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When it comes to people taking photographs of their meals, the chef David Bouley has seen it all. There are the foreign tourists who, despite their big cameras, tend to be very discreet. There are those who use a flash and annoy everyone around them. There are those who come equipped with gorillapods — those small, flexible tripods to use on their tables.
There are even those who stand on their chairs to shoot their plates from above.
"We get on top of those folks right away or else it's like a circus," Mr. Bouley said.
But rather than tell people they can't shoot their food — the food they are so proud to eat that they need to share it immediately with everyone they know — he simply takes them back into his kitchen to shoot as the plates come out. "We'll say, 'That shot will look so much better on the marble table in our kitchen,' " Mr. Bouley said. "It's like, here's the sauce, here's the plate. Snap it. We make it like an adventure for them instead of telling them no."
Not every chef or restaurant owner is as accommodating, especially these days, as cameras have become as common as utensils. People are posting a shot of their quinoa salad online, or their ramen noodles on their blog. A growing backlash has prompted not only dirty looks from nearby diners, but also creative measures like Mr. Bouley's and even some outright photo bans.
On a visit to Momofuku Ko, one diner thought nothing of subtly raising her iPhone and snapping a picture of her shaved foie. Like tens of thousands of others, she takes photos of her plates constantly, sometimes to the annoyance of her spouse, a chef.
"It just seemed very casual at Ko," she recalled. The host was wearing jeans, hip-hop was on the playlist and a 12-year-old was sitting next to them. And this — this dish was the famous, fabulous shaved foie from the star chef David Chang. It only seemed natural to record it for posterity.
Then came the slapdown. A man in the open kitchen asked her to please put her phone away. No photos allowed.
"I was definitely embarrassed," said the woman, who was so mortified that she spoke on condition of anonymity. Because the Michelin-starred restaurant is small — it seats only 12 — everyone at Ko witnessed the exchange. "I don't want to be that person," she added, stressing that she never, ever takes flash photography, never stands up for a shot and is always respectful of those around her. Since she is a part-owner of several restaurants, she knew why she was being chastised. "But I was caught off guard," she acknowledged.
Mr. Chang is one of several chefs who either prohibit food photography (at Ko in New York) or have a policy against flashes (at Seiobo in Sydney, Australia, and Shoto in Toronto). High-end places like Per Se, Le Bernardin and Fat Duck discourage flash photography as well, though on a recent trip to the Thomas Keller restaurant Per Se, flashes were going off left and right, bouncing off the expansive windows overlooking Columbus Circle.
"It's reached epic proportions," says Steven Hall, the spokesman for Bouley and many other restaurants, who has worked in the business for 16 years. "Everybody wants to get their shot. They don't care how it affects people around them."
Moe Issa, the owner of Chef's Table at Brooklyn Fare, said he banned photography several months after opening when it became too much of a distraction to the other diners at his 18-seat restaurant.
"Some people are arrogant about it," he said. "They don't understand why. But we explain that it's one big table and we want the people around you to enjoy their meal. They pay a lot of money for this meal. It became even a distraction for the chef."
Mr. Bouley said table photography "totally disrupts the ambience."
"It's a disaster in terms of momentum, settling into the meal, the great conversation that develops," he said. "It's hard to build a memorable evening when flashes are flying every six minutes."
Mr. Issa is happy to supply diners with professional photos the next day, though Mr. Hall said "people want to e-mail their photos to their friends right then and there; instant gratification." Mr. Bouley is setting up a computer system so that diners can get digital images of what they've eaten before they even get the check.
It's hard to know who is most irritated by amateur photography — the owners and chefs, the nearby diners or even the photographer's dining companions. Emma Kate Tsai, a Houston-based editor, said her 64-year-old father drives her family crazy with the food photos he shoots with his large, cumbersome camera strapped across his chest. "It's really irritating," she said, "because we can't take a bite unless he takes his photo."
When the family goes out for Chinese, things get ugly. "The food just keeps coming, and we just have to wait for him," she said. "Of course, he's not taking pictures of us or his grandkids, which compounds the issue for me."
Her father, a NASA engineer, used to put his photos into PowerPoint presentations and send the huge files to them through e-mail. "They were, like, 11 megabytes," she said with a laugh. "Now he's got Facebook, thank God." Still, she worries about what will happen when her father stops working. "I think when he retires it's just going to get worse," she said.
Even Valery Rizzo, who teaches a class in iPhone food photography, thinks the trend has crossed a line. Tired of seeing uncentered, flash-marred photos of indistinguishable glop, Ms. Rizzo taught a course last fall at 3rd Ward in Bushwick, Brooklyn, to try to raise the bar. Ms. Rizzo briefs her students not only on the apps available, like Instagram, Foodie SnapPak and Camera+, but also tries to teach them lessons on composition and lighting. "No. 1 rule is no flash," she said. "A lot of food photos are hideous because of the flash."
But for every annoyed patron and disgruntled chef, there will continue to be legions of amateur iPhone-wielding food lovers, who say what they do is a tribute — not to mention free advertising for the restaurants.
Jordy Trachtenberg, because of what he described as his obsessive-compulsive disorder and his love of food, has documented every bowl of ramen he's eaten in the past two years and posted it on his blog, Ramentology. He was flabbergasted to learn there are restaurants that prohibit photography.
"It's shocking," he said. "Is that even legal?"
He said he had never encountered any pushback. "But then again, I'm a big guy with tattoos," he said, laughing.


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UNCW Names First Major Gifts Officer for Athletics
Wednesday, January 30, 2013WILMINGTON, N.C. - Former Seahawk Club Assistant Director and UNCW Director of Development Adam Keen has been appointed Associate Director of Athletics for Major Gifts, becoming the school's first major gifts officer for athletics. The announcement comes on the heels of Chancellor Gary L. Miller's recent report to the UNCW Board of Trustees, in which he reiterated the university's focus on building a stronger structure for fundraising and increasing connections between the athletics program and local residents and businesses.
Keen will assist in the management of UNCW's development efforts, including prospect identification, major donor relationship cultivation, solicitation and stewardship.
"Our strategic vision for Athletics includes not only attracting the highest caliber of student athletes, but also reaching out to our community in the most engaging and spirited ways we can," commented Miller. "Creating this position to serve both our Advancement and Athletics goals is another step in our plan to bolster existing support and create new fundraising opportunities as well."
UNCW conducted a national search for a development specialist to solicit and cultivate major gifts in the growing athletics department.
"I'm excited about the opportunity to contribute to the chancellor's vision for Athletics, in a role that encompasses both my passion for UNCW sports and my interest in finding new ways to build support for the program," said Keen. "I look forward to being an instrumental part in the major gift fundraising efforts."
Keen joined the Seahawk family in early 2010 as Assistant Director of the Seahawk Club and transitioned to Advancement, as part of a team that raised more than $66 million for the comprehensive campaign.
"Adam's dedication and his multi-faceted experience with our team and Athletics made him the best choice for this position," commented Mary Gornto, Vice Chancellor of University Advancement. "His enthusiasm for all things UNCW and his long-term connections with our supporters will surely serve him well in his new capacity."
During his time as Assistant Director of the Seahawk Club, Keen played a key role in all phases of the group's operation, including managing a portfolio of major gift donors during the successful "Soaring To Greatness" campaign. After a move to University Advancement, he retained a close relationship with the Seahawk Club while soliciting scholarship support for the College of Health and Human Services, Cameron School of Business and Watson School of Education.
"We're very pleased to again be teaming up with Adam in his new position," said Jimmy Bass, UNCW's third-year athletic director. "He did an outstanding job during his time as an assistant director with the Seahawk Club and has an excellent relationship with the Wilmington community, which will serve us well as we concentrate on major gifts during this challenging economic climate."
Prior to coming to UNCW, Keen served as Associate Director of the ECU's Small Business Institute from 2007-2008 and was a Development Intern with the ECU Educational Foundation from 2009-2010. Keen led recruitment efforts for the new Student Pirate Club and assisted in planning the Pirate Club's annual scholarship auction. Keen has been active in the Wilmington community, volunteering with the Miracle League of Wilmington and the local non-profit children's charity Mustaches for Kids.
A native of Goldsboro, N.C., Keen earned his Bachelor of Science Degree in Business Administration from ECU in 2005 and completed his Master of Business Administration at ECU in 2008.
Media Contact: Andrea Weaver, Office of University Relations, email@example.com or 910-962-7631.

subset: commoncrawl


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Good News! Recession Cuts Trade Deficit in Half!
The latest U.S. trade numbers were released this morning, and the news reports so far have predictably focused on the fact that the U.S. trade deficit in March expanded modestly compared to February.
The real story behind the numbers, however, is that U.S. imports and exports continue to decline. Compared to the month before, U.S. exports of goods fell another $3.0 billion, while imports fell by $1.6 billion.
If we go back a full year, the drop in trade is staggering. Between March of 2008 and March of 2009, U.S. exports of goods and services fell by 17 percent, and imports fell an even steeper 27 percent. As a result, the goods and services deficit is less than half of what it was a year ago.
Critics of trade such as CNN's Lou Dobbs are always harping that if we could only reduce our dependence on imports, and along with it the trade deficit, Americans would enjoy higher wages and more plentiful jobs.
Well, we've managed in the past year to reduce imports by more than a quarter and cut the trade deficit by more than half. Are we feeling any better?


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1. Place the large image a comp that is the size of the tiles you want to cutup.
2. The comp should be this many frames in length: (thisLayer.width/thisComp.width)*(thisLayer.height/thisComp.height).
2. Add the expression below to the image's anchorPoint.
3. Render out an image sequence.
I just got a photo mosaic without the source photos...so I thought if this ever befalls any of you, this could save some annoyance.
Code: Select all
xTile = thisComp.width;
yTile = thisComp.height;
xCompsize = thisLayer.width;
yCompsize = thisLayer.height;
numXpicts = Math.floor(xCompsize/xTile);
numYpicts = Math.floor(yCompsize/yTile);
f = timeToFrames(t = time + thisComp.displayStartTime, fps = 1.0 / thisComp.frameDuration, isDuration = false);
xLine = (f%numXpicts)+1;
yLine = Math.floor(f/numYpicts)+1;
x2 =(xTile*xLine)-(xTile *0.5);
y2 = (yTile*yLine)-(yTile*0.5);
transform.anchorPoint = [x2,y2];


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Wendy's transformation push starts to take hold
NEW YORK (AP) — The Wendy's Co.'s push to transform itself as a higher-end hamburger chain is showing early signs of taking hold.
The Dublin, Ohio-based fast food company says a key sales figure rose 3.2 percent in the second quarter, helped by renovated restaurants, new menu items such the Spicy Guacamole Chicken Club sandwich and a new TV ad campaign.
Sales at restaurants open at least 15 months is a key gauge because it strips out the impact of newly opened and closed locations.
Wendy's said the boost was driven by increased spending per visit, which is in line with its long-term goal of enticing customers to pay more for higher-quality food. But executives noted in a conference call with investors that the company still has a long road ahead. The turnaround efforts also come at a time when competition is intensifying and the economy remains weak.
To cast itself as a more premium fast-food chain, Wendy's is investing heavily to give its restaurants a fresher look. In the next three years, half of its company-owned locations will be remodeled with an airy new style that features leather chairs, flat-screen TVs and metallic highlights.
CEO Emil Brolick said the renovations – which will cost $80 million this year – are critical because they "enhance all dimensions of the Wendy's experience." He noted that restaurants that were renovated last year enjoyed a 25 percent increase in sales.
To justify its higher prices and build loyalty, Wendy's is also working to improve customer service. Additionally, Brolick noted the chain will need to offer a steady pipeline of compelling limited-time offers to keep customers coming back.
After years of lackluster sales and eroding market share, Wendy's hired Brolick last September and has since been on a mission to revive its business. The push hit an early snag in the first quarter, when the company said its "You Know When It's Real" marketing didn't resonate as strongly as its competitors and sales came in weaker than expected. The company vowed at the time to make adjustments.
In the latest quarter, Wendy's said its new two-pronged ad campaign helped drive sales. The TV ads feature a young, red-headed woman referred to internally at the company as "Red," who encourages customers to discover the surprisingly high-quality foods at Wendy's.
Other ads featuring the real Wendy Thomas, the daughter of founder Dave Thomas, are intended to underscore the company's roots and run less frequently.
Citing its second-quarter sales performance, Wendy's stood by its outlook for the year, with adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization costs, or EBITDA, from continuing operations to range from $320 million to $335 million. Wendy's said it still targets an average adjusted EBITDA growth rate in the high-single-digit to low double-digit range starting next year.
The company said it expects beef costs to ease for the rest of the year, as a result of the drought that has pushed up grain prices and prompted farmers to sell off cattle they can no longer afford to feed.
After that, however, Wendy's expects beef costs to rebound and continue pressuring margins. Beef and chicken each make up about 20 percent of the company's commodity costs.
For the quarter, Wendy's said it lost money because of costs to refinance its debt and impairment charges related to the consolidation of its restaurant support business.
For the three months ended July 1, Wendy's says it lost $5.5 million, or a penny per share. That compares with a profit of $11.3 million, or 3 cents per share, a year ago.
Excluding one-time items, Wendy's earned 5 cents per share, in line with expectations.
Revenue rose to $645.9 million, up 4 percent from a year ago but shy of the $647.9 million analysts expected.
The profit margin of company-operated restaurants during the quarter improved to 14.1 percent, from 13.9 percent, as a result of higher sales and selling more profitable items. The increase was offset by higher labor costs, the result of its efforts to improve customer service.
Wendy's shares were flat at $4.54 in early afternoon trading. The company has more than 6,500 restaurants, mostly in North America.


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Browsing Theses/Dissertations - Chemistry & Biochemistry by Title
Now showing items 86-86 of 86
Vibrational spectroscopy in cryogenic solutions: application of thermal lensing and Fourier transform techniques to the study of molecular C-H overtone transitions. (2007-01-22)This dissertation explores the application of thermal lensing to vibrational overtone spectroscopy in cryosolutions. Specifically, C-H (delta v = 6) overtone spectra of hydrocarbons dissolved in liquefied rare gases are ...


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Happy Thursday everyone! Well, I have a couple things to share with you today. Kitchen Sink Stamps sponsored the CPS sketch this week, and we got to pick from their great selection of stamps! Well, you all know I have a think for cupcakes...so when I saw Happy Birthday Cupcake set, I knew it was a must have for me! I also got the Plaid Plus set, and the sweet heart border was a perfect addition.
This first one is my card for sketch 73 at the CPS Blog. I have had this Heidi Grace paper collection in my stash FOREVER...and haven't touched it! I remembered it, and decided it would be perfect for this week's sketch!I also had some of these American Crafts scraps that really needed to get used up so they weren't wasted...so I did up another little card with the Cupcake stamps. I think the stamp set and this bright and cheery paper line were a good match! Well, that is all I have to show for today! Today is the last day for voting in the PC Gallery Idol contest. Voting ends at 12:30pm MST. Here is a LINK to my card one last time! Be sure to check out all the cards and get your vote in for your favorite if you haven't already by the deadline!
There is a private screening set up at the local movie theater for Best Buy tonight, where they will be showing the new Batman movie for us. So excited to see it...but it isn't until midnight! I am going to need to take a nap when I get home from work so I don't fall asleep during it! I am going to be so tired at work tomorrow, but it will be worth it for the private screening. No jam packed theater, and they are giving us the kid's price on tickets...so we are saving money too! Couldn't get any better than that in this economy right now! :) Although...they are going to keep the concessions open for us as well...so I am sure we will blow the extra money we save on the yummy goodness that is buttered movie popcorn and a big fountain pop. SO bad for you...but SO yummy!
I hope everyone has a happy Thursday!


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Helen Chan asked 8 years ago:
I don't understand my assignment!
1 answer
28567 views
Your lecturer / tutor is the best person to speak to in the first instance if you don't understand your assignment.
There are also weekly workshops and individual consultations offered by HELPS in Student Services http://www.ssu.uts.edu.au/helps/workshops/index.html#Analysing


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New York City Events, Coupons, Reviews!
Subscribe to KidsScoop! The monthly family event and savings newsletter.
Look out kids, Sesame Street Live's performance of When Elmo Grows Up will have you dancing in your seats! This show was a non stop spectacular musical event! Elmo and Big Bird opened the show which led into the entire cast doing their first lively musical number of many! The theme of the show is Prairie's Pageant. The characters are preparing for Prairie Dawn's show and they are all telling us what they want to be when they grow up. The kids in the audience get to hear about all these great occupations being sung to us from the mouths of their favorite Sesame Street characters!We are treated to a Western number where they don cowboy hats and boots and sing along with a dancing cactus. My kids got a huge kick out of this! Then we were treated to a Policeman reminding us to practice street safety. He encouraged interactive participation on this one as he told the kids to follow along with him as he safely crossed Sesame Street.Next up were some forest rangers singing amid lit up trees to songs the kids knew, which was so much fun for them! The Itsy Bitsy Spider, and my personal favorite, The Teddy Bear's Picnic were huge hits. Now it was time for the little princesses in the audience to watch their favorite Sesame Street girls Rosita, Abby Caddaby & Zoe prance around stage in their tutus and tiaras. Then all of a sudden, here comes the Firefighter and his band of helpers. The best part of this number was the dancing fire hydrants and seeing one our favorite (I won't spoil it for you) characters in his fireman's outfit! Now through all this, Elmo just can't decide what he wants to be when he grows up – he wants to be everything he's seen so far! So the second act opens up with Elmo's World, complete with Mr. Noodle, of course. We then get treated to a few more occupations our friends are dreaming of being before the show is about to close.The final number is the pageant that they have been preparing so hard for! Before they start their last song we learn some good lessons from Big Bird and Elmo that are very important for kids of all ages. Overall, this show was a high energy, dancing and singing extravaganza that everyone there loved. Kids were screaming with delight and parents were smiling ear to ear – it was definitely a feel good family event for everyone that attended. If Sesame Street is heading to a city near you, don't miss it! Be sure to get your tickets today and enjoy the show!


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"The Worker"
Located in downtown Lowell, MA.
Corner of Shattuck and Market Streets
The Worker
In 1821 Hugh Commisky led a
band of laborers on a trek from
Charlestown to Lowell. With muscle
and sweat they dredged canals in
the soil of rugged farmland. As
others joined in their toil a complex
waterpower system evolved, creat-
ing a new era of textile production.
When one generation had endured
and the clamor of manufacturing
increased, immigrants came by
the thousands seeking labor and
a better life. This fountain cele-
brates workers and their contribu-
tion to industrial and human heritage.
Lowell Heritage State Park
Lowell National Historical Park
ARTIST(S): Elliot Schwartz, sculptor; Ivan Schwartz, sculptor.
DATE: Installed 1985.
DATE: Installed 1985.
From the Lowell Historical Society,
|Hugh Commiskey dies, at his home on Adams Street, at age of 82, December 12, 1871.
Book about the Irish of Lowell, 1821-1861. Information from Amazon, see link below.
Brian C. Mitchell. The Paddy Camps: The Irish of Lowell, 1821-1861. Urbana and Chicago: University of Illinois Press, 2006. xviii + 247 pp. $25.00 (paper), ISBN 978-0-252-07338-0.
Reviewed by Patricia Kelleher (Department of History, Kutztown University of Pennsylvania)
Published on H-Urban (December, 2006)
"Mitchell traces the establishment of Lowell's Irish community back to the arrival of Hugh Cummiskey, a labor foreman, and thirty of his charges who had walked from Charlestown to find work on a canal project which was designed to provide water power for the projected mill complex. Lowell's construction work attracted Yankee and Irish laborers throughout the 1820s. At first, Lowell's Yankee planners and officials did not perceive the small and highly transient Irish population as a permanent fixture within their enlightened enterprise. The Irish laborers threw up clusters of shanties for housing (paddy camps). Eventually, the number of women and children increased and a more established neighborhood, the "Acre," emerged. Living conditions were wretched but the authorities did not interfere with Irish folkways. Mitchell offers evidence that indicates that homeland regional loyalties remained strong among the laboring population, as did the use of the Gaelic language. While Mitchell's tenor is sanguine, the situation he describes is stark. The Irish were physically segregated, they were virtually excluded from millwork and, as the term "paddy camps" suggests, anti-Irish prejudice was endemic. However, Mitchell presents the 1820s to the early 1840s as an era of accommodation between the Yankee and Irish middle classes. For the Irish, middle class is a relative term indeed considering the modest resources commanded by that segment. The accommodation Mitchell perceives relates to a level of Yankee support and approval for Irish self-improvement projects such as temperance, for peaceful agitation for Repeal of the Union between Ireland and Britain and, most significantly, because of a compromise which ensured that Catholics would teach in the public schools set aside for Irish children."


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Monday, September 24, 2012
Lions and tigers and snarks, oh my!
Hunting Snark is a graphic exercise in agony … let's take a closer look at the Butcher, a crucial "rain-maker" in any Nonsense enterprise …
It's a fair cop, guv'nor! The Bellman, assisted by the Fellowship of the Snark, brandishes his clochetic truncheon at the Butcher's stoney noggin. Note further, my dear Watson, that a close reading of the text with a fine-toothed comb and well-knitted brow elicits the following facts:
Given …
The duncedness of this otherwise un-named crewmember is literally not-to-be-believed, a statement which itself is not-to-be-believed since it has not been repeated the requisite three times.
Given …
The sole internal property of this non-nonbelievable dunce is Snark.
From which …
The total epistemology of a dunce is a snark.
And therefore …
To possess a dunce is to possess a ready-made Platonic Ideal of a Snark — and in a very handy demi-godlike package too!
And therefore…
This dunce is no dunce, eh? QED!
So, our dunce is an imposter disguising himself as an Easter Island moia with an uncanny penchant for resembling the notorious French confidence-picturist and double-crosser, Eugène Delacroix! After some rough handling and quick bell-work, the so-called Eugène made the following (internal, hence epistemologically dunciad) statement:
"… one should not be too difficult. An artist should not treat himself like an enemy. Experience ought to teach us two things: first, that we should do a great deal of correcting, secondly, that we must not correct too much."
Proof positive and bob's your uncle! This man's an absolute diabolical numbskull, cunningly fitted out with all the French Polynesian deviltry necessary to hold two simultaneously opposing thoughts at once — the very conditions necessary for a Snark to flourish inside the old brain pan! Pseudo-neoplatonic skullduggery with alarming whiffs of a faux-phrenological sub-gnostic epistemological thing-um-a-jiggery — some sort of game's afoot! I could have had a job with NASA but I'm sticking it out with this snark business, I'm a brainworker!
Monday, September 17, 2012
Moby Snark
This was charming, no doubt; but they shortly found out
That the Captain they trusted so well
Had only one notion for crossing the ocean,
And that was to tingle his bell.
Apropos of nothing in particular … in his Journals, Eugène Delacroix once pooh-poohed maritime disasters and English literature, both of them subjects dear to my heart …
"… I have been reading the story of a shipwreck by Edgar Allan Poe, where the survivors remain in the most horrible and desperate situation for fifty pages on end — nothing could be more boring. Here we have an example of foreign bad taste. The English, German and other non-Latin peoples have no literature because they have no taste or proportion … they drown one beneath a flood of detail that takes away all the interest."
Later that same evening, over a beaker of pure rainwater, he tossed off this observation:
"Lord Byron praised gin as his Hippocrene, because it made him bold … happy are they who, like Voltaire and other great men, can reach a state of inspiration on fresh water and plain living."
So, you want fresh water and plain living with no details? Very well! Get on this sinking raft, Eugène! You did it for Théodore Géricault, you can do it for me! Down there in front, behind the Bellman with your arms outstretched and quit your whining, this ain't no alexandrine hémistichery — this here's Lewis Carroll! Tingle that bell!
NB. I have increased the mineral content of Delacroix's head to compensate for his natural Gallic bouyancy and to highlight his affinity for impersonating an Easter Island moia.
Monday, September 10, 2012
Die Moritat von Snarkie Messer
The illustration of these two stanzas has completely exhausted my remaining brain-worker abilities. Purchasing insurance for a lengthy sea voyage in the company of a declared homicidal maniac is standard naval procedure but fiendishly tricky for a landlubber draughtsman such as I. The dagger-proof coat which the Beaver is wearing was the crux of the drawing and easier by far, I decided to indicate its prophylactic function by delineating its essential nature: what goes on inside the dagger-proof coat, stays inside the dagger-proof coat.
Several of my readers have recently communicated to me that they don't "get it", that my written commentaries on the Snark contain "too many references to stuff we don't know about anyway", and finally, that's it all "too surreal". Success at last!
But seriously, big words make my head hurt too, that's why I became an artist. As a child I learned about these gigantic hurtful words and the small-minded hurtful people who use 'em. Whenever someone tries to make my brain hurt-hurt with jaw-jaw, I remember what Humpty Dumpty advised Alice on the subject of big, bad, scary words — "They've a temper, some of them - particularly verbs: they're the proudest — adjectives you can do anything with, but not verbs — however, I can manage the whole lot of them! Impenetrability! That's what I say!'
The egg speaks and having spoken, we obey! Yes, our new watchword shall be: impenetrably-clear.
Tuesday, September 4, 2012
Jonathan Livingston Snark
"The fifth is ambition. It next will be right
To describe each particular batch:
Distinguishing those that have feathers, and bite,
And those that have whiskers, and scratch.
The Bellman continues his Indictment of the Snark with the accusation of Ambition, tempered with the observation that all Snarks, like intestines or the Carolinas, are further divided into two parts*.
First, you have your biting Snarks, those goody-two-shoes who brush their teeth every night and limit their ambitions to lime jello with their salisbury steak dinner. Their purported bite is as gentle as the nibblements of curious goldfish upon a giggling baby's bum, a mere trifle. They are the auspicious Snarks, the best of Snarks, the heppiest of Snarks, no ill wind will ever ruffle these li'l ainjils' feathers.
Then there are those other scratching Snarks, addicted to back-room jobbery in used woolen underwear and race-track skullduggeries. They are Snarks fallen from grace, they loathe hairnets, electrolysis and the consumption of soup and cotton candy. We see an example of this latter Snark in the above illustration. He is lost in his own private pandemonium, shuffling to a distant armegeddon in his mismatched, postlapsarian slippers, forkéd tail and second-hand wings. He has been consumed entirely by the itch of Ambition, an old itch for an Old Scratch!
*An odd inconsistency which seems to have escaped most Snarkologists. The Bellman commences his Indictment by specifically stating that there are 5 Snarkian qualities. The feathered-whiskered speciation that follows the 5th Indictment is obviously another distinct, yet unannounced 6th Indictment. In light of the Bellman's demonstrated inability to enunciate the number 6, might we conjecture that the number of this particular beast is 6? One's pursuers certainly cannot hunt what they cannot count, or so goes the Snark's reasoning. Using the Clochetic Rule-of-Three, we might even bandy about the number 666, a number of apocalyptic import which might well presage the lethal approach of the dreaded Boojum!
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Jim Holloway, RIP
6 hours ago
Lord Munge, the gentleman half-orc, lacks the impressive size and musculature so common to his race. The bastard sword strapped across his back via a shoulder-to-hip baldric looks far too big for this fellow of only average physical stature. Munge's broad face reveals his orcish parentage: tusks adorn his wicked grin, his nose is upturned at a slightly piggish angle, and his beady little eyes display both intelligence and malevolence. His neatly coiffed hair is tightly pulled back into a short ponytail, tied with a cute little ribbon. Munge's clothing consists of a puffy and frilly laced shirt, rough leather pants with thick stitchwork along the seams, and swashbuckler boots left over from his pirating days. At his broad belt can be found a wavy-bladed dagger and such an array of pouches, vials, and scroll tubes that even a superhero might be jealous of the utility of it all. Clutched in Lord Munge's hands is his weapon of choice, an enruned arquebus. His stance reveals his total confidence that all the world's challenges can be dealt with using his own unique blend of quick wits and utter ruthlessness.The contest ends March 31st, so get those entries in!
One thing that I've used well is to set up a conflict between two or three big players in the area of space I know the players are going to be in. Nothing on the level of outright open warfare (at least, not at first), but some sort of conflict all three sides will be willing to kill over. Then I describe for my own use their methods and the resources they have. Finally, I'll describe some low-level NPCs the heroes might run into, and the level of lieutenants just above them.
Then I craft the first adventure based on this info, having the PCs land smack-dab in the middle of some little plot by one of the factions. I make no reference to the larger conflict, and probably don't directly link the people the PCs will be dealing with to their larger faction.
Then, after adventure one, I cut the players loose to do their trading or exploring or whatever it is they want to do with their starship. But every time they seem to get excited about or invest emotionally in something, I look for a way to tie it into the big fight. And I'm always updating what the different sides are doing. Did a plan succeed? How will that affect the PCs' lives? Have the PCs done anything to affect any of the competing factions?
If I do my job right, about the time the PCs arrive at their mid-levels or have their feet under them or whatever defines mid-level play in your game, they should be actively seeking out confrontations with at least one of the factions. They shouldn't understand what the fight is really about yet, that's for the rising action and climax. But they should at least be getting an inkling of an idea that there's something bigger going on behind the scenes.
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MARCH 14 2006 (Nottingham, England) 2007 will mark the 20th anniversary of the first publication of Games Workshop's legendary Warhammer 40,000 game system. It's no coincidence that March 2007 will also see one of the most eagerly awaited events in gaming history – the release of Warhammer 40,000 Roleplay (40KRP)! Rumours have been circulating in the roleplay community for many years about such a game. Now Black Industries, fresh from the success of the revamped Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay, can reveal that it really will be happening, and in a way no one is expecting. Because there won't be one 40KRP game, but three!Back in the day I owned the original Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader hardback. My group never really did anything with it because all our miniatures dollars went towards BattleTech. Still, I always thought 40K looked like a neat universe to explore. More than once I considered using the setting for an rpg campaign. My usual idea involved the PCs as draftees in the Imperial Army who then were sent on insanely dangerous and nonsensible missions by the soulless Imperial bureaucracy, sorta one part Paranoia troubleshooting and one part Aliens with a light sprinkling of Red Dwarf.
Warhammer 40,000: Dark Heresy will be the first 40KRP game, allowing players to take on the role of an Inquisitor's retinue. Their task is to uproot the taint of Chaos in Imperial society, to smash dark cults and foil sinister plots. It's a game of investigation and will be an ideal introduction to the dark and gothic universe of the 41st Millennium. Dark Heresy is just the beginning, however. After this basic game, two further games released eighteen months apart will allow the players to progress and explore the universe first as Rogue Traders and alien pirates, and eventually experienced players will be able to roleplay the devastating warriors of the Adeptus Astartes Deathwatch.
I've done this once before, but it's worth repeating:In the original thread RPGnetter J Arcane seems to think I'm being unnecessarily snarky. I think I got a legit point. Opinions?
RPGnet has over 25,000 registered users. If you have any interest whatsoever in finding other local gamers, please make use of your Location field. See over there above the main text of this post and to the right where it says I'm in Urbana, IL? Some of the players in my current campaign found me simply because they saw I lived in their part of the world. The same could happen to you, if you choose to put accurate information in that field.
To edit your Location field, click on 'User CP' in the menu bar at the top of the page. Then click Edit Profile on the lefthand side of the screen that pops up. Your Location field will appear under 'Additional Information'. Type in your information, click 'Save Changes' and you're good to go.
Please note that it's totally cool to choose not to make this change to your account, or to put some sort of joke in your Location field. But if you go that route then I reserve the right to mock you behind your back if you start posting things like 'Woe is me! I can't find players.'
That is all.
Beyond that, Adventure! is set in the period between the wars and one of the threats Player Characters can be expected to confront is Nazism, an ideology that maligns those it doesn't like as untermensch (under-men or less-than-humans). Presumably, the Player Characters will oppose this noxious idea and champion the democratic notion that all people are fundamentally equal. However, the game system undermines them, since the Nazis are obviously right -- there are untermensch (the Extras) and, oddly enough, they always end up being the opposition. Didn't anyone give the sub-text of this rule even a moment's consideration? (The chapter on Roleplaying has the standard literary aspirations of a White Wolf game and talks about Theme and Mood, but there's no mention of sub-text.)


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Tickets for the London Eye, Buckingham Palace…
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Discover London, it's architecture and culture…
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Royal Palaces
Discover London's history and its architecture…
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Famous Places
From Covent Garden to Seven Dials…
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Attractions – Things to do in the capital…
Museums – Hundreds of museums and galleries to choose from…
Attraction Tickets – The can't-miss attractions in the capital….
Palaces – Buckingham, Hampton Court, Kensington…
Landmarks – The Capital's famous landmarks old and new…
Parks – The finest parks in central London and the leafy London suburbs…
Markets – An irresistible lure to tourists and locals alike…
Places – A personal guide to our favourite London haunts…
Sightseeing in London:
Venice has its gondolas, Prague has its horse-drawn carriages and London has its double decker buses.
But fret not, the veritable red Routemasters are as fine a way to tour a city as our water-borne and hay-fuelled friends. Sat atop the open-top upper deck you are afforded a fine view of the city's famous sights and sit well clear of the low lying city fumes.
Most of the operators allow you to buy tickets when you arrive. Many feature a hop-on, hop-off facility allowing you to break your journey to visit sights along the way and rejoin the tour on another bus.
While most visitors choose to take a trip on one of the many organised bus tours there are some nifty alternatives. From guided London walks to cruises along the River Thames, the sit-back-and-relax city tour is alive and well in the capital.
Our Sightseeing Pick:
The Original London Sightseeing Tour
London is one of the world's greatest cities. Over the course of two thousand years it has generated a story which now enraptures millions of visitors every year. From the Romans to the Vikings, the Normans to the Tudors, all have left their mark. Artists as diverse as Shakespeare, Dickens, Turner, Mozart, Henry James and the Beatles have all found inspiration here.
There is a full commentary in English and a choice of six other languages on selected routes. Live English speaking guides appear on the Yellow Route service. Your tour tickets are completely unrestricted. Each route makes frequent stops – simply hop-off where you want to and return to the same stop to continue your tour.
Be amazed, be very amazed!


text: ASUS Echelon GEFORCE® GTX 950 arctic-camouflaged graphics with military-grade quality and reliability 1329 MHz engine clock for better performance and outstanding gaming experience. Dual-ball bearing fan runs smoother by reducing friction, further improving 4X longer card lifespan and cooling efficiency. Server grade test for systematically-tested stability and operating reliably in all conditions. AUTO-EXTREME Technology with TUF components ensure premium quality and military-grade reliability for tough duty. GPU Tweak II with Xsplit Gamecaster fo intuitive performance tweaking and instant gameplay streaming. The Ultimate PC Gaming Platform get game ready with GeForce® GTX Shop Modal header Military Tough. Combat Ready. Echelon GTX 950 is a gaming graphics card designed with astonishing looks and unstoppable performance. It features stunning arctic-camouflage coloring — even on the backplate — and DirectCU II with a dual-ball-bearing fan for a 4X longer lifespan than reference cards. Industry-exclusive Auto-Extreme technology and military-grade TUF components ensure premium quality and reliability for tough, dependable service. I/O Ports Highlight 1 X Native DVI-I 1 X Native DVI-D 1 X Native HDMI 1 X Native DisplayPort Dual-ball Bearing Fan 4X longer lifespan Without the problem of oil drying common in sleeve-bearing fans, the dual-ball bearing fan on Echelon GeForce® GTX 950 lasts 4X longer. With reduced friction, it also runs smoother, further improving card lifespan and cooling efficiency. Auto-Extreme Technology with TUF Components Military-grade reliability for tough duty Echelon GeForce® GTX 950 is produced using AUTO-EXTREME technology, an industry-only 100% automated production process for premium quality and reliability. Military-grade TUF capacitors with a 2.5X-longer lifespan than standard capacitors and strong alloy chokes that provide 13.6% better heat-dissipation round out a set of onboard components that are independently certified for military use — so you can be confident of high durability and reliability. *this pic is for demonstration only Server-Grade Tests Systematically-tested stability Echelon GeForce® GTX 950 is built with military-certified components, subjected to extreme environment measurements and thermal-shock testing, and undergoes punishing burn-in tests, with temperatures of up to 55°C for 48 hours at humidity levels as high as 90%. Tested with over 1000 devices and goes through more than 7000 hours of strict validation, your Echelon GeForce® GTX 950 graphics card can be trusted to operate reliably in all conditions. GPU Tweak II with XSplit Gamecaster Tweak till your heart's content Redesigned with an intuitive, all-new UI, GPU Tweak II makes overclocking easier and more visual than ever, while still retaining advanced options for seasoned overclockers. With one click, the new Gaming Booster function maximizes graphics performance by removing redundant processes and allocating all available resources automatically. XSplit Gamecaster lets you easily stream or record your gameplay right from a convenient, in-game overlay. XSplit Gamecaster: Stream and record your gameplay instantly Now, you can also launch XSplit Gamecaster to bring up the in-game overlay and start streaming or recording your gameplay with the click of a button. You can also try the in-game annotations and video editor features to enhance your game stream experience. Learn more about XSplit Gamecaster GeForce GTX 950 NVIDIA®GPU Boost 2.0 Technology for intelligent monitoring of clock speed, ensuring that the GPU runs at its peak and the game is at its highest frame rate possible. It offers new levels of customization, including GPU temperature target, overclocking, and unlocked voltage. NVIDIA® G-Sync G-sync technology smoothness is achieved by synchronizing display refresh rates to the GPU, eliminating screen tearing and minimizing display stutter and input lag. NVIDIA®Adaptive V-Sync NVIDIA Adaptive Vertical Sync adjusts V-Sync to current frame rates for maximum playability. NVIDIA® PhysX® ready Dynamic visual effects like blazing explosions, reactive debris, realistic water, and lifelike characters. SLI Support Multi-GPU technology for extreme performance. NVIDIA® 3D Vision™ Surround Read Bring games to life with NVIDIA® Surround™multi-monitor gaming on a single card.


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Todays aluminum industry is continually studying ways to increase the efficiency of reduction cells in smelters. Numerical simulation has become a highly effective tool for analyzing such complex processes. PCE Engenharia Ltda, S/S located in Porto Alegre, Brazil, has been using simulation for more than 10 years. The industry consulting firm simulates equipment in the aluminum production chain and, in partnership with customers, develops new technological solutions for primary aluminum production.
Read Full Article


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He Has a Point
Stung by accusations that he is a "socialist," President Obama pointed out to two New York Times reporters that, "it wasn't under me that we started buying a bunch of shares of banks. It wasn't on my watch. And it wasn't on my watch that we passed a massive new entitlement -– the prescription drug plan — without a source of funding."
Not to defend Obama's unprecedented increase on government spending or plans to involve the government in almost every area of our lives…but he does have a point. As I pointed out in Leviathan on the Right, the Bush administration's brand of big‐government conservatism was, at the very least, the greatest expansion of government from Lyndon Johnson to, well, Barack Obama.


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At Petland Naperville we strive to match the right pet with the right family and also to meet the needs of both. The products and nutrition included in your homecoming kit will help with this but not complete the picture. At the store, we carry a wide range of products to assist you with the human animal bond and encourage you to review different options below. We cannot guarantee any products are available, or even stocked in the store, and offer this only as a suggestion in identifying products that your pet may need. We invite you to come to the store and find these products or others of a similar nature to help create that special bond with your pet.
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Re: Numbered Equations?
- To: firstname.lastname@example.com
- Subject: [mg11964] [mg11964] Re: Numbered Equations?
- From: "P.J. Hinton" <firstname.lastname@example.com>
- Date: Fri, 17 Apr 1998 03:40:08 -0400
- Organization: Wolfram Research, Inc.
- References: <email@example.com>
On 9 Apr 1998, Tom Jazbutis wrote: > Has anyone had success in getting the numbered equation cell type to > actually be numbered in the notebook? > > I've tried every possible permutation of the options that deal with > automatic numbering increments, displays, etc.... All I've been able > to achieve is a "(/)" appearing where I would expect an equation number > to appear if I change an empty cell to a number equation and then paste > my equation into the empty cell. There is no documentation in the > system for any of these various options. > > Wolfram: If you're going to make it damn near impossible to cut and > paste into text processing documents, please give Mathematica > documented text processing features. Your text processing is almost as > bad as you mathematical processing is good. There are several style sheets that support a "NumberedEquation" cell style. ArticleClassic ArticleModern.nb Classic.nb Classroom.nb HelpBrowser.nb Report.nb Wherein the cell displays a counter value that is determined automatically. If you paste these cells into a notebook which is set to one of the six style sheets above, you should see that the first and second cells are labeled with (1) and (2) respectively. Cell[BoxData[ FormBox[ RowBox[{"\[Integral]", RowBox[{ RowBox[{"f", "(", "x", ")"}], " ", RowBox[{"\[DifferentialD]", "x"}]}]}], TraditionalForm]], "NumberedEquation"] Cell[BoxData[ FormBox[ RowBox[{ SuperscriptBox["c", RowBox[{"2", " "}]], "=", " ", RowBox[{ SuperscriptBox["a", RowBox[{"2", " "}]], "+", " ", SuperscriptBox["b", "2"]}]}], TraditionalForm]], "NumberedEquation"] The reason that a number automagically appears in these cells is because the protoype for "NumberedEquation" has a CellFrameLabel option that places a Cell with a CounterBox in the right hand side. Here is an example of a cell with modified frame labels. Paste it in a notebook to see the effect of this option. Cell["Here is a cell", "Text", CellFrameLabels->{{"Left", "Right"}, {"Bottom", "Top"}}] Let's modify this example to create a Cell with a counter in the right hand side, as is done in the style sheet. We'll set all the strings except for the "Right" one to read None. In place of the "Right" string, we could actually just drop in a "(1)" or whatever equation number you prefer, but then you'd have to adjust these values every time you moved things around. This is why there are CounterBox objects. CounterBoxes take a string argument, which is the style that is to be used in determining the value. CounterBoxes have to appear within TextData expressions, and a TextData has to appear within a Cell wrapper. This example Cell[TextData[{"(", CounterBox["NumberedEquation"],")"}] shows how you could create a label that computes the current numbering value for the "NumberedEquation" style and then insert it between to parentheses. If entering this in by hand seems unappealing, there is a way to get around this. 1) Create a "Text" style cell (Format -> Style -> Text). 2) Enter an opening parenthesis. 3) Click on the menu sequence Input -> Create Automatic Numbering Object... 4) On the dialog box, select the style of counter that will be used. The expandable scroll menu will give you a list of all counters available from the style sheet. Here, we choose "NumberedEquation". Click OK. 5) Enter a closing parenthesis. 6) Unformat the cell (Format -> Cell) 7) Delete the last argument to the Cell, which should be , "Text" 8) You can now copy and paste the unformatted cell expression into our working cell expression. If put all of this together, we can make a cell style with our own custom counter and add it to our style sheet. Cell[StyleData["MyCounter"], NotebookDefault, CellFrameLabels->{{None, Cell[TextData[{"(", CounterBox["MyCounter"],")"}]]}, {None, None}}, CounterIncrements->"MyCounter"] This will make the "MyCounter" value available on the Create Automatic Numbering Object dialog box. One other thing you may need to do is to hack the counter value. That is, you may need to reset it back to a different number for the purposes of different sections or chapters. In that case, you can use the CounterAssignments option to set the value. For example, let's say you wanted to have our counter above reset back to zero every time we started a new section, then we could edit the style sheet prototype for the Section style to set "MyCounter" back to zero. CounterAssignments->{{"Subsection", 0}, {"Subsubsection", 0}, {"MyCounter", 0}} I hope that this brief exposition gives you some clues as to how the numbering system operates. If I have somehow misunderstood your question, please let me know. -- P.J. Hinton Mathematica Programming Group firstname.lastname@example.com Wolfram Research, Inc. http://www.wolfram.com/~paulh/ Disclaimer: Opinions expressed herein are those of the author alone.


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G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra (7/10)
Latest Movies Reviews
G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra (7/10)
Reviewed by: Edward Douglas
Rating: 7 out of 10
Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje as Heavy Duty
Christopher Eccleston as McCullen / Destro
Grégory Fitoussi as Baron de Cobray
Joseph Gordon-Levitt as The Doctor / Rex
Leo Howard as Young Snake Eyes
Karolina Kurkova as Courtney A. Kreiger / Cover Girl
Byung-hun Lee as Storm Shadow
Sienna Miller as Ana / Baroness
David Murray as James McCullen - 1641
Rachel Nichols as Shana 'Scarlett' O'Hara
Kevin J. O'Connor as Dr. Mindbender
Gerald Okamura as Hard Master
Ray Park as Snake Eyes
Jonathan Pryce as U.S. President
Dennis Quaid as General Hawk
Brandon Soo Hoo as Young Storm Shadow
Saïd Taghmaoui as Breaker
Channing Tatum as Duke
Arnold Vosloo as Zartan
Marlon Wayans as Ripcord
Directed by Stephen Sommers
It's clear that Sommers really gets the appeal of G.I. Joe to its fanbase, although far too often, the movie veers into territory that seems more like advertising for the cool vehicles and playsets. For a movie that's clearly meant as a macho testosterone-driven action flick, it's the ladies who often steal the show.
A suitcase full of dangerous biological "nanomites" has been unleashed on the world by M.A.R.S. Industries weapons dealer James McCullen (Christopher Eccleston). NATO soldiers Duke (Channing Tatum) and Ripcord (Marlon Wayans) have been assigned to guard the suitcase holding the "nanomites," but when they're attacked by evil mercenaries, including the Baronness (Sienna Miller), someone from Duke's past, they're saved by the elite military squad run by General Hawk (Dennis Quaid) who enlists them to work with his team--the beautiful Scarlett (Rachel Nichols), the silent Snake Eyes (Ray Park) and the rest--to try to get the weapons back before the bad guys use them to cause more destruction.
Those who immediately dismissed director Stephen Sommers' ability to bring the Hasbro action figure line to the screen might be surprised how easily the elite military unit translates into a live action summer movie that perfectly fits Sommers' sensibilities. In fact, the movie is by no means the disaster some might be expecting or even hoping for, instead being a perfectly suitable translation of the characters to the screen in a way that's respectful without being a rehash...
Not that it helps for the film to open in the 17th Century with an esoteric scene of a man being punished for playing both sides in a battle, which might get some worried we're in for another "Van Helsing." In fact, this is merely a device to introduce that man's descendent, M.A.R.S. Industries head James McMullen (Christopher Eccleston), a weapons dealer who is showing off their latest invention, a chemical with metal-corroding capabilities that can level a city within minutes. Assigned to guard the chemical weapons are two NATO soldiers nicknamed "Duke" (Channing Tatum) and "Ripcord" (Marlon Wayans), who are attacked en route and then pulled by General Hawk into a secret war between two teams of highly-trained mercenaries trying to get their hands on the weapons.
For the most part, you don't have to really understand or appreciate the "G.I. Joe" mythos to have fun with the movie, the majority of it essentially being a game of "grab the suitcase" with the two teams fighting over the destructive weapons. It's hard not to immediately be reminded of Trey Parker and Matt Stone's brilliant "Team America," a movie that could have very well have been the blueprint for this story. (Try hard not to snicker anytime someone gravely speaks about the deadly "nanomites.") Although the plot is fairly simple, the movie does turn into the type of global threat you'd expect the Joes to be facing, which quickly becomes evident during a sequence in Paris, easily one of the better (if not best) action sequences you'll see this summer, no question there, as the Accelerator Suits worn by Duke and Ripcord allow them to take part in a high-speed chase through the streets of the city leading to the wanton destruction of the city's most prominent landmark.
You don't go see a movie like this for the writing or acting, though neither is nearly as painful as it could have been even with much of the cast making their first foray into playing action heroes with Channing Tatum taking especially well to the role. His on-screen partner Marlon Wayans provides almost the majority of the film's comic relief as Ripcord, his jokes generally being about him trying to hit on Rachel Nichols' red-headed intellectual hottie "Scarlett," and her rebuffing his advances. From her tiny role in "Star Trek," Nichols certainly steps up and holds her own in this macho environment, adding to the number of great, strong women who have kept the summer interesting. Snake Eyes is as cool and fun a character as he is in the comics - and we can be thankful that the character keeps Ray Park from having any lines.
The worth of any hero is often gauged by the level of the villainy they face, and while Eccleston is diabolical enough in his motivations to play both sides, it's Sienna Miller's Baroness who steals the movie as the type of sexy femme fatale necessary to be on equal par with Nichols in their entertaining catfights. Snake Eyes' counterpart Storm Shadow, played by Korean superstar Byung-hun Lee, shows off similarly strong moves even if his grasp of English tends to hold him back. At least Sommers realizes this is what G.I. Joe fans want to see - they want to see Snake Eyes and Storm Shadow going at it with all their abilities. Even so, by the third time you see the two of them fighting as kids in flashback, you might start to wonder if it's being done as a gag to see what level of ridiculousness audiences will readily accept. For all the sly nods done merely for the fans, the movie also contains far too many flashbacks to try and connect and create relationships between the various characters.
Sadly, the normally great Joseph Gordon-Levitt is wasted in a role where his face is covered by make-up and prosthetics and his voice modulated beyond recognition. When he finally reveals his true identity--no spoiler, you would need to have a serious mental deficiency not to have figured it out--he then decides minutes later to cover his entire face with another mask. That's just one of the main problems with how the Joe's main villain is portrayed, but it's also part of the general silliness that permeates the movie. At one point, McMullen needs to have Baroness' husband "weaponize the nanomites." You see, her husband, "the Baron," He's also a scientist! Yes, everyone has some sort of scientific background in this movie, which is the only way to explain how they're able to figure out all the elaborate technology so easily. In the same respect, Arnold Vosloo's Zartan is a "master of disguise" who mostly just knocks someone out and puts on their clothes - he does go a bit further by the end. Then there's Dennis Quaid who doesn't necessarily chew up every scene he's in, but his performance as General Hawk is so stiff and stilted, one might wonder how he can command even a modicum of respect from his subordinates.
Sommers does a fantastic job with the vehicles and large-scale environments that Joe fans are expecting, creating a world that's more connected to cartoon fantasy than any sort of military realism. It sometimes makes it hard not to feel like the whole movie is not just one big advertisement for the toys though. Some of the CG is a little bit showy and unnecessary like adding CG animals to some scenes, but for the most part, Sommers uses the technology to great effect, especially in the underwater battle where it's nearly impossible to tell where the line between live actors and models ends and the CG begins.
For the most part, the movie is exactly what the title promises, an origin story to set up the evil Cobra entity we know from the cartoons and comics, and that makes it a more than suitable bookend for a summer that started with X-Men Origins: Wolverine. Besides being more fun and playful, it's generally the same type of movie, one whose faults will mostly be overlooked by the fans.
The Bottom Line:
Overall, "G.I. Joe" might be admired as one of the more fun and entertaining movies of the summer, especially if you're able to put your brain in neutral and enjoy the action and spectacle Sommers brings to every scene without expecting any sort of depth or intelligence. Fans of the "Real American Hero" will probably get slightly more out of it.
Malcolm X:"A man who stands for nothing will fall for anything." Voltaire:"Every man is guilty of all the good he did not do."
Henry Ford:"Obstacles are those frightful things you see when you take your eyes off the goal." Jesse Jackson: "Never look down on anybody unless you're helping him up."
Groucho Marx: "Outside of a dog, a book is man's best friend. Inside of a dog, it's too dark to read."
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All San Antonio Symphony single tickets are available online at Ticketmaster through this link. Single tickets don't go on sale until the end of August, but there is another feature on Ticketmaster that is always available–comments by listeners. (Season subscriptions are on sale through the Symphony web site.) Just scroll to the bottom of the Ticketmaster link to reach the beginning of the comments.
I went back through last season and found the following comments. Thanks to all that took the time to post a comment!
May 26, 2012: The whole symphony was so UP for all the performance. I don't think I've ever seen them so alive!! I increased what I was going to contribute this year based on how great this was.
March 7, 2012: Renée Fleming was perfection with the San Antonio Symphony. She is warm, personable and has the voice of an angel. She obviously won the heart of the orchestra members because they were tapping their bows/feet after every song. The audience was equally enthusiastic. It was an evening I will always remember!
December 4, 2011: Of all the Nutcracker shows that are available every season, Ballet San Antonio's collaboration with the San Antonio Symphony is simply in a class of their own. The music was impeccable and the level of dancing from the ballet company is world class. This should be one of your family traditions if you want to expose your children to amazing music, a classic Christmas time story and beautiful dancing from true professional ballet dancers.
Of course, not all the comments were this glowing. There are more than 400 posted. If this sparks your curiosity (want to find the bad reviews?) check out the Ticketmaster website. And please, add your own comments the next time you attend a concert. Spreading the word through the Internet is one way to insure that your favorite arts organization keeps attracting new audiences.
Jack Fishman
Email: firstname.lastname@example.com
For more blogs by Jack Fishman visit: www.sasymphony.org/blog


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What kind of special event are you planning? Wedding reception? Birthday Party? Anniversary? Reunion? Maybe a Company Holiday or Retirement party? Whatever your event, The TUNES GUY will make it memor... more dj info
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Join the weekly Classic Castle set review discussion. Please post your opinions on the set play ability, piece selection, design, etc. Which sets stand up to our catapult of critique and which ones crumble in shame!
This week's set is 6032 Catapult Crusher.
Catapult Crusher was released in 2000 for the Bulls. This catapult has large wooden wheels. It comes with stones to shoot, one Bull soldier, and various weapons.


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The following popcorn flavors are gluten free:
The above products contain or may contain artificial colors and flavors.
*Many of our flavors are seasonal and may not be available at all times.
Please note: We do process other products that contain gluten in the same facility. We have strict procedures to prevent cross contamination, however there is a remote possibility that gluten could be present in a trace amounts in these flavors.


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$1 Introductory Beta Price. Get It Now!
Can't beat that game? Stuck on a particular level? Game On allows you to unlock levels of supported games by downloading data shared by other users through the Game On network. Game On is a unique application where you can download game data uploaded by other users so you can take advantage of their game progress. You can also upload your own progress to share with other users.
There are currently over 60 games hosted on the Game On network with more being added all the time and with the ultimate goal of building a library of thousands of games and game progress files for users to download and enjoy. To use Game On you will need to have a rooted device (there are non-root and iOS versions currently in development and should be ready for prime time in the first half of 2012, hopefully sooner, rather than later).
The Game On app will automatically compare the games installed on your device to those supported by the Game On network and allow you to share your data from those games. You can conveniently browse through all the game data and easily download and install it to your device. All the data you download is stored locally in case you wish to reinstall it. Best of all, you can discover new games that may not be on your device and download them directly from the Android Market.
Game On is currently in beta status and while every effort has been made to release a stable, working product, bugs can and should be expected. Please report them to me via email so that they can be fixed. Bug reports in Android Market will not be read and therefore, are of no value.
To see the full list of supported games, and for complete help files, please visit http://www.mibapps.com/index.php/game-on/. These are also available within the Game On app. Some supported game include Angry Birds, Cut the Rope, Airport Mania, Apparatus, Burn the Rope, Plants Vs Zombies, Where's My Water? and much, much more.
Visit me on Twitter at @BrooklynAvi or on the web at http://www.mibapps.com/.
|Requiere Android:
|1.6 y versiones superiores
|9 de enero de 2012


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Add to Calendar
December 10, 2019 @ 7:30 pm – 8:30 pm
Trivia Tuesday: Trivia Nights are Tuesdays at 7:30 PM. The new evening of fun will be run on a different system than the trivia nights of the past, and smart phones are not required.
The new Master of Ceremonies is a Vernon teacher, Adam Romano, who represents Trivia Revolution, a group which runs trivia nights throughout northern New Jersey. Trivia Revolution pairs up with a different New Jersey craft brewery each week. Prizes are gift certificates to that week's selected craft brewery.
Subject matter is a potpourri of categories including music, movies, TV, sports, history, and more, with plenty of surprises to add to the fun.


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