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You. Not. Expendable. Part 1: Dolph Lundgren Revisited (RED SCORPION, THE PUNISHER, & I COME IN PEACE)
Hey folks, Harry here... Below is Col. Travis' first article for AICN. If you love my show, then in no small part, you should show love to Travis' first of a series of articles revisiting the various members of EXPENDABLES 2's gallery of manly man films. Now, here you go...
You. Not. Expendable. Part 1: Dolph Lundgren Revisited (RED SCORPION, THE PUNISHER, & I COME IN PEACE)
What's up, Contenders? Terry Malloy here reporting live from the Waterfront.
You. Not. Expendable. Will revisit some of the classic (and not so classic) films starring the various and sundry cast members of The Expendables 2 in order to open up a conversation about action cinema in general and to prepare us all for the carnage that Expendables 2 will (hopefully) reap upon us all.
As we approach the August 17th theatrical release date of The Expendables 2, You. Not. Expendable will highlight different cast members, singling out a few of their feature film endeavors. The jury is still out on whether you, too, will want to revisit each of these films.
Dolph Lundgren AKA Gunnar Jensen
I kick off the column with Dolph Lundgren because Synapse Films recently released a rather stunning Blu-ray of his Red Scorpion. I'll discuss that title more below, but falling in love with Red Scorpion just got me onto a Dolph Lundgren kick. My logic then followed that I wanted to track down some of his other early films that I either hadn't seen yet, or hadn't seen in a VERY long time. So we'll be discussing the aforementioned Red Scorpion, The Punisher, and I Come In Peace AKA Dark Angel. So, let's revisit why Dolph Lundgren is not expendable.
Tag Lines:
- They Think They Control Him. Think Again.
- A human killing machine. Taught to stalk. Trained to kill. Programmed to destroy. He's played by their rules… until now!
I've already tipped my hand that I pretty much loved Red Scorpion. It was my first viewing of the film, and what a way to experience it. Synapse Films' Blu-ray release of Red Scorpion treats this action classic with love and adoration, providing an excellent (if not cutting edge) 2K scan of the film, and packing the disc out with a commentary track and newly produced interviews with Lundgren, Producer and Convicted Criminal/Political Lobbyist Jack Abramoff, and make-up legend Tom Savini! If you already love the action films of the 1980s and haven't seen this one yet, just stop reading now and go buy this sucker. I'm literally thrilled to own it.
Now that I've slathered praise all over this Red Scorpion release, let's talk about the film itself. Seemingly tailor made for Dolph Lundgren, he basically gets to reprise his break out role in Rocky IV as Ivan Drago. One can easily envision a different scenario where instead of being trained to be the ultimate boxer, Ivan Drago was trained to be Spetsnaz, a Soviet Elite Soldier who, as the tagline suggests, is programmed to destroy. But this was 1989, and a movie hero can't be a commie, right? What better plan, then, to have a trained Soviet killer experience a genuine and heartfelt doctrinal shift that ultimately makes him the greatest Commie-killer imaginable? That is Red Scorpion in a nutshell.
If I had been a grown adult in 1989, I might have been offended by the ridiculously anti-Soviet/anti-communist messages of the film, and the political leanings of its producer, one Jack Abramoff. But viewed here in 2012, the politics of the film just kind of crack me up. And yet at the same time, the drama of Nikolai Rachenko's "redemption" works quite well. Of course, the ultimate sign of Ratchenko's conversion from Commie to rebel leader is when he loads a shotgun shell into the chamber and says to his new rebel friends "Let's kick some ass". So no, this isn't On The Waterfront we are talking about here.
But my sense is that Rachenko is played by Lundgren as a bit of a big, lunky puppy who hasn't quite grown into his abnormally large body. Lungren appears impossibly young in Red Scorpion, and that naivite is both important to the story and helps the audiences get behind Rachenko. He is a killing machine, but he is also young and impressionable. So when he hits rock bottom after failing in his first mission to assassinate a rebel leader, this enormous puppy of a man is rescued and redeemed by a tiny old bushman named Gao. It sounds ludicrous, but Gao is played by a legit native bushman and Rachenko's time in the wilderness with Gao is tender-hearted and treated more like a legitimate story arch than a training montage.
But the time eventually comes for the newly enlightened Rachenko to walk out of the wilderness a changed man. And when he teams up with the rebels he once hunted, it really is time to kick some ass!
The Gun
I can't move on from Red Scorpion just yet. I have to mention that there is one firearm in the film, featured on all the major artwork I have seen representing Red Scorpion, that is cooler than even Terry Crewes' auto shotgun from the first Expendables film. This gun does awful, terrible things to whatever it is shot at. And I'd like to posit that the gun itself undergoes the journey that Rachenko does! Starting out the film in the hands of a Communist General, this gun blows a shotting range to bits. And once the gun switches its loyalties and falls into the hands of the Red Scorpion himself, the USSR is pretty much doomed.
Once Dolph picks up this weapon, we are treated to an incredible Tom Savini make-up sequence in which a man's arm is blown entirely off ON SCREEN. It is an amazing gag that I had to freeze frame through after I saw it. And then once that dude is dispatched, Dolph turns the fury of this cinematic hand cannon against one of those badass Soviet helicopters that you see in every action movie with Russians in it. Guess who wins?
Final Thoughts
If Dolph Lundgren had had a couple of more films like this one in his early career, I genuinely think he could've transcended his current level of celebrity and broken into the uncontested action god realm. But as fate would have it, his next couple of films wouldn't quite reach the level of 1980s excess and grandeur that Red Scorpion achieved. I'd suggest that Red Scorpion is a B-level action movie that didn't get the memo and just shot for the A-list.
Tag Lines:
- If society won't punish the guilty, he will.
- Judge. Jury. Executioner. All in a day's work.
- The guilty will be punished.
I won't give as much time and attention to the next 2 films as I did to Red Scorpion. They simply don't warrant that amount of scrutiny!
The Punisher is a Marvel property that seems incredibly easy to adapt into a feature film, but has never quite hit the mark 100% yet, and since it has had 3 attempts at this point, I get the feeling that Marvel is going to chill out on the Punisher train.
Literally every human reading this knows the complex backstory of Frank Castle AKA The Punisher (Lundgren). His family got killed by bad people, so he kills bad people. And he generally looks really cool while doing it. Punisher mythology lesson complete!
I'll start out with what Dolph Lundgren's version of The Punisher gets right, but it is a short list. For one thing, and this is a big thing, the body count in The Punisher is simply off the charts. Within 20 minutes, Frank Castle has killed a couple dozen people. By the end of the proceedings, I have to believe that Castle has put a good 100 plus notches on his gangster-killing wall. 1989 was a different time for films and for Marvel! Even back then, although the movie was made, it wasn't treated as a major priority and feels produced on the cheap. But the great part about that is the sense of abandon that the movie has. Human life is cheap in this film. And I guess you only get that level of irresponsible murder on a film that doesn't have dozens of marketing/studio execs pulling for the biggest mass appeal possible.
For evidence of my last point, watch the Tom Jane Punisher movie.
Beyond the body count, I have to say that I really did enjoy some of the action set pieces and action direction of The Punisher. Lundgren's enormous bulk paired with his legitimate martial arts training has always been the big draw, and he gets to shoot lots of guns AND fight lots of dudes (and a couple of ladies) in The Punisher. I felt that the geography and camera work in many of the major action sequences was clear and exciting.
But there is a whole movie that is wrapped around those action scenes that just isn't very good at all. Lundgren must not be able to grow much of a beard, because the filmmakers here felt like it was a great idea to PAINT a 5 o'clock shadow on Lundgren's face. I'm not sure if they were going for a vague skull reference in his makeup, or if they just figured "Hey, punishing people is dirty work". But Lundgren's face is smeared with silly looking black make-up for the duration of the film and it is more than a little bit distracting.
Then you have Louis Gossett, Jr. running around looking for Frank Castle. And I do mean looking for him. Actually, Gossett, Jr.'s character, Jake Berkowitz (!), literally does absolutely nothing in the film but look for Frank Castle. If you took every single moment of Berkowitz' screen time away, it wouldn't affect the major plot at all! The Punisher is basically killing off gangsters and gets wrapped up in a gang war between the Italians and the Yakuza. He single-handedly kills both gangs, and saves lots of small children in the process. But if you imagined Louis Gossett, Jr. ultimately teaming up with Lundgren for some carnage, or really doing anything, you will be disappointed. I guess Berkowitz provides some important exposition, or represents the humanity of Frank Castle, or what Castle could have been. But whatever, dude.
Final Thoughts
Dolph isn't necessarily miscast as The Punisher. It was probably a smart move for him to take this role. But he is kind of upstaged by his crazy stubble make-up. While I like that The Punisher actually does a whole lot of punishing in this iteration, the movie is filled with so much miserable exposition and poor acting and set designs that Dolph's version can only be considered the second best Punisher. (With Punisher: War Zone being the least of all evils and Tom Jane's being the clear worst.)
I Come In Peace (AKA DARK ANGEL)
Tag Lines:
- Good cop. Bad alien. Big trouble.
- Detective Jack Caine thought he'd seen every kind of crook on earth. He had.
I Come In Peace was apparently titled Dark Angel throughout the rest of the world's film markets, and it seems somewhat hard to find for home video today. I personally had to rent a VHS copy of the movie from I Luv Video. But it does appear that there is a limited edition DVD version, under the title Dark Angel, that can be purchased on Amazon.
However, I can't say I recommend that purchase. I Come In Peace literally makes The Punisher look like a daggone masterpiece of action cinema!
With taglines like the ones featured above, I had high hopes for a pretty fun ride with this flick. But I Come In Peace is seriously lacking on almost every level.
The premise is fun enough: Det. Jack Caine is a tough cop who, after losing his partner and getting yelled at by his superior officers, is asked to go on a forced vacation. But when the feds step in, they put him back on active duty and partner Caine up with an annoying young FBI agent (Brian Benben.) Things get crazy quickly, though, when it turns out that they are on the hunt for a killer alien! A poor man's Predator 2 ensues.
Man, where do I start with this thing? For one thing, how many cop movie clichés did I touch on in my previous paragraph? That's right: all of them. The dead partner, the angry police chief, the loner/rule-breaker hero, the new partner who eventually becomes best buds with the hero. Each of those clichés in and of themselves can be tolerated, but this movie has ALL of them, and does them all poorly.
Then, you have the aliens. There are two of them. And they keep trying to kill each other. Eventually we learn that one is a bit of an interstellar drug dealer who is creating a cosmic drug out of the brains of its human victims, or something like that? And the other is an intergalactic cop trying to stop him. We learn very little about these aliens, which could be a mystery-building strength, but it isn't. There is no mystery about them, they just show up and battle it out.
Oh, did I mention that the aliens pretty much look like normal dudes with milky eyes? It is almost like everyone in the movie was clued in: These guys are aliens! But as a viewer, they literally just looked like slightly juiced up punks. Not to mention that they aren't "dark" at all, so I'm not sure why the title Dark Angel would have ever applied. The villain alien literally looks like an albino Edward James Olmos, only more normal.
Final Thoughts
I Come In Peace feels a lot like Predator 2 (released the same year), with an urban cop fighting an alien that SHOULD outmatch him on every level. But the screenplay is more riddled with clichés than bullets, and once you throw in the super-annoying sidekick whose comic relief is eye-gougingly inauthentic, this one isn't even fun enough to appeal to my retro-kitch aesthetic. Just watch Red Scorpion twice and skip this one!
And I'm Out.
Terry Malloy AKA Ed Travis
Readers Talkbackcomments powered by Disqus
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July 8, 2012, 1:05 a.m. CST
I must break you
by dead youngling
July 8, 2012, 1:10 a.m. CST
Dolph made a pretty good Punisher
by lv_426
The movie itself wasn't good, but had they had a better script and director, it could have been something. Doesn't help that back in the late 80's comic book hero films were not respected by Hollywood, except for Batman and Superman as two exceptions.
July 8, 2012, 1:11 a.m. CST
...And you go in Pieces.
by ThulsaBoom
...that's literally my only Dolph quote off the top of my head since you stole the big one dead youngling. Well played. Should've watched Universal Soldier more. I come in peace rocked when I was 10. Haven't seen it since then though. Showdown in Little Tokyo anyone? "I've never seen a penis that big on a man." (paraphrasing)
July 8, 2012, 1:13 a.m. CST
Met Dolph twice. Genuinely nice fella.
by BiggusDickus
F***in' massive, though! Wouldn't want to tell him his hair looks gay or anything...
July 8, 2012, 1:18 a.m. CST
"I Come In Peace feels a lot like Predator 2"
by lv_426
I always thought that Dolph should have been the lead for a Predator 3 back in the early to mid 90's. Maybe set in a volatile African nation at war, which would have given it a bit of a nod to Red Scorpion. Or maybe in the Middle East? Hey, how about set in the Middle East during the Crusades? Predators could have been coming to Earth to hunt around that time of history I'd wager. Dolph as a bad ass knight in the Holy Land fighting a predator, which to people back then would seem like a demon. Or they could have done Universal Soldiers vs Predator.
July 8, 2012, 1:20 a.m. CST
Not a bad article, however...
by The Shropshire Slasher
I Come in Peace is waaaay better than The Punisher. My opinion of course. I haven't seen Red Scorpion since it first came out on video. I'll have to watch it again as I recall it not being very good.
July 8, 2012, 1:24 a.m. CST
A lotta Dolph love on this site...
by ThulsaBoom
...and I don't mind!
July 8, 2012, 1:28 a.m. CST
Dolph would have made a great Judge Dredd
by lv_426
Think about it. He wasn't a mega-star like Stallone, and probably could have kept the helmet on for most of or all of the film. Dolph also has the stature to properly portray Dredd. Hell, he's taller than Stallone. How badass would a lower budget but gory hard R Judge Dredd done by the director of Hardware (which was inspired by the Cursed Earth setting of 2000 AD), starring Dolph as Dredd have been back in the 90's?
July 8, 2012, 1:48 a.m. CST
And thus the viral marketing for Expendables 2 begins
by David_Denmans_Beard
July 8, 2012, 1:50 a.m. CST
Jokes aside
by David_Denmans_Beard
It's not a bad read. Then again, similar was said of The Kidd and look how that turned out.
Showdown had all the same cop movie cliches too but it was defenitely entertaining. I'm gonna have to check out red scorpion now.
July 8, 2012, 2:31 a.m. CST
Let Dolph direct Expendables 3
by schlockthemonkey
Has anyone else seen his directorial efforts? He is ready to graduate from DTV to theatricals.
July 8, 2012, 2:46 a.m. CST
There's one other gem in his filmography
by docmem
"Men of War" (1994) was about 300X better than it had any right to be. (Mostly due to a John Sayles screenplay and some seriously slumming supporting cast, notably BD Wong.)
July 8, 2012, 2:57 a.m. CST
by bob_uzumaki
No love for that?
July 8, 2012, 3:03 a.m. CST
by spicy-mag.com
Exactly. How do you not mention Masters of the Universe. His biggest lead role outside of Rocky 4.
July 8, 2012, 3:16 a.m. CST
Just goes to show you how far a Masters in Chemical Engineering can take you
by thelordofhell
July 8, 2012, 3:43 a.m. CST
Screw Dark Angel...It will always be "I Come In Peace" bad ass alien explosion guns,Dolph being badass and comic relief by Dream On's Brian Benben.
by kenchun24
July 8, 2012, 4:07 a.m. CST
First of all
by Evan Meadow
How can you complain about a movie that heat seeking killer CD's? I mean come on! And I would have taken out Red Scorpion and put in instead Showdown in Little Tokyo! Ok let's face it, Dolph needs another 3 parter of movie reviews. Showdown, Little Tokyo, and Johnny Numeonic!
July 8, 2012, 4:07 a.m. CST
Showdown in little tokyo
by Dave
Now that was a great movie!
July 8, 2012, 4:08 a.m. CST
No Expendables 3 needs to be directed by McTiernan
by Volllllume3
July 8, 2012, 5:35 a.m. CST
"If you're guilty, you're dead"!
by Stalkeye
Make no mistake, Warzone is the best of the Punisher "Triumvirate" but Dolph's take easily surpasses Jane's lackluster version. Castle taking on both the Mafia and Yakuza easily outpaces some ridiculous story whereas Tom Jane sets up a fake fire hydrant in order to turn John Travolta against his wife?!? My major gripe with 1989's Punisher, had to be the Director's decision not to use the iconic Skull, kinda like having Superman without the "S". But the M60 with Grenade under-barrel made up for it. Now that makeshift weapon should have been used in Expendables. Fun B-Movie that's better than some of the other Marvel crap like Man Thing and Ghost Rider SOV.
July 8, 2012, 5:37 a.m. CST
Trivia: Punisher
by Stalkeye
July 8, 2012, 5:45 a.m. CST
Trivia: Punisher
by Stalkeye
During the intro of Biohazard's song; "Punishment" the opening line with Dolph's voice saying "Here is Justice, here is Punishment, Here....in me". Well worth a listen not just for the opening line, but a good classic Nu Metal song.
July 8, 2012, 5:46 a.m. CST
thelordofhell, LMMFAO
by Stalkeye
Well said.
July 8, 2012, 5:52 a.m. CST
lv_426 - Dolph as Royce in Predators 2010
by CARTMANEZ
wouldve been awesome.
July 8, 2012, 6:49 a.m. CST
I'm all ears...
by Mark Jones
Only watched Red Scorpion once, recently, and didn't really enjoy it. For classic Dolph, my top 3 have to be Rocky IV, Masters of the Universe and Universal Soldier.
July 8, 2012, 6:52 a.m. CST
@ stalkeye
by BiggusDickus
Hell, just stick the whole of 'Urban Discipline' on - it's a classic! Or even better - 'State Of The World Address'. Awesome album! Biohazard were the tits!
July 8, 2012, 6:53 a.m. CST
by Yer_Maw
Yup, the fight geography in The Punisher was top notch. Martial arts geography is something of a dying art ...
July 8, 2012, 6:54 a.m. CST
No mention of his picture scaring away burglars from his house?
by Grammaton Cleric Binks
All hail OLEG.
July 8, 2012, 7:05 a.m. CST
Much respect to Dolph from a big fan, thanks for the post Harry...
by brocknroll
While Dolph is mostly a "Straight to DVD" actor, he still gets my respect 'cause he is a hard working and talented man. How come, "Masters of the Universe" is not on here? That film is coming out on Blu Ray in Oct.
July 8, 2012, 7:06 a.m. CST
full penetration
by degausser
July 8, 2012, 7:20 a.m. CST
"Will revisit some of the classic (and not so classic) films starring the various and sundry cast members of The Expendables 2 in order to open up a conversation about action cinema in general and to prepare us all for the carnage that Expendables 2 will
by seansarto
July 8, 2012, 7:53 a.m. CST
i come in peace is great
by Waka_Flocka
July 8, 2012, 8:59 a.m. CST
Exclamation points!
by exyle
Make everything more exciting! See!
breh, what about Universal Soldier! you can't front on the ear necklace.
July 8, 2012, 9:55 a.m. CST
by 5secondfuse
I watched it as Dark Angel back in the day on VHS. Bought it off Amazon on DVD for peanuts. It's a fucking great movie after 6 beers and that's all you want from a movie like this. Dolph is great, Benben is great and the main Villain is awesome with his flying CD's of death. Just check out the fucking movie poster and you know your in for a good time.
July 8, 2012, 10:18 a.m. CST
You are offended by anti-communist propoganda? F*** YOU, Commie Lover!
by the_rising
Communists have killed over 25 million people, mostly their own, you stupid fucking wanna be colonel!
July 8, 2012, 10:21 a.m. CST
The best thing about this is the Red Scorpion blu review. Take notes Harry.
by adeceasedfan
He actually reviewed the contents of the disc.
July 8, 2012, 10:31 a.m. CST
So this series of articles is pretty much a rip-off of what Vern did...
by Knuckleduster
... on his site when the first Expendables was on the way.
July 8, 2012, 10:34 a.m. CST
Masters of the Universe will be getting love...
by Sean1701
this fall when it gets it's 25th anniversary release on Bluray. Looking forward to it!
July 8, 2012, 10:50 a.m. CST
Dolph should make MOTU 2
by CARTMANEZ
Dolph as a King Conon-esque He Man and Langella as Skeletor again (he did say hed be back!)
July 8, 2012, 11:13 a.m. CST
Here is Punishment
by wrath 4771
July 8, 2012, 11:24 a.m. CST
Dark Angel title makes sense
by Bouncy X
there's an evil alien killing people...aliens comes from space or "the heavens" and hence the Dark Angel. of course the north american title is much better and more 80s/90s. lol
July 8, 2012, 11:26 a.m. CST
Well done Ed.
by John Ary
Looking forward to future installments.
July 8, 2012, 11:32 a.m. CST
I love it in the Punisher when they ask him who he is and he says "Batman"
by cookylamoo
July 8, 2012, 11:33 a.m. CST
Johnny Mnemonic
by Red11
Watching the movie, I remember thinking "How is Dolph Lundgren the best actor in this movie?" Fun review. I look forward to more of them.
July 8, 2012, 11:37 a.m. CST
"Masters of the Universe" sequel...
by brocknroll
To those wondering why they never made a sequel to "Masters of the Universe", they were gonna, but Cannon didn't have the budget to make the film for since the first bombed in the box office. The Jean Claude Van Damme film, "Cyborg" was originally supposed to be the sequel for "MOTU". All the costumes worn for the "Cyborg" movie was originally supposed to be the costumes for the "MOTU" sequel. It's too bad that a sequel to that film is never gonna be made now. Instead, Joel Silver is working with Mattel on a re-boot. John Stevenson is directing the re-boot. The film hasn't started being made yet, they're still writing the script.
July 8, 2012, 11:42 a.m. CST
Universal Soldier was a Van Damme movie.
by Red11
Talkbackers, don't ask for movies where Dolph Lundgren was the villian in. I expect a He-Man and Showdown in Little Tokyo review. Hopeful the 3rd movie is the 1996 video store classic Silent Trigger.
July 8, 2012, 12:19 p.m. CST
MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE, Etc
by Ed Travis
Hey everyone! I've written up MOTU for another column that'll hopefully be running on AICN as well. Currently working on round 2 of You. Not. Expendable. While I'd love to write up Showdown In Little Tokyo and Universal Soldier 1 and 5 (Regeneration kinda rules), this piece was already long enough. Maybe for Expendables 3? Lastly, I'll have to look up Men Of War. Haven't seen that one and I'll gladly take a recommend for a good Dolph classic!
July 8, 2012, 12:24 p.m. CST
RE: Men Of War
by Ed Travis
Looks like Men of War is available on Netflix Watch Instant. In a related note, looks like my night is planned. PS: Agree w red11 that Universal Soldier films are kinda JCVD's movies, with Dolph chewing up the scenery as a great villain, but the villain none the less.
July 8, 2012, 12:43 p.m. CST
Dolph's Punisher is a gulty pleasure of mine.
by Rick
Although very much a B movie - I think it is fun to watch.
July 8, 2012, 12:48 p.m. CST
by david starling
Lundgren's Punisher movie is a darned sight better than the one with Thomas Jane and John Travolta in it, and is a smidgin on a par with the Ray Stevenson one!! Lundgren had the better backup cast though (Louis Gosset Jr, Jeroen Krabbe). Dark Angel is a severely good piece of action, and is quirky in its own ways, making a silly but very entertaining movie!!
July 8, 2012, 1:22 p.m. CST
by StoneGold
Blackjack is something of an oddity if you can track it down. Dolph Lundgren, directed by John F'n Woo as the pilot for a TV series. Kind of uneven, at least in part due to it really being a TV pilot, but there's a fight in a dairy where everything goes all milky, something to behold.
July 8, 2012, 1:32 p.m. CST
Dolph's Punisher is Fun.
by cookylamoo
The bad guys are loopy, and I can really see the Punisher living in the sewer.
July 8, 2012, 1:58 p.m. CST
Love hearing that Punisher monologue at the beginning of Biohazard's "Punishment". Sets the tone at the show immediately.
by replica
July 8, 2012, 2 p.m. CST
Dolph woulda made a great Thor
by Clarence_Boddickers_Optometrist
And Colossus. Take MOTU Dolph throw a winged Helmut on him and voila! And chrome plate Drago and there ya go. Love I Come In Peace. Along with Die Hard, it rates as one of my favorite Christmas themed movies. Think the chemistry between he and Benben is reminiscent of Devito/Arnold, which I'm sure was a bit intentional. Always picture MOTU Dolph when reading Dark Tower The Wastelands novel re The Tick ToMan.Only with some emerald green contact lenses.
July 8, 2012, 2:01 p.m. CST
* Tick Tok Man
by Clarence_Boddickers_Optometrist
July 8, 2012, 2:03 p.m. CST
"Hardware (which was inspired by the Cursed Earth setting of 2000 AD)"
by buggerbugger
Inspired? 'Hardware' was pretty much a blatant rip-off of a 2000AD strip in which a partly-built robot terrorised a woman by trapping her in her high-tech apartment while the robot attempted to rebuild itself piece by piece. Both the strip and 'Hardware' are variations on 'Demon Seed', in which a woman is trapped in her high-tech house while a nutty AI attempts to impregnate her with its cyborg offspring.
July 8, 2012, 2:04 p.m. CST
showdown in little tokyo is dolph's best film hands down, how'd this guy miss it?? and also predator 2 is the poor man's I come in peace.
by la te ral us
July 8, 2012, 3:47 p.m. CST
He's smart fella too. Seriously, read his Wikipedia page. He could have had a totally different career had he continued his education.
by Mr. Pricklepants
July 8, 2012, 3:50 p.m. CST
RE: dutchdave
by Faustous_
July 8, 2012, 3:52 p.m. CST
RE: dutchdave
by Faustous_
I agree 100%. I was thinking to myself, "why is he not reviewing showdown in little tokyo" the whole time I was reading this article. That movie is clearly Dolph's best in my opinion...the guy gets to display not just his action chops but also a sense of humor. It also stars Brandon Lee in one of his early roles. Great, great movie.
July 8, 2012, 4:58 p.m. CST
Some of his straight to DVD work is great too, check out "Command Performance"...
by brocknroll
July 8, 2012, 6:20 p.m. CST
"...to prepare us all for the carnage that Expendables 2 will (hopefully) reap upon us all." - words that reek of marketing bullsh*t.
by seansarto
July 8, 2012, 6:25 p.m. CST
I come In Peace is fully aware of its cliche's
by solitaire
It actually kind of revels in it. You expect the guys place to be a shithole covered in spank mags and roaches developing the used Chinese food containers as time shares, but then they walk in and it's immaculate with art and fine furniture, and he offers the fed some wine! Benben is a riot in this...BTW, can ANYONE tell me why Dream On isn't on dvd??? I came of age to that show for Crissakes!
July 8, 2012, 7:13 p.m. CST
Dolph should have been Reacher!
by fanboy71
go to www.leechild.com and take a look at the shadowed figure of Reacher in the upper left corner. Does that look like Tom Cruise? NO! It looks like Dolph Lundgren!!! That was a no brainer and they totally screwed it up. And I agree that Dolph was the 2nd best Punisher. Tom Jane's version sucked ass.
July 8, 2012, 7:50 p.m. CST
dolphs look in punisher
by mcgillj
I think it was a cinescape article around the time of release when Lundgren said the "f*cked up look was his conscious choice.. Being all pale.. Looking like a guy who has lived underground for 5 years.." He said the producers told him he needed to look good and tanned. I prefer Dolph's version. You have a point about Gosett. But he is the person who brings you into who Castle is.. Through his affection for Castle you think or hope of his as redeemable. The same can be said of his sidekick later guilting him into saving the kids.. Left on his own i doubt he would have.
July 8, 2012, 8:03 p.m. CST
by Mullah Omar
Dolph's PUNISHER and I COME IN PEACE are some of my favorite guilty pleasures from the 80s. The fact that Terry Malloy AKA Ed Travis got NO pleasure from either film means I can personally dismiss him as a reviewer. But the fact that he also omits LOADS of other quality or at least chat-worthy Dolph flicks (LITTLE TOKYO, MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE, even ROCKY 4 or his modern-day films like COMMAND PERFORMANCE) means he's just plain lazy and not worth including on this site. This is the first time in years that I have thought that an AICN reviewer was literally nowhere near the same orbit as most of us who read AICN. Somebody get Vern to do this series. THAT GUY understands the essence of what makes Dolph awesome.
July 8, 2012, 8:22 p.m. CST
Really? You would have been offended at the anti-communism? You do realize they had thousands of nuclear warheads pointed at us...
by Coughlins Laws
They wanted you dead...
July 8, 2012, 10:06 p.m. CST
We'd better get a DOUBLE TEAM review when its JCVD's turn
by MaxCalifornia.
That film is a work of surreal genius.
July 8, 2012, 10:48 p.m. CST
Yep, yep. Showdown In Little Tokyo. One of the best action movies of the 90's.
by DanielnocharismaCraig
Plus we get the late Brandon Lee in it as well. Classic all around.
July 8, 2012, 11:04 p.m. CST
I come in peace....
by Wheel99
but you go in pieces.
July 8, 2012, 11:24 p.m. CST
Silent Trigger
by Elcabio
One of my favorite B-Movies. elevated by the incredibly inconsistent Russell Mulcahy's direction and a great score by Stefano Mainetti http://www.stefanomainetti.it/show_video_ext.asp?lingua=en&type=multimedia&id_multimedia=9 .
July 9, 2012, 5:34 a.m. CST
The drug being harvested in I Come In Peace
by cock smoker
Didn't he shoot people up with heroin and then extract some chemical the human brain secreted while high? This was on TMC a few months back under title Dark Angel, will always be I Come In Peace in my book.
July 9, 2012, 5:36 a.m. CST
Check out The Hidden, good cop vs alien story
by cock smoker
Kyle McLachlan and Michael Ontkean (pre Twin Peaks)...I think. Great ending.
July 9, 2012, 6:49 a.m. CST
No Love for the Punisher
by holer
AICN always dumps on Tom Jane's Punisher, and it was a fun movie. I recently picked up Dolph's Punisher to complete my 'trilogy' and found it to be a very entertaining 80's action movie - very silly and over the top. My main gripe about AICN is the constant fanboy griping over what a property should be instead of accepting it for what it simply is. This guy wants to be Capone and he is no Capone.
July 9, 2012, 8:50 a.m. CST
Vern would have done a better job with this article.
by brokentusk
July 9, 2012, 8:52 a.m. CST
by SayNoToRemakes
Your assessment of I Come In Peace is spot on. I just saw the movie again last night after over 15 years and it was enjoyable as shit. The If this movie came out today it would be better than 70% of the crap being labled an action film. It's a film that doesnt try to do too much, has interesting ( and often times funny characters) and has Dolph kicking major ass. If you can't appreciate that then I can't help you.
July 9, 2012, 9:03 a.m. CST
They picked the wrong person to review these films...
by SayNoToRemakes
..and that is obvious. If the reviewer is referring to Benben when he described the " super-annoying sidekick whose comic relief is eye-gougingly inauthentic", then any review from this fellow should be summarily dismissed. Benben was probably the best part about this movie. And yes I am a big fan of this film in case you were wondering...
July 9, 2012, 10:05 a.m. CST
I believe "I Come In Peace" was made just so that
by malificus
it could deliver the final catch phrase "Leave in pieces...". It's just that powerful.
July 9, 2012, 10:58 a.m. CST
I LOVED Lundgren's Punisher! It's the best for me...and I felt his version of the Punisher was great. Give him the freakin' white skull costume and it woulda been dang near perfect.
by Dogmatic
I mean it's not like a Punisher film needs to be a big budget epic....and I loved Jeroen Krabbe in it and how he had to team up with a mafia leader to rescue his son. It was fine plotting.
July 9, 2012, 11:13 a.m. CST
Cool it with the overuse of "literally."
by Uga
Especially since you don't seem to know what it means.
July 9, 2012, 12:36 p.m. CST
I come in peace had quite a few memorable lines.
by Stalkeye
Such as; "What university did you graduate from"? "The university of Suck-my-Dick"! I come in Peeeaaacccee", Then You go in Pieces Asshole! And yes, The scene in which Dolph is preventing that Cable from going into his Skull in which he defiantly responds; "Fuck you, Spaceman"! Underated film and not to mention it had a bit of the miami Vice feel to it, most in part due to Jan Hammer's Soundtrack. Truly one of Dolph's best alongside SILT, Punisher and Silent Trigger. MOTU can fuck off.
July 9, 2012, 3:59 p.m. CST
i agree with dogmatic and stalkeye
by malificus
Punisher was pretty damn good for it's day. I think he really captured the aspect of Frank Castle that was hopeless following the loss of his family. I Come in Peace was a classic action-er of it's day. Dolph rules.
July 9, 2012, 4:01 p.m. CST
Col. Travis, another politically correct left-wing asshole
by IronEagle74
Okay yeah, maybe the propaganda was a bit over the top in the 1980's, but to suggest that it's somehow ridiculous to be anti-communist is more absurd than anything. Our Capitalist, constitutional republic in America may not be perfect, but it's a damn sight better than having to live under tyrannical rule of any kind. Then again, seems like that's where we're headed now too.
July 9, 2012, 4:02 p.m. CST
By the way, what an idiot. "Dark Angel" was probably Dolph's best film.
by IronEagle74
July 9, 2012, 4:35 p.m. CST
I Come In Peace IS GREAT
by m_prevette
A fine B movie that doesn't take itself seriously and is a hell of a goofball ride. LOVE IT
July 9, 2012, 7:57 p.m. CST
People forget that...
by SayNoToRemakes
...movies were created to as a distraction from everyday life. A way of escaping the mundane, ordinary and boring existence that is life for 99% of the human population. It was never meant to posit or solve the universe's most profound questions and mysteries. The way I see it, if you can entertain me by getting me to care about some fictional characters for 90mins of my life, then you have accomplished something. Sure it isnt Citizen Kane, or Gone with the fucking Wind, but I Come In Peace gets the job done.
Aug. 2, 2012, 7:19 p.m. CST
by Jared Parker
i think it's lundgren's best film ever
Aug. 2, 2012, 7:21 p.m. CST
he was also good in JOHNNY NEUMONIC as the psychotic andriod priest
by Jared Parker
he really can play a villain
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2014 Virginia State Hall of Fame Information
Posted by roabowling on July 30, 2014
2014 Virginia State Youth Tournament Final Standings
Final standings and scholarship information for the 2014 Virginia State USBC Youth Tournament are now posted under our Standings page. Thank you for your patience.
Posted by roabowling on July 21, 2014
2014 Virginia State USBC Fall Workshop Meeting Information
DATE: September 13-14, 2014
LOCATION: Holiday Inn Harrisonburg, 1400 East Market Street, Harrisonburg, VA 22801. $85.99 plus tax rate per night. Cutoff date is Friday, August 29, 2014. Please follow the directions listed in the Hotel Information link to get the special rate.
FRIDAY September 12, 2014 – Golf Tournament
SATURDAY September 13, 2014 9:00 am – 9:45 am registration
Saturday events will include: Meeting, Bowling Tournament and Hall of Fame Dinner and Ceremony
SUNDAY September 14, 2014 8:30 am – 9:15 am registration
Sunday events will include: Business meeting
Here are the links for all the information, including Hotel and Delegate Registration:
- Announcement
- Delegate Information
- Delegate Registration Form
- Hotel Information
- Golf Tournament
- Bowling Tournament
- Hall of Fame Information
For additional information, please contact the Virginia State Association Manager, Johnny Harris (email@example.com / 434-266-1044)
Posted by roabowling on July 7, 2014


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Lindi Ortega's sound has taken a long dip into the blues, but she's still got the soul of a country girl.
Talking by phone from her mother's Toronto home, she talked about how her 2011 release Little Red Boots inspired her to more fully explore the roots of country music.
Noting that the first book she read was Lovesick Blues: The Life of Hank Williams by Phil Hemphill, Ortega discovered Williams was heavily influenced by the blues. "That's when I started to see a real connection between blues and country. I tried to listen solely to blues for months at a time, right around the time I was writing the songs for this record."
She enlisted Colin Linden, a renowned producer and blues guitarist who has an extensive knowledge of blues. Linden helped Ortega weave the blues into the outlaw-traditional-country-with-hints-of-rock sound she developed. In a significant way, Cigarettes & Truckstops is an maturation of Ortega's music from her debut album Little Red Boots. Although her sound is now more sophisticated and blues based, it has the heartfelt sincerety that drew listeners to her earlier work. Continue reading 'Your Country's Right Here: Lindi Ortega Talks 'Cigarettes and Truck Stops' yet Keeps her 'Little Red Boots' Firmly on the Ground'


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I design and build user focused, context aware responsive websites, brand identity and digital marketing.
I occasionally write about design, my thoughts, opinion and experiences, and also about the music that I enjoy.
I produce music under a few aliases, most notably DFRNT. I run two record labels, and I DJ from time to time.
- DFRNT The main alias which I produce music under.
- Insight Podcast A regular music podcast that I host.
- Echodub The main record label that I run.
- Cut A small netlabel (for free music) that I run.
- How To Send Me Music Guidelines for sending me music and promos.
- Hero Hero on Soundcloud An alias I use to produce hip hop and beats.
- Music Descriptions Daft music descriptions I get sent.
Contact & CV
You can employ me to design & create for you at east. The creative agency I run from Latvia.
You can email me at email@example.com.
CV / Résumé
Download my CV / résumé (PDF).
I tweet, update, post, upload, comment, like, re-post and share on a variety of social networks across the web.


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Tremble held on drug and gun charges
A Pittsfield man was arraigned this morning in Berkshire Superior Court on several charges. 23 year old ROBERT J. TREMBLE (118 Winesap Road) appeared before Judge Daniel Ford.
TREMBLE had not guilty pleas entered on his behalf on one (1) count of TRAFFICKING IN OXYCODONE, one (1) count of POSSESSION OF OXYCODONE WITH INTENT TO DISTRIBUTE (2nd offense), one (1) count of POSSESSION OF A FIREARM DURING THE COMMISSION OF A FELONY, one (1) count of POSSESSION OF A FIREARM , RIFLE OR SHOTGUN WITH A PRIOR CONVICTION FOR A SERIOUS DRUG OFFENSE, one (1) count of ILLEGAL POSSESSION OF A FIREARM, one (1) count of ILLEGAL POSSESSION OF A LOADED FIREARM, one (1) count of POSSESSION OF AMMUNITION WITHOUT A FIREARM IDENTIFICATION CARD and one (1) count of RECEIVING STOLEN PROPERTY OVER $250. Judge Ford ordered that he be held at the Berkshire County House of Correction on $50,000 bail.
The incident is alleged to have occurred in North Adams on December 8, 2013.
The investigation was conducted by members of the North Adams Police Department.


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Is the real problem behind the Dreamliner outsourcing? http://t.co/JOUH2TcS #travel
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Narrow your search
An ultra-quiet electric-hybrid ride is being designed to help patrol Canada's Arctic. Is it practical or just a boondoggle?
The iPhone 5, Lumia 920, and Kindle Fire HD all get torture tested in our first-ever reindeer games. Molly Wood drops gadgets from a ski lift, jumps on them with a snowboard, and drives over them with a snowmobile -- all in the name of product testing.
What do you get when you combine an ATV, a snowmobile, and a 151-horsepower motorcycle engine?
Why risk injury and cold when you don't have to?
Season 3 has been packed with plenty of new products, torture tests, road tests, and future tech. But the best was when we hit the slopes and put our gear through extreme conditions, even using a snowmobile. The Blackberry Z10 went to Barcelona, Spain. And Google Fiber: 100 times faster?
The invention of the snowmobile, and the first classical-music recording.
A Subaru Impreza is transformed into a badass snowmobile by rally driver Ken Block. Here are the impressive results.
The Cobra BT 200 works best when connected to the 12-volt outlet of an ATV or snowmobile and allows for mobile calling where smartphones dare not tread, but it isn't the best choice for in-car calling.
One of Charles Bombardier's many wild concept vehicle designs, the Arrow, could be powered by lithium-air batteries with a range of over 370 miles.
At its Google I/O conference, the company showed off the equipment it uses to gather its 360-degree panoramic imagery of the world.


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A Few Clouds
Winds: East 9
It is one of a kind in Georgia. The Dinoff School in Griffin opened its doors recently as the only high school in the state with a curriculum — that's every class in every grade level — designed specifically for gifted students. Read More»
Both parents and educators often view the disciplining of children to be one of the most challenging issues they face.
This fall, parents and teachers of the Fayette County Public School System are invited to attend a free seven-week Love and Logic workshop on Tuesdays Sept.14, 21, 28, and Oct. 5, 12, 19 and 26 from 6:30-8 p.m. at Robert J. Burch Elementary. While the workshop is free, there is a $10 book fee. CARE, Children at Risk in Education, is sponsoring the workshop. Read More»
The Sandy Creek Patriots, the reigning Class AAAA state champions, made a statement against one of their county rivals, the Whitewater Wildcats, 20-14, in the season opener for both teams Friday night.
Click here for a recap of Friday night's winners and losers at TheCitizenSports.com.
Years of explosive growth behind them, Fayette schools now face declining numbers
A school system that a decade ago was growing by an elementary school a year has shifted into reverse. All age groups are affected as elementary schools, middle schools and high schools — with a few exceptions — are having fewer students show up for classes. Read More»
"Free" is everyone's favorite price, particularly when it's time for back-to-school.
Get a free Papa John's medium, one topping pizza and a free Firestone Complete Auto Care standard oil change, no purchase necessary at either location, when you buy an Enjoy the City coupon book for $10; that's half off the cover price. Read More»
It has been 10 years since Our Lady of Mercy (OLM) Catholic High School in north Fayette County opened its doors. It has been a decade that has led to many achievements and one that points to an even brighter future.
OLM opened its doors in 2000 for grades 9 and 10 with an enrollment of 70 students. The school at that time offered a few sports and fine arts, said Principal Danny Dorsel, adding that OLM's first graduating class came in 2003 when 19 students received their diplomas. Read More»
Five affluent suburban high schools; three school years; 266 crimes reported and worked by local law enforcement officers. Read More»
Thirteenth family member wears shirt for first day of first grade
Family traditions come in all forms. But for the McCabe family in Fayetteville, the tradition of wearing the same shirt on the first day of the first grade was extended last week when six year-old Killian Marshall became the 13th family member since 1958 to wear the vintage shirt.
"It's a simple white linen weave cotton shirt adorned with blue and red diamonds; at a glance, most would say it is nothing special. For the McCabe family, however, it represents decades of memories," The Citizen reported in 2007. Read More»
Denny Leander, Commander of Fayette County Post 105 congratulated Matthew Niebes on receiving a $1,000 scholarship from The American Legion. Each year, The American Legion awards six scholarships to the children and grandchildren of Legionnaires from across Georgia upon graduation from high school. Niebes graduated from McIntosh High School in May and is the son of Legionnaire David Niebes. He will be a freshman in the class of 2014, attending Oxford College of Emory University this fall. Fayette County Post 105 meets the second Monday of each month at the Log Cabin in Fayetteville. Read More»
Dr. Jeffrey Bearden was selected last week to fill the superintendent's position with the Fayette County School System. Details to be worked out with the Fayette County Board of Education include Bearden's start date in January after he fulfills his notice with the Marshwood School District in Eliot, Maine, where he currently serves as superintendent.
Bearden will be coming from a district with five schools and 2,500 students to take over a system with 30 schools and 21,000 students. Read More»


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Welcome to The Desert Quilter!
It might seem ironic to be a quilter in the desert, but quilts are about tradition, beauty, and legacy as much as they are about keeping warm.
Whether you are creating your own quilt, or trying to preserve a quilt that you've cherished for years, our techniques at the Desert Quilter can add beauty and depth to your quilt that can't be found any other way. And now is the perfect time to start!
Check out our great deals!
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Enhance your unique quilt using Hand and Computer Guided Machine Quilting. Call for a consultation.
702-408-5477 cell or firstname.lastname@example.com
While you ponder your own love of beautiful quilts, perhaps you might like some of my favorite Quilt Quotes:
"My soul is fed with needle and thread, my body with chocolate!"
"Ask not what your fabric can do for you, but what you can do for your fabric."
"I am a material girl. Wanna see my fabric collection?"
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The Brain Injury Association of Vermont will be holding their 26th Annual Traumatic Brain Injury Conference on Tuesday, October 14, 2014 at the Sheraton Conference Center, Burlington, VT For a brochure and more information, click here
The Brain Injury Association of Vermont will be holding their 26th Annual Traumatic Brain Injury Conference on Tuesday, October 14, 2014 at the Sheraton Conference Center, Burlington, VT For a brochure and more information, click here
Does race and ethnicity affect brain injury rehabilitation? "Studies show that among minorities who receive rehabilitation after brain injury, health disparities persist and affect long-term outcomes." Issues of cultural diversity in acquired brain injury (ABI) rehabilitation. Neurorehabilitation, August 2014 Abstract and first page of article can be found here
Does race and ethnicity affect brain injury rehabilitation? "Studies show that among minorities who receive rehabilitation after brain injury, health disparities persist and affect long-term outcomes." Issues of cultural diversity in acquired brain injury (ABI) rehabilitation. Neurorehabilitation, August 2014 Abstract and first page of article can be found by clicking here
The Minnesota Department of Health released a report on how concussions are impacting high-school athletes.
The report is based on data the Minnesota Department of Health collected from 36 Twin Cities-area schools during the last academic year. It estimates 3,000 high school athletes were concussed statewide last year.
That's 22 athletes suffering a concussion for every high school in Minnesota last year.
According to published reports, "Health Commissioner Ed Ehlinger says the research should be a signal to coaches and parents that concussions need to be taken seriously."
"And we need a commitment from everyone on the team to make sure our athletes can compete safely, and when concussion does occur, we need to make sure the student athletes have the support of parents, teachers, coaches, and school nurses and clinicians in the community," he says.
According to the report, hockey and football players have the highest concussion rates
The study results are published in the September issue of Minnesota Medicine.
The following brain injury conferences scheduled for October 2014 may be of interest to my readers:
October 7-11
ACRM Annual Conference
Toronto, ON, Canada
703 435-5335 click here
October 10
13th Annual Neuro-Rehabilitation Conference
Loma Linda, CA
909 558-3500 click here
October 10-11
Brain Injury Association of Montana, Annual Conference
Bozeman, MT
800 241-6442 click here
October 11-12
Brain Injury Association of Illinois Annual Conference
Oakbrook Terrace, IL
800 699 6443 click here
October 18
Brain Injury Association of Missouri Annual Conference
St. Louis, MO
800 444-6443 click here
October 27-30
25th Annual State of the States in Head Injury Meeting
Philadelphia, PA
802 498 3349 click here
Beginning tomorrow, hundreds of children will be walking to and from school and school buses – many for the first time. Here are some simple tips for pedestrian and motorist safety:
• Everyone who drives has a responsibility to be especially careful during this busy time for youngsters.
• Did your teenage son or daughter receive their driver license during the summer months? Are they driving to school for the first time? Consider discussing with them the new hazards they may encounter on public streets and on campus now that school will be open. E.g. frequent bus stops; Children crossing roadways.
• Be cautious in school areas, keeping your speed at or below posted limits and being prepared to stop, on both sides of the street, for school buses with flashing red lights, as required by New York State law.
• Motorists are encouraged to allow extra time for their respective commute in the morning as buses make frequent stops.
• Children tend to be at greater risk during the back-to-school period because they tend to be thinking more about seeing old friends and new teachers than watching for cars and trucks. Others are going to school for the first time and may be nervous.
• Look all ways before crossing the street.
• Cross only at corners or at designated cross walks.
• Only enter the roadway after all oncoming traffic has come to a complete stop.
• Obey police officers, school crossing guards, and traffic signals.
• Watch for turning cars.
• Be especially alert in bad weather.
• Play away from traffic.
• Remember, hands-free is not risk free.
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued a warning that there are no approved dietary supplements to treat a concussions or other types of brain injury.
Can a Dietary Supplement Treat a Concussion? No!
The concussion supplement warning published by the FDA is published in full below:
Exploiting the public's rising concern about concussions, some companies are offering untested, unproven and possibly dangerous products that claim to prevent, treat or cure concussions and other traumatic brain injuries (TBIs).
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is monitoring the marketplace and taking enforcement actions where appropriate, issuing warning letters to firms—the usual first step for dealing with claims that products labeled as dietary supplements are intended for use in the cure, mitigation, treatment, or prevention of disease. The agency is also warning consumers to avoid purported dietary supplements marketed with claims to prevent, treat, or cure concussions and other TBIs because the claims are not backed with scientific evidence that the products are safe or effective for such purposes. These products are sold on the Internet and at various retail outlets, and marketed to consumers using social media, including Facebook and Twitter.
One common but misleading claim: Using a particular dietary supplement promotes faster healing after a concussion or other TBI.
Even if a particular supplement contains no harmful ingredients, that claim alone can be dangerous, says Gary Coody, FDA's National Health Fraud Coordinator.
"We're very concerned that false assurances of faster recovery will convince athletes of all ages, coaches and even parents that someone suffering from a concussion is ready to resume activities before they are really ready," says Coody. "Also, watch for claims that these products can prevent or lessen the severity of concussions or TBIs."
A concussion is a brain injury caused by a blow to the head, or by a violent shaking of the head and upper body. Concussions and other TBIs are serious medical conditions that require proper diagnosis, treatment, and monitoring by a health care professional. The long-term impact of concussions on professional athletes and children who play contact sports has recently been the subject of highly publicized discussions.
A growing body of scientific evidence indicates that if concussion victims resume strenuous activities—such as football, soccer or hockey—too soon, they risk a greater chance of having a subsequent concussion. Moreover, repeat concussions can have a cumulative effect on the brain, with devastating consequences that can include brain swelling, permanent brain damage, long-term disability and death.
"There is simply no scientific evidence to support the use of any dietary supplement for the prevention of concussions or the reduction of post-concussion symptoms that would allow athletes to return to play sooner," said Charlotte Christin, acting director of FDA's Division of Dietary Supplement Programs.
Click here for more information.
I will be participating tomorrow morning—Saturday, August 30th at 10:40 AM in a discussion on the class action lawsuit commenced against FIFA and US Soccer leagues for concussion injuries in youth soccer on "The Classroom" from the Marist College Center for Sports Communication.
I will be analyzing the claims made in this soccer case, the relief that the plainitff's are seeking and the legal arguments that I anticipate each side will be making.
1220 ESPN Radio and the Marist College Center for Sports Communication have launched a weekly sports radio program produced live from the Marist College campus, representing the nation's first partnerships between an ESPN radio affiliate and an academic center on a college campus.
The program, named "The Classroom," is heard on Saturday mornings on Fox1220, 95.7 and 94.1 ESPN Radio and live on the web at 10 a.m. to noon. My segment is scheduled for 10:40 AM.
To listen to the broadcase live, click here
Al Jazeera America's flagship show, America Tonight will track all reported concussions in major college football this season. They have prepared a map which marks each reported player concussion which will be updated every week during the 2014 season (including the preseason).
As of yesterday, the map reports 9 concussions. But this is only what is reported. What about players who fail to report symptoms, teams that fail to report concussions, and concussions that are go on recognized?
For more information, click here
A class action lawsuit was filed yesterday in US Federal District Court against the Federal of International Football Association (FIFA) and US Soccer leagues by parents seeking changes to the associations concussion management rules to prevent brain injuries from occurring.
The plaintiffs are not seeking financial compensation but changes to how the game is played. They are seeing an injunction compelling the leagues to changes their rules regarding heading a soccer ball, when to remove a player from the game after a suspected concussion takes place, how long to keep the player out and educational requirements. The lawsuit wants the league to any player under 14 from heading the ball.
I was interviewed for a story published in the New York Times, Concussion Lawsuit Bids to Force Rule Changes in Soccer regarding this lawsuit. While I agree with the purported motivation for commencing this action, I have serious doubts whether the court can grant the plaintiffs the relief they demand.
The complaint is an excellent primer on the history of sports concussions, what was known and when it was known, the need for sports concussion management and the dangers faced by children who sustain a concussion while engaged in a sporting activity. I am attaching the full complaint: Download Soccer complaint
A concussion is a brain injury. The best cure for a brain injury is prevention. When in doubt, keep them out!
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that annually, up to 3.8 million sport-related concussions occur in the United States.1 For adolescents and young adults, sports, such as football, account for a substantial proportion of these concussions.
There has been little research assessing the role of impact location on concussion outcome. A recent study published online, August 14, 2014 in the Journal Pediatrics, Impact Locations and Concussion Outcomes in High School Football Player-to-Player Collisions, attempts to answer this question.
The study concluded that, "among high school football players who sustained concussions due to player-to-player collisions, concussion outcomes were generally independent of impact location."
Pediatrics 2014;134:489–496
The Brain Injury Association of Michigan's Annual Conference will take place this year on September 11- 12 in Lansing, Michigan.
The purpose of this two-day conference is to provide state-of-the art information about brain injury treatment and therapies, which will foster maximal rehabilitation and a good quality of life. This conference is designed to benefit persons engaged in therapies with persons recovering from injury as well as caregivers and persons with brain injury.
For further information, click here.
An interesting article in Forbes, 35 NFL Players Already Had Concussions discusses the continuing crisis of brain injury among NFL Players. Yes, traumatic brain injury because a concussion is a brain injury.
The article emphasizes that although we are still in the pre-season, already 35 players have been diagnosed with concussions "and remember: The actual numder of concussions is undoubedly higher, experts say. Pleayers competing for roster spots aren't likely volunteering their symptoms, and teams aren't obligated to make weekly reports to the league yet."
Until players are assured that they will receive the benefit of their contract and life time disability benefits if they sustain a career ending concussion, there is little incentive for them to report their symptoms.
The University of New Mexico is engaged in a new program designed to scan the brains of all student-athletes engaged in contact sports.
The program will perform noninvasive MRI scans of the brains of men's basketball, football, soccer, diving and baseball teams. Female athletes engaged in basketball, volleyball, soccer and diving will also be scanned. Additionally, anyone engaged in cheerleading will receive a baseline brain scan.
So far the program known as the Brain Safe Project has scanned the brain of more than 253 student athletes. The program is designed to study the long term effects of concussions sustained by student athletes.
The Premise of Baseline Brain Scans according to the Brain Safe Project:
"The Importance of Baseline Scans
Measuring structure, function, perfusion, and connectivity at two different times
One of the most difficult things in assessing the impact of any type of head injury — but concussions and mild traumatic brain injury in particular — is to identify what has changed in regard to brain structure and function. Having individuals' baseline scan for comparison purposes may significantly add to the accuracy of the assessment of brain injury. This is the premise of the Brain Safe project.
The goal of the Brain Safe analysis methods— that will analyze what has changed at the level of the individual subject by measuring structure, function, perfusion, and connectivity at two different time points or before and after any event—is to be able to identify mild traumatic brain injuries that cannot be identified with traditional assessment methods such as neuropsychological tests or a single structural scan."
You can get more information by visiting the brain safe project web site.
The Brain Injury Association of New York State is offering a free Webinar, A Parent's Guide to Concussions in the Classroom on Thursday, August 28, 2014 from 3:00-4:15 p.m. EST
Topics to include:
What to do when my child sustains a concussion?
What is the school district's responsibility when a student is concussed?
Neurocognitive testing, what is it for?
Return to play protocols
Return to school protocols|
Available resources for managing a complex concussion
Click here to register
The following August federal brain injury legislative update was prepared by the Brain Injury Association of America (BIAA):
TBI Act Reauthorization
The United States Senate planned to pass TBI Act Reauthorization this week but further action on the bill will be taken in September. BIAA thanks Sens. Harkin (D-Iowa), Alexander (R-TN), Hatch (R-UT) and Casey (D-PA) for their continued leadership on passing this important legislation to the brain injury community.
Assisted Living TBI Pilot Program Extension
The U.S. Senate overwhelmingly passed a $16 billion overall to the Department of Veterans Affairs Thursday night which included a three year extension to the Assisted Living TBI Pilot Program. Sens. Corey Booker (D-NJ) and Dean Heller (R-NV) introduced the Assisted Living Pilot Program for Veterans with Traumatic Brain Injury Extension Act, S.2607. The AL-TBI Extension Act authorizes the continuation of a critical VA program that provides intensive care and rehabilitation to veterans with complex brain injuries. AL-TBI consists of community-based residential/transitional rehabilitation programs around the country in which veterans are immersed in therapies for movement, memory, speech, and gradual community reintegration. This model of care allows veterans facing similar challenges to live together while receiving 24/7 care, which has yielded impressive results and helped rehabilitate hundreds of veterans from severe injuries that are notoriously difficult to treat. BIAA thanks Sens. Booker and Heller for their leadership and to Congress on extending this vital program to our Veterans with TBI.
U.S. Department of Education
On Tuesday, BIAA staff attended a meeting with Michael Yudin, Assistant Secretary of Special Education and Rehabilitation Services and other senior leadership at the Department to discuss New York State's Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) waiver extension which included a provision to test students with disabilities two grades below their enrolled grade level. On Thursday, the Department approved New York's ESEA Waiver Extension without Amendment 1. Amendment 1 was the provision that would have allowed NY to test students with disabilities at two grades below their enrolled grade. BIAA could not be more pleased that this provision was not included in the waiver - its removal means that thousands of students with disabilities including brain injury won't be taken off the track to graduation.
SAFE PLAY Act Introduced
On Thursday, Rep. Bill Pascrell, Jr. (D-NJ-09), Senator Robert Menendez (D-NJ), and Rep. Lois Capps (D-CA-24) introduced the Supporting Athletes, Families and Educators to Protect the Lives of Athletic Youth (SAFE PLAY) Act, a bill that would promote youth safety in athletic activities.
According to the Centers for Disease Control, participation in organized sports is on the rise. Almost 30 million children participate in youth sports in the U.S. This increase in participation has also led to an increase in injuries - more than 3.5 million kids under age 14 receive medical treatment for sports injuries each year, 21 percent of all traumatic brain injuries among U.S. children are associated with sports participation, and children ages 5 to 14 account for nearly 40 percent of all sports-related injuries treated in hospitals.
To address this, the bill would take a multipronged approach of research, community education, and federal support for school district to adopt best practices to keep kids safe, focusing on several areas, including heat exposure, CPR and AED training, concussion response, and energy drink consumption, to ensure children's safety in athletics and on campus.
Specifically, the SAFEPLAY Act would direct the Center for Disease Control (CDC) and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to:
• Develop recommended guidelines for the development of emergency actions plans for student athletes
• Develop information on the ingredients used in energy drinks and the potential side effects of energy drink consumption
• Recommend guidelines for the safe use of energy drink consumption by students
• Report to Congress on the number of sports related fatalities and catastrophic injuries and the cause
• Develop and disseminate information about the health risks associated with exposure to excessive heat and humidity, and how to avoid heat-related illness
• Assist schools in developing and implementing an excessive heat action plan to be used during all school-sponsored athletic activities that occur during periods of excessive heat and humidity
The bill would also help local education agencies develop and implement safer schools. The bill would provide assistance for school districts to develop and implement a standard plan for concussion safety and management and set up concussion management teams to respond to incidents on campus. It would also support schools by providing access to critical resources to teach students across the country the life-saving skills of cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and how to use automated external defibrillators (AED).
Congress is out of session for the month of August and will return to Washington D.C. on September 8, 2014. Policy Corner will resume on September 12, 2014.
Apparently, not all concussion apps that are currently available from I Tunes are up to date or provide comprehensive information according to a new article Comprehensive review of concussion screening apps for the sidelines which can be accessed by clicking here.
Concussion rates in young female soccer players are greater than those reported in older age groups, and most of those concussed report playing with symptoms according to a study on the prevalence of concussions in female soccer players reported in this week's issue of Journal of the American Medical Association entitled, Concussion and Female Middle School Athletes, JAMA. Published online August 01, 2014
The study also found that heading the ball is a frequent precipitating event and that awareness of recommendations to not play and seek medical attention is lacking for this age group.
The study found that among the 351 soccer players, there were 59 concussions with 43 742 athletic exposure hours. Cumulative concussion incidence was 13.0% per season, and the incidence rate was 1.2 per 1000 athletic exposure hours (95% CI, 0.9-1.6). Symptoms lasted a median of 4.0 days (mean, 9.4 days). Heading the ball accounted for 30.5% of concussions. Players with the following symptoms had a longer recover time than players without these symptoms: light sensitivity (16.0 vs 3.0 days, P = .001), emotional lability (15.0 vs 3.5 days, P = .002), noise sensitivity (12.0 vs 3.0 days, P = .004), memory loss (9.0 vs 4.0 days, P = .04), nausea (9.0 vs 3.0 days, P = .02), and concentration problems (7.0 vs 2.0 days, P = .02). Most players (58.6%) continued to play with symptoms, with almost half (44.1%) seeking medical attention.
You can access the full study by clicking here.
Here is the most recent legislative update from the Brain Injury Association of America (BIAA) who deserves our thanks for all of their efforts on behalf of individuals with brain injury and their families
TBI Act Reauthorization
The Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP), lead by Chairman Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) and Ranking Member Lamar Alexander (R-TN) approved the Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) Reauthorization Act of 2014 as part of a package of bipartisan bills. S.2539 was introduced by Sens. Robert Casey, Jr. (D-PA) and Orrin Hatch (R-Utah).
First enacted in 1996, the TBI Act is the only federal law that authorizes agencies within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to conduct research and public education programs and to administer grants to states and protection and advocacy organizations to improve service system access and coordination for the 2.4 million civilians who sustain traumatic brain injuries in the U.S. each year.
The authorization bill includes an increased focus on brain injury management in children and gives the HHS Secretary discretion to determine which agency within the department will administer the grant program for states and protection and advocacy organizations.
The United States Senate is likely to vote on the bill next week before Congress breaks for August recess. The House of Representatives voted to reauthorize the TBI Act in a floor vote on June 24, 2014. BIAA thanks Sens. Harkin, Alexander, Casey and Hatch for their leadership in reauthorizing the TBI Act.
Assisted Living Pilot Program for Veteran with TBI Extension Act
Sens. Corey Booker (D-NJ) and Dean Heller (R-NV) introduced the Assisted Living Pilot Program for Veterans with Traumatic Brain Injury Extension Act, S.2607. The AL-TBI Extension Act authorizes the continuation of a critical VA program that provides intensive care and rehabilitation to veterans with complex brain injuries. AL-TBI consists of community-based residential/transitional rehabilitation programs around the country in which veterans are immersed in therapies for movement, memory, speech, and gradual community reintegration. This model of care allows veterans facing similar challenges to live together while receiving 24/7 care, which has yielded impressive results and helped rehabilitate hundreds of veterans from severe injuries that are notoriously difficult to treat.
AL-TBI began as a five-year pilot program established in the FY2008 National Defense Authorization Act. Although it took the Department of Veterans Affairs over two years to implement the pilot program, the program-which has been operational for only three years-will expire this year if Congress does not act. The VA has stopped admitting new veterans into the program. If the program is allowed to expire, the VA will have to discharge veterans in the program even if they have not had the full benefits of this model of care. In fact, the VA will begin discontinuing services for at least half of those in the program in mid-September. The VA has indicated it will carry out individual transition plans for veterans currently enrolled in the pilot, but it offers no alternatives that replicate the AL-TBI's model of residential, community-based treatment.
Congratulations to my partner, Shana De Caro on her election as chair of the American Association For Justice, Traumatic Brain Injury Litigation Group at the association's annual conference held earlier this week in Baltimore, Maryland.
The traumatic brain injury litigation group provides the latest information to attorneys representing victims of traumatic brain injury on effective strategies to establish and prove the lifelong consequences of brain damage sustained; new advances in brain injury medicine including diagnosis, treatment and using imaging studies. Each year the group sponsors seminars to educate attorneys on cutting-edge developments in traumatic brain injury litigation. The group reviews the latest medical literature on traumatic brain injury, new diagnostic test methods, and recent court decisions pertaining to the traumatic brain injury litigation and the latest trial techniques to convey the full extent of the consequences of traumatic brain injury in court.
The group comprises attorneys from throughout the nation who represent clients with traumatic brain injury caused by automobile collisions, truck and bus accidents, head injuries sustained on construction sites, falls and medical malpractice.
Shana De Caro has been an active participant in the group since its inception in 1991 and has served on its executive board for the past ten years. In addition to her service on the traumatic brain injury litigation group, Shana also serves on the board of directors of the New York State Academy of Trial Lawyers, is a trustee and officer of the Civil Justice Foundation and an elected fellow of the Melvin Belli Society. Shana is also a member of the Advisory Board, Acquired Brain Injury Program, The George Washington University, Washington, D.C., Graduate School of Education, and Human Development and has been selected as a New York Super Lawyer.
The Veterans Administration has developed a new mobile app that provides information on concussion symptoms and the self-management of the common symptoms following a concussion.
The concussion app's main goals are:
More information is available by clicking here
New recommendations from the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) advise that all patients with concussion symptoms should be screened for the presence of a sleep disorder and patients. Additionally, patients should be asked if they are experiencing frequent difficulty in falling or saying asleep, excessive daytime sleepiness or usual events during sleep.
These new recommendations were released this month by DOD along with support tools to assist in the identification and treatment of sleep disturbance in persons following mild traumatic brain injury, also known as a concussion.
Sleep disorders are a frequent symptom following a concussion and must be identified and treated as soon as possible. According to many medical experts, a good sleep cycle is critical to the brain's ability to heal and recover following a concussion.
The new Management of Sleep Disturbances following Acute Concussion/Mild TBI Recommendations suite is composed of clinical recommendations, a clinical support tool, a provider education slide deck and a patient education fact sheet. More information can be obtained by clicking here.
On Sunday, July 27th, I will be the lead off speakier at the annual conference of the American Association for Justice, Traumatic Brain Injury Litigation Group's annual program to be held this year in Baltimore, Maryland.
My topic this year is entitled, From Concussion to the Classroom and Playing Field. I will explore the many legal issues in recently enacted concussion management legislation, public health issues and additional steps that must be taken to protect our nation's youth from the epidemic of traumatic brain injury in all sports.
Recent evidence points to over 250 million of our nation's youth sustain some type of a traumatic brain injury each year while participating in athletic competition all athletic training. Brain injury in sports is a public health crisis that must be approached from many different areas including education, prevention, return to play guidelines and legal liability when a preventable brain injury takes place.
The legal conference is a part of the four day conference sponsored each year by the nation's largest trial lawyer association, the American Association for Justice. The conference each year is attended by over 2,000 attorneys from across the nation. The conference provides educational skills to attorneys on how to more effectively represent their clients following a personal injury.
The traumatic brain injury litigation group is comprised of attorneys who have a special interest in the area of traumatic brain injury litigation. I have been honored to have been a chair of this group and continue to serve on the group's executive board.
The Brain Injury Association of America has just issued the following Action Alert:
Protect Access to Care for Veterans
Call Congress Today!
As a member of the large and growing community that understands the importance of thoughtful, comprehensive care for individuals living with brain injury, we wanted to inform you of an important program for America's veterans that is in danger of shutting down if Congress does not act soon.
Established by Congress in 2008, the Assisted Living TBI Pilot Program has made it possible for hundreds of wounded warriors to receive specialized, post-acute brain injury rehabilitation in the community.The program provides critical, real-life skills to help veterans return to their homes and communities. It has been a lifeline for dozens and dozens of veterans.
Unfortunately, the Department of Veterans Affairs has announced that it will end the pilot program on September 30, 2014 unless Congress takes action to extend it. This means that the VA will soon begin to discharge veterans from the program.The Wall Street Journal recently highlighted the importance of the program and the challenges faced by many if Congress doesn't act soon.
We need your help to make sure the Assisted Living Pilot Program for Veterans with TBI continues to make a meaningful difference for America's heroes.
Please call your Member of Congress and make sure they know how important the program is to veterans and urge them to support extending the pilot program. You can reach your Representatives and Senators by calling the U.S. Capitol Switchboard at (202) 224-3121 where you will be transferred directly to their offices. Thank you for your crucial contribution to this effort.
The Brain Injury Association of New York State (BIANYS) will again be hosting Brain Injury and Concussion Awareness Day at Citi Field with the New York Mets on September 28, 2014.
BIANYS is selling field level tickets to see the Mets take on the Houston Astros at the last regular season home game of the year. You can obtain more information and purchase your tickets by clicking here.
The following brain injury conferences scheduled for August and September 2014 may be of interest to my readers:
August 1
Brain Injury: The Family's Journey
Sioux City, IA
855 444-6443. click here
September 11-12
Brain Injury Association of Michigan Annual Conference
Lansing, Michigan
810 229-5880 click here
September 24-26
Brain Injury Association of Canada Annual Conference
Gatineau, QC, Canada
613 762-1222 click here
In a letter to FIFA, the co-chairs of the Congressional Brain Injury Task Force, urged that the world soccer organization take immediate steps to address their "inadequate approach toward traumatic brain injury."
Here are some excerpts from the congressional correspondence raising questions about FIFA's concussion management protocol:
"This threat was on full display during the World Cup, where several players were left in obvious pain after receiving blows to the head. Of note, Álvaro Pereira, Javier Mascherano, and Christoph Kramer all endured brutal head injuries during play. Unfortunately, their pain wasn't the only thing that these players had in common: each of them returned to the field almost immediately after a brief, sideline evaluation by a team doctor. In the case of Mr. Pereira, the team doctor even signaled to the manager that a substitution was necessary; however, the player insisted that he continue and he was reintroduced to the game. While Messrs. Periera and Mascherano continued to play for the remainder of their matches, Mr. Kramer collapsed on the field after fifteen minutes and was finally substituted out. He stated the next morning that he had little memory of the game."
" Unlike in many other professional sports, following a player injury, the decisions of team doctors, who are rarely neurologists, can be overruled by coaches or the players themselves. This flies in the face of everything we know about TBIs, inadequate diagnosis and treatment, and the severity of this condition. Even after his team's doctor advised him to leave the field, Mr. Pereira refused. This strategy is not sufficient in adequately diagnosing and treating players who have sustained head injuries. In the National Football League, for example, an independent doctor, unaffiliated with the team, must be present to evaluate all potential head injuries and make final decisions about whether it is safe for a player to return to the field."
A 20 minute conversation with a social worker has the potential to reduce the functional decline of persons diagnosed with mild traumatic brain injury according to a recent study published in May in the Journal, Brain Injury: The emergency department social work intervention for mild traumatic brain injury. A pilot study. Brain Injury, 2014; 28 (4): 448
Mild traumatic brain injury is often difficult to detect and may go undiagnosed in the emergency department of a hospital. Common symptoms of a concussion or mild traumatic brain include headache, nausea, vomiting, dizziness, blurred vision, fatigue and sleep disturbances. According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) not everyone gets all of these symptoms and not all symptoms appear at once. Some individuals do not develop some or all of these symptoms for days or even weeks after the initial brain injury.
If a patient does go to the emergency room to be evaluated, he or she may go home thinking they're OK, but then begin to develop these physical symptoms including problems with memory, concentration and multi-tasking when doing routine tasks.
That's why it is important that all individual with seen in the emergency department receive a consultation with a social worker before they are discharged. The social worker can provide patients with information about what may happen to them over the next several days or weeks. The social worker can suggest potential coping strategies, provide resources in case these symptoms develop for proper follow up care and ease the mind of the individual.
The following legislative summary was prepared by the Brain Injury Association of America (BIAA):
BIAA Presents at Congressional Briefing Highlighting Study on Outcomes for People with TBI:
Brain Injury Association of America (BIAA) president and CEO Susan Connors presented at a Congressional briefing hosted by Sens. Tim Johnson (D-S.D.) and Mark Kirk (R-Ill.) on Thursday, July 10. The briefing was held to announce the results of a study on outcomes for people with traumatic brain injury (TBI) and stroke conducted by Dobson DaVanzo & Associates, LLC.
The study, Assessment of Patient Outcomes of Rehabilitative Care Provided in Inpatient Rehabilitation Facilities and After Discharge, is the most comprehensive national analysis to date examining the long-term outcomes of clinically similar patient populations treated in inpatient rehabilitation settings and skilled nursing facilities. The research shows that people with TBI and stroke who were treated in inpatient rehabilitation settings had better long-term outcomes than those who received care in a skilled nursing facility.
The Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act
The Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) passed the House of Representatives this week. WIOA will provide better employment opportunities for individuals with disabilities. The Senate passed the bill with a 95-3 vote. It is expected the President will sign the WIOA bill into law soon. This legislation is considered the most important disability legislation passed since the groundbreaking Americans with Disabilities Act which was passed in 1990. BIAA applauds Congress for working together to pass this important legislation that will improve the lives for individuals living with disabilities caused by brain injury.
Congress Introduces the IMPACT Act
On June 26, Senators Ron Wyden (D-OR) and Orrin Hatch (R-UT), as well as Congressmen Dave Camp (R-MI) and Sandy Levin (D-MI) introduced the Improving Medicare Post-Acute Care Transformation (IMPACT) Act. They introduced the bill almost three months after releasing a bipartisan discussion draft. During the past few months, Senate and House committee staff have been meeting with a series of stakeholders on the bill including the Brain Injury Association of America.
The IMPACT Act lays out a framework for collecting standardized assessment data across post acute care (PAC) settings, which could then be used to transition Medicare's current silos of PAC payments from a fee for service payment structure to a pay for performance reimbursement structure. This payment structure would be prospective, unified across settings, and based on patient assessment data, as opposed to being dependent on the PAC setting in which the patient is treated.
TBI Act included in Mid-Year Committee Report
This week, U.S. House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Fred Upton (R-MI) released a report on the accomplishments of the committee in the first six months of 2014. The TBI Act, HR 1098, which was passed by the House of Representatives in June 2014, was included in the report.
Congressional Brain Injury Task Force Hosts Crash Reel Screening
The Congressional Brain Injury Task Force, co-chaired by Reps. Bill Pascrell Jr. (D-NJ) and Tom Rooney (R-FL), will host a Congressional screening of the film Crash Reel on Tuesday, July 15, 2014 from 6:00-8:00 p.m. in the Rayburn House Office Building, Room 2103. BIAA is sponsoring the screening of Crash Reel. The film features Kevin Pearce, a professional snowboarder, who sustained a TBI at the height of his career. This event will feature a discussion with Kevin Pearce who is now retired from professional snowboarding.


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main index
An album title that makes reference to the album's position in the chronological order of album releases by the artist. This generally only counts full-length studio albums; the numbers are usually (but not always) off if you count EPs and live albums. In some cases, this will only be one title among other non-numbered titles, but in other cases there are multiple, often consecutive, numbered titles. The main reason for this is to give a sense of weight, history, context and inevitability to the albums. The name suggests (but does not guarantee) that the album is not just a lone work, but part of a wider body that will likely tie together consistent themes. It echoes the cantos and books of epic poetry, and thus has a great deal of appeal to musicians influenced by these sources, although it can come across as pretentious or facetious if handled poorly. Some albums simply have the band's name followed by a number (in which case this overlaps with Numbered Sequels), but others are more clever with it, using a phrase related to the number.
ExamplesFirst Albums


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Tuesday, September 30, 2014
More Women in IT Would Generate 2.6B Pounds for UK Economy
A recent Nominet report found that increasing the number of women working in the United Kingdom's information technology (IT) sector could generate an extra 2.6 billion British pounds a year for the economy. Women currently make up less than 20 percent of the IT workforce, and based on current trends, the IT gender gap is set to widen over the coming years. The report, which polled IT decision makers in UK-based businesses, found that 76 percent believe they lack suitably skilled staff in IT, and of these, 58 percent say this negatively affects productivity levels, estimating on average that productivity levels are 33 percent lower as a result. The imbalance remains at the university level, with women accounting for just 19 percent of students...
See Past Spotlights >


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Indian MuseumArticle Free Pass
- Read
- View History
- Feedback
External Websites
- Indianetzone - Indian Museum, Kolkata, West Bengal
- The Official Site of Indian Museum, Kolkata Includes history of the building and details of art collection. Divided into six sections dealing with archaeology, art, anthropology, geology, zoology and industry. Located in Calcutta.


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Industry: Military, Engineering, Naval Engineering, Naval Architecture, Civil Engineering, Aeronautical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Industrial Engineering, Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Marine Engineering, Ocean Engineering
- Engineering (General) – Engineering Duty Officers (EDOs) apply their expertise to the development of ships and integrated warfare systems. Major functional areas include research and development (R&D), ships and ship systems engineering, electronic systems engineering and combat/weapons systems engineering.
- Civil Engineering – Officers in the Navy Civil Engineering Corps (CEC) head up vital Navy projects worldwide (including building runways, ports, bases and more) – and manage everything from construction plans to construction teams.
- Aerospace Engineering – Aerospace Engineering Duty Officers (AEDOs) provide professional management and technical direction in the entire air weapon system acquisition process: the design, development, testing, procurement, engineering, production and logistic support of Naval aircraft, spacecraft and weapons.
- Aviation Maintenance – Aviation Maintenance Duty Officers (AMDOs) develop, establish and implement maintenance and material management policies and procedures to support naval aircraft, airborne weapons, attendant systems and related support equipment Fleet-wide.
Key Opportunities: It's possible to maintain an existing civilian career while also enjoying the challenges and rewards of Naval Engineering. Engineers in the Navy Reserve serve as few as two days each month and two weeks each year. There are opportunities for additional service and pay and flexible scheduling opportunities to meet service requirements. There are also distinct professional advantages:
- Expand knowledge working with highly classified, cutting-edge technology and top industry experts – both military and civilian
- Work in environments ranging from nearby bases to surface ships, from Naval shipyards to specialty commands such as Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA) in Washington, D.C.
- Further expertise via hands-on experience and Navy-funded advanced training (postgraduate level)
- Manage key departments of skilled personnel and billions of dollars in equipment and technology
- Earn competitive pay and benefits for part-time service (this includes tax-free allowances for housing and meals, low-cost life insurance options, retirement benefits, low-cost travel opportunities and potential VA home loans)
- Receive potential sign-on or affiliation bonus (depending on background and qualifications)
- U.S. citizenship: Required
- Education: Graduate or student of an accredited college or university in the United States or in a United States territory pursuing a BA, BS or MS (preferably majoring in mathematics, engineering, physics, chemistry or other technical areas)
- Gender: Male or female
- Age: 19 to 40 (qualified candidates over 40 will be considered on a case-by-case basis)
- Medical exam: Required
- Physical fitness test: Required
Learn more about engineering opportunities in America's Navy Reserve.