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Fall preschool yard and bake sale, 7-11:30 a.m. today in Stull Hall of Grace Lutheran Church, corner of Blythe Street and Sixth Ave. Info: 693-4972.
Disciple classes, 9 a.m. and 7 p.m. Tuesdays at Etowah United Methodist Church, 110 Brickyard Road, Etowah. Info: 890-3367.
Divorce Care class, 5-7 p.m. Sunday evenings at Mud Creek Baptist Church, 403 Rutledge Drive. For those dealing with separation and divorce. $10 registration fee. Info: 692-1262 ext.135.
Grief Share class, 5-7 p.m. Sundays at Mud Creek Baptist Church, 403 Rutledge Drive. For those dealing with grief and loss. Info: 692-1262 ext.135.
Christian outreach classes, 10:15-11:10 a.m. Sundays through Nov. 17 at St. James Episcopal Church, 766 N. Main St., Hendersonville.
"Models of Prayer" classes, 5:45-7 p.m. Thursdays through Nov. 20 at Grace Lutheran Church, corner of Blythe Street and Sixth Avenue. Info: 693-4890 ext. 304.
Fall preschool yard and bake sale, 7-11:30 a.m. today in Stull Hall of Grace Lutheran Church, corner of Blythe Street and Sixth Ave. Info: 693-4972.
10,000 Villages Holiday Fair, to benefit area nonprofits, 10 a.m.-4 p.m. today and 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Sunday, St. James Episcopal Church, 766 N. Main St., Hendersonville. Info: 693-7458.
Fall festival, 3-6 p.m. today at Bill's Creek Baptist Church, 1475 Bill's Creek Road, Lake Lure. Benefits Guatemala mission. Info: 625-5517.
Craft sale with baked goods and lunch, 9 a.m.-2 p.m. today at Balfour United Methodist Church, 2567 Asheville Highway, Hendersonville. Benefits UMW missions. Info: 692-5501.
Thirteenth annual juried crafts festival, 9 a.m.-3 p.m. today at Barber Christian Life Center, First United Methodist Church, Sixth and Church, Hendersonville. Mainstay's Dandelion Restaurant will cater lunch. Info: 697-1732.
Harvest day, 8 a.m.-1 p.m. Nov. 9 at Boylston Baptist Church, Highway 280 Near Transylvania County Line. Everyone welcome.
First Sunday night singing, 6 p.m. at In Jesus Name Church, 2934 Sugarloaf Mountain Road, Hendersonville. Music: New Salem. Info: 685-3313.
Blue Ridge Ringers performance, noon-2 p.m. Nov. 9 at Jeffress Road Greenhouse of Van Wingerden Nursery, 4112 Haywood Road, Mills River. Everyone welcome. Info: 692-4910.
The McKameys and Carolina Quartet concert, 7 p.m. Nov. 21 at Mud Creek Baptist Church, 403 Rutledge Dr., Hendersonville. Love offering. Info: 692-1262.
Gospel Jam, 7-9 p.m. the first Saturday of the month at First Baptist Church of East Flat Rock, 227 Spartanburg Highway, Hendersonville. Free. Info: 243-8100.
Study and retreats
The Bible In 90 Days study, 3-4:30 p.m. Thursdays through Dec. 19 at First Presbyterian Church, 699 N. Grove St., Hendersonville. Leader: Pastor Bill Campbell. Info: 692-3211.
The Sovereignty of God: women's Bible study of I Samuel, 10 a.m. Tuesdays at Mount Pisgah Lutheran Church, 2606 Chimney Rock Road, Hendersonville. Info: 692-7027.
Lord, Change My Attitude Bible study, 9-11:30 a.m. Tuesdays through Nov. 19 at First Baptist Church, Hendersonville. $15. In this study, James shows how attitudes can affect whether someone stays in the wilderness with negative attitudes or enjoy blessings. Info: 693-0885.
Abundant Simplicity: The Book of John Bible study, 9-11:30 a.m. Tuesdays through Dec. 10 in the Crosswalk building, First Baptist Church, Hendersonville. $5. Info: 693-0885.
A Confident Heart Bible study, 9-11:30 a.m. Tuesdays through Dec. 10 in the Crosswalk building, First Baptist Church, Hendersonville. $14. Exchange fear-filled thinking with faith-filled believing. Register. Info: 693-0885.
Morning Bible study, 10 a.m. Tuesdays at Fletcher First Baptist Church, 5 Cane Creek Road. Info: 687-1031.
Men's Majestic Humanity of Jesus Bible study of Mt. Pisgah Lutheran Church, 8 a.m. Friday, breakfast at Denny's with Bible study. For directions and info: 692-7027.
Calvary Kids Club, 3-4:30 p.m. the first and third Sunday at Calvary Episcopal Church, 2840 Hendersonville Road, Fletcher. Info: 684-6266.
Celebrate Recovery group, 6-8 p.m. Tuesdays at Mud Creek Baptist Church, 403 Rutledge Drive. For those in addiction recovery. Info: 692-1262 ext.135.
Extended Family, 6 p.m. the third Mondays at Blue Ridge Prison and Jail ministries house, 410 E. First Avenue. For families facing the trauma of incarcerated family members. Info: 696-0607.
Freedom That Lasts, 7 p.m. Friday night and 10 a.m. Sunday at Progress Baptist Church, 1935 N. Rugby Road. For those who are hurting or have fallen. Info: 419-0722; 545-9177.
Good News @ 6, 6 p.m. the fourth Sunday of each month at Calvary Episcopal Church, 2840 Hendersonville Road, Fletcher. Welcoming all ages to a different service of worship. Info: 684-6266.
Open Sanctuary Prayer, 12:15-12:45 p.m. the last Monday of the month at Grace Lutheran Church, 1245 6th Ave. W., Hendersonville. Prayers and thanksgiving together. Info: 693-4890.
Taize worship service, 5 p.m. the second Sunday of each month in the Brunson Memorial Chapel at First United Methodist Church of Hendersonville, 240 Sixth Avenue West. Info: 693-4275.
Taize worship, 6 p.m. the second Sunday of each month at Calvary Episcopal Church, 2840 Hendersonville Road, Fletcher. A quiet and reflective worship. Info: 684-6266.
MemoryCaregivers Network meeting for caregivers (Fletcher Group), 1-3 p.m. the first Tuesday of the month at Fletcher Seventh Day Adventist Church, 1141 Howard Gap Road, Fletcher. Info: 645-9189 or 230-4143.
Free children's ministry, 1-5 p.m. the first and third Thursdays of each month at Cummings Memorial United Methodist Church, Banner Farm Road, Horseshoe. Free children's clothes for up to 6 years old, along with diapers, supplies and equipment at the BEAR closet. Info: 891-9413 or 891-1557.
My Sister's Closet is open 9 a.m.-noon Mondays at First Methodist Church, 204 6th Ave. W. Clothing of different styles for work. Info: 693-4275.
Bread ministry — free bread from 3-4 p.m. Mondays at Balfour United Methodist Church, Highway 25 North, across from Hunter Chevrolet. Info: 692-5501.
Ministry for Separated and Divorced Catholics support group, 5-6:30 p.m. every Sunday at Immaculate Conception Church, at Seventh Avenue and Church Street, in meeting room 1, lower level of the church. Info: 329-4026 or 702-1249.
Please email copy for the Crossroads page to email@example.com. Deadline is 5 p.m. Monday, the week before the event. If you don't have access to email, please mail typed copy to Crossroads, Times-News, P.O. Box 490, Hendersonville, NC 28793 or fax to 692-2319. Emailed submissions are given priority. Include contact name and number and a church or event information number for publication. Call 694-7874 for more information.


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CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – Top seed and host MIT erupted for eight goals, including a team high four from Molly Duffy (New Providence, N.J.), to defeat Springfield College in a New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) field hockey semifinal on Saturday afternoon at Jack Barry Field. The Engineers (16-3) advance to tomorrow's NEWMAC final where they will await the winner of Saturday's second semifinal between Mount Holyoke College and Babson College. The Pride see their season come to an end at 5-14.
The Cardinal and Gray jumped out to a quick lead, striking for four goals in the game's first 15:15. Kameron Klauber (Carlsbad, Calif.) opened things up with her 18th tally of the season on a terrific feed by Elizabeth Dethy (Morristown, N.J.). Duffy started off her big day just two minutes later, as she finished off Klauber's pass from the near post.
Maddy Wharton (Swarthmore, Pa.) got in on the action with a blast from the top of the circle on a penalty corner and Duffy struck for the second time to put the hosts up 4-0 less than midway through the opening frame.
The Pride would battle back however, as Alexa Carlson (New Milford, Conn.) took a pass from Kelly Gallo (Westfield, Mass.) in the 18th minute and Lynne Donoghue (Barnstable, Mass.) scored just before the intermission, to cut the Tech lead to just two into the break, despite a 21-7 edge in shots and 6-2 advantage in penalty corners.
Anna Teruya (Hockessin, Del.) helped stem the tide early on in the second half, scoring the first of three MIT goals over a five-minute stretch, beginning at the 29:08 mark. Following a loose-ball scramble, Teruya took a pass from Kimberly Barker (Camden, N.Y.) and lofted a high-arcing shot over Springfield goalie Grace Bibber's (Damariscotta, Maine) head for the 5-2 lead.
Duffy capped her hat trick just over three minutes later, as Barker picked up her second of three assists on the day. Klauber added a second marker and Duffy would score once more down the stretch to provide the final margin.
Duffy's fourth goal of the day also gave the sophomore 23 on the year and moved her into first place all-time on the single season scoring list at MIT, breaking Klauber's mark set in 2009. The sophomore finished with nine points on four goals and one assist. Klauber had a pair of scores and three helpers while Barker also picked up three assists.
For the game, MIT held a 30-10 advantage in the shot column and earned seven penalty corners to just two for Springfield.
Casey Landry (Peabody, Mass.) and Jenna Klein (Parma, Ohio) split time in goal for the Cardinal and Gray, with Landry earning her 14th win of the season. Bibber had eight saves for Springfield in the loss.
MIT will play in its third-straight NEWMAC final on Sunday at 1:00 p.m. The Engineers won the league title in 2009 before falling to Babson a year ago.

subset: commoncrawl


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StreamTeam members can access the StreamTeam Interface by logging in and following the "Internal Link" on their start pages.
Instructions for StreamTeam members.
StreamTeam Forum at Google Groups
The StreamTeam Project is the way that American Whitewater lets its members share their knowledge about rivers with the paddling public. It's a grass-roots online database of river info, continually updated and improved.
Here is the concept behind the StreamTeam Project:
The StreamTeam members (STs) are a group of trusted AW member "info volunteers" who are and will be responsible for helping generate and review the volumes of river data that are available via the new web-based AW river database. They come from all over the US (and eventually the W. Hemisphere) and will essentially be acting as featured authors and trusted verification sources for their chosen whitewater watersheds and/or streams.
The AmericanWhitewater.org website receives, includes in its database and displays all manner of wwriver information. Along with everything from the usual location, length and class of a river, we are inviting all wwpaddlers and the general public to share their information and help build the rivers database. First-hand descriptions, rapid ratings, flow recommendations, hydro info, gage information, permit info, safety notices, history, pictures, maps, members' links, estimated numbers of paddlers per season, archived AW Journal articles, nearby motels, campgrounds, outfitters, gas stations, etc…basically, ANYTHING paddlers might find useful to know about a particular wwriver. The more info we share - the more powerflow we get…
In order to help AW identify, maintain and verify the river information entering (or not being entered into) the database, we will be relying upon our STs to keep their chosen watershed information correct and up-to-date as much as possible by using an email-driven alert system. Whenever new information concerning the rivers within the ST's chosen jurisdiction comes into the AW site (via the "Add a Comment" feature), an automatically generated email will be sent to the ST with the new information for verification. The ST can then verify and enter the information to the database as correct and confirmed to the best of their knowledge, find it to be incorrect and delete it, or simply leave it as unverified and/or unknown.
In addition to providing a comprehensive and eye-catching web-based interface, we've incorporated EPA and USGS identifiers in AW's main database, using it in cooperation with the USGS databases to provide user-customizable "Gaugebot" email-driven gage reports for our members. How does being automatically notified when your fave stream is running at your chosen optimal flow sound to you?
To do this, we need help from every corner of AW's membership. The initial phase of the StreamTeam Project had approximately 200 volunteers. For a truly comprehensive database, we need at least twice that number. A ST may choose to monitor as many, or as few streams as (s)he wishes. After choosing a stream, if an ST moves out of the area or decides that (s)he can't continue, (s)he can easily resign that stream, leaving it for the next volunteer to take on. This project is open-ended, which means that each of us can do as much or as little as (s)he wants.
So, please, if you have knowledge of a stream…whether it's a local stream that only you and your two buddies paddle, or a famous stream that gets 2000 kayakers and raft hogs every Saturday, join up with the ST project, share your knowledge, and help American Whitewater become the paddlers' resource for the new millennium!
Note: all StreamTeam members, StreamTeam Leaders, and the StreaMaster must be current American Whitewater members.
StreamTeam member:
* Choose a group of Streams to oversee.
> Regional StreamTeam Leader:
> StreaMaster:
Note: all StreamTeam members must be current American Whitewater members.
To become a StreamTeam member, please follow these simple steps:
*Void where prohibited by law, poor judgment or skill degradation.


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Rene, Georgia, and Seth talk using iPhones at work, what apps make the home screen, the Siri ad, iCloud and battery life issues, camera improvements, celebrating Steve Jobs, and Hal 9000. This is iPhone Live!
- iPad Live 79: 4 geeks and a beard
- Iterate 9: Zhephree
- ZENandTECH 20: Communication
- TiPb Asks: What apps are on your main iPhone 4S home screen?
- Seth: How I use my iPhone as CIO of a web and app development company
- Ally: How I use my iPhone to run a small iOS device repair, development and consulting business
iOS 5, iPhone 4S, and iCloud
- Apple airs first iPhone 4S commercial, focuses on Siri
- How to fix battery life problems with iOS 5 or iPhone 4S
- Poll: How's iCloud working for you?
- How much has the iPhone camera improved over the years?
- Sprint working to fix slow iPhone 4S data speeds?
- T-Mobile US says they're waiting on Apple, AWS-capable iPhone
- Apple posts Celebrating Steve video from October 19 Event.
- 60 Minutes: Steve Jobs [Videos]
- Aaron Sorkin being courted for Steve Jobs biography, the movie?
- iCloud data center to be powered by the sun?
The competition
- 2009 iPhone 3GS gets iOS 5, 2010 Nexus One doesn't get Android 4.0
- Can Nokia + Microsoft's new Lumia give iPhone a run for its money?
- Nest learning thermostat helps iPhone users save energy
- IRIS 9000 lets you use Siri from across the room, HAL 9000 style
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text: blog postsNo luck at the Career Fair? No Worries!:Sep 16, 2011 9:15 pm by Luis FariasShare on FacebookTweetEmailNo luck at the Career Fair? NO WORRIES!:Securing an INTERNSHIP as an Underrepresented Freshman or Sophomore StudentI am currently a Junior in Accounting, but I once was a Freshman in the College of Business (COB), without career plans, no knowledge of networking, and much less knowledge about internships. As I joined organizations and met people (AKA networking), I was introduced to these minority student internship programs, and I want to now make a one-stop shop for all of them. This post will instruct you on how to secure an internship for this upcoming summer. I will focus on two main ways to secure this internship and they are: PwC's Semester of Discovery Internships (SDI), and INROADS internships. Other ones to look into are the Google BOLD internship and other company programs that are similar to PwC's SDI program. My first internship was an INROADS internship, but I will talk about my PwC SDI internship first, since it was the most recent. This past summer, I had the opportunity to intern with PwC in their San Francisco office as an SDI intern, working mainly with Tax HR. I will go into more detail about this internship in another post, but just know that it was an AMAZING opportunity. How to secure an SDI internship with PwC: -Meet Beth Compton, PwC's Lead Recruiter for this school OR email me and I can put you in contact with her OR attend a future ALPFA event, where PwC will present and she will be in attendance (details to come) -Ask her about the SDI internship -Have a resume -Be willing to intern in other cities -Keep in contact with Beth Compton throughout the school year, attend lots of PwC campus events, and do research on the Firm -Get a high GPA, or if you are a Sophomore, maintain or raise your GPA -Get involved within the COB -When the time comes, apply for the internship, and if you did all of the above, you will have a really high chance of getting it -And enjoy your internship this summer Now let's move on to INROADS. Basically what INROADS does is they recruit and train underrepresented Freshmen and Sophomores, and pair them up with a company (they work with companies such as UTC, MetLife, PwC, Boeing, KPMG, Target, and E&Y), for a paid, yes I said PAID, internship. My first internship was with Walgreens, through INROADS. It was great experience, while getting paid! How to secure an INROADS internship: -Go to INROADS.org, click on the STUDENTS tab, click on APPLY NOW, then click on START APPLICATION -Fill out the application completely and do EVERYTHING it tells you to -Be on the lookout for INROADS coming to campus -Have a resume and participate in their resume critique and mock interview -Participate in their Candidate Prep Session (has great tips on every aspect of getting an internship, from how to dress professionally, to the interview process, to how to send a follow-up email) -After all this, you will receive a call from INROADS asking you if you would like to interview with one of the companies they work with -You get connected with a recruiter from the company and offered an interview -Repeat the previous process multiple times, as in you get contacted for multiple interviews -Rock the interviews -Send a follow-up email and keep in touch with the company representatives after the interview -Accept an internship offer -Have a productive summer interning at the company These steps may sound a little easy, and it is because they are! You only need persistence and to not give up on the internship search, and you will find one for this summer. If I missed anything, I will comment on my own post, and just add it here, so if you read this and you feel like you have done these already and want more, make sure you check out the comments section. Thanks for reading! Good luck with the internship search and comment or email me if you have any questions or would like me to help you personally with this. I would love to help! Luis firstname.lastname@example.com stats665 Views 0 Comments additional actions Add Comment


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Tim Sanford
Tim Samford, a former patient at Encompass Health Rehabilitation Hospital of San Antonio, was diagnosed with a rare condition, Guillain Barré Syndrome. See how Tim's wife Maria and his rehabilitation
Encompass Health Patient Journey
We go above and beyond to make the post-acute care patient journey seamless, thorough and personalized to meet the specific needs of each patient.
Experience the Patient Journey - Investor Relations
Through this video, you will experienceEncompass Health's innovative approach to connected care as we follow the patient journey to superior outcomes. Learn more at investor.encompasshealth.com.
30 sec TV spot - Spring Hill
Autoambulator - Encompass Health
Hear from Autoambulator super user Roselie Louissaint how this technology has changed the lives of Encompass Health Rehabilitation Hospital patients.
Gayle Fisk - Encompass Health San Antonio
Jonathan Savage - Encompass Health San Antonio
During the senior year of high school, most students are busy preparing for college, planning for their future and anxiously counting down the days to graduation. Jonathan Savage was among those stude
WMBF - Encompass Health Florence patients experience real therapy
WMBF News highlighted Encompass Health Rehabilitation Hospital of Florence's new grocery store simulator, designed to help patients who have suffered life-altering injuries adapt into everyday life. A
Dr. Senelick - What to say when you don't know what to say
Have a friend who has recently lost a loved one? Or have a loved one who was just diagnosed with cancer? Not sure what to say? Dr. Richard Senelick, a neurorehabilitation physician and editor of Encom
Dr. Richard Senelick - The plateau of rehabilitation
Dr. Senelick, a neurorehabilitation physician and editor of Encompass Health Press, discusses the plateau of rehabilitation and how to progress from it.
Dr. Richard Senelick - Delivering and receiving bad news
WLTX - Encompass Health Columbia patient recovers from West Nile Virus
Lawancia Williams fell victim to West Nile Virus in July 2017. It caused paralysis, but she is recovering thanks to rehabilitation at Encompass Health.
Leadership Development
Developing Future CEOs final
Focus on the positive Jen Muzzi
When diagnosed with breast cancer, Jenn Muzzi found her silver lining and defeated the disease
Stronger together - The Encompass Health Way
We believe our individual strengths make us stronger together. We take accountability for our actions, connect across all teams and lean in to get it done - at all levels of the Company.
Focus on the positive - The Encompass Health Way
We have a positive spirit and find the light even in the most difficult situations. We bring our whole self to work. We celebrate successes and inspire others to create meaningful impact.
Do what's right - The Encompass Health Way
We do the right thing the right way, no matter how difficult, even when no one is looking. We are not afraid to have hard conversations. If we make a mistake, we acknowledge it, proactively find a res
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We start with empathy, taking the time to understand the physical, mental and emotional needs of each other and those we support. We listen, make deep connections and engage on a personal level to bet
Set the standard - The Encompass Health Way
We are committed to going above and beyond, never settling for anything less than excellence. We pride ourselves on being industry leaders and challenge ourselves to continuously improve.
Encompass Health and AHA/ASA Together To End Stroke Announcement


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As part of their October report, Dice says it's found that one of the most frequent refrains they hear from clients is distress in trying to find .NET talent and they've posted more than 10,000 positions requesting .NET experience. Alice Hill for Dice says, "That job count is up more than 25 percent as compared to last year, faster growth than total jobs posted on Dice. If demand continues to outstrip supply, wages will adjust."
Why the .NET talent shortage? Part of the gap between supply and demand is that technology workers are concerned that if they specialize in .NET application development they won't be able to easily branch out to other platforms. The other worry is money— Tech pros who regularly develop for .NET earn about $83,000 a year, as compared to more than $91,000 for those specializing in Java. Also, .NET is a relatively straight forward framework to learn. Hiring managers and recruiters consistently chase mid-career talent.
Full Bio
Toni Bowers is the former Managing Editor of TechRepublic and is the award-winning blogger of the Career Management blog. She has edited newsletters, books, and web sites pertaining to software, IT career, and IT management issues.


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Hardware: Special Edition (US - BD)
Gabe thrills at finally getting his hands on Richard Stanley's first motion picture
My familiarity with director Richard Stanley's work was reserved to wildly conflicting rumours of quality for years. Thanks to distribution issues of one type or another I had to wait most of my adult life to actually see Dust Devil, the director's most celebrated narrative feature film. The rumours were mostly accurate. Dust Devil is an undeniable artistic achievement, awash with gorgeous photography, and steeped in metaphorical imagery, but it's also painfully humourless and self-important. Regardless of the effect, I was interested enough in the explicitly intelligent filmmaker to seek out his one other major release, Dust Devil's sci-fi/horror predecessor, Hardware, a film largely considered more accessibly entertaining by the director's fan base (not to mention Fangoria Magazine).
Hardware defies my best attempts at a real plot synopsis. The story concerns a doomed couple of dystopian residents of a dystopian world. Moe (Dylan McDermott) is a drifter that trades scrap metal for cash, and his girlfriend Jill (Stacey Travis) is an industrial artist. Moe picks up a robot skull and gives it to Jill, who attaches it to a sculpture. After the couple has sex the robot skull reactivates and attacks. The rest of the film is a violent slice of never ending climatic energy, and clearly not as thoughtful or steeped in analogy as Dust Devil. It's a victim of a limited budget that lacks the scope it probably deserves (it's less 'killer robot on a rampage', more 'killer robot inconveniences woman in her apartment'), but is still mostly entertaining thanks to an incredibly bright colour pallet that would make Mario Bava blush, rich production design that compensates for the limited locations, kinetic, music video inspired editing, and joyful spikes of graphic, but not vomit inducingly grotesque bloodshed. The unusually solid cast certainly helps as well, and covers the lack of development with an excess of personality. Simply state the film is, as Stanley himself puts it, an Italian influenced slasher movie with a science fiction slant.
Those viewers willing to let the film exist on a less than perfect level should be satisfied with the reflexively stimulating effect. Like a Lucio Fulci's supernatural zombie opus, or a John Woo's pistol opera, Hardware works as a series of lurid images, and runs on such a basic story structure the plot doesn't really count for anything. We have to let it go. The larger problem is found in the fact that Hardware is clearly an elongated short subject, with a lot of padding, and a lot of repetitive action. Stanley acknowledges the 'elongated climax' aspect in his commentary rather unapologetically, and apparently found inspiration in the practice. In turn, much of the film's more overtly oblique and pointedly artsy moments will likely rub exploitation fans a bit raw, but I firmly believe this wouldn't be as big a problem had the padding not suggested further reading beneath the surface. The mercilessly longwinded final 30 or so minutes are the most telling example. The vague religious implications, and lack of clear-cut character fate is admittedly frustrating. Despite an apparently completed and sold script much of the film was clearly created on set and in the moment (the Biblical aspects, that found their way into the tag line, were apparently brought up by Dylan McDermott after being hired). The staged and planned elements are the strongest, and had Stanley taken more time to stew on the right wavelength he might've had a great looking and well acted movie with a good story to seal the deal.
At the very least Stanley introduced a whole lot of cyber-punk imagery to live action film, and though he doesn't mention anime or manga as a specific inspiration (he mentions European comics, E.C. Comics and Heavy Metal Magazine), Hardware introduces some indelible anime-like images a solid eight years before Stephen Norrington broke into the American mainstream with Blade. More interesting, however (and sadly kind of irrelevant to this review), is Norrington's pre- Blade film, 1994's Death Machine. Death Machine also features a violent, multi-bladed robot fighting cyber punks in a dystopian future, and is also a largely referential piece of low-budget cinema (characters are actually named after famous sci-fi and horror directors). Both films are also overlong. Norrington came out of a special effects background, so his film is a little more energetic, but Stanley's auteur eye and music video background makes for the more visually interesting movie. Death Machine features the superior script, and Brad Dourif, so a battle royale between the films would prove a bit hard to call. At the very least Stanley beat Norrington to the well by four years (and Norrington knows this, as he worked as a 'special robotic technician' for Stanley on Hardware).
Anyway, Stanley clearly has no allusions concerning originality, and is completely open in admitting his various filmic inspirations (he lists a novel's worth on the commentary track). He calls it a 'scratch and sniff assembly' of science fiction and horror movies. The most obvious homage is paid directly to Ridley Scott's Alien and Blade Runner (McDermott's costume and Travis' smoking in particular), James Cameron Terminator and Aliens, and to George Miller's Mad Max series. Even laymen and passing cineastes can readily recognize these nicked bits, but the film is more interesting for the not so obvious inspirations. Stanley also mentions, among dozens of one-off references, Kingdom of the Spiders, Saturn 3, Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2, and all manners of Dario Argento and Sergio Leone flicks as playing major roles in the film's look and structure. Personally I found it rather satisfying to hear a filmmaker actually refer to Italian horror as a major inspiration in crystal clear words, because as a fan I often suspect I'm hoping to see something that isn't really there.
Stanley doesn't mention Shinya Tsukamoto's Tetsuo the Iron Man, but the two films are so conceptually similar they might as well be siblings. Tetsuo was released only a year before Hardware, so it's more than just possible that the two filmmakers were entirely unaware of each other. Other similar features not expressly discussed, but which might have served some kind of minor inspiration, and which might entice fans of Hardware include Tobe Hooper's Lifeforce, George Elanjian's Syngenor, and Aaron Lipstadt's Android.
Severin Films is quickly developing an A-plus streak of Blu-ray transfers, that per-capita beats Blue Underground, but doesn't quite add up to the impossible clarity of the recent New York Ripper release. Why would you want to buy some forgotten British B-Sci-Fi flick in hi-def? Because Stanley is nothing if not a gluten for colour, and his cinematographer Steven Chivers, a popular music video man, his happy to oblige. Absolutely nothing about Hardware is subtle, and the lighting schemes are among the least subtle live-action schemes I've ever seen outside of Argento's Suspiria, Romero's Creepshow, and Tobe Hooper's Eaten Alive. Some scenes are so intensely red that there aren't any midtones are hightlights on screen, just pure red and pure black.
The colours are (for the most part) impressively free of overt compression, with the scenes in the apartment lit solely with red gels acting as a major standout. A standard definition transfer would surely erupt into blocks of low-level noise given such pure and bright reds. Yet, the pure reds don't keep other primary highlights from fulfilling their own purity. When the monster finally meets his end in the normally lit bathroom the natural colours are almost startling. There is plenty of textured skin and layered production design to be absorbed under both real and stylized lighting. The age and general wear is obvious enough at some points, specifically during the opening credit scene, which features the most noticeable artefacts on the entire transfer. Grain is consistently present, but pretty thin, and acts as texture more than a distraction. It's had to decide what on the print could be counted as edge-enhancement or over-sharpening because of key lighting, but there is surely at least a few minor problems throughout.
For some reason Severin has so far chosen not to present any of their Blu-ray discs in lossless audio, but this 5.1 Dolby Digital track is nothing to cry about. The original Dolby Surround track is also available for comparison's sake, and I'm happy with the overall remix, which is true to the 2.0 track with a more discrete center channel, a more aggressive LFE, and a little rear channel musical action. The more abstract sound design, such as the echoing voices during the hallucinatory poisoning scene, finds its way into the surround channels, but mostly the non-musical elements are relatively centered on the track. The sound clarity is surprisingly natural, only falling short when struggling to maintain a true centeredness. There are some moments where the Blade Runner inspired electronic score (which is occasionally spiked with massively operatic choral elements) overwhelms the relatively even track with possibly unintended volume levels. The music was composed by Simon Boswell, who Stanley picked up from Italian horror like Argento's Phenomena and Michelle Soavi's Stage Fright. Stanley would use Boswell again for the more dreamy Dust Devil, but here the composer is clearly coming off those early Italian films, where he was clearly inspired by Goblin. Also in keeping with those late '80s Italian horror flicks, the soundtrack features recognizable pop and metal acts like Public Image LTD., Ministry, Iggy Pop, and Motorhead.
This release marks Severin's first truly great special edition collection (no offense to their other releases implied), and the included special features rival many of the company's most obvious competitors. The extras begin with a Richard Stanley commentary track. The moderator is cut off at the top of the track when stating his name, and Stanley soils the mood by immediately stating he doesn't 'believe' in commentaries. If he doesn't believe, he has a funny way of showing it. This is a fantastically information packed track. The facts of the case are quite interesting, despite the director's hesitance. Details of the behind the scenes process are coupled with some of the director's personal beliefs, and most importantly, his inspirations. There's even a bit of real life science to be learned. Stanley talks so quickly I'm going to have to listen to the track again to absorb the whole thing, as listening to the track while writing makes the full on absorption almost impossible. Considering I hadn't ever seen the film until this point it's also good to know what was originally cut for the R-rating (this is the uncut release version, but Stanley wasn't able to reassembling a director's cut).
'No Flesh Shall Be Spared' (54:00, HD) is a full-bodied, fact-filled documentary that covers the making of the film, starting from Stanley's Super-8, music video, and war documentary roots, without repeating too much of the already info-packed commentary. Various cast and crew members discuss the film's inception, the history of the Scala Cinema, which led into Palace Pictures video (famous for releasing The Evil Dead in the UK), production and art design, budgetary constraints, bringing the Weinstein Brothers into the fold, casting, Dylan McDermott's discovery of the Biblical quote that became the film's opening quote, inspiration, cinematography, actual production, special effects, filming in Morocco, the musical soundtrack, editing and censorship, and Stanley's basic world view.
Next up is Incidents in an Expanding Universe (1985, 44:00, HD), Stanley's first Super-8 shot at some of the basics of Hardware. It's clearly an amateur production, and a little plodding, but Stanley's artistic streak shines through. Despite the nothing budget and rough film quality the production values are surprisingly solid, including some surprisingly adept model work, and props nearly as complete as those found in the proper theatrical version of the story. The short actually features a larger scope, encompassing actual events from the war alluded to during Hardware, and generally more plot, though the narrative execution is definitely awkward. Those with imaginations could view the short as a prequel. The footage is presented in 1080i, which is clearly beyond Super-8 capabilities, and not exactly important considering the footage's condition, which is next to bad. The overall quality is enough that we can mostly tell what's going on, but the colours are washed out, the blacks are pretty brown, and whites are blown out. The audio quality is pretty dismal as well, including lots of pops and crackles, and some less than smooth transitions (Stanley uses some of the same library music George Romero used for Night of the Living Dead). The sync is off as well. Still, in any condition the footage is a valuable edition to the disc.
Two other Super-8 shorts are included. Owners of this and the five disc Dust Devil collector's edition now basically own all of the director's film, it seems. The image and sound quality of these shorts are similar to Incidents in an Expanding Universe. Rites of Passage (1983, 10:00, HD) is a kind of Kurt Vonnegut look at the diary of an immortal man set to images of a caveman type wandering the South African countryside (played by Stanley himself), and a modern man preparing for suicide. The Sea of Perdition (2006, 8:33, HD) is a dreamy, widescreen look at one female astronaut's journey across what appears to be Mars. It appears that Stanley discovered a sense of humour.
The disc is wrapped up with footage of Stanley discussing the Hardware 2 script (7:40, HD), a deleted and extended scenes reel (25:00, HD) presented from a VHS source copy with temp audio (elongated sex scene, more character interaction, a little more girl on robot action, and raw robot killing fat guy footage), a vintage video EPK (3:30, HD), and a German trailer.
Hardware is far from perfect, but visually appealing thanks to an intense colour scheme and wonderfully layered production design that covers a limited production budget. The soundtrack is pretty great too, and the solid performances make up for the lack of plot. Despite the slightly shaky quality of the film itself, the disc is nearly perfect. This is how you re-introduce a long lost cult classic to modern audiences – with a standup commentary, a well produced retrospective documentary, three pertinent short films, and deleted and extended scenes. The awesome remastered high definition video doesn't hurt either. Severin is now officially giving Blue Underground a run for their money.
* Note: The images on this page are not representative of the Blu-ray release.
Review by Gabriel Powers
Existing Posts
Great, great, great film.
OK, I checked and the two commentary tracks are indeed different. The UK one features Richard Stanley and producer Paul Trijbits, and it's Trijbits who tells the James Cameron story.
Other differences: the UK Optimum misses the "No Flesh Shall Be Spared" documentary and only has one soundtrack, an LPCM 2.0 (48k).
However, it does feature "Sea of Perdition", "Rites of Passage" and "Incidents in an Expanding Universe". It also has the deleted scenes.
Exclusive to the Optimum UK disc is "Voice of the Moon", a short Stanley shot while hanging with the Taliban, but note that this movie was covered far better on the "Dust Devil" Ultimate Edition DVD, with commentary and a separate interview. Stanley's adventures in Afghanistan were far more interesting than the film "Voice of the Moon" will ever be, so if people want to see this short I'd point them to the "Dust Devil" UE instead.
One of the best extras of the Optimum UK releases is actually not on the disc. Included in the packaging is a booklet which contains (amongst some other interesting things) a reprint of the comic short story "Shok", on which "Hardware" is (loosely) based. Now THAT is a worthwhile addition!
Other differences: the UK Optimum misses the "No Flesh Shall Be Spared" documentary and only has one soundtrack, an LPCM 2.0 (48k).
However, it does feature "Sea of Perdition", "Rites of Passage" and "Incidents in an Expanding Universe". It also has the deleted scenes.
Exclusive to the Optimum UK disc is "Voice of the Moon", a short Stanley shot while hanging with the Taliban, but note that this movie was covered far better on the "Dust Devil" Ultimate Edition DVD, with commentary and a separate interview. Stanley's adventures in Afghanistan were far more interesting than the film "Voice of the Moon" will ever be, so if people want to see this short I'd point them to the "Dust Devil" UE instead.
One of the best extras of the Optimum UK releases is actually not on the disc. Included in the packaging is a booklet which contains (amongst some other interesting things) a reprint of the comic short story "Shok", on which "Hardware" is (loosely) based. Now THAT is a worthwhile addition!
I don't recall that ever coming up on the track, but it's a dense track so I might have missed it.
So... is this a different commentary track as the one featured on the Optimum BluRay which was released a few months ago in the UK?
THAT one was brilliant fun too. Richard Stanley is a good speaker and he seems to be an endless vault of weird anecdotes. It seems he cannot leave the house without stumbling across something that is supernatural or conspiracy-related, and often both.
The Optimum commentary also discusses comments made by James Cameron about Hardware. Many critics considered Hardware to be a cheap Terminator rip-off, but James said he loved what Richard Stanley had done with the premise. This story is told by the moderator who immediately gets scolded by Stanley: "Why didn't I know this? You never told me that!!!".
I love good commentary tracks and the one on the Optimum disc is fiercely entertaining. If the Severin track is a different one (I cannot remember so many elaborations on source material) I might have to check that out as well.
THAT one was brilliant fun too. Richard Stanley is a good speaker and he seems to be an endless vault of weird anecdotes. It seems he cannot leave the house without stumbling across something that is supernatural or conspiracy-related, and often both.
The Optimum commentary also discusses comments made by James Cameron about Hardware. Many critics considered Hardware to be a cheap Terminator rip-off, but James said he loved what Richard Stanley had done with the premise. This story is told by the moderator who immediately gets scolded by Stanley: "Why didn't I know this? You never told me that!!!".
I love good commentary tracks and the one on the Optimum disc is fiercely entertaining. If the Severin track is a different one (I cannot remember so many elaborations on source material) I might have to check that out as well.
wow... its been a while
thanks for the reminder it will be out on DVD and Blu-ray. I love this film.
"That's what you want. That's what you get."
"That's what you want. That's what you get."
Same here.
This is probably sitting on my doorstep as I type...can't wait to get back from vacation to check out the disc and retire my VHS copy.
This product has not been rated
Disc Details
Release Date: 13th October 2009
Discs: 1
Disc Type: Blu-ray Disc
RCE: No
Video: 1080p
Aspect: 1.85:1
Anamorphic: No
Colour: Yes
Audio: Dolby Digital 5.1 English, Dolby 2.0 English
Subtitles: None
Extras: Director Commentary, No Flesh Shall Be Spared, Incidence in an Expanding Universe, The Sea of Perdition, Rites of Passage, Richard Stanley on Hardware 2, Deleted and Extended Scenes, Trailer, Vintage Promo Video
Easter Egg: No
Feature Details
Director: Richard Stanley
Cast: Dylan McDermott, Stacey Travis
Genre: Horror and Sci-Fi
Length: 93 minutes
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Groton wants to put a lid on drinking at town events
Groton - Police will enforce a town ordinance this summer that prohibits drinking at town-sponsored events such as concerts at Esker Point Beach and may issue $100 tickets if necessary, according to Groton Town Police Chief Michael Crowley.
Last year, police focused on educating people about the ordinance that dates back to 1969 and also forbids drinking alcohol in public.
Crowley said he hopes residents will voluntarily comply, but if they don't, officers may issue tickets, he said.
"I'm not having people go around checking everybody's cups," Crowley said. "But we're certainly dealing with the open, flagrant beer bottles and wine bottles."
The Summer SoundWaves Concert Series begins June 20 and runs from 6 to 8 p.m. on Thursdays at Esker Point Beach.
Crowley said he's watched the concerts change in recent years, from family-oriented events where children play and couples share a bottle of wine, to events where young people try to carry 30-packs of beer across the street.
Groton police assigned three officers to the concerts several years ago, but have since increased that to five. Two bike officers also patrol the area.
The concerts typically attract at least 2,000 people, Crowley said.
Officers made no arrests last year but spoke to eight to 12 people per concert, explained the rules and sometimes asked them to return alcohol to their cars, Crowley said. Signs were also posted at Fitch High School and notices distributed to people parking their cars before the performances.
Officers have made a handful of arrests during the last several years for minor violations during the concerts, Crowley said.
Town Councilor Bruce Flax, who has attended the concerts for years with his family, said he has not seen a problem at the events so he doesn't know why there's an issue.
He said there's been a "wink, wink" policy about drinking.
"To me, you're either in compliance or you're breaking the ordinance," he said. He said police could stop drinking at the concerts entirely if they issued 50 tickets for three straight Thursdays.
But Flax said he supports the police approach.
Lisa Greenspan of Groton, who relaxed at Esker Point Beach on Thursday, said it's too bad that enforcement is necessary.
"It's sad that we're getting our privileges taken away. It really feels like that," she said. "You can't just come to the beach and have a beer. It's sad that other people have made it get to the point that police (would) issue tickets. But at the same time, people bring their kids here. You can't have a drunk person running around."
Crowley said he still hopes for voluntary compliance.
"We're not trying to ruin anybody's good night," he said.
Meet the future farmers, scientists and artisans of Ledyard High School


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Dense fog advisory issued until Christmas morning | News
(WXIA) - Christmas Day could be a stormy one across Georgia and the remainder of the Southeast, thanks to an expected severe storm and tornado outbreak.
The Storm Prediction Center says they expect much of Georgia - including Metro Atlanta - to be in a Slight Risk category for severe thunderstorms for Christmas Day. Areas to the southwest of Georgia, including parts of Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana are expected to be in a Moderate Risk area for Tuesday.
MORE | 11Alive Weather Information Zone
11Alive Meteorologist Chris Holcomb says the strongest storms can be expected to the south and west of Metro Atlanta, but doesn't rule out severe weather for the area Tuesday evening and into the overnight hours.
Major threats include high winds, vivid lightning, heavy rains and possible hail. A possible tornado cannot be ruled out with this storm system.
The entire 11Alive Weather Information Zone team will be hard at work Tuesday and into Wednesday to make sure that the latest information is available on the air and online.


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DoubleX presents new 3D project Between The Lines created entirely in After Effects CS4.
- After Effects CS4 and above compatible
- No plugins required.
- 10 placeholders for video footage/images
- 15 textholders – 5 for introduction, 10 placeholder descriptions
- 2 placeholders for logos
- Full HD resolution 1920×1080 @ 25fps
- Detailed video tutorial included
- Full color adjustment
- Render time 3 hours on Intel Core i7, 16GB of RAM
- Videos used in this project are previews from my other projects available for sale here on VideoHive.
To see some high-definition screenshots, check out: Screen1, Screen2, Screen3, Screen3, Screen4, Screen5
Audio is not included.
Absolutely brilliant music "A Spark of Motivation" from audiophile-trax can be purchased HERE.
Purchasing this project doesn't give you the right to resell it on another websites or elsewhere. You are purchasing a license to use this project, if you have never read about regular/extended licenses, click here.


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Why Men Crave Real (Not Perfect) Bodies
I met Tessa* at a premiere party in Hollywood several summers ago. It was held in a decked-out airline hangar, and everything, from the stunning cocktail waitresses to the champagne fountain, was over-the-top. But even in the midst of all that glitz, Tessa was the main attraction. She was a slender, vibrant redhead in a bright orange dress—you couldn't miss her. After a few minutes of sneaking nervous glances in her direction, I got up the guts to approach. "You're wearing my favorite color," I said. "I like orange because it rhymes with—"
"Nothing," she finished. The spark was undeniable. Tessa was smart—an investment banker—and had a great laugh. Somehow, she was still single. When she casually slipped me her card at the end of the night, I was ecstatic.
On our date the following week, things got even better. Tessa wore a clingy black dress, and over dinner she lit up with stories of four-million-a-minute losses in the futures market. Sexy. When she asked me back to her place after the check came, I couldn't say yes fast enough. Soon, as we stood in her hallway, groping each other like teenagers, my hand fumbled to her chest, anticipating the plush, nurturing flesh of her…
Wait a minute. Was her breast rippled? As I felt the telltale implant bag under her skin, I thought, Damn it—fake boobs. My mind overflowed with images of hospitals and scalpels. I froze up, and Tessa noticed.
"You're acting weird," she said.
"I am not. I mean, maybe I am. It's just, um, are these, uh," I stammered, still sheepishly groping at her chest.
"Are you frisking me?" she asked.
I stammered on.
"Get out," she said.
Before I knew what had hit me, I was back in my car, driving away from the first woman who'd sparked my interest in months. What just happened? Was I really going to let plastic surgery get in the way of my search for love—again?
That's right. Tessa wasn't the first surgically enhanced woman I'd dated, and she wouldn't be the last. Let me explain: I'm an actor in my thirties, and I live in Los Angeles, a town that seems overrun with silicone. Before I met Tessa I'd already dated women with nose jobs, huge breast enhancements and lips plumped to bee-stung proportions. With each of these women, I'd tell myself that what they did with their bodies was their choice, that it wasn't my place to judge. But then questions would fill my head: Is this woman really who she seems to be? Am I dating the person or the persona? Inevitably my attraction to them floundered, and the relationship did too. I had, it seemed, a real issue with all the nipping and tucking going on in the dating world. And this wasn't just an L.A. phenomenon either—I have college friends who've noticed the same trend in America's heartland. In 2006, according to the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, there were nearly 11 million cosmetic procedures in the U.S.—that's nearly a 50 percent increase from 2000.
Certainly, men are partially responsible for this trend. We can be superficial creatures: abandoning faithful life partners for younger, prettier versions, TiVo-ing Skinemax movies and wondering why we, mere mortals, aren't married to the likes of Jenna Jameson. But as much as we lust after images of hyper-real beauty in the Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue or even in the apartments or cubicles next door, we don't quite know how to react when those unreal bodies actually belong to the woman in our lives.
Was surgery something I could handle? Or was it time to start looking for a "natural" woman, "flaws" and all? It would take me three more relationships and a handful of blunders to figure that out—starting with Mia….
No secrets, except surgical ones
I met Mia soon after the Tessa "frisking" incident, and I was relieved that all of her looked and felt natural. She was pretty and feisty, cracking me up with stories about her two schnauzers with rhyming names. Within weeks of meeting, we were an item, taking weekend trips and storing toothbrushes at each other's apartments. So imagine my surprise when, during a rainy day many months later, Mia decided to show me an old photo album—and I didn't recognize anyone in the pictures. "Where are you?" I asked.
Finally, she laughed nervously and said, "I'm right there, silly." I looked closer.
Same hair, same smile, but when I finally focused between her eyes, I blurted, "You had a nose job?!"
I was baffled, and more than a little hurt. We'd been dating for almost a year. She'd trusted me enough to tell me about losing her virginity and her secret dreams of moving to Spain, so why hadn't she trusted me enough to tell me about her surgery? She made light of it, and insisted there was nothing to talk about, but I couldn't let it go. It seemed dishonest. A lie by omission, surely—but also a lost opportunity for intimacy. Why had she gotten the nose job? How did it feel before and after? These were things I wanted to know. And once I realized she didn't feel the need to share them with me, the trust between us was gone. Our relationship ended pretty quickly after that.
Trying to see past the nips and tucks
Not long after things went south with Mia, I met an ad executive who was elegant and quirky (one of my favorite combinations) and whose proportions seemed perfectly normal. I asked her to dinner, and we met a few weeks later at a Japanese restaurant. But something was different about her that night. As she nibbled at a bowl of edamame, I figured it out: Her lower lip seemed much fuller than it was the first time we'd met—it looked like the mouths of actresses I'd worked with who'd gotten collagen and talked about it openly. And since those actresses were so comfortable discussing it, I felt comfortable asking the ad exec, "When'd you get your work done?"
"Work done?" she shot back. "Who do you think I am, a stripper?" I was beginning to get the picture: Women might chat about their surgery—or adventures at the dermatologist's office—with near strangers, but the new guy they're dating is probably the last person they feel like sharing with. If I wanted to know whether my date still had all her God-given parts, I needed to figure it out from visual cues alone. When it came to implants, if the boobs were pert with no bra: fake. If they were too rounded on top: fake. Needless to say, my obsession with all of this became a topic of great amusement for my coupled friends. "What was it this time, Gabe?" they'd ask when we gathered for dinner.
Then I met Callie, who didn't make me guess. She singled me out at a friend's birthday party, regaling me with childhood stories, most of which involved some sort of brawl. "By the way," Callie suddenly said, "these fake boobs are so not me." This was a change: I'd hardly had time to notice her breasts—all my attempts to check her out discreetly had been foiled by her gaze, and she was already revealing that they weren't real. Her forthrightness was a breath of fresh air, and I felt comfortable asking why she'd gotten fake boobs in the first place— if they weren't "her"? It turned out a former boyfriend had woken her up one morning with a very romantic question: "Hey, you ever think about getting better tits?" Callie loved this guy, and after a series of failed relationships, she wanted to please him, so she went out and bought big, D-cup implants a few months later. Unsurprisingly, they broke up soon after that, and Callie was left with a very strange relationship souvenir. Some girls have tattoos of old lovers' names; Callie had an $8,000 pair of breasts.
I'd started to really like Callie. And as we talked about the problems her implants caused for her—the way people took her less seriously at work, the unsettling way she no longer recognized herself in the mirror—I came to a realization about why I was so wary of women with plastic surgery. As far as I could tell, almost all the women I'd met who had changed their bodies through surgery had either done it to bandage some adolescent body issue or to make themselves more attractive to men. I didn't like that—it didn't seem like a celebration of beauty, but a scrambling attempt to fix something. What I wanted was to be with a woman who worshiped herself as much as I worshiped her. I mean, come on, this is the female form here, the most beautiful thing on earth. To me, surgery somehow implied a lack of confidence. It was as if something purchased to say, "Hey, check me out," actually said, "I don't like myself very much." I knew that in some ways, this was a ridiculous generalization. Women get surgery for all kinds of reasons. Who was I to decide that every person with a chiseled nose also came with psychological baggage? But I couldn't help it; that's how I felt.
When I explained this theory to Callie, she said she understood. In fact, she told me, she'd decided to get her implants removed. Great, I thought. Callie would get back her real body, and I would get a girlfriend with natural breasts. But part of her transformation, apparently, included cutting me out of her life. I'll never know exactly why she disappeared without a word after her surgery, but I have a feeling she wanted to rethink her relationships with men—what they wanted from her, and what she was willing to do for them. I have to admit, I understand. And looking back now, I can appreciate what she taught me: that choosing to have surgery doesn't make you a dishonest person.
Understanding what I really needed
After that, determined to change my dating luck, I tried looking for women outside of my Hollywood circle—at the gym, at the grocery story, even at the library. That's where I met Kara. Kara was a novelist from New York who looked lean and fit and, best of all, completely real, in jeans and a T-shirt. When I thought about getting my hands on her au naturel parts, my mind reeled. During our second make-out session, she stopped me as my hands slipped under her shirt. "Don't get too excited," she joked. "They're awful." Were they? Well, one was noticeably larger than the other, and they didn't look like breasts I was used to seeing on lingerie billboards, but I loved that they were…hers. Kara turned out to be one of the great loves of my life. We dated long distance until the lack of regular contact drove us apart. Sometimes I think I'm still not over her.
In fact Kara (and her gorgeously imperfect body) helped me figure out that dating women who'd been under the knife would probably never feel right to me. There are a thousand enhanced goddesses out there who will one day make other men very happy. I know those women are worth dating, and I've fallen in love with a handful of them myself. But I'm pretty sure that the woman for me will deal with her physical peccadilloes with humor and self-acceptance, not surgery.
This is the part I think women don't understand. When a guy falls in love, his lover's body parts become bewitching. I'm not going to tell you that our heads don't turn when we see a stacked blond walking down the street. But when we fall for you—really, really fall for you—you hijack our sense of beautiful. What's sexy to us? You—in the "before" picture.
*Names and identifying details have been changed.
*Gabriel Olds has appeared on *CSI, Law & Order: SVU and Six Feet Under. He's usually the bad guy (on TV). His most recent film is Life of the Party.


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Online Career Exploratory Program
What is SIGI3?
System of Interactive Guidance and Information 3 or SIGI 3
This is a self-directed online career exploration program that allows students to conduct an assessment of their work-related values, interests and skills. SIGI 3 will then use this information to generate a list of career options. You may use SIGI 3 to research those career options to assist you in choosing a major or an occupation. You can obtain up to date information such as educational requirements, descriptions of work activities and salary ranges on hundreds of occupations. SIGI 3 is available to all CSU students 24 hours per day on our website.
The staff in the Career Services Center recommends that you meet with a career counselor for an interpretation of your SIGI 3 report and to explore other resources that can assist you in making informed career decisions. Contact the Center to schedule an appointment.
Directions for Accessing SIGI 3
Log onto SIGI 3 using your CSU student ID number. Create a password that is easy to remember. SIGI saves your work and you can return to the program at any time. At minimum, complete the values, interests and activities sections, research your career options. Print out your results and schedule an appointment to meet with a career counselor to discuss your results.
Follow the instructions below to access SIGI3
- Click on SIGI3 link
- When prompted enter your valid Student CSU ID and Password


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The Home Free Vocal Band did an outreach program for some of the local schools and an evening concert as part of the Arkansas Valley Community Concert series.
The Home Free Vocal Band sounds just like their name: a full band made up of vocalists. This is probably because of the percussionist, Adam Rupp, the bass, Tim Foust, perfect harmony and a genius-level sound man. They travel with their own audio equipment and lights. There is no prerecorded sound. Everything is done live with the sound from their voices (and some gigantic tweeters and woofers).
Sally Kappel made a surprise announcement Wednesday night: the Fox Family Foundation has just donated $500 to continue the school outreach program.
Home Free did an outreach program for some of the local schools (Cheraw for one: they come in large groups, which are rotated among the nearby school districts). Home Free was well-received by the school population. "They loved it," said Kappel; "nobody had to go to the bathroom for the entire program."
They hit the stage sounding like a band with vocalists. The first number, "Life is a Highway" was so amazing this reporter's mouth went dry from being open for so long. The rhythm of all the numbers was maintained with perfect precision. Adam Rupp's drum solo, including a credible "Wipeout," was impressive. The original composition, "I've Seen" was probably the most beautiful number. Bass Tim Foust made a great Josh Turner in "Your Man," the sole country rock number.
They had a knack for picking the best cover song from each group. An example: They picked "I Saw Her Standing There" from the Beatles.
The comedy routines in "Songs that didn't make the cut" were fun, slapstick and otherwise, including the corduroy pillow that made headlines. A personal favorite in the audience participation was "Jeremiah Was a Bullfrog."
The audience participation contest and drawing was based on television theme songs which were well-known. This was a ploy for getting the audience's email addresses, of course, but so much fun. Greg Holt won the drawing, had all the themes identified correctly, and won all five CDs.
In true La Junta tradition, Home Free ended with a standing ovation from the audience after the last number, "God Bless the USA." The audience truly appreciated the fact that they actually did an encore. As a matter of fact, it was "Jeremiah Was a Bullfrog."


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South Florida Water Management District
Fifteen miles west of Stuart on Florida's east coast, Allapattah Flats WMA anchors 20,945 acres of marshes and slash pine flatwoods. This northwestern Martin County site is part of a vast area of marshes and flatwoods that once extended from the upper St. Johns River basin to the headwaters of the St. Lucie River. Surface water from Allapattah Flats eventually flows into the Indian River Lagoon. The area provides public recreational opportunities while protecting habitat for rare animals, particularly sandhill cranes, wood storks and crested caracaras, and game animals such as white-tailed deer and wild turkey. Wading birds frequent the wetlands.
To prepare the property for cattle and crop production, previous landowners constructed swales and ditches to drain the site's wetlands and channel the water to the C-23 Canal. Today, the South Florida Water Management District is restoring natural water flow on the site by filling in some of these manmade waterways and installing water control structures on others. Also, they are constructing berms to protect adjacent waterways and are planting pines in some areas to reestablish uplands. Martin County and the South Florida Water Management District jointly own Allapattah Flats. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission partners with the South Florida Water Management District and Martin County to manage public use and wildlife.
The area is open to public access year-round. Recreational opportunities include hiking, bicycling, horseback riding, primitive camping, hunting, fishing and wildlife viewing. Visitors may hike or bike on the five mile long trail system leading to an open marsh popular with wading birds. There are separate trails for equestrians as well as a 150-acre riding area. Children under the age of 16 are required to wear a helmet when horseback riding on public lands. For more detailed information go to Nicole's Law . All horseback riders must have proof of current negative Coggins Test results for their horses when on state lands. There are three parking areas for horse trailers: the first is on the east side of Fox Brown Rd. at the equestrian trail head; the second is on the south side of Martin Hwy. (CR 714) at the equestrian riding area (FWC and Martin County are working with local equestrians to develop an additional trail system at this parking area); and the third is on the ast side of Allapattah Rd. (CR 609) at the C-23 canal to provide access to the trail along the C-23 canal levee (this trail is adjacent to but not on the area, it is a cooperative effort between Allapattah's landowners). Between September and March, high-quality quota hunts take place on limited days. They include seasons for archery, muzzleloading gun, family hunt, general gun and spring turkey. A quota is not required during the small game season, which runs from mid-November through the first Sunday in January. Fishing is permitted year-round. For more information: Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) (561) 625-5122; South Florida Water Management District (561) 686-8800. Special-opportunity dove hunts take place October - January. Special opportunity permits are required. For information about the dove fields, read FWC's General Information on WMA Dove Fields. More current dove field conditions can be obtained at the Field Update page. Visit the Dove Hunters Hotline web site to find out the latest information on FWC dove fields across the state of Florida. Most of the information will be updated every Thursday throughout the dove season.
Rules Regarding Dogs
View FWC's Regulations Summary for Allapattah Flats for an area map, hunting seasons, permits, fees, and area regulations.
FWC Facts:According to The Economist, ecotourism is the fastest growing segment of world tourism.
Learn More at AskFWC
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Posted by bill on
Witness the gray whale migration in Northern California
Isn't it magical to think that while you're standing on the shore of a beach, gazing at the blanket of ocean, there is an entire world just underneath the surface, a world that's home to one of the biggest creatures that has ever lived? And while we hardly ever see them from the shore, there's a special time of the year – every winter and spring – when the Pacific coast becomes a highway for the great grey whale migration and land-dwellers get to spy these enigmatic animals. The grey whale is California's most commonly seen migrating whale, and each year, thousands of the gentle giants head south from the icy Bering and Chukchi seas north of Alaska to the warm waters of Baja California, where they give birth to their calves. Then, in the spring time, they head back home to Alaska with their offspring, making the 10,000-mile round-trip trek the longest known distance any mammal migrates on an annual basis.
Whale watching in California is in its prime between December and May, when you can see the whales breaching, spyhopping and tail-slapping from one of the many vantage points along the coast. If you're looking for front row seats to one of nature's most marvelous spectacles, take a look at some of these prime locations in Northern California, and get set to have a whale of a time (we had to).
Best Places for Whale Watching
Point Reyes National Seashore
Extending ten miles into the Pacific Ocean, the Point Reyes Peninsula near the lighthouse is probably the best place to view whales during the annual migration, with the peak traffic times being in mid-January (when the whales are heading south) and mid-March (for the northern migration). Chimney Rock, which is on the opposite side of the Point Reyes Lighthouse, also makes for a great viewing spot, and it's a nice short hike with lovely colorful wildflowers in the spring.
During this season, which attracts visitors from near and far, rangers at the park lead educational programs on the whales' habits and adaptations on weekends, and volunteer docents are also on hand to answer any questions you might have. Because the park gets so busy, there is a shuttle bus system that runs on weekends and holidays, which picks visitors up from Drake Beach. The shuttles usually run from the last Saturday of December to late March from 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., and cost $7 for adults (children 16 and under ride for free).
While you're in the area, this time of the year is also perfect for getting a glimpse of the elephant seals, which populate the beach to breed. The best place to see these curious flippered creatures is from the Elephant Seal Overlook just off the road from Chimney Rock, where you'll be able to hear the moms vocalizing to their pups, and the males showing off with loud trumpeting that can be heard over a mile. Docents will also be at the overlook on weekends and holidays, armed with spotting scopes, binoculars and tons of knowledge to share.
If you go: Stay at the retreat-like HI Point Reyes hostel and make a real weekend out of it.
The Marin Headlands
Further down the coast and just north of San Francisco, the Marin Headlands in the Golden Gate National Recreation Area is another sweet spot from which you can witness the migration. From the HI Marin Headlands hostel, you can take a short and pretty walk down to Rodeo Beach, or a slightly longer half-mile trail to Point Bonita Lighthouse, which also dishes up delicious views of the Golden Gate Bridge alongside the expanse of ocean where you can spot the whales and seals. You can also take a half an hour drive north to the ridiculously scenic Muir Beach Overlook, which is yet another prime perch for whale watching during the winter months, especially on a clear day.
If you go: HI Marin Headlands makes an excellent base for exploring all the different whale watching spots in the area.
HI Point Montara Lighthouse hostel is a convenient and beautiful location to see the grey whale migration south of San Francisco (about 30 minutes). The oceanic giants are particularly visible during the northern migration from March through May, when the females and their calves stay closer to the coast to avoid predators. There's also the nearby Grey Whale Cove beach, an aptly named stretch of sand surrounded by dramatic columns of cliffs that plunge into the Pacific, where the shore-hugging whales can easily be seen. Take note that this beach is also known as a clothing-optional spot, so those caught unawares might spot more than just marine mammals.
If you go: Stay at HI Point Montara Lighthouse to be right in the heart of the migration action.
Pigeon Point
Imagine sitting in a sweet hot tub that overlooks the tumultuous ocean when you spot a fine, smoke-like mist sprouting in the distance: a whale! This scenario is entirely possible since HI Pigeon Point Lighthouse is another conveniently located hostel where you don't have to venture too far to whale watch. There's a boardwalk behind the lighthouse building where you could probably sit for hours just watching the waves while the whales and seals swim by. Ano Nuevo State Park, which is just seven miles from the hostel, also offers prime real estate for whale migration season, and is also home to the largest mainland breeding colony of elephant seals in the world.
If you go: The whales are practically in your back yard when you stay at HI Pigeon Point.


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Drug bust at car wash
Kenneth Acorn, 23 was arrested for possession of controlled substance in a drug free zone and warrants on Tuesday. The Sweetwater Police Department received a complaint about loud music at the car wash around 12:30 p.m. Upon arrival, police arrested Acorn, as he had an outstanding warrant, and in the process, retrieved suspected crack cocaine, marijuana and money from Acorn's vehicle. Shown above are members of the Sweetwater Police Department SGT Pat Lenoir and LT Randy Hanes searching Acorn's vehicle at the Lamar Street car wash. The car wash is across the street from Sweetwater Middle School. Possession in a drug free zone raises the minimum sentence by five years.


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Pause Of The Week: Pleaaaaaaase Help Explain This! (A Reggaeton Dance That 2 Men Should Never Try To Do)
Posted by @Mahad_worldstar
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Talk:Community Updates/2009-02-20
From Openmoko
The 12th community updates will released on February 20, 2009. Before releasing , I will put the draft on TALK page. Feel free to update the new for community.
- Fyp is a Debian for Freerunner based distribution which uses LXDE and Zhone on top. It is a FreeYourPhone.de community project. Now the first beta image is released. You can download Fyp ditribution here, then uses NeoTool for installation. After you finished the installation and boot up, you can press AUX (short press) shows the keyboard, and use Power button to pops up the shutdown/suspend menu, then select the options.
New Applications
- Momtools-(momtools = MyOpenMoko tools) the idea of this tool is creating an easy-to-use application, allowing the freerunner (gta-02) to connect to wifi and gprs, and add some useful applications such as a slim media-player and a little accelerometers-game. This project now is on progress. You can check this on it's wiki page.
Application updates
- Kustomizer-version 0.2 released. GSM works again. Many fixes done - now Kustomizer can give you two different configurations, see here. Changelog and test run log.
Trick and Tips
MokoGeocaching Installing-After you install MokoGeocaching , if the app won't even start, you may need to install these dependencies manually (Om2008.12):
- +
opkg install python-netclient python-mime python-netclient


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They have 20 spaces available to see Jay & Lynne of Kinnikinnick do a Gluten Free cooking demo with 15 of the $35 tickets sold as of this afternoon. We're traveling all the way from Alberta so we want to make sure there's a full house.
To that end, we bought the final 5 tickets and we are giving them away!
But it's not just a demo, you get to eat too! We'll be making a wide range of gluten free dishes and you 'll get to try them all. PLUS, you'll get a gift bag of Kinnikinnick products valued at over $20 & a DVD of our cooking show Great Food, Gluten Free.
The rules.
- You must be in the Phoenix/Scottsdale area and must be able to attend on Tuesday, October 5 from 7-9 pm
- The prize is admission only.
- There are 5 separate prizes of one ticket. (ie: you can't win 2)
- Let us know what your favourite Kinnikinnick product is and why you want to attend. We will randomly draw the winners from 5 posters in the comments section who can attend.
- No cash value on the prize.
- Void where prohibited.
- You must be at least 21.
- Winners will be drawn Monday at 1 pm Phoenix time.
- IMPORTANT: Winners will be notified in the comments section of the blog so you must return and check to see if you have won. We will provide you with an email address to contact so we can send you details on how to pick up your ticket. To make sure these tickets are used, if you have not contacted us by Monday, Oct 4 at 8pm Phoenix time, we will award the ticket to the next poster in the comments section.


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Charts and Gauges: The Report View is Blank
From DocWiki
Charts and Gauges: The Report View is Blank
|Problem Summary
|You create a chart view for a report, run the report, and select the chart view. The chart is blank.
|Error Message
|Possible Cause
|There is no data for the items that you charted.
|Recommended Action
|Run the grid view for the report, filtering for the data you plan to chart. If the grid view returns no data, then the chart will be blank. The grid view footer shows the records returned.
|Release 8.0(1)
|Associated CDETS #


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Waka Flocka Flame & Gucci Mane's Listening Party For Flockavelli! Waka Performs New Songs Off His Album
Flocka performs new tracks from his 'Flockaveli' album in this listening session. Album in stores October
Posted by @WorldStarvids
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‡ In these countries please contact our distributor
At Smith & Nephew, we support healthcare professionals in their daily efforts to improve the lives of their patients.
We do this by taking a pioneering approach, ensuring wider access to the latest technologies and enabling better clinical outcomes. To achieve our vision, we have five strategic priorities.
Build upon existing strong positions, win market share through greater product and commercial innovation and drive efficiencies to liberate resources.
Note: 'Established Markets' for Smith & Nephew are the US, Europe, Japan, Australia, New Zealand and Canada.
Deliver leadership in the emerging markets by building strong, direct customer relationships, widening access to our premium products and developing portfolios designed for the economic mid-tier population.
Note: 'Emerging Markets' represent those outside of the Established Markets including Brazil, China, India and Russia.
Deliver pioneering products and business models that improve clinical and economical outcomes and widen access across geographies and patient groups.
We pursue maximum efficiency in everything we do, streamline our operations and manufacturing, remove duplication and build strong global functions to support our commercial teams.
We build on our platform by acquiring complementary technologies, manufacturing and distribution in the Emerging Markets and complementary products or businesses in our higher growth segments.
We perform, we innovate and we earn trust
◊ Trademark of Smith & Nephew


text: Brexit's impact on the oil and gas industry and broader implications for the global energy sector Share this 27 MAR 20178:00 AM - 12:00 AM Pacific Time (US & Canada) Teleconference Downloads Recent legal and parliamentary developments have yet to resolve the significant uncertainty related to Britain's exit from the European Union and its impact on the UK and international energy sector. DLA Piper energy sector lawyers Andreas Gunst and Jeff Kuhn host industry insider Dirk Buschle, deputy director at Energy Community, to discuss what companies are preparing, how investors are navigating and what in-house counsel are considering in light of energy industry challenges presented by Brexit. MCLE credit is not available for this recording RESOURCES Brexit Impact on Energy Sector article Please contact Jennifer Topper with any questions. For more information on DLA Piper's Oil and Gas practice, please contact Bob Gruendel or Jack Langlois. Visit our LinkedIn Energy Sector Showcase Page Sign up to be a part of the Impact of Oil Prices Teleconference Series mailing list here.


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New Bracketology: UM #2 in South
There's not much difference between a #1 seed and #2 seed, just more notoriety I guess.
We could face SDSU or Wichita St. in the second round.
Sparty is a #2 in the Midwest with a possible 2nd round matchup with North Carolina. I hope UNC gets their act together and that matchup becomes a reality. I'd love to see Sparty go down that first weekend.


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Akron-Canton Airport is now taking part in the Transportation Security Administration's PreCheck program, an expedited security screening that lets preapproved travelers move through security faster.
This year, Thanksgiving will be a once-in-a-lifetime event for America's Jewish community. For the first time since 1889, Thanksgiving and the first full day of Hanukkah — the Jewish Festival of Lights — fall on the same day.
It's prompted a new term, "Thanksgivukkah."
Rabbi Jon Adland of Temple Israel said what makes the convergence of the holidays unprecedented is that it won't occur again on Nov. 28 for another 79,000 years.
"It's a once-in-a-celebrated-lifetime opportunity," he said, laughing.
Adland noted that while Hanukkah and Thanksgiving have occurred in the same week, they haven't landed on the same day for more than a century, in part because Thanksgiving wasn't an official U.S. holiday until President Abraham Lincoln issued a proclamation in 1863.
Adland said Hanukkah and Thanksgiving have much in common in their respective meanings.
Thanksgiving is uniquely American in that it's a federal holiday, solely designated to give thanks.
Hanukkah is an eight-day festival that commemorates the rebel Maccabees' recapture of the Jewish temple in 165 BCE after it had been desecrated in 168 BCE by the Syrian-Greek King Antiochus IV.
According to the apocryphal story (which is not in the Torah), the Maccabees had a one-night supply of kosher oil for a temple light that was required to burn all night, every night. The oil miraculously lasted for eight nights, giving them time to acquire a fresh supply.
"It's an important holiday, but it's not a major holiday," Adland said of Hanukkah. "But it has an important meaning to it. It has the same message as the American Thanksgiving. Hanukkah is about freedom and the ability to worship as we choose."
Rabbi A.J. Kushner of Agudas Achim Synagogue agrees, adding that Antiochus' goal was not to kill the Jews, but to strip them of their religion and culture.
"We have a special prayer that is said twice a year; one is for Hanukkah, one for Purim," Kushner said. "Basically, we thank God for all the miracles and victories and mighty deeds. We emphasize a lot of giving thanks for what has happened to us and where we are today. We recognize we're in danger, and that without special help, we wouldn't have gotten through.
"What is Thanksgiving? Every day, we have to give thanks."
So, how did "Thanksgivukkah" happen? Well, it's complicated.
The Jewish calendar is a lunar/solar calendar that operates on a 19-year cycle, Adland said.
"On the 17th year of the cycle, the calendar pushes Rosh Hashanah (the Jewish New Year) as early as it can," he said. "This year, it fell on Sept. 4."
The two holidays won't cross paths again because the Jewish calendar is falling out of sync with the solar calendar by four days every 100 years.
There is a fixed number of days between Rosh Hashanah and Hanukkah, which always is celebrated on the 25th day of the month of Kislev, which happens this year to be on Thanksgiving.
The next time Hanukkah lands on Nov. 28 will be the year 2146, which will be a Monday. After that, the next time it falls on Thursday, Nov. 28, will be in the year 79,811.
Kushner said that having Hanukkah and Thanksgiving together is like "the cherry on top of the cake."
"In my family, I ordered a 'menurkey,' " Adland said with a smile. Yep, a turkey-shaped menorah.
Because of the juxtaposition of holidays, some people will serve kosher turkey.
"What makes anything kosher is it has to be slaughtered and inspected by someone who's trained," Adland said.
Kushner is trained to inspect the kosher-food process. This week, he said, he was at Biery Cheese.
"When they have a kosher run, it requires a rabbinic supervisor," he said.
Frank Ranalli, vice president of operations for Fishers Foods, said the store at 4403 Cleveland Ave. NW not only offers kosher turkeys, it has a kosher bakery.
"We have a significant amount of customers that shop our 44th Street store that keep kosher," he said. "It's the store that has our largest selection of kosher items. The Jewish community appreciates it."
Hanukkah is celebrated by the nightly lighting of candles displayed in a candle holder known as a menorah. There also are exchanges of small gifts, along with games and such special foods as potato latkes.
This year, some people are making sweet-potato latkes, with cranberry sauce.
Because of its proximity to Christmas, most non-Jews are aware of Hanukkah. When it comes to its commercialization, Adland said, there seems to be less of a problem in the Midwest. The saving grace for Jewish holidays, he said, is that they're observed by Jewish people, but usually not others.
"People who aren't even Christian put up a Christmas tree," he said.
Reach Charita at 330-580-8313 or email@example.com
On Twitter: @cgoshayREP


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A BlankTV Premiere Presentation:
Wisdom In Chains - "Ghost of Buddy"
The song is a heart-warming tribute to Mad Joe Black's dog Buddy, who passed away a few years back. Guitarist, Richie Krutch, decided he wanted to try something different with this video in discussions with directors, Dave Causa and Chris Mahmood. "I wanted to not only make this video a tribute to Joe's dog, Buddy, but a tribute to all of our fans who share the same love for their dogs"- Krutch.
The band decided to put out casting call to fans (worldwide) to send pictures and videos to help complete this project. "We literally received hundreds of submissions from countries all over the world. It was a little overwhelming at first, but it was great to see how passionate everyone was about 'Man's Best Friend.' I feel this was a cool way for the band to thank their fans for the years of support"- Causa. This is a very different approach for Wisdom in Chains, but definitely an approach that is sure to win over the hearts of many fans.
Keep your eyes peeled for the two BlankTV hellhounds, Eli and Mugsy! - sunset - BlankTV
>> Download Wisdom In Chains music from iTunes! & get merch in their store! <<
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The "Incredible Shrinking Swing Seat" really does keep shrinking. In August 1997, The Cook Political Reportintroduced the Partisan Voter Index, an attempt to uniformly measure the competitiveness of all 435 congressional districts by comparing each district's performance in the two most recent presidential elections with that of the nation as a whole. With the tireless help of Clark Bensen at Polidata, we have updated the PVI six times: after redistricting in 2002 and 2012, and after the presidential elections of 2000, 2004, 2008, and 2012.
By now, the trend lines are clear. In 1998, we found 164 swing seats—districts within 5 points of the national partisan average, with scores between R+5 and D+5 (a score of R+5 means the district's vote for the Republican presidential nominees was 5 percentage points above the national average). The data 15 years ago showed just 148 solidly Republican districts and 123 solidly Democratic seats. Today, only 90 swing seats remain—a 45 percent decline—while the number of solidly Republican districts has risen to 186 and the count of solidly Democratic districts is up to 159.
In 1998, the median Democratic-held district had a PVI score of D+7, and the median Republican-held district had a PVI score of R+7—pretty partisan, but far from monolithic. Today, those median numbers are D+12 and R+10, and that 22-point gulf is the main structural driver of the political paralysis we lament today. Not coincidentally, the most Democratic and the most Republican House districts have never been further apart—Democratic Rep. Jose Serrano's Bronx seat in New York City is D+43 on our scale, and Republican Rep. Mac Thornberry's Texas Panhandle district is R+32—a 75-point chasm.
How did we get here as a country? Debates rage at political-science conferences: Are voters aligning in like-minded areas, or is blatant partisan gerrymandering to blame? Our newest index points mostly to the former, which has in turn amplified the power of the latter. In 2011 and 2012, redistricting diminished the number of swing seats from 103 to 99. But when we factored in the 2012 election results, the count fell more sharply, from 99 to 90.
In fact, setting aside redistricting, we found that 76 percent of Democratic-held House seats had grown even more Democratic in the past four years and 60 percent of GOP-held seats had grown even more Republican. Some districts swung dramatically, mostly along racial lines. Republican Rep. Hal Rogers's 96 percent white district in eastern Kentucky jumped from R+16 to R+25, and Democratic Rep. Loretta Sanchez's 82 percent nonwhite district in Orange County, Calif., moved from D+3 to D+9.
There's no question this phenomenon has benefited Republicans. Observing Democrats trying to win a House majority today is akin to watching a soccer team play a comparably skilled opponent with the field slanted 25 degrees against them. Thanks to the concentrated nature of the Democratic vote, Republicans have always occupied at least two dozen more solidly partisan districts than Democrats. But the rise in ironclad districts forces Democrats to win a near-impossible share of what's left just to even the score.
For Democrats, the additional bad news is that the range of what ought to be called a true swing seat might be shrinking. In 1998, Democrats held 15 of the 53 districts rated between R+2 and R+5, and Republicans held nine of 43 districts rated between D+2 and D+5. In other words, candidates on the wrong side of the "lean" of these "leaning" districts used to win a quarter of the time. But in 2013, Democrats hold just four of the 36 districts between R+2 and R+5, and Republicans hold zero of the 19 seats between D+2 and D+5—just a 7 percent crossover success rate.
By any measure, the House is now more sorted along partisan lines than ever. Using 2012 presidential results, only 17 Republicans represent districts carried by President Obama, and only nine Democrats represent districts carried by Mitt Romney. Using PVI scores, 18 Democrats hold districts that are more Republican than the national average, and only five Republicans hold seats that are more Democratic—a level of exposure that should sober Democrats who want to focus all of their party's energies on offense in 2014.
Why aren't voters splitting their tickets like they used to? Many theories, backed with compelling arguments, are floating around. But here's one: As local print-news readership has declined precipitously in the Internet age, fewer voters are gaining exposure to individual candidates' backgrounds and qualifications, and party labels have become an even-more-salient cue at the ballot box. To win on GOP terrain in 2014, Democrats need to localize a lot of races, but that has become much more difficult than it was just 10 years ago.
Our survey found one silver lining for Democrats in the new batch of PVI data: At the statewide level, 272 Electoral College votes—a majority—are now in Democratic-leaning states, to just 253 in Republican-leaning states, because Colorado shifted from Even to D+1 and Virginia moved from R+2 to Even. But at the congressional-district level, the tightening vise around swing seats is mostly squeezing Democrats.
David Wasserman contributed
This article appeared in the Saturday, April 13, 2013 edition of National Journal.