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Q+A: Director Andy Stewart talks chunk-blower "DYSMORPHIA", screening this weekend!Fearful Features,Movies/TV,News Kier-La Janisse
Glasgow-based horror crit Andy Stewart's debut short film DYSMORPHIA has been hitting gag reflexes all over the festival circuit since it premiered at Manchester's Grimmfest last fall. Often paired with the Soska Sisters' AMERICAN MARY, which shares its gruesome penchant for DIY surgery, DYSMORPHIA is something of a showstopper itself. A Man. A Room. A Decision; a modest setup, but one, I assure you, you will not soon forget.
Andy Stewart talks to FANGO about his transition from critic to director, the pleasures of body horror, and gives us a tease at what his follow-up plans are.
FANGORIA: In DYSMORPHIA, your character explains in actions as an attempt to feel "whole" – I assume you've seen Melody Gilbert's documentary WHOLE, about people who want to be amputees?
ANDY STEWART: I have, yeah but only after I had the basic idea for the film down and started looking around for some more information on the subject matter. I made a textbook mistake early on by calling the film DYSMORPHIA as the condition depicted is closer to BIID (Body Integrity Identity Disorder) than BDD (Body Dysmorphia Disorder), however, given that it's also a mistake often made by people in the medical profession, I figured that I could get away with it. Plus DYSMORPHIA makes a far better title.
FANG: Dysmorphia/Body Integrity Identity Disorder makes a great launching point for a horror story, but do you empathize with your character's dilemma at all?
STEWART: To be honest, not really. In so far as BDD goes, maybe I can. Of course I have things about my body that I hate and would love to change. I think we all do. It was more the disassociation with the limb and the desire to be rid of it that interested me most. That feeling of having this alien or parasitic appendage. It's something that I couldn't quite get my head around and something that I think most people would struggle to comprehend or empathise with. I couldn't fathom the thought processes and the personal journey that these people go on that leads them to this last, desperate point.
I have a far greater understanding for people afflicted with BIID now and an appreciation for the severity of the condition.
FANG: The FX in the film are really squirm-inducing, and I understand they made someone pass out in Vancouver! But it's also interesting that it's having that effect on horror fans, who are used to seeing abundant gore FX, and the sound also plays a key role here, because you actually hear more than you see – can you tell me a bit about creating the FX and sound design? And also how the subject of the film informs what people are imagining when they aren't being shown everything?
STEWART: Actually, we have made someone faint or throw up at every single screening so far, not just in Vancouver.
To be honest, the reaction has been unbelievable. I knew when I was making it that it was gory and even at times, graphic, but I never expected it to have this kind of physical reaction on people. It is quite strange that these are all in front of horror crowds who most likely see, arguably more violent material on a regular basis. I think it's the fact that you can't escape it. The film demands that you sit through the procedure and experience it in an intimate way and it's the escalation of events, the inevitability of what is about to happen, that keeps you watching and wondering, "Is he going to do it?"
FX-wise, I'm a first-time film-maker on a no-budget film, so I knew going in how I wanted to do the FX and, given that our budget was somewhere in the region of £160 ($250), my limitations. So I knew that, some key moments aside, that most of the procedure had to take place off camera. I have a basic knowledge of special effects make-up and was lucky enough to get a young make-up girl named Ruthy Devenny on board and, between us, we decided what was feasible within the budget and what wasn't.
It was great working with Ruthy. She knows what I want. Ruthy designed and applied the prosthetic appliances and I designed and operated the mechanical effects and it worked. We did the same on Banquet. We did all the gore effects using real meat, red strawberry licorice and fake blood. In fact, there is only one moment where you see a fake arm. All the rest is Gordon.
In the end, we spent about £10 on the gore effects and actually managed to scoop the award for Best Practical Effects in Vancouver.
With the sound design, we got very lucky. David McKeitch's involvement came around at a time of desperation and it couldn't really have worked out any better. We had been working with another sound designer, who had relocated to Barcelona, which wasn't ideal.
Time was dragging on so, we parted company with him and David came in on a recommendation and he did an amazing job. He turned round the whole sound of the film in a little under a fortnight. We didn't record any sound on the shoot so every single thing you hear, was built by David. He's very talented and is now working on Banquet, and I hope to continue this working relationship with him.
He pulled out all the stops on the sound to make everything as visceral as possible and it is his sound, in those moments where we only see blood, or Gordon's pain-stricken face, that let us know exactly what is going on off-camera. It is those sounds, I think, that have brought about many of the fainting incidents.
FANG: How did you decide on the structure of the film, namely that instead of a character study you wanted the act itself to be the showpiece?
STEWART: Structurally, as it was my first film, I knew that focusing on one character and keeping the action confined to one room was the way I had to do it. I wanted to make a film about this guy, with this condition, at a very specific point in his struggle and, given the run-time of the film, I wanted only to hint at his past and his family life as he makes this pretty life-altering decision.
Let's be honest, in this case, the procedure had to be the show piece.
FANG: Tell me about the overall trilogy that DYSMORPHIA forms a part of. What unifies the films, and what draws you to those themes?
STEWART: Well, the trilogy was originally conceived as part of a body horror anthology feature script that I had been writing. I am a massive body horror fan and love the films of David Cronenberg, Shinya Tsukamoto and Stuart Gordon and I felt like there wasn't an awful lot of body horror being made nowadays, so I thought I would have a stab at writing something myself. That's what drew me towards the themes of the film. Just a love for the sub-genre. I also wanted to play with slime and gunk.
After writing a few segments which I felt were pretty strong, I realised that I was now just writing any old shit to fill up pages, so I put my editor's head on and broke it all down into the constituent segments and quickly realised that, as I had never made a film before, no-one would buy into this project on an untested director anyway. It was then that I decided that I would actually make something.
So, DYSMORPHIA was picked as the first, which makes sense, and I picked the strongest out of the other segments, BANQUET and SPLIT (which we film in August), and decided to make them as a short film "trilogy".
The three segments all revolve around, what are to most us, seemingly irrational, dangerous and bizarre thought processes, that lead the protagonists to make these radical decisions or lead them into their ultimate predicaments.
FANG: You just finished shooting the second film in the trilogy – when will it start hitting festivals? Will the goal eventually be to have them all play together as one entity, kind of like Doug Buck's FAMILY PORTRAITS, which started off as three separate short films?
STEWART: My hope is that BANQUET will be totally finished and ready for submissions by the start of June. We just finished shooting on April 3rd and we have taken a few days to relax and think about how it all went before diving into the edit. We are also shooting Split in August, so that's in pre-production now.
Beyond that, I don't actually have a goal for the films, other than to get my name, and those of the people that work with me, out there but I would love to play all of the "trilogy" at a festival, either back to back, or spread out across the festival programme. That would be awesome.
I know that this is what I want to do with my life and I will continue to do it. It's so new and weird to me that I am just enjoying every single second of it.
FANG: You have screenings of DYSMORPHIA coming up this weekend, in Bradford, as well as in Sydney, Australia – will you be at either of the screenings?
STEWART: Yep. We are playing at Bradford International Film Festival on the 12th and 19th of April and in Sydney, Australia on the 14th as part of the A Night Of Horror International Film Festival. Myself and DYSMORPHIA actor Gordon Holliday will be in attendance in Bradford on the 19th. You won't miss us. I'm the scruffy guy with slasher movie tattoos and Gordon is the skinny guy in the vintage tweed suit. I'd love to make the trip to Australia but, sadly, funds are too low for that right now. Maybe one day…Dysmorphia will also be playing at the Mascara and Popcorn festival in Montreal in August.
Follow Andy's writing at http://www.andyerupts.com


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After more than forty years of marriage I thought I knew everything there was to know about my husband. I was wrong. This week I heard the story of how someone had thrown a rock through the window of his synagogue in Chicago on Purim night back when he was a teenager. The shul had been packed and the rabbi stood up and told the congregation not to worry. He assured them that everything was under a control. Looking backwards my husband wondered how the rabbi could have said such a thing. What if that rock had been a bomb? Now, of course, we know it wasn't, but it clearly was an act of anti-Semitism.
Growing up my experience with anti-Semitism was far more benign. I had a seventh grade teacher who treated me unfairly but to this day I'm not sure if that had anything to do with the fact that I was Jewish or she just didn't like me. In eighth grade a boy in my class made a disparaging comment about a "Jew-joint" and another classmate turned red and did her best to shut him up. He was totally oblivious to the fact his comment was offensive. Once working in my father's store a potential costumer asked me if he could Jew me down. I just giggled in embarrassment. A friend had a similar experience and handled it much better. He looked the man in the eye and calmly stated, "You don't need to do that. I'm already Jewish."
I wonder if there was really less anti-Semitism in Kansas than Illinois or if I was just very oblivious. Now, sorrowfully, I know there's hatred of Jews in every corner of America and almost every other country. How I wish my grandchildren could have the innocence I had as a child.
Next week Jews all over the world will be listening to Megillah Esther and booing Haman. He's the archetype anti-Semite who inherited his loathing of Jews from his ancestor, Esav. Haman, in turn, bequeathed the desire to destroy us to many descendants. It is frightening to read all the headlines of anti-Semitic stories today. What happened to the peaceful oasis of time I grew up in?
|courtesy of richardsilverstein.com
In the Megillah (third chapter, verse eight) Haman tells King Ahasuerus that there's one people scattered and dispersed among the people in all of his lands. Haman is, of course, referring to the Jewish people. Our Rabbis teach that scattered and dispersed does not just mean geographical location. It also means that we are scattered and dispersed ideologically.
Until this day it's true. How, I wonder, can we expect the rest of the world to like us when we don't like each other? When will we start getting along with each other? I know we have the power to change the tide. First among our families, then our neighborhoods and our synagogues, our towns, our cities, the whole Jewish world. We can start giving the benefit of the doubt, looking for the positive in our fellow Jew instead of the negative, respecting each other, and truly loving one another. Then the rest of the world will stop hating us. It's in our hands. We can make it happen.

subset: commoncrawl


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Jessica Berry and 1 other parent have been here
San Antonio, Tx, San Antonio, Texas
N Main Ave., San Antonio, Texas| Map |
Recent User Reviews
Eminence, Kentucky
- Visited: June 2011
- Submitted: Jan 31, 2013
- Traveled with:
Tots (0-2), Little Kids (3-5) and Tweens (9-12)
Awesome Family-Friendly TripFlag review
We decided to go to San Antonio for a summer family trip, a little nervous, because we were branching out into new territory. We usually opt for Florida, but agreed that it was time for something new. Boy, are we glad we tried it! From the Westin La Cantera, to the visits to the Riverwalk, to Sea World, we couldn't have been more pleased with all that San Antonio had to offer! Our children loved playing by the pool everyday, while we enjoyed going to the Riverwalk for dinner. The Alamo was a definite hit, as well, as our oldest daughter even did a presentation on it once school started back!
Tips for Families
Be sure to make time for the Riverwalk, even with the youngest kids. Don't miss the boat ride there!
Suggestions for nearby family-friendly accommodations
Suggestions for nearby family-friendly restaurants
My Kid's Review
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Golf Glance
All Times EST
Site: Naples, Fla.
Schedule: Friday-Sunday.
Course: Ritz-Carlton Golf Resort, Tiburon Golf Club (7,288
yards, par 72).
Purse: $3.1 million. Winners' shares: $375,000 each.
Television: Golf Channel (Friday, 1-4 p.m.; Saturday-Sunday, 1-2
p.m., 6:30-9:30 p.m.) and NBC (Saturday-Sunday, 2-4 p.m.).
Format: Two-player teams. Friday, modified alternate shot;
Saturday, better ball; Sunday, scramble.
Teams: Greg Norman-Jonas Blixt, Sean O'Hair-Kenny Perry, Ian
Poulter-Lee Westwood, Matt Kuchar-Brandt Snedeker, Jerry
Kelly-Steve Stricker, Jason Dufner-Dustin Johnson, Chris
DiMarco-Billy Horschel, Mark Calcavecchia-Chad Campbell, Rory
Sabbatini-Scott Verplank, Graham DeLaet-Mike Weir, Charles Howell
III-Justin Leonard, Retief Goosen-Fredrik Jacobson.
Last week: Perry and O'Hair birdied five of the last six holes
to beat Sabbatini and Howell by a stroke.
Notes: Norman, the tournament host, designed the 36-hole Tiburon
("shark" in Spanish) facility. The tournament is in its 13th year
at Tiburon after a year in Miami and 11 at Sherwood in California.
… Perry, the Champions Tour's Charles Schwab Cup winner, also won
with John Huston in 2005 and Scott Hoch in 2008.
Online: http://www.franklintempletonshootout.com
PGA Tour site: http://www.pgatour.com
Site: Orlando, Fla.
Schedule: Saturday-Sunday.
Course: Grande Lakes Orlando, Ritz-Carlton Golf Club (7,120
yards, par 72).
Purse: $1 million. Winner's share: $200,000.
Television: Golf Channel (Saturday, 2-4 p.m., 9:30-11:30 p.m.;
Sunday, 2-4 p.m., 9:30 p.m.-1:30 a.m.) and NBC (Saturday-Sunday,
4-6 p.m.).
Last year: Davis Love III and son Dru, a University of Alabama
player, beat Larry and Josh Nelson by a stroke.
Notes: Jack Nicklaus is teaming with Jack Nicklaus II. …
Bernhard Langer and Fuzzy Zoeller are playing alongside daughters
Christina Langer and Gretchen Chappo. David Duval is teaming with
stepson Dean Karavites. … Nick Price is making his first
appearance in event. Son Greg took up golf this year.
Online: http://www.pncfathersonchallenge.com
PGA Tour site: http://www.pgatour.com
Site: Chon Buri, Thailand.
Schedule: Thursday-Sunday.
Course: Amata Spring Country Club (7,453 yards, par 72).
Purse: $1 million. Winner's share: $180,000.
Television: Golf Channel (Wednesday, 11:30 p.m.-4:30 a.m.;
Thursday, 10:30 a.m.-3:30 p.m., 11:30 p.m.-4:30 p.m.;
Friday-Saturday, 9:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m., 11:30 p.m.-4:30 a.m.;
Sunday, 7:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m.).
Last year: South Africa's Charl Schwartzel won by 11 strokes,
shooting 65-65-68-65.
Last week: Miguel Angel Jimenez successfully defended his Hong
Kong Open title to extend his record as the oldest winner in
European Tour history. The Spaniard won at 49 years, 337 days to
break the record he set last year in the event, birdieing the first
hole of a playoff with Thailand's Prom Meesawat and Wales' Stuart
Manley. Jimenez won the event for the fourth time.
Notes: Sweden's Henrik Stenson, the winner of the PGA Tour's
FedEx Cup and European Tour's Race to Dubai, is in the field along
with Schwartzel, Justin Rose, Bubba Watson, Sergio Garcia, Hunter
Mahan, Rickie Fowler, Ryo Ishikawa, D.A. Points, John Daly and Thai
stars Thongchai Jaidee and Kiradech Aphibarnrat.
Online: http://www.asiantour.com
Site: Durban, South Africa.
Schedule: Wednesday-Saturday.
Course: Mount Edgecombe Country Club, Course One (6,612 yards,
par 71).
Purse: $1.38 million. Winner's share: $217,975.
Television: Golf Channel (Wednesday, 7:30-10:30 a.m.; Thursday,
6:30-10:30 a.m.; Friday-Saturday, 5-9:30 a.m.).
Last year: Scotland's Scott Jamieson won the rain-shortened
tournament, beating England's Steve Webster with a par on the
second hole of a playoff. Spain's Eduardo de la Riva was eliminated
on the first extra hole in the 36-hole event.
Last week: Denmark's Thomas Bjorn won the Nedbank Golf Challenge
in Sun City, beating Spain's Sergio Garcia and Wales' Jamie
Donaldson by two strokes. … Miguel Angel Jimenez successfully
defended his Hong Kong Open title to extend his record as the
oldest winner in European Tour history. The Spaniard won at 49
years, 337 days to break the record he set last year in the event,
birdieing the first hole of a playoff with Thailand's Prom Meesawat
and Wales' Stuart Manley. Jimenez won the event for the fourth
Notes: Mandela, the former South African president, Nobel Peace
Prize winner and anti-apartheid leader, died last week at 95. The
tournament supports the Nelson Mandela Children's Fund. … The
tours are off the next three weeks. Play will resume Jan. 9-12 with
the Volvo Golf Champions at Durban Country Club.
European Tour site: http://www.europeantour.com
Sunshine Tour site: http://www.pgatour.co.za
WEB.COM TOUR: Web.com Tour Qualifying Tournament, Thursday-Dec.
17, PGA West, Stadium Course and Nicklaus Courses, La Quinta,
Calif. Online: http://www.pgatour.com
ONEASIA TOUR: Dongfeng Nissan Cup, Friday-Sunday, CTS Tycoon
Golf Club, Shenzhen, China. Online: http://www.oneasia.asia
EUROPEAN SENIOR TOUR: MCB Tour Championship, Friday-Sunday,
Constance Belle Mare Plage, Poste de Flacq, Mauritius. Online:


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HP to deepen capacity in Computer Village
To increase capacity and boost free enterprise in the country, computer giant, Hewlett-Packard (HP) has expressed readiness to use their resources and expertise to aid entrepreneurs grows their businesses in Nigeria.
Managing Director, HP Africa, David Rozzio, stated this during a working official visit to Computer Village, Ikeja, Lagos.Rozzio who said the company has deployed resources to assist entrepreneurs across Africa, Nigeria inclusive, promised HP would partner with SMEs in Computer Village and aid their growth. Rozzio also promised to bring more innovative products to the market through their authorized channels to build stronger ties with the village.
Speaking in the same vein, Managing Director, HP West and Central Africa, Ify Afe, stressed that it is only by working together that they could deepen technology penetration and saturation in the country.She however noted that the right training and information is crucial for proper technology saturation that is suitable for Nigerians.
According to her, Nigerians need to look beyond a short form of opportunity in the sector and build capacity to leverage on trending technology.Earlier, President, Computer and Allied Products Dealers Association of Nigeria (CAPDAN), Ahmed Ojikutu, said any collaboration between them and the company would have direct benefit for the market and also increase patronage of HP products in the country.
He said CAPDAN would soon hold an HP sales week to build on their special relationship with the company.He however urged them to explore areas of brand investment to build capacity in the market.Ojikutu also called on the company to build a free broadband for the village as part of their corporate social responsibility efforts noting that this would go a long way in developing the market.
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- Selected Topics
- Accessing the General Curriculum
- Auditory Training
- Calendar Systems
- Concept Development
- Daily Living Skills
- Environmental Considerations
- Harmonious Interactions
- Literacy
- Lilli Nielsen and Active Learning
- Orientation & Mobility
- Play & Recreation
- Routines
- Social Interactions
- Tactile Strategies
- Universal Design for Learning
- van Dijk Approach
Working with Deaf-Blind Children and Adolescents
This article from Talking SENSE (Winter 1987) discusses co-active movement, language development, and the Van Dijk approach to communication.
Reprint permission, courtesy of Dr. Jan van Dijk, 2001
TALKING SENSE, WINTER 1987, pp.7-9
Working with Deaf-Blind Children and Adolescents
Dr Jan van Dijk was the main speaker our Weekend Away. He is famed for his innovative techniques in deaf-blind education and assessment. Here we reproduce some of the talks he presented to us.
The Background
I would like to tell you something about myself and my Professional career, not because I find that important in itself, but it reflects my personal growth and develop in the area of the education of the multi-handicapped.
Exactly 25 years ago, I started working as a young teacher with the deaf-blind children at the Institute for the Deaf in Sint-Michielsgestel in the Netherlands. When we started this work, we had very little knowledge about how to educate and teach the deaf-blind rubella children who came to our small department. In order to orientate ourselves in this complex field of education, my colleagues and I visited several departments in Europe. We got some ideas of where to begin and how to start, but we considered our small group of children quite different from the ones we saw abroad. Later when our knowledge and insight grew, we came to understand that our youngsters were really very intellectually backward. I went to Perkins later and saw how capable deaf-blind persons managed to develop quite sophisticated levels of language. In observing and participating in all of this I became rather sad, because our youngsters did not respond to the Tadoma method, neither could they keep themselves occupied in a meaningful way. The opposite was true. The moment we left our children alone, they regressed to the stage of self- stimulation and even self injurious behaviour. Finally we came to the conclusion that in our group of low functioning deaf-blind rubella children we had to find more or less our own way. And that is wah we did. Today they call it: 'The Van Dijk method'.
The Method
For 25 years I have been given the opportunity to develop this 'method' and we think the results are very promising. But of course it was the teachers (although I was teaching the children 4-5 years myself) and the child-care working staff who carried out the ideas with so much creativity. The method is based on a lot of intuition and experience, but gradually we were able to support our views with some data we collected by studying a very large group of hearing impaired deaf and deaf-blind children in Australia.
As in any area of study sometimes you go in the wrong direction. And then you must be fair to yourself and say: what we are doing now does not lead to very good results. Now, after so many years, I would like to explain to you what I have found to be valuable in the way we approach our youngsters.
The problem in education is always: How can you prove that the way you have followed was the best way? This is a good question, because there might be better ways which could have led to even better results. We did not make a comparison with other methods of teaching. One way of proving "your point" is coming up with developmental data and certainly we will do thin in the years to come. But there are other ways to give people insight in your way of working and the results you are obtaining and that is by means of filming the program at regular intervals. We started doing this seven years ago.
Communication Vital
I think everybody will agree that being able to communicate with another person is essential to the existence of a human being. To be a person means being a social creature. You discover this by encountering another person. Encounter in my terminology means that you and the other person share a common interest. This 'sharing idea' is very dear to me. You see it when mother and baby look into each other's eyes and both smile, meaning - what we share together is our life. We observe it when the child is sad, mother picks him up, presses the child against her body and says "Don't be afraid, I am with you". She shares the child's anxiety. In practical education, when the child is unable to dress himself the mother may lay her hands on him and guide him to draw on a garment, all the time being sensitive to the child. If she feels that he wants to complete the action alone, she lets go of him. Or it might e that he would lead her hand - they are interacting, both involved in the same situation, communicating together without words. I have put forward these ideas on 'co-active movements' which have been understood as a technique to help a child to carry out some activities. This idea is catching on all over the world. But underneath this 'technique' is the idea of sharing each other's life. This gives the child the opportunity to become aware that there is another person who responds, who leads you, but who might be led as well. This communication does not mean that you, as a handicapped child always have to 'obey', but there are instances where you are the one who is in chare - in command of the situation.
Encourage Responses
In recent years so-called 'behavior modification' entered out field and I will not deny the effects of following the basic rules of learning. But since our children are so unresponsive at the beginning of education it is very likely that it will always be the teacher or the parent who gives the stimulus and that the child has to respond. If you read the curriculae which come to us dealing with multi-handicapped children, you will find hundreds and hundreds of ideas the teacher has to carry out from morning till night and there are programs which teach parents on the same lines.
What I noticed traveling around the world is that many children in these programs are very passive. They just wait for the tap on the shoulder, they wait for the sign to be made, such as: now you eat, go and dress, get your coat etc. It is always the other who tells you what to do. In our theory of communication, which we try to put in put in practice as well, it is the child too who has something to say, even by a very minor gesture or body movement. This theory is known as 'the theory of locus of control' which is very dear to me. In order for the child to discover his identity, his ego, in the encounter with the other person in the sharing situation, one must be aware of the very minor responses of the child, which gives him confidence that people are listening to him.
But let me add immediately that responsiveness means also non-responsiveness. For instance, we made the mistake that while we were creating this intimate sharing situation the teachers or child's careworkers were so happy that the child expressed his need or wishes, that they always did exactly what the child wanted them to do. For instance, when the child made the food sign an hour before lunch, they went over to the kitchen and prepared the lunch. In this way the child does not learn the limits. In this case he will continue to dominate his environment. When I come to discuss the older child, we'll see that in early education often lies the source of many big problems in puberty, because we have overlooked that education means setting the limits. What I advocate in this situation can be described as follows: the child makes the food sign and your respond to it by saying: you are hungry, for instance by patting on your stomach and you say not now, and point out at what time he may expect his lunch.
Time and Rhythm
This brings me to another very important aspect in education, which we really do carry out very carefully, giving the child ideas of time and what period of the day or week he may expect something to happen. We have called this calendar activities. If the child has any vision the activity to come is represented by a typical drawing. When there is no vision at all, objects which are characteristic for particular events are placed together for the child in a box (memory box), establishing in this way a sort of rhythm in the child's life. The value of this cannot be overestimated. It gives the child security and he can anticipate the next event. Last, but not least, it stimulates communication. Think about an event such as a meal. A plate is drawn, then the potatoes are represented by means of a drawing and then the teacher stops offer the child the pencil and then the child will make a drawing (sometimes in a very clumsy way) asking 'Will there be meat?' and then the teacher can either nod or cross out the meat drawing and make a small drawing of a fish, if that's on the menu. All these sorts of anticipatory activities are so much better than the stimulus response model which I spoke about. Because in these situations the child is emotionally quite involved with the activities, he is already familiar with them and as we know, the more familiar you are with a certain event, the more likely it is you will talk about it.
The Discovery of Reality
Communication in this way is meaningful for the child because it fits the pattern of his life. Therefore in any form of education where the child has to learn 'the rules' of the environment, including that of people, it is much better to take life events as a starting point. We are aware of the importance of this approach, therefore for children who are just in the beginning stage of discovery of reality, we have never opted for a traditional classroom with puzzles or stringing beans. In modern research this approach is supported even by people who call themselves behaviourists. They have discovered that 'teaching' language in a laboratory setting, which sometimes a classroom can be, is rather meaningless, because the child does not generalize what he has learned. In our approach the language the child is taught can be used not only in school, but in the residence too if the child is a boarder, and last but not least, by the parents at home.
The Parents Role
This brings me to speak about the parents' role in the education of multi-handicapped children.
I think strategies have to be chosen, which make it possible for a particular family to adopt the methods which are chosen by the educators in school or residence (and which should fit in the normal course of life) which are suitable for that particular family. This is not to say that parents should not be taught the basic way of how to teach certain skills to the child and to apply basic rules of learning. One of these basic rules is being consistent and being very clear to the child. It has been shown by recent research, when a professional enters a home and wants to teach the parents, for instance, the strict rules of the 'time-out' procedure, but he sees that one of the parents is unable to carry it out in all circumstance, because that parent emotionally just cannot do it, it is unwise and unpractical to push for this procedure. If he still teaches it at home, or through courses, he will find out soon that after he has left the parents, the family will revert to old practices again, leaving them a sense of frustration at failing.
Where parents are emotionally unable to carry out certain educational strategies, they should be referred to other agencies, who deal with the total structure of the family and which give individual attention at the same time, in case there is a weak link in the family system.
I am therefore somewhat skeptical about the effect of the family home intervention program, as they are carried out in the United States and Canada, where people with a rather poor training are sent into homes. They might have taken a course in management of multi-handicapped children, but I doubt whether they are experienced enough to observe whether these ideas can fit into the family system. I find it rather dangerous to introduce an intervenor in a family where there are pathological and disintegrational mechanisms working, which can be quite the case in the family where a severely handicapped child is living and where parents worry all the time about the future.
Moreover the professional helping parents should be aware that a family goes through cycles. When the child is still young there is so much nursing to do that the mother hardly experiences the difference between the care she would have given to a normal young child in comparison wit the handicapped. However when school age arrives and the problem of placement comes up, the insecurity can stress her and the whole family very much.
Puberty, a Time of Stress
Another stressing event we find is puberty. In adolescence there are periods in life where the child looks ahead into the future. It is important to give the child a sense of perspective, not only non-handicapped but even more strongly in handicapped children. Puberty and adolescence can be a time of extreme stress. The child wants to experience sexual relationship. How primitive this tendency can be. However I do not find it a really big problem. The problem of puberty and adolescence, especially in rubella children, is the problem of past education. In puberty the child must find the limits which society has formulated. You cannot as a 15 year old walk up to people and look into their bags. You cannot masturbate in public places. You cannot as a sixteen year old get your father out of bed and lay yourself down next to your mother. You cannot dictate to family members what to eat anymore. You cannot switch the television set from one channel to another, while other members of the family are watching. You cannot sit and wait until your mother gets you dressed. They call that in the State 'age-inappropriate behavior'. But it is too late when you have to deal with the rules of life in puberty.
In puberty it is tougher to stick to the rules and the parents must be ready, sometime literally, to fight with the child. They must believe in their own educational strength. By that time they must have learned to say 'no' to the child, and not only 'no' in a way that the child feels it is 'yes'. Recently we came across the most awful things since we are dealing more and more with older deaf-blind people, including many with Usher Syndrome. We have seen and heard that Usher teenagers have forced their parents to allow them to take driving lessons, although everyone knew that they could never take the test. We have seen and heard that young boys have demanded a girl and that educators even have considered calling in prostitutes.
If you say this is not going to happen in my family or in my residence, it shows that your are not familiar with all the things these youngsters can do. They can put so much stress, so much pressure on the system in which they live, that without proper guidance people might give way. And I am the last one to blame them for that. Of course let me not dramatize this. There are many youngsters, deaf-blind and multi-sensory impaired, who developed themselves as rather harmonious people. But very often this is after a battle in the preceding periods of life.
With our rubella youngsters, there is a problem which can cause a great deal of discomfort where they live. This is what some youngsters are so fixated, wanting one thing or another, that it is very hard to cope with them. Everyone who is familiar with the rubella child whose cataracts have been removed knows that they are sometimes very persistent light gazers. That they want to catch any ray of sunshine and in order to obtain this they might climb upon chairs and tables or even lie down on the road, in order to watch the streetlight. I found that when the child gets older and becomes interested in other things this craving for light becomes less. I have the impression that when the child is very backward in his development, so that objects or toys do not give the child any satisfaction, he will stay interested in the light.
But there are other things too, which may cause problems in the family home. There are youngsters who are very fixated upon technical equipment such as washing machines or record players, or even in the flushing mechanism of a toilet.
In my initial research on a fairly large sample of Australian rubella children, the parents repeatedly said that coping with this type of behaviour was really frustrating. I asked myself the question whether this typical behaviour would disappear over the years. I am very fortunate to be able to announce that the Dutch Van Overbeek Foundation, associated with our Institute for the Deaf together wit the Deaf Blind Care Association has given me the opportunity to pursue these kinds of questions, together with many others I have raised over the years, how the rubella child will finally turn out to be.
Very recently the first data were brought to may attention by our research associate in Melbourne, Australia, Miss Ruth Carlin. Our first impression is that quite a few rubella persons getting older settle down, but that their particular interest very often stays. It was noted that, for instance, a high functioning rubella adolescent, being at college, would sneak out of bed in the middle of the night in order to copy train schedules. Another subject spent most of his time memorizing the scores of the national football league. Parents did ask me what to do about it, because stopping it seems to cause a lot of tension in the child. I sometimes have the impression that rubella children do these somewhat awkward things just to be a bit provocative. It seems that the more the educator shows his disapproval of their behaviour the more they insist on exhibiting it. If that is the case, neither punishment nor taking away the favourite object will do any good. The opposite is true. By this kind of reaction they, as it were, get an extra reward, which overrules the negative effect of the 'punishment'.
In our philosophy we have developed a rule of thumb, that is, trying to make arrangements with the child that we will not be bothered by his fixation, and that he is allowed to practice his 'favourite hobby' in a certain space at a certain time we agree upon. With the child whose mental capacity is too low to make such a deal, we found that having the favourite object in their immediate environment, for instance covered in a box, can produce more meaningful behaviour as they find out that after a time they get permission to play or manipulate object.
Ways of Communicating
Perhaps one of the most important things we have discovered in dealing with the children during all these years is the proper selection of their mode of communication.
In walking around in our department I am sometimes flabbergasted to see how some of the children communicate. Some of them cannot make any gesture or sign at all, but are very professional in using fingerspelling. With other students you offer them large printed words, and although they are unable to read, they, as it were, engrave these written symbols in their mind and attach meaning to them. Even some who can neither read, nor write, nor sign, yet pick up the total shape and meaning of the finder configuration, which is what fluent fingerspelling is. These children mock all the laws of development. In 'normal' development the child learns first to use body language, and then gradually the natural gestures are replaced by words, and in the case of deaf children with more formal signs and/or speech. This 'logical' road is not always the right one for deaf-blind youngsters.
I have come to the conclusion that there is not such a logical development road for these multi-handicapped persons. And this of course makes assessment, whose purpose it is to predict the child's 'next step', a very hazardous activity. Many curriculae for multi-impaired persons do follow this 'line of development' in which nowadays signing is advocated. In my opinion signing is only one option for the child and certainly no panacea for all deaf-blind persons. I have the feeling, that when there is any vision left, the communication system in which the picture or the written word plays a role is the most important for many of these youngsters. In other words their memory is best supported when they can go for visual clues. For a child without vision there can be some sort of embossed slue, which supports the memory. Why? This is still a matter of speculation for me, but I think that the memory for signs is rather limited, especially with those youngsters, which sometimes is not true for pictures or written words and fingerspelling associated with them. I think this has to do with the information processing involved in drawing or writing being more detailed and therefore sticking better to 'the brain' than is the case of gestures and signs.
In Conclusion
My final conclusion is, that in deaf-blind education one should always be aware of 'the next step'. One can only establish this by studying and observing the child in different circumstances, offering him different experiences and seeing what is most effective in his life.


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Elyse, I manage Preston Leatherman and I just wanted to say thanks for the great write up!
Feel free to contact me for any other Preston info in the future firstname.lastname@example.com
Elyse: Your work is excellent. The pen is surely mightier than the sword. Thanks, Damon
Hello Elyse,
Preston Leatherman released the first Video/single off of his upcoming EP on Friday. http://youtu.be/BdehxfySO0k
Over 11k views so far! Would love for you to check it out and spread the word if you like. If you're interested in an advance copy of the EP to review please let me know.
You like Mark Twain? See his photos at age 26, two images. http://www.kaplancollection.com
Hi there Elyse, I am not sure if you remember me, but my name is Christine Pollock from New Zealand, we used to talk a few years back now in a chat room and your son and my daughter Kim we used to joke that they were going to get married one day, do you remember that. If you do, I would really love to do a big big catch up with you. Over the years so many things in my life has changed and now I am out on my own with no partner. Do you remember Nobadballs or Andrew, we split up 3 years ago now. I would love to hear from you.
both your articles on the facts and stats are soo well written! Excellent !!
Yes, the stats speak very clearly as to how and why victims rarely come forward or voice or lay charges.
. During the maple leaf gardens scandal, my office was just near the gardens. I had countless victims seeking private support and a safe place to process and heal. .. also.. did group sessions for the enraged and the wounded.
Collectively they banned together, were heard, pressed on and arrests were made over a long period of time. It was trench work…but triumphant for some, tragic statistical outcomes for others..After a long time, and a lengthy process for the persistent, there was healing and victory from victimization for others.
I appreciate your articles and shared one on my j a murray consultants fb page. Thanks again!!!


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The "flat" bunny body of this Under the Nile toy, makes it fun and floppy for little hands. The Snuggle Bunny is 13 inches long and is made out of GOTS certified Organic Egyptian Cotton. The soft sherpa-like textured fabric is safe enough for little ones to chew on. Absolutely NO Azo colorants, BPA, flame retardants, formaldehyde, fragrance, PVC or lead.


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Wednesday, March 31, 2010
I'm ReRe, and i'm a junk food addict
A recent study says that junk food is addictive like drugs and the same feelings given off after binging on some goodies is similar to the high folks get when using cocaine and other drugs. Now, i'm no expert, but from my own experience in eating tasty goodness i can say that i agree. There's not much difference between a heroine addict on a trip and ReRe eating a fried snickers at the Medieval Fair. No, i've never committed crimes or harmed my family to get my hands on a juicy fried chicken wing or a double stuffed Oreo, but i have said things like:
"I can stop (eating this bag of chips) anytime."
"Tomorrow I'm quitting (and going on a diet)."
Some folks need the Betty Ford Center, some folks need the Betty Crocker Center.
Monday, March 29, 2010
Med Fair 2010 (it's not what you think)
So when the alarm went off this morning i was tempted to hit snooze and skip the gym, but then i had a flashback of all the delicious things i ate at the Medieval Fair over the weekend. My diet consisted of: a slice of pepperoni pizza, a 1/3 of a funnel cake, two lemonades (one blueberry and one strawberry), chicken on a stick with rice, a corn dog, an ice cream cone, a snow cone, a bite of a fried snickers, a bite of fried egg plant. I'm sure i had some other things over my two-day visit, but i've surpressed the memories. The food was not the only delicious part of the Medieval Fair. Some of my favorite quotes:
"Hey bro, ain't nothing better than a black man in a kilt." -- guy who was trying to get my little brother to buy a kilt.
"If you are Asian, you shouldn't come to the Medieval Fair and eat rice!" --T. Marie, annoyed when she saw an Asian kid eating stir fry.
"So i guess i shouldn't have had the chicken on a stick yesterday?" -- ReRe, responding to T. Marie's Asian comment.
Some of my favorite sites at the fair:
a black guy dressed in Medieval garb. I've been going to Med Fair for over 20 years and have NEVER seen a black person dressed up. I thought we knew better than that, but apparently we don't.
All the raccoon tails hanging out the back of folks' pants. Since when is this Medieval?
The guy dressed as a pirate pushing a set of triplets. I'm sure child welfare should investigate.
All the boobies. Young boobies, old boobies. The Med Fair is a boob man -- and infants -- heaven!
My favorite things to do at Med Fair:
complain about how much i ate
stalk inappropriately dressed people so i can take their picture
make fun of what folks are wearing
(Blogger's Note: Blogger is being cranky this morning and not letting me upload photos...)
My new home
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BookFest@Singapore is a books and stationery festival featuring leading publishers and distributors from China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Korea, Malaysia, Singapore, United Kingdom, Australia and the United States. It is a one-stop venue for a comprehensive range of the best and latest publications, together with stationery, electronic peripherals and educational aids.
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The exhibition stretches over 2 weekends (2 Fridays, 2 Saturdays & 2 Sundays) and it falls on the Dec school holiday. That means you have a total of 6 days of weekend sales. We are expecting 600,000 visitors throughout the exhibition.
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Book lovers, Students, Educators, Book retailers, Distributors and Families.
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Melt the cheapest variety of chocolates available over a hot pan of water. Stir till silky and frothy. Add a cup of milk and one spoon of full cream. Two spoons of sugar, if you feel indulgent and if the guests coming, are important and not new money. The nouveau bastards won't know the difference either way. Serve in the ancestral tea set you preserved after selling off your diamonds. Garnish with the most expensive chunk of chocolate available. Don't forget to keep a cup aside for him, as a last attempt to stop him from going to the blasted debauched chocolate houses.
In this column, dear reader, as we draw close to an ending, I'd like to go back to the beginning. This beginning is the one of chocolate. Chocolate and the roots of its building into the commodified and much-loved condiment that it is today. What I also look at is an analysis of the significance of chocolate and chocolate houses as reflections of the social processes and change during the Eighteenth Century. Chocolate represents the crumbling of the old aristocracy while indicating the arrival of the industrial age and the revolution for egalitarianism.
On September 14, 1715, Dudley Ryder wrote in his diary:
"Rose between 6 and 7. Got myself ready for my journey to the Hay with Cousin Billio and his wife. At 7 o'clock cousin and his wife came. They would not stay to drink chocolate and so left me to follow them after having drank some chocolate."
Ryder, Attorney General in 1745 and later Lord Chief Justice, was an uptight man, extremely particular about rules, and the fact that he delayed his trip to drink his chocolate indicates to the careful reader, the obsession of the English citizens of the early Eighteenth Century with this drink, which was very carefully manufactured.
After the first beans of cocoa had hit the European continent in the sixteenth century, the first chocolate drink was sold in a shop called The Coffee Mill & Tobacco Roll. The drink had been earlier sold in Coffee houses, but due to its bitter taste and expensive rates, it was ignored for a cup of coffee that had more caffeine and hence, packed a better punch in a cup.
As Matthew Green notes for Chocolate Houses in London, "For a city with little tradition of hot drinks (coffee had only arrived five years earlier), chocolate was an alien, suspect substance drunk associated with Popery and idleness (i.e. France and Spain)" and, it came from alien lands of the new world for the herb was said to be grown in Central America, giving it a mysterious and sketchy aura for the English elite.
Hence, to generate a demand the market was flooded with a "slew of pamphlets"(Green), posters put up in every nook, diaries and the newspapers carried accounts of chocolate as this wondrous miracle drink that cured hangovers, was preferred by royalty and more popularly, acted as an aphrodisiac.
As William Hughes writes: "[Chocolate] revives drooping spirits and cheers those ready to faint, expelling sorrow, trouble, care & all perturbations of the mind, is an ambrosia … it cannot be too much praised."
"The public was sold on it" (Green), and soon, multiple Chocolate Houses sprang up across London giving rivalry to the coffee houses and tavern culture. White's Chocolate House established in St. James's Street (1699) was one of the most popular. Incidentally, it is also the model for the chocolate house setting for Congreve's The Way of the World. Its popularity gave the English Government another lucrative opportunity to earn money and so a heavy tax was imposed on it.
The tax ensured that only the wealthy could afford the drink, thereby rendering the Chocolate Houses, spaces for the privileged. The Chocolate Houses also capitalised on the fact that it was aristocracy and the nouveaux rich who were their target audience and hence, introduced an entrance fee of a penny besides the additional cost of chocolate. To cater to every whim of those with the money, the Chocolate Houses transformed into hubs of gambling, political discussion, gossip and all kinds of debauchery the rich and those who aspired to be rich indulged in.
And hence, in "the most fashionable hell" that London was, the Chocolate Houses became the most fashionable and hellish institution around. To be able to afford a drink of chocolate declared one's status and to frequent the place made one fashionable.
In light of what stood as modish, let's take a detour to visit the idea of the emergence of London City which ran parallel to the emergence of chocolate Houses in London. What Arthur J. Weitzman notes about the changes in London as it emerges as a city, that "The increase of trade brought wealth to the city and sparked a building boom", is evident in the fact that multiple stores and institutions started selling chocolate and Chocolate houses opened to cope with the demands.
Also, "there was a steady improvement of civic life as affluence and luxury seeped down through the classes in the city" (Green), and nothing spelt luxury like chocolate did. The drinking of chocolate became a performance that the aristocrats and the new moneyed class (that had earned their wealth through trade; in some cases trade of cocoa itself) indulged in, to establish their status in the society. This 'performance' was reflective of a larger anxiety that was prevalent in the society.
The waves of economic change introduced through the opening up of trade marked the cultural transformation from "vestigial feudalism to a new economic order," one governed by money and not birth or blood. The aristocracy desperately clutching to the power they derived from their status emphasised the performance, and the gentility (the new moneyed classes) indulged in this performance, in turn, to prove their status.
This is also reflected in the first act of The Way of The World (1700) set in a chocolate house. The act has Petulant, the fool and the fop desperate for social ascendance in class, who pays people to call on him in the chocolate house to accord himself importance. If one would look at it in light of Foucault's discourse on power, this is a clear example of a body made docile by the discourses and institutions of power and then, made to submit to the codes of behavior expected from his aspired-to class.
The relevance of the Chocolate Houses lies in the manner in which Congreve uses it to show the trajectory and irrelevance of the Rake figure in the contemporary times and the New Century. As many critics have noticed, the Restoration rake did become the reformed rake, as morality triumphed and sentimental comedy took over.
Richard Braverman argues that the failure of Fainall – the rake figure in the play, and hence positioned as the villain, lies in the fact that he hadn't adapted to the changing times unlike Mirabell. Fainall hence represents the old crumbling aristocracy in the face of the new society governed by money.
In an analogy related to the chocolate house, Braverman writes that Fainall's power has been proven symbolically impotent. His Rakish status is outdated and dead when he asks, "Bring me some Chocolate."
Braverman writes,"Fainall is himself powerless by the location of his 'court'. He holds forth in a chocolate house, a venue of new men and social equality, rather than the tavern, where rakes traditionally assemble to restore themselves after a debauch."
Fainall's court, representative of royalty and aristocracy, has been replaced by a chocolate house. An institution governed by power and privilege secured through birth and blood has been replaced by an institution governed by money.
In a paradox, the social set up of Chocolate Houses, governed by money, ends up democratising power and debauchery. Debauchery and Rakishness earlier reserved for the elite, are now due to the power of the money, available to all. Hence, to spin the words of a common anecdote to suit the purpose of the argument — when everyone is a debauched rake, no one is a debauched rake.
In another paradox, the chocolate house becomes a symbol is of, in this context, one associated with the spirit of Revolution in the eighteenth century. The spirit of the chocolate in the Chocolate Houses reflects a democratisation of society based on money but also, the debauchery and cruel decadence of the rich and the royal, in sharp contrast with the dying poor, which became a premier cause of the French Revolution itself. One has to but look at the instance of the royal family's Flight to Varennes in 1791 where Marie Antoinette refused to part with her silver chocolatière, to realise the significance of the chocolate symbolism.
Chocolate Houses, were as Braverman calls them: "A venue of male sociability reserved for news and gossip, wit and especially cards." The decadence associated with gambling ran so deep as to destroy whole inheritances, fortunes and even kill people. The addiction to gambling and the destructive power of it is evident in the legendary White's betting book, which archives wagers from 1743 to 1878. It consists of bizarre predictions like:
"Mr Howard bets Colonel Cooke six guineas that six members of White's Club die between this day of July 1818 and this day of 1819', reads one typical entry (Colonel Cooke won). Elsewhere there are bets on which celebrities will outlive others; the length of pregnancies; the outcomes of battles; the Madness of George III; the future price of the stock; and whether a politician will turn up to the Commons in a red gown or not."(Green, 2017)
To return to the cruel underbelly of the cruelty of Chocolate Houses – what chocolate itself was representative of was slavery. Labelled by Carl Linnaeus, the 18th-century scientist as Theobroma cacao — food of the gods – it was a product of the exploitation of the slaves, from the plantation culture in the colonies of Africa to the very trading of cocoa beans as a commodity along with the slaves.
Another insight that further reflection upon the connection of Slavery and Chocolate offers is into the relationship between the Old World and the New World. A chocolate according to James F. Gay was more "American than American Pie." It was one of the few things, a subset of trade practices that was linking the two worlds together amidst their fraying strands of connection as the New World declared its independence.
Chocolate allowed other products of slavery to flourish, like Sugar. If one were to compare the recipe of Chocolate drink between the two centuries the comparison yields the following result.
In 1692 the following recipe was published by M. St. Disdier of France:
"2 pounds prepared cacao
1 pound fine sugar
1/3 ounce cinnamon
1/24 ounce powdered cloves
1/24 ounce Indian pepper (chile)
1 1/4 ounce vanilla
A paste was made of these dried ingredients on a heated stone, and then it was boiled to make hot chocolate."
By 1700, Sidney Mintz notes, "Chiles" disappeared completely from the recipes and was replaced with an extra ounce of sugar. He attributes this to the significance of sugar as a luxury product that "embodied the social position of the wealthy and powerful." He further elaborates "sugar's usefulness as a mark of rank—to validate one's social position. To elevate others, or to define them as inferior."
The aristocracy's clinging to chocolate to define their status and the increase in the portion of sugar and cocoa which represents the new money culture emphasises how Chocolate became a symbol of the Old and New period. The fact that the bitter cocoa extract of the 1650s which was discarded by all became the envious frothy "food of the gods" liquid of the eighteenth century symbolises the nature of the change that the turn of the eighteenth century brought. It was a change that said loud and clear that the aim was to not destroy the old culture, but in the true essence of its utilitarian economical reasonable ideology, the purpose was to preserve the best parts of the old, while recreating a convenient New.
The seeds of the Industrial Revolution themselves can be seen in the production of cocoa as people discovered newer implements to mass produce chocolate as demand for it increased. In France, 1776 Dorset invents a hydraulic processor to grind cocoa beans into a paste, facilitating the first large-scale production of chocolate. The constant inventions and experimentation with the recipe of the drink and its associated implements hinted at an age obsessed with science and innovation.
To conclude, chocolate and chocolate houses themselves became an emblem of social relations and more importantly a social change in the eighteenth century. The consumption and production peaked and declined with the beginning and ending of the century, connoting the whimsical time of the Eighteenth Century.
The production declined in line with the revolutionary ideas of liberty, equality and fraternity but when chocolate returned in the Nineteenth century as a product of an Industrial mass production rather than, the colonial upper-class decadence, it was here to stay.
As I end my last column of the year, it is but obvious for me to enquire of the reader if you have stayed with us from the basting through the roasting and finally plating?
If yes, I hope that the next time you look at that chunk of chocolate in your hand or read about the picnic of Blyton's Famous Five, you will think of food as more than just bread and butter that Anne made and Julian ate.
Yours Truly is an ambitious young adult who writes about the only thing they are accomplished in: eating.
Written by Devika
Updates monthly
Column icon by Kanishka
Featured image by Sanna Jain


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Bumble Designs Studio
Stitches from a Smallholding by Kirsty Mason
Saturday, 7 September 2013
Sunday morning stitching - early!
I am too excited to be able to wait till Sunday to share this with you! I went on a hat making day in Hull with my friend Lisa, run by HEYCreativeworkshop. I blocked this cloche hat and had a great day. I love my little hat - my girls were not quite so impressed when I said I was wearing it today to take them to Harrogate - I didn't wear it :(( You know when you try something out and you can't stop thinking about it and want to make more - we'll that's me today - I want to make more hats!! Just need to save up bucket loads for a hat block now ...
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Saturday, September 07, 2013
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Politics as Usual
May 4, 2010 Leave a comment
John Micek was down for the count with laryngitis last week, but the Politics as Usual crew was back with a vengeance today. Join Micek, Alex Roarty and me as we break down the Senate and gubernatorial fields, and detail the state's ever-growing budget gap.
Pennsylvania's only state government podcast is available, as usual, at Capitol Ideas.


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Oct. 13 (UPI) — Japanese authorities have arrested members of the notorious Yakuza crime ring, after they were found extorting earnings from workers at the site of the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.
Six Yakuza members were arrested Wednesday for illegally mobilizing homeless people to work on construction, then extorting part of their $90-a-day wages, the Asahi Shimbun reported.
The homeless were recruited from an area near Tokyo's Shinjuku Station. The Yakuza also earned a commission from connecting construction firms with the illegal labor force, according to the report.
Authorities may be monitoring construction at the Olympic site because of rising concern they will be embarrassed, the South China Morning Post reported.
Kyle Cleveland, an associate professor of sociology at Temple University's Japan campus in Tokyo, told the Post the Yakuza are a familiar player in construction.
"The Yakuza have been endemic in the construction industry all the way back to the immediate post-war era and I don't think it is any worse now than it was then," he said.
"In all those years, big corporations, construction companies and politicians have effectively enabled this to happen and it takes cases like this to reveal the chronic long-term reality of the situation."
Controversy over hosting the Summer Olympics in 2020 is growing following an announcement last Friday, according to the Asahi.
Japanese auditors found the government spent more than $7 billion in the past five years on preparing for the Olympics, exceeding a national budget of $1.3 billion.
The Yakuza recently was the target of U.S. Treasury sanctions.
Last week the Treasury targeted two front companies of the Yamaguchi-gumi, and placed four senior members of the organization under economic sanctions, Asia Times reported.
There are a total of 21 Japanese crime ring members under U.S. sanctions, according to the report.


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Nesco Resource • Seminole, OK
Posted 7 days ago
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Job Description
Senior Engineer
Summary: Working with minimal supervision this individual will be responsible for the design and development of environmental control system products and / or systems for aerospace applications. May work directly with customers and provide both technical and project leadership to internal and external resources.
Essential Duties and Responsibilities include the following:
- Performs engineering assignments with limited supervision.
- Assesses customer requirements and develops designs, or provide design direction, to meet requirements.
- Prepare program plan and effectively identify and manage program risks.
- Analyze problems and makes decisions on proper action to be taken.
- Responsible for completion and accuracy of engineering documentation.
- Prepares and presents design data in support of internal and Customer design reviews.
- Support DFX (Design for Cost, Manufacturability, Reliability, etc.) efforts.
- Prepares Development and Qualification Test Plans, Procedures and Test Reports.
- Monitors and controls program cost and schedule.
- Supports existing products.
- Makes recommendations for design, cost, or process improvements including substantiating strategy.
- Provides technical direction and advice to Business Development, Manufacturing and Quality organizations.
- Performs assignments broad in nature requiring substantial ingenuity and originality usually acquired through industry experience. These assignments may involve:
- Sophisticated product and technology development.
- Rigid timetables and short lead schedules
- Extensive planning and interaction with many support groups and departments.
- Complex report writing and detailed testing for customer or regulatory approval.
- Provides leadership to support personnel and less experienced engineering team members
- Assists in planning and coordination with support groups.
- Reviews project status, makes recommendations where necessary and instructs in details unique to industry.
- May perform supervisory duties (train, mentor, evaluate, etc.) for departmental employees on specific tasks or projects.
- Assists Business Development Department in proposal preparation and customer presentations; interacts with customers and suppliers on technical and program matters.
- Communicates status accurately and regularly to Management, recommending solutions for problems encountered.
- Assists Manager in departmental planning and operations.
- B.S. Degree in Engineering
- 7 years' experience in design, development, qualification and production support of aerospace components.
- Specific experience in aircraft environmental controls systems and components is highly desirable.
- Excellent report-writing skills, presentation and customer interface skills.
- Strong knowledge of CAD design and analysis tools.
- Proficient in the use of MS Office software, experience with MS Project a plus.
- Knowledge and experience of DO-160 / MIL-STD-810 requirements
Travel: Periodic travel required to support customer onsite meetings and reviews, both domestic and international.
Nesco Resource is an equal employment opportunity employer and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, age, or veteran status, or any other legally protected characteristics with respect to employment opportunities.
Job ID: 19-01294
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Yesterday I went over the offense and the changes that may be ahead for the team. Those changes will continue on the defensive side of the ball. Not only does the arrival of Mike Nolan bring changes to the defensive philosophy the changes will also be noticeable in the personnel. Most of this will obviously be in the front seven and that shouldn't be a surprise to anyone at this point.
SAFETIES: The starting safeties from last season, Thomas DeCoud and William Moore, will return for the 2012 season with DeCoud's recent re-signing. The way the contract is structured it seems that it's more of a 2 year audition for DeCoud that could lead to a very good deal for both parties. Who will back them up is the better question. Shann Schillinger returns as one of the better special teams players on the squad. James Sanders is an unrestricted free agent and it's unclear whether or not the team will re-sign him. The draft isn't very deep at safety this year but it's certainly possible the team draft one in the later rounds or simply sign Sanders or another free agent to round out the squad.
CORNERBACKS: Brent Grimes received the franchise tag but shows no indications of wanting to play under the 1 year tender. If I had to guess, the sticking point may be the length of the contract. At 29, teams often shy away from longer term contracts while Grimes most certainly wants to ensure he makes the most of his opportunity to secure his future. Hopefully the situation will not turn into a hold out situation but that is something the team will have to prepare for. Dunta Robinson, Christopher Owens and a rapidly improving Dominique Franks return along with Darrin Walls who opened eyes last preseason. Kelvin Hayden is an unrestricted free agent and my guess is that he will not be re-signed. This is one area of the team that I'm almost certain that the front office will use a draft pick to add depth, competition as well as guard against a potential hold out.
OUTSIDE LINEBACKERS: Starters Stephen Nicholas and Sean Weatherspoon return along with reserves Spencer Adkins and Robert James. Mike Peterson is the lone free agent of the group and should be re-signed to provide quality depth to the unit. More on this position a little later on when defensive ends are covered.
MIDDLE LINEBACKERS: The most noticeable change is most likely coming at middle linebacker. With Akeem Dent drafted last year and the recent signing of Lofa Tatupu, I can't help but think that the Falcons and free agent Curtis Lofton are parting ways. There is just entirely too much "smoke" that indicates the team has one value for Lofton while he and his agent have another and feel they can get that value on the open market. That said, I'm sure the door is still open but probably not as widely as it once was. Whether or not another middle linebacker is added remains to be seen as the team is not tipping it's hand but I would not be surprised to see it happen.
DEFENSIVE TACKLES: Jonathan Babineaux, Corey Peters and Peria Jerry are all under contract. The fourth in the rotation, Vance Walker, is a restricted free agent and all indications are that he will return under the one year tender. I'm not of the opinion that this group is the final group though. A role player through free agency may be added or just as likely, a draft pick spent.
DEFENSIVE END: With Lawrence Sidbury, Ray Edwards, last year's draft pick addition, Cliff Matthews and the newly re-signed Kroy Biermann the Falcons return a youthful group of ends. Free agent John Abraham has been reported to have priced himself far out of the team's range and it appears that the team will make a very strong push for free agent to be Mario Williams. I'm of the opinion that a rotation of Sidbury and Biermann would yield production from the right end position but things may not be as straight forward as that. With Mike Nolan's defense, there will be 3-4 situations that would show Williams as a pass rushing linebacker or even Biermann as a linebacker at times as well. This will be and already is the most discussed issue (along with whether or not Lofton will return) among Falcon fans. I could just as easily see a role playing type defensive end (Kendall Langford is one that has been mentioned) added if Williams is not added but again, I expect the Falcons to pull out all the stops to acquire Mario Williams.
SPECIAL TEAMS: Last year's draft pick, Matt Bosher, started off on the shaky side but quickly worked through it and became a very consistent punter. The future looks very bright for Bosher and I look for him to establish himself much like Michael Koenen did early in his career with the team. Matt Bryant returns along with his consistency as the placekicker. Returner Eric Weems is a free agent. If he doesn't return, a receiver like Eddie Royal may be added to not only be the returner but also fill receiver duties. Another option would be cornerback Dominique Franks as well. In the end, I expect Weems to return to the team.
In two days, when the free agency doors swing wide open, there will certainly be a frenzy of signings. The path of the future of the Falcons will be paved and the direction of the team will be clearer as question marks are erased with each signing.


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Express Training Services may offer financial assistance other than the scholarships listed on the web site. However, we have also had prior students who have been funded by outside agencies. We've listed some of them below. There is no guarantee any of these places will fund your education, or if you meet their requirements, but they are listed for your convenience. If you find or know of an agency that is not on the list, please email us so it can be added.
- Florida Works 352-955-2245 www.floridaworksonline.com
- Community Action 352-373-7667 www.cfcaa.org
- Vocation Rehabilitation 352-955-3200
- Greystone Health Network – Ask Christina Huff about certification reimbursement for CNAs – 813-244-3141
- CareerSource, Citrus/Levy/Marion 352-732-1700 www.careersourceclm.com
- Child Development Services 352- 546-4412 www.childhooddevelopment.org
- Devereux Kids 352-598-6705 www.devereuxkids.org
- Greystone Health Network – Ask Christina Huff about certification reimbursement for CNAs – 813-244-3141
- Florida Works 904-964-8092 www.floridaworksonline.com
- Florida Crown Workforce 386-755-9026 www.floridacrown.org
- Suwannee River Eco. Council 386-752-8726 Lake City
- 352-463-1895 Trenton
- 386-362-4115 Live Oak
- 850-973-6709 Madison
- Greystone Health Network – Ask Christina Huff about certification reimbursement for CNAs – 813-244-3141
- Greystone Health Network – Ask Christina Huff about certification reimbursement for CNAs – 813-244-3141
Other locations are listed below. Students have to sit through the orientation program held every weekday at 1:30pm, then talk to a counselor one-on-one.
Students have to meet one of these following requirements:
Eligibility Requirements are as follows
Adults that fit the following eligibility requirements may qualify for the WIA program:
- Must be age 18 or older
- Must meet one of the Workforce Investment Act (WIA) Adult or Dislocated Worker criteria.
- WIA Adult criteria include:
- If you are receiving food stamps or have received food stamps in the last 6 months
- If you are a low income household
- If you have a substantial disability
- If you are receiving cash welfare benefits
- If you are homeless
- WIA Dislocated Worker criteria include:
- If you have been terminated, laid off, or downsized
- If you are eligible for receiving Reemployment Assistance benefits (formerly Unemployment Compensation)
- If you have exhausted your Reemployment Assistance benefits
- If you worked at a facility with more than 25 employees that announced a permanent layoff
- If you are a homemaker who no longer receives support from another family member and are looking to enter the workforce
- If you were self-employed and currently unemployed due to a natural disaster or economic conditions
- Priority of service will be given to eligible veterans and their spouses
- Southwest Florida Workforce Development Board swflworks.org
- 215 S. Francisco St.
Clewiston, FL 33440
- 4150 Ford Strett Extension
Ft. Myers, FL 33916
- 750 S. 5th St.
Immokalee, FL 34142
- 3353 Radio Rd.
Naples, FL 34104
- 1032 Tamiami Trail, Unit 9
Pt. Charlotte, FL 33953
- 215 S. Francisco St.
PENSACOLA/DESTIN Area
- Tri-County Community Council
- Santa Rosa County: 850-981-0036
- Okaloosa County:
- Crestview Office: 850-306-1134
- Ft. Walton Office: 850-200-4425
- Bay County 850-215-0173
- Walton County: 850-892-3615
There are many places to obtain loans, and you may have luck finding a bank, credit union, friend or family member to loan you money. If you don't have that kind of luck, EBA Financial may be your solution. EBA is a finanicial institution that may loan you the money you need for your classes. They have a 65-70% approval rate, and you find out if you are approved on-the-spot. EBA has contracted with Express Training Services to initiate the process at the student's request. All you have to do is come in any of our offices to get started.
The loans can be for any amount up to $5,000, and can be paid back in 3, 6 or 12 monthly payments. 25% of the loan is due immediately and will be drawn out of your checking account. If you're applying for the LPN or RN program, which cost more than $5,000, you can have 2 different people take out loans to pay the tuition.
When you come in to find out about the loan, please bring your checkbook and driver's license (or other picture ID). You can also call to see what the monthly payments would be for each of the options.
Once you agree to a loan with EBA, the payments are due to them, not Express. So, even if you withdraw from school, for whatever reason, the loan will still need to be repaid under the same exact terms.
It's important to realize contracting with EBA is a loan, and payments must be made or your credit scores can and will be affected. It is also important to realize EBA is in business to make money, and that their interest rates may be very high. They are not necessarily the cheapest option, but may be the most convenient. Be careful before signing the loan paperwork.
If there are any other banks or lenders that would like to be featured on our web site, please feel free to contact Tony at email@example.com and something can be worked out.
To repay an in-house loan online, click here.


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Fielder's Homer Helps Tigers Pad Central Lead
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Prince Fielder hit a two-run homer in the eighth inning to lift Detroit to a 2-1 victory over the Minnesota Twins on Sunday, moving the Tigers to a season-high three game lead over the White Sox in the AL Central.
With three games to go, Detroit can clinch the division title with a win or Chicago loss Monday.
The Tigers moved a season-high three games ahead of Chicago in the division with three to play after the White Sox lost to Tampa Bay 6-2.
Fielder's opposite-field shot off Jared Burton (3-2) barely got over the wall in left field for his 30th homer of the season.
Miguel Cabrera, who is trying to become the first player since 1967 to win the triple crown, went 0 for 3 with an intentional walk, dropping his AL-leading batting average to .325.
Twins star Joe Mauer went 3 for 4 with an intentional walk to raise his average to .323.
Anibal Sanchez gave up one run on seven hits in 6 1-3 innings, Phil Coke (2-3) got the win in relief and Jose Valverde picked up his 34th save.
Cabrera and the powerful Tigers offense was held down for most of the game by Liam Hendriks, who gave up five hits and struck out three in seven shutout innings.
When Pedro Florimon gave the Twins a 1-0 lead on a single in the seventh, Twins manager Ron Gardenhire went to the rock steady right-hander Burton for the eighth. But Austin Jackson led off with a single up the middle and Fielder hit the first pitch he saw out of the park.
The big first baseman was mobbed when he got to the Tigers dugout.
Cabrera entered the day leading the AL in batting average and RBIs — both by comfortable margins — and tied with Texas star Josh Hamilton for the lead in home runs.
But the batting race suddenly is up in the air.
Mauer hit three singles off Sanchez, while Cabrera had some hard luck with a ball hit squarely that Florimon was able to snatch out of the air at shortstop.
But Cabrera did find a way to have an impact on defense, jumping at first base to snag a line drive from Chris Parmelee in the sixth inning that stranded two runners in scoring position. The Twins had runners on first and third with nobody out in the inning, but Sanchez was able to get Justin Morneau to pop out and Ryan Doumit to tap one right back to him before Cabrera helped him wiggle out of the jam.
The Tigers will finish the regular season with three games in Kansas City. The White Sox have one more game against Tampa Bay before heading to Cleveland for three games.
* Tigers RHP Max Scherzer (shoulder) said he felt good after playing catch on Saturday and could be available to start the regular season finale against the Royals on Wednesday. Leyland said the team would be cautious with Scherzer, who missed his last start because of soreness in his deltoid.
* Gardenhire said he hopes to retain his entire coaching staff going into next season but knows that the front office could try to shake things up after back-to-back 90-loss seasons. "I have all the faith that they can do the job, but some of these things aren't going to be left up to me," he said.
* The Tigers will start RHP Rick Porcello (9-12, 4.68) in the opener against Kansas City on Monday against LHP Bruce Chen (11-13, 5.13).
Copyright 2012 by The Associated Press. All rights reserved. Material may not be redistributed.


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Managing Virtualization with SCVMM and Powershell
Profile: Michael Khanin
Take an inside look at Hyper-V and System Center Virtual Machine Manager from an architectural and experience a real world view. See how SCVMM and PowerShell can help you manage your virtualized environment seamlessly. The session comes complete with live demos of real life scenarios, and even a look at SCVMM managing a VMWare ESX!
Source: www.microsoft.com


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Dr. Schmutz has received his NMD. (Naturopathic Medical Doctorate)
He is properly trained and educated to address your physical ailment with the best possible treatment and therapy.
This patient hurt his elbow and the pain would not go away. It became such a serious issue that he was reaching out for solutions and surgery was not something he wanted. That is when he learned about us and how we can help heal the joint and ligaments so that the pain stops and elbow starts working like it is supposed to.
Read about what we did for him and how it helped!
Knee surgery was the last thing this patient ever wanted and until he learned about our Prolozone Therapy he was seriously considering it.
But we helped heal his knee and we prevented him from needing knee surgery which would have been a long and painful healing process. In 5 visits his knee was performing and feeling better than his "non-problem knee". Read more about this success story!
How would you react if your Doctor told you that you would have to wear diapers the rest of your life? This patient did not accept that as his fate and sought us out for alternative treatments. We have been treating his Prostate Cancer for over a year now with no spread of the cancer. Read more to find out how our alternative to surgery and diapers saved our patients quality of life.
A new patient came to us knowing that he had Liver Cancer and was suffering from a lot of the symptoms that accompany Liver Disease. He chose us because he was looking for an alternative approach to treating Liver Cancer other than Chemotherapy, Radiation or Surgery. In less than 4 months his symptoms were gone and a CT Scan showed the cancer had been eliminated. Click the picture above to read more…
This is a story from one of our patients that was really hurting and needing a miracle in her life. We proved to be that miracle by helping her body heal. After 1 year she went from walking with great pain to running and loving it. She credits us for giving her life back. Read the complete story here!
Integrative Medica is focused on healing people using alternative medicine. We utilize various treatments, therapies, and services to heal people from their acute and chronic diseases in a more natural way. We look forward to helping you have a healthy life by promoting and stimulating your own body to be strong and heal itself from disease and illness.
Scroll to see the various treatments, therapies, and services that we offer here at Integrative Medica in Salt Lake City, Utah. We serve patients from throughout the valley and even the entire intermountain region.


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Looks Cool will have to download :D.
Angels Fall First: Planetstorm is an objective-based assault game fought both in space and on the ground. Featuring totally original art and completely new game types, we take you from flying gigantic capital ships, piloting fighters, and manning turrets to the traditional vehicular and infantry combat, both planet-side and inside the starships themselves. At your command are more than two dozen ships and vehicles, including all original weaponry, 3 maps with full bot support, two custom characters, with more on the way. This is a <b>total</b> conversion mod in the fullest sense of the word. Welcome to Planetstorm.
Looks Cool will have to download :D.
Looks like professional commercial game. Very awsome!
music is badass... who is your composer?.... i would love to chat with that dude..
description, oh lol nvm
wait.. just read description lol.. fail.. any way to
epic! like how the AFF motto is in the vid
Looks awesome and badass... As always.
Dam it, this is just sad. The mod is awesome but no one is playing it. I guess its because theres no EU server. Hopefully this will change in the future.
Yep, lack of euro servers is basically why I don't play this at the moment.
Looking amazing! This keeps getting more and more streamlined!
People play games, because of **** like this! Keep up the great work you guys.
So is this version UDK or is UT3 still required?
this is the UT3 version (RC8), see download page.
You guys amaze me at how much you improve with each of your releases. I can't imagine what your future in gaming holds.
Haha, yea, it's a very different beast to RC2 isn't it ;p Of course it's far from perfect still. Had a guy last night stop playing until a later version because he saw a couple of (minor) bugs. But I guess that's what you get when the public are exposed to every build of a game from pre-alpha :D
I can find a few bugs myself, but none really affect the gameplay at all.
beautiful work stranj =)
Cool video but saying that all the content in the mod is meaningless right before you show it all off seems kind of... off. To me it would have felt better if you had stuck "Wheresoever tread the sons of man, war follows their wake." after "meaningless". Also, sticking "MONSTER KILL" in there was funny, but it didn't seem like you were going for funny.
Anyway, I really gotta try playing this on Sunday sometime. Problem is where I am it's at 9 am and I don't get up that early.
its not the content of the mod that is meaningless but the "setting", this is the motto of the AFF universe. like only the war matters, nothing more.
the monster kill is because the ship blew up and the player killed everyone inside, its UT3 sooo.... it was funny though ;)
more people have that problem in those timezones.....
It's from the intro text at the top of the main page. I agree it's slightly out of context there but to be fair the guys had to knock this video up on extremely short notice :)
Wish my machine could handle it, but all I get is a lot of colorful blurryness...
and the occasional black box where a weapon should be... (and by occasional, I mean about 5 out of 6 weapons)
and some stupid AI... but maybe that's just me...
Aside, this mod looks kickass and I hope it continues to be kickass...
On the options tab, there's some not very obvious buttons in the bottom right- hit 'advanced' to get the proper graphics settings controls. One of the detail sliders will rectify your weapons issues. By default it starts up in mid-low detail mode, and a 'bug' is that the (very!) low detail weapon models were only intended to be seen from a distance away, not while they're in your hand :D
Thanks Jetfire_, I'll check that out next time I'm running it...
looks good as always (missed the update^^)....
I hate the title of this game. You are all ill. You should better leave the computers and pray creators... Why such titles and things are more and more popular.?.
so you can have something to rage about.
A 'Fallen Angel' is a fairly common reference to a spaceship that has fallen out of orbit and crashed down to the planet. Not any kind of call to Satan. Thanks for your concern over my mental health however.
The inverted crucifix subliminally embedded into every texture on the other hand, I can not vouch for.
richard dawkins lurks in the dark of your mind to eat your soul.
Only registered members can share their thoughts. So come on! Join the community today (totally free - or sign in with your social account on the right) and join in the conversation.
After much delay, here is an excellent video displaying the awesome wrath of planetstorm, build RC8
Edit by Paco Sweetman
Music : Groove Addicts - Hellbent


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Often described as "the King of the Jungle," lions have consistently been used as symbols of bravery, strength, and power. While they have been abused in many venues, from gladiatorial coliseums to circus tents, they still remain one of the most dangerous forces of nature (along with tigers and bears . . . oh my). In part due to their danger to humans, they are often hunted to maintain safety as much as they are for the notoriety of big game hunters; sometimes to great, public outrage, as was the case with Cecil the Lion. And while the lion is used in heraldry, as a constellation, and as a rank for Cub Scouts, very few films use lions as primary, or even secondary, characters. It would almost seem they're as rare in the realm of cinema as they are in the real world. This week's two films highlight some movies that feature lions.
The Lion King
Year: 1994
Rating: G
Length: 89 minutes / 1.48 hours
Part of the reason why lions aren't more prominently featured in movies, aside from the opening credits logo for MGM, is because animals can't talk. It's difficult to have a main character who can't emote through dialogue carry a story. Therefore, one of the options to give lions dialogue is through animation. One of the earliest animated lions was Kimba the White Lion, a Japanese anime that ran from 1965 to 1967. Recently, the series of CGI-animated Madagascar films have featured Ben Stiller as Alex the Lion, an animal kept in captivity in the Central Park Zoo. The most famous animated film featuring lions was none other than The Lion King (1994). Even though there was some controversy around its similarity to Kimba the White Lion, The Lion King has remained popular despite this.
Mufasa (James Earl Jones) leads a pride of lions in the Pride Lands of Africa. His brother, Scar (Jeremy Irons), has been plotting to usurp the throne from him, but once Simba (Jonathan Taylor Thomas) is born, he is now one step lower on the hierarchical ladder to become king. By using a stampede of wildebeest, Scar manages to kill Mufasa and convince Simba it was the young cub's fault. Running away to exile himself in the jungle, Simba grows up amongst his newfound friends, Timon (Nathan Lane) and Pumbaa (Ernie Sabella). Years later, with the Pride Lands in ruin, Simba (Matthew Broderick) returns to confront his uncle. Learning the truth of his father's demise and accepting his rightful place as king, Simba defeats Scar and starts the "circle of life" over again with a child of his own.
Secondhand Lions
Year: 2003
Rating: PG
Length: 109 minutes / 1.82 hours
An interesting way to play off of stereotypes is to create characters who exhibit the opposite traits. Sure, there are plenty of lions who represent strong ideals, like Aslan from the Chronicles of Narnia series. Still, a cowardly lion, like the one found in The Wizard of Oz (1940), is much more entertaining because he doesn't behave like one would expect a lion to act. Similarly, Alex the Lion from Madagascar (2005) was given his meat to him by zoo caretakers, thus depriving him of any hunting skills. Even the rehabilitated lion from Secondhand Lions (2003) became more like a house cat than a dangerous predator. However, just because a lion doesn't act the way we think it should, we are often initially cautious because of the warnings about lions we have heard time and again over the years.
Brothers Hub (Robert Duvall) and Garth (Michael Caine) McCann were content living out the rest of their remaining days shooting at traveling salesmen and performing risky stunts. Unfortunately, their niece dropped her son, Walter Caldwell (Haley Joel Osment), off at their country home. As the teenage boy and his great uncles get to know each other, they eventually grow close. After Hub orders a retired lion from a circus, he's disappointed to learn the lioness is tame since he wanted to hunt the beast and mount its head on his wall. Escaping from her cage, the lioness adapts to the cornfield and makes it her territory. While Walter learns the rumors of his great uncles' wealth and adventures are true, his mother arrives to try and claim the fortune. It's at this point when the old lioness steps in to protect Walter, giving him the ability to separate himself from his lyin' mother for good.
2 sum it up: 2 films, 2 likable lions