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Our day three on the Camino to Finisterre was a rewarding and lovely challenge which took us much farther than we planned!
"Then too, during verily long walks, there is always that emergence through a high pass where another landscape appears all of a sudden, After the effort, the long climb, the body turns around and sees at its feet the offered immensity; or, at a turn in the path, it witnesses a transformation: a range of mountains, a splendor lying in wait. Many aphorisms are built on these reversals of perspective, these final exclamations where something else in unveiled, the secret of a discovery like a new landscape, and the jubilation that accompanies it." ~ Freidrich Neitzsche (Taken from the book "A Philosophy of Walking.")
The above quote couldn't have been more true for our day three on the camino finisterre, literally as well as metaphorically! We climbed to the coastal high point, for unbelievable views to the sea and the End of the World. Plus, we walked much farther than we planned, since we didn't know how well Shelley (my Camino partner) would feel after her recent bout with a 3-day illness. It was her first full day back on the Camino and we were going take it step-by-step. Things miraculously fell together. It just happened that way. It became a most joyous day, and a most joyous walk!
Please join us in our photo-journal of our amazing day on the Camino de Santiago a Finisterre!
The elevation map, below shows only part of our day three of the Camino Finisterre that we did. Gronze separates the stages from Olveiroa to Finisterre into two days. The map below they call Day 3a. (See the maps farther below for their final stage that they call 3b). It is a much easier to break the day into 2 stages, if you so desire. Here is the map as far as Corcubión, or 3a.
Gronze rates this part of the Finisterre Way as a 2 out of 3 for difficulty. There are no long climbs, just the long distance of 21.6 km and a pounding downhill into Cée that takes it's toll on the feet and legs, instead of the lungs.
Starting out in Olveiroa, it was a misty, humid morning. The weather report promised a sunny day, and I could tell that the mist would eventually burn off.
We had a small climb out of Olveiroa towards this ridge. The early morning light played on the mist in the lower valley and windmills were becoming a common sight.
As we climbed higher toward the ridge, we climbed out of the clouds as they hung low in the valley. It was going to be a gorgeous day.
Already we could see the sky clearing up ahead. We both seemed to have a lighter spring to our step as the fog lifted.
Once reaching the crest on the ridge, the Camino turns down again into the next drainage. The sun was bright on the other side! Another peregrino is up ahead crossing a bridge that looks like it was built for the Camino.
I remember as we climbed to the other side of the drainage and into the sun for the first time in many days, that I paused to sigh and breathe deeply as I captured this lovely pastoral scene. Even the horses seemed grateful! Sun at last.
Another glorious, old stone horreo, or granary along the Finisterre Way.
High again, the trail flattened out for a bit, and the mountain range that was to be on our left shoulder to the south, for the rest of the day, came into focus. I am not entirely sure, but I believe this is Monte do Pindo. If you know, please comment below, so I know if this is true.
Ahh, the fork in the road ahead. On day three of the Camino Finisterre, after about 5 1/2 kilometers, one has to make a decision whether to go onward to Finisterre, or to go north to Muxía. This is the famous "Hospital" that you see on the route map where you decide.
For us, it was an easy choice. We needed to see the "classic" medieval End of the World, Finisterre. Regardless, we were planning to continue from there, to walk on to Muxía. If you are unsure of your decision and are short on time, please click on my information on both towns to make your own decision.
After turning towards Finisterre, the Camino turns into a lovely forest. We couldn't help snapping this shadow selfie. The sun was warm on our backs.
Where several roads converge, we stumbled onto this cruceiro, called Cruceiro Marco do Couto. We paused, placed our stones and sent our own individual prayers for the journey.
Yet another long stretch of forest path. The young couple ahead were Japanese and making much better time than we were! They smiled as they zoomed by!
After logging in about 10 or so kilometers, somewhere at mid-to-late morning, we decided to take a break and have a snack. We were fortunate to have had a mega-breakfast at the Casa Loncho in Olveiroa, who served wonderful portions of food for pilgrims. Because of this, we were able to go farther than we could have on just the usual morning café con leche and tostada.
We loved this view, so we sat along the side of the road on the bank, to enjoy the view with our bite to eat on day three of our Camino Finisterre.
High on the ridge, even though we were only at a few hundred meters, it felt exposed here, so close to the sea. We were happy it was such a wonderful day. Here are the cultivated Eucalyptus trees that are seen throughout Galicia.
Sure enough, as things often go, just after walking about another kilometer from our rest stop, this lovely respite appeared, the Ermita de Nosa Señora das Neves, built in the 18th Century. Immediately opposite this quaint country church was a picnic grove and a fuente! There were quite a few pilgrims gathered here for their break. If we had only known!
Plan your trip, now that YOU know, to stop here. If it is a hot day, the shade from the exposed sun would be absolutely lovely! This spot is on the map, above, about 10-and-a-half kilometers into day three of the Camino Finisterre.
More feelings of exposure on this day three of our Camino Finisterre, in this place of wide open spaces. Can the sea be far away?
Camino waymark and another great vista of Monte do Pindo.
Two happy pilgrims, decide the "Top of the World" is a great place for a selfie! We certainly were on top of the world, in all meanings of the word!
And suddenly, there a last, is our first glimpse of the sea! The peninsula in the distance is Cabo Finisterre, or the Cape of Finisterre, where the lighthouse lives on the tip. Although you can't see the lighthouse, we knew this was the spot of our final destination. Our Camino is about to take a steep downturn! I feel my excitement growing in my heart, even now, as I write this many months later!
I placed these two photos together, below, so you could maybe get a feeling for the full view of the bay before us, with the town of Cée, just to the far right side, but out of view at a lower elevation.
As we walked on, the elevation drops and shortly, the towns of Corcubión (to the left), and Cée (right), come into view.
We get closer to our potential stop for the night. The Camino here is very, very steep, with no switchbacks, just straight down. I ended up jamming my toes in my boots and did get one black toe on my left foot from the banging on the boot. I laced my boots tight, but my feet still slid around inside, I guess.
When we reached town, as we walked through, amazingly we did not see an open café bar. A café con leche about then would have been fantastic. Instead, we took in the sights, such as this quaint graveyard as we walked on with nothing to draw us into the town.
The lovely promenade and beach in the town of Cée I show in the photo below. We stopped here and placed our tarp on the grass for a long leisurely lunch that the Casa Loncho had packed for us. It was now about 1:00 in the afternoon. We had made the 20 kilometers in about 5 hours, even with a stop. We were making pretty good time.
We ate, reclined, and with boots removed, stretched our feet out in the sun. We felt great. Here is Shelly, my Camino partner, posing by the sign on the beach. She was in great spirits, despite the fact that she had just been sick.
While we reposed in the sun we discussed our plans for the rest of the day. Shall we stay here and walk the remaining section of day three on the Camino Finisterre tomorrow? Or shall we push on and rest all day tomorrow in Finisterre?
Like a gift, a friendly Galician gentlemen stopped to chat with us. He told us that Finisterre was only 10 kilometers from Cée. We thought it was 12. So, 10k was "only" 6 miles, so we both determined that we had sufficient energy left to complete the rest of the way to Finisterre. We could walk to the cape the following day. That way we could have a well-deserved leisurely day in Finisterre.
(If you chose to stay in Cée, there are accommodations. Here is a link to view some of them: Click here.)
Onward we went! Here is the elevation map of day three from Corcubión.
Gronze says that it should only take 3 hours or so to get all the way to the cape, so we thought perhaps another two hour walk should get us to Finisterre (or Fisterra as the locals say in Gallego).
Full of energy after our rest and lunch, at 2:00 in the afternoon, we gathered ourselves and our stuff to walk the remaining section of the lovely promenade onward towards Corcubión. The promenade ends shortly, but the Camino turns away and up the road to the right of the picture, here on day three of the Camino Finisterre.
As we climbed the road out of Corcubión, I had to stop to take a photo of this dilapidated structure. It was very engaging for me. Can you see the sea through the broken door and window??
On day three of the Camino Finisterre, the road leaves the coast and climbs to a hamlet called Vilar, with a fuente (for a potable water fill-up) and back into the forest. This is one of the last buildings seen, in ruin, as you climb out of Vilar and Corcubión.
As we walked across the peninsula from Corcubión towards Estorde and another beach, we came across this incredible gateway to someone's property. I framed the Cabo Finisterre perfectly within the gate for a fabulous photo, don't you think?
Across the top of the peninsula and the lovely walled path, we walked toward Estorde and Sardiñeiro.
Since there was no open café bar to be found in Cée, after dropping back to sea level by the beach in Estorde, we stopped a beautiful place by the sea for a café con leche! It added a half hour to our Camino that day, but the caffeine was sorely needed for the remaining six kilometers! Day three on our Camino Finisterre was turning into a very long day.
We saddled our packs on our backs once again, and set off for another small hill climb. The views from the top of the hill here were worth the climb. The long Langosteira Beach was clearly visible now, as well as the town of Fisterra and the cape in the distance. If you look closely, you can even see the lighthouse buildings sticking up on the point of the cape. Almost there!
On the final leg of day three of the Camino Finisterre, the way follows the coastline closely and the Langosteira (Lobster) Beach on a nice path. When you first arrive on the far western end of the beach there is a nice, inviting park, but you still have a long way to go to get to the actual town of Finisterre. It was a discouraging walk for me, because the end was so visible for such a long way and I was so very tired! If you look closely on the photo below, you can see pilgrims on the path that parallels this never-ending beach!
Some pilgrims even walk on the beach, but not this one! It would have been way too difficult after 30 kilometers under our belts!
After crossing the beach, as we entered town, we crossed in front of a beach-side café bar and climbed a small hill, to see this cruceiro as we entered the main part of town. We had arrived! It was 5:00 in the afternoon.
It is at this cruceiro, called the Baixar Cruceiro that the Way to Muxia begins, so it is an important landmark to find.
We found a nice hotel, the Hotel Cabo Finisterre, unloaded our packs, and without further ado, looked for a bar to have a beer! (For hotels online in Finisterre, click here.)
We quickly found the Restaurante Teacón with a patio and a view of the sea and celebrated our arrival at the End of the World on day three of our Camino Finisterre! I must have been more dehydrated than I realized, because two beers went quickly to my head!
Because our happiness didn't allow us to see straight, and we had absolutely no agenda for the next morning, we went looking for food before we cleaned up! There were many selections along the waterfront and we chose the Pizzeria Peppone. We stumbled into several of our Camino friends from Olveiroa, and had a lovely reunion meal. It is amazing to me how the Camino brings people together, as a "family" no matter how little you have seen one another.
We drank wine, ate pizza, Italian hors d'oeuvres, Eggplant Parmigiana and dessert until we couldn't see straight! To top the evening off, the sunset on harbor across from the pizzeria was fabulous! The weather was nice enough to dine outside, and this view from our table was the icing on the cake!
I hope you enjoyed our day three on the Camino Finisterre. It was a fabulous day from Olveiroa to Finisterre, all 32 kilometers of it! May your own pilgrimage to the End of the World be as rewarding as you walk your own Way!
Many readers contact me, Elle, to thank me for all the time and care that I have spent creating this informative website. If you have been truly blessed by my efforts and wish to contribute, I am very grateful. Thank-you! (Please note that by clicking the Donate button, you will be directed to the Body Window, LLC, of which The Pilrgrimage Traveler is a subsidary).
Need suggestions on what to pack for your next pilgrimaage? Click Here or on the photo below!
These poles get a 5-star rating on Amazon!
Our recommendation for the best trekking pole. Carbon fiber construction ( not aluminum ) makes them ultra lightweight. H idea your poles in your pack from potential thieves , before you get to your albergue! ( See more of our gear recommendations! )
Gregory BackPack - My Favorite Brand
An ultralight backpack should serve you well for years, like my Gregory has - six Caminos in all! My 28L Women's pack gets a 5-star on Amazon (Ones for Guys too)!
Do not forget your quick-dry microfiber towel! This one gets a 5-star rating on Amazon
My absolute favorite book on how to be a pilgrim:


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Here's some more info regarding other topics that I've been getting questions about for this weekend. -Luke
*We will make available for sale, water and gatorade only.
*There are food vendors surrounding Lumpini Hall but if you have particular needs we suggest you make a visit to 7-11 or nearby grocery store first.
*If you purchase food from street-vendors, we suggest you pick dishes that are cooked on the spot and in front of you. Avoid dishes that have been sitting all day like curries and soups.
*Fruit is safe, fresh and delicious!
*If you are a guest of the Golden Palace Hotel or staying nearby, we are providing shuttle-van service for both days. For those outside, please contact hotel lobby for schedule.
*If you are taking the BTS (skytrain), you will want to exit at the Sala Daeng Station. You must walk south and exit towards the Dusit Thani Hotel, exit S1. From this point you will be able to see Lumpini Park from across the intersection. You will enter the main entrance of Lumpini Park with a statue of King Rama 5. Enter and veer right. You will pass two youth centers and swimming pool before arriving at Lumpini Hall.
*Monday evening (Oct 25), Bangkok BJJ will host BJJ black-belts and Adam Shahir Kayoom and Dan Simmler. Also in attendance and sharing his knowledge will be Anthony Leone. If you are staying in Bangkok longer, do not miss this seminar! For more info, please e-mail firstname.lastname@example.com.

subset: commoncrawl


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Several years ago when these newsletters started I would have predicted that by the time 2004 came around we'd have a recognized adventure racing world championships, that the world 100km championships would be a major event on the world's sporting calendar and that Asian teams would be making an increasing impact.
Somewhere along the way it hasn't quite happened. There's been no shortage of people willing it to happen but there has also been an equal number of people pulling in other directions. Throw in a touch of apathy and a bit of greedy self interest and you end up with a fairly unhealthy cocktail.
Most of the good guys trying to make things happen are on this list and I know some of the frustrations they have had to put up with in order to move forward the various forms of endurance sport.
And that's precisely why we, as athletes, have to make things happen. Our responsibility is to push ourselves to the highest level we can, not accept anything less than the very best and accept that to compete at the top level sacrifices have to be made.
Although there is no such thing as an official world championship, the Adventure Race World Series is the closest we've got and the showpiece event in Newfoundland in August promises to be a wonderful event. Yet with only days to go before the deadline there is no Asian entry. There's the usual group of Kiwis, Aussies, Americans, Europeans of most varieties plus the South Africans and Canadians. Even Chile and Columbia are sending teams but from Asia: nothing.
Sure it's not cheap (when is any 500km race?) but with the economy improving and the prospects of sponsorship infinitely better than they were a year ago it is still a surprise to me that no one from this part of the world has entered.
Other race directors in Europe and America have also made the same comment to me: where have all the Asian based entrants gone?
I suspect the same thing will happen in this year's world 100km championships. The prospect of an increase in Asian teams competing looks remote and yet our athletes would surely do well in the relatively benign conditions of Holland.
Last year's race in Taiwan has recently been the subject of some debate. The discussion has been well intentioned and, for once, intelligent.
Respected commentator, Andy Milroy, has put forward the view that ultras run in the heat and humidity of Asia (even in November) result in poor times and that this has a negative impact on athletes and teams attracting the sponsorship they need to fund themselves.
Perhaps not surprisingly this has provoked several alternative views but the key issue for me is that those of us who live in hot, humid conditions have no choice: if we want to race or train, we have to put up with it.
Sure we can get up before dawn and start training (see what I said about sacrifices above) but whichever way you look at it endurance athletes in most of Asia simply have to train in heat and humidity. As a result we handle difficult conditions as well as anybody.
All of which makes me think that if athletes in Asia are bold enough to set their goals high enough, enter the best races, and take on the best in the world we might just get some results that surprise us.


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Hey Beauties
And the winner is…MEKE! YT: ICE2010
Please email me your info at firstname.lastname@example.com You have 48 Hrs to do so thank you xoxo congratulations.
To select a winner I used Random.org thanks to everyone who entered more giveaways to come!!!
changing the world one face at a time
Hey Beauties,
Oh my Geese Louise! I could not pick a winner for the life of me so I had to go with fate and use random.org for this one the winning request will be done first but I will try to get to all the tutorial request love love all the ideas thank you
There will be a new giveaway soon when I reach my secret subby number! and so lets announce the winner shall we…. Jacinta Young!! yay! please email me your address so I can get this out to you! if not then I will choose another winner within 48 Hrs! thanks everyone
Jacinta Young says
Looking for your e-mail address. Don't give my prize away 🙂


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Becoming a CNA entails many requirements. As future assistants to medical doctors and nurses, it is necessary that you know how their jobs function. You also need to pass a licensing test to officially be a CNA. To address these, it's your obligation to be a part of a CNA training program.
Once students embark into this training, they are going to finish with so much skills and knowledge inside them; ready to tackle the real world. General healthcare methods, human anatomy, medicine ethics, nutrition and diet, and physiology are few of the common topics tackled during the training.
In enrolling for the training, it is crucial that you select approved programs from accredited educational facilities. Expect to shed money in accomplishing this. In Denver for example, expense of training usually comes at $300-$600, while at Denver, tuition is as high as $1000. So if finding free CNA classes is what you aim to do, just grab the phone and try to reach every possible healthcare facility in your area. Denver is recognized for their free CNA classes with the help of the Board of Education. They don't usually expose this much, so you should be willing to grab the opportunity.
Nursing facilities and medical centers are known of providing these free training sessions. Because of the free CNA classes they provide, they can gather many hopefuls that will likewise help them within the facility. Also, there are establishments which offer free training as long as trainees will work for them for a specific period after. This is a win-win situation to each party since the college student can get quality practicing for free, and the establishment also gets to have extra pair of hands in the facility.
Worthy applicants also get to enjoy free CNA training through the Department of Health's CNA Scholarship Program exactly like what is exercised in Colorado. If you are qualified, the Air Force Aid Society Spouse Employment Program also offers assistance to 10 lucky spouses of the army. These scholarships or grants are open to all worthwhile CNA hopefuls and you may be one of them.Author: Paula Shelton


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Kenyans have showcased the stuff they are made of. They really showed of their ability at London Marathon race.
Two Kenyans have won the men's and women's London Marathon, which was started by a British astronaut in space.
Jemima Sumgong recovered from a fall to win the women's title and Eliud Kipchoge retained the men's in the second-fastest ever time.
In cold conditions, under slate grey skies the 36th London Marathon saw nearly 40,000 runners line up at the start line.
The British astronaut Major Tim Peake gave a 10-second countdown at the beginning of the race from space. He ran the 42 km on a treadmill on board the International Space Station.
More than a million runners have now completed the marathon over the years and many hundreds of millions of rand raised for good causes through sponsorship.
This year the fancy dress runners included people dressed as hot dogs, dinosaurs, princesses and gorillas.
From Sumgong, though, there was nothing but bravery as the 31-year-old picked herself up after banging her head on the ground when she was tripped at a water station eight kilometers from the finish.
Astonishingly, the experienced Kenyan battled back into contention and prevailed in a duel with last year's winner, Ethiopia's Tigist Tufa, for her first major marathon title since Rotterdam three years ago.
Kipchoge, the former teenage track phenomenon whose performance confirmed him as one of the greatest all-round talents seen in endurance running, won his sixth of seven marathons with a sublime display.
In cool conditions perfect for a stellar field, Kipchoge demolished his opponents one by one as they could not live with the world-record pace. He finally broke away from fellow Kenyan, New York champion Stanley Biwott, in the final three kilometers.
The 31-year-old powered home to beat Biwott by 46 seconds and shatter Kenyan Wilson Kipsang's course record of 2:04:29.
In third place was Ethiopian distance great Kenenisa Bekele, who was over three and a half minutes behind the champion in 2:06:36. World record holder Kimetto finished ninth in 2:11:44.
Kipchoge admitted that he realised his shot at the world record was probably gone when he slowed between the 30km and 40 km marks. "I think I lost 30 seconds there but I'm still happy I ran the course record," he said.
Usually these days, any revision to the world marathon marks are expected to happen on the record-friendly Berlin course, so there is an argument that Kipchoge's was the best marathon performance ever on the more challenging London circuit.
Asked if the world record time was now within his grasp, he smiled: "Exactly."
Kipchoge was even more delighted that, in a race which was effectively doubling as an Olympic trial for a stellar field of Kenyan athletes, he must have confirmed his place for Rio de Janeiro, where he will start a hot favourite.
"I'll be more than happy when I hear my name," he said.
Sumgong hit her head after she was clipped from behind in a collision that also saw Ethiopian Aselefech Mergia and Kenya's two-time winner Mary Keitany tumble.
Yet even though she ended up rubbing her head in pain as she got to her feet, she still chased down the leaders and eventually outduelled last year's surprise winner Tufa by five seconds.
The great Russian-born American racer Tatyana McFadden won the women's wheelchair marathon for a fourth successive year while Switzerland's Marcel Hug took the equivalent men's title for the second time in three years.
The millionth finisher in the race's 35-year history also crossed the line on The Mall, although his or her identity will not be confirmed until the results have been studied.
Additional reporting by Reuters.
(Edited by Leeto M Khoza)
Source – ewn


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6 sub sandwich rolls
36 Italian Meatballs, prepared (recipe here) 36 = one full recipe
2 cups Quick and Easy Spaghetti Sauce, prepared (recipe here)
sliced black olives
onion slices
Parmesan cheese
This is easy...just fill each bun with 6 warmed meatballs and top with warmed sauce. Add toppings of choice and enjoy!
This meal is easiest when meatballs and sauce have been prepared and frozen in the past. So be sure to cook those recipes once and serve meals from them twice!
Let's Eat!
Like it? Love it? Made it? Made it better?
|Just click the comment link below to leave us a note!


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Give The Behind the Scenes Pic of the Day your hand! Give The Behind the Scenes Pic of the Day your hand!!
aintitcool.com – Mon, 30 Apr 2012 0:24:57 AM CDT
Created by theothersenhman 6 years 15 weeks ago
About theothersenhman
Box Office
1. Alien: CovenantGross: $36,160,621Total: $36,160,621
2. Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 2Gross: $34,653,754Total: $301,391,228
3. Everything, EverythingGross: $11,727,390Total: $11,727,390
4. SnatchedGross: $7,832,517Total: $33,015,117
5. King Arthur: Legend Of The SwordGross: $7,152,269Total: $27,503,490
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The Globetrotters will face a revamped Washington Generals team which recently launched a more competitive profile, making an appearance in The Basketball Tournament over the summer. The tournament-tested team is looking to snap a 47-year losing streak against their world famous rivals during their 2018 tour.
With a star-studded roster featuring Big Easy Lofton, Ant Atkinson, Hi-Lite Bruton, Thunder Law, Bull Bullard and Cheese Chisholm – plus female stars TNT Lister, Ace Jackson and Hoops Green – the Globetrotters' show is unrivaled in the world of family entertainment. Their game at the Tucker Center will showcase incredible ball handling wizardry, rim-rattling dunks, trick shots, hilarious comedy and unequaled fan interaction.
*The Harlem Globetrotter's player roster is subject to change.
Become a fan and follow the Donald L. Tucker Civic Center on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/FSUTuckerCenter and on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/FSUTuckerCenter for special sneak peeks and daily updates. Check out the Tucker Civic Center online at www.TuckerCivicCenter.com.
About The Harlem Globetrotters
The Harlem Globetrotters® are legendary worldwide, synonymous with one-of-a-kind family entertainment and great basketball skills for the past 91 years. Throughout their history, the Original Harlem Globetrotters have showcased their iconic talents in 122 countries and territories on six continents, often breaking down cultural and societal barriers while providing fans with their first-ever basketball experience. Proud inductees of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, the Globetrotters have entertained hundreds of millions of fans – among them popes, kings, queens, and presidents – over nine thrilling decades. The American Red Cross is the official charity of the Harlem Globetrotters. Sponsored by Entenmann's Donuts ®, Ticket Galaxy and Baden Sports, Harlem Globetrotters International, Inc. is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Herschend Enterprises, the largest family-owned themed entertainment company in the U.S. For the latest news and information about the Harlem Globetrotters, visit the Globetrotters' official Web site: www.harlemglobetrotters.com and follow them on Twitter @Globies.


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Emily Burton Designs
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Category: Floral Design and Planning & Design
Hi! I'm Emily Burton, a true Georgia peach with a sophisticated, yet southern accent. But don't be fooled by the accent, I'm a world traveler and happy to say I've had the honor of designing several celebrity events some to include, Coke a Cola Heiress,, Real Housewives of Atlanta's Cynthia's Bailey's Daughter's Birthday Party, and none other Celebrity Event Planner and Designer, David Tutera.
My favorite food are fish tacos and I eat, sleep, and breath all aspects of design!
I love "pushing the envelope" in the design world, and truly creating a one of a kind event for each one of our clients.
I've been Planning and Designing pretty things for as long as I can remember. In fact, If I wasn't exploring nature as a child with my bestie, I could be found deconstructing an old piece of clothing to "re-design it into something new, or better yet telling my mother visually how she could improve our home. (Lol!)
I graduated from UGA (Go Dawgs) with a degree in Interior Design where I worked as an Interior Designer for over 13 years in Atlanta. So visually, I understand the importance of a space, and what a space needs in order to "flow" from start to finish. From the moment you walk into an event, whether it be a wedding or a special event, it should tell a story of who you are!
I'm inspired by fashion, nature, traveling, and well my clients of course!
I can truly say I can't wait to meet you, my clients become my cherished friends...so for me the planning and design process runs much deeper than just a a business transaction... it's becomes a personal experience, it's becomes a personal experience, and as it should be, this is one of the most important days in your life!
Favorite thing about Savannah weddings?
My favorite thing about Savannah weddings are the endless opportunities of wedding venues, that Savannah has to offer, from industrial and modern, to historical, and even east coast views. Not only does Savannah offer a wide variety of event venues, it's venues are conveniently located in and around the city, which allows your guests to enjoy a wide varity of activities for the day or weekend! Last, and surely not least the beautiful spanish oak trees paint the pretties picture upon entering and exiting this quaint little city. Savannah always provides new views no matter how many times I work here. It truly never disappoints.
4th Of July Picnic In Forsyth Park


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By Sue Benson, in Insight
By Saj Manzoor, in Industry & Issues
By Neil Godber, in Inspiration
The IPA has today (27th February) welcomed the launch of a public consultation on proposals to introduce new rules for the advertising of electronic cigarettes by B/CAP.
Says Richard Lindsay, IPA Legal Director: "A number of ASA adjudications on e-cigarette ads last year, particularly television commercials, show that e-cigarette producers are understandably confused as to how their products can be advertised within the current CAP and B/CAP rules. The obvious problem has been that there are no product-specific rules in place and the broadcast rules prohibiting advertising which might create an association with tobacco products have been adding to the confusion. They were written before e-cigarettes were developed and widely sold. Hopefully, this consultation will enable B/CAP to draft a clear set of sensible rules which will enable agencies to create campaigns for what is surely a product beneficial to consumers."
The consultation will close at 5pm on Monday 28 April 2014 and is available to download here.
The IPA has also produced a legal guidance note for its members about the recent amendments proposed to the EU Tobacco Products Directive which will affect the advertising of e-cigarettes. Read more here.
London Office
44 Belgrave Square
Tel: 020 7235 7020
Edinburgh Office
The Bourse
47 Timber Bush
Tel: 0131 555 7588


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Welcome to the 19th Season of The Trinity Chamber Orchestra! Once again we are thrilled to present an outstanding season of magnificent music at our beautiful Bethesda location, Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church, with its gradually raked seating, acoustically rich setting, and free parking. (7500 Pearl Street, Bethesda MD. 20814, two blocks from the Bethesda Metro station on Metro's Red Line at the corner of East-West Highway and Pearl Street.)
The mission of the Trinity Chamber Orchestra is to perform outstanding sacred and secular music from the Baroque period through the 21st century, all for the Honor and Glory of God, under the patronage of the most Holy Trinity: Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
This season the TCO presents "A Season of Classics" – a kaleidoscope of all the colors and varieties of classical music through the years. Enjoy famous overtures, concertos, symphonies, serenades, suites, and vocal offerings from opera, film, Broadway and more.
Our September concert features some of the TCO's own: Concert Master Jennifer Houck, Assistant Conductor Jeffry Newberger, and the TCO's long-time protégée and prodigy Patricia Wnek, all together in Vivaldi's Triple Violin Concerto. Mozart's Overture to Don Giovanni and Brahms's Serenade No.1 round out a sublime and satisfying program that epitomizes the most traditional Classical-era forms and harmonies.
November's thrilling program displays the most Romantic colors in the classical music genre: Tchaikovsky's Waltz from Eugene Onegin, Glazunov's Symphony #1, and Grieg's famous Piano Concerto. We are excited to welcome back Jason Solounias as our piano soloist. You will not want to miss these great show-stopping pieces!
In April, our kaleidoscope focuses on classical scenes from operas, Broadway shows, and films. Start with scenes from the Russian steppes in Borodin's Prince Igor Overture, spin to a Mozart symphony from Amadeus, and then sparkle over to selections from Candide (for Bernstein's 100th birthday) and other vocal works. Join the TCO orchestra and soloists in celebrating the 35th Anniversary of the Stone Ridge Junior Chorus with some special musical offerings.
Finally, in June we celebrate the full range of classical music through the years, with classics old and new. Our kaleidoscope spins from good old Papa Haydn's Cello Concerto, with our principal cellist Amy Smith, through the Romantic scenery of Borodin's musical tableau, to new 20th century classics by Walton, Khachaturian, and Mangani. And don't forget our traditional Guest Conductor Encore! (Maybe with you as guest conductor?)
We are so proud to present this outstanding 19th Concert Season of great music under the expert direction of Maestro Richard Fazio and Assistant Conductor Jeffry Newberger along with the outstanding musicians of the TCO and the exceptional soloists from the metropolitan area who will perform with us throughout this season. We invite you to support the TCO by filling out the enclosed order form to order your tickets in advance with a ticket donation of only $20.00 per ticket or $25.00 at the door. You won't want to miss this exciting 19th Concert Season, so invite your friends and be a part of this year's colorful kaleidoscope of classics!
We invite you to make a generous donation to this fine orchestra to ensure its bright future and continued growth. All donations are fully tax-deductible. If you or your organization would like to sponsor a Trinity Chamber Orchestra Concert, please call us at 301-926-0936 to underwrite any one of our Eighteenth Season performances. May God bless all who have supported us over these nineteen glorious years. The TCO looks forward to providing you and our community with great music during our Nineteenth Season!


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BetaDwarf Entertainment
Based in Copenhagen, Denmark
Release date:
29 Mar, 2016
PC / Mac / Linux
Regular Price:
Action and deck-building are combined in a Galactic Game Show - but questions gets replaced with deadly Gladiator Battles! You are the contestant - will you die or become a crowd favorite?
The Drone Invasion - The first expansion for SHOWDOWN was released in July 2016 bringing a new character, boss, game mode, modifiers and much more to the show.
- 4 characters with unique attacks and ability sets + unique cards to mutate and upgrade their abilities. (+1 with the Drone Invasion expansion)
- Deck-Building with 150+ cards to unlock and use in your deckbuilding. (all in-game; no microtransactions!)
- 60+ quests unlock content and achievements.
- Fight in 8 different worlds.
- Encounter 70+ different enemies.
- Bonus levels (added in free content update 43)
- Emblem System: Unlock mastery emblems (added in free content update 42)
Official Forced Showdown Release Trailer YouTube
Forced Showdown Drone Invasion Expansion Release Trailer YouTube
Images & Screenshots
Awards & Recognition
- "Best Game with 3D Graphics - Intel Level Up 2014" 11 March 2014
- "Indie Game Award - MomoCon 2016" 25 May 2016
Selected Articles
- "The combat feels a lot more accomplished than games like Binding of Isaac."
- , TotalBiscuit
- "The deckbuilding aspect is getting more and more entertaining and I feel like I want to keep going back because I'm always unlocking those new cards and getting these different abilities to try out."
- , TotalBiscuit
- "Game's pretty dope shit!"
- , Cryaotic
- "Extremely fun game with constant action and virtually limitless replayability. Every new battle you start is different, there are endless possibilities of deck building with all 4 characters."
- , Jyren
Additional Links
Various Promo Art
Find additional promo art here drive.google.com.
Official FORCED SHOWDOWN Steam page store.steampowered.com.
Betadwarf YouTube channel
Features FORCED SHOWDOWN related Videos youtube.com.
Community Leveling
Sign up to get FREE Steam Keys with DLC betadwarf.com.
Request FORCED SHOWDOWN Key keymailer.co.
About BetaDwarf Entertainment
BetaDwarf Entertainment is a Danish game development company that started with a bunch of guys sleeping in a university classroom for 7 months trying to learn game development. Through hard work, a kickstarter and a bank loan the team made it to release FORCED. We focus on fun and challenging game experiences and a multitude of platforms, but mostly those which are for the hardcore gamers - Playstation, Xbox and PC. We are not a huge team but we have some quite ambitious goals. We wish to offer high quality products with the help of our growing community. We develop our games as a solid standalone product with patches added regularly and DLC later if the community likes it. We look forward to offering gamers awesome gameplay experiences. -The BetaDwarf Crew
More information
More information on BetaDwarf Entertainment, our logo & relevant media are available here.
FORCED SHOWDOWN Credits
Steffen Kabbelgaard
CEO, Game Director
Kenneth Harder
Lead Programmer
Kristian Klie
Gameplay Programmer
Alex Jørgensen
Peter Buje
Lead Game Designer
Kristian Romer
Sound Designer / Audio Director
Christoffer Greulich
Alexander Karlsson
Technical Artist
Martin Prestegaard Lehnsdal
3D Artist
Stefan Greulich
Art Director
Ejnar Haakonsen
Game Designer
Richard Peck
Björn Trollmo Rogetzky
Graphics Programmer
Mona Skoog
3D Artist
Silas Amdi
2D Artist - Card Illustrator
Alexander Kramerov
3D Artist - Card Illustrator
Official BetaDwarf Twitter
Official BetaDwarf Facebook
BetaDwarf Website
presskit() by Rami Ismail (Vlambeer) - also thanks to these fine folks


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Published Dec 3, 2012
Diamonds aren't the only thing that last forever. Tell us where you'd go to get inked for life.
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The 2012 Best of La Lista awards are based on more than 3,400 votes from local Boston-area experts.
See the full results →
Connect with Boston.com La Lista
© CityVoter, Inc.


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Accelerate your Communications with a Modern PABX
|Replace your cumbersome and outdated PABX with a modern Unified Communications solution – 3CX. 3CX is an open-standards, software-based PABX that plugs and plays with popular IP Phones, SIP Trunks and Gateways. It offers complete Unified Communications features, out of the box and at no additional cost.
Windows, Linux or Cloud – It's Up to You!
With 3CX's PABX the deployment choice is entirely up to you! Whether your company's infrastructure runs on Windows or Linux, this PABX accommodates for both. You prefer hosted in the cloud? Again, not an issue!
Affordable, Easy Installation and Management
3CX PABX is ever so easy to install and manage. Regardless of which deployment option you choose the installation is straightforward and time effective. There's also a 3CX ISO for Debian available to make things even easier for Linux users. What makes 3CX more affordable than other PABXs available is its pricing. Based on simultaneous calls and not users or extensions 3CX's pricing is incomparable!
Unified Communications Features Included
Businesses that choose to move to 3CX 's PABX enjoy a number of benefits from the advanced Unified Communications features included. Increased staff mobility and productivity, as well as reduced travel time and costs, are just samples of what is gained.
3CX is forward thinking, it developed a robust software PBX with hypervisor in mind and its communication solutions are a great fit for organizations of any size.
Felipe Garcia, Director of Infrastructure & Services - Americas, Wilson Sporting Goods


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Poppy Loves Book Club Print
Poppy Loves Book Club Print
This illustration features an illustration made when Miss Magpie visited Poppy Loves Book Club in London, where the group discussed "The Taxidermist's Daughter" with author Kate Mosse. There's a lovely video of the work being created here.
- Produced and printed in the UK
- Signed by the artist
- Giclee print on to Somerset 255gsm paper
- Print to order - ready to despatch 7 days after order
- All prints will be delivered using Royal Mail Signed For service
UK Postage only. Sent via Royal Mail Special Delivery, trackable service.
Please note that all prints have an estimated 4 week delivery as all are printed to order. If it is an urgent requirement then please email us to see if we have them in stock.
Any overseas customers please contact firstname.lastname@example.com to order directly.
Add To Cart


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Nov 1, 2016
Sea monsters are a real thing. Roughly 95% of the world's oceans remain unexplored, so for those who disbelieve in sea monsters, we would love you to explain how you can be so sure. We have it all covered here, well we have a few of them covered. From multi-headed reptilian sea dragons to the infamous Loch Ness monster, and even an aborted Michael Phelps river dwelling kid snatcher. Come explore the depths of the sea along with the depths of Josh's random knowledge.


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Fill out our online form to start an account with us today!
Check out just some of the many businesses we have done work for!
Come see our top quality window treatments for yourself!
If you are looking for
commercial blinds in San Jose
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step should be to consider the primary functions you want your blinds
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opt for vertical blinds. If you have a nice view that you want to show
off, choose blinds that are very easy to adjust. If you are aiming for
a modern, sophisticated look, opt for a classic color such as black or white.


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Firefighters responded to a blaze that appeared to burn through the roof of an auto shop in Morton Grove tonight.
The fire broke out at about 7 p.m. at a squat white building in the 8600 block of Lincoln Avenue. It was extinguished by about an hour later, though fire personnel remained on scene after to investigate the cause.
It was unclear if the auto shop was open at the time of the fire, which did not appear to affect traffic on nearby railroad tracks used by Metra and Amtrak.


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Tara Lutman Agacayak is a certified Coach with degrees in psychology and information technology as well as formal leadership training for global women leaders.
Her zone of genius is helping people tell better stories which help them exceed their goals.
Better stories have helped her clients become best-selling authors, international thought leaders, award-winning film producers, and have helped people double and triple their business revenue.
Your personal invitation to join the Creative Impact Studio - Access to a global community of women leaders who share your values, challenges & who have a vision as big as you do.
Free Access to the entire Creative Impact Studio Training Library - Attend free masterclasses & training plus get access to the library of training videos.
Your copy of the Creative Launch Reference Guide .
Membership Includes:
Access to a global community of women who share your values and your challenges & who have a vision as big as you do.
The opportunity to list yourself in the member directory and network with like-minded women leaders around the world.
Exclusive invitations to participate in 'live virtual community events' each week including training and masterclasses. Hear from guest experts, get free laser coaching, and join live Q&A sessions.
Opportunity to focus on developing personal excellence & leadership mastery. Learn organizational and business development skills, how to build sustainable, scalable systems and improve your communications through storytelling.
A chance for deeper exploration of leadership development, through private and group coaching programs.
"I wanted 2 Things - For it to be broadcast on PBS and for us to get an award. Two out of two! Thanks Tara."
~ Zeynep Kilic, Sociology Professor & award-winning filmmaker of 'Tables of Istanbul'.
"Most remarkable, she challenges your perception and poses questions that bring a different and valuable persective!"
~ Conchita Franco Serri, CEO & founder of Caromi
"You helped me in the process of having courage to set out to write a book & understanding my goals."
~ Elmira Bayrasli, Author of 'From the Other Side of the World' & a global thought leader.


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In a historic vote, the Los Angeles City Council voted on Tuesday to raise the City's minimum wage incrementally to $15 per hour by 2020. Los Angeles is the largest City in the nation to take such action in an effort to assist the working poor in a City that is growing increasingly expensive to live in.
As a member of the City's Economic Development Committee chaired by Councilmember Curren Price, Councilmember Huizar voted to support the plan, which will give a raise to hundreds of thousands of hard-working, low-wage Angelenos. The Council also voted to refer certain items back to committee for further discussion, including paid-time off, restaurant service charges and timelines for transitional workers. The City Attorney is preparing an ordinance, which will be presented to the City Council in the coming weeks.


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Article Title
It seems like everyone on campus has one these days. Smart phones are almost a way of life. Searching the web, updating your Twitter account, and using your apps to do virtually anything. So, to those of you who haven't already hopped on the bandwagon, this will be your go-to resource for finding the smart phone that will work best for you. Of course, there are hundreds of phones to choose from, but we will focus on the Apple iPhone 4, the Motorola Droid X, and the Blackberry Curve.
Recommended Citation
Bloomquist, Emily and Maller, Danny
"Battle of the Smart Phones,"
Ethos: Vol. 2011
, Article 11.
Available at: https://lib.dr.iastate.edu/ethos/vol2011/iss1/11


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The Conference Venue is an exclusive thatched venue that is situated next to the swimming pool in the evergreen garden. This venue accommodates up to 18 guests depending on the seat layout.
The Conference room is fully equipped with the following:
Tables & chairs
Pull down screen and Data Projector
Air conditioner & ventilation fan
Heaters (winter)
Two men's toilets and Two ladies toilets
Several outside tables for breakaways
Secure outside parking area & few inside parking bays
Free Wi-fi in the Conference Venue
Water, cool drink and sweets on tables
The Conference room is very popular for business seminars, training of small groups, private meetings, group discussions, body corporate annual meetings and those who prefer total privacy and quality service.
Conferencing Rates:
A full day tariff from R330-00 to R360-00 per person per
day includes:
Tea, coffee and rusks on arrival
Mid morning tea, coffee and scones/muffin/sandwiches
Tastefully prepared two course lunch
Tea & coffee in the afternoon
Contact us for Conference Specials and the tariff for half day packages.


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Shugal Laga Le
Shugal Laga Le Lyrics
Banta gaya bas rasta
Raahi mile jahaan bhi pagle manmouji jo
Badhta gaya bas kaarwaan
Wherever his footsteps wandered around to, the paths formed along. He is impulsive and every time he met a fellow traveller somewhere, his caravan kept moving ahead.
WORD – Manmouji – Impulsive heart, Kaarwaan – Caravan.
Leave a Reply
Paar lagegi nayya
Aur jo na lage chinta saari chadd de
Sur milaake gaate ja
He reckons, if you end up listening to him, like a boatman, he'll take you across to a new land next Saturday. He urges everyone to leave behind their troubles and sing this song in unison.
WORD – Shanichhar – Saturday, Nayya – Boatman, Chadd De – Leave behind.
Leave a Reply
Rang jamaa ke shugal laga le
Befikar tu shugal lagate ja Shugal laga le
Naach le tu Shugal laga le
Forget all your sadness and have some fun. Be merry and simply embrace this joyous moment. Without worrying about the past or future, live in this amazing present moment and just dance.
WORD – Shugal Laga Le – is a Lahori slang which means "to have fun". Another word for Shugal is Tafreeh.
Leave a Reply
Let go of your worries and just be free and detached, brave one. Whatever has happened in the past, let go of it. Let your heart embrace this moment and be alive. Live only for this moment.
WORD – Fikre – Worries, Faarig – Free/Detached, Lamha – Moment.
Leave a Reply
Na kar koi parwah bas ud jaa
Bas iraadon ke parr lagaate jaa
jaa jaa jaa ud jaa
The day that has passed yesterday, leave it behind. Don't worry about it, it's time to fly. Just keep growing wings of will and desire and fly as high as possible.


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Swim lanes divide your flowcharts into meaningful sections. You can use swim lanes to sort responsibilities by person or to separate a process into phases. In Lucidchart, you can magnetize objects to a swim lane so that when you move it, they move with it. Take after Michael Phelps and become a swim lane champion today!
Follow this simple process to add the appropriate shape library and start using swim lanes:
- Open the Shape Library Manager.
- In the left column under "Standard," select "Flowchart Shapes," and press "Save." (Note: You should see a checkmark next to "Flowchart Shapes" if you have access to both the "Flowchart" and "Containers" libraries.)
- In the Toolbar on the left-hand side of the editor, find the "Containers" library and select the horizontal or vertical swim lane. You can see shape names by hovering your mouse over a shape.
- Drag and drop the shape onto your canvas.
- Change the label of your swim lane by double-clicking on the header.
- Click and drag the borders to resize.
When you click on the border of your swim lane, a panel should appear to the side. This panel will allow you to adjust the number or direction of your swim lanes.
To add or remove lanes, change the number of lanes listed in the panel.
To change lane or label orientation, select "Vertical" or "Horizontal" from the drop-down lists in the panel. When you reorient a lane, all objects in the lane will reorient as well.
To move a lane, right-click on the border or header of the lane. Select "Move Lane Up," "Move Lane Down," "Move Lane to Left," or "Move Lane to Right" depending on your desired direction.
- Click on the border of a lane and drag your mouse to resize the lane.
You can style swim lanes using the Properties bar at the top of the editor. Match your desired action with the number on the image below.
- Edit text font, size, and color.
- Change fill color and texture.
- Change line color, thickness, and pattern.
To add a shadow, click the Shape Options icon, click on the Shadow drop-down menu, and turn the shadow on.
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So during my lunch break at work, I started posting about my hair and how we have a hate-hate relationship. I got sidetracked on TheKnot, starting at Salt's Blog, which then lead me to click on Brie's Blog, and finally I ended up here: Operation Beautiful.
And then I had to stop posting something negative. I'm sure at some point I'll come back and fill you all in on the lovely story of my hair and why we hate each other, but after reading Operation Beautiful, I just can't. It doesn't feel right.
Operation Beautiful is a genius idea. Who would have expected that something so small and simple could (and obviously has) made such a difference to so many people? If you happen to come across this blog and read this specific post, I want you to do me a favor. I want you to leave a note with encouraging words. This needs to be passed on.


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Willow Garage Blog
Call for Papers: IROS 2010 Workshop: Defining and Solving Realistic Perception Problems in Personal Robotics
Perception researchers: When a colleague working on grasping, planning, human-robot interaction, or any other aspect of personal robotics asks you which vision algorithms will work for them today, what do you answer? Which specific problems have you defined, constrained, and solved? How will these solutions enable other robotics research? This workshop aims to provide a venue for discussing vision algorithms that can be used today by our fellow personal robotics researchers.
We solicit paper submissions that include an explicit problem statement including constraints, and describe the robot behavior that the problem's solution would enable. Each solution should be tested and shown to actually solve the problem, and should be made reproducible by others (either via in-depth explanation or by making source code available). We encourage you to constrain the problem to the point at which you can solve it, but the solution should remain applicable to real-world situations. Whether or not you submit a paper, you are invited to attend the workshop.
The submission deadline is July 23, 2010. Please see the workshop website for more detailed information.
Important Dates:
- Submissions Due: July 23, 2010
- Notification of Acceptance: August 1, 2010
- Final Papers Due: August 15, 2010
- Workshop at IROS: October 18, 2010
View PR2 Beta Robots in a larger map
Last week, we completed our fourth milestone when we shipped out the remaining PR2 Beta Program robots to their host institutions. We created four milestones to track our progress to this important goal. During Milestone 1 we saw our robot autonomously navigate for π kilometers, two days in a row. Our second milestone brought about door-opening and autonomous plugging in. With Milestone 3 came ROS 1.0 and improved ROS documentation and usability.
Now, with the accomplishment of another company milestone, we're excited to share the PR2 with other institutions. All eleven robots have left the building and are en route to their new homes. Stanford, UC Berkeley, and USC have already received and uncrated their robots, and the remaining PR2's should arrive in the next few weeks.
While it was incredible to see all of the robots together in one place, it's going to be even better to see what they accomplish out in the world. We've still got plenty to keep us happy and hackin'.
From left to right: USC removes the top of the crate; Stanford takes their PR2 out of the crate; UC Berkeley gets to work.
PR2GRASP: From Perception and Reasoning to Grasping
Household robotics is an area that can potentially change our lives for the better. Most importantly, disabled and elderly people can become less dependent on others if household robots are available to clean, cook, bring clothes and medication, and perform other home chores. Unfortunately, robust household robotics is also one of the more difficult areas of the field. At Penn, the PR2 recipients will tackle a number of the challenges facing the personal robotics field.
One such challenge is navigation in dynamic environments. For personal robots to be effective, they must be able to navigate while taking into account the movements of dynamic obstacles such as people. To this end, the Penn group will use the PR2 to continue their work on such issues as motion planning for navigation and people tracking in cluttered spaces for navigation.
Another project on Penn's list is spring-loaded door opening with the PR2. While the PR2 can already open doors at Willow Garage, the robot is not yet capable of opening spring-loaded doors. In order to function robustly in real environments, a personal robot must be equipped to manipulate a variety of doors. Because the PR2 has two arms, the robot might soon be able to open a spring-loaded door without the door closing on the robot before it releases the door handle and travels through the doorway. This ability to open more challenging doors can make the PR2, and other robots, more useful in our everyday lives.
In addition to navigation and door-opening, the team at Penn aims to modify the PR2 hardware and create support for modular end-effectors. Penn is one of the only Beta Sites to propose hardware changes, and the team hopes to improve the PR2's capabilities by making available end-effectors that are capable in ways that the current grippers are not.
Penn's proposal also includes a variety of other diverse projects, including: visual localization and pose estimation of objects for grasping; transferring natural handheld objects between the PR2, humans, and other robots; learning salient features for better perceptual processing by the PR2; planning and controls for two-arm manipulation; and establishing telepresence through the PR2 with the Pennochio project.
To see what's currently happening on the PR2GRASP project, check out www.pr2grasp.com.
The Team
This project includes the efforts of eight researchers coming from three different areas of Engineering and Science and specializing in such diverse areas of robotics as vision, planning, controls, machine learning, haptics and hardware design. These joint efforts are being led by Maxim Likhachev.
- Prof. Maxim Likhachev: Search-Based Planning in Robotics
- Prof. Vijay Kumar: Controls of Dynamic and Multi-Agent Systems
- Prof. Mark Yim: Modular Robotics
- Prof. Jianbo Shi: Computer Vision
- Prof. Camillo J. Taylor: Computer Vision and Robotics
- Prof. Kostas Daniilidis: Space and Motion Perception in Robotics
- Prof. Katherine J. Kuchenbecker: Haptics and Teleoperation
- Prof. Daniel D. Lee: Machine Learning in Robotics
The team also includes an excellent group of graduate students and postdocs, including the following: Ben Cohen, Steve Gray, Soonkyum Kim, Mike Phillips, Cody Phillips, Matt Piccoli, Joseph Romano.
Below is a video of the Penn team presenting their proposal to the rest of the PR2 Beta Program participants. You can download the slides as PDF.
This article written with assistance from Maxim Likhachev.
While we at Willow Garage tend to be paragons of tidiness, there
are times when we do forget to pick up after ourselves. Our second
hackathon this month made the robot do this for us by pushing around a
wheeled cart and using it to take used cups, bowls, and boxes of Spam
to the kitchen. Because, what's a roboticist without Spam?
Cart pushing presented new challenges for our navigation stack. First, the cart occludes the area immediately in front of the robot from the robot's sensors. Second, our default planning algorithm works best for approximately circular robots, while the robot and the cart together form a long, thin shape. The navigation stack has a highly modular, plug-in based architecture, though, so we were able to substitute in the sbpl forward-search-based planner, from the University of Pennsylvania, which works much better in this setting.
The robot must also recognize cups and bottles in its environment, and decide which ones need to be removed, and don't contain liquids, which could be unsafe for our robot to carry. We used a human-in-the-loop approach, in which the robot sends an image of the scene to a (possibly remote) human, who draws a box around the next object to grasp. The robot figures out the 3D position of the corresponding object, then uses our soon-to-be-released grasping pipeline to pick up the object and place it in the cart.
Our robot probably can't apply for a job at a restaurant just yet. However, we believe that pushing carts, wheelchairs, and other wheeled objects is a very useful capability for personal robots, and we're continuing to work on improving its robustness.
Developing the Personal Robotics Market: Enabling New Applications Through Novel Sensors and Shared Autonomy
Limited access to quality robotics research platforms is one significant obstacle to the development of new robotics applications. Bosch's PR2 Remote Lab will extend access to the PR2 platform to additional research labs which did not receive their own PR2. Of course, Bosch also has its own plans for its PR2 beyond sharing it with the rest of the world. The robotics team at the Bosch Research and Technology Center North America (RTC) will focus on developing solutions for the personal robotics market by making robots safer, affordable and capable. The Bosch robotics team in Palo Alto closely collaborates with experts from Bosch Corporate Research based in Stuttgart, Germany, who bring in additional expertise in sensing, signal processing and manufacturing.
Bosch plans to integrate its latest sensor technology in the PR2 to explore new applications and lower costs. These sensors include accelerometers, gyros, force sensors, air pressure sensors and a new near range sensing system. These sensors will also be shared with other PR2 Beta Sites.
In the long run, Bosch is focused on developing the robotics market. That means building affordable robots that work reliably in complex environments – not an easy task. One approach to this problem that Bosch will explore is shared autonomy: including a human in the loop to help out on those tasks still too difficult for a robot to quickly or reliably complete on its own. The goal is to combine the strengths of autonomous systems and human operators to improve performance and reduce the cost of commercial systems.
Bosch has been a contributor to ROS since March 2009. They will extend their 3D reconstruction work, previously mentioned here, to ROS and the PR2. This will allow the PR2 to build accurate, textured 3D models of its environment.
See the Bosch press release here.
The Team
The Bosch team combines the expertise of researchers with a background in computer science, mechanical, electrical and aerospace engineering with the corporate expertise in sensing, perception, signal proccessing and manufacturing. Several team members are also active in the Stanford Racing Team working on autonomous vehicles.
- Jan Becker: Principal Investigator
- Christian Bersch: Planning, Perception
- Charles DuHadway: Shared Autonomy, Remote Lab
- Benjamin Pitzer: 3D Reconstruction, Remote Lab
- Soeren Kammel: 3D Perception, Image Processing
- Lukas Marti: Sensors, Signal Processing
The team also includes some great interns: Hao Dang (Columbia), Adam Stambler (Rutgers), Michael Styer (Stanford), Joerg Wagner and Sebastian Haug (both Stuttgart). Researchers at other Bosch locations will also contribute to the project.
Below is a video of Jan Becker presenting Bosch's proposal to the rest of the PR2 Beta Program participants. You can download the slides as PDF.
Article written with assistance from Charles DuHadway.
CRAM: Cognitive Robot Abstract Machine
For the PR2 to perform household chores and everyday manipulation tasks, the robot must possess, among other competences, the ability to learn, reason, and plan. Even a seemingly simple task, such as picking up a cup from a table, requires complex and informed decision making. To pick up a cup, the robot must decide where to stand, which hand to use, how to reach, where to grasp, how to lift the cup, and so on. The robot's decision making competencies must be robust enough to take into account not only the task to be performed, but also the situational context in which the task is carried out. For example, were the robot tasked to fill a glass, it would likely grasp the body of the bottle, but were the robot tasked to set the bottle on the floor, a grasp position at the top of the bottle might be more appropriate.
The Technische Universität München (TUM) team develops novel ways of enabling robots to infer the right decisions by considering the relevant aspects of action selection and parametrization. This means that programmers do not need to specify each single task execution decision in advance. To this end, the group investigates what they call "cognition-enabled everyday manipulation" or "cognition-enabled perception-action loops". The research group in Munich interprets cognition to be a resource for better performance: the robot acquires models of the consequences of its actions, and uses these models to select the actions that will best accomplish the robot's objectives.
The main scientific goal of TUM's project is to build CRAM (Cognitive Robot Abstract Machine) as a software toolbox for the design, implementation, and deployment of cognition-enabled autonomous robots performing everyday manipulation activities, such as the PR2. CRAM equips autonomous robots with lightweight reasoning mechanisms that can infer control decisions, such as those listed above, thereby obviating the need for pre-programmed decisions. In this way, CRAM-programmed autonomous robots become more flexible, reliable, and general-purpose than robots using control programs that lack such reasoning capabilities.
The Team
The TU München team is an interdisciplinary group of researchers who are members of the German national Cluster of Excellence COTESYS (Cognition for Technical Systems). Prof. Michael Beetz, who is the head of the Intelligent Autonomous Systems group and vice coordinator of the German Cluster of Excellence COTESYS is leading the overall project and the software development.
The other principal investigators are:
- Prof. Gordon Cheng: Humanoid robotics and cognitive systems.
- Prof. Matthias Kranz: Ubiquitous computing and smart and cognitive objects.
- Dr. Uwe Haass: General Manager of the Cluster of Excellence COTESYS.
The team includes a group of excellent doctoral students, including the following:
- Dejan Pangercic: Knowledge-enabled Perception
- Moritz Tenorth: Knowledge Processing for Mobile Robots and Human Activity Interpretation
- Nico Blodow: 3D Robotics Perception
- Mihai Dolha: Human-Robot Interaction and Robot Simulators
- Dominik Jain: Statistical Relational Learning, Probabilistic Reasoning
- Ingo Kresse: Robotic Manipulation and Representation of Manipulation Tasks
- Lars Kunze: Common-sense and Naive Physics Reasoning
- Alexis Maldonado: Arm/Hand Control for Robotic Manipulation
- Zoltan-Csaba Marton: 3D Model Fitting, Semantic Labeling of Objects, Arrangements and Environments, Spatio-Temporal Learning
- Lorenz Mösenlechner: High-Level Planning and Reasoning
- Federico Ruiz-Ugalde: Connection of Low Level Motor Control with High Level Reasoning and Planning using Object Control
- Andreas Holzbach: Human Vision
- Ewald Lutscher: Unified Control Strategies for Robots
- Marcia Riley: Humanoid Robot Behaviors
Below is a video of Dejan Pangercic presenting TUM's proposal to the rest of the PR2 Beta Program participants. You can download the slides as PDF.
Article written with assistance from Dejan Pangercic.
STAIR on PR2
The PR2's arrival at Stanford University is a homecoming of sorts. The PR (Personal Robot) project emerged from Ken Salisbury's lab at Stanford in the form of PR1. Moreover, what was once the STAIR lab's Switchyard system has morphed into today's ROS. We're excited to see ROS and the PR2 at Stanford, ready for more tinkering and growth.
The STAIR (STanford AI Robot) project seeks to develop the software needed to put a general-purpose robot in every home. The team is making the PR2 the next robotic platform for STAIR, and will develop open-source software towards this goal. The lab will transition the STAIR perception, grasping, and manipulation software to enable the PR2 to carry out three applications: fetching items, inventory taking, and clearing a dining room table.
The first component that the group plans to transition to the PR2 is their software for robotic perception, much of which is already released as open-source, but not yet adapted for the PR2. They have developed algorithms for embodied perception, which take advantage of the physical presence of the robot to recognize objects more accurately. The team has also developed algorithms that choose where to foveate (i.e., point a robot head or camera) to efficiently find/recognize objects, and use multiple views of an object to facilitate better recognition. The STAIR lab proposes to integrate these perception tools with the PR2, and thereby develop an object detector with an unprecedented level of performance.
The second component to be transitioned will enable the PR2 to grasp novel objects. The group's grasping algorithm explicitly reasons about the placement of multiple fingers on an object, and they will transition this algorithm to the PR2, modifying it to work with the robot's grippers and sensors. Additionally, the STAIR team will address the problem of smoothly placing objects on a surface. Finally, the group will use their algorithms to address the problem of grasping novel objects from previously known object classes. Specifically, they will develop class-specific algorithms for grasping tableware and cutlery.
The third component that the group will transition to the PR2 is the ability to use novel doors and elevators. The STAIR lab will integrate their door opening methods on the PR2, allowing for generalizability to a broader range of doors and door handles than has been possible with their prior hardware platforms. They've already made quick progress on this. Within twelve hours of setting up their PR2, the group ported their existing door-opening code. This is impressively fast given how different the STAIR 1 Robot is from the PR2.
The Team
The project is led by Prof. Andrew Ng and will include contributions from Prof. Ken Salisbury and Prof. Oussama Khatib.
The team is also comprised of a group of graduate students, including:
Below is a video of Morgan Quigley and Adam Leeper presenting Stanford's proposal to the rest of the PR2 Beta Program participants. You can download the slides as PDF.
Article written with assistance from Morgan Quigley.
With only a small team of developers and a week's worth of development, the PR2 can now play pool! The "Poolshark" team started last Monday and began making shots on Friday. The PR2 won't be hustling you in pool halls anytime soon, but it pocketed five shots on Friday before the team decided it was time to celebrate.
The Poolshark team dealt with numerous technical challenges throughout the week: engineering a special grip and bridge so the PR2 could hold the cue, a ball detector, table localization, visualizations and input tools, shot selector, and more.
A big thanks goes to Alon Altman for his open-source FastFiz billiards library. FastFiz is a physics and rules engine for billiards that the Poolshark team used to select which shots the PR2 should take. The Poolshark team has released its own code in the billiards stack.
June is "Hackathon" month, so there are two more one-week hackathons to come: pushing a cart and fetching a drink from a refrigerator. It's one down, two to go!
Previous "hackathon" sprints:
We're packing up a PR2 and heading to CVPR in San Francisco. We'll be at the CVPR 2010: Computer Vision for Human-Robot Interaction Workshop on Monday, from 2-6 pm. The PR2 will be showing a variety of demos at the poster session on Tuesday night, from 5:20-9:00 pm. Hope to see you there!
Unified framework for task specification, control and coordination for mobile manipulation
Suppose you want a robot to assist you in carrying an object through a
crowded environment. For this to work, the robot must know which item
you want to pick up, how to pick it up and with what force, how to
avoid both moving and non-moving obstacles, and where to set the object
down. Furthermore, it must do all of these tasks while taking your
movements into account.
Katholieke Universiteit Leuven has already developed a number of tools that will enable developers to make this a reality with the PR2. Their iTaSC (instantaneous Task Specification using Constraints) and skills framework will enable developers to specify this complex task of carrying an object and avoiding obstacles, all while tracking the human co-operator's movements. iTaSC allows developers to specify constraints for the motion and forces the robot uses, and it can take into account the many uncertainties such a task presents. Carrying an object also requires complex, real-time control over the robot's motors and sensors. KU Leuven's Real-Time Toolkit (RTT) for Orocos will enable developers to control multiple iTaSC motions together.
The PR2 will need to be able to track people and other moving obstacles. For this, a state-of-the-art multi-target tracking and localization algorithm (MTTL) will be added to ROS. The group will also integrate ROS with the OpenRobot simulator, which uses the open-source 3D content creation suite Blender.
KU Leuven's work on these tools will help create reusable, complex tasks for solving many other difficult challenges. The iTaSC framework has applications in robotic surgery, such as moving a surgical tool in precise laparoscopic surgery, as well as enabling robots to manipulate objects together while also taking into account the presence of people in the area.
The Team
The KU Leuven team has both a mechanical and software engineering
background. Its primary expertise relevant to the PR2 program is in
specification and real-time control of complex tasks for robots with
many degrees of freedom and multiple sensors.
Professors Herman Bruyninckx, co-founder of the Orocos open robot control software project, and Joris De Schutter, pioneer of the iTaSC framework, are leading the project. Dr. Ruben Smits, developer of the iTaSC and skills framework and experienced contributor to both Orocos and ROS, is the principal investigator.
The team also consists of post-doctoral researchers Tinne De Laet, Eric Demeester, and Peter Soetens, and PhD students Koen Buys, Wilm Decré, and Dominick Vanthienen, who are all active in the field of robotics at the Department of Mechanical Engineering, and who have already contributed substantially to the open source community.
The project futhermore benefits from strong collaborations with Professor Jan Swevers, Professor Luc De Raedt's Machine Learning group at the Department of Computer Science, and with Professor Moritz Diehl from KU Leuven's Center of Excellence in Optimization in Engineering (OPTEC).
Below is a video of Koen Buys presenting KU Leuven's proposal to the rest of the PR2 Beta Program participants. You can download the slides as PDF.
Article written with assistance from Eric Demeester.


text:
Cnythia A. Owens – Silicon Valley Aquatics Initiative
Executive Director
David Andre – Santa Clara Convention and Visitors Bureau
Vice President of Marketing & Communications
Jaime Benes – Santa Clara Swim Club/George F. Haines Int'l. Swim Center
Vice President Operations and Learn-to-Swim
John Bitter – Santa Clara Swim Club/George F. Haines Int'l. Swim Center
CEO/Head Coach
Charles Frost – Santa Clara Vanguard
Jim Mercurio – San Francisco 49ers
Vice President of Stadium Operations & Security
Julian Sakti – San Francisco 49ers
Senior Manager of Game Operations & Security
Lisa Moreno – Santa Clara Convention Center
General Manager, Convention Center & Convention and Visitors Bureau
Ruth Shikada – City of Santa Clara
Economic Development Officer
Jeff Mitchell – Santa Clara University Athletics
Assistant Athletic Director
Jim Teixeira – City of Santa Clara Parks & Recreation
Director, Parks and Recreation
Saul Zendejas – Mission College Athletics
Interim Athletics Director
Gary Mano – City Beach
General Manager


text:
The Defense Department claimed the sequester is forcing it to potentially reduce the size of the Army in such a manner that the country will no longer be able to fight two simultaneous wars.
On Wednesday, the Pentagon said "one scenario being considered would shrink the Army from 490,000 tobetween 380,000 and 450,000 troops." The "Marine Corps would be slashed from 182,000 to between 150,00 to 175,000, and the number of aircraft carrier strike groups would be reduced from 11 to eight or nine."
As The Hill noted, "another scenario outlined in the sequester strategy would keep current troop numbers, but abandon vital weapons programs designed to replace several aging systems in the Pentagon's arsenal." The Pengaton claimed these cuts would "reduce spending by $52 billion a year," but the country would have its smallest fighting force since 2001.
Under the sequester, the Pentagon is mandated to cut $500 billion from its budget over the next decade. Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel urged Congress to end the sequester on Wednesday.
"It is the responsibility of our nation's leadership to work together to replace the mindless and irresponsible policy of sequestration," Hagel said, according to The Hill.
Beginning in 2015, Hagel said the Pentagon would submit two budgets–"one at the President's budget level and one at sequester-level caps."


text: A global surveillance measure is put into force by the Ministry of Economy on 12/11/2015 with Communiqué No: 2015/8. The surveillance will be implemented only for the products which has a unit value under the customs value determined. The unit customs value determined for the products classified under 8431.41, 8432.42, 8431.49 is 6500 USD/Tons*. (*Gross Tons) The Communiqué enters into force on the thirtieth day following the date of publication.


text:
Bedroom - 204 items
A great sleep is so key to wellbeing that arguably, your bedroom is the most important room in the house. From sheets that range from soft to crisp, doona covers that immediately make you feel relaxed, indulged or slinky, you'll find the perfect mood-setting bedroom accessories from hardtofind. And if it's bedroom furniture you're after, our range of quirky and handcrafted finds will prove a luxurious and welcome break from kit sets and make-dos, to lift your haven to another level.
Read more


text:
After the last house, we moved onto the second. You see, Mr. P and I have a methodical process with this house search. We have a shared Google Spreadsheet that has every house we're interested in as well as every house we've seen – since February. It includes address, description, square footage, etc. We have another tab in the same spreadsheet that has our preference listed by rank. We analyzed each one carefully determining which one was going to be our next home.
So after the last catastrophe we moved onto house #2, put in our offer and waited. We waited to only find out that someone went in higher than ours but not at the full price. Now, with short sales you can only offer up to full price – nothing more. So instead of fighting over a few thousand dollars (and to deal with my heart break), we decided to go in full price.
Heh. Well….
The selling agent decided, and continues to make the decision, to not put in our FULL offer. WHICH IS ILLEGAL! If a better offer presents itself, as an agent you have an obligation to present it to all parties. In this case, with a short sale, it's the seller, the bank, and the government. Well, he put the offer in front of the seller, and they obviously took the offer – a full offer. However, he has YET to put our offer in front of the bank.
Mr. P talked to lawyers, other realtors, the Massachusetts realty board, and the selling bank (the selling bank…not our bank!) to find out if we've seriously lost the plot. We haven't. This guy is seriously doing this illegally and at the moment there's nothing we can do about it.
Of all the realtors, of all the times, of all the stress and pressure we are under to move to the New England area – we find the one who is unethical. The one who doesn't understand that he can pull the other offer and present ours because ours is full price.
Over the course of the last 10 days, we've extended our offer 4 times hoping that our offer would go through. If the other offer goes through, we can do something about it. If our offer goes through, we get the house. Right now we are in a holding pattern.
So, why stay with the house if it's causing so much pain? Well, options are very limited and those that are worthy, it turns into a lions den. A lions den with a bunch of hungry lions trying to eat a peanut.
Personally, I'd rather not be in that lion's den and we'd rather find the house that's the diamond in the rough. Believe me, if we're considering short sales as top options, it should give you an idea that we're not that picky!
So, we're in this holding pattern. All entirely because some A-hole decided not to do the right thing.
So, Mr. P and I are putting our best foot forward and decided to keep searching. Although we currently have an offer on this particular house, it doesn't stop us from at least updating our current list with new possibilities; because if you can believe it already – there are other nut jobs out there who like diamond in the rough houses and our list is now outdated.
So, at this point we will take prayers, hope, love, support, and faith to guide us through this agony they call house hunting.
With that said, I'm off to see my therapist buy another pair of shoes.
Much Love,


text:
IP65 rated sun readable screens for outdoor use
Commercial grade high brightness HD displays for 24/7 outdoor applications
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The commercial grade high brightness screen is designed for 24/7 use, offering high contrast, excellent colour reproduction with a backlight producing a high brightness display of 1,500 nits.
|Typical Applications
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Standard IP65 High Brightness Outdoor LCD Screen Sizes
|Diagonal (16:9 HD Screens)


text: A good Product Management team is an invaluable asset to a startup business. This job requires so much more than that of a project management job in an already established company because the business is still troubleshooting their product. This is an invasive occupation, where you often work directly with the business owner, to figure out the best strategy for the business' product line. Although for as invasive and detailed as working with a startup might be, it is equally, if not more rewarding. As a part of project management, you get to see the products that you oversee flourish from conception, to become a well-respected and highly sought-after commodity. Whether you are designing the products yourself or overseeing the entire product management operation, startup businesses are in desperate need of your services and expertise. Without your skills, this vital part of their business cannot succeed.


text:
New Construction
JD Designs can help make a new construction project a less stressful, more enjoyable experience for the homeowner. Jessica grew up in the construction industry and has extensive experience working with architects and contractors. She brings her expertise and understanding of the process to your project and has the knowledge to save you time and money. Whether you are looking for design consultations throughout your job or prefer to have the project managed by JD Designs, Jessica can be involved as you need her to be.


text:
Interview with Robert Downey Jr.
We interview Robert Downey Jr. AKA Tony Stark/Iron Man
James Gilmore
W!ZARD News AuthorTweet
Good intentions wreak havoc when Tony Stark (played by Robert Downey Jr.) unwittingly creates Ultron (palyed by James Spader), a terrifying A.I. monster who vows to achieve "world peace" via mass extinction. Now, Iron Man, Captain America (played by Chris Evans), Thor (played by Chris Hemsworth) and The Hulk (played by Mark Ruffalo) – alongside Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson), Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner) and Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) – must reassemble to defeat Ultron and save mankind.
To celebrate the 3D Blu-ray™, Blu-ray and DVD release of Marvel's Avengers: Age Of Ultron this week, we spoke to Robert Downey Jr. – who plays Tony Stark/Iron Man in the movie – to discover his thoughts on the action-packed adventure...
W!ZARD News: What do you hope the audience gains from watching Marvel's Avengers: Age Of Ultron?
Robert Downey Jr.: I hope people say 'Wow' after they see this film. When you have a big movie like this, there are big expectations. I hope that audiences feel as good about this as they did when they came and saw the third Iron Man. And the same as they did when they saw the most recent Captain America and Thor. This movie is incredibly fun and thoughtful – and it has great themes. There is also a whole bunch of new characters and it really raises the bar. That's when I know it has my seal of approval.
W!ZARD News: Where is Tony Stark when Marvel's Avengers: Age Of Ultron opens? And how would you describe his relationship with The Avengers now?
Robert Downey Jr.: When the movie starts, Tony is hosting The Avengers in his tower in New York. He's working on a system that will make it so The Avengers don't have to do what they've been doing all along, which purportedly should be the end game.
W!ZARD News: Captain America appears to be the leader of The Avengers in Marvel's Avengers: Age Of Ultron. Is Tony Stark happy about that?
Robert Downey Jr.: There are really only two relationships in Tony's life that he's been willing to assume a lower status. One is with Pepper Potts, obviously. And the other is with Captain America.
W!ZARD News: Why did he decide to let Captain America take charge?
Robert Downey Jr.: Tony believes whoever does the job best should probably do that job. And while Tony brings a lot to the table, Captain America has the most experience. No one's more battle seasoned than Captain America.
W!ZARD News: Why does Tony Stark care for The Avengers so much in the movie? In the past, he has been a pretty selfish guy...
Robert Downey Jr.: By having them all together, he feels like it allows him to still be the engineer and the mechanic who wants to help them all do things a little bit better. It's like buying a football team and then wanting to redo their uniforms and give them better equipment and make them stronger, faster and safer on the field.
W!ZARD News: Tony Stark spent a lot of money upgrading Stark Tower to become The Avengers Tower in the new movie. Where does he get all this money?
Robert Downey Jr.: I don't know of anyone in the history of any Super Hero franchise who seems never to run out of money! Tony's footing the bill and he can swing it, obviously. Pepper has taken over the business largely, so everything's going to be a little more stable than when daddy was just writing checks.
W!ZARD News: What was it like to wander around the set of the Avengers Tower?
Robert Downey Jr.: When I walked onto the set for the first time, I said, 'Wow, this is really impressive." But then, as we went along, somehow it wasn't factored in what would happen when all of the candy glass from the action sequences got ground into the floor.
W!ZARD News: Did it become difficult to walk around the set?
Robert Downey Jr.: It basically became a futuristic ice rink that was almost impossible to navigate. The floors looked so beautiful, but they were so slippery that it added unforeseen amount of excitement and danger to walking three steps. It also made everyone a much better dancer.
W!ZARD News: Every Marvel movie brings something new and different to its audience. What does Marvel's Avengers: Age of Ultron bring to the world this time?
Robert Downey Jr.: Having new people in the cast is great. We now have Elizabeth Olsen and Aaron Taylor-Johnson as Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver. We have Paul Bettany, who's been the voice of Jarvis all along, but now he gets to do something new with a character named Vision. And I think James Spader was a brilliant piece of casting for Ultron.
W!ZARD News: What's it like to work with James Spader?
Robert Downey Jr.: There are a lot of full circles going on with this movie. Probably the most personal one is James Spader. He was the first person I saw when I came to Los Angeles and he really took me under his wing. He's just a couple years older than me, but I think it was a very inspired casting choice [to have him in the movie]. Not just because he's on everyone's lips and minds again, but he really is a bit of an American treasure. I've certainly borrowed from his style more than a few times over the years.
W!ZARD News: What was it like to have Paul Bettany on the set of the movie this time?
Robert Downey Jr.: Another great full circle moment in this film is Paul Bettany coming in as Vision. Paul's been essentially with me from the beginning and it was so nice to actually get him on set instead of at the premieres. He's an amazing actor and it's a fantastic character.
W!ZARD News: What made you perfect for the role of Tony Stark? And how did you create the character in the first place?
Robert Downey Jr.: It was just this perfect storm of feeling like I could create the character within the guidelines of what he was always supposed to be. I always thought he was so cool when I read the comic books. I thought, 'Let's just keep it human and make sure there's enough wit in there so people don't think he's a stiff. If I do that, it will work out alright.'
W!ZARD News: How excited were you to return to the Marvel universe with another Avengers movie?
Robert Downey Jr.: I read Joss Whedon's script and I said, "I think this is great." Kevin Feige [the president of Marvel Studios] said, "You never say that. You can't mean that." I said, "Yeah, I think it's great. Let's go shoot it."
W!ZARD News: What did you like about the script?
Robert Downey Jr.: What I loved about this script was the further development of the complexities of the relationship between all The Avengers. I loved that Thor has a beef with me and then eventually has to give in and say I'm right. Joss created some great new situations for Tony to be in. So, rather than digging my heels and trying to rewrite every scene – to make them even better – I just showed up, and it turned out great.
W!ZARD News: What is it about the dynamic between you and Joss Whedon that works so well?
Robert Downey Jr.: It's a respect. Every director-actor relationship is so different. Joss is really in control and he likes to have authorship over things. For me, it was about being a little more receptive. In some ways, it makes the job easier because he has it figured out already. It's been great.
The biggest superhero film of the year is out now on 3D Blu-Ray™, Blu-Ray and DVD.