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Israel News - Stay Informed, Pray Informed
Once again the West hailed the election of a perceived "moderate" Muslim leader, and once again that leader has revealed just how easy it is to hoodwink the heads of Europe and America by simply saying different things in different languages.
This time around the ruse was executed by Iranian President-elect Hassan Rohani, who, despite his prominent role in the Islamic Republic's defiant nuclear program, was held aloft as a sign of positive change when he was voted into office earlier this month.
Rohani's election was also said to herald a calming of tensions between Iran and Israel.
To be sure, Rohani has more tact than his predecessor, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, but his recent public pronouncements in his native tongue and to Arab leaders demonstrate that his end goal is very much the same.
Mocking the threat of Israeli military action against Iran's nuclear program, Rohani last week told a gathering marking the anniversary of the 1980-1988 Iran-Iraq War that "when a miserable regional country says such things, it makes you laugh. Who are the Zionists to threaten us?"
Far from taking a conciliatory position in foreign affairs, Iran's IRNA news agency reported that Rohani had reaffirmed his nation's commitment to embattled Syrian dictator Bashar Assad and Lebanon's Hezbollah so that together they could better deal with "our enemies in the region, especially the Zionist regime."
Meanwhile, Rohani presents himself as the face of moderation to the international community as the two sides continue to dance around the issue of Iran's nuclear program.
Israel greatly fears that the Rohani ruse will be all too easily swallowed by an international community eager to avoid open conflict with Iran. But it is Israel that will ultimately pay the price for such short-sightedness.
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Imagine a pipe of water, we can have current/voltage, which is the water flowing, when the water stops flowing, there's no more water/current.
Forget using the terms collector and emitter, these are used specifically for transistors.
In that circuit with the switch open the voltage on pin 1 is Vcc,
with the switch closed the voltage on pin 1 is zero or ground.
Without the resistor the voltage on pin 1 would be nothing with the switch open. Nothing is diffrent from zero. Zero is a voltage level that can cause current to flow. Nothing is just not connected to anything, no current can flow from Vcc to nothing.
If pin 1 is connected to both ground and Vcc, why does the connection to ground "overtake" the connection to Vcc, dropping the voltage to 0?
Is there not still a potential difference (voltage) between Vcc and pin 1
how the resistor impacts the connection to Vcc when pin 1 is connected to both it and ground?
when you say "without the resistor on pin 1", you really mean "without the connection to Vcc (including the resistor) on pin 1", right?
Here's a perfect example of something about this that keeps confusing me.I'm working on the understanding that to have current flow, you need an emitter (-) on one side of a circuit, and a collector (+) on the other.

subset: commoncrawl


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Dog food reviews
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4 Star Premium Dry Food
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Breeders Choice Health Food For Dogs
Date of last review
Thu January 5, 2006
Recommended By
Average Price
Average Rating
100% of reviewers
None indicated
None indicated
Feeding guideline:
A 50lb dog should be fed about 3 1/4 cups
Caloric Content
Metabolizable Energy (calculated) 4,130 kcal/kg
Metabolizable Energy (calculated) 400 kcal/cup
Chicken Meal, Brown Rice, Ground Rice, Lamb Meal, Oatmeal, Chicken Fat (preserved with mixed tocopherols and ascorbic acid) Dehydrated Alfalfa Meal, Fish Meal, Flax Seed, Natural Flavors, Sunflower Oil, Lecithin, Brewers Dried Yeast, Monosodium Phosphate, Choline Chloride, Rosemary Extract, Sage Extract, Ferrous Sulfate, DL-Alpha Tocopherols Acetate (source of Vitamin E), Zinc Oxide, Sodium Selenite, Manganous Oxide, Riboflavin Supplement (source of Vitamin B Complex). Copper Sulfate, Zinc Methionine, Iron Proteinate, Manganese Proteinate, Copper Proteinate, Niacin, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Vitamin A Supplement, Calcium Pantothenate, D-Biotin Supplement, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride (Vitamin B6), Calcium Iodate, Thiamine Mononitrate, Folic Acid, Vitamin D3 Supplement, Yucca Schidigera Extract, Papain, Dried Bacillus Subtilis Fermentation Product, Dried Aspergillus Fermentation Product.
Guaranteed Analysis
Crude Protein not less than 24.00%
Crude Fat not less than 14.00%
Crude Fiber not more than 4.00%
Moisture not more than 10.00%
Ash not more than 6.90%
Carbohydrates calculated 44.70%
Nutrient Analysis
Vitamin A 12,800 IU/KG
Vitamin D 1,300 IU/KG
Vitamin E 74.00 IU/KG
Thiamine (B1) 5.00 MG/KG
Riboflavin (B2) zymes 8.70 MG/KG
Pantothenic 19.00 MG/KG
Niacin 39.00 MG/KG
Pyridoxine 4.40 MG/KG
Folic Acid od 1.70 MG/KG
Biotin at 0.14 MG/KG
Vitamin B12 0.11 MG/KG
Choline 2,130 MG/KG
Calcium 1.70 %
Phosphorus 1.60 %
Potassium 0.61 %
Sodium 0.27 %
Chloride 0.40 %
Salt, Added to meet AAFCO standards 0.30 %
Magnesium 0.17 %
Iron 205.00 MG/KG
Copper 11.20 MG/KG
Manganese 32.00 MG/KG
Zinc kin 173.00 MG/KG
Iodine 3.40 MG/KG
Selenium le 0.35 MG/KG
Amino Acid/Fatty Acids
Arginine 1.50 %
Lysine 1.00 %
Methionine & Cystine 0.75 %
Tryptophan 0.23 %
Histidine 0.55 %
Leucine 1.60 %
Isoleucine 0.92 %
Phenylalanine & Tyrosine 1.40 %
Threonine 0.80 %
Valine 1.10 %
Omega 6 2.73 %
Omega 3 0.16 %
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Registered: October 2005
Posts: 3953
Review Date:
Thu January 5, 2006
Would you recommend the product?
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First and fourth ingredients are named meat products, uses good quality ingredients throughout.
Minimum acceptable meat content.
The first and fourth ingredients in this food are named meat products, both in meal form. There is a further meat ingredient (fish meal) 8th on the ingredient list, but this is too far down to make up a substantial portion of the food. We note that the manufacturer does not claim to use ethoxyquin-free sources (ethoxyquin is a chemical preservative commonly added to fish destined for meal, and is believed to be carcinogenic).
Rice is both the second and third ingredient and probably actually the main ingredient in the food. See the explanation of splitting on the main page. Rice is a good quality grain that is low-allergenic and a good source of carbohydrates and additional protein, but we prefer dog food to contain a greater abundance of meat than grain. Oatmeal is the fifth ingredient and is also a decent quality grain.
Minor ingredients include alfalfa meal, flax seed and sunflower oil good sources of Omega 6 and Omega 3 essential fatty acids.
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Lady Gaga & Stylist Brandon Maxwell Pose for Karl Lagerfeld for THR's 25 Most Powerful Stylists Issue
Lady Gaga sits alongside her trusted stylist Brandon Maxwell on the cover of the annual 25 Most Powerful Stylists Issue of The Hollywood Reporter.
The duo was shot by Karl Lagerfield, and was joined in the mag by the No. 1 stylist Petra Flannery along with her biggest client Emma Stone, as well as Leslie Fremar (Julianne Moore, Reese Witherspoon), Karla Welch & Kemal Harris (Robin Wright), Kate Young (Sienna Miller) and Ilaria Urbinati (Bradley Cooper).
Also appearing in the issue are Kate Hudson and her stylist Sophie Lopez, Channing Tatum and his fashion gurus Wendy and Nicole Ferreira, and Rita Ora and her go-to guy Jason Rembert.
For more on the Stylists issue, visit HollywoodReporter.com.
10+ pictures inside from the mag…


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heatherforever1 on Family Tree Circles
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Journals and Posts
mother was adoptated
Her mothers names was louise father unknown. Her bio mothers dead now need help for medical reasons finding family sibilings. Would like to see if any one knows anything about mothers adoption.
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Denny and Jill Berger of Traer and Tom and Carolyn Peterson of Cedar Falls are proud to announce the marriage of their children, Scott Eric Berger and Alana Lynn Peterson. Vows were exchanged on Saturday, May 29, 2010 at 4:30 p.m. at Bethlehem Lutheran Church in Cedar Falls with Pastor Randy Kasch as Officiant.
Grandparents of the groom are Faye Berger and Harold and Verena Vorba, all of Traer.
The bride chose her friend Lia Plakke as Maid of Honor. Bridesmaids included Amanda Caughey, Rebecca Reynolds and Stephanie Daluge. Amber Thornburg was the Personal Attendant.
Article Photos
Eric Hayek was the groom's Best Man. Groomsmen were Matthew Drewelow, Josh Rollins and Matthew Sonntag, all friends of the groom.
Ushers for the couple were Bjorn Soneson, Tom Bredfield and Wayne Gaston.
Providing music for the ceremony were Luke and Sarah Foster. Soloist was Mark Keefer and Lector was Jackie Cufr.Following the ceremony, dinner and dancing were enjoyed at the UNI Commons Ballroom.
The new couple started their marriage by skydiving from the Vinton Airport then honeymooned at Riviera Maya in Mexico.
The groom is an electrician at Trey Electric in Cedar Rapids. The bride is a registered nurse at Continuing Care Hospital at St Luke's in Cedar Rapids.
The couple is at home in Cedar Rapids.


text:
Jim Palmer talks with Amber Theoharis and Rick Dempsey about Jeremy Guthrie's struggles with two outs
Tom Kolker sits with Nationals Director of Minor League Operations Mark Scialabba to recap the 2011 Draft
Jason Marquis talks about his outing against the Padres in the Nats' 2-1 win
Drew Storen discusses how his confidence in his defense impacts his pitching strategy
Jim Riggleman shares his thoughts on the Nationals' 2-1 win over the Padres with Johnny and Ray
Bob and F.P. ask Danny Espinosa to discuss the Nationals' success on the mound in their 2-1 win
Jake Arrieta discusses his effective performance in his seven shutout innings
Buck Showalter meets with the media following the Birds' fifth shutout of the season
Nick Markakis talks about his six-RBI night in the Orioles' 7-0 win over the Rays
Livan Hernandez and Danny Espinosa discuss Hernandez's impressive line drive catch
Bob and F.P. talk with the Nats Xtra crew about the Nationals' outstanding defense in June
Jim Riggleman discusses Cole Kimball's recent injury and his confidence in Sean Burnett
Buck Showalter discusses starting a series with the Rays while on a 3-game winning streak
Orioles director of scouting Joe Jordan talks about Dylan Bundy's talents as an overall player
Joe Maddon talks about Jeremy Hellickson's fastball command
Orioles' pitching coach Mark Connor talks about when to start using off-speed pitches in a start


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The big story yesterday was how Al Roker pooped his pants at the White House, and that IS huge and I OBVIOUSLY understand why it was the only thing anyone wanted to talk about. When Comedy 9/11 happens, no one wants to talk about Comedy They Also Attacked The Pentagon, Remember?! And yet, I still feel like the OTHER story that broke yesterday, in which Courtney Cox admitted on Ellen that in order to teach her dogs how to pee on the grass, she herself peed on the grass, deserved/deserves a lot more attention than it got, and I for one won't just sit back and watch this insidious brand of MEDIA BIAS to perpetuate itself. I WILL DO EVERYTHING IN MY POWER TO HELP YOU BREAK THROUGH THE PEE CEILING, LADIES! From Celebitchy:
She has two dogs, a 9 and 10 year-old named Hopper and Harley who are both Cavalier King Charles Spaniels. She told a weird story about how she had to buy a square of doggy grass to put on the balcony of her new place, and how she had to personally pee on it in order to get the dogs to go there. Ellen schooled Courteney that when the new doggy grass comes she can just pee in a jar inside and pour it on.
Of course, OF COURSE when Courtney Cox tells Ellen that she peed on some grass to teach her dogs how to pee on some grass, Ellen not only takes this as a given but has A BETTER WAY TO DO THIS. That's why Ellen is Ellen and Courtney is Courtney. Al is Al. Pee is pee. Poop is poop. L is O L. Never forget.


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A "Thursday Thirteen" of all sorts
Most of these links were sent by friends and readers, and the remainder came from my own web expeditions.
1. Download and install free software easily at the Ninite Installer website.
2. Daily Sodoku -- Just one of many Brainbashers at this site
3. Easy Bib -- If you remember typing footnotes and bibliography the old-fashioned way, this site will make you cry, "Unfair!"
4. Slide show of cowboy and western paintings. If you enjoy rural scenery and images of ranch life, you'll also like these photos of the American Midwest
5. How to make a folded German bell ornament -- for your spare time between now and Christmas
6. Whooping Crane Reintroduction website with Operation Migration Crane Cam
7. Print a calendar for 2010.
8. A great set of corner shelves, cut from a single sheet of plywood
9. Eagle vs. fox -- An astonishing encounter over a carcass (verified by Snopes)
10. Views of San Francisco Bay from a Zeppelin at 1000 feet -- very cool
11. "Foods That Heal" -- but don't stop your prescriptions!
12. "Guess Your Number" game -- How do these things work so well?!
13. Independence Day quiz -- Can you answer 20 questions once used on the citizenship test?
Thanks to all who have sent interesting links to share!
There's usually a large number of Thursday 13 posts listed at the Thursday 13 website.


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How to create a new IME in about 15 minutes with SCIM and scim-tables
There are many input methods available in SCIM. But sometimes we may need something special - maybe you want to input cuneiform, Tangut, Jurchen, Rongo Rongo or Tocharian. You will not find IMEs for these languages (at least now. I guess it will change in the future :-) ) Another reason can be your desire to input a supported language more conveniently. If you you use English keyboard and are not a native speaker, the existing IMEs may not be convenient for you at all. Yet another example: maybe you came up with a proposition of a new transcription for an existing language (I know this happened with Cantonese) and want to use it in IME on your own computer.
I assume that your system already supports the language you need IME for, ie. there is some standard of encoding, you have fonts and generally programs on your system handle the data in your target language, you just lack suitable IME.
With SCIM, you can create a table based input method without programming. We are going to use scim-tables IME engine.
Specification of the problem
Let us assume that we want to modify existing Korean IME to allow input using transcription (similar to Chinese pinyin input). It is more convenient for non-native speaker with English keyboard.
It is easier with a simple project
We can save ourselves effort by creating a simple project with a makefile. I mean, it saves effort if we continue to work on one or more input tables. I did create a project, you do not have to follow my example. It is not worth the effort for one-time job, but if you want to spend some time editing your tables, I suggest you to create a project.
First, we create a directory structure (yours can be different, but then you will have to modify makefile):
mkdir tables
cd tables
touch Makefile
mkdir bin
mkdir icons
mkdir src
Makefile looks like this (I have three tables in the
./src right now):
compile: compile-korean compile-Viqr compile-akkadian
compile-ko-latin: $(BIN_DIR)/korean.bin
compile-Viqr: $(BIN_DIR)/Viqr.bin
compile-akkadian: $(BIN_DIR)/akkadian.bin
install: install-korean install-Viqr install-akkadian
uninstall: uninstall-korean uninstall-Viqr uninstall-akkadian
install-korean: compile-korean
cp $(BIN''DIR)/korean.bin $(SCIM''TABLES_DIR)
cp $(ICON''DIR)/korean.png $(SCIM''ICONS_DIR)
rm $(SCIM''TABLES''DIR)/korean.bin
rm $(SCIM''ICONS''DIR)/korean.png
install-Viqr: compile-Viqr
cp $(BIN''DIR)/Viqr.bin $(SCIM''TABLES_DIR)
cp $(ICON''DIR)/Viqr.png $(SCIM''ICONS_DIR)
rm $(SCIM''TABLES''DIR)/Viqr.bin
rm $(SCIM''ICONS''DIR)/Viqr.png
install-akkadian: compile-akkadian
cp $(BIN''DIR)/akkadian.bin $(SCIM''TABLES_DIR)
cp $(ICON''DIR)/akkadian.png $(SCIM''ICONS_DIR)
rm $(SCIM''TABLES''DIR)/akkadian.bin
rm $(SCIM''ICONS''DIR)/akkadian.png
rm -f $(BIN_DIR)/*
$(BIN''DIR)/korean.bin: $(SRC''DIR)/korean.txt.in
sed -e 's,@SCIM''ICONDIR@,$(SCIM''ICONS''DIR),g' $(SRC''DIR)/korean.txt.in > $(BIN_DIR)/korean.txt
$(SCIM''MAKE''TABLE) $(BIN''DIR)/korean.txt -b -o $(BIN''DIR)/korean.bin
rm $(BIN_DIR)/korean.txt
$(BIN''DIR)/Viqr.bin: $(SRC''DIR)/Viqr.txt.in
sed -e 's,@SCIM''ICONDIR@,$(SCIM''ICONS''DIR),g' $(SRC''DIR)/Viqr.txt.in > $(BIN_DIR)/Viqr.txt
$(SCIM''MAKE''TABLE) $(BIN''DIR)/Viqr.txt -b -o $(BIN''DIR)/Viqr.bin
rm $(BIN_DIR)/Viqr.txt
$(BIN''DIR)/akkadian.bin: $(SRC''DIR)/akkadian.txt.in
sed -e 's,@SCIM''ICONDIR@,$(SCIM''ICONS''DIR),g' $(SRC''DIR)/akkadian.txt.in > $(BIN_DIR)/akkadian.txt
$(SCIM''MAKE''TABLE) $(BIN''DIR)/akkadian.txt -b -o $(BIN''DIR)/akkadian.bin
rm $(BIN_DIR)/akkadian.txt
It generally means that if I am in the
tables directory and run
make command, it will generate source files with correct icon path in
./bin directory (the
.in extension gets cut off), and compile it afterwards. For example in case of Korean table the compile command looks like this:
scim-make-table ./bin/korean.txt -b -o ./bin/korean.bin . The binary table will be written to
./bin directory. If I update one file, for example
korean.txt.in, I do not need to compile and reinstall everything. In this case I use command
make install-korean. This command will first compile the updated table, and install it afterwards.
The installation is equal to copying the binary table and icon to correct locations:
cp ./bin/korean.bin /usr/share/scim/tables
cp ./icons/korean.png /usr/share/scim/icons
I can also do
make uninstall-korean. Another command,
make clean clears the
./bin directory.
Let us finally begin
The first thing that we need is an icon. Mine is korean.png and I put it in
./icons directory. Remember, it will be copied to
/usr/share/scim/icons. You may as well put it directly in this location.
Now we need the source of the table. As we just modify existing table, we copy the source of the table that we modify. It is in scim-tables sources.
cp /dat/src/cpp/scim/scim-tables-0.4.3/ko/Hangul.txt.in ./src
mv ./src/Hangul.txt.in ./src/korean.txt.in
We need UUID for our new input:
$ uuidgen
We open
./src/korean.txt.in in our favourite text editor and make necessary corrections.
First, we change UUID line to:
UUID = ec1343c3-cd84-421c-b653-fd4793759e6c
We also update serial number, icon location and input name:
ICON = @SCIM_ICONDIR@/korean.png
NAME = Korean
This is enough to compile and install the table (
make && make install ). Now is your part - modify the table data and do not forget to update MAX_KEY_LENGTH value after that.
Sometimes we start the table from scratch. In these cases it may help to generate the dummy table of characters to begin your work with. I do it with Perl - it saves me time. For example, I am going to start work on an latin prefix notation table to allow input of latin accented characters. The script I used to generate the raw table to begin my work with was:
# Basic
for my $char (0x0021 .. 0x007e) {
print "x", sprintf("%x",$char), "\t", pack('U',$char), "\t0\n";
# Suplement
for my $char (0x00A1 .. 0x00ff) {
print "x", sprintf("%x",$char), "\t", pack('U',$char), "\t0\n";
# Extended A
for my $char (0x0100 .. 0x017f) {
print "x", sprintf("%x",$char), "\t", pack('U',$char), "\t0\n";
# Extended B
for my $char (0x0180 .. 0x0236) {
print "x", sprintf("%x",$char), "\t", pack('U',$char), "\t0\n";
# Extended Additional
for my $char (0x1e00 .. 0x1ef9) {
print "x", sprintf("%x",$char), "\t", pack('U',$char), "\t0\n";
This script prints the table to
STDIN. We save it by redirecting it's output to a file, like this:
./latintab.pl > latin.txt.
When you are ready with your input tables, type this command in your project directory:
make install
Final word
You have to restart SCIM to load (or reload) your table. It makes testing difficult.
I did not test much this approach. I just describe what worked for me. Good luck!
-- Main.?JanuszPrusaczyk - 06 Oct 2004
* [[%ATTACHURL%/Korean.txt][Korean.txt|%ATTACHURL%/Korean.txt][Korean.txt]]: Korean input using latin transcription


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- Inside Athletics
- Tickets
- Fan Zone
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- E Fund
JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. (Jan. 8, 2008) - Typically the East Tennessee State women's basketball team is golden when taking a lead into halftime; however, Tuesday night Liberty had different plans in store as they knocked off the Lady Buccaneers, 64-60, in a hard fought non-conference battle inside Memorial Center.
Entering Tuesday night's match-up, the Lady Bucs were a perfect 4-0 when leading at the break this season, and with ETSU holding a 30-29 advantage after the first 20 minutes things looked great for the home team. Unfortunately,
Liberty, who currently has an RPI of 35 and is receiving votes in the USA Today ESPN Top 25 Coaches' Poll, have now won 11 of its last 12 games to move to 13-2 overall. On the other side, ETSU was searching for its first three-game winning streak this season, but fall to 5-8 after its first 13 contests.
Despite being used in limited action with a foot injury, sophomore guard Siarre Evans (
The Lady Flames jumped out to a quick 9-0 start less than two minutes into the game as they hit their first four shots. From there,
ETSU finished the first half shooting 40-percent (12-30) from the field; while
Once again
For the game, ETSU shot 39-percent (23-for-59); while
The Lady Bucs return to conference action when they host Gardner-Webb Saturday afternoon. Tip is slated for 1:30 p.m.
Please visit www.ETSUBucs.com for more information regarding the Lady Buccaneer basketball and all other athletic news.


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Star Trek: The Original Motion Picture Collection (US - BD)
Gabe takes a long trek to remind him why he likes the even numbered ones...
Okay gang, I'm gonna have to play this one pretty fast and loose. I didn't get this seven disc collection until the Wednesday after its official release. Though I am largely unfamiliar with Star Trek in its many television incarnations, I am familiar with the Star Trek film series. It wasn't the mainstay of my childhood that Star Wars was, but films two through six have phased across my eyeballs more than once. I even saw some of them in theatres during their initial runs. I've held fast to the popular opinion that only the even numbered Treks are worth re-visitations, subscribing to hit before I even knew others shared my opinion. I found out I wasn't alone when Simon Pegg made mention of it in an episode of Spaced (pause for irony). Still, it's been long enough that I'm looking forward to a little revisit. Even the odd numbered films deserve another chance.
Star Trek: The Motion Picture
Star Trek: TMP isn't a bad film, but a boring, self-important film, and one that doesn't survive gracefully outside its time even as well as the original series. I said in my layman's review of season one of the original series that the length of each episode was usually the roughest aspect of the viewing, as thirty minute concepts were often stretched into sixty minute episodes. TMP is a thirty minute concept stretched into a brutal two plus hours of film time. To call it a slow slog is an understatement. There's little plot to hang onto, there's zero sense of pacing, and every character moment (character moments arguably being the one thing that makes Star Trek good) is overburdened with humourless melodrama, and more pseudo-pornographic long shots of the Enterprise models. It's a fine technical achievement, though one of director Robert Wise's least successful films, and a testament to how much a pulpy property can be classed up. But in the end the film is too 2001 for Star Trek, and too Star Trek for classic cinema (as an aside, hiring someone of Wise's caliber to direct Star Trek: TMP is not unlike hiring Robert Altman or Milos Foreman to direct Serenity ten years after Firefly's cancellation).
Star Trek II: The Wrath of Kahn
Wrath of Kahn is often cited as the fan favourite among the Trek films, and I'm not one to argue with fandom. Except that I am. Kahn is the most pulpy, fun, and true to the original show of all the films in the series, but it isn't the 'best', not when The Voyage Home and The Undiscovered Country are dropped into the equation. Kahn is full of classic series dialogue, but upon this revisit I discover it's surprisingly thin on actual story. The characters are perfectly, lovingly portrayed, and placed in the perfect episodic situation (which nicely leads into the next two films), but there's nothing particularly epic about the narrative scope, which I'm finding disappointing. Director Nicholas Meyer is arguably the best thing that happened to the Star Trek films, and even at this relatively inexperienced point in his directing career (and even if Time After Time was an incredibly effective first film) he directs circles around Wise (in the Star Trek universe), Nimoy, and Shatner. The climatic nebula battle is still an indelible and exciting take on films like Run Silent, Run Deep and Das Boot, and Spock's death still packs an emotional punch.
Star Trek III: The Search For Spock
The Search for Spock suffers the odd movie curse, but it's easily the best of the cursed odd movies. Seen directly between films two and four it's a perfectly harmless side trek (pun intended, obviously). The problems are still many and varied, starting specifically with the fact that it's really a ninety minute ret-con, which is generally bad movie series writing. It works for TV, but it's silly to the nth degree when the releases are separated by years rather than weeks. The plot is very thin, amounting to little more than an elongated coda to Kahn, but the pacing is brisk, and the film is an easy and cholerically anemic viewing. First time director Leonard Nimoy is surprisingly adept, and uses colour to great effect throughout the film, especially the final act. To its greatest credit The Search for Spock re-introduced the modern version of the series' most memorable villain set—the Klingons—who manage to survive the goofily miscast Christopher Lloyd. I also had to have a friend explain 'pon farr', which means I now realize Spock got laid. That's a plus.
Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home
This is the first time I've watched the series in a row, and the first time I was made aware of the trilogy status of films two through four. This new light doesn't only make The Search for Spock a slightly better film, but several of the more serialized elements of The Voyage Home suddenly make sense, not the least of which is the title. The Voyage Home was the first Star Trek movie I ever saw, and I saw it in theatres (my mom surely came up with the following equation: whale posters on the wall plus a love of Star Wars equals a good night at the movies with the boy). I watched it with almost zero knowledge of the show or film series, I was only six years old, the movie starts with oodles of back story plotting, and frankly the sci-fi elements are pretty abstract, but I got it, and loved it. Yes, there's a lot of silliness going around in the film, the kind of stuff that probably would've bothered me if I was coming to the film as an adult, but there's also a visceral joy built into the film, and an undeniable originality behind the very Star Trek-ian story. I'm very proud of my ability to revisit my childhood favourites with a critical adult eye, and I'm overjoyed that The Voyage Home fully passed the test.
Star Trek V: The Final Frontier
The fifth film in the Star Trek series is an inarguable mess. It's the one truly bad movie in the collection, the worst of all the original cast movies, though strangely enough it's much easier to watch than the first film. The Final Frontier doesn't fit between the Nimoy and Meyer films thematically or stylistically, and pathetically apes the Star Wars and Mad Max films at its weakest points. The entire film feels like a displaced episode of the original series minus almost all the joy normally found in the hammy acting, over-simplified 'big' ideas, bad special effects, and padded runtimes. I'd complain about the plot, but there isn't one to complain about, just a series of events that Shatner and company were apparently looking forward to seeing themselves enact on the big screen (the fan dance reeks especially of some kind of post-mortem ego stroke). And speaking of Shatner, the guy is a pretty incapable technical director, though he does show some semblance of skill in the film's opening scene, which features an excess of dreary atmosphere. The pace is too sluggish for the film to even be considered a guilty pleasure, unfortunately.
Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country
The final film in the original crew collection is, as far as I'm concerned, the best Star Trek feature ever. It's true to the themes of the original series, and builds upon them without sticking its nose up its rear with pretentious undertones. The subtext is obvious (the end of the Cold War), but not insipidly so, and avoids the heavy-handed braininess of the first film. The actors advancing ages is again part of the theme, but is this time presented in a more serious, almost melancholy manner. The seriousness doesn't overtake the joy and opera of the series and characters, and can be laughed with when needed, yet up until the final curtain there is a palpable feeling of dread cast across the entire picture. The plot mixes the tropes of several genres not always associated with science fiction, including prison break, political thriller, murder mystery, and courtroom drama, which keeps the story moving and firmly enforces the series roots. Above all, however, is Nicholas Myer's direction. After the relatively stagnant Nimoy and Shatner productions, Myer's hand-held look is exhilarating.
Most interested fans will probably be reading this review after purchasing the set, but I suppose a few of you might still be waiting. The early rumours are partially true through my eyes, and according to my 42" set. There is a slight difference between Wrath of Kahn, the one film verified by the box art as 'digitally restored' rather than 'digitally mastered', and the other five films, but we're not talking a tragedy on any terms.
Star Trek: The Motion Picture is lacking definition in medium and far shots, but relatively sharp in close-ups. Digital noise is minimal depending on the scene, though special effects scenes are a bit overwhelmed by grain and diffusion (much of the diffusion seems unintended to me). The edges of the anamorphic frame are sometimes unfocused and smoothed, but these are likely a symptom of stylized filmmaking, not bad restoration (the use of split diopter is particularly sloopy). The transfer succeeds because of it's brighter and lusher image, and some fully realized 35mm print colours.
Wrath of Kahn is the set's best moment, but like I said, I don't think its improvements are that far beyond the other films. The transfer overtakes the others mostly because of its increased details and harsher contrast. Sometimes the harsher contrast leads to some harsher print damage, and there are some inconsistencies in cleanliness, but it's hard to find real fault with things outside of the occasionally low-lit sets. There's very minor noise in some of the warmer colours, but when fully lit everything is sharp and solid, especially all those primary colours Trek fans have come to expect out of uniforms and bridge sets. The blacks on this particular print are also second to nothing in the entire collection. The last act ship fight within a nebula stands up remarkably well even if a couple of the other effects are a little too easily noticed in hi-def (Jupiter looks quite grainy).
Nimoy and cinematographer Charles Correll created possibly the most colourful film in the entire series with The Search for Spock, which despite an overall cheap looking production, makes for a memorable visual experience. Sometimes things go a little too far (the pink apulstory on the USS Grissom comes to mind), but it leads to one of the more exciting Blu-ray upgrades in the set. This particular transfer is one of the more uneven ones, and one of the dirtier ones (the backgrounds are almost never entirely free of dancing grain and noise), but the colours are so rich and so bright that it's hard to not appreciate the upgrade. Check out the papier-mâché and cardboard Genesis sets, and marvel at the range of hues, and the strictness of the image separation for verification. Detail levels are fully realized in close-up, but the middle and background details are occasionally a bit fuzzy, and the most obvious inconsistency on the transfer. Unlike Kahn, Spock's effects stand up a little better in hi-def, including more evenly blended spaceship and planet shots, along with some more natural make-up effects.
The Voyage Home looks a lot like Search for Spock, and features many of the same problems, including a relative inconsistency which is multiplied by the film's street shot sequences. The San Francisco circa 1980s scenes are rife with minor noise and more grain than the other films, and the Klingon Bird of Prey sets are far smokier than the Enterprise sets (which is obviously a stylistic choice). Details are sharper than the DVD release, but not as sharp as the Kahn disc, and not without their sharpness related compromises, such as prevalent edge enhancement, specifically in wide shots. This is probably the most disappointing transfer in the whole set, but I'm still relatively satisfied watching it on my 42" set.
The Final Frontier, unfortunately, looks better than The Voyage Home, featuring another inconsistent transfer with overall sharper details, and an overall cleaner presentation. Shatner uses too many of the lamer visual tropes of the late '80s, which make for ugly images, but for the purposes of high definition video the ugly neons and post- Blade Runner pretend noir are a plus. The blacks are rich like the Kahn transfer, and the ugly colours are vibrant like the Spock transfer, though the overall noise is a bit more extensive.
The Undiscovered Country is probably the darkest film in the series, visually and tonally speaking, and the Blu-ray presentation is rich with deep and subtle hues. There are plenty of colourful highlights within the dark compositions, but nothing as neon as The Final Frontier or Search for Spock. The Enterprise crew's blood red uniforms are clear of the low level noise found on DVD releases, and the separation of elements is impressive beyond SD possibilities. The details could do with a bit of sharpening again, but are less blunted than the The Voyage Home disc. The disc is not without its noise, more than really should be present, and edge enhancement is obvious throughout.
They may not look exactly perfect, but jeezeum crow do these movies sound good in TrueHD sound (though I do wonder why the television series got the DTS-HD treatment). Things begin with Star Trek: TMP, which bares all the scars of its thirty year old age, and isn't particularly overwhelming in the area of sound effects. The surround and stereo effects are mostly devoted to a few spacey effects (the wormhole scene is pretty cool), incidental bridge noise (much like that of the season one release), and Jerry Goldsmith's indelible score. The score is the best reason for watching the film again at all, frankly, and has been lovingly restored and reassigned. Some of the directional effects are a little misplaced or overdone in context to the simplicity of the majority of the original sound design, but it's a solid effort for an elderly film.
My only complaint concerning the Wrath of Kahn Dolby TrueHD track pertains to James Horner's score, which struck me as a little quiet. I mean, it's loud, but it could be louder, we all know it. There's a little more action in the second film, which leads to some more actiony directional effects, but overall there isn't too much to grab onto outside of the obvious. The mix is pretty much a frontal assault with a few key surround attacks, and some rich and punchy bass. The advantage of the first film's mix is in the more abstract space sounds that come naturally out of the V'Ger design, but the second film has some good blow-ups, and a really effective outer space rumble.
The Search for Spock features the least aggressive sound elements in possibly the entire series (even the relatively actionless first film has some bizarre elements to share) right up until the last act when Genesis starts to fall apart all around the cast. These scenes utilize the full range of surround effects available at the time, and these effects have been joyfully resituated for the Dolby TrueHD mix. Bass is rumbly, explosions are punchy, and the various chaotic elements flit about the channels without overwhelming Horner's score or the dialogue. The rest of the track is pretty close to the first film's track, including plenty of subtle surround effects, a clean dialogue track, and well separated elements.
My first thought the second I got this set in the mail wasn't 'Oh boy, hi-def Trek', it was 'Oh boy, I can hear the whale probe in lossless surround'. I am not left disappointed by the surround revamped, and bass increased synth sounds that scared me witless as a boy. Besides the probe scenes The Voyage Home is easily the most grounded and realistic film in the entire series, so there isn't a whole lot of overt surround fun, which is fine. The street scenes are natural, and relatively lively with incidental noises, while the army base and hospital scenes actually feature a few zippy directional effects. Composer Leonard Roseman is the least outgoing of probably every composer in the series' history, but there really isn't enough theatrical music to care in the case of the track, save the introduction to the streets of San Francisco, where the most obnoxious '80s stereotype blares out of the front speakers.
The Final Frontier has only one real advantage over The Voyage Home, and its name is Jerry Goldsmith. Goldsmith's score isn't an entirely original take on the series themes, but it still sounds fantastic in Dolby TrueHD. The score is almost deafeningly full-bodied when it needs to be, and subtly infiltrates the track on a much lower register when the other sound needs to make a point. Otherwise there's nothing to over-praise this particular track for, save maybe some more impressive surround design during the large-ish scale battle scenes, and an aggressive soundscape during the ridiculous God scenes.
Cliff Eidelman's The Undiscovered Country score is the darkest and bassiest in the series, taking cues from Gustav Holst's 'Planets', specifically 'Mars: God of War'. The score is also quite operatically presented on the track, often placed above effects and dialogue when sharing a scene. Otherwise, despite a relatively low-key story scope, The Undiscovered Country is the newest of the films, and thusly features the largest soundscape. Particularly huge moments include the opening explosion, the Klingon assassination scene (surround sound violet blood), out side scenes on the prison planet, the final battle, and especially the Klingon court scene.
Interestingly, or perhaps annoyingly enough, these discs feature very few of the previous collector's edition extras. Mega fans will want to hang on to those old discs for alternate cuts, deleted scenes, documentaries, and commentaries. There are several new, Blu-ray exclusive extras to replace these, but the lack of definitive collections of extras points towards future releases. It's easy to milk Trekkies, and it's apparently hard to resist the motion for Paramount.
Star Trek: The Motion Picture is the only disc in the set with only one commentary. This track features series crew Michael and Denise Okuda, Judith and Garfield Reese-Stevens, and Daren Dochterman. The commentators should be commended for actually calling the film on some of its more obvious shortcomings, including length and some of the less impressive visual effects. Following the first of the surprisingly intensive and informative 'Library Computer' features are three new featurettes. There are no featurettes ported from the original DVDs.
'The Longest Trek' (10:45 HD) is an all new featurette concerning the original film's very long journey to the big screen. Sadly, every early iteration of the script is much more interesting than the final product, including the dropped television sequel Star Trek: Phase II. It's really fascinating to hear the producers and writers continuing their honest streak from the commentary track as well. 'Special Star Trek Reunion' (9:30 HD) is a quick round table discussion with five folks that got minor on set roles. 'Starfleet Academy Briefing: The Mystery Behind V'Ger' (04:20 HD) is the first of a series of six adorable pretend informational briefings. The first disc is completed with 11 deleted scenes (I'm guessing most of these are in the Director's Cut version of the film), three storyboard sets, two trailers, and eight TV spots.
The Wrath of Kahn starts with two commentary tracks, one featuring director Nicholas Myer solo, and the other (a new one) featuring Myer with Manny Coto. The need for two tracks is questionable, though in my quick shift viewing I didn't notice an excess of repeated elements. There's a lot of mention of Myer's outsider's POV, which is likely very important to the film's success, as well as his love of nautical battle stories, which sets the Trek series apart from Star Wars. The tracks are met with another solid 'Library Computer' feature.
The second disc's new featurettes begin with 'James Horner: Composing Genesis' (09:30 HD), a look at The Wrath of Kahn's remarkable score. Horner echoes many of the film's other participants in that he was not a fan of the series before working on the film, and gently covers his inspirations, his favourite cues, and his relationship with Myer. 'Collecting Star Trek's Movie Relics' (11:00 HD) is a rather dry look at the various props that made their way into various collections. The objects are produced, described, and shown in filmic context. Fans can look forward to brief hi-def scenes from the latter four films. Another 'Starfleet Academy Briefing' ('The Mystery Behind Ceti Alpha IV, 03:10 HD) follows, and a tribute to Ricardo Montalban (04:45 HD) completes the Blu-ray exclusive stuff.
The featurettes ported from the older special edition DVD release begin with 'Captain's Log' (28:00 SD), an intriguing look at the process of scripting the feature, Nimoy's disinterest in the project (which led to his character's death), the re-writes that came out of these meetings, the process of bringing Montalban into the fold, and tweaking the original ending to leave the door open for a second sequel. 'Designing Kahn' (24:00 SD) covers other aspects of the making-of process, specifically the art design process, and covers a lot of facts already covered during the commentary tracks. Next up are original release interviews with Shatner, Nimoy, Kelley, and Montalban (11:00 SD), followed by 'Where No Man Has Gone Before' (18:00 SD), a look at the film's visual effects, including behind the scenes photographs and video, and interviews with the ILM artists. 'A Novel Approach' (28:00) finishes these up with a rather extended look at the work of series novelists Julia Ecklar and Greg Cox. The disc itself is completed with storyboards and trailers.
The Search for Spock also features both the DVD's original commentary and a new Blu-ray exclusive track. The original track features Nimoy, writer/producer Harve Bennett, DP Charles Corell, and actress Robin Curtis. Nimoy is the best commentator on the track, which is a conglomerated commentary, covering the controversial story behind his involvement right off the bat, and addressing the other fan chatted issues of his direction, like initial behind the scenes strife. The second track features former The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, and Voyager writers Ronald D. Moore and Michael Taylor. Moore is one of the brain trusts behind the enormously popular Battlestar Galatica reboot, and seems to have a slight lead on the track, but both participants are joyfully full of geeky extras. If I hadn't had my own geeks I would've found the track strangely invaluable. Also included is yet another 'Library Computer' option.
The new features begin with 'Industrial Light and Magic: The Visual Effects of Star Trek' (14:00 HD). As the title implies this featurette covers ILM's involvement in the series as a whole, not just the third film. The major theme of the interviews is how much more difficult things were before the days of digital effects. 'Spock: The Early Years' (06:30 HD) is a pseudo-creepy interview with the actor that played seventeen-year- old Spock, who only really talks about the pon farr thing. 'Star Trek and the Science Fiction Hall of Fame' (17:00) explores the series' place in the Seattle based museum (God I wish I'd visited that place when I was there) in the form of an interview with the films' writer/producer Harve Bennett. The new stuff on this disc ends with another 'Starfleet Academy' entry (The Vulcan Katra Transfer, 02:30 HD).
The old release extras continue from the previously released commentary, and include another 'Captains Log' featurette (26:00 SD), which is equally joyously informative as the previous one, and which features more slyly sarcastic William Shatner. The information is a little repetitive out of the commentary tracks, but it makes for a good either/or scenario. This is followed by 'Terraforming and The Prime Directive' (26:00 SD), an exploration of some of the philosophical and technological issues found in the Star Trek movie series. 'Space Docks and Birds of Prey' (28:00 SD) covers some of the special effects information, but is further concerned with the ship design. 'Speaking Klingon' (21:00 SD) is a brief interview/lecture with the linguist that was at least partially responsible for the Vulcan and Klingon languages (at least their proper inceptions). 'Klingon and Vulcan Costumes' (12:00 SD) is a look (rather obviously) at the costume design of the alien culture's costumes. Again things are completed with the trailer, and photo and storyboard galleries.
The Voyage Home features my favourite commentary track of the collection, the one featuring Nimoy and Shatner in the same room together, chatting most specifically about the film, but yammering a bit about other subjects as well. It's a nicely filled track, and tonally warm and intelligent. The second track, the new one, features Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman, the producers of the new Star Trek film. They have relatively little to say about anything. Again, these tracks are augmented with a 'Library Computer'.
The new featurettes start with 'Pavel Chekov's Screen Moments' (06:00 HD), a good natured look at Walter Koenig's role in the films, most specifically his scene stealing work in The Voyage Home. 'The Three Picture Saga' (10:10 HD) explores the trilogy aspect of films one, two and three. The unintended aspect of the continuity is pretty interesting, as it's good to know good writers can create serialization in an organic fashion. 'Star Trek For a Cause' (05:30 HD) looks at the environmental messages of The Voyage Home, with Green Peace people giving interviews about the factual issues of whaling, and the film's real effect on the situation. The new extras are completed by another 'Starfleet Academy' (03:20 HD) entry ('The Whale Probe').
The ported featurettes start with 'Future's Past: Looking Back' (27:30 SD), another general retrospective featurette, covering the inception through the completion. Again, there is a degree of repetition post-commentary track, but the featurette (again) stands as a great alternative. 'On Location' (07:30 SD) covers the film's San Francisco location shooting, which was the first location shooting in the film's history, outside of some California desert shooting in the original series. 'Dailies Deconstruction' (04:00 SD) is a comparison between various takes of raw footage taken for the San Francisco street scenes. 'Below-the-Line' (11:45 SD) looks at (or rather listens to?) the film's sound effects editing and creation, including the bizarre whale probe sounds. It is conceptually complimented with 'The Language of Whales' (05:45 SD), which looks at the whale song scientifically. 'Time Travel—The Art of the Possible' (11:15 SD) is a pretty intellectualized look at the actually scientific possibilities of time travel with real life scientists. 'A Vulcan Primer' (07:50 SD) is a strangely scientific look at Spock's genetic relatives, presented as if they are an actual species. 'Kirk's Women' (08:20 SD) wraps the featurettes up with a brief look at the captain's romantic entanglements, via the actresses involved.
Also included from the DVD release are a collection of three period interviews with Shatner, Nimoy, and Deforest Kelley, two tributes—one to Roddenberry (08:20 SD) and another to actor Mark Lenard (12:45 SD), a period effects featurette/EPK (15:00 SD), a collection of on-set video (04:00 SD), storyboards, and the original trailer.
Jesus Christ, I'm still not done? Sigh. The Final Frontier starts with two more commentary tracks. The first track features William and Liz Shatner, and was available on the previous DVD release. The Shatners don't have a lot to say beyond a few snippets of recalled behind the scenes info. Overall the track is very quiet. The second track, a new one, features series writers Michael and Denise Okuda, Judith and Garfield Reeves-Stevens, and Daren Dochterman. This is a much more lively track. The participants are knowledgeable, and take some time to defend the much maligned feature, but aren't above pointing out the crappy bits. Once again the commentaries are greeted with a 'Library Computer' option.
The new featurettes are very minimal this time, starting with 'Star Trek Honors NASA' (10:00 HD), which is a bit mislabeled. This featurette is actually made up of NASA folks honoring Star Trek. The scientist discuss the stuff that the series got right, and the series stuff that inspired them. 'Hollywood Walk of Fame: James Doohan' (03:10 SD) is raw footage from the satellite feed of the actor's induction onto the Walk. Doohan looks like he's on his last legs, and I personally found the whole thing kind of depressing. The new stuff ends with another 'Starfleet Academy' entry on the Nimbus III (03:00 HD).
The old featurettes start with 'Harve Bennet's Sales Pitch' (which is exactly what it sounds like, 01:40 SD), and move quickly over to 'The Journey: A Behind the Scenes Documentary' (29:00 SD), which looks and acts nothing like the 'Captain's Log' behind the scenes docs. I'm not sure why it was decided that The Final Frontier was worthy of a real retrospective, but suspect it has something to do with Shatner's clout. 'Hermann Zimmerman: A Tribute' (19:00 SD) looks back on the production designer/art director's career, which started with film five. 'Cosmic Thoughts' (13:00 SD) is a collection of interviews with various theologists, scientists, historians, and authors, who yak about the themes of space exploration and religion. 'That Klingon Couple' (13:00 SD) is a sort of cute interview with the two body builder types that stared in film five as a couple of loving Klingons (loving being a relative term). 'A Green Future' (09:30 SD) is concerned with the film's use of Yosemite National Park.
The continued extras (more than any other disc on the set, mind you) are completed with make-up test footage (09:50 SD), pre-viz model footage (01:40 SD), a look at a deleted sequence entitled 'Rockman in the Raw' (05:40 SD), a press conference (13:40 SD), four deleted scenes (04:20 SD), production and storyboard galleries, two trailers, and TV spots.
The final two commentary tracks are found on the The Undiscovered Country disc. The first, which was featured on the DVD release, features director Nicholas Myers again, and co-writer Denny Martin Flinn. The commentators cover the Cold War subtext to a rather extreme degree, discuss working together, and discuss the collaborations of others, including specifically Nimoy. The new commentary features later series writers Larry Nemecek and Ira Steven Behr, who like the other guest commentators cover the greater universe and nerdier aspects of the series and film. Once again these are greeted by a 'Library Computer' option.
The final batch of new featurettes begin with 'Tom Morga: Alien Stuntman' (04:40 HD). Morga played a stuntman on every series outside of the original, and several of the films. 'To Be Or Not To Be' (23:00 HD) covers a group of Klingon actors performing Hamlet in its entirety…in Klingon. The actors mostly cheat and learn their lines phonetically rather than actually learning Klingon. The new stuff ends with the last 'Starfleet Academy' entry, this one concerning the Klingon moon Praxis (02:30 HD).
The ported extras start with 'The Perils of Peacemaking' (26:30 SD), which mixes aspects of the historical Cold War, and the film's take on them, along with a short lesson in the making of the film overall. 'Stories from Star Trek VI' (57:10 SD) is a six part making-of featurette. The most interesting aspect of this piece is the talk of the film's early development, which mirrors the new film's (the reboot) ideas pretty surprisingly. 'Conversations with Nicholas Myer' is an interview with the man and myth, and is repetitive after three commentary tracks and various behind the scenes featurettes. 'Klingons: Conjuring the Legend' (20:40 SD) traces the alien creatures' history and development within the series. 'Federation Operatives' (04:50 SD) is a quick look at some of the actors that played more than one character in the series. 'Penny's Toy Box' (06:00 SD) is a look at some The Undiscovered Country items in the prop warehouse. 'Together Again' (05:00 SD) explores the professional relationship between Shatner and Chris Plummer.
The disc is concluded with a tribute to Deforest Kelley (13:20 SD), eight original release interviews, production and storyboard galleries, a teaser and theatrical trailer, and a convention presentation with Myer.
The whole set culminates with disc seven, the Captain's Summit, a three part round table with William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, Jonathan Frakes, Patrick Stewart, and moderator Whoppi Goldberg, running a total of seventy minutes. I expected to be bored, but the discussion is brisk and amusing, even when Goldberg tries to weigh things down with the 'big idea' questions.
So I haven't been swayed in my personal views concerning the original six Star Trek films, which is both a good thing (concerning the even numbered films), and a bad thing (concerning the odd numbered films). These Blu-ray discs are pretty clearly not the last word on the subject, considering Paramount's history of re-releasing the films, the lack of director's and extended cuts, some missing extra material, and the less than perfect transfers. I personally still found the extras and transfers satisfying, but as a non-fan still recognize the room for improvement. I apologize this review took me so long to finish, and hope my opinion still has some meaning for those that haven't yet purchased the set, but were considering it.
* Note: The images on this page are not representative of the Blu-ray release.
Review by Gabriel Powers
Blake_R Member Join Date: November 2006 Location: United States Posts: 25
Whale posters, Gabe? Nice.
Second that opinion on the Captain's Summit. It was quite funny. Especially everyone trying to get Shatner to admit that he [SPOILERREDALERT].
Second that opinion on the Captain's Summit. It was quite funny. Especially everyone trying to get Shatner to admit that he [SPOILERREDALERT].
Gabe Powers Editor Join Date: September 2004 Location: United States Posts: 4,721
It wasn't some fruity whale poster, it was like this one: http://www.scandfish.com/gfx/clpost_whales_larg...
Pixarfan517 Member Join Date: August 2006 Location: United States Posts: 1,478
I thought that the new movie Star Trek was better than Dark Knight.
JackJackMN Member Join Date: January 2006 Location: United States Posts: 629
Pixarfan517 wrote: I thought that the new movie Star Trek was better than Dark Knight.
I agree, loved Star Trek.
I agree, loved Star Trek.
mark.halls Member Join Date: November 2006 Location: United Kingdom Posts: 3
Fantastic review. Now can anybody tell me why I can't get TMP or FF seperately? Really curious about 5 but would like to buy TMP.
Just Passing Member Join Date: September 2006 Location: United Kingdom Posts: 37
Khan, not Kahn
Vincent Pina Member Join Date: September 2005 Location: United States Posts: 154
I really only wanted the first two, but Fry's had the trilogy BD set for a mere $27.99, so I went ahead and got that. I'll wait for a single release of TMP later down the road. I actually enjoyed all the long "boring" shots in TMP. It was very surreal and moody, and the score and sound effects added to that.
mike smith3 Member Join Date: November 2005 Location: United States Posts: 56
I might pick up the Blu-Ray set with the trilogy. I still find TMP to be the longest, most boring film I've ever seen. The long, 2001 type shots for the Enterprise were just overbearing and ridiculous. It's more of a tech demo then a movie....and did I mention it was boring?
David Blackwell Senior Member Join Date: February 2004 Location: United States Posts: 2,835
I like TMP even though the director's Cut of TMP is better and couldn't be included on blu-Ray due to the project and new effects being done in 480 instead of 1080.
Chris Gould Editor Join Date: May 2001 Location: United Kingdom Posts: 7,171
Kevin Smith did an amusing bit about the Enterprise 'money shots' in one of his stand ups
jmcclane 88 Member Join Date: September 2006 Location: Ireland Posts: 466
Small niggles aside, I am extremly happy with this boxset. I'm watching all the movies/extras and I just viewed Search for Spock the other night. IMO the PQ on all the films I've seen so far has been fantastic and was worth the upgrade, even though the price is hefty. I found the Captains Summit to be hilarious. Shatners dry sarcastic wit is always entertaining, as the various extras prove.
The new Star Trek was highly entertaining aswell, as a fan it was great spotting all the little easter eggs that might have been lost on newcomers to Trek.
The new Star Trek was highly entertaining aswell, as a fan it was great spotting all the little easter eggs that might have been lost on newcomers to Trek.
shaneo6930 Member Join Date: September 2007 Location: United States Posts: 175
I watched a marathon of 2, 3, 5, and 6 a couple weekends ago and loved them. I'll have to pick this set up.
Worst Nightmare Senior Member Join Date: July 2002 Location: Australia Posts: 6,716
I am happy with my SD box set. Star Trek has always been heavily overpriced...
EMPIRE56KW Member Join Date: April 2009 Location: United Kingdom Posts: 50
Well I've seen all the original Star Trek at true cinematic Dolby A and SR reference level via the 70mm six-track magnetic at the Empire Leicester Square via the original 13KW JBL THX sound system.
Star Trek Marathon, Sunday October 8th 1989. Yeah 20 years ago and I can still recall the sound pressure of each film pressing on my body hearing the wild effects panning over the fronts stage channels and around the auditorium.
The previous Star Trek movies on DVD and lets forget directors cut Star Trek the motion picture, that is abomination Dolby mix!
The rest had botched up split-surrounds that sounds like it came from rusty dustbin with rat's crawling over it!
The newer versions are spot on to what I heard 20 years on the 70mm prints, expect for Star Trek the motion picture that only played in 35mm Dolby stereo optical A type, but the 13KW JBL THX made more sense out of the soundtrack that was really felt!
The deep opening of Star Trek II at the very start with deep 40Hz pressure pressing from the start and getting deeper and louder was uncoloured at the Empire. When the Star Trek II title came on the screen it slammed with mid-bass. At other cinemas this was unfelt.
When the explosions started on the bridge during the simulation Sulu is thrown clear from the helm and lands on his back with HUGE OOMPH at the Empire.
I was sat where the audio is calibrated for its best and it was nothing but best all the way though. It even felt better than sensurround.
When captain Terrell, zapped one of scientists it was felt and I'm not kidding you, it was frizzing like bass that tingled over my body, damn scary too.
I have good memory for when it comes to sound.
When Genesis exploded it was as if the roof on the Empire was going to collapse, it was deep and very loud.
When Spock walked up towards the transparent door even his body bumping into the door was felt. Empire as very a hyper realistic sound, that most home cinema wont be able to get near without causing possible structural damage. Plus you really need the same JBL loudspeakers and amps and crossover not to mention Dolby CP200 and maybe the 70mm print otherwise wants the point.
Between the DVD and possibly even the Bluay as I haven't brought the Bluay version as of yet only the new DVD versions, I'd have to save up bit as the Bluray is just that bit more costly.
Ticket for the Star Trek day was only £10.00 and by then the films where old but the show also included Star Trek V in 70mm Dolby SR.
The ending of Star Trek II with James Horner score playing as the camera swoops down to the Genesis planet was deep score, even the narration over the score had pulsating deepness that was pressing on my body and vibrating the rocker seat, fantastic presentation it was total out of this world.
Star Trek Marathon, Sunday October 8th 1989. Yeah 20 years ago and I can still recall the sound pressure of each film pressing on my body hearing the wild effects panning over the fronts stage channels and around the auditorium.
The previous Star Trek movies on DVD and lets forget directors cut Star Trek the motion picture, that is abomination Dolby mix!
The rest had botched up split-surrounds that sounds like it came from rusty dustbin with rat's crawling over it!
The newer versions are spot on to what I heard 20 years on the 70mm prints, expect for Star Trek the motion picture that only played in 35mm Dolby stereo optical A type, but the 13KW JBL THX made more sense out of the soundtrack that was really felt!
The deep opening of Star Trek II at the very start with deep 40Hz pressure pressing from the start and getting deeper and louder was uncoloured at the Empire. When the Star Trek II title came on the screen it slammed with mid-bass. At other cinemas this was unfelt.
When the explosions started on the bridge during the simulation Sulu is thrown clear from the helm and lands on his back with HUGE OOMPH at the Empire.
I was sat where the audio is calibrated for its best and it was nothing but best all the way though. It even felt better than sensurround.
When captain Terrell, zapped one of scientists it was felt and I'm not kidding you, it was frizzing like bass that tingled over my body, damn scary too.
I have good memory for when it comes to sound.
When Genesis exploded it was as if the roof on the Empire was going to collapse, it was deep and very loud.
When Spock walked up towards the transparent door even his body bumping into the door was felt. Empire as very a hyper realistic sound, that most home cinema wont be able to get near without causing possible structural damage. Plus you really need the same JBL loudspeakers and amps and crossover not to mention Dolby CP200 and maybe the 70mm print otherwise wants the point.
Between the DVD and possibly even the Bluay as I haven't brought the Bluay version as of yet only the new DVD versions, I'd have to save up bit as the Bluray is just that bit more costly.
Ticket for the Star Trek day was only £10.00 and by then the films where old but the show also included Star Trek V in 70mm Dolby SR.
The ending of Star Trek II with James Horner score playing as the camera swoops down to the Genesis planet was deep score, even the narration over the score had pulsating deepness that was pressing on my body and vibrating the rocker seat, fantastic presentation it was total out of this world.
Some material may not be suitable for children
Disc Details
Release Date: 12th May 2009
Discs: 7
Disc Type: Blu-ray Disc
RCE: No
Video: 1080p
Aspect: 2.35:1
Anamorphic: No
Colour: Yes
Audio: Dolby TrueHD 5.1 English, Dolby Digital 5.1 French, Dolby Mono Spanish
Subtitles: English SDH, French, Portuguese and Spanish
Extras: Commentaries, Featurettes, Documentaries, Deleted Scenes, Library Computer, Starfleet Academy Briefing, Captain's Summit, Galleries, Trailers
Easter Egg: No
Feature Details
Director: William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, Nicholas Meyer, Robert Wise
Cast: William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, DeForest Kelley, James Doohan, George Takei
Genre: Action, Adventure, Comedy, Drama, Sci-Fi and War
Length: 720 minutes
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After our story aired Monday, we received several emails from viewers who rode that same roller coaster. They all expressed similar concerns about safety. On Tuesday the roller coaster underwent further testing in an attempt to determine what went wrong.
Sabrina Parga says the bruise on her left arm came from the same rodeo carnival ride from which Brian Greenhouse, 47, fell nearly 30 feet to his death Sunday night. She rode the Hi-Miler roller coaster with her five-year-old daughter.
"I noticed that whenever we made those dips, we kind of raised off the seat, so I kind of had to hold her and hold the bar at the same time because there was a lot of shaking," Parga said. "As we made those sharp turns, it would quickly jolt us to the side."
Rodeo officials and RCS, the company that owns and operates the ride, maintain all safety mechanisms were working properly right after the accident. Yet, Greenhouse, a 5-foot-8 inch, 250 pound man, somehow managed to fall out.
While the Hi-Miler has undergone several tests since the accident and no malfunctions were found, it raises the question, do the testing procedures used by their safety experts go far enough? In the tests that have been done so far, the cars have remained static.
We asked, "Don't the physics and the velocity of it all change when you have a body in there and it's going at a certain speed?"
Leroy Shafer, Chief Operating Officer of the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo, responded, "If you have a body in there, the car is not going to expand. No, it cannot. That pin is there."
According to the operator's website, "RCS performs daily computerized ride equipment inspections using automated maintenance management software."
Parga believes maybe it's time for them to change.
She said, "I couldn't imagine a grown man falling off and this is a ride intended for kids. So it just makes me think, had I not held onto her what might have possibly happened to her."
The attorney representing the Greenhouse family hired an inspector. That inspector was on the site Tuesday afternoon and requested to ride the roller coaster as part of the inspection process. We're told both rodeo and RCS officials have complied. The rodeo also has a production crew taping that inspection.


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Origin of species
November 20, 1998
Origin of species
Study of origin of species enters the molecular age
November 20, 1998
Nothing brings two people closer together than sex; but for closely related species of fruit flies, it may be what keeps them apart. Researchers at the University of Chicago recently discovered a gene that appears to play a crucial role in causing one species to split into two--and stay that way. The gene causes the male progeny of two recently separated species to be sterile, a condition known as hybrid male sterility.
"How speciation occurs is one of the central questions in evolutionary biology," says Chung-I Wu, PhD, chairman and professor of the department of ecology and evolution at the University of Chicago, and senior author of the paper in the November 20 issue of Science. "Geographic isolation and changes in the environment are only a part of what drives speciation. There are also changes at the genetic level that are driven by sexual selection. As a result, two newly formed species can't mix back into one."
Many species of insects and mammals exhibit male sterility in inter-species hybrids at the early stages of speciation. For example, the male progeny of the yak-cow cross are sterile. Male "zonkeys," the offspring of a zebra and a donkey, are also sterile. Wu speculated that hybrid male sterility must be an early indicator of speciation.
Chau-Ti Ting, a postdoctoral fellow in Wu's lab pinpointed a gene (there may be many) involved in producing sterility in hybrid males. It does this by evolving so rapidly that male offspring produced by two newly divergent or "sibling" species are so different from their parents that they are unable to make sperm.
The gene Ting thinks contributes to hybrid male sterility is a homeobox gene. Homeobox genes, usually involved in development and cell differentiation, are some of the slowest evolving genes in all of nature. This means that they are almost identical in organisms as diverse as worms and monkeys. But when Wu looked at a certain homeobox gene in two sibling species of fruit fly, D. simulans and D. mauritiana, they were very different.
"Homeobox genes usually don't differ by more than a few base pairs--even when you compare them in humans and invertebrates. But when we looked at this homeobox gene in two very closely related species of fruit fly, they were extremely different--suggesting that this gene is evolving at a highly accelerated rate," says Wu.
Wu thinks that the reason the homeobox gene is on the evolutionary fast track--it evolves 100 to 1,000 times faster than any other homeobox gene studied--is because it controls male sexual function.
Genes pertaining to male reproduction evolve quickly because they are under extreme pressure due to the intense competition among males to fertilize eggs. "The idea is that something might pop up that gives one male an edge in the race to reproduce," says Wu. "The advantageous gene will be selected for and passed on to male progeny."
Usually sexual advantages in males have to do with sperm production, or the composition of the ejaculate, "anything that makes it easier for their sperm to get to the egg," Wu explains. The rapidly changing homeobox gene makes sibling species incompatible and halts the gene flow between them. The species can then evolve separately without their unique innovations being lost by blending.


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Florissant, CO
Art in practice and theory, art history, from a professional
The desire to create and appreciate art is something (mostly) unique to man. It can be a means to enrich the lives of not only the artist but also those who view what is made. It can be a profession. It is a great tool to build sense of self, sometimes read more


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How To: Make a Snow Candle
We still have a lot of snow on the ground from the big snowstorm over the holiday. And even though the season's decorations are coming down, this snow candle project is perfect for visually warming a snowy outdoor space:
Root a tapered candle in the snow and surround it with a circle of 2" snowballs. Build up layers of smaller and smaller circles until you've built a dome. The candle will illuminate the "igloo" and burn for hours. We can't wait to try this at our home.
Apparently, this is a favorite wintertime activity for children in Sweden. See the full how-to at GRYNX.


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Lady Broncos send seniors out with sweep of Lady Bobcats
BLACKFOOT — Nine seniors took to the home softball diamond at Blackfoot High School on Tuesday evening for the final time in their prep careers. At the end of the evening, Blackfoot sent Brielle Brower, Tylie Polatis, Makayla Rowsell, Jamie Horsely, Ally Smith, Tesia Trube, Miraya Castaneda, Jarissa Jensen and Bailey Miller out winners as they swept both ends of the conference double dip with Madison 6-4 in game one and 13-4 in the nightcap.
"It was definitely nice to send these seniors out with wins," Blackfoot head coach Matt Chavez said. "They came out, stood up to the challenge and each and everyone of them contributed on a night that they weren't going to allow anyone to get a win on them."
Blackfoot led throughout in the opening game as Makayla Rowsell was stellar in the circle, working 6 innings in the victory by scattering 7 hits and striking out 6 Bobcats.
Jessica Capson entered in relief of Rowsell, slamming the door with a perfect seventh inning for the save.
"Our pitching was outstanding," Coach Chavez said. "Makayla threw a heck of a ball game and when Madison were trying to mount a late comeback Jessica came in and did a great job of closing it out."
The Blackfoot defense was flawless in support of the pitching and offensively, the Lady Broncos got more than enough runs with runs in the second, third and then a 4 run fourth inning which put the game out of reach.
In the fourth, Brielle Brower scored Miraya Castaneda all the way from first base with an RBI triple down the left field line. Brower then scored a batter later when sophomore Mattison Chavez hit an opposite field 2 run dinger in her first left handed swing on the season.
"She's our Chipper Jones," Coach Chavez said. "We noticed in practice that she was hitting the ball hard from the left side of the plate so we turned her around and let her swing left handed."
Chavez eventually duplicated the home run with a second blast, this time over the right field fence in the home half of the third inning during game two, tying the score at the time at 3-3.
Madison battled back for a lone run in the top of the fourth but that was all the scoring that the Bobcats could muster for the remainder of the game as Capson found the rhythm in the circle by shutting out the Madison offense for the remainder of the game.
Meanwhile, the Blackfoot offense was just starting to heat up as they batted around in both the fifth and sixth innings, scoring five runs in each of the frames to take command of the contest.
Brower, Chavez, Polatis and Trube each scored twice for the Lady Broncos as they took advantage of 5 wild pitches by the Madison pitcher.
"It's just fantastic to pick up both wins today," Coach Chavez said. "Madison beat Hillcrest who beat us last week so I think a sweep today is big for these girls confidence as we head into districts in a couple of weeks. The girls are progressing, their improving and I think that we are going to be peaking at just the right time."
Blackfoot (9-5, 6-2) will travel to Rigby on Thursday where they will close out the conference portion of their season with a double header with the Lady Trojans beginning at 4 P.M.
Game 1
Madison 000 004 0 - 4 7 0
Blackfoot 011 400 x - 6 9 0
Madison - Logan Castagno 1-4 R, Klarissa Adams 1-3, Madison Moss 1-3 R, Cydnee Hope 2-3; pitching - S. Foster (L) 6IP 9H 4K 1BB 1HP.
Blackfoot - Brielle Brower 2-4 3B 2R, Jessica Capson 2-3, Mattison Chavez 2-2 HR 2RBI; pitching - Makayla Rowsell (W) 6IP 4R 7H 6K 0BB,
Game 2
Madison 210 100 0 - 4 10 1
Blackfoot 003 055 x - 13 7 4
Madison - S. Williamson 3-4 2B, Ahendson 2-4, Logan Castagno 1-3; pitching - Madison Moss 2IP 0R 0H 1K 1BB; S. Williamson 1IP 3R 3H 1K 0BB 1WP; Robinson (L) 3IP 10R 4H 3K 6BB 5WP 1HP.
Blackfoot - Brielle Brower 2-4 2B 2R 2SB, Mattison Chavez 1-1 HR 3R 3SB, Jamie Horsley 2-4 2RBI, Tesia Trube 1-1 3R 2SB; pitching - Makayla Rowsell 3IP 3R 6H 1K 1BB; Jessica Capson (W) 4IP 1R 4H 2K 2BB 1HP.


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Canadian Prairie Storms Pages
Wednesday, March 28, 2012
New Wind Map
Adding a new feature here in our weather data links: "Wind Map" http://hint.fm/wind/ created by Google computer scientists using NWS forecast database. Must see!
Posted by Jared Mysko at 10:26 PM
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About Me
Jared Mysko
- Storm & Wildlife Photographer.NON-PROFIT Volunteer Storm CasterRelay Of Severe Weather Alerts/ReportsRetail Marketing Team - Hudson's Bay CompanyKayaking, bird watching, fishing and wildlife photography are my summer hobbies when waiting for storms. See my adventures on YouTube!I build a daily map of storm risk for the Canadian Prairies to accomplish two things. One, translate the complications of the meteorologists into something simple that the public can understand clearly. Two, become a buffer on social media to either raise the alarm and calm the masses depending on the level of hype.Storm chasing is limited nowadays to a few photo ops by Wascana Lake in Regina or up north at Pratt Lake. Generally, I spend more time tracking storms from home and sharing forecasts and great footage on Twitter which saves on gas and keeps me safe in my studio/bunker.There are two seasons in my world, storm season and gaming season. April and September separate the two. I play FIFA, Sea Of Thieves and Fortnite with live streams on Twitch.tv/JaredSkStorm Ask me about sports, I am a fan and knowledge base of all things FIFA, Premier League, CFL and NFL (yes its all football).Thanks for all the likes, shares, comments and encouragement. Stay safe and enjoy the weather!Jared


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Tis the season to get ripped off - and some of the merchandise most likely to be counterfeited might surprise some folks. "Smartphones and tablets are becoming hot properties, and mobile apps is a big one - that's a growing counterfeit market," said Joan Coughlin, spokeswoman for the Better Business Bureau, which recently released its annual list of the most-common counterfeit goods.
�Tis the season to get ripped off � and some of the merchandise most likely to be counterfeited might surprise some folks.
Electronic goods are making their way up the list.
�Smartphones and tablets are becoming hot properties, and mobile apps is a big one � that�s a growing counterfeit market,� said Joan Coughlin, spokeswoman for the Better Business Bureau, which recently released its annual list of the most-common counterfeit goods.
Counterfeit apps come in various levels, some as benign as having a mislabeled name for an actual app. Others are malicious and can have a name and application similar to an actual product but are designed to damage a device or steal financial information.
To avoid counterfeit apps, the best advice is to buy from a reputable app store. But even in those locations, some hidden malware programs intended to do harm can sneak in. In such cases, a common tip-off will be if the app asks for all contacts or credit-card numbers.
Although such technology has joined the list of frequent fakes, the most-popular counterfeit products typically include sports jerseys, personal-care products, shoes, toys and luxury goods, according to the National Intellectual Property Rights Coordination Center.
But the recent additions to the list should be of particular concern, Coughlin said.
�This is the time of the year when holiday shoppers are looking for deals,� Coughlin said. �And that is a big opportunity for counterfeiters because they are conscious of trends. They tend to follow the market.�
During the holiday shopping season, counterfeit products flood the market � at stores, on street corners and online � according to law-enforcement officials. Exactly how much fake stuff is out there is difficult to gauge, but the FBI estimated a few years ago that U.S. companies lose as much as $250 billion annually because of counterfeit goods.
Some fake smartphones are sophisticated enough that it�s becoming harder for buyers to easily discern the real from the fake.
�Many fake phones may work in some form,� Coughlin said. �A fake tablet can turn on, but it will often have a blurry screen, and a number of the apps just won�t work. So the fakes really remain shoddy, and that means the key is to check the merchandise in person, especially electronics, and really put it through its paces before you buy.�
Law enforcement is on the case, particularly in the online arena. This month, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement announced that it had joined forces with 10 foreign law-enforcement agencies to seize 706 Web domain names that had been set up to dupe consumers into buying counterfeit goods.
Even so, consumers should be especially wary of counterfeit tech.
�It�s a much higher consequence than a fake Coach bag,� Coughlin said. �Consumers are at risk, not only of buying shoddy merchandise, but, when buying online, of divulging personal financial information to thieves.�
The technology has provided a new twist, but the ways to avoid being scammed remain tried and true, said C. Matthew Curtin, founder of Interhack, a Columbus-based forensic-computing firm.
�The old adage caveat emptor is the most sage advice � buyer beware,� Curtin said. �There is no such thing as a free lunch. Do you really think that a guy on the street charging $25 for a Gucci watch is selling the real article? It retails for $1,000, so why would he charge so little unless it�s fake or stolen? Gucci isn�t selling them to Macy�s for $20 apiece, so how could the guy on the street? The same is true with any computer, phone or software.�
Bargain hunters are especially vulnerable, Curtin said, as scams typically crop up on �one day only� websites and through �phishing� emails, text messages or phone calls that claim to come from established retailers.
The tip-off that something is awry? If the message or call asks for credit-card or bank-account numbers or other confidential information.
�They�re becoming increasingly sophisticated and brazen,� Coughlin said. �They price products just below authentic counterparts � and that leads consumers to think they�ve found a better deal.
�It�s really important to research a merchant before a purchase,� she said. �The safest course is to buy from the manufacturer, rather than a third party, or from officially licensed sources."


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For weeks, the Giants wondered if they were going to have any running backs at all.
Now that they're getting some of the regulars well, division of labor becomes a question they haven't had to worry about too often.
According to Jordan Raanan of the Newark Star-Ledger, journeyman Peyton Hillis is expected to be the primary option for another week, with Andre Brown and Brandon Jacobs each getting some work.
"There will be a set plan," Giants coach Tom Coughlin said.
Hillis has provided solid work during the Giants' two wins, but he'll have some help. With Brown returning from a broken leg, and Jacobs practicing after missing two weeks with a hamstring injury, there are options.
"I'm pretty sure they are going to switch us in, switch us out," Brown said.
Coughlin wanted to play wait-and-see on both the guys coming off injuries, not wanting to throw too much at them after extended layoffs.


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A Golden Glow: Luscious Brown Leather Seating
Leather chairs and sofas are often associated with the Ralph Lauren-esque faux pioneer lodge look. Think big, overstuffed and masculine. Alternatively, one may think of a cheesy 1980s bachelor pad where a sleek leather sofa is paired with a metal and glass coffee table and an oversized vase or two. But think again.
Here are some examples of leather at its best: soft golden brown leather chairs and couches. Some are weathered and informal and others stylish and tailored. But they are all gorgeous.
1. I want this more than one should ever want a sofa. Gorgeous leather settee found on Rex Kelly
2. A weathered oversized leather armchair in a farmhouse in Spain. 79 Ideas.
3. Here, leather looks more polished and tailored in the form of a tidy little leather settee with metal legs. Photographed by Teri Lyn Fisher and found in Desire to Inspire.
4. Honey colored leather Wassily chair from Desire to Inspire.
5. Groovy leather desk chair from Sarah Taylor Designs.
6. Lovely light brown with orange tones in this sling chair from Little Blue Deer
7. Dark brown butterfly chair via Number Nineteen.
8. I love this long, simple leather sofa with it's squared arms and modern silhouette. From Denmark's Femina
Images: As credited above.


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Gain a Competitive Edge with Sales and Marketing Alignment
Aberdeen Group research and SAP have shown that companies optimizing the marketing and sales relationship grow revenue 32% faster year-over-year, compared to those without such alignment. As a best-practice, such alignment is clearly a worthwhile pursuit, but how does one actually achieve it? For answers, look to the following actions and enablers commonly used by Best-in-Class organizations.
Want to find out more? Download the full report now.


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VIDEO: Warriors notch a chippy Christmas Day victory over the Clippers
OAKLAND – Let's see. Andrew Bogut and DeAndre Jordan scuffled when the Warriors and Clippers met Halloween night in Southern California, Bogut tried to frustrate Blake Griffin on Christmas night in Northern California and played combatant as Griffin was ejected early in the fourth quarter, and Bogut was nearly in an altercation after the buzzer Wednesday that included getting shoved in the back by Matt Barnes before the teams left the court.
Just maybe there is a pattern.
Bogut being in the middle of conflict is part coincidence — he didn't do anything at the end to deserve the parting gift from Barnes — but also surely part plan. He wanted to wear on Griffin just as he would be willing to instigate his own teammates in practice if he felt the Warriors needed to rumble to find their inner fight. He will create havoc to generate stability.
Which brings him to Christmas at Oracle Arena. The Clippers went up by 13 points in the first quarter, but the chippy play heats up and the lead is down to two at halftime. It's 78-78 with 10:43 left in the fourth. Griffin and Bogut got tangled. Both were called for technicals — the second for Griffin, an ejection.
Golden State wins 105-103.
"Honestly," Clippers coach Doc Rivers said, "I thought we were kicking their butts, and they went to something else, to be honest."
Rivers and his Warriors counterpart, Mark Jackson, both got questions from the media before the game after the so-called growing rivalry, and both brushed off the notion. There had been the rising temperatures of an October game, that's all. Jackson grew up on the New York City playgrounds and participated in actual heated moments in the postseason. The coaches know real tension. This wasn't that.
When the heat began to rise in the second meeting of the season, though, whether the neighborhood turf war was a rivalry or not, it was clearly something. Two games into the season series and two more to go — Jan. 30 at Oracle and March 12 at Staples Center — there is clearly a lot of not getting along to try to pass it off as just another opponent.
"We like them," Jackson said after. "Merry Christmas."
Or something like that.
"The little thing between me and Blake, I don't think he should have been thrown out," Bogut said. "Just get up and brush it off and go down to the other end, in my opinion. That kind of stuff doesn't bother me too much.
"It's not like I go home and pencil the Clippers in and say, 'I'm going to be physical and try to get a technical foul and try to give the league money.' That's just the way the game went. He was being physical, I was being physical, and we both didn't take a step back and that's how it should be. I think it's good spectacle for you guys (the media) and the fans."
For all the attention that goes to his defense, rebounding and passing, demanding intensity through toughness is one of the primary contributions Bogut provides that's largely unseen in public.
Early in his career here, after he arrived via a trade with Milwaukee and as he was healing from a lengthy ankle injury, he said he wouldn't hesitate to start a fight in practice if he felt teammates needed to be, um, called out. He would be insistent and unforgiving in the way a lot of rosters need to be held accountable.
It just hasn't been very necessary with these Warriors, a mature group that last season consistently played with energy, even as they relied heavily on three rookies who did not flinch as the pressure grew throughout 2012-13. This season, though, has been more of an emotional struggle. That focus from last season is lacking as Golden State played with a target on its back for the first time and too often failed to meet the burden during what has improved to a 17-13 start.
There have been times in practice where fights seemed possible — "We've been close," Bogut said, "we've gone at it. Guys are talking smack and it gets pretty testy" — but the Warriors have yet to cross that line with punches thrown, he said. It doesn't seem necessary with this team that will play hard without the internal conflict, however temporary.
But Wednesday against the Clippers, it was a different story.
"Blake Griffin was hot and I tried to do everything in my power to try and frustrate him and stop him," Bogut said. "I didn't want him to get thrown out. I just tried to make life tough for him, and that's the way it worked out. I'm going to give extra-effort plays and dive on the floor and take charges, and I think guys see that. I think without words, you see a guy doing that, and I think it can give us a spark."
It did on Christmas night, among other times, with Griffin in the locker room down the stretch and the Warriors adding another in the win column. That's the real pattern Bogut is trying to establish.
VIDEO: Blake Griffin talks about his ejection vs. the Warriors


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JS© wrote:mac5155 wrote:awesome. how are you getting in there?
gate seven. the door is unlocked but there are people inside waiting for an auction slip .
I won an auction for an locked safe with an unknown combo. After dragging it down about 40 steps from the suite levels, I ended up riding it down the exit ramp down to gate seven. Well worth the $10, even if I can't get the safe opened.


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Hover over date to see available events:
Date: June 18, 2014
Time: 10:00 am - 2:00 pm
Add to your calendar
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Founder's Room
Perlman Family Campus
6501 W. Sunrise Blvd.
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Phone: (954) 792-6700
Join JCCAD (Jewish Community Center Association for the Deaf) each Wednesday morning. We have approximately 75 adults in our group and we have a great time together!
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Bar Exam Preparation / Should I get a Tutor for the California Bar Exam?« on: July 15, 2011, 08:37:24 PM »
I'm taking the Cal bar in February and I was wondering if I should get a tutor on top of the Kaplan bar review course I'm taking. It seems prudent given the incredibly high fail rate of the bar. Also, if I do, anybody got suggestions or ideas on how to find one? Thanks!


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Time Warner's 'Conversation' Website Ditches All Comments; The Conversation Is Just Them To You
from the that's-not-a-conversation dept
And, now, it appears that TWC has decided to make the "conversation" even less of a "conversation." It has removed the ability to comment altogether. So, it's no longer a "conversation." It's just a marketing brochure.
This week we checked back and discovered the dialogue had decidedly turned one-way: namely from Time Warner Cable to you. The company deleted the few views that were published on cable television programming costs and removed its comment section altogether.Of course, this is how companies like TWC view "a conversation." They talk. You shut up and listen.


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ArchiCAD Technical Interior Designers
- Recruiter
- Bespoke Careers
- Salary
- £90-£170 per day
- Posted
- 17 Jan 2014
- Closes
- 14 Feb 2014
- Ref
- 17731
- Sector
- Architecture, Property
- Job Type
- Temporary
URGENT 2-3 Month Contract!! A boutique design agency based in South London requires 1 x Senior ArchiCAD Interior Technician to work on a high end Hospitality project. The company has a classic yet modern approach to design, with heavy focus on both craft based skill as well as cutting edge technology. Working on a wide variety of clients within the luxury hospitality and residential sectors, as well as workplace. he ideal candidate will be passionate about producing technical and design solutions for bespoke projects and private residential clients. Proven experience in residential and hospitality is essential and fluency in ArchiCAD is a must. This is a great opportunity to work for an employee focused company with a very strong team environment. Please forward your CV and portfolio immediately. Only candidates with ArchiCAD will be considered. CVs without portfolios will not be considered.


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Katy Perry & John Mayer Split
Katy Perry and John Mayer have ended their short-lived romance, sources confirm to JustJared.com.
The 27-year-old pop star and the 34-year-old singer have split after just a couple months of casual dating.
"She's really upset about it," a source told Us Weekly. "She is making it seem like it wasn't serious with John, but she is hurt."
John and Katy were first spotted out together on a date at the Soho House in June and pics first surfaced of them together earlier this month.
WHO DO YOU THINK Katy Perry and John Mayer should date next?


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Slify Titan Wise Men Distracted Sunday 29/11/2009, 20:34
Greetings all, your friendly neighborhood Slify here once again
As we all know, art is essential in this game. Art adds that extra little flair beyond stats and abilities that makes us really appreciate a card, and I'm sure we all have our own favorite cards simply because of favor toward their art. But how many of us know about the artists behind the art?
If you've been playing this game for at least a week, you've probably seen, or even own a Sabrina Thauvin card. Sabrina Thauvin is known for drawing some of the strongest cards in the game. If you've been playing ELO, maybe you've seen such dominating forces like the dreaded poisoner Sylth, the massive All-Stop Shakra, or the great reducer Toro. If you're into powerful collector, you may have heard of Lamar Cr. Ruby, Chiara, Chloe, Petra, Rico, Elvira, Louise, Ashigaru, Ambre, Eklore, Vholt, Z3r0 D34d, Olga, Kinjo, and I don't know, maybe you've heard of a beast called Kolos, were all drawn by this fantastic artist. Oh, interesting fact, Sabrina has drawn the guild leaders for the last three clans released, Bloodh of Piranas, Ongh of Jungo, and Caelus of Skeelz. In the true spirit of the game, Sabrina even has an account of Urban Rivals, Player: 37653 . In fact, she is Urban Rival's artistic director! She also has a website, http://www.lanoisettephalloide.com/ . Check it out some time if you can!
Cherry-Flavor Hero The Bran Clan Thursday 04/07/2013, 07:11
I like Quirky but Phalloide has drawn some of my favorite cards conceptually would list but too long lol
KingPio9697 Colossus Harbingers of Ares Friday 09/08/2013, 21:44
QUIRK best artisit overall
favorite card are is Melvin


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Make a girl fall in love with you in thirty days (or...
- by Running_From_My_Past
- Rating:
- Published: 23 May 2016
- Updated: 12 Jul 2016
- Status: In Progress
You just moved to Australia for a college scholarship, leaving your family and friends back home in England. You don't know anybody there and find yourself to be lost pretty quickly. Everyone seems to give you dirty looks and you feel alone. That's when you meet drummer Ashton who's in a band with his friends. You become quick friends and do everything together. Will the friendship become more or will the secrets that everyone keeps from each other tear it apart.
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"Supergiant Games' debut effort isn't just good – it's a must-play."
9.25 / 10 - Game Informer
"Bastion isn't just one of the year's best titles. It's also one of the best stories you'll see in an indie game."
5 / 5 - GamePro
"It's frightening to think how much the human voice has done to distance Bastion from the crowd."
9 / 10 - Edge Magazine
Bastion is an action role-playing experience that redefines storytelling in games, with a reactive narrator who marks your every move. Explore more than 40 lush hand-painted environments as you discover the secrets of the Calamity, a surreal catastrophe that shattered the world to pieces. Wield a huge arsenal of upgradeable weapons and battle savage beasts adapted to their new habitat. Finish the main story to unlock the New Game Plus mode and continue your journey!
Key features:
- Stunning hand-painted artwork in full 1080p resolution
- Critically-acclaimed original music score
- Hours of reactive narration delivers a deep story
- Action-packed combat rewards playing with finesse
- Controls custom-tailored to PC plus gamepad support
- 10+ unique upgradeable weapons to be used
- 6 powerful Bastion structures to be discovered
- 'New Game Plus' mode unlocked after finishing the story
Bastion is © Supergiant Games 2011. All code, art, music, narration, game design is copyright Supergiant Games. WB GAMES LOGO, WB SHIELD: ™ & © Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc.