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[Only IN Hollywood] From Bella to Diana: Kristen Stewart on taking control of her life
Ruben V. Nepales
Kristen Stewart as Princess Diana in 'Spencer'
Still courtesy of Neon
Kristen is earning best actress nomination buzz in her depiction of Princess Diana right before she decides to end her marriage
"The ironic and the saddest part of the story is that we will never know her. And all she wanted was to just sort of tell the story herself," Kristen Stewart said of Diana, the late Princess of Wales, whom she plays in Spencer.
Kristen is earning best actress nomination buzz in her and director Pablo Larrain's imagining of Diana's last three Christmas days at Queen Elizabeth II's Sandringham Estate in 1991.
Described as a "biographical psychological drama," Spencer uses creative license to portray Diana as she decides to end her marriage to Prince Charles (Jack Farthing) and leave the royal family, who all happen to be in the Queen's favorite countryside house for the holidays.
Kristen herself is no stranger to the fame and paparazzi attention that hounded Diana up to that tragic night in a tunnel in Paris in 1997. The Los Angeles native's life was never the same again when she, at 17, took on the Bella Swan role in the blockbuster Twilight movie series.
In a press conference at the Venice Film Festival, Kristen, now 31, reflected on her own challenges as a woman and actress, especially compared to the hurdles that Diana faced in her generation. "You find that in every aspect of life, even just being a modern woman in a Western society, there are things you feel like you have to do."
KRISTEN. Kristen Stewart at a press conference
Ruben V. Nepales/Rappler
"Then you grow up and you realize that you don't have to do all of those things. You get to pick and choose and have role models and all of that."
"I don't feel an extreme imposed rigidity. That was something that I really did have to think about as an outsider because I am allowed to make mistakes."
"There's just such a huge vast difference between the job of an actor or an aspiring director and somebody in the royal family who is keeping together an ideal that is supposed to keep an entire nation together."
"I don't consider my job as lofty (laughs). If I did, I would be puking backstage (laughs). I have more fun watching art that is immediate, accidental, and honest."
"I am sure that I blunder left and right and that's fine. I am not as afraid of that as I was when I was younger. But that's an age thing and you grow out of it."
Kristen Stewart's turn as Princess Diana wows Venice
"Yeah, of course, I can relate but it's tough," the actress said about the attention that Diana drew and the life in the media glare that she led. "I don't think anyone can understand what that felt like. We tried. I mean, we all dreamed and imagined."
"I suppose so, yeah," added Kristen about empathizing with the beloved princess.
"This is a tough one because I would never want to say, she was the most famous woman in the world, she was the most photographed woman in the world. That is something said about her."
"And I have tasted a high level of that but really nowhere near that monumental symbolic representation of an entire group of people, an entire country, and then the world."
"So my experience with feeling like you don't have control over a situation or when I say situation, like an impression of you, that's life, that's normal. Everyone experiences that. You can't control everyone's opinions of you."
"But when you know that the story on the street is just wrong and there's no way to correct it – this is disparate, I am going to get back on track – but the idea that maybe you had five minutes where somebody thought that you hadn't connected with them."
"And they have gotten this bad impression of you. I have wanted to run back a million times every day and be like, 'Oh hey, can we actually redo that interview (laughs)? I just thought about something else for a second. I didn't say the right thing.' "
"Imagine what that was like for her (Princess Diana). Imagine feeling backed into a corner to that extent. At some point, you are going to bury your teeth because you are an animal. And it's natural and normal."
"Everyone feels like they know her because that was her talent. What was beautiful about her was that she was accessible and you feel like you are friends with her. You feel like she is your mother."
"But ironically, she was the most unknowable person and somebody who really never wanted to be alone. Some people are good at it. Some people hate it."
"She wanted the connection. She wanted people in her life and yet she was the most isolated human, at least over these three days, the imagining of these three days. We really sort of wanted that to come to a head."
Pablo, who joined Kristen in the press conference, talked about why he and writer Steven Knight decided to focus on Diana's three Christmas days in Norfolk, England.
There are Diana's tender moments with the young Princes, Harry (Freddie Spry) and William (Jack Nielen).
MOTHER. 'Spencer' has tender moments, including scenes of Princess Diana (Kristen Stewart) with Princes William and Harry (Jack Nielen and Freddie Spry, respectively)
Spencer also imagines the princess' interactions over a few days with various persons – both royal and commoners – as portrayed by a fine cast that includes: the aforementioned Charles (Jack), Major Alistar Gregory (Timothy Spall), royal chef Darren (Sean Harris), Queen (Stella Gonet), Prince Philip (Richard Sammel) and royal dresser Maggie (Sally Hawkins).
Pablo explained, "It's interesting what could happen when you look at someone in a crisis instead of just going over a longer period of time of her life. If you choose a very specific moment where there is a huge crisis, then things can become very interesting and you can get to know that person really well."
"Because I think the character starts broken in a big crisis, then becomes a ghost, then she is back again, healed and ready to move on. And in that sense, we felt with Steve Knight, who wrote this beautiful script, and along with my fellow producers, that it was a great opportunity to create a fairy tale that had a different structure."
"We all know and tell fairy tales and fables to our children and for them to go to bed and have a better understanding of life, an optimistic perspective. But then we grow up and we get to understand that a fairy tale is really difficult."
"In this case, we have a princess who is just going away from the idea of being a queen because what she wants is to be herself. And that identity, it's beautiful to see in a compressed amount of time."
"That also allowed us to use one single space, this palace, this castle, this house, they call it a house in England. But to use that physical space that could be used as a metaphor of a bigger structure – that house, that palace is really an organization. So you have a character who is trapped in the wheels of tradition and history."
The former child actress, who was also excellent in her take of another real-life person, the late actress Jean Seberg in Seberg, laughed when asked if she still remembers the royal family etiquette rules she learned for the role.
"My curtsy just went out the window as soon as I walked off set," the star chuckled. "We had royal advisors. We had people to tell us all the things that you couldn't know as an outsider."
"The stage that we depict in the film is a true unraveling. So once I learned the curtsy and I learned that we are not supposed to go in the kitchen ourselves and steal food…. All of those details, I don't really remember them."
"But there was always someone around to make sure that if anything was out of line, that we were remaining authentic and we weren't undermining what we were trying to do."
"Because obviously, I am American and not from that country and Pablo is from Chile. But yeah, specifically, I would say the only thing I can really remember is the curtsy. You don't do it very low at all or else you will fall over."
Kristen rises to the challenge of getting the essence of Diana, as the film imagines the famous yet lonely woman mulling her big decision to separate from Prince Charles, coping with her eating disorder, and struggling with her mental health. There are flights of fancy, including visions of the ghost of Anne Boleyn, whose story is said to parallel that of Diana's.
ALONE. 'The really sad thing about her was that she, as immediately normal, casual and disarming her air was, she also felt so isolated and lonely,' Kristen Stewart said of Princess Diana
"The more I looked into Diana, I realized that she carried an enormous amount of mystery," said Pablo who tackled another real-life figure, Jacqueline Kennedy (portrayed by Natalie Portman), in the biopic, Jackie.
"That mystery combined with the magnetism that Diana had, creates the perfect elements for a movie. Then we found this miracle here named Kristen who can carry that mystery, and you would never really completely understand up until you get to see the movie."
"And right after you see it, maybe you will tell me, you just saw it. I think it's interesting when cinema does that – it allows you to have the audience to complete the process."
To prepare for the difficult task of essaying such a well-known figure, Kristen read voraciously about Diana, watched a lot of her interviews, pored over her photos, and yes, even binged on The Crown.
The actress was obviously aware of Diana's worldwide popularity, with many people waiting to see her interpretation of their icon.
"The movie…imagines a feeling," Kristen stressed her approach to playing Diana – more from feeling, instead of thinking and being preoccupied with the externals. "My impression can only be my own."
Kristen shared her thoughts on why Diana clicked with so many people. "I think it was just something that she was born with. There are some people who are endowed with an undeniable, penetrating energy."
"The really sad thing about her was that she, as immediately normal, casual, and disarming her air was, she also felt so isolated and lonely."
UK journalist at center of Diana storm denies link to her death
"She made everyone else feel accompanied and bolstered by this beautiful light. All she wanted was to just have it back."
"It's like we are all mirrors of each other. What you give is what you get. I think she was sort of just desperate to reveal some truth."
"I look at pictures of her, anything, even just a fleeting little video clip and I feel like the ground shakes and you don't know what's going to happen."
"I think the idea of somebody being so desperate for connection and who was able to make other people feel so good but she was feeling so bad on the inside and being so generous with her energy – we haven't had many of those people throughout history. She really stuck out as a sparkly, just a house on fire."
On Diana's legacy as an adored style maven, Kristen commented, "She is touchable. There's this really common thread in the fashion world which is elevation."
PRINCESS. Kristen Stewart costumed in the memorable gown that Princess Diana wore in what was described as the 'wedding of the century'
"It's unattainable but come on, let's give them a dream. That is one way of being or one aspiration."
"Even when she looked her most beautiful and most substantial, people felt like she could kick her shoes off, walk outside with you, ask how you are, touch your face and be with you, and you would feel that honesty from her."
"It's hard to do that when you are teetering around on heels and looking like nobody can come near you. We do see that as beautiful but she was really able to just be there."
"She was so present wherever she was. She was right there. That's my favorite thing about her."
"In regard to what she wore, it didn't matter what she was wearing, even though she had incredible style sense. She was somebody who knew how to use clothes as armor."
"But at the same time, she was so constantly available and visible. She couldn't hide. She wore her heart on her sleeve. That, to me, was the coolest thing that she did."
As for also experiencing similar intrusions into her private life, and on the possibility of a biopic about her someday, Kristen answered, "There is a difference between intruding and the multiplicity that art brings to the world. We were inspired. I say we – I came into this (film) at a later stage."
"And yeah, if anyone ever made a movie about me, I would be (laughs)…I wouldn't feel stolen from or taken from. There's nothing salacious about our intention. I think that would probably be more embedded in interpretation."
On having control in her life – something that was also tackled in her portrayal of Diana and Jean Seberg – Kristen remarked, "Yeah. I mean, choice and agency and sometimes, well, it's weird. There are certain oppressive forces that sometimes feel so debilitating that they feel physical, that you feel like you can't make a choice, that you have been forced into this situation."
"And barring circumstances that actually do provide horrific actual oppression, I am talking like things, ideas that hold you back. If you just change your perspective or look at it from a different angle or pretend that it's not there, you could get up and start running."
"It is a really important lesson to learn as you grow older – you don't let things happen to you. Everything is not just coming at you. You are choosing every day which direction to walk in, every step you take."
"You are like, how big, how little, right, left. I know that sounds vague and silly. But sometimes, it really just is like a dawning moment where you go, wait a second, no! And yeah, that is something that happens all the time."
"But yeah, one of my friends was going through a terrible breakup recently. And this is specific but I did make this movie and look at her and go, dude, you can just choose what you want to do. You are not like on some predestined path."
"Sometimes your life can feel like it's happening to you but really, you can just take the reins. It's hard to make choices like that, though. And it's scary so it takes balls."
Ultimately, Kristen praised the woman she absorbingly plays in Spencer: "Diana was a woman who wanted people to come together and this movie's ambition is to bridge gaps." – Rappler.com
@nepalesruben
Ruben V. Nepales is an award-winning journalist whose honors include prizes from the National Entertainment Journalism Awards, a U.S.-wide competition, and the Southern California Journalism Awards, presented by the Los Angeles Press Club.
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It took 159 days, but I've lost 17 pounds since I started adopting a new, healthier lifestyle. I'm halfway to my weight loss goal. (For you non-math-wizards, that means my total weight loss goal is 34 pounds.) I am so embarrassed by the all-time high number that displayed on the scale back in January and early February, that I'm not going to reveal that awful, awful weight. I will say that size 10 was getting snug and I really prefer to be a size 6 with plenty of breathing room. I will also reveal that the Body Mass Index calculator said I was borderline obese. Cringe!
1. The stress of having our lovely, posh (rented) condo unceremoniously sold out from under us halfway through our lease, and then realizing that to live in the area of the town we liked, we'd have to buy a house that needed quite a bit of work -- about six months worth of hot, dusty, sweaty, sore-muscle manual labor.
2. The kitchen at our new house was a wreck and housed painting supplies and tools for the first four months that we lived here. Fast food was always on the menu during that time. I thought that with all the hard work I was doing on the house, that surely I was burning lots of calories. Not so.
3. My dad died suddenly and very unexpectedly in October. This sent me into a tailspin of depression. When my dad literally dropped dead on his treadmill while exercising, the last place I wanted to be was at the gym. The first few times I went to the gym after his death, I cried while on the elliptical machine and cried during yoga classes. It's hard to exercise when exercise gets associated with sadness.
There have been some major and minor stumbling blocks in my quest for a healthier lifestyle. I knew I needed to start eating healthier in general, and lose some of the new-homeowner bad habits I formed over the past year.
On February 27, I started the South Beach diet. I lost 6 pounds in the first two weeks, which is known as phase 1 of the diet. Phase 1 is highly restrictive and difficult. Pretty much the only things a person can eat are lean proteins, vegetables (excluding carrots and potatoes of any kind) and small amounts of reduced fat cheese. There are no baked goods of any kind, no cereals / grains, no fruit, no "real" cheese, nothing containing natural or refined sugars allowed during Phase 1. I hate fish. I don't eat red meat. I had a serious addiction to whole wheat toast. This two weeks of Phase 1 was absolutely awful.
I've heard of other people losing up to 15 pounds during Phase 1, so I was a bit disappointed to only lose 6 pounds, but consoled myself with the theory that slower weight loss is likely to be permanent weight loss. Since following the South Beach diet during Phase 1 and Phase 2, I've learned that Phase 1 is actually not good for a person like me. I have kidney problems and therefore need to limit my protein intake.
When following a high protein, low carbohydrate meal plan, both uric acid and calcium oxalate stones are more likely to form. In fact, one study found that consumption of a low carbohydrate, high protein diet for 6 weeks delivers a marked acid load to the kidney, increasing the risk for stone formation.-- Reddy, S.T, Wang, C.Y., Sakhaee, K., Brinkley, L., and CYC. Pak. Effect of low-carbohydrate high-protein diets on acid-base balance, stone-forming propensity, and calcium metabolism. Am. J. Kidney Dis. 40(2):265-74, 2002.
During the South Beach Diet early days, I was working through the stages of grieving due to losing my dad so unexpectedly. I was stuck in the depression stage for a few months. Quitting most carbs cold-turkey for Phase 1 of South Beach was probably not a good idea for me at that time. I felt not just tired and cranky on this diet, but physically shaky and angry.
Many who are testing low-carbohydrate approaches like Atkins and the South Beach Diet are reporting unusually elevated feelings of anger, tension and depression, enough so that a new term 'Atkins attitude,' has been adopted to describe it. Judith Wurtman, director of the Women's Health Program at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the Adara Weight Loss Center, has conducted studies on rats showing a connection between low carbohydrate intake and low levels of serotonin – a neurotransmitter that promotes feelings of happiness and satisfaction. In her research, rats placed on a ketotic, or low-carbohydrate diet for three weeks were found to have lower levels of serotonin in their brains. Wurtman believes that same effect occurs in humans on low-carb diets, leading to pronounced feelings of depression and sadness, even rage. -- Wurtman, R.J., and J.J. Wurtman. Carbohydrates and depression. Sci Am. 260(1): 68-75, 1989.
In addition, Dr. Agatston, MD, author of The South Beach Diet advises patients to get about 20 minutes of exercise a day, such as walking. Um, yeah, I spend about 40 minutes on the elliptical machine and spend another 30 minutes doing stomach crunches, push-ups and lifting weights at least three times a week at the gym. This activity is in addition to daily chores like gardening, vacuuming, hauling laundry out to the washer, etc... and other "fun" exercise like hour-long walks with Chad, bike rides and occasional kayaking. I think I far surpass that "20 minutes of activity" advice most days. I need some carbs to make some energy, Doc!
That said, I think that Phase 2 of the South Beach Diet has great guidelines for losing weight, and I loved being able to eat some whole grains again! The recipes in the South Beach cookbooks are good, if a bit involved sometimes. If any of you are looking for some nutritional advice, skip Phase 1 of South Beach Diet and go straight to Phase 2. Your weight loss will be slower in Phase 2, but it is much less painful, more nutritionally sound and much more likely to lead to sustained / permanent weight loss.
I spent about two months at a weight loss plateau. I didn't gain any weight back, but I also wasn't losing weight from mid-May until mid-July. My dad's dad passed away on June 1, and I got physically sick with grief for a week. I had a cough, body aches and fatigue. My grandpa's passing was like a sequel to losing my dad just seven months earlier. While I didn't resort to any of my old unhealthy coping mechanisms such as mass doses of sugary baked goods or fried foods, I also wasn't getting as much exercise as usual. On July 4, I decided it was time to give up poultry as part of my slow transition to a vegetarian lifestyle. I don't mean to preach, but it is my personal preference not to eat food that once had a face. I still eat fish a few times a week (yuck), but eventually fish will go too. Not to worry, I am eating lots of soy, plenty of beans, egg-beaters, non-fat dairy and iron-rich veggies. There was an adjustment period to the new pesco-vegetarian diet which slowed the weight loss. Finally, in late-July, the weight started coming off again.
Which brings us up to last Friday when I stepped on the scales at the gym and found that I had maintained the halfway mark to my weight loss goal for a week! (I have this weird superstition that I can't really claim weight loss until is stays off for at least a week.) It feels great. Hopefully by February of 2008, I'll be in the maintenance phase of this health-kick-hullabaloo. And I'll being wearing a size 6 with breathing room.


Ashley Riggs '14 is a Curriculum and Instruction graduate student from San Antonio, Texas, and is the daughter of Leslyn and Mike Riggs. Ashley is a member of Squadron 20 and serves as the Platoon Leader and Professional Development Officer for the 2013 – 2014 school year.
Active within the Corps, Ashley served as Outfit Chaplain her junior year and was also a member of the O.R. Simpson Honor Society. She is the Director for the 2014 Nichols Rising Leaders Conference, a leadership retreat specifically for sophomores in the Corps to equip them with valuable leadership lessons and prepare them to become leaders in the Corps their junior year.
Outside the Corps, Ashley was an usher with MSC OPAS, gave campus tours for prospective students with the Aggie Experience Council, and was an Impact counselor at a Christian orientation camp for Aggie freshmen. She is actively involved at her church, participates in Campus Crusade for Christ events, and enjoys going on mission trips during the summer, most recently to Guatemala in summer 2013. She also co-leads Battle Groups, an organization for Christian cadets based on accountability of and prayer for fellow members. Ashley's faith is very important to her and she credits her experiences in the Corps with strengthening her relationship with God.
Ashley graduated early in December 2013 with a Bachelor's Degree in English. She will finish her spring semester as a cadet while starting her Masters Degree program at Texas A&M in Curriculum and Instruction. She aspires to teach high school literature, then return to school to earn her Doctorate and teach collegiate level literature courses.
Ashley has had an exemplary career as a cadet during her time in the Corps. Her mature approach to her studies, Corps responsibilities and her personal life have allowed her to excel in all aspects of college life. To graduate a semester early is not an easy feat at Texas A&M, but she accomplished that and will no doubt go on to excel in her post-graduate studies. I have no doubt that Ashley will become an excellent teacher, and will impact the lives of her students in a very positive manner. She is in every aspect an exceptional role model and representative of what our Corps of Cadets is all about: developing well educated leaders of character. I'm very proud of Ashley and all she hasaccomplished, and look forward to see her go on to great success in the future.


Gemini Motto: "I think, therefore I am."
Gemini Careers: Communication (all means), information, inquiry, journalism, linguists, language, literature, broadcasting, writing, manuscripts, novelists, speaking, radio, engineers, television, publishing, printing, transportation, reporting, telephones, stories, office machines, post offices, river transportation, telegrams, telegraphs, telephones, trains, commercial travelers, travel agents, local travel, truck drivers, typewriters, wireless, writers, stenographers.
Gemini geography: North East coast of Africa, Armenia, Belgium, Bruges (Belgium), depots, lower Egypt, Western England, hallways, libraries, Lombard (Italy), London (England), Louvaine (Belgium), Melbourne (Australia), Metz (France), neighboring counties, neighbors, Nuremburg (Germany), Plymouth (England), San Francisco (California), Sardinia, subways, study rooms, United States east of the Mississippi, upstairs, Versailles (France), Wales, Wolverhampton (England).
Gemini is biblically referred to as the duality of Cain and Abel, Simeon and Levi or as Adam and Eve.
GEMINI MONEY: Gemini's are the wheeler-dealers of the zodiac because they are the chameleon's of the zodiac. They thrive on excitement, change, variety and happen to be very cunning and crafty in order to get what they want or to make a sale. They make excellent sales people. When Gemini is placed in the middle of a party, they are looking for an opportunity within all of those personalities. The people at the party are not just people, they are contacts!
Gemini is not only two people in one, they have the ability to morph into whatever they need to be in order to seize the opportunity. This comes in quite handy when creating money. By the way, Gemini's will definitely push the envelope to success and rarely will you see them cross the not-so-cool line.
When it comes to handling money, they certainly live up to the youthness of their sign. They rarely worry about where their next dollar will originate. This optimistic and charismatic personality will certainly lead to something Good and they thrive on that way of thinking. It has to be Good. Rarely will you hear about a Gemini balancing their checkbook. Isn't that was ATM's are for . . to check your bank balance? Gemini has to have spontaneity and change in their Life, which is why you will rarely see a Gemini retire from a job that they were at after 20 years. Showing them your retirement plaque after 20 years will make them shutter and they will reall be thinking, "Thank God I didn't do that!" If Gemini is bored with their job, you can definitely count on them leaving for something better. And it will be better.
If anyone can find a way to create more money, it is a Gemini. They have so many money making schemes up their sleeve that they are never out of Good ideas because they never plan to go without. Money is only necessary to get them to the place that they desire to be. They will work hard for their money because it will buy them a plane ticket to fun and adventure. Money is necessary for them to play. Gemini's are excited about the financial journey and not necessary the money itself. Gemini's are looking for financial freedom . . and their freedom means everything to them. Money is simply a means to an end.
Many Gemini's are entrepreneurs because clocking into a regular job will just wear them out mentally. Gemini needs freedom and flexibility in their job because they know that they can count on themselves to provide what they need. Being limited by someone else telling them how much money they can make (a paycheck) does not rhyme with their spirit. Gemini needs unlimited possibility in their job. This is why jobs that are freelance or a job with commission will work well for them. It's all about flexibility. Gemini always has an ace up their sleeve and can always make more money in a pinch.
It would be best for a Gemini to couple up with someone who can handle the money. Gemini can make the money if only someone else can manage . . but don't tell Gemini how much they can spend or there will be problems. They will buy a plane ticket to fun before they pay the electric bill. Gemini with money says, "I can't take it with me so I may as well have some fun!"


Backyard landscapes are very popular. A deck helps define your back yard by bringing out its character. If you decide to build a deck in your backyard do it because it is something that you really want and not just because your neighbors have started getting them. Here at Incredible Builders at Lake in Algonquin we only design complete custom decks to suit the needs of our customers. We have a large range of solutions to help you with your design choices. It normally takes about a week to build a deck so it makes your day to day operations return back to normal rather quickly. Our expert staff at Incredible Builders in Algonquin helps you with evaluating your property and ensuring that you stay within HOA regulations and city ordinances. Leave the hard work to Incredible Builders in Algonquin.
A deck is a flat surface capable of supporting weight. It is very similar to a floor but they are mostly constructed outdoors. It's often raised off of the ground and is usually connected to a building. It was a word that initially was used on ships. A deck is the foundation for both your family area and kitchen. Decks can provide many opportunities for fellowship and year round fun. They can be used for entertaining, casual dining, and are ideal for family gatherings. Just by you having a deck it will make you the ultimate host. It spices up the appearance of a backyard. As with any addition that you make to your home it increases its value. One thing that makes decks stand out is that you can actually get more value than home additions like adding a sunroom or a bathroom. Here at Incredible Builders in Algonquin our experts can put you on the right path to turning your backyard into something great and beautiful.
People add decks to their homes to enhance the aesthetic attributes of their backyards. Although decks can be enjoyed year round, yet you probably are going to see people hosting events more in the spring and summer. They can be used for family gatherings, cookouts, and just for entertainment purposes. A deck adds overall character to your backyard. At Incredible Builders in Algonquin we have experts that can help you by evaluating your property to see what types of designs will be the most suitable route for you. All of our decks are completely customized to your personal taste. Give Incredible Builders in Algonquin an opportunity to help you on your journey to having a beautiful deck in your backyard. Having a beautiful backyard is always great because it will make your home stand out from the rest in your neighborhood. We will without a doubt provide you with the best information that will work for your specific property. Incredible Builders at in Algonquin can have your deck built within a week's time.


text:
Tracey Wickham, née le  à Rosebud dans l'État de Victoria, est une ancienne nageuse australienne.

Carrière
Elle est sélectionnée pour les Jeux olympiques d'été de 1976. Deux ans plus tard, à l'âge de , elle remporte le doublé  -  nage libre lors des Jeux du Commonwealth de 1978. Elle y bat également le record du monde du  restera pendant neuf ans et son record du monde sur le  tiendra pendant quatre ans.

En 1980, l'Australie boycotte les Jeux olympiques d'été de 1980 qui ont lieu à Moscou. De nombreux athlètes australiens décident de boycotter les Jeux de façon personnels mais Wickham y renonce car elle souffre d'une fièvre au niveau des glandes.

Vie privée
Sa fille, Hannah meurt d'un Sarcome d'Ewing, une forme rare de cancer, à l'âge de dix-neuf ans le . Peu après sa mort, elle fonde la Hannah's Chance Foundation, qui vient en aide aux jeunes atteints de sarcomes en Australie.

Récompenses

 1978 : Membre de l'Ordre de l'Empire britannique
 1985 : Sport Australia Hall of Fame
 1992 : International Swimming Hall of Fame
 2000 : Médaille australienne des Sports
 2005 : Ordre d'Australie

Palmarès

Références

Liens externes

Nageuse australienne
Nageuse de nage libre
Championne du monde de natation
Membre de l'International Swimming Hall of Fame
Membre de l'ordre de l'Empire britannique
Membre de l'ordre d'Australie
Naissance en novembre 1962
Naissance dans l'État de Victoria

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


text:
("Mojo Jojo" is also a: user.)
(person) by negative creep Thu Aug 10 2000 at 1:09:13
The influence for Mojo Jojo's reiterative style of talking is Speed Racer and other dubbed Japanese cartoons and movies in which the characters have to be constantly speaking to be in sync with the lip movements. Mojo also seems to borrow from Monty Python to varying degrees of subtlety (``There can only be one Mojo Jojo, and the number of Mojo Jojos shall be one!'').
(person) by mr100percent Thu Jul 04 2002 at 8:17:54
Mojo Jojo's history is explained an episode of The Powerpuff girls and in the movie. It seems that he used to be a regular monkey named Jojo in Professor Utonium's lab, though he was sorta bad, he broke the beaker of Chemical X over the Professor's experiment, which gave Powerpuff Girls super powers as well as Jojo's own.
The Chemical X changed him, it made his brain so big that it grew out of his skull, and made him smart, but evil. I don't want to give away the movie, but like he always does, tries to take over the world, and rule as King. In the movie you see more of his motivation and his distrust for mankind, like Magneto in X-Men.
He changes his name from Jojo to Mojo Jojo and puts a cool cap/onepiece turban on to hide his brain, wears a blue cape and white gloves.
He's a mad monkey genius, and commands with a deep voice how all should Bow to Mojo Jojo! He growls, no, bellows this at the masses as he stands on the mayor's face as a demonstration of his power.
What makes him so funny is how he repeats himself. He'll repeat himself several times, all while talking very rapidly with a vague accent. He also refers to himself constantly in the third person "Stop laughing at me! I said no laughing! Because Mojo Jojo has said so!"
He's a repeating character on the show, and usually comes up with a new scheme now and then. He has actually led to the development of the Powerpuff Girls at least twice, by adding the Chemical X, and traveling back in time to destroy the professor, which inspired him to make the "perfect little Girls" (in episode "Get Back Jojo").
Powerpuff Girls Disco Stu Stupidest thing you've coded just to see if you could Speed Racer
Professor Utonium Samurai Pizza Cats Meet The Beat-Alls Department of Redundancy Department
bad mojo Bubbles Beat Matching Pinky and the Brain
monkey Blossom Red Ghost and His Super-apes Curses!
Infinite Monkeys 32 Reasons Andrew Deserves His Door Fox's U-Bet zombied stutter
The Matrix Mojo #everything Pappy Slappy
Universal Language
How to watch the stars from a secluded island
In Watermelon Sugar
the Komsomolets accident
Chipirones en su tinta
Let sleeping demons lie.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
Q: HTTP caching headers ignored when user refreshes page I'm tying to understand some odd browser behavior that I have noticed. I have a number of pages which (for the sake of experimentation) I serve up with headers which I think should cause the page to be cached:
Cache-Control:max-age=3600
Content-Length:66
Content-Type:text/html
Date:Thu, 06 Dec 2012 13:08:01 GMT
Expires:Fri, 07 Dec 2012 14:19:41 GMT
Server:Apache-Coyote/1.1

As expected, when I navigate to one of these pages via a link on one of the other pages then the browser serves the page straight out of its cache and there is no call to the server. However, when I reload one of these pages by pressing the browser Refresh button, the cache-related headers seem to be ignored and a request gets sent to the server.
I have seen this behavior on the latest versions of Chrome and Firefox and in IE9.
Does the HTTP standard mandate this 'special treatment' of requests initiated by a user refresh (and if so what is the purpose of the 'Hard Reload (Ctrl+Shitf+F5)' in Google Chrome), or is there some other explanation?

A: Normally when you request a page, the browser "should" send a HEAD request to the server asking for (only) the headers of the document you requested. If you only set above headers during a POST or GET request, it would explain why the browser will think of the document as expired and refetch it.
But, looking at it from another perspective, since the primary reason to use the refresh functionality would be to "refresh" the page, it would make sense that browsers don't serve a cached copy but do what you ask = get the latest version, because why else hit refresh?
I can confirm though that some browsers (for example chrome) will not update all resources (like linked .js files) during a refresh, but they will update the page you refreshed!

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
Frack Off is a grassroots direct action campaign aimed at stopping the extraction of unconventional resources in the UK, specifically concentrating on unconventional gas extraction.

History
Frack Off began with a campaign against the use of hydraulic fracturing, colloquially known as fracking for shale gas extraction with a banner drop from Blackpool Tower on 6 August 2011, which also launched the website www.frack-off.org.uk.

On 2 November 2011, the Frack Off activists stormed Cuadrilla Resources' drilling site at Banks in Lancashire at 5:30am and four activists scaled the drilling rig and dropped banners. The action was timed to coincide with an industry conference, the Shale Gas Environmental Summit, in London and the release of an independent report commissioned by Cuadrilla Resources which said that its fracking in Lancashire may have triggered two small earthquakes. Fracking later resumed, after changes to reduce the risk.

Frack Off jointly organised "Camp Frack" with Campaign against Climate Change in March 2012. The camp was a weekend event with anti-fracking activists from around the UK coming together with local people from around Lancashire where test drilling for fracking is most advanced in the UK. Camp Frack was attended by around 150 people and consisted of workshops around education, sustainable living, movement building and direct action. The Camp culminated in a march to the drilling site where Cuadrilla is currently drilling for shale gas.

Since then the campaign has broadened out to a campaign against coal bed methane and underground coal gasification too.

In summer 2013, the organization was involved in the Balcombe drilling protest near Balcombe in the Weald Basin in Sussex where Cuadrilla was engaged in oil exploration.

See also
 Anti-fracking movement
 Environmental direct action in the United Kingdom
 Environmental impact of hydraulic fracturing
 Extinction Rebellion
 Hydraulic fracturing in the United Kingdom

References

External links

Protests in the United Kingdom
Anti-fracking movement
Hydraulic fracturing in the United Kingdom
Direct action
Environmental protests in the United Kingdom


Calling Hospice of Southern Maine doesn't mean you're giving up, it means you're taking charge.
At Hospice of Southern Maine, our mission is to provide compassion, care and comfort through end of life for patients with life-limiting illnesses, and support for their families. Our comprehensive options for supportive care include services at The Gosnell Memorial Hospice House, the comfort of your home, or long-term care and assisted living facilities. Call us today, or learn whether Hospice is right for you and your family.


The first thing (which hopefully you noticed from the title) is that TidyMedia was incorporated as a Private Limited Company on Wednesday 29th August. This means a slight change of name (went for the punchy version of "Ltd" rather than the full-on "Limited") and I am now the sole director of an actual real-life company! How grown-up is that?!
On Friday the 17th of August (I think) two wonderful people I used to manage at Tesco tagged me in a recruiter's LinkedIn post. He was looking for somebody to do 8 weeks' freelance work for a client based in Burnley. What I hadn't appreciated at the time was that not only was the client based in Burnley, the role was, too. I found this out the following Monday.
After checking with my housemate and some friends that Doug, the office dog, could be looked after if I stayed away from home Monday-Friday for two months, I let Brad the recruiter know on the Tuesday that, actually, yes, I would like to be considered for the role. He submitted my CV to the client on the Wednesday, and by Thursday lunch time he was on the phone asking if I could get to Manchester for an interview at 09:30 the next morning!
So off I went that afternoon, stayed in a hotel overnight, and had one of the best interviews I've ever had in my life. You never know for sure how these things are going at the time, but it just felt like a very natural free-flowing conversation, and it was obvious that myself and the client were both on the same page. I left knowing that I'd definitely portrayed myself to the best of my ability... but there were still two people to be interviewed after me.
I went back home to South Wales feeling quietly confident, but then came that awful waiting period. You know, the time where even though you know you were the best you could've been and you left on a high, you convince yourself that somebody else may just have edged it because they have five years more experience, or they're younger, or x, or y, or maybe even z. Anybody who's ever been in this situation will know the unwritten rule that this kind of thing always happens over a bank holiday weekend.
I need not have worried. Tuesday rolled around, and fairly early, I got a call from Brad. The role was mine if I wanted it, and could I start on Thursday? Wait, what?! I'd submitted my CV on the Wednesday, travelled for an interview on the Friday, been offered the job on the Tuesday, and was due to start on the Thursday. I'd never experienced such a quick recruitment period, but of course, I accepted. And then came the curve-ball out of left field. Almost casually, as if an aside, Brad mentioned that he assumed I was already set up as a Private Limited Company. I was not. I was a sole trader.
Brad explained that the agency didn't work with sole traders and could only work with limited companies, but it wasn't a problem as he could put me in touch with a trusted partner Umbrella Company. Except that was a problem for me. Due to my redundancy in February, and a fairly relaxed starting pace for TidyMedia, it's unlikely that I'd reach the Tax Threshold for 2018-2019, so I'd worked out that I could afford all the travel and accommodation required for this job on that basis. However, registering with an umbrella company, they'd take PAYE deductions from each pay. Of course, I'd be able to claim that back with my tax return, but without having it in my account there and then, it wouldn't have been financially worthwhile for me to have accepted the role.
But I've never been a quitter, so I did what any reasonable person would do. After a brief flap, some frantic text conversations with good friends, and strong coffee with another good friend, I went online and applied to Companies House to set up TidyMedia Ltd.
I did a bit of research first which took longer than the actual application process. That part was no more than 30-45 minutes. That's how easy it is! By 10AM the very next morning (Wednesday), I had confirmation from Companies House that the process was completed, and TidyMedia Ltd existed. By noon, I was on the road, and at 9AM on the Thursday, I started work in Burnley... just 13 days after two friends casually tagged me in a social media post.
So there you have my frantic two weeks! Add into the mix that I also managed to secure a new client in that time (a very patient one who's been happy to allow me the time to get started here before on-boarding him), I have another couple of potential clients in the pipeline, and I've been accepted on to the NatWest Business Pre-Accelerator scheme, things are definitely looking up for TidyMedia Ltd!


text:
Daniel J. Laudicina
Dan is a partner in the firm's Maryland office. He provides regulatory compliance advice for a variety of consumer credit products, with a focus on Truth in Lending Act and Regulation Z, and credit card lending, retail charge programs, and other open-end credit offerings. Dan works with both large banks and regional lenders to ensure their programs and documentation, including credit card agreements, periodic statements and other consumer-facing documentation, complies with federal and state law. Dan also has extensive experience in developing closed-end loan and installment sale programs, and works with national forms providers, state and nationally-chartered depository institutions, and licensed entities on all aspects of regulatory compliance related to these programs.
Prior to joining Hudson Cook, Dan was an associate with Franklin & Prokopik, P.C. in Baltimore, Maryland.
Dan is a member of the American Bar Association, Section of Business Law, Consumer Financial Services Committee and the Maryland State Bar Association.
Dan received his law degree in 2000 from the University of Maryland School of Law. He was a member of Phi Delta Phi International Legal Honors Fraternity. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in both Political Science and Justice Studies from Frostburg State University where he was a Merit Scholarship Recipient.
Member, ABA Section of Business Law Consumer Financial Services Committee
University of Maryland School of Law, J.D., 2000
Phi Delta Phi International Legal Honors Fraternity
Frostburg State University, B.S. in Political Science, 1994; B.S. in Justice Studies, 1994
Merit Scholarship Recipient, 1990 - 1994


text:
BLOG Rachel Carney
NWR Issue 112
The Cardiff Book Festival
The Cardiff Book Festival took place at venues across Cardiff from 28 to 30 October, and was host to a wide array of publishers, writers and literary stars.
Just four months ago a small number of us attended the launch for the first ever Cardiff Book Festival. We gathered on the top floor of Cardiff's magnificent Central Library, to hear about a weekend that would not only celebrate the literature of Wales, but also bring writers from further afield to participate in debate, discussion and dialogue. Looking back over the last three days, it is clear that the festival achieved its aim. Audiences have been entertained, challenged and inspired with a varied programme of events, including workshops, political debates and children's activities, as well as interviews with writers of almost every genre.
From Cardiff Contemporary and Artes Mundi, to Made in Roath and the Sŵn Festival, Cardiff is already brim full of cultural events, and many of its residents regularly venture to nearby Hay-on-Wye. This, perhaps, goes some way towards explaining why the city has never hosted a book festival of its own before. The organisers did well to produce a festival which was both stimulating and comprehensive in its scope.
A range of publishers, forms, genres and subjects were represented, with events aimed at people of all ages. There was a strong emphasis on Welsh writing, with a small number of writers who had no clear connection to Wales. But, as the capital city of a country with a strong literary tradition, it surely makes sense that Cardiff's Book Festival should be the place to showcase the best of Welsh writing. That doesn't mean, as pointed out by Tom Bullough and Cynan Jones, that Welsh writing must always be about Wales. Cynan argued that the struggle for a definition of Welshness in literature can be distracting, and that people really just want good books to read. Both writers described their desire not to be seen simply as a Welsh writer, emphasising that what they write is designed to have universal appeal.
As with all good literature festivals, this one allowed its audiences to discover the trials and tribulations involved in the writing process. Owen Sheers described his most recent book, I Saw A Man, as an attempt "to write an intimate novel about a globalised world", and revealed that during the seven years it took to write, he re-wrote the first 10,000 words three times.
It is always interesting, at literary events, to find out how the stories began. Dan Tyte's debut novel, Half Plus Seven, was inspired by meeting a psychic in New York, whilst Holly Müller wanted to explore her own family's experience in Nazi-occupied Austria. Jonathan Edwards described the need to just write a poem, no matter what it's about, whilst Caroline Smith took her initial stimulus from people she'd met through her work at an immigration surgery, allowing ideas and thoughts to germinate over time.
There was plenty of humour, too. Deborah Moggach entertained us with the story of her forthcoming film, an adaptation of the novel Tulip Fever, which has been twenty years in the making. Ron, her milkman, once caused a stir in the local media. Moggach had made a throw-away comment about a cameo role for him, and he had contacted the press. Later, filming had been set to go ahead, when Gordon Brown announced a change in tax law, so that everything was forced to stop. The new film will now be released in February.
Actress and Agatha Christie-fanatic Kimberley Nixon interviewed Sophie Hannah, who regaled us with tales of her Twitter distractions, unusual breakfasts and inability to stick to a writing routine. She did point out that Twitter provides a useful platform for "observing humanity at its most dysfunctional".
The Cardiff Book Festival of 2016 has been a resounding success, providing a platform for discussion and a celebration of literature in all its forms. The organisers deserve a well-earned break, but I am sure that literature lovers across the city will already be looking forward to the Cardiff Book Festival of 2017.
Rachel Carney is a book blogger at www.createdtoread.com
previous blog: Imaginary Worlds, Oriel Davies Gallery
next blog: New Poetry and Fiction at Chapter


Every prostate cancer is unique. Every treatment plan should be too.
The Leon Hess Cancer Center at Monmouth Medical Center continues to break barriers in cancer care. We take pride providing individualized care to each patient, taking into consideration the stage of cancer, age and overall health.
If after reviewing this guide you have additional questions, the Leon Hess Cancer Center's oncology patient navigators can help. Please call the Leon Hess Cancer Center at 732.923.6575.


stable at vger.kernel.org because it is a problem added in stable).
and 3.8.2 are broken for you.  Sometimes, people already have a fix.
problem, other times it makes you doubt if your bisect was accurate.
:-(  [ been there, had all three variants on different bugs ].
and anyone who committed it to a subsystem tree.
about whatever you uncover and for general help on 'git bisect'.


Electricity and Enlightenment go together like Benjamin Franklin and 100-dollar bills.
In the very early 1700s Francis Hauksbee put together a glass globe and a crank to make an electrostatic machine. But there was no way of storing the charge produced by the friction of cloth or leather on the spinning glass—that is, until around 1745, when Jurgen von Kleist in Pomerania and Pieter van Musschenbroek in Leyden created what became known as the Leyden jar.
At its simplest the Leyden jar is a glass bottle that is partly filled with water with a wire running into it (later jars had metal foil wrapped around the inside and outside of the glass and no water). Musschenbroek recorded what happened when he first touched the wire after charging the jar: "Suddenly I received in my right hand a shock of such violence that my whole body was shaken as by a lightning stroke. . . . I believed that I was done for." Musschenbroek proceeded to give detailed instructions on how to build his jar, and in an era of rampant self-experimentation the curious in both Europe and America were quick to give themselves nosebleeds, dizzy spells, and what to some felt like heart attacks during their investigations.
Leyden jar battery, ca. early 1900s.
The Leyden jar was used to great effect in serious science and in popular entertainment. Benjamin Franklin used one in his famous kite experiment to show that lightning was ordinary electricity. To entertain a king, Jean-Antoine Nollet made 180 French soldiers jump into the air as electricity from his Leyden jars coursed through them. Jars could also be linked up, allowing more charge to be stored. Franklin called these linked jars a battery, but unlike a real battery Leyden jars released all their energy in a single burst.
In the 1790s, at the tail end of the Enlightenment, an argument about electricity between two Italian scientists—Luigi Galvani and Alessandro Volta—led to Volta building the very first battery. For the first time electricity could be put to continuous work.
Despite their eclipse, Leyden jars did not end up on history's junk heap. At the very end of the 19th century they found a new use in wireless communications and—in miniaturized form—are hard at work today under a new name, the capacitor.
CHF recently bought a set of six Leyden jars in Paris, dated to about 1900. These linked jars were most likely used for demonstration purposes.
is editor in chief of Distillations magazine.
Michal Meyer reviews Galileo Goes to Jail and Other Myths about Science and Religion, edited by Ronald L. Numbers.
Did alchemists disappear from history, or did they just change their coats?
Who's responsible for regulating beauty products that lead to less-than-beautiful results?
In 1905, in France, chemist Jacques Brandenberger spilled wine on a tablecloth and wished for a material that could be wiped clean with a wet cloth.
Candy stores in the 19th century sold sweets as deadly as they were delicious.
Henry Stubbe's biting critiques of the Royal Society, originally appended together but separated over time, were happily reunited by CHF 338 years after publication.


text:
A county-by-county look at how to make a coronavirus vaccine appointment
Anne Arundel releases details on how people over 75 can sign up for coronavirus vaccines
George Arlotto: Anne Arundel Schools continue to adapt to coronavirus changes | COMMENTARY
Jeff Holland: Hike on Greenbury Point comes with amazing views and the Eiffel towers of Annapolis
What's open, what's closed on Martin Luther King Day
Annapolis business community around State House prepares for possible protests ahead of Biden Inauguration
American Magic capsizes, almost sinks during Prada Cup Challenger Selection Series
Letters: AAMC has wrong vaccine priorities; More from readers | READER COMMENTARY
Non-profit bicycle advocacy group BikeAAA unveils a vision of connected Anne Arundel, Annapolis trails
Calm, cautious Sunday passes in Annapolis with no protests
Many Marylanders are behind on their utility bills. That could also put them at risk for scams.
By Alison Knezevich
In one ruse, a robocaller asks utility customers to press 1 to hear about their bill. Then, a live person demands payment or personal information.
In another common scam, the caller threatens to shut off someone's power if they don't consent to installing a new meter — then demands they pay using Cashapp or a Green Dot card, which can be used for immediate fund transfers.
Utility-related scams are nothing new. But now that Maryland's moratorium on service terminations has ended, utility companies, consumer advocates and the state's Public Service Commission are issuing fresh warnings to be on the lookout.
"We may see additional upticks in scammers trying to take advantage of financial distress," said Paula Carmody, head of the Maryland Office of People's Counsel, which represents residential utility customers. "There is a significant increase in the number of people who have fallen behind on their bills, and they are now subject to service shut-offs."
Already, Baltimore Gas and Electric Co. customers have reported a huge increase in scam attempts in recent months compared with this time last year.
For instance, BGE customers reported 2,057 scam attempts in September, compared with 294 last September.
In October, they reported 1,952 attempts to the company, compared with 106 last October.
Most of these attempts are not successful. Even so, BGE customers have reported losing $170,000 to scams so far this year.
A statewide moratorium on shut-offs was issued in March in response to the coronavirus pandemic. Starting Nov. 15, utilities were allowed to resume service terminations.
During the pandemic, Maryland customers have racked up utility debt now totaling hundreds of millions of dollars.
BGE has been "proactively" working to arrange payment plans with customers who have fallen behind on their bills, said Chimaobi Chijioke, the company's director of customer care.
"We do anticipate there is going to be an increase in scammers trying to also reach out to them," he said.
Most scams are by phone, though they can also come as emails, texts or someone knocking on your door.
Chijioke urged customers to be aware of common warning signs.
"We would never ask for immediate payment or personal information," like a driver's license number, Chijioke said. "So that's always a red flag."
Scammers are able to use "caller ID spoofing" to make it appear they are really calling from BGE, he added.
"With technology you can pretty much do anything," Chijioke said.
Anytime a customer is suspicious, they should contact their utility immediately, officials said.
Utility companies across the country have worked in recent years to increase awareness of scams.
Last fall, BGE launched "a strategic public awareness campaign" and saw a 50% drop between October 2019 and February 2020 in the reports of scams and how much money customers had lost, spokeswoman Tasha Jamerson said.
But at the end of March, the company saw a substantial increase in those numbers, she said.
Utility scams are part of a category of cons known as "impostor scams" — when someone pretends to be someone else — that are generally on the rise during the pandemic, said Angie Barnett, president and CEO of the Better Business Bureau of Greater Maryland. For instance, the BBB had increased reports this year of scammers posing as the IRS.
"Scammers know how to prey on the weakest moments and the most vulnerable citizens," she said.
Individuals aren't the only ones utility scammers go after — they also target small businesses, she said.
Republican councilman makes third attempt to strip county executive of COVID-19 emergency powers
Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan, first lady, lieutenant governor set to receive coronavirus vaccine Monday
"They create a sense of urgency and threat," Barnett said. "People respond emotionally."
FBI vetting 25,000 National Guard troops in DC
A few protesters gather at some statehouses as states, US Capitol prepare for possible violence this week


Last night Guido joined the gaggle of Tory MPs celebrating the 90th anniversary party of the 1922 Committee. What better way to mark the occasion than having a 1923 Austin 20 parked in the middle of the room, paying homage to the year of the first meeting. Guido was driven from the party in the back seat. Even the awkward squad could raise a smile at Dave's line of the night: "I told Samantha I was going to see the '22. She said, it could be worse, they could be coming to see you". He subtly called for unity around the "cause of conservatism".


This year's TV retreat in Idyllwild was an incredible experience. It was an honor to meet such a gifted, devoted group of writers and mentors. The writers showed incredible bravery and pitched some amazing shows, and the mentors were creative, thoughtful, and shared invaluable insights into the business and creative sides of TV writing.


text:
Q: Importing multi-valued field into Solr from mySQL using Solr Data Import Handler We have the following two tables in our mySQL:
mysql> describe comment;
+--------------+--------------+------+-----+---------+-------+
| Field        | Type         | Null | Key | Default | Extra |
+--------------+--------------+------+-----+---------+-------+
| id           | int(11)      | YES  |     | NULL    |       |
| blogpost_id  | int(11)      | YES  |     | NULL    |       |
| comment_text | varchar(256) | YES  |     | NULL    |       |
+--------------+--------------+------+-----+---------+-------+

mysql> describe comment_tags;
+------------+-------------+------+-----+---------+-------+
| Field      | Type        | Null | Key | Default | Extra |
+------------+-------------+------+-----+---------+-------+
| comment_id | int(11)     | YES  |     | NULL    |       |
| tag        | varchar(80) | YES  |     | NULL    |       |
+------------+-------------+------+-----+---------+-------+

Where each comment can have multiple tags. We can import the entire comment into Solr using the Data Import Handler. However I am not sure how to import the tags for each comment into a multivalued field defined the schema.xml for each comment document.
Please advise. Thanks

A: Try something like this:
<dataConfig>
    <!-- dataSource is just an example. Included just for completeness. -->
    <dataSource batchSize="500" type="JdbcDataSource" driver="com.mysql.jdbc.Driver" url="jdbc:mysql://localhost/my-database" user="root" password="somethinglong1283"/>
<document>
    <entity name="comment" pk="id" query="SELECT * FROM comment">
        <field column="blogpost_id" name="blogpost_id"/>
        <field column="comment_text" name="comment_text" />
        <entity name="comment_tags" pk="comment_id" query="SELECT * FROM comment_tags WHERE comment_id='${comment.id}'">
            <field column="tag" name="tag" />
        </entity>
    </entity>
</document>

A: If other solution not work then try this one.
<dataConfig>
<!-- dataSource is just an example. Included just for completeness. -->
 <dataSource type="JdbcDataSource" driver="com.mysql.jdbc.Driver" url="jdbc:mysql://localhost/db" user="root" password="root"/>
   <document>
     <entity name="comment" pk="id" query="SELECT *, group_concat(tags) as tag FROM comment" transformer="RegexTransformer">
      <field column="blogpost_id" name="blogpost_id"/>
      <field column="comment_text" name="comment_text" />
      <field column="tag" splitBy="," sourceColName="tag"/>
    </entity>
  </document>
</dataConfig>

Add field in schema.xml
<field name="tag" type="string" indexed="true" stored="true" multiValued="true"/>

If you want to use custom separator in mysql then use below one.
GROUP_CONCAT(tags SEPARATOR '~,~') AS tags

If you want to DISTINCT in concat tag then
GROUP_CONCAT(DISTINCT tags SEPARATOR '~,~') AS tags

A: You can also use GROUP_CONCAT with a Seperator(e.g " , ") and then try something like this :
<dataConfig>
<!-- dataSource is just an example. Included just for completeness. -->
 <dataSource type="JdbcDataSource" driver="com.mysql.jdbc.Driver" url="jdbc:mysql://localhost/db" user="root" password="root"/>
   <document>
     <entity name="comment" pk="id" query="SELECT *, group_concat(tags) as comment_tags FROM comment" transformer="RegexTransformer">
      <field column="blogpost_id" name="blogpost_id"/>
      <field column="comment_text" name="comment_text" />
      <field column="tag" name="comment_tags" splitBy = "," />
    </entity>
  </document>
</dataConfig>

It'll increase the Performance and also will remove the Dependency of another query.


To celebrate the San Jose Sharks history properly, the duty of choosing the Sharks 25th Anniversary Team was handed to the fans. Over the course of several months, fans voted via twitter and online entry forms to determine the team that consists of six forwards, four defensemen and two goaltenders.
The Sharks certainly don't hold anything against former teammate John Scott for being elected by fans as the captain of the Pacific Division team for the All-Star Game that'll be held Jan. 31 in Nashville, Tennessee.
But if you're wishing to strictly see just the best players in the NHL compete in the 3-on-3 tournament between division teams, than maybe the voting process didn't work out quite the way some people had hoped.
Fan voting concluded Friday and Scott of the Arizona Coyotes was elected one of four captains, along with Washington's Alex Ovechkin (Metropolitan), Florida's Jaromir Jagr (Atlantic) and Chicago's Patrick Kane (Central).
Flyers coach Dave Hakstol was upset after Wednesday's game against the Sharks that Brent Burns wasn't penalized for a third period hit on Philadelphia forward Chris VandeVelde.
VandeVelde was along the boards battling for the puck with the Sharks' Joonas Donskoi when Burns arrived and delivered a hit with 7:08 left in the third period.
Burns appeared to catch both VandeVelde's head and midsection. VandeVelde fell backwards and may have had the back of his head hit the ice. The hit came with the game tied, no penalty was called, and Joe Pavelski scored with 6:15 left in the third to give the Sharks a 3-2 lead. Pavelski scored again with 49 seconds left as the Sharks won 4-2.
Sharks forward Logan Couture hasn't been ruled out for Wednesday's game against the Philadelphia Flyers.
Couture, out since the midway point of the Sharks' game Dec. 9 against the Edmonton Oilers, was a full participant in Tuesday's practice as he, Dainius Zubrus, Mike Brown and Chris Tierney all skated in yellow jerseys.
Sharks general manager Doug Wilson said Couture is getting closer, adding it'll be up to Couture and head athletic trainer Ray Tufts to decide when he's ready to return to an NHL game.
The Sharks are unsure if forward Raffi Torres will be healthy enough to rejoin the active roster once his suspension ends in less than three weeks.
Torres skated lightly and briefly at the team's practice facility Tuesday for the first time since he had a minor procedure performed on his surgically repaired right knee Dec. 11 to clean out some scar tissue.
Sharks coach Pete DeBoer said Torres returning Jan. 14 when his 41-game suspension ends is "probably a reach, but we're shooting to be close to that." The Sharks host the Edmonton Oilers on Jan. 14.
The Sharks host the Colorado Avalanche on Monday night to start a five-game homestand. As important as it's been to the Sharks to win the first game of a road trip, it's just as important for them to begin this stretch of games at SAP Center the right way.
The Sharks have the worst home record in the NHL at 4-9, and have lost their last three at SAP Center. They enter Monday's game tied for fourth in the Pacific Division with 36 points, one point back of both Arizona and Vancouver and four points up on seventh place Anaheim. Things would be much worse for the Sharks if not for a 13-6-2 record on the road.
Sharks to change in-game entertainment; new goal song, too?
The Sharks are making changes to their in-game entertainment and are evaluating a new goal song as a response to a recent satisfaction survey taken among their season ticket holders.
In an email sent out Tuesday to season ticket holders that took the survey, Flavil Hampsten, the executive vice president and chief sales and marketing officer for Sharks Sports & Entertainment, wrote that in-game changes will begin with games in January.
2015 regular season, Gary Glitter, Hockey, John Tortora, SAP Center, Sharks	Flavil Hampsten, Sixx:A.M.
The Sharks can get within six points of first place in the Pacific Division when they face the Los Angeles Kings on Tuesday at Staples Center.
More importantly to Pete DeBoer is closing out another long road trip on a positive note and having a good feeling about where the Sharks are at going into their four-day Christmas break.
Joel Ward is still dealing with an upper body injury and will not play Tuesday night when the Sharks face the Los Angeles Kings at Staples Center. But he and Sharks coach Pete DeBoer both feel fortunate that injury was not more severe.
Ward said Tuesday morning that he was feeling better but still stiff from the hit took from Mark Borowiecki in the last minute of Friday's game against the Ottawa Senators. Ward saw a physician in the Los Angeles area Monday and got relatively good news that all he needed was to rest.


1. What will I need at the start of my internship?
2. What's it like on the First Day?
The first day can be really nerve-racking, but what I tried to remember when I was there is that I was with 14 other people in the same position. You'll likely see some people there from your assessment day or from an ice-breaking event Grant Thornton may have arranged, so you'll be sure to see a friendly face. It's a nice introduction to the company and with the people you'll be seeing in the office over the next six weeks. Just try to speak to them all and remember to be yourself.
3. What are the people like?
You'll hear Grant Thornton brag a lot about how good their people are, but this isn't just them saying what you want to hear. Everyone has been in the position of knowing nothing before and because of that they're very understanding. They're also very friendly and will happily answer the questions you will inevitably have. Not once in my time so far have I not been greeted with a smile. I can guarantee the people will be one of your favourite parts of your six weeks.
4. Will I just be making the tea?
There's always a worry with internships that you won't actually get a feel for the job, and if you do it will only be shadowing. That is really not the case here. In my second of six weeks I was being put in charge of making documents for a huge client (under supervision of course). It was great (but also very scary) to see a document made by me being uploaded and signed off on the Audit system. You also get to do a range of tasks in your area and have the freedom to feel you're contributing.
5. Am I always going to be in the same office?
The simple answer is no. For my first week I was in Reading on the Monday, London on the Tuesday and Wednesday, Oxford on the Thursday and Southampton on the Friday. This is really nice as you get to see the very different offices, I can assure you London and Southampton are chalk and cheese! You also get to spend time on client sites as part of a team, which is a very different experience to the office. If that isn't enough, you also get to spend two days at a training site. You'll be able to try a range of meal deals all over the country!
6. How difficult is it to travel?
After the last bullet point this is probably your first thought. If you have a car and are confident in using it, then you'll be fine. If, like me, you don't have a car it is more difficult, as not all the offices and client sites are easily accessible by train. It can be done though, one of the guys I worked with has managed to get everywhere so far by using a mixture of train and bus. My personal preference however would be to try and car share with others. You inevitably feel bad for asking but it is a great solution. Not only does it make your travelling easier, being stuck in a car for an hour and a half with your fellow interns is a great way to get to know them better, something you'll appreciate in the office.
7. Will I always be doing the same thing?
the team, with almost every one being something new. By the end of my six weeks I'll have also spent days with the tax team, corporate finance team, marketing team, with clients on site and even at a training facility right out of Downton Abbey!
8. What advice would you give me?
The advice I would give from my own personal experience would be to not hold back during it. Ask as many questions as you can, say yes to as many things as you can, offer to do as much during the days as you can, speak to as many people as you can. You realise when you get here that six weeks is really not a long time, because of this it's important you find out as much as you can about the job and the company in that time, and you can't do that by being half-hearted.


When Sidney Crosby took a pass from Kris Letang late in overtime on Thursday night against the Washington Capitals and scored on a breakaway to give the Pittsbugh Penguins a 4-3 win, it might have been a play fraught with symbolism. The Caps spent the first two-thirds of the season running away from the pack in the NHL standings, but they have spent the last six weeks watching the Penguins slowly and methodically chipping away at their status as the league's favorite to take the Stanley Cup. The breakaway might have been a symbol of the Penguins breaking free of the Caps as the favorite to represent the Eastern Conference in the Stanley Cup final.
Then again, maybe it was just a game.
And what a strange game it was. For 37 minutes, the Caps sleepwalked through what should have been, for them, a game with which they could make a statement that they were still the class of the conference. It was Pittsburgh who scored the game's first three goals, all of them coming from unexpected sources.
Matt Cullen scored a pair, one coming in the first minute of the first period, the Caps getting caught facing a 3-on-2 rush. Tom Kuhnhackl led the rush and fed Cullen on the left side just as the Penguin trio reached the Capitals blue line. Cullen had an open lane to skate and shoot, and he did both effectively, snapping the puck past goalie Braden Holtby's blocker to make it 1-0 just 44 seconds into the game.
Cullen struck again in the first minute of the second period with the Caps on a power play. He led Eric Fehr on a 2-on-1 break into the Caps' end. As he closed on Holtby, he tried to slide the puck over to Fehr, but the puck struck the skate of defenseman Matt Niskanen and slid past Holtby to make it 2-0 just 28 seconds into the period.
When Conor Sheary made it 3-0 at the 9:03 mark on another rush after the Caps made a sloppy line change, it looked as if the only team making a statement was the Penguins, and it wasn't a pleasant one to the ears of Capitals Nation.
Then, the Caps discovered the charms of going to the net. Late in the second period Andre Burakovsky threw a shot at the Pittsburgh net that was blocked aside to the far wing. John Carlson collected the puck and fired a slap pass to the slot where Marcus Johansson was set up. Johansson redirected the puck past goalie Matt Murray, and the comeback started at the 17:19 mark of the period.
Washington inched closer mid-way through the third period when Johansson caught the Penguins standing around. Evgeny Kunetsov fended off Justin Schultz behind the Penguin net and passed the puck in front. Niskanen flagged it down and slid it over the Johansson cutting across the high slot. Johnasson took a stride and fired just before Fehr could reach out and poke the puck away, the puck sailing under the right arm of Murray to make it 3-2 at the 10:05 mark.
Less than three minutes later the game was tied on some fine stick work all around for the Caps. Kuznetsov settled a bouncing puck at the blue line before it could escape into the neutral zone, upon which he pivoted and fed it to Justin Williams, who wasted no time chipping it to John Carlson in the left wing circle. Carlson settled the puck and drew it back from a closing Ben Lovejoy and sent it to the far side of the Penguin net. Burakovsky moved the stick from his forehand to his backhand, reached out, and redirected the puck out of mid-air past Murray's left pad to make it 3-3.
That would be it for the scoring in regulation, and it looked as if the teams might need the freestyle portion of the evening to settle things, but the Penguins – and Crosby – ended that thinking with just 60 seconds left in the extra session, giving the Penguins the 4-3 win.
-- Marcus Johansson scored two goals in a game for the first time this season and for the first time he had a pair in a 6-2 win over the Maple Leafs in Toronto on January 7, 2015. He broke an 18-game streak without a goal and gave him five points in his last two games after a three-assist effort in the 4-3 overtime loss to the New York Islanders on Tuesday.
-- Andre Burakovsky also had a two-point game with a goal and an assist, breaking an eight-game streak without a point. It was his seventh multi-point game this season.
-- John Carlson had a pair of assists, giving him his first multi-point game since he had a goal and an assist in a 4-1 win over the Penguins on December 14th.
-- The Caps faced four power plays, the most they faced on home ice since they faced four in a 3-2 win over the Toronto Maple Leafs on March 2nd.
-- This was the rubber match in the season series between the team, the Penguins taking a 3-2 edge. The Penguins outscored the Caps, 16-13 in the series, but they were just 1-for-18 on power plays (5.6 percent), while the Caps were just 2-for-16 (12.5 percent). The shorthanded goal scored by the Pens in this game was the only one of the series this season.
-- Tom Wilson had a rough night. He was on ice for the game's first goal by Matt Cullen, he took a major penalty for boarding Nick Bonino, had no shot attempts, and he took just two shifts in the last 32 minutes of the game, eight in all for just 5:50 in ice time, his low for the season and his lowest ice time since he skated 4:14 on April 2, 2015 in a 5-4 Gimmick win over the Montreal Canadiens.
-- Matt Niskanen recorded his 27th assist of the season, matching his total last season in his first year in Washington.
-- Back to Johansson… he was on ice for all four Pittsburgh goals. It was the first time he finished as poorly as a minus-2 since he recorded such a plus-minus in a 3-2 overtime loss to the Calgary Flames last November 18th.
-- Braden Holtby is not going to be sad to see this 3-on-3 overtime thing end once the regular season ends. Among 25 goalies with at least 25 minutes played at 3-on-3 this season, Holtby ranks 23rd in save percentage (.792; numbers from war-on-ice.com).
-- The Caps, who came into this game as the substantially inferior possession team overall, acquitted themselves well in that regard, out attempting the Penguins, 39-35, at 5-on-5 and winning the scoring chances, 24-20 (numbers from war-on-ice.com).
If this game had been played in December, instead of it being Game 80 of the regular season, Caps fans might find solace in the comeback after a ghastly start to the game. But it is Game 80, and this could be a second round playoff matchup if both teams advance past the first round. The takeaway from this game, if you are a Caps fan, is that the game did not turn on the play of the Penguins. You cannot look at the raw possession numbers and conclude that the visitors took it to the Caps. It was how the Caps played that dictated the pace and momentum. They were awful early, especially prone to giving up odd-man rushes. They found a spark late in the second period, and it served to give them momentum through the third period. You could conclude that if the Caps play like they did in the first 35 minutes, their postseason will be short. If they play as they did in the last 25 minutes of regulation, theirs could be a deep playoff run. It's really up to them which way the road takes them.


The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) inspects cruise ships, in order to monitor outbreaks of gastrointestinal illnesses. At each inspection, the ship is given a 100 point scale. Anything below 85 is considered failing. Reports and scores are available to the public on the CDC website, be sure to inform yourself before booking your next cruise.
Sea Tow Foundations Is a website which focuses generally on issues concerning small or recreational boats, and includes a significant amount of information on small boat law and safety tips for boaters.
Boat Safe Is a website dedicated to informing you of all the boating laws, and maritime laws. A good one to peruse if you are a boater.
Slip/trip falls and other personal bodily injuries incurred onboard the ship.
Assault by other passengers or crew members.
If you have incurred injuries on a cruise ship, you do have important legal rights. Victims of cruise ship accidents may be entitled to damages for pain and suffering, medical bills, and lost wages.
All cruise ship lines have a responsibility to make sure that the ship is free of hazardous conditions and that they are free of unreasonable risk to their passengers. When an accident occurs because of staff members, inadequate safety equipment, inadequate emergency precautions, poorly trained employees, or poor ship maintenance, then the cruise ship owners can be held legally responsible for negligence.
Most cruise ship tickets contain a "choice of law" provision in the small print at the bottom. This provision tells you which state courts have jurisdiction over potential lawsuits arising from injuries on board the cruise ship.
While injuries are more obvious and easily identifiable, few allegations of sexual assault on a cruise ship ever make it to a court of law. This is because few cruise ships have trained police officers who are able to properly investigate a sexual assault case, which means that tangible evidence can be destroyed, impairing a fair investigation.
All recreational boats must carry one wearable lifejacket for each person aboard. Boats 16ft and longer (except canoes & kayaks) must also carry one throwable lifejacket.
Just Answer- Admiralty and Maritime If you have any questions that need a quick answer this website provides a 24 hour information service that you can turn to in case of a small emergency to which you need a legal answer to. There are experts on hand to answer your queries rapidly and help you with any problem at hand.


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Collector Communities & the Magnetism of Obsolete Media
Posted on January 17, 2016 January 18, 2016 by nemmcoalition
The rush. There's a rush you get when you're rifling through boxes and crates of VHS tapes hoping to stumble upon that rare gem you've been looking for since high school. These boxes seem to always have a similar scent, that faintly familiar smell of a basement closet or a relative's apartment (and that relative is always a heavy smoker.) The hunt is something I know all too well about. Since middle school I've obsessed over horror films and have spent (and continue to spend) hours researching, hunting for, and collecting movies on a variety of (mainly now obsolete) formats: laserdisc, betamax, VHS, and more recently DVD and blu-ray. (I also have some Video 8s tucked away.)
John Campopiano with part of his movie collection, 2015
In my seventeen years of collecting I've come to realize that certain movie genres have greater appeal than others with respect to those diehard collectors: horror, exploitation, sci-fi, action and kung, and the more vague drive-in style trash/cult genres typically from the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s.
Lynne and Steve Salvail, owners of the now defunct American Video (Seekonk, MA)
Like many others, I wax nostalgic about being a wide-eyed kid in our local rental store (American Video) browsing the horror aisles. (Certain VHS covers are permanently burned into my brain.) Indeed, it seems as though even within a relatively small subculture of collectors there exist distinct subgroups who favor or specialize in specific areas from genre to case style (clamshell vs. slipcase, for example).
Below are some favorite hard-to-find tapes from my VHS collection. (Top, left to right: NUKIE (1987); GANJASAURUS REX (1987); WHEEZY! (asthmatic dragon video for kids, date unknown); THE BRAIN (1988, Greek version). Bottom, left to right: SLITHIS (1978, aka SPAWN OF THE SLITHIS); TREMORS (1990, screening tape with alt slipcase); TO CATCH A YETI (1995).
In her 2014 article for The A.V. Club,"Direct From Video: The Rise of the VHS Collector", Katie Rife talks about some of the quirky particulars we collectors often experience when she says,
These fetishists fall into two broadly defined camps: the nostalgists, who are looking to relive childhood memories, and the aesthetes, who are drawn to the roughhewn beauty of low-budget horror. Both, like any group of collectors, err on the completist side—collecting every title from long- defunct distributors like Unicorn Video and Midnight Video is a common goal—and live to unearth hard-to-find or undiscovered videos that will make fellow hobbyists seethe with jealousy.
But regardless of your collecting preference, one needs outlets and venues in which to share, trade, buy, sell, collect, and get educated. Today, with so many subculture communities meeting and exchanging information via the Internet, finding these kinds of opportunities to meet fellow collectors in the physical world has become rarer and rarer.
Thankfully, however, there are people like Joe Fay at the Lyric Hall theater in New Haven, CT, who recognize that there's not only a lingering interest in the VHS format but also a need for events and opportunities for collectors to come together to share knowledge and search for that long lost copy of something strange, or bizarre, or maybe even beautiful. So, when I learned about a VHS swap meet and screening event, Magnetic Fest, happening at the historic Lyric Hall theater (once home to regional vaudeville shows and variety acts) this past fall, I made sure I was there. After the event NEMMC caught up with Joe to talk tapes, Lyric Hall, and the increasingly fascinating world of VHS collecting.
Lyric Hall theater, New Haven, CT
NEMMC: How and when did the idea for Magnetic Fest originate?
Joe Fay: As soon as I started programming for Lyric Hall in October 2014, I wanted to host a VHS swap at the theater. It's a grand old dame of a place, really a one-of-a-kind setting for watching movies, music, theater, dance, and other creative arts. But I really thought that a VHS swap and screening day would work well in the theater, to mix some old with some older, in terms of the age of the theater compared to the age of the VHS format. Somehow it made sense, to roll in what is essentially a dead format to many people, and give it new life at a place that has survived for over a century. I had attended VHS swaps in Texas, where I lived for most of my life.
SEVERED event flyer
Then, last year, a friend and I drove to Pennsylvania to attend SEVERED, pretty much the premier VHS swap in the country. I think it was about two weeks after SEVERED that we had MAGNETIC FEST on the schedule.
NEMMC: There were some special events scheduled throughout the Fest. Can you tell us about whom you asked to curate these events and why they were asked?
JF: We had three screenings during the festival: RUN COYOTE RUN (1987), NIGHT TRAIN TO TERROR (1985), and FRANKENSTEIN (I SWEAR ON MY MOTHER'S EYES) (1983). As it turns out, all three came about as the result of friendly relationships I had built with each of the releasing companies. The first movie, RUN COYOTE RUN, was distributed by Bleeding Skull Video (distributed by Mondo) in Austin, Texas, and I'm friends with one of the two guys who runs Bleeding Skull.
Night Train to Terror poster art
Coyote Run, VHS
Artwork for Frankenstein (I Swear On My Mother's Eyes)
NIGHT TRAIN TO TERROR was distributed by Vinegar Syndrome, based in nearby Bridgeport, Connecticut. I had met some of the fine folks who run Vinegar Syndrome at Connecticut HorrorFest, then worked with them at Lyric Hall on some screenings, including the amazing RAW FORCE (1982)!
They've been amazing partners, and hopefully we'll continue to see the partnership between Vinegar Syndrome and Lyric Hall blossom. The third film was released through LUNCHMEAT Magazine, whose owner, Josh Schafer is just the best we have going in the world of VHS. Josh is one of a handful of people who truly lives the life of VHS, and he's a wonderful champion of the format. When I was trying to fill out the screening schedule for Magnetic Fest, I needed a third screening. I actually announced the festival without a third screening. I billed it as "COMING SOON" or something like that, and was confident that I would find somebody to screen something in the meantime.
No more than fifteen minutes after I posted the initial rundown of Magnetic Fest, Josh contacted me to see if I wanted to run a movie as a SECRET SCREENING because the movie was about to be released on VHS as a surprise offering, and it was too early to announce the title of the movie. I jumped at the chance to show the movie, and of course did so sight-unseen. If it was good enough for Lunchmeat, it was good enough for me. We were able to tell people a day or two before the festival, and it turns out that the movie, FRANKENSTEIN (I SWEAR ON MY MOTHER'S EYES) had its world theatrical premiere at Magnetic Fest in little ole New Haven. Subsequently, the movie was released on VHS by Lunchmeat.
NEMMC: How did you solicit vendor involvement for Magnetic Fest? Who were some of the vendors that participated?
JF: Vendor involvement was all solicited through the Lyric Hall website and social media, specifically Facebook and Twitter. I personally emailed several prominent VHS collectors in the New York area, but not one of them was able to come. The lion's share of vendors were local, which pleased me to no end.
VHS for sale at Magnetic Fest 2015 at Lyric Hall in New Haven, CT
We had one vendor from Massachusetts and a late entry from Long Island, but the rest of the vendors, including me, were from the New Haven area. Interestingly, one of the vendors from the New Haven area just happened to come to one of our weekly exploitation movie screenings, and saw the poster for the event in our lobby. Turns out she worked for CBS Fox video in the '80s, and she brought original production pieces and other marketing materials from RAISING ARIZONA.
NEMMC: What (if any) sort of feedback did you receive about the Fest?
JF: I've heard nothing but positive reviews about the event. If we do it again, I will tweak the amount of time we keep the vendor's room open, because I think seven hours was too long. Also, we're toying with the idea of opening the vendor's room for free, and charging for the screenings. But, we'll play around with it if we decide to do it again. I'm assured that everybody who came had something good to say about the affair, so keep an eye on the Lyric Hall calendar.
Magnetic Fest 2015 (Courtesy of NEMMC)
NEMMC: Lyric Hall is clearly a historic space and therefore a fitting venue for those interested in VHS and obsolete media to congregate. In the past it served as a vaudeville outlet and silent movie auditorium for those in the New Haven, CT area. Can you tell us about the history of Lyric Hall and how you became involved with it?
JF: Lyric Hall opened as a silent movie theater in 1913, and later served the vaudeville crowds until, I think, the '30s. At some point, the theater fell into disrepair, then served as an antiques shop for awhile before John Cavaliere bought it about eleven years ago now. John has lovingly restored the Hall to its present glory, and continues to tweak its look and feel.
Lyric Hall, exterior (Courtesy of the Lyric Hall website)
Lyric Hall, interior (Courtesy of Chion Wolf)
My involvement with Lyric Hall started with THE GRAND BUDAPEST HOTEL in August 2014. I had just moved to New Haven from Texas, and was looking for a movie theater to get involved with, to do some, any kind of programming. I saw a listing for a screening of THE GRAND BUDAPEST HOTEL that I had just missed that previous weekend at the Hall. I called up and talked to John, explaining that I wanted to schedule and host movie screenings, something that I had done in my backyard in Texas, and always wanted to do in a more formal way. From the start, we were a match made in heaven. He pretty much left me free to schedule whatever I wanted. We did a month of Vincent Price movies
Death Collector (1988) poster art
Death Collector screening event ad (Courtesy of Lyric Hall website)
around Halloween, a month of rock musicals of the '70s, a special screening of the New Haven movie DEATH COLLECTOR with the director, Tom Garrett, LIVE in person, and a bunch of other cool movies. Magnetic Fest was a logical extension of the movie programming, and fit alongside it just perfectly.
NEMMC: There seems to be a small yet passionate subculture of VHS enthusiasts who live and breathe collecting and trading. In your opinion, why do you think interest in the format has persisted well after its heyday?
JF: It's one part nostalgia, one part preservation, one part community, and two parts fun. Nostalgia: most people who collect VHS want to remember the thrill of the video store. Preservation: there are hundreds, even thousands of movies on VHS that have not graduated to later formats, so it is absolutely vital that we have collectors out there sourcing and preserving these movies. Community: serious genre movie nerds feel very comfortable with their own kind. It's just like any other subculture, where people find meaning, identification, and self-worth in knowing that there are like-minded people out there pursuing the same "dead" technology that they love.
I don't think this current trend for VHS will last long. In fact, it's already on the decline, if you ask me. What will be left is what is always left after a trend goes away: the truly serious collectors. And thank God for them.
NEMMC: Jumping off the last question, what do you think are the primary drivers for VHS collectors? It's certainly not for the superior visual quality!
JF: See above for most of the answer here, but the question of quality is a good one. I don't understand people who, given the choice between a high definition, widescreen version of ALIEN or the pan-and-scan VHS of ALIEN will pop in the VHS of ALIEN. I don't get that. Have you SEEN the blu-ray of ALIEN!? It's AMAZING! To watch ALIEN on VHS today seems to me to be nostalgia just for nostalgia's sake, and that doesn't interest me. In the recent Noah Baumbach movie, WHILE WE'RE YOUNG, there's a scene where a Brooklyn hipster played by Adam Driver pops in a tape of THE HOWLING. This character is really into vinyl, VHS, and other retro stuff, and so naturally he enjoys THE HOWLING on VHS. But why? Shout Factory just released an amazing blu-ray of THE HOWLING, and it's GORGEOUS! Yet, this chump still finds value in watching this great movie on VHS. To each his own, I guess, but that's not for me. Give me the better picture quality and sound, and leave nostalgia at the door for movies like ALIEN and THE HOWLING.
Now, I would think differently about watching something like NIGHT VISION (1987) on VHS. The movie itself was SHOT ON VIDEO, so it's natural to watch it on its original format. As my friend Zack Carlson is fond of saying, "Why would you want to watch a movie shot on a camcorder, on blu-ray?" And he's absolutely right.
There is also one other issue to me that helps me forgive people watching sweeping epics on VHS, and that concerns access to and availability of titles on home video. Many, many people have built large collections of movies on VHS $1 at a time by shopping at Goodwill and other thrift stores where VHS is cheap. You can certainly amass movies much faster this way than buying blu-rays at $20 or $25 each. And that is certainly understandable as a way to enjoy movies on home video. You just have to stop caring about presentation, which isn't such a big deal to most people, sadly.
NEMMC: Are you a VHS collector yourself or do you merely admire from a distance?
JF: Yes, I am certainly a collector of a sort.I've always had some sort of video collection, going back to my dad buying two VCRs and dubbing movies in the '80s. Just because ofmy age, I started collecting movies mainly when DVD hit, so most of my collection is composed of DVD.
I was one of those format snobs who left VHS behind for the greener pastures and correct aspect ratios of DVD. I wish I had tempered that transition more. At the present time, my focus on VHS collecting lies in two main areas: shot-on-video movies and movies not available in any other format. In that direction lies salvation.
Also, this:
Posted in Inner ViewsTagged Collections, Collectors, Connecticut, Lunchmeat, MagneticFest, Media, Movies, nostalgia, ObsoleteMedia, Tapeheads, VHS
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Reading, PA: Fantasy Press, 1948. Cloth in unclipped dust jacket. First edition in first-state binding. Original Fantasy Press order form is tipped in. Williamson expanded his classic 1940 novella in Street & Smith's Unknown for this Fantasy Press edition. The memorable story presents a logical foundation for lycanthropy and witchcraft. The jacket painting is by A. J. Donnell, interior illustrations are by the great Edd Cartier. A wonderful hardcover edition of a landmark example of pulp fiction. Condition: Fine in About Fine jacket with its only defect being very minor dust soiling to the rear panel.