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As the President of Production at Marvel Studios, Kevin Feige knows a thing or two about how The Avengers movie came together and the history of the project. Thankfully, when I was on set last June with a few other reporters, Feige was more than willing to answer any and all of our numerous questions. During the extended interview, Feige talked about the plot, how the film will impact other Marvel movies, if they were able to do things in The Avengers that they couldn't do in other Marvel movies, his thoughts on 3D, how being bought by Disney has affected the way they make movies, Easter Eggs, the action set pieces, the updated costumes, new Iron Man armor, and so much more it's impossible to sum it all up. Trust me, if you're a fan of Marvel movies, you're going to enjoy this interview. Hit the jump to either read or listen to the interview.
As usual, I'm offering two ways to get the interview: you can either click here for the audio or the full transcript is below. The Avengers opens May 4.
Question: So we've been waiting for someone to explain what the movie's about…
KEVIN FEIGE: Well, you see, there came a day… [laughs] Well, what have people told you it's about? Come on. You've had two intelligent actors in here.
They've told us about their characters, but they don't know what to say about the plot.
FEIGE: Well, you know, the movie as everyone knows, I think, is primarily about… An event occurs and we don't want to get into too much about what the event is, but an event occurs that causes problems for Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson), who runs this organization, S.H.I.E.L.D.. And I understand you've already been on the bridge set earlier today… If S.H.I.E.L.D. was this organization that just stepped out of the shadows occasionally in other movies to see what was going on, in this movie, we're on the other side of that. In this movie, we're through S.H.I.E.L.D.'s point of view, this organization who's responsible for sort of taking care of the world and making sure everything runs smoothly and when a billionaire genius inventor creates a suit of armor and blasts out of a cave, it's going to get on their attention. And when a hammer falls into the middle of the desert, it's going to get their attention. And when a green guy appears rampaging through Harlem, it's going to get their attention. And if and when a super-soldier were to be discovered frozen in the ice, that would also get their attention.
So it is sort of about seeing what a day in the life of Nick Fury is like and of this organization. And when such an event occurs, he is forced to take these people, who he's not really sure he can even handle individually and see if he can get them to come together and work together to stop this greater threat. So in a lot of ways, we're looking at it as a disaster movie. You know, the meteor or the piece of the meteor hits at the beginning of the movie and they spend a good chunk of the movie seeing if they can organize a team that can go fight it. It's not my way of saying it's Armageddon – things could be worse – but it's my way of saying that's kind of the paradigm that we're looking at, is something horrible is going to happen if this team can't get together and fight against it.
[References to other movies and their ties to Nick Fury.] How much time has passed before he's at the point where he can bring them together and try to create a team?
FEIGE: Well, again, that's sort of what the movie's about. It takes a while over the course of the movie for that to happen. If you're asking how much time happened… I think we're saying it's a few… It's not definitive how much time has elapsed since Iron Man 2 or since Thor or since Cap, but we're saying it's probably six months to a year.
So at the beginning of the movie, it's not like Nick Fury has a problem and he calls The Avengers and they're already together in a room?
FEIGE: Absolutely not.
So it's going to be showing them assembling still?
FEIGE: Absolutely.
The Avengers impacts future movies in the Marvel canon, including Iron Man 3. Will the events of The Avengers have a trickle-down effect for any future stand-alone movies? Or do you view this as just like in the comics, where there was an issue that could happen on its own and not really affect larger comic series?
FEIGE: It's definitely the latter. We're looking to replicate that experience that a comic reader had, who loved reading his Thor issues and loved reading his Cap issues and loved reading his Iron Man issues and they always had their favorites and would argue about who's better and who would win in a fight and occasionally they would get together for an uber-event and then after that uber-event would go back into their own comic stories. So the story that Shane is developing now on Iron Man 3, while it does not avoid any references to The Avengers, is very much Tony (Robert Downey Jr.) is back in his world with his players dealing with his issues and is not going to pick up the phone and call Thor (Chris Hemsworth) or Captain America (Chris Evans) or anything like that, necessarily. It's not that won't happen down the line. It could. But particularly with Iron Man 3, a year after The Avengers, it's more about getting Tony back into his world.
After Avengers is out and you get to something like Iron Man 3 or Thor 2, does mean we'll be seeing S.H.I.E.L.D. more, since the general public is going to know what S.H.I.E.L.D. is and you're not going to have to set it up as much?
FEIGE: Well, I think that the good news is that it's a tool in the toolbox. If the screenwriters want it to have a purpose to serve… Frankly, I think S.H.I.E.L.D. would be most relevant in a Cap sequel, because Thor has nine worlds to traverse and many, many supporting players and Iron Man has his supporting cast and many villains and plotlines to go through and Steve in the modern world sort of doesn't have an anchor, necessarily and the anchor we're establishing in this one is S.H.I.E.L.D.. It's early days on Cap 2, nobody's counting those chickens yet, but maybe there's some connection there.
Is there something you were able to do on this film that you haven't been able to do on any of the previous solo films that you're really excited about?
FEIGE: The first day that cameras started rolling, I kind of felt like it had actually happened. I was at Comic-Con in 2006 and somebody said, "Hey, I noticed that you have Captain America and Thor and Hulk and Iron Man within Marvel Studios. Do you think one day you could do an Avengers movie?" And I said, "Maybe someday. You know, it does make sense with all of those characters coming together." And the first day of production at the end of April, I thought, "Holy mackerel. It's actually here." And being on-set with all of them in costume is pretty astounding.
I feel like they've never really attempted this in a live-action film before. Do you feel a lot of pressure on the future of these kinds of films and the history that's being made with this film?
FEIGE: Yes, but I feel pressure with every movie we make, every single one is a reflection. Frankly, even not-Marvel movies I feel pressure on. Look at the movie that just came out recently and didn't perform the way people thought it would perform and all of the headlines are, "Oh, are people tired of the comic book genre? Is this the beginning of the end of the superhero genre?" So when there's a Dark Knight, I go, "Oh, thank God. That's great." I want everybody to do well and continue to get people interested. So there's pressure on every one, even ones that aren't ours. Can you imagine?
We've already had three superhero movies this summer with more coming. We're obviously not there yet, but does somebody need to consider the possibility of a short-term saturation at any point?
FEIGE: You can until you look at next summer. Nobody's pulled the plug on movies that are in the works for that. My goal is that people judge all of them as individual movies, no just our movies as individual movies, which is very important, that they don't just feel like episodes in some grand Avengers saga, but frankly every movie. And some of the smarter articles, and maybe somebody in this room wrote it, but I read something that said that claiming that people are tired of comic book movies is like claiming that people are tired of movies based on novels or movies based on TV shows or movies based on any existing property. It's too broad a statement, it's impossible to really say.
If a romantic comedy tanks, they don't say it's the end of romantic comedies, or buddy cop dramas….
FEIGE: To be fair, they do. To a certain extent, that's what Hollywood is all about and what Hollywood trades are about is that kind of Monday morning quarterbacking. That's the way a lot of studio executives work. "Who had the No. 1 movie? Look. We've gotta get this person." And if it didn't work, "Ew, that person's horrible, don't go near them." But I also think it's because it's so high profile. Look at the buzz and marketing leading up to Thor, leading up to X-Men, leading up to Green Lantern. So it's just a big target. That's a high profile.
Going back to Avengers, how are you dealing with the Bruce Banner situation? You've had three movies, three Bruce Banners. New actor. Are you hoping Avengers might lead to Mark (Ruffalo) playing Bruce Banner is a new Hulk movie? Or do you feel like that's been done?
FEIGE: Well, it's certainly been done already, but you wouldn't rule anything out and the deal we have with Mark certainly takes that into consideration. Joss (Whedon)'s goal in this movie is to make the most beloved Bruce Banner since Bill Bixby and he's sort of unabashedly trying to achieve that. He's shot a number of scenes in this movie, including the scene that is his introduction into the movie, and we've seen it cut together and damned if it doesn't come close to doing that. You really feel for this guy.
I don't know if you guys are going to see him while you're here, but he's just a tremendous guy, a great guy, and when you see the design of the character and how it relates to his facial structure and, for the first time, his performance, I think we're going to find a Banner and a Hulk combination that we haven't seen before. And, frankly, even more than Bixby and Ferrigno, because hopefully we're utilizing the technology as such that you can still see and feel Ruffalo in the creature.
Speaking of technology, can you talk about how you're approach 3D on The Avengers and you feel about it on future Marvel films?
FEIGE: It's a film-by-film decision. 3D gets a bad rap for various reasons. It's a hard thing. It really is like… If there were some big, high-profile sound system that came out… If when SurroundSound came out however-many-years-ago, they charged you two or three bucks extra, well, when the speaker's buzzing, people are going to get annoyed and, frankly, I've been in theaters were the speakers were buzzing and nobody even gets up to to complain about it and I go, "Am I really going to have to be the one to get up and complain about this?"
But that dark issue, which varies from theater to theater and varies from movie to movie and varies from projector bulb to projector bulb, people have paid extra money for that, so it's going to get annoying if it's not done well, so I sort of understand that. I think Thor looked great in 3D. Captain America, which is almost finished, looks great in 3D. I think Transformers, which I've not seen yet, but my guess is it's going to be awesome in 3D. And there are others that aren't worth is.
FEIGE: This is currently in 3D.
So you're shooting in 3D?
FEIGE: No, no, no. We're to turn it into 3D.
Was that decision by Joss, that he didn't want to mess with the technology?
FEIGE: On Cap on Thor and on Avengers, it was all filmmaker decision. It's an expensive proposition either way and it's an expensive proposition to mount the testing that we mounted on both, in particular, Cap and Avengers. We brought in the cameras and shot a whole day on it. As a matter of fact, the scene at the end credits of Thor with Selvig and Nick Fury and the Cube and the suitcase, Joss directed that and that was our 3D test. We shot that with 3D cameras and after that day, Joss said, "No thanks."
You spoke before about the "event" that sets the film in motion. How long do you plan on keeping that under wraps before you reveal that?
FEIGE: Uh, I don't know. Probably a little while. You can't hide much in trailers and things. As the materials start to come out and everyone knows that you've already met with Tom Hiddleston, so it may involve characters from other worlds wreaking havoc.
This is your first film with Disney, can you talk about how that has changed things at all, working for that big company?
FEIGE: Well, it's actually the fourth movie with Disney, because we were just finishing Iron Man 2 when this all happened, so we were officially part of Disney for the prep period and casting on Thor and prep and shooting and casting on Cap. But it is the first one that they are marketing and distributing, so is true, which is sort of my way of saying that nothing has changed from Iron Man to now in terms of any sort of executive overlords mandating content on our movies. Paramount has done a spectacular job for us marketing and distributing Iron Man, Iron Man 2, Thor coming up on Captain America and Disney will have to rise to that challenge on The Avengers. I think they can do it.
I think they've done a tremendous job in the past on, you know, the Pirates movies and they know that it's a big responsibility to market it. I think there is a language that has been developed on the Marvel Studios pictures through Paramount that I don't know how far they'll stray from. So it really comes down to, when you're talking about the poster, I'm meeting with different people now, when you're talking about the trailer and TV spots, you're meeting with different people. That's really the only thing that's changed.
Do they have any sort of control? How do you decide on movies that get made? Is it on you? Or are they just distributing?
FEIGE: The slate had been pretty well defined over the last few years. As we get into 2013 and 2014, they'll be part of that discussion. It's their money now. So they'll be a part of that discussion on movies, but we haven't really had any of those discussions yet.
So that hedge fund that you guys started, that's out of the equation?
FEIGE: That's been gone since two months after Iron Man came out. [laughs]
Can we talk about Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner). If you talk to anybody who's read the comic books, Hawkeye is really the core and the heart of the team. In this case, he's coming into it off of one scene in Thor. He doesn't have any powers, he can just shoot an arrow…
FEIGE: Do you think everybody would say that Hawkeye's the core and the heart?
I was curious about how he plays in this situation, where you have all of these known characters who have already been in movies and who have these powers and he's just a guy with a bow and arrow who's sort of a member of S.H.I.E.L.D. as well.
FEIGE: Well, everyone gets an introduction into this movie as if they've never been in any other movie before. That is the way the movie is… This is a "Part 1." This has been a rallying cry and one of the reasons we wanted Joss to come on-board, is because he understood the characters and he understood the importance of the fact that… And frankly, he was not interested in doing a half-Iron Man 3, half-Thor 2, half-Captain America 2, half-Hulk, whatever. He was interested in doing The Avengers: Part 1.
So from the very first frame of the movie, this is Avengers: Part 1, so all of the characters are introduced to the audience as if you've never seen them before. I guess we have the most leeway with Tony Stark who enters the movie, you could argue, like the celebrity that he is within that world, but also like the celebrity that he is to the movie-going public as well. But other than that, they're all new characters coming into the story at certain points, and Hawkeye in the same way, right from the very open.
And how do the Skrulls factor into the film?
FEIGE: The Skrulls are not in the film.
Are there any characters you guys go after in the film who maybe don't want to be part of the Avengers, who are there as Easter Eggs for the fans?
FEIGE: You mean are there characters you don't know about?
Well, S.H.I.E.L.D. goes after certain people to be in the group. Perhaps they go after certain people and they're like, "Nah, I don't want to be part of your group."
FEIGE: Uh… It's not really like that. It's not like… X-Men: First Class had that great sort of recruitment scene. We don't… It's not like that, partially because there are so many characters anyway. There are already so many characters to play with that I didn't want people just popping up for Easter Egg purposes.
Are you, I guess, more involved with some of the other movies like X-Men? Are you guys being more involved with those? Obviously, Fox and Sony must be seeing what a great job you're doing on your own. Are they kind of coming to you more for help with getting those things?
FEIGE: It varies — I wouldn't say for help. I mean there's certain – there's some approvals and contractual agreements. And then, you know, I know a lot of the people there for many, many years. So there's that thing. It's more on the Sony side, on the Spider-Man side with the new Spider-Man film.
How much of a game plan do you have in place beyond Avengers? I know you probably can't tell us, but everything starting with Iron Man has led up to Avengers and we've all known about the plan.
FEIGE: Sure.
Now it's like, we know Avengers is coming, but beyond that we don't know anything. Do you know?
FEIGE: Well, Iron Man 3, which you know – which has been announced. And then we haven't announced things yet, but we are thinking and plotting out towards 2015, which anybody in their right mind thinks it's a million years away and everybody in my company thinks it's, we're late! That's right around the corner! What are we going to do?
How do you top something like this?
FEIGE: You know, it's again — it's the same thing after how do we top Spider-Man, you know and after two years with the company, three years with the company I had the biggest weekend of all time and it's like I went, "Is this – is it – where do you go from here?"
FEIGE: And we found a place to go and I think we'll continue to find places to go. Certainly now that the characters are established, like the comics continuing to tell those stories and then every few years bring them together again I think would be cool. And whatever happens there alters their dynamic as they go back into their own worlds and keep that going.
So Avengers 2 is 2015? [laughs] If we're piecing together the last five minutes of this conversation. I mean, is there a framework, you call it Avengers, Part I is there a framework you feel that you guys want to turn it to maybe a trilogy or…?
FEIGE: Well, I mean, it's like managing any franchise. Two to three years usually is what makes the most sense. Depending what happens, it can be four years, but two to three years.
But you want to launch this as a next franchise from Marvel.
FEIGE: Avengers?
Yeah, not just a one off kind of special thing.
FEIGE: Yes. Yes.
Can we talk about the action set pieces in this film and comparing them to the previous films you've done. Do you feel that with this being the Avengers you need to have one set piece that are just like, "holy shit"?
FEIGE: I think this being the Avengers, we need to have three or four set pieces that are like that – frankly. And that's what we are working on. It is by far the biggest budgeted film we've ever done. And, which is not to say – you know, which is still frankly less than what a lot of big movies like this cost, but it was a requirement. If you're going to have all these characters who have these giant spectacular sequences in their own movie, and need to get together for some reason, well it's got to be even bigger. It's got to be even more spectacular.
You know, we, in planning the action scenes of the movie, we did the pre-viz and Joss — you know, frankly, he's done more pre-viz on this than any movie we've ever done. This has been board and pre-viz, you know, every – not every frame of course, but certainly all the action scenes. And you watch them and you go, wow, that's giant. But how do you top that? You go, "We better top that because that's just – that's the, you know, third action scene of the movie. That's the middle action scene."
If I can actually say, well I brought up the action scenes, but I would, for me, and I'm sure for almost everyone in this room and all the fans out there, we're also just as excited to see Captain America and Tony Stark and the interaction between the characters. How much time did you spend to get that sort of dialogue just right and those scenes just right because that's almost just as important, if not more?
FEIGE: Well, it is more important. And it's good because there are a lot of scenes with people talking in this movie. And because that's what we were, you know, the most interested in. You've got to have a spectacle on it; it's got to have – you need to have an epic event big enough to require all of them to come together. But the real interesting thing when they come together is their interactions. And frankly, the whole first half of the schedule has been nearly that. So had you been here the whole time for up to this point in the schedule, you'd think the whole movie is about people standing around talking.
And you know, the great news is Joss was overseeing the people that were doing the boards and the pre viz, but he wasn't drawing them, he was writing all those words and all those interactions and all of that great dialogue. And it's why, you know, the harshest critics around, like Robert Downey, you know, he comes in every morning and goes, "Okay, now how am I going to tear this apart…It's pretty good. Pretty good." [laughs] And you know, he'll plus it and he'll, you know, but that's Joss' strong suit.
Is this a disaster movie? I mean, have you been looking at any of the like, obviously Roland Emmerich and Michael Bay kind of have cornered the market on insanely, crazy disaster movies. Have you been trying to — are the set pieces kind of on that scale at any point or is it…?
FEIGE: Well, you know, I don't want to give you the wrong idea that like it's on that scale necessarily from a natural disaster sense, but I would watch the trailers for those movies and go, boy, that spectacle was really cool. You know what would be cooler? If there were five of those guys right in the frame who got rid of that tidal wave. You know, we're not doing that, but I always thought that's the purpose of The Avengers is to be able to, you know, push back a force of that scale.
Can you talk a little bit about the word that's out today that you're not doing a presentation at Comic-Con. Just out of curiosity, what went in to that decision?
FEIGE: You know, I think it's — my fear is it's spinning into a, "Oh, Marvel's abandoning Comic-Con; studios are abandoning Comic-Con," which is, at least in our case, is not the case at all, you know. You guys walked around the set today and you may have noticed that there were some big giant walls and pieces missing. [laughs]
So we're going to have a very big booth this year and, the biggest one we've ever had, with a ton of stuff going on there and there'll be various things outside of Hall H. It's just Hall H that we're not doing. We'll have a lot of other things going on. Cap is coming out that weekend and there'll be a few events going on to celebrate that and it's much more booth-focused this year in and around it.
Because frankly, we didn't have access to everybody. And I thought, if I – well I'm going to go, "Hey guys, remember last year we had everybody? Here's a few people." Because we're filming, because we're working on the movie and because, frankly, it takes two or three days away to go and do that or at least to prep and plan for that. And it's all full speed here and that's right around the time we'll be finishing up here and going to Cleveland to continue the – some of the outdoor action scenes.
Is there a runtime you're aiming for considering how grand this film is and how many people are in it?
FEIGE: We never really aim for a runtime necessarily. I mean, it's just whatever the end – whatever the movie ends up being. It's a long script, though.
Speaking of Cleveland, I am curious about what kind of outdoor stuff are you doing in the city? And are you sort of — are you going to have superheroes in full costumes running around the city?
FEIGE: Yes.
I'm curious about the casting over the years. Because obviously, when you've got Robert Downey it was a huge coup. It took a long time to find Chris Hemsworth, you know; Chris Evans is a natural, but I'm also curious about how you cast them knowing you'd want to put them together eventually. Have you been doing – had you done any kind of screen tests with them together, I mean, over the course of this whole process or…?
FEIGE: We didn't. We did when we were doing auditions for the Maria Hill character, we had four or five actresses that came in and Sam Jackson was cool enough to come in that day and do all the scenes with that actress because, you know, Maria Hill's going to be standing next to him the whole movie or much of the movie. But other than that, we didn't, you know, just the timing of it, you know.
And when we cast Hemsworth, we were shooting Iron Man 2 and soon after we cast him I brought him on the set of Iron Man 2 and introduced him to Robert and they started a sort of friendship there and camaraderie there, which I wanted to do early on, but we didn't have Cap until, you know, a year or so later and we didn't have Ruffalo until, you know, until a few months after that. So but you do, you say, okay, you need somebody. Look, the pressure of finding the guy for his own movie is bigger than anything else, anyway. So if you found a guy that fits for that movie and fits for that character, you're not going to hire somebody if you don't think they're strong enough to then also go toe-to-toe with the other actors in The Avengers.
So it was always in the back of our heads, but other than the Maria Hill instance, there wasn't sort of a mix and match screen test.
Was Maria Hill – is Maria Hill above Coulson or is she above Coulson. Is he kind of, they have they're like interplay between them 'cause…
FEIGE: There is interplay between them, yeah. Yeah.
All right. And how much is the character in — 'cause she was sort of the last of the people cast, well after most the big announcements .
FEIGE: I mean, it's not an insignificant part. I mean it's — she's got a lot of screen time.
On a visual level, you know, clearly when you're defining the look of Iron Man, the look of Thor, the look of Captain America for their own movies, that's really all you're concerned about. So when you're bringing them all together were there any sort of challenges in tweaking any of their individual outfits, you know, just to make sure that again on a visual level, the seven of them standing side-by-side looked like, yes, they are part of the team, they are part of the same world?
FEIGE: Yeah. It's a good question. I mean it's the — James Chinlund who's our Production Designer in this movie, we brought on because he has a very unique style and a very unique vision and we wanted somebody who would do something completely different than in any of the other movies. And when you have the aesthetic that you've already seen walking around the bridge of the helicarrier, that's a whole other — you haven't seen anything like that in any of the other movies. So right away, the aesthetic of the film is its own.
And we did – obviously, Captain America is going to have an updated costume for this movie. Tony's always tinkering with his suits so you can imagine that there'll be a few incarnations of the suit. Hulk essentially is that, you know, we're designing to the actor, so that'll be Hulk, but it will be slightly different designed Hulk than you've seen before. And with Thor and Loki, it's essentially their outfits from the previous movie, but we did want to rough and scuff it up a little bit in Loki's case, you know, he's dropped off into the abyss after all, who knows where he – what nether worlds he's been in, in between movies.
And with Thor, we wanted to give him a few different looks. The one thing we actively avoided to that extent was saying we should probably take off his cape when he's walking around the helicarrier. So when he's in his Asgardian casual wear [laughs] on Earth and interacting with other characters, he doesn't have the metal sleeves, he doesn't have the cape and he doesn't have sort of the over armor, sort of the disk over armor piece. But again, we want all the characters to look cool on their own and Ryan Meinerding, who you've heard me talk about before is our great concept artist and sort of our lead visual designer for all the movies, did his first rendering of, okay, here's what they all look like in a frame. And it was awesome. Thank God.
Was it equally awesome the first day they all – everyone was in a scene together? I mean, you must have been nervous the night before, like are these guys going to be able to act together?
FEIGE: Yeah, I wasn't that nervous. I mean, they're all great. I mean, it's all – they're all such good actors that – and Joss had delivered such great words for them to say that you're always nervous on the day before you begin. But we had a few – they weren't all together on the first day. So it was sort of mixing and matching leading up to the time when they were all together for the first time. And it was great. And it was frankly what you wanted because it was, you know, the first time that the characters are interacting was also the first time that the actors were interacting. So for a certain extent, we didn't want to do a boot camp where they all become chums and get to know each other and become a perfect well-oiled machine 'cause that's not what they are, you know, for a good chunk of this movie.
Is there a romance in this film or is it just all bromance?
FEIGE: Is it just what?
Is it all just bromance or is there romance in the film?
FEIGE: Well there's a lot of bromance going on, but I see, you know, Scarlett is in there, Maria's in there, it is – there is less of a love story in this movie than there have been in any of our other movies, yeah.
Are there any casualties – this is much bigger an epic than the other films. Are there any casualties in this? Are we going to see — are we going to lose any of our beloved characters?
FEIGE: Well, I mean, even if we were, I certainly wouldn't tell you.
But I'm just saying, are there consequences?
FEIGE: You know, frankly, it's something that I felt is important in movies, is to get those kinds of stakes and consequences whether it's death or injury or whatever it is. But there will be long-term consequences as a result of this movie, so it feels real. So it feels, like you know, I think that is – that's important. We've come close in a few of the movies to doing things like that and haven't necessarily and I think it's important to.
Where does this movie leave a space for like a Nick Fury movie or Black Widow movie or like even if it's a smaller budget movie because obviously you've got this huge scale movie. Can Marvel do a smaller scale movie without people going, oh it's not like the Iron Man or Avengers or…
FEIGE: Well, I think so. I mean, you don't want to do something that seems like The Avengers movie without the Avengers. But you know, when you have Jeremy Renner and Scarlett Johansson, I mean, these characters own franchises at every studio. I mean, certainly. You know there is Jeremy Renner's Hawkeye movie that could be cool. There's a Scarlett Johansson Black Widow movie that could be cool.
You know, is there, you know, if S.H.I.E.L.D. is an organization, it could easily be its own movie or TV show.
I think more of a Nick Fury origin, because obviously there's like a lot of stuff we don't know about him before S.H.I.E.L.D, yeah.
FEIGE: Sure. So, I mean, all of that is on the table. Some of those things are more active than others.
The TV projects that would, that you guys are tossing around, I don't know what stage they're at, but would that be part of the shared universe?
So the ABC Hulk would be a different thing?
FEIGE: Yeah.
What's the thinking behind that?
FEIGE: Well, you know, the thinking behind it is there's enough going on with all the movies that we're developing to go into that and that Hulk series, you know, is sort of designed to be focusing on a different part of Banner's life and Banner's sort of journey. And frankly, it's not – you know, you don't want Clark Gregg and I don't want to call Clark Gregg you know every day and go, "And so Mr. Jackson, would you mind going down …." I got to do that for the movies.
You guys are partnering now with Disney/Pixar. Is there a desire on your end to work with Pixar to make, you know, a movie together?
FEIGE: Well, I think the notion of an animated movie based off of a Marvel property is a no-brainer and it's something that we've been talking about. You know, Lasseter and Ed Catmull are now both Pixar and Walt Disney animation. So, you know, I don't where, you know, whatever project would fall where necessarily. And frankly, Pixar is all about original properties and original ideas, but, you know, an animated version of one of our characters, one of our 8,000-plus characters would seem to be something that could happen at some point.
Where is Ant-Man? Wasn't that announced like way back, the very first …
FEIGE: I sat at Comic-Con 2006…
Yeah, I remember that.
FEIGE: With Louie Leterrier, Jon Favreau and…
And Edgar, yeah.
FEIGE: Edgar. Yeah, he delivering a second draft in a few weeks, which I think has been my answer for five years.
FEIGE: See you tomorrow. Thanks, guys.
For more from our Avengers set visit:
35 Things to Know About The Avengers from our Set Visit; Plus a Two-Part Video Blog Recap and 8 New Images
Robert Downey Jr. and Chris Evans The Avengers Set Visit Interview
Mark Ruffalo The Avengers Set Visit Interview
Chris Hemsworth The Avengers Set Visit Interview
Tom Hiddleston The Avengers Set Visit Interview
Jeremy Renner and Scarlett Johansson The Avengers Set Visit Interview
Clark Gregg The Avengers Set Visit Interview


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Fun Educational Morsels, Linux-Style
Bonjour, mes amis! Welcome back to my restaurant, "Chez Marcel". Please, sit down. In honor of this month's special educational focus, François has prepared your tables (school desks, actually) by putting them all in a big circle. But of course, he will also be bringing your wine.
François! Du vin. Vite!
One of the questions I ask visitors to my restaurant is this: sure, you will cook with Linux at the office, but what will it take for me to convince you to try some recipes at home? As you can imagine, I get many answers, but one I hear so often is, "Sure, Linux is tasty, but what will my kids play with? I have all this wonderful educational software available on that other OS."
Sacre bleu! Is that all? Well, pull your desks a bit closer, and together we will cook up an education and entertainment center for the kids (of all ages, non?) using Linux and open-source software. And yes, I have tried them all.
In order to keep things lively, I have asked François to hold off giving you the URL for all these fine recipes until the very end. You may take your souvenir menu as you leave the restaurant.
What's that? You think Chef Marcel has been sampling a little too much wine because he suggests turning the power of Linux over to a child? I assure you, mes amis, I have been drinking only as much as is necessary to ensure quality control. As for children, letting them have access to your system only makes sense.
Linux is a multi-user system by nature. Although a number of us instinctively log in to the root account when we start up, this is actually a very bad idea. The root login is there for you to perform administrative functions. While this is the first login we see during an install, for some users it is also the last. This is not only dangerous, but limits the reach of your Linux system. While you are logged in as root, create a user login for your child. Mon Dieu! Create one for everybody in the house! Since François is a child at heart, I will use him for our example.
adduser francois passwd francois
In order to make the experience of logging in as simple as possible for the whole family, I recommend that you use one of the graphical login programs. For KDE, this is kdm, while GNOME uses gdm. That old favourite xdm is still available, but the less Linux-savvy may find the default X Window System environment a little less than friendly. On my Red Hat system, I set my preference for kdm by modifying my rc.sysinit script. You'll find that in the /etc/rc.d directory. The section you want looks like this:
# Set preferred X display manager link preferred=kdm if [ -f /etc/sysconfig/desktop ]; then if [ -n "`grep GNOME /etc/sysconfig/desktop`" ]; then preferred=gdm elif [ -n "`grep KDE /etc/sysconfig/desktop`" ]; then preferred=kdm elif [ -n "`grep AnotherLevel /etc/sysconfig/desktop`" ]; then preferred=xdm fi fiBy default, the preferred= variable is not set. I changed mine so that it reads preferred=kdm. Another way to do the same thing is to edit the /etc/sysconfig/desktop file and simply put in the name of your favourite desktop environment. A couple of lines further on (in the next paragraph of the rc.sysinit), the system sets the link for prefdm which is then started in your /etc/inittab file.
ln -snf ../..`which kdm` /etc/X11/prefdmDuring your install, you may have been given the opportunity to let Linux boot into a graphical desktop. If you chose not to do this, you can still change your mind. This is the tail-end section of my /etc/inittab file:
# Run xdm in runlevel # xdm is now a separate service x:5:respawn:/etc/X11/prefdm -nodaemonSimply add or edit the last line to the inittab, then run the following command to activate it for next time and each successive boot. You will want to do this when your X environment is not running.
init qThe reason for that overview is to get you used to the idea of logging in and creating different profiles for all the users in your family, each with their own protected environment. Now, from your own login, you can start adding games. I created a folder for François, added and built various games, then copied these to his desktop. In KDE, when you create a folder on your desktop (or a link of some sort) you can find those items in a folder called "Desktop". For François to have the same folder when he logs in, I simply copy my folder to his desktop. Since I broke my own rules and am running as root, I will also change the permissions on his new folder so he is allowed to open it himself.
cd Desktop find "Educational Games" -print | cpio -pduvm /home/francois/Desktop cd /home/francois/Desktop chown -R francois "Educational Games" # chgrp -R francois "Educational Games"
When he logged in, his desktop had a nice little folder with all the appropriate links and icons. Incidentally, this is a great way to maintain (and rebuild if need be) another user's desktop. If you want my little folder (as an example), you can download it from the link at the end of the article. I've also included a web page with links to all the items we will sample, if you don't want to go hunting for everything on your own. (See Figure)
When starting your educational games collection for the kids, look no further than your desktop environment. Both KDE and GNOME come with several games (as does X), some of which fit the bill very nicely. (Non. That "bill" comes later.) Some of the KDE games will have a counterpart in GNOME and vice versa. Your quest is to find the one you like best.
For instance,. . . Reversi is a classic strategy game that requires some planning. In this case, the GNOME version (known as Iagno) is more appealing to me for its animation and graphics. The only drawback (and the KDE version's plus) is the lack of board lines. For the younger set, it might require a few tries to get the hang of token placement.
In terms of strategy and logic, I am still a big fan of Sokoban, the Japanese "warehouse keeper" game. You will find this one among your KDE games. The object is to move large gems into their proper storage in an increasingly crowded warehouse. Sokoban takes patience, but does wonders for the analytical process.
Eventually, you will want to try something not included with your Linux distribution. While the excitement of Linux hasn't yet generated the vast amount of educational titles stocking the shelves for that other operating system, the selection is growing and will continue to do so. If you want to track what is happening in the world of children's games specifically, try the Linux for Kids web site. For the bigger kids, keep an eye on the Linux Game Tome and Linuxberg to name just a couple. Move your desks a little closer together, and sample what I found in my initial search.
To not only challenge, but twist and turn a young mind, I recommend Groundhog. This is a wonderful little puzzle where you manipulate tubes (or groundhog tunnels, I presume) to move little colored balls into their corresponding little colored pockets. So far, I have managed the two-ball by two-ball level, but I think I will graduate soon.
Codebreaker is a GPL'ed version of Mastermind, an old favorite of mine. This "guess the color code" game is still a great exercise in logic. For those who consider themselves experts at the game, I suggest trying it with eight different colors.
There are times when I really don't need to learn much. I just want to save the world from an evil empire, say a large multinational software empire bent on world domination. Enter XTux, a great little game that teaches some interesting lessons. For starters, CD-ROMs make great weapons with which to destroy mindless droids, and coffee is all you really need to keep you going. Several characters are provided to help you get the job done: Tux, Gown, BSD Daemon, Emacs and Vi. What can I tell you? It's silly, but fun.
Probably the most fun I had while putting this together was a little something called the Sticker Book. The concept is so simple, it's brilliant. Like the sticker books you had as a kid, this one comes with a variety of images and a handful of different backgrounds. You pick up the stickers by clicking on the various images, then simply paste them onto your background with another click. You can also increase the size of images, shrink them and rotate them. If you don't like the way it is turning out, you can erase everything and start over. In the process of writing this article, I had a couple of adults watching over my shoulder, and they were captivated. The only downside (and I hope the developers read this) is that the tabs which let you flip between series of stickers are a bit small for the large arrow pointer they supply. If it wasn't for the adult response, I would've said this was a game for the very young. Try this one. It's deceptively addictive.
Another selection for the very young is Linux Letters and Numbers. Essentially, this is a board with large tiles representing the numbers 0 through 9 and the letters of the alphabet. Clicking on a tile brings up a picture of something starting with that letter, or a collection of little pictures representing the number (4 apples, for instance). Letters and Numbers comes with a collection of tiles, but you can create your own when the kids start anticipating the image that follows the letter. "P" is for Penguin!
For a slightly older audience, try lolit Math Literature. This is a math training program that helps teach addition, subtraction, multiplication and division. The interface is fairly slick-looking and the questions go from very simple to fairly complex. Just what is 87+54, anyway?
Well, mes amis, it is once again closing time. I sincerely hope I have whetted your appetite for turning over your Linux system to the kids (at least every once in a while). Do come back soon. You are always welcome here at Chez Marcel.
Bon Appétit!

subset: commoncrawl


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Escape Pod 109: Squonk the Apprentice
Show Notes
Referenced Sites:
EP070: Squonk the Dragon
"How to Talk to Girls at Parties" by Neil Gaiman
2007 Hugo Nominees
Squonk the Apprentice
by P. M. Butler
"What's a 'prentice?"
Without thinking, Wendel answered. "An apprentice is young person who wants to be a wizard, so they find an older wizard to teach them."
The moment the words left his mouth, Wendel's heart stopped and his eyes went wide. If he'd known a spell that could grab those words and stuff them back down his throat, he would have cast it.
Instead, those words scampered all the way across his bedroom, as words are inclined to do, and rushed into the ears of the dragon in the window. Wendel watched in horror as the words sunk into Squonk's brain. Squonk's eyes grew wide, his mouth dropped open, and before Wendel could think of anything to say–
"You can learn to be a wizard?! That's awesome! I wanna be a wizard! Lemme be your 'prentice!"


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Nothing Apple showed today can lap a track at high speed, help reduce our dependence on foreign oil, or cause an entire street full of people to turn their heads and gawk. Here are four new cars more impressive and any silly new iPhone.
This isn't a diss, of course. More people reading this will probably buy an iPhone than will spend a quarter of a million dollars (or more) on a new Porsche. But this is a new world of hybrids that have broken the traditional green car boundaries to become fast, alluring, and efficient.
BMW i8: 95 MPG, Concept Car Looks
The BMW i8 is like a Chevy Volt you want. This electric car looks like a concept car, but this is a production concept car you can buy.
By pairing a small turbocharged three-cylinder engine with 231 horsepower to an electric motor that powers the front wheels, the combined AWD system has 362 horsepower and will toss the sleek coupe around a track with ease.
Everything about the car is light, including the Gorilla Glass windows and futuristic interior.
Jaguar C-X17: A Crossover You'd Want
Technically, the Jaguar C-X17 is a "concept." Don't believe it. This is what it will look like.
The first Jaguar "SUV" ever is not really an SUV but a crossover, designed to handle as well as a sports sedan while carrying an entire family. It's one of the most attractive big CUVs we've seen in ages.
Porsche 918 Spyder: 94 MPG, 186 MPH
Take a quick look at the Porsche 918 Spyder and all you'll see is another exotic über car with a big, loud, wasteful engine. Just look at them build it, it's glorious.
What you'd miss is this is actually a plug-in hybrid that can launch itself to 62 mph in 2.8 seconds, run on pure electric power, and just became the fastest production car to lap Germany's famous Nürburgring all while turning out Prius-level efficiency. How does it work?
The 918 uses an onboard 7 kw/h lithium-ion battery that powers three electric motors mated to a 608-horsepower V8. This allows the car to run pure electric or a hybrid combination regulated either for around-town calm driving or pure speed.
Porsche also uses a ton of lightweight materials to keep the weight well below that of a typical hybrid at right around 3,600 pounds.
Audi Nunuk Quattro Concept — 30 MPG, Diesel Off-Roader
The Audi Nunuk Quattro Concept will not become a reality, sadly, because we love the idea of an offroading Audi R8 with a diesel engine.
Still, that 5.0-liter Audi V10 turbodiesel is a reality and shows just how much you can get out of diesel power. While it has only 544 horsepower, this engine puts out 737 lb-ft of torque, which is enough power to pull a Boeing 737.
The numbers show this brute will do 0-to-60 mph in 3.8 seconds and a 190 mph top speed while still returning 30.16 MPG. That's a future I can believe in.
Photos: Jalopnik, Newspress, Getty Images


text: A recent car accident involving an elephant reminded me of an old Finnish joke! A circus train derailed in a rural part of Finland & many of the animals escaped, an elephant made its way to a farm many miles off the main road owned by an elderly couple that had never traveled much beyond their parish. The old woman was preparing lunch for her husband when she spotted a huge unknown beast in her garden & called the sheriff about it pulling carrots up with its tail! The sheriff asked "what is it doing with the carrots"! "She said, sheriff...you've got to come see that for yourself"!!!:


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1991-1995: The Indurain years
Miguel Indurain became a part of cycling history by winning five Tour de France races in a row, from 1991 to 1995 (Bernard Hinault, Jacques Anquetil and Eddy Merckx had all won five times but not consecutively).
>> Subscribe to Cycling Weekly this Autumn and save 35%. Enjoy the luxury of home delivery and never miss an issue <<
He is the only rider in history to have won the Giro and the Tour de France the same year twice in a row.
Indurain was an exceptionally strong on the flat rider, a time-trial specialist (he was world champion in 1995 then Olympic champion in 1996 in time-trial), he broke the hour-world-record in 1994 at the Bordeaux Vélodrome.
Related links
Tour de France 2011: Cycling Weekly's coverage index


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The Seattle Flu Study
The Seattle Flu Study is a new major initiative that began in 2019 to examine flu and other respiratory viruses and learn how they enter into a city, how they spread, and how they cause outbreaks in certain communities. Ultimately, the findings from this study will help to inform the development of new infrastructure systems to help prevent the spread of flu pandemics in Seattle and other metropolitan locations around the world. The Chu Lab is responsible for enrolling individuals at traditional sites of care (hospitals and clinics) as well as in community locations (transit stations, daycare facilities, homeless shelters, and college campuses).


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The UFC's return to Japan had a little bit of everything, including stunning knockouts that also happened to be upsets.
The Sunday Junkie, MMAjunkie.com's weekly reader-feedback feature, got plenty of submissions about Saturday's UFC on FUEL TV 8 card.
This week's winner, Tripp Robbins, of Herndon, Va., believes the main event between Wanderlei Silva and Brian Stann was the type of fight that should define both of their careers – not just for the in-fight action, but for how they carried themselves post-fight.
For his winning entry, Robbins wins a free one-year subscription to "Fighters Only" magazine, the world's leading MMA and lifestyle magazine.
Want to submit to next week's edition of The Sunday Junkie? Scroll to the bottom of the page for instructions.
Also, as a reminder, please be sure to include your hometown and stick within the 150-word limit (and include your submission in the body of an email, not in an attachment). Many quality submissions this week didn't meet those minimum guidelines and couldn't be considered for publication.
(Pictured: Brian Stann)
* * * *
Most pundits thought last night would be it for "The Axe Murderer" as he climbed into the cage against a man who was bigger, stronger, who hit harder and has a granite chin. All Wanderlei did was bring what he did (23 times before) and put on a show for the ages. For both Silva and Stann, their fight was a career defining fight instead of a career ender. To me, it was one of the most action-packed fights I have ever seen. Each fighter had his moments, their flurries, their adversities with Wandy coming out victorious. Equally important was both fighters showing nothing but class afterwards.
Tripp Robbins
Herndon, Va.
I am a huge Hector Lombard fan, and it kills me to say this, but Lombard is not nearly the fighter in the UFC that he had been outside of the organization. He is simply outclassed in the UFC. After enjoying a 23-fight win streak outside of the UFC he has now gone 1-2 against what is supposed to be "top competition." Tim Boetsch and Yushin Okami should have been winnable fights for someone with as much hype behind them as Lombard did. I don't know if it's the pressure of fighting on a bigger stage or what it is, but Lombard appears to have lost his killer instinct. It just goes to show that a fighter can have a impressive winning streak outside of the organization, however that does not make them a top-level fighter. You constantly hear Dana say that the UFC has the absolute best fighters in the world, and last night is proof of that. Lombard is more than likely going to be cut from the UFC, and that will just reenforce Dana White's statement.
Worcester, Mass.
Everybody talks about MMA judging, but nobody seems to do anything and it certainly seems to be getting worse, not better. Dana often says, "Don't leave it in the hands of the judges," and he is one of the first to go on Twitter and whine about a bad decision. It is time for him to put his money where his mouth is. Obviously the commissions choose the judges, so the UFC can't control that. But they could do something on the fighter side. There is no better inspiration than money, so how about a $25,000 bonus for any finish. Prelims would be far more entertaining when you have a fighter making $6,000 who knows they could make an extra $6,000 to win and $25,000 finish bonuses with a finish. It would almost certainly lead to better fights, less decisions and really wouldn't cost them that much for the increase in entertainment.
TJ McKeough
Cape Breton, Nova Scotia, Canada
After seeing the UFC on FUEL TV card in Japan, I noticed a trend which began at UFC 157. One fighter uses a dominant ground game to win the first two rounds of the fight, only to have the other fighter make a late charge in Round 3 knowing that a loss is likely without a finish. Hector Lombard fell into such a trap, and repeatedly into Yushin Okami's guard, and lost because of it. I see this type of fight happening repeatedly in the UFC with the new concept of fighting not to lose. Surprisingly, Bellator's tournament style not only guarantees a job with this same thought process, but a title shot. The difference though, is that Bellator's recent tournament fights have been full of excitement, arguably the best Bellator fights in recent memory. I see more Okami-style fights in the UFC's future, though not Bellator's. Kudos Bellator.
"Magic Mike"
Lawrencetown, Nova Scotia, Canada
Now that the first women's match is in the UFC history book, it's time to rename their weight classes. Bantamweight is a lighter weight, but the women's bantamweight champion is not a small fighter. She cuts weight and she can throw men twice her size. I suggest renaming the women's bantamweight division as the women's light heavyweight division. The reason for light heavyweight is because when Gina Carano has to remove her sports bra to make 145, that's the women's heavyweight division. When PED poster girl Cris Cyborg can't make 135 for a history-making main event, then 145 is the women's heavyweight division. The heavyweight champion is MMA's baddest fighter around. The men have their heavyweight champion. The women should eventually have theirs as well.
"The Other Foot"
Orange, Calif.
I don't know if it was the move back to the light heavyweight division or the fact he was in Japan, but the UFC finally got to give the die-hard fans "The Axe Murderer" they've always wanted to see. Last night, Wanderlei Silva turned back the clock and gave his best performance he has given under the UFC banner. He was the wild, savage and powerful Wanderlei of old. However, with Father Time now creeping up on his career, one can only ask, where can he go from here? With the cut to middleweight being too much for him and being outsized at light heavyweight, he is caught between the two. Now would be the perfect time to call it a day, on a big KO win, with his pride intact and with his best performance under the UFC in front of his true home fans in Japan.
Michael McGowan
Hull, England
Stefan Struve's loss to Mark Hunk in Tokyo I hope makes him a better fighter, just like Georges St-Pierre, from his loss against Matt Serra nearly six years ago, and made him a better fighter. At one point in the third round, Struve had Hunt in some trouble, but failed to recognize it, and he should have been more aggressive to try and finish Hunt off, but didn't. I believe it was that, in Struve's lack of killer instinct, combined with his over-confidence, and casual demeanor, that lost him the fight. One thing is for sure, if Struve wants to get back on track to becoming a top contender in the UFC, he'll have to utilize use his size, length and skill better than he has if wants to become a heavyweight champion someday. If he does that, I have no doubt he can succeed.
Calgary, Alberta, Canada
With Yushin's split-decision win over Hector Lombard, that makes it two straight wins over potential viable contenders for Anderson Silva. In August 2011, not many people felt Yushin stood a chance against Silva at UFC 134, and after a one-sided TKO loss to the champ, even less people are clamoring for a rematch. Yet in his last two outings, he has beaten a surging Alan Belcher and the once considered most dangerous fight for Anderson before going 1-2 in his last three, Hector Lombard. So in this age of excitement being paramount (Jon Fitch being cut) and Okami's knack for winning in a not-so-crowd-pleasing fashion, at what point is he more liabilty than contender? I think the UFC would like to see him lose, but how many more title hopefuls will they forfeit in the process?
Reese Leonard
Toledo, Ohio
After Mark Hunt's dramatic third-round walkoff TKO of Stefan Struve, the first thing that popped in my head was how it is not that far fetched anymore that Mark Hunt is a legitimate title contender now in the heavyweight division. He is on a four-fight win streak with quality wins over Ben Rothwell, Cheick Kongo and now Struve. With Alistair Overeem getting stopped by Antonio Silva, that really does open a few doors in the title picture. Silva will get his shot at the champ, Cain Velazquez, and Overeem and Junior dos Santos will settle their differences soon enough as well. Twitter was blowing up with the suggestion of a Mark Hunt and Roy Nelson fight, and I think that is a perfect opportunity for both guys to catapult themselves right back in the mix. I don't think Mike Dolce's services will be needed for that fight.
Randy "RANBX" Neidich
Mt. Vernon, N.Y.
I'm sure I'm not the only person who was harking back fondly at the heyday of PRIDE FC at "UFC on FUEL TV: Silva vs. Stann." The Japanese MMA organization used to hold events at the Saitama Super Arena, the stadium that hosted last night's stacked UFC card. I, for one, was praying for PRIDE rules in the third round of the Yahya-Hirota fight. Hirota was clearly two rounds in the hole due to the superior grappling of the Brazilian, but in the third, Yahya was on his knees, exhausted. Had PRIDE rules been in place, then Hirota would have been well within his rights to unleash a kick against Yahya's skull and finish him for a huge comeback. It seems strange to be nostalgic of the days when a man could kick another man in the face while grounded but, hey, MMA fans can't be argued with.
Darragh Murphy
Cork, Ireland
With all the talk of Jon Fitch's shock release from the UFC as well as last weekend's first ever women's bantamweight title fight, it would be easy to overlook Robbie Lawler's return to the octagon. It has been seven long years since Lawler fought in the organization, all the way back at UFC 50. But he looks meaner and stronger than ever. Most crucially, he isn't losing size to bigger opponents. Fighting at welterweight certainly looks like a great coaching decision. His knockout return of top contender Josh Koscheck in the opening round showed absolutely no octagon jitters and has sent shivers down the spine of the welterweight division. With extremely solid standup with heavy hands, consistency has always been a problem, but if "Ruthless" puts together a good winning streak there is no reason he should not be considered a threat to the division, and ultimately the title.
David Lambert
County Durham, United Kingdom
The hypocrisy of some "MMA fans" is astonishing. If you are too sexist and close minded to bash WMMA, than save your money. The irony however, is not long ago when MMA was in its beginning stages these were the same fans who were confusedly asking why state officials didn't approve of the sport and allow MMA to be sanctioned in their state. Some reasons that fans pleaded to those who opposed the idea ranged from "it's safer than other sports" to "be open minded." Now that the UFC has begun another revolutionary stage in the sport, fans all of the sudden have become close minded and some even argue is too violent for women? So it begs the question, what kind of fans are MMA fans really? This sport is still under the mainstream radar – the idea of WMMA is not just positive but a step toward getting there.
As one of the 18 million Comcast customers without access to FUEL TV, I will not be watching another great UFC card this weekend. This was never an issue with Spike TV, as they had contracts with all the major communication networks (DirectTV, Comcast, Clear Channel, DISH, etc.). FUEL TV's lack of accessibility not only hurts the growth of MMA, but limits the UFC viewership, while organizations like Bellator gain market share. I would like to see the UFC broadcast their free events on either FOX or FX to allow access to a larger audience of MMA fans.
As we all know, Dana White has been talking about making a superfight happen between Silva and St-Pierre or Silva and Jones in the near future. Let's just say Chris Weidman pulls off an upset and beats Anderson Silva. Does that throw off all superfight possibilities? If St-Pierre were to get beat by Nick Diaz, they could still make Silva vs. Jones and if Jones gets beat by Chael Sonnen, they can still make Silva vs. St-Pierre. With Anderson Silva being in the middleweight class, a loss by him could ruin the whole plan because St-Pierre and Jones are too far apart in weight to fight each other. Not to mention Weidman is good young wrestler with good submissions, which could cause problems for Anderson Silva.
Darren Carrero
Deptford, N.J.
The series of ridiculous and undeserved title shots and the recent cutting of Jon Fitch have made me more frustrated with the UFC than ever before. A Top 10 fighter should not be let go simply because he is boring. The ability to win within the current rules and judging system should be the only thing that matters for advancing in the sport. Could you imagine the NFL sending a team that just lost to the Super Bowl because they excite the crowds? Maybe a fighters union could force the UFC to adopt a rational, consistent approach to retaining and advancing fighters: lose three in a row (no matter how exciting you were) and you get cut, lose just one fight in a row (no matter how boring you were) and you get to stay.
Andrew Z.
Billings, Mont.
HOW TO SUBMIT: Do you have an idea for next week's edition of "The Sunday Junkie?" Send your submission of 150 words or fewer (no attachments please) to sundayjunkie @ mmajunkie.com with your full name or nickname, your hometown (city and state), a valid email address and a phone number (not to be published). Incomplete submissions will not be considered for publication. Only one submission per week is suggested, but we'll consider multiple entries if they're submitted separately. All submissions must be received by Sunday at 10 a.m. ET (7 a.m. PT).


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Charlies Corner
Vault 1
Racing Days
Just A Touch
The Spirit Within
Afraid of the Tears
Five Emotions
Eight Letters
Completion of a Couple
The Weaker Sex
Struggling with Spiritual
In Fear
Y2K Revisited
Healthy Belief
My New Lady Friend
One of Those
Vault 2
Second Coming
For The Money
Turning It Around
Where is God?
Lost In The Fog
Is It Just Another Four-Letter Word?
Whom Do You Trust?
Is There A Silver Lining?
Is Your Frequency in Tune?
What Do You Believe?
What a Dilemma!
Make Love Enjoy Peace
Charlies Round Up
The War Prayer
Do It Anyway
If I Knew
The Choice
Dancing With God
The Wooden Bowl
Powerful Tips
Information Please
A Pink Heart
Ode to My Spell Checker
The Price of a Brain
Banned From Wal-Mart
Middle Wife
Theater 11
As A Man Thinketh
Blind Quilter
Little North Korean Girl Playing Guitar
Don't Bungee Jump Naked
Jack Russell Terrier Gets Wheels
Jackie Evancho
Paul Smith - Typewriter Artist
The Butterfly Circus
Tory Island dog swimming with dolphin
The Jive Aces - Bring Me Sunshine
Theater 12
Mozart Group - Live In Taiwan
Chooka Parker - Australia's Got Talent
Chinese Girl With No Fingers On One Hand Plays Piano
James Cagney and Bob Hope Dance Routine
Emmanuel Kelly The X Factor 2011 Auditions
Children Go Where I Send Thee
Chinese Balancing Act
A Place in the Choir
Cat On Boat Plays With Dolphins
Theater 13
Homeless Boy Steals The Talent Show
This is impossible
Larry Griswold
The Sleepy Man Banjo Boys
Duo MainTenanT
Surfing Bulldog
Annabel Carberry in A Glass of Red
About 30 Dolphins stranded and saved
How Music Saved Venezuelas Children
Duo Paradise Le plus grand Cabaret du Monde
Charlie Chaplin Dog Dance
4 Year Old Boy Plays Piano Better Than Any Master
Documentaries 1
The Siberian Apocalypse
The Himalayas
Genetic Roulette
An Inconvenient Tooth
David versus Monsanto
In Search Of - Coral Castle
Documentaries 2
Inside Secret Government Warehouses
Blue Gold World Water Wars
The Disappearing Male
A Lion Called Christian
America's Broken Dreams
Baby Born with 12 Fingers and Toes
Girls Eyes Produce Crystals
What's Wrong With Our Food System
Charlie Bit Me
Theater 1
Chris Bliss Juggling
Who I Am Makes A Difference
Animusic Pipe Dream
Top 100 Life Quotes
Who Is On First
Ben Underwood
Special Ballet
Singing In The Rain
Believe In Yourself
Quick Change Artist
Randy Pausch
Partner Equilibristic
Ambassadors of Harmony 2009
Theater 2
Bush Parody
Tale of Two Brains
Landon Shuffet
Esref Admagan
Red's Pledge Allegiance
Redneck Art
Get Service
The Fountainhead
Leo Buscaglia
Flying Trapeze
Two Guys In Coats
Theater 3
Conan O'Brien Pilobolus
21 Accents
Johnny Carson
I Am The Mom Song
Women of Whippoorwill
Nick Vujicic
River Dance
5 yr old Pianist
Boyanka Angelova
Stephen Wiltshire
Jessica Cox
Tenor Singing Voices
2012 Junior II Champs
Die Maiers Comedy Trapeze
Theater 4
Trick Dog
Twin Baby Moose
Crow and Cat
Skidboot the Dog
Dolphins Bubble Rings
Stacy Westfall
Bambi and Thumper
A Pigs Story
Elephant Paints
Elephant Soccer
The Flying Frenchman
Elephant Sanctuary
Crow Intelligence
The First Helpdesk Call
Theater 5
What A Wonderful World
Dear Elliott
Shanghai Acrobatic Troupe
The Ross Sisters 1944
North Platte Canteen
Celtic Women
Baby and Boxer
Kate and Border Collie
The Good the Bad and the Ugly
Opera Company of Philadelphia
Theater 6
Big Horn Sheep
Tell Me Why by Declan Galbraith
The Sling Shot Man
Dramatic Acrobat
Kevin Richardson - The Lion Whisperer
L'ours (1988)
Shag-Ra the Miracle Horse
Rachel and Chariot
The Red Sparrows
Laughing Bride
Jimmy Stewart Reads Poem About His Dog Beau
Theater 7
Entertainers-Bike Acrobatics
Life Is Like A Cup of Coffee
The Piano Stairs
US Naval Academy
Silent Monks Singing Hallelujah
Elk Calf Having Fun!
Vadrum - Barber of Seville
The Monkey Man
The Herd
Theater 8
Born Again American
US Soldiers Are Waking Up
Fordson Snow Machine
One Nation Under God
Ode To Forgetfulness
Defending Your Life
Alonzo Clemons
The Real Rain Man
Pigeon Impossible
The Best Cat Video
Sivan Garr Presents - I Love You
Theater 9
Suryia and Rosco
Animator vs. Animation
Sitting on Top of the World
Sound of Music
Dennis Swanberg - Bengy and the Zipper
Dillie The Deer
3 Guitars And A Tractor
Dancin' The Boogie
Mark Vincent
Dolphins Mud Ring Feeding
Great Chinese State Circus
Theater 10
Four Hands Guitar
Tommy Johnson
Libera Cats Duo
Miniatur Wunderland
Patsy Cline - She's Got You
Musical Leaf-Whispering Hope
Howard Drum Show
Breakfast at Ginger's
Free Hugs in Sondrio, Italy
Steven Seagal
Convert Man
Font Viewer
Banned From Wal-Mart
In Memory Of Charlie Phillips
"January 14th 1939 - October 6th 2020 - Rest in Peace Charlie"
Banned From Wal-Mart
This is why women should not take men shopping against their will.
Don't Take Me If I Don't Want To Go
After Mr. And Mrs. Fenton retired, Mrs. Fenton insisted her husband accompany her on her trips to Wal-Mart.
Unfortunately, Mr. Fenton was like most men--he found shopping boring and preferred to get in and get out.
Equally unfortunately, Mrs. Fenton was like most women--she loved to browse. One day Mrs. Fenton received the following letter from her local Wal-Mart.
Dear Mrs. Fenton,
Over the past six months, your husband has been causing quite a commotion in our store. We cannot tolerate this behavior and may be forced to ban both of you from the store. Our complaints against Mr. Fenton are listed below and are documented by our video surveillance cameras.
1. June 15: Took 24 boxes of condoms and randomly put them in people's carts when they weren't looking.
2. July 2: Set all the alarm clocks in Housewares to go off at 5-minute intervals.
3. July 7: Made a trail of tomato juice on the floor leading to the women's restroom.
4. July 19: Walked up to an employee and told her in an official voice, "Code 3 in Housewares. Get on it right away."
5. August 4: Went to the Service Desk and tried to put a bag of M&M's on layaway.
6. September 14: Moved a "CAUTION - WET FLOOR" sign to a carpeted area.
7. September 15: Set up a tent in the camping department and told other shoppers he'd invite them in if they would bring pillows and blankets from the bedding department.
8. September 23: When a clerk asked if they could help him he began crying and screamed, "Why can't you people just leave me alone?"
9. October 4: Looked right into the security camera and used it as a mirror while he picked his nose.
10. November 10: While handling guns in the hunting department, he asked the clerk where the antidepressants were.
11. December 3: Darted around the store suspiciously while loudly humming the "Mission Impossible" theme.
12. December 6: In the auto department, he practiced his "Madonna look" by using different sizes of funnels.
13. December 18: Hid in a clothing rack and when people browsed through, yelled "PICK ME! PICK ME!"
14. December 21: When an announcement came over the loud speaker, he assumed a fetal position and screamed, "OH NO! IT'S THOSE VOICES AGAIN!"
And last, but not least ...
15. December 23: Went into a fitting room, shut the door, waited awhile, then yelled very loudly, "Hey! There's no toilet paper in here!"
To send a free card to a friend or love one, via USPS, click
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Results 1 to 10 of 59
Thread: Adding Acetone in gasoline
Hybrid View
Adding Acetone in gasoline
I read Carlos put acetone (nail polisher remover) in the tank I went from 45 to 55 mpg from the Long range Distance topic. I've been doing websurfing on this topic but there anything conclusive. Supposely you add acetone 100% 1-3oz to every 10 gallons of gas that does not contain ethanol. It's suppose to clean the fuel injection system and/or burn the gas at a higher temperature this being the reason for improved mileage. Some people say they seen none to big improvements in mileage. In Carlos case a 22% increase. Has anyone else had success doing this?


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As its reaps in awards left right and centre for its new compact ATS sports sedan, General Motors is preparing for the debut this spring of its mid-size 2014 CTS.
According to Reuters, Cadillac will debut the all-new four-door sport sedan at next month's New York auto show, with plans to put it on sale later this year.
GM's luxury brand has come out saying that the 2014 CTS will be competitive with segment leaders like the Audi A6 and BMW 5 series. The new CTS is just one of 10 all-new or significantly refreshed vehicles Cadillac plans on unveiling globally in the next three years.
Along with the ELR hybrid and ATS coupe, speculation also sees a flagship sedan above the current DTS and a small crossover and sedan to take on BMW's 1 Series.


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The "I'm a Roma Woman Project" is designed to present a more nuanced, accurate portrait of the modern Roma than programs like Big Fat Gypsy Weddings. It succeeds.
These videos were created for World Roma Day, April 8th, and presented in Sarajevo's House of Human Rights. In addition to highlighting the discrimination the population still faces across Europe, it draws attention to the need for further education in the community — especially amongst women. As one of the organizers put it, "Our desire is that this campaign points to discrimination and prejudice against Roma, especially the Roma women. On the other hand, to point to the reality that throughout the country and region, there are extremely capable and strong Roma women, who have much to contribute to BiH society and societies from which they come."


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DETROIT (AP) — Electric car maker Tesla Motors Inc. said Wednesday that its fourth-quarter net loss grew by 10 percent due to higher costs during the production start for the new Model S.
The Palo Alto, Calif., company said in a letter to shareholders that it expects to be "slightly profitable" in the first quarter, excluding noncash option and warrant expenses.
Tesla lost $89.9 million, or 79 cents per share, in the quarter ending Dec. 31. That's up from $81.5 million, or 78 cents per share, a year earlier. Revenue was almost eight times more than it was a year ago at $306.3 million.
Excluding charges for stock-based compensation and a change in the value of warrant liabilities, Tesla said it lost 65 cents per share. Analysts polled by FactSet expected a loss of 59 cents per share on revenue of $311 million.
For all of 21012 Tesla lost $396.2 million, or $3.69 per share, compared with $254.4 million, or $2.53 per share, in 2011.
The company said that during the fourth quarter it made more than 2,750 vehicles, reaching a rate of 400 per week. That level will let it hit a goal of delivering 20,000 Model S sedans in 2013, Tesla said. The company delivered about 2,400 Model S vehicles in the quarter and about 2,650 for the year.
But as it launched the Model S during the quarter, Tesla said it had "significant early-stage cost inefficiencies." It also had higher logistics costs as its parts supply chain ramped up. "We also had higher component prices as many vendors were not supplying parts at production prices early in the quarter due to their own manufacturing inefficiencies," the company said in a statement. Tesla noted that higher costs during a production launch in a new factory are typical in the auto industry.
Tesla also said its production costs for the Model S are starting to fall as it focuses on cost reductions. The company said factory efficiency is improving in the first quarter as initial production quality gets better. It plans to deliver about 4,500 Model S vehicles in the first quarter, and it plans to start delivering cars in Europe this summer and in Asia later in the year.
Tesla, the brainchild of PayPal billionaire and SpaceX founder Elon Musk, was selling two all-electric models last year, the $109,000 Roadster and the Model S, which starts at $49,900 after a federal tax credit. The Roadster is being phased out as the Model S goes on sale. Most Roadsters have been sold.
Tesla has lost money since sales of the Roadster began in 2008, and the company is banking on the cheaper Model S to expand its market.
Tesla shares fell $2.84, or 7.4 percent, to $35.70 in after-hours trading. The stock closed Wednesday down 74 cents at $38.54.
Tesla, which received a $465 million loan from the Department of Energy, finished 2012 with $201.9 million in cash and equivalents, down more than $53 million from a year ago.
It said in the shareholders letter that adjusted net income should be slightly positive this year because of lower research and development expenses and more efficiency in operations and manufacturing. The company plans less capital spending this year because most of its factory and equipment investments are done. But it plans to spend money to expand its store network, buy new equipment and develop new products.
"This year, we are on a journey to expand the presence of Model S and turn profitable," said the letter, signed by Musk and Chief Financial Officer Deepak Ahuja.
Last week Tesla got into a tussle with The New York Times, accusing it of faking results of an East Coast road test of the Model S. Musk has traded shots with the newspaper for the past week.
In the story, a Times reporter wrote that he barely made it between Tesla's two new super-fast charging stations in Newark, Del., and Milford, Conn. — which are 200 miles apart — even though the Environmental Protection Agency estimates the Model S's range to be 265 miles. Later the car began losing power more quickly than the reporter expected after it was parked overnight — but not plugged in — in a cold garage. Eventually the car ran out of juice and had to be towed to a charging station.
On Twitter and in blogs, Musk said electronic vehicle logs showed the driver took a long detour and didn't charge the car's battery to the maximum amount. Musk said that other media outlets later repeated the drive without depleting the car's batteries.
The Times said the test was an honest account of what happened on the drive. Its public editor wrote that the reporter told the story as he experienced it, although he left himself open to criticism by taking "what seem to be casual and imprecise notes along the journey." The editor wrote that Musk used electronic logs in damaging and misleading ways.


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Ep 44. Making Idiots Experts Again
On this episode: It's the season 3 premiere. The guys are back to make podcasting great again. Which superhero battle represents the hosts? Why does Paul keep talking about someone named Heather? Why does Billy suddenly care about the war … Continue reading
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Next-Generation Soybean Oil Trait Provides Improved Nutritional Profile
DES MOINES, Iowa, Nov. 19, 2012 - DuPont Pioneer and Cargill announced today they will work with farmers near Cargill's facility in Sidney, Ohio, to grow Plenish® high oleic soybeans in 2013.
For the 2013 growing season, Cargill will contract with soybean farmers in the Sidney, Ohio, area to grow Plenish® high oleic soybeans that will be delivered to Cargill's soybean facility for processing (on-farm storage with buyer's call). Growers will be eligible for a processor-paid incentive for producing and delivering high oleic soybeans. Interest in Plenish® high oleic soybean oil from food companies continues to be strong and the 2013 Cargill contract program will support ongoing market development activity.
"Ohio soybean growers have always been leaders in adopting new technology to add value to their soybean production. This 2013 Plenish® high oleic soybean contracting program with Cargill will provide them an opportunity to improve their own bottom line through extra income per bushel and to strengthen market demand for the soybean industry," said Randy Minton, DuPont Pioneer business director.
"The demands of the global market place require constant innovation. The Plenish® program aligns with Cargill's stated goal of helping farmers prosper and providing innovative solutions for our food customers. We look forward to working with DuPont Pioneer in linking the supply chain to create greater value for all," said Jeff Kazin, vice president of oils trading for Cargill.
The development of Plenish® high oleic soybean oil is an important milestone for Pioneer in its efforts to bring product innovation to the food industry and complements solutions offered by DuPont Nutrition & Health to address the world's challenges in food. High oleic soybean oil provides a soy-based trans fat alternative for food companies and foodservice operators. Plenish® high oleic soybeans from Pioneer contain the highest oleic content (more than 75 percent) of any soybean product under commercial development. This improvement in the oil profile brings a dramatic increase to the stability of the oil, resulting in longer shelf life in packaged foods, and greater fry life for foodservice operators. From a health and nutrition standpoint, Plenish® high oleic soybean oil has 0g trans fat per serving and 20 percent less saturated fat than commodity soybean oil, making it a more attractive ingredient for consumer food products.
The Pioneer high oleic soybean trait is part of the total soybean performance package powered by the Pioneer proprietary Accelerated Yield Technology (AYT) system. Field testing has confirmed yields on par with elite commercial products. Plenish® high oleic soybeans are approaching completion of global regulatory approvals with over 96 percent of U.S. soybean export markets now approved, including China, Japan, Mexico and many other countries. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) completed its review of Plenish® high oleic soybeans in 2009 and the U.S. Department of Agriculture deregulation in June 2010 allows Plenish® high oleic soybeans to be grown under contract for ongoing field testing in the United States and additional oil testing by major oil processors and food companies.
Cargill is an international producer and marketer of food, agricultural, financial and industrial products and services. Founded in 1865, the privately held company employs 142,000 people in 65 countries. Cargill helps customers succeed through collaboration and innovation, and is committed to applying its global knowledge and experience to help meet economic, environmental and social challenges wherever it does business.
DuPont Pioneer(www.pioneer.com) is the world's leading developer and supplier of advanced plant genetics, providing high-quality seeds to farmers in more than 90 countries. Pioneer provides agronomic support and services to help increase farmer productivity and profitability and strives to develop sustainable agricultural systems for people everywhere. Science with Service Delivering Success. For more information on Plenish high oleic soybeans visit www.plenish.com.
DuPont (NYSE: DD) has been bringing world-class science and engineering to the global marketplace in the form of innovative products, materials, and services since 1802. The company believes that by collaborating with customers, governments, NGOs, and thought leaders we can help find solutions to such global challenges as providing enough healthy food for people everywhere, decreasing dependence on fossil fuels, and protecting life and the environment. For additional information about DuPont and its commitment to inclusive innovation, please visit http://www.dupont.com.
Jamie Butts 740-657-6140 firstname.lastname@example.com
# # #
The DuPont Oval Logo, DuPont, Science with Service Delivering Success, Plenish® and AYT are trademarks or registered trademarks of DuPont or its affiliates.
For additional information about our company or our products, check our website: http://www.pioneer.com.


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I was asked to create 4 tags, for 4 sisters.
I asked (their mother) which colors they like, and I got the answer I wanted (LOL): I can use my counterfeit kit (less blues, more browns / reds)... It works for me :-)
Each of them has "Have a xxxxx day", but translating to English is tricky.. I'll leave it all as "great"...
So - I hope you all have a great day - each day!
Here's the first tag:
Thanks for stopping by :-)
Monday, November 25, 2013
New tag series: Have a great day... 1/4
8:12 AM Posted by Unknown
labels Counterfeit Kit Challenge, DCWV, fabric tape, Ink It Up, Julie Nutting, tag, Tsukineko, יעל יניב
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We welcome you to the Starwood Festival; a celebration of diversity and alternatives in belief systems, lifestyles, and spirituality. Here you will never find a struggle to define which truth is the "real" truth, but rather a community of explorers fresh from their many journeys through realms both alien and familiar, flush with discovery, eager to share the wisdom they have found. Here are the children of the quest, their vision neither obscured by the forest nor are their minds diverted by the numbering trees, but peering upward and outward in wonder, beyond the night sky to the distant stars themselves.
The Starwood Festival features over 15 performances of music, drumming, dance and theatre. Its a multiversity featuring over 150 classes, workshops and ceremonies offered by teachers from many fields, disciplines, traditions and cultures. It's a family-friendly camping event with tenting and hiking, a food court, co-op child care, a Kid Village and multimedia shows. Starwood is also a social event with costume parades, jam sessions, merchants, parties, all-night drumming and much more, including the blossom of our fest: our huge and infamous Bonfire!
Starwood XXXII continues the famous Starwood tradition at our new home, Wisteria.
Check out our growing line-ups of speakers and bands, and you'll see we're continuing our tradition of excellence and diversity in entertainers and workshop presenters.
Starwood XXXI was a great time! Here are some reviews from around the 'Net.
Imagine drumming and dancing around a sparkling bonfire on a balmy warm Southern Ohio Summer night. That's Starwood XXXII.


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Facebook Wants You to Star Your Friends in Push for Lists
Facebook is testing a new feature called Close Friends, which lets you know every action the people you add to the list take on the social network. Facebook told Mashable it began the push to some users Thursday.
When you sign into Facebook, you'll be prompted to "Star Your Close Friends" to guarantee you don't miss their important moments. In other words, you can now stay close to people you indicate as high-priority friends without ever interacting, visiting their profile or catching an update in your news feed.
Facebook's explanation of the new features emphasizes organizing your friends into Smart Lists, based on where you work, live, went to school or family, to ensure you share with just the right people.
You can also view a news feed of your Close Friends update — much like a feed of a certain Google+ circle — by selecting the list from below the Friends tab on the left-hand side.
I decided to try out the new feature Friday morning, by adding about 20 friends to my Close Friends list. I added stars — Facebook conveniently suggests a pretty good idea of who you consider your close friends based on your interactions — and was ensured my friends wouldn't know they'd been added to my list. Within an hour, I'd received a handful of notifications — only none of them had anything to do with me. My friends had joined events, shared stories and posted to their Timelines and I didn't miss a beat.
I was eager to test out the feature because it seemed like an easier way to create lists — something I've been meaning to do on Facebook since Google+ rolled out its Circles feature. But the Close Friends feature became annoying as soon as my phone was flooded with status updates that looked like this one (taken from the phone of someone who put me on their Close Friends list):
If you receive mobile notifications from Facebook, it will send you an update every time someone you add to the list takes an action. If you've never restricted your push notifications on mobile before, this feature might be the one to drive you to cut some of them.
Do you organize your Facebook friends into lists? If so, do you only share certain posts with certain people?


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Missy "Misdemeanor" Elliott (born Melissa Arnette Elliott on July 1, 1971) is an American recording artist, producer and actress. With record sales of over seven million in the United States, she is the only female rapper to have six albums certified platinum by the RIAA, including one double platinum Under Construction.
Elliott is known for a series of hits and diverse music videos including "The Rain (Supa Dupa Fly)", "Hot Boyz", "Get Ur Freak On", "One Minute Man", "Work It", "Gossip Folks", "Pass That Dutch", "Lose Control" and "Ching-a-Ling". In addition, Elliott has worked extensively as a songwriter and producer for other artists, both alone and with her producer and childhood friend Timbaland. Elliott's songwriting and production credits include work for a number of other top artists, among them Aaliyah and Ginuwine.
Elliott was born Melissa Arnette Elliott on July 1, 1971, in Portsmouth, Virginia. She is the only child of mother Patricia, a power-company coordinator, and father Ronnie, a Marine. At the age of four, she wanted to be a performer, though she knew no one took her seriously, as she was always the class clown. While her father was a Marine, the family lived in Jacksonville, North Carolina, in a mobile home. Elliott enjoyed school for the friendships she formed and had little interest in school work, though an IQ test classified her above average and she was able to jump two years ahead of her class. This made her feel increasingly isolated, so she purposely failed all her classes, eventually returning to her age-appropriate class. When her father returned from the Marines, they moved back to Virginia, where they lived in a vermin-infested shack.


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Sweet Is the Work (Loynes)
Solos to Sing, Submitted Music
1. Sweet is the work, my God, my King,
To praise thy name, give thanks and sing,
To show thy love by morning light,
And talk of all thy truths at night.
2. Sweet is the day of sacred rest.
No mortal care shall seize my breast.
Oh, may my heart in tune be found,
Like David's harp of solemn sound!
3. My heart shall triumph in my Lord
And bless his works and bless his word.
Thy works of grace, how bright they shine!
How deep thy counsels, how divine!
4. But, oh, what triumph shall I raise
To thy dear name through endless days,
When in the realms of joy I see
Thy face in full felicity!
5. Sin, my worst enemy before,
Shall vex my eyes and ears no more.
My inward foes shall all be slain,
Nor Satan break my peace again.
6. Then shall I see and hear and know
All I desired and wished below,
And every pow'r find sweet employ
In that eternal world of joy.
Text: Isaan Watts
Music: James Loynes
gospel, gratitude, praise, eternity, salvation, service, obedience


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Environmental Engineering
The four members of the Environmental Engineering Faculty are all active in research. The range of expertise of our faculty members covers the treatment of both soil and water using chemical and biological methods. We also have expertise in modeling and conducting risk assessment for both air, soil and water pollutants.
In addition to individual faculty research laboratory space, the students and faculty have access to a 2,000+ sq. foot analytical facility. The analytical laboratory is considered to be among the best equipped academic research laboratories in the world. Equipment available includes gas chromatographs (GC), gas chromatograph-mass spectrometers (GC-MS), high pressure liquid chromatographs (HPLC), liquid chromatography (LC), ion chromatographs, inductively coupled plasma/mass spectrometer (ICP/MS), atomic absorption spectrophotometers (AAS), particle size analyzers, TOC analyzers, research microscopes with epiflourescence and image processing, anaerobic chambers, Organic Halide Analyzer, UV-Vis spectrophotometers, centrifuges, porometer, incubators, jar test apparatus, BioFlo 3000 Bioreactor, computer-aided titrimeter, turbidometers, pH meters, specific ion meters, field sampling kits, ozone generation system, among others. These analytical facilities allow us to perform research experiments and analyze for almost all inorganic and organic compounds in water, air or soil.
The environmental engineering teaching laboratory is where laboratory instruction is conducted in environmental chemistry, environmental microbiology, drinking water treatment, and biological treatment. This lab is also used for large scale graduate research such as the soil remediation pilot plant.
For More Information on Faculty Research Projects, visit their individual webpages: H. Rifai, B. Rixey, and D. Rodrigues.


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Listen to free music by Me'shell Ndegéocello
Blip.fm is internet radio made social. It's easy to search for, play, and discover free music recommended by real people. Join today to create your own free station.
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In this tutorial, you'll learn how to connect your Arduino MKR NB 1500 board securely to Microsoft Azure IoT Hub.
Project tutorial by Arduino_Genuino
Monitor a dumpster's status with flame, movement, and fill level sensors connected to a MKR NB 1500.
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Great Hair Day®$28.75Top Rated
You care about your appearance, which is why you put so much effort into selecting your clothing, applying your makeup, and styling your hair. That's why our buyers have scoured the globe searching for the best styling products and tools available.Our styling tools and products include specialized solutions that help to address thinning areas, fragile hair, and root touch-ups. Other styling products are designed to create the hairstyle that you want and to hold it in place. Many of these brands can be hard to find outside of world's most exclusive salons, spas, and boutiques, but we have collected them for you here at Soft Surroundings.We also sell hairpieces and extensions that are a part of famous supermodel Christie Brinkley's collection. They come wide range of colors, allowing you to almost instantly create an entirely new look for yourself.Take some time to browse our hairstyling products today and treat yourself to the gift of style and beauty.