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WASHINGTON – A group of Minnesota farmers who flew to Washington this week to beg members of Congress to pass a new farm bill arrived with great expectations. But after two days talking to people on Capitol Hill, they headed home discouraged about their chances of getting what they want.
As the 2008-2012 farm bill heads toward expiration Sept. 30, farmers across the country appear unlikely to get anything more than an extension of the current law, or worse — a return to outdated funding rules dating back decades.
"It seems right now that this is not a high priority," said Lynn Jostock, who walked the halls of Senate and House office buildings with a group of other Minnesotans.
Jostock and her husband, Ed, own a small farm near Rochester. With their hay barn half full because of weather problems and disaster relief programs out of money, the couple came to Capitol Hill to explain why they need the long-term safety net provided by a five-year farm bill.
The Jostocks cling to the notion that the U.S. Senate and House can bridge a partisan divide and pass a bill by the end of the calendar year. But many of their fellow Minnesota farmers are resigned to more uncertainty after their visit.
As badly as they want a new farm bill, neither Peter nor Stacy Ripka of Ogilvie believes Congress will pass one by year's end. At least one of the people they are depending on to make that happen shares their skepticism.
"I can't figure out how this is going to get done," said Rep. Collin Peterson, a Democrat who represents Minnesota's Seventh District and serves as ranking minority member of the House Agriculture Committee.
In June, Peterson led the fight to pass a new farm bill in the House, only to have it defeated by an odd coalition of those who wanted the bill to include no money for food stamps and those who wanted it to include $20 billion more.
In July, House Republicans eventually passed a farm bill that stripped out the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) — as food stamps are known. No Democrats voted for the bill and 12 Republicans opposed it.
This week, House Republicans are expected to vote on a SNAP-only bill that cuts $40 billion from food stamps over the next 10 years. That's 10 times more than the Senate cut in the farm bill it passed in 2012 and 2013. President Obama has said he will veto any farm bill that comes to him without a SNAP component.
Two chambers far apart
Next week, the House is expected to name members to a conference committee to work out differences in the two versions of the farm bill. But the two chambers seem impossibly far apart with little desire to come closer together.
"There is an inability to want to compromise," observed Harman Wilts, as he finished his run of Capitol Hill.
Wilts returned to his 900-acre farm in Kerkhoven expecting nothing more than a last-minute extension of the current farm bill.
Peterson says even that may not be possible. He says Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack told him the president will veto an extension of the current farm bill because the current law does not fund several programs the White House considers critical.
Vilsack has said he has "very, very strong objections to an extension."
All of it leaves farmers in rural Minnesota questioning the commitment level of their representatives in Washington.
On Sept. 10, Stacy Ripka met with a congressional aide who told her, "We only have six working days left in September."
"I thought, 'On the farm, we work seven days a week when we have to get the job done,' " Ripka said.


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Simone Ziaziaris
(Australian Associated Press)
A bounce in business confidence has narrowed the gap between sentiment and business conditions, National Australia Bank says.
The lender's December business survey shows business conditions remained steady and well above the long-run average, and a stronger global economic backdrop drove confidence to its highest level since July 2017.
NAB chief economist Alan Oster said the business conditions and confidence are now in line, after being divided over the past couple of years, which is an "encouraging signal" for investment.
"That said, while business conditions have held at a high level through 2017, they have tended to outperform measures of activity in the national accounts in recent times," Mr Oster said in a statement.
Sales and profitability improved in December, while employment conditions eased.
The employment index suggests a slowdown in jobs growth to around 240,000 per annum over the next six months, Mr Oster said.
"While suggesting some pull back in employment growth, this should still be sufficient to see the unemployment rate inch downwards, assuming no further large increase in the participation rate," he said.
An interest rate hike by the Reserve Bank is unlikely unless employment and wages improve further and the property market holds steady, Mr Oster said.
The survey found strong business conditions were evident across all major industry groups, with the exception of retail, which recorded weaker business conditions but improved confidence.
The construction industry was boosted by a large pipeline of residential construction and stronger non-residential building approvals, while mining – previously a major drag on the overall index – also recorded above average business conditions.
Mining and construction were also the most confident sectors.

subset: commoncrawl


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The most unusual book that is one of my favourites involves a boy and his favourite major-league baseball player. Yes, you are reading a Duana article. It's called Last Days of Summer and most people have never heard of it, but basically: Joey, age 12, is having a hard time during WW II. One day this third-baseman shows up to talk to Joey's bullies, and what follows is one of the best buddy comedies I've ever read. On the one hand it's criminal that the book isn't better known, but on the other hand, I love having one of those amazing stories that is a wonderful secret. (Read it.) And I wonder if it's the kind of book John Krasinski might have read. He's the type – he has a fondness for books and for adapting them – Brief Interviews With Hideous Men and the book about the Chateau Marmont – and this would be right up his alley.
My thesis is furthered by the fact that, in the book, Charlie's girl is called Hazel. And she's the best. She's smart and funny and cute but that's not what defines her. Hazel has a life and a career and a storyline all her own, even in a book about boys and baseball.
And I started thinking that's what a John Krasinski and an Emily Blunt would want for their daughter. Smart, self-posessed, maybe totally able to be in a showbiz career if she wants to but certainly not bound to it, she's just as likely to become a tenured professor of history or an expert developer – aren't those totally qualities you associate with a Hazel?
It's not the craziest name. It's not even the craziest one I bet was on their list – I could have seen them go with Delphine or Finola. But it stands up, especially in the world of the new classic names where there's nothing too old or musty or antiquated to be brought back out and applied to an infant. I like it.
It's worth nothing, too, because I know everyone else will – they're not the first ones with a Hazel. Julia Roberts did it first. But let's be honest, Julia and the Krasinskis are of completely different generations and circles. I don't think the two Hazels are going to spend a lot of time in each other's company, and I think it's kind of good, on some level, that they acknowledged that. "Yeah, it's not really replication of a name because she's still Julia Roberts." You know?
What do you think?


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My daughter is now a whopping three-and-a-half years old and has pretty much left anything and everything she did as a baby far behind her. These days she claims to be a "really big girl" because she no longer uses a pacifier, drinks from a sippy cup or wears diapers.
There is one thing though that still remains from her early years and that's her trusty baby blanket. Why would Riley continue to hold on to a blanket which is much too small for her even when she claims to be a full-fledged big girl? Because this blanket is one of the softest minky-style blankets I could find back when I was pregnant. Whether spending the night at grandma's, watching TV on the couch or snuggling in bed while she's sick, Riley's special blanket always makes her feel better.
As special as this blanket is to Riley, in the end, it's just a piece of cloth and all blankets are made the same, right? Wrong! Just when you thought that nothing new could be done to improve upon a blanket, mompreneur Cheri from Keep 'Em Cozy...By Oz, went and designed one that's innovative, practical and especially luxurious. Keep reading to learn more!
The amazing stroller blanket from Keep 'Em Cozy...By Oz is equipped with a front, double accessory pocket. This large, double pocket is a terrific idea for storing favorite toys, healthy snacks or drinks and even warming tiny hands while on the go. It also has an ingenious gathered bottom pocket so that your child's tootsies stay nice and warm no matter what. You also will no longer have to fight the infamous battle of "stroller blanket drag."
I don't know how many times I would have to tuck and re-tuck Riley's blanket in around her while traveling in our stroller. Before long though, her blanket would come undone again and I would start making icky track marks all over it. How unsanitary and gross! :puke: Now with the Keep 'Em Cozy stroller blanket, those days are a thing of the past.
Your child will stay warm and comfortable and their blanket will never come into contact with a dirty floor. This blanket also works perfectly with both infant and convertible car seats, making it an essential travel item for the next time you hit the road.
Those two features alone are enough to make this one amazing blanket, but just wait, it gets even better. The Keep 'Em Cozy child's blanket is made of two layers. The top layer is composed of a bright, patterned cotton material while the borders and underside of the blanket are made from the softest minky fabric around. This is the exact same material that Riley's favorite baby blanket is composed of, which is why she still loves it so.
Keep 'Em Cozy...By Oz even thought to make the cleaning process for this blanket quick and painless too. This stroller blanket is 100% machine washable, making it a cinch to clean. The best thing is that Cheri of Keep 'Em Cozy...By Oz even takes custom orders, so if you have a particular color palette or pattern in mind, she can work with you to make the blanket of your dreams!
Since receiving the new Jessie Circle Print with Ivory Minky Stroller Blanket, Riley has actually put her old baby blanket down for a while and used this one! Now that's an unprecedented move! :wow: She's always reminded me a bit of Linus from Peanuts, but once Riley felt the soft, luxurious feel of minky fabric, coupled with the neat front and bottom pockets of this innovative stroller blanket, I think Riley might have found a new favorite.
If you have a small child or know someone who does, I can guarantee that one of the gorgeous, handmade blankets from Keep 'Em Cozy...By Oz will be well received indeed!
Disclosure: I received the Jessie Circle Print with Ivory Minky Stroller Blanket from Keep 'Em Cozy...By Oz in order to facilitate my review. No other compensation was received. This product review is based on my own personal experiences with this item and is completely honest and objective.
I'm a former 7th grade Science teacher turned stay-at-home mom that lives in Houston, Texas. I am married to my college sweetheart and have a beautiful daughter named Riley, who definitely keeps me on my toes! I am also involved in starting a small business which would both manufacture and sell an invention that I've patented, called Toothpaste 2 Go. I love interacting with my readers and hope to learn as much about you as you learn about me!
Melissa @ Mommy Living the Life of Riley!
Add Melissa Cleaver to your LinkedIn Network
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Virtualization is all the rage these days; it's used by developers, Mac users, Windows aficionados, and Linux fans to make life a little easier in a multi-OS world. As more non-enterprise users begin taking advantage of virtual machines, virtualization companies are stepping up their offerings in order to make things as easy as possible. For instance, VMware's vCenter Converter enables users to create VMware virtual machines from physical machines as well as disk images, and was updated to version 4.0 last week. It now contains even more options for generating virtual machines.
VMware Fusion, the company's Mac virtualization software, has become very popular, but it can do even more when combined with something like Converter. As the name suggests, VMware Converter creates VMware virtual machines from a wide range of sources, including physical machines. Converter 4.0 now supports the creating of virtual machines from Windows Server 2008 physical machines, as well as Linux machines running Red Hat Enterprise Linux, SUSE, and Ubuntu. Even better, Converter can now create virtual machines from third-party formats like Norton Ghost, and (of course) Parallels Desktop.
Although Converter doesn't actually run on OS X, all of the virtual machines that it creates can be used on VMware Fusion, so Mac users now have an easier way to create Linux virtual machines if they need it for development or just want to try out Ubuntu. Converter 4.0 also contains a few other new features that i didn't discuss, but which can be found in the release notes. The software is available for free from VMware, so give it a whirl if you're curious.


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- Colors and design may vary slightly.
- The lock on this trunk is functional (a key is included).
Stow away your treasures in this treasure of a chest! Meticulously hand-carved and hand-painted in central Mexico, this charming Sunflower trunk is the perfect way to infuse your home decor with bright color. A pleasing coffer to stash your cache, you can store all of your collectibles and heirlooms...even your stockpile of sweaters! Keep it at the foot of your bed or in your favorite cozy corner. This handmade trunk also makes a wonderful gift for flower lovers!
Please Choose an Item
The Carved Collection is constructed from forests certified and managed under the guidelines set forth by CERTFOR and endorsed by PEFC. Certification requires the implementation of long-term sustainable forest management and harvesting practices that conserve biodiversity, reduce carbon expenditures and respect indigenous cultures.
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It almost seems impossible to live without credit cards, student loans, car payments, and all…
Buying a Starter Home vs a Forever Home: Which Should You Choose?
When you're a first-time homebuyer, the first thing on your mind is probably, "how much home can I afford?" and rightfully so! Knowing how much you qualify for is the first step to buying a home.
But here's another crucial detail to consider: should you buy a starter home or a forever home?
Starter Home vs Forever Home: What's the Difference?
You can think of a starter home as a jumping off point in homeownership. When you buy a starter home, you probably don't intend to live there for more than a few years.
However, with a forever home, you'll likely plan on living there for many years –maybe even for the rest of your life! So when comparing the two options, have in mind how time you intend to live in the home and how that fits into your goals.
Reasons to Choose a Starter Home
Potentially More Affordable Than a Forever Home
Condos and small houses are a favorite starter home among first-time homebuyers. A smaller house is likely to fit your budget better, and if you're single or have a small family, a one to two-bedroom may be all you need anyway.
A lower-priced, modest home means a smaller downpayment too! When you pair that with an FHA loan that requires as little as 3.5% down, you can see why some are willing to sacrifice space (for a while, anyway) to buy a starter home.
Desire to Start Investing In Your Future
You'd think that a mortgage payment is more than rent, but often the opposite is true. Even if the overall house payment is slightly higher than your current rent, what you get in return is so much more.
You can think of a mortgage payment as an investment in your future, and with every payment, you own more and more of the house.
Plus the real estate market helps you out by possibly increasing the value of your home. Can your rent payment do that?
Improve Your Investment Without Commitment
Even if you don't make any improvements to your home, the market could work in your favor and increase the value. But if you want to help it along, consider making some upgrades!
The key to home improvements in starter homes is to focus on those with a reasonable return on investment. So before you gut out the bathroom for a complete remodel, look into less drastic upgrades like replacing the tile and sink.
Another thing to consider, at least for style purposes, is to use designs that most appealing to homebuyers. So if you replace the kitchen countertop, consider a neutral colored granite instead of a stark black one. You'll want to save those personal touches for your forever home.
Reasons to Choose a Forever Home
Have or Plan to Have a Family
Space for a growing family is one of the most common reasons to buy a forever home. A condo for a 2-3 person family might be okay for a while, but eventually, you'll want more space. You'll want a yard for the kids to play in or a larger dining area for entertaining.
It's a Buyers Market
When market conditions are in your favor, you definitely want to consider a forever home versus a starter home. Not only will get more home for your money, but you'll have the piece of mind that you got the best rate and a payment you can afford.
You're Ready to Set Roots
It's comforting to know that you won't be moving any time soon. You can settle in, make lasting friendships with your neighbors, upgrade your home just the way you like it knowing that this is your home to do as you please.
Of course, you always have the option to sell in order to buy again!
Our office is always here to help you with your next purchase or refinance.
When you buy a forever home with a loan with us, you'll know that you've got an amazing deal with a mortgage payment you can comfortably afford, and you can breathe a sigh of relief that you're finally home.
Still not sure if you should buy a starter home or forever home? That's okay!
The most important thing is that you get pre-approved for a home loan first. You'll still have time to think about what home to buy, but you don't want to miss out on current low rates!
Click on the links at the top of the page to get started.


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Live Help Monday-Friday from 8:30am - 5:00pm EST
Choose from many laminate and wood veneer conference room tables.
Constant communication and interactions are needed for any office and business to thrive. Having conferences and meetings on a regular basis is necessary for a strong link from one co-worker to another. The Laminate Tables at Ofconcepts.com not only fit those demands, but exceed all expectations for Laminate Tables. The beautiful and warm tones of the Laminate tables will give you the setting and tone for all of your business wide conferences. Having the laminate tables from Ofconcepts will give you a great pairing with other conference room tables and chairs as well as meeting room furniture. Choose from many laminate and wood veneer conference room tables that will keep your business space full, even when everyone is away from their usual work areas. The durable, scuff and mar resistant finish means that your laminate tables will last as long as your business. Build your business from the table up, laminate your conference room tables and enjoy the durability behind your success.
Wood veneer tables at Ofconcepts are available not only in a number of different styles, but an array of different finishes and veneers. Choose from many laminate and wood conference room tables styles and finishes to create the ultimate conference room. Whether the conference room tables are paired with comfortable and practical ergonomic seating, mesh office chairs for an updated look or the tried and true conference table chairs they are sure to create an established atmosphere. More so, this line of conference room tables will give your co-workers an efficient and comfortable meeting place where the business of the day could be concluded. Having the best possible office furniture conference table for your company will give you an edge over others who cannot meet and communicate and interact as well as you can.
Tables for Every Office Need


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Looking for an experienced PHP developer to help customize PHPlist and integrate into an existing CRM-type platform.
Changes are relatively basic, related to tracking open rates, and ability to resend to subscribers who opened a first email, or resend to subscribers who clicked through, and also integrating subscribers with CRM lead records, etc.
You would be working with our existing 5-person development team who will cooperate and provide guidance on existing code base. There may be additional opportunities to join the team for more long-term work if work is done well.
Please email email@example.com if you are interested with details of your experience, resume, etc. Will need at least 2-3 (preferably US-based) references for other clients that you worked on PHPlist for.


text: d IMG_0012 - Vante / PlasticWeld Home About Us News & Events Careers FAQs Catheter Tipping Catheter Tips Bonds & Welds Flares & Flanges Eyelets & Holes Dies & Forming Tools Mandrels Device Contract Manufacturing Manufacturing Equipment Catheter Tipping Equipment Advantages Service & Support Catheter Tipping Dies Certified to Meet Your Specification Catheter Tip Prototype Samples Returns and Repair/Certification Services Videos Equipment Demonstrations Tube Bonding Webinar Contact Us Machine Solutions Brands © 2016 Vante / PlasticWeld. All rights reserved. Designed by: Tension Design


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Richmond woman charged with cruelty to animals
Messenger Post
A Richmond woman was charged Thursday by Ontario County sheriff's deputies with cruelty to animals.
Deputies said they, along with the Ontario County Humane Society, investigated several complaints involving neglected and malnourished horses and livestock at 3804 County Road 40 in Richmond. As a result of their investigation, 14 horses, two cows, a sheep and a goat were found in need of medical attention, deputies said.
The animals were seized by the humane society, and their caretaker, Lindsay A. Kuhn, 33, of that address, was charged, deputies said. She was issued an appearance ticket for Richmond Town Court.


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New Series Reviewed by Q Magazine
Monday, 28 February 2005 - Reported by Shaun Lyon
Q Magazine, a popular UK music magazine, has published a glowing review of the new series in its latest issue, calling it "must-see TV for everyone". From the comments and some of the details given in the review it would appear that the reviewer, Boyd Hilton, has seen a number of episodes from the series - all of which impressed. Amongst many plaudits Hilton states that "the much-hyped return of rickety sci-f? classic Doctor Who lives up to all expectations: it's every bit as good as its mid-'70s heyday. Furthermore, this time around you don't have to be a geek to enjoy it." He goes on to comment on Eccleston's performance; "The inestimable Christopher Eccleston plays the ninth Doctor... replete with trendy leather jacket and wry sense of humour." As for Billie Piper; "the biggest surprise of the show is Billie Piper's performance as the Doctor's "assistant" Rose Tyler. Not only does Piper prove she can hold her own in the company of esteemed actors, but her feisty cockney character shows real depth. Importantly, Rose's relationship with the Doctor is as an equal, rather than just being there to whimper when the aliens show up." The special effects also impress: "Gone are the cardboard sets and naff-looking monsters of old, this time you see... [edited geographical location] ...landmarks come under thrilling alien attack, as convincing and exciting as anything shown before in a British TV series." Boyd ends by praising series writer and executive producer Russell T Davies for the "triumphant regeneration" of Doctor Who (the series rather than the person) and for "the slick, sharp dialogue". He ends by saying that "Doctor Who is no longer the domain solely of sci-fi spods, this is must-see TV for everyone". (Thanks to Roger Anderson / The Cuttings Archive)


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The wishlist has already reached the maximum number of products
The photoceramic coating reduces color fading by 2/3, and reduces the
amount of moisture lost from your hair by 14.5%*.
* Compared with previous Panasonic straighteners after 1 month of use at 170°C.
You can choose the 5 level temperature settings to match the condition of your hair or your styling needs.
Fast heat-up enables quick styling to save time.


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If you ask people what a game developer does, most of them would give a simple answer—they make games. But if you ask someone what a game publisher does, most casual observers would have a much harder time giving you an answer. And these days, a lot of people in the game industry might have some questions about that, too.
The DICE Summit on Wednesday hosted an interesting discussion of whether the traditional publisher role—which primarily involves supporting developers and marketing their titles—really has a place in a gaming world that's rapidly discarding old ideas and business models.
Publishing then versus publishing now
"Publishers were great in the '80s and '90s when people didn't understand what games were," said Wedbush Morgan analyst Michael Pachter. "When you needed them to market to the audience, to get the games on the shelf, to give developers motivation to work."
But things have changed since what Pachter said was gaming's "golden age." These days, Pachter said, the big publishers have become risk-averse mega-corporations driven by "the financial guys" who are looking for the lowest common denominator answer to how to make the most money.
"Back [in the '80s and '90s], if you sold 300,000 to 400,000 units you made money... [now] if a game isn't going to sell 300,000 units, [they say] forget it, don't even try."
The result is mega-publishers like Activision Blizzard, which makes 90 percent of their revenues from two franchises, Pachter pointed out. Meanwhile, a company like THQ recently had to cut its development staff significantly despite bringing in $800 million in revenue.
The big publishers have mimicked the worst of Hollywood's focus on retreads and sequels, Pachter argued, but they have it even worse, because "Sylvester Stallone is too old to make Rocky movies anymore, and Mel Gibson is too crazy to make Lethal Weapon movies anymore. They have to come up with new ideas eventually ... [but] I think we're going to play Call of Duty 37 in 10 years, and they'll be up to two a year at that point."
Publishers as innovation finders
On the other side of the argument, EEDAR analyst Jesse Divnich argued that big publishers are still important for identifying good games and getting them in front of people. His primary example for this was the Guitar Hero franchise, which had a sizeable niche audience for its first two games before Activision bought it out and made it a worldwide phenomenon (while driving the concept into the ground, I might add).
"[The industry experts], we'd play it anyway, but we're only 10 to 15 percent of the market," Divnich said. "The rest of industry only buys what the TV tells them to buy. Guys like Activision act as a conduit, finding innovative games and getting them in front of people."
Divnich even extended the argument to indie games, saying that breakout titles like Limbo, Braid and Bastion would not have been nearly so successful without the backing of a publisher. Minecraft, he said, was the most significant exception of a breakout hit where the developer didn't need any outside help to get huge. For most indie games, "the ones you do hear of are usually the ones backed by marketing."
A publisher is simply a developer who "makes something great, makes a lot of money, and says to themselves, 'We do such a good job making our games, we're going to help other people make games,'" he said, "Then, they figure, 'We could make more money if we just bought them and owned everything.'"
Power shifting to developers
While Divnich admitted such publishers can get a little "top-heavy" with meddling managers who ruin perfectly good developer ideas, he argued the concept is sound. But one thing both panelists could agree on was that the best publishers are the ones who can support good developers while also letting them do their thing. They both highlighted Take Two as a company that seems more focused on drawing from their publishers' talents rather than imposing too many market demands.
"Rockstar has free rein. Ken Levine has free rein. ... The management team is far less interested in making money than making great games, and they think if they make great games they'll make money," Pachter said. "[They're] either enlightened or clueless."
But Divnich argued that before those developers can become great, they need help from publishers to grow into themselves. "For people to become next Insomniac, Bungie or Respawn, they have to cut their teeth working with publishers," he said. "Studios that are in the top echelons of the industry, they have to go through hard times to get the name, get the quality, get the resources they need to bring full potential to market."
Pachter answered back that, once these big developers become well known for quality products, they don't really need to rely on the publishers anymore. "The power is going to ultimately shift from the publisher to the developer," he said. "Bungie, Respawn, Insomniac, they aren't starving... we need studios that have had so much success they can call their own shots."
Listing image by Image courtesy of AIAS


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2 NC bands chosen for London New Year's parade
BENSON, NC (AP) — Two high school bands from North Carolina will be taking part in the New Year's Day parade in London in 2014.
The News & Observer of Raleigh reported that the executive director of the parade extended the invitation to West Johnston High School in Benson and Leesville Road High School in Raleigh.
Both schools also are scheduled to perform in concert halls while they are in London.
Parade executive director Robert Bone says organizers like to give bands 15 months' notice. He says schools need that much time to raise the money they need for airfare and a week's visit to London.
Bone says the parade is twice as big as Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York City.
The parade uses about 15 American bands each year.
(Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)


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Cherokee, Grand Cherokee, 1500, Journey and 300 Are Just a Few of the All-Star Names You'll Find at McSweeney Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram, Proudly Serving Birmingham, Anniston and Trussville
You're in the market for a new car, but not just any new car: you're looking for something truly extraordinary. If that's the case, McSweeney Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram has just what you're looking for: a new Jeep, RAM, Dodge or Chrysler. Models like the Jeep Cherokee, Grand Cherokee, Jeep Wrangler, Ram 1500, Ram 2500, Journey and 300 have been wowing drivers from Pell City for years, and now it's your turn to share in the excitement. So be sure to have a look at our inventory listed above. Try sorting by various categories to narrow down the field a bit. And if you have any questions, be sure to ask us. We love answering them!
You've Found the Cherokee, Grand Cherokee, 1500, Journey or 300 that Speaks to You - What Comes Next?
First and foremost: a test drive. This is your chance to explore the vehicle you're considering inside and out. Once you've decided for sure it's the model for you, it's time to talk financing. We'll discuss loan rates, lease options and everything that goes with them. After that, it's just a matter of time before you're driving your new car home, perfectly matched with a financing solution that meets your budget and needs.
* MSRP is the Manufacturer's Suggested Retail Price (MSRP) of the vehicle. It does not include any taxes, fees or other charges. Pricing and availability may vary based on a variety of factors, including options, dealer, specials, fees, and financing qualifications. Consult your dealer for actual price and complete details. Vehicles shown may have optional equipment at additional cost.
*Pricing provided may vary significantly between website and dealer as a result of supply chain constraints. Pricing shown is non-binding and does not constitute an offer. Contact your dealer for updated vehicle pricing.
* The estimated selling price that appears after calculating dealer offers is for informational purposes, only. You may not qualify for the offers, incentives, discounts, or financing. Offers, incentives, discounts, or financing are subject to expiration and other restrictions. See dealer for qualifications and complete details.
* Images, prices, and options shown, including vehicle color, trim, options, pricing and other specifications are subject to availability, incentive offerings, current pricing and credit worthiness.
* In transit means that vehicles have been built, but have not yet arrived at your dealer. Images shown may not necessarily represent identical vehicles in transit to your dealership. See your dealer for actual price, payments and complete details.


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I've been trying to hide index.php, following the guidance of numerous and helpful posts, in the URL but have been unsuccessful. My setup is as follows:
VirtualBox Ubuntu Server VM (Host is Windows 7)
Using a shared folder on host
webapp is a sibling to framework folder
mod_rewrite is enabled
Webapp runs fine unless I want to hide the script name. When using the following .htaccess config, I get a 404 error (URL not found):
Options +FollowSymLinks
IndexIgnore */*
RewriteEngine on
RewriteBase webapp
# if a directory or a file exists, use it directly
RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} !-f
RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} !-d
# otherwise forward it to index.php
RewriteRule . index.php
Some other posts discussed the need to set some of the apache configs in /etc/apache2/default as follows:
<Directory /var/www/>
Options All
AllowOverride All
Order allow,deny
Allow from all
Doing this actually results in a 403 error (forbidden access).
Anyone have any suggestions?


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Selfridges facing court over raw milk vending machines
Selfridges and Stephen Hook – the farmer who supplied Selfridges with the unpasteurised milk – look set to be prosecuted for breaching food hygiene regulations.
Summons have been served to both parties. A hearing is scheduled for 6 February 2013 at Westminster Magistrates Court.
"The decision follows a detailed investigation, after vending machines dispensing raw cow milk were installed at Selfridges, in 2011. The FSA will consider taking action where it has evidence that regulations have been breached," said the FSA announcement.
The FSA added that the case in not linked the on-going review of rules that govern the sale and marketing of unpasteurised drinking milk in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.


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From the minute you walk in the back door to the Eighth Street Head Start site and climb the stairs, you hear the voices – happy, chattering, laughing children's voices – filtering down from the play area above.
Normally, you might find these kids engaged in some game or lesson, but on Sept. 24, they had some special guests, including Hambo Tony, the horse mascot, and the management of Winners Bayonne, the city's newest sports bar and off-track wagering facility. They had come to visit and deliver the first batch of backpacks that they had donated. Boy Scout Alex Gill had organized a campaign to fill.
Instead of playing with toys, these kids sat opening their backpacks, giggling over the contents that included pencils and notepads and other school supplies they needed. Winners Bayonne and its sister property, Meadowlands Racetrack, had donated 200 Hambletonian-themed backpacks to the Head Start program through Gill's service project to become an Eagle Scout.
Head Start is a federal program launched in 1965 in an attempt to break the cycle of poverty by providing pre-school children from low-income families with a comprehensive program to meet their emotional, social, health, nutritional and psychological needs.
Along with its early childhood education program, Head Start kids receive breakfast and lunch. Started as one of the first programs in the nation in 1965, Bayonne Head Start shifted from location to location for many of its early years, and eventually developed three permanent sites to accommodate 160 children.
"These are some of the neediest children in the city," said Ana Quintela, executive director of the Bayonne Economic Opportunity Foundation, which oversees Head Start in Bayonne.
Winners Bayonne, located at 400 Route 440 North, opened to the public on July 17. The venue is the first off-track wagering facility to be built and operated by Jeff Gural's New Meadowlands Racetrack LLC.
Ironically, some of the contents in the backpacks had a New York Yankees logo; Robert Kowalski, director of Winners Bayonne spent ten years in the New York Mets organization, before moving onto Las Vegas where he ran two casinos for eight years, returning to the east to take on the chores of operating this facility in Bayonne.
Winners Bayonne and Alex's eagle project came together quite by accident as both approached Quintela about what they could do to help the kids.
"Winners donated backpacks and coloring books," Quintela said. "Alex went and got the rest of the things to put inside."
These came from a variety of sources, local business and community partners. Alex said he got a lot of donations through local churches.
"We wanted to make sure the children from Head Start were taken care of first," Quintela said. "Last year not all of them did."
"We met with Ana to see if there was some way we could get involved in the community," Kowlaski said. "She has been instrumental in connecting us to different projects in Bayonne – and hooked us up with Alex."
"These are some of the neediest children in the city." — Ana Quintela
A place to gather and make noise?
Kowlaski the off track wagering facility is very interested in making community connections. But it also has hopes of becoming a social center for local youth, and he has been very active in getting the word out about the facility.
Branded as a sports bar with action, the 25,000 square-foot venue boasts two large simulcast areas, a VIP room, a 38-seat bar, and a full-service restaurant operated by McLoone's. With more than 150 television screens, the facility aims to please horseplayers and sports fans alike.
"I can't hand out enough business cards to people right now, getting them to know about what we offer and where we're located," he said, saying that these facilities differ from place to place, and he wanted the Bayonne facility to reflect this area. "I wanted it to look good. I wanted it to look modern. I wanted it to look Vegas, but not too much. I wanted it open and with McLoone's bar, I think I found exactly what I was looking for."
He said the Woodbridge facility tends to have "a library feel," where people sit down and bet and it is relatively quiet.
"That's good for them," he said. "That's their business model and it works. I want a party. I want noise. I want to hear people shouting, and cheering and yelling and rooting for which ever horse they bet on. I want it loud and if its not loud, something is wrong."
But he said he doesn't want people to think of Winners Bayonne as an exclusive club, but a place where young people can come.
"This is a place for the young of Hudson County to come to, a place filled with music and noise," he said, noting that DJ music may be in the future. "I think of our facility as a work in progress," he said.


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Dr. Corea, who served as Secretary-General of UNCTAD from 1974 to 1984, was known for his vision of a rebalanced international economic order that would provide fairer treatment to developing countries.
Dr. Gamani Corea, Secretary General of UNCTAD (1974-1984)
Photo Credit: UN Photo Library
His work with UNCTAD dates back to the organization's founding, when he helped to create the Group of 77 developing countries, at the first session of UNCTAD which took place in 1964.
As Secretary-General, he had a reputation as an intellectual who pursued the idea of international economic reforms that could give the world's poorer nations a better chance of long-term development and more effective results from trade.
He paid particular attention to the problems and needs of the Least Developed Countries (LDCs), arguing that they had special concerns and merited special consideration. Accordingly, he focused on achieving better results for poor countries from trade in commodities - the basic farm goods and natural resources that in many cases make up the bulk of LDCs' exports.
He pressed for an Integrated Programme for Commodities around a Common Fund, to bolster trade in commodities, and he later advocated this idea in his book Taming Commodity Markets: The Integrated Programme and the Common Fund in UNCTAD, which was published in 1992. He also actively promoted South-South cooperation.
"Gamani Corea played a significant role in UNCTAD's formative years, helping to mould it into the organization we know today," current Secretary-General Mukhisa Kituyi said. "We owe him a great deal, and his passing is an occasion of great sadness for us."
Jan Pronk, who served as Deputy Secretary-General of UNCTAD during Dr. Corea's tenure, said: "His death is a great loss, not only to his country but also to the international community he had served so brilliantly."
Dr. Corea was born on 4 November 1925. He obtained bachelor's and master's degrees from both the University of Oxford and the University of Cambridge between 1945 and 1952, followed by a doctorate in economics from Oxford. He worked as an economist in various capacities in Sri Lanka before becoming his country's Ambassador to the European Economic Community, Belgium, and Luxembourg, in 1973.
After leaving the United Nations, Dr. Corea continued to pursue his vision of a revamped international economic order, serving with the South Commission from 1987 to 1990, and as a member of the Committee of the South Centre from 1995 to 1998. He went on to serve as President of the Committee from 1998 to 2001.
In Sri Lanka, he founded and chaired the Institute of Policy Studies. He also founded the Sri Lanka Economic Association, which he chaired from 1985 to 1991.
Among Dr. Corea's several books was the 1980 volume Need for Change: Towards the New International Economic Order.
Over his career, he received several honorary doctoral degrees from universities in Europe and Sri Lanka.


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After purchasing a new refrigerator, we were very surprised to see how much dust had collected on the condensing coils after only six months. There are no pets in the house, no rugs in the kitchen, and we keep the house clean. We didn't want to vacuum the coils frequently, but we also didn't want the refrigerator to work any harder than necessary. So we went to the hardware store, bought a small piece of lightweight filter material and cut it to match the shape of the vent panel just under the door. We held the filter in place as we pressed the panel back on. After another six months passed, we took off the vent panel and filter, and there was almost no dust on the coils. Problem solved.
In a homebuilding project a few years ago, we installed a wood-burning furnace. Of course, heating with wood requires a great deal of firewood cutting. We use two different-size chain saws. We learned a long time ago to always have extra saw chains with us when we're cutting in the woods. But carrying these extra chains, with the teeth exposed, in a toolbox is a good way to dull them before they cut a single log. To avoid this problem, we got some clear plastic tubing that was long enough and wide enough (the inside diameter) to cover each extra chain. We cut the tubing on the inside from end to end, and then just pressed the chain into the cut and allowed the tubing to form a circle as it covered the chain. Now we can easily see what chain we have stored and know that it's still going to be sharp when it comes time to use it.
Glue bottles, caulk tubes, some lightweight oilcans and any number of different containers with narrow spouts usually come with caps that keep the material from drying out between jobs. These caps work well, if you can find them. But too often you can't. That's why we started using twist-on wire connectors for the job. They come in many different sizes that can fit all sorts of spouts. And, they're usually bigger and have brighter colors than the caps that came with the bottle, so they're harder to lose.


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Since this is how I eat for the time being, it's not an experiment anymore, so writing this post has become somewhat of a daunting task. How do I write a post about all the things I eat? That's why I haven't written it until now. (I'm a bit of a procrastinator when it comes to large tasks.) I decided that I (obviously) cannot compile an exhaustive list of all the foods I love that are gluten-free. What I can do is highlight a few brands of the best pre-prepared foods that I tried, tell you what didn't work, and share a bunch of my recipes all in one place.
I've finally completed it, so here is the first installment of a three-part series on my favorite gluten-free foods. First up: breakfast and lunch. (Next week you can expect to read about dinner at home, the following week will discuss eating out, and the final week will cover desserts and snack foods.) If you're feeling impatient in the meantime, here are all of my gluten-free recipes, many of which I will be highlighting over the next few weeks. Let's get started!
|Breakfast burrito in brown rice tortilla
I also often have a breakfast meat in the mornings, usually bacon or chicken sausage. Check the labels on sausages, because sometimes they sneak a little wheat in there (why, I have no idea).
Steel-cut oatmeal is another one of my favorite GF foods. It is a little time-consuming to prepare—compared to, say, eggs—but it's totally worth it. If you don't like the texture of oatmeal made with rolled oats (the flat kind) then try steel-cut. I much prefer it to rolled oats in the texture department. A tip for preparation: add a little oil or butter to the cooking water, it will help it not to turn out quite so sticky.
I prefer to eat cold cereal for a snack, but since most people have it for breakfast, I'll talk about it now. I tried several different specially-made GF granolas, and I didn't like any of them. I want to try making my own, since it can't be too awfully difficult, and will be much less expensive than buying it pre-made. I do like Rice Chex and Corn Chex (with a slight preference for the rice version) which are both gluten-free.
If you're into something a little more fancy, I'd like to recommend the Gluten-Free Breakfast Casserole I made for us to eat during our Christmas celebration. I really enjoy preparing and eating casseroles, since it's your whole meal in one dish. This particular casserole was a big hit. The popular opinion was that it was the best breakfast casserole I've ever made—far better than the version with wheat in it. That's good enough for me! Seems like I'll definitely need to make this again soon...and for many years to come.
Another soup brand that I like is Kettle Cuisine. They make frozen gluten-free soups in single-serving bowls. I like that they feature flavors of soups that would normally contain flour (like cream soups and chowders). There is no sacrifice in flavor for the lack of gluten, and it tastes like comfort food to me! These soups are a great lunch option during the chilly months.
I haven't delved much into GF breads so far, as I've found them in general to be dry, crumbly, and disappointing. As a result, I gave up sandwiches during my experiment (and I still haven't tried to go there). If I want to have a sandwich, I just have all the fixings together in a pile without the bread. It's not as easy to eat that way as, but I'm alright with that. However, if you have a good gluten-free bread recommendation, I'd love to hear it.
I often eat leftover dinner foods for lunch, but those will have to wait until next week. See you then!


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The mysterious coronavirus that has killed at least three people and sickened more than 200 in China is now capable of spreading from person to person, a prominent Chinese scientist said on Monday, adding to fears of a broader pandemic. The disclosure increased pressure on the Chinese government to contain a growing public health crisis, just as China enters its busiest travel season of the year.
The authorities had previously said the deadly virus seemed capable of spreading only from animals to humans in most cases, tracing the outbreak to a market in the central Chinese city of Wuhan. But in recent days at least two people have become infected with the pneumonialike virus even though they live hundreds of miles from Wuhan, experts said on Monday, suggesting that the illness is spreading from person to person.
"Now we can say it is certain that it is a human-to-human transmission phenomenon," Zhong Nanshan, a scientist who is leading a government-appointed expert panel on the outbreak, said in an interview on state-run television on Monday.
The World Health Organization announced Monday that it was convening an emergency meeting on Wednesday, Jan. 22, "to ascertain whether the outbreak constitutes a public health emergency of international concern, and what recommendations should be made to manage it." Millions of Chinese are traveling this week for the Lunar New Year holiday, adding to fears that the virus could spread swiftly and on a broader scale. Experts said the severity of the outbreak would now depend on how many people, on average, a person with virus could infect.
"There are now sufficient cases that it's not going to die out by chance," said Neil Ferguson, a public health expert at Imperial College London who has studied the new virus. "The real question now is, how efficiently can this virus spread from person to person?"
Also on Monday, the authorities reported that new cases had been detected for the first time in Beijing, in Shanghai and the southern city of Shenzhen, all hundreds of miles from Wuhan. Cases have also been reported in Japan, South Korea and Thailand.
Many of the cases were connected to the Huanan Seafood Market, which also sold live poultry and exotic animal meats. Considered a likely source of the virus, the market was closed and disinfected.
The health commission in Wuhan said on Sunday that the illness had also appeared in people who had not been exposed to the market, raising the possibility that the virus could be present elsewhere in the city.
Local officials have pledged to handle the outbreak with transparency. But the memory of how China initially covered up the extent of a deadly SARS outbreak that infected more than 8,000 people in 2002 and 2003 has not completely faded. Although flu experts have said the Chinese government is trying to be more transparent now, many in China remain skeptical. Over the weekend, the number of reported cases more than tripled to about 200, mostly in Wuhan. One more person in the city died, bringing the total death toll to three, while nine others remained critically ill, the city's health commission said. Twenty-five people have recovered.
On Monday, five new cases were reported in Beijing, 14 in Guangdong Province, and one in Shanghai — the first cases reported in China outside Wuhan. The total number of cases climbed to at least 218, state media reported on Monday. The World Health Organization said the spike in reported cases was the result of increased searching and testing for respiratory illnesses.
Experts initially said that it did not appear to be readily spread by humans, but on Monday Mr. Zhong said that in Guangdong, a southern province, two individuals appeared to have been infected by relatives who had traveled to Wuhan. Mr. Zhong said the virus could be present in particles of saliva. He added that in one case, a patient appeared to have infected 14 medical workers.
Coronaviruses are named for the spikes that protrude from their membranes, like the sun's corona. Such viruses cause several illnesses of the respiratory tract, ranging from the common cold to severe diseases like SARS. According to the World Health Organization, common signs of infection include fever, cough, and respiratory difficulties like shortness of breath. Serious cases can lead to pneumonia, kidney failure and even death.
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/20/worl ... ptoms.htmlTo prevent the spread of respiratory infections, the W.H.O. recommends that people wash their hands regularly, cover their mouths and noses when coughing and sneezing, and avoid direct contact with farm or wild animals.
There is a fear that China is lying about the number of cases.
SARS - Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome
https://www.cdc.gov/sars/index.htmlhttps://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/about/prevention.htmlSevere acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) is a viral respiratory illness caused by a coronavirus called SARS-associated coronavirus (SARS-CoV). SARS was first reported in Asia in February 2003. The illness spread to more than two dozen countries in North America, South America, Europe, and Asia before the SARS global outbreak of 2003 was contained.
Since 2004, there have not been any known cases of SARS reported anywhere in the world.
Just an alert, no cases reported in the US. There are no vaccines for coronaviruses.


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Tagged: Chan Ho Park
Should I Ask My Mother To Change Her Name?
What I Learned From Tonight's Blowout
Rookie + Bad Defense + So-So CC = Loss
Maybe The Yankees Were Still Hungover?
Diaz keeps head down at Yankee bash
Last Updated: 1:17 AM, July 20, 2010
Posted: 12:13 AM, July 20, 2010
Cameron Diaz is playing it smart with Alex Rodriguez — keeping a low profile and fitting in with the Yankee wives at CC Sabathia's birthday bash.
Diaz, who's gone to great lengths to avoid being pictured with A-Rod, bonded with Yankee women, including Laura Posada and Nick Swisher's actress fiancée, Joanna Garcia, at Jay-Z's 40/40 club Sunday. Diaz even asked to be introduced to legend Reggie Jackson, now a team adviser who works closely with A-Rod.
A happy Sabathia was spotted downing shots with Jay-Z and greeting teammates Derek Jeter, Jorge Posada, Mark
Teixeira, Robinson Cano, Phil Hughes and Andy Pettitte — who made it despite his groin injury.
A source told us, "Cameron doesn't cling to A-Rod like Kate Hudson, whose front-row antics didn't go down well with the wives. Cameron kept it low-key and hung with the girls. She and Alex stayed on opposite sides of the room but they kept glancing and smiling. He didn't look at another girl."
The pair — described by Sabathia's wife, Amber, as a "cute couple" — later escaped through a back door and headed to a West Side heliport.
Amber, who's about to give birth to their fourth child, planned the lavish $150,000 bash for 400 guests, with an open bar awash with Ace of Spades champagne, dancers with pythons and a three-foot alligator in a tank — which sparked a minor panic as it tried to escape its keeper. Spies said one snake terrified Jeter, "who jumped a mile as soon as he saw it," while A-Rod and Giants star Brandon Jacobs refused to touch it.
Meanwhile, Beyoncé fueled pregnancy rumors by avoiding alcohol. Teixeira stuck close to his pregnant wife, Leigh, while champagne-swigging Joba Chamberlain was surrounded by admirers before leaving at 2:30 a.m. with a leggy brunette.
All I know is that they looked utterly flat tonight against the Angels. They couldn't hit – not against anybody. They didn't play good defense (I'm talking to you, Grandy and Swisher). And, most of all, the pitching was nothing to cheer about. Hughes? Where'd you go? And Park and Gaudin? Why aren't you gone? The only bright spot – and I mean only – was Jorge throwing out Abreu twice. Oh, and it's always entertaining to watch Girardi get tossed. Otherwise, what a boring game. I hope the Yanks sober up by tomorrow so that Friend of the Blog Mike and his sister-in-law Steph will see a better contest than they did tonight. Here they are before the first pitch, hoping for a win. Sorry, Mike.
Gotta Give Some Love To The Yankees Bullpen
At the Break: My State of the Universe Address
Cliff Lee Broke My Heart and I Don't Even Know Him
Plenty Of Goats In This One
Losing Games and Winning Friends
What A Great Game!
If you're a fan of the Diamondbacks.


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NEW YORK — As we type, thousands of nerds are converging on the Jacob Javits Center like a swarm of battle-ready storm troopers to drool over the latest in comic books, action figures and superhero movies at New York Comic Con. Tonight and this weekend, we'll join them, live blogging panels for X-Files: I Want to Believe, Indiana Jones, The Incredible Hulk, The Spirit and more. So check back with PopularMechanics.com tonight and all weekend long for the latest comic gossip and on-the-floor happenings.
Friday, April 18, 2008
8:18 pm: X-Files: I Want To Believe -- The X-Files panel started ten minutes late, but that didn't dampen fan enthusiasm at all. We started with the trailer first seen at San Diego's Comic Con -- snowy settings! helicopters! car crashes! weird medical exams! -- to wild applause before writer/producer Frank Spotnitz and writer/producer/director Chris Carter (who snapped a photo of the audience) took the stage -- and revealed plenty of details about the film, due July 25:
More From Popular Mechanics
- The story takes place in the present day, six years after the series ended.
- According to Spotnitz, the movie is a "stand alone, scary story" with a focus on Mulder and Scully's relationship.
- It's personal in a way the show couldn't be.
- Reuniting the cast was, according to Carter, "a lovefest, adding that they're like "a dysfunctional family, but family."
- When asked by a fan if the lone gunman would make an appearance, Carter said he was going to take a page from his own book and "deny everything."
- Scully's family doesn't appear in the movie, though there may be references to them; her brother was cut out of an early draft of the film.
- The title was Carter's and Spotnitz's idea (not Fox's).
- When a fan asked if we'd be surprised by the evolution of Mulder and Scully's relationship, Carter replied, "I don't know. Aren't you glad you came?"
- There is something "very scary" in the movie -- so scary that Carter actually laughs. "And then I wonder if people think I'm strange."
- The Blu-Ray DVD, according to Spotnitz, will have "lots of cool features," though they're not sure if there will be any deleted scenes because they're still editing the film.
- Spotnitz let it slip that there will be an X-File comic book series that will be announced tomorrow. "Don't tell anyone!" Carter (jokingly) warned the questioner.
Both Carter and Spotnitz expressed gratitude to the fans for their continued support of the show, calling the fan response "the most rewarding" part of making the film. And, before leaving, they put to rest at least two of the lingering questions from the show's nine-year run: Mulder's sister is definitely dead, and Mulder is definitely the father of Scully's baby.
Saturday, April 19, 2008
11:40 am: WALL-E -- Producer Jim Morris debuted two new clips from WALL-E -- Pixar's latest outing about Earth's last inhabitant, a lonely robot whose job it is to clean up the human kind's mess -- today, and spilled some more details on what we can expect from the film. In the clips, we flew through satellite-cluttered lower Earth orbit (including Sputnik!), past the American flag and Apollo lunar lander on the moon, and were introduced to Mo, an tiny, obsessive cleaner robot who screens other bots who have been traveling in space -- including Eve, an egg-like robot who WALL-E falls in love with and follows into space. We also heard a cameo by Sigourney Weaver, who voices the ship's computer -- "We were geeked out at having a little nod to Alien," Morris said -- and watched as WALL-E was blasted back into space, caused his ship to self-destruct, and uses a fire extinguisher to propel himself back to Eve. Also, an animated epilogue will finish the film, and Peter Gabriel has written the song that will play over that epilogue and the end credits. WALL-E's graphics look incredible, the clips were hilarious and poignant, and if the clips we've seen are any indication, this film is going to be a home-run for Pixar.
1:48 pm: Indiana Jones -- Not too much on Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, but Steve Sansweet of Lucasfilms assured us that Indy still has "a lot of surprises in store in spite of what we've seen on the internet." He did announce that there will be a new Indy book with behind the scenes photos from all four films -- plus the untold, true story of what happened in the sixteen years between the last Indy film and Crystal Skull -- and on May 13, the special edition DVDs of first three Indiana Jones movies, and a box set will be released. There will be new special features and content on the new movie. Also coming is an Indy Lego game for all gaming platforms and the PC.
2:15 pm: Wanted -- Director Timur Bekmanibetor (Daywatch, Nightwatch) brought an incredible chase sequence from Wanted -- think Angelina Jolie on the hood of a viper, steering with her stiletto-clad feet while firing at a villain in a Nibbler Cat and Dog Food truck -- the film adaptation of the popular graphic novel. We also got to see an unfinished scene, cut from the film, where Morgan Freeman's character directs James McAvoy's character -- a nervous accountant -- to shoot the wings off a fly. He does it, but only after another super assassin puts a gun to his head. Turns out that when the accountant is threatened, his heart beats 400 times a minute, flooding his system with adrenaline and heightening his senses -- allowing him to perform feats not many others can. Fans questioned Bekmanibetor on his decision to keep the assassins out of costume. "There are too many movies with people in costume," he said. "I wanted the film to be more real. Imagine seeing an assassin walking down the street in costume -- everyone would know he was an assassin. It's very unprofessional."
3:20 pm: Hellboy 2 -- This was perhaps the most star-studded panel at NY Comic Con. Director Guillermo del Toro was joined by stars Ron Perlman, Selma Blair, Dough Jones and Luke Ross as well as Mike Mignola and Mike Richardson -- and a number of creatures from the film, who lurked on-stage during the panel. They showed us an expanded version of what's in the trailer -- though, del Toro cautioned, the footage was unfinished so we'd "see some cables and some missing gore." The footage also included a first look at Johan, the mechanical man tasked with watching the unpredictable Hellboy, who is voiced by Seth McFarland (Family Guy). According to del Toro, there were several characters they had to drop, including a 10-ft. tall, three-headed bulldog (which seemed to sadden del Toro greatly). He promised to post the plans on his website within the next couple of weeks and dedicate them to a 15-year-old fan in the audience. Del Toro also dished on the film he's writing now, Saturn and the End of Days, about a boy named Saturn who witnesses the apocalypse on his way to and from the grocery store.
4:17 pm: The Incredible Hulk -- We were a little doubtful when the teaser trailer came out that The Incredible Hulk would be much better than the Ang Lee fiasco. But if the three clips we saw today -- including the unfinished, full-length trailer -- were any indication, this Hulk is truly going to be incredible. Director Louis Leterrier (The Transporter) was joined by Marvel producers Gale Anne Hurd and Kevin Feige as well as Tim Roth, who plays Emil Blonsky/The Abomination.
Leterierr said they're still editing the film and doing the visual effects. The difference between this film and the last film, says Feige, is that this time, "we have a kick ass villain." This led to the first clip, which showed Roth enrolling in the "Super Soldier" program that would allow him to take on the Hulk -- the first stage was two injections, one in muscle, one in bone marrow.
When asked about his decision to take the part, Roth said, "If you're going to be on a lunch box, your kids are going to live with that. So I ran it by them, and they said, 'You do it! Do it!' They thought it was so cool." Roth said he got the Hulk comic as a kid, but didn't know about the Abomination. "He's a fascinating character," said Roth. "I went back and looked at the comic books. You have to look at the dialouge and stay true to it."
"We went with the Abomination because we needed a big ass fight," Feige said. "We wanted [the 9-ft. tall] Hulk to be a hero, and if you look at him against the Abomination, he's actually the underdog."
The second clip -- again, unfinished -- showed the first face-off between the Hulk and Stage-One Blonsky. Banner is trapped in a glass passageway, surrounded by the Army, who shoot cannisters of an unidentified substance into it. Banner transforms (the transformation wasn't yet finished), then bursts out of the passageway onto the glass below. The Army opens fire, and he tears through them, throwing a truck and smashing things to bits. Finally, Hulk and Blonsky square off: It's an intense scene, where Blonsky -- a super soldier, not yet the Abomination -- avoids the Hulk's blows but doesn't land many himself. "Is that it?" He taunts the Hulk. "Is that all you've got?" And the Hulk kicks him in the chest.
"When we promise you the Hulk smash, you get the Hulk smash!" Hurd said to wild applause. Feige said that kick might have something to do with Blonsky becoming the Abomination, but wouldn't elaborate further.
The panel also tackled internet rumors about a rift between Norton and the filmmakers, essentially saying that there's nothing to them. "I was in the editing bay with Ed the other day," Hurd said, "and I think if there was anything wrong, he wouldn't show up."
TV Hulk Lou Ferrigno also made an appearance on the panel (and treated us to the Hulk voice). He'll have a "funny" part in the film, according to Leterrier, who also said the film's pivotal fight scene takes place in New York City -- and involves helicopters.
Last, but not least, was the unfinished, full-length theatrical trailer. It began with Banner in Brazil, trying to solve his "problem." The army is hunting him, supposedly for stealing military secrets." We see Banner cornered in the glass passageway, and more of that fight scene -- including him taking down a copter as Hulk and slicing a tank in half with a piece of metal. It ended with footage of the fight scene from the teaser trailer (with a bit of the helicopter fight added in). And after the trailer, we got a special treat: Tony Stark -- that's right, Iron Man himself -- confronting a drunk General Ross in a bar. Needless to say, we can't wait for the full film.
5:15 pm: New trailer for Batman: The Dark Knight
DC Comics President and Publisher Paul Levitz introed a new trailer for the upcoming Batman movie. This one comes out in two weeks, and looks awesome. Paul asked us nicely not "respect its confidentiality" and not to "blog scene by scene". Anyway, here's what you need to know: Joker has a meeting with some bad guys telling them that "We need to kill the Batman." Maggie G. does lots of hanging out with future-Two Face Harvey Dent. Some bad guys smash the Bat Signal. Batman drives a Batbike... and does it a lot. In addition to the "Tumbler" Batmobile we saw in the last flick, we get a VERY brief look at a second, more "subtle" Batmobile. This one looks to be a dark-colored sporstcar. Maybe a Ferrari. Impossible to tell in a split second (yield this one to the PM car editors.)
5:40 pm: The Spirit
Okay, we saw the trailer. It. Looks. Incredible. Just a bit of footage of the Spirit getting dressed and jumping around rooftops. But wow does it look neat. Far more like a cartoon than Sin City, but oddly human (it's a green screen movie, like Sin City, using real actors.) A deep-voiced voiceover says: "My city screams, she is my mother, she is my lover, I am her Spirit." Out in 2009.
Frank Miller, actress Eva Mendez, and some producers are interviewed by MTV News vet Kurt Loder. Talk a lot about how much of an homage the new movie is to the work of Will Eisner (who created the strip in the 1940s.)
Sound bites:
Kurt Loder to Eva Mendez: "Is your role in this movie to just play a hot babe?"
Eva: "Hell no! I play a jewel theif and a badass girl who has been married 15 times and killed every one of her husbands."
Frank Miller: "When I first met [Sin City director] Robert Rodriguez... he was pounding me n how much our two disciplines were merging, how they were two sides of the same coin. On Sin City he proved that. On The Spirit, I was able to pound that."
The Q&A was a mess. Virtually every "question" was a guy saying either 1) Eva Mendez is hot/asking for her number/asking for a hug, or 2) "300 was the bomb. Can I have your autograph Frank Miller?" Kurt Loder had to BEG the audience to ask an actual question. It was in vain.
Frank said he is "certain" to direct more films. He has a new graphic novel coming out, but its all top secret now. He says he's written part two of what he is projecting to be a Sin City film trilogy. With the third planned.
Anyway, movie looks awesome.
Sunday, April 20, 2008
2:15 pm: Journey to the Center of the Earth: 3D
Prepare to have the next several years all be declared as "The year of 3D." So far, recent big-budget 3D flicks have been largely limited to animated movies and ones featuring Hannah Montana. That will change with this summer's Journey to the Center of the Earth, which is being billed as the first "live action digital 3D film" (even though it stars Brendan Frasier, who is as close to a living cartoon character as Hollywood has.)
Anyway, this movie looks like mostly kids' stuff. Basic plot: Family finds copy of Juls Verne's old book. Family decides it wasn't actually fiction. Family decides to retrace Mr. Verne's footsteps. Family encounters lots of fantastical creatures such as, but not limited to, 3D venus fly traps, 3D dinosaurs, and 3D fairy-like floating things.


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Pats' Gronkowski ready to go for playoffs
Foxboro, MA – The New England Patriots will be fielding a healthy roster as the reigning AFC champions begin defense of their conference title this weekend.
The Patriots had just five players on their final injury report for Sunday's Divisional Round clash with the Houston Texans, all of whom were listed as probable for the game.
The most notable of that group is tight end Rob Gronkowski, who missed five straight games with a fractured left forearm before returning to action for the Week 17 finale against Miami. The Pro Bowl selection recorded two catches for 42 yards and a touchdown in the Patriots' 28-0 shutout of the Dolphins.
Gronkowski initially sustained the injury in a victory over Indianapolis on Nov. 18.
Cornerbacks Alfonzo Dennard (hamstring/knee) and Marquice Cole (finger), offensive lineman Nick McDonald (shoulder) and defensive end Trevor Scott (knee) are also probable to face the Texans after practicing in full on Friday.


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NCAA Football 2005 Review
College football fans dream of July almost as much as they do the first week
of foot ball in September because that's when EA's beloved NCAA series is released to ease
those summertime blues. With no competition anymore, it has been up the guys at
EA Tiburon to come up with ways to keep the series fresh, instead of resting on
their laurels. This year there are some nice additions to the game, namely the
"Home Field Advantage" but the rest of the game suffers from a "been there, done
that" problem, since not much else has changed from last year.
There are a variety of play modes in NCAA 2005, including recreating great
classic games, playing teams that consist of mascots, online, and of course a
practice mode, but true college fans will head straight for the game's dynasty
mode. When you enter dynasty mode, you are asked to select a school, or you can
create a college, which is nice if you go to a small school that doesn't have a
football team. You can then rename your coach, redshirt players and tweak your
schedule before the season begins. You can't change all of your games, since most other
teams have their schedules set, but it's cool to be able to schedule a patsy to
pad your stats or schedule a tough game to hopefully raise your ranking. As your
season concludes, you'll be invited to a bowl game, provided you're bowl
eligible, the Heisman trophy will be awarded, and then after the season you have
to start recruiting.
Not much has changed with recruiting from last year - you still spend points
recruiting players, and it's more expensive to recruit out of state. This year
you can change your budget around and allot more money to recruiting, though
other parts of your program will suffer from a lack of funding. The whole
process tends to be rather tedious and uneventful, and the computer is very slow
at simulating other teams' actions. You'll get the best players if you recruit yourself,
but after a season of doing it on your own, you might just want to let the
computer take the reigns in future years. One of the new things you can do in
recruiting is recruit athletes - people with tremendous
athletic ability, but no real position. You can then train them in the off
season and place them at the position they are best at.
Once you get to the actual gameplay, the first thing you'll notice is the
game's new "Home Field Advantage" (HFA). Since HFA is a huge part of college
football, Tiburon has tried to replicate that feel in this year's game, and for
the most part, they did a really nice job. If you're a visiting team playing in
a hostile stadium, your screen will shake, your controller will vibrate, and
you'll have difficulty calling audibles. As the drive progresses and you get
worse, the crowd yells more and the effects become more pronounced. In addition
to making the game more difficult by altering the visuals, the HFA also changes
player ratings, based on each person's composure ratings. Veteran players won't
get rattled as much, but younger players will drop the football, miss blocking
assignments, and perform poorly overall. It's a really cool addition, and it
will be neat to see how they are able to fine tune it over the next couple
years. Right now, it's not perfect, but it's got tons of potential.
One of the problems that many people have had with NCAA, is that it seems to always be
lagging a little bit behind Madden. For example, last year Madden added slants
to the hot routs, and now this year, NCAA has done the same. If you haven't
played the latest version of Madden, or ESPN NFL 2K5, you might not miss some of
the newer features, but it's a little difficult to go backwards with key
features. Running the ball is
a little bit easier this year, though there are still plenty of times where your
O-line will get blocked backwards into your path, giving you no chance to even
fight back to the line of scrimmage. Passing is extremely difficult this time
with an excessive amount of dropped balls from receivers, and amazingly gifted
leapers at cornerback the two biggest culprits. Sure, dropped balls are part of
the game, but when players routinely drop the softest of passes when they're
wide open, it can be more than a little exasperating.
NCAA boasts a full-featured online mode that's a blast to play. You can chat
with friends, instant message, join tournaments, and best of all, there's an
"even team" mode. Using even teams means that everyone can play their favorite
school and you don't have to play USC 48 times in a row. EA's sports ticker,
which was stolen directly from 989, updates you on all the "real life" games in
progress, so you don't miss out on any of the big games. Some people have
reported difficulty playing online when they already have NCAA 2005 data on
their memory card, but I didn't have this problem. Just be aware that it could
be an issue, and having an extra memory card handy might not hurt.
NCAA 2005's weakest area is its graphics. It's not an ugly game on the same
level as 989's football titles, but again, when compared to Madden or ESPN, it's
an ugly duckling. Though Tiburon added new tackling animations, there are still
many times where players just run into each other and nothing happens, or
blockers will block just by running into another player, not pushing them with
their hands or lowering their shoulders. There's also quite a bit of clipping,
and a lot of it is quite bad, especially during replays and celebrations. The
stadiums are also beginning to look dated, and the crowds, save for the people
that they zoom in one after big plays, are all flat, 2D pixilated blobs. In an ode to first
generation PS2 games, aliasing is a problem, and there's often slowdown,
especially if you play in the widescreen mode.
Of course the game's strongest visuals are still the cheerleaders, the
mascots and the celebrations, and there have been a few more things added this
year to spice things up. You can now create signs for the fans to hold, and
trust me, it
never gets old making signs that describe how your opponent sucks. Since emotion
is such a large part of the game, there have been new celebrations added - not
only for touchdowns, but after big plays as well. Just be careful not to go too
over-the-top as the referee won't have any qualms about calling a fifteen yard
excessive celebration penalty.
Brad Nessler, Kirk Herbstreit, and Lee Corso are back to provide commentary,
provided the game you are playing is on television. If it's not, you'll get a
generic PA announcer calling out the downs, which is a nice way of creating a
difference between small-time and big-time games. Unfortunately, the commentary
feels exactly the same as it did last year, with no noticeable tweaks or new
sayings being added to the game. The fight songs are great, but it's time to add
some other marching band tunes to the mix. Overall, there's nothing really wrong
with the game's audio, it's just that they've done nothing to improve it.
As usual, NCAA 2005 is the best college football game on the market - of
course there's nobody else competing, but it's a very good game regardless.
Unfortunately, the lack of any direct competition seems to be taking its toll on
the series as each year it feels like it's slipping ever so slightly in quality.
The visuals are due for a major upgrade, and the audio has similar needs. Don't
let these gripes keep you from buying the game if you're interested - it's a ton
of fun to play, and there's lots of great games to be played online.


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To Treat and to Heal: The Making of a Cancer Doctor
Last month we spoke to nine doctors who had battled the same illnesses they studied in the lab or treated in the clinic. Their stories were inspiring, and illustrated the sometimes-fine line between work life and home life. Here we continue the discussion, asking them to share more about how their personal life informs their professional endeavors, for better and for worse.
Dr. Mark A. Lewis' inclination for helping others was passed down to him through the generations before him, at least metaphorically speaking. His father was a caregiver of sorts - a theologian whose healing line of work was deeply informative to the young Lewis. More literally, his father passed him down a genetic mutation that predisposed him to cancer. His father died of lung cancer, the result not of smoking, but of the rare mutation that underlies familial tumor syndrome, in the Lewises' case, Multiple Endocrine Neoplasia type 1 (MEN 1).
As a child, Lewis closely watched his father's doctors do their work. And while their efforts were ultimately fruitless, his wonder at their almost-magical treatments propelled him to medical school where he chose oncology as his trade. Lewis' own MEN 1 status was only revealed in his first year of oncology residency, as were the tumors already growing in his pancreas, where they still reside today, dormant, for now. Realizing that he and his father shared this familial form of cancer made his father's struggles make more sense in retrospect, and it continues to shape his relationships with medicine, his patients, and his own growing family.
But while Lewis' love of helping others was piqued by his early experience, his own journey into clinical medicine has led to a deeper understanding of healing. There are many ways to heal, he has found, and some patients consider themselves "fixed" when the medical community might not; the reverse is true, too.
"Experience has taught me," he says, "that there are many worthy goals besides cure, and that we shouldn't reflexively regard other outcomes as failures. Even the word 'cure' has a slippery definition. Does it mean being cancer-free for five years? Ten? Dying of a medical problem unrelated to cancer, even if cancer or its treatment hastened that death?"
Determining the success of a treatment is about as abstract as it comes, Lewis says. "We sometimes talk, imprecisely, about patients 'failing' treatment. There's an interesting reversal of blame in that phrasing. Surely if there's any blame to be placed, it's the treatment - or its prescriber - that fails the patient." On the other hand, a treatment can be deemed a "success" if it produces a reduction in tumor size that is only perceptible by x-ray. How is this successful, he wonders, if the patient feels no better as a result?
The potentially long-term psychological fallout from treatment, even those that annihilate cancer, is one of the reasons that "cure" is not straightforward. One of Lewis' greatest fears is that patients may be so "irrevocably traumatized by the treatment experience that they will not be able to enjoy life there after. A remission plagued by constant anxiety about a cancer's relapse is a Pyrrhic victory indeed."
Truly humbling to him are the cases in which patients consider themselves the most healed when Lewis has "done the least," medically. Sometimes it is the emotional support, the discussions of mortality, and the ability to prepare for the end of life that benefits patients above all.
For Lewis, professional life and personal life are not so separable as they once were. He's been vocal about the difficulty in experiencing the emotions of both worlds simultaneously. For instance, at almost the precise moment his daughter was born, he lost a young patient - a mother, no less - to cancer. That day forced a realization that the two worlds were inextricably entangled, and this, he says, is the way it should be for any doctor worth his salt.
"Then that awful, wonderful day," he recalls, "with its tumult of feelings and obligations, proved to me that the barrier was permeable. The horrors encountered in my job were not so easily contained, and they could coincide with my most precious joys...Never before had I experienced such extreme feelings at the same time, and the dissonance was unsettling."
Experiencing the wild spectrum of life and death emotions is no easy assignment -- but these "mortal struggles" are what called Lewis to his specialty in the first place, and they are what keep him there. Not experiencing them is what he fears for himself most of all.
In the end, healing remains a knotty concept, and perhaps that's as it should be. "The truth is that healing occurs in many ways that defy quantification," he concludes. All of the roles doctors play -- caregiver, parent, patient, spouse -- inform and augment one another, and, he says, "they cannot -- should not -- be held apart."


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It was five years ago at this time that Hollywood first realized it was heading down the road to self-immolation.
The looming issues were twofold: The creative community had decided that, with contract talks in progress, digital heaven was beckoning (their timing couldn't have been worse). The corporate CEO fraternity in turn resolved not just to reject activists' demands but to put them in their place (a humiliating place).
The upshot, the writers strike of 2007-08, turned out to be one of those rare debacles where both sides lost … big time. The once-cozy craft of writing for film and TV was soon to become a nasty struggle. With ratings tumbling, TV would moult into the bastion of reality programming. The implicit communal bond that once united Hollywood would be shattered.
All this is relevant today as back-channel talks begin anew between the key guilds and corporate hierarchs. And the business of dividing up the pie has grown ever more complex. Those lavish revenues from the new media that were mythical five years ago are now a vivid reality. At the same time neither side wants to replicate the bitter negotiations, or the ideological claptrap, that prompted the great strike with the resulting losses of jobs and income.
The intriguing details of that upheaval are superbly chronicled by Variety's deputy editor Cynthia Littleton in a new book titled "TV on Strike: Why Hollywood Went to War Over the Internet" (published by Syracuse University Press).
Littleton manages to vividly capture the central characters, and build the complicated storyline, while still explaining the blizzard of proposals and counter-proposals involving residuals, royalties and deferred payouts. She is generally kind to the principals, explaining that their motivations were sincere, if their actions often ill-conceived.
She is also far more moderate than I am in her indictments — to her the strike was more the product of human foibles than nasty misbehavior. I agree with her, but, in retrospect, the behavior on both sides bordered on the irresponsible.
What were the geniuses of the AMPTP thinking when, at the start of talks, they introduced an incendiary proposal to overhaul the entire residual system — and not just for new media (the so-called "recoupment proposal"). Even the fair-minded Littleton called this "a tactical blunder."
And why did the Writers Guild leaders get so carried away with their own rhetoric that it seemed like they savored a strike? "We are part of a broader struggle for justice between the American middle class and power concentration," proclaimed David Young, the Guild's executive director, who has just signed on for a new term.
Amid all this posturing, it remained for some fair-minded attorneys and agents to try to instill reason. Littleton cites the efforts of CAA's Bryan Lourd in particular in trying bring the sides together. But Lourd was frustrated that the guild had done such limited research in the new media market marketplace that it was ill-equipped to do battle.
What no one knew at the time, of course, was that the Great Recession was at hand and that the only realistic goal was survival.
Five years later, the outlook is radically different. While the big media conglomerates (like most of corporate America) still likes to talk about belt-tightening, revenues are in fact soaring — Time Warner's profits surged by 50% in the last quarter and even Sony, long struggling with its electronics business, forecast a return to the black thanks to a 30% increase in filmed entertainment. All this is consistent with the results of the 339 members of the S&P; 500 whose earnings surged 7.3% in the fourth quarter (but who are still hoarding cash).
Writers and directors are keenly aware of the fact that the majors are unveiling new digital licensing deals almost weekly — Time Warner earned $350 million in so-called SVOD revenue alone last year. Competition is heating up among Netflix, Amazon and Hulu, which is great news for content owners — and also potentially for content creators.
So the stage is set for a new "grand bargain," provided a modicum of leadership can emerge on both sides. A good start would be to make Cynthia Littleton's book required reading. Its lessons are sobering.


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2018 was my fifth Blogging From A to Z Challenge and the aim of my theme was "to find the origins of online games, some relatively modern and some with ancient roots. Gaming might well be a modern take on an art that is almost timeless – storytelling" …
This was a perfect excuse for a writer to delve a little deeper, in some cases finding the myths and legends that had inspired a new generation of storytellers. I wasn't surprised at how many had 'ancient roots', nor was I surprised that there were universal themes arising.
However, I was intrigued how many cultures were represented as I expected most games had Celtic, Norse, Japanese or Chinese roots. Okay, I half-expected Korean mythology to work in somewhere as South Korea has a large games industry. The surprise was (a) the cross-fertilization between cultures – see Z is for Zelda; (b) the use of less prominent mythologies – see W is for Witcher.
I was pleased that most of the posts inspired comments, even a little debate. However, I was amazed that J is for Jumanji, K is for King Arthur and T is for Tomb Raider received none – especially when R is for Resident Evil received six comments, excluding my replies. (I replied to every comment.) Was that because Resident Evil is the most successful game-to-movie adaptation? Or was it because King Arthur has been overdone in everything from legend to Hollywood blockbuster?
Maybe I spent too much time trying to get the posts out. I admit that I didn't visit many A-to-Z bloggers beyond the ones that I follow regularly – I have a lot of catching-up to – in the Road Trip. (The Road Trip is where bloggers continue to visit each other from May thru March.)
However, as well as my posts linking with my Twitter, Facebook and Linkedin accounts, I did manage to add my post-address to the Daily Lists as well to my comments on other sites. Towards the end of the Challenge, I was writing the following day's post with a few hours to spare – and I consistently forgot the #AtoZchallenge hashtag, except on my Theme post.
My frantic approach was partly because I hadn't even remembered to sign-up until mid-March. That began some in-depth research which included some 'product testing'. I need to give myself time in future if I am going to reduce the pressure and visit more sites.
Looking ahead to the Road Trip is coming on May 23, I'm trying to decide which was my favourite post and why. Will the writing-related research or the gaming-experience lift the award?
H is for Hellblade or L is for Lord of the Rings? Or maybe something unexpected.
What would you choose?


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