text:
By Ben Blanchard
BEIJING (Reuters) - China's government is giving no details on the trial of shamed senior leader Bo Xilai, the final chapter in its worst political scandal in decades, as speculation mounted the case could be heard as early as Monday.
A Beijing-backed Hong Kong newspaper, the Ta Kung Pao, reported on Friday that Bo's trial would begin on Monday in the southern Chinese city of Guiyang.
But the government has not confirmed or denied this, belying recent efforts to promote transparency and openness, and at least two well-informed sources said on Sunday the reports were not true.
However, a third source, who has ties to the leadership, said the trial would in fact begin on Monday in Guiyang.
It was not immediately possible to reconcile the conflicting reports. Reuters reporters in Guiyang said they could see no signs of heightened security so far, either around the main courthouse or in any other part of the city.
Once a contender for China's top leadership, Bo was ousted from his post as Communist Party chief in the southwestern city of Chongqing last year following his wife's murder of a British businessman, Neil Heywood.
Bo, 63, was widely tipped to be promoted to the party's elite inner core before his career unraveled. The downfall came after his former police chief, Wang Lijun, fled briefly to a U.S. consulate for last February and alleged that Bo's wife, Gu Kailai, had murdered Heywood with poison.
Gu and Wang have both since been convicted and jailed.
No criminal charges against Bo have yet been revealed, only accusations from the party of corruption and of bending the law to hush up Heywood's killing.
Bo was last seen in public in March and is being held in custody, though there has been no word where he is being held and he has not been allowed to defend himself in public.
China's new Communist Party chief Xi Jinping, who takes over from Hu Jintao as president in March, has made government accountability and fighting corruption two of his key themes since assuming his party role in November.
The party has also tried to show it is at least paying lip service to following legal procedures in pursuing the case against Bo.
"If they are doing this by the book and the trial is on Monday then there should have been a formal announcement by now," said Zhang Lifan, a Beijing-based political commentator.
"If they don't follow procedure, and hold the trial in great secrecy in a very low-key manner, it would be going against the convention (of the previous trials) and make people suspicious of the whole process and of government promises," he added.
The trial, when it does comes, is almost certain to be conducted behind closed doors, with access limited to close family members, a handful of state media and a carefully selected group of other observers.
In Gu's trial, British diplomats were allowed in, but only because she was accused of killing a British national.
After Gu and Wang's trials, court officials briefed the media, foreign press included.
Formal charges against both Gu and Wang were also announced ahead of their trials.
A source with direct knowledge of Bo's case, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said on Sunday that reports on the trial date were likely false and that the case was unlikely to begin on Monday.
Another source, who is close to Bo's family, also said such reports were incorrect.
Further adding to the confusion, several Chinese news websites on Sunday carried the entire Ta Kung Pao article about Bo's trial, but without attributing it to the Hong Kong newspaper or adding any other details.
(Additional reporting by Benjamin Kang Lim and Lucy Hornby, and Reuters reporters in GUIYANG, China; Editing by Raju Gopalakrishnan)


text:
Philadelphia Information Locator Service
Agency Information
Inspector General, Office of the[Record group 60-21]
Agency home page.
- Alternative/Former Names
- Performance Assessment, Office of
Agency Function
- The purpose of the office is to prevent or correct fraud, abuse, waste and mismanagement in the programs and operations of the government of the City of Philadelphia and to receive and investigate complaints concerning the operations of the City government. The office has the authority to receive and investigate criminal and/or serious integrity-related complaints of fraud, corruption, and abuse involving City employees/officials and contractors, vendors, and consultants doing business with the City. It is authorized to investigate all complaints in all departments, commissions, boards, and authorities under the Mayor's jurisdiction, in any quasi-governmental agency whose director is appointed by the Mayor, and in such other cases as the Mayor shall direct.
- Agency History
- The Office of the Inspector General was established on 22 May 1984 under Executive Order 10-84 and amended on 1 March 1985. The initial name of the office under Executive Order 10-84 was the Office of Performance Assessment. This name was changed effective 11 February 1985 under the amendment to the Executive Order signed 1 March 1985. Executive Order 2-89, signed on 14 March 1989, gave the Inspector General subpoena powers.
On 28 November 1994, under Executive Order 4-94, Mayor Rendell, invoking Section 4-106 of the Home Rule Charter, established the organization, mission and jurisdiction of the Office of the Inspector General. Section 4-106 of the Charter created the original Mayor's Office of Information and Complaints.
- Archival Records
- No holdings
- Current Records
- Unavailable
Links to related information...
PhILS Home
-->City Agencies
---->Current Agency Information Sheet. (Graphical version of this page)
Send your comments to firstname.lastname@example.com
Last updated on April 24, 2000

subset: commoncrawl


text:
App featuring fallen WWII Nashua soldier links latest generation with the GreatestBy NANCY BEAN FOSTER
Union Leader Correspondent
November 10. 2013 9:26PM
The story of a Nashua soldier killed while fighting in Europe in 1945 is part of a new smart phone app created by the Trust for the National Mall to help the latest generation understand the sacrifices of the Greatest Generation.
The app, which can be downloaded on both Apple and Android phones and devices, was created by the trust as part of the organization's 21st Century Learning Initiative. The Trust, in partnership with the National Parks Service, oversees the National Mall — including the World War II memorial visited by millions every year — according to Trust President Caroline Cunningham.
The app, unveiled last week, appeals to a generation that communicates electronically, said Farrah Kim, public relations representative for the trust. The app contains detailed maps of the World War II memorial, interactive activities such as a scavenger hunt, and information about crucial battles in both Europe and the Pacific.
"Initiatives like this will help to educate a whole new generation about the National Mall and what it stands for," said Bob Vogel, superintendent of the National Mall and Memorial Parks. "We know that young people are interacting with the world in new ways and that the National Park Service needs to keep up if we are to remain relevant. This app will help us do that."
The app seeks to bring the memorial home with information about the contributions each state made to the war effort. According to the app, for instance, more than 60,000 men and women from New Hampshire, out of a 1940 population of 491,524, served during the war. The app also personalizes the war by telling the story of one service member from each state. For New Hampshire, that soldier is PFC Paul Lavoie of Nashua. Lavoie joined the Army on Feb. 9, 1943, a month before his 20th birthday, and eventually traveled with Company C of the 309th regiment, 78th division across the Atlantic.
He was killed in action on Feb. 10, 1945, at the Schwammenauel Dam in Schmidt, Germany. Lavoie's story was painstakingly researched by his niece, Aimee Fogg of Gilsum, who set out on a journey to discover the missing pieces of her uncle's story and wound up in Belgium at the Henri-Chapelle American Military Cemetery, where he is buried. Fogg, who never met her uncle, later began researching the stories of other New Hampshire troops buried at Henri-Chapelle, and wrote a book to honor them, "Granite Men."
"People argue that the younger generations are going to forget about World War II," Fogg said, "but here you have members of younger generations who took the time and interest to create an app that honors the Greatest Generation."
The app isn't just for young people, Kim said, but for anyone visiting the memorial. The Trust for the National Mall has a goal of creating similar apps for all of the war memorials on the Mall.


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Anyone want to learn together?
Discussions for those using the Genki Textbook series
Post Reply
- fujoshi kitty
- Posts: 3
- Joined: Sat 03.24.2012 6:23 pm
- Native language: english
Re: Anyone want to learn together?
hi i'm new here and i started learning Japanese with Genki but i stopped for a while. I think i'm on like chapter 10, but I would need to review like everything. I would really like studying together!
- Curry_Girl
- Posts: 21
- Joined: Wed 09.22.2010 12:39 pm
- Native language: American English
- Contact:
Re: Anyone want to learn together?
Well I'm not really new here, I've literally lurked here for probably eight or nine years, but I have gotten about halfway through Genki 1 and am about to review all 6 chapters I've gone through. I know I've missed some stuff from being sick in the class we used them in and know it's very helpful to everyone to have even a little talk here and there, so I'm up for studying together too, even if its all the way from the beginning again.
- Posts: 3
- Joined: Wed 10.10.2012 4:34 pm
- Native language: English; Afrikaans
Re: Anyone want to learn together?
I have been looking for something like this for 9 months now! I blame bad Google search terms. Anyway, I am on lesson 4, but I would like to review lessons 1-3 with someone, seeing as I can't complete some of the practices as I cannot think of sentences for some of the practices. I have requested to join the Facebook group as well. I really want someone to study with me.
Post Reply


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Best bird-watching in Brevard County? Try the dump or sewage plant
Space Coast Birding and Wildlife Festival brings thousands to Brevard County
It's not exactly a place you'd call beautiful, but there is beauty at the Brevard County dump, and also at the Brevard County sewage treatment plant.
In fact, Darcy Dingle, of Ontario, Canada, was one of thousands who arrived at the dump to take in the sights this week.
"I saw my first yellow-bellied sapsucker," she said.
The thousands of attendees at the Space Coast Birding and Wildlife Festival are being taken to the sewage plant and the dump because those are some of the best spots for bird watching.
With powerful cameras and telescopes, they're clicking away, as part of the largest birding festival in America.
The bird lovers also get to go to the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge, the Indian River Lagoon, the Kennedy Space Center, Dixie Crossroads and other places.
But the bird-watching was so good at the dump, some may be telling their friends about it back home.
Upload your wildlife photos on u local:


text:
My trusty little computer's decided to take a vacation. Blank screen, that's all he's showing me these days. No speedy connection, no digital uploading, no printing anything.
Apologies to anyone waiting for the Golden Cardigan (don't worry, I do have a printout to retype!) or for pics of the finished Smocked Cardigan.
It's going out to be fixed, and hopefully by next week I'll be able to reload all my camera software and find the PDFs again - but in the meantime, all I've got is email and some limited surfing capability. (This old computer works, but freezes after a few image laden pages)
Looks like a holiday weekend for everyone around here - human or not.
:-) enjoy the long break - from me and from work!


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Cajuns Top Bulldogs, 89-80
Shawn Long
Louisiana's Ragin' Cajuns men's basketball team recorded a non-conference road victory on Wednesday evening, defeating the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs, 89-80, in Ruston, Louisiana.
Louisiana led at halftime, 44-39, and then outscored Louisiana Tech, 45-41 in the second half, as they went on to the 9-point win.
The Cajuns were out-rebounded by Louisiana Tech, 47-44, but out-shot the Bulldogs from the floor, 49%-42%.
Kasey Shepard came off the bench for his best collegiate performance, scoring a career-high 22 points on 8-10 shooting from the field.
Shawn Long and Elfrid Payton were solid as usual as each scored 17 points. Long had a game-high 12 rebounds, while Payton added 10.
Xavian Rimmer also had another strong game for the Cajuns, contributing 15 points off the bench.
In a losing cause for Louisiana Tech, Alex Hamilton scored 17 points.
With the victory, Louisiana improved to 6-2 on the young season, while the Bullldogs dropped to 6-2.
The Cajuns return to action on Saturday afternoon, when they travel to take on the Louisville Cardinals.


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LONDON (Reuters) - Gem Archer, guitarist of British singer Liam Gallagher's band Beady Eye, has been hospitalized for "severe head trauma" after an accident last Thursday evening, according to a statement posted on the band's website.
Archer is stable but being kept under observation in a British hospital. The band have canceled their shows this week in Belgium and Japan.
His family and friends "hope to see him back on his feet soon", according to the statement on Monday, which said that an update on Archer's condition will be posted on the website.
"Wanna wish my brother @gemarcherbe a speedy recovery X" tweeted fellow band member Andy Bell last weekend.
Beady Eye was formed in 2009, following the break-up of the chart-topping Britpop band Oasis, which was founded by brothers Liam and Noel Gallagher.
Beady Eye also includes guitarist Andy Bell together with drummer Chris Sharrock, all former Oasis members. They were joined by Kasabian guitarist Jay Mehler in 2013. Their 2013 album "Be" peaked at second place in the UK charts.
(Reporting By Amritha John, editing by Paul Casciato)


text:
Celebrities react to Angelina Jolie's revelation Tuesday in a New York Times editorial that she underwent a preventive double mastectomy:
— "She'll have empowered millions of women all over world. She is sexier than ever." — Sharon Osbourne, who announced last year that she underwent the same preventive procedure.
— "Huge prayers for Angelina Jolie & her family as she convalesces & bravo for raising awareness! (hash)GetWellSoonAngie" — Actress Octavia Spencer on Twitter.
— "Angelina Jolie reveals double mastectomy. Proud of her for using her incredible platform to educate women." — TV personality and breast cancer survivor Giuliana Rancic on Twitter.
— "There is no difference between the star Angelina Jolie and the woman Angelina Jolie. The choices she made even as a director are still strong, when you read what she wrote about her own situation, and we all know that she didn't do that for herself but as giving an example to all the women on this planet earth who are suffering from the same disease." — Cannes Film Festival director Thierry Fremaux.
— "It's definitely a personal choice for her. But I understand her point that she's trying to create awareness for women throughout the world so that they can prevent getting breast cancer. So I think she's trying to do a positive thing." — Victoria's Secret model Adriana Lima at a Victoria's Secret event in Santa Monica, Calif.
— "This absolutely blew my mind. Angelina Jolie speaking out about a difficult decision that will inform + empower others." — Actress Nina Dobrev, on her website.
— "(hash)angelinajolie thank you for sharing your story and helping women around the world (hash)inspirational" — Singer and breast cancer survivor Kylie Minogue on Twitter.
— "Always liked Angelina Jolie... After today she's a real hero for being so brave in sharing her story & educating millions of women." — Tweeted TV personality Mario Lopez.
— "Not sure if I could ever face harsh reality as calmly, pragmatically, and fearlessly as Angelina Jolie did. Still kinda stunned." — Comedian Patton Oswalt on Twitter.
Associated Press writer Ryan Pearson contributed to this report from Los Angeles.


text:
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The stunningly beautiful Shun line of kitchen cutlery is forged by Kai in Japan and distributed through Kershaw. The san mai damascus blade reduces sticking and results in less damage to the food being cut and faster prep times. A stainless steel VG-10 center core (Jigane) is clad with 16 layers of SUS410 high-carbon stainless steel on each side. VG-10 "super steel" is composed of carbon, chromium, cobalt, manganese, molybdenum, silicon and vanadium, resulting in a long-lasting, high-performance edge with easy maintenance. 'D' shape Black Pakkawood handles provide beauty and function. The 'D' shape is designed for right handed users and provides maximum comfort and control. Pakkawood provides strength and stability along with moisture resistance.
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Cincinnati-based restaurant changing to Pepsi
Cincinnati-based restaurant changing to Pepsi
Big Boy is switching soft drinks.
Cincinnati-based Frisch's Restaurants is going to offer Pepsi and Dr. Pepper, after five decades of Coca-Cola products. All 96 company-owned Frisch's Big Boy restaurants and 24 franchised eateries are converting over the month. The regional chain has restaurants around Ohio, Kentucky and Indiana.
The Cincinnati Enquirer reports that the publicly traded company decided to make the change as a new contract came up. Marketing vice president Karen Maier says the new contract is for seven years.
She says Frisch's knows that generations of its customers have enjoyed cherry or vanilla Cokes, but says the company found that Pepsi versions were popular at a Toledo franchisee's restaurant.


text:
Message Board
Jennifer St. Clair Message Board
Talk about the novels, new and used books that Clair has written!
Author Clair's Book Reviews
The Tenth Ghost
Jacob Lane has always been different. First of all, her parents named her Jacob, so everyone thinks she is a boy until they meet her. Then there is her best friend, Emma, who is a ghost and was murdered and buried under the apple tree years ago. She also leaves food out for the fairies who live behind her house. Jacob doesn't know why Emma woke her up in the middle of the night, but she can tell that something is wrong and so Jacob follows Emma to hide u...


text:
Drowning in Digital Democracy: Part I
By J.C. Caruso
It's become commonplace, and maybe even a little passé, to describe our own ongoing digital revolution as analogous the advent of Gutenberg's printing press in the 15th century. Indeed, some points of comparison do continue to seem remarkably apt. For example, the role of printed documents in spreading new ideas during the Reformation looks a lot like activists using Facebook and Twitter to share news and schedule protests during the Arab Spring. Both show how technology can be a powerful force for democratization. (Apologies if I'm stepping on any toes by seeming to valorize the Reformation as a positively democratic movement on the blog of a Catholic university, but you know what I mean.)


text:
Goodyear Assurance Fuel Max
Description: The newest generation of technological innovations is helping create tires that can help you save money at the fuel pump. Goodyear's new Assurance Fuel Max tires use a technology to better link and distribute materials within the tire compound to decrease rolling resistance without sacrificing all-season traction or tread life. The result is a fuel-efficient solution that can potentially save drivers 2,600 miles worth of gas over the life of four tires. Fuel Max tires are available in 33 sizes, fit more than 80 percent of vehicles on the road and can accommodate 15"-17" wheels.
Price: $75.00 to $145.00


text:
Minimal Edge
March 8, 2017
You May Also Like
6 comments
I love your hair length! But probably because I have the same cut lol. I actually don't miss my long hair at all. I have so much of it and it started to bore me. Also slaying in this look!! xReplyDelete
Thank you!! I just miss the beauty of long hair and the fact that I have to be patient to have long hair is sort of frustrating sometimesDelete
- AnonymousMarch 9, 2017 at 3:44 PM
I think minimalistic looks are so chic! I really love the neutral colors that you paired together in this outfit. Amazing outfit as always. :)ReplyDeleteReplies
Aww~ thank you so much Jennifer. I don't really dress minimal but it really does make me feel truly urban chicDelete
Love the camel coat! Perfect with black! :)ReplyDelete
Looking great! :)
YouTube | Blog: Geekette in High Heels | Instagram
Really love your outfit!ReplyDelete


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Part 10 of 10 Gnomes has been released and is called Seashore.
10 Gnomes is a point and click hidden object type of puzzle game and also in this episode of 10 Gnomes you'll have to find 10 gnomes hidden in the pictures and you have got only ten minutes to do that. Happy Puzzling!
Tags: 10 Gnomes | Puzzle Game


text:
equal parts to 5ml of tincture 4 times a day
Mentha piperita oil applied topically may reduce the pain through a mild local numbing effect. Do not attempt this if the skin is extremely sensitive.
Colloidal oatmeal powder may be dusted on the effected skin to act as a dry lubricant, hopefully reducing pain from contact with clothes.
Actions supplied by this combination :
Never use hand bulb syringes as several deaths have been reported from air embolism after use of bulb syringes.
The douche bag should be placed not more than 2 feet above the level of the hips to prevent high fluid pressure.
The nozzle should not be inserted more than 3 inches into the vagina.
Never douche if membranes are ruptured or, if pregnant, there is any indication of amniotic fluid leaking


text:
I'm Ally Michelson I'm 17 and a senior in high school...
One Summer
- by Shootingstar18
- Rating:
- Published: 30 Mar 2014
- Updated: 10 Nov 2014
- Status: In Progress
My name is Kate Adams and I'm starting my senior year well I have to get through summer first. My mom is sending me to one of her friends house to stay with them for the summer because her and my dad are going to stay at a research facility because my dad has cancer. I thought it would be a quit summer but I forgot the people I'm living with Susan and John Williams have a son named Jace Williams,we werent friends when we were kids and never kept contact, yes we hated I mean hate each other that much. I hope I can survive the summer, I really do...
(May contain false language and cursing)
(May contain false language and cursing)
Join MovellasFind out what all the buzz is about. Join now to start sharing your creativity and passion
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text:
• One female cadet
• Four black cadets
• One Asian cadet
• One Hispanic cadet
• Out of the 24 cadets enrolled in Chattanooga police academy, the youngest is 21 and the oldest is 39 years old.
• 1 1/2 mile run completed within 14 min 36 seconds
• 25 push ups in a minute
• 29 sits ups in a minute
• Cadets must be able to bench press 82 percent of their bodyweight
• Complete a vertical jump of 18 and a half inches
• Run 300 meter run in 60 seconds
Four rows of mostly young men with buzzed haircuts stand at ease with their hands clasped behind their backs inside a training room on Amnicola Highway. Only one woman stands among them, her hair neatly swept back in a bun.
After 20 weeks of training, the cadets who meet the standards will become the newest members of the Chattanooga Police Department by early summer.
Police Chief Bobby Dodd said he hopes to increase the number of officers on Chattanooga streets. The department is authorized to have 470 officers, but has 12 openings due to retirements, people quitting and terminations which has left the number of officers at 458.
The department has an agreement with the mayor and council members to increase the number of officers to 500 by 2015.
"Our biggest concern is violence. Gun violence. Gang violence. Things like that. I've got 10 officers and a supervisor on my crime suppression unit. Basically, our gang investigation and response unit," he said.
In addition, he said the city's annexation of more land will require more officers.
"We're fine with the coverage we have, but eventually if you continue to annex and the calls for service go up, we'll have to have more officers."
A University of California at Berkeley study released in November supports the need for more officers within the city.
The study, which examined 242 police departments nationwide, analyzed city populations, crime data, projected costs of crime and department staffing levels.
About 75 percent -- 183 -- are underpoliced, including Chattanooga and all of the other major metro cities in Tennessee.
When compared to other metro police departments within the state, Chattanooga is the best-staffed department.
However, the cost of Chattanooga's crimes still outweighs the cost of adding more police officers, the study found.
"In many ways police are just like insurance, in the sense, even if you aren't a victim of a crime, having police around reduces the risk of it," said Justin McCrary, a Berkeley professor of law.
The study shows other Tennessee cities are more underpoliced than Chattanooga. Memphis and Knoxville are among the top 30 underpoliced cities.
The most under-policed city is Gary, Ind., followed by New Orleans and Flint, Mich. The most over-policed cities are Sunnyvale, Calif., followed by Waltham, Mass., and Torrance, Calif.
Police reduce violent crime more so than property crime, the study found.
"It's not a benefit that will be realized in a pocketbook," McCrary said. "The benefit is there is less chance you'll be victim of a crime."
Policing not for everyone
In the classroom, cadets listen to lectures on state laws, city ordinances, search and seizure laws and firearms training. Part of their time is spent practicing defensive moves and undergoing physical training.
A sign on a classroom wall shows a picture of the late Sgt. Tim Chapin, who was shot and killed in the line of duty two years ago. The words, "Dedication. Service. Sacrifice," are listed below with an American flag background. A motto reading, "Lead, follow or get out of the way," marks a blue sign above Chapin's picture. Pictures of past academy graduating classes line the walls.
Not all of the cadets are expected to don uniforms or even complete training on the street when paired with a field training officer.
"We try to have at least one academy with 30 to 35 cadets in it. Then we'll probably lose between five to 10 of those in the process of the academy or in field training," Dodd said. "We're hoping we'll gain 10 people per year."
One officer dropped out after hearing a recording of the radio traffic leading up to the deaths of two Chattanooga officers. Audio was played of officers responding to the robbery when Chapin was shot and killed in 2011 and the call when Officer Julie Jacks was killed in 2002. Cadets also watched a video of an officer from another department who was shot in the face with a shotgun. He survived.
"[The cadet] wasn't sure it was the job for him," Dodd said. "He said he didn't want his indecisiveness to lead to him or someone else getting hurt or killed."
Cadets who fail more than three written exams are kicked out. Some don't meet the physical training requirements. Some aren't proficient in handling a gun.
It takes work to increase the number of officers on the streets, who serve as the backbone of the department.
"I don't think you're ever going to see a community or department say, 'We have too many officers,'" said Joe Carpenter, who is a full-time instructor at the police academy. "Or anyone say, 'I think we're too safe.' You can always use more."
The backgrounds of the cadets vary.
"You have some military guys. You have some college kids and you've got everything in between," Carpenter said.
Reginald Pilinko, 31, a cadet who has 10 years of experience in the military and working for a federal agency, said the academy strikes a balance between creating physical intensity and mental stress to help students learn what the job requires.
Despite the risks that instructors describe, Pilinko said he believes the job is for him.
"Personally, it's just part of who God's made me to be. There are certain people I think all they ever wanted to do was be a lawyer and that's in their hearts," he said. "And for me, I always wanted to run down bad guys and take care of good people. That's the way I am."


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Cottage, The (UK - DVD R2)
Scott McKenzie takes a trip to the country for blood, swearing and other silliness...
With debts to pay off and personal issues to resolve, brothers David (Andy Serkis) and Peter (Reece Shearsmith) arrive at a cottage in the countryside. Their companion is the bound and gagged Tracey, a gangster's daughter, who they are holding for ransom. However, when Tracey wakes up it's clear that she's not going to go along with their plan. In addition to their angry hostage, the brothers also have to worry about the owner of the nearby farm, who has his own way of dealing with trespassers.
The Cottage is director Paul Andrew Williams' follow-up to his 2006 film London to Brighton. The change in tone is different, with latter's dark, gritty realism a stark contrast to The Cottage, which is almost a spoof movie. At the heart of the story is the relationship between the brothers. Their bickering and occasional slapstick exploits immediately made me think of Laurel and Hardy and the film is constructed in such a way that we get Laurel and Hardy Go Kidnapping for most of the movie, followed by Laurel and Hardy in The Texas Chainsaw Massacre for the final thirty minutes.
It's definitely a film of two halves, with a structure that feels a little bit like From Dusk Till Dawn. Most of the running time is spent on the bungled kidnapping, and it's only in the final act that we're introduced to the Leatherface-style bad guy. The results are suitably gory in a charming Bad Taste kind of way but I felt that while the earlier scenes allowed for inventive moments and some good dialogue, it turns into a parody of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. The closing moments are clever and while there's not exactly a twist in the tale, most viewers will see the end shot coming a mile off.
The two central performances carry the movie, especially when some of the jokes fail to hit the mark, and it's good to see Andy Serkis in a central role with decent screen time that doesn't involve CG motion capture. Not being a Brookside fan, I'm pretty sure this is the first time I've seen Jennifer Ellison in anything, but I suspect that the role of Tracey isn't significantly stretching her acting abilities. If you want an angry blonde scouser, she seems like the right person to call on. Be warned–an incredible amount of swearing comes out of her mouth, including some creative uses of expletive nouns as verbs. You'll know what I mean when you hear it.
Its quite easy to draw comparisons between The Cottage and recent British comedy horror fare like Severance. Comedy and horror are two genres that don't tend to mix well together but here it just about works. There are some laugh-out-loud moments but there are also some cheap gags and the blood doesn't start flowing until it's too late. There's even a gag lifted straight out of Severance so if you're in the mood for some British horror comedy, I'd go for that movie before The Cottage. That's not to say it's a bad movie–it's an enjoyable movie from start to finish–but given the genres, it's not difficult to find horror movies that are scarier or comedy movies that are funnier.
The Cottage is presented with a 2.35:1 anamorphic picture and given that the film is set over the course of one night, you won't be surprised to discover that the picture is pretty dark for most of the running time. Unfortunately the picture quality doesn't quite live up to the requirements and there are some problems. The picture is quite a bit lighter than it needs to be, with black looking so much like grey that you'll be reaching for the brightness controls on your TV remote. The darkest scenes also suffer from a lack of detail, in particular during the wide shots in the woods, where the blue lighting seems to blur the details in the background.
This DVD comes with a Dolby Digital 5.1 track, but there is also an audio description option if you dig deep enough in the extras menu. The score plays an important role in setting the tone of the movie and as we go through the opening credits, it's easy to imagine how the tone could have been closer to that of London to Brighton if the music wasn't so light-hearted. The quality of the audio is generally better than the unimpressive picture, with clear dialogue and music along with the all-important squelch effects when we get to the gory scenes. The only issue I did notice was that in a couple of scenes there appeared to be a sync problem. It's not a major problem and only occurred on a few lines of dialogue so there's a decent chance you might not even notice it.
Paul Andrew Williams supplies a very honest commentary track, where he points out where the final version of the movie matches the storyboards, but he's just as keen to talk about the things that didn't quite work. He's frank about everything to do with the production and it's refreshing to hear from a filmmaker who is well aware of his limitations without resorting to moaning about the low budget. He also provides an optional commentary for the deleted scenes in 'What Got Chopped?'. Again, he discusses the problems with the scenes that generally would have slowed down the pace of the movie and seems to enjoy itching about an alternative opening scene that he particularly dislikes.
At fifteen minutes long, the 'Making of' featurette is relatively short but still manages to take in many aspects of the production. We see the actors on the night shoots, which made up most of the production and meant they had to work from 7pm to 7am every day. We also get to see Laura Rossi composing and conducting the original music and the director's obvious respect for the work she is doing. There are then a few minutes' worth of outtakes, showing the cast screwing up their lines, messing around on set and failing to get props to work. A photo gallery shows behind the scenes shots of the production but it's pretty short and is less than a minute long. In addition, we get a trailer for The Cottage and, harking back to the first DVDs you bought when the shiny discs came out ten years ago, pages and pages of text under the title of 'Cast and Crew Biographies'.
The Cottage is worth a watch for fans of British horror and the central performances carry a movie that doesn't have too much to offer in the way of originality. The video quality isn't up to the standard we expect to find on DVD nowadays and while there appears to be a good selection of extras if the list on the case is to be believed, there isn't much meat on the bones. With the dodgy picture and text-based extras, this release feels a bit like a DVD from 1998, not 2008.
Review by Scott McKenzie
Suitable only for persons of 18 years and over
Disc Details
Release Date: 14th July 2008
Discs: 1
Disc Type: Single side, dual layer
RCE: No
Video: PAL
Aspect: 2.35:1
Anamorphic: Yes
Colour: Yes
Audio: Dolby Digital 5.1 English
Subtitles: English
Extras: Director's Commentary, The Making Of The Cottage, What Got Chopped, Outtakes, Cast and Crew Biographies, Production Photo Gallery, Trailer
Easter Egg: No
Feature Details
Director: Paul Andrew Williams
Cast: Andy Serkis, Reece Shearsmith, Jennifer Ellison
Genre: Comedy and Horror
Length: 87 minutes
6Review Guide
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Yeah I agree with the President, it's "repugnant and cowardly" to use children in political messages.
Sarcasm aside, as far as I can tell from reading between the lines, both sides of the debate are in favor of more police in schools. This is something the Democrats used to love (even Senator Chuck Schumer), so there doesn't seem to be anyone to oppose it. I thought it was hypocritical of David Gregory to trash the idea since his own kids are guarded by armed security. Perhaps now he'll be in favor of it via President Obama's executive order.
I'd love to see any data on violent crime incidents in schools with and without police being present. I think that's far more important than listening to the Democrats and Republicans bitch at each other.


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Melatonin cannot be patented for exclusive sale, so a number of companies manufacture and distribute it. A wide range of doses works for people. Each person has a unique physiology, hence, no blanket statements can be made. A person may also require a higher dose during nights when he or she is extremely alert, upset, preoccupied, or had a caffeinated evening drink.
It may be best to swallow a melatonin pill on an empty stomach or with a small meal. Melatonin taken on a full stomach does not seem to be as consistently effective. This may be because the pill is not fully absorbed, or simply absorbed too slowly.
After swallowing a pill, peak levels in the blood are found in about 1 hour. An interesting finding in a previously discussed study referred to in Chapter 1 (Waldhauser, 1990) was that the amount of melatonin present in the bloodstream of different volunteers sometimes varied by a factor of 300! This shows the uniqueness of each individual's absorption and metabolism.
Melatonin in the range of 0.1 mg to 5 mg is effective in inducing a natural yawn and maintaining a deep sleep in most people.
An article published in the May, 1995, issue of Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics (57:552-8) and titled "Sleep-inducing effects of low doses of melatonin ingested in the evening" gives us a good idea on appropriate dosages. Drs. Zhdanova and Wurtman, from MIT, gave volunteers 0.3 mg of melatonin and found it to be effective. This low dose was able to raise blood melatonin levels above 120 picograms per milliliter, a level present at night in children while in deep sleep (a picogram is one millionth of a milligram).
If you are planning to take melatonin for the first time, start with a dose in the range of 0.1 to 0.5 mg. Most tablets come in doses much higher than this so you may need to break them in small pieces. Capsules can be opened and a portion used. If these low doses are not effective, then you can take more the following nights.
If there is no response to pills, sublingual lozenges can be tried. Lozenges seem to be more consistently effective in inducing sleep than pills since they are not absorbed from the stomach and metabolized by the liver— which can greatly reduce the amount reaching the bloodstream. Instead, the melatonin dissolves in the mouth and directly enters the bloodstream. Some individuals find that a small dose from a lozenge may be as effective as a large dose from a pill.
There are some people who respond weakly even to high doses. Ted, a 23 year old student, informs me, "I took what I believe was an overdose, two 3 mg pills and two 5 mg lozenges, a total of 16 mg. It did seem to induce in me that sleepy state right before one falls asleep, but the feeling wasn't overwhelming. In fact, I only felt sleepy when I laid on my bed; otherwise I think I could have stayed up longer."


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Barnes & Noble (NYSE:BKS) is the largest bookseller in terms of sales revenue in the United States.The company operates 1300+ stores and an online retailer Barnes & Noble.com. Its core business model relies on building local bookstores with comprehensive selection, attractive discounts and membership discount programs, and a community-gathering-place environment (e.g., the inclusion of a Starbucks cafe in each Barnes & Noble store).
Barnes & Noble has been suffering from diminishing margins as sales in the company's retail store struggle. Declining operating margins were mainly caused by higher discounts offered to compete with lower-priced online booksellers, one of the main negative pressures the print industry is facing right now due to a number of negative industry trends. To mitigate the company's slower retail book sales, Barnes & Noble has put a large amount of resources into the developing eBook market. As the demand for portable and low-cost books increases, the market for eBooks and eReaders will grow as well. Barnes & Noble's Nook offers wireless connectivity and access to millions of books. The company does face intense competition in the relatively young market, primarily from Amazon's Kindle 3, which has many of the same features as the Nook. The two companies have been engaged in price wars over the eReaders, something that is risky for Barnes & Noble. The two competitors also face competition from non-exclusive eReaders such as Apple's iPad.
Although the company does not give specific breakdowns of its business segments, it sells products in these general categories:
The electronic book (eBook) revolution has arrived. Electronic readers (eReaders) offer portability and storage, language attributes, low cost for book purchases, access to millions of free books, and a smaller carbon footprint compared to print books among other benefits. As a result, eBook demand has skyrocketed, with revenue in the industry reaching $398 million in 2009 and expected sales to be $2.5 billion by 2013.[2]
The eBook revolution has spurred companies like Barnes & Noble and Amazon to develop their own eReaders. The two top eReaders in the market by sales are Barnes & Noble's Nook and Amazon's Kindle 3.
Much of the slowdown in the sales revenue of the print retailers may be attributed to the increasing popularity and convenience of online retailers, especially Amazon.com. In fact, Barnes & Nobles expects the physical book market to decrease from $21 billion to $19 billion by 2013. Many online retailers are also a part of the CD and DVD retail segment, where Barnes & Noble has limited its exposure so as not to suffer from lagging sales of CDs due to digital media devices (mp3s), another edge for online retailers. To compete in the e-commerce sphere, Barnes & Noble established its own online retailing website.
The retail book market is slow to change and is at this point closed off from new superstore entrants. Barnes & Nobles looks to use its strong position as the leading U.S. bookseller to capitalize on its contracts with Starbucks for in-store cafes to maintain and grow its market share. Barnes & Nobles competes on two fronts, with other physical retailers and with internet booksellers.
Barnes & Noble competes with other companies who share its model of having massive book superstores with thousands of titles.
Amazon.com is the largest online competition for Barnes & Noble. Formerly partnered with Borders, Amazon offers the convenience of never having to leave your home to buy a book. Additionally, without some of the overhead inherent for B&M stores, Amazon.com can offer low prices or free shipping, leading to further price competition. Amazon also competes with Barnes & Noble's Nook in the eReader market with the Kindle 3.
Wal-Mart and Target are the main retail megastores, which sell everything from books to clothes to groceries. Despite not being a core sales segment of their business, these larger stores have had an impact on the sale of books by making best sellers more widely available. This puts pressure on traditional book retailers like Barnes & Noble to cut prices on bestsellers to retain store traffic, leading to diminished margins.


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In the state of Alabama, life seems to revolve around family, religion and football. Robin Thicke couldn't imagine the blurred lines between those tenets when Alabama and Auburn meet in a game the magnitude of the Iron Bowl.
This rivalry is full of landmark moments and defining games. Many carry significance beyond the playing field and into the culture of the state and fan bases. After decades of opposition to moving the game from Birmingham, Ala., the teams finally agreed to play in Auburn in 1989. Former Auburn coach Pat Dye likened it to the Berlin Wall falling. Former Auburn athletic director David Housel described it using a religious connotation: "Our people came home, came to Mecca."
Hyperbolic religious metaphors that imply the Almighty smiles more favorably on Auburn chafe Alabama fans. The Crimson Tide faithful's reverence for Bear Bryant and Nick Saban as coaching deities similarly irritate Tigers fans. Let's face it. They just don't agree on much.
For all of the memorable games in this series, few have carried the national stakes that this one does. The one that most closely aligns is the 1971 clash. Both teams were undefeated and ranked in the top five and Auburn quarterback Pat Sullivan won the Heisman Trophy that year. But Alabama, in its first year running the wishbone, rolled over the Tigers 31-7 and went on to play for the national championship.
There have been countless other games in which one team was playing for a title and the other was trying to be a spoiler. There are a handful of meetings in which one was trying to keep its rival from winning an outright SEC crown or gain a share for itself.
But for the first time since the SEC split into divisions in 1992, Alabama and Auburn play for one spot in the SEC championship game. Winner take all.
Technically, if the Tigers win, the two will be SEC West regular-season co-champs. But make no mistake: This is all or nothing. Considering the national championship implications also in play, the stakes have never been higher in this series.
Auburn is second in the nation and leads the SEC in rushing, averaging 285 yards per game in conference play. Alabama has held the last three Tigers offenses designed by Gus Malzahn to at least 60 yards under their SEC average, never allowing more than 151 total yards. Absent turnovers or special teams play, Auburn will need to run the ball better than that to beat a Crimson Tide defense that has allowed only five touchdowns in the post-Johnny Football part of the season.
Watch where the Auburn running backs first take contact. The Tigers get at least 5 yards past the line of scrimmage before taking a hit 31 percent of the time. That leads the conference. Alabama allows runners, on average, to get just 2 yards past the line before getting a hit on them. That also leads the SEC.
Alabama's C.J. Mosley has been brilliant at linebacker, and managing his unit's aggression early will be key.
AJ McCarron ranks 10th in the country in QBR and his importance to the Crimson Tide's offense can't be measured by the most advanced metrics. He orchestrates the running game while using his arm to keep Alabama among the most balanced offenses in the country.
Alabama seems to have used more zone runs this year, and Auburn has been vulnerable at times against the running game. If the Tigers sell out to stop the Bama ground game and dare McCarron to beat them, Alabama will have to take advantage with big plays. The Tide have the weapons to do it. Amari Cooper, Kevin Norwood and Christion Jones are dynamic threats on the outside.
Keep an eye on freshman tight end O.J. Howard in this game, too. Georgia made big plays with its tight end against Auburn. Howard is a veritable nightmare matchup for anyone.
The strength of the Tigers' defense is its pass rush, led by Dee Ford and the playmaking ability of cornerback Robenson Therezie. Veteran defensive coordinator Ellis Johnson might choose to try to force the Tide to throw it even more than normal in hopes of getting those two guys in position to make game-changing plays.
Alabama is accustomed to playing in gargantuan, hyped games. Will Auburn feel the heat or will playing at home to cap their massive turnaround season make the Tigers feel as if they're playing with house money? The mental approach will be huge.
Bragging rights will still be earned. The consequences of losing will be felt for an entire year, but this Tide-Tigers showdown is unique. The ramifications extend well beyond the borders of the Yellowhammer State and into the national championship picture.
Once upon a time, Ohio State-Michigan was a high-stakes affair for both sides in the national landscape. But the Wolverines' rough season has reduced them to spoiler. The Buckeyes need just one more upset above them to have a shot at playing for the national championship. Michigan could salvage its season by putting an end to that dream.
The Wolverines have lost three of the past four games and are fortunate that the slide isn't worse. Michigan gains only 3.16 yards per rush, ranking 112th in the country, and to say it has a turnover problem is like saying Two Chainz is less than subtle with his lyrics.
Michigan's defense has turned in respectable numbers, but the offense has put the defense in too many bad spots. The Wolverines will have to play at a level we haven't seen from them to have a chance. Throw in some rivalry week magic and there's always a chance. But what does it say about where Michigan is right now that I'm looking forward more to Ohio State-Michigan State than I am the Buckeyes and Wolverines? I doubt I'm alone in that assessment.
Clemson's season will be defined by whether it beats South Carolina.
That's harsh for a 10-win team with one of the ACC's all-time greats at quarterback, but that's the way it is.
The Tigers face-planted in their marquee moment against Florida State. They've wilted against the Gamecocks recently, too, losing four straight in the series. They've had to endure barbs from Steve Spurrier and assertions from Jadeveon Clowney that Tajh Boyd is afraid of him.
Boyd has passed for just 339 yards and has more picks than touchdowns in three games against the Gamecocks. He's also been sacked 14 times. Now is the Tigers' chance to stand up to Cocky or face having a somewhat hollow 10-win season. Beating Georgia when the Dawgs were near full strength was a great win. But that seems like a long time ago.
South Carolina is peaking and hopeful that a Missouri stumble will land them in the SEC championship game. Both South Carolina and Clemson have BCS bowl aspirations. This game will have a tinge of nasty Saturday night, and it will be delicious.
Watch the final score of the Florida State-Florida game. Gators brass continue to insist Will Muschamp will get one more year. How would the Noles hanging a huge number on the Gators impact that thinking? How would the appearance that the Noles were trying to hold the score down affect it?
There are no Pac-12 South implications, but Ed Orgeron could make one final statement to get the USC job by beating UCLA. I would be shocked if Coach O hops aboard Traveler on a permanent basis, but he's already given Trojans AD Pat Haden something to think about. He'd make him think even harder by avenging last year's beatdown at the hands of the Bruins.
On this Thanksgiving weekend, we have a bountiful harvest of football. Overindulge. It's worth every bite.
Back to All News


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So when the 2004 Far West High Cotton winner accepted his award at the Beltwide Cotton Conferences, he didn't mince any words about his feelings about the "environmental movement."
Starrh said his son, Fred, had pulled an article off the Internet that was taken from a speech given by Michael Crichton, the novelist. The article dealt with what Crichton calls the "Religion of Environmentalism."
"The religion of environmentalism, as I see it, is a regressive form of environmentalism," Starrh told the 250 persons who attended a breakfast honoring the winners from each of the four regions of the Cotton Belt. The High Cotton program is sponsored by Farm Press Publications through a grant to The Cotton Foundation.
"This is the environmental movement that says 'don't build dams, don't build new canals, don't do anything to interfere with nature," he said. "In fact, let's take it back to earlier days at all costs – people, people can go. Forests can go – 700,000 acres of land can be destroyed. Rockslides can ensure after that.
"This is happening in our state every day and in other parts of the country. Don't burn wood in your fireplace. Don't do this and don't do that."
But there's another form of religion that Starrh would like to see prevail in this ongoing struggle over the fate of the planet.
"I see Christianity and the basic tenets of our country as another form of environmentalism, what I call a true environmental concerns. It's a dual form, and it says we're concerned, we want do it right, but we're going to make some money doing it. We're going to provide jobs. We're going to do all these other things, and we're not going to stop the world. We're not going back; we're going forward. To me that's what it's all about."
Like the other winners, Starrh shared his award with family members, including his wife, Nancy; his two sons, Fred Jr. and Larry; daughters, Carol Kroeker, and her husband, Jay; and Ann Ashley, who farm with him on 12,000 acres near Shafter, Calif..
He also thanked members of the University of California Extension Service and scientists with the USDA Agricultural Research Service for their assistance.
Ernest Bippert, the 2004 High Cotton winner from the Southwest, thanked his family members, including his mother, who is 87 and still lives on their farm near Kingsville, Texas, and his mother-in-law, who also lives on the farm.
He expressed appreciation to Robert Schmitt, a longtime friend who persuaded him to try conservation tillage on his farm, and to members of the local Natural Resources Conservation Service and Farm Service Agency staffs, who have assisted his operation through the years. "Last but not least, we are thankful to our God Almighty, who has provided all things for us. I thank him for placing me in Texas, in the United States of America and in this free country," he said. "And I think him for placing me on the farm and guiding us through some real lean times.
"We are real excited about the future in agriculture. In fact, I think I've been more excited in the last couple of years than I've ever been in my life."
Coyt Hendon, winner from the Delta region for 2004, said he couldn't farm without his wife, Charlsie, and other family members.
"The last 20 years have been a roller coaster, but I'm looking forward to the next 20," said Hendon, who farms near Indianola, Miss.
Billy Sanders, the winner for the Southeast Region for 2004, said he wasn't accustomed to public speaking, but he wanted to thank his wife, Earlene, and family members and friends who have helped him through the years.
This year's program was co-sponsored by John Deere Co., Delta and Pine Land Co., Helena Chemical Co., Syngenta Crop Protection and U.S. Borax, Inc.


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Shell egg marketerís benchmark price for negotiated egg sales of USDA Grade AA and Grade AA in cartons, cents per dozen. This price does not reflect discounts or other contract terms.
(USDA Market News)
Des Moines, Iowa
Aug. 16
Benchmark prices are steady. Asking prices for next week are unchanged for Jumbo, 13 cents higher for Extra Large, 10 cents higher for Large and 8 cents higher for Medium and Small. Trade sentiment is firm. Demand is reported as seasonally moderate. Offerings are moderate with Extra Large offerings light. Supplies are light to moderate. Market activity is moderate. Small benchmark price $1.02.
Size Range Size Range
Jumbo 157 Extra large 147
Large 139 Medium 122
Prices to retailers, sales to volume buyers, USDA Grade AA and Grade AA, white eggs in cartons, delivered store door.
Size Range Size Range
Jumbo 139-151 Extra large 129-137
Large 116-128 Medium 102-110


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I am chipping away at my baby weight loss goal and so far so good. The weight is slowly coming off and I can feel my body getting back to normal. I have no big secret as to how I am getting myself back in shape, it is plain old diet and exercise. Like most people I wish there was some magic bullet to help me shed the unwanted pounds - but there isn't! Instead I am pulling back on the sweets and treating myself to the occasional wholesome treat like a slice of this carrot bread or brownie made with yogurt.
One of the things I love about this bread is that it still tastes amazingly warm and comforting, like all great quick breads, so you really don't notice the missing calories. The sweet carrot flavor and tangy glaze makes it perfect for spring. It is so more health-focused than the heavy chocolate desserts I was enjoying last fall! I made this spring carrot treat more wholesome with two simple changes: substituting yogurt for butter and cutting the amount of sugar in half. I even used Non-Fat PHILADELPHIA Cream Cheese for the glaze. I am thrilled to report that even with these recipe changes the loaf was still moist and fragrant like a carrot cake! I did note, however, that if I ever want it slightly richer I'll use this recipe for cream cheese frosting (yum!).
Of course, once this particular loaf out of the oven and ready to eat I had to exercise the third important part of weight loss - portion control! Luckily, I was able to pass off several pieces to my daughter for her outdoor class picnic and my husband took some to work. With just a few slices left for me I was in good shape. I satisfied my sweets craving without blowing my diet. I plan to make some next week for a brunch I am hosting. It will be the perfect treat for my friends. Here are some more delicious brunch recipes if you need ideas! Happy Spring!
Wholesome Carrot Bread with Cream Cheese Glaze
Serving Ideas
This simple loaf is the perfect easy snack when you are in the mood for a wholesome treat. It is also nice for a lunchbox snack. This would be a great recipe to make with kids! If you want to freeze this loaf wrap it in a double layer of plastic wrap. Glaze once it has been thawed.
20 minutes prep time, 40 minutes baking time
This was a very popular spring treat!
Make any day special with our Glazed Wholesome Carrot Bread recipe. The cream cheese glaze for this carrot bread recipe is literally the icing on the cake.
Total Time
Article by Kraft TasteMaker Kelsey Banfield. For more recipes and ideas, visit her blog at The Naptime Chef.
Please keep in mind that the bloggers opinions, advice and recipes are their own and do not necessarily reflect the opinion of Kraft Foods.
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#7489 - LAMBORGHINI GALLARDO BODY (200mm/WB255mm)
1/10Touring Car Size 200mm/Use 3mm offset wheel for 190mm width chassis
Italian super car fans, your car is here! New from HPI Racing is the stunning Lamborghini Gallardo body, available in both 190mm (#7389) and 200mm (#7489) versions. The Gallardo is the "affordable" exotic from Lamborghini, packed with high technology and a powerful 492 hp V10 engine mated to a full-time 4WD system. The sweeping design of the full-scale car has been accurately captured in our 1/10th scale R/C version, complete with a full sheet of highly detailed pre-cut decals and realistic light buckets that are perfect for concours display.
- Photorealistic die-cut premium vinyl decals include window frames, headlight, grille, taillights and more, plus official logos!
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- Melded from 0.030" clear polycarbonate plastic for durability and long life
- This is an officially licensed replica


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Eleanor Nelson, 90 - November 28, 2007
Eleanor D. Nelson, 90, of Gothenburg, died Wednesday, Nov. 21, 2007, at Gothenburg Long Term.
Services were held on Monday, Nov. 26, at Blase-Strauser Memorial Chapel with the Revs. Larry Viter and Rick Rehmert officiating. Burial was at the Gothenburg Cemetery.
Nelson was born Oct. 23, 1917, in Lincoln County to Ralph and Anna Ohlson Helberg.
She attended school at Hazel Dell School in Custer County and graduated from Callaway High School in 1935.
On Jan. 2, 1940, she was united in marriage to Elvin A. Nelson at Lexington. They couple made their home at Tallin Table and later moved to Callaway and then to Gothenburg in 1952.
Nelson moved to Gothenburg Long Term in 2002.
She was preceded in death by: her parents, Ralph and Anna; stepmother, Grace Gray Helberg; her husband, Elvin; three brothers and sisters-in-law—Roland (Beulah) Helberg, Lloyd (Delores) Helberg and Stanley (Donna) Helberg.
?Survivors include: a son, Rand E. Nelson of Benson, AZ; a daughter, Pamela (Ray) Slack of Gothenburg; three grandchildren—Lori (Lee) Matingly of Gig Harbur, WA, Lincoln Nelson of Aurora, CO, and Elvin Slack of Sheridan, WY; three great-grandchildren—Mathew Matingly, Mary Beyerle and Sadie Slack; three great-great-grandchildren; two sisters—Annable (Jim) Kubicka of Windsor, CA, and Cora (Morris) Devine of Gothenburg; numerous nieces and nephews.
Memorials are suggested to Gothenburg Long Term or donor's choice.
Online condolences may be sent to the family at www.blase strauser.com. Arrangements have been placed in the care of Blase-Strauser Memorial Chapel of Gothenburg.
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Description:IBM 1GB (2x512MB) ECC Chipkill DDR2 SDRAMPC2-5300 CL5 667MHz Buffered FBDIMMPart Number(s)
IBM Part# 39M5782
Note: Our Part# 39M5782 is guaranteedgenuine IBM product with an IBM serial number and logo. We do not sell 3rd party IBM memory.
Overview:The new IBM memory upgrade offerings let you upgrade standard system memory capacity, helping to improve overall system performance.


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I've been burning the midnight oil fine tuning the first of the "Challenge" books, and our first Mixed Blessings book, Simple Pleasures, is now very close. I just have a little more tweaking to do before I have a definite page count, then the cover can be finished, and it will be off to the printer.
Apart from editing, every Mixed Blessings book after this should be quite easy as the basic template stays the same. However, there will be a lot of gap filling required in all the future books, so stay tuned for opportunities to submit articles/poems/stories for any of these books.
With the publication of Timmy Boyle's book at the end of April, the Breath of Fresh Air Press door is definitely open and things are jumping. So get into the Challenge for chances to be published. Not only do you have that chance by placing in the Editors' Choice, but you also may be discovered just by entering. That's how I found Timmy.
AND don't forget the Page Turner contest. The winner each year will definitely be offered a publishing contract with Breath of Fresh Air Press.
Anyway, stay tuned. I will post something about the cover as soon as we have the front finalized (which it pretty much is right now).
Love, Deb


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|This article describes a concept which could impact a variety of companies, countries or industries. To see what companies and articles reference this concept page, click here.
In Venezuela, oil generates 80% of the country's total export revenues and contributes 50% of total government income. Oil accounts for 95% (!) of government revenues in Nigeria and 76% of government revenues, and the it accounts for 60% of export revenues in Russia. It's little wonder that these countries leaders want to control this key resource and source of government revenues. Imagine if this were the fiscal scenario in the U.S. and the U.S. Congress were looking for new sources of revenues to fund social programs like Social Security or Medicaid -- isn't it likely that Congress, always fearful of hiking taxes, would, look to a great money-generator such as oil for a few extra dollars? Especially if much of the oil output were not going towards U.S. consumption, but rather was being exported, say, to China.
Of course, as a democracy and a country where property rights are inherently supported, such nationalism is rare. However, recent rising oil and gas prices have only added to geo-political instability in the world's oil- and gas-producing regions. Energy nationalism in practice can mean everything from expropriation of assets (e.g., in Bolivia, where natural gas assets have been literally taken over by government) to heavy-handed negotiations of royalties with foreign investors. The former is viewed negatively, while the latter is somewhat par for the course in developing oil and gas assets. The average government take from local oil projects, in terms of royalties, tax revenues, etc., is 60% of total revenues generated, so governments are tending to get their share.
The crux of the problem is that the top oil and gas producing countries are generally "riskier" than the average country for foreign investment. As oil and gas prices go up, one can expect this risk to increase. See, for example, the charts at left, compiled from EIA and Transparency International data, demonstrate the real risk that the world runs every day it keeps pumping oil and gas. The rank is awarded by Transparency International for the country's "perceived corruption", where a rank of "1" indicates the world's least corrupt country (Finland, by the way), and a rank of "163" indicates the world's most corrupt country (Haiti, which unfortunately has limited natural resources on top of it's corruption problem).
Historically, oil and gas exploration was a "foreigner's game," with major Western oil and gas firms scouring the globe for the next great energy finds. Co-production and royalty agreements were common, but local governments typically required the deep pockets and expertise of foreign firms to assist in developing their oil assets. High oil prices, years of training and development of local expertise, and new competitions from other interested players (e.g., China) have shifted negotiating power to local governments. As a result, the National Oil Company (NOC) is on the rise again, with 17 of the top 20 oil producing companies in the world either state-owned NOCs or newly privatized former NOCs.
The companies who stand to benefit from nationalization and/or global instability are those without exposure to the riskiest regions. For example, STATOIL ASA (STO), Norway's leading oil company, is reasonably insulated from the nationalization trend. In the United States, the small stockholders would gain by reduced gas prices, a stronger economy throughout the United States. There would also be much more investment capital.
Most of the integrated oil majors have presence anywhere there may be oil, and certainly among the top oil exporting countries. For example, the top five oil producing companies in Nigeria include Shell (900,000 bpd), Exxon Mobil (XOM) (500,000 bpd), and ChevronTexaco (CVX) (465,000 bpd). Of these, Shell probably has the most country risk in Nigeria at least, given its long history of problems and turbulence in the Niger Delta.
Petrobras, which has significant investment throughout Latin America, is particularly exposed to nationalization in Chavez-friendly countries such as Bolivia. Petrobras took a hit when Evo Morales nationalized Bolivia's hydrocarbon (aka oil and gas) industry in May. Bolivia has the second largest natural gas reserves in Latin America, behind Venezuela.


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An SUV for the Wired Magazine set
Once upon a time, a car's mid-model cycle refresh — even a fairly significant one — was little more than a gussying-up to keep the old gal selling until the new model came out. A new grille here, a fancy set of wheels there — and everybody'd cross his fingers and string up extra balloons over the lot. Well, the folks in Dearborn have been flipping this on its head recently, with mid-cycle revamps that are at least as interesting as their original introductions. The latest Mustang and Fusion mid-cycle updates? In my book, more interesting.
In other words, Lincoln inadvertently set something of a trap for itself when we were invited to Washington, D.C., to drive the significantly refresh of the Ford Edge-based MKX. (As an aside, our driving routes had us repeatedly driving past the Lincoln Memorial, reminding us of exactly who Ford's premium brand was named after.)
So, does the MKX maintain Ford's remarkable model-update batting average?
Not quite… but it's close. And that may simply be because it happens to find itself in a vehicular category that's inherently less interesting than nimble sedans or coupes. Judged against its crossover contemporaries, however — and Lincoln offered up the segment's sales leader, the Lexus RX 350, for back-to-back comparisons — it's damn competitive. Quieter at cruising speeds, quick when given the stick, cool-sounding at full throttle, handsomely finished inside, boldly styled outside, and packed tight with electronics that are so sophisticated you'll need to consult a 13-year-old to understand them.
And although I think the MKX's real pay dirt is those electronics, let's first get out of the way what's changed with the old-fashioned oily bits. Newly residing under its hood is a 305-horsepower V-6, a 3.7-liter swapped into the hole left by last year's 265-horse, 3.5 liter. Moreover, it's now attached to a fingertip-shiftable six-speed automatic (just the thing for shifty sorts) with, betwixt them, a tighter-coupled torque converter. In other words, the MKX is not only 15 percent more powerful, but it's more receptive to your shifting and throttling whims. Nevertheless, its mileage has improved by 1 mpg, meaning — according to Lincoln — it's simultaneously the most powerful and fuel-frugal V-6 offering in its category.
In news elsewhere about the chassis, the brake's combination of larger diameter discs and a resized booster make for a crisper brake pedal feel underfoot. Add to that hill-start assist, available trailer sway control, adaptive cruise control, and collision warning, and you've got some potent vehicle dynamics underpinnings. On the road, it's as lively and capable as its specs suggest. At the track, the MKX zipped to 60 mph in 7.2 seconds, crossed the quarter mile in 15.5 seconds, skidpadded at 0.77 g, and stopped from 60 mph in 132 feet. Solid numbers, but ones that don't communicate its driving character compared with the RX 350. It feels tauter, responds more authoritatively to steering direction, and emits a meaner sound.
Okay, so here's the part where I start to wonder if I'm working for Motor Trend or Wired: the MKX's electronics.
Front and center is My Lincoln Touch. Let me tell you straightaway that, personally, I don't think touch-sensitive controls have any business in a moving, bounding, vehicle — but here they are, and here's how they work.
Approach one of the center stack's dimples with the tip of your index finger, and when it's very close — you don't have to touch it — the "button" is activated. Bingo! All it takes is disrupting the button's local electro-magnetic field with your digit's proximity. Another odd new way of interacting with the controls is how you adjust the sound system's volume and the fan's speed. Just tap (left or right) along touch-sensitive ledges for the intensity you're after, or alternately swipe your finger to do the same thing. Now, as interesting as this is — and it genuinely is interesting — I'm not sure a couple of big, simple dials wouldn't fill the bill just fine. Call me a clumsy-fingered Neanderthal.
When I uttered this within earshot of a Lincoln associate, it was pointed out to me that there are, silly journalist, other ways to express your will to the MKX — specifically, via its voice commandability.
While a car journalist's typical visit with today's complex voice command systems is far too brief (particularly so with one as complicated as the MKX's), the Lincoln's system certainly appears to be a big leap in intuitiveness. After learning its fairly simple language structure, placing calls, changing the cabin temperature, or requesting a broadcast or satellite radio station (even a specific artist or song among your on-board media) works exactly as advertised.
Ford points to a flattened syntax structure, a vocabulary of 10,000 first-level commands, a better microphone location, and improved individual voice identification as reasons why. I would simply point out that it seems to work pretty well. Two more laudably logical interfaces are a pair of five-position buttons (think of compass headings with "enter" in the center) located on the left and right steering-wheel spokes — each relating to screens flanking the center display. Smart.
But does all this really add up to an improvement over simple buttons and knobs? As I said, it would take more than an afternoon's drive in the MDX to decide, but frankly, in a world full of new gizmo interfaces expecting to be learned (iPad, anyone?), I'm not so sure a car really needs to be yet another one of them.
Which puts a vehicle like the MKX — with has much of its value residing in cutting-edge electronic features — in a bit of a pickle. Is complexity like this really what you want? As someone who – like many of you, I suspect — has to contend with confusing new software about every other day, jumping into a car with clearly labeled buttons, and great big rotary knobs, is a breath of fresh air. I'm sure I'd eventually decipher the MKX's numerous voice-command tricks. And probably come to appreciate them sincerely. But I'm also guessing there are a lot of folks who'll never comprehend half of what's offered here, no matter how long they live with the car. Questions like these are only going to get thornier as ever more elaborate electronics continue to flood into car's interiors. Fortunately, the good news for Lincoln is that the MKX is an impressive machine – regardless of its electro-wizardry.
And let me leave you with a final thought. Recently we conducted a major roundup of cars (for a well-known yearly Motor Trend feature that involves lots of cars) and found that an MKX showed up. "What's that doing here?" I asked. "It appears to be an SUV."
"Name mix-up. We meant to request the hybrid version of the MKZ" was the sheepish reply. This led to a lengthy discussion of what the MKZ actually is, and how it fits in the Lincoln lineup against the MKS — or, wait a minute, is the tall one the MKT? MKX? MKZ? MKT? MKS? Perhaps I'd be a little more convinced by Lincoln's arguments for its proximity-sensitive buttons, swipe controls, and next-generation voice recognition … if they could name their models a little more clearly.
|2011 Lincoln MKX AWD
|Drivetrain layout
|Front engine, AWD
|Engine type
|60-deg V6, aluminum block/heads
|DOHC, 4-valves/cyl
|227.4 cu in/3726 cc
|Compression ratio
|Power (SAE net)
|304 hp @ 6500 rpm
|Torque (SAE net)
|280 lb-ft @ 4000 rpm
|6500 rpm
|Weight to power
|14.7 lb/hp
|6-speed automatic
|Axle/final-drive ratios
|Suspension, front; rear
|Struts, coil springs, anti-roll bar; multilink, coil springs, anti-roll bar
|Steering ratio
|Turns lock-to-lock
|Brakes, f;r
|12.6-in vented disc 13.0-in disc, ABS
|8.0 x 20-in, cast aluminum
|245/50R20 102H M+S; Pirelli, Scorpion STR
|111.2 in
|Track, f/r
|65.4/65.2 in
|Length x width x height
|186.7 x 76.0 x 67.3 in
|Turning circle
|39.3 ft
|Curb weight
|4485 lb
|Weight dist, f/r
|Seating capacity
|Headroom, f/r
|40.0/39.3 in
|Legroom, f/r
|40.7/39.6 in
|Shoulder room, f/r
|58.9/58.7 in
|Cargo volume basic/folded
|68.6/32.3 cu ft
|Acceleration to mph </strong
|2.5 sec
|Passing, 45-65 mph
|Quarter mile
|15.5 sec @ 91.9 mph
|Braking, 60-0 mph
|132 ft
|Lateral acceleration
|0.77 g (avg)
|MT figure eight
|28.6 sec @ 0.58 (avg)
|Top-gear rev @ 60 mph
|1800 rpm
|Base price
|Price as tested
|Stability/traction control
|Dual front, front-sides, front head
|Basic warranty
|4 yrs/50,000 miles
|Powertrain warranty
|6 yrs/70,000 miles
|Roadside assistance
|6 yrs/70,000 miles
|Fuel capacity
|19.0 gal
|EPA city/hwy econ
|17/23 mpg
|CO2 emissions
|1.01 lb/mile
|Recommended fuel
|Unleaded regular


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From Shawshank to Skyfall, How Master Cinematographer Roger Deakins Got These Ten Shots
And he explains several stills from his iconic work with the Coen brothers.
Root all you want for your Chastains, your Rivas, your Hathaways, and your Day-Lewises; for me, the Oscar nominee to pull for this weekend is venerated cinematographer Roger Deakins, nominated ten times with nary a win to his name. He's back in the race this year with the gorgeous, lush Skyfall, but Deakins is perhaps best known for his work with Joel and Ethan Coen, for whom he's shot every film from Barton Fink to True Grit. I rang up the 63-year-old Brit this weekend to discuss some of the most iconic images he's produced over his long career, though the first still I asked him to explain wasn't from a Coen brothers film at all:
The Shawshank Redemption
That famous shot of Andy (Tim Robbins) escaping from the prison, arms outstretched as the rain pours down on him? You know, the moment so powerful that it was repurposed on the poster? Yeah, that wasn't originally part of the plan. "It was a difficult schedule on that film, and we had quite a lot of night work scheduled for when Tim's character escapes from the jail: He was going to run across the length of the field and catch a train that was going by the prison," revealed Deakins, who earned his first Oscar nomination for shooting the film. "There was a lot of stuff planned, and schedule-wise, we just couldn't do that. So this shot, with Andy standing there in the rain, had to be this iconic shot that signified the end of the sequence ... because we couldn't afford to shoot the rest of it, basically!"
The film came out in 1994, the same year another Tim Robbins–toplined, Deakins-shot movie with a funny name debuted. "One of my neighbors came up to me the other day and said, 'You know, I really like Shawshank, but one of my favorite films is The Hudsucker Proxy!'" laughed Deakins, who noted another similarity between the Coen brothers comedy and Shawshank: "When The Hudsucker Proxy came out, hardly anybody saw it. It was quite a blow for the boys and me, because we'd put so much into that film, and I thought it was really good! But when Shawshank was released, too, it made nothing theatrically; then, when it had a video release, suddenly it was on the charts for a year. It's all very odd."
Barton Fink
Deakins first worked with the Coen brothers on their Palme d'Or winner Barton Fink, and he credits the 1991 film with rejuvenating his interest in cinematography. "I had kind of soured on the industry, I suppose," he said. "I'd done a big movie that I wasn't happy with and I was moving out of London when I got approached about Barton Fink, because my agent said the brothers were in London. We hit it off immediately, and suddenly I found myself on the way to America!" Was Deakins at all wary of shooting for two directors instead of one? "Obviously I hadn't worked for two brothers before, and I didn't know how it was going to work," he said. "But we basically storyboarded the whole film together while I was staying with them in Santa Monica, and I realized very early on that they're so in sync with the work they do. It feels like you're dealing with one person, which makes things quite easy."
As for that stretching-to-infinity image above, "The hallway shots were really tricky to do," said Deakins, principally because the corridor had to go up in flames during the production. "We built the hallway in Long Beach somewhere, and we basically built two, because we were going to burn one! That one was rigged with gas, recessed in the walls, and all the wallpaper was perforated so the gas would come through it. It was quite interesting, and it worked really well, actually."
The Big Lebowski
"We were all laughing so much!" Deakins said of this trippy Big Lebowski dream sequence, where Jeff Bridges and Julianne Moore cavort among dancers wearing bowling-pin headdresses. "We were trying to re-create a Busby Berkeley feel. It was a high-key, very lit sequence; I wanted it kind of bright and white." Again, it helped that the Coen brothers had such an exacting vision of how they wanted the sequence to look. "I've never worked with anybody else who storyboards like they do," said Deakins. "We storyboarded some sequences on Skyfall, and we're doing some storyboards on the film I'm working on at the moment, but those are kind of a reference and not something that you necessarily stick to. On a Coen brothers movie, it's much more of a template for what you actually shoot, especially this sequence in Lebowski. You could look at the images on file, and there's not much variation."
O Brother, Where Art Thou?
When the singing sirens bewitch George Clooney, John Turturro, and Tim Blake Nelson during this O Brother sequence, how did Deakins pull off that wowser last shot, where each man and his siren float in and out of frame past each other? "The camera was on a track, but each of the characters and their women were on tracks as well, moving sort of independently," Deakins said. "It was quite a complicated little shot to set up, as I remember, but it was a specific feeling that the boys were after, with everything slowly moving slightly out of sync."
The 2000 film pioneered the extensive use of digital color correction in order to achieve its warm autumnal look. "Early on in prep, we talked about how they were doing some digital work on Pleasantville, so you knew that people were starting to use the technology," said Deakins. "But I spent, wow, I don't even know how long trying to achieve that look photochemically through different processes. It was just not possible, and also, we were locked into a schedule where we were shooting in Mississippi in the height of summer, so you knew that everything was going to be so green, which was exactly what the boys didn't want!"
Deakins earned another Oscar nomination for the film, but at the time, other cinematographers sniped that because so much of the look was created in a computer, the nod wasn't fully deserved. "That's funny now, isn't it, when you look at all the films using it, and half of them shot with digital cinematography?" Deakins laughed. "I thought that was a pretty stupid argument, really, because it's the final product that matters. The look of the film, however it's done, is still the cinematographer's vision in my mind. People said the same when color film came in, didn't they? The world evolves, and image-making evolves."
The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford
The closest Deakins has come to an Oscar win was surely in 2008, when he was nominated twice for Jesse James and No Country for Old Men. And though he lost the top prize to There Will Be Blood cinematographer Robert Elswit, the beautifully composed work Deakins did on Jesse James may be the best of his career, with this gorgeous train-robbery sequence serving as a particular standout. "These sorts of sequences terrify me when I'm thinking about them, and I often don't come to the final idea about the look of it until I'm actually there on the night," said Deakins. "For this one, I thought to have it particularly dark, so I put this one lamp on the front of the train, so that it would just be this one lamp coming out of the darkness. But I'd also put up these cranes with little lights on them because I was a bit nervous about going so dark, so I cross-lit the forest very minimally, just so you could see the train tracks." Ultimately, Deakins decided to trust his gut. "We were very lucky because it was a cold, still night, and the smoke just hung in the air above the train tracks. When I saw the way that the light on the train just blew through the smoke, I decided to turn all the other lights off and just go with that. Everyone, including my gaffer, just looked at me like, 'What?' But it was worth taking the chance."
Again, Deakins experimented with how little light he could get away with during two scenes in Fargo — one set during the day, and another shot at night — where tiny car headlights provide the only pinprick of illumination in this snow-covered setting. "That was sort of a thematic thing that we came up with early on," said Deakins. "I suppose that night sequence of the car chase in Fargo actually informed me on how to shoot Jesse James."
As for that credits sequence, which opens the movie to the tune of Carter Burwell's plaintive score, well … "The funny thing about shooting the opening sequence is that neither Joel, Ethan, or I were actually there!" admitted Deakins. "We were shooting on the sixteenth floor of this office building, but we knew this blizzard was coming in, and just schedule-wise, we were locked into the office scene. So I sent my assistant Robin out to shoot that sequence, but we had marked every shot with the cars, we had walked through and put stakes on the ground and knew where every camera went." Continued Deakins, "A lot of the snow in Fargo had to be created, actually. When Bill Macy scrapes off his car in the parking lot, that was all created. We got very little snow during that shoot, and that's why we weren't available to shoot that opening sequence; we just sent Robin out to shoot it when we finally got enough snow."
No Country for Old Men
"I think that was one of the most difficult sequences I've ever done, really," said Deakins of this bravura No Country scene, which goes from night to dawn as Josh Brolin is pursued by criminals … and one very ardent pit bull. "I'm not 100 percent happy with it, but I'm not 100 percent happy with anything, really. It was really hard to do, given our budget and schedule." In order to capture the dawn shots, Deakins shot some in the morning and some at magic hour, though he confessed that he can tell which came when: "We were filming in New Mexico, and the weather is so different in the mornings and the evenings. Nobody really notices it, but it's obvious to me that the clouds build up during the day and you've got a lot of them in the evening shots, while the morning shots are crystal clear. There are quite a few of those mismatches."
The Man Who Wasn't There
For the Coen brothers' foray into black-and-white filmmaking, Deakins had a tricky hurdle to overcome. "The film was actually shot in color, for various reasons," he said. "They wanted a color release in Europe, which never really happened, but I would have shot on color anyway because the quality of image that I wanted was better. Black and white stocks haven't changed in years and years, basically, whereas with color stock, there's far less grain and there's far more range." Besides, that old-timey image fidelity wasn't important to Deakins, he said: "I didn't want a traditional-looking black-and-white movie, though it's got a lot of homages to the thirties and forties. But I didn't want that look; I wanted something that was much smoother and much more modern, I suppose."
True Grit
The first time you see Jeff Bridges in the Coen brothers' remake of True Grit, you barely get a glimpse: Only once Mattie Ross (Hailee Steinfeld) is able to push her way through the crowded courthouse do you actually see Bridges in full, bathed in backlight. "That was a very deliberate choice that the boys had made, that the introduction to the character come from Mattie's point of view," said Deakins. "True Grit was very well thought out, the boys knew exactly what they wanted from each sequence." He paused, then laughed. "Well … the shafts of sunlight may not have been in the storyboards." Was that an homage to fellow cinematographer Janusz Kaminski, who's famous for flooding his Steven Spielberg films with light streaming in from the windows? "That's funny! I'll have to tell him that. No, not at all. I know Janusz very well, but I like playing with light. It was kind of a tricky setup; we had these big spotlights outside, one on each window. Janusz can do it brilliantly, and so can Bob Richardson! But I don't do it that much, I suppose."
For this shot of James Bond arriving in Macau on the water, "The challenge was just to rig the amount of little lights," said Deakins. "It was actually shot in the tank on the backlot at Pinewood, and we had something like 300 floating lights. The idea was that it supposed to be these candles, and obviously that wasn't going to work, because we were shooting in early March and it was cold!" Deakins has been lauded for his beautiful digital cinematography in Skyfall, but he brushes those compliments off easily. "Whether or not it's film or digital, much more of my career has been about choosing the location, getting an idea of the look of something, and choosing the practical kinds of lighting and the positions of the windows, anything that enables you to get the look you want," he says. But is it easier to deal with digital photography, especially since so much of Skyfall is filmed with low lighting? "Easier? No, I don't think so," he laughed. "Maybe it makes you feel a little more secure that you can see what you're recording on set, instead of waiting to see the dailies the next day. But still, it's about choices."


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LOS ANGELES (AP) — Police sought a motive and a suspect Monday in the slayings of four people who were found in the yard of a suburban Southern California home that apparently served as an unlicensed boarding house.
A 911 call led police to the large house in Northridge around 4:30 a.m. Sunday, where they discovered the bodies on a side yard of the property, police said. Three of the bodies were found face-down and appeared to have been shot at close range.
The dead were two women in their mid-20s, a man in his mid-30s and another man in his late-40s, Capt. William Hayes said. Their names were not released.
Police believe at least some of the victims lived at the residence and may have been related.
Investigators questioned several people who were on the property at the time of the shooting, but no one has been detained or arrested. Authorities don't have a description of the suspect and no weapon was found at the scene.
Los Angeles City Councilman Mitchell Englander, who represents the area, said the house was split into several units for rent. He said at least a dozen people lived in the house, which contained several bedrooms, kitchenettes and mattresses on the floor.
"It appears from the nature of things that this was an unlicensed boarding facility," Englander said from the crime scene. He noted that one bedroom was only accessible through a window.
Police added they hadn't response calls from the house lately.
"This wasn't a problem location for us in general," said police Cmdr. Andrew Smith.
The house in the San Fernando Valley was on street lined with homes, schools and places of worship.
"This is a very safe neighborhood. This type of thing doesn't normally happen here," Englander said.


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myIR, payments and more
Top 10 facts on international tax
New Zealand residents are generally taxed on their worldwide income.
Find out more about tax residency and status
If you leave the country but maintain a permanent place of abode here, then you will still be a New Zealand tax resident.
Find out more about when you are considered to be a tax resident of New Zealand
Foreign income (even if deposited in an offshore account or left on a foreign credit card) does not need to be repatriated to New Zealand to be taxed here.
Find out more about if you have overseas investments
Even if withholding tax has been deducted on foreign income this does not mean that this income is no longer taxable in New Zealand.
Find out more about paying tax in New Zealand
A foreign tax credit may be available where the tax involved is substantially similar to New Zealand income tax. The tax credit cannot exceed the tax otherwise payable on the underlying income in New Zealand.
Find out more about what income is taxable in New Zealand
Most overseas pension payments are fully taxable in New Zealand.
Find out more about how double tax agreements affect your overseas pension
Special taxing regimes (controlled foreign company (CFC) and foreign investment fund (FIF) rules) apply to gains on certain foreign shareholdings, retirement schemes and life insurance investments.
Find out about foreign investment fund (FIF) & controlled foreign company (CFC) rules
Disclosures are required in respect of controlled foreign companies and foreign investment funds.
Find out more about making a controlled foreign company (CFC) disclosure
Allowances that may be treated as tax-free in other countries (for example, living-away-from-home allowances) are generally fully taxable in New Zealand.
Find out more about what allowances are tax free and what allowances are taxable in New Zealand
The temporary tax exemption on foreign income for transitional residents expires after four years and there is no entitlement to Working for Families Tax Credits during the period of the exemption.
Find out more about the temporary tax exemption on foreign income for new migrants and returning New Zealanders


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Anthony & Gregory's 1912 Contemporary Craftsman Kitchen
Craftsman homes are one of our favorite types of home. They are so filled with character and they're extremely sought after. It's not very often that you find a craftsman that has been remodeled in such a modern way — much to our surprise, we really like it!
Fully resorting a house to its original potential isn't always in the cards, and certainly isn't everyones cup of tea. In this case, Anthony and Gregory wanted to bring their 1912 craftsman into the contemporary category — and that they did!
The kitchen isn't anything you'd typically see in a restored craftsman, and that's ok. They chose tall, slim and sleek cabinets with pops of color in the backsplash. The pale blue really accents the dark wood cabinets and stainless steel appliances. Each color was purposefully chosen and successfully work together.
They managed to get sufficient counter space out of a rather small space and that's certainly commendable. We also love that they were able to configure room for all of the modern day appliances, specifically a dishwasher!
See the full tour: Anthony & Gregory's 1912 Contemporary Craftsman
Related: Lisa & Dan's Curated Kitchen
Images: Bethany Nauert