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Category: Reviews
The Misandrists: It's… interesting…
Filed Under: Movies, Reviews by Erik Hentell — Comments Off on The Misandrists: It's… interesting…
The Misandrists by director Bruce LaBruce is… interesting. I've been mulling it over in my head for a few days now and I think in a way it needs to be taken more as an experience than a traditional story-driven film. By virtue of its director alone it is a transgressive film and an almost conceptual one. The closest analogy that comes to mind is Gaspar Noe's Enter the Void, which was about the death dream of a dying drug dealer. Both films are intense, visual, helmed by extremely creative outside-the-box artists and films I have no intention of ever seeing again. This is not so much because I don't think highly of the films. Rather it is because now that I've seen each once, I just don't need to do it again. I think for those, like myself, who are raised on a relatively mainstream diet of cinema, watching these kinds of films is a good exercise. It is a way to view the world of cinematic storytelling through a new lens and be exposed to new ideas. A nice place to visit, but perhaps you don't want to live there.
What follows in this article is a breakdown of things I noticed as I was watching the film, supplemented a bit by an after-film interview by the director himself. Because I came to the theater expecting a more traditional work, I kept trying to figure out how everything fit together. If the film is understood as a more abstract work, however, perhaps the traditional complaints will fall away. It will still be an intense experience, but there might be fewer questions about what is going on.
Dancing Nun
My issues really revolve around choices in scenes that appear during the film. These choices, for me, amounted to a lot of unnecessary misdirection. This might be partially my fault as I tried to understand where the film was going. As I mentioned before, a better strategy might have been to just absorb the film and mull the overall meaning later. That said, the first scene to take note of was the "Dancing Nun" scene. This was a moment when a nun, whose face isn't seen, walks very purposefully and slowly before looking around and then breaking into dance. This happens for a moment, then the nun returns to walking purposefully and slowly again.
A couple things to note here. First of all, it's established earlier in the film that the nun outfits are mostly just ruses. Unless there's someone in authority nearby, the outfits are never worn. Secondly, there's no real connection in this scene to the rest of the film. It's just a strange non-sequiter. Perhaps it could be taken as a symbolic moment (perhaps some idea of being reserved and disciplined, but being unable to prevent loosening up once in a while.) Even if that were true, however, there seems to be no immediate connection to the rest of the film. As mentioned earlier, the very idea of wearing a nun's outfit on a regular basis seems odd given that it was clearly initially worn by characters in the film as disguise.
Secret Nun
The next issue revolves around a cameo by the director himself. In one scene, a nun's face appears and looks out into a courtyard where an event is taking place. That "nun" is the director in a nun's outfit. The pupose of this moment made sense in the interview after the film, but it completely misled me prior to that point. In the interview after the film, Bruce LaBruce mentioned that he liked to make the audience part of the film. This "secret nun" moment was part of that. Essentially, the camera watches the nun look out the window and then cuts to view the courtyard from the nun's perspective. The problem here is that, without the benefit of the after-film interview, it appears as if the secret nun is an actual character. I certainly took it that way. Until the interview, I really kept trying to figure out who this nun character was. I kept expecting to find out that this secret character was in fact controlling the events of the film while hidden way. Watching the film in this context made me feel there was a real unresolved storyline.
Big Mother
Speaking about unresolved, I feel there were some issues surrounding the character of Big Mother that were not properly laid to rest. In particular, there were a number of cues that seemed to me to indicate that Big Mother was heading towards failure. The first indication is very early in the film when one of the girls, Isolde, openly voices opposition to Big Mother's policies. Doing this so early in the film sets the tone for a tale of authority versus resistance. This thread continues on with a discussion of rules about smoking. This is forbidden by Big Mother in the film, but everyone, including Big Mother herself breaks the rules casually. Thus Big Mother's authority is false, even to herself.
To be honest, the whole environment Big Mother has set up feels cultish and artificial. The girls are regularly told stories that revolve around mythology and could easily have been made up. The exercise regimen includes pseudo-militarized chanting. Educational material is delivered with such heavy modification that it is reduced to propaganda. In a replay of the false authority issues mentioned earlier, the girls are shown as not even listening to the teacher. In the meantime Big Mother is extolling the virtues of prostitution as she prepares to enact a plan to create a pornographic film. One she admits needs to be done for money while declaring that it will also be her group's manifesto.
The Ending
The above issues seem to mean the film is headed to an ending of disappointment for Big Mother. In reality, the plan ends in complete victory. Big Mother makes her film resulting, among other thigs, an ending scene showing the audience of her film inspired into an orgy. This didn't make much sense to me from the standpoint of a logical plot, but the reasoning behind it was made clear in the after-film interview. The interviewer noted that Bruce LaBruce tends to end his films with orgies. LaBruce confirmed this and indicated that he likes to end films on a positive note, which for him would be an orgy. This is fine, but it is a significant break from all the cues being delivered throughout the film. This more than anything else brings the film into the world of magic reality. Essentially, it is a confirmation that the film is a conceptual exercise rather than a more conventional tale. Were I so inclined to see the film a second time (I really don't think I will be), I would try to view the film through that perspective.
None of the above should promote the idea that I think the film is bad. It's certainly the product of strong creative vision. I also think it was worthwhile to see the film if for no other reason than to step outside my regular diet of cinema. It's important to be exposed to new and alternative ideas once in a while. For purveyors of mainstream films, I would recommend taking The Misandrists as a magic reality film. I feel, after some thought on the subject, that it is more of a presentation of a particular idea or theme rather than any traditional narrative. Audiences, particularly mainstream audiences, should absorb the film as an experience and try to understand the events seen in a somewhat symbolic or non-literal manner.
Please be aware, however, that no matter how you approach the film, it will be an intense and, in some parts, deeply unsettling experience. If you've seen Bruce LaBruce films before, you know what to expect. If you haven't, well… good luck.
Tags: Activism, Arthouse, Bruce LaBruce, Feminism, Film, filmmaking, Indie, Satire, Story, The Misandrists, Transgressive
A Late Review of Black Panther
Filed Under: Comic Books, Marvel, Movies, Reviews by Erik Hentell — Comments Off on A Late Review of Black Panther
Black Panther has been out for weeks now, so all the worthwhile reviews have already been posted and read. I can't imagine I'm adding anything new to the mix, but I'm going to do it anyway, just because. In my defense, I was busy with a lot of stuff outside of movie-going. I do admit I was a bit worried going into the theatre about how I'd feel about the film. I had heard it was good, but the hype was building so fast I was worried I'd be let down. Sometimes I'll just skip watching a film based on hype. Either I'll have too high an expectation going in, or, as was the case with the Ghostbusters remake, the level of polarization on the film will be enough to drive me off. In the case of Black Panther, though, I was very pleasantly surprised. I really do think it's one of the best movies Marvel has put out.
Overall Impressions
The cinematography is beautiful. I never once got the impression I was viewing a green screen backdrop. The film was incredibly colorful and I felt like I really had stepped into a world that was simultaneously urban and rural, technological and traditional. It was clear a lot of careful thought had been put into the world of the film.
Set designs were likewise impressive. I especially liked Shuri's lab. One of the interesting things about portraying a technologically advanced lab is the use of a visually sterile set (as if tech mean medical-grade cleanliness). Another stereotypical portrayal is the messy lab with lots of tubes and pipes and gadgets lying around in a general mess. What was great about Shuri's lab was that it went with fashionable look. It was clear immediately that this was her domain because of all the painted walls. It was kind of hip and cool and artsy. Kind of like how a lot of Silicon Valley startups like to portray themselves. I liked this because it showed how the filmmakers didn't want to rely on convention, even in the smaller details.
The acting was top notch. There were some great talents brought to the film and it showed. Just one example is the relationship between T'Challa and Shuri. It's established as soon as Shuri appears onscreen and felt very authentic and unforced. I enjoyed watching them interact with each other and I feel it's a good representation of all the acting in the film. These were pros who knew how to pull the authenticity out of the text in the script.
This authenticity helped a great deal with events in the film. In the fight between T'Challa and his rival M'Baku, I logically knew it was too early for T'Challa to be dealt a serious blow. The film still had to establish his character. Despite this, however, I really found myself concerned about T'Challa's fate. It did feel like he was going to lose his kingdom to M'Baku. When he did not, I felt relief. Of course, when Killmonger challenged T'Challa, that earlier victory made it clear he was going to lose, which in turn set up anticipation in the rest of the film. In addition to this, I was really invested in the scene between Killmonger and his father. This was a scene that would be easy to cut out in other films, but is so critical to showing how Killmonger has lost his way and the failure of his father. Mostly what struck me was the quiet emotion. This could easily have been a scene-chewing moment, but the script, the director and the actors correctly went for a subdued interpretation that spoke to the emotional struggle of the moment.
Quibbles
As much as I liked the film overall, there were a few minor points that broke me out of the film. For one thing, the final fight sequence was relatively hard to be invested in. The primary culprit was the fact that I could tell very easily that I was watching a CGI battle. When W'kabi runs through his opponents in a giant rhino, I could see very clearly that this was a digital effect. The smoothness of motion, the speed, the blur to hide any artifacts, it was all very clear what was happening. In addition, the battle between T'Challa and Killmonger screamed CGI, especially as they fell down into the underground subway system. Again, it was all about the motion, the smoothness and the attempts to provide a cool shot. All this did was make me think "Huh, CGI" and wait for it to be over.
Speaking of the subway, I'd like to point out a small logical error. Earlier in the film, Shuri explains that sonic generators are used to weaken or neutralize vibranium. If that's true, then both T'Challa and Killmonger would have become permamently deaf. If the sonic generators are strong enough to visibly warp light around them (there were visible ripples whenever they turned on) the they were more than powerful enough to blow out eardrums. The fact that T'Chall and Killmonger were both enhanced by the heart-shaped herb is meaningless. At the end of the fight it's clear that either can be harmed by bladed weapons. It stands to reason that sensitive organs like eardrums would be just a susceptible to damage. So, basically, T'Challa should be deaf right about now. Thank movie magic for that one.
One final quibble. I really didn't believe that the CIA operative, Everett Ross, was in any trouble in the final battle. I just didn't believe that the enemy aircraft was going to shoot through the windows in time to stop him. That meant his decision to stay in the simulator to remote-fly his aircraft felt hollow. The whole moment really just felt forced. It might have been better to just let him fly the simulator without anything attacking him as he did so.
There were a variety of themes in this movie, all of them worthy of discussion. For the sake of time, however, I would like to point out one interesting theme of inherited guilt. Just prior to watching the film I had been reading up on articles analysing H.P. Lovecraft. These articles pointed out that one of the themes of Lovecraft's works is the concept of inherited guilt. That is, disaster coming to one through the sins of ancestors. This must have influenced how I saw the film, because I noticed similar lines of thought as the story wore on. The first notable instance was when Killmonger raided the museum, pointedly blaming the museum artifact expert for the sins of British imperialism that resulted in slavery and exploitation of natives on the African continent. Killmonger shows another aspect of inherited guilt in his battle with T'Challa at the waterfall. He points out his desire for revenge because T'Challa's father, T'Chaka killed Killmonger's father N'Jobu. In other words, T'Challa is receiving punishment for the sins of his father. Outside of Killmonger, we see this in Shuri as she refers to Everett Ross as "colonist". It's a casual reference, and not necessarily meant as a profanity, but it carries a history of guilt with it nonetheless. Finally, we see M'Baku air his grievances at T'Challa over an ancestral rivalry. This rivalry is based on the feeling of being snubbed by the ruling clans of Wakanda, which in turn caused M'Baku's tribe be antagonistic towards T'Challa's clan, thus creating a cycle of retribution.
Apart from the general "good guy/bad guy" dichotomy, it's really this cycle of retribution that separates T'Challa from Killmonger. Killmonger is heavily tied to this cycle, mostly because he feels he can end it with enough violence and bloodshed. If he can kill enough people, he can suppress resistance and create a new world order. T'Challa goes the other way. In a critical scene M'Baku points out that for hundreds of years, no ruler of Wakanda has ever come to visit M'Baku's tribe. T'Challa acknowleges this, but also points out that he is not his ancestors. One of the last scenes showing M'Baku among T'Challa's circle of advisors completes the message; we all have guilt in our ancestry, but we are not our ancestors. Every generation has the chance to forge a new path. Furthermore, acknowledging the past while forging a new future leads to a more peaceful society. Killmonger's way results in in near indiscriminate destruction. He instantly tears apart a stable political hierarchy and destroys the respository of the heart-shaped herb. This is an act that not only destroys an artifact of religious and cultural significance, but also serves the dual purpose of reinforcing Killmonger as the undefeatable leader of Wakanda and cutting off Wakandans from their heritage, thus making them easier to manipulate as a society. Killmonger isn't interested in improving the world in any way. He just wants war and revenge, something that is destructive to all parties, not just a select few.
Wakanda as an influence on world politics
At the end of the film, T'Challa decides to unveil Wakanda to the world. Although there was a carefully constructed narrative of Wakanda as a poor country, T'Challa decides to throw this away in an attempt to lead by example. Since this is a movie, T'Challa's decision is clearly scene as upbeat and positive. That said, and I know I'm doing more quibbling with this, I wonder just how effective T'Challa would be. I would argue that Wakanda, if anything, would become just another player in the great game of International Politics.
First of all, let's broach the question of exactly how Wakanda would interact with the outside world. It can't possibly be through any form of immigration. Wakanda has spent centuries as a highly insular country and would therefore not have the social, political, or logistical infrastructure to handle immigrants. There is evidence to suggest the population in general would resist this. W'Kabi, for example, early in the film states that immigrants bring their problems with them. I can't believe he would be alone in thinking this.
So, Wakanda can't build bridges through immigration. That part is out. The only other option is through outreach. This is in fact what happens. T'Challa, at the end of the film, points out that he's purchased numerous buildings in order to build a Wakandan outreach center. But what effect will this have? First, let's remember that it is stated early on that Wakanda has spies in every country. As long as Wakanda was thought of as a poor country, no politician would suspect espionage. Now that T'Challa has unveiled Wakanda as the most technologically advanced society on the planet, espionage must be at the top of everyone's mind. The outreach centers just add to the problems. When the British landed in Africa, India, the Americas and Canada, they were the most advanced technological society of their time. We all know how that panned out for the natives. Wakanda will, in effect, be very susceptible to accusations of cultural imperialism.
Claims of cultural imperialism won't just be used as general utterings of paranoia. These claims will be used as leverage for access to Wakandan technology. For all of Shuri's brilliance, it's absurd to think that Wakandan tech couldn't be reverse engineered given enough time, enough resources and enough hardware to study. At the very least Wakanda and any representative will be the subject of hacking attempts, theft attempts, or other methods to obtain Wakandan technology, knowledge and resources. A couple things are inevitable from this. First, Wakandan representatives would demand a halt to the activities and, when it is clear nothing will stop, would probably start demanding concessions in the form of trade, treaties and so forth to offset the loss of Wakandan property. Second, the Wakandan tech would inevitably be used to harm others. This would give other countries the leveage they need to demand international regulations on Wakanda and possibly an opening of Wakandan society to outsiders.
This kind of behavior would put incredible pressure on the Wakandan leadership due to both internal and external pressures. On top of that, T'Challa is a superhero and is spending significant time saving the world. T'Challa might bow to pressure to close off Wakanda from the world again, but this would be a mistake. China already witnessed first-hand the results of being exposed to the outside world. In centuries past, the British wanted to trade with the Chinese who in turn just wanted the British to go away. Because of this, the British engaged in something called "Gunboat Diplomacy". That is, "trade with us or we'll attack you". Wakanda would engage in devastating damage on its attackers, but no one country can stand against all the others forever. This means that Wakanda's only option is to stay open and play the game of International Politics. Wakanda doesn't become a leader of the world so much as one of the crowd. There isn't enough vibranium in the universe to solve that problem.
Keep in mind, of course, that all this is pure conjecture. It's just something fun to do after watching a good movie. In all, Black Panther really was a good movie. It was well-acted, had excellent visuals and it was clear that a lot of thought and care went into the story and the world the story inhabited. As I mentioned earlier, one of the top level Marvel films. For the Marvel films that focus on individual characters, I hope they keep it up. Infinity War is coming out this weekend, but that might be a different type of creature what with all the characters that have been crammed into it. We'll see!
Tags: Black Panther, Politics
Ghost in the Shell is a pile of garbage
Filed Under: Movies, Reviews, Science Fiction, Technology by Erik Hentell — Comments Off on Ghost in the Shell is a pile of garbage
What an execrable mess. It's so embarrassing when a well-respected piece of storytelling is remade under the Hollywood banner and thoroughly butchered. You would think with so much access to talent and resources, a Hollywood film would take the work to the next level. Instead, it shoves it to the depths. This film is not worth anyone's money. View full article »
Tags: anime, Ghost in the Shell, Hollywood, manga, Scarlett Johansson
Wolverine and Shakespearean Tragedy
Filed Under: Marvel, Movies, Reviews, Super Hero by Erik Hentell — Comments Off on Wolverine and Shakespearean Tragedy
Still from the movie Logan
Logan has been out for a while now, and all the reviews have been posted, so I'm very late to the party on this one. I actually saw the film opening weekend, but was too busy to get around to putting my thoughts down until now. While many reviewers enjoyed the story, the action and Hugh Jackman's last hurrah as the titular character, I noted something a little different. Wolverine is actually a Shakespearean tragedy. Or, at least, very close.
Just as a quick warning to those who haven't seen it: there are going to be spoilers.
The Shakespearean Tragedy
First, let's go over the basic plot points of a Shakespearean tragedy. In essence (and I'm glossing over a lot, here), the Shakespearean tragedy involves a character of major social importance. In Shakespeare's time, this would be a king or a prince. The character has a fall from grace, usually through a personal flaw. This character then undergoes a kind of tortured reformation or redemption that sets the wrong things right, but also kills the character in the end.
Logan fits this almost to a T. It's established early on that Wolverine's reputation has survived the death of mutantkind. Even one of the antagonists, Donald Pierce, turns to Logan with a smile and says "I'm a big fan!". The filmmakers were, in fact, relying on Wolverine's history not only in the films but in the comics as well. This was a film for fans of both worlds. The audience was expected to come in knowing something about the character.
The fall from grace is slightly more nuanced. In Logan the days of the legendary Wolverine are long gone. Logan has no pride or hope left and is reduced to driving people around while drinking his pain away and buying drugs in back alleys. Logan's personal flaw, if one can even call it that, is that he's exhausted. A lifetime of warfare and age in general has reduced his healing factor. The adamantium that made him invulnerable is now poisoning him. There hasn't been a new mutant born in over twenty years and Professor Xavier, who is now suffering from a neuro-degenerative disorder and generates uncontrolled psychic bursts that need medication to stop. It's strongly implied that Xavier inadvertently killed the X-Men during one such episode. Logan has lost hope, which means he's no longer a fighter or a survior; he's just trying to keep his head above water.
The rest of the film takes Logan on his tortured path to redemption, ultimately killing him as the plot recipe demands. The discovery of Laura (or X-23 to comic book fans) builds to a late-blooming realization that there is something worth fighting for. Broken, beaten and with nothing to lose, he sacrifices his life to set things right just one more time.
The only real deviation here is the ending. In Shakespeare's works, the character that takes control of the kingdom in the end of the play is the one who truly restores order to the universe. There is no such character in Logan, although spiritually, Laura is his successor. Imbued with the same powers and adamantium skeleton, she is just a younger female version of Logan. Further, in the comics she dons a similar outfit and is declared the new Wolverine. If a sequel to the film were to follow this line, then Laura is destined, one way or another, bring order back to the world she lives in. As it is, she merely survives to become her own person rather than a living weapon.
Logan and King Lear
In addition to its general overall bleakness, one very notable aspect of King Lear is the use of the Fool. In King Lear, Lear's arrogance and perhaps mental instability result in his daughters throwing him out of the castle. Destitute and driven to insanity, Lear's only companion is the court jester.
The Fool is important in King Lear because without the Fool, the play would descend in self-indulgent misery. The Fool challenges Lear to pull himself out of his madness and become again the man he was. Professor Xavier is no different in this regard. In Logan he is the Fool both metaphorically and literally. Suffering from his disease, he has episodes that range from absurdity to intense danger. In his lucid moments, however, the old Xavier comes back. Like King Lear's Fool, Professor Xavier is the truth-teller that Logan needs to drive him forward into a better state of being. He operates as Logan's conscience, convincing him to help Laura in her desperate moments, but also as a guide, reminding Logan that there is still a path to peace and love if he would just take the time to recognize it. Unlike Lear's Fool, however, Xavier does not surive to the end. His passing makes way for a darker force that Logan must face.
Logan and Hamlet
Hamlet demonstrated one of the critical tools in Shakespeare's literary arsenal; the use of multiple characters all of whom mirror each other's traits. This is most obvious in Hamlet. First, there is Hamlet himself. Hamlet's father, the former King, was murdered by Hamlet's uncle, now the current king of Denmark. Second, there is Laertes, Hamlet's friend. Laertes' father was killed by Hamlet who, once he kills the newly crowned Claudius, will become the king of Denmark. Finally, there is Fortinbras, a prince of Norway. Fortinbras' father, the king of Norway, was killed prior to the start of the play by King Hamlet, Hamlet's father. All three swear revenge on those who murdered their kin.
The comparison goes beyond this, however. Their flaws can be compared against each other as well. Hamlet, throughout the play, would rather wax poetic than actually kill his uncle. Laertes, however, seems to act without thinking at all. The moment he's told that Hamlet has killed his father he accepts the information without further inquiry. He also reveals he purchased poison while travelling abroad even though there is no reason given why he should want to do it or why the audience should think there would be a logical reason to have it. He just kind of does things. Finally there is Fortinbras. Fortinbras swears revenge on his father's murderer (Hamlet's father), raises an army, invades Poland at some point and from there moves into Denmark just after Hamlet has finally killed his father's murderer. Fortinbras is established as a balance between Hamlet and Laertes. He both thinks and acts while the other two are extremes.
Logan fits this model quite well. Laura, Logan and X-24 (Logan's weaponized clone) are all products of the Weapon X super soldier program. All three sport enhanced senses, a healing factor and an adamantium-laced skeleton complete with razor sharp claws. Just like in Hamlet, the three mutants can also be compared by their differences. Age is the obvious starting point. Laura is just a child. X-24 is a grown adult and Logan himself is centuries old. The differences continue, however. Logan talks throughout the film, mostly in an effort to drive people away. Laura speaks only when it is most important to do so. X-24 doesn't speak at all. He just grunts, growls and roars. Laura has an active plan that she is seeking to implement while Logan seems to be running mostly off of improvisation and desperation. X-24 doesn't appear to think or plan at all; he just does whatever he's told to do. Finally, Laura represents a life almost untouched by the Weapon X program, while X-24 is completed controlled by it. Logan is the uncomfortable balance in between, having to deal with trauma of the program while at the same time having escaped it.
As with Hamlet and Laertes, Logan and X-24 fight and as with Hamlet and Laertes, both die in the process, leaving Laura, who might go on to be the hero of the next generation. As mentioned above, the similarities between Logan and Shakespearean tragedy end here because Laura heads off towards a hopeful but uncertain future. Overall, however, I think adhering this form of storytelling really elevated the film above standard superhero fare. There wasn't action for the sake of action and the emotional stakes resonated quite well. Not every superhero film can be like this, of course. The film was far too grim to be regular superhero fare, but its adherence to such a classic storytelling structure made it quite a refreshing change. It would be a good thing to see more films like this in the future.
Tags: Fan Reaction, Film, Logan, Mutants, Professor Xavier, Wolverine, Writers, X-23, X-24
Godzilla's Nuclear Fury
Filed Under: Movies, Reviews, Science Fiction by Erik Hentell — Comments Off on Godzilla's Nuclear Fury
Shin Godzilla isn't just a monster movie, it's about one man's revenge on humanity. View full article »
Tags: Fan Reaction, Film, filmmaking, Fukushima, Godzilla, Nuclear, Shin Godzilla
The Love of Filmmakers for Movies
Filed Under: Fantasy, Horror, Interview, Movies, Reviews by Erik Hentell — 1 Comment
Dark Seduction is a terrible film the story of which should be an inspiration to filmmakers. View full article »
Tags: B-Movie, Film, filmmaking, Indie, lesbian vampire, Low Budget, production hell, Writers
Batman Vs Superman: Warner Bros doesn't have a plan
Filed Under: Comic Books, DC, Marvel, Movies, Reviews, Super Hero by Erik Hentell — 2 Comments
The reviews have all been written on Batman Vs. Superman: Dawn of Justice, so it's almost pointless to go over the film itself. That said, however, the film is a phenomenon. It is a landmark in the making of film. I don't mean any of that in a good way.
The reason it is such a moment in film history is because Batman Vs Superman is a colossal statement on what happens when a studio doesn't have a cohesive plan and hands total creative control to someone who doesn't understand the subject matter or possibly know what he is doing. Also, a word to the wise: spoilers ahead. View full article »
Tags: Batman, Batman vs Superman, DC Comics, Discourse, Fan Reaction, Film, Frank Miller, Man of Steel, The Dark Night, The Dark Night Returns, Warner Bros, Zach Snyder
Visual Storytelling: Under The Skin, or "Story as Framework"
Filed Under: Horror, Movies, Reviews, Science Fiction by Erik Hentell — Comments Off on Visual Storytelling: Under The Skin, or "Story as Framework"
Note: This review was originally written for another site called Quantum Pop Blog. When that site went under, I brought the article over to my personal site. Aside from stripping out the words "Quantum Pop Blog", the article is unchanged from its orignal format.
I once had an interesting argument with an aspiring director. He believed that the audience didn't like to think and that if a story told them something, they would just accept it as true until they were told it wasn't. I disagreed with this idea, mostly because I like to think about what is being presented to and I imagine others would as well. I could not, however, explain why I preferred this. Under The Skin is director Jonathan Glazer's resounding rebuttal to the aspiring director's ideas. For people who don't like to think during a film, this is a terrible story to watch. For those that do like to think, it's a deep philosophical statement. Still, before we get into this, we have to have a bit of theory on storytelling. View full article »
Tags: Film, Jonathan Glazer, NuArt, Scarlett Johansson, Storytelling, Under The Skin, Visual Storytelling, Writers
Zootopia: Was It Timing or Was It Luck?
Filed Under: Movies, News, Reviews by Erik Hentell — Comments Off on Zootopia: Was It Timing or Was It Luck?
Animated films are planned out at least couple years in advance. There is the initial idea, the pitch meeting, various explorations into the viability of the story and so on. At some point, everything is greenlit and the animators go to work. It's a long process. That begs the question, did the people behind Zootopia know how relevant their story was going to be in an election year, or was it an amazing coincidence? View full article »
Tags: Activism, Animated Film, Cartoon, Discourse, disney, Donald Trump, Election, Film, Prejudice, Presidential Election, Racism, Social Issues, Zootopia
Deadpool Movie Review: Only Deadpool Could Have Done It
Filed Under: Comic Books, Marvel, Movies, Reviews, Super Hero by Erik Hentell — Comments Off on Deadpool Movie Review: Only Deadpool Could Have Done It
There's a scene close to the middle of Deadpool where Wade Wilson (a.k.a. Deadpool, the Merc with a Mouth) has a flashback. He breaks the fourth wall, conversing directly the audience before having a flashback within the original flashback, where he breaks the fourth wall again, insisting that he's broken the fourth wall twice, which must equate to about 16 walls (4 times 4, see?) View full article »
Tags: Colossus, Deadpool, Fan Reaction, Film, Negasonic Teenage Warhead, X-Men

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


A Fascinating Insight into New Zealand's Early History.
IT was the lure of GOLD that brought the first settlers into Central Otago and paved the way for today's tourist towns of Queenstown and Wanaka. Today there are few reminders of this early history.
The Goldfields Mining Centre is a special place where visitors can gain an appreciation of the life and working environment of those early miners who struggled against the harsh and sometimes dangerous conditions along Central Otago's famed Kawarau Gorge.
Located on the banks of the spectacular Kawarau River, the Goldfields Mining Centre is an historic reserve which has been set aside by New Zealand's Department of Conservation to preserve an authentic mining site where gold has been mined for over 100 years and can still be found in the rocks & gravels of this unique area.
A fascinating and unique display of gold mining history set amongst a profusion of Central Otago wild flowers.
Goldfields depicts a wide range of machinery and mining techniques to show how the early miners extracted gold.
The Centre is licensed for gold fossicking and many visitors find and take home gold they have found in the virgin soils.
The Goldfields Mining Centre offers 2 tours of the park to enable visitors to gain an appreciation of New Zealand's early gold mining history. All visitors have the opportunity at first hand to see and handle the gold for which the park is famed.
At the conclusion of all tours, visitors are provided with gold pans and guides provide full instruction on how to pan for the elusive gold. Remember, it's "finders keepers" so this is your chance to "strike it rich".
Loved this attraction and the excitement of panning for real gold (didn't find any unfortunately). The set up of the mining centre is great. You get to walk around the site by yourself and also with a guide. The information given by the guide is great and it is awesome to learn about life back then.
Well worth a visit, and be prepared to spend time here. Walk over the rugged hills and imagine what it was like living here in the 1800's. Enter the stone huts used by the old time miners. See a sluice gun and stamping battery in action. Pan for gold. Discover old machinery used, and old workings and tunnels.
We have gone back here twice now as we love taking our overseas friends with us here. Very relaxed and scenic location. Make sure you walk all thru the Chinatown and gold mining area. Good luck gold panning!!! Someone got a nugget last year. The cafe is fabulous and the small gift shop has nice items.
Wild Earth at Goldfields provides for morning and afternoon refreshments along with a unique lunchtime dining experience.
Book a thrilling jet boat trip with Goldfields Jet to "experience the rush and discover more of the history of this unique site".


text:
CHAN: Micho rallies Cranes to play Senegal game is like a cup final
Coach Micho (right) in training with Cranes players
Wednesday, January 18@70pm:
DR Congo v Ivory Coast
Senegal v Uganda Cranes
RESULT: Algeria 1 Ethiopia 0
The Uganda Cranes take on Senegal's Lions of Teranga in a crucial Group B match at the going 2022 African Nations Championship (CHAN) in Libya, with the odds against the Cranes as they bid to qualify for their first-ever quarterfinal berth in this tournament.
And to emphasize the importance of the match against Senegal, Milutin Micho Sredojevic, the Cranes coach, rallied his players to go out and play like they are in a cup final.
"For me, this match is like a cup final; we must play to win and this is what I have asked my players to do. Our opponent is big name but they also have vulnerable points that we must exploit," Micho said at a pre-match media conference on Tuesday, January 17 in Annaba.
Following their 0-0 draw with the Democratic Republic of Congo on January 14, the Cranes have one point while the Lions of Teranga lead Group B after their 1-0 victory over Ivory Coast in the opening game last weekend.
The Cranes, who are appearing at the CHAN Finals for the sixth consecutive time, have never gone past the group stages of the competition.
Meanwhile, hosts Algeria became the first team to reach the quarterfinals after beating Ethiopia 1-0 on Tuesday night in the Group A match. With an earlier victory over Libya in their opening match, the Algerians top the group with six points and will play the final group game as a formality.


text:
package io.b1ackr0se.carrental.fragment;

import android.app.Fragment;
import android.content.Context;
import android.os.Bundle;
import android.support.v7.widget.LinearLayoutManager;
import android.support.v7.widget.RecyclerView;
import android.view.LayoutInflater;
import android.view.View;
import android.view.ViewGroup;

import com.parse.FindCallback;
import com.parse.ParseException;
import com.parse.ParseObject;
import com.parse.ParseQuery;

import java.util.ArrayList;
import java.util.List;

import butterknife.Bind;
import butterknife.ButterKnife;
import io.b1ackr0se.carrental.R;
import io.b1ackr0se.carrental.activity.MainActivity;
import io.b1ackr0se.carrental.adapter.NotificationAdapter;
import io.b1ackr0se.carrental.application.CustomApplication;
import io.b1ackr0se.carrental.model.Notification;

/**
 * A simple {@link Fragment} subclass.
 */
public class NotificationFragment extends Fragment {

    @Bind(R.id.recycler_view)RecyclerView recyclerView;

    private Context context;
    private ArrayList<Notification> notifications;
    private NotificationAdapter adapter;

    public NotificationFragment() {
        // Required empty public constructor
    }

    @Override
    public View onCreateView(LayoutInflater inflater, ViewGroup container,
                             Bundle savedInstanceState) {
        View view = inflater.inflate(R.layout.fragment_notification, container, false);
        ButterKnife.bind(this, view);

        context = getActivity();

        loadNotification();

        return view;
    }

    private void loadNotification() {
        if(CustomApplication.userId != null) {
            ((MainActivity) context).showLoading();
            ParseQuery<ParseObject> query = ParseQuery.getQuery("Notification");
            query.whereEqualTo("ReceiverId", CustomApplication.userId);
            query.findInBackground(new FindCallback<ParseObject>() {
                @Override
                public void done(List<ParseObject> objects, ParseException e) {
                    if (e == null) {
                        if (objects.size() == 0) ((MainActivity) context).hideLoading(true);
                        else {
                            notifications = new ArrayList<>();
                            for (int i = objects.size() - 1; i >= 0; i--) {
                                ParseObject object = objects.get(i);
                                String id = object.getObjectId();
                                String senderId = object.getString("SenderId");
                                String receiverId = object.getString("ReceiverId");
                                String title = object.getString("Title");
                                String content = object.getString("Content");
                                long date = object.getLong("Date");
                                String senderName = object.getString("SenderName");
                                Notification notification = new Notification();
                                notification.setId(id);
                                notification.setSenderId(senderId);
                                notification.setSenderName(senderName);
                                notification.setReceiverId(receiverId);
                                notification.setTitle(title);
                                notification.setContent(content);
                                notification.setDate(date);
                                notifications.add(notification);
                            }
                            ((MainActivity) context).hideLoading(false);
                            adapter = new NotificationAdapter(context, notifications);
                            recyclerView.setLayoutManager(new LinearLayoutManager(context));
                            recyclerView.setAdapter(adapter);
                        }
                    } else ((MainActivity) context).hideLoading(true);
                }
            });
        }
    }
}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


Developments this month set the stage for a litigation battle over the future of private water systems in California. Private water companies, equity funds, and public agencies could all be affected by this potentially precedent-setting eminent domain fight.
Los Angeles Superior Court judge Richard Fruin on November 10 issued a tentative decision blocking the City of Claremont's plan to exercise eminent domain over the private water system serving its residents. Claremont has filed objections, and the court could hand down a final decision any day.
If the tentative decision stands, the system's current owner, Golden State Water, will retain control, and the City's years-long takeover effort will have suffered a significant blow. The decision may also affect similar pending suits filed by Casitas Municipal Water District against Golden State in Ventura Superior Court in May of this year and by the town of Apple Valley against Liberty Utilities in San Bernardino Superior Court in January. Claremont filed suit against Golden State in December 2014 after Golden State rejected Claremont's $56 million offer to purchase the water system.
To forcibly acquire a currently operating private utility like Golden State, which has offered water to the public in Claremont since 1929, California Civil Procedure Code section 1240.610 requires a public entity to demonstrate that its desired use is "more necessary" than the property's current use. In the case of a water, gas, or electric utility, section 1240.650 provides a rebuttable presumption that the use of property by a public entity qualifies as a "more necessary use" than private ownership. Judge Fruin interpreted the phrase "more necessary use" to require "[t]hat the benefits from municipal operation must be significant over the present operation of the water system." This interpretation will be a central focus of any appeal by the City.
Following a 21-day bench trial, the court determined that Claremont's proposed use failed to satisfy the "more necessary" statutory requirement. Specifically, Judge Fruin wrote that the City had not fully explained to the court why it wanted to exercise eminent domain over the water system. The court also faulted the City for failing to submit appropriate factual findings supporting the proposed takeover, a requirement the court found to be "implied by" the private utility's "statutory right to rebut the presumptions favoring public ownership." The court agreed with Golden State's criticisms of Claremont's proffered plan tasking the nearby City of La Verne with day-to-day operations of the facility, concluding that La Verne had a poor record of water quality, maintenance, and reporting of testing results. The court further dismissed arguments that Golden State had overcharged Claremont ratepayers, rejecting the City's argument that a fee known as a "water rate adjustment mechanism," which allows Golden State to impose a surcharge on ratepayers when water usage falls below a standard set by the Public Utilities Commission, should be viewed as a "penalty" imposed on ratepayers for conserving water.
Once the court finalizes its decision, the City Council will determine whether to appeal, triggering a statutory interpretation dispute with significant implications for the pending eminent domain cases in Ojai and Apple Valley, as well as with private water systems and investors across California.
This memorandum is a summary for general information and discussion only and may be considered an advertisement for certain purposes. It is not a full analysis of the matters presented, may not be relied upon as legal advice, and does not purport to represent the views of our clients or the Firm. Matt Kline, an O'Melveny partner licensed to practice law in California, Barton H. "Buzz" Thompson, Jr., an O'Melveny of counsel licensed to practice law in California, and Heather Welles, an O'Melveny associate licensed to practice law in California contributed to the content of this newsletter. The views expressed in this newsletter are the views of the authors except as otherwise noted.


text:
Contact | Subscribe to Newsletter
The Library Plaza Project
The Teen Center
The Second Floor Patio
The Children's Library Endowment
SB Reads
Second Floor Patio
Currently inaccessible to the public, the Second Floor Patio is a hidden gem. Once restored, it will be a rooftop garden available for use by library patrons as well as for special events.
The Second Floor Patio will be a welcoming space where patrons can discuss their latest read with friends, host a special event, or just sit back in the sun with a favorite book. This complete redesign of the Second Floor Patio will make the area ADA compliant and provide the Central Library with much needed additional space for activities and community events.
To learn more, please contact us at 805.689.2448 or email.
Santa Barbara Public Library Foundation © 2019. All rights reserved.
The SBPL Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization.
Alan Brumberger is a graduate of Yale University, the University of Michigan Law School and Harvard Graduate School of Business Administration. Mr. Brumberger is the Chief Executive Officer and General Securities Principal for Emerald Point Capital, LLC a FINRA Registered Broker Dealer in New York. He has held numerous leadership positions and Board memberships in various philanthropic organizations and investment banking firms including President and CEO of Shearson American Express International Limited, the firm's international investment banking arm in London. He is excited to do his part to help the Santa Barbara Public Library continue and build upon its remarkable record of being a fundamental community resource in broadening our citizens' literacy.


1 Misery Business 360 365th 637th 313,952 100% 797 May. 10, 2009, 1:25PM no path.
1 Nuvole E Lenzuola 360 101st 162nd 298,794 100% 688 May. 16, 2009, 12:18PM no path.
1 Pretty Vacant 360 173rd 272nd 277,517 100% 766 May. 10, 2009, 1:27PM no path.
1 Hollywood Nights 360 185th 306th 509,233 100% 1182 May. 10, 2009, 1:03PM no path.
1 Weapon Of Choice 360 99th 146th 257,643 100% 771 May. 10, 2009, 1:14PM no path.
1 Cyanide 360 36th 69th 723,542 98% N/A Mar. 13, 2009, 11:28AM sweet!
1 The Touch 360 8th 16th 225,865 100% 649 May. 29, 2009, 10:26AM nice and easy.


Samuel, Son & Co., Toronto, Ontario, Canada, announced its acquisition of Metal Spinners Holdings, which includes Missouri Metals, St. Louis, MO, and Metal Spinners, with plants in Indiana, Illinois and Texas. Missouri Metals is a leading manufacturer of precision components and assemblies for the aerospace and power-generation industries. Metal Spinners supplies metal spinning, hydroforming, deep drawing and other specialized metal formed products for air-handling, energy, agriculture and other industrial market segments.
The Independent Welding Distributors Cooperative (IWDC), Indianapolis, IN, announced the appointment of Barry Mitchell as regional sales manager. The IWDC is a cooperative that leverages the strengths of its independent welding distributor members across North America. IWDC member companies collectively represent over $2.2 billion in sales. Mitchell will be responsible for promoting IWDC's value proposition to its members and driving growth of Weldmark and vendor-partner brands.
Beckwood Press Company, St. Louis, MO, a maker of custom hydraulic presses, automation systems, and the Triform line of precision forming equipment, recently expanded its engineering department from 15 persons to 21, for a 40-percent increase in engineering staff. Since June 2017, Beckwood added a structural/hydraulics engineer, four electrical/controls engineers, and one drafter.


There are currently two ways for registering for a license with Tigase commercial products. The easiest and recommended method is using the built in automatic registration function. However, you may also register via a web portal if your installation has limitations on network connectivity.


Joseph lived all his life confronting schemes made by the people closest to him. His brothers plotted to kill him, but they amended it to exiling him. This happened to him while he was a boy. He was sold into the slave market in Egypt, where he was bought for a nominal sum. Then he fell victim to the attempted seduction by a great man's wife who, when her wish was foiled, sent him to prison, where he remained for some time. In spite of all this, he at length approached close to the Egyptian throne and became the king's chief minister. He then began his call to Allah from the position of the ruling authority.


text:
Q: Highlight some text in a Jasper Reports viewer I want to highlight some parts of the reports i'm generating for display.
I don't want to change the report definition. I want to highlight the output at runtime.
But the JRViewer i'm using doesn't really have much of an API.
And manipulating the JasperPrint object with setForecolor/setBackcolor before displaying it, didn't seem to change the output.
Any ideas? Or do i have to overload/reimplement the viewer? Wouldn't be much of a problem since it's open source, but i'd like to prevent reinventing the wheel.

A: Looks like i have to answer my questions myself... again.
I overloaded the JRViewer class (actually copied the code of JRViewer because none of the interesting panels were accessible) and added some highlighting methods to do the following:
Template based JasperPrint data uses - like the name suggests - templates. Meaning the text objects don't have a style of their own, they use their template's style.
That is the reason why setForecolor didn't do anything - the JRTemplatePrintElement implementation is plain empty.
But if i would set the highlight on the text template i would end up with a full column of highlighted texts, since they share the template instance.
Instead i create a new template as a copy of the original with highlighting and use that in the highlighted print elements. Btw, those jasper elements could really use a clone() method.
Feels like a hack, but i don't see a better way.
UPDATE:
However this has a nasty sideeffect for file based (virtualized) reports.
These apparently save any changes you make to the elements while you walk the pages.
If however the viewer in the meantime causes the virtualizer to discard the elements you reference (for example by flipping pages), your further changes won't be saved...
So that made me reconsider and now i'm just drawing my highlighting on top of the Graphics object painted by Jasper's PageRenderer.
Much simpler and cleaner. Only highlighting the background won't work this way.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


The next generation of government IT is here. Is your agency ready to go faster?
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At US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), teams set up a 100% Continuous Integration/Continuous Delivery pipeline to deploy to production up to 40 times a day leading to a 30% drop in verification case processing time. At the Department of Health & Human Services (HHS), Office of Inspector General (OIG), powerful dashboards backed by a flexible hybrid cloud infrastructure, deliver results in under 5 seconds for 95% of re-engineered dashboard queries for 500+ concurrent users.
You have a challenging mission – we want to help. We have a range of federal government contract vehicles available to help you start making progress right away.
Congress can't wait. The HHS OIG's Agile-delivered, cloud-based data warehouse and interactive enterprise dashboards reduced average congressional inquiry response time from four days to one. Now, one employee can provide an accurate and shareable report the same day.
myUSCIS revolutionized government IT services, winning the 2016 ACT IAC Igniting Innovation Overall Award for its intuitive design and responsive customer experience. Consistently one of the top most-visited government websites, with 20 million pages views a month, myUSCIS' online immigration benefit filings now exceed paper filings – moving USCIS closer to replacing paper forms with 100% digital submissions.
The modernized E-Verify system is used by hundreds of thousands of employers to verify employment eligibility for millions. The team transformed a cumbersome legacy application into a cutting-edge microservices-based architecture that increased employer enrollment by 45% and decreased abandoned enrollment by 22.9%. The program won the 2017 ACT IAC Igniting Innovation Overall Award, making Excella and USCIS the only partnership to win the award twice.
Want to hear more about our work in the federal space? Get in touch!


Are you interested in Michael phelps Tropic RB? Do not wait any longer, buy this product at the best price and always with the security that we offer at swiminn. Here you can find all the information about Michael phelps Tropic RB. Michael phelps is one of the best swimming brand that is designing exclusive Women´s swimwear items that are tailored to our customers needs.


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Format For Resignation Letter In Pdf article is the best inspiration for home interior posted about Certificate. This Format For Resignation Letter In Pdf was posted in category Certificate as ideas for inspiration to Remodel your Certificate accessories. This article can be your reference when you are confused to choose the right decoration for your home accessories. This Format For Resignation Letter In Pdf maybe your best option to decoring format, letter, resignation, because having a home with our own design is everyone's dream.
We hope by posting this Format For Resignation Letter In Pdf ideas, we can fulfill your needs of inspiration for designing your accessories Certificate. If you need more ideas to design a home & interior accessories, you can check at our collection right below this post. Also, don't forget to always visit peruantitaurino.org to find some new and fresh posts about Certificate and other format, letter, resignation, Inspiration everyday.


Responsible for processing all point of sale transactions through the cash registers, accurately and in a timely manner. This position does not have any supervisory responsibilities.
Processes all customer sales transactions, tendering cash, credit, and open account information according to policy.
Provides exceptional customer service including actively greeting customers.
Helps sales desk with product returns and returning merchandise to stock as necessary or requested.
Verifies till balances at the beginning and end of each shift.
Maintains clean and orderly checkout areas.
Supports and promotes special sale items and other promotional campaigns.
Validates customer purchase by checking product against receipt to ensure accuracy as customers exit the store.
Customer service and cash handling experience.


One area that the country has made progress in is the standardization of the care-giving for the elderly. The Council has partnered with BTEC in the past to train caregivers within communities. According to Ixchel Poot, this year, the council is linking up with Belize Natural Energy to train eighty caregivers across the country to enhance quality of life for older persons.


text:
EAP Property Services
UPDATED COVID -19 Guidance from EAP
The team at EAP feel it is prudent to provide you with an update on how the landscape of our company will be working for the foreseeable future due to the ongoing spread of COVID-19 throughout the UK.
Business is operating as normal
As COVID-19 continues to impact us, we wanted to reassure you that our communities safety and wellbeing are at the forefront of our actions.
Due to the recent new government guidelines we wanted to let you know that we are still fully operationally, our offices are open as normal and site visits are continuing to be carried out. However, all staff at EAP are fully embracing Public Health England's guidance and have put procedures in place to ensure the safety of both our staff and our valued clients.
All members of staff in our offices are sanitising on arrival and throughout the day, following social distancing measures and wearing the appropriate PPE.
Members of staff that are coming out on site, be that a building site or a home visit, will also be following these same measures. Arriving equipped with a face mask and gloves, sanitising upon arrival and social distancing when possible. Please don't take offence to this, this is purely in place to follow the government guidelines and is in the best interest of everyone.
At EAP we provide a number of services, ranging from structural inspections, site investigations, geotechnical advice, topographical surveys, calculations for whatever is required, architectural design, planning and building regulation drawings. All of which we are able to carry out at this current time.
We also offer an emergency service for impact damage, fire, flood, or assessment of possible collapse during construction.
Our team and offices are operating as normal, should you require our services please do not hesitate to get in touch and we will do all we can to assist you.
Our organisation are monitoring the situation daily and we will continue to do all we can to protect the health and wellbeing of all of our staff and clients. We ask you all to do the same by following the World Health Organisations advice on regular hand washing, avoiding unwell people and keeping up to date with the daily advice and any changes to recommended procedures.
From the entire team at EAP, please look after yourselves and all those around you. We will continue to update our website and customers directly with any further changes.
The EAP Team
Structural Surveys and Engineer Reports: Saving the 17th century baronial barn
Grade I Listed Building Receives a helping hand


The European Parliament and the Council of the European Union have considered that certain substances have been identified as an important cause of contact-allergy reactions in fragrance-sensitive consumers. In order to ensure that such consumers are adequately informed, it is therefore necessary to amend the provisions of Directive 76-768-EEC to require that the presence of these substances be mentioned in the list of ingredients. This information will improve the diagnosis of contact allergies among such consumers and will enable them to avoid the use of cosmetic products which they do not tolerate.
Out of the 26 allergenic substances added to Annex III, Part I, of the Directive 76-768-EEC by the 7th amendment, only 16 can be found in plants and, therefore, concern botanical ingredients.
2 are botanic species themselves.
A special Task Force of UNITIS first studied 315 plants/parts of plants from which a practical tool was put at its members' disposal.
The UNITIS ad hoc Task Force is constantly working on the determination of allergenic substances of new plants so that an addendum to the initial list of 300 plants/parts of plants has been drawn.
Enquire at your suppliers to know more… Information is in their hands.
For more than 300 plants, UNITIS Members have all elements on hand to assist the cosmetic industry in complying with its legal obligations.
Considering the complexity of the problem raised by the 7th amendment of the European Cosmetic Directive about Allergenic Substances, UNITIS decided to implement an ad hoc working group to work on it.
UNITIS made public its decision through a first position paper published in June 2003.


Our children and their friend lighting votive candles in the Church Our Lady of Rokitno in the west of Poland.
This afternoon we paid a visit to the simply wonderful mid 18th century Church and Minor Basilica in the village of Rokitno, in the Przytoczna / Skwierzyna area of Lubuskie, Poland. During the visit we lit votive candles and said silent, individual prayers for either individuals or specific issues. These prayer candles continued to burn after we left the church. The burning flame symbolising the ongoing nature of the prayer. This is a commonplace activity in Catholic churches throughout Poland. In every church we have visited a small charge is made to cover the cost of the candles. In this case the recommended donation is one zloty.
- All Souls' Day / All Saints' Day.
This entry was posted in Poland, Polish and tagged Candles, Church, lubuskie, Rokitno on 03/12/2016 by PolishPoland.


I finally get it why some people get accidents at the Kiarong Rondabout liao.
This is the reason what they see from they eyes.
And you better know where you want to go start from today!!! No More Jump Q Bruther!!!
I purposely wake up very early this morning just to come here at take all this picture to show you so you guys better drive carefully and safe Bruther.
But I don't get it why alang-alang one. Only the car from Kiarong and Beribi got place the orange cones. Why not the car from Gadong and Kiulap also do the same things? I'm sure today many people were get surprise one when they drive here. So share this info with your friends before they get accident to stuck on the roundabout.


text:
VeloNews News Road
Live Coverage – Stage 19 Tour de France, 2008
12:51 PM: Good day and welcometo VeloNews.com's Live Coverage of the 19th stage of the 95th Tour de France, a short 165.5-kilometer race from Roanne to Montlucon.
12:51 PM: Good day and welcome
to VeloNews.com's Live Coverage of the 19th stage of the 95th Tour de France, a short 165.5-kilometer race from Roanne to Montlucon.
Except for two minor climbs in the Monts de la Madeleine range during the opening hour of racing out of Roanne (population 40,000), there are mainly flat roads on this stage across central France with some rollers in the last 50km before Montlucon (population 44,000). While the wind has been a factor in past stages – often a strong headwind from the west – today's 10kph breeze from the northeast will probably not be a major factor, unless it picks up speed during the afternoon.
Montlucon has seen five stage finishes of the Tour, the last one in 2001, when Belgian Serge Baguet attacked late from a small breakaway group and just held on to defeat Denmark's Jakob Piil; the peloton was only 13 seconds back.
With Paris only two days away, all the teams that have yet to win a stage will be eager to get one of their guys in an early breakaway. We can expect Quick Step to do its best to put a rider into one of those early efforts, especially after Carlos Barredos' disappointment yesterday.
Given their meager opportunities at this Tour, the sprinters are likely to eager the kill. Think of the names that have yet to get a stage win, including Robert Forster, Robbie Hunter and maybe even Robbie McEwen.
12:54 PM: A tight race on GC
With tomorrow's 53km time trial, the outcome of this Tour is still far from settled.
1. Carlos Sastre (ESP), CSC at 79:16min14sec
2. Frank Schleck (LUX), CSC at 1:24
3. Bernhard Kohl (AUT), Gerolsteiner at 1:33
4. Cadel Evans (AUS), Silence-Lotto at 1:34
5. Denis Menchov (RUS), Rabobank at 2:39
6. Christian Vande Velde (USA), Garmin-Chipotle at 4:41
7. Alejandro Valverde (ESP), Caisse d'Epargne at 5:35
8. Samuel Sanchez (ESP), Euskaltel-Euskadi at 5:52
9. Tadej Valjavec (SLO), Ag2r at 8:10
10. Vladimir Efimkin (RUS), Ag2r at 8:24
Today's stage doesn't appear to be the sort that will shake up the overall standings, but you never know. Riders hoping for a spot on the podium in Paris will have to remain attentive throughout.
12:56 PM: The race for the green jersey
It's not settled yet, but Rabobank's Oscar Freire appears to be on his way to his first green jersey, a prize he can add to the three rainbow jerseys he's earned over his career.
1. Oscar Freire (ESP), Rabobank 229pts
2. Thor Hushovd (NOR), Credit Agricole 180
3. Erik Zabel (GER), Milram 176
4. Kim Kirchen (LUX), Team Columbia 145
5. Fabio-Leonardo Duque (COL), Cofidis 144
6. Alejandro Valverde (ESP), Caisse d'Epargne 123
7. Robert Hunter (RSA), Barloworld 115
8. Romain Feillu (FRA), Agritubel 114
9. Robbie McEwen (AUS), Silence-Lotto 105
10. Cadel Evans (AUS), Silence-Lotto 93
12:58 PM: KOM settled
As long as Bernhard Kohl makes it across the finish line in Paris on Sunday, the young Austrian has a lock on this Tour's polka-dot jersey. Simply put, Kohl's lead over Carlos Sastre is greater than the 13 KOM points remaining in this Tour:
King of Mountains
1. Bernhard Kohl (AUT), Gerolsteiner 125pts
2. Carlos Sastre (ESP), CSC 80
3. Frank Schleck (LUX), CSC 80
4. Thomas Voeckler (FRA), Bouygues Telecom 65
5. John-Lee Augustyn (RSA), Barloworld 61
6. Sebastian Lang (GER), Gerolsteiner 60
7. Alejandro Valverde (ESP), Caisse d'Epargne 58
8. Stefan Schumacher (GER), Gerolsteiner 54
9. Remy Di Gregorio (FRA), Francaise des Jeux 52
10. Egoi Martinez (ESP), Euskaltel-Euskadi 50
01:02 PM: The white jersey
As yesterday's late attack from Roman Kreuziger – winner of the Tour de Suisse – shows, there is still a contest when it comes to determining the winner of the best young rider contest. Andy Schleck's quick response also indicates that the race for the White Jersey, like the contest for the yellow, will depend on tomorrow's time trial. Today's stage is unlikely to affect that contest:
Best young riders (overall)
1. Andy Schleck (LUX), CSC at 79:26:18
2 Roman Kreuziger (CZE), Liquigas at 1:58
3. Vincenzo Nibali (ITA), Liquigas at 15:35
4 Maxime Monfort (BEL), Cofidis at 24:44
5. Eduardo Gonzalo (ESP), Agritubel at 1:04:47
6. Thomas Lovkvist (SWE), Team Columbia at 1:15:28
7. John-Lee Augustyn (RSA), Barloworld at 1:20:09
8. Remy Di Gregorio (FRA), Francaise des Jeux at 1:21:23
9. Peter Velits (SVK), Milram at 1:37:17
10. Luis Leon Sanchez (ESP), Caisse d'Epargne at 1:43:46
01:06 PM: Today's start
Riders are assembling at the line at the village departe and should be rolling off the line for a ride through today's longer-than-usual 8.7km neutral zone. They will be leaving the village at 1:10 and are expected to hit the official start at around 1:30.
We can expect early attacks from teams hoping for a stage win in this Tour. We predict that if any break forms without a Quick Step rider, for example, we can be sure the Belgian team will be chasing it down. Quick Step is taking a lot of heat back home for having performed as poorly as it has in this Tour.
01:09 PM: Drop us a line
If you have a comment, question or complaint, feel free to hit the "Contact our editors" link below the live update window.
We promise to read them all, answer as many as we can and even post a few during the day's report.
01:15 PM: Today's stage
is marked by two rated climbs:
The Category 3 La Croix-du-Sud, which begins soon after the start and summits at 17.5km.
The Cat 4 Cote de la Croix-Rouge, which summits at 42km.
The day's two intermediate sprints, come later in the stage
Chantelle (102.5km)
Commentry (143.5km).
01:24 PM: Rolling
the peloton left the village departe at 1:10 – a sight you really should see some day – and riders are casually rolling through Roanne. Christian Prudhomme is standing through the sunroof of his bright red race director's car – the best seat in the house – and will drop the starting flag at km 0. We are still on schedule for a 1:30 start.
We're betting on early attacks.
01:27 PM: Reader comment
Sue in South Africa writes in to say:
Sitting here in Durban (RSA) and this is the day for Robbie Hunter – watch out guys he is going to take today stage win!!! And how's about our John – Lee – brilliant going for his 1st tour! You can see we breed em tough here in SA – that is why we say "Africa is not for sissies"!!!
We have to agree, Sue. The Live Update Guy spent some time in South Africa and Namibia this year and remains impressed by the terrain, the people and riders he met while there. African riders are continuing to make an impact on the Tour and we look forward to that continuing.
01:31 PM: And we have a bike race
And we have a bike race.
There are 149 riders in the peloton. As you probably know, despite his heroic struggle to finish yesterday, Damiano Cunego's injuries were too serious to allow him to continue and he did not sign in today.
01:33 PM: Attacks
there have been several attempts, but no successful breaks, as of yet. The peloton is at the 2.5km mark.
01:35 PM: The white jersey race
As we mentioned, the white jersey contest comes down to how the two leaders will fare in tomorrow's time trial. The only real indicator we have is how each performed on stage 4's 29.5km in Cholet:
20. Andy Schleck (LUX), CSC 1:29
34. Roman Kreuziger (CZE), Liquigas, at 1:51
01:36 PM: At 5km
the attacks continue, although none has yet succeeded.
01:37 PM: On the climb
The speed is really high and no one has managed to get a gap.
The peloton is at km7 and the peloton is not letting anyone get a jump.
01:39 PM: Through La Bratiere
The peloton is working its way up La Croix-du-Sud. Still now successful breaks. We have about 10km of the climb remaining, so we could see some action on this 11km climb. At 3.7 percent, it's not steep enough to put any of the GC boys under pressure.
the peloton is ticking along quite quickly. Every dig has been neutralized.
01:45 PM: At 11km
the peloton appears unwilling to allow a break to develop.
01:47 PM: Yesterday's search
As we mentioned yesterday, French customs officers pulled the advertising vehicle driven by Johnny Schleck – father to Andy and Frank – out of the commercial caravan. After a lengthy search, police found nothing and let him on his way. It was one of the many weird moments in the Tour and, we have to admit, we're glad that nothing came of it.
01:47 PM: Four
riders have gained a very slight advantage on the climb. The gap is small enough that Race Radio has not yet read off numbers.
01:51 PM: Reader questions
We've received a few notes asking about the status of "Herbie." Well, that tangent didn't appear to be too popular with quite a few of you – we have to admit we get a bit punchy after three weeks of this – so we will only say that the hamster has been replaced and our servers are up and running… with a clean replacement. Herbie… well, he's gone, fired and facing a two-year suspension, which is well beyond the average life expectancy of his species.
Herbie, we hardly knew ye
Graham Watson photo
01:52 PM: Schumy
Steffan Schumacher (Gerolsteiner) is one of the four escapees. Man, he must be going for the Jacky Durand award this year.
The others are
96. Alessandro Ballan (ITA), Lampre at 2:29:30
33. Pierrick Fedrigo (FRA), Bouygues Telecom at 49:26
50. Egoi Martinez (ESP), Euskaltel-Euskadi at 1:32:31
They only have 10 seconds.
01:55 PM: At the top of the climb
our four escapees have just 30 seconds on the field.
01:58 PM: Quick Step
tried to through Gert Steegmans into the mix, but he's been caught.
Our four leaders remain 35 seconds ahead of the field at the 18.5km mark.
02:01 PM: Schumacher
feisty character that he is, took the top points on the climb.
Fredrigo was second, Ballan third and Martinez fourth. Points on a Cat 3 KOM start with four points and are awarded in declining order after that.
02:04 PM: The four leaders
are now at 22km and they still have a 35-second lead.
Quick Step is pushing the pace. These boys want a stage win.
02:06 PM: Credit Agricole
is now also trying to send a rider up there, but they've had no luck.
The leaders are at 24km and they've extended their lead to 1:05.
Our four leaders are:
26. Stefan Schumacher (GER), Gerolsteiner at 40:08
02:08 PM: Having passed through
a big intersection, our leaders are now at 26km, with an advantage of 1:10.
the four leaders are not being given a lot of room to work. They have a 1:00 lead and Credit Agricole and Quick Step are setting tempo in the peloton.
02:15 PM: 31km
and the lead is holding at 1:00.
The wind is still light, but definitely coming from the northeast, making a slight crosswind.
the foursome's advantage is still at just 1:00.
These boys are not getting much of a leash and there are those in the peloton intent upon yanking it back.
the leaders are approaching the day's second climb, the Cat. 4 Cote de la Croix-Rouge. The summit comes at 42km. The four still enjoy only a 1:00 lead.
our four leaders are 1:05 ahead of the field on this short 1.4km cote.
02:27 PM: Over the top
The leaders are done with the climb. We'll get a good time check when the peloton reaches the summit:
1. Stefan Schumacher (Gerolsteiner) 3 points
2. Pierrick Fedrigo (Bouygues Telecom) 2 points
3. Alessandro Ballan (Lampre) 1 point
4. Egoi Martinez (Euskaltel-Euskadi), Zip, nada, zero… a goose egg
02:31 PM: The peloton crests
at 1:02.
the peloton has pulled back more time. The four leaders are now just 57 seconds ahead of the field.
the gap is now down to 46 seconds. The speed on this hilly opening hour has been quite brisk, averaging more than 45kph and it appears there is pleny of muscle in the peloton intent upon seeing this break fail. We're betting on the peloton.
02:37 PM: Liquigas and Quick Step
and Caisse d'Epargne are really driving this chase. The gap at the 51km mark is now down to 40 seconds.
02:41 PM: 37 seconds
At 54km the gap has been cut to 37 seconds.
02:42 PM: Near the town of
Carrefour, the peloton is closing in fast.
02:44 PM: A downhill chase
the peloton and the leaders are on the short downhill at 58km. The gap is holding at around 36 seconds.
02:49 PM: The peloton
is charging hard. The gap is down to 28 seconds at the 63km mark.
02:50 PM: In Vichy
The peloton has narrowed the gap to 23 seconds.
The break and the peloton are both on the long bridge over the river Allier.
02:53 PM: The gap is now
just 15 seconds.
It's nearly over.
02:57 PM: The catch
having done a lot of the work are going to try something… but no luck.
02:59 PM: Attack, Attack, Attack
There are several break attempts, but nuthin yet.
03:02 PM: Two riders
have a tiny gap.
They are Geoffroy Lequatre (Agritubel) and Sebastian Langeveld (Rabobank)… well, nooo they don't.
Cofidis's Chavanel takes a dig, but he's not getting far, either.
03:04 PM: Correction
That was Leonardo Duque from Cofidis. Anyway, he powered on, looked over his shoulder and saw 148 riders about 10 meters behind him. He's still trying, but we're not betting the rent.
He's caught… and nowChavanel tries.
03:07 PM: Chavanel
is a feisty fella. He's fighting to hold a four-second lead, but he's not making any progress. He is now at the 76km mark.
03:10 PM: Reader question
Reader Jim G. in Colorado writes in to ask:
can you explain negative points in the green jersery competition?
Ahhh yess… the famous negative points. The race jury has the option of imposing all sorts of penalties for infractions. In addition to time penalties and fines in euros, they often impose point penalties, taking points away from a rider… even when he hasn't earned any.
03:11 PM: Roy
Jeremy Roy (Francaise des Jeux) has joined Chavanel and the two now have a 17-second lead on the field.
03:13 PM: Roy and Chavanel
are just up the road. If they look back, they have a big 147-rider mass right behind them as they reach the 82km mark.
03:17 PM: Our leaders
are now 1:15 ahead of the field. These two now have a bigger advantage than the day's first break ever managed. The two leaders are at the 85km mark.
isn't chasing. The two leaders are now 2:00 ahead of the peloton. They both just zoomed through the feedzone, without grabbing lunch. The peloton, however, will be grabbing lunch and the chase has slowed.
are now a full 2:44 ahead of the peloton as they speed through Saint Didier La Foret. 77km remaining.
03:24 PM: LUNCH!
The peloton has crusied through the feedzone, without incident. Riders are gnoshing on an assortment of energy bars, dried fruit, small cakes or even sandwiches. It's all a matter of choice for riders and their teams.
If someone misses the feed – or in the case of a GC leader who doesn't want to risk grabbing a bag at 40kph – they can get food from team cars or teammates.
03:27 PM: Urrrp!
Well with lunch over, the peloton is getting back to work. Roy and Chanvanel took full advantage of the the feedzone and built their lead up to 4:30 with 72km remaining.
03:30 PM: Cooperation
Our two leaders are working very well together, sharing the load and upping their advantage to five minutes. Are the sprinters' teams going to accept that? We'll see. 69km to go.
Alex from Michigan writes in to ask a question we get quite often here:
Why do some of the racers stuff newspapers in the front of their jersey's on the decents?
Well, while we pick up copies of L'Equipe to read the latest doping news, riders on top of the big cols use the paper for more utilitarian purposes. On the ride up, no matter what the weather, the generate a lot of heat and get quite sweaty. The newspaper works well to block the wind. In this day-and-age, with the advent of hi-tech fabrics, one would think that there would be a better – although more expensive – solution, but newspaper works well. It's stiff enough to shove up a jersey and no one cares if they lose a newspaper when they toss it off to the side of the road at the bottom.
03:37 PM: With 65km remaining
our two leaders are now 4:53 ahead of the field. The peloton may not let them get much more than five minutes today.
For Patrick O'Grady fans – and hey, who ain't? – we wanted to let you know that our resident crank has penned a new edition of his column: Dog Breath
03:42 PM: The sprint in Chantelle
the two leaders are through the sprint at 102km. The peloton is now 4:45 back.
03:47 PM: 4:19
The peloton is now working at trimming the lead. Our leaders are 57.5km from the finish and they are 4:19 ahead of the field, down from a peak of 5:00 about 14km ago.
Jeffrey in Minnesota writes in to say
In response to the "newspaper" question. Being a cold weather rider, (in Minnesota USA) more than once I've stuffed something down my pants for much the same reason…
Well, as a Wyoming resident, I, too, have resorted to gloves and socks, which makes quite the odd impression at the coffee shop when you forget to take them out after a long ride.
03:57 PM: Call of nature
We see that a couple of riders taking a quick break, which brings up a topic raised by reader
When the riders need to take their nature break do they actually pull over to the side of the rode or is it in transit. As I was watching coverage on Versus yesterday it looked as if Burghardt was 'multi-tasking'.
D.D from Pennsylvania
Yes, yes he was. It reminds us of the most impressive performance we saw when we drove past Djamolidine Abdoujaporov doing it while going uphill on a stage in the 1996 Tour. For those of us with "shy bladders" we would find either an especially difficult task with the TV cameras nearby.
03:58 PM: The gap
With 52km remaining, the peloton has cut the leaders' advantage to 3:55.
04:02 PM: CSC
is at the front of the peloton. While the race leader's team has traditional tempo duties in the field, the CSC boys have no reason to reel this one in. It will be up to the sprinters' teams to close the gap as the finish approaches.
04:06 PM: On that unrated climb
With 49km remaining our two leaders are working their way up the unrated climb you can see on the profile.
The gap has moved out to 4:20.
the two leaders are over that unrated bump. The peloton – behind CSC – is working up the climb. The gap is now up to 4:40.
Kim writes in to ask:
The unrated climb seems to be not insignificant. Why is it unrated?
The ranking of climbs is determined by promoters and there are many climbs that are worthy of a Cat. 3 or Cat. 4 designation that never offer points. Conversely, we've see a slight rise in a corn field offering Cat. 4 points. It is arbitrary.
04:17 PM: Back up to
five minutes, the two leaders are 40.5km from the finish. If the sprinters' teams want this one, they will have to step up and chase. We are beyond the magic minute-per-10km formual for a reasonable pace to make a catch.
04:22 PM: Barloworld
has taken up chase duties. They must be hoping Robbie Hunter has a shot today. That would make our South African viewers cheer. What the heck, we'll cheer him on, too. Okay, Tania?
04:24 PM: With 34km
our two leaders are holding on to a 5:00 lead. The pace in the peloton is picking up and we may see that gap drop. Too late? We'll see.
the gap is back under 5:00. The peloton is still led by the Barloworld team.
and 32km to go.
04:30 PM: Fabian
Double world time trial champion Fabian Cancellara has extended his contract with the CSC-Saxo Bank cycling team by another three years, until 2011.
Cancellara, who will begin as the favourite for the penultimate stage time trial of the Tour de France Saturday, has won some of cycling's biggest one-day races with the Danish team run by Bjarne Riis.
"It means a lot to me that my future is secure with Team CSC Saxo Bank," said Cancellara.
04:35 PM: What's for dinner?
Well, we know what the (remaining) guys on Saunier Duval will be eating. It appears that the team will be co-sponsored by the American Beef Council, the group responsible for promoting the consumption of American beef both in the U.S. and abroad.
So Saunier Duval-Scott becomes Scott-American Beef.
04:36 PM: Liquigas
Milram and Quick Step are joining in the effort. The gap, with 25km remaining is 4:12.
04:40 PM: Hey here's a name from the past
Danish cyclist Michael Rasmussen said Friday he will appeal the decision of a Utrecht court which awarded him 665,000 euros (one million dollars) against his former Rabobank team for the way he was kicked off their 2007 Tour de France team.
The 34-year-old, who instituted proceedings for unlawful dismissal is demanding damages of 5.5 million euros, said: "We're appealing the decision from Utrecht. My advisors and I agreed on that yesterday."
Okay, enough of news from the Chicken.
Our two leaders are at the days's second sprint mark, meaning they're 22km from the finish. The gap is down to 3:39.
04:43 PM: Oooooo
Harold H writes in regarding the Beef team;
Does this mean they'll have a jersey on their jersey?
remaining, the gap is still 3:20. We're beginning to place our bets on these guys making it. We've been wrong before, though.
04:48 PM: Vroooooom!
The peloton is really pouring it on, but with 16km remaining, the leaders have 3:00.
04:50 PM: A moooooooving observation
Reader Jason B writes in to ask:
Is there any truth to the rumor that Scott-American Beef will soon be announcing a big signing for next year…Cattle Evans?
Oh man, that was awful.
and the gap is 3:05.
These two are sharing the load and we won't be seeing the sort of wankin' that Barredo was trying to pull at the finish yesterday.
04:54 PM: Milram, Quick Step
are leading the chase. Too little too late. We have to think so. The gap is 2:58 and there are only 11km remaining.
04:58 PM: Milram
is still pounding hard at the front, but the reality check is:
2:53 with 7.5km to go.
Slow down boys… stick a fork in that chase. It's done. Fuggetaboutit
04:59 PM: Six kilometers
to go and the gap is 2:45.
05:00 PM: five km
to go and the gap is 2:37. Chavanel and Roy continue to cooperate.
05:01 PM: Four kilometers to go
the gap is 2:20. The two leaders are still cooperating.
05:03 PM: Three kilometers
and the gap is now 2:15. Our two leaders are still working together… saving the games for the final kilometer.
05:04 PM: Two kilometers
and the gap is 2:05. These two are playing well together.
05:05 PM: The last kilometer
and the peloton is 1:58 back.
05:07 PM: And here comes the sprint
Chavanel and Roy are eyeing each other…. Chavanel goes and … he wins it!
05:09 PM: The field sprint
and the peloton comes in at 1:15.
Let's watch for today's podium presentation. It should be good, since Bernard Hinault has been very critical of Chavanel in the French press lately and the Badger is the first in the traditional handshake line.
05:17 PM: Stage Results
1. Sylvain Chavanel (F), Cofidis
2. Jeremy Roy (F), Francaise des Jeux
3. Gerald Ciolek (G), Columbia at 1:13
4. Erik Zabel (G), Milram
5. Heinrich Haussler (G), Gerolsteiner
6. Leonardo Duque (Col) Cofidis
7. Filippo Pozzato (I) Liquigas
8. Thor Hushovd (N), Credit Agricole
9. Robert Forster (G) Gerolsteiner
10. Julian Dean (NZ), Garmin-Chipotle
05:19 PM: With no change in GC
the Tour comes down to tomorrow's time trial. It's going to be tight.
05:27 PM: On the podium
Chavanel gets an enthusiastic hand shake from Bernard Hinault. A small chat, follows. All is well. Many smiles.
As they put another yellow jersey on the shoulders of Carlos Sastre, we'll sign off and see if Mr. Sastre gets another of those tomorrow. Tune in. We'll be here.
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text:
TFTI PG Symposium 2020
Our Speaker: René Idrovo Zambrano
Presentation title:
Alfonso Cuarón and the Immersive Cinematic Apparatus in the Times of Progressivism
René Idrovo is an emergent filmmaker and scholar. He is a lecturer in sound related subjects at Universidad UTE, Ecuador; and a Ph.D. Researcher in Film and Television at University of York, UK. His research studies the impact of sound technology in the generation of new audio-visual aesthetics, focusing on the relations that exist between realism, the sonic space, and the immersive experience in cinema. Moreover, his thesis explores the ways in which the cinematic apparatus can transport the spectator into the narrative world, and what may be the ideological effects of such transportation. René's work has been published in journals in the U.K., Europe, and Latin America. As part of the Ecuadorian National Scholarship Programme, he has been selected among a large number of applicants to become one of the leaders that shall academically and practically contribute to the development of his country's film and television.
Alfonso Cuarón's audio-visual aesthetics are exemplar for its extreme exploitation of present-day's cinematic apparatus. His unorthodox utilisation of long takes and his three-dimensional sound design approach, which I refer to as immersive point-of-audition, aim to transport the spectator into the world of the story. According to transportation theory (Green and Brock, 2000; Green, Brook and Kaufman, 2004; Green and Clark, 2013), the process of transportation has a direct connection with belief change, a premise that I relate with the concept of ideology. This work constitutes, therefore, a reassessment of Jean-Louis Baudry's apparatus theory, which in the 1970s looked for the effects that the cinematic apparatus has for the maintenance of capitalism as the dominant ideology. Through an ideological analysis of the films under investigation, I argue that the ideology of Alfonso Cuarón fits within progressivism, a political ideology in favour of social reform. Moreover, this presentation aims to show how progressivism is becoming the dominant ideology in today's mainstream cinema.
Our Speaker: Fabiola Tenorio Nuñez
Our Speaker: Tracy Mathewson
Our Speaker: Despoina Sampatakou
© 2023 by The Grid. Proudly created with Wix.com
Organising Team


We've all been challenged by our children at one time or another but what about every day, by dozens of kids of all ages and backgrounds? Now parents, teachers, counselors, and pastors can benefit from the collective wisdom of Girls and Boys Town, one of the most successful programs for troubled youth in the country.
In the form of "dispatches from the front," former director of Boys Town Father Val J. Peter, J.C.D., S.T.D., shares these skills so that you, too, can help the young people in your life develop the virtues, self-esteem, resilience, and moral code that will sustain them throughout their lives.
Extending across genders, parental roles, financial resources, and extenuating circumstances, Father Val cuts to the chase with wit, charm, and real stories to help every parent persevere and every family grow closer in love and respect for each other.
Whether you are questioning your own ability to parent, wondering what planet your child came from, or simply wondering how to find inspiration and avoid exasperation in every day family life, this is an indispensable handbook for you. Hit the "reset" button and help everyone start making better choices today.


Be afraid of this remorseless monster of the desert.
As a stalemate continues between armed federal forces and Nevada ranchers, the reptile at the center of the controversy has mostly escaped notice. What is this desert tortoise for whose future the Bureau of Land Management has sent snipers into the Silver State?
As the federal government brainstorms ways to protect these Testudines without triggering the next Sagebrush Rebellion, maybe we should ask ourselves who the real endangered species is here.
1. They're ready for global warming. Desert tortoises can withstand a surface temperature of 140 degrees Fahrenheit. Most humans have trouble enduring temperatures above 110 degrees Fahrenheit.
2. They don't look for trouble. Desert tortoises spend 98 percent of their lives underground.
3. They don't need water. Desert tortoises can survive a year or more without access to water. We can't.
4. They're getting the calcium we should be getting for stronger bones. Desert tortoises regularly eat soil to maintain high calcium levels. According to the World Health Organization, most human adults consume little to no dairy food and have calcium intakes less than the recommended 500 milligrams a day.
5. They keep their pipes clean. Forget Chobani, desert tortoises eat rocks to help their digestive systems. They also don't have McDonalds, ice cream, or movie-theater popcorn.
6. They know how to share resources. Desert tortoises live in burrows, which they sometimes share with more than 20 other tortoises. As evidenced in the Bundy case, sharing is not really our strong suit.
— Alec Nixon is an Agostinelli Fellow at National Review.


'twas Riverfire in Brisbane last night, the annual fireworks spectacular which since it's inception in 1998 has featured the F-111's doing a dump'n'burn flyby.
Due to these aircraft being decommissioned at the end of this year, this was the last Riverfire they are partaking in (apparently).
Therefore, I made the trek into the city again this year, but just for an added challenge, held a workshop on how to shoot fireworks at the same time.
My business partner, Kane, and I arrived at 4am to ensure we could grab the best possible location. Rumours of safety fencing proved to be correct for the best location, so we went to plan B. There was an unfenced section so we setup our chairs and tripods and began the looooong wait (show starts at 7pm).
By 7:30am, contractors had arrived and demanded we move from our prime position as they were installing more safety fencing where we were. Why is this an issue – well in order to not get the regular fence in your shot, you need to have the tripod right up next to it. The safety fencing was placed over 1m from the regular fence, meaning that at wide-angles it was impossible to not get the regular fence in your frame.
To say we were unimpressed was an understatement. After much calling around trying to get hold of the organisers, we capitulated and moved back far enough for the fence to be installed.
The plan was then to place the tripods between the two fences and just use remotes to trigger the cameras. All well and good until around midday the Hired Goons Security turned up and made everyone remove the tripods from between the fences and place them back on the outside of the safety fence. Things clearly weren't going our way.
Still, eventually the students showed up and we ran through the course material, fed them pizza, and as it was getting close to the show time, re-installed the tripods between the fences.
Alas, more Goons Security turned up (different ones, but equally fascist), and demanded the tripods once again be moved back behind the safety fence.
So it was up to full extension on the 'pods with the view of minimising the damage. Everyone still had parts of the regular fence in the frame but small enough due to careful composition that it was salvageable.
Finally the show began with not a hint of what was going on (no countdown to the flyby, etc). We all rushed to set off the cameras and then began the (slightly less than 30 min) show with 4 chances at shooting the F-111s.
I caught all four partial or full flybys and have made the following composite image.