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Fitness facilities around Australia are facing an unprecedented hike in the fees they pay for music – a huge increase of more than 4,000 per cent in many cases – if the Copyright Tribunal upholds a record industry claim to change the rate of music licence fees. If the record industry gets away with it, a typical fitness club with 1,300 members will be forced to pay $140,000 in annual fees, a massive increase on the $2,654 they currently pay. Many of these fitness centres are small owner-operators and this increase will have a disastrous impact on their businesses and on jobs – all because record industry bosses are looking for easy targets to plug the gap left by declining CD sales.
This is a huge issue which will affect every fitness professional in Australia; every single member of Network; you. Do not make the mistake of thinking that this will only affect group exercise classes. The proposed tax is indiscriminate – it will be imposed on every facility at a flat rate of $4.54 per club member, per month – regardless of whether the member attends classes or not.
Club owners will have to pass these costs on, or close shop if the fees are not viable. It is at times like this that we can take stock and appreciate exactly how everything in our industry is interrelated; group exercise is a great member attraction and retention tool for clubs, and most PTs source their clients from the existing membership of the club they work in. The new tax could change all this, creating a disastrous disappearing act for our industry.
Picture the scenario: The record industry wins its claim and fees increase exorbitantly; club owners' financial resources disappear or music disappears from their facility; group exercise classes disappear from club timetables, and along with them go the jobs for instructors; members disappear from clubs; personal trainers' client pools disappear. In an age of increasing obesity levels, this is a potentially devastating outcome for our industry, our members and the fitness of the nation.
It can be all too easy when hearing, or reading, about things like this to think that it will just 'sort itself out' and that everything will be fine. A short-sighted attitude like this is as good as arguing in favour of the record industry. The fact is, this is an enormous threat to Australia's fitness industry. The industry body, Fitness Australia, is fighting the case in the courts, but as an industry we have to show our unity and genuine opposition to this unfairness by registering a protest at www.taxonfitness.org – NOW, and encourage your members, clients and participants to do the same.
Don't think that you can't make a difference; complacency will cost jobs, vast sums of money, and heartache for Australia's thousands of fitness professionals. EVERY voice of support needs to be heard, otherwise it will be too late.
Fitness Australia needs financial contributions to fight this battle. To help, go to www.operationmusic.org.au and make a contribution to help win the case against the Record Companies! You can also download the full media release that Fitness Australia issued last week by clicking here.
We would like to know your thoughts on this very current topic. Do you think the record companies are entitled to more money? Tell us what YOU are doing to fight this fitness industry threat.
Posted by: Lis, Curves | 11-Mar-2009 02:29 PM |
We belong to Curves and Curves International, through the owner Gary Heavin has pledged to fight this, not only with our contributions but also his personal money because it is ridiculous - and he has been fighting this sort of stupidity for over 15 years. As you rightly say, they are just looking for easy targets - but they are not going to find one here. With 11,000 sites, Curves is not going to allow this to happen anywhere in the world, but needs everyone else to be equally proactive
Posted by: Ian | 11-Mar-2009 02:35 PM |
For general purposes can't everyone just use a radio? As for classes can we get some generic music written for us?
Music can be produced by "cover" artists that are not represented by PPCA but it is not nearly as good a quality or inspiring as original artist music. You can visit any of the American music companies that produce cover artist music for Group Fitness to get an idea what it is like - Network.
Posted by: Julie | 11-Mar-2009 02:43 PM |
If this happens the Industry will finish – Fitness Centres around the country will have to close their doors!!
Posted by: Gordon | 11-Mar-2009 04:04 PM |
I have always taught my kids never to copy music or movies because piracy is straight out theft. I am so disillusioned by these people who have turned out to be the real pirates. Of course I have stopped lecturing to the kids about the subject as my credibility is in tatters.
I got into this industry as a PT because I wanted to help people. I really had a very rude shock that such a greedy organisation could stoop so low as to as to rip off an industry that is trying to help people, many of whom seriously need it.
I wonder if some of the artists they represent really have thought about the damage they are going to do to a lot of people. They are happy to be seen in public helping Bush Fire victims but then hide behind the Evil Empire doing a lot of harm.
Posted by: Anonymous | 11-Mar-2009 04:26 PM |
The funny thing is that many members only visit the Gym once a week, others once a fortnight, and in some cases half a dozen times a year. However the copyright tribunal want to charge our centres the same rate for each member on a month to moth basis. There is absolutely no way I will be paying them 2-3 thousand dollars a week. I would prefer to turn the music off completely or use music not represented by the PPCA. My business and many other small to medium sized businesses would close down within the 1st year. How much money do these idiots think Fitness Centres actually Nett?
Posted by: Teresa | 11-Mar-2009 09:35 PM |
i work in a small countryside gym , and i pay for the CD's I use , I buy at least 3 to 6 every 2 months . if the charge is passed on to my clients to hear this music I will soon be out of business as my clientele is not like some of the bigger city gyms. as I already pay to buy and listen to these I am outraged to think I will be charged again indirectly, I would be likely to encourage client to use their i Pods with their own downloads on and switch off the CD player, Artists do very well out of their industry and some use their monies not for the better, but for drugs alcohol and other seedy habits while I try to help people with health issues like Cancer Obesity, Depression and Osteoporosis etc.
Where has the helping hand of compassion for our fellow man gone ? Have we turned into a greedy uncaring world if so I don't wish to be associated with it .The PPCA should reconsider and think of the damage they would cause.
Posted by: Ivan | 12-Mar-2009 09:38 AM |
I'm very sorry to hear about the nature of the record industry.
I wonder if you would be interested in passing on the same sentiments about Melbourne City Council driving out Personal Trainers from public parks by imposing a permit without any consultation then not granting any permits to Trainers.
I feel this posses a great risk to our industry and makes a very powerful negative statement about how health and fitness is viewed by Government. I am happy to give your more details if you require as the more people that get behind pushing for change in our decision makers minds the better for our entire community.
Great discussion topic Ivan, and we are actually working on some research on that very issue. We have also started a discussion in our online forums about it. Feel free to contribute your thoughts there! - Network
Posted by: Simon | 12-Mar-2009 09:39 AM |
That's a joke. But what will be the effect on PT's? will that mean we have to pay more rent?
If so. sign me up and put me down for whatever you need. i will help in whatever way possible. (With in reason)
Please keep me updated as to the upcoming outcome.
Simon: for a better idea of what could happen here is an excerpt from the above blog: "Picture the scenario: The record industry wins its claim and fees increase exorbitantly; club owners' financial resources disappear or music disappears from their facility; group exercise classes disappear from club timetables, and along with them go the jobs for instructors; members disappear from clubs; personal trainers' client pools disappear. In an age of increasing obesity levels, this is a potentially devastating outcome for our industry, our members and the fitness of the nation." Does that help put it in perspective? - Network
Posted by: Debbie | 12-Mar-2009 09:40 AM |
Shouldn't the Government step in for a healthy Australia!!!
Posted by: Sandra | 12-Mar-2009 09:40 AM |
This is obviously ridiculous, completely unreasonable for our organisations that strive to enhance people's lives with the benefits of improved health to be put out of business through the greed of others.
Posted by: Thomas Hoffman | 12-Mar-2009 10:01 AM |
Exactly right: "record industry bosses are looking for easy targets to plug the gap left by declining CD sales"
The record companies are not being imaginative enough!! This is an OPPORTUNITY for them to get FREE marketing! How many times have you heard a track at the gym, in a group fitness class and fell in love with the artist/album and gone to purchase it as soon as your finished your workout? I know I've bought at least 5 cds this way over the last year. Out of the 7 or so cds i bought in the year!!!!
Come on guys, work smarter- not harder! This COULD be a win win for clubs and the music industry. Work on cross promotion, make the music easier to source, keep the fees low, get free marketing....
Posted by: Anonymous | 12-Mar-2009 10:31 AM |
i hope all the smaller operators have done the maths on this before they get too concerned about the impact this will have. No, you will NOT go out of business, you will change to cover artist music. Think about it, the biggest fitness operator has the most to lose by this and will pass on the cost to the punters. You in response will keep fees reasonable and the playing field will almost be level again. Improvise, adapt, overcome & get on with it.
Posted by: Anonymous | 13-Mar-2009 08:34 AM |
I think this really stinks!
Posted by: Rebecca | 13-Mar-2009 04:56 PM |
With regards to using covers(Posted by: Ian | 11-Mar-2009 02:35 PM |), that would be perfect for our small club, how do you know if it is registered with the PPCA or not? Perhaps there are some solutions using royalty free music and covers. We would be happy to do this, but how would we know that we are using music that does not attract fee's? Also, does this include the use of Free to air TV's and radio? Another question too... if we had a treadmill that a client could plug in an ipod with music videos they bought themselves, and they play it on the treadmill screen, would that stop the club attracting a fee? We could do that instead of running our own plasmas I guess. So many questions, so much fear about what is going to happen. Help????????
Rebecca, one of the other considerations is that if the PPCA case goes through, then it is very like that APRA (another body that represents recording artists) will pass as well. As APRA represents about 99.9% of artists in Australia, that would increase the fees substantially, even for non original artist (covers). Fitness Australia has recently written about the dangers of APRA. Check it out on their website www.fitness.org.au - Network
Posted by: Anonymous | 16-Mar-2009 06:23 PM |
Thank you for your response, i am wondering if anyone is then working on a solution for this problem. It seems everyone is so scared about the outcome of this, and everyone is injecting money to fight it, do we know of anyone working on a solution? I have an awesome idea but lack the funds to get it going. Perhaps i should get it going. Regards, Rebecca.
Posted by: Wendy | 31-Mar-2009 09:48 AM |
Fitness centres already struggle to keep going at the best of times.
They need to keep their membership and class costs down to encourage new members and keep the ones they have. Only a small percentage of the population regularly commit to exercise.
With the world economic crisis, more people will be losing their jobs which means even less people will be able to afford gym memberships. These enormous fee increases would have to be passed on to members making memberships even less affordable.
Governments are concerned about how obesity , poor eating habits and lack of exercise are going to put an enormous strain on the health systems. Fees such as these and the resultant increase in class and membership costs are certainly not going to encourage people to attend fitness classes. It will affect the livelihood of all who work in the fitness industry. It must not happen!
Posted by: Luzette | 05-Sep-2010 02:04 PM |
Another albeit extremely radical solution would be for everyone (and I mean everyone from large, medium and small businesses to the individual) to stop buying music altogether - then see the artists rqe-act - pipe dream I know but I bet it would work.


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There are screams heard in Silent Hollow… Trouble at the Mystery Trackers headquarters means you're called in to help. With a few extra abilities, not to mention your trusty sidekick, Elf, you just might save the day! Uncover the treachery of a centuries-old turncoat in this incredible follow-up to the bestselling Mystery Trackers series. Download for free and enjoy!
Archive for: August 2013
Sable Maze: Norwich Caves Collector's Edition
Congratulations, Professor Edwards! You've joined the faculty of the oldest and most-respected university in the world. You've barely been teaching for a semester when tragedy strikes during the fall break. Four of your students have gone missing while exploring the dangerous caverns under the campus! Is the legend about the Labyrinth under the campus actually true? What's causing the abnormal physics in the water down there? You don't have much time, because the rain keeps pouring down, flooding the caverns. Dig deep and keep your head above water in Sable Maze: Norwich Caves, an intriguing Hidden-Object Puzzle Adventure game
Left in the Dark: No One on Board
Left in the Dark: No One on Board is a hidden-object puzzle-adventure game with a moody ambience and creepy setting. Private Detective Charlotte Austin knew this case was going to be an odd one after reading the letter from the Mayor of Portsmouth. In it, he asks her to solve the mystery of a ship that disappeared at sea and then reappeared a few weeks later with neither crew nor cargo. Her initial attempts to draw logical conclusions based on the evidence fail utterly. Charlotte realizes there may be something to the curse the local press is writing about. After encountering a hooded figure with a hook on a supposedly abandoned ship in a series of eerie events, she fears the mystery is much darker and deeper than she originally thought. Charlotte has to discover what connects the ship's disappearance with Devil's Island and a family's unsolved murder. But will she find the allies she needs to break the Curse of the Traveler?
The Snow
Match tokens to break a curse that has cast a frozen pall over a once warm and lush land! With each step of your journey, you'll gain access to new game modes and bonuses and earn achievements for a job well done! With beautiful hand-drawn graphics, simple point-and-click controls, and special logic levels, The Snow will warm your heart for hours on end!
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Ashley Clark: Secret of the Ruby
Detective Ashley Clark is puzzled by a series of mysterious kidnappings. The only connection between these unusual disappearances is a brilliant, red ruby pendant. Could someone be using this sparkling ornament to send a clandestine message, or could this be the handiwork of an underground cult? Follow the clues to discover the ancient secrets held by the ruby pendant, and uncover the truth behind the bizarre kidnappings!
Myths of the World: Chinese Healer
A great myth has enduring power… no matter where the story comes from. In this first game in the exciting new Myths of the World series, your story begins as a Chinese healer who's brought to the Imperial City to save the Emperor's son. But you uncover a devious plot and end up having to save yourself! Throughout the game, you'll use your herbal kit to concoct powerful potions to summon spirits and heal the people you meet. There are also collectible cranes hidden everywhere, and achievements to earn as you play.
Fearful Tales: Hansel and Gretel Collector's Edition
You awake from a strange dream to find gingerbread men trashing your home. Where are your children? They left for the village store hours ago and have not returned. A mysterious woman appears, taunting you. Is she responsible for your children's disappearance? One gingerbread man has promised to help you, but can you really trust him?
League of Light: Dark Omens
The year is 1866. You've travelled for days to reach a castle hidden deep in the Carpathian Mountains only to discover you've been asked to join the mysterious League of Light, a secret group dedicated to fighting dark forces. You've barely said yes before you're sent on your first mission, to investigate a beast that is terrorizing the mountain village of Sorrow's Well. Is this beast real? Who's behind it? What's really going on in the Dark Lord's castle on the hill? No one ever said being in the League would be easy! Face supernatural beasts in the League of Light: Dark Omens, a dark Hidden-Object Puzzle Adventure game.
Twilight Phenomena: Strange Menagerie Collector's Edition
Escape from a mysterious house filled with dangerous creatures in Twilight Phenomena: Strange Menagerie! When your cousin Mary goes missing, you rush to Mexico to find her. Posing as a volunteer in a secret experiment, you begin to explore the mansion where Mary is being held. But when you start to see bizarre creatures creeping around the house, you quickly realize that the experiment you signed on for has shocking results. But who is behind it all… and why? Can you save Mary and escape the house before you both become victims of the villain's deadly science? Find out in this thrilling Hidden Object Puzzle Adventure game!
Treasure Masters, Inc.: The Lost City
Join a pair of treasure hunters as they race around the world to be the first to find a lost city! Even seasoned adventurers like Gordon and Dick couldn't resist an invitation from the Royal Treasure Masters Club to join a contest to find the fabled Golden City. To outsmart their rivals and claim the prize, they'll have to use their powers of observation to spot hidden objects, their wits to solve brain-bending puzzles and their charm to win over colorful characters. Designed for fans of classic hidden object games and offering one thrill after another, Treasure Masters will leave you breathless!
Imperial Island: Birth of an Empire
Help Emperor Omadan rebuild a prosperous empire in Imperial Island: Birth of an Empire! The wise Emperor Omadan once ruled over a great empire. The territory flourished, bringing joy to its people and arousing envy in Omadan's enemies. After many years of prosperity, the enemies of his great empire launched a relentless invasion. To avoid the destruction of his people, the Emperor made a difficult but wise decision. He fled along with all of the survivors to seek a land where his empire could begin anew. Help Emperor Omadan on his quest to reconstruct his lost empire in this gripping Match 3 game

subset: commoncrawl


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Willy Ley
Happy Birthday to the Hugo Awards!
According to the inexhaustible fount of knowledge that is The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction, the first Hugo Awards were presented sixty-three years ago, today, at at Philcon II (the second Philadelphia Worldcon). The Guest of Honour was Willy Ley and a young fellow by the name of Isaac Asimov was the toastmaster. The inaugural Best […]Read More
Related Categories: Anniversaries, SF Gateway Awards


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Events for December 11, 2019 › Weekly/Monthly
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Add-a-Ball Wednesday Flip Off
Seattle's longest running weekly pinball tournament! Begining April 24th: Now for WPPR Points! Signs up at 8pm. 21+ Add-a-Ball website: http://add-a-ball.com/ Add-a-Ball on Facebook (link)Find out more »
Lovecraft Weekly Matchplay Pinball Tournament
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Tacoma's Weekly 3 Strike KnockOut Pinball Tournament. Registration starts at 8:30pm Tournament at 9pm. $5 entry fee, 3 Strike Knockout format. Payout to top 4. Extended Happy Hour! IFPA points! Triple […]Find out more »


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Last year my daughter went to a Christian pre-school, where she received the booklet you'll see below. From time to time she takes it out, colours it, "decorates" it with nail polish and glues on confetti. This year she goes to a public school, and one day a week she needs to bring something from home for "show and tell". She's taken in, among others, a "strawberry shortcake" doll, her "baby" a stuffed animal, a couple of paintings she's done on different weeks, a "hello kitty" flashlight and this booklet. When she took this in, she talked about a cross with flowers, an angel, Jesus ( who is in her home!), flowers without a cross, and Easter egg hunt which is her favourite! In a public school!!! All her own words. I added the other things she took in, to show you her interests 🙂
Hearing this little child speak so boldly and without any artifice about Jesus, in a public school no less, made me feel ashamed of myself, I don't have the faith she does. Also for the first time I understood what God meant that we wouldn't enter into the kingdom of heaven unless we became like a little child.
I am so thankful that He is a God of second chances. A God who intercedes for us. A God who teaches us His way, if we are willing.
In this world, where , more and more, the truth is distorted, and there are still people who haven't heard of Him, it's imperative for us to stay in Him, to worship fully in spirit and in truth, to know His word ( and do it!), and to commune with Him. We also need to believe without a shadow of any doubt that He died, He rose again, He ascended into heaven, is seated at the right hand of the Father and is coming soon. Very soon.
How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written, "How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!" (Romans 10:14-15 NIV)
…everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved; (Joel 2:32a NIV)
For if Jesus did not die, rise from the dead, and ascend up to heaven, then our faith is a lie, our God is a fraud, and our religion, one enormous deception. There are several conspiracies out there, to give a reason, to present logic, to make God just a man, or myth, or deceiver, that I decided to write this post. I first heard several of these conspiracy theories when our pastor in our previous city preached on it. For the several months, they have stayed with me, as I've chewed on them, and mediated on scripture and have come to a fresh realization of how reliable scripture is , of how infalliable God's word is, because He is infalliable, He is truth, in whom there is no shadow of turning.
I was going to write this in my own words, but while researching it, I realized how daunting the prospect is. As much I still read the article, and love it afresh, I knew that these authors have already done a comprehensive study, so my toning it down , would lose it's compelling truth. So this article is from Bible.org .
If you still doubt the veracity of God's truth, I beg you, to go back to the Source, and search for yourself. You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.
"Philip Schaff, the great historian wrote, "the purpose of the historian is not to construct a history from preconceived notions and to adjust it to his own liking, but to reproduce it from the best evidence and to let it speak for itself." Concerning the various theories of men who try to explain away the resurrection, Josh McDowell, who has done a tremendous amount of investigation on the resurrection and the uniqueness of the Bible, writes:
Many theories have been advanced, attempting to show that the resurrection of Jesus Christ was a fraud. I believe that many of the people who came up with these theories must have had two brains–one lost, and the other one out looking for it. Historians have to become anti-historical to invent some of their ideas (The Resurrection Factor, p. 76).
When considering the evidence and evaluating what happened that first Easter, we must be conscious to two principles:
1. The theories or alternate explanations must take into account all the acts surrounding the resurrection of Christ.
2. One must not force the evidence into a preconceived conclusion, but let the evidence speak for itself. (See McDowell, p. 76).
This study will cover only a few of the most popular theoretical explanations that have been set forth, generally by unbelievers or liberal theologians who very often operate out of a moral twist to explain away the resurrection of Jesus Christ. They reject the evidence not because it is insufficient, but because of its moral implications on their lives. An excellent work on the whole subject of the resurrection is The Resurrection Factor by Josh McDowell.
The Swoon Theory
or Resuscitation Theory
The Theory Defined
Jesus did not really die, He only swooned, therefore the disciples saw only a revived or resuscitated Christ. Christ was nailed to a cross and suffered from shock, pain and loss of blood. But instead of actually dying, He only fainted (swooned) from exhaustion. When He was placed in the tomb, He was still alive and the disciples, mistaking Him for dead, buried Him alive. After several hours, He revived in the coolness of the tomb, arose, and departed.
The Refutation
This theory completely ignores the evidences of His death and would require a greater miracle than the resurrection. According to this theory:
The cool damp air of the tomb, instead of killing Him, healed Him. He split out of His garments, pushed the stone away, fought off the guards and shortly thereafter appeared to His disciples as the Lord of life (McDowell, p. 98).
The Linen Wrappings
Matthew 28:6 "He is not here, for He has risen, just as He said. Come, see the place where He was lying.
Mark 16:6 And he said to them, "Do not be amazed; you are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who has been crucified. He has risen; He is not here; behold, here is the place where they laid Him.
Luke 24:12 (But Peter arose and ran to the tomb; stooping and looking in, he saw the linen wrappings only; and he went away to his home, marveling at that which had happened.)
John 20:5-8 and stooping and looking in, he saw the linen wrappings lying there; but he did not go in. 6 Simon Peter therefore also came, following him, and entered the tomb; and he beheld the linen wrappings lying there, 7 and the face-cloth, which had been on His head, not lying with the linen wrappings, but rolled up in a place by itself. 8 So the other disciple who had first come to the tomb entered then also, and he saw and believed.
The swoon theory cannot answer the problem of the linen wrappings lying undisturbed, exactly as they had been when around the body of Christ. Christ would have had to perform a miracle of wiggling out of the wrappings which were wound tightly about the body with over a hundred pounds of spices in the wrappings without someone to help unwrap Him, as in the case of Lazarus in John 11.
The Circumstances of the Cross
John 19:31-35 The Jews therefore, because it was the day of preparation, so that the bodies should not remain on the cross on the Sabbath for that Sabbath was a high day, asked Pilate that their legs might be broken, and that they might be taken away. 32 The soldiers therefore came, and broke the legs of the first man, and of the other man who was crucified with Him; 33 but coming to Jesus, when they saw that He was already dead, they did not break His legs; 34 but one of the soldiers pierced His side with a spear, and immediately there came out blood and water. 35 And he who has seen has borne witness, and his witness is true; and he knows that he is telling the truth, so that you also may believe.
Mark 15:43-45 Joseph of Arimathea came, a prominent member of the Council, who himself was waiting for the kingdom of God; and he gathered up courage and went in before Pilate, and asked for the body of Jesus. 44 And Pilate wondered if He was dead by this time, and summoning the centurion, he questioned him as to whether He was already dead. 45 And ascertaining this from the centurion, he granted the body to Joseph.
These circumstances proved Christ died. He was dead in the judgment of the soldiers, in the judgment of Pilate, in the judgment of the Jews who requested the guard for the tomb, and in the judgment of the women who went to the tomb to further prepare the body by heaping spices over the body.
The Physical Condition of Christ After Crucifixion
If Christ had only swooned, He still would have still been half dead. A great deal of time would have been needed for recuperation. In His weakened condition He could not have walked the seven miles on the Emmaus road. It would have been impossible for someone (who had only resuscitated from the agonies the Lord endured with the beatings and crucifixion) to so quickly give the impression that He was the Conqueror of death and the grave, the Prince of Life. In fact it was this belief which turned the disciples around and became the foundation of the rest of their ministries.
In addition to the three things mentioned above, there are other circumstances that need to be explained like the removal of the stone and the guard over the tomb.
The Hallucination Theory
The Theory Defined
This theory says all of Christ's post-resurrection appearances were really only supposed appearances because actually the people only had hallucinations. In this way, all the post-resurrection appearances can be dismissed.
The Refutation
How could so many people have hallucinations–especially 500 at one time? Furthermore, the appearances happened under different conditions and were spread out over different times. And, don't forget, the disciples were reluctant to believe in the resurrection in the first place! This involves a miracle of blindness to reason away the resurrection.
Mark 16:11-16 And when they heard that He was alive, and had been seen by her, they refused to believe it. And after that, He appeared in a different form to two of them, while they were walking along on their way to the country. 13 And they went away and reported it to the others, but they did not believe them either. And afterward He appeared to the eleven themselves as they were reclining at the table; and He reproached them for their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they had not believed those who had seen Him after He had risen. 15 And He said to them, "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation. 16 "He who has believed and has been baptized shall be saved; but he who has disbelieved shall be condemned.
Luke 24:11-12 And these words appeared to them as nonsense, and they would not believe them. 12 (But Peter arose and ran to the tomb; stooping and looking in, he saw the linen wrappings only; and he went away to his home, marveling at that which had happened.)
John 20:24-30 But Thomas, one of the twelve, called Didymus, was not with them when Jesus came. 25 The other disciples therefore were saying to him, "We have seen the Lord!" But he said to them, "Unless I shall see in His hands the imprint of the nails, and put my finger into the place of the nails, and put my hand into His side, I will not believe." And after eight days again His disciples were inside, and Thomas with them. Jesus came, the doors having been shut, and stood in their midst, and said, "Peace be with you." 27 Then He said to Thomas, "Reach here your finger, and see My hands; and reach here your hand, and put it into My side; and be not unbelieving, but believing." 28 Thomas answered and said to Him, "My Lord and my God!" 29 Jesus said to him, "Because you have seen Me, have you believed? Blessed are they who did not see, and yet believed."
The hallucination theory is simply not plausible because it contradicts laws and principles which psychiatrists say are essential to hallucinations. Psychiatrists claim:
- Only certain kinds of people have hallucinations. These are usually high-strung, highly imaginative, and very nervous people. In fact, usually only paranoid or schizophrenic individuals have hallucinations. But Christ appeared to many different types of people. His appearances were not restricted to people of any particular psychological make up.
- Hallucinations are linked in an individual's subconscious–to his particular past experiences and this was certainly not a part of any past experience.
- Hallucinations are usually restricted to when and where they occur. They usually occur in a nostalgic atmosphere or in a place of familiar surroundings which places the person to a reminiscing mood.
- They occur in people when there is a spirit of anticipation or hopeful expectation. The historical record shows no such anticipation existed. They were prone to disbelief even after they were told of the resurrection.
For further study see, Evidence That Demands A Verdict, p. 257f, and The Resurrection Factor, p. 82f.
The Impersonation Theory
The Theory Defined
This is the view that the appearances were not really Christ at all, but someone impersonating Him. This, the opponents say, is evident because in some cases they did not recognize Him at first (or at all).
The Refutation
1. The disciples were reluctant to believe in the resurrection, were doubtful and would have been hard to convince unless it was really Him, as was the case with Thomas.
2. It would have been impossible to impersonate Christ's wounds. This was Christ's proof to Thomas that it was really Him (cf. John 20:24f).
3. At times their inability to recognize Him was a phenomenon of His glorified body brought about by His own purposes as in Luke 24:16, "But their eyes were restricted that they should not recognize Him."
4. These men had traveled with the Lord for three years and it is incredible that anyone could have gotten away with an impersonation particularly due to their reluctance to believe.
5. They were meeting in locked chambers in some instances, and He suddenly appeared in His glorified body. No one could impersonate such a miraculous act other than the resurrected Christ.
The Spiritual Resurrection Theory
The Theory Defined
This is the view that Christ's resurrection was not a real physical resurrection. Proponents of this theory assert that Christ's body remained in the grave and His real resurrection was spiritual in nature. It was only told this way to illustrate the truth of spiritual resurrection.
The Refutation
Note what William Craig says in his book entitled, Knowing the Truth About the Resurrection, Our Response to the Empty Tomb:
"We need to see clearly that there can be positive theological implications of the resurrection only insofar as its historical reality is affirmed. While many theologians may find such a conviction hopelessly antiquated, the man in the street knows better. His common sense tells him that there is no reason why a dead man should be decisive for his existence today, and I agree with him. Once doctrinal teachings are detached from their historical realities, we have entered the arena of myth. And there is simply no good reason to prefer Christian myths over other myths or, for that matter, secular philosophies. The resurrection is only real for our lives today if it is a real event of history." (Introduction, p. xiii)
A physical body did disappear from the tomb. If it was only a spiritual resurrection, then what happened to the body? History shows there was a body there and it disappeared. The enemies of Christ were never able to produce the body nor disprove the resurrection.
The resurrection accounts are not presented in parabolic or symbolic language, but as hard fact. John 20 is full of what Greek grammarians call vivid historical present tenses to stress the historical reality of the Gospel message.
The record states He was touched and handled, that He had a body, and that He even ate with the disciples (Luke 24:30, 41f; John 21:12f).
First Corinthians 15 teaches us that Christ not only arose, but that He arose bodily. He possessed a glorified body which had unique capacities. First Corinthians 15:44 calls it a spiritual body, but it was nevertheless a physical body as well. Note the following facts about the body of Christ:
- He could appear in different forms (Mark16:12).
- He could eat though it was not needed for sustenance (Luke 24:30).
- He could appear and disappear and could pass through solid objects (John 20:19, 26).
- He could pass in a moment from one place to another (Luke 24:31).
Philippians 3:21 shows that His body was glorious and unique, but nevertheless, still a body according to which our bodies will one day be fashioned. So, it was spiritual, glorified, and yet a physical body of flesh and bone.
The Theft Theory
The Theory Defined
The disciples stole the body and claimed that He rose from the dead.
Matthew 28:11-15 Now while they were on their way, behold, some of the guard came into the city and reported to the chief priests all that had happened. 12 And when they had assembled with the elders and counseled together, they gave a large sum of money to the soldiers, 13 and said, "You are to say, 'His disciples came by night and stole Him away while we were asleep.' 14 "And if this should come to the governor's ears, we will win him over and keep you out of trouble." 15 And they took the money and did as they had been instructed; and this story was widely spread among the Jews, and is to this day.
The Refutation
The Linen Wrappings and Empty Tomb
Again, such a theory ignores the evidence of the linen wrappings and the empty tomb. If someone had stolen the body, they would have either taken the body and left the wrappings scattered or piled in a heap, but only resurrection could account for the position of the linen wrappings with the body absent.
Further, there is the question of the probability of who COULD and WOULD steal the body under the circumstances.
1. The Romans would not; they were there to guard it with their lives by Roman law. They had sealed the tomb and were there to protect it against theft. The religious leaders had provided their own refutation against such a theory.
2. The women could not for they could not have removed the stone and were wondering who would remove it for them when they went early Sunday morning to finish burial preparations (cf. Mark16:3-4).
3. The disciples would not because they were perplexed and scattered, huddled together in hidden rooms. Two had even left town and were on their way to Emmaus.
4. The Jewish crowd would not and had actually requested a Roman guard to protect the tomb against theft (Mat. 27:63-66). This last point is very significant because the presence of the Roman soldiers and the Roman seal over the door made the possibility of the religious leaders claims of theft a thousand times more difficult if not impossible.
The likelihood of these timid, scared Galilean disciples stealing the body of Jesus out from under the noses of a guard of highly disciplined and skilled Roman soldiers while they all slept (an offense punishable by death) is ridiculous.
The Unknown Tomb Theory
The Theory Defined
One of the earliest theories present to explain everything away is that the disciples did not know where the tomb was located and could not have found the empty grave. This theory depends on the belief that those who were crucified were tossed into a common pit and were not allowed to be buried.
The Refutation
This theory also disregards totally the straightforward historical narrative about the events surrounding Christ's burial and the post-resurrection scene. The Gospel record indicates that Joseph of Arimathea took the body to his own private tomb–not a public mass burial ground. According to Scripture, the body of Christ was prepared for burial according to the burial customs of the Jews; the women sat opposite the tomb and watched. Not only did Joseph of Arimathea and the women know where the tomb was, so did the Romans–they placed a guard there. (McDowell, pp. 77-78).
None of these natural theories adequately deals with the evidence of the known facts that surrounded the resurrection of our Lord. The evidence says He arose and this resurrection marks Him out as the Son of God (Rom. 1:4), as the Savior of the world and the means of justification and peace with God through personal faith in Christ (Rom. 4:25-5:1), or if one rejects the Risen Savior, as their judge at the day of judgment (Acts 17:30-31).
John 1:12 But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name,
John 3:16-18 "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life. 17 "For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world should be saved through Him. 18 "He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God."
…everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved; (Joel 2:32a NIV)
How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written, "How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!" (Romans 10:14-15 NIV)


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Janitorial Products
When we say clean, we mean squeaky clean...
Ashford supplies the best cleaning products, equipment, and paper products to janitorial services companies and individuals in the Jacksonville and north Florida area. We invite you to visit our showroom and use our expertise to determine which cleaning products will serve you best. We'll also gladly custom order any brand you need.
(our showroom is open to the public)
Hillyard Cleaning Products
We are the exclusive north Florida distributor of top-of-the-line Hillyard cleaning products. We choose to carry Hillyard since they have been delivering exceptionally effective and innovative solutions to meet the evolving needs of the professional cleaning industry since 1907. Contact us or stop by our showroom to learn more about our cleaning supplies.
Our Hillyard cleaning chemicals include:
- Aerosols
- Arsenals
- Carpet care
- Cleaning chemicals
- Disinfectants
- Finishes
- "Green" products
- Hand soaps
- Odor products
- Restroom
- Sealers
- Strippers
Viper Cleaning Equipment
Ashford's goal is to make your job easier by supplying the right tool for your cleaning job. To that end, we carry Viper Cleaning Vacs and Autoscrubbers, which are the best, safest and eco-friendliest products on the market.
Viper's cost-effective floor cleaning systems have everything you need to set higher industry standards and keep your business running smoothly.
Contact us or stop by our showroom to learn more about how Viper and our other equipment brands can help you deliver better service to your clients.
Von Drehle Paper
Von Drehle has an unmatched reputation for the being the best paper products. Contact us or stop by our showroom and let us demonstrate how Von Drehle paper products can help the sanitary needs of your clients.
General Janitorial Supplies
Ashford carries general janitorial supplies for cleaning services providers. Our expert staff will happily give you a tour of our showroom and work with you to determine the best cleaning supplies for your specific business needs. Here is a list of some of the general supplies we provide:
- Uniforms
- Brooms
- Mops
- Dusting mops
- Dusters
- Trash can liners
- Doodlebugs
- Floor pads
- Toilet bowl brushes
- Pumie stones
- Microfiber towels
- Microfiber mops
- Window washing equipment and supplies
- Vacuum belts
- Soap and soap dispensers
Additional Brands
Some additional brands of equipment and supplies that Ashford carries include:
- NaceCare
- Rubbermaid
- Purell
- Sanitaire
- Gojo


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Industry body which helped formulate revised efficiency requirements for gas heating appliances urges expansion of standards to include all new build properties and annual servicing work
The Heating and Hotwater Industry Council (HHIC) has praised last year's introduction of Boiler Plus efficiency standards for ensuring greater energy efficiency in UK heating appliances. However, the organisation has argued that a number of improvements could be made to the requirements by extending the programme to more types of appliance beyond combi boilers.
Boiler Plus came into effect on April 6, 2018, as part of UK Building Regulations. Key requirements of the standards include requiring any new heating appliances fitted in homes across England to have a minimum performance standard for seasonal space heating of at least 92 per cent based on the European Energy Related Products (ErP) Directive. At least one form of additional control or efficiency measure from a set list of technologies must also be included in an appliance.
Government and industry is now being urged on the first anniversary of Boiler Plus to broaden the efficiency standards to make them apply to annual boiler servicing work and new build heating system installations.
HHIC added that other potential areas for expansion could include making Boiler Plus apply to work to treat and protect a heating system, as well as ensuring it is part of installation best practice, such as by focusing on hydraulic balancing.
HHIC director Stewart Clements said that the introduction of a number of mandated requirements under Boiler Plus, such as fitting a range of potential controls that can include programmable timers, had driven the heating market to create a range of new products.
He said, "The range of products available for controlling domestic heating systems was already rapidly developing. Boiler Plus complimented and accelerated this trend by making consumers more aware of the many options for enhancing the efficiency of their system."
Mr Clements added that discussions held by the HHIC with installers showed that many in the heating industry were already fitting the technologies specified in Boiler Plus and therefore had not been adversely impacted from a technical perspective. He accepted that educating consumers was a much more significant challenge that would require greater amounts of conversation with an end user about their needs and how they can be met within the revised efficiency standards.
Mr Clements said, "There are differing opinions across the industry regarding Boiler Plus. It's a case of look back and don't stare. Some felt it went too far and many others would suggest it didn't go far enough, some may see it as legislation simply catching up with industry standards, and they are not wrong, but we need to remember there is a cost to the consumer at the end of every installation."
Efficiency challenges
Boiler manufacturer Viessmann has also argued for additional amendments to the Boiler Plus standards in recent months in order to help the heating industry address wider environmental challenges.
The company said in February that the standards should be ramped up and applied to more gas boilers. These calls followed a major report from the independent Committee on Climate Change that proposed a possible switch to electric heating in all new UK homes within seven years.
Viessmann said that ensuring Boiler Plus must be followed in all new homes would address concerns about the energy efficiency of UK housing and ensure boilers might better meet new national efficiency standards.
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With its outstanding design based on a Scientific Research, this saddle guarantees the ultimate level of comfort that fits perfectly the Relaxed rider with 11 - 13 cm of ischial variation. Padded with the 3D skingel, specifically positioned in the Central Reservoir for the soft tissues, it avoids shocks due to the innovative Curva Suspension
Brand: Selle Royal
Type: Bike Seats
Gender: Unisex
Discipline: Road
Item condition: New
Availability: Pick Up In Store, Buy online
Store info
We specialize in all types of bicycles and can service your mountain, road, single speed or that special fixie. Whether it's a simple tune up or a performance modification, we welcome your business. We are locally owned and operated and keep your money here in Austin. We are constantly growing and expanding so if there is something you do not see or would like us to carry, please let us know so we can serve you better.
Hours of Operation:
Mon-Friday 10Am -6PM
Saturday: 9AM-6PM
Sunday: 10AM-2PM
Shipping policy
Exchange, Returns, and Refunds Policy
Please choose carefully before you buy.
For faulty products, ATX Bikes offer a 14 DAY REPLACEMENT WARRANTY, from the date you receive your product. They do not offer a satisfaction guarantee on any of their products, however due to their high level of customer service, they will always endeavour to keep customers happy and satisfied.
If your product is faulty, it will be replaced with an identical product. If they cannot replace the product, they will offer you the option of choosing another product of the same value, or provide you with a refund for the total value of the faulty product.
Please note: Standard postage fees apply to all return orders. Where the return relates to a faulty item, the replacement product will be sent out to you, at no charge, within 5 working days from the date we receive the faulty product.
When returning your product, please make sure you provide the following details:
- Your full name
- Your order number
- Reason why you are returning the product
- Your instructions informing us how you would like the issue resolved.
Please include the original order confirmation or invoice you received with your product. Also, if you haven't previously provided a contact phone number, please include this with your return. This will ensure the issue is resolved quickly, should anyone need to contact you.


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Published at Saturday, July 06th, 2019 - 02:28:36 AM. Wedding Venue. By Amett Beck.
Online Wedding Venue Directories. You should also enquire about menu, special diets, chocolates, audio and visual effects and other associated services at the same time. However, it is good to find the exact venues from the online wedding venue directories. These directories offer you the exact and the most desired venues as per the location preferences. If you are residing in Australia, then you can easily find the most convenient and beautiful wedding venues in Queensland, Sydney, Gold Coast, etc. In fact, you can see multiple venue options, compare prices, and look for other wedding planning accessories as per your needs.
There is no doubt that people have to consider their budget before selecting a wedding venue, but it must be considered that the wedding venue provides enough space for the number of guests invited in a wedding. A wedding venue that is very small or too large for the number of guests is not suitable for making the event wonderful, but it can destroy all wedding arrangements.
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Today we said goodbye to Miles The Cat, the furry friend known as Miles Vorcatigan, Fat Miles, Terror Cat, Desperation Jones, Little Buddy, and KITTY!
From the day he rode back from Hudson Falls on my shoulder, he was mine like no other cat had been mine since Butterscotch when I was a child. He was the product of a 6 pound siamese mother cat and, depending on who you asked, a Sneaky Neighbor Cat, Swedish Volleyball Player, or Mountain Lion. He was huge in frame, and he was deeply bonded to me. He meowed like a mofo, and was afraid of his shadow and seemed to be rather agoraphobic, and was incredibly lazy and very very fat. He was also the best nap buddy I could ever have asked for, he purred a very satisfying rumble, and he had the most gorgeous green eyes. He was not smart, and once got trapped in the basement ceiling because we went on vacation and the contractors redoing our bathroom were scary… but his not-smart-ness was rather charming, most of the time.
He loved me, and I loved him. He even, eventually, decided Justin was mostly not trying to kill him, and would acquiesce (with full-tilt airplane ears) to being petted by him. He tolerated the "pink toe, pink toe, black toe, pink toe" game, and the endless songs I'd sing about how "Miles the cat, he is very fat…" He let baby Gwyneth, and then toddler Gwyneth, pull his tail, tug his fur, lick him, pat him, and then pet him. He never ran from the screech of "KITTY!" she let out when she saw him.
He was just sweet.
He will be missed.


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Andrinor woke early, the light of the morning stars greeting him as he exited his home. He had dressed in his studded armor, and
packed what he hoped would be all of the things he would need for the journey. In his hand he carried his double-bladed sword.
The Matriarch was not yet at the Silver Hall, and he turned to the shrine. He left his pack and sword in the small entryway and
slowly approached the altar. "Ghainaess, Great Mother, She who watches over us. I ask your guidance and blessing for this
journey. May I prove myself worthy in your eyes and may my blades always serve you."
He looked up at the image of Ghainaess and thought he saw a brief shimmer of silver in the eyes as they looked at him. He bowed
his head, then stood and left the shrine.
"I see you are ready," Lorymi said stepping out of the Silver Hall. "The Great Mother beckons you inside." She gestured to the
doorway as she stepped to the side. A radiant silver glow filled the building as Andrinor stepped through the door.
Human child of mine
, a powerful female voice spoke in Andrinor's mind.
You seek to honor me and I have a task for you. My
children are being called from their homes; some have gone voluntarily and some have been taken. An evil power seeks to trap and
control them. I will send you to this place. There are others there, who also seek the evil that controls that realm. You must help
them to defeat it. Those of my children who are there have already been damaged by the evil power. Do not hesitate to defend
Before he could speak, the room brightened to a blinding brilliance. When it cleared, he found himself in an ice-covered corridor.
He exhaled sharply and a cloud of fog blurred his vision for a moment. The cold was not bitter, but there was a deep chill and the
ground was slippery.
From somewhere up ahead, Andrinor heard the sound of ringing metal and yelling. He tightened his grip on the hilt of his weapon
as he moved through the corridor. He quickly found himself in an empty room, the sounds of battle echoing off the walls. This
time he moved slowly, listening carefully as he sought the correct side passage that would lead him to the conflict.
After several turns, he entered a large chamber to see a group gathered around a large creature that had fallen. It had several heads
and the group around it was bloodied, but appeared to be victorious. A small woman with long blonde hair, dressed in studded
leather turned and pointed in his direction. Another woman, dressed in full plate turned, a gleaming long sword in her hand as she
looked at him.
"Identify yourself," the woman in plate said giving him an appraising look.
He held his blade in a defensive posture, hoping she did not see it as a threat. "I am called Andrinor. I come from a village in the
Dragonflame Mountains. I was sent here by Ghainaess to seek the one who would try to control Her children."
"I do not know the deity you have named. However, it may be that we share a similar purpose. We were brought here by powers
unknown and have learned that a powerful mage is trying to gain control over the elemental planes. We hope to prevent this from
happening. Perhaps this is also the person you seek."
"Perhaps." Andrinor lowered his weapon slightly and held out his hand.
The woman's hand grasped his forearm and gripped it tightly. "We welcome your blade," she said formally.
Andrinor bowed his head slightly accepting her apparent leadership of the group.
"Myrith, over here! It's Kyrianna!" He looked up to see a man in chain mail kneeling over a body.
The woman, Myrith, turned and moved quickly to the side of the man, Andrinor followed.
"Rangerette. Kyrianna," Myrith said, slapping the woman's face gently. There was a slight moan and a brief fluttering of the
woman's eyelids. Myrith's hands glowed softly and she placed them over the woman's heart. After a minute, the woman's eyes
opened and she sat up shivering.
"Myrith?" She looked at the man next to her. "Jerietlan? Where are we? What's going on?"
"Easy, Kyri." She draped a blanket around the woman's shoulders. "We're not really sure either."
Myrith turned and looked at Andrinor and a Dwarf who had walked up. "Get a fire going. I don't care how."
"I've got it."
Andrinor turned to see an older man make several gestures with his hands and a fire appeared near the still shaking woman.
"Thank you, Falden," she said through her chattering teeth. Myrith and the man she had called Jerietlan continued to rub her arms
and legs trying to warm them. "Who are they?" She looked at Andrinor and another person who had stepped up beside him.
Myrith glanced over her shoulder for a moment. "The barbarian is called Andrinor. We just met him. The older one is called Agrala
and he claims to be here to stop an evil mage from taking control of the elemental planes." She paused and looked at woman
closely. "How did you get here?"
"I was scouting the road between Duvshire and Raspa, when a sudden ice storm surrounded me. Some magic seemed to hold me
in the grip of the storm and I lost consciousness until you woke me." She paused, brought her legs up to her chest, and wrapped
her arms around them. "And you?"
"A portal opened before us and brought us here. It was like the others."
"If you're feeling better, we should move on. You'll warm quicker once you get your circulation flowing," Jerietlan said.
The female warrior stood and offered a hand to the other.
"Where are you from?" Kyrianna asked approaching Andrinor, her gaze seemed drawn to the multi-colored feather tattooed on the
left side of his chest.
He looked down at her. "A village in the Dragonflame Mountains."
"The Dragonflame Mountains?" Her eyes went wide as she looked up at his face. "The Dragonflames?"
"That is what I said."
"Kyri?" Myrith placed a hand on her sword as she glanced from the one called Kyrianna to Andrinor and back.
Andrinor felt his grip on his weapon tighten as he saw the pointed ears under the woman's tousled mane of golden-brown hair.
"I have heard rumors of humans who lived in the lands of the dragons, but thought they were only rumors." She took a slow step
forward and extended her hand. "I am from the same world as you. I am Kyrianna Dalynne, a ranger of Frayrith."
He took her hand hesitantly. "Andrinor, a warrior of Ghainaess."
Kyrianna smiled then turned to Myrith. "She is the Great Mother of all dragons and generally counted among the deities of light."
Myrith nodded then motioned the others forward. "I am Myrith, a Paladin of Arayelle, these are Jerietlan a cleric of Arayelle, Nirav,
Falden, our mage and Hendandra our scout."
Andrinor nodded to each in turn.


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An Inconvenient Truth - Off to a Good Start [UPDATED]
We don't expect a film based on a slide presentation to outdo Hollywood summer blockbusters at the box office, but we're happy to see that An Inconvenient Truth is doing very well so far: "On Wednesday an inconvenient truth was the #11 movie in the country despite being in only 4 theaters, earning $78,994 ($19,749/theater). The #10 movie was showing at 1,265 theaters, earning 117,000, or $92/theater." Update: An Inconvenient Truth made an average of $70,500 per theater over the weekend (according to BoxOfficeMojo), which is the highest number in the USA and quite impressive for a scientific documentary. Comparatively, the #1 movie, X-Men: The Last Stand, made $27,947 per theater and all other movies made under $10,000 per theater.With all the media attention surrounding the movie comes the inevitable ad hominem attacks by industry hitmen who can't seem to touch the science so they attack the messenger. This is followed by all the armchair climate "experts" who think they can argue against the scientific consensus and the real experts because they've seen a 1-hour special on TV or heard somewhere that it was just a warming cycle.
For some reason, these people seem to think that the thousands of people who spent almost every day of their lives for decades learning about, studying and experimenting on the subject haven't tested and rejected these theories (by using the peer-reviewed scientific method, something that, unfortunately, isn't imposed on "experts" from industry-backed think tanks when they write articles, do interviews, speak on the radio, cherry pick facts that seem to support their claims, etc).
Are there many possible causes to global warming? Sure. It could be a natural warming cycle, or have something to do with the sun, or whatever.
But it isn't a faith issue. You don't get to pick the most convenient explanation and then reinforce that belief by looking for other people or groups that have been saying the same thing.
It's a scientific issue. We need to look at the empirical data. The people who are doing that are climate scientists (and scientists from other domains as well), and they tell us that the problem is caused by the billions of barrels of oil, the billions of tons of coal and the billions of cubic meters of natural gas that we've been burning since the industrial revolution. They might not have the big marketing and PR budgets that their opponents have, and it's hard to convince people with nuanced and cautious explanations filled with jargon (much easier to cut through the information-overload with one-liners like "It's a hoax! A natural warming cycle! Carry on..."), but nobody on this planet is better equipped than them to study this problem, so if we don't listen to them, we might as well be rolling dice.
And the stakes are high...
::Goremania, via ::Gristmill
See also ::An Inconvenient Truth - Coming to a Theatre Near You, ::RealClimate Reviews the Science of An Inconvenient Truth, ::An Inconvenient Truth Trailer Available at Apple, ::Movie Review: Al Gore's "An Inconvenient Truth"


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Baba Yaga is the second installment of Iello's Tales and Games Series following their inaugural dice-chucker – The Three Little Pigs. In Baba Yaga, players have slipped through the clutching grasp of the Baba Yaga, a hideous witch who lives in the woods and flies around in a cauldron. However, in order to escape back to the safety of their home, the players will need to successfully gather the necessary ingredients in order to cast three spells. While you are gathering your ingredients, the wicked Baba Yaga will be hovering above in her magic cauldron mocking you! Be careful! Spellcraft is an exact science and any mistakes will lead to a failed spell. Also as those spells get cast, some strange things will start happening.
- Designer: Jérémie Caplanne
- Players: 2-5
- Game Length: 15+ minutes
- Ages: 6+
- Category: Dexterity, Memory, Real-time Distraction, Basic Forest-Lore,
- Mechanic: Memory, Spellcraft 101
Similar to The Three Little Pigs, Baba Yaga comes in a box which resembles a book and fits nicely on a shelf – and the librarian in me thanks Iello for that. If I end up with a full shelf of these games I will be a happy parent. The components are nice – consisting of several discs, spell cards and a gorgeous wooden doll representing the Baba Yaga flying along in her magic cauldron. Baba Yaga resembles a matryoshka doll or Russian Nesting Doll and applies the thematic elements of this Slavic folk tale perfectly. It will be the first thing your child picks out once the box opens. The tiles are study and the cards thick enough for small, graspy hands. Also the artwork on the discs will likely be overlooked but it is splendid, fanciful work.
The set-up is simple. Place the Baba Yaga Flight Path Tiles in an "X" on the table. The extra Flight Path Tile gets set aside. Then in each quadrant place of the "X" place four Forest Tiles in a grid fashion with the forest face up, and the ingredient face down. These represent the areas in the forest the children will search for ingredients needed for their spells. The forest side of these tiles provide subtle clues to the spell component underneath (as well as looks similar to other forest tiles leading to confusion in the heat of the search). Each player is dealt three spell cards face down with the house tile, extra Baba Yaga Flight Path Tile and the Baba Yaga figurine are set aside.
Baba Yaga is a simple game of memory, dexterity and distraction. On a turn, the active player flips over the first spell card and then scrambles to search for the needed ingredients by flipping over tiles one handed (or otherwise handicapped if other spells are in place already). When a ingredient is discovered, the active player leaves it turned to its ingredient side and moves to another tile. If the tile is not a needed ingredient, it gets turned back to its forest side. This is the memory portion of the game. And it seems almost too easy…
However, while this occurs the other players alternate moving the Baba Yaga along her flight path, keening loudly, heckling the active player all while cackling hysterically. This serves as a time limit to discover the spell ingredients as well as the distraction element of the game. When the Baba Yaga makes a complete round trip the search is over for the active player. If the three of the necessary ingredients are exposed then the spell was successful and a spell effect takes hold! If an incorrect ingredient is revealed or not enough ingredients were discovered then the spell was a failure and the next player flips over a spell card and begins to search. The game ends when someone casts all three spells. The spells effects vary from reducing the the amount of spell components needed, switching tiles, extending/reducing the flight path of the Baba Yaga or some dexterity elements such as playing with one hand covering your eyes.
Bottom Line: Baba Yaga is a great follow-up to The Three Little Pigs and a solid game but, perhaps not as much fun as the dice-chucking in The Three Little Pigs. Game sessions are still fast, fun, loud and messy, requiring a tiny bit of fixing the layout after a round of fervently flipping over tiles. It does scale well for younger kids if you stick to a two player game and make it more of a memory/deduction turn-based game and use the game as a medium of conversation about what is on the tile and what could be hidden underneath. There are also variations in difficulty to provide a handicap for parents or older siblings.
Would your kids rather?
Would your kids rather play Baba Yaga or The Three Little Pigs? This is a toss-up. Baba Yaga was fun but also difficult for younger players. While my 3 year old was able to play and enjoy (with some guidance) The Three Little Pigs, the dexterity elements of Baba Yaga proved too much of challenge and caused some frustration. Alternatively, the fact that there is no downtime in Baba Yaga is awesome. The only minor complaint I had about The Three Little Pigs was the downtime. The simultaneous game-play in Baba Yaga fixed that. While the active player is attempting to uncover spell ingredients, the rest of the players alternate moving Baba Yaga. What ends up happening is the table becomes a delightful tangle of arms and hands as everyone quickly reaches for tiles or Baba Yaga. So everyone is engaged and laughing and don't even care it isn't their turn. And parents, seriously, downtime is the death of a game with kids. End of the day, my eldest (5) would go with Baba Yaga because of the increased dexterity and player interaction while my youngest (3) wants to chuck dice and scream so preferred The Three Little Pigs. As a father of two geeky girls, I think either is fine!
Would your kids rather play Baba Yaga or The Phantom Society? Another minor issue was that the feeling of discovery wasn't as explosive as, say, The Phantom Society (also by Iello), where kids would scream with glee when they discovered a ghost. While, uncovering a needed ingredient created a nice element of AHA! but not that much…because… CRIMINNY! HERE COMES THE WITCH! GO GO GO! You simply don't have time to relish in the discovery. It is too tense. So when I give the option of the "witch game" or the "ghost game" it is an unanimous "GHOST GAME!" from the girls. However, since I need to set everything, I prefer the fast set-up of Baba Yaga.


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Lying just outside the Postberg Flower Reserve, which is part of the West Coast National Park, Kraalbaai is a beautiful, lagoon-side space in which to escape, made all the more memorable by the obvious house-boats moored in the shallows on which people stay on a regular basis. It's a spot to which many head over weekends, and it is especially popular during the flower season and summer. But it never gets beyond measure as the park was established to conserve the Langebaan Lagoon and its surrounds, not to exploit it.
It is also the site where 117 thousand-year-old human footprints were discovered in 1995 ('Eve', whose footprints they are, is believed to have been 1.2 metres tall) and the lagoon is a Ramsar Wetland Site, its huge expanse of water a wonderful space in which to paddle and swim (it is certainly warmer than the waters of the Atlantic), bar the winds, because, as with much of the coastline, when it blows, it sure blows.
Thousands of sea birds use this lagoon as their home, and the golden, curved beaches of the lagoon seem to stretch for miles. During spring, Postberg is opened to the public for the incredible display of rich and colourful wild flowers, some of the best for miles around. There are two well-known landmarks that make Kraalbaai so recognisable. One is the wooden jetty that seems to jut out of the centre of the white, sandy beach towards the boats moored offshore. The other is the Preekstoel or preacher's pulpit, which looks more like a modern day cycling helmet to be honest, but nonetheless provides shelter from the south-easterlies that can sweep through here.


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Well here we are, the 15th of October, and finally able to talk about what the Criterion Collection will be releasing in 2011. It has been a incredible year of releases from Criterion in 2010, and 2011 is starting out with a collection of films that will be setting a high standard for the year to follow. We're getting two new Blu-rays from catalog titles, two early Criterion spine numbers completely reworked, a previously hinted at title from the newsletter, and an incredible new addition to the Eclipse Series.
First off we're getting two of Samuel Fuller's films in the Criterion Collection re-released with brand new transfers and supplements, Shock Corridor and Naked Kiss. These two titles have been rumored as potential re-releases for YEARS. Seriously, go search over on the CriterionForum, and you'll find that Criterion has been working on these for several years, and people have been talking about their possible release for as long.
Next up, Criterion is releasing new Blu-ray editions for two of their previously DVD-only titles: Army of Shadows and Robinson Crusoe On Mars. I can't tell you how excited I am for the Robinson Crusoe Blu-ray, as earlier this summer I was seriously contemplating picking up this title during the Barnes and Noble 50% off sale. I've rented the DVD several times, and now I can experience this incredible piece of science fiction in high definition. Jean Pierre Melville's Army Of Shadows is one that I'm less familiar with, but I can't wait to pick this one up as well, based on what I've read and the screenshots available.
Finally, from Criterion proper, we're getting Broadcast News, which was previously hinted at this year in the form of the "wacky drawing" from the Criterion Newsletter. James L Brooks' 1987 romantic comedy / drama can still be seen over on Netflix Watch Instantly, but I'd imagine you'll be waiting for this release, as the transfer and special features are going to be killer.
Now onto the first of the Eclipse box sets from 2011: Basil Dearden's London Underground. The director of Khartoum, Basil Dearden was an incredibly prolific British director who died tragically in 1971. While I'm only really familiar with the previously mentioned Khartoum, I can't wait to dig into this box set, and experience what Criterion will be making available. Hopefully this is a signal that perhaps we'll get a Criterion release of one of Dearden's films in 2011 as well.
Criterion is certainly sprinting out of the gate for 2011, and I am as excited as ever to be working here at CriterionCast. A few weeks back I put together a collage of all of the cover art that was put out for 2010, and it was a fun adventure in re-living the past twelve months of new releases. With the sheer amount of releases in 2010, I'd say that it's a safe bet we'll see spine # 600 in 2011, unless Criterion continues to re-release older titles in remastered DVDs and Blu-rays, and only releases one "new" title each month.
What do you think of these new releases? Which are you already planning on pre-ordering? Any predictions for the months to follow? Let us know in the comments below.
DVD & Blu-ray # 18 / January 18th, 2011
The setup is pure pulp: A former prostitute relocates to a buttoned-down suburb, determined to fit into mainstream society. But in the strange, hallucinatory territory of writer/director/producer Sam Fuller, perverse secrets simmer beneath a seemingly wholesome facade. Criterion is proud to present The Naked Kiss.
Disc Features
- New, restored high-definition digital transfer (with uncompressed monaural soundtrack on
the Blu-ray edition)
- New video interview with star Constance Towers by film historian and filmmaker Charles Dennis
- Excerpts from a 1983 episode of the BBC's The South Bank Show dedicated to director
Samuel Fuller
- Interview with Fuller from a 1967 episode of the French television series Cinéastes de notre temps
- Interview with Fuller from a 1987 episode of the French television series Cinéma cinémas
- Original theatrical trailer
- PLUS: Illustrations by cartoonist Daniel Clowes (Eightball, Ghost World) and a booklet featuring an essay by critic and poet Robert Polito and excerpts from Fuller's autobiography, A Third Face: My Tale of Writing, Fighting, and Filmmaking
DVD & Blu-ray # 19 / January 18th, 2011
Seeking a Pulitzer Prize, a reporter has himself committed to a mental hospital to investigate a murder. As he closes in on the killer, madness closes in on him. Writer, director, and producer Samuel Fuller masterfully charts the uneasy terrain between sanity and dementia. Criterion is proud to present Shock Corridor in a gorgeous, black and white widescreen transfer with its rarely seen color sequences.
Disc Features
- New, restored high-definition digital transfer (with uncompressed monaural soundtrack on the Blu-ray edition)
- New video interview with star Constance Towers by film historian and filmmaker
Charles Dennis
- The Typewriter, the Rifle and the Movie Camera, Adam Simon's 1996 documentary on director Samuel Fuller
- Original theatrical trailer
- PLUS: Illustrations by cartoonist Daniel Clowes (Eightball, Ghost World) and a booklet featuring an essay by critic and poet Robert Polito and excerpts from Fuller's autobiography, A Third Face: My Tale of Writing, Fighting, and Filmmaking
Blu-ray # 385 / January 11th, 2011
Jean-Pierre Melville's masterpiece about the French Resistance against the Nazi occupation went unreleased in the United States for thirty-seven years, before its triumphant theatrical debut in 2006. Atmospheric and gripping, Army of Shadows is Melville's most personal film, featuring Lino Ventura, Paul Meurisse, Jean-Pierre Cassel, and the incomparable Simone Signoret as intrepid underground fighters who must grapple with their own brand of honor in their battle against Hitler's regime.
Disc Features
- High-definition digital transfer of the 2004 restoration, supervised by director of photography Pierre Lhomme (with uncompressed monaural soundtrack on the Blu-ray edition)
- Optional DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack
- Audio commentary featuring film historian Ginette Vincendeau
- Interviews with Lhomme and editor Françoise Bonnot
- On-set footage and excerpts from archival interviews with director Jean-Pierre Melville, cast members, writer Joseph Kessel, and real-life Resistance fighters
- Jean-Pierre Melville et 'L'armée des ombres' (2002), a short program on the director and his film
- Le journal de la Résistance (1944), a rare short documentary shot on the front lines during the final days of German-occupied France
- Film restoration demonstration by Lhomme
- Theatrical trailers
- PLUS: A booklet featuring essays by critic Amy Taubin and historian Robert O. Paxton, as well as excerpts from Rui Nogueira's Melville on Melville
Blu-ray #404 / January 11th, 2011
Special-effects wunderkind and genre master Byron Haskin (The War of the Worlds, The Outer Limits) won a place in the hearts of fantasy-film lovers everywhere with this gorgeously designed journey into the unknown. When his spaceship crash-lands on the barren wastelands of Mars, U.S. astronaut Commander 'Kit' Draper (Paul Mantee) must fight for survival, with a pet monkey seemingly his only companion. But is he alone? Shot in vast Techniscope and blazing Technicolor, Robinson Crusoe on Mars is an imaginative and beloved techni-marvel of classic science fiction.
Disc Features
- Restored high-definition digital transfer (with uncompressed monaural soundtrack on the Blu-ray edition)
- Audio commentary featuring screenwriter Ib Melchior, actors Paul Mantee and Victor Lundin, production designer Al Nozaki, Oscar-winning special effects designer and Robinson Crusoe on Mars historian Robert Skotak, and excerpts from a 1979 audio interview with director Byron Haskin
- Destination Mars, a video featurette by filmmaker and space historian Michael Lennick detailing the science behind the film
- Music video for Lundin's song 'Robinson Crusoe on Mars'
- Stills gallery
- Theatrical trailer
- PLUS: A booklet featuring an essay by Lennick as well as Melchior's 'Brief Yargorian Vocabulary' (a glossary of original alien dialect) and a list of facts about Mars, both from his original screenplay
Broadcast News
DVD & Blu-ray Criterion # 552 / January 25th, 2011
In the 1970s, the name James L. Brooks was synonymous with intelligent television comedy'"his shows were insightful about work and love and always tapped into the zeitgeist. With his transition to film in the 1980s, he became a master Hollywood storyteller, and none of his films was more quintessentially Brooks than Broadcast News. This caustic inside look at the Washington news media stars Holly Hunter, in her breakout role, as a feisty television producer torn between an ambitious yet dim anchorman (William Hurt) and her closest confidant, a cynical veteran reporter (Albert Brooks). Brooks's witty, gently prophetic entertain ment is a captivating transmission from an era in which ideas on love and media were rapidly changing.
Disc Features
- New, restored high-definition digital transfer, supervised by director James L. Brooks and editor Richard Marks (with DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack on the Blu-ray edition)
- New audio commentary featuring Brooks and Marks
- New documentary on Brooks's career in television and film, featuring actors Marilu Henner (Taxi) and Julie Kavner (Rhoda, The Simpsons) and several other of Brooks's collaborators
- Deleted scenes and an alternate ending, with commentary by Brooks
- New video interview with veteran CBS news producer Susan Zirinsky, one of the models for actress Holly Hunter's character and an associate producer on the film
- Featurette containing on-set footage and interviews with Brooks, Hunter, and actor Albert Brooks
- Original theatrical trailer
- PLUS: A booklet featuring an essay by film critic Carrie Rickey
Eclipse Set 25: Basil Dearden's London Underground
DVD / January 25th, 2011
After mastering the mix of comedy, suspense, and horror that helped define the golden age of British cinema, Basil Dearden (along with his producing partner Michael Relph) left the legendary Ealing Studios and, in the late fifties and early sixties, created a series of gripping, groundbreaking, even controversial films. In dealing with racism, homophobia, and the lingering effects of World War II, these noir-tinged dramas burrowed into corners of London rarely seen on-screen. This set of elegantly crafted films'"Sapphire, a dissection of a hate crime; The League of Gentlemen, a deft heist adventure suffused with postwar melancholy; Victim, a landmark gay character study, starring Dirk Bogarde; and All Night Long, a provocative transposition of Othello to the swinging London jazz scene'"brings this quintessential figure of British cinema out of the shadows.
Basil Dearden was born Basil Dear in Westcliff-on-Sea, Essex on 1 January 1911. He left school early to work as an office boy in a London underwriting and insurance company. Experience in amateur dramatics led to work with the Ben Greet Company and to his appointment as assistant stage manager at the Grand Theatre, Fulham. In 1931 he became a general stage manager for the theatrical enterprises of the impresario Basil Dean. By the mid-30s, Dearden had shifted from theatre to film, working at the Ealing studios of Associated Talking Pictures, where Dean was Head of Production, as writer, script editor, dialogue director, and assistant director. In an attempt to avoid the confusions that resulted from the similarity between their names, Dear changed his surname to Dearden.
When Dean was superseded by Michael Balcon, Dearden stayed on at Ealing, progressing to associate producer on three George Formby films, and co-directing three films with the studio's other top comedy star, Will Hay. He made his solo directorial debut with The Bells Go Down (1943), which – like Humphrey Jennings' Fires Were Started (1943) – celebrates the heroism of those who worked in the Auxiliary Fire Service during the blitz. The art director on the film was Michael Relph, who was to form a fruitful creative partnership with Dearden which was to last nearly thirty years. Relph shared a background in the theatre, but in set and production design. By the end of the war, with Dearden directing and Relph as associate producer, script collaborator and sometimes production designer, they had completed The Halfway House (1944) and They Came to a City (1944) and were preparing Ealing's first post-war feature, The Captive Heart (1946).
Jeffrey Richards has argued that Dearden "conformed absolutely to both the structure and ethos of Ealing". As a team, Dearden and Relph became the studio's most prolific filmmakers and, unlike most of their contemporaries at Ealing, seemed to thrive on a rapid turnover of production projects requiring flexibility and planning, which they delivered to budget and on schedule. Their films made a distinctive contribution to Ealing's search for a new direction as it sought to negotiate and adjust to the changed realities of postwar Britain. In particular, they carried forward and extended the mix of social purpose, fictional realism and preoccupation with a nation of united communities and public service that had become the wartime hallmark of Ealing. But they also began to probe into the social issues that now confronted social stability and the establishment of the promised peacetime consensus. Dearden and Relph made several social problem films that confronted audiences with ethical and moral dilemmas relating to the interplay between communities and institutions adjusting to changing social circumstances. Sometimes condemned for their middle-class, liberal point of view, with its touching faith in national institutions and public service, the films often seek to link, within the conventions of the crime/melodrama genre, private problems with public issues.
Their first social problem film, Frieda (1947), explores issues of prejudice and reconciliation in the aftermath of the war, as a young German woman marries into the heart of an English community. Less obvious outsiders or enemies were taken up to provide the thematic focus for The Blue Lamp (1950), I Believe in You (1952), and Violent Playground (1958), which all deal with problems associated with youth, criminality and delinquency. In a similar fashion, Sapphire (1959) takes a timely look at Britain's black community and confronts racism, while Victim (1961), made in the wake of the Wolfenden Report, focuses on the persecution of homosexuals.
These six feature films constitute the core of Dearden's explicit and self-conscious engagement with the social problem film. More tangential but also deserving serious consideration are The Gentle Gunman (1952), dealing with Irish nationalism, Life for Ruth (1962), which explores the conflict between modern medicine and fundamentalist religious belief, The Mindbenders (1963), with its themes of brainwashing and scientific responsibility, and the youth drama, A Place to Go (1963). Outside this area, Dearden and Relph's films include tragic melodramas of masculine adjustment, thrillers, comedies and the gloomy costume drama Saraband for Dead Lovers (1948), Ealing's first Technicolor film. Cage of Gold (1950), Pool of London (1951), The Square Ring (1953) and The Rainbow Jacket (1954) are varied in tone and theme but they all deal with damaged, unsettled and insecure characters. Like a number of their films from the mid-50s onwards, they also focus on themes of masculine adjustment – in particular, how the experience and memories of wartime action resonate within the postwar present. In Out of the Clouds (1955), a former RAF pilot has to come to terms with a peacetime ground job. The Ship that Died of Shame (1955) unravels and juxtaposes the past and present of three sailors who have had a 'good' war but slip into sordid illegality in their attempt to recapture wartime thrills. The League of Gentlemen (1960), made after Dearden and Relph left Ealing, is more light-hearted in its treatment of a group of disillusioned ex-servicemen who reunite for robbery, but here too the contrast between the excitement of war and the dull disillusions of peace dominate.
Dearden returned to comedy to direct Benny Hill in Who Done It? (1956), the last comedy made at Ealing before the studio was sold to the BBC. It was much less memorable than his first independent feature, The Smallest Show on Earth (1957), which takes in familiar Ealing themes as bright young couple Bill Travers and Virginia McKenna mobilise aged eccentrics Peter Sellers, Bernard Miles and Margaret Rutherford in their battle to preserve a pre-war flea-pit against the might of a shiny, modern corporate cinema. Dearden also acted as producer on the three comedies directed by Michael Relph: Davy (1957), Rockets Galore (1958) and Desert Mice (1959). In 1959 Dearden and Relph joined Richard Attenborough, Bryan Forbes, Jack Hawkins and Guy Green to form Allied Film Makers, a production consortium with financial and distribution links with the Rank Organisation, under whose aegis they made The League of Gentlemen (1960) and Man in the Moon (1960), which were box-office successes, and the bold, location-shot Life for Ruth, which was not.
From the mid-60s, Dearden and Relph worked on a number of large-scale international productions: Woman of Straw (1964), Masquerade (1965), Khartoum (1966), all for United Artists, Only When I Larf (1968) for Columbia, and The Assassination Bureau (1969) for Paramount. The Man Who Haunted Himself (1970), Dearden's final film, was a return to tragic melodrama, with its story of a quiet family man (played by Roger Moore) who dies in a car crash, only to unleash his charismatic alter ego. By a bizarre coincidence, Dearden himself died as a result of injuries sustained in a car accident on the M4, while returning home from Pinewood Studios on 23 March 1971. He was 60 years old and was survived by his wife, the actress Melissa Stribling, who had appeared in a number of his films, and their two children, Torquil and (the director) James Dearden.
Critical assessments of Dearden's work have generally been less than positive. The breadth, volume and variability of his work has counted against him, and while some critics have grudgingly acknowledged his technical, 'workhorse' professionalism, he has rarely been singled out for critical praise in stylistic, aesthetic or political terms. The critical agenda regarding his work was set in the early 1960s by writers for whom Dearden and Relph's films epitomised the stiltedness of British cinema. More recently, their achievements have been reassessed, their contribution to the Ealing ethos recognised, and their social problem films – particularly Victim and Sapphire – valued more highly. As film studies grope beyond auteurism towards a greater recognition of the importance of collaboration and versatility, the contribution of Basil Dearden and his collaborator Michael Relph might be more generously acknowledged.
(Plot descriptions courtesy of BFI's ScreenOnline)
Sapphire (d. Basil Dearden, 1959) is a graphic portrayal of ethnic tensions in 1950s London, much more widespread and malign than was represented in Dearden's Pool of London (1951), eight years earlier. The film presents a multifaceted and frequently surprising portrait that involves not just "the usual suspects", but is able to reveal underlying insecurities and fears of ordinary people. Sapphire is also notable for showing a successful, middle-class black community – unusual even in today's British films.
The League Of Gentlemen
Something of an update on the Ealing tradition, The League of Gentlemen marked the debut release of the consortium Allied Film Makers (AFM), combining the former Ealing producer/director partnership Michael Relph and Basil Dearden, as well as Richard Attenborough, Bryan Forbes, Jack Hawkins and his brother. Almost all the AFM partners had a hand in the film, with Relph producing and Dearden directing, while Forbes wrote the script and acted alongside Hawkins and Attenborough. The National Provincial Bank, along with the Rank Organisation, provided much of the group's backing, which is rewarded in the film with an in-joke: contemplating his leader ex-Colonel Hyde's bank-robbing plan, ex-Major Race worries, "I do hope he hasn't the National Provincial in mind. They're being awfully decent to me at the moment."
Victim was one of the series of postwar 'social problem' films credited to the director/producer partnership of Dearden and Relph, tackling such subjects as delinquency (The Violent Playground, 1958), racism (Sapphire, 1959) and East End slums (A Place to Go, 1963). The problem here is not homosexuality as such, but the 'blackmailer's charter' presented by the law as it then stood. The first British film to deal explicitly with homosexuality, Victim arrived in the wake of the public debate following the publication of 1957's Wolfenden report. Despite the Wolfenden recommendations, homosexuality remained an imprisonable offence until 1967.
All Night Long
Much disparaged by the Monthly Film Bulletin in 1962, from today's perspective All Night Long is an enjoyable curio: a not entirely successful but nonetheless entertaining attempt at restaging Shakespeare's Othello in the context of a fashionable London jazz party hosted by wealthy proto-yuppie Richard Attenborough, who appears to have anticipated the fashion for converting Docklands warehouses into loft apartments by a good two or three decades.


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Date and Time: October 7, 2011 – 7:00pm – 9:30pm
American School of Martial Arts
1600 W. Magnolia Blvd
Burbank, CA
See map: Google Maps
More about this type of seminar: Back to Basics
Join us to get Back to the Basics of manifesting. We will take every tool we teach in our seminars and go over how to use them in your every day life. We all lead busy lives, but this seminar will help you relearn how to incorporate these ways into your daily life. Let's take what we know and learn how to use it.
Sign up by September 22, 2011, and pay only $55. After that, and at the door, price is $65.


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Collections of photographs of the area
Three Kings on the Costa Tropical
The Seaside Gazette brings our readers a photo gallery of the Three Kings 2014 in Salobreña, Motril, Almuñécar and La Herradura. »
Remembering September 2007
With the scare of yesterday's flash flood receding with no more to lament in Almuñécar than raging rivers passing by, but within their banks, and knee-level flooded streets, let's look back six years... »
San Jose in Almería
San Jose, tucked away in the Natural Park of Cabo de Gata.Nijar has some amazing, uspoilt beaches. Minutes away, in Isleta del Moro, a tiny fishing village, time stands still. »
Basement Garage Gutted By Fire
A major fire-fighting incident took place in Almuñécar in the early hours of Today when a fire broke out in the basement garage running under several apartment blocks. »
Horse Lovers' Treat
Hundreds of Almuñequeros and visitors virtually filled the provisional bull ring to witness Andalusian Horse Dressage at its best, during the 90 minutes that the horse show lasted. »
Romeria Photo Gallery
The Romeria del Sur took place in Salobreña with 48 highly decorated floats/carts taking part. There were no incidents with the horses, as they were denied access to the beach area, as mentioned in the previous Seaside Gazette article on the event. »
AECC Charity Run
As always, the race saw many entrants running for our, much-loved, local, cancer charity, AECC (Asociacion Española Contra el Cancer). These local residents all gave up their time, not just during the run, but also obtaining sponsorship and training for the day. Some ran just a couple of K's, while others ran the entire... »
San Juan Almunecar 2011
San Juan is a youngster's festival - if you're in your late teens or twenties, on the beach is a must on the night of San Juan. But it's not exclusively theirs, because it is also the night for whole families. Childhood memories are always full of this magic night of towering bonfires and... »
Motril Air Fair
The 6th Annual Motril Air Show went off very well - around 10,000 spectators turned up, according to the organisers. It didn't seem like that many to me, but it was certainly packed. »
Cologne New Philharmonic Orchestra
There was a fantastic classical music concert at the Centro Cívico at the beginning of August. »


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The Script
€ 8.00
The book is out of print. It may be available from ZVAB or other second-hand book portals.
The Script
Series: dOCUMENTA (13): 100 Notizen - 100 Gedanken
German, English
2012. 48 pp., 19 ills.
17.50 x 25.00 cm
While researching his essay for the dOCUMENTA (13), the artist Clemens von Wedemeyer (*1974) ran across a screenplay by director Eberhard Itzenplatz, complete with handwritten notes and drawings, at the Berlin Akademie der Künste; it was the basis for the screenplay by Ulrike Meinhof, Bambule. Fürsorge – Sorge für wen? (Bambule: Care – Care for Whom?) The television broadcast, planned for 1970, was canceled, because the journalist and later co-founder of the RAF had disappeared into the terrorist underground ten days before. In Wedemeyer's eyes, the screenplay is film material that reflects the work environment, the production process, and (self) limitations, and in this specific case, the fact that it is a kind of time capsule. When the film was broadcast twenty-four years later, the social landscape had already been fundamentally transformed. The screenplay closes the gap in time and is a testimony to the discussions held among the participants. In an afterword, the publicist Bettina Röhl (*1962), daughter of Ulrike Meinhof, sheds some light on the motivation for the orphanage campaign as a political program.