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Jap turnaround
This one from Japan is the best yet. Rory still a bit of a wally,but Chris and Mat put int he best effort to date. Maybe it's going to be as good as the filming
deebee 7:06pm Mon 12 Mar Report Abuse
Flogging a loser
It needs putting to sleep quickly. It's a tragedy to try and keep it going!
Jim 3:14pm Sun 25 Feb Report Abuse
Uphill task
Even without Clarkson and his muppets this is still not a good program. Thank God they've gone.
Navanski 6:19pm Sun 5 Nov Report Abuse
Oh no!
Such a dire travesty of the real Top Gear. And now they are repeating it!
Jim. 9:53am Sun 15 Oct Report Abuse
Not the real Top Gear
Why repeat garbage? It was utter crap first time round - it certainly won't be any better for another viewing.
Fat Controller 12:18pm Sun 24 Sep Report Abuse
Last of the series
Let's hope it's the last one ever. I suffered through about 30 minutes of Evans in the first series and never watched again. I watched all of the first episode of the second series, but couldn't be stirred into watching any more.
S.M. 3:07pm Mon 1 May Report Abuse
Retitle the repeats
"The 3 Pr*cks!"
P V 3:02pm Tue 25 Apr Report Abuse
A travesty
Absolutely zero spark between the presenters makes it deadly dull. Le Blanc tries, but the other two are starngely personality free and totally unengaging.
T.N. 1:27pm Sun 16 Apr Report Abuse
It's getting there...
Thank God we don't have Evans anymore and to be honest I don't like Clarkson (big headed ****head). I think the Top Gear under him was getting old fashioned and boring. Yes the international stuff was fun but the TV stuff was repetitive and Clarkson et al were showing so much bigotry. Leblanc/Reid/Harris are slowly settling in. They're a needed breath of fresh air.
LeeRJ 10:05am Fri 17 Mar Report Abuse
Well, I tried it
Marginally less bad now the ginger whinger has gone, but still not worth watching.
Mike 3:02pm Thu 16 Mar Report Abuse


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Hussein Chalayan, fashion designer, & Moritz Waldemeyer, engineer, came together to create two beautiful pieces of work. The Video dresses, Airborne, are created with 15000 LEDs embedded beneath the fabric of the dresses. Watch the video below to see how one dress shows sharks in the ocean and the other has a rose blooming. It looks absolutely stunning how appear and look on an ordinary white fabric dress. Not only are these lovely fashion pieces but also incredible art.
Moritz Waldemeyer and Creative Recreation have teamed up to create these fresh LED sneakers. This takes the whole LA Lights to another level. I can't help but think of these on the dancefloor or out at a festival late at night. I'm wondering how long a charge last for them or if they have to be plugged in. LOL. Either way these are some next level dance floor business.
Francesca Castagnacci kept it real simple with a fiber optic cable look when it came to the two heels above. They don't look too over the top and yet still have an appealing desire with the LED light. Talk about classy fancy shoes for women who like to show of and call attention to their shoes. Figure if you going to drop serious cash on fashion they'll definitely get noticed.
Rodarte's Illuminated Heels are another pair of heels I found that totally rock LEDs. These have much more of a classy playful feel to them. You have to hand it to them that they didn't go too over the top but added the LEDs with finesse. The lights don't take away from the original design and feel of the heels. The video above shows off some of the Rodarte's 2010 line and features the Illuminated Heels at the end.
Galaxy Dress – LED Wearable Dress
September 15, 2010 at 7:40 pm
will the LED high tops ever be put on sale in retail? or online?
because i'm desperate for a pair, they're amazing!
February 9, 2011 at 4:17 pm
So I really want the LED sneakers and I can't find a price. Are they for sale?

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Bioware finally sent a decent number of invites for the beta testing of Star Wars: The Old Republic this weekend. In case you haven't heard, EVERYONE who signed up for beta testing prior to November 11 on swtor.com got an invite to participate.
Of course this being the beta and all, there's bound to be some issues. Most common one that apparently thousands of players are having is the "blue spinning cog" issue, preventing them to play at all. Fortunately there's quick fix available for that, courtesy of SWTOR forums:
Start the launcher, login, press play, once the launcher disapears disconect internet keep it disconected until the game gets past the loading screen. It will try look for servers none will load up. Once that has finished connect internet back wait a minute or two and servers will appear, select the server your want and your in the game.
If you're having this endless loading problem be sure to try fixing it with the above guide. It worked for most players and hopefully it will work for you as well. Now go forth, level up your characters, try some crafting skills (my recommendation if you want a ton of credits: slicing), and enjoy. You might not want to wait as the next chance you'll get to play The Old Republic might be on December 20 when it's officially released.


text:
Try an audiobook on us
Brave New World
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- Robert
- Somewhere
- 07-05-16
Imaginative, But Flawed!
Set sometime in the distant future (A.F. 632 which may translate to around 2540 A.D. according to some calculations), in an advanced dystopian world; this was at times a fascinating but challenging listen. However, I could not help feeling somewhat disappointed by the end as I did not find it to be the classic that it was alleged to be.
Often compared to Orwell's "Nineteen Eighty-Four", but very different in terms of the worlds both authors so carefully constructed, I found Huxley's style of writing at times to be overly verbose and difficult to follow. It also made me wonder at times how far he was trying to exhibit his own philosophical beliefs at the expense of the plot and overall story.
I found nearly all the characters unlikeable. Naturally, the only ones I truly sympathised with were John and Linda. No doubt this was deliberate on Huxley's part, as to an outsider looking into this so called "civilised world" where people had been conditioned to show no real lasting unity to one another, you could only feel appalled at their self-centredness. John the Savage (as he was unfairly referred to), represented our world and programming, and his reaction to the likes of Lenina and some of the lower caste members and their behaviour was at times desperate, but understood.
When you take a step back and take it all in, the world Huxley created here is truly frightening, but nonetheless captivating.
Finally, I found Michael York's narration rather strange and somewhat irritating at times. Some of his choice of accents for the characters were quite bizarre and not well thought out (Bernard's and John's especially), and kind of took some of the gloss off of this work.
19 of 19 people found this review helpful
- George
- Harrogate, United Kingdom
- 06-08-11
Marred by narration
Great book, no doubting that, but I'm half way through and had to break to come on here and say I can't STAND Michael York's narration. Really after 20 audiobooks or more from Audible this is the first time it's happened, and it's particularly surprising given he's such a well known actor, but absolutely every moment of his performance is over-egged. It's Jackonory story-telling, subtle as a brick and prone to spasms of indulgent and frankly frightening wailing and crying. And the accents, entirely his contribution from what I gather, are atrocious. I'm probably in the minority given other reviews here, but give the sample a go and try before you buy, that's my advice!
58 of 60 people found this review helpful
- Mr. Antony Harris
- 26-04-16
Great ideas, pulpy plot, hammy performance
Is there anything you would change about this book?
The performance and the plot.
How would you have changed the story to make it more enjoyable?
Fix the clunky dialogue and sketchy characters.
What didn't you like about Michael York's performance?
Hammy delivery. Wobbly regional accents randomly distributed. For example, Pueblo Indians that sound like they come from Bristol, my luvverr.
If this book were a film would you go see it?
Yeah probably, just to see how they do it.
Any additional comments?
Seek out an alternative version.
10 of 10 people found this review helpful
- Cross Stitcher
- NR. HALESWORTH,, United Kingdom
- 04-08-09
I have never posted a review before, as I have never felt strongly enough, in either direction, to want to make a public comment on something - until now. It is more years than I care to remember since I last read Brave New World, and what a delight to listen to Michael York as the narrator. For anyone who thinks that they 'ought to' read this book, then this is the perfect way to do it; and anyone who wants to revisit this timeless classic, then you are in for a sublime 8 hours. If only all audio books were of this standard.
8 of 8 people found this review helpful
- Peter
- Beulah, United Kingdom
- 11-03-09
Bleak and excellent. An interesting thought experiment. As opposed to Orwell's "1984", in which a totalitarian government rules by fear and brutality, the Brave New World leaders remain in power by enslaving their population to unbounded, self-indulgent pleasures. All humanity is lost when grief, pain and suffering are eradicated, and the book cleverly introduces a 'savage' from an 'old world' reserve who understands the loss that the new world has undergone. Despite it's cautionary tone (that seems to be more relevant in this day and age than when it was written) I couldn't help feeling I could do with just a little bit of unbounded, self-indulgent pleasure. Huxley would turn in his grave!! Clear sound and excellently narrated.
12 of 13 people found this review helpful
- Sean
- southampton, hampshire, United Kingdom
- 06-07-10
Interesing characters and ideas of the future.
Michael York makes listening to this book very easy.
The story portays a world where human engineering has advanced so far that children are grown in test tubes rather than born naturally. Distinct classes of people are manufactured in the test tube. Love and partnerships no longer exist as everyone belongs to everyone else. Subliminal teachings repeat the mantras of the new world order, ensuring stability and conformity. Drugs are freely available to wash away any hardship or stress. Gone are the writings of Shakespeare and all references to God.
But there are a few that are not content with the way of the world and look for answers to their feelings of emptiness.
The story follows these characters through their journey of self realisation and weakness, exploring the state's reaction to their outspoken views.
I really enjoyed the story and considering its age was impressed by the forward thinking.
5 of 5 people found this review helpful
- Penny
- BlackpoolUnited Kingdom
- 19-07-10
I first read this book 25 years ago at school. Time (or my age) has made this book even better! Well read by Michael York. If you like George Orwell's 1984, you'll love this.
4 of 4 people found this review helpful
- Nick
- kings lynn, norfolk, United Kingdom
- 23-04-08
Better than a gram of soma....
Superb. An absolute classic! This thought provoking tale of social engineering is made even more accessible by the masterly narration of Micheal York. Sheer auditory pleasure!
12 of 14 people found this review helpful
- William Hayes
- Ireland
- 02-09-15
what an amazing book!
I simply could not believe that a book as prescient as this was written in 1931 / 1932. This gets to the heart of so much that is wrong in our own era and reads like a creepy but amazing prophecy speaking into all the problems of our age.
3 of 3 people found this review helpful
- Wakefield, United Kingdom
- 15-10-12
Parody not prophecy.
This novel has to be read with the writer's historical context kept firmly in mind to appreciate its absolute genius. It's a parody - and a very funny one - of all the utopias being prescribed and promised by the political theories that are sweeping the world in that very strange period that was the 1930s. Capitalism was being battered - due to the Great Depression - and Socialism, Communism and Fascism were vying for dominance of people's hearts and minds; each declaring they had the keys to human happiness. And, alongside this, the science of eugenics seemed to be justifying the European dominance of its empires as well as the right of the upper-classes to rule the lower. So throw into this already very heady mix the hedonism of the Roaring Twenties, and the still very fresh memories of the Great War, and Alduous Huxley is writing in an extremely volatile time. So what does he do? He takes the piss out of everybody.
We follow the petty proto-revolutionary bureaucrat Bernard Marx (what a great name: George Bernard Shaw/Karl Marx) in his pathetic and ultimately futile quest for respect and importance in the genetically 'stable' utopia that has been manufactured. It's a very uncomfortable read at times - the erotic play of the toddlers comes to mind - and brutal too - the death clinics, and the descriptions of the Savages' reservations - but Huxley's point is to show that no matter what the grand Social Theories promise, they won't be able to take into account each individual's little weaknesses and lusts and ambitions; humans can't be put into little boxes and expected to be happy. The Shakespeare quoting savage John isn't happy in the reservation nor in the Brave New World; the stunted Bernard won't ever find acceptance from his peers, and Lenina ("Wonderful girl; splendidly pneumatic.") will never be able to understand her taste for something 'different'. Huxley isn't being prophetic, he's being parodic in Brave New World and he's having a lot of fun too. 5 stars
14 of 19 people found this review helpful
- Jefferson
- 03-10-11
"Oh, Ford, Ford Ford, I Wish I Had My Soma!"
Brave New World is a bitterly funny and humorously tragic dystopian novel in which Aldous Huxley satirizes modern civilization's obsession with consumerism, sensual pleasure, popular culture entertainment, mass production, and eugenics. His far future world limits individual freedom in exchange for communal happiness via mass culture arts like "feelies" (movies with sensual immersion), the state-produced feel-good drug soma, sex-hormone gum, popular sports like "obstacle golf," and the assembly line chemical manipulation of ova and fetuses so as to decant from their bottles babies perfectly suited for their destined castes and jobs, babies who are then mentally conditioned to become satisfied workers and consumers who believe that everyone belongs to everyone. In a way it's more horrible than the more obviously brutal and violent repression of individuals by totalitarian systems in dystopias like George Orwell's 1984, because Huxley's novel implies that people are happy being mindless cogs in the wheels of economic production as long as they get their entertainments and new goods.
Michael York does a great job reading the novel, his voice oozing satire for the long opening tour of the Hatchery and Conditioning Centre, and then modifying in timbre and dialect for the various characters, among them the self-centered brooder Bernard Marx, the budding intellectual poet Helmholtz Howard, the sexy, sensitive, and increasingly confused Lenina Crowne, the spookily understanding Resident World Controller of Western Europe Mustapha Mond, and especially the good-natured, sad, and conflicted Shakespearean quoting "savage" John.
I had never read this classic of dystopian science fiction, so I'm glad to have listened to this excellent audiobook, because it is entertaining and devastating in its depiction of human nature and modern civilization, especially timely in our own brave new Facebook world.
209 of 225 people found this review helpful
- Em
- 16-04-12
Nightmare-Inducing (in a Good Way)
When I first read Brave New World it gave me nightmares. I was hooked. It might be strange to say that a book that gave me bad dreams is a good thing, but I was intrigued that a story could worm its way so powerfully into my psyche. It was really my first encounter with dystopian speculative fiction and I ultimately credit Huxley with sending me on my recent nosedive into YA lit. He probably wouldn't appreciate this association, or the one I'm about to make, which is that I think this book is one of the most powerful and accessible works of dystopia ever created, and can be seen as a forebear to much of today's hottest literature.
Sometimes when I'm not sure what I want to listen to next I'll return to a book that I loved fervently in print and check it out in audio, and that's what I did with Brave New World. I'm so glad that I did. Michael York is an excellent narrator and he captures the different characters admirably. But what I found most impressive is how he handles dialogue. Brave New World is more than dystopian sci-fi; it's a novel of ideas and discussion. There's a lengthy rapid-fire debate that takes place between John the Savage and Mustapha Mond near the end of the book that is generously peppered with obscure Shakespearian references. When reading you can gloss over anything you do not get immediately because you understand the merit of their discussion: is it better to be happy and controlled, or is the freedom to be unhappy the greatest of human liberties? But I found while listening that Michael York carried me along through their debate and the individual Shakespearian references sang clearly. Just as seeing a play acted out on stage is easier than reading it, I really feel that listening to this book was a heightened experience, and an improvement on the print version. Now when I recommend Brave New World to people I suggest they listen to it first.
And I'm going to recommend it again now: There's a reason this is a classic, and read by most freshman English students. If somehow you've missed it, now is the time to pick this one up.
143 of 157 people found this review helpful
- Kayley
- 11-12-08
still frightening all these years later
i found "brave new world" to be...interesting, interesting in a "make your skin crawl at the reality of how close to home this story hits" kind of way. a disturbing tale, written many years ago, it's tempting to dismiss the possibilites for a future like this as unthinkable, impossible, improbable...an alarmist's view of the future from so far in the past as to be almost laughable. in truth, laughing will be the last thing on the listener's mind. "brave new world" is presented in such a way as to make the listener think long and hard about our own current events and where they could potentially go in the not so distant future. a bit of a stuffy read at times, it may be a bit hard for many to understand due to both the english accent and the multisyllabic words used nearly constantly. find yourself a dictionary and settle in, just don't be surprised at the disturbing bent your dreams may take. use it as an entertaining listen, but be certain to take away the startling glimpses of what could so easily be our own "brave new world" in the not so distant future.
58 of 66 people found this review helpful
- W Perry Hall
- 06-03-17
Hedonist Nihilism and the Centrifugal Bumblepuppy
"O brave new world, that has such people in it!"
Shakespeare's The Tempest
I was enraptured while reading this remarkable futuristic fable of a society somberly envisioned as one of hedonist nihilism in which humans are all hatched from incubators, graded, sorted, brainwashed and drugged to accept their position in the social order.
In doing a bit of research about the novel after reading it, I found this candescent passage from the late Neil Postman, a social critic and distinguished professor, comparing 1984 with Brave New World:
What Orwell feared were those who would ban books. What Huxley feared was that there would be no reason to ban a book, for there would be no one who wanted to read one. Orwell feared those who would deprive us of information. Huxley feared those who would give us so much that we would be reduced to passivity and egotism. ... Orwell feared we would become a captive culture. Huxley feared we would become a trivial culture, preoccupied with some equivalent of the feelies, the orgy porgy, and the centrifugal bumblepuppy.
N. Postman, Amusing Ourselves to Death: Public Discourse in the Age of Show Business.
I found this novel quite frightening in the longer view (compared to 1984) considering, as Christopher Hitchens so rightly pointed out, that 1984's "house of horrors" showed its weakness with the downfall of the Soviet Union, whereas Huxley's type of Brave New World "still beckons toward a painless, amusement-sodden, and stress-free consensus," a "true blissed-out and vacant servitude" for which "you need an otherwise sophisticated society where no serious history is taught." C. Hitchens, "Goodbye to All That: Why Americans Are Not Taught History." Harper's Magazine, Nov. 1998.*
17 of 19 people found this review helpful
- John
- 24-10-13
Hats Off to Aldous Huxley, Michael York & Audible
Huxley for writing the book, York for reading it and Audible for making books like this available in their Daily Deals. I would never have bought it had it not been on sale—and I would have missed an amazing work of literature as well as a fine audio performance.
Like many people, Brave New World was always one of those books I meant to read. Whenever a new tech marvel hit the scene or a new question of medical ethics made headlines, a news writer somewhere was sure to make an allusion to the title of Aldous Huxley's masterpiece. But that's as far as my understanding of the book went: a nebulous sense that it presented a less-than-savory picture of some indefinite, but very possible, future.
But as Mustapha Mond, the World Controller for Western Europe might say, that's just the tip of the iceberg.
In the interest of full disclosure, you need to know I was born and bred in Detroit. Hence, a good deal of my enjoyment of the book stems from the author's complete agreement with my own estimate of Henry Ford. Yes, he made America mobile. Yes, that mobility was affordable. But delve into some of the man's writings, sayings and methods and you understand what Huxley is driving at.
One day Ford was walking through his factory when he noticed a pile of short wooden boards. Upon inquiring about them, he learned they were broken up packing cases that had contained auto parts; they were about to be thrown away. In a flash of ingenuity, he ordered the wood to be used as floorboards for his Model T's.
It's a story that appeals to all our recycling instincts (that's the way we've been conditioned, right?) But dig a little deeper. Behind Ford's idea there lurks a sort of maniacal drive for complete and utter efficiency.
It goes hand in hand with Ford housing his workers in barracks. Yes, they were clean, bright places to live. But they were also places where the workers could be supervised. Drinking was frowned upon for obvious reasons. Dancing was encouraged because Ford had some odd theory about its moral benefits. Random inspections were a normal feature of life.
Then there's the famous $5 a day wage. Accepted now as a humanitarian measure—so much more, we are told, than what other industrialists were offering the downtrodden proletariat. In actuality, the downtrodden proletariat only got $2.50 an hour—the other $2.50 was held back, to be paid at a later date if the workers' behavior met Mr. Ford's exacting standards.
If none of this is giving you the chills, then you may not want to bother with Brave New World.
There's a photograph of Ford relaxing (if that was possible for him) in his home in Dearborn—incidentally, an architectural monstrosity of conflicting styles. In the background a piece of needlework proclaims: "He who chops his own firewood warms himself twice". Ok, that's true as far as it goes. But again there's that maniacal drive for efficiency, an almost Uber-Puritanical focus on work—a focus that excludes all other considerations.
Ford crystalized that focus with the infamous remark, "History is bunk". The blowback from those words was so widespread he tried to atone by building Greenfield Village, the open-air museum that is as much a monument to himself and his friend Thomas Edison as homage to the past. Nevertheless, the unguarded remark reveals his true thinking.
In Brave New World, Huxley takes that thinking and follows it out to its extreme, "logical" conclusion. I understand that there's more underpinning the book than just the wit and wisdom of Henry Ford. For example, I sense a critique of our Declaration of Independence (why did Jefferson include "happiness" among our inalienable rights, rather than keep to the classic Whig triumvirate of life, liberty and property?) It's a piece of our foundational rhetoric that, taken to its "logical" extreme, can be just as culturally destructive as Ford's hatred of the past.
So much for the roots of the book. I'll leave you to draw your own conclusions about how much of what Huxley imagined has actually come to pass.
On top of a masterpiece you also get Michael York's performance, which is simply extraordinary. And again, big kudos to Audible for making literature like this available at sacrifice prices—and here's hoping they'll do it again soon. Many of the blockbusting best sellers that usually make the Daily Deal are, as the Savage would point out if he were here, a far cry from Othello.
39 of 45 people found this review helpful
- Sean
- 19-04-09
Stick with it!
After only a few chapters into Brave New World, you will be so shocked and appalled that you may feel inclined to emphatically put it down and disconnect yourself from it for the fear that someone else will overhear the spill of your headphones. I challenge you to keep reading; although it never explains itself in a way that eases our consciences, it categorically forces you to reconsider every quantum of morality and ethics you possess. Once done, you will certainly not agree with the hypothetical future set forth by Aldous Huxley, but you will understand why not, and thus have a far more solid foundation for why you believe what you believe.
53 of 62 people found this review helpful
- Jim
- 12-02-12
A "Have to Read" Book
There are some books which, sooner or later, one must read. Here is one of them. Although quite famous, most of its worth lies in its insight than in its uneven prose. In fact, there are times when Huxley cannot write his way out of a paper bag, contrasted with other moments when, for some reason, he does better. He is best when describing objects and surroundings rather than conversation and human interactions. In any event, his writing is mediocre rather than great. Ideas and images buoy the text up: human embryos raised in bottles, then "decanted" (as the book's society calls it) into faux placentas until birth; humans given all the sexual thrills they can handle from childhood, and all the emotion-draining hallucinogenic drugs they want, in order to maintain social order. Michael York as narrator is superior, with my only complaint being that his voice gets strident at times.
27 of 33 people found this review helpful
- 20-05-17
Horrible reading by Michael York
Narrator is either yelling in your ear or mumbling. Volume needs to be normalized. Actually listening to the content of the story is difficult and overshadowed by having to turn the volume up and down constantly. Dreadful OVER-voice acting.
37 of 46 people found this review helpful
- Matthew
- 25-02-13
Keep in mind, it's a classic.
To be honest, I had never heard of the book before in my life. With my interest in dystopian worlds and lives, this book seemed like a good on to read. And it was. The narrator's performance was good and the storyline, as eccentric as it turned out to be, was very strong. This is no run-of-the-mill story, you will need to immerse yourself in the world and the style that it is written in, but when you do, be prepared for a mind-bending dystopia!
28 of 35 people found this review helpful
- Jim "The Impatient"
- 01-01-16
Everyone has heard of this book, while few have read it. All of my reviews are based on entertainment value here and now. This was my second reading of the unabridged version and it is a must for anyone who claims to be a science fiction fan. Written in 1958, the predictions of a possible future are amazing. The main problem in reading it, is that is more of a thesis than a story. I strongly suggest that instead of reading this, spend 95 cents and get the one hour dramatized version. Not long ago I listen to the dramatized version and was very pleased. The shorter version hits all the high points and really gets you thinking. If you go ahead and get this version, it is more enjoyed in shorter bites.
Breast implants
The world Huxley dreams up, has partly come true and other parts might come true. The book is extremely thought provoking. One thinks of Hitler's desire to build a master race. In 1958 monogamy was the norm and women lost their virginity on their wedding night. In 1958 who would have dreamed of the amount of women who would get breast implants, essentially leading to such a large commonality in looks, plus lip plumpness, etc...
In the seventies I liked Michael York as an actor and I believe he makes a great narrator.
65 of 88 people found this review helpful


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Thursday, May 13, 2010
Tart Cherry Frozen Yogurt with Crispy Honey Cookies . . .
Summer--so they say--is briskly approaching, though I must say you'd never know it in south-eastern Michigan this week (please excuse me a minute while I stow away my soggy umbrella and put on a warm sweater). I'm giving this very rainy month of May the benefit of the doubt, though. It seems the least I can do. There are signs everywhere--unmistakable signs--that summer wants to arrive.
What kind of signs, you ask? Well, currently my favorite sign is a devoted mother robin. She built her nest in an ill-advised and completely unguarded location in a slim terracotta flower-pot, which hangs on the wooden fence that borders our driveway. After much quiet sitting on two lovely sky-blue eggs, her babies hatched a few days ago. This morning as I type, the chilly raindrops hammer her with no mercy, yet she remains huddled and completely still over her little birds. It seems she has the faith that she was born with, knowing without a doubt that warm weather is not far away. She's calm and hopeful. I choose to trust her instincts.
So, proceeding on the optimistic assumption that the days of hot sidewalks and lemonade stands aren't too distant, I've made a bright pink, tart-cherry, frozen yogurt. Yes, folks, 'tis the season to dust off your ice-cream maker and begin pondering the gorgeous possibilities for homemade summertime ice creams, sorbets, and fro-yos.
In scouting for the right recipe, I encountered several designed for use with fresh sour cherries; David Lebovitz, for example, has an easy formula in his valuable book, The Perfect Sccop. But I wanted one that called specifically for frozen cherries alone. Early in April, you may recall I mentioned having stumbled upon an extraordinary sale on frozen tart (aka sour-sour-sour!) Michigan cherries. I bought three large bags, used one of them to bake my son Charlie's 17th birthday cherry-lattice pie (which, by the way, was darn good), and stashed the rest in the freezer. Naturally, I wanted to use some of them again.
So, this week, I incorporated them into a cool, fresh, and appealing treat. The frozen yogurt recipe, which I've adapted here, was inspired by a recent post in a beautiful food blog called The Whole Kitchen.
Speaking of cookies . . .
And what goes better with a small scoop of something sweet and frosty than a charming cookie? Crunchy and wheaty without being overpowering, these lean happily toward the healthier end of the cookie spectrum.
I must admit that I love hard cookies that require a lot of chewing, something I may have divulged to you previously. I'm like a canine with a milk-bone dog biscuit that way. Can't help myself. The longer you bake these, the longer it takes to gnaw on them. (Not into gnawing? Want your cookies softer? Just take them out of the oven before they get too golden, and consider making them a little thicker to start with.)
The recipe is one that I adapted from King Arthur Flour Whole Grain Baking, a substantial and satisfying volume that I've mentioned before (most recently here, just a couple of weeks ago). I changed it up slightly by substituting a small amount of honey for some of the sugar, and instead of using all whole wheat flour, which makes for a heavy duty cookie that doesn't always have broad appeal, I used about 60 percent whole wheat with white flour for the balance.
These cookies are rolled out and cut with cookie cutters, but the dough--which must be briefly chilled and is kind of sticky--is very forgiving and can accommodate a good bit of flour to make the rolling and cutting process pain-free.
Happy slurping and crunching! (And bring on summer, please!)
Tart-Cherry Frozen Yogurt
(For a printable version of this recipe, and the cookie recipe below, click here!)
1 cup fully frozen sour cherries
2 and 1/2 cups frozen sour cherries that have been mostly thawed
1 cup superfine sugar
2 cups Greek style yogurt (I used Trader Joe's brand)
2 Tbsp. Chambord raspberry liqueur (or a comparable liqueur like kirsch, for eg.)
Fresh lemon juice to taste (I used at least 2 tsp., maybe more)
In the bowl of a food processor, puree all of the cherries along with the sugar; pulse a few times until well combined.
Add in the yogurt and pulse to combine. Then add in the liqueur and pulse to combine, and add the lemon juice to taste.
Pour the mixture into a container and cover it tightly. Chill it for several hours or overnight in the refrigerator.
Prepare the frozen yogurt in your ice cream maker according to its specific directions. (In my ice cream maker, which is the Kitchen Aid attachment to my mixer, I slowly churned the chilled mixture for 30 minutes. Then I poured it into a glass container, covered it tightly with plastic wrap, and put that in the coldest part of my freezer for at least 24 hours to firm up. The yogurt was nicely scoopable and not too hard when I took it out of the freezer the next day.)
Crunchy Honey Wheat Cookies
3/4 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
3/4 cup granulated sugar
2 Tbsp. honey
3/4 tsp. salt
1/4 cup orange juice
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 and 1/4 cups whole wheat flour
3/4 cup All-Purpose white flour
1/2 tsp. baking powder
In the bowl of your mixer, combine the butter, sugar, honey, and salt, then add in the orange juice, vanilla extract, wheat flour, white flour, and baking powder. Beat until well mixed.
Flatten the dough into 2 equal disks, wrap them in plastic wrap, and chill them in the fridge for 30 minutes or more.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line cookie sheet(s) with parchment paper.
Taking one disk of dough from the fridge at a time, roll the dough out on a floured surface into a circle about 14" in diameter. Use cookie cutters to cut out any shapes you like. It's okay to roll and re-roll the dough scraps. Repeat with the second disk of dough, or freeze it dough for use another time.
(If you'd like to comment on this post, or to read any existing comments, please click on the purple COMMENTS below!)
|Reader reactions:
14 comments:
- Chele said...
Oh dear - you'd think that Mummy Bird would have thought on about her choice of nursery! In any case the frozen yoghurt and cookies look fab ;0)
- May 13, 2010 at 2:05 PM
- Stella said...
Hey Jane, I hope your'e doing well.
I know it's still cold up there or so I hear on the news, but it is starting be blistering hot here in our subtropical hollow. I'm hesitant to even go outside and down my stairs to the basement and do laundry (no indoor staircase!). Yes, it's that hot.
I'm going to save this recipe to my files. My Cauldron Boy needs something like this on hand, as he doesn't handle the heat well. Plus, it looks super delicious!
- May 13, 2010 at 2:27 PM
- Jane said...
Hello Chele,
Yes, we were pretty surprised at her choice of housing! I figure there must be method to her madness, but exactly what it might be I'm just not sure. It's kind of inspiring to watch her. I just hope those babies make it safely to maturity!
Thanks so much,
:) Jane
Hi there Stella,
Thanks, yes, we are doing well! :) Oh, Stella, I sure wish it would warm up in these parts. I would love, just once, to be able to use the termd "subtropical" in reference to Michigan. (I hadn't really realized where you lived until I read about your stroll with your mom recently, when you found a really interesting berry I'd never seen or heard of before.) Glad you like this fro-yo recipe. I hope Cauldron Boy benefits from it!
Jane :)
- May 13, 2010 at 4:07 PM
- Alejandra Ramos said...
Those honey wheat cookies look incredible! And I have to say that sour cherry frozen yogurt (the homemade kind) is one of my absolute favorites. I like to add a dash of almond to mine and I'm in heaven!
- May 13, 2010 at 10:34 PM
- faithy, the baker said...
I've been waiting for your post since your last blog post! :) Yummy yoghurt and looks easy to do! I have to try it. And i LOVE your cookies! It's rolled to so thin and keep it shape so well! Do you think i can use it as a base cookie and ice with RI on top?
- May 14, 2010 at 3:22 AM
- Katrina said...
This is the perfect pairing. It's so appropriate for spring. Yum!
- May 14, 2010 at 7:24 AM
- Jane said...
Hi there Alejandra,
You know, if I'd remembered to do so, I think I would have added in a couple drops of almond extract. I know I saw a couple of cherry fro-yo recipes that called for it, and I thought it was a good idea. Next time I will try it that way!
Many thanks,
:) Jane
Hi Faithy,
Yep, it's a super easy frozen yogurt recipe. And the cookie recipe's ultra easy too! You can definitely use royal icing on these cookies. If you make them thin enough, and bake them long enough, they will be very smooth and rigid. Just right for that kind of icing. Thanks for always saying such nice things, Faithy!
Jane :)
Hello Katrina--
Oh, I know what you mean. It is indeed the perfect pairing. In fact, I always love pairing frozen desserts with something light and crunchy on the side like a little cookie. In fact, if I get an ice cream cone, I usually deconstruct it, put the IC in a bowl, and break up the cone to use like cookie pieces!
:) Keep on baking,
- May 14, 2010 at 8:14 AM
- Helen said...
I really need to get myself a ice cream maker and David's book. I've seen so many great ice cream recipes on blogs recently. The ice cream cookie combo always works and this looks so yummy. I hope summer arrives soon!
- May 14, 2010 at 8:35 AM
- Juliana said...
Jane, what a lovely frozen yogurt...unfortunately I do not own an ice cream maker...the cookies are a great complement since it can balance the tartness of the cherry...great pictures :-)
- May 14, 2010 at 11:09 AM
- Cocina Savant said...
What a delectable set of desserts. It seems like the only thing better than dessert are dessert that play well together. This sounds like something to try in the near warming future.
- May 14, 2010 at 3:55 PM
- Lucy said...
I've not made much ice cream before, but this definitely inspires me to get my ice cream maker out! I love the vibrant colour, and can just imagine the flavour combination with the honey cookies. Mmmm!
- May 16, 2010 at 4:55 PM
- Foodessa said...
What an adorable and informative post. I can't wait until we get our plump, juicy cherries. This recipe might just be one for my repertoire!
Flavourful wishes, Claudia
- May 18, 2010 at 8:45 AM
- Lindsey @ Hot Polka Dot said...
Mmm I love frozen yogurt and cherries. What a great combo! I just bought a bunch of cherries too. :)
- May 23, 2010 at 12:37 PM
Hello, Is the whole wheat flour completely necessary, is there any sub.?
- July 29, 2010 at 1:04 AM


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Samsung Galaxy S6, On The Drawing Board.
As we already heard the rumors about Samsung's next
flagship within the Galaxy lineup Galaxy S6. It seem to be embedded with a project codenamed "Project Zero." Galaxy S6 is going back to
the drawing board to become the next big thing. Galaxy S6 is going to have a high density screen and beveled edges according to a new
report published by SamMobile, We will be waiting.


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Study tracks mutations causing CDA II back to the Roman Empire
Many of you might know that Congenital Dyserythropoietic Anemia type II (CDA II) is a rare blood disorder, due to a failure in final part of erythropoiesis. What will surprise you is the fact that some mutations responsible for the disease can be tracked 3.000 years back. A study led by the ENERCA member Prof. Achille Iolascon, from CEINGE Advanced Biotechnologies (Naples, Italy) and the University of Naples Federico II, analyzes two mutations (E109K and R14W) of the SEC23B gene and discovers one of them is responsible for the higher frequency of CDA II in Italian population. The first mutation, E109K, may have originated in the Middle East about 2.400 years ago and may have spread in the heyday of the Roman Empire. The other one may have originated in Southern Italy about 3.000 years ago.
ENERCA is an acronym for European Network for Rare and Congenital Anaemias. It started back in 2002, funded by the European Commission and led by Dr. Joan Lluís Vives Corrons, an investigator from the Hospital Clínic of Barcelona and the Institut d'Investigacions Biomèdiques August Pi i Sunyer (IDIBAPS). Its purpose is offering an improved public health service to professional medical practitioners and patients in every aspect of rare anaemias.
As many other kinds of anemia, CDA II is characterized by ineffective erythropoiesis. It leads patients to a decrease in the number of produced reticulocytes and a low concentration of hemoglobin in the blood. This shortage prevents the blood from carrying an adequate supply of oxygen to the body's tissues, resulting in various symptoms of anemia including: tiredness (fatigue), weakness, pale skin, and other similar complications. It was first described in 1968, and soon became clear that the condition was heterogeneous, and three forms became well known, with type II being the most frequent.
CDA II is an autosomal recessive condition caused in most of the cases by a mutation in the SEC23B gene. Although many different mutations have been described, only 4 mutations account for more than 50% of mutant alleles. The present study, published in the American Journal of Hematology with Dr. Roberta Russo as the first author and Prof. Achille Iolascon as the last one, compares the relative allelic frequency of SEC23B mutations in two cohorts of cases, 64 Italian and 45 non-Italian European cases. The work shows that two mutations, R14W and E109K, are relatively common in both cohorts. Nevertheless, R14W variant showed a higher recurrence in Italian CDA II patients when compared to the rest of European patients (26.3% vs 10.7%), while E109K substitution showed almost the same allelic frequency between both groups (28.0% in Italian and 25.0% in NIE).
The fact that the R14W variant is more common in Italy could be explained by a positively selected mutation, which would mean that the mutation gives some kind of genetic advantage to its carrier, or a genetic drift resulting from a so-called founder effect. The investigators explain that it is difficult to imagine that mutations that give no known phenotype in the heterozygous state, and cause a disease in the homozygous state, can be positively selected. Therefore they suggest the second option as the most likely to explain the higher presence of the R14W variant in the Italian population.
A founder effect implies that identical mutant genes we see today have a single ancestral origin. The spread of the mutant gene may have been greatly favoured if at some stage a small population in which the gene was present has undergone rapid expansion. With a genetic analysis, called Haplotype analysis, it is possible to provide estimates for the time of origin of a founder mutation.
The cases analyzed by the present work suggest that the E109K mutation might have been originated in Italian population approximately 2.200 years ago. These results are consistent with another study that estimates its origin 2.400 years ago in Israeli Moroccan Jews. As E109K is particularly common in this population, the authors hypothesize it was born in the Middle East 2.400 years ago and arrived in European regions approximately at the time of Caesar Augustus when Roman Empire had the maximum expansion.
On the other hand, for the most frequent mutation in Italian CDA II patients, R14W, the investigators estimated that this mutation would be originated approximately 3.000 years ago, at the time when much of Southern Italy was a Greek colony, the Magna Graecia. The geographic distribution of CDA II, showing a concentration of this disease in Southern Italy and in Mediterranean countries, supports the idea that a particular CDA II mutation arose or was introduced in Southern Italy, from where it might have spread over the rest of the country. Provided by IDIBAPS


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Diesel Challenge Build-OffPosted in Project Vehicles on November 11, 2013
Diesel-powered mega trucks are now part of the norm at most major off-road events we hit throughout the year. Chrome stacks rolling coal is a product of pure power and torque mixed in with American ingenuity. There's nothing quite like seeing a 2½- or 5-ton, tube chassis race rig tearing through the mud while the twin-turbo Duramax diesel motor screams like a military fighter jet. Hearts are beating a mile a minute as these 1,000-plus horsepower monsters blast through a bounty hole slinging mud all over hundreds of spectators.
Mega truck racing is fast becoming the great All-American motorsport competition. Companies like Pela Motorsports based in Jupiter, Florida, are doing things to the diesel powerplants that this side of motorsports hasn't seen before. That's why we decided to follow a pair of these builders and fabricators and document two mega truck builds that they're putting together. We are going behind the scenes to capture the tricks and methods these fabricators use to assemble some the most performance-driven off-road vehicles in the sport.
Many of you have seen previous feature rigs and noticed the differences between a full tube chassis race truck and a massive 5-ton factory frame diesel crawler and wondered which was better. What are the functional advantages and real-world benefits to a fully engineered and assembled chassis? Can a 5-ton steel body, 24-valve Dodge Cummins beat a tube chassis, twin-turbo Duramax in a side-by-side race at Redneck Yacht Club by the end of this year? These are serious life-altering questions that everyone, including us, wants answered. So with a plan in place and a date set, Rob Pigue from Plan B Fab and Adam Pela with Pela Motorsports will show us what happens when two custom mega trucks sit side-by-side and wait for the light to go green.
The build and race is going to get intense with these two lifetime competitors, so we are splitting up the arena and allowing them to go as big as they want. No rules, no limits, no regrets. This will be one of the most unique build-offs any media outlet has covered to date. The final race will stream live online, and the winner gets bragging rights and the title of Mega Diesel King.
Next-Level is the name of the Pela Motorsport build and will be constructed from an '07 GMC 2500. It will have a completely engineered tube chassis designed and fabricated at Dennis Ruegger's shop, All-Out Performance in Zephyrhills, Florida. The rig will have a fully built, Twin Turbo Duramax diesel motor along with a one-of-a-kind Ford 4R100 prototype transmission.
Pela will be utilizing the first-ever billet aluminum, CNC-machined rear timing cover for an engine, so there is no adapter plate needed to attach the $10,000 transmission. The rear-mounted motor adds weight to the rear and will require a custom reverse-flow transfer case from Cyclone Gearbox.
Dan Patrick at Patrick Enterprises Incorporated in Ohio is building a coilover suspension direct from the world of monster trucks that will give Pela full control when hitting the corners and jumps. The 2½-ton Rockwell axles will be upgraded with eight-lug hubs, 16-spline axleshafts, lockers, custom wheels, and Superior Traction paddle tires. Fiberglass body panels, racing seats, and a whole bunch a gauges will finish up the project just in time to align bumpers with Rob Pigue's '05 Dodge Ram Cummins at the starting line of the race.
Check out our website for the specs on Pigue's build and follow along online as he redesigns his heavy-duty Dodge. The competition will heat up fast, so don't miss a minute of the fun. We'll see you at the final race to see which rig takes home the title and the bragging rights.


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Ted Harley was the recipient of an award presented at the Immaculate Conception Fish Frylast week. Harley has been an active member of the Knights of Columbus since 2003. He received a certificate from K of C Supreme Office honoring him on his 90th birthday, which was Feb. 7. Pictured from left to right isBill Cheap, Jack Dombroski, Ted Harley and Joe Liedtke.
It's a tradition that's lasted 60 years for the Cub Scouts of America: tiny cars are carved out of wood, propelled by gravity, and raced down a track to the sounds of cheering families. It's the Pinewood Derby, and it's barreling into Oldham County.
The 2nd Annual River City Joggin' for Frogmen 5k is back, bigger and better.
Once again, it will take place at 8:30 a.m. on Saturday, Aug. 29, 2015, at South Oldham High School, 5901 Veterans Memorial Parkway.
The race raised over $10,000 in 2014 and the organization needs your help to reach its 2015 goal of $20,000.
Take advantage of special early bird pricing. For a limited time, race registration for the 5k is $25 for adult civilians, $20 for adult active duty military and $10 for the Tadpole Trot (children six and under).
Emergency Management to host Skywarn Spotter training class
Information submitted
Oldham County Emergency Management, in conjunction with the National Weather Service, is hosting a Skywarn Weather Spotter Class on Wednesday, March 25 at the John Black Community Center, located at 1551 North Highway 393 in La Grange.
Skywarn is the National Weather Service (NWS) program of trained volunteer severe weather spotters. Skywarn volunteers support their local community and government by providing the NWS with timely and accurate severe weather reports.
The Oldham County Exttenstion Office will hold a beginning beekeeping class on Saturday, March 21 from 9 a.m.–2 p.m.
There will be a $10 registration fee and it may be payable to Oldham County Extension. Lunch is included and space is limited and registration must be submitted to reserve a seat.
The workshop location is 1815 N. Hwy. 393. Call (502) 222-9453 for more information.
The event is sponsored by Oldham County Beekeepers Association and the University of Kentucky Cooperative Extension Service.
Twenty-eight men from Louisville and Oldham County have been designing a Kentucky Derby-themed tuxedo jacket for the purpose of raising funds and awareness for the Oldham County Historical Society. The man who brings in the most money in sponsorships for the jacket will be the named "The Most Dandy Derby Stud." The winner will also get a Ford Mustang to use during Derby season, as well as other goodies. There will also be a people's choice award, voted on by the public.
Join the Oldham County History Center in celebrating the life of Henry Walton Bibb on Saturday. Bibb was a slave who once lived on the Gatewood Plantation, located in present-day Trimble County. It was the last place where he lived as a slave before gaining freedom by escaping north. He later moved to Ipswich, Canada where he became the first black editor of a Canadian newspaper, The Voice of the Fugitive.
Snow removal notice
The Oldham County Fiscal Court will like to notify local residents to move their cars off county roads during winter weather events. The county road department has had difficulties clearing all streets due to cars being put on the road and trash cans in the street. The county asks for people to keep cars and cans in driveways so snow removal can occur.
After hours
The South Oldham Rotary Club had the pleasure of honoring the South Oldham Rotary John Longstreet Student of the Month at it Feb. 13 meeting.
Megan Renae Farmer is the daughter of Terrie Bragg and Jim Farmer and is a senior at South Oldham High School, where she is active in Chamber, Musical Theatre, Tri-M, Link Crew and the Art Program. Farmer was chosen because she is a great student who is very involved in the complete "arts" program. She is always willing to help others.
Copyright © 2019
The Oldham Era is your source for local news, sports, events, and information in Oldham County and LaGrange, Kentucky, and the surrounding area.


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Director: Mike Nichols. With Julia Roberts, Jude Law, Natalie Portman, Clive Owen. (101 min.)
Sterritt *** See review on page 13.
Director: John Deery. With Jonathan Forbes, Brenda Fricker, Hugh Bonneville, Hugh Quarshie. (87 min.)
Sterritt ** A student is expelled from his Roman Catholic seminary for almost no reason at all, and an idealistic reporter finds sinister links with a recent suicide and a history of scandal that's been hushed up all too well. The story meanders, but the subject is timely and important.
Director: Alireza Raisian. With Leila Hatami, Mehran Rajabi, Nezam Manouchehri, Mahmoud Pak Neeyat. (93 min.)
Sterritt **** Gentle, human-scaled drama about a feisty Iranian jack-of-all-trades who enters the lives of a photographer and his wife when their car breaks down in the middle of nowhere. Intimate and engaging. In Farsi with subtitles.
Director: Vikram Jayanti. With Garry Kasparov, Joel Benjamin, archive material of Anatoli Karpov, Terry Wogan. (90 min.)
Sterritt **** The world's greatest chess player lost a match to IBM's gigantic Deep Blue computer in 1997, and this sensational documentary revisits the games - as well as charges that the IBM team played fast and loose with the rules. Gripping, suspenseful, and spiced with fascinating information about the long history of chess between human and mechanical opponents.
Director: Zhang Yimou. With Zhang Ziyi, Andy Lau, Takeshi Kaneshiro, Dandan Song. (119 min.)
Sterritt **** See review at right.
Sex/Nudity: 5 instances. Violence: 15 Profanity: None. Drugs: 3 scenes with drinking.
Directors: Megan Mylan, Jon Shenk. With Peter Kon Dut, Santino Majok Chuor. (87 min.)
Sterritt **** Documentary about Sudanese refugees who overcome the odds and move to the United States, go through difficult periods of adjustment, and wind up with doubts about how much better off they really are. A riveting movie. In English, Arabic, Dinka, and Swahili, with subtitles.
Director: Brett Ratner. With Pierce Brosnan, Salma Hayek, Woody Harrelson, Don Cheadle. (97 min.)
Sterritt ** A cop chases a crook who covets a huge, exotic diamond. This indirect rehash of "To Catch a Thief" trades Hitchcockian shrewdness for the slickest kinds of Hollywood glitz, gloss, and vulgarity.
Sex/Nudity: 9 instances of innuendo. Violence: 7 Profanity: 27 expressions, mostly mild. Drugs: 15 instances of drinking, 3 of smoking.
Director: Oliver Stone. With Colin Farrell, Angelina Jolie, Anthony Hopkins, Jared Leto. (172 min.)
Sterritt * The story of Alexander the Great, who wept when he realized there were no more realms for him to conquer. Stone may do the same when he realizes what a dull movie he's directed. It's astounding that the ingenious creator of "JFK" and "Wall Street" could make an epic on war and empire that's so utterly simplistic and unreflective.
Sex/Nudity: 8 instances. Violence: 21 Profanity: 3 mild expressions. Drugs: 10 scenes with drinking.
Director: Jean-Pierre Jeunet. With Audrey Tautou, Tcheky Karyo, Jodie Foster. (133 min.)
Sterritt *** Refusing to believe her fiancé was killed in World War I, a disabled young woman undertakes a long odyssey to discover what really became of him and where he might actually be. The acting is marvelous, and Jeunet finally manages to put his overzealous style at the service of his story, instead of the other way around. In French with subtitles.
Director: Beeban Kidron. With Renée Zellweger, Colin Firth, Hugh Grant, Gemma Jones. (108 min.)
Sterritt ** The sequel to the 2001 hit "Bridget Jones's Diary" is basically more of the same, with our weight-conscious heroine caught between snooty attorney Firth, cheeky journalist Grant, and her own indecisive nature. The movie catches occasional fire when Bridget suddenly says what's really on her mind. The rest is silliness.
Sex/Nudity: 12 instances. Violence: 1 Profanity: 58 expressions, mostly mild. Drugs: 16 instances of drinking and smoking, and 2 references to illegal substances.
Christmas With the Kranks (PG)
Director: Joe Roth. With Tim Allen, Jamie Lee Curtis, Dan Aykroyd, Cheech Marin. (99 min.)
Sterritt * Facing their first Christmas without their daughter at home, a middle-aged couple decide not to celebrate the holiday, sending their neighborhood into
shock. It's possible the comedy contains some secret allegory about the Protestant Reformation - the main character is named Luther, after all - but its main message is that everyone should believe and behave in exactly the same way. Groupthink wins again!
Sex/Nudity: 3 instances of innuendo. Violence: 5 Profanity: 3 mild theological expressions. Drugs: 6 instances of drinking, 1 of smoking.
Director: Marc Forster. With Johnny Depp, Kate Winslet, Dustin Hoffman, Julie Christie. (113 min.)
Sterritt *** Depp plays the Scottish playwright who dreamed up "Peter Pan" after befriending some real-life children. The story takes large liberties with Barrie's biography, and parents should know that the movie is surprisingly dark, dealing candidly with the death of a major character. The acting is excellent.
Sex/Nudity: 3 instances of innuendo. Violence: 1 Profanity: None. Drugs: 4 instances of drinking and smoking.
Director: Brad Bird. With voices of Craig T. Nelson, Holly Hunter, Samuel L. Jackson, Sarah Vowell. (115 min.)
Sterritt *** What would happen if the public turned against superheroes, seeing them as menaces whose pursuit of truth and justice wreaks havoc on innocent bystanders? That question energizes this ambitious animation from Disney and Pixar, and the answers, decked out with slam-bang action and witty dialogue, are great fun to discover.
Sex/Nudity: None. Violence: 25 Profanity: 1 mild theological expression. Drugs: 2 instances of drinking.
Director: Jon Turteltaub. With Nicolas Cage, Diane Kruger, Harvey Keitel, Jon Voight. (131 min.)
Sterritt ** "The Da Vinci Code" meets "Raiders of the Lost Ark" in this slam-bang adventure about two teams, one good and one evil, scrutinizing patriotic artifacts for clues to a hidden Masonic treasure. Too bad the clever bits are swamped by no-brainer gunfights, rescues, and chases galore.
Sex/Nudity: 1 instance of innuendo. Violence: 11 Profanity: 5 mild theological expressions. Drugs: 1 instance of drinking.
Director: Jean-Luc Godard. With Judith Lerner, Ramos Garcia, Olga Brodsky, Jean-Luc Godard. (79 min.)
Sterritt **** Godard's latest masterpiece takes a symbolic journey starting in hell, represented by modern war; moving to purgatory, set in Sarajevo, where a Jewish journalist hopes to confirm the possibilities of peace and reconciliation; and ending in paradise, a chunk of Swiss countryside with a varied population. Visually sublime and intellectually dense, this is one of the extremely rare movies that prove cinema can be as complex and profound as the very greatest art works in any form. The title means "Our Music." In English, French, and Spanish, with subtitles
Director: Robert Zemeckis. With voices of Tom Hanks, Nona Gaye, Eddie Deezen, Peter Scolari. (100 min.)
Sterritt ** On its way to the North Pole, a magical train pauses on Christmas Eve to pick up kids who need more Christmas cheer. The movie is technically impressive, using high-tech "capture" methods that transform live action into animation. The story is too implausible even for a fantasy, though, and its message of "belief" refers entirely to yuletide gifts and decorations, never so much as nodding to the holiday's religious meanings.
Staff *** Charming, fantasically animated, holiday-spirited.
Sex/Nudity: None. Violence: None. Profanity: 1 mild expression. Drugs: None.
Director: Taylor Hackford. With Jamie Foxx, Kerry Washington, Clifton Powell, Regina King. (152 min.)
Sterritt *** Fictionalized biography of Ray Charles, the late singer, pianist, and songwriter. Foxx is just about perfect, allowing us to identify and empathize with Charles even as we experience his failings, including drug addiction that threatened to sabotage his career before he kicked the habit in the 1960s. Fine acting and magnificent music compensate for a schematic story line.
Sex/Nudity: 7 instances. Violence: 6 instances. Profanity: 76 mild expressions. Drugs: 52 instances, some with illegal substances.
Directors: Sherm Cohen, Stephen Hillenburg, Mark Osborne. With voices of Tom Kenny, Alec Baldwin, Bill Fagerbakke, Jeffrey Tambor. (87 min.)
Sterritt **** Our absorbent hero and his starfish pal leave Bikini Bottom for sinister Shell City on a mission to retrieve King Neptune's stolen crown and save wrongly accused Mr. Krabs in the process. Imagine a Jerry Lewis movie designed by Salvador Dalí and you'll have some idea what this animation is like.
Sex/Nudity: 1 mild instance of innuendo. Violence: 24 cartoonish instances Profanity: None. Drugs: 2 instances of drinking.
Director: Alfonso Cuarón. With Daniel Radcliffe, Michael Gambon, Alan Rickman, Emma Thompson. (142 min.)
Staff *** Harry and his Hogwarts classmates have matured - and so has the series, of which this film is the third and best. The atmosphere is murkier and the plot more complex. Sirius Black has escaped from wizards' prison with plans to murder Harry. Alarmed, Hogwarts staff recruit Dementors to guard the school, but these wraiths are almost worse than any evil they could keep at bay. And they prove adept at unhinging our hero. Potter fans will be happy that this time around Hermione is less whiny, Harry more brooding, and Ron is still as hapless as ever. The DVD's extras feel tacked on, and the cast interviews are of interest only to see Hagrid out of costume. By April Austin


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Red stars denote the reviews of Monitor movie critic David Sterritt unless otherwise noted. Ratings and comments by the Monitor panel ( blue stars) reflect the sometimes diverse views of at least three other moviegoers. Information on violence, drugs, sex/nudity, and profanity is compiled by the Monitor panel.
David Sterritt Monitor panel Meaning
**** **** Excellent
*** *** Good
** ** Fair
* * Poor
DUD DUD The Worst
Anna and the King (PG-13) ** Director: Andy Tennant. With Jodie Foster, Chow Yun-Fat, Bai Ling, Tom Felton, Syed Alwi, Keith Chin. (146 min.)
The adventures of an English schoolteacher who takes a job as tutor to a Siamese prince and enters a deliciously complex relationship with the boy's regal father. Based on the same memoir that inspired "The King and I," this colorfully filmed drama makes many changes from the classic 1956 version of the tale - most important, the music numbers are gone - but doesn't develop enough momentum to justify its too-long running time.
Bicentennial Man (PG) ** Director: Chris Columbus. With Robin Williams, Embeth Davitz, Oliver Platt, Wendy Crewson, Sam Neill. (133 min.)
In the not-so-distant future, a family acquires a household robot with an individualistic streak that makes him dream of an independent life. Kids may yawn at the movie's dawdling pace, but making Williams play an android is one way to stifle the gooey sentimentality that has marred so many of his performances.
Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo (R) ** Director: Mike Mitchell. With Rob Schneider, Eddie Griffin, Arija Bareikis. (88 min.)
Schneider, a former "Saturday Night Live" cast member, stars as likable loser Deuce Bigalow, a fish-tank cleaner who must raise quick cash to cover damage done while fish-sitting at a male gigolo's home. What quicker way, he surmises, than become a gigolo himself. The tasteless jokes are, all things considered, pretty tastefully done, but this one may not even rank as rent-worthy. By Katherine Dillin ** Raunchy, silly, unoriginal, sometimes funny.
Sex/Nudity: 26 instances total with sexual situations, mild nudity, and/or innuendo. Violence: 6 instances of cartoonish violence. Profanity: 76 expressions, mostly harsh. Drugs: 2 scenes with alcohol, 1 with alcohol and smoking.
The Emperor and the Assassin (R) *** Director: Chen Kaige. With Gong Li, Li Xuejian, Zheng Fengyi, Chen Kaige, Sun Zhou, Lu Xiaohe, Wang Zhiwen, Gu Yongfei, Zhao Benshan, Ding Haifeng. (161 min.)
A ruthlessly ambitious king, his disillusioned lover, and a professional assassin who's given up killing are the main characters in this sweeping tale set in China more than 2000 years ago. Chen is one of China's most gifted filmmakers, but this movie has a mixture of strengths and limitations often found in historical epics: lots of eye-filling action and spectacle, little in the way of psychology or human interest.
Magnolia (R) ** Director: Paul Thomas Anderson. With Tom Cruise, Julianne Moore, John C. Reilly, Melinda Dillon, Jason Robards, William H. Macy, Luis Guzman, Philip Baker Hall, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Alfred Molina. (185 min.)
The director of "Boogie Nights" makes less impact with this large-scale panorama of life in Los Angeles, focusing on a varied cast of characters - an insecure policeman, a woman-hating sex lecturer, a dying media mogul, his grief-stricken young wife, and others - many of whom are linked to one another by connections with the world of TV quiz shows. The cast is terrific and the multitudinous story lines allow Anderson to cook up an impressive display of moviemaking logistics. But there's precious little to think about despite the screenplay's comic-philosophical musings on fate and coincidence.
Stuart Little (PG) *** Director: Rob Minkoff. With Geena Davis, Hugh Laurie, Jonathan Lipnicki, Jeffrey Jones, Jon Polito, Dabney Coleman, and voices of Michael J. Fox, Jennifer Tilly. (83 min.)
The hero is a mouse with a human-sized vocabulary and a yen for family living, which stands him in good stead when he's adopted by a mom and dad who want to give their son a little brother. Complications arise, however, when a mouse couple shows up claiming to be his real parents. Told through animation and live action, the movie lacks the subtle sense of mystery that distinguished E.B. White's lovely novel, but nicely conveys its playful spirit and amiable tone. Fine viewing for all but the youngest children.
Sex/Nudity: None. Violence: 1 long but fairly mild sequence with animals chasing and threatening one another Profanity: 1 mild expression.
Topsy-Turvy (R) **** Director: Mike Leigh. With Jim Broadbent, Allan Corduner, Timothy Spall, Lesley Manville, Ron Cook, Wendy Nottingham, Kevin McKidd, Shirley Henderson, Martin Savage, Dorothy Atkinson, Eleanor David. (161 min.)
Leigh has earned international applause for hard-edged stories of contemporary life, but here he travels a century into the past for a vivid portrait of the great operetta duo Gilbert and Sullivan as they enjoy public acclaim, wrestle with private doubts, quarrel with one another, and manage to create "The Mikado" despite all these distractions. The movie is brilliantly acted, sumptuously filmed, and overflowing with mellifluous music. It also contains glimpses of sex and drug use that make this drama less light and sanitized than Gilbert and Sullivan's own frolicsome works.
Anywhere But Here (PG-13) *** Director: Wayne Wang. With Susan Sarandon, Natalie Portman, Bonnie Bedelia, Shawn Hatosy. (113 min.)
A single mom heads from Wisconsin to Los Angeles with dreams of Hollywood stardom for her teenage daughter, who'd rather be exactly what the title says. The story is a sort of "Stella Dallas Meets Slums of Beverly Hills," helped by heartfelt acting from its talented stars. (See story, page 20.)
Touching, sad, edgy, funny lines.
Sex/Nudity: A couple instances of innuendo. Violence: 1 mild scuffle. Profanity: 11 mild expressions. Drugs: 3 scenes with alcohol, 7 with smoking, 3 with alcohol and smoking.
The Cider House Rules (PG-13) ** Director: Lasse Hallstrm. With Tobey Maguire, Michael Caine, Charlize Theron, Delroy Lindo, Kate Nelligan, Erykah Badu, Kieran Culkin, Paul Rudd, Heavy D. (140 min.)
An orphan grows up under the guidance of an eccentric physician, moves to a different sort of life in a community of African-American laborers, and undergoes a series of adventures that test his understanding of life's often conflicting rules and assumptions. The movie leaves out portions of John Irving's novel that would have given it more balance and perspective, but the acting by Maguire and Caine is first-rate by any standard.
Cradle Will Rock (R) *** Director: Tim Robbins. With Emily Watson, John Cusack, Joan Cusack, Susan Sarandon, Bill Murray. (122 min.)
Set in the New York theater scene during the 1930s, this colorful comedy-drama scampers through various plots and subplots from the ambitions of a starving actress to the love-hate relationship of an American millionaire and a Mexican muralist. Some may find the movie too preachy to serve as a meaningful history lesson, but it will delight anyone who thinks our cynical age could benefit from recalling the vigorous idealism and venturesome artistry of a bygone era.
The Green Mile (R) ** Director: Frank Darabont. With Tom Hanks, David Morse, Michael Clarke Duncan, Bonnie Hunt, James Cromwell, Graham Greene. (180 min.)
Death-row guards in a Southern penitentiary meet a highly unusual prisoner with a gift for healing that appears incongruous next to the horrific crime he's been convicted of. The movie deals with substantial issues, but it treats capital punishment as a plot device rather than a moral issue, and its view of spiritual healing is closer to Spielberg fantasy than religious insight. Still, its good acting and good intentions will be enough to please many viewers.
Liberty Heights (R) *** Director: Barry Levinson. With Ben Foster, Adrien Brody, Rebekah Johnson. (132 min.)
Levinson's fourth movie about the Baltimore of his youth focuses on ethnic, religious, and class-based tensions among the high-school set and their parents in the 1950s era. Filmed in a quietly impressionistic style and splendidly acted by a well-chosen cast, the movie would be a top-of-the-line entertainment if its delicately balanced perspective weren't marred by a few moments of racially insensitive excess. ***1/2 Thoughtful, unpredictable, polished.
Sex/Nudity: 6 instances of innuendo, 1 instance of nudity in a burlesque scene, 1 sexual situation. Violence: 2 scenes including 1 with a fistfight. Profanity: 62 expressions, some harsh. Drugs: 1 scene with alcohol, 5 with smoking, 4 with alcohol and smoking.
Ride With the Devil (R) *** Director: Ang Lee. With Tobey Maguire, Jeffrey Wright, Jewel, Skeet Ulrich, Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Simon Baker, James Caviezel. (138 min.)
The adventures of several young men fighting the Civil War as irregular soldiers near the Kansas-Missouri border. The movie is overlong, but it explores interesting questions of wartime violence, personal integrity, and what it means to come of age in a society ripping apart at the seams. Wright stands out as an African-American man riding with these defenders of the Confederacy out of loyalty to a humane slaveholder.
Sleepy Hollow (R) *** Director: Tim Burton. With Johnny Depp, Christina Ricci, Miranda Richardson, Casper van Dien. (110 min.)
There's lots of over-the-top violence in this reshuffled version of "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow," and admirers of Washington Irving's great story will be surprised to find Ichabod Crane turned into a detective investigating a series of gruesome murders in 1799. There's also lots of brilliant filmmaking and high-spirited acting, at least until the story turns repetitious and formulaic in the last 30 minutes.
Gory, disappointing, effective cinematography, lifeless acting.
Sex/Nudity: 1 somewhat graphic sex scene. Violence: 29 instances of mostly bloody violence including many beheadings. Profanity: None. Drugs: 1 party scene with alcohol and smoking.
Toy Story 2 (G) *** Director: John Lasseter. With voices of Tom Hanks, Tim Allen, Joan Cusack, Kelsey Grammer. (92 min.)
It's playtime for viewers of all ages as astronaut Buzz Lightyear launches a rescue operation for cowboy Woody after a greedy merchant packs him up for shipment to a faraway museum. The story is surprising, the screenplay is witty, and the animation is wonderfully creative. A super sequel.
Clever as the first one, take the kids, a technicolor delight.
Sex / Nudity / Profanity / Drugs: None. Violence: 4 instances of cartoonish violence.
Tumbleweeds (PG-13) ** Director: Gavin O'Connor. With Janet McTeer, Kimberly J. Brown, Gavin O'Connor, Jay O. Sanders. (100 min.)
A working-class woman and her adolescent daughter drift to a new town in search of a better life, relying on the power of their mutual affection for support when new problems and temptations arise. The story is as rambling as the characters, but superb acting by McTeer and Brown redeems it.
Sex/Nudity: 1 instance of implied sex; 4 instances of innuendo. Violence: 2 mild scenes. Profanity: 42 expressions, mostly mild. Drugs: 6 scenes with alcohol or smoking.
The World Is Not Enough (PG-13) ** Director: Michael Apted. With Pierce Brosnan, Sophie Marceau, Robert Carlyle, Judi Dench, Denise Richards, John Cleese, Desmond Llewelyn. (128 min.)
James Bond battles terrorists, criminals, and a sore shoulder in his 19th adventure. Fans of Agent 007 will get the payoffs they expect, but if moviegoers really thought about the violence, sexism, and materialism at the core of the series, the whole shebang might vanish overnight. *** Brosnan has presence, adventurous, predictable, voyeuristic.
Sex/Nudity: 7 scenes typical of Bond movies including implied sex and the suggestive filmmaking during opening credits. Violence: 47 acts of violence. Profanity: 6 expressions, mostly mild. Drugs: 10 scenes including smoking or drinking.
The General's Daughter (R) ** Director: Simon West. With John Travolta, Madeleine Stowe, James Woods, Leslie Stefanson. (116 min.)
A military cop and a rape investigator make disturbing discoveries as they probe the bizarre murder of a female officer whose father, a top-ranking commander, is about to enter politics. Contains explicit sexual violence.
The Red Violin (Not rated) *** Director: Franois Girard. With Samuel L. Jackson, Greta Scacchi, Don McKellar. (130 min)
This omnibus-style film traces the fictional history of a superbly crafted violin, and the mystery attached to it. In four languages, with English subtitles.
(In stores Dec 21)
The Adventures of Elmo in Grouchland (G) **1/2 Director: Gary Halvorson. With Kevin Clash, Mandy Patinkin, Vanessa L. Williams. (73 min.)
Elmo has lost his blanket, and nothing can deter him from getting it back from a villain named Huxley (Patinkin). By Katherine Dillin
American Pie (R)
Director: Paul Weitz. With Jason Biggs, Natasha Lyonne, Chris Klein, Shannon Elizabeth. (100 min.) * A bunch of high-school boys make a vow to consummate their sex lives before graduation.
Run Lola Run (R) **** Director: Tom Tykwer. With Franka Potente, Moritz Bleibtreu, Nina Petri, Herbert Knaup. (81 min.)
Amazingly creative filmmaking propels this anything-goes tale of a young woman who has just 20 minutes to save her boyfriend's life. In German with English subtitles.
(c) Copyright 1999. The Christian Science Publishing Society