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JOHNSON CITY (Jan. 2, 2013) – When the ETSU men's basketball team takes the floor Wednesday night against VCU, the Buccaneers hope a "new look" home floor and a New Year will result in a new outlook to its 2012-13 season.
Having lost seven straight games, the Bucs (2-10) will face their final non-conference opponent of the regular season Wednesday evening at 7 p.m., as they take on 2011 Final Four participant VCU inside the ETSU/MSHA Athletic Center.
While the Bucs have struggled this year, the Atlantic 10 Conference's Rams enter the game at 10-3 overall and are on the verge of earning a spot in the nation's Top 25 polls. Yet again this year, VCU relies on its "Havoc" fullcourt defense to roll over opponents, so the Bucs will have to find ways to break that pressure if they hope to have a successful start to the New Year.
For more on this matchup, read the game notes located below, or click on the game notebook link above. For more on ETSU men's basketball throughout the 2012-13 season, visit ETSUBucs.com and click on the men's hoops link.
We are "ETSU"
The ETSU Department of Intercollegiate Athletics would like to ask both the print and broadcast media to honor our request to be called "ETSU" ... East Tennessee State in first reference is acceptable, but subsequent references should be ETSU ... On TV graphics please use ETSU ... Our nickname is the Buccaneers, but Bucs is also acceptable.
Buc bits
After several years of quality returning players and at least some level of certainty regarding what to expect heading into the winter months, the 2012-13 ETSU men's basketball team will enter the new campaign with several questions and concerns. ... The loss of standout seniors such as Adam Sollazzo (Tampa), Isiah Brown (Miami, Fla.) and Tommy Hubbard (Boston) will be hard to overcome, considering that group combined for a total of 3,091 points in their careers ... A year ago, the Bucs enjoyed quality wins such as a road victory over Atlantic 10 Conference foe Charlotte, and finished with a respectable 17 victories on the season ... The team finished fourth in the Atlantic Sun Conference standings at 10-8, reaching the league tournament semifinals. ... This season, the Bucs' top two returning starters were guards Sheldon Cooley (Tampa) and Marcus Dubose (Hartsville, S.C.), who both combined to score 19.7 points per game a year ago. ... However, both Cooley and Dubose have been dismissed from the team for violation of team rules and policies ... Along with those two, fellow guard Jarvis Jones (Memphis) and forward Lukas Poderis (Port Richey, Fla.) are the only other ETSU seniors to be returning after playing significant minutes last year, but Poderis is now lost for the season with a left foot injury and will be forced to redshirt, while Jones missed the first seven games of the year for academic reasons ... Jones returned against Ole Miss on Dec. 14 ... With so few returning, experienced players, ETSU will be looking to some unproven returning players, as well as a recruiting class that includes three incoming freshmen and a pair of junior college transfers, to come in and make an immediate impact. Sophomores Rashawn Rembert (Tampa) and John Walton (Memphis), along with redshirt freshman Lester Wilson (Knoxville) are expected to increase their production this year, while true freshmen guards Petey McClain (Mobile, Ala.), Mario Stramaglia (Birmingham, Ala.), and Yunio Barrueta (Miami, Fla.) will look to blossom into early contributors. ... On the interior, Walton will need help from junior college transfers Kinard Gadsden-Gilliard (Georgetown, S.C.) and Hunter Harris (Nashville).
Last time out
HONOLULU (Dec. 25, 2012) – Playing its third game in four days, the ETSU men's basketball team got off to a fast start but things quickly faded as San Francisco pulled past the Bucs, 67-49, in the final game of the Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic on Tuesday afternoon inside the Stan Sheriff Center. ... Once again Jarvis Jones (Memphis, Tenn.) led the Bucs by scoring a team-high 17 points on 7-of-15 shooting and dished out four of ETSU's eight assists. Hunter Harris (Nashville, Tenn.) also scored in double figures by finishing with 11 points and seven rebounds, but was 1-for-7 at the free throw line. Overall, the Blue and Gold went 4-of-12 at the charity stripe for the game. ... Things looked promising for the Blue and Gold as ETSU got off to a hot start but play fizzled down the stretch, as San Francisco outscored the Bucs 20-7 in the final nine minutes of the first half to lead 32-21 at the break. ... ETSU hit on six of its first 10 shots to lead 14-12 after Harris knocked down a jumper, but things quickly unraveled in a hurry as the Dons mounted a 13-1 run to pull ahead 25-15 when Cole Dickerson scored two of his 13 first-half points with 5:31 left in the half. ... San Francisco eventually built a 32-18 advantage and carried an 11-point lead into the break. ... In the second half, the Bucs were able to cut their 11-point halftime deficit to eight on a lay-up by Jones, but that's as close as ETSU would get. ... ETSU has now dropped seven straight and saw its mark dip to 2-10, while San Francisco pulled event at 6-6 on the season.
The series versus VCU
The Bucs and Rams have met nine times previously ... ETSU has never beaten VCU in those previous matchups ... The first game was played in 1971 and the last in 2001, which was a 79-71 defeat in Richmond, Va.
Last time against VCU
ETSU senior guard Dimeco Childress (Columbia, Tenn.) came just one point shy of a career high, scoring 29 points, but it was not enough to stop Virginia Commonwealth University, as the Rams defeated the Bucs 79-71 back on Nov. 21, 2001. ... VCU came out on a 12-2 run to start the game and led by as many as 13 (20-7) with 14:11 left in the first half. But the Bucs clawed back into the game, led almost single-handedly by Childress, who scored 21 points in the first half, hitting 8-of-12 shots from the floor and 4-of-6 from three-point range. ... The Bucs took the lead at 27-25 with 8:51 left in the half and entered the locker room with a 37-35 advantage. ... The score remained close throughout the first eight minutes of the second half before VCU went on a 9-0 run to go from two points down (46-44) to seven points up (53-46) at the 11:39 mark. ... The Buccaneers would get as close as four points (74-70) on a trey by Zakee Wadood (Lonoke, Ark.) with 1:43 left, but the Rams hit all five of their free throws in the final minute to seal the win.
New lighting system for the Mini-Dome
The game with VCU will mark a new look for the Buccaneers home court inside the ETSU/MSHA Atheltic Center ... Over the holiday break, a new lighting system and championship banners were installed inside the Dome, creating a more "basketball friendly" environment ... Along with the new LED digital boards along the floor, a renovated "Courtside Club" for donors, and the team's new practice facility which was completed earlier this year, there have been over $1 million in basketball improvements made to the Dome this year alone.
Home Sweet Dome ... against non-conference teams
Since the 1996-97 season, the Buccaneers are an amazing 154-51 overall inside the ETSU/MSHA Athletic Center, good for a winning percentage of 76 percent ... But when looking at the past 11 years, the Bucs are an even more impressive 47-7 against non-conference opponents ... Last year, the Bucs went 10-3 overall at the Dome and a perfect 4-0 against non-conference opponents.
Shuffling starters the "new normal" for Bucs
ETSU head coach Murry Bartow has used 10 different starting lineups in the team's 12 games this season ... Injuries and dismissals have left the ETSU coaching staff searching for the right combination to start games, as the team currently stands 2-10 on the year.
Bartow atop list of second generation coaches
Murry Bartow's coaching lineage is undeniable ... As the son of the late Gene Bartow, he had the fortunate opportunity to grow up learning from one of the most successful basketball coaches in college history ... Setting off on his own career, Bartow has carried on the tradition. ... His 181 wins at ETSU ranks second on the Bucs' all-time list ... In addition, Bartow's 284 career victories ranks No. 1 among second generation coaches ... Along with his father's 647 career wins, the Bartow men have combined for 931 victories, ranking fourth on the all-time win list for Father/Son coaches.
Jones meeting expectations for Bucs
ETSU head coach Murry Bartow expected the return of senior guard Jarvis Jones (Memphis) would improve his team's efforts on the offensive end of the floor … He was right. … After posting a career-high 21 points against No. 4 Arizona, followed by a team-high 14 against Hawaii and another team-best 17 against San Francisco, Jones is now averaging 15.2 points per game in his five outings since returning from academic probation against Ole Miss back on Dec. 14 … Jones was 6-of-6 from the foul line, dished out three assists, grabbed three steals and played just under 40 minutes in the loss to the Wildcats, while collecting five steals and five rebounds to go with his 14 points against the Rainbow Warriors ... Against San Francisco, he posted 17 points with 3-of-6 shooting from 3-point range, while dishing four assists and grabbing two steals.
ESPN names Wilson to nation's Top 25 freshmen list
While circumstances have forced the ETSU men's basketball team to struggle in the early going this season, talented redshirt freshman forward Lester Wilson (Knoxville) has still given the Buccaneers reason for hope. ... Wilson, who is averaging 15.5 points per game, was listed as one of the Top 25 freshmen in college basketball Thursday by ESPN hoops writer John Gasaway. The list – which included players such as UNLV's Anthony Bennett, UCLA's Jordan Adams, Michigan's Nik Stauskas and Duke's Rasheed Sulaimon – had Wilson ranked at No. 25. ... Currently the Atlantic Sun Conference's third best scorer, Wilson has posted four 20-plus point games so far this season ... Of those contests, he scored a career high 27 points in the win over Milligan back on Nov. 29, after scoring 26 in the Bucs' previous win over Charleston Southern on Nov. 20.
Talented Bucs still face obstacle with experience
At no time in the tenure of ETSU head coach Murry Bartow have the Buccaneers had less experience ... Currently, the team has nine players who are eligible and healthy enough to play, of that group there are only five total years of Division I experience ... On average, that's less than a half year of experience per player ... With four freshmen and two junior college transfers that means 66 percent of the team is competing in their first season of Division I basketball.
Three-point streak for Bucs dates back nearly 20 years
Since Feb. 16, 1987 in a game against Davidson, the Bucs have made at least one 3-pointer in 776 consecutive games. ... ETSU was 0-for-8 in that 1987 game.
Bucs have tradition of postseason appearances, success
The ETSU men's basketball team has enjoyed its share of postseason success and ranks as one of the nation's most prestigious basketball programs ... The Buccaneers have earned berths to the NCAA Tournament nine times (1969, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992, 2003, 2004, 2009, 2010) and NIT twice (1983, 2007) ... In 2011, the Bucs made their first ever appearance in the CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament, winning twice and advancing to the semifinals of that event ... It was the program's 12th postseason tournament appearance all-time.
ETSU picked among nation's best "Prestige" programs
In the modern era for NCAA Division I-A basketball – marked by the expansion of the NCAA Tournament field to 64 teams in 1984-85 – the ETSU men's basketball program ranks in the Top 30 percent of the 300 programs that were eligible for the postseason at that time, this according to ESPN.com's "Prestige" ranking released back in 2008 ... Since that time, the Bucs have only added to their list of prestigious honors … The Bus -- who have enjoyed nine NCAA trips, one NIT and one CIT berth, 14 20-win seasons, and a slew of conference regular season and tournament championships since 1984-85 -- ranked tied for 82nd out of 300 teams, meaning they were in the Top 27 percent of schools making the list. ETSU was ranked ahead of every current Atlantic Sun team, as well as former SoCon rivals Appalachian State, Western Carolina, Georgia Southern and UNC Greensboro. In addition, at that time the Bucs ranked ahead of SEC schools such as Tennessee, Vanderbilt, South Carolina, Mississippi State, Georgia, Mississippi and Auburn, as well as programs such as Notre Dame, DePaul, Bradley, Clemson and Fla. State.


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The Wilson Bros examine second chapter of the Three Mothers trilogy...
Dario Argento's most celebrated film of a career that has spanned five decades is almost certainly 1976's Suspiria, a tale of modern-day witchcraft in Freiburg, Germany. It was a ground-breaking tale that seemed intent of giving the audience a sensory overload to bombard and ultimately terrify. The international success and acclaim that Suspiria was met with left cinemagoers expecting more of the same, but it was Argento's first foray into straight horror, as most of his cinematic output had consisted of giallo (thriller/detective) films, but Suspiria would ultimately take the former Italian journalist and film critic into that area that is somewhere between horror and fairytale—the fantastique.
With the success of Suspiria, Argento decided to capitalise upon the public's thirst for such material, and so engineered a piece of retro-continuity, making Suspiria the first chapter of a three-part story, which was given the name of the Three Mothers Trilogy. The premise was that there were three witches, Mater Suspiriorum (the Mother of Sighs), Mater Tenebrarum (the Mother of Darkness) and Mater Lacrimarum (the Mother of Tears); Suspiriorum was in Freiburg, Germany; Tenebrarum resided in New York, and Lacrimarum controlled Rome. Suspiria dealt with the Mother of Sighs; the Mother of Tears would not be tackled for around thirty years after Suspiria, but in between them came the film that would feature the Mother of Darkness— Inferno.
We are in a rather funny position with the final film, The Third Mother (aka The Mother of Tears, aka That Wretched Piece of Shit) where one of us has seen it, but the other refuses to have anything to do with it. OK, the one who hasn't bought it as a present for the one who has, but there was probably a humorous notion about it. Whatever your own feelings about this ill-advised, long-overdue finale to the trilogy, just be glad that Inferno will always be there to slip into your Blu-ray player as the second half of the ultimate demonic double-bill and it is the mid-section of this series that we are focusing upon now. So let's take the plunge into darkness, as all hell breaks loose...
The story involves Rose Elliot (Irene Miracle) discovering an ancient book entitled 'The Three Mothers', which tells of three sisters who use witchcraft and control areas of the world with tears, sorrow and darkness. Curiosity gets the better of Rose and she begins to suspect the New York apartment building she is living in may be the residence of one of the three mothers and she begins to investigate, but not before telling her music student brother, Mark (Leigh McCloskey) in a letter. After doing too much digging, Rose meets a sticky end and Mark flies to New York from Rome to investigate just why he hasn't heard from his sister and he eventually discovers the sinister forces at work that are now seeking to silence him...
The ultimate essence of Inferno is that of the foulest of nightmares and most vivid of hallucinations thrown like paint-bombs at the film it was captured on. American Evangelist Billy Graham once said that The Exorcist had evil 'in its' very celluloid', but here demonic forces bombard you with incredible images of horrific beauty, allowing them to forcibly enter the body through your eyes whilst your pupils are dilated and through your ears via an aural attack.
As though trying to broaden the scope of his demonic opus, Argento sets the story of Inferno on both sides of the Atlantic, impressively expanding the dominion of the Three Mothers to encompass a greater portion of the world. Part of the unsettling nature of Suspiria was being in the ballet shoes of Jessica Harper, who is thrown not only into a country she can barely understand, but having the trapdoor of reality drop out from under her courtesy of the Mother of Sighs. It would have been foolish for Dario to merely employ his patented 'artist in exile' number once again, so he finally has his protagonist an American who travels back to his homeland to solve the mystery so tantalisingly dangled in front of him. This creates an even more unsettling experience for him, as all he thinks he knows is increasingly buried in a fog of unreality and death. Even Central Park isn't immune from satanic molestation, when barbaric hotdog vendors can seemingly run across water to commit bloody murder to keep the demonic secret residing below ground in New York.
This interesting mixture of New York and Italy manifests itself in other ways, the most cinematically curious one being that Argento roped in two prominent filmmakers from both sides of the Atlantic to help with the filming—legendary Italian auteur Mario Bava handled some of the special effects seen during the climax and up-and-coming American director William Lustig was brought on board to handle some of the location filming in the Big Apple. We met Mr Lustig at a film festival in the 90s, and a friend of ours got him to sign his pre-cert VHS copy of Inferno, and Lustig was very reluctant to do it, mainly because he didn't want to ruin such a beautiful cover through his minimal role in the production. Oh, and Dave—if you're reading this, drop us a line, huh...?
The use of classical music is utterly beguiling, and can almost be seen as a precursor to Argentos' Opera later that decade. Whilst the latter sought to being Verdi's tragic tale of Macbeth into the modern age, Inferno uses Va Pensiero as the theme to his second voyage into witchcraft, and Verdis' work has seldom been employed with such panache. Whilst not quite a recurring motif, the two occasions it is tied into the story, the Mother of Darkness exerts her power over the world, and the marriage of Dario Argento and Giuseppi Verdi makes the hair on the back of your neck rise up and crackle. Inferno is significant musically in that it marked the last time that Argento would use classical music to build up tension and suspense in his films before unwisely deciding to go the metal route during the eighties, something which may have garnered him a younger audience during that time, but did quite a bit of damage to him artistically, as he threw away tension for an intense aural overload.
Mirrored themes run throughout Inferno, which is no surprise when they exist to propagate the story of The Three Mothers. The use of vivid, primal colours in the cinematography aside, our personal choice for the coolest instance of a rhyming theme is that of Hellish Taxi rides. Previously, the naive Jessica Harper hails a cab and endures a ride through the black forests of Freiberg as fierce storms try to dissuade her from going any further, accompanied by the unsettling chimes of Goblin. Here we have Eleonora Giorgi flagging down a taxi to Romes' Biblioteca Angelica to further her investigation into the mysterious forces she has stumbled upon. The rain comes down as multi-coloured beams of light shine through the windows, but she is determined to get to the bottom of matters, with Keith Emmerson's furious keyboards acting as her forthcoming funeral march to a certain death. Argento seems to be proving that a little knowledge is indeed a dangerous thing.
There are few cinematic instances where libraries are called upon to be anything other than staid, stuffy places where dumb people go to get information to further a plot through dusty old books, but we are proud to say that Inferno manages to draw together some captivating images and create a sequence which sticks long in the memory. Giorgi arrives at the Biblioteca Angelica to find a copy of the Three Mothers, and eventually discovers the very book she seeks. After only a brief glance at it, she is interrupted by the bellowing tones of a monstrous figure—one conducting alchemy—who tries to kill her. We are not kidding, but the shots of cauldron of liquid metal bubbling away almost makes you want to head off to the bathroom with a box of tissues to relieve yourself. It is the very definition of a 'lusty' image, one which makes the turning of base metals into gold an activity you want to take up on your own based solely on the picture painted on Argento's demonic canvas. Utterly beautiful.
What is possibly the most memorable sequence in Inferno sees Rose Elliot (Irene Miracle) accidentally dropping a vital key and it disappears beneath a crack in the floor. If it were that simple to retrieve, then it would hardly be something that sticks so vividly in the memory—Rose realises that it has fallen through the floor and into a submerged ballroom. She realises that she has to get the key and that means diving into uncertain waters to retrieve it. The use of muted primary colours in the sequence that have been diffused and diluted by the water is wonderful, making a striking and eerie contrast to the bright colours seen up to that point. The soundtrack is muffled and distorted and when combined with the alteration to the images, provides and eerie and accurate attempt to capture the effects on your primary senses that being immersed in liquid can have.
Far too many accuse Dario Argento of filling his films with pretty imagery whilst remaining completely superficial, but those who 'get' the Italian horror genre will leap to his defence. Those of a narrow mind will take the early sequence set during a music lecture at face value: a guy is trying to read a letter as he sits in class, bothered by the curtains blowing about. He sees a woman stroking a cat as he listens to music through headphones. Sorted. Those accustomed to Italian horror will read it very differently: a man reads a letter about mysterious forces surrounding his sister, weighing up in his mind if he should fly over to New York to make sure she is safe. As his mind is turning, unearthly powers rage around the lecture theatre, blowing open windows and making their presence known. The gales herald the arrival of the Mother of Tears, stroking a black cat, which hallmarks her physical manifestation. She delivers a warning to our student, but he is too wrapped up in his own mind to heed her advice and not travel to America. To quote Lex Luthor: 'Some people can read War and Peace and come away thinking it's a simple adventure story. Others can read the ingredients on a chewing gum wrapper and unlock the secrets of the universe'.
As surely as a Marvel Comics adaptation which doesn't have a decent set of bad-guys, the natural elements are powerful forces in the Three Mothers trilogy, and possibly the most pertinent demonstration of this comes with Inferno. The famous sequence where Irene Miracle dives into the depths of a submerged ballroom to probe the secrets of the Mother of Darkness serves to establish that the water represents the element of 'good', and the flames of fire symbolising evil at the climax are extinguished when the two collide. This was firmly established in Suspiria, where Jessica Harper's arrival in Freiberg triggers a torrential downpour, as if protecting her from the evil from her at the school. Surely enough, her opposing component to the fiery wrath which rips apart the Tanz Academy saves her at the end, laughing in the rain at her miraculous victory. Where Inferno is more literal about the evil element, Suspiria goes the same way with the righteous constituent.
There is a blanketing generalisation to European horror films that they are a vessel for lousy dialogue, with words uttered merely there to expatiate the mayhem which punctuate the running time. OK, so some of the less artistically-minded directors who have worked in the field might well be guilty of this—who said Bruno Mattei… come on, who was it?—but Argento is using dialogue as a means of both imparting essential information to the audience and relaying the train-of-thought of his characters. What has to be remembered is that Dario's films function outside of the established confines of reality, and how many of us can honestly say that things encountered in our own dreams conform to the established patterns of the three-act structure?
Sure, when Argento has used it in his more reality-based projects, they really can sound as off as the most scathing of reviews suggest, and Tenebrae's horrible line: 'Say, where's Anne, my secretary?' always makes us grimace. As much as we have a lot of affection for Friday the 13th Part 3, it contains one of the worst examples of this around with: 'Wasn't this door closed just a few moments ago?' It is fair to say that a good portion of dialogue in Argento's 'other' movies (read: those which are not giallo) act as signposts written on hazy clouds, serving to point you in the same direction as the filmmaker rather than using some form of GPS to lead you by the balls, and the use of such material is carefully designed as the aesthetic elements which Argento's detractors accuse his art of being solely based on.
The subject of writing credits for Inferno was always going to be a contentious one, given the somewhat uneven nature of Dario and Daria Nicolodi's relationship. Ms Nicolodi was credited for her work on Suspiria, which was only fair, given the very personal nature of the basis for her story, that of a tale told to her by her grandmother. This time around, she receives no acknowledgement for her contribution to the film, which she was not going to contest, given that she had to practically hold her breath until they gave her appropriate recognition on Suspiria. With the break-up of their relationship, the bitterness set in, and her contribution to Inferno was downplayed, and left Nicolodi's standpoint of letting her work speak for itself to come back to haunt her. Much like Gerry and Sylvia Anderson, there has been much dispute over who came up with what, threatening to taint the work as a whole. When looking at the two films, it is clear that an ethereal element is woven through them, unlike any other of Argento's movies, and it becomes undisputable that this is all thanks to the considerable contribution of Daria Nicolodi.
The distribution of Argento's tale of terror is a tangled web, mostly weaved by 20th Century Fox. The massive success they had with an Italian horror film like Suspiria (released through their dummy company, International Classics Inc.) had Fox salivating for more, and eagerly snapped up the rights to it, thinking that it could make them money as a comparatively inexpensive pick-up in world markets. Between shelling out for control of the movie and actually getting it into cinemas, a fatal change of administration at Fox saw previous guarantees dismissed en mass. Inferno was one of them. Whilst it found a strong audience in the UK, opening to respectable box office in the first quarter of 1980, the new bosses at Fox pulled the proposed theatrical release and it eventually got out into the open only when released on video in 1985. We have always kicked ourselves for passing up the beautiful UK Quad poster twenty years ago, before ebay and at a time when you could buy such things without it costing you a good portion of your monthly pay-packet.
Much has been said of the Leigh McCloskey in the lead role of Mark Elliot, essentially to the effect of his lack of charisma, drive and personality, with many postulating that a more dynamic actor fronting the film would have made it more palatable for a wider audience. While we agree that he's not the most animated of thespians, it's our combined opinion that McCloskey was chosen so as to be a blank slate for those watching, be it for the purpose of giving viewers the chance to put themselves in his shoes as events unfold around him. It's either this, or the other possibility that a weaker protagonist allows the demonic mayhem unfolding around him free reign, not allowing a character of overwrought morality to taint all the colours of darkness.
As with a number of Argento movies the supporting characters have a way of stealing the movie out from under the nose of the lead, and as the above testifies, Inferno is no exception. Dario pulls a fast one when he kills off both actresses the audience assumes to be the lead, departing from the Suspiria format of having the protagonist a woman. Irene Miracle, last seen pressing her tits against a pane of glass in Midnight Express, has both guts and personality by the bucket-load, and is a genuine surprise when she falls fatally foul of the Mother of Darkness. The same can be said of Eleonora Giorgi, but given her propensity for sticking her nose into other peoples' business, her early departure isn't quite as much of a shock. It is Sacha Pitoeff who practically walks away with the whole movie, playing the gruff, one-legged bookstore owner Kazanian, and any man who hates cats as much as we do is OK by us. Feodor Chaliapin is a bewitching combination of creepy and charming, possessing the extraordinary ability to go from nearly helpless cripple to lethal bastard in the blink of an eye, managing to worm his way under your skin, making sure that you'll never trust an old person again.
Daria Nicolodi is as charming and as beguiling as ever, playing Countess Elsie, a resident of the building who suspects that there are sinister forces at work. Nicolodi does what the script expects of her, but doesn't give her a chance to really shine in the part as she did in Profondo Rosso, where she was magnificent, but she's still pretty good here, in a less showy role here than Argentos' uber-giallo. It beats a couple of seconds at the side of the screen this time around, even if she is attacked by cats that pounce on her as though they were thrown by a certain character a Matt Groening show...
It is nice to see Alida Valli putting in a significant appearance in Inferno, after being so memorable as the fearsome Miss Tanner in Suspiria. Her being in one of the other locations controlled by The Three Mothers makes the viewer wonder if she is actually the same character, but under another name (Carol, the caretaker) and possibly keeping an eye out for Mater Tenebrarum to make up for the rather poor stab at it last time out.
The final ten minutes or so is probably the most intensely sustained brilliance of Argentos' career. It starts when McCloskey discovers a series of tunnels underneath the floor of Roses' apartment block; they take him into the bowls of building and into the lair of the Mother of Darkness. This is a perfect combination of all elements which hallmark the best of Argentos' art. The protagonist has to break through the surface in order to get themselves closer to the truth which eludes them, coupled with deeply unsettling characters, masterful production design, almost hallucinogenic imagery, pitch-perfect staging, along with a choice and deployment of music to send the finale rocketing off into the stratosphere. When the Mother of Darkness reveals the true nature of the Three Mothers, and undergoing a startling metamorphosis into her true form, we challenge you not to be utterly impressed with the ace up Dario's sleeve.
Much like the end of Suspiria, the protagonist eventually ventures into the lair of the witch and a fiery climax ensues; the main difference between the two is that Suspiria's Suzy Bannion got there through perseverance and deductive reasoning, but with Inferno's Mark Elliot just seems to blunder into things. Even the despatching of the witches are in the same manner, drawing the two movies together and making them a cohesive whole, yet still working as standalone stories.
We had always considered Inferno to be vastly inferior to Suspiria, even going so far as to feel as though it was a minor Argento film in general. This all changed when we spent one Saturday in 1994 at the University of Kent in Canterbury at what was called 'The Dario Argento Film Conference'. Although we had to endure being in the company of a bunch of pretentious and/or disinterested film students who had to blow Saturday on campus (not to mention having to eat disgusting veggie-burgers forced upon us in the university cafeteria), there were some enlightening lectures (from Xavier Mendick and Alan Jones, amongst others) and a quartet of Argento films were played— Bird with the Crystal Plumage, then Four Flies on Grey Velvet (the first time we saw it) followed by Tenebre and finally Inferno.
Though at that particular screening Inferno was shown in 1.33:1 (Alan Jones refused to sit though the film and promptly stormed out, saying to us 'I can't watch it like this' as he went), the 16mm print was pristine and a wonder to behold, with astonishingly vivid colours and just watching the film in such a grand and (though it's almost idiotically obvious to say it) cinematic way, it made us appreciate the film like never before and ever since, we have loved Inferno, and now ranks as one of our favourites of Dario's cinematic endeavours.
Arrow are to be commended for their efforts in getting Argento's magnum opus released here in the UK completely intact. The film had always been censored in this Sceptred Isle, having various bits of violence and—most importantly—the shots where a cat is shown eating a love mouse. When Arrow submitted it to the BBFC, they initially passed it with all of the violence intact, but demanded the cat and mouse shot must be removed, as it contravened the 1937 Cinematograph Films (Animal) Act. This news was greeted with more than the odd cry of anguish/derision from Argento enthusiasts who could not bear to see such high-definition delights mutilated by the censors' scissors. However, in a letter-writing campaign not too dissimilar from the one that saved Star Trek back in the sixties, Argento fans bombarded the BBFC with letters and email that intelligently argued for the Board to rethink their decision (many of the missives were of the 'I am an adult and I am capable of making an informed choice as to what I want to watch' variety) and surprisingly, they backed down and allowed Inferno to be released in its unexpurgated form in the UK. OK, so the shot concerned is a fairly unpleasant one to watch, but the film would be incomplete without it and it is symbolic of Mark's journey into the heart of the building and what potential fate awaits him as he is about to stumble upon people with powers almost too great to comprehend and that they have been watching him and sadistically playing with him in the same way that a cat plays with a... well, you get the idea.
Watching the aforementioned gorgeous 16mm print at the University of Kent gave us unrealistic expectations when trying to match the experience at home. Our first copy was taped from Sky Movies in the early 90s, which used the original Fox master tapes. We rejoiced at news of the widescreen tape release, but it once again fell markedly short. Then, during that strange three or four year period in the 90s when the UK went LaserDisc crazy, we jumped at the copy brought out on the prestige format. It still looked like a compromise. We were finally happy when Anchor Bay US finally gave fans a copy to be proud of when DVD found its' feet. However, progress has a way of changing things...
Slipping the Blu-ray edition into the tray brought a broad smile to our collective lips as we were greeted by an image of impressive stability and bold colour. The 1080p HD mastering of the 1.85:1 image banishes the unintentionally hazy quality possessed of many other transfers, bringing Inferno back to vivid life. The rock-solid nature of Inferno's colours almost produces a physical shudder of pleasure, such is the revelatory improvement on be found over most other copies we've sat through. The sharper image paradoxically enhances its hazy, dreamlike state, and immerses the viewer in the netherworld created by Argento and DP Romano Albani in a way we haven't experienced since that 16mm print all those years ago. We compared it to the Anchor Bay R1 release, and the Blu bested it in just about all areas, and did so with aplomb. There were a couple of shots which were somewhat darker on the newer transfer, with some detail obscured in the shadows, but this is certainly nothing to spoil such a superb copy Inferno. The colours are not as saturated as they were on the Anchor Bay DVD, and some DNR seems to have been utilised, but we have seen the film in many forms and with the Arrow Blu-ray release, we can confidently say that this is the strongest version of Argento's masterpiece on the market.
Inferno comes presented on Blu-Ray with a DTS-HD Master Audio track. Keith Emmerson's compositions, including the truly off-the-wall five-four time re-scoring of Verdi's Va Pensiero sounds amazing when bumped up to HD. There are some nice and surprising moments that come with the sound-mix, with dialogue presented nicely, some pleasing separation and lovely, chunky lows in the mix. Sound is always an important component in the movies of Snr Argento, with a number of instances testifying to this. When voices carry though the House of the Damned in New York, we travel along the pipes as whispered words echo around, met by maniacal laughter, here bumped so forcefully that it really unnerved us when expecting the levels we were familiar with. The sounds of rain on the window of the taxi seems much more immediate and 'real' than before, and just add to the whole experience. Our only regret is that those in charge couldn't have sourced a higher-fidelity version of Va Pensiero for this particular mix, possibly licensing from Naxos, or another such company. The 2.0 version is acceptable if you want something less elaborate. Wonderful news comes with the inclusion of an Italian language track, with a pretty rich presentation, even within the confines of mono, and all with English subtitles. Inferno is well catered for in the sound department.
Introduction: Actress and uncredited co-writer Daria Nicolodi introduces Inferno. After she addresses the UK viewers, you expect her to either inform us she is being treated well or demand the drink she's owed for it.
Dario's Inferno: This sixteen minute interview with Dario Argento is interesting—he speaks more easily and freely in his native Italian and touches upon various fascinating aspects of the production of Inferno. Argento also mentions the private screening he attended with the aforementioned female head of 20th Century Fox, who held his arm tightly during the film... and then said 'no' to distributing it in the U.S. afterwards. Women, eh? Can't live with 'em, can't kill 'em. Apparently there's a law against it.
Acting in Hot Water: An Interview with Daria Nicolodi. This wonderful piece runs for around eighteen minutes and has the reclusive actress talking about all manner things, particularly the Three Mothers, Argento and her love of Mario Bava, where she makes no bones about which of the two directors she preferred in most respects. She's a wonderful, passionate woman, and her love for the two movies she wrote is undeniably clear, with the last few minutes spend almost canvassing for finance to bring the true final chapter of The Three Mothers to the screen, rather than the two poor attempts already out there. Speaking of which…
The Other Mother: Making the Black Cat: This sixteen minute featurette examines the unofficial third part of the Three Mothers Trilogy. In 1989 director Luigi Cozzi (a long-time friend and collaborator of Dario Argento) decided to make the unofficial follow-up to Inferno and 'complete' the Three Mothers legacy. This feature looks at the torrid history of The Black Cat, with plenty of clips too! Those of us who have sat through the movie will attest it being an utter pile of shit ( 'Who's Levana?'), but to get some context is most welcome. Cozzi explains that the film was caught up in a large amount of red tape (it's doubtful that it will ever receive an official release on DVD), but the most remarkable thing about this documentary is how lousy the clips from The Black Cat look—we have an old VHS copy (that we taped from Sky in the early 90s) knocking around somewhere that probably looks better than the stuff here.
Inferno QandA with Irene Miracle, Keith Emmerson and Tim Lucas: This is footage taken from a fairly recent (references are made to Facebook) screening of Inferno in the U.S. Video Watchdog editor Tim Lucas stands in-front of a blank cinema screen and firstly brings out Inferno's star Irene Miracle, then eventually welcomes British muso Kieth Emmerson out. Lucas is understandably a fountain of knowledge, helpfully jogging the memory of a brutally honest Miracle, who straight out says that accepted the part for the money. Miracle warms up when Emmerson comes out and his general demeanour is not too dissimilar to the older John Lydon and though Emmerson talks a lot about nothing much, he is very amusing and he puts Miracle at ease. This is an entertaining way to spend half an hour, but it makes you wonder if there is almost an unwritten order for aging British prog-rockers to wear large brown or green tinted sunglasses indoors...
Easter Egg: X Marks the Spot: Without wishing to give too much away, this hidden extra consists of five minutes of director Dario Argento in speaking in English, providing a few additional memories of the filming of Inferno.
Arrow has included a second disc in this set for your viewing pleasure. Even though it's just a standard-def disc, it still contains some cool goodies.
Dario Argento—An Eye for Horror: This fifty-seven minute documentary, produced in 1990, takes an overview of Argento's career and includes interviews with many of Argento's peers, including George Romero and John Carpenter, along with various cast members and collaborators. Whilst certainly not the definitive look at Argento's work, there are certainly enough interesting interviews to surprise even some of the more learned of Argentophiles. What IS very cool about this documentary is that it features an interview with Michael Brandon, the star of Four Flies on Grey Velvet, during which he enthuses about Argento's style.
Dario Argento and Lamberto Bava on Inferno: This short featurette about the production of the film was originally included on the old Anchor Bay release, but its inclusion here is no less welcome.
The Complete Dario Argento Trailer Gallery: This has been featured on other Arrow Argento releases and is always welcome, showing trailers for eighteen of Argento's cinematic ventures.
International Trailer: This is the coming attraction for Inferno which most fans will be familiar with, and certainly does the job of piquing the interest and making you want to watch it. It's doom-laden, it's haunting—it's all good stuff!
Spanish Trailer: It's the same as the above, but with Spanish captions and a new voiceover. Es condenación cargada, es que frecuenta, es toda la buena materia! Sí, el español nunca era nuestro punto fuerte…
Reversible Sleeve: As with many of Arrow's flagship releases, Inferno comes complete with original and newly commissioned art work for the covers, allowing you to choose whichever one of the four designs tickles your fancy. Resident Arrow artist Rick Melton has once again painted new artwork that is done in the style of the early eighties, but this is the first time that we can honestly say that Mr Melton has missed the point with it entirely— Inferno was not the kind of standard exploitation film where lurid artwork was required or produced, and the new painting featuring the crass picture of a woman's arse was seriously missing the mark.
Double-sided fold-out Poster: Rick Melton's questionable artwork is on one side of this poster—never mind, on the other side is a rather nifty repro of the classic UK Quad poster, and you can bet your bippy that this is going to find its way into many a frame.
Collector's Booklet: This features a brand new essay on Inferno by none other than Alan Jones, author of Profondo Argento and friend and biographer of the great man.
Postcards: For your added pleasure, Arrow have also included mini-reproductions of Inferno lobby cards from several countries. It's yet another nice touch that makes this release all the more pleasing.
Dario Argento's Inferno marked the the end of the director's short-lived journey into the realms of the fantastique; next up for him would be a return to the giallo sub-genre that he made his name with. Inferno was a rare case of lightning striking twice, as it succeeded in trying to recapture the same kind of otherworldly magic which was the very fibre of Suspiria.
Arrow are to be commended for being the first to bring out Inferno on Blu-ray for UK audiences, and wherever else, as it isn't region-locked. The image is the best release of the movie yet and the sound is stellar. The extras which accompany the film are wonderful, giving balanced insight with technical information for those want to know more, with the paper ephemera the icing on the cake.
As for us? Well, this was the first time that we had seen Inferno in a number of years, and watching it on Blu-ray left us with smiles on our faces you couldn't have prised off with a crowbar. We were catapulted back to that 16mm screening all those years ago, and our love for the movie renewed as swiftly and assuredly as a library book being stamped. The book in question is The Three Mothers, and the masterpiece of a movie we adore is Dario Argento's Inferno. Utterly recommended.
* Note: The above images are taken from the Blu-ray release and resized for the page. Full-resolution captures are available by clicking individual images, but due to .jpg compression they are not necessarily representative of the quality of the transfer.
Review by Wilson Bros
Interesting review. Of all the reviews I've read of yours, this one is the most partisan. To be honest, lads, this feels less of a 'review' and more of an 'appreciation'. Your love for this film coruscates on every line. As always, it's an interesting read, but I would have preferred a little bit more impartiality. The film definetely has its short comings and the image to me looks a little too waxy and less film like.
Perhaps I'm being harsh, but I felt like a I was peeping through your window and watching you kiss your girlfriend whilst reading this and less like a cineast who was reading a balanced evaluation of a new release.
Perhaps I'm being harsh, but I felt like a I was peeping through your window and watching you kiss your girlfriend whilst reading this and less like a cineast who was reading a balanced evaluation of a new release.
We happen to love the movie, and the nature of both the film and the genre is something which really doesn't conform to critical dissection. It's more of a feeling or experience than a three-act story with a crystalised structure. You can use logic to rip apart things like the hotdog vendor running across water and inexplicably killing the poor schmuck, which you could also do to the same to many other elements of the story, but it's the same as trying to take apart Bosch's Garden of Earthly Delights. They are to be experienced, containing Hellish images put together on a canvas as a way of showcasing them all.
To a degree, it's almost critic-proof, in that to try and pick it apart would be to miss the point. It's a personal vision for Argento, and he's puttng the images inside his head onto the screen. Those who see it either love it wholeheartedly, hate it utterly or don't get the style. We have no grouse with those in the latter category, but it's just a shame that they are missing out on a look inside the head of Argento. Inferno refuses to subscribe to the ol' "...then they all went home for tea" or the "Pick up a gallon of milk on the way home" structure, and our review is more a reaction to the film, relaying it as those watching experience it.
So forgive us if it seems like some form of critical dogging, but this might be Argento's purest work yet, at least the equal of the mighty Suspiria.
To a degree, it's almost critic-proof, in that to try and pick it apart would be to miss the point. It's a personal vision for Argento, and he's puttng the images inside his head onto the screen. Those who see it either love it wholeheartedly, hate it utterly or don't get the style. We have no grouse with those in the latter category, but it's just a shame that they are missing out on a look inside the head of Argento. Inferno refuses to subscribe to the ol' "...then they all went home for tea" or the "Pick up a gallon of milk on the way home" structure, and our review is more a reaction to the film, relaying it as those watching experience it.
So forgive us if it seems like some form of critical dogging, but this might be Argento's purest work yet, at least the equal of the mighty Suspiria.
I wish I could disagree with all of that as it would make for a more intersting discussion, but you've hit the nail on the head as usual.
I didn't wish to appear ungrateful or critical, but I thought seeing as you boys put a lot of effort into your articles, I thought it would be rude not to comment and the only thing that struck me was that I learned more about you two and your love for the film then the film itself.
I didn't wish to appear ungrateful or critical, but I thought seeing as you boys put a lot of effort into your articles, I thought it would be rude not to comment and the only thing that struck me was that I learned more about you two and your love for the film then the film itself.
Well, we love the movie, and we'll spread the word whenever we can. The film's form is like that of a could, it makes lovely, unique patterns and images, but you'll never properly grasp the thing, no matter how you try.
Oh, and as to our suggestion about getting a higher fidelity recording of Va Pensiero, we just heard that it was explored at the mastering stage, but dropped because of it would have thrown the audio mix out of balance and due to the gnashing of angry teeth which would have followed.
Oh, and as to our suggestion about getting a higher fidelity recording of Va Pensiero, we just heard that it was explored at the mastering stage, but dropped because of it would have thrown the audio mix out of balance and due to the gnashing of angry teeth which would have followed.
shawnduhast Member Join Date: September 2010 Location: United Kingdom Posts: 6
Excellent Review Boys
Thanks - you're a poppet!
The Wilson Bros
The Wilson Bros
Gabe Powers Editor Join Date: September 2004 Location: United States Posts: 4,721
I ordered my copy whilst trapped in the hospital. I'm planning a Halloween Double feature with the UK release Suspiria Blu-ray. That way I'll review all this stuff instead of wasting time on pleasures.
Suitable only for persons of 18 years and over
Disc Details
Release Date: 13th September 2010
Discs: 2
Disc Type: Blu-ray Disc
RCE: No
Video: 1080p
Aspect: 1.85:1
Anamorphic: No
Colour: Yes
Audio: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 English, DTS 2.0 English, DTS 2.0 Italian
Subtitles: English
Extras: Introduction, Dario's Inferno, Acting in Hot Water, The Other Mother, Dario Argento - An Eye for Horror, The Complete Dario Argento Trailer Gallery, Reversible Sleeve Art, Double-Sided Poster, Collector's Booklet, Postcards
Easter Egg: No
Feature Details
Director: Dario Argento
Cast: Mark McCloskey, Daria Nicolodi, Irene Miracle, Alida Valli
Genre: Horror
Length: 107 minutes
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When I first embarked on my journey in Sacred 2, I was mesmerized by the vast world before me. The environment was tantalizing to my eyes, especially its lush colors and realistic atmosphere. Needless to say, I couldn't wait to explore and dive in. Once I spent a little time in the world, however, I discovered that looks can be deceiving. The fun that Sacred 2 provides is very fleeting–there's an initial high and excitement, but that soon disappears.
Sacred 2 is a game that will most likely provide everyone with a few hours of fun hacking and slashing away at enemies, following arrows on a map to complete mindless quests, and dressing up your character in new equipment. The game will most likely appeal to those who are hardcore adherents of the genre, those who thoroughly enjoy leveling up characters to maximum proportions. Since the Diablo II days, fans have been waiting for another hack-and-slash game of its caliber; unfortunately, Sacred 2 is not that game.
Wait, What Story?
Sacred 2 poses an interesting choice in its story: you can either play a light or shadow campaign. Since Ancaria is on the brink of the war, you can either end it or prolong it, depending on the campaign you choose. There's a lot at stake, since T-Energy, the force behind all living things, is at the root of the war. Different classes are fighting over control of T-Energy, because it helps civilizations thrive with its power. However, T-Energy also has some nasty consequences; it's poisoning the land, eliminating forests, causing mutated monsters to spawn, and wiping out villages as it spreads. You have a choice to be greedy and do what's best for you, or do what's best for the land of Ancaria. It's an interesting choice; a decision I feel hits close to home with what society faces daily.
Unfortunately, that's about as thrilling as the main quest will get. The story lacks many important elements, such as an array of cutscenes, cohesion, and memorable moments. The story also isn't presented in an engaging manner, and I was never compelled to see what would happen next. In addition, the main narrative will feel nonexistent at times, and you can tell that the main effort went into the gameplay and not into creating a breathtaking narrative. It's unfortunate when you play a game and really have to ask yourself: what is the main story? I became so distracted by mundane side quests and being attacked by hordes of enemies that the majority of the story seemed lost on me. There's a story lying dormant beneath all of the quests, but my main complaint is that there's nothing that really separates the story into something other than a tool to make players continue to mash buttons.
There are NPCs in Ancaria, though they don't add any gusto to Sacred 2, and they offer very little insight and personality into the areas they're in. When you're playing a game with so many different villages and that you can log a substantial amount of hours into, having NPCs that would spice things up and add something different to the equation would have been appreciated. It also would have been nice if NPCs, similar to a lot of Japanese RPGs, offered some back-story or hinted at what was going on. It's clear developers didn't necessarily want the story to be the reason you play Sacred 2, its main attraction is it's hack-and-slash Diablo-style gameplay.
The Art of Complication
On the surface, Sacred 2 may seem like a simple Action RPG; however, once you delve deeper into the game you will discover a game full of complexities that are way beyond the average gamer's grasp. The game does nothing to ease players into the world of Sacred. The obstacles that are sure to overwhelm new players could have been easily overcome by including a thorough tutorial. The game desperately needed one, not only to explain how to use certain elements of the battle system, but also to explore how the parts all fit together in the overall scheme of things.
With its lack of instruction and mandatory requirement of mastering the system to advance in the game, Sacred 2 flat out makes this game accessible only to hardcore fans, and not the casual gamer. Sacred 2 should have taken a page from games such as Diablo II and World of Warcraft, where there is a deeper statistical system to master, but it is not required and does not punish players who are unable to grasp the complexities of that system. These games can still be fun for those who don't want to get into the nitty-gritty of the games, but Sacred 2 will not be an enjoyable experience for those who can't fully grasp every precise detail of the game.
This may all seem surprising, considering at its core Sacred 2's gameplay may seem rather simple. Basically, you pick your character from one of six classes: Seraphim, High Elf, Dryad, Temple Guardian, Shadow Warrior, or Inquisitor. The game then leads you with some choices. You can either play a light or dark campaign, and you can further customize your character by choosing a specific God to worship. Depending which God you choose to idolize, there will be bonus abilities granted to your character. After this you are on a crash course that involves mainly accepting quests and unleashing your fury on hoards of enemies that get in your way as you try to complete them.
Sacred 2 features an expansive world that often mimics an MMORPG, as the game is definitely not linear, thus breaking tradition with most console Action RPGs (of course, it should be noted that the game was originally created for PC). Sacred 2's lack of linearity isn't the only thing that sets it apart from other console hack-and-slashes; it also features a unique targeting system. No longer are your fingers committed to button mashing to destroy enemies, instead you can simply hold down one button and your character will alternate between ranged and melee attacks. You can also change your target with ease using the analog stick. While this will seem like a blessing for your fingers, it is also not without its faults, however. I can't count the number of times my character instead chose to shoot at a faraway enemy, instead of the mass of enemies around me that were totally annihilating me.
There are also other ways to take down enemies besides basic combat. Characters also have access to combat arts, which allow them to use special skills and spells to get an edge in combat. While combat arts will do more damage to enemies, they also are on a cooldown timer as opposed to using a mana bar as many Action-RPGs use. This creates a challenge. On the one hand, you can't abuse your higher damage skills, but you also may find it easier to just grind down the enemies rather than worry about the time passing to use these skills. The game also allows you to combine two to three combat arts to create even more robust powers. Personally, I didn't find combat arts all that impressive aside from a few stat buffs, because I found it easier to just hack away at enemies to eliminate them. At times, they only seemed to come in handy for boss battles. Combat in Sacred 2 isn't by any means terrible, but other titles such as Champions of Norrath have pulled off the console hack-and-slash better.
Sacred 2 does deserve credit, though, for putting more into the game than most console titles in its subgenre, especially in terms of customization. Regrettably, this also comes with a price; Sacred 2's complex system detracts from the combat more than enhances it. Players who are fans of min/maxing, making sure every stat is exactly where it needs to be, and who want to make their character the most powerful one on the field will thoroughly enjoy Sacred 2. Unfortunately, most, like myself, will probably find the system overly complicated. There's a lot to keep track of, such as equipment, runes, skills relics, mounts, and potions. Sure, mounts and potions may not play as heavy of a role, but the other three systems are extremely deep in themselves, and extremely confusing for any but the most hardcore.
The most straightforward aspects of the game are equipment and skills for character modifications. Equipment modifies the simple statistics: damage and protection. Depending on your equipment, it can also affect skill levels and movement speed. Skills are rewards that players earn as they level up. Leveling up will also net players points to distribute to certain attributes. This is about as simple as the game got for me. Soon, I was bombarded with considerations to take into mind while specializing my character. Since most skills aren't impressive unless you net quite a few skill points into them, it's especially tough to consider for a first-timer.
I found even systems I thought would be effortless, such as alchemy, to be more trouble than they're worth. Relics are another example of a convoluted element of the game. They are split into four types: magic, frost, flame, and poison, and only three of a given type can be equipped at once, and only six total. These modify general statistics and general damage types, similarly to standard equipment. These simply could have been other pieces of equipment, without having to be a separate type of item, but even that could be forgiven if there weren't a more convoluted system.
Without a doubt, the most complex system, and by far the most confusing, is the Rune system. Runes are items that can be found and memorized to increase the level of a combat art, or you can attach them to weapons to give the weapon an additional effect. This may seem simple on the surface; however, there is a lot of thought that must go into memorizing a rune, as a higher leveled skill will have a longer cooldown to use, even if it is more powerful. The decision you make with runes also appears to be irreversible as well, so if you don't like what you've done to a combat art, you are out of luck. This isn't desirable for those who are inexperienced and just learning the game, which as I said before is my big problem with Sacred 2; it punishes those who are unable to immediately grasp its complex gameplay. At least, to calm down the madness that will no doubt ensure in your mind from all this complication, you have a breathtaking backdrop to lose your thoughts in.
A Feast for the Eyes, But Not for the Ears
There's something that immediately attracts to you to Sacred 2, and that something is the scenery. It's what motivates you to explore the vast world that awaits you. You're always wondering what you'll find, whether it be a new cave, a harmless deer wandering about the forest, or an enemy camp. Everything is vibrant and attractive to the eye. It was also refreshing to see how realistic the majority of the scenery was, and it just made the game come alive right before your eyes. I enjoyed the simple touches; the birds flying from tree to tree, the friendly animals traveling around, the lakes hidden in the middle of the forest, these examples are what really made the game flourish. There's no denying that a great amount of detail went into this game. However, I wish more detail had gone into the dungeons, because after awhile I found them painfully similar.
The game attempted to provide even more detail with the soundtrack. Unfortunately, I can't say it quite measured up to the graphics. Yes, the soundtrack added some flair and personality into the game. I appreciated the influence nature played in the soundtrack, as you explored the atmosphere; however, the tracks had little variety. In a game as immense as Sacred 2, the soundtrack should have been much larger and less redundant. I became so tired of hearing the same themes that I began to block the music out from my mind. The music will probably not leave much of an impression or impact on you, which is a shame considering the atmosphere is so prevalent in the game. The voice acting in the game follows the same vein–it's passable, but nothing spectacular.
The Final Fate for Sacred 2
Sacred 2 is definitely not a game I can recommend to anyone and everyone. Only particular players are going to enjoy this game, while others will log a few hours into it, and quickly lose interest. It's a shame because it has been a long time since we've had a strong console hack-and-slash game, and while Sacred 2 will provide you with something to fill the hack-and-slash void, it will not leave you entirely fulfilled.
Sunday, December 16th
Rogue Galaxy w/Maxx • 10am PDT/1pm EDT
Darksiders w/Maxx • 12pm PDT/3pm EDT
Digimon Story: Cyber Sleuth - Hacker's Memory w/Kat • 3pm PDT/6pm EDT
Kingdom Hearts: Dream Drop Distance w/Kyle • 3pm PDT/6pm EDT
Dragon Quest XI w/Scott • 7pm PDT/10pm EDT
Dragon Quest XI w/Scott • 7pm PDT/10pm EDT
Kingdom Hearts: Dream Drop Distance w/Kyle • 3pm PDT/6pm EDT
Dragon Quest XI w/Scott • 7pm PDT/10pm EDT
Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance w/Kat • 3pm PDT/6pm EDT
Friday Super Variety Night w/Scott • 7pm PDT/10pm EDT
Dragon Quest XI w/Scott • 5pm PDT/8pm EDT


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If you are looking for fine French wine and food, consider the Alsace region of northeastern France. You may find a bargain, and I hope that youll have fun on this fact-filled wine education tour in which we review a local white Riesling wine tasted with several meals and paired with imported cheeses.
Alsace ranks tenth out of the eleven French winemaking regions in terms of its acreage devoted vineyards. But dont be mislead by statistics; little Alsace is a major producer of quality French wine. Its wine growing area is barely 60 miles (100 kilometers) long, and at most 2.5 miles (4 kilometers) wide tucked between the Vosges Mountains to the west and the Rhine River and Germany to the east. But this relatively tiny area is famous for its distinctive wines. Their wine bottles are also distinctive; tall and thin with labels that feature the grape variety, not the usual practice in France. Chaptalization (adding sugar to the fermenting grape mixture) is allowed for many wine categories.
About 95% of Alsace wine is white. The major white grape varieties are Gewurztraminer, Muscat, Pinot Gris, and Riesling, reviewed below. Its secondary white grape varieties include Pinot Blanc, Sylvaner, and Muscat. The major red grape variety is Pinot Noir, reviewed in a companion article in this series.
The beautiful Vosges mountains are located in eastern France near the Rhine River and Black Forest of western Germany. To a large extent they are composed of granite and red sandstone. Their highest point is the Grand Ballon (also called Ballon de Guebwiller) with an elevation of about 4600 feet (slightly more than 1424 meters). The vineyards of its eastern slopes have an elevation of up to 1300 feet (400 meters).
The Vosges mountains are great for tourists. Attractions include beautiful forests, several castles in ruins, and health resorts. If you are so inclined you can hike their usually gentle slopes and are never far from vineyards and restaurants serving delicious foods and local wines. After all, you are on the Alsace Wine Route, at least for the eastern slopes. Dont forget the winter skiing. The southern Vosges, near the village of Bussang, is home to a lovely fountain exploiting a spring that originates in the Moselle River. I hope you dont mind that this particular area is just over the border in Lorraine.
Before reviewing the Alsatian wine and imported cheeses that we were lucky enough to purchase at a local wine store and a local Italian food store, here are a few suggestions of what to eat with indigenous wines when touring this beautiful region. Start with Schniederspaetle (Onion Ravioli). For your second course savor Brochet dI a la creme (Pike in White Wine and Cream Sauce). And as dessert indulge yourself with Strudel aux Pommes (Apple Strudel).
OUR WINE REVIEW POLICY All wines that we taste and review are purchased at the full retail price.
Wine Reviewed Hattstatty Hatschbourg Riesling 2003 12.5% alcohol about $21.00
Lets start by quoting the marketing materials. This wine won a Gold Medal at the 2006 Concours Riesling du Monde. Established in 1998, the Concours Riesling du Monde (Rieslings of the World) competition takes place every year in Strasbourg, Alsace. Rieslings from throughout the world are submitted to an international jury of oenologists and wine critics. This hugely respected competition illustrates the diversity and brilliance of fine Riesling from around the world. And now for the review.
My first meal consisted of home made barbecued chicken in a sweet and sour Thai sauce with Portabello mushrooms and red pepper. The wine was fruity, nice and complex. It was quite a good match and I knew that this would be a quality wine.
The next shot was a commercially barbecued chicken leg (of course not as tasty as my own barbecued chicken) with its skin in a paprika sauce accompanied by, Turkish salad, and Greek olives. I started by sipping the wine alone, as I was afraid that I might have lost the bottle because the wine sat in the fridge for quite some time. No problem. This Riesling wine was fine with an appely taste but in the positive sense. In response to the food the wine got even better. It was quite long and powerful and yet delicate. While I liked the Greek olives and I liked the wine, I did not enjoy the two together. The Rieslings acidity actually intensified in the presence of the moderately spicy Turkish salad. I finished my glass with overripe cherries. This time the wine went flat, especially with the sweet ones.
The final meal was an omelet with a local Provolone cheese and a side of Turkish salad. The wine was nice and crisp. I tasted a touch of lime. As dessert I had a high-quality chocolate-coated vanilla ice cream bar. The ice cream bar was fine but it did flatten the wine somewhat.
My first cheese was a nutty, fatty, and slightly sour Dutch Edam cheese. My German Edam was well beyond edible by humans, although the spores looked like they were having a real feast. Anyway, in the presence of this Dutch Edam the Riesling was round and fruity, with pleasant acidity. In the presence of an Italian Friulano cheese the wine became sour and flatter.
Final verdict. Great wine, I will buy it again and watch my pairings more closely. This should accompany very well the right gourmet meal.
Levi Reiss has authored or co-authored ten books on computers and the Internet, but to be honest, he would
rather just drink fine French or other wine, accompanied by the right foods. He teaches classes in computers at an Ontario
French-language community college. His wine websites include
www.theworldwidewine.com and http://www.theitalianwineconnection.com
Visit his website devoted to Italian travel www.travelitalytravel.com
Feel free to reprint this entire article which must include this resource box


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Emmy-Award Winning News Correspondent Hattie Kauffman Shares Her 'Falling Into Place' Story
Just as I began to come out of my meditation, with my eyes still closed, I felt a palpable sensation of a hand touching the top right side of my head, the way a parent might touch a child in tender love. The warm pressure of the hand upon my hair cupped me just above my right temple. It was lovely and so real that I opened my eyes to see whose hand it might be…
- Hattie Kauffman, author of Falling into Place: A Memoir of Overcoming
Emmy-award winning news correspondent and first-time author Hattie Kauffman wants to make it clear that in her book, Falling into Place – A Memoir of Overcoming, she attempts to answer a question relatable to most everyone – what happens when life doesn't make sense anymore?
"It's about what happens when the floor falls out from beneath your feet," Kauffman told The Christian Post in a recent interview regarding her book. "All the things you think you built your life solidly upon are not solid. In that way, I think it's universal, I don't think that you have to be a believer to read it."
In her book, Kauffman turns her reporter's eye (four Emmy Awards after becoming the first Native American journalist to file a report on a national network evening news broadcast) on her own life, examining both pain and promise. From a Native American reservation to the Projects of Seattle, her parents struggled with poverty and alcohol abuse.
Although she said in a recent interview that she wants to be respectful of her parents, she did reveal that she and her siblings were often left alone for long periods of time. Once they travelled all over town - on their own - trying to find their aunt's apartment in hopes that she would take them in.
Kauffman told CP that in part of her book she describes an aching emptiness inside despite a successful career as a journalist. When her second marriage fell apart, she realized she could no longer ignore her childhood. Revisiting the chaotic early years, Kauffman remembered the one person who had been consistently kind through it all - the aunt who had cared for her and taught her the 23rd Psalm. As a hardened teenager, Kauffman had scorned the idea of "the white man's God." Slowly and tentatively, she began to recognize the redemptive work God had been doing throughout her entire life, ultimately coming to claim a faith of her own.
"To me it's about being shaken to the core and that made me go back and look at my childhood because those feelings that I was feeling during that divorce time, I realized were similar," she said. "I felt this before – the sense of what is going to happen next?"
Deborah Norville, anchor of Inside Edition and New York Times bestselling author, said "Hattie's story of how she 'made it' is the quintessential American success story. Only Hattie's childhood was so impoverished she couldn't afford the bootstraps to pull herself up with. I read, stunned by the challenges she has faced, impressed with her ability to overcome them and grateful for the lessons she has shared."
After searching for answers to her emptiness, and experiencing God in a very real sense, Kauffman, who is no longer behind the broadcast news desk, said she has found comfort in seeking God's will in her life.
"In my story, I do find solid ground and I do find that I was taken care of all along," she said. "I didn't need to run, hide, build a life, work so hard, try to make it on my own … I realized I was trying to create my own safety."
She writes, "I was free. Resting in God meant that I didn't have to scratch for every bit that might be due me. It was a revolution. The literal hunger for food that I had experienced in childhood had created in me a hyper-vigilance for sustenance and safety."
Kauffman told CP that this period in her life has been "a very valuable season to figure out what I want to do next."
"I would never have been able to finish this book if I were still doing day-to-day reporting," she said. Her book publicist adds, "It may have taken her half a lifetime, but Kauffman finally realized, 'The real provision was now inside me.'"
On the Web, http://www.hattiekauffman.com.


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The House of Pain
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Mario Tobias
Join Date: Aug 2006
Posts: 261
Re: The House of Pain
A lot of people I think have a misguided mindset about aikido practice.
1. Because aikido is a "non-violent, non-confrontational" martial art, the dojo is a safe place to train. Wrong. Aikido is a martial art, period. The dojo IS a dangerous place. For me, I treat driving a car safer than training in aikido. The reason why I say driving is safer is because at least the road has rules, a lot of people don't know the rules while training in aikido (eg always throw outside, assess partner's ukemi, etc).
2. Never trust your partner just because aikido is based on "cooperation". We come across thousands of partners in our aikido careers and later you will gauge who is dangerous, who is prone to accidents, who doesn't care about uke. I've made a decision to avoid these kinds of people or minimize partnering with them. To me, it is not impolite or rude to do this. I always believe accidents are the fault of both parties: The one who caused the accident and the victim. You as a potential victim already have the ability to look for the signs to look for to avoid accidents and injury to yourself; use this ability to avoid accidents and injury.
3. You have a right to complain if you are being roughed up. Some nage's think that because uke's ability to take ukemi is advanced that they have a right to rough up uke. In you being uke, nage is just borrowing your body for him to learn so he needs to respect and appreciate this. Complaining is and setting expectations is a defense mechanism. Nobody's got any right to injure you. You also cannot bring back your body to it's original form with some injuries. A lot of people think that by complaining, you are being a wimp. This isn't the case. Better be a wimp who can train forever, than somebody tolerant who can't train at all.
Mario Tobias
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8:00 pm
Hometime "Timber Shed Roof Framing" The crew pre-builds timber frame style roof trusses inside and re-assembles them on site as shed construction continues. D
8:30 pm
Rick Steves' Europe "Highlights of Castile: Toledo and Salamanca" Rick marvels at El Greco, pops some explosive pickles, and rambles medieval walls.G
9:00 pm
Burt Wolf: Travels & Traditions "The Shrine at Czestochowa, Poland" Wolf visits the monastery that has been a destination for pilgrims for more than 600 years.G
9:30 pm
Essential Pepin "Economical Offal" Pork Liver Pate; Roast Sausage With Potatoes; Braised Sweetbreads In Mirepoix; Braised Tongue With Lentils. D
10:00 pm
America's Test Kitchen from Cook's Illustrated "Irish Comfort Classics" Host Christopher Kimball heads into the test kitchen with test cook Julia Collin Davison to update a classic recipe for Shepherd's Pie. Next, gadget guru Lisa McManus reveals her favorite quirky kitchen gadgets. Then, Chris answers questions from viewers. D
10:30 pm
Great American Seafood Cook-Off Fires blazed and seafood sizzled as New Orleans hosted the fifth annual Great American Seafood Cook-Off in August 2008. During the two-day competition, 15 chefs from 14 different states prepared their best dishes using the seafood indigenous to their state. Famed New Orleans chef John Besh, the winner of the 2004 competition and the 2006 James Beard Foundation's Best Chef of the Southeast, hosted the event. D
11:00 pm
Kimchi Chronicles "The Seafood Chronicles" Diving into one of the most amazing Korean traditions, Jean-Georges visits with the Haenyos of Jeju Island, who free-dive for seafood off the rocky coast. Jean-Georges feasts on fresh sea urchin, a dream breakfast for a world-renowned chef. Then, he enjoys a fortifying seafood stew at Baekrok Haegwon restaurant, a Korean-style bouillabaisse filled with clams and crab. D
11:30 pm
Rick Steves' Europe "Highlights of Castile: Toledo and Salamanca" Rick marvels at El Greco, pops some explosive pickles, and rambles medieval walls.G


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Putting On A Show: Midnight Madness Dunk Contest! (Getting Crazy High & Mad Hangtime)
"Justin Darlington begin_of_the_skype_highlighting end_of_the_skype_highlighting a.k.a Jus Fly and Guy Dupuy a.k.a Easy J, SHUT DOWN the Midnight Madness 2010 Dunk contest with some absolutely RIDICULOUS dunks, including a cartwheel through the legs, through the legs over people and an under the legs." - TeamFlight. Submitted By Andrew
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Manufacturing advocates will host two events on Oct. 4 to coincide with National Manufacturing Day — one at the New Jersey Institute of Technology, in Newark, and another at Rutgers University, in New Brunswick.
The goal is to highlight the sector's economic importance to the state and the initiatives now underway to encourage more people to pursue careers in manufacturing.
Manufacture NJ — the state Department of Labor talent network devoted to developing skilled and well-paid manufacturing jobs — will present the NJIT program from 9:30 a.m. to noon. There will be a panel discussion among the chief executives of manufacturing companies, educators and manufacturing associations.
The program at the Rutgers University student center in Piscataway, 8 a.m. to noon, is sponsored by the New Jersey Manufacturing Extension Program, a nonprofit that advises manufacturers on how to improve productivity and expand their market. Several speakers will talk about the state's manufacturing sector, and in conjunction with Manufacturing Day, and several manufacturers will offer tours of their plants.
"New Jersey's manufacturing community plays a critical part in our state's economic improvement," said John Kennedy, chief operating officer of NJMEP, and the event "is an excellent way to celebrate their contributions."
Ray Vaccari, director of the Manufacture NJ talent network, said the hope is that having two events on Oct. 4, in Newark and New Brunswick, will make it easier for manufacturers throughout the state to participate.
The goal is to "get the word out that manufacturing is back in New Jersey and doing well — and that we need people," Vaccari said. The events will "bring together manufacturers, educators and potential students, and make them aware of the areas for success in manufacturing."


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Initiative 3:
Improve spatial skills, spatial learning and STEM education
Initiative Coordinators: David Uttal, Susan Goldin-Meadow (Co-PI)
The goal of Initiative 3 is to explore how to improve spatial thinking and STEM achievement. Studies in Initiative 3 take place in the lab, and are being extended to natural settings in Initiative 4 as warranted. One method of improvement is, of course, practice, especially when it is extended, involves multiple exemplars and is distributed rather than massed (Terlecki, Newcombe & Little, 2008; Uttal, D. H., Meadow, N. G., Tipton, E., Hand, L. L., Alden, A. R., Warren, C., & Newcombe, N. S. (2013). The malleability of spatial skills: A meta-analysis of training studies. Psychological Bulletin, 139(2), 352-402. DOI). Practice, with guidance, in a variety of skills is the principle used in Sheryl Sorby's (2009) successful workbook for engineering students. In addition, however, SILC believes that considerable purchase on improvement can be gained from use of our spatial tools. Although in principle any of our five spatial tools can be used to improve any STEM-relevant spatial skill, there appear to be affinities between particular spatial tools and particular spatial skills.
Analogy is a tool that naturally lends itself to learning about the spatial configuration (size, shape, arrangement of parts, etc.) of objects through alignment. For example, we have found in Initiative 2 that if young children are shown two instances of a spatial configuration and are encouraged to align them, they are twice as likely to show transfer to another example of the same spatial configuration (as opposed to simply focusing on surface similarities) than children who see the same two examples without explicitly aligning them. In Initiative 3, we are extending this phenomenon in a variety of ways––for example, we ask whether alignment can be used to teach children how to assess the size of objects using a ruler; whether alignment can be used to teach children about the importance of a brace structure in creating a stable object, and whether alignment can be used to teach adults how to understand discipline-specific configurations (e.g., fault classes in geoscience). In future work, we will add additional tools to our investigations. For example, we will explore whether gesture and sketching can be combined with alignment to facilitate learning about configurations. As another example, we will explore whether language (in particular, words that code the arrangement of parts, e.g., perpendicular, parallel) can be used to facilitate learning about geometric configurations.
Gesture is a tool that naturally lends itself to learning about spatial transformations of objects. For example, asking children to display with their hands how two pieces could be rotated so that they form a particular shape improves their performance on a mental spatial transformation task significantly more than asking them to point at the two pieces. We are extending this work to further develop our action-to-abstraction theme mentioned earlier. For example, we ask whether directly acting on the pieces facilitates learning how to mentally transform objects. If not, it may be necessary to introduce a tool that is grounded in action but is not itself a direct action on the world (i.e., gesture) in order to encourage learners to think more abstractly and to enable them to solve problems for which it is not possible to physically manipulate objects. These same questions will be addressed in STEM-related disciplines. For example, in organic chemistry, understanding whether one molecule can be superimposed on another molecule depends on being able to visualize and rotate these molecules in space. We are exploring whether actually performing the action (i.e., rotating models of the molecules) or representing the action in gesture (i.e., producing a gesture that mirrors the rotation) are equally effective in bringing about learning. Importantly, the answer to this question may depend on the prior knowledge of the learner––actually rotating the molecules may work best at the early stages of learning, whereas gesturing may work better once the learner has achieved a certain degree of proficiency with respect to the problem. We can explore whether gesture can be used to facilitate understanding other types of spatial transformations (e.g., cross-sectioning) and whether other tools can be used to facilitate spatial transformations (e.g., sketching, a tool that is frequently used in chemistry as well as in other STEM disciplines).
Language and maps are tools that lend themselves to learning about the spatial location of objects. One of the defining characteristics of human spatial cognition is the frequent and fluent use of spatial symbols. Symbolic representations, including language and maps, not only allow us to retain more spatial information than we otherwise could; they also transform how we think about space, by making us aware of new perspectives, focusing our attention, and providing knowledge structures that guide the way we experience the world. As an example from language, we are finding in Initiative 2 that learning a term like middle may facilitate learning about midpoints, and learning a system of spatial terms (e.g., teaching children the set of terms top-middle-bottom) can facilitate understanding a spatial structure. In Initiative 3, we apply these ideas to important STEM issues such as measurement. As an example from maps, we are exploring whether providing children with a map of a space before they walk through it improves their ability to talk about and represent the space. We also explore how gesture and sketching can be used, along with maps, to promote an understanding of the relations among spatial locations. Finally, we are exploring how spatial locations on a diagram can be used to promote understanding.
Sketching can represent spatial location or spatial configuration, and, through the addition of notations such as arrows or movement lines, can suggest transformations as well. Because sketches are ad hoc constructions by users communicating "on the fly", they are less specifically paired with any kind of spatial information than our other tools.
Relevant Publications from SILC Members
- ♦ Ehrlich, S.B., Tran, K., Levine, S.C. & Goldin-Meadow, S. (2009, April). Gesture training leads to improvement in children's mental rotation skill. Paper presented at the Society for Research in Child Development Biennial Meeting, Denver, Colorado.
- ♦ Genter, D., Levine, S.C. & Dhillon, S. (2009, July). Using structural alignment to facilitate learning. Presented at Analogy 09, Sophia, Bulgaria.
- ♦ Levine, S.C. (2009, September). Action and Cognition: The role of gesture in symbolic spatial reasoning. Presented at International Conference on Spatial Cognition, Rome.
- ♦ Levine, S.C. (2009, May). Improving children's understanding of units of measure: A training study. Paper presented at Spatial Training Conference, Northwestern University.
- ♦ Levine, S.C., Goldin-Meadow, S., Ehrlich, S. & Tran, Kimloan (2008, June). Can gesture improve children's mental rotation?: A training study. Presented at Conference on Research and Training in Spatial Intelligence, Evanston, Illinois.
- ♦ Levine, S.C., Kwon, M., Huttenlocher, J., Ratliff, K. & Dietz, K. (2009, August). Children's understanding of ruler measurement: A training study. Presented at Cogntiive Science Society Meeting, Amsterdam.
Additional References
- ♦ Sibley, D. F. (2009). A cognitive framework for reasoning with scientific models. Journal of Geoscience Education, 57(4), 255-263.
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