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DC and Warner Bros. have finally broken ground on their shared movie universe with the release of Man of Steel, and though critics and fans may be divided on how well Zack Snyder's Superman reboot turned out to be, many conclude that the studio's plan is now obvious: a Man of Steel sequel to capitalize on the success, and get to work on similar origin stories for the rest of DC's heroes - even a Batman/Superman team-up film - before the Justice League becomes a reality.
While the success of Man of Steel could lead many to feel that standalone origin stories are the best move –and, in some cases, the only right way of proceeding – it isn't the only one. There's a case to be made for following Marvel's formula, to be sure, but a look at other successful film franchises (including Marvel) leads us to believe that moving to Justice League next may not just succeed, but could offer something genuinely new to the superhero genre.
First, it's worth remembering that Man of Steel wasn't just tasked with introducing a new version of Superman – a feat it accomplished (read our review) – it was also saddled with washing away the lingering memories of Bryan Singer's failed reboot, Superman Returns (2006). For Snyder to launch a Superman universe that makes Justice League possible, a new origin story, a new actor and new approach was needed.
That's not an issue that Warner Bros. or DC needs to worry about in the case of Flash, Wonder Woman and Aquaman, since those heroes have yet to be introduced to modern movie audiences, and as such, are freed from much of Man of Steel's burden. There is no doubt that those characters could stand on their own, and given the right treatment, rival the feats and scale of Superman. Yet for good and bad, they are characters with whom modern audiences have less experience with on the big screen.
That means a new approach is possible, and given a few facts about modern audiences and DC's biggest heroes, a group introduction could be the right way to move forward and gain unparalleled audience attention. We're all in favor of half a dozen more superhero films - provided they're well-made - but it's worth hearing the other side of the Justice League discussion.
Origin Stories are Just One Kind
The sad truth of comic books: origin stories are usually not the most interesting or acclaimed part of any classic superhero's history. That might sound like heresy coming from self-professed comic book fans, but look up the very best comic book arcs for any superhero, and the vast majority do not tell of the character's earliest days. Why? That's a difficult question to answer.
While occasionally interesting science fiction or fantasy tales in their own right, origin stories also tend to be the first ones sought out by new readers, for obvious reasons: they answer the first questions a curious reader is likely to ask - is Superman even human? How can Flash run so fast? Why is Wonder Woman so strong?
As a result of this need to explain the nuts and bolts of a mythological character, origin stories often follow a painfully formulaic layout. Since readers are just looking for answers - or in the case of John Byrne's iconic "The Man of Steel" origin story, what's been changed canonically - writers are limited in how much of the character's personality and meaning can be addressed. The makers of Man of Steel clearly knew how rigid an origin story can be, doing everything possible to change up the standard formula (skipping over Clark's childhood completely, giving flashbacks where needed, etc.).
Nobody says a good story needs to start at the start – just ask Tarantino – and Warner Bros. (under Nolan's leadership) has shown an interest in surprising comic book fans with their structures. Batman Begins kicked off a reboot with Bruce Wayne in a Chinese prison, after much of the film's 'story' has already occurred. Far from lost, fans were thankful for it, since most have been forced to witness the death of Thomas and Martha Wayne more times than their son ever did.
Instead, Nolan introduced the world to his Batman late in his life, only showing elements of his childhood trauma and maturation where it aided the overall plot. That fact was not lost on Zack Snyder when charged with similarly reinvigorating a spoiled brand.
Yet in the case of both Batman Begins and Man of Steel, the writers and directors needed to make significant changes in order to distance the new films from those that came before. The fact that both succeeded despite those hurdles led to a widespread belief that in order to care about a character/superhero/villain, audiences need to see exactly how they got the way they are. If the audience is simply told that a hero is good or a villain is bad, this logic states, they can't buy in and never become invested. And yet, the most beloved of genre films seem to defy this rule as often as they adhere to it.
While origin stories are great for fiction buffs, audiences react just as strongly to what characters do on screen as where they came from. No one needed to be told, for example, that Darth Vader was evil – the first thing he does is kill people cruelly – and by the same token, no one needed to know that Obi-Wan Kenobi was once a soldier for good; he saved a helpless boy from certain death, and could therefore be trusted.
If audiences had no idea how Obi-Wan Kenobi came to be an old hermit, or how Vader had cast off the light in favor of evil, the above logic implies audiences should have never been able to invest in either. But let's give movie geeks some credit: they're willing to fill in the gaps and details if given enough substance to go on. And provided the heroes they're presented with are iconic enough to begin with.
It's this idea that Zack Snyder tapped into when he claimed that DC's heroes are "purer archetypes" than any of Marvel's, and can therefore reach higher heights, if done properly. Being introduced to Luke Skywalker (we're Star Wars fans, sue us) when he's barely a teen isn't what tells audiences that they're witnessing the hero's journey; he could be a thirty-year-old moisture farmer and most of the story would remain unchanged.
George Lucas made the wise move of beginning the story in the middle, where the most archetypal characters – the hero, the rogue, the princess, the sage – would draw crowds in and carry the bulk of the story (the story of how Luke came to be born, as it turns out, took three movies to tell and nearly killed the entire franchise).
The Origin Story Debate: DC vs. Marvel
So why did origin tales work for Marvel? Well, for the main reason we first argued Justice League wouldn't need to follow Marvel's plan: audiences are more familiar with Batman, Superman and Wonder Woman than they ever were with Thor, Black Widow, Captain America or Iron Man. For Marvel, an introduction was necessary. Not only to get audiences familiar with these characters, but out of a necessity to make their symbolic meaning clear to anyone not already steeped in decades of their mythology.
As our own Kofi Outlaw has explained in the past, Snyder's claims of "purer archetypes" are founded in literary study, not fanboyism. Marvel's characters, while perhaps not as "archetypal" as DC's, are more likely to encapsulate elements of the human experience; Captain America embodies the scrawny kid with a good heart who becomes super strong, and turns against those who would bully others. Spider-Man is the nerdy kid who finally gets the girl, and Dr. Bruce Banner speaks for every introvert who ever longed to be powerful, and invincible.
They're characters everyone can relate to, but to understand the symbols that each of them truly were, audiences needed to see them as weak, unwanted, and limited before they were granted their 'hero' status.
DC's characters, on the other hand, are more easily identified; sure, they don't encapsulate human experiences (how many interstellar space cops do you know?), but the do embody universal archetypes, myths, icons, or ideas. Superman: the demigod from a far-off land. Batman: grief and anger in the flesh. Wonder Woman: the warrior princess. Green Lantern: fearlessness, using courage as a weapon. And Flash: a man for whom time has no meaning.
Each of these characters has a deep and relatable history, but that doesn't need to be shown for human beings to understand what ideas and wish-fulfillment they embody. Hal Jordan may be without fear, but only when that notion is tested are the best Green Lantern stories written. Flash can run faster than sound, but what happens when speed won't help him? Wonder Woman can turn stone to dust, but knows little about the modern world and its people.
That's the reason why you won't find many origin stories among the most revered in DC's catalogue: the best storytelling wasn't concerned with how the people got to where they are, but what happened once they did.
Man of Steel and Batman Begins prove that sometimes, telling an origin story in bits and pieces, not laid out from beginning to end, can be an entertaining delivery method. And with the plethora of Marvel films set to be released in the coming years – all looking to follow a similar formula, if trends hold – differentiating themselves in any way is a wise move.
DC and Warner Bros. don't have to start at the start to show why their characters are unique and iconic, so why not start at the most interesting point from a story perspective? As in, what happens when these archetypes meet for the first time in a Justice League movie?
Learn From Marvel
It may seem a bit harsh to describe Marvel's 'Phase One' films as essentially a lead-up to The Avengers, but given the use of 'Phase One' internally at the company, it seems an accurate categorization - and it showed. Both Thor (2011) and Captain America: The First Avenger (2011) followed similar structures, and formed a common idea of what 'a Marvel movie' meant. With similar tone, similar humor, and even shared characters, the studio knew that audiences needed more than just origin stories to keep them interested – they needed to know they were building to something.
Iron Man 2 (2010) acted most heavily as a prologue to The Avengers (to the chagrin of many fans and critics), Captain America ended with Steve Rogers answering S.H.I.E.L.D.'s call to leadership, and Thor's main antagonist soon returned as the villain of 'Phase One.' Once the studio had explained to the world why they should care about these heroes – since most didn't know about their powers or morality – they could get to the heroes actually being the heroes they're famous for - and audiences arrived in droves.
That's the biggest benefit of moving forward with Justice League, either following on the heels of Man of Steel or after a sequel: audiences want their heroes to be heroes, and who can blame them? But if Justice League gives audiences what they desire – Batman, Flash, Wonder Woman and Superman as the superheroes they know them to be – can they really understand why they should care for them without formal introductions?
There's no question that audiences would make a Justice League film a billion-dollar proposition, and we'd argue that the League members embodying archetypes – and sporting powers that embody each of their personalities – wouldn't be hampered with the same challenges Marvel faced. In fact, people have proven that they're somewhat fond of Batman, Superman and Wonder Woman already.
With the origin stories out of the way, The Avengers allowed writer/director Joss Whedon to throw the heroes together, bringing out each other's weaknesses and proving their strength through teamwork. Now that the origin stories are out of the way, and audiences understand what makes these characters differ from one another in a fight, 'Phase Two' is taking them in completely different directions. Thor: The Dark World (2013) looks to be a Viking adventure with gritty violence and magical themes. Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014) claims to be a "political thriller." Iron Man 3 explored the ways that Tony Stark was forever changed by facing a threat he couldn't defeat alone (*cough*Superman*cough), and fans are already crying for a standalone Hulk franchise, despite his role in the film being rather limited.
The Avengers was built on the foundations of the origin stories, yet with higher review scores and box office numbers, more audiences came to see the teamup than the lead-ins, and left happier. Now that Man of Steel got the reboot right – and massively changed the fiction movie fans were familiar with – why ignore the message sent loud and clear? The simple truth: The Avengers was the payoff people were hoping for, and (Marvel hopes) convinced more fans to follow the heroes down different paths, telling unique stories based on their own qualities.
With that in mind, it seems foolish to claim that either a) audiences wouldn't happily see Justice League without origin stories for heroes they either already know, or haven't sought out thus far, or b) that their interest in the characters post-team-up would depend on individual origin stories, not the promise they showed along one another.
If comic book fans are already crying for Mark Ruffalo to be given a new Hulk series – a character already played by two different actors, at least one of which was a complete failure – then we'd put our money on a well-executed Flash or Wonder Woman in Justice League garnering the same support. Expose the characters to more audiences than would ever be interested in a single origin story – as evidenced by Marvel's 'Phase One' box office numbers – and take each in their own direction with fans in tow, not demanding they buy in with every new solo film.
Again, we think of Aquaman most of all in this regard. Although there is reason to believe that Aquaman could work as DC's next epic event film, featuring a well-written, well-cast Arthur Curry fighting alongside Superman would attract more viewers to a grossly under-appreciated hero. Once he's shown who he is to the larger world, let the writer/director of the Aquaman movie explore his origins in greater detail. Besides offering a plot that isn't simply 'another origin story, this method of exploring a character is also much closer to the way people familiarize themselves with anything, or anyone in the real world.
The same logic applies for Flash, Wonder Woman, and a possibly re-cast Green Lantern. The mere fact that the story and approach to Marvel's post-Avengers films is generating more interest than those that preceded it proves the point: thus far, origin stories simply aren't as bankable from a studio perspective, and from a comic standpoint, aren't the most interesting.
The Sad Truth For Fans
As much as Superman fans soaked up every second of the Kryptonian backstory, Clark Kent's struggle to adapt to his new powers, and his angst-ridden trek around the globe, the truth is that those character moments aren't what mass audiences showed up to see. That may seem a cynical perspective, but take one look at Warner Bros. marketing push in the weeks leading up to the film's release, and it becomes clear that the action, spectacle, and Supersuit is what puts butts in seats.
While fans and critics may appreciate some drama and character development throughout – although, going by the mixed reception to Man of Steel, even that's debatable – it's the Superman name (with action to match) that drives summer audiences into theaters, willing to pay the 3D ticket prices.
Hardcore fans may be the most deserving of a faithful adaptation, but a film made just for them – like, say, Watchmen (2009) – is a nightmare for studios, and a death sentence for budding franchises.
So what's the solution? Well, that's a loaded question, so let's begin by realizing that a film with Superman – or Batman, Flash, Wonder Woman, etc. – featured at their full power, in the form most recognizable to casual viewers, is just as likely to draw the same crowds as a dialogue-heavy, painfully-crafted origin story. Fans may flock to see a new take on a superhero's first steps, first fight, or first failure, but from a financial point of view, that structure is as risky as it is unnecessary.
For example: a lengthy glance at the backlash against Man of Steel from critics around the world makes one thing clear – while not every one of Snyder and co.'s choices were a success, most agree that Henry Cavill is a convincing Superman, and the action is about as epic as blockbuster crowds can hope for. As a result, Superman's first outing is anything but a unanimous success, but where the film leaves our hero, now fully embracing the role he is known for, holds incredible promise for a sequel.
While die-hard fans, casual fans, critics, and comic book writers may be divided over the origin story, fans got the Superman action that the film demanded, with an actor who gives hope for what lies ahead. Is it so crazy to think that a film bringing Superman – with an actor and style sure to please – and the rest of the League members, just as well-cast and written, would be exactly what most audiences are hoping to see from the team-up?
Had Warner Bros. decided to test the waters earlier on, and introduced Henry Cavill as Superman in the middle of Nolan's Dark Knight trilogy – knowing how well he embodies the character – would audiences have been turned off, and felt no attachment to him whatsoever since they hadn't been told his origin story again? Or would the brief look at the Superman they always hoped to see on screen have them crying for a standalone movie?
If it's safe to assume that Warner Bros. and DC actually have some respect for their characters – and the four films centered on Batman and Superman imply that they do – it's unfair to assume that foregoing origin films is a clear-cut case of prioritizing money over integrity. Again, some of the best DC stories have centered solely on the League as a group, with the most compelling origin stories for its members coming decades after they first became household names.
Could the same strategy work for DC's movie universe? It's possible. Could hooking audiences to lesser-known heroes by showing their true power and character off the bat, and diving deeper once viewers decided they actually cared about them work as well? Again, it's possible.
All of this hinges on the right story and vision, of course, and both Zack Snyder and Henry Cavill have explained that their Superman isn't quite where he needs to be to bring in the League. Having seen the film, we can agree. But if Goyer, Nolan, or Snyder decide in the coming years that they've got "a great idea for a new Justice League," we'll be willing to give them the benefit of the doubt.
Not only because we long to see the greatest superhero team on the big screen, but because we know full well that once these characters shine alongside one another, fans will seek them out and demand each be granted their time in the spotlight. It already worked in the comic book pages, so why not try the same formula on film?
What do you think of the many decisions sure to be facing DC and Warner Bros. in the coming years? Is a strong Justice League movie what you'd hope to see from this group of filmmakers, or is four origin films over as many years what you'd prefer to see (along with those coming from Marvel)? Be sure to add your voice to the conversation in the comments below.


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Grade A missal? Rating the new Mass translations one year later
The Catholic Church was abuzz last year in anticipation of the new English translation of the Roman Missal being introduced in parishes around the country. In the months leading up to the change, the feelings of the people in the pews ranged from hopeful optimism and excitement to outrage and dread. And as expected, the first few months were a rocky road as Catholics carefully studied their lines and tried to avoid slipping into the old habit of reciting the previous prayers and responses during Mass.
Now that the faithful have had nearly a year to get used to the new translation, have their feelings about the new Roman Missal changed? Has it become familiar and accepted, or is it more of an unwelcome intrusion in the lives of Catholics?
Please take our survey below and let us know what you think of the new missal as it nears its first anniversary. Results will be published in our December 2012 issue. (If you are a Catholic priest, please take this version of the survey for clergy.)

subset: commoncrawl


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een jaar geleden PrincessAyeka12 said…
Disney Princess
Disney Princess Dress-up Doll Contest
Swanpride posted on Apr 30, 2018 at 01:09PM
So, playing around with Dress-up dolls, I got the idea for a new kind of contest. Since nowadays there are so many options in the dress up games, the idea is to go creative based on a theme and then pick the best interpretation of it.
Here are the rules:
1. You have to use the Dress up game specified for the round - which will usually be from the exclusive Section of the Azalea's Dress-up Dolls. You can find it here: link
2. You are only allowed to use clothing options given in the program. You are free, though, to change the background if you want to.
3. If the round is dedicated to a specific princess, you are allowed to add other characters (ie the prince, pets or other princesses) into the scene if the game allows it.
4. Unless specified otherwise, "Any Princess" means any official princess, visible in the banner of the club. There might be rounds in which the optional princesses (Elsa and Anna) can be included.
4. Keep the picture within the size of 900x900 pixels (meaning the picture can be smaller, but not bigger...honestly, I just want to avoid giant files, so keep to reasonable).
5. You are allowed to submit two entries (which will compete against each other), provided that each entry offers a different interpretation of a theme...for example if the theme is Mythological princesses, you can do two different princesses as different mythological figures, but not two times the same princess or two different princesses as the same mythological figure. If you are unsure if your idea is different enough, just ask.
6. Please post your creation with a title I can use for the polls (since I want people to vote without being influenced by the usernames).
7. When the polls are up, you can nominated up to three entries for the win. You can nominate one of your own. The entry which is nominated the most often wins, otherwise the polls serve as tie-breaker.
8. Don't cheat. Which means, only post your own creations and don't try to manipulate the voting. You know, the usual.
ROUND 1: Arabian Nights, Winner Midnight Beauty by Sparklefairy375
ROUND 2: Mythological Figure, Winner Enchanting Elf by PrincessAyeka12
ROUND 3: Mother's Day, Winner Reunited by Swanpride
ROUND 4: French Folklore, Winner Sunday Best by Swanpride
ROUND 5: Elemental, my dear Princess, Winner Colours of the Wind by PrincessAyeka12
ROUND 6: 40s Eleganza, Winner Ready for the Ball by Swanpride
ROUND 7: Oh my Goddess!, Winner Goddesses of Dreams, Time and Travel by Swanpride
ROUND 8: Pixiefied, Winner Midnight Sparkle by PrincessAyeka12
ROUND 9: Modern Princess, Winner "Isn't it obvious?" by mhs 1025
ROUND 10: Medieval Fantasy, Winner Most Evil Women of Creation by PrincessAyeka12
ROUND 11: Coronation Day, Winner Royal Purple by Sparklefairy375
ROUND 12: Royal Diplomacy, Winner Honouring the Guests by Swanpride
ROUND 13: Superheroine Princess, Winner Super Princess Line-up by Swanpride
ROUND 14: Born to be Wild, Winner Wild'n'Free Angle by mhs 1025
ROUND 15: Princess in Wonderland, Winner Tea with the Mad Flynn Rider by Swanpride
ROUND 16: Modern Princess Take 2: Summer Time, Winner Summer Eleganza by Swanpride
ROUND 17: Old Timey Elegance, Winner French Sunset by Ajotma
ROUND 18: Pixie in the Garden, Winner Autumn Sunshine by Sparklefairy375
ROUND 19: Velvet Fashion, Winner Bring the Honor by Sparklefairy375
ROUND 20: Viking Princess, Winner Warrior of the Land by Sparklefairy375
ROUND 21: Magical Elf, Winner Colour in Gold by Swanpride
ROUND 22: Bollywood Dance, Winner Fiery Look by Sparklefairy375
ROUND 23: Covergirls, Winner Spoiled Brats by Alexon31
ROUND 24: Fallen Angel, Winner Tortured Rose by PrincessAyeka12
ROUND 25: Princess and Villain, Winner White as Snow, Cold as Ice by Alexon31
ROUND 26: Ferocious Beauties and Where to Find Them, Winner The Corpse Bride by mhs1025
ROUND 27: Evil Triumphs, Winner Accepting the Tower by Swanpride
ROUND 28: Sci-Fi-Princess, Winner Pilot of New Orleans by Ajotma
ROUND 29: First meeting, Winner Ladies of the Twenties by Ajotma
ROUND 30: Gothic Princess, Winner Princess of Darkness by Sparklefairy375
ROUND 31: New Wedding Dress, Winner Fairytale Wedding by Sparklefairy 375
ROUND 32: Sailor Princess, Winner Sailor Sun by Swanpride
ROUND 33: Princess Dark Side, Winner Crazy Clown Princess by Sparklefairy375
ROUND 34: Merry Christmas. Winner Under the Mistletoe by Swanpride
ROUND 35: New Year Celebration, Winner New Year's Eve by Sparklefairy375
ROUND 36: Mythological Couple, Winner Light up the Sea by Sparklefairy375
ROUND 37: Princess of Nature, Winner Blossom Flower by Sparklefairy375
ROUND 38: Middle East Princess, Winner Belle of the Ball by Ajotma
ROUND 39: Peasant Tale, Winner From the Forrest by Sparklefairy375
ROUND 40: 1950s Princess: Winner Pink Princess by Sparklefairy375
ROUND 41: Ready to the Ball, Winner Arabian Princess by Sparklefairy375
ROUND 42: Winder Wonderland, Winner Winter Stroll by Lavendersblue
ROUND 43: Elf Princess, Winner Flower Gleam and Glow by Swanpride
ROUND 44: Sister Goddesses, Winner Goddesses of Harvest and Nature by Swanpride
ROUND 45: Translated to Mermaid, Winner Touch the Spindle by Alexon31
ROUND 46: Roman Lady, Winner Celebrating the Harvest by Ajotma
ROUND 47: Royal Portrait, Winner La famille royale by Alexon31
ROUND 48: Fantasy Heroine, Winner Guardian of Wolves by Sparklefairy375
ROUND 49: Princess Squad, Winner College Students by Ajotma
ROUND 50: Happy Birthday!, Winner A Happy Birthday? by Ajotma
ROUND 51: Art Deco Style, Winner Briar Rose by Swanpride
ROUND 52: Pastel Easter, Winner Young Cinderella by Swanpride
ROUND 53: Not So White Wedding, Winner Chinese Wedding by Swanpride
ROUND 54: Deck of Queens, Winner Flower Queens by Swanpride
ROUND 55: Wearing the pants, Winner Midnight Rendezvous by mhs1025
ROUND 56: Springtime Elegance, Winner April Shower by Ajotma
ROUND 57: Thank you for the Music, Winner I see the light by mhs1025
ROUND 58: Star of the Party, Winner Highland Fashion by Swanpride
ROUND 59: Party Eleganza, Winner What a vision! by PrincessAyeka12
ROUND 60: Celebration, Winner Coronation Day by Alexon31
ROUND 61: Summer Faeries, Winner Summer Magic Breeze by Alexon31
ROUND 62: Fairy Tale High, Winner Pinky Swear by Swanpride
ROUND 63: Sex on the Beach, Winner Beach Beauty by Swanpride
ROUND 64: Modern Princess Take 3: Busy at Work, Winner Polished Girl by Princess Ayeka12
ROUND 65: Multiple Layers, Winner Beauty Within by mhs1025
ROUND 66: Beauty and the Beast, Winner Water vs Fire by PrincessAyeka12
ROUND 67: Guardians of The Day And Night Winner Black as Night by Ajotma
ROUND 68: Love to Dance, Winnter Yellow Rose by MaidofOrleans
ROUND 69: Pin up eleganza, Winner A Whole New World by sunnyfields
ROUND 70: Summer of 1946, Winner Naval Chic by Swanpride
ROUND 71: Genderbend, Winner Once upon a Dream by Sunnyfields
ROUND 72: Southern Belle, Winner I see the Flowers by Princess Ayeka12
ROUND 73: Modern Style, Winner Summer in the City by Ajotma
ROUND 74: Enchanted Evening in the Magical Woods, Winner The Beloved New Queen by mhs1025
ROUND 75: Autumn Solstice, Winner TBD
ROUND 76: Island Celebration, Winner TBD
Theme: Fashion through the ages
Theme: Create a Princess dress in three different fashion periods
Princess: Any
Programm to use: Any in the exclusive Section
If you aren't able to combine your three creations yourself, just post them separately and I'll do it for you. In this case, though, make sure that you don't post your entries in the last minute.
This Round will start now and close on October 20, 2019
For any questions or suggestions just ask.
last edited on Oct 13, 2019 at 08:26AM
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MissCinico commented…
een jaar geleden JungleQueen13 said…


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There were many sides to artist Jack Chambers. He was a passionate defender of artists' rights, an experimental filmmaker with an international reputation, and a painter who continually reinvented his language of expression. In a new exhibition of his work at the Art Gallery of Ontario you can explore each facet of this complex and fascinating artist by viewing his paintings and his films alongside painstakingly compiled archival material. We caught up with the show's curator, Dennis Reid, to learn more about Jack Chambers and the exhibition.
The show is an incredibly comprehensive look at Chambers' life and work. How long did it take to assemble, and what kind of challenges did you face?
This exhibition is primarily comprised of the collection of the Art Gallery of Ontario. A number of years ago the Gallery made the decision to collect key Canadian artists in depth and in breadth, and the idea was the AGO would be the place you came if you had an interest in researching these artists and understanding them better.
Along with that was the pursuit of the papers, the archives of each artist, and the commitment in every case to do a significant exhibition of the AGO collection of that work. Some of the precedents are Betty Goodwin, Paterson Ewen, Greg Curnoe and Michael Snow.
In the mid nineties, the AGO began talking to (Jack Chambers') sons about a joint purchase donation. They decided they wanted to do something with the material, which had been sitting in a house up to that point. The AGO went out and raised some money from key supporters, the purchase of the works was made and then the donation of the papers. Part of this process was the commitment to do an exhibition with this material – the largest collection of Chambers' work anywhere in the world.
We made the decision to include the archival material as an integral part of the exhibition, and to round things out we borrowed some works from private collectors – there are twelve loans in the exhibition altogether.
What is Jack Chambers' place in Canada's national consciousness, and why should he be viewed as an important Canadian artist?
I'm not sure it's very clear at this point. That is one of the reasons it was so important to do an exhibition. There was a time back in the 1970s when Chambers had quite a high profile and his work was widely admired in Canada. He was also known internationally as an underground (personal) filmmaker in the late sixties and seventies, which was really the only reputation he had outside of Canada at that point.
The work hasn't been out there that much. After his wife died his two sons were managing the estate and I think the decision was made at that point to not aggressively market the work. The last exhibition devoted to his work was in back in the eighties, so it's been quite a while.
The Walrus, talking about Lunch, quoted you as saying that 'all the show's themes are in that painting.' Can you tell us some more about the show's themes and how they are represented in this work?
Lunch is a painting [thatChambers] never finished. He laboured at it from 1969 until his death in 1978. It depicts Chambers, his wife and his two boys at Sunday lunch. They're sitting at the dining room table in a rather formal setting with two bottles of wine on the table, and there's an incredible view out the window behind Jack and an Easter lily down in one corner. The flower gives a sense of the time of year and, I think, also brings a spiritual dimension to it, as does the way in which they sit around the table.
Jack would probably cringe to think of this but in a certain sense it evokes the last supper, and so that becomes very moving when you think that he knew that he was struggling for his life during these years.
He was diagnosed with leukemia in 1969 when he began this painting and he was told he had six months to live. He persisted against it and lived for another nine years, which is pretty incredible. This painting, though never finished, is in a certain sense the measure of that struggle.
You look out the window and there you are in North London, suburban London, Ontario. So there is that sense of place that is very strong. The whole idea of time is very apparent – although this is a moment that's captured it's also about dealing with change over a period of time. So there they all are – light, spirit, place,time and life.
But I would argue that all of the shows themes are probably present in all of the paintings. These were central issues for Chambers.
Chambers described the style of some of his paintings as perceptual realism – how would you define the term?
Although Jack wrote about perceptual realism I'm not sure the meaning of that term was ever crystal clear. My understanding (and I've thought about this for many years) is that the paintings he called the perceptual realist paintings were the ones like The 401 Towards London and Meadow, Lunch and the interior family scenes.
These are all based on photographs. He would take hundreds and hundreds of photographs of something and from that choose exactly the right one and have it blown up to about the size of a sheet of paper. Then he would mark it off in a grid and put that grid on the panel or canvas that he was working on. In about a year or two years usually he would have finished the painting.
He used perceptual realism, I believe, to describe his understanding that everything we know, that we can know, comes to us through our perception, through our eyes. It fascinated him – what is it that we see? And he realized that everything that we see is because of light, so that became a key element as well. Time comes into it as well, because what he was trying to capture was that "wow" moment – not necessarily of incredible beauty but a moment that is meaningful. A nice example is the story of how he painted The 401 Towards London.
He was off to a meeting in Toronto and drove out from London to the 401, over the overpass.. He happened to look up into his rear view mirror and saw this view along the highway that, with the light and everything else, was just one of those magical moments. He couldn't do anything about it at that point and went on to Toronto for his meeting. But when he got back later that night and the next morning he went out to the spot with his camera. We think he spent probably the better part of a day running around and shooting from different ways trying to capture that moment. There's a whole array of photographs from that area but he eventually found the one that brings back the feeling that he had when he saw the view in the mirror.
He abhorred having it compared to magic realism and to the photographic realism movement that was going on in the U.S. at that point. He felt his work was very different from that, much more serious, and so he persisted with this term.
What are some of the show highlights for you?
That's like asking me which is my favourite child – I can't say. I'm so pleased with the exhibition – one of the goals, because it's thematically organized, was that each of the areas be clear. That you knew one of the areas was about light, you knew you were in the area about place. But at the same time we wanted to get the flow and the sight lines because some of the paintings are incredible from a distance. Jim Burke, our designer, did a brilliant job and it's turned out exceptionally well.
I feel that this is an exhibition you could walk through in 15 or 20 minutes and have an incredible experience just by addressing the big pieces that are right there. Or, you could spend five days in there going through all the archival material, carefully chosen to relate to the works that are on the wall.
There are wonderful audio tapes to listen to, incredible screened images and then all day, every day we're running his films in a screening room in the centre so you could spend hours just watching the films.
There's an anecdote that Jack Chambers once knocked on Picasso's door to ask him where he should study. Picasso recommended Barcelona but Chambers chose Madrid. Is there truth to this story?
The story is typical Jack and apparently true. When he went to Europe he didn't know where he was going; he just knew he wanted to go to the source of what he called the "classical art tradition." By that he meant the Old Masters and the drawing from the figure and that high level of craftsmanship. So he went by boat to Naples and on board the ship he met a couple from Austria. He tagged along with them and went to Austria and then made his way back through Europe. As he was passing through Southern France he saw the name of a village and thought, "isn't that where Picasso lives?"
So he went to the village and was able to determine that yes, Monsieur Picasso lives in that house just there. So, Jack being Jack, he knocked on the door (one story is that he actually had to climb over the fence first) and Picasso himself answered.
Jack said, 'where should I study art? I've come to Europe to study art and I want to be a great artist like you.'
Picasso apparently replied "Barcelona," which is where he had studied. So off Jack went to Barcelona. But for some reason it didn't stick and he slid on through, ending up at the Academy in Madrid. It was all kind of chance, in a funny way.
When he was enrolled in the Academy in Madrid, he had summers off,so he would travel around Spain or elsewhere in Europe. One summer he wanted to go to the UK and decided to write to Henry Moore, asking if he could use a studio assistant.
Moore wrote back and declined, but said that there was a gentleman just down the lane who could use a studio assistant. So Chambers spent the summer in the Midlands and ended up teaching art in an amateur school and doing commission portraits.
I had the pleasure of knowing him; he was an amazing person and entirely unpredictable. Greg Curnoe used to say that you never knew if he was joking or not. Sometimes he was dead serious and sometimes it was just a joke – I'm not sure if he even knew which was which sometimes.
Jack Chambers: Light, Spirit, Time, Place and Life is open at the AGO until May 13, 2012. For more information and to buy tickets please visit www.ago.net
Tags: curator, dennis reid, interview, jack chambers, london, lunch, ontario, picasso


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*** in Moliets et Maa max. 7 Persons
Holiday Rentals for rent
per week Price on enquiry.
fr- Moliets-et-Maa
New Aquitaine, France
Available according to agreement
|Firma Bungalow.Net BV
NL 8011 Zwolle
|All offers of the estate supplier
per week:
Price on enquiry.
This residence in the middle of the golf course, in an ideal location on the edge of the forest, only 350 meters from the beach and 200 meters from the nearest shops. There is a small footpath between the pine and oak trees leading to the fine sandy beach on the Atlantic Ocean. The ground floor residence is built in traditional, local architectural style and offers various apartments from 3-room apartments for 4/5 people to 4-room apartments for 8 people. All accommodations are fully equipped with a kitchenette (4-burner stove, microwave, dishwasher and fridge), bathroom with separate toilet, free TV use and a terrace or small garden.
Moliets can be found in the Les Landes region, a region with sun and sea, fine sandy beaches and pine forests that both have shade. It is a wonderful family resort and the ideal holiday destination for everyone, thanks to the friendly hospitality of the shopkeepers, the numerous and varied restaurants, bike paths, golf course, tennis courts and surfing the waves of the Atlantic Ocean. Places you should definitely have seen: the regional nature park Les Landes, Armagnac the open-air museum, the birthplace of St. Vincent de Paul, the Galoppe windmill, the lakes of Moliets and La Prada, the spa town of Dax with the Gallo-Roman remains.
Surface area: 54
4 room apartment for 7 persons, with garden (about 54 m²)
Living room with 1 single bed
Bedroom with 1 double bed
2 bedrooms, each one with 2 single beds
Equipped kitchenette (4 electric hotplates, refrigerator, microwave, dishwasher)
Bathroom and shower room, separate WC
Bed linen is not included in the rental price. For an additional fee you can rent a cleaning package, baby set (baby bed, baby bath and highchair) and/or final cleaning. Extra services must be paid on the spot.
Possibility nearby / Möglichkeiten in der Nähe: Golfplaying
As a guest you can make use of the unheated outdoor pool (unattended, open daily from mid-May to the end of September from 10 am to 7 pm), a children's pool, playground, free TV, internet at an additional charge in the accommodation, a launderette for a fee, bicycle storage and free car park (outside). Bed linen is not included in the price. For a fee you can book a cleaning package, baby kit (baby cot, bath and highchair) and final cleaning. You can borrow a vacuum cleaner and iron. You pay the deposit and tourist tax upon arrival. The deposit will be returned to you on the day of departure after checking the home or by mail. The tourist tax is € 0.88 per person per day (from 13 years). The accommodation must be left spotlessly clean, if that is not the case, the cleaning costs will be deducted from the deposit. Pets are allowed for a fee, provided they have a valid vaccination certificate and chip. Dogs must always be kept on a leash at the residence.
Please note that any additional services that are payable locally may be changed without prior notice. All information provided is intended to be informative and general. We are not liable if such changes occur unexpectedly.


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The big "Doctor Who" 50th anniversary celebration will happen worldwide at the same time, but in case it comes at an inconvenient time, a second night has been added.
"Doctor Who: The Day of the Doctor" will screen on TV and in select movie theaters Nov. 23. And now a second night has been added: Nov. 25. That's in addition to the simultaneous worldwide airing on TV in more than 75 countries.
The theatrical screenings -- which will take place Nov. 23 in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Philadelphia, Seattle, Washington, D.C., San Francisco, Dallas, Houston, Atlanta and Minneapolis and expand to 300 theaters nationwide Nov. 25 -- will feature the special "Doctor Who" adventure in RealD 3D, giving an added incentive to get off the couch and out of the house.
The anniversary hoopla, which commemorates the BBC creation as the longest running science fiction show on TV, is also a celebration of Matt Smith, whose tenure as the 11th Doctor will be coming to an end this year with the Christmas special a month after "Day of the Doctor." He'll be replaced by Peter Capaldi, best known from his work on the comedy series "The Thick of It."
Additionally, the special, which stars current Doctor Smith, former Doctor David Tennant and companions Jenna Coleman and Billie Piper, along with John Hurt as a previously unknown iteration of the Doctor, will be preceded by specially shot introductions and followed by a 10-minute making-of short called "The Day of the Doctor: Behind the Lens."
Tickets for the theatrical presentations go on sale Friday (Oct. 25) at 9 a.m. EST.
[For the record, 3:33 p.m. Oct. 24: A previous version of this post said the screenings would take place in 300 theaters in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Philadelphia, Seattle, Washington, D.C., San Francisco, Dallas, Houston, Atlanta and Minneapolis. In fact, the Nov. 23 screenings will be in those cities only, and the Nov. 25 screenings will be in 300 theaters nationwide.]


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There was much acclaim but few surprises. The bloggers called it exactly right when they predicted that Rebecca Stead would win this year's Newbery Medal for her sharp, clever, young adult mystery "When You Reach Me" and that author/illustrator Jerry Pinkney would take the Caldecott Medal for his gorgeous picture book "The Lion & the Mouse."
"When You Reach Me" was lauded as a winner almost from the moment that it appeared last summer. Reviewing the book for the Monitor last July, Augusta Scattergood was already predicting that, "Boys and girls, parents, teachers, and probably the grown-ups who hand out awards won't want to miss Rebecca Stead's completely original, fascinating, and well-crafted novel."
The complex, twisty mystery story neatly braids together plots and subplots involving a 12-year-old named Miranda, her single mom, and their life in a Manhattan apartment building in 1979. Clues to help unravel the mystery lie in the novel that Miranda carries everywhere with her – children's lit classic and 1963 Newbery Medal winner "A Wrinkle in Time" by Madeleine L'Engle.
"The Lion & the Mouse" was also heavily favored as the Caldecott Medal awardee. Pinkney has won multiple awards throughout his career as an author and illustrator of children's books, including five Caldecott Honor citations. In "The Lion & the Mouse," Pinkney uses watercolor to retell Aesop's fable of the lion and the mouse who save each other's lives. The Monitor reviewed the book last fall, calling it "a magnificent rendering of the old tale ... colors glow, emotions sing, and each detail entrances as the tiny mouse finds a way to help his majestic friend" and predicting that it was "sure to garner some awards of its own."
The children's book awards were announced this morning at the American Library Association's midwinter conference in Boston.
In addition to the Caldecott and Newbery Medal winners, four books were named Newbery Honor Books. These included "Claudette Colvin: Twice Toward Justice" by Phillip Hoose, "The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate" by Jacqueline Kelly, "Where the Mountain Meets the Moon" by Grace Lin, and " The Mostly True Adventures of Homer P. Figg" by Rodman Philbrick.
The two Caldecott Honor Books were "All the World" illustrated by Marla Frazee and written by Liz Garton Scanlon, and "Red Sings from the Treetops: A Year in Colors" illustrated by Pamela Zagarenski and written by Joyce Sidman.
The Coretta Scott King awards were also announced. Vaunda Micheaux Nelson won the Coretta Scott King Author award for "Bad News for Outlaws: The Remarkable Life of Bass Reeves, Deputy US Marshal," illustrated by R. Gregory Christie. Charles R. Smith Jr. won the Coretta Scott King Illustrator Award for "My People" written by Langston Hughes.
"Mare's War" by Tanita S. Davis was also selected as a King Author Honor Book. "The Negro Speaks of Rivers," illustrated by E.B. Lewis and written by Langston Hughes, was chosen as a King Illustrator Honor Book.
The Newbery Medal has been awarded since 1922. The Caldecott Medal dates back to 1938. But this year, adding a 21st-century digital-age feel to the awards process, there was Twitter. The news of the award to Rebecca Stead was actually tweeted out by an eager Random House employee several minutes before it was announced at the awards ceremony.
Marjorie Kehe is the Monitor's book editor. You can follow her on Twitter at twitter.com/MarjorieKehe


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¯Hire someone to do an energy audit of your home. Reduce your energy consumption by caulking, installing storm doors, laying extra insulation and purchasing energy efficient appliances.
¯Power your home with renewable resources such as wind, sun and water. Consider installing a solar-electric power unit.
¯Shop for fruits and vegetables at your local farmers market and limit purchases of processed foods that require a lot of fuel to make. Grow food in your backyard.
¯Change your driving habits. Drive slower and less often. Trade in your SUV for a smaller car or an energy-efficient car, such as a hybrid.
¯Consider moving closer to work. Commute on the train or bus, carpool and telecommute whenever possible.
¯Build an energy efficient home from the ground up. Include energy saving technology like reflective roofing, a ground source heat pump and lighting that employs energy efficient LEDs and compact fluorescent lights.


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"I have written to him the great things of my law, but they were counted as a
strange thing." Hosea 8:12
Suggested Further Reading: 2 Peter 1:16-21
Who is the author of it? Do these men jointly claim the authorship? Are they
the compositors of this massive volume? Do they between themselves divide the
honour? Our holy religion answers, No! This volume is the writing of the
living God: each letter was penned with an Almighty finger; each word in it
dropped from the everlasting lips, each sentence was dictated by the Holy
Spirit. Albeit, that Moses was employed to write his histories with his fiery
pen, God guided that pen. It may be that David touched his harp and let sweet
psalms of melody drop from his fingers, but God moved his hands over the
living strings of his golden harp. It may be that Solomon sang canticles of
love, or gave forth words of consummate wisdom, but God directed his lips, and
made the preacher eloquent. If I follow the thundering Nahum when his horses
plough the waters, or Habbakuk when he sees the tents of Cushan in affliction;
if I read Malachi, when the earth is burning like an oven; if I turn to the
smooth page of John, who tells of love, or the rugged fiery chapters of Peter,
who speaks of the fire devouring God's enemies; if I turn to Jude, who
launches forth curses upon the foes of God, everywhere I find God speaking: it
is God's voice, not man's; the words are God's words, the words of the
Eternal, the Invisible, the Almighty, the Jehovah of this earth. This Bible is
God's Bible; and when I see it, I seem to hear a voice springing up from it,
saying, "I am the book of God: man, read me. I am God's writing: open my leaf,
for I was penned by God; read it, for he is my author, and you will see him
visible and manifest everywhere."
For meditation: We all have our favourite Bible writers and passages, but we
must never limit ourselves to them, otherwise we will miss some of the great
things God has said.
Sermon no. 15 / 19 March (Preached 18 March 1855) – Charles Spurgeon
– Bible Gateway.Com


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The holidays are almost here. Hanukkah begins in the early weeks of December, Christmas will arrive on the 25th and Kwanzaa starts the day after and runs right up to the first of January - so make sure you've got all your gifts in order.
While you're guaranteed to be spending plenty of time shopping and wrapping for each individual in your household, you may want to consider pooling some of the holiday gift expenses and investing in a single household gift that'll be fun for everybody. Consider a few of these fantastic ideas.
New video game console
You've probably played a little Nintendo in your day. Whether it was the original Mario Bros. back in 1985 or Wii Tennis with your kids, you have to admit that video games can be a blast - and they've certainly come a long way! With the brand new Nintendo Wii U out in stores and featuring a slew of fun games, it might make for a great household gift - especially considering you can stream Netflix, Hulu and a bunch of other movie and television services right onto your big screen!
An adorable new pet
What kid isn't clamoring for a new puppy to show up under the Christmas tree? Frankly, a dog (especially a puppy) isn't always a viable option, but there're plenty of fun pet alternatives. Even a fish can make for a fantastic new member of the family, and can be a great way to teach kids about responsibility. It's like training for a bigger pet!
A cozy new sofa
The kids won't be as excited about this one, but surely, you and your significant other can get excited for some luxurious and stylish new furniture. Whether you go with comfy leather or another upholstery choice, make sure you invest in a couch that'll last. Then kick back and sink in.
A brand new style of heating
Want to get your household a gift that's great for everyone's health and is sure to pay itself off in energy efficiency? Radiant floor heating is a great green trend that's changing the way families keep their homes warm. Rather than pushing air through dusty vents, like central heat, and jeopardizing air quality that could lead to allergy issues, radiant heat heats the home from the ground up using all natural convection currents. And with it's eco-friendly energy saving, you'll see your utilities bill shrink before your very eyes!
We won't share your information and you can unsubscribe at any time with a single click.


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It's day 4 of our Sew It All 13 Days of Giveaways on our blog!
Remember to enter to win each day by answering a question in the Comments section. Also, we will be giving away a GRAND PRIZE, your own copy of Sew It All, Season 1! You will be automatically entered to win the grand prize every time you comment on a giveaway day question.
Congratulations to Friday's winners; Evelyn, Joyce Cloud, Kim N., Gaye W. and Lydia Vorpahl. Please email firstname.lastname@example.com with your mailing address to receive your prize.
Today, we're giving away one Sulky water-soluble stabilizer pack to four winners! (Check out Eric Drexler's episode, "Thread Bowl-erama," and download his thread bowl project for free.)
For your chance to win, answer this question in the comments section:
Have you watched Sew It All with someone under the age of 18?
Enter your answer below and good luck! Tomorrow, we'll announce today's winner and the question for Day 5!


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Before I begin, this post is meant as a discussion point, not a flame war. I decided to publish this as a blog instead of an email on one of the JSF mailing lists so that I could get comments and feedback from others.
I have been using JSF for almost two years now, one year as my full time job. It is by far, better than any other server side framework that I have used (C CGI, Perl CGI, PHP, ASP, ASP.NET, JSP and servlets)
With this in mind, it doesn't mean there aren't issue in the JSF space. One of which is it's compatibility with AJAX. Several competitors are available to use AJAX with JSF:
- AjaxAnywhere
- Ajax4Jsf
- G4Jsf
- Trinidad
- jsf-extensions/Avatar
- ICEFaces
- JBoss-Seam (in the works)
- etc.
Each of them handle AJAX in their own way unfortunately for the learning user. The one large problem with them, is that they are all on top of JSF. Before you post your comment, here me out. JSF is a "hack" to bring a new technology on top of JSP. It was developed when Sun and Java developers realized that JSP was not succeeding and had fundemental flaws in the design that made ASP.NET, RoR and other languages more appealing. Many went the way of Struts with Java to gain so of that functionality. The problem with struts is that it never provided a good component framework.
The reason that JSF is a "hack" is that it is built from JSP pages. Although nice to those wishing to convert their projects from plain JSP to JSF with a JSP view handler, the combination is useless for large business applications. "The reason for this?" you ask, well it is the component tree. The single worst design of JSF is the saved component state of the UIViewRoot object. The component tree is made to be built once and then saved on the client or in the user's HttpSession object. This is more than just a serialized set of objects. It has methods for saving state and restoring state that custom components may override. Every time a view is restored, then entire component tree must be recursed and each of these methods are invoked. All the EL expressions (a.k.a. value bindings), component properties, attributes, etc. are all serialized into this component state. The overhead is gigantic.
To illustrate this point, let me bring up my companies application. It is just that an application, having dockabe frames, complex dialog box, complex layouts, etc. It actually makes Gmail and Google calendar look simplistic. Now I am not trying to pat myself or my company on the back, but let you know of the complexity of each view. There are hundreds if not thousands of components in this component tree. Each time I POST back to the view, the time it takes to restore this component tree is getting slower and slower as we add more functionality.
Luckily we use Facelets for our view handler not JSP (which I would never recommend as a long term solution). JSP should be though of only as a stepping stone until you convert your legacy application from JSP to JSF. Once you are completely in JSF, use facelets. It is the only way to achieve adequate performance for anything besides a Hello World application.
Enter AJAX
We are using AjaxAnywhere right now. It is very stable in 188.8.131.52 and does the job nicely. If I were to do it all again, I would probably use Ajax4Jsf due to its tight integration with JSF and the fact that it is the closest in design to Avatar (the future of AJAX in JSF from Sun).
The problem
For each AJAX request, the "JSF integrated" technologies must post back to JSF. They then execute the standard JSF lifecycle. This includes the restoring of the component tree. Yes, this is the single worst part of JSF for AJAX. If I simply want to update 2 components on the page, I have to restore the entire tree, counting possibly into the 1000s of components. Sound like a bottleneck? It is!
I can witness this problem when I use JBoss-Seam remoting. Remoting is independent of JSF and therefore does not restore the component tree or the view. I have extended it in my use to integrate with the FacesContext so that I can access & update my backing beans as well. The performance? -- instant. That is right, it doesn't even appear to go back to the server it is so fast. The difference between this and the page POST of AjaxAnywhere back to JSF is huge. Unfortunately, using Java methods on the server to generate HTML feels like the days of pre-JSP servlet development, so while it is good for sending & getting data, it is not a good fit for generating HTML (unless you love JavaScript and you build the entire page via document.createElement() calls -- see my discussion on GWT below).
What can be done? Well many of these technologies "hack and slash" their way into the JSF APIs to try to speed performance. They skip phases such as validation, updating of the model, etc. for components that do not need to change, but the component tree is still always restored. The one solution is that the component tree must go! That is right, in order for JSF to have adequate performance the JSF specifications must be completely changed to mostly remove the component tree. If I want to update 2 components using AJAX, only those two components should be reloaded from the view, no more. This is problematic as the API is not built for this.
Jacob Hookom has had some really good insights on this issue:
Is the grass greener?
I was looking at GWT the other day as it came up when I was looking for some good JavaScript libraries for layouts. In doing so, I started to read more and more, liking it quite a bit. Wondering if this is better for business applications than JSF, I found G4Jsf, an attempt at integration of JSF and GWT. The problem is that I could not find any documentation and the demo is extremely simplistic (no forms, no validation or updating of the JSF model, no JSF navigation, and almost no Views, just GWT code). I will be quite anxious to see where this project goes.
On the other hand GWT doesn't look like a good tool to create web pages though. There is no HTML for developers, only Java code. WYSIWYG is next to impossible from what I see for complex applications. The ease of using the JSF view and the Facelets templates, just doesn't seem to be there.
What Now?
As I mentioned, the whole point of this blog is simply to start a discussion. I would love to hear what the JSF experts have to say and if they know if future releases beyond 1.2 will start to address these issues (I even wonder if 1.2 will ever take off as ppl. aren't even fully embracing 1.1 yet).
Is there something I missed with these JSF AJAX libraries to get around the component tree performance issue?
Please keep the comments to Java based technologies as they apply to JSF, this is not meant to be language war.
Update: 2007-04-22
Since I created this post, I have had the opportunity to convert my company's software over from AjaxAnywhere to Ajax4Jsf and I wanted to report my findings so far. After some initial issues on converting some very large (and nested) templates over and converting some complex in-house components to A4J, we are now running on A4J with only some minor patching.
Even with a very large component tree, I am seeing ~300-600ms per AJAX request (calculated using FireBug in Firefox). I am using ajaxSingle="true", limitToList="true" and a4j:region tags where possible to enhance performance (it make a significant performance impact). With time permitting, I think I can get performance better by working on our in-house JavaScript code that runs per-AJAX request that is part of the issue.
So even though JSF needs some large improvements to the specification to make AJAX fit better, the performance is definitely dependent on the AJAX tools used. Hopefully we see JSF more stream-lined and less JSP dependent (or hopefully completely separate from JSP) in JSF 2.0 with some improvements to component creation and state saving (letting the view handler take more of the burden on and less on the component develeper).


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Hansen hat
Felt hat that belonged to 1940's climber Robin Hansen. The hat has the first 2 metal pins given to RCS (Rock Climbing Section) members of the Sierra Club. The first pin on the left was designed by Torcum Bedayn. A second more durable pin was designed by Ronald Hahn after it was discovered that Torcum's baked enamel pin chipped while climbing. Robin Hansen is best known for being the one that suceeded in throwing the rope over the Lost Arrow Tip during the first ascent in 1946. This "rope trick" as Salathe called it, spurred Salathe to climb to the Lost Arrow Tip starting from the bottom of the wall with Ax Nelson who was on the 1946 ascent. They called their route, the Lost Arrow Chimney, and completed it in 4 1/2 days in 1947 making it Yosemite's first big wall.


text: The McGowan Trilogy - 7 pm Saturday, October 4, 2014 7:00 PM 9:00 PM 19:00 21:00 Google Calendar ICS the cell, A Twenty-First Century Salon(Nancy Manocherian, Founding Artistic Director), along with the 1st Irish Theatre Festival, A Celebration of the Best of Irish Theatre presented byOrigin Theatre Company, proudly presents THE MCGOWAN TRILOGY, a series of one-act plays by award winning writer Seamus Scanlon. Directed by Kira Simring, Artistic Director of the cell, THE MCGOWAN TRILOGY will play a strictly-limited engagement from September 11th – October 5th at the cell (338 West 23rd Street). The Opening is Saturday, September 13, 2014.THE MCGOWAN TRILOGY tells of Irish revolutionary Victor McGowan; cold blooded, warm-hearted and conflicted. In DANCING AT LUNACY, McGowan ignores court martial protocol. In THE LONG WET GRASS, McGowan is forced to choose between his commitment to the cause and a woman who was his childhood companion. In BOYS SWAM BEFORE ME, McGowan faces painful revelations from his past. The cast of THE MCGOWAN TRILOGY includesCindy Boyle, Philip Callen, Conor McIntyre, Anna Nugent and features Paul Nugent.THE MCGOWAN TRILOGY has scenic and lighting design by Gertjan Houben, costume design by Siena Zoe Allen, and sound design by Dylan Fusillo.Curated and coordinated by the New York-based Origin Theatre Company, George C. Heslin artistic director, Origin's 1st Irish, the only festival of its kind to focus exclusively on the work of Irish playwrights, is the city's only all-Irish theatre festival. Throughout the year, Origin, now in its twelfth season, produces the New York and American premieres of plays by emerging European playwrights. General Admission: $18.00Sept. 11 - Oct. 5th, 2014Thur-Sundays at 7pm


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With the success of both Man of Steel and The Dark Knight Trilogy comes renewed evidence that DC Comics and Warner Bros.' flagship superheros are respectively worthy of supporting big-budget movie franchises - but what about those other heroes like Wonder Woman, The Flash or even Aquaman?
The future of DC's Movieverse is still uncertain - which is why we have plenty of time to discuss the merits of each and every one of these "second tier" heroes on the DC roster. In this installment, we'll pitch you on 5 reasons that Aquaman could be THE next big DC/WB movie franchise.
Do you agree with our reasoning? Or is the "King of Fish" too silly for the big screen? READ ON and then decide for yourself...
The Story
Part of the formula for success for DC superhero movies has been the adherence to telling character-centric stories set in a "real-world" context. In keeping with that formulaic blueprint, it's not hard to see why Aquaman could be a winner.
At its core, the identity struggles of a man from two different worlds is relatable enough (see: Man of Steel) - but in a day and age where "the environment" is a hot-button term, and the wrath of the sea (hurricanes, tsunamis) are daily fears, Aquaman's story can encompass topics and themes that no other superhero really can (mankind's relationship to Nature, etc.).
Forget the silly CW pilot or that faux James Cameron film on Entourage - a serious-minded Aquaman movie could have something relevant and timely to say, given the chance.
The Characters
There's no good story without good characters, and Aquaman has good characters to spare. The man himself is an obvious metaphor for identity struggles (particularly in a modern world of increasing multi-culturalism), but Aquaman's mythos is filled with strong female characters (Mera); alien races (Atlanteans, the Trench); an evil half-brother (Ocean Master); and even a black archnemesis (Black Manta). As far as "dramatis personae" go, Aquaman is pretty solid.
Moreover, thanks to modern creators like Geoff Johns, the characters in Aquaman have already been fleshed-out and modernized enough that they could attract a cast of high-caliber actors, with the central role open to any chiseled leading man on the brink of stardom (read our suggestions for actors to play Aquaman).
The Setting
Aquaman would no doubt be set on dry land during Arthur Curry's formative years (living with his human father, Tom Curry), but after a (now-standard) hop through his troubled adolescence (hearing sea creatures, being drawn like an addict to the ocean) we could literally dive into a whole new world for superhero films to explore: the deep sea.
Being a real-life quasi-hydrophobe, the thing that terrifies me about the ocean is that it's literally an alien terrain whose full depths we have never fully uncovered. That mystery leaves infinite possibilities for imaginative Cinematic storytelling.
The beautiful lost city of Atlantis? Terrifying regions of the deep? Freakish creatures and beasts born of the ocean (see: recent Aquaman storyline "The Trench")? This movie could have all of the above.
The Technology
If you haven't heard, this guy named Jim Cameron is hard at work on some revolutionary technology for Avatar 2, a small sequel film that will try to bring the world visual effects related to the ocean and water that we've never seen before. While it's a whole separate discussion what this new filmmaking tech will mean for the world of Pandora, one clear fringe benefit of Cameron's tinkering could be revolutionary and kick-ass Aquaman movie experience (in 3D).
Again, the freaky (or fascinating) thing about the ocean is how mysterious it remains, even in modern times. Cameron will get first jump on showing action sequences set in much more realistic underwater settings, but DC/WB could be the first to really capture what it is for a superhero to use his ocean-based powers in combat. Aquaman kicking ass like the 'Superman of the sea' that he is? Yes please.
The difficulty of the DC Movieverse going forward is not so much figuring out how to chronicle the origins of its major characters (the "Nolan approach" seems to be doing that just fine) - the real challenge from here on out will be figuring out how to position those individual character stories around one major milestone: the world debut of Superman.
Whether an Aquaman movie takes place before or after the events of Man of Steel, one good thing about it is that its unique setting (an underwater world) is an almost guaranteed way to side-step the annoying question of 'Why doesn't Superman just show up and handle it?' Superman has a world to watch over - but it ain't the world of the sea. An Aquaman saga could play out under the ocean without Superman intervention, and nobody would likely be bothered.
Furthermore, the emergence of the Man of Steel and world-altering events of the Kryptonian invasion are all events that could catalyze events in an Aquaman story, by serving as the inspirtation of an Atlantean attack on the surface, or Superman inspiring Aquaman to make a choice about his identity etc... In short: this character would be easy to position within the Justice League movie canon.
Below you'll find a quick recap of why we believe an Aquaman movie could be the next successful superhero blockbuster for DC Comics and Warner Bros. Do you agree with our reasoning? Let us know in the comments!
- The Story - Aquaman is a richly complex character with an epic origin story.
- The Characters - They're diverse, three-dimensional, modern and perfect star vehicles.
- The Setting - Superhero action beneath the seas? Yes Please!
- The Technology - Given where film tech is headed, the visual splendor of Aquaman could be unmatched by anything else in the genre.
- Continuity - We need the next chapter in the Justice League saga, and this is a perfect fit.
We'll Keep you updated on the status of the DC Movieverse as more information is released. For now, catch Man of Steel in theaters.
[All Artwork is the Property of DC Comics]


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The judges were impressed with the clarity of the bottom structure and individual fish in this great shot from Rifat in Turkey.
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The NFL hasn't shut the door on having locked-out officials back on the field for Thursday night's prime-time game between the Cleveland Browns and Baltimore Ravens, according to a source involved with the league's plans and, as first reported by SI.com's Peter King, based on the officials' own preparation work.
There's also a competitive issue at play. The NFL is aware that employing replacement officials for the Browns-Ravens game and then having regular officials on the field for the other 14 games in Week 4 would create inequity.
The Pittsburgh Steelers and Indianapolis Colts also have byes this week. This creates another motivator to get a deal done now in order to avoid some teams from playing more games under the replacement officials than others.
This development follows the news Wednesday morning that the NFL and NFL Referees Association, who have been meeting since 10 a.m. ET, agreed to create a developmental program. It's a compromise to the league's demand for the addition of 21 officials to the current contingent of 121 NFLRA members, per an NFLRA source. The pool of money for the existing officials also will remain the same.
During Tuesday's talks, league owners, who have shown no inclination to budge on the referees' benefits issues, became involved on a more-detailed level in the negotiations, per an NFL source. The federal mediator is said to have kept things on track.
The developmental officials will be mentored by the existing crews and will be assigned to work with them during the week. The developmental officials will not be NFLRA members, will not work games and will not be eligible to be subbed in initially.
But eventually, as development officials improve and reach the standards to be NFL officials, they will be considered for NFLRA membership. As that happens, the financial pool for officials will be adjusted accordingly.
Sources from both sides of the negotiations said the parties agreed it was important for there to be more qualified officials available to the league, particularly for cases during which other officials cannot work due to circumstances outside of football (i.e. personal reasons or injury).
The issue of retirement plans for referees still has yet to be solved. The NFL also involved benefits experts in Tuesday's talks, per a league source. An NFLRA source said the referees came further off their position Tuesday.
Previously, where owners were looking for all officials to go to a 401(k), the NFLRA offered to have all new officials on a 401(k) and existing NFLRA members grandfathered in under the old pension.
The NFLRA on Tuesday offered a shorter-term grandfathering, but the owners declined, according to an NFLRA source.
The owners are dug in, reluctant to make any further compromise, according to a league source.
In exchange for the shorter-term grandfathering, the officials also sought a "ratification bonus" to make up for the money lost this season and to ensure the owners wouldn't profit from the lockout.
Follow Albert Breer on Twitter @Albert Breer


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Defenestrations of Prague
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The Defenestrations of Prague (Czech: Pražská defenestrace, German: Prager Fenstersturz, Latin: Defenestratio Pragensis) were two incidents in the history of Bohemia in which multiple people were defenestrated (i.e., thrown out a window). The first occurred in 1419, and the second in 1618, although the term "Defenestration of Prague" more commonly refers to the second. Each helped to trigger prolonged conflict, within Bohemia and beyond.
First Defenestration of Prague
The First Defenestration of Prague involved the killing of seven members of the city council by a crowd of radical Czechs Hussites on 30 July 1419.
Jan Želivský, a Hussite priest at the church of the Virgin Mary of the Snows, led his congregation on a procession through the streets of Prague to the New Town Hall (Novoměstská radnice) on Charles Square. The town council members had refused to exchange their Hussite prisoners. While they were marching, a stone was thrown at Želivský from the window of the town hall.[1] This enraged the mob and they stormed the town hall. Once inside the hall, the group defenestrated the judge, the burgomaster, and several members of the town council. They were all killed by the fall.[1]
King Wenceslaus IV of Bohemia, upon hearing this news, was stunned and died shortly after, supposedly due to the shock.[1]
The procession was a result of the growing discontent at the contemporary direction of the Church and the inequality between the peasants, the Church's prelates, and the nobility. This discontent combined with rising feelings of nationalism and increased the influence of radical preachers such as Jan Želivský, influenced by John Wycliffe, who saw the state of the Catholic Church as corrupt. These preachers urged their congregations to action, including taking up arms, to combat these perceived transgressions.
The First Defenestration was thus the turning point between talk and action leading to the prolonged Hussite Wars. The wars broke out shortly afterwards and lasted until 1436.
Second Defenestration of Prague
The Second Defenestration of Prague precipitated the Thirty Years' War.
In 1555, the Peace of Augsburg had settled religious disputes in the Holy Roman Empire by enshrining the principle of Cuius regio, eius religio, allowing a prince to determine the religion of his subjects. The Kingdom of Bohemia since 1526 had been governed by Habsburg Kings, who did not, however, force their Catholic religion on their largely Protestant subjects. In 1609, Rudolf II, Holy Roman Emperor and King of Bohemia (1576–1612), increased Protestant rights. He was increasingly viewed as unfit to govern, and other members of the Habsburg dynasty declared his younger brother, Matthias, to be family head in 1606. Matthias began to gradually wrest territory from Rudolf, beginning with Hungary. In 1609, to strengthen his hold on Bohemia, Rudolf in issued the Letter of Majesty, which granted Bohemia's largely Protestant estates the right to freely exercise their religion, essentially setting up a Protestant Bohemian state church controlled by the estates, "...dominated by the towns and rural nobility."[2] Upon Rudolf's death, Matthias succeeded in the rule of Bohemia (1612–1619) and extended his offer of more legal and religious concessions to Bohemia, relying mostly on the advice of his chancellor, Bishop Melchior Klesl.
Conflict was precipitated by two factors: Matthias, already aging and without children, made his cousin Ferdinand of Styria his heir and had him elected king in 1617. Ferdinand was a proponent of the Catholic Counter-Reformation and not likely to be well-disposed to Protestantism or Bohemian freedoms. Bohemian Protestants opposed the royal government as they interpreted the Letter of Majesty to extend not only to the land controlled by the nobility or self-governing towns but also to the King's own lands. Whereas Matthias and Klesl were prepared to appease these demands, Ferdinand was not, and in 1618 forced the Emperor to order the cessation of construction of some Protestant chapels on royal land. When the Bohemian estates protested against this order, Ferdinand had their assembly dissolved.
The Defenestration
On May 23, 1618, four Catholic Lords Regent, Count Jaroslav Borzita of Martinice, Count Vilem Slavata of Chlum, Adam II von Sternberg (who was the supreme burgrave), and Matthew Leopold Popel Lobcowitz (who was the grand prior), arrived at the Bohemian Chancellory at 8:30 am. After preparing the meeting hall, members of the dissolved assembly of the three main Protestant estates gathered at 9:00 am, led by Count Thurn, who had been deprived of his post as Castellan of Karlstadt by the Emperor. The Protestant Lords' agenda was to clarify whether or not the four regents present were responsible for persuading King Matthias to order the cessation of churches on royal land. According to Martinice himself:
Lord Paul Rziczan read aloud... a letter with the following approximate content: His Imperial Majesty had sent to their graces the lord regents a sharp letter that was, by our request, issued to us as a copy after the original had been read aloud, and in which His Majesty declared all of our lives and honour already forfeit, thereby greatly frightening all three Protestant estates. As they also absolutely intended to proceed with the execution against us, we came to a unanimous agreement among ourselves that, regardless of any loss of life and limb, honour and property, we would stand firm, with all for one and one for all... nor would we be subservient, but rather we would loyally help and protect each other to the utmost, against all difficulties. Because, however, it is clear that such a letter came about through the advice of some of our religious enemies, we wish to know, and hereby ask the lord regents present, if all or some of them knew of the letter, recommended it, and approved of it.[3]
Before the regents gave any answer, they requested that the Protestants give them the opportunity to confer with their superior, Adam von Waldstein, who was not present. If they were given the opportunity, the Protestants would get an official answer to their grievance by the next Friday (this was taking place on the eve of Ascension Day and they all must observe the holy day). The Protestants demanded an immediate answer. Two regents, Adam II von Sternberg and Matthew Leopold Popel Lobcowitz, were declared innocent by the Protestant Estate holders and too pious to have any responsibility in the letter's creation. They in turn were removed from the room; however, before leaving, Adam II von Sternberg made it clear that they "did not advise anything that was contrary to the Letter of Majesty". This left only Count Vilem Slavata of Chlum, Count Jaroslav Borzita of Martinice (who had replaced Thurn as Castellan), known Catholic hard-liners, and Philip Fabricius the secretary to the Regents. They eventually claimed responsibility for the letter and, assuming they were only going to be arrested, welcomed any punishment the Protestants had planned.
Count von Thurn turned to both Martinice and Slavata and said "you are enemies of us and of our religion, have desired to deprive us of our Letter of Majesty, have horribly plagued your Protestant subjects... and have tried to force them to adopt your religion against their wills or have had them expelled for this reason". Then to the crowd of Protestants, he continued "were we to keep these men alive, then we would lose the Letter of Majesty and our religion... for there can be no justice to be gained from or by them". Soon after, the two Regents were defenestrated immediately nearby, along with the Regents' secretary, Philipus Fabricius, but survived the 70-foot (21-metre) fall from the third floor.[4][5] Catholics maintained the men were saved by angels or by the intercession of the Virgin Mary, who caught them; later Protestant pamphleteers asserted that they survived due to falling onto a dung heap, a story unknown to contemporaries and probably coined in response to divine intervention claims. Philip Fabricius was later ennobled by the emperor and granted the title Baron von Hohenfall (literally "Baron of Highfall").[6]
Immediately after the defenestration, the Protestant estates and Catholic Habsburgs started gathering allies for war.[7] After the death of Matthias in 1619, Ferdinand II was elected Holy Roman Emperor. At the same time, the Bohemian estates deposed him as King of Bohemia and replaced him with Frederick V, Elector Palatine, a leading Calvinist and son-in-law of the Protestant James VI and I, King of Scotland, England and Ireland.
Because they deposed a properly chosen king, the Protestants could not gather the international support they needed for war.[7] Just two years after the defenestration, Ferdinand and the Catholics regained power in the Battle of White Mountain on November 8, 1620. This became known as the first battle in the Thirty Years' War.[8]
There was plundering and pillaging in Prague for weeks following the battle. Several months later, twenty-seven nobles and citizens were tortured and executed in the Old Town Square. Twelve of their heads were impaled on iron hooks and hung from the Bridge Tower as a warning. This also contributed to catalyzing the Thirty Years' War.[8]
Further defenestrations
More events of defenestration have occurred in Prague during its history, but they are not usually called defenestrations of Prague.
A defenestration (chronologically the second defenestration of Prague, sometimes called one-and-halfth defenestration) happened on 24 September 1483, when a violent overthrow of the municipal governments of the Old and New Towns ended with throwing the Old-Town portreeve and the bodies of seven killed aldermen out of the windows of the respective town halls.
Sometimes, the name the third defenestration of Prague is used, although it has no standard meaning. For example, it has been used[9] to describe the death of Jan Masaryk, who was found below the bathroom window of the building of the Czechoslovak Ministry of Foreign Affairs on 10 March 1948. The official report listed the death as a suicide.[10] However, it was widely believed he was murdered, either by the nascent Communist government in which he served as a non-partisan Foreign Minister, or by the Soviet secret services.[11] A Prague police report in 2004 concluded after forensic research that Masaryk had indeed been defenestrated to his death.[12] This report was seemingly corroborated in 2006 when a Russian journalist said that his mother knew the Russian intelligence officer who defenestrated Masaryk.[13]
- ^ a b c Wolfsgrüber, C. (1907). "The Austro-Hungarian Monarchy". The Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company. Retrieved 11 August 2014.
- ^ Wallace, Peter (2004). The Long European Reformation. New York, NY: Palgrave Macmillan. p. 155.
- ^ Helfferich, Tryntje (2009). The Thirty Years War: A Documentary History. Indianapolis: Hackett Publishing Company. p. 16.
- ^ Beaulac, S. (2000). "The Westphalian Legal Orthodoxy – Myth or Reality?". Journal of the History of International Law. 2 (2): 148–77. doi:10.1163/15718050020956812.
- ^ MacKay, John P; Hill, Bennett D; Buckler, John (1995). A history of Western society: from the Renaissance to 1815, Volume 2. Houghton Mifflin, ISBN 978-0-395-70845-3
- ^ Vehse, Eduard, translated by Franz KF Demmier (1896). Memoirs of the court and aristocracy of Austria, Volume 1, p. 243. HS Nichols
- ^ a b Gutmann, Myron P. (1988). "The Origins of the Thirty Years War". Journal of Interdisciplinary History. 18 (4): 764–765. doi:10.2307/204823. Retrieved 26 January 2014.
- ^ a b Gould, Stephen Jay (1996). "This View of Life: The Diet of Worms and the Defenestrations of Prague" (PDF). Natural History (9). Archived from the original (PDF) on 28 March 2014. Retrieved 26 January 2014. Cite uses deprecated parameter
- ^ Johnston, Ian. "Some Introductory Historical Observations" (lecture transcript)
- ^ Horáková, Pavla (11 March 2002). "Jan Masaryk died 54 years ago". Radio Prague. Retrieved 4 April 2009.
- ^ Richter, Jan (10 March 2008). "Sixty years on, the mystery of Jan Masaryk's tragic death remains unresolved". Radio Prague. Retrieved 25 October 2009.
- ^ Cameron, Rob, "Police close case on 1948 death of Jan Masaryk – murder, not suicide", Radio Prague, 06-01-2004.
- ^ Cameron, Rob, "Masaryk murder mystery back in headlines as Russian journalist speaks out", Radio Prague, 18-12-2006.
An English translation of part of Slavata's report of the incident is printed in Henry Frederick Schwarz, The Imperial Privy Council in the Seventeenth Century (Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1943, issued as volume LIII of Harvard Historical Studies), pp. 344–347.


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'Exemplary Employee' Takes CFO Hostage
(EL SEGUNDO, Calif.) -- An "exemplary" employee at a California food company is scheduled to be arraigned Thursday on multiple charges after she allegedly held the firm's chief financial officer hostage at gunpoint, a day after she abruptly resigned.
Leonora Banuelos, 22, had worked for Popcornopolis, a gourmet popcorn company based in El Segundo, Calif., before allegedly entering the building on Tuesday with a handgun, then demanding to see another employee. She was "distraught over a failed relationship with another co-worker," according to a police statement.
"She went directly into CFO's office," according to Lt. Raymond Garcia of the El Segundo Police Department. "Many of the employees fled out the front door and several fled into the back area."
At 8:18 a.m. officers responded to the business location.
Garcia said there was no relationship to the CFO, but his proximity and rank as one of the front office workers likely made him a target.
Based on interviews with Banuelos and witnesses, "she wanted to kill him," Garcia said of the unnamed co-worker with whom she had the relationship. That co-worker was not at the company on Tuesday.
"She was there with a handgun that she purchased specifically to do harm to the co-worker and turned her rage on the CFO," Garcia said.
Banuelos could not be reached for comment. A spokeswoman for the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office said they will learn in court Thursday afternoon whether she has an attorney.
After a three-hour standoff, the CFO, who is not being named by police, was released and Banuelos surrendered to authorities, as first reported by KABC.
Wally Arnold, founder and CEO of Popcornopolis, said the company is "very grateful that everything resolved peacefully."
"The CFO was selected at random, but thankfully through his calm demeanor and the work of the first responders, the situation was diffused," Arnold said in a statement. "Ms. Banuelos abruptly resigned her position on Monday night. Prior to that, Ms. Banuelos had been an exemplary employee who had recently received a promotion."
Garcia said the CFO was released unharmed and "in good spirits," despite the ordeal. "He thought it was the end for him," Garcia said.
Banuelos has been charged with two counts of assault with a deadly weapon, two counts of false imprisonment, and two counts of making criminal threats. Prosecutors will ask her bail to be set at $300,000, according to a spokeswoman with the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office.
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