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With the end of the world potentially approaching at the bidding of a paranoid racist, I figured it was a good time to check out the apocalypse according to another paranoid racist: namely, everyone’s favourite Hitler-apologist, H.P. Lovecraft. Lovecraft hated and feared the Other probably even more than the Trump-Bannon set but he has the distinction of being a much better writer and also using the words “eldritch” and “recalcitrant” a lot more. Yesterday, I snuggled down with a flu and a block of chocolate and watched (non-psychopath) John Carpenter’s In the Mouth of Madness: not a direct adaptation of any of Lovecraft’s works but one that, I’d argue, is all the more effective for it. Ol’ H.P. is notoriously difficult to pin down in film and Carpenter manages to do so in the manner of all adaptations – that is, by breaking from the source material in fealty to the visual medium (see also The Shining, American Psycho and Don’t Look Now, all films that “betray” the original text and end up being much closer to the spirit of the work than a straight, nervous retelling could ever be). It’s the notion of the visual medium, and the logic of film itself, that I was left with after watching this movie.
A quick Google / Rotten Tomatoes search for the film reveals two things: firstly, a predominantly negative set of reviews for In the Mouth of Madness, with reviewers calling it disjointed, confusing, and confused. Secondly – and more recently – you notice a small but passionate set of people refuting these original reviews and calling the flick a masterpiece and one of Carpenter’s best. I’m overwhelmingly in agreement with the latter parties, and reading some of the negative reviews, you can only wonder who the fuck could watch this and not be incredibly impressed by its completeness, its style, and its functioning as – dare I say it – a perfect whole. Negative reviewers for this film strike me as the kind of old-world dorks who’d feel the need to list Man with a Movie Camera as their “favourite film of all time” and suggest that irrelevant trash like Breathless has any meaning for a modern audience. But I digress.
Like I said, common themes in the negative reviews are a confused script and an attempt to point out “plot holes”: i.e. the film occurs in flashback but contains scenes that do not involve the narrator. Once again – how someone could watch a film concerning the blurring of fiction and reality, madness and sanity, belief and truth, and come away with trying to pick out a mealy-mouthed technicality like that is literally beyond me. I’m not saying such a criticism couldn’t be made in general: I’m saying that the structure and theme of In the Mouth of Madness excludes the possibility of such nit-picking. The film is complete to the point of negating plot-holes or inconsistencies, as the film is about perception and fiction itself. It succeeds where so many works of art – filmic or otherwise – fail, in that it works entirely according to its own logic: the logic of film, the world of film. This is both implicit in the structure and explicit in the themes: a set of values and structures beyond the work itself is not just negated – it isn’t even implied. The work itself is everything: it exists, in a way, in a vacuum; its own constellation of meaning and signification.
To avoid sinking even deeper into vagueness, I’ll give a potted outline of the film: Sam Neil is John Trent, insurance claims freelancer turned padded-cell resident, submitted to strait jackets, shadowy hallucinations and, worst of all, the music of the Carpenters. It turns out that Trent’s road to the asylum began with investigating the disappearance of pulp-novelist Sutter Cane on the behalf of his publishing house, who eagerly await his new manuscript, “In the Mouth of Madness”. Trent’s search leads him out of Manhattan and into deepest New England, to the supposedly fictional town of Hobbs End. Themes from Cane’s writing begin to manifest in the real world, blurring the chain of causation between writing and reality / reality and writing, and eventually revealing a plot to overwrite reality with fiction. By the time Trent realises the gravity of the situation, he too is enveloped in the plotline – or maybe he always was. Repetitions, caesuras and ellipses in circumstance lead Trent to discover that his existence (and everyone else’s) is predetermined and inescapable. In a truly classic John Carpenter ending, Trent leaves the (now deserted) psychiatric hospital and wanders an apocalyptic, deserted New York, ending up in a cinema showing the film adaptation of “In the Mouth of Madness”: a seemingly endless loop of the film we’ve just watched. Onscreen, Trent bangs a table and screams “this is reality”. Off-screen, in the empty cinema, Trent roars with demented laughter. Fin.
If this still sounds vague, it’s because the structure of the film is truly a hall of mirrors: origin point of fact and fiction is consummately blurred and we the viewers become interlaced with the fiction in a manner so subtle that it’s hard to extract how. We too are watching “In the Mouth of Madness” / In the Mouth of Madness, and perhaps the flick that Trent views at the film’s end will also include the scene of him watching the film, laughing maniacally. Images refer back to themselves, signification reverberates and grows without reference to any externality. This is the kind of horror that Jorge Luis Borges identifies in Hamlet’s play-within-a-play and Scheherazade’s retelling of the bridging story of the 1001 Arabian Nights (throwing the entire story sequence into an infinite loop): involving the viewer in a sequence of fiction that they can neither conceive of nor escape. This isn’t a lack of logic or coherence, but the intonation of a logical sphere beyond articulation, beyond our grasp: the logic of the Lovecraftian Old Ones that lurk at the edges of In the Mouth of Madness, and perhaps at the edges of the magic of film itself – hallucination, dream, reality.


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Curated Gift Boxes, Created With Love 🎁💜🎁.
We are a 100% Female-owned Company!
We're located in the USA & ship to United States only. No international shipping.
We LOVE Design and We LOVE Helping People! Our diverse backgrounds include Interior Design, Retail Ownership, Retail Management & Sales.
Copyright © 2020 GifterBox.Com

domain: design


text:
Simple felted birthday crown
This crown is felted of pure wool (maori and merino).
Please know that due to the nature of handmade, each crown has slight variations in look.
This crown is decoration (dress up), not a toy. Never leave young children alone with crown.
We need around 3-5 worked days to prepare your order before shipping.
All orders are shipped from Poland via Airmail
Thank you @eyerev and @veronikagphotography
for your beautiful photos in use <3


text:
The next Singing Day:
Saturday 20 June
10am to 5pm
St Michael’s Church, High Street, Lewes
Directed by Nick Houghton
Further details to be announced.
If you would like to be included in our mailing for details of Singing Days please send your request to email@example.com

domain: artistic


text:
- 1 How much does the average pizza weigh?
- 2 How much does a slice of pizza weight?
- 3 How many grams is an average slice of pizza?
- 4 How much does a Papa Johns pizza weigh?
- 5 How big is a large slice of pizza?
- 6 How big is an average slice of pizza?
- 7 Why is pizza so high in calories?
- 8 Is pizza really that bad for you?
- 9 How much should a pizza ball weigh?
- 10 Which pizza has the lowest calories?
- 11 Is pizza high in carbs?
- 12 How many calories are in a 10 inch pizza?
- 13 How much does a 30 cm pizza weigh?
- 14 How many calories are in a 10 inch Papa John’s Pizza?
- 15 How much does a 16 in pizza weigh?
How much does the average pizza weigh?
It should be Between 180 and 250 grams. Yes, there is a association in Napoli (a city in Italy) for making sure a Good pizza is made.
How much does a slice of pizza weight?
PRODUCT FORMULATION STATEMENT: GRAINS/BREADS RFRS Pepperoni Pizza – 8 Cut Code No: 12117 Case Weight and Pack/Count: 1 Pizza = 8 Slices Total weight (grams or ounces) of one ready to eat serving of product: 1 slice =145.65 g = 5.13 oz.
How many grams is an average slice of pizza?
|New York Style Pizza||1 slice ( 103 g )||174 cal|
|Pepperoni Pizza||1 slice ( 71 g )||181 cal|
|Pizza Dough||2 oz. ( 57 g )||130 cal|
|Pizza Hut Stuffed Crust Pizza||1 slice ( 149 g )||380 cal|
How much does a Papa Johns pizza weigh?
Nutrition Guide for the Papa John’s Menu
|Serving Size (G)||Weight Watchers|
|Original Crust – Medium (1/8 of an order)||1 slice (105g)||8|
|Original Crust – Large (1/8 of an order)||1 slice (150g)||11|
|Original Crust – Extra Large (1/10 of an order)||1 slice (158g)||12|
|Thin Crust – Large (1/8 of an order)||1 slice (113g)||9|
How big is a large slice of pizza?
Large pizzas are 14 inches in diameter and will offer approximately 10 slices. Extra- large pizzas come in between 16 and 18 inches in diameter and will provide at least 12 slices.
How big is an average slice of pizza?
One slice of pizza is about six ounces and 300 to 400 calories.
Why is pizza so high in calories?
The first major factor that determines a pizza’s calories is the crust. Crust thickness also affects calorie count. According to LiveStrong, a typical slice of thin-crust cheese pizza contains 230 calories while a slice of thick-crust cheese pizza contains 312 calories.
Is pizza really that bad for you?
Pizza is a favorite food for many around the world. The addicting combination of delicious crust, sweet tomato sauce and salty mozzarella cheese is sure to please even the pickiest of eaters. However, it’s commonly labeled unhealthy, as it can be high in calories, sodium and carbs.
How much should a pizza ball weigh?
Neapolitan pizza dough ball weight For Neapolitan pizza, the weight of each ball should be between 180g – 250g. Personally, I tend to go for around 250g or just under. With this you should be able to achieve a 10 inch pizza with quite puffy crusts.
Which pizza has the lowest calories?
The lowest calorie Domino’s pizza is the chain’s Thin Crust Veggie Pizza. The lowest calorie Domino’s pizza option is their Thin Crust Veggie Pizza with light cheese. Each slice has 135 calories, 250 milligrams of sodium, two grams of sugar, and two grams of saturated fat.
Is pizza high in carbs?
Others are little more than refined starch or sugar, or unhealthy fats. These are some healthy high – carb foods to be aware of. Here is your high carb food list to help you!
|High – Carb Food and Serving Size||Carbohydrates, Grams|
|Cheese pizza, 1 slice of large||35|
|Apple, 1 large||30|
How many calories are in a 10 inch pizza?
10 Inch Cheese Pizza (1 serving) contains 69g of carbs, 25g of protein, 14g of fat, and 530 calories.
How much does a 30 cm pizza weigh?
Hand Tossed Pizza Base
|Pizza Base (Italian dressing)||33cm||340gr|
|Pizza Base (Italian dressing)||30cm||310gr|
How many calories are in a 10 inch Papa John’s Pizza?
There are 220 calories in 1 slice (86 g) of Papa John’s 10 ” Original Crust Pizza – Pepperoni.
How much does a 16 in pizza weigh?
16 -inch: 200.96 square inches X 0.0884642 = 17.777-ounces (17.75-ounces). You can use this for calculating any size and type of pizza.

domain: food


In the pre-summer, halcyon days of a decade ago, an idea took shape and was realized. After establishing and building out a website in the week before, Mister Boomer published his first post on June 6, 2010. Misterboomer.com was going to be a place of nostalgia, history and personal recollections that would hopefully bridge a connection of the times between Mister Boomer and ultimately, the shared experiences of the Boomer Generation.
Mister Boomer has been fond of reminding boomers that our generation has witnessed a tremendous amount of history: cultural, political and every other “…al” you can think of. Since his inaugural post, our generation has transitioned to a senior population and well, what a long, strange trip it has been.
Yet those are stories for another day. Today we celebrate what misterboomer.com has been able to achieve, thanks to you, our loyal readers. Mister B thought long and hard about how he would mark this occasion. Top 10 lists and favorite posts? Been there, done that. Should we mark the occasion by calling out what is actually happening outside Mister B’s door this very day? Today’s Black Lives Matter certainly echoes years of Civil Rights protest that boomers experienced fifty years ago as children and teens. At the same time, the country is under attack by a virus that does not stop at national borders, and is disproportionately affecting older Americans — including boomers — and especially black and brown Americans. There’s certainly connections to be made to both subjects, and perhaps Mister B will research them for another time.
On this day, he simply wanted to remember the way it all started, with a post about a practically universal experience for boomers: a bowl of sugary cereal. Without further ado, here is an encore presentation of Mister B’s very first post about Kellogg’s Sugar Pops, yellow milk and all:


ALLEN, DEKALB, NOBLE, STEUBEN AND WHITLEY COUNTIES, Ind. (ADAMS) – The Indiana Department of Transportation says that chip seal preservation is scheduled to begin on or after Monday, Aug. 26, weather permitting. Work is scheduled for various roadways in Allen, DeKalb, Noble and Steuben counties.
Roadways to be chip sealed in the area are as follows:
S.R. 205, between S.R. 3 (DeKalb County) and the Churubusco Town limits (Whitley County)
S.R. 327, between S.R. 8 and S.R. 4 in DeKalb County
S.R. 101, between the south limits of City of Woodburn to the Allen/Adams county line (excluding the Town of Monroeville)
S.R. 727, between Ln 100 Lake James to S.R. 127
Drivers can expect lane restrictions and traffic directed by flaggers while INDOT maintenance crews maintain access for vehicles. Motorists are urged to seek an alternate route. If driving through the chip seal work zone, drivers should take extra caution, drive slowly and allow additional space between vehicles to prevent stone chips from damaging windshields or paint.
Once the chip seal has cured, crews will sweep the highway clear of loose stone, apply a fog seal surface coat and paint pavement markings. The entire process can take up to two weeks in each area. All chip seal in Allen, DeKalb, Noble, Steuben and Whitley counties is expected to be complete by early October, weather permitting.


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17 August 2011 | tedebear34
good nonsensical adult fun
I think this is screamingly funny. It's not for the faint of heart but almost nothing is these days anyway. At least if its offensive to some, it's smart and funny enough to get away with it. Ironically, I didn't find this as dark, brooding and disturbing as Moral Orel. Instead, I found a lightness to it. With clever quips and nonsensical non-sequitors, it's not so introspective. Where Moral Orel tries to hold a mirror up to our souls and show us the dark hypocrisy of life, this is pure adult fun. The characters are so over the top that you can't take them seriously and it really doesn't seem like you're supposed to. There isn't a lot of exposition so the whole concept is a little bewildering at first, but by the time you hit the later episodes, you'll have connected enough dots to enjoy it a bit more.
Can't wait for the new season which is apparently coming in 2012.

domain: entertainment


text:
It's an exciting time to be listening to audio books - just when you think they can't get any better they do. Christian Hoff's narration of Don't Look Twice is a prime example.
An award winning stage actor, Tony Award for "Jersey Boys," Drama Desk Award, and Outer Critics Circle Award, Hoff brings a wealth of talent to this reading. He has voiced more than 200 characters for an audio book which, by the way, is a world record. Hoff's television credits are numerous (Ugly Betty, ER, etc).
Now, this acclaimed actor brings his stage and screen experience to a can't-stop-listening-to narration of this artfully plotted, suspense laden thriller by Andrew Gross.
Don't Look Twice begins in a disarmingly peaceful manner as Connecticut Detective Ty Hauck prepares for time with his daughter. They stop by a gas station convenience store to buy some groceries when they are suddenly the victims of a drive-by shooting. The girl is unhurt, Hauck is wounded and a federal prosecutor is killed.
Random violence? Don't believe it for a minute when Gross is writing the story. Hauck gets more than he suspected or bargained for as he investigates - in fact, more than he ever wanted to know.
- Gail Cooke

domain: library


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Access/Insurance, Rural Health Systems, Rural Health - efficient care, MRHRC, health system reform
There are growing concerns about the current and future state of rural health. Despite decades of policy efforts to stabilize rural health systems through a range of policies and loan and grant programs, accelerating rural hospital closures combined with rapid changes in private and public payment strategies have created widespread concern that these solutions are inadequate for addressing current rural health challenges. The rural health system of today is the product of legacy policies and programs that often do not “fit” current local needs. Misaligned incentives undermine high-value and efficient care delivery. While there are limitations related to scalability in rural health system development, rural communities do have enormous potential to achieve the objectives of a high performance rural health system. This brief (and a companion paper at http://www.rupri.org/areas-of-work/health-policy/) discusses strategies and options for creating a pathway to a transformed, high performing rural health system.
Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust
Alfero, C., Coburn, A., Lundblad, J. P., MacKinney, A. C., McBride, T., & Mueller, K. (2014). Advancing the transitions to a high performance rural health system. (Policy Brief). Iowa City, IA: Rural Policy Research Institute. RUPRI Health Panel.
The RUPRI Health Panel envisions rural health care that is affordable and accessible for rural residents through a sustainable health system that delivers high quality, high value services. A high performance rural health care system informed by the needs of each unique rural community will lead to greater community health and well-being.

domain: health


text: A couple of years ago I ran into a great pic on eBay that featured Sandy Koufax, Don Drysdale and Tommy Davis in tuxedos dancing on a stage. See it below or the original post here. Anyway, I had always wondered where this photo came from. Well, I think now know. Below is a original menu from a January 6, 1963 dinner show at the Desert Inn in Las Vegas. It was hosted by Milton Berle and featured 6 popular Dodgers in a musical review. One discrepancy is Willie Davis mentioned below. Tommy Davis is clearly in the above picture, so I have to think there was a printing error. I dunno, maybe I'm stretching here a little bit. On the other hand, I can't imagine there being another reason why the photo exist. It's gotta be from this show. Right?


text:
The accurate design of earth–space systems requires a comprehensive understanding of the various propagation media and phenomena that differ depending on frequencies and types of applications. The choice of the relevant channel models is crucial in the design process and constitutes a key step in performance evaluation and testing of earth–space systems. The subject of this book is built around the two characteristic cases of satellite systems: fixed satellites and mobile satellite systems.
Radio Wave Propagation and Channel Modeling for Earth–Space Systems discusses the state of the art in channel modeling and characterization of next-generation fixed multiple-antennas and mobile satellite systems, as well as propagation phenomena and fade mitigation techniques. The frequencies of interest range from 100 MHz to 100 GHz (from VHF to W band), whereas the use of optical free-space communications is envisaged.
Examining recent research advances in space-time tropospheric propagation fields and optical satellite communication channel models, the book covers land mobile multiple antennas satellite- issues and relative propagation campaigns and stratospheric channel models for various applications and frequencies. It also presents research and well-accepted satellite community results for land mobile satellite and tropospheric attenuation time-series single link and field synthesizers.
The book examines aeronautical communications channel characteristics and modeling, relative radio wave propagation campaigns, and stratospheric channel model for various applications and frequencies. Propagation effects on satellite navigation systems and the corresponding models are also covered.
Next-Generation MIMO Satellite Systems: From Channel Modeling to System Performance Evaluation
Konstantinos P. Liolis and Pantelis-Daniel Arapoglou
Propagation Phenomena and Modeling for Fixed Satellite Systems: Evaluation of Fade Mitigation Techniques
Athanasios D. Panagopoulos
Mobile Satellite Channel Characterization
Athanasios G. Kanatas
Land Mobile Satellite Channel Models
Propagation Effects on Satellite Navigation Systems
Tropospheric Attenuation Synthesizers
Charilaos Kourogiorgas and Athanasios D. Panagopoulos
Review of Space–Time Tropospheric Propagation Models
Nicolas Jeannin and Laurent Castanet
Impact of Clouds from Ka Band to Optical Frequencies
Lorenzo Luini and Roberto Nebuloni
Aeronautical Communications Channel Characteristics and Modeling: From Legacy toward Future Satellite Systems
Ana Vazquez Alejos, Manuel Garcia Sanchez, and Edgar Lemos Cid
Stratospheric Channel Models
Emmanouel T. Michailidis and Athanasios G. Kanatas

domain: literature


GRAND RAPIDS, MI — A New York couple with Grand Rapids roots wants to bring their love of wine to the city’s East Hills neighborhood.
Christopher and Cristina Leon, who own Leon & Son wine shop in Brooklyn, New York, are hoping to open a location in a vacant storefront at 927 Cherry St. SE.
“We thought for a long time about potentially opening a second store,” said Christopher Leon, whose wife, Cristina, grew up in East Grand Rapids. “We love what we do and are passionate about bringing it to new people.”
To make the plan a reality, the two are requesting a special land use permit from the city of Grand Rapids. The permit is needed to sell alcohol, for off-site consumption, at the location. A public hearing on the couple’s request is scheduled Thursday with the city’s planning commission.
The couple opened their Brooklyn wine shop in 2015, and they specialize in small, “progressive” wine producers — from both the U.S. and abroad — who embrace “responsible” and organic farming. It was named New York’s “most loved” wine shop in a 2016 article by Time Out magazine.
“If I don’t know who’s making it, and I can’t tell where it’s from, I’m not going to sell it,” said Christopher Leon, who grew up outside of Washington D.C. and spent time working for a couple small wine producers in Sonoma County, California before moving to New York to attend the French Culinary Institute.
Cristina Leon said she believes there’s appetite for a store like hers in the East Hills Neighborhood, which is also home to Brewery Vivant, Cherie Inn, Donkey Taqueria, The Green Well and more. She says people in the area are passionate about having access to good restaurants and coffee shops, and a quality wine shop is a natural complement to those businesses.
There’s no timeline for when the store could open, but if the planning commission approves the couple’s special use permit request, they’re “ready to move as quickly as possible.”
“People are excited,” said Cristina Leon, who graduated from East Grand Rapids High School in 2004. The East Hills Business Association as well as several other residents and businesses submitted letters to the planning commission in support of the Leon’s request for a special land use permit.
An employee from the couple’s Brooklyn store plans to move to Grand Rapids to manage the proposed Cherry Street store.
If the couple receives approval to open their business, they would also plan to host free community wine tasting events there.
We want to “build a space that feels like a really welcoming center for the community” that provides an “unpretentious” environment for people who want to explore and learn about wine, Cristina Leon said.


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BIG QUESTION: WILL JOBLESS CLAIMS DROP TODAY? - Critical day for economic data with initial unemployment claims out at 8:30 a.m. Was the recent ugly spike a result of quirky seasonal adjustments tied to the Easter holiday? Or was it a signal of another spring slowdown and an end to significant monthly job increases? The market and the White House sure hope it’s the former. Consensus is for a drop to 375K from 386K. Should the number instead pop up again over 400K, well, watch out (though it might just bring out the QE3 equity bulls).
Story Continued Below
FIRST LOOK: CAMP ON CHINA TRADE - Per a Hill aide: “Ways and Means Chairman Dave Camp will deliver a major trade speech this morning at the Center for Strategic & International Studies. The speech will focus on the significant trade victories secured this year and promoting the full job creating potential of international trade. Camp will also address the challenges the Committee will take on, including the U.S. economic relationship with China and PNTR with Russia.”
From the speech: “Ushering these trade agreements through Congress has been one of my proudest legislative accomplishments ... but we cannot rest on our laurels; we cannot wait another fifteen years to take action ... We cannot allow China to continue its unacceptable trade practices, and I have concerns that countries such as India, Brazil and Argentina are emulating some of China’s poor trade practices.”
FIRST LOOK: PRIVATE EQUITY BOOT CAMP - Bloomberg Business Week cover piece: “The word ‘efficiency’ hovers over the private equity industry: find enough of it, and you will end up making some jobs superfluous. ‘Efficiency’ has given private equity firms a reputation as hatchet men. And it has dogged the presidential campaign of Mitt Romney, the former head of Bain Capital. To see how one private equity group, Monomy Capital Partners, improves the operations of their companies, Brendan Greeley spent one week in Monomy ‘boot camp’ as a member of a factory-floor efficiency squad.”
SPOOKY - BizWeek cover is a scary looking man in a suit with a chainsaw. Very reminiscent of Patrick Bateman from Brett Easton Ellis’ classic Wall Street novel “American Psycho,” probably not the image the industry would like to see, no matter the content of the piece. Image: http://bit.ly/IEWWA4
BLANKFEIN MEETS THE PRESS - Goldman Sachs CEO Lloyd Blankfein did TV interviews with CNBC and Bloomberg TV, the first he’d done in two years and part of an effort by the bank to engage the public and repair its image. Goldman execs seemed pleased with the boss’s performance. ... Blankfein on CNBC on past PR missteps: “Obviously it occurred to us we haven't gotten everything right with respect to how we've dealt with the public. And don't forget, we are an institutional wholesale firm. We have no real consumer businesses so we hadn't really had those muscles and not surprisingly didn't exercise them.”
On Greg Smith: “Obviously the press response was one way but I, of course, have to deal with clients and with the people at work and from them the response was overwhelmingly supportive and positive. ... We had 30,000 people that felt the opposite and clients were unbelievably supportive. Didn't undo the damage and the shock to the wider public, but we certainly were buoyed from the response we got from our clients and investors and our people” ...
On succession: “One of the most important responsibilities that I have and the board would have is to make sure there's always a succession from the moment you get in there is a succession plan. ... Goldman Sachs has always been blessed through the years with a lot of terrific people. ... We have a lot of terrific senior executives including but not limited to [Goldman President] Gary [Cohn]. ... I have no plans to leave. I read the same papers you do. I just don't know -- you may think they get it from me. I could tell you I have no idea where they get it from.”
Blankfein to Bloomberg on public opinion of the firm: “I think the average American probably had no contact and had never heard of Goldman Sachs before three years ago. Shame on us in a way for not anticipating how important that would be. ... It turns out, another name for consumers are citizens and taxpayers. They became important for reasons that are obvious. They always should have been important, but it wasn't part of our audience as we thought about it.” http://bloom.bg/ISGOu0
NOT GOING ANYWHERE - CNBC’s John Carney: “Lloyd Blankfein isn’t going anywhere. That's the message people on Wall Street, including many inside of Goldman ... are taking from Blankfein's appearance on Squawk on the Street today. The chief executive and chairman of Goldman Sachs has been in his post since 2006, making him the longest-running chief executive on Wall Street. ... For at least the last two years, there have been whispers that Blankfein might retire. Lots of speculation has focused on who might succeed him as head of the firm. But today’s media appearances have silenced those whispers. The word on Wall Street now is that Blankfein is going to be around for an ‘extended period.’” http://bit.ly/JbxVcI
TARP NUMBER CRUNCH: $230 BILLION LOSS? - Reuters’ BreakingViews’: Daniel Indiviglio: “The Treasury says [TARP] might turn a profit. But the agency’s fuzzy math wouldn’t fly with any sensible portfolio manager. What it calls a gain looks more like a loss of at least $230 billion. Treasury’s rosy projections aren’t half as bad as its methodology. The government declares a return when an investment’s payments exceed the initial cash outlay. That boldly disregards the cost of money and its value over time. ... Treasury estimates an ultimate profit of $22 billion. Even if that’s achieved by year’s end, taxpayers will have earned a paltry annualized return of 2 percent. Simply investing in the S&P 500 index would have earned 14 percent a year. ...
“Worse, applying [Warren] Buffett’s Goldman return as the risk-based cost of capital turns the net present value of the bank rescue into a loss exceeding $15 billion ... Tabulate automakers and AIG similarly, figure a $28 billion loss on mortgage backed securities Treasury bought and sold, and accept Treasury’s estimated $46 billion loss on foreclosure programs and its $3 billion gain on its flop of a public-private toxic asset scheme - and it all adds up to a whopping $230 billion loss, adjusting for the cost of capital.” http://bit.ly/JH7mQV
GOOLSBEE WHACKS HUBBARD - Former CEA Chair and current University of Chicago Professor Austan Goolsbee has joined the ranks of econobloggers. From his first piece, a response to Romney advisor Glenn Hubbard’s WSJ op-ed: “I just read the Glenn Hubbard editorial in the WSJ claiming that the President's budget is really a secret plan to raise everyone's taxes by11%. Glenn and I have been friends for pushing 20 years but on this one, Glenn seems to have jumped the shark. ... Hubbard's numbers seem in pretty serious danger of violating the league's substance abuse policy. His claim that the President's budget requires large tax increases on the middle class to stabilize the debt is just factually wrong. Just go look at the [CBO] numbers. They examined the President's budget and directly refute the central claim of the op-ed” http://bit.ly/ISI6oT
HUBBARD OP-ED - http://on.wsj.com/JAxJtC
QE3 WAITS ON CONGRESS - KBW analysts of the Fed statement: “[W]e think the Fed is keeping QE in reserve depending on how Congress addresses fiscal issues by year end -- namely the expiration of the Bush tax cuts and the beginning of budget sequestration measures. If Congress fails to extend the tax cuts and lets sequestration proceed as planned then the Fed may step in to counter what it expects will be a fiscal drag.”
GOOD THURSDAY MORNING - Congrats to the Washington Capitals on an amazing 2-1 overtime Game 7 win over the defending Stanley Cup champion Boston Bruins. Joel Ward netted the game winner and became M.M’s new favorite person on earth. http://wshca.ps/IhMOzO
DRIVING THE DAY - Jobless claims set the tone at 8:30 a.m. ... Pending home sales at 10:00 a.m. expected to rise 1.1 percent ... Rep. Camp speaks at CSIS at 8:30 a.m. ... House Ways and Means has a closely-watched tax extender hearing at 10:00 a.m. focusing on provisions that either expired last year or will this year (more below) ... Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner at 1:00 p.m. PDT will speak in San Francisco on the administration’s push for financial market opening in China ... Geithner will also do a Q and A with Adam Lashinsky of Fortune ... Vice President Biden is in NYC raising money today
ALSO TODAY - FTC holds a workshop on mobile payments that will feature National Retail Federation SVP and General Counsel Mallory Duncan on a panel at 3:30 p.m. ... Joint Economic Committee has a hearing at 2:15 p.m. on the possible loss of refining capacity in the Northeast. Release and testimony from the American Maritime Partnership on the issue: http://bit.ly/Ir9GuO
TAX EXTENDERS TESTIMONY - International Franchise Association is pushing for the extension of several tax breaks: http://bit.ly/IrezUU
TOP STORY: WIRETAPPING TOPPLED BO IN CHINA - NYT’s Jonathan Ansfield and Ian Johnson in Beijing on pg. A1: “When Hu Jintao, China’s top leader, picked up the telephone last August to talk to a senior anticorruption official visiting Chongqing, special devices detected that he was being wiretapped — by local officials in that southwestern metropolis. The discovery of that and other wiretapping led to an official investigation that helped topple Chongqing’s charismatic leader, Bo Xilai, in a political cataclysm that has yet to reach a conclusion. ..
“[T]he hidden wiretapping, previously alluded to only in internal Communist Party accounts of the scandal, appears to have provided another compelling reason for party leaders to turn on Mr. Bo. The story of how China’s president was monitored also shows the level of mistrust among leaders in the one-party state. To maintain control over society, leaders have embraced enhanced surveillance technology. But some have turned it on one another” http://nyti.ms/I6q5Sp
OBAMA 2012 KICKS OFF MAY 5TH - POLITICO’s Glenn Thrush: “President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama will officially kick off the 2012 general election on May 5 with rallies at Ohio State University in Columbus and Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, representing twin paths he’ll need to win. ... Campaign Manager Jim Messina described the kick-off day as ‘a ramp-up, not a zero to sixty moment.’ In a conference call with reporters, he added, ‘We won’t be doing a bunch of these rallies.’... Messina said Obama picked Ohio and Virginia because they are ‘critical states.’ He added that nothing has changed since December, when the campaign announced prospective paths to 270 electoral votes, strategies that include about a dozen old battlegrounds and purple western states that Obama won in 2008, such as Nevada, Colorado and New Mexico.” http://bit.ly/Jrab6o
GEITHNER ON THE ECONOMY - CNBC’s John Harwood asked Geithner if growth would be 2 percent to 2.5 percent the rest of the year and too slow add many more jobs: “I think most private businesses forecasters look at the American economy, they see the economy growing between 2 percent and 3 percent. Not surprising as we dig out of this recession. But it's looking more resilient and the strength is more broad-based. And again, you see it in agriculture, in energy, in manufacturing, as you're seeing in Oregon Iron Works today, in high tech.”
On Hubbard’s claim of an 11 percent tax increase under Obama’s budget: “That's a completely made up, remarkably hawkish observation for an economist. The president's fiscal reform plans, as you know-- even according to the C.B.O., would bring our deficits down to below 3% of G.D.P. over the next four years, so that the debt burden stops growing as a share of the economy. And in our plan, in our strategy, we propose a series of tax reforms that would modestly increase the burden, but only on the top 2% of Americans.”
SHUTDOWN FIGHT IN OCTOBER? - POLITICO’s David Rogers: “Plunging ahead along party lines, the House Appropriations Committee on Wednesday approved a set of Republican-backed spending targets that break with the August debt accords by demanding more than $27 billion in additional savings from non-defense programs. The 28-21 vote sets up a long summer of political skirmishing, all leading to what could be another government shutdown fight Oct. 1 when a new fiscal year begins ... It’s no secret that Appropriations Committeee Chairman Hal Rogers (R-Ky.) strongly disagreed with Speaker John Boehner’s decision to break with the accords set out in the Budget Control Act last summer. But under pressure from the right, Boehner felt he had no choice if he was to bring along the tea party and get a budget resolution passed this spring.” http://bit.ly/JCNDog
ROMNEY COST: $126,000 PER DELEGATE - CNN Money’s Charles Riley writes: "At the end of March, the Romney camp had captured 607 delegates and 4.1 million votes. That means the candidate, who has cultivated a reputation as a penny-pincher, spent $18.50 per vote, and $126,000 per delegate. The money was used to cover various expenses like hotels, food, equipment, accounting services, rental cars, air travel, event consultants and online advertisers." http://cnnmon.ie/IqTf1M
BERNANKE WARNS WASHINGTON - POLITICO’s Josh Boak: “Bernanke says he’s trying to save the economy, but he warned Wednesday that he won’t be able to if the president and Congress send the country off a ‘fiscal cliff’ ... ‘If no action were to be taken by the fiscal authorities, the size of the fiscal cliff is such that there’s absolutely no chance that the Federal Reserve could or would have any ability to offset that affect on the economy,’ Bernanke said at an afternoon press conference. That appears to be the ‘big what if’ for a recovery that Fed projections out Wednesday said is healthier than initially believed. ...
“Fed officials raised their estimates for economic growth this year. Their ‘central tendency’ forecast predicted an unemployment rate between 7.8 percent and 8 percent, much lower than January projections of unemployment being 8.2 to 8.5 percent. Unemployment is currently at 8.2 percent. Similarly, the uptick in Gross Domestic Product this year is anticipated to be between 2.4 percent and 2.9 percent, slightly better than in January.” http://bit.ly/JbiktR
MADDEN LANE III BIDDING GETS HOT - WSJ’s Matt Phillips and Al Yoon on pg. C1: “Two bundles of bonds that once helped sicken [AIG] now have Wall Street salivating. Some of the biggest banks are teaming up to jockey for the securities, which may be sold in coming days by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. The banks would then sell the bonds off to clients such as money managers, hedge funds and insurance companies. With the Thursday morning bidding deadline looming, Credit Suisse, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and Citigroup Inc. have joined forces in recent days, as have Bank of America Corp., Morgan Stanley and Nomura Holdings ... Barclays and the original underwriter, Deutsche Bank AG, are planning on bidding together as well. At stake are some $7.5 billion in face value of bundles of bonds known as ... CDOs.
“While the New York Fed has previously sold securities it picked up in its AIG rescue, this batch and others in the portfolio represent some of the most complex bonds of the pre-financial crisis era. The bonds are composed of commercial mortgage-backed securities and were issued near the peak of the real-estate boom. The CMBS are now attractive to investors because they offer substantial interest rates at a time when high-yielding debt is in short supply. ... The banks in late 2008 were paid a total of 100 cents on the dollar for CDOs, which had plunged in market value. Investors can now buy the securities in some cases for less than half their face value.” http://on.wsj.com/IpeYni
FLOWERS BLOOMS IN LONDON - FT’s Patrick Jenkins: “Christopher Flowers, the veteran private equity investor, has moved to London from the US, seeing a shift in the balance of investment opportunities to Europe. Mr Flowers rose to fame a decade ago when he quadrupled his money after scooping up Japan’s failed Long Term Credit Bank but has suffered some high-profile investment missteps since. ... According to people close to the financier, he moved from New York to London last month and is about to move into a new home in Belgravia. Mr Flowers has never lived outside the US before. His firm, JC Flowers, launched a spate of investments in Europe several years ago, but the big bets of the firm’s third and current $2.9bn fund have been focused more on the Americas. Mr Flowers suffered a succession of duff investments amid the financial crisis, dragging down the value of the firm’s second $7bn fund by nearly two-thirds, according to estimates.” http://on.ft.com/JCXI4p
ALSO FOR YOUR RADAR -
TALKER: HOW OBAMA STACKED THE FED - Sylvester Eijffinger and Edin Mujagic write in Foreign Affairs: “Regardless of who wins the 2012 U.S. presidential election, President Barack Obama will end his first term having decisively shaped U.S. monetary policy for at least the next two decades. Thanks to a stroke of lucky timing -- the Fed ... happened to have an unusually high number of vacancies during the president's first term -- Obama will have either appointed or reappointed every single one of the seven members of the Federal Reserve's Board of Governors, including its chairman ... by the end of 2012.
“With the governors each set to serve a 14-year term, they will ensure Obama's long-term impact on the U.S. economy. Bernanke was originally appointed board chair by President George W. Bush in 2006. In 2010, Obama reappointed him until 2014. Even if Obama or his successor stripped him of that role, he will continue to sit on the board until 2020. ... Obama's shaping of the Fed is all the more notable considering the United States' current dire economic circumstances.” http://fam.ag/IadFhx
BANKS TARGET LOW-INCOME CUSTOMERS - NYT’s Jessica Silver-Greenberg and Ben Protess on pg. A1 - “An increasing number of the nation’s large banks — U.S. Bank, Regions Financial and Wells Fargo among them — are aggressively courting low-income customers ... with alternative products that can carry high fees. They are rapidly expanding these offerings partly because the products were largely untouched by recent financial regulations, and also to recoup the billions in lost income from recent limits on debit and credit card fees. Banks say that they are offering a valuable service for customers who might not otherwise have access to traditional banking and that they can offer these products at competitive prices. The [CFPB] ... said it was examining whether banks ran afoul of consumer protection laws in the marketing of these products. In the push for these customers, banks often have an advantage over payday loan companies and other storefront lenders because, even though banks are regulated, they typically are not subject to interest rate limits on payday loans and other alternative products” http://nyti.ms/Ix3gv3

domain: news


text:
EXCLUSIVE: I’ve heard a lot of chatter over the past 24 hours that CBS has picked up pilot Chaos to series. The truth is, the network indeed has given a midseason order to the CIA drama but that doesn’t mean the show will make it to the air. Because I hear CBS has handed out a partial 8-episode order instead of the standard 13-episode to producer 20th TV and the studio has not accepted it. Talks between the two sides continue but it is not clear whether they would be able to come to an agreement. Meanwhile, I also hear that, in ordering Chaos, CBS has passed on its other midseason contender, the John Wells-produced medical drama pilot Gimme Shelter. However, given the fluid situation with Chaos, the network may revisit the pilot from Warner Bros. TV. I hear Gimme Shelter creator Hannah Shakespeare has already signed on to join another WBTV project, new ABC drama series The Whole Truth, though she remains in first position on Gimme Shelter.
For networks, the issue often comes down to limited shelf space in midseason that triggers partial orders. But, with the steep production costs for drama series these days, it’s crucial for studios deficit financing new drama series to secure international sales, and they can only do that with a full 13-episode order. That’s why the size of midseason orders is often a bone a contention between non-vertically integrated networks and studios. Last year, both Warner Bros. TV and 20th TV got into a standoff with ABC over their drama pilots V and The Deep End, respectively. Neither studio agreed to the network’s offer for a partial midseason order and ABC eventually upped both pickups to 13 episodes (it later reduced the order for The Deep End to 6)
Chaos, written by Tom Spezialy and directed by Brett Ratner, revolves around rogue CIA operatives who combat bureaucratic gridlock, rampant incompetence and political infighting. The cast includes Freddy Rodriguez, Eric Close, James Murray, Tim Blake Nelson and Carmen Ejogo.
On the comedy side at CBS, Mad Love is considered the front-runner for a midseason order, with Team Spitz having a minimal chance too and Livin’ On a Prayer not officially dead yet but pretty much over.
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Paul Di Filippo Reviews The Cartographers by Peng Shepherd
The Cartographers, Peng Shepherd (William Morrow 978-0062910691, hardcover, 400pp, $27.99) March 2022.
I must confess that Peng Shepherd’s award-winning debut novel from 2018, The Book of M, slipped right under my radar, and so I come now to her sophomore production without any expectations. From that particular reviewer’s stance, let me say right from the get-go that I am captivated by her sharp eye, her smooth prose stylings, her deft hand at plotting, her inventiveness, and her ability to get living humans down on the page. This book makes me definitely want to search out its predecessor. And while The Cartographers is not revolutionary or an over-the-top rollercoaster-ride thriller of a tale, it affords its fair share of suspense and a lot of little jolts and warm pleasures.
The Cartographers starts out like Katherine Neville’s The Eight—a big global conspiracy based in weird historical arcana—but then fakes left and morphs into a highly personal tale of ambition, disappointment, betrayal, love and magic, all slightly evocative of certain portions of Lev Grossman’s The Magicians.
Our protagonist is Nell Young (a name perilously close to “Neil Young,” a false cognate I had to keep mentally tamping down). Nell is a woman in her thirties who has been academically trained as a map historian, and who once had full expectations of securing her dream job in the NY Public Library’s Rare Maps division—especially thanks to a bit of nepotismal pull, arising from her father’s stature in the department. Yet inexplicably we encounter her working for a somewhat tawdry firm that specializes in creating over-the-sofa prints of historical maps, tarted up with interior design motifs. What explains this disjunction between Nell’s talents and desires and her current condition? Only this: while interning at NYPL under her father, she transgressed his wishes and he banished her (as well as her cartographical boyfriend Felix) from the NYPL and blackballed her from other related jobs. This inferior work is the best she can do now.
And the horrendous, irremediable falling-out was over such a ridiculous item: a 1930s foldup gas-station road map that Nell found in the dusty storage rooms of the library. Nell wanted to publicize and investigate it, while her father insisted it was junk and unworthy.
But as we shall quickly learn, that particular roadmap is the whole MacGuffin of the plot, for it is the last surviving copy of its kind and it provides magical access to another world.
This much soon becomes obvious, and I hope I am not spoiling anything. What remains for Nell and the reader to excitedly discover is the origin of the map, its history, the players involved, and its modern-day relevance, all of which emerge thanks to Nell’s persistent sleuthing.
She is motivated by the most vital of impulses: to unravel her father’s death. For by Chapter II, Dr. Young the Elder has been murdered, and the map turns up for Nell as her father’s secret legacy.
Nell soon emerges as a dedicated and persistent investigator, but she has great help from several sources. Her father’s coworker, Swann, and other folks of her dad’s generation, who all prove to be seminal figures. More vital is her old boyfriend Felix, who is now working for a cyber-mapping firm named Haberson Global, whose virtual maps exhibit predictive powers. Haberson is run by the eccentric and reclusive William Haberson, and he will also prove pivotal to the tale.
Centered mainly in a nicely limned NYC, our story will eventually venture afield to the mysterious Brigadoon-like town named Agloe, where the map and all the characters converge for a wild climax.
Shepherd’s novel slots nicely into the shelf containing works allied by tone or theme from the contemporary pens of Elizabeth Hand, Tim Powers, Lisa Goldstein. Jonathan Carroll, and China Miéville. But I detect a more distant ancestor at work, and that is Borges. His two stories—”On Exactitude in Science,” about a map as large as the territory it depicts; and “Tlön, Uqbar, Orbis Tertius,” about the instantiation through paper of a new reality—seem to be the hidden ancestors of The Cartographers.
Perhaps it’s a bit Disneyfied (I can easily see this book being filmed by that firm), but the following passage is not inauthentic to the tenor of the book, and accurately conveys both the lessons that Nell discovers, and the insights which Shepherd earns for—and confers upon—her readers.
What’s the purpose of a map? Swann had asked her in the very beginning, when she had stumbled back into the NYPL after so long, clueless to the danger she was walking into. She had brushed it off then the same way she had a hundred times before, believing it a sentimental oversimplification. It turned out to have been true all along.
Cartography, at its heart, was about defining one’s place in the world by creating charts and measurements. Nell had lived her life by that idea, that everything could be mapped according to references and thereby understood. But she could see now that she had been paying attention to the wrong references.
It was not a map alone that made a place real.
It was the people.
While you are here, please take a moment to support Locus with a one-time or recurring donation. We rely on reader donations to keep the magazine and site going, and would like to keep the site paywall free, but WE NEED YOUR FINANCIAL SUPPORT to continue quality coverage of the science fiction and fantasy field.
©Locus Magazine. Copyrighted material may not be republished without permission of LSFF.


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Goldbell, a Singapore-based transport and engineering group, has confirmed the acquisition of local electric car-sharing startup BlueSG.
The group expects the acquisition to be completed before this August, and claims it will help accelerate BlueSG’s development and expand its operations to other smart cities across the Asia Pacific region.
Earlier, The Straits Times reported that Goldbell was in advanced talks to buy BueSG.
Goldbell intends to expand BlueSG’s business and technical capabilities with investments north of S$70 million (US$52.3 million) over the next five years. This will include expanding its current fleet of more than 650 vehicles, establish an R&D centre and develop new mobility algorithms, analytics and technologies.
BlueSG will also serve as Goldbell’s global headquarters for car sharing.
As the acquisition is expected to be completed within the next six months, the daily operations will still be managed by the current parent, French transportation company Bolloré Group, until Goldbell officially takes over.
Existing electric vehicle charging infrastructure of carparks and chargers will be managed separately under the retained ownership of Bolloré.
Goldbell said the acquisition will have minimal impact on operations and employees of BlueSG.
Launched in 2017, BlueSG is Singapore’s first electric car-sharing services established as part of the Singapore Economic Development Board and Land Transport Authority’s national-level initiative. The company claims it has since processed over 1.7 million rentals with 100,000 subscriptions sold.
“Our investment in BlueSG is a result of a long-term focus on the future mobility space and reflects the Goldbell approach to insight-driven investing. We are committed to working closely together as a team to develop innovative technology solutions that will support Singapore’s car-lite and energy-powered mobility vision,” said Arthur Chua, CEO of Goldbell Group.
According to Goldbell, BlueSG’s acquisition is in line with its “Twin Engines for Disruptive Growth” strategy — which combines the company’s domain knowledge in the industrial vehicle leasing and distribution market with venture building and investing models to “accelerate innovation”.
Goldbell also runs a global accelerator programme aimed at incubating startups in the areas of mobility, transport and logistics. Termed Move.SG, the programme is supported by Enterprise Singapore and is the nation’s first mobility-themed accelerator.
Image Credit: BlueSG
The post Goldbell acquires BlueSG, to invest US$52.3M in the e-car sharing firm over the next 5 years appeared first on e27.

domain: finance


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|Fantastic Four, The (Development Hell / July 1st, 2005)
||[Last Updated: 04/10/04]
Director: Tim Story
Story By: Michael France
Screenwriter: Mark Frost
Producer: Avi Arad
You may also like:
Spider-Man 2, X-Men 3, Batman Begins
||Fantastic Four Casting & Location Scouting
According to Cinescape, actress Christina Milian is one of the ladies being considered for the part of Susan Storm, a.k.a. The Invisible Woman in Fantastic Four. Milian is starring in Be Cool, was seen earlier this year in Torque and in last year's Love Don't Cost a Thing.
Latino Review, who's source informed them that Michael Chiklis was in considerations to play The Thing and that Tim Robbins is up for the role for Dr. Doom, reports that Paul Walker is in consideration for Johnny Strom.
Superhero Hype reports that during an interview during the heavyweight boxing match Klitschko vs. Brewster in Las Vegas Ralf Moeller, played the German warrior besides Russel Crowe in Gladiator, confirmed that he's preparing for the Fantastic Four shooting. He did not say which role.
Superhero Hype also caught a producer of The Punisher on TQS, a French TV channel, Monday saying that Fantastic Four will be shooting this summer in Montreal at the Mel's Cite du Cinema studios. Arad and director Tim Story have also been reported scouting locations in Vancouver.
||Fantastic Four Finds Director... Tim Story
Apparently cookin` on the thread boards for a few weeks, Latino Review reports 20th Century Fox are going with "Barbershop" & "Taxi" director Tim Story to helm the superhero movie based on the comic "The Fantastic Four".
Latino Review disputes the intent of the film being a comedy, and talks about Emmy-winner Michael Chiklis being discussed for the role of Ben Grimm and Oscar-winner Tim Robbins in the running for the armored role of Victor von Doom.
Variety talked with Tim Story and Avi Arad. "What attracted me was that they are a family," said Story, reached while scouting locations in Vancouver. "They might want to wring each others necks. They might storm out and disappear for three days, but you also know they'll be back. They don't always get along." "Many times, you need a star to define the movie," Arad said. "That's not the case here. We can focus on getting the actors that are totally right for the roles."
Additionally, UGO's Screenwriter's Voice has an interview with Michael France, who discusses his draft of "FF" as well as working on "Punisher" and "Hulk." "The Fantastic Four is completely different. It's a sunny, bright, four-color adventure with characters who are mostly very funny, as they fight and squabble the way real families do. Again, even though the science and events are pretty far out there, I tried to treat them as real people. I kept the family dynamic from the original Stan Lee and Jack Kirby comics, which are very funny and wildly imaginative, down the to smallest detail -- but I tried to keep the characters' problems resulting from their changes as accessible as possible. Ben Grimm is the best character -- he's the funniest one because he enjoys being a monster and scaring the hell out of people. That's his public face -- but when he's alone or in private, he's the most dramatically interesting character. He's miserable because he'll never be human again. I had a great time working with both sides of that character. It's very easy to get too silly with this stuff -- it's kind of a delicate balance -- and I hope they keep that balance when the movie is finally made."
[an error occurred while processing this directive]071202153857 [an error occurred while processing this directive]Fantastic Four Conceptual Designs [an error occurred while processing this directive]Bill Boes released some production sketches of work he did for the Fantastic Four movie. [an error occurred while processing this directive]
[an error occurred while processing this directive]061302144443 [an error occurred while processing this directive]Fantastic Four Starting in March? [an error occurred while processing this directive]Superhero Hype! posted about a new interview with Marvel Studios' Avi Arad:
[T]here was an interview of Avi Arad (Head of Marvel Studios) in the national daily news "Le Monde" (kinda like the US "Herald Tribune") talking about Spiderman, why the movie was popular, marvel, and the upcoming movies, and Avi Arad says (I quote) "...filming for the Fantastic Four should start march 2003. In 2003, there will be five movies adapted from Marvel heroes. Since Batman & Robin, DC Comics hasn't been able to get a single film off the ground. [an error occurred while processing this directive]
[an error occurred while processing this directive]061102061102 [an error occurred while processing this directive]Arad Thinks Clooney is Mr. 'Fantastic' [an error occurred while processing this directive]Head of Marvel Studios, Avi Arad spoke which Variety about The Fantastic Four, as well as a possible lead actor.
"Clooney could be the dream casting as Mr. Fantastic," said Arad. A bankable star like Clooney may go a long way in getting the Fox Studio behind the film financially.
Arad also made comments that might suggest the tone of the upcoming film. Regarding the film's scope, Arad said "It's probably going to be one of the biggest action movies ever. It's going to be funny as hell, but also sad as hell." Currently, development is being proceeding with Doug Petrie (Buffy the Vampire Slayer) writing, and Peyton Reed (Bring it On) directing. [an error occurred while processing this directive]
[an error occurred while processing this directive]041502161207 [an error occurred while processing this directive]Stan Lee's Mutants, Monsters & Marvels [an error occurred while processing this directive]This from www.silverbulletarticles.com:
Today's Hollywood Reporter reveals that "Stan Lee's Mutants, Monsters & Marvels," a DVD/VHS package produced by Creative Light Entertainment, has been acquired by Columbia TriStar Home Entertainment just in time for release as a companion piece to the studio's upcoming "Spider-Man" theatrical release. [an error occurred while processing this directive]
[an error occurred while processing this directive]032402223351 [an error occurred while processing this directive]Fantastic Four Update [an error occurred while processing this directive]Starlog magazine reports Dr. Doom will still be the villain in the upcoming Fantastic Four movie at 20th Century Fox. Apparently Dr. Doom is still part of Doug Petrie's ("Buffy: The Vampire Slayer") new script for director Peyton Reed. [an error occurred while processing this directive]
[an error occurred while processing this directive]021002163128 [an error occurred while processing this directive]Spider-Man & Superheros [an error occurred while processing this directive]Hollywood Reporter published an article about new actors needed for the action-arena.
"Mutants" presents an intimate conversation between comic book great and Spider-Man creator Stan Lee and comic fan/cult fave director Kevin Smith ("Clerks"). During the course of a nearly two-hour interview, Lee answers Smith's questions about the creation of Spider-Man, the history of Marvel Comics and the experiences that helped Lee create his legion of iconic comic book characters, ranging from the Incredible Hulk to the X-Men.
The video will be released May 14, just 11 days after Columbia Pictures' "Spider-Man" hits theaters. The price of the DVD will be $24.95 and the VHS will be $19.95.
"There were a couple of obvious reasons for us to get involved in distributing this video," Columbia vp DVD programming and content Michael Stratford said. "This project is primarily about Spider-Man and Marvel Comics, which presents natural promotional opportunities with our 'Spider-Man' movie, especially since Stan and Kevin are excited to do press and publicity for this. But we also feel that this is a good opportunity to try something different -- it is a very different kind of program than anything we have released before. There is a lot of content there not just for die-hard fans but even for people who may be more interested in the movie than the comics."
The company behind the idea for "Mutants" is Creative Light Entertainment, an independent production and distribution company best known for such DVD/video productions as "The Sid Caesar Collection" and "Mind Meld: Secrets Behind the Voyage of a Lifetime."
"Stan and I are very excited to close this deal with Columbia TriStar and be able to use their distribution machine to get this unique product out to the public," Creative Light CEO Scott Zakarin said. "From the project's inception, we've always felt as if that is where it belonged."
A large portion of the "Mutants" DVD centers on Spider-Man, but it is not the only aspect of Lee's career covered. In the segment "Here Come the Heroes," Lee traces his personal history and the stories behind some of his most noteworthy creations, including the Incredible Hulk, Daredevil and Silver Surfer -- characters also heading to the big screen. The DVD features cast and crew bios, a behind-the-scenes featurette, an exclusive interview with Lee's wife, rare home movies from Lee's personal archive and a poem written and read by Lee.
"Comics are definitely getting more respect now and that is mostly because of the movies," Lee said. "Hollywood has started to realize that what you have to do is make all of the characters relevant and believable. The characters in these superhero movies, when you strip away the superpowers, they have to be characters you feel could really exist. I think people have started to realize that they may be comic characters, but you can't treat them in a silly way."
For Smith, the opportunity to discuss comics and movies with a living legend like Lee proved too good to pass up.
"I had done an interview with Stan a couple of years ago for Rolling Stone, and it was fantastic, but most of it did not make it into the story because of limited space," Smith said. "It was great to be able to do it again, learn new things and have it all be made available for people to see."
Look no further than the casting of Tobey Maguire as "Spider-Man" for proof of just how much the action hero paradigm has changed. His role as the web-slinging crime fighter is a far cry from his earlier work in such character-driven dramas as "The Cider House Rules" and "Wonder Boys," but it is that dramatic background that convinced Sony to offer him the role. [an error occurred while processing this directive]
[an error occurred while processing this directive]020502215001 [an error occurred while processing this directive]Buffy Takes On the Fantastic 4 [an error occurred while processing this directive]The BBCi's Buffy website reports that Buffy staff writer Doug Petrie has been hired to write the latest draft of the Fantastic Four movie. According to the interactive Beeb, Petrie found his new job through the show's composer, Christophe Beck. Beck is friends with the movie's director, Peyton Reed. [an error occurred while processing this directive]
"Tobey was the perfect Peter Parker because he's such a fine actor," Columbia Pictures president of production Peter Schlessel said. "He was able to play the nerdy-looking high school kid before the spider bite just as well as he was able to play Peter after the bite."
Heroes who are larger than life, whose powers seem over the top, no longer seem to be in vogue.
"Movies like 'Iron Fist' are not about a dominant super-powerful hero but rather about a guy people can relate to with special skills," said Patrick Gunn, executive vp at Artisan. "Action movies have become as much about watching someone become a hero as they are about what happens once they are a hero."
That transformation of a "regular" person becoming a hero is one that studio execs believe might especially resonate now in the wake of recent events.
"It's a new world now," said Emmerich, referring to the evolution of th e image of heroes. "On Sept. 11, we saw thousands of civilians go to work one morning and suddenly be caught in the center of a war."
These changes in the concept of heroism have led some industry veterans to believe that the traditional Stallone/Schwarzenegger-type action film might fade out of the Hollywood landscape much the same way that Westerns have.
"We might see someone emerge as the next action hero, but it's also possible that we will not see those same kind of characters any more," Gunn said. "Those guys had their time, but now it's a different time."


Launch back in 2019, the Renualt Triber got a BS-IV engine and was upgraded to the current emission norms only earlier this year. Now, the fuel economy figures for the BS-VI Triber have also been unveiled.
The Renault triber is available with a 1-litre engine that produces 72 PS of power and 96 Nm of torque. It does get two transmission options however and both offer slightly different consumption numbers.
Most cars that have been upgraded to the BS-VI norms have suffered minor reductions in the mileage and the Triber is no different. The 5-speed manual variant of the Triber gets an ARAI certified range of 19 km/l while the AMT has been certified with 18.29 km/l. The AMT is a new offering in the Triber but the manual variant sees a slight drop of 1 km/l.
These figures, are roughly on par with its rivals too like the Ford Figo, Grand i10 Nios and the Datsun Go+.
The Renault Triber is fairly good looking car with a sculpted front fascia, roof rails and blacked out body panels. It also gets a fair amount of kit along with seating for up to 7 people.
The BS-VI Renault Triber gets a starting price of Rs 4.99 lakh for the base variant while the top-spec trim retails at Rs 7.22 lakh.(All prices, ex-showroom Delhi)


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20+ Beautiful Crochet Shawl Free Patterns For First Spring- 2021
Abstractly Chic Shawl Pattern
Skill Level: Easy
This fun shawl is made as relaxed as you want! Do it in very contrasting colors, as we show, or use a more ombre or neutral palette. You will have the opportunity to make interesting lines while learning with Marly Bird.


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The nucleotide-binding oligomerization domain-like receptor (NLR) family of proteins is involved in the regulation of innate immunity responses.
These proteins sense pathogen-associated molecular patterns (PAMPs) in the cytosol as well as the host-derived signals known as damage-associated molecular patterns (DAMPs).
Certain NLRs induce the assembly of large caspase-1-activating complexes called inflammasomes [1,2].
Activation of caspase-1 through autoproteolytic maturation leads to the processing and secretion of the proinflammatory cytokines interleukin-1β (IL-1β) and IL-18. So far, four inflammasomes have been identified and defined by the NLR protein that they contain; the NLRP1/NALP1b inflammasome ; the NLRC4/IPAF inflammasome [4,5]; the NLRP3/NALP3 inflammasome ; and the AIM2 (absent in melanoma 2) containing inflammasome [7,8].
IL-1β and IL-18
IL-1β and IL-18 are related cytokines that cause a wide variety of biological efffects associated with infection, inflammation and autoimmune processes.
IL-1β participates in the generation of systemic and local responses to infection and injury by generating fever, activating lymphocytes and by promoting leukocyte infiltration at sites of infection or injury.
IL-18 induces IFN-γ production and contributes to T-helper 1 (Th1) cell polarization.
Maturation of IL-1β and IL-18 by cleavage with caspase-1 is a prerequisite for inducing the immune responses. Caspase-1 itself is synthesized as an inactive 45 kDa zymogen (pro-caspase-1) that undergoes autocatalytic processing following an appropriate stimulus. The active form of the enzyme comprises the subunits p20 and p10 . Caspase-1 is activated within the inflammasome multiprotein complex through interaction with ASC (apoptosis-associated speck-like protein containing a carboxy-terminal CARD), a bipartite adapter protein that bridges NLRs and caspase-1 .
It is now generally accepted that activation and release of IL-1β requires two distinct signals.
The nature of these signals in vivo during infection or inflammation is not completely defined.
However, in vitro studies indicate that the first signal can be triggered by various PAMPs following Toll-like receptor (TLR) activation which induces the synthesis of pro-IL-1β.
The second signal is provided by the activation of the inflammasome and caspase-1 leading to IL-1β processing.
The requirement for a second signal for IL-1β maturation might constitute a fail-safe mechanism to ensure that induction of potent inflammatory responses occurs only in the presence of a bona fide stimulus, such as pathogen infection and/or tissue injury.
NLRP1 assembles a multimolecular complex inflammsome with caspase-1, caspase-5, ASC, and a triphosphate ribonucleotide [1,2,10].
NLRP1 directly binds to ASC, via its pyrin (PYD) domain and directly to caspase-1 via its CARD domain. Activity of the NLRP1 inflammasome is induced by muramyl dipeptide (MDP) and anthrax lethal toxin (mouse NLRP1b) . Studies have indicated that NOD2 is needed for in vitro sensing of both MDP and anthrax lethal toxin.
Activation of the NLRP1 inflammasome is tightly linked to the apoptotic pathway. The anti-apoptotic proteins Bcl-2 and Bcl-X(L) bind NLRP1 in resting conditions, suppressing caspase-1 activation and IL-1β secretion.
Several NLRP1 gene variations have been associated with an increased risk of autoimmune disorders and vitiligo, an autoimmune condition that results in patchy changes in skin pigmentation. However, the precise role of the NLRP1 inflammasome in immune responses remains poorly understood.
NLRC4 (also known as IPAF) is the only member of the NLRC family currently known to assemble an inflammasome [2,4,5].
NLRC4 associates with pro–caspase-1 with its CARD domain without the need of an adaptor protein, and interaction with ASC is required for robust IL-1β secretion.
Oligomerization of NLRC4 is triggered by cytosolic flagellin from a variety of bacteria such as Salmonella typhimurium, Legionella pneumophila, Shigella flexneri, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa or other stimuli possibly delivered by a bacterial secretion system (type III or type IV).
NAIP5, another member of the NLR family, appears to be involved in the recognition of the ligand under certain circumstances .
Flagellin is an interesting ligand triggering both TLR5 and the NLRC4 inflammasome . As such, flagellin is likely to independently signal the production of cytokines and drive their maturation via caspase-1.
Among the inflammasomes, NLRP3 inflammasome is the most studied.
Its activation in macrophages can be achieved with a plethora of PAMPs, such as liposaccharide, peptidoglycan, and bacterial nucleic acids, provided the cells are exposed to ATP.
Indeed, in the absence of ATP, macrophages stimulated with LPS produce large quantities of pro-IL-1β, but release little mature cytokine to the medium. ATP and certain bacterial toxins, such as nigericin and maitotoxin, cause a change in the intracellular ion composition leading to the activation of the NLRP3 inflammasome.
The effect of ATP is mediated by the purinergic P2X7 receptor together with pannexin, which causes a rapid potassium efflux from the cytosol upon activation .
Crystals of monosodium urate (MSU) and calcium phosphate dihydrate (CPPD) are known to activate caspase-1 in a NLRP3-dependent manner . Deposition of MSU and CPPD crystals in joints is responsible for the inflammatory conditions gout and pseudogout, respectively, implicating NLRP3 in their etiology. Uric acid in addition is released into the extracellular milieu by necrotic cells, suggesting an important role of NLRP3 in the detection of endogenous ‘danger’ signal.
Crystalline silica and asbestos are known to activate the NLRP3 inflammasome, implicating its role in the pathogenesis of silicosis and asbestosis [15-17].
Phagocytosis of crystals leads to lysosomal swelling and damage. The lysosomal perturbation together with the release of cathepsin B, a lysosomal cysteine protease, result in the activation of the NLRP3 inflammasome .
AIM2 (absent in melanoma 2), a receptor for cytoplasmic DNA, forms an inflammasome with its ligand and ASC to activate caspase-1 [20-22].
AIM2 is an interferon-inducible HIN-200 family member that contains an amino-terminal pyrin domain and a carboxy-terminal oligonucleotide/oligosaccharide-binding domain.
AIM2 senses cytoplasmic double-stranded DNA through its oligonucleotide/ oligosaccharide-binding domain and interacts with ASC via its pyrin domain to activate caspase-1.
The interaction of AIM2 with ASC also leads to the formation of the ASC pyroptosome, which induces pyroptotic cell death in cells containing caspase-1.
AIM2 is necessary and sufficient for inflammasome activation in reponse to cytoplasmic DNA.
Clearly, inflammasomes fulfill a central role in innate immunity. They detect and respond to bacterial components, ‘danger signals’ and potentially dangerous cytoplasmic DNA.
Further understanding on how they are activated should provide new insights into the mechanism of host defense and the pathogenesis of autoimmune diseases.
1. Schroder K. & Tschopp J., 2010. The inflammasomes. Cell 140(6):821-32.
2. Franchi L. et al., 2012. Sensing and reacting to microbes through the inflammasomes. Nat Immunol 13(4)325-32.
3. Boyden ED & Dietrich WF., 2006. Nalp1b controls mouse macrophage susceptibility to anthrax lethal toxin. Nat Genet. 38(2):240-4.
4. Miao EA. et al., 2006. Cytoplasmic flagellin activates caspase-1 and secretion of interleukin 1beta via Ipaf. Nat Immunol. 7(6):569-75.
5. Zhao Y. et al., 2011. The NLRC4 inflammasome receptors for bacterial flagellin and type III secretion apparatus. Nature. 477(7366): 596-600.
6. Martinon F. et al., 2006. Gout-associated uric acid crystals activate the NALP3 inflammasome. Nature. 440(7081):237-41.
7. Hornung V. et al., 2009. AIM2 recognizes cytosolic dsDNA and forms a caspase-1-activating inflammasome with ASC. Nature. 458(7237):514-8.
8. Fernandes-Alnemri T. et al., 2009. AIM2 activates the inflammasome and cell death in response to cytoplasmic DNA. Nature. 458(7237):509-13.
9. Mariathasan S & Monack DM., 2007. Inflammasome adaptors and sensors: intracellular regulators of infection and inflammation. Nat Rev Immunol. 7(1):31-40.
10. Martinon F, & Tschopp J., 2004. Inflammatory caspases: linking an intracellular innate immune system to autoinflammatory diseases. Cell. 117(5):561-74.
10. Davies B. et al., 2011.The inflammasome NLRs in immunity, inflammation, and associated diseases. Annu Rev Immunol 23(29)707-35.
11. Kofoed EM. & Vance RE., 2011. Innate immune recognition of bacterial ligands by NAILPs determines inflammasome specificity. Nature. 477(7366):592-5.
12. Kupz A., et al., 2012. NLRC4 inflammasomes in dendritic cells regulate noncognate effector function by memory CD8+ T cells. Nat Immunol. 13(2):162-9.
13. Pelegrin P, & Surprenant A., 2007. Pannexin-1 couples to maitotoxin- and nigericin-induced interleukin-1beta release through a dye uptake-independent pathway. J Biol Chem. 282(4):2386-94.
14. Kanneganti TD, et al., 2007. Pannexin-1-mediated recognition of bacterial molecules activates the cryopyrin inflammasome independent of Toll-like receptor signaling. Immunity. 26(4):433-43.
15. Martinon F. et al., 2006. Gout-associated uric acid crystals activate the NALP3 inflammasome. Nature. 440(7081):237-41.
16. Dostert C. et al., 2008. Innate immune activation through Nalp3 inflammasome sensing of asbestos and silica. Science. 320(5876):674-7.
17. Cassel SL. et al., 2008. The Nalp3 inflammasome is essential for the development of silicosis. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 105(26):9035-40.
18. Hornung V. et al., 2008. Silica crystals and aluminum salts activate the NALP3 inflammasome through phagosomal destabilization. Nat Immunol. 9(8):847-56.
19. Eisenbarth SC. et al., 2008. Crucial role for the Nalp3 inflammasome in the immunostimulatory properties of aluminium adjuvants. Nature. 453(7198):1122-6.
20. Li H. et al., 2008. Cutting edge: inflammasome activation by alum and alum's adjuvant effect are mediated by NLRP3. J Immunol. 181(1):17-21.
21. Hornung V. et al., 2009. AIM2 recognizes cytosolic dsDNA and forms a caspase-1-activating inflammasome with ASC. Nature. 458(7237):514-8.
22. Fernandes-Alnemri T. et al., 2009. AIM2 activates the inflammasome and cell death in response to cytoplasmic DNA. Nature.458(7237):509-13.
23. Bürckstümmer T. et al., 2009. An orthogonal proteomic-genomic screen identifies AIM2 as a cytoplasmic DNA sensor for the inflammasome. Nat Immunol. 10(3):266-72.

domain: medical


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Upper Cape Pet Sitting is a full service pet sitting company. Based on beautiful Cape Cod, we service the Upper Cape towns. We are fully staffed, managed locally and insured. Here to help you care for your pet(s) when you can't be. Offering pet sitting for dogs and cats (some farm animals too!), dog walking and overnight care while you are away. If you are from out of town and visiting our beautiful area, feel free to reach out as we can care for your pet while you jaunt to the Vineyard or Nantucket for your day or overnight trip! Our team will ensure that your pets are getting the quality care they deserve!
“If you are looking for kind, down-to-earth and knowledgeable people who truly love and know how to take care of animals, this is the company. My fiancé and I have our little lab puppy being watched by them a few days a week and we couldn’t be happier. Truly an amazing experience in all aspects; the care, the flexibility, the communication, and the passion for what they do. Thank you so much for treating Captain as one of your own!”
— Daniel Casey & Mary Holland
When you travel, keep your pets in the comfort of their own home. You can be assured that your dog or cat is fed, relieved, exercised and loved while you are away. In addition to caring for your pet(s), we will ensure that your mail and packages are brought in, adjust lights and blinds, water plants, retrieve garbage cans and look after what you need while gone. Your designated pet sitter will be in direct contact with you after each visit, sending real-time updates through our automated app. Overnight care is available as well, simply contact us for more information.
Keep your dog happy and healthy when you are busy at work all day! We all know that a tired dog = a good dog! Let us come take your pooch for a walk, freshen up their water, give them a treat and shower them with attention and love. Surely, breaking up their day with some activity will receive the excitement that happens when you get home from a long day at work! This service is great for year round residents but also for those visiting the area who need occasional walks while visiting their summer homes.
Puppies are like babies! Eat, play, sleep, pee! New puppies are a ton of work and demand lots of attention. We offer puppy daycare to help relieve the stress of having to juggle leaving the office to come home and allow your puppy a relief break. Your puppy will be socialized with other dogs, but also just as important, they will be crate trained and able to get the sleep they need during the course of the day. You can rest easy knowing that your beloved puppy is having fun, but in a safe and relaxing environment as well.
Offered on a limited basis, please call us for more information on our playgroups. If you are wanting for your pup to get out for some fresh air and run and play with other dogs, this is the service for you! Offering a secure, fenced in area to romp and play. A full dog interview will be required and it goes without saying that your pup will need to be socialized with other dogs and no bite history.
Do you take lengthy vacations or move down south during the winter? Let us check on your home while you are away. We will water plants, ensure toilets aren't running or leaking, windows/doors are all locked and secured, etc. We recommend a bi-weekly visit for these services.
Pet sitting - $25
Feeding, relief break and exercise. Includes bringing in mail, garbage cans, adjusting lights, etc. Available 7 days a week.
Frequent User Discounts Available for this service.
Cat sitting - $20
Feeding, litter box cleaning. Available 7 days a week.
$70 - Your pet stays overnight at a pet sitter's home.
$85 - Both pet and pet sitter stay overnight at client home.
$20 - 30 minute dog walk or exercise, refresh water, treats offered (Monday-Friday)
$25 - 30 minute dog walk or exercise, refresh water, treats offered (Saturday/Sunday)
$30 - 45 minute dog walk or exercise, refresh water, treats offered (Monday-Friday)
$35 - 45 minute dog walk or exercise, refresh water, treats offered (Saturday/Sunday)
$5 for 2nd Dog, 3rd dog is free!
Frequent User Discounts Available for this service.
Puppy DayCare - $50
6 hours puppy day care. Socialization with other dogs, fun and play time, crate training and rest time.
Puppy vaccinations must be completed.
Playgroups - $40
2-3 hours of playtime with 2-5 dogs. Your dog MUST be socialized and have a no bite history.
Fenced in play area offers lots of room to romp and play. All vaccinations must be verified.
House Sitting - $30
We will visit your home bi-weekly to make sure windows/doors are locked, toilets and faucets are not leaking or running, hot water heater, oil levels and whatever else you would like us to monitor.
If you would like to schedule service but are not yet a client, please select the "Request Free Consultation" link on the top right of this page. You will be asked to create an account as well as a pet profile. We will contact you promptly to schedule your consultation.
If you have general questions about our services or simply would like to speak with us, please complete the form below and we will respond to your request.

domain: pet


Sectarian fears as Iraq bars Sunnis
Saturday 16 January 2010
Iraq's electoral commission has barred 500 candidates from running in March's parliamentary election, including a prominent Sunni lawmaker, in a decision that is sure to deepen Iraq's sectarian divides.
Hamdia al-Hussaini, a commissioner on the Independent High Electoral Commission, said the commission made the decision after receiving the list from a parliament committee that vets candidates for ties to Saddam Hussein's outlawed Baath party.
The decision to bar the candidates – most of whom are believed to be Sunni – potentially threatens the country's fragile security because it risks leaving Sunni voters feeling targeted and disenfranchised. The Sunni boycott in a January 2005 election is considered one of the key factors that deepened the insurgency. The candidates have three days to appeal, al-Hussaini said. Among those barred is prominent Sunni leader Saleh al-Mutlaq.
Rihanna 'nude pictures' claims emerge on 4Chan as hacking scandal continues
Tesco in crisis: UK managing director among four executives suspended after exposure of accounting scandal
Kim Kardashian 'nude photos' leaked on 4chan weeks after Jennifer Lawrence scandal
'F*ck it, I quit': KTVA reporter Charlo Greene quits live on air in spectacular fashion
Alicia Keys leaks own nude photo 'to create a kinder and more peaceful world'
- 1 Rihanna 'nude pictures' claims emerge on 4Chan as hacking scandal continues
- 2 Kim Kardashian 'nude photos' leaked on 4chan weeks after Jennifer Lawrence scandal
- 3 'F*ck it, I quit': KTVA reporter Charlo Greene quits live on air in spectacular fashion
- 4 Free U2 album: How the most generous giveaway in music history turned PR disaster
- 5 Scotland could still declare independence – even without referendum, says Alex Salmond
£11280 - £14400 per annum: Randstad Education Manchester Secondary: Teaching a...
£21552 - £31588 per annum: Randstad Education Cambridge: Randstad Education re...
£21000 - £35000 per annum: Randstad Education Cambridge: Science teachers requ...
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Arts, crafts, and collectibles - Antiques
There is a huge number of blogs which are created for not one other reason than to allow the blogger to possess fun as well as to entertain people. Humor blogs, celebrity entertainment blogs, sports blogs, art blogs, hobby blogs, many travel blogs, and most personal blogs belong to the category of blogging for entertainment and fun. Many photo blogs are also designed for fun and entertainment, too.
The latest uploads by Alicia
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Hey guys, its your girl, KrisSimsters and Swim Squad is turning 1!! It’s honestly exciting and weird known that I’ve been on this site, writing for you guys for a whole year. I haven’t been consistent on a lot of stuff lately, so its nice to know that I have at least one thing I can be consistent with. Speaking off, as part of our anniversary, we’re going to give you a list of our favorite shows of all time. Some of them are ten, some of them are twenty, and some of them are five. I’m doing five because I want to really think hard on this. What are my favorite Adult Swim shows? Will my list collide with the others? Hopefully not. Anyway, I don’t want to keep you all waiting, so let’s get this list started shall we?
Kris’ Top Five Favorite Adult Swim Shows (Of All Time):
5). Soul Eater (2013-2014): Man I loved this anime when it was airing, Adult Swim was on longer on Saturday nights and you get to see the anime air twice, its original airing and then its backup airing before it left TV for good. The VA for the English Dub of this anime was honestly spot one and one of the few animes I honestly like. If I had to see repeats of Soul Eater vs. repeats of Dragon Ball Z (Kai) for the millionth time, then I would choose Soul Eater. Honestly, Soul Eater is one of the funniest animes that aired in a while and I wouldn’t mind seeing it again. Or I could watch the English sub…whichever way works for me.
4). Home Movies (1999-2004): My very first article I wrote about on the site (besides my intro) was about Home Movies. The animation wasn’t the best and the actual home movies–filmed by three grade-schoolers–weren’t the best, but there was something nostalgic about watching this show. There’s something nostalgic about walking downstairs later at night when your supposed to be sleep or turning on your TV and making sure the volume was really low on the weekends and watching these shows. The jokes were good enough that got me to laugh without getting caught. I do miss this show and hopefully a night on [AS] can be filled with nothing but Home Movies and Space Ghost Coast to Coast. And yes, I know that they actually aired Space Ghost as an April Fool’s joke a few years back.
3). China, IL (2008-2015): Why did this show end? There is one unanswered question with this show, but that’s only because of my shipping. Either way, China, IL was good, it was worth watching. Every character was likable in their own way, even Frank…but only because his voice was awesome. Brad Neely did a great job with this show, I hate how he let something as great as this get cancelled for Harg Nallin Sclopio Peepio. For redemption, I hope that show gets cancelled as well.
2). Robot Chicken (2005-): In my opinion, Robot Chicken was one of the greatest shows that has ever aired on Adult Swim. I am a fan of stop-motion animation and Robot Chicken does it right. Honestly, stop-motion animation is like animation porn to me, I mean I watch a show about Barbie Dolls declaring war because somebody went in the cheerleader’s bathroom, yes, I like stop-motion. I also like the skits, they are funny and most of them are classics by now. I have a Top 20s List dedicated to it…and Senpai even noticed me. It’s nice to get noticed.
- Baby Blues: I used to love this show, this was probably the only show my Mom would let me watch back when Adult Swim just started. The jokes were funny, but not too inappropriate and the characters were entertaining. I wish a more adult version of For Better or For Worse aired around the same time.
- The Boondocks: I love The Boondocks, the first three seasons were fantastic. The first three seasons had memorable episodes and memorable lines. If I chose ten, I would put this series on the list, but honestly five is better.
- Aqua Teen Hunger Force: Man I love this show. Who wouldn’t love a show about some fries, a ball of meat, and a (presumably) strawberry milkshake. It’s sad that this show ended, but all good things come to an end and this was a good show. Yeah it did have some misses, but it was an overall good show.
1). Rick and Morty (2013-): I love Rick and Morty and I’m sure I’m not the only one. I didn’t expect to like Rick and Morty but I do. I like it because of a lot of reasons, it’s just that almost every episode is exciting and gross and I’m a sucker for abnormal shows. And season’s two cliffhanger, I cannot get over that still. I would totally recommend anybody who hasn’t this show yet to go and watch it, its worth it. One of the best recent shows that came on Adult Swim besides Mike Tyson Mysteries.
There were so many more shows I wanted to include such as Space Dandy and Mike Tyson Mysteries, but I honestly wanted to keep it at five, five shows felt more honest to me and again, it really made me think about this list.
Also, I’m pretty sure that some of these favorites won’t be on just my list, but I hope you enjoy reading all of them. Until next time, though my name is KrisSimsters and Stay Golden.
–Follow me on Twitter @KrisSimsters!!
Adult Swim Airs on Cartoon Network from 8PM-6AM. Toonami Airs on Saturdays from 11:30PM-3AM.


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Enter your stay dates and any discounts you qualify for to see Show Low, AZ rates found only on HotelPlanner!
Find hotels & motels in Show Low using the list below. Search for cheap and discounted hotel and motel rates in or near Show Low, AZ for your upcoming personal or group trip. Explore the most favored Show Low, Arizona hotel and motel rooms. Browse the Show Low area hotels to find the perfect lodging! Please use the provided map of the Show Low hotels. Need 5+ Rooms? Secure Show Low Group Hotel Discounts
The Show Low center point is about the area of Show Low Historisal Society and the area of Downtown Show Low.
How should we direct your call?

domain: geography


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This gravity-defying mount unlocks the true mobility of tablets. Clamp the Lynx to flat, round, or irregular surfaces and start using your tablet in previously impossible places. It works throughout the home and on all your adventures. Use this tablet holder on a desk or table. Mount it to a tripod, music stand, or mic. Clamp it to an exercise machine or entertainment center. Attach it to anything, anytime you need your tablet. Pair the Lynx with optional add-on components to create your own unique accessories.
Powerful: clamps to any surface-flat, round, or irregular-up to 2″ thick
Compact: connects to desks and tables to create more surface space
Versatile: works on microphones, music stands, tripods, and other creative instruments
Adaptable: attaches to kitchen cabinets and counters
Universal: iPad stand / tablet stand holds any iPad and nearly every tablet (see details)


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1 dead, 1 charged with vehicular homicide after crash in Bear
A woman from Bear died and another person was charged with vehicular homicide after a car crash on Pulaski Highway (U.S. 40) Saturday night, according to state police.
The crash occurred shortly before 10:30 p.m. Saturday at the on-ramp for northbound Del. 1. when a car driven by Melvin Kessler, 76, of Bear, attempted to turn left from westbound Pulaski Highway to the on-ramp for northbound Del. 1, Sgt. Richard Bratz said.
Kessler had a green light but as he turned left, an SUV driven on eastbound Pulaski Highway by Cristobal Guzman-Martinez, 30, of Wilmington, failed to stop at the red light at the intersection and hit Kessler's car, Bratz said.
Those arriving on scene notified emergency dispatchers that two people were trapped inside the car. One person was found to be in cardiac arrest from traumatic injuries, Christiana Fire Chief Rich Perillo said.
Personnel from Christiana Fire Company removed both people from the car and transported them to Christiana Hospital, Perillo said.
Melvin Kessler's wife, Phyllis Kessler, 69 of Bear, was a passenger in the car and was pronounced dead at the hospital. Melvin Kessler remains hospitalized in critical but stable condition, Bratz said.
Guzman-Martinez was not injured and has been charged with second-degree vehicular homicide, first-degree vehicular assault, driving under the influence and driving without a valid license or proof of insurance, according to Bratz.
Pulaski Highway at the intersection was closed for four hours while the crash was investigated, Bratz said.