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Window Box Thinlits and the Create with Connie and Mary Challenge #485
November 22, 2017
Happy Thanksgiving! It is Thanksgiving here in the US and I am feeling especially thankful and grateful. My son arrived last night (yay) and we are leaving soon to spend the day with even more family.
Today also is the Create with Connie and Mary Challenge #485. This week it is a color challenge. The colors are not exactly what I think about when I think of Thanksgiving. However the combination is a lovely one and it does make for a nice thank you card.
Can you tell from the picture the color combination?
I used the Window Box thinlits to create the peekaboo border. I was happy to discover that the square thinlits in the set line up just about perfectly and fit along the edge of a standard card. I love the colors peeking through the cut outs. You know what else is great? TheWindow Box thinlits are 10% off through the 26th! Yes, it is part of the Online Extravaganza!
Hope you are having a wonderful day and you are one of the things I am thankful for.


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If you want to stay on top of all of our video reviews of the latest tech, be sure to check out and subscribe to the Gear Live YouTube channel, hosted by Andru Edwards! It's free!
Thursday December 11, 2008 12:11 pm
Engineer Creates iPhone Dog Treat Feeder
Posted by Sheila Franklin Categories: Design, Handhelds, Videos
Stephen Cooper, a PhD student in Biomedical Engineering at the University of Florida, decided to take a CD spindle and an ioBridge, a smart board that requires very little skill and will set up an online interface page for you. Ninety minutes later he came up with a way to feed his pup Cooper remotely from his iPhone. Stephen explains on his site how you can make a similar gadget. We guess that his dog was happy once he got the hang of it, but we bet he would rather have had the 90 minutes with his best friend.
Read More | Stephen Cooper
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October is National Orthodontic Health Month! In addition to promoting the benefits of orthodontic treatment & the importance of good oral health, Owl Orthodontics has FREE prizes to give away all month. Simply submit the brief form below for your chance to win.
Alternative Buffalo's Birthday Show 2018
Monday, October 1st at 6:30pm – featuring:
- The Neighbourhood
- Joywave
- Flora Cash
Front Row Tickets to WYRK Fall Acoustic Show
On Monday night, October 8th at UB Center for the Arts, you will be part of a one-of-a-kind performance starring:
- David Lee Murphy
- Carly Pearce
- Tyler Rich
Frightworld Tickets
Buffalo's #1 Haunted attraction. Featuring 5 award winning haunted attractions this is America's biggest and best indoor screampark. Frightworld has been recognized by Buzzfeed, Travel Channel and Frighttour.com as one of the top haunted houses in the country.
Register to Win October Prizes
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Kevin Timoney, CEO and Managing Director of Executive Boards Australia today announced two key appointments as EBA continues its expansion in South Australia and nationally:-
Justine Pepper has been appointed as Manager, Human Resources and will develop EBA's strategic human resources capabilities. She has extensive human resources corporate experience having held a number of National HR Manager roles as well as having owned and operated her own SME businesses.
Justine's appointment will position EBA as your 'Out-sourced HR Partner' with the ability to undertake all of our client's essential human resources activities.
Andrea Timoney has been appointed to the Client Services Co-ordinator role which oversees and manages the member and client relations, board administration, financial management as well as managing the newly formed Adelaide Training & Meeting Room hire business.
Andrea brings a wealth of customer service experience having worked extensively in the hospitality industry as well as having commenced her undergraduate accountancy degree.
These are significant appointments that help to strategically position and enhance our position as the market leader in the advisory board and associated business services in the SME sector.
Both Justine and Andrea commenced on the 1st July 2013 and we welcome them and wish them both long and successful careers with EBA
Kevin Timoney
CEO & Managing Director


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Rumble Review Edition
This week we kick off the road to Wrestlemania with our review of the Royal Rumble and NXT Takeover: Phoenix.
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The quaint town square in downtown Carrollton feels like a place that time forgot.
A quilt store, candy shop, old-fashioned ice cream spot, an old American Legion Hall — it feels like wandering around dusty small-town Texas, despite being situated directly between I-35 and a DART rail line towering overhead. The mom-vibe wine bar, the decidedly un-craft coffee shop attached to a church, the hopelessly mediocre Mexican restaurant, the tiny movie theater frequently wishing the Beverlys of Carrollton a happy 85th birthday — "cool" isn't really the name of the game down here. But some restaurateurs are giving it a go.
Babe's Chicken Dinner House may be the biggest draw on the square, but Cane Rosso's Carrollton location has done well for itself, bringing owner Jay Jerrier's meme sense of humor, Star Wars kitsch and Neapolitan pizzas to a neighborhood in need of something that felt modern and fresh. Monkey King Noodle Co. tried to sling dan dan noodles from a quaint building next door, but the Deep Ellum upstart noodle shop recently threw in the towel after a few months.
After Monkey King's soup dumplings failed to entice Carrollton diners, Jerrier (who also owns Zoli's) swooped into the vacant space and opened a second DFW location of Cow Tipping Creamery, which Jerrier bought back when it was just a quirky Austin ice cream truck. After a brief stint in what is now Hello Dumpling in East Dallas, Jerrier originally operated CTC out of the old food truck on what used to be Monkey King's patio, but "now there is no danger of Cow Tipping Creamery rolling out of town in the night," Jerrier said in a press release. "The stackers are here to stay in Carrollton."
Cow Tipping Creamery is famous for its "stackers," over-the-top sundaes made with CTC's house-made soft serve. This is the soft serve spot's second DFW location; Jerrier opened a location at the Star in Frisco in summer 2017.
The new space feels appropriately Carrolton-quaint, but modern with a dog-friendly patio. And then there's the ice cream.
You can get CTC's soft serve in a large house-made waffle cone ($9.75), Hong Kong-style bubble waffle cone ($11) or as a "stacker" ($5.50, $7.75 and $8.75), an over-the-top sundae with a serious sugar rush.
The Reese's Witha'spoon is made with your choice of soft serve (chocolate and vanilla were the only choices on our first visit, but look for weekly special features), peanut butter blondie bar chunks, brown sugar hot fudge, peanut butter sauce and peanut butter chips. It's ... a lot, but Jerrier's concepts have always been a little extra, as the internet kids say.
The Southern Charm comes topped with rummy caramel sauce, honey dusted pecans, Southern cracker candy and blue sugar crystals, while the It's Your Birthday is overflowing with funfetti cake chunks, rainbow sprinkles, birthday cake crumble and white chocolate sauce.
The stackers are fun, but on our next visit, we're likely to opt for straight soft serve with chocolate sauce and sprinkles in a fresh waffle cone. It's solid, straight-forward soft serve that hits the spot when you're craving a grown-up version of fast food soft serve.
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It's a little pricier than the old-fashioned scoops you'll find nearby at Beth Marie's, but it's a fun treat to snack on while strolling the square and contemplating that geode you've been eyeing at the Nature's Gallery, the "old fashioned full service rock shop."
And as it turns out, Jerrier might be onto something by doubling down on the Carrollton square — $1 million worth of grants are about to help transform an old grain warehouse into the new home of 3 Nations Brewing. Downtown Carrollton has a little cool in its not-so-distant future.
Cow Tipping Creamery, 1309 South Broadway St., Carrollton. Open 4-9 p.m. Thursday, noon-10 p.m. Friday and Saturday and noon-9 p.m. Sunday.


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Join us for a free, tasty, community meal in your area each week!
From Bath to Birmingham, London to Langworthy, FoodCycle volunteers are cookin' up a storm across the UK.
Find your nearest project.
Fancy yourself as a waste-fighting superstar here at FoodCycle? All volunteer vacancies will be advertised here – come and join us!
Roll up your sleeves, get on your bike and join us in the fight against food waste!
FoodCycle volunteers are welcoming and committed people who want to create delicious meals and lasting relationships within their community.
Subscribe to get the latest news, volunteering opportunities, events and updates sent to your inbox each month. You can unsubscribe at any time. See our privacy policy for more information on how we use your information.


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Econ 103
Spring, 2000
HW#2 Answer Key
Gwartney and Stroup:
Chapter 2
Critical Analysis: 2, 7, 9 (2-3 sentences)
2. This makes very little sense. It would make a lot more sense to say that businesses gain by alleviating their customers' suffering.
7. This scenario is quite possible, but you have to compare private ownership to common ownership. Under common ownership, ranchers over-graze even if they aren't desperate to make money now! At least private property encourages ranchers not to over-graze when they aren't desperate. (It is also worth pointing out that a desperate rancher could borrow against the value of his land, and therefore need not actually ruin the land to rapidly get money into his hands).
9. I would expect (and know it to be the case) that the private plots would have a much higher value of output per acre than state-owned farms. The incentive to produce on private plots is large, the incentive to produce on state-owned plots is small. (You could also graph this in terms of quantity of labor effort supplied when the effective wage is small or large).
Chapter 3
Critical Analysis: 1, 2 (2-3 sentences)
1. It is even to analyze this in terms of supply and demand: just show a demand curve that starts out really high (people will pay a lot for their first glass of water), but then rapidly falls. Then draw a supply curve that intersects the demand curve at a low price.
Intuitively, you need to think in terms of marginal analysis. How useful is one more glass of water once you already have a lot? And how hard would it be to find more water if the price of water increased?
2. Low prices of medicine mean large quantities of medicine demanded. (Just look at the intersection of the demand curve with the x-axis, which shows the quantity people want if it's free).
This could definitely result in "too much" consumption: people may want very costly medical services that convey small benefits, just because they aren't paying.
Problems: 1
1. a.
b. The equilibrium price is $1.00/pound.
c. If the price were $.75, quantity demanded would be 110, while quantity supplied would be 40. Demand exceeds supply. There would be a shortage of 70 units.
d. If the price were $1.50, quantity demanded would be 20, while quantity supplied would be 120. Supply exceeds demand. There would be a surplus of 100 units.
Chapter 4
Critical Analysis: 1, 4, 8 (2-3 sentences)
a. The demand for large cars would increase - they are now cheaper to drive per mile.
b. The demand for small cars would decrease, because people are shifting to larger cars instead.
c. The demand for hotels would increase, because it is now cheaper to travel.
e. The demand for gasoline doesn't change! This confuses a movement ALONG the demand curve with a movement OF the demand curve.
a. Supply of ice cream increases - it is now cheaper to make a given quantity of ice cream, so suppliers will sell more at every price.
b. Supply decreases - it is now more expensive to make a given quantity of ice cream, so suppliers will sell less at every price.
c. Demand increases - some people switch from yogurt to ice cream.
d. Demand increases - when the price of toppings falls, people consume more toppings, and buy more ice cream to combine with the additional toppings.
e. Demand increases - as income rises, people can afford more of everything.
8. No - a surplus means that S exceeds D at the current market price. A good would not be scarce if the S and D curves intersected at a price of zero.
Problems: 3
a. Equilibrium price=$3.75; equilibrium quantity=155.
b. With a $3.25 price ceiling, consumers would want 180 bushels, but sellers would only sell 110. Thus, only 110 units would be produced and traded, and the marginal value attached to the 110th bushel would be $4.50. Both consumer and producer surplus could be increased if more apples were produced.
c. With a $4.25 price floor, consumers would want 130, but sellers would want to sell 250. 130 units would be traded if this floor were enforced. To maintain the floor, the government would probably have to set up licenses for selling apples, or else buy the surplus apples.
Additional Problems
Using supply and demand curves, draw diagrams to represent each of the following events.
1. How the creation of the internet affected the market for computer programmers.
The demand for programmers increased.
2. How the LA earthquake affected the market for concrete.
The demand for concrete increases.
3. How a drought in Columbia affects the market for coffee in the U.S.
The supply of coffee decreases.
4. How the repeal of import quotas (which limit the number of cars Japanese manufacturers can sell in the U.S.) on Japanese cars affects the market for suburban housing.
The demand for suburban housing increases.
5. Medical researchers find that computer monitors cause cancer. How does this affect the market for computers? (Hint: Think of all the people who use computers).
BOTH the supply and demand for computers falls. Why? The demand falls because some consumers will go without a computer for health reasons. The supply falls because fewer people will be willing to work in the computer industry due to the health risks.


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- Home
- Government
- Departments
- Planning
- Municipal Vulnerability Preparedness (MVP) Program
Municipal Vulnerability Preparedness (MVP) program
The Municipal Vulnerability Preparedness grant program (MVP) provides support for cities and towns in Massachusetts to begin the process of planning for climate change resiliency and implementing priority projects. The state awards communities with funding to complete vulnerability assessments and develop action-oriented resiliency plans. Communities who complete the MVP program become certified as an MVP community and are eligible for MVP Action grant funding and other opportunities.
The Town of Canton was awarded a $23,000 grant in 2018 to complete a MVP program. The Town worked with Kleinfelder on holding a workshop where key stakeholders will help us determine the Town's vulnerabilities to climate events. We have used this information to develop an assessment and action plan. This plan will allow the Town to be better prepared in our response to these events.
Stakeholder Workshop
The town held an invited stakeholder workshop on November 16th, and a final public listening session and report held on Monday, January 28th, 2019. The final report was completed in February 2019.


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NASHVILLE – Wilson County's unemployment rate for April dropped to a new record low, according to data released Thursday by the Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development.
Wilson County's rate of 2.2 percent, which was 0.5 percent lower compared to March's revised rate, rose one spot to fifth lowest in the state behind Williamson, Davidson, Rutherford and Cheatham counties, respectively.
Wilson County's rate in April represented 1,640 unemployed workers compared to a 75,560-person workforce and did not include those who did not file with the labor department or no longer receive benefits. Compared to the same time last year, the jobless rate was a 0.2-percent decrease.
Lebanon's rate for April decreased 0.6 percent to 2.5 percent compared to March and decreased 0.3 percent compared to a year ago. The city's rate represented 400 unemployed workers, compared to a 15,860-person labor force.
Mt. Juliet's rate for April was 2.3 percent, a 0.5-percent decrease compared to March's revised rate. It was a 0.1-percent decrease compared to a year ago. The rate represented 450 unemployed workers compared to an 19,630-person labor force.
Unemployment rates for 94 of Tennessee's 95 counties decreased in April. The unemployment rate in Maury County remained unchanged for the month.
Ninety-four counties had rates lower than 5 percent, and one county's rate was higher than 5 percent.
Unemployment in Williamson County dipped below 2 percent in April. The county's current rate of 1.9 percent marked a 0.5 percent drop from the previous month.
Davidson County's unemployment rate hit a record low during April; it dropped by 0.5 percent and landed at 2 percent. Rutherford County followed at 2.1 percent, while Cheatham, Wilson, Moore and Sumner counties each recorded a rate of 2.2 percent in April.
Along with Davidson County, Wilson, Sumner, Smith and Hickman counties marked record-low unemployment. Rutherford County tied its all-time low rate.
"County unemployment rates continue to be extraordinarily positive," said TDLWD Commissioner Jeff McCord. "Across our state we are now seeing unemployment rates at or below 5 percent become the norm."
Clay County had the state's highest rate in April at 5.6 percent, which was a 0.4 percent decrease from the previous month. Hancock and Rhea counties had the next highest rates at 4.9 percent. Those rates represented a 0.9 percent drop for Hancock County and the rate was 0.8 percent lower in Rhea County when compared to the previous month.
The April rate for the Nashville-Murfreesboro metropolitan area, which includes Wilson County, decreased 0.5 percent from March to land at 2.1 percent and was 0.3 percent lower than a year ago. The rate represented 23,040 unemployed workers compared to a nearly 1.1-million-person labor force.
Statewide, unemployment remained at Tennessee's historic low of 3.2 percent. It was the third consecutive month the rate was at the record level.
County unemployment rates are not seasonally adjusted, while the state and national rates use the seasonal adjustment to eliminate outside influences on the statistics.


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Mandatory evacuation ordered as Hawaii eruption hits four-week mark
By Jolyn Rosa HONOLULU (Reuters) – The Hawaii community hardest hit by the Kilauea Volcano was ordered sealed off under a strict new mandatory evacuation on Thursday as the eruption marked its fourth week with no end in sight. The Big Island's mayor, Harry Kim, declared a roughly 17-block swath of the lava-stricken Leilani Estates subdivision off-limits indefinitely and gave any residents remaining there 24 hours to leave or face possible arrest. The mandatory evacuation zone lies within a slightly larger area that was already under a voluntary evacuation and curfew.


text: This report is the outcome of a workshop on habitat classification in general and the concerted action EU project BioHab in particular, held in Stockholm in 2004. The main aim was to create an overview of Nordic classification and monitoring of habitats on a landscape level and to suggest improvements of the Pan-European BioHab habitat categories. Since only three countries represent the Nordic/Baltic region among a total of 13 partners in BioHab, it was necessary to collect knowledge and draw experience from additional Nordic colleagues. Experts from Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden participated. We live in a time of major, rapid changes to ecosystems that fundamentally affect the landscape and its dynamic patterns of habitats and biotopes. There is an increasing awareness of the need to acknowledge our accountability in order to sustain landscapes and biodiversity for future generations. Pan-European efforts to establish consensus regarding habitat classification and monitoring procedures are useful steps towards achieving these goals. The workshop confirmed that Nordic views on habitat classification and mapping differ from the mainstream in BioHab. A list of relevant literature was compiled to support the scientific descriptions of Nordic habitats in the BioHab field hand book. The workshop pointed out the significance of the Nordic Vegetation types developed by the Nordic Council of Ministers as a common denominator between the national and EU systems.


text: The Cleveland Indians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland, Ohio. The Indians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. Since 1994, they have played at Progressive Field. The team's spring training facility is at Goodyear Ballpark in Goodyear, Arizona.[2] Since their establishment as a major league franchise in 1901, the Indians have won two World Series championships: in 1920 and 1948, along with eight Central Division titles and six American League pennants. The Indians' current World Series championship drought is the longest active drought, and through 2016 is the fifth-longest in baseball history


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Jeezy Announces The Signing Of Boston George & Names Boo Rossini President Of CTE World @BooRossiniCTE @BostonGeorgeAMG #TDDJ2DAY
(Press Release) Earlier this week, platinum hip hop mogul and founder of record label CTE World, Jeezy, hosted a private dinner in Atlanta to welcome Boston George to his label, and announce the appointment of artist Boo Rossini as President of CTE World. The two solo artists have been working closely alongside the label for some time and the Houston native, Boston George, finalized his affiliation when he signed earlier this week.
During the dinner, Jeezy led a toast and discussed the two artists and the future of CTE. He later said, "I'm excited about the direction CTE is moving in and what we're building. Signing Boston [George] just made sense for us. He's about what we're about and ushers in a new wave of street rap to the label." He added, "And Boo [Rossini] has been my ace for years now. I'm proud of how he's grown as an artist and businessman. He's more than earned his appointment as President of CTE World."
Boo Rossini and Boston George also premiered their video, "Day 1," during red carpet arrivals and gave guests a sneak preview of their newest record, "F*ck the Summer Up" (FTSU) featuring Jeezy and Young Thug.
The two CTE artists have been collaborating on music since dropping their first conjoined project, Drug War (2012). Next month fans can look forward to the release their third project, Drug War 3, as well as plenty of visuals and solo projects from each artist. Boo Rossini, who has been a part of CTE for several years, was appointed President of CTE World earlier this month. Boston George is the first new artist signed to the label since his appointment. Prior to joining CTE, Boston George sparked the attention of labels with his project, Trappin in Traffic, hosted by DJ Drama and DJ Mr. Rogers. The project included features from Meek Mill, BIG K.R.I.T, Jeezy and Kirko Bangz.
For more information about upcoming releases, projects and performances, follow Boo Rossini and Boston George online: @BooRossiniCTE @BostonGeorgeAMG
Leave a Reply.
August 2017


text:
NMR Facies Definition for Permo-Triassic Kangan/Dalan Carbonate Formation by Use of Core/Log and Pore-Scale Measurements
- Authors
- Alireza Mardani (Petropars Limited) | Reza Rezaee (Curtin University) | Ashkan Asadi (Pars Oil and Gas Company (POGC))
- https://doi.org/10.2118/163102-PA
- Document ID
- Publisher
- Society of Petroleum Engineers
- Source
- SPE Reservoir Evaluation & Engineering
- Volume
- 16
- Issue
- 01
- Publication Date
- January 2013
- Document Type
- Journal Paper
- Pages
- 8 - 18
- Language
- English
- 1094-6470
- Copyright
- 2013. Society of Petroleum Engineers
- Disciplines
- 5.8.7 Carbonate Reservoir, 5.6.1 Open hole/cased hole log analysis, 5.5.9 Special Core Analysis, 5.1 Reservoir Characterisation
- Downloads
- 1 in the last 30 days
- 1,008 since 2007
- Show more detail
- View rights & permissions
|SPE Member Price:
|SPE Non-Member Price:
An integrated and quantitative approach is taken here to the Permo-Triassic Kangan/Dalan carbonate formation. We apply pore-network characterization to the problem of the classification of these complex carbonate gas-reservoir rocks. We start with the useful and convenient nuclear-magnetic-resonance (NMR) data on 28 samples to define NMR facies (NMRF). The NMRF grouping is performed with both the relaxivity constant (??2) and the specific-surface-volume (Sgv) data. Seven NMRF have been defined with a combination of core/log NMR data, petrographic image analysis, and mercury-injection examinations for two wells. The advantage of evaluation of the pore spaces rather than grain properties is to discover trends that are not apparent when one uses a conventional sedimentological facies definition. Lithology-independent NMRF exhibit properties that are associated with pore geometry. This should have special importance for the formation evaluation of carbonates.
|File Size
|Number of Pages
Alsharhan, A.S. and Nairn, A.E.M. 1997. Sedimentary Basins and PetroleumGeology of the Middle East. Amsterdam, The Netherlands: Elsevier.
Amaefule, J.O., Altunbay, M., Tiab, D. et al. 1993. Enhanced ReservoirDescription: Using Core and Log Data to Identify Hydraulic (Flow) Units andPredict Permeability in Uncored Intervals/Wells. Paper SPE 26436 presented atthe SPE Annual Technical Conference and Exhibition, Houston, Texas, 3-6October. http://dx.doi.org/10.2118/26436-MS.
Choquette, P.W. and Pray, L.C. 1970. Geologic Nomenclature andClassification of Porosity in Sedimentary Carbonates. AAPG Bull. 54 (2): 207-250. http://dx.doi.org/10.1306/5D25C98B-16C1-11D7-8645000102C1865D.
Coates, G.R., Xiao, L., and Prammer, M.G. 1999. NMR Logging. Principlesand Applications. Houston, Texas: Haliburton Energy Services.
Flugel, E. 1982. Microfacies Analysis of Limestones. New York:Springer-Verlag.
Friedman, G.M. and Ali, S.A. 1981. Diagenesis of Carbonate Rocks:Cement-Porosity Relationships, Reprint Series No. 10. Tulsa, Oklahoma:Society of Economic Paleontologists and Mineralogists.
Georgi, D.T. and Menger, S.K. 1994. Reservoir Quality, Porosity, andPermeability Relationships--Trans. 14. Paper presented at the Mintrop Seminar,DGMK and Ruhr Universitet Bochum, Germany.
Glorioso, J.C., Aguirre, O., Piotti, G. et al. 2003. Deriving CapillaryPressure and Water Saturation from NMR Transversal Relaxation Times. Paper SPE81057 presented at the SPE Latin American and Caribbean Petroleum EngineeringConference, 27-30 April. http://dx.doi.org/10.2118/81057-MS.
Hardie, L.A. 1987. Dolomitization: A Critical View of Some Current Views.J. Sed. Petrol. 57 (1): 166-183.
Lyne, A.M., Ortenzi, A., Idiomi, M. et al. 2002. Pore NetworkCharacterization. Well#1 Report No. 956, South Pars Gas Field, Iran:Eni-Agip.
Ogilvie, S.R., Cuddy, S., Lindsay, C. et al. 2002. Novel Methods ofPermeability Prediction from NMR Tool Data. Dialog 10.
Ohen, H.A., Ajufo, A., and Curby, F.M. 1995. A Hydraulic (Flow) Unit-BasedModel for the Determination of Petrophysical Properties from NMR RelaxationMeasurements. Paper SPE 30626 presented at the SPE Annual Technical Conferenceand Exhibition, Dallas, Texas, 22-25 October. http://dx.doi.org/10.2118/30626-MS.
Ohen, H.A. Enwere, P.M., and Kier, J. 2001. NMR Relaxivity Grouping or NMRFacies Identification Is Key to Effective Integration of Core Nuclear MagneticResonance Data with Wireline Log. Paper SCA-9942 presented at the InternationalSymposium of the Society of Core Analysts, Murrayfield Stadium, Edinburgh,17-19 September.
Prasad, M. 2003. Velocity-Permeability Relations Within Hydraulic Units.Geophysics 68: 108-117. http://dx.doi.org/10.1190/1.1543198.
Rezaee, M.R., Jafari, A., and Kazemzadeh, E. 2006. Relationships BetweenPermeability, Porosity, and Pore-Throat Size in Carbonate Rocks UsingRegression Analysis and Neural Networks. J. Geophys. Eng. 3(4): 370-376. http://dx.doi.org/10.1088/1742-2132/3/4/008.
Sharland, P.R., Archer, R., Casey, D.M. et al. 2001. Arabian PlateSequence Stratigraphy. GeoArabia Special Publication 2.Manama, Bahrain: Gulf PetroLink (www.gulfpetrolink.com), The Middle EastPetroleum Geoscience Website.
Volotikin, Y., Looyestijn, W.J., Slijkerman, W.F.J. et al. 2001. A PracticalApproach To Obtain Primary Drainage Capillary Pressure Curves from NMR Core andLog Data. Petrophysics 42 (4): 334-343.
Zamani, Z., Karimi, Z., Afshin, S. et al. 2004. Core Analysis and ReservoirCharacterization, Research Institute of Petroleum Industry (RIPI), Well 2Report.


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Friday Follies
Sigh. I'm having a Netflix Roadshow crisis. I had originally planned to throw financial caution to the wind to head out to see The Shining in Colorado. However, I have discovered that although they are showing the Kubrick version of The Shining, the screening location (the Stanley Hotel) was not Kubrick's shooting location. Instead it was the shooting location for the spectacrapular made-for-tv remake. I considered re-reading the book and going anyway, as its said that The Stanley was the hotel that inspired the novel...but I've just gotten word back that the hotel is entirely booked for the weekend. My second choice - a visit to San Fran to see Escape for Alcatraz at Alcatraz (and to possibly
But what of my impromptu vacation plans, based almost solely around a chance to watch films I can rent from virtually any video store? Harrumph. Well, I've never seen The Warriors..and I'm told I should. Maybe I should take this opportunity to kill two birds with one stone and see The Warriors and visit Coney Island. Ah..what to do, what to do? (Yeah, I know. Boo-hoo. My life is so hard.)
There's an extra long list of links today. Not because I like you (even though I do), but because it's a holiday weekend and I'm taking Monday off. And I'm trying to kid myself that I won't spend the whole day wasting time on the Internet.
- It's Thematic, See? Kubrick's first film. - [gab]
- Morrissey Says, "We're All Going Mad." Earlier this week I posted a link to Stevie Wonder on Sesame Street. Well, here are The Smiths on what appears to be a British kids's show. I can only marvel at (a) the song they chose to play in the background and (b) the song Sandie Shaw sings at the end of the show.
- Thank Heaves for YouTube, Or I'd Be Stuck Watching Regular Trashy TV: 100 Awesome Music Videos from Pitchfork-[D] and the YouTube Cartoon Index-[BM]
- And Speaking of YouTube: Thank Heavens for Umm..Yeah...which aggregates YouTube and such into channels. *Swoon*. -[SH]
- Stuff I'm Posting Just Because I Think It's Cool, But Don't Really Have Much To Say About:
- Harry Jr. Accessory Holder: I kind of afraid of it, and I sort of want one. -[G] (Also wanted: Ninha vs. Pirate bandages , Rejuvenile [EA] Not Wanted: Rapebear -[MF] and Tampon Doll -[C] )
- Beware your pants
- Worms say "Hi!" - [N]
- Wisdom from Cat and Girl
- Harryhausen Skeletons! | No. Just No. Badass Vamps Do Not Wear Hawaain Shirts . (Sorry, Blankbaby, but it's true.)- [CT]
- Magritte Mac -[K]
Permanent Link
On the Whole, I'd Rather Be Barefoot
My feet, like most feet, are rounded at the toes. So why do shoe
manufacturers insist on making work-appropriate shoes narrow and pointed
at the front? Whose feet are shaped that way?
Grr. Shoes.
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This Just In...I'm Not Immature...
...I'm just more highly evolved than you are. -[F&J]
And in other news: Nyah Nyah Nyah Nyah Nyah Nyah.
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Monday Morning Madness
So...it turns out there's worse thing than discovering you're sharing your living space with a squirreled; like, for example, discovering you're sharing your living space with a bear. Yeek.
- Monday Morning Quiz: Here.
- Superstition May Not Be The Way: But it was pretty awesome when Stevie Wonder performed it on Sesame Street (do musicians still do that? Perform on Sesame Street?) My favorite part is the kid rocking out on the fire escape.
- "Alack, good Sir Dave; I fear I cannot!" The Top 10 Classic SF Lines As Written by Shakespeare. - [SFS]
- This (Viral Advertisement) Video Is In No Way Safe For Work: But it does rather explain why construction projects seem to go on forever. If this is the way things really go on construction sites, I'm quite surprised things get built at all. Scruffs, Hardcore. - [F&J]
- Ew. Ew. Ew!: Just looking at photos of this Beer Battered Deep Fried Bacon Double Quarter Pounder is making my arteries cry out in pain. - [N]
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Friday Follies
A few music related items before we get to the goods:
- Is there, in existence, a pair of noise-reducing headphones that aren't the size of a small loaf of bread? I dig the chunky retro style of most versions, but as I'd be using these headphones on my commute and in the office, I'd prefer something more portable and less conspicuous. (Besides which, I have a nano, and it seems ludicrous to attach great big giant headphones to a teeny-tiny music player). Don't bother mentioning the in-the-ear style ones, my ears won't abide them Currently I'm using ear clips, which are quite comfortable, and a style I like, but they don't fare well in areas with lots of ambient noise (like, say, on the bus or in my office). Today, I had my music player turned out so loudly just to hear that Maria Callas' voice left my ears buzzing after I took the headphones off. And whereas there are worse ways to develop tinnitus than listening to Maria Callas, I'd rather not develop at all. So any suggestions would be most welcomed.
- People who talk about the past as "a simpler time" and "full of innocence" should really listen to some of those bygone era's tunes. Mack the Knife (1928 & 1954) is about a murder (Which makes that old McDonald's commercial sort of creepy.) Bobby Darin's Clementine is a callous comedy about a fat girl's run in with at rickety bridge (1960); Harry the Hipster (mid 1940's) sings about drink, drugs and sex. I know this, because these are the kinds of things I'm ruining my ears trying to listen to on my nano.
- Other inappropriate things on my music player lately: The Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band. Disappointingly, they have no songs available on iTunes, which is a pity, as I've just had an impulse to increase my Doo Dah Band collection.
- There's no Beatles stuff on iTunes either - and yet whenever I tell iTunes to populate my player with a random selection from my personal music library, several Beatles tracks always turn up. I think iTunes wishes Apple Computers and Apple Records could be friends.
- Tonight, I'm going to see Def Leppard and Journey live in concert. Go ahead. Be jealous. You know you want to. I think I might have to stop off and buy a lighter between work and the show. Monster Power Ballads and unintentional whiplash, here I come. Expect me to have no voice left tomorrow - even though I'll be trying to keep up with some vocalist I've never heard of instead of Steve Perry (feel free to be slightly less jealous).
- Real Life Merit Badges: At last, a reason from Worth 1000 to dust off my stupid sewing Merit Badge and put those skills to good use. I'm pretty certain I qualify for these. -[BB]
- Dork Out with Your Desktop: Decorate your desktop with scenes from your favorite games. -[C]
- Beeping Sleauty: And other spoonerifc Fairy Tales. - [MF]
- Write With Me: I'm still sticking to my desire to have my organs donated and my remains cremated when I finally meet my unfortunate end (hopefully many, many years from now) - but now I have a quandary. I previously wanted my remains scattered throughout the world (a little post mortem travel, if you will), but now I also kind of want my cremains made into a lifetime supply of writing implements. Perhaps instead of having my remains scattered, I can bequeath the pencils to travellers, to be used in their travel journals. That would be kinda groovy. I just wish it were something less delible. -[pa]
- And Speaking of Writing: May nothing I write ever end-up on..well...anyone's end. - [thanks, Deb!]
- I Should Have Put This First, To Carry on the Music Theme, But If I Had You Might Not Have Made it Through the Other Links: Loads and loads of 80s music videos. Yeah. See? Say goodbye to your productivity for the next few hours. (Oh Cutting Crew, how I've missed you.) - [#/u/b/g]
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Monday Morning Madness
You know, I intended to use last week's vacation as a chance to buckle down and get ahead on my mountain of personal projects. However, without the restritctions and rigors of a day job to work around, I found myself listless, rudderless; without focus. Aside from the odd social engagement, I had no particular place to be at any given time - so why rush to get work done on Monday, when Tuesday, Wednesday, and the ever distant Friday would do just as well. So instead of facing upcoming deadlines with a leisurely pace, I instead lived last week like a shiftless gadabout1, a wastrel, a sluggardly slugabed.
And my, was it heaven. Why did it have to end?
Alas - back to work - and to the links!
- Monday Morning Quiz: Here.
- This is Why You Should Always Carry a Swiss Army Knife, A Chocolate Bar, and Some Sodium Pentothal...Just in Case: List of problems solved by MacGyver. - [D]
- It's Cute. It Has Robots. It's Making Me Crazy: It's the latest version of Grow: Grow ver 2. Why can't these robots get along?!? (Speaking of robots..check out this tattoo, which I find simultaneouldy compelling and repusive) -[WW]
- Benefit from the Mistakes of Others: People share what they've learned from life. -[LH]
- Movie Tapestries: I don't necessarily recognize all the films represented here, but surely this is The Matrix, The Hobbit, Spiderman Harry Potter and Luke Skywalker all re-imagined as classic Russian(?) tapestries. (Also, I have no idea who the gentleman in the be-feathered hat and pink frock coat stealing data with his pocket USB key is meant to be, but I rather like him. He's Olde Tyme pimpin'). -[SH]
1 Albeit a gadabout with an inexplicable proclivity for historical sites and museums
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Friday Follies
- If This Were Real Life, I'd Need Coffee to Function ALL the Time (More Than I Do Now) Because If I Saw Those Golden People, I'd Never Sleep Again: Folgers has a new commercial. It frightens me. - [F&J]
- Speaking of Coffee: Obey the warning, fear me when I haven't had it. Make your own warning sign here. - [GB]
- I Just Had A Minor Geek Gasm: George Harrison sings a song about pirates, and is introduced by Eric Idle.
- You Know I Can Resist a Corruption of Beloved Children's Characters from My Youth: Care Bear Ethnic Cleansing. If only someone would do something similar to Scrappy Doo.
- And Speaking of Corruption: Apparently the Power Puff Girls have grownup, and not only have they gone to high school, but they've gone anime. (I wonder how long before we get PowerPuff Girls Z here.)- [FG]
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The Bad Shoe Diaries, Part Two - A Visit To Death Row
One quick lunch and coffee later, my camera and I were in Eastern State Penitentiary - the first prison of it's kind. Al Capone had a stay there. And even Dickens visited.1 If ever there was a place in existence to appeal to someone with a fascination for patina, decay, corridors and doors - Eastern State Penn is it. I have no idea why I'd not visited before.2.
Eastern State Pen is a ruin; one they're working to make into a "stabilized ruin" so that it can be preserved and toured without losing its history. This means it's crumbling, leaky, full of debris and broken glass, and several areas are off-limits to help stave off the possibility that parts of the ceiling will cave-in and crush a visitor. As an added precaution, all guests are required to sign a waiver saying that if such a cave-in occurs, the Pen is in no way responsible, because it's the guest's own damn fault for wandering around a crumbling, leaky, glass and debris riddled structure in the first place.
We Interrupt This Blog Post for A Public Service Announcement: If you're planning a day in which you will be wandering in a crumbling, leaky, glass and debris riddled structure, may we suggest that you plan your footwear according. Do not, for example, wear flip-flops - which are in no way protective, and which are barely shoes at all. Trust me on this one - even though somehow my feet survived. Thank you for your patience. We now return you to your regularly scheduled nonsense.
Above and beyond that, the prison is sad, atmospheric, eerie, haunting and heart-wrenchingly disturbing and beautiful. Along with the chilly, cavernous corridors, crumbling paint and overall damage, the prison has that wonderful smell I sometimes associate with very old books:-a smell that is simultaneously of dryness and damp; like leaves after a rain in late Autumn just before winter comes; a scent swollen with age and imprinted with time.
Ok, maybe not everyone considers that wonderful. But I like it.
I was more than a little put out that I had to share the experience with other people touring the facility. I jealously wanted this delicious, abandoned, emptiness to myself for a while, as though if I could be in there alone, the prison would reveal some strange secrets to me. I wondered, very briefly, how difficult it would be, to slip into one of the "off-limit" cells with partially opened doors and hide there until after closing so I could have solitary run o the place for the night - be both Prisoner and Warden. It would be difficult, certainly, as staff is stationed regularly throughout, but timed right, I don't think impossible.
Then I thought, "You want to spend a night, alone, in a two hundred year-old building that's collapsing from disuse - one that gives you goose shivers while you're walking through it in the daytime, while it is full of life? Are you mad? And more succinctly, do you want to be? Because I don't think you and sanity would be close friends come the next morning." So I avoided the other tourists as best I could, and didn't try to surreptitiously stay3.
I did, however, take about a zillion pictures. And I will not lie to you - I'm overwhelmingly pleased with how the photos turned out. They don't quite capture the essence or beauty inherent in the space, but I do think they give a general idea. There are a few instances where I applied filters to the photos (I figured people who were not me might get bored looking at countless photos of doors and doorways), and I've indicated those photos as such. However, some of my favorites in the set are untouched. Although some of them look like they were shot in black and white or are in other ways special-effecty (but which are not so marked)- it is really just a happy happenstance of the prison layout, the hazy sky, and my inability to correctly operate my camera.4
Incorporated into the prison space are a number of art exhibits that focus on and/or center around the prison and its history. My favorite is the Ghost Cats installation (pics), which "represent the colony of cats that took up residence in the prison grounds after the closing of the penitentiary in 1971." The most affecting, however, was the Pandemonium sound installation in this corridor5. Essentially, cells in both the upper and lower levels were rigged to make a noise as though someone inside was banging something metallic inside them. The noises being randomly and spaced apart - and then eventually become a call and answer, finally crescendoing into a riotous cacophony of chaos. Even knowing it's an exhibit (even being able to see the wires), the effect is more than a little unnerving.
And if the fact that an a sudden noise bursts from the darkness of the long-abandoned, decrepit cell which you happen to be photographing doesn't make you jump 3 feet out of your skin, well, then, you're a stronger woman than I.6
As I didn't make it to the Pen until nearly after 3PM, I didn't have all the time I wanted to explore. ESP is definitely on my re-visit list.
Although I'll be sticking to the offical, daylight hours. For the time being.
1 Although I find it funny they mention this, as he didn't have very kind things to say. Still, Dickens signed the guest books, ergo so did I, because I am a big book nerd.
2 I was there once before, for their annual haunted house - but that's very cartoony and doesn't give one a good feel for the space. Walking around the prison in broad daylight was considerably creepier than screeching and giggling at people in rubber masks.
3 It would be rather funny though, if I had, and then got busted for trespassing. Then I could tell people I had to go to prison for going to prison. And then I would laugh and laugh and laugh at the irony. (Because, as we already discussed, staying alone at night there would surely drive me mad and cause me to laugh riotously at ridiculous things.)
4 Several times, I would take a picture with the flash, then realize that the flash added a dimension of light and intensity to the color of the area that didn't actually exist - so I switched my camera to the ISO setting, which seemed to give truer results. (The difference is very noticeable.) Which is also why so many pics look like they were shot in the dark. They were.
5 Incidentally, the corridor numbering system I use in my photos is in no way related to the numbering system actually used by the prison. Their numbers have to do with organizational location, whereas mine is more "This is the 4th photo I took of a cell." So don't use my pictures as a roadmap. Not that you would, but I wanted to make sure you knew just in case. After all, I didn't have the foresight to get you to sign a waiver.
6 And I wanted to spend the night? Man, if that thing continued after closing, I wouldn't have made it an entire hour before I was a sobbing pile of goo in the circular center room.
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The Bad Shoe Diaries, Part One - Live Girl Walking
This was meant to be a short post about my day. As it happens, I'm not so good with the short. So I'm taking one day and giving it two posts. It's my blog. I can blog what I wanna.
I have an odd exercise cycle. Essentially, I sit on my ass in front of the computer and/or other passive entertainment for 20 odd hours a day for 50 odd weeks a year. Then - every once in a while I take a vacation - and for those vacation days I walk and walk and walk as though I've never walked before. I will walk from one end of town to the other. Across bridges. Along an underpass. I'll walk from dawn till dusk, have some supper and then walk some more.
And I almost always do it in the least sensible shoes possible. Which is why it usually takes me 48 weeks to recover before I do it again.
I had intended to do yesterday's walking in NYC, but once I discovered waiting in line for tickets to Shakespeare in the Park was a half-day commitment in and of itself, I decided to do some local sight-seeing instead. Because my family is ridiculously generous, I got a new camera for my birthday, and there are two local spots where I was itching to take it: Laurel HiIl Cemetery and Eastern State Penitentiary. So I set out with the idea of doing one or the other - and if I had the energy maybe both.
I didn't have the energy. But I'm stubborn, so I did both anyway.
Laurel Hill is a historic Philadelphia cemetery, and one to which I have been before. It is full of names locals will recognize (Wharton, Rittenhouse, etc), stretches along rolling hills and overlooks the river. It was specifically designed to be a beautiful and welcoming place - one people would enjoy, rather than dread, visiting. People used to picnic there apparently - a practice they no longer allow because people leave messes behind. It's a shame really - because being built into the side of a hill, the terrain is uneven, and unpredictable. Making one's way through the grounds is not unlike hiking, except that most of the flowers you see are made of stone. It's a great exercise, walking through Laurel Hill.
We Interrupt This Blog Post for A Public Service Announcement: If you're planning a day in which several hours of walking over hilly, unpaved terrain, and climbing up and down the occasional crumbling stone staircases, may we suggest that you plan your footwear according. Do not, for example, wear flip-flops - which are in no way supportive, and which are barely shoes at all. Trust me on this one - even though somehow my feet survived. Thank you for your patience. We now return you to your regularly scheduled mad woman's ramblings.
It's strange, although I find a certain beauty and peace to cemeteries, I've never gone to one with the express purpose of visiting the grave of someone I have known. It never occurs to me to commune with the dead in that way. I understand the appeal of it; having a physical touchstone for a memory. I suppose I dislike the idea that one has to go to one's grave to confer with their memory - as though their conciousnesses somehow keeps with their remains for all eternity, and their grave marker works like a direct line. Which is not to suggest people who go to visit the graves of loved ones think of the markers as some sort of Star Trek communicator badge to the Netherworld; it is simply how it plays out in my head. It's one of the reasons I want to be cremated and scattered when my time comes. I can't abide the idea of being tied to one place for all eternity.
Regardless, I do enjoy graveyards. Laurel Hill was specifically welcoming today - the weather was hazy and humid although not hot; the grounds were green and full of wildlife, the air was heavy with what I believe was honeysuckle, and. aside from some squirrels and birds (and the occasional groundskeeper), I was on my own for several hours. It was near to heaven
I am always amazed at what people put on grave markers - a sword if they were a solider, a caduceus if they were a doctor, a religious symbol if they were religious1, an upside down torch if..well...apparently, if they were dead. 2 Several tombs also had religious sayings, several of which were lovely, but I really can't help but wonder why, if this is the last thing you have to say to mankind. This is your absolute last and lasting word - why wouldn't you say something more about yourself - not what you did but who you were? Over and over again I felt myself wishing I could learn more of these people and their stories, that each marker came complete with a small brass plaque explaining something about them, like one might find at a museum.3
Mind you, there were a few that were descriptive. This man was an art lover who died too young, this man apparently fought for prisoner's rights,4 and this grave told a sad story without ever saying much at all. Of all the graves I visited, however, this simple one made me the saddest - even though I think it said more about the wife of the departed than the departed himself.
However this one, although also sad, was my favorite of the day. It was set off alone on a bluff and its statuary faced the river rather than the cemetery; entirely solitary. Here is what the side says:
This is apparently a quote from Aristolte - but if you're going to let someone else have your last word - that's sure an amazing one to choose (or have chosen for you, I suppose). I'm quite enamoured with it.
Other than seeking out stories, myself focusing on the graves that were damaged or crumbling - either by acts of nature or simply time. I don't know what it says about me that I am especially drawn to things that have been damaged or worn away by time; what it means that I find beauty in the natural order of decay. I have a fondness for fallen tombstones, those titled by the shifting ground and/or worn away near to dust by sun and wind. I think it may be because it's a reminder that time moves infinitely on. And when time goes on, life goes on, and there's something hopeful in that.
You musn't think that although I took pictures of lots of broken things that Laurel Hill is negligent in it's upkeep. It's just massive, and time will have it's way. I saw several people working on the grounds while I was there (all very welcoming and friendly),5 and quite frankly if I ever change my mind about the burial business (although I doubt I shall), I hope I can be buried here, so people will feel comfortable and happy and restful if they come to talk to me at my grave. In fact, I hope that even if I don't change my mind, that I can have a marker here; preferably one that faces the river. Put an icon of an ink well and quill pen, or my blog banner or just a picture of me sticking my tongue out on the top. And hey - if I can't have a marker there, come visit me there when I'm dead anyway. I'm sure if you talk to any of those who are resting there, they'd be more than pleased to pass on the message.
1 I once had the unhappy occasion to be in a cemetery planning office. While there, I overheard one half of a telephone conversation in which someone was ordering a tombstone. Apparently the individuall in questionhad originally requested Cross iconography - but also wanted to indicate to all who came after them that they loved their dog. Apparently, there was no way to include both God and Dog on the grave marker, so they "86ed the Cross." It may not sound funny now, but it was hysterical at the time. Or maybe I was just hysterical. Trust me. It was funny.
2 I can't help but wonder what the grave marker symbology of our generation will be. Will we feel inclined to include images of cell phones on our graves to show we were important; laptops to show we were connected, or Tivos to show we never missed our favorite programs no matter how busy our lives became?
3 Because what is a cemetery, if not a people museum?
4 And is it me, or is his monument somehow suggesting he is in some way related to the Christ being absent from his tomb on Easter Sunday?
5 Although I gave the one carrying a rifle (presumably to frighten off unwanted animals?) a wide berth. I like Laurel Hill quite a bit, but I'm in no hurry to take up permanent residence.
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Monday Morning Madness
My karma must be extra good this week; my inbox is virtually overflowing with Winner Notifications from international lotteries the world over. Who knew you could win millions of dollars in games of chance without even entering. It's crazy! I must have the luckiest email address ever.
You can bet I'll be eschewing work in light of this windfall. 1 Here's a list of links to keep you occupied while I fax my bank account, social security, and other life controlling numeric sequences to
perfect strangers the international prize awarding communities for what I am certain are completely benevolent, non-nefarious reasons. When the cash starts rolling in, you can help me decide how to spend it. (I was thinking of purchasing my own small country to rule...sort of a practice dictatorship until I achieve world dominion.):
- Monday Morning Quiz: Here
- How Are You Feeling (The Internet Knows): We Feel Fine is an fun little web app that identifies blog posts about feelings, collates them, and makes them searchable with an adorable graphic interface. The best part is the search function, which lets you (among other things)find feelers in your area. (thanks, Debbie!)
- Do You Dream of Flying?: Jon Von Holleben's Dreams of Flying photo project is whimsical and wonderful. - [AT]
- Is This What Happens When You Eat Too Many Mushrooms (MUSHROOMS!?: Zombies^3. (Why does the virus have a goatee?) -[SFS]
- Speaking of Zombies: I despised House of 1,000 Corpses, but was pleasantly surprised by The Devil's Rejects. I feel as though Rob Zombie is continually growing as a director, and that he has a good movie in him. I'm just not sure that movie is part of the Halloween franchise. (Will I see it? Naturally.)
1And because, as it happens, I'm on vacation this week.
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I'm Seriously Considering
making the out to
Colorado for the screening on the 16th
Naturally, I would stay at the hotel.
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Friday Follies
Dear Universe: I don't know what I did to deserve the positive karma, but thanks for a week full of pleasant surprises. (I complain a lot, so I just want to make sure I return the good vibes too.)
- Where Was This Video When I Was Taking American History? My Reports Would Have Rocked: George Washington. If this rock video is to be believed, our antecedent prez was one bad ass. (if you're watching at work, keep the volume low or put your headphones on. History is full of cartoon violence and naughty language.) - [sb]
- The Monkey Chow Diaries: One man's week-long quest to discover if man can live on Monkey Chow alone. Ah - the lengths some people will go to to avoid cooking and cleaning. (If he suffers no ill effects, how soon do you think before they start marketing People Chow for the rest of us lazy primate evolvees?) Also check out the blog and the daily vlog.) -[SF]
- For Those of You Who Can't Wait for Snakes on a Plane (You Know Who You Are): Tide yourself over with this video: Someone tell Sam Jackson he's my Bro. (audio NSFW)
- Ahh! Eek! Aiee! Creepy! (And I Sort of Want One): Genpets: pre-packaged, bio-engineered pets, available with a 1 or 3 year life span. Allergen free or not, pets should not come with "fresh strips." - [MF]
- Things You Know In Ways You Might Not Expect:
- Avenue Q's The Internet is for Porn using footage from X-Men III. (audio NSFW) Having not yet seen X-Men III, I don't know that I will be able to watch it with anything resembling a straight face. - [TSA STOTI]
- The Hoff does Secret Agent Man. - [av]
- Bugs Bunny 8 Mile spoof. (probably NSFW)
- Othello (abridged), as performed in the World of Warcraft.-[MF]
- Bollywood's take on the Bealtes I Wanna Hold Your Hand. -[SH]
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32 Going on 3 (A Post Full of...Aw Heck...There Realy Isn't Even Sound And Fury. Just...You Know)
Last year, Grant from Discombobulating Grant recommended that I declare June The Month of Sarcasmo, in recognition of both the anniversary of my birth and, no doubt, my inevitable future as your Most Exalted, Supreme, Almighty, Beloved Ruler of All Things. However, as June happens to be a popular month for birthdays among those I love and respect1, I certainly am not about to claim it all for myself.2
However, as the end of my 33rd year is nearly upon me, I thought it would be prudent to wrap up what I started with this post last December. Although I have to tell you, the first have of my 33rd year was far more action packed than the past six months. Which isn't to say I haven't been having a good time...it's just been in a distinctly quieter way.
I hope this isn't a sign that I'm slowing down in my dotage. I'd like to think that it just means I'm storing up energy for more wacky adventures. I'm simply not ready to start wearing purple and red. (They're not my best colors.)
Jan: The bulk of my January focused on my trip to London, which I naturally blogged about in excruciating (for you) detail. As you might have guessed from the ridiculous amount of time I devoted to recounting the trip, I had a fantabulous time. Also, all the theater I saw while there has inspired me to plan a trip to NYC to see Shakespeare in the Park.3
Feb: The most exciting part of my February, the month where Western culture celebrates romance? I got new glasses. If that's not the perfect indicator of the state of my love life, I don't know what is. (Also in February, I discovered that people who know me refuses to believe I'm shy. As I spend a fair amount of time at social occasions standing awkwardly quiet, I can only imagine this means that assume that rather than shy, I am snobby and aloof. Which, in retrospect, may have something to do with the love life issues.)
March: Went to a casting call to audition for a small role in a zombie movie; where "went to casting call" is defined by "went to a dark house in a strange neighborhood alone one night in response to an email without telling anyone exactly where I was going4" and "audition" is defined as "screaming, flailing, and falling down at the hands of an unseen assailant5." Luckily for me, they decided to let me be in the movie despite my amateur theatrics. Don't go wriitng my IMBD entry just yet; If I have more than 5 minutes of screen time total, I'll be very surprised. Still, I have had a handful of shooting days, play a character who has a name (a step-up for me, as in my last cinematic adventure6 I was an unnamed victim in a film full of victims), had opportunity to participate in some special effects shots, and got to ask the question, "Hey, is it ok if I poke around my intestines a bit?" without it being inappropriate or creepy7 and have been having ridculously good time. In the course of film, I've discovered a heretofore hidden talent: apparently I am capable of screaming bloody murder on command. I have absolutely no idea when this particular skill will prove useful again, but it has been gratifying to learn that all those years of watching scary movies wasn't for naught.
The best part of the experience so far has been the chance to meet and interact with some amazingly talented and creative people8. Ok -that's an exaggeration. The best part is I get to be in a zombie movie9. But the 2nd best has been meeting the people. Definitely.
(For the record, I have no idea about if and when you'll be able to see it, if ever. Filming is still, in fact, underway. If I hear anything definitive about the final product, I will let you know. For the time being, it is my ongoing giddy thrill.)
April: Cursed April - the month I fought my nemesis, that blasted squirrel. And nearly lost. I'm still not entirely sure it's not somewhere biding it's time.
May: Started my newbie life at Playing with Monsters, because I didn't have nearly enough hobbies that involved me sitting down and staring at a small, rectangular screen, and wasn't doing enough to encourage the development of carpal tunnel syndrome in my life. And, naturally, the Internet can't get enough of my uninformed opinions.
June: Well, it's early yet. So far, the biggest accomplishment has been making the the papers without having to bear Brad Pitt's or drop Britney's Spears' babies. So that's something.
Not sure what's next on the agenda...but I will note that last June I both met Bruce Campbell (swoon) and saw Skeletor sing live. And I'm quite expecting this June to live up to last year's.
I'd be pleased if it were something involving pirates.
Or Bruce Campbell as a pirate. That'd be a way to usher in 33.
1 October may be a very slow month for some people.
2 The complete and utter world domination thing is still all me though. Sorry guys.
3 And in case any hometown folks are worried, I've been to a handful of local theatrical productions between then and now. I haven't forgotten Philadelphia's own theater scene, so please don't come beat me with your copy of Playbill.
4 If my life were an actual horror movie, I would never make it to the credits. Hence my new tagline. There was a point at which I began to wonder if actual serial killers advertised for their victims on Craigs List, but I found myself ringing the doorbell anyway.
5 Oh yeah? What would you have down with the stage direction "Act like you're being killed," I ask you.
6 The final product of which, I believe, was lost forever due to technical difficulties.
7 Well, ok, not too in appropriate or creepy.
8 If you ever want to feel like a complete and utter creative slacker, try spending a few hours in a room full of artist/musician/painter/dancers. And I mean people who actually perform and have showings and, well, make movies...and not just talking (or blogging) about the possibility of maybe doing it someday.
9 At least in theory. I try to remember that not all characters make the final cut. I'm all for enjoying the process now - and should I make the final cut, then I'll enjoy actually being in the picture.
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Monday Morning Madness
- Monday Morning Quiz: Here
- When Books and Bands Collide: Booking Bands is a list of book/band mash-ups. I would love to read: The Who Moved My Cheese and Of Mice and Men Without Hats. And I would absolutely pay to see Abba Karenina & the Slaughterhouse Jackson Five live. -[K]
- Umm...O-Kaaayyy: Back to the Vampire. It's Back ot the Future fan fic - but all the usual BTTF suspects are now vampires. - [CT]
- Sometimes One Letter Makes All the Difference: Mispelled Movie Titles. (Is it terribly wrong that I'd like to see this movie?)
- And While We're On Movies - Here's News of More Remakes To Raise My Ire:
- The Weinsteins to remake Seven Samurai. First of all, it was already remade as The Magnificent Seven. Secondly - there's no good reason to remake a Kurasowa picture. Just re-release them. -
- Live action remake of Rank-Bass's The Year WIthout a Santa Claus. That piteous wailing you hear is my childhood weeping.
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I Am a Rock Goddess
I've been playing Guitar Hero all weekend, and I assure you, I'm totally rocking. Such are my video-game based rock-n-roll skills that today I got the following spam in my inbox:
I'm the webmaster of [redacted].com which is a website for our print magazine. We have a featured story on Bleed The Sky which is on our web site and potentially in a print edition. Your site was suggested as an addition to our very popular collection which will be useful for our visitors/readers. You can find the link to your web site here:
[redacted so as to not give free advertising]
Choose the category of Heavy Metal Band under the sub-category of Bleed The Sky
That's right. I'm so hardcore I'm Heavy Metal. Feanor - bring on the arockalypse. I'm ready.
In a completely unrelated aside, many, many apologies to Eric Clapton. I swear my Crossroads always sounded awesome when I played it on the good, old-fashioned air-guitar.
Permanent Link
So...Umm...Hi There
Welcome to everyone whose visiting for the first time via Sarcasmo's Corner's write up in the Image section of Sunday's Inquirer.1 And a very special welcome to those of you who read the print version rather than the on-line version, then put the paper down, walked over to your PC and actually typed the URL in by hand. Let me be the first to congratulate you for your dedication to information retrieval. (Personally, I can barely be bothered to visit a webpage that I can't click a hyperlink to get to. The Internet has made me that lazy. I cannot wait for the day we can surf the web with our minds.) And to those of you who are visiting because you recognized my name from a zillion years ago and thought, "I wonder whatever became of that quiet, weird girl." - now you know. I grew up to become one of those people who is Willfully Snarky on the Internet.
Hardly a surprise, really.
What was a surprise was being included in this list. Philly's got an active blogging "scene," and many local bloggers write about interesting, thoughtful things - things that can help raise awareness and help humanity. I, on the other hand write about swear words, my battles with furniture and electronics, that most insidious of yuppy luxuries, ennui, and, naturally, my ongoing quest for complete and total world domination. (And, of course, I do a good, old-fashioned link dump now and again. Which is the only reason I can see that people come here anyway.) So, being asked to be interviewed was humbling, surprising, and a bit weird for me. Thankfully, Dan Rubin (a blogger himself) was delightful to talk to. And he's got good taste in music to boot.
The most difficult question I had to answer in this whole process didn't come from him though, but from photographer Eric Mencher (also a blogger himself), who asked me:
""Where is a good place to do it, a place pertinent to you and your blog?"
To which I responded:
"I think the best way to sum it up would be a photo of me surrounded by a pile of books, and posing with a zombie, a pirate, a robot and a monkey."
You know. Because monkeys are funny.
It is a credit to his professionalism that he showed up to take my picture anyway. In the end (pirates and monkeys being sadly unattainable), we went with me posing near the Charles Dickens statue in Clark Park. I chose this for two reasons: (1) I blog about books quite a bit, and Dickens in one of my all-time favorite authors; and it is after one of his characters that my pet robot is named) and (2) like me, the statue is quietly and surprisingly inappropriate. (Dickens specified that he never wanted a statue of his likeness made, and England sent it back when we tried to gift them with it. Oops). It's a further credit to Mr. Mencher that I look like a vaguely normal human being in the photo. Believe me, I'm a photographer's worst nightmare...posed photos of which I am the sole subject make me extremely nervous. I fear the camera's giant, all-seeing, cyclopean eye.
So many thanks to both Eric and Dan for making me seem
like a normal person considerably less spazz-tastic than I am in real life. Now that you're here, you can see that my normalcy is merely a myth perpetrated by the mainstream media. Hopefully, you're not too disappointed.
If you're disappointed because you came looking for the "Linky Bits," you'll have to hold on until Monday. My blog, my arbitrarily enforced rules.
This Post Has Been Updated, Because My Vanity Knows Few Bounds:
I just realized that it's possible to get the Sunday paper on Saturday (well, except for the actual news bits, since they keep happening whether it's the weekend or not) and it turns out there are actually two photos accompanying the blurb. Here's a scan of the second.
Also, Amen's quick comment on the article is going to make it impossible for me to every watch Star Trek, TOS without bursting into hysterical giggles ever again. Thanks alot.
Further Updated for Ren: The Squirrel from Hell post.
1 And if you're a regular reader - thanks! Also, check out the other blogs in the article. It's some cool stuff.
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Friday Follies
Today I noticed a woman walking down the street and thought to myself, "Damn, she's really working that skirt." She seemed entirely unaware of it - unaware of the world actually - but the whole world was aware of her. I rather image one could see her hips undulating from space. I looked down and scowled at my own ample hips. "What can't you do that?" I silently recriminated them. I can't work a skirt. I can't even really wear them successfully. Even during my wedding, my most girliest of days, I loped down the aisle so casually that I might as well have been wearing jeans and flip-flops.
Actually, I wouldn't have minded jeans and flip-flops. The dress was his idea.
In any case, I sometimes feel that I'm missing that gene other women seems to have that allows them to sexy and feminine. Briefly, very briefly I considered that finishing school might be the answer. Fear not...I quickly came to my senses. I expect after five minutes of my saying "...but that's uncomfortable," "...Patriarchal tools of repression...," ..."but I enjoy horror movies...," "...I refuse to pay $200 for a pair of shoes that are so impractical to walk in that I would have to spend $40 a day on cabs just to get around," and "nylons? In summer?" and "...when you start expecting men to enhance their looks with makeup every day just to look 'put together' you can start expecting it of me..." and "...what's wrong with a heated debate?" ...before they daintily tossed me out of my
ass posterior. (I'd pass the part of the course where you eat and drink with a raised pinky though - I'm surprisingly aces at that.)
And really, that's not the kind of finishing I want. Where's the finishing school for femme fatales? How does one learn to look like a pulp noir heroine; the girl the bad boys want to take advantage of, the good guys want to protect, and the one everyone's mothers warned them about? How does one develop those heavy-lidded eyes, that sense of survival, that walk? (So long as I can accomplish it in flip-flops or sneakers. There isn't a good-looking, double-crossing, fast-talking cad or cop with a heart of gold alive that's worth the blisters one gets trying to tromp around the city in heels.) Forget manners - where do I get the moxy?
Right. Enough of my rambling. On with the links.
- Grrr...Stupid Vikings: Tower Blaster may seem like a simple enough game. And it is a simple enough game. And if I could ever make it past level three, I'd feel as though I could move on and do something else with my life other than competitively rearrange numbered bricks. Just one more round; for now it is a point of honor. (Sigh. Oh well. At least the sound of my tower top point person plummeting to his doom is kinda cute.) - [!/u/b/g]
- When Superheroes Meet The Renaissance (by way of Worth1000): Beautiful and amazing things happen. From the Superhero ModRen 2 competition. - [bb]
- More Picture Mash-Ups: This time from Something Awful: Video Games According to Grandma.
- When Star Movies Collide: William Shatner sings to George Lucas. Isn't there a rule against these two franchises crossing the streams? Is the world going to implode now? (I think perhaps it should.)- [DB]
- Not as Cool as Snakes on A Plane, but Pretty Damn Close: Squirrels With Cameras. - [J-WB]
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text:
Do Competitive Priorities Drive Adoption of Electronic Commerce Applications? Testing the Contingency and Institutional Views
Document Type
Publication Date
This paper expands on recent research by Huang and colleagues examining the drivers of electronic commerce (e-commerce) adoption. Two competing theories are evaluated as predictors of e-commerce adoption: contingency theory and institutional theory. For the contingency view, we focus on three strategic priorities (cost, flexibility and delivery), and for the institutional view, we examine three institutional factors (region, industry and information technology benchmarking). The model is evaluated with logistic regression analysis using survey data from nine countries and three industries. While contingency theory is the norm in the literature, we find only limited evidence that competitive priorities guide e-commerce adoption. By contrast, institutional factors have greater explanatory power.
Publication Information
Huang, Xiaowen; Gattiker, Thomas F.; and Schroeder, Roger G.. (2010). "Do Competitive Priorities Drive Adoption of Electronic Commerce Applications? Testing the Contingency and Institutional Views". Journal of Supply Chain Management, 46(3), 57-69.


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Lansing, Mich., Jan 30, 2019 / 12:14 pm (CNA).- The author of a book on Catholic teaching regarding homosexuality and chastity is accused of forming a sexual relationship with a minor about 15 years ago.
Daniel Mattson is the author of the 2017 book "Why I Don't Call Myself Gay: How I reclaimed my sexual reality and found peace," and a frequent speaker on the Church's teachings on homosexuality. He is closely associated with the Courage apostolate and appeared in the 2014 documentary "Desire of the Everlasting Hills."
On Monday, a man whom CNA has identified as Jonathan Wright alleged on Twitter that he and Mattson began in the early 2000s an online relationship that eventually included sexual interaction via webcam and phone. No physical contact is alleged to have taken place.
Wright said Mattson provided him with prepaid telephone callings in order to keep the phone sex a secret from his parents. The two spoke almost daily for three or four years, Wright alleged.
He said that the relationship began when he was 13 and Mattson was around 30.
"He knew I was only 13," Wright tweeted Jan. 28.
Eventually, Wright alleged, the relationship came to an end. He said Mattson had a relationship with a woman, and the two stopped talking.
"Dan now tweets about homosexuality being a sin. He seems kind and only wants 'children of God' to be treated with dignity/respect. But he still believes my relationship with my husband is a sin."
"He needs to understand that he has a responsibility. He's hurting young kids lives," Wright tweeted.
"I just hope for justice," Wright told CNA Jan. 30, adding that "I would like if Dan would talk on it."
"And if someone has a similar situation, for them to realize that it wasn't ok for that to happen," he added.
Mattson was not available for comment.
Mattson's book recounts his own experience with homosexual attraction. He has said that he had his first homosexual experience at age 32, and that eventually, after dating a woman because of his desire for family life, he converted to Catholicism and embraced the Church's teachings on homosexuality, committing to live chastely.
It is not yet clear whether Mattson will face charges in connection to the man's allegation.
Mattson's book is published by Ignatius Press.
In a Jan. 30 statement, Ignatius said it "was unaware of this alleged misconduct until the accusation was made this week."
"Dan has been forthright about the sinfulness of his past life and he has sought to encourage people to find new life in living chastely, according to God's purpose for men and women. In publishing his book, 'Why I Don't Call Myself Gay: How I Reclaimed My Sexual Identity and Found Peace,' we understood from Dan Mattson's own account of his life that before he became a Catholic he engaged in many sinful sexual activities, which he has repented of. We recognize that what is alleged to have occurred happened before Dan Mattson's conversion to the Catholic faith. Yet, this allegation concerns a kind of sinful activity that also has civil law implications and it involves harm to someone who was a minor when it allegedly occurred, which is deeply troubling."
"We at Ignatius Press are praying for all concerned, especially the alleged victim, and we desire a healing and a just resolution to the matter. At the same time, we recognize Dan Mattson as a man who has publicly repented his past sins and is actively engaged in helping others to avoid a way of life that he fully recognizes is sinful and profoundly harmful."
Father Philip Bochanski, executive director of Courage, said he was "devastated" to learn of the allegation against Mattson.
"The same afternoon that I learned of this very disturbing situation, I immediately reported the information I had to the Safe Environment Coordinator of the Diocese of Bridgeport (where the Courage Office is located) and to the Child Protective Services office of the State of Michigan (where Dan resides), as I am required to do by civil law and diocesan policy," he said in a Jan. 30 statement.
Mattson has never been an employee of Courage International, but has shared his story at conferences organized by Courage, and in "Desire of the Everlasting Hills," which Courage International produced, Bochanski said.
He noted that the alleged misconduct occurred "more than 14 years ago, years before [Mattson's] involvement with the Courage apostolate," and said that neither he nor his predecessor, Fr. Paul Check, had previously received sexual allegations against Mattson.
"Mattson will not be invited to speak or write, or to take any leadership positions, on behalf of Courage International for the foreseeable future. I will reserve further comment on this matter until the civil authorities have made a final determination in the case."
"I know how painful this news will be to many people, particularly those who are survivors of abuse in their own lives or in the life of a loved one," Bochanski said.
"I am praying earnestly for a just resolution to this matter, and particularly for the needs of the man who has brought this situation to light. I urge anyone who is aware of an incident of sexual misconduct or any kind of abuse involving a child, youth or other vulnerable person, to contact civil authorities immediately."
This story is developing, and was updated Jan. 30 at 5:30 pm MT.
Tags: Catholic News, Daniel Mattson
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MYANMAR DREAMS No.40
This pretty girl who is interested in fashion design is currently working at a clothing factory.
But her dream is to be not only a singer but also actress.
Among the countries, Korea is her favorite country where she wants to visit.
She likes the developed countries and also wants Myanmar to be one of them.


text:
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The Birth Of Biggest Sale Online For Assignments
After a thorough brainstorming in the meeting room with a carton of red bull and 36 hours of discussion without sleep, it was revealed. There were many idiotic suggestions as well and I had to deal with them like this.
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text:
Additional sailing added to see the 3 Queen's on Sunday 11th August!
Due to exceptional demand an additional sailing has been scheduled to see the 3 Queens in berth on the morning of Sunday 11th August 2019. Taking place between 10am - 12noon, spaces are expected to sell very quickly. Book now to avoid disappointment as the other two sailings on this day have now SOLD OUT!
Click here to book your tickets!
Posted by Lewis Folland, Fri 22 Feb 2019


text:
Summer 2006: Silliness, Superheroes and More
Summer 2006: Silliness, Superheroes and More
More superheroes and stupid comedies, plus a couple of flicks with public radio connections — Bob Mondello looks forward to the films that will hit theaters during the summer of 2006.
ROBERT SIEGEL, host:
From NPR News this is ALL THINGS CONSIDERED. I'm Robert Siegel.
For the movie business, this coming weekend marks the beginning of the summer season. Three previous weeks of impossible missions, capsizing cruise ships and convoluted code breaking gave it a running start and now come nearly a hundred would be blockbusters before Labor Day.
Bob Mondello has a selective preview.
BOB MONDELLO reporting:
If you're into laughs, adventure and folks in spandex you have lots of opinions during hot weather. Lets start with the superheroes, since mutant X-Men are already on screens everywhere, soon to be joined by a new man of steel. Brandon Routh, who will be opposed by Kevin Spacey as Lex Luther.
(Soundbite of Superman Returns)
Mr. KEVIN SPACEY (as Lex Luther): Come on let me here you say it just once.
Unidentified Woman: You're insane.
Mr. SPACEY: No!
Mr. MONDELLO: Before Superman Returns however, Jack Black will be wearing spandex along with a bizarre Mexican accent as a priest who is determined to crash the costumed world of Mexican wrestling in the comedy Nacho Libre.
(Soundbite of Nacho Libre)
Mr. JACK BLACK (as Nacho): Do you remember when everyone was shouting my name and I used my strength to rip my blouse.
Mr. MONDELLO: There is also a super spoof called Zoom, which mocks everything from X-Men to The Incredibles, and My Super Ex-Girlfriend, in which a guy dumps a frump only to discover her wall flower act was her alter ego. She's actually a super heroine and now thinks he's the bad guy. And superpowers aren't the only obstacle to romance this summer, as Jennifer Aniston and Vince Vaughan discover in The Break-Up.
(Soundbite of The Break-Up)
Mr. VINCE VAUGHN (as Gary): Fine, I'll do the dishes.
Ms. JENNIFER ANISTON (as Brooke): Now that's not what I want.
Mr. VAUGHN: You just said that you want me to help you to do the dishes.
Ms. ANISTON: I want you to want to do the dishes.
Mr. VAUGHN: Why would I want to do dishes?
Mr. MONDELLO: Other summer comedies include Clerks 2, a follow up to Kevin Smith's 1994 hit, Only Human, a Spanish language farce about a Jewish woman who introduces her family to her Palestinian finance, and The Devil Wears Prada, a satirical look at a high fashion magazine where the editor has most people but not quite everyone terrified.
(Soundbite of The Devil Wears Prada)
Ms. MERYL STREEP (as Miranda): Who are you?
Ms. ANNE HATHAWAY (as Andrea): My name is Annie Saks.
Ms. STREEP: And what are you doing here?
Ms. HATHAWAY: I came to New York to be a journalist and it's basically this or Auto Universe.
Ms. STREEP: So you don't read Runway?
Ms. HATHAWAY: No.
Ms. STREEP: And before today you had never heard of me?
Ms. HATHAWAY: No.
Ms. STREEP: And you have no style or sense of fashion.
Mr. MONDELLO: Meryl Streep rules her roost with ridicule in The Devil Wears Prada, while Adam Sandler rules his roost in the comedy Click with a universal remote. It controls not his media devices, but the world. He can mute his dog when it barks, pause a softball in mid air and fast forward right through anything he'd rather not deal with.
(Soundbite of Click)
Ms. KATE BECKINSALE (as Donna): I'm so tired of having this argument. I just don't think it's a lot to ask. I've got ghost stories, charades, dishes.
(Soundbite of fast-forwarding)
Mr. ADAM SANDLER (as Michael): I skipped the whole fight.
Mr. MONDELLO: That remote might come in handy for critics this summer. Happily there are gentler comedies mixed in, too, including one about the supposed demise of a radio show that will have special resonance for public radio listeners.
(Soundbite of Prairie Home Companion)
Mr. GARRISON KEILOR (as Himself): Hello everybody on a Saturday night and welcome to a live broadcast of A Prairie Home Champion.
Unidentified Man: Big corporation down in Texas has bought up the radio station.
Unidentified Woman: This is really going to be the last show of it.
Unidentified Man: Every show is your last show. That's my philosophy.
Unidentified Woman #2: Thank you Plato.
Unidentified Woman #3: You're going to say something about it. How about just a moment of silence.
Unidentified Man #2: Silence on the radio, I wonder how that works.
Mr. MONDELLO: Prairie Home Companion isn't the only movie about show biz this summer. There is also Little Miss Sunshine about child beauty pageants and Idlewild, which blends Harlem Renaissance costumes from the 1920's with music by its very contemporary stars, the hip-hop duo Oukast.
(Soundbite of Idlewild)
Unidentified Woman: There's a whole movement going on in Harlem and you're down here watching the seasons pass by.
Unidentified Man: I have to take care of my father.
Unidentified Man #2: She's trash. She's going to leave you.
Unidentified Man: You don't know her.
Mr. MONDELLO: Idlewild was shot two years ago, but had to wait until Outkast's album was ready to join it in the market place. Speaking of the market place there are always a few pictures that fall outside the action, adventure and comedy genres in hot weather. Hollywood operates on the assumption that audiences want escapism, but they also make films that deal with real world issues in serious ways.
None is more serious this summer than Oliver Stone's World Trade Center, which tells the true story of the New York Port Authority officers who found themselves dealing with unimaginable tragedy.
(Soundbite of World Trade Center)
Mr. NICHOLAS CAGE (as John): We're prepared for everything but not this. Not for something this size. There is no plan.
Mr. MONDELLO: While World Trade Center will likely prove the most harrowing of the summer's dramas, other true life stories will join it in providing a little ballast for summer fluff. There's Road to Guantanamo, about British Muslims imprisoned in Cuba, and the documentaries Who Killed the Electric Car and The Heart of the Game, which follows a girls high school basketball team through challenges on the court, off the court and even in the courts. And lighter challenges get documented, too. Like the ones in Word Play which features The Puzzle Guy from NPR's Weekend Edition Sunday, Will Short.
(Soundbite of Word Play)
Mr. WILL SHORT: Well, welcome to the 28th American Crossword Puzzle Tournament. I've been in the finals for like the last four years but I've always come in third place, so it's kind of embarrassing. This is a puzzle that's going to rip your heart out.
Mr. MONDELLO: If documentaries aren't your thing, there's plenty of straight forward summer action at the multiplex. Testerone laced crime dramas for instance from the point of view of the cops in Miami Vice.
(Soundbite of movie Miami Vice)
Unidentified Man: Things get emotional, moves get messy. Moves get messy and the wrong people die.
Mr. MONDELLO: And from the point of view of the criminal in Waist Deep.
(Soundbite of movie Waist Deep)
Unidentified Man: It's all or nothing. I'm all in. You're the girl for the TV. Man you guys are like the modern day Bonnie and Clyde. Can I get your autograph?
Mr. MONDELLO: There will be fantasy that's set in a world you've seen before in Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest.
(Soundbite of Dead Man's Chest)
Mr. JOHNNY DEPP (as Captain Jack Sparrow): I love those moments. I like to wave at them as they pass by.
Mr. MONDELLO: Also fantasy in a world you've not seen before in the science fiction story A Scanner Darkly starring Keanu Reeves.
(Soundbite of movie A Scanner Darkly)
Unidentified Man: Damage has taken place to the normally dominant left hemisphere and the right hemisphere is attempting to compensate.
Mr. KEANU REEVES (as Fred/Bob): Two hemispheres in my brain are competing?
Mr. MONDELLO: Keanu Reeves's brain has two hemispheres? Who knew? This low budget thriller has a high profile cast but everyone looks a little odd because director Richard Linklater takes the scanner part of his title A Scanner Darkly seriously. He shot the picture as live action then had computer animators paint every frame so that the images seem to have been scanned colorfully.
A more conventional sort of computer animation is featured in four, count them four, summer kid flicks. Cars, Monster House, The Barnyard and Ant Bully, and critters of an altogether more threatening sort will be menacing the horror crowd in what has become the summer's most eagerly awaited title, Snakes On A Plane.
(Soundbite of Snakes On A Plane)
Mr. MONDELLO: Snakes On A Plane, the subject of internet chatter for months now, has just unveiled its first trailer in theaters to wild cheers from its young male target audience and mystified looks from folks who may just wish they could use Adam Sandler's clicker to fast forward to the fall.
I'm Bob Mondello.
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