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New York, NY (June 20, 2012) — One in eight people who suffer a heart attack or other acute coronary event experience clinically significant symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), according to a meta-analysis of 24 studies led by Columbia University Medical Center researchers. The study also shows that heart patients who suffer PTSD face twice the risk of having another cardiac event or of dying within one to three years, compared with those without PTSD. The findings were published today in the online edition of PLoS ONE (note: the paper will be available online once the embargo lifts: http://dx.plos.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0038915).
"While most people think of PTSD as a disorder of combat veterans and sexual assault survivors, it is also quite common among patients who have had a severe coronary event," said lead author Donald Edmondson, PhD, assistant professor of behavioral medicine at CUMC. "Not only are such events life-threatening, but their psychological impact can be devastating and long lasting."
PTSD is an anxiety disorder initiated by exposure to a traumatic event such as combat, disaster, or sexual assault. Common symptoms include nightmares, avoidance of reminders of the event, and elevated heart rate and blood pressure.
Each year, about 1.4 million people in the United States experience an acute coronary syndrome (ACS), a term used to describe any condition brought about by sudden reduced blood flow to the heart. Numerous small studies have suggested that ACS-induced PTSD is common and can have serious health consequences, but its prevalence is not known.
To get a better idea of the scope of the problem, Dr. Edmondson and his colleagues performed the first combined review, or meta-analysis, of clinical studies of ACS-induced PTSD. The 24 studies in the meta-analysis included a total of 2,383 ACS patients from around the globe.
The study found that overall 12 percent, or one in eight, of the patients developed clinically significant PTSD symptoms, with four percent meeting full diagnostic criteria for the disorder.
"Given that some 1.4 million ACS patients are discharged from U.S. hospitals each year, our results suggest that 168,000 patients will develop clinically significant PTSD symptoms. That is quite substantial. However, there is abundant evidence that psychological disorders in heart patients are underrecognized and undertreated. In fact, underdiagnosis may be even more pronounced in cardiac practices than in other types of medical practices," said Dr. Edmondson.
"This is a serious problem for individual patients, as well as for the healthcare system as a whole," he said. "PTSD appears to double a heart patient's risk for a second cardiac event and for death, which adds hundreds of millions of dollars to annual health expenditures."
"Fortunately, there are good treatments for people with PTSD," Dr. Edmondson said. "But first, physicians and patients have to be aware that this is a problem. Family members can also help. We know that social support is a good protective factor against PTSD due to any type of traumatic event."
"The next step is further research to assess whether treatment can reduce ACS-induced PTSD symptoms and reduce the associated risk for ACS recurrence and mortality," said Dr. Edmondson.
Dr. Edmondson's paper is titled, "Posttraumatic stress disorder induced by acute coronary syndrome: A meta-analytic review of prevalence and associated clinical outcomes." The other contributors are Safiya Richardson (CUMC), Louise Falzon (CUMC), Karina W. Davidson (CUMC), Mary Alice Mills (VA Boston Healthcare System), and Yuval Neria (CUMC).
This research was supported by National Institutes of Health (NIH) grants HL-088117 and CA-156709. It was supported in part by Columbia University's Clinical and Translational Science Awards (CTSA) grant No. UL1RR024156 from the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences - National Center for Research Resources/NIH. Dr. Edmondson is supported by NIH grant KM1CA156709.
The authors declare no financial or other conflicts of interest.
Columbia University Medical Center provides international leadership in basic, pre-clinical and clinical research, in medical and health sciences education, and in patient care. The medical center trains future leaders and includes the dedicated work of many physicians, scientists, public health professionals, dentists, and nurses at the College of Physicians and Surgeons, the Mailman School of Public Health, the College of Dental Medicine, the School of Nursing, the biomedical departments of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, and allied research centers and institutions. Established in 1767, Columbia's College of Physicians and Surgeons was the first institution in the country to grant the M.D. degree and is among the most selective medical schools in the country. Columbia University Medical Center is home to the largest medical research enterprise in New York City and State and one of the largest in the United States.
PLoS ONE


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UNIONDALE, N.Y. — WWE superstar John Cena granted his 300th wish to a 7-year-old Pennsylvania boy with a spinal condition, continuing his streak as the most popular celebrity granter in Make-A-Wish Foundation history.
Jonny Littman wanted to meet his hero, and the WWE accommodated that wish Monday night before an episode of "Raw" live from New York's Long Island. But Jonny got a bonus to his wish.
On Wednesday morning, Jonny was being interviewed on "Good Morning America" when Sam Champion asked him about his green T-shirt. After Jonny told him it was John Cena, Champion asked if anyone knew the WWE Superstar.
The pro wrestler and actor walked out to Jonny's surprise and presented him with another gift. This time it was tickets for him and his family to attend the 1,000th episode of the WWE show.
To put Cena's 300 granted wishes in perspective, Michael Jordan has granted around 200 and Kobe Bryant is in the 100-wish range.
"I truly give hats off to Make-A-Wish for keeping statistics," Cena said Monday before the show. "They had a nice little celebration for me at 200, and I humbly said we should do it at 1,000.
"We're just getting started," he said enthusiastically.
But Cena was clearly touched by the latest one.
"I'm just flattered completely that I could be the wish," he said.
Jonny, from Hop Bottom, Pa., has severe congenital malformation and spina bifida and uses a wheelchair. He spoke to his hero for a few minutes and took some pictures with him.
He even put on his WWE Championship belt. His mother, Ruth, says his surgeons wore it during his last surgery.
After signing T-shirts and WWE merchandise and presenting him with a videogame system, the superstar graciously walked out of the room. Cena prepared for his featured match, and Jonny and his family waited to go into the Nassau Coliseum for a live televised weekly show, "Raw."
After he left the room, Jonny chanted: "Cena. John Cena. Cena."
Cena is following a WWE tradition of granting wishes. The organization grants about 140 wishes per year between requests to meet WWE Superstars or attend its live shows. The tradition started in the early 1980s with Hulk Hogan being the most requested.
And while these wishes make children with life-threatening medical conditions feel good for the moment, organizers say they also have a lasting effect.
Make-A-Wish CEO David Williams cites cases in which seriously ill children clung to life for weeks and sometimes months in anticipation of the wish. Surveys by his organization found that many doctors and nurses felt the wish had a physical benefit to the patient, and most families said a wish strengthened the entire family at a fragile time.
"They said it was a very much needed boost," Williams said.
The organization has 30,000 volunteers who help carry out the wishes. Corporations, airlines, hotels, and other donors assure that most wish requests are met.
Still, Williams said, "Every year in the U.S., 27,000 are diagnosed with a life-threatening illness, and the organization serves about 14,000. For every family that we're helping, there's a child that we are not."
As for Cena, "I know this is the entertainment business and there will come a time when I'm not requested, but I'll still be donating my time and money, I love what they do."
Online: http://www.wish.org
John Carucci covers entertainment for The Associated Press. Follow him at http://www.twitter.com/jcarucci_ap

subset: commoncrawl


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The Missouri Supreme Court, on June 30, 2015, reversed much of this Court of Appeals decision discussed in this post, reinstating the judgment of the trial court, after determining that Jefferson Bank's amendment of the covenants was proper. The amendment removed the requirement that the HOA's board members be residents; the Supreme Court reasoned that unanimous consent of the lot owners was not required since the nature of the amendment was to remove rather than add a restriction.
After the real estate bubble burst, many Missouri banks ended up owning a majority of lots in subdivisions, standing in the shoes of the developers–the banks' previous customers. Banks face many challenges in their effort to sell the lots that they had to take through foreclosure; not the least is high-end architectural standards imposed by the original developer that seem unworkable in this more austere era.
Jefferson Bank & Trust found itself in this fix after it became the owner of 13 of the 18 lots in the Arbors at Sugar Creek subdivision. In 2005, the developer had recorded covenants that gave the board of the homeowners' association (HOA) approval rights over any new construction. The owners of the five existing homes protested when the bank and its new partner proposed to build what the homeowners characterized as "tract houses."
Because the original HOA had been dissolved by the Missouri Secretary of State for failing to file annual reports, the bank formed a new HOA and recorded a new declaration of covenants, since it had more than 67% of the voting power, as required by the old declaration for amendment. The new declaration eliminated the old declaration's requirement that HOA board members be residents, and the bank appointed its executives to be the new board.
After a bunch of wrangling in court, the trial court ruled that the new HOA was legitimate, that the new board acted reasonably in approving the new building plans, asking that the HOA reimburse the bank for subdivision maintenance costs paid by the bank, and awarding other damages against the lot owners.
The appeals court in this October 28, 2014 decision, agreed that the new HOA was the successor to the old HOA, but threw out the rest of the trial court's judgment, to find that the bank acted in bad faith, having
- relied on its acquisition of majority voting power to unilaterally deny homeowners the benefit of self-governance that they received under the original declaration
- used its command of the subdivision's affairs to advance in own financial interest in redeveloping the subdivision in a manner contrary to the wishes of the newly disenfranchised residents
- violated the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing by amending the declaration and removing the residency requirement for board members so it could appoint its own executives to the board.
Having stacked the board of the new HOA, the appeals court ruled "all the board's subsequent actions are null and void," including the approval of development plans submitted by the bank's partner.
The critical factor here is the requirement of the original declaration that the HOA board members be residents. The overreaching on this issue tainted everything else that the bank did.
It's unusual to see a court roll over a bank in favor of homeowners. My guess is that the Missouri Supreme Court will be asked to review this decision.


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Registration is now open to attend the AEX137 Convention in Los Angeles, CA. The Audio Engineering Society (AES) is gearing up to take over the Los Angeles Convention Center from October 9-12, 2014.
From an audio, entertainment, and technology market standpoint, Los Angeles has much to draw upon including recording studios, post-production facilities, television and broadcast, film, live sound, international electronic and print media, gaming, tech/web development, and more – all in a city that boasts a large, diverse population of ages and demographics. The top professionals from the professional recording, production, AV, and Communications industries will descend upon the Los Angeles Convention Center for three days of exhibits and four days of workshops, technical papers and program content tailored to the current audio and communications landscape.
Two badge packages are available: the Exhibits-Plus Badge (free) and the All Access Badge.
Exhibits-Plus badges are your free ticket to attending the AES Exhibition – the nation's largest collection of professional audio manufacturers showing off their latest products and technologies. Additionally, your Exhibits-Plus badge will give you access to Project Studio Expo, Live Sound Expo, Special Events, and more. Best of all, Exhibits-Plus badges are completely free.
All Access badges are available to anyone looking to take their knowledge and professional career to the next level. AES will once again be the meeting place for the top names in audio engineering to deliver a diverse program of workshops, tutorials, papers and more on the latest developments in professional audio. All Access badge-holders may attend all on-site AES events. (Tickets for tech tours cost extra and can be purchased on-site.)
Once again, the AES has made arrangements with several of the best hotels in the area to offer special pricing and reservations for AES attendees. For access to these special rates, visit the AES137 Convention Housing website and check out these exclusive deals available only through the AES. These deals offer the best price accommodations within easy reach of the Los Angeles Convention Center, L.A. Live, and a host of restaurant and entertainment options, and each has been chosen to work with us to accommodate you during your stay.


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The Missouri Tigers will play their first SEC game this Saturday night, as they entertain the seventh-ranked Georgia Bulldogs at Faurot Field/Memorial Stadium.
Georgia allowed visiting Buffalo to hang around longer than most people expected in last week's season opener, but the Bulldogs eventually took control of the game and claimed a 45-23 victory. It was the 11th consecutive regular-season win for Georgia, which ranks as the second-longest active streak in the nation behind LSU, which has won 14 straight.
Following this clash, Georgia will step out of conference to host Florida Atlantic, and the team will also face non-league foes Georgia Southern and Georgia Tech to close out the regular season.
The Bulldogs are 7-4 in conference lidlifters under current head coach Mark Richt, and this is the first time since 1992 that they will not be opening SEC play against South Carolina.
Despite some obvious mistakes he would like to see corrected moving forward, Richt was happy to come away with the win against the Bulls, "There's no such thing as a bad victory. We are thankful for the win. I want to congratulate Buffalo for the effort. They played extremely well. 1-0 is a great thing."
Missouri had very little trouble establishing its dominance in last week's season opener against visiting FCS opponent Southeastern Louisiana, whipping the Lions in a 62-10 final. The Tigers have won five straight games dating back to last season, which ranks as the third-longest streak in the nation.
It was the also the 35th win in the last 41 home games for Mizzou, which will actually play its first three games at home before heading to another Columbia, this one in South Carolina to battle the Gamecocks in its first road tilt of the season.
This bout marks only the second meeting all-time between Georgia and Missouri, with the Bulldogs winning the first back in the 1960 Orange Bowl, 14-0.
Georgia freshman RB Todd Gurley certainly made his impact felt in his first collegiate game last week against Buffalo, as he rushed for 100 yards and two TDs, and returned a kickoff 100 yards for another score. As a result, he was named the SEC's co-Freshman Player of the Week.
QB Aaron Murray was impressive as well, as he hit the mark on 15-of-26 pass attempts for 258 yards and three TDs. Tavarres King served as Murray's favorite receiver, as he hauled in six balls for 117 yards and a score, while Michael Bennett added five grabs for 76 yards and a TD.
Overall, the Bulldogs compiled 485 yards of total offense, did not commit a turnover, and converted half of their third-down opportunities (7-of-14).
Despite allowing points on all four trips Buffalo made to the red zone last week, the Georgia defense did a decent job in allowing 347 total yards, only 148 of which were a result of pass plays. The Bulls were forced to punt 10 times.
Linebacker Jarvis Jones and DB Damian Swann led the Bulldogs with eight tackles apiece, the former also being credited with 2.5 TFL, 1.5 sacks, a forced fumble and six QB hurries. Being active at the point of attack is the key for a Georgia defense that allowed almost 200 yards rushing last week and only recorded two sacks.
Like Gurley for Georgia, Missouri's Marcus Murphy had a game he won't soon forget in last week's season-opening rout of SE Louisiana, as the redshirt sophomore took two second-half punts back for TDs (72 and 70 yards) — tying a school record that has stood for nearly half a century in the process.
With the game never really in doubt, head coach Gary Pinkel didn't make wholesale changes in personnel until midway thorough the second half. When the dust had settled, the Tigers had rolled up 452 yards of total offense, compared to just 223 for the Lions.
The run game featured a solid outing from senior Kendial Lawrence (10 carries, 121 yards, two TDs), while QB James Franklin simply needed to run the offense efficiently, and wound up going 13-of-21 for 131 yards and a TD. No receiver had more than three catches, but again they didn't need to be all that productive with the rushing attack averaging better than seven yards per attempt and finding the end zone three times.
In addition to Murphy's special teams performance, the Tigers also scored a pair of defensive TDs in the first quarter, as Zaviar Gooden returned an INT 20 yards for a score, and Michael Sam scooped up a fumble and brought it back seven yards to paydirt.
Missouri allowed just 58 net rushing yards, and the Tigers came up with four turnovers. Gooden and Andrew Wilson logged six tackles apiece to pace the team, which tallied nine TFL and four sacks.
For the most part, Pinkel liked what he saw last week. However, he knows that cutting down on mistakes will be huge this week, and against the better opponents his team will face this season. "A lot of our guys came in and stepped up when they needed to. They did what was asked of them. We do have to look at the film and see where we can improve because we can improve as we move forward."
As if playing their first-ever SEC game in front of the hometown faithful isn't motivation enough, the Tigers have won two of their last three home games against ranked opponents.


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When it comes to Halloween, we Pingerlings definitely know how to get in the spirit of things!
We also got to have a little cake & treats to celebrate not only Halloween, but also the birthdays of the Pingerlings born in October.
Want to join the party? See if you have what it takes to be a Pingerling!
Go to blog home.


text: BIO born 1967 in rotterdam, the netherlands. academy of fine arts, tilburg 1987-1991. full-time photographer since 1991. member of the photographers association of the netherlands (panl). member of the association of photographers (aop), united kingdom he lives with mischa, has two sons, a five year old daughter, a black cat called 'flash' and is said to be quite a good dancer. his motto : 're-arranging reality' CLIENTS commercial : abn/amro bank, aegon, ahrend, barletti kitchens, brunner, bureau zuid, citroen, design academy eindhoven, desinonstock, ernst&young, essent, develab, dk home, fatboy, floorconcepts, forbo flooring, frame publishers, g&j verlag germany, guido geelen, hardy's, hilberink&bosch architects, interpolis, jackie sleper, klm royal dutch airlines, kpn, lage landen, leolux, lensvelt, mosa, nitesco, red rag, panasonic, opera graphic designers, philips, philips design, porsche, rabobank, red stitch, sacha shoes, schwarzkopf professional, siemens, studio boot, studio libertiny, studio roderick vos, atelier vraay, textile museum tilburg, t-mobile, university of tilburg, tulp firemakers, vervoort meubelen, viktor&rolf, volkswagen, volvo, etc. editorial : architectural digest india & italia, big black book, brava casa romania, casa facille italy, case da abitare italy, disegno magazine uk, elegance, elle decoration nl, china, italia & japan, elle usa, elsevier thema, eigen huis & interieur, esta, frame, holland herald magazine, home concepts singapore, icon magazine uk, id magazine uk, ideat france, le monde france, living italy, mark magazine, mazda magazine international, mouvement fr, numéro france, china & vietnam, nrc handelsblad, plaza magazine sweden, travel & leisure usa, quote, rum magazine danmark, schoner wohnen germany, sen, stijlvol wonen, surface magazine us, vision, vogue living australia, volkskrant magazine, vt wonen, wohnidee germany, wolkenridder, world of interiors uk, etc. AWARDS 2014 - nomination PANL SO 2014 Awards 2012 - first prize 'creative' for the "home sweet home sas-3" magazine by studio boot at the 'communicatie club bourgondie' awards to which i contributed several photos - nomination for the essent 'green energy' campaign at the nima b2b awards 2012 - nomination european design awards 2012 for the graduation catalogue 2011 of the design academy eindhoven by studio boot to which i contributed 40 photos 2011 - bronze, panl awards - nomination pdn annual 2011 - publication in the upcoming luerzers archive 200 best ad photographers worldwide - nomination ppg book at the grand prix customers media awards 2011, see 'interiors etc' 2010 - 3th prize international photo awards (lucie's) and 4 honorable mentions - nomination photography masters cup, the international color awards - nomination aop awards - 2 x silver, panl awards 2007 - nomination aop awards 2006 - nomination panl awards 2005 - nomination black & white spider awards 2004 - nomination panl awards - published in luerzers archive 200 best ad photographers worldwide 2003 - nomination panl awards 2002 - nomination panl awards 2001 - silver, panl awards - merit, art directors club new york - nomination panl awards - published in luerzers archive special advertising photography 1999 - nomination panl awards 1998 - published in luerzers archive special advertising photography 1996 - merit, polaroid european final art awards


text: Between 5 and 10 million Americans acquire pneumonia, 35 to 50 million are afflicted with influenza, and 1 million get herpes zoster (shingles)–each year. Older Americans are much more likely to get these infections and to suffer from complications and death. In fact, the death rate from pneumonia and influenza combined is close to 130 times higher in people age 85 and older, compared to people ages 45 to 54. Thankfully, vaccinations are available for many of the most common and deadly infectious disease in older Americans, and can save countless lives and healthcare dollars.


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Ice skating rink returning to downtown
The ice rink is coming back.
After a five-year hiatus, a holiday season ice skating rink will return to downtown Gainesville in late November.
Back in 2006, the rink drew a crowd of about 10,000 for the final year of its five-year run on the downtown plaza.
"We're excited about it," Parks, Recreation and Cultural Affairs Director Steve Phillips said. "We're happy to be able to bring this back."
The ice skating rink is scheduled to be open from Nov. 23 through Jan. 6. on the Bo Diddley Community Plaza. Admission will be $10 for one hour of skating with skate rental and $7 for those who bring their own ice skates.
Budget issues prompted the city government to cancel the rink in 2007, when two companies that bid on the rink contract each quoted a price in excess of $190,000.
This year, Pensacola-based Midwest Display Inc. will deliver and operate a 60-by-60 rink — with a holiday lights display thrown in — from late November until early January.
City government will pay the company nothing and receive a 10 percent cut of the money from ticket sales, said David Ballard, events coordinator with the Department of Parks, Recreation and Cultural Affairs.
"He's convinced that he can make a profit off it and we certainly hope he can," Ballard said of Midwest Display's owner, Mike Howard.
Howard said his company specializes in holiday light displays and ice rinks. He learned about the story of the downtown rink here through a man from Gainesville who was working on a show elsewhere. So he contacted the city to express interest in bringing it back.
"I just thought there was a good opportunity for us to put on the event again," Howard said.
If things go well this season, Howard said he would like to bring in a larger rink and expanded light display in future years.


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Hello! I tried to submit this to the NYTimes Op-Ed pages, but they had too many damn Thanksgiving opinions, so here it is, on my humble blog….
Four years ago, I raised my first Thanksgiving turkey on my urban farm in Oakland, CA. My reasoning was the following: I wanted to eat organic, free-range turkey but didn't have a lot of money, so I decided to do it myself. With this in mind, I did what any urban farmer does: I logged onto the internet and bought a bargain-priced assortment of day-old poultry. A few weeks later I received a peeping box through the US Post Office, my assortment was called the Homesteader's Delight. The baby turkeys—poults–looked like chicks: fuzzy, adorable, with a little pucker of skin on their heads. As the poults grew, that pucker turned into a dangling snood, and I grew fond of this most American of poultry. They had a curiosity, an openness toward other creatures, including my dumbfounded neighbors. One of the denizens of my street, a strict vegan, even named the turkeys in a bid to turn them into pets, not dinner.
The turkeys lived on my farm for six months. They had a good life and were fed well. They roamed freely. And on one cold November day, one of my turkeys went from live animal to the celebratory centerpiece on the Thanksgiving table. My initial goal, to save money, was a colossal failure: I ended up spending about $100 each on feed for the birds, making it not so cost-effective. Instead of saving money, I learned a few lessons about what it means to eat meat. One surprise was raising a turkey made me feel deeply connected to our human ancestors. A rather post-modern experience—raising a turkey in the city—tied me to the first people who domesticated the animals that appear in farms today. I became part of a long line of historical animal husbandry. Another lesson learned: meat does involve killing. This is so obvious, but it's a reality that most meat eaters avoid recognizing. Vegetarians and vegans argue that meat is murder. It's not exactly murder, though, as my turkey wasn't killed with hatred or malice, but with respect and thanks. A final lesson was that the most important part of animal husbandry isn't the day of that animal's death, something we Americans fixate on. No, it is the day-in, day-out of the turkey's half-year lifetime that should be focused upon. Did that turkey get the chance to run about, to chirp and call, to feel safe, have access to plenty of food, and most of all to be a turkey? The fact that I could answer in the affirmative to these questions, made me feel like I did right by that turkey. And I did right by myself and family and friends, as that turkey was the most flavorful, tender, juicy bird I had ever eaten. I had a deep connection to the turkey that was served for dinner; I had the story of the turkey's life to share at the table.
This November at my friend's urban farm in Austin, Texas, I had the honor of teaching a handful of curious students how to raise their own turkeys in the city—something I have done every year since that first time four years ago. I like to point out that anyone who has room for a few chickens usually has enough space to raise a turkey or two. After teaching basics about coops and predator protection, feed and water, I demonstrated how to humanely kill, then pluck and eviscerate a beautiful Rio Grande turkey. As the class helped pluck away the bird's feathers—the key moment when the bird becomes recognizable as meat–the group grew quiet and reverential. I taught the class because I want people to understand what it means to eat meat. It means a life is lived and a life is taken. Vegetarians and vegans acknowledge this fact more readily than carnivores. Instead of turning away from this reality, I would like people this Thanksgiving to look even closer, to examine where their turkey comes from, how it lived, and how it died. A small-scale turkey farmer friend of mine says she cries every November when it comes time to harvest their birds. Meat is precious. At the end of my class, my students assured me they would never think of turkey in the same way again. They now had a more complete vision of their meal, and they were eager to share that story.
P.S. I will be braising my turkey Edith (pictured, preparing for turkey sex, on bottom), who was slaughtered as part of last year's turkey class. She wasn't able to hatch out any chicks, and grew to be an older bird, and will make a fine turkey soup. Thank you Edith!


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Miss Utah's flub takes the spotlight on the RidicuList, where nothing brings America together like a beauty pageant blunder.
Post by: Anderson Cooper
Filed under: The RidicuList
The perfection that it is... Good clean up! Let em roll, the eyes that is! Very funny : P
It could happen to anyone, regardless of how well prepared one is. Personally, I found her question to be more difficult than the other ones which were a lot of fluff. I am sure she is much smarter and hopefully this faux pas will propel her to excel later on.
Impromptu speaking is nerve wracking- but seriously, will anybody ever care about her opinions at the opening of the new Publix (that's a grocery chain)? Ask them "What's your favorite color and why?"
Beauty Pageantry is a competition and vulnerable to blunders as most competitive challenges are. Apparently, there are those who have not been trained or guided to be much more responsive to such intellectual exercise; a pre-requisite to these challenges. Perhaps, these ridiculous contestants don't realize their elective station as Miss America is very important to represent the spirit of American as she dutifully service her position with honor, respect and of course integrity. Her beauty and talent is her countenance and character weighs, but more importantly is the platform she launches herself with a passionate cause of being well informed about World and National Issues. However, some remain to think is just being Beautiful and Sexy on Stage as some Hollywood Silver Screen Actress winning the Academy Award or just a Beauty Award; screw the rest of what Miss America has grown to be a respectable position in our Social community in our country and the world representing today's American women. I too, squeamish with those who have not truly prepared themselves as to what this competition of Pageantry is more than Skin deep! AUWE!
Miss Utah messed up, well we are all human. The pressure just caught up with her she is beautiful and wished she would have done better.
Anderson Cooper goes beyond the headlines to tell stories from many points of view, so you can make up your own mind about the news. Tune in weeknights at 8 and 10 ET on CNN.
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"She was beautiful when she died…one hundred years ago!"
Director: Lambert Hillyard
Starring: Gloria Holden, Otto Kruger, Marguerite Churchill, Edward Van Sloan, Irving Pichel, Gilbert Emery, Nan Grey, Hedda Hopper, Billy Bevan, Halliwell Hobbes
Screenplay: Garrett Fort, from a story by John L. Balderston, suggested by the works of Bram Stoker
Synopsis: Two nervous policemen enter the crypt of Carfax Abbey, where they find a body lying at the foot of the stairs. At that moment, Professor Von Helsing (Edward Van Sloan) emerges from an inner room in the crypt. The sergeant (Halliwell Hobbes) demands to know whether he killed the man lying at their feet. Von Helsing tells them that Count Dracula did it…and that he has just killed Count Dracula. Von Helsing is arrested and taken to Scotland Yard, where he tells his story to the Commissioner, Sir Basil Humphrey (Gilbert Emery). He asks to see, not a lawyer, but a former student of his, the psychiatrist Dr Jeffrey Garth (Otto Kruger). Sir Basil warns Von Helsing that if he persists in talking about vampires, he will either be executed for murder, or committed to an asylum. Meanwhile, at the police station at Whitby, a woman swathed in black from head to foot appears as if from nowhere. She asks to see the body of Count Dracula and, when the constable (Billy Bevan) refuses, draws him to look closely at her ring, at which he stares transfixed… When the sergeant returns, he finds the constable insensible, and the body of Count Dracula gone… Out in the fog-bound woods, the Countess Marya Zaleska (Gloria Holden) lights a pyre, burning Dracula's body to ashes. She then cries exultantly that she is free of his curse at last. The following night, the Countess tries to celebrate her release, but her manservant, Sandor (Irving Pichel), convinces her that nothing has changed, that she is still a creature of the dark. The Countess dons her cape and her ring and goes out into the night, where she approaches a man in evening-dress… As daylight approaches, the Countess returns to her rooms, handing her blood-stained cape to Sandor and retreating to her coffin… Janet Blake (Marguerite Churchill) tracks her employer, Dr Garth, to Scotland, telling him that his old friend Professor Von Helsing needs his help. Back in London, Garth tells Von Helsing that he cannot believe his story, but nevertheless promises to help him if he can. At an evening party, Garth is introduced to the Countess, by whom he is instantly struck, much to Janet's annoyance. The conversation turns to the Von Helsing case, and Garth reveals that the murder charge will probably be dropped, as they cannot find Dracula's body. He also diagnoses Von Helsing's belief in vampires as a form of obsession, which can be cured by psychiatry. The Countess begs Garth to visit her at her apartment, claiming that she wishes to discuss his ideas further. There, she confesses that she feels herself controlled by a power from beyond the grave, one that fills her with horrible urges that she cannot overcome. Garth tells her that the way to cure an obsession or an addiction is to confront it head on and fight it. When he has gone, the Countess tells Sandor that she will be painting at her studio, and sends him out to find a girl—to model for her. Sandor smiles…
Comments: All throughout the early 1930s, Universal Studios teetered on the brink of financial disaster, chiefly because of the company's policy of making the bulk of its output costly prestige productions, instead of employing its rivals' tactic of supporting a few quality films with numerous low-cost programmers. On several occasions a big success managed to hold off the inevitable – All Quiet On The Western Front, which would win a Best Picture Oscar towards the end of 1930, helped, as did the unexpected one-two punch of Dracula and Frankenstein in 1931 – but the writing was on the wall.
In 1935, a run of expensive failures finally forced the studio into some belated cost-cutting. Nevertheless, Carl Laemmle Sr obstinately refused to surrender his long-standing strategy altogether, and took out a loan in order to fund the making of Show Boat. The borrowed quarter of a million was not enough, however: the production ran $300,000 over budget. In March, 1936, the loan was called in, and "Uncle Carl" was forced out of the studio he had founded more than twenty-five years before.
A year before this, Universal had finally made good on a long-standing plan to produce a sequel to Frankenstein, one repeatedly frustrated by the studio's inability, professionally speaking, to get James Whale and Boris Karloff in the same place at the same time. Bride Of Frankenstein, when it finally went into production, was a lavish effort costing around twice what the original film had. Its success had a predictable effect upon the studio, which immediately began to lay plans for a sequel to its other great 1931 triumph, Dracula. Initially, Dracula's Daughter was conceived along the same expensive lines: a major production that would reunite the original cast and tell the story of the Count's vampiric origins before picking up the story in more or less contemporary times. And being still in favour with the studio, James Whale was slated to direct.
But circumstances conspired to consign these notions to the scrap heap. It was 1936 before the film actually went into production, by which time the Production Code was beginning to bite, and bite hard: horror films in general, and Universal horror films in particular, were a major target. The production of Bride Of Frankenstein had been a battleground, with Joseph Breen taking personal offence at the film's – which is to say, James Whale's – treatment of sex and religion.
However, the Hayes Office wasn't the only motivation for the, pardon the expression, eventual bloodlessness of Dracula's Daughter. With its finances in a mess, Universal could scarcely afford to risk the lucrative overseas market (and again, Bride Of Frankenstein had been banned in several countries). The British censors, in particular, had instigated a public crusade against horror movies, denouncing them outright in an effort to discourage their production, banning a number of them, cutting others, and slapping the dreaded "A" rating on any that made it into cinemas anyway.
And so the plug was pulled on the planned version of Dracula's Daughter. The budget was cut, and drastically. The name cast also vanished, to be replaced by a mixture of B-level stalwarts and newcomers, along with a smattering of British character actors there to remind the audience that we're supposed to be in England. And the screenplay went into re-writes…and re-writes…and re-writes.
Officially, Dracula's Daughter is credited to Garrett Fort. We might remember that Fort was also credited with the screenplay of Dracula, where he re-wrote the stage version of the story authored by John L. Balderston, who re-wrote the stage version authored by Hamilton Deane, who re-wrote Stoker's novel.
(Got that? Pay attention, I'll be asking questions later…)
Here, history repeating, Fort is again supposed to have based his screenplay upon "a story" by Balderston. The contribution of both gentlemen being whatever it may, at least four other writers worked uncredited on the screenplay. It is hardly surprising that, amongst such a crowd, Bram Stoker hardly rates a mention. The real mystery man, however, who did make the credits, is one "Oliver Jeffries". Hollywood legend holds that this is a pseudonym for David O. Selznick, who had acquired the rights to Dracula's Guest, the story upon which this film is – extremely loosely – based. While we cannot imagine that Selznick had any intention of making such a film himself, his foresight and business acumen did force Universal either to buy the rights from him, or face the possibility of a lawsuit.
The history of motion picture making is littered with examples of productions – the most famous example being, I suppose, Casablanca – that, by all known laws of logic, should have been a failure, but which instead surmounted such hurdles as constant re-writing and last minute re-casting to become greater than the sum of their parts. Alas, in the case of Dracula's Daughter, the movie gods declined to smile. The film ended up being exactly what you would anticipate from such a production history, a patchwork effort full of inconsistent characterisations and gaping plot holes; one in particular.
The critic Andrew Sarris once famously conferred upon Edgar Ulmer's 1957 pot-boiler, Daughter Of Dr Jekyll, a kind of immortality by observing snarkily, "Anyone who loves the cinema must be moved by The Daughter Of Dr Jekyll, a film with a scenario so atrocious that it takes forty minutes to establish that the daughter of Dr Jekyll is indeed the daughter of Dr Jekyll." One wonders what Mr Sarris would have made of Dracula's Daughter which, in the course of its rather haphazard seventy-one minutes, never does bother to clarify whether Dracula's daughter is, in fact, Dracula's daughter.
All this is not to say that Dracula's Daughter is without worth or interest. On the contrary, there are some genuinely original and imaginative touches here; while the film's own uncertainty about the story it is telling ends up making it interesting, if only inadvertently. However, the film is also guilty of continually undercutting itself, forcing even well-disposed viewers into the exasperating task of making allowances.
Dracula's Daughter begins badly, very badly, with a large helping of the kind of "comedy" that taints so many films of this era, as two bumbling British bobbies stumble (for no readily apparent reason) into the crypt of Carfax Abbey, where they find the body of Renfield lying at the foot of the stone staircase, and where, in the next room, Count Dracula has just been despatched with a stake through the heart. (The embarrassing wax dummy that stands in for Bela Lugosi is the film's low point, though this sequence finds a few other contenders.)
Although there is a pretense of continuity between Dracula's Daughter and its predecessor, in fact this is as good as it ever gets. Our first glitch occurs immediately afterwards, as…well, as Edward Van Sloan's character wanders into shot, and we discover that, between films, he has mutated from being Professor Van Helsing into being Professor Von Helsing.
The Professor obligingly declares that it was he who drove the stake through Dracula, and is promptly arrested. He is next seen comfortably ensconced in an armchair in the officer of the Commissioner of Scotland Yard, Sir Basil Humphrey—and indeed, we scarcely see him anywhere else (like, for instance, in a prison cell), thanks to his "position in the scientific world", if you can believe that.
The Professor tells his tale – paraphrasing one of his famous lines from Dracula as he declares, "The strength of the vampire, Sir Basil, is that he is unbelievable!" – and we notice the absence of certain facts. While the powers that be might not believe a story about vampires, you would imagine that it would at least give them pause if the story were to be supported by corroborating evidence from such social luminaries as Dr Seward, Miss Mina Seward and Mr John Harker. For reasons best known to himself, however, the Professor never mentions their names, still less calls them as witnesses. In fact, given the timing of the opening scene, in which the two bobbies encounter Von Helsing while he is still wiping his hands following the staking of his archenemy, they should have seen John and Mina leaving the crypt.
In the face of Von Helsing's unsupported assertions, a concerned Sir Basil offers some helpful advice about retaining legal council and what an English jury will and will not believe. And jolly nice of him it is, too.
(What we have here, of course, is an instance of one of the most cherished conventions of literature and film, which states that, unlike their American brethren, British law officers are always willing to lend a sympathetic ear to an eccentric story. This is a convention that extends well beyond the horror and science fiction genres: see, for example, the official reaction to Ray Milland's "There's-a-Nazi-in-my-cake!" story in Fritz Lang's Ministry Of Fear.)
Now— All this is pretty painful, and it gets even worse, as we are served up another large dollop of Sergeant Stupid and Constable Clod. But at length our endurance is rewarded, as Dracula's Daughter lifts to a whole new plane with the appearance of its leading lady.
As the mysterious Countess Marya Zaleska, Gloria Holden is the undisputed highlight of Dracula's Daughter. Holden was a newcomer to Hollywood when this film was made. She would go on to achieve critical acclaim the following year in The Life Of Emile Zola, but beyond that her career was never what it might have been, perhaps because Holden simply wasn't the usual Hollywood "type". It is precisely that, however, that makes her so right here.
With black hair, huge dark eyes, finely chiselled features, and cheekbones you could cut diamonds with, Holden is perfectly cast as the enigmatic creature of the night. Her performance is good, too; but although she wrings what she can from the material she was given, her character is, in the end, too underwritten for her quite to achieve true iconic status.
Still, there is much to enjoy here, such as Holden's exquisitely judged re-reading of the Count's immortal line, "I never drink…wine", or the Countess's half-amused, half-taunting challenge to the sceptical Jeffrey Garth, "There are more things in heaven and earth than are dreamt of in your psychiatry!"
The Countess Marya Zaleska is one of thirties horror's most interesting female characters—although it must be admitted that her intriguing ambiguities owe as much to the vagaries of an ill-structured screenplay as to any intent on the part of the film-makers. When we first set eyes upon Marya, she is swathed in a robe of black, only her eyes and a single white hand, a hand bearing the glowing jewelled ring that she uses to hypnotise her victims, visible. By all known indicators, she is a creature of evil.
Yet the speech she utters while she undertakes the ritual destruction of Dracula's body gives us pause:
"Into the keeping of the lords of the flame and lower pits I consign this body," intones Marya. "Let all baleful spirits that threaten the souls of man be banished… Be thou exorcised, O Dracula. May thy body, long undead, find destruction throughout eternity in the name of thy dark, unholy master…"
She then performs two rites of purification, tossing salt into the funeral pyre (salt, my eye! – that's Whooshing Powder© if ever I saw any!), and then holding a cross over the fire…
While the Universal horror movies always were rather loose in their use of the terms "son" and "daughter", it seems at first glance that we are intended to take literally the title of Dracula's Daughter. To do so immediately raises questions, however—and contradicts the fundamental nature of the vampire, an undead creature that can reproduce only via the processes of blood-drinking and infection. The suggestion that Marya is Dracula's biological daughter runs in the face of all vampiric lore; yet the obvious alternative, that she is one of Dracula's blood-victims, makes no sense either, as her situation is presented.
It is clear that Marya expects the destruction of Dracula's body to free her from her state of vampirism—as it frees Mina Seward in the novel. But Mina, when her curse is lifted, knows it; Marya, clearly, isn't quite sure. "Free! Free forever!" she exults at first; yet it takes only a few ominous words from her manservant, Sandor (more on his ambiguities in a moment), to send Marya hastening back to London before a new day can dawn: avoiding what, in spite of the ritual, she still fears will be the fatal power of the sunlight.
If Marya is one of Dracula's victims, the destruction of the body should have freed her; if she has been a vampire all her life – or "life" – perhaps not; perhaps, with a vampire born – or "born" (dang, this is tricky!) – only a stake through the heart can get the job done. But in that case, why did Marya think the ritual would work? Wouldn't she know?
But there is, of course, a third alternative: that Marya is suffering from a profound and controlling delusion; and while I don't believe that the screenwriters meant to imply this, as Dracula's Daughter stands the film provides more support for this theory than either of the others. In fact, it almost forces this reading upon the viewer from the moment of the ritual—not just with Marya's uncertainty about whether the ritual itself has worked or not, but with her wielding of the cross: if she is really what she thinks she is, just not looking is not enough; she should not have been able to touch it!
(Consider, in contrast, the shocking moment in Dracula when an attempt to protect the vampirised Mina via a holy-water cross upon her forehead inflicts an agonising burn.)
The question presented in Dracula's Daughter is not whether Marya is guilty of vampiric activity, but whether she is a vampire; whether she is undead. And if she is – if she was either born that way, or lived, then died, then became undead – if she has in truth been a practicing vampire for one hundred years, as the screenplay later implies – and if she has looked as she does now for all those years – how can she honestly think that her condition is one that might respond to psychotherapy?
Note, too, that never at any point do we see any supernatural act associated with Marya. She never transforms herself. She never shows herself impervious to everything save the stake and the daylight. Her hypnotism of her victims is true hypnotism, the mortal kind, as evidenced when Dr Garth examines someone recently in her thrall. Her inability to look at a cross tells us nothing; but her ability to touch one does.
In short, all of Marya's symptoms can be interpreted as the manifestations of a mental illness—and that she is "ill", and therefore curable, is what she most desperately wishes to believe. Small wonder that she attaches herself so desperately to Jeffrey Garth, when he begins holding forth on the various kinds of human obsession, and how they can be banished with the help of psychiatry.
Meanwhile, the character of Sandor does much to keep the waters muddy. On the evidence available, Sandor is human…yet when Marya holds the cross over Dracula's pyre, he too must look away. On the other hand, he does not fear the dawn, as Marya does; there is only one coffin in the back of her studio. Most tellingly of all, it is made clear towards the end of the film that what Sandor expects in return for his service is immortality: that is, for Marya to make him a vampire.
The question, then, is whether Sandor knows that Marya is a vampire, or whether he has, rather, bought just as deeply into Marya's delusion as Marya herself: folie à deux. The relationship between the two is profoundly disturbing. When Marya consults Garth about her "condition", the psychiatrist insists that the greater part of any cure is the will of the individual to be cured. In saying so he draws an analogy with the treatment of alcoholism…but in truth, a far more accurate description of Marya's situation (one not allowed by the Production Code, even if they had wished to be more explicit) is drug addiction. Marya reacts to Dracula's death like an addict who has heard that her pusher has been busted: as if that was enough on its own to change her condition.
In this context, Sandor comes across as the worst kind of enabler. He doesn't want Marya cured of her "addiction". The evening after the ritual destruction of Dracula's body finds Marya trying to convince herself that she is indeed free. She celebrates with music; she recalls memories of her mother and her childhood (memories which certainly do imply a biological connection to her "father"). But once again, Sandor is on hand to turn her thoughts, insisting that she is still a creature of the night, and that this night will be like all the ones that came before. He plays upon her fears and her self-loathing until she capitulates and goes out looking for a "fix".
The roles enacted here are those of mistress and servant—but it is Marya who yields, donning her robe and her ring with Sandor's assistance, and trolling the dark streets of London for a victim—and finding one. The next morning finds her hurrying back to her sanctuary, handing her blood-stained cape to Sandor and taking refuge in her coffin before the dawn can break…
Once Jeffrey Garth enters the picture, Sandor faces a greater challenge—but the fact remains that he understands Marya far better than Garth does, or ever will. When the psychiatrist encourages Marya not to run from her "horrible impulse", but to, "Meet it; fight it!" – not realising, of course, what it is he is encouraging her to do! – Sandor is pleased. He knows very well that Marya's addiction, whether it be vampiric or all too human, is as yet too strong for her; and when she puts Garth's advice into practice and orders him to bring a girl to her studio – to "model" for her – Sandor obeys with alacrity.
Dracula's Daughter is a film not much known these days, but as far as it is known, it is for the confrontation between Marya and the destitute young girl brought to her by Sandor: a confrontation that has seen this film enrolled in the ranks of gay cinema, and the Countess Marya Zaleska hailed as the screen's first lesbian vampire.
While the inference of this scene is in one sense inescapable, once again it is difficult to decide what was actually intended by the film-makers. Certainly there was an acute awareness on their part of the implications of same-sex vampirism: when Dracula was in production, Carl Laemmle Jr refused to allow the Count's attack on Renfield to be shown, so bothered was he by the possible homosexual overtones of such a scene. Lesbianism being, as always, considered less "threatening" than male homosexuality, the makers of Dracula's Daughter finally got away with the scene in the studio, but it was re-written and re-shot several times before it passed censorship muster, and in the end we still do not see Marya's attack upon the girl.
There is nevertheless an unsettling eroticism about this sequence, not least in the contrast between Nan Grey's fair fragility and Gloria Holden's dark imperiousness; while the intentness of Marya's gaze as the girl disrobes before her is certainly open to more than one interpretation. "What's the matter? Won't I do?" Lili asks, becoming uncomfortable under Marya's fixed gaze.
"Yes," replies Marya in a distant voice. "You'll do very nicely…"
Having already removed her blouse, Lili gestures towards the straps of her slip. "I suppose you'll want these lowered?" she offers, sliding them down and leaving her neck and shoulders completely bare…and so sealing her own fate…
Given the vintage of Dracula's Daughter and the cruel prevailing views of the time, the lesbian undertones of this sequence tend to support the reading of Marya as mentally disturbed. It is not unlikely that Marya's expressed desire to be free of her "curse", to "live as a woman", to take her place "in the bright world of the living", is meant as an expression of disgust at her "aberrant" sexuality.
In the depiction of Marya's lifestyle, however, there does not seem to be anything so specific intended. Intriguingly, we are shown that she lives the kind of double life generally associated with wicked young men: that is, she keeps a "respectable" apartment for the entertainment of her "respectable" friends, but also secret rooms in a far less respectable locale, taken under an assumed name, for her more nefarious activities. She is also an artist—not a mere dilettante, but a professional. She is an aristocrat…and a foreigner…and she keeps a studio in Chelsea, for heaven's sake! She is, in a word, decadent…and if her sexual preferences seem a little unfocused, that would be entirely in keeping with such a characterisation.
After all, we must not forget that Marya's first victim, one of her own choosing, is a young man out on the town; while by the end of the film it is clear that her interest in Jeffrey Garth has become far more personal than professional. Overall, the sexual overtones of Marya's behaviour seem rather less significant than the social ones: when she feeds on women she preys predominantly upon the lower classes, like her "father" before her; but when she pursues a man, her preference is unmistakably for a "toff"…
One of the most unexpected aspects of Dracula's Daughter, considering when it was made, is its positive attitude towards the profession of psychiatry. It was common at this time, and for some years to come, for psychiatrists to be rather roughly handled in American films; to be regarded as quacks as best and con artists at worst; the butt of jokes if they were lucky, and unmasked as villains and criminals more often than I can remember. It was not, indeed, until the later years of World War II, with so many mental casualties in desperate need of help, that this attitude really began to change. For a film of 1936 to cast a psychiatrist as its hero is very surprising—and so too is the way in which Dr Garth conducts himself.
Initially Garth is completely disbelieving of Von Helsing's stories of vampirism. Nevertheless, he still has sufficient faith in his old mentor to promise to help him, if only he can figure out how. But although he has not believed what Von Helsing has been saying, Garth has been listening…and as soon as physical evidence of the Professor's claims begins to turn up, he recognises and accepts it for what it is, without any sign of that contrived and artificially extended scepticism that so many films insist upon as the way of the "scientific mind"—and which so often results in countless avoidable deaths, all in the name of "logic" and "rationalism". Here, it takes only the puncture wounds on the throat of a single victim for Garth to start contemplating the impossible. All this is not to say that we in the audience entirely approve of the way Dr Garth conducts himself professionally, but this is certainly due to the distance between the time of the film's production and our own. Dracula's Daughter is hardly alone in this respect.
(On that subject, try watching a Dr Kildare film these days without gasping in horror at the various gross malpractices committed by the good doctor, all in the name of "having the courage to experiment".)
There is, then, quite a lot of interest to be found in Dracula's Daughter. What a shame that so much of the material in which it is embedded is so ill-conceived! Perhaps the film's biggest blunder is its poorly written "romance" between Jeffrey Garth and his human love interest, Janet Blake. This is obviously intended to be the kind of love-hate relationship so common in the screwball comedies of this time, but instead of coming across as affection-concealed-by-hostility, much of the interaction between Garth and Janet seems very much like hostility of the most genuine kind. This is particularly true on Garth's part, and really, we can't blame him: Janet Blake is one of the most annoying "heroines" ever foisted onto an exasperated audience. She's supposed to be "cute" and "spirited", but take it from me, she's just plain obnoxious!
In short, we simply do not believe that Garth cares so much for Janet that he would unhesitatingly offer his life – and his soul – to save hers. This weakness in the screenplay severely undermines the final act of Dracula's Daughter, in which Marya, after her inability to control her "impulse" with regard to the tragic Lili, accepts that she cannot change—and decides that she wants as her immortal consort, not Sandor, but Jeffrey Garth.
To this end, she hypnotises and kidnaps Janet, using her as bait to lure Garth to Dracula's castle; her castle. (Another hint of a "real" relationship between Marya and Dracula, I suppose; but then it's not as if people were going to be queuing up to contest her right to the place.) This is the most bizarre part of the whole film. There is very little effort made in general to make Dracula's Daughter contemporaneous with Dracula, particularly in terms of such things as the decor, the costumes, and the means of transportation; but even so, you hardly expect it when the various characters start jumping into planes and jetting off into the wilds of Transylvania! – and especially not when we arrive in "modern" Transylvania to find it still inhabited by the same old crowd of lederhosen-wearing knee-slappers.
Garth arrives at the castle to find Janet still trance-bound, and to have Marya make him the obvious offer: his life for Janet's. If he will willingly join her and become one of the undead, Janet will be released unharmed. Garth agrees, but fate intervenes. Von Helsing, Sir Basil Humphrey and a couple of anonymous gendarmes (in Transylvania?) arrive at the castle at the critical moment—that is, just as Sandor is expressing his displeasure at Marya's reneging on her promises to him by firing an arrow at her…and through her. He is about to put another one through Garth when he is shot dead by one of the gendarmes.
Marya, meanwhile, has staggered out onto and collapsed upon the ramparts of her castle, and the survivors duly gather around her to deliver the inevitable epitaph.
"She was beautiful when she died," pronounces Von Helsing, "a hundred years ago…"
…a remark that means nothing and answers nothing. Had Marya been shot with a bullet, like Sandor, we should at last have known the truth about her; but a wooden arrow in the heart is, after all, just as fatal to a delusional human being as it is to one of the undead; and in this particular universe, vampires suffer no dissolution upon being "released".
Who, then, was Marya Zaleska? – and what was she? It seems that we shall never know for sure. Dracula's Daughter, like Marya herself, takes its secret to the grave.
Want a second opinion of Dracula's Daughter? Visit 1000 Misspent Hours And Counting.
How to get a lesbian film past the censor…
This review was part of the B-Masters' tribute to cinematic fatherhood.


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Autism-Europe's international congress 16-18 September 2016, Edinburgh
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The arrival of spring in Southern California can be very subtle. Those of you who have been (or still are) buried under piles of snow probably scoff at what we consider winter (I know it's true… I can hear you scoffing). Yes, we had some rain. Yes, we even had some flooding in some areas. But, A) we were whining about being in a drought just last year, B) we don't have to shovel rain, and C) having to replace our wiper blades is not the same as changing to snow tires.
Some people claim that we don't have "real" seasons here, but those of us who have lived here for a while know that isn't true. You just need to look a little closer for the signs. I wrote about the desert wild flower super bloom last week, but there are plenty of indications of spring closer to home.
The local surfers have traded their full-length wetsuits for short-sleeved wetsuits.
Target has started to display their outdoor merchandise.
Horrified that I will soon have to expose my ghost-white legs in public, I purchased my first-of-the-season tube of self-tanning lotion.
The brightly colored hooded orioles have started to arrive from their winter home in Mexico. They nest in our neighborhood palm trees and fill the air with their noisy chatter.
My blueberry bushes are showing their first buds, promising a bountiful summer crop.
As you can see, even in Southern California, the signs of spring are beginning to appear all around us, and I am so grateful that it is here.


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Microsoft expands scope of Singapore MTCS certification
mardi 12 décembre 2017
I am pleased to announce the renewal of the Singapore Multi-Tier Could Security (MTCS) Certification Level 3.
mardi 12 décembre 2017
I am pleased to announce the renewal of the Singapore Multi-Tier Could Security (MTCS) Certification Level 3.
mercredi 1 novembre 2017
In our continuous efforts to knock down potential customer blockers to leveraging Microsoft Azure's expanding offerings available in the UK, I am happy to announce that Azure has attained the UK's…
mardi 10 octobre 2017
Responding to customers' need for speed, Microsoft Azure has published six new Service Organization Control (SOC) reports, just three months after the previously issued reports. Azure is the first and only enterprise cloud provider to support quarterly SOC reports.
mercredi 20 septembre 2017
We're excited and proud to announce that Microsoft Azure is one of the first hyper-scale cloud computing platforms to be able to service UK law enforcement IT customers. This announcement comes in the wake of the United Kingdom's Home Office's National Police Information Risk Management Team (NPIRMT) assessment of the services provided by Microsoft UK against their own unique needs.
lundi 31 juillet 2017
At SIGGRAPH 2017 in Los Angeles, CA this week (at the LA Convention Center), Microsoft is demoing the latest in Azure-based rendering services and partner solutions, as well as showcasing a new security guide on safely bursting to the cloud for massive production scale. Come check us out and get more familiar with the industry's first and only CDSA CPS-certified and MPAA-audited public cloud!
jeudi 27 juillet 2017
We are happy to announce that Microsoft Azure recently completed a new set of independent third-party ISO and Cloud Security Alliance (CSA) audits to expand our certification portfolio. Azure…
lundi 19 juin 2017
Microsoft is here to help Please read our white paper How Microsoft Azure Can Help Organizations Become Compliant with the EU General Data Protection Regulation to gain an understanding of how your…
lundi 22 mai 2017
As part of our ongoing effort to deliver the broadest and deepest set of compliance offerings, Microsoft Azure is proud to announce that we obtained the ISO 9001:2015 certification, addressing Quality Management systems.
lundi 24 avril 2017
At the NAB Show 2017 Conference this week, we'll be reprising our session "Securing the Making of the Next Hollywood Blockbuster" (Las Vegas | April 25, 2017 | 1:30 PM - 2:00 PM in the Cybersecurity &…
lundi 3 avril 2017
I am excited to announce the release of a whitepaper which emphasizes Microsoft's leadership in customer advocacy, privacy protection, and unique data residency commitments.


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Pottery has a long history in India.
It is symbolic of our development, culture, art and craft.
Over centuries it has been used for domestic ware, votive pieces and for architecture.
Each region is known for its different styles, decorations and ways of making
pottery. Still practiced extensively even today,
the potter occupies a unique position in our craft tradition with India being home to more than a million potters.
The tradition is however now morphing in to a more contemporary avatar with both decorative and
functional pottery being crafted in modern styles and designs. Craft markets and pottery brands both offline and
online have played a significant role in developing consumer preferences for stylish studio pottery.
The art and craft of pottery in India is practiced using terracotta, unglazed and glazed ceramic, papier mache , sandstone.
Our Studio Pottery Collection is one that we are exceptionally proud of. Since individual or
small groups of artists design and craft unique items or short runs,
Studio Pottery gives our spaces a stylishly unique accent - with its creativity, colour, shapes, sizes and
different types of glaze and finishing. It is also a labour of love - since all stages of design and
manufacture are carried out by the artists themselves.
Our most talented artistic partners have created tableware, serve-ware and cookware. Choose from elegant,
minimalistic, artisan crafted, earthenware
pottery for your home. In a variety of colours, shapes, glazes, finishes and textures.
When you buy a product on www.worldartcommunity.com ,
you can be sure that you are buying an original, one-of-a-kind creative product directly from its creator.
That's because we work only with artists, craftspersons, designers and creators who design and
craft hand-made products and showcase them on our platform to our aware and discerning consumers.


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Saturday's UFC 79 event, which took place at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, earned a $4.9 million gate — the largest U.S. MMA gate figure in 2007, according to UFC President Dana White.
White confirmed the numbers in a post-UFC 79 press conference.
Additionally, White said the official attendance for Saturday's pay-per-view event was 11,075 and that another 1,311 fans watched the event on closed-circuit television at Mandalay Bay. (There was no word on how many people attended a UFC 79 watch party at New York City's Madison Square Garden that was hosted by UFC welterweight champion Matt Serra.)
Saturday's UFC 79 event featured Georges St. Pierre's second-round submission of Matt Hughes for the UFC's interim title, as well as Chuck Liddell's unanimous-decision victory over PRIDE standout Wanderlei Silva in the night's co-main event. UFC 79 was the organization's final show of 2007.
Although the fight card was one of the UFC's deepest of the year, it wasn't even the highest-attended event at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in 2007. UFC 74, which featured Randy Couture vs. Gabriel Gonzaga and St. Pierre vs. Josh Koscheck, drew 11,118 for a $3.3 million gate.
For more information about the event, check out the UFC 79 results post here on MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com).


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It's a rare day when Bay Area News Group decides to review a chain restaurant. But we heard enough buzz from readers about Lucille's Smokehouse Bar-B-Que in Concord to make an exception. It probably helps that Lucille's is a small but growing chain, and this is its Bay Area debut.
Barbecue has emerged as a force to be reckoned with in the East Bay. A few weeks ago, I watched Pleasant Hill's Back Forty deftly serve a large banquet and receive rave reviews all around. Livermore's Sauced continues to thrive after hitting its anniversary. Franchises of Dickey's Barbecue Pit are popping up along the 680 corridor. And fans of Everett & Jones (Oakland) and Bo's (Lafayette) would remind us that our list is just scratching the surface.
So we weren't surprised to find a mobbed lobby on our Saturday night visit to Lucille's. Even with a reservation, we waited 20 minutes to be seated. Those without a reservation were quoted an hour, though I noticed some tables sat empty for a while.
Southern comfort
Lucille's oozes down-home Southern hospitality. Stamped ceilings, exposed venting and a mix of tabletop textures and chairs all add to the relaxed charm. The walls are covered with vivid prints of musicians at work, the perfect backdrop for live music. An ample bar with giant TVs anchors the room.
Along one wall sits a supersized smoker. Kids may ring the smoker bell and receive a sticker. It's such a little detail, but this gesture really appealed to my 5-year-old.
The fun of Lucille's is its lengthy menu full of items that people rarely cook at home. Our meal started with drinks poured in hefty Mason jars and a basket of complimentary warm biscuits dusted with sugar. We moved on to the Fried Green Tomatoes ($3.99 for a half order), coated in cornmeal and served on a roasted red pepper cream. Between the biscuit and the tomatoes, I was already nearly full.
The Southern Fried Chicken ($17.49) is a real diet wrecker, but a tasty indulgence. Here chicken breast cutlets are dipped in buttermilk, breaded, deep fried and topped with pan gravy. They are served over a giant heap of garlic mashed potatoes and heavily peppered roasted carrots, red peppers and zucchini. Although the first bites of the hot, crispy chicken were amazing, I then found myself more interested in the barbecue.
Spicy and smoky noshes
A healthier poultry option is the Cajun Chicken Sandwich ($11.49) made from two blackened breasts and loaded with flavor. I'd also reorder Lucille's BBQ Tri Tip Sandwich ($13.49), with its thinly shaved beef piled on a soft potato bun. I found the meat a little dry, but it was helped by three sauces on the table.
The Baby Back Ribs (half rack $23.99, full rack $26.99) offers the smoky taste of hickory and the sweet flavor of Lucille's special barbecue sauce. The crunch of slightly charred edges gives a nice contrast to the tender meat. My son's face was quickly covered with the sticky sauce. The delivery of warm, moist towels came just in time.
I may be an outlier on this, but the side orders are my favorite part of a barbecue meal. Lucille's offers a whopping 16 choices, ranging from BBQ Beans to Sweet Potato Fries. The mashed potatoes, cornbread, ultra skinny shoestring potatoes and especially the creamy macaroni and cheese all received praise from my crew.
A slice of Red Velvet Cake ($5.99) seemed an appropriate way to end this Southern meal, but we were more stuffed than the smoker by then. Later that night, we plowed through the moist middle of the generously sized piece we carried home with us.
Lucille's uses a "team service" approach, meaning diners may flag down any server for help. This concept didn't work all that smoothly on our visit. First, it took a while before anyone greeted our table. After that, a handful of well-intentioned servers asked the same questions repeatedly: Has anyone taken your order yet, would you like a refill, and so on. But since the restaurant is brand new, I'm hopeful the team just needs more practice.
The homespun tale of Lucille Buchanan is a big part of the restaurant's branding. Her story begins at "her Grandma's lunch shack, a tiny little nothing of a place on a back road, outside of a small town."
It's hard not to root for Lucille as you read about how she started her restaurant business in Long Beach after World World II. So we found ourselves a bit discombobulated after learning this heartwarming character is fictitious. It's revealed by a single line on their website. Even our server admitted he had just heard of it. But maybe it's time for Forrest Gump to have some company.
Still, it's easy to see why Lucille's is a big hit for groups of all sizes. As they say in the South, my happy family left there "as full as ticks." We're fixin' to go back.
Lucille's Smokehouse
" * * *
WHERE: Sunvalley Shopping Center, 486 Sunvalley mall, Concord
HOURS: 11 a.m. to midnight daily
CUISINE: Southern barbecue
VEGETARIAN: The menu is large, but vegetarian pickings are slim. Try the Garden Burger ($9.99) or grilled portobello sandwich ($10.99).
BEVERAGES: Full bar
RESERVATIONS: Recommended; www.lucillesbbq.com
NOISE LEVEL: Medium-loud; loud when a band is playing
PARKING: Free parking in the mall lot
KIDS: The children's menu includes 10 choices, such as Lucy's Cheeseburger ($6.49) and Grandpa Joe's Tri Tip Supper ($7.99).
PLUSES: Fun environment; large menu with lots of temptations; great for families; live music
MINUSES: Team service concept needs work.
DATE OPENED: May
We don't let restaurants know that we are coming in to do a review, and we strive to remain anonymous. If we feel we have been recognized or are given special treatment, we will tell you. We pay for our meal, just as you would.
Restaurants are rated on a scale of one to four, with four representing a truly extraordinary experience for that type of restaurant.
Price code
$ Most entrees under $10
$$ Most entrees under $20
$$$ Most entrees under $30
$$$$ Most entrees under $40


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Shayne McGenn attacked his stepfather David Delaney with a frying pan and a knife before he removed his belt and strangled Delaney to death, Crown counsel alleged during the first day of McGenn's trial on Monday.
McGenn, 35, is being tried for the second-degree murder of Delaney, 63, who was discovered dead in the bedroom of his fourth-floor Abbotsford apartment on Feb. 23, 2016. He died either late on the evening of Feb. 6, 2016 or early in the morning of Feb. 7, Crown lawyer Tyler Dotten said in his opening statement in B.C. Supreme Court in New Westminster.
Also on trial with McGenn is Sarah Sather, 35, who is charged with accessory after the fact. The two were arrested in Penticton, B.C., in May 2016.
Dotten said the Crown's theory is that McGenn killed Delaney after he became enraged during an argument between the two of them.
McGenn and Sather, who have a child together, were living with Delaney at the time.
McGenn also worked for a period at Big River Restaurant and Taphouse in Coquitlam, where Delaney was a manager.
Dotten said the Crown alleges that Sather was in the apartment at the time of the killing and helped destroy evidence afterwards, including cleaning a knife and wiping up bloody water in the bathroom, where McGenn had showered after the offence.
Dotten said the Crown will present evidence of three confessions made by McGenn – to a friend on April 16, 2016; to police interviewing him while he was in custody on May 15 and 16, 2016; and to a cellmate, who was actually an undercover officer.
"On all accounts given by Mr. McGenn, this was an altercation between these two men that ended in Mr. McGenn removing his own belt and strangling Mr. Delaney to death in Mr. Delaney's bedroom," Dotten said.
However, he said that some of the statements made by McGenn do not match up with the physical evidence, including allegations that it was Delaney who wielded the knife during the attack, causing injuries to McGenn's forearms.
Dotten said footage will be shown in court from three bank ATM cameras. One of them – taken on Feb. 8, 2016 – will show that McGenn had no apparent injuries to his forearms, Dotten stated.
He said there will also be testimony from the forensic pathologist who performed the autopsy on Delaney, showing that Delaney had "incise wounds" on both palms, two cuts to the right sleeve of his shirt and a three-centimetre-deep stab wound to his neck.
Dotten said a blood pattern analyst will testify about what would have happened on the scene to result in the "extensive blood" that was found on Delaney's bed and two walls of his bedroom.
As well, DNA evidence will be called to prove that it was Delaney's blood that was found in the blood samples tested, Dotten said.
READ MORE: Murder charge laid in death of David Delaney of Abbotsford
He said the court will also hear evidence that Sather confessed to McGenn's mother and to police investigators about what happened on the night Delaney died.
Among the first two witnesses to testify on Monday was the building manager, who said she had returned from a two-week vacation when she received a call from a tenant on Feb. 21, 2016, saying that there was a horrible smell on the fourth floor.
The manager then called the maintenance man to investigate the source, but he was not able to attend until two days later.
The source of the odour could not be found in the tenant's suite, and the maintenance man then decided to check out the next-door apartment.
The building manager let him in, and it was then that he discovered Delaney's body, lying face-down and sideways across his bed. He testified that he immediately left the suite and called 911.
The trial is expected to take six weeks, and Dotten said other witnesses who will testify include family, friends and co-workers of Delaney and McGenn, as well as police investigators and first responders.