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Calgary Film 2018
Calgary Film 2018: 10 Canadian picks we can't wait to see
The 19th Calgary International Film Festival returns Sept. 19 to 30, 2018, with a full slate of Canadian films on the lineup once again (including a prominent focus on Albertan artists). Stephen Schroeder, executive director at Calgary Film, said festival organizers aim to program a high ratio of Canadian film.
"Even by Canadian film festival standards, in comparing notes with the folks at Telefilm Canada, they tell us we're unusually high even for our peer group. We love that," Schroeder said. "Our Canadian films actually tend to do, if anything, better at the box office with the general audience than the average film in the overall program. So there's a strong interest in Canadian film here."
Canadian entries at Calgary Film in 2018 include Man Running, the latest feature from Calgary-based director Gary Burns (The Suburbanators, Radiant City), Keith Behrman's Giant Little Ones and Circle of Steel, the first feature from Calgary-based director Gillian McKercher. Schroeder weighed in on 10 Canadian films announced as part of this year's festival.
Dir: Keith Behrman
"Giant Little Ones is one of the films that is coming to us with a lot of buzz around the filmmaker. We had a film called Sleeping Giant (from director Andrew Cividino at the 2015 Calgary Film festival)," Schroeder said. "It was kind of one of those films that was a first feature by a relatively unknown director and it kind of got everybody talking, like, 'Is this the emergence of a major new talent?' (Giant Little Ones) has a little bit of that feeling around it."
Making Coco: The Grant Fuhr Story (Closing Gala)
Dir: Don Metz
"It's a great documentary. I really enjoyed it. And you don't have to be a hockey fan (to love it)," Schroeder said. "As Wayne Gretzky said, Grant Fuhr was the best athlete he ever played with. It's a very simple documentary – it's not like it's outside the box in terms of form or anything like that – but the footage, I couldn't tear my eyes from the screen in terms of save after save after save, and (he was) so acrobatic. You rarely see somebody give their entire body to what they're doing in such a completely immersed and focused way."
Dir: Maxime Giroux
"(Giroux) is a director that we watch and whose work we champion," Schroeder said. "(The Great Darkened Days) is about the darker side of the American Dream. It's definitely, it's absurd and it's got a dark edge. It's about a character who is travelling home and who he encounters on the way and the darkness and the madness of the time he's living in."
Dir: Akash Sherman
"I was really impressed. It's extremely strong, it's one of the best Canadians I've seen in a while. It covers this idea of this scientific, reductionist way of analyzing the world versus the mysteries of love and intuition and quantum entanglement. So it's a bit heady," Schroeder said. "Other movies have tried to cover this subject to varying degrees of success, but I think the way they did it in Clara is wholly original and it's a really fresh script and a really moving film."
Dir: Kim Nguyen
"This is one of those films that has everything. It's very compelling with great characters, it's funny, it's deep, it's rich and philosophical and it's beautifully shot," Schroeder said. "(The film's central metaphor) becomes a juxtaposition, it's a cross section of America. It's a brilliant metaphor and a brilliant device or meditation on technology and the state of modern society and that very profound tension and really timely concern around where the blind adherence to technology has taken us. I really love that film."
Dir: Gillian McKercher
"(McKercher) is a young filmmaker who has already made her mark. She's made short films and she has one of the most encyclopedia knowledges of film that I've encountered in someone her age," Schroeder said. "Her passion and her attention to detail as a person and as a filmmaker and her deep thoughtfulness make her a filmmaker to watch."
Dir: Gary Burns
"(Burns) is arguably the best-known Calgarian director working. He's been quiet for a while in a lot of ways, but he's literally been part of the festival since the first go," Schroeder said. "This is a film where the main character is pushing themselves and immersing themselves in their pursuit because there's something deeper that they don't want to face."
The Padre
Dir: Jonathan Sobol
"Tim Roth is so great at playing jaded and cynical and tough and slippery and dusty and dirty and sleazy characters – it's a great Tim Roth role," Schroeder said. "It's a great popcorn flick. That's one that I think people will really enjoy. I'm a big Tim Roth fan, I just find every character of his so compelling."
Dir: Miranda de Pencier
"The Grizzlies is a crowd-pleaser," Schroeder said. "It's definitely an inspirational film. It's the story of a young high school teacher who is assigned to go teach up in an Inuit community in the far north, with all of the challenges that exist in that community."
Dir: Bruce Sweeney
"What I'm really looking forward to – I haven't seen every film in the festival yet – I'm excited to see and I'm personally looking forward to Kingsway, which is set in Vancouver," Schroeder said. "It's by Bruce Sweeney, and I've enjoyed his work in the past quite a lot."
The 19th Calgary International Film Festival runs Sept. 19 to 30, 2018. For a full list of films scheduled, visit Calgary Film.
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Calgary Film 2018
Calgary Film interview: Circle of Steel director Gillian McKercher
Set to make its World Premiere at the Calgary International Film Festival Sept. 25, Circle of Steel is a satirical look at the oil and gas industry, based partly on the experiences of the film's first-time feature director and writer, Gillian McKercher. McKercher spoke with The Mutt prior to the film's premiere on Sept. 25. This interview has been edited and condensed for length.
THE MUTT: What's the film about?
GILLIAN MCKERCHER: The film is set in 2016 and it's about layoffs in the oil and gas field. We have a young engineer, it's her first job, and layoffs are announced. She watches how morale degrades throughout the office and also has to wonder what she's doing as an engineer in the first place.
TM: I understand there's an element of satire to the film. What was it about the oil and gas field that you wanted to satirize?
GM: Well, I think the number one thing I wanted to achieve with this film was the tone. When you're going through layoffs as an actual worker, the ambiance is really weird. It's depressive and gross and weird but it's also kind of funny, because people get this dark humour about them. In order to show that, I didn't think it was effective to go hyper-naturalistic and gritty, so I pushed the film into a more satirical element. So it's satirical and sympathetic. So by satire, for example, I mean the boss is a little bit more incompetent than he normally is. In the film, it seems like nobody is actually doing any work. If they are doing work, no one knows what it is. That's not the case in actual oil and gas, but that's the joke. What are these people actually doing here?
TM: How did you feel when you experienced being laid off yourself?
GM: We had known that layoffs were happening for about a year and a half at that point. At the time, I was feel pretty gross and drab and helpless. Everybody thinks they're going to get laid off, so there's a feeling of being stagnant, there's no more passion or inspiration to do your work. So in that case, what is the drive to do a good job? It becomes a huge existential reckoning, professionally speaking. So when I was laid off, I was relieved, because I wanted to be out of this position that I was unhappy with, but I was also strangely upset, because nobody likes being told they aren't needed. It's also surprising because you have a routine and the moment it stops, a lot of the values you subconsciously associated with your life are now also gone. What does it mean to not receive a paycheque every two weeks? What does it mean to go on Employment Insurance? So there are a lot of things which surprise the unemployed.
TM: I imagine you incorporated those thoughts and feelings into the film. What sort of takeaways, looking back, do you have about corporate culture and largely the day-to-day working life most people find themselves in?
GM: I actually started writing the script while I was still employed. In terms of corporate culture, I don't think the feeling is exclusive to oil and gas at all. You hear about tech giants who lay off thousands of people at a time. I think that when businesses get too big it's really hard to find personal motivation for people. People want to feel valued and necessary and if you're giving them a job anybody can fill it makes you disassociated with your work. Oftentimes, you're not hiring for personality at that point. You're working with people who in any other situation you'd never be friends with and would never spend 12 hours a day with and it further alienates you from your work. It's a generational thing. People of a millennial age want to feel immediate value in their work and feel like they're irreplaceable.
TM: And so you had a unique perspective, given the fact that you were younger and that your co-workers were likely older. What about that felt interesting to explore in a narrative?
GM: Well, firstly I like that there are huge implications to the oil and gas industry. It's super controversial, it's politicized, it's a hot topic even though it's our own country. That's fascinating to me. I think that big money and big problems make for compelling stories. I also feel like very few people know what it's like to work in oil and gas. Everybody understands what a doctor does, everyone understands what a lawyer does, but oil and gas in a conventional setting, I think that people are surprised and disbelieve how raw it is and how low-fi it can appear at times. A lot of conventional oil and gas, it's basically like sticking metal straws in the ground and then poking everything with them. So because of that, I really wanted to show people something they might not expect. It's satirical, so what I'm showing you isn't necessarily technically correct, but it's more about the feeling of what it's like to go to the middle of nowhere and press a lever. That's all you do.
TM: Was that difficult, to deal with these big implications and big themes but still ground it on a character level?
GM: Yeah, I found that super challenging. This is my first-ever feature film. My first script, an earlier draft, I felt this pressure to hit social points and political points and feminist points. But I did strip it back down to personal experience, and was inspired by stories of my friends and co-workers. I really tried to root it in reality. The more the draft continued, the more it became rooted in an emotional place, or a day-to-day place. It's better, and the story came about once the characters developed and the universe developed. I've learned so much in making this.
TM: What would be your pitch to get folks to check out Circle of Steel?
GM: You should come and see a story that I know nobody else can tell. And it's your story. It's very Albertan. It's very Calgary. And it's you. I think that you'll be surprised to see yourself on screen this way.
Circle of Steel makes its World Premiere at the Calgary International Film Festival at 7 PM on Sept. 25, with a second showing scheduled Sept. 30. For tickets, click here.
Calgary Film 2018
Calgary Film interview: Keely and Du director Laurie Colbert
Set to play at the Calgary International Film Festival Sept. 22, Keely and Du is a psychological thriller from directors Dominique Cardona and Laurie Colbert based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning play of the same name. The film is the first from Cardona and Colbert in five years, coming after Margarita (2012), a selection at the 2012 Calgary film festival.
Colbert spoke with The Mutt prior to Keely and Du's screening Sept. 22.
THE MUTT: When did you first become acquainted with the play?
LAURIE COLBERT: I first read the play some 18 to 20 years ago, and have been following the play since then. I was compelled by the play's strong message of humanity and tolerance, and how despite our ideological differences, with some efforts we can come to share an understanding of the issues that would drive us apart. It was a long journey from first reading the play to finally optioning the film rights, having first to convince playwright Jane Martin that we wanted to confine the characters and their story to an island, rather than setting the story in the play's original location of a basement. Along the way we made our first feature film Finn's Girl and our second feature film Margarita, and the making of these films have provided us with the experience and the insight for making Keely and Du.
TM: How do you feel your style has developed over the years and what themes have been most important to you?
LC: Over the past 30 years we have experimented with feminist storytelling in film, through our documentaries Thank God I'm a Lesbian and My Feminism, our Berlin-premiered short film Below the Belt, and then our feature films Finn's Girl and Margarita and now Keely and Du. Each of these films explored facets of women's experiences that are close to our hearts. Reflected in this growing body of work is our commitment and our passions for telling women's stories that often don't form part of mainstream media and discourses.
TM: How does this film fit into that context?
LC: Oh, it fits in perfectly. My Feminism included discussions of sex and abortion. Finn's Girl, our first feature, was about an abortionist. In each of our films, in different ways, we have examined women's control of our own bodies, of our sexuality, and of our reproductive rights. All of these themes came together in how we conceived the film adaptation of Keely and Du. Keely and Du is by far our most ambitious and our most challenging film to date.
TM: You've been working on these themes your whole career. How have you seen these themes evolve in the culture and what statements did you want to make in this film?
LC: While the recent encouraging developments of the #metoo movement may signal a paradigm shift in how women's sexuality and consent are negotiated and discussed in mainstream media, there are still many facets of women's sexuality, bodily experiences and reproductive rights that are still controlled, legislated and managed by the very much male-dominated domain of conservative social agenda and religious fundamentalism. Our film Keely and Du speaks to the urgent need for women to help each other overcome the societal hurdles that have thwarted women's struggles to control our own bodies and our own reproductive rights.
TM: What's your pitch to folks to come out and see this film?
LC: We believe that everyone should form their own informed position on the abortion debate, but no matter where people find themselves on this continuum of public opinion, they should open their hearts and mind to circumstances (such as rape and domestic violence) that sometimes necessitate more nuanced contexts for forming opinions on the polarizing debate on abortion. It is our hope that our film Keely and Du will provide an engaging experience that will open hearts and minds. Come see for yourselves!
Keely and Du plays at 4 pm on Sept. 22 at the Globe Cinema during the Calgary International Film Festival, and again on Sept. 26 at Eau Claire. For tickets, click here.
Calgary Film 2018
Director Lowell Dean on the "violent, kick-ass" world of SuperGrid
SuperGrid, directed by Lowell Dean (WolfCop, 13 Eerie), opens in select theatres across Canada on Dec. 14. He spoke with The Mutt prior to the film's Sept. 21 Calgary World Premiere screening.
THE MUTT: Should fans of WolfCop and Another WolfCop expect something similar when they see SuperGrid?
LOWELL DEAN: I think it's pretty different. I say it's almost deceptive in a lot of the elements – obviously me directing it, Leo (Fafard) starring in it, Hugh (Patterson) producing it, and it being kind of a genre film. I would say it's a gateway drug to something new, if you're a WolfCop fan, because I jokingly say there's still a lot of violence and a lot of people are going to die. This is a little bit different. It's not nearly as out there. It's something Hugh has been developing for a little while. I took it as a personal challenge to say, OK, I have a different script, I didn't write this, so I'm going to make this movie. I'm not going to try and pervert it with my WolfCop weirdness.
TM: What did you think when you read the script?
LD: It came at a good time for me because I was looking for something different. But I was worried because it's very ambitious. SuperGrid had (about the same budget) as the first WolfCop film. The script that I read was going to be really hard to do for that budget level. Anytime you're doing a movie that has multiple car chases, at least one or two explosions, shootouts involving a lot of characters, that's not traditionally what you do with one million dollars. Usually it's three people in a cabin. So I was hesitant, but also I can't turn down Hugh. He's so fun to work with. I just knew he was the kind of person people were going to go the extra mile for, myself included. So I just thought, "Let's just do it. Let's embrace the spirit of the original Mad Max with 17 days in Saskatchewan on prairie roads and in weird abandoned warehouses."
TM: How did the backdrop of Saskatchewan contribute to the world of the film and did it take the film in different directions than you expected?
LD: I mean, we always wanted it to be a desolate landscape. I would say the only kind of weird thing is we shot this in summer in Saskatchewan and it was just beautiful. We should have been making a Hallmark movie. We had a great production design team and we would go out of our way to find abandoned towns and gas stations. It became more about smart filmmaking versus, we can't walk in and say, "Let's design these great buildings." It just became what's the grossest, weirdest place. People would be like, "Check out this scrap yard!"
TM: Did you draw inspiration from Mad Max? How did you differentiate this film from the genre while still paying homage?
LD: I am a fan of the genre, but I actually was probably the biggest proponent of running in the opposite direction. So much of what I saw on the page and the idea was Mad Max. I was pushing to make it a western, truthfully. I just said, for me, I'm making a western, it's set in the future, it just as well could have been the 1800s except we wouldn't have these cool gadgets and cars. I just made it about people trying to do the right thing, everybody is against you, it's a corrupt world. It's an easy thing to just be like, "whatever," but a handful of people are backed into a corner and have the chance to do something good. They have to look inside themselves and say, "Well, damn it, I guess we have to do this thing."
TM: Is that a philosophy you've been thinking about yourself lately? Or is that something you noticed in the script and latched onto?
LD: I think we definitely pushed to put it in there more. It's obviously a film of its time. A perfect example is, we do have a border wall in our film between Canada and the States, so you can imagine where everyone's heads are at. We still want it to be, on the surface, a very fun film, but I think especially after doing the two WolfCop films – which are absurd, ridiculous, really fun – I wanted to make a movie that I feel had a voice and maybe something a bit weightier to say, even if its in the guise of two brothers driving down the road, shooting guns. So I hope there's a message there that people can connect to.
TM: Why would you encourage people to check out the film?
LD: I think the biggest selling point for this film, is not only is it a truly Canadian film, it's a truly Saskatchewan film. You don't often see the prairie provinces reflected on the big screen, let alone, you know, this isn't two people sitting in a room talking, this isn't two people baling hay. This is war and violence and machine guns and blood and chaos. It's not going to feel like homework, but you're going to do your part and say you saw and hopefully enjoyed a kick-ass Canadian film.
SuperGrid opens in select theatres across Canada Dec. 14.


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Dragons next batting coach: Tomio Tashiro?
by Gen on Sep.30, 2010 @ 4:15 am, under NPB
The Chunichi Dragons will apparently invite Tomio Tashiro to become an Ichi-gun batting coach next season. The Dragons feel Tashiro might be able help out some of the younger players that struggled offensively year.
The club is expected to offer Tashiro the position once the season ends.

subset: commoncrawl


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Espace Temps | Immersive Dome project
Espace Temps was a four-month workshop and production installation at [SAT] (Société des arts technologiques) that incorporated multidisciplinary artists to create an immersive performance experience.
Using a 230 x 360 degree projection surface and a 57.4 point surround audio system inside the SATosphere, over 350 people enjoyed an evening of collaborative musical, visual and dance performances.
On the final day of Espace Temps, all rooms in the venue were used to create an interactive experience where attendees moved from room to room while being immersed in the entire show's performance.


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A few months ago before our trip began, I had said to my Company, "Well, get ready for us to feel like we've got no home for a year."
He had replied, "Home is where the husband is."
A few months ago before our trip began, I had said to my Company, "Well, get ready for us to feel like we've got no home for a year."
He had replied, "Home is where the husband is."
One of my favorite ways to explore is finding a place to start and just walking. Anywhere. For me, this beats all other types of tourism. It's like trying to find hidden gems when you're in sensory overload with new sounds, smells and sights. Here, I'll share some of my favorite walks in Tokyo so far through photo stories and brief descriptions*.
*To be sensitive of privacy, I've either cropped or only used photos of people without their faces turned to me.
I found myself trying to plan out the next few months this Monday and realized that it has been a little over 3 months (!) since we started our year of traveling. In some ways, it's felt so much longer than that; in other ways, I'm slightly panicked that our year is already a quarter of the way done. Since being on the road, there have been some things that have gone as expected — we miss our friends, family and community; our reliance on one another has intensified, and our relationship has strengthened (it's like doing a trust fall with your partner every day); we miss not having to think about whether we're fitting in culturally or not; and I would go slightly crazy without work.
In an effort to document my own learnings on this trip, I wanted to share a list of things that surprised me about our travel along with what we expect the next 3 months to bring. I hope I can read back on this when I am far wiser and more experienced, shake my head and say, "Oh, look at how naive I was," or, "Wow, I was pretty perceptive about that one!" Continue reading "Quarterly Review: A Travel Postmortem"
We landed in a rainy Tokyo in a daze at noon after a sleepless night on the flight from London*. I had known we'd be in good hands the minute AirFrance had pulled out edible food – a Japanese curry – and after we had watched the translated version of Inuyashiki, a story about a middle-aged Japanese salaryman who is turned into a cyborg and saves humanity.
Anyone who has done that flight from Europe or North America to Asia knows that the first 48 hours is filled with a wondrous daze of "WTF and where am I." Part of it is the jet lag, and if you don't sleep on the flight, you're hit with double confusion – the smells, sights, language, and customs with the compounded effects of no sleep make you feel as if you've stepped in Alice's Wonderland of Weird, Tasty and Awesome. I was born in China and yet every trip back still fills me that same initial shock for at least the first 48 hours. This would be my first time in Tokyo proper. The initial landing felt no different in that sense, and yet it was very different compared to any trip I've ever made to Asia before.
Starting this June, I took advantage of an opportunity of a lifetime to travel. When this opportunity landed on my lap, my first reaction had been hesitance until a friend had said, "Are you crazy? Do you know how few people in the world can do this?"
"But my career," I had replied, "A year off would slow that momentum down, and it feels so self-indulgent." In the end, opportunity won, and I gave notice to my job where I had a close group friends and community, a sense of purpose and an independent pay-check*. This would be the first time I was without a job since age 16.** Continue reading "Lessons on the Road: Balance in the Extremes"
I have no known connection to Scotland. For all I know, my ancestry goes back to when the first humans arrived in the land that is now mainland China and settled there until 1990 when my mother boarded a plane and arrived in La Guardia, Queens in New York City with two suitcases and $300 in her pocket. My Company, on the other hand, has traced part of his lineage back to the Mackenzie clan of the western Scottish highlands. Steeped in mystery with emerald green mountains, navy oceans and lochs with an unsettling fog that moves through the land during early mornings, Scotland would be the next destination in our exploration. Continue reading "Where the Wild Things Are: Scottish Highlands and Edinburgh Fringe"
Every person has a coming-of-age story. If you're lucky, yours would not be very exciting. While I wish I could say that I reached adulthood when I moved into my dormitory in college or the moment I graduated and picked up suits from the mall like a grown woman to head to my first job in New York City, I'm afraid I – like the rest of the Ding/Fan family household – appeared to be a late bloomer.
Childhood and young adulthood is filled with emotions that rise and drop like waves, unfettered idealism, and an enormous confidence in one's untested convictions. Perhaps that is why the young will always be more creative, brash and exciting than their older peers, and because of this, I look back on some misguided events in my younger days with a mix of embarrassment, pride and at the end of the day, a shrug, "Oh to be young." Continue reading "London and the Coming of Age"
No, unlike most travelers who want to see iconic German towns, we were not going to Bavaria, München (Munich) and Nuremberg to be exact, for the Bavarian Alps, famous castles, biergartens, wursts of all flavors and dirndl.As most tourism to Bavaria reaches peak hysteria in September and October for – yes, you guessed it – Oktoberfest, my Company was headed there in August for the Prometheus Conference. Now this isn't some Greek mythology fan-club but an open sourced monitoring conference (if you've lost me here, don't worry…just continue on). So the top technical brains from all over the world communed here to Germany's industrial capital in peak heat wave weather to share knowledge and, of course, drink themselves into semi-oblivion on watered down German beers (which they make up for in size of beer). Continue reading "Bavaria: Pretzels, Dirndl, and Platzes"
What makes sense after spending nearly two weeks in a small Southwestern German village where every neighbor knows one another and the largest employer is the chocolate factory? Head straight to one of Europe's most cosmopolitan, historically rich and diverse cities of course! Continue reading "Three Days in Berlin: A Lesson in Hipness"
Switzerland has appeared and reappeared in my life several times over in the past 10 years, and for that, I'm deeply grateful. Each time I arrive in this heavenly paradise of snow-capped mountains, pristine alpine lakes, decadent chocolates and oh-so-on-time trains, I feel a sense of escape from the dirty, loud and chaotic world outside this tiny slice of heaven. Continue reading "Switzerland: The Ultimate Retreat"


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Wofford looks to extend streak vs WCU
Wofford (13-7, 5-2) vs. Western Carolina (12-6, 4-3)
Ramsey Center, Cullowhee, North Carolina; Saturday, 7 p.m. EST
BOTTOM LINE: Wofford looks for its sixth straight win in the head-to-head series over Western Carolina. Wofford has won by an average of 20 points in its last five wins over the Catamounts. Western Carolina's last win in the series came on Jan. 28, 2017, a 68-62 win.
SENIOR STUDS: Western Carolina's Mason Faulkner, Carlos Dotson and Onno Steger have combined to account for 53 percent of all Catamounts points this season, although that trio's output has dropped to 36 percent over the last five games.
IMPROVING IN CONFERENCE: The Catamounts have scored 81.9 points per game across seven conference games. That's an improvement from the 77.9 per game they managed against non-conference foes.
CREATING OFFENSE: Faulkner has either made or assisted on 47 percent of all Western Carolina field goals over the last three games. The senior guard has 18 field goals and 19 assists in those games.
WINLESS WHEN: Wofford is 0-6 when scoring fewer than 61 points and 13-1 when scoring at least 61.
ACCOUNTING FOR ASSISTS: The Terriers have recently gotten baskets via assists more often than the Catamounts. Western Carolina has an assist on 40 of 78 field goals (51.3 percent) over its past three matchups while Wofford has assists on 40 of 74 field goals (54.1 percent) during its past three games.
DID YOU KNOW: Western Carolina as a team has made 10.6 3-pointers per game this season, which is fourth-best among Division I teams.


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Is your 4x4 adequately insured?
Insurance companies insure vehicles either for retail value or market value. Retail value is what a dealer would sell a vehicle for. Trade value is what a dealer would buy the vehicle for. Market value is the average between trade and retail value. These values are based on the Mead & McGrouther vehicle valuations data base.
Accessories fitted to a vehicle have to be specified separately on the policy. Unless specified you will not be paid out for them should your vehicle be stolen, or if accessories are damaged in a collision.
Be aware that only specialist 4x4 insurers would cover you for trails and cross border expeditions. Also check that you have cover for vehicle repatriation if your vehicle becomes disabled outside S.A.
Explorer 4x4, incorporating Shepherd Motor Assessors (est.1996), does vehicle assessments (28 years experience in total), valuations and are 4x4 accessories specialists. We give written valuations bases on vehicle model, condition, odometer reading and accessories fitted. We can also recommend 4x4 insurance specialists.
At Explorer 4x4 we offer inspections to check if a vehicle is mechanically sound and that accessory fitments are correctly installed and operational. The inspection includes thirty aspects of the vehicle including electrical wiring, correct fuses, recovery points and equipment, fire extinguishers, basic tools etc. We will also recommend additional gear that we think may be required for your trip based our experience.
Advice and basic demonstrations can be arranged on the repair of tyres, hi-lift jack safety, use of recovery equipment, tyre pressures or anything that you maybe unsure of. We do however recommend formal recovery training before using potentially dangerous equipment.
It is important to us to have our clients enjoy a safe hassle free trip.


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Accession Number : AD0712509
Title : AN INVESTIGATION OF THE EFFECT OF FLEXIBLE TRAILING WIRE ON A HYPERVELOCITY CONE,
Corporate Author : NAVAL ORDNANCE LAB WHITE OAK MD
Personal Author(s) : Sheetz,Norman W. , Jr. ; Krumins,Maigonis V.
Report Date : 11 MAR 1970
Pagination or Media Count : 60
Abstract : A program to investigate the effect of a flexible trailing wire on the aerodynamic characteristics of a cone at very high Mach numbers is described. The experimental program was conducted in a 1000-foot hyperballistics range. The development of the technique for launching a conical configuration which has a small-diameter flexible wire attached to its base is described in detail. The effect of this appendage on the drag coefficient and the stability of the cone is presented. Also, the radar cross section of a cone with and without the trailing wire is compared. (Author)
Descriptors : (*CONICAL BODIES, AERODYNAMIC CHARACTERISTICS), (*WIRE, AERODYNAMIC CHARACTERISTICS), SABOT PROJECTILES, RADAR CROSS SECTIONS, MODEL TESTS
Subject Categories : AERODYNAMICS
Distribution Statement : APPROVED FOR PUBLIC RELEASE


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Cassina La Basilica 6 Legs Dining Table
This item will be made specifically for you, this means that we are unable to offer refunds, exchanges or returns once you have placed your order. Please do be very sure it is exactly what you require and if you would like to see fabrics or materials please contact us.
Product Details
Additional information
225/280cm length x 78.5cm width x 74cm height
|Delivery Cost
As this is a large item, free delivery does not apply. Please contact us with your postcode for a delivery quote.
|Delivery Time
6 – 8 weeks
Natural Ashwood
|Designed By
|Produced By
|Material Finish
Cassina La Basilica 6 Legs
Rectangular table
Top with 3 staves and base with 6 legs
Two dimensions:
225cm l x 78.5cm w x 74cm h
280cm l x 78.5cm w x 74cm h
Wood strips forming the top staves & the legs of the table are the same width
Also available with 4 staves and base with 8 legs
Two dimensions:
225cm l x 105cm w x 74cm h
280cm l x 105cm w x 74cm h
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Our prices are the most competitive around, and we regularly check them to keep it that way. That's why we promise that should you find any of our products at a lower price anywhere else, we'll match that price . So rest assured you can buy from us with confidence.
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Cost for delivery of Large or Fragile items is a flat fee of £75, please choose this option at checkout if you have added a large item to the basket. You may also collect from our Manchester showroom free of charge.
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International shipping isn't calculated through the website so please contact us for a quote on 0044 161 228 6880 or firstname.lastname@example.com – we will require your full delivery address and a list of products you're interested in.


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Mr Play Casino Review
Mr Play Casino is the only casino to date, to be produced by Marketplat LTD – a relatively unknown company who seem to have sprung from nowhere to pull off an absolutely fantastic online casino. Established in 2017, Mr Play Casino is a one-stop shop for all things casino; thanks to an absolutely massive gaming portfolio on offer. Accessible on desktop, mobile and tablet with no downloads needed, Mr Play Casino offers everything you could possibly want from an online casino. In terms of promotions, there's always something to claim; whether that be loyalty points, free spins, casino bonuses and even big cash in the slots tourneys. The exclusive rewards program is designed to keep you coming back for more and trust us, it will!
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In an increasingly crowded market how can you pick out the good casinos from the bad ones? There are plenty of both to choose from, and making a bad decision could leave you tied into a site for months if you cash in a big bonus. That's why we're out there browsing sites on your behalf. It was while doing that that we chanced on the moustachioed figure of Mr Play, a modern looking casino made for mobiles and with a load of fantastic games on its front page.
We think you'll be making a great decision if you check this casino out, and here are five reasons why:
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Remember that bonuses change quickly and can be different in different jurisdictions, so make sure you're up to speed with the latest offers when you log on. When we did, we were mightily impressed by the offer to UK players that blared out at us from the front page. That welcome offer is 100 free spins and up to £200 in bonus cash. Sounds great, right?
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There's a beautiful selection and they're really nicely presented in an easy-to-use format.
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We can't imagine that you'll ever get bored playing quality titles like that in every slot genre. However, if you do want a change then Mr Play has got you more than covered, with casino games, live casino games, and scratch cards (sometimes called instant wins) coming out of its sleeves. The live casino offering is particularly impressive, with great iterations of blackjack, roulette, and wheel spins available. These are quality games and they're available in international versions including a Norwegian roulette. Whatever your game you're going to find a variant to suit your taste at Mr Play, and when you do cash in your bonus we reckon that you'll want to spend some time at the tables when you check out Mr Play.
4 – VIP club – yes, please!
What do you get for your loyalty to a casino site? Sometimes not much at all. Mr Play want to make playing at their casino worth your while though, and that means a great, ongoing rewards programme that looks like it's been put together with some real thought about what players want. As soon as you join you're earning VIP points and you're in an ongoing programme of gifts and freebies that takes you all the way up to Gold and Platinum VIP levels, and then beyond!
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There's a lot of bad design out there in online casino world. Believe us, we've seen it all. So visiting MrPlay Casino was something of a pleasure for veterans like us. Everything is clean, clear and cheerful and there can't be many easier to use sites anywhere on the web. You can tell that the designers are site users. That's how it looks in any case because this mobile-friendly design is superbly easy to use, uncluttered and designed in a way that makes sense for players – simple menus without too many options, a nice big set of options on the home page, easy to find help and banking wherever you are.
Mr Play are offering a lot to new players, and we think they deliver a quality site with quality games and great user experience, it's worth meeting Mr Play today.
MrPlay Casino made simple
Whether you're a newbie or consider yourself to be a seasoned professional, you won't find anything about Mr Play Casino's website, confusing. The moment you land, MrPlay Casino points out everything from the welcome bonus to the very latest games available to play. Hover your mouse over the gaming titles and you'll be given the option to try in demo mode, before even registering! You'll even find click links to various sections of the casino, helping you find the games you want to play, easier than ever before.
Mr Play Casino's Massive Gaming Catalogue
More than 30 different software giants supply the games to Mr Play Casino, which means a huge choice with something to suit all tastes. Low stakes players and high rollers are tempted with the same great gaming titles, thanks to; Microgaming, Playtech, NetEnt, NeoGames, Betsoft, Evolution Gaming, NYX Interactive, Bally, Play'N Go, WMS, Realistic Games, NextGen Gaming, Blueprint Gaming, Barcrest Games, iSoftBet, Quickspin, Aristocrat, Rabcat, Playson, Ezugi, Thunderkick, Big Time Gaming, SG Gaming, Elk Studios, Lightning Box, Quickfire, Cadillac Jack, Ainsworth Gaming Technology, Pragmatic Play, Tom Horn Gaming, Habanero, Skillzzgaming, Magnet Gaming and Old Skool Studios.
The games lobby at Mr Play Casino is designed to be simple to navigate, with all the games placed into the following categories;
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Looking for progressive slots? Despite there being no specific tab for these games, they are available. You will either have to search for the game (if you know its name) or scroll through the list to find the life-changing slot games.
The live casino has a section all of its own and you won't find it in the games lobby. One login will allow you to access the full range of games available at Mr Play Casino – which is great news. Live casino games are positioned to the top of the welcome screen, in between the casino and scratchcard tabs. Ten live dealer tables with glamorous and dashing dealers are waiting to be discovered. Enjoy real-time gameplay through crystal clear, HD quality streaming as you interact with the croupier and other players at your virtual table.
Exclusive Mr Play Casino VIP Club
Being a loyal customer to Mr Play Casino will not go unnoticed. There is an exclusive VIP program that will reward you for coming back to Mr Play Casino and right from the very first day you join, you will find yourself part of that generous VIP program. As you play, you will earn reward points that can be converted into free bonus cash and much more. The seven levels and their benefits are;
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- Bronze VIP: Claim all that the 'new member' level has to offer, along with 25 free games as a welcome bonus, 5 free spins on a Sunday and access to VIP Live tournaments.
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- Prestige VIP: This is the very top tier and you will receive all the previous benefits and much more.
Invitation to the top two tiers; Premium VIP and Prestige VIP is by invitation only. The higher your monthly spend, the more chance you will be invited to join.
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Depositing into your Mr Play Casino account is simple; head to the cashier and insert an amount you wish to deposit, from one of the following payment methods;
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Cashing out process
Withdrawals can take between 3 and 7 working days to complete, for all major credit and debit card transactions. E-wallets are far quicker, taking on average just 24 hours to complete. Maximum withdrawal limit is set at €7,000 a month unless you're a VIP player of course. Cashing out can be done through the following;
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- Live chat: click the link hovering to the top right of the welcome screen, this will provide instant support.
- Email: send your email to: firstname.lastname@example.com
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The Verdict
We absolutely love the design and theme of this online casino – it's fresh, modern, uncluttered and simple. The welcome page shows you everything Mr Play Casino has to offer; from the very latest games to the latest winners. Big cash can be won in all games, regardless of the value of your stake – which is welcome news to low stakes players or those with a set budget. High rollers can, of course, scoop eye-watering cash and there are even high roller dealer tables, giving you free rein on your bets.
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Great sailboat
Get on board of this cosy and new sailboat. You will find its spacious desk a perfect place to enjoy the incredible Mediterranean. You can enjoy your sailing vacation sleeping and cook delicious flavours in its kitchen. You will find the full equipment, such as a fridge, freezer, gas stove, kitchenware, music system and one toilet with hot water shower. Also, find on its exterior comfortable sitting spaces and dining area!
I will be more than happy to plan an unforgettable experience on board for you! Such as sunset sailing with champagne flavours, day trips to Sitges, sailing to a family run wineries, lunch on board and much more!
Compulsory Extras: (pay on board)
-Skipper up to 4h: 200€
-Skipper 1 day: 250€
-Taxes: 50€
-Cleaning: 80€
-Fuel: 30€
Optional Extras:
Water Toy: 15€
Snorkel Kit: 12€
Towel per person: 10€
Paddle Surf: 25€
Jet Ski: 180€


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School Banking27/01/2015 by Jane Hobson
As a mother of 3 girls, my husband and I thought it was very important that the girls learnt to have good saving habits from an early age, so we opened a CBA Youthsaver Account for each one.
We encouraged them to bank a minimum of 20% of their pocket money but they often banked more through the School Banking Program. As well as teaching the girls to save, the school received a commission on every deposit made and $5 for every Activated Account opened via the program. I see on television that CBA are still advertising the Youthsaver School Banking Program with Glen McGrath as the spokesman.
Today the children also receive a dollarmite token every time they make a deposit to their saving account regardless of the amount and once they have 10 tokens they can redeem them for a variety of rewards. Items including a hand ball, scented pencils, swimming bag etc. The rewards will vary from year to year.
We found this program a great stepping stone for our girls to start saving and 2 out of 3 are still very good savers but they all have the knowledge of how to save. The funds weren't saved to buy something they were designated as savings and once they had a thousand dollars they were then shown how to put the money into a manage fund which they still have today.
Saving is not often taught at school, it's something that parents needs to teach their children earlier rather than later.


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It's called collective effervescence.
But do they see the same thing?
Win or lose, you'll feel something.
Created in partnership with Duracell.
Here are our best theories.
Sandboarding, anyone?
It's more than a pretty logo.
Here's what to play — and what to avoid.
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Why do I always feel like gloomy especially when it's rainy? Why do I feel like my friends only call me when they need something from me? Or, vice versa. Whatever reasons and alibis I may have in mind or excuses my friends have, I know that they are always there when I need them. How do I define true friends? Tough question, I know. But for me, I don't "define" any thing or I can honestly say that once I befriend you, I am always a keeper. It only depend on the person if he/she likes to keep me as her friend as well. But nevertheless, I stay true to my friends and yes, I may sometimes forget to keep in touch with some people because c'est la vie!
Just another random thought. To be continued….


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To protect the safety of our staff and community, we will be closed to all walk in customers at this time. To pick up an order, please call ahead. We will continue to ship all products as normal. Changes are happening rapidly so please check back here for up to date information.
Item #: FK-001
Brand: Z Counterform
Shipping: Item will be shipped before or on 4/6/2020
One reusable silicone faucet knockout that will create a 1-1/4" hole which will work with most standard faucets. It will also create a 2-1/2" pocket that is 1" beneath the surface to fasten hardware in. This will accept most faucets and spouts. Must be used with 1/2" substrate and our standard 2-1/4" forms. If using EuroForms, please use the EuroForm Knockout.
To install, use a 2-5/8" hole saw. Push the knockout up through the hole from the underside of the cement board until the 3rd ring hits the bottom of the cement board. Check to make sure the top of the knockout is flush with the top of the forms. For most applications we normally like to split the difference between the sink opening and the backwall so that you have the most concrete possible around the faucet. If you have a deeper countertop or smaller sink, please check to make sure that the faucet is lined up properly over the sink.
WARNING: some of the newer faucets require larger than 1-1/4" hole. Please check your facucet. If you need a larger hole, you can wrap the top of the knockout in electrical tape to increase the diameter.
Enter the square footage of countertop space (Length x Width). This is for standard Z Counterforms only (not Commercial or Pre-cast)
sq. ft.


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Sometimes you just want a break but you don't want to go far and honestly, when you live with 'spectacular' on your doorstep, why fly? Last September we were in Yorkshire with James. This September James is no longer with us but I know he'd have loved our choice of holiday.
Just an hour's drive from home there were some places we wanted to revisit. It's strange how when you're working you don't get round to these things. 25 years ago we went to The Duddo Stones in summer and couldn't get across the field to see them because there was a crop. We'd also gone to the site of the Battle of Flodden Field which is not at Flodden but at Branxton. It was a bit muddy and there was no designated path, so although we saw the monument on the brow of the ridge, we didn't go up. Now there is a proper path. Although we'd been to Berwick upon Tweed many times we'd never visited the Regimental Museum of the Borderers. We planned to go there and to walk the town walls again. Lady Waterford Hall was a place we'd never heard of until this May when we visited Etal but we didn't get over to Ford Village so that was also on our list of things to do. Now we could of course have done these on day trips from home but that would have environmentally unfriendly and we happened to have stayed at a very nice Inn called The Bluebell, at Crookham, which is within easy distance of all these places. 12 miles to Berwick. 3 to Duddo. 4 to Ford. 1 to Branxton Hill. It also happens to have a rather extensive menu of good food and wonderful desserts, vast breakfasts served until 9:30, a variety of ales, gins and a nice Cote du Rhone. Hardly any travelling? No dishes? Win — Win!
So let me begin with The Duddo Stones.
They are roughly 4000 yrs old and situated on a hill that commands 360 degree views yet they are not visible from the road. In fact they are quite difficult to find. The vast landscape here just swallows them as you'll see by the slideshow, and the network of tiny roads crisscrossing North Northumberland is such that a wrong turn can take miles to correct. But there are lots of signposts to the Stones. The only marker is a small white notice by a gate at the edge of farmland and one has to park on the grass verge. We were lucky. Two cars were already there (and their owners were on their way back — we chatted). The other thing you need to know is that it takes at least an hour to walk to the stones and back on permissive footpaths along the field margins. It took us nearly and hour and a half but we did stop a while at the stones to savour the atmosphere and we went farther down the field to see the information board. When you begin to cross the first field (there are three) you see the stones very distant on the ridge. It looks daunting! But don't be put off. We had our sticks with us and wore sturdy shoes but it's not a steep walk, nor a hard walk, at least when it's dry. We had ideal weather! The stones reward you with spectacular views and close up they are impressive and strangely beautiful. Ready?
And then we had to walk the whole way back.
I am glad James was able to explore some of our favourite gardens with us in April and I couldn't help thinking this week — James would have loved the Duddo Stones. You don't have to go very far if you travel in time. Just Dud-Do it!


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+421 948 340 558 firstname.lastname@example.com
Swiss army knife - Victorinox SWISSCHAMP 1.6795.3
Swiss army knife - Victorinox SWISSCHAMP 1.6795.3
Swiss army knives Victorinox have been known for their multi-purpose usage all around the world for more than 120 years. Victorinox company offers more than 800 various types of Swiss army knives, such as Victorinox Swiss army knives, Victorinox pocket knives, Victorinox craftsman knives, Victorinox knives for households and Victorinox butcher knives. Victorinox knives are small enough to be used as a key ring, but big enough to be helpful for everyday utilisation. Regardless their smallness Victorinox Swiss army pocket knives are fully functional in every situation. Special chrome-molybdenum steel for knives is used for Victorinox blades. After tempering, Victorinox Swiss army knives' blades are hard as 56HRc. Wood saws, scissors and nail files are hard as 53HRc; screwdrivers, can openers and awls as 52HRc and corkscrews as 49 HRc. Saw and file for metal are tempered and hardly chromed, therefore they are suitable also for iron and steel filing. Victorinox Swiss army knives are suitable as a present for women and men. Limited editions of Victorinox Swiss army knives are appropriate for collections. In a case of applying a logo of your company, Victorinox knives are suitable corporate presents for the most important business partners.
Product details:
Swiss army knife - Victorinox SWISSCHAMP 1.6795.3
· Total lenght: 91 mm
1. large blade
2. small blade
3. corkscrew
4. can opener with
5. - small screwdriver
6. - cap lifter with
7. - screwdriver
8. - wire stripper
9. reamer, punch
10. key ring
11. tweezers
12. toothpick
13. scissors
14. multi-purpose hook (parcel carrier)
15. wood saw
16. chisel
17. nailfile with
18. - metal file
19. - nail cleaner
20. - metal saw
21. Phillips screwdriver
22. pliers with
23. -wire crimping tool
24. -wire cutters
25. mini-screwdriver
26. screwdriver 2.5mm
27. fish scaler with
28. - hook disgorger
29. - ruler (cm + inches)
30. pressurized ballpoint pen
31. pin stainless
32. sewing eye
33. magnifying lens


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Trump unlikely to meet with Iranian leaders at UN
WASHINGTON - Top US officials said it is highly unlikely that US President Donald Trump will meet with Iranian leaders at the UN General Assembly and that Trump will instead emphasise the global security threat posed by Tehran.
In a series of television interviews, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and US Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley said Trump would take a confrontational approach to Iran when he arrives at the UN meeting in New York.
"What you're going to see in the [UN] Security Council meeting is he's going to talk about threat that Iran has on the rest of the world," Haley said of Trump in an interview September 23 with ABC News.
"We're going to be really tough on Iran," Haley added in an interview the same day with CBS News. "We're not giving them a pass."
Asked on ABC whether Trump would meet with Iranian President Hassan Rohani, Haley replied: "No. I mean, Rohani hasn't done anything to warrant a meeting. He has to stop all of his bad behaviour before the president's going to think he's serious about wanting to talk."
In an interview on NBC News, Pompeo said Trump would only meet with Iranian leaders at the United Nations "if there's a constructive dialogue to be had" but that a meeting "doesn't seem likely. Their behaviour wouldn't indicate any intention to change the fundamental challenge that Iran presents to the world."
Pompeo downplayed Rohani's importance, saying in an interview on Fox News that "the leader of the country is Ayatollah [Ali] Khamenei. That's who's running the show in Iran."
The comments by Haley and Pompeo squelch the possibility of a meeting that Trump raised when he said he was open to direct dialogue with Iranian leaders and set up a likely confrontation when Trump speaks at the General Assembly on September 25.
Trump has taken an aggressive approach towards Iran by withdrawing the United States from the nuclear deal signed in 2015 and reinstating economic sanctions.
Pompeo said on CNN that the United States might further punish Iran in response to recent attacks on US diplomatic facilities in Baghdad and in the southern Iraqi city of Basra.
"We have told the Islamic Republic of Iran that using a proxy force to attack an American interest will not prevent us from responding against the prime actor," Pompeo said in a September 21 interview. "That is, we will not let Iran get away with using a proxy force to attack an American interest. Iran will be held accountable for those incidents."
Pompeo's threat was sharper than the Trump administration's initial statement on the incidents, which stated: "Iran did not act to stop these attacks by its proxies in Iraq, which it has supported with funding, training and weapons."
Pompeo dismissed statements by Iranian leaders blaming the United States for an attack by militants in Ahvaz that killed at least 29 people. Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said on Twitter that the militants were "recruited, trained and paid by a foreign regime."
"When you have a security incident at home, blaming others is an enormous mistake," Pompeo said on Fox News, "and I wish Zarif would focus on keeping his own people secure rather than causing insecurity all around the world."


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In this beautifully drawn first volume of a Yuri manga series titled Hungry For You: Endo Yasuko Stalks The Night, readers are introduced to Endo Yasuko. Endo is a vampire in an all-girls academy struggling to contain her thirst for blood and Makioka is a regular student who witnesses Endo drinking the blood of another student. Acting as though she saw nothing doesn't work at well when Endo sucks her blood…and asks Makioka to be her emergency rations.
I fully expected this to be full of typical Yuri fan-service and erotic overtones but instead I walked into a comedy I hope gets an anime adaptation. Makioka and Endo's adventures start off at bloodsucking but later involve Endo's odd lifestyle that includes only needing to pack panties and a American vampire huntress who has no grasp on the Japanese language. Even though the vast majority of the story, the series has a subplot involving 3 missing students from the academy on a case that may be tied to Endo Yasuko herself.
Gorgeously crafted, well written, and hilarious Hungry For You Vol. 1 introduces readers to a new kind of vampire tale and gives a hell of a cliffhanger ending that readers will certainly long to sink their teeth into the next volume.
Rating: 10 out of 10


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This post was originally published on Forbes Jul 31, 2015
Eight people have signed affidavits that they heard Judge Margaret Casey Rodgers say that Kent Hovind's crimes were worse than rape when she sentenced him on his 58 count conviction for interfering with the administration of the internal revenue code, failing to file payroll returns for Creation Science Evangelism and structuring. The "worse than rape" comment does not appear in the official transcript. Hovind's sentencing was in 2007, so you might wonder why there is still controversy about this. Here's the story.
The Hovindicators
When the federal government prosecuted Young Earth Creationist Kent Hovind for actions he took while in prison to affect the title to property seized by the government as the result of his first conviction a vigorous social media campaign emerged in his defense. It's flagship website is #FreeKent and the primary youtube channel is Rudy Davis's LoneStar1776. Kent Hovind's defenders constructed a narrative of a godly man who had not broken any laws being persecuted by altogether wicked people -judge, prosecutors and IRS agents- because he was so successful in exposing the lie of evolution, one of the key components of the Satanic plan to impose a New World Order.
One of the key elements in the narrative was the "worse than rape" statement which was taken as one of the proofs that Judge Margaret Casey Rodgers is altogether wicked.
Remember Paul Hansen
Hovind was convicted this March of contempt of court, with the jury not reaching a verdict on more serious mail fraud and conspiracy charges. Retrial was scheduled in May, but the federal prosecutors withdrew the remaining charges without prejudice. To the surprise of many and the delight of the Hovindicators, Judge Rodgers then voided Kent Hovind's conviction for contempt. So you might think that the Hovindicators would have softened a bit in their view of Judge Rodgers. Apparently not.
They are still worried about the fate of Hovind's codefendant Paul Hansen, whose contempt citation was not reversed. He faces sentencing by Judge Rodgers on August 21. So Rudy Davis is pushing the "worse than rape" piece of the narrative with renewed vigor.
Another Witness Heard From
As I often lament I'm just a tax blogger, not an investigative reporter. I never knew what to make of the "worse than rape" part of the narrative. The affidavits were gathered in 2008 in conjunction with Hovind's appeal. The Eleventh Circuit upheld his conviction and his sentence. Most significant in my mind was that the sentence was within the guidelines.
Jonathan Schwartz is an investigative reporter, who through Interlock Media has made some hard-hitting documentaries on prison issues including Faith In The Big House. Jonathan covered Kent's trial in March. In an interview released today he spoke with Jen Fishburne, who covered Kent's first trial on her blog Jen's Gems.
Jen, who is quite sympathetic to Kent Hovind and has fond memories of visiting Dinosaur Adventureland with her home schooled kids relates that at the sentencing she was the only one taking notes and that there was no statement of the judge comparing Kent's crimes to rape.
The discussion begins around 7:30. Jen's account of what the judge said begins around 12:00.
What About The Affidavits?
As Jen relates and is reflected in the transcript Eric Hovind, in a statement in support of leniency for his mother, said that his father was being treated more harshly than a rapist. According to Jen, Eric recently confirmed her account. In her account ,Jen indicates that she understood the affidavits to have been many years after the event. They were actually signed not quite 15 months afterward.
From Another Hovindologist
From Another Hovindologist
I asked Dee Holmes for her thoughts on the whole matter. She gave me the excerpt from Eric''s testimony that may be the source of the confusion.
I'm looking into your face and I realize you gave my dad ten years in prison and that's okay. I realize that this Court considered my dad and what he did worse than a rapist and that's okay. I also understand that the heart of the king, as Daniel 4 says, is in God's hand. If the heart of king is in God's hand, then can I assure you the heart of judges and the heart of everybody else in here is in God's hand and God's will is going to be done.
She went on:
Rudy can blather all he wants, but the fact of the matter is that contemporaneous reports of Kent's sentencing do not mention "worse than a rapist." Jen Fishburne doesn't mention "worse than a rapist" in her blog post. It only comes up in this transcript of Jo's sentencing.
Moreover, there are real problems with the affidavits collected by Greg Dixon and sent to Lindsey Springer (who himself is locked up until 2023 on tax-related charges). Two of the affidavits are by family members (Jo and Kent Jr.). The other three affidavits are likely by people close to the family or employed at DAL or CSE. All of the extant affidavits were entered 15 months after Kent's sentencing (that is, April 2008) and, just as importantly, after Jo's sentencing in June 2007.
Sure, talk about Rudy's crazy all you want, but to be very clear—Rudy is also the same guy who is a birther and believes in geocentrism. These are two provably wrong things. I think he's provably wrong on this as well.
I remain somewhat skeptical of the relevance of this part of the narrative to the fate of Paul Hansen, but since the Hovindicators place so much stock in it and there has been some trouble taken to question their claims, I thought it worth discussing.
Rudy Davis has done a response to the Jen Fishburne interview. I haven't been able to listen to all of it.


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Hotel Hermitage
About the Hotel
Why We Love This Hotel
- In the centre of Florence, next to the Uffizzi Gallery & Duomo
- Has rooftop terrace garden & views over Ponte Vecchico & the River Arno
- All rooms have a private bath with a Jacuzzi or a shower
- Pet-friendly policy (small pets only)
According to Condé Nast Traveller, "Florence has long been perceived as one of Italy's most enchanting cities", and the Hotel Hermitage is a great base from which to explore it. This property is set in the heart of Florence, and boasts fabulous city views.
The Hotel Hermitage is on a small street between the Uffizzi Gallery and overlooking the River Arno. Lonely Planet has named the Uffizzi Gallery as one of its Top Choice attractions, and describes it as "a handsome palace" that's "home to the world's greatest collection of Italian Renaissance art".
There are fashion boutiques and leather shops on the hotel's doorstep, and many of the city's most popular attractions -- including the city's iconic Duomo Cathedral and Giotto's Bell Tower -- are within walking distance.
The hotel bar is open from 7am until 10pm, and there's a rooftop garden and terrace with great views over the Ponte Vecchio and the River Arno. Guests can also take in city views from the breakfast room, where a complimentary continental-style breakfast is served each morning.
All rooms have satellite television, a safe, air conditioning, and a private bath with Jacuzzi or shower. Many rooms also have views over the River Arno. There is free Wi-Fi throughout the hotel, although some guests may struggle to get a good connection from the rooftop terrace.


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"You have the need and the right to spend part of your life caring for your soul. It is not easy. You have to resist the demands of the work-oriented, often defensive, element in your psyche that measures life only in terms of output – how much you produce – not in terms of the quality of your life experiences. To be a soulful person means to go against all the pervasive, prove-yourself values of our culture and instead treasure what is unique and internal and valuable in yourself and your own personal evolution." — Jean Shinoda Bolen
Category Archives: Quotes
Care For Your Soul
Greed and Selfishness
It is by no means enough not to steal the property of others; you are in error if you keep to yourself the wealth which God has created for all. He who does not give to others what he possesses is a murderer, a killer; when he keeps for his own use what would provide for the poor, one can say that he is slaying all those who could have lived from his plenty; when we share with those who are suffering, we do not give what belongs to us, but what belongs to them. This is not an act of pity, but the payment of a debt. — Pope Gregory the Great (6th Century)
Estrangement is Alienation
"Our estrangement from nature and the unconscious became entrenched roughly two thousand years ago, during the shift from the Age of the Great God Pan to that of Pisces that occurred with the suppression of the pagan mysteries and the rise of Christianity. The psychological shift that ensued left European civilization staring into two millennia of religious mania and persecution, warfare, materialism, and rationalism.
The monstrous forces of scientific industrialism and global politics that have been born into modern times were conceived at the time of the shattering of the symbiotic relationships with the plants that had bound us to nature from our dim beginnings. This left each human being frightened, guilt-burdened, and alone. Existential man was born."
― Terence McKenna, Food of the Gods: The Search for the Original Tree of Knowledge
Thank You
"If the only prayer you ever say in your entire life is Thank You, it will be enough." — Meister Eckhart
Gratitude is a Vaccine for Suffering
"Buddhist monks begin each day with a chant of gratitude for the blessings of their life. Native American elders begin each ceremony with grateful prayers to mother earth and father sky, to the four directions, to the animal, plant, and mineral brothers and sisters who share our earth and support our life. In Tibet, the monks and nuns even offer prayers of gratitude for the suffering they have been given: "Grant that I might have enough suffering to awaken in the deepest possible compassion and wisdom."
The Heart of a Heartless World
"Religious suffering is, at one and the same time, the expression of real suffering and a protest against real suffering. Religion is the sigh of the oppressed creature, the heart of a heartless world, and the soul of soulless conditions. It is the opium of the people." (From the "Introduction to the Critique of Hegel's Philosophy of Right," 1843)
"All of you still possess too much of selfishness… Give up the self idea and always be for others." — Meher Baba (April 18, 1924)


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Friday, June 8, 2012
Just Soaking up Rays
Here is a quick card I made this afternoon. I was not soaking up any rays! We were having thunderstorms, lots of rain and hail. This was as close to sun as I could get today.
My card base is white card stock cut and folded to make a 4 1/4" X 5 1/2" card base. I added some orange striped paper cut at 3" X 5 1/4" and a yellow stripped paper cut at 2" X 5 1/4". Both patterned papers are by Echo Park. I then added white strip of paper cut at 3/4" X 5 1/4" to cover my seam. I stamped the sentiment Just Soaking up Rays in Dandelion Memento Ink, The sentiment is from the "Fun in the Sun" sentiment stamp from Cardz TV.
For my image I used the Pack Your Bags cricut cartridge. I cut all the layers at 3 1/2". I colored all the layers with the colors from the Best Friends Imagine cartridge. For the blue striped pieces on the umbrella and the lounge I colored those from the Bubblegum Stripes Imagine cartridge. I layered everything together and attached it to my card with some foam tape. For my "sun" I used a clear yellow button that I ran some pale yellow and white striped bakers twine through and tied in a bow. I also added some light orange buttons to the lower right hand corner of my card.
I am entering this card in the Vacation Card challenge over at Paper Playtimes.
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We discuss stress inoculation training during our defense courses and this is some more food for thought. We know we're pumped up, what can we do to re-center and maintain control and perspective.. Take a read and also follow all the noted sources. Gold mine there!
The Adrenaline Dump.. What really happens?
Joe Gilbert
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Another Sunday means another visit to Disney Springs for brunch. If you missed our brunch last weekend, we tried the all-new southern brunch at Homecomin'. This weekend, we visited Maria and Enzo's in Disney Springs to check out the Maria and Enzo's Sunday brunch offering. We had heard some good things about it, so we were excited to give it a try ourselves.
Once inside, there is a large main dining room where all of the action takes place. We were originally supposed to sit in the first-class lounge, but asked nicely to sit in the main dining room. I would suggest you do the same for ease of access to the buffet.
The brunch is broken down into two offerings, but basically nobody in attendance chose the à la carte option, so we'll focus on the prix-fixe option.
The prix-fixe brunch focuses exclusively on the right side of the menu and offers buffet-style "starter" stations, in addition to one entree. Let's start with the starter stations.
Salumi and Cheese Station
The first of three "starter" stations, the salumi and cheese station required the staffing of the buffet. The staff was there to plate the salumi and cheese for you. The buffet included two blocks of cheese, which were chiseled as needed by staff and served to you. The stagg was knowledgeable on the types of cheese and the taste that could be expected from each. As they were served off the block, both of the cheeses were exceptionally fresh.
The salumi were also exceptionally fresh and full of flavor. As the line at the buffet increased, a staff member would travel down the line and plate some of the meats for you.
Antipasti Station
Located between the block of cheese and the pizza station, the Antipasti Station consisted of a fresh Caprese salad and a bowl of bowtie pasta with assorted vegetables and a light dressing. I really can't stress enough how fresh everything on the buffet line was.
Pizza Station
As far as stations go, our last station was the Pizza Station. Two pizzas were on offer here, with both excelling on the flavor scale, while appearing bland visually. There was enough flavor in both the red sauce and cheese-based pizzas, but we'd favor the cheese pizza on a return visit.
If you're looking for a traditional pizza slice like what you might find at Blaze Pizza or upstairs in Pizza Ponte, forget it. They might not look like much, but these pizzas really worked well with the rest of the buffet offerings.
…and More Station
Presented on the same table as the other "stations", there was also some salad and chilled shrimp. The peel-your-own shrimp surprised in terms of size and proved to be a favorite at the table. A large display of prosciutto could be found with the shrimp, but we found it to be a bit on the salty side. The salad continued the trend of fresh tastes and accompanied the pizza well.
A few photos of the above station offerings as they appeared on our plate.
In addition to the buffet, some delicious, buttery croissants were brought to the table.
Next up were the entrees. As part of the $35 for the prix-fixe brunch, you get to choose one entree, delivered to the table as you're enjoying the buffet.
French Toast
warm berry preserves, whipped mascarpone, granola
I don't think it's by chance that the french toast is first on the menu. This was by far the best entree offered at brunch, and would be our recommendation to you should you visit. Fresh french toast is as tall as the famous Tonga Toast at Kona Cafe. The soft french toast comes with layers of fresh berry preserves that soak through, providing a robust flavor to each bite. The fruit itself is fresh, just like everything else we've encountered up to this point. The whipped mascarpone provided a hint of vanilla to an already flavorful dish. It's a really solid offering with more flavor in a single bite than many of the other entrees contain in a full plate.
NY Strip Steak N' Eggs
served with scrambled or over easy with parm roasted potatoes
Next on the menu, we find the NY Strip Steak N' Eggs. This plate was, perhaps, the most desired plate at the table whilst reading the menu, but turned out to be woefully underwhelming.
The eggs were ordered scrambled, but came out watery. Somewhere between a cheap hotel continental breakfast and just pure egg yolk, the eggs were not good at all. The steak came out cooler than the ordered temperature, but was otherwise tolerable. The potatoes were delicious, if a bit salty, but failed to save the plate as a whole.
Farmstead Vegetable Frittata
fingerling potatoes, asparagus, forest mushrooms, tomato, onion, four cheeses
The frittata was the most underwhelming, visually. An additional side would be warranted if we ordered this as an a la carte item, but another trip to the buffet might make up for a portion that was too small on its own. The ingredients continued the trend of "fresh and flavorful". When one of the ingredients was part of your bite, I think the dish works well. However, the egg was generally bland and probably worth a pass.
Poached Hen Egg & Quinoa Kale Salad
zucchini, pepper, asparagus, green beans, tomatoes, toasted almonds, avocado, frisee, citrus vinaigrette
The Quinoa Kale Salad earns a well-deserved second place in the entree lineup behind the french toast. A diverse mixture of fresh ingredients and a light dressing lead to a refreshing dish that paired quite nicely with the generally "heavy" buffet options.
Spaghetti Alla Carbonara
parmesan cream sauce, poached hen eggs, prosciutto de parma
The Spaghetti Alla Carbonara follows the Maria and Enzo's theme of cooking their pasta closer to the al dente side than what you'll find elsewhere on Walt Disney World property. The poached hen egg found in the quinoa salad above makes its way into this dish as well in an effort to add a breakfast theme to what may otherwise be considered a forgettable dish at lunch or dinner. I did learn an Italian word during our meal, as the prosciutto de parma basically translated to "bacon" in both form and function. I think the prosciutto de parma worked well as a bacon, but the Spaghetti Alla Carbonara is really another passable entree.
Unlimited Cocktails (additional $15)
For an additional $15, you can add truly unlimited cocktails. On offer is a white peach puree and prosecco bellini and a traditional mimosa. Both are premixed and poured at the table. As far as which was more enjoyable, we'd give the advantage to the mimosa. The bellini proved to be too thick and difficult to drink and enjoy. The mimosa paired a traditional champagne with an overly pulpy orange juice. The staff was generally attentive and while the mixtures favored the juices more than the alcohol, three, four, or more glasses of mimosa still make for quite an enjoyable brunch.
Chocolate Fountain
We've finally made it to the chocolate fountain. Between the starter stations, entrees, and unlimited cocktails, it seems like quite a journey to get to dessert, but it's worth it.
A six layer fountain is surrounded by 9 different accompaniments and desserts. From cookie dough style squares, strawberries, and blueberry mini-muffins, to rice krispies, marshmallows, and yogurt, the dessert is a solid bookend to a wonderful brunch.
Our Thoughts
The Maria and Enzo's brunch is a real winner. At a $35 base price (plus $15 unlimited cocktail), we think there's some real value here compared to just about any other brunch offering we've tried. Don't let the generally underwhelming entrees scare you off. Order the french toast and come hungry. The exceptionally fresh "starter" station is a really good value, when enjoyed buffet-style. The chocolate fountain finishes the experience nicely with a wide selection of accompaniments. If you find yourself looking for a brunch option at Disney Springs, you can't go wrong with Maria and Enzo's.
P.S. if you thought that this brunch looked good, check out the first attempt that Maria and Enzo's made at brunch, with this Easter Brunch review from Scott at the Disney Cruise Line Blog.