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Star Trek: The Next Generation Motion Picture Collection (US - BD)
Gabe revisits one great movie, two average movies, and one really bad one
Just like the original cast movie collection, the Star Trek: The Next Generation movie collection has arrived late, so I'm not bothering with synopses. I'm also keeping the film reviews to a single paragraph, and trying not to get too wordy with the other parts of the review. Readers curious about the quality of the discs over the movies should probably skip to the video section, and then the extras section. Most of the audio is pretty comparably solid over all the discs.
Star Trek: Generations starts strong with an intense action scene that leads into the mysterious disappearance of the series' original hero, Captain Kirk. Then we meet up with the Next Gen cast aboard the Holodeck, things go all whimsical, and the scope is deadened strangely despite some reasonably large special effects sequences. The post-opening sequence plot is as introverted as most of the budgetary constrained series episodes, which is not, in my opinion, the best way to go about bringing a television series to the big screen. Even the most boring and lifeless of all the Star Trek films, Star Trek: The Motion Picture, at the very least took chances to differentiate itself from the original series. And Generations doesn't just fail to deliver a scaled-up Next Gen movie, it doesn't deliver on the promise of Captains Kirk and Picard overlapping (this may be the fault of the advertisers over the screenwriters, but a promise is a promise). Shatner's valuable scenes only act as a promising, but undeliverable bridge between the two series. To this passing fan Generations succeeds only on the level of character. It doesn't develop the main cast too much, but it manages to humanize them just a little bit more, and leads them into a better follow-up film. Side Note: My Trekkie buddy wants me to remark on the fact that no one has bothered to digitally add Vulcan ears to Tuvok (Tim Russ), who has them in Enterprise. She likes the film more than me too.
Star Trek: First Contact keeps the even number power hour marching, and is quite clearly the top choice among the Next Gen movies. It is the prime example of what should've been done with the film series, even if it starts with yet another trip back in time. First Contact doesn't dumb down the super-series' mythology, but also takes effort to make itself accessible to non-fans (as I was the first time I saw it) through an increase in action, a more tangible plot, and palpable suspense. Not counting the obvious exception of The Voyage Home, this likely marks the most perfect balance of hard Trek and accessibility. The film dives head first into the pulpier elements of the original series, and stirs elements of bygone B-horror into the broth. First time film director Jonathan Frakes pulls out some less than reputable scare tactics, and utilizes some old-school smoke and lights that make all the difference in dealing with a less than blockbuster budget. At it's best the Borg attacks resemble a modern take on Mario Bava's Planet of the Vampires, if I am permitted to place things into my own horror geek vernacular. Strictly speaking the Borg are basically zombies, after all (mixed with scientific aspects of bees, and bits of Superman's bionic foe, Brainiac). The horror show aspects work with the down to Earth (if you'll excuse the pun) aspects because humour is not lost among the drama. It's not a perfect film, and not as good as the best three original cast films, but the acting is supreme (Patrick Stewart blows the roof off), and the script is one of the two or three strongest and tightest in the history of Star Trek motion pictures.
Star Trek: Insurrection would've likely been a very good two part Next Generation episode, but as a feature film it falls short in scope, and more dishearteningly, novelty. The film comes off like a random slice of the series (any of the Trek series, frankly), despite the efforts of some exploding sets, and (then) state-of-the art digital effects. The screenplay is not as non-fan friendly as First Contact's (or even Generations'), at some points requiring that the audience had been watching Deep Space Nine with relative regularity. Without my Trekkie buddy on staff I'd have missed a lot of the character subtext, though thankfully the overall story doesn't require such intricate knowledge. Still, the greater tragedy is even without the knowledge of a single Next Gen or Deep Space Nine episode the basic story is a dusty case of old hat. Mysterious planets hiding corruption beneath their Eden-like surfaces are a dime a dozen throughout even the original series. At its best Insurrection is a non-offensive throw-away story. Frakes' direction is a little more grand this time, but he focuses so much on looking classy we miss out on some of the pulp that made First Contact such a breathless lark. The film does most fortunately feature fun and affecting cast interactions, including the more blatant romantic relationship between Troi and Riker. It's not without a healthy dose of fan placating, but it's very sweet, and at least someone walks away happy, which is more than I can say for the final Next Gen feature. Unrelated to the actual value of the film, I find myself surprised that this film only got a PG rating considering the grotesque nature of the chief villains. They're like the space set, plastic surgery-obsessed cousins of Clive Barker's Cenobites.
Star Trek: Nemesis is a sad case of the keepers of the franchise attempting to rescue their sinking ship by placating as many different audiences as possible. It was the first Star Trek film to see release after 1999, when The Phantom Menace and The Matrix managed to make science fiction cool again. Sadly for the franchise all but the hardest core audiences had given up on the on-going Star Trek TV shows. In an effort to draw prospective, non-fan audiences the screenwriters plopped awkward action scenes between slices of repetitious political intrigue, and tried to darken the tone in a painfully self-aware fashion. First Contact was more action-packed and 'violent', but the filmmakers found a way to keep it with-in the realms of the series' norm, and never lost their lighter, less ironic sense of humour. In opposition to these desperate efforts to coax newcomers to the series, Nemesis also takes effort to placate fans with forward pressing continuity, and superficial character development. The two practices never mesh, leading to a film that is equal parts circumstantially boring and visually silly. At the very least the film feels more theatrical than Generations[i] or [i]Insurrection, but it unfortunately appears as the cheapest of all the Next Gen films. It's sad that the series went out on such a down stroke, especially since Nemesis was number ten, and should've continued the good even number trend.
Unlike the films of the original series collection all the films in this collection were made in the digital era, so even Generations looks mostly perfect in 1080p (or at the very least very damn good). Speaking of Generations, we'll start there. I'm immediately surprised at how well the Nexus effects hold up, as I expected hi-def would make those cloud effects look a bit smooth. Instead, like most of the space related special effects, there's actual texture to the clouds, and the hi-def increase ensures those pink laser beams are super bright (the Earthly model work doesn't hold up as well, unfortunately). Bright colours are a definite advantage throughout the transfer, which is nice because the use of specific colour is a definite plus that separates the film from the series (the colours were intense enough that my Trekkie buddy was consistently shocked by the extremely lilac hue of Geordi's undershirt). The detail levels are also quite vibrant, especially in close-up. Witness the glory of a not-so-young Captain Kirk's facial crags, and Data's oddly textured, jaundiced skin, and disappoint at the make-up quality of the B-Klingons. The wide-angle details are pretty solid too (not so good when you can see very clearly that the actors are using fist-fight stunt doubles), especially anything taken on a set (the Klingon ship is teeming with fine details). The scenes shot on location are a little smoothed over, and there is some definite edge-enhancement (the most in the collection), but the black levels remain strong.
First Contact continues the trend. Details are quite sharp without an excess of edge-enhancement, and consistently impress throughout, with only a few exceptions during some of the special effects shots. These new details allow fans to really obsess over the differences between the costume and make-up between films, especially Data's make-up design, which is an entirely different colour this time around, and much less 'cakey'. Colours are again a big deal, and First Contact is the first film in the set with a definite theme colour: green. Among all the greens are deep blacks, crushed, dark blues, and hits of bright crimson. The earthbound scenes are largely lit using slightly diffused natural lighting, but for the most part the colour scheme sticks. Instead of sickly Borg greens these scenes glow with leafy forest greens, and the spaceship's blues and blacks are replaced by the day and night sky. Overall First Contact is probably the grainiest of all four films, but this is likely partially intended, and understandable due to the moody darkness of a lot of the photography. There are a few small samples of artefacting and print damage, but it's pretty minor stuff considering all things.
Insurrectionis a step up on the first two discs, likely due to its more recent vintage. There are still some minor issues with the degree of detail in the furthest backgrounds, and there are signs of DNR along with minor edge enhancement thanks to the overall sharpness, but there are few complaints outside of some bad focus pulling. Insurrection was the first film in the series to use digital effects exclusively for the space scenes. The effects don't hold up too well as realistic (better than the non-space stuff), but they're definitely crisp and colourful in hi-def, and perhaps the best place to enjoy the 1080p upgrade. The contrast is really deep, creating really rich black levels (perhaps too deep at some points), and ensuring that the hits of bright colours pop (the clarity keeps them from blooming as well). Check out Worf's Klingon zit for verification of poppiness. The natural wonders of the location shots are impressive enough to be counted among some of the more impressive nature documentaries on Blu-ray. On Data watch, the android looks quite silver this time around, and a bit smoother than he was in film two.
Nemesis is, practically speaking, a new movie, and thusly the most digitally altered in post-production, and the least molested new transfer in the collection. The fact that it looks good (technically speaking) is no surprise at all. The print is consistent throughout considering detail, cleanliness, colour, and contrast, all depending on the desired effect of a given area. The details aren't as mega-sharp in close-up as Insurrection, but there's nothing to point towards this being anything other than intension. There is some grain, but it's all pretty fine in quality, and consistent in quantity. Nemesis places clear theme colours on different sets and locations, such as yellows, greens, purples, and reds. These hues are cleanly represented, but the practice robs the print of the opposing pops found on the other films. The contrast is a little too even for my personal tastes, but not at the peril of effective black and white levels. This is all clearly not true during the planet side dune buggy action scene, which is sun-baked and blown-out. This change in visual tone is very reminiscent of Pitch Black, which had been released a few years previous to Nemesis. The digital effects often hold up well, but the practical effects, sets, and make-up all appear a bit cheap in hi-def. Data's look is closer to that of the second film, a little more yellow than film three.
And unlike the first collection all the films in this set were originally mixed with 5.1 in mind, so no major remixing was required. Every film is presented in lossless Dolby TrueHD, so they are all technical upgrades from the previous DVD collections. Generations feels the smallest in overall scope, but is no small potatoes mix. Composer Dennis McCarthy (who I just discovered scored the best penis tearing Bigfoot movie ever made, Night of the Demon) is given a chance to play in a bigger sandbox, and his score gives the film (and in turn the mix) a bit of major motion picture oomph during some of the less aurally intense scenes. Mostly the surround channels teem with the hum of the ship, but occasional feature some aggressive directional noise. The ship crashing scene is the loudest moment for the mix, but scenes of the Nexus engulfing the characters are more audibly interesting overall.
First Contact is more of the same quality wise, but features the strongest and most diverse audio mix in the collection thanks to the film's mix of futuristic and contemporary elements. The disc scores early points for the abstract sounds of Picard's nightmare (which continues throughout via his ability to hear the Borg 'speak'), the Borg's warnings via the communications channel, and the follow-up fire-fight with the Borg cube. At its base the film is the most action oriented of all the Star Trek films (excepting the latest reboot), so the track is plenty aggressive the whole way through, brimming with big booms, and multi-channel fire fights. The Borg themselves also lend plenty of robotic whirring gears and beeping to the mix's more subtle elements. No offence to McCarthy, who does impressive things with Generations, but First Contact has the huge advantage of Jerry Goldsmith as musical composer. The score is giant and warm on the track, booming with such clarity one can practically see the orchestra in their living room.
Insurrection is a slight step back in dynamics and intricacies, but there's a really loud space fight around the centre section of the film that gives the surround and LFE channels a nice workout. The dynamics are all over the place as well. Planet side the action scenes aren't as directionally impressive, rather mostly centred, though the LFE effects are still pretty heavy. There isn't a lot to say concerning the track overall, as outside the action scenes there isn't a whole lot of audio to talk about, except maybe basic ship hum, a few chirping birds, and another solid Goldsmith score. This particular score is more romantic and whimsical, as defined by the style of the overall film. The action bits are plenty rousing, but the music works best when Goldsmith is pushing the pretty bits, which sound plenty warm and clean on the track, of course.
Sound was an important element in the process of making Nemesis more 'modern'. The film was given a proper blockbuster soundtrack, including rough and tumble action effects, and a more techno-infused score. Things are plenty loud, the surround channels kick out the explosive jams, and directional effects are effectively achieved. The dialogue track of this particular disc is a little too soft, except Ron Perlman, who's given a very impressive LFE boost. Jerry Goldsmith's Nemesis is unlike his other Star Trek scores, and like I said, a little electronically infused. The music is likely the only part of the film's attempt at modernization that works. The scenes that put emphasis on the score over the sound effects are the most exciting bits of aural retreat, with the exception of the ship-on-ship action, which is quite crunchy without losing the clarity of specific design elements.
In the interest of time I'm going to try to keep my thoughts on these extra features pretty brief. The extras are similar to those that accompanied the original cast movie collection, and are apparently still missing some small bits from the super-duper DVD editions fans shelled out for, so far as I understand. Every disc features a 'Library Computer' pop-up option similar to that of the other collection, which is teeming with all sorts of in-universe factoids concerning culture, science and medicine, Starfleet ops, life forms, planets and locations, people, technology, ships, and 'miscellaneous'.
Generations starts with two audio commentaries. The first commentary features director David Carson and Manny Coto, a regular series writer for Star Trek Enterprise, and the second track features Generations writers Ronald D. Moore and Brannon Braga, who also wrote for the Next Generation television series. Carson is a bit boring, but he's technically quite informative, and Coto plays the role of fan interviewer pretty well. The Moore and Braga track is more fun, more personable, and a little more apologetic.
Under 'Production' are four featurettes. 'Uniting Two Legends' (26:00, SD) is a fluff piece that opens with footage from the original movie premiere, and features interviews with Shatner, Picard, and other cast members, who discuss the differences between the series and the film. 'Stellar Cartography: Creating the Illusion' (09:00, SD) is a brief look at the process behind of the scene where Picard and Data chart the path of the Nexus. 'Strange New Worlds: The Valley of Fire' (22:30, SD) is a behind the scenes look at the location shooting in Nevada, including a lot of the stunt fighting. This section also features an explanation of the differences between the two endings. 'Scoring Trek' (09:00, HD) quite obviously explores composer Dennis McCarthy's involvement with the film.
The 'Star Trek Universe' tab features the lion's share of featurettes. 'A Tribute to Matt Jefferies' (19:00, SD) is a look at the original series art designer, and likely my personal favourite of the disc's special features. 'The Enterprise Lineage' (12:00, SD) takes a look at the real life lineage of the series' space ships, which were based on real, Earth bound ships. 'Captain Picard's Family Album' (07:00, SD) is a glance at the production design behind the album prop. 'Creating 24th Century Weapons' (13:30, SD) rather self explanatorily looks at the literal construction of some of the series' bladed weapons. 'Next Generation Designer Flashback Andrew Probert' (05:00, HD) looks at Probert's major art design contributions to the motion pictures and Next Generation series. 'Stellar Cartography on Earth' (07:30, HD) looks at the reality of the science fictional practice. 'Brent Spiner: Data and Beyond Part 1' (10:00, HD) starts a series of interviews with the actor, who here covers his early career, and the first film. 'Trek Roundtable: Generations' (12:00, HD) also starts a series of extras that appear over the other disc's in the set. Here three Trekkies and a moderator are given the shot to geek-out over the film. The section is completed with a Starfleet Academy Brief bit (03:00, HD), which is a continued series of extras from the previous Blu-ray movie collection.
Under 'Visual Effects' are two featurettes, 'Inside ILM: Models and Miniature' (09:00, SD), and 'Crashing the Enterprise' (10:00, SD), both of which kind of speak for themselves. The disc also features three scene deconstructions, three deleted scenes, an alternate ending, storyboards, a production gallery, and two trailers.
First Contact comes fitted with three audio commentaries. The first track features Jonathan Frakes solo. Frakes' track is actually the weakest of the three, as the writer/director takes too many pauses, giggles at too many of the on-screen gags, and loses his train of thought. There's some information to be culled, but not a lot that can't be culled from the other two tracks, which are just generally more entertaining and full figured. The second track features screenwriters Braga and Moore again. The writers discuss their process in detail again, and put emphasis on 'saving the series' with this film. The last track features Damon Lindelof, the founder and editor of Trekmovie.com, and new film producer Anthony Pascale. This one is a fan track, but Pascale knows movie stuff, and Lindelof appears to have made a living out of knowing a lot about these films, so as fan tracks go it's pretty informative.
Under the 'Production' tag are more making-of featurettes. 'Making First Contact' (20:30, SD) puts major weight on Jonathan Frakes as director, but covers cast relationships as well. 'The Art of First Contact' (16:00, SD) delves pretty deeply into the production design of the film, which was the last film to use models for ships. 'The Story' (15:30, SD) explores the arduous process of developing one of the series' better film scripts. 'The Missile Silo' (13:30, SD) is a quick look at the location shooting that took place at a real Arizona missile silo (Tucson shout out! Wooo!). 'The Deflector Dish' (10:30, SD) explores the many aspects of the space-walk scene from storyboards to filming. 'From A to E' (06:30, SD) features a quick look at the film's spaceship sets.
Again, the 'Star Trek Universe' tab features the more fun bits. These featurettes begin with a warm tribute to Jerry Goldsmith (20:00, SD), who had scored several of the films (his Star Trek: The Motion Picture score is the only reason I ever watch the film), and who died just after finishing his work on Nemesis. 'The Legacy of Zefram Cochrane' (12:20, SD) explores the character's evolution from the original series to First Contact, along with actor James Cromwell, who appeared on a few Next Gen episode. 'First Contact: The Possibilities' (19:30, SD) looks at the real life science behind the people actually looking for alien intelligence. 'Industrial Light and Magic: The Next Generation' (12:20, HD) explores ILM and the series' movement into purely digital effects in Generations[i] and [i]First Contact. 'Greetings From the International Space Station' (08:30, HD) is literally a statement from the station concerning Trek and real astronauting. It's followed by 'SpaceShipOne's Historic Flight' (04:40, HD), a glance at a fascinating plane that can fly into low orbit. The section is brought to an end with second entries in the 'Data and Beyond' (07:30, HD) and 'Trek Round Table' (13:00, HD) featurettes, along with another Starfleet Academy Brief (02:30).
The 'Borg Collective' tab features three additional and informative featurettes. 'Unimatrix One' (14:00, SD) explores the Borg's origins, and their early appearances on the various Star Trek series. 'The Queen' (08:30, SD) looks closer at the concept of the Borg Queen, which was developed for First Contact and later used for the Star Trek: Voyager series. 'Design Matrix' (18:10, SD) finishes the selection off with a look at the Borg production, costume and make-up design (the unused stuff is gorgeous). This overstuffed disc also features three scene deconstructions, more storyboards, more photo galleries, and two more trailers.
Insurrection starts with a single commentary track featuring Frakes and actress Marina Sirtis. It's another weak track for the director, but Sirtis keeps things a little more 'fun'. If you're looking for real information on the behind the scenes process move right on to the 'Production' tab, which starts with 'It Takes a Village' (16:40, SD), a general look at the overall production of the film, with an eye towards production design. 'Location, Location, Location' (20:00, SD) quite clearly explores the extensive location shooting required for Insurrection. 'The Art of Insurrection' (15:00, SD) quite clearly explores the artistic design of various props and sets (the similarities between the film and Phantom Menace were apparently not accidental). 'The Story' (17:20, SD) gives screenwriter Michael Piller a chance to talk about his inspirations and the process of writing the script. 'Making Star Trek: Insurrection' (25:00, SD) is a fluffy and oozie bit of salesmanship. 'Director's Notebook' (19:00, SD) gives Frakes a forum to gather his thoughts, better than he does on his commentary, I might add. 'Anatomy of a Stunt' (06:30, SD) speaks for it self.
The good stuff under the 'Star Trek Universe' tab this time starts with 'Westmore's Aliens' (17:40, SD), a enjoyable look at make-up artist and designer Michael Westmore's creations through the Star Trek series and movie history (emphasis on Insurrection), followed by 'Westmore's Legacy' (13:00, SD), a chat about the Westmore make-up artist history, that went back to the turn of the century. 'Star Trek's Beautiful Alien Women' (12:40, SD) kind of speaks for itself, and is a fun time, especially where Robert Picardo is concerned. 'Marina Sirtis: The Counselor Is In' (08:30, HD) gives the Diana Troi actress a chance to chat about the experience of Star Trek. Things are completed with another 'Data and Beyond' (18:20, HD) segment, another roundtable (11:00, AD), and another Academy Brief (3:00).
The disc also features three special effects deconstructions under 'Creating the Illusion', seven deleted/extended scenes (12:00, SD), not including the apparent alternate ending featuring Quark from Deep Space Nine, storyboards, trailers and a photo gallery.
Nemesis features three commentaries to go along with the 'Library Computer'. The first track features director Stuart Baird, who speaks with relative irregularity, and who doesn't maintain much tonal interest. He also spends a little too much time talking down to the series and fans in a roundabout manner (he's kind of a prig, frankly). The second track features long time Trek producer Rick Berman, who sounds exhausted, and who speaks with even less regularity than Baird. The final track features the Star Trek: Enterprise writer/producer team Michael and Denise Okuda. The Okuda's are fans, and their track is the most informative from the standpoint of cannon and small details (though their track is the only one that doesn't make notice of Bryan Singer's cameo). Overall I recommend skipping the first two tracks in favour of the third.
This time the 'Production' tab holds seven featurettes, starting with 'Nemesis Revisited' (25:40, SD), a look at the film as a last reunion for the cast, who was on contracted for three films (really though, what was anyone other than Stewart doing?). 'New Frontiers: Stuart Baird on Directing Nemesis' (08:40, SD) give a little back story to director Baird, who is better known as an action editor (recently he edited Casino Royale), and came to the film as an outsider. 'Storyboarding the Action' (03:40, SD) speaks for itself, as does 'Red Alert! Shooting the Action of Nemesis' (10:00, SD). 'Build and Rebuild' (07:40, SD) looks at the set and production design, 'Four Wheeling: The Final Frontier' (10:00, SD) explores the dune buggy action scenes, and the section is wrapped up with Tom Hardy's screen test (06:30, SD).
The 'Star Trek Universe' tab starts as a disappointment time around, starting with 'A Star Trek Family's Final Journey' (16:20, SD), which repeats a whole lot of the basic making-of information found under the 'Production' tab. Then 'A Bold Vision of the Final Frontier' (10:17, SD) revisits more of the 'Production' design and direction features. 'The Enterprise E' (11:30, SD) continues the trend by exploring the set design even more. 'Reunion with the Rikers' (10:50, HD) finally bucks the trend, and features Frakes and Sirtis joking about the future of the Riker family. 'Today's Tech, Tomorrow's Data' (04:30, HD) glances at the reality of modern artificial intelligence and robotics. 'Robot Hall of Fame' (04:30, HD) looks at a real award awarded to real and fictional robots (specifically Data). The tab ends with the final 'Data and Beyond' (09:20, HD), ' Trek Roundtable' (10:30, HD), and 'Starfleet Academy Brief' (02:30, HD) entries.
'The Romulan Empire' tab is similar to the 'Borg Collective' tab, covering various aspects of the race throughout the series. 'Romulan Lore' (11:50, SD) explores the back story that started with the first season of the original series, but which is still largely mysterious even to fans. 'Shinzon and the Viceroy' (10:00, SD) explores the two Nemesis specific characters (including a Ron Perlman interview that really makes me want to like the film). 'Romulan Design' (08:00, SD) looks at the efforts made in the case of Nemesis to adapt the design specs set forth by the other Star Trek series. 'Romulan Senate' (09:00, SD) checks the design of the senate set (again), 'The Scimitar' (13:00, SD) explores the design of the Reman ship (again).
This disc's deleted and extended scenes are legion, numbering thirteen, and including intros run a total of just over twenty-seven minutes. This is the only time in the collection where the trims would've made a definite difference in the final product. The filmmakers cut a lot of fan service in favour of brainless action, and hurt the film in the long run. The disc is wrapped up with more trailers, storyboards, and image galleries.
But we're not done yet. There's a whole 'nuther disc that comes exclusively with the set entitled 'Star Trek: Evolutions'. Things begin with 'Evolution of the Enterprise' (14:30, HD), which explores the various versions of the ship to grace the screen, taken in order of cannon continuity (starting briefly with the unpopular Enterprise TV series version). Think of this extra as spaceship porn, as the informative aspects of the featurette are rather soft. 'Villains of Star Trek' (14:00, HD) is cut from a similar cloth, but more satisfying in insight and information, thanks to expert interview subjects. It's probably important to note that the scope of this featurette pertains to the films, not the whole series. For some reason Insurrection is skipped. 'I Love the Star Trek Movies' (04:30, HD) is a geek out for various series cast and crew, who go through their favourite films and moments in an appropriately geek-like fashion. 'Farewell to Star Trek: The Experience' (28:00, HD) looks back on the Las Vegas Hilton based Trek museum/show/thing, which closed in September of 2008. Look forward to many adults in alien make-up crying. 'Klingon Encounter' (03:30, HD) and 'Borg Invasion 4D' (05:00, HD) are companion pieces, allowing the home video viewer to experience two of the 'rides' found at the 'Star Trek: The Experience'. 'Charting the Final Frontier' closes things out with an interactive star map feature.
The failure of the final Next Generation film, Nemesis, is perhaps a statement on the series' place in the post-Clinton, and more importantly, the post-9/11 era. It seems that with a few exceptions (films two and four) Star Trek works best for major audiences during relatively benign and liberal-powered time periods. It could very well be coincidence, but it seems pretty clear that there was no place for Star Trek post 1999. Despite opinions on the films objective and subjective qualities the Star Wars prequels, and the Matrix series, along with Steven Spielberg's darker sci-fi films ( Minority Report and War of the Worlds) seemed to fill the theatrical science fiction appetites of general audiences, while independent features and Battlestar Galactica seemed to please the harder core audience during the near decade of 1999-2008. I plan on exploring this possible coincidence a bit further in my upcoming review of JJ Abrams new Star Trek film, but wonder here if the latter two Next Gen films would've produced more interest even if they had been genuinely good films.
In the end this collection is really not for passing fans. The film's are bumpy in quality overall, and the best one, First Contact, is available on a solo disc. The audio and video quality varies throughout the films, but none of the four transfers are particularly weak. The extras are many and varied, including the exclusive Star Trek Evolutions disc, which features seventy-seven minutes of all-new extras.
* Note: The images on this page are not representative of the Blu-ray release.
Review by Gabriel Powers
Some material may be inappropriate for children under 13
Disc Details
Release Date: 22nd September 2009
Discs: 5
Disc Type: Blu-ray Disc
RCE: No
Video: 1080p
Aspect: 2.35:1
Anamorphic: No
Colour: Yes
Audio: Dolby TrueHD 5.1 English
Subtitles: English SDH, French, Portuguese and Spanish
Extras: Commentaries, Featurettes, Documentaries, Deleted Scenes, Library Computer, Starfleet Academy Briefing, Galleries, Trailers
Easter Egg: No
Feature Details
Director: David Carson, Jonathan Frakes, Stuart Baird
Cast: Patrick Stewart, Jonathan Frakes, Levar Burton, Brent Spiner, Michael Dorn
Genre: Action, Adventure, Comedy, Drama and Sci-Fi
Length: 522 minutes
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Have you ever noticed the fossilized clams, pieces of 350-million-year-old coral reefs, or a chambered Nautilus as you strolled Fifth Avenue?

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January 29. 2013 10:45PM
NH minimum wage increase pushed in House committee hearing
By GARRY RAYNO
State House Bureau
CONCORD - The owner of a seasonal ice cream stand would have to sell 40,000 more cones a season to pay for a 75-cent increase in the minimum wage, he told the House Labor, Industrial and Rehabilitative Services Committee Tuesday.
"Small business in New Hampshire is myself and my wife," said Steve Grenier, who co-owns Lago's Ice Cream in Rye, "not some big corporation you can tax the devil out of," noting increasing the minimum wage would cost about $10,000 that will have to come out of his family's income.
Grenier employs about 35 teenagers, most earning the minimum wage.
But supporters of two bills to reestablish the state's minimum wage and to increase it from $7.25 an hour said no one can support him or herself, much less a family, earning the minimum wage.
The state's minimum wage law was repealed two years ago.
The business community and the House Republican leadership turned out to oppose both House Bill 241 and HB 127, while unions and social service advocates support the change saying people need help as more and more find themselves in economic crisis.
Currently, New Hampshire is the only state in New England that relies on the federal rate of $7.25 to set minimum wage, and with an increase to $8 would move ahead of only Maine.
HB 241 would set the minimum wage at $9.25 an hour and would increase the percentage tipped workers are paid to 45 percent of the minimum, while HB 127 would set the minimum wage at $8 an hour and would require a yearly report on the effects of cost of living increases on minimum wage earners.
The yearly report would end the days of the out-of-sight, out-of-mind impact of legislation, said bill prime sponsor, Rep. Peter Sullivan, D-Manchester.
He, like other bill supporters, said increasing the minimum wage would be good for the local economy and benefit others "up the ladder."
"Higher wages are good for the economy. They increase productivity and put dollars back into local economies," Sullivan told the committee. "That benefits everyone, on every rung of the economic ladder."
But Rep. Shawn Jasper, R-Hudson, speaking for the House Republican leadership, said now is not the time to burden businesses, noting that the state's largest private employer BAE Systems just announced 200 people would be laid off in New Hampshire.
"Not everyone on the minimum wage needs it to live on," Jasper said, noting many teenagers live at home and semi-retired people work to supplement their family's income.
But others argued 75 percent of the 14,000 people in the state earning the minimum wage or less are adults, citing state Labor Department statistics.
And they argued those adults earning the minimum wage are subsidized by taxpayers through food stamps, welfare and rental supplements.
"With all due respect to the business community, when the state was booming, we were told 'Don't mess with (the minimum wage) don't raise it now'" said long-time advocate Judy Elliot of the NH Coalition for Occupational Safety and Health, said, "and now we are lagging behind the other New England states we're told 'Now is not the time to raise the minimum wage.' You can't have it both ways."
Business organization including the Business and Industry Association, the Greater Nashua Chamber of Commerce and the Retail Merchants Association of NH all opposed the bill, saying it will hurt business.
Not only will employees at minimum wage receive a boost, other employees will expect an increase as well, they said, while Social Security and other costs will increase as well.
Increasing the minimum wage "doesn't just increase the wages of the (one employee group)," said David Juvet, senior vice president of the BIA, "it has a ripple effect for business across the state. It will increase labor costs which already are the number one cost for businesses."
A survey of members of the Retail Merchants Assocation of NH indicates increasing the minimum wage will result in reduced hours for some worker and layoffs for others, said the organization's lobbyist Curtis Barry.
He said increasing the minimum wage will hurt younger and lower-skilled workers the most.
But Rep. Timothy Horrigan, D-Durham, another sponsor of HB 127, told the committee those earning the minimum wage are likely to be receiving government subsidies.
"If the minimum wage had gone up a much as executive salaries, it would be about $22 to $23 an hour now," he said.
A sub-committee will work on the two bills, along with HB 501 which will have a public hearing next week and would raise the minimum wage to about $9.25 an hour.


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JesterHawk wrote:Most other stadiums have locker rooms.
The Radish wrote:Did you really give us that straight line,,,"it doesn't make my brain foggy?"
Jesus Jon you're slipping.
But if there's one thing that we all need is for your brain to not get more foggy.
Seattle_Stunna_MD wrote:Lavar Arrington said that it was a bathroom.
SharkHawk wrote:Seattle_Stunna_MD wrote:Lavar Arrington said that it was a bathroom.
Lavar Arrington thinks everything is a bathroom.... no wait, I'm thinking of Urlacher. He's the one who hooked up with Paris Hilton right?
cboom wrote:Wilson is the worst QB I have seen as a Hawks fan. And I have been around long enough to see them all.
hawker84 wrote:it's not good when your team has an actual woodshed on the playing surface, and your shiny new star QB is constantly going in and out of it during the game.. just sayin....


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posted by Thom Holwerda on Wed 12th Sep 2012 19:13 UTC
As expected, Apple announced its new iPhone tonight, dubbed the iPhone 5. The rumours and leaks nailed it, with the most prominent feature being the move from 3.5" to 4" (1136x640). Due to the way iOS handles resolutions, applications need to be adapted for this new display, and if they are not, they will be letterboxed (black bars). It has a faster processor, better camera, LTE, and several other improvements, while the. As always, Apple does it right: shipping 21 September in the US, UK, Canada, France, Germany, Australia, Japan, Hong Kong and Singapore - the rest of the world will follow later.


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What has the state of Colorado become?
Once a proud, strong and God-fearing state, Colorado has become a mere shadow of itself due to lack of morality, legalization of marijuana,liberal anti-gun measures and, clearly, stupidity.
It is hard for me to stomach the fact that our state is being neutered by the Front Range liberal college towns like Boulder, Fort Collins and the Denver metro area. Our state was founded by pioneers who worked hard in mines, fields and prairies, raising cattle. If those folks know what the state they loved has become, it would blow their minds.
Our rights as Americans are slowly being challenged by the legislators in Washington.
I just received a new copy of the Constitution, Bill of Rights and Declaration of Independence, which I had to read and know back in high school. Back then it was a mandatory class, so you really didn't care what it meant. Now that I have read these amazing documents over and over again, I have become more aware of what is being threatened. We Americans are standing by, letting it happen.
Can you say "tyranny," which is defined by Webster as 1: oppressive power, 2: the rule or authority of a tyrant: government in which absolutely power is vested in a single ruler; 3: a tyrannical act.
I urge everyone, including liberals, to get a copy of these documents and read them again or for the first time. We the people need to take our country and state back from thetyranny before it's too late.
Dave Marsell


text: UC San Diego's track and field complex is known as one of the top facilities in the country. It includes a nine-lane track surface in Triton Stadium, a world-renowned throwing facility, spacious locker rooms and a weight room. Large grass fields and a eucalyptus forest with trails surround the stadium, providing endless possibilities for training. Near the track is a state-of-the-art, multi-million-dollar RIMAC athletic event center. Among the latest additions to Triton Track & Field Stadium have been a renovated pole vault area, and most recently, a brand-new Daktronics video board which was dedicated on Feb. 9, 2013. READ MORE


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8 Apr 2018Maratona di Roma 2018
- -- Days : -- Hours : -- Minutes : -- Seconds
News&Media / News
Individual online registration now open.
Individual online registration, with a brand new system, is now open and available here.
All runners who registered online at past editions of Maratona di Roma will be able to access our new system using username and password we're going to send by email in few days.
Newcomers are invited to register to secure their place in the 20th Anniversary of the top Italy's running event.
Please note that group registration will open late May.


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Ronald D. (Ronnie) Hines, 68, Fayette, formerly of Brookfield, died Monday, Feb. 4, 2013, at his home.
Ronald D. (Ronnie) Hines, 68, Fayette, formerly of Brookfield, died Monday, Feb. 4, 2013, at his home.
Funeral services will be held at 12 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 9, 2013, at Rhodes Funeral Home. Visitation will be held from 9-11:30 a.m. Saturday at the funeral home. Burial will be in Parklawn Cemetery.
Memorials to the family may be left at or mailed to the funeral home at 216 Linn St., Brookfield, Mo. 64628. Online condolences may be left at www.rhodesfh.com.
Ronald Delane Hines was born September 29, 1944, in Browning, Missouri, the son of T.J. and Alice (Forbes) Hines.
He was a lifelong resident of Brookfield until moving in 2005 to Fayette. While living in Brookfield, he worked at Brown Shoe Company and the City of Brookfield where he was Chief Water Plant Operator for over 30 years. He also worked in the same in the same capacity for Fayette, Glasgow, and Arstrong, and at PSF in Milan. He was one of the founding members of the Country 5 band. On September 27, 1986, he was united in marriage to Veronica A. "Ronnie" McAtee in Glasgow. He was a member of Unity Baptist Church, Fayette, Missouri, Water and Waste Water Conference, and the American Bowling Association. Ronnie enjoyed bowling, riding horses, hunting and playing music, especially the guitar and saxophone. He truly enjoyed mowing his yard and could easily spend all day on his mower.
Ronnie is survived by his wife, Ronnie, Fayette; children, Shawn and wife, Shannon Johnson, Fayette, Sherri and husband, Derek Sturguess, Brookfield, Robin Dysart, Brookfield, Heather Hines, Glasgow, Brandy Hines, Glasgow, Michael and wife, Michelle Sumerlin, Fayette, and Ronda Dysart, Bucklin; his grandchildren, Savanna Watson, Devin Colyer, Audrey Johnson, Brittany and husband, Junior Wilson, Samantha Stodtman, Haleigh Strodtman, Alicia Dysart, Chana Sumerlin and Craig Sumerlin, his great-grandchildren, Jaxtyn Delane Johnson, Aubrey and Alexander Wilson, Madeline, Tabbitha, Christian, Zach and harley; a sister-in-law, Linda Hines; one aunt, Pearl Olinger; a niece, Lori Clubb; and two nephews, Jason Grindstaff and David Hines.
Ronnie was preceded in death by his parents; a brother, Rev. Billy Hines; several aunts, uncles, and other relatives; and his former wife, Bernita Pipes Hines.


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text: max1216 0 Report post Posted October 1, 2012 Hi all, I am very new to this forum, as well as to ceramics. That would be really appreciated if someone could help me out explaining the techniques to make double layer cup. My guess is the artist makes two layers separately, bisque them both and then under glaze with colour and finally glaze them both in satin clear before place them in the kiln so that the glaze with melt down and stick the two layers together. Any ideas? Ohayou CKIEers! How about some coffee while I tell you about my project Holey Jolly Cup and my love for ceramics."What a wonderful world!†This is the motto that I live by and it reflects in all my designs. The idea of Holey Jolly Cup stems from the fact that I love to linger over my drink. It amuses me no end to see people gulp their drinks in a hurry. Tea and Coffee drinking can be a whole new experience if we just open our minds to the Holey Jolly. Working with porcelain borders between art and creating magic. The process requires me to work with a hard-paste and then fashion it into these fascinating double-layered cups. The double layer acts as an insulator, protecting your hands from scalding while consuming a hot beverage. To add a dash of ###### I've added holes on the outer shell. My basic intention is for you to have an emotional connection with the cup that you use, and in turn enjoy your drink to the fullest. The process may sound simple on paper, but trust me it's a lot more complicated when you have to work with powder, fire and molds! Not only is it time consuming but also a delicate procedure. But none of this deters me from my passion and this is why I've come to CKIE. I need your support to fund this project and make it a reality. It's been a long journey for me, from Japan to London, studying at the Royal College of Art and working with the most talented people in the industry. I want to share my love for the craft with you. I want to be Holey Jolly with you! Source My link Share this post Link to post Share on other sites


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March 23. 2014 12:57AM
Letters to the editor; Changing with the times
The New Hampshire Union Leader and New Hampshire Sunday News have always taken pride in publishing as many letters to the editor as we can fit in the newspaper. Because of the tough stances taken by our editorial page, our policy has been to accept and publish every letter that meets our guidelines.
Our editorials hit hard. We are happy to have readers hit hard, too.
Today, our readers hit back in ways that were unimaginable when the letters policy was set 50 or more years ago. Readers can comment directly on our articles through UnionLeader.com, and comments are posted directly with the article rather than on a letters page in a separate paper days later. Readers also give us their feedback directly and instantly via email and social media, where they can even share their comments with thousands of other people.
While the volume of letters submitted to the newspaper varies, many of those come from people who do not want to comment on stories or opinions printed in the paper, but only on issues of personal interest to them.
To make sure that our opinion pages remain relevant, topical and valuable to readers, we are revising our letters policy to reflect this new reality. Though we will continue to give our readers a great deal of space to have their say, we will no longer publish every letter that meets our technical guidelines. Rather than publish everything that fits, we will select for publication the best letters from among those we receive.
So sharpen your arguments, dear readers. You are competing for limited and coveted space. If you want to see your letter in print, impress us! And don't forget, you still get to hit hard. - The Editors


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posted by Thom Holwerda on Tue 24th Jul 2007 15:08 UTC, submitted by Uncle Fester
The head of PC maker Acer, Gianfranco Lanci, has hit out at Microsoft's Windows Vista operating system, saying that the 'entire industry' was disappointed by it. Few buyers have purchased new PCs specifically for Vista, Acer's chief says "The entire industry is disappointed by Windows Vista," the head of the world's fourth-biggest PC maker told the Financial Times Deutschland in its online edition on Monday. Never before had a new version of Windows done so little to boost PC sales, he said. "And that's not going to change in the second half of this year," Mr Lanci said. "I really don't think that someone has bought a new PC specifically for Vista."


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Bicyclists are not feeling the love this Valentine's Day with the annual crop of bicycle bans sprouting. Bicycle bans have been in the news lately. The Colorado Supreme Court overturned the infamous Black Hawk bicycle ban because the bicycle ban in Black Hawk hurt the tourism industry in surrounding communities. This was a landmark decision that sets precedent for other states—like Missouri.
The Missouri Bicycle & Pedestrian Federation (MoBikeFed) fends off bicycle ban legislation constantly. Last year, St. Charles County tried to ban bicycles from their highways, and another bicycle ban morphed into a reflective road vest requirement. Thanks to MoBikeFed, these efforts didn't get very far.
This year, Rep. Brattin wants to ban bicycles from Hwy 150 in the Kansas City area, and Rep. Korman wants a mandatory sidepath law to restrict bicyclists from Hwy 94 in the St. Louis area! MoBikeFed is rallying the troops to keep these ideas from becoming legislation. Attempts to reach out to Rep. Brattin were rebuffed. This would be a really, really good time to join MoBikeFed and help fight back these attacks. Donations would help a lot right now too. I already contacted my representative, Nate Walker, and he responded that he opposes the ban.
Missouri used to have a mandatory sidepath law. MoBikeFed formed in 1993 and got the law repealed in 1995, as well as pushing through significant updates to Missouri bicycle law. Reinstating a mandatory sidepath law is a big step backwards.
If you aren't a bicyclist, you might not understand why bicycle bans and mandatory sidepath laws are a problem. In addition to the economic impact noted in the Black Hawk decision, bicycle bans discourage bicycling. When bicyclists are banned from a certain highway, it's as if a motorist had to get from Kirksville to Columbia without using Hwy 63. It's possible to get there on back roads and gravel roads, but it would take a long time and you could easily get lost. For public health and economic stimulation, we need to encourage, not discourage, bicycling.
Mandatory sidepath laws are a form of bicycle ban. If the sidepath were sufficiently attractive to bicycle on, bicyclists would use it instead of the nearby road. The Katy Trail is a lovely path to bike, but it does not meet the needs of the cyclists who use nearby Hwy 94.
Instead of banning bicycles or trying to make them use facilities that don't meet their needs, let's make the roads safer for cyclists and motorists to share. Shoulders on highways and laws that are fair to motorists and cyclists are the key. Missouri won't be leading the charge with these changes—other states have "paved" the way and discovered what the best practices are.


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Take Sofia for example; the moment her clothes came off and the camera started rolling in Petter's Paris loft she started jumping on the bed, hanging from the steel rafters, and frolicking about the room with the excitement of young woman who just won the lottery.
Sofia's free spirit and erratic behavior is a welcome site for those who get to watch as we are treated to a full and unrelenting view of everything this Budapest beauty has to offer.
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text:
Salman Rushdie wins PEN/Pinter writing prize
LONDON (AP) — The writers' group PEN is honoring Salman Rushdie for his "outstanding" literary output and support for freedom of expression.
The India-born writer, who spent years in hiding after his novel "The Satanic Verses" drew a death edict from Iran's religious authorities, was named winner Friday of the PEN/Pinter prize.
The award was established in 2009 in memory of Nobel Prize-winning playwright Harold Pinter. His widow, Antonia Fraser, said Pinter had "respected Salman twice over, both for his work and his great personal courage."
The prize goes jointly to a British writer seen as sharing Pinter's "unflinching, unswerving" gaze on society, and an international writer who has faced persecution, chosen by the British winner and PEN.
The co-winner will be announced at an Oct. 9 ceremony in London.


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'''May 4th 2012''': Mat presents some of the group's research at the [http://sydney.edu.au/foundations_of_science/events/integration.shtml University of Sydney Integration in Biology and Medicine Conference].
'''May 4th 2012''': Mat presents some of the group's research at the [http://sydney.edu.au/foundations_of_science/events/integration.shtml University of Sydney Integration in Biology and Medicine Conference].
Revision as of 15:44, 23 May 2013
May 17th 2013: Mat talks about open source drug discovery at the 2013 GoldLab Symposium in Boulder, Colorado.
May 15th 2013: Mat is quoted in an article in The Atlantic on "de-linking" drug R&D from the cost of medicines.
May 10th 2013: Mat talks at Sydney Uni about the group's use of the electronic lab notebook Labtrove.
May 1st 2013: The OSDD Malaria project is mentioned as one of the top innovations worldwide in malaria by The Guardian newspaper.
Apr 22nd 2013: Congratulations to Nilupa as she hands in her corrected PhD thesis, to become Dr Amarasinghe.
Apr 18th 2013: Congratulations to Mingfeng as he hands in his corrected PhD thesis, to become Dr Yu.
Mar 28th 2013: Mat's piece about open access and open science comes out in The Conversation in response to number of Nature articles on the subject.
Feb 15th 2013: Congratulations to new Honours student Kat Badiola for winning a University of Sydney Academic Merit Prize.
Jan 30th 2013: Congratulations to Althea on submitting her PhD thesis.
Jan 30th 2013: The OSDDMalaria team is featured in an article on crowdsourcing in the RSC's Chemistry World magazine.
Jan 25th 2013: Mat is interviewed in the Nature Chemistry blog The Sceptical Chymist.
Jan 17th 2013: Mat publishes an opinion piece on open access on the ABC News site, The Drum.
Nov 7th 2012: The group's open source research featured on SciDev.Net in a story on science networks. This follows an earlier story covering the case study (below) analysing The Synaptic Leap's achievements.
Sept 20th 2012: Study published comparing The Synaptic Leap and Indian OSDD Projects.
Sept 20th 2012: Open letter to the new CEO of the Australian Research Council about the value of open data is published in The Conversation with a link to the Google Doc that can be signed. Please feel free to add your name. Stephen Matchett comments on it in The Australian.
Sept 19th 2012: Mat delivers keynote about open source drug discovery at the 1st Open Knowledge Festival in Helsinki.
Sept 13th 2012: Interview with Mat on open science published by the Results for Development Institute.
August 31 2012: Congratulations to Mingfeng, Nilupa and Soo for submitting their PhD theses.
May 4th 2012: Mat presents some of the group's research at the University of Sydney Integration in Biology and Medicine Conference.
May 3rd 2012: Althea is awarded a RJW Le Fevre Research Travelling Scholarship from the School of Chemistry to present her research at an overseas conference later this year.
February 24th 2012: We play host to the first Open Source Drug Discovery for Malaria meeting. An account of the meeting is here, and the current playlist of talks is here. A Sydney Uni news feature on the meeting is here and here.
February 18th 2012: Mat talks at a session on "Innovating Innovation" at the AAAS meeting in Vancouver.
January 27th 2012: Mat's blog post on open access is republished on the LSE blog.
November 23rd 2011: Mat wins a NSW Science and Engineering Award in the "Emerging Research" category for open science. Story is here and here.
November 1st 2011: Two Australian Research Council grants awarded. ARC Discovery (DP120104035): Charting Intercellular Space, M. H. Todd, P. J. Rutledge and P. J. Smith ($348K) and ARC Linkage (LP120100552): Open Source Drug Discovery for Malaria, M. H. Todd and T. N. C. Wells ($320K).
October 28th 2011: Mat talks at Sydney University's Open Access Week - recording here and on Youtube.
October 20th 2011: Mat's article entitled "We eat what we are – let's detoxify the word 'chemical'" appears in The Conversation.
September 23rd 2011: Our second open science paper is published, describing how Open Science is a Research Accelerator.
September 21st 2011: Our first open science paper is published, on the Resolution of Praziquantel.
August 19th 2011: Ahamed submits his corrected PhD thesis today, and we welcome two new postdocs to the group, Paul Ylioja and Murray Robertson.
April 8th 2011: Mat talks about the future of web-based chemical collaboration at the Cyberchemistry meeting at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Washington State.
February 21st 2011: Congratulations to Swapnil on his award of a Henry Bertie and Florence Mabel Gritton Research Scholarship. Drinks are on him...
February 15th 2011: A new industry-sponsored PhD position in medicinal chemistry is available. If you're interested, please contact Mat. Only Australian residents are eligible for this opening.
February 15th 2011: The awesome and long-awaited Treasure Hunt paper comes out in J. Chem. Ed. - this turns a campus map into a play area for a Chemistry-themed treasure hunt.
January 27th 2011: Mat is named as one of the University's top 10 lecturers for 2010 in a nationwide poll.
November 3rd 2010: Congratulations to Ahamed for being selected as one of the three Sydney University Chemical Society Le Fevre Lecturers for 2010.
October 6th 2010: Mat talks about open science and electronic lab notebooks at USyd's eResearch showcase.
September 23rd 2010: Yu Heng's first paper is accepted into Chem. Eur. J. And he's off to start his PhD with Dave Spring. Paper available here
September 20th 2010: Ahamed, Thiru and lots of other peoples' paper on how dihydroisoquinoline reacts with nitromethane is published.
September 6th 2010: Ahamed's review on catalytic asymmetric additions of C-nucleophiles to N-heterocycles is published.
August 6th 2010: Mat speaks on Open Science at Ignite Sydney. Mat's talk's currently the most watched from the night.
June 2010: Our lab's open science approach featured in Chemistry in Australia
May 11th 2010: Mat is awarded a Citation for Excellence in Teaching from the Faculty of Science at The University of Sydney.
April 6th 2010: Mat talks about open science at Google. The talk is picked up here.
February 4th 2010: Our open science project is the subject of a feature article in Nature


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Downtown business owners met at Mike's on Main in Hendersonville Tuesday to continue brainstorming ways to make parking easier for tourists and locals.
Correction: In this story, members of the Hendersonville business community discuss concerns about a three-hour time limit on metered parking downtown. According to city Public Works Director Tom Wooten, motorists may park in metered spaces for an unlimited number of hours.
Downtown business owners met at Mike's on Main in Hendersonville Tuesday to continue brainstorming ways to make parking easier for tourists and locals.
Ten business owners gathered to discuss how to improve parking signage, the possibility of building a parking deck, launching a shuttle service, adjusting meters and how to address the issue of employee parking. The merchants were joined by Ralph Freeman, a local business owner who is running for city council.
Several business owners complained that signage pointing to downtown parking lots was inadequate or improperly located.
Homer Freeman, husband of Mia Freeman, owner of Mia's Antiques & More on Main Street, said the signs pointing to parking lots need to be larger and much more visible.
"Maybe they need to be on the traffic poles to increase visibility," he suggested.
Ralph Freeman agreed that signage was "a No. 1 issue. Signage needs to be standardized, universal and comply with DOT regulations."
"If you're new in town, you're accustomed to seeing certain signage. Blue 'P' signs with an arrow for parking, for example," he continued. "If you see a sign that's somewhere off the curb or on a post that's not a common, universal sign that's been specially designed to be recognized, you won't see it."
"Main Street is not a DOT-controlled road, but the blue 'P' is what we're doing," said city Planning Director Sue Anderson. "They're usually at the mid-block location, so you have some time to notice the sign before you have to turn."
The city has installed new parking way-finding signs every year for the past few years, after each two-block section of street and sidewalk construction has been completed over the winter. The last of the signs will go up when the Fifth-to-Sixth Avenue section is completed later this summer.
Anderson acknowledged that the parking signs are "smaller than we would like to have liked."
Public Works Director Tom Wooten said he would have liked for the signs to be larger, "but they're so big right now that we were afraid that if they were bigger they would act like a sail and could potentially, if the wind got strong enough, tear down the street light post, and we certainly didn't want that to happen."
As for uniformity, Wooten acknowledged that "the signs directing people to the parking lots on Church or King are in a couple of different styles. We went from one style to another that's larger and more decorative to help catch people's attention to let them know there's a parking lot upcoming, but we would certainly like for those to be more uniform in terms of a way-finding signage. We've had some meetings about that with city staff and the Main Street committee, but when you start looking at way-finding signage, there's a whole big picture you have to look at."
Parking deck
"I used to be opposed to the idea of a parking deck, but what changed my mind was so many people telling me how many times they had to circle downtown in order to find a parking space," said Eva Ritchey, owner of Once Upon A Sign, who led the meeting.
"The lack of parking discourages locals a lot from shopping downtown," she added. "We all need to put aside our preconceived ideas and find solutions. It's time to put a parking deck on the ballot and let the citizens vote on it."
Ritchey said she feels City Council is ignoring the parking problem, and added, "We're not going to take no for an answer. We are going to get a parking solution. It's up to us to elect people who know what needs to be done."
She mentioned that Naples, Fla. had built "a very attractive, not intrusive" parking deck to address that city's parking problem and that Hendersonville should consider the same approach.
"We have to start looking at communities of our size and see what they're doing right," Ritchey said. "It's not a matter of what the city wants. We are the city. It's a matter of what we want. We have to move ahead and we have to get a plan."
Mike's On Main owner Patty Adamic mentioned that in the past there had been conversations between the city and several downtown churches that might help pay for a parking deck in the Dogwood parking lot at Fourth Avenue and Church Street, in part to accommodate congregants on Sunday.
It was her understanding that negotiations with the city broke down at some point, "but I'm wondering if the churches' offer is still open and if we can pursue that," she said.
Sherry Schmidt, owner of Four Seasons Christmas Garden D�cor & More, suggested that public restrooms be added to any parking deck designs.
"I don't have people coming in constantly to use the restrooms," she said, but when they do it's problematic, "because we use our restroom as a storage room, too."
Employee parking
Ralph Freeman said a parking deck was "not something that can happen overnight" and urged the group to focus on more immediate solutions, such as improved signage and finding adequate parking for downtown employees.
"We have to prioritize and go in steps," he said. "We need to focus on things that are doable today and don't cost the taxpayers money. First is signage, second is addressing employee parking."
Downtown employees should be required by their employers to park off Main Street, beyond Church and King Streets, Freeman said.
Robert Jaburg, kitchen manager at Hannah Flanagan's, said the restaurant requires just that.
"Employees have to park beyond King or Church," he said. "You can't park on another business's or another person's property, but any public spaces past King and Church are OK. Other restaurants on Main Street have the same rules."
"Until we can get an employee parking lot, we're not going to solve this problem," Ritchey said.
She suggested creating an employee sticker that would allow downtown employees to park in designated areas all day at no cost.
The group also discussed metered parking issues. Some merchants commented that often meters were broken and questioned why there was metered parking at lots off of Main Street when Main Street parking, which is more convenient, was free. The group generally agreed that a solution wasn't to meter Main Street, but rather to explore the option of eliminating metered parking in the surrounding parking lots.
"I would like to know what the revenues are from the meters and how many parking spaces there are," said Ralph Freeman.
In 2011, revenues from metered spaces totaled $43,700, according to Chad Freeman, Public Works assistant director. In 2012 that figure was $42,400. So far this year, revenues total $18,000.
According to City Clerk Tammie Drake, the city's lone parking enforcement officer is paid $32,716 per year.
Chad Freeman said that in the city's five lots, there are 93 leased spaces, 181 metered and 13 designated for drivers with handicapped permits.
From Seventh Avenue to Barnwell Street, between Church and King streets, there are 472 on-street parking spaces, including 12 handicapped spaces. There are also four small lots that include 47 leased spaces, he said.
There's no way to know how many visitors come downtown in any given month, said Henderson County Tourism Development Authority Executive Director Beth Carden. That said, she noted that in 2012 the Visitor's Center welcomed 12,000 visitors in June, 15,000 in July and 11,000 in August.
She also noted that on Friday evenings in the summer, the Visitor Center's "Music on Main" series attracts an average of 5,000 visitors.
The Visitors Center's parking lot "stays full every day, seven days a week" during the tourism season, she said.
Yet she added that "the Main Street Committee did a survey about six months ago that showed there was plenty of parking. The more we can encourage downtown employees to park away from Main Street, the more spaces we'll have for visitors."
Main Street property owner Carol Sitzer questioned the need for a meter time limit of three hours, noting that in other communities, shoppers can swipe a credit or debit card in a modernized meter and choose whatever time limit they would like, rather than having to run back to feed a meter that expires after three hours.
"At one point I had an antique mall where Shelley's is today," she recalled. "I would be there literally in the middle of a sale and a customer would have to run out the door to feed the meter. They still do it in shops today. And if they go out and find a ticket, they get angry. They've come to our downtown, shopped, eaten at a restaurant, maybe gone to the theater and they come out and have a ticket and they're angry.
"I want to find solutions," she continued. "I'm very passionate about Main Street. I wish City Council would be more responsive to the needs of Main Street. You take away Main Street from Hendersonville and what do you have? Main Street is the heart and soul of our town."
Reach Tanker at 828-694-7871 or firstname.lastname@example.com.


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Of course you do! A bodacious booty can be life-changing - in more ways than making you feel damn good about yourself. You see, a big, strong butt isn't just good to look at - it also comes with loads of benefits, like...
You've already tried so much stuff...
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The food you give your booty is critical to your curves and butt building success. Which is why you'll get customizable nutrition plans that show you exactly how to grow your booty while slimming your belly, how much of what foods to eat, what to eat before and after your workouts, how to choose the best booty-building foods, as well as quick and easy recipes and food hacks that show you how to get booty-boosting nutrition in as little as 5 minutes!
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If you already have muscular legs, you know that doing exercises like squats only makes them bigger (often without growing your butt)! And getting bigger legs might be the last thing you want - that's why we focus mostly on GLUTE-targeting exercises and avoid those that target your thigh muscles.
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Make no mistake: squats are great. But they're only one piece of the overall bigger, rounder booty puzzle. Truth is - your booty responds best to a variety of glute-focused exercises and we've chosen the most effective of those and combined them into a workout program that works your booty from ALL directions and ALL angles.
Doing squats alone - even if you do 100 squats - doesn't hold a candle to that.
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Do men have glute muscles?
Yes, and yes.
While men and women store fat differently - one thing that both genders have in common is the fact that we both have glutes. And the main glute muscle - the gluteus maximus - is the biggest, most powerful muscle in our bodies.
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Also, in our bonus section, "Just the Glutes, Please" - you'll find replacement exercises as well as tips on how to perform the best booty exercises to maximize glute activation while minimizing thigh activation.
Hell NO! Nothing motivates like vanity, but did you know that having a big, strong butt is actually GOOD for your joints and your overall health?
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STOCKTON - The idea came about sometime last year in a conversation between Stockton Police Chief Eric Jones and Tony Stevens, a car dealer and reserve officer.
STOCKTON - The idea came about sometime last year in a conversation between Stockton Police Chief Eric Jones and Tony Stevens, a car dealer and reserve officer.
Stevens noticed the time drain on patrol officers driving suspects they've arrested to the San Joaquin County Jail in French Camp for booking, when the officers need to be back on the street responding to new calls.
Jones was conflicted when people asked how to pitch in to the financially strapped force. He couldn't just take their money.
Six months later, Stevens is chairman of the Stockton Police Foundation, a newly formed nonprofit organization that will raise money to help in the city's fight against crime.
"If anyone needs one, it's us," said Stevens, who added that even before its public unveiling, they have verbal commitments of $200,000. "We've gotten so much support, it's not even funny."
Jones is expected to present the foundation to the City Council on Tuesday .
The group has already incorporated and last week opened a bank account. CPA Larry Solari, another founder, is working on getting the foundation tax-exempt status as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit.
The others working behind the scenes are Don Mann of Don Mann Yacht Sales, Matt Arnaiz of H.D. Arnaiz Corporation and attorney John Cammack. Jones also will serve on the board as a nonvoting member.
Stockton joins the likes of other California cities, such as Sacramento, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Oakland and San Jose, that have their own police foundations. A first use of the money will be to hire part-time officers.
Those officers will transport prisoners, freeing up beat cops' time so they can be on the streets. The foundation also will help buy the department crime-fighting computer software. Police foundations in other communities buy equipment and police canines.
"I'm excited by the response from the community and that they want to be part of this," said Sgt. Kathryn Nance, president of the Stockton Police Officers' Association. She called it "cutting edge."
Stockton residents have obviously grown tired of living with crime the way it has been, she said. This is also a direct response to the city's financial woes and bankruptcy, which has robbed the city of an adequate police force, she said.
It's forced the city and its residents to become creative, Nance said.
"It's something we need to try and give it a shot," she said.
As a board member, Chief Jones will make recommendations for what projects and purchases the foundation will support on behalf of the department. The foundation will mostly take donations, rather than hold dinners and golf tournaments.
Mayor Anthony Silva said he was impressed by the initiative coming from the community.
"A lot of these are business folks basically putting their money where their mouth is," he said. "I'm really excited about that."
Contact reporter Scott Smith at (209) 546-8296 or email@example.com. Visit his blog at recordnet.com/smithblog.


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Plaistow mother, boyfriend face witness-tampering charges in abuse caseBy JAMES A. KIMBLE
Union Leader Correspondent
March 06. 2013 11:32AM
BRENTWOOD - A Plaistow mother charged with neglecting to seek care for her 3-year-old son will be charged with witness tampering along with her boyfriend for coaching the youth on what to say to state child care workers prior to a home visit, prosecutors said.
Jessica Linscott, 23, now faces the prospect of state prison time after first being charged with six misdemeanor counts of endangering the welfare of a child. Her boyfriend, Roland Dow, 27, is headed to trial next month on charges of first- and second-degree assault for allegedly striking 3-year-old James Nicholson in the head and burning the boy's wrists and fingers.
The couple's latest troubles came to light during a bail hearing for Linscott Wednesday morning. Linscott and Dow remained on the run for two weeks beginning in late November until they were apprehended by U.S. Marshals at Universal Studios in Orlando, Fla.
Judge Marguerite Wageling denied a request by Linscott on Wednesday to have phone and in-person contact with her son.
Wageling decided that Linscott will be able to write letters to her son, but they first must be sent to county prosecutors before being passed on to the boy's therapist. Prosecutors say they obtained a computer video file that recorded Dow and Linscott talking to the boy on Oct. 23 just prior to a well-being check by a worker from the Department of Children, Youth and Families.
"Roland Dow and Jessica Linscott are speaking at different times," said Michael J. Zaino, assistant Rockingham County attorney. "The conversation ranges over lots of topics, but (includes) very specifically what he is allowed to say, what he is not allowed to say. He is not allowed to say he knew she was coming. It ranges from whether he gets bloody noses, whether he gets spanked, this takes up a span of 20 minutes."
Part of Wednesday's hearing was determined to be non-public by Wageling. Instead of holding the hearing in chambers, she called lawyers, Linscott and a witness to the bench. Wageling spent several minutes talking to the witness called by the defense, and then had lawyers make their arguments in open court. State law allows for matters concerning the Division of Children, Youth and Families to be shielded from the public.
Linscott and Dow are expected to each face two counts of witness tampering for the computer video recovered by investigators. Zaino said the file was recovered while executing a search warrant for a computer.


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ActionFlex padded weapons allow the user to easily spar and train at 100% of their strength and speed without the risks of injury or fear of pain while capturing all rigors of the full-contact experience.
The weapons are extremely cost-effective as they remove the necessity of bulky and expensive full body weapons-training protective gear. Always wear head gear and a mouth guard when sparring.
ActionFlex weapons come with a One Year Warranty, during which time ActionFlex will rebuild free of charge less shipping and handling any product that becomes broken, frayed, loose, torn, worn, or otherwise compromises the weapon's function and action.


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Why is anyone still wearing Ugg
boots? I haven't run a survey or anything, but a lot of people seem to be
wearing them lately. Due to thousands of women deciding to give Uggs a go again,
someone has tried selling Ugg boots to men. Presumably in the mistaken belief
that one idiot will be brave enough to risk looking like they steal their
girlfriends footwear.
Yay or Nay – Bib Shirts
Judging by what a lot of high-street stores have in stock, bib shirts (like the one to the left) seem to be popular right now. I'm not sure why. From a distance it just looks like the wearer has been sweating profusely in a asymmetrical pattern. Not the look anyone wants to go for.
Top Five: waterproof jackets
A light waterproof jacket is fast becoming an essential in this changeable weather.


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The Summer Olympics That Stirred the World
Rome 1960
The Summer Olympics That Stirred the World
Legendary athletes and stirring events are interwoven into a suspenseful narrative of sports and politics at the Rome games, where cold-war propaganda and spies, drugs and sex, money and television, civil rights and the rise of women superstars all converged to forever change the essence of the Olympics.
Using the meticulous research and sweeping narrative style that have become his trademark, maraniss reveals the rich palette of character, competition, and meaning that gave rome 1960 its singular essence.
- Simon & Schuster |
- 496 pages |
- July 2009


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FedEx Express invented express distribution and is the industry's global leader, providing rapid, reliable, time-definite delivery to more than 220 countries and territories, connecting markets....
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