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Thank you for taking the time to read this. I'm having an EMG and SSEP next week at Mayo and I forgot to ask my Doctor if taking my morning meds would affect the results. My morning meds are Topiramate, Baclofen and Neurontin. Caution says just skip them all, but my prep paperwork says I need to be relaxed for the EMG to work and I don't know how that will work with a migraine (minus topiramate), I don't know if my spasms from lack of baclofen will be beneficial or not for dx purposes.
Thank you,


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Throughout the comic, I've hidden a plethora of secrets within background images, character art, and in some cases even dialogue. Some things refer to the original story this spun off from (more specifically, scenes within Carrie's dreams), foreshadowing future events in the story that have yet to happen, hints about a character's background or motives, and occasionally just the simple Easter Egg.
This thread is for readers to help detect and discuss said secrets. While I am not at liberty to confirm or deny any particular secret one may have found, I will drop a few hints.
-Some pages contain characters that have not yet been formally introduced, or have even had a speaking part yet.
-Look for anything that seems to have been transferred from a dream page to the next.
-There is a particular criteria I use to decide which items to color and which to leave black and white. See if you can figure it out; then, look for special cases.
-I use several motifs in the comic. One is broken glass. Another is archangelic names.
-Page 12 introduces Carrie's stalker. Stalkers are sneaky, and tend to be around their target pretty often.
Those are all the hints I'm willing to give you. Feel free to speculate as much as you want about each secret you think you've found, but more importantly, try to figure out the meaning of those secrets. Most of them are planted for good reason and can actually help you make better sense of the plot once they are understood!


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The England Under-21 striker, tipped to feature in the senior squad for the friendly with France later this month, had started the day on the front pages following allegations about his private life.
However, under the close eye of watching England boss Fabio Capello, the Newcastle number nine headed in what proved to be the winner at the end of the first half.
Although we twice hit the woodwork through Cesc Fabregas' deflected free-kick and Theo Walcott, we were well below par and their miserable afternoon was compounded by the dismissal of Koscielny in stoppage time for a professional foul.
Arsene Wenger had also found his personal life under the media spotlight ahead of this fixture. Nevertheless, he will have expected nothing but 100% focus from the lads, whom he felt were complacent when throwing away an early lead in their midweek European tie.
After an initial spell of pressure from Newcastle, we slowly built momentum.
Walcott chased a long pass upfield which was smothered by keeper Tim Krul, before Marouane Chamakh just failed to collect Alex Song's pass at the edge of a crowded penalty area.
We thrashed Newcastle 4-0 in the Carling Cup clash at St James' Park a fortnight ago, but went into this game buoyed by their thrashing of local rivals Sunderland.
We almost took the lead on 11 minutes when Fabregas' deflected 22-yard free-kick crashed against the crossbar after ricocheting off the wall.
Cesc was then played into the right side of the penalty area, but was quickly crowded out before Walcott's chip across the six-yard box was headed behind.
We were left frustrated as Newcastle broke up play well, and were awarded a few free-kicks which were delivered direct into the penalty area.
The atmosphere went a bit flat as half-time approached, with the lads not really able to get near their usual fluidity.
When Fabregas was slipped in down the right by Samir Nasri, his shot at the near post was blocked into the sidenetting as the home fans continued to grow restless.
The Emirates Stadium, though, almost erupted when Nasri's drive appeared to be heading for the top corner - only for Krul to pull-off a fine one-handed save.
Newcastle took a shock lead on the stroke of half-time when a deep free-kick into our box from Joey Barton was met by Carroll, who got there ahead of Lukasz Fabianski to nod the visitors in front.
At the start of the second half, we hit the woodwork again when Walcott darted into the right side of the area from Jack Wilshere's pass and lashed in an angled drive, which crashed against the underside of the bar with Krul beaten.
We continued to press, with Song cutting the ball back across the six-yard box, but Chamakh was unable to connect.
With 35 minutes left, Wenger made a change when he sent on Andrey Arshavin to replace Nasri and then introduced Robin van Persie for the Dutchman's first appearance since the end of August after an ankle injury.
Van Persie's first touch was a lovely backheel down the left, with Gael Clichy then delivering a low cross which was just too far ahead of Arshavin.
Newcastle, though, continued to show little regard for reputation as they looked to hold possession in a match which started to become somewhat scrappy as Wilshere was left in a heap following a challenge from Barton, but the referee took no action before defender Mike Williamson send a header wide from a corner.
Wenger's last throw of the dice came with 17 minutes left when Nicklas Bendtner replaced Wilshere.
Arshavin almost weaved his way clear, but Fabricio Coloccini made a saving tackle in the six-yard box.
We had pace in abundance up front now, but Newcastle continued to hold their ground.
Fabregas' diving header was straight at the keeper following Arshavin's run as Wenger looked to the heavens.
We threw long balls forwards, but Newcastle were not to be denied a shock victory as the hosts finished with 10 men after centre-half Koscielny was shown a straight red card for hauling down substitute Nile Ranger.


text: Hello, I'm a 18 year old male from Norway. I've been doing music producing for 1 year and I'm moving into sampling and creating sound effects, and producing music and ambient. I'm a gamer since early age. I've play mostly any type of game as long as the concept and story is something that is unique and evolved as in a video game standard. Other than that, I pretty much love video games.


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Mikhail Vasilevich Ostrogradski
Born: 24 September 1801 in Pashennaya (now Poltava oblast), Ukraine
Died: 1 January 1862 in Poltava (now Ukraine)
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Mikhail Vasilevich Ostrogradski's father Vasili Ivanovich Ostrogradski, was a landowner but, although the family had leading citizens as relations, they were poor. Mikhail's mother was Irina Andreevna Sakhno-Ustimovich. Both the Ostrogradski and the Sakhno-Ustimovich family were Cossacks with a long tradition of serving in the military. Let us record at this point the fact that Ostrogradski's name is often given in one of the three forms: Ostrogradski, Ostrogradskii, or Ostrogradsky. Vasili Ivanovich and Irina Andreevna had five children; Mikhail had two brothers Osip and Andrei, and two sisters Elena and Maria. He was born in a thatched hut on his father's land. As most children do, he showed great curiosity in the world around him but, unlike most, he derived great pleasure from measuring objects. Not only did he measure the dimensions of his toys but he also measured the depth of wells and lengths of fields. He always carried a stone in his pocket which had a long piece of string tied round it so that he could measure the depth of any well he came across. He was also fascinated by mills, sitting for long periods watching the sails rotate, the water wheel turning, and the mill stone rotating to grind the grain.
He attended the Poltava Gymnasium secondary school, beginning his education there in 1809. He boarded in a house which offered accommodation for the "education of children of impoverished nobles". His tutor was Ivan Petrovych Kotlyarevsky (1769-1838), who made a name for himself as a writer, poet and social activist. Ostrogradski did not shine in his academic subjects at the Gymnasium. When the time came for him to leave, Ostrogradski expressed a wish to have a military career. Almost certainly Kotlyarevsky influenced him in this decision since he had served in the Imperial Russian Army, fighting in the Russo-Turkish war. However Ostrogradski's family was not wealthy and, despite their military traditions, it was felt that a soldier's pay was not good enough. Eventually it was decided that he should take up a career in the civil service and in order to obtain a high ranking position a university education was necessary. However, he did not have the necessary background to begin university studies so he attended lectures and studied on his own to gain the necessary expertise.
Ostrogradski entered the University of Kharkov in 1816 and, after a preparatory year, began to study physics and mathematics in 1817. Initially, he had not been particularly keen on studying at university and approached his studies with considerable reluctance. However, Andrei Fedorovich Pavlovsky (1789-1875) was one of his teachers and he noticed the extraordinary ability of the young man and was able to awaken in him an interest in science. Another who influenced Ostrogradski at this time was Timofei Fedorovic Osipovsky who was both a professor of mathematics and the rector of the University of Kharkov. In 1820 Ostrogradski took and passed the exams necessary for his degree but the minister of religious affairs and national education refused to confirm the decision and required him to retake the examinations. The problem appears to have been his mathematics professor Osipovsky, in the year 1820, was suspended from his post on religious grounds. The officials who made this decision made Osipovsky's pupil suffer too. Let us give some further details of this episode. In 1816 Prince Aleksandr Nikolaevich Golitsyn (1773-1844) was appointed Minister of Education and Minister of Religious Affairs. He carried out a religious crusade against "ungodly and revolutionary tendencies", requiring that science be taught from Christian principles. Kharkov, like other universities, received instructions on how to teach from a Christian viewpoint, demonstrating God's omniscience. In 1820, following Golitsyn's lead, Osipovsky was dismissed by the Curator of Kharkov University, Zakharii Iakovlevich Karneev (1747-1828), because of an alleged lack of fervour when saying "God lives" during an oral examination of a graduate student. This had a rather serious consequence for Ostrogradski who had been examined by Osipovsky in 1820, for, following Osipovsky's dismissal, the Ministry of Education refused to confirm the award of Ostrogradski's doctorate. They required him to retake the examinations (officially on the grounds that he had not attended lectures on philosophy and theology), but, knowing that the real reason was that he had been examined by Osipovsky, he refused to retake the examinations and never received the degree.
The leading mathematical centre in the world at this time was Paris and Ostrogradski made the bold decision to study there, arriving in May 1822. It had been a hard decision since his family did not approve and he had financial difficulties. To make matters even worse, he was robbed on the journey. Between 1822 and 1827, he attended lectures at the École Polytechnique, the Sorbonne, and the Collège de France, on mathematics, physics, mechanics, and astronomy. These were delivered by Louis Poinsot, Pierre-Simon Laplace, Joseph Fourier, Adrien-Marie Legendre, Siméon-Denis Poisson, Jacques Binet and Augustin-Louis Cauchy. Becoming friendly with these leading mathematicians, he made rapid progress and soon began to publish papers in the Paris Academy of Sciences. The first of these is Memoir on wave propagation in a cylindrical vessel (1826). His papers at this time show the influence of the mathematicians in Paris and he wrote on physics and the integral calculus. For example, he submitted his paper Démonstration d'un théorème du calcul intégral Ⓣ to the Paris Academy of Sciences on 13 February 1826. In this paper Ostrogradski states and proves the general divergence theorem. Gauss, nor knowing about Ostrogradski's paper, proved special cases of the divergence theorem in 1833 and 1839 and the theorem is now often named after Gauss. Victor Katz writes [19]:-
Ostrogradski presented this theorem again in a paper in Paris on 6 August 1827, and finally in St Petersburg on 5 November 1828. The latter presentation was the only one published by Ostrogradski, appearing in 1831 in 'Note sur la Théorie de la Chaleur Ⓣ (1831).' The two earlier presentations have survived only in manuscript form, though they have been published in Russian translation.In fact many of Ostrogradski's papers which he wrote in Paris were later incorporated in a major work on hydrodynamics with he published in Paris in 1832. Other results which he obtained at this time on residue theory appeared in Cauchy's works. His time in Paris, however, did have its problems. Ostrogradski's father, unhappy that his son was spending so long abroad, stopped sending him money. Ostrogradski, unable to pay the bills for his accommodation, ended up badly in debt. He was taken to court for non-payment, but Cauchy, hearing of Ostrogradski's difficulties, paid off all his debts. Cauchy then managed to get Ostrogradski a position teaching at the Collège Henri IV (today called Lycée Henri-IV) so he could continue living in Paris. Kenneth May, reviewing [30], explains that the paper:-
... describes four manuscripts dating from Ostrogradski's Paris residence (1822-1827) and discovered by Yushkevich in the French Academy archives in 1963. The first two of those manuscripts (1824) are on definite integrals and document Ostrogradski's role in the development of Cauchy's method of residues. ... the third and fourth manuscripts (1826 and 1827) [have been] translated .... They include a special case of Green's theorem, a general development (the first such, according to Yushkevich) of the method of separation of variables, and the first solution of the problem of heat diffusion in a triangular prism.Ostrogradski left France and went to St Petersburg, arriving in the spring of 1828. Although he came to St Petersburg full of enthusiasm looking to create a research environment like he had experienced in Paris, nevertheless he was looked at with suspicion and distrust by the local police who put him under surveillance. However, he was greeted with enthusiasm by the St Petersburg mathematicians. He was appointed as a lecturer at the Naval Academy (actually called the Naval Corps at this time) in 1828. Later he gained additional teaching positions, at the Institute of Means of Communication beginning in 1830 and, two years later, he began teaching at the General Pedagogical Institute. He had a second visit to Paris in May 1830 being in the city at the time when there were street disorders and barricades were erected. This was the July revolution of 1830 and Ostrogradski seriously damaged one of his eyes towards the end of his visit. It appears that this was not as a result of any disturbances but rather that he was careless with a phosphorous match. He became blind in his right eye. He married Maria in 1831; they had three children, two daughters and a son. Ostrogradski loved to play with his children, jumping and running with them in a childlike way.
In St Petersburg, he presented three important papers on the theory of heat, double integrals and potential theory to the Imperial (St Petersburg) Academy of Sciences. Largely on the strength of these papers he was elected an academician in the applied mathematics section of the Academy. He was elected a junior academician in December 1828, promoted to associate academician in 1830, and finally became a full academician in 1832. Ostrogradski aimed high in his research and his objective was to provide a combined theory of hydrodynamics, elasticity, heat and electricity. He submitted a report to the Imperial Academy of Sciences in 1830 which contains the following remarkably ambitious aim (see [17]):-
The followers of Newton developed the great law of universal gravitation in detail and applied mathematical analysis to numerous important problems in general physics and physics of weightless substances. The collection of their works about the system of the universe forms the immortal folios of 'Celestial mechanics,' from which astronomers will take the elements for their tables for a long time. However, physical and mathematical theories are still not unified; they are distributed over numerous collections of academic memoirs and are investigated by different methods, often very doubtful and imperfect; moreover, there are theories developed but never presented. I set it as my aim to combine these theories, present them by using a uniform method, and indicate their most important applications. I already collected the necessary materials on the motion and equilibrium of elastic bodies, propagation of waves on the surface of incompressible liquids, and propagation of heat inside solid bodies and, in particular, inside the globe. However, these theories will constitute only a necessary part of the entire work, which will also embrace the distribution of electricity and magnetism in bodies capable of being electrified or magnetized through electrodynamic influence, motion of electric fluids, motion and equilibrium of liquids, capillarity action, distribution of heat in liquids, and probability theory; in this last part, I will dwell upon several issues in which the famous author of 'Celestial Mechanics' was apparently wrong.Of course this was far beyond what could be achieved by any one man but, by aiming at a grand scheme, he made major developments in a wide range of areas. He submitted Mémoire sur le Calcul des Variations des Integrales Multiples Ⓣ to the St Petersburg Academy of Sciences on 24 January 1834. This is an important work in the theory of partial differential equations and was reprinted in Crelle's Journal in 1836 and an English translation was made by Todhunter and published in 1861. In 1840 he wrote on ballistics introducing the topic to Russia. His important work on ordinary differential equations considered methods of solution of non-linear equations which involved power series expansions in a parameter alpha. Liouville had produced similar results. Also some of his results on heat were similar to results produced by Lamé and by Duhamel. He must be considered as the founder of the Russian school of theoretical mechanics. In addition to his important contributions to partial differential equations, he made significant advances to the theory of elasticity and to algebra publishing over 80 reports and giving lectures. His work on algebra was an extension of Abel's work on algebraic functions and their integrals.
From 1847 he was chief inspector for the teaching of mathematical sciences in military schools. He wrote many fine textbooks and established the conditions which allowed Chebyshev's school to flourish in St Petersburg. However, this huge contribution took up much of his time which he might otherwise have been able to devote to making further major progress in mathematical physics. Chebyshev wrote the following about Ostrogradski (see [17]):-
A man, without doubt, of brilliant mind, he did not accomplish even half of what he could have done if he were not "bogged down" with tiresome permanent pedagogic work.Victor Katz write in [18];-
Unfortunately, some of [Ostrogradski's] most important discoveries appear to have been totally ignored, at least in Western Europe. Not only did he give the first generalization of the change-of-variable theorem to n variables, but he also first proved and later generalized the divergence theorem, wrote integrals of n-forms over n-dimensional "hypersurfaces," and ... gave the first proof of the change-of-variable theorem for double integrals using infinitesimal concepts. All of these results were eventually repeated by other mathematicians with no credit to Ostrogradski.Ostrogradski was a big tall man with a loud voice. He appearance was quite formidable, especially with the loss of his right eye, but had a cheerful character and an exceptionally sharp mind. He passionately loved his native land, its people, and its culture. He loved classical French and Russian literature although his language of choice when at home was always Ukrainian. He loved to recite the monologues of Molière and Corneille but his favourite writer was Taras Hryhorovych Shevchenko, the Ukrainian poet and writer. Ostrogradski knew many of Shevchenko's works by heart and often recited them. Ostrogradski met Shevchenko in 1858 when the poet came to stay with him. In fact Shevchenko records in his diary (see [23]):-
... we went together with Semen to M V Ostrogradski's. A great mathematician, he greeted me with open arms as a countryman and, apparently, a long-lost relative. Bless him. Ostrogradski with his family goes to Malorossia [Ukraine] in summer. He says he would invite Semen to come with him, but fears that in the whole of the Poltava Guberniia there would not be enough bacon for his needs.Semen, who is mentioned in this quote, is Semen Hulak-Artemovski 1813-1873), a famous Ukrainian composer and opera singer.
Finally let us mention the remarkable work that Ostrogradski did on insurance towards the end of his life. The circumstances are interesting and were described by Aleksei Nikolaevich Krylov (see [12]):-
In 1856, in accord with the Paris treatise, Russia was deprived of the right to have a fleet on the Black Sea. A large number of office workers had to be fired, and, to improve their circumstances, it was decided to establish a retirement fund at the Naval Department, and to begin paying pensions in 1859. Life insurance was then a novelty, and calculations connected with the work of the retirement funds, or with determining the amount of pensions in accord with the pertinent deductions from wages were known still less. For this reason, both mathematicians who were members of the St Petersburg Academy of Sciences, Ostrogradski and Bunyakovsky, were included in the committee charged with drawing up a charter of the fund. They have indeed made all the necessary calculations and provided their theoretical justification. The transactions of the committee were published without delay; they contain a remarkable note by Ostrogradski ...We note that the Treaty of Paris of 1856 ended the Crimean war which Russia fought against Turkey supported by Britain and France. It was a war renowned for the incompetence of both sides. It must have pained Ostrogradski greatly to see Russia and France on opposing sides.
Always a Ukrainian at heart, Ostrogradski specified in his will that he should be buried in his home village of Pashennaya. In the summer of 1861, when he was bathing, it was noticed that he had an abscess on his back. He was operated on and the abscess was removed but his health rapidly deteriorated and he died in the January of the following year. We note that some sources give his date of death as 1861, rather than 1862, since the old style calendar date was 20 December 1861. His wishes were carried out and he was buried in the family vault at Pashennaya.
Article by: J J O'Connor and E F Robertson
Click on this link to see a list of the Glossary entries for this page
List of References (30 books/articles)
A Poster of Mikhail Vasilevich Ostrogradski
Mathematicians born in the same country
Cross-references in MacTutor
- Chronology: 1830 to 1840
Other Web sites
- Dictionary of Scientific Biography
- MathSciNet Author profile
- zbMATH entry
- ERAM Jahrbuch entry


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July 2008
General Recommendations
Several recurring themes can be found in the seven featured evaluations, as well as in the research and comments from experts in the field of online learning. These sources point to a handful of overarching recommendations:
Begin with a clear vision for the evaluation. Determine what you want the evaluation to accomplish and what questions you hope to answer. Program leaders and evaluators may want to consider the questions listed in the box on page 51 as they get started.
Determine the most appropriate evaluation methods for meeting your goals. Consider the different types of evaluations discussed in the guide (see Part I for examples of formative and summative; internal and external; experimental, quasi-experimental, and other types of evaluations) and the costs and benefits of each. What type of evaluation is appropriate given your stated purpose? What research methods will best capture program effects?
Budget to meet evaluation needs. Limited budgets are a common barrier to evaluators. When designing evaluations, consider whether there are available funds to cover all planned data collection and analysis activities, plus the costs of any needed background research, internal communications and reporting, and incentives for study participants. If available funds are not sufficient, scale back the evaluation and focus on the highest-priority activities.
Develop a program culture that supports evaluation. Discuss evaluation with staff members, clearly explaining its value and their roles in collecting and analyzing data. Incorporate data collection and analysis activities into staff members' everyday responsibilities instead of treating these tasks as one-time efforts or burdens. Make external evaluators less threatening to program staff members by creating opportunities for dialogue between the evaluator and program leaders and staff. Incorporate evaluation data into the process of development of annual program goals and strategic planning activities.
Communicate early and often with anyone who will be affected by the evaluation.
Dedicate adequate time and money to communicating with internal and external stakeholders at all phases of the evaluation. However, be sensitive to program concerns about keeping evaluation results confidential and avoiding media scrutiny. Always keep those managing the program "in the loop." Communicating through the program director is often the best course of action.


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Search results
Since at least the days of Birth of a Nation (1915), Hollywood has turned to history for material. A quick survey of this year's Academy Award nominations shows that this is as true now as ever, with five out of the nine nominees for Best Picture – Argo, Django Unchained, Les Miserables, Zero Dark Thirty and odds-on favourite Lincoln – based in history in some way. Their approaches vary, of course, with the history-as-backdrop approach of Les Miserables, the revenge fantasy of Django Unchained, the academic character study of Lincoln, the docudrama of Zero Dark Thirty and the history-as-thriller of Argo.
After the controversy surrounding last year's proposed copyright bill C-61, which eventually died on the order table when Parliament was prorogued, the Federal government has decided to hold consultations across Canada before introducing a new version of the bill. While only time will tell how responsive the government will be to the public's submissions, the series of town halls and round tables is definitely a good start in making the process transparent and taking the views of a wide variety of Canadians into account. Below is an expanded version of MNet's submission to the Round Table held in Gatineau, Quebec on July 29th 2009.
If asked to think about community television (or public-access television, as a similar institution is called in the US) most people would probably conjure up the movie Wayne's World or its real-life analogue, The Tom Green Show: TV made by people who would, under normal circumstances, never appear on TV, shot in someone's basement or living room. Or perhaps they'd think of earnest, low-budget shows that showcase community events that wouldn't otherwise be televised, such as ethnic festivals or the Canadian Improv Games.
Trend Micro's "What's Your Story?" Contest Awards $10,000 to a Trio of Ottawa High School Students: Poetry Performance Video Highlights the Internet's Impact on a Generation
The beginning of another school year is approaching quickly, and as it does many parents are beginning to wonder how they can help their kids ease out of summertime media habits. In addition to having to establish new rules for media use, parents may also face a barrage of requests and questions from their kids regarding digital technology, such as: Am I old enough to have a cell phone? Can I bring it to school? How about my iPod? What about Facebook – all my friends are on it, I need it to talk to them about my homework!
The hottest media story in the past week has been the instantly infamous New Yorker cover portraying Barack Obama and his wife Michelle as terrorists. Though the Obama campaign has been measured in its response, media outlets – and particularly bloggers – have been vocal in their disapproval. Some have suggested that the cover crosses the line from satire into hate speech, while others accuse TheNew Yorker of giving 'aid and comfort to the enemy' by visually depicting the smears and misconceptions that have been aimed at the candidate.
The classic 1985 science fiction novel Ender's Game is one of several books of that period that foresaw both the advent of the Internet and its eventual importance in society. While certain aspects of its portrayal seem dated – in particular, it more resembles the text-based bulletin board systems of the time than today's graphic Web – one element stands out as being particularly prescient: the use of the Internet to allow youth to participate fully in society. While today's young people aren't using the Internet to take over the world, as the characters in the novel do, they are increasingly using it to change the world, and more and more teachers are using the Internet to bring civic engagement into the classroom.
People who make their living producing images, such as photographers, stylists, publicists, directors and pop idols, learn how to use those signs to convey the impression they want to make. Although teen girls who are trying to send a signal to their circle of friends and pop music producers who are trying to send a signal to an audience of millions are working on different scales, the principle is very much the same. Depending on your audience, you need to tailor the signals you send out very carefully. Even your age can have a certain amount of wiggle room when dressed in the right signs.
Joe McGinniss' book The Selling of the President had a shocking title for 1968, suggesting as it did that in the television age the presidency had become nothing more than another product to be packaged and sold. A new MNet resource, Watching the Elections (a lesson for Grade 8 to 12 Social Studies classes), shines a light on how the different aspects of an election – from the debates to political ads to the candidates themselves – are actually media products.
Just a short while ago, concern with online predators was so dominant that anyone trying to draw attention to the problem of cyberbullying felt like a voice in the wilderness. In the last few years, though, new research has not only provided a more realistic picture of the risks of online sexual solicitation; but has also raised awareness on the severity of cyberbullying. Unfortunately, all of the media attention that is now focused on cyberbullying runs the risk of making public perceptions on this issue as narrow and inaccurate as they were towards online predation.


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Uxbridge, Massachusetts
|This article is a stub. Help us to expand it by contributing your knowledge. For county and town page guidelines, visit U.S. County Page Content Suggestions.
Uxbridge is a town in Massachusetts. It was formed in 1727 and was previously called Mendon. It can be found in Worcester county and is a part of the Worcester registry of deed district. For more information, contact the county at 21 S. Main St., Uxbridge 01569. On the attached map, Uxbridge is shown as 58 in Worcester county.
For information about the state of Massachusetts see Massachusetts Family History Research.


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All for one and one for all.
First Commentary (continued) by Adam-Troy Castro
The Three Musketeers (1935). Directed by Rowland V. Lee. Written by Rowland V. Lee and Dudley Nichols, from the novel by Alexandre Dumas. Starring Walter Abel, Ian Keith, others. 97 minutes **
The Three Musketeers aka The Singing Musketeer (1939). Directed by Allan Dwan. Written by M.M. Musselman, William A. Drake, and Sam Hellman, from the novel by Alexandre Dumas. Starring Don Ameche and the Ritz Brothers. 73 minutes. *
The Three Musketeers (1948). Directed by George Sidney. Written by Robert Ardey, from the novel by Alexandre Dumas. Starring Gene Kelly, Van Heflin, Vincent Price, June Allyson, Lana Turner. 125 minutes. ***
The Three Musketeers (1973) and The Four Musketeers (1974). Two-part film directed by Richard Lester. Written by George MacDonald Fraser, from the novel by Alexandre Dumas. Starring Michael York, Oliver Reed, Raquel Welch, Charlton Heston, Christopher Lee, Faye Dunaway. 105 minutes, 108 minutes. Both ****
The Three Musketeers (1998). Directed by Stephen Herek. Written by David Loughery, from the novel by Alexandre Dumas. Starring Charlie Sheen, Rebecca DeMornay, Tim Curry, Chris O'Donnell, Oliver Platt. 105 minutes. **
The Three Musketeers (2011). Directed by Paul W.S. Anderson. Written by Alex Davies and Andrew Litvak. Starring Orlando Bloom, Milla Jovovich, Others. 105 minutes. Not reviewed here, but Holy Mother Of God.
Other Versions Not Covered By Us: Far, far too many to mention.
Welcome back to our epic two-part survey of past movie versions of The Three Musketeers, which we split into these two installments because that was an awful lot of movie neepery for one blog post and because we knew that we'd be spending an awful lot of room, in this one, discussing just why one of the many versions is so frequently described, by so many sources, as "definitive." Indeed, we'll spend more time explicating the reasons than we spent discussing the 1935, 1939, and 1948 versions combined.
Definitive is that loaded a word.
As we shall see, the version in question wasn't so widely gifted with the adjective just because its D'Artagnan looked pretty.
In the meantime, this brief recap: so far we've discussed the 1935 version starring Walter Abel, which was not overwhelming but which did manage to be watchable; the 1939 version starring the Ritz Brothers, which led to some confusion on my part over why my old man would ever mislead me with the intelligence that the Ritzes were so much funnier than the (to him) over-rated Marxes; and the 1948 version starring Gene Kelly, which was old Hollywood doing what Hollywood did best, in Technicolor and with one of the past century's great dancers turning his soft-shoe wizardy into a fair substitute for brilliant swordsmanship. The last of the bunch, I said, came as close to any of these versions had to actually conveying the entire story, as written in two novels (usually published together) by the great Alexandre Dumas.
There have been others, before and since, but this is one of the most frequently-filmed stories of all time, and sanity puts a limit on what your faithful essayists are willing to do. If you're curious about the version we most regret omitting in this compendium, it's the serial that featured Lon Chaney and a pre-stardom John Wayne in a version that moved all the action to the French Foreign Legion. It sounds beyond awful, but in an entertaining way. We make no judgments because we never got to it. Nor did we ever get to the Disney cartoon with Donald, Mickey and Goofy – despite much urging on the part of the wife – or the one that featured Barbie. At a certain point, even inclusiveness has its limits.
No, we'll leave those unmentioned, and proceed directly to that "definitive" take and the many reasons it excelled why so many others fell short; followed by a brief look at a subsequent version that was so inferior to it that for years this viewer resented it beyond reason.
(Spoiler Warnings go without saying, as always, but I especially mean them in this case. I'm serious. If you don't know the story of The Three Musketeers, and don't want to know, stop reading. )
The Story Behind The Film
Richard Lester first envisioned his Three Musketeers as a vehicle for The Beatles, with whom he had made A Hard Day's Night. It never happened, but it's interesting to contemplate what that film would have been like. I doubt it would have had any fidelity to Dumas (the Fab Four disrespected conventional narrative too much for that), and believe that it would have likely been just a farce played as a vehicle for songs; but even so, which Beatle would have been D'Artagnan? (My own preferred casting, for this hypothetical version we're all probably better off not yhaving seen: Ringo as a bumbling D'Artagnan, Paul as Lord Buckingham, John as Cardinal Richelieu, and George Harrison as Athos. Think on that, come up with your own casting choices and wipe it from your mind. However you shuffle the cards, it would have stunk up the joint.)
Whatever happened, Lester returned to the material in the early seventies, under the auspices of the Salkinds, who here pulled off a bit of a sleazy trick that lent the movie a bit of notoriety entirely unconnected to its quality: to wit, they told the cast they intended to make an epic, close to four-hour version, when in fact they always intended to cut the finished product in half and release it as two separate films. This was a serious no-no in a business where name actors are paid a per-film rate, and a colossal act of hubris for a production that cast a current or slightly past-current who's-who of stars. Lawsuits ensued and were eventually settled, though some members of the cast harbored resentment for life.
The upshot is that, the legal issues aside, the precedent was actually good for the business. By demonstrating that a story could be deliberately spread out over more than one film and that several could be shot at once, the Salkinds had created a model that was later very useful on any number of big-budget franchises where it would have been impossible to keep re-building the sets and re-gathering the cast. They used it on their own Superman series (this time, telling the cast what they had in mind). Later franchises that benefited from the example were Back To The Future (Parts 2 and 3), The Matrix (also parts 2 and 3), and, most notably, the three installments of Peter Jackson's Lord Of The Rings.
None of which has any bearing on that "definitive" issue.
And part of what does is this: it appears to have been one of the only versions that managed the all-important trick of getting D'Artagnan right.
He's Just A Kid
Most prior filmic versions of D'Artagnan, including the Walter Abel, Don Ameche and Gene Kelly versions already discussed, relay his deeds during the story with various degrees of fidelity – and, as in the case of Gene Kelly, with compensating charm to cover whatever they do get wrong – but otherwise, completely miss who he is. They treat him as a generic swashbuckler, grinning in the face of danger, charming the ladies, and laughing as he humiliates the bad guys with superior swordsmanship.
This is perhaps inevitable, as classic Hollywood regarded that as what a swashbuckler was like. Most of them had interchangeable dashing personalities. Errol Flynn was famous for a series of films, often co-starring Olivia DeHavilland and Alan Hale, ranging from The Adventures of Robin Hood to The Adventures Of Marco Polo to The Adventures of Don Juan, not to mention a number of others that didn't follow that particular titling formula, where he played what was, in terms of personal manner the exact same person, plunked down into various different historical eras. He was a guy who showed teeth and laughed in the face of danger and took what he was doing seriously but always had a glint in his eye about it. Though Flynn wasn't the first to follow this formula – indeed, the first two of the Musketeers movies we covered pre-date his best, the Robin Hood film – he pretty much made it his own, and a generation of swashbucklers that followed him all tried to emulate his example.
The problem is, this isn't precisely what Alexandre Dumas had in mind when he took the memoirs of the actual real-life D'Artagnan and used them as the springboard for his own fanciful narrative.
And that's this: D'Artagnan is supposed to be a gifted but naïve kid living out a fantasy and having reality shoved in his face.
Trained to sword expertise by his father, D'Artagnan has also been mercilessly drilled on a personal philosophy certain to get any kid killed: to wit, do not brook even the most offhand insult, and fight duels with anybody who impugns your honor. It is the reason why he challenges a well-dressed, and at this point much more dangerous swordsman, Rochefort (Christopher Lee), over some casual mockery; and why he finds himself scheduled for three consecutive duels to the death, with three of the most dangerous people in town, within mere hours of his arrival in Paris. He thinks that's the way he's supposed to act. He's living up to what his father expects of him.
Most film versions bury this aspect in favor of his heroism, giving us a D'Artagnan who is very much already a hero, a D'Artagnan who, even when knocked unconscious by Rochefort in the Walter Abel version, simply looks like a capable guy who fell to a baddie who had gotten the drop on him. Not this D'Artagnan. He is not up to it yet. The version written by George MacDonald Fraser and directed by Richard Lester is indeed full of slapstick (more on that, later), but it's no mere gag when in an early scene D'Artagan grabs a rope and swings on it, intent on knocking Rochefort off his horse, but instead misses his foe completely and winds up looking like a fool. It's the act of a kid who is not yet up to his self-image.
Similarly, in the scene where D'Artagnan meets the Musketeers for the serial duels, the dynamic between them is for the first time in this compendium played for the point intended by the author. First, we get one of Dumas's grace notes: D'Artagnan helpfully offering his mother's ointment to salve the old wound of the foe, Athos, who he's here to fight to the death. It's a moment of splendid naivete and tremendous good-heartedness on D'Artagnan's part, and Oliver Reed as Athos plays the reaction perfectly: with surprise, a little leavening of his prior anger at the boy, and a commitment to the duel that, in the eyes of this reader of the book and watcher of the film, amounts to a private decision to let D'Artagnan off with a little wounding. After the subsequent fight with the Cardinal's men, when D'Artagnan has proved capable of holding his own in a fight, it is about ten times more believable that the famous trio would take the young Gascon boy under their shared wing. Not only because he's worth a damn, but because it would be a shame to let this kid worth a damn get himself killed before he amounts to something.
D'Artagnan's inexperience manifests in other ways: his gullibility, the moment of startling clumsiness where he wreaks havoc in the office of an authority figure he wants to impress, the defiant speech he gives to Buckingham in order to make a dramatic exit just before he has to return with the shame-faced admission that he needs Buckingham's help getting back to France.
Even his romantic adventures fit this pattern. In the prior film versions, when D'Artagnan declares himself in love with Constance almost at the moment he meets her, and immediately devotes himself to her service, it seems the straightforward act of a man; here, it's the posturing of a boy, no less sincere, but more the manifestation of someone trying to be a dashing hero than someone who already is one. It's a subtle difference, but Michael York summons enough innocence to convey it. He's role-playing.
More to the point, these two films capture a plot element present in Dumas that is scarcely touched upon in any other Three Musketeers version, before or after: to wit, as a lover, D'Artagnan has the attention span of a goldfish. He adores Constance, but when she's not around, he allows himself to become the boy-toy of Milady; when Milady's not around, he cheats on her with a servant. Whatever pretty face is in view, is the pretty face he's madly in love with. Constance may spend much of the second film pining for him in a nunnery, in the era's version of the Witness Protection Program, but D'Artagnan's still getting his ashes hauled regularly. It's not that he's a cheating bastard. It's that he's not yet a grownup. He doesn't become one, not really, until the end of the second film, when he arrives too late to save his lady fair. At which point, another of the film's stylistic attributes pays off.
The Fighting Style And Why It Matters
The best fight scenes in any of the previous versions belonged to Gene Kelly, but that D'Artagnan was not just talented at fighting; he was a prodigy, a genius, a guy who, as I've said, didn't so much duel his enemies as play with them, the way a cat humiliates a mouse.
Many of the great swashbucklers of movie history took a similar tack; they played up the artistry of the thing, pitting hero against villain in exquisitely choreographed duels that permitted both to shine as martial artists.
The swordfights in almost all of Lester's version were, by contrast, not so much exhibitions of craft, as brawls. There was no elegance about them. The contestants tripped, prat-fell, stumbled over things, used their fists and their cloaks whenever possible, tried to do fancy things and failed, slipped and fell on ice, and oftentimes looked stupid…a comical, but in context deadly serious, demonstration of the difference between the way a fight looks when you have a choreographer on your side and the way one looks when you're trying not to get killed. It's messy. Frank Findlay is the poster child for this. In the second movie, he has a trick he's been working on, that involves throwing his sword like a dart; but it's a trick that leaves him disarmed if the toss fails. (Throughout both films he's almost as surely as D'Artagnan the guy stuff happens to.)
It is about a hundred times more satisfying than any number of movie fight scenes that look like every step was planned out beforehand. Indeed, compare this franchise's fights to the three way duel at the end of Star Wars Episode One: The Phantom Menace, a dizzyingly choreographed battle that ranges across two vast rooms, involves three combatants wailing away at one another with dizzying swordcraft…and is, to these eyes, woefully dull, simply because it looks too rehearsed, perfect, and fake. (The second best fight in The Four Musketeers is one fought on a frozen lake, where the combatants can barely stand up long enough to swing this swords correctly, and spend just as much time falling on their respective asses.)
But what happens in the course of the two films? D'Artagnan and his friends fight enemies in Paris, in the French countryside, and on the road to England…finally, at the end of the two films, arriving at the convent Milady de Winter has infiltrated,with her agents and the Cardinal's men, to kill Constance. D'Artagnan arrives in Constance's room minutes after Milady has strangled his great love to death. (To viewers previously unfamiliar with the story who had expected D'Artagnan to arrive in the nick of time, it is stunning.) Furious with grief, D'Artagnan races through the convent halls, his anger building…until he spots his old enemy, Rochefort.
The neophyte fights the master. And, for the first time, in almost four hours of film, a swordfight is choreographed in the old-Hollywood manner. It is one of the greatest swordfights in the history of film, two masters battling each other with a fury that belies some of the old movie duels whose combatants looked like they were trying to look pretty rather than kill each other. It is real and it marks the moment when D'Artagnan is exactly what he has thus far only pretended to be.
This is not a happy ending, except insofar as justice is more-or-less served and D'Artagnan is left with the company of his old friends. But it is something we don't get often enough: a story, in the sense that its main character has undergone a significant transformation and we've gotten to see exactly how.
Other Significant Accomplishments
Unlike many prior filmed versions of the tale, Lester's Musketeers takes place in a persuasive time and place. It's not some indoor set, not some production drowning in its own lush style; this is a world of drudgery and toil, where the gap between the poor in the streets and the rich in their palaces is extreme, and we get to see both (notably in the living condition of D'Artagnan's servant Planchet).
There are spectacular set pieces, both based on Dumas and the screenwriter's invention, that none of the prior versions attempted. One of these would be that fight on the frozen lake. But another is one of the greatest scenes in the novel: an extended sequence where, in order to gain a few minutes of privacy from Cardinal spies, Athos makes a bet that he and his friends can eat breakfast at a fort under heavy fire. This, they do – an act that their fellows regard as pure courage – but, in addition to showing us again just how formidable these fellows are, it serves the fine story purpose of allowing them to exchange information important both to each other and to the audience, while simultaneously battling an army intent on killing them. It is a terrific scene, and as painless an exercise in exposition as has ever been filmed.
The political background is superior. In many filmed versions of the story, the Musketeers fight for a king who deserves their loyalty. This guy is an easily-gulled cuckold who never quite knows what's going on, and who looks bored out of his mind and deeply resentful when obliged to present his men with medals.
The characterization of the lesser but still important players is also far superior.
For instance, in most other versions, Constance is just a generic good girl, with no function other than to pine for D'Artagnan. These films take advantage of the observation we've already made, that for the story to work Constance must be a beautiful blithering idiot, and actually plays her that way, attributing to her a level of ineptitude that might have rendered her wholly not worth the trouble were she not played by a lady as comely as Raquel Welch. (Welch, who enjoyed a long and profitable career despite usually not being very good, is somehow terrific here; go figure).
The film's Milady de Winter (Faye Dunaway) is the most frightening in film history, the only one so far who captures the character's utter inhumanity. Faye Dunaway, in one of the greatest roles of her career, plays her as a woman who's been so profoundly hurt that the only remaining option is stone sociopathy. Earlier versions – even Lana Turner's – downplayed her physical resourcefulness and rendered her a generic bad girl, but here she graduates, before our eyes, from secondary villainess to the human face of evil described by Dumas.
Nowhere is this more in evidence than in an extended sequence where, imprisoned by Buckingham, she has three days to seduce her jailer before being exiled to America (a fate worse than death, in that particular era). Her only guard is a sexless puritan who has been described as immune to the charms of women. And in three days, he's not only hers…but so turned against his former master that it is he who plunges the knife into Buckingham's heart. Milady brilliantly, and hilariously, and terrifyingly has sold herself to her "incorruptible" jailer as a Joan of Arc figure, with a direct pipeline to God.
Few other versions we've seen attempt to tell this part of the tale. The 1948 version contains a version of it, substituting the disastrously naïve Constance for Buckingham's right-hand man; and it was probably right to do so, since that allows the film to compress the plot and get to the deaths of Constance and Buckingham that much earlier. But it's not pure Dumas. In the Lester version, we see, step by step, how the impressively resourceful Milady, who cannot seduce her jailer's body, seduces his soul instead. It is relentless, and it ratchets up the suspense when she next sets her vengeful heart on D'Artagnan's girlfriend. Can nothing stop her in time? (No.)
The film's Cardinal Richelieu (Charlton Heston, in one of the great roles of his late career), is given a depth he possesses in no other film version, a depth he only possesses in the novel and, briefly, in the 1948 performance of Vincent Price; he's a man who schemes for power and has no problem arranging contract killings, but is capable of shaking his head in dismay, as the book's Richelieu did, when Milady appeals to him for permission to kill D'Artagnan. This is, of course, a man who had only recently sent killers against D'Artagnan himself; but there's a subtle difference between arranging assassination for power and allowing a minion to kill for a grudge, and the Cardinal dwells on that line. Heston's weary, appalled "No" sells that difference – which is a lot of weight to put on a syllable, and goes a long way to explaining why fans of this film were so dismayed when the next version of the story had Tim Curry playing the part as a ranting super-villain.
The characterization also allows the classic ending, where D'Artagnan hands the Cardinal's signed kill order back to him, and the Cardinal, recognizing the irony of the moment, wearily lets D'Artagnan go. In Dumas, the Cardinal is blown away by the sense that the boy before him has a hidden destiny, a greatness, more important to France than the Cardinal himself; in this movie, he simply appreciates being hoist by his own petard. Only a film deft in subtle characterization, and a performance capable of carrying it, could render the Cardinal's contradictory behavior understandable…which is why it's so rarely been attempted.
Christopher Lee as Rochefort…sorry, I see no reason why I should need to finish that sentence. Christopher Lee as Rochefort. That's about as good as it gets.
In all versions of The Three Musketeers, only D'Artagnan and one of the titular three, Athos, are actually important to the tale; Porthos and Aramis almost fade into the background. Oliver Reed's Athos is a brawling, heavy-drinking, embittered fellow with a past, as he's supposed to be and some versions like Van Heflin's have managed to be — but that is not the same thing as saying that the other two are stinted. One, Richard Chamberlain's Aramis, is pretty much just "the other guy," odd enough considering that the man playing him was about to come a huge star and that he's the kind of player who would normally be center place in something like this. More to the point, Frank Findlay's Porthos is a splendid comic creation: the kind of guy who is always getting himself into mishaps, who can fight and even win but somehow never emerges with victory intact.
In short, why is this version "definitive"? Not because it gets some things right; because it gets virtually everything right, from the texture to the performances to the nuanced morality of the villains. It captures exactly why this has always been considered a great story. No version is ever likely to out-do it. The sad thing is that the quality decline, after this point, was not just noticeable but precipitous. And that's without devoting any discussion to versions with cannon-bearing airships.
(There was another installment, eventually, based on the Dumas novel Twenty Years After; it was not nearly as good, but then I don't intend to discuss it. I mention it here because if I don't, people will inevitably rush to call it to my attention. I know, I know.)
The Three Musketeers (1993)
A number of people have objected to my vehement hatred of this, widely called "The Disney version" despite the existence of that previous take with Mickey, Donald, and Goofy.
I'll confess to personal resentment borne of the hubris on display when, asked in an interview about how his take would differ from the classic that came before (that he also confessed to never seeing), Charlie Sheen snotted, "Ours will finally do it right."
Sorry. But considering the results, them's fighting words.
Turning the Cardinal into a super-villain who twirls his red cloak like a cape and rants at length about ruuuuuling France is not, by contrast, doing it right.
Having D'Artagnan say to the Three Musketeers, "The Three Musketeers! I've heard of you!", as if they're famous celebrities, and not just three members of a larger fighting force acknowledged by the film, who just happen to hang out together, is not doing it right.
Turning its Constance into a girl who speaks to D'Artagnan once, for about thirty seconds, and later confesses to the Queen that she loves him with all her heart is not, by contrast, doing it right.
Declaring, oddly, that Rochefort just happened to be the guy who killed D'Artagnan's father, an invention that adds another layer of "Oh, come on," to the proceedings, is not, by contrast, doing it right.
Adding misplaced japanese swordsmen is not, by contrast, doing it right.
Having the Musketeers show up twice to rescue D'Artagnan, in circumstances that are awfully convenient but never bother to explain how they knew where to find him, let alone managed to get where he is, is not, by contrast, doing it right.
Exclamatory dialogue so disrespectful of the audience that at one point the Cardinal must address the secondary villain with an eyepatch and point out, in dialogue, that he only has one eye, is not, by contrast, doing it right.
Jokes that rarely achieve wit and most often fail the "dopey" test are not, by contrast, doing it right.
Reducing Milady, who was in the last film one of the most chilling villainesses in movie history, to a wronged woman who is here conveniently arrested and convicted and marched to her execution on the side of a cliff, just when the Musketeers need her to be so redeemed by love that she provides precisely the information they need at the time they need it, is not, by contrast, doing it right.
Having the unbearably earnest boy king defeat the Cardinal by decking him is not, by contrast, doing it right.
None of that, Mr. Sheen, is "winning."
In 1998, I hated every minute of this concoction. I hated how every story point had been rendered idiotic. I hated how every line of dialogue was bland and flavorless. I hated the clear contempt for an audience the makers had believed incapable of understanding anything else and I hated the gulling of a generation that would now think they knew the tale of The Three Musketeers. I couldn't imagine anything worse.
Exposure to scenes from the 2011 Paul W.S. Anderson version tells me that in 1993 I didn't know how lucky I was.
I am forced to admit that the 1993 version was guilty of no more than reducing it to a dumbaction movie for an attention-deficit generation, and what what really irritated me at the time was not the awfulness, but the hubris – and not the hubris of daring to remake what had already been done perfectly, as that was their right but the hubris one actor demonstrated by claiming in specific reference to Lester's take that this new version would be "finally done right" and thus implying that the prior version had been done wrong.
So I watched it again, straining for impartiality.
And I have to admit – while it's more energetic than good – there's quite a bit in it that is not actively bad.
Tim Curry was good. Yes, he was. He was there to deliver a cartoon and he did quite well at that endeavor.
Oliver Platt was good. He had infectious fun in a silly part, and it's difficult to watch him without some of that fun rubbing off. It's, really, the second-best performance ever given in any Three Musketeers movie, by any actor named Oliver.
Charlie Sheen gave the usual Charlie Sheen performance, but in 1993 that was not particularly bad. Keifer Sutherland is pretty good at selling Athos's misery, even if he is no Oliver Reed. There's also, buried in all that awful dialogue, one pretty good scene involving a discussion of "wenching" (even if it takes place in the middle of a cross-country ride to save the day and gives the impression that the Musketeers got bored with saving the day and paused to get drunk).
Some of the action sequences don't suck, and are pretty enough, even if the final large-scale battle at the king's palace substitutes scale and bombast for any issues we might have reason to care about.
Honestly. I take it all back. If you're too tired or too lazy to be discerning, there are worse times to be had at the movies. (The Ritz Brothers version, for example.)
The problem, really, is that for all too many people these days, "just fine for audiences too tired or lazy to be discerning" seems to be the first, last, and only criterion.
And part of the problem with accepting a remake that is extravagantly dumb is that, a few years later, you get a remake that is appallingly dumb. The insults get larger.
I've lost track of the number of people who have told me, in relation to the one with dirigibles, that when they go to movies they don't want to think, they don't want to feel, they just want to turn their brains off and watch things crash into each other at great speed.
I've had intelligent people say this to me.
Of that I will currently only say, I'm too tired to have the argument…especially since the MacDonald / Lester version provides my argument.
Really, it's possible to provide derring-do, adventure, swordplay, thrills, charisma, and humor, and do so in the context of a story that makes sense and means something. You don't even have to look at the Lester Musketeers. Just look at the films made by Errol Flynn.
Don't get me started, people. Really. Just…don't get me started.
And now, the wife bursts through the palace window, a rapier gleaming in one gloved fist…
Second Commentary by Judi B. Castro
The Three Musketeers (1935). Directed by Rowland V. Lee. Written by Rowland V. Lee and Dudley Nichols, from the novel by Alexandre Dumas. Starring Walter Abel, Ian Keith, others. 97 minutes **
The Three Musketeers aka The Singing Musketeer (1939). Directed by Allan Dwan. Written by M.M. Musselman, William A. Drake, and Sam Hellman, from the novel by Alexandre Dumas. Starring Don Ameche and the Ritz Brothers. 73 minutes. 1/2
The Three Musketeers (1948). Directed by George Sidney. Written by Robert Ardey, from the novel by Alexandre Dumas. Starring Gene Kelly, Van Heflin, Vincent Price, June Allyson, Lana Turner. 125 minutes. **1/2
The Three Musketeers (1973) and The Four Musketeers (1974). Two-part film directed by Richard Lester. Written by George MacDonald Fraser, from the novel by Alexandre Dumas. Starring Michael York, Oliver Reed, Raquel Welch, Charlton Heston, Christopher Lee, Faye Dunaway. 105 minutes, 108 minutes. Both ****
The Three Musketeers (1993). Directed by Stephen Herek. Written by David Loughery, from the novel by Alexandre Dumas. Starring Charlie Sheen, Rebecca DeMornay, Tim Curry, Chris O'Donnell, Oliver Platt. 105 minutes. ** *
The Three Musketeers (2011). Directed by Paul W.S. Anderson. Written by Alex Davies and Andrew Litvak. Starring Orlando Bloom, Milla Jovovich, Others. 105 minutes. Not reviewed here, but Holy Mother Of God.
Other Versions Not Covered By Us: Far, far too many to mention.
I know we had to cover these films. I knew there might be a bunch of 'em out there. But come on guys!!! 29 versions of one story? And you still haven't beaten that horse to death?
OK, I admit to enjoying seeing Gene Kelly acrobatically dancing out a fight or two.
And, the 1935 version didn't stray too far from the story I knew.
The Touchstone/Disney production tried hard to bring in the teen audience on casting alone, and the guys did a decent job. There's nothing unwatchable here, but its just a bit off.
Heck, even the Disney version (the one with Mickey, not Kiefer) kept me happy as a child.
But the advertisements alone for this new "steampunked" musketeers had me baffled. I guess historical accuracy isn't needed if wire fu is available. Has every audience, worldwide, given up on the ability to remember two minutes into the past?
Now, mind ya'all like my hubby, I prefer the 1973 mega version (I choose to think of it as one really looong film, rather than two really good films that just happened to be shot at the same time). The casting of Michael York as D'artagnan made me a fan for life. I was already well aware of Richard Chamberlain (reruns of Dr Kildaire had already hit my TV). I was re-introduced to Oliver Reed (not realizing he was the hated Bill Sykes until many years later). But the surprise of the film has always been Raquel Welch and her ability to pull off a decent comedic turn. She was more than just the body in the fur bikini. The sets were and locales were nearly perfect. The swordplay almost realistic. And the fun just what was ordered. Guys, we watch these films at least once a year just because.
Now has my love for this one(two) punch blinded my eye to the possibility that the definitive version is yet to be made? Naahh! I hope they keep trying. Lets go for at least ten more versions in my lifetime. Just one request to any future filmmakers who do attempt this feat. PLEASE!!!!! Read the source material, not just the Cliff's Notes.


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Photographer's Note
A morning scene in a Fula village, not far from the border with Senegal, a little goat was resting between two mortars and also a pestle lying on the ground. These objects are used to to husk and dehull grain and they can be seen in every African village. In background, we can see a traditional house. The Fulas or Peuls, are one of the largest migratory ethnic groups in the world and they are spread over many African countries, such as Senegal. It was a great experience to visit many of their villages and contact with them, as they are really nice and usually welcome visitors really well.
Critiques | Translate
point-blank (156) 2013-11-07 22:03
This a very simple and ordinary routine scene. But the way you have composed it makes it really beautiful. very well done.
lousat (123083) 2013-11-08 1:53
Hi Ana,so you been in Gambia too...hehe..nice capture of this poor house,i like the diagonal light to create a beautiful 3D effect so well exposed,perfect colors and bright details too.Have a nice weekend and thanks,Luciano
Didi (61569) 2013-11-08 2:12
Bonjour Ana
La lumière rasante met en valeur cette scène locale avec ce jeune animal
Une image appréciable
Sergiom (117227) 2013-11-08 5:10
Bonjour Ana
On dirait la crèche du petit jésus.Un beau moment attendrissant où la chèvre prend le soleil calmement. On perçoit bien la texture sur les murs de terre. L'ensemble est d'une grande netteté.
jhm (193931) 2013-11-08 5:20
Hello Ana,
This must as western woman give a very rare feeling these small clay houses with a goat before the entrance.
You picture shows us perfect the situations with a good sharpness and clarity
Excellent captured, nice composition and good presentation.
Very well done, TFS.
Have a nice weekend,
williewhistler (16606) 2013-11-08 14:08
Hello Ana,
you have conveyed the simple beauty of an everyday scene ever so well taking full advantage of a lovely light that shows the warmth and textures of the environment perfectly.
Really nice photography.
Kind regards Les
ikeharel (100199) 2013-11-09 0:57
The young goat is an evident about life in the village, Ana, as well as the carpet/mattress on the doorstep.
Nice clear pic. show simpple and maybe poor daily-life in that part of the world.
Bom fim de semana,
abmdsudi (83499) 2013-11-09 8:37
H iAna
This image stimulates all kinds of emotion about real life on this planet, and this just tugs on my heart-strings; An image that gives a really good insight into other cultures and how the other half lives it is so difficult to imagine living like this. I love the feel of a lazy day...the kid having a nap with the mud walls and the thatch it reminds me of the village huts of Bishnoi village in Jaisalmer Rajasthan, a rather warm light and great contrast with lovely shadows and textures that seems to work, in that it accentuates the apparent harsh conditions. Your framing is great -- putting the essential mortars and pestle in the context of life and daily routine. Fabulous, its wonderful to see other countries and peoples customs full of information, Congrats.
Best regards
josepmarin (59385) 2013-11-18 10:27
Olá, amiga Ana,
me gusta la sencillez de esta composición minimalista, con un encuadre cerrado sobre la pequeña cabra descansando entre los dos morteros tradicionales, y la cabaña de barro detrás.
El juego de luz y sombras, la nitidez de la imagen, la buena luminosidad y los colores naturales, aportan una alta calidad a la foto.
Bello trabajo.
Pili e Josep
kato (11630) 2013-11-23 18:41
Hi Ana,
You're capturing well this scene by a good composition and very excellent tone/clarity, so it's interesting and impressive to see the typical house in this village and life tools of mortars and pestle. It's also cute and smiley scene to see the spectacle in which a goat is resting on pink mat. And, the light is managed beautifully bu shadow and highlight.
Kind regards,
EstudioChispa (2182) 2015-03-05 9:45
Hello Ana!
This image makes my mind swim through time! With the possible exception of the blanket the goat is on (funny that it would choose to lay on a blanket rather than the ground, no?), this image could be from 100 years ago, or 5,000 years ago! Fantastic!
Best regards,
Russ Ham
Estudio Chispa
Austin, Texas
La Paz, BCS, México
Photo Information
- Copyright: Ana Dores (adores) (46979)
- Genre: Places
- Medium: Color
- Date Taken: 2013-09-29
- Categories: Daily Life, Architecture
- Camera: FujiFilm FinePix HS20 EXR
- Exposure: f/5.0, 1/200 seconds
- More Photo Info: view
- Photo Version: Original Version
- Date Submitted: 2013-11-07 15:48


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Mission, Vision & Values
Search >>
(our long-term aspiration)
To be the World Leader in the Bioanalytical Testing Market.
(why we are here - the cause / purpose of our business)
To contribute to global health and safety by providing our customers with high quality laboratory and advisory services whilst creating opportunities for our employees and generating sustainable shareholder value.
(what we stand for / what is important for us)
Customer focus
- Delivering customer satisfaction by listening to and exceeding customer expectations
- Adding value for our customers through our services
- Seeking innovative solutions to help our customers achieve their goals
- Delivering quality in all our work; providing accurate results on time
- Using the best appropriate technology and methods
- Seeking to improve or change our processes for the better
Competence & team spirit
- Employing a team of talented and competent staff
- Investing in training and creating good career opportunities
- Recognising and encouraging outstanding performance
- Behaving ethically in all our business and financial activities
- Demonstrating respect towards our customers and our staff
- Operating responsible environmental policies


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The Hubble Space Telescope has imaged striking details of the famed planetary nebula designated NGC 2818, which lies in the southern constellation of Pyxis (the Compass). The spectacular structure of the planetary nebula contains the outer layers of a star that were expelled into interstellar space.
The glowing gaseous shrouds in the nebula were shed by the central star after it ran out of fuel to sustain the nuclear reactions in its core. Our own sun will undergo a similar process, but not for another 5 billion years or so. Planetary nebulae fade gradually over tens of thousands of years. The hot, remnant stellar core of NGC 2818 will eventually cool off for billions of years as a white dwarf.
NGC 2818 is often heralded as one of the Galaxy's few planetary nebulae to be discovered as a member of an open star cluster. The other celebrated case is the planetary nebula NGC 2438 in the open star cluster designated Messier 46. Recent investigations, however, suggest that both cases merely amount to a chance alignment, as the objects are actually located at varying distances along the line-of-sight. To date, there has yet to be a single established case of a Galactic planetary nebula discovered in an open cluster.
Planetary nebulae have been detected in several globular star clusters in our Galaxy. These densely-packed, gravitationally-bound groups of 100,000s to millions of stars are far older than their open cluster counterparts.
This Hubble image was taken in November 2008 with the Wide Field Planetary Camera 2. The colors in the image represent a range of emissions coming from the clouds of the nebula: red represents nitrogen, green represents hydrogen, and blue represents oxygen.
Credit: NASA, ESA, and the Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA)


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Project Titan
Project Titan headlines
Sources spill beans on Project Titan, analysts feel cancellation cost Blizzard $50m
Someone has spilled the beans to Kotaku regarding what exactly Blizzard's now cancelled MMORPG Project Titan was and how it was to be played. Meanwhile, analysts predict the cancellation could have cost Activision-Blizzard in upwards of $50 million.
Blizzard's Project Titan has been cancelled
So much for Blizzard's Titan. The game is no longer in development according to the studio.
Blizzard working on "top-secret project to be unveiled in 2014" - report
Blizzard could be on the cusp of announcing a new game this year, if a LinkedIn profile is any indication.
Project Titan job listings removed from Blizzard career page
Blizzard as removed job listings for Project Titan from its career page. While not really a surprise, it further proves Blizzard's intent to revamp the game once thought to be the next, big MMO from the team. Activision-Blizzard announced during its last call to investors that due to the revamp of the project, some of […]
ActiBlizz Q2: Titan being re-vamped from sub-based MMO
Activision-Blizzard boss Mike Morhaime has confirmed during a Q2 results call – for the period ending June 30 – that Titan is being "re-envisioning," and will "likely not be a sub-based MMORPG."
Project Titan takes place on Earth, contains time-travel - rumor
There's a rumor posted over on Titan Focus cites a source with information pertaining to Blizzard's Titan MMO. According to the site's source, the MMO is based on Earth's history, and delves into historical myths such as those penned by the Greeks, Romans, and Vikings. It will also contain loads of time-travel. It plays from […]
World of Warcraft bleeding staff for Project Titan
Blizzard has migrated some of its World of Warcraft development talent onto its mysterious new MMO, Project Titan, filling empty seats with new hires.
Project Titan to include product placement
Blizzard's next MMO – of which we know only the codename, Project Titan – just got a tiny little bit less mysterious.
Rumour - Blizzard lays off Titan designer
Whispers suggest the primary designer behind Blizzard's mysterious new project has been left the company.
Blizzard talks Titan, says it's hard to not "build on what other games do"
World of Warcraft lead systems designer Greg Street has discussed the development process behind Project Titan with Eurogamer, and has said that it's a bit hard to create a game which doesn't borrow from another one on the market.
Project Titan latest
World of Warcraft "sequel" Titan was canned because Blizzard "failed to control scope"
Sources spill beans on Project Titan, analysts feel cancellation cost Blizzard $50m
Blizzard working on "top-secret project to be unveiled in 2014" – report
Project Titan job listings removed from Blizzard career page
Project Titan takes place on Earth, contains time-travel – rumor
Blizzard talks Titan, says it's hard to not "build on what other games do"


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Visit Vocations Toronto at www.vocationstoronto.ca, a resourceful site in answering these questions.
The first reading today, from the book of Deuteronomy, tells us about Moses instructing our ancestors in the faith. They are commanded to keep the commandments, neither adding to them nor subtracting from them. This is also how we revere all of Scripture, our Bible. We do not add new books to it, as many would like to in our time, nor do we subtract books from it, as has been done in the past. Rather we receive the Bible as inspired as a whole work and we read it in light of the complete Bible rather than one little bit at a time.
The Gospel from Mark today tells us about the traditions of the elders and how they came to conflict with the Scriptures. We Catholics should be very aware of the same types of situations. There are teachings in our Church which are disciplines and not divine teachings. That is normal in any institution. The Church is a Divine entity but also a human institution. We are much more aware of this in our day because of the scandals of sexual abuse. We must be cautious not to think that because of sexual abuse, then every aspect of the Church is simply a human construct. This is what many would have us believe today.
If the Church is simply a human construct, then there is no Jesus Christ who is the Son of God and there is no sense in belonging to any Church.
The second reading today gives us a clear summary: Be doers of the word and not hearers only. You and I must continue to read Scripture, always listening to it in the light of all of Scripture and in the light of the early teachers of Christianity and in light of the teachings of the Church. We are not meant simply to hear this word of the Lord and then think that it no longer applies to us. Rather, we meditate the Word in order to let the Word possess us and guide us in our actions. This open, positive, trusting reading of the Word is very different from some kind of academic critique of the Word in such a way that the Word becomes meaningless.
Instead of disregarding God's commandment and clinging to human traditions and teachings, we are called to be transformed into the very life of Jesus Himself. Come, Holy Spirit, enlighten us.
Reflections are available for the following Sundays:


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Freshman 15 returns!
I've just posted the first new comic in over a year to freshman15.keenspace.com. It's relaunched with a new concept, new characters and hopefully, a more consistent and better-looking artistic style.
Freshman 15 is a college relationship melodrama inspired by "The WB"; shonen/shoujo manga such as "Boys Be," "Kimagure Orange Road" and "Maison Ikkoku"; and my own experiences.
I'm trying hard to veer away from a "quasi-anime" style and toward something more my own.
Comments about the first page are appreciated!
-Steve Horton


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DWTS Peta Murgatroyd, Cheryl Burke, Karina Smirnoff, Maks Chmerkovskiy, And More Attend Oscar & QVC Parties, Etc
Peta Murgatroyd looks like a princess! Last night, the Dancing With The Stars pro attended the QVC 5th Annual Red Carpet Style Event. Cheryl Burke and Anna Trebunskaya also attended the event (see pic below) in some really cute dresses. If you'd like to see more photos of them, visit Getty Images and Startraksphoto. Derek Hough was suppose to attend this event, but, so far, we haven't seen any photos. He may be too in deep getting ready for the GMA Oscar Tribute for Monday?
Also, Maks Chmerkovskiy attended Kari Feinstein's Pre-Academy Awards Style Lounge party at the Andaz West Hollywood in Los Angeles, California yesterday. You can view some new photos of him at Getty Images.
We missed posting new photos of Tony Dovolani attending the OK! Magazine Pre Oscar party. You can view some new photos of him at this Getty link.
It's also fun to see former Dancing With The Stars pro Kym Johnson again. She attended BritWeek Oscar Party this week wearing a yellow dress and a black silk jacket. So cute!
Lastly, isn't Karina Smirnoff a vision again? She was seen enjoying the night out at Fig & Olive in West Hollywood, California in a black backless suit (does she not have one of the best backs?). So pretty! You can view more gorgeous photos of her at Zimbio Pictures.
And that is all…for now! 3 more days until the Dancing With The Stars cast announcement (not counting today)!~Vogue xx


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Best. Expression. Ever.
Posted by Unknown on Sunday, December 27, 2009 / / Comments: (0)
"...... horny little Care Bear."
Posted by Unknown on Tuesday, December 22, 2009 / / Comments: (1)
Been a bit busy, past few days.
Recent first-time employee changed to first-time job switch.
Working at a bank now. I'm a "banker", so to speak.
Slightly disappointed that I did not have a sudden explosion of knowledge(=power) turning me into a master of the any/all universe the instant I joined.
Posted by Unknown on Sunday, December 20, 2009 / / Comments: (2)
I'm not usually one to rant about stuff. Really. If something bothers me, and I can avoid it, that's what I usually do. They have their own point of view, and if its not similar to mine or even something strikingly dissimilar, I don't believe in imposing my views. Unless you get in my face, of course.
Not this time. I have had enough. Enough of what, you ask? Enough of this.
The new Wrigley's Doublemint AD.
I am not even linking it to youtube. Don't look it up. You'll thank me later.
I didn't think the DOCOMO Irritant singing-in-the-"Friendship Express" makes-me-tear-the-hair-out-of-head AD could be so easily and so quickly topped off my irritant no. 1 spot. But now I feel grateful that it was only preparing me for this. The first time I saw this ad and heard it (the significance of both happening together is indeed significant), was the first time I almost choked on my own vomit. Yes, it is that bad.
I think I'd prefer being choked to death while my feet are being kept in burning oil, someone is kicking me in the nuts with spiked boots and some-other-one is taking a hammer to my teeth, to watching that ad again.
Just so that you can be saved, let me repeat. It is THAT bad.
Cricket Feed...
Posted by Unknown on Thursday, December 10, 2009 / / Comments: (0)
A collection of blogs on cricket that I follow.
Lemme know if I've missed any worthwhile ones.
Posted by Unknown on Thursday, December 3, 2009 / / Comments: (2)
B was down, almost out.
"They're all corrupt, bleeding the company. I have only you to talk to.", he moaned over the STD line.
Next week, he called again. A Stranger picked the corporate number.
"Where's A?"
"He resigned."
"Did he leave a number?"
He disconnected. And wept. For a friend who never was.


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Charles Oakley
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Barry Wellman
Professor Barry Wellman studies networks: community, communication, computer, and social. His research examines virtual community, the virtual workplace, social support, community, kinship, friendship, and social network theory and methods. Based at the University of Toronto, he directs NetLab, is the S.D. Clark Professor at the Department of Sociology, does research at the Centre for Urban and Community Studies, the Knowledge Media Design Institute, and the Bell University Laboratories' Collaborative Effectiveness Lab, and is a cross-appointed member of the Faculty of Information Studies.
Prof. Wellman is a member of the Royal Society of Canada. He is the Chair-Emeritus of both the Community and Information Technologies section and the Community and Urban Sociology section of the American Sociological Association. He is affiliated with Intel Corporation's People and Practices research unit and is a Fellow of IBM Toronto's Centre for Advanced Studies. He has been a Fellow of IBM's Institute of Knowledge Management, a consultant with Mitel Networks, a member of Advanced Micro Devices' Global Consumer Advisory Board, a keynoter at conferences ranging from computer science to theology, and a committee member of the Social Science Research Council's (and Ford Foundation's) Program on Information Technology, International Cooperation and Global Security. He is the (co-)author of more than three hundred articles, co-authored with more than eighty scholars, and is the (co-)editor of three books.


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I'm sure you guys are familiar with a cartoon, or animated series called "BeyBlade". Well, I received a request a while ago to do a certain character from the series. Now, believe it or not, I already drew out this character, and the whole lesson has been sitting in my tutorial folder for a week. Like I often do, I forgot about the lesson because it was pretty far down my list so I didn't notice it. Today I will be showing you "how to draw Gingka", from the popular Metal Fight Beyblade, step by step. His full name is Gingka Hagane, and he is a young boy that is the protagonist in both the anime and the manga series. His character is well recognized by his unique appearance. Gingka wears a blue bandana, has bright red hair, and is full of energy and steam. Now just because he is full of energy, that doesn't mean he isn't laid back. He is so laid back, that he is often seen sleeping wherever he wants even if it's in an odd place, and he will also try and keep his friends safe from any foes that try and hurt them. I like his character because he's pretty straight forward. Now if you're a big fan of the series, you should fall in love with this tutorial on "how to draw Gingka", step by step. The lesson itself should be pretty simple which means you should have some fun. If it gets too complex for you, just remember to take your time, and be patient. Your drawing should come out to look amazing if you follow everything the way its laid out for you here.
DragoArt members upload artwork and drawing tutorials! They are also allowed to leave comments on tutorials, profiles, etc. Many more features, as well; it's way better than just being a boring guest! Register Now!


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Company Summary:
Comcast brings together the best in media and technology. We drive innovation to create the world's best video and broadband experiences. We are focused on making customer experience our best product. As a Fortune 50 company, we set the pace in a variety of innovative and exciting businesses and create career opportunities across a wide range of locations and disciplines. We are at the forefront of change and move at an amazing pace, thanks to our remarkable people, who bring cutting-edge products and services to life for millions of customers every day.
Xfinity Retail Store Summary:
Our XFINTY Retail Stores represents a significant sales and service channel in the company serving over 30 million customers every year. Join us as we continue to evolve into a world-class national retailer, bringing together immersive in-store sales and service experiences. Our stores have always been a place where customers could find a friendly expert to help with routine service. Now we are so much more! Our stores have become a place where customers can experience our products and services in convenient locations. Additionally, customers can purchase the latest consumer electronics products that enhance home entertainment, home connectivity and their mobile experiences.
Position Summary:
Being the face of XFINITY, our Retail Sales Professionals are responsible for assisting customers with all aspects sales and service ensuring an excellent customer experience. Using your knowledge, tools & technology along with a passion and desire to help; you will customize a unique solution to each customer.
Product & service offerings include:
XFINITY Internet
XFINITY Voice
XFINITY Home
Employees at all levels are expected to:
- Understand our Operating Principles; make them the guidelines for how you do your job
- Own the customer experience - think and act in ways that put our customers first, give them seamless digital options at every touchpoint, and make them promoters of our products and services
- Know your stuff - be enthusiastic learners, users and advocates of our game-changing technology, products and services, especially our digital tools and experiences
- Win as a team - make big things happen by working together and being open to new ideas
- Be an active part of the Net Promoter System - a way of working that brings more employee and customer feedback into the company - by joining huddles, making call backs and helping us elevate opportunities to do better for our customers
- Drive results and growth
- Respect and promote inclusion and diversity
- Do what's right for each other, our customers, investors and our communities
Core Responsibilities
- Provide superior customer service with all customer interactions.
- Deep understanding of XFINITY products and services; effectively inform and educate customers
- Provide product demonstrations to illustrate to customers how XFINITY products and services improve the customers' lives.
- Understand XFINITY products capabilities and how they outperform the competition.
- Evaluate customer's potential product needs and tailor XFINITY solution to meet customer video, data, voice, and connected home requirements.
- Set high standard by meeting or exceeding sales & customer satisfaction goals.
- Support store operations including inventory, equipment transactions and payment activity.
- Thrive in a fast paced, high-energy, rapidly changing environment.
- Responsible for immersive customer onboarding experience ensuring the customer fully understands how to use XFINITY products and services including XFINITY Apps.
- Complies with all operational policies and procedures and Comcast code of conduct
- Completes all courses in the training curriculum.
- Must be able to carry and lift up to 25 pound boxes, stand and move about the store constantly.
- Must be able to work a flexible schedule that includes evenings, weekends and certain holidays. May be asked to work in alternate XFINITY Stores outside of home base store. Regular, consistent and punctual attendance.
- Require standing for extended periods of time servicing customers
- Other duties and responsibilities as assigned.
Key Qualifications
- High School Degree or Equivalent
- Generally requires 1-3 years related experience; prefer consumer electronics/wireless/telecommunications retail sales experience
- Must enjoy interacting with people
- Committed to providing world class customer experience
- Warm & engaging - ability to develop rapport quickly
- Positive, "I can help you with that" attitude
- Genuinely curious about customer needs
- Solution orientated
- Strong communication skills
- Consultative selling approach
- Passion for technology
- Desire to learn
- Ability to excel in dynamic environment
Comcast is an EOE/Veterans/Disabled/LGBT employer