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If someone were to ask me to pick my musical icon, I would proudly answer Michael Jackson. When I was a boy I grew up listening to classic rock and country tunes in the backseat of my parents car. At that time, this was the only music I knew. I'll never forget the first time I saw a Michael Jackson video on MTV. It was his Bad video and it seemed so out of this world, so larger than life. From that moment on I was hooked! It was so different from everything else that I had heard up until that point. My mother told me that this was pop music. I asked her what exactly pop music meant, she told me, "Well, it's popular!" I had no idea what she meant, but I thought I had found the holy grail of music. He was my first true source of musical inspiration.
The obsession only grew! The first album I got was a hand-me-down of Thriller from my uncle. PYT, Beat It, and The Girl Is Mine were my favorites, but I would be lying if I said I didn't play that album forwards and backwards, over and over again. The next album I got was Dangerous for my eighth Birthday. To this day it is still my personal favorite Michael Jackson album. It was like magic, something I just couldn't get enough of. I would dance (when no one was watching) to the whole album in my room. The album was stuck on repeat for well over a year. During this time I also stalked MTV for any and all MJ videos. I think Michael defined the medium. He gave each single life with a clever, generally over-the-top music video. Those videos showcased Michael's creativity, story telling and perfectionism.
For most, the bottom fell out soon after. I was around nine years old when the allegations of child abuse came out. I refused to believe any of it and stood by my hero! It wasn't easy, a lot of other people thought I was weird. I guess what pulled me through was his music. Personally I never believed Michael was ever sexually motivated. What I saw was a person who had a strong passion for music and big heart. A person who could be easily misunderstood.
I continued to collect Michael Jackson albums and singles. History came out in 1995, his first release post allegations. That album showed a different Michael. It wasn't a bad thing, but it was clear that something changed. I guess the best way I can put it is anger. I never saw that side to him before, but he expressed his anger clearly through that album. The first single was Scream, it was supported with a multi-million dollar video and ad campaign. At the time, it was a record-breaking budget for a video. Scream went to number one on the Billboard top 100. I was happy that even with all the allegations, he could still reach the top (at least then I knew I wasn't the only one listening to him). History produced a few more singles, but it was never quite the same.
Another long break before we got his next album in 2001, Invincible. Another album filled with mix emotions. Although the album made it to number one, none of the singles had the same sort of impact as once before. The album did much better internationally. Perhaps something that pulled away attention from the album were further accusations of child abuse. This time Michael didn't settle. In 2004 Michael went to court, fought back and, in one of the most conservative districts in California, Michael was unanimously declared innocent on all accounts. I was so happy for him! At times I wish this is what he would have done back in 1992 instead of settling out of court. After this I truly hoped for a refocus on music. Sadly that never came to be.
After years of rumors regarding his financial stability and parenting skills, fans finally got some music related news in 2008. Michael was going to put on a final tour called This is It. I was incredibly disappointed that the shows were only taking place in London, but there were strong hints that he would bring the show to North America if it were a success. I remember reading sites online and looking for YouTube videos of concert rehearsals. The show was an instant sell out! Fast forward to June 25, 2009, I'll never forget that day. I was working at an at&t kiosk in the Mall of America when someone came up and stated quite simply, "Did you hear? Michael Jackson has been rushed to the hospital! They think he's dead!" I couldn't believe it, my heart sank. It was so unreal. I remember driving home that night and I swear, each and every radio station seemed to be paying homage.
Sometimes you don't know what you have until it's gone. That was certainly the case in regards to Michael. The whole industry felt a sense of loss, a gaping hole that will never be filled. I'm disappointed that I never got to see him live. I also find it sad how 2001's Invincible would be the last album that he would see completed. Such a loss! Looking back, its easy for me to say that he had a huge impact on me not only musically, but also in my character. Michael was a fantastic role model for me and I only wish I got the chance to share that with him. To let him know that at least I didn't care about the rumors and gossip, I cared about the character and talent. He made me fall in love with dance music, a passion that lives deep in me to this very day. Many of today's musicians label him as their inspiration, much like myself. I only hope that I can do something in my lifetime that can give back to his legacy!


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Enjoy the very best of town or country life with the benefit of excellent commuter routes into Norwich from these two exciting new developments from premier property developer Hopkins Homes.
Watermill Gardens in Stoke Holy Cross is an impressive collection of three, four and five bedroom luxurious family homes; all architecturally designed to combine traditional style with modern technology to provide excellent homes for the 21st Century.
This highly desirable development sits within a pretty rural location yet is less than 6 miles from the historic and vibrant City of Norwich. Watermill Gardens is superbly located for rural living boasting a village shop, a pub and restaurant specialising in fresh local produce, a primary school for 5-11 year olds, whilst older pupils are welcomed at nearby Framingham Earl High School. Dunston Hall, with its' USGA-rated golf course is just 2 miles away. This exceptional development is surrounded by beautiful Norfolk countryside and all easily explorable with easy access to the A140, A47 and the A146. Norwich mainline rail station is around a 20 minute drive bringing train journey times into London Liverpool Street at 1hr 47mins whilst Norwich International Airport can be reached in 30 minutes.
Meanwhile, bordering the North East of the city is St. George's Place, a superb collection of homes within Manor Park, a vibrant new community in the thriving town of Sprowston ideally located close to the heart of Norwich.
This exciting new development offers a mix of two, three and four bedroom homes offering a mix of apartments, coach-houses, traditional style family homes and contemporary townhouses across a variety of designs and styles. Sprowston offers excellent amenities for growing families including a high school, three junior schools and three infant schools together with doctors surgery and health centre, library and an array of shops and supermarkets.
The Government backed Help to Buy* scheme is available at both developments where the fully furnished show homes and marketing suites are open from Thursday through to Monday, 10am - 5pm.
*Subject to Qualifying Criteria,Terms & Conditions

subset: commoncrawl


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Shahid Afridi takes lead role in drive to lift Pakistan out of the shadows
No other national team have ever had to recover from such desperate setbacks as the present Pakistan. Unable to play at home since the terrorist attack on the Sri Lanka team in Lahore two years ago, they are trying to restore their integrity after the convictions of Salman Butt, Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Amir for spot-fixing.
Alongside those shocking, front-page issues, the return of Shahid Afridi from self-imposed retirement in May to the one-day ranks makes a far smaller headline. But if his colleagues can match the pride, enthusiasm and competitive fire of the former captain, then fortunes stand to change for the better.
Afridi does not shy away from the problems facing Pakistan. Many run deeper than cricket. Nor, though, does he underestimate the…


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I started my career as an Interior Designer and ran my own business for many years. In 2002 I established the April Showers Floral Design business after extensive training at Capel Manor Horticultural College.
I have always had a passion for design and flowers and love the excitement and buzz of meeting prospective brides or event organisers and their family and friends and being part of the planning for the big day.
April Showers specialises in Wedding and Celebration flowers and offers you a truly personal and bespoke service creating stunning and innovative floral designs which are specifically designed with your day in mind.
If you are planning a wedding – buttonholes and bouquets, church or ceremony flowers, venue decor, and thank you bouquets are all personally designed and created. I am always there on the day of the Wedding or Event ensuring that every flower design is perfect, leaving you to relax; confident that your floral decor will look stunning and create the 'wow' factor.
Flowers make such a tremendous difference and it is important to choose flowers that you love and that will enhance the surroundings and create ambience to the surroundings, whilst reflecting your style and personality, creating memories for years to come. The fragrance of some flowers can be particularly evocative.
I offer a free consultation service where we can discuss your individual requirements, talk about your dress, and colour scheme, so that I can get a feel for the style of wedding or event you have in mind. I have an extensive array of portfolios, and flower books you can look through, and I can then design a floral scheme to suit you.
My team and I have been very fortunate to have had the opportunity of working in some of the most beautiful Country House Hotels and venues in Hertfordshire and Essex, as well as some of the most prestigious Hotels and venues in London, and have met some very interesting people from all walks of life, Nationalities and religious beliefs.
If you are looking for top quality luxury floral designs then please get in touch today to avoid disappointment.
I look forward to meeting you, to discuss your plans and wishes, and to creating your unique wedding and event flowers.
Gina Bridgman


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Paul Hunwick
Paul Hunwick has enjoyed an illustrious career in magazine publishing. He was Managing Editor of i-D magazine for eight years before leaving to take up editorship of Attitude. He went on to become a successful freelance journalist interviewing many of the world's most interesting fashion designers including Vivienne Westwood, Zandra Rhodes, Julien Macdonald and Alexander McQueen.
Paul has written about lifestyle, fashion and design for Men's Health, Marie Claire, Elle, Blueprint as well as newspapers such as The Guardian and The Observer. He was Creative Producer for the launch of SHOWstudio and is currently working for Mary Portas at Save the Children.
- Paul Hunwick posts an article.
- Paul Hunwick posts an article.
- Paul Hunwick features in a project.
- Paul Hunwick posts an article.


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Friday, September 30, 2011
Should I do it?
Should I revive my blog? I became really lazy with the invention of Facebook. Instead of going on and on about my crazy life I began finding clever ways to condense my current state of mind into a single sentence. But, sometimes I might like the option to expound. We'll see. . .
Posted by Downhilldiva at 3:12 PM
1 comment:
- l.g. mcfifi said...
I glance at it every once in a while, hope you are well, I am not on facebook..so of course I would love to see your blog posts
- October 5, 2011 at 3:24 PM
Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)


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A lot of people take huge interest in astrology. Many people are eager to know the meaning of the 12 astrological signs. However, there is more to astrology than just knowing zodiac signs and their meanings. If you are very serious about astrology, you need to know many other things apart from the meaning of zodiac signs.
Everybody knows that the most exciting part of astrology knows the meaning of the different zodiac signs. Your zodiac depends on your date of birth. The zodiac sign dates are based on sun sign, or the position of sun during your time of birth.
Meaning of zodiac signs
The astrological symbol of Aries represents a goat with horns on its head. It signifies strong will and spontaneity.
An astrological symbol that is easy to remember is Taurus. The Taurus sign is represented by a bull. Bull signifies strength, stamina and will.
It is one of the two astrological symbols that are twins. The symbol of Gemini represents balance, flexibility and adaptability. The twin symbol represents a probable duality, making them difficult to predict.
The astrological symbols, Cancer are also represented by an animal. The figure of the sign represents a crab. They love family and home life. They have a tendency to be moody and conservative.
An astrological symbol that can be easily and clearly recognized is that of Leo. The astrological symbol is represented by lion. Leo's symbol represents power, exuberance and expanse. Naturally, Leo's are born leaders.
Virgo astrology symbol is represented by 'the virgin'. Virgo's are people with whom you would love to chat. They have the power of convincing others with their charm.
Libra's the astrological symbol is represented by scale. The image very much looks like the scale of justice that you would see in courthouses. The scales in the figure are generally associated with balance. The astrological symbol of Libra is all about justice, stability and equanimity. They are caring and very understanding. They tend to have an introvert nature.
Scorpio is another astrological symbol which can be easily recognized. Just like the name suggests, Scorpio's astrological symbol is represented by scorpion. Just like scorpions, they cannot be withdrawn for long and they always come back with force, determination and vigor.
The astrological sign of Sagittarius represents the centaur. The symbol signifies the ability to be focused. They have a tendency to be extremely intense at times.
Capricorn astrology symbol is represented by a goatfish. Many people find the symbol to be strange. They are philosophical signs. They are highly intelligent and intuitive. Patience and preservation are another characteristic of Capricorn.
Aquarius is an astrology symbol which is the most discernable. This symbol is always described by figures resembling water. However, the waves on the astrological sign are very easy to remember.
There are two astrological symbols in zodiac that are twins. Pisces is among them. The figure of the astrological image of Pisces is that of a pair of fish. Just like fish, Pisces keep a low profile. They are honest and trustworthy.


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LOS ANGELES, Dec. 15 (UPI) -- KISS guitarist Paul Stanley says his degenerative hip condition is worsening and he will probably end up going under the knife a third time.
"I think I'm not done (with surgery)," Stanley told RockRadio.com. "I think that, unfortunately, things just haven't gone as smoothly as expected, and the second, you know, revision of that first surgery just didn't do what was necessary. And I think after the new year I'm going to have to start looking to probably have something redone."
The 55-year-old KISS StarChild said his hip problems stem from the thousands of shows he has performed with the hard rock band since the early 1970s.
Hip trouble hasn't slowed him down all that much, however. Stanley said his solo album is due out in 2006 and KISS has a new concert DVD out, "Kiss Rock The Nation Live!," which was filmed last year in Washington.


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Dan Elliott and The Monterays.jpg
Dan Elliot & The Monterays perform at the Landmark Theatre Friday night
Few things in Syracuse have survived since 1961. Archbold Stadium is gone. Salina Street no longer glows with neon marquees. And science has replaced pro basketball at the armory downtown. But while most of the city has changed, evolved, grown and struggled, at least one group of old-time musicians has endured: The Monterays.
This Friday, the Landmark Theatre will highlight remnants of that long ago era of music in Syracuse. The historic downtown venue will host Dan Elliott and The Monterays, who proudly tout themselves as Syracuse's longest running musical act.
The doo wop group will open the Old School Doo Wop Concert, which features the classic vocal stylings of Jay Sigel's The Tokens, The Chiffons, The Coasters and The Teenagers. Doors open at 6 p.m. and the show starts at 7 p.m.
Elliott and the Monterays got their start in Syracuse in the early 1960s playing at CYO dances. Elliott's close friend,
, formed the group in 1961 and Elliott joined in 1966.
"Jack was a brother to me," Elliott said during a recent interview at Syracuse Media Group. "His family basically raised me."
Elliott had grown up admiring Abert. After Elliott's group, The Dimensions, disbanded in 1966, he and Abert joined forces in The Monterays.
That same year, the group got its big break, opening for the Beach Boys at the War Memorial. The group soon began to dominate the Syracuse airwaves and shared the stage with The McCoys, The Turtles, Canned Heat and Sly and the Family Stone.
The Monterays broke up in 1970, but Elliott's storied career was just beginning. While playing with the house band at the Red Rooster he got connected with Peanuts Hucko, the band leader for the Glen Miller Orchestra. By 1971, Elliott was singing with one of the biggest big bands in the world.
He spent a year-and-a-half with the Orchestra before joining another well-known group, The Belmonts. The Belmonts are immortalized in music fame as the group that "took the bus" on the day the music died. They were touring with Ritchie Valens, Buddy Holly and the Big Bopper when all three were killed in a plane crash.
"They showed up in Fargo and the rest of those guys never made it," Elliott said.
Elliott joined the Belmonts more than a decade after the famous crash, just as oldies music was seeing a resurgence.
"In 1974 this oldies thing started happening with 'Happy Days' and all these TV shows," he said. "So suddenly, we were everywhere."
By the late 70s, however, disco began to usurp many of The Belmonts' regular gigs. In 1979, after five years on the road with the group, Elliott returned to Syracuse to resurrect his original group, The Monterays.
The doo wop group has existed in some form, then, since regrouping in 1979. In 1996 the Syracuse Area Music Awards welcomed the group to its Hall of Fame. In 2001, they were inducted into the Doo Wop Hall of Fame at Symphony Hall in Boston.
Friday night's show brings the nostalgic, peppy rock of post-war America back to downtown Syracuse for an evening of local and national talent.
"It represents a different time in America," Elliot said. "In the 50s everything was great here. Everyone had new cars. Everyone was doing well. There was no war. The music was upbeat, happy, great romantic stuff."
What: Old School Doo Wop Concert with Jay Sigel's The Tokens, The Chiffons, The Coasters, The Teenagers and Dan Elliot & The Monterays
When: Friday, May 9, 7 p.m.
Where: Landmark Theatre, 362 S. Salina St.
Tickets: $38.50, $47.50, available at Landmark Theatre Box Office or at 475-7979


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From Library of Congress Name Authority File
Astrid, Queen, consort of Léopold III, King of the Belgians, 1905-1935
Instance Of
Scheme Membership(s)
Collection Membership(s)
Fuller Name
Additional Information
Birth Date
- (edtf) 1905-11-17
Death Date
- (edtf) 1935-08-29
Birth Place
Death Place
Exact Matching Concepts from Other Schemes
Closely Matching Concepts from Other Schemes
- found: La reine Astrid, c1995:p. 33, etc. (b. 11-17-05, d. 08-29-35; wife of Léopold III, King of Belgium)
- found: Wikipedia, May 2, 2016(Astrid Sofia Lovisa Thyra of Sweden (17 November 1905-29 August 1935); birth place: Stockholm, Sweden; death place: Küssnacht am Rigi, Schwyz, Switzerland) - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Astrid_of_Sweden
Change Notes
- 1995-06-28: new
- 2016-05-28: revised
Alternate Formats


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Dr Who and the Daleks
Now you can see them on the big screen in colour! Closer than ever before!
At 5.15 on Saturday the 23rd November 1963, the very first episode of a new science fiction drama for all the family titled "DOCTOR WHO" was broadcast on BBC1. It achieved moderate if unspectacular viewing figures at first, and indeed the long term future of the adventures in space and time of this mysterious alien traveller and his companions, were far from assured during the programme's first few weeks of transmission. But such uncertainty was to change rapidly with the broadcast of the show's second serial, an apocalyptic seven-part SF adventure fantasy called "The Mutants", set on an alien world devastated by a neutron bomb where two very different races of survivors – friendly, pacifist, jungle-dwelling humanoids called Thals and ruthless, war-mongering machine-like creatures called Daleks, who live in a futuristic metallic city – are locked in conflict in the petrified ruins of the planet Skaro. While the series up to now had been averaging viewing figures of around the 4 million mark, the transmission of this story saw them rise sharply across the following seven week run of episodes, from the 6.9 million who viewed part one to the heady figure of 10.4 million that had been reached by episode seven. This was the story that helped firmly establish DOCTOR WHO in the public imagination, and armed the show's first producer Verity Lambert with the ammunition she needed to secure the programme's immediate future, obtaining authorisation from Donald Baverstock, the then Controller of Programmes at BBC Television Centre, to allow it to continue its run for at least a further thirty-six weeks, a figure which was later to be extended to forty-two.
By 1964 DOCTOR WHO had well and truly arrived, but its creators had inadvertently also spawned a monster far more powerful than anyone had intended, which not only captured the hearts and imaginations of the nation's children but also brought the lofty, idealistic public service ideals of John Reith (the first Director-General of the BBC) into close contact with hard commerce for the first time in the organisation's history, as the unsought money-making opportunities which had now been suddenly opened up by the huge popularity of the Daleks, began to dawn on the BBC hierarchy. For it was these metal monsters who were primarily responsible for galvanising the viewing figures during the show's earliest weeks and after their inevitable re-appearance in the 1964 story "The Dalek Invasion of Earth" a year later, these dome-headed metallic creatures became directly responsible for the setting up of BBC Enterprises, which was first conceived simply in order to oversee the licensing of Dalek merchandise in an age when commercial TV spin-offs like this were all but unheard of. Dalekmania was sweeping across the nation and Dalek-mad kids in every town were quickly swamped with consumer goods of every conceivable sort: everything from Dalek jigsaws, sweets, kites, lunch boxes, masks, and battery operated Dalek toy models -- even (surly the pièce de résistance) a full-sized Dalek 'play costume' went on the market during the height of the nation's obsession with all things Dalek shaped!
What drove the success of this, the first and still the most popular of DOCTOR WHO monsters, is hard to pin down precisely, but curiously it doesn't seem to be the case that children necessarily found them to be scary. Fascination seems to have been their main response. Although writer Terry Nation's original script undoubtedly describes something that can be recognised as what we later came to know as a Dalek (hideous machine-like creatures, they are legless, moving on a round base. They have no human features. A lens on a flexible shaft acts as an eye. Arms with mechanical grips for hands), the inspired elements which went into their on-screen realisation were mainly the work of BBC production designer Raymond P. Cusick, who was responsible for the '60s space-age look of the creatures, utilising Sputnik-inspired curved surfaces made of fibreglass, and a pyramidal 'pepper pot' shape thought-up mainly for practical purposes to enable a human operator to move them about manually from the inside. The Daleks in Cusick's refined vision of Nation's concept became part sophisticated armoured tank, part futuristic vehicle with a built-in 'death ray'; and with their gliding motions being inspired by the skirts of Russian folk dancers, and Brian Hodgson's innovations which made their grating, electronic-staccato vocalisations – contrived by the process of feeding the spoken voice through one of the BBC Radiophonic Workshop's ring modulators set at a frequency that turned the resultant signal on and off at thirty times per second, and then passing the result through a graphic equaliser – the metallic creatures became a curiously compelling spectacle as well as inherently monstrous. Script editor David Whitaker might also be said to have played an important role in their evolutionary development during the early draft stages of Nation's script, by placing an emphasis on the notion that the Daleks should be viewed as an uncompromising, fascistic army of malevolent genocidal killers, a trait which led to them coming more and more to be associated with the Nazis and their 'Final Solution' programme than Nation may have planned at the time – although the Daleks' EXTERMINATE mantra would take longer to become a fully integrated part of their image.
Terry Nation certainly profited visibly from the Daleks' indomitable rise through the ranks of pop culture, though. A working writer who had previously mainly been associated with radio and TV comedy, and in particular with comedian Tony Hancock's unsuccessful post Galton & Simpson ATV series (Hancock also later claimed Nation stole the idea for the Daleks from his own outline for a dystopian SF story that featured dustbin-like machine monsters), Nation was made a very rich man indeed as a result of the cavalcade of spin-off merchandising which came on the market sporting the Daleks' image in the wake of the broadcast of "The Dalek Invasion of Earth". Script Editor Terrence Dicks later joked that Terry Nation was the only man who ever made any money out of Doctor Who! Nation co-owned the rights to the Daleks alongside the BBC, since the company's in-house script department had recently been scrapped by Head of Drama, and prime mover in the creation of DOCTOR WHO, Sidney Newman, meaning Nation was now being employed as an outside freelancer who was being brought in to work for the show, and thus any work he produced was no longer automatically owned by the BBC. This was unfortunately not the case for BBC staff-designer Raymond Cusick, who after becoming aware in February 1964 that his design was proving something of a money-spinner for both Nation and the BBC, tentatively asked his head of department if there might be any remuneration forthcoming to him seeing as how the design he invented was now appearing everywhere from comic books to playing cards. The BBC's response was, predictably, in the negative … although he was later granted an ex gratia payment of £100 – which, after tax, worked out at the princely sum of £80 and ten shillings!
As well as the many toy manufacturers who were now eager to cash-in on the excitement being generated by Dalekmania, there was also Milton Subotsky and Max J Rosenberg -- the British-based American film producers behind Hammer's big rival in the horror market, Amicus Productions – who also spotted a possible gap in the market (and a partnership opportunity with their Regal Films production partner and American distributor Joe Vegoda) for colourful, U Certificate, summer holiday matinee kiddie fodder -- and they figured that it might be a gap that they would be able to fill with Nation's popular creation.
Mindful that Hammer Film Productions had obtained its first big hit through capitalising on the popularity, in the early-'50s, of the Nigel Kneale-scripted BBC TV SF series "Quatermass", producing its own 1955 movie version based on the same material -- Subotsky had been especially quick off the mark, and early on acquired the rights to Nation's first DOCTOR WHO Dalek serial for just £500 -- evidently before the BBC had fully realised the commercial potential their new tea time show might potentially have for filling the Corporation's coffers. Hammer had also recently been busy mining the children's film market seam with several home-produced pirate adventure capers, shot for release in the summer holiday season when children would be off school and thus a likely captive audience for such swashbuckling fare. But with Dalekmania in full swing by 1964, Subotsky and Vegoda knew that they had with their acquisition of the DOCTOR WHO property, ample means at their disposal of giving Hammer a run for its money. As it coincidentally turned out, the BBC was to provide the film with plenty of free promotion when it obligingly commissioned another Dalek-themed DOCTOR WHO story called "The Chase" (also written by Terry Nation) which was broadcast in the six weeks immediately leading up to the film's London premier on June 25th 1965, even making use of the film's much sturdier Dalek props which were happily lent out by a canny Vegoda after production had wrapped -- thus preparing the way for the Daleks' first, full-colour, widescreen Techniscope outing on the silver screen.
"Dr Who and the Daleks" is charming, silly and enjoyably inconsequential. As child-friendly fare goes it is, in the words of cultural critic James Chapman, 'more "Magic Roundabout" than "Brothers Grimm" despite the supposedly eerie studio-bound jungle planet setting it employs, with its petrified flora and fauna bathed in pellucid green illumination. Very much a product of its time in the mid-60s, here the mechanised Dalek army becomes a fetching race of large, brightly coloured dinky toys, cruising about a retro-futuristic space-age city that's attractively decorated in blinking lights, pink plastic corridors and gold-painted Dalek 'eye-stalk' surveillance cameras. Dalek Command's control room even sports a mod-tastic selection of lava lamps as part of its uber-stylish interior décor: 'fab' '60s furnishings being apparently a cute side-line the metal monstrosities liked to indulge in when not busy plotting the genocidal destruction of their arch-enemies the Thales.
The movie was unashamedly made to appeal primarily to young children rather than the generalised family audience that the BBC series had been attempting to cater for since its inception two years earlier -- which is why, despite the title, the brightly coloured Daleks are most definitely highlighted as being the main appeal of the picture, rather than the Doctor or his companions -- a fact that the Dalek-heavy emphasis of the trailer for the film makes abundantly clear. Indeed, despite the fact that he never earned what should have been his share of the proceeds for designing them, Raymond Cusick's classic Dalek aesthetic is about the only recognisable element of the original series which remains unaltered for Doctor Who's big screen debut … aside from the TARDIS's blue police box exterior that is. Even then, one essential detail of Dalek design had to be amended in the interests of preserving the film's U certificate: in this version their weapons now spray puffs of gaseous vapour rather than issue a deadly, vaporising death ray.
The film was made as a mid-priced picture in real terms but still cost much more than Subotsky and the New York-based Rosenberg were accustomed to spending on their usual budget priced pictures, and, indeed, the modest budget here was quiet enough to make the world of the Daleks look demonstrably more colourful and exotic than it had ever done when broadcast from out of the BBC's cramped Lime Grove Studios, or when subsequently viewed by its audience on their fuzzy, black and white 1960s TV screens. This incarnation of Nation and Cusick's creation comes in a variety of ranks differentiated by their variously coloured outer shells: metallic silver and blue for the soldier class Daleks (sporting traditional 'sink plunger' arms), a red coloured mechanic type (with a mechanical claw arm, similar to what Nation had described in his original script) and a black and gold liveried Dalek commander.
Since Amicus Productions was associated by now almost exclusively with horror and exploitation, Subotsky and Rosenberg got together with their main financier, Joe Vegoda of Regal Films International, to form a new company just to release this film (and the following year's second Dalek feature) for the juvenile market. The company was christened Aaru Films, in a move that was dreamt up as a means of sidestepping the fear that parents might be wary of allowing their children to see a matinee movie that had the Amicus name associated with it. Before production got underway at Shepperton Studios, Terry Nation attended a couple of meetings about the project with Subotsky but ended up leaving most of the subsequent discussions to DOCTOR WHO's script editor of the day, David Whitaker. While the Daleks did, by and large, survive their transition to the big screen relatively unscathed, the conceptual underpinnings of the show which had initially provided a home for them in the first place were to undergo a radical overhaul. Nation's story was adapted for the big screen by Subotsky himself, who had always fancied himself something of a writer, although his efforts weren't generally considered particularly inventive even by his own partner Max Rosenberg, who apparently thought as little of Subotsky's formulaic Dalek movie script as he did of most of the rest of his output for Amicus. Since DOCTOR WHO was unknown in America at the time, Subotsky was able to dispense almost entirely with the central idea which motivated the show: that of the protagonist being a mysterious alien traveller in time and space who is accompanied by his equally unearthly Granddaughter and her unwitting schoolteachers. It was considered too complicated to establish such a backstory during an eighty-minute-long feature that was primarily aimed at promoting the Daleks rather than any of the other characters. But the fact that William Hartnell and the rest of the TV cast were too busy filming the series every week to be made available for the film necessitated big changes being made in the casting anyway.
Thus, the mysterious Doctor of the TV show, a traveller in the fourth dimension, here becomes an affable, absent-minded, white-haired and slightly doddery inventor from Earth who builds a time machine in his back-garden out of a police box (that must be illegal, surely?) with the help of his youngest granddaughter, eight-year-old Susan (Roberta Tovey). The main character is actually called Dr Who here, and is played by Peter Cushing, who had become well-known enough through his Hammer roles by now to grab the film sufficient attention at the American box office, despite the country's complete indifference at this stage to the TV origins of the character he was supposed to be playing. Rather than the irascible and, in his first few adventures, often untrustworthy anti-hero of the original series, Cushing's Dr Who is a likable, good-tempered eccentric dressed in Rupert Bear-style check trousers and a russet-coloured frock coat -- although it is notable that he still indulges in some of the TV Doctor's irresponsible deceptions, for while Subotsky's screenplay might have fundamentally altered all the main protagonists' characteristics and personalities, it still chronicles more or less the same events as had already been seen in Nation's TV script two years previously. If Cushing's differing portrayal of the central character achieved one thing that might have had an impact on the actual TV series, though, it was the tacit implication it may have seeded, that the Doctor didn't necessarily always have to be played by the same actor (or even with the same persona always intact) for the show to retain its intrinsic character.
Anyone who might have stumbled into a cinema during the summer of 1965 expecting to see anything that remotely resembled in tone the otherworldly character of the TV series, would have had those expectations very firmly quashed within seconds of the opening titles hitting the screen, when the impressive Techniscope aspect ratio is immediately splashed with psychedelic patterns and Malcolm Lockyer's main musical cue replaces the eerie ambient electronica of the BBC Radiophonic Workshop's treatment of Ron Grainer's original (and now iconic) TV theme with a mid-paced jazzy pop shuffle that backs up a lilting Hank Marvin-style twangy guitar melody, picked to the accompaniment of wailing trumpet blasts and a full orchestra. The opening scene consists of a simple and rather charming sight gag in which the freckle-faced eight-year-old Susan (Roberta Tovey) is shown with her head buried in a book of advanced physics, while her older sister Barbara (Jennie Linden) peruses a similarly abstruse looking text book on science. The camera pans across the flock wallpaper and china ornaments on the sideboards, only to find Cushing's Dr Who delightedly thumbing through an issue of Eagle Comic, home of British '50s space-age hero Dan Dare!
This throwaway gag sets up the cheerful comic book adventure aesthetic that the rest of the film is to adopt from hereon in, but also establishes Dr Who as a character children can identify with: he's one of them and has the same interests at heart, despite being a funny old man with eccentric habits. Susan meanwhile, is much younger than the teenage Susan of the TV series, indicating the early-school age group the film seems to be pitching itself at. But she is also the most resourceful of all the protagonists and perhaps the most intelligent of them too. It is also made plain that Susan has actually helped her Grandfather invent TARDIS (no definite article is ever used in discussion of the time machine here), seemingly as an afterschool hobby. The Dr's 'little fellow scientist' is on hand with complex pseudo-scientific explanations throughout the film while Barbara is similarly just as clued up on the amazing machine, which retains its bigger-on-the-inside properties even though Peter Brachacki's classic interior design, with its central console and clinical futuristic look, has been abandoned here for a messy, visually unappealing hotchpotch of hanging wires which loop down from the ceiling among circuit boards and other transparent Perspex dome-like 'devices' full of complex wiring; and oddly, a large hand-cranked red lever in the middle of the floor has to be yanked in order to send the time machine off on its travels.
While Cushing and Tovey (who was 12 at the time that the first film was made) are here to provide identification figures for the film's young audience, Jennie Linden doesn't have that much to do in it apart from look glamorous for the dads accompanying their offspring to the cinema, as Susan's grown-up, bouffant-haired sister Barbara; and the action kicks off when her boyfriend Ian Chesterton (Roy Castle) comes to visit and manages, clumsily, to activate Dr Who's time machine by accident while being shown around its cluttered interior by Susan and her Grandfather. Light entertainer Roy Castle had previously appeared alongside Cushing in "Dr Terror's House of Horror" for Amicus, and is employed here to provide the comic relief in the film, which mostly comes in the form of prat falls. The relationship between him and Barbara is so chaste they might as well have been made brother and sister. Subotsky, despite the reputation Amicus was building as a rival to Hammer in the horror market, always hated any suggestion of sex or violence in movies, and was happy to side-line any romantic content here. One of the reviews of the film later noted that "Dr Who and the Daleks" was 'one of the few modern films to have a nubile heroine who never so much as touches her boyfriend!'
Barbara's accident-prone boyfriend first crashes into the house when he's caught leaning on the front door just as Susan opens it, and he then manages to sit on the box of chocolates he's brought as a present for Barbara. After warily being shown around TARDIS ('you are privileged, young man, to be the first visitor to our time and space machine!') he hits the activation leaver by mistake while hugging Barbara; and on the surface of the petrified planet, Castle continues to play the role of the likable but inept young bumbler for some time – bumping into things and crushing a petrified creature after rather gracelessly collapsing in a heap on top of it. Later in the Dalek city he gets into a spot of bother with the Daleks' automated sliding door system, but he starts to redeem himself as the plot progresses and he comes to be a much closer approximation to the action hero William Russell portrayed in the TV version of the story by the last act of the film, when he and Barbara join some Thal enemies of the Daleks in an assault on the Dalek base.
When TARDIS promptly dematerialises after Ian's initial faux pas, Dr Who informs the gathering that he had not yet had a chance to set a destination for the machine, and that consequently they 'could be anywhere in the Universe, and at any time … Rather exciting isn't it!' This light-hearted attitude is symptomatic of the approach taken to Nation's material by Subotsky's screenplay, which in the TV series was made to seem dark and dystopian and was rooted in fears about the atomic age and current Cold War politics, but boiled down to a traditional adventure yarn in which the 'naïve' pacifism of the Thals is pitted against the Daleks' militarised form of technocratic rationalism on a planet ruined by radiation fallout. Indeed, as Nation was writing the story in 1963 the US, the UK and the Soviet Union were negotiating the first Nuclear Test Ban Treaty. But Nation's tale of a planet on which two warring races have evolved separately for half a-million years after the dropping of a Neutron bomb, also takes much from HG Welles' "The Time Machine" in which the working classes and the leisured elite of Earth were depicted evolving in isolation to become the primitive Morlocks and the cultured but uselessly effete Eloi. Here the art direction of John Constable veers the film more towards the territory of fairy tale adventure though, despite the TARDIS crew's discovery that they are all suffering from radiation sickness as a result of their explorations of the planet's surface. In contrast to the sleekly designed Daleks, who remain trapped in their machines inside their vast, futuristic city, the Thals still retain humanoid characteristics but look like an early Bolan-esque anticipation of the flower power generation, with male and female alike sporting gold wigs and painted-on eyebrows, and making copious use of green eye shadow to boot. Despite supplying a few scares early on when Susan is pursued through the green-lit jungle created for the film on the vast soundstage at Shepperton, the Thales turn out to be a rather friendly but stupidly trusting lot, who have trekked from their home on the other side of the planet while fleeing a famine and sporting wicker baskets which they hope to fill up with food before their return.
Despite being friendly, makeup-wearing androgynous pacifist itinerants, the Thals have managed to develop a drug that fully counteracts the radiation sickness (a feat which apparently defeats the Daleks themselves despite Dalek City's sophisticated-looking laboratory and endless supplies of Dalek drones willing to have drugs tested on them!); they give some to the time travellers and they're perfectly willing to share it with their former foes in exchange for food. Subotsky's simplistic script contrasts the Thals' meek, trusting nature with the Daleks' almost childish duplicity and malevolence. In their TV incarnation they would become a futuristic alien allegory for the Nazis, their EXTERMINATE catchphrase (which is never heard here) instantly conjuring associations with the Final Solution. But here, the Daleks are almost comically transparent in their villainy; even Susan is suspicious of their attempt to co-opt her help in getting the Thals to trust them, for when they enounce in their typically harsh electronic voices such platitudes as 'the Daleks want only to help you and be your friends' it's hard to take such worlds seriously, coming as they do from a machine that looks like a mini mobile tank and has its weapon permanently trained on you!
But the Thals are depicted as being as childlike in their naivety as the Daleks are in their single-minded selfish desire to have their own way. 'There's no reason not to believe their good intentions!' proclaims a particularly optimistic Thal leader just before sending his peace party off to their certain doom. Dr Who and his companions desperately need to persuade their good-natured hosts to give up their peaceful ways and form an army to storm the Dalek City before the metal menaces can detonate another Neutron bomb in the atmosphere in order to wipe out the Thals once and for all. They also need the fluid link from TARDIS that the Daleks confiscated when they were earlier made prisoners there, having foolishly wandered into the city because the Dr wanted to explore the place.
The lengthy trek which is organised later by Ian and Barbara around alien swamps that conceal mutant monsters and across vast cratered mountainous landscapes (often nicely realised using matte paintings) and which took up several episodes in the TV version of the story, here gets squeezed into the last fifteen minutes of the picture and is probably the better for it, since Nation's seven-part story did tend to lag rather in the middle. The studio backcloths are now rather more obvious in high definition than they once were and the storming of the Dalek city does seem to come off rather too smoothly to be entirely plausible, but by this point the kids in the matinee audience would have had their fun and thrills and all that's left to do at this stage is to wind things up by launching a good old-fashioned countdown to herald the Daleks' neutron bomb explosion, and indulge in the enjoyable ballet-like spectacle of the Thal attack-force spinning Daleks about in circles in the central control room and having them destroy each other with their own weapons. For all their ultra-futuristic design and megalomaniacal urge to conquer, these Daleks prove pretty easy to overcome in the end -- but they look damn pretty though!
For years this film and its (much better) follow-up were looked upon with a disdainful scorn by many DOCTOR WHO fans, but these days it's hard to resist the urge just to sit back and let their colourful, comic-book spectacle simply wash over you. The rudimentary plotting and threadbare motivations are beside the point in a movie which was only ever meant to feed a nation's Dalek fetish with massive large-scale representations of the things rendered in glossy, sumptuous primary colour … and John Wilcox's photography certainly supplies plenty of that in abundance even if Gordon Flemyng's direction is rather hamstrung at times by the need to fill the Techniscope widescreen with sufficiently interesting compositions, although the sets and lighting are always pleasing to the eye. Cushing's fastidiously worked-out characterisation makes his avuncular Dr Who a delight though and, after the following year's sequel, he would end up playing more or less the same character in all but name once again, this time opposite Doug McClure in the Amicus production of Kevin Conner's adaptation of Edgar Rice Burroughs' "At the Earth's Core".
"Dr Who and the Daleks" arrives on restored Blu-ray looking as lush and vibrant as one could have ever wished for considering the limitations of the Technisope format (which are explained in detail on one of the featurettes). We have a near flawless digitally re-mastered print in a new HD transfer and crystal clear restored mono soundtrack, and extras are fairly copious with this particular film too: we get a trailer and a stills gallery and an audio commentary ported over from the 2002 DVD release, which appears here again with Jonathan Sothcott moderating a pleasant and informative talk with stars Jennie Linden and Roberta Tovey. Linden talks about taking on the role of Barbara after her first feature film appearance in Hammer's "Nightmare", hoping it might be a good career move because of the success of the TV series. Tovey recalls auditioning for the role of Susan in front of the director at her stage school, then being called to Shepperton for a screen test. Afterwards she arrived home to find the phone already ringing to tell her she'd got the part. Both actresses recall their fellow cast members fondly, remembering Roy Castle as someone who never wasted a moment of his time, and when the cameras weren't rolling he was always to be found in his dressing room either practising his tap dancing or his trumpet playing. Cushing is remembered by Tovey for being kind and attentive towards her during filming and for only agreeing to appear in the sequel if Roberta could be in it too. She often received cards from him afterwards signed 'Your Grandfather'. Linden and her husband actually became very close friends of both Peter and Helen Cushing and often stayed with them at their Whitstable seafront home. Linden is able to provide a lovely portrait of what it was like to be 'at home with the Cushings' which tallies extensively with the impression left by his own memoirs, and she relates how Cushing had a child-like nature and was obsessed with collecting children's toys and making model stages, one of which he made for her and gave to Linden to commemorate a recent successful stage appearance of hers.
The disc also includes an extensive documentary look at the '60s phenomena of "Dalekmania" and how the two Aaru films came about as a result. It was originally produced for video back in 1995. Historian Marcus Hearn (in younger, bearded days) and the then-editor of Doctor Who Magazine, Gary Gillatt (who looks like Wizzkid from "The Greatest Show in the Galaxy", as well as about 15 years old!) between them provide the background information on both films, and Terry Nation also appears in some archive video footage. Cast members including Roberta Tovey, Jennie Linden and "Daleks -- Invasion Earth: 2150 A.D." star Jill Curzon also appears to discuss the making of the follow-up. Thals Barrie Ingham and Yvonne Antrobus remember their roles and how considerate Peter Cushing was towards the other actors, despite being a big international star by this time. The documentary also includes an interview with stuntman Eddie Powell, who suffered a broken ankle in a stunt that went wrong during the making of the second film, but which still got included in the final edit anyway. Finally, there's a look at the multifarious array of Dalek merchandising which became available during the '60s (there's probably just as much around again now to be fair!) and we hear what happened when John Lennon unexpectedly met a Dalek at the Cannes Film festival.
"Restoring Dr Who and the Daleks" is a brand new featurette commissioned for this release, which looks in-depth at the kind of work needed to bring the film to the HD format successfully. Historian Marcus Hearn and BFI curator Jo Botting talk about the problems presented by the original Techniscope format, while various persons from the Film and Digital Services Company Deluxe explain the many elements of their work that have to be carried out during the restoration process.
Finally author of "The Shepperton Story" Gareth Owen talks about the Regal Films partnership with Subotsky and Rosenberg and how it led to the making of the two Dalek films.
"Dr Who and the Daleks" is pure family matinee spectacle with very little threat or danger ever evinced during its shortish 80 minute running time. Instead, it's a charming fairy tale sideways take on the original series' most famous monster and the dark fable Nation created for them. It now looks especially glorious again, and will have as much appeal to today's Dalek-mad fans as it did for 1960s family audiences, I shouldn't wonder. With the original programme now in its 50th anniversary year, coinciding with the centenary of the birth of Peter Cushing in 2013, now is surly the perfect time to re-enter the colour-drenched world of the original big screen 1960s Daleks!
Read more from Black Gloves at his blog, Nothing but the Night!


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G0/G1 arrest and apoptosis induced by SARS-CoV 3b protein in transfected cells
© Yuan et al; licensee BioMed Central Ltd. 2005
- Received: 30 April 2005
- Accepted: 17 August 2005
- Published: 17 August 2005
Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV), cause of the life-threatening atypical pneumonia, infects many organs, such as lung, liver and immune organ, and induces parenchyma cells apoptosis and necrosis. The genome of SARS-CoV, not closely related to any of the previously characterized coronavirus, encodes replicase and four major structural proteins and a number of non-structural proteins. Published studies suggest that some non-structural proteins may play important roles in the replication, virulence and pathogenesis of viruses. Among the potential SARS-CoV non-structural proteins, 3b protein (ORF4) is predicted encoding 154 amino acids, lacking significant similarities to any known proteins. Till now, there is no report about the function of 3b protein. In this study, 3b gene was linked with the EGFP tag at the C- terminus. Through cell cycle analysis, it was found that over-expression of 3b-EGFP protein in Vero, 293 and COS-7 cells could induce cell cycle arrest at G0/G1 phase, and that especially in COS-7 cells, expression of 3b-EGFP was able to induce the increase of sub-G1 phase from 24 h after transfection, which was most obvious at 48 h. The apoptosis induction of 3b fusion protein in COS-7 cells was further confirmed by double cell labeling with 7-AAD and Annexin V, the function of 3b protein inducing cell G0/G1 arrest and apoptosis may provide a new insight for further study on the mechanism of SARS pathogenesis.
- Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome
- Negative Cell
- Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome
- Double Cell Label
- Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Patient
The outbreak of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) posed a great global threat. SARS is a system disease which impairs many organs, such as lung, liver and immune organ. Respiratory distress and decreased immune function are the main causes of SARS patient death [1–3]. SARS was found to be caused by a novel coronavirus which was designated as SARS coronavirus (SARS-CoV), and the genome of SARS-CoV contains 11 to 14 open reading frames (ORF) and 5 to 8 potential non-structural proteins [4, 5]. The virus non-structural proteins, which vary widely among different coronavirus species, are dispensable for virus replication. It has been known that some non-structural proteins play important roles in virulence and pathogenesis, such as X protein of hepatitis B virus and ORF 8 protein of bovine herpes virus 1U(S) [6, 7].
SARS-CoV 3b (ORF4) (ZJ01, AY297028) encodes a 154-amino-acid protein, lacking significant similarities to any previously known proteins [8]. With bioinformatics analysis, using the PSORT II server, it was shown that C- or N-terminal signal peptide, coiled-coil regions and trans-membrane region allocation were not detected, however, two potential nuclear localization signals (NLS) were predicted. The cellular localization of 3b protein by confocal microscopy was performed and the nucleolus localization was confirmed. And the nucleolus localization signal sequences of 3b protein may localize in the C-terminal regions from 134 to 154 amino acids [9].
Next, using similar method, we investigated the effects of p3b/EGFP-N1 on cell cycles in 293 and Vero cells. In these cells, the p3b/EGFP-N1 positive cells were arrested at G0/G1 phase compared with negative ones after transfection (55.25% vs. 37.17% in 293 cells and 82.27% vs. 56.00% in Vero cells at 48 h), but the percentages of sub-G1 phase in positive and negative cells were all too low and comparable. These data indicated that the role of 3b protein in inducing cell cycle G0/G1 phase arrest was a conserved character, but the apoptosis induction of 3b protein might be a cell type specific.
Published data showed that massive necrosis was found in lung, spleen and lymph nodes in SARS patients. As compared with normal tissues, apoptosis cells increased significantly in the spleen, liver, lung, and lymph nodes of SARS patients. The apoptosis cells were further demonstrated to be pneumocytes, lymphocytes, and monocytes [10, 11]. Taken together, the data we presented here, as well as the apoptosis and necrosis data of SARS patients, suggest that 3b is an apoptosis-related gene in SARS genome, which induce cell or tissue specific apoptosis in transfected cells.
We kindly thank Prof. Wei Kang for reading of the manuscript and Dr. Liu Hong-yan, Dr. Li Su-yan, Yao Zhen-yu, Wu Jie and Li Jian-yong for construction of some plasmids.
Authors' Affiliations
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- Rota PA, Oberste MS, Monroe SS, Nix WA, Campagnoli R, Icenogle JP, Penaranda S, Bankamp B, Maher K, Chen MH, et al.: Characterization of a novel coronavirus associated with severe acute respiratory syndrome. Science 2003, 300: 1394-1399. 10.1126/science.1085952View ArticlePubMedGoogle Scholar
- Marra MA, Jones SJ, Astell CR, Holt RA, Brooks-Wilson A, Butterfield YS, Khattra J, Asano JK, Barber SA, Chan SY, et al.: The Genome sequence of the SARS-associated coronavirus. Science 2003, 300: 1399-1404. 10.1126/science.1085953View ArticlePubMedGoogle Scholar
- Oh JC, Jeong DL, Kim IK, Oh SH: Activation of calcium signaling by hepatitis B virus-X protein in liver cells. Exp Mol Med 2003, 35: 301-309.View ArticlePubMedGoogle Scholar
- Nakamichi K, Matsumoto Y, Otsuka H: Bovine herpesvirus 1 U(S) ORF8 protein induces apoptosis in infected cells and facilitates virus egress. Virology 2002, 304: 24-32. 10.1006/viro.2002.1656View ArticlePubMedGoogle Scholar
- Drosten C, Gunther S, Preiser W, van der Werf S, Brodt HR, Becker S, Rabenau H, Panning M, Kolesnikova L, Fouchier RA, et al.: Identification of a novel coronavirus in patients with severe acute respiratory syndrome. N Engl J Med 2003, 348: 1967-1976. 10.1056/NEJMoa030747View ArticlePubMedGoogle Scholar
- Yuan X, Yao Z, Shan Y, Chen B, Yang Z, Wu J, Zhao Z, Chen J, Cong Y: Nucleolar localization of non-structural protein 3b, a protein specifically encoded by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus. Virus Res 2005, in press.Google Scholar
- Chau TN, Lee KC, Yao H, Tsang TY, Chow TC, Yeung YC, Choi KW, Tso YK, Lau T, Lai ST, Lai CL: SARS-associated viral hepatitis caused by a novel coronavirus: report of three cases. Hepatology 2004, 39: 302-310. 10.1002/hep.20111View ArticlePubMedGoogle Scholar
- Zhang QL, Ding YQ, He L, Wang W, Zhang JH, Wang HJ, Cai JJ, Geng J, Lu YD, Luo YL: Detection of cell apoptosis in the pathological tissues of patients with SARS and its significance. Di Yi Jun Yi Da Xue Xue Bao 2003, 23: 770-773.PubMedGoogle Scholar
This article is published under license to BioMed Central Ltd. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.


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Start a Travel collection!
I encourage everyone that travels to start a collection. Other than points, miles and pictures start an actual collection. When Travelmista and I travel we collect refrigerator magnets. This is a relative low cost item that you can collect from every place you visit. Plus magnets are available at airports for that last minute item to spend your remaining currency on. It is nice to look back and see places that you visited. Other free ideas of collections- Drink coasters from regionals beers, free newspaper collections from around the world, plastic room cards and beach sand from around the world. These are all ideas for travel collections that you can start for FREE.
What are your collections?
Our collection of refrigerator magnets from around the world!


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Introducing the
Industry commonly relies on SIPOC, DMAIC, and traditional phase-gate systems. We have found these and other product and process development tools to be either focused towards production and manufacturing environments, or too obtuse, generic, and cumbersome in their application to be relevant, applicable, and effective in the rapid product development cycles that are demanded by both industry and consumers today. Looking towards the software industry, new fast-paced approaches to software development such as Agile and Scrum have emerged, but unfortunately their structure doesn't scale or apply well in the context of product development where more physical goods are often involved. Frustrated by this, we set out to create a contemporary methodology that facilitates a rapid and versatile development environment while retaining the in-depth quality control afforded by slower-paced, traditional approaches.
What resulted is our IDEA Method™.
IDEA™ Method Resources
No announcements to this news.
What can IDEA™ do for your ideas?™
Are you interested in finding out how we can apply our IDEA™ method to your project? Or maybe you want to learn more about Whitman Designs and IDEA™ itself? Don't hesitate to reach out; we love talking to people! Follow the link below to our contact form - it only takes a minute to fill out, and is the first step to starting what often ends up being the first of many exciting conversations!


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Hello all. I joined about 4 years ago, when I had bought a mandolin having made a New Year's Resolution to learn to play the instrument. In my 50s and with no previous musical experience, this was ambitious.
Fast forward 4 years. Self teaching was getting nowhere in particular. And then I got an e-mail asking if I was still looking for someone to teach me mandolin. Well I've been having lessons for 6 weeks, and that 30 minutes every week is making a huge difference. I'm starting to get confident with scales and simple tunes. I'm quite enjoying the welsh folk tunes my teacher is finding - which is good as he's Welsh.
Chords! These strange things were introduced yesterday (I knew they would be coming).I can do individual chords (just about). But moving coherently from one to another: how do people do it?
Yes, I know. Practice, practice and more practice. I shall get there.


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Fountain Park At Playa Vista
Office Info
- Mon – Sat: 9:00 AM - 6:00 PM
- Sun: 10:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Apartment Features
- Air Conditioner
- Patio/ Balcony
- Cable Ready
- Dish Washer
- Disposal
- Dryer
- Individual Climate Control
- Large closets
- Microwave
- Patio
- Refrigerator
- View
- Washer
- Window Coverings
Community Amenities
- 24-Hour Availability
- BBQ/Picnic Area
- Business center
- Clubhouse
- Controlled access
- Courtyard
- Elevator
- Fitness center
- Gate
- High Speed Internet Available
- Laundry
- Near Mass Transit
- Night Patrol
- On-site Maintenance
- Package Receiving
- Parking
- Pet friendly
- Pool
- Rec Room
- Short Term Lease
- Spa
- On-site Management
Pet Policy
- We allow cats and dogs
- Up to 2 pets allowed per home, upon approval.
We love all pets, but the following breeds/crossbreeds are not allowed: Pit Bulls (Staffordshire Bull Terrier), Dobermans, Rottweilers, Chow Chows, German Shepherds, Huskies, Mastiffs, Great Danes, Malamutes, Akitas and Wolf Hybrids. Breed restrictions are subject to change without notice.
- Weight Restrictions: Dogs up to 50 pounds are welcome.
- Monthly Pet Rent: Cats $45 / Dogs $65
- Deposit: $500 for 1 pet, $600 for 2 pets (up to 2 pets).
Sprawl at the new Cinemark Playa Vista, featuring a bar, reserved stadium seating, + RealD 3D movies
Stop by the nearby Playa Vista Farmer's Market, open every Saturday & Wednesday
Keep your best friend happy at Oberrieder Dog Park
The Resort, a 10,000 square foot, 2-story fitness center, is just a jog away
Everything you need at the CenterPointe Club: Jr. Olympic pool, spa, business center, fitness center, everything
Grab some friends and visit Dockweiler Beach State Park for a bon fire and s'mores
Shopaholics, 3 stories of shopping at nearby Westfield Shopping Mall
Be anywhere, any time: near 405 freeway
Floor Plans and Pricing
Your Move in Date: {{move_in_date}}
Close{{floorplan.name}} / sq.ft.Call Now for Availability!
Apt. #{{u.unit_code}} Available {{u.available_date}} {{ u.amenities_display}}Starting From ${{u.rent}}
Starting Rental Options
Lease Term Move-In Date Rent Starting From Varies {{u.available_date}} ${{u.rent}}
Best Available Pricing
Lease Term Move-In Date Rent {{best_price[u.unit_code].Term }} months {{best_price[u.unit_code].Date }} ${{best_price[u.unit_code].Rent }}
More Pricing Options
Please Note: The apartment is not available on the date selected. The rental prices below reflect pricing on the first available move-in date, {{u.available_date}}.
Lease Term Rent {{ price.Term }} months ${{ price.Rent }} Apply
*Branding elements, floor plans, layout plans, specifications, images, names, drawings, perspectives, models, graphics, logos, icons and other details herein are only indicative and the Developer/Promoter/Owner reserves the right to change all or any of them. All room dimensions are approximate only and may or may not include balcony square feet in total square footage. Prices and availability are subject to change. Prices vary based on move-in and lease terms.
*The monthly rental rates provided on our website are an estimate of the likely rental rate for the available floorplans and provided as a service to prospective residents. We cannot guarantee that a rental rate displayed above will be the actual rate offered at the time a rental agreement is signed as our rates change daily based on economic factors of the community such as unit availability.
Leasing Details
- Deposit:Studio: $600 | 1 Bedroom: $600 | 2 Bedroom: $800 | 3 Bedroom: $1000 | With Approved Credit
- Lease Term:We have flexible lease terms and pricing to fit your needs!
- Application Fee:$48


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to my medieval website. I hope you like the new look b/c the only
reason the other format lasted so long was b/c I forgot my password and
had to keep trying to remember it. I have place links in the books
below, they are as follows:
contact info and photos
of me (no nudes yet) -- HELLO
Take care and email me at firstname.lastname@example.com


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My client is looking for optimistic and collaborative, developers to roll up their sleeves and join their mobile team. We believe in hiring people who love what they do. Are you passionate about Android, mobile technology, and building great products? If so, we want to hear from you!
As a member of our Android Development Team, you'll be building our world-class Android app. You will work closely with Product Managers and UI/UX specialists to create fast, efficient, stable code, with core Android technologies such as: Content Providers, Sync Adapters, View Animations, JSON, and more.
Required Skills:
Strong fluency of the Java programming language, the Android SDK (versions 2.3 (Gingerbread) and up), Dalvik VM, RenderScript, memory management, strong command of object oriented principles, data structure optimizations, security, IPC, third party service integration and the Android development environment.
Experience as a member of a development team that uses Agile development techniques
Strong written and verbal communication skills: You communicate with other team members frequently and effectively
Thorough understanding of REST-ful API design: You can design and document a client-server protocol, and you can implement the client side of a documented protocol.
Required Experience:
- Bachelor's Degree or Master's Degree in related field
- Strong coding abilities and experience with Java and Android SDK (version 2.3 (Gingerbread) and up)
- Strong experience with Object Oriented (OO) software design
- Experience understanding large and complex code bases
- Memory Management (as it relates to Android devices)
- Multi-Threading
- Caching Mechanisms
- TDD experience (ideally Espresso or Roboelectric)
- Implementing REST APIs


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Thursday, February 12, 2015
Eclectic Bedroom
Wednesday, February 11, 2015
{Tipsy Christmas Cheer} Love This Merry Mocktail From @Party Bluprints Inc.
Modern Entry
Cake Batter Martini
Tuesday, February 10, 2015
Traditional Landscape
Apple Brandy And Cider
Contemporary Staircase
Monday, February 9, 2015
Elvis' Rum Punch (1 Oz. Orange Juice 1 Oz. Pineapple Juice 1 Oz. Guava Juice 1/2 Oz. Lime Juice 3 Dashes Of Bitters 3 Oz. Mount Gay Rum Amaretto Nutmeg)
Sunday, February 8, 2015
Contemporary Basement
Traditional Living Room
Pudding Thick Hot Cocoa; Oh. My Goodness. :)
Traditional Laundry Room
Traditional Patio
Saturday, February 7, 2015
Almond Toffee Martini
Vodka-Thyme Lemonade
Friday, February 6, 2015
Tiramisu Shake
Contemporary Laundry Room
Thursday, February 5, 2015
Contemporary Landscape
Manhattan Cocktail
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...a SEO company based in Leeds with an office full of happy Geeky SEO experts.
We're a creative, results-driven team committed to delivering targeted SEO campaigns that resonate with online audiences and create traction with search engines.
Our management team of 3 started out in SEO between 2003 and 2007 and joined force in 2014 to create Geeky SEO. We're a team of 24 SEO specialists, offering our clients in-house expertise in SEO, PPC, Social Media and Content Marketing.
We can get you noticed, help grow online markets, create better conversion rates and bring in higher revenue. We take authoritative action to get you to the top of search results, discover who's talking about you and find your online community. We deliver on clear KPIs so you know you're getting the right results.
The best way to start any SEO campaign is to talk with one of the Geeky SEO team members. We are here to help and can usually work with any website. On the rare occasion where we feel that we can't help, we are always upfront and honest about the matter.
Geeky SEO do not lie to nor mislead customers in any way. We always ensure that we follow all of Googles policies and do what is your best interest and that of your website.


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Wilson & Fisher Large White LED Edison Bulb Battery-Operated Lantern
Dress your home in antique design and gorgeous illumination using this Wilson & Fisher LED lantern. Featuring lovely cut-out patterns and window pane glass, the Edison-style bulb adds a touch of timeless charm to your space. Its large size and easy-use battery operation makes it perfect for the living room, foyer or sunroom.
- Intricate window pane lantern with an industrial LED Edison light bulb
- Classic white coloring along frame and ring
- Perfect for indoor or covered patio decoration
- Model number: C35087W
- 9"L x 9"W x 16"H
- Material: Plastic, glass, LED
- Requires 3 - "C" batteries, (not included)
Return Policy
If you wish to return your online order, please visit your order history to start the return process. If you have any issues, contact our Customer Care Support Center at 1-866-BIG-LOTS (244-5687) for assistance with making your return. Please be prepared to provide your order number and email address, or your rewards number, so that we may better assist you.
For return terms, see our full Returns Policy.
For return terms, see our full Returns Policy.
Already own this item? Share your thoughts, we value your opinion.
Be The First To Write A Review


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The idea that you may actually need a marketing plan to promote your vacation rental may at first seem more complicated than necessary, but it can make a very big difference in the number of bookings you receive. You may be fortunate to have friends and family who help spread the word however it is not reasonable to think that this will achieve your occupancy goals. Ultimately –even if you have only one property that you rent for a limited number of weeks– you are still running a business. As a business you need to allocate your marketing resources wisely so that you can get the best possible result.
In the vacation rental business, limited resources to invest in marketing is a very real concern. There are an overwhelming number of advertising and marketing opportunities available, all of which could generate the needed bookings, but the cost could completely erode your profits if not used wisely. In every market there will be free alternatives available and you should always take full advantage of those. The added value of many of these free alternatives is that they are local and grass-roots in nature which will ensure you are at the very least reaching your local market.
Some of these local free alternatives include drive-way signage in front of your property, posters or postings at the local stores, gas stations and restaurants. A great way to obtain space for you're at a local business is to request cards or flyers from the local business that you can then make available to your customers who may potentially patronise these businesses during their stay. Create business cards detailing your property that can be handed out easily, or left at coffee shops or attached to community bulletin boards. Also don't forget to simply spread the word. Visit all of your local businesses and tell them about your property and what you have to offer. Finally take the opportunity to talk to your cottage neighbours and tell them what you are doing with your property. This is also a great time to ease any concerns they may have.
The number of paid marketing opportunities are virtually endless and it is very easy to be tempted to throw money at a large number of these in hopes of obtaining more listings. Developing a marketing plan can help ensure that your marketing expenses remain in line and that you are allocating resources where they can obtain the best possible impact. There are a two basic methods for setting your marketing budget. Some owners prefer to use a percentage of projected revenue which sets a budget based on a set portion of revenue from the previous year or expected revenue for the current year. The other way is to use a cost of acquisition model where by the owner determines how much they are willing to pay to obtain each booking. The percentage or dollar amount used will be derived from your overall business plan and it should be closely adhered to so as not to jeopardize the success of your business.
Paid options include numerous online listing services, cottage oriented magazine listings, newspaper and community newsletters to name a few. Do your research with any of these alternatives by reviewing the ads listed by other property owners. How long has the company been in business, estimate your potential listing cost and quality of the final advertisement. In selecting which paid advertisements or marketing opportunities to use, start by determining where your potential customers will come from. Does your cottage property region tend to have owners and visitors from specific cities or areas? Is your property best suited to families or individuals? Is it an affordable or luxury alternative? The answers to these questions will determine which of the paid options will work best for your property.
When creating an ad take your time to ensure you are describing your property in the best possible manner, and include images that both truly represent your property but also present it in the most flattering manner. Keep in mind that you are describing your property to someone who has never seen it. Your future guests are taking a leap of faith-based on how you present your property through your marketing efforts. There will always be some trial and error as you try different alternatives, so it is extremely important that you track your results. Ask your customers where or how they heard about you, and adjust your marketing plans accordingly to leverage where you are successful, and change or drop anything that is not working.
Marketing plans seldom work well if not continually adjusted and refreshed based on your results. Take the time to make sure you are getting the most out of every dollar you spend.


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FMSI's Chart of the Month – November 2011 Edition
November 2, 2011
Congratulations to Bridgewater Savings Bank (BSB) for having this month's FMSI Chart of the Month. With an institution wide a 19.5% increase in productivity since October 2010, BSB has excelled at reducing excess labor costs on their teller line. Productivity is defined as the transactions processed per hour.
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MSCCP is a non-stock, non-profit, and non-political cooperative duly registered with the Cooperative Development Authority (CDA), and Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR).
It was founded in March 2001 under the name SIKAP Philippines Foundation, later accelerated to Federation of MSCCP (Mutual Savings and Credit Cooperatives of the Philippines) and now being called Mutual Savings and Credit Cooperative of the Philippines by merging all the primary cooperatives of MSCCP. It is supported by CICM (Centre International du Credit Mutuel), an international non-profit organization dedicated to promote economic and social development in developing countries by giving everyone access to financial services, especially people excluded from the traditional banking sector.
CICM is MSCCP's sustainer and partner in order to develop a financially autonomous and independent credit cooperative with productive, democratic and self-reliant communities based on the principles of solidarity.
MSCCP is a cooperative owned by its members and controlled by voluntary elected representatives: 6 satellite offices in Cavite Province, 1 in Las Pinas City and 1 in Alabang as serve more than 8,000 members.
Our Partners :