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Verizon made a strong declaration regarding their DROID brand — it's not going anywhere. They made that declaration with the launch of three new devices, two of which we'll be reviewing here today. The DROID MAXX and DROID Ultra are extensions of the latest smartphone innovations Motorola introduced in the Moto X.
With the same software, hardware and much of the same experience, are these phones worth checking out over the Moto X? Does Verizon have a compelling suite of DROID phones to push at the point of sale this year? Let's find out!
Motorola's take on performance has always been an interesting one. Even since the DROID X days, through the RAZR reboot and all the way up until now, Motorola has never really been too concerned with getting the most powerful collection of specs inside one device. The same rang true with the likes of the Moto X and the latest range of DROID phones, with many criticizing Motorola for using what appears to be "2012 technology." Are those claims validated?
The DROID Ultra and DROID MAXX are nearly identicals when it comes to performance specs, though there are a couple of key differences to take note of. Here's the tale of the tape for the former:
- 5-inch 1280 x 720 Super AMOLED display
- Motorola X8 Computing System (1.7GHz dual-core application processor, quad-core graphics)
- 2GB of RAM
- 16GB of internal storage
- 10 megapixel RGBC ClearPixel camera with 1080p HD video recording
- 2 megapixel front-facing camera with 720p HD video recording
- 2,130 mAh battery
- WiFi a/b/g/n/ac, Bluetooth 4.0, 4G LTE and NFC
The DROID MAXX measures up quite similarly, except you can swap in a 3,500mAh battery and a more comfortable 32GB of internal storage. The added storage is definitely welcome in that package, with Motorola neglecting to add a microSD card slot in any of their latest models. It's something we're gravely disappointed in, but it's a trend that seems to be plaguing any handset which Google has had a hand in these days.
The window of these devices have been a huge point of consideration for many. The aforementioned 5-inch display on both of these models only offer up 720p resolution opposed to most competitors' 1080p. That's a turn-off at first glance… until you take a deeper look at the thing. The Super AMOLED display employs a classic RGB subpixel arrangement instead of the less favorable pentile.
This means sharper pixels and better color accuracy. And the pixel density of 294 means this display is still quite beautiful. It's also built to take some dings with the much-welcome strength provided by Gorilla Glass 3. Motorola's decision to use AMOLED here was about more than just beauty and vibrance, as its ability to only illuminate the pixels it needs is a major factor in one of the devices' biggest feature (but we'll touch more on that later).
Motorola X8 Computing System
Motorola piqued many folks' interest when they announced their latest phones would look to employ something called the "Motorola X8 computing system." The early details were cloudy, but Motorola eventually came clean — this processor is a custom version of Qualcomm's dual-core Snapdragon S4 Pro MSM8960 clocked at 1.7GHz. Wait, what?! Dual-core, you say?
But before you write this thing off, hear me out — it absolutely screams. I've already spoken about this in a previous opinionated editorial, and my sentiments deserve echoing here. The efficiency of the two application processors (coupled with the performance-friendly stock Android skin) means these devices are still able to keep up with the quad-core big boys of the moment.
Couple all of that with the fact that the chipset's GPU — the same quad-core Adreno 320 graphics featured in the Snapdragon 600 configuration — is among the best of the best, and you wouldn't even know or care that the device has two less application cores than the rest. It's something I spoke about at length in a recent opinionated editorial, so it should come as no surprise that I'm echoing the same sentiment here.
Also at work within the Motorola X8 system are two low-powered cores for some of the DROID Ultra and MAXX's key features. I'm speaking of Touchless Controls, Active Notifications, and more. We'll speak more about these in the software section, but for now just know that these two cores bring features other OEMs can only dream to offer while not sacrificing a lick of battery life.
Build, Look, and Feel
Motorola has a penchant for building tough phones, with their solid track record dating back to the original DROID. I'm happy to report that things haven't changed a bit, especially when speaking about the Motorola DROID MAXX. That particular model features soft-touch woven Kevlar backplating, a unibody design which wraps around the bottom lip of the device. This helps gives it a durable, yet premium look and feel.
The DROID Ultra also features Kevlar, though its tough backing is covered in what seems to be plastic. It still looks and feels great, but it doesn't give me the same sort of confidence that the DROID MAXX does. Regardless, both phones are built to take a beating, and will look quite nice up against any of today's most beautiful pieces of technology.
The device features a 3.5mm headphone jack at the top, and pretty much nothing more. The right side houses the power and volume buttons, with the latter also being the door way to the SIM card slot. These buttons have a very great feel to them, with tactile feedback being satisfying enough to ensure you'll never question whether or not you pressed it. The bottom of the device features the microphone hole and the microUSB port (which is only used for charging and data sync).
Below the display are capacitive buttons for Home, Back and Recent apps, the latter of which can be customized to be used as a hardware menu button whenever you long-press it. If you don't opt to use this feature, the phone will present a black strip on the bottom of any app that uses the legacy menu feature. It's nice to have options, folks.
On the subject of build, I just want to point out the fact that the battery is not removable. Does that make it a bad phone? No. It just means you can't swap batteries on a moment's whim. This likely won't bother those who spring for the MAXX much, but those looking for the Ultra might be disappointed.
All in all, though, the phone feels great in the hand. Some might be put off by the 5-inch form factor, but Motorola did a great job of keeping it slim in all the right places. It doesn't have that "just right" size and curved form factor of the Moto X, but it still features ergonomics which make it an absolute joy to hold and use.
It's not the thinnest phone or the lightest phone out there, but perhaps that's to its advantage — it feels like a real powerhouse piece of mobile technology, and not like a little toy that you wouldn't mind letting your little ones' hands get on every now and then.
There was a time where we'd slap Motorola on the wrist for god-awful customization on top of Android, but those days are over. Motorola is done trying to push an overly-bloated skin with horrid design on us. They've adopted the stock Android look and feel, with only very minor changes being made to facilitate the unique features which make their latest phones stand out.
As we said before, the result is a much smoother experience across the board. It feels lightweight and petite, and is just as quick as any quad-core genies sitting inside the phones of competitors everywhere. With that, there isn't a whole ton of stuff to cover in regards to the user interface.
It's stock Android 4.2.2 as you know it, with things like new lock-screen notifications, improved notifications, a settings toggle and more being offered up. You can read more about all of that in an earlier feature we did regarding the latest version of Jelly Bean. For this review, let's jump straight into some of the other bits Motorola's sprinkled on top.
Touchless Controls
One of the biggest features that has me gushing over the latest Motorola experience, Touchless Controls alone could sell many people on these devices. It allows you to activate Google Now commands with nothing but your voice. That means your greasy pizza hands don't need to be anywhere near the phone to do things like play music, launch an app, or pull up a quick Google Search.
This is one of the features made possible thanks to the Motorola X8 Computing System we mentioned before, as the "always listening" ability of this device is helped along by something called a "natural language core." This core has one job and one job only — to listen for "OK, Google Now." You train your phone to your voice, and it will respond within half a second to do mostly anything you wish.
Touchless Controls didn't perform quite as fast on the Moto X, with folks submitting early reports of 3-4 second delays between the time you say the command and the time the phone responds. I've yet to experience any such delay with either of these two DROID phones. I've also not experienced any issues with getting the phone to respond in less desirable audio conditions.
Even in the car, situations where multiple people in a room are speaking, a TV is playing in the background and more, the phone was able employ exceptional noise cancellation abilities to discern between my voice and the everything else going on. The phone also does a great job of responding to your voice and your voice alone, with multiple attempts by my sister, brother in law and others to activate the feature proving futile.
Motorola is to be applauded for their use of the natural language core to provide such a feature, because it's something that would absolutely kill battery life in most other smartphones. The X8 computing system is every bit as significant as Motorola promised it'd be.
Active Notifications
This particular feature is a tag team effort between the Super AMOLED display and the other half of the Motorola X8 Computing System — dubbed the "contextual core." Active Notifications allow you to get a more detailed look at incoming alerts (as well as time and battery level) compared to something like a tired old LED light. Not only can you see that there is a notification, but you can see which apps the notifications are from, and get limited information about them before deciding whether you want to fully unlock the display.
This information is offered up all day long, and it amazingly doesn't do a thing to hurt battery life. The display only lights up the pixels it needs, so it's using a lot less battery life than if you were to turn on the display each and every time you got a new notification.
The contextual core uses the phone's accelerometer to determine where the phone is, so if it's turned face down or in your pocket it'll know not to display anything. Conversely, the contextual core also realizes when you pick it up, and will serve up the information you desire (if it wasn't already doing so). This is another killer feature that Motorola will win a lot of hearts with, and it's every bit as useful and crucial as Touchless Controls.
Motorola Connect
While some third party apps offer up the ability to view and respond to text messages from your computer, not all of them work so great (nor do they also add the ability to see who's calling without reaching for your phone). Motorola sought to developer and add these features to their experience by default. We'd expect a tailor-made solution to work much nicer than a third-party one that's designed to work on any phone, but does Motorola Connect live up to that promise?
Well, it does… when it wants to. The Google Chrome extension isn't always the most reliable in the world, with my particular installation often losing connection to the servers (thus rendering the feature useless). The text messaging component works pretty well when it does work, though there have been instances where I've gotten information about incoming calls well after I'd already answered the call on the phone itself.
Motorola Connect has the ability to be another one of those great features that some can't live without, though in its current state I'd be perfectly happy without it. We'll see if Motorola can improve it in future updates, but for now it's quite forgettable.
Motorola Assist
Automated, context-aware actions are something many of us long for (apps like Tasker wouldn't be so popular otherwise). It's something Motorola looked to add to their software experience in their latest phones through something called Motorola Assist.
It'll give folks the ability to automatically silence their phones during sleep time, as well as automatically respond to calls and texts while you're driving or in a meeting. The phone doesn't even need you to tell it you're driving — it just knows. Thanks, contextual core!
Similarly, it knows when you're in a meeting based on your calendar entries. You can even let certain favorites' calls and messages through during these times, and specify whether you want to be alerted whenever someone calls you more than once within a five minute period. All these features work as advertised, though I would have appreciated a few more options and a little more flexibility.
It's not nearly as versatile or full-featured as Motorola's Smart Actions, an app that was featured on many of the company's pre-2013 smartphones. This app provided Tasker-like functionality, and I would "love Moto long time" if they brought that same experience back in Motorola Assist. For now? It's there, and the little bit it does have helps.
DROID Zap and DROID Command Center
With these being DROID phones, we expected Verizon to want a little bit of their own razzle dazzle put into the mix. That's where DROID Zap and the DROID Command Center come in. The former gives you the ability to send photos to a nearby Android user by swiping up with two fingers on a photo. The recipient (who either needs a DROID phone or the DROID Zap app installed) can then swipe down to receive it. It works using a combination of GPS and WiFi, with no NFC to deal with.
I'm not sure how I feel about all of that just yet, but then again this isn't one of those features making me jump out of my seat to go buy the phone. I have tested the functionality between the DROID MAXX and DROID Ultra, and it didn't work out too well.
Photos often got hung up in the clouds somewhere, and the few times I was able to pull the device down on the other device, the transfer wasn't as lightning quick as Verizon's ads would have you believe. I'm not sure how much more cumbersome it would be to get it to work in less controlled, more random situations, but my experiences suggest it would be even worse. Stick to NFC, or other traditional methods of transferring photos.
There's also the DROID Command Center, which is a fancy way of saying "circles widget." You can view minimal battery information, time and weather, and activate DROID Zap or Miracast Wireless Display functionality from this widget (both of which can be activated from the standard settings menu). As much noise as Verizon made about it, I have to admit I expected more. Alas, it's just a widget — there if you need it, out of the way if you don't.
Of course, a Verizon phone wouldn't be a Verizon phone without their fair share of bloatware. The list of pre-installed applications is pretty standard, with the likes of Amazon, Viewdini and more getting their fair share of the spotlight out of the box (alongside all of Google and Motorola's stuff, natch). Here's the full list of Verizon-specific stuff if you're curious:
- Amazon
- Amazon Kindle
- Amazon MP3
- Amazon Appstore
- Audible
- Ingress
- NFL Mobile
- QuickOffice
- Verizon Tones
- My Verizon
- VZ Navigator
- VZ Security
- Viewdini
- Mobile Hotspot
- Voicemail
None of them are an issue if you don't want them to be, thanks in part to the advent of the ability to "disable" apps (which simply hides them from your apps drawer and prevents them from performing background tasks).
Before we talk about the quality of the camera, let's talk about how you launch it. The X8's contextual core allows you to launch the camera by a quick shake of the wrist, even if the display is off. This gesture is't always natural, and I found it more awkward to pull off than anything else.
Beyond that, it always takes me 2 or 3 tries to get the camera to launch, which makes me want to just unlock the display and launch it from the lock-screen anyway. I would have preferred a hardware shutter button, of course, but considering how rare those are these days I can't say I'm too surprised or disappointed.
Motorola's introducing a new type of camera that they hope will get people off their backs about a history of poor sensors. It's the 10 megapixel "ClearPixel" camera, which adds a cyan wrench into the standard RGB affair most backside-illuminated cameras tend to employ. The end result is supposed to be a camera sensor that performs exceptionally well in low-light conditions.
Sensor Quality
I'm sad to say that the camera still doesn't impress in that particular area without the help of the device's LED flash (and even with the flash it looks just as ordinary as any camera does). Pictures come out more fuzzy than clear in that regard, and it leaves a rather bland taste in my mouth (when compared to cameras from other top smartphones, anyway).
Pictures being taken in well-lit rooms and in natural daylight tend to fare much better, with Motorola able to deliver a nice, crisp picture that any photo snapper can be proud of. I'll award them a slight pat on the back, but nothing more as I expect any halfway decent camera sensor to perform well in those sorts of conditions. Take a look at this mixture of photos in varying conditions.
Video recording quality is quite nice (again, in optimal lighting conditions), with 1080p footage providing a nice, clear picture. Framerates are solid thanks to the camera being able to capture the scene with 60 frames per second. The device's microphone also does a great job recording audio and picking up the voice of subjects and ambient noise.
Of course, it won't produce the type of audio that would make a motion picture director proud, but we don't expect it to. Take a look at a full-speed HD camera sample:
Here's one taken with the slow motion video capture feature:
As you can tell, there's absolutely no audio recorded in this mode, and the slow motion effect is a bit jittery. Finally, here's a quick message from our little friend, the Phandroid Blue BugDroid:
The 2 megapixel front-facing camera will provide ample performance for the all-important selfies and video chatting, provided you have adequate lighting. It records video in up to 720p HD, which should suffice for face-to-face communication on the go.
Camera Software
This is one area of the operating system where Motorola decided to departure from stock Android a bit. In fact, it's the most significant departure throughout the entire experience. Motorola's goal was provide a clean, gesture-based user interface for which to take your photos and video.
While I love the simplified controls (swipe left and right to access settings and the gallery, tap anywhere to snap a photo or record video, swipe up or down to zoom in or out, etc.), I was a bit disappointed with the utter lack of options. I can take a panoramic photo, I can enable HDR mode, and I can choose a slow motion mode for video, but that's it.
The other set of options are standard affair, with the ability to toggle flash, shutter sound and geolocation all presented to me. Where are the filters? Where's Google's Photosphere? And why the hell can't I change video recording quality or image size? I suspect that last one is due to the technology at work within Motorola's ClearPixel sensor, but I have been unable to get an answer from Motorola either way.
In all, this device's camera isn't something that would leave a lasting impression on me at retail. It's there. It works. It occasionally produces usable photos. But that's it.
Speaker quality is something that is so vastly important to media lovers like myself. After owning many devices and being disappointed in their speakers, I have to say that Motorola has really won my heart with the DROID MAXX. Notifications are nice and loud, and music and video sound good enough to listen to without running for the first pair of headphones I can find.
One thing I didn't like was the fact that all the audio is contained tightly within the speakerphone's designated area, which makes it easy to muffle the sound whenever it's in your pocket or sitting on a cushioned surface.
To test it, I tried covering the speaker area with nothing but my finger, and if it weren't for me actively listening for audio (and the vibration it makes up against my skin) I wouldn't know anything was coming out. Perhaps that's a testament to how well-built this device is, though I'd prefer a little bit of sound bleed to make sure I don't accidentally miss a call or notification.
Beyond that, things are peachy. Music needs are taken care of through Google Play Music by default, a decent video player will play most typical files, and whatever else is missing can be had from the Google Play Store.
Unfortunately I was unable to test the device's Miracast functionality, which allows you to mirror whatever is on your phone onto any Miracast-compatible display or dongle. The option is there, though, if you didn't believe it from the product description Motorola puts out.
They also neglected to include any HDMI-out functionality through something like an MHL port, so if you aren't down with wireless then you don't have many other options. I wasn't particularly thrilled with that, obviously, but it's the reality that you'll have to live with if you want either of these phones.
Odds and Ends
The few benchmarks I ran with this phone fared as well as I expected. The information Antutu spit out wasn't surprising, with the DROID Ultra and MAXX lagging behind top tier chipsets inside the HTC One and Samsung Galaxy S4. At the same time, graphics performance stood toe-to-toe with the best of them (and maybe even a little better thanks to the fact that the GPU only has 720 progressive pixels to push as opposed to 1,080).
Both devices consistently scored in the low 20,000s on Antutu, with neither ever going much further than 21,000. Oddly enough, this was a few thousand points more than what the Moto X was able to achieve, a phone with largely the same hardware. These two class of phones were nearly identical on Quadrant, though, with an average of about 8,500.
Battery life
I could speak so much about battery life on these phones that my tongue would fall out at the end of it all. I've already talked about how the Motorola X8 computing system uses low-powered cores to push innovative features without sacrificing battery life. The entirety of the chip is quite battery efficient as well, with Qualcomm's dual-core silicon being known as the best in the business in this area.
Motorola promises 24 hours and 48 hours of battery life (with typical usage patterns) for the DROID Ultra and DROID MAXX, respectively. I'm happy to say that they have definitely hit the mark on those figures. In both cases, I was able to push quite close to those boundaries on several different occasions, with my "typical" day being several dozens of emails, 1-2 hours of phone calls, text messaging, web browsing, Google+, Skype, Facebook, Twitter, and more.
Every day is different so I won't try to go into a detailed account of my usage, but I tend to push about 3-4 hours of screen on time, with a vast majority of my time spent on WiFi (I jump to LTE occasionally whenever I leave the house, but it usually isn't for long and I'm not typically using my phone much while I'm out).
I get closer to 48 hours with that screen-on usage on the DROID MAXX with its 3,500 mAh battery than I get to 24 hours on the DROID Ultra, but both cases put smiles on my face when I check my battery levels at the end of the day. PS: the battery life in the graphic above was achieved with close to 2 hours of voice calls.
In a non-scientific stress test (tons of gaming, YouTube, music, calls, web browsing and more), I was able to push the DROID MAXX to 7 hours of screen-on time. It lasted just 17-18 hours during that cycle, but I was literally on the thing all day. Some days I get closer to 18-20 hours on the DROID Ultra and 1.5 days on the DROID MAXX, but that usage is always fluctuating based on what my day calls for. Regardless, these phones can get anyone through a day (and, in some cases, more than 1-2 days if you're really trying).
Simply put, the hype about battery life on Motorola's latest phones is real. Heck, it was real back when Motorola was crowned the battery king when they first introduced the Motorola DROID RAZR MAXX and RAZR MAXX HD.
The fact that I was able to get the usage I mentioned with features like Touchless Controls and Active Notifications always "listening" for voices and contextual events is nothing short of amazing. If you value good battery life and want a phone that delivers, then you won't be disappointed (especially if you spring for the $300 DROID MAXX).
Call quality and reception
That this section is at the end of our review is quite odd, no? I mean, it is a phone, after all. Call quality should probably be at the top of anyone's list of things to worry about when it comes to deciding on a new phone. Perhaps you could look at it as us saving the best for last… maybe. But I digress. The skinny is that there's nothing to worry about here, and that's something I expected.
Motorola's noise cancellation remains some of the best in cellular, and callers on the other end have had absolutely zero complaints about being able to hear me clearly. On the flip side, the ear piece is loud enough to hear your compadres without an issue (even if you're standing on the side of a roaring road).
Motorola has made a spot clean reputation for themselves in this department over the years, even dating back to the days of the first ever cellular phone (which Motorola coincidentally introduced back in 1973). It doesn't surprise me to see that trend continuing in their latest crop of smartphones.
On a related note, I have had no reception issues when it comes to 4G LTE and WiFi , nor does GPS give me any trouble. There haven't been many reports of a death grip issue, with the only one I've seen to date being reproduced by holding the phone in the most stupid way ever (so stupid that I won't even attempt to do it myself). If you don't hold your phone like a complete psychopath, you'll be fine.
If you haven't already figured it out, I'm in love with the Motorola DROID phones (more so the MAXX with its added 32GB of internal storage and 3,500 mAh battery, of course, but in love nevertheless). Motorola has taken a very significant step forward with these latest releases. Their decision to ditch what we used to know as MotoBLUR for nearly stock Android is no doubt welcoming.
While I was a little worried about the devices' chipset, my time with both of these phones have wiped away any doubts I've had about Motorola's direction. They've concocted a tailor-made chipset that can perform well under pressure, and can stand toe-to-toe with the big boys that lets them introduce features than those with more ordinary offerings can.
Motorola doesn't tuck many surprises away, and in a way that's great. More is less in this case, and their desire to keep things simple makes for a very pleasing experience overall. I am a bit disappointed with the camera for several reasons, but it's forgivable in the grand scheme of things — I'll put up with the few sore spots and blemishes these things have if only to be able to experience all the other bits of greatness stuffed inside these Kevlar-coated bundles of joy.
- Clean, lean stock-ish Android UI
- Kevlar unibody build
- Battery life, battery life and battery life
- Unique features (Touchless Controls and Active Notifications)
- Motorola X8 computing system
- Camera so-so in low light
- 720P display
- Lack of microSD card slot
- No HDMI-out
DROID Ultra Overall Rating: 3.5 out of 5
DROID MAXX Overall Rating: 4 out of 5
Ask me anything!
Still have questions? Meet me over at the DROID Ultra and DROID MAXX sections at AndroidForums.com, where I'll be hanging out to answer any question you might still have about either of these phones. Be sure to create an account over there if you haven't already. Don't be shy!


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First Films of Akira Kurosawa - Eclipse Series 23, The
Last year, the Criterion Collection released AK 100: 25 Films by Akira Kurosawa, a massive DVD box set providing a retrospective of the filmmaker's career from his first film in 1943 through his last fifty years later, including the four films now re-released in this current box set. But for consumers who already had many of the Criterion Collection's prior Kurosawa releases or who were otherwise unwilling to pay $399 for AK 100, this present release is surely welcomed.
Sanshiro Sugata (79 min., 1943)
After serving five years as an assistant director and occasional screen writer, Kurosawa got his first opportunity to helm a film. Based on a contemporary novel by Tsuneo Tomita, Sanshiro Sagata is a martial arts/sports film set in 1882, just after the restoration of imperial rule in Japan and the beginning of Japan's rapid period of industrialization.
Like many of Kurosawa's films, most notably Red Beard (1965), Sanshiro Sugata concerns the professional and, more importantly, moral progress of its protagonist. The film opens with an ambush of judo master Shogoro Yano (Denjiro Ookouchi) by a rowdy group of jujitsu practitioners, with would-be student Sanshiro Sugata (Susumu Fujita) looking on. With little effort and no malice, Master Yano bests his attackers, after which an impressed Sugata begs to become Yano's student.
Sugata proves to be an exceptionally strong and able student, but lacking in character. After being admonished by his teacher for living without reason, purpose, or humanity, Sugata discovers the inner fortitude and humanity to redirect his life. As he progresses, Sugata faces a series of jujitsu opponents who seek to best him, the two most notable of which are the venerable Master Hansuke Murai (Takashi Shimura), head of a local jujitsu dojo, and Gennosuke Higaki (Ryunosuke Tsukigata), an arch-rogue who wears western-style clothing.
Sanshiro Sugata includes a chaste love storyline featuring actress Yikiko Todoroki who plays the daughter of Sugata's opponent Master Murai, and the object of affection for both Sugata and his nemesis Gennosuke Higaki, but it is the fight sequences that are most memorable. While the fight choreography is understated, the later two fights are dramatic for their staging which emphasizes the combatants state of mind and the physical environment of the bout, while largely de-emphasizing the physical contest itself.
Sanshiro Sugata has a fairly unremarkable storyline, a modest budget, and is marred by significant edits by wartime censors, but it already exhibits some of Kurosawa's characteristic touches including dramatic camera movements and editing, variable camera speed, wipes from scene to scene, and extreme mood-driven weather. Though marred by heavy editing from Japan's wartime censors, and by less than pristine film elements, Sanshiro Sugata is a window on the formation of a master filmmaker.
The Most Beautiful (85 min., 1944)
Following the success of Sanshiro Sugata, Kurosawa was encouraged to make a propaganda film to aid the war effort. When hopes to make a film about navy fighter pilots fell through, Kurosawa undertook a film about all-volunteer female factory workers producing war materials. Shot on location at the Nippon Kogaku factory in a quasi-documentary style, Kurosawa attempted to maximize the sense of realism by having his cast apprentice at the factory and live in the factory dormitory.
A simple message of collective self-sacrifice and of factory workers as vital to the war effort thematically drives The Most Beautiful. The plot concerns a drive by the factory to temporarily boost production by 100% for the male workforce and 50% for the segregated female workforce, whereupon the young women demand to have their quota increased by two-thirds.
The film follows a rhythm of success and setbacks shown through discrete episodes but aggregated through a rising and falling productivity graph: an initial burst of enthusiasm is sapped by weariness, injuries, illnesses, and family emergencies, and boosted by a growing sense of fortitude, patriotism, and collective struggle among the young women.
Sanshiro Sugata, Part Two (82 min., 1945)
The first of two sequels Kurosawa would make due to studio pressure (the second was Sanjuro in 1962, the follow-up to 1961's Yojimbo), Sanshiro Sugata, Part Two returns will all the principal cast of its predecessor, but with a storyline far more propagandist than the first, contrasting Japanese martial arts as noble art form versus American boxing as ignoble bloodsport. During the film's first half, Sugata thwarts a bullying American sailor and bests America's champion boxer. In the second half, Sugata rises to a new challenge presented by the two brothers of the prior film's arch-rival Gennosuke Higaki. Actor Ryunosuke Tsukigata does double duty playing both the physically shattered Gennosuke Higaki and the new threat, karate master Tesshin Higaki, while Akitake Kono convincing plays the deranged Genzaburo Higaki.
The Men Who Tread on the Tiger's Tail (59 min., 1945)
The final film in this set was made during the waning days of the war, but was not released until the first days of the allied occupation of Japan. This short film recounts an episode in the life of legendary twelfth-century feudal lord Minamoto no Yoshitsune (Tadayoshi Nishina). Fearing execution at the hands of his brother, Yoshitsune attempts to flee through a mountain pass to reach safety outside his brother's dominion, accompanied by a local guide (Kenichi Enomoto) and six loyal samurai, including the warrior monk Benkei (Denjiro Ookoochi). The pass is guarded by a large force loyal to Yoshitsune's brother so Yoshitsune and Benkei are compelled to use deception not brawn to make their escape.
Filmed on a sound stage in the manner of Noh and kabuki theater, The Men Who Tread on the Tiger's Tail showcases tour de force performances from Denjiro Ookouchi and physical comedian Kenichi Enomoto.
This set consists of four discs housed in separate slimline cases, enclosed in a single cardboard slipcover.
Video & Audio:
These films are presented in their original aspect ratio of 1.33:1 without window-boxing. The first three films in the set suffer from print damage, poor contrast, flicker, missing frames and weak black levels. However, The Men Who Tread on the Tiger's Tail looks significantly better than the other three films evidencing only occasional print damage and good contrast.
The first three films feature a 1.0 mono audio track directed to the center channel, while The Men Who Tread on the Tiger's Tail is 2.0 stereo. The audio tracks for the first three films all sound brittle and harsh with poor fidelity, prominent flutter, near-constant tape hiss, and frequent crackle. As with video, the audio for The Men Who Tread on the Tiger's Tail is much superior, though unremarkable as compared to average American films of comparable age.
Optional English subtitles are provided.
Apart from brief liner notes from film scholar Stephen Prince provided for each film, there are no extras on this release.
Final Thoughts:
None of the films in The First Films of Akira Kurosawa - Eclipse Series 23 constitutes a must-see masterpiece, but all show promise and are entertaining in their own right. Though the first three films in this set suffer from poor audio and visual quality, this bargain-priced set is recommended for Kurosawa fans.
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February 23 - July 16, 2001
Dale Valena, Museum Curator
Through a chronological display of photos, text, and artifacts, this exhibit told the story of the formative years of New Hampshire's land-grant college, built for the benefit of all of the people of the state. The exhibit covered the early development of UNH before it was in Durham and before it was incorporated as a university.
Colleges founded in this country before the Revolutionary War were the special province of the privileged classes, offering a strictly classical program of study.
The industrial revolution, with its flood of new inventions and increasingly complex technology, created a demand for workers possessing a technical education beyond that available at a secondary level. Even more important in an overwhelmingly agricultural society was the need for advanced agricultural education and research.
To read more about significant events in the history of the New Hampshire College of Agriculture and the Mechanic Arts, view the Chronology 1856-1893.
The Morrill Act
The Morrill Act of 1862, introduced by Senator Justin S. Morrill of Vermont, called for the federal government to provide each state with a grant of land that could be sold
… for the endowment, support, and maintenance of at least one college where the leading object shall be, without excluding other scientific and classical studies, and including military tactics, to teach such branches of learning as are related to agriculture and the mechanic arts
The act further stipulated that none of the money could be used for buildings; each state had to provide its own physical facilities.
On July 7, 1866, Governor Frederick Smyth signed a bill providing for the incorporation of the New Hampshire College of Agriculture and the Mechanic Arts. The new college was to be established in Hanover in order to share the resources of Dartmouth College. Each institution, however, was to retain their separate identities.
Ezekiel Dimond
"If any man can be called the father of the college, Ezekiel W. Dimond is the man." - Donald Babcock, UNH Historian
Ezekiel Dimond was elected by the Board of Trustees to serve as the first professor of the College of Agriculture and the Mechanic Arts. He arrived in Hanover on August 1, 1868, bringing with him seven boxes of books, specimens, and equipment - the entire physical property of a college that really existed only on paper.
But Prof. Dimond was a man of unlimited vision and determination. From 1868 until his untimely death in 1876 at age forty, he taught the general and agricultural chemistry courses and also served as the business manager, recruiter, architect, supervisor of construction, farm manager, and lobbyist in the legislature.
On his death, the trustees stated, "Without Dimond's zeal, faith, and personal labor on behalf of an enterprise that absorbed all his time and thought, it is believed by many that the College would today be a vagary of the mind, rather than an accomplished fact."
David Culver
General David Culver, a successful businessman from Lyme, New Hampshire, took an active interest in the new college. In his will he left his farm and $30,000 to promote agricultural education. These funds made possible the construction of the college's first building. Culver Hall, opened in 1871, housed the chemical laboratory, classrooms, and museum.
The school's curriculum developed as the mission of the college solidified. Students in the first classes could choose to study either Agriculture or the Mechanic Arts. By the last years in Hanover, there were four courses of study: Agriculture, Chemistry, Mechanical Engineering, and Electrical Engineering. A General Course was added when it became evident that women were interested in attending the college.
The Class of 1871
"Like all pioneers, for that is what we were, we had a variety of experiences not found in the 'curriculum'. Putting ten country boys in more or less proximity to 300 regular college boys was not calculated to promote much enthusiasm among the 'bucolic' as we were called. Oh yes, we had another rather pungent appellation, 'dungists'. Now with these names there was absolutely no possibility of our being mistaken for any of the high-brow students, although we many have been equal in horse-sense." - C. A. Wilcomb, Class of 1871
Charles H. Hood
Charles H. Hood was the sole member of the NHC class of 1880 in Hanover. After graduation, he joined his father's dairy business and was soon president of H.P. Hood & Sons Milk Co. Charles Hood was an enthusiastic alumnus and a generous benefactor to the new college in Durham.
From Hanover to Durham
Over the years, relations between Dartmouth and the New Hampshire College became increasingly strained. The college was denounced by Dartmouth as being too "aggie." At the same time, the Granges were criticizing it for not putting enough focus on the agricultural program.
In 1885 the state legislature appointed a committee to investigate the feasibility of moving the New Hampshire College to a new location. But it was not until 1890, when Benjamin Thompson died and his will became public that the dream of moving out from under the shadow of Dartmouth became a reality.
Benjamin Thompson, 1806-1890
Benjamin Thompson, a farmer and a highly competent business man, was born in Durham on April 22, 1806. He never married and when he was fifty years old, he wrote a will leaving his farm and assets totalling over $400,000, to the state of New Hampshire for the establishment of an agricultural college on his land in Durham. Six year later, the Morrill Act would facilitate the installation of just such a college in Hanover.
For the next thirty-four years, Thompson quietly tended his farm and watched what transpired in Hanover. Although it is clear that his original intention was the establishment of a school exclusively for teaching agriculture, in 1874 he added a codicil to his will extending the scope of the college to include the mechanic arts.
Benjamin Thompson died on January 30, 1890, and in 1891 the state legislature voted to accept the provisions of the Thompson will and to move the college from Hanover to Durham, establishing the foundation for the University of New Hampshire and the fulfillment of Ben Thompson's dream.
The First Graduation in Durham
"In May, 1892, Professor Pettee approached the members of the '92 Class and informed them that the corner stone of Thompson Hall was to be laid soon at Durham with appropriate ceremonies, and he would like to have our graduating exercises as part of the program.
We left Hanover in the morning of the selected date, arriving at Durham a little before noon and went directly to the barn. There we were served our alumni dinner on the second floor. At 1 o'clock we gathered at the site of the corner stone at the front left-hand corner of Thompson Hall. Soon after we gathered, a sudden heavy shower was pelting us, so we made a hasty retreat back to the barn, it being the nearest and only building on the campus.
After taking a good look at the class and the layout of the lower floor, Prof. Pettee decided to back us into the corner of the calf pen and present us with our diplomas as part of the exercises." - Edward M. Stone, Class of 1892


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Rezoning Requirements
When a property owner seeks to change the zoning of their land, they must submit an application for rezoning to the Planning and Zoning Division. After verifying that all the appropriate information has been provided and the required fees paid, Planning and Zoning staff schedules the application for hearing before the Planning Commission and City Council. The staff also analyzes the application and provides this information to both bodies.
Hearings & Meetings
All Planning Commission and City Council zoning hearings are conducted in the Marietta City Council chamber located on the lobby level of City Hall at 205 Lawrence Street, Marietta, GA 30060
2023 Deadline & Meeting Schedule
2024 Deadline & Meeting Schedule
Planning Commission meetings are typically held the 1st Tuesday of each month at 6 p.m. City Council meetings are typically conducted the 2nd Wednesday of each month at 7 p.m. Zoning hearings are held in addition to the regular City Council agenda.
Post-Hearing Voting
The Planning Commission hears the case and then votes to make a recommendation to the City Council for disposition of the application. The City Council makes the final decision to approve or reject the rezoning request. The Council may also place special stipulations or restrictions on approved rezonings.
Rezoning Application
We have provided information and items which the applicant must submit on or before the application deadline.
Failure to submit any item, or any additional information that might be requested, on or before the deadline will result in the application being held until the next scheduled meeting of the Planning Commission.
View the Rezoning Application (PDF) Rezoning applications can be submitted online via Sages.
Required Information
- Completed Application with ALL ORIGINAL SIGNATURES
- Legal description
- Application Fee
- Copy of the deed that reflects the current owner(s) of the property
- Plat prepared by an architect, engineer (professional or civil engineer), landscape architect or land surveyor whose state registration is current and valid and whose seal shall be affixed to the plat, showing the:
- Acreage
- Dimensions
- Location of the tract(s)
- Utility easements
- Copy of current tax bill showing payment or a certification from the city of Marietta Tax Division stating that taxes have been paid.
- Site plan (drawn to scale) prepared by an architect or engineer (professional or civil engineer), whose state registration is current and valid, showing information including (if applicable):
- One copy scaled to an 8 1/2 inches x 11 inches size
- Specific use or uses proposed for the site
- Location and sizes of proposed structures, including the number of stories and total floor area
- Detention/retention areas
- Setbacks
- Street(s) - right of way and roadway widths, approximate grades
- Location and size of parking area with proposed ingress and egress
- Specific types and dimensions of protective measures, such as buffers
- Landscaping
- Wetlands and 100-year floodplain


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By ANDY LYONS
(WARRENSBURG, Mo., digitalBURG) — A trial date is set for one of the defendants in the shooting death of Warrensburg bar owner William "Blaine" Whitworth.
Reginald L. Singletary, charged with first-degree murder and armed criminal action, has a pretrial conference scheduled for Aug. 5. The trial is set for Sept. 17-20 at the Johnson County Justice Center.
During a case review hearing on Tuesday, Singletary's attorney withdrew a request to change the venue of the trial to another county.
Dane Miller, a criminal justice professor at UCM, said the purpose of a change of venue is to have a better chance of selecting jurors who are not prejudiced toward either side.
"In the present case, because it brought such notoriety, (the trial) would have been difficult to do here in Johnson County," Miller said. 'Thus, the defense moved for a change of venue, probably to Cass County. However, it might end up being less expensive simply to pick the jury from Cass County and bring the jurors here rather than convening the trial there and having all witnesses and anyone else interested in the case travel to that location."
In a separate hearing Tuesday, Ziyad T. Abid, the second defendant in the case, failed to have his bail reduced from a $2 million surety. Abid is also charged with first-degree murder and armed criminal action in the death of Whitworth.
Judge R. Michael Wagner, who now presides over both Singletary and Abid's cases, said he spent considerable time looking over the case file and said Abid's current bond amount is appropriate.
However, since the defense has already presented several reasons to lower the amount it could move to lower the amount again if new reasons come into play, Miller said.
Abid has not yet bonded out of the Johnson County Jail as of Wednesday evening, according to the Johnson County Sheriff's website.
Singletary is being held at the Johnson County Jail on a $1 million bond.
Singletary told police after he was arrested that he shot Whitworth with a handgun "at the request of Ziyad T. Abid in exchange for money from Abid," according to court records.
Abid and Singletary appeared separately for arraignment Oct. 9. Both pleaded not guilty.
Abid's next hearing is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. Feb. 19 at the Johnson County Justice Center.


text: Space | 12. April 2012 See the ISS with your own eyes Live webcasts have become increasingly common, enabling any Internet user to follow spaceflight events such as launches, dockings or daily life on board the International Space Station (ISS). But there is a way to experience the wonder of spaceflight even more directly – with your own eyes. This is because the Space Station is visible at certain times as a small, bright point of light moving rapidly across the morning or evening sky. Many people are fascinated when they observe the ISS in this way, especially for the first time. In this blog entry I will explain how you can observe the ISS yourself. The ISS flies at an average altitude of around 350 kilometres, in an orbit inclined at 51.6 degrees to the Equator, and circles the Earth roughly once every 90 minutes. As the Earth rotates beneath the ISS orbit, the Space Station constantly moves over different parts of the planet. When the ISS passes over a region where the Sun has recently set – but, at an altitude of 350 kilometres, the ISS itself has not yet entered Earth's shadow – the football-field-sized Space Station and its large solar panels reflect sunlight towards the Earth, appearing as a bright point of light in the evening sky to the naked eye. And of course, the same applies in the morning before sunrise. Depending on light pollution at the viewing site and the elevation of the pass, the Station is typically visible for about one to three minutes or, under ideal conditions, up to six minutes. The ISS is periodically visible above Germany – firstly, in the morning sky almost every day for about two weeks; then for about two weeks in the evening sky. This sequence is then repeated approximately every two months. Of course, it is necessary for the sky to be largely free of clouds. On some days two passes are visible. Finding out when the ISS is visible Dedicated websites and smartphone apps can advise if and when the ISS is visible from your location. For example, on this page from NASA, you can choose your country and then select the city nearest to your location from a list. A table shows when the ISS will be flying over that location in the following days, which direction it is coming from, what its maximum elevation is (90 degrees means it is flying directly overhead) and in which direction it will disappear. The data on Heavens Above. is somewhat more detailed. Here again, you first need to select your location. If you then click on 'ISS' in the 'Satellites' section, you will see a table containing five main columns. As well as the date and brightness ('mag') of each pass, three columns give the start of visibility (time, elevation above the horizon, compass direction), the highest point in the sky and the end of visibility (with time, elevation above the horizon and compass direction data again in each case). The lower the magnitude, the brighter and therefore more visible the pass is. Magnitudes of less than -3.0 should be easily visible from brightly lit cities. Similarly, the more directly overhead the pass is (that is, with its greatest elevation reaching 90 degrees), the brighter and more easily visible it will be. Assuming a clear field of view, passes with elevations of 50 degrees should still be visible from heavily light-polluted cities. ISS visibility table, data for Cologne, Germany. Image: Heavens Above In addition to these websites, there are a number of smartphone apps that can determine ISS visibility for you. Use of an integrated GPS finder is even simpler than the methods described above. As an example, one platform-independent solution runs as a smartphone browser app and outputs a table from Heavens Above. Image: Long-exposure photograph of an ISS pass over the Brandeburg Gate in Berlin. Credit: Henning Krause (CC-BY-SA 3.0). Fascination with spaceflight – observing the Space Station with the naked eye Try it out for yourself – all you need to do is make your way to a south-facing balcony! The ISS always appears from the (south-) west. With a tripod and a little bit of practice, you will also be able to take long-exposure photographs and videos of ISS flybys (exposure time of one minute), to share with family and friends. Here's to clear skies! Top image: Long-exposure photograph of an ISS pass. Credit: Andreas Möller (public domain). Lower images: ISS pass ground track and visibility table from Heavens Above. Video: ISS overflight. Credit: Henning Krause (CC-BY-SA 3.0).


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The Dixie Classic Farmers Market, located at the Fairgrounds, is open on Saturdays year-round, 6 am to 1 pm. Winston-Salem and Forsyth County has several other Farmers Markets open through November. Please check with your local Farmers Market for specific hours of operation.
Here are three reasons to buy local:
1. Better for the environment - Although grocery stores carry a wide variety of foods – many produce items found in grocery stores comes from other states or countries. The cost of transporting food across county (or the ocean) is expensive and burns fossil fuels (gasoline). Locally grown foods have a shorter commute to market!
2. Freshness, quality and taste - If you have not tried locally grown foods, you are missing out on foods that taste great, last longer, and are high quality. Local produce lasts longer (because it does not spend time being transported). Many local farmers follow sustainable growing methods that avoid chemical fertilizers and pesticides.
3. Buying local helps our local farmers and supports a stronger local economy - Buying locally not only helps support farmers and their families but also supports other businesses in our community where farmers shop and buy products. This creates jobs and supports local merchants and small businesses.
Click here for all information about the program and weekly newsletters


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Near surface water has shaped the landscape of Mars. Areas of the planet's northern and southern hemispheres have alternately thawed and frozen in recent geologic history and comprise striking similarities to the landscape of Svalbard. This suggests that water has played a more extensive role than previously envisioned, and that environments capable of sustaining life could exist, according to new research from the University of Gothenburg, Sweden.
Mars is a changing planet, and in recent geological time repeated freeze and thaw cycles has played a greater role than expected in terms of shaping the landscape. In an attempt to be able to make more reliable interpretations of the landscapes on Mars, researchers have developed new models for analysing images from the planet.
The process of analysing satellite images from Mars has been combined with similar studies of an arctic environment in Svalbard. Despite the fact that Svalbard is considerably warmer than Mars, the arctic landscape shows a number of striking similarities to certain parts of Mars.
One important common feature is the presence of permafrost and frozen subsurface water.
"In my thesis work, I have compared aerial images from Svalbard with the same resolution as satellite images from Mars, and combined with field-work we increase the ground resolution even further" explains Dr Andreas Johnsson from the University of Gothenburg's Department of Earth Sciences, who has worked together with planetary researchers from Germany.
Having studied hundreds of gullies on Mars and compared these with Svalbard, the researchers found evidence that the gullies on Mars were likely formed by melting snow and water erosion. Field work has supplemented the interpretation of aerial images.
"The ability to get a first-hand experience with landforms that have been studied using aerial images is a unique feeling. One important insight we have gained is that, despite the high image resolution for both Svalbard and Mars, the camera can't capture everything. What appears to be fine-grained sediment on an aerial image of Svalbard can actually turn out to be a very rocky area which has implications for certain types of landforms. It's important to bear this in mind when studying images of Mars."
Since Mars has a cyclical climate, the same conditions could recur in the future.
Water is essential to any life on Mars
The existence of liquid water is a vital component if life on Mars is to be possible.
"Research on Earth has shown that organisms can survive in extreme cold environments with limited access to liquid water," continues Dr Johnsson. "Studying various areas on Mars therefore enables us to investigate whether there could be environments with conditions capable of supporting life."


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With so many options, it may be hard to pick out exactly what kind of window treatments go where�in your home. Between choosing what looks best and fits seamlessly into your decor, you should also consider what how much privacy you want for the room in question.�
No traditional room is complete without some opulent drapery. However, since you're probably not decorating a ballroom, it's okay to skip the tiers and stick with the simpler version. You may want to avoid using drapes in a kitchen or child's room, as the fabric can be difficult to clean. In a room with�light spillage�- dining rooms, bedrooms or living rooms - drapes can be cleaned using feather dusters, dry clothes or taken to the dry cleaners periodically. Match these elegant window treatments with Persian rugs, traditional-style couches and arm chairs and some soft lighting. They also provide enough coverage that they can�be used in more private rooms.�
Wood blinds
Contemporary design calls for wood blinds, no question about it. The simplicity, and�texture�of this�natural element are ideal for the kind of late 20th century room that is so popular today. This style of design heavily relies on neutral colors and earthy materials, making the wooden material very fitting. It also tends to feature a monochromatic palette, presenting the decorator with a particular need for texture. The way wood blinds contrast against light in�clean�lines creates a sort of texture, as opposed to other window treatments you may use. Contemporary design also uses slim silhouettes and unadorned materials, requirements that are easily fulfilled with wood blinds. They are easy to wipe down, and allow enough privacy to be used in any room of the house.�
Roller and roman shades are the perfect addition to any modern room. The simple�outline of the window treatments complement the basic�feel of this particular interior design style - and the level of privacy varies. Bamboo roller shades might work best in a kitchen, as they're easy to wipe down and don't block out as much light as other shades would. Conversely, blackout roller shades are perfect for a modern bedroom, especially one that belongs to a night owl. The soft but tidy lines of roman shades look minimalist but cozy - and would look amazing in a bedroom or living room.


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Welcome to the ATO publications ordering site. ATO publications are available as PDF downloads. If you require printed material to be sent to you, simply login or register to order.
Accessible digital alternatives of, and information about, the products and forms on this site can be found on or via ato.gov.au, abr.gov.au and tpb.gov.au


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I've posted about this particular brick wall before. I'm trying to find the parents of Leveret Waters. I know that his mother was named Mary and that she was married twice. Once to John/James/? Waters and then to John B. Whitlock. I've found her grave and three documents (1, 2, 3) that list her name. The problem? Each document gives a different maiden name.
I received the third document today - her death certificate - and hoped that I'd be able to name Mary. Instead I was given yet another maiden name for her. She's either Mary Harding, Mary Pilgrim or Mary Bascum.
Mary's death certificate lists her as born in Georgia, her father as John Bascum from Ireland and her mother as Elizabeth Pilgrim from North Carolina. Though her maiden name is listed different from the the previous two documents, it does show promise. Her mother's maiden name is given as Pilgrim, which matches the name that Mary's son gave as Mary's on his SS-5. Also, this death certificate gives her father's name as Bascum. Mary and her second husband are buried in Bascomb Methodist Church yard in Cherokee County, GA. Coincidence? Maybe, but it's something to check out.
So, I have yet another name to investigate, but at least it ties in to some of the other names that Mary has been given. This is a very frustrating brick wall and I want a sledge hammer.


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Seeds of Rebellion
Our Sages explain that this chapter, which is in this week's Torah portion, serves as a break between one sin of our ancestors and another. The second sin is their unjustified rebellious complaint against G-d which is clearly recorded. The first one is hidden in the words "they traveled away from the mountain of G-d" which was sinful in the fact that they were anxious to leave Mount Sinai lest more commandments be imposed upon them — thus acting in the manner of "the child running away from school".
The connection between abandoning a relationship with G-d and a rebellion against Him can be seen in the findings of a recent study of classroom discipline in state secular schools in Israel. Over one-third of the 150 teachers interviewed admitted that they do not punish violent students for fear of getting hurt or having their property damaged.
When Torah values are neglected the inevitable result is rebellion against any form of authority. These seeds of rebellion must not be allowed to grow into a threat to Israel forever.


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"collage. transparency and watercolor on paper."
The Hermetic Library visual pool is a visual scavenger hunt for images of a living Western Esoteric Tradition.
Images of your ritual or ritual space, images of sigils or tools, showing off your own library or special volume from the restricted stacks, sacred spaces and places, esoteric artefacts and installations, inspired paintings and people — these and much more are part of the culture and practice of magick.


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Stack Cup Medium - Cornflower
A taller version of the stack cup, perfect for long drinks. Mix & match, stack or single, the signature cup is the ideal addition to any home.
Measures approximately 80 mm wide x 70 mm tall.
Holds approximately 225 ml.
Slip cast porcelain
All processes done by hand
Processes include mould making, clay preparation, mixing of pigment, pouring, sponging, sanding, glazing & polishing
Fired at 1250°C
Every piece is made by hand. This means that each piece is unique and there can be a difference in colour tone and shape.
Take care of your ceramics & they will last a lifetime.
Some tips:
- Stack with care to prevent scratches & chipping
- You can hand wash in soapy water however, all ceramics are dishwasher safe
- Ceramics will break if transferred from freezer or cold fridge to a hot oven or heated surface, allow for gradual changes in temperature
- Do not microwave or use in the oven
At this time I can only ship within the EU. Your order will be sent in 5 working days with DPD tracked shipping.
Want to order something, but there's no / not enough stock? Please get in touch. I will gladly make the pieces for you.
Please consider between 5 and 8 weeks for delivery for custom made orders.


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"For establishing an outstanding research program in applied optics involving undergraduate students at Bethel College, and for his work in infrared spectroscopy and interferometry, holographic interferometry, plasma diagnostics, optical and acoustical measurements, and instructional laboratory experiments in optics."
Dr. Peterson received his BS degree in physics and mathematics from Wisconsin State University at River Falls. He received his Ph.D. in physics from Michigan State University in 1969 and worked for two years on a postdoctoral in optical plasma diagnostics in the Physics Division at Los Alamos National Laboratory. While on the faculty at Western Illinois University (1971 - 1980) and as a Visiting Staff Member at LANL, he continued work with near and far-infrared interferometry as well as holographic measurements of plasma and vibratory motion. Since moving to Bethel College as the Department Chair in 1980, he has developed new methods of performing interferometric measurements in real-time using heterodyne direct phase detection and stroboscopic, real-time holography. He has worked with Bethel students and faculty members a principal investigator in a 3M and Imation project to perfect interferometric quality control techniques during the production of magnetic media surfaces.
Dr. Peterson is Secretary of the AAPT, chairs the AAPT Publications Committee and received the AAPT Award for Distinguished Service in 1992. He enjoys the development of apparatus for teaching physics and has won six prizes in AAPT Apparatus competition - with three First Place Prizes in optics. He is a member of the AAPT, APS, and OSA, and currently serves on the AIP Committee on Publishing Policy.
Thomas D Rossing (Chair), Lawrence B Shaffer, Richard J Furnstahl (Vice Chair), Warren W Buck, David Peak ('96 Rcpnt)


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May 14, 2009 (CIDRAP News) – An international group of experts has examined and rejected the idea proposed recently by an Australian scientist that the novel H1N1 influenza (swine flu) virus is the product of a laboratory accident, the World Health Organization (WHO) reported today.
"The group of scientists feels that this hypothesis does not really stand up to scrutiny, that the evidence suggests that this is a naturally derived virus, and not a laboratory-derived virus," said Dr. Keiji Fukuda, WHO assistant director-general for health security and environment, at a press briefing today.
Adrian Gibbs, 75, a veteran flu researcher, said recently that he had concluded from his analysis of the virus's genetic sequence that it might have evolved in eggs used by scientists to grow viruses and by drug companies to make flu vaccines. Gibbs said he intended to publish a scientific paper describing his hypothesis, according to a May 13 Bloomberg News report.
Fukuda said Gibbs contacted the WHO May 9 to communicate his idea, which he had arrived at by studying genetic data deposited in public databases, not from studying the virus directly.
"Because of the nature of the hypothesis and the credible nature of the scientist, we took this seriously," Fukuda said. The Bloomberg story said Gibbs was involved in research that led to the development of oseltamivir (Tamiflu).
After hearing Gibbs' idea, the WHO asked five of its collaborating centers to evaluate it, Fukuda said. A day later the agency asked the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) to do the same. WHO officials discussed the hypothesis with a large group of experts in both human and animal influenza 2 days ago, he said. They concluded that Gibb's proposition didn't fit the evidence.
Fukuda added that the WHO will need to review Gibbs's research article when it is published, but he indicated that it is unlikely to change the experts' conclusions.
He cited the episode as a positive example of rapid, open scientific communication and debate on medical issues, facilitated by putting genetic data in public repositories.
"We live in an age when it's really not possible to hide things," he said. "It's all for the better as far as I'm concerned. Maybe it means a little more work, but you can also address it in a way which is convincing to people."
"This is much better than dealing with rumors in which the basis for the rumor is not clear and then dealing with answers in which the basis of the answer is not clear," he added.
In response to a question, Fukuda said Gibbs suggested that the novel virus seems to have an increase in lysine (an amino acid) residues and that it sits out on a "long branch" of the influenza phylogenetic tree in comparison with other swine flu viruses. He said it is known that growing flu viruses in eggs can lead to an increase in lysine residues.
However, human, avian, and swine flu viruses differ somewhat in this respect, Fukuda said, adding, "After discussion and looking at older swine influenza viruses, it was concluded that the amount of lysine being seen was in fact very consistent with the natural increase in lysine being seen in swine flu viruses."
Also, the experts who evaluated the hypothesis said that because of historical gaps in swine flu genetic data, many swine flu viruses are somewhat isolated on the phylogenetic tree, so Gibbs' observation on this point was nothing unusual, according to Fukuda.
In other comments at today's briefing, WHO spokesman Gregory Hartl announced that the agency's daily briefings would be suspended for about a week because of upcoming WHO meetings.
A WHO-hosted intergovernmental meeting on virus sharing will begin tomorrow, Hartl said. That will be followed by the World Health Assembly, the annual meeting of WHO member countries, which runs all of next week.
The intergovernmental meeting will deal with the sharing of viral isolates and access to vaccines and other products derived from them, an issue pursued by Indonesia in relation to H5N1 avian flu in recent years.
In other comments at today's briefing:
- Fukuda said experts who met today to discuss whether to recommend mass production of a vaccine for the novel H1N1 virus will probably need to meet several more times before they can come to a conclusion.
- He said the WHO has not seen any evidence that the novel virus is resistant to the antiviral drugs in use (oseltamivir and zanamivir), and the agency is not making any changes in its recommendations on antiviral use.
- The WHO continues to be concerned about the fact that most of the people infected with the H1N1 virus have been young, he said. About half of those who died were healthy and had no predisposing conditions. "It's highly unusual for young, healthy people to die from influenza," he said. "So this is a pattern which is different than what we see with normal influenza," though it has been seen in previous pandemics.


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Square Drop Out, 10.125 in (257 mm), Slumping Mould
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10.125 x 10.125 in (257 x 257 mm); inside, 5.625 x 5.625 in (143 x 143 mm). Imported from Creative Ceramics in Europe, these are simply the finest slumping moulds we have ever found on the commercial market. Slipcast from a specially formulated clay body, they have an exceptionally smooth surface, accept kilnwash uniformly, and do not crack under repeated usage if handled properly.
Dimensions shown are the largest measurements of the actual mould, to help you determine the kiln space required. Individual moulds may vary slightly from the dimensions shown. Whether pre-fusing or cutting unfired glass, create your blank to fit the actual mould.
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Somebody told me that he has an extension for Settlers of Catan that allows play with up to ten players. Who made it?
Is it still sold?
Somebody told me that he has an extension for Settlers of Catan that allows play with up to ten players. Who made it?
Is it still sold?
There is a video of a 10 player game.
I don't believe there is anything official, but as the video demonstrates, its just a matter of putting together a couple extra sets to get a playable 10 player game.
I'd imagine the trading rounds would be a bit chaotic though!
We have played an 8 player game. We simply used two sets, making the board huge. We played with the expansion rules (IE special building phases)
For pieces, we already had the 6 player expansion. For the additional 2 players, we used black and grey Lego pieces.
I have used PhotoShop to make my own resource hexes, as well as new development cards. We have never used all the things I have made, but if we did, it would be possible to have 15 players in a game. I have a "gold" resource hex; a "development card" resource hex; a "pie" resource hex [(like Trivial Pursuit) (has all five normal resources plus a gold, for a total of 6)]; "gold" harbors (2 for 1, and 3 for 1); and even more! I also have made, as stated, new development cards to speed up the game, and make it more interesting. Currently there are 9 of them. One of them is a "lottery winner" development card. It allows you to pick up any 10 resource cards and 3 development cards. Using all my variations, we have finished games in 20-25 minutes. We have not used the original set-up for several years, as our family prefers to have things which make the game more interesting. Guess you could say that we have outgrown the original version(s), due to an excessive amount of play. Love this game!!
Whatever you do, you have to either nerf or totally remove the Monopoly card. A suggestion could be to allow it to steal only 1 resource from each player, but I feel it could be too powerful even in that case.
Since there would have to be a huge number of hexes, the luck would increase too much, hence I would recommend a diceless variant.
You should also allow at least two "longest road" and "most knights" bonuses.
Finally, you would really have to strictly limit the trade phase somehow.
it shouldnt be difficult just add more extension packs (which add 2 players) and either paint them different colours or build new pieces. it is a good idea to have two longest road and largest army. however the monopoly card( or any other rules) shouldnt be needed to mess with, yes the monopoly is powerful but the 7 is rolled the most ( most likely anyway) and this would negate the monopoly card.