text
stringlengths 201
1.04M
| meta
dict |
|---|---|
VIDEO: Laylizzy ft. AKA – ‘Hello’ (Download)
The much anticipated music video for Laylizzy’s hit tune, “Hello” featuring AKA premiered on TV on Friday, the 16th of September, making its debut on MTV Base’s Spanking New, TV Miramar in Mozambique as well as on ETV’s entertainment show, Club 808 securing a spot as number 1 on their weekly Top 5 countdown.
With great reviews received from its debut, Laylizzy made an announcement on social media that the video will be released online on the Monday after the premiere. The masses have been promised and what has been promised to them shall be delivered. | {
"pile_set_name": "Pile-CC"
} |
Surfboards
Lost's latest high performance hybrid. In the tradition of the Rocket and its many knock offs, the Shortround bridges the gap between easy riding “cheater” boards and the HP Shortboard. Tested all around Southern California in the summer of 2014, this board has more than impressed. The buzz about it is spreading fast. The speed comes from a low entry rocker and wide-ish nose, with a forward wide point and generous concave throughout. The performance comes from a moderate, but not flipped up, tail rocker, a double concave through the fins and the same sort of modern bump squash tail that you would find on a typical contest style, small wave HP shortboard. All combined, it doesn’t look like anything fancy and there are no gimmicks, but some times less is more, and there is a lot packed into this little board.
The Puddle Jumper is a con-caved, planing surfacer speeder. Domestic bliss with a twist. Based off the outline of the Bottom Feeder, but with reversed bottom and rocker curves. This board, unlike the past Domestic models (like The Bottom Feeder and RV) features a concave bottom that transitions to vee in the tail. The wide outline makes for easy wave catching and down the line glide and stability. The concave bottom adds lift and increased rail curve, which allows radical top to bottom surfing. The straight rail line and vee in the tail keep the board moving forward and hold in during hard carving maneuvers.
This one comes from personal experience. Back to Fall 2012. Matt Biolos had been surfing The LazyBoy and Couch Potato as a one/two punch around home all summer. As the winter swells started lining up, he soon realized that these boards were not going to cut it, unless he wanted to spend my winter surfing between swells and in shadow blocked SC. So, starting with his trusty 6’0 LazyBoy, he stretched it to 6’2”, pulled in the width a bit, added a little more bend through the length of the board (with some flip tip for steeps and late drops) and finally…most noticeably, a re-templated rear half of the board into a conservative, surface area reducing, rounded pin tail.
Lost's latest high performance hybrid. In the tradition of the Rocket and its many knock offs, the Shortround bridges the gap between easy riding “cheater” boards and the HP Shortboard. Tested all around Southern California in the summer of 2014, this board has more than impressed. The buzz about it is spreading fast. The speed comes from a low entry rocker and wide-ish nose, with a forward wide point and generous concave throughout. The performance comes from a moderate, but not flipped up, tail rocker, a double concave through the fins and the same sort of modern bump squash tail that you would find on a typical contest style, small wave HP shortboard. All combined, it doesn’t look like anything fancy and there are no gimmicks, but some times less is more, and there is a lot packed into this little board.
Short n wide…with tons of glide. The “V2-Grinder” is a V2-SB squished into a stubby, squatty little firecracker. First built for a few of Matt Biolos “Domestic” buddies whose surfing can be described as “ former pro level, now grown up, with kids and a job, surfing crappy beach breaks with my kids…whenever I get a chance”. Pleasantly surprised by rave reviews from the older, local heroes, we placed a few under the feet of some WCT and QS “Grinders”. Ends up, the board is a superb small wave contest machine. With the likes of Carissa Moore and other world class competitors using them in lackluster conditions to great success, we included it in the line. To the V2s distinctive low entry and noticeable tail lift, we married an outline that resembles the classic Sub Scorcher. The wide tail block provides drive, lift and a stable platform in meager conditions. The short rail line and healthy amount of tail lift (paired with full and forgiving rails) still permeate the water and allow proper rail turns in small, tight, quirky shore pound. Don’t be afraid to go Short n fat with this one!
The step up board from the Metro-TT also has also had a major design evolution. Now a 1/4″vee in the nose deflects chop and decreases wind lift in large conditions. There is also more thickness under the chest, with a flat deck and a chined rail, meaning the board feels thinner under your arm but has hidden volume under the chest. Concave sits at 3/8” graduating to a 1/2″ vee off the tail for more grip and a rail line flip behind the fins which releases at high speeds. The board happily handles from head high to as big as you can catch.
Based on the tow series evolution. The design has a deep concave that is punctuated by a sharp rail which in historical terms would have created a board that would go really fast in a straight line. The Protow ushers in a new era of speed and carve surfing with a rail that won’t let go even in the most critical bottom turn scenario.
The Protow pairs perfectly with the metro as the MC 2 board quiver. Width and volume in the right places create a board that quite often floats better than a conventional board 3 or 4 inches longer and facilitates tighter stronger turns with considerably less effort. This board will have you paddling over the grommets but will impress with its performance steep and deep.
Short n wide…with tons of glide. The “V2-Grinder” is a V2-SB squished into a stubby, squatty little firecracker. First built for a few of Matt Biolos “Domestic” buddies whose surfing can be described as “ former pro level, now grown up, with kids and a job, surfing crappy beach breaks with my kids…whenever I get a chance”. Pleasantly surprised by rave reviews from the older, local heroes, we placed a few under the feet of some WCT and QS “Grinders”. Ends up, the board is a superb small wave contest machine. With the likes of Carissa Moore and other world class competitors using them in lackluster conditions to great success, we included it in the line. To the V2s distinctive low entry and noticeable tail lift, we married an outline that resembles the classic Sub Scorcher. The wide tail block provides drive, lift and a stable platform in meager conditions. The short rail line and healthy amount of tail lift (paired with full and forgiving rails) still permeate the water and allow proper rail turns in small, tight, quirky shore pound. Don’t be afraid to go Short n fat with this one!
Short n wide…with tons of glide. The “V2-Grinder” is a V2-SB squished into a stubby, squatty little firecracker. First built for a few of Matt Biolos “Domestic” buddies whose surfing can be described as “ former pro level, now grown up, with kids and a job, surfing crappy beach breaks with my kids…whenever I get a chance”. Pleasantly surprised by rave reviews from the older, local heroes, we placed a few under the feet of some WCT and QS “Grinders”. Ends up, the board is a superb small wave contest machine. With the likes of Carissa Moore and other world class competitors using them in lackluster conditions to great success, we included it in the line. To the V2s distinctive low entry and noticeable tail lift, we married an outline that resembles the classic Sub Scorcher. The wide tail block provides drive, lift and a stable platform in meager conditions. The short rail line and healthy amount of tail lift (paired with full and forgiving rails) still permeate the water and allow proper rail turns in small, tight, quirky shore pound. Don’t be afraid to go Short n fat with this one!
The Fish Quatro opens up the performance window of the traditional fish while keeping the basic fish values, speed and floatation intact. Combining a full rail and outline, with a single to double concave bottom with V off the tail gives this board more skate, flow, vertical performance, and tighter arcs than any fish. This unique model is also available with a concave deck that more than makes up for the decreased width. Every quiver needs a Fish!
Lost's latest high performance hybrid. In the tradition of the Rocket and its many knock offs, the Shortround bridges the gap between easy riding “cheater” boards and the HP Shortboard. Tested all around Southern California in the summer of 2014, this board has more than impressed. The buzz about it is spreading fast. The speed comes from a low entry rocker and wide-ish nose, with a forward wide point and generous concave throughout. The performance comes from a moderate, but not flipped up, tail rocker, a double concave through the fins and the same sort of modern bump squash tail that you would find on a typical contest style, small wave HP shortboard. All combined, it doesn’t look like anything fancy and there are no gimmicks, but some times less is more, and there is a lot packed into this little board.
The Rusty Rooster surfboard came about because of a “what if “conversation with some of the team. It was loosely based on the Hustler. Rusty changed the outline, rocker and venturi configuration, so that the board would fit better in rounder waves but still retain its performance in everyday surf. P.S. it was named after an enormous Jersey Giant Rooster who claims every morning…. loudly!!!!
The Rusty Fish Quatro opens up the performance window of the traditional fish while keeping the basic fish values, speed and floatation intact. Combining a full rail and outline, with a single to double concave bottom with V off the tail gives this board more skate, flow, vertical performance, and tighter arcs than any fish. This unique model is also available with a concave deck that more than makes up for the decreased width. Every quiver needs a Fish!
This Rusty surfboard is what William Cardoso , aka Panda , rides in competition. Panda is a heavy surfer , 200 lbs , yet very powerful , throws buckets of water on every turn. He needs something to float him but still be a high performance surfboard. Good amount of rocker combined with a expressive single concave plus a kick in the last 3 inches of the tail; All that combined enable William to go vertical in tight arcs. The board has a curvy outline , a pronounced bump and a not so wide squash. The rails are tapered to sink in the water for powerful turns, keeping the thickness at the center with an accentuated dome deck. For waves waist high to double overhead.
Noa Deane's latest the "Sista Brotha" is developed from his free-surfing travels. This performance shortboard excels in conditions from beach breaks to point breaks. The Sista Brotha features, a single to a double concave, moderate entry rocker and a low tail rocker with a fuller rail, making this lovely board that allows Noa to execute his arsenal of maneuvers without thinking twice...Sista Brotha from Noa Deane
In 1999, Al Merrick designed the Flyer, revolutionizing high performance surfing in small waves. For 2013 Channel Islands has modernized the Flyer into a shorter and wider package. This new plan-shape allows for the same volume in a shorter rail line. We kept the forgiving 2-stage rocker and added spiral vee starting in front of the fins to allow for rail-to-rail quickness. The signature Merrick hip provides a pivot point for tight arcs.
The New Flyer is now available with a unidirectional carbon strip. The carbon stiffens the middle of the board, increasing flex and bend in the tail and thereby a tighter turn radius. The carbon also reinforces the middle portion of the board against breakage with no detectable weight.
Lost took the V3-Rocket, and replaced the Rocket tail with a smooth little squash tail. At the same, looking for more down the line projection, they relaxed the rocker through the center of the board. The rocker in the nose/tail is still curvy and fits into tight sections.
The Hypto Krypto is the most versatile shape in the Haydenshapes range, enabling it to be ridden in waves from 1ft to 8ft. It paddles like a dream due to the volume and flatter rocker. You ride the Hypto Krypto on the open face, drawing fast, flowing lines with all the speed it provides.
The outline resembles an old school twin fin in the nose, yet pulls into a rounded pin tail which will give you plenty of hold in the bigger stuff, and provide a lot of curve around the back foot. You can use the wider, straighter outline forward on the board to give you speed down the line and the rounded pintail to draw tighter arcs in the pocket.
Although the rocker of the Hypto Krypto is flat, Hayden has snuck in a little extra lift in the entry to add some curve up front; this helps taking off late, or turning in the steeper sections of the wave. The design of the rocker has been focused around speed, and more speed! The Hypto has never been shaped as a quad because it is too fast already, you’ll find yourself making sections down the line that you would never expect to make.
The foil has plenty of volume around the chest and center area of the board, yet it refines out to a thinner, more pinched rail to keep the board connected to the wave. The concave runs from a rolled vee in the entry, to a slight single transitioning into a vee double out the tail, which gives the board great speed and control from rail to rail.
Overall the Hypto Krypto is the one stop board that you can travel all around the world having fun in average conditions, as well as taking to the barrel and open face when the swell pumps!
This Lost Driver surfboard is a great all around high performance surfboard that isn't impossible to hop back on after riding your fish for a month in junk surf. This is a great surfboard for 2' mush surf and 6' macking waves. This board is designed to be ridden close to normal shortboard dimensions and has the wide point pushed back for quick tight turns.
This Lost Driver surfboard is a great all around high performance surfboard that isn't impossible to hop back on after riding your fish for a month in junk surf. This is a great surfboard for 2' mush surf and 6' macking waves. This board is designed to be ridden close to normal shortboard dimensions and has the wide point pushed back for quick tight turns.
This 5'8 Lost Bean Bag surfboard is the extreme in small wave surfing. This surfboard is super wide and flat but can be surfed from the tail and rail to rail without sliding out on you. This surfboard is designed to be ridden extremely short.
The Maurice Cole Metro Surfboard combines width and thickness from the old retro fish, but introduces a tow inspired bottom rocker and a very deep concave. More width in the tail creates a larger sweet spot and an accentuated change in curve at the 1 mark loosens the board up. This board replaces all Fish type boards.This design has a foot in both camps. Stability and float while still maintaining the edgy characteristics of speed and rippability. Evidence that you can occasionally teach an old dog new tricks.The Metro is easy to turn and will suit surfers that like a retro feel, but want performance from a board.
This 6' New Flyer is a modernized flyer, it is shorter and wider than the original flyer. It's got the same volume, but a shorter rail line. This board is good for knee to head high waves, and is great in tricky conditions.
This 5'8 Lost Bean Bag surfboard is the extreme in small wave surfing. This surfboard is super wide and flat but can be surfed from the tail and rail to rail without sliding out on you. This surfboard is designed to be ridden extremely short.
This Lost 5'8 Mini Driver surfboard is a great all around shortboard. It has the wide point pushed forward so it catches even small waves with ease and it has a pulled in round tail so it will hold on bigger days.
The Maurice Cole Metro Surfboard combines width and thickness from the old retro fish, but introduces a tow inspired bottom rocker and a very deep concave. More width in the tail creates a larger sweet spot and an accentuated change in curve at the 1 mark loosens the board up. This board replaces all Fish type boards.
This design has a foot in both camps. Stability and float while still maintaining the edgy characteristics of speed and rippability. Evidence that you can occasionally teach an old dog new tricks.
The Metro is easy to turn and will suit surfers that like a retro feel, but want performance from a board. Unlike an old school fish the Metro 3 will sit high on steep fast sections and won’t morph into a shopping trolley style slide when you want to lay a full tilt cutback or carve deep lines into the wave face. Ask and you shall receive. This is no bog monster.
The Hypto Krypto is the most versatile shape in the Haydenshapes range, enabling it to be ridden in waves from 1ft to 8ft. It paddles like a dream due to the volume and flatter rocker. You ride the Hypto Krypto on the open face, drawing fast, flowing lines with all the speed it provides.
The outline resembles an old school twin fin in the nose, yet pulls into a rounded pin tail which will give you plenty of hold in the bigger stuff, and provide a lot of curve around the back foot. You can use the wider, straighter outline forward on the board to give you speed down the line and the rounded pintail to draw tighter arcs in the pocket.
Although the rocker of the Hypto Krypto is flat, Hayden has snuck in a little extra lift in the entry to add some curve up front; this helps taking off late, or turning in the steeper sections of the wave. The design of the rocker has been focused around speed, and more speed! The Hypto has never been shaped as a quad because it is too fast already, you’ll find yourself making sections down the line that you would never expect to make.
The foil has plenty of volume around the chest and center area of the board, yet it refines out to a thinner, more pinched rail to keep the board connected to the wave. The concave runs from a rolled vee in the entry, to a slight single transitioning into a vee double out the tail, which gives the board great speed and control from rail to rail.
Overall the Hypto Krypto is the one stop board that you can travel all around the world having fun in average conditions, as well as taking to the barrel and open face when the swell pumps! | {
"pile_set_name": "Pile-CC"
} |
Book review: The All-New University Challenge Quiz Book by Steve Tribe
Pam Norfolk
Fingers on buzzers! What started out as an American radio quiz show in the 1950s and grew into one of Britain’s most popular and enduring TV programmes?
The answer, of course, is University Challenge, the iconic quiz show which was taken up by the fledgling Granada Television franchise and made its first (black and white!) appearance on our screens in 1962 when Harold Macmillan was Prime Minister and very few people had even heard of The Beatles.
It was an instant hit and over its 53-year history, the show has altered very little apart from student fashions, the change of presenter from Bamber Gascoigne to Jeremy Paxman and its move from ITV to BBC2.
Along the way, viewers have watched young people staggering us all with their knowledge, and some of them – including Stephen Fry, Clive James, Sebastian Faulks, John Simpson and Julian Fellowes – have become familiar public or television figures.
For over five decades, the show has been cherished, debated and celebrated as a champion of excellence, spoofed and parodied, made headlines, suffered accusations of elitism and gender imbalance but continued to bounce back into viewers’ hearts.
The programme still pulls in around three million viewers a week, a figure that has remained steady over the years while rival programmes’ numbers have sunk, and proving that University Challenge fans are steadfast, loyal and not distracted by the attractions of multi-channel broadcasting.
So how about pitting your wits against the best and brightest students in the country with this bumper quiz book packed with questions drawn from the last five years of University Challenge?
There are over 1,800 questions and 15 matches in which to prove your intellectual prowess, impress your friends and family, or simply raise a laugh with a preposterous but hilarious answer!
With topics ranging from classical poetry, film and modern literature to Asian cuisine, politics and quantum physics, there is something here for everyone who is determined to prove they are a cut above the average undergraduate.
The perfect gift for children, students, grandparents and everyone in between, there won’t be a dull moment when the game is on.
But however tense it gets, and however elated or disappointed the faces may be around your sitting room, bear in mind Jeremy Paxman’s advice to teams of nervous students fearing ignominious defeat: ‘Have fun, just enjoy yourselves. Remember… it’s only a quiz!’ | {
"pile_set_name": "Pile-CC"
} |
WHAT’S IT ABOUT?
Manji (Kimura), a highly-skilled samurai, is cursed with immortality after a battle. Using his new abilities, he helps a young girl named Rin (Sugisaki) avenge her parents, who were killed by a group of master swordsmen led by the ruthless warrior Anotsu (Fukushi)…
IN ONE SENTENCE, WHY SHOULD YOU BE EXCITED?
Controversial Japanese filmmaker Takashi Miike’s 100th film as a director is a violent and heavily fun samurai flick that is heavy on the gore and heavily choreographed fight sequences. | {
"pile_set_name": "Pile-CC"
} |
Contribution 63
From WikiContent
Fight repetition
Are your developers performing some recurring tasks that needs little thinking? Can you find recurring patterns in the code? Can you spot code that's been written by copy-paste-modify? In that case, your team is moving slower than they should. And that may be your fault.
Before explaining why, let's refresh a few common truths about software development: Duplication is evil. Repetitive work slows down development. Flow is an important part of software development. Old truths, but important ones.
As an architect, you're the one with the best overall grasp of the system and the code base. It's you who promote how things are done, and it's you who write trendsetting parts of the system. You set the tone.
You've likely written an end-to-end, vertical slice of the system that serves as an example for the team. That example slice will be copied, over and over again.
Whenever a developer copies anything, may it be a few lines of code, an XML-file or a class, that's a clear indication that something could be simpler or even completely abstracted away. Most often, it's not domain logic that is copied; it's infrastructure code that just has to be there to make it work.
Because of that, it's crucial that you can envision the effects of your examples. Code and configuration in there will be the base for ten, hundred, or maybe thousand other slices of the system. You have to make sure that your code is clean, intention revealing, and contains nothing except what can't be abstracted away - the domain problem itself. As an architect, you need to be highly sensitive to any kind of repetitive patterns, since anything you do will (ironically) be repeated.
Take that configuration file. What needs to be different for another slice of the system? How much does *not* need to be changed?
Look at a typical method. Is there a pattern that will be repeated if that method would be retrofitted into another part of the system? Transaction handling, logging, authentication or auditing, maybe? How about the data access layer? Any data access code that will similar except for names of entities and fields?
Look around the code base a bit broader. Can you find two, three lines of code that seems to often go together? In each place they operate on different objects, but in the end it means the same thing?
All that are redundancies. It's a pattern that the developers eventually will learn to filter out and simply ignore when reading the code, once they figured out where the interesting variabilities are. That code is clearly written for the computers execute, not for developers to read. In the end, it's just noise. And it's your responsibility to remove it.
You may need to harvest frameworks, create better abstractions, ask the toolsmith to setup an aspect framework, write a few small code generators or any other thing, but the repetition won't go away unless someone does something about it. That someone is you. | {
"pile_set_name": "Pile-CC"
} |
APM Terminals to invest $70m at Port Elizabeth terminal
Netherlands-based container terminal operating company APM Terminals is planning to invest $70m at the Port Elizabeth terminal, US, in order to prepare it for handling larger vessels travelling via the Panama Canal.
As part of the plan, the company will issue a private tender for construction of a new berth at the end of this year.
Once completed, the berth will be able to handle 13,000 twenty foot equivalent units (TEU) of vessels, expanding the entire capacity to 2.3 million TEU.
The construction of the new berth will also mark the first in a series of modernisation initiatives undertaken at the terminal.
APM Terminals CEO Kim Fejfer said: “We are an infrastructure leader and our investment in Port Elizabeth will ensure a state-of-the-art port that serves as a business generator between the United States and other economies.
“We have developed strong relationships with clients, the port community and business leaders necessary to confidently expand our presence and invest for the future.”
The company said that last year, the Port of New York and New Jersey, located on the US East Coast handled 6.37 million TEU of container traffic.
Starting in 2014, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey has committed a capital investment campaign to develop transportation infrastructure over a period of ten years.
Port Department for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey director Molly Campbell said: “APM Terminals is an important service provider at the Port of New York and New Jersey.
“As one of the original container terminal operators at our Port we welcome APM Terminals continued investment in order to ensure that we remain a key gateway for the next generation of cargo ships.
Currently, the Port Elizabeth facility handles over 2,100 trucks per day. Capable of handling 1.5 million TEU, it also deals with 4,000 terminal gate transactions and more than 500 vessel calls annually. | {
"pile_set_name": "Pile-CC"
} |
Health policy cancellations: New blow for White House
WASHINGTON -- Move over, website woes. Lawmakers confronted the Obama administration Tuesday with a difficult new health care problem -- a wave of cancellation notices hitting individuals and small businesses who buy their own insurance.At the same time, the federal official closest to the website apologized for its dysfunction in new sign-ups and asserted things are getting better by the day.Medicare chief Marilyn Tavenner said it's not the administration but insurers who are responsible for cancellation letters now reaching many of the estimated 14 million people who buy individual policies. And, officials said, people who get cancellation notices will be able to find better replacement plans, in some cases for less.The Associated Press, citing the National Association of Insurance Commissioners, reported in May that many carriers would opt to cancel policies this fall and issue new ones. Administratively that was seen as easier than changing existing plans to comply with the new law, which mandates coverage of more services and provides better financial protection against catastrophic illnesses.While the administration had ample warning of the cancellations, they could become another public relations debacle for President Barack Obama's signature legislation. This problem goes to the credibility of one of the president's earliest promises about the health care overhaul: You can keep your plan if you like it.In the spring, state insurance commissioners started giving insurers the option of canceling existing individual plans for 2014, since the coverage required under Obama's law is more robust. Some states directed insurers to issue cancellations. Large employer plans that cover most workers and their families are unlikely to be affected.The cancellation notices are now reaching policyholders, and they've been complaining to their lawmakers -- who were grilling Tavenner on Tuesday."Based on what little information the administration has disclosed, it turns out that more people have received cancellation notices for their health care plans this month than have enrolled in the (health care website)," said Ways and Means Chairman Dave Camp, R-Mich. He cited a news report of 146,000 cancellations in his state alone.Up and down the dais, lawmakers chimed in with stories of constituents who had received similar notices. Republicans offered examples of people being asked to pay more.Democrats countered by citing constituents who had been able to find lower-cost coverage than they have now. Ranking Democrat Sander Levin of Michigan said one of his constituents has been paying $800 a month for a BlueCrossBlueShield plan and managed to find comparable coverage for $77, after tax credits that lower the premiums.Still, Levin added, "This has become a matter of legitimate discussion."It could take months to sort out the balance of individual winners and losers. There's not a central source of statistics on how many people have gotten cancellations. Even the number of people who buy insurance individually is disputed.It isn't the administration's fault, said Tavenner. "In fact the issuer has decided to change the plan; (they) didn't have to."Obama's promise dates back to June of 2009, when Congress was starting to grapple with overhauling the health care system to cover uninsured Americans."If you like your health care plan, you'll be able to keep your health care plan, period," the president said in remarks to the American Medical Association. "No one will take it away, no matter what."Some immediately saw the promise as too broad to deliver on, given that health plans are constantly being changed by the employers that sponsor them or by insurers directly.Nonetheless, Democrats in Congress devised a complicated scheme called "grandfathering" to try to make good on Obama's pledge. It shields plans from the law's requirements, provided the plans themselves change very little. Insurers say it has proven impractical.The White House weighed in Tuesday, with spokesman Jay Carney saying the changes are part of a transition to better coverage. "The good news," he said, "is that for every one of these individuals who might have a plan that is almost by definition providing less than minimal benefits ... you are now being offered a variety of options, including options by the very insurer that covers you already, for new coverage."Critics say that's like an airline forcibly upgrading you from economy to business class, and exposing you to a higher ticket price.Tavenner delivered the most direct mea culpa yet from the administration for the technical problems that have kept many Americans from signing up through HealthCare.gov."I want to apologize to you that the website has not worked as well as it should," she told the committee.The first senior official to publicly answer questions from lawmakers, Tavenner was pressed not only on what went wrong with the website, but also whether lawmakers can trust recent promises that things will be running efficiently by the end of November.She declined to provide enrollment numbers, repeating nearly 20 times they will not be available until mid-November. But she did try to lower expectations of a strong initial sign-up. "We expect the initial number to be small," Tavenner said.An internal memo obtained by The Associated Press showed that the administration expected nearly 500,000 uninsured people to sign up for coverage in October, the program's first month. Committee chairman Camp told Tavenner that by his math, the administration appears headed for less than a fourth of that.Outside contractors testified last week that there wasn't sufficient time to test the complex online enrollment system, which froze the day it was launched, Oct. 1.The website is supposed to be the online portal to coverage for people who don't have health plans on the job. Its audience is not only uninsured Americans but those who already purchase coverage individually.Under the law, middle-class people can qualify for tax credits to make private health insurance more affordable, while low-income people will be steered to Medicaid in states agreeing to expand that safety net program.
Share your comments: Log in using your HeraldNet account or your Facebook, Twitter or Disqus profile. Comments that violate the rules are subject to removal. Please see our terms of use. Please note that you must verify your email address for your comments to appear. | {
"pile_set_name": "Pile-CC"
} |
Subscribe
2015
NOT FOR DISSEMINATION IN THE UNITED STATES OR VIA US NEWSWIRE SERVICES
October 26, 2015: Vancouver, British Columbia: Gold Reach Resources Ltd. (the “Company”) (GRV: TSX-V) is pleased to announce that further to its news release of October 15, 2015 the Company has closed its first tranche of its non-brokered private placement and has issued 2,669,884 units at a purchase price of $0.17 per unit for gross proceeds of $453,880.28.
Dwayne Melrose, Gold Reach President & CEO, commented, "Gold Reach is very pleased that long term shareholder Mr. Fortier continues to increase his holdings into Gold Reach. The Company would also like to thank the long term shareholders for their continued support they have shown the Board and Management of Gold Reach as the Company transitions from exploration into development stage.”
Each unit consisted of one common share and one common share purchase warrant and each warrant entitles the holder to purchase an additional common share at a price of $0.22 per share for a 24 month exercise period, subject to abridgement of the exercise period (after the expiry of the 4 month hold period) with 30 days notice to holders in the event that the ten-day volume weighted price of the shares exceeds $0.40.
The proceeds of the financing will be used complete the Preliminary Economic Assessment on its Ootsa Project in British Columbia and for general working capital.
In compliance with Canadian securities laws, all of the securities issued in connection with this closing are subject to a four month hold period.
The foregoing is subject to regulatory approval.
This news release does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to sell any of securities in the United States. The securities have not been and will not be registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “U.S. Securities Act”) or any state securities laws and may not be offered or sold within the United States or to U.S. Persons unless registered under the U.S. Securities Act and applicable state securities laws or an exemption from such registration is available.
Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
This release contains forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are statements that are not historical facts and are generally, but not always, identified by the words “expects”, “plans”, “anticipates”, “believes”, “intends”, “estimates”, “projects”, “potential” and similar expressions, or that events or conditions “will”, “would”, “may”, “could” or “should” occur. Although Gold Reach believes the expectations expressed in such forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, such statements are not guarantees of future performance and actual results may differ materially from those in forward looking statements. Gold Reach expressly disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. | {
"pile_set_name": "Pile-CC"
} |
For people looking for medical counsel: although the information, ideas, and perspectives contained in this book are based on Ayurvedic, Traditional Chinese, or Western allopathic principles or studies, and even thoughóin the case of Ayurvedic or Traditional Chinese Medicineósuch perspectives have been employed for thousands of years, no part of this book should be taken or construed as medical diagnosis or treatment. One significant component of Eastern medical philosophy is that each person has individual, unique needs, so no single recommendation, no matter how sound, is sound for every individual. For any medical condition or personal medical, herbal, dietary, or lifestyle advice, always consult with a qualified health-care practitioner. There is always more to medicine than any one practitioner can know, not to mention more to an individual's health than an author can address without ever having even met that person. It is up to each of us to do our own search, find what works for us, and implement it. This book was born out of my own attempts to understand the sea of information available on womenís health. The conclusions that author has drawn are not facts. They are educated opinions.
- Tips to help heal your most pressing concerns, from menstrual pain to infertility, menopause, and breast and heart health - The best foods to eat for optimal health and wellness - What to do when you're just feeling crummy - Practical, easy-to-adopt stress-management techniques - How stress sabotages hormonal balance
Whether you are suffering from a specific health condition, or just looking to improve your overall well-being, Balance your Hormones, Balance your Life provides all of the tools you need to embrace your body's natural balance-starting today.
REVIEW:
"It's hard to imagine a better guide through the thicket of mis-information and conflicting claims surrounding women's hormonal health than Dr. Claudia Welch. She's smart, practical, scientifically savvy, and steeped in two ancient holistic healing traditions, and she writes with a light tough. This book is a gem!" -- Timothy McCall, MD, author of Yoga as Medicine | {
"pile_set_name": "Pile-CC"
} |
With the 2012 CFL season opener just a few weeks away, many Canadians are waiting anxiously for the season to begin! The start of the CFL season coincides with the start of the summer, warmer weather and the tailgate season. 2012 is unique as Reebok has introduced a new line of CFL jerseys to kick off the new season.
"After 2 years of hard work and close collaboration with the CFL and the teams, Reebok is proud to introduce its re-engineered CFL jersey. For a greater range of motion and a better on field experience, the new On Field jersey is tighter, lighter and now features moisture wicking technology incorporated in the fabric. The fan jersey has also been improved to offer a more lifestyle fit," explained Stewart Clark, Director of Marketing at Reebok Canada in a recent press release.
Personally, I think that these new jerseys look amazing and are far superior to the previous editions and they have a much sleeker, modern look.
I am super excited to be able to host an amazing giveaway to help kick off the launch of the CFL season and the release of these amazing jerseys! One lucky reader will win an Ultimate CFL Fan Bag, which includes the following prizes...
Reebok-CFL Re-engineered Calgary Stampeders Premier Fan Jersey
Two tickets to see a Calgary Stampeders game
Reebok CFL Calgary Stampeders Hat
Reebok sports duffle bag
Reebok ZigTech shoes
Total approximate value - $650
These jerseys are in stores now and you can grab your own Reebok-CFL Re-engineered Calgary Stampeders Premier Fan Jersey at CFLshop.ca, Sport Chek, Sports Experts, RiverCity Sports and Jersey City Canada locations across Canada. Suggested retail price is $109.99.
Want to win this $650 Ultimate Reebok-CFL Fan Bag?
I have one Prize Package to give away to one of my readers! To enter, simply leave a comment on my blog telling me where these jerseys are available for purchase!
Hmmm girls are not the only ones fashion conscious. My husband and 8 year old son eat/breathe/sleep sports. Jerseys promoting Canadian Teams are the norm. We are proud to be CANADIANS and we show it. These jerseys can be purchased at SportChek. All requested tasks completed. (FB Eva Mitton Urban/@emurban Twitter) | {
"pile_set_name": "Pile-CC"
} |
June 24, 2010
Societal Transition: From Soviet Serfdom and Control to Personal Freedom
BBC Journalist Jonathon Dimbleby chronicles his journey at a particularly critical stage in Russia’s history trying to understand it, getting a sense of the past and the present, meeting a wide range of people in order to understand what Russia might be like in the Future.
In the following excerpts from Dimbleby’s journey we learn:
What it was like for the average person to live in communal apartments crammed with over 100 people to every floor and how Russians living in this situation have learned to separate their “life” from their “every-day life.”
How the hand-to-mouth existence of peasants on the margins of the economy have endured incredible hardship and famine and how, to this day, despite a lack of state support for their collectives,they remain as stoical and tenacious as they ever have been.
TO NEWFOUND FREEDOM AND AUTONOMY
On his epic journey, Dimbleby also explored:
How things have changed in Russia since the collapse of Communism and how the Russian people feel about their newfound freedoms.
How the new found capitalist autonomy in Russia is influencing perspectives on freedom and democracy. In Russia, “Democracy is Death” they say, and the freedom they enjoy is found outside the Vertical Bureaucracy of Putin’s Kremlin.
RUSSIANS EMBRACE FREEDOM BUT NOT WESTERN DEMOCRACY
Here Business Week’s Steve LeVine argues that newly liberated Russians have never in their history lived better than they are now. More Russians today are better off than they have ever been. So they are happy to indulge in their newfound freedom and support Putin’s increasingly authoritarian government.
Dibmleby explored this same question further with the next generation of Russians and found that many of them are also more than willing to back a strong autocratic leader to secure their position of power on the world stage.
RUSSIA’S SOCIETAL TRANSITION: QUESTIONS TO CONSIDER
Does Russian society really believe that things have never been better than they are today?
How comfortable does Russian society feel about navigating uncertainty to capture economic opportunity when its past is rooted in the planned and predictable path enforced under Soviet Rule?
How have the vestiges of Imperial/Tsarist and Totalitarian/Soviet rule influenced Society’s perspectives on freedom and democracy in Russia over the past two decades?
Why is Russian society so willing to support a strong Autocratic leader like Vladimir Putin? Will Russian Society always default to going along with the Czar?
Does the the perceived separation of the free-market consumer society from the Vertical of Power in the Kremlin present any issues for Russian Society today and in the future? | {
"pile_set_name": "Pile-CC"
} |
Main menu
A desperate and largely unknown humanitarian crisis is deteriorating in the Lake Chad Basin region of West Africa, forcing millions of people to flee their homes and leaving millions more in need of humanitarian assistance. Oxfam is providing life-saving support but help is urgently needed to prevent the crisis turning into a catastrophe.
Since January 2015 more than 1 million women and men fleeing war, persecution, natural disasters and poverty entered or passed through Greece in search of safety and a better life. We are working in Athens, Lesvos island and the Epirus region of North-West Greece responding to the urgent needs of people arriving. Support our work.
Did you know that 90% of Africa’s rural land is undocumented, leaving rural communities vulnerable to land-grabbing? It's a matter of human rights. It's their land. Join our collective effort to make a difference not just for Indigenous Peoples and local communities but for the health of the environment and ending poverty and inequality.
Every year, the gap between rich and poor gets even wider – and it’s being fuelled by the use of tax havens. Today, 62 individuals have the same wealth as the poorest half the people on our planet. It is time to bring an end to inequality. It is time to Even it up!
Two years of extended fighting has forced thousands of people to seek refuge in Nyal and the islands surrounding it. Many must regularly walk long distances alone in search of aid and food. We are assisting them to access free and safe travel by training canoe operators and distributing vouchers for transport.
For 40 years, the Quechua communities in Peru have lived with contaminated rivers, and poor health as a result of oil drilling. Teddy Guerra is leading the effort to obtain integral land rights for his community before any more concessions are given to oil companies. Read his story and sign the petition.
Millions of people are being forced to flee their homes, risking everything to escape conflict, disaster, poverty or hunger. We are working in nine of the ten top refugee source countries as well as in refugee host countries. We urgently need your help to reach people in Syria, Jordan, Lebanon and in Europe.
With no end in sight to the conflict in Syria, hundreds of thousands of people are living in desperate conditions and exposed to continuing violence. Today, half the pre-conflict population of 22 million Syrians have fled their homes and more than 13.5 million people urgently need your help.
You are here
UN Security Council to meet on Syria: Unhindered, immediate access needed so all Syrians can reach humanitarian aid
On Friday (Mar 28), the Under-Secretary-General and Emergency Relief Coordinator Valerie Amos, will address the UN Security Council on Syria.
In advance of the briefing, Andy Baker, who heads up Oxfam’s response to the Syria Crisis, said:
“The humanitarian situation in Syria is desperate and for many affected by the crisis, time is starting to run out. Safe, unhindered and immediate access is needed to ensure that people across the country can reach food, water and medical care.
“The recent UNSC Resolution was a diplomatic breakthrough but more than 30 days since its adoption there has been minimal easing of humanitarian access by all parties to the conflict. While one-off or sporadic initiatives bring temporary relief to a small number of people, on their own they are not enough. We have yet to see a major difference on the ground in the lives of millions of Syrians across the country that remain cut off from assistance, or are trapped by fighting and are unable to flee to safety.
“The operating environment inside Syria remains challenging and hampered by insecurity, with staff deployment, staff travel and logistics all requiring multiple levels of clearances to proceed. In spite of these constraints, we are providing over half a million people inside Syria with safe and reliable drinking water - but more is needed.
“What is vital now is that all resolutions and statements translate in to rapid, safe and sustained access so that people can move around freely, access basic services, markets and resume their livelihoods. Governments must use their political influence with all sides in the conflict to ensure they respect, protect and fulfill people’s rights by not indiscriminately targeting civilians and facilitating their access to the above.
“Greater humanitarian access is only the first step, weapons continue to flow in to the country with civilians bearing the brunt of intensified fighting. We need to a see an end to the violence and bloodshed and an inclusive long-term political solution.”
Background information
Following intense negotiation and in a rare sign of unity the UN Security Council unanimously adopted resolution 2139 on humanitarian issues in Syria. The resolution called on all parties to promptly allow unhindered humanitarian access for United Nations agencies and its partners, including across conflict lines, and to ensure that aid reached people through the most direct routes. It expressed its intent to take “further steps” in the case of non-compliance, requesting the Secretary-General to report every 30 days on implementation by all parties. The first report to the Council was delivered on 24 March with Valerie Amos due to provide a further briefing from the UN on 28 March.
’11 immediate actionable steps’ in six priority areas (besieged areas, hard to reach areas, medical assistance and vaccination campaigns, demilitarisation of schools and hospitals, administrative hurdles and funding), developed by the High Level Group on Humanitarian Challenges in Syria (Chaired by Australia, Jordan and Luxembourg and consisting of around 30 states including Russia and the US) have been updated with language from Resolution 2139. The UN has also presented the Government of Syria with a new convoy plan and a list of priority areas for regular programming. These 11 immediate actionable steps will be used as benchmarks to monitor progress on implementing the resolution.
Contact information:
For more information or to arrange interviews please email Zahra Akkerhuys on [email protected] or Ruba Saqr on [email protected]
Oxfam International Survey
Please help us to improve the Oxfam website! This short survey should take just a few minutes to complete. You can opt to make your responses anonymous. The survey will close on 13 March 2015 at 5 pm GMT. We'll pick one respondent at random to receive a $35 Good Books gift voucher by 31 March 2015. We value your feedback. | {
"pile_set_name": "Pile-CC"
} |
As all of US understand the standing shower is infinitely simpler and more enjoyable to get clean with. The bathtub sprayers are the best most basic solution to do away with itch that is anal. Anal or rectal itch can perhaps not just drive you insane it may interfere with work as well as your social existence and trigger a lot of pain at times. | {
"pile_set_name": "Pile-CC"
} |
After recently playing a French captain of the Foreign Legion in the upcoming World War II picture WAR PIGS, and doing a cameo in the new Coen brothers project HAIL, CAESAR, Dolph is currently navigating the dark waters of Mississippi for the thriller SHARK LAKE. He will then move on to another ass-kicking role alongside Scott Adkins in FOUR TOWERS. More to come...
Dolph's long awaited and hard-hitting SKIN TRADE is finally ready to hit the big screen in the U.S. May 8th, 2015. Dolph will promote this very personal film, while sharing his care and concern for the human trafficking issue. Make sure to watch the trailer! | {
"pile_set_name": "Pile-CC"
} |
Tag - peter jackson
Warcraft is badly in need of a director like Peter Jackson.
You see what Peter Jackson did to The Lord of the Rings franchise, Duncan Jones doesn’t even come close to nailing. The World of Warcraft is brimming up with...
The Hobbit The Battle of the Five Armies is the epic finale to one of the most engaging tales ever. Peter Jackson returns with his HFR to closely project every daunting intricacies of our beloved franchise “The... | {
"pile_set_name": "Pile-CC"
} |
It seems appropriate that I’m sitting here with a VHS copy of the Mystery Science Theater 3000 episode The Hellcats by my side (and not with the express intention of mentioning it for this article). Upon the day of the release of the Rifftrax Live show of Sharknado, I felt the urge to throw some of my thoughts and opinions about MST3K and its spin-offs out there just to have a little bit of perspective on the sudden growth in popularity of riffing on movies. And I already went into a pretty solid amount of detail about the show’s history when I reviewed the Collector’s Edition Blu-ray release of the movie of MST3K, so I won’t bother doing any sort of a recap. Chances are high that if you’re reading this article, you’re a fan of the show. So let’s just dive into it. [Read on here...]
A Love of the Worst
Mystery Science Theater 3000 celebrated its 25th anniversary last year, as well as the return of the classic Turkey Day Marathon that was streamed live on YouTube (which was a tradition during the show’s original run). It’s hard to believe that a show this smart and funny has been off the air for nearly fifteen years. As for me, I’d consider myself a novice when it comes to how long I’ve been associated with the show. I’ve spoken to several fans who have been followers of the show quite religiously from its humble beginnings at KTMA. Truth be told, I’ve only really been watching the show for about four years or so, which isn’t really enough to consider myself a super-fan (if you want to revoke my fan card, then by all means you can have it). But ever since I began watching it, I’ve had it on heavy rotation, and that includes its spin-offsRifftraxand Cinematic Titanic. I watch an episode of the show a couple of times a week, so I think I’m pretty well-educated on it.
I’m also a lover of unintentionally bad movies, so the two things go together well for me. The proof is in the pudding that many movies have been given a second life by pointing out how awful and poorly put together they are and finding enjoyment in them because of it. The lack of film language, poorly-written dialogue, stories that don’t make much sense, poor lighting and poor cinematography are a recipe for an unintentionally bad movie. Other internet shows like Best of the Worst from the folks at Red Letter Media (another favorite of mine) have really helped to further popularize finding the fun in watching the failures of others, namely, filmmakers. In the age of everything in a media form becoming self-aware, coming under extreme scrutinization, or just being lampooned or referenced for the sake of it, it’s no surprise that MST3K still has a devoted, and continuously growing, fan base.
However, the simple days of MST3K are long gone. There wasn’t a TV show like it at the time, and nay before or since. The crew behind Rifftrax, which includes Michael J. Nelson, Kevin Murphy and Bill Corbett, have had some great success by continuing the legacy and riffing on a variety of different movies and making them available for download or releasing them to DVD. But the show is boiled down to its essence, however, as they're only interested in the actual riffing of the movies and not worrying so much about the sketch work (in other words, no bots, no theme songs, and no characterizations). It’s just three funny guys talking about movies, essentially. They had previously attempted some sketch work with the ill-fated Film Crew series (which only racked up four episodes), but it didn’t really work in their favor. It felt forced and unnecessary, which is most likely the reason why they didn’t try to do it again. After all, the reason that everyone watched MST3K in the first place was to hear the riffs on the movies. Sure the sketches were well done and very funny, but it’s not the main draw of the show.
It’s also important to discuss why Rifftrax is just as enjoyable as MST3K. For me, it’s not just the riffs themselves; it's also the people involved in the making of it. These particular groups of people (including the folks from the now-defunct Cinematic Titanic) are the reason why MST3K worked in the first place. That’s why riffing done by other groups of people has never worked for me. It isn’t fun or even particularly funny watching an imitation of something that’s being done much better by someone else. I try to give everything a fair shake, but it just doesn’t work as well with different people behind it. A fter you’ve watched the original show for a while you start to feel a kind of kinship or bond with these people. They’re enormously funny and talented, and they’re the entire reason why it works. What doesn’t work, however, is when the integrity of the material and the impetus behind the original idea are forgotten or just missing altogether.
When Bad Becomes Commercial
Now I’m not going to get overly dramatic on this next point, but it’s a sore one for me and it needs to be addressed. After all, I’ve just spent several paragraphs covering my love for MST3K, as well as Rifftrax, so attacking them outright won’t do. That was why I brought up the fact that I’m not a super-fan. I can see the flaws when they appear and understand when something’s not working, which a lot of fans can’t do because of how blinded their love for it is. It gives me a bit more of a perspective. And this isn’t condemnation by any means, but more of an observation. I can choose my entertainment and leave the rest for others to enjoy if they so choose.
While the crew at Rifftrax have done a very fine job at keeping the riffing alive and digging up some new trashy cinema to take jabs at, they've also decided that everything else is fair game. They’ve riffed on big blockbuster movies like the Harry Potter and The Lord of the Rings series, as well as film classics like Jaws, Raiders of the Lost Ark and The Wizard Oz. They even riffed Casablanca, one of the most respected and well-loved movies ever made. From a monetary perspective, I can understand why they would do this. Riffing on bigger movies might bring in larger audiences (which it probably has) to their website for more economic purposes, but the integrity of the material now stands on shaky ground, where as before, it held its own. That’s not to say that every piece of material that MST3K ever did was a winner either, but it at least stayed true to its original notion of making fun of bad movies to make them more enjoyable. Now it’s sometimes backwards wherein a movie that’s generally accepted as good or even great is being poked fun at, and it just doesn’t work, at least for me.
Basically what these fellows are saying is that films like Troll 2, The Room and The Apple are just as worthy of jabs as movies like the X-Men series, and they’re wrong. It’s gotten to the point where I’ve began to question the riffers' tastes themselves. Are there ANY movies that they watch that they can enjoy and NOT make fun of? Movies are all about the experience; you’re experiencing a piece of cinema, and you get something good out of it, so why would you want to ruin that? It’s a valid question, because that’s a sad movie-watching life for anyone who can’t draw any kind of pleasure from something that, while it may have flaws, is enjoyable and worth someone’s time to not just watch, but absorb and take home with them. It sounds a bit pretentious, I know, but that’s the way a good movie works on its audience. There’s sometimes a fine line between enjoying a movie and finding the flaws in it that take you out of the movie, and the truly good ones rise above that line.
You also have to take a step back and ask yourself this question: would the original crew from MST3K (from both the Joel AND Mike years) riffed on Casablanca? Obviously, due to the rights issues involved with something like that, the answer is, of course, no, but it’s also no because it would have been against the whole idea of, again, watching bad movies and making fun of them to make them more enjoyable. And I’m not just ranting and raving here. I sat down and watched the riffed version of Raiders of the Lost Ark all the way through just to give it a chance, and I didn’t laugh once, not even a little. You know why? Because there’s nothing funny about a well-made, well-executed movie that does everything that it’s supposed to do and not be a complete mess.
But on the other hand, you have a movie like Sharknado, and the many other movies like it. There now seems to be a market for making intentionally bad movies, mainly for people who don’t know, don’t care or don’t understand the difference. Personally, I think it’s misguided and, more often than not, a useless idea, but the popularity of these movies makes me wrong, I suppose. You could also argue that something like Transformers is a terrible movie and is being marketed in much the same way as Sharknado, but that’s a whole other can of worms that I don’t want to open right now.
Movies like Manos: The Hands of Fate, Space Mutiny, Devil Fish, and pretty much anything made by Charles B. Pierce, Ed Wood or Coleman Francis, are guaranteed slices of a rotten, but somehow tasty, pie. And that’s where the humor springs from. If you have a sense of humor and understand how movies SHOULD work, then watching them without the riffing should yield plenty of laughs for you. The riffing just makes it better, but riffing on an intentionally bad movie like Sharknado? I’m not sold on that one. The idea of it just seems wrong to me. But I should point out that I haven’t seen the film and that I WILL be attending the live riffing of it, so we’ll see how it goes. Maybe I’ll add an addendum to this article or something.*
All I’m trying to say here is that unintentionally bad movies, while they have a smaller audience and do not figure into something more lucrative, are what work aesthetically. I can’t be on board with riffing on a movie that’s good, mainly because I’m too much of a film fan for that. It should be noted that Rifftrax DOES still riff on bad movies while still tossing a riff out for something like Spider-Man 2, so I can’t just disregard them completely. They’re still making material that I’m interested in watching that fits the unintentionally bad bill, especially the short films that they riff on. I just don’t understand their process of riffing the good movies, but to each their own.
There’s also an audience of people who believe that riffing on movies in this way is detrimental to the films themselves. They believe that everything is valid, no matter how egregious. People like Edgar Wright and Quentin Tarantino, in particular, aren’t fans of MST3K for that very reason. And I can see their viewpoint, but I don’t totally agree with it. Everything IS valid, of course (and my entire argument about which movies SHOULD be riffed on might seem invalid upon what I’m about to say), but In the age of audio commentaries for DVD and Blu-ray releases, as well as massive film festivals where groups of people get together to watch movies and, most of the time, talk all the way through them by repeating lines or interacting with them in some way, then riffing on movies is just another form of enjoying them. There may be some disgust on the surface, but underneath, there’s something more important going on.
Loving Bad Movies in the Future
It may just be a job to some of the people who do it, but there’s always some genuine love involved in riffing on bad movies. It sounds crazy for an outsider looking in, but no one spends as much time talking about or watching movies of a very low caliber over and over again without deriving some enjoyment from them. The people that do it (for the most part) love doing it, and in a way, love the movies themselves, warts and all. I’m actually a big fan of The Room, and I would consider it one of my favorite films, despite its being labeled “the Citizen Kane of bad movies.” And I’m not trying to be ironic about it either. I genuinely love the movie, as well as movies like Manos: The Hands of Fate. Manos, in particular, is NOT one of the worst movies ever made in the way that most people have touted it to be, in my opinion (the same goes for Plan 9 From Outer Space). It may seem that way upon your first watch, but once you’ve seen it a couple of times, you begin to realize that it’s NOT completely incompetent after all. It has a beginning, a middle and an ending, and how many bad movies can say that, not to mention the Hollywood blockbusters of today?
And If anything was evidenced by the previous MST3K Turkey Day Marathon, it’s that there’s still an audience for MST3K. Rumors have been circulating that the show’s creators might be attempting to bring it back in some form (most likely online). Whether it succeeds or fails will likely depend on the cast, but then again, some do settle for less. As I stated previously, it was the show’s original line up of people that made it worth watching. All these years later, it’s still one of the main reasons why fans continue to watch the show, and why Rifftrax continues to thrive.
And on that note, push the button Frank.
-Tim Salmons
* I DID see the live Rifftrax Live show of Sharknado and "I liked it very much." I think those riffers realized something about the movie, which is something I realized while watching it for the first time. While it's an intentionally bad movie, it's also full of unintentional comedic moments that make it highly enjoyable. I won't go into detail for those who haven't seen it, but if you're a fan of bad movies, I say give it a shot. And yes, I'm eating a little bit of croooooooooooow on this one, but I'm trying to keep it honest, as well.
Whatever you do, don’t fall asleep...
A Nightmare on Elm Street was first released in 1984 by New Line Cinema, being written and directed by Wes Craven. Since its inception, it has spawned seven sequels, a TV series and a remake of the original film. It has also managed to invoke more fandom and fanaticism than any other horror franchise in history.
As an extremely avid movie geek, I too have been a part of that fandom since I was an eight year old just getting into movies. I owned all of the films on VHS and bought all of the magazines, posters, comics and soundtracks that I could get my hands on. Like most people, I also had the obligatory Halloween costume: the hat, sweater and glove combination. I even went so far as trying to build my own Freddy glove out of soda cans, steak knives and work gloves. I was later amused to find out that I wasn’t the only one doing these things. People from all over the world have been constructing Freddy gloves in their basements and garages and selling them over the internet for many years. There haven’t been too many film franchises that have driven people to this seemingly maniacal and obsessive behavior, and that level of fandom shouldn’t be taken for granted. [Read on here...]
Looking at the Nightmare series today in retrospect, you realize just how interesting the films really are. Being developed and executed under different directors has given each entry in the series its own distinctive flavor and feel, which was also accomplished using very little money. Even without a so-called big budget, you never get the feeling that they were made by mostly inexperienced filmmakers or financed by a fledgling movie studio. They have the look and feel of A level films and deliver on much of the same level. They all have their pros and cons and aren’t considered by the general populace as masterpieces of the genre, but they’re far too quirky, fun and inventive to be ignored or forgotten very easily.
The Nightmare series also introduced the world to one of cinema’s most popular and enduring icons: Freddy Krueger. Robert Englund’s masterful portrayal as the dark and sinister dream demon who was burned alive by the parents of his victims during his homicidal rampage as a human being has always been a sort of iconography of great character acting. The original approach of the character couldn’t have been any more primordial: he invades the dreams of his victims and kills them in their sleep. He’s quite vicious yet relishes what he does, making him more of an anti-hero to audiences than a villain. As the sequels followed, Freddy became less of a ruthless and terrifying night stalker and more of a figure of fun that would throw a joke or two in during his deadly spree in teenage dreamland. He became so overexposed that it was difficult to find him scary anymore. Ultimately, it didn’t matter much to the public and audiences lined up to see him dish it out to a whole new set of teenagers, sequel after sequel. Freddy’s menace and attitude combined with the fedora, the red and green sweater, the glove and the burned flesh all combined into an indelible image that has embedded itself into popular culture, making the Nightmare series not just merely a set of slasher films, but a culture-defining ethos that will live forever.
With all of that in mind, let’s take a look at the entire series film by film. To do that, we’ll need to start at the very beginning...
A Nightmare on Elm Street
Wes Craven, who was fresh off of the mildly successful Swamp Thing (with the grindhouse classics The Last House on the Left and The Hills Have Eyes already under his belt) had crafted the story of A Nightmare on Elm Street on his own, but no one in the industry had any faith in it. The main inspiration for the story came from three non-correlated articles in the L.A. Times about individuals whom had died due to Brugada Syndrome (otherwise known as Sudden Unexplained Death Syndrome). Craven found the articles intriguing and soon developed a script based around the idea that people could die in their dreams. Even his closest colleague Sean Cunningham (director of the original Friday the 13th) didn’t believe that the idea was scary enough to be made into a successful film.
After several failed attempts at getting studios interested in the script, things were looking grim for the project. That is, until Craven met Robert Shaye, an independent film distributor who was looking to finance a film that might generate a healthy profit for his distribution company New Line Cinema (no more than a one-room office in Manhattan at the time). Shaye recognized the potential in the project and felt very strongly that an audience could relate to the material because everyone goes to sleep at night. With their partnership formed, Craven and Shaye set out to seek funding for it and gather together the talent to get it made.
Originally, Craven had envisioned Freddy to be a much older man, but found that the energy and stamina needed to portray him could only be found in younger men. British actor David Warner (The Omen) was originally cast in the role but left the project due to other obligations. Craven soon found what he was looking for in a young Robert Englund. Fresh off of the hit TV series V, Englund was the top candidate for the role. As a classically trained actor, he brought a swagger, stance and personality to the part, while also being able to reach into his inner dark recesses to make his character both sinister and nasty. Craven also found a great protagonist in Heather Langenkamp, whose ‘girl next door’ persona, as well inner strength, gave Freddy his greatest and most memorable opponent, Nancy Thompson. With the casting complete and all of the remaining pieces of the puzzle in place, principal photography was soon underway.
Shot in Los Angeles in less than 4 weeks at break-neck speed, the filmmakers did their best to utilize the talent and tools at hand to make something special. Even with its meager budget, A Nightmare on Elm Street managed to pull off some wonderful visual moments and fantastic mechanical special effects (Tina’s death scene leaps to mind). The film also cleverly blurred the line between dreams and reality, leaving the viewer not quite sure if the characters were awake or asleep. Freddy himself was left in the shadows and often obstructed from view so that the audience never got a really good look at him, which allowed the audience’s imagination to fill in the holes (a Hitchcock device that turned out to be very effective).Although the cast and crew got along well during filming, it was Wes Craven and Robert Shaye who often had heated disagreements over budget and story content. Shaye felt that the original ending was all wrong and that audiences shouldn’t go out with a happy ending, but instead with a big scare and twist. It’s a decision that forever affected the history of the franchise (even though there were no thoughts of it actually becoming a franchise at that point). Craven wasn’t happy with the changing the ending, feeling that it was demeaning to the rest of the film (as well as a bit confusing on a story level), but compromised on his producer’s demands. And although the matter was settled, the relationship was strained thereafter and Craven wouldn’t return to the director’s chair until much later in the series.
On November 9, 1984, A Nightmare on Elm Street was independently released by New Line Cinema in a limited engagement and a week later nationwide. The word of mouth on the film quickly spread and helped push it into becoming a success, turning a profit almost immediately. This signaled to Robert Shaye that there could be a gold mine in the character of Freddy Krueger. A sequel was soon rushed into production to cash in on the original’s popularity and, eventually, help give New Line Cinema a boost into the majors.
A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy’s Revenge
After the fallout between Wes Craven and Robert Shaye, it was clear that Craven had little interest in returning for a sequel. Jack Sholder, who had directed Alone in the Dark for New Line three years prior, was cutting together trailers for the studio during development on Freddy’s Revenge and was offered the job of directing the film. A fresh face in the make-up department, Kevin Yagher, was also brought in to redesign Freddy’s make-up, taking over for makeup artist David Miller. Yagher would go on to work on the makeup effects for the next two films in the series. However, the most troubling bit during the casting process was that Robert Englund wasn’t brought back to play Freddy… at first. An uncredited extra was used instead with the idea that he would be overdubbed later. At that time, both the Friday the 13th and Halloween series had managed to turn a profit without bringing the same actor back every time to play Jason Voorhees or Michael Myers, respectively. Because of Englund’s impact on the character, this couldn’t be accomplished with Freddy Krueger. Once filming had begun, the mistake was quickly realized and Englund was brought back on board.
However, that wasn’t the only problem that plagued the shoot and eventual release of Freddy’s Revenge, but it was the only one that got solved to everyone’s satisfaction. Taking a close look at the film, you can clearly see that no one had a clear vision of it becoming scripture for a fan base. Everything about it, from role reversals of the characters, major script issues and some terribly-executed special effects (except for Jesse’s transformation), shows that it was meant solely to be a quick cash-in and wasn’t given more time in the development process. Other problems with the film were inherent in the original script itself. In the film, Freddy literally metamorphosizes through the character of Jesse and steps into reality to do his dirty work. According to the mythology of the series, Freddy is always in a dream no matter what. To have him running around at a pool party terrorizing teenagers rubbed not only fans the wrong way, but even Englund himself.
For years, the most-talked about subject having to do with Freddy’s Revenge was the role reversals of the lead characters. Usually in the series (and most other horror films), the protagonist of the story was played by a woman. This time around, they chose instead to make the lead a male, which caused the homoerotic subtext of the story to be heightened without it meaning to be. Screenwriter David Chaskin recently admitted that he had intended for there to be just such a subtext, but nowhere near as prevalent as what wound up in the final film. According to the filmmakers themselves, no one had even an inkling that it could be looked at as a story about a young man coming to terms with his sexuality. It was an issue that wasn’t addressed until many years later, but nevertheless, it remains a hot topic amongst fans.
Despite all of its problems, Freddy’s Revenge was still released on November 1, 1985 as is, and was a greater financial success than the first film. It was snubbed by critics and unfortunately left a bad taste in the mouths of fans, and both the success mixed with the negative reactions to it indicated two things to Robert Shaye: that this could be an on-going franchise and that they also had to try harder in delivering a better quality product to the growing fan base. Both came to fruition in the next film but Freddy’s Revenge continues to be held up as the red-headed stepchild of the series. It wasn’t a completely wasted effort, but the final product is plagued with problems ranging from the script, the special effects and just the overall execution. Regardless, most feel that it’s still worthy enough to be a continuation in the string of pearls, even if it doesn’t shine quite like what came before or after it.
A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors
When Robert Shaye and company decided to venture into doing a third Nightmare sequel, they decided to go back to the man who created it. Wes Craven, along with screenwriter Bruce Wagner, were brought asked to write a treatment for a third film with the possibility of Craven directing. The script that was eventually delivered was one of the more controversial approaches in the history of the series, but it had enough interesting ideas worth pursuing. Deciding that the treatment could use some fresh blood, the studio hired the writing team of Chuck Russell and Frank Darabont to come in and give it a spit and polish, while Russell was hired to direct.
The final shooting script that was handed in had more of a biting satirical edge while still retaining a strange and horrific framework. Ultimately, Dream Warriors was the first entry in the series that pushed Freddy into more comedic territory. They even went so far as to have a scene of a young girl watching TV, and as she watches, Dick Cavett transforms into Freddy and kills Zsa Zsa Gabor. It was actually a strange foreboding for what happened with Freddy in the real world later on. Chuck Russell has admitted on several occasions for being partly responsible for bringing out Freddy’s funny side but never feeling like it was a mistake, despite the detractors.
Dream Warriors was also the first film in the series to give Freddy a deeper backstory. By this point, audiences were well aware that he was the product of vigilante justice, but what was unknown was everything leading up to that. The inclusion of a backstory wherein Freddy was the son of a young nun who had been raped by hundreds of mental patients at an asylum only made him much more interesting and less two dimensional than his low budget counterparts. The film was also the first sequel to have such a rich and diverse cast. The first two films had featured mostly simple, middle class, white teenagers from the suburbs. This time around we’re introduced to a wheelchair-bound geek, a mute, a former heroin addict, and for the first time, a black teenager. The cast was also rich with talented veteran actors like Craig Wasson, as well as new talent like Patricia Arquette, the latter of which went on to have a successful career afterwards. Also returning to reprise their roles from the first film were Heather Langenkamp and John Saxon. Despite the difficulty of working with a first time director in a mostly tense working environment, the cast managed to pull off wonderful performances that tend to stand out more so than other films in the series. The film also contains an array of some very impressive practical and visual effects. There are some fantastic and interesting death sequences along with some very clever special effects on display in this film.
To coincide with its technical prowess was a set of sympathetic victims that we actually cared about. They’re set up early on as troubled teens who are seemingly suicidal and treated as if they’re just crying for attention or losing their marbles altogether by the adults. Setting the story in a psychiatric hospital and following their plight only curries sympathy for them and we hope that they succeed, even if Freddy is the star of the show and we want him to succeed, as well. It all works extremely well, even if some of the sequences do stray into cheesy territory at times. Had the film not given its characters a proper build-up, it could have easily been laughed off of movie screens and made it difficult to pick up the pieces afterwards. Thankfully, that didn’t happen.
Released on February 27, 1987, Dream Warriors was a huge success, making even more money than first two films. Most fans believe that it’s the best sequel of the series, and I would have to agree with that. It contains everything you could want in a sequel without going overboard with poor story mechanics, thinly-drawn characters or heaping buckets of gore. The film turned Freddy Krueger into a household name, and in the interim, the merchandise to go along with it. The revenues that kept coming in helped in building New Line Cinema into a full-fledged movie studio. However, the success was only minor compared to what came next.
A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master
After the overwhelming success of Dream Warriors, New Line quickly got another sequel underway to capitalize on it. A script was quickly thrown together and Robert Shaye hesitantly hired director Renny Harlin to helm the project. Harlin managed to bring a fresher stylistic approach than previous directors that was fast, frenetic and dripping with teenage angst. It was a perfect fit, despite Shaye’s reluctance and being unsure of the young director at the time.
The Dream Master storyline brought back the three surviving dream warriors from the third film, only to be killed off within the first thirty minutes (a sort of detriment to that film really). The story also further developed the idea of Freddy needing the souls of his victims in order to thrive, except in this instance, the ‘powers’ of his victims were taken in by shy and uninteresting Alice (played wonderfully by Lisa Wilcox). By the end of the film, Alice becomes a courageous and strong young woman, giving her character a real arc (a story device that hadn’t been used in the series up to this point). There were also some very bizarre ideas utilized for the film, including the resurrection of Freddy by way of a dog urinating fire onto his resting place.
The film also combined the talents of many of the best special makeup and technical effects wizards including Jim Doyle, John Carl Buechler, Screaming Mad George, Howard Berger and Kevin Yagher, some of whom had worked on the previous films. Old school mechanical and special effects were in their prime, and whether they were being done in-camera or optically, they worked fantastically on audiences.
The only problem during the shoot was Robert Shaye’s reservations about Renny Harlin. By this point, New Line was beginning to get very protective of their biggest money maker and weren’t easily swayed when it came to new approaches and fresh ideas. Renny Harlin has stated that he was sure that he would have been fired from the project at any time because he didn’t feel that Robert Shaye had the utmost confidence in his ability to deliver a quality film that the company could sell. It didn’t really matter all that much though because Freddy’s popularity was bigger than ever, and even a bad film in the series would have made its money back no matter what. Thankfully, Harlin wasn’t relying on that and attempted to make something the Nightmare fans would embrace.
Given a summer release on August 19, 1988, The Dream Master was an enormous success. Not only that, but it was the biggest money maker of the original series and validated Renny Harlin as a talented and valuable young director to many, including Shaye. Fans came out in droves to see Freddy’s latest and were cheering him on at every turn. The character became so mainstream that it was impossible to take him seriously anymore as a dark character, something that would hurt the franchise in future entries. The Dream Master was also the first of the series to be released during New Line Cinema’s heyday as a major independent studio before becoming a major Hollywood force. Complete with their new (and now famous) logo, it was more than clear that the studio was here to stay. The success gave Renny Harlin a chance to go on and make a string of financially successful action and suspense films while giving the studio an opportunity to seek out new franchises, but the success would prove to be bittersweet for the Nightmare series.
A Nightmare on Elm Street 5: The Dream Child
After its success, The Dream Master had the fastest turnover as far as developing a follow-up sequel in the history of the franchise. The studio was so eager to release another film they knew would make a profit that the creative process was quickly lost in the mix. An unfinished draft of a screenplay, which was written by a variety of different writers, was rushed into development and the directing reins were handed over to a young visual director named Stephen Hopkins.
This time around, the franchise saw a more direct sequel to the characters from the previous film than before. Alice, Alice’s father and Dan from The Dream Master returned to reprise their roles, making Alice the only female character to survive more than one film (obviously discounting Nancy/Heather in New Nightmare, which was more of a hybrid character). Working hard to deliver a visually interesting film (perhaps the most interesting of the series), Stephen Hopkins’ background as an art director gave him more of an artistic visual edge than previous directors. Unfortunately, the story itself was both rushed and sacrificed just to get another film into theatres.
Once again the writers delved into Freddy’s backstory by bringing his mother into the forefront of the story and resurrecting Freddy through her. The convoluted story involved Freddy using Alice’s unborn child to continue invading teenager’s dreams, something which Alice put a stop to in the previous film. It was a more mature approach that dealt with issues of child abandonment, rape and abortion, which hadn’t been dealt with in the series before. In retrospect, it tends to stick out as one of the most socially-conscious entries in the franchise, but it seemed more like a David Lynch nightmare than your usual run-of-the-mill Nightmare film. However, the studio was willing to go with a fresh approach in fear of the series becoming stale.
Like the last film, The Dream Child also brought a lot of talented special effects wizards in to work on it. Freddy’s literal rebirth in the film gave the makeup artists a chance to redesign his make-up. Unfortunately, it’s the weakest and least-effective makeup job in the series, but thankfully the rest of the film’s effects are superior and highly-imaginative. Everything from rear screen projection, stop-motion animation to faux black and white photography was used to great effect. Though visually interesting, the physical effects tended to stray more into gory territory, even more so than previous entries. This caused the MPAA to come down hard on the original cut of the movie, with two key scenes becoming truncated in the final version. It didn’t help the film in the long run and left some audience members scratching their heads as to what exactly was going on during some of the dream sequences.
Released on August 11, 1989, The Dream Child saw a disappointing decline at the box office upon its release. It was technically a financial success, but it was nowhere near the hit that The Dream Master had been and wasn’t an enormous profit for the studio. It saw the poorest performance of any of the films in the series at the time and was a let-down for many of its followers. Fortunately, its aftermarket life proved to be more lucrative. When originally released on home video, the unrated version of The Dream Child was included which featured all of the graphic footage that the MPAA had made the filmmakers cut out to get an R rating reinstated. As of this writing, that footage has yet to be included in future DVD releases.
Meanwhile, New Line Cinema was busy pursuing different avenues to find worthy new film properties, including chasing the rights to the Friday the 13th series from Paramount Pictures. Between the studio’s involvement with other promising directions and The Dream Child’s lackluster box office performance, it was decided to end the series with one final entry.
Freddy’s Dead: The Final Nightmare
Two years would go by before Freddy would make a return to the big screen. Story treatments for the sixth sequel were being handed in by the likes of people like Peter Jackson, but it was the screenplay by Michael De Luca and Rachel Talalay that got the studio excited the most. Signing on to direct, Rachel had been a very small part of the series from the very beginning, starting out as little more than a production accountant. Having worked her way up the ranks to the director’s chair, she was determined to send the series out on a high note.
The approach to The Final Nightmare was to make it a less serious film and more of a fun, bizarre ride. Twin Peaks had the heaviest influence on the film, as did the work of John Waters. Featuring cameos from the likes of Roseanne Barr, Tom Arnold and Alice Cooper, it was a chance to have some fun with the story after the previous film’s dark, gothic overtones. Hoping to hook audiences with a gimmick after the disappointing box office figures from The Dream Child, it was also decided that the final portion of the film would be filmed in 3D. Although it worked for the most part, story and effects elements were downplayed in order to achieve it, which is a mistake Rachel has often commented on.
The Final Nightmare was also the least direct sequel of the franchise. Taking place sometime in the future when Springwood has been wiped clean of anyone under 20, it featured absolutely none of the characters from the previous films, except for Freddy himself. In the final installment, Freddy has run out of teenagers in Springwood and is looking to jump ship. The only way he can do that is through his daughter. He sends the character of John, the last remaining teenager from Springwood with a bad case of amnesia, out into the world to find her. Unfortunately, Rachel’s quirky style displeased a lot of the fan base while Freddy’s demise seemed to walk down familiar territory, making it more of a joke than enthralling to most fans.
The Final Nightmare also featured a lot of new young talent like Breckin Meyer and Ricky Dean Logan, the latter of whom went on to be a successful character actor. There was also a bit of gravitas given to the film in the lead roles with Lisa Zane and veteran Yaphet Kotto. The film was also one of the few entries in the series that had the most additional footage hit the cutting room floor. Bootlegs of this footage have been floating around for years but none of it has yet to make any official releases. With a wealth of great talent both behind and in front of the camera, it was also one of the easiest and most trouble-free shoots of the series. The biggest headaches stemmed from the filmmakers trying to get the 3D to work properly, but they would soon find out if it would pay off or not.
Released on September 13, 1991, The Final Nightmare was released to slightly more enthusiastic response than its predecessor. Fans happily turned up for Freddy’s supposed final bow, but it wasn’t without its drawbacks. Still lacking the kind of box office draw that New Line was hoping for, the series truly died with this film. It was very much a ‘Twin Peaks meets Looney Tunes’ sort of horror film and fans were generally displeased with the results, citing it as one of, if not THE, worst of the series. To add insult to injury, when it was originally released on home video, the 3D portion was removed due to the limitations of the format. What was leftover were actors sticking objects awkwardly at the camera lens trying to make the 3D work. Although it was released on Laserdisc, the original version of the film wasn’t seen by most home-viewing audiences until almost eight years later when it was released on DVD in New Line’s Nightmare series boxed set (with 3D glasses thrown in for good measure).
It’s almost sad to think that the series really ended the way it did, without its creator coming back for one last stab (pun intended) at bringing Freddy Krueger back to his roots. It might have been a lost cause due to the character’s popularity and how overexposed he had become, but unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on how you look at it), the original storyline would never see another entry... but it wasn’t the last time that we would be seeing Freddy.
Wes Craven’s New Nightmare
Three years after Freddy’s final curtain call, New Line felt comfortable enough in bringing back the character for one more film. Most people scoffed at the idea and made a joke out of it because of how much the studio went out of their way to declare the series finished. However, the studio treated the idea with respect and wasn’t interested in making just another sequel. The strained relationship between Robert Shaye (now a major studio executive) and the series’ creator Wes Craven was finally ended in one fateful meeting. Shaye was happy to work with Craven in developing a new story for the series and gave him carte blanche to create something that he could call his own, which excited Craven enough to write and direct the project.
After reviewing the entire series from beginning to end, Craven decided to abandon the series’ storyline completely and jump outside of the films altogether, exploring the effects of it on the people who were a part of the original film. The idea was that Freddy, as portrayed in the film, would be the evil that has escaped into the real world and that Craven’s mission within the film is to write another sequel to keep the evil out of reality. Meanwhile, Heather Langenkamp is being terrorized by this evil and her mission is to save herself and her son. It was a very bold move to go in such a radical new direction, but Craven was determined to make a horror film that carried a more meaningful message. That message, which would be explored further in the Scream series much later, was aimed directly at the critics who blamed horror films for all of the negativity taking place in the real world. Nearly all of the actors from the original film would also be brought back for both leads and cameos, but to more or less portray themselves.
New Nightmare was also the first of the franchise to make a more apparent use of computer generated special effects with the practical effects taking a back seat. It was sort of a detriment in a way, but thankfully those effects were not gratuitous and had a purpose in the storytelling. The biggest miscalculation, however, was Freddy’s new look. To give the character a new identity as a pure agent of evil, his design was redeveloped to look bulkier and even more sinister than before. This included having blades that came out of all four fingers plus his thumb instead of using his trademarked razor glove, as well as transforming into a demon at one point. It’s a flaw that Wes Craven admits wasn’t the best idea, but it served its purpose to make Freddy unique instead of a carbon copy of what we had seen before.
Released on November 9, 1994, ten years after the original film, Wes Craven’s New Nightmare turned out to be the very first film in the franchise to be received well critically. Unfortunately, the box office figures weren’t on the same page. Returning its budget but failing to capture the kind of popularity the previous films had seen, New Nightmare became the least successful film of the entire franchise. Some fans felt that it was demeaning to Freddy’s character to take him out of the original series and make him symbolic. Others felt that the story just wasn’t interesting enough to explore in the first place. Despite this, the film has had a strong aftermarket life on home video and is considered by many to be an extremely smart and effective horror film on its own.
The Nightmare series then went into a slumber and lay dormant for well over a decade as New Line Cinema moved on to other promising properties. They were, by this point, a major Hollywood studio with other hugely successful films and franchises under their belt including Blade, Se7en, Rush Hour, Austin Powers, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, The Mask, Friday, and of course, the biggest success the studio has ever had, The Lord of the Rings franchise. As for Craven, he moved on from Freddy and found mainstream success with the extremely successful Scream franchise through Miramax, but continues to acknowledge A Nightmare on Elm Street as his greatest triumph.
Freddy vs. Jason
In 1992, New Line Cinema had acquired the rights to the Friday the 13th franchise after Paramount Pictures had allowed their sequel rights to lapse, giving steam to a project that was trapped in development hell for nearly two decades. Finally coming to fruition almost nine years after the Nightmare series had ended (and almost ten years after the Friday the 13th series had also ended), Freddy vs. Jason was the long-awaited match-up that fans had been keeping tabs on since the project went into development in 1987.
The original script for Friday the 13th Part 7: The New Blood was originally meant to be the penultimate clash between the two titans, but when New Line and Paramount couldn’t work out an agreement over the distribution and character rights, the script was re-written and turned into the familiar Friday sequel that we all know. A myriad of different writers and scripts passed through the studio’s hands until a screenplay worth putting into production could be found. In 2002, that finally came to pass and New Line green-lit the project with Bride of Chucky director Ronny Yu at the director’s helm.
The good news was that Robert Englund would be returning to portray Freddy, but the bad news was that Ken Kirzinger would be brought in to replace Kane Hodder as Jason. Kirzinger had doubled for Hodder in Friday the 13th Part 8: Jason Takes Manhattan, and according to the filmmakers, he was cast because he was much taller than Englund and more befitting of the director’s concept of the character. The decision to recast Jason caused an enormous amount of controversy in the fan community with most deriding the film before it even went into production. Kane Hodder himself was also upset by the decision, having been a cheerleader for the project for many years, but the controversy soon died down to just merely murmurings of disapproval. With their two leads in place, filming soon began.
According to the developers and writers on the project, it was important that the story never found itself trying to reinvent either character’s backstories. It could have been a bitter blow to either fan base if there was a deeper meaning to the duel at hand. An early concept placed Freddy as a camp counselor at Camp Crystal Lake in 1958 whereupon he both molested and drowned Jason. The concept was that Jason had returned from his watery grave searching for the counselor who did him in. Fascinating to think about, but ultimately, would likely have weakened the material rather than strengthen it. In the script that was eventually used, the adults of Springwood decide that the only way to defeat Freddy is to erase him from ever existing, and without the fear that he feeds on, Freddy can’t return to the dreams of teenagers. Fortunately, Freddy finds a way around that. His plan to bring Jason Voorhees back from the dead and go to Springwood to spread the fear for him backfires when Jason won’t stop killing Freddy’s children, leading to the eventual clash between them.
Released on August 15, 2003, Freddy vs. Jason was the biggest money maker of either franchise by a mile; drawing in nearly $83 million domestically and almost $115 million worldwide. Reactions from both fans and critics were mixed, but New Line had successfully achieved what they had set out to do with the film and reaped the rewards. What the film managed to deliver was a blood-soaked, ultra-violent and just flat out hard R-rated horror film. During the days that major studios wanted a PG-13 rating on most of their summer releases to get a bigger majority of moviegoers in to see them, it was a blessing that it didn’t happen with Freddy vs. Jason. The latter half of the film is a hack and slash the likes of which hadn’t been seen in a mainstream horror film for some time. With bloody debris, bone and appendages flying in every direction, it was exactly what many fans had been waiting patiently to see.
A sequel involving either Ash from The Evil Dead series or Pinhead from the Hellraiser series was discussed soon after, but never came to fruition. It could have been the start of another of the classic monster mash-ups from the 1930’s and 1940’s for a new generation of horror fans, but maybe sometimes it’s just best to wonder what if. Although, I have to say that I would much rather have seen that come to pass rather than what happened next.
A Nightmare on Elm Street (2010)
Now here’s where it gets really personal for me.
In the age of the almighty remake, A Nightmare on Elm Street wasn’t invulnerable to the Hollywood reprinting process that continues to tarnish the legacy of many a film. Ever since the announcement that a remake was in the works, fans moaned and groaned about it, and for good reason. How could anybody possibly re-capture not just the magic of the original, but cast an entirely new actor in the role that Robert Englund was born to play? Well, whether fans liked it or not, it happened. The production company Platinum Dunes and music video director Samuel Bayer set out to re-imagine one of horror’s greatest icons and failed on so many levels.
For starters, the cast of the Nightmare remake is miles apart from that of the original cast. Actors from the original film fit into their characters so well because they were more or less playing themselves, which helped make them more easily accessible to audiences. This time around, no one in any of their roles comes across that way. In fact, they’re so uninteresting that you generally don’t give two hoots about them. They’re, for the part, just the usual pretty faces that are slapped into mainstream horror movies instead of interesting characters that an audience might care about. Some might argue that waiting to see the characters get it in these films is what the whole ballgame is about, but I would disagree. If there’s one thing that the Nightmare series accomplished, even in the worst of sequels, it was to sympathize with its victims. If an audience is manipulated into relating to the characters on even the most basic of levels then they would also in turn feel sorry for them. That’s the way that the Nightmare series has always worked and why its appeal is much more broad than your usual slasher movie. If audiences want to see people they don’t care about getting hacked to pieces, they can watch the Friday the 13th series where that kind of thing is commonplace and acceptable.
The other great thing about the original series is that it maintains plenty of repeatability, but there’s absolutely nothing so spectacular about the remake that makes you want to see it more than once. Formulaic to the core, it’s just another entry into the “everyone’s dying, it’s a big mystery and we have to solve it” modern schlock fest that continues to be recycled over and over again in a plethora of others like it. There’s also nothing original and innovative about it. It’s just so average, bland and uninteresting that it makes you want to see the original films again just to get the bad taste out of your mouth (which is about the most positive thing I can say about it). It gathers together many of the moments and visual cues from the original films into a sort of greatest hits package without bringing anything new to the table. Of course, each sequel in the original series wasn’t particularly innovative, but they were crafted with much more thought and care than just Xeroxing ideas and concepts.
The biggest flaws in the remake of A Nightmare on Elm Street were the changes made from the original story. Not only could the filmmakers not create something fresh, but they also changed and flawed the series two biggest characters: Freddy himself and Nancy. In the new version of Freddy’s backstory, he tends to the gardening of a pre-school, living in the basement and befriending the children who attend there, which we later find out was more than just friendship. The film, for a while at least, plays with the idea that maybe the vigilante parents who went after him were mistaken and that Freddy might have been an innocent man who was back for revenge, only later to find out that they’re wrong. This flaws Freddy as a character and makes his motives questionable. If Freddy is only back for revenge without having previously murdered anyone, that makes him relatable, and you’re not supposed to relate to your antagonist. Sure Freddy is popular as a character and audiences love seeing him do what he does, but never on the level of relating to him. As a character in this film, he’s definitely a bad person and does some atrocious and vile things to the children, but he was never a killer. It may not seem like that big of a deal, and the writers were probably trying to give both the parents of the children and Freddy himself a more precise reason to exact revenge, but Freddy loses his character essence in the process. I’m not saying that pedophilia and molestation aren’t evil things because they are, but in a character sense, Freddy’s motives are flawed. In other words, Freddy was a more complete character in the original series with enough character motivation that extended beyond what he did in reality.
And even though Jackie Earl Haley is a fine actor and does the best that he possibly can, even inside a flawed character, no actress could have done anything with the character of Nancy. In this version, she is very loosely based on the original film’s Nancy Thompson, and I do mean loosely. This Nancy, played by the talented Rooney Mara, is a loner, keeps to herself and doesn’t really want much to do with anybody, especially the guy who’s the most interested in her throughout the course of the film. In other words, this is the “emo” version of Nancy. The problem with this is that not only does it also destroy the essence of the original character, it gives Freddy no opposition. You have a bunch of psychologically scarred teenagers running around without any inner strength to conquer their demons, and therefore, aren’t believable enough to go up against such a powerful force. To put it in perspective a bit, Nancy has always been Freddy’s greatest foe. She’s a strong young woman who doesn’t overly depend on others to help her in her time of need. Her bravery and strength is one of the reasons that the original Nightmare worked as a story. If she had been like Barbara from Night of the Living Dead, a weak, screaming and horribly useless character, she would have been dead in no time. Nancy also crossed likeability boundaries between sexes and not only did the guys want her, but the gals wanted to be her. So now, in the remake, we’re given this emotionally-crippled young woman who can’t really do anything on her own without the help of her pseudo-boyfriend (who, by the way, is merely there only to spew juxtaposition most of the time). The filmmakers have, more or less, diluted Nancy’s character and made her just another member of the cattle in the herd of the modern horror film industry. But, in spite of all of the flaws, the remake steam-rolled on ahead without any objections from anyone about its flawed content.
Released on April 30, 2010, A Nightmare on Elm Street definitely pulled in a very good revenue for the studio due to name recognition alone, but was met with mostly negative critical and die-hard fan response. As for myself, I left the theater on opening day feeling underwhelmed an unimpressed. I really tried my best to set my bias aside and judge the film of its own merit, but when it takes so many elements from the original films without trying to do anything new, it’s really difficult to do that. Ultimately, if you’re remaking a film, your final product is going to be judged against the original no matter what. There’s just no getting around that, and the remake of A Nightmare on Elm Street pales in comparison to the quality of the original film.
As of this writing, the franchise ends here. There are talks of another sequel in the works, which I hope doesn’t come to fruition, but if it does, I would hope that a little more care would be taken in the writing and execution processes to make it something interesting.
Never Sleep Again: The Elm Street Legacy
Despite its popularity and fan base enthusiasm, a documentary chronicling the entire Nightmare series had never been produced. In the wake of lavishly-produced DVD boxed sets like Blade Runner and Alien Anthology, which were crammed to the brim with extra content, A Nightmare on Elm Street was never given the level of treatment that it deserved. But in 2010, a small production company of filmmakers and fans put together a massive documentary on the entire history of the Nightmare series entitled Never Sleep Again: The Elm Street Legacy.
Clocking in at around four hours, this documentary devotes nearly half an hour to each film in the series plus the short-lived A Nightmare on Elm Street: The Series - Freddy’s Nightmares TV show. It’s an absolute treasure trove of never-before-seen material interspersed with interviews that include almost every major actor or crew member involved with each film. It’s actually the first time that a good 50% of these people have spoken on camera in years (or possibly ever) about the series. Some of the more successful actors weren’t available to take part in it, such as Johnny Depp and Patricia Arquette, but the sheer wealth of participants outshines these minor losses. It also features wrap-around stop motion segments and original music for the opening titles by Charles Bernstein. Included in the documentary is a collection of rare material including deleted & behind-the-scenes footage, storyboards, personal photos, and even props & memorabilia. The filmmakers also provide an audio commentary for those interested in the making of the documentary itself.
This 2 disc set also comes with a bonus disc absolutely stuffed with extra material that didn’t make it onto the first disc. Extended Interviews contains even MORE material that couldn’t be shoe-horned into the main feature (even devoting a couple of minutes to talk about the Nightmare remake); First Look: Heather Langenkamp’s I Am Nancy is a brief look at the documentary exploring the franchise as it relates to her; For the Love of the Glove takes a look at Freddy’s right-handed trademark, and the fans that have devoted their time, money and energy into creating their own gloves; Fred Heads: The Ultimate Freddy Fans focuses on the fandom of the series; Horror’s Hallowed Grounds: Return to Elm Street is a featurette from the infamous web series that revisits the locations seen in the original film; Freddy vs. The Angry Video Game Nerd takes a look at the YouTube superstar and the video game of A Nightmare on Elm Street; Expanding the Elm Street Universe: Freddy in Comic Books & Novels delves into the fan fiction and media created by various contributors; The Music of the Nightmare: Conversations with Composers & Songwriters sheds some light on the series’ musical scores and original songs with most of the people involved in creating them; Elm Street’s Poster Boy: The Art of Matthew Joseph Peak is a look at the man who did the poster artwork for most of the original films; A Nightmare on Elm Street in 10 Minutes is a humorous take on the original movie; and finally, following it all up is the Never Sleep Again: The Elm Street Legacy teaser trailer. There’s also a very funny Easter Egg featuring Charles Fleischer, who appeared in the first film. Obviously the main feature is the reason to get this, but this is a wonderful set of supplements to append it.
Released on October 5, 2010, Never Sleep Again: The Elm Street Legacy was an instant hit with fans. It also received rave reviews and won various awards the year of its release. As a sort of compendium to the series, it was also an entertaining story told through the eyes of the people who worked on it and guided its journey. It also spawned a slew of horror retrospectives and documentaries that continues to this day. If you’re a horror fan at all, it truly is the holy grail of documentaries. It’s so wonderfully paced and entertaining that the four hour running time is never an issue and just flies right by with little notice. It’s a labor of love that honors both the series itself and the studio that produced it. It’s also bittersweet as you realize that the series is over and will never be as prominent as it once was. Seeing Robert Shaye thank the fans with heart-felt gratitude for their support with the look of sadness in his face says it all, and it’s a wonderful way to close out not just the documentary, but the Nightmare legacy itself.
It was just a dream...
One has to wonder just where the Nightmare franchise could possibly go from here, if anywhere? I’m almost certain that we haven’t seen the last of Freddy Krueger, whether he’s being portrayed by Robert Englund or not. Regardless, I’ll continue to be an avid fan of the series but I’d also like to see it get its due on both DVD and Blu-ray, the deluxe way (its lackluster Blu-ray debut doesn’t count). For a series that built a movie studio up from nothing and launched the careers of many successful actors, directors, makeup artists, special effects technicians and producers, I believe it has a place in history and deserves only the best of treatment, and I hope that I’m still around to see that happen.
In any case, it’s been both a pleasure and a privilege to discuss the Nightmare series with all of you and I hope that you’ve enjoyed this little trip down memory lane as much as I have. I’d also like to thank my cohorts here at The Digital Bits for their constant support and friendship.
You have to give it to European filmmakers. They might not have always made effective horror films, but they usually always tried to inject some style or subtlety into them. I’m not saying that they weren’t capable filmmakers. They were, but they just didn’t always quite hit the mark when it came to something that would scare or disgust an audience. Some managed to pull it off, but others fell by the wayside. Filmmakers like Jean Rollin and Jess Franco were two of those hit or miss type filmmakers. Both men were more interested in pushing sexuality in their films while the framework wasn’t given as much attention. It all goes hand in hand with where you come from and what your passion is as a filmmaker.
Ever since Night of the Living Dead tore the doors open on what was acceptable in a horror film, every filmmaker inspired by it seemed to try and do something like it, or push it even further. It had a domino effect that is still being felt today with films like Hostel, The Loved Ones and Martyrs taking shock and disgust to a whole new level. But the problem with today’s horror films is that there isn’t much distinct or different about them. Nothing truly original comes along very often. Everything’s floating around in a sea of constant remakes, parodies, homages, knock-offs and reimaginings, the likes of which has never been as prevalent in the history of cinema until now. There’s also something else going on though. Originality itself is becoming a scarce thing. All of the good ideas have been executed already. It can especially frustrating, especially for a screenwriter trying to come up something to new, to learn that what you thought was a really great idea has already been done.
What it boils down to nowadays, at least from a marketing point of view, is recognition of a brand name or a product, like the recent Evil Dead remake, for instance. Even though the filmmakers of the original were heavily involved with the film in every stage of the process and it relied heavily on old-fashioned special effects techniques, it still manages to come off as product by the simple fact of its existence. The gore in the film was used as a way to disgust and frighten audiences, which seemed to be moderately successful, but ultimately didn’t make much of an impact and people walked out of the theater ready for the next thing. Don’t get me wrong though. I’ll take something like this over more Paranormal Activity sequels any day of the week. The point is that all that’s left to be memorable in a horror film is to be completely, balls-out gory and disgusting, not unlike Ruggero Deodato’s Cannibal Holocaust from 1980.
I come from a generation of horror fans that grew up on heaping amounts of gore. Not just from the late 70’s and throughout the 80’s, but from the early 90’s, as well. The difference is that gore in those films was almost always tongue-in-cheek, and rather tame. In those days the MPAA would slap you with an X rating if you were too violent or gory, especially if you mixed sex with violence. Hell, even the original Dawn of the Dead was released unrated to avoid an X rating. As a consequence, many horror films during the 80’s were cut to pieces in order to get an R rating and make the film more marketable. Fast forward to now and you see how much the times have changed. A film like the new Evil Dead, gratuitously violent and gory for the biggest portion of its running time AND without the tongue-in-cheek behind it, receives an R rating today. Personally, I see it as one of the biggest hypocrisies in the film industry. I’m sure it’s especially frustrating for somebody like John Buechler or Steve Miner, whose entries in the Friday the 13th franchise were notoriously gutted by the MPAA.
So while violence reigns supreme in today’s horror market, sexuality gas been left in the dust because most Americans, like it or not, are afraid of nudity and sexuality in the media instead of hardcore violence and gore. Places in the world like the European market, however, are almost completely backwards in this regard. In the United Kingdom, they won’t even allow scenes of nunchucks to be seen on-screen. In places like France and Italy, human sexuality is much more important and accepted. So it comes as no surprise that a film like Zombie Lake is, tonally, much more about intimacy, sexuality and people, rather than horror.
But let’s not split hairs here. For me it’s all about context. You can mix and match different elements into a horror film and find a nice balance, depending on the tone that you’re going after or what your initial idea was in the first place. It’s not just all about the carnage every single time. Sometimes it’s about the characters too, and how you can relate to them. It could also be about subtleties or overall themes and the horror is just a framework to get an idea across. European filmmakers were all over the place with this stuff, especially in Italy. Filmmakers like Dario Argento were the minority, in that they pushed the violence in their movies moreso than the sexuality. The thing is though that they weren’t above doing conventional films either, like Oasis of the Zombies, which is more of a straight-forward zombie tale than usual for the region.
On the other end of the continent, specifically in the UK, the approach was much more lavish and production-savvy, by comparison. Hammer Productions, for example, were taking all of the classic tales like Dracula, Frankenstein and The Mummy, and putting a robust and colorful new spin on them. It gave actors like Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee careers in the industry, most of whom are now synonymous with Hammer Productions (especially Cushing). But, like their neighbors, Hammer was also into pushing the boundaries of sexuality in the films they were doing, especially with films like The Vampire Lovers.
It’s a shame that this type of filmmaking doesn’t really occur much anymore. Most horror films today are merely remakes that are basically Xeroxing what’s come before. Take that trailer for the new Carrie remake for instance. The trailer attempts to sell to you a movie that’s a carbon copy of the original, almost by design. It seems to be, beat for beat, every scene from the original film remade and shoved into a trailer to get you excited about seeing it, but here’s something that most people don’t think about when that happens: you know what the film is about already before seeing it.
I’m sure not everyone that’s reading this has actually seen Carrie, or read the book that it was based on. But, we all know what the story is and what it’s about. The scenes involving Carrie’s first period in the shower and being ridiculed for it, Carrie’s obsessive religious mother constantly scolding and abusing her, and of course, the famous prom scene where Carrie has pig’s blood dumped onto her and everything goes to hell. All of that is in the remake, and more importantly, it’s in the trailer, so that when you see it, you recognize all of those things. They don’t bother to try and build up intrigue about the story or how scary the movie is going to be. Nope. They just show you the scenes that you recognize because you’ve either seen them before or you know about them already because the story, in many ways, is embedded into popular culture. You think you’re seeing a new movie, but you’re not. You’re seeing a new version of the same story with the same characters and the same outcome. It usually works on people too, most of the time. More’s the pity, too. People spend their hard-earned money (upwards of $50 to $100, depending on how many people tag along) to see something that they could stayed home and watched instead. And, in 99.9% of all cases, the original is superior, so why buy an inferior product? But, people are naive enough to fall for it, and I feel very sorry for them for wasting their time and money.
But, if that’s all that’s available, what’s the alternative? If you can’t see anything original or different as a theatrical experience, then what do you go see on a Friday night? It’s a dilemma for some people who see through the marketing scheme. Fortunately places like the New Beverly in Los Angeles and the Alamo Drafthouse are constantly celebrating older movies, including horror, and showing them on the big screen. Unfortunately, these locations are not nationwide. Someday they very well could be, but for now, the options are limited. I would personally suggest just staying home and saving your money instead of seeing something you already know, but at the end of the day, it’s still a matter of preference and opinion.
The ultimate point of all of this though is that there’s currently no strong output of risky or original horror movies in the market. There aren’t really any studios putting out anything of real quality or making any risky movies anymore, just safe bets. Sure the occasional risk-taker will pop up now and again, but not often, and when it does, it usually goes unappreciated anyway, which makes studios even more hesitant to greenlight original ideas. I can’t say how much that the European filmmakers in their heyday cared about how many people actually saw their work. I’m sure many of them were concerned in some way, but now that the theatrical market is less about risk and more about money-making schemes, films like Zombie Lake, Oasis of the Zombies and The Vampire Lovers have become much more important in the grand scheme of things. They get great treatment by distribution companies like Kino Lorber, Redemption, Twilight Time and Scream Factory, despite being in a niche market. I’m happy when little-seen or unknown gems like these crop up and get good treatment on the dual formats, especially horror films. If only we could get the same kind of treatment for a Friday night crowd, then we’d really have something, wouldn’t we? It’s food for thought.
Welcome to Dailies, a column dedicated to bringing you both the obscure and the mainstream on DVD and Blu-ray. Being that a lot of us seem to have such a large appetite for varying film genres, this column will cover virtually everything I can get my grubby little paws on. Some of it will be good, and some of it not so much, but hopefully it will illuminate a few titles that you might not have seen otherwise, or perhaps just needed a reminder about. Either way, enjoy!
Today I’m going to be covering the release of the Francis Ford Coppola: 5-Film Collection on Blu-ray from the good folks over at Lionsgate. But first, let’s discuss Francis Ford Coppola and his work a little bit...
I think it should go without saying that Francis Ford Coppola is one of the finest filmmakers from the New Hollywood era that we have left today. He may not be as passionate about it as he once was, but as with all artists, they mellow with age. His current film output is sparse but a little more interesting and with more integrity than most of his contemporaries: George Lucas, Steven Spielberg and Brian De Palma, to name a few. In my opinion, a lot of those filmmakers, who gave us some of the best and most entertaining movies in the history of the industry, are still out to capture their former glories and stay on top of the game by either trying to outdo other filmmakers or improve the technology so much that their films become an afterthought in the process. It just seems to be Francis Ford Coppola’s way of going about it to not be in competition with himself or anyone else. He just wants to make films, and he does. What we as the audience get out of it are some interesting and beautiful films. They may not be box office hits and opinions will vary on their entertainment value, but he does them on his own terms. He tells stories that he wants to tell, seemingly without any fear of losing money or positive critique in the process. I may have this all wrong, but judging from what he does nowadays (and especially the financial troubles he went through to make films in the past), it certainly feels that way to me.
His first big success came in 1972 with The Godfather, which was, of course, heralded as the greatest film ever made at the time. He topped himself two years later with The Godfather Part II and The Conversation, both released the same year (the former of which is still seen as one of the greatest sequels to a film ever made). He then set out to make one of the most complicated and expensive films ever made, Apocalypse Now. After the success of that film is when he really began a downhill journey from an artist to a director for hire and back to being an artist again. It all started with One From the Heart, which is one of the biggest box office flops to ever come along. Consequently, he spent the profits he earned from his next several films (including The Godfather Part III) to pay back what he owed for that film. It wasn’t until the early 1990’s when Bram Stoker’s Dracula was released that he seemed to be blossoming into his own as an artist again. Around this time he also began doing other things and trying new business ventures, like building and maintaining his own winery. Today, he only occasionally has the urge to make a film, and when he does, he tackles projects with gentler and more world-weary eyes and hands. I suppose it could be his way of having self-expression as something to fall back on. In any case, he’s seemingly out to please only himself.
As far as what my favorite Coppola film is, it’s an enormously difficult question to answer. There was a time when I probably would have immediately said Apocalypse Now, or even The Conversation. Even The Godfather and The Godfather Part II come to mind. The truth is that I adore everything that he does, and like a group of children, choosing one that is heads and tails above the other one just doesn’t seem fair. There are lots of gems in the Coppola library to choose from as well, and not just the big tentpole titles. Let’s not forget Peggy Sue Got Married, The Outsiders, Rumble Fish or his contribution to New York Stories. You also can’t leave out his more recent films Youth Without You and Tetro. Let’s also not forget about Patton, which he co-wrote but didn’t direct. Needless to say, the man’s output of material is quite illustrious, and each film is special in one way or another, be it for the cinematography, performances, story, etc. Distilling all of that work down into one film and declaring it his magnum opus feels out of place to me. Instead, let’s take a closer look at the five films in the Francis Ford Coppola: 5-Film Collection set for a bit of further analysis.
The Conversation
Coppola’s answer to the paranoiac political thriller The Conversation is about as different from anything that he’s ever made. It actually seems more like a Brian De Palma film, at least on the surface. I’m sure that Coppola didn’t have a particular type of film in mind at the time, but that’s what it ended up being anyways. It’s also a film he wasn’t heavily involved in writing, but he’s so hands on with every facet of the production, including the acting and the dialogue, that it’s very much his film. Gene Hackman’s performance also deserves mention because it’s quite fantastic, showing a side of himself that we rarely see, which is a vulnerable human being. He’s so paranoid by everyone around him that the only way he can talk about himself personally is in his dreams, and when he does relent in the real world, he’s ridiculed slightly for it. The piano score from David Shire is also great, a score which was a kind of rarity in those days (still is). The film is expertly paced to draw you in, taking a bit of inspiration from Blow-Up, but it’s also one of the edgiest and darkest films in the thriller genre. Technically it’s not quite a thriller, but that’s about as close to a genre as it gets. As I stated previously, it was released the same year as The Godfather Part II, both films of which swept up the Oscar nominations that year. I can’t imagine any other filmmaker being in that kind of position and still managing to come out on top.
Apocalypse Now
If I had a gun to my head and somebody forced me to pick a pearl from the necklace, then it would probably be Apocalypse Now. There’s just something about the film that I find both incredibly intriguing and endlessly fascinating. It always keeps me coming back for more with its purely in-your-face attitude, as well as magnificent performances, score and visuals. The stories of the making of the film are also just as interesting as the film itself, which probably plays a lot into the mysticism of the piece as a whole. The sheer madness of the behind the scenes craziness made its way onto the frames of the film itself, going hand in hand with its subject matter. Yet to me, both are one and the same, and I find it difficult to separate that knowledge of the making of the film while watching it. I think it’s also because it’s one of the greatest imperfect films ever made. An assembled five and a half hour movie whittled down to two and a half hours was no easy task, especially when the film winds up being something entirely different from what it was originally intended to be in the first place.
Apocalypse Now Redux
There’s also the alternate version of the film simply titled Apocalypse Now Redux. In all fairness, this isn’t my favorite version of the film, for a variety of reasons (I’m among the majority on this one for once). Mostly because the film was fine the way it was. The new footage introduced into the body of the film seems to weaken the narrative rather than strengthen it. I don’t mind that this version exists, as long as the original is left intact, and that’s the case here. To me, the film is about what it ended up being originally: going into the heart of darkness and destroying the evil, not stopping off to have a 20 minute discussion with a French plantation owner, but that’s one fellow’s opinion.
One From the Heart
Coppola’s greatest box office failure, One From the Heart, is anything but a failure when it comes to the value of the work put into it. Shot entirely at Zoetrope Studios, the film is extraordinary to look at. It’s obvious right away that all 26 million dollars is there on the screen for all to see. Sure the film has pacing issues, but everyone gives marvelous performances, the sets are spectacular, the costumes are wonderful, the cinematography and lighting are exquisite and, as always, the direction is strong. It’s in the writing where the movie fails really. It isn’t that it’s bad, it’s just that a story of this type isn’t really for everyone. The music and the choreography are marvelous, of course; the former courtesy of Tom Waits, who was nominated for an Oscar for his work. The film is quite bluesy in nature, and probably not one that you’ll want to watch too many times, but that’s not a negative response from me. One thing’s for sure: Francis Ford Coppola may sometimes fail, but when he does, he fails enormously.
Tetro
Despite how I feel about it, people would definitely consider Coppola’s latter-day output to be mostly underwhelming, but I beg to differ. Stacked up against his great successes of the past, a film like Tetro may seem smaller and unimportant by comparison, but it’s also by design. Partially biographical in nature, Tetro is akin to The Godfather, Part II because of its narrative structure, with things taking place in the past and the present simultaneously. I like that the previous events are in color, when Tetro’s life was different, but it’s also difficult to tell whose point of view the film is actually from. Is it Bennie’s, and is he reliving past events in his mind, or is it the other way around, and Tetro’s life is now dark and monochromatic in nature because of past events? It’s a tough call, but one thing is certain: it’s still a good story, either way. It’s told mostly well, despite the enormously-long running time, which feels longer than it actually is. I found the film to be visually-arresting (unsurprisingly), as well as engaging story-wise. Is it Coppola’s best effort? No. Is it a good, or even great effort? Yes, and that’s good enough for me.
Tetro should also prove my previous point that Coppola is out to make personal projects and not worry winning popularity contests or keeping up with what’s going on technically in the industry (not like he was during the early 1980’s anyway). Again, he’s not out to recapture former glories, only to make films. I think he knows that he’s past his prime, so he instead tackles smaller subjects, and dare I say, more interesting subjects. It’s honest filmmaking, and that seems to be becoming more and more of a rarity these days. He doesn’t have to make these films, he just wants to, and I’m glad that he does. Because of this, I can always count on something of quality from him without second-guessing it.
And with that, let’s take a look at my review of this Blu-ray collection:
Welcome to Dailies, a column dedicated to bringing you both the obscure and the mainstream on DVD and Blu-ray. Being that a lot of us seem to have such a large appetite for varying film genres, this column will cover virtually everything I can get my grubby little paws on. Some of it will be good, and some of it not so much, but hopefully it will illuminate a few titles that you might not have seen otherwise, or perhaps just needed a reminder about. Either way, enjoy!
Today I’m going to be covering the release of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 & 2: Ultimate Edition on Blu-ray.
I’d like to start this off by saying, with the best intentions, that I’m not the biggest fan of the Harry Potter film series. However, I do appreciate it for the craft and the character development contained within. For more than ten years, and under four different directors, the eight films in the Harry Potter series made billions of dollars worldwide. The books themselves established author J.K. Rowling as one of the most respected and controversial writers of the last twenty years. There have been few film franchises like Harry Potter that have gone as deep with its characters and the worlds they inhabit, while at the same time being magical and fun. In other words, it’s not a film series that was simply thrown together to make a quick buck then move on to the next disposable property. The studio behind it may be more interested in the financial possibilities, sure, but these films do not feel like product. They feel like films, with real soul and passion behind them, with the intention of delivering the best entertainment money can buy.
Unlike something like the Twilight film series, Harry Potter is derived from what are arguably the most popular books since The Lord of the Rings trilogy, and that’s no small feat. I don’t really care for the fact that Harry Potter always seemed to be lumped in with the Twilight series (in pop culture terms, at least). I find it rather insulting, as I’m sure J.K. Rowling does, who spent a great deal of time developing the worlds, exploring the characters, and most important of all, planning and actually thinking about what she was doing. She did more with her work than most authors would do in a lifetime with theirs. Because of this, Harry Potter winds up not being at all simplistic like the Twilight series, which really has no justification for its existence (other than exploiting young women using soap opera-based tactics).
Now I don’t intend to sit here and continually trash Twilight just because I have an open forum to do so. Others have definitely done a better job of it elsewhere, but I think it’s important to understand that they’re separate entities, and have nothing in common with each other outside of the fact that they’re both books that were made into films. It ends there. The appeal of Harry Potter is based on the values of friendship, as well as courage in the face of danger or even your ultimate doom. That’s why it works for me, as it does for millions of fans around the world. Even without that the characters are fantastic, and you really get a sense for who they are and what they want. In those terms, I respect this series immensely without being a fan. I’m more of a vocal supporter than anything, which is good enough for me.
Ok. Now that that’s settled, I’ll step off of my high horse, lower my nose and dig into this review:
Welcome to Dailies, a column dedicated to bringing you both the obscure and the mainstream on DVD and Blu-ray. Being that a lot of us seem to have such a large appetite for varying film genres, this column will cover virtually everything I can get my grubby little paws on. Some of it will be good, and some of it not so much, but hopefully it will illuminate a few titles that you might not have seen otherwise, or perhaps just needed a reminder about. Either way, enjoy!
In this week’s entry, we’re going to be taking a look at a couple of new titles from the folks over at Shout! Factory via their new Scream Factory label: The Island and Death Valley. I gotta tell you, I’m just thrilled to bits with the quality of product that this company is putting out. Their transfers may not be the best that money can buy, nor are all of them overloaded with supplemental features, but they do give new life to mostly unseen sci-fi and horror film titles that a lot of us have either never heard of or have forgotten about. They cover some pretty high profile titles like Halloween II and They Live, but for me the real cream of the crop is the unseen stuff.
Looking at it from this perspective, imagine that it’s the early 2000’s again. DVD has finally gotten underway, and while it hasn’t totally replaced Laserdisc or VHS as a home video standard (at least at this point), it’s certainly gaining steam, and that’s thanks mostly in part to some great titles being made available on the format. As it became more and more popular and enthusiasts like us here at The Bits became more enthralled with it, DVD releases have since become a tug of war with the movie-buying public about which titles they want to go out and purchase. Genre film fans were happy to fork over their cash for unearthed titles like The Church, Turkish Delight or I Spit on Your Grave to companies like Elite Entertainment, Anchor Bay, Blue Underground and VCI. These companies were proud to serve up unseen cinema for the enthusiastic DVD-purchasing audience who became curious about a lot of films merely by the cover art or the extras that were included. They were so successful with it that they inspired major distributors to dig up other forgotten titles for release as well.
Before the economy went into the toilet, there was a huge boom of titles to come along that were given special treatment with boxed sets, special packaging and multiple cover arts (The Evil Dead being the most infamous of them all). After the economy collapsed a bit, we started seeing less and less of these titles as these companies were going in different directions and mainly sticking to releasing the movies that they knew would sell for sure, leaving other unseen gems in the dust. This was also the time when the remake boom happened, and remakes of mostly recognizable titles to audiences were a less risky way to put something into theaters than just simply going with something that they felt audiences might not be interested in.
Not much later, Blu-ray comes along. The economy improves a bit (not by much) and the need for more elaborate releases of unseen films begins again on a new format. Companies like Lionsgate, Anchor Bay, Kino International, Redemption Films and Blue Underground start off strong, but it’s Shout! Factory who comes along and suddenly dominates the game with quality over quantity, and so far, there’s no one else on the market who can even contend with them (at least in my opinion). In these dark days with the talk of physical media becoming obsolete, it’s a more than welcome return to the early days of DVD, and let’s hope that it continues.
And with that, here are Blu-ray reviews for two of Scream Factory’s latest titles:
Since the holidays are here and chances are very good that a lot of us will be gathered around the TV for some entertainment after stuffing ourselves silly, here are some reviews of a couple of high-class (but clean) Blu-ray titles that everyone can enjoy: Charlie Chaplin’s Modern Times and The Great Dictator.
Welcome to Dailies, a column dedicated to bringing you both the obscure and the mainstream on DVD and Blu-ray. Being that a lot of us seem to have such a large appetite for varying film genres, this column will cover virtually everything I can get my grubby little paws on. Some of it will be good, and some of it not so much, but hopefully it will illuminate a few titles that you might not have seen otherwise, or perhaps just needed a reminder about. Either way, enjoy!
This week, we're going to be talking about a serious problem.
Do you have the post-Halloween blues? Well, if you’re anything like me, you probably do. Just because the best holiday of the year has passed doesn’t mean we can’t still enjoy some of our favorite horror movies, does it? For those of us who believe that October is just too short a month, here are a few classics for you to check out that you might have forgotten about.
Night of the Demons
Starting things off, here’s a little gem. If you’re looking for a great Halloween party movie, then Night of the Demons is definitely the ticket for you. It’s a pure 80’s hard rock-driven Halloween flick with all of the gore, sex and nudity that 80’s horror movies had to offer. It also contains your basic formula of a bunch of teenagers getting together in old abandoned house for a party wherein everything goes to hell. This time around, instead of an old house, it’s an old abandoned funeral home, which ups the ante when it comes to the overall creepiness factor. The make-up effects are great and the acting won’t win any awards, but it isn’t meant to be anything more than what it already is, which is just a fun horror movie. Be sure to keep your eyes peeled for scream queen Linnea Quigley in one of the major roles.
Tourist Trap
Next up we have Tourist Trap. It’s probably one of the creepiest yet entertaining horror movies that involve dolls and wax figures in its plot. It’s complete lunacy most of the time, but the atmosphere and the visuals will make your skin crawl. It’s hard to put your finger on just what makes wax figures, clowns, dolls and mannequins so creepy, but they’re used to full effect in this creep classic. The story itself is pretty sparse. A group of kids stumble upon a guy who owns a shop full of these disturbing little things, and while at first he seems like nothing more than a weirdo, we know better later after he bumps them all off one by one... in that eerie mask of his. The point is that if you’re looking for something on the bizarre end of the horror movie spectrum, then look no further than Tourist Trap.
Subspecies
Here’s an often-overlooked classic from Charles Band and company. Filmed in and around Romania, Subspecies was Charles Band's answer to the vampire genre. It's actually one of the better and more atmospheric of the Full Moon Entertainment's main era of productivity. I'm slightly more partial to the Puppet Master series, but this is probably the best film that the company ever produced. It's also one of the better vampire films to come out of the 90's. Anders Hove is fantastic in his lead role, and there's also some great stop-motion work. I already mentioned the atmospherics, but the setting and set designs are great as well, and the fact that it was shot entirely on location in Romania just makes it all the more creepy. It's not anything amazing story-wise, but for atmosphere, design and just sheer creepiness, it soars. Definitely check it out if you haven't already.
The Abominable Dr. Phibes
When people point out Vincent Price's films to me, the one that's usually not mentioned is this pre-cursor to the Saw series: The Abominable Dr. Phibes. It's a wonderfully engaging pseudo-horror classic, edging more towards cynicism rather than straight up horror, making it a bit unusual for its time. Dr. Phibes has apparently come back from the dead, and along with his beautiful assistant, he carries out a scheme to murder all of the doctors who couldn't save his dying wife. Each death has a particular theme to it, and while there isn't much gore to be found, there's a bit of creepiness to it. The film has more of the attitude of an Amicus anthology film, but it also has one of Vincent Price's finest performances. It's a very bizarre horror film that will have you both horrified and laughing at the same time.
Let's Scare Jessica to Death
A film that owes to late night TV where it developed a cult following by fans, Let's Scare Jessica to Death is a psychological horror film in the vein of something like Don't Look Now. It's about a woman who has been recently released from an institution and moves into an old house with her husband and a friend. They discover a young woman who has been living in the house in secret, and while Jessica's sanity slowly slips again, strange things begin to occur around her and she becomes suspicious of the young woman's motives. The film plays with the audience’s perceptions and keeps you in a constant state of confusion, which is exactly what Jessica is going through, and you go through it with her. Everything is ambiguous, leaving you to make up your own mind about whether Jessica is really crazy or not. The film didn't do so well on its initial release, but if you're looking for something obscure with some merit to it, then check this one out.
Raw Meat
Raw Meat is about a group of tunnel dwellers in the London underground who have been trapped there for decades. Through cannibalism and inbreeding, they survive, but their numbers have dwindled and only one manages to make his way out to get his hands on, well, raw meat. This is one of those films that's generally simple in nature, but the atmosphere and performances are pretty superb, including not just a great performance from Donald Pleasance, but from the aforementioned tunnel dweller, whose only piece of dialogue throughout the entire film is "Mind the doors!". The film can be a bit kooky, and there's plenty of ironies to be found, but there's some genuine suspense and atmosphere to it as well.
Waxwork
Waxwork is a horror comedy about a group of teenagers who go into a wax museum, only to be magically made a part of the exhibits and never heard from again. The movie cleverly squeezes so many horror movie moments into it that it's instantly enjoyable. You have werewolves, vampires, zombies, and even Marquis de Sade on display, literally. It's not so much scary as it fun, sort of in the vein of something like Creepshow. Even though it does have some moments where there's some genuine suspense and horror to it, there's just no way that you can take any of it seriously. It's just a fun little movie that doesn't try to be anything more than what it is. Look no further than John Rhys Davies turning into a werewolf. Need I say more?
Breeders
Breeders, for all intents and purposes, isn't a masterpiece. What it is instead is a bit of curiosity. It feels like a David Cronenberg movie in disguise as a late night cable skin flick. My goodness, there's just heaps of nudity in this movie, and all of it gratuitous. The story involves several young female virgins in Manhattan that are abducted and raped by a parasitic alien being and transformed into an alien themselves. The most memorable scene, at least for me, is when all of the women are in the alien's lair and bathing in, umm, alien fluids. Let me just put it this way: if someone walked in on you during this scene and didn't know what you were watching, they'd automatically think it was pornography. 'Nuff said. So yeah, the movie is definitely not for those who don't care for nudity, but if you're in the mood for something simple that has a bit of entertainment value to it but is only mediocre, then check it out.
The People Under the Stairs
Ah, and then there's Wes Craven. His body of work can range from really awful to extremely good, and somewhere in the middle, you'll find something like The People Under the Stairs. Although the movie failed at the box office upon its initial release, it has since developed a bit of a following. It has an overall odd tone to it, which is more ironic than anything, but it also tries to be a suspense film at the same time. It doesn't quite work, but the movie can be fun if you let it. The plot may not make total sense at times, but it's executed well. Look for an early performance from Ving Rhames before his successful turn as Marsellus Wallace in Pulp Fiction, as well as Silver Bullet star Everett McGill as the leather-clad daddy out to punish the children that are loose in the house.
The Pyjama Girl Case
And last but not least, there's the classic giallo La Ragazza Dal Pigiama Giallo, AKA The Pyjama Girl Case. This film is a stylish but morbid thriller about a girl being found dead and the investigators who are trying to solve her case. Parallel to this is her story as we watch her descent into being murdered. It's a very interesting take on the genre, but the strange thing about it is that it's not really a giallo, yet closely resembles one. It's sort of like if you're a fan of McDonald's and decide to eat at Wendy's instead. The pace can be slow at times, but with a bit of patience, the engrossing story can be rewarding. Well-shot with some great performances (including Ray Milland and the beautiful Dalila Di Lazzaro), it's definitely a classic genre film.
Hopefully these titles will tide you over until next Halloween. If not, then I suggest you get some help.
When it comes to the slasher sub-genre of horror films, it's difficult to find any that are unique and bring something new to the table. Most of the ones that came out of the early 1970's and throughout the 1980's followed a particular formula: teens go into woods; teens drink & do drugs; teens have sex; teens get slaughtered. That pretty much sums up the genre, more or less. Immortalizing that formula was the Friday the 13th franchise, a series of films made specifically to cash in on the success of the original and annually provide entertainment for horror fans.
Technically, the original Friday the 13th film was late in the game as far as slasher movies go. John Carpenter's Halloween had already cleaned up at movie theaters and drive-ins all across the country only two years prior. Even earlier than that was Bob Clark's Black Christmas. That film was more of giallo-type film than a slasher, but you can certainly see the similarities between them all. So if you wanted to be analytical about it, the slasher sub-genre had been created long before Friday the 13th ever came along. It may have not been the first, but it did popularize it while also making headway for many copycats to follow.
Unlike Halloween, the Friday the 13th series was better known for its extensive use of blood and gore, something that Paramount Pictures really got behind and promoted at the beginning of the series. Every year, a new roster of teens would meet their demise in some very creative and, quite often, ridiculous ways. As each film was released, the kills became more and more imaginative, becoming far more important than plot or characterization. Even though the MPAA really came down hard on some of the latter films in the series, the first film escaped relatively unscathed with an R rating, setting the standard for what would be done with the sequels.
Friday the 13th was also one of the early slasher films not to have come from an independent source. It had a slightly higher budget than one would normally have to make these types of films and a major Hollywood studio backing it. In that way, it's highly unusual, as opposed to smaller and more independent films like Halloween, or even the often-overlooked Sleepaway Camp franchise (which parodied Friday the 13th extensively). Unlike their no budget counterparts, the Friday the 13th films found a much bigger audience and were seen by a lot more people.
As far as Jason himself, he became a cultural icon. Ever since he put on that hockey mask in the third film of the series, he's more or less been well-known to popular culture just as much as Freddy Krueger, or even Darth Vader for that matter. He's never been one to have much of a personality either, which the series has had some fun with at times. He's just a killing machine, out for revenge against those who've wronged him. He doesn't talk or quip funny lines. He just stalks his prey and kills it without remorse. He never dwells on it and he never takes prisoners (despite what we've seen in the remake, but I'll get into that later). Even though Jason is at the center of the series, I don't consider him to be the real focal point or the appeal. Fans have always tended to cry foul whenever Paramount (or New Line Cinema) made a Friday the 13th film without the real Jason on-screen doing the killing, but the real draw is the gore, horror and suspense, and not so much the characters. It works ok most of the time, but for someone like me who craves a bit of characterization in what he watches, it can be frustrating. Sometimes the logic of certain things in these films is also a problem, but despite it all, they're still fun to watch.
Even though I'm not quite as big a fan of the Friday the 13th series as I am the Nightmare on Elm Street series by comparison, I certainly don't discount it by any means. As with the Nightmare series, I have a marathon of the Friday the 13th movies every year, and at least once a year; sometimes on Halloween and sometimes on Friday the 13th (all weekend, of course). As a kid, I dressed up a couple of times as Jason for Halloween as well, so I'd say that I'm a fan without being fanatical about it. Some of the films I really enjoy, while others I have some problems with, so I'd like to take this opportunity to dissect the films a bit and explain exactly why I like some more than others. I'll be discussing a lot of the plot details, characters and situations, so if you haven't seen these films and want to avoid spoilers, it's probably the best idea not to read any further. For everyone else, I hope you enjoy it. And whether you agree with my opinions or not, hopefully it'll stir up some good-natured debate amongst us all. So let's get started with the first one.
Friday the 13th
In 1979, Sean Cunningham decided that he was going to, in the words of screenwriter Victor Miller, "Rip off Halloween". They quickly came up with a story, got together with an unknown group of young actors & filmmakers and produced it. The film follows a group of camp counselors who are preparing Camp Crystal Lake for reopening, but instead they're knocked off one by one by an unseen killer. At the end of the film, it's revealed to be an older woman named Mrs. Voorhees, who blames the camp counselors for her son Jason drowning at the camp three decades earlier. She takes her revenge on them, but she's eventually stopped and killed by the lone survivor Alice.
Looking back on it comparatively, Friday the 13th actually opens very much like Halloween. There's the beginning of the film, which takes place in the past in first-person view of the unknown killer, as well as the flash forward to the present with a girl walking through town, not unlike Laurie Strode from Halloween. However, this is where the film severs its visual detachment from that film. From this point on it follows its own route without heavy-handed allusions to other horror films (despite there being a nod to The Shining when Mrs. Voorhees is trying to break the pantry door down with an axe and afterwards peering in at Alice).
There are plenty of good things to like about this first film. There's quite a bit of set-up and building the suspense up in the story. There's the character of Ralph, the doom-prophesizing old geezer who seems to materialize out of nowhere at times. There's also a great little group of actors, including a young Kevin Bacon in one of his first films. There's some fantastic special effects from Tom Savini, as well as Harry Manfredini's signature score, which would more or less stick for the rest of the series. So yeah, there's plenty to like. It's in some of the technical and plot details where the movie fails a bit for me and doesn't hold up as well as it should.
The one thing to remember here though is that when this film was being made, there were no thoughts of this becoming a huge movie franchise. Sean Cunningham himself thought that the idea of bringing Jason to the forefront as a killer who had somehow survived drowning and was living in the wilderness was ludicrous and that it wouldn't work, a view shared by many others who worked on the original film. This was nothing more than a low-budget horror film designed to cash in on the success of its predecessor Halloween. It's just that simple, and the filmmakers aren't coy about admitting to it either. However, now that there's a long-running series of films, minor details become more crucial when they're all stacked up together. Continuity issues with the story are probably the biggest flaw of the series, among many other things.
The biggest flaw of the first film, at least to me, is that the killer is being built up visually as a man. If you look closely, the killer is not only dressed like a man but also the hands of a man are doing the killing. Most of us probably already know that it was prosthetic and special effects maestro Tom Savini doing the kills for the most part, but for a film that's trying to follow a story thread as much as this one does, this jumps out at me as a major error. That's why it really comes out of left field when you find out that it's a middle-aged crazy woman. In a twisted sort of way, the killings are very efficient, and the killer doesn't really waste time or effort in carrying them out. That's why I've never quite fully bought the reveal of Jason's mother, especially when she's clumsily trying to kill Alice. At one point she has her cornered and there's no way that she's able to get away, and Mrs. Voorhees does nothing more than smack her around. Or how about the moment when she amusingly tries to stab her on the beach with the end of a broken oar? It's a bit of a let-down, but I don't hold it too harshly against the film.
I also find it strange that the family that owns Crystal Lake, the Christy's, is never mentioned again in the sequels. In fact, this particular spot of land seems to change hands with different owners without even a mention. Details like this are mostly minor and frivolous, but even a slight mention of it would have made the sequels tie in to the first film a bit more directly. There are also all sorts of visual continuity errors from film to film as well, such as the fact that there's a different Camp Crystal Lake sign in nearly every film. Other minor details are simply forgotten or brushed over in the sequels, which is to me why the first film doesn't really feel like the first film. Overall, it's a mixed bag of great special effects and questionable minor details, at least as they apply to the sequels.
However, none of these things were much of a factor when the film was released on May 9, 1980. It was one of the first independent films to be released nationally across the country, and the investment paid off. Friday the 13th brought in big profits, along with an awareness that films like it were great business for teenagers on a Friday night. Soon after, a sequel was developed without the involvement of the original director, who wasn't happy with the direction that it would take. Despite it being held up as a classic, I don't like the first film as much as I do a some of the sequels that followed.
Friday the 13th, Part 2
Frank Mancuso Jr., the head of Paramount Pictures at the time, wasted no time in following through on the success of the previous film, and less than a year later, Friday the 13th Part 2 made its debut. Taking place in an area just a stone's throw away from Camp Crystal Lake, this film follows a group of camp counselors in training, but when they disturb Jason's neck of the woods, the murder spree continues.
Almost unwittingly, Part 2 seems more like a proper slasher film than its predecessor, as well as a better film in general. Not only did it have a higher budget, but it also focused a bit more on the characters. You got to know them a bit, and they weren't just the clichéd partying teenagers looking to get wasted and screw around all night long. They seem more like real people. They did take the sexual plunge, of course, but it feels more believable comparatively. It's great to see at least one of these films have not just characterization, but motivation as well. For instance, Ginny and Paul, the head counselors, have a strange relationship with each other, and you can tell that there's some sort of rift between them involving something we know nothing about. Paul's motivation throughout the film is to make her like him again and Ginny's motivation is to try and get over whatever the problem is between them. It's not mentioned out loud in detail, but it's there for those paying close attention. You just don't find that kind of subtlety in any of these films.
The rest of the characters are interesting too, even the half naked girl who contributes nothing most of the time except to be eye candy. Her motivation is to try and win Scott, who's after her in a big bad way. The skinny redheaded guy, Ted, is out to have a good time, and is genuinely funny and likable. The motivation of the wheelchair-bound guy, Mark, is to be more than what he is and ultimately get out of the wheelchair, and his love interest is intrigued by him because of this. However, it's the other couple in the film that don't seem to fit into this more realistic scheme too well. They like to cause trouble, and you can tell that about them immediately. They feel shoehorned in just to get the plot underway, but at least they have some sort of purpose because they're useless otherwise. When Paul warns the group not to trespass near Camp Crystal Lake, these two do just that. And by doing so, they invade Jason's home turf.
Part 2 also has some distinguishable visual flair, and that's saying a lot for a series that's looked down on justifiably for being so cheaply made. Thanks mostly goes to Steve Miner, who would go on to direct the next film, as well. The film also borrows a couple of deaths from the Mario Bava giallo classic Twitch of the Death Nerve. In particular, the double impalement of the troublesome couple with a spear, as well as the infamous machete to the face of the kid in the wheelchair. The kills aren't quite as bloody or as gory as the first film because of the MPAA coming down hard on the final cut, but they seem to have more of an impact.
The film's biggest problem for most people at the time (especially the people that made the first film) was that Jason was alive somehow despite drowning in 1957. It's a bit of a logical lapse, but for me personally I've just always assumed Jason to be a supernatural force of some kind anyway, considering how much damage he can dish out as well as take. I don't think a normal human being could squeeze someone's skull in and make their eyes pop out (not that the filmmakers really had that in mind at the time). Like the fourth entry later, this film has a group of teenagers that we like and we don't necessarily want to see them meet an early demise, especially Amy Steel's character. She's not the typical heroine and she adds a bit of substance to the film. It's also nice that they set her up early on as someone who's studying child psychology, which she uses to her advantage against Jason. She understands him, as evidenced in the bar scene where she talks about his relationship with his mother. It's very clever and well set up. I also prefer Jason's look in this film, with the potato sack over his head, and not because it's a slight take on The Town That Dreaded Sundown, but because it's not the hockey mask for once. It's just too bad that they couldn't focus their efforts on coming up with a more satisfying ending that made a little bit more sense, but I digress.
Released on April 30, 1981, Friday the 13th Part 2 once again brought in the revenues, and I think it's pretty apparent that I'm a big fan of this film. Nearly all aspects of it work perfectly for me, and it feels more like a film than just a generic slasher. I'm sure that the filmmakers were only merely concerned with making an entertaining slasher movie without much thought into how it was constructed, but it doesn't matter because they did well on all fronts. It's one of the underappreciated films in the series, at least compared to The Final Chapter and The New Blood, but Part 2 is really where this series begins for me. It's not a carbon copy of the first film but it carries more genuine suspense and is much a better film by comparison. It's a shame that this couldn't be latched onto in the sequels that followed. After this film, Jason is nothing more than a killing machine with no psychological nuances. He simply kills to kill, to the point where it became a bit of joke later on. The kills also became bigger and broader and seemed to have little to no substance or reason. Admittedly, this isn't a series that really goes for that kind of thing, but I just wonder what it would have been like if it had, which brings me to Part 3.
Friday the 13th, Part 3 (3-D)
The third outing from Jason & Co. is probably my second least favorite of the entire series, mainly because it's such a drop off in quality from its predecessor. The direction that Part 2 took seemed like a good way to go for the series, at least to me. It was well-made, well-shot, had some nice characterization and wasn't chock-full of horror clichés. Its strong storytelling aspects were completely ditched because the focus of Part 3 was to make the gimmicky 3-D work. The story itself is about a girl who returns to the area of Crystal Lake after having been attacked by a strange man in the woods there long ago. Her and her friends stay in a farm house nearby, and one by one, Jason takes them out.
I'll go ahead and start this off by saying that I mostly dislike 3-D, whether its being used as a storytelling tool or as simply a gimmick. It doesn't ever fully work no matter how it's being used, and usually story is sacrificed because of it. Just look at Avatar, which used the 3-D to tell its story, but that story was so simple-minded that it was ridiculous. On the other hand, there's the gimmicky 3-D, as used in Friday the 13th Part 3. Characters spend their time awkwardly sticking objects toward the camera lens, such as when Jason fires a harpoon directly at the camera. It's cheesy, and definitely doesn't add anything in 2-D. I've attempted to watch the film in 3-D a couple of times, but it ended up giving me a headache more than anything.
As a consequence, everything else in the film suffers. The dialogue is probably some of the most atrocious of any of the films. For instance, blood drips from the ceiling and a character asks out loud to themselves "where is this coming from?". The delivery of the dialogue isn't much better, as evidenced by the lead actress. The characters are also more thinly-drawn. They have no substance or character motivation, except Shelly, who just wants to be accepted. The problem is that he intentionally scares and angers everyone around him all the time, and is sad when no one understands. Logic is also thrown straight out of the window in this one, just to have more scare value (albeit cheaply). This is also the film where Jason becomes a Timex watch (you know their slogan so I don't need to repeat it). He's bashed in the head, hanged and takes an axe to the face, yet somehow survives it all. I guess this is where his supernatural abilities come into play. Yeah sure, whatever. They even did a bit of retconning at the beginning of the film, tossing out the final moments of Part 2.
To be fair, there are some unintentionally funny things and moments throughout the film, including the film's uncredited actor, the barn. For some reason or another, the barn plays a significant role in the film because everyone is attracted to it like ants to sugar. People go inside it for no reason other than because it's there. Shelly even knows where the light switch in the barn is, even though he's never been in there before. It's where Jason does most of his dirty work in the film and where he seems to be hiding out at times, but it feels like the film is trying its hardest to include it as a main character. There's also that terrible moment at the end of the film when Jason's mother pops up out of the water to grab Chris, which is a carbon copy of the first film when young Jason pops up out of the water and grabs Alice. Why they decided to do this is beyond me. It's negated in the next scene anyways and makes no sense whatsoever.
Even though I dislike a lot of the things about the film, there are some good points to it. The characters and situations themselves don't feel like familiar territory. Sure it's a group of teenagers getting together for a good time, but they don't feel clichéd. We have the lead who's been away for a while (presumably in a mental hospital, but that's just a guess), her love interest who really isn't much of an interest to her at all (and a bit of a wuss for a so-called "country boy"), the pregnant couple, the awkward guy who never learned how to socialize with other people, the lonely girl who sees nothing in the lonely guy but friendship, and finally, the older-looking pot-smoking couple (why are they in this group of people?). So this isn't just another set of promiscuous and rebellious teenagers looking for a good time with lots of sex, drugs and alcohol. It's very tame in that regard. There's also the biker gang, who are only around to increase the film's body count and contribute nothing to the overall plot.
The special effects themselves are about average. The only death sequences in the film really worth mentioning would be Andy's character being split in half and Debbie's character taking a machete through the chest from underneath. I like that the film has the guts to kill a pregnant woman, even though she doesn't look pregnant. The best thing about the film overall is the opening and closing theme, which is catchy and funky. The score is pretty much the same, but that funky intro and outro is quite terrific (not that it improved the film all that much).
Making its way into theaters on August 13, 1982, Friday the 13th Part 3 wasn't as stellar a hit as its predecessors but it did pretty good business considering. The critics hated it (like they did all of the films) but the fans generally seemed to get into it. The sequels always have their pros and cons, and while some are better than others, some are just not that great. Part 3 falls into the latter category for me. However, it's not the worst film in the series. It's definitely worth watching, but when you're having a marathon of these movies, you can't wait to get to the next one.
Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter
After three films and Frank Mancuso Jr. feeling like he was being typecast as just a "horror producer", Paramount decided to close out the Friday the 13th series and kill off Jason once and for all with Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter. Despite the fact that Part 3 was originally meant to be the last film, the producers went ahead with the project, bringing in Joseph Zito, who had some success with The Prowler a couple of years earlier. Also returning to the fold was Tom Savini, who Zito had worked with previously.
The film is more or less a copy of Part 3 storywise, but with a family next door thrown into the mix. This time around we're treated to another group of teenagers that we actually like, including a young Crispin Glover (who went on to film Back to the Future a year later). Although the difference this time is that the teenagers are simply out to party and get laid, even the young virgin. By this point, this series was pretty much well-known as being filled with horny teenagers who would get their comeuppance, even though it's not all that clear cut. We're also introduced to a young Corey Feldman, whose character would be Jason's ultimate foil. Having a kid be under threat from Jason was something new too, and raised the stakes a bit.
While the special effects are pretty great, The Final Chapter isn't as strong a film as had I hoped it would be. The unnecessary character of Rob, who was looking for the man who killed his sister, is pretty much swept under the table and meets his demise early on in the third act, leaving little to no resolution to that character at all. Sure he attempts to save Tommy's sister, but he feels useless and tacked on, adding nothing to the overall plot (as do the promiscuous doctor and nurse at the beginning of the film). It also seemed like a missed opportunity to dig deeper into Jason's backstory and his family history. It's clearly evident that Paramount didn't put much thought into it and was only concerned with producing a horror film with a body count that would turn a profit and not much else.
An interesting aspect to overall story up to this point is that if you break down the timeline of films 2 through 4, you realize that they take place over the course of a week in different locations in and around Camp Crystal Lake. I find that absolutely insane. If something like that happened in the real world, there might have been a constant dragnet of police checking over the area, especially since Jason is still alive. After all, they just might be looking for him. Instead, he just goes unhindered and murders everybody he crosses paths with. The people he kills aren't even aware of the murders happening around them (except the general store couple at the beginning of Part 3, but they barely count as characters anyway). Most people probably don't even think about it much though because the story isn't focused in that direction anyways. We're just here to watch a bunch of teenagers get slaughtered over and over again.
This is also the last film in the series where Jason is still human. Two sequels later he would be resurrected, literally, and would be almost superhuman. That wasn't in anybody's minds at the time though. Jason really bites the dust in this one, and there's no wink-wink moment at the end where you know he'll return. I've always thought that the final moment of the film, wherein Tommy stares blankly into the camera, was to signify Tommy's loss on reality, and not that he would be taking up Jason's mantle. The people who made the next sequel, however, didn't feel the same way.
Released on April 13, 1984, Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter brought in a lot of dough for Paramount, and they immediately went back on their intentions to end the franchise and quickly got another sequel in development. Oh, if only Jason would have known how many times he would arise like Lazarus, he probably would have stayed underwater. Overall, this is a solid entry in the series, but for me, it's missing something that made Part 2 work so well, mainly the solid character development and suspense factor. Not that The Final Chapter isn't good, but Tom Savini's effects are the real star in this one and not necessarily the story. Although, it was probably thought out much more than the next film.
Friday the 13th, Part V: A New Beginning
After The Final Chapter raked in the profits, the decision was made to continue the story, but without Jason. It was a blow from the very beginning of the process, which had many more blows to follow. For this reason alone, the film gets a bad rap as the redheaded step-child of the series. The idea seemed to have been for Tommy to be traumatized by going through yet another experience with Jason, or at least someone like Jason. Afterwards, Tommy would lose it and become the new killer. It's heavily implied at the end of the film when the famous music motif of "Kill, kill, kill... Ma, Ma, Ma" becomes "Kill, kill, kill... Ta, Ta, Ta". Although it turned a nice profit, it was met with immediate disapproval from fans and critics alike, but is Friday the 13th Part V: A New Beginning really that bad?
Well, yes and no. For me personally, it comes off like a black comedy, or almost a spoof of Friday the 13th (despite spoofs like the Sleepaway Camp series or Saturday the 14th popping up around this time). It wasn't intentional, but because it's so poorly-made, it feels that way to me. The entire plot revolves around an ambulance driver named Roy being driven to kill using Jason's appearance to hide his identity. The kills are mostly random people: two greasers with a broken-down car, Tommy's ambulance driver & girlfriend and Reggie's brother & girlfriend. The teenagers in question don't even get it until towards the end of the film. I guess if you're going to go insane and start killing people you probably would have a target, and not just murder everybody in sight the way Jason did. It would have made a little more sense if they had just made Tommy the killer from the very beginning instead of Roy, but oh well. That's the direction that they chose to take.
The kills themselves are pretty lame as well, for the most part. The most impressive one is actually Roy's death, when he lands on a bed of spikes (why there's a bed of spikes near that barn, I'll never know). The rest are pretty unimaginative and poorly executed. The characters themselves don't really have any depth to them either. There's an attempt to have the stuttering kid have a crush on one of the girls and be rejected by her, but it just feels useless more than anything, and doesn't come in until the third act anyway. The film is visually uninteresting as well. It all just stinks of sloppiness, which seems to be the case. They just seemed to have rushed through it quickly just to get another Friday the 13th film into theaters the following year.
The things that make the film funny are the unintentional things, like Junior and his mother, who are terrible people, but unintentionally hilarious. Their entire existence in the film is wanting to see the teenagers at the nuthouse next door killed if they ever set foot on their property, meanwhile bickering amongst themselves. Other things like the two pot-smoking, sex-crazed teenagers (including a very healthy Debi Sue Voorhees, who apparently got the job for her name and not just her assets). The two just want to have sex all the time and act fairly normal, making you question just how crazy these teenagers really are. Doesn't seem like it to me. But the best laugh in the entire film comes when Pam, Tommy and Reggie are driving down the road to see Reggie's brother at a nearby trailer park. The ride there is completely uneventful and needlessly takes place over the course of about 30 seconds, but they underscored with threatening horror-type music, for no apparent reason. It makes me laugh every single time I see it.
There are also lots of missed opportunities with this sequel. We have the opening with Tommy's nightmare where we see him as a kid, watching Jason come out of his grave and kill him (with a reprisal by Corey Feldman, who shot the scene on his day off from The Goonies), but the question is never answered about what happened to Tommy's sister. They were both alive at the end of The Final Chapter, but yet again, the filmmakers retconned the story into saying that Tommy's entire family was killed by Jason. They also didn't bother to dig any deeper into Jason's or Tommy's backstories, which judging by the direction they took, didn't even cross their minds. I think that it's a safe bet to say that when they decided to make Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives that they chose to just totally ignore the events of the previous film. If you think about it, the entire plot about Tommy going crazy, taking up Jason's mantle and Jason's body being cremated were entirely abandoned, and neither film before or after it depends on it at all. In that way, it's very much like Halloween III: Season of the Witch. The entire story involving Michael Myers was dropped in that film for a completely different story about something else. That's the way that A New Beginning feels to me, despite still being enjoyable in a 'so bad that it's good' kind of way. Danny Steinman (who also directed Savage Streets, as well as having a history in pornography, and it shows) may have gone in with good intentions, but the overall product is ultimately left out of the Friday the 13th pantheon.
Released on March 22, 1985, Friday the 13th Part V: A New Beginning certainly made a profit for the studio, but was an enormous let-down for fans of the series. When the dust settled, this disapproval was later felt by the studio as well, although I don't think it should be overlooked just because it doesn't fit into the series as snugly as it should. Hell, the first film doesn't. It can be very entertaining if you look at it from the right perspective. In all honesty, you probably won't get the humor on your first time through, but after it settles with you and you see it again, you can begin to see a lot of the unintentional ironies in it. For good or bad, the series continued on and went in a much more satisfactory direction afterwards.
Friday the 13th, Part VI: Jason Lives
After the disapproval over the final product of A New Beginning, Paramount decided to resurrect Jason with a sixth sequel. Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives would have a slightly bigger budget, a better director, a better story and more interesting actors. With director Tom McLoughlin at the helm, the series took a more apparent humorous direction than an unintentional one like in the previous film. McLoughlin wanted the film to have more entertainment value, and included allusions to other movies for film fans. He ultimately got what he wanted and Jason Lives wound up being the most popular sequel, up to this point anyway.
Instead of sticking to the gratuitous Friday the 13th formula of the previous films, Tom McLoughlin decided to completely rework the formula, making it not only satisfying and entertaining to fans of the series, but to newcomers as well. It honors the series and even other horror films of the past with visual references abound, including the electrifying rebirth of Jason ALA Frankenstein's monster. This was also the film where Jason became the superhuman zombie we all know him as today.
It was also decided to bring in a fresh roster of camp counselors and a group of kids, as well. Adding kids to the dynamic really raised the stakes, and made what Jason was doing in an around the camp more threatening. At the same time, comedy was thrown into the mix and both aspects managed to work well together. In retrospect, the whole thing could have been a real disaster. Making enormous changes could have spelled real doom for the series if it hadn't been received well, although I don't think it would have stopped Paramount from making further sequels. They seemed secure enough to release whatever they wanted to at this point.
There are also some great performances from the actors as well, including Thom Matthews as Tommy (replacing Corey Feldman and John Shepherd from the previous films), David Kagen as the town Sheriff and Jennifer Cooke as his rebellious daughter Megan. It's also interesting that they dropped Crystal Lake as a name. In the film, the Sheriff explains to Tommy that they renamed the town to Forest Green because they wanted to forget about what Jason did there. Now I've always assumed that Crystal Lake was the name of the camp and not the entire town, but they really drive it home in this film that Crystal Lake and Forest Green were not just the names for the camp site, but the entire town as well. It's not that big of a deal, and it's something that the audience doesn't really think about, but it does leave a slight hole in the overall scheme of things. Not that continuity between films has never been a problem before or since, but this was always one aspect that bothered me specifically for some reason.
As I stated when talking about A New Beginning, they also decided to retcon all of the events of the previous film. In the beginning of Jason Lives, Tommy is fresh out of an institution, but instead of beginning his life anew, he decides instead to dig up Jason's resting place and cremate him. Unintentionally, he resurrects Jason and, for the rest of the film, is on a mission to stop him. So Tommy inadvertently causes the deaths of a number of people. Whew, that's got to make you feel bad about yourself, huh?
Anyways, the film also benefits from a slightly higher budget than the previous films. Everything looks and sounds so much better. You can tell that a strong effort was really put into the look and sound of the film. They also decided to go out and get Alice Cooper to do a song for the film, which became a modest hit when the film opened. The special effects and the kills were also much better, much more imaginative and more fun this time around. Look no further than Jason stabbing a guy at the wheel of a motor home in the side of the head and causing the thing to crash and burn. We had never seen a stunt this big in a Friday the 13th film before, which made the film seem even bigger and more sophisticated than it was. Attention to detail was vital for this crew of filmmakers, and it really shows.
Opening on August 1, 1986, Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives was a big hit, and a welcome return for fans who had been let down by the less than mediocre film before it. Of all of the sequels, this is the one that has the most entertainment value to it, and coincidentally ties with the second film as being my favorite. It's a near perfect sequel that makes you wonder why they didn't just go in this direction in the first place. In retrospect, I guess they had to make a bad follow-up sequel in order to follow through and make a really good one, but it's a shame that it had to happen that way. I'm still grateful though, because this is a great film, and really the last great film of the series. It's too bad that they couldn't repeat this level of fun and quality.
Friday the 13th, Part VII: The New Blood
Less than two years later, Paramount re-surfaced the series with the seventh sequel: Friday the 13th Part VII: The New Blood. Bringing in special effects guru John Carl Buechler on to direct, this time there wouldn't be as many positive aspects to the final product, at least in my opinion. As far as the film itself goes, it's more or less a repeat of The Final Chapter in some ways. There's a party about to happen next door to a family, but in this instance, the family is broken and dysfunctional. It's a mother and her daughter seeking refuge away from the world with a psychologist, who is seemingly attempting to help the daughter overcome a kind of psychosis after seeing her father die when she was young.
The film was originally meant to be Freddy VS. Jason, which is maybe why there are vague similarities with the film that eventually came later. However, Paramount Pictures didn't own the rights to A Nightmare on Elm Street or the character of Freddy, and when they couldn't reach an agreement on character and distribution rights with New Line Cinema, the project was scrapped and re-purposed. The story was changed to incorporate some of the elements from that script, but with a telekinetic girl instead, who could use the power of her mind to throw objects at Jason to defend herself. The idea may seem a bit far-fetched, even for this series, but I guess if you can buy a superhuman zombie killing people in some very extreme and nasty ways then I guess you'd also have to buy into this as well.
The New Blood is mostly credited with containing the definitive Jason: a zombie that's been trapped under water, looks very bulky and a bit skeletal at times (I can't imagine how he smells). It's also the first film in the series where Jason is portrayed by Kane Hodder, a stuntman turned actor (having been previously played by Ari Lehman, Steve Daskawisz, Warrington Gillette, Richard Brooker, Ted White and C.J. Graham, respectively). The difference between the previous portrayals is Hodder's intensity. Jason is now a violent killing machine, and not just merely a killer. His take on the character was a welcome change to fans and it's the reason that he was brought back for the next two sequels. People tend to give the film a lot of credit for both of these reasons, but I think they've got blinders on in that regard.
Being the successor to Jason Lives, the film feels mainly disappointing because it doesn't really bring much new to the table. Sure the telekinesis is certainly a new element, but everything surrounding it feels like the same old territory. While The New Blood has some very sparse character development, it's the lead character that really makes the film take a nosedive. She's constantly weeping and in a near catatonic state throughout the entire film. She's also socially awkward and hung up on the death of her father, but these things go hand in hand in nearly every scene in the film, and it gets old really fast. By the time she learns to harness her mental abilities and stop Jason, I'd already grown tired of her and would've gladly cheered on her demise. The rest of the characters don't have much to speak of, other than the double-crossing psychologist who claims to be trying to help Tina, but is really out to exploit her abilities. It's rather fitting that his character gets the most over-the-top and ridiculous kill in the film.
Speaking of which, the deaths in the film become more and more silly as the film goes on. Some aren't very creative, like Jason throwing someone out of a window (which we've seen before), but some are beyond extreme and really reach out for the entertainment value. The most talked-about death is when Jason takes the sleeping bag with the girl in it and slams her into a tree (only once in the home video version but several times in the theatrical release). The rest include a party favor to the eye, a standard axe to the face and a lackluster drowning in the lake. It feels a lot milder in comparison to the last film, but Hodder's menacing performance makes Jason much more threatening, and Hodder really throws himself into the role. The most impressive stunt in the film is when Hodder falls backwards through a staircase (nearly killing him, according to him).
This is also the entry in the series where the MPAA came down the hardest on the final cut, as well. Unfortunately, all of the cut footage has been lost forever and we'll never get to see an uncut version of The New Blood, which is a shame. It wouldn't improve the story or the lackluster elements themselves, but it would be interesting to see nonetheless. Overall, the film has some pretty decent moments and some genuine suspense in spots, but it pales in comparison to the entry before it. The anti-climactic end of the film doesn't help much either, which is so quickly brushed over that it feels like a rush to get to the end credits. Just a quick cut to an ambulance driving away and, boom, it's all over. No finality, no commentary, no nothing.
When Paramount released Friday the 13th Part VII: The New Blood on May 13, 1988, it proved once again that Jason still had some staying power. I think a lot of this success had to do with coming off of the success of Jason Lives, kind of like how A Nightmare on Elm Street Part 4: The Dream Master was a big success because of the popularity of the previous film, A Nightmare on Elm Street Part 3: The Dream Warriors. It feels very much like that to me, because in both cases, the final product wasn't nearly as compelling or as interesting as the one before it. Don't get me wrong though. I don't think that the film is a total waste, but at this point, it's definitely starting to feel like these movies are beginning to tread water, which is ironic considering the direction of the next film.
Friday the 13th, Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan
When Paramount hired Rob Hedden to write and direct the next film, Friday the 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan, they wanted him to incorporate some kind of finality to the series (despite the franchise being seemingly ended in two of the previous films). The original series definitely ended at Paramount Pictures, but mostly for the wrong reasons. My feeling about it is that they wanted to close out the series before they sold the rights to New Line Cinema, so that the series would be bookended somehow and New Line wouldn't be able to make a direct sequel (which is what ended up happening). Regarded by most fans as the worst of the series, Jason Takes Manhattan was disowned early on because of its misleading title. Despite the detractors and the hardcore fan community seemingly hating it outright, I'll admit that I kind of like Jason Takes Manhattan more than The New Blood.
Now before you start sending me vicious hate mail, let me explain myself a bit. At the time this film was released, the Friday the 13th series had become stale. It had been sort of rebirthed two films earlier, but there wasn't much left that you could do with it without getting ridiculous. To add to that, the public seemed to be getting tired of Jason and his status in pop culture made him more a figure of fun than anything else. If they were going to do another film, they needed to do something pretty risky, and there's no mistake about it: Jason Takes Manhattan IS a risky film, but unfortunately it's a risk that didn't pay off. For starters, it was nice that we weren't stuck on dry land at a summer camp or a similar location again. We've seen that so many times, not to mention the cavalcade of other slasher films doing the same thing over and over again. It was definitely time for a change of setting. It's basically the same plot of murdering a bunch of teenagers (or anyone else that gets in Jason's way), but it's more appealing visually.
There also seems to be an element of creativity to it. Anyone who has seen the deleted scenes from the film might realize that they were really trying to develop the characters a bit more, and give them some motivation outside of running from a maniac. Renny's character, for instance, has a fear of the water and is trying to overcome that fear. The captain of the boat also has a slight arc to him, despite his early demise. There are some clever things in the film as well, such as when they have one of the characters walking around with a camcorder and when he loses his glasses, he pulls focus on the camera to see properly (only to discover Jason in front of him). Overall, the film seems more creative and more engaging than most people give it credit for.
That being said, yes, the film definitely has a lot of flaws. A plethora of questions seem to pop up in most of our minds when we see the film. Since when is Crystal Lake connected to a waterway that leads out to sea? Why does Jason revert to a little boy at the end of the film? Why doesn't the ship start sinking despite taking on all that water? Since when did Jason learn to teleport? Why did the captain not bleed when his throat was slit? Why was Tamara even allowed on the boat in the first place if she hadn't completed her senior project? If Renny is only hallucinating because of her trauma as a child, then why does her dog see her hallucinations too? Why do the sewers of New York flush out toxic waste every night? All of these questions have been burning up fans for years, including myself, and contribute to the film's overall dislike.
The biggest flaw of Jason Takes Manhattan, however, is the fact that despite the title, Jason doesn't even set foot in Manhattan until the last thirty minutes or so of the film. Unwittingly or not, all that did was basically set up audiences for disappointment, which is where the film ultimately failed. It would have been great to see Jason all over New York City, causing mayhem left and right with pedestrians, thieves, hookers and policemen. Sadly, the budget didn't allow for that, but they based the title and advertising campaign around it anyway. In my opinion, it was a huge mistake on Paramount's part to do that. If it had been titled something like "Jason's Final Voyage", "The Final Friday", or anything else that didn't have Manhattan or New York in the title, I think it might have fared a bit better than it did (no pun intended).
They also made the mistake of trying to come up with a backstory for the lead character of Renny without really paying it off. She is nearly drowned by Jason as a young girl and develops a bit of a psychosis because of it. Over the course of the film she has these hallucinations of a young Jason calling for help and near the end of the film, she brings forth her repressed memory of nearly being drowned. At the very end, Jason becomes that little boy again, leaving us with many unanswered questions. It's also unclear about her parents and why she's having to be looked after like an orphan, but her main focus is to get over her fear of the water, which is tied into Jason's story, somehow. If you're confused, don't be ashamed. Also, what is it with this series and making the lead characters basket cases or people with deep psychological problems? They really ran that one into the ground, didn't they?
Both the acting and the kills in the film are pretty good, at least more imaginative than the previous film. We also finally get another harbinger of doom again like Crazy Ralph from the first two films. The film tries to play with the idea that he might also be in on the killing, but it's a dead end, of course, when he's found with an ax in his back. The best kill in the film, however (and one of my favorites from the entire series), is the boxer's death. He spends at least a minute and a half of screen time punching Jason repeatedly until he tires out. When he does, Jason grabs him and punches his head clean off. We switch to his point of view as his head tumbles off of the roof and into a dumpster. It's built up wonderfully to that moment and you have to laugh out loud when it happens. It's also nice that for once everybody knows there's a killer on board early on, instead of each of them finding out one by one. It gives the film a bit more urgency and better suspense value, at least to me.
Released on July 28, 1989, Friday the 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan saw a disappointing decline at the box office, and became the least money-making film of the series. Some of it had to do with the disappointment of the film not living up to its title, but I think it had more to do with the public just being sick of Jason. There had been a film in the series released almost once a year since the debut of the first one in 1980, and the grueling pace had finally caught up with the series. As with the previous film, it also came under heavy scrutiny from the MPAA and, as a consequence, isn't as bloody or as brutal with the onscreen violence as you would expect. Despite all of its problems, the film is much more entertaining for me, and is FAR better than what came next.
Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday
Four years would go by without another Friday the 13th sequel. The series seemed to have run its course, but despite that, New Line Cinema purchased the sequel rights to the character and story. While Freddy VS. Jason was still stuck in development hell, the decision was made to make a definitive final film in the franchise that would ultimately lead to the match-up between the two icons. What we got from director Adam Marcus and Sean S. Cunningham, who produced the film, was Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday. However, this time around there would be very few positive aspects to the proceedings.
The story involves Jason being killed by the F.B.I. at the beginning of the film. The only problem is that his spirit takes over other people's bodies until he can be reborn through one of his blood relatives: his sister, her daughter or her daughter's daughter. Hot on Jason's trail is Creighton Duke, a bounty hunter who is out to destroy Jason once and for all, but only with the help Jason's sister's daughter and her ex-husband John. According to Duke, Jason can only die by the hand of a Voorhees... with the use of the Necronomicon and Candarian dagger from The Evil Dead found in the Voorhees house. Right.
Not only is Jason Goes to Hell my least favorite film in the series, it's also probably the worst overall. You would have thought that after the backlash of A New Beginning, wherein someone was pretending to be Jason, that they would have foregone the idea of Jason inhabiting the bodies of other people in order to survive, but no. They went with it anyway, and we had to suffer as a consequence. To be fair, Jason IS onscreen in the film, but only for about fifteen minutes, if that. The rest of the time we have to watch actor after actor pretending to be him. Also in this film, instead of Jason being a supernatural serial killer just out for revenge against those who've wronged him, we learn that he's also an evil spirit. It reminds me a lot of the direction that the Halloween series took. After they had done all they could do with the reality of each series, they had to get some unreality in there. In fact, there are quite a few similarities between the franchises at this point that it becomes both ironic and ridiculous.
It's also abundantly clear that after Jason Lives filmmakers were more comfortable in making more and more changes to the series to prevent it from becoming stale. This isn't a bad thing, per se, because it was indeed stale, but perhaps just leaving the series alone and not making anymore sequels would probably have been the best idea. New Line Cinema taking over the franchise didn't really help that much either. I think they hoped to breathe new life into it somehow, but instead they were just flogging a dead horse.
I know I'm bitching quite a bit and you're probably asking yourself 'is there anything positive to this film?' Well, the actors do an ok job with their roles, I suppose (not that there's much there to work with in the first place). The dialogue is gut-wrenchingly bad most of the time, so there's no room for creativity there. Some of the gore effects are pretty good, in particular the melting man scene (despite the scene not making much sense). The only really good scene in the film is the jail scene between the characters of Duke and John when Duke breaks John's fingers in order for him to "pay" for information about Jason. It’s the moment when the film stops being schlock for a few minutes and actually pulls off something character-driven and interesting. It seems to have a nice build to it, and it's about the only really positive thing I can say about it. Everything surrounding it is garbage.
I've already talked about the awful plotline, and there are many scenes that accessorize that awfulness. The scene that really stuck out as not making any sense was when Jason (disguised as the coroner from earlier in the film) has a naked man strapped to a table and proceeds to shave him before the "evil spirit" leaves him and enters his body. While he's shaving him, the guy says "What the hell are you doing?", which is what I was wondering myself. Why exactly does Jason do this? What will it achieve? He's already in disguise as another person so why would making him look different be any help to him at all? And why does the guy melt into a pile of goop after Jason leaves his body for another? The guy wasn't dead or anything. He was just possessed, more or less. There's also the scene when Jason attacks everybody in the diner and suddenly this little waitress becomes superchick, shooting shotguns with efficiency and moving with stealth (all in slow motion, I might add). Or how about the moment when John goes to the Voorhees' family house, only to discover it's a mansion of some kind with a large playground out back? The mailbox doesn't even have the proper spelling of the name on it. It says "Vorhees", despite the name being spelled correctly elsewhere in the film.
Other mistakes include the score for the film, which is absolutely terrible. I've never really objected to Harry Manfredini's score before, or cared that people accused him of blatantly ripping off the score from Psycho, but it stands out in this film as just needlessly appalling. It's basically a synthesizer-driven score that's trying to be epic in scale, but it just sounds like a MIDI file most of the time. It's not even laughable, it's just annoying. I'm sure the point was to signify with the music that this was a big film, but it fails miserably. It ends up just sounding over-the-top and sticks out like a sore thumb.
However, the biggest mistake that the filmmakers made was that in going with the storyline that Jason inhabits other people's bodies that Kane Hodder wasn't one of those bodies. Sure, he has a small cameo as a SWAT team guy who Jason murders off-camera, but it was a missed opportunity for people to see Hodder onscreen for once in this scenario. To be honest, I don't believe that the filmmakers thought that much about the actual content of the film while making it. They just showed up and did their jobs. There doesn't seem to be any passion or logic behind anything that's happening. You might be sitting there wondering why I'm disregarding this film as opposed to Jason Takes Manhattan, where I slightly defended it. Well, that's the reason. The director was trying to do something different with that film and had a passion for it, as opposed to Jason Goes to Hell, wherein there doesn't seem to be a need to make anything more than just a generic slasher trying to be an epic conclusion, which it fails at tremendously.
Released on August 13, 1993, Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday was met with lukewarm response, but managed to rake in a bit more cash than the previous sequel. I'm not exactly sure how it has shaped up over time with fans, but I for one find it the least-interesting and most poorly-made of the series. The film manages to depart from the franchise's formula significantly, but in the wrong direction. As I stated previously, there just seemed to be no passion behind it and it felt, more or less, like people just showed up and got it over with, as opposed to something like Jason Lives. It ended up being a black eye to the series anyway because we later learned (unsurprisingly) that this was indeed NOT the final Friday.
Jason X
Nearly 11 years later, New Line Cinema decided to go ahead with yet another Friday the 13th sequel. Part of the decision behind it might have been just to keep Jason relative in people's minds, but also to give die-hard fans of the series something new. The real reason behind it was to make a placeholder for the impending Freddy vs. Jason, which was less than a year away from being made upon the release of Jason X.
I'm sure you're expecting me to sit here and rip this film to pieces, but I honestly can't do that. Why? Because Jason X is a hell of a good time. Most people would contend that the idea of sending Jason into the future and space could very well be the worst idea in the history of the series. Well, that's not totally inaccurate. I had the same reaction when I first heard about it. There was actually a cliché of taking slasher and horror movies into space at the time (perhaps most infamously with the Hellraiser series), and I thought 'wow, they're really going that route?" But as I stated previously, this series, at least at this juncture, needed to make risky moves like this in order to avoid repetition. One could also argue that this series was built solely on repetition, but when you stack these movies up together and watch them back-to-back, you start to develop tunnel vision. It's not until you get something out of left field, like Jason X, that you perk back up and realize that these movies can be fun, even if they're done much differently.
The story is basically about Jason and a young woman, who are accidentally cryogenically frozen, only to be unearthed by a group of scientists in training almost five centuries later. Waking up on a space ship, Jason goes back to his old tricks and murders everyone in sight. Later in the film, Jason is temporarily stopped by the crew aboard the ship, but reborn as a cyborg, and the film earns its title. An insane premise, wouldn't you say? It actually sounds like something from a novel based on the series, or even fan fiction. This actually had the potential to be the worst film in the series, but because of the direction of Jim Isaac and the other talented people behind the camera, it wasn't. It's actually very well-made, and much more engaging and interesting than the previous three sequels (especially Jason Goes to Hell).
There isn't much in the way of standard Friday the 13th story fodder either. There's no one with deep psychological problems trying to defeat Jason, no gratuitous sex or nudity scenes and there's no sense of suspense or build-up to it anymore. Why is that a good thing? In this context, and as stated previously, these films are so played out that a sequel that would try to be genuinely suspenseful would just fall flat on its face. This film is having fun with the series, and it shows. Hell, they even have a scene that pays homage to The New Blood when Jason walks into a holodeck-type area and is made to believe that there are a couple of teenagers looking to party and have sex. He immediately bashes them while they're in their sleeping bags. They also have a similar scene earlier in the film where Jason walks into that same area and thinks he's killed one of the main characters, just to find that it was all a computer simulation. He immediately afterwards kills the character for real.
There's also a bit of set up and pay off, or even building up the reality of the film. Early on, when they discover Jason's frozen corpse, he's accidentally knocked over and cuts off one of the character's arms. Causing little to no fuss, they use a futuristic method of cauterizing the wound, bring the severed arm with them, and re-attach it on the ship. It seems frivolous but it actually sets up that these people have the technology to combat things like severed limbs or damaged tissue. It also sets up the nanobots table, which are little mechanical spiders that are used to bring the frozen lead actress back to life, repairing damaged tissue in the process. It's also, of course, used to the nth degree with Jason later in the film. This is also another entry where everybody knows about Jason early on, which I like.
In all actuality, there's no way to really do a sequel to this series (or a remake, for that matter) without it being laughed at in some way. It's when the filmmakers have a passion for it and try to do something creative and fun with it that it's most effective, which is the case with Jason X. I'm sure I'm going to be accused of having double standards with my opinions regarding this series, but whatever the reasons, this concept and the way that it's executed just works for me. It's by no means perfect, or even a great slasher movie. It's a tired slasher movie that tries to have fun, and be a little meta at the same time.
Debuting on April 26, 2002, Jason X had a mixed reception from critics and fans alike. It made its money back at the box office, but wasn't greeted with open arms very much. I think most people just couldn't get their heads around the concept: Jason goes into space, kills everyone and lands on a new planet at the end, where the cycle will start all over again. In other words, the series had come a very long way from a vengeful mother and her vengeful son reeking havoc on promiscuous teenagers. For me, the original films end on a high note, and I'm glad that we got one final good film in the series, as opposed to something really crappy.
New Line wasn’t completely done with Jason though. He returned the following year, 2003, for Freddy vs. Jason. Being that the film is generally contains more of a Nightmare on Elm Street plotline with merely elements of Jason and his story, I personally don't consider it canon with the Friday the 13th series. Also, I think I've covered it well enough elsewhere, so there's no need to re-review it. I generally enjoyed that film, and would have preferred it if they had left those characters alone afterwards. But, in the age of remaking anything and everything that has marquee value, Friday the 13th was by no means holy ground.
Friday the 13th (Remake)
After several years of silence on the Jason front, New Line Cinema decided to resurrect the franchise and remake Friday the 13th. They hired Platinum Dunes for the job, which is a company that was also behind the remakes of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and A Nightmare on Elm Street. Bringing on some of the creative people from Freddy VS. Jason, as well director Marcus Nispel, it could have gone either way. Hollywood today is more keen on remaking something that the public will recognize rather than spend money on something that's not a sure-fire money maker, and remaking Friday the 13th was one of the major cash cows left to plunder in the horror realm. In a way, they succeeded, but not without the usual drawbacks. I think the main thing that these remakes do is bring the original films to the attention of new audiences, which is definitely a good thing, but that's an organic process unto itself. You usually discover these movies at a young age through friends and family members most of the time and not by other means.
Friday redux (which is how I'd like to think of it) is not that bad at being what it is, I suppose, but it's not that good at bringing anything that new into the formula. It's just familiar retread. The filmmakers spend most of the time making Jason more reality-based than supernatural. For instance, Jason being in one place and then another so quickly was explained by him having underground tunnels all over the camp grounds. They also take the time in the opening moments to show him as a child seeing his mother being beheaded and finding a locket on her dead body with her picture inside it. In these remakes, there just seems to be this need to overexplain the characters and situations, and make them more relatable somehow. It's become a bit of a cliché, as have the remakes, but was it really necessary with Jason? Probably not all that much. The locket thing is fine (in and of itself), but they still ignore the lack of logic that Jason drowned and suddenly came back to life. The underground tunnel thing just felt unnecessary, but it also served another purpose.
In this film, Jason is purely a momma's boy. It goes to pathetic levels to show it, too. Jason even has a bed with his name carved into the headboard with the obligatory teddy bear on top of the blanket. There's even a moment when they show Jason having a flashback to the beheading of his mother while sharpening his machete (why would he do that?). It's that sympathy thing, not unlike Rob Zombie's remake of Halloween, that makes it feel pathetic. Broad strokes are necessary when it comes to telling a backstory in these films. We don't need to sympathize with the killer. The moment that they take it too far is when Jason takes the lead girl prisoner because she's wearing his mother’s locket and she looks her. Listen, Jason doesn't take prisoners. He's not Leatherface. He murders without remorse and without the need to take prisoners. Hell, even in Part 2 when Ginny plays the trick on him that she's his mother and Jason realizes that she's not he still tries to kill her. You can fool Jason sometimes, but when it comes down to it, he'll flat out murder you. He's also a bit smarter and a more exacting killer. He's a lot of faster, of course, but he also has things like bear traps set up to catch people off guard. The latter changes aren’t terrible, I guess. Just something different.
As far as the characters themselves, they're slightly one-dimensional, and clichéd as all can be. It had to be intentional though, because there's no way that they made this film without realizing it at some point. Starting off you have the handsome hero, the dick boyfriend, the sweet girlfriend who hates the dick boyfriend but likes the handsome hero, the funny stoner Asian guy, the black guy who points out racism in every direction and tries to be tough, the blonde looking to have a good time and eventually goes bananas (but thankfully dies early before she gets annoying), the adventurous couple who get it early, and finally, the lead victim who overcomes the killer. It's formulaic and generally boring on that level. The only thing that's missing is a mouthy black woman or a creepy little girl. The flipside to this is that these people show more of their emotions than nearly anyone in the original series. It's just a sign of the times, I guess, but it's also how these movies are set up. There's a party, there's conflict between characters, characters die, the other characters find out about it and then its time to escape (or fight back, in some cases). In other words, what all of the other modern horror films are doing. The only character who has any real feeling or depth is the Asian guy, who actually gives the best performance in the film. I also like the local old woman, who's the harbinger of doom in this film, and seems to know everything about Jason and his mother. Unsurprisingly, the dialogue is pretty awful at times, including the last line right before Jason dies: "Say hello to mommy... in hell!"
On the other hand, the kills in Friday redux are actually pretty good, and some are even a bit on the visual side, such as the policeman's death. In the Killer Cut of the film, there's quite a bit of blood and gore, but much tamer in the theatrical version. The Asian guy's death, in particular, is quite brutal and bloody. Jason, being faster and more ferocious, really deals out some disgusting kills. He doesn't just stalk his prey slowly. He gets right in its face and kills it horribly, which to me leaves me scratching my head whenever they try to get me to relate to this guy. There's also quite a bit of nudity and sex in the film. Actually, much more than I would have expected. It's shocking what you can get away with in an R rated film nowadays compared to something like A New Beginning, which had a big chunk of a sex scene lifted out of it to satisfy the MPAA. Hell, even one of the kills with a girl being stabbed in the top of the head while she's under a pier unnecessarily shows her boobs, and that didn't get axed. I wasn't surprised by the nudity itself though. It's pretty much a given that someone could lose their top at any given moment in one of these films. That formula never changes.
The film is also shot competently. It looks good, but it also looks like most of the horror films coming out these days, including the Nispel-directed Texas Chainsaw Massacre remake and The Cabin in the Woods. They all have a stylized look to them: dark, lots of shadows and washed out colors, except for the blood. Even the shaky cam is surprisingly used appropriately. There's some general atmosphere to everything, and a lot of work seems to have went into the set decorating to make things creepy at times, but it doesn't totally succeed in that regard (but not for lack of trying). The score is made up of synth and rock. It's mediocre, but it's also used sparingly, so that's ok I guess. There are also lots of similarities between the film and the original series, mainly the first three films. The barn from Part 3 makes a return and the ending borrows quite a bit from Part 2 with the girl who looks like Jason's mother pretending to be his mother briefly to distract him. Jason also starts out wearing the potato sack and later finds the hockey mask, which they made into a slightly epic moment. They also pay homage to Jaws in one scene where they filmed a nude girl underwater, which logically makes no sense because it turns out that Jason isn't in the water, but whatever. They also changed the ending for there to be a jump scare and the possibility of a sequel, which is totally demeaning to a horror film, as well as a cliché these days (see The Strangers for the best example). So there's a various amount of elements at play in this film that doesn't really hold up together as a single entity.
Released on February 13, 2009, Friday the 13th redux brought in quite a bit of business to the box office, mainly because of the value of the name, and Jason, of course. It was met with some positive feedback, but the overall feeling was that it wasn't necessary in the first place, which is how I felt about it. It's watchable, and not all that insulting, but not all that memorable either. That's about all I can say about it really. And as of this writing, the franchise ends here. There are talks of making a sequel to the remake, but so far, nothing has come to fruition. I'd like to see it stay that way, but I have no say in that regard, do I?
"Ma'am, we didn't find no boy..."
I would be neglectful in not mentioning the documentary made by the good folks who did the Nightmare on Elm Street documentary Never Sleep Again: The Elm Street Legacy. His Name Was Jason: 30 Years of Friday the 13th was released by Paramount Pictures to coincide with the release of the remake by New Line Cinema. Overall, I didn't care for the documentary all that much because it didn't seem to cover much ground with the filmmakers and crew members and brushed over a lot of the more interesting details. It just seemed to be more geared towards fan gushing, and was more of a studio-controlled project, which is why it turned out the way it did, unfortunately.
Thankfully, that will change in June of 2013. The makers of that documentary have returned to the series to create "The Definite Documentary" on the series called Crystal Lake Memories: The Complete History of Friday the 13th. The word on the grapevine is that it will dwarf the Never Sleep Again documentary's running time (which was four hours). I look forward to it, and I also hope they dig into the Friday the 13th TV show a bit, which I'm sure they will. They're a pretty thorough crew of filmmakers and really good at what they do.
For those who want to learn more about it, visit the documentary's Facebook page here.
"Then he's still there..."
In closing, I'd just like to take a moment to tip my cap to the cast and crew of all of the Friday the 13th films, both living and deceased. To those who've worked on this series of films over the years, I hope there's no hard feelings over some of the things I've said. These are purely the opinions of a fan who appreciates the films, even the bad ones, and tries to find something positive about each and everyone one of them (even the ones I don't like). I love these films and it's been a great opportunity to talk about them. I'd also like to thank the continued support of the crew behind the Never Sleep Again and Crystal Lake Memories documentaries.
And as always, I'd like to thank my fellow cohorts at The Digital Bits for their constant support and never-ending inspiration, as well as the people taking the time to read this thing. I hope you enjoyed it as much as I enjoyed putting it together. Until next time... | {
"pile_set_name": "Pile-CC"
} |
Cout Construction Maison Sans Terrain
Cout Construction Maison Sans Terrain - This is the latest information about Cout Construction Maison Sans Terrain, this information can be your reference when you are confused to choose the right design for your home. | {
"pile_set_name": "Pile-CC"
} |
This page displays the lengths available for BZP-G5 1/4 UNF Hex Head Bolts.
Technical Data
Material
Grade 5 Zinc Plated Steel
Thread Diameter
"1/4"""
Thread Pitch
28tpi
Spanner Size
"7/16"""
Lengths quoted in the table below do not include the head height.
Prices are subject to quantity discounts based on a sliding scale.
Enter the desired quantity in the relevant box in the table below.
This will automatically calculate a line price indicating the applicable rate for the quantities selected. All prices shown
exclude VAT. | {
"pile_set_name": "Pile-CC"
} |
When you subscribe we will use the information you provide to send you these newsletters. Sometimes they’ll include recommendations for other related newsletters or services we offer. OurPrivacy Noticeexplains more about how we use your data, and your rights. You can unsubscribe at any time.
LIVERPOOL captain Steven Gerrard refused to write off his side’s Champions League chances despite defeat away to Besiktas last night.
The Reds went down 2-1 in Istanbul – a game boss Rafael Benitez said they must not lose– and now have just one point from their opening three games in Group A, meaning they must win their last three matches to have any chance of qualifying.
Gerrard, who pulled a goal back for Liverpool late on – after a first-half Sami Hyypia own goal and a Bobo strike had put the Turks 2-0 up – said: “We were unlucky, we created chances.
“We need to keep going and win the final three games and see what happens.
“We need to take the positives and learn from our mistakes. We are capable of winning our final three games.”
And Benitez, agreed with his captain that Liverpool can make it through to the knockout stages, saying: “We can do it for sure. The first thing is to start thinking about the next game and try to win that one. We can qualify with 10 points.” | {
"pile_set_name": "Pile-CC"
} |
Autism. Asperger (ADD. ADHD)
Autism. Asperger (ADD. ADHD)
In the early 1980, the incident of autism was 1 in 10,000 births. By 2005, the incidence had leaped to 1 in 250 births. The latest estimates indicate that one in 88 children is affected and increasing rapidly all around the world.
Why ? Genetic or excessive vaccinations ?
According to my years of clinical experiences in working on kids with autism and Asperger syndrome, ADD, and ADHD, there are strong evidence for a connection between excessive vaccinations and neurodevelopment disorders.
There are many autistic kids around world that were totally back to normal kids with my biomedical treatment. you may visit the section of testimonial to read the true stories of kids with autism who were cured totally.
Even the conventional medical community and scientist can’t explain the increasing rates of autism and Asperger syndrome for the last 10 years solely by genetic changes, as our genetics are simply not changing that rapidly.
Sadly all the researchers and doctors who works for the pharmaceutical companies never talk about the excessive vaccinations in order for them to keep their jobs.
With the biomedical method that I developed for the last 14 years based on the clinical experiences, I can figure out the root causes that affect the brain disorder mostly affected by the excessive vaccinations in the early age and change the biochemistry that effect the brain program with the applications of bioenergetic medicine, acupuncture, homeopathy and nutritional adjustment. | {
"pile_set_name": "Pile-CC"
} |
Chancellor George Osborne has confirmed that he is going to try to sell Northern Rock to a single buyer.
He has not rejected other options, but has been advised he will make the most money by selling it in one go.
In his Mansion House speech, Mr Osborne also said that banks should ring-fence retail from investment banking.
He said banks must be set up so that their High Street branches and savings and loans would not be damaged if their trading arms ran into trouble.
The legal separation of the functions of big banks was recommended by the Independent Commission on Banking.
Split bank
The auction of Northern Rock is expected to raise about £1bn, which is less than the £1.4bn the government injected into the bank, although not all of it is to be sold.
The former mutual has been split into a "good bank", containing customers' savings and about 70 branches, and a "bad bank" containing the more toxic loans.
Media captionDarling: 'Nationalisation was always temporary measure'
The former is set to be sold, while the latter will continue to be owned by the Treasury.
However, shadow chancellor Ed Balls called for Northern Rock to be mutualised rather than sold off, and accused Mr Osborne of failing to give the option serious consideration.
He has also criticised the chancellor for not announcing the sale in the House of Commons first.
Mr Osborne said that, "the independent advice I have received is that a sale process is likely to generate substantially the best value for the taxpayer and should be explored as a first option".
Even selling to a single buyer, Northern Rock may still be remutualised because the Treasury expects to receive bids from Yorkshire Building Society and from Coventry Building Society.
Other possible bidders include Sir Richard Branson's Virgin Money and NBNK, the company set up last year to buy banks, although both Virgin and NBNK are more interested in buying Verde, the much bigger banking business that Lloyds is being forced to sell.
More capital
Robert Peston said the restructuring of banks to protect their retail businesses would represent "the most significant reform to our banking system since Big Bang in 1986 made it much easier for our giant banks to buy stock brokers and become huge in investment banking".
The chancellor hopes that the sale of Northern Rock will send a powerful signal that the banking industry is on a path back to more normal conditions, following the crisis of three years ago | {
"pile_set_name": "Pile-CC"
} |
Just a thought...
Don't overlook the possibility of a loose connection.
Often when you "mess with it", you seem to get a temporary respite (until it loosens again?).
I've checked connections a few times. It was one of the first things I did when the problem first started. Re-checked everything when I put in the power supply. I always check connections when I have issues, I've even fixed a problem on old systems before because it was just a loose wire.
It's been almost 2 months since the last issue, and almost as long since I put in a better power supply.
For 2 months all has been quiet. It's doing it again. The other night it locked up completely and just now it restarted all by itself in the same manner as before.
This time, I can't view the system logs. When I try to open the Event Viewer, I just get a message after a few moments saying "Microsoft Management Console has stopped working..." and it closes. I'll try a proper restart to see if that gets working.
Maybe it's time I look into replacing that hard drive with an SSD.
Edit: A full shutdown and proper restart didn't get the Event Viewer to work. Still crashed. I looked at my notes, today's exactly 2 months since the last crash/random restart.
Regardless, I do believe this is some sort of hardware issue. Any failure (vid card, RAM, mobo, CMOS, CPU, etc.) can cause reboots. However, PSUs are the likeliest culprits.
Agree with Eric and others. Sounds more like a hardware issue than software, however nothing can be ruled out at this stage.
However, I would definitely see if you can use a Linux disk booted and left for hours or a couple days, to rule out Windows 10/Windows Updates as the culprit first since that would be the least expensive route.
Especially since the problem came back.
Let us know how that goes.
Digerati, on 01 December 2017 - 10:12 AM, said:
And for that matter, when you apply power to the computer, the HD will spin anyway even if you boot to the CD/DVD.
Very true. You could disconnect power to the suspected hard drive when you boot to a Linux cd/dvd and test it twice; once with hard drive connected and once with it disconnected. | {
"pile_set_name": "Pile-CC"
} |
Hidden Gems in Rome: 8 Off the Beaten Path Things to do in Rome
The major sites of Rome like the Vatican and Colosseum hardly need an introduction. But what about the rest of la Città Eterna? My favorite part of living in Rome is walking down the street, turning a corner, and BAM! I’m hit with something that takes me to another place and time. There are hidden gems all over Rome that allow you to experience the city like a local, taking you away from the hunger games experience found in many of the more popular sites. Join me as I share my top 8 off the beaten path things to do in Rome, and experience the city differently!
1. The Appian Way
Ever hear the expression all roads lead to Rome? The Appian Way, or Via Appia Antica, is the oldest road in Rome that started that expression. Built in 312 B.C., it was created to give the Roman Republic army an easier method of transportation.
Vast green spaces with towering trees and ancient Roman ruins lining both sides of the cobblestone paths. The nature and clean air make you feel like you are hours outside of Rome when in reality you’re just outside the center.
One of these 2 ways will land you calmly on the road:
Take the nearest Metro to Piramide (B line)
From there, take the 118 Bus
Get off at Catacombs of San Callisto (ask the driver if you’re not sure)
You’re on the Appian Way!
Head in the direction of Appia Antica Café for refreshments and then keep going in the same direction for the best scenery
OR
Take the nearest Metro to Colli Albani (A line)
From Largo Colli Albani (in front of the metro station) take the 660 Bus
As you get off the bus, the direction you want to head in is to your left
2. Gelateria La Romana
Rome is not shy of gelaterias, but knowing the good from the tasteless can save your vacation. This gelateria stole my heart my first week in Rome and, three years later, I have yet to find one better. The story behind it makes it all the better as well – a father wanted to make ice cream for his children so he started “La Romana”. Their special touch: order a cone and they’ll fill it with the free-flowing chocolate. YUM!
There are 3 locations in Rome so you’re never that far from a yummy treat:
3. Protestant Cemetery
It’s the resting place of poets Shelley and Keats, among other famous artists and politicians who couldn’t be buried on then Roman soil because of their religion. In the summer the shade will be more than welcome, and in the other months, you’ll have a unique and historically rich attraction practically to yourself.
4. Doppiozeroo
This is one of my favorite bar/restaurants for aperitivo. It is tucked away in Ostiense, a local neighborhood full of great eats and funky street art. When you order a cocktail you get an all-access pass to their aperitivo buffet full of pizza, veggies, and even dessert. You get to see how Romans do happy hour outside of a tourist hub, but still in central Rome.
If you want an earlier start, go for a larger-than-normal spremuta, fresh squeezed orange juice, and fresh pastries.
5. Per Grazia Ricevuta
A quintessential hidden gem in Rome, this shrine to the Madonna, or Virgin Mary, is on the main street in popular Trastevere. The shrine, which is a wall of inscriptions, gives thanks to Madonna for the blessings people have received.
Religious or not, this is something you can appreciate as an observation of the Italian culture. Faith and religion is such a big part of their daily lives and they proudly publicize their devotion. If you are lucky enough to be there when nonni, grandparents, walk by, you’ll most likely see them make the sign of the cross.
6. Centrale Montemartini Museum
A 19th-century power station turned art museum, this place holds one of the best collections of Greek and Roman statues. It’s a hip museum where the statues are mixed in among the black metal of the old machinery. It’s off the radar of tourists, and most locals, so you’ll come out with untold stories to tell.
** The museum is a 5-minute walk from Dopiozeroo (above). A perfect night of museum fun and happy hour after!
7. Nuovo Mondo
A typical Roman restaurant means no glitz or glamour, and that’s what you’ll get here. The waiters run around like headless chickens and the lights are brighter than what we may be used to back home for dinner, but what they lack in decor, they make up for in flavor and character – it’s consistently packed full of hungry Italians for a reason.
You’re coming to Italy, so eating is important. But, eating the right food in the right places is what will set the experience apart. Expect the Roman thin crust. Try anything with bufala or the capricciosa.
8. Palazzo Spada
In Rome’s historic center near Campo de’ Fiori, nestled between small winding streets, is this beautiful art gallery. Cardinal Spada purchased the building in 1632 and then hired Baroque architect Francesco Borromini to restore it. But, the tricky architect had something up his sleeve. When Borromini was restoring the gallery, he added an illusion in the internal courtyard. Standing in the courtyard, the corridor seems to stretch endlessly, and the statue at the end seems life-size, if not bigger. But, it is only 28 ft long (35m), and the statue a mere 23 inches high. So moved by the forced perspective, Spada wrote a short poem regarding his interpretation:
In the same way that illusions may cause small shapes to appear great, worldly matters held to be great may prove to be illusory and insignificant.”
Address: The entrance to the gallery is not in front of the palazzo but rather on the side on Vicolo del Polverone, 15b (there are signs) | Price: Tickets are €5 for adults over 25, €2.50 if under | Hours: Tuesday-Sunday 8:30 – 19:30
Discover More
We hope that we’ve inspired you to add some of these hidden gems to your itinerary when you’re next in Rome. If you go and visit any of them, please share your experience with us by tagging us in your posts! Share your photos with us on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and Instagram with #TheRomanGuy and @theromanguy for a chance to be featured!
What to find out more things to do in Rome? Check out these useful blog posts:
Looking for more help when planning your Italy vacation? Our team of Italy travel experts are always ready to help you in our Trip Planning Department! Email them with your basic ideas and they will plan your whole trip for you!
Hidden Gems in Rome: 8 Off the Beaten Path Things to do in Rome was last modified: December 1st, 2017 by Hannah Magargel
After studying abroad in Florence in 2010, Hannah was captured by Italy and now calls Rome her home. She is always on the hunt for the best authentic restaurants, charming side streets lined with Vespa’s and vintage Fiat 500’s, festivals happening around Rome, and the most charming day or weekend trips from Rome. One of her favorite parts of blogging in Italy is sharing her love of this country with other people to inspire their vacations or reflect on the best memories of their lives. | {
"pile_set_name": "Pile-CC"
} |
Coates Golf Championship _MD01285378.jpg
Amy Anderson during the Second day of the Second round of the LPGA Coates Golf Championship 2016 , from the Golden Ocala Golf and Equestrian Club, Ocala, Florida. 5/2/16
Picture: Mark Davison | Golffile
See the latest images from the European Tour, PGA Tour, OneAsia Tour, Asian Tour, LPGA & LET and Amateur tournaments. Photo website with Rights Managed photos, images, illustrations and footage available for download immediately for commercial and editorial uses. Golffile is a leading independent supplier and producer of stock golf pictures and visual content. Search and find high quality images for design, print, web-use and publishing. Buy photos from our extensive collection of model released and property released golf images. Search some of the most beautiful travel and landscape golf pictures from our own photographers and license from our large collection of content, modern and archive, focusing on golf. We provide free research. Register for personal account management and for full use of our Live & Stock Photography website and start to download images now. | {
"pile_set_name": "Pile-CC"
} |
Miele Neptune Is Now Available in Turquoise!
This new Miele vacuum cleaner is called the Neptune, and it looks perfect since it's light and portable, on top of looking pretty fetching in turquoise! The reason why it's offered in turquoise is that Pantone declared this color the Pantone color of 2010.
It's equipped with a high-output motor. The turquoise-colored vacuum will match any Pantone-themed decors with style. While this vacuum cleaner isn't only available in this color, it's kind of interesting to see these Pantone colors on appliances.
It's lightweight and quite powerful, and comes with all the necessary equipment to clean your home properly. It's got a 29½ foot cleaning radius, a Parquet Twister for smooth floors and a Turbo Comfort Brush for low-pile carpeting and area rugs.
It sells for $529 and has a bunch of eco-friendly features. The filter retains 99.95% of particles. While this sounds pretty interesting, we'd have to compare it to our favorite vacuum cleaner, the Dyson, which sells for almost the same amount of money, maybe even a bit less. It looks like we'd have to run full tests in order to see which is better, the Dyson DC25 or the Miele Neptune. | {
"pile_set_name": "Pile-CC"
} |
BOISE, Idaho - The Broncos (0-1-0) showed determination throughout their season-opening match on Friday evening against Montana (1-0-0) at the Recreation Turf Field, but were unable to bounce back from an own goal in the 35th minute that proved to be the difference maker in a 1-0 defeat.
The Grizzlies crossed the ball into the box from the right side and a Bronco defender made an attempt to clear the ball, but failed to strike it cleanly and misdirected the ball into the back of the net. The bad break unfortunately decided a match that was largely a defensive battle with neither side earning many quality opportunities.
Raimee Sherle led the way for the Broncos with four shots - one of which was on goal - and almost began the contest with an early score in the third minute. The sophomore got loose at the top of the box and fired a well-struck ball that Montana's Claire Howard was just able to get a hand on, sending the shot careening over the goal.
Sherle again had another decent opportunity in the 40th on a breakaway, but used one too many touches to eliminate the available angle, preserving the 1-0 Montana lead going into the half.
Emily Curry had the best chance of the second half on the right side of the box in the 65th minute, but her shot just rolled past the left post. Michelle Reed hammered a ball from 30 yards out in the 85th that initially had a chance, and unfortunately rocketed by three feet high of the crossbar.
With the loss, Boise State drops to 7-4 in home season-opening games. The Blue and Orange will look to quickly shake off the result as they welcome Southern Utah on Sunday, Aug. 20 at 1 p.m. back at the Recreation Turf Field. | {
"pile_set_name": "Pile-CC"
} |
The practice of writing letters is followed since ages. In writing letters, the highest achievement is in giving the appearance of simplicity, naturalness and impact. Those who use meaningless phrases which are of complicated forms do not make an impression of elegance upon the readers. Making a good first impression is crucial to business success. We all know the importance of a good handshake to give a first good impression when meeting someone in person. Equally important, as part of our total professional appearance is making a good first impression with your business correspondence.
Business letters are written on a quality paper ‘called letter head ‘. Your name or the name of the company should be clearly identifiable. The address and contact information should also be easy to find and read.
One needs to use a consistent type style and size that is easy to read. It also helps to define the overall company image. The most common layout style for business correspondence is justify the left margin and to place an extra line space to indicate new paragraphs. One must take utmost care while laying out the letters to have balanced margin all around. This is known as formatting the letters, which gives it an added value.
Begin all your letter with :-
Date: – List the date, the letter is being sent. Typically no more than two or three spaces follow this line.
Address and inside address
Name
Title or Position
Company name
Street
City, State , Country
The above mentioned, is the proper format, in which we should mention each information a separate lines. When entering the name of a state, type the entire name. As a sign of respect, especially for those who are writing for the first time, it is best to address the person properly as Miss, Ms, Mrs., etc followed by their first and last names. | {
"pile_set_name": "Pile-CC"
} |
Custom T-Shirts for village
"Our non-profit is currently working towards building the first secondary school in Lenana Kenya. We believe that these children will change and transform their village through the power of educatio..."
"This photo is taken in Presidio, Brazil; a village 1 hour South of Fortaleza. Kristina Wright is a multimedia photographer shooting a documentary on a group of Portland Oregon dentists who were th..."
"After returning from a teaching program in Ghana, I decided to raise money to build a water well in the village, specifically at the primary school, where I was teaching. Pictured here are some mem..."
We Believe T-shirts Unite!™
Custom t-shirts have the power to turn your group into a team,
elevate your gathering to an event, or make your special moment more...
well, momentous. That's why we make it easy to create awesome shirts.
Learn How | {
"pile_set_name": "Pile-CC"
} |
Marriott Vacation Club Appoints New General Manager for Maui Property
May
27,2009
HONOLULU - May 27, 2009 - Marriott Vacation Club International (MVCI) - the vacation ownership division of Marriott International, Inc. (NYSE: MAR) - has appointed John Jaskula as general manager of Marriott's Maui Ocean Club.
Jaskula is now responsible for the Marriott Vacation Club resort located on a pristine beachfront in the heart of the spectacular Kaanapali Beach Resort. A tropical paradise, Marriott's Maui Ocean Club boasts a total of 459 suites and villas ranging from 775 to 1,700 square feet. Each villa features a fully-equipped kitchen with granite countertops and stainless steel appliances; spacious living and dining areas; multiple flat-panel televisions with DVD player(s); washer/dryer and Wi-Fi Internet access. Suites feature a gourmet center with bar-sized sink, dishwasher, refrigerator and microwave along with other amenities. Owners and guests also enjoy the 3.5-acre superpool with slides, waterfalls and grottos; children's sandy beach with pirate ship and water features; as well as oceanfront dining at the new Longboards Kaanapali.
"As a seasoned leader in the hospitality industry, John will be an incredible asset to our popular Maui resort," said Rob Welch, area director of operations for North Asia, Hawai'i and South Pacific for Marriott International. "Being a Maui resident, John also brings familiarity and knowledge of the island and destination that is so important to the local and regional culture."
Jaskula brings more than 30 years of hospitality industry experience, including his most recent role as general manager at Wailea Beach Marriott Resort & Spa, where he guided the resort through a major, 60 million dollar renovation.
Prior to relocating from Southeast Asia to Maui, Jaskula served as the managing director of the JW Marriott Hotel and The Ritz-Carlton, Jakarta. In the post-tsunami relief efforts, he was the chairman for the International Habitat for Humanity's "1,000 House Campaign" which was an ambitious program challenging corporate leaders, executives, officials, students and others to volunteer and to raise funds for low-income home construction by 2007. He is also active in efforts to help feed the hungry and homeless.
Jaskula has served in various management positions not only abroad in Indonesia and India, but also in the United States, where he was the director of food and beverage for both the San Antonio Marriott Rivercenter and the San Antonio Riverwalk hotels in Texas.
A native of Vancouver, Canada, Jaskula currently resides in Kihei with his wife. Their two sons are both serving in the United States Coast Guard.
About Marriott Vacation ClubMarriott Vacation Club is the recognized worldwide leader in vacation ownership with a program highly regarded for its quality and unique flexibility. Celebrating 25 years of unforgettable experiences that make vacation dreams come true; Marriott became the first branded hospitality company by nearly a decade to enter the timeshare industry in 1984. Marriott Vacation Club continues to expand with a diverse portfolio of more than 11,000 timeshare resort villas throughout the U.S., Caribbean, Europe and Asia. Today, more than 395,000 Owner families around the globe own their vacations "the Marriott way," offering options to exchange weeks with priority within the Marriott Vacation Club portfolio or within Interval International's global system of more than 2,400 resorts in over 75 countries, trade their week(s) for Marriott Rewards points, or rent their week(s). For more information, please visit www.marriott-vacations.com. For nightly rentals, please visit www.marriott.com.
More Links
Twitter Feed
Marriott Vacation Club International and the programs and products provided under the Marriott Vacation Club brand are not owned, developed, or sold by Marriott International, Inc. Marriott Vacation Club International uses the Marriott marks under license from Marriott International, Inc. and its affiliates.
This is neither an offer to sell timeshare nor a solicitation to buy timeshare to residents in jurisdictions in which registration requirements have not been fulfilled, including any Member State of the European Union, and your eligibility to purchase may depend upon your residency. All requests originating in Member States of the European Union will not be carried out by Marriott Vacation Club. Visit MarriottVacationClub.eu for Marriott Vacation Club products available for purchase by residents of the European Union.
This advertising material is being used for the purpose of soliciting the sale of timeshare periods.
Images depicted may be developer's conceptual renderings and the description above may include features, furnishings and amenities that are proposed and subject to change at any time.
May 27, 2009 | Marriott Vacation Club Appoints New General Manager for Maui PropertyMarriott Vacation Club International (MVCI) - the vacation ownership division of Marriott International, Inc. (NYSE: MAR) - has appointed John Jaskula as general manager of Marriott's Maui Ocean Club. | {
"pile_set_name": "Pile-CC"
} |
If this is your first visit, be sure to
check out the FAQ by clicking the
link above. You may have to register
before you can post: click the register link above to proceed. To start viewing messages,
select the forum that you want to visit from the selection below.
Threaded View
First swarm box capture and it was a double!
Finally in the game. I pulled them down too soon multiple times. This one pictured had a ton of bees on it and pollen coming in so when I went to get it I took down another with some activity and no pollen. The first one I had to leave some behind because they were not all in the box. Pretty much a full box. The bees are very yellow and a lot larger than the bees that I have now. I found the queen and when I went to get out my marking pen I dropped her. The hive seems normal so hopefully I did not screw the pooch. The second one I figured was a loss and did not even put it on the rack but left it by the back door. When it started ‘leaking’ I opened it up to find a pleasant surprise of a nice little ball of bees. I had a frame from a cut out in it that was half drawn and a new medium. They drawn out most of the medium and build off of the bottom to the bottom of the box. Now I just need to get them where I should have put them. I only had room for 4 hives on the stand, now I need to do something with this one. http://i1141.photobucket.com/albums/...swarmcatch.jpg
“Why do we fall, sir? So that we might learn to pick ourselves up” Alfred Pennyworth Batman Begins (2005) | {
"pile_set_name": "Pile-CC"
} |
OUR BLOG
When you become a mother, there are some sacrifices you have to make. Say goodbye to free-time, your pre-baby body and, of course, the biggest loss of them all, designer items. The most exciting purchases you’ll make now are cute baby booties and miniature clothing you…
To have a good rest during yourfamily holidays, you are to get rid of extra load. It is about material or non-material issues, like business calls and overloaded baggage. It is possible! Since you’ve made up your…
To have a good rest during yourfamily holidays, you are to get rid of extra load. It is about material or non-material issues, like business calls and overloaded baggage. It is possible! Since you’ve made up your…
Follow Me, I'll Follow you, You follow her, She'll Follow, too!
I'm a newbie blogger (pushing two months now, but still full of questions), and I have found great help in joining this club and meeting some awesome women...that support one another. What has helped me the most, is the encouragement I receive when someone thinks enough to follow me on any (or all) platform - facebook, twitter, by email, linky follower, etc. Therefore, I try to go through the club and other places and follow those that request it. If you are like me, and you feel good and motivated, when you receive a little follow love, let's help each other out, and get to following.
My blogsite is Properhoney and the blog is here. It's a sweet spot where women are strengthened, empowered, and entertained, as I share tidbits of my life.
Google +: New to google+, and don't know what my handle is other than properhoney??
Pick any or all and I WILL FOLLOW BACK. List your info in the Comment section below and follow others as they follow you. Let's start the New Year off with increase. (When you follow from Facebook, please follow from your personal page, b/c that is the only way the like will be counted. Leave a reply on the fb page with your info, so we will know who to follow in return).
Thanks for posting. You will find some good blogs on this forum to follow. Love your blog...Tell another Mom (I like that!). I am now following you on twitter, facebook, and via email. I'm looking forward to reading more. Cheers! | {
"pile_set_name": "Pile-CC"
} |
CMO Council Exec Says Survey Shows ‘Arrogance’ of B2B Marketers Must End
More than half of consumers across the U.S., Europe and Canada say company websites and e-mail remain their go-to channels — a sign one CMO Council exec says the “arrogance” of B2B marketers must come to an end.
In The Customer In Context: Understanding The Real Expectations of Today’s Connected Consumer, the CMO Council and SAP Hybris explore all the different ways consumers engage with a brand, as well as how they rate the degree of personalization and speedy response they typically experience. This includes websites, which were cited by 58 per cent of those polled, followed by e-mail at 52 percent and phone calls at 46 percent.
While 38 per cent of respondents said brands are “getting there and know me better today than before,” the survey suggested mismanaging marketing channels or failing to invest in them could be costly. If they experience common frustrations such as not being treated like loyal customers (cited by 36 per cent of respondents) or deal with slow service from reps who don’t recognize them (33 per cent), they’re not afraid to walk. In fact, 47 per cent of customers said they would stop doing business with a brand that continues to frustrate them, and 45 per cent said they would spend their money with another brand.
Liz Miller, senior vice-president of marketing and programs for the CMO Council, said the survey findings should resonate well beyond B2C marketers, given consumers bring the same expectations with them into their professional lives. In fact, she said the traditional boundary between B2C and B2B is “gone” when it comes to customer experiences.
“Our stock and trade has been to take the most blisteringly boring content and create engagement. We’ve been ‘the silent sales enablement engine that could’ for a very long time. We had gotten into a pattern of being very content-rich and experience-poor,” she explained. “We could say, ‘I know all 100 of our potential customers and I can send them this whitepaper. They don’t care what the website is going to look like.”
Now, especially as that customer has gotten younger with Millennials getting jobs in B2B space, “they don’t have that level of forgiveness,” Miller said. “They are like the ultimate luxury shopper. They’re not just buying Coca-Cola for a dollar, and they expect the value to match what they’re spending.”
According to the survey data, “value” translates into “something that saves me money,” which was cited by 77 per cent, “something that saves me time” (49 per cent) or “makes my life easier (47 per cent).
Of course, marketers can’t offer context and personalization without gathering more data, and 70 per cent of respondents said they were willing to share “some degree” of data with brands. In fact, 22 per cent stipulated that they expected to see personalization in return for offering data.
Miller said the tools are already available to do this work, but marketers also need to ensure the proper processes are in place to make managing experiences across channels consistent and effective.
“They don’t necessarily need all the bells and whistles to be laid out in front of them. They’re asking for a well-designed website, a phone number to call, but the subtlety of what happens in that channel that means all the difference in the world,” she said. “If they say they need a phone number, they’re saying they also need someone who answers that phone, who knows a bit about me, knows about my experiences and my engagement and doesn’t treat me like a stranger.”
Consumers surveyed were also realistic, though: only 12 per cent said it was critical brands recognize their history at every single marketing touchpoint. The full survey report is available for download now.
Shane Schick
Shane Schick is the Editor-in-Chief of B2B News Network. He is the former Editor-in-Chief of Marketing magazine and has also been Vice-President, Content & Community (Editor-in-Chief), at IT World Canada, a technology columnist with the Globe and Mail and was the founding editor of ITBusiness.ca.
Shane has been recognized for journalistic excellence by the Canadian Advanced Technology Alliance and the Canadian Online Publishing Awards. | {
"pile_set_name": "Pile-CC"
} |
Gclavigera_v.1
Showing 1.016 kbp from GCSC_179, positions 228,855 to 229,870
Instructions: Instructions:
Search using a sequence name, gene name,
locus, or other landmark. The wildcard
character * is allowed.
To center on a location, click the ruler. Use the Scroll/Zoom buttons
to change magnification and position. | {
"pile_set_name": "Pile-CC"
} |
I just bought a keurig and received a bunch of coffee for free with it. I found a bunch of pods from archer farms, flavored, with no hechsher. Does anyone, who knows what they’re talking about, have info?
If it is kosher, then the label would be on the box of k-cups, not individual packages.
The OU stopped labeling the individual cups because it could be misleading. If someone used a non-kosher k-cup right before the person comes in with his/her k-cup, then the Keurig machine would not be kosher; thus the coffee also wouldn’t be kosher anymore.
“The OU stopped labeling the individual cups because it could be misleading. If someone used a non-kosher k-cup right before the person comes in with his/her k-cup, then the Keurig machine would not be kosher; thus the coffee also wouldn’t be kosher anymore.”
That doesn’t sound like a good reason to stop labeling the cups. It’s like saying they shouldn’t put a hechsher on cheese because someone might put it on a hamburger and then it wouldn’t be kosher anymore. I know it’s not exactly the same, but it’s the same idea. When they label a package, they are certifying that the product itself is kosher. There are always other kashrus considerations, and it’s your responsibility as a Jew to be aware of them.
do a google image search for archer farms k cup. the ou is on the lower front of the box. i just tried it. happened to notice that the caramel and pumpkin had a hechsher. probably they all do. i didnt look further.
Meno: I think I am wrong about why they did it. I read a couple things and maybe misinterpreted it.
From Kosher Today:
“According to Rabbi Moshe Elefant, COO of the Orthodox Union (OU) Kashrus Division, certified kosher K-Cups used in the machines no longer have the OU symbol on the individual cups although they remain on the boxes that they come in.
Thus, a kosher consumer who randomly finds a K-Cup without a box may inadvertently be using a non-certified K-Cup causing one rabbi to suggest that the user of such a Keurig machine might have to refrain from using the machine for 24 hours, run a kosher K-Cup through the machine and even kosher the two metal pins.” (Kosher Today)
I believe you did misinterpret it. The last paragraph that you quoted makes it pretty clear that Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, Inc. removed the symbol, not the OU. The article is explaining why the individual cups SHOULD have the OU symbol. | {
"pile_set_name": "Pile-CC"
} |
Travels and Trdelnik
Thursday, August 9, 2018
First off, (before revealing the shocking secret to being sexier), I want to state the disclaimer: I do not think women or men should be nearly as concerned and consumed with this as they are (making sure other see them as "sexy"). Our culture has become one obsessed with our appearance, ever chasing after approval, to be desired, and thought of as "hot." Many of us on a near perpetual path of rollercoaster esque dieting. Throughout much of our culture, narcissism abound. People ever hungering for the stamp of approval or the affirmation that they are in fact, attractive, desired, admired, or "sexy."
I'm sorry to say, this does not actually lead to a fulfilled or ultimately happy life. Both philosophy and scientific studies prove it, time and time again.
When you base your opinion of yourself on responses from others, you will be on a perpetual path of up-and-down, this-way-and-that. When you chase after, obsess over, hunger for, and feast on the compliments and praises of others, sure, sometimes you will feel great, then just as often, you will feel disappointed, sad, let down, and left hungering for more.
There are far more fulfilling, affirming, as well as just generally more important things to focus on and prioritize. I am not advocating one shouldn't care about how they look and feel at all. Of course, we all wish to look and feel our best, and that's a valid thing. However, there is such a wide berth of far more satisfying life values and priorities out there that, to have a truly joyous and satisfying life, one can and should focus on. These can include some of the following (though there is much more beyond just this list, of course):
--Finding a personal passion, whether it be building things, creating some kind of art, helping people in one way or another, caring for and helping animals, lifting up those in need, adventuring the world, mastering a hobby -anything from cooking to gardening, writing, painting, stand up comedy, you name it. And once you find it, sprinting after this very passion which sets your heart alight.
--Being a supportive, uplifting presence, joy, and worthwhile connection in others lives. Its hard to really invest in or focus on this when consumed with perfecting yourself and garnering perpetual feedback with regards to you/your looks/how attractive or awesome you are.
--Learning as much as you possibly can, via books, articles, classes, life experiences, other people, and continually pursuing personal self growth.
--Finding a job you love, and then reveling in the work.
--Adventuring the world and experiencing differing cultures, ideologies, and ways of life.
The list goes on. The point being though: there are so many far more important, and much more fulfilling things to focus on rather than how "sexy" you are.However. With that said.Want to know the shocking secret to being sexier in general? And when I use the word "sexy," I am not referring to looks alone. In fact, I am referring more along the lines of sexiness being 25% what you've got and 75% what you think you've got (because sexiness isn't just a way of looking/being, its also an energy, aura, and inner feeling. Surely you have all experienced the phenomenon of meeting someone who wasn't particularly physically beautiful but who you noticed on getting to know, was actually incredibly sexy. As well as, meeting someone who was physically breathtaking/quite attractive but then on getting to know them, realizing that in fact, they are actually unattractive and/or lackluster).
That aside. To be significantly sexier...here it is folks...Cover up more. Induce a sense of mystery. Show some modesty. Exude a sense of class and personal discretion. Carry yourself in such a way that people long to both know and see more.
Those are several secrets to coming across to others, as well as actually being, incredibly sexy.
Doubtful? Convinced that in order to get the most attention, you have to let it all hang out (both literally and figuratively) like everyone else does? Hold on. Let me explain why these very behaviors and values (covering up more, mystery, modesty, class, discretion) are actually incredibly hot to way more people than you think, and why they also hold peoples attention much more.
I offer both opinions on such, as well as researched data to back up this point.
We are currently living in a saturation of soft to medium core porn, almost everywhere we look. Advertisements, laden with blatantly sexy and often times near pornographic images. Further, these images are edited and doctored to such a degree that many people come to believe that this is how one can and thus, should look in order to be considered an attractive human being. Over time, continually viewing these kinds of images can alter and skew ones perception in a negative way of what it means to be attractive, as well as unrealistically influence standards of beauty by which they use to measure both themselves and others (a la, false and unrealistic ones). Most of these images also tend to look largely the same. Thus, our belief of what is sexy tends to become a rather narrow one.
Clothing has gotten skimpier, smaller, more revealing, and pornographic as well. Especially during summer time, one can observe a streaming parade of what appear to be people selling sex, walking down the street daily. Women's breasts all, but exploding out of their tops. Butt cheeks jiggling out the bottom of their shorts. Half their torsos on display. Dress hems barely brushing crotch level.
On Facebook, Instagram, and other social media platforms, we are met with a continual chain of self endorsing, narcessitic, compliment eliciting material and photos. Selfies abound. Duck lipped, scantily clad selfies posed just so. People made up to attempted perfection, seeking (though pretending they aren't) validation, compliments, and approval left and right. Everyone, it seems, on a staunch search for loads of "likes" in order to know and believe they are "sexy enough." Lots and lots of focus on and concern with oneself and ones image nowadays.
Further, people broadcasting all manner of their personal lives to plethoras of strangers online, daily, even hourly. Posting on their Facebook newsfeed or Twitter accounts, remarks about their latest breakup, their most recent medical exam or scare, their current struggles with depression, a continual outpouring of baby photos in every manner of pose (though most tend to look largely the same), where they are currently eating or drinking a coffee at that moment. We all seem to feel compelled to shout to the world, our feelings from minute to minute, our emotions as they ebb and flow, our latest dramas, and most mundane activities. A continual contest for who can out-shout one another, who can most shock, and who is able to gain the most attention and thus, validation.
Ex bashings. Dick pics. Provocative selfies, as well as a majority of people venturing out into the world half to nearly naked on a regular basis nowadays too. Constant updates online of our whereabouts and feelings minute to minute.
All of this has become strangely....boring.
It used to be that highly sexualized images were scandalous. Infrequent. Rare. Hidden away or banned. They were things people had to seek out and then hide. This, lending these images a sense of forbidden excitement and allure. Now? They are EVERYWHERE, and so easily accessible, there is no challenge nor nothing titillating about stumbling on such any longer.
It used to be that cleavage or the shape of someone's body through their clothing was alluring. Not the norm. Instead, reserved for occasions or infrequent moments. A tool and behavior used sporadically to entice and excite. Now, we all let it hang out, all the time, constantly. Now, any man can simply walk down the street and is likely see several asses hanging out of pants, nipples through shirts, boobs exploding out of tops, crotches on near display. And while sure, this is pornographic and sexually stimulating for several albeit usually brief moments, it doesn't hold anyone's attention for long. There are loads more boobs and butts just around the next corner. Thus, none of it is special, rare, or thus, truly compelling.
The types of dress below? Never do you see anything like this anymore. And in the rare moments you do? Its majorly head turning, awe inducing, and memorable. These are the types of looks that capture attention, and hold it.
It used to be that to find out about a person, you had to actually spend time with them. Spend hours on hours talking with them, as well as partaking in activities and experiences with them. Potentially also hearing/learning things about them through friends of friends. Maybe even sending each other written notes over a period of time. Now? Just Google someone, or better yet, look at their Twitter or Facebook. You can likely see it all, right there. What they had for breakfast that morning, their latest medial emergency, a montage of photos including all their exes, reports of their emotions moment to moment.
This is incredibly anticlimactic, and lacking any allure or mystery. It robs people of the exciting, anticipation laden experience, and exploration of getting to know one another over time. Of that slow though thrilling unfolding, growth, and discovery. Further, who people claim to be on social media often isn't even the real them. Therefore, this can also sometimes lead to people garnering misperceptions of each other at that.
It used to be that you saw someone naked on being intimate with them. Now? You can see a vast majority of people half naked, nearly naked, overtly sexual in just walking past them on the street! Talk about killing a sense of suspense, flirtation, allure, and climax. As well as cheapening and reduce the value of such. Now you can see nearly naked people everywhere you go, just out and about on the streets. This tends towards making their nakedness far less interesting, less sacred, less special, less something to be prized and more, a cheap, easy to access thing.
Guys who send "dick pics" or girls who send nude photos to men whom they hardly know? Same thing. Giving it all away, right away, with no build up, no sense of earning such, no sense of treasuring nor guarding oneself, no sense of anticipation or tension allowed to occur. This kills the anticipation, the fun, the flirtation and suspense.
(Also, its an interesting aside that when a girl sends a nude photo, she is often called a "slut" for doing such, especially later on if her relationship turns sour with the man to whom she sent said photo. And yet, when a man sends a nude photo of his penis, especially unsolicited, this is laughed off and dismissed. When actually, its a form of harassment. Imagine if a man just dropped his pants in front of a woman on the street? That would be considered a crime, an outrage. Yet, when he does this very thing via a cell phone, its laughed off, minimized).
We have come to be so saturated in nakedness and overt sexualization of everything, a loud and unabashed telling-it-all, a "look at me, look at me" culture, laden with narcissistic and show off-y sense of selves, that frankly, this has all become kind of run of the mill, lame, expected, and thus, no longer attention grabbing. At this point, its on the contrary.
Why?
Because...People want what they cannot have.They are enticed by that which we cannot see, or do not know.People are allured by mystery.We value, far more, that which is challenging to obtain, or not easily accessed. As opposed to things that require no effort whatsoever to get, these come across as cheap and of far less value.People are drawn to and intrigued by what they cannot fully see.We love suspense, mystery, and hunger more deeply for that which is just out of reach.And while often times, we are hungering and feel urgent towards having what we so desperately desire right then, the slow burn and aching of want, the tension and build up, is actually far more delicious and fun when reflected upon.
When things are completely out in the open...with zero mystery...all laid out on the table for the taking...obvious and overt...in your face...uniform and all the same...this is boring, its not exciting, it doesn't hold our attention longer than a few seconds, before we move on to the next thing.
Our attention is held by challenge. By things we have to work for. By what we have to figure out and ponder. By a slow build. A mystery that reveals itself over time. That which we have to discover.
When we see something we find enticing or attractive but part of it is hidden from us, we are desperate to see and gain access to the rest. This is why people love mysteries, high drama, and suspense. This is why we love TV series that leave us hanging and on the edge of our seats each week, wondering what is coming next, how the following episode will unfold, what might we find out about said character coming up.
However, when we see something we find interesting or attractive and all of it is laid out, readily available right off the bat, with zero mystery or anything left to wonder about/discover, well then, what's the draw? Its already known, already experienced, already had. And as a result, its meh. Sure, it might briefly arouse for a fleeting moment in imagining the momentarily pleasure it will bring on experiencing, but then we move on to something more exciting. In search of what will actually hold our attention for longer. Something that engages and challenges us more.
Imagine prior to going to see a movie, or reading a book, someone just tells you "eh, this happens, this happens, and this is how it ends." (Yes, I am absolutely guilty of having committed this very crime to friends. But no more. Its a majorly a**hole move, ruining the ending for people, I came to realize). Your interest in seeing the movie or reading the book is likely to plummet. You already know the ending. You've seen it all, so to speak. You've "gotten the goods," if you will. You already know how it all unfolds. Nothing left to anticipate while reading or watching, nothing left to uncover or discover, nothing left to entice.
Finally, we respect and gaze higher on things (aka, people included) who clearly value themselves. Hold themselves in high regard. Who are challenging to obtain or get close to. Who do not give away their hearts, their attention, their trust, or their bodies, easily or to just anyone. Think about it...everyone wants the attention of the person whose very focus it is difficult to capture. That makes it feel far more exciting and worthwhile, when and if you do garner that persons attentions and affection. We feel more honored on receiving the attention, love, trust, or body of someone who rarely gives away such. Who does so only with much consideration, hesitation, and after they feel the other person has truly earned it. This is thrilling, to be one of the people who earns this, from one of these highly discerning people.
However, when someone claims to be BFFs with everyone, they sleep with someone at the drop of a hat, dress in such a way that you basically already know what they look like naked, broadcast all their news (big and small, personal or not) to strangers and close confidants alike...this doesn't feel valuable when one of these people decides they want to be friends with you, or sleep with you, or confide in you, or share their body with you. Because they do it with everyone, its no longer special. This, it feels cheap and not in the least bit special, because they offer such to everyone and their brother.
The shocking secret to being sexier, by leaps and bounds, than our greater culture at large behaves or seems to think at the moment?
Be one of the rare few who covers up (and no, this does not mean having to cover oneself from head to toe, as though one were a nun or priest. I am merely referring to more modest allure. Choosing to give more subtle yet still sexy hints of your body instead of letting it all spill out every which way).
Invite the people who find you attractive toward yearning to see what is underneath (because they cannot already see it all hanging out-thus, they don't know what lies underneath).
Check out who says this quote. One of the most well known and admired women in fashion, ever.
Keep personal things private, reserved for those truly close to you. Require that someone spend a lot of time with and really get to know you before you give up those kinds of treasures about yourself and heart to them. Guard your heart, body, trust, and life details, only revealing and sharing such with those small few who actually earn your access to such over time. Be discerning. Leave something to the imagination. Invite a sense of mystery, allure, and therefore, a sense of discovery waiting in someone growing acquainted with and getting to know you. Choose to obtain and exude a sense of modesty and class. Carry yourself in a way that shows you prize and treasure yourself.
This my friends, believe it or not, is way hotter than the current norms of falling out of our clothes every which way, everyone's private parts exploding out, so many of us desperate for attention and to garner the greatest shock value, shouting all their personal details to the rooftops, giving oneself away (whether physically or emotionally) at the drop of a hat. Holding back is hotter. Subtlety is sexy. Mystery is alluring, inviting, intriguing, and incredibly attractive. This garners true respect, admiration, and interest. It holds peoples attention, and not just for 5 seconds, but enduringly.
Tuesday, August 7, 2018
As of two days ago, August 5, its exactly one year to the day of my having moved back home to New England after four years of living overseas in Europe (a brief sojourn in Prague, following by the majority of my time whilst there spent in Germany).
As always seems to be the case with life (one of my best friends and I were just discussing this phenomenon on the phone on Sunday, August 5 in fact), life seems to end up unfolding in, more often than not, the most opposite, surprising, and unexpected ways from how we expect, plan, and assume it will go.
That has absolutely been the case in terms of the past year.
Since my return from living abroad, so many things have happened to me, experiences had, people met, relationships evolved, which I never would have predicted, nor expected. In fact, many of the things I assumed likely to happen or play out a certain way just so, ended up actualizing in completely opposite, totally different ones.
So. My plan/assumption on how events would unfold on returning to the US: get a job in Boston (which I assumed would be obtained a month, maybe two tops, following my arriving back). Move to Boston shortly thereafter (so, unquestionably within 2-3 months of my getting back stateside). Possibly start dating some 6-8 months after getting back and established with job and solo apartment in Boston, feeling it was unlikely of my meeting anyone who compelled me or was a resonating click until several months after that. (Totally ok with me, as I am both equally joyful and fulfilled either when in a relationship, as well as when not in one. I love both in different ways and am just as content with each).
That was generally the skeleton of my plan, what I assumed would occur and how things would play out on my returning back to the New Hampshire/Boston area.
However. Things could not have played out further from that. Instead, they actualized in ways that were almost completely the opposite. Instead of following the linear, straight, arguable potentially dull line of events I had planned and predicted for myself, what actually happened was more like squiggles and swirls, many sky high "ups," with a few dips and downs. And to my shock, this ended up being the most awesome possible way that this last year of my life could have played out.
To name several of the surprising, compelling, emotionally moving experiences as well as major lessons I both confronted, navigated, and learned from within the last year:
--The work I did for Marsys Law in New Hampshire, on the campaign that was fighting to change the NH state constitution in order to write in rights and protections afforded to all victims of crime (which shockingly, they do not currently have in NH. At the moment, anyone accused of a crime has a boatload of rights. The victims though, have none. We at Marsys Law were not looking to compromise, nor take away any of the rights that people accused of crimes have. They deserve those rights. We only want to level the playing field. The victims of crimes most certainly deserve the same rights that the perpetrators have. This is what we were fighting for. To equalize this standing for both parties).
This was, hands down, the most awesome, engaging, meaningful, challenging, affirming, emotionally moving, stressful, powerful (feeling) job I have ever had. The emotions and experiences I had during the short 7 or so weeks I worked this role, leaving a deep mark on me, in all absolutely phenomenal ways. I loved this experience. Even that is an understatement.
The survivors of violent crimes whom I was able to meet, spend time with, hear their stories, this was so moving and motivating in terms of working the campaign. The fabulous, inspiring, bad ass women (and men!) with whom I had the chance to work, this was an absolute blast to say the least. The work itself, while some of the time immensely stressful and overstimulating (for someone who is quite introverted, this was challenging at times), was also engaging, exciting, interesting, and just fantastic.
The connection this role offered me, which most certainly was the key I needed towards snagging the job I have now at Bridge over Troubled Waters in Boston. The hearings I attended in the Concord State House for Marsys Law, watching with bated breath both the Senate, and then the House of Representatives discuss, debate over, and then vote on this potential amendment, were emotioinally charged, immensely climactic, suspense laden experiences for me, to describe them at a minimum.
This work was, hands down (at least to date) the most fulfilling and thrilling I have ever done.
The photos just below, showcasing THE most emotional, intense, awe inspiring day of my being on Marsys Law. The day of the vote, the day that would determine whether Marsys Law made it onto the ballot for greater NH or not. Myself, our boss, Sara, and my two colleagues, Marina and Taylor, walked over to the State House at dawn. The city streets still deserted. And we placed 2,637 purple flags on the lawn of the State House, to signify all the victims of violent crime over the last year.
This moment, I still get chills thinking about it. Glancing up from the spot where I was crouched on the lawn to see the ground growing covered in a sea of purple, like wildflowers blooming in the breeze, suddenly sprung up out of nowhere. This. Was. Awesome. It packed such an emotional wallop for me.
--The reconnections I rediscovered in a handful of friends with whom I remained close while living overseas. Seeing them again, and picking up where we left off was both affirming, exciting, and comforting. Especially with regards to two friends in particular, Derek and Sarah. These two, we picked up right away and it was as though I had never left. Jumping right back into my connections with, and even deepening both of these relationships.
Two other women in my life, with whom I have always been connected to some degree, I was surprised to find my connections with them deepening in my seeking more time spent with them, Gayle and Susan. Meeting with each of them several times for tea and/or brunch/lunch over the 9 or so months I was living in NH with my mom. This was also a wonderful, incredibly sweet surprise.
And one more big one, in terms of surprising, heart rending re-connections. Meeting with my past counselor, Ken. The man who treated me from about the age of ten through to my late teens. One of the small handful of people in my life who has left a majorly earthmoving mark on me. His invitation (about one year ago, in autumn of 2017) to partake in a recorded interview for students of his, with regards to the work he and I had done together-how it had affected or helped me, as well as where I was now (to whom I had grown into, and where I had been since his and my working together), wow. This was an incredible experience, to say the least. Very emotionally moving, affirming, just really neat.
With Derek.
With Sarah (though this photo was taken when we were maybe 23 years old? About a decade ago!!!)
--Living with my mom. I was both excited for this, happily anticipating being "home," so to speak, as well as excitedly anticipating this with my mom living in the dream locale of right alongside a charming, quiet little lake. I was also hesitant, as we have a rocky, emotion laden history between us.
However, living with her during this time was, hands down, the best phase I have ever experienced (at least until now) of mine and my mothers relationship, thus far in my life. We shared so many fun, cozy, laughter filled, joyous, and emotionally connected moments with each other during the almost year (about 10 months) that I lived here with her.
Going out dancing, lounging on the dock, taking a few walks around the lake, playing croquet in the yard, hosting parties at the house, watching Stephen Cobert on weeknights, driving into Concord together most weekday mornings, going to the gym many evenings together, myself cooking and baking loads of things for her. We had a blast.
This was the most powerful and positive period of growth I have ever felt in our relationship until now. Sure, we had several tough moments and some fights sprinkled in there too. To me though, that's fairly normal- at least in families that are candid with one another. There will be clashes, anger, disagreements. As well as, coupled with some of our past challenges, flare ups more certain to arise.
As a whole though, this was a life and relationship changing experience, a profound, joyous, and awesome one.
--The challenge and shockingly long road of job searching. This was for sure, the most negative surprise along the way. Though I will preface that with saying that while it seemed negative while I was experiencing it, looking back, it actually had a lot about it that was pretty fantastic too.
Never in my life have I put such heart, effort, and sweat into finding a job. Also, never in my life had I had such difficulty in getting a job. During the 9 months following my return home, I applied to, no exaggeration, 160-170 jobs. Truly. I have all the cover letters to prove it. Speaking of which, spending at a minimum, 45 minutes or so per cover letter. More on some, for the jobs I especially desperately desired. So these job applications were not dashed off willy nilly. On the contrary, I sunk my whole heart and efforts into each one.
I was invited for a handful of interviews, all for jobs that excited me. And received a few offers, none of which paid enough for me to live on sadly. This was disheartening, exhausting, and dejecting. It got to the point more than once where I nearly threw up my hands and said, forget it. My mom looked over my cover letters and resume, for errors and things that might be working against me. She too was aghast. Remarking that both the cover letters and resumes were great.
Finally though, finally, I was offered the job with Marsys Law for New Hampshire (after 8 months of relentless job searching!!!) and, on the campaign concluding, landed a job roughly 2 months later with Bridge over Troubled Waters in downtown Boston. This is where I am working now, and am loving it. Generally speaking though, it took me roughly one year to find a job.
Looking back though, the silver lining of this period: while emotionally, it was anxiety provoking and disheartened, I made MAJOR strides in my writing during this time. Huge ones. There were several other silver linings, and even joy of this time, however this was one of the most compelling.
--Meeting the man I have grown in love with, Maxx. I met this very man exactly one month later, to the day, following my return from Germany to the US. Ironic as I assumed I wouldn't meet anyone who even remotely captured my interest until months and months down the road, nor did I have much priority or urgency towards dating. However, don't they tend to say that what we least expect or just when we aren't looking for something is exactly when/what ends up happening?
Maxx is someone who has captured my heart. Where initially, I was sure that because our temperaments are different, this could not possibly be a thing, I am so incredibly glad at how wrong I was. This, teaching me the pivotal lesson that much of the time, when we make snap judgements, we are wrong. How much I would have missed out on, had I followed that initial judgement and assumption.
Maxx, in his introverted, thoughtful, introspective manner, grounds me. Bringing forth a sense of calm in me. I both believe (and hope) that within him, I ignite a sense of whimsy, adventure, possibility, and of purposefully seeking the pushing of ones comfort zone. I have witnessed both of us challenging each other in relevant and important ways. Eliciting invitations for growth and personal insight where each of us could use it. I have experienced much romance, tenderness, and joy in the connection between us, and time spent together as a couple. Being with Maxx has made a profound impact on my life.
What a resounding gift, incitement of personal growth, and light this man has added with his entrance into my life and the love he has offered and given me.
The flowers that were waiting on my doorstep the morning after our third date <3
--The small but semi noteworthy growth of Sweet. Raw. Free. (All the recipes falling into at least one, if not more, of the following categories: gluten/grain free, dairy free, sugar free, or raw). In my returning from Europe, both in upping the ante with regards to the social media spreading of my food blog, as well as widening the net on my topics to include health in general along with recipes, I have seen a slow but notable increase in terms of views, followings, shares and likes. How cool and thrilling this has been, both because food (eating it, baking/cooking it, photographing and writing about it) is a passion of mine, as well as because I am hoping to eventually self publish a cookbook!!
--The completion of my first book. And where it stands now, whenever I reflect on it, leaving me awed, breathless, a bit scared, and in disbelief. Also, coming up on the cusp of completion of my second book too!! That first book (non fiction, memoir) in the works being edited. This second book (fictional, love story with, at least what I hope to be a unique theme that I haven't come across in many other books about romantic relationships), nearly done in terms of first draft, upon which I will invite in a couple of beta readers, then comb over it once more on my own, and then likely look into professional editing with that one.
All of this is WAY thrilling :-D as being a published author is my absolute, ultimate dream. To make enough money off it, not a lot, just enough, so that I can live off this and writing books can be my job.
The writing of books, in my opinion, is such an important, worthwhile gig in terms of human life. Books have the power to change us. Books can heal us. They can offer a sense of, oh wow, so someone else experienced this too. I am not alone. Books connect people. They can also inspire and move us to immense proportions. In reading the stories of others, we learn ourselves how to navigate our own relationships, how to live, how to address and handle the dilemmas of our own lives. We learn how to be human.
Books also offer affordable (sometimes even free, as with libraries) yet growth inducing entertainment. They offer further education, learning, the opening of ones mind and heart. Books make you a better person. They add layers to the self that you already are. Books offer the chance to experience other cultures, worlds, emotions and lives, which otherwise you may not have had a glimpse into. Books add richness and wonder to life. They can shift our views of the world as we know it. Offer us different ideas for how to think, be, live.
I want to be one of these people, offering these riches to my fellow humans, like all the other authors out there do. To me, this is a career of making magic. With the potential to change lives, as well as create whole other worlds that spellbind, interest, teach the reader lessons, and induce awe with our words. Awesome. I cannot think of better, more thrilling or more fulfilling work than this- at least for me.
Monday, August 6, 2018
An awesome birthday gift from my mom and Maxx. Going to L Espalier for the Fantasy Tea. I have been dying to do this for ages, the experience one on my never ending list of culinary excursions I hope to eventually sample in Boston. I loved this. Both, for the mouthwatering, to-die-for, bite sized sweet treats we had, the fancy finger food sandwiches, and the never ending tea. Also though, for the time with these two. Really wonderful.
The above and below photo, courses from the tasting menu Maxx made me on my birthday <3. His thoughtfully and creatively making things he knows I both love, and which honor the dietary choices I am currently making (little to no consumption of wheat/grains, as well as hardly any sugar).
On the bottom, a homemade chocolate cheesecake, topped with ganache. We devoured the entire thing in minutes.
South Boston. Aside from Beacon Hill, my favorite area in the city <3. All red brick, narrow sidewalks, antiquated street lamps, eye catching doorways and railings.
This would be Finn. My sisters dog. Quite possibly one of the most darling little dogs I have ever met in my life. He is SUCH a cutie. Total heartbreaker.
The above and below photos were taken from Maxx and my adventures restaurant hopping. We had a drink at Top of the Hub, while blow-a-hole-in-your-wallet expensive, the views are awesome, and our conversation was especially sweet and fun that day.
Then, we split a falafel burger and truffle fries (plus a watermelon salad) at The Gallows. (This is pictured in the photo above). This place having been on my to-try list for years, both because the food is said to be mind blowing and because the atmosphere has a unique, dark macabre theme to it. Plus, the restaurant is housed in a spot of the city where real life gallows used to sit. Crazy/interesting.
We were both absolutely floored by the truffle fries. They were phenomenal.
Then we split an entrée from Spyce, the spot where robots make your food, newly opened in Boston.
And finished with a finale at Magnolia bakery of chocolate cheesecake and chocolate cake. Mmmmm.
Little Finn again. God, how cute is this guy??? I cannot get over it.
Day trip to Newburyport, MA with Maxx and Ida :-D
Plymouth, MA adventure.
Rockport, MA, plus the following two photos are Rockport as well.
Party at my moms house, around July 4th timeframe. Croquet battle underway :-)
The photo above, and the following two photos, Lost River Gorge and Boulder Caves in NH. SO cool. Maxx and I went here in June and absolutely loved this. Walking the wooden walkways, snaking upwards and throughout the woods. Then crouching to hands and knees and crawling through dark, dripping, narrow caves cut into the sides of rocks.
Highly recommend this to people in NH. Its a really low key though quite neat experience, for both kids and adults alike.
Above and the following three photos...sunset at my moms house on the lake. Love.
Rockport, MA :-D
With my mom following birthday celebration tea.
How cool is this!? At Lost River Gorge in NH, this is a gigantic, life sized bird nest! And yes, the sticks it is made from were real. SO neat! And with sweeping views of the NH White Mountains behind to boot.
Thai cooking class, back in May with Maxx. The above photo and the following 6 photos. We took this at the Cambridge Center for Adult Education. Both of us loved this class, raving about it following. Not only was the food delicious, but unlike other cooking classes, we were surprised and delighted by how hands on this one was. Really fun.
The CCAE isn't just cooking classes either. They offer everything, from language courses, to writing, photography, dancing, you name it. And the prices are generally quite good.
Ida kisses <3. Love her. (She caught me off guard in this photo. Was trying to just pose, smiling, next to her. To get both of us in the photo. Right as I snapped it, she turned and licked me).
Ida <3
The photo above, and all the following (with the exception of the very last photo in this blog entry) are from Provincetown, MA. We went there on Sunday about a week ago. Walked all over the city. Ate Japanese ice cream (this was SO good. Little pillowy bites, almost slightly gummy textured, so yum), had lunch at a café right on the main road for prime people watching, hung out by the ocean for a while, stumbled on a private little beach-so charming and cool, wandered the quiet neighborhoods- picking out which homes most appealed to each of us, and just had a relaxing, fun time together. | {
"pile_set_name": "Pile-CC"
} |
anyone from warren county area ,for game day get togethers to watch games .. direct tv here ...married here dont get the wrong idea :)
MightyJoeGibbs
08-23-2006 11:59 PM
Re: any skins fans in nw nj
There can be. Why? Are you in trouble my brother?
celts32
08-24-2006 01:46 PM
Re: any skins fans in nw nj
Hackettstown NJ...I have season tickets so I am only home on road games. I am not much fun at home on game day anyway...I tend to be a salty unfriendly person hunkered down in front of my Sunday Ticket. And that's how I have been described when they are winning.
LBrown43
08-24-2006 02:18 PM
Re: any skins fans in nw nj
Live in Clinton (Hunterdon County) NJ and am raising my 13 year old son as a Skins fan. Would love to get together since we don't have the Sunday Ticket. Where we are we are guaranteed any Giants/Jets/Eagles games and the national games at night. Averages out to about 7 a season. No local bars are equipt with the ability to watch a game in comfort and don't like taking the kid to bars.
If you want company, we are game!! | {
"pile_set_name": "Pile-CC"
} |
Vacancy Notice
Seeking experienced math tutors
Kanu o ka Aina Public Charter School, located in Waimea, Hawai’i, seeks experienced math tutors for the 2017-18 school year. The part-time positions are hourly based and are available immediately. Hawaiian language and culture proficiency is a plus. All interested applicants should submit a resume to [email protected] on a rolling basis. | {
"pile_set_name": "Pile-CC"
} |
"We are investigating who organised the drill and we have arrested the trainer," a local police officer in southern Coimbatore city, where the accident occurred, told AFP.
"She sustained fatal injuries on her neck and head. The trainer has been charged with causing death due to negligence," said the officer, who requested anonymity as he was not permitted to talk to the media.
The National Disaster Management Authority, which stages mock disaster drills across India, said it did not organise or sanction Thursday's event.
"The trainer wasn't authorised by NDMA to conduct such a drill," the authority posted on Twitter.
Local media reports said the instructor was not certified to perform such a drill and college authorities had not sought official permission to stage the exercise. | {
"pile_set_name": "Pile-CC"
} |
On this page we will try to explain how to resolve problems when viewing the Malayalam pages. Malayalam Wikipedia uses Unicode to encode its pages. If you do not see Malayalam letters at all you may need a Malayalam Unicode Font, sections below explain the best options for various platforms.
If you have Windows XP with the SP2 update, you already have a working system. The Kartika font which comes with the SP2 update is a decent font. But you need to install any Unicode 5.1 compliant fonts to see new chillus. (See the section Managing Chillu Charaters for more details).
The most likely reason why you cannot see anything on the Malayalam Wikipedia is that you do not have a font that supports the Malayalam Unicode range. If you can see some letters, but there are too many errors, you probably have a font with poor support for Malayalam Unicode. Perhaps the best fonts available are rachana by K.H.Hussain Anjali Oldlipi by kevinThoolikaTraditional Unicode font. They work almost perfectly in Windows 95/98, ME, 2000, and XP (especially with Internet Explorer 5 or over). Please download the fonts by following the above links and install them. To install, copy the fonts, open "Fonts" from Control Panel and paste the fonts in the Fonts directory.
If you were able to see some letters, you will need to change the font Internet Explorer uses for showing Malayalam Unicode. To do this pull down Tools from the menubar in Internet Explorer and follow Internet Options..., click on Fonts (button). Choose Malayalam in Language script first, and choose a Unicode font (AnjaliOldLipi, Thoolika, Rachana etc) in the Web page font box. Restart Internet Explorer if it doesn't work the first time around.
You may need to turn on "Indic" support in Windows 2000. To do this, go to Control Panel in your computer, double click on Regional Options. In General Tab, language settings for the system, check the Indic box and click OK. You may need to restart the machine after doing this. In Windows XP, go to Control Panel in your computer, double click Regional and Language Options, select Languages Tab, under supplemental language support, check the box to install files for complex script and click OK. In case you are still not able to see Malayalam letters properly in Mozilla, you should select the font Mozilla uses for Unicode by opening from Mozilla's menu bar Edit->Preferences->Appearance->Fonts. Choose "Fonts for:" as Unicode and all typefaces as Rachana_w01 or ThoolikaUnicode.
AnjaliOldlipi works excellent on Firefox. To use it as default font to display Malayalam and Other Languages [from Tools menu > Options item > Content tab > Fonts & Colors section > Advanced button > Select "Malayalam" and set Anjali as font for serif/san-serif/monospace, do the same for Other Languages also.
Default Karthika font available in windows for Malayalam is not able to handle Atomic Chillu Characters defined in Unicode 5.1.0. But current version of popular AnjaliOldlipi supports atomic chillus. If you are reluctant to use fonts which are encoded with atomic chillus, and using Firefox or Google Chrome, install fix-ml firefox add-on or Fix-ml chrome extension respectively to convert newly defined Chillaksharams to old fashion.
Users of Windows XP and Internet Explorer 6 should have difficulty in viewing atomic chillus in their edit box, titlebar etc. even after installing and configuring a newer Unicode 5.1 compatible Malayalam font. Uninstalling Kartika.ttf font and configuring the user interface elements (such as Window title, icon etc) to use any Unicode 5.1 compatible font (such as Anjali/Rachana) through Display properties in control panel will fix this problem. Use Controlpanel->Display->Appearance->Advanced option for this configuration. Snapshot of this configuration is given here. A snapshot of wikipedia editor after this configuration can be seen here. In the image Malayalam character ൽ in mangal pandey is atomic.
Malayalam Fonts are available here. For installing fonts open your font folder (For Fedora open your file browser, type fonts:/// hit enter; For Ubuntu open your file browser type /usr/share/fonts/truetype/ hit enter) and paste fonts in that folder. Restart any application that may need to use them. Your browser may need to set appropriate font (Font Rachana works fine, anyway check this page for finding appropriate font for you). Font setting for Firefox browser is available at Edit->Preference->Content->Advanced.
If you are using Chromium browser (or Google chrome), sometimes you may find some minor display errors such as overlapping words or different sized words. You can fix this easily by setting a particular font (Preferably Rachana) explicitly for web content. For this, go to Settings (Click spanner icon on your toolbar), and select preferences. On the current window click "Under the hood" tab, and click the button "change font and language settings" in "Web content" subtitle.
Even though new versions of Linux distributions are working fine with Malayalam; default fonts bundled with them are not supporting Atomic Chillu Characters defined in Unicode 5.1.0. This Modified version of Font Rachana renders newly defined atomic Chillaksharams. You can also use these fonts which has Atomic chillus. If you are reluctant to use fonts which are encoded with atomic chills, use this firefox add-on for firefox browser or this Chrome extension for Google chrome (or for chromium browser) to convert newly defined Chillaksharams to old fashion. | {
"pile_set_name": "Pile-CC"
} |
If you're not happy, we're not happy. That's where our "Love It or Send It Back" policy comes in. If you're dissatisfied with your Ballard purchase for any reason, you can return it within 90 days of the ship date for an exchange or full refund* (excluding Shipping & Processing fees).
You are invited to try items within our Best of Ballard collection risk-free for 30 days. If you're not satisfied, we will refund the purchase price AND shipping costs. Best of Ballard items are exempt from additional discounts and free shipping offers.
If you don't absolutely love your new slipcovered seating or upholstered seating for any reason, return it within 10 days of delivery absolutely free – we'll even pay the return shipping. It's that simple. We guarantee it. Now doesn't that make you happy?
We want you to be happy. If for any reason you are dissatisfied with your purchase, simply return it within 90 days of the ship date for an exchange or refund (excluding Shipping & Processing fees). All products are guaranteed from defects for a full year.
Please carefully inspect your order upon delivery. If you receive damaged or defective merchandise, you may contact our Customer Service department at 1-800-536-7551 and a representative will be glad to arrange a return or exchange for you.
Please note: Any items that are monogrammed, customized, Customer's Own Material (COM), or made-to-order cannot be returned or exchanged unless damaged or defective. Defective items will be exchanged unless no longer available, in which case a Merchandise Certificate will be issued. Once a returned item is received in our warehouse, the return or exchange will be processed immediately. For credit card orders, you can expect to see your refund credit within 72 hours. For check and money orders, you can expect to receive your refund check within 7-10 business days.
Special delivery methods are noted in the item description.
Standard DeliveryOrders are shipped by standard ground and usually arrive within 3-7 business days. Items ordered at the same time may not be delivered together.
Threshold DeliveryThreshold Deliveries are made by standard truck, unloaded by the driver and placed inside the first-floor doorway, garage or covered area of your choice. Delivery is typically 2-3 weeks from the date item is shipped but may vary depending on your residence and location of shipment pickup.
In-Home DeliveryIn-Home Deliveries are made by standard truck, placed inside your home wherever you like, inspected, and the packaging removed. Please allow an additional 2-3 weeks from Ship Date for your order to arrive. An agent will call to schedule your delivery. (Not available in all states.)
O/S (Oversized) Delivery Items that are heavy or bulky are subject to an Oversized Delivery surcharge. This charge is listed after the item price.
Express Delivery Express orders received by 4 p.m. EST are shipped the same day. For items under 15 lb., the following Express Delivery rates apply:
Swatch ShippingBallard Designs offers up to 10 free swatches for all of our fabrics for a small fee of $6.00 for shipping and processing. It will take 3-7 business days for your swatches to arrive. The swatches are approximately a 3" X 3" square.
We do offer some rug, leather, and wallpaper swatches. To see if the swatch is available, please call us at 800-367-2775.
100
false
false
false
falsepdp{"scheme":"product1_cr"}
falsepdp{"scheme":"product2_cr"}
[ProductDetail_Espot01]
[ProductDetail_Espot02]
Check Drapery Panel with Valance is rated
4.8 out of
5 by
112.
Rated 5 out of
5 by
wendygolfgirl from
love! love! love!I hung the ivory/black check drapes in my dining and living room. I love the weight of these. They are heavy, and hang well. They make a room look cozy without looking country. I have cleaned mine with just a damp cloth and i vacuum them on a regular basis. The detail is terrific. I highly recommend these!
Date published: 2014-01-07
Rated 5 out of
5 by
FrenchCountry2 from
ExcellentVery well made. Love the heavy weight of the fabric.
Date published: 2013-04-18
Rated 5 out of
5 by
Luv2shop12345 from
Bring back the original taupe colorI ordered these curtains years ago when they were offering them in sage. Absolutely loved them! I redecorated my dining room and needed the taupe color instead. Much to my dismay they only had them in black and grey. I was so disappointed that I called and pleaded with them to bring the taupe back. They told me they had gotten many calls about them. I checked back recently and saw the taupe back. I was so excited BUT unfortunately it is not the same as the original. This color is so muted and is definitely from a different color pallate than the original. This is more like a light tan while the original had more "brownish" undertones and was not so muted.. Please bring back the original color!
Date published: 2016-04-11
Rated 5 out of
5 by
Marlis from
Excellent quality! great lookI purchased the check drapes after much debate with myself. I wish I had purchased earlier. Not only do they have designer details such as the pinch pleats and the grosgrain ribbon trim, they are a great weight so that they hang perfectly. I have them on two large windows in our bedroom and couldn't be more pleased. Shipping was prompt and without delay. I'm a super happy customer! Thanks Ballard!!
Date published: 2011-09-23
Rated 5 out of
5 by
Yummy from
Love, Love these Drapes!I've viewed these drapes for a very long time. If you have considered ordering these, but question the quality or color I guarantee you will not be disappointed with either. I hung these straight from the packaging and they only had one wrinkle which steamed out in seconds. The fabric is heavy and just beautiful. I ordered these in black. I hope this review helps you in making your decision.
Date published: 2013-11-19
Rated 5 out of
5 by
tammilee from
Beautiful!These drapes/curtains are such great quality! They are exactly what I was looking for and are such a great investment in decorating my home! Love , Love them!
Date published: 2012-12-26
Rated 5 out of
5 by
sdbible from
Beautiful!I ordered these drapes for my bedroom and fell in love with them! They are exactly as pictured online. I have since ordered the same fabric to cover a bench in my bedroom and I love that I was able to do that. These are expensive but worth every penny.
Date published: 2013-03-27
Rated 5 out of
5 by
decoratorchick from
These curtains are beautiful and great quality!I am a seamstress myself, and know quality drapes when I see them. These are definitely high quality, with a nice weight to the crisp fabric, lined very nicely to avoid sun damage, and the trim is beautiful. I love these curtains!
Date published: 2011-07-28
Rated 5 out of
5 by
Californiadecorator from
ExcellentThe fabric is beautiful and the workmanship is unsurpassed! Love them!
Date published: 2012-05-18
Rated 5 out of
5 by
decor2do from
Excellent qualityI have been watching these for a very long time just didn't want to spend the money on what I thought would be very casual. They are gorgeous! Wish they offerred them in different fabrics as well.
Date published: 2013-12-15
Rated 5 out of
5 by
Liza12345 from
Next best thing to custom drapesNext best thing to custom drapes. Great value/quality.
Date published: 2011-07-04
Rated 5 out of
5 by
SunD from
Love Love Love these panels!!!!After searching and searching AND SEARCHING I finally decided on the black check panels in 120" length for my formal dining room that has 12 ft ceilings. These are so well made and to find them pleated at this price and length is amazing. I could not be any happier! Thank you for such a GREAT product!
Date published: 2011-03-24
Rated 5 out of
5 by
Lonestarlady from
This product is well made, elegant and classic !I am so happy with these checked panels and valance that I may just put them on every window in my home ! I am a professional seamstress and I could not have made these for this low, low price. They are beautifully tailored, quality fabric, lined and look fantastic ! Thank you Ballard for classy product and prompt delivery.
S.W.in Texas
Date published: 2011-03-16
Rated 5 out of
5 by
NBlaze from
Looks Custom MadeI waited a long time to order these panels because I just wasn't sure how the check pattern would look in my formal living room. Would it be too casual or too busy? Well, I am happy to say that I love them. First, the panels are well made and of great quality fabric. They hang well and didn't even need to be ironed. The valance and grosgrain ribbon trim give them a more finished and custom-made look. The small size check makes the pattern appear more subdued and not too "country-looking". The overall effect is several steps above your average, run-of-the-mill drapery panel.
Date published: 2011-05-08
Rated 5 out of
5 by
Debi from
Excellent quality and perfect for any room!!I purchased two pairs of these panels for a very sunny conservatory. They are very well made and nicely weighted at the bottoms. They are also beautifully pleated and have grosgrain trim that runs the interior length. I have received tons of compliments on them and am considering ordering in another color for a bedroom. Would definitely recommend these!!
Date published: 2011-04-10
Rated 5 out of
5 by
Ancrgrl72 from
The quality for price is terrific!The taylored look, trim, and sturdy fabric weight speak great investment at a modest price. Little to no pressing needed right out of the package.
Date published: 2011-09-14
Rated 5 out of
5 by
MaryStLouis from
Over two years later...I've had these drapes in my master bedroom for over two years and they look brand new. Every day I pull open a pair I have over a sliding glass door and every night I pull them closed and you just can't tell...there is no sign of wear or staining and the material feels crisp and heavy. I bought the black banded drapes and still get compliments when people see them for the first time.
I highly recommend these, they are a steal!
Date published: 2011-06-15
Rated 5 out of
5 by
Katydid817 from
Absolutely stunning.I bought these in sage check for the sliding door in my kitchen and also the valances for over my sink - they match beautifully and really make my kitchen a showplace! I also have the sage check chair cushions, so the look is coordinated and lovely. I hung these with the enclosed pins (which I had never used before) and attached them to rings so the panels slide open and closed easily. The attached valance really gives the curtain a gorgeous finished look when both closed and open. And the quality of the panels is excellent - you rarely see quality like this in a pre-made curtain. My kitchen looks custom designed (well, really it is)! And I am so pleased with all my Ballard purchases.
Date published: 2012-01-01
Rated 5 out of
5 by
Jamal from
Check Panel with ValanceI LOVE my check panel with valance. I ordered several and they look fabulous! They come across as looking country but once they are hung they do not give the country look. Happy! Happy!
Date published: 2013-03-01
Rated 5 out of
5 by
Lakelife from
Perfectly wonderfulNeeded curtains for a lakefront bedroom. These check panels with valance were perfect. They are the spot-on level of informality with good looks. The grosgrain ribbon really makes them "finished". Thanks, Ballard for the 105 inch length. Love these panels!
Date published: 2012-10-07
Rated 5 out of
5 by
AZfrenchcounty from
Black and cream panelsThe curtains were exactly what I wanted for my master bedroom. The curtains look great and I was extremely pleased with the quality.
Date published: 2012-02-08
Rated 5 out of
5 by
bama51 from
Well constructed, hang beautifully.I received the effect that I was hoping to achieve, a window that adds another beautiful layer to my guest room. I couldn't be happier with the value and craftsmanship. We hung the drapes and gave them a quick steaming and Viola!, the room had pizzaz. I wish that there were other room that would benefit from these drapes and will scour my Ballard catalogues for other drapery products to include in my home.
Date published: 2011-04-25
Rated 5 out of
5 by
mbdean from
Great custom drapery quality!Very pleased with the heft and weight of the draperies, I also had a custom bedskirt made to match the draperies and that turned out excellent as well. :)
Date published: 2012-02-05
Rated 5 out of
5 by
cowgirlinthesand from
Beautiful curtains!I received these and at first thought they were going to be to wide for my standard 36 inch window. They look absolutely beautiful! I bought 1 inch rods, which in my opinion are the perfect diameter for such a heavy drape. I also purchased 1 inch rings and took clips off and put hooks through the hole of ring, the rings are also a little wider then standard rings which I think helps makes the french pleat stand straight and not sag forward. I used one panel per window and I used garden twine and made pull backs. I also purchased a valance to check if it matched the valance of drape, it is same material but it is shorter as stated 13inch. I will use the valances in my bay window with cafe. These curtains make my living room look so comfy and warm feeling. Thanks Ballard Designs!
Date published: 2014-10-11
Rated 5 out of
5 by
onthebeach from
Quality is amazing!These panels are of great quality. I have the black & white ones in a bedroom and loved them......so I purchased the toffee and check as side panels to large glass doors. They dress the room up without making it look too formal. I used large rods and rings with hooks to add a couple more inches to the length.....very satisfied with the look!
Date published: 2011-06-03
Rated 5 out of
5 by
CarolinesAunt from
Quality ProductGot more than I expected when I ordered two of these panels. Wonderful quality fabric. Well "weighted" drapery panels. Hang very well. Pleating at the top is done well. The check pattern was larger than expected, however, it worked well in my family room. I would absolutely order these panels again for other areas of my home. Originally was going to order the black check until I read a review claiming the fabric appeared to be black and "pink" checked, rather than black and cream. I agreed when looking more closely at that particular color choice. Went with the sage check and it happened to work out exceptionally well. Totally appreciated the sales price of the panel and it motivated me to move a bit more quickly when it came to making a purchase. Great quality, great value.
Date published: 2012-10-10
Rated 5 out of
5 by
almostgrandma from
Very high quality at a great price point.Love, love love my curtains! Bought them for my dinning room, which is small but has a high ceiling. They have finished the space off nicely with out overpowering the room. Also, because they are lined, they are heavy and have a nice drape. Overall, an expensive look at a price that didn't break the bank!
Date published: 2011-05-13
Rated 5 out of
5 by
mnmarlo from
Toffee Check Panel with ValanceWe're using the Toffee check panel as a privacy curtain between the dining area and family room. Using several panels allows us to close it for privacy, or leave it open as desired. It's just the look I was hoping to achieve ... I'm very pleased with the quality, and wouldn't change a thing!
Date published: 2012-08-02
Rated 5 out of
5 by
Mattntomsmom from
gorgeous drapesThese panels exceeded my expectations in every way. They are beautiful and so well made. I love the way they look in my dining room. Beautiful style and quality...they're perfect!
Date published: 2012-01-28
Rated 5 out of
5 by
ChrisL from
Love them!I love these curtains. They look like custom made for 1/5th the price. | {
"pile_set_name": "Pile-CC"
} |
2000 Honda S2000 from North America - Comments
15th Mar 2006, 23:29
Torque: It's that thing that allows you to launch your vehicle from an rpm under 6000, allows you to keep your clutch, and feels just as good as a a high rpm adventure. Hard to explain, but clutches are expensive to repair. Tire squealing is best done before the 6500 rpm VTEC crossover point. One more thing, 240 horses isn't even that much anyway. I know they are light, but peak horsepower at 8000 rpm is just ridiculous. Might as well ride a weedeater.
16th Mar 2006, 15:29
The tradeoff is a diesel, no horsepower and all torque, sure you can get decent starts and pull weight, but there is no top end. Its all a tradeoff and it seems like honda made the car good enough to survive those "hard" launches that destroy clutches so easily. Actually, why wouldn't they think of that with the millions they spend?
23rd Mar 2006, 10:39
Not true, the tradeoff is not a diesel. A diesel is the absolute opposite of the S2000. I'm not advocating that everyone drive diesel powered vehicles. I'm just commenting that high rpm launches are harder on the vehicles drivetrain than a low rpm launch. Ask any mechanic, you will see that it is true. There are plenty of V6 cars with well over 200 lb. ft. of torque, and some very close to 300. Maybe your S2000's clutch hasn't needed replacement yet... But, you have to admit, with those high rpm launches, it is just a matter of time.
12th Aug 2006, 22:38
VTEC crossover is at 6,000 (for a usdm ap1) and there's no mistaking it, if you'd ever driven the car. This car still makes me giddy even after over 6 months of ownership. The car doesn't have that much torque, but it is the most exciting car I've ever driven. It's not a sports car for the masses and certainly won't please everyone, but that's also why I love it.
15th Dec 2006, 18:55
Update-- I just hit 50,000 miles. Still no problems (of course). It's been 10 months since I bought it and I still love it. It's a little loud on trips 3+hours, but other than that no ownership complaints. I can fit all my stuff from college in it, but I pack light. Sure there are sedans that will smoke it, but nothing for the money (IMO) is more fun!
30th Oct 2009, 10:37
Why would you want to do a high RPM launch anyway? Even if you do track days, you pull away slowly in first in the pit lane and then keep the car in the high revs the whole time on track, which is why the S2000 will beat any standard 2 litre turbo round a track. | {
"pile_set_name": "Pile-CC"
} |
Big pecker shelady bombshell Bianca Hills is in act this day topping a man's constricted arse raw and bareback. Watch as that babe feeds this chap her rod previous to stretching his a-hole to the max all with no jo-bag. When she's done with him, this babe tosses him down and pops a load all over him! | {
"pile_set_name": "Pile-CC"
} |
General Theory of Employment, Interest, and Money, by Keynes
Chapter 15
The Psychological and Business Incentives to Liquidity
i
We must now develop in more detail the analysis of the motives to liquidity-preference which were introduced in a
preliminary way in chapter 13. The subject is substantially the same as that which has been sometimes discussed under
the heading of the demand for money. It is also closely connected with what is called the income-velocity of money; —
for the income-velocity of money merely measures what proportion of their incomes the public chooses to hold in cash,
so that an increased income-velocity of money may be a symptom of a decreased liquidity-preference. It is not the same
thing, however, since it is in respect of his stock of accumulated savings, rather than of his income, that the
individual can exercise his choice between liquidity and illiquidity. And, anyhow, the term ‘income-velocity of money’
carries with it the misleading suggestion of a presumption in favour of the demand for money as a whole being
proportional, or having some determinate relation, to income, whereas this presumption should apply, as we shall see,
only to a portion of the public’s cash holdings; with the result that it overlooks the part played by the rate
of interest.
In my Treatise on Money I studied the total demand for money under the headings of income-deposits,
business-deposits, and savings-deposits, and I need not repeat here the analysis which I gave in chapter 3 of that
book. Money held for each of the three purposes forms, nevertheless, a single pool, which the holder is under no
necessity to segregate into three water-tight compartments; for they need not be sharply divided even in his own mind,
and the same sum can be held primarily for one purpose and secondarily for another. Thus we can — equally well, and,
perhaps, better — consider the individual’s aggregate demand for money in given circumstances as a single decision,
though the composite result of a number of different motives.
In analysing the motives, however, it is still convenient to classify them under certain headings, the first of
which broadly corresponds to the former classification of income-deposits and business-deposits, and the two latter to
that of savings-deposits. These I have briefly introduced in chapter 13 under the headings of the transactions-motive,
which can be further classified as the income-motive and the business-motive, the precautionary-motive and the
speculative-motive.
(i) The Income-motive. One reason for holding cash is to bridge the interval between the receipt of income
and its disbursement. The strength of this motive in inducing a decision to hold a given aggregate of cash will chiefly
depend on the amount of income and the normal length of the interval between its receipt and its disbursement. It is in
this connection that the concept of the income-velocity of money is strictly appropriate.
(ii) The Business-motive. Similarly, cash is held to bridge the interval between the time of incurring
business costs and that of the receipt of the sale-proceeds; cash held by dealers to bridge the interval between
purchase and realisation being included under this heading. The strength of this demand will chiefly depend on the
value of current output (and hence on current income), and on the number of hands through which output passes.
(iii) The Precautionary-motive. To provide for contingencies requiring sudden expenditure and for
unforeseen opportunities of advantageous purchases, and also to hold an asset of which the value is fixed in terms of
money to meet a subsequent liability fixed in terms of money, are further motives for holding cash.
The strength of all these three types of motive will partly depend on the cheapness and the reliability of methods
of obtaining cash, when it is required, by some form of temporary borrowing, in particular by overdraft or its
equivalent. For there is no necessity to hold idle cash to bridge over intervals if it can be obtained without
difficulty at the moment when it is actually required. Their strength will also depend on what we may term the relative
cost of holding cash. If the cash can only be retained by forgoing the purchase of a profitable asset, this increases
the cost and thus weakens the motive towards holding a given amount of cash. If deposit interest is earned or if bank
charges are avoided by holding cash, this decreases the cost and strengthens the motive. It may be, however, that this
is likely to be a minor factor except where large changes in the cost of holding cash are in question.
(iv) There remains the Speculative-motive. This needs a more detailed examination than the others, both
because it is less well understood and because it is particularly important in transmitting the effects of a
change in the quantity of money.
In normal circumstances the amount of money required to satisfy the transactions-motive and the precautionary-motive
is mainly a resultant of the general activity of the economic system and of the level of money-income. But it is by
playing on the speculative-motive that monetary management (or, in the absence of management, chance changes in the
quantity of money) is brought to bear on the economic system. For the demand for money to satisfy the former motives is
generally irresponsive to any influence except the actual occurrence of a change in the general economic activity and
the level of incomes; whereas experience indicates that the aggregate demand for money to satisfy the
speculative-motive usually shows a continuous response to gradual changes in the rate of interest, i.e. there is a
continuous curve relating changes in the demand for money to satisfy the speculative motive and changes in the rate of
interest as given by changes in the prices of bonds and debts of various maturities.
Indeed, if this were not so, ‘open market operations’ would be impracticable. I have said that experience indicates
the continuous relationship stated above, because in normal circumstances the banking system is in fact always able to
purchase (or sell) bonds in exchange for cash by bidding the price of bonds up (or down) in the market by a modest
amount; and the larger the quantity of cash which they seek to create (or cancel) by purchasing (or selling) bonds and
debts, the greater must be the fall (or rise) in the rate of interest. Where, however, (as in the United States,
1933−1934) open-market operations have been limited to the purchase of very short-dated securities, the effect may, of
course, be mainly confined to the very short-term rate of interest and have but little reaction on the much more
important long-term rates of interest.
In dealing with the speculative-motive it is, however, important to distinguish between the changes in the rate of
interest which are due to changes in the supply of money available to satisfy the speculative-motive, without there
having been any change in the liquidity function, and those which are primarily due to changes in expectation affecting
the liquidity function itself. Open-market Operations may, indeed, influence the rate of interest through both
channels; since they may not only change the volume of money, but may also give rise to changed expectations concerning
the future policy of the central bank or of the government. Changes in the liquidity function itself; due to a change
in the news which causes revision of expectations, will often be discontinuous, and will, therefore, give rise to a
corresponding discontinuity of change in the rate of interest. Only, indeed, in so far as the change in the news is
differently interpreted by different individuals or affects individual lnterests differently will there be room for any
increased activity of dealing in the bond market. If the change in the news affects the judgment and the requirements
of everyone in precisely the same way, the rate of interest (as indicated by the prices of bonds and debts) will be
adjusted forthwith to the new situation without any market transactions being necessary.
Thus, in the simplest case, where everyone is similar and similarly placed, a change in circumstances or
expectations will not be capable of causing any displacement of money whatever; — it will simply change the rate of
interest in whatever degree is necessary to offset the desire of each individual, felt at the previous rate, to change
his holding of cash in response to the new circumstances or expectations; and, since everyone will change his ideas as
to the rate which would induce him to alter his holdings of cash in the same degree, no transactions will result. To
each set of circumstances and expectations there will correspond an appropriate rate of interest, and there will never
be any question of anyone changing his usual holdings of cash.
In general, however, a change in circumstances or expectations will cause some realignment in individual holdings of
money; — since, in fact, a change will influence the ideas of different individuals differently by reasons partly of
differences in environment and the reason for which money is held and partly of differences in knowledge and
interpretation of the new situation. Thus the new equilibrium rate of interest will be associated with a redistribution
of money-holdings. Nevertheless it is the change in the rate of interest, rather than the redistribution of cash, which
deserves our main attention. The latter is incidental to individual differences, whereas the essential phenomenon is
that which occurs in the simplest case. Moreover, even in the general case, the shift in the rate of interest is
usually the most prominent part of the reaction to a change in the news. The movement in bond-prices is, as the
newspapers are accustomed to say, ‘out of all proportion to the activity of dealing’; — which is as it should be, in
view of individuals being much more similar than they are dissimilar in their reaction to news.
ii
Whilst the amount of cash which an individual decides to hold to satisfy the transactions-motive and the
precautionary-motive is not entirely independent of what he is holding to satisfy the speculative-motive, it is a safe
first approximation to regard the amounts of these two sets of cash-holdings as being largely independent of one
another. Let us, therefore, for the purposes of our further analysis, break up our problem in this way. Let the amount
of cash held to satisfy the transactions- and precautionary-motives be M1, and the amount held to
satisfy the speculative-motive be M2. Corresponding to these two compartments of cash, we then have
two liquidity functions L1 and L2. L1 mainly depends on the
level of income, whilst L2 mainly depends on the relation between the current rate of interest and
the state of expectation. Thus
M = M1 + M2 = L1(Y) + L2(r),
where L1 is the liquidity function corresponding to an income Y, which determines
M1, and L2 is the liquidity function of the rate of interest r, which
determines M2. It follows that there are three matters to investigate: (i) the relation of changes
in M to Y and r, (ii) what determines the shape of L1, (iii) what
determines the shape of L2.
(i) The relation of changes in M to Y and r depends, in the first instance, on the way in
which changes in M come about. Suppose that M consists of gold coins and that changes in M
can only result from increased returns to the activities of gold-miners who belong to the economic system under
examination. In this case changes in M are, in the first instance, directly associated with changes in
Y, since the new gold accrues as someone’s income. Exactly the same conditions hold if changes in M
are due to the government printing money wherewith to meet its current expenditure; — in this case also the new money
accrues as someone’s income. The new level of income, however, will not continue sufficiently high for the requirements
of M1 to absorb the whole of the increase in M; and some portion of the money will seek an
outlet in buying securities or other assets until r has fallen so as to bring about an increase in the
magnitude of M2 and at the same time to stimulate a rise in Y to such an extent that the
new money is absorbed either in M2 or in the M1 which corresponds to the rise
in Y caused by the fall in r. Thus at one remove this case comes to the same thing as the alternative
case, where the new money can only be issued in the first instance by a relaxation of the conditions of credit by the
banking system, so as to induce someone to sell the banks a debt or a bond in exchange for the new cash.
It will, therefore, be safe for us to take the latter case as typical. A change in M can be assumed to
operate by changing r, and a change in r will lead to a new equilibrium partly by changing
M2 and partly by changing Y and therefore M1. The division of the
increment of cash between M1 and M2 in the new position of equilibrium will
depend on the responses of investment to a reduction in the rate of interest and of income to an increase in
investment. Since Y partly depends on r, it follows that a given change in M has to cause a
sufficient change in r for the resultant changes in M1 and M2
respectively to add up to the given change in M.
(ii) It is not always made clear whether the income-velocity of money is defined as the ratio of Y to
M or as the ratio of Y to M1. I propose, however, to take it in the latter sense.
Thus if V is the income-velocity of money,
L1(Y) = YV = M1.
There is, of course, no reason for supposing that V is constant. Its value will depend on the character of
banking and industrial organisation, on social habits, on the distribution of income between different classes and on
the effective cost of holding idle cash. Nevertheless, if we have a short period of time in view and can safely assume
no material change in any of these factors, we can treat V as nearly enough constant.
(iii) Finally there is the question of the relation between M2 and r. We have seen in
chapter 13 that uncertainty as to the future course of the rate of interest is the sole intelligible
explanation of the type of liquidity-preference L2 which leads to the holding of cash
M2. It follows that a given M2 will not have a definite quantitative relation
to a given rate of interest of r; — what matters is not the absolute level of r but the
degree of its divergence from what is considered a fairly safe level of r, having regard to those
calculations of probability which are being relied on. Nevertheless, there are two reasons for expecting that, in any
given state of expectation, a fall in r will be associated with an increase in M2. In the
first place, if the general view as to what is a safe level of r is unchanged, every fall in r
reduces the market rate relatively to the ‘safe’ rate and therefore increases the risk of illiquidity; and, in the
second place, every fall in r reduces the current earnings from illiquidity, which are available as a sort of
insurance premium to offset the risk of loss on capital account, by an amount equal to the difference between the
squares of the old rate of interest and the new. For example, if the rate of interest on a long-term debt is 4
per cent, it is preferable to sacrifice liquidity unless on a balance of probabilities it is feared that the long-term
rate of interest may rise faster than by 4 per cent of itself per annum, i.e. by an amount greater than 0.16 per cent
per annum. If, however, the rate of interest is already as low as 2 per cent, the running yield will only offset a rise
in it of as little as 0.04 per cent per annum. This, indeed, is perhaps the chief obstacle to a fall in the rate of
interest to a very low level. Unless reasons are believed to exist why future experience will be very different from
past experience, a long-term rate of interest of (say) 2 per cent leaves more to fear than to hope, and offers, at the
same time, a running yield which is only sufficient to offset a very small measure of fear.
It is evident, then, that the rate of interest is a highly psychological phenomenon. We shall find, indeed, in Book
V that it cannot be in equilibrium at a level below the rate which corresponds to full employment; because at
such a level a state of true inflation will be produced, with the result that M1 will absorb
ever-increasing quantities of cash. But at a level above the rate which corresponds to full employment, the
long-term market-rate of interest will depend, not only on the current policy of the monetary authority, but also on
market expectations concerning its future policy. The short-term rate of interest is easily controlled by the monetary
authority, both because it is not difficult to produce a conviction that its policy will not greatly change in the very
near future, and also because the possible loss is small compared with the running yield (unless it is approaching
vanishing point). But the long-term rate may be more recalcitrant when once it has fallen to a level which, on the
basis of past experience and present expectations of future monetary policy, is considered ‘unsafe’ by
representative opinion. For example, in a country linked to an international gold standard, a rate of interest lower
than prevails elsewhere will be viewed with a justifiable lack of confidence; yet a domestic rate of interest dragged
up to a parity with the highest rate (highest after allowing for risk) prevailing in any country belonging to
the international system may be much higher than is consistent with domestic full employment.
Thus a monetary policy which strikes public opinion as being experimental in character or easily liable to change
may fail in its objective of greatly reducing the long-term rate of interest, because M2 may tend
to increase almost without limit in response to a reduction of r below a certain figure. The same policy, on
the other hand, may prove easily successful if it appeals to public opinion as being reasonable and practicable and in
the public interest, rooted in strong conviction, and promoted by an authority unlikely to be superseded.
It might be more accurate, perhaps, to say that the rate of interest is a highly conventional, rather than a highly
psychological, phenomenon. For its actual value is largely governed by the prevailing view as to what its value is
expected to be. Any level of interest which is accepted with sufficient conviction as likely to be
durable will be durable; subject, of course, in a changing society to fluctuations for all kinds of reasons
round the expected normal. In particular, when M1 is increasing faster than M, the rate of
interest will rise, and vice versa. But it may fluctuate for decades about a level which is chronically too
high for full employment; — particularly if it is the prevailing opinion that the rate of interest is self-adjusting,
so that the level established by convention is thought to be rooted in objective grounds much stronger than convention,
the failure of employment to attain an optimum level being in no way associated, in the minds either of the public or
of authority, with the prevalence of an inappropriate range of rates of interest.
The difficulties in the way of maintaining effective demand at a level high enough to provide full employment, which
ensue from the association of a conventional and fairly stable long-term rate of interest with a fickle and highly
unstable marginal efficiency of capital, should be, by now, obvious to the reader.
Such comfort as we can fairly take from more encouraging reflections must be drawn from the hope that, precisely
because the convention is not rooted in secure knowledge, it will not be always unduly resistant to a modest measure of
persistence and consistency of purpose by the monetary authority. Public opinion can be fairly rapidly accustomed to a
modest fall in the rate of interest and the conventional expectation of the future may be modified accordingly; thus
preparing the way for a further movement — up to a point. The fall in the long-term rate of interest in Great Britain
after her departure from the gold standard provides an interesting example of this; — the major movements were effected
by a series of discontinuous jumps, as the liquidity function of the public, having become accustomed to each
successive reduction, became ready to respond to some new incentive in the news or in the policy of the
authorities.
iii
We can sum up the above in the proposition that in any given state of expectation there is in the minds of the
public a certain potentiality towards holding cash beyond what is required by the transactions-motive or the
precautionary-motive, which will realise itself in actual cash-holdings in a degree which depends on the terms on which
the monetary authority is willing to create cash. It is this potentiality which is summed up in the liquidity function
L2. Corresponding to the quantity of money created by the monetary authority, there will,
therefore, be cet. par. a determlnate rate of interest or, more strictly, a determinate complex of rates of
interest for debts of different maturities. The same thing, however, would be true of any other factor in the economic
system taken separately. Thus this particular analysis will only be useful and significant in so far as there is some
specially direct or purposive connection between changes in the quantity of money and changes in the rate of interest.
Our reason for supposing that there is such a special connection arises from the fact that, broadly speaking, the
banking system and the monetary authority are dealers in money and debts and not in assets or consumables.
If the monetary authority were prepared to deal both ways on specified terms in debts of all maturities, and even
more so if it were prepared to deal in debts of varying degrees of risk, the relationship between the complex of rates
of interest and the quantity of money would be direct. The complex of rates of interest would simply be an expression
of the terms on which the banking system is prepared to acquire or part with debts; and the quantity of money would be
the amount which can find a home in the possession of individuals who — after taking account of all relevant
circumstances — prefer the control of liquid cash to parting with it in exchange for a debt on the terms indicated by
the market rate of interest. Perhaps a complex offer by the central bank to buy and sell at stated prices gilt-edged
bonds of all maturities, in place of the single bank rate for short-term bills, is the most important practical
improvement which can be made in the technique of monetary management.
To-day, however, in actual practice, the extent to which the price of debts as fixed by the banking system is
‘effective’ in the market, in the sense that it governs the actual market-price, varies in different systems. Sometimes
the price is more effective in one direction than in the other; that is to say, the banking system may undertake to
purchase debts at a certain price but not necessarily to sell them at a figure near enough to its buying-price to
represent no more than a dealer’s turn, though there is no reason why the price should not be made effective both ways
with the aid of open-market operations. There is also the more important qualification which arises out of the monetary
authority not being, as a rule, an equally willing dealer in debts of all maturities. The monetary authority often
tends in practice to concentrate upon short-term debts and to leave the price of long-term debts to be influenced by
belated and imperfect reactions from the price of short-term debts; — though here again there is no reason why they
need do so. Where these qualifications operate, the directness of the relation between the rate of interest and the
quantity of money is correspondingly modified. In Great Britain the field of deliberate control appears to be widening.
But in applying this theory in any particular case allowance must be made for the special characteristics of the method
actually employed by the monetary authority. If the monetary authority deals only in short-term debts, we have to
consider what influence the price, actual and prospective, of short-term debts exercises on debts of longer
maturity.
Thus there are certain limitations on the ability of the monetary authority to establish any given complex of rates
of interest for debts of different terms and risks, which can be summed up as follows:
(1) There are those limitations which arise out of the monetary authority’s own practices in limiting its
willingness to deal to debts of a particular type.
(2) There is the possibility, for the reasons discussed above, that, after the rate of interest has fallen to a
certain level, liquidity-preference may become virtually absolute in the sense that almost everyone prefers cash to
holding a debt which yields so low a rate of interest. In this event the monetary authority would have lost effective
control over the rate of interest. But whilst this limiting case might become practically important in future, I know
of no example of it hitherto. Indeed, owing to the unwillingness of most monetary authorities to deal boldly in debts
of long term, there has not been much opportunity for a test. Moreover, if such a situation were to arise, it would
mean that the public authority itself could borrow through the banking system on an unlimited scale at a nominal rate
of interest.
(3) The most striking examples of a complete breakdown of stability in the rate of interest, due to the liquidity
function flattening out in one direction or the other, have occurred in very abnormal circumstances. In Russia and
Central Europe after the war a currency crisis or flight from the currency was experienced, when no one could be
induced to retain holdings either of money or of debts on any terms whatever, and even a high and rising rate of
interest was unable to keep pace with the marginal efficiency of capital (especially of stocks of liquid goods) under
the influence of the expectation of an ever greater fall in the value of money; whilst in the United States at certain
dates in 1932 there was a crisis of the opposite kind — a financial crisis or crisis of liquidation, when scarcely
anyone could be induced to part with holdings of money on any reasonable terms.
(4) There is, finally, the difficulty discussed in section IV of chapter 11, p. 144, in the way of bringing the
effective rate of interest below a certain figure, which may prove important in an era of low interest-rates; namely
the intermediate costs of bringing the borrower and the ultimate lender together, and the allowance for risk,
especially for moral risk, which the lender requires over and above the pure rate of interest. As the pure rate of
interest declines it does not follow that the allowances for expense and risk decline pari passu. Thus the
rate of interest which the typical borrower has to pay may decline more slowly than the pure rate of interest, and may
be incapable of being brought, by the methods of the existing banking and financial organisation, below a certain
minimum figure. This is particularly important if the estimation of moral risk is appreciable. For where the risk is
due to doubt in the mind of the lender concerning the honesty of the borrower, there is nothing in the mind of a
borrower who does not intend to be dishonest to offset the resultant higher charge. It is also important in the case of
short-term loans (e.g. bank loans) where the expenses are heavy; — a bank may have to charge its customers 1½ to 2 per
cent., even if the pure rate of interest to the lender is nil.
iv
At the cost of anticipating what is more properly the subject of chapter 21 below it may be interesting briefly at
this stage to indicate the relationship of the above to the quantity theory of money.
In a static society or in a society in which for any other reason no one feels any uncertainty about the future
rates of interest, the liquidity function L2, or the propensity to hoard (as we might term it),
will always be zero in equilibrium. Hence in equilibrium M2 = 0 and
M = M1; so that any change in M will cause the rate of interest to
fluctuate until income reaches a level at which the change in M1 is equal to the supposed change in
M. Now M1V = Y, where V is the
income-velocity of money as defined above and Y is the aggregate income. Thus if it is practicable to measure
the quantity, O, and the price, P, of current output, we have
Y = OP, and, therefore, MV = OP; which
is much the same as the quantity theory of money in its traditional form.
For the purposes of the real world it is a great fault in the quantity theory that it does not distinguish between
changes in prices which are a function of changes in output, and those which are a function of changes in the
wage-unit. The explanation of this omission is, perhaps, to be found in the assumptions that there is no propensity to
hoard and that there is always full employment. For in this case, O being constant and M2
being zero, it follows, if we can take V also as constant, that both the wage-unit and the price-level will be
directly proportional to the quantity of money. | {
"pile_set_name": "Pile-CC"
} |
Card of the Day – 3♠ – Three of Spades (Swords)
2/9 – It’s a 3♠ day:
Keywords:
HEARTBREAK
INDECISION
DISAPPOINTMENT
This card shows a heart pierced by three swords. Although the traditional interpretation is heartbreak and betrayal, 3 energy can also manifest as indecision and worry, as if your heart were being pulled in many directions, and the angst that results from being ‘torn’. It sometimes arrives when we are trying to make a difficult decision about something, and feel heartbroken or stuck in making the decision.
This card also has ‘3rd Wheel’ energy, in the sense that there may be some excessive component to something that does not belong, but which you’re having a hard time letting go of. This card can also be an indicator that there is some sadness in a situation that has developed, but which needs acknowledgement now. It may be difficult to face whatever difficulty exists, but by facing it and accepting it, with whatever grief may accompany it, we allow ourselves to move on. | {
"pile_set_name": "Pile-CC"
} |
Tag Archives: rescore
Alice in Wonderland 1903’s version – re-scored by mr.teddybear,
original soundtrack created for the second Filmform Function indie film festival that took place in London, on Friday 13th of September, 2013.
Inspiration for this score was found a the edge of both my own memories from Lewis Carroll’s novel and the stunning and courageous adaptations by American McGee.
The whole thing was smoothly edited, recorded and mixed on Ableton Live, using unused takes and homemade samples from my own sound bank.
Many thanks to the British Film Institute for allowing me to work on this magnificent piece of history. | {
"pile_set_name": "Pile-CC"
} |
Winter sale- last call for a big savings on shipping! Buy 2 boxes of ANY pork, beef or pre-order of chicken and ship BOTH boxes for $15 that is a savings of $24.90!! Note- we are behind due to weather & sales but will be catching up within (2.5-- 4 weeks)- your order keeps your place for your shipment to go out!
Plenty of pasture,room to roam and a good life for all!Upstate New York
Otsego, Chenango,Schoharie, Oneida, Delaware, Sullivan Counties including Cooperstown Syracuse,Utica & able to ship to all NY & some others Northeast states
We have been farming with no chemicals for over 25 years.
All animals we raise on our 150 acre farm are raised without hormones, steroids, pesticides or artificial fertilizers of ANY kind. ALL our animals are pasture raised, treated KINDLY at all times and we make sure their lives are stress free and pleasant for the time they are here. They enjoy sunshine. shade, lush pastures, shelter when desired and serenity!!...and you enjoy good health and satisfaction that you are eating and contributing to humanely raised, healthy meats!
Click on the sidebars to read more info and see what we raise!Just some of the benefits of pastured raised meats are:lower in fats & calories
higher in omega 3 fatty acids
higher in antioxidants
high in the cancer fighting fatsALL living creatures here are given a good life!
Our farm is located just 14 miles west of Cooperstown in the beautiful mountains of West Burlington and is easy to find. We do not have an on farm stand, so ready orders will need appointments to be picked up if they are not being delivered. Just call or email to make arrangements!
Our beloved friend "Charlie", always on guard:)
We accept PayPal and listed major credit cards, checks can also be mailed! | {
"pile_set_name": "Pile-CC"
} |
App
The guys behind 1Blocker for iOS and macOS are launching 1Blocker X tomorrow, with support for many more rules by combining several content blockers into one app — this rewrite took them 6 months, which is why I completely understand their need to make back their investment. Salavat Khanov wrote up all the new features of 1Blocker X on their blog — it’s an interesting read — and now that I finally understand how it works under the hood, I’m upgrading tomorrow, when the app goes live. You can pre-order it today though…
These weeks were incredibly taxing, ultimately driving me into severe depression, which took me over two years to shake. I did find one way to keep sane at the time, during those long hours in the halls of the hospital my mom was in — by playing Alto’s Adventure [iOS / Android] when my stress levels were particularly high or there was just nothing else to do. I would completely lose myself in the wonderfully calming music, various sound effects, and flowing gameplay, while skiing down the slope of the endless in-game mountain. At one point Alto’s Adventure was the only experience that would calm my frayed nerves.
I don’t know what I would have done without this wonderful game, but I would like to deeply thank the team behind it — Snowman — for their efforts. They will always have a special place in my heart.
This was partly done in anticipation of Alto’s Oddysey — the sequel to that fantastic title. Well, it’s up for pre-order today, which I did, and I can’t wait until February 22, when it’s scheduled for release.
Hello. Here’s an update on Transmit iOS that I promise will not use the words “sunset” or “journey” […]
Transmit iOS made about $35k in revenue in the last year, representing a minuscule fraction of our overall 2017 app revenue. That’s not enough to cover even a half-time developer working on the app […]
My optimistic take: we hope that as iOS matures, and more and more pro users begin to seriously consider the iPad as a legitimate part of their daily work routines, Transmit iOS can one day return and triumph like it does on the Mac.
This is terrible news. I don’t often use Transmit iOS, but when I do, I love it and wish I had reason to use it more often.
James Thomson is currently celebrating the amazing history of his scientific calculator:
25 years sounds like a really long time. A quarter of a century sounds even longer. Yet, that is how long it has been since PCalc 1.0 was released […]
PCalc was my first ever application. I started writing in the summer of 1992 and it took me around six months to get it into a state where I was happy to show it to the world. Some of that code still runs today, deep at the heart of the machine.
That is both amazing and terrifying.
This means that both the iOS and Mac versions are on sale — down to $0.99 from the usual $9.99.
If you need a really good programmable calculator, do one of two things:
wait for the sale to end and buy it at full price (it’s totally worth it)
buy it now, go into the About screen, and drop a few coins into the Tip Jar
This is yet another example of third-party libraries, plugins, or add-ons, which do things they aren’t supposed to:
DJI has removed a third-party plugin called JPush, which was introduced in March 2016 for iOS and May 2017 for Android. We implemented the plugin as a way to push notifications when video files are successfully uploaded to DJI’s SkyPixel video sharing platform. JPush assigns a unique JPush ID to each user and informs SkyPixel of this ID when the user chooses to upload a video. After uploading is complete, SkyPixel sends the user’s unique JPush ID back to the JPush server, triggering an “Upload Complete” notification on the user’s DJI GO or DJI GO 4 apps. By using JPush’s third-party plugin, DJI has allowed users to multitask while uploading large video files to SkyPixel occurs in the background of their app.
As a third-party company, JPush only needs to send and receive a minimal, narrowly-defined amount of data in order for this function to work properly. Recent work by DJI’s software security team and external researchers has discovered that JPush also collects extraneous packets of data, which include a list of apps installed on the user’s Android device, and sends them to JPush’s server. DJI did not authorize or condone either the collection or transmission of this data, and DJI never accessed this data. JPush has been removed from our apps, and DJI will develop new methods for providing app status updates that better protect our customers’ data.
I still don’t quite understand how and why developers and companies would choose to go down this route without a detailed check of what the used third-party code does precisely. Laziness, I guess.
(…) we also believe that Apple and Google should do more to prevent this sort of behavior. They should set — and aggressively enforce — clear App Store rules forbidding the sharing of location data for any purposes not directly relevant to the app’s core functionality. If an app is caught breaking this rule, it should be removed from the store. This won’t stop all abuse, but it would, at the very least, put many of these data monetization companies out of the business of tracking where you go.
I completely agree and have much respect for the DarkSky team for their declarations. Especially since Adam also posted many examples of companies, such as Reveal Mobile, contacting them and offering to pay for their data. In the meantime, AccuWeather’s response on the matter was a non-answer.
Popular weather app AccuWeather has been caught sending geolocation data to a third-party data monetization firm, even when the user has switched off location sharing.
AccuWeather is one of the most popular weather apps in Apple’s app store, with a near perfect four-star rating and millions of downloads to its name. But what the app doesn’t say is that it sends sensitive data to a firm designed to monetize user locations without users’ explicit permission.
What happens after my subscription or trial ends? Can I still access my texts?
Definitely. Ulysses is in read-only mode, meaning you can still access all your sheets and export them using any export format.
I strongly believe that to alleviate concerns over “renting software” instead of owning a copy, Ulysses (in this example) should still be fully functional when a user ceases paying their subscription, but it would stop receiving updates and new features. If a developer was feeling extra generous, they could support new OS versions and security updates.
1Password is what it is today because we all love working here and have fun helping our customers. We are completely self-funded, independent, have turned down all offers from venture capitalists, and our board of directors consists entirely of people who work on 1Password and help customers directly each and every day.
I love indies who make it work, without outside help. That is what we’re doing with our publishing business, and it’s not easy.
Apple announced its 2017 Design Award winners a few days ago and I was quite surprised — I try to keep up with the best apps and games, but I was completely unaware about some of them. Oh well — time to go spend some money.
Cultured Code has finally released Things 3 for iOS and macOS — the next edition, rewritten from the ground up, of one of the most popular GTD systems for iPhone, iPad and Mac. I have been using it for the past day or so, hence I cannot make any solid statements at this point in time, but I was a long-time Things 1.0 user, right up until my tasks overwhelmed me and it was easier to delete the app than to actually complete everything that I had jotted down in it. I’m hoping that this time I’ll make it work — Cultured Code really seems to have the UI down pat and while not perfect, it fits my needs. I do have a few niggles that I will address in the future, but nothing truly major. Having said that, Things 3 is not cheap, but they do have a launch sale going currently — each app is 20% cheaper and there are a few days left to pull the trigger. I can’t say that I’m a fan of their pricing methods (I would prefer a single, universal iOS app, even if it cost more), but if you need a well thought out GTD system for a single user, give Things a try (there’s a trial of the Mac version of the app).
Tonight we received notice that Moom is in violation of US patent number 8434019, Apparatus and method for positioning windows on a display. Yes, someone has patented positioning windows on a screen via a grid. Given we’ve been notified of a patent violation, we have no choice but to remove Moom from sale, effective immediately.
Sometime patents make sense. Most of the time however, they don’t. This is as absurd as you can imagine anything can be.
This is not a ‘pure acquihire’ in that Workflow — not just the talent — is being purchased in this deal. This makes sense and I’m glad to see it because Workflow itself was a prime meat example of how to find a need in the iOS ecosystem, tackle it in an interesting way and execute it with cleverness and attention to honoring the platform. Simply put it’s super smart, really well designed and works very well.
Wow! This is something I did not expect.
I use Workflow every single day and I just hope it won’t go away and will continue to be updated. I actually just used it to create this post.
My inbox has been lighting up with questions about Confide, after it was allegedly found to have been used by staffers at the White House. I wish I had all of the free time that reporters think I have (I’d be so happy, living life as a broke beach bum). I did spend a little bit of time, however reverse engineering the binary and doing a simple forensic examination of it. Here’s my “literature in a rush” version.
Magic Variables mostly remove the need to manually save variables. They leverage Workflow’s Content Graph engine to automatically keep track of variables in the background, allowing you to access them at any time with the ability to change their type (format). It’s a novel idea, and it’ll take a few minutes to fully grasp, but it’s drastically superior to Workflow’s old variables. Magic Variables will change how you build workflows.
I started using the new Magic Variables this morning, trying to rework one of my older workflows. The one which I am in fact using to create this post. Thanks to the new system, I’m down to 6 steps instead of close to 20. There are two huge benefits: quicker workflow creation and much more readable workflows.
Apart from the surprising amount of deals on Mac games, there are a few good iOS apps available for a lower price too. I especially like the Kingdom Rush series — played through them all (Frontiers is pretty hard in comparison to the regular one).
I’m excited to announce that Geekbench 4 is now available. You can download Geekbench 4 for Windows, macOS, and Linux from the Geekbench website. You can also download Geekbench 4 for Android from Google Play, and Geekbench 4 for iOS from the App Store.
We plan to do all of the below by the end of 2016, but we can’t make promises. (Life may intervene.)
Q Branch’s existing open source code — DB5 and QSKit — will be moved to my personal GitHub account. I will continue to maintain DB5 (I continue to use it). QSKit will not be maintained, but will be made available as historical artifact.
We will make Vesper for iOS, Vesper for Mac, and Vesper’s JavaScript sync service open source on my personal GitHub account. This code will also be provided as historical artifacts: they’re not intended as active projects. They’re also not intended as examples of how to write apps these days.
The licenses will be public domain or something roughly as non-restrictive. However: the name Vesper and the app icon remain the property of me, Dave, and John. If you build anything based on this code, you must pick a different name and different app icon.
I wonder if anyone will try to use this to build their own ‘Vesper’… What am I saying? Of course they will. Question is: will it be any good?
A few days ago, the creators of the notes app Vesper announced to end its development and eventually shut down the sync server. Being in this industry ourselves, we can understand that making this move isn’t easy, and we’re sorry for both the developers and the Vesper users who grew fond of the tool. If you’re a Vesper user and considering Ulysses as a future replacement, this post is for you. To ease migrating your notes from Vesper to Ulysses, we’ve created a small tool which lets you do exactly that.
I really enjoyed working with Brent and Dave. When we were on a roll I could tell that we were doing good work, and it was fun. I’ve spent the better part of my career working solo. It was great to be on a team. I don’t remember who came up with the names “Q Branch” (I think that was Brent), or “Vesper” (I’m pretty sure that one was Dave), but in both cases, as soon as the name was proposed, the whole team said, Yes, that’s the name. That’s it.
With “Vesper” we were thinking things like beautiful, smart, clever, strong. In the end, the name was more apt than we knew, because it also carries heartbreak.
John also points out the mistakes they probably made while working on Vesper. Looking back on my years of using Vesper, he’s probably right. It’s a good example of how your love for your product can blind you from the seemingly obvious.
Even though I had absolutely nothing to do with Vesper, I am very sad that the app is now officially dead. It’s still on my home screen and though I haven’t been using it for a while, it did provide a very specific function in my workflow. One that I will miss greatly. There aren’t many apps out in the world with which I had developed something more than just a passing fancy. Truly, there are only two pieces of software that I can say that I loved. One of them is Tweetbot [iOS / Mac], which will keep me pinned to iOS for as long as it exists — I already dread the day when Tapbots call it quits — and the second is Vesper [iOS]. While Tweetbot completely replaced my need for the official Twitter app, I as hoping Vesper would do the same for Evernote and Notes. Unfortunately, it didn’t and seeing how sad this whole situation makes me, I can only imagine the pain that Brent, Dave, and John are going through.
It’s Monday morning and the first news of the day that I read is that Q Branch is shutting down and so is their app — Vesper. I have been using Vesper for a few specific tasks since it debuted back during the iOS 6 days. I still remember it was one of the first apps to look pretty damned good after Apple changed their design language in iOS 7. It was also one of the first apps to be ready for the 4.7″ and 5.5″ iPhone screens.
I bought a bunch of adblockers for iOS when they came out last year. After repeated experiments, I stuck with 1Blocker — it was extremely fast, very good at dealing with trackers (which I care about most), and streamlining my mobile experience. The latter is probably the most important, since it really helps conserve data when roaming — why would I want to download a 1 MB webpage and 9 additional megabytes of trackers, when I can just download that 1 MB?
One question I’m asked on a regular basis is “What apps are you using to mark up and annotate your images?” A few years ago, I would have told you that it wasn’t an easy task on iOS and you were better off using a Mac app, such as Napkin. Luckily, that not only isn’t the case anymore, it’s actually easier to mark up and annotate images on iPhone nowadays.
PointOut [App Store] is my tool of choice. Ally has some more suggestions though, if you’re looking for more. | {
"pile_set_name": "Pile-CC"
} |
Missed the preordering, still want a Retrode2?
Hi! I’m Matthias, a computer science graduate from Germany. I like building things that do stuff, and stuff that does things. And video games too. So it happened that in June 2009, I invented the Retrode, a USB adapter for retro gamers. Using the Retrode is easy as pie. Just install an emulator, plug in the device, game carts and controllers, and go. (If you want to watch me explain some of its features, check out this video. Or see the “About” page to get a rough idea.)
Since so many folks asked for it, I decided to turn the Retrode into a product, and had a batch of them made a while later. Can you believe that by now there are more than 250 Retrode users all over this planet? Many of them keep on coming up with brillant new ideas and suggestions, and everyone can profit through free firmware updates. No wonder that even in this short time, the Retrode has become the most widely recommended retro gaming adapter worldwide.
One Up: The Retrode2
The Retrode2 is a completely new development with lots of new features and improvements over the original Retrode. Most prominently, 2×2 game controller ports are included by default (they had to be retrofitted in the original version). The case will be made of durable transparent ABS plastic and feature a dust cover to protect the cartridge slots. The 3D model was designed by a CAD/CAM expert with 25 years of experience, and it has already undergone thorough testing thanks to rapid prototyping (3D printing). Add to that lots of improvements under the hood, and you have one a-w-e-s-o-m-e piece of gear!
Even with the inclusion of four gamepad-to-USB adapters and all the other new features, the Retrode2 will not cost more than the original Retrode – in fact, it might even be a bit cheaper! This is all thanks to lots of professional advice from friends and supporters. I don’t know what the final price tag will be, but here is your chance to secure a unit for as low as USD 75 / EUR 57.50 including worldwide shipping!
Preordering Details
Why am I taking preorders? It costs EUR 8000 to make a set of injection molds for the Retrode2. Right now, I can throw in EUR 2000, but it would take me quite a while to gather the rest! By preordering a Retrode2, you can contribute to covering the remaining EUR 6000. In effect, your preorder helps me speed things up and, at the same time, secures yourself a Retrode2!
So here’s how it works: Just select a package, then click on one of the PayPal buttons below to make your payment. If the preordering volume exceeds the goal of EUR 6000, the projected shipping date for preordered units is September 30, 2011. Note that even if the goal is not reached, preorderers are still guaranteed to receive a Retrode2! It may just take a bit longer until the molding tool is completely funded.
Preordering closed on July 1, 2011, 0:02 UTC.
Packages In Detail
Standard Package: Choose this to preorder a single Retrode2. Includes a USB cable, printed instruction sheet, and free worldwide shipping.
Double Package: Got a friend? Then you can save by placing a joint order of two Retrode2, each including a USB cable and printed instruction sheet. Free worldwide shipping to a single address.
Fast-Track Package (limited to 4 orders): Be among the first 5 people worldwide to own a Retrode2! Pre-production unit in engineering material case, as soon as I receive the samples. The regular case will follow as soon as they are available, upgrading your unit to a production Retrode2. Package comprises one Retrode2, one additional case, USB cable, instructions, a handwritten thank-you note, and worldwide airmail shipping.
Use these buttons (secure connection to PayPal) to place your preorder. Buttons have been deactivated.
For members of the European Union (right column), the prices include 19% sales tax. For all others, local taxes may apply. Before placing a preorder, please make sure you have read and understood our Terms and Conditions (German / English).
Do you run a retro gaming business and would you like to offer the Retrode2 for sale? In order to discuss volume orders, please contact me directly:Â [email protected]
Tell your friends!
No matter whether or not you want to preorder a Retrode yourself, you can still help the Retrode2 become reality by telling people about it. Please recommend this page via Facebook and Twitter to make this a success.
This is an attractive product. What is particularly exciting is, it is a great go to device for a legal if not 100% legal way to backup the games you already own.
The fact that it is idiot proof and completely plug n’ play is the icing on the cake.
What I do wonder, is why the price is so high? Understanding of course there were tooling and production costs involved that need to be recouped, I still find it curious. (several online reviews also state this as a huge factor and negative point). If you could work this down to $20 per unit, then I am sure many more people would be more willing to throw some money down.
I want to pre order the Retrode 2 but I don’t want to spend $85.00 dollars without seeing a final product… =/ I want to really bad though! I missed out on the 1st Retrode and I can’t wait for this one. =)
Tell me about it! I’d rather not spend $40,000 without seeing a final product either, but here I am still doing it. I guess that’s just the crazy guy I am :-) Looking forward to hearing back from you in good time! Matthias
After being an owner of the first Retrode. I’ve been waiting to order this one since Matthias announced it. I would order now you won’t regret it. Also this is a great way to get the price locked in I wouldn’t be surprised if Matthias has to bump these up a little down the road.
I know I am going to get an N64/GBA adapter from the stoneagegamer site if they end up carrying them. Not sure about a getting a second retrode, but if I do, I have a clue on what I might do with my first one. I’ll give it to my younger cousins so they can enjoy classic cartridge games.
Pre-ordered mine, now I can’t wait till September. Time to buy even more games :-P
Question to you, Matthias: Will there be any chance that you release any PlugIn-Adapters for NES, Master System, TurboGrafX, GameGear, NeoGeo Pocket or Atari 7800?
Because in case of the NES, if I wish to dump my games, I must get a fully working NES (hard to find these days, mine is is not in the best condition), a “USB CopyNES” for 70$ (http://www.retrousb.com/product_info.php?products_id=36)and do some soldering (which I’m not the best in). For Master System I have to solder a board and have to use a PC with a functional parallel port and Windows 98 (http://www.smspower.org/Development/SMSReader).
You see, it’s much easier with a Retrode ;-)
Hi! Development of NES, MS, TG16 and NGP adapters is on my list, and commercial versions may become available at some point–say, within the next 24 months or so. Right now, I need to get the Retrode2 off the table and into production before I can think of something else.
Another problem with NES games is that, even with a suitable plug-in adapter, they will still require some research and manual labour on the user side (i.e., finding and setting the right parameters).
Exactly. Except that I neither have that file, nor would anyone ever want to compile such thing, nor could it ever be complete and error-free (think prototypes etc), nor would even a fraction of it fit the Retrode’s 32K of memory. You will have to specify mapper chip, CHR and PRG rom sizes by hand, period :-)
Sorry if the description is a bit unclear. No, that’s just one device you’d be getting on the fast track, plus the final case at a later point. The additional cost is due to different logistics since for these units, more stuff needs to be shipped from Europe to Canada and back, and airmail will be used. It’s just an exclusive option for those who have little time and lots of money ;)
Just a quick question on the Fast-Track Package option. If I go for that do I get a working retrode2 board inside a prototype case and then when you get the final case design do I get another retrode2 inside that case or just the plastic case part. | {
"pile_set_name": "Pile-CC"
} |
Produced for Broan-NuTone - Home Improvement Experts Jason Cameron and George Oliphant Share What’s New, What’s Hot and What’s a Smaragdine? Plus, Your Sneak Peek at the 2018 Kitchen and Bath and Builders Shows | {
"pile_set_name": "Pile-CC"
} |
This mod adds some new winconditions to Dawn of War: Soulstorm.
If activated they offer you a totally new mode of gameplay, that may remind you a bit to the Dark Eldar stronghold mission in the Soulstorm campaign.
So you will start the game with a bunch of units and without a base, too.
Then you have to discover the terrain and find cages controlled and defended by a Dark Eldar player.
By destroying a cage you will free a prisoner joining your or your allies SaR team.
If players rescue all their prisoners, then they have to bring them back to the drop point to get back up.
A team wins by accomplishing this or by killing all enemies SaR teams - except the builders…
But there are the "Campaign Buildings"-winconditions, too. If activated each wincondition will spawn the corresponding kind of building randomly on the map.
These buildings are each assigned to a strategic point and you can get control over them by capturing this point. In consequence you will get some advantages.
Statistics
How it works
The statistics above update daily and provide insight into how well articles, files, videos, images and other content you post is affecting the popularity of your mod. If you wish to track these statistics on your homepage, blog, facebook or even in news and forum posts here, use the embed code provided.
Please note: all content linked with your profile including archived downloads, news etc is still being tracked and included on the above graph even if it isn't mentioned.
Boost your statistics
We recommend you link to your mod profile on your homepage, blog, forum and other communities you are a member of like Facebook and Twitter. To help you do this you can copy and paste any of the share options code provided, or check out our mediakit. | {
"pile_set_name": "Pile-CC"
} |
Member Sign In
You are being directed to ZacksTrade, a division of Zacks & Company and licensed broker-dealer. ZacksTrade and Zacks.com are separate but affiliated companies. The web link between the two companies is not a solicitation or offer to invest in a particular security or type of security. ZacksTrade does not endorse or adopt any particular investment strategy, any analyst opinion/rating/report or any approach to evaluating individual securities.
If you wish to go to ZacksTrade, click OK. If you do not, click Cancel.
Can Obamacare Silence Its Critics?
You have chosen to follow this author. You will receive an email notification when this author publishes a new article. Click submit to continue.
You are alredy following the Author
The Author could not be added at this time, please try again later. If problem persists, please contact Zacks Customer support.
Please Login
Right from its inception, the Affordable Care Act, widely known as Obamacare, has faced strident criticism. The new act has resulted in a range of reimbursement reductions, tax hikes and a plethora of new regulations.
Tax hikes is one area which has been difficult to ignore. Several patients have to deal with new payroll, capital gains and excise taxes. Meanwhile, hospitals and medical practitioners are already feeling the effects of a 2.3% tax on the gross income of medical device companies. These additional costs would possibly be passed onto customers.
Now more fuel is being added to the fire, via the sequestration. Of course, several conservatives have indicated that $85 billion worth of budgetary cuts are a mere 2% of the entire federal budget. But when seen from the perspective of its impact on healthcare, doctors and patients alike are sure to face severe discomfort.
The other significant reason expected to make health insurance unviable is what is being described as premium rate shock. This is expected to take effect in 2014 as the new Act is implemented nationwide. As more and more of the uninsured are given healthcare coverage, there will be steep hikes in insurance premiums. This prediction was made by an important figure in the insurance industry, Mark Bertolini, CEO of Aetna Inc. (AET - Analyst Report).
Speaking at an investor conference, Bertolini said he expected premiums to increase by 20% to 50% in 2014, before government subsidies take effect. In fact, he expected rates to increase by 100% in some markets. Blue Shield of California also has similar views. According to a report in The Los Angeles Times, it is looking to raise rates from 12% to 20% for 300,000 or more individuals. The company has declared that these rates would take effect by March.
There are complaints on the insurers’ side as well. Insurance companies have been drawing attention to the proposed reductions to Medicare Advantage plans. The Obama administration has said it may reduce payments to Medicare Advantage plans next year. A 7% to 8% reduction in payouts could mean a significant jump in premiums. This, is turn, could lead to a reduction in services to senior citizens or lowered access to plans.
However, evidence on the ground tells us a different story. Applications from insurers wanting to get into the Medicare Advantages domain have risen by more than 50%. Data from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services show that 48 companies' applications have been filed this year, compared to 31 in 2012. Of course, these applications are from parent companies which offer more than one health plan.
Apart from Aetna, Humana Inc. (HUM - Analyst Report), UnitedHealth Group Inc. (UNH - Analyst Report) and WellPoint Inc. all offer Medicare Advantage plans. Others like Health Care Services Corp, which offer Blue Cross and Blue Shield plans in Illinois, Texas and New Mexico, are also looking to offer more Medicare Advantage plans or widen their reach. The fact that they are new to this business doesn’t seem to be acting as a deterrent. In fact, the company has applied for more plans under Medicare Advantage in Oklahoma and is expanding service coverage in New Mexico.
Even so, governmental reductions are being viewed as detrimental to the adoption of Medicare advantage. Health insurance lobby America’s Health Insurance Plans recently claimed in a report that the cuts could result in an increase in payments of $50 or more for a citizen opting for Medicare Advantage.
The success of Medicare Advantage depends on a higher rate of adoption. Optimism has grown with the program’s recent monthly contract reports predicting that enrollment may increase to 14 million this year from 12.8 million senior citizens in 2012. And this is true for the Obamacare reforms as a whole.
The success of the program depends on a steep increase in adoption and participation. Since insurance firms have been prevented from refusing coverage, lower adoption will mean that the plan covers only those who need it desperately. As rates take a spike, the young and healthy would begin to opt out after paying a $695 a year penalty by 2016. This is a bitter political pill for anyone to swallow.
But there is growing optimism and action among citizens and governments alike. Over the past few weeks, six Republican governors have agreed to expand Medicaid coverage to their states. And voluntary organizations such as Enroll America have begun to play a major role in increasing awareness about the reforms.
In fact, Covered California, that state’s health exchange, will actually guide new applicants through the complicated process of filling up applications. Surely, Obamacare’s wide adoption holds out hope for insurer and beneficiary alike.
Just Released: 5 Stocks Set to Double
Today, you are invited to download a free Special Report from Zacks Investment Research. It reveals five moves that could gain +100% and more in the next 12 months:
One white-hot electronics company is launching a wave of 9 new products. Another is targeted for acquisition after averaging earnings surprises of +41.11% during the last four quarters. Still another is on the brink of three breakthroughs with new diagnostic approaches and therapies.
Top Zacks Features
Is it Time to Sell?
One of the most important steps you can take today is to set up your portfolio tracker on Zacks.com. Once you do, you'll be notified of major events affecting your stocks and/or funds with daily email alerts.
Zacks Research is Reported On:
At the center of everything we do is a strong commitment to independent research and sharing its profitable discoveries with investors. This dedication to giving investors a trading advantage led to the creation of our proven Zacks Rank stock-rating system. Since 1986 it has nearly tripled the S&P 500 with an average gain of +26% per year. These returns cover a period from 1986-2011 and were examined and attested by Baker Tilly, an independent accounting firm.
Visit performance for information about the performance numbers displayed above. | {
"pile_set_name": "Pile-CC"
} |
7 Unspoken Office Party Etiquette Tips To Remember
The Fashion For Men – Your company is planning a party? All the sudden they started talking about last time that happen and how someone made a fool of themselves. Don’t be that guy! Your reputation and career are at stake, so don’t forget that you need to behave properly. Here are 7 unspoken rules than you need to remember in order not to be laughed at until the next office party.
Party office etiquete tips
1. Dressing for Success
First of all, you need to consider where the party is going to be held in order to choose the outfit. In case that party will be held in offices or at private home, you can wear something casual yet classy. If the party is held in restaurant you should just follow standard dress code for restaurant.
Image source: pxhere.com
2. Be on Time
Don’t pretend that you are diva and that everyone should wait for you. Be reasonable and on time. You don’t have to be first one to arrive so about 15 minutes (give or take) is always a safe bet unless it is a restaurant dinner. Being late may even annoy your boss. Of course, don’t bring your kids or wife unless they were invited by your boss.
3. Introduce Yourself to Others
There is always a chance that you will meet new people at the office party. As you already know, first impression is important. Greet all persons with a smile on your face and exchange pleasantries. Make sure that you are speaking to all people in positive and friendly tone. It is a nice place to socialize with fellow workers.
4. Bringing Gifts
There is no rule that says that you must bring gifts, but if you are in doubt, then you should get something. If you know your hosts well, you can bring them something that they will enjoy. If you are not sure what you should bring, then just get a bouquet of flowers, nice treat or a bottle of wine.
5. Group Photos
Don’t be the first person who will take his phone out of pocket and start taking selfies. If you want to take a picture of your coworkers having fun, ask them first if they want it. Please, avoid juvenile poses that can embarrass you later. It is fine to take selfies with you pals as long as they agree. Also, don’t post photos instantly on social media websites. Pay respect to other people privacy.
6. Manage Your Drinks
Best way is to don’t drink at all but we all need to relax from time to time. If you have decided to have a drink or two make sure that you are not drinking more. Remember that you are not at the friends party, you are grown up person so you need to behave as one. Drinking more than you can handle will just get you in trouble. Also, mind your manners and show style. If you are drinking wine, don’t be barbarian and hold that crystal wine glass by the steem.
Image source: pxhere.com
7. When to leave?
You don’t want to be the last man staying at the party unless you have agreement with the host to clean everything up. When you see that other people are slowly leaving or that hosts are starting to pick up glasses, it’s time to go. Don’t forget to thank your hosts for a great party with a smile on your face.
I believe that you have been on a number of office parties and that you know how to behave. In any case, you should be reasonable and polite. There is no need to put a lot of pressure, it’s just a party with the people that you already know. As long as you are not offending someone or making a fool of yourself, you will be just fine. | {
"pile_set_name": "Pile-CC"
} |
connman-gnome The GTK+-based user interfaces for an applet and a properties dialog.
Like network-manager from gnome, you have to comment all lines in /etc/network/interfaces
Custom setup:I launch it with a shell script (connman-min) that kills the tray interface after one minute to save memory, the daemon is very lightweight.I use stalonetray as the tray system, if you have a working tray function in your desktop, don't install stalonetray and remove the related lines in connman-min.
connman-min.tar has the .stalonetrayrc (put it in /root/ or your home directory) and the connman-min shell script (put it in /usr/bin or any binary folder)
anyone using bluez or ethernet willing to test it? i just used with wpa and works
Just tested it for wifi and its working nicely here too.I just ran connman-applet from the run box of lxde for testing purposes.I'm having all sorts of problems with bluetooth though, according to what I have read bluetooth connections seem to require having been set up in bluez before connman can work with them, and the problem there is how to get pairing working with the new bluez stack.
I upgraded my RC1 to Jaunty as described in this thread and everything seemed to go smoothly. However when I rebooted I was asked for a password, for the root account, which I do not know/have not defined.
I upgraded my RC1 to Jaunty as described in this thread and everything seemed to go smoothly. However when I rebooted I was asked for a password, for the root account, which I do not know/have not defined.
Any ideas how to get around this?
Diesel1.
if your have ubuntu on an sd, boot a ubuntu live cd and mount the sd , then edit (as root) the /media/sd-path/etc/shadow | {
"pile_set_name": "Pile-CC"
} |
Web cam sexx
03-Nov-2017 10:08
You can join in broadcasting too - it takes less than a minute to register and verify yourself, and then you'll be ready to start making some easy cash from having sex in front of cam while broadcasting it to like minded users all over the world. We couldn't be happier to offer you an experience like this, as full featured as this, with as much variety as this, completely free of charge.
The only money that will ever change hands here on Hardcore is completely voluntarily - that is, you sending it in the form of a tip to one of our many beautiful teenage girls getting freaky on web cam. | {
"pile_set_name": "Pile-CC"
} |
About
Psychedelic rainbow of colors bright
Continuum of blasts, vivid lights
Every pore sensitized, to the core
Every touch magnified, some more
Gutt… Read More
Psychedelic rainbow of colors bright
Continuum of blasts, vivid lights
Every pore sensitized, to the core
Every touch magnified, some more
Guttural moan stretches, never ending
From depths the psyche groans, gut wrenching
The breath inhale refuses to leave, exhale
The exhale breath rushes in to be inhale
The heart squeezes, aches for lost blood
That rushed to the penile, for pleasure, instead
Brain freezes, mind numbing pain
Starved scream of the bloods drain
...
O Sudhir Janardhanan Read Less
Comments
Basic Info
Psychedelic rainbow of colors bright
Continuum of blasts, vivid lights
Every pore sensitized, to the core
Every touch magnified, some more
Guttural moan stretches, never ending
From depths the psyche groans, gut wrenching
The breath inhale refuses to leave, exhale
The exhale breath rushes in to be inhale
The heart squeezes, aches for lost blood
That rushed to the penile, for pleasure, instead
Brain freezes, mind numbing pain
Starved scream of the bloods drain
...
O Sudhir Janardhanan
Project by
About
Psychedelic rainbow of colors bright
Continuum of blasts, vivid lights
Every pore sensitized, to the core
Every touch magnified, some more
Gutt… Read More
Psychedelic rainbow of colors bright
Continuum of blasts, vivid lights
Every pore sensitized, to the core
Every touch magnified, some more
Guttural moan stretches, never ending
From depths the psyche groans, gut wrenching
The breath inhale refuses to leave, exhale
The exhale breath rushes in to be inhale
The heart squeezes, aches for lost blood
That rushed to the penile, for pleasure, instead
Brain freezes, mind numbing pain
Starved scream of the bloods drain
...
O Sudhir Janardhanan Read Less | {
"pile_set_name": "Pile-CC"
} |
If this is your first visit, be sure to
check out the FAQ by clicking the
link above. You may have to register
before you can post: click the register link above to proceed. To start viewing messages,
select the forum that you want to visit from the selection below.
How does MOTUC Buzz-Off compare to his other versions?
I just got my MOTUC Buzz-Off, and I have to say he is my favorite out of all other versions. But who is yours? Do you love the nostalgia of the vintage figure, the unique sculpt of the 200X version, the articulation and size of the MOTUC, or did you use your stamper on every piece of paper you could growing up? So what do you say fans?
I still don't have him in hand. From the comparison picture though I would say MOTUC Buzz-Off.
You know his name still cracks me up. I still love the old mini comic where if you read it quickly it looks like He-Man tells Teela to buzz off. Obviously he is just telling Teela to pair up with Buzz-Off but as a kid that a kid the way it was worded always gave me a chuckle.
Anyway Classics Buzzy for the win. I just wish DR would have not screwed up in shipping him to me.
Motuc is the best. Aand you know what the extra mask dosent look so bad on him either.
http://http://80sMasters.com/
It's your place for Freedom of Speach for everything MOTU, POP, TMNT, , Horror, Wrestling, DC and Batman, and all other properties that are cool.
Is is now up and live please check it out and spread the word please!!!
We need to let our new friends at Super 7 know that many of us are ALL IN COLLECTORS. We don't want products that are impossible for the average collector to have access to! If there is a He-man product, I want to buy it. Please no chases or con-only exclusives. | {
"pile_set_name": "Pile-CC"
} |
MPPSC Result
Select List for Librarian/Sports Officer/DAO/SO positions is out now. Appeared candidates can now check their MPPSC Result 2019 through online mode and download it in the form of Pdf through this page.
Ans. Participants can check last three year’s statistic graph of MPPSC Result and can make out an estimate for the result of this year. This will help them to know the minimum marks to qualify the examination as per the terms and conditions of organization.
Year
Preliminary
Mains
2018
4907
–
2017
8556
1528
2016
7092
771
MPPSC Librarian/Sports Officer/DAO/SO Select List Details
For the completion of the vacancies mentioned in the nominated papers of the designation librarian and Sports Officer under the Higher Education Department, the MPPSC Result 2019 has been declared on the basis of the merit list of the obtained marks payable by the guest scholars in Online Examination conducted on 18-08-2018.
Written Examination was conducted in one session on the centers located at Divisional Headquarters Indore, on 23-09-2018 for the advertised posts of District Ayush Officer, Chemistry Botany Online Examination 2018. 3 times of the total posts of the said examination that is Scientific Officer Chemistry 3, Scientific Officer Botany 3 and District Ayush officer 45 candidates have been found to be effective in interview.
Madhya Pradesh Public Service Commission is going to conduct personal interview and medical examination to hire eligible and deserving contenders for the vacant posts of Librarian, Sports Officer, DAO and SO in different departments. Call letters (if applicable) will be declared by the organization on its official site only. | {
"pile_set_name": "Pile-CC"
} |
The old wiring really is scary- the kind of thing you often find in a 42-year-old Detroit beater you got for free. How about heavy-gauge wire splices made from ring terminals held together with a screw and "insulated" with crumbling electrical tape? The horror!
But new wiring stuff costs money, and these poor bastards have the misfortune of frequent garage visits by a LeMons judge, who is sure to jack up his bribe requirements to stratospheric heights if he catches them blowing past the 500-buck spending limit. Mr. Astro is an electrician, however, specializing in wiring up office buildings, shopping malls, etc, so he has the solution…
DIN Rail and terminal blocks! He's working on wiring a hospital now, and some new equipment came with DIN rail terminal blocks in European-spec colors (you can't use the wrong colors- somebody might get zapped) so into the trash bin they went. Hooray for scavenging your race car parts from a dumpster!
This stuff is great- you can just keep stacking blocks on the rail, with as many inputs as you like and there's no problem adding new stuff- attaching wires is just a matter of poking a screwdriver into a slot and inserting the wire in the correct hole. The green blocks are grounded to the rail, which is screwed to the car's body. Want to add a police siren and an ooogah horn? Easy!
First, the guys who like to think things out before they start cutting holes in the car- that seems kinda weird, but whatever- make a wiring plan.
A couple of rails mounted behind the glovebox door will provide power to instrument panel items. Note the street-sign mounting plate.
The Black Metal V8olvo team donated our car's unneeded fusebox to the Belvederians (one of our team members works for a transit bus manufacturer, so we have a nice free bus-grade circuit-breaker box in our car), and the Volvo 240 unit turns out to be an excellent universal fusebox (as long as you don't mind those funky European ceramic fuses). Here it is mounted on the dash; the wiring will go through that split-loom-edged defroster vent.
Under the hood, blocks on either side of the engine compartment. That blue conduit stuff is Blue ENT, commonly known as "Smurf Tube" for obvious reasons. It's tough and easy to work with, and plenty of short pieces get tossed in the dumpster- aka Race Car Parts Bin- at job sites. They're replacing the old electrical system bit by bit, so you can see some of the scary old stuff side-by-side with the safe new stuff in this shot.
For brake lights, fuel gauge sender, and weird trunk-mounted secret weapons, there's another wiring outpost mounted in the rear of the car. Note the handy wiring diagram drawn in Sharpie on the sheet metal. | {
"pile_set_name": "Pile-CC"
} |
Actions speak louder than words…
November 22nd, 20129:11 am
Michael Baron , Contributor
I remain very optimistic the Mets will eventually agree to a new contract with David Wright. While I do want them to extend R.A. Dickey’s contract as well, I haven’t been as optimistic because it makes a lot of baseball sense to try and sell high on him now and fill other holes on the roster.
I do have some worry now, though. And I wasn’t comforted by Jeff Wilpon’s comments on Tuesday. Each day that goes by, with no reports of progression, the more I find myself questioning the situation and fearing the worst. It’s not to say I think Wright will be traded this winter, but rumors will undoubtedly be flying if they don’t have a deal by the Winter Meetings… and even the thought of that makes me cringe.
In talking with fans over the last day or so, I think most people feel the same way: they are hoping both Wright and Dickey remain with the team, but certainly have fears the Mets can’t get these deals done; don’t want to get them done; or both. It’s like we’re
collectively saying, “I’ll believe it when I see it,” and I think that is fair given what has happened with the organization recently.
Regardless of what is true, what is not, and what is happening behind closed doors with Wright and Dickey – even if there is actually positive progression in each of their situations that we are not aware of – perception remains a big problem for this organization to overcome. Even though a majority of MetsBlog readers believe the Mets are on the right track, cynicism remains, a fear they will do the wrong thing remains, and this loud anger remains. Winning goes a long way to fix those problems, but there needs to be some physical sign the Mets have turned a corner, and it’s fair to believe they haven’t shown that to date.
The Mets need to begin changing this perception, tone and conversation about the team and show fans and MLB they have the ability and desire to invest in the big league roster. I’m not advocating they invest haphazardly in crappy free agents and I don’t believe spending directly equates to winning (the Mets being the prime example of that). But the Mets can show a lot to everyone (including Wright and Dickey) simply by making longer term investments in Wright and Dickey now. Both Sandy Alderson and ownership have been very public in their desire to retain these guys, but actions speak louder than words. Until they do that, these issues among the fans will continue, and it will get harder and harder to change that perception… | {
"pile_set_name": "Pile-CC"
} |
Featured Topic
This is the topic we suggest you practice in the
Speaking Studio this week, but of course you can role
play or discuss any of the stories on our program.
Last Thursday, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), the agency that regulates telecommunications in the United States, voted to repeal rules that ensure a fair and open internet. The reversal of these “net neutrality” regulations will make it possible for internet service providers to speed up service for certain websites, and block or slow downaccess to others.
The vote reverses a decision made in 2015 during the Obama administration to strengthen oversight of internet service companies. Net neutrality supporters say that this oversight is critical at a time when more Americans depend on the internet. But net neutrality opponents -- including internet service providers and FCC chairman Ajit Pai -- say that net neutrality discourages competition and innovation.
Following Thursday’s decision, internet service providers may be able to prioritize access to certain websites -- including ones that they own -- while making it harder for customers to use other ones. Critics of the decision also say that service providers could charge popular web services, like Netflix and Google, more to reach consumers, and that the costs could be passed onto consumers.
Joshua:
This was an absolutely terrible decision, Jessica! It completelygoes against the purpose of the internet: to allow everyone equal access to information.
Jessica:
I’m not sure that we should worry too much just yet. The biggest internet service companies, like AT&T and Comcast, have promised that customers won’t see changes in their service. If they try to block certain websites or slow them down, it could be bad publicity.
Joshua:
Do you really think these companies will regulate themselves, Jessica? How long will these companies be able to resisttaking advantage of the new law? When it comes to making money, I seriously doubt that these companies will turn the opportunity down.
Jessica:
Maybe you’re right. But things could change again.
Joshua:
Again?
Jessica:
Remember, the net neutrality rules were set just a couple of years ago. It’s possible that the rules could change again before too long.
Joshua:
I wouldn’t count on it.
Jessica:
The FCC’s decision has motivated people to fight. Some statesplan to file lawsuits against the FCC. And, of course, companies that could be hurt by this decision -- like Google, Facebook, and Netflix -- are trying to get the decision reversed.
Last week, the majority of Norway’s Parliament voted to decriminalize all drug use and focus on treatmentinstead. The vote does not automatically decriminalize illicit drugs -- rather, it directs the government to begin revising its current lawsrelated to drugs.
Under the proposed plan, people found with small amounts of marijuana, cocaine, and other illegal drugs could be sent to a treatment program, rather thanfined or imprisoned. The new rules would mimicthose in place in Portugal, which decriminalized drug use in 2001 and has since seen a decrease in habitual drug use and drug-related deaths. In 2006, Norway began testing a decriminalization program in Oslo and Bergen, through which drug users are sentenced to treatment. Last year, courts throughout the country were given the option to do this.
Supporters of the new approachargue that helping addictsrecover from addiction will reduce the likelihood that they will commit crimes. A report released in June by Europe’s drug addiction monitoring agency found there were more than 48,000 drug law offenses and 266 drug overdoses in Norway in 2014, the most recent figures available.
Joshua:
It’s refreshing to see this practical approach to a serious problem. Treating addiction is a much more realistic solution than sending addicts to jail!
Jessica:
For addicts, yes… but what about people who experiment with drugs? Wouldn’t decriminalization send a message that taking drugs is no big deal?
Joshua:
The parliament didn’t vote to legalize drugs, Jessica -- they’re just changing the way the legal system handles people who are caught with drugs. This new way soundsfar more sensible.
Jessica:
But is there any real difference between legalizing drugs and not treating drug use as a criminal offense? If people aren’t punished for having drugs, it seems to me that they’ll be more likely to use them -- especially young people.
Joshua:
Once the law is finalized, I’m sure it will answer your questions. What’s important is that the country is trying to change its view on addiction. Look at Portugal, and how many lives its drug policies have saved! Deaths from drugs dropped from 80 in 2001 to 16 in 2012. And HIV rates among drug users decreased by an even larger amount.
Jessica:
On the other hand, after Portugal decriminalized drugs, the number of people who had used drugs at any time in their lives went up.
Joshua:
But there are statistics that show the opposite is true. For instance, after marijuana was legalized in Colorado, the number of teenagers using it actuallyfell. But that’s beside the point -- which is that sending drug users to jail doesn’t really work. Common-sense laws and good social services are the right answer.
Last Thursday, NASA scientists announced the existence of a solar system with eight planets, the same number as our own solar system. The Kepler-90 system is more than 2,500 light-yearsaway. It ties our own solar system for having the highest number of known planets.
Scientists had already known about seven planets orbiting the Kepler-90 star. The discovery of the eighth planet was made with the help of artificial intelligencedeveloped by Google. Google software engineerscreated a “neural network,” a type of machine-learning technique, to analyze data collected by the Kepler space telescope. There was too much of this data for humans to examine on their own.
The Kepler-90 system is like oursin that it includes smaller, rocky planets closer to its sun and larger, gaseous planets farther away. Yet scientists believe that the eight planets are too warm to hostextraterrestrial life. The Kepler-90 star is about 20 percent bigger and 5 percent warmer than our sun, and all of its planets orbit the star more closely than the Earth orbits the sun.
Joshua:
Jessica, the most interesting part of this discovery isn’t that there’s another solar system with the same number of planets as ours.
Jessica:
No?
Joshua:
No -- the most interesting part is that without artificial intelligence, the new planet wouldn’t have been discovered.
Jessica:
Wouldn’t have been discovered? How do you know that? The scientists had the data from the telescope, so they might have found it at some point...
Joshua:
But, they might not have even looked at that data -- it wasn’t considered to be as promising as other data they had looked through. Plus, there was so much data that it would have taken the scientists a VERY long time.
Jessica:
OK, so artificial intelligence makes it easier to find new planets. But what about finding life? Isn’t that the real goal?
Joshua:
Yes... but first, scientists need to find planets with conditions that make them capable of hosting life. The discovery last Thursday shows that artificial intelligence can make that process a whole lot faster.
On December 7th, the Neapolitan technique of pizza twirling was added to the UNESCO’s “intangible heritage” list, which aims to raise awareness of traditionsaround the world. The practice, called “pizzaiuolo,” was one of 33 traditions added to the list this year; also among them were German organ craftsmanship and a style of Serbian folk dance.
The practice of pizzaiuolo has been handed down for generations, and includes songs and stories that turn pizza-making into a social ritual. UNESCO’s decision to add the practice to its list followed years of lobbying, and around 2 million people signed a petition to have the practice added to the list. The day the honor was announced, Neapolitan pizza makers handed out free pizza in the streets.
The intangible heritage list was created in 2003 and now includes more than 350 traditions and art forms. Other food-related traditions include Turkish coffee culture, the gingerbread craft of northern Croatia, and the Mediterranean diet.
Joshua:
I love pizza, Jessica -- it’s one of the greatest foods ever invented! But what’s the point of having pizza making on this list? What’s the purpose?
Jessica:
The list is meant to honor traditions around the world -- especially ones with a long history. “Pizzaiuolo” goes back centuries. And it’s just as much a social custom as it is about making pizza.
Joshua:
But why have it on this list? Is it endangered? Does it need to be protected?
Jessica:
Not necessarily, Joshua. But, some of the traditions on the list do. For example, one of them is a whistled language in Turkey, which is in danger of dying out.
Joshua:
So… how does being on the list actually help?
Jessica:
In some cases, UNESCO might start programs to get young people interested in a tradition, so that it continues. Or they might give funding to governments to protect certain customs.
Jessica, don’t you miss the time when the United States was bipartisan, a leader in global thinking and free trade, and the biggestenforcer of the liberal order in the world, instead of promoting isolationism and “America first?”
Jessica:
Yeah, it’s a shame that isolationism and populism are on the rise and, unfortunately, it’s not just in the United States. The “liberal order,” meaning countries that subscribe to a free, democratic system, is under the most horriblepressurefrom the inside and out. The world seems to have forgotten what made it prosperous and peacefulin the first place.
Joshua:
Exactly! And that prosperity for one nation means prosperity for all. Remember, for instance, when President Truman helped save Berlin with the airlift?
Jessica:
The airlift by American and British forces to supply Berlin, is one of the most uplifting stories I have ever heard. In 1948, Berlin was in the worstpossible situation after the end of WWII.
Joshua:
After the war Germany was divided into 4 parts. The sectors of the western allies formed West Germany, and the Soviet sector became communist East Germany. Berlin, likewise, was divided into West Berlin and East Berlin.
Jessica:
West Berlin’s biggest problem was that it was an islanddeep in the Russian sector, located about 100 miles away from the rest of West Germany. It was essentially the most helpless and most isolatedoutpost of the West, deep in the most hostile territory.
Joshua:
On June 24th,1948, the Soviet Union started the strictestblockade of West Berlin. All goods were blocked from entering the city, no people were allowed to leave and the electricity for West Berlin was cut off. It was the start of one of the firstmajor crises of the Cold War.
Jessica:
To make a long story short, the intent was to starve out West Berlin. At the time of the blockade, West Berlin had enough food for about 35 days and enough coal for about 45 days. Its very survival as a free city was at stake!
Joshua:
President Truman decided to work with the British to supply Berlin by air, which most people at the time thought could not be done. But once the airlift began, planes were landing at Tempelhof Airport every three minutes.
Jessica:
Yes, they maintained the strictest possible time table. The Soviets were helpless to stop these flights. Shooting one down would have been an act of war. Two million tons of food, fuel and other supplies were flown into the city by the bravest pilots.
Joshua:
This changed our relationship with Berliners. We were no longer seen as occupiers of the city. The inhabitants began to see us as friends. The airlift cost $224 million, which would be billions today, but there is no question that the rescue of West Berlin was well worth the cost.
Jessica:
There was another cost we must not forget: 101 pilots gave their lives. They were the firstvictims of the Cold War, which would last decades. But nobody can argue that the fight for the liberal order, against communism, didn’t pay off big time for the United States.
Joshua:
Yeah, if only people today looked more at history books, they might learn that “America First” is definitely not the best way to go if we want to live in a stable world.
Superlatives are adjectives that describe a noun which is the highest or most of something, such as the smartest, the most interesting, the best. They are used in sentences where a subject is compared to a group of the same noun. Whenever we use a superlative, it generally follows the following formula: Subject + verb + the + superlative adjective + object.
Nathan received the highest grades in the class.
This deli serves the most delicious sandwiches in the city.
I. One-Syllable Adjectives
To create a superlative for a single-syllable adjective, we add -est to the end of the adjective, or -st if the adjective already ends in ‘e’.
My school is the largest in the city.
Sarah is the smartest student in the school.
If the adjective ends with a consonant-vowel-consonant, such as big or sad, then the last consonant is usually doubled when forming a superlative.
Her family’s house is the biggest on the block.
That film is the saddest movie I have seen.
II. Two-Syllable Adjectives
To form the superlative for adjectives with three or more syllables, simply add ‘most’ immediately before the adjective.
Her golden retriever is the most peaceful dog I’ve ever met.
My father is the most careful driver I know.
However, two-syllable adjectives ending in ‘y’ are formed differently. Instead, drop the ‘y’ and add -iest.
I think Jerry Seinfeld is the funniest comedian.
O’Hare is the busiest airport in the Midwest.
III. Adjectives with Three or More Syllables
To form the superlative for adjectives with three or more syllables, simply add ‘most’ immediately before the adjective.
Shaun bought the most expensive car at the dealership.
Choosing where to go to college was the most important decision of her life.
IV. Irregular Superlatives
Some adjectives do not follow the above rules and have irregular superlative forms.
Yes, our, as in the American obsession with pets! Worldwide, the US ranks #1 for both dog and cat ownership. There are over 70,000,000 pet dogs and I am sure the number of pet cats is even bigger! We spend about $65 billion on our “furry friends” each year.
Jessica:
It doesn't really surprise me – we love our pets!
Joshua:
You’re not surprised? OK, what about these statistics? 27% of pet owners have had a professional photograph taken of their furry friends; 36% buy their dog birthday presents; 50% admit they talk to their pets. The pet products industry has even come up with a term for that: the humanization of pets.
Jessica:
Still not surprised! Just look at social mediathese days! I’m sure it’s playing a big role in the humanization of pets. There’s no better way to show off your matching manicures and designer outfits. I read somewhere that dog owners post a picture or talk about their canine companions six times per week. In 2016, one in six pet owners had created a social media account – Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, YouTube – specifically for their pet.
Joshua:
Technology is certainlydriving this trend!
Jessica:
So what other shocking discoveriesled you to say that things have gotten out of handwhen it comes to pets?
Joshua:
There are so many! According to a 2014 study by Wakefield Research, 76% of young Americans say that they would rather spend money on their pets than on themselves. 44% of them would buy expensive, gourmet treats. 38% would buy a custom bed that costs an arm and a leg!
Jessica:
A custom-made bed?
Joshua:
Yep! By comparison, only 50% of Baby Boomers – people born between 1946 and 1964 – said they would spend more on their pets than themselves.
Jessica:
So pet ownership and spending in the US is growing, especially among younger people?
Joshua:
Three-fourths of Americans in their 30s have dogs, while 51% have cats. Compare that to the overall US population, where 50% own dogs, and 35% own cats. The numbers don’t lie!
Jessica:
OK, enough numbers. You’ve convinced me – things are getting out of hand. Now tell me, how do you explain this phenomenon?
Joshua:
Well, first, retired people are living longer, healthier lives, which makes them more likely to get a pet.
Jessica:
That’s true!
Joshua:
Second, and most important, are young people. Millennials are half as likely to get married or live with a partner than Americans were 50 years ago. They are also delaying parenthood and demandingflexible work arrangements, which means they often work from home. All of these factors lead to higher rates of pet ownership.
Jessica:
So, your point is that younger Americans are getting more pets because...?
Joshua:
Love!
Jessica:
A-ha!
Joshua:
Do you know how the dictionary defines “pet?”
Jessica:
Let me look that up... Pet: a domestic or tamed animal kept for companionship or pleasure.
Joshua:
“Companionship or pleasure!” If you ask the most obsessive pet owners why they are so attached to their animals, I bet you many of them will say their pet gives them more love than any person could. More than a spouse, a sibling, or even parents.
Jessica:
Now that’s getting out of hand!
Joshua:
Well, it is true that a dog will love you just the way you are.
Jessica:
Hmm… So in the era of online dating, Millennials are buying pets because they want true, unconditional love?
Joshua:
Yes! After all, “all you need is love! Love is all you need!”
We have all been in a situation where you make a sensible plan to get something done, but then when the time comes, circumstanceshave a way of changing our plans. We lose control of the situation and the end result is overall more complicated, expensive, and far less sensible. When we let circumstances and improvisation lead us down a path of excess, we can rightfully say that things got out of hand.
Here is another very simple way to think about this expression. If you say that something is out of hand, it means that it is out of control.
This leads us to the origin of the phrase. Out of hand is a reference to horses and reins. A well known hazard of riding horses or carriages is that the failure to maintain a firm grip on the reins could result in an out of control horse. That “horse out of hand” becomes the metaphor for any situation that gets away from the person in charge and results in unintended and often wild results.
Example 1:
My roommate asked me if his girlfriend could spend the night “every once in a while,” and I agreed. But now she’s been here every night for over a month and her stuff is everywhere! This has really gotten out of hand.
Example 2:
My daughter wanted a piñata at her birthday party. We hung it up in a tree and let the kids have fun trying to break it open with a stick. Of course, there were several adults there to supervise. It’s the kind of game that can quickly get out of hand!
Example 3 (Incorrect use):
I was walking next to the swimming pool and my brand new smartphone got out of hand and landed in the water. I was so upset!
Let's practice pronunciation on few short phrases from today's episode.
Listen carefully how the native speaker pronounces each sentence.
Follow the intonations in each sentence. When you are ready, record one
paragraph at a time with your own voice and then compare
your pronunciation and intonations to the native speaker's: | {
"pile_set_name": "Pile-CC"
} |
Yanks show interest in Kevin Mench
Yes, there’s a chance that baseball’s biggest head will get a shot with the Bombers. The Yanks have expressed interest in the 30-year-old outfielder. He’d give the team a right-handed bench option.
Of course, this would be on a minor league deal, so as with Ensberg and Lane, there is no risk. If you look how the roster breaks down, the Yanks have a couple of options for bench spots:
And even Shelley’s spot isn’t guaranteed. So you have him, Ensberg, Lane, Nick Green, and Mench going up for two spots. Plus, it gives the team some decent insurance options should the injury bug bite during Spring Training. | {
"pile_set_name": "Pile-CC"
} |
Current Events
31
December2018
New Year’s Eve Masquerade Ball
Celebrate New Year with friends and family at our stylish Glitter Ball. Arrive to a Champagne Reception before sitting down to a lavish Four Course Meal. Dance the night away to live entertainment from Mr. H Productions and see 2019 in with a bang. Please click here for more information | {
"pile_set_name": "Pile-CC"
} |
Lynn Hollyfield
Singer-Songwriter
NEWS
Just back from the North East Regional Folk Alliance~inspired
and happy to re-kindle old connections and foster new contacts
through out the North East. Looking forward
to what unfolds over the upcoming months
"Layers" is a semi-finalist in the UK Songwriting Contest 2016
Lynn received a Washington Area Music Award Nomination
for Best Contemporary Folk Vocalist 2015!
Thanks for visiting and I would love for you to sign up
on the email list and check out my Facebook Music page.
To thank you there's a Free Music Download below.
Look forward to seeing you at an upcoming show!
oxoxox, Lynn
Listen to Lynn
Content on this page requires a newer version of Adobe Flash Player.
Join the Mailing List
Follow Lynn
What people are saying...
Ruthie Logsdon-Ruthie and the Wranglers~
"Some artists are known for their voice or their delivery or maybe their songs or for their guitar playing.
Lynn is not just "some artist" She delivers ALL of these with depth and clarity, one gorgeous song at a time."
Bob Gramann, Fredricksburg (VA) Songwriter's Showcase~
"There is no other way to say this: Your songs were just plain beautiful.
Your songs, voice, and guitar arrangements fit together in a beautiful whole."
Hollyfield's "indie-folk-pop style which could have (her)
opening up for 10,000 Maniacs or Cowboy Junkies." (Leicasterbangs, UK).
"Hollyfield's songs are beautiful and contain a universal wisdom
we can all identify with." (Fanrealm, Jane Woods)
iTunes Customer Review of LAYERS, "Great Album (Five Stars)
"My Dad popped this in the car today after school, and I loved it!
The music was so passionate and wonderful. Buy this album, it's great!
Lynn made me smile after a crappy day : )."
What's New
When musical worlds collide~recently I've been performing with two wonderful singer-song writer's, Annette Wasilik and Nicole Belanus. The result-intricate, beautiful 3 part harmony and interesting,diverse instrumentation. Check the schedule for upcoming performances. Continuing to hone my songwriting skills-Layers is currently a semi-finalist in the UK Songwriting Contest-winners announced in Fall of 2016. I am honored to be a part of a Theater Project: The Goddess Diaries. Two of my songs, Shadow and Inside Out, are part of the ensemble that includes women's monologues, dance and music! The show will be at George Mason University, JC Cinema, 11/4/16 and benefits the Womens and Gender Studies at the University. I'm looking for more opportunities like this!
Lynn Hollyfield-placed in the TOP 100 RadioCrystalBlue for 2015, DJ-Dan Herman. In the Fall of 2015 I took an 8 Week Songwriting Class with Cathy Fink (Grammy Award winning songwriter and all around Music Wiz). Learning alot!!!
UK SONGWRITING CONTEST-Semi-Finalist for 3 songs: Life and its Beauty, Because of You and Winter's Gift-winners will be announced in November, 2015.
Opened for Tret Fure at the Carroll Cafe-March 2016. www.tretfure.com. I will be doing a FOCUS concert with Bill Staines, in June, at the Masonic Temple, Alexandria,VA. In March 2015~ it was quite a month. In March 2015, I performed at the Washington Area Music Awards Cerermony and
also showcased as the SS Cape May-Singer-Songwriter Conference, Cape May, NJ. Carol Burbank, collabateur in songwriting, attended with me.
GREAT NEWS! Lynn received 5 WAMMIE Nominations for the new CD In The Balance: Best Contemporary Folk Album, Best Contemporary Folk Vocalist, Best CD Design-Noah Urban / Mazuzu.com,
Lynn-Artist of the Year and Songwriter of the Year! Mid-Atlantic Songwriting Contest Winner: 4 honorable metions for Because of You (FOLK), Fear the Wind (Adult Contemporary), Winter's Gift (FOLK) and Life and its Beauty (Vocal Blues and Jazz)
Also-Lynn was a semi-finalist in the 1st Annual Bernard Ebb Songwriting Contest, Bethesda, MD; In The Balance
listed in the TOP ALBUMS for 2014-Folk DJ Listserv.
Honored to have my song "Layers," as part of the Introduction to a new Ebook, RESONANCE by An' Marie.
You can check out the beautiful imagery at this link.
The Ebook can be purchased on Itunes
On 11/13/12, Lynn opened for Loudon Wainwright III at the Ram's Head Inn, Annapolis, MD.
PaulMerklein.com - Loudon and Lynn show review. Blog commentary from the LW3 show 11/2012 where Lynn was the opening act at The Ram's Head Inn, Annapolis, MD.
KICKSTARTER CAMPAIGN Fully FUNDED-$10,800 pledged to the new recording!!!! CLICK HERE to check out updates on the new recording-In the Balance!
Carey Creed's new CD project, Small Braveries, received the Best Contemporary Folk Album Wammie; Thank you Carey for asking me to be a part of the backing harmonies on this great album. www.CareyCreed.com. The CD is fantastic!
Lynn also added some harmonies to Songwriter, Mike Kelly's new CD project! | {
"pile_set_name": "Pile-CC"
} |
This blog will be a resource for me to critique music videos and mixtapes. I don't call myself The Media PRHO for no reason; I love media in general, but more specifically music. Thus, being a critic is befitting for a person like me.
Friday, July 23, 2010
T.I. and Keri Hilson collaborate to tell the tale of significant others that have each other’s backs. There are a couple of couples in the video and you get to see that they stick with each other through highs and lows. Simply stated this video is about unconditional love, and letting your significant other know you appreciate them being so supportive. Chris Robinson directed the Got Your Back music video.
3 Pros
T.I. and Keri Hilson complement each other in multiple ways.
You get to see a few couples in this video.
The mother of T.I.’s significant otherTameka “Tiny” Cottleshowed that she had T.I.’s back by making a cameo in the music video.
3 Cons
The backgrounds behind Keri and T.I. were too simplistic.
Keri Hilson’s jewelry did not impress me at all.
You get to see that Keri and T.I. are essentially on either side of a wall prop with, and Chris Robinson could have used some video effects instead.
So, I’m not going to waste everyone’s time by re-reviewing the Love All Over Me Video. Yet, I wanted to update y’all by telling you that the world shoes the end of the video, and now the new version is available. I don’t want to spoil the ending, so I am just going to say Monica looked beautiful in her dress and happy with her husband. Warning: Don't read the video comments, like I foolishly did, unless you want the end to be spoiled for you!
Thursday, July 22, 2010
This music video is the platform for Joell Ortiz, Joe Budden, and Novel to tell other people they need to see the things they talk about because they don’t take anyone’s word for truth. So, if you are trying to prove something to the aforementioned artist make sure you back your words up with your actions. The video was directed by Rick Cordero.
3 Pros
There underrated artist are showcased together.
As a person that listens to Joell Ortiz I felt this video displayed him well.
You get to see the artists without much glitz and glamor.
3 Cons
For people that don’t know the artists it can be hard to decipher which artist is which.
We Don’t Believe You looks low budget.
The video looks like a vintage recording because lines run through it.
Rick Ross’ B.M.F. music video basically can be summed up as telling the story of a drug dealer that feels as if he is drug kingpin, Bigh Meech, and the innovator of a gang, Larry Hoover. The video was directed by Maybach Films and Parris. Just so you are forewarned: this song and video might release your inner thug.
3 Pros
The video upholds Rick Ross’ thug persona.
The special effects in this video were good, and better than I expected.
A number of regular people are in the video.
3 Cons
The video showcases negative stereotypes about black people.
Rick Ross was a little too happy to be in the barbershop, that didn’t seem genuine in the least bit.
A few lyrics were censored, and I think Rick Ross could have made replacement words for the video since he knew it was going to be edited.
Ne-Yo’s Beautiful Monster is the sequel to Champagne Life. Now we see the super hero after he has finished living the champagne life for the night. He seems to be extremely drunk and he reminds me of Will Smith in the movieHancock. We now get to meet the beautiful monster, or young lady that caused Ne-Yo to break the third rule set forth by Columbus Short, which was to abstain from falling in love. The video was directed by Wayne Isham and Ne-Yo.
3 Pros
The scenes in the club where people were frozen kept me interested.
The special effects in this video were good, and better than I expected.
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
Ne-Yo’s Champagne Life music video tells of good times that Ne-Yo and his two friends have since they gained super powers from Columbus Short. The three friends rule the earth as long as they don’t break three rules Columbus Short has set out for them. There is an interview at the end of this video, but I can’t find that version online. The video was directed by Wayne Isham and Ne-Yo.
3 Pros
The music video is a mini-film.
Ne-Yo’s actions make headlines as soon as he does something which is similar to how media treat celebrities nowadays.
The music video has a fun-loving atmosphere for the most part.
3 Cons
This version of the video was more concerned with the friends having a champagne life rather than giving us the plot of this part of the story.
The choreography was lackluster especially since Ne-Yo is a good dancer.
The music video would probably make more sense if people could find the extended verison online.
Eminem’s not afraid video addresses his fears, and he proclaims he is not afraid and will get over his problems. He acknowledges his faults. Yet, he doesn’t completely know himself which is suggested from the distorted images he sees of himself. Eminem literally breaks out of his cage to put his life back in order, and just when he feels he is about to hit rock bottom he gains super powers. Not Afraid was directed by Rich Lee.
3 Pros
Not Afraid was suspenseful because you never know what to expect from Eminem.
I felt Eminem’s pain and I was right there with him getting over it.
Eminem saw himself distorted when he looked in the mirror.
3 Cons
Some of the symbolism might be a little too deep for some people to catch.
B.O.B. and Hayley Williams team up to convey the idea that they could use a wish. Airplanes does seem like a dream land because of all the lights and solitude. With a word or two all the other people in the video disappear. Airplanes was directed by Hiro Murai. I like the video and I believe it was a great collaboration for all parties.
3 Pros
Hayley was shown singing in photographs.
Hiro Murai did a good job of suddenly getting rid of people in the music video.
Hiro Murai captured the type of emotion I hoped to see from B.O.B. in this video.
3 Cons
The lights were distracting me at times.
I think some of the video could’ve have been a little more in line with the lyrics.
Brisco’s On The Wall video is very visually stimulating. Some of the effects used were simply brilliant. The video shows that women want both Brisco and Lil’ Wayne. Yet, I expected to see much more women. I think for a concept like this the male artist shouldn’t be shown together because I would find the thought that women want them so much more believable. On The Wall was directed by Jovii Hendrix.
3 Pros
The beginning of the video is truly artistic.
There are a lot of elements that I have never seen in a music video.
The video stimulates the artist and critic in me.
3 Cons
The random revolving things in the background that resemble telephone receivers are annoying.
Sean Garrett’s Get It All Music video is the story of a guy that has a girlfriend. Yet, the twist is other women think they are more fitting for Mr. Garret. Sean Garret has a lot of attractive women that are telling him he can “get it all.” So, watch the video and see how Sean handles his dating dilemma. The Get It All music video was directed by Sean Garrett and Black Elvis.
3 Pros
The introduction to the song and video was clever.
I liked the majority of the outfits that are worn in Get It All.
I like the fact that Sean tries to give a flashback of his past.
3 Cons
The wipe transition is used a lot back to back and it gets a little repetitive.
I didn’t fully understand who Sean’s Girlfriend was.
I would’ve liked for Nicki Minaj to have a better outfit for her grand entrance.
Monica’s Love All Over Me music video shows the typical story of girl meets boy they fall in love; boy has to leave, so girl falls in love with another boy. Monica is torn between her old love and her new love, and that concept is relatable because I know a number of people that face the same situation just under different circumstances than Monica. Love All Over Me was directed by Chris Robinson. This is my favorite song on Monica’s latest album Still Standing, and this will most likely be my favorite video from the album.
Nicki Minaj’s Your Love music video in my words is a display of her self-proclaimed geisha persona. Nicki Minaj’s video showcases Japanese culture with the samurai swords, kimonos, and other aspects. Your Love was directed by Lil X, the protege, of music video legend Hype Williams. The video was not what I thought it would be, but I still liked it.
Mixtape Kings and Queens Note
The mixtape portion of my blog will be used to review the mixtapes of Mixtape Queens and Kings; people that have become famous through mixtapes,or have mixtapes that are exceptional . In regards to this blog underground artist are people that do not have studio albums, and mainstream artist have studio albums.
About Me
I am from AL, but I am a Communication Studies Major at Longwood University in Farmville, VA. I love music, so everyday I listen to new hip-hop, R&B, and rap music. I also write poetry and songs. I personally, believe the three genres have begun to merge. I have developed a respect for mixtapes, and I have been listening to them for at least three years now. I hope be an Artist and Repitoire (A&R) at a record label. I would like to own my own record label as soon as I learn the ropes, and the tricks of the trade. I love all types of media, but something about good music speaks to me. | {
"pile_set_name": "Pile-CC"
} |
Escorts eny craigslist casual encounters
The first was with an older woman who responded to my post and was actually quite forward. We exchanged pictures and she invited me to come over after a couple days of correspondence. When I arrived we had to go up a few stairs to get to her living room and I could see that she wasn't wearing any underwear. From that point it was easy.
I ended up going back about 5 or 6 times before I had to go back to school. The second was a younger married woman. She was all too willing to send me naked pictures which made me a little worried.
I lived in an extended stay type hotel at the time for an internship, so I wasn't too scared to have someone come over. She canceled the first scheduled time, but was on time the second. She said that she'd never done the craigslist thing before, but I could tell she was lying about 2 minutes into her arrival. We started having sex at about minute 4. It seemed like she did it all the time.
Oh sorry, I should have elaborated. Similar in terms of the older woman being quite forward, and inviting me over after a few days of correspondence.
I do hope shes not wearing panties though. Backstory- I used to play on a travelling team for paintball. We werent very good in the division we played but were known in the circuit for having a REALLY good time when we went to different venues around the United States. He had BANK and would throw lots of money for things that made him laugh. An example being when our team went to South Carolina for an event.
Clayton payed the owner of a local very shitty strip club dollars to let me in considering i was underage. Shortly after being let in i was escorted back for a free lap dance.. Me being young i thougth clayton was the nicest guy ever and finally was gonna stop messing with me. No more than 1 minute after my first lapdance ever i was called on stage and stripped of everything but boxer shorts and socks. While sitting on stage i was subjected to the "pussy dance" as well as had my boxers ripped off on the ass so that the strippers could hit me repeatedly with belts.
After my ass started bleeding they stopped and i was made to do a 60 second dance on the pole in front of my team and 2 or 3 other teams that showed up to watch the performance. After that night i ended up finding out that clayton put out 2 grand for my performance The event that i first encountered and last encountered a "connection" with a craigslist dater was in when clayton had an idea to humiliate the "team bitch" jimmy.
Jimmy was a red haired, freckle faced, very annoying, fat, buckteethed kid who was my only hope for survival on the team.
Looking back im surprised he didnt go mentally insane for the shit the team put him through but he always seemed to have a good time after the hazing was complete and after talking to him recently he isnt holding a grudge over anything and said it was a fun, crazy time in his life. But anyway, clayton got the idea to "order" an encounter off of craigslist to get Jimmy laid for the first time in his life. A deep voiced woman named "Shawanda" answered and agreed to come to the house we were renting in orlando.
Jimmy being completely in the dark piped up and said "im jimmy" and that is when Shawanda responded " lets do this white boy". He refused and everyone was dying at this point because we got what we wanted.
This is when shawanda had a VERY large black man come inside and demand dollars that was owed to Shawanda for her services. He then pulled out a paintball gun from where he was hiding and started shooting air out of it to scare the pimp and his property out of the house. I think they thought it was real because they ran out of the house VERY fast and we never heard from them again. Hired a prostitute from craigslist to come fuck one of my paintball team mates at an event in orlando. The team mate refused to fuck, the prostitute demanded money, a knife was pulled, the team mate started shooting his paintball gun and the prostitute and her pimp ran away.
They still have a jersey of ours hanging up in the place because of how much money we spent there. The jersey says "Fair Enuff" on it. South Carolina strip club where they bring you up on stage and take your pants off giving you a lap dance and then smacking your ass with belts? I joined just so I can upvote this. As for complaints about the back story, I think it added to it since it made me feel like I knew Clayton. I'm not really complaining, as I really enjoyed that story, but in the context of this thread I think you added way too much of an unrelated backstory.
I liked the backstory myself. Fuck those ADD redditors who can't sit through a little backstory. I'm a bit confused because you were trying to make the point that Clayton liked to casually spend money, but then you say he ended up not paying the pimp. Not sure how his spending habits were relevant. I suppose the point is, Clayton probably would have been willing to pay, had Jimmy gone through with the whole thing. We meet for drinks first, everyone gets along, turns out she's a tall blonde fitness instructor which sounds great on paper, but she has no tits, but other than that she's good to go: So we do a rendezvous, and funnily, neither I nor the other guy could keep it up in the others' immediate vicinity apparently not unusual , so we end up just finagling for a bit and then break it off.
Anyway, long story short, she is now an FWB who I still see on occasion just me and her, no 3rd. Just this past Friday, I get a call from her, "how about I come over for lunch Monday?
How about I come over and suck your cock while you're on the call? That sounds like a fine plan! She responds with "your reply was the best of the 20 or so I got" sigh, being a man "so when would you like to meet for lunch? I go over there, we have dinner, drink a bunch of wine, make out it was good , and it turns out she has a GREAT "evil sex woman" voice, and she lets me cum in her ass, which I thank her for profusely. So now I get to see her whenever I'm over there on business.
I still say give it a shot. There's not a lot of non-seedy, free, venues out there where a person can reveal their darkest fantasies safely and actually get them satisfied. Craigslist is one of them. I have been in conference calls with guys who were working from home. TIL the pauses and broken up utterances might not have been due to a bad line.
And really, my productivity is better overall if I can stop thinking about sex for a while. A cute Jewish chick with a lip ring responded. We went out for coffee, decided we dug each other, and she blew me in my car that night. It continued like that for about a month until she went back to college. Every wednesday for about 3 months, I would go over her house around 10 A. M, and we would get down until about noon. She was a little overweight, and the house was filled with weird religious paraphernalia, but the sex was good, and she used to let me pee on her.
She wouldn't take off her shirt or her baseball cap, but wanted me to fuck her. I thought it was weird, but I got it in anyway. We try see each other at least once a month, for the last several years. Luckily, that random dude was me. She answered the door in just a bikini bottom, got in the hot tub, invited me in, and just started blowing me I spent the whole night there.
We never spend more than 30 minutes together, and she doesn't expect anything from me except a mouthful of semen. She gave such bad head that I have no doubt she wasn't with a dude for 2 years. I fucked her twice. She told me she was a physics professor. As we were walking into the motel, she says, "Let's lay down ground rules- 1: Don't cum in my pussy. You HAVE to fuck me in the ass You CAN cum in my ass".
She did a great job of keeping her junk hidden, gave me lapdances, back massages, cooked me dinner. I convinced her to go down on me, and it was all teeth. I was getting worried, because I wanted to cum, and her mouth wasn't working. But I also didn't want to fuck her, because she kind of smelled with her clothes on, and I didn't want to get into that naked funk.
It wound up on my shirt, on the steering wheel, on my seat I dont remember the band or the song, but my ploy worked, because next thing you know, we're in my car, I'm playing with her boobs, and she's jerking me off Different chick, same results I went to the theater, hung out for a few minutes, and they came walking in When I came, she jerked me off all over the floor, and then smeared it all around with her shoes.
Her husband thanked me, and they left. I followed a few minutes later. I have more stories, but I think I've taken up enough of your day, If you even read this far Thank You Reddit, for allowing me this walk down memory lane.
I have met four folks offa CL personals, two of which resulted in sexytime. Exactly what he said he'd be, cute, great time in bed, stayed for a couple hours, etc. The other--older than I expected, not good in bed, and he seriously ran out the door without his coat afterward, like the hounds of hell were after him. I do not know what was goin on but it felt nasty as hell, even as I was not thrilled with him. Perhaps his wife needed him home.
Every once in a while when I'm longing and looking I will post a CL ad, collect a bizillion responses, and then not really want to answer any of them back cause they all seem kinda gnarly.
If you are trying to meet up with a guy, you have a very good chance of it being the real deal, only thing to worry about is outdated photos not matching up with what you encounter in person. If you are trying to meet up with a couple, you have a somewhat likely chance of it being real.
If you are trying to meet up with a chick I've made some long-term friends with the women I've met on Casual Encounters. But I also met a bunch that when I actually met them in person, I realized they were fucking nuts meth addicts, women who had 15yo photos and denied it, one woman who wouldn't stop talking about how ghosts stalk her family, a woman who neglected to tell me she was 7 months pregnant, etc.
I'm in a non-monogamous marriage My wife has had a boyfriend for the last couple of years, so I'd go on CL looking for entertainment. My wife took more offense than I did when she found out the women had lied to me about careers, age, etc.
Hey there, if you don't mind me asking, how did you go about starting a non-monogamous marriage? It's somethign I could see myself in the future, but I had some questions I was discussing it with my girlfriend and these were the things that came out of it: Did you start by swinging or something?
Or was it decided from the start? He probably had, but adultery is far more common that polygamy. It was a reasonable question, if asked in a more accusatory tone than was required see triggerhoppe's comment.
I've had around 10 partners from craigslist since None have been dangerous, all but one have been enjoyable.
He gave me directions to his hotel near the airport with details all the way down to which set of stairs to walk up. The level of detail creeped me out, so I chose my own route through the hotel. Wanted to know why I didn't go the way he described.
It was an odd start to the evening. He had thrown a towel over the desk lamp which provided some soft mood lighting. He was was older than me, buff, and looked Mediterranean. Looked just like his pictures, actually. He went in immediately for a kiss, but I pulled away. Just sex, I told him. He had a huge cock that I just wanted to play around with, bury my face in, and generally enjoy.
He pretty much just wanted to stick it in my butt and I obliged. He positioned me like he wanted and tried sticking it in. Virgin ass can be awfully hard to penetrate and this guy wasn't being patient at all.
He asked if this was my first time. But I'm sure he could tell otherwise. He managed to get inside me and started thrusting mercilessly. I accidentally kicked a lamp off the bedside table with my involuntary flailing - had never had such an awesome sexual encounter. He came, but I didn't. He politely blew me to completion. I cleaned up, dressed, and was ready to leave. I commented on his folded scrubs sitting in his suitcase. Asked if he's a doctor or a nurse.
Instead of being honest, he conflated his job into being some high-risk nuclear assignment. Before leaving, he said he'd call me when he comes into town in a month. He never called or emailed. I was out of town and staying in a hotel. My first arranged hookup fell through at the last minute. I was so horny and didn't just want to crank one out, so I started looking through the 'runner-up' emails from my posting.
I found an email from a guy who just sent a picture of his cock, claiming it was his only photo. He showed up within 30 minutes. I let him into the room. I told him I was only down for oral. He gave me the worst head, was constantly hurting my dick with his teeth, was gagging on my average sized penis. I told him enough was enough. I'll just jack off. He whipped out his dick and it was as large as promised. Biggest one I've ever seen. Too bad it never got hard. Not even a little.
I agreed to try some mutual masturbation. He jacked me off to completion, but I never got him hard. I then asked him to leave. Met up with a guy who was advertised as being my age. When I met him for the first time, we both realized we had met a conference the previous year. He worked at a store in my hometown and it was beyond awkward when I went through the checkout stand with my mom.
He tried his best to play it cool, but my face couldn't have been any redder. We still hook up to this day. Posted an ad, got a response from a cute Asian girl my age mid 20s at the time , previously lesbian, first time with a guy.
I forget how the first rendezvous went down, but we were basically FWB for a month or two. Responded to an ad by a chick interested in pegging a guy, and asking him to buy the dildo since she was a poor college student. You can fill in the details. Posted an ad, got a response from another mid 20s girl leaving the city soon.
We went for drinks, she came back to my place, played hide-the-salami, and she left. She was kind of uncomfortable with the whole thing though, and I didn't feel like pursuing a second time. I got hundreds--literally hundreds--of responses.
I was able to narrow it down by grammar, a general feeling of chemistry, and photos. I ended up with five candidates, and made dates to meet them all. I was expecting a year-old guy who kept himself up through swimming. What I got was a year-old guy with a large pot belly. He was so different from his pictures that I didn't even recognize him. On the other hand, he spotted me immediately. He smiled and I saw the clincher: They protruded vertically from his gums, overlapped, had jagged edges.
It went beyond crooked. He was a human shredder. The caves between his teeth were harboring god knows how much partially digested food, and his breath smelled like a corpse. I prayed that he was not going to be quite as fat as I feared, but he was.
I still don't know how he managed to look normal in his pictures, because he was very, very obese. Did not fuck him either.
I know that an emotional connection is not important for a casual encounter, but one of the guys I picked wanted to be short-term friends as well. He seemed smart and funny and I was lonely in a new city, so we decided to hang out before we got down to business. It turned out that I was way too sex-positive and weird for him. He actually went so far as to say, "I didn't know girls could be as strange as you.
Although the idea of using some conservative shmuck for his cock appealed to me, it turned out that I didn't hate myself enough to endure more of his continual insults about my personality. But if you must pursue the internet route, just meet in public so you can bail if needed. You have a very easy, "I actually don't feel comfortable doing this" excuse.
When I was 21, I met a 44 year old divorcee with two daughters my age. She was attractive and really nice. We met and had lunch at a bagel shop and decided to meet up the next day. She came over and we hung out for a while and had the best sex of my life. The showing up on her doorstep makes it pretty much just as bad as stalking.
If it weren't for that I'd say he was just persistent and not taking hints. I'm a woman, 34 now. I met a few people through CE section, one on the dscussion board and one i can't recall, i think it was originally through a platonic listing?
I will preface my experience by saying I'm a fat girl with huge boobs but I have few problems taking attractive whoo-ha pics and I've never been dishonest with anyone about what they were getting. First of all, the W4M listings in our area get culled pretty aggressively, I think by spammers reporting other ads since you will see the guys who list talking about how they can never meet real women through the site.
Second, if you're a chick, every CL listing is a CE. I don't think any of the guys posting or responding to the w4m or m4w really wants anything else. I was pretty proud of the catch and the sex was OK but he tried to tell me he was leaving immediately for active duty which i'm pretty sure was a lie and refused to speak to me again. I didn't play it as cool as i should have but it was the first time. Didn't look like his pic, was in his mids.
I felt trapped because i knew him a little better. I did it anyway because i didn't want to seem totally shallow but then he ignored me the rest of the night and watched TV. I never spoke to him again. He seemed nice enough, a little older. He lived about an hour away which caused problems getting together but he texted me regularly for a few weeks and seemed interested in more.
I drove to his house a few times late at night and shagged him but he was waaaaay more interested in anal than me. About a month in, he stops contacting me pretty suddenly. Doesn't respond to my texts. About 2 wks later, i find out he has a new girl friend by facebook stalking him. We've been friends about 3 years but have only met in person once! We have good intellectual conversations but I found out several months later he was married so I tread pretty carefully to not encourage flights of fancy on either one of our parts about it going much further.
Kink master I've had sex with only once but IM dirty chat with semi-regularly for about a year. He's OK but lives with his parents post divorce and I am looking for a "real" relationship these days and he's not. I gay pre-op ftm have had many good encounters off of CL casual encounters. I normally IM or have a quick public chat with a person that answers my ad before I get naked with them. I have found that if I can have a decent conversation with them then the sex is at least good, if not great to excellent.
Do you get a lot of chasers? I always advertise as FtM in my cl ads. If you want to put up an ad you don't have to go through with meeting any of the people that respond to it.
Just be very clear in your ad what you are looking for and be safe. I meet very very few of the guys that answer my ad because they are either creepy or think "pussy is pussy".
You can try to get a recurrent fb type of thing where it is just one guy instead of just a lot of one night stands. Out of curiosity as a straight guy, what is sex with a FtM like? Is it appropriate for straight guys, who like more masculine women, to respond to a FtM, is almost more my question? I don't mean to offend, but when you say " gay pre-op ftm " I would assume you are looking for chicks, not dudes.
Am I missing something? You are missing something. Since I am ftm female to male I consider myself male. Since I said that I am gay, then that would mean me a man is attracted to men. Ok, I was not sure if gay applied to pre-op or to the ftm bit.
Sorry if it was a weird question, but I was honestly curious. I typically do whatever me and the guy want to do in the bedroom. I thought sending you pics from her porno's would have given the fact that she did porn away but meh. Lucky you either way. I've had a few 'ltr' encounters that resulted in first date sex.
It always feels dirty afterwards and I'm turned off the prospect for a few weeks. Sex is awesome, and sometimes people just click. I think the majority of the dates I've been on I'm a dude have resulted in sex, usually, if you ask me, because I don't generally act like I'm going to get laid when I go out on a date and women respond to that.
Admittedly I don't know what other guys are like, or if something sinister was involved, but if you had sex with him on the first date I bet there was a good reason. My gay friend we'll call him Pat had a crazy experience just a few months ago. He used Grindr which is a social networking site for the gay sexy times. He had used the site successfully before and the results where always satisfactory. He started a conversation with a guy who claimed to be a 25 year old physical trainer.
The fact that he wants to meet up for a drink and exchange oral sex in a car, well, that leads one to believe that he probably lives with someone. If it's a girlfriend or wife, that's one thing. If it's his parents, that's kind of sad, plus it might mean the car he's proposing to make out in is owned by his folks.
If any bodily fluids are spilled, be prepared to be handed a Wet- Nap. Meanwhile, he completely forgets to give any sort of indication about what type of woman he's looking for, which gives off the impression that he'll pretty much let anybody gargle his goods. The fact that he spells maybe, "mabey" not once, but twice is also somewhat troubling. Women who like their sexual organs to be treated like the African monkey trap.
If you've been there and done it, you already know and understand what's written below What follows that quote is about words describing "fisting" in extreme detail You can click on the pic for the full ad, if you must.
The verve he uses when rolling out the numbered steps of the process makes it evident that this guy will approach a possible encounter like some sort of demented camp counselor demonstrating macrame. The header reads "Getting to be popular fun! More than likely, it's not the type of experience she wants to have just so she can share the story at the watercooler with her fisting-enthusiast co-workers. Also, he might want to edit the tidbit about it taking " days for vagina to return to original state.
Don't be a chicken. I have rented a residence in North Vegas, off Craig street. If interested please email me for a appointment. I am very willing to please you. Additionally, it's been indicated that our cross-dresser lives in North Vegas. And while everyone knows what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas, few are familiar with the North Vegas slogan, which is: What happens in North Vegas will haunt your dreams forever. For someone who's not into female impersonators, there is so much wrong here.
But even if that is your cup of tea, you've got to be taken aback by the doll photo. That's some crazy serial-killer stuff right there. Combine that with the freaky flowers-and-curls wig and any sensible person answering this listing would have to be at least a little worried about ending up in a freezer. You provide the cute and cuddly. Not looking for a one-night thing. I want all of the winter or when one of us finds someone better, whichever comes first.
I won't have sex with you. Cuddles is probably in the wrong section, because he's looking for more than a one-time thing and he's ardent in his declaration that there will be no sex. We can also assume that he doesn't have adequate heat in his home, as his winter-term relationship seems to involve you becoming his human space heater.
You've got a picture of kittens, you've asserted that you're a year-old virgin and the best descriptions you can come up with for yourself is that you have a "high metabolism? Cuddles, but you should consider eHarmony. If there's no ass play or misguided fantasy involved, Craigslist Casual Encounters has no use for you. Women who want to be manhandled by a lover with a questionable sense of style.
Vanilla women is out of the question and I only do KINK women that have a drive and a need to be controlled and in a submissive relationship.
I am DOM in a good way, I am not a beater, yell or threaten - any male can to that, we call them ass holes. A true DOM knows how to control by asking once and can give you a look that will melt you in one second. This guy likes to be in control. He knows what he wants and he's confident in his ability to melt flavors other than vanilla with a look that has been clocked at one second.
Unfortunately, honing this incredible melting stare power has kept him from having time to get to the mall.
Our best estimates track this tie to the Structure's spring collection. In the first line where he reveals that it's a recent picture of him.
He may not be what we call "ass holes," but his pose and choice of neck wear are clearly giving off a heavy vibe of dork. And, it's not the sweet helpless sort of dork either. We're guessing that the annoying repeated capping of "DOM" is an indication our friend is desperate to act out a control fantasy that has something to do with being passed over for a manager position at the grocery store where he's a "professional" cashier.
We don't see why a listing that gives off the same bitter vibe he does in person would make his chances any better. I'm offering ot take you on a cruise to Hawaii expenses paid for with me that is round trip to LA. It just doesn't happen. So despite all the name calling, feelings of alienation and social discrimination, sometimes it is really, really awesome to be gay, like when you get extended a two-week Hawaiian vacation and cruise for a few hook-ups.
Also, sometimes it's not that awesome to be straight, broke and desperately in need of a vacation. Honestly, the only thing wrong with this listing is that it evokes a great deal of envy amongst heterosexual males. The curious straight guy who happens upon this inquiry will inevitably ask themselves why they've been cursed with an attraction to the opposite sex when the best you can hope for in the women-for-men listings are year-old single mothers looking to host dudes who enjoy big-bodied females at their mobile home.
The only way this goes wrong is if he's full of shit and the cruise turns out to be a trip around the bay on his Uncle Remus' fishing boat. You could really get hurt if you resist. But pushing past that fear, by passing through it, lite rally the joy that lies on the other side of convention If you're an atheist, you will get to know God experientially, from being fucked in the ass.
Butt sex means a lot to this guy. Not many listings offer a spiritual experience, but the author of this one is doing just that. Photos of his torso display a muscular build, because no one wants to be reamed to a point where they "know God experientially" by someone who doesn't have a membership at Crunch.
When the Archbishop of Ass-Nailing completely disregarded the fact that this is called Casual Encounters. The feeling you get after reading the listing is that an encounter with this guy is going to be anything but casual.
In fact, it doesn't seem like a stretch to think his idea of foreplay includes some chanting and the sacrifice of a goat. However, it's good our anal missionary here is looking to convert nonbelievers using Craigslist.
Taking his divine message door to door like a Mormon would be pretty creepy and probably illegal in most states.
.
: Escorts eny craigslist casual encounters
Brothels review escort cbd
All the responses I got from real people on my first day weren't from women — they were from men. Biggest one I've ever seen. If she was Asian and old, it'd be the perfect storm. I see I'm a little late here, but so many people have posted awkward or bad stories, I just wanted to chime in with a good one. I met my wife on craigslist casual encounters, and we had a really good time. My bf and I have fooled around with over straight guys .
JUST SEX DATING HOOKUPS WEBSITE NEW SOUTH WALES
588
WOMEN LOOKING FOR MEN LOCANTO ESCORT QLD MELBOURNE
Prostitution is what made Craigslist controversial. I also posted a platonic thing once when I moved to a new city. It turned out that most of the ads were fakes from scammers, and quite a few fell into another category all. How have folks accomplished finding real people on craigslist? As for complaints about the back story, I think it added to it since it made me feel like I knew Clayton.
Classifieds cheap brothel Sydney
A deep voiced woman named "Shawanda" answered and agreed to come to the house we were renting in orlando. It continued like that for about a month until she went back to college. But completely and entirely welcome. Another day, I described it as a rebound. Welcome to Reddit, the front page of the internet. But I'm sure he could tell .
Escorts eny craigslist casual encounters
Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement and Privacy Policy. Everyone is thinking it. Every wednesday for about 3 months, I would go over her house around 10 A. I think the majority of the dates I've been on I'm a dude have resulted in sex, usually, if you ask me, because I don't generally act like I'm going to get laid when I go out on a date and women respond to. Hired a prostitute from craigslist to come fuck one of my prostitutes casual sexual team mates at an event in orlando. I was basically playing whack-a-mole as he grabbed at my tits violently and he started dry humping me, darting his tongue into my mouth.
Sex partners dating Western Australia
CRAIGSLIST CASUAL ENCOUNTERS PICS ESCORT PROSTITUTE
25 Mar As a result, Craigslist decided to remove its personal-ad section, posting the following statement: "Any tool or service can be misused. We can't. As the Craigslist is no more, So I found 10 amazing alternatives to the Craigslist Single guys have more chances on these sites more than any other. These sites helped me get out, talk, meet people, have fun and why not having sex?. 5 Apr That's the day that users clicking on any personals subsections — at which point a majority of escort ads moved to vandanvn.net, a classifieds sex ads placed in the Missoula area are on Backpage, not Craigslist, these. 21 Mar We have a diverse community (sexual educators, escorts, kinksters, etc), so unless it is a highly unique situation, they are not appropriate for. 9 Jan I wanted to see if any of these site or programs actualy worked. when I came arcoss many reviews for craigslist craigslist casual encounter. LOL Like any site I am sure some of it is scams, hell same go for on here area, 99% of Casual Encounters for WFM are spammers or escorts. | {
"pile_set_name": "Pile-CC"
} |
Service Information
Robert Clarence Warmann
April 8, 1928 - November 29, 2016
Obituary
Robert C. Warmann, age 88, passed away peacefully on November 29, 2016. Loving husband of Susanna for 62 years; Beloved father of Diana (Craig), the late Bruce, Cheryl (Jay), and Kris (Tracy); Cherished grandfather of Grace and Bruce. Funeral service will be at 12 PM on Tuesday, December 6, at Chapel Hill Gardens West Funeral Home, 17w201 Roosevelt Rd, Oakbrook Terrace, IL 60181. Visitation will be from 10AM - 12PM prior to the service, also at the Funeral Home. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to The National Free Flight Society, P.O. Box...
Robert C. Warmann, age 88, passed away peacefully on November 29, 2016. Loving husband of Susanna for 62 years; Beloved father of Diana (Craig), the late Bruce, Cheryl (Jay), and Kris (Tracy); Cherished grandfather of Grace and Bruce. Funeral service will be at 12 PM on Tuesday, December 6, at Chapel Hill Gardens West Funeral Home, 17w201 Roosevelt Rd, Oakbrook Terrace, IL 60181. Visitation will be from 10AM - 12PM prior to the service, also at the Funeral Home. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to The National Free Flight Society, P.O. Box 74, Grosse Ile, MI 48138 or to The Crazy Horse Memorial Foundation, 12151 Avenue of the Chiefs, Crazy Horse, SD 57730-8900. | {
"pile_set_name": "Pile-CC"
} |
You are here
More Wilhelmina
Wilhelmina lives in the suburbs. Her lawn is unkempt. The shutters of her house are falling off their hinges. Junk mail overflows her mailbox. Her garden houses weeds.
The neighbours frown in her direction while chatting on manicured grass, listening to their cherub wind chimes. None of them would dare complain to the old woman who lives alone, who is often seen in jogging pants and oversized t-shirts (clothes she refers to as her costumes). I mean, who wants to tell the unattractive old lady who lives with too many cats that she's lowering the property value of the neighbourhood?
Besides, they reason, on Halloween she always comes out dressed in that witch outfit, and all the kids love her. She's just a harmless old lady.
It's best they don't give her a hard time.
They would learn very quickly she isn't as frail or helpless as they assume she is. | {
"pile_set_name": "Pile-CC"
} |
Gallbladder
I had a gallbladder attack about a week ago. I ended up in the ER and got some really nice painkillers. I'm going in for Laproscopic Surgery on the 5th of March to remove my Gallbladder. I'm hoping to be able to get back on the bike in a few weeks. Has anyone had the surgery? What was your recovery time? Time to go back to work? Back on the Bike? I've got a lot of plans for the spring I'd like to keep.
hope this helps
I have not had my gallbladder out but I have had a few surgeries in the abdomen area (in fact i am recovering from one now). With your type of surgery there should only be a small incesion and you should only be down for one to two weeks. I would start on a trainer when you feel up to it and remember to take it slow because overdoing it will do more harm than good. Good luck and I hope you get back to pedaling soon.
I am in the same boat rite know
Had my surgery April 10th just a few days ago & feel good enough to ride around the hood but the wife has that look on her face
I have 1-2 weeks off & need to find away to enjoy my time off
I was back on my bike in 10 days with no ill effects. I had my surgery on Friday, worked part of the day monday and back full time on Tuesday. My doctor said that basically folks take as long to heal as they have time off. So for you I'd say 1-2 weeks to heal | {
"pile_set_name": "Pile-CC"
} |
Wyoming – Security Guard Courses and Training Classes
Security Guard Training Information – Wyoming
There currently aren’t any state requirements for licensing or registration of unarmed security guards in the state of Wyoming. That being said, a person still needs to be 18 in order to apply and must meet the federal requirements of having a clean background check, being legally able to work in US, and need to have successfully completed either high school or a GED certificate. Individual security companies may have additional requirements (such as a valid driver’s license, necessity of drug testing etc.). Keep in mind too, that just because Wyoming does not have state laws mandating licensing or registration, individual cities or counties may have their own ordinances. It would be wise to check with your county or city clerk’s officer for further information regarding laws in your own area. Security companies will also be aware of any laws which need to be followed in order to maintain employment as an unarmed guard.
Steps to Wyoming Security Guards Jobs
The first step then, in Wyoming, to becoming an unarmed security guard is to begin applying for open jobs with security companies. Once employment with the company is obtained, the company will walk you through the necessary steps to achieve the position. The first steps after being hired are to be fingerprinted and background checked. The fees are usually paid for by the employee, not the employer, so be prepared to pay accordingly. Each security company will have its own policies in place as far as requirements for security guard training. Some security companies train their employees at their facility, some train on the field, while others send their employees to complete training elsewhere. Training often includes the basic requirements of security guard work (patrol, communication, reports, arrests, etc.).
WY Armed Guard Permits
The same is true of armed guards in Wyoming, no license is needed, however permits and proof of firearms training is required before you can physically carry a gun on your person. Again, it is best to walk through this process with the security company which you are employed by. If they deem you fit to pursue an armed guard position then you could complete the necessary training hours needed in order to acquire a firearms permit. Often with armed guards additional checks into a person’s background and character are required before they will be permitted to carry a weapon.
Featured Criminal Justice Schools
Get Your Degree!Find schools and get information on the program that’s right for you. | {
"pile_set_name": "Pile-CC"
} |
The Holy Spirit Gifts
Now these are the gifts Christ gave to the church: the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, and the pastors and teachers. Their responsibility is to equip God’s people to do His work and build up the church, the body of Christ. This will continue until we all come to such unity in our faith and knowledge of God’s Son that we will be mature in the Lord, measuring up to the full and complete standard of Christ. Then we will no longer be immature like children. We won’t be tossed and blown about by every wind of new teaching. We will not be influenced when people try to trick us with lies so clever – they sound like the truth.
I had a conversation the other day with some of the church and asked them how many prophets have you heard. They said they never even hear of a prophet. This verse was in my quiet time this morning and I thought it was interesting to see this list of gifts that God intended for building up the church and keep them away from new and false teachings. I have been told by pastors that the gifts of apostles and prophets are no longer needed, therefore, God has removed them. Even the gift and work of evangelism, is hardly talked about or encouraged in the church service today. Could this be why the ‘progressive’ doctrine has come into the church? | {
"pile_set_name": "Pile-CC"
} |
East Ukraine ceasefire to start February 15: Putin
Russian President Vladimir Putin says a ceasefire between warring Ukrainian government troops and pro-Russia forces in eastern Ukraine will take effect within the next few days.
Speaking to reporters on Thursday following marathon talks in the Belarusian capital, Minsk, the Russian leader said he, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, French President Francois Hollande and Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko have agreed on the withdrawal of heavy weapons from Ukraine’s frontlines and a ceasefire to begin from February 15.
“We have managed to agree on the main things. We have agreed on a ceasefire,” Putin said, adding that Ukrainian authorities are still unwilling to enter face-to-face negotiations with the representatives of pro-Russia forces.
Heavy arms to be pulled out
Meanwhile, Poroshenko said heavy weaponry will be pulled out of Ukraine’s conflict-ridden eastern regions in 14 days.
Minsk agreement relief for Europe
France’s president also said a ceasefire deal and a “comprehensive political solution” agreed in Belarus on Thursday provides “serious hope, even if all is not done.”
“All matters are dealt with by this document signed by the contact group” and the pro-Russians, Hollande said.
Nine killed in fresh fighting
Vladyslav Seleznyov, a spokesman for Ukraine’s General Staff, told reporters in the capital, Kiev, on Thursday that nine people have lost their lives and 35 more sustained injuries in the fresh round of fighting in the highly volatile eastern Ukraine.
“As a result of shelling and clashes two Ukrainian soldiers were killed, 21 more were wounded,” he said.
According to the City Council of Donetsk, seven people were killed and 14 wounded during fighting in the restive area.
Ukraine turmoil
The two mainly Russian-speaking regions of Donetsk and Lugansk in eastern Ukraine have been the scene of deadly clashes between pro-Russia forces and the Ukrainian army since Kiev launched military operations to silence protests there in mid-April 2014.
Violence intensified in May last year after the two flashpoint regions held local referendums in which their residents voted overwhelmingly in favor of independence from Ukraine and joining the Russian Federation.
The fighting has reportedly left 5,500 people dead, and more than 12,900 others injured. | {
"pile_set_name": "Pile-CC"
} |
Introduction to Bitbucket with Git DVCS Training
Course #:WA2694
Introduction to Bitbucket with Git DVCS Training
This one-day Bitbucket and Git training course teaches developers what Bitbucket, Git, and DVCS workflows provide in a DevOps organization. Hands-on coverage on how to use Git to manage software versioning, infrastructure as code (IaC), and configuration as code.
This Bitbucket with Git training course begins with a review of the benefits of version control in software development. We then introduce Bitbucket utilizing Git, with emphasis on DevOps, as well as, the paradigm shift required to use hosted distributed version control effectively.
This training course has 7 hands-on Git labs that are outlined at the bottom of this page. The labs cover basic Git operations as well as workflow. The labs allow you to practice the following skills: | {
"pile_set_name": "Pile-CC"
} |
News
Details
31 Jan 2017
EditShare Appoints Howard Twine to Director of Software Strategy
Basingstoke, UK – January 31, 2017 - EditShare® a technology leader in intelligent shared storage and media management solutions, today announced the appointment of Howard Twine to the role of director of software strategy. A media savvy product strategist with 20 years of experience, Howard returns to EditShare in this newly created role to drive the company’s overall solutions strategy, leveraging emerging technologies and EditShare’s open architecture philosophy to expand technology partnerships and workflow options for production and post-production facilities, broadcasters and content creators everywhere.
“It’s an exciting time for Howard to be re-joining EditShare. With the move towards more software-centric, IP-based workflows, we are facing some big changes in our industry,” states James Richings, managing director, EditShare. “Howard brings with him a vast amount of experience, and as director of software strategy, he will be a driving force in evolving EditShare software platforms and expanding technology partnerships to meet new market opportunities as well as EditShare customer needs.”
To meet the changing media landscape, Howard will expand workflow options and third-party integrations offered through EditShare’s award-winning media management solutions, including its flagship production asset management platform EditShare Flow. Howard echoes the mission saying, “We’re facing progressive times in the industry and it’s clear EditShare is prepared for these changes. I’m thrilled to help guide the journey and take our production asset management solutions and workflow tools to the next level, while building new partnerships that complement and extend our customers options.”
About Howard Twine
A well-known industry expert, Howard Twine has held key roles with leading development companies in the media and entertainment sector. Prior to his re-joining EditShare, Howard held the role of Chief Operations Officer at Vidcheck, working on the UK DPP and other critical industry initiatives across the globe. In addition to his position at Vidcheck, Howard held strategic roles at Edifis, Leitch, Pro-Bel, SGL and TransMedia Dynamics. His vast experience across broadcast and video vendors in product management and business development led to his first assignment at EditShare as a senior manager responsible for architecting company’s media asset management workflow solutions
About EditShare
EditShare is a technology leader in networked shared storage and tapeless, end-to-end workflow solutions for the post-production, TV, and film industries. Our ground-breaking products improve efficiency and workflow collaboration every step of the way. They include video capture and playout servers, high-performance central shared storage, archiving and backup software, media asset management, and Lightworks – the world’s first 3-platform (Windows/OS X/Linux) professional non-linear video editing application. | {
"pile_set_name": "Pile-CC"
} |
Britain, EU members continue talks aimed at avoiding 'Brexit'
British referendum on remaining in EU could come as soon as June
British Prime Minister David Cameron arrives at the EU council headquarters in Brussels on Friday for the second day of a European Union leaders summit addressing the talks about the so-called Brexit and the migrants crisis. (Yves Herman/Reuters)
Related Stories
British Prime Minister David Cameron pushed a summit into overtime Friday after a second day of tense talks with weary European Union leaders unwilling to fully meet his demands for a less intrusive EU.
The summit that opened Thursday is seen as a pivotal moment for the 28-nation bloc and key stepping stone to a British referendum on EU membership that could come as soon as this summer.
The EU is proud of its decades of integration among once-enemy nations across Europe but at the summit in Brussels, Cameron and other EU leaders staked out firm positions — in part to show voters back home that their interests are being defended.
"We've made some progress, but there's still no deal," Cameron said on three hours of sleep early Friday. "We're going to do some more work — and I'll do everything I can."
"Make or break summit"
The effort stretched into Friday night which several contentious issues still open.
"This is a make or break summit. No matter how long it takes," said an EU senior official, who asked not to be identified because of the sensitivity of the talks.
An EU-wide "English breakfast" meeting to address Cameron's concerns and hopefully clinch a deal was first delayed until lunch, then to late afternoon and then became an "English dinner" at an unconfirmed time.
In the meantime, Cameron met with European leaders, including EU President Donald Tusk, Italy's Matteo Renzi and Polish Prime Minister Beata Szydlo, trying to close the gap on issues including financial governance and welfare benefits.
Tusk has said he is willing to continue meetings through the weekend if necessary. Lithuanian President Dalia Grybauskaite said how long it takes to get a deal will depend on the level of "drama" each leader feels they need.
"But no matter what we do here, no matter what face-lifting or face-saving we perform here, it is up to the British people to decide," she said.
Tension over benefit payments
The draft deal offers guarantees to the nine EU countries, including Britain, that do not use the shared euro currency, that they will not be sidelined, and makes tweaks aimed at giving national parliaments more power.
Most of the tensions surround a relatively minor change: a move to suspend or restrict benefit payments made to workers from other EU countries.
Immigration is an especially sensitive point for British voters, because Britain has attracted hundreds of thousands of workers from Eastern Europe in the past decade, drawn by the prospect of higher-paying jobs. The EU immigrants can also claim child tax credits and other benefits in Britain, which Cameron's government says is straining his budget.
Cameron has proposed reducing one payment — the child benefit, given to all low- and middle-income families with children — to migrants from other EU nations for as much as 13 years. Eastern countries want to limit the change to only three or four years, according to one European official involved in the talks.
Czech Prime Minister Bohuslav Sobotka said the 13-year period "is very long, and it doesn't reflect a measure that is meant to have a temporary character."
Cameron has also run into unexpectedly firm resistance from France on financial regulation. French President Francois Hollande insisted Friday that Britain should not be given any "right of veto or blockage" and that all EU countries should have rules limiting speculation and avoiding new financial crises.
French President Francois Hollande gets into his car at the conclusion of an EU summit in Brussels on Friday. 2016. European Union leaders are holding a summit in Brussels on Thursday and Friday to hammer out a deal designed to keep Britain in the 28-nation bloc. (Geert Vanden Wijngaert/Associated Press)
The 19 EU countries that share the euro currency worry that protections for Britain and the eight other non-eurozone nations would offer unfair advantage to Britain's financial centre, the City of London.
Hollande also warned that too-generous concessions to Britain could prompt other countries to seek special rules, too.
Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel said he was pushing for the deal to include a "self-destruct" clause, so if Britain votes to leave the EU, "the issues discussed evaporate and cannot be used as a basis either for talks with the British or with others."
Despite the tensions, EU leaders ultimately want Britain, a major world economy, to stay in the bloc — a point argued Friday by Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte.
A British exit "would be bad news for the EU — but also for the U.K. It would end up as a mid-sized economy somewhere in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean," he said.
Even if Cameron wins a deal, the referendum in Britain is expected to be close and hard-fought. Opponents have said his demands of the EU are too weak.
To encourage thoughtful and respectful conversations, first and last names will appear with each submission to CBC/Radio-Canada's online communities (except in children and youth-oriented communities). Pseudonyms will no longer be permitted.
By submitting a comment, you accept that CBC has the right to reproduce and publish that comment in whole or in part, in any manner CBC chooses. Please note that CBC does not endorse the opinions expressed in comments. Comments on this story are moderated according to our Submission Guidelines. Comments are welcome while open. We reserve the right to close comments at any time.
Note: The CBC does not necessarily endorse any of the views posted. By submitting your comments, you acknowledge that CBC has the right to reproduce, broadcast and publicize those comments or any part thereof in any manner whatsoever. Please note that comments are moderated and published according to our submission guidelines. | {
"pile_set_name": "Pile-CC"
} |
Brand Info
With new styles and designs produced for each season, check out Edwin’s latest offerings for Spring/Summer 2018 with their brand new collection. Browse and shop classic denim styles including men’s stone wash and old wash as well as Edwin logo branded t-shirts and long-sleeved tops. | {
"pile_set_name": "Pile-CC"
} |
“Colin Kaepernick, as long as you kneel with us, we’re gonna be standing for you,” she said, referencing his decision to kneel during the National Anthem in protest of the police brutality against people of color.
Meanwhile, Kaepernick has continued his mission to donate $1,000,000 to various charities this year, most recently donating over $30,000 to J. Cole’s charity the Dreamville Foundation.
Cardi also addressed rumors that she and Offset, of rap trio Migos, are engaged, telling Charlamagne tha God, “I’m a woman, I think every woman wants to get married and have children. It ain’t never too early to get married now! If you want to propose to me you can.”
Meanwhile, the grammatically challenged reality TV star/rapper was assaulted by a female fan at the VMA’s Sunday night. A video has gone viral showing Cardi surrounded by security while she checks a woman tried to grab her ass.
“Why would you grab my ass?” Cardi asked the fan. The woman attempted to touch her again, but she was shoved back by one of Cardi’s muscle men. | {
"pile_set_name": "Pile-CC"
} |
The field of 2D materials have witnessed tremendous efforts of research in past several
years, transition metal dichalcogenide (TMDC) and transition metal carbides are the most famous
two families 2D material besides graphene. The vision of this project is developing
"tolerant" and sustainable method to synthesis those kinds of materials with high
quality/yield and design applications compatible with the fabrication approaches. Till
now, we have been developing atomic layer deposition, self-assembly coupled CVD, and laser
ablation methods to synthesis a series of 2D materials including TiS2, Mo3C2, Mo2C and etc.
We specify their application in energy storage and conversion including supercapacitors and
catalyst for hydrogen evolution and oxygen evolution reactions. | {
"pile_set_name": "Pile-CC"
} |
Latest Mixtape:
You may also like:
Blackberry Sour Cream Cobbler + The xx
December 3rd 2009
Facebook
Twitter
Pinterest
When The Kitchen Diaries first arrived on my doorstep from Amazon, I was really excited. But after flipping through it a few times, I found myself somewhat disappointed–I was ready to start bookmarking recipes, but I couldn’t seem to get into the book. The number of lamb and pork dishes threw me off, as I largely don’t cook either. And the coconut-milk heavy curries weren’t really my thing either. I put the book on my bookshelf, and sighed in dismay.
Yet, a few weeks later, I made myself reopen it and start to really read into it. All of a sudden, recipes were popping out at me from every page–cozy vegetables, roasted meats and indulgent-looking cakes. I couldn’t help asking myself, “what was I thinking?” The book is broken down by seasons, albeit British seasons, but still. Nigel is a popular writer in England, and he chronicles his life, day by day, through food. I have yet to read the entire book, but I’ve already bookmarked quite a few recipes (including a soup that I will be making for dinner tonight).
This cobbler instantly jumped out at me. I was at my parents’ house, and promised to take care of dessert. I took stock of the kitchen: a Costco-sized box of blackberries on the counter. I also knew that as Russians, they are never out of sour cream. I flipped through my book when my eyes fell on this rustic fruit dessert, which promised a warm, bubbly concoction perfect for a late fall evening.
The recipe that Nigel provides calls for nectarines and blackberries, but being that it was late Fall, I decided to make due with the berries (despite being out of season, they’re quite plentiful in stores). This cobbler is a delight, and not quite like any cobbler I’ve had before. The sour cream biscuit topping is just the right consistency–soft, light, plump and slightly tangy. The berries, which soak in lemon juice and sugar before baking, are also bubbly, juicy and not too sweet. Together with a generous scoop of vanilla ice cream, the combination is out of this world, and in my opinion, the perfect Fall/Winter end to a dinner party.
* Please excuse the quality of these pictures–I didn’t have a real camera with me, and this was all I managed. If you make this dessert, though, I promise you’ll forgive these pictures, as it is just plain out of this world.
1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
2. Combine the blackberries with the lemon juice, 2 tablespoons of sugar, and 1 tablespoon of flour. Pour into an baking dish.
3. Make the cobbler topping by putting 1.5 cups of flour, salt, baking powder, sugar and butter in the food processor, pulsing until the mixture resembles fresh breadcrumbs.
4. Pour the mixture into a bowl, and mix in the sour cream with your hands until you have a soft dough.
5. Break off round, walnut-sized pieces of dough and arrange them atop the fruit, flattening them slightly. Sprinkle these rounds with sugar (about a tablespoon’s worth).
6. Bake the cobbler for about 25 minutes, until the tops are golden and the fruit underneath is bubbling.
7. Serve 2-3 cobbler/biscuits atop the cooked fruit. Top with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. Eat warm.
Musical Pairings: The xx – XX + Blackberry Sour Cream Cobbler
Kasey’s blackberry cobbler is probably one of the most popular dishes she has served at a dinner party this year. It was hot, melty, sweet and positively irresistible. A good pairing for The xx. The xx are a southwest London band whose debut album, XX, happens to be one of the year’s best releases. Singer-guitarist Romy Madley Croft’s whispery, sensual vocals positively melt like ice cream across warm layers of reverb, rivers of wobbling bass tones, and slowly dissipating guitars. The result is a beautifully nuanced record that, like many of the best albums, rewards repeated listens and donning a pair of great headphones and turning the dial way up. Read the rest of the review over at Musical Pairings @ eating/sf. –Matthew
Thanks, Megan. My parents had a box from Costco, which actually wasn't too bad. I've been buying berries at my farmer's markets–Blackberries from Mexico at this time of year, but they're not too bad. Baking them def. helps, too. | {
"pile_set_name": "Pile-CC"
} |
Just two days after his 15th birthday, BJ
Correll died from the “most curable”
childhood cancer in the world. BJ fought
pre-B cell Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia
(ALL) for 3 1/2 years, but ultimately lost his
battle March 6, 2016.
A freshman at North Lincoln High School in
Denver, NC, BJ loved
fishing and sports –
especially basketball
and football. This led
him to take advantage
of every possible
opportunity to be
outdoors. His positive
attitude and courageous
spirit were inspiring,
gaining him fans from
around the globe on his
Facebook page, Cure
For BJ Round 2.
In December 2015, U.S. Navy SEAL Team 8
named him an Honorary Navy SEAL because
of his character and spirit. He was a true
warrior in his fight against cancer, and he fought to shine the light of his faith
throughout his battle.
In the early weeks of 2016, and after nearly
three months in the hospital, they received
several outside referrals to a local integrative
medicine physician. A short time later, after
90 consecutive days inpatient and exhausting
all standard treatment options, BJ was
discharged home with a transfer of care to
Kid's Path (Hospice).
Within a week of being home, BJ was able to
see the integrative medicine physician. BJ's
body was ravaged from years of
chemotherapy, a cutting-edge clinical trial
and two rounds of a new immunotherapy
treatment, but his family still had hope. The
physician cautioned that BJ’s case was
severe, but said he thought he could help.
Ultimately, BJ developed an infection and
died within the week, just 15 days after being
discharged from the hospital.
Even after BJ's death, his mother Michelle, and sister
Carly felt there was purpose behind being
directed toward an integrative medicine path.
The more they read, the more they were
convinced that standard chemotherapy is not
the only option or the final answer for cancer treatment. They believed that at a minimum, there were adjunctive methods to help the body get through the harsh treatments.
BJ was also passionate and active in his push for
the National Cancer Institute to allocate more
than 4% of its
funding to
childhood cancer
research. Six
months after BJ
died, his mother
and sister founded
The Stand Firm
Warrior
Foundation. The
name embodies
BJ's warrior stance
against pediatric
cancer as well as
his strong faith in
God's plan, regardless of circumstance or
outcome.
BJ Correll - Honorary Navy SEAL
BJ was named an Honorary Navy SEAL on December 10, 2015. A group of former SEALs came to the hospital to present BJ with a framed certificate, bestowing the honor. From that moment on, they continued to be a part of his life. The SEALs were also present at his funeral, and each one pounded a Trident into the top of BJ's wooden casket. | {
"pile_set_name": "Pile-CC"
} |
CrunchGear Told You So: Apple Patent for Multi-touch MacBook
0
Who has the hot scoops? CrunchGear has the hot scoops. Do you dare disagree? Remember our tidbit about multi-touch coming to MacBooks? Well, look what showed up at the FCC today, a patent for a “wide touchpad on a portable computer.” The patent indicates the palmrest instead of the touchpad, but the fact remains the same. We called it and now we can say, “we told you so.” | {
"pile_set_name": "Pile-CC"
} |
We recently took our first trip to Spain's Barcelona and Costa Brava. Barcelona, known for it's great food and arts scene, beautiful weather, and welcoming culture, this walk-able city seemed ready for Blue Walk exploration. We absolutely loved it. Our...
The beauty of Greece The history of the Acropolis and Athens. The magnificence of the caldera and the ruins of Akrotiri in Santorini. The extraordinary Byzantine monastery of Panaghia Hozoviotissa in Amorgos. The medieval Venetian mansions and beautiful...
You’ll want to be sure you are wearing comfortable clothing for your flight. Something you can move in. Make sure you have a bottle of water with you because you will probably get thirsty with all this moving around and it never hurts to have some baby wipes in the event that you get a little sweaty and want to clean up after your workout. | {
"pile_set_name": "Pile-CC"
} |
A new exhibition by Yves Behar explores how individuality is trickling back into design.
We’re surrounded by anonymous, mass-produced junk. So it’s no surprise that for years, forward-thinking designers have been trying to give product design an dollop of individuality and soul, whether that’s through customizable designs or high-tech craft.
advertisement
Those designers are the subject of TechnoCRAFT, the very first museum show curated by all-star designer Yves Béhar. The show opens this Saturday at San Francisco’s Yerba Buena Center for the Arts. But we’ve got a quick preview for you.
Béhar is tapping a trend that’s been going for a while now–what he calls “Design in an Age of Individuality.” But there are obviously many ways to imbue an inanimate object with a personal, emotional connection. Béhar’s exhibition proposes six: Crowdsourcing, Platforms, Blueprints, Hacks, Incompletes, and Modules.
Which sounds complicated, but let’s take a look at some examples.
“Modules” just refers to all the attempts by designers to create kits of parts, which users can adjust according to their whims. A good example is pictured up top: Clouds, designed by Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec for Kvadrat, is a system of interlocking fabric tiles, which can be joined to form dramatic walls and room dividers, or simply hung as decoration.
Hacks are probably the most obvious example, and icons of design, from Ikea to Eames, are perfect targets for hacking. Here, a hack of an iconic Eames side chair, created with baby in mind, by Andrew McCandish and friends:
advertisement
And here, a hack by Studio Proxy that conjoins two different pieces of Ikea furniture:
“Incompletes” involve objects that have to be finished in some way by the end user–the idea being to engage the user in actually creating the product. Here, a stool by 5.5 Designers which is too uncomfortable to sit on by itself. The user has to complete it by adding her own cushion:
advertisement
A similar idea by Martin Konrad Gloeckle: The Shaded Sconce is just three pegs, which are only complete as a sconce when topped by a book of your choosing:
By extension, the “Blueprints” section covers designers who simply provide you a blueprint and ask you to build the entire damn thing yourself. An example we’ve covered before: Lindsey Adelman’s custom chandeliers usually cost upwards of $10,000, but for DIY-er’s without cash, she provides a blueprint and sourcing instructions for re-creating one of her designs for less than $200:
advertisement
And finally, you could classify architect Greg Lynn’s Toy Recycling series any number of ways. But the idea was to turn a reminder of our personal childhoods into a conversation piece for grown-ups (which actually sounds a lot like sitting in a shrink’s chair, come to think of it):
That’s just a taste: There are well over two dozen designs in the show. Check it out this weekend.
About the author
Cliff is director of product innovation at Fast Company, founding editor of Co.Design, and former design editor at both Fast Company and Wired. | {
"pile_set_name": "Pile-CC"
} |
events
Argyle Streetscape Project Community Meeting
City transportation officials and Ald. Harry Osterman (48th) are holding a meeting about the Argyle Streetscape, which is being planned on Argyle Street between Broadway and Sheridan Road. The Chicago Department of Transportation will show the initial design and plan for the streetscape. | {
"pile_set_name": "Pile-CC"
} |
Bring a little Vegas flair to your next poker night or party with the Playing Card Dealer Shoe by Trademark Poker.Product #: 10-2005
MSRP: $32.99Call for Wholesale Pricing
Bring a little Vegas flair to your next poker night or party with the Playing Card Dealer Shoe by Trademark Poker. This professional quality card dealer is made of clear acrylic to be durable and prevent cheating. It can hold up to four decks of standard sized playing cards, so you and your friends can play blackjack, poker or other card games as long as you like without running out of cards. The dispenser has a weighted steel wedge to automatically feed the cards for smooth and efficient dealing and card play. Whether you’re a serious player or just looking to bring a little casino style to your next game, this dealer is sure to be a great addition to your game room.
SATISFACTION GUARANTEED- Trademark Poker is committed to providing the consumer with the absolute best price and value on all of our products, which we ensure by applying a rigorous quality control process. NOTE: This is an exclusive product of Trademark Poker and ONLY Four Deck Card Dealers by Trademark Poker are GUARANTEED to be genuine
IMPORTANT: Avoid buying counterfeit products and transacting with unauthorized sellers. Look for our logo on the packaging for every one of our products. Trademark Poker is a registered trademark protected by U.S. Trademark law and will be vigorously defended.
AUTOMATIC FEED- This card dispenser features a weighted steel wedge that applies gentle pressure to the cards. It is gravity fed to automatically feed cards out of the front for smooth and efficient play of your favorite card game.
CASINO QUALITY- The body of the blackjack shoe is made of thick clear acrylic and is the same size and style of dispensers used in casinos. The edges are rounded and smoothed to prevent chipping, prolonging the life of your dispenser and preserving the handsomeness of your game room.
FOUR DECK CAPACITY- The dealer can hold one to four decks of standard sized playing cards. Whether you’re looking to play a short game of poker, or need to entertain party guests for a few hours, you’ll always have just the right number of cards.
PROFESSIONAL AND CASUAL PLAY- Both casual and professional players will love the smooth action and compact design of this card dealer. It’s sturdy enough to stand up to daily use, while being light enough to travel easily to game nights or tournaments. | {
"pile_set_name": "Pile-CC"
} |
The Bangladesh disaster attracted a lot of public interest and media scrutiny, and the proponents of the safety pact assumed — rightly — that striking while the iron was hot would be the best chance to pressure companies to sign on to the deal. And it worked, in part: Big European retailers like H&M, Tesco and Carrefour signed up within weeks of the disaster.
But others held out, including the biggest American retailers, who expressed skepticism about the costs and practicality of implementing the deal. And now that the attention has died down, those companies have come out with their own pact: A five-year plan, backed by a $42 million fund, to set up safety standards, a factory inspection system and worker safety training in Bangladesh.
This copy is for your personal, non-commercial use only. Distribution and use of this material are governed by our Subscriber Agreement and by copyright law. For non-personal use or to order multiple copies, please contact Dow Jones Reprints at 1-800-843-0008 or visit www.djreprints.com. | {
"pile_set_name": "Pile-CC"
} |
Why I decided to give blood
Giving Blood
I am not a big fan of needles. Working up the courage to donate is hard when you don’t like needles. Let me tell you! I have wanted to donate blood for years! I think it is one of the most worthwhile causes. It doesn’t cost you anything but could potentially save up to 3 lives.
For years, I had the excuse that I couldn’t donate blood due to health implications and travel restrictions. 2016 was the first year in a long time, that I realised I was finally eligible to donate. I attempted to donate in August but couldn’t as I had traveled to Bali last June.
In January 2017, while perusing my Leonie Dawson goal books, I saw that I hadn’t checked off my goal to donate.
I booked my appointment online and took the first available appointment so I couldn’t chicken out.
When I arrived at the centre, I was taken to an interview room to ensure I was a suitable candidate, weighed and had my hemoglobin levels checked. After this, I was brought into the donation room and hooked up to the needle.
As you can see, from the picture above, the process is very simple.
A needle is inserted to withdraw blood to a weighed bag. You can only donate 470mls every 3 months. The entire process takes approx. 1 hour from start to finish. 1 hour which could change lives.
What happens after donating?
The blood donated is tested for various disease and then sent to where it is needed. Blood is then divided into red cells, platelets and plasma. Platelets are used to treat leukemia and help keep chemo patients platelets levels stable during treatment. Plasma is used to treat Cancer, blood diseases, haemophilia, anaemia, heart disease, stomach disease, kidney disease, childbirth, operations, blood loss, trauma and burns.
If you are even thinking about donating, I urge you, please do! This is such a worthy cause. You never know when you may need to rely on the goodwill of other people’s donations. | {
"pile_set_name": "Pile-CC"
} |
Mood DIY: Stella & Dot Tempest Inspired Necklace
It’s no secret that I am absolutely in love with some of the creations from the jewelry line Stella & Dot….but don’t always have it in the budget to rock every piece that I want — unless, you opt to do it yourself. So, I grabbed some metal chain, crystals, thread, and a closure from Mood Fabrics NYC; and opted to create my own version of Stella & Dot’s Tempest Necklace. Now, I must admit, my first attempt at a Statement Necklace was good….but I couldn’t figure out why it didn’t lay on my neck the way I wanted the all time. But I eventually figured out the solution — you have to perfect the formation you want from the very beginning, and that is what I did this time. Like the Tempest, my necklace can be worn two ways. Double the bang for your buck. Hope you enjoy! Do you have a favorite Stella & Dot Necklace you’ve been eyeing? Tell me below.
SUPPLIES: wire cutters, pliers, glue, chain, crystals (in black and clear), upholstery needle, closure, and yarnHOW-TO:1. Using your wire cutters, cut down 3 pieces of crystals (I used to 2 black and one clear), along with 2 pieces of chain (Note: due to the nature of them curving, one will be gradually longer than the other from the inner edge to the outer edge).
2. You want to play around with the chain and crystals visually to figure out what you want. Once you decide, lay everything out FACE DOWN in that formation exactly (Note: This step is extremely important, because once it is set, it’s set).
3. Now that you have an idea of what it’s going to look like, remove the 2 pieces of chain from the outer and inner perimeter, and begin to apply glue to the back side of just the crystals you will be working with (Note: you want glue not only on the back, but in between each chain a bit. You don’t want it to be too messy and show through the front of the necklace, but at the same time you do want them to adhere to each other). Let this sit for about an hour to dry.
4. Add back in the inner chain, and begin to add glue along the side of the chain and crystals.
5. Do the same thing for the outer chain, that you did for the inner. (Note: I used a pen cap to make the glue application in between chain and crystals, easier).
6. With my needle and thread, start binding just the 3 rows of crystals together. You will ultimately tie the whole thing together, but start here. I began on the back side and brought my needle up over top of the first row, drove needle beneath the middle row, and then went over the top of the last row — ending on the back side of the necklace. From there, I fed my thread diagonally over to the top of the next row, and began again.
7. Next step is to bind the inner chain to the row of 3 crystals you tied altogether already. Knot the thread to the first link on the chain like I did in Step #10 — as always, starting on the back side. Then drive needle from bottom over the top of the first row of black crystals, through the eye of the next adjoining chain link, back through the bottom. Repeat.
8. Repeat Step #7 for outer chain.
9. Grab one side of your clasp, you decide what will be top and which will be bottom. I used black thread for a sleeker look. Starting with chain on one end, weave needle through each opening of crystals and chain, making sure to drive the needle over the bar of the clasp, with each pass. Then tie it on the back. (Note: the picture is a visual of how the under side of the necklace looks at this point).
10. With needle attached to thread, knot one end of a very long orange string (I’d say at least 3 feet) to the first link in the chain.
11. Chain and crystals are all bound together at this point, so this threading is purely for decoration. Take this same string and drive needle over the adjoining link to the right, and directly through its middle. Right before you pull the thread taught, bring the needle back up directly between the necklace and the anchor thread (NOT BEHIND this thread –See picture).
Brandhyze Stanley is the chief voice of Frugal-nomics.com; a platform designed to share with women how to live and look fabulous on a dime. She’s also a finalist in thevoting contest for ALL YOU MAGAZINE’S Smartest Shopper. A DIY girl at heart—Brandhyze has been featured on The View, The Early Show, The Today Show, InStyle Magazine, Essence Magazine, and MTVStyle. A Wilhelmina Model for nearly a decade, with a Business Degree from Loyola University Chicago, Brandhyze is a Fashion & Style Writer and Video Contributor for Newsday Westchester, and provides DIY content to the popular How-To Site, eHow. Brandhyze is a huge thrifter and a lover of all good deals, follow her on Twitter @MyFrugalnomics and on Facebook at Facebook.com/Frugalnomics. | {
"pile_set_name": "Pile-CC"
} |
Make the Most of Taking Lecture Notes
In many of your classes, your instructor lectures on or makes a presentation about a topic, usually one that's related to the current subject you're studying. During a class lecture, your job is to listen actively and to take notes to reinforce what you've heard and jog your memory about the key points being presented.
Instead of writing down every word, listen — really listen — and put the information in perspective. What's truly important to understand and remember? What's not? Look for alerts from the lecturer, who may indicate significant information by repeating it, giving multiple examples, writing on the board, gesticulating or speaking forcefully, or giving word clues ("Two important reasons . . ." "Opposing viewpoints from . . ." "The result underscored . . .").
You may see another student furiously taking notes and think you should be too. Don't worry about what's on your neighbor's mind; just listen carefully to the lecture and trust your judgment.
Make note-taking easier with these tips:
Include the date, instructor, and title of the lecture (if available). Add the textbook chapter, part, or pages on which the lecture is based.
If the lecture is based on a reading assignment, make sure you've done the reading and have taken notes on the reading. If you understand the material from the reading assignment, you'll have a good idea of the structure of the lecture and the key points. This helps you decide what to note and what to let pass. If the instructor adds facts, concepts, or new ideas-or disagrees with the reading assignment-these are big clues that you should be paying attention and taking notes on these ideas.
If the instructor provides an overview of the lecture, structure your notes in an outline form so you can understand how the ideas relate. Indent lines, draw arrows, and use bullets to organize information. After class, review and revise your notes if the structure and organization of the lecture isn't clear.
Paraphrase the lecturer's words. Note key concepts or terms, even if you don't know what they mean. Flag them to check the meanings later. If you aren't sure of the spelling, make a note (such as, "sp?") next to the term so that you can revisit the spelling and/or meaning.
You may not be able to get all the details, but seek to capture the main ideas, and then leave blanks to fill in the detail later. For example, if the instructor is talking about the five events leading up to the Civil War, it's more important to write down the events than getting details of each one.
Record your questions (or questions you think the instructor may ask on a test based on the lecture content). | {
"pile_set_name": "Pile-CC"
} |
Rossville offers housing lots for a dollar
ROSSVILLE — For $1, the village is offering subdivided lots in hopes of spurring development in the small town, and now, a builder from the Chicago suburbs believes it's an opportunity to attract empty-nesters from the big city.
"There's no catch to it," said Richard Queen, mayor of Rossville, a town of about 1,300 people on Illinois 1 in northern Vermilion County. The village, he said, will recoup its investment through the increased property taxes on the improved lots.
Queen said the village owns about 11 lots on the north side of town that it will sell for $1, but the offer also stands for two other subdivided sites owned privately. At those sites, the village will buy the $7,000 to $9,000 lots and sell them to the buyer for a buck once construction of a house has progressed to the point that there's a roof.
Initially, buyers have 90 days to come up with construction plans and to secure financing. Once those are in place, the buyer has one year to build a house. If that doesn't happen within a year, the buyer loses his dollar and the property reverts back to the village. If construction has begun at the one-year mark, an extension can be granted, said Queen, who added that so far, the village has done this with five lots on the south side of town and no extensions were necessary.
Now, Queen is hoping for a one-buck building boom on the north side of town.
Earlier this year, home builder Will Nelson of Batavia saw an ad for the $1 lots that Rossville has been running quarterly in a real estate magazine and contacted the village to see if this was for real.
"What's the catch? That was his first question," Queen said.
After getting the details from Rossville officials, Nelson wants to market the lots to empty-nesters in the Chicago-land area. He's offering five different layouts of ranch-style, maintenance-free, single-family attached homes, meaning two connected residences per lot, ranging in size from 1,200 to 2,000 square feet. Each residence would have at least two bedrooms, two bathrooms, a full basement and a two-car attached garage.
Vermilion Advantage, the local economic development office, supports Nelson's development idea. Vermilion Advantage announced Nelson's plan in a news release Tuesday. Nelson said that when he saw Rossville's ad it intrigued him, and he doubted it was real. But since then, he has become "smitten" with Rossville as a safe, peaceful place to live with friendly people.
"Rossville is a step away from the stress that most of us are living with every day," Nelson said in the news release.
Queen said the homes Nelson would build would sell for about $150,000 and would be much more affordable than homes of the empty-nesters Nelson is targeting, and away from higher property taxes and traffic.
"We are real excited about it. We are hoping it will work. This guy has a good idea," Queen said.
Queen said the subdivision on the south side of town is not zoned for the attached homes Nelson is marketing, but the two subdivisions on the north side of town are. The homes would be served by Rossville village water, sewer and natural gas. Nelson said in the news release that the average price of the homes would be about $150,000, but the first couple of buyers could see a price closer to $135,000 to get the project up and running.
Queen said this could be a boon for the whole county, which could benefit in various ways from new residents in Rossville who won't be spending their money only in Rossville.
Vicki Haugen, president of Vermilion Advantage, said in the news release that her office is thrilled to see this dream come alive.
" We have been saying for some time now that focusing on becoming a destination for living is a key and underestimated aspect of economic development. Throughout our communities in Vermilion County, you can have a rural and relaxed atmosphere with key shopping and medical amenities no more than 10 or 15 minutes away," she said.
More Local
Comments
News-Gazette.com embraces discussion of both community and world issues. We welcome you to contribute your ideas, opinions and comments, but we ask that you avoid personal attacks, vulgarity and hate speech. We reserve the right to remove any comment at our discretion, and we will block repeat offenders' accounts. To post comments, you must first be a registered user, and your username will appear with any comment you post. Happy posting. | {
"pile_set_name": "Pile-CC"
} |
Cadbury's Dairy Milk chocolate bar goes fair trade
Cadbury sells 300 million Dairy Milk chocolate bars a year in the UK and Ireland, and buys all of its cocoa from Ghana.
Cadbury's Dairy Milk chocolate bar is going fair trade. In a massive coup for the fair trade movement, Cadbury will certify 300 million of its Cadbury Dairy Milk chocolate bars as well as its packaged cocoa, at a cost of £1.5m ($2.1 million), by the end of summer.
And what a way to show the world that consumers are still willing to pay the extra bit to support their ethical values.
Cadbury sells 300 million Dairy Milk chocolate bars a year in the UK and Ireland, and buys all of its cocoa from Ghana, which grows the best quality beans. Now 40,000 of Ghana’s 700,000 cocoa farmers will benefit from the first phase of the Cadbury venture, tripling the country’s fair trade cocoa production. Cocoa is Ghana’s biggest cash crop and second-largest export earner. So it's great for the country because it will give jobs to young people and stabilize the industry.
Cadbury's chief executive, Todd Stitzer, said he plans to convert the group's other chocolate brands to fair trade "as soon as we can do it." With prices climbing, it's a good time for cocoa buying. However, he insisted Cadbury was committed to fair trade for the long term, regardless of price changes. According to the Guardian, "Dairy Milk is the first mainstream chocolate bar to be sold with a commitment to pay cocoa suppliers the 'fair trade premium' of $150 (£105) a ton above market prices. When the bars go on sale this summer the value of fair trade chocolate sales in Britain will leap from £45m to £225m [$72 million to $360 million]. Cadbury's pledge to buy 10,000 tonnes of cocoa under fair trade terms will triple certified sales from Ghana."
One source of the Ghanian cocoa is the Kuapa Kokoo Union, a growers' co-operative. They have 40,000 registered cocoa farmers across Ghana and now sell 3 percent of their cocoa as fair trade. With those sales they have been able to implement community projects like building primary school classrooms, constructing wells, and investing in corn mills. Now that they will be able to sell more on fair trade terms, their premiums will increase and so will their community's quality of life. | {
"pile_set_name": "Pile-CC"
} |
Ok, I've been tinkering around with GoodReads and LibraryThing for a while and two of the things that I found on these sites were A) the LibraryThing early reviewer feature where you give away a certain number of books to people willing to read and review your book, and B) a Goodreads giveaway where you build interest in your books by offering a selected number of books for free that you will eventually mail out to the end users.
Now, the first thing I want to cover is the giveaways. How many of you have done this, and is there any special guidelines you would suggest? Ie, recommended number of copies to give away, length of giveaway, etc.
Also, the early reviewer feature at LibraryThing. I'm still kinda stumped on that. I guess I'm just overthinking that. But I guess it works the same as the goodreads giveaway. If that's true, that's great!
Now, another thing, what kind of blurbs or other stuff do they want when promoting your book on these giveaways, and what seems to work best. And again, yes, I know these are all dead tree giveaways, but hey, since I'm still working with dead tree books a lot, and they're my primary point of sales, I figure why not? Anyhow, any help is welcome.
I've done both the LT and GR giveaways. What they're great for is increasing awareness of your book(s). What they're not so great for is getting reviews. I've seen about a 10% review rate on the books I've given away through those two programs. You can [gently] request reviews in the description of the giveaway, but you can't make it a condition.
Reviews would be greatly appreciated = acceptable
Readers are asked to write reviews in exchange for the free copy = not acceptable
Still, they do get people to look at the cover and possibly read the description before submitting their request for the free copy. Several hundred readers doing that is well-worth the cost of sending out a book, IMO.
I've done three GR giveaways: the first two were for a single copy. The third was for 5 copies. About 700 people requested one.
I've had about the same results as KC. If you're looking to create buzz, it's a good outlet. Of the 3 giveaways I've done on GR (for 2 books, 1 book, 1 book) I had 800 - 1000+ people requesting. OTOH, if you're looking for reviews, try book bloggers and review sites instead--you'll probably have better luck at seeing a review from your efforts.
Well, I'd like to pump a little extra buzz into my books, but I also need the reviews too, so do you think it'd be a good idea to go both ways? Speaking of which, I still need to pester Simon Royle about his reviewer list. I just keep forgetting about doing it since I've been so buried in my writing lately. ^_^;;
These are my impressions from the other side of the goodreads and LT giveaways. I enter both and have received books in both.
Librarything (LT): There are actually two separate giveaway programs. Early Reviewers (ER) and Member Giveaways (MG). As an independent author you would not qualify for the ER program, but you can give your books away through the MG. You can do an ebook giveaway at LT, "but you cannot giveaway books that are freely available elsewhere". If you do list an ebook, please be sure to specify the formats available (this is often overlooked by the authors and very frustrating for the reader). In the ER program, winners are picked based on an algorithm and reviews are expected. Not leaving a review can affect a person's chances of winning future books. In the MG program, winners are picked randomly and reviews are not required. As KC mentioned you can say that a review is appreciated but you cannot make it a stipulation. LT does have a forum called Hobnob with Authors where you can ask for reviews.
Goodreads: Firsts Reads Giveaway does not allow ebooks. Any author can participate. Reviews are encouraged but not required. However, not leaving a review can affect your chances of winning books in the future. They also use an algorithm to choose the winner, but in my opinion it is not as good as the LT algo and is more random.
As a reader participant, the things that frustrate me are:
- giveaways that take too long to finish.
- descriptions filled with a lot of superfluous information or praise, blurbs, award info, etc that tells me nothing about the actual book and story.
- ebook giveaways that don't tell me what formats the book is available in and how it is distributed.
- descriptions that sound demanding and specify exactly where they want the reviews to be left
I completely agree with KC and Sandra about it being a good way to spotlight your book. Even if you don't get the reviews you want you have a lot of eyes on your book. Those that enter to win your book are obviously interested in it to some degree and many will put it on their GR or LT shelf so it ends up staying on their radar. Personally, I have discovered many new-to-me books and authors this way. I may or may not end up reading them, but if I never found them then there definitely would be no chance of reading them. I do wish GR would allow ebooks. I don't know why they don't. Overall, I think GR is more author friendly, but LT is more ebook friendly.
I think doing both is a great idea. Use the giveaway to help increase awareness and also work on getting reviews from bloggers.
You mention giveaways that take too long to end. What would you suggest to be the recommended amount of time to run a giveaway? One week? Two? I know you can go up to a month at GR, and I think the same is true at LT, but to me doing a giveaway for more than two weeks seems to do more to kill interest in your books than to actually help them.
I think you can specify any length of time that you want on GR. I've seen some run several months. On LTMG it looks like it is one month max. My personal preference is no longer than a month, but two or three weeks is better. You could always try a couple of different time frames to see what works best. I don't know if a longer time frame would necessarily kill interest in the book. The reader enters the giveaway and then just waits. It goes into a list of giveaways they have entered (on GR...I don't think LT does this for the MG giveaways) and they can check it at any time. I just don't like the longer ones because I'm impatient
From a reader's standpoint (as I am not a writer), on GR I like to see giveaways that last about 2 weeks. Sometimes I'll see ones that last 1-2 days, and that's just a bit irritating because it doesn't give me enough time to apply for it when I'm not on GR every day.
I haven't won any giveaways on GR yet, but I've seen many people state that they won't leave a review for a giveaway work if they can't give it a good review. The rest of them are probably just lazy and in it for the free book...
Well, I'm the kind of author that's bluntly honest when it comes to reviews (I learned that habit while doing tech reviews and writeups), and I'm also one who's not afraid of bad reviews. For heavens sakes, if there's something you didn't like, TELL ME. I honestly want to know. What's funny is how that seems to surprise a LOT of people. But to me it's just common sense. If something's wrong with the book/story/a character/etc, then by gosh, I want to know, because I can't improve myself as a writer if I don't know what's wrong.
The only kind of negative reviews I hate (and as far as I'm concerned they can keep them to themselves if that's how they're going to be) are the ones where people come in, say "I hated the book", and then never give a reason why, or they flat out lie about what was in the book in order to give it a bad name even though they never actually read it. Heck, I have two of those on Oort Perimeter over at GR. They claim to have read it, and give all these negatives on the book, and yet none of what they say even matches up to what's in the book. So yeah, I hate people who do those kind of things in reviews.
But in the case of the Early Reviewers program, I'm actually looking forward to getting my latest books out there and seeing what people think of them. And as I stated above, bad review or not, send it to me, I want to hear what people think about the books!
Yeah, I've got a blog on my site. And what kind of book tour are you talking about? Is it an online book tour, or a more traditional store to store one?
No, an online book tour. I have never hosted one, but have participated in a couple. Essentially, you tell your readers you will be giving away a free copy of your book in exchange for a review on their blog. You find a bunch of people to do this and then each week, one person will have that post up. | {
"pile_set_name": "Pile-CC"
} |
Got this from gardenweb.forum- I also suggest you have a look at this site under this subject because I get the feeling that they'll take over-they're were called a 'noxious weed'.
RE: Looking for info on perennial morning glories clip this post email this post what is this?
see most clipped and recent clippings
Posted by verenap 3a (My Page) on Mon, May 1, 06 at 22:12
Hunner - when you search for something like that and are getting a lot of sites coming up in other languages, try putting in what you are searching for and then add an English word related to your search. I use GOOGLE for all my searches and when I looked up 'Convolvulus cantabrica' I also got a lot of stuff in other languages. I redid the search with 'Convolvulus cantabrica' and added 'perennial' that way it took out all the pages I couldn't understand.
I found a few places that said it is hardy to zone 7-8, from southern Europe, a smaller plant 6-16" with "dainty" 1/2 - 1" blossoms, and "very nice in a rock garden". From the looks of it, you shouldn't have a problem with it taking over your yard/neighborhood/town...it doesn't look like this variety is on a quest to for global domination...at least not yet. ;-)
I have 2 places where I want to plant morning glories. One is at the foot of my mail box post. The other is in the ditch in front of my house (water does not flow through it due to past neighborhood kids tossing basketballs, etc. in there and now it's plugged up which suits me great).
My question is, how do I keep them from spreading? (Been there done that. OMG!) At the mailbox would be easy because I can plant them in a pot and only plant one or two on either side. But I can't figure out how to plant them in the ditch without them spreading all over the lawn.
If you plant the kind that grow from seeds, just pull up the seedlings that start where you don't want them. If you plant the seedless kind, forget about keeping them from spreading. Can't be done. Wish I hadn't planted that kind several years ago.
The photo shows the front half of our 12' x 60' mobile home and the hedge next to it. There are even more this year, in spite of having a whole truckload cut down and taken away each October.
I live in southeastern Ohio. Is it too late to start morning glories outside? It is going to be in the 80s today. I'm not sure how the weather works up here (I'm from Florida), so I am slowing learning. I am having to dig out clay and replace it with compost. Should I start them in the shade or plant them in full sun, in the morning sun?
I have a perennial Morning Glory that has rooted and adapted to Ohio, but is from California. The trouble is it never blooms, or rarely. It is in full sun. It has big blue flowers, and I was wondering if a chemical that is put on Hydrangeas to make them blue would help?
Answers:
Growing Morning Glories
You may just not be seeing it early enough in the mornings. Morning Glories only open up in the early morning, and they close up early again, too for the rest of the day. If that's not it, they might have adjusted to OH as far as growing, but not the blooming part yet. Try watching earlier in the mornings, and if that's not the problem, I'd check with a nursery and see what they say. (05/22/2009)
Answers:
Morning Glories can be planted in the garden from seed but you'll have much earlier blooms if you start them indoors 5 or 6 weeks ahead of planting.
The Morning Glory loves to face East as they bloom in the mornings and fade away come the hot afternoon sun. So don't plant morning glories facing the West.Although they fade away each day new ones will be there to open up in the morning.
Morning glories readily reseed themselves and keeping them all in one place is almost impossible.
The little black seeds fall all over the place once the little 'pods' on the vines dry up and open, so plant morning glories in an area by themselves so they have free reign to do what Mother Nature intended them to do.MULTIPLY!
By Sandra Hemstock
Answers:
Growing Morning Glories
Hi,Your Morning Glories are simply beautiful. Theirblue is my favorite shade of blue, and I wishI had a wall facing east so that I could make itlook like yours. It is a feast for the soul, andyou are a lucky lady.
Thank you for sharing with us.Julia in Orlando, FL (06/09/2005)
By Julia
Growing Morning Glories
Do the morning glories come back every year or do they have to be replanted?Thanks,Sandy (06/09/2005)
By sandy morris
Growing Morning Glories
They will come back every year for the rest of your life! Very invasive.Gail BeynonGlenn Dale, Marylandhttp://www.coumadincookbook.com (06/11/2005)
Growing Morning Glories
I'm going to be planting a large pot of them in my house. I want them to grow around my living room and I was wondering if they'll be able to sustain growth in my living room? (06/15/2005)
By Kyle
Growing Morning Glories
I don't know Kyle if morning glories will grow indoors or not. I've never heard of anyone doing that before.You will need to put them in an east window or have some kind of growing lamp on them in the mornings to open up the blooms.And you'll have a lot of fallen blooms to pick up off the floor every day. :-)They will be beautiful if it works for you.Send in a picture so we can see the results.
Sandra (b)(/b) (06/16/2005)
By Sandra Hemstock
Growing Morning Glories
Yes, you can grow morning glories from the seed indoors. I have been doing this for 3-4 years now. And have been very successful at it. I've given many to friends and they are so delighted to plant them in their garden. They grow and grow wild. They take over. Matter a fact my friends put their order in the spring, with me every year. And I am more than glad to please them I have grown them in 8-12 ounce cups. Either hot or cold cups. Plant the seeds at least as deep as your pinky, into the potting soil. Water them twice a day. Once in the morning between 7-9 am. then between 3-6 pm. I have been very proud of my morning glory babies. Especially when I go by my friend's house in the summer and see my babies growing wild. Well knowing in my heart that I started them form a seed. Oh! yeah they need plenty of sun they love lots of sun and plenty of water. Enough to soak the soil but not drown them. (06/16/2005)
By CouselorCounsil
Growing Morning Glories
My baby morning glories were eaten down to only a few inches above the soil. Will they grow new branches? (06/28/2005)
By Susan Titone
Growing Morning Glories
Susan I don't know if they will grow back again or not. I've never had anything eat my morning glories down to within a few inches of the soil.I'd just leave them alone and see if they will start at ground level again.I'd be interested in knowing if they do rebound and grow back.Keep us posted. (06/28/2005) | {
"pile_set_name": "Pile-CC"
} |
WWE RAW Results (4/11) – Edge’s Big Announcement!
This weeks RAW starts with Justin announce Cole as a broadcast journalist and the only undefeated Superstar in the WWE. Cole comes out to huge heat as Josh gets verbally pissy. King to his feet, but then Cole hides in his Mine, very quickly.
Cena out to the ring as King says this is the way to start RAW, not with Michael Cole! Cena says to look around! He knows we at home can hear this! What a great time to be in the WWE Universe. It’s chaos, excitement and energy, because last week an announcement was made. For the first time an announcement was made that it will take a year to digest. "Rocky" chants. A match was made for WM28. Icon versus icon, a match that clashes generation against generation. A match that will be the biggest spectacle in sports entertainment. 1/ 4/12 Cena goes face to face with the Rock! A match that can electrify a crowd like this can’t just be two competitors going face to face. It’s going to be for the WWE Championship. If it’s going to be the biggest match, it needs to be for the biggest prize. If it’s going to be for the WWE Championship to be up, then the one who fights every week has to capture it. Cena asks Miz to come out so Cena can challenge him.
Orton cuts Cena off and comes out to the ring. Orton says with all due respect, any business from WM has been settled. He can blame Rock, make as many matches for next year, but it doesn’t change the fact that Cena lost. Cena should step aside for someone who actually won his match at WM. Cena says that the way Orton’s talking –
JoMo’s music cuts Cena off. JoMo to the ring and tells them that he can see where this is going. The two of them arguing about who should be Champion. We’ve ALL seen this show before, and it’s a good show, it’s just not as good as it’s going to be with JoMo involved. EXCUSE ME! If they’re going to have this discussion, they need to involve JoMo.
EXCUSE ME!! This time she gets everyone’s attention. Vickie tells JoMo that somebody new should have a Championship opportunity. But didn’t Vickie pin JoMo a couple weeks ago? The person who should be next in line is Vickie! Okay, if it’s not her, it should be Dolph Ziggler. Dolph says he’s not on RAW to face Snooki. Look at him, he’s the most talented in the ring right now! He’s never faced Miz for the Title, so the line forms here. Once he’s champ, they can all have a chance!
R-Truth’s music hits and he comes out to the ring, gets the fans chanting ‘what’s up?’ R-Truth gives a cheap pop to the fans and they love it. He says what’s up is the gospel truth. He’s never gotten a number one Championship match on any show. It’s the truth and is ‘what’s up?’
Ding-Ding! He’s in his mine and the email is on his iPad. And I quote, "You all make compelling arguments as to who gets the next WWE Championship Match against the Miz. So to end all arguments, I’m giving you all a chance to earn that opportunity. I’ve come up with a new concept in the form of a five man gauntlet match. Two Superstars chosen at random start this match. The winner will face the next random Superstar. This continues until all five have been in the match. The man that goes the distance is number one contender and faces Miz at Extreme Rules."
– Commercial
Shadowy image rubbing a blonde doll’s hair. Then she pings the doll’s head off and laughs loudly. It was Kong, I’d know her shape and hair anywhere! | {
"pile_set_name": "Pile-CC"
} |
The Black Panther movie has been a big discussion point among Marvel fans and specifically black fans. After months of anticipation and rumors which started with Selma director Ava Duverney Marvel finally formally announced that Creed and Frutivale Station director Ryan Coogler will head their upcoming blockbuster film Black Panther. I think we all have .. | {
"pile_set_name": "Pile-CC"
} |
Analysis and use of fragment-occurrence data in similarity-based virtual screening
Abstract
Current systems for similarity-based virtual screening use similarity measures in which all the fragments in a fingerprint contribute equally to the calculation of structural similarity. This paper discusses the weighting of fragments on the basis of their frequencies of occurrence in molecules. Extensive experiments with sets of active molecules from the MDL Drug Data Report and the World of Molecular Bioactivity databases, using fingerprints encoding Tripos holograms, Pipeline Pilot ECFC_4 circular substructures and Sunset Molecular keys, demonstrate clearly that frequency-based screening is generally more effective than conventional, unweighted screening. The results suggest that standardising the raw occurrence frequencies by taking the square root of the frequencies will maximise the effectiveness of virtual screening. An upper-bound analysis shows the complex interactions that can take place between representations, weighting schemes and similarity coefficients when similarity measures are computed, and provides a rationalisation of the relative performance of the various weighting schemes.
Notes
Acknowledgments
We thank Accelrys Software Inc., Sunset Molecular Discovery LLC, Symyx Technologies Inc. and Tripos Inc. for software and data, the Royal Society and the Wolfson Foundation for laboratory support, and the Government of Malaysia for funding. | {
"pile_set_name": "Pile-CC"
} |
Transforming the Educational Experience of Young Men of Color
January 17, 2017
By Nancy Barile
This past year, I took part in a project called the Teacher Leadership Institute (TLI). TLI’s goal is for participating teachers to become leaders in the profession, developing the knowledge, skills, and core values to meet the demands of 21st-century teaching and learning.
Each teacher is required to take part in a field-based leadership project. I knew right away that I wanted my capstone to be “Transforming the Educational Experience of Young Men of Color (YMOC) at Revere High School.” I hoped to use this capstone as an opportunity to continue some work I had done with the College Board’s National Office of School Counselor Advocacy a few years ago.
The impetus for my capstone was the College Board’s 2010 report The Educational Crisis Facing Young Men of Color, which revealed that a disturbingly large number of young men of color (defined here as African-American, Hispanic/Latino, and Southeast Asian) end up unemployed, incarcerated, or dead at an early age. Furthermore, the College Board’s Tenth Annual Report to the Nation (February 2014) included the fact that young men of color are underrepresented or totally absent in Advanced Placement classrooms. As a teacher in a low-income, urban school with many young men of color as students, these facts disturbed me greatly, and I knew that the findings had profound implications for my school and my students.
The goal for my capstone project was to explore ways in which educators at my school could ensure that the YMOC at Revere High would have culturally responsive support and safety nets for advancement through elementary, middle, high school, and beyond. I also wanted to uncover ways that YMOC could experience more rigor in schools, take Advanced Placement classes, and go on to two- and four-year colleges.
One of the first steps I took was to create a survey for 100 current Revere High School YMOC, which asked a variety of questions about their experiences with Advanced Placement, honors, and pre-AP courses. I also asked students what they felt made them academically successful, what challenges they faced, and what their goals were for higher education.
The survey alerted me to three major issues. First, many YMOC felt lost in high school and were unsure how to get into Advanced Placement classes, especially if they hadn’t been tracked in pre-AP and honors classes in middle school and in their early years of high school. Secondly, YMOC did not feel like they knew how to negotiate the college admissions process. Finally, YMOC thought they would feel better supported if our school had a club for them where they could ask questions, meet role models, share experiences, and address issues that were important to them.
Using Facebook, I also surveyed about 35 former Revere High students, asking them similar questions. That survey’s results echoed many of the issues from the other student survey, and it also pointed out the importance of family and teacher support for providing motivation to succeed academically.
For my next step, I asked my school’s STEM Director if he could provide a list of students who were designated as having “AP Potential” – a College Board tool which analyzes PSAT/NMSQT and state test scores to identify students likely to succeed on AP exams. When I received the list, I highlighted every YMOC and sent each of those students a letter inviting them to meet with me.
I was pleasantly surprised that nearly every single student who received a letter complied. During our meeting, I explained the meaning of AP Potential, and I asked students if they were currently enrolled or planning to enroll in AP classes. While some of the students were, quite a few were not. I explained the process, and after our conversations, many YMOC decided to enroll in an AP course or courses.
My capstone helped me to recognize the need to create culturally responsive support, safety nets, interventions, and recommendations to assist in the educational success of young men of color. As a result, I’ve worked to create partnerships with organizations like “Let’s Get Ready,” a free SAT prep course for low-income students, and “Year Up,” a career training program, to augment support and create pathways for YMOC.
I also started and secured funding for our school’s “Culture Club,” a club that brings our diverse student population together in order to share culture, improve student achievement, perform community service, create liaisons with higher education institutions and local businesses, and empower students by helping them to be connected to and feel ownership of their school. I specifically target YMOC for this club, and it has been very successful in helping students obtain information and gain the cultural capital necessary to help them succeed after high school.
I am also Advisor to the Future Teachers Club, which encourages students from diverse backgrounds to think seriously about the teaching profession and to develop the strong leadership traits that are found in high-quality educators. Once again, I look for young men of color to accept these positions, and these students have proven to be exceptional at connecting with and serving as wonderful role models for middle school youth.
The TLI experience has encouraged and supported my growth as an educator and as a teacher-leader. I did face challenges, however, including how to create an effective survey. If I were to create the YMOC surveys now, I would structure them much differently, including providing places for additional feedback. And while I believe that my capstone resulted in an increased number of YMOC taking AP classes at my school, I regret not keeping track of the data to let me know that exact number.
I am hoping to have the opportunity to share my findings with other educators in my high school so that we can work as a team to support the young men of color in our school. I truly won’t know how successful this project is until several years from now, but I am confident that it has already helped our students – and it will continue to do so as more teachers and counselors become educated on the issues facing young men of color today.
About the Author
Nancy Barile (@nancybarile), a National Board Certified Teacher, has taught English language arts at Revere High School in Revere, Massachusetts, for 20 years. She advises the Culture Club and Future Teachers Club and is an adjunct professor at Emmanuel College. A blogger for the Center for Teaching Quality, Nancy won the Kennedy Center/Stephen Sondheim Inspirational Teacher Award in 2013 and was one of the Top 50 Finalists for the Varkey Global Teacher Prize. | {
"pile_set_name": "Pile-CC"
} |
Eye on Emmy: How The Following Led Kevin Bacon to a Killer TV Debut, as a Flawed Hero
He has traveled to the moon, survived Alcatraz, put a few good men on trial and, yes, once almost got arrested for dancing. But in the course of more than 35 years of acting, one of the few things Kevin Bacon never explored was a series regular TV role – until Fox’s The Following invited him to hunt down a clever killer. Now, his turn as troubled FBI consultant Ryan Hardy could cop him his first Emmy nomination since the HBO miniseries Taking Chance.
TVLINE | What exactly was it that led you to your first series regular TV role?
You have to keep in mind that it was a different world when I started out, there was real dividing line between being a television actor and being a film actor. And I loved the stage, too. But when [wife] Kyra [Sedgwick] got offered The Closer, it started to open up a new world to me, second hand. I saw the satisfaction that she was getting, peeling back layers week after week. Simultaneously I was catching up on a lot of TV — The Sopranos, The Wire, Dexter…. The second I made the call, “OK, I’m interested in looking at television,” I was reading all of this great stuff. I simultaneously started developing [projects at Showtime and HBO], and after a few years of that, The Following came along.
TVLINE | Did the fact that The Following uses flashbacks appeal to you, as a way to flesh out Ryan Hardy?
Certainly. You meet the guy and he’s obviously a mess. He’s drinking too much, he seems angry and cut off from people, and you’re not sure what got him to this place. One way to explore that mystery is I sit down and tell the story of my life, but I don’t believe that Ryan Hardy would do that. If you don’t have a character that’s willing to open up, flashbacks can be incredible useful.
TVLINE | Having inhabited a variety of roles over your career, what’s the challenge in playing a hero versus the colorful bad guy?
I’ll speak just to this character: It has to be small. It has to have subtlety. It has to be a lot about what’s not said and what’s not shown, and you have to trust that people will come to him without him saying, “Please love me.” But if I’m playing someone who is more of a villain, I’m going to try and find what the humanity is — maybe it’s a sense of humor, a charm or a swagger, or a sexuality, so it’s not just, “He’s so bad.” Conversely with a heroic character, I want us to find out, “What’s damaged about him? How does he f–k up?” With The Following, we talked a lot about how I don’t want him to be infallible — “Here he goes again, kicking ass and taking no names.”
TVLINE | But do you wrestle with that, when the narrative demands that the FBI bungle something, again?
I don’t, because I don’t see Ryan as really part of the FBI. He was an agent, but he left under questionable circumstances, because he goes by his own rules and makes mistakes. It’s the moments where he breaks away and takes risks that I think are very interesting and true to who he is. You have to have a character that screws up but obviously, ultimately has some wins.
TVLINE | He can’t be Jack Bauer.
Right. Early on, Fox talked to me about this in comparison to 24, but they did say there’d be a lot of differences between the characters.
TVLINE | Would you have considered playing the villain here?
The movies for whatever reasons have offered me the opportunities to play villains — I had X-Men: First Class in the can and R.I.P.D. was about to be shot when I read The Following — but I thought that if I go onto television I should do some version of heroic. But this guy is definitely flawed, and [series creator] Kevin [Williamson] and I spoke a lot about keeping that piece of it alive.
TVLINE | They kind of dialed back Ryan’s nipping at the vodka….
It’s interesting that you say that. I added it a couple of times, and for whatever reasons they’ve opted to not show it. There probably are alcoholics who would dispute this as a possibility, but it feels to me like he’s a guy who is a “self-medicator,” and it goes in sort of waves.
TVLINE | Talk about preparing for a scene with James Purefoy versus Natalie Zea.
I don’t think my preparation changes much. The thing about both of them is that they are incredibly smart, generous actors who come in ready to go, with their sleeves rolled up and just no bulls–t. I don’t know if it’s a function of Kevin Williamson or what, but I can’t think of a person on this cast that I felt anything other than excited to be working with, and everyone felt thrilled to be on the show — even the people that come in just for an episode and then they die! One of the tragedies of our situation is the fact that people come and go with a lot of frequency.
TVLINE | If Claire winds up dying, how might that affect Ryan in Season 2?
My discussions with Kevin have been in very broad strokes… but what I really respond to, that he’s brought up to me, is the idea that when you next see Ryan, he’s in a very different place in his life. There’s the idea that we may jump ahead in time, so maybe we’ll have the opportunity to find a kind of “more together” guy.
TVLINE | What would it mean to win an Emmy — and with such complicated, dark material — in your first foray into series regular television?
I have already gotten so much pleasure from playing this part and interacting with the people that have enjoyed the show. But even a nomination would be the icing on the cake, the lox on the bagel, the olive in the martini.
This story first appeared in the pages of TVLine’s print sibling Awards|Line. The specialty Awards|Line editions canvass various facets of the Emmy and motion pictures awards season including deep coverage, analysis and interviews with the leading contenders and industry players.
I’m sorry, no offense, but as much as i like Kevin Bacon, NO ONE deserves any award nomination recognition for this show. There is nothing about the show, the writing or the acting that would qualify as being awards worthy especially an Emmy.
AGREE 100%. I think he’s a good actor, but this role required nothing of him except to act cranky. I just don’t think it’s that hard to act that kind of a part. And there were SO many other incredible performances.
agree. first few episodes were great than it gradually started falling apart bit by bit. by the end it was laughable. although the acting between kevin and james weren’t the issue it was mainly the writing.
Amen! All this Emmy talk is insane. Sure I watch and enjoy the show, but it’s not exactly breaking any barriers or anything. And with all the amazing actors on TV these days, I find it almost insulting that The Following could be nominated for anything. All of the actors are solid, but what about all the actors out there that single handedly carry their shows? Of course I wouldn’t be surprised if he got a nomination as it’s pretty obvious Hollywood is incredibly political.
Totally agreed. There’s nothing remotely clever about this show, nor does it challenge anyone to show off his/her acting chops. The only reason I endured the whole season is because I’m a huge fan of Kevin Bacon.
Thanks for your sane comment K. This show is an insult to anyone with a moderate IQ. The most disappointing show I have seen, love Kevin Bacon, but here he and everyone around him are terrible.Bad scripts, insipt absurd plots and no likable characters.It just shows the mediocre state of the broadcast networks, that this dumb show was renewed.
The only likable characters on The Following were Jacob and Paul, and they were both killed off. Kevin Bacon and James Purefoy were not the reasons I was tuning in, and the writing was incredibly infuriating. The FBI agents were all idiots and the cult group had every single advantage handed to them; it felt completely unrealistic.
I agree with ;Bass Drum’… James Purefoy as Joe Carroll was brilliant and yes, definitely made this show what it is….the number 1 TV Drama! He definitely deserves a nomination for best Supporting Actor & his superb performance. Most people may know him from his portrayal as Marc Antony in the HBO Rome series. He is one outstanding actor!
I think this show, Kevin Bacon and many of the actors deserve to at least be nominated, and win. This show was excellent and I can’t wait for season 2. I don’t know what to expect but I do know in Kevin Williamson I trust | {
"pile_set_name": "Pile-CC"
} |
Does this sound like a normal pregnancy
Hiya I've recently had my first cycle of ivf and it was successful
I will be five weeks this coming Thursday,
I had 2 6 day blasts transferred,
Well the problem is I've been getting pains that I'm not sure are normal, I've felt like I'm coming on but I know that's normal, but on my left side above my ovary I've been getting some twinges, like stabbing pains, and sometimes when I sit or move my leg I am more aware of it like there's something there,
I've also been getting shoulder aches at the same time, I've been to the dr but wasn't much helpful but booked me in for a scan this comin Saturday,
I had a slight bit of pink spotting on the tissue last week, and I've had very bad heartburn,
Sometimes the pain feels like it could be wind and when I try and pass it, it hurts in the spot,
I am taking progestione pesseries twice a day,
Also when I googled my symptoms it came up ectopic symptoms,
But I had 2 of these and had both tubes removed,
I'm very worried x
In the very early stages of pregnancy the hormones affect you digestion and one of the first things a lot of people notice is that they become constipated, bloated and suffer from pains in their stomach. I remember having a similar kind of pain over my hipbone which I was convinced was an ectopic. My GP told me to avoid fatty foods (she actually said "lay off the junk!") and to drink plenty of fluid as it was just my digestion playing up.
Bad heartburn sounds like a good sign to me, get some Gaviscon liquid to help.
These aches, pains and twinges are VERY common, very worrying and very often just your body adapting to pregnancy.
I had all sorts of aches and pains especially stabbing pain in the left and right hand side. The cyclogest really mucks up your digestion ad well so might be that. As others have said it sounds pretty normal but hopefully your scan will put your mind at rest - good luck!
Hi guys thank you, for your reply, it's just so stressful not knowing what's going on, and I want this Baby so bad im just waiting for something to go wrong, as it doesn't feel real that it's worked,
I'm looking toward to my scan and hopefully that will put my mind at rest
X
Also to add I got teriible shoulder pain combined with pain in left hand side above hip bone which was due to wind! So awful I cried one day, so I know shoulder pain is classic ectopic symptom but can also be digestion related. | {
"pile_set_name": "Pile-CC"
} |
Osprey program could face congressional delay
A U.S. senator from Wisconsin wants to ground the MV-22 Osprey
program for a year until "potentially serious" flaws in the
experimental tilt-rotor military transport can be addressed by
contractors and the Marine Corps.
Sen. Russell Feingold, a Democrat, proposed the "Osprey Safety,
Performance and Reliability Act of 2001" to the Senate on
Wednesday.
The measure was referred to the Senate Appropriations Committee
and to the Senate Budget Committee, a decision that will open up
the controversial aviation program to the scrutiny of Congress'
budget decision-makers, instead of the Senate Armed Services
Committee.
Marine Corps officials have said they are counting on buying the
MV-22 Osprey to replace their fleet of aging CH-46E and CH-53D
medium-lift helicopters. At least seven squadrons could be based on
the West Coast, possibly at Camp Pendleton Marine Corps Base or
Miramar Marine Corps Air Station.
But the $40 billion program has been hit with strong opposition
following two crashes last year, including one that killed 14 Camp
Pendleton-based Marines and one serviceman from Miramar.
Last month, allegations of doctored maintenance records at the
Osprey training squadron in North Carolina prompted service
officials to order an investigation by the inspector general.
"We cannot, in good conscience, move forward with the full-scale
procurement of the MV-22 until these allegations have been
investigated fully and until these questions have been answered,"
Feingold said in a statement on the Senate floor. "We should not
move forward with the procurement of this aircraft until further
testing has been done to address potentially serious design flaws
that could continue to endanger the lives of our military
personnel."
The latest Osprey crash occurred about the time when Marine and
Navy officials expected to receive an OK from the Department of
Defense to begin so-called "full-rate" production of the
experimental troop transport that takes off and lands like a
helicopter but which flies like a turbo-prop.
The investigative report into the crash hasn't been released
yet, a Marine spokesman said Thursday.
Capt. Pete Mitchell, a Marine Corps spokesman at the Pentagon,
said officials wouldn't comment on the Feingold bill or any pending
legislation.
"Our No. 1 concern always has been the safety and welfare of our
Marines," Mitchell said. "The Marine Corps will await the results
of the (blue ribbon) review panel and ongoing investigations before
we decide how to proceed."
The Osprey is being developed and built by Boeing Co., based in
Ridley Park, Pa., and Bell Helicopter Textron of Fort Worth, Texas.
The tilt-rotor team and congressional supporters have touted the
program's national reach, since parts of the aircraft are being
manufactured in some 40 states.
The Air Force has been testing the special operations variant of
the Osprey, the CV-22, at Edwards Air Force Base northeast of Los
Angeles. The Air Force plans to buy 50 CV-22s.
Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., a member of the appropriations
committee and a new member of its defense appropriations panel,
said through an aide that she began reviewing the proposed
legislation Thursday. | {
"pile_set_name": "Pile-CC"
} |
Brilliant Reflective promotes reflective strips for safety
Minnesota-based Brilliant Reflective said it is donating 500,000 packs of its reflective strips, worth $5 apiece, for clothing and gear to schools, clubs and event organizers to make it easier to be seen in the dark. | {
"pile_set_name": "Pile-CC"
} |
Subsets and Splits
No community queries yet
The top public SQL queries from the community will appear here once available.