text:
Spacey And Fincher Make A 'House Of Cards.'
Academy Award-winning actor Kevin Spacey and Oscar-winning director David Fincher team up for a new Netflix original series that premieres Friday. House of Cards follows a Machiavellian politician as he schemes to take down the president of the United States.
Other segments from the episode on January 31, 2013
January 31, 2013
Guest: David Fincher & Kevin Spacey
DAVE DAVIES, HOST: This is FRESH AIR. I'm Dave Davies, in for Terry Gross.
KEVIN SPACEY: (As Francis Underwood) Power was a lot like real estate: It's all about location, location, location. The closer you are to the source, the higher your property value.
DAVIES: That's Kevin Spacey, who stars as an ambitious congressman in the new political thriller "House of Cards," an original production of and available only on Netflix. All 13 episodes of the first season will be available tomorrow.
Our guests today are Spacey and David Fincher, the executive producer of "House of Cards" who also directed the first two episodes. Among David Fincher's films are "Fight Club," "Seven," "Panic Room," "Zodiac" and "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo," as well as "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" and "The Social Network," two films that earned him Oscar nominations.
Kevin Spacey had two Academy Awards for "American Beauty" and "The Usual Suspects." Among his other films are "L.A. Confidential," "Glengarry Glen Ross," "Seven," "The Shipping News" and "Margin Call." "House of Cards" is based on a BBC series that aired in England in the 1990s. In the Netflix series, Spacey plays Francis Underwood, a Southern congressman and majority whip of the U.S. House.
As the series opens, he's been helpful to the man who's just won the presidency, and he expects to be nominated secretary of state. But the president decides to appoint someone else, leaving him feeling angry and betrayed and determined to exact revenge.
Here's a scene from the first episode, when Underwood finds out the bad news. He's arrived for a meeting with the president-elect's chief of staff Linda Vasquez, played by Sakina Jaffrey.
SPACEY: (As Francis) This is the memo I've drafted on our Middle East policy we've been developing. Now, I want to borrow from Reagan. I'd like to coin the phrase trickle-down diplomacy.
SAKINA JAFFREY: (As Linda Vasquez) Frank? I'm gonna stop you there. We are not nominating you for secretary of state. I know he made you a promise, but circumstances have changed.
SPACEY: (As Francis) The nature of promises, Linda, is that they remain immune to changing circumstances.
JAFFREY: (As Linda) Garrett has thought long and hard about this, and he's decided we need you to stay in Congress.
SPACEY: (As Francis) When was this decision made, and why wasn't I part of a conversation?
JAFFREY: (As Linda) I'm sorry, Frank, if it had been up to me, I wouldn't have waited this long to tell you.
SPACEY: (As Francis) So you knew you were going to do this?
JAFFREY: (As Linda) It has been an evolving discussion.
SPACEY: (As Francis) It's a chicken-(beep) move. I was vetted. Was that a ruse?
JAFFREY: (As Linda) No.
SPACEY: (As Francis) Let's be absolutely clear: You wouldn't have won without me.
JAFFREY: (As Linda) You're right, but now we have to lead. And that means making tough choices. As you know, education is a top priority for us, a complete federal overhaul. But it's not just education, Frank. Congress is split. We need you there more than we need you in the State department.
SPACEY: (As Francis) I got you hired, Linda.
JAFFREY: (As Linda) I know.
SPACEY: (As Francis) Donations, endorsements. I wrote the campaign's entire foreign policy platform. I bring years of Foreign Affairs Committee...
JAFFREY: (As Linda) Frank, please.
SPACEY: (As Francis) I want to speak to Walker personally.
JAFFREY: (As Linda) The decision is made.
DAVIES: Well, David Fincher, Kevin Spacey, welcome to FRESH AIR. It's good to have you both. Do you want to - Kevin Spacey, do you want to describe your character here, Francis Underwood? He's at the center of this series.
SPACEY: It's very hard to describe a character who I'm still learning about, and it's still evolving, and there's a lot I don't know. I can tell you what he's based on, which is that Michael Dobbs, the writer of the original book, was Margaret Thatcher's press secretary. And after he was sort of unceremoniously thrown out of politics, at least in her government, I think he went off on some holiday and decided as an act of revenge he would write this book and based the leading character, Francis Urquhart in that version, on Richard III and a little bit of Iago.
So you have a kind of basis there of one of the great or a couple of the great Shakespearian parts. And then I think what they did with that original series, what Beau Willimon, our head writer, has done on this one is to create a character that is constantly shifting. And for me this has felt like not only am I - in one way it feels like I'm making a really long movie, and in another way, it feels like I'm in a 26-hour championship chess match because it's all about the moves and how far ahead Francis sees what the other - what the opponent is going to do.
DAVIES: Well David Fincher, one of the interesting things about this series is that we see direct address, I guess that's the phrase that's used, where an actor, in this case Kevin Spacey, turns to the camera and speaks to the audience. How does that work? What's appealing about that?
DAVID FINCHER: I think the appeal is that you're getting, you're getting private time with Machiavelli. It's like you're getting, you're getting private tutelage. And you - I think there's a very different relationship with that character than there is with everybody else around him. I think the fact that he whispers in your ear and allows you access to his - not only to what he's thinking at any given moment but also where he's going with something.
You know, he's setting up the board for many, many plays, you know, further down the line.
DAVIES: Yeah. The risk might be that it breaks the dramatic flow and perhaps makes it a little less believable. Are there any kind of guidelines you use about how often to do it or in what circumstances you would - I mean, I know Beau Willimon wrote the script, but is there - is that something you have to be careful of?
FINCHER: Yeah, it's an ongoing discussion. I mean, we would have - up until the day we would shoot things, we would have conversations about, well, is this, is this - is there enough illumination of what he wants and what he's after in this direct address? Can it support its own weight? Is it essential?
SPACEY: And the thing that I - because I had the experience last year of playing Richard III in the theater. We took a production that Sam Mendez directed to 12 cities around the world for about 10 months. I had the experience of having that very relationship with an audience because Richard does direct address. It's what it's taken from for "House of Cards."
So I have this memory of that experience, and I was able to actually look into people's eyes all over the world and see how much they relished it and how dangerous it was and how sporting and naughty they felt in being sort of brought in and made Richard's, and now Francis', co-conspirators.
The thing that I'm always questioning, and we all are, is: Is this arbitrary? Is this an important thing? And sometimes we discovered in the course of shooting that actually the dialogue that was written isn't necessary. All you have to do is a look.
It's a little bit like - the way I've tried to transform my experience in the living theater, which was real people and real eyes, and now I'm of course just looking down the barrel of a lens, is to think of it as if I'm talking to my best friend and in the way that you share things with your best friend that you wouldn't necessarily share with your wife. The asides, I'm trying to play them as if this is the person I trust more than anyone in the entire world.
DAVIES: Right, right, I guess you could do some of this laying out the chess match through, you know, a voiceover internal monologue, but that would be different because here you're making the audience kind of your co-conspirators, right.
FINCHER: Yeah, I think a voiceover is a fundamentally different presentation. It's a thought. It's - you know, when you think of - when I think of the best voiceovers, you know, you think of "Apocalypse Now" or something like that. It's a guy - you know, it's the...
DAVIES: He's talking to himself, yeah.
FINCHER: And the way that it's recorded, even, it feels like it's - these are ideas that are literally echoing inside his skull. And I think that's a completely different thing than what Francis is doing. Francis is saying this is a really, really tricky world, and here's how, here's how one navigates through it. And so it has to be - it does have to be sort of in real time. It can't feel like it's: Oh, I remember April.
SPACEY: But it's also - it's not the first time the device has been used. I mean, I think one of my favorite uses of it is in "Ferris Bueller's Day Off," which is just hilarious.
DAVIES: Yes, of course.
SPACEY: And I think there are a few other shows that employ it to some degree. But it is - there's a consistency to when it is useful to bring an audience in in that way. And also, you know, as we've been now doing a couple of premieres and for the first time actually sitting with an audience and hearing how an audience is reacting to the series, there's also an enormous amount of humor and a kind of delicious glee that they get out of those asides.
DAVIES: Right, you know, I'd read that, Kevin Spacey, you had done "Richard III" and had done this direct address to the audience. Is it harder when you have to turn and talk to a camera lens? I mean, I know this is your business, but...
SPACEY: Well, it's - you know, that's where you just have to use your imagination and to some degree the memory that I have of looking in faces. I have that memory. But I do have to - I do have to look down the barrel of a lens, and it is, it's a little odd and particularly sometimes because there's often a reflection, depending on where the light is, so then sometimes I'm actually seeing my own face, which I can't tell you how annoying that is on a daily basis.
SPACEY: So sometimes it's a little odd to sort of navigate through that, just that technical exercise. But when I've seen it, and then I see it cut, or we look back on something, and I think, you know, yeah, that feels like it's the right attitude to strike for this particular moment.
DAVIES: We're speaking with Kevin Spacey and David Fincher. Kevin Spacey is the lead character, David Fincher is the executive producer, of the new Netflix series "House of Cards." We'll talk more after a break. This is FRESH AIR.
DAVIES: We're speaking with Kevin Spacey and David Fincher. Kevin Spacey stars in the new series "House of Cards," which is a production of Netflix. David Fincher is the executive producer and directed the first two episodes.
Well, let's hear a clip. This is early in the first episode, when Francis Underwood, our main character, played by Kevin Spacey, has just learned he will not be appointed secretary of state, as he had expected. And he's spent the day walking around Washington, angry and confused, and he comes home at the end of the day, and this is the scene where he sees his wife Claire, who is played by Robin Wright. Let's listen.
ROBIN WRIGHT: (As Claire Underwood) You didn't call. You didn't call me, Francis. Nine hours, you don't not call me, not when it's this big.
SPACEY: (As Francis) You're right.
WRIGHT: (As Claire) When have we ever avoided each other?
SPACEY: (As Francis) I wanted the solution first.
WRIGHT: (As Claire) Do you have one?
SPACEY: (As Francis) Not yet.
WRIGHT: (As Claire) This affects me too, Francis. And it's not the money I'm upset about, it's that we do things together. When you don't involve me, we're in freefall.
SPACEY: (As Francis) I should have called you, and I didn't.
WRIGHT: (As Claire) What happened?
SPACEY: (As Francis) She says they need to keep me in Congress.
WRIGHT: (As Claire) Linda said that?
SPACEY: (As Francis) Walker wasn't even there. That's what really gets me. He didn't have the courage to look me in the eye.
WRIGHT: (As Claire) I knew you shouldn't that woman.
SPACEY: (As Francis) I didn't. I don't. I don't trust anyone.
WRIGHT: (As Claire) Then how could you not see this coming?
SPACEY: (As Francis) I never thought they were capable.
WRIGHT: (As Claire) You don't usually underestimate people, Francis.
SPACEY: (As Francis) I know. Hubris, ambition.
WRIGHT: (As Claire) You should be angry.
SPACEY: (As Francis) I'm livid.
WRIGHT: (As Claire) Then where is that? I don't see it.
SPACEY: (As Francis) What do you want me to do, scream and yell, throw a tantrum?
WRIGHT: (As Claire) I want more than I'm seeing. You're better than this, Francis.
SPACEY: (As Francis) Well, I'm sorry, Claire. I am sorry.
WRIGHT: (As Claire) No, that I won't accept.
SPACEY: (As Francis) What?
WRIGHT: (As Claire) Apologies. My husband doesn't apologize, even to me.
DAVIES: And that's our guest Kevin Spacey with Robin Wright in a scene from "House of Cards," the new series on Netflix, which is - that episode directed by our other guest, David Fincher. And we should add that the crash we hear at the end of that scene is where Robin Wright is headed upstairs, and her husband has thrown a tray or something, finally exhibiting the anger, and then she smiles.
SPACEY: You know, we're looking at people who are just beyond I think what we can imagine certain political couples are like because, I mean, the kind of stakes that they're playing at. And I do like - I love the unfathomable nature of Francis and Claire. I love the idea that - I think we discussed this after seeing the first six or seven scripts. There was a lot of conversation about, you know, whether we were going to dramatize their deal, the deal that they had made with one another.
And we just felt like it would be better to, like, just see the behavior, see what came from it.
DAVIES: Yeah, at moments they remind me of a couple of serpents living together. Kevin Spacey, do you - I don't know if you have - invent back stories for your characters or if you talk about this kind of thing, but do you picture a day when they had a softer relationship?
SPACEY: Look, I think for whatever reason there are people who come together at certain points in their lives who provide something that no one else has ever provided. I imagine a great amount of that is freedom, and a great amount of that is clarity about I believe in you, and I'm better with you than I am on my own.
But I think what's interesting about this type of relationship is that it seems that these are not two people who view their life through the prism of their relationship. These are two people who have very strong lives outside of each other and have their own interests outside of each other and perhaps even their own friends, although we'll see to what degree their friendships are genuine as the course of the series goes on.
And that strength, that individualism, that ability to be so concrete in their own lives, then when they come together, they're even stronger. But they do - but they are allowed to operate in their own worlds and give each other that kind of freedom.
I suppose it - you know, I know a lot of show business couples who, over the years, have talked about one of the reasons their marriages have lasted, or their relationships have lasted, is because they do have such interests. They are off doing so many of their own projects and things that they're not, you know, in each other's face 365 days a year.
And I think that sometimes that degree and understanding of distance and that distance in a relationship is also valuable and important, as opposed to everything being cuddly and, you know, maudlin and...
FINCHER: Co-dependent.
SPACEY: Co-dependent, yeah, exactly. So I think we'll begin, as the series goes on, to explore that. And perhaps it will always be a question that people will be asking: What is going on with those two?
FINCHER: But that's sort of interesting.
DAVIES: Right.
FINCHER: What was the bargain?
DAVIES: Right. You know, Kevin Spacey, I have to ask you, I know that you have, at times, been supportive of political figures, and I'm told that you have something of a relationship with Bill Clinton. Did you draw on any of those relationships as you crafted the Francis Underwood character?
SPACEY: No, not so much because my experiences, you know, I've known the former president for a very, very long time, but the context in which I know him and the context in which I was doing things for the Democratic Party or for his re-election, et cetera, was always about fundraising and, you know, going out and hosting an event. And oh, Stevie Wonder's going to play.
What I've been able to pull from is the experience of being around the environment, of seeing how things work in Washington, being at the White House or being able to know congressmen or senators. And I also have to say that I was very grateful to the current majority whip, Kevin McCarthy, and the current minority whip, Steny Hoyer. They both met with me. They both answered a lot of questions because I wanted to understand the practical and complicated effort to corral 218 congressmen to vote in a particular way.
And as we've just seen the least productive Congress in the history of the United States just come to its close, it is kind of fascinating and interesting to play a character who, while perhaps diabolical, he gets stuff done.
DAVIES: Kevin Spacey, you've had all this experience at the Old Vic, the theater in London. And I wonder, as you developed the character of Francis Underwood in "House of Cards," whether you looked at Francis Urquhart, who was the lead character in the British version of the "House of Cards," kind of how you translated that to a different sort of culture and society, how you molded the character differently. Did you draw on that experience?
SPACEY: Well, I watched it about three years ago, when David first said hey, look at - and I remembered the original series, and I had seen the original series. My mother loved that series because it aired on PBS in the United States. But I didn't watch it again after that because you don't want to steal too much from another actor's performance.
DAVIES: Well, they're really kind of pretty different, aren't they? I think, you know...
SPACEY: Well they are. They're different in many ways, and I think that what Beau Willimon and David and I all were interested in doing was in a sense using the original British series as a launching pad but that clearly our Francis was going to be different. He's obviously from a different place. He has a different last name.
And to a certain degree, how do you negotiate a character that is in a sense so beloved in Great Britain and so delicious in terms of the performance but make it something all of your own? So in a way, by bringing back some of the dialogue, by creating a character who's from the South, which allowed us to in a sense in the writing, the sort of rhythmic things that a British accent can do that maybe an accent in the west or too far east might not work.
They might - those sentences might not come out in quite the sort of fluid musicality that the British accent has. So I think it was, it was a really smart choice to make him from South Carolina.
DAVIES: Kevin Spacey stars in, and David Fincher is executive director of, the series "House of Cards," which premieres tomorrow on Netflix. They'll be back in the second half of the show. I'm Dave Davies, and this is FRESH AIR.
DAVIES: This is FRESH AIR. I'm Dave Davies, in for Terry Gross, who's off this week. We're speaking with actor Kevin Spacey and director David Fincher, who've collaborated on the new political thriller series "House of Cards," an original production of Netflix. All 13 episodes of the first season are available tomorrow.
David Fincher got an Oscar nomination for his film "The Social Network," based on the Ben Mezrich book about Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg. I asked Fincher about the opening scene of the film, when Zuckerberg, played by Jesse Eisenberg, is talking in a bar with his girlfriend, played by Rooney Mara. He's a Harvard student anxious to get into one of the prestigious final clubs, and he's frustrated that she isn't sympathetic.
JESSE EISENBERG: (as Mark Zuckerberg) I'm trying to be straightforward with you and tell you that I think you might want to be a little more supportive. If I get in, I will be taking you to the events and the gatherings, and you'll be meeting a lot of people you wouldn't normally get to meet.
ROONEY MARA: (as Erica Albright) You would do that for me?
EISENBERG: (as Mark Zuckerberg) We're dating.
MARA: (as Erica Albright) OK. Well, I want to try and be straightforward with you and let you know that we're not anymore.
EISENBERG: (as Mark Zuckerberg) What do you mean?
MARA: (as Erica Albright) We're not dating anymore. I'm sorry.
EISENBERG: (as Mark Zuckerberg) Is this a joke?
MARA: (as Erica Albright) No, it's not.
EISENBERG: (as Mark Zuckerberg) You're breaking up with me?
MARA: (as Erica Albright) You're going to introduce me to people I wouldn't normally have the chance to meet. What the - what is that supposed to mean?
EISENBERG: (as Mark Zuckerberg) Wait. Settle down.
MARA: (as Erica Albright) What is it supposed to mean?
EISENBERG: (as Mark Zuckerberg) Erica, the reason we're able to sit here and drink right now is because you used to sleep with the door guy.
MARA: (as Erica Albright) The door guy? His name is Bobby. I have not slept with the door guy. The door guy is a friend of mine, and he's a perfectly good class of people. And what part of Long Island are you from, Wimbledon?
EISENBERG: (as Mark Zuckerberg) Wait.
MARA: (as Erica Albright) I'm going back to my dorm.
EISENBERG: (as Mark Zuckerberg) Wait, wait. Is this real?
MARA: (as Erica Albright) Yes.
EISENBERG: (as Mark Zuckerberg) OK, then wait. I apologize, OK?
MARA: (as Erica Albright) I have to go study.
EISENBERG: (as Mark Zuckerberg) Erica?
MARA: (as Erica Albright) Yes?
EISENBERG: (as Mark Zuckerberg) I'm sorry. I mean it.
MARA: (as Erica Albright) I appreciate that, but I have to go study.
EISENBERG: (as Mark Zuckerberg) Come on. You don't have to study. You don't have to study. Let's just talk.
MARA: (as Erica Albright) I can't.
EISENBERG: (as Mark Zuckerberg) Why?
MARA: (as Erica Albright) Because it is exhausting. Dating you is like dating a StairMaster.
EISENBERG: (as Mark Zuckerberg) All I meant is that you're not likely to - currently. I wasn't making a comment on your appearance. I was just saying that you go to BU. I was stating a fact. That's all. And if it seemed rude, than of course I apologize.
MARA: (as Erica Albright) I have to go study.
EISENBERG: (as Mark Zuckerberg) You don't have to study.
MARA: (Erica Albright) Why do you keep saying I don't have to study?
EISENBERG: (Mark Zuckerberg) Because you go to BU.
DAVIES: And that's Jesse Eisenberg and Rooney Mara in the film "The Social Network," directed by our guest David Fincher. And our other guest, Kevin Spacey, was an executive producer on that project.
David Fincher, I know you've been asked about this scene a lot, and it's been written that there were - you did 99 takes with these two actors. And, you know, directors have different approaches. Do you do that a lot because you're working towards a particular performance that you want to get, or is it that you like to have a lot of options when you get to the cutting room? Can you just talk about that little?
FINCHER: Well, this is something that's been blown out of proportion over the last couple of...
FINCHER: We shot the opening scene. The opening scene in the movie was incredibly important to setting the tone and the pace, and it was a wonderful character introduction for two very important characters. And it's the first of the bookends that make up the arc of this relationship. But the 99 takes is over six setups, or something like that. So it's, like, 15, 20 takes, maybe, per set. And getting actors to talk over each other...
DAVIES: Mm-hmm...
FINCHER: ...in a way that you can actually use and then edit is - it's difficult. It's tricky, because you're committed, you know, you're committed - if they're going to - if they're literally going to interrupt each other, you're committed to that take, that performance of somebody stepping on somebody else's dialogue. So that was - that's why we shot as many takes as we did.
SPACEY: First of all, he is right. It's not 99 takes of one camera, in one place. It is - you know, there are a lot of directors who will do lots and lots of setups, but very few takes. David doesn't do as many setups, but he does more takes.
And part of what I feel when he's doing that - and I like working this way - is that, you know, he's pushing you in a certain direction. He's having you go in a different direction this way. He's having you try a new meaning, a new approach to a line of dialogue in this way.
And frankly, the other truth is actors bring a lot of complicated accessories to the set. And some of those accessories are gestures, and some of those assessors are, oh, I found a kind of cute way of saying a line, or I like the way my voice does this or I'm going to use this Coke can to do this. And I think sometimes what David - it feels like - he's looking for is the cleanest, streamlined version of the idea that the character is trying to express, and the way in which that character would express it. And he's just simply, at a certain point, beating the acting out of you.
SPACEY: And I'm quite grateful for that as I look at, you know, particularly the cuts of "House of Cards" and the episodes that we've done, that there is an absolute clarity. And I think it's true in "Social Network," as well. There's an extraordinary cleanness to those characters. It's not encumbered by a lot of actorisms, which people often get away with, and frankly, shouldn't be allowed to get away with. And so I'm very grateful that someone's on the set being the master of his craft.
FINCHER: If my job is ostensibly just to record something, then what you're talking about is, you know, inflicting hardship and pain on people. But it's not. My job is to coerce a behavioral response that, when it's re-contextualized, when a slice of it is taken and put and butted up against another behavioral response, it's supposed to create this sense of - you know, in the case of that opening scene from "Social Network," there are a lot of things that play. You want to get the idea that these people know each other, that they are, they've been intimate with one another. They have a - you know, they are all kinds of things that have to be, you have to get glimpses of. And so to get all those little colors and nuances, sometimes you have to - you know, the best actors in the world working things out, you know, at home in their bathtubs...
FINCHER: ...or as they brush their teeth in the mirror, that's perfectly valid. And then there's also the day of, where they come in and the lights are there, and 90 people are watching them. And you kind of you want to be able to push them around so that they respond in ways that they, you know, maybe didn't give themselves credit for.
SPACEY: And I have to say that I know that I'm better at my job when I'm directed. I'm not better at my job when I'm left to my own devices.
DAVIES: Right.
SPACEY: Because what that means is that it's not that I don't trust my instincts. It's that my instincts sometimes are the wrong element for that particular scene at that particular moment, that particular delivery. And so I really love it when someone is there with an extremely sharp knife and cutting away all the fat.
DAVIES: We're speaking with Kevin Spacey and David Fincher, and we'll talk more after this short break. This is FRESH AIR.
DAVIES: If you're just joining us, we're speaking with director David Fincher and actor Kevin Spacey. They're both involved in the new series "House of Cards," a political thriller which is on Netflix. David Fincher is the executive producer and directed the first two episodes, and Kevin Spacey plays the lead character.
I want to talk about an earlier collaboration between the two of you. That's the film "Seven," which goes back, gosh, almost 20 years now. This is a ghastly murder mystery, in a way. And I wanted to hear a scene near the end of the film. And if anybody's concerned about a spoiler alert from a 1995 film, run from your radio. But I'm going to give away some of the plot, here.
This is a case of two detectives investigating a series of grisly and creative murders. And each one of them represents one of the seven deadly sins, and the murders are crafted to conform to punish the sinner. There's a glutton who's killed in a certain way. Late in the film, the murderer - played by Kevin Spacey - has surrendered and agreed to take the two detectives, played by Morgan Freeman and Brad Pitt, to find the final two bodies. So in this scene, they're in their car on the way to this discovery, and we're hearing Brad Pitt and Morgan Freeman talk to the killer, played by Kevin Spacey, who's in the backseat of the police car handcuffed. And we'll hear Kevin Spacey as the killer, speak first.
SPACEY: (as John Doe) Nothing wrong with a man taking pleasure in his work. I won't deny my own personal desire to turn each sin against the sinner.
BRAD PITT: (as Detective David Mills) Wait a minute. I thought all you did was kill innocent people.
SPACEY: (as John Doe) Innocent? Is that supposed to be funny? An obese man, a disgusting man who could barely stand up, a man who, if you saw him on the street, you'd point him out to your friends so that they could join you in mocking him? A man who if you saw him while you were eating, you wouldn't be able to finish your meal? And after him, I picked the lawyer, and you both must have secretly been thanking me for that one. This is a man who dedicated his life to making money by lying with every breath that he could muster to keeping murderers and rapists on the streets.
PITT: (as Detective David Mills) Murderers?
SPACEY: (John Doe) A woman...
PITT: (Detective David Mills) Murderers, John, like yourself.
SPACEY: (John Doe) A woman so ugly inside that she couldn't go bear to go on living if she couldn't be beautiful outside? A drug dealer. A drug-dealing pederast, actually. And let's not forget the disease-spreading whore. Only in a world this (bleep) could you even try to say these were innocent people and keep a straight face. But that's the point. We see a deadly sin on every street corner, in every home, and we tolerate it. We tolerate it because it's common. It's trivial. We tolerate it morning, noon and night. Well, not anymore.
DAVIES: And that's our guest Kevin Spacey in the film "Seven," directed by our other guest, David Fincher. You know, after hearing that interesting conversation between the two of you about the collaboration between a director and an actor, I wonder if you could both just talk a little bit about working together and getting this performance.
FINCHER: Well, this is, I mean, the scene that you just played the snippet from was probably one of the worst possible scenarios for directors and actors because it involved a car in the sun, with all of these lights hanging off it and trying to find a road long enough that you could have a scene that take - that is this elaborate. And, you know, I mean...
SPACEY: And then you add all the sounds.
FINCHER: ...handcuffs.
SPACEY: Yeah. I'm handcuffed in the back of the seat. You have every sound that the car makes and all of the attending equipment around the car that's on the car. So you know you're going to end up...
FINCHER: People walking and talking.
SPACEY: You're going to end up looping - you know, meaning re-recording - your dialogue later, you know, in a studio. All I remember, really, is, is in that scene, David said to me at some point, look. I've done a lot of the work up to this point because, you know, the audience is going to have seen - you know, the sort of interesting thing about "Seven" is you don't actually see any...
FINCHER: Anything.
SPACEY: ...act at all. You see the aftermath. And he said, so they're going to be kind of teed up for this. So if you just don't drool, we might get away with this.
FINCHER: But, I mean, it was truly hellish. I mean, it was Palmdale and in summer, and it was about 140 degrees in this car. And we had as many cameras as we could possibly stick in it. And still...
SPACEY: And Brad and I were very tired, because we had to sit up very late the night before working on the scene. We were working really hard on the sort of the back-and-forth in that scene. So we were both kind of exhausted as we shot it. That's what I remember about that.
FINCHER: Yeah. And there was driving. We'd drive for, like, five or six miles down this road, and then stop and have to turn this entire ridiculous caravan around...
SPACEY: Around.
FINCHER: ...and go back to the beginning. And...
SPACEY: And do it again.
FINCHER: Yeah. And we've fixed this, though. On "House of Cards," all of our driving takes place in this very beautiful, air-conditioned green screen room so that actors can get in and out of the cars very simply and...
SPACEY: And we can say the dialogue that is actually going to be in the series, rather than having to go re-loop all of it.
DAVIES: So I'm sure there weren't dozens of takes of this. But, I don't know, Kevin Spacey, do you...
SPACEY: Oh, there were a lot.
DAVIES: There were a lot of takes.
FINCHER: Yeah.
SPACEY: Yeah, there were a lot.
DAVIES: Well, do either of you just want to talk a little bit about this character? I mean, what's fascinating about it, this guy is a monster, but obviously doesn't see himself as a monster at all. I mean, there's...
FINCHER: Well, this is the...
DAVIES: ...you have to get inside his head and make him, you know, believable.
FINCHER: But this is the thing about, I mean, I always think an argument is better on screen when everybody's right.
DAVIES: Hmm.
FINCHER: When every person who's involved is - can righteously say this is what I believe in and this is what I think is true and you can kind of scratch your chin and go, oh, he does have somewhat of a point.
DAVIES: One other question about "Seven": You know, in "Seven," Kevin Spacey, you don't appear in the opening credits to the movie. This was your idea, right?
SPACEY: It was. And although it was, I think, about a three or four-day fight with Newline Cinema because they, of course, at that point, didn't understand what I was arguing. But what I was arguing was I had just shot a series of films that I knew would be coming out before "Seven."
And I thought if any of those films do well, or if I emerge from any of those films in any way, and I felt those roles in those films might give me that opportunity - one was called "Swimming with Sharks," and the other was called "The Usual Suspects" - that I was concerned that if an audience sat in a movie theater and it said, you know, Brad Pitt, Morgan Freeman, Gwyneth Paltrow and Kevin Spacey in - right, however those billings would have been - that you were then - if people would either know the name or had seen that someone was playing this role, then you'd be waiting for that person to show up.
And I felt like it might be better for the film that an audience has absolutely no idea who John Doe is, and that there's no sense of who's coming. And so that when that character first appears onscreen, two things would happen. Oh, my God. There he is. And who's playing him? And anyway, ultimately, I did win that argument. And I think I took the first credit at the end credits of the film. And I think it worked really well in terms of keeping that mystery going for audiences.
FINCHER: Yeah. And it is the great trick of that movie, what Andrew did was - you know, and I remember reading it for the first time. I've said this before, but it is - it's an interesting thing, because as a director the only enjoyment you ever get of the movie that you're making is the first time you read it. Because then the rest of it is just fractally subdividing issues and problems and hurdles that have to be overcome. But your only enjoyment of it is the first time you sort of hold it in your hand, the only time you get to experience it as the audience.
SPACEY: And is it - do you find that it's also - that the process is also like you're trying to get back to that first feeling you had when you first read it? That's the experience you want the audience to have.
FINCHER: Right. And this is the - this becomes really interesting when somebody goes, here, would you read this script? Because you kind of have to make room for experiencing that. If you really want to get - you have to have a kind of - you know, it has to sort of be a powerful first reckoning with the material when you first finish it, because you're going to constantly be drawing on what that felt like.
And I remember reading - I remember holding in my hand and knowing that I had 15 pages left. I could hold it in my right hand, and I'd gone through 100 pages with my left hand. And I was reading the script, and all of a sudden, here comes John Doe, and he gives himself up. And I thought: If I'm in a movie theater, I'm going to be asking myself, this movie could just be beginning.
FINCHER: I could have made the halfway point. What is going on? You can't do this. Well, I knew that that wasn't the case, and I was so curious as to how is this going to get tied up. And then the only pages that I know still exist - unless they didn't send me - no, it says the end at the end here. I'm like, it actually is the - but I always felt that that was the greatest thing about it, was you definitely got a feeling in the story that we're never going to catch this guy. We're never going to meet him. We're never going to know who he is. And these guys will never get in front of this train. They will never be able to change the course of this. And then when he shows up, for a moment, you get this idea that they could actually kind of wrest control of this whole thing back. And then, of course, all is lost.
DAVIES: Right.
FINCHER: But that is - it's an interesting - it was for me was...
SPACEY: Yeah. And for me, when I read it and then ultimately did it, it's so fascinating to play a character that actually doesn't show up until, like, the last two reels of the film.
FINCHER: Yeah. And when he does, he kind of goes, oh, by the way, here. Let me help you with those handcuffs.
SPACEY: Yeah.
FINCHER: And you go oh, no. Don't cuff him. And it's - if he wants it, don't give it to him.
DAVIES: Well, Kevin Spacey, David Fincher, good luck on the series. And I want to thank you so much for spending some time with us.
SPACEY: Thank you.
FINCHER: Thank you.
DAVIES: Kevin Spacey stars in and David Fincher is executive producer of the Netflix series "House of Cards," which premiers tomorrow. Coming up, Kevin Whitehead reviews a new box set featuring jazz drummer Jack DeJohnette. This is FRESH AIR.
DAVE DAVIES, HOST: In 1979, jazz drummer Jack DeJohnette founded a new band called Special Edition. Our jazz critic Kevin Whitehead says it was one of the great bands of the 1980s, not least because DeJohnette wrote such good tunes. Their first four albums are in a new box set. Here's Kevin's review.
KEVIN WHITEHEAD, BYLINE: Jack DeJohnette's "Ahmad the Terrible" by his band Special Edition, from a new box collecting their first four albums. Two of those are gems, and the other two have their moments. DeJohnette's quartet/quintet was fronted by smoking saxophonists on the way up, set loose on catchy riffs and melodies.
The springy rhythm section could tweak the tempos like no one this side of '60s goddess Laura Nyro. "Ahmad the Terrible" is named for pianist Ahmad Jamal, another Chicago jazzer who mixes progressive ideas with good tunes and a good beat. The saxophonists here are Chico Freeman on tenor and John Purcell on baritone.
WHITEHEAD: In Special Edition, Jack DeJohnette sometimes played keyboards, as well as drums. On the band's classic debut, he often reached for his breath-controlled electric melodica. That handheld keyboard that didn't sound like much on its own, but it could fill out the harmonies when the band morphed into a chamber quartet, with Peter Warren bowing his bass or cello.
As composer, DeJohnette mined a movement in contemporary music that was leaking into jazz then: minimalism, with its layered repetitions, a different kind of riffing energy.
WHITEHEAD: The saxophonists in that first 1979 version of Special Edition were two Los Angeles transplants making a big dent in New York: Arthur Blythe there on alto, and David Murray on tenor and bass clarinet. In that quartet, minimalism, swing riffs, collective improvising and rhythm and blues got tied into one neat package. This is from DeJohnette's "Zoot Suite," with Peter Warren's simple, but irresistible bass line.
WHITEHEAD: It wasn't always that good. Jack DeJohnette also liked to sing a little, as in his early '70s band Compost, and still needed to get that out of his system. He revived Compost's "Inflation Blues" over a reggae groove jazz musicians had just begun to master by the early '80s. As blues singer, DeJohnette's main influence seems to be England's John Mayall.
JACK DEJOHNETTE: (Singing) But they won't find the solutions to win this confusion. That's why I sing these inflation blues.
WHITEHEAD: Jack DeJohnette, with Rufus Reid on bass. The four albums in ECM's Special Edition box take the band to 1984. DeJohnette kept the band going into the early '90s, now as a quintet, with hot new saxophonists Greg Osby and Gary Thomas, and more electronics. Jack DeJohnette still plays some Special Edition classics with his current touring band, and no wonder: Their best tunes are timeless.
DAVIES: Kevin Whitehead writes for Point of Departure, Downbeat and emusic, and is the author of "Why Jazz?" He reviewed Jack DeJohnette's Special Edition on the ECM label. You can download podcasts of our show at freshair.npr.org. Follow us on Twitter @nprfreshair, and on Tumblr at nprfreshair.tumblr.com.
Transcripts are created on a rush deadline, and accuracy and availability may vary. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Please be aware that the authoritative record of Fresh Air interviews and reviews are the audio recordings of each segment.


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Product details
About the Hotech SCA T-Adapter - 1.25"...
Announcing the Hotech Self-Centering Camera T-Adapter for Astrophotographers. The Self-Centering Adapter (SCA) mechanism provides repeatable and reliable connection between your telescope and the camera. The SCA T-Adapter fits any make telescope that uses 2" or 1.25" focuser or visual back. Use your existing T-Ring matches your brand of camera and thread onto the SCA T-Adapter.
SCA Brings your Camera to the Closest Optical Axis in the Drawtube/Visual back for BEST Imaging Result! To capture great images from your telescope, it is essential to position your camera firmly in and on the optical axis of your drawtube/visual back. The Hotech SCA T-Adapter center loads your camera in the drawtube/visual back with a simple threading of a compression ring forcing the built-in rubber rings outward radially, thereby centering the camera in the drawtube/visual back for optimal installation.
SCA Eliminates Drawtube/Visual Back Slop: All drawtube/visual back have manufacturing tolerances. And it requires larger diameter to accept various eyepieces and adapters. When the camera adapter is inserted, the gap between the drawtube/visual back and the inserting device became a slop problem. The rubber rings in the Hotech SCA T-Adapter expand radially according to users own adjustment to fill the gaps. This makes your camera seats firmly in your drawtube/visual back becoming part of your telescope for a secure and repeatable installation.
SCA Eliminates unstable locking from thumbscrew or unified compression ring: The optical axis is shifted when the inserting device is locked in by thumbscrew. In some cases, some poorly made unified compression ring can cause unstable tilt when locking in the drawtube due to loose tolerances between the compression ring, inner groove, and the uneven tip of the locking thumbscrew in a drawtube. The Hotech SCA T-Adapter adapts your camera without using the thumbscrew or the unified compression ring.
SCA Accepts the Imperfection of a Drawtube/Visual Back: Small imperfection inside the drawtube like dents and scratches, the rubber rings fill the gaps and faithfully centers your camera in the tube. In addition, even if the drawtube is slightly deformed in diameter, egg-shape, the rubber rings in the Hotech SCA T-Adapter will compensate the differences and faithfully centers your camera.
Short SCA Profile Prevents Oscillation: Short profile design keeps the installed camera stable from low frequency oscillation transferred from the telescope in a windy environment. The back focus of a 2" Hotech SCA T-Adapter is 19mm(0.75") and 1.25" SCA T-Adapter is 18mm (0.71") measured from drawtube shoulder to the bottom T-Thread.
SCA Damps Vibration: The all-around adjustable tightness rubber contact damps unwanted vibrations from the telescope provides you a sturdy attachment on your telescope for a stable image capture.
SCA Accepts Filter Thread: 2" T-Adapter has built-in 2" (48mm) filter thread, and 1.25" Hotech SCA T-Adapter has built-in 1.25" filter thread.
Hotech SCA T-Adapter - 1.25" Features...
- Ideal precision prime focus T-Adapter for your astro imaging
- SCA Provides 360 deg. rubber square rings contact for the most secure and reliable adaption in your focuser
- SCA Brings your Camera to the Closest Optical Axis in the Drawtube/Visual back for BEST Imaging Result
- SCA Eliminates Drawtube/Visual Back Slop
- SCA Eliminates unstable locking from thumbscrew or unified compression ring
- SCA Accepts the Imperfection of a Drawtube/Visual Back
- Short SCA Profile Prevents Oscillation
- SCA Damps Vibration
- SCA Accepts Filter Thread
Hotech SCA T-Adapter - 1.25" Specifications...
Equipment Type: T-Adapter
Application: Photographic
Size: 1.25"
Threaded: Yes
Hotech Product Number: SCA-TA125

subset: commoncrawl


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In the midst of this pandemic, you may have found yourself among the 63 percent of Americans working from home. A recent Gartner poll predicts that 48 percent of workers will continue to work remote at least part time even when it's safe to physically return to work again.
Of course, working from home has pros and cons. It also raises serious questions like what would happen if an employee becomes injured while performing work at home.
Workers' compensation (often shortened to workers' comp) laws and requirements vary by state, but generally, any business that has employees must have workers' compensation insurance coverage. It helps cover medical care and lost wages for an employee who is hurt at work.
With many employees working from the kitchen table or the home office, it helps to know how workers' compensation can kick in. (As always, talk to your local ERIE agent for questions about your specific policy.)
Will Workers' Compensation Cover An Employee If They Get Injured While Working From Home?
If an employee is hurt on work premises, they're typically covered by the employer's workers' compensation policy. Workers' compensation provides coverage for injury or disease employees sustain in the course and scope of employment. It applies regardless of negligence, with workers' compensation laws varying by state.
Most telecommuters are still covered under their employers' workers' compensation coverage, whether full-time remote workers or temporary due to pandemic stay-at-home orders.
"It's important to remember that workers' compensation insurance isn't tied to a building," says Leo Heintz, vice president of commercial products at ERIE. "It follows you wherever you go, subject to the policy conditions, while you're at work."
What Are Common Injuries That Can Happen When Working From Home?
Common injuries telecommuting office workers experience include carpal tunnel syndrome; back sprains and strains; and slips, trips and falls. The injury or disease typically has to arise out of a work-related activity to be covered under workers' comp.
"Injuries are possible even if you have a desk job," Heintz said. "That's why it's important to practice the same good ergonomic activities at your home office as you do when at your regular office. Simple things like good posture and remembering to take time and stretch, or getting up and walking around, can make all the difference."
Questions about your coverage? We're here for you. Talk to your local ERIE agent for a coverage review or a quote that includes workers compensation.
A better insurance experience starts with ERIE.
Haven't heard of us? Erie Insurance started with humble beginnings in 1925 with a mission to emphasize customer service above all else. Though we've grown to reach the Fortune 500 list, we still haven't lost the human touch.
Contact Trent Insurance Agency today to experience the ERIE difference for yourself.


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By searching you agree to the Terms of Use
All measurements and all calculations of area (i.e., Sq Ft and Acreage) are approximate. Broker has represented to MetroList that Broker has a valid listing signed by seller authorizing placement in the MLS. Above information is provided by Seller and/or other sources and has not been verified by Broker. Copyright 2024 MetroList Services, Inc.
Listings marked with V* indicate the seller is willing to entertain offers within a Listing Price range. For example, a Price of $140,000-$170,000 indicates the seller will entertain offers from $140,000 to $170,000.
Listing information last updated on June 30, 2024, 11:17 pm PDT


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Hustler® - Right Hand - Aluminum Propeller - LE1/LE2-1411- 3-Blade - 14" x 11 Pitch
Turning Point has built their reputation on a relentless focus on engineering the best performing aluminum propellers in the World. Utilizing state-of-the-art Squeeze Casting technology, they produce Hustler 3 Blade Propellers that run as fast as their competitors' Stainless Steel Props, and even sometimes faster! Super stiff metallurgy, unique blade geometry, aggressive pitch, rake, and cup all give you the best they can offer: Stainless Performance at Aluminum Prices! Not only does top speed, handling and hole shot improve, but also mid-range performance, which will save you a ton in gas usage. If you want the most your boat and engine combination can offer, then the Hustler 3 Blade delivers.
The Three Blade Hustler is great for boaters looking to get the most top end out of their boat, and offer excellent bow lifting capabilities. Four blade props accelerate faster, exhibit stern lift, handle rough or following seas better, and maintain speed better as you load the boat down with gear or people. Three blade props run better on pontoons, while four blades and three blades both run well on tri-toons (recent testing has shown that pontoons and tri-toons run better with larger blade diameters than runabout or bass boat hulls).
Squeeze Cast for Added Strength
Stainless steel performance is built into the Hustler Aluminum prop line. This is achieved through unique blade geometry and an exclusive Turning Point manufacturing process, Squeeze Casting. This process generates the highest mechanical properties attainable in a cast aluminum prop resulting from high density tighter grain structure. Stiffer blades means less flex and a faster prop. Competitors' Aluminum propellers are manufactured utilizing old Die-Cast process that produces props with air bubble, voids, and granularity. Weak, lack of strength and stiffness. Difficult to repair. Blades Flex under load, inefficient, loss of propulsive efficiency.
Long Lasting Ultracoat™ Powder Coated Finish
Exclusive to Turning Point, the Ultracoat powder coat rivals a fine automotive finish, and is more durable than paint. Utilizing a state-of-the-art five step process, Ultracoat gives the propeller a shiny, uniform appearance that enhances any boat's good looks. This is the Gold Standard in Aluminum Corrosion Protection. Prop looks Newer Longer! Compared to Competitors' 4 step Paint and Coating Processes that result in much less abrasion and corrosion resistance.
Large Free Flowing Exhaust Ports
Turning Point's Propeller Housings have massive Exhaust flow pathways. Their Propellers have 40% more exhaust flow Area versus competive product. More exhaust flow and less backpressure can generate more horsepower. Like headers for your boat.
Turning Point manufactures Hustler propellers to fit 6-300+hp Evinrude®, Force®, Honda®, Johnson®, Mariner®, Mercruiser®, Mercury®, Nissan®, OMC®, Parsun®, Suzuki®, Tohatsu®, Volvo® Penta®, and Yamaha® Outboards and Sterndrives. Choose one of our Lifetime Warranty MasterGuard Installation Kits to fit your engine, then choose the propeller that matches your boating requirements. There are 3 and 4 blade, left and right rotation prop models with a variety of diameter and pitch options available for almost all boat types. Turning Point's Props Run Faster, Pull Harder, and Handle Better.
Note: A Hub Kit is required for installation of this propeller. See the Turning Point Selection Chart or the Prop Wizard™ for hub kit selection.
WARNING: This product can expose you to chemicalsincluding CARBON BLACK which is known to the State of California to cause cancer, and LEAD which is known to the State of California to cause cancer, birth defects or other reproductive harm. For more information go to P65Warnings.ca.gov.
Manufacturer : Turning Point Propellers
Manufacturer Part No : 21431111


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Earnest money is money put down to demonstrate your seriousness about buying a home. It must be substantial enough to demonstrate good faith and is usually between 1-5% of the purchase price (though the amount can vary with local customs and conditions). If your offer is accepted, the earnest money becomes part of your down payment or closing costs. If the offer is rejected, your money is returned to you. If you back out of a deal, you may forfeit the entire amount.
Listen to your real estate agent's advice, but follow your own instincts on deciding a fair price. Calculating your offer should involve several factors: what homes sell for in the area, the home's condition, how long it's been on the market, financing terms, and the seller's situation. By the time you're ready to make an offer, you should have a good idea of what the home is worth and what you can afford. And, be prepared for give-and-take negotiation, which is very common when buying a home. The buyer and seller may often go back and forth until they can agree on a price.
Your real estate agent will assist you in making an offer, which will include the following information:
Remember that a sale commitment depends on negotiating a satisfactory contract with the seller, not just making an offer.
It's not required, but it's a good idea. Following the inspection, the home inspector will be able to answer questions about the report and any problem areas. This is also an opportunity to hear an objective opinion on the home you'd like to purchase and it is a good time to ask general, maintenance questions.
An inspector checks the safety of your potential new home. Home Inspectors focus especially on the structure, construction, and mechanical systems of the house and will make you aware of only repairs that are needed.
The Inspector does not evaluate whether or not you're getting good value for your money. Generally, an inspector checks (and gives prices for repairs on): the electrical system, plumbing and waste disposal, the water heater, insulation and Ventilation, the HVAC system, water source and quality, the potential presence of pests, the foundation, doors, windows, ceilings, walls, floors, and roof. Be sure to hire a home inspector that is qualified and experienced.
It's a good idea to have an inspection before you sign a written offer since, once the deal is closed, you've bought the house "as is." Or, you may want to include an inspection clause in the offer when negotiating for a home. An inspection clause gives you an "out" on buying the house if serious problems are found or gives you the ability to renegotiate the purchase price if repairs are needed. An inspection clause can also specify that the seller must fix the problem(s) before you purchase the house.
There isn't a set number of houses you should see before you decide. Visit as many as it takes to find the one you want. On average, homebuyers see 15 houses before choosing one. Just be sure to communicate often with your real estate agent about everything you're looking for. It will help avoid wasting your time.
In addition to comparing the home to your minimum requirement and wish lists, you may want to consider the following:
Take your time and think carefully about each house you see. Ask your real estate agent to point out the pros and cons of each home from a professional standpoint.
The lender considers your debt-to-income ratio, which is a comparison of your gross (pre-tax) income to housing and non-housing expenses. Non-housing expenses include such long-term debts as car or student loan payments, alimony, or child support. The lender also considers cash available for down payment and closing costs, credit history, etc. when determining your maximum loan amount.
The two don't really compare at all. The one advantage of renting is being generally free of most maintenance responsibilities. But by renting, you lose the chance to build equity, take advantage of tax benefits, and protect yourself against rent increases. Also, you may not be free to decorate without permission and may be at the mercy of the landlord for housing.
Owning a home has many benefits. When you make a mortgage payment, you are building equity. And that's an investment. Owning a home also qualifies you for tax breaks that assist you in dealing with your new financial responsibilities- like insurance, real estate taxes, and upkeep- which can be substantial. But given the freedom, stability, and security of owning your own home, they are worth it.
You can find out by asking yourself some questions:
If you can answer "yes" to these questions, you are probably ready to buy your own home.


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CMV or cytomegalovirus retinitis is a vision threatening virus that causes inflammation of the retina, primarily in individuals with a compromised immune system, such as those with AIDS (Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome).
Symptoms of CMV Retinitis
Symptoms of CMV retinitis often appear relatively suddenly. They include general blurriness, seeing flashes or floaters, sudden loss of peripheral (side) vision, or blind spots in central vision. These symptoms all appear as the virus attacks the retina, the light-sensitive layer of nerves at the back of the eye. If left untreated, the virus can cause retinal detachment and will eventually destroy the retina and damage the optic nerve, causing permanent vision loss. Usually there is no pain felt as the retinal damage is taking place. Symptoms usually start in one eye and but can spread to the other eye as well.
Causes of CMV Retinitis
Cytomegalovirus is a herpes type virus that is actually present in most adults. However, most healthy adults never experience any symptoms or problems from the virus. Individuals with a weakened immune system however, such as those with AIDS, chemotherapy or leukemia patients, newborns or the elderly are at greater risk of the virus being activated and spreading throughout the body, including the retina.
Treatment for CMV Retinitis
Treatment includes antiviral medications such as ganciclovir, foscarnet or cidofovir, which can be administered orally, via injection through a vein or directly into the eye or through a time-release implant the releases the medication at intervals. Laser surgery to improve the damaged area of the retina, such as in a retinal detachment, may also be prescribed.
Immune strengthening is also a critical part of preventing and treating CMV retinitis. Individuals with HIV or AIDS may be put on a regimen of highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) to boost the immune system and fight the virus. This has been shown to be highly effective in reducing the incidence of CMV retinitis in AIDS patients and reducing the damage for those that are affected.
While these treatments can stop further damage to the retina, any vision that is lost cannot be restored. Further, even if the virus is temporarily stopped, further progression may occur in the future. This is why it is critical to see a retinal specialist on a regular basis if you have had the condition or you are at risk.


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The Advantages of Hiring a Custom Home Builder
Homeowners have many options when it comes to building the house of their dreams. There are several companies that build and design homes based on a system. When a new housing area is constructed, the company will take from 3 to 5 basic plans and build the same homes in different patterns and slight modifications. The disadvantage of this approach is that the homeowner doesn't get a home built specifically to their needs and desires. Also, the homeowner does not get to take an active part in the construction of their home. This takes away from the unique quality that can be achieved with a custom-built home.
When a custom home builder is hired, the homeowner can get exactly what they want and invest in a home that will bring them returns of quality and enjoyment. If you have purchased our own tract of land to put your home on, a custom builder will be better able to fit the home into the surroundings and the desired placement that you want. You also get to work one-on-one with the builder and crew, having control over every detail from the type of wood used on your floor to the size and shape of the home's windows.
This level of control also assures that you are getting the best quality products put it into the construction of your home. For someone with a physical disability, using a custom home builder can be the wisest choice. For an individual in a wheelchair, the home will need to have wider doorways, ramps, appliances and counter tops set up at special levels for accessibility. A custom-built home can provide all of this, and the builder may suggest other special modifications to make life easier for the individual with a disability.
These home builders also do not have large lists of projects going throughout the season. The smaller amount of projects they take on allows them to give more time and attention to each homeowner and house. For those who would like a home built to their needs and not from a cookie-cutter mold, hiring a custom home builder is the best choice they can make.


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The Story of Creation.* 1In the beginning, when God created the heavens and the eartha— 2* and the earth was without form or shape, with darkness over the abyss and a mighty wind sweeping over the waters—b
3Then God said: Let there be light, and there was light.c 4God saw that the light was good. God then separated the light from the darkness. 5God called the light "day," and the darkness he called "night." Evening came, and morning followed—the first day.*
6Then God said: Let there be a dome in the middle of the waters, to separate one body of water from the other. 7God made the dome,* and it separated the water below the dome from the water above the dome. And so it happened.d 8God called the dome "sky." Evening came, and morning followed—the second day.
9Then God said: Let the water under the sky be gathered into a single basin, so that the dry land may appear. And so it happened: the water under the sky was gathered into its basin, and the dry land appeared.e 10God called the dry land "earth," and the basin of water he called "sea." God saw that it was good. 11f Then God said: Let the earth bring forth vegetation: every kind of plant that bears seed and every kind of fruit tree on earth that bears fruit with its seed in it. And so it happened: 12the earth brought forth vegetation: every kind of plant that bears seed and every kind of fruit tree that bears fruit with its seed in it. God saw that it was good. 13Evening came, and morning followed—the third day.
14Then God said: Let there be lights in the dome of the sky, to separate day from night. Let them mark the seasons, the days and the years,g 15and serve as lights in the dome of the sky, to illuminate the earth. And so it happened: 16God made the two great lights, the greater one to govern the day, and the lesser one to govern the night, and the stars.h 17God set them in the dome of the sky, to illuminate the earth, 18to govern the day and the night, and to separate the light from the darkness. God saw that it was good. 19Evening came, and morning followed—the fourth day.
20i Then God said: Let the water teem with an abundance of living creatures, and on the earth let birds fly beneath the dome of the sky. 21God created the great sea monsters and all kinds of crawling living creatures with which the water teems, and all kinds of winged birds. God saw that it was good, 22and God blessed them, saying: Be fertile, multiply, and fill the water of the seas; and let the birds multiply on the earth.j 23Evening came, and morning followed—the fifth day.
24k Then God said: Let the earth bring forth every kind of living creature: tame animals, crawling things, and every kind of wild animal. And so it happened: 25God made every kind of wild animal, every kind of tame animal, and every kind of thing that crawls on the ground. God saw that it was good. 26l Then God said: Let us make* human beings in our image, after our likeness. Let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, the birds of the air, the tame animals, all the wild animals, and all the creatures that crawl on the earth.
27God created mankind in his image;
in the image of God he created them;
male and female* he created them.
28God blessed them and God said to them: Be fertile and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it.* Have dominion over the fish of the sea, the birds of the air, and all the living things that crawl on the earth.m 29* n God also said: See, I give you every seed-bearing plant on all the earth and every tree that has seed-bearing fruit on it to be your food; 30and to all the wild animals, all the birds of the air, and all the living creatures that crawl on the earth, I give all the green plants for food. And so it happened. 31God looked at everything he had made, and found it very good. Evening came, and morning followed—the sixth day.o
* [1:1–2:3] This section, from the Priestly source, functions as an introduction, as ancient stories of the origin of the world (cosmogonies) often did. It introduces the primordial story (2:4–11:26), the stories of the ancestors (11:27–50:26), and indeed the whole Pentateuch. The chapter highlights the goodness of creation and the divine desire that human beings share in that goodness. God brings an orderly universe out of primordial chaos merely by uttering a word. In the literary structure of six days, the creation events in the first three days are related to those in the second three.
1. | light (day)/darkness (night) | = | 4. | sun/moon |
2. | arrangement of water | = | 5. | fish + birds from waters |
3. | a) dry land | = | 6. | a) animals |
b) vegetation | b) human beings: male/female |
The seventh day, on which God rests, the climax of the account, falls outside the six-day structure.
Until modern times the first line was always translated, "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth." Several comparable ancient cosmogonies, discovered in recent times, have a "when…then" construction, confirming the translation "when…then" here as well. "When" introduces the pre-creation state and "then" introduces the creative act affecting that state. The traditional translation, "In the beginning," does not reflect the Hebrew syntax of the clause.
* [1:2] This verse is parenthetical, describing in three phases the pre-creation state symbolized by the chaos out of which God brings order: "earth," hidden beneath the encompassing cosmic waters, could not be seen, and thus had no "form"; there was only darkness; turbulent wind swept over the waters. Commencing with the last-named elements (darkness and water), vv. 3–10 describe the rearrangement of this chaos: light is made (first day) and the water is divided into water above and water below the earth so that the earth appears and is no longer "without outline." The abyss: the primordial ocean according to the ancient Semitic cosmogony. After God's creative activity, part of this vast body forms the salt-water seas (vv. 9–10); part of it is the fresh water under the earth (Ps 33:7; Ez 31:4), which wells forth on the earth as springs and fountains (Gn 7:11; 8:2; Prv 3:20). Part of it, "the upper water" (Ps 148:4; Dn 3:60), is held up by the dome of the sky (vv. 6–7), from which rain descends on the earth (Gn 7:11; 2 Kgs 7:2, 19; Ps 104:13). A mighty wind: literally, "spirit or breath [ruah] of God"; cf. Gn 8:1.
* [1:5] In ancient Israel a day was considered to begin at sunset.
* [1:7] The dome: the Hebrew word suggests a gigantic metal dome. It was inserted into the middle of the single body of water to form dry space within which the earth could emerge. The Latin Vulgate translation firmamentum, "means of support (for the upper waters); firmament," provided the traditional English rendering.
* [1:26] Let us make: in the ancient Near East, and sometimes in the Bible, God was imagined as presiding over an assembly of heavenly beings who deliberated and decided about matters on earth (1 Kgs 22:19–22; Is 6:8; Ps 29:1–2; 82; 89:6–7; Jb 1:6; 2:1; 38:7). This scene accounts for the plural form here and in Gn 11:7 ("Let us go down…"). Israel's God was always considered "Most High" over the heavenly beings. Human beings: Hebrew 'ādām is here the generic term for humankind; in the first five chapters of Genesis it is the proper name Adam only at 4:25 and 5:1–5. In our image, after our likeness: "image" and "likeness" (virtually synonyms) express the worth of human beings who have value in themselves (human blood may not be shed in 9:6 because of this image of God) and in their task, dominion (1:28), which promotes the rule of God over the universe.
* [1:27] Male and female: as God provided the plants with seeds (vv. 11, 12) and commanded the animals to be fertile and multiply (v. 22), so God gives sexuality to human beings as their means to continue in existence.
* [1:28] Fill the earth and subdue it: the object of the verb "subdue" may be not the earth as such but earth as the territory each nation must take for itself (chaps. 10–11), just as Israel will later do (see Nm 32:22, 29; Jos 18:1). The two divine commands define the basic tasks of the human race—to continue in existence through generation and to take possession of one's God-given territory. The dual command would have had special meaning when Israel was in exile and deeply anxious about whether they would continue as a nation and return to their ancient territory. Have dominion: the whole human race is made in the "image" and "likeness" of God and has "dominion." Comparable literature of the time used these words of kings rather than of human beings in general; human beings were invariably thought of as slaves of the gods created to provide menial service for the divine world. The royal language here does not, however, give human beings unlimited power, for kings in the Bible had limited dominion and were subject to prophetic critique.
* [1:29] According to the Priestly tradition, the human race was originally intended to live on plants and fruits as were the animals (see v. 30), an arrangement that God will later change (9:3) in view of the human inclination to violence.
a. [1:1] Gn 2:1, 4; 2 Mc 7:28; Ps 8:4; 33:6; 89:12; 90:2; Wis 11:17; Sir 16:24; Jer 10:12; Acts 14:15; Col 1:16–17; Heb 1:2–3; 3:4; 11:3; Rev 4:11.
d. [1:7] Prv 8:27–28; 2 Pt 3:5.
e. [1:9] Jb 38:8; Ps 33:7; Jer 5:22.
g. [1:14] Jb 26:10; Ps 19:2–3; Bar 3:33.
h. [1:16] Dt 4:19; Ps 136:7–9; Wis 13:2–4; Jer 31:35.
l. [1:26–27] Gn 5:1, 3; 9:6; Ps 8:5–6; Wis 2:23; 10:2; Sir 17:1, 3–4; Mt 19:4; Mk 10:6; Jas 3:7; Eph 4:24; Col 3:10.
m. [1:28] Gn 8:17; 9:1; Ps 8:6–9; 115:16; Wis 9:2.
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