performance compiling various looks from her Beyoncé visual album and set to the music of Led Zeppelin.


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Eileen KINNICK Diary - 75 yrs ago
Week 33 - Aug 10-16
My mother, Eileen KINNICK (maiden name), kept a diary from 1932 until her death in 1999. In Feb 2005, I created a website of her 1936 diary, the year she graduated from high school, and started dating my dad later in the year. The transcription, week by week, with commentary, notable items, and my comments are sitting there to view, unchanged (a few back links and all!). I am starting this retro view in the middle of the year. You are welcome to click on the Weekly Index, and go back to read the first half of the year, at your leisure.
My comments - in red
Commentary at the time - in green
Notable items - in blue
Setting: The family lived in a farmhouse a couple of miles out of town (Coon Rapids, Iowa). Older brother, Leo, lived at home; girl friend, later wife, Ida. Younger brother, Buzzy (she often wrote Bussy); see photo. Lund family lived down the road, on the way to town.
Week 33. A theme you may have notices is she, and her friends, loved to dance. On Monday night, this week, she went dancing; this is ballroom dancing, big bands. 'Lunds' refers to the sisters, Erna and Edith. Note that their older brother, Elmer was among those there as well. AND, Pete Smith is mentioned. As story to follow, perhaps?! ;-)
Note: Little Joe Hart and his Boys (1937)
Note on Friday, Leo finally had surgery. Peeking at next week it is clear he was taken to hospital in Carroll, about fifteen miles north of Coon Rapids.
Still time for music, movies and books; as well as dancing. Green link to Green Pastures: http://imdb.com/title/tt0027700/
Another side note: On Saturday, reference to 'Clara Bolger cafe' - my wife's aunt. ;-)
Enjoy the read. Comments welcomed.
Families are forever! ;-)


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Photoshop Valentine's Madness Tutorials, Brushes, Clip Art
Happy Valentine's Day . . . happy tutorial hunting! Lots of spam and craziness out there so be careful. For this issue we decided to play it clean and get you some cool stuff! So here goes : Hearts on a sun rays background wallpaper exclusive tutorial The Graphics Fairy brings FREE Clip Art Heart in Envelope Icon Psd Tutorial
Create a beautiful love wallpaper Photoshop Heart Wing Logo Photo
Valentine's Love Poster . . . and MORE
January 22, 2018


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Here Photos Premiere:
What's this link?
You are here: Home ‹ Board index ‹ Movie Discussion ‹ All Other/Older Movies ‹ (2010) I Love You Phillip Morris
Phillip Morris Premiere Photos
Discuss this movie. Filmed April 29-June 30, 2008
Available on DVD and Blu-ray.
Here Photos Premiere:
What's this link?
I'm Dumb and I'm proud! :_D
More photos :
http://www.zimbio.com/pictures/EgL5HPm- ... Jim+Carrey
I'm Dumb and I'm proud! :_D
He should get a haircut like this and that glasses for a role, it's already half of the performance, lol.
What's PhillipMorrisMovie.com, Carreygirl ?
It's an unofficial 'I Love You Phillip Morris' movie website. So I guess it's created by a fan OR it's one of the people who follows the new trend ... buy an URL with a name you're sure of that it's going to be wanted by someone in the near future and ask money to give it to them. Happened with a lot of movies, actors and singers lately.
Premiere photos can now be found in our Gallery:
http://www.jimcarreyonline.com/images/t ... ?album=459
Jim Carrey Movies/Series/Books in 2019:
Sonic the Hedgehog, Kidding (Season 2) and Untitled novel
Join Jim Carrey Online on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Instagram, VK and Snapchat
more pics here!
http://www.gettyimages.com/Search/Searc ... &src=quick
http://www.wireimage.com/GalleryListing ... m%20carrey
To God, every living being is beautiful... Except for you.
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Mom bloggers were rejoicing earlier this week when an advertisement celebrating breastfeeding surfaced on the Internet. The ad shows a baby holding an Oreo cookie while drinking milk from his mother's breast. The nipple is fully exposed. Oreo's slogan, "Milk's Favorite Cookie," appears in small print at the bottom. Could there be a more clever ad?
The image quickly went viral and appeared on mom blogs across the Internet universe. Word on the street was that the image was a print ad in South Korea.
Of course, some felt the advertisement was overly provocative and others scolded Nabisco for putting a sugary cookie in a baby's hand. But the general consensus was, This is awesome!
BabyCenter blogger Sara McGinnis wrote: "The Oreo breastfeeding ad is pure awesomesauce! It's about time we get over any remaining breastfeeding squeamishness (*ahem* Mark Zuckerberg) and let the tata pride run wild."
Now, it turns out that the image was never meant for public eyes.
A representative of Kraft, the owner of Nabisco, which makes Oreos, told ABC News that the ad wasn't created by Kraft and it never appeared in South Korea or anywhere.
Cheil Worldwide, an independent advertising agency, created the ad.
"Our understanding is that they created it for use at an isolated advertising awards forum in Korea," the official told ABC News. "It was never intended for consumer advertising or public distribution."
To view this beautiful ad in all its glory click over to BabyCenter.
What do you think? Should Kraft change its mind and run the ad—or do you find it inappropriate?


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Have some things to say about the future of the Fayette Community Pool? Your chance is coming soon.
The Fayette Park Board has set a community meeting for 7 p.m. July 9 to present information about the state of the pool and concerns about its future.
A fact sheet will be prepared to distribute to people attending the meeting.
Meetings scheduled in the past—before the decision to close the pool—had very sparse attendance. Park board members are hoping for more interest now that the pool's future is at stake due to maintenance needs.
The meeting is scheduled at the park shelter house.
Park board members learned at the June 16 meeting that a profit of about $500 should be made from the sale of photographs of summer ball teams.
The pizza fund raiser also went well. More than 400 orders were taken for pizza from Don's Pizza Stop. Future fund raisers will involve other businesses in town.
Discussion continued about a volleyball tournament. A decision was made against buying new sand for the court. Instead the ground will be used.
Plans continue for a blues festival tentatively scheduled Aug. 15 and 16. Cost estimates were presented and information about additional equipment is being collected. Menu items for concession sales were also discussed.


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Recent news indicates that cell phones and the radiation they emit may be tied to cancer. What does this mean for you?
When news broke recently that cell phones could possibly cause cancer, our own cell phones began ringing here at Winship Cancer Institute. Reporters wanted help to put the news in perspective after a panel of the World Health Organization placed cell phones in the same category they have placed coffee, exhaust fumes, the pesticide DDT and pickled vegetables, saying that the devices could possibly cause cancer.
Because cell phones are so pervasive – there are an estimated 5 billion world-wide subscribers – people were naturally concerned. Previous studies have acquitted the phones, but on May 31 a new review was saying they could be guilty after all.
It was important to me then as it is important to me now to try to help people understand the findings of the WHO panel. I think an important message from this report is that there is a possible risk, and that we need more information. Also, the report highlights just how difficult it can be to untangle cancer's web, to find its causes and the best therapies. Just think of cigarette smoking. How many millions of people smoked for decades before tens of thousands of cases of lung cancer began to instruct us of the lethal consequences? Cancer often takes years or even decades to develop, and thus it can be years or decades before patterns of disease become clear.
The WHO panel, the International Agency for Research on Cancer, is composed of 31 thoughtful, intelligent scientists from 14 countries who examined several previous studies. They concluded that they cannot rule out the possibility that cell phones can cause cancer. The panel was also careful to say that no known cases of cancer have been linked to cell phone usage.
The radiation that cell phones emit, called nonionizing radiation, is the issue. In general, most scientists have believed that these radio frequency waves were too weak to cause DNA damage that is often the cause of cancer.
That said, the Journal of the American Medical Association reported this year on research from the National Institutes of Health that found that brain activity in the part of the brain closest to the phone antenna can accelerate with less than one hour of cell phone use. That report offered a theoretical explanation – but note, only a theoretical explanation – of how such exposure could possibly cause an inflammatory response in the brain or trigger the formation of free radicals. The inflammatory response, the body's natural reaction to injury or illness, can and often does go awry, wreaking havoc on a cellular level. Inflammation is now linked to a number of cancers. As for free radicals, this refers to free oxygen radicals within the body. They, too, are bad – thus all the advertisements you see for anti-oxidants that may fight their deleterious effect.
Also, a study last year conducted in 13 countries reported that people considered to be heavy cell phone users had a 40 percent higher risk of gliomas, a type of brain tumor, such as the tumor that claimed the late Sen. Edward Kennedy.
So where does this leave us? Do we need to toss our cell phones? No, but we do need more information. And some of that information needs to be how much radiation a particular cell phone emits. We need to know which phones are potentially safer. There is no reason to panic, but there is reason to begin to ask for information from cell phone manufacturers. There should be more to shopping for a cell phone than price.
Walter J. Curran Jr., MD
Executive Director, Winship Cancer Institute of Emory University
Associate Vice President, Cancer, Woodruff Health Sciences Center
Chair of Radiation Oncology
Tags: cancer, cell phones, news, radiation, winship cancer institute


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Hope someone can help I am wanting to fit out a boat for what I believe is called flydragging where the boat has large rope reels fitted, which I am building from an article by Bill Woods photos on this site. However I can not find information on how they actually operate, on some boats they face forward and others astern and sometimes sideways but I can not tell how the ropes are directed astern to the net. They also seem to work in conjunction with a winch I can see the winch and the reels but how they work together is unclear. to haul the ropes in. I could do with a diagram or directions to one if anyone can help.
Many thanks Modelboat


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The Nebraska Adventure Company offers fully guided and outfitted adventures including camping, fishing, canoeing, boating, tubing, bird watching, biking, and hiking. These adventures can also be all inclusive (food, lodging, transportation) and can include all of the equipment you need to enjoy your adventure to the fullest. We can host individuals, small groups, or cooperate outings.
Adventures Include
Tours Include