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Sumerian Records Founder Ash Avildsen on Success, 'Sumeriancore' and His Famous Father (EXCLUSIVE)
We're talking seventh floor corner office at Sumerian Records' new Wilshire Ave digs, people. I'm not saying that label CEO and boss Ash Avildsen has ascended to Les Grossman-esque heights, but the former vocalist in Prosthetic Records artists Reflux (whose guitarist Tosin Abasi now scores Guitar World covers as the braintrust of instrumetalists Animals As Leaders), DC area show promoter and booking agent, now has hit "player" status.
As the principle owner and operator behind Sumerian, it's associated management company Sumerian Entertainment and the now wildly successful Pantheon Agency, he's personally overseen or had a hand in the careers of artists diverse as Asking Alexandria, Born of Osiris, dubstepper Borgore and wrestling hero, The Ulimate Warrior. He's also launched the Summer Slaughter touring franchise and has even opened Soundcheck Hollywood, a lifestyle music and merch shop on Sunset Blvd.
Basically, the guy's killing it.
Aggressive. Arrogant. Creative. All them other silly adjectives. Say what you will, Avildsen has built an empire rooted in complex musicianship, great songs and genre-shaping artists. He's also made his opinions known on a host of hot-button topics including Spotify and various file-sharing services…let alone calling out Dance Gavin Dance frontman Jonny Craig for some crap on this Summer's Pantheon-booked All Stars Tour via Twitter. With a new album coming in early 2013 from Asking Alexandria, big plans coming together for '13's installment of Summer Slaughter and some new business ventures, the kid from DC is showing no signs of slowing down. Quite the opposite, in fact.
Ten years ago, you were the singer in a band called Reflux. Now it's like the line from the Talking Heads song: "And you may say to yourself, how did I get here?"
Ha.. Yeah.. I mean there's usually one or two very surreal moments each week whether it's a meeting or a piece of news or a song I'm working on with a band where I go "wow.. this is really fucked up… awesome" A lot of times people say they think I'm older than I am, not because of how I look but what I've accomplished… That's another reoccurring surreal moment.
How old are you now?
30. I'll be 31 in November. This has been the fastest year of my life. I think that time accelerates – as you get older, it seems that time gets faster. We're doing California Metalfest for the sixth year. The sixth year of Summer Slaughter. The sixth year of Sumerian as a label.
Watch Reflux's 'Above the Pyramid and the Eye' Video
This last year has been one of milestones for you. Can you point out some?
We broke a million in sales, collectively, in the U.S. for Sumerian. Moving to this new office space was a big deal. Having a Billboard top ten record [Asking Alexandria]. I'm having meetings with people I always held in high regard and being on the same level, I guess is really exciting and inspiring. I thought I'd be a little older by the time I'm sitting in some of the circles I am now.
Do you think there's a Sumerian 'Sound' or 'Brand'?
A label brand for sure. I promoted shows before I ever started a label or became a booking agent. I was a show promoter in the Mid-Atlantic region: DC Maryland, Virginia. This was when you couldn't go on Facebook or MySpace to promote stuff. There was a term we used called 'Street Heat' which described when a band had a real buzz out in the streets. I used to go around to shows in DC passing out flyers on my scooter, always paying attention to what kids were in to.
When I was growing up doing that there were definitely a few different labels that had real brand power in the scene that I was focused on… Those were Victory, Trustkill and Ferret. Even if no one really knew who the band was, if they were on those labels, there were kids who wanted to see those bands because they were on the label. The same with local bands who wanted to open for those bands. There was an unspoken excitement about the show. I think that's a really special, powerful thing that's been lost in a lot labels these days for various reasons. I think we are very fortunate to have a living brand power with a lot of kids and that's something I hold very close to heart.
What is "Sumeriancore"?
As far as the "Sumeriancore" thing, I have a love-hate relationship with that tag. When I started the label, everyone was telling me metalcore is dead, everything was thrash metal or New Wave of Brit/American heavy metal being regurgitated or it was straight death metal and no one wanted breakdowns anymore. I never believed that. I just believed that it was evolving and there was going to be a new cast of characters and it was still going to grow and it was going to change. The bands that had real songs were going to be the ones that stuck around. Killswitch Engage's Alive or Just Breathing is the greatest metalcore record of all time. I never subscribed to the thinking that metalcore is a bad word. Metalcore is like any genre of music, it can be great or it can be shitty. Bands like Born of Osiris. Veil of Maya, The Faceless, After the Burial, they've been dubbed 'Sumeriancore' by the press and some of the fans. I don't think there's a contrived sound but there are similarities… They all have a fresh sense of melody in their riffs. Their chugging patterns are not the same regurgitated rhythms.. but make no mistake, The Faceless is not any type of "core" band.
Watch Born of Osiris' 'Recreate' Video
You are the A&R the guy here and it is all based around your tastes. What excites you these days?
Two of my favorite records I've been listening to a lot this year have been the AWOLNATION and Imagine Dragons. They're not metal records but they are great songwriters. I get off on songs. Technical ability is awesome but there has to be songs. There has to be a song within all the shredding and technical playing. There's a saying I like to tell bands all the time: "A little more right hand. A little less left hand." Less is more sometimes. I'm a sucker for anthems. Guns N' Roses is my favorite rock 'n' roll band. I can hum you 25 Guns N' Roses anthems. At the same time, I love avant-garde ambient music too.
Are there bands you wouldn't sign to Sumerian?
It's a fine line when you diversify as a label. Roadrunner and Epitaph were able to do that. People ask me "Why don't you start another imprint to put out the stuff that isn't as heavy?" I don't agree with that. It's a fine line but I don't want to subcategorize bands and releases I like because others might not like them. I love Josh Grabelle but I will speak my mind on the Trustkill scenario. It's always terrible when bands feud publically with their label over things like money – you'll never see that with a Sumerian band.
However, on a musical label, I think where Trustkill suffered was they had a great brand in the underground but once they started signing a lot of emo bands, poppy bands and "mainstream" rock bands – which is fine to do as long as those bands are unique and successful but every time you go out on a limb and extend the olive branch potentially risking the brand power and those bands fail to break then those "diverse signings" can really risk the brand power… especially if you're not balancing it out with new, credible heavy signings.
Putting out a country record would be a challenge. If I thought I found the new Johnny Cash, I'd put his record out. Lana Del Rey is sort of the female Johnny Cash and I would have put her record out. To me when it's too close to a band that we already have, then that's when I have to draw the line.
Unlike a lot of labels in the heavy genre, you don't release a lot of records.
That's a big part of our success. We don't rush things. After our first two releases: the first Faceless and Stick to Your Guns records, it was almost a year before we put out Born of Osiris.
What were the biggest failures you've had on the label?
Truthfully, the ones we didn't passionately listen to. I prefer to not call out names but anyone who does their sound scan research can find out on their own.
Biggest successes?
Asking Alexandria. Top ten record – #9 on Billboard. We're putting out the next record out early next year and there's a very good chance it going to debut top five. Getting them and I See Stars on Jimmy Kimmel was a big deal. When I signed I See Stars they were still in high school but they wanted to start touring and in that genre time is everything so we convinced their parents to let them do road school and drop out of high school to let them start touring. That's always a very touchy topic and a very dangerous move. I remember we flew out the parents for the Jimmy Kimmel show and that was a monumental moment. There's certain things that a band can do that really make an impact with parents. Being on the cover of a magazine is one of them but being on a nationally syndicated TV show is one of those things that really resonates with the parents. 'Wow, what the fuck? My kid actually is a star.' We flew the the mom of the singer and the drummer out to L.A. to see them on Jimmy Kimmel.. after the performance, she was at my house with the band and we were watching the show together. The mom was tearing up. It was one of those life moments I'll remember forever. Mom having a beer, watching her kids on TV and I'm sitting there thinking: 'Wow, she's finally OK with the fact that I talked her into letting her kid drop out of high school!'
Watch I See Stars' 'Filth Friends Unite' Video
Let's talk about your family background. Your dad is John Avildsen (director of Rocky, Lean on Me and The Karate Kid). I know this isn't your favorite question but did you ever feel like you lived under the shadow of his success?
One thing I would say that always pissed me off was when I was coming up in the business and I was a promoter, because I was doing a good job I would get bigger bands people would associate that growth and success with my last name, which is the furthest thing from the truth. One, he doesn't have anything to do with the music business and two, I don't have any kind of relationship with him. Under the shadow? It was awkward when I was a lot younger.. when people in school and stuff would bring him up, 'Hey, what's up with your dad? I love his movies.' He's an incredibly talented director but I don't really know him. The last time I saw him was in court in New York over child support. I was a little kid, probably eleven or twelve. I was in the waiting room with him, waiting to go into court and there was nothing. No eye contact. No communication. That's another one of those moments that makes you go, 'Man, I will have my day.'
What would you say to him now?
[Laughs] What's that line from the Paul Simon song: "Hello darkness my old friend"? I should probably figure that one out. I met my half-sister a couple years ago and she ended up telling me where he lives. He's here in California. I'm thinking about driving up there and meeting him. He's getting older and I don't like 'What if?'s' At least that will allow me to turn the page.
In the past few months, we've seen small independent labels like Hydra Head and huge labels like Roadrunner either go out of business or be absorbed into major corporations. How is Sumerian going to last?
I'm not going to sell. I'm not going to fuck over my bands like that. Obviously, you can go bankrupt if you invest too much money into the wrong bands. There hasn't been any band that's fulfilled their recording contract that we wanted to re-sign that we've haven't. When we put out the first Faceless album, it was a one-album 50/50 profit split deal and they had offers from everybody. We hadn't even put out a record yet! This was down to my friendship with Michael Keene and his belief in me as a visionary and an agent. Then they resigned for the second album and then they resigned for the third album. Asking [Alexandria], we just did some new stuff with their deal. They resigned before their deal was even up. We just did that with After the Burial and Born of Osiris. Veil of Maya is next. This whole thing was always built on the concept of 'By Artists For Artists.' If you look at some of the most successful people in the business, they were either in a band or they were a tour manager. John Reese from the Mayhem Festival, the biggest heavy metal festival in America. He was Guns N' Roses' tour manager!
What people in the music business do you have the most respect for?
Ahmet Erteghun is definitely one of them. I actually met Ahmet when I was a little kid long before I could even understand how epic an A&R guy and label owner he was. My mother was actually good friends with him and got him to listen to my 9th or 10th grade demo tape, which is just.. really f'n funny haha. The way he went out is the most rock n' roll way ever. I don't want to die of cancer. If I make it into my '70s and I just fall at a Rolling Stones party, hit my head and die, I'm good with that.
Watch Ahmet Ertegun Accepting His Induction Into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
Stayed Tuned for Part 2: Asking Alexandria: The Controversy and Chaos! The Future of Metal! More!
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Last June, during the Broncos' minicamp, Kyle Orton was named the starting quarterback for the 2009 season.
He will not get that same designation for 2010 this week at minicamp.
The Broncos' starting quarterback probably won't be decided before the Aug. 21 exhibition in Denver against the Lions — and perhaps not until a week later when the team plays the Steelers.
A year ago on June 12, Orton — as anticipated, but not quite that soon — was called into Josh McDaniels' second-floor office at Dove Valley and told that he would be the starter. Orton beat out veteran free agent Chris Simms and rookie Tom Brandstater. Orton won't have to worry about them again. Both are gone.
This time around Orton's challengers have stronger resumes and higher profiles; the Broncos and Orton are coming off last season's gruesome second-half collapse, and the coach has declared an extended open competition for No. 1.
The Broncos have a good (or bad) old-fashioned Quarterback Controversy.
I asked McDaniels on Friday afternoon: "Does Brady Quinn (entering his fourth NFL season and first with the Broncos) have a legitimate chance to be Broncos' opening-Sunday starter?" The coach replied: "Yes."
Then I asked if Tim Tebow, the rookie first-round draft choice, has a chance to become the starter. The answer was the same. "Yes."
It's obvious Orton, currently No. 1, has a chance.
McDaniels is now an equal opportunity employer.
Orton will have to earn back his starting quarterback job. There are, McDaniels has said, "no guarantees" for the five-year veteran (29-19 overall as a starter, 17-13 the past two seasons).
With the release of Brandstater (truth is, he hadn't worked hard enough in the offseason to stay even with the others), McDaniels has sacked three quarterbacks since taking over (placing him 14 behind Elvis Dumervil).
It's assumed by the unwashed mass media that this trio will be on the roster all season, but the only sure things are life, death and rising cable bills.
After the "voluntary passing camp," finally ending Wednesday and the full-fledged "mandatory minicamp" next weekend, the continuing "optional" OTAs, the "official training camp" in late July, and the "preseason friendlies" of August, which horse will win?
An oddsmaker would make Orton the early-line betting favorite at 2-1, Quinn the second choice at 11-2 and Tebow the longshot at 25-1.
But backroom bookies, Belmont bettors, bartenders and Broncobackers don't know, and that's why they run the race.
The so-called "smart money" in Colorado will be on Orton and Quinn, but in Florida Tebow is even money, which is why the website "BroncoGator.com" has produced a logo that is an amalgamation of a toothy alligator and the Broncos' emblem. It looks like a swamp monster out of a bad "B" teen-slasher flick. (The Broncos' season-opening game, Sept. 12, is in Tebow's hometown — Jacksonville.)
Tebow's No. 15 Broncos jersey is the No. 1 seller in the land, while Orton's No. 8 jersey is a deep-discount item at the team's online shop. There's almost no interest in Quinn's Love Potion No. 9.
The most popular Broncos jersey at the Dove Valley headquarters remains, as always, No. 7.
The online shop offers this description: "Reebok Orton #8 replica home (blue) jersey, original price $79.95, sale priced $27.00." The non- replica jersey "was $60 — now $20."
Which is kind of sad, especially compared to the lonely No. 15 "Marshall" jersey on a hanger, also marked down to 20 bucks. But few Orton jerseys were worn at the stadium last season.
Along with the other veterans, Orton was freed from practice Friday, as Quinn and Tebow got all the reps and media attention. Afterward they did dueling interviews several feet apart.
Quinn seemed to have the slight edge in the session. Tebow threw two "touchdowns" and one miserable out pattern. Quinn said he might have an advantage because he has been training in Denver since his mid-March acquisition from the Browns.
It is known that he worked out with the Broncos' wide receivers two dozen times before the passing camp, while Tebow, according to league rules, wasn't allowed at Broncos central before the rookie camp. Orton, a restricted free agent who isn't forced to participate in the OTAs, hadn't thrown to his receivers until the passing camp.
The Broncos will have their first true QB clash for opening-game starter since 1999. The season before, Bubby Brister had replaced the injured John Elway and went 4-0. Brister appeared to have the upper arm over Brian Griese, who played briefly in one game his rookie season. But, before the final exhibition, Mike Shanahan named Griese as the regular-season starter. The Broncos finished 6-10.
McDaniels was asked Friday if he's happy with the three quarterbacks left on the roster. "I would hope so."
So would the three.
The race is on.
Woody Paige: 303-954-1095 or firstname.lastname@example.com

subset: commoncrawl


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Kim Jong Il - Contributions to the struggle for socialism
By brother Eric Struch
The more a people's leader is slandered, ridiculed and belittled by the racist capitalist press in this country, the more important it is to look beyond the propaganda to find out why the ruling class considers this leader and what he/she represents such a threat.
Media in the U.S., privately owned—like everything else—by our obscenely wealthy rulers, have presented a profoundly distorted picture of the socialist northern part of Korea and its leader, Kim Jong Il. Racism and personal attacks are the norm and the most outrageous lies are promoted as fact.
The truth is that Kim Jong Il, who is chairperson of the National Defense Commission, general secretary of the Korean Workers Party (WPK) and supreme commander of the Korean People's Army (KPA), has had a prominent leadership role in the DPRK since the late 1970s.
Juche, the Korean philosophy of self-reliance, was originated by Kim Il Sung—founder of the WPK and the great leader of Korea's revolution against colonialism and capitalism. Kim Jong Il has continued in the Juche tradition and added to it the policy of Songun, which puts the People's Army at the center of Korean society. This is what allowed the DPRK to maintain its socialist system, defend the nation and pull through an extremely difficult period during the mid to late 1990s.
That period began with the counterrevolutionary overthrow of the socialist bloc in Eastern Europe in 1989 and in the Soviet Union in 1991. This fell as a heavy blow on the DPRK, since nearly all its trade was with the socialist community of nations.
On July 8, 1994, the Korean people suffered the profound loss of Kim Il Sung. After a period of national mourning and before Kim Jong Il was even able to take the reins of power, Korea was hit by devastating record floods in 1995 and 1996 and then suffered years of drought, starting in 1997. This was absolutely catastrophic in a country where only 18 percent of the land is arable.
U.S. imperialism under Bill Clinton attempted to take advantage of the suffering of the Korean people during this difficult period by ratcheting up the military pressure of its more than 30,000 occupying troops in the south and threatening the DPRK with nuclear destruction.
In response, Kim Jong Il strengthened the military capability of the KPA and developed Songun to strengthen the nation ideologically. Rodong Sinmun, in its January 1999 New Year's editorial, defined Songun as an ideology "in which the People's Army serves as the main force of revolution and in which the unity of the army and the people helps to safeguard as well as build socialism." The army not only defended the country against attack—a real threat for Korea, which has been mercilessly invaded in the past by both Japan and the U.S.—but worked alongside civilians on many development projects to repair the damage caused by the floods and drought. The U.S.-backed government in South Korea has outlawed Web sites that promote Songun.
In addition to Songun, the three other mainstays of Kim Jong Il's politics have been an intransigent opposition to bureaucratic privilege, the development of Juche and moving the struggle for national reunification forward.
Kim Jong Il became known in the late 1960s for his opposition to the use of material incentives to increase production. His belief, which he shared with Ernesto "Che" Guevara, was that this broke down socialist solidarity among workers. In the early 1970s, after being elected to the Central Committee of the WPK, he was responsible for legislation mandating that higher-level bureaucrats spend 20 days a month at regular working-class jobs alongside other workers.
Songun politics rest on the foundation of the Juche idea. The three principles of Juche are independence in politics (chaju), self-sustenance in the economy (charip) and self-defense in national defense (chawi).
Kim Jong Il is responsible for the formulation of the Three Charters for National Reunification—independence, peaceful reunification and national unity. He has made concrete proposals to the South Korean government for a unified democratic federal republic. All this led to the historic breakthrough of the June 2000 inter-Korean summit meeting. The result of the summit was a milestone in the long struggle for reunification: the adoption of the June 15th Joint Declaration. The DPRK saw this as "freeing north-south relations from the long-standing concept of confrontation and turning them into one of reconciliation and cooperation." It was followed in 2007 by the October 4th Declaration, which reaffirmed the goals of the June 2000 agreement.
Last fall, however, the election of ultrarightist Lee Myung Bak in the U.S.-occupied south was a major setback to the momentum established by the two previous joint declarations. One of the main goals of the DPRK today is to move reunification forward.
Kim Jong Il's birthday is on Feb. 16. Considering that he has led the KPA and the WPK through the country's darkest days in the 1990s and preserved socialism, is it any wonder that it will be celebrated all over Korea?


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When Michael Veitch landed a role in The Full Monty in February, he was a regular club foot. By the time it opens next week, he'll be a fully fledged song and dance man. Here's how he did it.
February 27, 2003
I have just walked into an enormous room somewhere in Sydney for the final audition for the Australian stage version of The Full Monty.
Six people will be selected from the final round for the biggest role in the biggest show I have ever been up for.
It's 9.30 in the morning and I have to be back in Melbourne and on the set of Blue Heelers by 1.30pm, playing roughly the same character I have played in every police show I have ever been in: dodgy former detective with troubled son and heart of gold.
Easy as. Do it in my sleep. But that means I have to be out of here by, hell, when?
Thirty-six other fellows are milling around and warming up, all of them, like me, contending for one of the six leads in the Broadway musical version of the hit film.
I try to suss out the competition,
smiling cheerily when anyone catches my eye.
This is when I begin to sense something is terribly wrong.
Everyone's using ballet bars and mirrors and wearing tracksuit pants with sensible shoes and doing squats and stretches and making grunting noises.
Clearly, somebody hasn't told me something.
My light-coloured buttoned shirt and leather shoes suddenly feel like a suit of medieval armour.
I notice the trestle tables assembled at one end of the room and the line of serious-looking people consulting quietly amid notes and jugs of water.
Is a press conference about to start? No. It's the Americans, and they're here to check us out big time. In fact, I realise with a thud of horror, they're here to watch us dance.
An American girl with a cool, friendly face and wearing dancer clothes addresses us then proceeds to demonstrate something she calls the "final strip sequence".
For what seems ages she performs a dazzling array of complicated steps and movements, then turns to us and simply says "OK, go".
Every man in the room proceeds competently to mimic what they have just seen. Everyone, that is, except me.
I stand stock still, numb except for an overwhelming desire to clap. Can I get on that plane now?
Like a drowning man, I am plucked from an ocean of humiliation by Paul Mercurio, whom I have never met, and who takes me aside and patiently tries to drill me in a couple of the basics.
Movement, someone once told me, is stored in a different compartment of the brain to speech and music. Clearly, it's not a place I've ever visited.
I don't care about the part now, I just want to get through this and go home. I hope Paul gets the job.
March 4
Well, I passed on the singing and the acting, but they'll only give me the role if I can prove to them that I can dance.
For two days my future is suspended as I am locked in a room for a series of one-on-one dance lessons with a choreographer with the patience of Job.
Gradually, I begin to learn how to put one foot in front of the other without falling over something else.
Then I learn to use my arms, then my legs, and occasionally to synchronise all four.
Another week goes by before the producers decide to take the not-inconsiderable risk of employing me. I am to play Harold, an out-of-work factory supervisor � middle aged, insufferably pompous, desperate.
It's a role I was born to play.
August 24
On a freezing, pouring Sunday, the cast meet in at the Newport railway sheds for the first time to film the TV ad and pose for publicity stills.
Six strangers who know they are to spend the next 12 months in each others' pockets mingle, cautiously at first.
In the downtime, as the rain beats furiously on the tin roof, I wander amid the peculiar detritus of discarded printing machinery and old railway bits and pieces.
I pocket a small wooden linotype box that once held lead printers' type. It'll be my souvenir of the very first day.
I meet Paul Mercurio again, who won the role of Eathan. Good for him.
November 11
We travel to the Grand Hyatt in Sydney to launch the show to the media and the group bookers, representatives of big clubs who buy large bunches of tickets.
We cobble together an ersatz version of the final number, even though we haven't even started rehearsals.
I feel for the first time the hum of the machine that is big-scale commercial theatre.
David Atkins, the producer, charms the hundreds-strong audience then plies them with alcohol and shows them a slick video presentation of his past work and the scenes we shot at the railway sheds a couple of months ago.
Paul makes an outrageous suggestion. So, after our pre-arranged strip down to boxers, we depart the stage as Atkins announces that, sadly, we're unable to reveal all today. Then suddenly we're back on stage, buck naked to a man, hands covering genitals as we bound across the stage like idiot schoolboys.
Four hundred middle-aged women full of mid-price Chardonnay spontaneously explode in hysterics. Atkins is required to quell a near-riot.
Amid the labyrinthine bowels of the Hyatt's kitchens, we scuttle around, searching for clothes and wheezing with laughter.
The astonished hotel staff are less than impressed. It's been a fun day.
November 17
First day of rehearsal.
After contractual negotiations, delays, venue changes and a creeping feeling that the whole thing might yet go belly-up, we're ready to begin the six-week process that will put the show together.
In the Victorian College of the Arts dance studio number six, we take it in turns to introduce ourselves. Who are all these people?
Apart from the female members of the cast who play wives and girlfriends, there is a stable of stage managers and their assistants, producers, musical directors, publicists, company managers, understudies and swings, who will learn several roles in case of emergencies.
We again meet the American girl from the audition. Her name is Michelle, and she's our choreographer.
As the universally acknowledged remedial dancer, I've already had a week or so of basic training but how much has stuck remains to be seen.
After lunch, we run through a big dance number.
I jump up and, like a twat, come down hard on my left ankle. A horrible burning sensation rips through my foot. I've sprained my ankle on the very first day.
November 19
I'm the first of several casualties. I hobble off to visit physios and doctors.
My ankle is better for a day or two but then another strange, agonising sensation takes hold.
Gout, says the doctor. It's a condition I've had on and off for years in my toes but never like this, and certainly never in my ankle.
I get very depressed. Gout and dancing just don't seem to belong together in the same sentence.
I assault it with a toxic cocktail of prescription drugs and manage to stagger to my feet again after several wasted days. And me the one that needs the most work.
Meanwhile, the publicity machine has begun to grind into life. Driving home in my very old Ford station wagon and seeing my name on a huge billboard overlooking Kingsway is a strange feeling indeed.
November 24
The first week of dancing is over and we meet the American director, Matt, for the first time.
Impossibly young, with a ridiculous mop of dark curly hair and a staggering list of Broadway credentials under his belt, he's put this show together several times in other parts of the world but his enthusiasm grips us like a fever.
Scene by scene, move by move, the whole show will now be assembled like a ship under construction: scenes, songs and transitions fleshed out in sub-assembly then bolted onto the superstructure of the whole show.
Gradually, day by day, line by line, the shape of the thing starts to emerge. And the shape is big.
December 4
For 16 days, eight hours a day, six days a week, the show has consumed me.
At night, a strange state of semi-consciousness passes for sleep, interrupted with tunes, mumbled lines and half-remembered conversations.
My head swims like that big bucket in The Sorcerer's Apprentice cartoon, brimfull and overflowing with information that washes straight out.
The next day I am called in to the company director's office and told off for being late and spending too much time on the mobile phone.
Apparently, people have noticed. My concentration is appalling and I forget lines I had thought were down.
I revert to the book at a point where the rest of the cast is near word-perfect.
I think of the State Theatre and its 3000-odd seat capacity, looming in a few short weeks.
December 9
All the press wants to know is do we actually, you know, take it all off? (Mind you, that's what everyone wants to know � friends, family, and especially my children, who are in reality too appalled to ask).
I say to them as I now say to everyone, "Well, I certainly hope so, it sounds kind of fun".
In comparison to all I have to keep in my head, taking my clothes off in public is easy.
I'm also told I need to lose some weight and prepare for my first ever session with a personal trainer.
December 12
Day 24, and we begin to rehearse with some of the costumes, namely the ones we have to rip off and throw away in the finale, when we must stop looking like average blokes and emerge as a slick group of professional dancing men.
My arms are sore from lifting impossibly large weights at the gym, and my ankle still jabs me with the occasional resentful twinge.
Some of the work emerging on the rehearsal floor, though, is fantastic.
We run through the whole thing for the first time.
It now seems not so much a ship as one of those quaint old novelty steam engines that clunk away at country fairs and produce a great deal of steam and noise going nowhere very slowly.
Still, we make it through to the end even if some of the bolts barely hold.
I'm still forgetting one or two minor things � such as what to say, whom to say it to, where to move, and to throw the belt between my legs on the eighth count rather than the seventh.
Natalie, the dance captain, pounces on me whenever I make a mistake and patiently demonstrates (yet again) the correct way to do it.
December 19
The show is run from top to bottom on a daily basis now, and it barely resembles the rickety jalopy of a week or so ago.
Gradually, the moves and lines and lyrics are bedded deep down into the muscle memory.
Then the fun stuff starts to emerge. The comedy, the pathos, the silly bits and the unexpectedly moving bits.
All the highs and lows of this simple story of six blokes who find themselves on the scrap heap and try to rebuild their lives by doing something completely mad.
Today is our last day in the rehearsal room and we're all eager for next week, when we start grappling with the gargantuan dimensions of the State Theatre.
That's when we start working with the lights, the full band and the sets that have been shipped from overseas.
I won't think about all that just yet; it's a bit too terrifying.
In just over a month the cast and crew have bonded into a unit that will be required to turn on this big, lively, complicated piece of musical theatre eight times a week for many months to come all over Australia.
The director says we're in great shape, but as this show's already been a proven success overseas, it all comes down to the calibre of us six leads.
And for some of us, the learning curve has been terribly steep.
No, the ship's not quite ready to be launched yet, but gee it's getting close.
The Full Monty is at the State Theatre, Arts Centre, from January 6 (previews from December 31). Bookings: 1300 136 166
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This group will act as a showcase and forum for fetish photographers, models and the freaks that love us. So, if you are a budding or professional fetish photographer, a model or even an admirer... don't be afraid. We don't bite (hard).
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On Jul 29, 2009, at 2:10 PM, Ludger Buenger wrote: > > Chris Murphy wrote: >> I'd like to read of some examples of these "some applications of >> CSS". > > To generate PDF/A compliant PDFs from HTML cmyk is required in > conjunction with ICC profiles. PDFreactor rendering engine is such > an application that does that. PDF/A does not require CMYK. Content can be RGB, Gray, Device-N, or CMYK, or any combination thereof in a single PDF/A document. If CMYK is used, since it is device-dependent, a valid PDF/A must contain a valid CMYK ICC output device profile embedded within it, so that any CMYK content is effectively device-independent and can be viewed correctly. It seems to me a rather bad idea to be creating a descriptive page language that allows users to use a device-dependent color model without being able to define an appropriate color space. Passing the buck to the application, which must then make assumptions about how to render the result correctly, is a recipe for random results with every CSS rendering application. Is that what you want? In my view, it is manifestly inappropriate to be defining color in untagged CMYK. And in a PDF/A context it's not even allowed. Chris Murphy Color Remedies (TM) New York, NY ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Co-author "Real World Color Management, 2nd Ed"Received on Wednesday, 29 July 2009 18:54:17 UTC
This archive was generated by hypermail 2.3.1 : Monday, 2 May 2016 14:38:27 UTC


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On his blog, The Audacity of Despair, David Simon recounts his recent impromptu sit-down with Governor Martin O'Malley aboard the Acela. "As the train neared Baltimore, the governor suggested that perhaps we both suffered from Irish — or as I know the joke, Jewish — Alzheimers. As he explained, 'That's where you…' '…only remember the grudges,' I finished."
"N***a, is you takin' notes on a criminal f**king conspiracy?" Buzzfeed's Matthew Zeitlin explains what the banksters at J.P. Morgan could learn from Stringer Bell and the New Day-Co-Op. "[S]pelling out in a spreadsheet your exact intentions about hiring specific people for their parents' help for specific deals is probably not considered best practices."
More fruits from Californication: With public support for legalizing marijuana over 50% for the first time, and a new documentary, The House I Live In, once again calling attention to the many cruel absurdities of the Drug War — $1 trillion spent, 2.2 million in prison — signs suggest the ill-advised War on Drugs may finally be receding as a sacrosanct institution in Washington.
"For decades, the politics of the drug war were straightforward: Being tough could help at the polls and came with no political downside; being open to reform had few advantages, but would be used against a candidate on the campaign trail. That calculation is no longer so simple."
From a DCist story on Mayor Vince Gray's recent woes, a Fairey-esque tribute to Maryland State Senator R. Clayton Davis of The Wire. I laughed.
I saw this a few weeks ago, and Follow me Here reminded me of it: As we pass the fortieth anniversary of the failed war on drugs, Wire creator David Simon makes a deal with Attorney General Eric Holder: End the drug war for a Wire season six. As if there weren't already enough good reasons to do so, S6 would be the cherry on top.
I've been meaning to blog this for a few days, via Genehack: After the show is harangued by Baltimore's current police commissioner, the consistently take-no-guff David Simon sticks up for his creation, The Wire. "As citizens using a fictional narrative as a means of arguing different priorities or policies, those who created and worked on The Wire have dissented."
Take that, Pulitzer people. Wire mastermind David Simon, among others, receives a MacArthur Genius Fellowship. "His first reaction was to deflect the money (paid quarterly for five years) to charity, but the foundation urged him to take time to absorb the news." Hey, money ain't go no owners…only spenders. [Full list of winners.]
We come to it at last, the great battle of our age. In a perfect world, I would've gotten these up before 2010 hit. (Then again, in a perfect world, we'd have had a health care bill last July and I'd be going to work by eco-friendly jetpack.) In any case, here they are. No cheating! Please be sure to check out Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, and Part 4, before perusing the…
[The Rest of the List: 100-76 | 75-51 | 50-26 | 25-11 | 10-1]
10. The Dark Knight (2008)
From the original review: "Holy Catastrophic Wreck of a City, Batman! After two viewings, I'm happy to report Christopher Nolan's moody, sinister The Dark Knight was well worth the wait, and bears the high expectations set for it quite impressively. In fact, at two and a half hours (which zip along, and even feel somewhat truncated at times — see below), this sprawling Gotham crime saga is almost too much movie to take in the first time around…Most importantly, if Begins, as I said in 2005, was 'the Batman movie that fans of the Dark Knight have been waiting for,' this is undoubtedly the Joker movie we've all been hoping for as its companion…Heath Ledger here is a true force of nature, embodying to a tee the malevolent, frighteningly insane jester of The Killing Joke and The Dark Knight Returns."
From the year-end list: "Yes, it's the obvious fanboy pick. And, admittedly, TDK had pacing problems — it was herky-jerky at times and the third act felt rushed. Still, in a not-particularly-good year for cinema, Christopher Nolan's operatic reimagining of the Caped Crusader and his arch-nemesis was far and away the most enjoyable experience i had at the movies in 2008. And if Candidate Obama was America's own white knight (metaphorically speaking) this past year, Heath Ledger's Joker was its mischievous, amoral, and misanthropic id. If and when the economic wheels continue to come off in 2009, will stoic selflessness or gleeful anarchy be the order of the day? The battle for Gotham continues, and everybody's nervously eyeing those detonators. Let's hope the clown doesn't get the last laugh."
And let's be honest: The Joker's had a good year in 2009 (and, at least so far, our "white knight" of 2008 has been looking a little more Two-Faced than some of us anticipated back then.) In a decade that saw more comic book movies than even comic book fans might have asked for, Christopher Nolan's grim and relentlessly-paced crime noir was the pick of the litter. Yeah, some problems here persist — The movie is a little overstuffed in its third act, and Bale's bat-rasp doesn't get any less goofy. Still, even more than Batman Begins, this was a full-immersion Gotham experience.
As per Nolan's usual m.o., The Dark Knight didn't shy away from grappling with larger themes amid all its impressive action setpieces. For example, there's much ado here about the compelling need to maintain convenient myths — be it that Harvey Dent is a saint, or that Rachel will come back to Bruce, or that, as the Joker puts it, when bad things do happen, "it's all part of the plan."
Or, to take another example, TDK dwells more substantially than most any other comic films out there on the heavy price of vigilantism. Consider the bad behavior "the Batman" engenders among gun-toting do-gooders in hockey pads. And once Gordon, Dent, and Bats bend one rule — extradition — to get the mob's moneyman back from Hong Kong, it's Katy bar the door, basically. Next thing you know, Bats is "burning down the jungle" to get his man, including setting up a warrantless wiretap operation over in the basement at Wayne Enterprises. After all, once you've decided to go outside the law — say, to fight crime in a big bat suit — where does it all stop?
Of course, in the end the most memorable aspect of TDK was Heath Ledger's twisted, anarchic, and thoroughly menacing take on the Clown Prince of Crime. Mark Hamill's cartoon work notwithstanding, this was the Killing Joke-type Joker I had wanted to see on-screen since before the original Burton Batman. Particularly as compared to Jack Nicholson's indulgent performance back in the day, Ledger brought us a better class of criminal — I just wish he could've stuck around for more.
9. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000)
From the year-end list: "Amazing film. Nothing bad to say about it. Go now."
I haven't seen Ang Lee's Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon in many years, so I can't really vouch for how well its blend of wire-fu enhanced wuxia and ancient Middle Kingdom lore holds up in 2009. (I do know it's better than Hero, House of Flying Daggers, Fearless, and Curse of the Golden Flower, to take several later examples of the genre.) Still, even coming as it did after The Matrix, also choreographed by Yuen Wo Ping, Crouching Tiger was an absolute jaw-dropper. And unlike Quentin Tarantino in the uneven Kill Bills, Lee wisely let Yuen's choreography provide the kinetic energy here, rather than opting for frenetic and choppy editing.
Speaking of QT, I'm sure he and countless other kung-fu aficionados out there could plausibly tell you that Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon was nothing compared to Snake in the Eagle's Shadow, Fist of Legend, or any number of other wuxia epics I haven't seen. Point conceded. Nonetheless, I found Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon a breathtaking movie experience. And, with Chow Yun-Fat, Michelle Yeoh, and Zhang Ziyi on hand, I'd put the acting (tho' not necessarily the martial arts) talent here up against any possible contender.
8. Before Sunset (2004)
As with Wong Kar-Wai's In the Mood for Love and 2046, I first saw Richard Linklater's Before Sunrise and Before Sunset back-to-back on DVD a few years ago. And, while Before Sunrise didn't do much for me (I'm guessing the problem is that I should have seen it back in 1995, when I was a more idealistic 21), I thought Before Sunset was stunningly good. (For this one, I was juuust right.)
Basically told in real-time one Paris afternoon, Before Sunset brings Jesse and Celine, the lovers of the first film, back together ten years after their fateful night in Vienna. As it turns out, one of them didn't show up for the romantic rendez-vous made at the end of Sunrise, which complicates things from the start. And, with ten years passed, both are now a little older and wiser in the ways of love. And by that, I mean they've become damaged, compromised, brittle, and gun-shy around each other.
Nonetheless, they shared something once upon a time in Vienna, and so they spend the next ninety minutes together — getting up-to-date, confessing recent disappointments, licking old wounds. Life didn't turn out at all like they figured…and why is that, honestly? When and where did everything start to slip, and what might've happened if they had followed through on the promise made, and broken, ten years earlier?
In a way, there isn't much "movie" here at all — It's just two old lovers, chatting for ninety minutes as they stroll about the City of Light. Still, Before Sunset is a powerful film if you let it work on you. Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy are both engaging and excellent, and not a false note is struck as each, slowly and almost despite themselves, lets their guard down around the other again. Ok, the great in media res ending of Sunset may veer a bit toward wish-fulfillment mode. But, y'know, why the heck not? After all this time, they still believe. (In fact, the ending to Before Sunset is remarkably like another film coming up…soon.)
7. No Country for Old Men (2007)
From the original review: ""Seen the arrow on the doorpost, saying, 'This land is condemned'…" Well, Bob, East Texas may seem rough, but trust me, West Texas is even worse. I'm always going to have a soft spot for Miller's Crossing, and The Big Lebowski is its own strange and beautiful beast, but the Coen Brothers' tense, brooding No Country for Old Men, which I caught this morning, is right up among their best work, and that is no small thing…[I]f you harbored any doubts about the Coens after their botched remake of The Ladykillers, fret not. The brothers are back in form."
From the year-end list: "[T]he Coens' expertly-crafted No Country works as both a visceral exercise in dread and a sobering philosophical rumination on mortality and the nature of evil. (And in his chilling portrayal of Anton Chigurh, Javier Bardem has crafted a movie villain for the ages.)…No Country for Old Men seems so seamless and fully formed, so judicious and economical in its storytelling, that it reminds me of Salieri's line in Amadeus: 'Displace one note and there would be diminishment, displace one phrase and the structure would fall.' A dark journey that throbs with a jagged pulse, No Country for Old Men is very close to the best film of the year, and — along with Miller's Crossing, Fargo, and The Big Lebowski — yet another masterpiece sprung from the Coens' elegant and twisted hive-mind."
"The crime you see now, it's hard to even take its measure. It's not that I'm afraid of it. I always knew you had to be willing to die to even do this job. But, I don't want to push my chips forward and go out and meet something I don't understand. A man would have to put his soul at hazard. He'd have to say, 'O.K., I'll be part of this world.'" The Coens' best film in a decade full of superior offerings, No Country for Old Men, as Matt Zoller Seitz eloquently argued in Salon last week, was a culmination of sorts for the brothers.
On its face, No Country is another sordid crime saga like Blood Simple or Fargo. But it's also, like Fargo, The Man Who Wasn't There, A Serious Man, and much of the Coens' oeuvre, a philosophical rumination on what propels people along the paths they choose. When Anton Chigurh flips a coin to decide Carla Jean's fate, who, really, is doing the deciding? Chigurh or the coin? "The coin don't have no say. It's just you." "Well, I got here the same way the coin did." Um, ok then. Is it Carla Jean, perhaps? After all, she could've picked tails. And, for that matter, Josh Brolin's Llewelyn could never have taken the money in the first place. In fact, as soon as he does, he starts referring to himself as a dead man…So he knew the score.
But then again, as Tom Reagan asks in Miller's Crossing, "Do you always know why you do things, Leo?" So maybe it was always out of their hands to begin with. After all, Ulysses Everett McGill's travels through the South in O'Brother are dictated by the Fates. The Dude…The Dude abides. And Anton Chigurh himself takes a side-impact car crash like he takes anything else — It's simply the way things are. As another character reminds us in No Country, "You can't stop what's comin'." Or, to switch back to A Serious Man, that whirlwind's getting closer, and you can't stop it. So heed the words of the Jefferson Airplane, and find Somebody to Love…
The world of the Coens is all of a piece, and, for all its darkness, No Country is one of its purest expressions. (There's a good bit of overlap in the world of Cormac McCarthy as well. No Country ends with Tommy Lee Jones talking about a dream he had, one in which his father carries fire into the dark. A father "carrying the fire" also figures very prominently in The Road.) In the Coens' world, as in ours, the only predictable thing about life is that it is finite, so take things as they come and live it well. As Marge Gunderson puts it in Fargo, "There's more to life than a little money, you know. Don'tcha know that? And here ya are, and it's a beautiful day." Accept with simplicity everything that happens to you. Abide.
6. United 93 (2006)
From the original review: "Whether or not the world really needed a film about the events that took place on United Flight 93 the morning of September 11, 2001 is, I suppose, still an open question…That being said, having run the gauntlet earlier this week, I can now happily report that United 93 is magnificent, and arguably the best possible film that could've been made about this story. Both harrowing and humane, it's the movie of the year so far."
From the year-end list: "A movie I originally had no interest in seeing, Paul Greengrass's harrowing docudrama of the fourth flight on September 11 captured the visceral shock of that dark day without once veering into exploitation or sentimentality…While 9/11 films of the future might offer more perspective on the origins and politics of those horrible hours, it's hard to imagine a more gripping or humane film emerging anytime soon about the day's immediate events. A tragic triumph, United 93 is an unforgettable piece of filmmaking."
If ever there was a counterpoint to the cosmic shrug favored by Anton Chigurh, it can be found in Paul Greengrass' harrowing docudrama United 93. Here, as we all know, ordinary Americans refused to simply accept the dismal hand fate dealt them. Inasmuch as they could, the passengers of United 93 turned to face events square on — They rose up, fought back, and, at the cost of their lives, saved the United States Capitol that Tuesday morning in September.
As I said at the time, I wasn't entirely sure a film should be made about United 93, particularly so soon after the events at hand. But, if a movie was ever going to be made about that flight, let it be this one. With clarity, conviction, and compassion, Paul Greengrass manages first to bring the horror and chaos of the day back to life here, in a way that is as non-exploitative as possible. (Unlike Oliver Stone's World Trade Center, which pretty much recreates the collapse from the inside, the initial impact on the towers here is shown merely as a blip on a radar screen.) And with the wave of fear and sheer confusion of that day vividly recreated — you can feel it gnawing at your gut at this point — Greengrass then lets the tale of United 93 unfold, so you really understand the dimensions of those passengers' heroism that day, a heroism borne of survival instinct and a horrible recognition of the stakes involved.
It really is an amazing achievement how well Greengrass threaded the needle here. While being respectful of those lost that day, United 93 works as both art and history. It doesn't go out of its way to demonize the terrorists or lionize the passengers — he just lets their respective actions that day speak for themselves. (The fateful words "Let's roll,", for example, are muttered almost as an aside, and are all the more powerful for it.) In short, what could've been a needless and even offensive film in other hands became, under Paul Greengrass, an outright classic.
5. In the Bedroom (2001)
From the year-end list: "I can't remember another film this year that resonated so strongly. While I think last year's award hoopla erred too far toward the histrionics of Sissy Spacek and away from the nuanced performance of Tom Wilkinson, the moral center of the film, In the Bedroom nevertheless powerfully depicts how ostensibly 'good' people eventually find themselves contemplating and acting out evil deeds. Plenty of complex and memorable scenes throughout, such as Wilkinson watching the distracted guests at his son's funeral, or his pained attempt to forge a connection with Marisa Tomei, a woman he has nothing in common with except loss. A very, very good film that, if anyone has the stomach for a double dose of grief, bookends nicely with Atom Egoyan's The Sweet Hereafter."
Ok, 2006's Little Children was a bit of a dud. Still, In the Bedroom, based on the Andre Dubus short story "Killings," was an extremely auspicious debut for writer-director Todd Field, previously best-known for his small role in Kubrick's Eyes Wide Shut. With a strong sense of place — in this case, a small Maine lobster-town, probably not too far down the road from various Stephen King short stories — In the Bedroom is a powerful and morally complex study of how "good" people are, through rage, grief, and slowly curdling despair, eventually driven to dark deeds.
As I said above, Bedroom is a movie that resonates strongly in the details — say, Tom Wilkinson eyeing his son's girlfriend (Marisa Tomei) with a combination of atta-boy pride and vague jealousy, or the nervous silence that descends around Wilkinson's usual poker table after his son's murder, or the way Wilkinson and Spacek tend to bury their grief — and their eventual plot — under mounds of everyday routine. More than most movies I can think of, In the Bedroom felt like a literary experience, one crafted by a filmmaker with a discerning, novelistic eye. So if any director can salvage something out of Cormac McCarthy's heavy-handed Old West Grand Guignol, Blood Meridian, it might well be Field — It's slated for release in 2011.
4. The New World (2005)
From the original review: "[A] masterfully crafted tale of discovery and transformation, passion and misunderstanding, intimacy and heartbreak, love and loss, and worlds Old and New. In short, it's the best film of 2005."
From the year-end list: "A movie which seemed to divide audiences strongly, Terence Malick's The New World was, to my mind, a masterpiece. I found it transporting in ways films seldom are these days, and Jamestown a much richer canvas for Malick's unique gifts than, say, Guadalcanal. As the director's best reimagining yet of the fall of Eden, The New World marvelously captured the stark beauty and sublime strangeness of two worlds — be they empires, enemies, or lovers — colliding, before any middle ground can be established. For its languid images of Virginia woodlands as much as moments like Wes Studi awestruck by the rigid dominion over nature inherent in English gardens, The New World goes down as a much-overlooked cinematic marvel."
The best way to sum up Terrence Malick's achievement with The New World is to go back to the Gatsby quote I used in the original review: "For a transitory enchanted moment man must have held his breath in the presence of this continent, compelled into an aesthetic contemplation he neither understood nor desired, face to face for the last time in history with something commensurate to his capacity for wonder."
That's the extraordinary sensation at the center of Malick's film. I'm still not quite sure how he pulled it off, but The New World feels like arriving on the threshold of some strange, danger-ridden, and wondrous alien planet called…America. (Put another way, before Pandora, there was Jamestown.) The New World is a First Contact story that somehow manages to maintain the momentous portent of this historic moment, when Old and New Worlds collided. And, perhaps as impressively, it does it without taking sides. Half the time we're as inclined to side with Pocahontas and the sensible Powhatans, who, unlike the new, scurvy-ridden English arrivals, have the sense to prepare for winter (or at least to stop panning for non-existent gold when the frost sets in.) More than The Thin Red Line, more than Badlands, more even than Days of Heaven, I would say this is Malick's magnum opus.
3. I'm Not There (2007)
From the original review: "[T]o be honest, it's hard to imagine how this film plays to people who aren't all that into Dylan…But, if you do have any fondness for Bob, oh my. The short review is: I loved it. Exploding the conventional music biopic into shimmering, impressionistic fragments, Todd Haynes has captured lightning in a bottle here. The movie is clearly a labor of love by and for Dylan fans, riddled with in-jokes, winks, and nods, and I found it thoughtful, funny, touching, and wonderful. Put simply…I'm Not There is my favorite film of the year. I can't wait to see it again."
From the year-end list: "Admittedly, it was a wonderful confluence of my interests. Nevertheless, Todd Haynes' postmodern celebration of Bob Dylan, brimming over with wit and vitality and as stirring, resonant, and universal as a well-picked G-C-D-Em progression, was far and away my favorite film experience of the year. It seems to have slipped in a lot of critics' end-of-year lists…but so be it — You shouldn't let other people get their kicks for you anyway. A heartfelt, multi-layered, six-sided puzzle about the many faces and voices of Dylan, l found I'm Not There both pleasingly cerebral and emotionally direct, and it's a film I look forward to returning to in the years to come. Everyone knows he's not a folk-singer."
"I was riding on the Mayflower when I thought I spot some land…" Speaking of the New World, welcome to Bob Dylan's Old, Weird America, here brought to life as the Halloweentown-like hamlet of Riddle, where Richard Gere hides out as the sixth and oldest Bob among us. Hiding, as always, right there in plain sight.
So, in retrospect, Todd Haynes' ode to the many facets of Bob Dylan probably turned out to be more inside baseball-ish than I originally assumed. I've since watched the movie with various folks who couldn't care less about the man, and they just found the whole enterprise weird, inscrutable, and mostly uninvolving. And, hey, if you're not feeling it, you're not feeling it. Still, for those of us who've imbibed the Dylan Kool-Aid (See also: J. Hoberman)…wow. Haynes' movie is a lovely gift, and way more intriguing than any standard-issue biopic I can imagine.
Basically, I adore this film. Each fragment of Bob here feels perfectly cast — Marcus Carl Franklin as the impossibly talented wunderkind…and fake, Christian Bale as the take-no-prisoners true-believer with his finger-pointin' songs, Heath Ledger as the womanizing romantic and survivor of Blood on the Tracks, Ben Whishaw as the know-it-all, Rimbaudian interviewee, Richard Gere as the John Wesley Harding, Old Weird America Bob, and, of course, Cate Blanchett as the electric Blonde on Blonde non-blonde. Not to mention Charlotte Gainsbourg as Suze/Sara, Bruce Greenwood as Mr. Jones, Julianne Moore's riff on Joan Baez….it's an embarrassment of riches here.
To me, I'm Not There is a fascinating, inspiring movie, one as much about Dylan's primordial American landscape as it is about the man from Hibbing, Minnesota. In defiance of the usual staid biopic routine, Haynes managed to create an ambitious, open-ended film that does justice to both a notoriously mercurial artist and his impressive body of work, one that deserves its place on the shelf right next to Dylan's music. So, yeah, I'm Not There may be preaching to the converted here somewhat. But as a member of the choir, I say press on, brother Haynes, press on.
2. The Lord of the Rings (2001-2003)
From the original review (FotR): "Post-Film Update: They did it! They pulled it off!"
From the extended edition review (FotR): "The Galadriel/Lothlorien stuff works much better now, with both Galadriel and Celeborn taking on the flavor of Tolkien's tome. Moreover, all of the underutilized members of the Fellowship – Boromir, Gimli, Merry, Pippen, and even Samwise – are given more characterization. And it just seems to take longer to get from place to place, which might take away from the film's dizzying pace, but definitely captures more of the feel of the book."
From the year-end list (FotR): " Suffice to say, it was everything I had hoped for and more. NOT for fanboys and fangirls alone – In fact, given its epic breadth and cinematographic sweep, I'd put it up as a worthy successor to the works of David Lean. Mr. Lucas, the bar has been raised."
From the original review (TTT): "After two showings yesterday, I must say I'm delighted and (still) surprised at how wondrous this second chapter turned out…[O]verall a deliciously good second installment in the Tolkien trilogy. And, with the ends of both the Isengard and Cirith Ungol storylines to be packed in with all the multitudinous events of ROTK, I see no way the next one can clock in under 210 minutes. Should be grand!"
From the extended edition review (TTT): "All in all, as with Fellowship, the extended Two Towers DVD includes a better, richer film loaded with tons of fascinating extras. If you're a fan, I'm sure you're getting it anyway…but if you're a casual Rings admirer, the TTT:EE is just as worth picking up as the FOTR:EE."
From the year-end list (TTT): "No surprise here. Although Fellowship may have delivered a bigger emotional impact, Peter Jackson and co. handled massive expectations with aplomb and deftly translated J.R.R. Tolkien's most unwieldy tome (Silmarillion notwithstanding) into the action-epic of the year."
From the original review (RotK): "Return of the King is an amazing conclusion to a trilogy that's surpassed all expectations and, I say this without hyperbole, redefined the medium — From the technical breakthrough of Gollum to the seamless intertwining of jaw-dropping FX and character-driven emotion throughout, these films have expanded our vision of the possible and set a new standard for epic filmmaking."
From the extended edition review (RotK): "As with the FotR:EE and the TTT:EE, the Extended Edition is clearly a better film than the theatrical cut, with richer, denser characterizations, more Tolkien lore, and an improved sense of flow…All in all, RotK:EE, like its predecessors, is a wonderful gift to the fans of Tolkien and Middle Earth. And, although we have come now to the end, these three DVD sets (which look great on the shelf together) will now live on forever as a beacon of hope to fandom."
From the year-end list (RotK): "If you didn't see this pick coming, welcome to GitM…Even in spite of the pacing problems mandated by the TE running time, Return of the King is a marvel, the perfect ending to this epic for the ages and easily the best third-movie in a series ever. There's so many ways these films could've turned out atrociously…The fact that they didn't — that they instead shattered all expectations while staying true to Tolkien's vision — is a miracle of inestimable value. In the post-Star Wars age, when epics have been replaced by 'blockbusters,' and most event movies have been hollowed-out in advance by irony, excessive hype, dumbing-down, and sheer avarice, Peter Jackson has taught us to expect more from the cinema once again. Beyond all imagining, he took the ring all the way to Mordor and destroyed that sucker. So have fun on Kong, PJ, you've earned it."
"Three Rings for the Elven-kings under the sky. Seven for the Dwarf-lords in their halls of stone. Nine for Mortal Men doomed to die. One for the Dark Lord on his dark throne, In the Land of Mordor where the Shadows lie. One Ring to rule them all, One Ring to find them, One Ring to bring them all and in the darkness bind them, In the Land of Mordor where the Shadows lie."
If you get any goosebumps while listening to J.R.R. Tolkien read the last paragraph, then, you were probably like me at the start of this decade: looking for any news you could find about the forthcoming (live-action) movie version of The Lord of the Rings trilogy, directed by Peter Jackson of Heavenly Creatures, The Frighteners, and Bad Taste. On January 12, 2001, you probably also filed into the earliest possible performance of New Line's (very quality) Thirteen Days to catch the highly anticipated trilogy trailer.
And when December 19, 2001 at long last rolled around, you may too have buried your Phantom Menace butterflies deep down inside, took up what fanboy or fangirl standards you possessed (I myself wore the One Ring…on a chain, of course), and filed in to Fellowship to see what Jackson had come up with. At which point we — you and I both — were confronted with…blackness.
"I amar prestar aen, han mathon ne nen…The world is changed. I feel it in the water. I feel it in the earth. I smell it in the air. Much that once was is lost, for none now live who remember it." And just about right then and there, it was clear: Holy Sh*t! They did it!
Yes, there would be gigantic battles soon thereafter, massive CGI-enhanced affairs to rival the most vivid fever dreams of Led Zeppelin. And, of course, there would be elves, dwarves, and right twee little 'obbits. But the decision by Jackson, Fran Walsh, and Philippa Boyens to start their grand adventure with that sharp, Tolkienesque twinge of melancholy indicated right away that they had not been turned by the Nazgul of Hollywood, nor by the power of the effects at their disposal. Rather, they had stayed true to the sad and cautionary spirit of Tolkien's tale.
Do I have quibbles about Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings? Of course. Fellowship of the Ring is just about perfect to me, with the small-but-notable exceptions of Weathertop and the Ford at Bruinen. (Aragorn just should not be able to take out five Nazgul like that. And — weirdly, given his horror background — PJ somehow missed the real darkness of Frodo's turning after his Morgul wound: A growing part of him wants to go with the Riders. "Come back, come back…to Mordor we will take you.")
And, as the story moves forward into The Two Towers and Return of the King, more minor problems emerge. (The "Choices of Master Samwise," Denethor's lack-of-palantir and the too-bright-by-half Shelob's lair, for example.) Plus, however anti-climactic and un-filmic, a strong argument can be made that the excised Scouring of the Shire — nobody wins a war, the thing you fought for is destroyed by the fighting for it — is half the point of Tolkien's tale…although I can see why it got left out.
But those quibbles aside, The Lord of the Rings was so much better than any of us really had any right to expect. In fact, the trilogy has so many secret weapons that it's hard to enumerate them all. There's the variegated natural beauty of New Zealand standing in for Middle Earth, as photographed by cinematographer Andrew Lesnie. (I would argue that the most powerful moments in the Fellowship prologue are those accompanied by simple nature shots: "Darkness crept back into the forests of the world. Rumor grew of a Shadow in the East, whispers of a nameless fear…")
There's Ian McKellen's turn as Gandalf, a performance that's almost impossible to imagine anyone else pulling off as well. There's the hauntingly beautiful music of Howard Shore, who was operating on another plane in these films. There was the art direction help by John Howe and Alan Lee — two artists who had spent their lives dreaming up Middle Earth. With PJ, RIchard Taylor, and the enterprising elves of WETA, they helped bring Tolkien's words to life as never before. And, speaking of WETA, they and Andy Serkis brought us Gollum, a CGI-creation like none we had ever witnessed.
Ultimately, Lord of the Rings is the story of creatures, living long after the calamitous events that shaped their age, that now must face the End of their World. And, more than the calamity itself, the real story is about the characters' various responses to this time of testing. PJ et al got this. More than most films of its ambition, its crafters understood that emotional scale was as important as visual grandeur — that, at its heart, the trilogy isn't so much about wizards and warriors as it is about friendship, the nature of evil, and persevering in dark times. And because they got that right, The Lord of the Rings is an epic unmatched in fantasy cinema before or since.
A final footnote: While the tone and thematic weight of the story is quite different, one hopes the old gang — with their new Hobbit friend, Guillermo del Toro — can bring about similar magic when they tackle "the incident with the dragon" in short order. The road goes ever on…next stop, December 2011.
Speaking of which, here we are at the Crack of Doom at long last. So, to number 1 and the end of this Oughty Age…
1. The Hottie and the Nottie (2008)
A surprising heartwarming tale about body image and the perils of celebrity, The Hottie and the Nottie is…pretty obviously not on this list. To be honest, I never saw it. But I feel totally ok about presuming that it was an abomination in the eyes of the cinema Gods. Sorry, just seeing if anyone made it down this far. Ahem. #1 is in fact…
It's coming…
It is…
1. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004)
From the original review: "I thought Michel Gondry's Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind lived up to the hype and then some. One part Annie Hall, one part Sliding Doors, three parts Charlie Kaufman, Eternal Sunshine is an exceptionally strange take on the romantic comedy…(It probably helped that I tend to be a fan of almost all the folks at work here…Jim Carrey, Kate Winslet, Tom Wilkinson, Mark Ruffalo, Elijah "Bad Frodo" Wood, and David Cross…Sunshine is a fun, thought-provoking look at relationships and memory."
From the year-end list: "The one true classic of 2004, Eternal Sunshine has only grown in my estimation since its initial release in March. (David Edelstein's take on it as one of Harvard philosopher Stanley Cavell's remarriage comedies is well worth reading.) A heartfelt examination of love, loss, and memory, Eternal Sunshine was also a strikingly adult take on romance and relationships…With great performances from a caged Jim Carrey and an electric Kate Winslet, the film managed to be both an earnest, passionate love story and a wistful paean to those person-shaped holes we all carry in our hearts and memories…(Why even bother? We need the eggs.)"
"Happy is the blameless vestal's lot, the world forgetting by the world forgot. Eternal sunshine of the spotless mind! Each pray'r accepted, and each wish resign'd." That poem by "Pope Alexander" is the epigram of, in my humble opinion, the best movie of the decade. I first saw Eternal Sunshine, Michel Gondry and Charlie Kaufman's second collaboration after 2001's smart but very uneven Human Nature, in the stress-case period just before my orals exams, so I didn't give the film the review it deserved. (Although I tried to rectify that oversight some with 2004's end-of-year list.) Suffice to say, Eternal Sunshine is a masterpiece — beautiful, heartfelt, incisive, and humane.
Like the best science fiction, Eternal Sunshine uses a sci-fi premise — a friendly neighborhood clinic that can erase bad relationships for you — to capture something elusive about our human condition, in this case about memory, love, and regret. Is it better to have loved and lost, or never to have loved at all? While various techs (Mark Ruffalo, Elijah Wood, Kirsten Dunst, Tom Wilkinson) handle the details of the medical procedure at hand (and conduct their own affairs of the heart), that's the question Jim Carrey's Joel wrestles with as he remembers — one final time before the lights go off — his days and nights with Kate Winslet's Clementine.
I'll concede that certain dream-elements of Eternal Sunshine don't quite work — the baby-Joel under the table and in-the-sink stuff, for example. And you could argue, and some do, that all of the techie shenanigans outside Joel's mind are superfluous, although I enjoy them all the same (and, of course, they set up the final payoff involving the leaked tapes.) In fact, I tend to like the film's ragged, organic, and hand-crafted feel all around.
Still, the movie's real strength is its acute inquiry into the Ballad of Joel and Clementine (not to mention Joel-and-Clem, as a unit, and Joel's in-head Clem to boot.) And this is where Eternal Sunshine is dead-on and so often devastating. Note the perfectly-selected bric-a-brac stuff — all the random, built-up detritus of a life together — that Joel must collect and hide away forever to get his mind wiped. Or his gloomy gus, self-lacerating inner monologue when he first meets Clem on the Montauk train. Consider the moments that signify the end is near — such as the usual jokes getting old, or that grisly conversation in the Chinese restaurant. And consider too the details Joel remembers and cherishes, like their trip to the frozen Charles, or that night they saw the elephants, or kissing under the sheets, or just Clem resting her cheek on his, one bright and lazy winter morning.
Given that the bottom eventually drops out, was it all worth it, in the end? Both Joel and Clementine have to answer that question with open eyes as Eternal Sunshine comes to a close. And this is where people tend to either find the movie dark and gloomy or legitimately romantic, in a way few movies are. I go the latter route — Joel and Clem know what's 99.44% likely to happen this time: The same thing that happened last time. "I don't see anything I don't like about you." "But you will! But you will, and I'll get bored with you and feel trapped, because that's what happens with me."
And, yet, they take the plunge anyway, partly because the good times were good. Partly because love in the real world is never a meet-cute 'til the happily-ever-after anyway. It's negotiation, conversation, laughter, and crumbling defenses, a give-and-take process of two people slowly falling together. And partly because maybe, just maybe, the bad times were not inevitable, and things will break a different way this time. Screw Anton Chigurh –There's no fate but we make.
In all too many ways, from 9-11 to the Great Recession, the Oughts were ten years to forget. (And, on a personal level, it's safe to say I spent much of the past decade glum about one break-up or another.) But would we be better off forgetting the Oughts completely? Surely, there were flecks of gold throughout these past ten years, however dismal and Dubyaesque the decade often turned out to be. Regardless of how things pan out at the macro level, whether for good or ill, there are always small moments to cherish, days to remember fondly, and films to treasure. In fact, I've put one hundred of my own here. And of those, for me, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind shone the brightest.
So, we finally made it. That's the end of the list, folks, hope y'all enjoyed it. Fare thee well, gone away, there's nothing left to say.
Hey, wait a sec, that reminds me…
Special Award. The Wire (2002-2008)
From the series-finale review: "Pour a glass of Jamesons and give the devil (way down in the hole) his due: The Wire, a television show with a better claim than most to the title of "Best Ever" (and definitely the best show ever made about American politics), ends this evening…And you know the only thing better than having enjoyed all 60 hours of the show? Having never seen it at all. If that's you, pick up Season 1 and start from the beginning — you're in for a real treat."
I'm not about to do a Best of the Decade TV retrospective here at GitM, partly because I don't feel like I watch enough TV to really judge. (Although, looking at other lists, it seems I caught a lot of the good stuff: Deadwood, Arrested Development, Six Feet Under, Mad Men, Breaking Bad, Battlestar Galactica, Curb Your Enthusiasm, The Sopranos, etc.) Besides, after this ridiculously extended movie project, I'll be damned if I feel like going to the pop-culture-nostalgia well again just yet. Still, call it a 60-hour-movie if it helps square the circle, but The Wire must get its props.
With a journalist's eye for detail and the gallows humor of good homicide po-lice, David Simon, Ed Burns, & co. used the rhythms of a cop show to hook us on an in-depth, comprehensive, and scathing diagnosis of life in the 21st century American body politic, as represented here by the failing city-state of Baltimore. Here, the Institutions are the new Gods, and people get crushed whenever they try to flout their dictates. In fact, people are worth less and less every day — Because, wherever you are in the game, there's always someone else younger, hungrier, and/or less principled gunning for your spot.
That may sound heavy and edutainmentish, but it wasn't. Week after week, The Wire was also the funniest hour-long on television. It built, slowly, gradually, inexorably — By the end of Season 1, I liked the show quite a bit but thought Deadwood probably edged it out in terms of quality. By the end of Season 3, I thought it was far and away the best show on television and was awestruck by its ambition. And we still had two more seasons to go.
David Simon and the gang eventually got so sick of being called "Dickensian" all the time that they turned it into a joke in Season 5: The Baltimore Sun is only interested in "the Dickensian aspect" of the streets, meaning simple, manageable problems that could be solved if, as per many Dickens tomes, only some highly convenient and thoroughly implausible Benefactor came out of nowhere to take the trouble.
Heh, point conceded. Still, as many others have noted, the term applies regardless. Just as Dickens brought industrial corruption and the plight of Victorian London's social underclass to life at the close of the 19th century, The Wire is the piece of journalistic fiction generations one or two hundred years hence will look to to understand the urban landscape of the Oughts. And more likely than not, then as it is now, the game will still be the game. Always.
100. Dave Chappelle's Block Party.
99. SW: Revenge of the Sith.
98. Unbreakable.
97. Borat.
96. The Quiet American.
95. The Savages.
94. About a Boy.
93. The Matrix: Reloaded.
92. L'Auberge Espagnole.
91. King Kong.
90. Capote.
89. Star Trek.
88. Inside Man.
87. Munich.
86. Meet the Parents.
85. Sin City.
84. Bloody Sunday.
83. The Squid and thr Whale.
82. Primer.
81. American Psycho.
80. Brokeback Mountain.
79. Drag Me to Hell.
78. Michael Clayton.
77. The Fountain.
76. The Fog of War.
75. The Queen.
74. Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy.
72. Ocean's 12.
71. In the Valley of Elah.
70. Boiler Room.
69. Jackass.
68. Secretary.
67. (500) Days of Summer.
66. Lord of War.
65 Bamboozled.
64. Master & Commander.
63. Mystic River.
62. HP IV: Goblet of Fire.
61. Iron Man.
60. Batman Begins.
59. Good Night, and Good Luck.
58. District 9.
57. Wonder Boys.
56. The Man Who Wasn't There.
55. The Descent.
54. Ballets Russes.
53. Battle Royale/Infernal Affairs.
52. Zodiac.
51. 28 Weeks Later.
50. The Proposition.
49. The Bourne Trilogy.
48. The Prestige.
46. The Royal Tenenbaums.
45. 24 Hour Party People/Control.
44. Coraline.
43. O Brother Where Art Thou?
42. Shaun of the Dead.
41. The Pianist.
40. Knocked Up.
39. Sideways.
38. Let the Right One In.
37. Intolerable Cruelty.
36. X-Men 2/Spiderman 2.
35. The Wrestler.
34. The Hurt Locker.
33. A Serious Man.
32. The Cooler.
31. Moon.
30. Requiem for a Dream.
29. Sexy Beast.
28. Milk.
27. Layer Cake.
26. Garden State.
25. Donnie Darko.
24. High Fidelity.
23. In the Mood for Love/2046.
22. The 25th Hour.
21. Mulholland Drive.
20. The Diving Bell & the Butterfly.
19. The Incredibles.
18. Memento.
17. In the Loop.
16. Traffic.
15. Lost in Translation.
14. Syriana.
13. Children of Men.
12. Letters from Iwo Jima.
11. The Lives of Others.
10. The Dark Knight.
9. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.
8. Before Sunset.
7. No Country for Old Men.
6. United 93.
5. In the Bedroom.
4. The New World.
3. I'm Not There.
2. Lord of the Rings.
1. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind.
Special Award. The Wire.


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News in Brief: June 2, 2014
Industrial Workers of the World/Student Labor Action Movement – Harvard
Industrial Workers of the World/Student Labor Action Movement – Harvard
This is number 15 in our ongoing series of local audio newscasts. "Local Edition," the biweekly news program, is sponsored by the WMBR Radio News Department and Open Media Boston.
Everett, Mass – An Everett woman is suing the Everett Police Department and the Cataldo Ambulance Service, alleging that excessive force was used during her arrest in March last year, and that she did not receive adequate medical attention.
Jeraldine Fountain filed the lawsuit in federal court in Boston earlier this month against Everett Police Officer Michael Sabella, and the ambulance service based in Somerville.
BOSTON - Calling for the labelling of Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) used in food, over 1000 organic food advocates hit out at chemical companies at the March Against Monsanto on Saturday - one of over 400 similar actions around the world.
BOSTON/Boston Common - Marking a year since President Obama repeated his intention to close the Guantanamo Bay detention facility, and release prisoners held there, activists called on the president to follow through on his promise.
Massachusetts Nurses Association – State House
Somerville, Mass. - At a press conference at city hall on Wednesday, Somerville City Mayor Joseph Curtatone announced an executive order that will limit the city's participation in the federal Secure Communities deportation program.
Waltham, Mass. – A former employee at Demos Restaurant in Waltham is suing his ex-employer alleging that he was not paid earned overtime owed to him.
Adjunct Action, Northeastern University – Fenway
Adjunct faculty at Northeastern University last week voted in favor of forming a union as part of the Adjunct Action campaign of the SEIU. The adjuncts have formed the largest part-time faculty union in Boston, and along with 2,000 adjuncts at Tufts University and Lesley University, they are now united as part of the metro organizing strategy.
This is number 14 in our series of local audio newscasts: "Local Edition." The biweekly news program, sponsored by the WMBR Radio News Department and Open Media Boston, is produced by Dave Goodman.


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Scotsman C0830SA-3-ID250B-KBT44 905 LB Air-Cooled Small Cube Ice Machine w/ Ice Dispenser
|Ship Weight
|220 lbs.
|24 Hour Yield
|905 lbs
|Ice Type
|Half Cube
|Dimensions (HxWxD)
|29" x 30" x 24"
|Power Usage
|5.3 kWh/100 lbs
|Water Usage/Ice
|21.6 gal/100 lbs
|Ship Weight
|200 lbs.
|Dimensions (HxWxD)
|39.63" x 30" x 30.44"
|Storage Capacity
|250 lbs.
|Push Activated
|Counter Model
Scotsman C0830SA-ID250B Product Details
The Scotsman C0830SA-ID250B is a combination ice maker head and counter top dispenser unit offered by Scotsman. This package consists of the Scotsman C0830SA cuber head, the Scotsman ID250B counter top dispenser, and the KBT44 installation kit. The Scotsman C0830SA-ID250B is capable of creating a maximum of 905 LB of small cube ice every 24 hours and is capable of preserving up to 250 LB of ice. The Scotsman C0830SA is part of Scotsman's Prodigy Series line of elite ice machines. The Scotsman C0830SA-ID250B measures 30-inches in width, which gives it a small enough profile to fit atop nearly any counter or table. The Scotsman C0830SA-ID250B is ideal for use in fast food restaurants and other short order foodservice applications.
The Scotsman C0830SA-ID250B is an easy machine to own and operate. The Scotsman C0830SA-ID250B utilizes a battery of AutoAlert external indicator lights that keep the user updated on any machine status changes. AquaArmor anti-microbial technology fuses AgIon, a metallic antiseptic compound, into every machine component that touches water or ice to stymie the growth of common water-borne microbes that may cause disease. The ice dispenser has a detachable front panel for easier cleaning and maintenance access. The Scotsman C0830SA-ID250B creates and dispenses quality ice that is sure to satisfy your customers' beverage-cooling needs.
Scotsman C0830SA-ID250B Features
- Has a maximum production capacity of 905 LB of small cube ice per day
- Small cube ice measurements: 7/8" x 7/8" x 3/8"
- Air-cooled condenser keeps condenser cool without requiring extra water
- 30-inch width
- Counter top dispenser
- Has a storage capacity of 250 LB of ice
- Push bar module makes dispensing easy
- Includes KBT44 installation kit for 30-inch ice machines
Scotsman C0830SA-ID250B Benefits
- Pocket-sized profile gives user numerous installation options
- AutoAlert external indicator lights instantly inform user of any machine status developments
- AquaArmor anti-microbial technology prevents the proliferation of common disease-causing microbes, including mold, bacteria, and algae
- WaterSense technology battles against scale buildup by expelling impure water and mineral particles from machine after every freezing cycle
- Dispenser is equipped with a detachable front panel for easier cleaning and maintenance
- Customers are able to control their ice consumption
|Warranty Info
|24/hr Ice Production
|800 - 1000 lbs
|Ice Type
|Half Cube
|Ice Dispenser Width
|30 in.
|Ice Capacity
|250 - 275 lb.
Specification Sheet:
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Exclusive Features:
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Owners Manual:
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- Brochure / Sell Sheet:
- Parts / Catalog List:
- Service Manual:


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We Asked and You Gave
On November 23, 2010 we counted 62 supporting members of the Coalition. At the end of our membership drive, January 11, 2011 we had 145!
All are welcome as community members, but it's our supporting members who give us the financial means to do our work.
Thank you new and renewing members for helping to advance a sustainable and resilient Ojai Valley.


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Bankruptcy lawyers represent creditors and debtors in financial restructurings, workouts, bankruptcy cases and other matters involving financially distressed transactions. Bankruptcy law is one of the hottest practice areas in the legal field today and law firms across the country are expanding their bankruptcy and restructuring practices.

J. Andrew Rahl, Jr., a partner at Reed Smith and co-chair of its Commercial Restructuring and Bankruptcy Group, shares the ins and outs of practicing bankruptcy law in the interview below. Rahl has been named one of the nation's Outstanding Bankruptcy Lawyers six times by Turnarounds & Workouts. In 2007, The Deal named him one of the top bankruptcy lawyers.

Rahl is also a frequent speaker and lecturer throughout the United States and in Europe and is quoted frequently in the financial press on bankruptcy, restructuring, and related investment matters.

1. Can you comment on employment opportunities in the field of bankruptcy law?

Employment opportunities are growing in this field. This growth is a reflection of the credit crunch and the economic cycle of bankruptcy and restructuring lawyers.

It's hard to speculate about the long-term economic cycle but I suspect the bankruptcy boom will last a least a couple of years. Many law firms are expanding their bankruptcy practices. We recently added a new associate to our group.

2. How did you get into the field of bankruptcy law?

I've been doing this a long time. After graduating from law school in the middle of a recession I went to a firm with a bankruptcy and restructuring practice and found it very interesting. I looked for opportunities to practice bankruptcy whenever I could and by 1990 I was doing bankruptcy full time.

3. What do you enjoy most about practicing in the area of bankruptcy?

Corporate bankruptcy touches on almost every aspect of business law. In addition to knowing the bankruptcy code, you have to become a generalist in terms of mergers and acquisitions, corporate and securities, employment, real estate and many aspects of regulatory practice. Practicing in the area of bankruptcy is a lot of fun and every case is different.

4. What challenges are unique to the practice of bankruptcy law?

Bankruptcy law lends itself to people who perform well at the last minute under pressure. The bankruptcy timeframe can be a lot shorter than typical litigation. Some litigation goes on for years while many aspects of bankruptcy involve discreet issues that get resolved within a short time period.

5. What tasks are typically performed by an entry-level bankruptcy attorney?

What happens in bankruptcy depends on the nature of the matter. It's not unusual in bankruptcy for junior lawyers to interact with clients and draft legal documents. For example, a first-year lawyer who recently joined our firm was quite pleased to spend three days working on a motion to lift the automatic stay with respect to the security interest of a client who is an equipment lender. He will also participate in arguing the motion.

6. What skills are needed to practice in the area of bankruptcy?

One of the interesting things about bankruptcy practice is that it's a hybrid between litigation and transactional practice. You need both the skills of a litigator and the skills of a transactional lawyer. It doesn't hurt to have good contract and corporate drafting skills as well.

Analytical skills, the kind you learn in law school, are necessary. Speaking ability is important as bankruptcy lawyers spend a significant percentage of their time on their feet arguing in court. Writing ability is also necessary since bankruptcy lawyers draft pleadings, briefs, motions and other documents.

7. How can a new attorney break into this field?

Timing is everything in bankruptcy. It is cyclical and the economy does have an impact on bankruptcy work. Now is the time to be looking for opportunities in bankruptcy.

New lawyers interested in bankruptcy should look for a firm that has a meaningful bankruptcy practice. Firms are busier now with bankruptcy work.


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The legacy of the small Philadelphia-based wrestling promotion that rose up to challenge the WWE in the mid-nineties is such that to this day young men who were still filling their Huggies when the likes of Terry Funk and Sabu were ripping chunks out of each other back in '94 chant "E-C-W" at the merest whiff of a chairshot.Five years removed from its demise, the brand name was so strong that WWE decided to bring it back as a separate brand on TV. And in 2008, the Extremists will debut in SmackDown! Vs Raw.
Despite the omission from the title, ECW will be on level footing with both Smackdown and Raw, taking pride of place in SmackDown's new WWE 24/7 mode. 24/7 is an amalgamation of the previous year's Season and GM modes, with the ultimate goal of your superstar being to enter the WWE hall of fame and become a Legend. Now, although the word among WWE fans is that the new ECW is a poor shadow of its former self, for the purpose of Xbox 360 and PS3 we needn't worry about such politics, because THQ promises that SmackDown! '08 will capture the essence of the original ECW. This means small stadiums, fiercely loyal crowds and - we'd imagine - more environmental hotspots than you could shake a kendo stick at.
But as ECW enters the fray, it finds itself passing the onscreen meters in the hallway. One of the main criticisms of SmackDown! over the years has been that the screen is often more HUD than action, but this year Yukes have decided to whip out their magical coding brush and sweep away much of the on-screen clutter. The maniacal button-bashing has been carefully replaced by a more refined system, where the wrestler on the offensive can manually apply the pressure with creative use of the analog sticks.


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Methylation of DNA at cytosine residues as well as post-translational modifications of histones, including phosphorylation, acetylation, methylation and ubiquitylation, contribute to the epigenetic information carried by chromatin. These changes play an important role in the regulation of gene expression by modulating the access of regulatory factors to the DNA. The use of a combination of biochemical, genetic and structural approaches has allowed demonstration of the role of chromatin structure in transcriptional control. The structure of nucleosomes has been elucidated and enzymes involved in DNA or histone modifications have been extensively characterized. Since deregulation of epigenetic marks has been reported in many cancers, a better understanding of the underlying molecular mechanisms bears the promise that new drug targets may soon be found. The newest developments in this quickly developing field are presented in this book.
The Role of Histone Modifications in Epigenetic Transitions During Normal and Perturbed Development.- Nucleosome Structure and Function.- The Role of Snf2-Related Proteins in Cancer.- Imitation Switch Complexes.- How Is Epigenetic Information on Chromatin Inherited After DNA Replication?.- Polycomb Silencing Mechanisms and Genomic Programming.- CpG Island Methylation and Histone Modifications: Biology and Clinical Significance.- Histone Post-Translational Modifications Regulate Transcription and Silent Chromatin in Saccharomyces cerevisiae.- Histone Acetylation-Mediated Chromatin Compaction During Mouse Spermatogenesis.- Role of Ubiquitin-Like Proteins in Transcriptional Regulation.- Interplay of the SUMO and MAP Kinase Pathways.


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Samsung Bongaigaon Service Centre Address – telephone number, fax number, email address and website is listed here with the Samsung customer care number, toll free helpline number, customer support number, customer service Centre.
If are a Samsung phones user, and you are looking Samsung Authorized Mobile Service Centre in Bongaigaon or Samsung Repair Centre in Bongaigaon region; so, here you can get your nearest Samsung Service Centre Address and other contact information in Bongaigaon and nearby areas.
If you are facing any technical problem and issues with your own Samsung devices, you can contact to Samsung Bongaigaon Service Centre for repairing Samsung Smartphones, laptops, mobile phones and other related products.
Samsung Bongaigaon Service Centre Contact Information
Here you can find the full contact details of Samsung Bongaigaon Service Centre for any issues and problems like software updating, warranty, repair, service, accessories, product issues, general support and technical support near you at Bongaigaon and nearby cities.
List Of Samsung Authorized Service Centres in Bongaigaon:
Samsung Bongaigaon Service Centre offer after sales support and services for all Samsung phones and related products such as Samsung handsets, Samsung smartphones, Samsung mobile phones and other related products and services.
Address of Samsung Service Centres in Bongaigaon:
- Name : M/S Creator
- Address : Chapa Guri Road; North Bongaigaon; N/L:- Maa Seatting House, Bongaigaon 783380.
- Phone : 03664-236936
- E-mail : firstname.lastname@example.com
Samsung India Customer Care Number
Samsung Mobile India Customer Helpline Number
We hope, resolves your queries and issues related to Samsung phones by using above listed contact information, addresses, telephone numbers, and fax numbers, website and email ids. If you are unable to connect with the Samsung Bongaigaon service Centre, so kindly contact to Samsung customer care phone number from Bongaigaon and other areas. For further details we recommend you to visit the official website of Samsung.