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After taking the oath of office administered by Washington State Supreme Court Justice James Johnson, the Senate's newest member, Sen. Sharon Brown, R-Kennewick, affirmed her desire to bring to state government the values that have made the Tri-Cities successful. Brown, who served as Kennewick mayor pro tem until her recent appointment to fill the 8th Legislative District Senate seat vacated by former Sen. Jerome Delvin, R-Richland, was flanked by husband Fraser Hawley and daughter Kenzie during her swearing-in ceremony Monday.
"It is truly an honor to represent the people of the 8th Legislative District, and it is my intention to educate some of my western Washington colleagues about ways the Tri-Cities have succeeded in the hope that what we've done can serve as a statewide model," Brown said. "During my four years as a city councilor I have seen firsthand how decisions made in Olympia don't always translate well across the rest of Washington, and I want to add my voice to the chorus working on behalf of our central and eastern Washington residents."
Brown will serve on the Senate Agriculture, Water and Rural Economic Development Committee, the Energy, Environment and Telecommunications Committee, the Early Learning and K-12 Education Committee, and the Transportation Committee. Aside from serving on the Kennewick City Council, in her professional life, Brown is an attorney for Hanford subcontractor Longnecker & Associates.
Brown has five children. Her twin 24-year-old sons have degrees from Washington State University, her youngest son is an engineering student at the University of Washington, her oldest daughter is attending Colby College in Maine, and her youngest daughter is a junior at Hanford High School. Brown graduated from Franklin Pierce Law Center in New Hampshire.
"I also thank Jerome Delvin for all his years of public service," Brown continued. "His leadership and dedication to the people of the 8th District have been exemplary and I hope to continue the tradition of always being available to my constituents. My door will remain open and I look forward to speaking with everyone about the issues facing our great state."
Delvin was elected in November to the Benton County Commission and stepped down from the state Senate on Friday. Brown's office phone number will remain the same as Delvin's, 360-786-7614 or 800-562-6000.

subset: commoncrawl


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t's no longer news that Artificial Intelligence (AI) will be a driving force behind the Fourth Industrial Revolution, with the global economic returns of this revolution expected to be in the region of about $16 trillion.
Along with these returns, AI is also expected to create 2.3 million new jobs by 2020, according to Gartner.
However, if we look at previous revolutions, history shows us that these revolutions have always been accompanied by a brief transition of temporary job loss followed by a period of recovery where job creation moves into more positive territory.
This means that we all need to take steps now to prepare AI in the future...
Combining STEM with the arts
Young people have a leg up on those already in the working world because they can easily develop the necessary skills for these new roles. It's therefore essential that our education system constantly evolves to equip youth with the right skills and way of thinking to be successful in jobs that may not even exist yet.
As the division of tasks between man and machine changes, we must re-evaluate the type of knowledge and skills imparted to future generations.
For example, technical skills will be required to design and implement AI systems, but interpersonal skills, creativity and emotional intelligence will also become crucial in giving humans an advantage over machines.
"At one level, AI will require that even more people specialise in digital skills and data science. But skilling-up for an AI-powered world involves more than science, technology, engineering and math. As computers behave more like humans, the social sciences and humanities will become even more important. Languages, art, history, economics, ethics, philosophy, psychology and human development courses can teach critical, philosophical and ethics-based skills that will be instrumental in the development and management of AI solutions." This is according to Microsoft president, Brad Smith, and EVP of AI and research, Harry Shum, who recently authored the book "The Future Computed", which primarily deals with AI and its role in society.
Interestingly, institutions like Stanford University are already implementing this forward-thinking approach. The university offers a programme called CS+X, which integrates its computer science degree with humanities degrees, resulting in a Bachelor of Arts and Science qualification.
Read more...
Recommended Reading
|The Future Computed is available here
Source: CNBCAfrica.com


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LaRue Across America: Postcards From the Vacation by Mark Teague. Blue Sky Press / Scholastic (March 2011); ISBN 9780439915021; 40 pages
Book Source: Review copy from publisher
"Dear Mrs. Hibbins,
My ship has sailed, and with it all hopes of a pleasant resolution to this unhappy saga. Traveling instead by car, we have left the coast far behind. I see now why the ship's captain, in his wisdom, refused to accept cats. The creatures simply do not travel well!"
With a name like LaRue, you're bound to hit the road on a cross-country adventure at least one or twice in your life. In LaRue Across America, the hilarious letter-writing pup, Ike LaRue is all ready for the perfect summer vacation -- a cruise to Mexico with his owner, Mrs. LaRue. Unfortunately, the neighbor lady ends up in the hospital and kindhearted Mrs. LaRue offers to take care of her two cats until she recovers.
The cats aren't allowed on the cruise ship, so Mrs. LaRue decides that a cross-country vacation across America is a nice alternative. Ike, not at all excited about the car trip with two cats, writes a series of desperate letters to Mrs. Hibbins during the trip, urging her to "end the fiasco" and take her cats back. The group departs from Snort City, N.Y., and they stop in several states (New York, Connecticut, Ohio, Michigan, Wisconsin, South Dakota, Iowa, Missouri, Kansas, Colorado, Arizona) before reaching Death Valley, California, an unfortunate place to visit in the middle of July. LaRue nearly gives up hope for a happy end to a "terrible journey."
Everyone that has endured a trip with bickering family members will be able to sympathize with Ike and the cats. The canine and felines fight over beds, cause disruptions at landmarks, and cheat at road games. Ike even pulls the "my side, your side" stunt by dividing the back seat with masking tape to mark territory. It's a classic cats versus dogs storyline, paired with some great illustrations by the talented Teague. All the images of the cats taunting Ike are super funny!
The book is also a bit educational as the endpapers depict a map of the U.S. and provide a way for readers to follow the madcap escapade across the mainland. While some of the places they visit are real like the Empire State Building and the Grand Canyon, many of the destinations are entirely fictitious, for reasons unclear. As far as I know, Bazooka, Wisconsin, does not exist and neither does Pea Gravel, South Dakota. While the names are funny, I would have preferred that Teague showcase more actual sights across America. There are plenty of bizarre destinations like Witches Gulch in Wisconsin Dells he could have worked into the story. I realize it's only meant to be humorous, but it seems Teague portrays the Midwest poorly in the book calling the Great Lakes "fraudulent" and making a stay in Wisconsin sound less than desirable. Plus, Madison, Wisconsin, is depicted a little too far east on the map in the book! Thankfully, Ike's clever, crafty letters are so much fun to read, it's hard to feel offended. That dog is quite an intellectual and a good dramatic writer, despite his selfish motives. Fans of the other LaRue series books will certainly enjoy Ike's newest adventure -- best for kindergarten on up.
I printed off a blank map of America for my daughter to color in as we read the book together. In total, Ike stops in 12 states. The book provided her with a fun way to explore our country and learn about the location of various states.
Scholastic has graciously offered to give away (2) copies of LaRue Across America to two different readers.
To enter this contest, leave a comment relevant to this post. Dog or cat fan?
• For contact purposes, if you are a non-blogger or your email is not accessible in your blog profile, please leave a valid email address within the comment section.Three ways to gain extra entries (Maximum total entries is 4; please leave a separate comment for each entry):
• Contest is open to US
• Contest ends on Monday, April 4th, 2011 at 11:59 PM CST.
• Winner will be chosen at random and sent an email notification.
1st extra entry: Blog about this contest then post your link in the comment section.
2nd extra entry: Follow me on twitter (iambrimful) and tweet about the contest.
3rd extra entry: Follow Me! or subscribe by email or RSS reader
I am an Amazon affiliate and may receive a very small commission for products purchased through my Amazon links. (View my full disclosure statement for more information about my reviews.)


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Halloween (2018) R
play trailer
Play Trailer
Play Trailer
Jamie Lee Curtis returns to her iconic role as Laurie Strode, who comes to her final confrontation with Michael Myers, the masked figure who has haunted her since she narrowly escaped his killing spree on Halloween night four decades ago.
1 hr. 46 min.
Opened October 19th, 2018
Rated R for horror violence and bloody images, language, brief drug use and nudityCastJamie Lee Curtis, Judy Greer, Will Patton, Nick Castle, Andi MatichakDirectorDavid Gordon GreenWriterDavid Gordon Green
Danny McBride


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A week from college football's end-of-season reckoning and Kansas State and Oregon, ranked first and second respectively in the BCS standings going into today's games, have taken their first losses of the season. The defeats likely pave the way for a new BCS leader in (gulp) Notre Dame, a 38-0 winner today against Wake Forest. They also open the door for Alabama—a surprise winner in its afternoon walk-through against Western Carolina—to re-enter the picture for the national championship. Notre Dame and Alabama both owe Baylor and Stanford big time.
Stanford has plenty to play for—as Kirk Herbstreit and Brent Musburger noted, they control their own destiny, and now actually have the same conference record as Oregon—but Baylor (5-5, 2-5 in the Big 12) was just playing spoiler. They played it terrifyingly well, jumping out to a 28-7 lead on #1 Kansas State and consistently stifling Heisman candidate Collin Klein. They ceded part of that lead before halftime—it was 28-17 after two—but it wasn't Kansas State's night. The Bears rolled, picking up 342 yards on the ground, picking off Klein three times, and winning 52-24. The BCS computers are a complex beast, but a 28-point late season loss to an unranked and underperforming Baylor team may hurt Kansas State's positioning somewhat.
Stanford and Oregon played a more pitched battle. Earlier in the day, we noted that the teams' strengths—Oregon, the best offense in the country, Stanford, the 12th best defense—contrasted and that, as announcers and analysts the world over demand, something would have to give. Something did: Oregon's offense, averaging a shade under 55 points per game, and around 660 yards, managed 14 points on 405 yards. Another Heisman candidate was stymied in Eugene: Kenjon Barner rushed for 66 yards. In the end, however, the difference could be found in the feet of the two kickers: Stanford's Jordan Williamson went 1/2 on field goals, including the game-winning make in overtime, while Oregon's Alejandro Maldonado, rarely called upon this season, missed his two tries, including one off the uprights that could have won it.
Above, the play that upended Oregon's season: Kevin Hogan to leading Stanford receiver Zach Ertz, on a catch that wasn't a catch until the refs spent some time in the replay booth really thinking about it. Stanford plays formidable UCLA next week away, while Oregon goes to Oregon State to face a team that's currently in the midst of a beat down of Cal. If both teams win, Stanford will own the tiebreak in the Pac-12 North.
If you weren't already excited for the last week of the college football season, look at it this way: a bunch of suddenly equal and really good teams are battling it out to make sure Notre Dame loses in the national championship game.


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Lawrence Technological University's Doctor of Engineering in Mechanical Engineering (DEME) can prepare you to work at the highest levels of the engineering profession and develop strong skills as a life-long learner.
The DEME is designed to provide you with the professional skills to:
- Expand your knowledge of specific technical disciplines in your field of study
- Apply advanced scientific principles in solving engineering challenges
- Enhance your leadership and management abilities
- Prepare you to perform independent research
Lawrence Tech is at the center of the nation's #1 region for engineering and technology and one of the world's most technologically advanced manufacturing hotspots. At LTU, you will learn from highly qualified faculty with extensive professional experience, many of whom currently work in industry. These experts possess an abundance of real-world experience to enhance your learning.
The DEME program also draws practicing engineers from around the world who represent many leading manufacturers and suppliers, exposing you to exceptional networking opportunities.
The DEME accommodates your interests by giving you the choice to specialize in one of the following areas:
• Automotive
• Manufacturing
• Mechatronics
• Solid Mechanics, Dynamics, Vibrations
• Thermal Fluids
Most DEME candidates have two advisors: an academic advisor who provides state-of-the-art knowledge about engineering principles and an industrial advisor who provides significant industrial experience and support. This signature "theory and practice" education makes LTU graduates some of the most sought-after engineers in the area.
The DEME program also is designed to accommodate your busy schedule. All core courses have sections offered in the evening, giving you the greatest flexibility.
Students applying for admission to the program are required to meet the following criteria:
- Hold a Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering or an equivalent degree in a related field from an accredited college or university. Exceptional students with an earned Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering may be considered for direct admission into the doctoral program. Please contact the program director.
- Have earned an overall GPA of at least 3.3 (B+) on a 4.0 scale in the Master of Science degree. Students with lower GPAs may be accepted on a provisional basis as described below.
- Provide official transcripts of all completed college work.
- Submit an Application for Doctoral Admission (a minimum of two months before the beginning of the term in which the applicant expects to enroll).
- Submit three letters of recommendation: two from professors who have directly evaluated the student's academic performance during previous degrees and one from a corporate supervisor.
- Submit a research statement describing subject(s) of interest.
- Non-native speakers of English must document English proficiency upon entry to the program (TOEFL minimum 550 or IELTS minimum 6.0).
Students with a graduate GPA lower than 3.3 may be admitted on a provisional basis. They will be evaluated for continuation upon completion of nine (9) credits of graduate course work. This evaluation is conducted by the director of the Doctor of Engineering in Mechanical Engineering program, the chair of the Department of Mechanical, Robotics, and Industrial Engineering, and the associate dean of graduate studies and research. The department chair will notify the student in writing of the outcome. If a student is not permitted to continue work toward the DEME, then he or she is expected to terminate his or her studies within the department. The student may petition the decision to the Doctoral Governance Committee of the College of Engineering within one week of receiving written notification. The decision of the Doctoral Governance Committee is final.
Students with an engineering master's degree in a field other than Mechanical Engineering and who have a GPA of at least 3.3 on a 4.0 scale may be admitted on a provisional basis. The program director and program advisor(s) will define the prerequisite requirements.
Your 57-credit-hour program consists of:
|Core Courses
|Engineering Analysis II
|Electives (select eight from the following areas)
|Solid Mechanics, Dynamics, and Vibrations
|Thermal Fluids
|Doctoral Dissertation
In order to satisfy degree requirements, the student must also pass:
- Preliminary Examination
- Final Qualifying Examination
- Dissertation Defense.
Lawrence Tech will allow a maximum of 6 credits of qualified graduate level coursework to be transferred from other institutions. An applicant transferring in from another institution with special circumstances will be evaluated on a case by case basis.
Complete information on admissions, financial aid, and university housing is available from the Office of Admissions:
|800.CALL.LTU, ext. 1
Additional information on the Doctor of Engineering in Mechanical Engineering program is available from the Program Directors:
|Badih A. Jawad, PhD
|Engineering Building E34
|Phone: (248) 204-2550
|Email: firstname.lastname@example.com BIO
|Liping Liu, PhD
|Assistant Director
|Engineering Building E38
|Phone: (248) 204-2528
|Email: email@example.com BIO


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NEWS- Mayhem on Fairway: Details emerge in city shooting
A week after a shooting on Fairway Avenue, one victim is dead, three suspects are in custody, and many questions remain– not just about the shooting, but about the suspects' alleged crime spree that preceded it.
At around 2:45pm on Tuesday, April 8, shots rang out as a white Dodge minivan careered down Fairview Avenue toward Meade Avenue and crashed into a chainlink fence. Three victims in the van were taken to UVA Medical Center– two with gunshot wounds, one with an injured foot. Two were released that day; the third, 29-year-old Shawn Anthony Luck, died of his wounds on Saturday.
Although a witness believed the shots were fired from another car, on Tuesday April 15, police contradicted that account. The shooting, they said, had taken place inside the van, and the car seen by the witness had been identified and excluded as the source of the shots.
According to Charlottesville Police Sgt. Mark Brake, the other van victims– 28-year-old Curtis Tyrell Montague of Richmond and 27-year-old Jada Marie Dubrose Dickerson– were also the culprits. The third alleged culprit, 22-year-old Candace Marie Williams, was uninjured in the incident. She, along with Montague and Dickerson, has been charged with first degree murder, use of a firearm in commission of a murder, and robbery.
Although Brake won't identify the actual shooter or the individuals' locations in the van, the charges may contain a clue: Montague alone has been charged with possession of a firearm as a felon.
As police combed the woods and yards along Fairview the afternoon of the shooting, they discovered that firearm– a chrome revolver with a wooden handle– in a mulch pile on the south side of the road about 100 yards from where the van crashed. That discovery, coupled with other evidence, according to Brake, allowed Charlottesville police to issue arrest warrants for all three. Montague and Williams were arrested at Montague's Henrico County home on Sunday, April 13; Dickerson was arrested the same day in Charlottesville.
In addition to the charges stemming from the shooting and robbery, all three face multiple charges relating to an armed robbery and abduction in the 700 block of Ridge Street near Lankford Avenue on the morning of April 8, hours before the Fairway shooting. Brake says police don't believe Luck was involved in the crimes.
Montague and Williams appeared in Charlottesville District Court on Wednesday, April 16 for a bond hearing (after this paper's deadline). Dickerson's first hearing is scheduled for May 1 at 1pm in Charlottesville District Court.


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Brent Lang wrote:Venom and the Green Goblin should start getting ready for their close-ups because Sony Pictures Entertainment Co-Chairman Amy Pascal hinted that the studio is planning spin-off adventures for supporting character in its "Spider-Man" franchise.
"We are going to access Marvel's full world of Spider-Man characters, so be on the lookout for new heroes and villains," Pascal said during a presentation to investors on Thursday.
Sony licenses the web-spinner from Marvel, which is owned by the Walt Disney Company, but it has the rights to make films from the characters who orbit, aide and do battle with Peter Parker and his alter-ego Spider-Man. These include popular villains like Rhino and Electro, as well as anti-heroines like Black Cat.
Given that the four "Spider-Man" films have made north of $3 billion worldwide, it makes sense that Sony would want to find ways to further exploit the comic books, much the way Fox is doing with "X-Men" and the "Wolverine" films.
The studio has already rebooted the wall-crawler one time, swapping out the original franchise team of Sam Raimi and Tobey Maguire for new director and star Marc Webb and Andrew Garfield with 2012′s "The Amazing Spider-Man."
The next film in the series, "The Amazing Spider-Man 2″ hits theaters next May, with Jamie Foxx playing Electro and Paul Giamatti taking on the role of Rhino.
Here's the full announcement:
Alex Kurtzman, Roberto Orci, Jeff Pinkner, Ed Solomon, and Drew Goddard to Collaborate with Marc Webb and Producers Avi Arad and Matt Tolmach on Developing the Universe and Expanding the Story in "The Amazing Spider-Man 3," "Venom," and "The Sinister Six"
CULVER CITY, Calif., December 12, 2013 – In a move to forge a new legacy in the story of Peter Parker on screen, Sony Pictures Entertainment, in association with Marvel Entertainment, is developing several new projects in the Spider-Man franchise, with Alex Kurtzman, Roberto Orci, Jeff Pinkner, Ed Solomon, and Drew Goddard to collaborate on overseeing the developing story over several films that will be produced by Avi Arad and Matt Tolmach, it was announced today by Doug Belgrad, president of Columbia Pictures, and Hannah Minghella, president of Production for the studio.
The five writers, along with the two producers and Marc Webb, have formed a franchise brain trust to expand the universe for the brand and to develop a continuous tone and thread throughout the films. Under the deals, the studio announced that Kurtzman & Orci & Pinkner are writing the screenplay for The Amazing Spider-Man 3, which the studio hopes Webb will return to direct; the film will go into production next fall for release on June 10, 2016. In addition, the team will build on the cinematic foundation laid by Webb, Arad, and Tolmach in the first two movies. They will expand the franchise as Kurtzman & Orci & Solomon will write the screenplay for Venom, which Kurtzman will direct; also, Goddard will write, with an eye to direct, The Sinister Six, focusing on the villains in the franchise. Hannah Minghella and Rachel O'Connor will oversee the development and production of these films for the studio.
In tapping these five writers, the studio and the producers are guiding the future of the franchise with the writer/producers who have each played significant and key roles in developing such highly successful franchises, films, and series as Star Trek, Transformers, "Alias," "Fringe," Men in Black, Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure, World War Z, "Lost," Cloverfield, The Cabin in the Woods, and Marvel's upcoming "Daredevil" series.
Commenting on the announcement, Belgrad said, "The Spider-Man film franchise is one of our studio's greatest assets. We are thrilled with the creative team we have assembled to delve more deeply into the world that Marc, Avi and Matt have begun to explore in The Amazing Spider-Man and The Amazing Spider-Man 2. We believe that Marc, Alex, and Drew have uniquely exciting visions for how to expand the Spider-Man universe in each of these upcoming films."
Arad and Tolmach added, "This collaboration was born out of the great experience we and Marc had working with Alex, Bob, and Jeff on The Amazing Spider-Man 2. With more than fifty years' wealth of stories in the comic books to draw upon for inspiration, the Spider-Man universe is truly boundless; in addition, the Spider-Man comics have the greatest rogues gallery of any series, and to have the chance to explore that on film is truly thrilling. Until now, we have approached each film as a separate, self-contained entity, but with this move, we have the opportunity to grow the franchise by looking to the future as we develop a continuous arc for the story. That is what Alex, Bob, Jeff, Ed, and Drew will do in this unprecedented collaboration, and we're excited about the directions they are taking the character and the world."
Dave McNary wrote:The new projects include a pair of villain-based films — "Venom" and "The Sinister Six." Sony made the announcement late Thursday night.
Kurtzman will direct "Venom" from a script he's writing with Orci and Solomon. Goddard will write "The Sinister Six" with an eye to direct.
Roth Cornet wrote:The Amazing Spider-Man 2, Transformers, and Star Trek writer and producer Roberto Orci has a full plate with Sleepy Hollow on FOX, third and fourth sequels for The Amazing Spider-Man, Venom, and Sinister Six in development - among other things. We were able to sit down with the prolific writer and producer recently to talk about his new series Matador for Robert Rodriguez's new network El Rey (more on that soon).
During the course of our conversation, we touched on what's ahead for The Amazing Spider-Man franchise, as well as his thoughts on the approach they may take for Venom and Sinister Six.
Alexandra Cheney wrote:Jeff Robinov already has offers from Chinese financiers and other investors for more than $100 million to launch his new production company, say those familiar with the matter.
The former Warner Bros. pic chief is looking to raise a total of $200 million to $300 million in equity and an equal amount in debt.
Variety has just learned that ongoing negotiations with billionaire industrialist Len Blavatnik to be the lead investor are over, according to a well-placed source close to the situation.
The 55-year-old Robinov is also in deep discussions with Sony Pictures about signing on as an investor in his shingle and to market and distribute his movies.
Robinov is ideally looking to raise a sizable fund of independent money to produce a slate of films that would complement a studio's annual lineup. The executive has also talked to Fox about a studio partnership, but he's more likely to land at Sony.
Amid an increasingly strained economic climate in which production and marketing costs continue to rise, studios are reducing the number of films they bankroll on their own. Partnering up with a self-funded production company such as Robinov's helps mitigate some of that risk.
During his tenure at Warner's, Robinov had the authority to decide which films would get greenlit at Hollywood's largest studio. Prior to leaving the studio last June after losing a bid for the chairmanship to home entertainment chief Kevin Tsujihara, he oversaw such hit movies as "Gravity," "Argo" and the "Harry Potter" franchise. His years of relationships with top filmmakers and access to stars makes Robinov attractive to investors.
Josh Wilding wrote:With the Venom movie, with the Sinister Six movie, there's a certain name not on the title. Are we going to see Spider-Man crop up or is it the start of the supervillain movie?
We'll see. That would be an enormous spoiler I cannot give you. I'll just say that anything is possible. That's the fun of that, and that is what you see in some of those Marvel movies. Once you sort of decide to open up the universe, the rules go out of the window and you get to have fun. So, without actually answering the question, we'll see what happens!
Have there been any discussions, at any level, about any character swinging by to say "Hi!" in a [Marvel] movie?
We talk about everything all the time, but Marvel and Disney and Sony are obviously two very different companies. As great as it would be, the truth is no. Right now, we are working with the characters in the Spider-Man universe, and there are tons of them. The question everyone asks, 'Is Spider-Man going to show up in The Avengers?', that's not a plan for now. Right now, the truth about Spidr-Man is that he swings along. That's his plight, so it's not happening anytime soon.
You've got a lot of villains in the universe, how many other heroes have you got?
If you look for example at Venom, I think knee-jerk people thing, 'Venom! A villain!' Really? Venom is a character who has this innate sense of goodness and justice, so there are lots of characters who can be a little bit of both. So, when you start talking about a Sinister Six movie, is it just going to be all bad guys? No. There's complexity to all of them, and that's part of the fun we're having right now as we're building it. Some characters are way worse - badder - than others. There's a lot you can do. There are some guys who are redeemable, and some who are really horrible.
Ribbons wrote:
ANITA BUSCH wrote:Lynton talked about an expansion of the Spider-Man universe in 2013, saying that they were going to create a number of spinoffs including Sinister Six and one revolving around the Venom character which first appeared in Spider-Man 3 and was portrayed by Topher Grace. The Venom movie — which we hear is entitled Venom Carnage — is still said to be in development with old pros Alex Kurtzman and Ed Solomon scripting. The Venom pic, which Kurtzman will direct, may also now come out in 2017.
Charles Webb wrote:
As Sony has begun to build their own cinematic universe around Spider-Man, one man has been there through it all as one of its architects: writer and producer Alex Kurtzman. Somewhere between a female-driven spinoff and a potential "Sinister Six" movie, Kurtzman has his own assignment: bringing anti-hero "Venom" to the big screen.
Kurtzman was on hand at the Paley Center For Media's red carpet premiere for CBS's "Scorpion" (which he produces) in advance of its premiere September 22 on CBS. While there, MTV News asked the producer about the appeal of Spider-Man's black-suited enemy.
"The idea," Kurtzman explained, "is that you can do things with Venom that you can't do with Spider-Man."
Making his appearance all the way back in "Amazing Spider-Man" #299 (1986), Venom, for the uninitiated, is disgraced reporter Eddie Brock and the transforming alien costume that bonded with him. Both have a grudge against Peter Parker, and they're not afraid to terrorize, or kill anyone around him for a little payback. At the same time, Venom/Brock weirdly thinks of himself as a hero, making the occasional jump over to the good guys' side.
While it's not currently known whether Brock, Venom's later identity Flash Thompson, or some third iteration will be featured in the movie, it does seem that the character will share at least some DNA with his comic book counterpart.
"Venom is the representation of every line that will get crossed," Kurtzman said. "He's a much darker character."
When it comes to comparing what Sony is doing with "Amazing Spider-Man," and what Marvel is accomplishing with its cinematic universe, Kurtzman said he thinks his team has a bit of a head start, one that has allowed the Spider-verse to evolve.
"You know, Spider-Man has the benefit of having so many more movies than even some of the movies that have 2′s and 3′s in front of them from Marvel," Kurtzman explained.
And even though he's not currently involved with the still-planned "Amazing Spider-Man 3," Kurtzman did have some advice on how the main franchise could continue.
"I think as long as it keeps staying true to character, and true to who Peter is, and putting him in interesting and complicated situations, it'll survive," Kurtzman suggested. "Because it's so beloved – everybody loves Spider-Man."
Devin Faraci wrote:Yesterday HitFix's Drew McWeeny [url="http://www.hitfix.com/motion-captured/marvels-making-big-plans-beyond-avengers-3-and-its-making-hollywood-crazy"]dropped a little bombshell[/url]:While I can't get the confirmations I need to verify the story, I'm hearing that there are some very cool "Spider-Man" plans being discussed that would help Sony refocus their enormously important franchise while also opening up some connections in the onscreen Marvel movie universe that would blow fandom's minds. Will it work out? I don't know. I would love to be able to state for sure that it's happening. What seems clear from what I've heard is that Marvel wants to be able to play with all of their characters, and if they can make that work creatively and on a corporate level, they will, and that means the world gets bigger again.
Spider-Man coming into the Marvel Cinematic Universe? That's a big deal. But get this: it's the THIRD DIFFERENT Spider-Man plan I've heard in the last week. Other things I've heard from insiders:
- Sony is going to soft reboot Spider-Man with The Sinister Six, having a new actor playing a Spidey who works with the villains The Dirty Dozen style to take down a larger threat.
- Sony is going to put Spider-Man on the shelf for four or five years and see if they can develop any of the side characters into their own franchises.
I've also heard that Venom is functionally dead again.
SCOTT WAMPLER wrote:Maybe you've noticed that James Cameron as not begun filming Avatar 2, and you've found yourself wondering how the hell he intends to meet that December, 2018 release date. Maybe you've been thinking that seems unlikely.
Well, James Cameron agrees:"Well, 2018 is not happening," he told The Star ... "We haven't announced a firm release date. What people have to understand is that this is a cadence of releases. So we're not making Avatar 2. We're making Avatar 2, 3, 4 and 5. It's an epic undertaking. It's not unlike building the Three Gorges dam. (Laughs) So I know where I'm going to be for the next eight years of my life. It's not an unreasonable time frame if you think about it. It took us four-and-a-half years to make one movie and now we're making four. We're full tilt boogie right now. This is my day job and pretty soon we'll be 24-7. We're pretty well designed on all our creatures and sets. It's pretty exciting stuff. I wish I could share with the world. But we have to preserve a certain amount of showmanship and we're going to draw that curtain when the time is right."
NICOLE SPERLING wrote:
Looks like you're going to have to wait a little longer to see Jason Momoa in his standalone Aquaman movie.
Warner Bros. announced Thursday that they've postponed the release date of the James Wan-directed feature two months from Oct. 5, 2018 to Dec. 21, 2018.
Of course, this won't be the first time fans see Momoa as the D.C. Comics hero. He made a brief appearance in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, and will appear again in this fall's Justice League, set for release on Nov. 17.
A Christmas release for Aquaman does indicate the studio's confidence in the film, a good sign considering other D.C. releases seem to be in some kind of tumult, including shifting directors on upcoming Flash and Batman projects.
Now the movie, which costars Nicole Kidman, Amber Heard, and Patrick Wilson, will go up against Sony's animated Spider-Man flick.
Aquaman was previously competing against Sony's other big bet: the next chapter in the Lisbeth Salander story, The Girl in the Spider's Web, which will be directed by Fede Alvarez (Don't Breathe), but has yet to cast its new protagonist.
Brent Lang wrote:Venom is heading to the big screen. Spider-Man's nemesis, sharp of fang, flexible of morals, will get his own adventure, Sony said on Thursday. The spin-off film will swing into theaters on Oct. 5, 2018. Venom is a favorite of comic fans; the alien has long terrorized the web-slinging hero.
To make room, Sony will move "The Girl in the Spider's Web," Fede Alvarez's "Dragon Tattoo" reboot from Oct. 5 to Oct. 19. It will face off against "Jungle Book: Origins," Warner Bros.' take on the Rudyard Kipling stories, and an untitled film from Blumhouse, the low-budget horror purveyor behind "The Purge" and "Get Out."
The release shuffle took place hours after Warner Bros. moved "Aquaman" from its Oct. 5 to Dec. 21, 2018. The studio was filling a holiday season hole left by "Avatar 2's" delays.
David Fincher's "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" made $232.6 million globally, but was a financial disappointment given its $90 million budget and millions more spent on advertising. Alvarez, who scored with last year's "Don't Breathe," is re-casting the lead roles of super sleuth Lisbeth Salander and crusading journalist Mikael Blomkvist, previously played by Rooney Mara and Daniel Craig.
The studio is also sprucing up its Spider-Man films. "Spider-Man: Homecoming" will debut this summer, with Tom Holland taking over the web-spinner role from Andrew Garfield. The idea is to focus on a more youthful Spidey as he tries to balance saving the world with being a high-schooler. Sony has long harbored ambitions to better exploit the universe of Spider-Man characters that it licenses from Marvel Comics. At one point, the studio wanted to make a standalone Sinister Six film, focused on assorted Spider-Man villains, but that plan was shelved after "The Amazing Spider-Man 2" failed to be a global blockbuster, sending Sony back to the drawing board.
Scott Rosenberg ("Jumanji") and Jeff Pinkner ("The Dark Tower") will write the script for the Venom film, with Avi Arad and Matt Tolmach producing the picture.
STEVE 'FROSTY' WEINTRAUB wrote:A few days ago, a pretty wild fan theory about the upcoming sci-fi thriller Life hit Reddit. Given that the story of the film revolves around astronauts coming into contact with the first extraterrestrial life in space, this Reddit theory asked whether Life was actually a secret Venom origin story. At first I laughed about it. After all, there is no way Sony could make it to almost the opening day of a movie without people knowing what it actually was, and the project was put together by Skydance before Sony even came onboard and Skydance certainly doesn't own the rights to the Marvel Comics character. But then I remembered only a few weeks ago I sat down to watch M. Night Shyamalan's Split and was blown away by that film's ending, which revealed Split to be a secret sequel to another film entirely. Moreover, when I interviewed Life screenwriters Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick a few years ago, they told me about their version of the Venom script Sony had been developing after Spider-Man 3.
Immediately I emailed Sony for comment. Almost instantly they emailed me back debunking the theory. While personal publicists occasionally won't tell you the truth about their client, I've never had a studio deny something and then find out later it's true. It's just not how they operate. So, like I said, when the studio debunked the fan theory outright I was done with it.
But then, almost a day after I asked Sony about that rumor, the studio announces an October 5, 2018 release date for a Venom movie. This was surprising to say the least.
After spending the day at the Life junket in Austin, Texas and talking with all the key people involved, I can tell you with certainty what the studio told me is still true: it's just a wild fan theory.
But when I sat down with Life director Daniel Espinosa, I still wanted to know what he thought about this crazy theory. Check out what he had to say in the player above. He also talked about his love of comic books, Marvel, and how when he was growing up, being into comics meant something completely different than it is nowadays.
Look for my full interview with Daniel Espinosa in a few days.
Ribbons wrote:...and all of a sudden I give a shit about this movie:
Tom Hardy to Play Venom
Al Shut wrote:Qualifies easily as best news I've heard all year
DAVE TRUMBORE wrote:Tom Hardy has shrugged off his Bane costume for an alien symbiote if the latest reports regarding Sony's planned Venom film are to be believed. You'll remember that Sony is eager to kick off their own shared cinematic universe based on their rights to Spider-Man and 900 some odd characters, dubbed Sony's Marvel Universe. We now have an idea of what the intended R-rated kick-off to this universe will look like thanks to the news that not only will Hardy star in the title role as Eddie Brock, but that Ruben Fleischer (Zombieland, Gangster Squad) will direct.
The news broke via press release with multiple trades reporting that the Oscar-nominated Hardy and Fleischer are in final negotiations for Venom. This comes as good news considering that Sony has set the picture for an October 5, 2018 release date. And though Sony is working hand-in-hand with Marvel Studios to feature the more familiar wall-crawler in Spider-Man: Homecoming this July 7th, Venom is going to launch the studio's own 'verse' that won't be connected to the MCU in any way. Production is expected to start this fall.
Hardy, who will next be seen in Christopher Nolan's Dunkirk, will undoubtedly fully inhabit the role of Eddie Brock. He's been known to dive deep into such characters as the psychotic Charles Bronson, the charming Eames from Inception, the damaged veteran/fighter Tommy Conlon in Warrior, and the tough-as-nails Forrest Bondurant in Lawless … and yes, the mumbling terrorist Bane in The Dark Knight Rises. Now Hardy makes the shift to the Marvel side of things and will likely enjoy a lot of CG-heavy action on screen as Venom, the counterpart to the relatively mild-mannered Eddie Brock. Plot details remain quiet, however, so it'll be a while before we figure out how this movie is shaping up, and just what Fleischer will bring to the table.
As for the post-Venom pictures in the Sony Marvel Universe, screenwriter Chris Yost (Thor: Ragnarok) will write the script for a pitch on Spider-Man characters Black Cat and Silver Sable, building on a previous version of the script from Lisa Joy (Westworld); Matt Tolmach and Amy Pascal will produce the film previously known as the "secret female spin-off project."
Scott Rosenberg (Jumanji) and Jeff Pinkner (The Dark Tower) are writing the script for Venom, with Avi Arad, Matt Tolmach, and Amy Pascal as producers. Palak Patel and Eric Fineman will oversee the production for Columbia Pictures.
"Well those movies will all take place in the world that we are now creating for Peter Parker. They'll be adjuncts to it, it may be different locations but it will still all be in the same world, and they will be connected to each other as well."
"There's a chance [that Peter Parker will appear]. There's always a chance. I think one of the things that Kevin has done with Marvel that was so brilliant is by bringing the fans along and making each movie seem like a chapter in a book, that you have to read that chapter in order to go forward. And I think the investment that the fans get to feel in being a part of a larger story and understanding what's happening, I think is something that I know Sony would want to emulate."
Brent Lang wrote:Sony has long dreamed of having a cinematic universe of Marvel characters.
In 2014, the studio planned to have "The Amazing Spider-Man 2" launch a series of spinoff films focused on super-villains such as the Green Goblin, Venom and other members of the Sinister Six. However, those plans were put on ice when the sequel disappointed at the box office.
With the success of "Spider-Man: Homecoming," a reboot of the series that sends Tom Holland as the wall-crawler back to high school, Sony is revisiting its ambitions to create a Spidey-verse. The new film grossed nearly $260 million worldwide in its opening weekend. Sony has already announced a "Venom" stand-alone film, with Tom Hardy playing the super-villain, and is in preproduction on "Silver & Black," which will pair Black Cat, a jewel thief, with Silver Sable, a mercenary.
As the studio looks beyond "Homecoming," Columbia Pictures president Sanford Panitch has been immersing himself in the "Spider-Man" comic books and boning up on the backstories of Peter Parker's various costumed adversaries. The studio has licensed the "Spider-Man" comics from Marvel since the early aughts — it's a pact that includes rights to roughly 900 characters. "With the Sony universe of Marvel characters, our mission is only to do what's the absolute best for each individual property," says Panitch. "I just want to honor the original DNA."
Ever since Marvel showed the potential of interconnected cinematic universes by having Iron Man, Hulk and other characters team up for Avengers missions before spinning off on individual adventures, other studios have scrambled to come up with their own in-house iterations. Results are mixed. DC Comics' "Justice League" movies have racked up impressive grosses, but others, such as Universal's Dark Universe franchise of monster stories, have gotten mashed.
Marvel has empowered Kevin Feige to oversee its film output, while Lucasfilm's Kathleen Kennedy calls the shots on the "Star Wars" movies. Sony is going in a different direction. The studio isn't tasking any single exec or producer with building the web of "Spider-Man" characters. Instead, it wants each picture to have a distinct style. That means the characters might be featured in R-rated outings or in lower-budgeted offerings. Sony also isn't interested in producing just conventional comic-book movies. It sees "Venom" as a spin on a horror film, for instance, while director Gina Prince-Bythewood likens "Silver & Black" to buddy films such as "Thelma & Louise" and "Midnight Run."
"I wanted to tell the story of two damaged women who are at war with each other but need each other to survive," says Prince-Bythewood. She's been looking at the origins of each character in order to explain how Silver Sable became a killer for hire and why Black Cat is drawn to crime. In both cases, she found that the characters were haunted by the deaths of their parents. "Silver & Black" sounds darker than "Spider-Man: Homecoming," which played like a John Hughes comedy with more spandex. That's precisely the point, says Panitch.
"Superhero movies have now transcended [the point] where they're no longer superhero movies per se; they are essentially genre movies," he says. "It's not so much that characters have a cape and fly. In "Silver & Black," these two women are modern and cool. … They may wear costumes, but [they're] very real and very grounded."
For "Venom," Sony has tapped director Ruben Fleischer ("Zombieland") to bring the menacing arachnoid to the masses. In the comic books and the film Venom is hatched after reporter Eddie Brock (Hardy) bonds with an alien symbiote — a union that gives him deadly powers. "I've always been drawn to the more antihero superheroes," Fleischer says. "There's a dark element to [Venom] and a wit that has always appealed to me."
Fleischer says the film will deal with Venom's origins and with the Jekyll and Hyde relationship Brock has with the alien symbiote. "They become almost a third being, which is what Venom is," Fleischer says. "There's a famous quote: 'You're Eddie Brock. I'm the symbiote. Together we are Venom.'"
Panitch says "Venom" will draw on the work of John Carpenter or David Cronenberg while promising "more pop and fun."
"Spider-Man: Homecoming" marked an unprecedented collaboration between Sony and Marvel. For the first time, Marvel didn't just collect a licensing fee; it produced the picture. The deal enabled Sony to have appearances by the likes of Robert Downey Jr. as Iron Man. In return, Spider-Man was featured in "Captain America: Civil War" and the upcoming "Avengers: Infinity War." Marvel won't be involved in "Venom" or "Silver & Black," and Sony is circumspect about whether or not Spider-Man will make an appearance. "If we get lucky enough to make more than one [Venom film] and continue the franchise, there are lots of opportunities," Panitch says.
Sony is plunging ahead with films featuring Silver Sable, Black Cat and Venom, and promises to make more announcements in the coming months. Fans would love to see Kraven the Hunter, the maniacal big-game hunter who treats Spidey as prey, make it to the big screen. Panitch shares their enthusiasm even as he deflects questions about a stand-alone Kraven adventure.
"He's an awesome character," Panitch says. "Let's just leave it at that."
Dino-Ray Ramos wrote:The brand new Venom movie Twitter account posted their first photo with the caption, "Day 1." Tom Hardy, who stars as the titular supervillain, can be seen clearly in the pic. Considering it's the first official photo from the production, not much can be gathered from the photo besides the fact that we now have official proof that Hardy is involved. Other than that, not much is happening in the photo. Even so, the pic gathered hype from fans as they left comments of excitement on the post. This may be the first of many teaser pics we see from on Venom Twitter account.
The character of Venom, who is also known as Eddie Brock, was last portrayed on the big screen by Topher Grace in Sam Raimi's Spider-Man 3 in 2007.
Riz Ahmed, Michelle Williams, and Reid Scott are also attached to star in the comic book spin-off. Ruben Fleischer directs the a script from Scott Rosenberg and Jeff Pinkner. Matt Tolmach and Avi Arad will produce. The film is set to open October 5, 2018.
Cpt Kirks 2pay wrote:Stop denying that you got a lot out of his erection on the gurney.
so sorry wrote:Anyone know what the origin of the symbiotic creature is? Is it some kind of alien?
Wolfpack wrote:You are the Box Office Asshole of the Zone, Pev.
so sorry wrote:
Trailer with more venom-action....and more Tom Hardy incomprehensible-talking ala Bane.
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"Considering Ryan Grant was the one who resurrected the Green Bay Packers' running game last season, it might seem a bit surprising how much coach Mike McCarthy has talked up Brandon Jackson." So begins a story in the Green Bay Press Gazette.
Surprising? Really? To the contrary, with Grant still awaiting a serious offer from the Packers, it was inevitable that the Packers would talk up Jackson.


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Home > Test and Inspection Labels > Inspection Labels > Tamper Resistant Inspection Labels
Tamper Resistant Inspection Labels.
These Tamper Resistant or Tamper Evident Inspection Labels are manufactured from a destructible vinyl material with a permanent adhesive. The destructible vinyl is designed so that once the adhesive has cured and the label is in place it is impossible to remove the label in one piece. Thus making any attempt to remove the label evident and deters people from attempting to do so.
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Model: LP7119-250Size: 40mm x 20mmQuantity: 250
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So here's the race report, pictures and all, including no official finish time, since I didn't get timed. Good to know though, looking back if I would have ran the half I would have won my age group. Wha-Wha… Anyways, oh well, what can you do. I decided race morning to limit myself to the 5k, because I had looked at the course (shocking!) and knew that it was a a giant loop. Once I was seven miles out, I was seven miles out and had to finish to come back to the car. I knew I could probably run a solid seven miles, but a half marathon doesn't end at seven miles and after that who knows what would have happened. Don't get me wrong, I REALLY wanted to run the 1/2, but I knew that I would be dealing with being sick for a lot longer if I did run it, and I was already over the whole being sick thing and wanted to feel better asap.
I also know I am uber competitive. This would have been disastrous and probably would have ended in me pushing myself WAY to hard and getting even more sick, missing more days of work, being sick in Hawaii, the list goes on. So I 5ked it up, and even that was out of control for me. I decided not to bring Claude so I wouldn't be checking my splits and super worried about my time and just have a good solid run. We set off and I was with the back of the pack because started with my cousins and I also like working my way up through the pack. Stupid, but whatever, don't judge me, I was on medication.
We take off and the course for the first mile and a half is on a paved neighborhood like street. I race through the crowds zigging and zagging my way around people. I was the one who held onto the car key because I was going to finish the race first and it was going to be cold so I wanted to wait in the car for a while. I tucked the key in my shorts like so.
As you can see it was a really pretty area, but this is my thumbs down for my race time.
My cousins and I after the race, happy to be done with the 5k for sure.
So yes, the race was completed, I didn't have Claude the one time I really needed him, but I did find the key, so all in all a success. I am going to go for a run tomorrow and get my training plan back on track because I have definitely not been on track because of this sickness. I have to get working on my mileage again so that I can continue to train for my full marathon at the end of May.
Hope you enjoyed the debacle.
PS oh by the way (congrats on making it this far down the post…, tomorrow I'm having a GIVEAWAY!!! Be sure to lurk by then! :)


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Enjoy Your Spring Allergy Free with these Tips
While spring is an exciting time to get out and enjoy the sunshine, the fun can often times be hindered by the symptoms of airborne allergies that many know all too well: sneezing, runny or clogged nose, coughing and postnasal drips, watering or itching eyes, nose, and throat. Allergy symptoms can vary widely, and can even include severe rashes, swelling, shock, and shortness of breath in those with asthma.
Pollen levels are typically higher on warm, sunny, dry and windy days, and lower on cooler, moist and wet days. Check pollen levels daily in your area by visiting www.aaaai.org to determine how best to face the great outdoors. The following are tips to prevent or treat seasonal allergies:
- Consider staying indoors with the windows closed in the morning, when outdoor pollen levels are highest.
- Remove clothes you've worn outside once inside. Taking a shower to rinse pollen from your skin and hair is also recommended after outdoor activity.
- When working or exercising outside, wear a facemask designed to filter out pollen in the air and keep it from reaching nasal passages.
- Bathe and brush pets weekly or as often as possible.
- Use a vacuum cleaner daily and a portable high-efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filter in your bedroom.
- Rinsing your nasal passages with distilled, sterile saline solution is a quick, inexpensive and effective way to relieve nasal congestion.
When symptoms cannot be minimized or avoided, they can often be controlled by medicines. See your allergist, primary care physician or go to your nearest NextCare Urgent Care to find out which medication will work best for you, including oral antihistamine, decongestant, and nasal spray.
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HBO is developing Double Down, which, sadly, is not about KFC's chicken-bacon-chicken sandwich. According to THR, Double Down is based on an upcoming book by Game Change authors Mark Halperin and John Heilemann, and the story focuses on the 2012 presidential election. If HBO can get director Jay Roach and screenwriter Danny Strong to return, they would have an Election Trilogy of sorts if you counted HBO's 2008 movie Recount.
However, Double Down doesn't seem like it would be as dramatic as Game Change since it lacks the colorful figure of Sarah Palin. If anything, the 2012 election was fairly boring, as evidenced by pundits trying to stress how close the race was when really Obama always had the lead and never gave it up. Yes, you could look at the closeness of the popular vote, but we don't elect our leaders based on the popular vote, so that's irrelevant. I don't know what Halperin and Heilemann hope to reveal with Double Down, but right now it looks pretty thin.


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Kā pilna laika MDiv students es tērēt daudz mana laika slēpta aiz manu klēpjdatoru un kaudzi grāmatu un žurnālu rakstu. Es diskutēt un aizstāvēt teoloģiju ar citiem studentiem, cīnīties ar grieķu un ebreju, un saņem instrukcijas par tēmām no baznīcas pārvaldē līdz efektīvākajiem komunikācijas metodēm; I even have classes specifically devoted to my spiritual formation. But even with such a holistic theological education I have found there are many things that just cannot be learnt about the Christian life from the seminary classroom, or the church sanctuary. Some of these lessons are assumed, and others are overlooked, whilst with some the theory is mentioned, but the lesson never truly learnt or understood. To learn these lessons we have to go somewhere else.
For me that somewhere else has become the streets of my local town doing Kindness Outreaches. I have to admit that this was never something I started off doing with the aim of educating myself, it was all about the people I was serving, and it still is, but no matter how much I think I know, I always seem to learn something new every time I go out onto the streets to serve. So without much more ado, here are some things that Servant Evangelism has taught me…and seminary hasn't.
1. People long to be loved
I have lost count now of the number of people that I have gone up to during Kindness Outreaches and the response has been either dumbstruck faces or tears. Smiles are certainly the most common response I have had though. One time I was out doing a Kindness Outreach with my wife, giving away popcorn to people at work. She wandered into one of the businesses and on this occasion I hung around just outside the store looking through the glass store front (I think that this was only my second time doing Kindness Outreach and I was still terrified back then). As my wife walked out of the store, having given away the popcorn, the single employee, who had been sat looking very bored and lonely in an empty shop, had a huge smile across her face. I think that we had just made her day.
This may seem like something that should be so fundamentally understood by Christians: that our love is not just needed, but also wanted. All too often, though, I think that we assume this is so fundamental to how the Christian should think that we overlook it. During my time at seminary I have been a part of several discussions that have looked at church growth, development and issues surrounding the supposed "consumer congregation," but within these talks it seems that the idea of a church growing by actively going out and loving its local community is often overlooked, apparently we just don't seem to think that love is what the "consumer congregation" wants. But Kindness Outreach has taught me that love is exactly what people want.
2. Community is alive and well
Once, back in October, a few of us took a truck filled with pumpkins around some of the apartment blocks in my town. We pulled up to the first block of apartments and started talking to a group of teens stood in the parking lot, they we're eager to take some pumpkins. Then a remarkable thing happened: children started pouring out of the woodwork from all over the estate and formed quite a crowd around the truck as we handed out the pumpkins. Within a few moments the truck went from bursting full to half empty. We had managed to serve an entire complex and knocked on a total of one door. Instead the community had done the work for us, the children had been running from apartment to apartment, telling all their friends and family about the people giving away free pumpkins, and as more people found out they in turn told more people until the whole complex was aware of our presence.
I see this sort of community spirit a lot whilst I am out serving the community, perhaps most often when I am around giving out bags of food to those who need it. As I start talking to people I often ask if they know anyone else who is in need of some free food, and whilst sometimes the person shrugs their shoulders, more often than not the person steps out of the doorway and starts pointing to other houses in the street.
3. We are part of a single catholic church
When I was out serving with free bags of food the other day something happened that I did not expect. I was in a rundown trailer park and knocked on the door of one of the trailers, holding my breath that the fragile construction would not collapse as I knocked. A little old lady answered the door, her arms filled with food. She had seen what we were doing and wanted to be a part of it and so stuffed a ton more food into the bags that we were carrying. This little, old lady was not part of our church, or even our denomination, but as we explained to her what we were doing she was still excited to help out. In that moment our slightly different takes on theology were irrelevant, for the both of us our theology did not need to go any further than "We love because God first loved us."
People from all sorts of backgrounds and denominations go out to do Servant Evangelism: Methodists, Baptists, Lutherans, Pentecostals, and many others. We have all at times debated and fought over our theologies, and being at a multi-denominational seminary I sometimes find myself focusing more upon how we differ than how we are alike. But when I am on that doorstep doing Kindness Outreach, I wouldn't bat an eyelid if my companion for the day was from a different denomination, for at that moment we need to go no further than "We love because God first loved us." And surely we, as the church, can at least agree on that much.
4. And finally…
Perhaps the most important lesson that I have learnt from doing Kindness Outreach, however, is one that arises out of all my outreach experiences. It arises out of the fact that people need to be loved, it arises out of the fact that community is still important, it arises out of the church being able to stand as a unified whole, and it arises from every door that I have stepped up to and God has used me to make a positive difference in somebody's life: that there is hope for the church today. Kindness Outreach has shown me that there is a way for us to effectively shine Christ's light to the world and, that through us Christ can impact the lives of countless people. All that needs to be done is for us to get out there and serve.


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BARC OCES/DGFS 2015 Application Process
BARC OCES/DGFS 2015 Application Process
OCES- 2015: This is a one year Training Program for Engineering Graduates (B.E/B.Tech./B.Sc. Engg. / 5 year Integrated M.Tech). or Science Postgraduates (M.Sc). The Training Program is conducted in the BARC Training Schools located at BARC. Mumbai / Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research. Kalpakkam / Raja Ramanna Centre for Advanced Technology, Indore / Nuclear Fuel Complex, Hyderabad / Atomic Minerals Directorate. Hyderabad, Training Scientific Officers (TSOs) will be paid a stipend of Rs.20,000/- pm and a one-time Book Allowance of Rs.10,000 during the Training Period.
DGFS - 2015 : Under this scheme, Engineering Graduates (B.E/B.Tech./B.Sc - Engg.) or Physics Postgraduates (M.Sc) who have secured M.Tech/M.Chem Engg. admission in 2015 in one of the following Institutes, In specified disciplines will be offered a two year DAE Graduate Fellowship. DGFS Follows will be reimbursed their tuition fee during M.Tech/M.Chem Engg. and additionally be paid a stipend of Rs.20,000/- a one time Book Allowance of Rs.10,000 and a contingency grant of Rs.25,000/- towards M.Tech / M.Chem Engg. project related expenses.
DGFS Institutes : IIT - Bombay, Delhi, Guwahati, Kanpur, Kharagpur, Madras, Roorkee and BHU - Varanasi. NIT- Rourkela and Institute of Chemical Technology (ICT) - Mumbai.
On successful completion of M.Tech/M.Chem Engg. the DGFS Fellow would join DAE as a Scientific Officer, with additional increments (subject to conditions).
The selection procedure, which is common for both schemes, has two stages. An initial screening will be done either by a valid GATE-2014/GATE 2015 Score or by performance to an Online Test to be conducted in March, 2015. As cut-off GATE scores for screening into Selection interviews will be decided only after the Online Test has conducted, candidates are advised to maximize their chances of being screened into the Selection Interview by availing both the screening avenues detailed above.
In the second stage, the screened in candidates will be called for Selection Interviews to be held in Mumbai and Hyderabad during May-June 2015. Final Selection is solely on the basis of performance in Selection Interview, subject to medical fitness.
Last date of submitting online application : February 6, 2015
Last date of uploading GATE score : March 27, 2015
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Over 40 years of lobbying by Oxfam and others finally paid off in March 2013 when the UK Government finally made good on a promise to spend 0.7% of national income on aid - a promise that will change millions of lives for good.
Although it adds up to less than a penny in every pound, the UK Government, along with the other G8 nations, had been dragging its heels on an aid promise made in 1970. A catalyst was needed that would convince decision-makers to act.
With the UK hosting the G8 summit in 2013, Oxfam supporters in their thousands rallied with other charities under the IF campaign to call on their MPs and the Government to lead by example and send a clear message to other rich countries that, even in tough times, the UK will not turn its back on the world's poorest people.
This agreement to increase aid represents a real chance to bring about change on a massive scale - it will mean fewer families going hungry, more children in schools, more trained nurses, and more clean water. Whole communities will have a brighter future as a result.
Effinesi Bilita from Malawi is living proof that a little lift goes a very long way. Thanks to Oxfam, she's now getting the support she needs - the seeds, tools and training - to grow more and earn more, lifting not only her life, but her children's lives too.
"Farming is very important for illiterate people like me who cannot get a good job. With farming you really benefit when you have a little support. It means you are able to harvest enough for your family and have something left to sell. With the money I earn, I'm determined to pay for all my children to go to school so they aren't illiterate like me."
And when you help one person, they will lift others. As well as investing in her children's future, Effinesi will help lift her whole community as she shares her new-found expertise and resources with her neighbours.
This increase in aid will change the lives of millions more families like Effinesi's around the world.
How Oxfam is helping inspirational women farmers in Liberia
Lobbying governments, training teachers and building schools in rural Pakistan
Ipaishe's life has been transformed, with positive knock-on effects for the whole community
How energetic campaigning from Oxfam supporters helped make free healthcare a reality in Ghana
A project to install toilets in Mukuru, Kenya, is stopping the spread of disease.
Oxfam helped Kalpana Oli farm smart and find a gap in the local market
In April 2013, the UN agreed an Arms Trade Treaty, thanks to persistent pressure by Oxfam and others
Thanks to your support, children in this Ethiopian class each have their own textbook.
Julia teaches children in Pakistan how to stay clean and healthy – preventing disease and saving lives.
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I need to buckle down on my eating. For most of the month, I haven't been as diligent and focused as I could be. I wouldn't say that I'm completely off my game – I've just been lazy. Portion sizes have gotten larger. My emphasis on planning has wained. I've indulged my cravings much sooner than usual, and without consideration on how those calories would impact the rest of my day.
I've gone through periods like this before – it starts to happen whenever I plateau or repeatedly gain and lose the same couple of pounds. I begin thinking, "Why not eat foods X, Y, and Z – I'm not losing weight anyway." In the past few weeks, I've bought a candy bar (or two) at gas stations, a pint of ice cream (which was polished off much sooner than it should have been), and I've been really craving 7-11 corn dogs, so I've gotten a couple of those, too (I know, I know, they technically don't quality as 'food' – more like 'food-like substances').
None of that is the end of the world, and I'm not beating myself up over any of it. It's the behavior behind that bothering me and needs to change. All of those purchases were impulsive. I wanted junk food, so I bought junk food, and ate it immediately (usually, in my car, except for the ice cream). The most caloric impulse purchase was a slice of Sbarro pizza at the food court in the mall. It was the worst kind of eating: I was at the mall, I hadn't eaten in a while, and I was a little hungry, but not achingly so. I walked past the Sbarro, and I wasn't even craving pizza, but I thought, 'Oh, that looks good, I haven't eaten that in a while' – and without a second thought, I bought a piece. I wish I had registered that I was hungry, taken stock of all the options in the food court, figured out if there was anything at all I wanted to get there, and made a more conscious, informed, intelligent decision. But I didn't. I went for what was right in front of me. And it was greasy. And it was good, but it wasn't the best.
Again, the pizza isn't the end of the world, and I'm gonna gain dozens of pounds because of it. But the thinking (or lack thereof) is what I need to squash. I need to get back to the place where I think about my days, think about the food in my fridge, and the exciting ways I'm going to eat it, and then stick to those plans. When I do that, I alleviate a lot of temptation, and which temptations do strike, I can better fend them off, without giving into them mere moments after they appear.
Another reason why I've given in to poor food choices is because my cupboards are a little bare. My grocery shopping game, at the moment, is off – I have healthy food around, but not enough choices, and when I don't have enough choices in my kitchen, I start not wanting to eat it. I had a container of pre-washed mixed baby salad greens in my fridge – you know the kind, every grocery store sells them. But because I didn't many other good salad things to add to it, I never wanted to eat it. I stared at it every day for a week, maybe longer. I should have gone and picked up some salad ingredients that excite me, but I didn't. And it sat there, and sat there, and sat there, and then yesterday I picked it up and realized it had long since expired. I opened the container, and sure enough, it smelled like a compost heap and every leaf was slimy. I don't like wasting food, and that pissed me off.
Yesterday afternoon, I rectified my lack of healthy options problem with a big trip to Whole Foods. Here's the entirety of my fresh produce before the trip:
Two sweet potatoes, two apples, an onion, a lemon and a head of garlic.
And here's what I picked up at Whole Foods:
Top half, L-R: 3 red pears, 4 zucchini, 4 tomatoes, 5 satsuma tangerines, a cucumber, 2 pints blueberries, baby carrots, red bell peppers. Bottom half, L-R: celery, strawberries, bananas, pre-washed kale (and yes, I will eat it before it goes bad), 4 (more) apples, broccoli.
I also picked up a new-to-me produce item that I've never seen before, because I haven't done that in a while (not since I sampled a calamondin in Michigan). Check these out – they're popcorn shoots!
They were in the sprouts and sprouted bean section, and I presume they're baby corn plants. They seem really thin and delicate, and although you may not be able to tell in these pictures, they're almost translucent, which I think is really cool.
I have my research to do, but I already have an idea for how to use them as part of a breakfast dish. Look for that post this weekend!
In the meantime, I have my work cut out for me: Eat better. Plan more. Consider cravings and see if they subside instead of immediately caving into them. Oh, and you wanna know how you can help? If you're a regular blog reader, pay attention. There's a sure-fire sign that I'm not eating as well as I could be, and it's that I simply don't write about food. Since I've returned from my holiday travels, I've only written one food-based post (What's In The RediSetGo? Part Twenty-One). If you see me go for a stretch without any mention of food, call me out on it, either in the comments section or through the Contact page!
OK – I'm off to my new gym (while my eating has suffered lately, my exercise has been pretty stellar), and I already know what I'm making for lunch when I get back – I'm getting back on the salad train with that kale, one of those tomatoes, and one of those peppers. I'll post a picture on my Facebook page later today as proof!
Keep it up, David!
UPDATE (3pm): The salad photo is up on my Facebook page, as promised! Check it out here.


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Shoes Stuart Weitzman
A celebrities' favorite, Stuart Weitzman shoes are illustrated by their sophistication which highlights the craftsmanship of the brand and the creative sensitivity of the fashion designer. Due to these values, six to seven weeks are necessary to make a model, produced by thirty skilled craftsmen.
Chic and contemporary, the Banjogal boots are composed of simple lines. With their metallic insoles, these slightly futuristic boots offer a casual and feminine look. This pair of Stuart Weitzman shoes can be worn on all occasions and across all seasons.
Stuart Weitzman shoe models
With the Nearly sandals, the designer draws both a comfortable and trendy model. On a mid-height heel, these Stuart Weitzman shoes, decisively feminine, are a must-have for all wardrobes. Each creation from the Stuart Weitzman fashion house combines comfort and elegance to enhance your outfits with a touch of sophistication.
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Eremurus species
foxtail lily, king's spear, desert candle
Plants of Home and Garden
Sow seed in spring after stratification, just covered at 55-60F/13-15C, or when ripe in fall; light is needed for germination. Open, sunny spot, light, very well-drained soil; does well in hot, dry conditions, and should be kept dry after flowering
Grown also from dormant roots purchased in fall, planted shallowly and carefully; may also be divided spring or early fall. The central bud should be placed 2-3" below soil level; allow the roots to radiate outward from it, without crowding. The bud should be oriented with bud eyes facing up
Some species, including Eremurus himalaicus and Eremurus robustus, can be hardy to zone 3 if protected in winter. Roots may be lifted in fall, and stored indoors cool and dry, prior to planting again in spring, if not hardy to your area
Related Topics
Dividing Plants
|Copyright © 2020,
All rights reserved


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Hi. My name is Jeremy Greenawalt, and I'm Principal / Creative Director / Lead Janitor at Craft + Story. I've been a Web Director of an international ministry, and I even helped start a small creative agency with a few friends. Nowadays, I like finding time to write (I wrote a book about building templates in TYPO3 called, unsurprisingly, TYPO3 Templates) and solving creative problems for my friends and clients.
At home, I love music, good stories, single-malt scotches, and spoiling my amazingly talented wife, Rebekah, and our ever-youthful puppy, Aingeal.
Want to contact me?
Twitter me at @jgreenawalt.


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Friday Fun: Hannah is a Palindrome
In yesterday's post, I gave Hebrew students a technique for garnering extra credit by searching for geminate verbs: verbs like הלל in which the second and third letters of the lexical form happen to be the same. To do that, we used the question mark wildcard to represent each letter in the lexical form, and then we specified that the third letter had to be the same as the second by placing (=2) after the third question mark. This ability to specify that different letters must match was added specifically for these kinds of original language searches, but we can also use it to have a little fun with our English Bibles.
"Palindrome" is a fancy term for a word that reads the same way both forward and backward, such as the name "Hannah." (There's a popular children's book with the title Hannah is a Palindrome.) Since we can have Accordance find words with matching letters, we can easily find all the palindromes in the Bible.
Let's start with three-letter palindromes. To find those, enter three question marks, and place (=1) after the third question mark. Like this: ???(=1)
To find a four-letter palindrome, you would enter four question marks, placing (=2) after the third question mark, and (=1) after the fourth: ???(=2)?(=1)
For a five letter palindrome, simply add another question mark to the beginning of the previous search: ????(=2)?(=1). The third question mark does not need to match any other letters.
You get the idea. If you want to get a list of all the palindromes in the Bible, try this search: ???(=1) <OR> ???(=2)?(=1) <OR> ????(=2)?(=1) <OR> ????(=3)?(=2)?(=1). I tried searching for seven-, eight-, nine-, and ten-letter palindromes, but didn't find any in the translation I searched. Can anyone else find a Biblical palindrome longer than six letters?
Once you've done this search, select Analysis from the Stats & Graphs icon to get a list of all the palindromes in the Bible.
Note that because the question mark can represent any letter or number, our search found numbers as well as words. Can anyone come up with an easy way to exclude the numbers?
Update: Not ten minutes after I posted this, my youngest daughter pointed out that today's date is 3/1/13 (when written using the American convention of month/day/year). It would appear this post on palindromes was more timely than I realized!
Archived Comments
Steve King
Looks like you can use a hyphen to exclude numbers from the wildcard. So something like ?(-0-9)??(=1) seems to work by making sure the first character is not a number. You obviously need to repeat that for each search.
I must admit I'm constantly amazed (and unfortunately confused!!) by the searching in Accordance. So thank's for these posts they do help me to understand the type of things that can be done.
David Lang
Well done, Steve. Another way would be to specify that the first character MUST be a letter, like this: ?(a-z)??(=1). As you pointed out, this would need to be done for each expression in the search.


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Psychologist: Hate less prevalent now than in past
Professor urges parents to teach acceptance, tolerance
The man at the center of the Oak Creek temple shooting, Wade Michael Page, is alleged to have been involved in the neo-Nazi movement.
Dr. Stephen Franzoi, a social psychologist at Marquette University, said America goes through cycles of hate, especially during troubled times.
"Tough economic times cause people to react out of fear and cause people to consider ways of thinking that they previously wouldn't have considered as being too extreme."
WISN 12 showed Franzoi photos of Page being social with neo-Nazi groups, and he said the behavior was a classic human behavior in which Page likely sought what he called an "echo chamber."
"We find this in international terrorists," he said. "They become more extreme the longer that they only interact with each other. We find this in all social groups."
And while recent mass shootings may lead many to believe the world is more violent, Franzoi said history shows that hate is not more prevalent now compared to the past. In fact, Franzoi believes our society is more tolerant and more accepting than ever before.
"It's a matter of education," he said. "Parents should be educating their children on tolerant, non-aggressive responses to conflict."


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Updated at 4:18 p.m. ET MIAMI – During the 1980s, there was a tourism campaign in Florida that promoted the state by saying: "The rules are different here."
Fast forward 30 years, and Florida's legal system is again proving that "rules are different" adage true. Florida was the first state to enact a "stand your ground" law in 2005; since then more than 10 other states have adopted similar laws.
George Zimmerman, 29, charged in the second degree murder of Trayvon Martin, 17, may never go to trial because of Florida's law.
Zimmerman's defense attorney, Mark O'Mara, announced today he plans to call for a hearing under the "stand your ground" law. This would allow a judge to rule on whether or not Zimmerman has immunity in the shooting death of Martin, if the accused acted within reason, before a trial even gets under way.
O'Mara explained his reasoning on his web site: "A 'stand your ground' hearing will essentially be a mini-trial. Most of the arguments, witnesses, experts, and evidence that the defense would muster in a criminal trial will be presented in the 'stand your ground' hearing."
In his first television interview, George Zimmerman offers an apology to Trayvon Martin's family, but says, looking back, he wouldn't have done anything differently. NBC's Gabe Gutierrez reports.
The Martin family's lawyer, Benjamin Crump, responded to O'Mara's motion for the hearing with a statement on Thursday: "Let it be clear on the record, that we feel confident that the unjustified killing of Trayvon Benjamin Martin should and will be decided by a jury. Many of the legal architects of the 'stand your ground' law have already opined that it does not apply in this case. A grown man cannot profile and pursue an unarmed child, shoot him in the heart, and then claim stand your ground. We believe that the killer's motion will be denied during the 'stand your ground' hearing, and as justice requires a jury will ultimately decide the fate of a man that killed an innocent child."
'Stand your ground' criteria
In this case, the big question is: Was Zimmerman defending himself when he killed Martin?
To meet the "stand your ground" law requirements in court, a case has to the following four criteria:
1) Whoever initiates the physical confrontation cannot use it as a defense. In other words, you can't punch someone, they return a blow, and then you take out a gun and shoot.
2) You can't be in the process of committing a crime and then say you were defending yourself. For example, you can't hold up a convenience store, and if the clerk pulls a gun on you, shoot the clerk and then claim you were standing your ground.
3) You can "stand your ground" if you are legally allowed to be where you choose to defend yourself. In this case the question will be: Was George Zimmerman legally allowed to stand in the common area between the apartments, taking into account that he exited his vehicle after being told by a Sanford police dispatcher they didn't need his assistance?
4) Finally, are you in fear for your life or serious bodily injury? This is a state of mind question and perhaps the most nebulous because it requires a judge to conclude how someone was thinking at the moment they fired a fatal shot.
Trayvon Martin's parents, Sybrina Fulton and Tracy Martin, react to George Zimmerman's first television interview, telling TODAY's Matt Lauer that they wish Trayvon Martin could tell his side of the story.
How will politics play in?
There's another aspect to a request of immunity when the "stand your ground" law hearing is requested -- a step beyond the courtroom into the world of politics.
In Florida, judges and the state attorneys are elected.
In Seminole County, where the U.S. Census reveals 11.7 percent of the population is African-American, and where thousands have protested over the way this case has been handled, were Judge Kenneth Lester to rule in favor of Zimmerman, a passionate few could organize an effort to end Lester's career on the bench.
Judges are supposed to rule independent of politics, but legal experts say it's always easier for a judge "to punt" and just let a jury answer the self-defense question.
An immunity hearing date is not yet set.
When it takes place, you can expect every moment will be broadcast on cable television.
That's because another rule is also different here.
In Florida, the legal system is open to cameras with the belief that the best government is that which is in "the sunshine." In other words, every citizen can watch the developments, and in the process, hold those in charge accountable.
NBC News Kerry Sanders has been following the Trayvon Martin story since it began. Follow NBC's Kerry Sanders on Twitter @kerrynbc.
More content from NBCNews.com:
- Miami cannibal victim recounts attack for first time
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- July is hottest month on record; drought expands across US
- Obama opposes Boy Scouts' policy banning gays
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Follow US News from NBCNews.com on Twitter and Facebook


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In a high-six-figure deal, Paramount Pictures acquired screen rights to the Max Brooks novel "World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War." Brad Pitt's Plan B will produce.Brooks' follow-up to satire "The Zombie Survial Guide" sparked a bidding battle, with Warner Bros. and Leonardo DiCaprio's Appian Way on the other side of the table from Par and Pitt. Book is a sober telling of the aftermath of a war fought against a legion of humans who were inflicted with a virus, died and were reanimated into flesh-eating zombies. "World War Z" will be published in the fall by Crown.
Par, Plan B raise 'Zombie'
Brooks' tome finds life on the bigscreen