text:
Please note: these reviews are intentionally short because I am limited
in the length by the format of the radio program. In almost every case,
I have a lot more to say about the movies than what I'm allotted. This
may or may not be a good thing. :-)
For details on how I rate movies, read about my
red-thumb/green-thumb rating system.
You can give me feedback about your opinion of any of my reviews at the
bottom of each page that has the full movie review on it, or by
sending me email.
Get ready for nature getting back at us. In "The Day After Tomorrow,"
Roland Emmerich's latest doomsday film, the next ice age arrives so
abruptly that the movie doesn't have time to develop a real story.
It just gets right into the special effects from the first frame.
But that's ok; the effects are worth the price of admission, even without
traditional film elements, like an engaging plot or character development.
(Full Review)
I think of Quentin Tarantino as a nouveau gourmet chef, whose meals are
trendy, but exquisitely prepared, beautifully presented, and uniquely
his own. His recipes include classic and traditional ingredients, which
in this case, come from the rich garden of film genres. "Kill Bill:
Volume 2" is Tarantino at his best, mixing together different styles,
ranging from the classic entree of "film noire" to the more modern
decadent dessert fare of ultra-violence. Where his true talent shows
is how he blends these styles together coherently and tastefully.
The best part of it all is that even if the meal (or any portion of it)
isn't your cup of tea, you can't help but admire all the aspects of what
it is and how it was made.
(Full Review)
Movies based on comic books are a genre all their own, and they are
becoming more alike these days, as it gets increasingly more difficult
to squeeze through the ever-narrowing channel of creative diversity
necessary to get the green light from movie studios. Guillermo del Toro's
"Hellboy" is no exception. While it's not a bad movie, it does seem to
have lost the more interesting (that is, "darker") aspects of original
themes that typically engender this genre. The net result is a cornucopia
of wow-inspiring special effects that do more to serve the masses than to
tell the more dramatic story that the creator likely intended.
(Full Review)
The Coen Brothers have done it again. You know, these are the guys who
usually bring you intelligently-written comedies that involve colorful
people who fit meticulously detailed cultural stereotypes. They are often
in situations where you gleefully watch them squirm with the consequences
of their evil plans after things go terribly awry. In this case, they
direct their sharply pointed camera lens back to 1955 with a remake of
the movie, The Ladykillers.
(Full Review)
Amid the huge controversy around Mel Gibson's film, "The Passion of
the Christ," the cast of characters are set: Jewish Groups lament a new
swell of anti-Semitism, the evangelical Christians praise the movie as
an accurate portrayal of history, and non-religious commentary warns of
the movie's ultra-violent and gory scenes. What's my view on this? As
Shakespeare would say, "much ado about nothing."
(Full Review)
"The Battle of Algiers" had become one of the most important movies of the
20th century, though no one really knew it then. In the simplest terms,
it is a drama portraying the Arabic uprising in the late 1950s against
the French who occupied and colonized Algeria. But, more importantly,
the techniques used by the terrorists would later turn out to be the
blue-print for all Arab uprisings to come, including those in use
today. In fact, it has been considered required viewing for anyone on
both sides of the terrorist struggle, from the CIA down to the suicide
bombers. Making a film with such balance is interesting to be sure,
but that it maps so well to today's environment is eerie indeed.
(Full Review)
"The Company" holds many quiet surprises, many of which can be easily
missed if you're not paying close attention. Fortunately, the well-known
veteran filmmaker, Robert Altman, and a couple high-profile actors will
help bring attention to this subtle cinematic peek into some days in the
life of the world of professional ballet. And while the movie is quite
enjoyable to watch, its qualities ironically are better appreciated in
the whole of the film, not in its parts.
(Full Review)
If you go only by the previews, "The Last Samurai" looks like yet another
over-budget Hollywood epic. But, to my surprise, the film is remarkably
good, despite itself. One reason is Tom Cruise, whose performance is not
only fine-tuned, but you can see how emotionally engaged and committed
he is, as the real-life person, to his character's role and the spirit
of the story.
(Full Review)
Ron Howard has been known for his family-friendly, cinematic epics.
But with "The Missing", Howard dips his toes into the turbulent waters
of the Western/Drama genre. Add in a "thriller" component, and you've
got a formula for a potentially great film. Yet, in doing so, it spreads
itself a little thin by attempting to incorporate too many elements,
effectively diluting it into a traditional western movie. A good one
to watch, but not to be remembered for long.
(Full Review)
If the Academy Awards ever found an opportunity to recognize
a small-budget film from relatively inexperienced directors and
screenwriters, "21 Grams" is the best bet going for 2003. It is almost
perfect in every way, from the direction to the acting to the musical
score. It's Achilles heel, however, is also its greatest strength:
it's sophistication, complexity and very mature relationships are not
for the mainstream or casual film-goer.
(Full Review)
What do Haley Joel Osmont and Halle Berry have in common besides
their first names? They both see dead people. But unlike the 1999
psycho-suspense film The Sixth Sense, Berry's film, Gothika, is
riddled with problems, the most important being that it doesn't know
what kind of movie it wants to be. A surprise, given the top-notch cast,
film crew and production company behind the wheel.
(Full Review)
In The Matrix Revolutions, the final chapter of the Matrix trilogy,
the war between man and machine reaches what the production notes call,
"a thundering crescendo." I call it, "a shoulder-hunching, 'HUH?'" The
movie does a great job at showing the latest visual special effects
capabilities that unlimited money can buy, but somewhere along the way,
someone forgot that there was a story to tell, or people to care about.
(Full Review)
It's interesting to see how people talk about how amazingly "real" and
lifelike movies have become, yet they are mostly referring to fictional
dramas, like The Godfather. Ironically, movies that are, quote, "based
on a true story", oddly appear anything but realistic, often to a point
where it actually does the film more harm than good. Veronica Guerin
is the latest victim of this phenomenon.
(Full Review)
This article analyzes the "plot twist": those surprise endings in the
horror, suspense and thriller genres. We are entertained because we
love the surprise and the feeling of being duped, but is the filmmaker
doing it at the expense of his own plot? Are his characters acting
consistently with the profiles they've been endowed with? Does the
surprise ending even make sense? Included in this article is an
analysis of various movies, including "The 6th Sense", "The Ring",
"The Others", and other current and past films. Some do it well, while
others are just looking for the cheap thrill, fun though they may be.
(Read Article)
In the new indie film "Camp", young teenage actors, singers and dancers
go to Camp Ovation to learn and develop their skills in the fine art
of Broadway stage productions. Yes, this troop of young teens are
so incredibly talented, they can perform all the hits from Broadway,
past and present, and you'll be as thrilled as if you were actually in
Manhattan itself. But, what makes these kidsand thus, this movie -
so engaging, is that they are real teens, with all the teenager issues
we all know and love. While rough around the edges with some sloppy
editing and cliche script in parts, the movie is still fun and poignant
about the life of the "artsy" teenager.
(Full Review)
Included in what seems to be an ongoing series of comedic dramas
featuring rising teen stars is "Freaky Friday". So far, such films
in this summer of 2003 have been a mixed bag, but this one rises
unexpectedly towards the top. While it starts slowly, with a formulaic an
overly-acted and simplistically-scripted introduction, the film gradually
solidifies into a solid piece, bringing together the story, characters,
humor and human interest that can appeal to many. A tough job, since
the genre rarely appeals to those outside of the demographic.
(Full Review)
The true story of a knobby-kneed racehorse and three men is the latest
Docu-Epic from Hollywood, beautifully filmed in California, with its
signature late-afternoon golden light, intimate close-ups of
emotional faces, and the freedom-like feeling of a horse running freely.
Seabiscuit is the American dream: a depression-era drama about
down-trodden misfits and an unlikely animal hero who overcome the
odds. This two-hour and twenty minute cinematic masterpiece is sure
to grab the public by their little heartstrings and...
Had enough? Do you have a cavity yet? Wait till you see the film...
(Full Review)
James Bond he isn't, but he's also not Inspector Clouseau. Instead, Rowan
Atkinson is "Johnny English", Secret Agent "1", a sort-of hybrid of the
suave Roger Moore, and the bumbling Peter Sellars. While the film has
some fine moments of comedy, it doesn't quite hit its target on overall
creativity or ingenuity. This really isn't Atkinson's fault, but more
that of the filmmakers, none of whom have ever made a comedy before.
(Full Review)
This third installment of the popular "Spy Kids" series is like its
predecessors in that it's high-tech, high-energy, high-fun, and high on
the pro-family moral messages. What's more, it's in 3D!
On the downside, the theme seems worn out, the actors have out-grown
their roles, and the strong family-values messages are disingenuous and
schmaltzy. While still fun, the cow's been milked for all its got.
(Full Review)
A Swashbucklin' Pirate story that involves fair maidens, a hero
to save her, royalty, and an intricate intertwining of relationships
that make things oh so juicy. Here, Johnny Depp leads the pack as Jack
Sparrow, a lone pirate on the Caribbean Sea, looking for his lost ship,
the Black Pearl. Fun for the whole family, but with enough action,
computer graphics, suspense and witty dialog to entertain even the
most demanding of movie-goers, while not straying too far from being
(Full Review)
There's nothing like a good comedy flick to lead in the summer, and
Jim Carrey's, "Bruce ALMIGHTY!" is the best of its breed. It's formula,
to be sure, and all been done before, but "Bruce" is funnier, wittier,
smarter, and - odd as this might sound - more sophisticated than its
predecessors. It's as though Carrey and his filmmaking partners refined
the comedy/romance formula to a science, because this film does exactly
what it intended to do: entertain.
(Full Review)
"Respiro" reminds me of Woody Allen's film, "Hollywood Ending",
where a movie director makes a movie so bad, only the French would
love it. While Allen's film is fictional, the plot is similar to the
reality of Emanuele Crialese's "Respiro:" it's a pretty bad movie,
but the French still gave it the Critic's Week Prize at the 2003 Cannes
Film Festival. I bet Woody had chuckled in his hand quietly over this one.
(Full Review)
What do you get when you put a neurotic Jewish foot doctor from New
York together with a CIA agent on a case to bust an arms-smuggling
ring? And then have their kids get married? You get Albert Brooks and
Michael Douglas as "The In-Laws", a remake of a film by the same name
from 1979. Unfortunately, the marriage of these two actors doesn't seem
as compatible.
(Full Review)
Chris Rock is a successful and well-known comedian who's been in almost
60 feature films; a writer and co-writer for movies and TV shows like
Saturday Night Live; and is a man with strong political opinions. So, with
all that talent and experience, you'd think that if he were to write and
produce a political satire, it'd be a mix of biting comedy with a message.
But, instead of biting satire poking fun at the political system,
there's a collection of gag jokes that, in themselves are funny, but
neither politically pertinent or satirical. What's more the romantic-comedy
subplot is way too prominent, elbowing out the main theme of the film.
(Full Review)
The way William Friedkin's latest film, "The Hunted", appears, you'd
think it was the next sequels of the "Fugitive" movie series. It's the
same type of formula, where a fugitive is running from Tommy Lee Jones,
who directs a team of FBI agents in hunting him down. However, other
than a copious amount of blood in many fight scenes, the film essentially
adds up to nothing.
(Full Review)
"Phone Booth" feels like a really poor attempt at a movie like "Speed",
where the bad guy plays the good guy like a puppet for his own musings.
"Phone Booth", however, is an example of just about everything that
can be wrong with a movie. The script was dreadful from the outset,
with logistical errors and manipulated dialog that begs for a tomato
to be thrown at the screen. Obvious things take place that go entirely
unnoticed by the characters for the sole reason of building "suspense",
but it only leaves you on the verge of screaming at the screen in anger
and frustration.
(Full Review)
It has been said that satire should be like a very sharp razor blade:
you don't know you've been cut until you see the blood. The same thing
can be said of movies with a social agenda: it's better if you don't
see it coming, which makes it all the more effective when it's over. If
only filmmakers that preach their social or political views had a better
sense of knowing when to stop "preaching", and let the audience draw their
own conclusions, we'd have more movies with positive social messages.
(Full Review)
The previews for the movie "Dark Blue" look fantastic. Even after I saw
the film, I still see trailers for it in theaters and on TV, and think,
"wow, that looks like a great film!" It's such an artful talent to
construct such compelling material from such a bland and awful movie,
that I feel compelled to give the production company a big "thumbs-up"
for doing a job well-done. Why can't the people who make these movies
try to retain the exciting and interesting promises seen in the trailer?
(Full Review)
Billed as a thriller, with top-notch actors and suspenseful moments, the film
has its share of entertainment value. But, it never really rises above
the fact that the "mystery" is a weak, thinly veiled wrapper around a overt
political statement against the death penalty. It's use of tired old arguments
heard a million times before makes it hardly thought-provoking, nor a basis
for an interesting movie.
(Full Review)
Spike Lee's "25th Hour" is interesting both as a movie and as a
sociological perspective of the director himself. It's essentially a
"portrait film", where the hero is Montgomery Brogan, played by Ed Norton,
an unsuspecting drug dealer, who reevaluates his life in the 24 remaining
hours before facing a seven-year jail term. To Lee's credit, he not only
painted clear, believable characters, but was ambitious in his desire to
profile a subculture outside of his own. But, the film's effectiveness
in the end required more storytelling elements to breath life into the
(Full Review)
Star Trek has touched audiences around the world, but one has to follow
"The Next Generation" series to best appreciate this film. To be sure,
"Nemesis" is definitely good material, despite its dependence on prior
knowledge of the characters and ongoing plot lines. But no matter what
you think, remember what William Shatner once said to a group of Trekkies
at a convention, "It's just a TV show! Get a life!"
(Full Review)
In a fascist future where all forms of feeling are illegal, a man charged
with enforcing the law rises to overthrow the system. That's the basic
premise of "Equilibrium", the latest formula flick from Kurt Wimmer,
whose past writing and directing credits are sparse and unimpressive
(except for 1999's "Thomas Crown Affair"). Unfortunately, this film
adds another clone to the already deep stack of similarly-themed films,
even the most mediocre of which is better.
(Full Review)
"Femme Fatale" is Brian De Palma's latest foray into the challenging,
but artful world of contemporary film noir. The genre is not new to De
Palma's repertoire, but this one was a difficult undertaking,
for its complex mix of cinematography, genre interplays, characters
and plot developments. I have mixed feelings about this film because where
it succeeds, it does so extraordinarily well, but it's failings are too
important to ignore.
I felt more saddened that De Palma, who wrote and directed it, didn't
just choose less loftier goals and come out with a much stronger piece.
(Full Review)
Paul Schrader's film about Bob Crane (played by Greg Kinnear) of
Hogan's Heroes fame, examines how fame and Hollywood contributed to
his sex-obsession to the point of self-destruction. While it was very
strong in cinematic technique and Kinnear's depiction of the deteriorating
effects of an obsessive-compulsive, it was weak in developing other
characters or relationships. We all knew what happened, but the movie
didn't really give us more than a superficial viewpoint and simple storyline.
(Full Review)
Lilia is a widow who wants to live life again. When she
inadvertently discovers a cabaret, she finds herself both horrified and
intrigued at the women belly dancing to men, who them feed money, like
a strip club in America. Her desire to find individuality and break
the moralistic mold of her upbringing sees her frequenting the cabaret
nightly. The appeal to American audiences will probably be limited
to the art-film culture, which is unfortunate, since what the film
has most to offer is the stuff that mainstream Americans should see:
a look into every day life in a Middle Eastern country where Arab and
Western cultures interrelate well.
(Full Review)
The latest disney film adaptation from a children's book is about a
girl who inadvertently stumbles upon a family of immortals and learns
important lessons on life and death. The theme is presented thoughtfully,
with ethereal and heavenly cinematography that's a sure crowd-pleaser.
But, I came away with a sense that it tried to please too many audiences
the kids didn't really get the main moral, and it's a tad simplistic
for the adults. While enjoyable, this isn't the type of movie that should
be so lukewarm, especially given a strong cast of four academy-award
winning stars and a backer like Disney at the helm.
(Full Review)
Sweet Home Alabama is a fine example of the perfect "formula" movie for
the comedy-romance genre. Not only is the film enjoyable from beginning
to end, it's refreshing to see it intentionally avoid all the mistakes
that most formula movies make. No gags. No oversimplifications. No
diminutive treatment of subcultures to garner a laugh. Instead, it
focuses on precisely what makes great movies great: strong character
profile and development, intelligent script, believable motivations,
strong supporting roles, and a very honest and real portrayal of people
behaving in believable ways.
(Full Review)
M. Knight Shyamalan's "The Sixth Sense", and his latest film, "Signs",
have both done very well at the box office, not to mention gaining some
critical acclaim. He brings a wonderful sense of mood to the screen,
portrays human emotion effectively, and takes the audience through
wonderful psychological distresses. His signature surprise endings
dupe the audience, but they leave happy. Yet, this deception comes at the
cost of leaving very important character development unreasolved. This
essay/review deconstructs Shyamalan's approach to filmmaking and the
pros and cons associated with his "surprise ending" technique.
(Full Review)
One Hour Photo is a thriller where Robin Williams plays a psycho with a
conscience. It's a nicely paced, intelligent suspense film, where its
qualities lie with its aesthetics: pace, soundtrack, and dramatic elements.
This is not a movie that relies on surprise, shock, or intrigue. However,
the characters lack a sense of depth, and their actions are too illogical
and unexplained to appeal to a linear-thinking audience. Nevertheless,
the technique is well-crafted enough that it will probably be well-accepted
by an art-film audience, where symbolism and other aesthetics are regarded
more highly.
(Full Review)
Al Pacino plays Viktor Taransky, a down and out Academy Award-nominated
director who creates a computer-simulated actress that becomes a new
celebrity icon, saving his career. But, Taransky's sense of self, which
had always been lacking, falls further into an abyss, causing him to
attempt to destroy his own creation, but to no avail. While making
fun of Hollywood and the spectre of celebrity culture is humorous,
too many important aspects of basic story-telling are hand-waved away,
putting the film more in the category of gag comedy at its own expense.
More should be expected from this exceptional filmmaker.
(Full Review)
Spy Kids 2 picks up where the first left of by the formalization of
the "kid" division of the CSS, a loose reference to the CIA, where the
Cortez family of spies - who also happen to be tastefully understated
multi-ethnic - are vying for prominent positions. The father, Gregorio,
played by Antonio Banderas, is expected to become the head of the
agency, but is suspiciously usurped by the father of the Spy Kids'
nemesis, the brother-sister team of Gary and Gerti Giggles, who are also
vying to displace the Cortez children as the leading spy kids. When the
disaster happens that calls each team into action to save the world from
destruction, the plot becomes a three-way competition - good guy against
good guy against evil-doer.
(Full Review)
Clint Eastwood returns to the cop-thriller genre in the film noire-ish
"Blood Work", where he plays Terry McCaleb, an FBI detective who is
forced to retire after collapsing from a heart attack while pursuing a
serial killer. Two years later, he gets a heart transplant from a donor who
happened to be the victim of an apparent store robbery. When the victim's
sister points out that his new heart is her sister's, she convinces him
that he owes it to her to help solve her unsolved murder. It isn't long
before he begins to piece together subtle clues, and before he knows it,
he's reinvigorated by the chase again, yet torn about the realization
that it's his presence that's the cause of it.
(Full Review)
Leil Labute's 6th film is a quiet romance drama, adapted from A.S. Byatt's
1990 novel of the same name. Here, Gwyneth Paltrow and Aaran Eckhart play
two Victorian-era researchers who discover a cache of love letters
that appear to suggest a love affair between a famous poet Laureat to
Queen Victoria and a little-known poetess named Christabel LaMotte. As
they collaborate on uncovering the romantic mysteries between the poets,
Paltrow and Eckhart also discover romantic mysteries between themselves.
Fun for the whole family, although the plot line may make it difficult to
get the testosterone-laden boyfriend into the theater.
(Full Review)
There are pros and cons to making movies based on successful formulas. On
one hand, a good cookie-cutter formula makes a film easy to make,
and will likely to be a sure hit with certain target audiences. On
the other hand, formula pictures tend to have lots of competition,
making it more difficult to rise above the fray. The film, "K-19: The
Widowmaker", is an action thriller that suffers so much from the mundane
"been there, done that" of the standard formula for the genre, that its
better qualities come too late and are weak to save it.
(Full Review)
While I enjoyed Perdition for its qualities, and enjoyed watching it in
the theater, I felt it ultimately lost its grip on its purpose, and was
ultimately more disappointed that it didn't live up to its potential.
Essentially, the movie was intended as a portrait of a family-man torn
between his love of his family and the loyalty to his mob boss. But,
the portrait was never completed, as the film abandoned its heartland
landscape and the slow moving rhythms of the portrait of Sullivan, to a
semi-comedic farce about a man and his son on the run, robbing banks.
(Full Review)
Everything that has become the best of Italian film-making clich�s can be
found in Giuseppe Tornatore's "Cinema Paradiso." Originally released
in 1989, and nominated for an Oscar for best foreign-language film, the
movie has been re-released today as a directory's cut, with a whopping
57 minutes added, bringing it to only moments shy of three hours. But
the effort was worth it, as the movie virtually reinvents itself,
while remaining true to its original rendition. The story's themes of
puritanical censorship, male coming of age in post-WWII Italy, and a
heart-felt tribute to the role of cinema in every day life, have all
been expanded to more acutely emphasize the depths and intertwining
relationships among them.
(Full Review)
Stephen Spielberg's action/thriller starring Tom Cruise, a cop from
the year 2054, who works in the pre-crime division of the Washington
D.C police department. The division's ability to stop murders before
they happen is based on the psychic ability of three people who
were mutant byproducts of a failed genetic program designed to help
babies born from drug-dependent mothers. This may sound a little like
The Fugitive, but in this case, you don't know if the man on the
run is - or, rather, will be - guilty. A well-paced, exciting plotline,
with Spielberg's singature filmmaking make it a fun summer action film,
outweighing its marginal attention to far-fetched details.
(Full Review)
Al Pacino plays Will Dormer, a cop under investigation by his own internal
affairs department, who kills his partner by accident while in persuit of
a murder suspect. While I certainly enjoyed the film a great deal while
watching it - it has a great script, great storyline, and a good pace -
I was mildly disappointed that Chris Nolan made a "safe" and "traditional"
film by comparison to his previous work, "Momento." The film also didn't need,
demand or exercise the talents of Pacino or Williams, so it might have
been a stronger film had it had unknown actors give it more indie-film feel.
(Full Review)
Andie MacDowell plays Kate, one of three forty-something single women
who get together to smoke, drink, and reward each other with chocolates
for who has the most pitiful "man story" of the week. Kate, who is the
headmistress at a strict all-girls school in England, has a quick fling
with a 25-year old boy named Jed, who plays the organ for the church. The
movie was supposed to be about how the friendships between the women is
challenged by Kate's having fallen for a man, but the entire movie holds
no interest because the relationship between Kate and Jed is essentially
meaningless. None of the humor entertains, and minor characters are shoddy.
(Full Review)
Jessica Stein is in that perpetual pursuit of a man, only to find that
the entire pool of available men is either crazy-weird, gay, or married.
After a series of hilariously depicted disastrous "first dates" with men
she finds in personals ads, she ends up hearing about, and responding to,
an ad from a woman named Helen, who's seeking another woman. The movie
does a good job at bringing the two women together and developing their
relationship, but loses sight of its original theme and the very
framework of what Jessica's personal challenge is, which explains why she
can't establish relationships in the first place.
(Full Review)
As Tom Clancy movies go, "The Sum of All Fears" seems to fit the
bill. Starring a name-brand cast such as Morgan Freeman, Ben Affleck,
James Cromwell and others, it's yet another war-thriller set in modern
times, that strives to give a haunting and apparently realistic view of
what might happen if a nuclear war broke out between the US and Russia.
The "villain" is two-dimensional and unnecessary (except for the fact
that they needed someone to start the troubles), but the movie still
did a fine job at completely distancing itself from reality, while
maintaining a balance of suspense and entertainment at the same time.
(Full Review)
Val Kilmer plays Danny Parker, who, after suffering from an unexpected
and brutal crime that killed his wife, has sunk so low that his life
is empty, leaving him only with despair. His only way out is to completely
transform himself into something else, someone new, in order to avenge
her death. But, the task is so demanding, requiring a full and complete
commitment, that he loses a sense of himself - who he really was, or is,
or will become. Great for Kilmer fans who want to watch his career evolve.
While the movie is good, it's just not strong enough to stand out in
the crowd of movies of a similar vein.
(Full Review)
Panic Room, the latest film from David Fincher, starring Jodie Foster
and Forest Whitaker, is a suspense/thriller, where a mother and daughter
are holed up in a protected "safe room" while three villains try to break
in. While the script is intelligent and there are certainly suspenseful
moments, the movie tries too hard to build suspense for its own sake,
failing to develop characters and their motivations or relationships,
the primary ingredients for what makes a thriller thrilling. That said,
it's not bad as a light pop-corn matinee flick or video rental for the
sole purpose of sharing in a few knee-grabbing suspenseful scenes.
(Full Review)
Showtime, the latest buddy-cop flick to hit the silver screen, is, in
fact, supposed to be a spoof of such films. What's more, it also pokes a
satirical finger at the television media in all its forms: news
coverage, cop shows, reality TV, and over-the-hill personalities, trying
desperately to keep their careers alive. Yet, despite the shoe-in ease
of ridiculing a clich� movie format, and the movie's top-shelf talent
of Robert De Niro, Eddie Murphy and Renee Russo, the script's humor is
mediocre at best, and it's buried by its feeble attempt at also having
a serious plot. It may have worked if the satire was contained within a
certain realm, but once the satire went over-the-edge to slapstick,
which wasn't all that bad, the serious stuff should have been left on
the cutting-room floor.
(Full Review)
What makes the new Arnold Schwarzenegger movie, Collateral Damage,
so interesting isn't the plot, or the action, or any of its superficial
features. It's the haunting juxtaposition of its scheduled release amid
the attack of September 11. It was held back for obvious reasons, but
it has just now been released in theaters nationwide (February 8, 2002),
and gives food for thought on just how interestingly American attitudes
have changed in such a short period of time. In fact, I find that aspect
so intreguing, that the movie may remain, unfortunately, as a small milestone
that marks the end of an old era of movies and the beginning of a new one.
This is the only quality of the movie that gives it its unintended
positive vote.
(Full Review)
Sex with Strangers positioned itself as a documentary to give
serious insight into swingers and their lifestyles, but I have reservations
about its credibility as an authentic documentary. Rather, it appears
to rely on the gimmick of lying to the audience much the same way Jerry
Springer did, where the appeal was the assumption that the "guests"
were real people, and that they were primed or coached, or worse, "scripted"
into the scenes they played. Sex with Strangers feels more
like a soap opera where the characters are accentuated to punctuate the
"reality-based documentary" effect. Whether the movie is authentic or
not, it failed even in its stated goal of peering into the lives of
the swinger crowdinstead, it focused only on a few selected "trailer
park" couples without giving a true and dynamic context about their broader
culture and lifestyle.
(Full Review)
Storytelling consists of two completely separate
stories, one called Fiction and the other, Non-fiction. The
irony of life is expressed in these stories, and their proximity to one
another shows how, in various contexts, reality is perceived as fiction,
and fiction is perceived as reality. The film is by Todd Solondz, who is
known for his extremely dark, yet uncomfortably hilarious portrayals of
the darker side of suburban life. His narratives peek behind the scenes
of the lives of everyday people and tell stories that reveal the true
side of human nature.
(Full Review)
Director Ridley Scott re-creates a fierce 15-hour battle between besieged
U.S. troops and Somali fighters on the streets of Mogadishu in 1993,
in which 18 Americans were killed and 73 injured, along with thousands
of Somali militia. Scott's exceptional visual sense is expressed
to perfection, putting you directly in the center of action, from
beginning to end, as if you were one of the soldiers themselves. But,
don't think it's just another testosterone-laden war film. It's not. It
is an intelligent and ambitious effort to accurately portray the soldiers'
Lasse Hallstrom's convincingly life-affirming story about the strength
of the human spirit, where characters come to terms with the unearthing
of long-held taboo secrets. In reality, moral boundaries are crossed
more often than not, and everyone eventually has to face the skeletons
in their closets. The problem with the film is its adaptation from the
Pulitzer-prize winning novel by E. Annie Proulx, and films often pale
in comparison to their literary counterparts.
(Full Review)
Robert Altman is at it again with a deep, complex look at the human
condition, this time set in a 1930's English estate where a murder
takes place over a hunting holiday weekend. The classic whodunit style
provides the backdrop for a deeper look into the class hierarchy between
masters and servants, and love and revenge.
(Full Review)
Ron Howard's latest film is planned and packaged just for the Oscars,
and just in time for Christmas. Russell Crowe plays the real-life John
Forbes Nash, the mathematical genius who struggled with schizophrenia,
almost destroying his family and himself. The film's ace-in-the-hole
is that it's based on real people and events, giving it a
disproportionately stronger emotional effect than fictional films on
the same themes.
(Full Review)
Surrealistic psycho-thriller starring Tom Cruise as an heir to a
mega-publishing empire, who finds it difficult to discerne between reality
and psycho-induced paranoia fantasies. Like a cross between The Matrix,
Total Recall, and Fatal Attraction, only this production takes the
worst-common-denominator of the three. That they were good films with
creative ideas and vivid characters is what keeps Vanilla Sky above
water, but won't likely be appreciated by a more sophisticated audience.
(Full Review)
Remember when Dustin Hoffman played the autistic and retarded adult,
Raymond, in the 1988 film, Rain Man? Now imagine he had a child,
and tried to raise her, entirely on his own and unassisted. A
preposterous premise for movie, you say? Ok, then try this on for size:
after losing custody of the child due to an observant social worker, a
feature-length film dedicates the bulk of its time and emotional capital
on the expectation that the audience will believe, let alone support
the notion that this poor, helpless soul can or even should regain
the custody of the child. Even more preposterous, you say? Well, this is
the entire premise of the movie, I am Sam.
(Full Review)
This year, Soderbergh applies his academy award winning filmmaking technique
to Ocean's Eleven, a remake of the 1960 film of the same name.
Here, George Clooney assumes Frank Sinatra's role by playing the leader
of the rat pack, Danny Ocean, who dons his dashing looks and charismatic
confidence to recruit eleven consirators to pull off the perfect heist:
taking $650M simultaneously from three Las Vegas Casinos.
(Full Review)
Many a guy has fantasized about being a porn star at some point in
his life, especially when he feels insecure about his protruding
pot belly and hair growing where he doesn't want or need it.
Yet, to be all this, and have gorgeous, blond, sex-crazed teens and
twenty-somethings crave your sexual being, well, this is what makes the
porn business the multi-billion dollar industry that it is today.
The irony of Ron Jeremy is that this is his life, but he doesn't want it.
And, this is what makes the movie so interesting and appealing.
(Full Review)
The buzz about the new film, Spy Game is true: it's an engrossing, yet
flawed film, well made with the highest-quality Hollywood production
technology, but with a plot that eventually droops to a mild yawn.
(Full Review)
Shallow Hal touches nerves and invokes laughter at the same
time by poking fun at political correctness and superficiality through
Hal, an exceedingly shallow 30-something who's only attracted to gorgeous,
supermodel knock-out chicks. He becomes hypnotized to see people for
who they are on the inside, not the outside, which is the source of humor
for most of the film. While it could have sent a message, or make a point,
or even tell you something you don't know, it instead chose to just have fun.
And fun, it is, if you're not offended by laughing at parts of yourself.
(Full Review)
The Man Who Wasn't There, the 2001 entree from the Joel and Ethan
Coen, is hallmarked for its exquisite attention to detail as a 1940s
film-noire. Shot stunningly in black and white, and complete with the
camera angles and minute caricatures that give the film its nostalgic
qualities, it's fun to watch. Yet, like the classic noirs, the film
presents more style, atmosphere and quirkiness of the genre than plot,
so don't expect to be entertained with stirring character developments,
subplots or climactic drama. In short, it's not On the Waterfront,
despite its fantastic appearance.
(Full Review)
This latest computer-animated gem from Pixar is fun for the whole
family, including adults. Each night, monsters emerge from the closets
of children rooms through magic doors that connect the human world to
the Monsters Inc. factory in Monstropolis. The monsters jobs are to
scare the children, and harness their frightful screams into canisters,
which powers their city. The movie follows the delightful characters
of the top-scarers, James Sully (John Goodman), and his sidekick, Mike
Wazowski (Billy Crystal) as they try to outdo their chief competitor,
Randall Boggs (Steve Buscemi) by seeing who can collect the most screams.
(Full Review)
Kevin Kline plays George Monroe who, after being fired from his job
and learns he's dying, reassesses his life, and so doing, decides
to tear down his shack of a house, and rebuild it... and with it,
his relationship with his 16-year-old son, Sam (Hayden Christensen).
The film is a fine platform for the star to show the potential for his
true dramatic range. With a rather straightforward plot with no twists or
unexpected turns, the movie sets up and spoon feeds you all the necessary
elements for a well-intended drama that pulls at the heart-strings. This
is fine for Kline, and while I found the movie somewhat enjoyable,
it's certainly not deep.
(Full Review)
"The Last Castle" is about an inmate revolt in a U.S. military prison,
led by Robert Redford, who plays General Irwin, a highly decorated
three-star general whose been court-marshaled and convicted to ten years
in prison for a crime that isn't immediately apparent. The plot, as it
was intended, provides a reasonable backdrop for what could have evolved
into a thoughtful portrayal of human character. Unfortunately, the movie
is a hollow shell, where life isn't breathed into the characters, and
the story suffers from apathy.
(Full Review)
Drew Barrymore plays Beverly D'Onofrio, who, at the age of 15, gets
pregnant and has a child. Instead of following her dreams of going to
college and having a writing career, she marries to avoid embarrassing
the family. After years of a turbulent marriage with the drug-addicted
father, she eventually decides to leave him so she can go to school.
Despite a weak script and plotline, Barrymore does a pretty good job
at a character profile.
(Full Review)
Click to recommend this page:


text:
Ahhhh, the shower. All day, Howard Stern has felt so goddamned pressured. He's in one of his obsessive funks, so frequent lately, and can't wait to get under the hot water. And freaking relax. So Howard sneaks off, pads across the whitish bathroom tiles, a towel secured around his waist. Howard's not one to run around the apartment naked. Not with his very small penisno need for Beth to see him unaroused.
Howard steps into the shower, a palace of curved, floor-to-ceiling glass, determined to escape the stress that is freaking brutal. Every morning, Howard does four-plus hours of America's most popular morning-radio show. In a few weeks, he will join Sirius, a satellite-radio company, where he vows to reinvent the medium. Sirius is betting $500 million (and, probably, its future) on Howard; it's given him two entire channels. That's 48 hours of dead air to fill every single day. Plus, Beth seems to feel a little ignored right now. No wonder he's barely sleeping.
In the shower, Howard powers up the hot water. There are nozzles everywhere, like eight of them. His hair, that dense wheel of curls, which, thank God, he still has, flattens against his head. Just stand there, Howard tells himself. Zone out. He's a Transcendental Meditation guy. Every morning and night, he empties his head, which is what he'd like to do right now. Except the vibe's not right. Is it the freaking bathroom mirror? From the shower, Howard can catch a glimpse of himself, enough to disturb anyone. Fat! is Howard's reaction to a mirror. Ugly!
Just freaking breathe. In TM, you let distracting thoughts float right out of your mind. Some thoughts, though, are like fish bones. Like how about that ad Howard's boss took out? Good riddance to twenty years of stale fart jokes, as if he couldn't wait to usher Howard out the door. Infuriating! Reduce Howard to fart jokes! What about his penis and vagina material? He practically invented saying penis and vagina on the radio! And his stripper bits and lesbian gags and his legion of deformed and defective characters? Howard's boss ought to drop to his knees and thank him. Those fart jokes built an empire! That genius should get testicular cancer!
Which might be about the time that Howard hears the voice. Where the fuck is this coming from? Howard thinks. He hears a series of sharp, percussive notes, like an old Teletype machine. It's the way WINS, the all-news radio station, introduces its newscast. Then Howard hears a news anchor's sonorous voice. Except that instead of introducing the WINS newscast, Howard hears the voice intone, It's he Howard 100 News.
It's like the radio gods are sending Howard a radio show. All the news you want about the universe that is Howard Stern. Everything about the characters in Howard's world, their fascinating lives, including, yes, the gases they pass. And not just the gases! Howard hears that rich newscaster's voice say, The Howard Stern Sports Department. But our sports, thinks Howard. Like how about High Pitch Eric, one of his characters, who's fat and disgusting and speaks like a girl, eats for a whole day. People could bet on his, uh, output. It'll be the . . . Craptacular! Howard can imagine the hushed, reverent tones of the sportscaster, as if he's describing Tiger Woods. There in the steamy shower, Howard puts his fist to his mouth, like it's a microphone: High Pitch approaches the Porta Potti. He appears ready. Concentration is on his face . . . That's funny! That's genius!
Howard's boss no longer permits fart noises on the air. But on satellite, anything goes. Yes, Howard thinks, I want to host the Craptacular.
Howard's so excited about The Howard 100 News he's got to tell Beth. He rushes out of the shower, almost forgetting the towel. Six foot five and hung like an acorn! Where's the goddamned towel? Honey?!
In recent years, Howard Stern claims to have harbored a deep secret. It's a notion that seems, on the face of it, preposterous. After all, Howard has a confessional urge like no one's ever heard. Before Howard, radio was mostly comforting, discreet, tasteful. Emotion, if it surfaced at all, was happy (later on, and even worse, it was mellow). [Radio] was a lot of people who didn't say shit, grumbles Howard. To Howard, that was all phony, and Howard despises phonies. The show is about honesty, he says earnestly. But Howard's honesty is not the honesty of, say, Oprah. Howard hates Oprah. Howard's earliest professional instinct was to erase the line between private and public, which often mirrors the one separating discomfort and comfort. Howard says, Discomfort is something interesting to explore. Starting, of course, with his own. His anal fissures? His ex-wife's miscarriage? Howard wants you to know.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
|There's more than one way to do things
Re^3: Why Perl is a Valid Choiceby brian_d_foy (Abbot)
|on Jan 31, 2006 at 22:09 UTC ( #526899=note: print w/replies, xml )
|Need Help??
I don't think this is a technical problem, or one that we'll solve with technology. It's a people problem. If you already have a bad situation, an automated tool isn't going to make it any better. I know you said this with the smiley face attached, but the problem isn't the language. By the time people get to quibbling about the actual code, they've already passed through most of other problems that allowed that to happen.
The best thing that people can do, I think, is work together. Programmers (or any other sort of worker) aren't veal calves to shove in cubicles. Although I won't go as far as recommending company retreats, people in the same organization should know each other, and know what other people are doing.
For managers, this means actually inspecting the work of their subordinates and tracking its progress. You don't do that with an automated tool. You actually have to look at the code, and you have to think about it in terms of everything else. It's not just the syntax that's important, but how it relates to everything else. What does the code let you do? More importantly, what does it keep you from doing? What decisions does the code make for you if you allow a certain design?
A good manager could use Perl::Critic, but tools don't and won't make good managers.
brian d foy <email@example.com>
Subscribe to The Perl Review
In Section Meditations


text:
How did you become interested in UFO phenomena?
I am not sure how I actually became interested in UFOs. It captured my imagination when I was an undergraduate at UCLA. I began to read in it for recreation as others would read mystery novels or science fiction. The more I read, the more intrigued I became. By 1966 I was pretty much hooked. I went to the University of Wisconsin-Madison for graduate school in that year and I was determined to become an expert in this area by reading everything that could be read about the subject. (In those days that was a feasible goal, today, of course, it is not.) I finally decided to write my doctoral dissertation within the field of intellectual history on the subject of the controversy over unidentified flying objects. I received my Ph.D. in 1973.
How did this interest lead into the study of the abduction experience?
I, like most other serious UFO researchers felt that the abduction phenomenon was almost certainly a psychological in origin. In 1981 I was casually introduced to abduction researcher Budd Hopkins at a conference we were both present papers at. I was so uninterested in the subject that I preferred to stand in the hall and talk with my friends while Hopkins gave his paper. The following year a mutual friend took me over to Hopkins home in New York City and I was able to talk with him and find out exactly what he was up to. I was impressed by his depth of intelligence and his research methodology. By a fluke, I was spending a few weeks for vacation that summer in Wellfleet, MA where, as it turned out, Hopkins had a summer home. I visited him there and he introduced me to some abductees and I was able to spend more time learning about his findings. I was impressed again. I decided that he might be on to something potentially important. I began to be a regular visitor to his New York home and I after a few years I decided that if I ever wanted to do research in this area to find out for myself what, if anything was happening to alleged abductees, I would have to learn how to do hypnosis. By 1986, I was ready for my first client. Since that time I have conducted over 850 hypnotic regressions with about 145 different individuals.
It seems that the first abduction that received national attention was Betty and Barney Hill in 1961. Why did it take so long for the abduction experience to become "news" in the eyes of the public?
UFO research is, to a great extent, a search for patterns. Once case does not a pattern make. Other cases began to slowly trickle in after the Hill case and researchers began to get a better sense of what was happening. Most, of course, thought it was all psychological. The Hill case however was fairly sensational. It became a best-selling book and was made in 1975 into an NBC "Movie of the Week." It was quite a good film. Furthermore, the Hills were straight, upstanding, contributing, honest members of their community. This was in sharp contrast to the "contactees" of the 1950s who claimed on-going contact with Space Brothers who were on earth for benevolent reasons to help humankind. These people were generally charlatans who made ridicule seem like the appropriate response to all UFO witnesses. The Hills credibility and honesty set them apart from the claimants of the past. Still, it was the slow accretion of other abduction narratives by equally credible people that enabled the phenomenon to get a foothold in the public's attention.
Since most abductees acquire "missing time", what are some of the indications that one has been abducted?
Some people have fully conscious memories of all or parts of their abductions. However, most people have forgotten what has happened to them within seconds after an abduction event. But they often know that something strange has occurred. They assume what the society allows for them to think. They think that they have traveled on the astral plane, seen a ghost or a deceased relative. They think they have seen a religious figure. They think that they have had some sort of a strange out of body experience. They sometimes see inexplicable lights in their room of which they do not know the origin. There are a number of other indications, but ultimately, one has to use competent hypnosis to fully understand what has happened to these individuals.
Perhaps the most well known UFO event is the supposed crash in Roswell in 1947. Based on all of your research, what do you think happened there?
I am not an expert on Roswell and there are many UFO researchers who know more about it than I. However, the evidence I have seen so far is not persuasive to me that an extraterrestrial craft crashed at Roswell.
The film Close Encounters of the Third Kind was the first blockbuster film to chronicle UFO sightings. Do you think this helped or hindered the study of the phenomena?
We do not have studies of the effects of this film. It was widely predicted by UFO debunkers and critics that the movie would set of a torrent of UFO reports. The assumption was that publicity causes sightings. After the release of the move in 1977, the amount of sightings did not significantly rise. The Air Force had in 1952 come to the conclusion that publicity did not cause sightings and the movie once again made that point.
In your book, you hypothesized that at least 2% of the American public has been abducted. Why is this happening and for what purpose?
A Roper poll of almost 6,000 randomly selected people conducted in 1991 determined that at least 2% of the American adult public had experiences that abductees had reported although it is, of course, impossible to tell whether the polled people actually are abductees without competent investigation. What researchers have found during the past forty years of investigation is that the UFO phenomenon is not as random as was previously believed and that most, if not all close level UFO sightings mask abductions. They have found that the abduction phenomenon is intergenerational, and lasts throughout the course of one's life. The frequency of abduction for any individual can increase and decrease over time. But, all abductees have their first abductions in very early childhood and they are abducted many, many times. At first we thought that this was a study of some sort; a learning situation. I have found no evidence for that. I found that this is a structured program that is goal directed. It has a beginning, middle and an end when the goal is reached. It is, at its core a reproductively oriented program. Abductees indicate that they are shown bizarre babies who they characterize as looking like crosses between humans and aliens. The evidence has, to my extreme embarrassment, pointed to a program of ultimate integration into our society by these grown-up hybrids. At least that is what abductees say that the aliens and hybrids have told them.
Should we be afraid?
I think we should be very, very concerned. I am extremely uneasy about what the UFO and abduction phenomenon represents.
At Temple University you teach the first and only regularly offered course in the United States on UFOs in American Society. How did this come about?
After my dissertation was published as The UFO Controversy in America in 1975, the Director of the American Studies Program at Temple University suggested that I might want to teach a course on the subject in the Program. I was enthusiastic at this prospect and I began to teach the course in 1977. Of course, I knew nothing about abductions in those days. I have been teaching the course fairly regularly since that time.
The X-Files created an elaborate mythology surrounding that government and UFO cover-ups. Do you believe the government has been harboring extra-terrestrial life forms and/or UFO technology?
Once again, I am in a minority of UFO researchers who does not find the evidence persuasive for systematic cover-up of sensitive UFO material by the government. In the 39 years that I have spent looking into the UFO subject, I have not had occasion to change my mind. I think that the government takes its cues on this subject from the scientific community. The scientific community is not ambivalent to subject, it is downright hostile. And, it has grown more hostile over the years.
Do you think the commonly portrayed "Gray" alien is the result of actual abduction reports or popular media's portrayal?
The media picked up the image of the Gray from abductions and from "occupant" sightings before we were aware of abductions. In the movie Close Encounters of the Third Kind, the images were taken from UFO accounts and with the help of famed UFO researcher J. Allen Hynek.
Where do you see all of this heading? Is Mankind in danger?
I have learned not to like the UFO and abduction phenomenon. I do no like where this heading. I am very uneasy about it. I think we should be very concerned.
Why do you think we are not being told and what can we do about it?
I do not think there is much we can do about the abduction phenomenon. I think that the technology that abductees describe is far too advanced for us to intervene in the program. However, this is an area where talented people might be able to make a difference if they were to make a concentrated, coordinated effort to address these issues. We are very, very far away from this fantasy scenario. Right now all we can do is watch and wait.


text:
The musings, thoughts, frustrations and funnies from a first grade teacher in Southern California!
We had a staff meeting today and our staff meetings are now about 15 minutes of staff meeting stuff and the rest of the time we are supposed to spend doing vertical collaboration. Last month, the first grade team met with Kinder. I was gone, so I don't know how it went. There was only one teacher from our team there, so it couldn't have been super productive. Today we had to meet with 2nd grade. Our second grade team is very head strong and they feel that everything they do is great and wonderful. They had very little positive to say about the kids they have this year from us, and in fact they are trying to find a way to move some kids back into 1st grade. Sorry, we are over our limit on kids as it is! But, it is disheartening to hear them talk about the kids the way they do. For the last 6 years, the kids, as a whole, have never met the lofty expectations the teachers have for them. If they are at grade level, they should have been higher. If they are below grade level, they should have been retained. I'm sorry, but retention isn't the answer for all kids and sometimes, maybe even a lot of times, it doesn't work. It's just frustrating to listen to them complain about all the kids, especially the ones who are the really good kids who work hard and are capable of learning as long as they are taught!
And this is the conclusion that I have come to. While I am not the best teacher, I try to be the best I can be. I have changed things up over the last couple years and have learned some new things to help me help my kids. I try not to be the paper pusher, and I'm getting better about that. I do my reading groups, though they are not as effective as I'd like, but I do my groups and try to do them 4 days a week. I try to pull kids out when they need extra help, but I haven't been able to find the time this year. I try to make learning fun and bring out the manipulatives and try not to bore them to death with some of the things we do. But then I see what others do (or don't do) and I wonder why I work so hard. I try not to kill a forest a week with worksheets, but for some, they think that is the key to learning. A 20 page homework packet doesn't make the kid smarter, but you wouldn't know that by the praise the other teachers get for doing such a good job getting the kids to grade level or "proficient" based on some test that is now out. We were talking today and I thought maybe we were just jealous that the others get the praise, but it's not that. I am more upset that they get praise for not going above and beyond, while we are doing a million things to try and get the kids to learn.
But then I have to ask myself - would I be happy if I did my job half-assed? Nope! I have to give 100% everyday and do what I can to help my kids learn. Once they leave me, they are no longer my responsibility. I can care for them, and talk to them and hope the best for them, but they are not on my roster and are no longer under my direct instruction. I can hope others see what I see, but if they don't, I can only do what I need to do to make sure my kids are learning in my class and that I am giving them the best I can. It's a good reminder as we get towards the end of the trimester and are beginning to get stressed with the amount of work/testing/teaching we have to do before report cards and we are satisfied with the progress some of the kids are making. I need to make sure I go in everyday and try just a bit harder to do a little better than I did the day before. I too get complacent and want to do things the easier way. Sometimes easy is good, but other times, it pays to do things a little bit harder and then reap the rewards later!
With all this in mind, I need to go and get ready for tomorrow. The dishes are waiting for me, the clothes are piled high on the couch waiting to be folded and my daughter is in the middle of a Junie B book! Here's to a great end to the week!
1 comment:
I'm with you. One of my colleagues has a sleep disorder so she sleeps maybe 4-5 hours a night and is able to function on that because of the medicine she takes. She always creates and makes things for her room and sometimes I wonder why my room doesn't look like hers...and I love her dearly but also know that my life is not simply about teaching! I do the best I can with what I have....and my kids this year are freaking LOW. It appalls me that the 3rd grade team in my school hasn't been split up because clearly they aren't doing something right (my 4s last year were low as hell too). Alas, I just smile and nod and do what *I* can do in that moment and it has to be enough.ReplyDelete


text:
vintage top, diy shorts, jeffrey campbell shoes, army surplus bag, random jewelry
I forgot about these shoes. I was so stoked to have gotten them, oh, 3 years ago? I don't wear them often enough, but I had to dust them off when I found this top that I would have rocked in junior high during the 90s...and now. What good is trippy mesh on top when there is no overabundance of buckles on bottom? Buckles and mesh and army bags. Nostalgia to the max.
Dorner is dead. Looks like the end of helicopter craziness over our house.
instagram @caseystrawberry


text: I'm a younger girl, in my teens, and my boyfriend and I have been dating for 2 1/2 years and have been having sex now for about a year. The first time I had sex there was no problems. The next couple times there were minimal problems, slight soreness but nothing that was terrible and it never lasted more than 30 minutes. Now when I have sex it still hurts very badly starting when he enters, when we are having sex I don't even have orgasms anymore, and when we are done it burns and stings very badly when I pee and it is very hard for me to sit down and I get some white discharge with some smell to it, when I finally do sit down I cannot move because the pain is so harsh. This continues for about an hour sometimes an hour and a half. Nothing has changed since the first time I had sex, however I did get on the Depo birth control shot, I do not know if that has any simptoms. Also I have stopped having sex for a month and then just tried again tonight and the same thing happened, it is very discomforting, my boyfriend is very supportive so that helps but I have talked to my mom about getting me an appointment she said she will but she isn't very supportive of anything for me so I don't know what to do. Any advice would be a great help.Reply Follow This Thread Stop Following This Thread Flag this Discussion


text:
Moody's Microblog Daily Digest 120926 - http://bit.ly/P88rkR ysterday's tweets as a single Web page #MMDD
Before and After ACTA - http://slidesha.re/Q2C2OX my Berlin talk about political consequences of #ACTA fight now on Slideshare
The Hustler's MBA - http://bit.ly/Sn5yBy wiser than you might expect (v @boingboing)
Cleansing the Internet of Terrorism: Leaked EU Proposal Would Erode Civil Liberties - http://bit.ly/QHe0rS #EFF offers its view #cleanit
Creation Engine: #Autodesk Wants to Help Anyone, Anywhere, Make Anything - http://bit.ly/PqXeNP but only if they go closed... #3dprinting
New Zealand Prime Minister Apologizes To Kim Dotcom - http://bit.ly/PqXtsewow, PM grovels to dotcom...
Visualising Europe's #Languages - http://bit.ly/PHC7Yx nice; english less dominant than I would have expected
WikiWomen Unite! - http://bit.ly/UMbPbV good idea - do it #wikipedia
UK government spends £2bn on #drones - http://bit.ly/PHCz97 money well spent?
Rupert #Murdoch Admits Defeat: Now Wants London Times To Appear In Search Results - http://bit.ly/UZ1bx9 ouch; germany pl. take note
#CleanIT ist nur ein Symptom für die irreführende Politik der privaten Rechtsdurchsetzung im Internet - http://bit.ly/QWmAUd exactly
Joint Parliamentary Committee Could "Kill" the UK ISP Internet Snooping Bill -http://bit.ly/Uw3hl7 let's hope (v @Coadec)#CCDP
Hospital Tech Declines To Patent His Invention, As Saving Lives Is 'More Important Than Money' - http://bit.ly/PHFb79 bravo
Why Microsoft Is Tying B&N's Nook To Windows, Office And Bing -http://rww.to/SCKEzy was bound to happen
Pollution-Eating Clothing Heads Toward Commercialization -http://tcrn.ch/QdMzp0 sounds too good to be true
Software release suggests Samsung could soon launch a smartphone running Tizen - http://bit.ly/Uw3IvQ that would be good news #linux
#Mozilla and National Science Foundation seek developers to build "apps from the future" - http://bit.ly/QdN2rk good match
Endangered Alphabets - http://bit.ly/QHirD9 when we lose a language or an alphabet, we are all impoverished #linguistics
#CleanIT is just a symptom of the pinata politics of privatised online enforcement - http://bit.ly/QWny2D good analysis of larger problem
.@NeelieKroesEU presents EU cloudcomputing strategy (live video stream) -http://bit.ly/QyvGbW (v @lennarthuizing)
Gates Foundation-Led Green Revolution Promotes False Solutions to Hunger in#Africa - http://bit.ly/OrlvaK #seedpatents exactly wrong
Let's Clean up the #CleanIT Project - http://bit.ly/TFrieC here's how to address some of its problems #surveillance #censorship
Future has made £5 million from iPad magazines in a year - http://bit.ly/UZjguTsmall numbers, but positive signs #publishing
Michael Robertson Continues To Tempt Copyright Fate With UberTalk: Recordable Radio Directory Online - http://bit.ly/SSxoBC brave: kudos
#Ubuntu's Amazon search feature gets kill switch - http://bit.ly/Qe4HPu why it's always worth kicking up a fuss #privacy
A Conversation With Randall Munroe, the Creator of #XKCD - http://bit.ly/QHrrIkinteresting interview with amazing bloke (v @jackschofield)
When technical experts do the job of politicians - http://bit.ly/UN65ii interesting reflections on the recent OFE2012 conference
Make the IP system compatible with the Union's human rights obligations -http://bit.ly/QHKsud powerful analysis #eu
New Ethics Scandal Rocks #Wikipedia - http://rww.to/S21GHO this really needs sorting – now
Come back, Diyarbakır mayor tells Armenians - http://bit.ly/QWP7Jd now that's interesting #turkey
#Corruption, corporate #transparency and #opendata -http://slidesha.re/TGzTOn every activist should see this and RT - hugely important tool
#TPP: A Quiet Coup For the Investor Class - http://bit.ly/PIeDSY "corporations are granted more rights than American citizens" (V @PCGTW)
File-Sharing for Personal Use Declared Legal in #Portugal - http://bit.ly/S2hL0fwow, potentially big (v @mgeist)
#Panama's Government One Step Away From Passing The 'Worst #CopyrightLaw In History' - http://bit.ly/SSYAAq this. is. insane.
Free the Files! ProPublica taps the crowd for a database-building sprint to US election day - http://bit.ly/UNByRu interesting (v @mathewi)
#Mozilla launches Persona beta: A Web-wide alternative to logging in via Facebook or Twitter - http://tnw.co/OXrhkc good stuff
Public consultation on the future of EU-US trade and economic relations -http://bit.ly/N0Nppy last chance: closes today
Fairly long discussion over #cleanIT (in English) - http://bit.ly/Pse5Qc make up your own mind... #surveillance #censorship
"#CleanIT" – even worse than it sounds - http://bit.ly/NTnFOO Index on Censorship expresses concerns
#Hadopi non grata - http://bit.ly/PIpdtm " l'UFC-Que Choisir et l'April ont décidé de ne pas répondre à l'invitation de l'Hadopi" #vlc #drm
Our Tweet Debate on #ACTA is drawing closer… - http://bit.ly/SEoVr1 sharpen your digital pencils...
J.K. #Rowling's new book on Kindle: Literally unreadable - http://bit.ly/PIyCRAhere's a tip: why not check next time?
[RT] Moody's Microblog Daily Digest 120926 - http://bit.ly/P88rkR ysterday's tweets as a single Web page #MMDD
#PSI Data Must Be Free for the Magic to Happen - http://bit.ly/Pa344F obvs#opendata
#EPO debate: How #swpatents are delaying the future - http://bit.ly/QzaYbQmore grown up than I would have been
U.S. Chamber of Commerce, revolving doors and climate change denial -http://bit.ly/STfn6h the usual problems
#EU Competition Commissioner: "#Microsoft Has Not Kept its Promises" -http://dthin.gs/PIBD4u naughty naughty
Former Copyright Boss: New Technology Should Be Presumed Illegal Until Congress Says Otherwise - http://bit.ly/PsMGxD </facepalm>
#Bitcoin Foundation launched - http://bit.ly/QItGv0 interesting move
In U.N. Speech, Assange Demands U.S. End Persecution of WikiLeaks and Bradley Manning - http://bit.ly/UwSUxx I should hope so
US pharma companies could be real beneficiaries of Canada-EU trade deal -http://bit.ly/V1hp8U well, there you go
Google's #Copyright Crackdown Punishes Author For Torrenting His Own Book - http://bit.ly/OXUHP7 #google more ossified & stupid by the day
Business hires of former government employees as #lobbyists -http://bit.ly/NTGX6L growing problem everywhere...
#Megaupload Farce Stirring Up Backlash Against #Copyright Overreach -http://bit.ly/SdFKDU time to put the emphasis back on basic rights?
Australia, Chile & New Zealand reply to UN Rapporteur for Right to Health on#TPP complaints - http://bit.ly/QXTsvE with contempt for public


text:
IT Jobs Remain Pocket of Strength, Optimism: Dice
IT Jobs Remain Pocket of Strength, Optimism: Dice
by Nathan Eddy
Demand for Technology Pros Increases
The latest survey shows that 73 percent of hiring managers and recruiters plan to hire more technology pros during the second half of 2013 in comparison to the year's first six months.
Improvement in Economy Drives Hiring
More than three in 10 respondents (31 percent) attributed their plans for increased hiring to the current economic climate in the U.S.
Time to Hire Falls, Even as Hiring Trajectory Rises
Despite the upward trajectory in hiring, fewer hiring managers (46 percent) reported the time to recruit is lengthening—compared with 55 percent of respondents asked six months ago.
Some See No Change in Time to Recruit
About a third (32 percent) of respondents said the amount of time to recruit was unchanged, and 22 percent said it had sped up from 2012.
Not So Scared to Jump Ship
A third (33 percent) of corporate hiring managers said more tech pros are voluntarily quitting their positions in 2013, compared with last year.
They're Holding Out for Better Offers
Another indicator of an improving IT jobs market is the revelation that 32 percent of recruiters said more candidates are rejecting job offers than they were just six months ago.
Full-Time, Contract Positions Make the Majority of Offers
About 45 percent of respondents said they were hiring more full-time and contract staff, while just 27 percent indicated using more staffing and 15 percent said part-time hiring was on the upswing.
Pay Rates Factor Into Acceptance of Offers
When the initial job offer is declined, 30 percent of hiring managers said their offer was slightly lower (between 0 and 5 percent) than the candidates' expectations.
Northeast, West, and Midwestern Businesses Building Out
Organizations with their company headquarters in the Midwest, West and East, including the Northeast, are recording the biggest jumps in hiring intentions.


text:
Stalley says, "you lending your ears is a Blessing." Well, Stalley, I say, you lending your lyrical talent is Blessing; Bless you. I need to know when Savage: Journey To The American Dream will drop.
Much Love to Slick Jackson., the Artistic-director behind the production of this visual; he never ceases to amaze. Peace.


text:
About Morris 4x4 Center's Affiliate ProgramMorris 4x4 Center provides Affiliates the opportunity to earn commissions from their website traffic. You place Morris 4x4 Center ads and links on your website in exchange for commission. When people visit our site from your site through our affiliate links, you can make money! So if you own a website, small or large, join our affiliate program today and start generating commissions all year long – day or night!
Why Join the Morris 4x4 Center Affiliate Program?
- Earn More Money through affiliate links placed on your site
- Work with a Trusted Partner – Established in 1991, Morris 4x4 Center has fulfilled over 1 million orders, supplying more than 40,000 products across several top brands
- Get Data-Driven Results - Morris 4x4 Center has joined forces with LinkConnector.com to bring you state-of-the-art tracking and reporting on all Affiliate-generated traffic.
How the Affiliate Program Works
- Once you join the program you can:
- Select a campaign
- Post a link/banner on your site
- Earn Commission
How to Join
- Complete the online application, and agree to the affiliate terms & conditions.
- Select the campaign(s) you wish to join, and apply.
- Once you have been accepted for a campaign, place links on your site and start earning commissions!
If you have any questions, concerns, requests, help is here:
Email: firstname.lastname@example.com


text:
Backcountry Freeskier is dedicated to the freeride movement. We have the most progressive skis from Moment, Liberty, Faction, RMU, Black Crows, Roxy, Sego, Elan, and Line. We have skis for the frontside, backside, and the backcountry. From all mountain skis, to powder skis, to backcountry skis, to reverse camber skis, to rockered skis. We only sell the skis we ride. Slide rails, slay cliffs, shred pow.
All prices are in USD. © 2019 Backcountry Freeskier. Sitemap
Powered by BigCommerce


text:
A pelleted cool feed, formulated for horses doing moderate to intense
A cool, economical, pelleted feed that is intended to supplement equine diets.
A cool feed formulated to provide sustained energy for horses in intensive, aerobic work such as endurance, eventing and polocrosse.
A cool feed formulated to provide breeding and growing horses with essential nutrition for optimum health and development.
A cool feed formulated to meet the specific needs of horses and ponies 15 years and older.


text:
|Timber! Surveillance video captures guy stealing bike
by cutting down tree.
I know, I know, that happens a lot. People steal bicycles all the time.
But as you see in the surveillance video below, this guy really, really wanted this bike.
The bicycle in question was tied to a tree, a pretty good sized one. So our thief took out a hand saw, and spent lots of time cutting down the tree to steal the bicycle.
It's amazing no bystanders caught the guy, but he got away with it. The tree fell, he grabbed the bike, put it on the back of his motorbike and took off.
Here's the weird, amazing viral video:


text:
The problem with hanging around other car guys is that you pick up their bad habits. Experience has taught me we pick up none of the good ones! That generally leads to well intentioned but seriously lacking ideas we turn into projects.
Well, it's about to happen so I might as well fess up. Fellow Vette journalist, a Corvette owner, mutual senior citizen and my buddy Gerry Burger recently put his C1 on the road. In and of itself an accomplishment to be sure but there's a caveat. His '60 Vette is outfitted with a true W-motor, not the adorable but anemic small-block that it came with from St. Louis, but a 348/409 complete with a twin FAST EFI system (reminiscent of twin fours) registering more horsepower than someone his age should be chauffeuring and far more torque than those of us collecting social security should have. But alas … it's very cool.
OK, I've besmirched Burger enough. I'm jealous as I watch from my garage-based lawn chair all the while he's driving. Alas, again, he doesn't much care about my tribulations. While watching his Corvette go together with the "original" big-block I got the bug and began reading old car magazines that talked about engine swaps. Lo and behold I come across a story from Hot Rod, December 1967, written by a longtime (and sorely missed) friend John Thawley. Of particular note was a story about installing an iron Chevy big-block into your 1957-'62 Corvette with an engine swap kit from Bill Thomas Race Cars (BTRC) in Anaheim, California. (The same people who brought us the Cheetah.)
For the rest of the story you need to know that I went to Servite High School just down the street from BTRC. As often as I could I would wander down to the shop and sweep up or do whatever that allowed me to hang around and watch. (I never made a dime but did earn credits toward bartering for parts to attach to our '57 Corvette and my "brand-new" '67 Chevy II SS so I figured I was coming out ahead.)
Here I am 50 years later reading an article from 1967 that shows the very big-block engine mount kit that my southern gentleman of a hot rodding, Vette lovin' buddy Burger purchased. Turns out back in 1968 he and another fellow hot rodder Pete had a 1961 that they dropped a 427 into using the BTRC engine swap kit.
Back in the day there I was working, possibly on his very engine swap kit, proving once more it's a small world and car guys will eventually find each other. It's truly interesting how many of us have gone through our lives and whether by earliest childhood connections (Dwight Guild, remember the '57?), military connections (Franz Estereicher, remember Los Alamitos Naval Air Station?), professional careers (Burger, how many days, nights and events have we shared over 40 years?), or the mentors in our lives (Ron Ceridono, I say we blame all of our shortcomings on LeRoi "Tex" Smith) we come together and from day one it's like we've known each other our entire lives. At the end of the day when we need help in the garage, clarity on a historical fact, a turn of phrase or I'm on deadline and short four pages, we have someone we can rely upon.
Without question after I complete my current pair of Corvettes (a '68 and a '71) I will have a C1 (preferably a '57 or a '62) that I will drop an early big-block into; not the W-motor style but more along the 396 variety. Think I'm kidding? I have a 396 sitting in my garage and now all I need is a Corvette. (And that's where longtime hot rod buddy and retired GM Desert Proving Grounds Engineer Scott Leon comes into play. I'm sure he knows where I might find one!)
One more alas! All of us surely could aspire to at least one more Corvette project. That's just the way we are wired.
Photography by Petersen Archives & Gerry Burger


text:
I am a day early but thought to give away a free digital every Tuesday rather than Wednesday, we all love things coming early don't we?
Today I am giving away a frog that is un-frog-ettable!!!! hehe!
Take a lookie!
And here is the card I made to give him color in his world:
- Spectrum Noir Pens
- Dotted paper from Candy Doodles CD
- White, red cardstock
- My own digital
- random flowers from punches and cricut
- Ribbon from Sugar and Spice
- Scalloped boarder made with a corner punch , cool hey!!!!!
- red brick distress ink
- Paper Candy


text:
Absynthe Bath and Beauty: Unboxing the queen within
Beauty. Fitness. Fashion. Food. Travel. Unicorns. World Peace. Digify Corporation.
5 Lovely Thoughts
Im interested more with the pure intention serum :) thanks Ms.M Sana may dealer somewhere ortigas. :)ReplyDelete
I want to try their haircare products ms m..aside from l-lucido im looking forward for organic products like these.. ilove the packaging.. gonna watch out for your detailed review for this brand..ihave no idea what argan oil does?ReplyDelete
- Mary chuaOctober 10, 2013 at 11:27 AM
Oooooh, another nature friendly brand to add to my list! Hope they will make makeups and cosmetics as well. I want to try the oils! :)ReplyDelete
- Fati RecedeOctober 11, 2013 at 7:45 AM
Ohhh nooo. Ms. M. Try to get some more sleep. :(ReplyDelete
Love this products! I super want to try this. And I got fascinated by its packaging! ;)
You sleep at 4am pala Ms M? Whyyyy? I can't imagine all the breakouts I'd get if I do that regularly :(ReplyDelete


text:
Maybach Music Group – Pandemonium ft. Rick Ross, Meek Mill & Wale (Video)April 18th, 2011 by Freedzy | Hip-Hop/Rap, Music Video |
Check out the video for "Pandemonium," the latest single from the Maybach Music Group's compilation Selfmade dropping on May 24th. In the video, each rapper's got their swag to the max as they throw money around, smoke cigars, and bull out. Rick Ross is the don. #swag


text:
Eye OSPE conducted in Rawalpindi Medical College For Fourth Year MBBS students. Here we go : )
Note: Ctrl+S to Save the page and Ctrl+ or Ctrl- to adjust the size.
Respect copyright - Eliminate Piracy
Note: Ctrl+S to Save the page and Ctrl+ or Ctrl- to adjust the size.
Respect copyright - Eliminate Piracy
● An elderly lady presents with painful,medial canthus swelling since 4 days
1. What is the D/D only enumerate?
- Acute Dacryocystitis
- Canaliculitis
- Infected chronic dacryocystitis
- lacrimal duct obstruction
2. What is the treatment of the condition (briefly)?
- Hot Fomentation.
- Systemic Antibiotics,
- Analgesics and Anti-inflammatory drugs.
- Incision and drainage if there is abscess formation
● A 60 year old man comes to the Eye OPD with chief complaints of redness, irritation, watering, photophobia and gradual reduction of vision since 3 months
1. What is the diagnosis?
- Anterior Uveitis
2. What is the treatment?
- Mydriatic and Cycloplegics e.g Atropine eye drops
- Topical steroids
- Antibiotics
- Cytotoxic drugs for steroid resistant cases
●A child presents with a red eye of 15 days duration;
1.What is the most likely cause?
Phlyctenular conjunctivitis
2.What laboratory investigations would you order?
Investigations for T.B
Conjunctival Cytology
● A middle ages man comes to Eye OPD with a history of sudden onset complete III nerve palsy;
1. What are the causes?
- Cavernous sinus thrombosis
- Trauma
- Iatrogenic
- Inflammation and infection
● A child gives 3 year history of itching more severe in summers ;
1. What is the positive finding in the picture?
—Papillae (cobble-stone) type in upper palpebral conjnuctiva.
2. Enumerate the corneal complications of this condition.
—Punctate epithelial erosions.
—Shield ulcers and plaques.
—Ring Scar.
● A 5 year old child has esotropia since 2 years of age;
1. the patient has which type of esotropia?
—Accomodative esotropia.
2. What is the first line of treatment?
—Use of Bifocal Glasses (+3D)
● A patient working with hammer and chisel presents with pain redness and blurring of vision;
1. What is the positive finding in the picture?
—Foreign body (in orbit).
2. Which investigation is contraindicated in this case?
1.What are the indications of surgery in this condition?
— Visual Impairment.
—Cosmetic reasons.
2. Name the best operation for this condition
—Simple excision with key-hole keratoplasty.
1. Which type of cataract is present in this patient?
Hypermature Cataract.
2. Which intra-operative complications are more likely to occur in this patient?
—Rupture of posterior Capsule.
—Vitreous loss.
—Nucleus drop into vitreous cavity.
—Expulsive Hemorrhage.
● This patient had surgery for pterygium 15 days back;
1. What is the main positive finding in the picture?
—Pyogenic Granuloma.
2. What is the treatment?
—Surgical Excision.
●This patient had non healing corneal ulcer for 4 weeks;1. What are the two main causes of non healing corneal ulcers of such a duration?
—Corneal epithelial defects .
—D. Mellitus.
—Persistent infection.
2. What surgery has been done in this case?
1.What is the main positive finding in the picture?
2. Enumerate the main investigations that will help you reach a diagnosis.
2. Enumerate the main investigations that will help you reach a diagnosis.
A)Radiological investigations:
B) lab investigations:
—Routine tests: CBP, TLC, DLC, ESR , Urine examination.
—Special tests: Like T3, T4, TSH level of blood.
Special Thanx to SAAD SALEEM, 4th Year MBBS student of RMC for his valueable contributions.


text:
Jon Lamonte
Chief Executive TfGM and Deputy Lieutenant for Greater Manchester
Jon Lamonte joined Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) as CEO in 2013. His portfolio covers rail, bus, tram, highways, cycling and other forms of active transport. TfGM is the executive delivery arm of the Greater Manchester Combined Authority. He is the Chair of the UK's Urban Transport Group.
Jon Lamonte was the CEO of Tube Lines from 2011 – 12, including the critical period of the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games. Tube Lines, as part of Transport for London, was responsible for the maintenance, renewal and upgrade of the Underground infrastructure on the Jubilee, Northern and Piccadilly lines. This includes track, trains, signals and stations.
Jon joined from the Royal Air Force where he fulfilled a number of senior operational roles and led major project delivery. His most recent role was Chief of Staff, Strategy, Policy and Plans, which included co-leading the strategic defence and security review into the maritime programme for the Ministry of Defence (MoD). This identified considerable savings opportunities from the current structure and planned procurement of the Royal Navy over the next decade, whilst producing a coherent and viable force capable of meeting a range of scenarios into the future.
Prior to this Jon was Director General Finance for Defence Equipment and Support, the MoD's £17bn a year procurement and logistics organisation. Other roles included running the RAF's largest base, Brize Norton, with over 4,500 people and three fleets of transport and air-to-air refuelling aircraft. He served in the Falklands, Iraq and the former Yugoslavia.
An active member of the Institute of Directors, Jon has strong experience in leading change, driving efficiency and motivating large workforces. He achieved a PhD in History from Birmingham University in 2011.
Jon was appointed as a Deputy Lieutenant in 2014.
Related topics
Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS), Intermodality, Passenger Experience, Smart Cities, Sustainable Urban Transport
Related organisations
Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM)
Related people
Jon Lamonte


text:
Located at our Hospital for Rehabilitation Campus, the center is the only one in Ohio offering diagnostic services and treatment based on applied behavioral analysis in an educational setting. Housed in the Debra Ann November Wing, the Center for Autism is a state-of-the-art facility designed specifically to provide a low-stimulation learning environment.
Within the center, the Lerner School for Autism is a chartered, non-public school serving students ages 5 to 22. Services include:
The goal of the autism research program is to improve understanding, education, and treatment of individuals with autism spectrum disorders (ASD).
Find helpful resources from Cleveland Clinic Children's including FAQ's, webchats, consulting services and more!
Discover news and events available at Cleveland Clinic Children's


text: I'm not quite sure why people make and then give away fonts for free. But for those of us who like typography, there's thankfully a whole bunch of these types (pun intended) making their work available for free download. I came across an interesting storehouse of designers at someplace called "moorstation.org." Manfred Klein's work is particularly compelling–and vast. His fonts are cataloged by year, and there seems to be about a font-a-day in each year's archive. Klein makes his fonts free to all for all uses, though he suggests a donation to Doctors Without Borders if one uses his fonts for commercial purposes.


text:
Your Rating: Not Yet Rated
Average Rating: 4.0 (2 people have rated this item.)
RAM Requirement: 1 meg RAM
Control: Joystick and Mouse
Release Status: Shareware
Year: 1991
Publisher: Once Product
Developers: Leclercq Philippe
System 6 Compatible: Yes
Hard Drive Installable: Yes
All ebay results related to this archive:
Data Plotting Software for Micros - Kern Publications - 1982
Current Apple IIGS related Auctions Listed By Time Left:
1988 A+ Magazine (Apple II): Desktop Publishing/GraphicWriter/IIGS Look for IIe
Apple IIgs 4soniq 4-Channel Sound Card by Manila Gear from ReActiveMicro
I can only guess that Leclercq Philippe, aka Teaser, had the intention of developing this game for Taito America for it to be released commercially. Of course, Taito America went bust in 1991.
So Teaser finished the game a couple of years later and dubiously labelled it shareware (did he get the rights to release it as shareware for the IIGS from Taito?).
Still, none of us should be complaining. Teaser's coding skills are evident here and the IIGS version stands up very well to the arcade version. The graphics look like they come from the Atari ST version.
The game itself is a quick reflex puzzle game. You throw patterned blocks at the pile from your friendly blob character in the hope of matching blocks of the same pattern. You can throw blocks off the sides of walls and other objects, although on later levels, they become obstacles and limit your path to matching blocks.
The game includes a two player option and a construction editor.
The music was 'borrowed' from Sensei and it seems to let the style of the game down. I've had a quick look to see if the SoundSmith music can be replaced, but it doesn't seem to use the standard method of storing SoundSmith music and instruments. If anyone is able to replace the music with something more unique, or better yet, music from the arcade game, please get in touch and I'll update this archive.
The archive doesn't include an operating system, so you'll need to launch the game from a boot disk.


text:
Watch Michael Jackson's This Is It And Be Thrilled!
Watch Michael Up Close As He Rehearses For This Is It
Michael Jackson, was busy rehearsing for his biggest and final tour of all time, THIS IS IT, when he died in the summer of 2009. Tickets were already sold out to the concert spread over 50 dates. Fans were all set to be thrilled and Michael was not going to disapoint them. Even at age 50, he rehearsed endlessly to put up his best performance yet. Eager fans from across the world awaited this grand finale. Alas, it was not to be!
But now you can watch This Is It movie, in theatres. Amazon's Michael Jackson store now houses THIS IS IT DVD's, BLU-RAY, CD's,and you can also download mp3's.
So, what is the movie about?
Kenny Ortega who was Michael Jackson's creative partner and director of the stage show has given the privilege of watching Michael through rehearsals for his sold -out concerts which were to begin from London's 02 Arena. The This Is It movie takes us through rehearsals from April through June 2009.
The movie features Jackson rehearsing his moves and using his voice to enthrall audiences. Over 100 hours of rehearsals have been edited to give fans worldwide a rare glimpse of their idol putting up his best performances. Michael Jackson is seen here as a creative genius and a man with a heart of gold as he sings and dances to perfection. Undoubtedly a great artist and none can dispute the fact that he was indeed the KING OF POP!
Michael is seen performing Thriller, Off The Wall, Bad, They Don't Care About Us among others. His performances includes the gravity-defying moves that even a man half his age would find difficult. Though he had not toured in a period of 10 years, he had full control of his voice and was all set to give his very best. Many watched the movie in theaters with mixed emotions. What would have been the most dazzling performance of all time is now onscreen! And it is your turn to watch it and save a copy of MICHAEL JACKSON'S THIS IS IT MOVIE for yourself.
Official Trailer of This Is It
Recommended Reading:
- How To Dance And Thrill Like Michael Jackson
Michael Jackson was all set for the London tour,"THIS IS IT", for which auditions were conducted with people streaming in from all parts of the globe to try their luck at being chosen to dance alongside...
Want to see THIS IS IT movie?
I watched it, I loved it, I'm buying it on DVD. You know, I'm glad we got to see the master at work. The superb artist he is.
My husband and his family are and were good friends of the Jacksons of course I am looking forward to seeing it and once we move I will personally buy a copy from your page. Thank you so much for loving Michael just like so many have, great read and I even watched the video. :)
Purple Perl, Nice hub! You have perked my interest! I must see this! Thank You for sharing, Blessings!


text:
Mya Detroit Escort · (248)275-7335 · Michigan Escort
Petite Asian Treat
Currently only offering OUTCALL ONLY, servicing the Metro-Detroit area.
Booking an appointment in advance is recromended as references need to be verified before any meeting can be arranged.
Please provide 3 references upon calling or when sending an email, all other information that is obtained is for verification perposes only! I respect your need for privacy, you can be assured that I am always discreer and will never share information provided to me.
Understand that your time is valuable to me, as well as my time is to you. I am a very respectable lady and expect the same in return.
Email address:
Phone Number:


text:
Brothers Living with Severe Food Allergies Can Enjoy Life to the Fullest with the Added Protection of Their MedicAlert Medical IDs
There is no cure for food allergies. Unfortunately for Hau and Alice Nguyen; their boys Maxwell (9) and Nathan (7) are no strangers to this factual statement. Both of their children have been diagnosed with severe, life-threatening food allergies. In the Nguyen household; analyzing ingredients (to ensure foods that can trigger a reaction are avoided) is as normal as flicking on the television. Both Hau and Alice have become experts on their children's food allergies and have gone to great lengths to protect their sons.
Medical concerns for their children were prevalent when their oldest child Max was only a few months old. Their son was presented with a severe case of eczema. For two years they suffered through trying to find out what was causing him such intense pain and discomfort. Soon after, the Nguyen family welcomed their younger son Nathan who also presented medical concerns related to food. After repeated visits to their pediatrician and medical specialists, they decided to venture out of the state to find answers. Their journey took them to National Jewish Health; a center in Denver, Colorado that specializes in food allergies.
The Dangers of Anaphylactic Shock
While at the facility, the family encountered one of their most frightening experiences. During a clinical trial their son was given 2.5 mg of chicken. Instantly he became lethargic and went into anaphylactic shock. Although epinephrine was administered immediately, it wasn't enough. Their son was rushed to triage and given an adult dose of life saving epinephrine. The Nguyen's were thankful to have done the oral food trials in a medical setting with well-educated professionals they trusted to care for their sons.
"I always knew that my sons' food allergies were severe but it was in that moment when I realized just how life threatening they are…that just a single bite of chicken could be fatal." ~Alice Nguyen
Researchers estimate that up to 15 million Americans have food allergies. This potentially deadly disease affects 1 in every 13 children in the U.S. That's roughly two in every classroom. In the Nguyen home, both of their children are affected. Imagine having to manage the diet for two children who; combined are severely allergic to over twenty things. Some of these allergies are as common as milk, eggs, wheat, chicken, turkey, and nuts.
The Comfort of Having a MedicAlert Medical ID While Living with Food Allergies
With allergies such as these, the Nguyen's are unable to take their children out to eat or run to a drive thru for a quick bite. Not to mention the difficulties they face with both school activities and holiday functions. When asked how the Nguyen's manage these restrictions with their boys, Hau responded;
"Let them live as normal of life as possible. It's scary having children with severe food allergies but having their MedicAlert medical ID and a service to back it helps."
As MedicAlert KidSmart® members; both Nathan and Maxwell have their vital medical information (also known as their Emergency Medical Information Records-EMIR®) securely stored and linked to their personalized medical ID which can be accessed 24/7. Therefore, their medical IDs serve as a connection to a wide range of MedicAlert services designed to protect them in the event of an allergic reaction to foods and/or medications.
MedicAlert's 24/7 Live Emergency Response and Family Notification Services gives Hau and Alice peace of mind when being away from their boys. In an emergency situation, they know MedicAlert's Emergency Response Center's first priority is to communicate their kids' crucial medical information immediately to first responders and medical personnel.
Another terrifying episode for the boys happened when Maxwell, four years old at the time, was served a slice of ham during Thanksgiving. The knife used to cut the ham had previously been used to carve the turkey. That cross contamination could have been deadly for Max but his father acted quickly. The minute his son went into anaphylactic shock he used an EpiPen to save his life.
This has become the norm for Hau, Alice, Maxwell, and Nathan. They constantly educate their family, friends, the schools and others within the community about the severity of food allergies and how to respond if one of their children, or any child, presents an allergic reaction. The first step is knowledge. Strict avoidance of food allergens and early recognition and management of allergic reactions to food are the only way to prevent serious health consequences.
"We can rest a little knowing there's a service like MedicAlert out there that can help when you're not around. It is a vital part of our emergency plan. We know it helps keep our kids safe."
Now that the Nguyen's have spent years perfecting their emergency plan and educating their children and those around them, they can focus on the other important things in life, like spending time with their children. The boys are excited about the summer, going fishing and playing video games with Dad, Max is looking forward to soccer this year, and Nathan is focused on karate. When asking Mom how she manages she says it best;
"They're normal little boys. They have food allergies, but that's not who they are. We make sure to show them how to enjoy life and food in a healthy way. Having MedicAlert is an extra level of protection."