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Poem by Langston Hughes (read by Allen Dwight Callahan) — text here
Video by Four Seasons Productions
Most of Four Seasons' videoems strike me as too literal and cliched in their interpretations. This is one of the few I kind of liked.
Poem and reading by T. S. Eliot (text here)
Animation by Everett Wilson, who writes:
I produced the visuals for this poem by T.S. Eliot in the fall of 2001, during my brief time in the Media program at the University of Lethbridge. "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock, an Animated Rendition of T.S. Eliot's Poem" appeared in the "highlights reel" of the Melbourne International Student Animation Festival, which traveled to select universities across Australia. After receiving feedback on YouTube, I replaced the original narration with T.S. Eliot's voice in this 2007 revision.
There are other Prufrock videos on YouTube, but this is by far the best of those I've seen.
Poem and reading by Billy Collins — text here
Animation by Julian Grey of Head Gear Animation, produced by JWT-NY
I have to say these Billy Collins videos from JWT-NY (there are nine total; I'll post them all eventually) are really an improvement over the straight texts. This is just a matter of personal taste, of course, but Collins' poems tend to bore me after the first reading. The video adaptations, by contrast, invite repeated viewings. I'm sure there's a lesson there somewhere…
Poem by Emily Dickinson:
I heard a Fly buzz – when I died –
The Stillness in the Room
Was like the Stillness in the Air –
Between the Heaves of Storm –
The Eyes around – had wrung them dry –
And Breaths were gathering firm
For that last Onset – when the King
Be witnessed – in the Room –
I willed my Keepsakes – Signed away
What portions of me be
Assignable – and then it was
There interposed a Fly –
With Blue – uncertain stumbling Buzz –
Between the light – and me –
And then the Windows failed – and then
I could not see to see –
Video by Lynn Tomlinson. It won the Keith Clarke Prize for animation at the 1989 Ann Arbor Film Festival.
An eerie adaptation of the Emily Dickinson poem, told from after death. Created in clay-on-glass animation. This was my first film in this technique, made in 1989.
There are a number of other animations of this poem on YouTube, but none of them hold a candle to this one.
Its only major flaw is the pixelation — perhaps the artist was trying to protect her work from being ripped off. In addition to the YouTube page linked above, Tomlinson has a proper website here.
[UPDATE 11/29/09] For a much higher quality version, see the video gallery on Tomlinson's website.
[UPDATE 2/13/12] Higher-resolution version at Vimeo swapped in (see comments).

subset: commoncrawl


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The reality of a southeastern Kansas hospital closure has pushed to the forefront the role that a Medicaid Expansion would or would not have played in keeping the doors to that hospital open. A recent news release by the Kansas Health Institute summarizes well the differences of opinion over expanding Medicaid in Kansas, and whether doing so may have avoided the closing of the hospital.
Let's first remember that Medicaid has been a state/federal partnership since 1966 that allows states to pay for medical services for low-income individuals and families using a mix of federal and state dollars. In order to participate and receive federal dollars, the feds set certain minimum core standards that states must meet in their own programs. (For more information on Medicaid see this website. For information on the core requirements see KFF issues brief, and particularly Appendix A.) Any divergence from those standards has to be approved by the feds through a waiver process. Kansas has a waiver to allow for private managed care organizations to provide Medicaid services (using those federal dollars). That program is called KanCare. Those eligible for KanCare in Kansas include those who meet income requirements in the following categories:
- Children up to age 19, including those who are in foster care or who get adoption support payments
- Pregnant Women
- Persons who are blind or disabled by Social Security rules
- Persons age 65 or older
- Persons receiving inpatient treatment for tuberculosis
- Low income families with children
- Persons screened and diagnosed with breast or cervical cancer through the Early Detection Works program
(The FPL income level varies by program but it's worth noting that the federal standard minimum income level for parents to qualify is 28% FPL. The Kansas Medicaid program qualifies these parents close to that minimum, at just under 33% of FPL, $7870 for a four person household). Kansas does not include childless adults in its Medicaid program unless they are over 65 and meet income criteria for that category.)
The Affordable Care Act allowed for states to expand eligibility for states' Medicaid programs to include all (children and adults regardless of whether or not they are parents) who have incomes under 138% of the federal poverty level ($16,243, single person household; $33,465, 4 person household, 2015). The intent of the ACA was to encourage states to adopt this arrangement. The Supreme Court ruling in June 2012 determined that the encouragement mechanism (expand or withdraw from all Medicaid federal supports) was too forceful and therefore allowed states to choose if they want to participate or not in the expansion.
Kansas is one of 19 states that have yet to expand Medicaid. There is no end date as to when states can expand. Alaska and Utah are in the process of expanding and the other 28 states and the District of Columbia have already expanded; Wisconsin has a unique arrangement to cover all adults under 100% FPL not funded through these Medicaid Expansion federal dollars. For a discussion of why states (and Kansas in particular) are not expanding see this blog.
Regarding how hospital closures play into a Medicaid Expansion: Kansas Governor Brownback and the Lt Governor Colye have been arguing that expanding Medicaid would not fix the economic situation of failing hospitals. They assert that the financial hardship for hospitals is caused by decreasing Medicare payments to hospitals as part of ACA. However, as importantly, they raise a moral issue about who is deserving of receiving state-supported care as an argument against an expansion.
"Those who say Medicaid Expansion would save the Independence Hospital are lying. It wouldn't. Instead, this Obamacare ruse funnels money to big city hospitals, creates a new entitlement class, and fails to rightly prioritize service for disabled citizens. Governor Brownback will maintain his commitment to provide care to vulnerable Kansans before able bodied adults. (for full statement see Governor's office statement on hospital closure and Medicaid Expansion.)
A point by point response from the Kansas Hospital Association can be found here. The response clarifies the reasons for Kansas hospital financial hardship, notes how these are more complicated than Medicare payment structure changes, and uses evidence on the impact on hospitals from other states that have expanded their Medicaid programs to suggest that Medicaid paying patients do help a hospital's fiscal bottom line.
At its simplest, hospitals depend on a cash flow from paying patients. Medicare, Medicaid and private insurers are all part of the mix. Patients who are uninsured are still hospitalized, often times for illnesses that would have been better treated in community settings before they got severe enough to warrant hospitalizations. Those uncompensated hospitalizations impact smaller hospitals more since there is a higher rate of uninsurance in rural and smaller communities. That means those smaller hospitals are more reliant on public payers such as Medicare and Medicaid. The argument is that with more patients eligible to have their hospitalizations paid for by Medicaid there would be an additional payer in the mix and more income flowing to meet the hospitals' expenses. And on a related and very important matter, Medicaid paying for community care for these uninsured community residents would help to decrease unnecessary hospitalizations at the outset.
Who would be eligible for Medicaid in Kansas? A report released in 2014 from the Kansas Center for Economic growth contradicts the notion that those who would be Medicaid eligible in the expansion are able-bodied adults who should be working. In fact, most of those who would be newly eligible for an expanded Medicaid program have at least one family member who is working. However, their jobs are often part time, and pay less than 100% of the FPL, the criteria for being eligible for premium tax credits in the Health Insurance Marketplace to help pay for insurance. That is, these folks are too poor to qualify for assistance in paying for premiums. This may seem odd but the ACA had a plan for those folks. It's called the Medicaid Expansion. The ACA intended for those too poor to qualify for premiums assistance to be insured through state Medicaid programs.
The report goes on to detail the types of occupations, and the wages in those occupations, where working class people are most likely to be uninsured and eligible for Medicaid if the state chose to expand within new federal guidelines. The report makes additional economic arguments for the wisdom of the expansion. "Medicaid expansion would go a long way toward increasing economic security for uninsured workers. It also would be an asset for small businesses—which will benefit from healthier and more productive employees—and the economy as a whole—which will benefit from the flow of federal dollars into the state." The Kansas Center for Economic Growth report makes the case the expanding Medicaid would be good for Kansas local economies, especially rural communities, and the state as a whole.
Previous blogs on Medicaid that might also be of interest are on: March 13, 2015; April 23, 2014, July 13, 2013; May 23, 2013; May 8, 2013


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Sweeper – Artificial turf
The trailed Holaras KGV H-170 sweeper has been specially developed for sweeping synthetic turf pitches. The brush with Ø 50 cm is driven by a hydraulic motor. This machine is easily adjustable in height by means of spindles. The frame of the sweeper is galvanized and equipped with an easily removable collection tray.


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I'm Madiha
How you doing?
This is the most visited page on my website, but it's the most difficult to write. I mean, what exactly do I write about me that would spark your interest?
I'm going to try and make this cool, funny, and just me. Try being the keyword there.
I strongly believe in cruelty free cosmetics. There's no need to hurt animals when almost everything can be made without doing so. There is just no need. And the fact that big companies chose to make a little extra money instead of choosing what is ethically right (which is my opinion) really annoys me. We all have things that tick us off, that is a big one for me.
I'm 21 years old, studying Business Management. Yet, i'm still unsure about what I want to do career wise. I don't think I ever will. I'd rather take life as it comes, and do what I enjoy at the time. That's not to say I don't enjoy planning, because I do. But planning my life is just too daunting and off putting, so i'd rather not to something that doesn't bring me happiness.
This blog mainly consists of beauty and lifestyle, and write about things as I go. I love eating out and trying new food, so you'll see some restaurant reviews here too. And let's not forget travel, I'll occasionally write posts on where I've been and what I've done. Fashion too. I do a little bit of everything, and that's okay. I enjoy more than one thing and have various interests, so I don't think my website should be limited to a niche.
This has gotten long enough, and I reckon you would've kind of gotten the hint of what I'm like. If you wanna know what I'm like more, I'm always on twitter. Like always. So send me a tweet and we can chat! x
Lots of love,


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The two things you probably know about Isetta bubble cars is that they have three wheels, and if you park too close to the garage end wall you'll get trapped because the single door is at the front and there's no reverse gear. Well, you're wrong on both counts. Only some of the British-made cars had three wheels and a disconnected reverse gear so that they could evade automobile legislation and taxation and be classed as a three-wheeled motorcycle. The rest had a conventional gearbox and four wheels, albeit with a narrow track at the rear.
The Isetta was the brainchild of Renzo Rivolta, head of the Italian engineering company Iso SpA that made, among other things, motorcycles and refrigerators.
Rivolta visualized the need for a cheap and compact town car and introduced the Isetta ("little Iso") in 1953 with a 237-cc twin-cylinder two-stroke engine. Sales were good and within a few years the design was franchised out to BMW in Germany (which wanted to bolster slow sales of their luxury cars) and Velam in France. BMW first fitted their 247-cc single cylinder motorbike engine, and later an out-sourced 297-cc single.
For a time, the Isetta was a popular mode of cheap and cheerful transport. Stiff competition from the Mini effectively killed the car by 1964, though.
The Isetta 300 pictured here benefits from a recent repaint in a two-tone scheme that complements the lines of the bodywork, and is in period style. It is to correct specification in all major respects including chrome trim and front fenders, and retains the original odometer and gas gauge. The interior is in white and gray vinyl, with the sunroof top in matching gray. Condition throughout is fair, though the chrome brightwork shows some blemishing.
This presentable example of the ubiquitous Isetta bubble car is in good running condition. While not the fastest car on the road, it will definitely elicit attention and smiles wherever it is seen.


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Keep Your Home Business Alive With These Vital Tips
Running a home business effectively is a challenging process. A great deal of preparation and planning is necessary to start a profitable one. But, once you get it off the ground, there will be issues you will need to learn to resolve. Before starting your business, there are some things you need to know and we have provided it in this article.
Take pride in your work. Don't let anyone, especially your competition, talk down to you because your business is home-based. You are leaner, more flexible, and can often offer lower prices because you have less overhead expenses. Conduct your business with a professional attitude and that is how others will see you.
Register your home business with your local chamber of commerce. Sometimes it's hard to advertise a home business inexpensively, but you can become well-known in your community by letting your chamber of commerce know where you are. People looking for your type of business can inquire and get helpful information, which will help you also. And it won't cost you anything!
Running a home business can be a difficult task if you do not take it seriously. In order to succeed at working from home, you should dress the part, have a space dedicated for work and work only, and have a set schedule. This ensures that business actually takes place when you are at home.
Make an office for yourself. If you don't have a whole room to use for your business, at least create a dedicated space for your work. That way you will be clearer about what you're doing. When you're in that space, work. When you're not in that space, don't work.
Treat yourself like a professional. Have business cards made, sign your e-mails with a proper title, and go through your entire day making decisions as if you worked at a corporate building. Your business is run from your home, but you must still carry yourself as a professional so that potential customers and clients will regard you as such.
A checking account designed for businesses helps you keep track of your business's financial activity separately from your personal finances. Use your business checking account for all your business purchases. By doing this, you will keep track of your company's finances easier. Try to get separate credit cards that you can use solely for business transactions.
A home business, just like any other business, can be stressful at times. However, that does not mean you won't be successful. As this article has shown, there are solutions to all kinds of issues along with ways to constantly and effectively improve your home business. You can succeed.


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Hauze27 Entertainment Presents brand new single from Jaywillz & Papa (Miss P) titled "Munagi".
"Munagi" is a cool blend of high-life and contemporary rhythms with a captivating lyrics and a gloriously infectious chorus, which will keep the song on the lips of its listeners for a while to come . Download, Listen & Share Your Thoughts!!
Produced By Lil Stound Mixed & Mastered By Grandmix


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Come along if you can to the Book Hive in Norwich at 6.30 pm on Thursday 14 January to help celebrate the latest book by D.J. Taylor, The Prose Factory: Literary Life in England Since 1918, which has received some terrific reviews. David will be reading from the book and will also have a topical discussion of the subject with Anthony Thwaite. It's a free event and bound to be fascinating.
Events & News


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- Absol (Pokémon)
- Darkrai (Pokémon)
- Honchkrow (Pokémon)
- Houndoom (Pokémon)
- Houndour (Pokémon)
- Mightyena (Pokémon)
- Murkrow (Pokémon)
- Poochyena (Pokémon)
- Sableye (Pokémon)
- Sneasel (Pokémon)
- Umbreon (Pokémon)
- Weavile (Pokémon)
Animated images of Dark Pokémon
Dark Pokémon Gifs
In this section you will find the best Dark Pokémon animated gifs need to share on social networks or customize its presentation of a more fun way.Images of Dark Pokémon. Anime series, manga series, video games and cartoons television series. Animated series of Pokemon characters species of Dark Pokémon. Pokémon Types. Pokémon guide with type chart.
Free images of Dark Pokémon
Dark Pokémon Clip Arts
The Dark Pokémon animated gifs can be shared on all social networks and thus make your wall more fun, you can also send each animated gif as a postcard, our system will send the gif to the person you want without having to visit any page more , do not know? try it, be satisfied
With the New Gifmania be easier to insert a gif of Dark Pokémon on your blog or wherever without having to know much, with the code we provide will be very easy.
Do you like Dark Pokémon gifs?
Dark Pokémon Animated gif images totally free that you can use in your work, in your web pages, or where you need it. All graphic material for designers, the new Gifmania is a bank of resources for design.
Dark Pokémon Graphics if you do a web of Dark Pokémon or for work, a report or any documentation required artwork. Furthermore all our gallery you can download as gifs pack.


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【#XCMGBauma16】Present to you the aerial view of XCMG at the bauma China expo so you could have a full view of the event. How many different types of machines or machine models can you name?
#bauma #bauma16 #bauma2016 #baumaChina
【#XCMGproducts】Displaying at bauma China, XGC100HD crawler crane is the powerful crane of all, not just in terms of efficiency and reliability, but also integrates different functions. Hoisting, piling, deep foundation, it satisfies any construction requirement you desire. #XCMGBauma16
Design Copies: (logo)
(title/model name) XGC100HD Crawler Crane
Max. Rated Lifting Capacity: 100t
Length of Main Boom: 64/31m (clamshell working condition)
Engine Rated Power: 298/1800 kW/(r/min)
【#徐工宝马16】创先看徐工宝马展上的机器! 所有布展已经完成了,密切期待明天的开幕。我们很期待遇见各位尊贵的客人!
【#XCMGBauma16】Here's a sneak peek of the machines that will be displaying at the bauma exhibition! Thanks to our dedicated staffs, our booth is now ready for tomorrow's opening. We look forward to seeing you all there!
#bauma #bauma16 #bauma2016 #baumaChina
我们急不及待想跟你分享最新在下星期宝马展展出的的起重机技术和超卓的起重机。紧记关注我们的 #宝马 焦点!
【#XCMGproducts】Address to different client's need, our #Ggeneration crane truck has been tested to work at an altitude of 4500 meters.
We can't wait to present to you the latest crane technology and amazing cranes models at #baumaChina next week. Be sure to stay tuned for our #bauma highlight! #bauma16 #bauma2016
【#XCMGproducts】Take a closer look at #Ggeneration in a clean and modern construction site. These photos look like sceneries from a blockbuster robotic action movie, perfectly show the heroic and powerful side of XCT90G crane truck.
【#XCMGproducts】Ever since the launch of the revolutionary #Ggeneration series, crane trucks have been re-defined. Watch this 1-minute video and discover the turning points. Also, don't miss out on those G-generation action scene of thousand hands and modern aerial flow dance as they are just too pleasant to watch.
【#XCMGproducts】Dawn means a new day and a new task. Our crane trucks are always prepared to be awakened by our hard-working labor even in the early morning. After undergone a short check up, it's now time for its hoisting show!
You can be a master in operating XCT55L6 #Ggeneration crane truck if you know these few tips! First of all, that color touchscreen in driver's cabin displays real-time information, for example, the hoisting speed with virtual graphics. See those buttons on the right? They are organized in a most user-friendly way and covers functions from safety to precise hoisting action control. #XCMGschool
Besides constructing grand buildings and infrastructures, we carried out a "Little Wishes" Charity project that make the wishes of left-behind minority children come true. XCMG volunteers visited 8 primary schools in poverty area of China and brought gifts to the children. The children are thrilled as they received XCMG toy models, books & stationaries and candies! #XCMGcares #charity #XCMG
The #Ggeneration crane truck is well-known for its great lifting potential like a King Kong! See that impressive analytic data and be charmed by its ability.
Design Copies:
Title: XCA220 All-Terrain Crane
10.4-inch color touchscreen
Maximum moving speed: 84KM/h
Hydraulic oil temperature: always <80℃
Climbing gravity: 67%


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Propper® 3-in-1 Hardshell Parka
The 3-in-1 Hard-Shell Parka is an outerwear garment that's ready for duty. Easily adapt to the weather. This waterproof parka is versatile and can be stripped down to the liner, or paired with the entire 3-in-1 system for protection from extreme conditions. Two pockets at the waist include zipper closure and chest pocket magnetic closure. Pullout panels on the back and chest are provided for your I.D.
Adapt to the ever-changing weather with the waterproof Propper® 3-in-1 Hardshell Parka. Fully sealed seams with a front storm flap, adjustable hood and cuffs keep weather out. An included removable fleece jacket provides additional comfort and warmth. Wear it alone, or zip it into the waterproof parka for a warm and dry shell. Pockets inside and out allow for ample secure storage, and the removable and stowable ID panels allow for identification when necessary. The 3-in-1 system is easily customizable for on duty use.
What does the alpha L and R stand for?
Is there a list on what is recommended to Zip easily into the Propper 3-in-1 Hardshell Parka
How long is size XL tall from shoulder to hem? I'm 6ft 4in & jackets less than 35 inches aren't an option.
What is the part # for the Screen Print for the Back ID Placard and what would be our Cost at US Patriot Tactical. Please email this info
NTOA Member Tested and Recommended
With reviews from three different NTOA members, the Propper® 3 in 1 Hardshell Parka received their seal of approval garnering an overall score of 3.97 out of a possible 5 with its design, performance and durability praised across the board.
Reviewer 1
Upon receiving the parka, I noticed it was a little light as far as parkas go. After looking at the parka, I noticed ample pockets. If the inner fleece liner is removed, there are two pockets on the inside of the rain shell that have loop Velcro in them allowing for the user to attach holsters/holders. There are also removable pull-out ID panels on the front and back of the rain shell. At first, I removed the fleece liner and wore just the rain shell. This was warm enough for weather in the upper 30s/40's. I also wore the shell in the rain on a few occasions and the water beaded up well. The shell did not absorb water and I stayed dry. The sides of both the rain shell and the fleece liner unzip to allow for easy access to a sidearm. The problem I found with unzipping the side when wearing just the rain shell is that the zipper goes all the way up to the arm pit and despite only unzipping it far enough to access my sidearm, the entire side of the coat would unzip soon after if I did much movement. After I removed the fleece liner I tried it on and found it the body of the liner was cut very short. Propper advertises the liner to be a stand-alone jacket but I found the fit to be unsatisfactory to wear on its own. The short fit of it surprised me because the rain shell was plenty long. I then put the liner back in the rain shell as temperatures dropped. I found the parka to be warm enough until the temps/wind chill hit the single digits, however, it is not as warm as other parkas and jackets I own. The shell did a good job of blocking the wind though. When wearing the parka with the liner, I noticed there was not much room for layering, especially in the arms. I noticed that when I wore long sleeves, it was much harder to keep my sleeves down than on other coats I own. Initially when I got the parka I also noticed that the keepers that attach the liner to the shell did not seem very strong. Because of that I took special care when pulling my arms out to try to keep from breaking the keepers that attach the liner to the shell near the wrists, but I still broke one of the keepers. I also found that when putting the parka on, the liner extends out of the shell a bit due to the tight fit of the liner around the wrist so I would have to push the liner back in the shell after putting the parka on. There is also a rain flap covering the zipper of the shell and it closes with Velcro. I noticed it almost always closes on its own after I zip up the parka. The flap was designed with the patches of Velcro that close it extending all the way to the edge of the flap so undoing the flap when taking the coat off is cumbersome since there is no material to grab to pull it open. Other than the keepers that attach the liner to the shell, the parka seems durable. I have also noticed that dirt and dust brush off the shell easily. For me, I like the rain shell and will continue to use that on rainy spring and fall days. As for using the parka with the liner attached for cold weather, I found it not as comfortable or easy to use as other coats I own and will likely use other products moving forward.
Reviewer 2
The 3 in 1 Hardshell Parka was designed and made by Propper. If you have not experienced Propper, they design similar clothes for the budget. If you have ever worn a 3:1 jacket, this jacket is exactly like the others with some minor issues. The inner liner meant for cool days is a thin fleece jacket. The issue with the inner liner is that there are no wrist straps. The current sleeves are lined with an oversize elastic material. Small straps are included to keep the inner liner inside the outer liner. When I put on the jacket, I would often have to adjust the inner liner back underneath the outer liner. The outer layer is designed with side zippers for ease in accessing your radio and duty weapon. Several pockets are included in the liner. Two concealable ID panels are included which allow for screen printing for sewing on identification patches. The material for the outer layer is a waterproof material which doubles as a rain jacket. My suggestion to make the jacket better is add hook and loop wrist straps to adjust the sleeve diameter. Also this jacket has a stowable hood in the collar. This jacket has provided me with warmth in the bitter cold days in the Midwest. The outer shell could stand up to elements and the daily duty wear of law enforcement. Minor tears and rips were produced after dragging the jacket along the concrete for a 50 yard dummy drag, but what would you expect after dragging something across concrete?
Reviewer 3
I tested Propper's 3 in 1 Hardshell Parka and all I can say is it's great! I work plainclothes, so I was able to put this parka to its test. I have been wearing it daily since I received it, and it has not failed in any way. The jacket has a removal hood and a fleece liner, which can be worn by itself. Both the liner and the outer shell have zipper sides for easy access to your duty weapon. The parka also has three hidden agenda panels that remove with Velcro. There are pockets everywhere on this parka. The pockets are very deep and close with a zipper. It even has a chest pocket that closes with a magnet. The chest pocket provides perfect storage for your cell phone. The parka was extremely warm when worn all together. I work in Wisconsin and it can get bitterly cold here, but I stayed warm wearing the 3 in 1 Hardshell Parka. I was called out in the middle of the night for an outdoor crime scene when the temperature was near zero. The coat proved to be very helpful as I was able to concentrate on the scene, due to not being cold. In a nut shell, this parka is very functional, stylish and a good every day jacket. I would definitely recommend this jacket for duty use.
From Spotter Up Tactical
"The 3-in-1 Parka hit the nail on the head while designing this it has a great feel to it and is very lightweight even in the full configuration which is always nice because others I have had have always had a heavyweight thick type fit." Read the rest at https://spotterup.com/propper-3-1-hardshell-parka/
- Parka: 7 oz 100% nylon / waterproof
- Fleece Liner: 6.5 oz 100% polyester
- Waterproof with sealed seams
- Durable water repellent (DWR) resists dirt and moisture
- Fully lined with removable fleece jacket
- Removable hood with extended rigid brim and elastic cinch cord
- Storm flap with 2-way Vislon® zipper
- Concealed chest pockets with removable pull-out ID panels
- Magnetic document pocket
- Tricot lined hand pockets with zipper closure
- Two-way side seam zip for ventalation and duty belt access
- Back pull-out ID panel
- Lower back dump pocket
- Internal chest pockets with wire pass-through
- Internal loop lined carry pocket
- NTOA member tested and approved
- Imported
Fleece Liner
- 6.5 oz midweight fleece
- Dual hand warmer pockets
- Internal front pockets
- Elastic cuffs
- Imported


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It is a bit tricky to enable PHP on Linux to work with MS-SQL server. Here is a procedure for[…]Read more
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Liz Pedro
Liz is an elementary school teacher, professional beach volleyball player, and business owner for All Angles Volleyball Training. When she is not teaching in the classroom or coaching young athletes, she is in the sand and sun - working with her beach partner to improve their game. Try and keep up with Liz this summer as she travels the country competing and sporting her Waves gear!
Follow Liz on Instagram at: Keepingupwithcoachliz


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Show notes for the 21st of October 2013
Hosts: Ryan, Hugh, Pat
Title: Coming Full Circle
This week in space/astronomy history:
1. October 23, 2013 – Planck satellite shuts off forever! Today (Oct. 21), ESA ordered Planck to run its thrusters to empty. After years hovering at a Lagrange point, the telescope will be put in a 'parking orbit' to circle the sun, keeping it away from the Earth and moon for at least several centuries. The last command will be sent Oct. 23. Among other milestones, Planck released a cosmic map in March refining the Universe's age to 13.82 billion years. (Suggested Reading: Universe Today article)
2. October 24, 1946 – The first photo of Earth from space was taken. The black-and-white photos were taken from an altitude of 65 miles (104 km), above the commonly accepted boundary of space at 100 kilometres, by a 35-millimeter motion picture camera on a V-2 missile launched from the White Sands Missile Range. The rocket-borne camera climbed straight up, then fell back to Earth … the camera itself was smashed, but the film, protected in a steel cassette, was unharmed. (Suggested Reading: Air & Space)
3. October 1923 – First public planetarium show, Deutsches Museum in Munich
4. October 22, 1905 – Karl Jansky born, father of radio astronomy
5. October 22, 2136 BC – The first documented solar eclipse. Two astronomers in ancient China (astrologers, back then) were beheaded for failing to predict a solar eclipse (they were too fond of drink, hence they are informally known as Hi & Ho the drunk astronomers). Identifications of this event have varied from 2165 – 1948 BCE, though the favoured date is October 22, 2137 BCE. The emperor became very unhappy because, without knowing that there was an eclipse coming, he was unable to organize teams to beat drums and shoot arrows in the air to frighten away the invisible dragon. (Suggested Reading: Astronomy Today article)


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|Saint-Gobain Distribution Bâtiment France, Construction materials
|Saint-Gobain Distribution commits to serious games to bring its training further into the digital sphere
|Skills Developed
|Continuous Learning, self-confidence, communicating effectively, steady focus, conflict management, innovation and creativity, leadership, negotiation, drive to deliver results, analytical thinking, planning, organizing and coordinating, problem solving, tolerance to pressure, decision-making, customer service.
|Period: 2016-2017. Trained employees: 200.
|Serious Games
|Merchants, Negotiation and Conflict Resolution Serious Game
Saint-Gobain Distribution Bâtiment France is France's largest distributor of construction materials, with 2,200 sales points throughout the country. The company is part of the Saint-Gobain corporate group, which specializes in manufacturing glass and other high-performance construction materials and has nearly 200,000 employees worldwide.
From Campus Pro, Saint-Gobain Distribution Bâtiment France's internal training center, the company meets the challenge of addressing the needs of its employees and ensures that they are not only operational in the field but can also carry out their functions at the highest level possible. In this context, the French company opted for Gamelearn's serious games.


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High School Statistics
Redshirted during the 2013-14 season after missing the majority of training camp after coming down with mono.
Immediate Projection
Considering that he's missed an entire season because he was sick, it is hard to project what Williams will be able to do because we haven't seen him play in an Ohio State uniform. But Thad Matta said he is back at full strength and has his weight and conditioning back to where it needs to be and after Ohio State's shooting woes this year he will be looked to for production from the outside.
Help us bring you more Buckeye coverage. Contribute to the-Ozone.
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This material may not be published, rebroadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.


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Main Page
Our workshop titled "Digital data preservation, sharing, and discovery: Challenges for Small Science Communities in the Digital Era" took place May 16-17, 2007, at NESCent.
A joint project of NESCent and the UNC Metadata Research Center
DRIADE (Digital Repository of Information and Data for Evolution) is a planned repository for data underlying published works in the field of evolutionary biology. DRIADE will support data acquisition, ensure long-term preservation of data objects, and promote resource discovery, data sharing, and data reuse of heterogeneous digital datasets.
The project aims to address a number of challenges in effectively storing and retrieving heterogeneous scientific data. Chief among them is to use emerging information technologies to avoid placing an undue burden of metadata generation on the individual researcher while at the same time capturing sufficient metadata to enable resource discovery and reuse.
DRIADE's plans include the following functionalities:
- Computer-aided metadata generation and augmentation to assist the data provider in capturing metadata of sufficient richness and quality to enable advanced data discovery, reusability and data integration.
- Specialized modules allowing data submission to be coordinated with manuscript review and publication, as well as with the submission process to external specialized databases (e.g. for sequence data, phylogenies, anatomical images). This will provide one-stop data submission for the user.
- Data and metadata quality control, which will be overseen by a curatorial staff, supported by a separate data curation software module that employs automatic techniques to evaluate metadata quality.
- An identity, authority and data security module will implement fine-grained data access privileges for users using global user identities.
- Resource discovery, sharing, and interoperability with external repositories will be enabled by implementing the OAI-PMH metadata harvesting standard supplemented by custom web services. These services will be exposed to collaborating journals, specialized data repositories, third-party content aggregators, and the DRIADE web portal itself.
Extensive evaluations and user testing are being employed throughout the design and implementation process by
- conducting metadata generation studies and analyzing the resulting quality of metadata content,
- conducting information retrieval experiments and usability studies to evaluate the effectiveness and performance of the system.
Stakeholders from evolutionary biology journals and scientific societies are helping NESCent to develop a business model to ensure the long-term maintenance and financial sustainability of the repository.
This wiki is for the use of working group participants. If you would like to obtain access, please send a request to Hilmar Lapp.
- 17:51, 4 May 2007 (EDT) We are organizing a workshop, titled "Digital data preservation, sharing, and discovery: Challenges for Small Science Communities in the Digital Era". The workshop takes place May 16-17, 2007, at NESCent.
- Mar 2007 (EDT) We are looking for a highly motivated individual to join NESCent's Informatics team as a Digital Data Repository Architect. For details please see the full job advertisement on the NESCent employment page.


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Upcoming Festivals
Reason to Travel
Food & Drink
Hill Station
Off beat
Music & Culture
Spa and Wellness
Special Events
When: October 2020 (Date to be confirmed)
Where: Germany
Christopher Street Day is celebrated every year in recognition to the gay rights. The day is also significant for lesbians, bisexuals and transsexuals as a vow is taken to treat all these communities with equal respect. The events at the festival are followed by street processions, stage programmes and solo performances of professional artists and at almost every spot you will find information stands keeping you updated about the very next event. From film screenings, panel discussions, parties, barbeques, political discussions, seminars and other cultural activities, Christopher Street Day has everything for every gay and lesbian person.
Apart from the Christopher Street Day parade, the festival in the Old Town of Cologne, the AIDS-Gala of the AIDS-Hilfe Cologne and the Colour-Party are also an essential part of the Christopher Street Day Festival. The origin of Christopher Street Day is to celebrate the pride in Gay and Lesbian culture. The large parade is carried throughout the city and with over 1 million participants, the festival for the gay community is gaining momentum year by year!
The celebrations are centered around Marienplatz and Rindmarkt. A great festive atmosphere prevails and the gay community celebrates their sexuality. Flagging off the celebrations with a parade starting in Old Town, Marienplatz over 50 floats take part, drag queens grace the occasion replete in their feather boas and high heels. This is a time when the gay community to come out in full force and demand recognition with many political speeches being delivered. It's a fun time to be part of these celebrations with riotous comedy acts being performed. Many celebrations and races are held, with the highlight of this event being the ''high heels race'', where it is a treat to watch the contestants scrambling to win wearing high heels, handbags et al.
The Rindmarkt area, just a 5 minutes away from marienplatz is also a place of celebration with huge stages that have well known DJs mixing music and everyone dancing in gay abandon! So come be a part of the Christopher Street Day event in Munich!
It fun, its colourful, its Christopher Street Day in Hamburg! The Gay Pride week kicks off with speeches and parades. The CSD celebrations are a time for fun and festivity, but it is also about creating awareness, acceptance and demanding equal rights for the gay community.
Parades that host colourful floats roll out onto the streets of the city, the LGBT community is out in full force and there is much merriment with street parties, music and dancing.
The motto this year is 'Show yourself. Out is in!' So be there to support the burgeoning gay community and take part in the feisty celebrations.
For more information on How to Get to Germany


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Welcome to the OrthoFY1 Site!
OrthoFY1 aims to give you the knowledge, skills and attitudes to get the most out of your placement in orthopaedics and trauma.
It is written, in the main, by FY1 and Core Trainee doctors who have been in your shoes. They want to share their experience with you. If you have useful tips to add, please feel free to contribute.
Top Tips
Useful Information from Your Colleagues
Pain prolongs recovery and therefore length of stay, as does over medicating with opiates! In orthopaedics we most commonly use oxycontin/oxynorm for pain relief as it is tolerated better by the elderly population. If someone is using lots of oxynorm, add up the total opiates they received in a 24hour period and increase their oxycontin to equal the total dose of opiates they had the day before.* Breakthough doses should be the total oxycontin a patient receives over a 24hr period divided by 6.
If in doubt ask the pharmacist or pain team.
*We have a lot of IVDUs as inpatients, they will always ask for the maximum amount
Mauris mattis est quis dolor venenatis vitae pharetra diam gravida. Vivamus dignissim, ligula vel ultricies varius, nibh velit pretium leo, vel placerat ipsum risus luctus purus.
Nam nunc lectus, congue non egestas quis, condimentum ut arcu. Nulla placerat, tortor non egestas rutrum, mi turpis adipiscing dui, et mollis turpis tortor vel orci. Cras a fringilla nunc. Suspendisse volutpat, eros congue scelerisque iaculis, magna odio sodales dui, vitae vulputate elit metus ac arcu.
Suspendisse volutpat, eros congue scelerisque iaculis, magna odio sodales dui, vitae vulputate elit metus ac arcu. Mauris consequat rhoncus dolor id sagittis. Cras tortor elit, aliquet quis tincidunt eget, dignissim non tortor.
The Editing Team
Aziz ElgindiCurrent FY1
Aziz Elgindi graduated from St. George's Hospital Medical School in London in 2014. He has worked as an FY1 in Central Manchester Foundation Trust. He is interested in a career in a surgical speciality.
Amer ShoaibConsultant
Amer Shoaib is a Consultant Orthopaedic Surgeon who specialises in Limb Reconstruction Surgery and Foot and Ankle Surgery. He has an interest in complex fractures and conflict orthopaedic surgery. He has worked in diverse adverse environments including Bosnia, Haiti and Syria. He has been a Consultant since 2008.
James CollinsCore Trainee
James graduated from Manchester Medical School in 2011. He has worked at Central Manchester Foundation Trust as a FY doctor, as well as a surgical core trainee. He wants to specialise in Orthopaedic Surgery. He is a keen sailor.
Break into Orthopaedic Surgery
If you think there is something that could be added to this website or the induction handbook, then please contact us to let us know.
Organisation Clinical Knowledge Procedures Portfolio Resources


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COPENHAGEN – At CPH:DOX, Normann Copenhagen demonstrates the transformative power of its furniture to adapt to different social functions.
BROOKLYN – Aaron Forrest and Yasmin Vobis of Ultramoderne spoke to Frame about their interior installation, Table's Clear, at the Architectural League's Beaux Art's Ball.
ROTTERDAM – In 2016, The MTV European Music Awards was held in the Netherlands for the second time, an edition that struck the city of Rotterdam with a rock 'n' roll circus.
AMSTERDAM – Following in the footsteps of its successful former edition, the latest eagerly awaited Happening 2 book is now available!
LOMBARDY – Visitors to Christo and Jeanne-Claude's work The Floating Piers in Italy this summer experienced the sensation of walking on water.
NEW YORK – The Wonderland agency, along with light and space artist Matthew Schreiber, developed an exhibition for Audi inspired by the LED technology and innovative design that are synonymous with …
MILAN – Iridescent lights shining through the ceiling highlight surrounding geometries and spread a synthetic dawn throughout the room for Prada's Spring/Summer 2016 womenswear show.
TOKYO – A unique installation by Emmanuelle Moureaux immersed visitors in a chromatic floral world in a celebration of NSK's innovative technology at Tokyo's cultural venue Spiral …
STOCKHOLM – Swedish theatre designer Johanna Mårtensson and composer Ida Lunden offer a contemporary take on the traditional pipe organ with the interactive musical instrument Orgel.
PARIS – When presenting its latest collection during Paris Fashion Week, Acne Studios chose an old school near Le Marais, in central Paris as the location.
TOKYO – For an exhibition at DMM.Planets in Japan, interdisciplinary collective teamLab invited visitors to take off their shoes and immerse themselves in a maze of digital art.
DUBAI – An artisanal Chewing Gum Factory by London-based studio Bombas & Parr was placed at the centre of Meet d3, a festival to inaugurate the Dubai Design District.


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Former porn star Mia Khalifa posts video with Texans' Deshaun Watson
On the day he's expected to get his first start in the NFL, Texans rookie quarterback Deshaun Watson woke up on his 22nd birthday with a happy birthday message from former porn star Mia Khalifa on Thursday morning.
Khalifa tweeted well wishes to Deshaun: "Happy birthday, @deshaunwatson! For the record, I let u block that dunk cause ur a rookie and I didn't wanna risk hurting you before game 1." Accompanied with the tweet is a video of Watson and Khalifa playing Nerf basketball. It's impossible to tell when the seven-second video clip was filmed. She also posted the message on Instagram.
Khalifa told TMZ Sports the video was after she invited Watson over for a home-cooked meal recently. She also said the two are just friends.
The 24-year-old Khalifa, who grew up in Maryland and currently lives in Austin, has since retired from the porn industry. She's a huge sports fan and has a big fan base on Twitter with 1.84 million followers where she frequently tweets about sports including her love for Florida State football and all Washington, D.C., professional sports teams.
Happy birthday, @deshaunwatson! For the record, I let u block that dunk cause ur a rookie and I didn't wanna risk hurting you before game 1 pic.twitter.com/AdS42yZ7hj— Mia Khalifa (@miakhalifa) September 14, 2017
She also has outed several athletes who have tried to send her private messages on Twitter. She screenshotted attempts from former Mississippi quarterback Chad Kelly trying to send her direct messages over Twitter before a game against Florida State. He tried it again a couple months later, and once again, she screenshotted his messages and posted them for the world to see.
SAVAGE: Tom Savage's agent sounds off on Texans about his client's benching
On Monday, Khalifa hosted a livestream on Twitch where she raised money for the American Red Cross while she and a friend watched Monday Night Football.


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Register to vote
Before you can vote, you must register to vote. In order to register to vote you must be,
- A Citizen of the United States of America
- A resident of Arizona for 29 days
- 18 years of age or more on or before the day of the next regular General Election
- Not be a convicted felon, unless your civil rights have been restored
- Must not have been adjudicated incompetent
If this is your first time registering to vote in Arizona or you have moved to another county in Arizona, your voter registration form must also include proof of citizenship. If you have an Arizona driver license or non-operating identification card issued after October 1, 1996, all you'll need is your driver license number. If you do not have a driver license or state-issued i.d., see below for alternative forms of proof.\
Ways to register.
Online : You may register online using Service Arizona EZ Voter Registration by clicking (here) and follow the instructional steps. Note: In order to use this link you must have an Arizona Driver License and/or an Arizona non-operating Identification Card issued by the Motor Vehicle Division (MVD) on or after October 1st, 1996. Upon successful completion of the online EZ Voter registration, you will receive a confirmation number. The confirmation number is your receipt the information you entered has been accepted and changed.
Print a Form: You may obtain a printable form online, fill in the form, print the form, sign and date it, affix the proper postage and mail the form to the County Recorder of the county in which you are a legal resident.
By Mail : You may request an Arizona Voter Registration form from the County Recorder in the county in which you are a legal resident.
In Person : You may visit the County Recorder in the county in which you are a legal resident and complete an Arizona Voter Registration form.
If not, you must attach proof of citizenship to the form. Only one acceptable form of proof is needed to register to vote. The following is a list of acceptable documents to establish your citizenship:
- A legible photocopy of a birth certificate that verifies citizenship and supporting legal documentation (i.e. marriage certificate) if the name on the birth certificate is not the same as your current legal name
- A legible photocopy of pertinent pages of a United States passport identifying the applicant
- Presentation to the County Recorder of United States naturalization documents or fill in your Alien Registration Number in box 19 on the front of this form
- The applicant's Bureau of Indian Affairs Card Number, Tribal Treaty Card Number, or Tribal Enrollment Number in box 16 on the front of the voter registration form
- A legible photocopy of a driver license or non-operating identification from another state within the United States if the license indicates that the applicant has provided satisfactory proof of citizenship
- A legible photocopy of a Tribal Certificate of Indian Blood or Tribal or Bureau of Indian Affairs Affidavit of Birth.


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A few days ago at CinemaCon, Ben Stiller premiered the first footage from his upcoming movie, The Secret Life of Walter Mitty. In the film, Stiller stars as the eponymous LIFE Magazine proofreader who, incapable of standing up for himself in the real world, retreats to a fantasy where he becomes his poised, confident opposite. On his quests, he seeks to find a missing image taken by a photographer played by Sean Penn. The movie stars Kristen Wiig as his love interest, and Adam Scott, Shirley MacLaine, Patton Oswalt, and Kathryn Hahn. While Stiller is known for his great work behind the camera on Tropic Thunder and Zoolander, Walter Mitty is definitely his most adult work to date and the footage I viewed show heart, humor and restraint. Look for this to be an Awards contender at the end of the year.
Shortly after premiering the footage, I participated in a small press conference with Ben Stiller and Kristen Wiig. They talked about balancing fantasy and reality, Steve Conrad's script, comparisons to the original, the tone, filming in Iceland, David Bowie (the song Major Tom plays a role in the film), how the script changed when actors signed on, and more. Hit the jump to either listen to or read what they had to say.
Click here to listen to the audio of this interview. Otherwise the full transcript is below.
Question: Ben, you said this was your most fulfilling experience. Why, what was so good about working on this?
BEN STILLER: You know, it's just been such a full experience and I wasn't kidding, we are still working on it. It's been a very long and complete experience in terms of the development of the script with Steve and the story. I think it all starts with the material and the script that Steve wrote and what he was aspiring to in the script. So, I guess to be in that territory, for me, it was a little scary because it was new. Looking at a movie not looking at it as a director, not necessarily just as a comedy, and having a different criteria in how to connect with an audience and tell the story in a way that serves the story and allows people to feel what you would hope they would feel. That whole process has been great and exciting, and then just working with the cast and the actors and how everybody I think felt working on the movie from the beginning. They all felt connected to what Steve had written and what we were trying to do, so that part of it. It's had so many aspects: working on the visual effects, going to Iceland, doing a scene with comedic genius person. But seriously, it's just a lot of different things and so that's I think good.
The film is very much about following your dreams and living your own life. Was there anything in your own lives that's unexplored, some desire that you have, some place that you want to go.
KRISTEN WIIG: Like an actual place? Actually, it was very inspiring for me to watch Ben directing and acting in this movie because I do hope to someday, maybe direct something and so I feel like that was kind of a free class for me, to get to watch how it's actually done. I don't know how…
STILLER: Maybe you should go to a different school.
WIIG: I don't know how he wore so many hats on this thing and also it was a challenging movie to do with all the special effects, CGI, and then he's acting, age makeup, it was a lot of stuff. And to watch him work and see how you do it while also being cool and nurturing and generous. I feel lucky to have watched that. It's weird to talk about it when he's right next to me.
Ben, anything unexplored in your mind?
STILLER: I'd love to travel more. I really look forward to traveling with my kids. I'm just waiting for them to want to travel with me.
WIIG: I want to travel with your kids too. That's my second fantasy.
STILLER: No you don't, believe me. You know, going to different places, I'd love to go to Asia. I've been to Japan but I've never been to China, I'd love to go to China. I don't know, I like to go to places that are remote. So, I think I'd like to do that more. And just sort of also explore not having a structured work life someday, to have more free time to sort of see what happens.
This film does seem completely divergent from Zoolander and Tropic Thunder. I'm just curious, through tone alone, was that something that you really wanted to explore?
STILLER: Yeah. I think that all came from Steve's script, really. Steve and I talked about it, it was trying to find this reality that felt real but also allowed for where the story goes. Because, I do think it's kind of a little bit hyper real but I felt like it was important. It was a tone that people always felt it could be happening. Honestly I think any movie, the tone of the movie has to be consistent. That's the key to the movie. In Zoolander it's like a really crazy world or Tropic Thunder. But you have to stay consistent. For this movie I think it was a little bit different because the tone was a little more realistic but not quite too. It was intentionally a little bit stylized too.
Could you talk a little bit about the theme of the original short story, and it looks like the film about ordinary people. How all of us want to be extraordinary and how everybody has dreams. How interested and inspired were you by the wonderful short story, which has become kind of embedded in our culture?
STILLER: The short story, I remember reading it as a kid in school and it stuck with me. I remember there was a lot of things like the phrases in it, I didn't quite understand. I think the first time I ever read the phrase "Coals to Newcastle," I didn't know what it meant. It really stuck with me but as I got older, I guess the idea of the life that you lead being the one that you end up living as opposed to what you imagined it being and you get to a certain point in your life where you start going, "Wait, I've lived a lot of my life. I keep on thinking this is going to happen or I dream about this happening, and it didn't quite happen. Yet, maybe." So that theme of being in your life and kind of always think what do I want it to be and doing that, you sort of lose touch with the moment, was something that I thought, in Steve's script, was really there; the ability to sort of be in the present moment. Walter is always thinking about what he wants to do or what he wants to be but he's not there in the moment.
WIIG: I think no matter what kind of life you have, whether it looks one way to people or another way, you always have moments when you imagine a different life.
You guys keep talking about the quality of Steve's scripts. Often, when a lot of actors sign on, you tailor certain people. Was this one of these projects where everyone really responded to the script. Were they just like, "We're going to do what's on the page?" Could you talk about how the script changed with the casting?
STILLER: First off all I think it had a very Conradian tone, I really think he has his own tone. As I've said, I've been a fan of his from other movies and we actually worked on another movie together that hasn't gotten made. I knew him a little bit and he's a really flexible writer and he likes to rewrite and he likes to think of actors. I know when Kristen came aboard, he got really excited because it was a chance for him to imagine her voice and get more specific with who Cheryl was. He enjoys that process and I think that for me and Steve, the year we spent working on the script before we went to the stages of pre-productions, a lot of it was trying to hone in on the tone we were talking about. In terms of the voice for Walter, I always felt like he had a clear sense of what that was. It was less about tailoring the voice and more about trying to get the story to a place where, he has a lot of very amazing images and moments that happen, and I think we both worked towards trying to make it a story you could believe could happen, because it goes to these sort of amazing places. That was a lot of what the work was.
His character seems pretty realistic.
STILLER: Realistic, yes. I think it's impossible for Sean to not be realistic.
It was difficult to find an equilibrium between reality and imagination in all the movie. Sometimes it's difficult in life. So I wanted to know, how did you approach this balance?
STILLER: I think it's really an editorial process more than anything, the balance of the fantasies to reality. In the writing of the script, I think it was the idea, like I said before, the tone and trying to keep it consistent and allowing for this world where you could buy that these things would happen and a guy would go off into the world and jump on a plane and meet these people. There are movies I remember like Local Hero, that I remember having a really great tone, it was comedic and kind of quirky but also real and soulful. I got inspired by movies like that or being there. I think with Sean, it was really about making this character a real person because he's kind of mythic in the story. When we do meet him and finally see him in the story, I want him to be a real person. And Sean actually, himself, really brought a lot of ideas for what Sean O'Connel in the movie would say, that were great and became part of the script. He also brought a lot of humor to it. Again, it's the type of movie where I wanted the audience to be able to enjoy what was happening in the film on a level where they're not sort of feeling like "now it's serious, now it's funny," it's all kind of okay, and Sean brought that to it. You have to remember, Sean is a really funny actor. You know, he's Jeff Spicoli, which is one of the greatest comedic performances on film.
I think we were all surprised at how beautiful it was. I'm curious about the conversations you had with your cinematographer and how that partnership was formed.
STILLER: Yeah. Well we had a pretty clear idea of what we wanted the movie to look like and I think that just comes from talking and looking at pictures together and references and watching movies together. Then, when you get to Iceland, it's such an incredibly beautiful place and the light is so amazing, that it's hard not to shoot stuff that looks good there (laughs).
WIIG: Yeah, the movie is breathtaking to see the whole thing. There are shots that are really amazing.
STILLER: I think a lot of that comes from the diligence of, you gotta go out and keep trying to get that moment. We were lucky enough to have this really great small second unit of like 3 guys. This great cinematographer named Eric Wilson, who shot a movie called Submarine, a British movie, that I had met because our company had executive produced it a couple years ago, and he's incredibly talented. He was our second unit DP, and every day him and Phil Nielsen who is our second unit director and Michael Luhrmann who's an incredible AD, who does big movies, but he was our second unit guy. Every day they would go out, and we had a list of things we would try to get. And then some days I would meet up with them for a shot at the end of the day or at the beginning of the day, and we would keep on going back and back until we felt like we had a good version of stuff. Then we started a catalogue of a lot of stuff that we could use. But then honestly we just got lucky. We got very lucky, because the weather in Iceland changes so quickly. There are scenes, you saw a couple of cuts, like, there's a scene where he's skateboarding down a mountain and we had two days to shoot it because we'd only be there those two days. The day before we were there, the whole mountain was just socked in and you couldn't see anything. And then it miraculously opened up for us for two days. Things like that happened along the shoot, it was special.
WIIG: Yeah. It was kind of magical.
STILLER: And, I saw Russell Crowe in Iceland before because they were shooting Noah there, and they were just leaving when we came and he said, "You gotta dominate the weather." (laughs) And I was like, "Okay, I will make sure to dominate the weather. Thanks Russell." But he was right (laughs). He was right because you couldn't wait around for a cloud to leave. You just had to go and do it and it's going to change, it's going to be different. And somehow, the weather respects you for going forward. So it was an amazing time.
WIIG: Yeah, you got through that windstorm.
STILLER: Yeah. Well the windstorm ended up being great. It helped us because we had to shut down for a couple days and it was a point in the shoot where we all needed to shut down anyway and just take a second. It gave us a chance to rehearse more. So all of these things seemed to fall in place and it was just an amazing experience being there. It was great.
I was gonna ask you about your scenes with nature in Iceland. How did you do the shark scene where you jumped into the water with the sharks?
STILLER: Right. Yeah. That was just luck. What we did is we waited for the seas to-
WIIG: (laughs) We waited for a shark and-
STILLER: We waited for a shark-
WIIG: And we were so lucky he went right into the camera (laughs). We just put a piece of meat right over the-
STILLER: We waited for swells to come up because we needed a storm, which, literally in the last two days that we were there the swells came up big enough so that we could shoot the scene, so that we could jump in the water and get the trawler out there. And the light condition was just ended up being what it was which was like this Icelandic light and again we got lucky enough that it was consistent enough for a couple of days.
WIIG: But Ben was like in the water fully doing all of that stuff.
Were you using real sharks or…
STILLER: Oh yeah. No, no. We had fake sharks (laughing). Still working on the fake sharks.
Kristen, we've seen you as a variety of characters on SNL. Did you enjoy the fact that with this movie, you could play different versions of your character?
WIIG: Yeah, it was kind of like the best of both worlds because of the different fantasies that Walter goes into. He imagines different versions of me because I'm his love interest in the movie and yeah, it was kind of like a good meeting of those two worlds. In movies you're obviously the same character, same wardrobe, same everything for months, where SNL is different every four minutes or something. Yeah, it was fun to do that.
STILLER: Can I say something?
WIIG: Yeah.
STILLER: I just think Kristen is, I wouldn't say an underrated actress, because I feel like people haven't had the chance to see you in roles like this, where she's just so realistic and so funny. That's a really not an easy thing to do and to be and I think what's exciting for me in this movie is people seeing you in that and yet she also gets to be really Kristen funny too. But, I think that's why she's so successful as an actress and a comedic actress is that, people can feel she's a real person too and that's just a crazy combination of things that not many people have.
Ben, was there anything from the 1940s version that carried over?
STILLER: There was not much because I really feel like that movie is wonderful on its own and Danny Kaye was so talented in such specific ways that I am not (laughs) that I did not want to attempt that. The thing I did learn, because John Goldwyn, our producer, his grandfather did that movie, and we've had the same sort of experience of putting the film together where, as you try to figure out the balance of fantasy and reality, how that works, and fantasies that you shoot but you don't end up using, how to tell the story and moving the story forward while still having time. Going to the fantasies but not going to the fantasies for too long so the story can move forward, because the audience really wants the story to move forward, but yet, the movie's about the fantasies. Apparently, they had those same issues when they were making their movie and so we learned that that's been a constant thing with the Mitty story.
Kristen, I wanted to ask if Major Tom was a big thing for you growing up. Were you a big David Bowie fan?
WIIG: I am a big David Bowie fan. That was a little bit intimidating to know that I had to sing that song (laughs) but Ben described that scene to me. Very early on he kind of had that imagined a while ago, and I was so excited. I took guitar lessons and recorded the song in New York. It was kind of a dream. I got to pretend I was a recording artist for a couple days.
STILLER: Yeah. That was exciting to hear her record it in the studio, because she's a really good singer, and, what was it like, Electric Lady Studios?
WIIG: Yeah.
STILLER: So it was like, a pretty famous studio.
I was gonna ask about seeing the Northern Lights. Was it as inspiring as we all imagine?
WIIG: It's beautiful. Yes, we-
STILLER: Incredible.
WIIG: We were at a restaurant and you couldn't really see them so we all hiked up this crazy mountain and watched them.
STILLER: Yeah, well it's like actually-
WIIG: It was one of those, like where are we moments-
STILLER: It's actually in that scene – the scene with the pilot in the pub. There's like a bluff outside the helicopter in one shot and we all went out to that bluff in the middle of the night and it was incredible.
You said you're still working on the film. What's still going on?
STILLER: Just the visual effects and editing, and basically where you're at in a movie at this point when it's coming out at Christmas time. So, yeah. That's actually been a great thing to have the time on a film like this to really figure out the best balance in the story.
Ben, could you first tell us what that Bowie song means to you? Then my other question is about Ben directing. What was it like doing all of those things: directing, producing, starring?
WIIG: I'm gonna talk about you first.
STILLER: Okay, okay.
WIIG: (laughs) I had worked with Ben just a little bit when he hosted SNL and we got along really well and I've been a fan of his for a long time. Seeing him be the director and you know, he's in his costume and then two seconds later he's behind the camera and totally and completely Walter and there for you as an actor. Again, I know I'm repeating myself, but just watching him do all of those different jobs so well and so calmly and so patiently was, you know as an actor you never wanna see the director freaking out about anything (laughs). So, you felt very safe and taken care of. And also, he's very organized and knows exactly what he wants which is so great as an actor. We would rehearse and he just, like you were saying, this has been a passion project, that term's gonna get thrown out there a lot, for years, and it's so exciting to be a part of a movie with someone who's had this movie in his brain and his heart for years and years and years. To be a part of that, you feel really lucky that he's brought you into to his little club.
STILLER: Yeah. First of all the Bowie song is just an amazing song. It has that emotion and it's always had that and, it was exciting to be able to use it in this context. I felt like the way it fits into the story, and the way that Steve used it, we got to this point and this scene which was sort of how the fantasy and reality come together for Walter, and that was what that came out of. That song, and what he mentioned in his head, and what he imagines and what he does, it all just seemed to come together over that song. I love that song and that era, that Bowie era. Changes has always been another favorite Bowie song of mine. In terms of the acting and directing thing, it's just a lot of prep time. And I was lucky enough on this movie to have a lot of prep time, so we had time to work on all this stuff before hand, and then we were lucky enough to have great people who came on board, both in the crew and the production designer and cinematographer, costume designer, everybody. Then, with the actors who came on and really got it and were excited to be a part of it, you know Kristen would say something and then she'd do a rehearsal and say "what if I said this?" or "what if I said that?" And it's incredible and great. It adds so much, so that process, when everybody's there and sort of on the same page, that's all you can ask for, and then it kind of goes from there and it is what it is.
The Secret Life of Walter Mitty opens December 25th.