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Friday, May 30, 2008
MUSIC FRIDAY: JPX catches Duran Duran
Two weeks ago I caught The Cure in Boston and I found myself in the odd position of having an extra ticket. It was a single floor seat that I had purchased a year prior, before the tour was re-scheduled. While scrolling through Craigslist I found a post from a guy that basically said, "Will trade Duran Duran floor seat ticket for a Cure floor seat ticket". How random. I thought, "what the hell", I'd rather get something for the Cure ticket than eat the $100 I spent on it. So Wednesday night I returned to Boston to catch Duran Duran' and their "Red Massacre" tour (apparently they have a new album out).
Okay, you can start peppering me with the usual insults that tend to emerge any time I acknowledge that I like 80s music. I don't care. I was a teenager in the 80s and that's what I identify with. Furthermore, Duran Duran holds a special place in my heart because it was the first concert I ever saw in 1984 (with Octo). Funny aside, in 1984 we didn't really understand the whole "encores" thing and we later found out that we left the concert 30 minutes before it ended! I mean, hey, the band left the stage so the show must've been over, right?
I made good time and got to the Agganis Arena early. Prior to the start of the show I strolled around the arena to see what souvenirs they were pushing these days. Hmm, "official program for $40?" "a tee shirt for $100"
That's right, they were actually selling a tee shirt for ONE-HUNDRED FUCKING DOLLARS!!!
After passing on a $6.50 cup of warm beer I settled into my seat, which was one of the best seats I've ever had in a concert. I was pretty much center and fairly close to the stage. The opening band was called "Your Vegas". I remember this because the lead singer never failed to remind us of this fact. While they performed there were about 100 people in the arena and after each song the Your Vegas dude kept thanking us and telling us what a "fucking awesome" crowd we were. Your Vegas is a U2-ish rip-off band that played a tight, adequate set. I rarely care about opening bands and generally experience annoyance because by time the opening band leaves the stage I know it's going to be another 30-60 minutes before the main act comes out
Ah, but in anticipation of the "wait", JPX came prepared with a Boston Metro and a Boston Pheonix to peruse. AS I flipped open the Pheonix, I was delighted to see that there was a good review of The Cure show I caught. Mere seconds into reading the article, my Duran Duran concert experience was ruined (well almost). At that precise moment 3 drunk women ages 39 to 50s sat in their seats, which happened to be next to me. Almost at once they began looking at me, whispering, giggling, etc. They were clearly having some sort of raunchy conversation. One of them, with the visage of old pavement and heavy beer breath, remarked loudly "I should watch what I say, he's just a boy", or something like that. Another one of the women asked me, "How old are you?" My hear sank into my crotch as I realized that I was about to be held hostage to small talk with strangers (think about a chatty person sitting next to you on an airplane, only drunk). When I told her I was 38 they started in on me. "No way! You look younger!" Just when I thought it couldn't get any worse she asked a stranger in front of us, "Doesn't he look younger than 38?" "What do you do for a living?" When I told them I was a psychologist one of them said, "You can diagnose us, we're all crazy!" I sarcastically said, "Well, I'd say substance abuse is somewhere in your diagnostic profile." This was met with loud shrieks of laughter. In fact anything I said was met with loud shrieks of laughter. And on it went. At first I was nice. I had a frozen smile on my face like Woody Allen listening to the awful comedian in Annie Hall. Then I kept desperately trying to read my Cure article to give them the hint. "What are you reading about?!" "You're reading about The Cure? I love 80s music, are they still around?!" They continued to whisper and giggle, clearly trying to get me to hook up with the third woman, a 39-year old Weeble. In fact, they switched seats so she could be next to me. The loud, drunken questions continued until, thank God, Duran Duran took the stage. The Weeble kept dancing and bumping her chubby ass into me for about 30 minutes. She asked me if I wanted to get a beer with her and I politely told her "no". Eventually, after completely ignoring her, she snd her friends moved to better seats somewhere else in the arena and my concert experience was saved. Anyone who knows me knows that I'm an exceedingly private person and when my anonymity is disrupted it puts me in a foul mood.
So how was the show? The last time I saw Duran Duran was 25 years ago, and not a whole lot has changed. The stage show was a little less extravagant and the boys are all older, but it was pretty much status quo. There were a few new songs peppered into the set that didn't do much for me, but their standards were there as well. As long as I get to hear "Girls on Film" and "Rio" I'm happy. They only played 11 songs before the first encore. I was spoiled when two weeks ago The Cure played 38 songs over the course of 3 hours.
Set List: Agganis Arena - Boston, MA - May 28, 2008
Blue Silver World Tour - 1983/84 (first concert JPX and Octo ever attended)
Remember when they looked cool?
Is there something I should know?
Hungry like the wolf
The Reflex
New moon on Monday
Union of the Snake
New Religion
The Seventh stranger
The Chauffeur
Save a prayer
Planet Earth
Careless Memories
Of crime and passion
My own way
(I'm looking for) Cracks in the pavement
Girls on film
Now that's a perfect set list in my book!
Harrison Ford: "Yes" to Jack Ryan, "No" to Han Solo
This past weekend, Harrison Ford successfully brought back Indiana Jones, but there are other characters he would love to bring back as well. Unfortunately for "Star Wars" fans, he ruled out a revival of character Han Solo.
"Oh, Han Solo isn't interesting to me," Ford told The Sun. "It's a very narrow sort of utility in the story and it was great for my career and it was fun to play at the time but I wouldn't go back there again."
He went on to explain that he would bring back other characters if the story was good enough. "But there are characters that it seems to me are worth re-exploring given that the story advances your understanding of the character, deepens your relationship to that character, and takes you into an area that's new and unexpected," he said. "Some characters are decidedly one off kind of characters. I don't think there would be any profit in making another John Book movie, which is the character from 'Witness.'"
He added that Jack Ryan, who Ford played in "Patriot Games" and "Clear and Present Danger," would also be worth bringing back. "The Ryan films, the Tom Clancy films were I thought worth re-exploring again but I wasn't a huge fan of the book on which the last one was based," Ford said of "The Sum of All Fears." "I thought it was more out of date than the others, so I think they made a cracking good shot at it and I think Ben Affleck is very very talented. I thought he did great and it was a fine movie but it wasn't for me. But again, that's a character that I think you could revisit acknowledging the passage of time and his increasing age."
"It wasn't age dependent, that character, and his experiences were chock full of recipes for good engaging movies," Ford continued. "So that's a character I wouldn't mind revisiting."
Actor Harvey Korman Dies at 81
(FROM AP) — Actor Harvey Korman has died. The versatile comedic performer, 81, best known as part of the ensemble that appeared on The Carol Burnett Show from 1967 to 1978, passed away Thursday in Los Angeles. He had been suffering complications stemming from a ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysm.
Korman started as a voice actor on The Flintstones (as the Great Gazoo) and as a guest star on countless early-1960s TV programs, earning his big break on The Danny Kaye Show in 1964. His career peaked in the 1970s, when he acted in the Mel Brooks comedies Blazing Saddles (as the diabolical Hedley Lamarr) and High Anxiety, and starred on The Carol Burnett Show, for which he won four Emmys and a Golden Globe. He left The Carol Burnett Show in 1977 to headline his own short-lived series, The Harvey Korman Show, and continued to pop up in a wide range of TV fare through the 1990s. (AP via Yahoo!)
Guess What Mystical Board Capable of Contacting the Spirits and Asking Them Trivial Questions is Becoming a Movie!
From iwatchstuff, When a partnership between Universal and Hasbro formed in February, giving the studio access to Hasbro's board game library and making a movie version of Magic: The Gathering slightly more than just a dream in a lonely 7th grade mind, I figured it was one of those things we'd hear an announcement for but never have to worry about again--like Grandparents Day, or a miscarriage. After all, if no one can even get a movie about Wonder Woman--a popular character with a long history--off the ground, what chance does a game where you move a planchette around a lettered board have?
A lot, it turns out, thanks to the usual suspect in converting childhood fun into film misery, Michael Bay. His Platinum Bay studio and writer David Berenbaum have announced plans to bring the Ouija Board to screens in a movie titled simply, beautifully, Ouija. And it sounds great:
Although the specific log line for the film is being kept under wraps, the film will be a supernatural adventure with the Ouija board playing an integral part of the story. The movie is not taking a "Jumanji"-like approach, which involved a game coming to life.
Whew! I was worried a Ouija Board movie called Ouija wouldn't prominently feature the Ouija Board, or play out enough like an extended commercial. Or that it would be like Jumanji, in that the sun, moon, and alphabet would literally emerge from the board and trample through a house. Thank you for putting those fears to bed. My only question is if they'll invent some hackneyed story about a hard-to-find antique shop and an old Gypsy woman who sells the kids the magical board, or if the kids will just pick it up for a couple dollars at a closing Kay-Bee Toys in their local mall, like how most people acquire the mystical eventual-TV-tray known as Ouija.
Thursday, May 29, 2008
So Sharon, What Did Iceland Do?
From CNN.com: An earthquake shook southern Iceland on Thursday, reportedly causing injuries and damaging roads and buildings.
The 6.1 magnitude temblor struck about 3:46 p.m. (11:46 a.m. ET), according to the U.S. Geological Survey. Its epicenter was about 50 km (31 miles) east-southeast of the capital, Reykjavik, and was about 10 km (6.2 miles) below the Earth's surface.
It was unclear exactly how many people were injured or the severity of their injuries, Olli Tynes, a journalist with Reykjavik's Channel 2, told CNN.
A hospital in a town near the epicenter was also reported damaged, and some wings have had to be evacuated, he said.
There were no reports of fatalities, but "great material damage," Tynes said. Roads and bridges in the area have been closed.
Iceland's emergency management agency has swung into action, and rescue crews were headed to the area most affected by the quake.
Tynes said he has been speaking to residents of the towns closest to the epicenter. "They said they thought the world was coming to an end," he said. "They thought they were going to
Sharon Stone is an idiot
By HENRY SANDERSON
BEIJING (AP) - French fashion house Christian Dior said Thursday it has dropped Sharon Stone from its Chinese ads and released a statement from the actress apologizing for saying China's earthquake may have been bad karma for its treatment of Tibet.
The 50-year-old actress said she was "deeply sorry" for causing anguish and anger among Chinese people with her remarks in an interview last week. Stone models for Christian Dior SA, and the company's Shanghai office issued the statement.
Stone's comments caused considerable anger in the Chinese media. The official Xinhua News Agency said in a commentary Thursday she was the "public enemy of all mankind."
The public relations manager for Dior in Shanghai who gave only her surname, Guo, said Stone would no longer appear in the company's advertisements in China.
"Due to my inappropriate words and acts during the interview, I feel deeply sorry and sad about hurting Chinese people," Stone said in the statement. "I am willing to take part in the relief work of China's earthquake, and wholly devote myself to helping affected Chinese people."
Chinese media have erupted in indignation over foreign criticism of the country ahead of the Beijing Olympics in August. During the international leg of the Olympic torch relay, many Chinese reacted strongly to protests over China's rule of Tibet.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang said Thursday he had taken note of Stone's apology.
"We hope that as an actress she should contribute to our two peoples' mutual trust, understanding and friendship," he said.
Stone's original comments were made last week during a Cannes Film Festival red-carpet interview.
"I'm not happy about the way the Chinese are treating the Tibetans because I don't think anyone should be unkind to anyone else," Stone said. "And then this earthquake and all this stuff happened, and then I thought, is that karma? When you're not nice that the bad things happen to you?"
Star Tours 2.0 Confirmed
From slachfilm, The rumors appear to be true afterall, Disney is giving Star Tours an overhaul. Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull computer graphics artist Hayden Landis told CNet that he has moved onto "another nostalgia-oriented project – a redo of the Star Tours ride at Disneyland."
I remember when the Star Tours ride first opened in 1987 (am I old?) they had a ABC Magical World of Disney special which focused on the attraction. I remember them promising at the time that the ride and film set-up would allow them to add new destinations , basically entirely new rides. And rumor had it that they would keep all the films in rotation on the various space crafts on the attraction. The flight information board utilized in the line area promises "forthcoming adventures to Hoth, Tatooine, and Dagobah" and displays the text "Soon Endor Won't Be The End-All". Twenty years have passed, and everything is pretty much the same as it was when the opened the attraction in 1987.
Last year Anthony Daniels, the actor who plays C3PO in the series, let it slip that he recorded some voice tracks for a new version of Star Tours. And since nothing ever came of it, people assumed that Daniels may have just recorded some updated voice tracks for the animatronic character in the pre-boarding sequence of the line. But with a new ride being worked on one must wonder how much of the old attraction will actually be changed. It is unknown if they will update the technology employed in the ride, although you would assume that they would. Digital displays could allow for a 3D experience. But what I'm worried about most is the story of the ride itself.
Supposedly at Star Wars Celebration III, George Lucas made mention of a Star Tours sequel which would be prequel-oriented. And early concept was supposedly based on the Pod Racer sequence in Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace, featuring a glasses-free 3-D High Definition screen and improved motion simulator. But until this day that has remained strictly a rumor. I'm not really interested in going to Naboo, Mos Espa, Coruscant or any of the locations from the prequel trilogy. I want to visit the locations and characters from the original trilogy. Plus its much more interesting with the Empire involved. Either way, I'm sure we won't find out details on the new ride for a good while.
Shatner reveals when Star Trek failed
From filmstalker, William Shatner has been speaking out about two things, the first and most important is his view on the fifth outing of the Star Trek film franchise and where it went wrong, and the second is his open disappointment that he's in the new Star Trek film from J.J. Abrams.
Personally I think that he shouldn't be in the new Star Trek film, but then I agree with what he's implying, that Star Trek should have moved on a long time ago, and although it has perhaps the studios should have had the guts to make the previous Star Trek stories stick.
Speaking about Star Trek V: The Final Frontier William Shatner seems to have a new outlook on the film as he reveals on MTV Movies Blog that:
"The extraordinary disappointment was that before the special effects went in, I asked the producer: Is this as good as I think it is? I thought it was pretty good, and the heads of the studio were saying 'good job'...The problem of that movie [was too many] compromises. The original compromise was: Let's make it an alien who thinks he's God. Soon, I realized I had compromised the whole movie."
Sounds like an all too common problem, bowing to studio and producer pressure to change the film when they are the business people behind the film providing cash and logistics, they aren't the artistic side.
I have to agree though, that was the first poor film of the franchise, but I don't think that Shatner should blame himself for that. Although the film may have been weaker than the rest it never really harmed the love of Star Trek, not really.
Then he goes on to talk about the new Star Trek and does reveal that he's disappointed not to be in the new film. His following insight into the success of the film is the way I've been thinking for some time now:
"Passage of time, for sure; that was me a long time ago...It'll be interesting to see whether [the new movie] is successful or not. If anyone can make 'Star Trek' live, [Abrams] can do it. The question is: Is it still alive, or is it time for all of us to move on?"
Well it's moved on a good few times since then, in both film and television form, however no one has made the change stick and had the guts to keep going with it, I think that's why we find ourselves right back here.
Enterprise was perhaps the closest to that, and the one that seemed like it was going to make it, after all it was taking similar queues from series like Babylon 5 with the huge story arcs and it could be said that it was an early attempt at something akin to a reimagination like Battlestar Galactica, although much less so in it's vision.
I really enjoyed that series and it was going from strength to strength, and I do believe if the series had been given stronger scheduling and more backing that it could well have taken off and we could have seen a few films from it.
However here we are back at square one, and while I believe Abrams can deliver something exciting and interesting with Star Trek, I do wonder if going backwards is really the right direction.
'Death Race' Cars Have Flamethrowers and Guns and Whatnot
From iwatchstuff, Paul W.S. Anderson has made a name for himself directing impossibly bad movies like Mortal Kombat, Resident Evil, and Alien vs. Predator. J.F. Lawton has made his mark by writing such awfulness as Dead or Alive, Under Siege 2: Dark Territory, and 88 episodes of Pamela Anderson's V.I.P. What happens when these two initialed superpowers join forces? We get Death Race, an ill-conceived remake of the 1975 Sylvester Stallone cult classic Death Race 2000! Our first peek at this can't-miss hit came in the form of Jason Statham's head photoshopped into a car; now we get a picture of some cars with flamethrowers. By South African standards, this is totally lame. By any standards, actually.
House of Re-Animator delayed
From bloodydisgusting, While chatting with Director Stuart Gordon last week about his forthcoming hit-and-run thriller Stuck, SpookyDan discovered some disheartening news about the long-delayed RE-ANIMATOR sequels. Originally planned to be a brand new trilogy, it looks like the extension to the franchise won't be happening - or at least anytime soon. Read on for the skinny on House of Re-Animator, the adventure Herbert West won't be taking.
One of the most popular gore clicks of all-time is Stuart Gordon's RE-ANIMATOR, which has swamped numerous sequels. The next film on the slate was HOUSE OF RE-ANIMATOR, which would have pit Herbert West against the President of the United States. Gordon explains that the more he thought about the idea, the more it seemed a little dated.
"I wish I had good news on that but it doesn't look like its going to happen," Gordon tells Bloody-Disgusting. "It's Funny, I have been having second thoughts lately because I keep reading about Oliver Stone doing this movie about George W Bush, I kept thinking that its sort of old news if we do a movie about the Bush administration, by the time it comes out we will have a new president, and at that point, who cares? But maybe people are still intrigued at the bush administrations; its so audacious, maybe they will still be interested."
800-word Harry Potter prequel to be auctioned
By Raphael G. Satter, Associated Press Writer
LONDON — An 800-word Harry Potter prequel is one of 13 card-sized works to be sold at a charity auction in the British capital. Waterstone's Booksellers Ltd. says the cream-colored A5 papers — each slightly bigger than a postcard — were distributed to 13 authors and illustrators, including the boy wizard's creator J.K. Rowling, Nobel Prize winner Doris Lessing, novelist Margaret Atwood and playwright Tom Stoppard.
Rowling used both sides of her card to hand-write a prequel to her seven-book Harry Potter saga, while Lessing penned a story about the power of reading. Stoppard wrote a short mystery and Atwood was due to fill out her card remotely using a robotic arm controlled by computer linkup.
Other cards were completed by children's author Michael Rosen, illustrator Axel Scheffler, graphic novelist Neil Gaiman, Lisa Appignanesi, Richard Ford, Lauren Child, Irvine Welsh, Sebastian Faulks and Nick Hornby, who plastered his card with a collage.
The cards will go on sale at the "What's Your Story?" auction at Waterstone's flagship store in central London on June 10. The proceeds are to go to English PEN, the writers' association, and the British charity Dyslexia Action. Copies of the cards will be collated into a book to be made available at the bookstore and online in August.
Organizers refused to comment on the content of Rowling's Harry Potter prequel, but Hogwarts fans hoping for another book to add to their collection may be disappointed by her signoff.
"From the prequel I am not working on — but that was fun!" Rowling wrote.
Rowling has previously said she had no plans to write another Potter novel, but in December she sold a handwritten, leather-bound book of fairy tales she described as drawing on the series' themes, for nearly $4 million at auction. The money went to The Children's Voice, a charity Rowling co-founded in 2005.
So what kind of extras do we have to look forward to on The Watchmen DVD?
From darkhorizons, [excerpt] The New York Times reports that the animated side story "Tales of the Black Freighter" will not be released concurrently with the "Watchmen" DVD, but rather as its own DVD release just five days after the movie hits theaters on March 6th 2009.
The disc also includes a documentary-style film called "Under the Hood" that will delve into the characters' backstories. Also the studio plans a dozen 22-26 minute Webisodes in the build-up to "Watchmen". Snyder says in the article that "Watchmen", which he's currently editing, is nearing three hours in length and intends to fight to keep as much as possible in the film.
"Watchmen" will hit disc sometime in the early Fall, and an 'Ultimate Edition' with both "Watchmen" and 'Tales' edited into one large movie will hit probably in early 2010.
Eddie Murphy back in 'Beverly Hills'
From variety, On the heels of the successful revival of the "Indiana Jones" franchise, Paramount has set in motion a fourth installment of "Beverly Hills Cop."
Eddie Murphy is attached to reprise his role as Detroit detective Axel Foley, and Brett Ratner is negotiating to direct.
Studio is aiming for a 2009 production start and a summer 2010 release.
Lorenzo di Bonaventura will produce. Jerry Bruckheimer, who produced the original "Beverly Hills Cop" trilogy with late partner Don Simpson, won't be actively involved in the new film.
Murphy approached the studio about reviving the franchise that cemented his status as a B.O. mega-star. Par brass were eager to land another picture with Murphy after he finished the Karey Kirkpatrick-directed "NowhereLand," which Paramount releases in June 2009.
That film was also produced by Di Bonaventura, who is working on the summer 2009 releases "G.I. Joe" and "Transformers 2."
The studio canvassed a number of directors before choosing Ratner. A writer will be hired shortly.
Released in 1984, the original "Beverly Hills Cop" grossed $316 million worldwide and spawned two sequels. All told, the three pics grossed $712.9 million worldwide. The last was released in 1994.
Murphy is currently toplining the Brian Robbins-directed "A Thousand Words" for DreamWorks.
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
Ace Of Cakes Show Makes Star Trek Cake, Trekkie Rage (And Some Hilarity) Ensues
From Geekologie: So those crazy fonadanters on the Food Network's Ace of Cakes recently made a Star Trek cake and posted pictures of it on Trekmovie.com. But some Trekkies weren't happy with the result.
6. sean - May 25, 2008 THIS IS A DISASTER I CAN'T BELIEVE THEY PUT SCOTTY IN THE NAVIGATOR'S POSITION I CAN'T BELIEVE THESE PEOPLE ARE SO CLUELESS ABOUT THE BASICS OF STAR TREK THIS IS A DISASTER
12. Sean - May 25, 2008
lol #6 has a point. Scotty and Uhura are not in the right spots and Chekov is nowhere to be found. Even before Chekov came onto the show Scotty didn't sit there.
18. Navigator NCC 2120 USS Entente - May 25, 2008
Actually Sean, Scotty DID sit at the Navigator's Station on the bridge at the end of the second pilot "Where No Man Has Gone Before" because Navigator Gary Mitchel was dead. There is a picture of it at http://www.trekcore.com. I tried to post the link to the picture but it did not work.
Finally, the voice of reason stepped in.
38. Gary Seven of Nine - May 26, 2008
"Have you ever kissed a girl??!?!?!?!?!"
It's an F-in cake. Turn-off your caps lock and and stop making trekkers look like such OCD losers.
Good burn with your lightsaber there, Gary Seven of Nine. Oh shit, lightsabers are from Star Wars and not Star Trek aren't they? God how embarrassing. Seriously though, I've always loved Star Trek -- especially the spaceship, Discovery One.
A couple more pictures of the cake after the jump. And for the love of God please don't email me about the Discovery One being the ship from 2001: A Space Odyssey, I know that.
Beautiful model, military brass greet Bond
LONDON, England (AP) -- A catsuited model in stiletto heels strode the deck of a British warship with Royal Navy helicopters roaring overhead. It was not a bout of naval hijinks, but the year's most-hyped literary event -- the publication of a new adventure for super-spy James Bond.
The larger-than-life launch Tuesday of the novel "Devil May Care" proves that 100 years after the birth of 007 creator Ian Fleming, the Bond brand is stronger than ever.
A large crowd of journalists and onlookers gathered to watch model Tuuli Shipster, whose silhouette adorns the cover of the book's British edition, bring the first published copies up the River Thames in a military speedboat before unpacking them aboard HMS Exeter, a destroyer moored near Tower Bridge.
"I can remember Uncle Ian's books being delivered wrapped in brown paper and string by a postman on a bicycle," niece Lucy Fleming said as she stood on the destroyer's gunmetal-gray deck. "The Royal Navy has upped the ante a little."
Britain's military appears happy to play up its ties to the fictional spy, who held the rank of Royal Navy commander before going to work for MI6. The navy loaned the Exeter and its 250-strong crew for an elaborate photo opportunity for "Devil May Care," written by Sebastian Faulks and published to mark Fleming's 100th birthday on Wednesday.
The choice of Faulks -- a respected literary novelist whose books include the World War I novel "Birdsong" and the French Resistance saga "Charlotte Gray" -- has brought the book serious literary attention, while the promise of sex, spying and exotic locales should help it become a best-seller. The hardcover print run in Britain and the United States is reported to be 400,000 copies.
Fleming, a journalist and wartime intelligence officer who died in 1964, wrote 14 James Bond books. Other writers, including Kingsley Amis and John Gardner, continued the series into the 21st century, with mixed results. But Faulks' license to thrill, which coincides with actor Daniel Craig's reinvigoration of the Bond film franchise, has generated a renewed sense of excitement.
"We didn't want a thriller writer," said Lucy Fleming, part of a family group that controls the author's estate. "We wanted someone who would read Ian's books and see how he did it." Faulks, she said, "has thought himself into Ian's mind."
Faulks said he even adopted Fleming's writing pace, churning out 2,000 words a day for six weeks. He says the resulting novel is about 80 percent Fleming in style.
The book's publishers -- Penguin in Britain, Doubleday in the United States -- are keeping its contents under wraps until it hits stores Wednesday. This much is known: the book has a 1960s Cold War setting; there are locations in Paris, Rome and the Middle East; there is torture and there is romance.
Bond aficionados were optimistic the result would be classic 007.
"Sebastian Faulks is the Daniel Craig of Bond authors," said Ajay Chowdhury, editor of the Bond fan magazine Kiss Kiss Bang Bang. "It's about quality."
Chowdhury was pleased to see a renewed focus on the books, which he said "show a deeper side of Bond."
"The Bond films are high school; the Bond books are university," he said.
This is a big year for Bond. In addition to the Fleming centenary, the latest 007 movie, "Quantum of Solace," is due for release in the fall.
Neither Faulks nor Fleming would speculate on whether "Devil May Care" would itself be filmed.
Faulks said, however, he would not be writing another Bond book.
Sex and the City reviewed by a dude
From AICN, [excerpt] In fact, it only seems to reinforce what I never liked about Sex and the City to begin with. They're not flirty and single because it's so hard to find a good man. It's because they're all completely self-obsessed, neurotic, high maintenance divas. And I found each and every one of them thoroughly unlikable. There's a workaholic neglectful wife who commits the sin of all marital sins – uttering the phrase "Would you please finish." There's the oversexed nymphomaniac who is in a long-term relationship with the perfect guy, but is getting bored because she wants to bang other people. Oh, and no one's ever mentioned the swinger lifestyle to her, despite her living in LA. And being in the movie business. Then there's the girl who used to be the most neurotic of them all, but now has the perfect life. Married, kids and utterly nothing to do in this movie. Then there's our glib narrator, the woman who makes a living writing about the adventures of the other three. And while the narration might have worked as a tool to string together stories in an episodic format in the show, her incessant droning will make you want to but your shoe through the screen time and again.
Read full review here
The 8 Least Intimidating Gangs in Movie History
#7.The Greasers from The Outsiders
Nothing epitomizes badass street cred like rolling with Patrick Swayze, Tom Cruise and C. Thomas Howell. Unless C. Thomas Howell is playing a character named Ponyboy, in what apparently isn't meant to be anything overtly homoerotic.
Following the same gang format that has existed since Shakespeare made it popular, The Greasers fall in love with some chicks from the other side of the tracks and that means someone really wants to drown Ponyboy, which is understandable. Instead the Karate Kid does some stabbing and the foolish gang violence is soon replaced with two skinny boys on the run, both of whom look like they'd lose a boxing match to Hannah Montana.
Then it degrades into burning school house heroics and poetry, along with deeply profound deaths and other assorted girly aspects of gang life that make it seem like semi-organized crime really isn't all it's cracked up to be.
See full list here
Nothing epitomizes badass street cred like rolling with Patrick Swayze, Tom Cruise and C. Thomas Howell. Unless C. Thomas Howell is playing a character named Ponyboy, in what apparently isn't meant to be anything overtly homoerotic.
Following the same gang format that has existed since Shakespeare made it popular, The Greasers fall in love with some chicks from the other side of the tracks and that means someone really wants to drown Ponyboy, which is understandable. Instead the Karate Kid does some stabbing and the foolish gang violence is soon replaced with two skinny boys on the run, both of whom look like they'd lose a boxing match to Hannah Montana.
Then it degrades into burning school house heroics and poetry, along with deeply profound deaths and other assorted girly aspects of gang life that make it seem like semi-organized crime really isn't all it's cracked up to be.
See full list here
'Plan 9 from Outer Space' to be Remade, Largely Character-Driven
From iwatchstuff, In 1959, Ed Wood released Plan 9 from Outer Space, a film about aliens and the living dead that was so unspeakably awful it was destined to be publicly mocked at midnight screenings for years to come. But what would it be like if, somehow, the technologies of the late '50s had allowed for non-cardboard gravestones, or more believable electrode guns, or a less nonsensical script?
Using modern technology and his questionable talents, plucky director John Johnson hopes to answer just that question, remaking the cult classic as "a serious-minded retelling of the original story, paying homage to the spirit of Wood's film without resorting to camp or parody." Except there are few flaws in his plan to make a "largely character-driven" Plan 9: for one, his claim that this version won't be campy is largely discredited by his production company, Darkstone Entertainment, which has, from what I can tell, released only low-budget, straight-to-video horror-comedies. And Johnson (also goes by Nicoli Micelli and Sabo, but you may know him from his role in The Vampires of Zanzibar as John John the Gay Bartender) is the director of Skeleton Key, a film one IMDB user--likely one of the few who saw Skeleton Key--has dubbed the "absolute worst film (if you want to call it that) I've ever seen." So more likely, the question that will be answered is "what would it be like if a terrible director remade another terrible director's remarkably terrible movie, only with some cheesy CGI added?" Likely answer: unwatchable.
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
DCD's Hubby stars as Two-Face
So, for those of you who may not know, my husband is a professional chef, and he met the bad end of an evil oven on a job over the weekend. I give you: Two-Face.
Good Guy
Bad Guy
Plus - check out this hand!
(My hubby is very brave. Also, he knows I'm posting this and thinks it cool.)
Good Guy
Bad Guy
Plus - check out this hand!
(My hubby is very brave. Also, he knows I'm posting this and thinks it cool.)
Tolkien's Son Fights To Shut Down The Hobbit
From cinemablend, When asked during his web chat this weekend if J.R.R. Tolkien's son Christopher Tolkien was going to give the upcoming movie version of The Hobbit his blessing, Peter Jackson diplomatically replied: "Christopher Tolkien did not wish to be involved in the LOTR movies and I would assume his feelings are the same with these two films." Well it's a lot more than assumption. In fact, not only does he not wish to be involved, he's now doing everything in his power to stop The Hobbit movie from being made… again.
You see, Christopher Tolkien has been against his father's books being made into movies since the very beginning. He hates the idea of them being made into movies in general, and he's been fighting Peter Jackson and the half-dozen other people who own pieces and parts of the movie rights every single step of the way. Not because he doesn't like what Jackson is doing, he simply hates Hollywood. Ironically, he doesn't hate making cash-in sequels to his father's books, using pieces of his notes which were never intended to be published. Funny how that works.
But Christopher Tolkien is 83, frequently described as cranky, and presumably he remembers a time when movies didn't exist. He seems to have preferred it better that way because the TimesOnline reports that he'll try to get a judge to halt the production of The Hobbit next week. At issue is the same thing that always seems to be at issue whenever the Lord of the Rings franchise goes to court. He says New Line Cinema owes him money. Judging by New Line's track record, that may indeed be true. Judging from Christopher Tolkien's track record, that's probably not the reason he's doing this. He doesn't care about the money as much as he simply hates movies. Oddly enough, the TimesOnline article mentions that he's likely never even seen any of the Lord of the Rings movies. You'd think even if he was totally against them, he'd at least peek at the back of one of the DVD covers. He is a Tolkien after all. However wrongheaded he may be, his motives are pure… in their own way.
At the end of the day the guy is just trying to protect his father's work. Unfortunately, in this case it doesn't need his protecting. The way things stand now, Peter Jackson is probably better suited to protect it than he is. Can we hand the Tolkien Estate over to him? After all, he is an honorary hobbit.
Luckily this isn't the first time the Lord of the Rings franchise has gone through one of these legal snags, and so far it hasn't slowed things down. There's no reason to believe it will this time either. We hope.
Tarantino Making World War II Drama Next
From cinemablend, Quentin Tarantino has never really been afraid to push boundaries. and seems to take a perverse kind of pleasure in destroying all kinds of sacred calves. So what would you expect of a Tarantino World War II movie? A solemn meditation on sacrifice and honor, or a shoot 'em up bloodfest with the title Inglorious Bastards.
Well, at least one part of that description will be true. Thanks to some intrepid French skills, the folks at JoBlo learned from one of Tarantino's interviews at Cannes that he hopes to bring his next movie to the festival in 2009. He tells the interviewer, "The next movie I'm doing is my World War II movie. I just finished up the first draft and if all goes well, I will be here, in Cannes, in 2009 with Inglorious Bastards." What more appropriate news on Memorial Day than a movie that calls our World War II veterans by such a delightful epithet?
Seriously, though, it makes me a little queasy to think of Quentin Tarantino making a World War II movie. I know we've seen countless dramas glorifying the sacrifices made by soldiers during that time, but are we really ready to see a movie about them called Inglorious Bastards? And even if the title is referring to the bad guys, do we really expect Tarantino to handle the subject with somber respect? The movie may turn out to be worth watching, but Tarantino might need to watch out for veteran's groups who will make a big stink about the King of Violence taking his shot at the Greatest Generation.
Sydney Pollack dies of cancer at 73
From thesuperficial, Respected actor/director Sydney Pollack passed away Monday after battling cancer for the past 10 months, according to Reuters:
Pollack, whose illness first came to public attention after unspecified health issues led him to withdraw last August as director of an HBO television movie, died at his home in the coastal Los Angeles suburb of Pacific Palisades at about 5 p.m. local time, surrounded by his family.
The Directors Guild of America issued a statement on Monday night saluting him as "the quintessential 'actor's director"' and a gifted filmmaker who "let the dialogue and the emotion of a scene speak for itself."
Sydney Pollack's more recent roles included appearances on NBC's Will & Grace as Will's father, and a lawyer in the George Clooney drama Michael Clayton. He was one a hell of a filmmaker and will truly be missed. Rest in Peace.
Futurama: The Beast With a Billion Backs (DVD)
From screenjabber, Good news, Zapp Branigan fans. You all complained about the lack of screen time for your "hero" in the first Futurama movie, Bender's Big Score? Well complain no more — you get more than your fair share of the chubby idiot in The Beast With a Billion Backs, the second direct-to-DVD feature-length episode. And so does Amy, but that's jumping ahead a little.
The Beast picks up where Bender's Score left off. It's been one month "since space ripped open like flimsy human skin", as newsreader Morbo pleasantly informs us. It turns out that the cosmic anomaly is actually a gateway to another universe. But before we learn any more about the rip, it's time to move on to Plotline B in which Fry has found himself a new girlfriend, named Colleen (Murphy). Everyone's happy for him — even Zoidberg, who keeps joyfully vomiting from both his seawater and freshwater stomachs. Good news for Amy, too — Kif has asked her to be his Fonfon Ru, which I guess is kinda like a wife. Or something. After a quick side trip to Kif's homeworld of Amphibios 9 for the ceremony (conducted by the ubiquitous midwife, from the episode where Kif got pregnant) we're back on Earth where Fry decides to move in with Colleen. Even after making the horrifying discovery that he is merely one of the five boyfriends she shares her apartment with. Meanwhile, back at the anomaly, Farnsworth and his mortal enemy, Professor Wornstrom, vie for the right to send a mission to explore the thing. And in a further strand (which we'll cleverly call Plotline C) Bender discovers that the mythical League of Robots is actually real — and run by his hero, Calculon.
Read rest of review here
Box Office
From darkhorizons, The return of "Indiana Jones" this weekend broke records across the domestic and global box-office.
'Crystal Skull' took in a four-day Memorial Day weekend haul of $126 million, making it the second biggest Memorial Day opening behind last year's "Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End" with $139 million.
In it's first five days, 'Skull' managed to rack up $151.1 million - the fifth highest first five-day gross of any film, and just $1 million shy of "Spider-Man 2". It sadly failed to get near the top trio of "Star Wars: Episode III", "Pirates 2" and "Spider-Man 3" which all took in around $170 million.
Despite an over 4,000 screen count, 'Skull' took in a whopping $29,586 per screen average - more than four times that of second place "Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian" which with $28.6 million for the four-day weekend, had the steepest drop-off (48%) of any film in the Top Ten and looks unlikely to reach $200 million.
On the overseas front, "Skull" did stellar business with $160 million through Monday in its first weekend - making it the fifth biggest foreign opening weekend ever, just beating 'Revenge of the Sith'. It sits only behind the most recent 'Pirates,' 'Spider-Man' and 'Harry Potter' sequels along with 2006's "The Da Vinci Code".
The results come despite some very differing reactions amongst hardcore fans with a sizable amount of online reactions absolutely slamming the film - a surprising move as critics have generally praised the project. Despite the very vocal geek vitrol, the film showed strong day-by-day gains over the holiday which would indicate a healthy shelf life for the next few weeks.
The Strangers reviewed
From AICN, This review will be relatively spoiler-free. The trailer for the movie pretty much sums up the plot of the film and you get exactly what they advertise, no more no less - for whatever that's worth to you. A couple in an isolated house is terrorized by multiple masked people with no apparent way to escape. But does it work? Is it scary? Is it believable? For the most part, I would say yes to all 3 questions.
A film like this wants to put the viewer in the shoes of the victims, to make you think that these horrific events could happen to you and to get you just as scared as the people in the movie. The camera work is never too dark, too shaky, or too close-up. Wide shots of empty rooms and the woods are scary enough when you know somebody is there, somewhere.
Read the rest here.
Coolest Fricking TV Show Ever? WOMEN IN CHAINS! - directed by Robert Rodriguez... starring Rose McGowan?!?!?!
From AICN, Execs across the various network and cable outlets are ripping into one of their most anticipated spec show packages they've had in quite some time.
It's a project that was conceived and written by Josh Miller and his writing partner M.A. Fortin. Now I can't find out anything about M.A. Fortin - but Josh Miller - I know him. He's the son of Jason "EXORCIST" Miller and Sue "FASTER PUSSYCAT KILL KILL" Bernard. He was also that awesome kid in NEAR DARK. Well, as I heard it - these two decided to head out into the desert for 40 days and 40 nights to conceive and write a Television Show that left a mark... reddish and slightly raised at that. They conceived a show with Sadistic Guards, Cafeteria Hosedowns, Mud Wrestling, Violent Vendettas - a women in prison exploitation show called WOMEN IN CHAINS! Yes, with a fucking exclamation - because that's what this show is... an exclamation.
Now here's the astonishing part... Signed on board to produce and direct is none other than Robert Rodriguez! And the pitch perfect for this project ROSE McGOWAN will be starring as one of the 5 main femmes in chains!
From what I've heard - the Networks are hunting the show - with Robert and Rose's involvement - they're wanting to take the leap - but I have to say... I've looked at some of this project and while I'm sure in the age of NIP/TUCK - we have the Networks pushing what is showing on Broadcast Television.... I have to say - I'm praying to the big Satellite in the sky - that HBO picks this sucker up.
This is classic Exploitation material - kicked up several notches and man... It'd be bliss on HBO. At the same time - I'd be amazed to tune in to just see what the show would get away with on the Networks. I just know this show would own BAD GIRLS!
From what I'm hearing - we'll probably hear about the project putting down an anchor somewhere soon this week - but I just felt you folks should hear about it first!
THE MINUTEMEN from WATCHMEN!
From AICN, In the brilliant WATCHMEN story - there's a history - a universe and a specific world that the characters exist in. That's what makes it so great, so thorough and something to pour over.
What we have below is a photo that the Minutemen took - Who are the Minutemen? Well in WATCHMEN - it was the first TEAM of superheroes that formed in 1939 and pulled a BEATLES in 1949. In the pic below you'll see the classic SILK SPECTRE and NITE OWL... you'll see CAPTAIN METROPOLIS, MOTHMAN, SILHOUETTE, COMEDIAN, DOLLAR BILL and with the noose... HOODED JUSTICE.
I love this photo... just look at those costumes, the hairstyles and makeup. Isn't that classic? It's that attention to detail that I think bodes very well for this project. Cuz with WATCHMEN, the devil's in the details. It is the most richly textured and nuanced comic story ever completed - and this is yet another reason to be excited!
Sunday, May 25, 2008
Indiana Jones strikes gold
LOS ANGELES, California (AP) -- "Indiana Jones" unearthed box office gold at domestic theaters with a performance that puts it on track to become the second biggest Memorial Day movie opening ever, according to studio estimates Sunday.
Harrison Ford stars in Paramount Pictures' "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull."
The fourth installment of the whip-cracking professor's exploits, "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull," grossed an estimated $101 million from Friday to Sunday, plus $25 million from its opening Thursday, distributor Paramount Pictures said. The company expects it to earn another $25 million on Monday.
That would put it behind only "Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End," which had a Friday-through-Monday total of $139.8 million, in the pantheon of Memorial Day weekend blockbusters.
Including Thursday's receipts, "Indiana Jones" was expected to collect $151 million over five days, slightly behind "Pirates," which took in $153 million with a partial Thursday included.
Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Media By Numbers LLC. Final figures will be released Monday.
1. "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull," $101 million.
2. "The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian," $23 million.
3. "Iron Man," $20.1 million.
4. "What Happens in Vegas," $9 million.
5. "Speed Racer," $4 million.
6. "Made of Honor," $3.4 million.
7. "Baby Mama," $3.3 million.
8. "Forgetting Sarah Marshall," $1.7 million.
9. "Harold & Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay," $900,000.
10. "The Visitor," $800,000.
"'Indiana Jones' did incredibly well for a film that comes 19 years after the previous installment," said Paul Dergarabedian, president of tracking firm Media By Numbers LLC.
The adventure flick received a lackluster reception from critics at the Cannes Film Festival, but audiences thought otherwise.
Box office estimates grew from $25 million on its opening Thursday through $37 million on Saturday, suggesting strong word of mouth, Dergarabedian said.
"This is the definition of a summer movie from two of the architects of the summer movie season -- George Lucas and Steven Spielberg," he said. "These guys have it down to a science and audiences want to go along for that ride."
The first three Indy movies took in $1.2 billion worldwide.
Disney's action sequel, "The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian," slipped to second place with $23 million, for a total of $91.1 million over two weeks. The company expected the movie to continue to play well as school lets out.
"Once you start getting the mass number of kids out of school, it turns into some serious money," said Chuck Viane, president of distribution for Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures.
Marvel Studios' "Iron Man" clinched another $20.1 million, bringing its domestic total to $252.3 million. A sequel is set for release in 2010.
The 20th Century Fox comedy, "What Happens in Vegas," continued to roll with $9 million in its third week, for a total of $54.2 million.
Fox senior vice president Bert Livingstone said high gas prices were encouraging people to see movies rather than take long trips away from home.
"This is the last great bargain," Livingstone said.
By this time last year, there were seven movies that grossed over $100 million: "Pirates," "Shrek the Third," "Spider-Man 3," "300," "Wild Hogs," "Blades of Glory" and "Ghost Rider," according to Media By Numbers. This year, there are only three: "Iron Man," "Dr. Seuss' Horton Hears a Who!" and "Indiana Jones."
"It's no wonder that we're down in terms of revenues and attendance," Dergarabedian said. "You don't get out of a deficit like this overnight."
What We're Planning for the First Cousin Get Together
This is totally what we're going to do once all four of the Baby Tsunami cousins get born. From BBC News, Spanish village holds baby jump.
Grown men have been leaping over rows of babies in the north Spanish village of Castrillo de Murcia in an annual rite meant to ward off the Devil. Jumpers dressed as the Colacho, a character representing the Devil, bounded over clusters of bemused infants laid out on mattresses. Nobody appeared to get hurt in this year's festive event.
Terminator 4: Octo and Julie are so screwed
Preliminary concept art for post-judgment day Los Angeles.
From warnerbrothers, We've officially started principal photography on Terminator Salvation: The Future Begins. Like you guys, I've been a long-time fan of the series and I understand your passion for the Terminator movies -- and it's my full intention to deliver a film that lives up to the previous three installments. I've spent time with James Cameron, spoken to Arnold Schwarzenegger, gone over the story with Jonah Nolan, and enlisted Stan Winston.
Everything we're shooting is designed to be tactile and real, you'll be seeing a whole set of inspired designs you've never seen before, and best of all you'll finally get to see some of the post-judgment day future that was only hinted at in the previous movies.
John Connor will be pushed to the brink. And for me, Christian Bale embodies Connor's strength and tenacity perfectly. And after visiting Sam Worthington on the set of Avatar, I know he's perfect for his role.
As you know, Anton Yelchin is playing Kyle Reese, and his prep has been unbelievable. The guy's been watching all three Terminators incessantly and he's definitely going to capture the essence of the character Michael Biehn created in Cameron's first film.
We started principal photography with a sequence at Griffith Observatory. I've already seen a cut of it -- Anton and Sam are excellent. I'll have more on that soon, and can't wait to share some of what we're doing with you all. Stay tuned for more.
Saturday, May 24, 2008
One more Wii for the Horrorthon family
Grabbed one today with the fit pad thingy. I'll let you know how "getting into shape by playing video games" works out. I could be onto something BIG here.
Maybe the cutest thing ever when the twins jumped into my arms and hugged me after they got strikes in the bowling game, or sank putts in golf.
Indiana Jones movie upsets communists
MOSCOW, Russia (AP) -- Members of Russia's Communist Party are calling for a nationwide boycott of the new Indiana Jones movie, saying it aims to undermine communist ideology and distort history.
"Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull" stars Harrison Ford as an archaeologist in 1957 competing with an evil KGB agent, played by Cate Blanchett, to find a skull endowed with mystic powers.
It hit Russian screens Thursday.
Communist Party members in St. Petersburg said on a web site this week that the Soviet Union in 1957 "did not send terrorists to the States," but launched a satellite, "which evoked the admiration of the whole world."
Moscow Communist lawmaker Andrei Andreyev said Saturday "it is very disturbing if talented directors want to provoke a new Cold War."
"Indiana Jones" unearths more gold at box office
By Dean Goodman
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - The massively hyped "Indiana Jones" movie whipped up an impressive $56 million in its first two days of release across North America, its distributor said on Saturday, but will struggle to break industry records during the U.S. Memorial Day holiday weekend.
"Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull," the first film in the adventure series to hit the big screen in 19 years, earned an estimated $31 million on Friday, according to Paramount Pictures.
A day earlier, it opened amid mixed reviews to $25 million -- the fourth highest-grossing Thursday debut on record. The industry, suffering a tepid year so far, is seizing on such benchmarks as early signs of a recovery. The second-day tally ranked more modestly at No. 15 for Friday sales, according to Box Office Mojo, which analyzes movie sales data.
"Indiana Jones," reuniting actor Harrison Ford as the eponymous archeologist, director Steven Spielberg and executive producer George Lucas, also opened in 61 foreign countries on the heels of its glitzy world premiere at the Cannes Film Festival last Sunday. Paramount, a unit of Viacom Inc, did not have early foreign returns.
In North America, industry observers expect "Indiana Jones" to earn more than $150 million in its first five days.
Comparisons with the record-holder for the Memorial Day weekend, last year's "Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End," are a little difficult. The third film in the swashbuckler franchise also opened on a Thursday -- but in the evening, whereas "Indiana Jones" screened for a full day. Ticket prices have also risen since then.
Still, "Pirates" also managed to earn $56 million for the two-day period, on its way to $153 million for the five days through Monday. The five-day record is held by "Star Wars: Episode III -- Revenge of the Sith," which opened to $173 million in 2005, a week before the Memorial Day holiday in 2005.
"Indiana Jones" siphoned off some of the audience from last week's leader, "The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian," which opened to a disappointing $55 million last weekend.
The second film in the "Narnia" fantasy series earned $6.6 million on Friday, said Box Office Mojo. That represented a 66 percent drop from the prior Friday. By contrast, its 2005 predecessor, "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe," dropped 61 percent in the same period.
To date, the sequel has earned $75 million, about 17 percent off the pace of the first one. A spokeswoman for the films' distributor, Walt Disney Co, was not available for comment.
The superhero smash "Iron Man," which kicked off the summer in fine style three weeks ago, was No. 3 on Friday with $5.3 million, off about 39 percent. The total for the Marvel Entertainment Inc production, also distributed by Paramount, rose to $237 million, said Box Office Mojo.
Teen actor in upcoming 'Harry Potter' film killed
LONDON (AP) - A British teenage actor playing a minor role in the upcoming "Harry Potter" film was stabbed to death during a brawl in London on Saturday, police said.
Rob Knox, 18, was stabbed after he got caught up in a fight outside a bar in southwest London early Saturday, London's Metropolitan Police said in a statement.
Knox plays Ravenclaw student Marcus Belby in the upcoming film "Harry Potter And The Half-Blood Prince," the sixth installment of the popular series set for release in November.
Warner Bros., the studio that is producing the film, said it was shocked by the news.
Knox was one of five young men taken to various hospitals after the brawl, police said. Among them was a 21-year-old who has since been arrested on suspicion of murder.
The fight did not appear to be gang-related, police added, but it puts the number of violent teenage deaths in London at 14 so far this year.
Friday, May 23, 2008
Holy Crap! Jordan's Alive!!
For those of us on the Blog that don't know you, but look forward to your writing...where the hell have you been?!
Are you up for the challenge?
As you can see I've been spending my free time very wisely lately. My plan is to tape these in public bathroom stalls wherever I go.
Anyway I thought you might enjoy these fun activities on Friday before Labor Day. Good luck. The puzzles are harder than you might think...
The Troopies365 Art Project
From slashfilm: Film Reader Teymur (aka Icedsoul) is 80-days into a 365 day art project entitled Troopies365, where he takes a photo each day of LEGO Star Wars stormtrooper figures in different situations. Below are some of our favorites, but you can check out all of the photos and continue to follow the project's progress on Flickr.
[Octopunk: the first link gets you to the slashfilm post, which allows you to view a few of the pics without the guy's annoying, not very funny titles and captions.]
Knicker Pickers
From geekology, Knicker Pickers is my new favorite website. It's a virtual dressing room for intimate wear (read: bras and panties!). I posted a picture of a sportswear selection there, but that's only because I was looking for the most SFW screencap I could find. I've been perusing the site for several months, and can remember when they only had three models. Well now they have five and the site is better than ever! You just pick whatever delicates you want the model to wear, and then you can make her turn around, come closer, come closer and then turn around, and walk away. It's awesome. I mean I'd never buy anything from the freaking site, but that hasn't stopped me from seeing every outfit. Even my girlfriend likes it. And by "likes it" I mean she makes me tell her how imperfect the girls look and how beautiful she is. The same thing she used to do at strip clubs until I started leaving her in the car. Now I know what you feminists are thinking, and yes, I leave a window cracked if I'm parked in the sun.
Check it out here
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text:
Leia Juliet is such a loving little ball of love! She is sooooooo cuddly and that is awesome and I want to cherish every cuddle BUT when I'm nauseated all the time it can be really hard to take all the lovin. Sometimes it's fine and even comforting but she just won't gently hug or lie next to me most of the time she often climbs and rolls and knees and elbows. I so don't want to push her away but gently control the affection somehow.
At what point does she need to not kiss on the mouth? She is all about wet kisses on the lips!
Maybe touch is her love language? I hope it's her little siblings too cause she may be all over that baby as well…
I know the dogs are not huge fans.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
I will be posting my sewing updates here from now on, rather than through the Yahoo Group.
Here are the carriers I will be working on and shipping out by Monday at the latest-
Jennifer, Rachel, Dorothy & Bria
Hopefully they'll make it by Christmas, but I can't guarantee that.
I apologize for not getting as much done as I had hoped this week. We've been hit with the snow and ice too, and i've been the designated snow remover at our apartment complex.


text:
border controls, foreign aid, living with less, Mediterranean tragedy, migration, national borders, welcoming the stranger
Another day and another tragedy in the Mediterranean as yet more migrants risk all for a new beginning in Europe. And despite the growing number of tragedies still they come; such is their desperation that it is still worth the risk.
Meanwhile our politicians speak of stronger border controls and others of reducing the aid budget – we don't want them here and we are not going to help them there. The fear is peddled of a tide that will overwhelm us and undermine our way of life.
Yet how do we justify holding on to all that we have, when others have so little? As long as we have so much and others have so little, mass migration will always happen – no border is strong enough to keep out the desperate. By what right do we feel we can say they cannot have what we have got: we will not share our plenty in your time of need. Perhaps we need to learn to live with less in order that others may live with more. Is wealth for possessing or for sharing?
What is needed is not ever higher fences and stricter controls but more generosity, more openness to the needs of others. Perhaps in the encounters that follow from this, we will begin to discern new ways of being and of doing. Perhaps in learning to live with less, we can find more equality and a better life for the many.
It is in welcoming the stranger, the alien, the widow and the orphan that we can learn and grow and truly become one human family.


text:
Arab Israeli Conflict
Middle East
Israel News
Hi Tech News
International news
air france 88.
(photo credit: )
On September 20, Argentine businessman Muki Tannenbaum was passing through Paris's Charles de Gaulle Airport. Coming from Beijing, he was waiting for his corresponding flight to Buenos Aires. As a first class passenger, he decided to go relax in the lounge provided by Air France, a rest space that provides travellers access to computer work posts.
An avid reader of The Jerusalem Post, Tannenbaum tried to connect to the newspaper's Web site. Instantly, a window opened on the screen informing him, in French, that access to jpost.com was not allowed, due to what was said to be the aggressiveness of its content or views espousing terrorism, revisionism, or discrimination. Maariv, Yediot Aharonot, and Debka were all censored for the same reason, he discovered.
Tannenbaum boarded the plane in frustration prevented from reading the Israeli press and even more so, perplexed: Why was Air France grouping Israeli daily newspapers with media distributing illicit content?
On September 28, Alain Hugot, a regular Jerusalem Post reader en route to Amsterdam, discovered that the Post site was also banned from computers at the joint Air France-KLM lounge at Rome's Fiumicino Airport.
Air France professed its good faith: "We were completely unaware of this situation and we deplore it. Managing access to the Internet is entrusted to an external supplier, to whom we will give instructions immediately so that these newspapers will be accessible without delay," promised Air France spokeswoman V ronique Brachet.
Indeed, since October 4, the sites in question were readmitted into Air France's domain. Access was reestablished the same day the airline was made aware of the problem, said Air France Israel spokeswoman Odette Soferi.
Olfeo, the company whose Internet filtration service is used in Air France lounges, also provides the service to public libraries, hospitals, and the offices of businesses and local governments throughout France. The Jerusalem Post and the other sites were therefore also banned from the screens of Web surfers at the library of Paris's landmark Pompidou Center, the University Libraries of Toulouse, the airport of Bordeaux, Agence France Presse, Thales Defense, Brittany's regional government offices, and a host of other firms and organizations.
Olfeo itself an important partner among a network of research and information management bodies in the private and public sectors admitted the mistake freely, citing a desire to offer the maximum guarantee to its clients, though occasionally the system gets carried away.
"We operate automated and manual procedures simultaneously," explained Olfeo director-general Alexandre Souill . "First, our automated system carries out a selection based on key words and links recommended by different sites. Then the selection is verified manually. We are particularly vigilant regarding pedophile and revisionist content, which we seek to block at all costs, and because of this we occasionally catch 'clean' sites in our nets."
"Bear in mind that hundreds of sites are created each day, and currently the Internet counts several billion sites. This clearly complicates the verification process of our technicians. For example, in the past we have accidentally banned medical sites since certain anatomical terms set off an alarm in our system, which grouped them with pornographic sites. In the case of The Jerusalem Post, I imagine that its Web site is cited by revisionist sites, which led to its being banned."
The Israeli newspapers placed on the black list by the program have henceforth been reclassified generally as "media" which will help provide a more pluralistic selection of information sources to all of Olfeo's private and public-sector clients, as well as to Air France passengers.
Daniel Kennemer contributed to this report.
By GLOBES, NIV ELIS
By AARON KATSMAN
Sponsored Content
By NIV ELIS
By ARIEL SHAPIRA
By LEON HARRIS
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20 October 2009
The Land-man is 17 today. We took him to see the real Mr. Dylan last night at SaltAir. I thought he was dressed appropriately considering the occasion. He and Bob had matching hats. I love that he is holding a pillow because he knows it will be a late night and he gets no mercy in missing school for your birthday from his parents. It was a great time. The range of ages and craziness were in attendance, but overall an appreciative crowd. Wow. I can't believe my Land is almost an adult. Time just keeps on moving, "Like a Rolling Stone."
note: I am so into the 'rot your stomach' tacky, store bought birthday treats lately. Land says he'll eat them all himself... he better hide them from his momma while he is at class.
Posted by AnnDeO at 9:09 PM
Labels: child of mine
3 comments:
- Kaitlan said...
Happy Birthday Land! Love the hat, it is so you. I love those store treats too. they are so good even though they look fake plastic play food to me.
- Friday, October 23, 2009 1:26:00 PM
- dixie said...
Happy Birthday Land!
I loved being 17.... enjoy it while it lasts cuz it goes by soo quickly. 30 years later I still remember 17. Can you believe that???
- Saturday, October 24, 2009 10:51:00 PM
- karen gerstenberger said...
Happy Birthday, Land! 17 is a great age...David is right behind you (11/21). I hope you had a wonderful day and enjoyed B. Dylan.
- Wednesday, October 28, 2009 10:00:00 PM
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Hey guys,
as I've been in a holiday mood lately and really would like to travel around the world, I thought I'd just share some places, countries, cities with you I'd really like to visit. I may have to mention that I haven't really been to that many places yet, I sure have seen somethings around the world, but there's definitely room for many more.
- New York – definitely on the top of my list. I've been to NYC before, but only for like three days back in 2009, when I did a three week exchange program. I totally fell in love with the hustle and bustle the city has to over and hope that I'll be able to experience that again for a little bit longer.
- Los Angeles – Of course I would also love to go and check out the west
- coast as well. Who doesn't want to get a climbs of the Hollywood feeling?
- Thailand – Lately I've seen a lot of pictures of Thailand and some of my friends have been there on vacation. Would love to backpack around the country for a few weeks and just enjoy the scenery.
- Australia – Some of my favorite YouTubers/Bloggers live there and it just makes me want to take the next flight to Australia and have a good time.
- Hawaii – any explanations needed?!
- Canada – a road trip through Canada sounds pretty amazing to me. The landscape there just looks amazing and I'm sure it's worth a visit.
- Nashville – as I am a big fan of country music Nashville definitely is a place I just have to visit.
There are way more places I'd like to visit, but the list would be way too long. If you've been to any of those places I would love to hear about your experiences and the places you loved the most. Also let me know which places are still on your travel-to-do list.
Until next time – xo.


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About 1,200 miles west of Australia, it turns out. Population 15,000. And their significance? You have to try very hard to avoid stupid output from a website.James here, in reflective mood, wondering why my book about the British Museum's Pompeii exhibition hasn't turned up since I bought it online two months ago. My tickets are for this weekend. Yes, I know I should have been alive to this earlier. But I plead too busy. Our new catalogue has been an epic.
So, no Pompeii book. I dig out the original order confirmation email. The address on it is my complete normal UK address including post code, followed by "Wallis & Futuna Islands"?!? Presumably, my book has gone there.
Did I do that? Perhaps Wallis and Futuna was the country after United Kingdom in the drop down list (however, that would suggest unkindness to Vatican – although that one could be THE Vatican – but definitely to Vanuatu – see map). But however it came about – that my address went down as Wallis & Futuna – they really should have a system of sorting out this kind of nonsense. A sense checker.
My colleague Kims spend several hours a day checking our online orders. Just reading them over… Did that person really mean to have that order delivered on August 27th? So we ring them and check. Does this person really want 22 packs of herring melts? That kind of thing. Essential.
I bet they have some nice fish there.


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Have you ever watched a superhero movie and wondered how much good you could do if you had super powers? What if I told you that you do have a super power? One you use every day without an afterthought. Well, like you, I'd find that very hard to believe. But believe it or not, it's actually true. Your thoughts can now make a difference. And not just any thoughts (and I am not talking about the power of telepathy here), but rather positive ones. I'd like to tell you about this new exciting initiative dubbed the RYTHM Foundation initiative. The aim of the campaign is to donate HomePure RED, which is a 7-stage water filtration system, to Taarana School in Malaysia which caters for kids with special learning needs and Rashid Center for the disabled in UAE.
The campaign is sponsored by Qnet, a company belonging to the QI Group and located in Hong Kong. Qnet specializes in a variety of consumer products such as nutrition, weight management solutions, fashion accessories to mention a few. The company was founded in 1998 by Joseph Bismarkwith and Vijay Eswaran with operations carried out in various countries all over the world. Over the years, Qnet has been engaged in various sponsorship and humanitarian activities.
The RYTHM Foundation Initiative pegged the Positive Thoughts Project seeks to obtain at least 1,000 positive comments with each person allowed a maximum of 3 comments. The aim is to collect 500 positive comments within two weeks time upon which Qnet will donate HomePure


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Showing 1–16 of 24 results
(Schreiner,1998) TB.
Mid season.35".Ebony black self; beards black; lightly ruffled; pronounced sweet fragrance. HM 2001.
(Schreiner's,1985) TB.
Mid to late season.34".Ruffled rich dark purple black; purple ebony beard. HM 1987, AM 1991 .
(D. Meek,1985) TB.
Mid season.34".Standards pink; Falls white ground stitched pink; pink beard.
(Connell, 1927) TB.
Mid season.Pinkish light red stds. Velvety red-maroon falls. Historic. 1929. Dykes 1929, AMR.H.S.1938.
(Alison Nicoll, R 2004).TB.
Mid season. 31″. Standards and style arms lilac; falls creamy lilac at shoulders deepening toward edge; beards tangerine pink, white at end; ruffled; pronounced sweet fragrance.
(Joseph Ghio,1995) TB.
Mid to late season.32".Standards rosy lavender; Falls white ground, washed and lined rosy lavender; beards dark tangerine.
( Joseph Ghio, R. 2002) TB.
Mid season late bloom.38″. Pink orchid, Falls aging with pinkish sheen; beards tangerine.HM2005
(Barry Blyth,1993) TB.
Mid to late season.32"-34".Standards apricot with violet midrib flush; Falls plush red burgundy; beards orange red tangerine; ruffled, laced; slight fragrance.
(Joseph Ghio,1970) TB.
Mid to late season.34".Standards light blue; Falls dark blue-violet: blue beard. HM 1974.
(L. Donnell,1979) TB.
Mid season.32".Standards fawn; Falls violet; orange beard tipped blue.
(Tom Johnson,2002) TB.
Mid to late season.37″.Standards and style arms bright gold; Falls center medium purple shading to pearl violet, rim and reverse tan gold; beards old gold; slight musky fragrance.
( Schreiner, R. 1983)TB.
Early to mid season bloom.35″.Rich, pure coppery red, heavier plush velvety finish on Falls; gold beard.
(Barry Blyth,1990) TB.
Mid to late season.40"-42".Silvery blue; beards white, tipped cream.


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Any remember this from school? People deliberately backwashing their drink so nobody else could have a ponce at break time?
You become immune to it after a while.
Then you can cane your mates orange squash and make him weep.
It worked the other way too
You being all nice and letting somebody have a sip of your coke, only for them to do some reverse slurp and leave their dirty spittle all over the top
"The last fifth of a bottle
is made up entirely of backwash."
just did it
on the weekend
it is a dialect-variable word, innit
in some places, ponce is a verb meaning to steal or tax, in a coercive but not violent way; in other places, it's a noun meaning an effeminate or homosexual man; but one of its earliest English meanings was pimp.
(a) is a much better description of what I was getting at with 'thief'
it means both and all of these things. Good old English.
That's a nonce, isn't it?


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I'm taking Verge in a new direction. Yeah, it's been -- what? -- a year since I started scribbling my crazy ideas about my "cyberpunk role-playing game on the edge" and it's metamorphosed a couple times. Now something really freaky is coming out of the cocoon. Till now, Verge has been a pretty typical (read: derivative) indie-style rpg. A month or two ago I stumbled on some new ideas and now the whole game is changing into something wondrous and, hopefully, innovative.
I don't know where the ideas came from and that sucks. I believe in credit where credit is due. I know a bunch of people have been talking about story maps and relationship maps (r-maps). Breaking the Ice apparently does some stuff with a story map. Sorcerer introduced r-maps to indie gaming, or at least popularized them. Some of the folks whose blogs I read have talked about different kinds of story maps used to guide a game. I'm sure all that has seeped into my head at some point. I can't say that any specific person was a direct influence and I swear that this feels like something that I created on my own, as an evolution of r-maps. I'll just have to thank a lot of people in my credits.
Role of the Network
If you read the article I posted on Story Games, here's a summary of what's changing in my head.
- What I called the Story Map, I'm going to call the Network.
- The network will be created during play with a setup phase borne of necessity but players will continue to modify the network throughout play. In fact, play will be defined as scenes that have the potential to change the network.
- Players will spend points to add to the network and gain points by ratifying stuff added by other players.
- There won't be a separate character sheet. Characters are just part of the network.
- Thus, changing the network during play can change characters.
The network is defined as a bunch of elements (nodes) interconnected by relationships (edges). Nodes are people, places, things, and ideas that exist in the fictional world. Edges are connections between those elements. Each is defined by a short phrase. For example, a node "Knight Carson, hacker extraordinaire" might be connected to "Megasoft data centers" with the edge "hacked them" with the arrow pointing from Carson to Megasoft.
In the game, the players use a big sheet of paper to record the network. This is the setting and the characters all one one page.
Each player will start with 5 tokens (poker chips or glass beads work great). Spent tokens go into a common bank. Earned tokens come out of the bank. There's a setup phase before standard play to create the network. In turn, each player has an opportunity to contribute to the network in one of the following ways:
- Spend 1 token to add a node to the network. Write the name of a person, place, thing, or idea on the network page. Also initial it so you can remember you created it.
- Spend 1 token to add an edge between two existing nodes. Draw an arrow from one node to another and write a short phrase describing the nature of the relationship between those two things. Initial it so you can get credit.
- Earn 1 token by ratifying (approving) someone else's node or edge. Add an exclamation point after the description of the node or edge. For example, if you think "Cyborgs" is a cool node, turn it into "Cyborgs!" and get a token from the bank.. The person who wrote the thing you ratified also gets a token from the bank.
- Spend 1 token to question a node or element that you think is dubious. Add a question mark after the description of the node or edge. For example, if you think "Cyborgs!" is silly, turn it into "Cyborgs!?" It's fine to question something that is already well-questioned (creating, for example, "Cyborgs!???????").
- Spend 2 tokens to claim an unclaimed node as your character. Circle it and write your initials or first name under it. The node you claim must be a unique entity in the fictional world and it must have a name. For example, you cannot claim "Cyborgs" because it isn't a unique, named entity, but you could claim "Artie 550, Cyborg" since presumably "Artie 550" is the name of a single cyborg. You cannot write a new node and claim it in the same turn and you can't take an edge as your character. Claim as many as you like. A claimed character cannot be questioned but it may still be ratified, but not by the claimant or the person who wrote the element.
Setup proceeds in a sort of give and take. Players at first need to spend tokens to add new material to the network but must replenish their tokens by ratifying the ideas of others. There is a bit of strategy and diplomacy involved in creating the network. Players will have to sell their ideas to each other. Cool ideas will earn tokens, which in turn will let players add more cool stuff to the network.
These are the main components of the setting. As the network develops, players will start to get a picture of the world they are going to play in. It might have cyborgs, or artificial intelligence, or mind-raping viruses. Buddhism and Christianity could both be major components of the game world. The players can add concepts and ideas like "Hatred" to the map but they should also add specifically named people and organizations, too: "Megasoft," "The Demons, a street gang," "Knight Carson, hacker extraordinaire," "120 Park Street, NYC." The nodes should be evocative and sometimes mysterious. You don't have to know how it's going to be used in play.
You can't add a node that's already on there in any similar form. It's bad cricket to add "Cyborgs" when "Cyborgs???" is already on the network. Also, you aren't fooling anyone by adding "Humanlike Robots" when "Cyborgs???" is already there.
These connect the nodes together and the network starts to tell a story. Many of the edge relationships should create tension and conflict. Sure, you can connect "The Demons, a street gang" to "Megasoft" with a boring edges like "gang uses their software" but it won't earn you many tokens. You'll have better luck with an edge like "uses the gang in tv commercials to sell software" or something equally whacky.
Ratification and Power
The ratification process produces buy-in for the fiction. The Power of a particular node or edge is the number of exclamation points it has minus the number of question marks it has. So "Cyborgs" has power 0, "Cyborgs!" has power 1, "Cyborgs!?" has power 0, "Cyborgs!!!!?!" has power 4, and "Cyborgs!?????" has power -4.
Yes, you can have negative numbers. Negative power scores on nodes mean that the thing is very, very weak or the concept is non-existent. "Cyborgs????" means that not only are there not cyborgs in this world, it's really, really hard to create them. Negative power scores on edges mean that the opposite of the relationship is true. For example, if Knight has a relationship to Aliana in the form of an edge labeled "she loves him?!????" (power 4) then that can be interpreted as "she doesn't love him!!!!" Ouch.
Power is used during play to get dice for characters to do stuff and to get dice for character opposition. Players use the power of edges between their characters and other things to get dice on their side. The opposition gets dice based on the power of the relevant element at stake. More on this later, but I promise you it's very, very cool.
Each player needs at least one character. Claiming a character gets you ownership over the will of that character, but not his circumstances. All kinds of nasty things can happen to a character during setup and play. Other players might create undesirable edges to that character. During play, the character can be pressured and crushed. Claim on a character only gets you the sole right to make decisions about how that character reacts to his circumstances. Other players have opportunities to create those circumstances, and some of these might feel like things traditionally considered "character authoring." Deal with it. Embrace it. It'll be fun.
The essence of a character is the claimed node and all the edges that connect to it. These edges represent the character's relationships and influence over the world. If you claim "Knight Carson, hacker extraordinaire" you'll want edges to nodes like "Megasoft" ("hacked them"), "Knight's modified Darkforce DF5750 cyberdeck" ("owns it"), and "Cyberspace" ("knows its secrets"). Hopefully, those edges will have lots of exclamation points after them and thus, a high power. The higher the power, the stronger the influence the character has over the node on the other side of that edge. For example, if a character Knight has an edge "knows its secrets!!!" to a node "Cyberspace" then that's a power-3 relationship, which represents a fair amount of influence over Cyberspace.
At some point, the network will feel "done enough." You don't want it totally finished because a good game requires that the network have a certain amount of tension in it and an "unfinished" quality to it. That unfinished quality is what propels the game, by making you want to change things.
The game is "done enough" when everyone has a character, the characters are reasonably developed, and there are enough specific nodes that the world feels like a place you could play. Everyone should agree that the network is done before moving on. Keep any tokens you didn't spend as you will use them during regular play in much the same way as setup.
Play focuses on role-playing fictional events that impact the world via the network.
Once setup is complete, players take turns framing scenes that focus on a character and various other nodes and edges of the network. Each scene should seek to do one of a few things:
- strengthen (ratify) an existing node
- strengthen (ratify) an existing edge
- create a new edge between two existing nodes
- create a new node and join it to the network
- weaken (question) an existing node
- weaken (question) an existing edge
- destroy a node
- destroy an edge
All this stuff costs tokens. Other players can toss in tokens on your side or the opposition's. Dice get involved, too. Successes earn you virtual tokens toward the stakes of the scene. So say you end up with 4 successes, and your opponent gets 3 successes. That's like having 1 free token toward winning what you want for the scene. Let's say it's weakening Alania's relationship with Roger Dorvin ("she loves him", power 3). It'll cost you 4 tokens to weaken it (power 3 plus the standard 1 for the scene). You need to spend 3 more to win.
You can burn the relationships you have (edges connected to your character) to get tokens in a pinch. This weakens the edge by one and gives you a token. You can do this at any time you are rolling dice or just rolled dice. If you share a relationship with another character, that character's player must allow you to burn it. For example, say there are two characters, Knight and Roger Dorvin. They're connected by an edge labeled "best friends!!" You're playing Knight in the love scene above and you need 3 more tokens to win Aliana away from Roger. You can burn Roger twice for 2 of those 3 tokens. and change the relationship to "best friends!!??" (power 0).
If you weaken a relationship below power 0, you must also weaken your character. If you're playing "Knight!!" (power 2) and you burn a "best friends!!" edge for 3 tokens, you end up with "Knight!!?" (power 1) and "best friends!!???" (power -1). Roger hates you and you lose a little bit of your will to live.
(More later!)


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As leaves begin to fall, another season is getting ready to come back to the St. Norbert campus— Recruitment Season. For many, this means nothing, but to sororities and fraternities, it is one of the most exciting times of the year: a time to meet new people, explain the importance of their chapter and add new members to their organization.
"Greek Life offers opportunities for leadership, service and lasting connections," said Cristi Burrill, Greek Life adviser at St. Norbert.
Sororities and Fraternities hold recruitment in many different ways, but each group has a shared goal: to look for new members who would like to become part of their brotherhood or sisterhood.
Fraternity recruitment starts on Sept. 28 and goes until Oct. 3. Each fraternity has different events on each of these days in order to meet people who are interested in joining.
There are four different fraternities on campus, and each has a different philanthropy, a charitable fundraiser or service project each group focuses on throughout the year. The four fraternities and their philanthropies are Delta Upsilon (Global Service Initiative), Phi Delta Theta (ALS), Kappa Sigma (Military Heroes) and Tau Kappa Epsilon (St. Jude's Research Hospital).
Sorority recruitment starts on Oct. 1 and goes until Oct. 4. Sorority recruitment has more of a formal setting, but, nonetheless, groups are looking for new girls to join their sisterhood.
There are also four sororities on campus. Just like fraternities, sororities each have a different philanthropy. The four sororities and their philanthropies are Delta Phi Epsilon (Anorexia Nervosa & Associated Disorders), Theta Phi Alpha (The House That Theta Phi Alpha Built), Alpha Xi Delta (Autism Speaks) and Kappa Beta Gamma (Multiple Sclerosis & Special Olympics).
"I like seeing all that our Greek students accomplish! Our chapters have held some incredibly successful philanthropic events in the last few years," said Burrill,when asked what her favorite part of Greek Life is.
Greek Life offers many opportunities to students that might not otherwise be presented to them. It also gives first-years and other interested students the chance to meet different people on campus as they go through the recruitment process.
Recruitment now takes place in the fall to give freshmen an easy way to get involved on campus, and it also allows students to keep an interest in joining Greek Life after the Involvement Fair.
"It doesn't hurt to go through recruitment, even if you're unsure. It's free to participate in recruitment, and it's a great opportunity to meet a number of students on campus," added Burrill.
As words of advice for anyone who decides to go through recruitment, Burrill says "Keep an open mind! You may go into recruitment thinking that you already know which group you want to join, but you may come to realize that you'd be a better fit with a different group. Be open to getting to know as many people as possible to learn your best fit!"
For additional information, students are encouraged to visit snc.edu/gogreek.


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Good evenin' pop pickers!
Put your babies down, kick the grumpy straight boy out of the room, stop playin Farmville and leave the shopping packed for just long enough to read Day 1 from my Pride adventures!
Took it easy today, went down to Taurus in the village, but my timing was off and Happy Hour didn't start for an hour so I had Jack Daniels to pass the time (like you do) then I reckon the owner had the hots for me coz he gave me a cocktail early and told the barman not to put it through the till, until Happy Hour started…SCORE!
Ever tried people watchin in gay bars? It's like doin' it on acid. Instead of the fat woman who thinks she can wear a pink clingy top, or the blokey bloke who thinks he won't sweat in the football shirt (even though highly trained footballers sweat buckets!!!)… it's the guy sat over in the corner talking about managing a gay football team and how hard it is when he wants to substitute one of them! "11 footballin' queens throwin a strop".
I would like it noted that I didn't use the bring one of them off line. Too easy I thought!
I also met a nice lad who happened to be a gay goth, it's the same as straight goths but I reckon they use the black shade spectrum a bit more. Either way, his dog collar brought out his eyes!
After many strawberry daquiris I went home safe in the knowledge that tomorrow can happen because today, taxis worked, tram worked, people were friendly and Darren at Manchester Pride offices is an absolute ledge because he helped me figure out which bars and clubs I should steer clear of for access issues! Top man!
It's A Gay Knock-Out tomorrow. Don't know if I'm up for that, not watchin Mamma Mia in the Park though. No Anthony Cotton or Craig Kelly either. Craig Kelly's goin into that ballroom dancin thing y'know… No hope for us though, coz I'm not tall enough and he likes women! Boo hiss!
Goodnight my pretties! – Moultyx


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On the evening of Thursday May 5 2011, 23 men and women discovered that they had been elected for the first time to the National Assembly for Wales. In one fell swoop the membership of over a third of the Assembly had changed, the greatest turnover of representation since the institution was founded in 1999.
Within a week Assembly Members (AMs) would take their seats at the first sitting of the Fourth Assembly, and be expected – by the public, their party and the media – to hit the ground running as effective representatives.
But what is it like to make that rapid transition from being a member of the public to being an elected Member of the Assembly? How do AMs learn the ropes in a new and challenging political environment? How do they decide what they are going to do and how they are going to do it? And do they have the resources to carry out their role effectively? How do they balance the expectations and demands of their constituents, their party, the media and others? What are they hoping to achieve, and how does the reality of the experience match up to their expectations? In short, what is it like to be a Member of the National Assembly during their earliest months in office?
As the Assembly nears its 15th anniversary in 2014, the question of the experience of new AMs has added pertinence. It is still a relatively new democratic institution but in its short life it has undergone considerable change in its powers and structures, and there is a live debate underway – both inside and outside the Senedd1 – about the need for further reform. With this Fourth Assembly being referred to by some as a 'transitional Assembly'2 the views of Assembly Members will be crucial to shaping any future changes. From the outset the Assembly aspired to be different from Westminster; not just in its structures and processes but also in seeking to establish a more open and consensual politics, and inclusive and family-friendly working culture. So what do the new Members think about the way the Assembly operates and the powers at its disposal? What would they like to see changed? And how do they feel their role is perceived both by the public and the media?
Since the summer of 2011 the Hansard Society has been monitoring the role and work of the new AMs through surveys, interviews, and personal observation of their work, supplemented by discussions with Assembly staff, to try and answer these questions. Details of the research methodology can be found in the appendix. Kindly supported in part by the Assembly Commission, this study forms part of a wider comparative study the Society has conducted into the experiences of newly elected representatives at Westminster, Holyrood and the Dáil Éireann, the full results of which will be published later in 2013. In the meantime, this briefing paper sets out the core findings of our research into the stark realities of life as an elected member in Cardiff Bay. Like most other elected roles, there is no real job description; indeed, as this research shows, it is a job that perhaps defies a job description.
Table of contents
- Introduction
- The new AMs: their background and the road to Cardiff Bay
- Arriving at the Senedd
- The role and work of a new Assembly Member
- The workings of the Assembly
- One year on
- Methodology


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Arab Israeli Conflict
Middle East
Israel News
Hi Tech News
International news
A day after the deadly blast in Istanbul that killed three Israelis, the Counter-terrorism Bureau in the Prime Minister's Office called on Israelis to avoid visiting the country all together. The new advisory is a more stringent one than the one that has been in place since August 2014, advising Israelis to refrain only from unnecessary travel to Turkey, saying there is a continuing threat against Israel and Jewish targets there.The new advisory reads as follows: "Due to a worsening in the number of attacks in Turkey in tourist areas and crowded places, and focusing on the attack in central Istanbul (19.3.16) -- during which Israeli citizens were killed and wounded -- and amid a concern about future attacks, the counter-terrorism bureau is making more stringent the existing travel advisory to the country and recommends avoiding visiting Turkey."The advisory was upgraded from a Level 4 warning of the threat of potential attacks, to a Level 3 warning of the threat of concrete attacks.
By REUTERS
By REUTERS
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