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Policy # 9801 Use of Wire Bottomed (suspended) Cages for Rodents
Policy # 9802 Avoiding Unnecessary Pain or Distress in animals
Policy # 9803 Bedding Changes for Rodents in the Immediate Post-Partum Period
Policy # 9901 Overcrowded Cages
Policy # 9902 Use of Hazardous Agents in Experimental Animals
Policy # 9903 Cervical Dislocation as a Method of Euthanasia
Policy # 9904 When may drugs be given by intraperitoneal (IP) injection?
Policy # 9905 Requirements for Performance of Survival Surgery in Rodents
Policy # 9906 Euthanasia
Policy # 9907 Exercise for Dogs
Policy # 0001 and 0001-B were replaced by Policies #2011-2 and 2011-3
Policy # 0002 Timetable for Responses to Protocol Submissions and Requests for Revisions
Policy # 0101 Ordering, Storage and Use of Controlled Substances in Animals
Policy # 0102 Access to Animal Housing Facilities
Policy # 0103 Euthanasia of Moribund Animals
Policy # 0104 Housing Experimental Animals in the Laboratory for More Than 12 Hours
Policy # 0105 Care of Animals with Experimental Tumors
Policy # 0106 Provision of Special or Treated Feed or Water to Experimental Animals
Policy # 0107 Training Requirements for Animal Users at Einstein
Policy # 0108 Alleviation of Pain and Distress in Animals
Policy # 0201 Identification of Research Animals; Euthanasia of Animals with Inadequate Identification
Policy # 0202 Environmental Enrichment of Rodents and Rabbits
Policy # 0203 Use of Volatile Anesthetics for Animals
Policy # 0301 Use of Sterile Materials for Implantation or Injection into Experimental Animals
Policy # 0302 Status of Experimental Animals Remaining at Einstein After the Departure of the Principal Investigator
Policy # 0401 Production of Transgenic/Genetically Modified Mice
Policy # 0402 Fertilized and Embryonated Avian Eggs
Policy # 0601 Primate Enrichment Policy
Policy # 0701 Documents needed for Animal Use Protocol in which all Animal Works are being Performed outside Einstein
Policy # 2009-1 Animal Studies Performed by Core Service Laboratories
Policy # 2010-1 Recovery of Costs Associated with Satellite Rodent Housing (Rodents Housed in Laboratories or Areas Outside the IAS Facilities
Policy # 2011-1 SOP for Use of Core Services for Non-Einstein Animal Users
Policy # 2011-2 Tail Clipping Mice and Rats for Genotyping
Policy # 2011-3 Toe Clipping Mice and Rats
Policy # 2011-4 Special Monitoring Requirements
Policy # 2012-01 Use of Non-Pharmaceutical Grade Compounds in Animal Research


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Top Pentagon leaders said for the first time Thursday that the Defense Department backed the idea of providing arms to opposition groups in Syria.
Until Thursday, the Pentagon had only said publicly that U.S. policy is to give only humanitarian assistance to rebels battling President Bashar Assad's regime. Providing arms has been the subject of ongoing internal administration debate.
Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said President Obama made the final decision against arming the rebels.
"Obviously there were a number of factors that were involved here that ultimately led to the president's decision to make it nonlethal," Panetta said. "I supported his decision in the end."
Gen. Martin Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, also acknowledged the Pentagon endorsement of the idea, telling Sen. John McCain, a Republican, "We did."
McCain, in a statement released later, said it was unfortunate that their advice was not heeded by the president.
"The crisis in Syria represents a graphic failure of American leadership," McCain said. "I urge the president to heed the advice of his former and current national security leaders and immediately take the necessary steps, along with our friends and allies, that could hasten the end of the conflict in Syria."
At the State Department, spokeswoman Victoria Nuland declined to discuss internal policy decisions.
But, in the past administration officials have made it clear there have been differing views on suggestions that the U.S. provide arms to the rebels.
"Arms are not a strategy; arms are a tactic," the U.S. ambassador to Syria, Robert Ford told a conference in Washington late last year. "A military solution is not the best way for Syria. Efforts to win this by conquering one side or the other will simply prolong the violence and actually aggravate an already terrible humanitarian situation. Syria needs a political situation."
The administration has expressed concern about the difficulty of determining which opposition groups are tied to al-Qaida-insurgents who might get U.S.-supplied arms. But some have urged the U.S. to supply weapons to opposition groups in order to hasten Assad's departure and prevent rebels from taking weapons from terror-linked groups.
After 22 months and more than 60,000 dead, Syria's crisis appears to have reached a stalemate, with neither side making significant battlefield gains likely to bring about a military victory any time soon.
The U.S. government has provided about $210 million in humanitarian assistance to Syrians in the country as well as refugees, including food, medical aid, blankets and winter supplies.

subset: commoncrawl


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There's little to compare to the buzz of backstage at a fashion show, and little else still when that show happens to be the Jonathan Saunders Spring/Summer 2013 showcase at the inaugural London Collections Men's fashion weekender. Brandish popped down pre-show for a quick look at how one of the most eagerly-anticipated and talked about events of the weekend came together.
A rabbit-warren of a venue with winding, near-vertical stairs that open out into a dramatic high-ceilinged space, Brandish climbed through the Elms Lesters Painting Rooms to meet with hair stylist Paul Hanlon. Not even a power-outage at the venue could stop him as he talked us through the Bowie-inspired look, using Fekkai products to pull back and add volume to the hair of the 11 models crammed into his makeshift salon.
"I'm kind of trying to tap into that time after Bowie had done with his Ziggy thing. No more red hair, much more mature, more masculine, in a way, less glam rock. This was a time when he was wearing the big pants, shirts. He was much more elegant," explained Hanlon.
"There's elements of the fifties in there too, but never falling into rockabilly styles. I don't want it too androidy though either, there are imperfections in there too, adding character. Think of 'The Man Who Fell To Earth', all that sort of time, and you'd be right on it."
It's a look both on trend and achievable, with clean lines and light sideburns, pulling blow-dryed hair back from the face through the roots with a wide-comb, strong wax and mousse for a sharp, uniform look that never veers into militarized territory.
With little under an hour till doors opened, models were still having the final touches applied, with last minute changes to the model line-up meaning a frantic rethink of how best to present the line.
The show itself was rapturously received. Rather than a runway show, Saunders opted for a slightly more laid back static showcase, with the 11 models posing in a colourfully decorated corner of the Elms Lesters Painting Rooms. Chatting to each other beneath the striking natural light of the venue's sloping skylight, the models entertained guests including David Gandy and Reggie Yates.
Rails of items from the collection were available for guests to browse, giving all in attendance the chance to get up close and personal with the range.
As Saunders first full men's collection, the Scottish designer effortlessly played with his trademark striking colours, bringing together graphic, geometric prints on short-sleeves, suits, twinsets and casual wear. Knitwear too, used by Saunders as a "gateway garment" for men looking to add a slightly more subtle dash of colour to their wardrobes, also featured heavily. High neck lines throughout kept the line sophisticated, but the bold, retro stylings keep the collection from ever feeling stuffy. Christian Louboutin's shoes were a perfect complement, with playful metallics and suede grounding a superbly wearable set.


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Hi all
Just a short question about the Drywall material in the database. I have assigned it to the walls in my scene. Is it possible to adjust the size of the material/texture or do I need to do a workaround via UV mapping to adjust the size?
Best regards


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The topic of this article is focused around zooming in a perspective OpenGL view. I wrote this article because I found some examples of zooming in a OpenGL view using ortho projections. But the most advanced example that I found using perspective projections, don't implement a true zooming but simulate the zooming effect changing the view point or camera angle. The technique that I suggest implement a true zooming and not change camera angle or perspective parameters (view point, reference point clipping planes). I achieved this result using the function glFrustum instead of standard gluPerspective and manipulating (see function COGL::SetPerspective(const CRect &rcClient) in the class COGL) the scaling and translating parameters of projection matrix. Two normalized rectangles are maintained by the COGL class: one for the full size image, and one for the current zooming rectangle. The image presented by OpenGL is scaled by the ratio of the rectangles, adjusted according to the viewport aspect and translated to the center of current zooming rectangle.
COGL::SetPerspective(const CRect &rcClient)
Finally sorry for my poor English.
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Dramatic evidence of the value of exercise has come from a recent clinical trial done by Norwegian orthopaedic surgeons. They gave more than 60 patients either fusion surgery or exercise therapy, and asked an independent expert to assess the patients' condition a year later. The comparative success rates reported were astonishing: 70 per cent for the surgery patients, but 76 per cent for the exercise patients. Even more remarkably, the exercise patients had done just "three daily physical exercise sessions for three weeks [plus responding to] a recommendation to use the back and bend it" (Spine, 2003; 28: 1913-21).
* Manipulation Gentle osteopathic or chiropractic manipulation is the second line of defence. The goal is to reduce muscle spasm, and take the load off the PLID by improving the mobility of the surrounding vertebral joints. The most recent review of the clinical evidence for low-back pain in general has reported that "manipulative procedures result in more rapid pain and functional relief compared with other conservative therapies" (Spine, 1995; 20: 615-9).
PLID is claimed to be especially responsive to the specialised micromanipulative techniques of the cranial osteopaths. Their aim is to increase blood supply to the disc, thus encouraging more rapid self-repair.
* Acupuncture Given its proven analgesic effects, acupuncture is an obvious candidate for PLID. However, the clinical evidence to date is somewhat mixed. In a recent Australian trial of chronic low-back pain, acupuncture reduced pain by only 10 per cent, compared with 50 per cent from manipulation (Spine, 2003; 28: 1490-502). On the other hand, German doctors have reported pain reduction of up to 77 per cent after 12 acupuncture sessions, compared with only 29 per cent after sham acupuncture (Pain, 2002; 99: 579-87). Another German team found no differences between real and sham acupuncture (Pain, 2002; 96: 189-96).
Taking the evidence as a whole - albeit a decade ago - British researchers concluded that, on balance, acupuncture had been shown to provide "a high degree of symptomatic relief" (J Altern Complement Med, 1997; 3: 55-76).


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CHICAGO (AP) — A Chicago doctor who has done spinal taps on two patients to rule out fungal meningitis said Monday that he expects to see more cases of the illness in Illinois as testing continues.
Dr. Rahul Khare, an emergency physician for Northwestern Medicine, said the patients he tested were frightened, but the tests showed nothing abnormal. The patients had received back injections of a possibly tainted steroid from a Massachusetts pharmacy that's been linked to an outbreak of deadly meningitis. They had symptoms that could indicate the illness.
It's confusing and frightening for patients, he said, because their back and neck pain, for which they were getting the steroid shots in the first place, can mimic symptoms of meningitis. Infected patients have had slightly worse back pain or mild headaches, for example.
"There is this wave of anxiety because people are dying from it," Khare said.
A steroid made by the New England Compounding Center of Framingham, Mass., has been tied to a national outbreak of a rare fungal form of meningitis that has killed 15 people. The Food and Drug Administration said Monday that several new illnesses may be tied to other products made by the company.
The Massachusetts pharmacy has held an Illinois pharmacy license since 2010, and Illinois regulators are monitoring the situation. On Monday, Tennessee regulators effectively revoked the pharmacy's license in that state, where six patients have died.
Illinois reported last week that a Chicago resident is the state's first probable case of fungal meningitis linked to the outbreak. Illinois Department of Public Health spokeswoman Melaney Arnold said Monday that the patient is hospitalized in stable condition and receiving treatment.
An estimated 350 Illinoisans may have been exposed to the product at three clinics operated by APAC Centers for Pain Management.
"I think there's a lot of fear," Khare said. "These patients have these chronic pains. That's why they're getting epidural shot treatment in the first place."
Khare said the patients or their health insurance plans are paying for the spinal taps, also called lumbar punctures, to test for signs of infection.
Infected patients have developed symptoms from one to four weeks after being injected with the steroid medication, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The CDC advises patients at risk to remain vigilant for symptoms for several months after the injection.
This type of meningitis is not contagious.
Patients who received injections of the product in knees, shoulders and ankles are being advised they may be at risk for joint infections. They are not believed to be at risk for fungal meningitis. Arnold, of the state health department, said APAC is contacting patients who received injections in their joints, along with patients who got the shots in their backs.
AP Medical Writer Carla K. Johnson can be reached at http://www.twitter.com/CarlaKJohnson
© Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.


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WASHINGTON (AP) — Democrats have won competitive Senate races in Wisconsin and New Mexico, two open seats they currently hold.
Rep. Tammy Baldwin defeated former Gov. Tommy Thompson in Wisconsin on Tuesday, and Rep. Martin Heinrich beat former GOP Rep. Heather Wilson in New Mexico.
The victories came after Democrats clinched control of the Senate, and with President Barack Obama's re-election. Democrats won competitive races in Virginia, Ohio and Florida and picked up Republican-held seats in Indiana and Massachusetts. Republicans also lost a seat to independent Angus King in Maine, a former Democratic governor.
As of 12:30 a.m. Wednesday, Democrats had locked up 52 seats, including independent Bernie Sanders, who aligns himself with them. Officials also expect King will caucus with Democrats. Republicans locked up 44 seats, three fewer than they have now.


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|2013-02-08, 20:30
|Link #422
One-Eyed Dragon
Join Date: Sep 2010
Location: NJ, USA
Have to agree with Retro's decision about the order. Oh man Sudo returns! Didn't expect Nishida to lose, especially that early, and to a first year rank A player. He had so many mental problems going on. He even had his sister dating Retro. Leave it to Chihaya to try and combine both strengths of the Suo and Shinobu. Taichi really has to persevere here. Kana might get a win, don't know about Komano, Nice assist from sensei. This keeps getting better and better.
|2013-02-08, 20:31
|Link #423
AS Oji-kun
Join Date: Nov 2006
Location: In your bloodstream
Age: 68
Yay, "Boobie-chan." You go, girl. Sorry my nomination for you as best supporting character didn't make the cut at this year's Choice Awards, but you'll get another chance next year.
I choked up a bit when they all bowed to their sensei. I thought that was an especially touching moment of mutual recognition and respect.
|2013-02-08, 22:49
|Link #425
SIBYL salesman
Join Date: Feb 2011
Damn, if Taichi learns Suo's secret, I guess he's going to incapacitate all the readers Suo's researched on and to become Meijin...bastard!
|2013-02-08, 23:22
|Link #426
Senior Member
Join Date: Aug 2007
Thought this was a fantastic episode. One of the strengths of this series is you really don't know who is going to win at all. It's entirely unpredictable & I am always on the edge of my seat.
Now I do hope Kana at least beats that boy she is playing, "boobies girl"? Someone has to teach that boy some manners.
Now the weekly Chihayafuru withdrawal begins.
|2013-02-09, 01:14
|Link #427
Senior Member
Join Date: Jan 2011
that was a very touching bow to the coach...
retro kun is right , what have you got to lose? they're already in the Nationals so why not give it you're all and get the trophy.
man chihaya will really be unbeatable if she's able to combine suo & shinobu's strengths.
and Go Kana-girl! she's the only one taking advantage of Sudo's reading style, i think she might even have same style as Suo being able to figure out Readers like that.
again a wonderful episode.
|2013-02-09, 08:53
|Link #428
Lost at Sea
Join Date: Mar 2010
At last a good word for Taichi's mom. She teaches him to be strong. And Chihaya appreciates that, too. A nice moment of connection. Taichi's rejoinder, about how we are all made by others, is an important point. As Chihaya played the match, you could see how much Shinobu figures as an influence. But for Harada-sensei, Chihaya was too much revisiting the past. So we get a turning point when Chihaya remembers Tsutomu telling her she has 21 one-syllable cards, and just listens, and takes the card with impossible speed. To learn from others, yet to be yourself, to play on a team, yet as an individual...these are the contradictions that power the greatest players. And Chihaya has not yet opened her heart to her greatest influences: Taichi and most of all Arata, who taught her to play. When she does, she will become unimaginably strong.
Miyauchi-sensei's description of karuta is a key moment in the anime. The central insight, in fact, and spoken by someone who does not know karuta well. Which is why Harada does not say it. Miyauchi has made her own journey, as well.
|2013-02-09, 09:23
|Link #429
Senior Member
Join Date: Aug 2007
Although technically speaking it is a bit idealistic as at least in the case when she said older and younger people can play equally this is not entirely true. I think someone older would have more of a chance against someone younger compared to many other things but young people still have an advantage in terms of speed & reflexes (the same I imagine as someone in better shape).
Of course I guess you can argue that an older player might have the advantage of experience. I can't remember where I read it but I did read that usually younger players take the championships and like the anime portrays a strong player can win for many years.
However all that being said I actually do ultimately agree Kana & the empress one of the most wonderful things about Karuta is that everyone can play together no matter who they are (well I guess as long as you can understand the poems). There really is a strong sense of community in the series. Where we have mainly focuses on the high school kids, we have met many other characters of different ages & backgrounds who have also showed us their love for karuta and that is a very beautiful thing.
I also liked the moment with Taichi's mom and that was very good advice she gave. Although I am not a guy I will try to remember it for myself.
|2013-02-09, 09:35
|Link #430
Join Date: Dec 2005
Location: Monterrey N.L. Mexico
|2013-02-09, 10:00
|Link #431
Kana Hanazawa ♥
Join Date: Jun 2007
Location: France
Age: 31
|2013-02-09, 18:10
|Link #432
Join Date: Mar 2011
Another lovely episode. I particularly loved Kana in this one. I'm confident she will win this. Actually, for a while, I believed that it's the ones who Hokuo thought would lose who'll win, but Chihaya seems to be back in the game and I can't see her losing now that she's imitating Suo. It's fishy that Tsutomu's the only one whose match we haven't really seen. It might turn out to be the decisive one...
Can't wait for next week!
|2013-02-09, 18:16
|Link #433
AS Oji-kun
Join Date: Nov 2006
Location: In your bloodstream
Age: 68
I think we might see Kanade, Tsutomu and Taichi be victorious with Chihaya losing along with Porky. That would be a great boost to team morale.
Of course, Misuzawa could lose this event then come back to defeat Hokuo in the finals in the larger tournament. I wouldn't be surprised to see Misuzawa lose this time around at all. In fact, it would add a note of realism and drama if our young heroes and heroines were not always invincible.
I really wanted to have an animated version of this avatar, but damn Chihaya keeps moving her head up and down. I tried to find the right set of frames where she kept her face still, but gave up and just went with a single still frame. I may try again some time when I have more patience. (I do have the time at the moment, considering that there is two feet of snow plus drifts surrounding my house here in the Boston suburbs.)
Last edited by SeijiSensei; 2013-02-09 at 18:28.
|2013-02-09, 19:58
|Link #434
Seishu's Ace
Join Date: Dec 2005
Location: Kobe, Japan
|2013-02-09, 20:41
|Link #437
AS Oji-kun
Join Date: Nov 2006
Location: In your bloodstream
Age: 68
As a Westerner, I never understood the rationale for this at all. Since physical strength is largely irrelevant in these games, it seems purely a patriarchal notion about womens' abilities versus mens'. Women don't play professional poker at separate tables, for instance.
|2013-02-09, 21:19
|Link #438
Senior Member
Join Date: Aug 2007
Funny enough my friend (who I successfully got to watch this series) said the same thing to me today. But my interpretation of this (and I am just speculating) is not that they think men and women can't compete together but isn't it nicer for publicity to have two champions a man and a woman each year.
After all don't men & women still compete against each other at other times?
|2013-02-09, 21:58
|Link #439
Unchangingly Hopeless
Join Date: Jan 2007
|2013-02-09, 22:17
|Link #440
AS Oji-kun
Join Date: Nov 2006
Location: In your bloodstream
Age: 68
In championship contract bridge, there are separate women's events, but women can also compete in open events and earn points that apply to both the womens' rankings and the overall world ranking of players. Mixed pair events have been a common feature of competitive bridge for decades.
In chess, there is again a separate women's division, but "[u]nlike most sports, women are able to compete against men in chess, and so some women do not compete for the women's title. Notably, the world's top rated female player for the past 20 years, Judit Polgár (and by far the highest FIDE-rated woman in chess history), has never competed for the women's title."
As for shogi,
|cards, josei, karuta, sports
|Thread Tools


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Curvaceous Kaylee Kisses & Briella Bounce In "California Quake"
Ass Parade Blog has two, banging big booty gals: Kaylee Kisses & Briella Bounce. These real amateurs are hot to trot and their big asses, supple monster curves and big tits can literally make a grown man cry. These babes are utterly exquisite and look so hot as they giggle their big booties for our viewing pleasure.
Kaylee Kisses & Briella Bounce are two cock fiends with an appetite for cock that's bigger than life and that's probably why they're such great fucks! These girls like nothing more than a steamy threesome where they get fucked simultaneously. They look fucking fantastic as they work those curves and bounce their big asses on that monster cock. Don't miss these sexy, naughty babes in Ass Parade video: "California Quake."


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Seibon Carbon Fiber Front Lip TS style for Acura NSX 92-01
Check out this High Quality Hood from Seibon! serves multiple purposes, Cools your car off, makes it look good, and its light weight! After you order an email will be sent with a shipping quote Shipping is between $40 and $60 depending on where your located.Your product can be shipped to you from your dealer, or directly from SEIBON. We examine and double-pack every item before shipping. However, due to the sizes of most items, handling can be awkward, and sometimes trucking staff do not handle them carefully. We must count on the consignee to examine the product's condition upon receipt. If you notated all damages on the delivery receipt (which you should), then you can file a claim with the trucking company. You can also contact your dealer to obtain supporting documents from us, if required by the trucking company.


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By ROBBIE NEISWANGER
FAYETTEVILLE — New Arkansas tight ends coach Barry Lunney Jr. understands the perception following him this week.
He's a former Razorback, who played for the program from 1992-95. He worked as a graduate assistant for Arkansas football in 1998-99. And he has spent the past eight seasons working in the state as Bentonville High's offensive coordinator.
So, naturally, he's filling the role of "Arkansas guy" on coach Bret Bielema's staff.
"I think that obviously that got my foot in the door," Lunney Jr. said. "But I think that my ability to communicate and to develop relationships and to coach football … As we went through the interview, I think it came out and helped me as well."
Lunney Jr. spoke about his new job at Arkansas, one he called a "very large dream," during a teleconference with the media Wednesday morning. He became the ninth coach hired by Bielema, returning to college football after an eight-year absence.
Lunney Jr. called it a "bittersweet" move because it means he also is leaving his father's staff at Bentonville High. But it's a step he's eager to take.
"It has been a very special opportunity for me to work with him and under him," Lunney Jr. said. "I knew that was going to be kind of a once-in-a-lifetime chance when it arose eight years ago. I didn't know it was going to be as long as it was, but I'm glad that it was because it was a special experience and I've learned a lot from him. Obviously at this point, he was very excited for me and felt the same way.
"He was sad to see me go. But he was very excited for me and my wife Janelle and our family for this opportunity because he knows that it has been on my heart and it's been something that's been a desire of mine."
He'll coach tight ends and work closely with the offensive staff, which is led by offensive coordinator Jim Chaney. Lunney said he didn't know Chaney until going through the interview process, but believes the two have meshed.
Lunney Jr. will coach a tight end position that is relatively thin after starter Chris Gragg's graduation. The group will be led by returning senior Austin Tate and sophomore Alex Voelzke. In-state star Hunter Henry also is a verbal commitment.
Lunney Jr. recognized he'll have another role with the program, too, after running backs coach Tim Horton left for a new position at Auburn last week.
Horton, who worked at Arkansas for six years, was a valuable commodity because of his deep ties to the school and to the state, where he knew every high school coach.
"I do think that'll be a certain sense of my responsibility, a certain sense that our former lettermen and former players here are going to have somebody that they can identify with," Lunney Jr. said. "Not that that's just 100 percent totally crucial, but I think it is a very vital thing for players to feel like they have somebody they know that they can relate to, they can trust that is on the inside.
"It gives them a certain sense of belonging to the program."
Lunney Jr.'s last stint as a college coach came at San Jose State in 2003-04, when he was the program's co-offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach. He also spent three years as an offensive assistant at Tulsa from 2000-02.
He planned to begin recruiting for the Razorbacks as early as Thursday, but must first pass the NCAA's recruiting rules test. Lunney Jr. said he was taking a practice test immediately after Wednesday's teleconference and the real thing later in the day.
Lunney Jr. called it his first priority during his first day as an Arkansas assistant.
"It's obviously an exciting time in Razorback football with a new era under Coach Bielema, a new facility coming real soon and just the excitement surrounding the program. I'm honored to be a part of it and looking forward to getting to work."


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Get the Rise of the Argonauts [ALL] Trailer off WP (220mb)
Inspired by the greatest Greek myths and legends, Rise of the Argonauts will enable players to live a hero's life, fight a hero's fight and sculpt a hero's legacy. With a distinctive blend of epic narrative and brutal real-time combat, players will be immersed in a story of lost love and a quest for personal vengeance in a world of gods, kings, magic and awe-inspiring mythical beasts.
Embarking on a quest to find the Golden Fleece and revive his beloved slain wife, Jason and his trusted band of Argonauts explore the vast Aegean – a dynamic world of luscious islands, shining cities, lush jungles and deep forests - in a vibrant realisation of ancient Greece. As Jason, players will carve a unique journey through the game world as their choices incur the god's wrath or favour, shape the plot, change the outcome of each quest and open up new story arcs.
Bates is one of the most sought after composers in Hollywood with a distinctive approach to scoring movies. His list of credits include "300", "Doomsday", "The Devil's Rejects", "Dawn of the Dead", "Halloween" and "Californication". Bates' future projects include "The Watchmen" and "The Day the Earth Stood Still".
"The mythical nature of Rise of the Argonauts encouraged me to go beyond TV and movies and compose the score for my first video game," said Tyler Bates. "Rise of the Argonauts is an epic game with some of the biggest Greek heroes like Jason, Hercules and Achilles, which inspired me to compose dramatic, sweeping music to create the proper setting for this exciting adventure."
"In Rise of the Argonauts, every design choice emphasises immersion. We want players to actually feel like they're heroes in ancient Greece – not just playing a game. Tyler's experience with composing for film and TV gave him a fresh perspective, and his music for the game set the epic tone we were hoping for." said Ed Del Castillo, President of Liquid Entertainment.
Like all true heroes of Greece, the gods follow Jason on his quests. Jason will gain the favour of the gods and earn special abilities, but his actions may please some gods and displease others. Earning a god's favour will grant players powers within the god's domain, but drawing a god's wrath may cause them to inflict a torment on the heroes at the worst possible moment.
An action RPG unlike any other, Rise of the Argonauts' intuitive real-time combat dispenses with cumbersome menu systems that have become intrusive staples within the genre, providing seamless, spectacular battles. As a true weapons master, Jason has instant access to any of the four upgradable weapons he carries with him at all times; shield, mace, sword and lance. Switching weapons mid-fight at the touch of a button, players can string together stunning and deadly combos, taking out enemies in a blur of cold steel and crimson blood.
Rise of the Argonauts, developed by Liquid Entertainment, is in development for PS3, X360, PC, and currently scheduled for Q4 2008.
More articles about Rise Of The Argonauts


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This week in Island history
The news of 10 and 15 years ago is from the Jamestown Press. The news of 100 years ago came from the collection of the Newport Historical Society.
100 years ago From the Newport Daily News, April 15, 1908
The fishermen are busy today setting their lobster pots, the closed season on lobsters having ended at 12 o'clock last night. Already the shores of the island are lined with buoys which mark the traps.
From the Newport Daily News, April 17, 1908
Mr. and Mrs. John Miller of Lincolnville, Maine have announced the marriage of their daughter, Annie Julia Miller, to Mr. John Eldred Watson of this town. Mr. Watson is one of the prominent men of the town, having held many public offices and for a long term of years conducted a grocery store on Narragansett avenue. Mr. and Mrs. John Watson arrived from Boston last evening and will make their home in the Watson homestead on the corner of Clinton and Narragansett avenues.
From the Newport Daily News, April 18, 1908
Indications point to a good season here this summer, as already cottages are being taken and the hotel proprietors report not only many inquiries but that a number of rooms in their houses are already taken.
From the Newport Daily News, April 20, 1908
15 Horses, 50 Cows, 40 Pigs will be sold at Auction, Tuesday, April 21 at the S. A. Pierce Co. Stables, Jamestown, R.I., West Ferry at 12 p.m.
From the Newport Daily News, April 21, 1908
Today's auction at the Pierce place attracted a large number of farmers from Newport and vicinity.
Arrangements are being made for a subscription dance to be given the last of the week.
75 years ago From the Newport Daily News, April 18, 1933
The next meeting of the Home Demonstration Extension Club will (have) … the subject of the day being "Furniture Arrangement." Each member is asked to bring a plan of the room they wish to rearrange.
From the Newport Daily News, April 19, 1933
Elanson Thayer is at the Rhode Island Hospital where an X-ray is being taken of his foot, which he injured a few days ago while playing ball.
J. Howard Bowen will open his White Nook Lunch room on Conanicus avenue Monday, April 24.
Mr. and Mrs. Manuel Godena, who live on old North road, befriended two aviators, who left Boston in a small plane, during a heavy fog late Monday afternoon with New York as their destination. While flying over the North end of the island they feared the danger of the dense fog, and decided to make a landing at the Godena farm. They were given shelter, and resumed their journey the following morning.
50 years ago From the Newport Daily News, April 15, 1958
The Jamestown Town Council last night approved for submission to the financial town meeting in May a budget of $361,911.60. This is $26,466.81 higher than last year's preliminary budget.
From the Newport Daily News, April 18, 1958
Mrs. Kathryn Zweir of 41 Green Lane, Jamestown, brunette mother of four, was crowned last night as Mrs. Rhode Island in a ceremony in Providence.
From the Newport Daily News, April 19, 1958
Commuters' books for passage over the Jamestown Bridge, which sell for $2.50 for 10 trips with a time limit of 15 days, will have the limit extended to 21 days, effective at midnight tomorrow.
From the Newport Daily News, April 21, 1958
George La Vasseur was honored as the most valuable player in the Jamestown Senior Basketball League and Kenneth Froberg as the best sportsman in the round robin tournament at a basketball banquet for the Jamestown Senior Girls and Boys Leagues, Friday night, at the Jamestown Elementary School. The affair was under the auspices of the Recreation Board.
25 years ago From the Newport Daily News, April 19, 1983
The Town Council will ask for a 30 percent fee on top of the cost of any future private water line extensions in an effort to build up the water department's capital improvement fund.
From the Newport Daily News, April 22, 1983
A total of 2,990 voters are eligible to vote in the May 4 town election.
15 years ago From the Jamestown Press, April 15, 1993
Property owners seeking to stop the town from building a ball field at the corner of Eldred Avenue and East Shore Road filed suit Monday in Newport Superior Court.
Spring is here and it's time for a little environmental housekeeping. In conjunction with the upcoming Earth day, the annual Island-wide Cleanup is set for this Saturday.
10 years ago From the Jamestown Press, April 16, 1998
Within the past week both of Rhode Island's U.S. Senators, John Chafee and Jack Reed, came to Jamestown to tour the historically significant Conanicut Battery that is the focus of a group preservation effort.
Voting 4-1 Monday, the Town Council sent enabling legislation to the Statehouse that will allow the town to create a land bank funded by a real estate transfer tax for the purpose of buying and protecting open space on the island.
Harbormaster Sam Paterson and Fire Chief Arthur Christman are working hard to get equipment for Jamestown that can be used to avert the catastrophic consequences of an oil spill off the island's shores.
Two of the volunteers (of the Jamestown Fire Department) are being recognized for their commitment to the department for over 50 years: Valmont "Bucky" Caswell and Dalton Brownell.


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Dbanj who last performed in the UK four years ago landed at Heathrow Airport and stunned other travellers with his beautiful Kokolets. he will be performing with special guests live in Manchester 11th November, Birmingham 12th November and London 13th November.
For more information www.shoobs.com, www.cokobar.com
Image credit - Michael Tubes Creations for SDK Blog.


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|BULUSAN VOLCANO BULLETIN 22 November 2010 8:00 A.M.
|Monday, 22 November 2010 07:59
Bulusan Volcano's (12°46.2'N, 124°03'E) seismic network recorded thirty-three (33) volcanic earthquakes during the past 24-hour observation period. One of the recorded quakes was an explosion type that accompanied the 7:22 A.M. 2 kilometers ash ejection yesterday. The summit of the volcano was obscured the whole day yesterday. Early this morning, weak emission of white steam from the volcano's crater and known thermal vents was observed.
Alert Level 1remains in effect over Bulusan Volcano. The public is reminded not to venture inside the 4-kilometer radius Permanent Danger Zone (PDZ) because the area is at risk to sudden steam and ash explosions. Due to the prevailing wind direction, residents located in the northwest and southwest sectors of the volcano are advised to take precautions against ashfalls. Civil aviation authorities must also warn pilots to avoid flying close to the volcano's summit as ejected ash and volcanic fragments from sudden explosions may pose hazards to aircrafts. Furthermore, residents near valleys and river/stream channels should be watchful against sediment-laden stream flows and lahars because ash and other loose volcanic materials may be remobilized during heavy and prolonged rainfall. DOST-PHIVOLCS is closely monitoring Bulusan Volcano's activity and any new significant development will be immediately relayed to all concerned.


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Horoscopes for week of July 22, 2004
Want to explore the coming week even further, Aries? Dig deeper? Feel stronger? Consider tuning in to your Expanded Audio Horoscope. The reading costs $6.
It's a perfect time to reinvent the past. You'll unearth interesting discoveries if you explore the old days with a critical, objective eye. Look for discrepancies between how you remember things and what really happened. Consider the possibility that some of your memories aren't really your own, but other people's interpretations that you've unconsciously absorbed. By August 15, I hope you'll be ready to correct the story you tell yourself about your history.
What greater adventure is there than exploring the enigmas of your unique destiny, Taurus? For more hints about the week ahead, listen to your Expanded Audio Horoscope. The reading costs $6.
Responding to hate-mongers who want to ban gay marriage, the American Anthropological Association said this: "The results of a century of anthropological research on households and families, across cultures and through time, provide no support for the view that viable social orders depend on marriage as an exclusively heterosexual institution." In fact, the evidence suggests the opposite: "A vast array of family types, including families built on same-sex partnerships, can contribute to stable and humane societies." Make these thoughts your starting point, Gemini, as you re-imagine the kind of family you want to create for yourself in the future. There's no need to be loyal to any of the narrow dogmas your culture tries to foist on you about the right way to live together with people you love.
How much do you want to know about your destiny in the coming week, Gemini? How far do you dare to go? For more insight into your shimmering, undulating fate, tune in to your Expanded Audio Horoscope for the coming week. The reading costs $6.
Is there a lack of money in your life? If so, and you do nothing but whine about it in the coming weeks, your energy levels will decline. If, on the other hand, you develop a plan to pad your bank account -- even if that plan doesn't ultimately work out -- you'll become better looking and your health will improve. It's possible, of course, that you're one of the lucky people whose financial life is thriving. If so, and you do nothing but spend your money on yourself in the coming weeks, your energy levels will decline. If, on the other hand, you share your wealth, you'll become better looking and your health will improve.
No one knows you better than you do, Cancerian. But maybe you'll be inspired to dig up even more self-knowledge in the coming week if you tune in to your Expanded Audio Horoscope. The reading costs $6.
You'll be glad to know you're coming to the end of the Suffering Season. If you've made it through these past few weeks with your sense of humor intact, you now have cosmic permission to give yourself a big shiny reward. To make the best of these last few days, carry Henry Miller's declaration around with you: "Everything we shut our eyes to, everything we run away from, everything we deny, denigrate, or despise, serves to defeat us in the end. What seems painful can become a source of beauty, joy, and strength, if faced with an open mind. Every moment is a golden one for him who has the vision to recognize it as such."
Hungry for more inspiration, Leo? Curious about the unfolding mysteries? For more juicy details about your destiny in the coming week, check out your Expanded Audio Horoscope. The reading costs $6.
Many creative people feel compelled to mirror the pain they witness, making art that is as desolate as the experience it represents. Greek poet Odysseus Elytis mourned this phenomenon. He believed that artists in its grip are like people with healthy legs who choose to limp along with broken crutches. "During the time of Buchenwald and Auschwitz," he said, "Matisse painted the most charming flowers and fruit ever made. They still speak more eloquently than the most macabre descriptions of the period. Their creator was faithful not to the tragedy but to the reaction that tragedy kindled in his conscience." I call on you, Virgo, to respond as Matisse did when you encounter people going through trials and tribulations in the coming days. The best gifts you can give them are your joy and vitality.
Your destiny is a gorgeous mystery, Virgo. Your soul is awakening more every day. The secrets of life are ripening right in front of your eyes. For more clues, consider checking out your Expanded Audio Horoscope. The reading costs $6.
This week I'll give you nine of Darryl Cherney's 20 "Rules of Activism." Honed during his many years of protecting the environment, they should be useful to you as you fight for justice and liberation in your own sphere. 1. Never turn down help. 2. Don't believe your own BS. 3. Speak in plain language. 4. Find the truth in what everyone says. 5. The most interesting things sometimes happen last. 6. Advance planning is overrated. 7. Seize the moment. 8. You never succeed the same way twice. 9. Surf the tidal wave.
What greater adventure is there than exploring the enigmas of your unique destiny, Libra? For more hints about the week ahead, listen to your Expanded Audio Horoscope. The reading costs $6.
The astrological omens suggest that I should urge you to be far bolder than usual. They even seem to be saying that the more brazen you are, the bigger your rewards will be. In fact, Scorpio, if I'm reading the signs accurately, you might want to draw your inspiration from the 40 starving artists in Paris who broke into an abandoned building near the Louvre a few years back. They built studios inside and have been squatting rent-free ever since. Now the city of Paris has bought the building and is paying $3.5 million to renovate it so that the artists can continue to thrive there. Be like them.
Where do you want to go in the coming week, Scorpio? Who do you want to be? For more clues, tune in to your Expanded Audio Horoscope. The reading costs $6.
Developed by the Austrian philosopher Rudolf Steiner, the Waldorf system of education is designed to cultivate the soul as well as educate the intellect. Waldorf teachers say it's crucial that young children aren't pushed to master academic subjects prematurely. One sign that the time is ripe, they believe, is when a kid begins to spontaneously draw butterflies. This suggests that his or her soul has completed its chrysalis stage. I bring this up, Sagittarius, because every time I turn my meditations to you lately, I get visions of you drawing butterflies. Does it mean you've completed an adult version of the soul's metamorphosis?
Life will bring you entertaining revelations in the coming week, Sagittarius. To explore even deeper, dive into your Expanded Audio Horoscope. The reading costs $6.
Though musician Stevie Wonder has been blind since birth, he has recently begun to drive a Rolls Royce. His "road" is a flat, empty airfield where he's not in danger of crashing. I suggest you Capricorns draw inspiration from his example in the coming weeks. Create a safe place where you can experiment with an activity you've always avoided because of a supposed handicap or lack of natural aptitude.
Want more clues, Capricorn? Need further insight? I discuss your coming week in greater depth in your Expanded Audio Horoscope. The reading costs $6.
You've been suffering from an excess of rational behavior and logical thinking, Aquarius. It's high time for some poetry. I don't so much mean reading poetry as being and doing poetry. Here are some ideas to get you started. Wash your feet in a river. Lie on a green hill and sing lullabies to the person you'll be ten years from now. Eat the petals of a pansy or violet or nasturtium. Thank your mother for the pain she endured while birthing you. Give yourself a secret name, then spell it out on the ground with pine needles. Assume you have psychic abilities, and read people's minds. Sip tea in the rain. Dream you're a hawk soaring over a volcano.
Need a few more whacks applied to your mental blocks in the coming week, Aquarius? A few more caresses administered to your growing edge? Cruise on over to your Expanded Audio Horoscope. The reading costs $6.
Joan Borysenko is a medical researcher and psychologist who has written several books on how to synergize the efforts of mind and body in cultivating good health. I respect her work, but was appalled at a statement she made recently to an interviewer. "The most sobering discovery," she said, "is that we will never truly heal the wounds of our past." My own experience suggests that some people have suffered some irremediable hurts. But on countless occasions, I've also seen brave, dedicated souls completely fix what had been broken in them. In fact, that precise possibility is now looming for you, Pisces. In the coming weeks, you will have the power to make dramatic progress toward a spectacular cure that will put you in better shape than you were before you were wounded.
Got enough clues to chew on for a while, Pisces? If you need more, give yourself the luxury of your Expanded Audio Horoscope for the coming week. The reading costs $6.
|Missed a week? Check the horoscope archives.
© 1995-2013 -- Rob Brezsny. All rights reserved


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City to help pay for sewer valves
Council says basement sewage not city's fault but wants to assist
Tiffany Tiedemann thanked Gothenburg City Council members when she left a recent meeting.
That's because council members, at their July 20 meeting, agreed to reimburse local residents up to $250 for a device designed to stop sewage from flowing into basements.
Tiedemann, whose 702 Washington St. home was flooded with sewage during heavy rain in June, had attended the last three council meetings.
She had asked for help with expenses caused by the flooding which she blamed on a sewer system not equipped to handle heavy rain and having other problems.
Although they did not admit to negligence, council members did hash out three criteria for application for the money that caps out at $10,000.
Applicants must:
- have a basement.
- live in a pre-existing home.
- prove they've bought a check valve before reimbursement.
The money is available on a first-come, first-served basis. Valves must be bought by October of 2011.
Application must be made at city hall.
At an earlier meeting, Tiedemann and a handful of other residents affected by sewage had asked if the city could provide the devices that range in price from approximately $250 to $350.
Installation is estimated at $500.
Council members discussed the possibility of adding payments to monthly sewer bills to help residents afford the device.
At the July 20 meeting, city administrator Bruce Clymer attributed the cause of sewage backup and water in basements to 10 inches of rain that pummeled the city over several days.
On the two highest days—June 13 and 14—flow was almost 2.3 million gallons a day which Clymer likened to what a city with a 23,000 population handles daily.
"Where the sewer backed up, it couldn't handle all of the water," he said at the earlier meeting.
Tiedemann, at the July 20 meeting, said she pays her bill to the city and expects the sewer to work appropriately.
And because her insurance for sewage damage topped out at $10,000, she said she has no money for a valve or its installation.
Council member Jim Aden said there isn't a fast answer and that a study of the city's sewage system now underway needs to continue.
Aden said he was open to helping affected residents pay for a check valve but said the age of city pipes and their deterioration may mean an increase in taxes at some point.
City attorney Mike Bacon said the council needed to set parameters for eligibility for reimbursement for the devices but with no admission of liability.
City services director Shane Gruber said it may take awhile for plumbers to install them and that high water tables now could be a problem.
Mayor Joyce Hudson said she hoped homeowners would be aggressive in installation before spring rains next year.
Council president Jeff Kennedy said he didn't think the city is responsible for the sewage problem but that doesn't mean officials can't do something.
Councilor Tim Strauser said he thought the reimbursement program should be open to anyone in town.
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Paulina + Ric forever
Paulina Porizkova and Ric Ocasek were photographed on holiday. (Half of you are like...who???)
She's 47. She's had children. This is why supermodels really are genetic freaks. And rock stars too. He hasn't aged either!
Am so happy that they're still together. It's been a long, long time. It's been since the 80s. Oh the 80s. Supermodels were indeed superior in the 80s. I will argue this to death. Conveniently, a reader called Kelly just emailed this link to me this morning: 45 reasons supermodels were better in the 80s. Gia, bows, no camel toes, big hair, dancing poses, and more!


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Maybe it's the hot summer nights, the end of exams, or the sheen wearing off Ulduar already after a mere 7 weeks in release, but people I know seem restless in Azeroth. In our raid, we've had a few people going on breaks or temporary summer vacations from the game. I'd noticed the rest of the server was busy attempting to recruit also so it seems to be a more universal trend.
Among the various guild switches are two friends of mine, one from in-game and one from iRL. And I thought it was interesting to see what happened, why they hopped guild, and how it worked out.
Don't treat your trials like used tea-bags!
First up, a friend of mine who is also one of the keenest and friendliest raiders that I know in game. He was one of the mainstays of my earlier 10 man raids in Naxxramas, and it always improved my mood when I saw that he'd signed for the week's raid. He puts out awesome dps, always gives 100%, is friendly and enthusiastic, cheers people up on voice chat, is always up for a challenge and does whatever he can to help other people with advice as well.
So I was sad when I heard that he wanted to transfer to a PvP server to be with some friends in a more hardcore guild. But I figured that our loss was someone else's gain, and could see why he might want to try raiding on a different level.
Later, we heard that it didn't work out so well. His new guild only ever slotted him in for progression/wipe raids and wouldn't give him a lookin at the raids where he might have been able to gear up. His friends were recruited to an even more hardcore raid guild. It was barely a month in and he was already planning to transfer back to our server, then he actually got a decent job offer for a summer job and decided to do that instead.
And all I could think was what muppets that raid guild had been. By not treating a trial member with respect, they just lost one of the best raiders they could have ever hoped to get. Clue: if someone has just paid to transfer to your server, the chances are they won't be running off with loot any time soon. And first impressions count, especially when summer is coming up and people have lots of non-game related options to do with their time.
Being carried is great!
A friend of mine in real life raids on a different server. He's also a very keen raider, and had been a stalwart member of a casual raid group that had some success in TBC. At some point he decided that he wanted to do more progression raiding and switched to a more hardcore guild on a different server to do so.
All was going well, I had thought, when he commented recently that he had switched guilds again recently. His old guild had stalled for two weeks on Mimiron and he had been getting frustrated … then spotted that one of the more progressed guilds on his server was looking for an enhancement shaman.
He posted up a picture of his character at a Yogg-Saron kill, noting, "I was bottom of all the dps on the meters, but damn it feels good to be carried!" I know he plans to stay and work on the hard modes with his new guild, and I'm sure he won't stay bottom on the meters once he gets to gear up some more. At least until they get stuck on one for a couple of weeks 🙂
It was just that once he'd gotten into the progression mindset, there was no point staying with a guild that had hit a brick wall and being frustrated when there were other options.
This, by the way, is why recruitment is such an issue for progression-minded guilds. It doesn't take very long for your more ambitious raiders to start feeling twitchy IF they know they have options. And when the playebase in general is restless, there will be other options. In fact, switching guilds whenever your current one seems to have reached its limit is arguably the optimal way for an individual to behave if progression is their personal goal.
What do you think?


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The Boring Beatle
Martin Scorsese's new documentary neuters George Harrison.
We're living in the age of the schlockumentary. Ideally, a documentary should have an arm's-length distance between subject and chronicler. And one hopes that the director is there in service of the viewer, not the subject. In the arts world, that ideal is getting harder and harder to find. A vast cottage industry has sprung up around the making-of documentaries for movies and even CDs. They sport a professional patina and are often enjoyable to watch. But they aren't real documentaries: There's never anything in them that any of the interested parties (stars, director, the producers, the studio) don't want in them—and in the end, they're being used to sell product.
It's worse when you get into the real world. Consider Pearl Jam Twenty, the new documentary on Pearl Jam, by director Cameron Crowe. Back in the 1990s, Crowe, a friend of the band's, wrote the Rolling Stone cover story on the group, one of the only substantive interviews Vedder and Co. gave during their early stardom. Here we are almost two decades later, and Pearl Jam has the same friend do a "documentary" on them. Pearl Jam Twenty is a fun movie with lots of great early footage, but Pearl Jam's corporation is listed as a producer, so you know there's not going to be anything in it that doesn't jibe with the band's image of itself.
Our leading schlockumentarian is Martin Scorsese. Now, Scorsese is known for his piercing use of rock in his films; beyond that, he was one of the editors for Woodstock and directed The Last Waltz, which is still the gold standard for rock docs. But even in The Last Waltz you can see him work hard to burnish his buddy Robbie Robertson's image. (Other members of the Band have said, for example, that Robertson's theatrical backup singing was delivered to a dead mic.) No Direction Home, Scorsese's celebrated four-hour documentary on Bob Dylan, was engrossing, but it was also based on interviews that the Dylan camp had already made and gave the director to build a film around. The film unaccountably received a Peabody for a practice that would be unacceptable in most journalistic outlets. When films or film screener discs are given out to journalists, the industry often includes things called electronic press kits, or EPKs, which feature pre-filmed canned interviews with the stars. No Direction Home is basically a high-end EPK.
Then Scorsese made Shine a Light, a filmed concert movie about a pair of Rolling Stones shows at the Beacon Theater in New York City in 2006. The beginning of the film sees Scorsese seemingly in a frenzy about getting the setlist for the show, which is delivered to him at the last second. Scorsese knew that the Stones had started most of their last 60 or 70 concerts with "Start Me Up," and that men the Stones' age rarely do anything radically new. Scorsese later admitted he'd had the setlist hours before the show, but that didn't stop him from ginning up a fake drama that allowed him to insert himself into the film.
And now we have Scorsese's George Harrison: Living in the Material World on HBO, an exhausting but not exhaustive look at the life of the Quiet Beatle. It is a signal work in the age of the schlockumentary. The film, all three-and-a-half-hours-plus of it, is, as you'd expect from Scorsese, a handsome presentation. It's stately, respectful, at times touching, and bears the marks of his typically exhaustive research. But in the end, the documentary contains nothing that the subject, were he still alive, would have found objectionable.
There are two ways to look at George Harrison. The nicer one is that he was a top-line and underappreciated guitarist, good enough to have spent many years as a close friend and occasional collaborator of Eric Clapton's; that he wrote at least two classic songs ("Something," and "Here Comes the Sun," two more than most songwriters write) and another half-dozen quite good ones; that he was one of the original rock humanitarians; and that, all in all, given a career he could never have dreamed of, he made his way through it with a great deal of dignity. Like John Lennon, he suffered a grievous assault for no other reason but that he was famous (a knife attack on the eve of the millennium, which nearly killed him); and he died too young, of lung cancer, in 2001, not yet 60.
The other and arguably more realistic appraisal might be that George Harrison's contributions as a guitarist were pretty much limited to a few Beatles riffs and the fine and quite recognizable slide sound he developed in his solo years. That producing two great songs after 10 intimate years with two of the top songwriters of the 20th century isn't awfully surprising, and that even if you throw in the other half-dozen, the total isn't much for a recording career that spanned almost 40 years; that most of his Beatles songs are inferior; that his voice was weak; that he was more than a bit of a mope; that he thoroughly embarrassed himself on his only American tour; and that the greater share of his solo work was poor, and that some of it was dreadful.
You can imagine which side of this Scorsese takes. For Beatles fans, there's a lot to see in the documentary. The first half, which airs Wednesday evening and takes us up to "While My Guitar Gently Weeps," begins with a tour-de-force of a collage, set to Harrison's "All Things Must Pass," that captures some of the feelings of loss his death left among his friends and then efficiently limns the postwar era of Harrison's (and the other band members') childhood. (He didn't grow up with indoor plumbing.) There's also a great deal of priceless footage of the group's early years, even more than in the still enjoyable Anthology series of Beatles documentaries. (Among other things, Scorsese handles the switch from the kids' black-and-white world to a color one with some lancing cuts and song cues.) Scorsese was also given access to some of Harrison's letters to his parents, which are read by Harrison's son Dhani.
Scorsese gets Klaus Voorman and Astrid Kirchherr on-screen—they were the Beatles' closest friends during their time playing in the red-light district of Hamburg. There are memorable and haunting images of the doomed Stu Sutcliffe, the group's original bassist and Kirchherr's boyfriend. Living in the Material World doesn't have any voice-over narration, so there's a recurring floating feeling as you watch. Here, we hear about the Beatles' reaction to Sutcliffe's death but not about how or why he died. (It was a brain aneurysm at the age of 21, possibly stemming from a street fight the group had gotten into.)
The second half, which is being shown Thursday night, deals with the breakup of the Beatles, similarly indistinctly; Harrison's increasing interest in Indian music, religiosity, and mysticism; events like the Concert for Bangladesh (still a sublime concert experience on DVD, incidentally); and, superficially, his solo career and activities in the last 30 years of his life. (Among other things, he stepped in to bail out the production of Monty Python's Life of Brian, and hung out with race-car drivers, like England's Jackie Stewart.)
Now, Harrison's a not-uninteresting figure and probably warrants a documentary. And again, Scorsese's army of researchers has rounded up some incredible footage, like the extended takes of a British TV show in which questioners try to get to the core of Harrison's religious beliefs.
But Living in the Material World fails on several levels.
For the first, it's not really fair, I suppose, but Harrison's natural diffidence doesn't work for him in this context. Particularly in the first 45 minutes, dramatic events like formation of the Beatles and the death of Sutcliffe tend to overshadow the film's ostensible subject. It doesn't help that Scorsese keeps getting distracted by one of Harrison's bandmates in particular. (I can imagine someone who knew nothing of the Beatles watching the first part and saying, "I don't really get that George guy, but who was that John character? Someone should make a four-hour documentary about him.")
Second, the EPK origins of the thing are always on display. Consider Harrison's 1974 solo tour. Scorsese slides in the news that the shows got some bad reviews, but only, in trademarked schlockumentary fashion, in the context of someone leaping to Harrison's defense. In fact, the tour was a legendary debacle. For the shows, Harrison foisted on the audience not one but two sets of Ravi Shankar, harangued fans with his beliefs, and insisted on changing song lyrics to remind people of how religious he was. (He even did this with Beatles songs he didn't write. He sang Lennon's "In My Life" as "In my life/ I've loved god more." For some reason, such interpolations weren't popular.)
The show was so bad that the Rolling Stone feature on the fiasco ("Lumbering in the Material World") featured this analysis of the show in its fourth paragraph: "I hated it. … One, it's too long. Two, Ravi's got to be one set. And three, George has to shut up." That was from Harrison's publicist. The footage from the tour Scorsese shows here, which I'd never seen before, shows that Harrison's crimes were not just artistic but sartorial. He looks like Mork from Ork's twit British cousin.
Harrison, after some soundtrack work, released nearly a dozen solo albums after the breakup of the Beatles. Scorsese's interest in them stops at the second, All Things Must Pass. (Another of the documentary's coup interview subjects: ATMP producer Phil Spector, who it turns out sounds like Peter Falk. Unmentioned here is the fact that Harrison once recalled that it took Spector about 13 cherry brandies before he could get to work on the album.)
Besides "Isn't It a Pity," the title track is probably my favorite Harrison song; it has a great Spector production and features Harrison's most resonant vocals. But it's also true that the mystical grandeur of the song's title disappears when you pay attention to the lyrics: It's really a fairly cold "sorry I had to break up with you" song, and has a lot of typically careless writing in it, too.
In other words, once Harrison's way with a melody left him, early on in his solo career, he wasn't left with much. If you wield your remote fast enough you can do a freeze-frame on a fleeting glimpse of a Rolling Stone review of Harrison's Dark Horse solo album. (The headline is "Transcendental Mediocrity.") This is the only sign of the almost unrelieved decline in Harrison's songwriting and record-making talents after All Things Must Pass.
Maybe I'm being churlish, but I think a 200-plus-minute documentary about a songwriter should include something about the work he did in the last five-eighths of his adult life. Even the better songs from this period—"Crackerbox Palace," say, or "Faster"—suffer from an uneven production and Harrison's even more uneven voice. Am I the only person who thinks the charming "Crackerbox Palace" is decisively marred by Harrison's effete delivery of the "We've been expecting you-oo-oo" line? Also unmentioned here is the fact that the only things resembling hits in the last 25 years of Harrison's life were novelty numbers (a Beatles tribute song, "When We Was Fab," and a cover, "Got My Mind Set on You"). Harrison wasn't exactly David Crosby as a symbol of post-'60s rock-star artistic decline, but he was close.
And if you want to learn about Harrison the musician, that's not here either. Whether as an oversight or because he simply couldn't find anyone to make the case, Scorsese gives Harrison's supposedly innovative guitar work about 12 seconds of testimony from Clapton. Another oddness: Scorsese lets Harrison, in a voice-over, give himself credit for being so daring as to write a religious song like "My Sweet Lord." (It's a great single, but in fact, a lot of rockers at the time had done such a thing—Clapton and "Presence of the Lord," the Byrds and "Jesus Is Just Alright," etc.) But he doesn't detail the famous suit over the song, in which Harrison was ultimately found to have unconsciously plagiarized the 1963 girl-group classic "He's So Fine" to write it.
Here as elsewhere in the film, Scorsese makes elliptical reference to things but doesn't give viewers the full story. We get Billy Preston giving a short account of how the song was written, while he and Harrison were on tour with Delaney and Bonnie. (This was an American hippie singing ensemble of the era. Clapton and Harrison unaccountably found them irresistible.) The Preston comments seem to be a nod to the real story of the genesis of the song, which doesn't reflect well on Harrison. According to an account given by Delaney Bramlett to later Harrison biographers, he had deliberately made up for Harrison a sort of nonce song to illustrate how you could take a well-known tune, like "He's So Fine," and turn it into a religious song by adding lyrics about god. That interaction is the genesis of Harrison's "My Sweet Lord." In other words, Harrison had not only known the song was plagiarized, he'd stolen the plagiarized idea from Bramlett.
I take the point that it's hard, when it comes to profiling rock and movie stars, to get into their personal lives, which in the vast majority of cases are uncomfortable things for their spouses to talk about. (That's a nice way of saying that most stars, married or not, aren't monogamous.) To Scorsese's credit, and to her credit as well, he gets Olivia Harrison, who was with George from the mid-1970s to his death in 2001, to address Harrison's attractiveness to women and the resulting "challenges in the marriage." "Sometimes," she reflects, "people say, 'Well, what's the secret of a long marriage?' You don't get divorced!" And we get passing mention of the famous love triangle involving Harrison; his first wife, the model Pattie Boyd; and Clapton, which played itself out against the writing of Clapton's "Layla" and "Bell Bottom Blues" and resulted in Boyd's leaving Harrison.
There's a lot more to the story. In her memoir, Wonderful Tonight, Boyd says Harrison was highly controlling as a husband, pursued other women, lost interest in her, and then spent all his time puttering around his estate and filling it with Hare Krishna families. (The best part of the story, also not told in Living in the Material World, is how Clapton started going out with Boyd's 17-year-old sister Paula to get close to Boyd. A juicy footnote: Clapton relates in his own, oddly affectless autobiography about how, one gay evening at Harrison's house, Harrison took him aside and suggested he, Clapton, seduce Boyd so that Harrison could make a run at sister Paula. Ah, the '70s.)
Finally, the film really never investigates the real mystery of Harrison: What was he so morose about? Now, Ringo Starr is one who appreciates the cosmic joke life played on him. He has a cheerful acceptance of life's whimsy, hiding what no doubt has been his daily prayers since circa 1963: "Please, God, I don't know what a goofball like me did to deserve this life, but thank you very much, and please let me know if I'm doing anything that would cause you to end it." Harrison, by contrast, has always had a sense of the aggrieved about him. I just don't know what the source of it was. In Harrison's mini-autobiography at the front of I Me Mine, the unasked-for collection of his song lyrics, he seems mostly unhappy about … the travel indignities he suffered during the Beatles years. In the documentary, Scorsese plays the price-of-fame card heavily. "It's fun," Starr says, "early on. But then you want it to stop, and it never does."
Whatever the source, Harrison seems to have been on a quest to find some answers or relieve some pain. We see a bit of the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, the cartoony imp who founded the transcendental meditation movement and with whom the Beatles, led by Harrison, and some other pop icons of the day became infatuated in 1967. Here as elsewhere, we don't hear about the deflating punch line: How Harrison and Lennon, his biggest devotees, left his ashram in a storm after rumors (never really substantiated) came out that the Maharishi had been making passes at Mia Farrow.
Scorsese just doesn't seem interested in addressing the source of the impulse that moved Harrison into religious mysticism. (In some of the letters to his parents we hear in the film, Harrison's growing interests in this area sound like something out of Tommy. That's not good. Harrison's drug use, which he might have been using as self-medication, is also given sidelong mention, but the severity of it is never explored.) But that something pained Harrison it is taken for granted here. One nut in full Krishna regalia says that chanting "helped George overcome feelings of distress and anger." What feelings of distress and anger? Rock stars have emotional pain too, of course; I'm not disputing that. But everyone seems to accept that Harrison had some problems, but we never hear what they were.
The end of the documentary is the most memorable, as the lovely Olivia Harrison, who comes across as both gracious and down to earth, is allowed to speak at length about various aspects of their lives. It can't have been easy being married to a rock star. She gives a harrowing, mordantly funny account of the knife attack, and some moving words about Harrison's death, from lung cancer, in a hotel in Switzerland in 2001.
The sad thing about Living in the Material World is that Scorsese has so bowdlerized Harrison's life that he comes off as somewhat boring. One bit of testimony from Harrison himself inadvertently captures how the film makes him seem almost evanescent. He says he sometimes reflects on death and wonders what he would miss in life. He acknowledges his son who, he notes seriously, needs a father. "Other than that," he says, "I can't think of much of a reason to be here."
It's a deflating line, and one I think that he doesn't deserve to leave as an epitaph. I like more songs than Harrison's six or seven good ones; The Concert for Bangladesh film alone is a great legacy, and I celebrate his quirks, like his lifelong, fruitless battle against Britain's high tax rates. (In I Me Mine he reproduces a 1-million-pound check he'd sent to the U.K. tax authorities. That was a mind-blowing amount of money in 1973.) Just in Beatles lore alone, he's something of a relief, particularly when set against Paul McCartney's fatuousness, Lennon's malevolence, and Starr's chirpiness. Perhaps the odd behavior his first wife observed had something to do with depression over the declining critical and commercial appeal of his work. These are all elements that would have broadened our understanding of Harrison the man. By removing the edges that gave the man's life some bite, Martin Scorsese hasn't done George Harrison's legacy any favors.


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