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Archive for the 'Uncategorized' Category
Look Mom, I'm TUMBLRING!
OK, so apparently I'm behind on all the newest and latest and greatest and coolest social media stuffs. But a while ago I did get tumblr. My tumblr OMGCEOs exhibits photographs of CEOs describing the size/shape/width/roundness/flatness etc. of their penis. Basically it's hilarious and fun. Also my first entry was a KW former CEO that […]
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Canada Eh? Contest
Ok lovely folks. Contest time. Just for Laughs is coming to the Center in the Square on Nov 6. If you like to laugh you should go. Now Capital One is sponsoring this tour and giving one of you lucky people a chance to win an awesome prize pack. It includes a bunch of Just […]
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reThink Waterloo 2012
reThink Waterloo 2012 offers an engaging full-day environmental conference that will inspire and explore new business opportunities for corporate leaders in the Region of Waterloo and surrounding area. This conference aims to highlight the knowledge and experience of leading professionals who haveembedded sustainability into their organization or have helped other businesses to improve theirfootprint. Through the experiences […]
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Around the Web
Friday links: Because you need something to do while counting down the minutes until the WEEKEND is here. A new demolition of a old building for heritage lovers to protest: Now that the debate on the demolition of the two tiny run down buildings which were a part of the Tannery District has died down, […]
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An update on my life
Most people who read this don't know me personally (I actually don't know who most of you are), but I like to believe that in some small way you still care. I'm alive, but questioning the point of blogging, as life seems an inordinate amount of stressful, annoying and in a few ways fantastically exciting. […]
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Tags: Food, life
Rumors and heresy are now confirmed. David Johnston has been named Canada's new Governor General. Today I'm proud to be a UW alumnus. Unfortunately UW and the Waterloo community will be losing a great leader.
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Tags: Canada, David Johnston, University of Waterloo
This is how summer should be
If you are reading this, you need to go outside right now and enjoy this weather! RIGHT NOW! No time to lose. There's an awesome amount of relaxing, playing, running around, chilling in the shade, people/fish/goose/squirrel watching going on at Victoria Park. Come join in. Yes, I am blogging from under a tree in Victoria […]
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There are many family and travel photos to see, feel free to browse, but remember all the pictures are copyright.
However if you would like a copy of the original glass plate/negative/positive or slide, then please contact me with the link above, no harm in asking!
A lot of the pictures don't have a description as yet but over time and with more information I'll update as and when, thanks for your patience.
All of the pictures above are from to the left, the Kidd Family archive & to the right, from the travels of Bernard Temple Cadoux in the Levant.
More of these can be viewed on the Kidd & Cadoux Family pages.
Or just click here for Old Photos
All the certificates on the download page are free to copy for personal use only, all I ask is some information/pictures or copies of certificates in return, failing that you could make a donation on that page.
Since originally starting on this trip about 40 years ago, I've added to my web pages quite a lot, However I've also found an increasing need to add extra bits in their own categories, certainly since I aquired a step family some years ago. So now please find relevant families, ie, Kidds, Strides, Cadouxs and de Hochepieds on their own webpages now.
There are lots of family pictures and some history to see, certainly on the Cadoux and de Hochepieds pages, however all of the Stride and Cadoux family pictures will be password protected for viewing by family members only I'm afraid.
As a service to others, I can also undertake searches, photograph people and places or even video if required all at a rate sufficient to cover my expenses. So please contact me with your request.

subset: commoncrawl


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text: the only things I can think of is writing a script that opens a jpeg and trying that or maybe trying 1.1.6 instead of 1.1.7. I personally don't use the pilconvert script, that might be the problem On 9/24/2010 7:44 AM, David wrote: > On 9/8/2010 6:04 PM, Edward Cannon wrote: >> That seems weird. I have win7 and python 2.6 and do not have any >> problems. Maybe a clean install will help. >> Edward Cannon >> Unicorn School >> >> >> >> On Sep 8, 2010, at 1:08 PM, David <lists at theflorys.org> wrote: >> >>> I sent this to the list a week ago with no result. 2nd try. >>> >>> I am running Python 2.6 on a new Win7 machine. I have installed PIL >>> from the PIL-1.1.7.win32-py2.6.exe binary. I am trying to resize a >>> jpg. I get the IOError message "decoder jpeg not available" when I >>> call the save() method: >>> >>> im = Image.open(infile) >>> im = im.resize(newsize,Image.ANTIALIAS) >>> im.save(outfile, "JPEG", quality=90) >>> >>> I have scanned a year of back messages on this list without seeing any >>> relevant advice. I have used PIL with the same code on other Win32 >>> machines without problems. Since it is a prebuild binary, the jpeg >>> decoder should be present. >>> >>> Help or advice would be appreciated. >>> >>> David Flory >>> _______________________________________________ >>> Image-SIG maillist - Image-SIG at python.org >>> http://mail.python.org/mailman/listinfo/image-sig >> > I just did a clean install of PIL 1.1.7 from the Win32 binary. I still > get an error message when I run pyconvert. Here is my command: > > C:\Users\David\Pictures\test>pilconvert test.jpg test.png > cannot convert image (<type 'exceptions.IOError'>:decoder jpeg not > available) > > What file contains the "decoder jpeg" and how might I find it? > > David


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Security alert after Pathankot cabbie found dead; suspects caught on CCTV
Tribune News Service
Chandigarh/Jammu, January 22
Even as there is no trace of a Pathankot-bound taxi (HP 01D 2440) hired from Gaggal in Kangra district eight days ago, the body of the driver, Vijay Kumar, has been found in Kangra. The photos of the three suspects, caught on CCTV cameras at Gaggal Chowk, are with the police and security personnel.
The Delhi Police sounded an alert on the missing taxi this morning and released the photos of suspects to the media. It may be recalled that taxi driver Ikaagar Singh was found murdered hours before the Pathankot air base attack earlier this month.
Security in Punjab and Chandigarh has been further beefed up in view of French President Francois Hollande's visit to Chandigarh on Sunday.
Murdered taxi driver Vijay Kumar belonged to Gurdaspur but was residing in Gaggal near Kangra with his maternal uncle, who also runs a taxi.
RK Bakshi, Pathankot SSP, said the three suspects spoke in Punjabi. They had hired the taxi in Pathankot, as had been confirmed by the taxi union. No police check post had any record about the stolen car, the officer said.
Sapna, wife of the deceased driver, told the police that she called up her husband several times on January 14 but there was no response. The next day, Vijay's maternal uncle, Vipin Kumar, approached the Gaggal police. A search was launched and Vijay's body found was near Kotla bridge on the Kangra-Pathankot road on January 20.
A security alert has also been sounded across Jammu and Kashmir. Agencies have sealed the state's border with Himachal Pradesh at Lakhanpur and more personnel have been deployed to guard the newly constructed cable-stayed bridge on Ranjeet Sagar Lake.
In Kathua, the police have put up additional check posts along the highway. "Security was already tight in the border areas in view of the Republic Day celebrations, but the taxi hijack in Pathankot has heightened the alert. We have sealed all routes leading to Jammu and Kashmir," said Senior Superintendent of Police Neeva Jain.
Mallika Sarabhai unhappy with PM
Ahmedabad, January 22
Danseuse Mallika Sarabhai today hit out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi for failing to pay tributes to her mother Mrinalini on her death, saying this showed his "hate" mentality.
The classical dancer-turned-activist, who had fought 2009 LS elections against veteran BJP leader LK Advani from Gandhinagar as an Independent but lost, vented her ire on Modi.
"My dear Prime Minister. You hate my politics and I hate yours. That has nothing to do with what Mrinalini Sarabhai did to promote the culture of this country, to the world over 60 years," Mallika wrote on her Facebook post.
"She blazed a trailer for our culture in the world. That her death sees no word from you shows your mentality. How ever much you hate me, as our Prime Minister it behove you to recognise her contribution. You have not. Shame on you." she said in the post. — PTI
Forces taking no chances for R-Day
Intel inputs of fidayeen threat I Patrolling intensified at vulnerable stretches
Tribune News Service
Jammu/ Srinagar, January 22
In the wake of intelligence inputs of possible attacks by Pakistani militants, the Army, Air Force and paramilitary forces have fortified their formations across Jammu and Kashmir ahead of Republic Day.
Security has also been beefed up on the 198-km-long international border and Jammu-Pathankot national highway.
A terror alert has been sounded across the Jammu region after the murder of a taxi driver at Kangra in Himachal Pradesh by three unidentified men, who escaped with the taxi. Additional nakas were laid on the Jammu-Punjab border and on the Dunera side of Basohli Bridge in Kathua district.
"The CRPF this morning took control of border routes leading to garrison town of Samba. They have also set up random checkposts. The arrangement will remain in place till the Republic Day celebrations are over," said an official source.
In Samba, which has a brigade, the Army has intensified foot patrols while the BSF has laid ambushes at vulnerable stretches on the border. Samba, a major garrison town on the Jammu-Pathankot highway, has always remained on the terror radar of Pakistani militants and has been attacked in the past.
"Samba garrison being in proximity of Indo-Pak International Border always runs the risk of getting attacked and post-Pathankot attack Samba Brigade is taking no chances. We have revisited our Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) that cannot be divulged," an Army officer said. Intelligence inputs of possible fidayeen attacks and Peshwar varsity-like attacks has prompted security forces to go for a "near watertight" security grid.
"All Army installations and units dotting the Jammu-Pathankot highway have been virtually declared out of bounds for civilians till Republic Day is over," said an Army source.
Consequently, the barricading has been strengthened at cantonments on the highway with additional concertina wires, he added.
"We have also put up optimum deterrents in and around our cantonments because deterrents enable us to foil terror attacks. Our patrolling is on, ambushes are in place and CCTV surveillance has been enhanced," he said.
South of Jammu, the Army has asked its men to remain extra alert as there could be any mischief, including attacks by Pakistan's Border Action Teams (BATs), an amalgam of Lashkar militants and Pakistani Army regulars.
Security has also been heightened to unprecedented levels within and around the IAF Station in Jammu.
In the summer capital of J&K too, the security forces are on their toes to ensure a peaceful Republic Day.
This afternoon, security personnel in Kashmir went into a tizzy after an input that a suspected vehicle entered Srinagar from south Kashmir. A high alert was sounded and security men stepped up checking of vehicles across Srinagar, where security agencies have already tightened the security ahead of the Republic Day function.
To avert any untoward incident, the J&K Police and the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) have stepped up round-the-clock patrolling in the city to keep an eye on the situation.
In Kashmir, the main R-Day celebrations will be held at the Bakshi Stadium in Srinagar and the Police and CRPF have already started sanitising the areas around the stadium.
A police officer associated with the security around the Bakshi stadium said they had carried out many search operations around the stadium. "Various nakas have been placed on the roads leading to the stadium to ensure a peaceful R-Day," said the officer. He said a thick three-tier security cover would be thrown around the stadium in the coming days.
J&K Director General of Police K Rajendra Kumar had already asked for the security review of venues for the R-Day functions across the region. "The security of venues for the functions at different places needs to be reviewed by all agencies concerned and synergy should be ensured to make the celebrations more secure and successful," Kumar had said during a security review meeting.
Not only in Srinagar but reports from various districts of North and South Kashmir said the security have also been enhanced around the venues and important installations.
IS threatens to expand war in Kashmir
Tribune News Service
Jammu, January 22
The Islamic State (IS) has threatened to expand its war against India and 'reconquer Kashmir for Muslims from 'the cow-worshipping Hindus'.
In an interview published in the 13th issue of 'Dabiq' allegedly given by Hafiz Saeed Khan, the emir of Khorasan (Pak-Afghan area), the IS propaganda magazine has labelled the Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) as an apostate and claimed that 'specific arrangements have been made to expand the caliphate in the region'.
The Khorasan region historically extends from the present day Iran to Afghanistan, Pakistan, Turkmenistan and China.
"It (Kashmir) had once been under the authority of Muslims along with the regions surrounding it. Afterwards, the secularist…the cow-worshiping Hindus and atheist Chinese conquered other nearby regions, as is the case in parts of Kashmir and Turkistan," Saeed has reportedly said in the interview to the magazine.
The news item referring to the interview has been carried out by several media outlets in India. This is the second time that the IS faction in the Af-Pak region has threatened to expand war in Kashmir and India.
A few months ago, the group targeted the Pakistan army over exploiting various Islamic organisations on the issue of Kashmir for their personal interests.
Though security agencies have so far ruled out any serious threat in Kashmir from the Islamic State, youths have been seen displaying the IS flags during protests in the Kashmir valley, worrying the security agencies and the state police.
Security agencies also see this as an open threat and a challenge to the LeT and the Hizbul Mujahideen, operating in Kashmir and carrying out attacks against civilian and military targets since the eruption of insurgency in 1990.
It could also fuel a sectarian conflict in Jammu and Kashmir as the IS follows an anti-Shia, Salafist ideology and has killed Shias and other ethnic groups in Syria and Iraq.
Govt tweaks policy: Defence forces can't use jammers - See more at:
THE GOVERNMENT has tweaked its policy to bar Defence forces from buying electronic jammers as per the new "jammer policy" issued by the Cabinet secretariat on Thursday.
The policy, revised after the last one was issued in July 2015, leaves out Defence forces from the list of institutions allowed to procure or use jammers with prior approval of the Secretary (Security) of the Cabinet Secretariat.
The list includes such bodies as state police forces, jail authorities and central agencies like IB and RAW.
Everything is same in the two versions of the policy — the 2015 one and the one issued Thursday — except the mention of Defence forces, settling a long debated question on whether the Army can use them in India.
The decision to keep Defence forces out of the list of authorised agencies is seen as a fallout of the Army's now-defunct Technical Support Division (TSD) having procured jammers in the past.
- See more at:
The TSD was set up during the tenure of the former Army chief (now Union minister) General V K Singh. The jammers imported by the TSD for evaluation purpose could not be accounted for after the government decided to close the unit.
"Jammers can be procured only by states' police department and jail authorities, and central government security agencies like RAW and IB," says the new policy issued by Cabinet Secretariat.
Private firms, schools and colleges cannot use jammers. In fact, inviting open bid tenders for jammers is also illegal.
Governed through the Cabinet Secretariat, the policy seeks to control the use of jammers – which render mobile, wireless communication ineffective by blocking, jamming or interfering with the frequencies – for a variety of reasons.
PSUs ECIL and BEL are the only authorised manufacturers of jammers allowed to be used in India.
All other kinds of jammers are illegal. The jammers are evaluated for use by the SPG and the IB, as per this policy.
Among other use, public examination conducting bodies deploy jammers to safeguard exams against cheating by use of wireless communication.
"The statutory examination conducting bodies are allowed to deploy low powered jammers to prevent cheating during examinations. They would be given permission only to take it on lease basis and would therefore have to pay only for using jammers on the specific date of examination," the policy says.
- See more at:
How Indian Army is helping Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra with Rifleman Jaswant Singh's biopic
Producer Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra is pulling all stops to make sure every research on Rifleman Jaswant Singh is in place before starting the shoot.
- See more at:
Rifleman Jaswant Singh is a story of a 22-year-old Indian army braveheart never told before on celluloid. Producer Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra, director Sanjay Khanduri and writer Kamlesh Pandey are pulling all stops to make sure every research on the subject is in place before starting the shoot on their ambitious patriotic project.
Kamlesh, who is developing the script, revealed to IndianExpress.com that Indian Army has been offering them all the required assistance in understanding the life, times and bravado of Rifleman Jaswant Singh. "Jaswant Singh is revered by our army. Such is the respect for this martyr and his bravado that a temple has been constructed and devotees offer their prayers regularly. The army has helped us in meeting his colleagues who were part of the 1962 Indo-China war. We also met the family members of soldier Gopal Singh Gosain who was Jaswant Singh's colleague and it is in Gopal Singh's lap that Jaswant breathed his last. We were not able to meet Gopal himself as he passed away recently but we have his video interviews which will be useful for us."
Kamlesh says the story of Jaswant Singh will inspire one and all. "This is not just a patriotic story. It is a story of human endurance as well. Jaswant Singh and his colleagues fought battles wearing canvas PT shoes. All they had as food and rations were just rice and salt which too exhausted soon. For weapons, all they had was the old .303 rifle belonging to the World War 1 era. Enduring such vagaries, Jaswant Singh and his colleagues fought the Chinese without clinching," said Kamlesh.
- See more at:


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Today I was tested in more ways than one. It's tough pushing your body to it's physical limit every day, especially while trying to keep a smile on your face during the rough parts. I feel like I'm forced to be so many things, but I can't be emotional when something doesn't go right in my sport or at practice. It's been a rough season so far. I've been battling through injuries and struggling with my mind telling me to rest of take some time off while I feel like I don't deserve it. Things that I would have never craved in the past are becoming more appealing, and things that I had previously fallen in love with and cherished for years can no longer seem to keep me inspired.
Video Player


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Hello! We are VERY pleased to announce that we are officially moving the status of our new short, Human Too to "In Production". We're scheduling shooting dates with our actors, putting the finishing touches to props and cosutumes and preparing storyboards for our shots! Today we're pleased to unveil the logo for our film which has been created, alongside some branding for props, by Kieran McClung.
Synopsis: In the near future humanity, recovering from a great calamity, has found a dark new pasttime – the ZZone. As a pair of ZZone operators prepare to guide a group of contestants around the arena, a mysterious stranger infiltrates the facility with her own personal agenda that could put the lives of everyone inside at risk…
Human Too is written, directed and produced by Andrew Beeken based on a feature film script called "High Score" by Daryl Smith who is also producing.
Keep your eyes out for more updates including production


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Friday, December 28, 2012
Green Shoe
One of my new ACEOs, or as I like to call them, my "tinies". The shoe is from my imagination. I wish it were real! Ink and watercolor.
Thursday, December 27, 2012
Illustration Friday: "Glow"
For this illustration my idea was to show a little something...without really showing anything! It's done in pen and ink and is small, ACEO size 2.5" x 3.5". I've been thinking a lot about ACEOs lately and I'm very interested in doing a collection of them to sell. This is the first time I've drawn directly on a trimmed card-sized paper. Usually I've drawn on a larger size and cut it down. This worked just as well I think but I might feel differently when I try one right to the edges with color!
Wednesday, December 19, 2012
Illustration Friday: "Snow"
Tuesday, December 11, 2012
Illustration Friday: "Explore"
There's no need to rough it in order to explore!
I love Valentino's haute couture. Click here to see the dress I chose to draw. I used Pentel brush pen and watercolor on Arches watercolor paper.
Saturday, December 8, 2012
Another 1920s girl sketch
Actually it could be argued that the title of this post is wrong since there are two girls in the sketch. But the one on the right was the first attempt and didn't look right so....she doesn't count in the title. I could have Photoshopped her out but I think she's kind of interesting lurking there!
Thursday, December 6, 2012
Heart to Heart
I used to draw angels all the time when I was young because drawing the wings was so much fun. I don't know why I stopped....I guess perhaps I've been drawing wings on birds instead. But I also love drawingfairies! So these little angelfairies are a bit of both. Plus they have great hair! I call this illustration "Heart to Heart". It's ink and watercolor.
"Heart to Heart" is available as a print and more in my shop here.
Tuesday, December 4, 2012
1920s Girl, WIP
Lately I've been sketching lots of girls from the 1920s. I think maybe
it's because of the dramatic eyes and lips, and the cute, wavy hairstyles!
This is from my sketchbook.
Monday, December 3, 2012
"Sometimes" is today!
The title of this illustration is "Sometimes", but this morning was so frustrating that I should rename it "Today"! I was online trying to set up a new place to show my work. Needless to say, it wasn't working. So I scrapped the whole idea. AARGH!
"Sometimes" is available as a print, pillow, t-shirt and more here.
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)


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New York, NY, April 4, 2012 … A poem written by a well-known German novelist and Nobel laureate draws "an outrageous moral equivalence" between Israel and Iran, the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) said today. The poem, "What Must Be Said" by Günter Grass, criticized the state of Israel, claiming it – and not Iran -- is the country endangering world peace.
The poem was published Wednesday in one of Germany's largest daily newspapers, Süddeutsche Zeitung, and several other European newspapers. In the poem, Grass expresses his long suppressed disdain for Israel and suggests Israel will attack Iran with an atomic weapon.
Abraham H. Foxman, ADL National Director, issued the following statement:
The scorn unleashed by Gunter Grass against Israel in his poem is shocking. By turning the Iranian nuclear threat on its head and drawing an outrageous moral equivalence between Iran and Israel, Grass reveals his deep-seated disdain for Israel.
The cumulative effect of these distorted views, together with his long-hidden record of belonging to the Waffen-SS during World War II, confirms Grass' anti-Israel bias and indeed suggests he harbors some anti-Semitic beliefs.
This poem shows Grass to be someone who is ignorant about or willfully disregarding the true nature of the Iranian nuclear threat, willing to cast Israel as an irresponsible aggressor against Iran and blaming accusations of anti-Semitism as the reason there has been a lack of criticism of Israel. Grass appears convinced that Israel is the wrongdoer at a time when most responsible countries and people are calling on Iran to abandon its nuclear weapons ambitions.


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This yummy cookie recipe came from my friend Eliza. The frosting is wonderful.
- 1 stick butter, softened (1/2 cup)
- 1 1/2 cups sugar
- 1 egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- 3 1/4 cups flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Cream butter (softened) and sugar together. Add egg, vanilla and sour cream. Only blend until cream. Do NOT over-mix or cookies will be hard.
Add baking soda, flour and salt.
Roll dough 1/4 to 1/2 inch thickness on waxed paper. Coat rolling pin with flour. (I use powdered sugar for sugar cookies). Dough may be sticky.
Cut cookies with cutter or Pam spray lid if you don't have cutter. Place cookies on greased cookie sheet. Bake for 7 minutes for a soft cookie. Bake 8-9 minutes for a crunchy cookie.
Delicious Sugar Cookie Frosting: (Half this recipe for the cookie recipe above).
- 1 8-oz package softened cream cheese
- 1/2 stick butter
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 3 1/2 cups powdered sugar
Cream butter, vanilla and cream cheese with a beater. Add powdered sugar slowly. Mix until smooth and creamy. If dry, add 1 teaspoon milk. Add food coloring as desired.


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FCC Backs Cox in Tiering Dispute
Washington -- The Federal Communications Commission
dismissed a complaint last week against Cox Communications Inc. alleging that the operator
illegally tied the purchase of expanded basic to the purchase of premium and other
The complaint, filed by three Cox subscribers in San Diego,
was dismissed because the FCC found that Cox is complying with the so-called tier
buy-through prohibition in the 351,500-subscriber franchise area where the three
subscribers live.
FCC rules prohibit cable operators from requiring basic
subscribers to buy expanded basic as a prerequisite to the purchase of premium and
pay-per-view programming.
Until 2002, the prohibition does not apply to cable
operators that can't comply due to technological limitations.
Although the complaint asked the FCC to investigate Cox
systems serving 850,000 California subscribers, the commission said the three subscribers
did not have legal standing to seek an investigation in franchise areas other than their


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I'm the Practice Manager at The Bingley Physiotherapy Practice, which means I arrange everyone's appointments and generally make sure everything runs efficiently. I work closely with Jacqui, Katie, and Matthew to continually improve our services and develop the business for our customers.
I'm also a qualified personal trainer and a rowing coach at Bradford Grammar School, which I love. Giving people the opportunity to participate in this minority sport, and helping people to identify and then achieve their goals, whether specifically for rowing or for wider health and wellbeing, is what I enjoy most about the job.
Seeing athletes and clients I have coached and trained achieve their goals, or win a race, is very rewarding!
In my sporting life
I've been a member of the Bradford Amateur Rowing Club for 20 years, and have been privileged to hold a number of positions on the committee including Captain and Development Manager.
Cycling is another great hobby – Jacqui and I enjoy a regular weekly bike ride out in the beautiful Yorkshire countryside. We've completed the Great Yorkshire Bike Ride and cycled coast to coast from St. Bees to Tynemouth over three days, and we're always on the lookout for a new challenge!
I also enjoy hill-walking, and am proud to say I've walked the memorable and beautiful Pennine Way.
Some of my qualifications
I'm an avid learner! These are just a selection of my skills and qualifications:
- BSc (Jt Hons) Mathematics with Business Management & Administration
- UKCC (UK Coaching Certificate) Level 3 Certificate in Coaching Rowing
- UKCC Level 2 Certificate in Coaching Strength and Conditioning
- Premier Training & Development Fitness Trainer Award
- Good Practice & Child Protection
- How to Coach Disabled People in Sport
- Fitness & Training
- Equity in your Coaching
- FUNdamentals of Movement
- Long Term Athlete Development
- Sport England Running Sport Courses


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Express men on winning streak
Basketball team wins 13th in a row
March 5, 2018
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The Owens Express men's basketball team won their 13th consecutive home game against Clark State Eagles with a final blowout score of 108-72.
Coached by Dennis Springs in his second year, the Express finished out the regular season at 20-7 overall, 14-2 in the OCCAC (Ohio Community College Athletic Conference). The last time the Express, had a winning streak this long was during the 2005 season, which they have a chance to tie at 14 next Friday, March 9, at the District 11 Tournament at Ohio Christian University in Circleville, Ohio.
Fun fact: Six of the 11 players are from Toledo!
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Hello, I am Amanda Aylwin. I am originally from Boston, MA. I am currently working in the capacity of Reporter, Photographer, and Sports Editor for the...


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Class of 2012 Jumps Into Job Market
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Grads Find Skills in Demand
Scott Conway, who earned a bachelor's degree in political science, is working on the advance team for Mitt Romney's presidential campaign. He served as a panelist at the UMass Lowell-Boston Herald Democratic U.S. Senate candidate debate.
By Jill Gambon
From the presidential campaign trail to the halls of Fortune 500 companies; from the labs of a teaching hospital to the clean room of a leading medical device maker, members of UMass Lowell's class of 2012 are finding themselves in-demand by employers.
Many of the 2,069 men and women who received bachelor's degrees on May 26 have landed their coveted first post-college professional jobs. Some graduates had offers on the table even before final exams.
Tips for Landing a Job
Get professional experience through internships, co-op jobs and service-learning.
Build a strong network of professional contacts through professors, employers, student groups and professional organizations.
Get résumé and interview help through the Career Services and Cooperative Education Center.
Volunteer while job searching to expand professional contacts and demonstrate skills to potential employers.
"I feel very fortunate. This is a great opportunity," says Angela Pasquarello, who earned a bachelor's degree in accounting and corporate finance from the
Manning School of Business
and got a job with Fidelity Life Insurance Co. in Boston.
Pasquarello started the position in early May but took time off for finals. She felt well-prepared for the job thanks to an accounting internship with a different division of Fidelity, combined with her coursework and extracurricular activities like the student-managed investment fund.
Job Market Looking Up
The class of 2012 is benefitting from a regional economy that is shaking off the lingering effects of the recession. The state's unemployment rate fell to 6.3 percent in April, the lowest in more than three years, and significantly better than the national rate of 8.1 percent. On campus, signs of a healthier job market were evident at the spring career fair, where 125 employers participated, up from about 70 two years ago. During this past academic year, the total number of employers participating in UMass Lowell career fairs jumped by 40 percent.
Since early May, Scott Conway, who earned a bachelor's degree in political science from the
College of Fine Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences
, has been traveling around the country with the Romney for President campaign. As a member of the advance team, Conway works seven days a week helping to pull together events. He scopes out sites for fundraisers and speeches, works with the Secret Service and interacts with reporters.
Already a veteran of several Massachusetts political contests, Conway is thriving on the adrenaline-fueled pace of the campaign. He likes planning events that can draw hundreds of people and be seen by millions on network television.
"I enjoy taking ownership of an event. It's something you have to have an eye for. You look at an empty room and figure out where the podium should go and where the crowd will be," says Conway, who hopes to run for office someday.
Francis Muthini, who earned a bachelor's degree in clinical laboratory sciences from the
School of Health and Environment
, is looking forward to starting a job in the hematology lab at Boston Medical Center, the primary teaching affiliate for Boston University School of Medicine. Muthini wanted the challenge of working at a large, academic medical center.
"The training in the classes coupled with the clinical rotations gives you the confidence to feel like you are ready to work," says Muthini, who had placements at Cambridge Hospital and Holy Family Hospital in Methuen as an undergraduate.
Like Muthini, plastics engineering graduate Matthew Burke had a specific career goal in mind as he considered his employment prospects. "I really wanted to work in research and development for a medical device company because they do cutting-edge innovation," says Burke, who accepted a position as a process engineer at Advanced Polymers in Salem, N.H. He'll be working in the clean room of the firm's balloon catheter division and returning to the
Francis College of Engineering
part-time in the fall to pursue a master's degree.
Some members of the class of 2012 are hoping entry-level gigs will be a springboard to permanent positions. Sound recording technology major Thomas Beemer got a highly competitive internship at Avatar Studios in New York City, where such performers as Bruce Springsteen, U2, Lady Gaga and Pat Metheny record. As an intern, he'll be taking lunch orders and counting microphones, but he hopes the work will lead to bigger things.
"It's nothing glamorous, but you have to show you can follow directions and pay attention to details," he says.
Parlaying an internship into a permanent position was how civil engineering graduate Melinda Ferullo landed full-time work at Watermark Environmental in Lowell. After interning at the company last summer, Ferullo got an offer for a full-time position in February. She is now working on groundwater monitoring projects.
"I love it. I am still learning every day," she says.
Using Campus Resources
While their courses of studies and their interests vary widely, the graduates who found jobs cite common strategies in preparing for the workforce: Practical experience, extracurricular activities, networking with alumni and other professionals and getting help from the University's
Career Services and Cooperative Education Center
Muthini says Career Services staff provided useful feedback on his résumé and helped him prep for his interviews at Boston Medical Center.
"They gave me tips on typical questions and gave me suggestions about how to appear confident," he says. "Being prepared for an interview shows you are someone who is ready to work."
Students looking for jobs can still get help from Career Services. In-person counseling as well as online resources like
, a recruitment program, and
, a platform for practicing video interviews, are available to graduates even after they leave campus, says Assistant Dean of Career Development Patricia Yates. In fact, in recent years, the number of alumni using Career Services has steadily grown, she says. Graduates can also join the
UMass Lowell alumni network on LinkedIn
, where jobs are often posted and through which mentoring is available.
Graduates should also consider volunteer work to learn new skills and expand their contacts while they are looking for a permanent job, Yates advises.
"Employers hire people; they don't hire a piece of paper. You need to network," she says.
Quick Links
Request Information
Check Application Status


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courierNet originated because we had a vision for a courier company that would offer its clients an excellent pro-active service, a uniformed professional image, fair and transparent pricing and utilise cutting-edge technology to help us to achieve this, while maintaining a profitable growth.
But we see ourselves as more than just a courier company delivering letters and parcels every day!
We also deliver excitement, hopes and dreams because every day we connect the dots scattered across London and the UK... we unite people!
Your deliveries are too important to trust to companies that promise you the world but deliver peanuts. Our management team has over 35 years of combined experience in this industry and that makes us different. We don't see you as just another account, we see you as a partner.
We promise to continue our commitment to improvements and make every effort to enhance our service offering, to ensure we can always deliver the best in service to all our customers
At courierNet, we take pride in what we do because we live in London and our reputation in this great city is important to us.


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Kids Home > Daycare
If you are a working parent, you may need to consider daycare for your infant. Although this may be a daunting and overwhelming task, there are several things you can consider to help you along the way. For instance, some of the broad factors to consider include safety, personal attention for your child, interactions with other children, cost, and location. It is important to start the daycare search early, as it may take some time to find one that fits your desires and situation.
What You Need to Know About DaycareMany parents work outside the home and need to create a daycare plan for their little ones. If you are one of those parents and are researching the available daycare options in your area, there are a number of factors that you should consider.
The broad factors that will guide your search may include:
- Safety
- Personal attention for your child
- Interactions with other children
- Cost
- Location.
And remember that it can take time to find the best option for your infant. So, start the search process early. Many women begin looking for daycare options during pregnancy. This is because infant options can definitely be limited within the community.
Researching Daycare Centers Versus Daycare ProvidersOne of the questions that parents will ask themselves is, "Do I want to have my infant with a daycare provider or in a daycare center?"
If you are researching daycare centers, here are a few questions to get you started:
- Are they licensed? If so, by whom?
- What are the daycare center's days and hours of operation?
- What are the costs involved? Are there additional fees?
- Where are they located in relation to my home and workplace?
- What are the staff qualifications?
- What is the staff-to-child ratio?
- Do the younger and older children play together?
- Are there individual cribs for each infant?
- What hiring methods are used by the daycare centers? Do they require references, background checks, etc.?
- Are the daycare centers clean and safe? Are toys sanitized daily?
- What kind of activities and learning opportunities are offered? What are the discipline methods used by the daycare providers?
- Of the daycare centers available to you, are they accepting new children? In your child's age group?
- Is toilet training a requirement?
(Click Daycare Providers for a list of questions to ask individuals you may be considering for daycare.)


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Morey, Czuee and Mookherjee, Sushmita and Rajasekaran, Ganesan and Bansal, Manju (2011) DNA Free Energy-Based Promoter Prediction and Comparative Analysis of Arabidopsis and Rice Genomes. In: Plant Physiology, 156 (3). pp. 1300-1315.
DNA_free.pdf - Published Version
Restricted to Registered users only
Download (6MB) | Request a copy
The cis-regulatory regions on DNA serve as binding sites for proteins such as transcription factors and RNA polymerase. The combinatorial interaction of these proteins plays a crucial role in transcription initiation, which is an important point of control in the regulation of gene expression. We present here an analysis of the performance of an in silico method for predicting cis-regulatory regions in the plant genomes of Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) and rice (Oryza sativa) on the basis of free energy of DNA melting. For protein-coding genes, we achieve recall and precision of 96% and 42% for Arabidopsis and 97% and 31% for rice, respectively. For noncoding RNA genes, the program gives recall and precision of 94% and 75% for Arabidopsis and 95% and 90% for rice, respectively. Moreover, 96% of the false-positive predictions were located in noncoding regions of primary transcripts, out of which 20% were found in the first intron alone, indicating possible regulatory roles. The predictions for orthologous genes from the two genomes showed a good correlation with respect to prediction scores and promoter organization. Comparison of our results with an existing program for promoter prediction in plant genomes indicates that our method shows improved prediction capability.
|Item Type:
|Journal Article
|Additional Information:
|Copyright of this article belongs to American Society of Plant Biologists.
|Division of Biological Sciences > Molecular Biophysics Unit
|Depositing User:
|Id for Latest eprints
|Date Deposited:
|18 Jul 2011 08:37
|Last Modified:
|18 Jul 2011 08:37
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2017-2018 Midget Banquet / Volunteer appreciation
Our annual Midget Banquet / Volunteer Appreciation night was held Thursday May 3 at the Lexington Hotel.
9 Players were awarded $1000 bursaries:
Alexander Barry, Mathieu Dokis-Dupuis, Tyler Maki, Jackson McLean, Joel Mongeon, Calvin Patterson, Declan Rusgnak, Alex Vendette and Liam Williamson.
Joel Mongeon was awarded the Top Scholar award which provides him with an additional $250.
Calvin Patterson was awarded with the Tony DeMarco Bursary of $500 which goes to a Houseleague player that is a good citizen and able to keep his/her marks up as well.
The Gerry McCrory Manager of the Year was awarded to Dana Campeau of the Major Atom AA Wolves
The Mike Heaphy Coach of the Year was awarded to Eric Navarro of the Major Atom AA Wolves
Congratulations to everyone!
Photos can be viewed at Facebook.com/sudburyminorhockey


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I am sorry but I dont understand your problem properly. My 0.9.1 has some problems with permissions, or it is solved after update, or?Dr DBW wrote:I have to get around to upgrading to the latest version you have posted, but with 0.8 there are problems with people other than administrators being able to edit or delete ads. Even if the permissions have been set correctly to allow them to do those actions, unless they are an administrator they cannot do anything. Something a bit weird going on there.
doneDr DBW wrote:Handling of images the same as the default for the forms, current if the image is large it overlaps the text box and goes out the side of the browser box. On the forums a large image is simple cut off. Much neater.
doneDr DBW wrote:Bulk pruning of ads. Currently have to removed each and everyone one individually. Two options here, tick boxes on the ads list page in the ACP, or enter a date range and remove all of those between those dates.
doneDr DBW wrote:Ability to change the number of ads listed in the ACP on each page.
doneDr DBW wrote:Separate list in the ACP for current and expired ads
doneDr DBW wrote:Another thing that I have just thought of, the ability to classify the ads into types. On our implimentation of this MOD, we use the following as a prefix for each ad, would be good if this was set up through a drop down menu / separate category set up.
- WTB: (wanted to buy)
- FS: (for sale)
- FT: (for trade)
- FS/FT: (for sale or trade)
- EOI: (expressions of interest), or
doneemerald wrote:I would like to have 2 areas for finished items: 1 for sold stuff and 1 for expired stuff.
the first one should be a "non-editable items" area, perhaps with the possibility of pruning
doneheredia21 wrote:How can make it to where you need atleast 100 posts to post ads.
doneFNolan wrote:I edited mine to remove the need for a price, make it optional in your version. On my site people post things they sell on PODs, they don't need to put a price in, a potential customer will go to the main POD site for more info and to order.
doneFNolan wrote:On the main page where items are listed, make the thumbnail a link to the classified not just the text link.
doneFNolan wrote:Add a AddThis button automatically to any ad so if someone wants they can share the classified via their favorite networking site
I don't understandDr DBW wrote:Location, which ads can be sorted / searched by. This was in the phpCA for phpBB2, was great. Not the location field of a users profile, but a separate category which people can select and list by.
not so important yetDr DBW wrote:Logging of ad deletion etc in the ACP moderators log.
maybe in futureDr DBW wrote:Limitation on how many active ads a user can have at a time, or number of ads that can be posted within a given time frame.
I cant imagine this properly but I probably like itDr DBW wrote:The paypal / fee component that with 0.8.0 you had to pay for to get, really wanted this but I showed up when the developer disappeared, so had not chance of getting it. Main part of this that is of interest is people paying a small fee for being able to post ads, including possibility of some groups being excluded (they don't need to have credits to be able to post an ad) or being allocated a given number of free credits (select the group then state increase all of their credits by a given number, above and beyond what it is currently).
I am not interested in this oneDr DBW wrote:Bit more of an out there one, coupling of this MOD with Gallery, so that you can upload your images to that MOD while adding your ad and use them in your ad.
I am sorry but I probably cant do this, I dont know howDr DBW wrote:RSS feed
I have not done this yet, but I plan it for the futureaurora876 wrote: i would like the possibility to "report this ad"
I am not interested in this onekeith10456 wrote:It would be great to have an integration with Ultimate Points Mod.
in futureemerald wrote: perhaps it would also be nice to have a - only for mods and admins viewable - category for items which caused trouble...
in future7emper5i wrote:Then it would be a "nice to have", if it is possible, that there are 2 userlevels for adding ads.
Some Boards have supporters, which support with money or by making special deals for the stuff, they are dealing with.
To give them the oportunity, to advertise with their special offers, it would be usefull, if these usergroups
would get a separate userlevel.
Thanks a million!!!Kamahl19 wrote:yes, there are update instructions
I am not sure what do you mean by this. You want a function to list only WTB or only for sale ads? I will add it to the next version.purusam wrote:Instead of labeling the ads with WTB: (Wanted To Buy)
FS: (for sale)
FT (for trade)
FS / FT (for sale or trade)
EOI (Expressions of interest), or
you can have headlines that you click on and then the only adds example Fs shows up for sale


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GENOCIDE. Part-Two.
January 8, 2015
From Egyptian Pharoah to Adolf Hitler there has been a series of deliberate systematic genocides, were Yehudim have been selected out of communities for murder. The Babylonians, Romans, Crusaders and the Spanish Inquisition did it, they picked on us as their number one target.
Proverbs 10:12, Eccleisiates 3:1-11, Lamentations 5:5.
The Goyim have always found and excuse, but the reality is that it is Satan at work, trying to stop the plan of Elohim and His deliverance of Ha'Olam through the works of Yeshua on the stake. Today mass murder continues man has not changed, history has only taught us that all these thinds will come around again and again until the final day of the end.
Romans 8:35, Galatians 6:12, Colossians 1:20, 2:14, 2 Timothy 3:12, Hebrews 12:2.


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We will practice the same blind exercise as the previous article, but we will move down the ADP rankings to the beginning of round 12 in a 15-team league. At pick #180, we can find value and even possible keeper solutions while other owners concentrate on filling empty roster spots.
2016 Fantasy Baseball OF Rankings
2016 Fantasy Baseball OF Rankings
We will look at three OF's today to find the best possible value at the beginning of the twelfth round. Owners are drafting Player A at #179 overall, but owners may want to be aware of his total AB's in 2016, which could end up near 440-450. Even with the limited AB's, he provides good value and a possible keeper target in deeper leagues. He made contact 77% of the time last year, and he walked 9% of the time. He hit 9 homers in 194 PA's while batting .270. He performed well against RHP with an .872 OPS, but LHP limited his OPS to .481 vL, but the limited 14 AB's against LHP capped his chance to improve. Player A dominated 83% of the 12 weeks he was in the majors for H2H owners, and Steamer projects him to hit 19 HR's in 2016, especially if he can take advantage of his home park increasing LHB HR by 24%. In points-leagues, player A is more 11% valuable as a #3 OF, but he only loses 3% as a #2 OF in deeper leagues. In Roto leagues, he should provide $19-20 worth of value if he can hit .270 with 20 HR's, but daily and weekly owners should plan to platoon him when his team faces LHP.
Player B slides in right behind player A at #180, but keeper league owners will draft him earlier for his power potential, especially since his home park increases LHB HR by 15%. His low contact rate, 65% last year, should concern us, which led to a .210 BA in 2015, but his 16% bb% provides some encouragement for growth. Player B dominated 41% of the weeks for H2H owners, but H2H owners are hoping for 50% or more in 2016 if he can hit 25 HR's and raise his batting average. He showed similar skills against LHP and RHP when he batted .216 with a home run in every 21 AB's against LHP and .209 with a HR in every 18 AB's against RHP. While player B hit an equal amount of HR's on the road and at home last year, his .234 BA on the road trumped his .181 home BA. Those owners that like player B will point to a .262 BABIP last year, but pessimistic owners will note his 28% first-half hr/f that aided his 20 first-half HR's. Idealistic owners will hope for player B to raise his line drive rate from 16% in 2015, but points-league owners will wait to draft player B because he costs us -21.6% of value as a #3 OF.
Player C provides similar power to player A and player B, and NFBC owners are drafting him at pick #184. Unfortunately, player C only owns a 66% contact rate, and a 25% second-half hr/f helped his second-half power numbers surge. His high BABIP, .365 in 2015, screams regression, which the Steamer BA projections parallel by projecting a 2016 .249 BA, down from .276 last year. Unlike the home park advantage that the first two players have for power, player C's home park depresses RHB HR by 10%, but player C overcame that statistic by hitting 10 HR's at home last year versus 7 HR's on the road. Points-league owners can draft player C, and his 500 AB's, as a #3 OF, which will provide 2% more value than the average #3 OF. By dominating 55% of his 2015 weeks, some H2H owners will want to move him up their boards. His ability to own a .819 OPS vLHP and a .907 OPS will help roto owners feel safe with a $18 price tag, but we should all hope that player C raises his 6% bb% this year.
Quick Recap
For the risk-averse owners, player C will provide the most AB's in 2016, but players A and B have more upside for keeper league owners. All three players should hit 20 HR's or more, and player A should hit for the highest BA. While all three options have some risk, each one offers us some upside in 2016.
Which OF Would You Rather Have? Part 1
Which SS Would You Rather Have?
Which SP Would You Rather Have?
Which SS Would You Rather Have?
Which SP Would You Rather Have?
Which player would you prefer in 2016?
Player A - .260, 19 HR's, 66 RBI's, and 3 SB's
Player B - .228, 24 HR's, 66 RBI's, and 10 SB's
Player C - .249, 20 HR's, 70 RBI's, and 6 SB's


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Serious about recycling.
B&Q trials recycled paint
Published: 18 March, 2011
WEST SUSSEX: Newlife is supplying B&Q with a white emulsion paint to be trialled under the retailer's Home Eco brand.
The label runs across several product types to give consumers a 'greener' alternative. The new paints are being trialled in four stores with further roll-out anticipated as the project develops.
The paint is manufactured from waste emulsion and sold in containers that contain 25% post-industrial content. This is said to be about the maximum possible recycled content for this type of container.
Newlife Paints, founded in 2008, collects waste emulsion paint and re-manufactures it to produce commercial grade paint.


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Add a contemporary leather and labradorite beaded necklace to your collection to cross seasons and to complement many necklines. Beautiful dark larvikite, a very dark labradorite with blues, blacks and greys plus flashes of color, is graduated beads 12mm, 8mm and 6mm. Oxidized sterling spacers peek from between each bead. The graduated gemstone focal is connected to oxidized sterling chain and the clasp, which is a hand formed sterling hook. Total length of this focal is about 8.5". Black leather with slip knots lets you wear this beauty from 24" to 36"long--so versatile!--even as you open and close it with a hook and eye IN THE FRONT.
Sweet little details include oxidized sterling silver "accu-guard" terminators at the ends of the flexible cable where it connects to the chain (protects from wear), oxidized sterling crimp covers that blend with the sterling beads that bracket the gemstone beads, and a small perforated metal bead finished in a gunmetal gray to add a touch of texture.
Perfect for casual wear and since it's dark and neutral, it will be a go-to piece for lots of outfits. Easy to adjust, and with the hook in front, so easy to put on and take off, too. Coordinated drop earrings are also available featuring oxidized sterling and larger Lakravite beads.
A limited edition and each necklace is made to order, so it is possible to make some adjustments to leather lengths and to substitute a different color of leather for black. I can change the metal parts from oxidized sterling to bright sterling silver. Please contact me directly if you're interested in any of these custom changes and a custom listing will be developed for you.
Comes in my signature box, ready to gift or to enjoy.
Find more original necklaces here https://www.etsy.com/shop/WillOaksStudio?section_id=7593416 and here https://www.etsy.com/shop/WillOaksStudio?section_id=7631294 and lots of other fresh, original items here https://www.etsy.com/shop/WillOaksStudio
Thanks for stopping by!
Etsy direct checkout offers a range of secure payment methods. I reserve the right to cancel your order if payment arrangements are not made within 24 hours of your purchase and I will not ship your order until payment has cleared. Illinois shipping addresses will have local sales tax automatically added to their invoices.
Cancellations are possible within 24 hours or less by contacting me through my shop. Layaway and payment plans can be arranged by contacting me. Special orders are accepted with a minimum of 1/2 deposit when placing the order & the balance is due prior to mailing
I ship USPS first class parcel, with delivery confirmation to your address as entered on Etsy during check-out. Postage upgrades to Priority mail are can be added to most orders. USPS tracking codes are sent to you at the time your order is shipped so that you may track the shipment. These are useful in the event an order is waylaid, etc. Please contact me if there is any delivery problem and we'll work with the post office to solve the problem.
If your Etsy address and your PayPal address are different, I will default to your Etsy address. I'm happy to ship gifts from my studio for you. Simply enter the recipient's address when checking out, and add a "note to seller" with your note for the complimentary greeting card I'm happy to include.
Some of my pieces are ready to ship and bespoke pieces are made to order, which can include custom adjustments to sizes or other features, if you contact me to make these arrangements. I will give an estimate on shipping time and will try to keep you updated if there are changes in time needed to create your order. I'll contact you with tracking details and shipping information when your order is on the way.
International orders are shipped via US Mail First Class parcel with customs tickets attached and marked as "merchandise" with the value declared, any duties or taxes are handled by the country of destination & are collected from the shopper. I'm not responsible for delays in shipping or due to customs clearing. Please drop me a note if you have any questions or concerns about shipping.
Just contact me within: 7 days of delivery
Ship items back to me within: 14 days of delivery
But please contact me if you have any problems with your order.
Because of the nature of these items, unless they arrive damaged or defective, I can't accept returns for:
I want you to be thrilled with my pieces and will exchange or refund items returned within 14 days of receipt provided they are in their original, unworn condition. Contact me within 7 days of receipt to confirm return procedure. Returns may require a 3.5% restocking fee and the refund does not include shipping charges. Custom work and bespoke orders are generally not returnable. Please photograph any shipping damages so I can file insurance claim forms.
Thanks again for visiting and for your interest in my work!!
Karen Stahlecker
WillOaks Studio
Woodstock, Illinois
Every piece ordered is sent in my signature packaging-velvet bag or box-with a satin tie & glass bead to embellish. A complimentary gift card-including your personal message-can be included (add info in notes to seller) & I can ship gifts directly to your loved one-use their name & address in "ship to" information.
Please contact me directly for information on wholesale or consignment orders and information at willoaksstudio (at) aol.com
Dec 5, 2017
Beautiful necklace! This artisan creates unique jewelry!


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New Hammer Films CEO Simon Oakes recently sat down to chat about the rebirth of classic Horror House Hammer Films with a few online sites. Oakes talked Hammer's upcoming slate: Let Me In, the remake of critically acclaimed Let the Right One In; The Resident, with a star studded cast including Christopher Lee, Jeffrey Dean Morgan and Hillary Swanks; and Lady In Black based on the classic English novel of the same name. Highlights include discussing what American audiences can expect from Let Me In versus Let the Right One In, why Hammer WON'T be making films that glorify torture, and what the return of Christopher Lee to Hammer (in The Resident) means to Oakes personally. For fans of the genre who long to see it return to what it once was, Oakes offers exciting news, views, and insights into the future of Hammer. It's a fantastic extended interview that's definitely worth a read.
To read the full transcript of the interview hit the link.
Question: Did you feel like the public at large is not familiar with Let the Right One In, and that's why it needed to be remade in an English-language version?
Simon Oakes: That's a very good question, and the right one to ask. We saw [Let the Right One In] very early; I'm English, I'm European, and I see a lot of pictures coming out of Scandinavia, France and Germany as you can imagine. So we saw it very, very early on and we thought it was astonishing because it was a love story – Stand By Me meets The Exorcist – and we thought it was just special and wonderful. We never in a million years could have guessed it would get the critical acclaim that it did, particularly in the United Kingdom, where it was actually a hit movie. It did great grosses. But at the same time, the reality is only 22-23 percent of its entire box office in the U.S. came from one theater. I was always of the view that this was a beautiful story, I knew the original book, which was a lot harder as you guys would know, a lot more risqué if you like, more controversial. But the story was so great, so beautiful, that it should be seen by a bigger audience. So I was always saying to myself, people in Manhattan have seen it, guys like you [genre journalists/fans] because it's in your wheelhouse, in New York, in Chicago, in Chelsea, in Notting Hill, in London… but no one in Glasgow or Edinburgh or Bristol or Idaho or Pittsburgh have seen this film. It's a story that needs to be seen by a wider audience. Then it came down to [the question], how do you achieve that? By paying homage to the original. Number one, get a very sensitive, smart director – we got it in Matt [Reeves]. Frankly, not to muck about the basic tenets of the story, which is important. More than anything else, stay true to the imagery and mystique and the mythology of the original, and set it in the right time as well, not update it in terms of its timing. Set it in that '79-'81 era, whenever it was…
So it's still going to have the Rubik's cube?
Oakes: Yes, exactly! The Rubik's cube, which is great. And then, find kids who can stand up to and, I hate to say it, be as good as or better than the wonderful children that were in the original. And, you know, we did do that. It's quite interesting; had we not done that, it would have been a very difficult thing. Could two kids pull it off with the sort of knowingness that those two children had, that sort of quiet knowingness that Oskar and Abby [Eli] had? Chloe Moretz and Kodi Smit-McPhee are absolutely amazing.
It was interesting that you found a counterpoint in the Southwest setting in the U.S. to the desolate landscape in the first film. But then, as you mentioned, there's a quietness in the two leads; one thing that's intriguing about Chloe is that she seems to be a different take, because she's known for the screen persona she generates for being a little [bold]…
Oakes: Not when you see her in the film. If you think about her in Kick-Ass, of course you'd think that quite naturally. But she has the same stillness, the same quietness, the same control. When it comes to the setting, the outskirts of Stockholm, we thought about that town from nowhere; do you remember the scene in E.T. when suddenly this quiet environment has been shattered, when the government guys come in their suits and suddenly this small little house has got this huge white tunnel they're all coming in? It's the juxtaposition of the strangeness of that and the very ordinariness of the home environment that the kids lived in. We wanted to create the same idea, that within this very ordinary Southwest situation, extraordinary things are happening. This girl, this vampire, comes into this world and affects a kid and his daily life and relationship with his peers, or his bullies. We tried to find what that match would be; rather than just setting it in some snowy environment somewhere, we'll try and place it in that juxtaposition.
Can you talk about the provocative elements of the original and what adjustments you had to make in adapting it for this version?
Oakes: Without being so pretentious in English, for a start. But frankly not that much, to be honest with you. If you call it a faithful remake, I think that's true to say that's what it is. It's not a reimagining; the same beats [are there], maybe the scares are a little bit more scary. We haven't been able to ramp that up quite a lot, obviously, for budgetary reasons. We've played a little bit with some of the chronology, without giving too much away. Fundamentally, that's what. High production values. Tomas Alfredson did a phenomenal job; I have actually no idea what his budget was in Sweden, but I can imagine what it was, so go figure. [We had a] longer shooting period, more coverage, more effects.
Was there ever any thought to put back in some of the more challenging elements of the book?
Oakes: I think I know what you mean, and absolutely not. I think in the book, it's very disturbing, the implications, and I think they should be left I the book, which is astonishing. John Ajvide Lindqvist is an amazing writer. I don't know if you've read Handling the Undead, which is the book following this; he's an original thinker. But I don't think it actually lends anything to the movie. In fact, it detracts from it. I mean, I think there are implications and suggestions [in the film]; the famous line, "Will you go steady with me?" "I'm not a girl." Well, that could mean a million things. What does she mean? Does she mean she's not a girl, she's a vampire? Does it mean she's not a girl, she was a girl? Or was a boy? I think you leave ambiguity there. I think also, you don't talk down and spoon feed the audience that is going to see this movie. You, in a sense, are the bellwether for fanboys and so forth and you've had a lot of inbound on this film. And I think to start with, a lot of people were sort of quite negative about this happening because they love the movie so much. Gradually, as Matt came onboard, and Kodi and Chloe, people started to move towards the middle and saying, you know what, this is good, this is great, let's see what happens, let's reserve judgment until we see the final product. I think that's what's happening now. There's a bigger audience out there as well who will never see the picture anyway. So I'm not too worried about that.
What made Matt Reeves the right director for Let Me In?
Oakes: Sometimes in the process of making movies and producing and financing movies, you can get what we call in England, "our knickers in a twist" by having 17 options and going round in circles, going back to the person you thought should do it first. We immediately fell in love with Matt and his take; he loved the original, so we felt that he was going to honor it, which is very important. Secondly, I think there's something, and I don't know if he'd like me saying this, quite autobiographical of his own life in the life of Owen, in some respect – where he came from, and his background and so forth. That was important. We didn't go out to get multiple takes from people, because this movie did not need a "take," if you know what I mean. It needed someone to say, I love this film, I want to remake this film now, and I want it to be seen by a bigger audience. And I know how I'm going to do it. I have a feel for the material. He's astonishing. He has a fantastic intellect, a great imagination.
His pedigree, obviously because of Cloverfield, has that sort of found footage aesthetic. Was this an opportunity for him, or for you guys to give him a chance to do something different? Or do you find that the movie has an aesthetically-similar approach?
Oakes: It's a very different aesthetic. At the end of the day, you could make this movie and never use the word "vampire." You could say this is a love story between two kids. I think an understanding of genre helps, because there are obviously some big set piece/genre moments in it. You know that he's got the chops to do it. But really, I think it's because he's a storyteller, he knows how to tell a story. If you think of Cloverfield and you think of the technical difficulty in mainstaining the focus of story in a film like that, the way he shot it, that was brilliant – to be able to do that, to keep us there, to keep us watching and engaged. I think one of Matt's great qualities is that he's a genuinely great storyteller.
Felicity was about young people in love, and Cloverfield was a thriller. Combining that with the thrills that will reveal using these two.
Oakes: I guess I have to say truthfully, subliminally he must have tipped the boxes in my head and my colleagues. You know, but to be honest, we didn't think about it in such a drilled out and rational way. I think he understands the audience for the movie and that sort of thing. I think he has a sort of a natural, understanding of what an audience would expect from this film and how to make it accessible to a wider audience.
What is the audience that you are going for?
Oakes: As big as possible, I think. The fan boy base. The people that you guys interact with on a daily and weekly basis, they will all come and see this movie. They will all come with preconceptions – some good, some bad. Those that are there, anyway. I
think this will be an R-rated picture. I'm thinking it's a pretty young demographic, but we are only at the beginning stage of our marketing, because part of it is marketing it as a love story, a redemptive love story.
Is there a chance that it might be done PG13 maybe?
Oakes: I don't know. I mean, we are literally in the first week of post. There are some different rules in the states. The thing about you guys, clearly, is that you're on the World Wide Web In this room right now. It's amazing that they would give Kick Ass a 12. It is unbelievable, where we have a 12-year-old girl using the C-word and cutting people's heads off. How did that happen? Well, that's England for you. I think in this country it slightly more difficult to get the rating that you would like to get, but we'll get there.
When you guys were shooting the action violence and intense stuff, was Matt sort of free to do whatever he wanted or how choreographed was it?
Oakes: He could do what he wanted. I think it is a mistake to sort of manufacturer the scares and stuff. I think the story lends itself to the right type of action in the right type of scares. We have a picture that we are making this year called The Woman in Black, which is a famous novella, and then a play. It's been on forever. Jane Goldman is writing it for us, who did Kick Ass and so forth. And when you are dealing with someone like that, which is sort of a classic ghost story, and you're dealing with the supernatural in a sense, you can sort of get away with more. You can get a better rating for your movie, because there is the suspension of disbelief. When you are dealing with a story like this, which although it is a vampire story, in part, It is so realistic there such a super realism about it. Then you are always going to have a problem with the rating because it just crosses the boundary. If that makes sense to you guys.
How would you say that Let Me In factors into the spirit that you want real……… hard to understand the question.
Oakes: I think I have talked to some of you guys before about this. When I bought Hammer, this venerable British studio, which sort of invented the modern horror film in a way. And then got taken over by the urban myth films of the 70s like the Exorcist and the Omen, etc. I thought to myself okay, we're going to reboot this baby. And we're going to make it sort of relevant now for a modern audience. But what we're going to do is we're going to take the traits that the Hammer was famous for. So that things like what we call the 'walking dead' or the vampire lore. In fact, the mini-Hitchcocks that it made between '58 and '63 like The Nanny, and the Scream of Fear, The Fanatic, etc., etc. So find a natural link a DNA link between what Hammer did before. And what Hammer will do now. I know your direct question is on Let Me In but… on the state of The Resident, for example: That's part of that mini- Hitchcock [legacy]. A psychological thriller, elevated horror we call it. In fact, with Hammer you have noticed I don't call it "Hammer Horror", I just call it Hammer. So it gives a, the breath to sort of do stuff that maybe we couldn't do otherwise. And then The Woman in Black would be like The Walking Dead and The Mummy and all of that stuff that you can see in the book. I'm sure you have all read the book. Let Me In is a modern take on vampire lore to be honest with you. The idea of a vampire living within the context of an urban environment, and just being there as opposed to the vampire stories of the 60s and 70s, where there was more of a mythological quality to it, obviously, like Dracula. So that was our thinking behind it and as we go on and do more pictures. I mean, we have a film called The Quiet Ones, which is about a group of scientists in the 70s, based in Cambridge. Do you remember that picture of Bill Gates with all the really crazy-brilliant people behind him, all with beards and he's there going, 'I don't know', and that sort of incredibly iconic photograph of him with Al and all the guys. Imagine that group of people in Cambridge in the early 70s and they're brilliant and they're supposed to be working on DNA and working on computers and they said: 'we're not going to do this anymore were going to create a poltergeist.' That's what we are going to do. Because we are so god damn clever, we are going to do something that no one else has ever done before, and that fits into another part of Hammer's sort of supernatural sci-fi history through Quatermass and all of those sort of films.
I'm curious to know about Christopher Lee in The Resident. I think that's fantastic, [but] was just a cameo or if he actually doing a role and acting?
Oakes: It's a cameo. Chris plays Max's father, which is played by Jeffrey Dean Morgan, and it's funny actually – when we were looking at the cast list, I was saying, we've got to get Christopher to be in the first Hammer picture in 37 years or whatever. 35 years or something like that. He's called August, and it's a small part, but it's not stunt casting. It's a proper part. He plays Max's grandfather, he lives in the building in the apartment with him, and it's great… actually I don't want to give it away, but the reveal when you first see him is fantastic. People are going to go crazy, particularly in England. He got knighted actually, when he was on set. He was knighted, and it was announced to the English press eight hours beforehand, and he was in the states. So he was asleep, then when he woke up he had champagne and chocolates and he was like, what's going on here? Are they trying to pay me less? And we all knew, because we were eight hours ahead… and it was fantastic.
You have with Chris, obviously this huge audience across the globe, especially in the UK and then with Hillary [Swank] an American actress. Is there a consideration of moving back and forth between both camps? Because of The Resident you've done that? And then Let Me In is American and then of course Lady in Black is English. Is there sort of a one for you, one for you, mentality?
Oakes: No, honestly, there is not. For example; I'm very interested in making a film about Edgar Allan Poe, and the material – it is genuinely the material. Frankly, the story came to us as a spec and with Antti Jokinen directing, who is a Fin and me being a Brit and then we shoot the film in America, which is set in New York. New York is the best setting you could possibly want for a thriller like that that is very contained, and I think for our point of view, we wanted to put a marker down of how serious we were about what we are trying to do in rebooting Hammer. Getting a double Oscar-winning actress to be in a thriller like this. And there is a history you know, Bette Davis was in The Nanny, Joan Fontaine… There's been a history of big American what they call the Hammer heroines. Raquel Welch, Ursula Andress. I think also it's a global business, guys, you know that better than anybody. We just make the pictures where the pictures should be made. I would like to make more films in the UK and Europe. Obviously, I would like to do that. But we'll only do it when the stories are right.
How much of the focus is there going to be on remaking old Hammer titles?
Oakes: Almost none at all. In the sense that we would never remake; we might reimagine. One of the first questions that I was asked when we bought the company was are you going to remake all of those old Hammer films? Why would you do that? Because in a sense, they almost were of their time, and they sort of, almost became old-fashioned as they came up to the end of that period of time when they were making those pictures. Because of the same time Dracula A.D. was being made, The Omen was being made, and think about that difference in terms of style and what I talk about, the urban myth movies. But there were some amazing characters in here that we want to reimagine like Quatermass. Like Kronos. We're going to do Kronos, a sort of what would he be like today? What would he look like today? Because the great thing about him of course is that he is a vampire, but not a vampire. He has all the traits of a vampire, he never ages, but he's not a vampire. So there are so many things that you can do with that. So we have some characters in here that we are going to sort of reboot. And those are two of them. And then we've got a couple of other titles like The Legend of the Seven Golden Vampires that we are working on; a reimagining of that. But a straight remake, no. Mind you that we are always open to ideas, because what we always find there are always people who know more about this than I do, going, have you thought about this?
The one that I would like to see is Dr. Jekyll and Sister Hyde.
Oakes: Why, funny you should say that. My lips are sealed.
So you're basically saying that your focus is more taking these characters [and repurposing them in different movies]?
Oakes: Repurposing them. Doing a new Quatermass movie. Doing a new Kronos movie. Not remaking the same film with its log line the same, but saying, what would the Kronos movie of 2011 look like? Or Quatermass of 2012. Maybe some of these characters should live in television as well. Particularly Quatermass, which I'm thinking about at the moment. What I love about Quatermass is that he was a government scientist and science is cool. Everyone is into science. So what would he be doing now? In the original Quatermass that Nigel Kneale and Val Guest created, he was sort of like a classic character like a Bourne or a Bond, who have two masters if you like, both of which are trying to fuck with his head. One, are his masters, which in the case of Bond is the CIA, or MI6 in Bond's case. And in the same token, the enemy – they're fucking with him, and they end up being this person who was sort of alone and that's what Quatermass was always like. He was always prescient. He was always ahead of his time. A lot of Tom Neil's Kneale's work was about the damaging of the environment. And he used the alien thing as a sort of metaphor for saying what we are doing to our planet. It's quite interesting I mean, I met him shortly before he died and I'm friendly with his widow and it's amazing. So there's a lot of rich material in there that we can rethink, but the issues that he would be dealing with in 1957 compared to what they would be today, that's the thing. That's where we have to use our imagination.
Quatermass TV show would be a great alternative to the new Doctor Who, because there's so much whimsy that to have something rooted…
Oakes: I want something as rooted in possible reality, exactly, and less whimsy, and more scares.
Do you control the entire Hammer library?
Oakes: What we do is control everything in the sense that we also have blocking rights, so in some cases we control titles entirely, and in some cases other people have distribution rights, of which we're a beneficiary. But we don't distribute ourselves, and in some cases we have co-ownership rights with studios. Because the company is so old, you can imagine, it made a picture in the '50s, and that company it made the picture with got sold to that company and that company and then suddenly you find that you own a picture with Warner Brothers, Canal, and Fox. And that can happen. So I've taken a very practical view about it: if there's a title we co-own with the studios, if we put a package together that is so compelling that there would be no reason why you wouldn't say "let's go make this," then do so. But otherwise just let it lie – let it lie where it is and move on. So there are a few things like that.
Does that extend to the home video aspect of their library?
Oakes: No, various different companies have home video rights. Warner Brothers have some, Optimum have some in the UK, Canal Police have some, and we always encourage them to sort of get these out in box sets and so forth; we're putting together right now, I don't know if you saw the box set of the 21 classics, but we're putting together new boxed sets in themes right now. What we're doing is we're pulling them from the various distributors, and for them we're doing the work, it's found money, but what it does is it gets the brand out there. I mean, one of the things I'm fascinated by in the space that you guys are in is 16, 17-year olds, 18-year olds, young kids in the US and they start to look at hammer and they go, "what's this? No one told me about this. What's this company?" Obviously some of the real fans will know about it, but a lot of people will never have heard of it. They'll go, what's that movie? What's The Legend of the Seven Golden Vampires? What's Jekyll and Sister Hyde? What's The Quatermass Experiment? And that's really cool, I think. Because part of the thing is to with the movies we're making, and we have got two big hammer films coming out this year in the US is how we maximize getting that message across that this is a great studio, a great brand that we're rebuilding.
Any chance we might get Vampire Circus on DVD?
Oakes: I will let you know. We will get a copy for you.
You said Hammer will not make torture porn. Can you elaborate on that philosophy?
Oakes: Well, first of all, look, I saw the first Saw and thought it was great, and then it became a franchise and it's become what it's become. I'm very friendly with John and Lionsgate and all of that, but I just don't think it's what Hammer does. I don't think it's what Hammer ever did. I don't think it's within the genres that Hammer created, if you like, or was part of. So I don't see what I call 'gore-nography' or torture porn or slasher pictures; I also don't think it's to be honest with you, my personal view is that it's a footnote in the horror genre. To me, it's a footnote. I think in 20, 30 years time it will be forgotten by comparison to other [subgenres]. It's a broad genre, you know; it's Polanski, it's Hitchcock, it's Kubrick, and onwards. So that's just my personal view.
How do you balance Hammer's pedigree of personal, character-driven stories with the spectacle of today's horror?
Oakes: I think that movies find their own feet in a sense, and I think The Resident, for example, is a commercial psychological thriller. I think Let Me In is interesting, isn't it, you, because I've said it's Stand By Me meets The Exorcist – it's got art house credentials but it's got a commercial filmmaker at the helm, and it's also got a great story. And I don't want to speak for our US distributor, Overture, where I've just been this morning, but I think there will be a wide release, but it's not going to be three and a half thousand screens. But nor is it necessarily going to be platformed either. I think it will be a film that will find its feet and I think there will be gradual platform release over time, but I don't really know yet. I think it's too early to say, but it's story-driven as you say, like the Hammer films of old – character-driven, story driven. But with an extraordinary central premise at the heart of it, which is that she's a vampire. And it's a very touching story as well; do you remember when he says, what if they do this and what if they do that? She goes, well, then I'll look after you. She tried to get him to really look after himself, and then he eventually says, but what if I can't? and she says, well, if you can't then I'll look after you.
What about courting the Twilight audience? Are you going to be making movies for them or is it more of an adult focus?
Oakes: That's a good question. I think there's room for everybody in this genre. The thing about the Twilight thing, it came from a specific piece of work, which is the novels, and you can't build your business plan on sort of the poster child for that demographic because no one saw that coming. That was a book that became a hit through word of mouth – you guys know all of the history of the book, obviously – and how it went to another studio and then another studio said we don't want it anymore. Then, suddenly, it became what it became, and the internet actually was the thing that really built up the rumble about that, the book and the original film. So I think we are relatively opportunistic about that: if we had a story that we liked and it so happened that it hit that demo of the Twilight audience, we would do that. But I don't consider Twilight a horror movie anyway, to be perfectly frank. Do you?
No, but we cover it and it's covered on horror sites.
Oakes: Well, I think that it's right that it is, because what it actually does do is by virtue of that that it's not really a vampire movie as such, it allows people to see the levels of vampire mythology and so on and so forth that they can play with. But yeah, there are all sorts of different things. I mean, right now I'm looking for a zombie movie, which I might have found, a period zombie movie, actually. It's really cool.
Is it based on a book?
Oakes: It's a completely original idea, from a pitch. It's completely original. And I mean to some extent, for example, The Quiet Ones is [about] these are students, these are 21-year-olds, it's the Flatliners type of casting, these super-bright kids at Cambridge in 1970. At that age you could imagine casting five really good-looking kids, you would just have to be very clever. So yeah, you know – I'm not against it. It's a great franchise.
Any web stuff planned?
Oakes: Um, what we've done is we've created this new part of our business called Exclusive Labs, and what it is, it's a part of our business, which is focusing on creating content for digital platforms, and we're working on a couple of ideas right now. I'd love to be able to tell you, and I will make a promise that when we announce two projects very shortly, I'll make sure that you guys get it, along with our site first, because I think it should be disseminated in our environment before it goes into what I call the traditional press. And the reason I can't is that I've got a partner who wouldn't thank me if I said something right now. But very soon, we will; we're all trying to find out what does it mean, a digital strategy. On digital there are two things; one is distribution and one is content creation. Digital distribution is a product of the things of like the windows, VOD, television. When do you go digital? How does it cannibalize your income streams and so forth, and that's sort of interesting and boring in equal measure. And then there's digital content creation, which is what I'm interested in and what we're about. And I think we're putting a lot of energy and investing in that space; I also think it's a fantastic area to test-market some of the things you do, some of the storylines you do. Whether you call them webisodes or what we did with Beyond the Rave, you just get a sense of what people are interested in, and it's a great way of creating a community as well. So I would say within the next four to six weeks, we'll be making an announcement.
Is the cache of familiarity working with existing properties more valuable than shopping around for purely original ideas? Or does it matter at all?
Oakes: I don't think so. I think the thing is that if you get something like Hammer and then you get Let Me In, there's a sort of 'the power of three' because you've got the brand and you've got the fans [of the original] film. But what I think Hammer does, it gives a chance to basically develop from the ground upwards if we can and it doesn't mean that we have to just go and distribute product or go and remake things from their back catalogue or whatever. We can take something and… I mean, A Woman in Black, there's an example of a novella that had never been made into a movie, it was a play running in London for 21 years and in 17 countries, but we could take it and broaden it right out. When you guys get to read the novella, which is only 150 pages long and I recommend it – it's like this pastiche of an M.R. James novel – and then you see the movie, you'll see how James sort of opened the whole thing up. In the case of the zombie picture, that is just a completely original concept and story and take off of a one-pager.
What do you think of the state of mainstream horror? What's lacking?
Oakes: God, I hate questions like that. [Laughs.] My truthful answer to that is that I think it's wrong for me to have or publicize a view about it. I mean I could comment on the ten films in the Oscar line-up this year, but who gives a damn what I think? That's just a personal view. What I do know is what we will do and what we're trying to do. What we're trying to do is, as I said, reboot, recreate, kick-start the studio again. (It started in 1929.) Make movies in the U.K., make movies in the U.S., make movies wherever we need to make movies. We've got deep pockets for development. So we're not just buying spec scripts or buying books, or buying finished or half-finished products. We can really start from the ground upwards. The genres are broad. In a sense, it's almost like I know what I won't do as opposed to what I will do. We will do a lot of stuff, and there are six to eight different broad tropes that we'd say, "Well, that would be okay for us." The only thing on my watch that we won't do is we won't make slasher pictures. I think generally it's healthy, I think people are thinking outside the box. I think there's a lot of imagination and brilliance that goes into the genre. What's also good is that, like many of these things – a light romantic comedy, everybody loves romantic comedy all the time; it doesn't go like that, it's not like that – horror, in the broadest sense, has good days and bad days. People like it sometimes and then it has a bad reputation. I think right now there's a lot of very clever, very artistic people working in the genre. So I'm pretty cool with it.
Is the intended avoidance of torture porn and slasher films a board issue? Is it an issue of how much you show?
Oakes: No, it's just my tastes, and the tastes of my colleagues to be honest with you. It's not a moral position or anything like that, or a religious position. It's just not my tastes. I also don't think it's right for Hammer. I call it "the aristocrat of horror" – there's something rather grand about it in a sort of funny way, the quality of what we're doing. We're not making low-budget horror movies; we're making mid to high-budget horror movies, in terms of the type of budget you'd expect for a horror film.
Mostly R-Rated?
Oakes: I think The Quiet Ones and The Woman in Black will get a 12 in the U.K. The Resident, I don't know what that will get actually. Because the ratings system is slightly different here than it is in the U.K. and France. In Italy it's really tough. You get a film that would normally get a 12, and it might even get an 18. We definitely are not driven by the ratings system. We're driven by the stories.
Any directors or writers that you're courting at the moment?
Oakes: Loads. We've got a big slate. As you know, the group is Exclusive Media Group, so we have a non-genre label as well. We have a Peter Weir movie, which is coming out later in the year. And we have a big lineup in Cannes of non-genre. With the Hammer world, you have the "real slate" and you have "the slate." So we have about twenty projects, and we're focused in at about four to five right now. But we're looking all the time. We're looking all the time. We've got a great team here, we've got a team in London. We get a lot more inbound here, specs here – the spec script world doesn't really exist in Europe. It does here. But we take pitches. We buy scripts, we buy books. We buy scripts that are packaged. We're hungry to do this.
But no genre names that will ping the IMDB crowd?
Oakes: Well, you guys would be the first to know. The thing is, we're in the situation where we didn't want to be the emperor's new clothes. We bought the company, we did Beyond the Rave. Then the announcement of doing The Resident and Let Me In. These films haven't even come out yet. So we're just slightly holding. I think there will be a lot of inbound. There's already a lot of inbound by some really amazing talent, going, "Okay, you guys are really serious about this." I think the other thing that's great is that we're one of the few [companies] in town that are well-financed. We can finance our own pictures. We put equity in, we do gap financing, we've got a phenomenal sales team led out of Europe. For example, Let Me In, as you know, has a domestic in place. But in other cases we can go ahead without the domestic in place. Because the days of having a domestic deal in place all the time, or a deal with the studios, are gone. The whole industry is going through a change at the moment. We acquired Newmarket recently, the great independent distributor, and we're picking up pictures. At the moment, we just bought a film called Hesher, from Sundance. So in the fullness of time, we'll know where we'll be. I've been talking to my colleague Chris about this – that Newmarket may be releasing Hammer as a genre label in the US. That may well be where we go, finally, with this. Because a lot of the genre labels, like Dimension, are not around anymore. And as you know, the specialist divisions of the studios – the Paramount Vantages, the Warner Dependents, Picturehouse – they've all gone. So there's a massive gap for distributing and bringing certain films to market.
Supposedly, Paramount is starting this micro-budget wing…
Oakes: Paramount Digital, yes. We are working on that.
So you have budgets at that range?
Oakes: We have some projects at that budget range, and we're working with them. In fact, I may be going over there in a couple of hours time.
How can you make a project at that budget range – which I think is 200 K – with a studio involved?
Oakes: Well, first of all, I'm not entirely sure that is what the real minimum budget is. Nobody's been told. It's less about the budget and more about the model. What you do is you platform release it, you get advertisers in; you cover a lot of your downsides with sponsorship and advertising. That is the model. It's an interesting model, given the fact that we're working in an environment where advertisers aren't advertising and budgets are being slashed, and so on and so forth. But it's a great seeding ground for that. And they've had great success with it – obviously Kick-Ass. So a lot of these budgets are bounded around – "Well, they made this for this, and they made this for that." Who knows?
You mentioned the Hammer heroine earlier. Next to the Bond girl, that was sort of a defining sex symbol of the 1960s. There was a certain look they had…
Oakes: Hammer Glamour?
Yes, the buxom woman in the nightgown. Have you guys thought about that, reintroducing a certain sex symbol?
Oakes: Yes is the answer, but you've got to do it carefully, because if you don't it becomes pastiche. But one of the things I'm doing – I'm doing a Hammer publishing venture, which would be creating new stories and short novels, branded Hammer, with a major publisher. We're doing Hammer Theater of Horror, where we're doing live theater, where we actually can create that repertory group of actors and actresses like Hammer did in the '50s and '60s. But you can't do that in the movies anymore, basically because the agents get in the way of that. And the actors would love it frankly. But like Steppenwolf, as a repertory thing, we're going to do that with theater. We're going to create new, frightening theater – "horror theater," if you like – and original stories. That creates more IP for us to do our day job, which is make movies. So we're doing a lot of brand extensions around Hammer to create new things. So to your question, I think we can do that to some extent through the theater side. And if we do have a story that lends itself to have what we call a Hammer heroine we would do so, but we wouldn't just put a girl in a nightie – and the rest [laughs] – just for the sake of it.


text: Wood Lake British Columbia was the first lake that I ever fished for and caught a kokanee. These smaller sized land locked sockeye are a great fish to catch during the summer and make a tasty meal. When we started fishing for them we would use weights on our lake trolls to get the lure to depth. Now I have downriggers on the boat which makes controlled depth angling for these kokanee a whole lot easier. While with weighted line you're just guessing where your lure is based on how much line you let out, with a downrigger you know exactly where your lure is. Match up this with the depth of the kokanee schools and you are usually hooking up with fish in no time at all. I hope you enjoy the video. Let me know what else you would be interested in seeing or information you are interested. Maybe I can help out with more how to videos in the future.