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- It is almost impossible to overstate how much of a drag Danny Rand himself is on this show. To the extent that I strongly suspect that if you tweaked Danny but left everything else exactly as it was, Iron Fist would have gotten much kinder reviews. In the show's first scene, a barefoot and bedraggled Danny (Finn Jones) arrives at the headquarters of his father's company, after a fifteen-year absence during which was presumed to have died in the plane crash that killed his parents, but in which he was actually training in the mystical city of K'un-Lun. When he's refused entrance, he attacks and beats the guards who try to stop him, then makes his way to the executive floor where he accosts the grown-up children of his father's partner, Ward and Joy Meachum (Tom Pelphrey and Jessica Stroup), insisting that he is their long-lost friend. Later, he breaks into Joy's house (where he and his family used to live) and then boasts to her about it. Later still, he steals Ward's car with Ward inside, and, after disarming Ward of his own gun, threatens him with it. Through it all, Danny is increasingly affronted by the world's refusal to recognize him, and perceives that refusal as a flaw in the people he interacts with. "You need to calm down," he condescendingly tells Ward after the latter orders him out of his office, and then later complains that "I have been met by nothing but anger and hostility."
You can almost imagine how all these interactions might have worked in a show that was more willing to make Danny look vulnerable, misguided, or just plain wrong. But it's clear throughout Iron Fist's first episode that we're meant to be on Danny's side, to feel that his behavior is reasonable and that it is the people who are refusing him who are being foolish and thus deserve everything he does to them. What's worse, it's clear that Danny feels this way as well. The show tries to spin him as an innocent who doesn't understand how invasive and creepy his behavior is, but--even leaving aside the fact that this is always the excuse offered when privileged men abuse their power over others--that is simply not how Jones plays the part. His Danny is smugly certain of his right to other people's attention, and when that certainty is punctured, he slides almost directly into anger.
You see this, in particular, in Danny's interactions with his new friends, dojo owner Colleen Wing (Jessica Henwick) and Defenders stalwart Claire Temple (Rosario Dawson). All of Danny's interactions with Colleen in Iron Fist's early episodes betray his conviction that he is entitled to her time and attention. He repeatedly abuses her generosity--when she offers him a place to stay for the night but insists that he be gone in the morning, he instead wakes her up with loud music--and pushes against her clearly-stated boundaries. In one particularly teeth-gnashing scene, he interrupts Colleen's lesson with Claire to take her out to lunch. When Colleen points out that they made no plans and that she has prior commitments, he complains that "I ordered takeout"--actually, a full-course meal that he has had delivered to the dojo, complete with white tablecloth and waiters. It's clear that Iron Fist's writers see this behavior as, at worst, clueless, and at best, sweet (and, eventually, romantic). But it's a dynamic that constantly puts Colleen and Claire on their back feet, reacting to the rules Danny sets and never being allowed to set their own. Later in the season, when Danny begins succumbing to PTSD from his unprocessed feelings over his parents' deaths, it falls to Colleen and Claire to baby him when he has outbursts of anger and even violence, and to reassure him that these reactions are not his fault.
In the season's first episode, Danny is befriended by a homeless man, and after listening to his delusional ravings, muses that "I'm guessing people think we're pretty much alike". Implicit in all of Danny's interactions in Iron Fist's first half, and in the show's constant validation of his sense of entitlement, is the belief that if people knew who he really was--the real Danny Rand, or the Iron Fist, defender of K'un-Lun--they would treat him differently. But the truth is, most of the people who interact with Danny do see him for what he is: a pushy, arrogant, condescending man who feels entitled to their time and becomes hostile when they don't give it to him. That Iron Fist fails to acknowledge this comes down to the show's misguided conviction that we will want to see Danny as a hero, and thus share his belief in his entitlement. It does not seem to have occurred to the show's writers that Danny needs to earn his role as a hero, and that his behavior instead pushes him further and further away from it.
Nowhere is this disconnect more apparent than in the show's handling of the Iron Fist concept itself. As Danny explains to Joy in the fourth episode, the Iron Fist is charged with the sacred duty of defending K'un-Lun from invaders. In the same breath, he admits that he only wanted the job because no one thought that an outsider could be chosen for it. But as soon as the passage between K'un-Lun and our reality opened (which only happens every fifteen years), Danny left his post. The only justification the show can offer for this dereliction is to argue that Danny's PTSD and feelings of abandonment caused him to pursue the role of Iron Fist for the wrong reasons, but (leaving aside that it makes the monks who chose him for the job look pretty foolish) that excuse doesn't make things any better for the people Danny abandoned--especially since the end of the season reveals that in Danny's absence, some calamity has befallen K'un-Lun. Once again, there are interesting things that could have been done with this--if Danny were introduced at the beginning of the season as a failure who needs to redeem himself for his betrayal of his duty. But Iron Fist seems genuinely not to realize how bad it makes its main character look to have pursued a position of great responsibility and importance simply because everyone assumed he couldn't do it, and then, once he realized what it entailed, to abandon it at the first opportunity. It still wants us to see Danny as a hero, and entitled to the role of Iron Fist, without him having to do any work to (re)earn it.
- Iron Fist is about wealth and capitalism in a way that has been largely obscured in the publicity surrounding it. There's been a lot of conversation about Marvel's decision to cast a white man as Danny Rand, despite loud voices coming out of the fandom requesting that the character--who is, let's face it, a tired '80s trope that doesn't make a lot of sense as a superhero in 2017--be cast with an Asian actor. Like a lot of people, I had assumed that the choice to ignore those voices was rooted, at least in part, in the desire to make Iron Fist a "plot" show rather than a "message" show like Jessica Jones or Luke Cage (to be clear, I think that this is a false dichotomy, but I could believe that the decision-makers at Marvel bought into it). Instead, Iron Fist turns out to be just as politically blatant as the Defenders shows preceding it, albeit in the exact opposite direction. Danny's position as a member of the 1% turns out to be just as important--if not more so--to his story as his martial arts skills and magical powers. Once again, this does not mean that Danny could not have been cast with an Asian actor, but given the political slant of the show, I think the only thing that would have been accomplished by this would be to give an actor from an under-represented group a high-profile job. The hopes of so much of fandom, that casting an Asian Danny would be a way for Marvel to grapple with its history of Orientalism and dismantle the "white kung-fu superhero" trope, would probably have been left unanswered, because that is not at all where Iron Fist places its thematic weight.
The villains of Iron Fist are The Hand, a clandestine, all-powerful cult who have appeared in both seasons of Daredevil, to very little effect. Led by the perpetually-smiling Madame Gao (Wai Ching Ho), the Hand have tendrils in both organized crime and the occult, and in Iron Fist it's revealed that they have co-opted Rand Corporation by offering Ward and Joy's father, Harold Meachum (David Wenham), a cure for his terminal cancer. This means that a great deal of Iron Fist is spent in boardrooms, as the Meachums first try to prevent Danny from taking his place on the Rand board, and then act exasperated when he tries to take the company in a more ethical, and less profitable, direction. But what at first seems like the show treading water before Danny discovers the Hand's presence at Rand, actually turns out to be the point of the exercise. Iron Fist is seriously trying to argue that all it takes for a billion-dollar corporation to be ethical is for one boardmember with a controlling share to insist on approaches such as selling a new drug at cost. In one particularly tone-deaf plotline, Rand is sued by people living near one of their chemical plants who have been experiencing abnormally high levels of cancer. Rather than reveal that the plant is indeed poisoning the residents, the show instead offers the weirdly implausible conclusion that Rand have abided by all existing regulations, but that they may be poisoning the residents through a process not yet understood, or regulated by the law. This gives Danny the opportunity to insist that the plant be closed nonetheless, but more importantly, it allows the show to paint Rand as innocent--a company that has followed all the rules and is being sued nonetheless.
The significance of this becomes clear when the show reveals that the Hand is actually an umbrella term that encompasses several warring factions. Opposing Gao's violent, drug-funded faction is a seemingly more peaceful one, led by a charismatic guru named Bakuto (Ramon Rodriguez). He introduces the Hand to Danny as a sort of benevolence association, who give a home and an education to disadvantaged children, and encourage them to go out into the world and take positions in public service. One of the biggest twists of the season is the revelation that Colleen is a graduate of this program, Bakuto's own prize pupil, and that her dojo is a recruitment post. Given the overt cult vibes that Bakuto and his compound give off, it's not surprising when this branch of the Hand also turns out to be sinister, but the terms in which Iron Fist couches this evil are telling. This version of the Hand are the stereotypical evil Communist infiltrators, seemingly benign and concerned with the public good, but actually obsessed with obedience and conformity, and hard at work placing their operatives at every level of society. When Colleen realizes she's been working for the wrong people and betrays the Hand to save Danny, her punishment is to be literally drained of her blood--which Bakuto describes as "giving to the Hand".
In other words, Iron Fist is a story about an innocent corporation escaping from the clutches of an evil Communist plot. And while Rand Corporation can be saved through the simple expedient of removing Harold Meachum and placing Danny and Ward at its head (Joy has, by this point, been seduced by the forces of evil), the Communist Hand can't be saved. All of the good it does is corrupted by its ulterior motives, and with the exception of Colleen, its members are brainwashed, willing to turn on their former teacher and benefactor if their leader tells them to (the fact that the leadership of Rand is white and rich, while the Hand is carefully multiethnic and drawn from among the poor and working classes, only makes this conclusion more pointed). It is, quite frankly, a bizarre turn of plot, and one that I'd like to see get more attention.
- Colleen Wing could--and should--have been the show's lead character. That in the early episodes of the season Colleen ends up being more sympathetic and magnetic than Danny isn't terribly surprising--where he is a son of privilege who has run away from his obligations, she is a young woman with few advantages who has taken on obligations, to train and help the kids in her neighborhood. It certainly doesn't hurt that Jessica Henwick has a great deal more presence than Finn Jones, as an actress and in her fight scenes. She manages to sell lines like "you dishonor yourself when you fight for money" or "I stepped way outside the code of Bushido" where he doesn't, because her character always comes off as a person with a code that she believes in but nevertheless struggles to live up to. Colleen's storyline in the season's first half involves participating in underground cage matches, which not only gives the show its only truly engaging fight scenes--there's a heft and energy to Henwick's fighting that is completely absent from Jones's underpowered attempts at it--but raises the suggestion that Colleen is fighting more because she likes the thrill of it than in order to keep her dojo afloat.
What is surprising about all this is how closely Colleen's story follows the contours of a standard hero narrative. All it would take is shunting Danny to the side for the show to be about her and her journey. Even the revelation that she is working for the Hand--though it makes her anxiety about funding the dojo seem completely unfounded--could easily have been folded into this kind of story, with Colleen learning to see that the people who saved and trained her are actually evil, and striking out on her own. It's such a blatant heroic journey that one can hardly believe it when the later episodes of the season sideline Colleen in favor of Danny's perspective on her, prioritizing the question of whether he can learn to trust her again, and whether their nascent romance can survive the trauma of learning about her deception, over her own path towards the side of good.
There's a sense that Iron Fist is grasping towards an equivalence between Danny and Colleen, two young people raised and trained by rigid, dogmatic systems, taught to hate each other but forced to reconsider their prejudices when they actually encounter the enemy (especially since Ward and Joy Meachum, and Danny's friend and fellow acolyte from K'un-Lun, Davos (Sacha Dhawan), who follows him to New York, can also be said to be products of similar systems). But this would require the show to have spent more time establishing what K'un-Lun is actually like, and less time demonizing Bakuto's faction of the Hand. Most of all, it would require the show to place a great deal less emphasis on Danny, and turn Iron Fist into more of an ensemble show, and this is clearly not something the writers were interested in doing.
- The most interesting character dynamic in the show doesn't involve Danny at all. In one late-episode scene, after removing Danny from a tense interaction between Harold, Ward, and Joy Meachum, Bakuto comments that "those people... are a pit of vipers. You should thank me for getting you away from them". He's right, but that's also why the scenes between the Meachums are consistently--and unexpectedly--the most entertaining thing about Iron Fist. Though saved from cancer by the Hand, Harold is officially dead, and he's been prohibited from stepping foot outside of his lush penthouse, which he has decorated as nearly a parody of masculine obsessions. This leaves Ward as his father's go-between, conveying his orders to the Rand board as if they were his own ideas, while an oblivious Joy takes him to be a business genius.
The dynamic that develops between the three Meachums is thus deliciously twisted. Ward--who is shown in flashbacks to Danny's childhood to have been a vicious bully--is hardly a sympathetic character, especially when he does things like send goons after Danny or loot the Rand employee pension fund. But he's also the most self-aware character on the show, recognizing that his father is a monster, and that the path he's taking his family and company on is one of madness. Ground down by his father's emotional and physical abuse, and lacking the strength to break away, Ward instead spirals into anxiety and drug abuse, which is a refreshingly realistic reaction to the kind of madness that tends to pervade in a Defenders show--not to mention a well-executed portrait of the toll of toxic masculinity.
Joy, meanwhile, feels like White Feminism personified. Smart and ambitious, and more than willing to play dirty--in order to close a deal, she manipulates the organ transplant list to help the nephew of a putative business partner; and when threatened with ouster from the Rand board, she coolly gathers sordid blackmail material on her enemies--she's nevertheless been allowed to think of herself as an innocent in all of Rand's dealings. But Joy is smart enough to have known better, and even when she becomes an active participant in Harold's schemes, she refuses to see what's in front of her--for example, the fact that her father is murdering their opponents on Rand's board. That there is nevertheless a great deal of love between the three Meachums--in particular between Joy and Ward, who despite their differences strongly support one another until their father comes between them--only makes the tangled family drama more fun to watch.
The only problem with all this is that there's no place in it for Danny, or at least not Iron Fist's version of Danny. The Meachums were Danny's second family before the plane crash that killed his parents and derailed his life, and after his return it's clear that he still romanticizes them and the chance to form a new family with them. Playing on this desire in much the same way that he manipulates his own son, Harold very quickly suborns Danny and convinces him that he has been an unwilling dupe of the Hand. But that is almost the extent of Danny's interactions with the Meachums. He spends the season thinking that Harold is a victim--it's only right before the end that we discover, unsurprisingly, that Harold orchestrated Danny's fateful plane crash--and is not privy to Harold's abuse of Ward, or Ward and Joy's close bond and its corruption by secrets, or Joy's growing willingness to adopt her father's tactics. When Danny finally catches a glimpse of the real Meachums near the end of the season, he's utterly befuddled, because the most interesting story in his own show has been happening largely without his input.
- You do not need to watch Iron Fist in order to understand the plot of The Defenders. This is, obviously, mostly speculation, but Iron Fist is actually fairly self-contained in its storytelling. Very little is left for The Defenders to resolve, and the only dangling thread that seems as if it might be relevant to that show's story is the fact that Bakuto's faction of the Hand has infiltrated much of New York's government and public services. It's likely, however, that The Defenders will reintroduce this plot point in order to make its own storytelling work, so if you're planning to watch Iron Fist as a necessary stepping stone to the team-up event, don't bother.
Monday, March 20, 2017
Five Comments on Iron Fist
17 comments:
- Chris said...
Only two episodes in, a couple comments about the class/economics thing -
One, picking a playboy-billionaire is definitely a jarring dissonance with the rest of Marvel-Netflix given that all of it has, so far, been about street level Little People. They've botched a lot of the execution, but at least the concept was there, up to this point.
Two, haven't gotten to the SJW-Hand yet, but I found it noteworthy that Papa Meachum's spiel of "you find people young, you train them, you pay them twice what they're worth, and they'll never betray you" spiel was being put out as a *villain* speech. Would that corporations actually thought this way in the real world.
- March 20, 2017 8:06 PM
- Eric said...
It seems strange that Madame Gao is part of the Hand. I wonder if that's a retcon? She clearly wasn't working with Nobu in either of the Daredevil seasons.
- March 20, 2017 8:48 PM
- Abigail Nussbaum said...
What's particularly weird about choosing Danny and making him immediately rich (which as I understand didn't happen at once in the comics) is how it short-circuits so many of the stories you can tell about the other Defenders. Most of Matt, Jessica, Luke, and Claire's problems come down to them not having money. If they're friends and comrades-in-arms with a billionaire, wouldn't he help them out, becoming essentially the Defenders' version of Tony Stark?
About Harold's speech, I do think it's significant that the person he's talking about is Kyle, who is depicted as almost comically spineless (I say "almost" mainly because this is such a humorless show). It's the loyalty that matters to Harold, not the idea of rewarding people and thus earning that loyalty, and though he talks like a reasonable businessman, it's part of the season's main story to reveal the sickness that lies underneath that benevolent exterior. Wilson Fisk and Wesley, this relationship is not.
I've been assuming that Gao is associated with the Hand since at least the second season of Daredevil, though I couldn't point to the exact scene where this is established. That said, the Hand are an unbelievably boring villain and it's possible that I spaced out during some more concrete explanation of their org chart.
- March 20, 2017 9:50 PM
- 100thlurker said...
While the (hopefully) unintended McCarthyism is hard to ignore, the way you described the show's presentation of the Bakuto faction reminded me instantly of how Erdogan and his ilk talk about the threat of Gullenists.
- March 21, 2017 12:22 AM
- Unknown said...
The Iron Fist showrunner is also the Inhumans showrunner, so there's potentially more of this dreck on the horizon.
- March 21, 2017 9:27 AM
- Abigail Nussbaum said...
Strangely enough, watching the show leaves me more hopeful about The Inhumans than I was when the savage reviews came out. As I say, the most successful part of the show is the Meachum family drama, and my understanding is that "twisted 1% family who hate and love each other in equal measure and don't know how to relate to anyone from outside their sphere" describes the Inhumans quite well.
- March 21, 2017 10:21 AM
- Unknown said...
What do you make of the fact that each of these shows there's the sense that the female supporting character is the best part and could/should have gotten her own show? Whether Karen (and to a certain extent Claire) in S1 of Daredevil or Misty Knight in Luke Cage, these characters frequently come off as more compelling than the titular hero of their show (and even Trish in JJ is the most richly drawn best friend character).
My tentative conclusion is that the showrunners know how to craft compelling characters and arcs, but are hamstrung by the demands of the producers or the overarching arc of the MCU and so can't exercise those instincts on the main characters, but I have no evidence of that.
- March 21, 2017 6:00 PM
- Abigail Nussbaum said...
I think it's that, but I also think the showrunners of the three shows with male protagonists aren't quite at the point of being willing to let a woman headline her own story. Finn Jones got a lot of flack last week when he tried to explain how great the women on Iron Fist are, and could only come up with how they support the hero. But he wasn't wrong to identify that approach in the show, and while Daredevil and Luke Cage aren't quite that bad, they eventually fall into the same trap. Misty Knight and Karen are both great, but their storylines ends up being subsumed into those of male characters - and in Karen's case, in the second season, it wasn't even the star of the show.
- March 21, 2017 7:58 PM
- Unknown said...
It seems to me, though, that regardless of gender every character in the Netflix MCU shows gets his/her story subsumed under the hero's story. The plots of these shows have a hero character, a villain character, and their collision in the series finale. Everyone else kind of supports those two characters' stories. Foggy is great, but he's so in Matt's orbit that when he leaves the practice at the end of S2, you read it as a repudiation of Matt rather than something he himself wants. Punisher headlines his own story, but he's positioned as the primary villain of S2 (at least until ninjas and bottomless pits get introduced to Hell's Kitchen).
Trish and Luke Cage have their own arcs in Jessica Jones, but those characters' depth can also be seen as a trailer for Hellcat and Luke Cage standalone projects.
I think that's what I was trying to get at with the demands of the producers - There's only room for in these shows for the story of the hero and the villain and how they collide. Especially towards the end of the seasons, all the characters stop what they're doing and move into position either supporting the good guy or the bad guy.
- March 22, 2017 6:16 PM
- nathan said...
I was thinking the other day about the relationship between each series' title and its main character's identity.
1. Daredevil - white male lead, superhero name
2. Jessica Jones - white female lead, personal name
3. Luke Cage - black male lead, personal name
4. Iron Fist - white male lead, superhero name
It's not hard to see where this line is drawn - we can talk about marked and unmarked identities all day [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Markedness]. And I'm certainly not the first to point out that the two better series have non-(white/male) lead characters. I wonder if that has anything to do with a focus on personal identity rather than superhero identity.
Thanks for this post - I read it when about 4 eps in to the season and it gave me a heap of perspective that I hadn't been sufficiently considering.
- March 22, 2017 9:18 PM
- Abigail Nussbaum said...
Thinking about this some more, I think the issue might be less the fact that female supporting characters don't get their own stories - because after all, they are supporting characters - as that male supporting characters in female-led shows often do. Take iZombie, where the cast-off love interest character introduced in the first episode, who in a gender-swapped version we'd expect to be quickly shuffled off or even killed, becomes one of the most compelling and dynamic characters on the show (and even arguably has a more pro-active role than the female lead). Or Supergirl, where the second season has stumbled precisely by spending so much time giving characters like James, Winn, and even a recurring love interest like Mon-El their own storylines independent from Kara's. Jessica Jones is, in fact, unusual in not doing this. Luke and Malcolm get their own stories, but they're massively underplayed compared to Jessica's (in fact, I might have liked Malcolm to get a little more of a storyline). And the character who in any other show would have been at least the co-lead, Simpson, becomes a villain (and not even the boss villain) precisely because he convinces himself of this fact.
Basically, there's an assumption that men's stories are inherently more interesting than women's stories, that creators end up having to push against constantly. And when you have shows where the male lead is just not that interesting - and this is true, to a certain extent, even in Luke Cage, where Luke himself is often allowed to be a frustratingly flat character - the problems with that way thinking just become more obvious to the eye.
- March 23, 2017 11:34 AM
- Abigail Nussbaum said...
That's a good point about the names, though Jessica Jones is a bit of an aberration since in the comics she is a former superhero (under the name Jewel) who is now living as a civilian and, as far as I know, never takes up the superhero mantle again. That said, the show ignores this backstory, so the fact that both Jessica and Luke are identified by their names while Matt and Danny are identified by monikers does feel significant.
As I said, it feels as if Marvel/Netflix see JJ and LC as "message" shows and DD and IF as "plot" shows. That strikes me as a simplistic division, but even if you buy into it, it's surely significant that the message shows were the ones that turned out better and got better reviews. Marvel is still operating on the assumption that everything has to lead into a team-up event, and therefore it's important to have plotty shows that set this up. But even ignoring the fact that the movies are already starting to back off from this model (it's not an accident, I think, that almost all of the phase 3 MCU movies are standalones, several of them taking place off Earth), I don't see how Netflix's model benefits from it.
- March 23, 2017 11:46 AM
- Chris said...
"As I said, it feels as if Marvel/Netflix see JJ and LC as "message" shows and DD and IF as "plot" shows."
Well, that's sad if true. I got the sense that the first three were *all* supposed to be "message" shows to some extent - Daredevil being about class in the same way that Jessica Jones was about gender and Luke Cage about race. Not saying they handled it particularly well, but they certainly seemed to be trying. (It's also one of the reasons why, again, I didn't see the need for Iron Fist, which is clearly the odd one out in that dynamic, returning to the "default" superhero setting of the Marvel movies when Marvel-Netflix was supposed to be about the "street" side of the MCU. And this, by the way, further reinforces your "this should've been Colleen's show" idea).
Of course, now that I think about it, all that I just said is largely only true of Daredevil Season 1 - Season 2 pretty much abandons all that in favor of ninjas and the Punisher. Which is wholly consistent with where Iron Fist takes things.
- March 23, 2017 2:59 PM
- Abigail Nussbaum said...
Yeah, I would classify Daredevil's first season as a "message" show, but its second definitely veers more in the "plot" direction. And it's no coincidence that it's that season that does the most to set up the Hand before Iron Fist. What this comes down to is the Defenders event, and the apparent conviction in Marvel that you can either set that event up - with one of the dullest and least imposing villains since, well, MCU-Thanos - or talk about political issues, but you can't do both.
- March 23, 2017 3:47 PM
- Kate said...
I only watched Ep. 1 and stopped there. All of your complaints were evident right away. What surprised me the most, is that Danny behaves as mentally ill yet the writers don't see it. You detail a lot of this in point 1. The episode was also just plain boring, but the clueless portrayal of Danny as hero, when any sane person would call for the straight jacket around him, is astonishing.
- April 01, 2017 4:23 PM
- Abigail Nussbaum said...
What's particularly annoying is that the episode does end with someone wrapping a straightjacket around Danny, and yet this is portrayed as an unjustified betrayal (and also a sign of Joy Meachum's burgeoning villainy). It's frustrating to imagine the much better show we could have gotten if Iron Fist had taken seriously the idea that Danny has problems that need to be addressed - not with the kind of ad hoc therapy that Claire delivers (which, as I say, requires her and Colleen to repeatedly validate Danny's emotional outbursts), but with actual work that requires him to take responsibility for his condition, and a willingness to depict him as vulnerable and unheroic.
- April 02, 2017 4:54 PM
- Lokifan said...
Wow, I hadn't realised before reading this that Iron Fist is a billionaire (and also exactly like Green Arrow, except much more of a dickhead). The surname "Rand" felt undeniably significant as I was reading about this ick class subtext and the Communist angle!
- April 02, 2017 10:24 PM


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subset: commoncrawl


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Corn continued its rally this time closing 15 cents higher in July and 30 cents higher in December. Soybeans did not hold the same strength and closed the day down 12 ¼ cents in the November contract. Wheat closed 4 ¾ higher.
Weather and declining crop conditions are still the major driving factors for today's market action. After the close yesterday corn's good-excellent rating fell by 7 percent! We are obviously seeing declining conditions from the dry weather but the midday forecast did offer some additional rains in the forecast for Sunday into Tuesday. The lower Midwest is also expected to see slight increases to the rain event expected July 3rd – 5th. No major updates or changes were expected for tropical storm Debbie on the Midday.
So why was corn up 30 while beans had double digit losses? Many traders are concerned with the difference in crop stages for these weather risks, but a lot of it could be repositioning ahead of the reports on Friday. We know that the "managed money" is massively long soybeans. While their position shows them net long corn, it is a significantly smaller position when compared to the beans. This massive move in the corn/bean ratio over the last couple of days could be as simple as the funds repositioning by purchasing corn and selling beans. I have indicated this move in the ratio in the chart below. We are now back to a ratio of 2.26 to 1 which is almost to the 200 day moving average. We won't know exactly what the funds have done until we get the next Commitment of Traders report on Friday afternoon.
Chart: November Soybeans – December Corn Ratio
Tomorrow morning we will have the STATS Canada acreage at 7:30 am, as well as ethanol stocks and production at 9:30 am. If you would like to receive a free trial of our research including hedge recommendations, please sign up using the link below. To discuss opening an EHedger account with one of our experienced agricultural brokers, please call 866-433-4371. Thanks and have a great week!
Best Regards,
Trading commodity futures and options involves substantial risk of loss and may not be suitable for all investors. You should carefully consider whether trading is suitable for you in light of your circumstances, knowledge and financial resources. The market information contained in this message has been obtained from sources believed to be reliable, but is not guaranteed as to its accuracy or completeness. Market information may not be consistent with current or future market positions of EHedger LLC, its affiliates, officers, directors, employees or agents.


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riffle.eth, an ENS name.
Please check the expiration date. To keep your name beyond that date, you will need to pay a...Morekeyboard_arrow_down
Listed for
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Earn Ξ 0.0026
by referring this asset
Short Name
1 of 25054
7% have this trait
subjectAbout Ethereum Name Service (ENS)
Ethereum Name Service (ENS) domains are secure domain names for the decentralized world. ENS domains provide a way for users to map human readable names to blockchain and non-blockchain resources, like Ethereum addresses, IPFS hashes, or website URLs. ENS domains can be bought and sold on secondary markets.
historyTrading history for riffle.eth


text:
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text:
N° 32–2007: International Space Exploration Conf. 2007: Europe Defines the Future of Space Exploration
31 October 2007
The International Space Exploration Conference 2007 (ISEC 2007) taking place in Berlin (D) from 8 to 9 November will welcome 500 high-level representatives of stakeholder groups from political institutions, the scientific community, industry and applied research organisations, public organisations and the general public.
ISEC 2007 will be the platform to present the first draft of Europe's long-term strategy for space exploration. The conference will be an opportunity for the political, industrial and scientific sectors to help shape Europe's role in the future of human spaceflight and exploration.
The strategy has been developed in close consultation with numerous key stakeholder groups and is a global project intended to contribute to wider societal development.
ESA / DLR Press Conference on 8 November in Berlin
A joint ESA / DLR press conference will be held on Thursday 8 November from 10:00 to 11:00 at the Axica conference center (Pariser Platz 3D-10117 Berlin). J-D. Wörner, Chairman of the DLR Executive Board, and J.J. Dordain, ESA Director General will address the following points:
- Future human operations in low Earth orbit: Near-to-medium-term ISS utilisation scenarios for research and exploration preparation.
- Access to space for European astronauts after the retirement of the Space Shuttle.
- European robotic and human spaceflight beyond ISS: European interests, ambition and scenarios for future missions and operations in space beyond the lifetime of ISS.
Journalists are invited to attend all the sessions over both days of the conference. A high-level panel will take place on 9 November from 11:35 to 12:40 with key space agency leaders.
"The Global Exploration Strategy" and "New Business Opportunities" also on the Agenda
Other sessions of great interest will include "The Global Exploration Strategy". A special panel will also be dedicated to "New Business Opportunities" and will examine possible new commercial services and technologies. It will give a thorough insight from a range of industries – from private engineering to insurance brokerage and luxury travel - of how very different sectors can be a part of this exciting journey, and benefit from exploring new horizons.
This event will be preceded by the first formal meeting of the International Space Exploration Coordination Group on 6 and 7 November 2007. On 8 November, a parliamentarian evening on the subject of human spaceflight will be organised and throughout the entire duration of the conference, participants will have the opportunity to visit an exhibition on space art.
For more information about the conference programme and to register for the press conference, please visit the following website: http://www.congrex.nl/07a04/.
For all media enquiries, please contact:
Markus Bauer
ESA Communication Officer
Directorate of Human Spaceflight, Microgravity and Exploration
ESA Communication Department
Phone: +31 (0) 71 5656 799
E-mail: email@example.com


text:
Definition of University Publications and Official Correspondence
A university publication or official correspondence (funded by grant or a general fund) is defined as printed or electronic matter originated and produced by NMU faculty or staff (or students under the direction of faculty or staff) that is intended - either wholly or in part - for an external audience.
It does not include:
- Items produced by student organizations with funds generated by student fees.
- Classroom support materials intended solely for students enrolled in a specific course.
- Internal only letters or memoranda.
- Other materials for internal use only.
University-sponsored publications must be designed to show Northern Michigan University as the primary provider. If the publication describes a school, department, division or program, that entity must be portrayed in the context of the university as a whole and keep with overall university goals and objectives.
All publications intended wholly or in part for an external audience must be approved by the university editor or the director of University Marketing and Communications prior to printing/transmission. Revision of prior publications may not require this action. The above description includes media advertising.
If you are uncertain whether your publication or brochure should be reviewed, contact University Marketing and Communications.
Role of the Office of University Marketing and Communications
The Office of University Marketing and Communications - in cooperation with the Office of Printing Services and the Broadcast and Audio Visual Services - is available to assist all university departments in producing professional quality, attractive and well written publications.
We can work with you on editorial style, copy writing, layout, typography, and photography. No charge is made for these services. Costs of publications requiring design and typesetting are paid by the requesting departments.
Whenever possible, printing should be done by NMU Printing Services. Cost estimates are provided prior to printing.
Depending on the complexity of your publication, or if you wish to do so, NMU may request bids from outside sources, which you may designate. The bid process is handled through Printing Services and the NMU Purchasing Department. The final decision on the printing job is determined by the requesting department.
Content and Format of Publications
Normally, the content of your publication is your responsibility. However, University Marketing and Communications may edit your submitted publication as needed for grammar and style according to standard publication guidelines.
NMU has three professional graphic designers on staff (two in the Broadcast and Audio Visual Services and one in the Printing Services) for designing publications. The cost of their service is paid by the requesting department.
With the proliferation of desktop publishing programs on campus, some departments may choose to format their own publications.
University Marketing and Communications or Printing Services may make modifications to your publication prior to printing to meet acceptable standards of design or readability.
Desktop publishing programs should be used to design layouts, rather than word processing programs or "cut and paste" procedures.
You may be asked to provide a diskette for publications prepared on a desktop publishing program for ease in editing of content or format. Printing Services has both MS-DOS and Macintosh format, using QuarkXPress and PageMaker 6.0 and PageMaker 6.5 desktop publishing software. If your office or department chooses to format its own publication(s), University Marketing and Communications recommends that your purchase either PageMaker or QuarkXpress.
Publications Procedures
- Consult with University Marketing and Communications prior to beginning your publication. Among other things, the objective and audience, format, and design can be discussed, as well as the time schedule necessary to complete the work.
- Request a printer's estimate of cost or arrange for competitive bids.
- Before you submit a draft for review by the university editor or the director of University Marketing and Communications, double check the following items:
- Signature: The Northern Michigan University signature should appear on a prominent position in your publication.
- Names: Check the spelling of all people and place names. Even the most familiar name is not immune to misspelling.
- Dates: Make sure that your dates and days correspond with each other.
- Phone numbers: Verify that all phone numbers are correct.
- Courses: The name, number and description of each course should correspond exactly as it appears in the University Bulletin.
- Tuition: Check with Admissions to make sure the figures you are using are current.
- Provide a typed manuscript or draft layout for editing by the university editor or director of University Marketing and Communications. (If you do not do this prior to submitting your publication for printing and there are errors, Printing Services may contact University Marketing and Communications for pre-printing approval or editing, resulting in the delay of your publication.)
- If typesetting or layout work is contracted, you will approve the final project before printing. Printing Services or Broadcast and Audio Visual Services may consult with University Marketing and Communications at this point.
- Please provide University Marketing and Communications with a copy of the finished product.
Printing Services
Printing Services is located in the Services Building. Their services include layout and design, typesetting, darkroom work, press work and bindery applications.
They can advise you on layout, design, type styles, ink colors, paper colors, and textures.
Two types of printing are available:
Quick Copy (photocopier): For small or simple jobs. Plan on three days turnaround time. Larger jobs such as books (200+) pages with binding may take three to five weeks.
Note: If your publication includes photographs or art with tint screens, DO NOT specify Quick Copy. The resulting quality is not acceptable for publications directed to off-campus audiences.
Contract Printing: For publications that contain photographs or require sharper reproduction, larger paper sizes, colored inks or longer runs. Examples include posters, flyers, brochures, newsletters, business cards, letterhead and envelopes. One to two weeks is the normal turnaround time for simple printing jobs.
Photographs and graphics may be reduced to 25 percent and enlarged up to 300 percent. When printing with black ink only, black and white photographs reproduce best; color photographs can be produced in black and white, but the results may not be satisfactory.
Computer graphics reproduce best when printed on a laser printer of at least 600 dots per inch (dpi). If you provide a disk, Printing Services can print out graphics at 600 dpi. Most laser printers on the market today have a resolution of no less than 600 dpi.
Bindings include saddle stitching, plastic spiral, velostrip and tape binding. The most common binding, saddle stitching, involves collating, folding, trimming and stapling along the fold (usually two staples). Booklets from 4" x 5" to 9" x 12" can be bound; 5 1/2 " x 8 1/2" are the most common sizes.
Note: Standard printing practices allow printers to deliver 10 percent over or under the ordered quantity. It is a good idea to order 10 percent more than the quantity you require.


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Coronavirus: Events may be cancelled and venues closed at short notice, you are advised to check on their websites before making a trip.
A tour of Wren's churches
After the Great Fire of London, Sir Christopher Wren (1632-1723) rebuilt 51 churches. On this guided tour, led by an expert City of London of Guide, you'll see several of his finest places of worship. Judge for yourself which is the finest!
Among the Wren churches you'll see on this walk are:
His masterpiece: St Paul's Cathedral (note: we won't be going in but why not visit it before or after the walk?)
St Nicholas Cole Abbey, with its distinctive galleon weathervane and excellent cafe
The spires of St Vedast Foster Lane and Christ Church Newgate Street
St Mary-le-Bow, where you'll learn about the origins of a London cockney and a strong connection to the United States
St Mary Aldermary, an unusual gothic-style church with a stunning plasterwork ceiling
St James Garlickhythe, known as 'Wren's Lantern'
St Michael Paternoster Royal, associated with Dick Whittington
St Stephen Walbook, with its impressive dome and stunning Henry Moore font
The walk ends near Bank Station and lasts a little under 2 hours.
Cost: £10
Contact and Booking Details
More information at this website.
No need to book tickets - just turn up on the day.2021-01-19 14:00 2021-01-19 14:00 Europe/London City in Spires - A Tour of Wren Churches On this guided tour, led by an expert City of London of Guide, you'll see several of his finest places of worship. Judge for yourself which is the finest! https://www.ianvisits.co.uk/calendar/2021/01/19/city-in-spires-a-tour-of-wren-churches-206559 City Information Centre,St Paul's Churchyard,London,
See more events today, tomorrow or rest of this month
City Information Centre,


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public FetchPlan getFetchPlan ();
Before compiling and/or executing your query, you may want to use
the query's
FetchPlan to optimize which fields
and relations of your result objects will be loaded, and to configure
result scrolling. See Chapter 12, FetchPlan for
details on the
FetchPlan interface.
When you create a query with
PersistenceManager.newNamedQuery, the query's
FetchPlan is initialized to the same
values as the plan of its owning
PersistenceManager. Subsequent changes to the
FetchPlan, however, will not affect the
PersistenceManager's plan.
public void compile ();
Compiling is a hint to the implementation to optimize an execution plan
for the query. During compilation, the query validates all of its
elements and reports any inconsistencies by throwing a
JDOUserException. Queries
automatically compile themselves before they execute, so you probably
won't use this method often.
public Object execute (); public Object execute (Object param1); public Object execute (Object param1, Object param2); public Object execute (Object param1, Object param2, Object param3); public Object executeWithArray (Object[] params); public Object executeWithMap (Map params);
As evident from the examples throughout this chapter, queries are
executed with one of the many
execute methods
defined in the
Query interface. If your query
uses between 0 and 3 parameters, you can use the
execute version that takes the
proper number of
Object arguments.
For queries with more than 3 parameters, you can use the
executeWithArray and
executeWithMap methods. In the latter method,
the map is keyed on the parameter name.
execute methods declare a return
type of
Object because the return type depends
on how you've configured the query. So far we've only seen queries
that return
Lists, but this will change
in the next section.
public void close (Object result); public void closeAll ();
Some query results may hold on to datastore resources. Therefore, you
should close query results when you no longer need them. You
can close an individual query result with the
close method, or all open results at
once with
By default, Kodo greedily fills each result list and immediately
releases all database
resources, making


text:
20 Tips for a Positive New Year (Updated for 2012)
1. Stay Positive. You can listen to the cynics and doubters and believe that success is impossible or you can trust that with faith and an optimistic attitude all things are possible.
2. Take a morning walk of gratitude. I call it a "Thank You Walk." It will create a fertile mind ready for success.
3. Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dinner like a college kid with a maxed out charge card.
4. Zoom Focus. Each day when you wake up in the morning ask: "What are the three most important things I need to do today that will help me create the success I desire?" Then tune out all the distractions and focus on these actions.
5. Instead of being disappointed about where you are, think optimistically about where you are going.
6. Remember that adversity is not a dead-end but a detour to a better outcome.
7. Don't chase success. Instead decide to make a difference and success will find you.
8. Get more sleep. You can't replace sleep with a double latte.
9. Don't waste your precious energy on gossip, energy vampires, issues of the past, negative thoughts or things you cannot control. Instead invest your energy in the positive present moment.
10. Mentor someone and be mentored by someone.
11. Live with the 3 E's. Energy, Enthusiasm, Empathy.
12. Remember there's no substitute for hard work.
13. Believe that everything happens for a reason and expect good things to come out of challenging experiences.
14. Implement the No Complaining Rule. Remember that complaining is like vomiting. Afterwards you feel better but everyone around you feels sick.
15. Read more books than you did in 2011. I happen to know of a few good ones. 🙂
16. Don't seek happiness. Instead decide to live with passion and purpose and happiness will find you. www.Seed11.com
17. Focus on "Get to" vs "Have to." Each day focus on what you get to do, not what you have to do. Life is a gift not an obligation.
18. Each night before you go to bed complete the following statements:
I am thankful for __________.
Today I accomplished____________.
19. Smile and laugh more. They are natural anti-depressants.
20. Enjoy the ride. You only have one ride through life so make the most of it and enjoy it.
-Jon Gordon
Download, Print and Share these tips as a PDF flyer.
Newsletter / Article Reprint Permission:
We grant you permission to post and reprint this newsletter in your publication, on your blog or in your company newsletter with the stipulation that you credit Jon Gordon as the author and you provide a link to www.JonGordon.com.


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Is there a point in dynamically creating a pointer during runtime only to dereference it? (if that is the right term, as in *pointer, depoint it?)
In this case should I perhaps store pointers instead of references?
InventoryItem.cppCode:bool Inventory::addItem(InventoryItem& item) { addItemAmount(item); if (item.getAmount() > 0) { if (hasEmptySlot()) { addNewItem(*item.clone()); return true; } else return false; } return true; } void Inventory::addNewItem(InventoryItem& item) { array.push_back(item); }
Also I was wondering, is there some sort of built-in cloning functionality or do I have to write the clone functions myself? When creating new instances I see that I can either pass the constructor properties or a reference to an object of the same type.Code:std::unique_ptr<InventoryItem> InventoryItem::clone(void) const { return std::unique_ptr<InventoryItem>(new InventoryItem(index, name, type, maxAmount)); }
For instance:
Is the second one casting?Code:new InventoryItem(index, name....); new InventoryItem(const InventoryItem&);


text: Hillyard's Multi-Flo XP is fast. Apply floor finish at rates up to 10,000-square-feet per hour in open areas like hallways, gymnasiums and multi-purpose rooms. Apply finish in smaller rooms at a rate of 6,000-square-feet per hour. That's a typical 900-square-foot classroom in less than 10 minutes. Versatility, maneuverability, consistency, better ergonomics and safety are just some of the features built into the Multi-Flo XP making it easy for delivering better results with minimal training.


text:
We use cookies to make your experience better. To comply with the new e-Privacy directive, we need to ask for your consent to set the cookies. Learn more.
Lie Floral Fantasy Bikini Top Petrol
Lie Floral Fantasy Bikini Top is a petrol coloured halter bikini top with a floral print and removable padding. With the tie fastening in a contrasting print it is easy to adjust the bikini top to your comfort. Print may vary slightly. Fabric contains 90% polyester and 10% elastane. Available in sizes XS to XL, as well as the colours dark pink and dark blue.
Quilt Floral Fantasy Off White
Write Your Own Review


text:
The Philadelphia Fed is located at Ten Independence Mall, on the corner of 6th and Arch streets. Visitors to the Money in Motion exhibit should enter at the 6th Street entrance. All other visitors should enter at the 7th Street entrance.
The Bank's Library and Research Center is open to the public by appointment only, Monday through Friday, 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
Trains depart from the airport to downtown every half hour, from early morning until late at night. The 20-minute ride makes five stops: Eastwick; University City; 30th Street Station (30th & Market); Suburban Station (16th Street & JFK Blvd.); and Jefferson Station (11th & Market). Jefferson Station is within walking distance of the Fed.
Travel time from the airport to the Fed by taxi is approximately 25 minutes at off-peak traffic times. Approximate one-way cost is $30.
Amtrak trains operate from 30th Street Station (30th & Market Streets). Cab fare from the station to the Fed is approximately $12.
For an alternative, SEPTA's Market-Frankford subway-elevated line runs from 30th & Market to 8th & Market Streets, two blocks from the Philadelphia Fed.


text:
Gordon-Levitt's directorial debut accents cultural issues, too
Don Jon
Comedy. Starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Scarlett Johansson, Julianne Moore and Tony Danza. Directed by Joseph Gordon-Levitt. (R. 90 minutes.)
In his feature debut as a writer-director, Joseph Gordon-Levitt has made a movie about pornography and masturbation. There is more to "Don Jon" that that. It's daring, has a feeling for its working-class milieu and shows an original comic sensibility. But that exploration - into the function of pornography in the life of one young man, who probably isn't unique - is 90 percent of the movie's inspiration and purpose.
That's how the movie begins, with Jon (Gordon-Levitt), in voiceover, talking about how he can get aroused just from the sound of his computer turning on. Porn is one of the pillars of his life. He loves it, and masturbation is his favorite form of sex. You might expect, hearing this, that it's his only form of sex, but as we soon see, he's something of a ladies' man. He picks up good-looking women regularly and brings them home for a one-night stand. His friends call him "the Don."
Yet you can see that something is a bit off about the Don, when he has to slip out of bed, after having sex with an attractive woman, in order to go masturbate over porn. What are we to make of this? Is this a harmless predilection, a genuine distortion of the natural impulse, or some kind of abnormal "new normal." Keep in mind, for a young man, the Internet has always been there. Technology has been like a second parent.
"Don Jon" isn't an issue movie, or rather it doesn't feel like one. It's a story about a particular guy in a particular place. Jon is Italian American and lives in New Jersey; and although the accents are more like New York and the cultural influences (close family, the Catholic Church) are more nostalgic than contemporary, Gordon-Levitt knows what to exaggerate to comic effect. Tony Danza, as Jon's father, whose temper is always on a hair trigger and who only wants to watch the football game, is particularly dead-on and very funny.
Jon and his two buddies go out every weekend, rating on a 1-to-10 scale - Jon won't go with anyone below an 8 - and one day he spots a 10 standing by the bar, in the form of Barbara, played by Scarlett Johansson. "Don Jon" is an excellent showcase for Johansson. It presents her at her most alluring and provides her with a character with lots of nuance and authority - there's no point in using Johansson in a movie if she's just going to be nice to everybody. Best of all, she gets to play an East Coast type, getting not just the dialect right but the whole attitude and atmosphere.
Most of the picture deals with Jon and Barbara's relationship (with porn always hovering in the background). Barbara's last name is "Sugarman," and their interaction is very much working-class Italian meets middle-class Jewish; and yet, curiously, the movie shies from an explicit acknowledgment of that. In fact, at one point, when Jon is asked whether Barbara is Jewish, he says he doesn't know. It's a peculiarity with no apparent explanation.
"Don Jon" deserves praise for wearing its message lightly and yet for daring to present such a lecture in today's Internet-drenched environment. Gordon-Levitt may be blithe in discussing pornography, but his movie nonetheless asserts that porn is addictive and destructive, that it intrudes on intimacy, and that it short-circuits the capacities for interaction and also, ultimately, for pleasure. That's a serious subject and a committed viewpoint, handled with wit and intelligence.
Julianne Moore has a nice role as a free spirit, who says any outrageous thing that pops into her head. Moore is fun, turbulent and full of feeling - everything you might expect from her. But the movie, in its last 15 minutes, loses something, or perhaps just fails to gain something. Gordon-Levitt can't quite end his film convincingly. He can only stop it, and so there's little sense of arrival.
Yet if that's the worst that can be said for "Don Jon," that's not so bad. At least Gordon-Levitt gets it done in 90 minutes, instead of belaboring a false finish for another half hour.
Mick LaSalle is The San Francisco Chronicle's movie critic. E-mail: email@example.com Twitter: @MickLaSalle


text:
The Airheads Beemer Club arose from a need for information on the care and feeding of airhead BMWs, and from a desire for camaraderie with likeminded souls. Many riders originally drawn to BMW for its simplicity, light weight and agility were confused by BMWs newer models, which seem to lack these attractive elements. For many years the enthusiast clubs - intent on pushing the new models - ignored its traditional base, which frustrated many airhead owners.
The Airheads Beemer Club places the airhead back on its pedestal where it belongs, as the finest all-round motorcycle ever produced. Airmail, our newsletter, features only airheads. Our many Airhead Rendezvous' and Tech Days all year round accent our bike of choice, though riders of other bikes seem attracted to the Airhead spirit.
If you want to see what it's all about, the best way is to attend one of our events. Introduce yourself as a newbie, make yourself at home, and you'll receive a warm welcome.
Where does the term Airhead come from?
The BMW motorcycles we ride have air cooled cylinder heads that stick out at a 180 degree angle characteristic of the BMW type 247 engine.
History and Founders
- The Airheads Beemer Club was founded in 1991 by B. Jan Hofman (#1) and Al Watson (#2.)
- B. Jan produced the first copy of "Airmail," our club newsletter, in December of 1991, and he continues to be the editor today.
- The term "airhead," as it relates to BMW motorcycles, was coined by Al, and the term "oilhead," as used by the International Oilheads Club, was coined by B. Jan. These terms have entered the motojournalist lexicon.
- Our slogan, "Simple by Choice" was created by Ron Jensen.
- The club logo was designed by Jan except for the smile, which was the idea of Carolyn Laronche.
- Our first rally was the Feb. 1993 Death Valley Rendezvous initiated, planned, and executed by Fred Kumm #117.
- Our original website was conceived and created by Mike Leonard.
- The ABC continues to thrive thanks to the talents and selfless dedication of its volunteers.
Club Canons
- Airheads ride Beemers with air-cooled heads.
- Airheads believe that the simplest engineering solutions are the best.
- Airheads appreciate function over form, fact over fiction, and friendship over friction.
- Airheads regard money as a tool, not a status symbol.
- Airheads are earthy people who like to camp.
- Airheads maintain their own motorcycles.
- Airheads don't take themselves, religion or life too seriously.
- Airheads like to share time, knowledge, parts and camaraderie with other Airheads


text:
A socio-realist drama-comedy film, it follows a seemingly usual day in the life of Loida Malabanan (Vilma Santos) as she embarks on yet another shooting day of a soap opera as an extra. As the shoot goes on, we get a glimpse of the truth in the ruling system of the production as well as the exploitation of the marginalized laborers like her.
Labels: Movies, Pinoy Movies


text:
Get all the Holiday Stitched Dazzles with the All 5 Christmas & Autumn Stitched Dazzles Bundle or you can order them separately.
Stitched Christmas Ornaments CardBy LeNae Gerig
Designer Tip: Adhere the ornament stickers to burgundy paper and stitch with green sparkles thread before cutting out. I love the sparkle that the thread adds to the ornaments.


text:
Editor's note: This review was originally published June 8, 2013 in The Gazette and at montrealgazette.com
Bistro à Champlain
Rating 3 out of 4
75 Chemin Masson, Ste-Marguerite-du-Lac-Masson
Phone: 450-228-4988
Website: www.bistroachamplain.com
Open: Daily from 6 to 9: 30 p.m. in summer; Thursday to Sunday from 6 to 9: 30 p.m. in winter
Wheelchair access: Yes
Reservations: Recommended
Licensed: Yes
Cards: Major cards
Vegetarian friendly: Not especially
Parking: Lot on site
Price range: Appetizers $10 to $26; main courses $15 to $41; desserts $12 to $14. Three-course table d'hôte $42. Six-course tasting menu $85 ($140 with wine-pairing option)
MONTREAL - Are restaurants something you get emotional about? I don't mean the actual bricks and mortar of the building (that would be weird), but the overall effect of the experience. I'm sure everyone has had those great moments, be they at a starred restaurant or at our mother's dining room table, where a dish simply grabs you by the loins and makes you rethink the definition of bliss.
I recently found myself moved by a restaurant meal, but for very different reasons. It wasn't about the food or service, but the restaurant's owner, a seminal figure in Quebec's wine world: former radiologist, art collector, avid fisherman and true bon vivant, Champlain Charest. His restaurant is the renowned Bistro à Champlain.
A former general store dating to 1864, this 40-year-old establishment is famous for several reasons. First, the setting. Located in the scenic hamlet of Ste-Marguerite-du-Lac-Masson in the Laurew-wntians, about an hour's drive from Montreal, the restaurant is rustic yet elegant, with log cabin and beadboard walls, antique chandeliers, and a lounge next to the dining room with wicker chairs and a pool table. Of course, this bistro "de luxe" is equally famous for its art, including original paintings by Miro, Sam Francis, Joan Mitchell; Quebec artists Charles Carson, Louis Gosselin and Louise Prescott; and the most famous Lac Masson resident, Jean-Paul Riopelle.
Great art and bosky setting aside, Bistro à Champlain is most famous for its wine cellar. When I last dined here about 13 years ago, Charest's cellar counted about 35,000 bottles, impressive names one and all. Then there were the 100-plus six-litre bottles (known as methuselahs) of the world's most prestigious wine, Domaine de la Roma-née-Conti - made especially for Charest. Last year, the SAQ purchased about 13,000 bottles, including many of the larger formats, as well as first-growth Bordeaux, Grand Cru Burgundies and rare wines from the Loire, Côtes-du-Rhône and Italy. That said, the restaurant still contains one of the most mind-boggling "caves" you'll ever behold. Truth be told, Bistro à Champlain is basically a restaurant wrapped around a wine cellar.
Spectacular cellar aside, returning on a chilly Friday over a decade later, I didn't quite know what to expect. We were welcomed at the door by Charest's wife, Monique Nadeau, then a jovial Mr. Charest greeted us at the table. We begin the meal admiring the sunset over Lac Masson while sipping a flute of Roederer Estate rosé. Awesome.
Like the wine cellar, the menu appears to have been pared down, not by diminishing the offerings but with dishes that are less complex than I remember. Such highfalutin wines are often best paired with simple cuisine, and though the dishes aren't 12-ingredients-per-plate elaborate, they aren't steak/frites simple, either. There's a tasting menu with wine pairings available for those looking for the ultimate food-and-wine experience. But I prefer to scan this unique wine list to find the bottles in my preferred $50-to-$75 range.
The majority of wines are well above that mark, but rest assured, any wine you order here will be a winner, and oenophiles will also appreciate the fact that you can enjoy older vintages. There is an excellent selection of wines by the glass as well, and the sommeliers are sharp. Ours, a gentleman by the name of Christian, was just swell.
With all this lovely wine flowing, what to eat? To start, I'd highly recommend the goat's cheese feuilletée. Wrapped in filo, the pavé of warm cheese was tangy and unctuous, but it was the accompanying salad that wowed. Made with endives, bacon, nuts, mesclun, cucumbers and tomatoes, this super salad was laced with a vinaigrette that didn't compete with the wine (a prerequisite, I'm told, from this kitchen). I also enjoyed the crab salad, consisting of yet another mound of greens, citrus supremes, avocado cream and a generous portion of delicate crabmeat bâtonnets. Yum!
French cuisine lovers should also not miss the pike quenelles. This classic dish from Lyon counts three light fish mousse quenelles served in a Champagne cream sauce, along with steamed spinach. Served with a glass of Givry 1er Cru Clos de la Servoisine 2009 Domaine Joblot (a treat at $16), this food and wine pairing hit it right out of the French-cuisine ballpark. Magnifique!
With our main courses, we enjoyed an elegant Clos Floridene 2006 Graves ($55), but alas, it was the last bottle. The first dish, guinea hen aiguillettes in a light truffle sauce with a mushroom risotto, was a success mainly because the meat was so tender. That said, the accompanying, close-to-mushroomless risotto was a bit too thick and a tad overcooked. Our other main, a rack of Alberta lamb, counted three large chops, a mound of fluffy mashed potatoes and assorted vegetables. A perfect match for the Bordeaux wine, the meat was tender, full flavoured and cooked to the ideal crimson centre. Nothing fussy here - just excellent upscale bistro cuisine.
As for dessert, you can opt for a slice or two of cheese (my choice was Île-aux-Grues cheddar, unfortunately served a bit cold), a boozy Crêpe Suzette, or a molten chocolate cake served with pistachio ice cream. All are fine, yet you might want to cut the last course short and head downstairs to the cellar to ogle all those iconic bottles. Look to your right and you'll see piles of aged amber-coloured d'Yquems. To your left, you can admire Chave Hermitage, Scarpa Barolo, Penfolds Grange, Sassic-aia, Ornellaia, and Alsatian gems from Marcel Deiss, Do-maine Weinbach and more. Of course there are Lafites, Latours, Haut-Brions ...
And there, standing amid these dreamy bottles, is the man who pulled it all together, the person who has hosted the world's top winemakers in his restaurant and on his fishing boat, flute of Champagne in hand. If ever there was a man in his element, it would be Champlain Charest on the floor of his bistro. I watched him in action all night, moving quietly from table to table, chatting to customers; many appeared to be regulars, with whom he shared a glass or two. And at 82, despite failing vision, he still appears completely immersed in it all, this world of his set in motion when he began collecting wines in 1964.
Granted, as I stated, restaurants aren't usually something you get emotional about. But as I walked out of this bistro, the accumulated effect of the art, the food, the wine, the beauty of the surroundings and the warmth of the staff hit me, mixed together with the sense of all the memories within these walls. It had been 13 years since my last visit. I knew that I could not wait even half that long before coming back.
Twitter: LesleyChestrman


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Add Function and Fun to Your Pickup Truck
Jul 27, 2015 05:09AM
By Family Features
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Whatever the task at hand, the right accessories help you get the most out of your pickup truck. Learn more at www.pace-edwards.com/switchblade.


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EFront, a leading software provider of solutions for managing alternative investments, has signed a new Brazilian client, Inseed Investimentos, a prominent venture capital firm based in Belo Horizonte.
With over 40 companies in its portfolio, Inseed Investimentos has a strong track record of investing in innovative companies with high growth potential in the early stages of development. The company will be making use of eFront's front-to-back integrated solutions to improve efficiency and investor relationships and structure its investment operations and fundraising activity.
The client win forms the latest chapter of eFront's ongoing expansion into Brazil where it already provides solutions to the largest private equity firm in Latin America, GP Investments. In order to support these clients and the broader regional market eFront will be opening an office in Rio de Janeiro later this year. GP Investments has invested more than USD$5 billion across 15 different sectors, and as eFront's cornerstone regional client is a big factor in the decision to expand.
Ayman Daif, Area Sales Manager of eFront, says "With Brazil's fast-growing alternative investment market, this is an incredibly exciting time to make inroads into the region; over the past decade the Brazilian private equity sector has deployed over USD$22 billion in capital, and this is only accelerating. Private equity funds have played a key role in Brazil's economic rise, helping to professionalize family-owned businesses, improve corporate governance and provide much needed growth capital.
eFront's software solutions are designed to help general partners, limited partners and fund administrators automate and optimize all aspects of managing both investment and investors. For example, with eFront GPs can automate difficult and often error-prone tasks such as issuing capital call notices, managing investor allocations and fees, and closing financial periods.
Source: Finextra 30.07.2013
Filed under: Brazil, Latin America, Wealth Management, Alternative Latin Investor, Brazil, Fund Industry, GP Investimentos, Hedge Fund, Inseed Investimentos, Investment, Investor Relations, Wealth Management


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I realize I may sound like a cartoon or Elton John, but the Circle of Life is very real for all of us mere mortals. The simplistic approach may offend many self-proclaimed sophisticated adults, but life is truly just that simple. We're born, we live, we wear out or run into trouble, and then we die. If you have not been touched by this circle, experiencing birth and death within the last year, then you are probably overdue. The joys of birth, the gut-wrenching pain of death, and all that happens in between represent this experience called life.
Like the filling in a sandwich cookie, that "in between" is the most important part. I've never known anyone to scrape out the filling of an Oreo and toss it out just to eat the crispy cookie, have you? We are each of stuck with the whole cookie and in order to enjoy and lead a fulfilling life, we have both sides to experience.
As a nation we have been in mourning due to the tragedy in Arizona. We've been through many other times of equal sorrow, some of even greater dimension, although the loss of one human life is as painful as the loss of 3000. As a nation we experienced the bombing in Oklahoma City and of course, the almost surreal shock we all experienced in the aftermath of September 11, 2001. The reverberations from that day are still echoing in our hearts both nationally and for those families whose lives were changed forever, individually and deeply private each day as they attempt to rebuild their lives. Like cardboard puzzles, those left behind attempt to construct a picture which represents daily life, but always, with a major piece missing, leaving a hole in their lives.
Many of us who participate in this particular blog, on living with chronic pain have also had very personal losses this past year. We've lost parents, close personal friends, unborn children and beloved pets. There is no way to measure the pain of loss. It simply is.
Over the years, there have been many who wrote about death and dying. In 1969, Elisabeth Kübler-Ross published a book, On Death and Dying, that became the bible of dying for many. Hospices were developed on her principles as well as its effect on medical personnel all over the world. Her five major steps of grief became part of our vernacular as we all had them drilled into us. They are denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance. She was actually talking about her own death but the subject met a hungry audience and changed the way many looked at death and dying from that time to the present. Those five steps became almost sacrosanct in their importance.
I remember, in 1975, when I was in nursing school learning them and sensing how important they had become to our society. Personally, I always had trouble with them because there were always those who counseled that one who had to follow them in order, had to sacredly never skip a step and somehow failed if they didn't follow these five rules in their grieving process. As a nurse over these many years I have seen and also experienced my own grief and came to believe each of us must grieve in our own way. There is an excellent new book, The Truth about Grief by Ruth Davis Konigsberg. She takes a different approach to the process of death and dying and debunks many of the beliefs held by millions for the last 50 years. Her conclusions are based on many studies and experiences.
The lack of space on this blog prevents me from going into too many details about the book, but some of the salient points, I will share. She quotes several studies of widows and widowers and states grief is not an organized list of steps we must climb but is, instead, a group of symptoms that come and go and eventually lift. Any of us who have experienced grief know it can sneak up on you with a memory, a picture, or a thought.
Eventually, time does heal. We never forget but we do go on with our lives after a number of months or for some, years. I remember, a few weeks after my father died, my mother called me at 10 pm one night and was hysterically crying into the phone. She kept saying, "He's gone, he's gone. I can't find him anywhere." We went over to her, wrapped her in her robe and took her to our home and put her to bed after soothing her. The next morning she said to my husband, "Well, Jim, I lost it, didn't I?" I don't remember what he said, but knowing him, it was profound yet simple, something to the effect of, "Well, Dorothy, it was your turn." The incident with my Mom was initiated by her coming across Dad's wallet in a drawer of their dresser. A simple, personal piece of him that was out of place pushed a button in her grieving process.
Konigsberg also debunks the theory that anger is an important part of healing during the grieving process. She found, via a study by Professor George Bonanno at Columbia University's Teachers College anger harmful to the process. They describe the process somewhat like one picking at a wound, thus preventing healing. That's my nurse's analogy, not hers. One's experience with the loss of a loved one is totally individualized. There is no right way or wrong way to grieve. Eventually the painful loss does heal although the sense of loss will live forever. Isn't that really wonderful? I know I want others to miss me and to remember my words, my actions, and my laughter when I am gone from this world and enter the next, don't you?
Another book I highly recommend was published in 2010 titled Messages by Bonnie McEneaney who is a widow of September 11, because her husband, Eamon, died at the World Trade Center. It was given to me by a friend who is a widow and suffered through her own journey of loss. Messages is a book of documented premonitions of many who died that day and also stories from loved ones who are left behind.
As one of my favorite actresses, Rosalind Russell, who also suffered from arthritis, said in the movie Mame, "Life's a banquet and most poor suckers are starving to death!" Don't starve. Live. Come to the banquet.
Important: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and not Everyday Health.


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Total words: 68
Total blocks: 25
Quite low black square count. Brad places four multi-word grid-spanners in his puzzle:
14A. Source of overcompensating bravado: NAPOLEON COMPLEX. Overcompensate for their short stature. Type of Inferiority Complex.
17A. Stay away: DISTANCE ONESELF. Nice one.
46A. 2009 addition to Wimbledon's Centre Court: RETRACTABLE ROOF. My favorite answer today, esp since I nailed it.
49A. Like a master criminal: SLIPPERY AS AN EEL. Lively entry.
I had a slightly easier time with this Brad offer. I normally struggle mightily with his puzzles. Probably because I nailed a few long ones. Or the ladders (those strings of black squares along the diagonal line) gridding made the puzzle more accessible, as many entries share the same starting letter.
Still had to cheat.
1. One in a coup group: USURPER. Assonance in the clue. Brad has six 7-letter & 8-letter entries today.
8A. Tenochtitlán founders: AZTECS. Tenochtitlán was the capital of Aztecs. Present day Mexico City. Unknown to me.
18. Old Greek theater: ODEON. My first toehold.
19. Carpenter with drums: KAREN. Boomer loves Karen Carpenter. He just bowled a 300 yesterday.
20. Van Halen's "Somebody Get __ Doctor": ME A. Not familiar with the song.
21. Start of an intermission?: ENTR. Start of Entr'acte (intermission). Got me.
22. Seedless greenhouse denizens: FERNS. Always associate "denizens" with animals, not plant.
23. Judicial seat: BANC
24. Flare, maybe: SOS. Got it via crosses.
25. Makes an example of: CITES
26. Declaration in a playground game: NOT IT. "Tag" declaration.
27. Vitamin K source: CHARD. So are most dark green veggies. Need fat to best utilize the Vitamin K. Or any vitamin, right, Al?
28. Over: FINITO
29. Yin and yang, e.g.: DUALITY. Yin & Yang is factored in my cooking.
32. One who doesn't do Windows?: MAC USER. Nailed it.
33. Native Alaskans: INUITS
34. Seemingly charmed entrepreneur: MIDAS. I don't get this clue. Why "charmed"?
35. Rival of Sparta: ARGOS. I can only think of PERSIANS.
36. Like unsorted mail: PILED
37. Beaut: GEM
40. Course objectives for many: PARS. Golf course. I'd be happy with a bogey on a par 5.
41. Black-tie events: BALLS
42. Florida's __ Chica Key: BOCA. Have never heard of this island. It's about 3 miles east of Key West. Wikipedia also says Boca Chica is literally "small mouth" in Spanish.
43. Ophelia's niece, in "Uncle Tom's Cabin": EVA
44. Actress Palmer: LILLI. Nope. Not in my radar. German actress.
45. Peer's realm, perhaps: DUCHY. Oh, Duke's realm.
50. Impertinent: SNIPPY. Much better than our normal edge word SASSY.
51. Loses all its water: RUNS DRY
1. Annuls: UNDOES
2. Declined: SAID NO
3. Sports page headline grabbers: UPSETS. Did not leap to me quickly.
4. Turning part: ROTOR. So simple in retrospect.
5. Design: PLAN
6. Morn's opposite: E'EN
7. Hobby involving launches: ROCKETRY. Sign up and ride along with all the punks.
8. Nuts in cupules: ACORNS. Cupule is a new word to me.
9. Tunes (out): ZONES
10. Bootleggers' nemeses: T-MEN
11. Mini-albums, for short: EPS
12. Showy arbor vine: CLEMATIS. The one with the red flowers.
13. Crystalline gypsum variety: SELENITE. Named after Greek moon goddess Selene. And then mineral suffix-ite. New word to me also.
15. Approached: NEARED
16. Unknown: X FACTOR. Noun "Unknown".
22. Edicts: FIATS
23. Employee of the Month incentive: BONUS
25. Markers: CHITS
26. Battery acronym : NICAD (Nickel-cadmium battery)
27. Madison Avenue honors: CLIOS. Advertising awards.
28. Diminishes: FADES
29. Nursery supply: DIAPERS. Was picturing plants/flowers.
30. Figures out: UNRAVELS
31. With a browned crust, as potatoes: AU GRATIN. I like oven fried potatoes. You?
32. Air pressure unit: MILLIBAR. Another new word. Milli = One Thousandth.
34. First woman to receive the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry: MILLAY. Edna St. Vincent Millay. Was unaware of this trivia.
36. Meager: PALTRY
37. Expand the admission pool, in a way: GO COED
38. Parrot: ECHOER
39. Bass prey: MAYFLY. Had no idea that bass eats mayflies.
41. Arm wrestler's pride, as it's commonly called: BICEP
42. Seethes: BURNS
44. Reindeer herder: LAPP. The northern Norwegian. Kept thinking of Santa and his reindeer, Argyle!
45. Academic list keeper: DEAN
47. Engineering sch. on the Hudson: RPI (Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute). Learned from doing Xword.
48. Sch. with a yearbook called the Gumbo: LSU. Interesting trivia. Good to know.
Answer grid.
JD's Crossword Story continues. See her C installment.


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Video: Sky Full of Bacon's 'A Better Fish'
Fish is complicated. You can have this one, but not this, and eating that Chilean seabass, oh dear, that might give you awful karma forever. In this beginning of a two-part series on fish, the always enlightening podcast Sky Full of Bacon visits Supreme Lobster, one of the country's largest fish distributors. SFOB producer-writer-editor Michael Gebert goes behind-the-scenes to understand how the company moves thousands of pounds of fresh fish a week. He talks to sales rep Carl Galvan, who's so passionate about selling the good stuff, he keeps his chef clients updated on Twitter (@chicagofishdude).
So much of the seafood discussion is difficult for consumers to navigate but this 22-minute video offers a clear perspective on what happy seafood is out there. The video, after the jump.
Sky Full of Bacon's 'A Better Fish'
Traitor Joe's, a Site by Greenpeace Against Trader Joe's Seafood
Smithsonian Sustainable Seafood Website [Talk]
Updated Sustainable Seafood Guide from the NRDC
All products linked here have been independently selected by our editors. We may earn a commission on purchases, as described in our affiliate policy.


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September 05, 2013
Confusion exists over some question, and every time you think you've got the answer, circumstances will change and new information will come to your attention. Don't worry, things are going to clear up and work out. Take it easy. Change the question. Soul Affirmation: I make myself an inspiration to others this week. Lucky Numbers: 12, 19, 20
Communications flow smoothly this week and your word is golden. A wild idea for money making could come to you, but you should let the strictly material walk on by. Stick to your current plan and use your imagination for ways to up-level your spiritual outlook. Soul Affirmation: I celebrate freedom of mind this week. Lucky Numbers: 33, 42, 49
A party or gathering with friends from the past will give you the opportunity to see how much you are loved. You've made tremendous strides and accomplished much in your life, so be pleased with yourself this week. Pass some of your wisdom along to others. Soul Affirmation: I give thanks for who I am this week. Lucky Numbers: 40, 48, 55
An afterglow will surround you this week if you summon it up from your subconscious, and you may not feel like getting immediately into work-mode on several days this week. It's okay to go with your feelings; the world will wait for a little while. Treasure
happy moments. Soul Affirmation: My smile gives light to everyone I meet this week. Lucky Numbers: 9, 21, 38
Your mind will be extra busy this week with thoughts of new projects and the things you want to get done. Best course of action is to clear up pending and overdue items. You'll have a clean slate in no time and will feel genuinely content and ready for the new stuff. Soul Affirmation: Light from my soul shines in many directions. Lucky Numbers: 11, 13, 51
You should know by now that trying to be in two places at once is very taxing to your nerves! Slow down a bit and trust that you'll get what needs to be done accomplished. Give yourself a head start on all road trips so that you have time to enjoy the view. Love promises much this week. Accept the promise. Soul Affirmation: My mood is created by the company I keep. Lucky Numbers: 12, 19, 36
A friend from the past could suddenly appear in your life. This could be a highly beneficial reunion for both of you. Let bygones be bygones, and renew this friendship. Love isn't used up just because it's shared. Soul Affirmation: My blessings come through others this week. Lucky Numbers: 8, 24, 53
Drive the speed limit this week or you could wind up with a ticket. Why rush? Serenity is available if you only stop and listen for it inside of you. Discharge your usual obligations with dignity and silently count your blessings. Soul Affirmation: Friendships are the shock absorbers on the bumpy road of life. Lucky Numbers: 4, 52, 53
Trust! – that's what you need to do. Sure people lie sometime but when you know their hearts you know what to expect and therefore you're not deceived. Be prepared for lots of compliments this week. Most of them will be sincere, so plan to accept them gracefully. You may be planning a summer trip. Make it a nice getaway Soul Affirmation: I take a chance on new beginnings. Lucky Numbers: 22, 28, 29
Live free and large, and cherish good friends. Financial matters are highlighted during working hours. Everything to do with your money, or money under your care, goes smoothly. A party invitation arrives. . . say YES! Soul Affirmation: I open myself up to the good news that wants to come to me. Lucky Numbers: 33, 46, 55
Creative mental energy makes this a banner week for you. An ambition that you thought you had left behind years ago suddenly resurfaces, and you'll see similarities between what you are doing now and what you dreamed of back then. Enjoy! Soul Affirmation: Laughter is strong medicine against any disease. Lucky Numbers: 34, 46, 55
No need for rowdiness, wild ones! You can make your point without jumping up and down and waving your hands and arms in the air! Speak your wisdom softly, gently this week, so that others can hear it and benefit, smooth one! Soul Affirmation: Wearing three different hats is easy for a person like me. Lucky Numbers: 18, 27, 39


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eBook Digital Download
The jade-robed Buddhist priest who battled crime as The Green Lama is back! Conceived in 1939 at the behest of the editors of Munsey Publications to compete with The Shadow, it was an outlandish concept. While The Shadow possessed the power to cloud men's minds after his time in the East, The Green Lama relied on other, even weirder, powers — including the ability to become radioactive and electrically shock opponents into submission! He carried a traditional Tibetan scarf, which he employed to bind and befuddle opponents, and possessed a knowledge of vulnerable nerve centers which he put to good use in hand-and-hand combat. Om Mani Padme Hum! The Green Lama knows! The Green Lama returns in vintage pulp tales, reissued for today's readers in electronic format.


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Create a thread here to schedule a time to play a Playstation 2 game online through the game's normal online servers.
When you post a thread to schedule a time for your online game make sure to tell us your time zone. Tell us your GMT time zone as well if you know what it is.
If you are confused by the gmt time zone difference between you and another person, use this gmt time zone converter: http://wwp.greenwichmeantime.com/gmt-co ... /index.htm
Try to post as early as possible to give people enough time to see your post and try to make your game. Even if you happen to start playing an online game that wasn't planned beforehand, post here to let us know as people might see it and join you in your game.
Adding a clock for your time zone into your signature is extremely helpful for scheduling Playstation 2 online games. It will also tell you what your GMT time zone is. To find out how to do that go here: http://www.ps2onlinegaming.com/forum/vi ... ?f=36&t=51
Instant Messengers
These are very helpful for communicating before and during PS2 online games. When you post your thread to schedule a game, ask if people have instant messengers and tell them which ones you have.
Also we have a site chat now as well. The chat link is at the top of the site but you cannot see it until you register and login. When you are looking to play a game, or have a scheduled one approaching, it's smart to hop in the chat. Especially if you have no instant messengers to talk with the other people who plan to show up.
If you want to plan a LAN tunneling (Xlink Kai) PS2 match please post your thread in the Game Scheduling: LAN Tunneling (Xlink Kai) forum.
To see which online PS2 games other site members own go view the Community Online Games List
How to schedule a game
Create a thread here to schedule a time to play PS2 games online through their normal servers.
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- Xlink Kai Setup?: yes
- Xlink Kai username: lazyhobobum
- Location: west coast usa
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How to schedule a game
aka lazybum...
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