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Animals can't be patented: top court
Harvard mouse doesn't qualify as an invention under Patent Act
Janice Tibbetts
The Ottawa Citizen
Friday, December 06, 2002
Canadian law prohibits animals from being patented, a deeply divided Supreme Court said yesterday in a ruling that rejected Harvard Medical School's 17-year quest to claim ownership of a genetically altered mouse.
The court was philosophically split in its first foray into the burgeoning legal field of bioethics, but the majority concluded that the rodent does not fit the definition of an invention in Canada's 133-year-old Patent Act.
"Patenting higher life forms would involve a radical departure from the traditional patent regime," Justice Michel Bastarache wrote in the 5-4 decision.
"Moreover, the patentability of such life forms is a highly contentious matter that raises a number of extremely complex issues. If higher life forms are to be patentable, it must be under the clear and unequivocal direction of Parliament."
The mouse has already been patented in the U.S., many European countries, Japan and Australia. Harvard first applied for a Canadian patent 17 years ago.
Some critics said the ruling could hinder biotechnological research in Canada by depriving researchers of legal protection for their inventions.
Industry Minister Allan Rock said he will accept the court's invitation to embark on a thorny debate on how the government should deal with higher life forms, including humans.
"We have to decide how to balance, on the one hand, how to encourage research and innovation and, on the other, to reflect the values of Canadians," Mr. Rock said.
"Whether you can patent a higher life form raises issues about how we regard life. We have to come to grips with those issues. We can't be afraid of them."
The Supreme Court overturned the Federal Court of Appeal, which ruled two years ago that the Harvard mouse, genetically engineered to be susceptible to cancer, is patentable in Canada, but that human beings are not.
Judge Bastarache said that the Federal Court oversimplified the issue and that lawmakers should deal with the "increasingly blurred line between human beings and other higher life forms."
Among other things, the court did not consider how to define a human, and whether its ban would include human fetuses and human organs, Judge Bastarache said.
He also warned that he could not overlook concerns that allowing patents on higher life forms could eventually lead to patenting human beings.
In a dissenting opinion, Justice Ian Binnie dismissed the prospect, saying that the Charter of Rights would prohibit ownership of human beings for commercial purposes.
Judge Binnie pointed out that it's ludicrous that Canada should stand alone in refusing to grant patent protection to Harvard.
The mouse, which is known in the medical research community as the onco-mouse, is used to test treatments for breast, prostate and other forms of cancer.
The Patent Office said that as many as 1,500 applications for plant and animal patents have been on hold pending the Supreme Court's verdict.
They include applications to patent a salmon that is genetically engineered to grow quickly and a goat that is altered to produce milk with proteins used by drug manufacturers. There are also applications involving patents for cats, rabbits, dogs and cows.
At issue in the case was whether the mouse is a "composition of matter" under the Patent Act.
Since 1982, the Patent Office has accepted that lower life forms are patentable, such as yeasts and moulds.
But animals' capacity to display emotion separates them from lower life forms and shows they are more than a composition of matter, said the Supreme Court.
"Higher life forms are generally regarded as possessing qualities and characteristics that transcend the particular genetic material of which they are composed," wrote Judge Bastarache.
"A person whose genetic makeup is modified by radiation does not cease to be him or herself. Likewise, the same mouse would exist absent the injection of the oncogene."
Harvard University denounced the decision, saying, in a statement, that "Canadian scientists are at risk of being left behind their colleagues around the world."
David Morrow, Harvard's Ottawa-based lawyer, also warned that the ruling could hinder biotechnological research in Canada. The Canadian Biotechnology Advisory Committee, a panel of experts that advises the federal government on biotechnology issues, renewed calls for Mr. Rock to revamp the Patent Act so that it permits patents for all higher life forms except humans and fetuses.
But the prospect was rejected by religious, environmental, and animal-rights groups, who applauded yesterday's ruling.
"Life is not a human invention and living beings should not be treated as commercial commodities," said Paul Muldoon, a lawyer for the Canadian Environmental Law Association.
A patent protects an invention for 17 years for inventions filed before October 1989 and for 20 years after that date as a result of strengthened protection given by the federal government.
The grace period allows an inventor to exploit the invention free from competition to permit the recovery of research and development money that went into the invention.
Source: The Ottawa Citizen
Our stories derive from various news sources through press releases and from various pet-related sources. If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to post them here.
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text: Quinlan School of Business Graduate Programs Open HouseFriday, February 2, 2018 at 05:30 PM until 07:00 PMDirectionsSchreiber Center16 E Pearson StChicago, IL 60611United StatesJoin faculty, staff, administration, and current students to learn more about Quinlan's graduate programs in business. We'll provide an overview of the school and our programs, discuss the Quinlan experience, review the application process, and answer your questions. Registration is no longer available because the registration deadline has passed.

subset: commoncrawl


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Matthew Walker needed a new logo design and created a contest on 99designs.
A winner was selected from 109 designs submitted by 13 freelance designers.
Blitz Credit Management
Blitz Credit Management (BCM) is a debt collection agency in Perth, Western Australia. BCM provides debt collection and debt management advice.
Blitz Credit Management (BCM) is a debt collection agency in Perth, Western Australia. BCM provides debt collection and debt management advice. Our business is an innovative agency that focuses on incorporating technology into our processes to provide a completely transparent customer experience. By using technology we are able to provide a fast and cost effective debt management service to our clients.
BCM's target audience is small to medium sized corporate enterprises, including insurance firms, banks, property developers and other professional service firms. Our clients are located throughout Australia.
BCM are looking for a professional and corporate logo for the new business. BCM is a spin-off from Blitz Consulting (logo is attached or go to https://99designs.com/logo-design/c…ign-48995) and we want to draw inspiration from that logo. We don't want to replicate the logo but have some sort of resemblence. Please feel free to incorporate the colour or style into your designs - or come up with something completely unique. We are open to all ideas.
Most of our customers know us by BCM so if you can somehow incorporate the initials or highlight those letters that would be good, but again, not essential. You can choose to have the logo contain only the letters 'BCM' or 'Blitz Credit Management' or both. We can also include just the text "Blitz Credit Management" below the logo.
We will require the logo in various formats on completion of the contest (JPG, EPS, PNG, etc)
Please let me know if you have any questions or ideas - I look forward to viewing the designs!
Find out how a design contest works or learn more about our logo design services.


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Another Trip Down Memory Lane... Life in The Nebraska Sandhills... The Rural Life...
When I look back at my childhood, I realize that we led a quiet, isolated life. I suppose many Sandhills families of that day did. Our ranch was 28 miles south of Bassett, then four miles west, and finally about two miles south. The first 28 miles were on a state highway, the next five miles were county gravel roads, and the last mile or so was a ranch road.
By Sandhill standards, Duff Valley and the low-lying lands adjoining the Skull and Bloody creeks were well-populated. Our nearest neighbors on the county road were John Seier and his grown-up son and daughter who lived with him. Their house was about a mile and a half north of us. Our nearest neighbors over the hills by sandy ranch roads were Jay and Martha Hixson on the Ray Ranch about three miles south of us.
I attended Duff Valley District 4, a one-room country school with the neighbor kids. When I say "the neighbor kids", I really mean the Horner girls, Velda and Carolyn. A few other children came and went at school, but the Horner girls and I were together from first grade through eighth grade. Velda and I were in the same grade and Carolyn was one grade below us. Some years, we three and our little sisters were the only pupils in our school.
After the school year ended in mid-May, I rarely saw the Horner girls or any other children except at church on Sundays. Nor did we talk to each other on the telephone. Our parents didn't permit that. We shared a party line with twenty other families, and people did not appreciate the line being tied up by children giggling to each other.
Summer was the season for making hay and every ranch was busy with it. Sometimes when the hayfield was too wet to work, a neighbor on his way to check his pastures would stop to visit with my dad. A cattle-feed salesman might find his way to the ranch hoping to get an order. We made quick trips to town for machinery parts. My mother sometimes went to "Missionary Society" or the extension club meeting and took us girls along. But many days, we didn't see anyone except for our own family and the hired men we had living with us.
Television reception out south of Bassett wasn't very good so we didn't have a TV. I think the nearest stations were in Grand Island, North Platte, and Norfolk (some of Nebraska's larger towns, all distant from us).
My mother enjoyed the radio, particularly the news reports and her favorite preachers, and I understand now that they gave her something to think about while she was working. I still remember the stations that were her favorites: KRVN from Lexington, WNAX from Yankton, South Dakota, and KJLT from North Platte.
When the day's work was done and there was time to relax after supper, I think everyone in my family read. My dad's rocking chair sat next to a bookcase that was stacked with farming and cattle breed magazines, Popular Mechanics, all sorts of newspapers, and various manuals. My mother read books occasionally, but she was an avid daily consumer of the newspapers. We kids read the newspapers, the magazines, and every book we could get our hands on.
We always subscribed to the Omaha World Herald and a daily livestock journal from Omaha (now defunct and I can't recall its name), four or five weekly papers from local towns plus other regional papers like the Western Livestock Journal and Cappers Weekly. There was never a shortage of newsprint at our house.
Some of the magazines I remember regularly looking at and reading sections of were Life, Farm Journal, Successful Farming, Nebraska Farmer, National Geographic, and Call to Prayer. And then there were the mail-order catalogs from Sears Roebuck, Montgomery Ward, Spiegel, and Aldens. They provided many hours of looking and reading.
We all read the comic strips every day. I was very worried at times about Little Orphan Annie who was trapped in a cave or locked in a dungeon. I could hardly wait to get the next newspaper to see whether she would be rescued before the water got too high. I knew exactly what adventures Dick Tracy, Winnie Winkle, Mary Worth, Li'l Abner, Alley Oop, Terry and the Pirates, and even Prince Valiant were having (though the Prince was only in the Sunday paper which didn't arrive until Monday as I recall). Ann Landers was interesting, and Heloise's household hints were readable if nothing better was available.
My little sister and I rode Beauty, the Shetland pony, to the mailbox many summer afternoons. Oh, she was a mean little brat. She tried to run under the trees and scrape us off her back, and she loved to turn her head and bite our feet. One day, we were trying to ride her across the meadow so we could get to the mailbox faster, and she went out in the middle of a little pond and lay down. All of this was very frustrating to two little girls who just wanted to read the funnies.
When I was about ten years old, I discovered what a joy it was to send and receive letters. I had a penpal from Orion, Illinois, whose name I found in the "Just for Kids" section of the daily livestock newspaper. I wrote to her regularly for about five years. When I was a teenager, I wrote nearly every day all summer long to my long-time friend, Sammie, who has commented here on the blog a few times.
My mother was a prolific letter writer, and she carried on correspondences with many relatives and friends and even some missionaries in foreign lands. Our mail often had several hand-written letters along with the business envelopes. Even the hired men looked forward to the mail because they sometimes got letters from their girlfriends.
Perhaps you can imagine that the mail was the highlight of a homebound summer day to me -- and to all of us, I think. The mail brought variety to our lives and contact with the greater world, the wide world beyond the ranch, beyond the Sandhills and beyond Nebraska.
In an undetermined location (somewhere!?), I have a little square Brownie photograph that my sister must have taken. I'm a young teenager and I'm opening our mailbox. Most people wouldn't look twice at that simple snapshot, but I recognize now that it's quite symbolic of my childhood years on the ranch.
UPDATE: October 19, 2006. I finally found the photo so here it is.
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Back - 2003 > Audi > A4 Quattro > Fuel Delivery > Fuel Filter > Kayser
2003 Audi A4 Quattro Fuel FilterReview Fitment Notes to Ensure Proper Fit
‹ Change Part / Category
‹ Change Vehicle
Related Parts
Fuel Filter
Change Category
Change Brand
Kayser Fuel Filter
Click to Enlarge (Read reviews)
Part Number: 7498-08025474
Notes: Fuel Filter -- (Fittings, 2 in / 2 out)
Condition: New
Shipping Options:
Fuel Filter Reviews - 2003 Audi A4 Quattro
Genuine | W0133-1737415
I got my part in record time.
The only thing was when I called for help I waited on the phone to talk to some one for thirty min only the be automatically hung up on. But I got there right part, the one I needed and it fit perfectly.
December 27th, 2013 | Posted by A+ for speed
Original Equipment | W0133-1737415
Good price an fast delivery you guys should check if you need the pressure regulator filter or not
December 28th, 2015 | Posted by Good product


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The Califone USB Headset with Microphone is specially designed for computer use, making it an ideal choice in computer labs and school libraries. These headphones are Windows and Mac compatible and eliminate the need for a sound card. The backwards-compatible USB 2.0 plug delivers fast, balanced sound distribution, especially when used with high-speed internet. Adjust or mute the volume with the easy-to-access control on the 8' long cord. The cushioned leatherette earcups fit around the ears, blocking out distracting ambient noise. Since outside noise is greatly reduced, volume can be kept at a much safer level for young ears. The flexible gooseneck microphone has a built-in wind screen that reduces the recording of unintended sounds. This Califone USB Headset comes backed by a two-year warranty. Meets the latest requirements for PARCC Common Core testing.
Key Features
- Backward-compatible USB 2.0 plug works with Mac and Windows
- Comes with padded, replaceable leatherette earcups and adjustable headband for a comfortable fit
- Made of highly durable ABS plastic
- Comes with a flexible gooseneck microphone
- Backed by a two-year warranty
- Type: Stereo
- Ear Cushion: Padded leatherette
- Plug: USB
- Warranty: 2 years


text:
St. Bonaventure University's Jazz Ensemble will hold its spring semester concert in the Rigas Family Theater of the Regina A. Quick Center for the Arts at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, April 9.
The group will perform contemporary jazz songs including "The Perfect Storm," "Theme from Family Guy," "Lucky Boy" and others, as well as originals written by the band's director, Dr. Les Sabina, professor of music.
The group has spent the semester preparing for the program through a one-credit course offered at St. Bonaventure.
"I'd like the community to come and support SBU students who participate in music activities," Sabina said. "Also, it is a nice way to relax and get away from the grind of studying."
Admission is free, and the performance will last one hour.
About the University: The nation's first Franciscan university, St. Bonaventure University cultivates graduates who are confident and creative communicators, collaborative leaders and team members, and innovative problem solvers who are respectful of themselves, others, and the diverse world around them. We are establishing pathways to internships, graduate schools and careers in the context of our renowned liberal arts tradition. Our students are becoming extraordinary.
Application forms, procedures and additional information
There are many ways to experience
St. Bonaventure for yourself
Learn more about the programs that interest you


text:
Kate Upton: 'Sports Illustrated' Swimsuit Cover!
Kate Upton sizzles in a bikini on the cover of Sports Illustrated's Swimsuit Issue, on sale now!
The 19-year-old model made the shortlist of models speculated for the shot. The cover was released today on the Late Show with David Letterman.
"All I can really say is that I'm in the issue" Kate teased the New York Post last week. "Fingers crossed!"
Also pictured inside: Kate arriving at the Late Show with David Letterman on Monday (February 13) in New York City to unveil the cover.
Be sure to pick up your copy, on newsstands today!
FYI: Kate is wearing Sydney Evan bangles on the cover.
For more from Kate visit si.com!


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The guy at a conventions that is so fat that it makes all the other fat guys feel pretty good about themselves.
Scott Kurtz @PAXE: "I mean, I'm fat, but there are some fucking fat people here. I think Khoo hired some sort of alpha fat guy to sit in the corner and make me feel good about myself. He just sits there and keeps eating soup, he's too tired to chew anything at this point, and he keeps making noises and begging to leave but Khoo won't let him."
by Crimsonkage March 29, 2010


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Dating agency for the disabled
When a reporter wrote a story about Hamas censorship in the summer of 2014, editors shelved it.
We were trading truth for access and providing an illusion of "coverage" that was actually propaganda—a kind all the more effective because it was not tagged "propaganda" but simply "Gaza City (AP)." You can show genuine footage of a house destroyed by an Israeli strike, but if you don't show the Hamas fighters launching a rocket from the backyard, your report is a lie.
"It is essential to cover tyrannical regimes and other undemocratic movements, when possible from within the borders they control, in order to accurately relay what is happening inside," Executive Editor Sally Buzbee said in a statement accompanying the new AP report.
The factual findings of the AP's own report do much to amplify Scharnberg's indictment, and in the right hands could have been an admirable exercise in self-criticism.
But the AP chose to present its findings with a defensive tone that suggests that while the news organization has unearthed a great deal of information, editors there remain confused about what it all means.
If AP photos from the German advance into Poland and Russia offered an image of the war that didn't show things like the organized murder of tens of thousands of Jews and others behind the lines by the Einsatzgruppen, it was perhaps because the photos were taken by people like Franz Roth—who was, we learn from Scharnberg's report, simultaneously an "AP photographer, SS-Oberscharführer (senior squad leader) and photojournalist in the SS Propaganda Company (SS-PK)." In his SS role, Roth took propaganda images showing Soviet prisoners as ugly human specimens—and AP, in turn, "received exclusive rights to the propaganda photos," which were published in newspapers in Atlanta and Los Angeles.
While claiming to be covering Germany, the historian argued, the AP photo operation was, in fact, engaged in an illusion of coverage crafted in partnership with the Nazi regime.


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Architecture of Bryce Hospital
In Philadelphia Dr. Lopez met Dr. Thomas Story Kirkbride, superintendent of the progressive Pennsylvania Hospital for the Insane, a founding member of the AMSAHI and leading authority on asylum design and construction. Dr. Kirkbride persuaded him of the advantages of his ideal asylum plan, and had his architect Samuel Sloan draw up detailed plans to take back to Tuscaloosa.
The "Kirkbride System" which had been adopted as the official and accepted standard of AMSAHI had been developed during Kirkbride's long career as superintendent and physician-in-chief of the Pennsylvania Hospital for the Insane. It set forth standards for locating and designing hospitals. These hospitals would attempt to increase the individual attention paid to each patient and to the effectiveness of the hospital staff. Architect Samuel Sloan's translation of Kirkbride's system into the distinctive linear plan used at the Alabama Hospital for the Insane was the first fully executed hospital of its type and, in Kirkbride's opinion, the best architectural expression of his system. It consisted of a large building with a central administrative section surmounted by a dome flanked on either side by three patient wings and cross halls en echelon.
Funds for the building were depleted and the legislature appropriated an additional $150,000 to complete the hospital. Governor John A. Winston tried to dissuade legislators from carrying on construction of the hospital because of its increased expenses. He made a "common-sense proposition" that the present building be abandoned and that "one on a scale of less architectural display and equally suited to the purpose of public charity" be constructed in another more accessible location. The legislature overrode the veto.


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Amy's Pearl District Remodel
Name: Amy
Location: Portland, Oregon
We live in a small, 742 square foot condo in the Pearl District of Portland, Oregon. While we've lived here for 5 years we just recently completed a full remodel…
With two people and a dog we really had to make the best use of the space and did this with floor to ceiling kitchen and office cabinetry, built-ins and a nuetral color palette. My husband and I did all of the design and he did most of the work including all of the cabinets. I like a more traditional aesthetic but my husband prefers modern so we think this is a good mix of both styles! Hope you enjoy...
Thanks, Amy!
• HOUSE TOUR ARCHIVE Check out past house tours here
• Interested in sharing your home with Apartment Therapy? Contact the editors through our House Tour Submission Form.


text:
Hot sale 6w square led panel light with 6w ceiling led light
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text:
Sputnik had an interesting article over the weekend about how the UK's Department of Transportation is allegedly mulling over the use of satellite-supported "geo-fencing" in order to prevent terrorist attacks. According to the report, which cites The Times, the authorities want to obtain the power to force cars to slow […]
Tag: Geo-fencing
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text:
Huawei Plans 'Rock-Star' Rollout for New Smartphone
China's Huawei is shooting for rock-star status for its flagship Ascend P6 smartphone by hosting its worldwide launch at London's historic Roundhouse venue. The WSJ's Juro Osawa tells us how the world's second largest telecoms-equipment maker is battling for global smartphone market share.
This transcript has been automatically generated and may not be 100% accurate.
... the the ... Chinese telecom equipment maker highway is I it's a lot to new smartphone at an event in London later today ... joining me to discuss the D tells is journalists Ally uses correspond ... to thank so much for joining us today ... Soho is already building a buzz surrounding their new smartphone in holding this big event in London ... tell us a little bit more about the event itself Online Ali's building up its ... this is the first time the flow is doing something like this in ... the global launch event ... and the previously the company ... will usually I launched new products rather quietly at trade shows in Barcelona ... total mileage has chosen ... so I'm this is a really I'm ... quite ... quite a big step pull away and down ... Huawei is aam ... known ... primarily known as the supplier of telecom equipment make base stations for the normal bulk carriers ... bought ... they've been trying to expand its smartphone business and a ... note ... for this fun this launch event on the being ... trying to ... share some of the information beforehand the launching this new phone called the SNP six and that ... they want to know ... really I'm kind of go to hunt for this new phone ... today be sharing some of the photos of the new phone ... without sharing too much and soon face that can use to be posted that kind of teaser video ... so really that bad this events can of the of the most important ... thing for Huawei ... fall is the handset business ... when we know so far about the smartphone I know you mention that the the some of these foreigners on Facebook and YouTube ... is it any different from some of the device is there any doubt in my can ... of beer though there's also a lot of information on the technology block sites and down ... the SEC is going to be a ... it's gonna come with a screen that's four point seven inches ... no company has said any of the specs yet but ... and also the second of the metal casing how much is quite clear with the photos that the company has a reduce their ... and ... um ... the the way they are kind of sharing information about this event but also the event itself ... reminds note kind of reminds me of what some see has been getting ... Noah earlier this year something that accuse I'm you know flashy event in New York ... for the Galaxy S four ... so in Mexico is time to aam you know ... um do you know similar kind of aam ... marketing and strategy might seems like a big marketing hikes before the ... official launch ... event so what is the main motivation from highly taxed me ... do this we know that before they've been very quiet about I want is what's different about ... this and just now ... but um this is a re on other Stifel color is the handset business which is not a big business for the company their ... main business the big it biggest business is supplying ... equipment ... to mobile carriers ... but for a few years they've been trying really hard in the smartphone ... No markets ... and the of but they've been selling a lot of info ensued on ... mobile carriers ... and often on the mall the carriers' names not click ... on the Huawei brand ... but the loser in the past year or so they do ... and so they're more more of a Huawei phones the folly branded phones ... and ... so this launch is going to be probably the biggest step in that direction ... we also tried to sell more outside of China as well ... in the euro is going to be an important market for quality ... it's already the biggest market Phillips ... telecom equipment business outside of China ... and how exactly are they doing in smartphones took us a little bit about some of the challenges that if they see in this market ... given that Apple and Samsung are the dominant players but I'm ... if you got some data like IDC's data on the smartphone market share ... this first daughter Polly was set down the number of the mobile for saving the world ... but a lot of consumers who don't own the name Follie ... they don't really think of smartphones and about falling ... and of the reason this legacy before they've been selling a lot of phones on the ... mall but carriers' names ... so a building that consumer brand is gonna be a big step ... the challenge for falling ... on the company's main business has been for for other businesses right that clients to ... telecom carriers ... so aam building a consumer bound this ... will take a completely different kind of ... you know ... the forest ... and are they being ... this is just that one of the first step so that thinking outside of China ... so a ... lot of people think that it's gonna take awhile ... for them to really competes ... in the global market why punish Apple and Samsung will be awesome coffee watching the news a nice lines ... thank so much careless Ally Asia technology and ... reporter ... from on this story can get it WS J dot com will be following the product watch very closely ... thanks for watching I'm unique in for a shoot today ...


text:
Feb 27, 2007
Feb. 27, 2007
CAMBRIDGE, Mass. - In its second meeting with Lesley University this season, the MIT men's volleyball team posted a 30-16, 30-17, 30-17 victory on Monday night. The Engineers' winning streak extended to 14 as their overall record improved to 17-1.
Caine Jette posted the first double-double of his career as he tallied 29 assists and 10 digs. Scott Pollom recorded five kills in one game while Praveen Pamidimukkala notched a team-high eight kills in two games. Troy Tamas bolstered MIT's offense with seven kills as Michael Demyttenaere registered five blocks and three aces.


text:
An 8-year-old girl has died of bird flu in Indonesia's eighth death from the disease this year.
The Health Ministry said the girl, from the West Java district of Karawang, died Tuesday in a Jakarta hospital that had treated her since June 28.
She first developed a fever June 18, one day before going on holiday to Singapore, where a doctor diagnosed her with laryngitis, the ministry said Friday on its website. She returned five days later and was treated at a Karawang hospital before being transferred to Jakarta.
The ministry says the girl might have had contact with slaughtered chickens she and her father bought from a local market.
Bird flu has killed more than 350 people worldwide. Indonesia accounts for 158 of the deaths.


text:
Good Day to Die Hard, A (US - BD RA)
Gabe thinks a better day would be one where this franchise actually did die...
New York City cop John McClane's (Bruce Willis) latest predicament takes him all the way to Russia to track down his estranged son, Jack (Jai Courtney), who has been imprisoned in Moscow. But the mission takes a deadly turn as father and son must join forces to thwart a nuclear weapons heist that could trigger World War III! (From Fox's original synopsis)
The first three Die Hard movies are all among my favourite R-rated action movies of their era. The original is a perfect machine and template for future type. The second film, Die Hard 2: Die Harder, covers the fact that it unnecessarily retreads so much of the original film with strong direction and characterization. The third film, Die Hard with a Vengeance, is a near-brilliant inversion of the formula, adapting an unrelated screenplay into a perfect would-be final outing for John McClane. After a 12 year gap, Fox attempted to revive the franchise with Live Free or Die Hard, an awkward, overblown action flick that had almost nothing in common with the previous three films beyond the inclusion of Bruce Willis as a guy named John McClane, though the dude on-screen had very little in common with the poor sap we'd left at a phone booth back in 1995. Live Free or Die Hard is a bad Die Hard film, but a decent standalone, effects-heavy action flick. It would be easy enough to forget it ever existed and move on to rewatching the original trilogy every year or so. But, Live Free or Die Hard made money and Bruce Willis continued to be a commodity even as he approached his sixth decade of life, so, clearly, Fox had to keep the Die Hard train rolling. At least before Willis broke a hip or something.
A Good Day to Die Hard makes me wish Willis had injured himself badly enough during the last Die Hard. Not that I wish pain on the guy or even want him disappear from the film scene altogether – just last year, he made two of his best movies in Moonrise Kingdom and Looper – I just wish he hadn't been on hand to help Fox exects ravage his most famous brand and assume a broken hip would've kept him away. A Good Day to Die Hard is, indeed, a freaking horrible movie that makes Live Free or Die Hard look like a thoughtful, genre-re-defining masterpiece. Problems begin, obviously, with writer Skip Woods' screenplay or what I assume was some kind of napkin-scribbled half idea that was being written while the multi-million dollar production had already started filming. Woods is best known as the mastermind behind such ridiculously floppy action screenplays as Swordfish, Hitman, and The A-Team. None of these movies were as terrible as they could've been, but X-Men Origins: Wolverine, which Woods rewrote based on David Benioff's original screenplay, is the same kind of kitchen sink-level abysmal that is presented here. A Good Day to Die Hard has no character, no focus, and merely a vague outline to verify that Woods physically wrote anything on the page.
Then there's director John Moore, who has found success with some of the most indefinably bland movies ever made, including an Owen Wilson action vehicle, Behind Enemy Lines, two unneeded remakes, Flight of the Phoenix and The Omen, and a videogame adaptation, Max Payne. His basic skills appear to have escaped him when handed a franchise, because A Good Day to Die Hard is among the most unattractive tentpole features I've ever seen. Moore makes terrible choices in abstractly handheld cameras, hideously flat compositions, digital colour timing (more on that in the video section) – even his choice in subtitle font is distractingly ugly. Stuff just keeps happening and Moore mistakes constant movement and property destruction for real filmmaking. A Good Day to Die Hard is a numbing, idiotic swath of shit breaking and breaking loudly. Moore doesn't direct these scenes as much as he sets up as many cameras as he can, then lets his editors run wild with the footage. There's no sense of visual logic or geography, even during simple dialogue sequences, where the camera still manages to shake uncontrollably and crash-zoom into nothing at every possible opportunity.
Live Free or Die Hard got away with stupid plotting, because director Len Wiseman gave the audience a chance to breathe between action sequences. He made sure McClane and his geeky sidekick had some amusing interactions. The franchise's lifeblood was anemic, but still recognizable on at least a base level. Bruce Willis was what we'd consider 'off model' when he appeared in Wiseman's movie. It's forgivable in hindsight. This time, he's basically absent from the film entirely. McClane is no longer the man that always finds himself in the wrong place at the wrong time – he's the grumpy, confused, elderly man whining about being on vacation and shouting 'Jack! Jack! Jack!' at his son, who does his best to ignore him so that the story may get underway. The screenplay attempts to draw upon our memories of the previous films to create character drama, but there's almost nothing about this character or the tone of the story he's very purposefully flinging himself into that recalls those other movies. I have to appreciate how quickly the film moves, though there's not really a story to unravel – just another awkward father/son moment before more explosions. As McClane enters Russia, he also enters some kind of fugue state where he happens to walk by every important establishing element. Oh, and that old-fashioned John McClane sarcasm? It's here, but it's forced and painful. Willis is so obnoxious that I found myself rooting for the bad guys to take him out. It's not like his presence has any bearing on the good guys winning – he's the one messing things up from the word 'Go.' With this movie, John McClane has become the Jar Jar Binks of the Die Hard franchise.
From what I can tell, without sitting through the entire horrible movie twice, the major difference between the theatrical, R-rated and extended/unrated version is that Mary Elizabeth Winsted only appears in the theatrical version.
A Good Day to Die Hard was shot on 35mm, though I'm not sure why because every ounce of natural colour and dynamic range has been eradicated with insipid digital colour timing practices. For some reason, it was also shown on IMAX screens, despite not being shot in IMAX or a comparable 70mm or 4K format. This 1.85:1 (every other Die Hard film is 2.35/40:1, for the record), 1080p transfer does everything it can with the hideously over-processed image. I've gotten in the habit of complaining about orange and teal colour timing practices and, in my complacence, I lost track of how bad such processing can get. The Moscow of A Good Day to Die Hard clearly takes place in an alternate universe where Chernobyl has steadily leaked radiation into the atmosphere until everything has turned a sickly green and teal. Highlights are either represented by yellow/oranges or blown-out 'white' levels that are just a lighter shade of teal. I suppose I shouldn't entirely dismiss the use of film, because, oh my God, is this a grainy freaking movie. Every inch of the screen is slathered in thick, lumpy granules that must have been the size of a human head on an IMAX screen. This grain, coupled with the constant smoke/dust and the general darkness of the frame, makes for some pretty weak detail levels, especially the backgrounds. Foreground textures are pretty sharp, assuming the camera stops zipping around long enough to absorb any detail. The harsh contrast and crushed blacks help in this regard. Complex patterns don't do quite so well among all the grain and noise, but there isn't a lot of edge enhancement or major moiré noise. All in all: a hideous transfer that looks exactly as the filmmakers intended.
Well, it ain't any good, but A Good Day to Die Hard is certainly a very loud movie, which is good news for this 7.1 DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack (apparently some theaters showed the film in the new Dolby Atmos sound). The film opens on a black screen with the sounds of war, which spreads all the way across the channels and give the LFE a huge pop. Then Moore and his sound designers decide to get all 'arthouse' with the soundtrack as they use slow-motion abstractions throughout the stereo and surround channels to build up to a very punchy series of massive explosions. Then there's a really long, pointless vehicle chase that gives the system plenty to do between shattering glass, throbbing impacts, grinding engines, and the sad little cries of innocent bystanders as their tiny Russian cars are crushed. This chase never really ends, but the mixers do their best to add some texture to the chaos. In contrast, the opening and closing acts of the elongated action sequences are quiet – sometimes entirely silent. Dialogue is clear and warm throughout and can usually be understood over the machine gun fire and crashing cars, only with a bit of an artificial slant when things get particularly loud. Marco Beltrami's score more or less follows the lead set by the other Die Hard films, but it's usually blocked out by the throbbing bass of more explosions.
The extras begin with a commentary from Moore and first assistant director Mark Cotone, available only with the extended version. The tone is friendly between the commentators, who are clearly friends, but the information is a bit too jokey for my taste. Among the jokes are some amusing factoids about the filming process, including comparisons between the two cuts of the film, facts about the 'in flux' screenplay, and casting creepy Eurotrash villains. There's also quite a bit of down time throughout the track as Moore and Cotone struggle to find new and interesting things to talk about.
Making It Hard to Die (1:00, HD) is a 15-part making-of featurette, including:
- Introduction – an unbelievably self-important series of introductory interviews where the cast and crew act like they're making magic (complete with horribly uplifting music).
- Stunts – a closer look at some of the complex stunts you couldn't see on-screen because the editing was so bad.
- Helicopters and Aerial – on the process of shooting with and around helicopters.
- Special Effects – on the in-camera effects and explosions.
- Motion Base – about using the truck gimble for close-up scenes.
- Armoury – concerning the many, many guns the production used.
- Russia & Budapest – on the process of shooting on location.
- The Look of the Movie – featuring concept art and production design.
- Chernobyl – on designing and building the set for the climax.
- Camera Work – concerning the film's handheld look. No one but the director seems to think this was a good idea.
- Editorial Los Angeles – where the poor editorial department tries to make sense of Moore's horrible footage.
- Color Grading – on the process of fully destroying anything beautiful in the negative.
- Visual Effects – concerning digital effects and composition.
- Film Scoring – with composer Marco Beltrami discussing his music.
- Wrap Up – which, um, wraps things up.
The behind-the-scenes stuff continues with Anatomy of a Car Chase (26:10, HD), which breaks down the film's first major action sequence. It's fascinating watching so much effort go so wrong. Two of a Kind (8:00, HD), Back in Action (7:10, HD), and The New Face of Evil (7:00, HD) are more EPK-type things, including some retread interviews and behind-the-scenes footage. Maximum McClane (3:20, HD) gives a brief replay of the previous film's best one-liners and acts of violence.
Interview subjects throughout the featurettes include Moore, producers Peter Veverka, Wyck Godfrey, and Jason Keller, cinematographer Jonathan Sela, editor Dan Zimmerman, stunt coordinator Steve Davison, camera operator Des Wahlan, special effects supervisor Gerd Nefzer, stuntman Jeffery Deshnaw, production designer Daniel T. Dorrance, second unit director Sean Guest, sound designer Ian Voigt, visual effects supervisors Everette Burrell and Sean Faden, production supervisor Luca Bercovici, boom operator Don Voigt, armourers Michael Picpac and Shasha Robrey, concept artist Chris Rosewarne, post-production supervisor David McKimmie, composer Marco Beltrami, and actors Bruce Willis, Jai Courtney, Radivoje Bukvic, Yuliya Snigir, and Sebastian Kock.
The disc also features seven deleted scenes (featuring more plot than anything that made the final film, 14:30, HD), three pre-vis comparisons (two of these scenes aren't even in the movie, 11:40, HD), 16 visual effects comparisons (5:40, HD), storyboard galleries (7:10, HD), concept art gallery, and trailers.
A Good Day to Die Hard is not only the worst Die Hard movie ever made, it is among the most scatterbrained and unattractive big budget action movies I've ever seen. At one point during the black and white 'confessionals' that accompany the behind the scenes documentary, second assistant director Yumiko Takeya says ' Die Hard 5 means: no script, no schedule.' Then she laughs. I suppose that sort of says it all. The behind-the-scenes material is actually brimming with similar tidbits, where crew members vaguely complain about John Moore's dumb choices as director and the film's impossibly compacted production schedule. It's usually hard to pin a bad film on anyone in particular, but the people behind this Blu-ray have given us plenty of evidence on what precisely went wrong here. This means Fox has an abject, on the record lesson on what not to do next time. The only remaining question is: are they willing to learn this lesson? Probably not.
* Note: The images on this page are not representative of the Blu-ray image quality.
Review by Gabriel Powers
bass88 Member Join Date: March 2011 Location: Ireland Posts: 100
A Good Day to Try Harder
felipe-11 Member Join Date: July 2009 Location: United States Posts: 418
Cinematography on The Bourne Supremacy/Ultimatum was a blessing and a curse on filmmaking. Now every hack of a director seems to think you can set up a dozen randomly placed moving cameras and cut the footage into a compelling action scene.
And how on Earth does Skip Woods keep getting hired? You'd think after a career of critically panned movies he'd find it slightly harder, but no, he even gets a second shot at another Hitman movie. Who the hell is this guy blowing to still get work?
I really wish Fox would just go bankrupt.
And how on Earth does Skip Woods keep getting hired? You'd think after a career of critically panned movies he'd find it slightly harder, but no, he even gets a second shot at another Hitman movie. Who the hell is this guy blowing to still get work?
I really wish Fox would just go bankrupt.
matt86 Member Join Date: March 2008 Location: United States Posts: 868
How many times does he say he's on his vacation? LOL The irony is, this is pretty much a paid vacation for Willis. I didn't hate this as much as a lot of people(including Gabe) but its hard to defend as well. I was never bored by it, but it feels very slight for a Die hard film. It's just like any other action movie or as many call it DHOIN(Die Hard only in name)
This product has not been rated
Disc Details
Release Date: 4th June 2013
Discs: 2
Disc Type: Blu-ray Disc
RCE: Yes
Video: 1080p
Aspect: 1.85:1
Anamorphic: No
Colour: No
Audio: DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 English, Dolby Digital 5.1 English Descriptive Audio (Theatrical Cut only), Dolby Digital 2.0 Spanish and French
Subtitles: English SDH, Spanish
Extras: Rated and Extended Versions, Director and First Assistant Director Commentary, Deleted Scenes, Making it Hard to Die, Anatomy of a Car Chase, Two of a Kind, Back in Action, The New Face of Evil, Pre-vis, VFX Sequences, Maximum McClane, Still Gallery, Trailers, DVD Copy, UltraViolet Copy
Easter Egg: No
Feature Details
Director: John Moore
Cast: Bruce Willis, Jai Courtney, Sebastian Koch, Yuliya Snigir, Radivoje Bukvić, Cole Hauser
Length: 97 minutes
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text:
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
Something #15
11 comments:
- Sandy said...
oh fun! what is the blue one? great one guys!
- May 20, 2008 at 4:20 PM
- Kimberly White said...
What amazing pics! Kim
- May 21, 2008 at 12:19 AM
- sam said...
hi my contribution well my 9 yr old daughters,
it's on flickr, thanks for fun,
- May 22, 2008 at 11:14 AM
- LauraBelle said...
Love the bubble! Kids toys seem to be everywhere when you have kids! This is my ROUND that I decided to use!
Also on flickr.
- May 22, 2008 at 11:44 AM
- Lara said...
Here's a link to my something round on my blog: Round
I will also post to the flickr group.
Also, just wanted to say thanks to anyone who voted for my picture a couple weeks ago, since I haven't been around since then. I won! Thanks a million for your help!
- May 22, 2008 at 3:32 PM
- Rollie said...
Loving all this roundness!
Great photos ladies!
I am going to play for the first time...thanks for having this site, it made me go and get my camera and go on a hunt!
not sure how to do the html tag thing...something else I need to learn!
- May 23, 2008 at 9:13 AM
- Jeanne said...
Cool and I was able to do one right off the bat. http://jeanne-lifeorsomethinglikeit.blogspot.com/2008/05/its-weekend.html
- May 24, 2008 at 7:56 AM
- Katrin said...
I love the picture of the bubble!
And although the link to my "round" can be found in the last comments - here it is again:
- May 25, 2008 at 11:55 AM
- O said...
Coming into this challenge at the last minute :) Here's mine: http://im-up-for-the-challenge.blogspot.com/2008/05/something-15-for-we-spy-you-spy.html
Btw, great spy's everyone :)
- May 26, 2008 at 11:25 AM
- themathchick said...
Hi everyone!
Here's my round find:
Happy Spying!
- May 26, 2008 at 7:38 PM
- Tania said...
Here's my spy, used macro.
I have a couple of more on my blog too if you'd like to look.
Thanks for peeking :)
- May 27, 2008 at 12:14 AM


text:
Air Lift 1000 Air Bag Kits
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So, if you're in the market for a quick and easy way to beef up your suspension before you hit the road, don't look any further than Air Lift 1000 air bag kits. Easy to install, and even easier on the wallet. Order yours today!
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text:
Supremes to review 'work of Satan' in Obamacare
'Bad laws that force good people to do bad things belong in the shredder'
A decision by the U.S. Supreme Court to review an Obamacare mandate for abortion-inducing drugs is being praised by critics as an opportunity to protect the right to exercise one's faith in the United States.
"If government can put Americans out of business for keeping their faith, there is no limit to what freedoms it can take away," said Alliance Defending Freedom senior legal counsel Matt Bowman today after the court affirmed that it would review two cases on the issue.
"Bad laws that force good people to do bad things belong in the shredder, not on the books."
The mandate in Obamacare forces employers, regardless of their religious or moral convictions, to provide insurance coverage for abortion-inducing drugs, sterilization and contraception under threat of heavy financial penalties if the mandate's requirements aren't met.
One of the plaintiffs, according to an appellate review, would be required to pay $95,000 a day in penalties if the owners would refuse to live contrary to their Christian convictions.
"We're extremely pleased that the Supreme Court will hear these critically important cases," said Jay Sekulow, chief counsel of the American Center for Law and Justice. The group has filed numerous challenges against the HHS mandate, and in fact, there have been dozens of lawsuits filed over the issue.
Many of them have been decided in favor of the plaintiffs, including one of the cases accepted Tuesday, which was brought on behalf of Hobby Lobby and its owners.
"For the government to mandate that a company or its owner acquire a health insurance product that violates their religious beliefs is not only offensive but unconstitutional as well. Such a mandate is an unconstitutional power grab by the federal government, and we're hopeful that the high court will move to protect the religious freedom of Americans," Sekulow said.
The cases accepted by the high court today are Sebelius v. Hobby Lobby and Conestoga Wood v. Sebelius. Different appellate courts found for Hobby Lobby and against Conestoga.
"Americans are awakening to the fact that Obamacare is far from a done deal," said Mat Staver, founder and chairman of Liberty Counsel. "The courts are just now beginning to respond to the many constitutional challenges, including the constitutionality of the employer mandate and also the free exercise of religion that applies to individuals. Obamacare, the biggest funding of abortion in history, is on a collision course with the sincerely held religious beliefs of many individuals and businesses. The HHS mandate presents a classic conflict with the free exercise of religion. I think it is apparent that the Obamacare abortion mandate will be struck down because it violates the free exercise of religion."
Yes, there really is a devil. Discover the arguments in "Spiritual Warfare,"
The owners of Conestoga Wood Specialties, the Hahns, are a practicing and believing Mennonite family, records show, and they desire to run the company, a wholesale manufacturer of custom wood kitchen cabinet parts, in a manner that reflects their sincerely held religious beliefs, including their belief that God requires respect for the sanctity of human life.
Their faith aligns with that of the owners of Hobby Lobby.
Dozens of states and other parties have filed friend-of-the-court briefs on behalf of the plaintiffs in the cases.
"The government shouldn't be able to punish Americans for exercising their fundamental freedoms," said ADF senior counsel David Cortman. "The administration has no business forcing citizens to choose between making a living and living free. We trust the Supreme Court will agree. A government that forces any citizen to participate in immoral acts – like the use of abortion drugs – under threat of crippling fines is a government everyone should fear."
Penny Nancy, president of Concerned Women for America Legislative Action Committee, said, "What the president and his administration fail to realize is that one's religious beliefs don't stop at the church walls. The president still seeks to nullify the religious liberties granted to all Americans by the U.S. Constitution. We applaud Hobby Lobby and others for holding true to their beliefs. When religious groups are forced to deny their deeply held religious convictions, it is not called 'balance'; it is called 'tyranny.'"
She continued, "The president's health-care law (also known as Obamacare) continues to attack and assault religious liberty and common sense. Requiring employers affiliated with the Christian faith, like Concerned Women for America and Hobby Lobby, to include free potential abortion-inducing drugs in their health insurance plans runs contrary to both Christian doctrine and constitutional guarantees of religious freedom. Concerned Women for America and others will not tolerate this unprecedented trampling of our First Amendment rights."
WND earlier reported on the extent of the outrage over Obama's demands of Christian business owners – with one pro-life official saying the White House, through its support for abortion, is doing the work of Satan.
That comes from a top executive for America's leading pro-life organization, the American Life League.
Jim Sedlak, vice president of the pro-life group that faithfully follows Catholic teaching and opposes not only abortion but other death-related agendas such as euthanasia, made the comments only a day after the Washington Post quoted "Exorcist" author William Peter Blatty calling a graphic abortion procedure "demonic."
"We have always described the work of Planned Parenthood as Satanic," Sedlak told WND on the issue of abortion and Blatty's reference.
"If you look around the country, if Satan were to establish an organization today, what organization would be most like that one?" he asked. "The answer is Planned Parenthood, which does the work of Satan with its attacks on our young people … with sexual sin."
It also promotes the "total devaluation of human life," he said.
"We frequently refer to those that are radical pro-abortion as doing the work of Satan," he said.
"In this regard, certainly the [Obama] administration is doing the work of Satan."
Blatty's comment came during a conversation about his petition to the pope to instruct Georgetown University to follow the teachings of its founder, the Roman Catholic Church, or lose its Catholic identity.
According to the Washington Post, Blatty said the last straw for him regarding Georgetown was its invitation to Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, who was radically pro-abortion even when she was the governor of Kansas, to speak at commencement.
"Sebelius has a record of supporting abortion rights, and abortion is the issue that really sets Blatty's nerves on fire," the newspaper said. "He describes, his voice trembling, a particular abortion procedure in graphic detail. He pauses. His voice is nearly a whisper. 'That's demonic.'"
A counsel to Blatty explained to WND that the graphic abortion procedure was partial-birth abortion, often done by Sebelius' friends in the abortion industry. In the process, the live baby's body is delivered, but before the head emerges, the skull is crushed and the brains vacuumed out.
Lila Rose of the activist Live Action organization also spoke to WND on the issue.
Live Action is known for its undercover video stings of abortion facilities, which have been caught violating laws regarding covering up and facilitating the sexual exploitation of minors, providing medical misinformation, using manipulative coercion and facilitating race- and sex-based abortion.
Rose told WND that Obamacare was written for the benefit of the abortion industry.
"The architects of Obamacare have a clear, extreme pro-abortion goal, including abortion coverage in many different ways. Some are public … Others, I fear, we will discover as the massive government takeover of health care continues," she said.
Already required are payments for abortifacients, she said. Another funding mechanism for abortionists will be the relationships with the "community health partners," a position for which Planned Parenthood already is lined up, she said.
Obama's plans "represent the greatest expansion of the abortion industry since Roe v. Wade," she said. "There's a whole world out there of other avenues where people can people can receive money."
She commended Blatty's comment.
"If you believe that evil exists in the world … what could be more evil than the dismemberment of an unborn child, a child when they're the most vulnerable and defenseless?" she asked.
She said for American culture to be "free from this evil," the nation needs to confront it.
"Voices like Blatty's are refreshing, calling out evil for what it is."


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|System: X360, PS3, PC
|Review Rating Legend
|Dev: GRIN
|1.0 - 1.9 = Avoid
|4.0 - 4.4 = Great
|Pub: Warner Bros.
|2.0 - 2.4 = Poor
|4.5 - 4.9 = Must Buy
|Release: March 24, 2009
|2.5 - 2.9 = Average
|5.0 = The Best
|Players: 1
|3.0 - 3.4 = Fair
|ESRB Rating: Mature
|3.5 - 3.9 = Good
Cant Live with em...
by Leon Hendrix III
January 5, 2009 - Wanted, the big screen adaption of the Mark Millar and J.G. Jones comic series, was a huge success at the summer box office. Playing alongside what is (in my opinion) the greatest comic book adaptation ever, The Dark Knight, it managed to make a very respectable $93 million dollars. Impressive enough to warrant a video game adaptation I suppose, but there were two words that made Wanted: Weapons of Fate a must for gamers: Bullet-bending.
Once gamers and comic fans saw the flashy exploits of Wesley and the Fraternity it was love at first sight. Lucky for shoot-out fans everywhere, developer GRIN and publisher Universal Studios will be playing matchmaker when Wanted: Weapons of Fate hits consoles in 2009. Taking a cue from other successful movie tie-ins, including its own Scarface: The World is Yours, Universal has taken pains to craft an experience the fans of the film will enjoy, but wont retell the same story. By combining the onscreen adventures of Wesley and company with the Image Comic escapades of our favorite assassins, the idea is to create a story that captures the spirit of the film and expands on the comic origins of the story.
Picking up only hours after the events of the film, Weapons of Fate will follow Wesley as he attempts to discover the secrets of the Fraternity and find out more about Cross and the fate of his mother. Players will visit several locals from the film (though probably at different time periods and in different situations) and gamers will have the opportunity to play as both Cross and Wesley. Other characters have been hinted at, but theres no official word on them or multiplayer yet.
Weapons of Fate runs on the same engine as the forthcoming Bionic Commando, which seems to have influenced visuals more than gameplay. Graphically, Weapons of Fate is solid if not overly impressive. Muzzle flashes and explosions yield impressive flairs and sparks, while Wesley himself sports some nice textures, particularly on his signature leather jacket. In-action gunplay is definitely the showpiece of the Weapons of Fate art department. Whether moving from cover to cover, stabbing a soldier in the privates, or sliding across a desktop and popping a guy from across the room, movement, gunplay, and close quarters combat all look phenomenal. Even from the trailer, its clear that fluidity and moments of downright jaw dropping visual displays were on the forefront of the developers minds. Of course, its difficult to say before the release of the game, but watching Wesley slide across the overturned shelves, like a scene from The Dukes of Hazzard, is undeniably cool. Its clear that the visuals from the film had a huge impact on the development team.
Predictably, though its not necessarily a bad thing, most of the action of Weapons of Fate centers around run and gun action broken up by close quick-time, Resident Evil 4-style kills. Players will chain cover to cover movements to build up an adrenaline meter. Once filled, this meter allows players to pull off special moves including the trademark bullet-bending. Holding down the trigger, a bullet curve overlay will appear on screen displaying the trajectory of your shot. Players then finesse the arc of the shot until the curve turns white (from red) and then release the trigger to blast enemies behind cover.
Its an interesting mechanic and seems to go a long way towards adding a new twist to the cover-fire-advance formula refined by other third-person shooters (most popularly by Gears of War). While bending bullets around riot shields and hallway corners is cool, even the best marksmen need some hand to hand moves these days (what with the rising prices of bullets) and Wesleys wont disappoint. As anyone who saw the film knows, hes actually pretty handy with a combat knife, and any enemy who manages to get close enough will be treated to a quick trip to that big textile mill in the sky courtesy of Wesleys handiwork. These one button quick-time kills are easily executed, slick, quick, and bloody. Its impressive stuff.
Weapons of Fate will release in the first quarter 2009. Like so many curved bullets, GRIN, gamers, and comic fans alike hope awesome gameplay is just around the corner.
Leon Hendrix III
CCC Freelance Writer
Game Features:


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Three-year Niantic River Bridge project almost done
East Lyme - After three years of work, Amtrak is nearly done replacing the bridge over the Niantic River.
Only the finishing touches remain - painting, paving and putting up fencing, Andrew R. Ingram, an engineer of structures for Amtrak, said Tuesday.
Nearly all of the work will be complete this month, Ingram said, and Amtrak is planning for a public ceremony in early June to mark the project's completion.
Amtrak built a two-track, electrified railroad bascule bridge across the Niantic River between East Lyme and Waterford, 58 feet south of the old bridge.
The project is expected to be completed on schedule but at a cost higher than estimated. Cliff Cole, an Amtrak spokesman, declined to say specifically why the price rose from $140 million to about $153 million, but did say slight increases are not unexpected with bridge replacement projects.
The Niantic River Bridge is Amtrak's largest current bridge replacement project, in terms of cost, and Amtrak paid for the additional expenses from its general capital fund, Ingram said. The bridge is being funded with Amtrak's capital budget and with federal stimulus money from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.
The new bridge will be more reliable and convenient than the century-old structure it replaced, Ingram said.
It has a new backup power system for when commercial power goes out, and the navigational channel below was widened from 45 feet to about 100 feet, with an additional 5 feet of vertical clearance, so more boats may pass through without the bridge opening, Ingram said. It can open in about a minute and a half, twice as fast as before.
Trains are currently traveling across the bridge as intended and boats are passing underneath, Ingram said.
The old bridge was removed in February, cut apart and sent to a facility in New Haven for disposal. Some of the parts, however, were kept to be preserved.
The Connecticut Eastern Railroad Museum in Willimantic took the old bridge control house for a display and components were sent to historical societies and to the towns of East Lyme and Waterford, Ingram said. Many granite blocks were reused at the site.
The new boardwalk and beach area, which were part of the project, will be open after the public ceremony, he added. The crew for the contractor, Cianbro/Middlesex Joint Venture, is currently touching up the paint on the bridge, repaving a section of the parking lot in Cini Memorial Park and finishing the site grading.
Both Ingram and Cole said Amtrak is grateful to the towns of East Lyme and Waterford and to the public, especially the local boating community, for their cooperation and patience during the project.
Waterford's Ella Dyjak - The Day's All-Area Swimmer of the Year
Full game: Notre Dame-West Haven at East Lyme boys' basketball


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HARTSVILLE, S.C. – The Coker women's soccer team will host Mount Olive in nonconference action this Wednesday (Oct. 16), at the Coker Soccer Field. The game will be available live on a video webcast at www.cokercobras.com.
The Cobras are coming off a heartbreaking 3-2 double overtime loss to Mars Hill last Saturday (Oct. 12), and will be looking to get back on track against the Trojans. Trah Monroe led that competition with one goal and one assist for the Cobras.
Jalynn Fortt, Millie Rogers, and Jordan Roy continue to lead the Coker offense with two goals a piece, while Lizz Morris heads the defense and is fourth in the nation with 117 saves on the year.
Mount Olive is coming off a 1-1 tie with Limestone in their most recent competition, with Ellie Barnes and Alex Wetherholt leading the offense at three goals each.
The game is set for a 6:00 p.m. kickoff. Tickets for the match are $5 for adults, $3 for students and free to all Coker faculty, staff and students.


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We are all in the cosmic movie. That means the day you die you watch your whole life repeating for eternity. So you'd better have some good things happen in there and have a fitting climax. --Jim MorrisonIt's going to come from a direction you didn't predict at a moment of chaos which you didn't see coming. -- NYCDelete Topic
"Don�t know how long, this one�s gonna take;
I could fail, but I�d rather be a fuckup, than a fake"
to live at all is miracle enoughDelete
to live at all is miracle enoughDelete
Im a Thespian, But I'll Act Normal Around You GuysDelete
Holistic Spinner (I hope)Delete


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Djokovic braced for another test
Novak Djokovic is prepared for another epic when he plays Stanislas Wawrinka in the quarter-finals of the Australian Open.
Their fourth-round clash at Melbourne Park 12 months ago, which Djokovic won 12-10 in the fifth set after five hours, was arguably the match of the season.
It was also the match that convinced Wawrinka he belonged with the likes of Djokovic at the top of the game.
He went on to have the best season of his career, beating Andy Murray at the US Open to reach his first grand slam semi-final, where he again pushed Djokovic to five sets.
"I have to be ready to play another 12-10 in the fifth like last year," said Djokovic. "I know that he's playing the tennis of his life in the last 15 months.
"He's a top-10 player now. He's established himself at the top level. He won against some top guys in the big tournaments.
"He is confident. You can feel that mentally, when he comes to the court, he believes in himself more. He can win against the top guys in the later stages of events.
"So you cannot expect a clear favourite in that match."
Djokovic is wrong about that, for only if he played Rafael Nadal would he not be the clear favourite.
The three-time defending champion made it 28 straight wins since losing to Nadal in the US Open final and 24 in a row at Melbourne Park with a crushing 6-3 6-0 6-2 victory over Italian showman Fabio Fognini on Sunday.
After Nadal swatted aside Gael Monfils the previous night, it was just the message Djokovic would have wanted to send to his rivals.
He said: "I felt from the start that I've been elevating my game as the tournament is going on. Every match is better.
"The general feeling on the court, all the shots, using the court position really well, being aggressive, playing my style of the game.
"That's what I've done really well today overall from the first to the last point. I haven't allowed my opponent to come back to the match.
"Mentally I was there. I was tough. I was focused. I feel great about myself in this moment.
"There is this confidence that I carry from many wins that I had in the last two months of the 2013 season, and I started off this season in a good style. I'm trying to keep it up."
Djokovic was overshadowed on Sunday by another Serbian, Ana Ivanovic, who caused a sensation by upsetting Serena Williams in the preceding match.
The pair grew up playing tennis together in Belgrade, and Djokovic said: "I'm very happy for her.
"She must be feeling very confident. Hopefully she's going to carry that confidence from today's win and it's going to help her to come back to where she deserves to be - top five in the world."
Wawrinka won the battle of the one-handed backhands to beat Spain's Tommy Robredo 6-3 7-6 (7/3) 7-6 (7/5) and reach the quarter-finals in Melbourne for the second time.
Eighth seed Wawrinka was given a walkover in the third round after Vasek Pospisil pulled out, and he said: "It was good to have a tough match against Tommy and I'm really happy to get through."
On facing Djokovic again, the Swiss number two said: "I have to play better. They were two tough matches. I was playing really good but we all know how good Novak is, especially in grand slams.
"I didn't find the solution yet but I'm still trying, I'm still trying to improve my game and I will try my best in the next one."
Third seed David Ferrer made his ninth straight grand slam quarter-final, coming from a set down to defeat unorthodox German Florian Mayer 6-7 (5/7) 7-5 6-2 6-1.
In the last eight he will meet seventh seed Tomas Berdych, who beat South Africa's Kevin Anderson for the fifth time in the last nine grand slams 6-2 6-2 6-3.


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The Pentagon has given preliminary approval to a joint venture between Boeing Co. and Lockheed Martin Corp. for military-rocket launches, endorsing a rare monopoly that could set a precedent for defense contractors facing slower military spending, said industry and government officials.
After seven months of deliberations and some false starts, the companies have convinced the Pentagon of the venture's projected cost savings, these officials said. Now, the Pentagon is drafting language to provide the antitrust protection sought by Northrop Grumman Corp. and a fledging rocket maker, which contend that their respective satellite and launch businesses would be hurt by the Boeing-Lockheed monopoly.
Final federal approval is still at least weeks away, the officials cautioned, but an important hurdle has been cleared. Pentagon acquisition chief Kenneth Krieg, senior Air Force officials and Pentagon lawyers have agreed to recommend the proposed joint venture to the Federal Trade Commission, which has the authority to approve the deal.
The commission is expected to follow the Pentagon's recommendation, the knowledgeable officials said. Both Boeing, of Chicago, and Lockheed, of Bethesda, Md., have signaled their willingness to accept the competitive safeguards currently being drafted, industry officials said.
"It is becoming increasingly clear that an agreement in principle has been reached" to proceed with the combination, said James McAleese, an industry consultant in McLean, Va., who has closely tracked the debate inside the military. "The only big question left seems to be when the Pentagon makes its recommendation for approval to the FTC."
A Pentagon spokeswoman said the matter is still under consideration and no final decision has been made. Boeing and Lockheed spokesmen said the companies are optimistic that the joint venture will be approved and are continuing to provide information sought by the government.
Boeing and Lockheed are bitter rivals and have been embroiled in a legal dispute for years over proprietary Lockheed rocket documents that were improperly obtained and used by Boeing. Their announcement in May to form the United Launch Alliance and set aside their legal battle -- if the deal is completed -- signaled how desperately they needed to team up in order to salvage their struggling rocket-launch divisions.
The timetable for the joint venture has slipped as the companies struggled to justify projected cost savings of about $150 million a year and Pentagon officials weighed potential legal and antitrust consequences of such a venture.
Approval of the Boeing-Lockheed venture could set a precedent for a deeply consolidated defense industry now confronting Pentagon budget pressures. The Pentagon already accommodates the country's two nuclear-submarine makers by sharing work to keep them operating amid reduced purchases, but it has resisted mergers that create monopolies.
Steven Grundman, a former Pentagon official and now director of aerospace and defense at consulting firm Charles River Associates, said the rocket-launch deal could cross a new threshold to monopoly "depending on the conditions placed on the conduct of the joint venture." The knowledgeable government and industry officials declined to discuss the specific conditions being drafted.
Northrop, a major provider of government satellites based in Los Angeles, wants assurance that the joint venture won't block its contract opportunities. Closely held upstart rocket maker Space Exploration Technologies Corp., of El Segundo, Calif., has similar concerns. Elon Musk, the company's chief executive, said in an interview Friday that he has even broached the idea of the Air Force paying for a demonstration launch of SpaceX's largest rocket as a way of supporting a smaller rival.
- 9 Lockheed Martin


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Surf's Up (UK - BD)
Scott McKenzie likes CG penguins but asks when originality left the building...
Cody Maverick is a young penguin who lives to surf. He finds his life in Shiverpool, Antarctica dull and nothing makes him happier than taking to the waves, even though his family can't understand the attraction. When a scout for a surfing competition visits his home town, he takes the opportunity to leave his monotonous life behind and compete in his favourite sport at Pen Gu Island, which was home to his hero, Big Z. Upon his arrival he is humiliated by the evil champion Tank Evans and must rebuild his confidence with his new friends Chicken Joe and a mysterious penguin named Geek.
I remember seeing the trailer for Surf's Up a long time before it hit the cinema screens and thought 'Oh no, not another bloody penguin movie'. Maybe it came along at the end of a run of penguin movies as a pure coincidence, but with March of the Penguins, Happy Feet and Farce of the Penguins already testing audiences' appetite for the feathered fish-eaters, do we really need another one? I'm too old to be a member of the target audience and I'm sure I'm reading too much into this movie, but penguins couldn't survive on a tropical island. Any animal on earth that lives in warm climates could have been used (surfing iguanas, anyone?) so the use of penguins seems very cynical to me.
My wildlife concerns aside, Surf's Up does try to make a different type of movie for kids by selling this as a mockumentary rather than a straight sports movie. Most impressive is the way it has been constructed, looking like it has been filmed with handheld cameras, including interviews and damaged 'archive' footage. The problem here is that the documentary style isn't used all the way through. To keep the story moving along with key scenes that wouldn't have worked if the characters on screen thought someone was watching, the style reverts to what you would expect an animated movie to look like. This will probably go unnoticed by younger viewers but for me it felt like a film of two halves.
The originality ends there though. The story of a talented young hothead learning to control his emotions on the way to glory and redemption for his grizzled mentor is a tried-and-tested formula and movies of this ilk tend to follow a certain structure. Surf's Up is no different and key scenes could be mapped against the storyline of many other sports movies. The Color of Money immediately springs to mind for me, but I'm sure that anyone of a certain age could draw parallels between Surf's Up and their favourite sports movie. However, this isn't necessarily a bad thing because this is likely to be the first sports movie a certain groups of kids watch, so it will then become their frame of reference for the genre in the future.
Where Surf's Up impresses is unsurprisingly in the animation stakes. As anyone with a slight interest in CGI knows, water is one of the most difficult objects to animate and I'm pleased to say that the waves look incredible. Not only is the detail in the surf very realistic, the fact that it isn't live action allows the filmmakers to put the camera anywhere they want and get the takes they storyboarded in one take rather than filming hundreds of shots on surfboard-mounted cameras. The surfing scenes are undoubtedly the most enjoyable of all and make it easier to overlook the unoriginality of the scenes that join them together.
The second aspect of Surf's Up I liked was the dialogue. Rather than force the stars to adhere to a strict screenplay, they were allowed to improvise in the studio and the characters were then animated around them. This means there is an air of spontaneity in the interactions between the characters and it's obvious that Shia Laboeuf, Jon Heder and Jeff Bridges were all having a great time bouncing off each other. I believe younger viewers will draw more enjoyment from Surf's Up than an older audience that is familiar with the structure, but there's still just enough good points for me to give it a thumbs up overall.
Surf's Up is presented in 1.85:1 (1080p) so my recommendation is that if this is your kind of movie, make sure you watch it on the biggest screen you can find. The vibrant colours and attention to detail make the movie all the more enjoyable, in particular little touches like splashes of water on the 'camera' to make the documentary style more realistic. The digital transfer means that the picture hasn't picked up any imperfections and I couldn't find any problems with compression or edge enhancement. There is grain and scratches in the picture, but only where they have purposely been added during post-production and I'm confident this is an excellent reproduction of the intended look of the movie.
Given that this movie will mostly be watched by kids (on DVD rather than Blu-ray for that matter), Sony Pictures didn't exactly need to put a lot of effort into the audio options but I'm pleased to say they've included a Dolby TrueHD track, along with an audio descriptive option. As with the video quality, everything that was supposed to be in the mix is here at the appropriate levels. Music, effects and dialogue are all pitch-perfect and free from interference. While I drew most enjoyment from the cool surf guitar music when the action moves to Pen Gu island, I thought there was generally slightly less to impress in the audio than there is in the detail of the picture.
This disc comes pretty well-loaded, starting off with not one but two audio commentary tracks. The first from the directors and the producer focuses on their decision to make the movie in a documentary style because that's usually how surf movies are made and the fun they had allowing their voice actors to improvise their lines. The second commentary is from the visual effects coordinators and is more technical, describing how the action is constructed in layers and the work that went into creating the digital characters. Next up we have four Lost (i.e. deleted) Scenes that come with optional introductions from the directors and producer. The scenes haven't been animated but the voices work well with the storyboards.
'L'il Chris Live from the Blue Carpet' kicks off the kid-friendly extra features with some British lad who sings a song on the soundtrack interviewing the stars at the premiere. This is followed by five featurettes, which are all introduced by L'il Chris and focus on how to talk like a surfer, tips on surfing from the pros, behind the scenes footage of voice recording sessions, construction of the digital scenes and for some reason three minutes about two real penguins that attend the premiere. 'Progression Reels' is another featurette that shows how the digital scenes were put together by showing the effects as they were added layer by layer.
We then head into filler territory with galleries of concept drawings of characters and locations. Trailers for Daddy Day Camp, Open Season and Monster House are also included, along with a Lauryn Hill music video that consists of nothing more than key scenes from the movie edited together. The most welcome filler on the disc are two animated shorts called The Chubbchubbs and The Chubbchubbs Save Xmas, the first of which won the Best Animated Short Oscar in 2003. Both are great fun for kids and adults alike, with plenty of sly nods to Star Wars, Aliens and ET.
What Surf's Up lacks in the originality of its storyline and choice of feathered characters it just about makes up for in the attention to detail in the digital animation and the performances of its voice actors. It doesn't try to please older audiences as much as the Shrek movies, but I don't consider that a bad thing, it just means that mum and dad won't want to join in after a while if junior leaves the disc permanently in the player. The movie looks amazing and sounds pretty good as well and there's certainly a wide array of extras so fans of the movie should definitely consider picking up this release.
* Note: The images on this page are not representative of the Blu-ray release.
Review by Scott McKenzie
£ukasz D Member Join Date: August 2005 Location: Poland Posts: 859
i agree - i was so impressed with the quality of the CGI in the film - top job.
I'd rate the film 7/10 - quite funny
I'd rate the film 7/10 - quite funny
Sam Spade Member Join Date: January 2007 Location: United States Posts: 2,032
As a surfer and ocean lover this film blew me away.Especially considering that most surf films end up being horrible.Pro surfers Kelly Slater (8 time world champion) and Rob Machado helped the CGI team make the waves look perfect too. These guys have been surfing the best waves in the world a long time and would know.
The plot didnt bother me at all.Competetion surfing and free surfing seem to be in constant conflict.The penguins bothered me too until I saw the first trailer and saw that this was going to be something differant.
What I liked most about Surfs Up is that it truly shows the stoke one finds surfing and Chicken Joe.
The plot didnt bother me at all.Competetion surfing and free surfing seem to be in constant conflict.The penguins bothered me too until I saw the first trailer and saw that this was going to be something differant.
What I liked most about Surfs Up is that it truly shows the stoke one finds surfing and Chicken Joe.
General viewing, but some scenes may be unsuitable for young children
Disc Details
Release Date: 10th December 2007
Discs: 1
Disc Type: Blu-ray Disc
RCE: No
Video: 1080p
Aspect: 1.85:1
Anamorphic: No
Colour: Yes
Audio: Dolby TrueHD 5.1 English, Audio Descriptive English
Subtitles: English, Hindi
Extras: Filmmakers Commentary, Visual Effects Commentary, Lost Scenes, L'il Chris Live From The Blue Carpet, 5 Featurettes, Progression Reels, Galleries, Trailers, Music Video
Easter Egg: No
Feature Details
Director: Ash Brannon, Chris Buck
Cast: Shia LaBoeuf, Jeff Bridges, Zooey Deschanel, John Heder, James Woods
Genre: Animation, Comedy and Sport
Length: 82 minutes
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