text:
I'll be back to talk about this awesomely epic trainwreck... in the mean time, here's a short preview clip for the 1990 theatrical anime HEAVY.
As you can see, the tape was in pretty sorry condition and jitters... pretty much constantly. This is a shame, as the movie is just all sorts of goofy 80s inspired awesome. Still, this'll give everyone an idea of what to expect: it isn't pretty, but unless somebody wants to pony up for an LD, it'll do.
On the flipside, it's so short I can pair it with DEAD HEAT on a single DVD-R without re-encoding.
Labels: Anime, DVD Recorder, Rapidshare
Unbreakable Comb(filters)
My effort to restore VHS tapes to near-watchability has just increased in scope.
The biggest part of the VHS capture chain is always what VCR you're using: start with a crap deck, and you'll get crap results. I was lucky enough to get my hands on a Go Video VCR, which in turn is actually a re-badged high quality JVC 9000 series deck, complete with S-VHS capabilities and a Time Base Corrector/Digital Noise Reduction feature. This was always hooked up via S-Video on my old Sanyo recorder. It just seemed natural: there's an empty S-Video port! Stuff it like the anus of a porn star, quickly and without thinking about the natural consequences that sticking a penis inside of an anus could bring*!
(*No, that's not a lame gay joke. I'm just saying A) there could be doodies in there, and B) you rail that thing too hard and somebody's gonna' wear adult diapers by the age of 35. Of course by that point they've been regulated to "Milf" or "Granny" status by then, so... wait, where am I going with all this?)
My new Lite-On lacks S-video inputs. This at once is and is not a problem, because while VHS is a component format in structure and thus the chroma (C) and luma/grayscale (Y) should be kept separate where possible, it's never actually had component material released on it or hardware built to make it happen. Ever. One can argue that S-Video (by which I mean the connection, not S-VHS) gives you mathematically better picture because you're separating the chroma and luma, but for this to inherently be true we have to assume that the original signal separated the two and that using a comb filter at some point isn't going to do any favors. Again, every single VHS - "digitally processed" and otherwise - was pumped out with the chroma and luma signals crossed, which leads to that old chestnut dot crawl. It's literally on every VHS and LD on the planet, and typically you'd only want to use S-Video if your player has a built-in comb filter, as most TVs and other display devices have their own which will only kick in when you use that flimsy yellow cable. I've actually suggested running a second composite cable for dot-crawl infected DVDs... didn't go over too well with some videophiles who have Oppo players kicking around which can kick in a comb filter over HDMI, but I stand by it for certain crap-sources as an easy way to smear composite artifacts into oblivion.
With this in mind, why would I care if there's an S-Video in?
This is, quite literally, a 6 pound block of comb filter which would help get rid of crawling dots and sparkling rainbows in the olden days of digital TVs. It was released back in 2000 as HDTVs started filtering into the homes of the rich and/or completely obsessed, and was built to separate the Y/C signals and eliminate dot-crawl and rainbows as best was possible by offering a new S-Video (and in some cases, component) connection. It cost about a thousand dollars back when. Nowadays - if you can find one, that is - they're said to go for under a hundred bucks. This is worthless when it comes to hooking it all up to my DVD recorder, but still may be useful if I make good on that threat to start capturing video to my PC. Unfortunately, while I've had some rather good luck encoding heavily filtered DVD material (see Vampire Hunter D's last test), excessively noisy source [VHS] + excessively noisy MPEG encoder [ CCE SP] =
excessively noisy transfer. It's rather simple, really, so while I could always soften the video out to cut down on further artifacts, I'm not convinced that's really helping me in the long run when I'm softening something that already has only a tiny bit of detail (and a lot of noise).
There's also the fact that if I really need a comb filter I can always exploit those that are available in AVISynth. The trouble is once I've recorded it and introduced new and exciting artifacts into the signal, the comb filtering is much less effective, though honestly, AVISynth comb filters aren't very effective in the first place. I think Dscaler's was slightly better, but... not by enough. I actually removed a host of them from the Vampire Hunter D restoration since they added ghosting, despite a positive influence on the transfer otherwise. For interlaced tapes that feature ghosting anyway this isn't such a big deal, but as the comb filters have done very little for my first squirming guineapig, Dead Heat, I'm simply not convinced that AVISynth is the answer.
I could also just buy a second DVD recorder that supports S-Video... but now, everyone who's read the first half of this sentence is already laughing their balls off.
In effect, this entry is me going "Hmmmm..." like a John K. cartoon without actually doing anything, which isn't much like a John K. cartoon. Ah, hell. Take this as a consolation prize.
Bet you didn't see Geno-tan coming from a mile away. Next time I'll try to wax poetic about ロッキ・ザ・アニメ‼ in the near future. You'll be "glad" I did.
Labels: Anime, DVD Recorder, Fuck AVISynth and the Horse it Rode in on, Genocyber, Omake, Remaster
Blassreiter and Freelance Nautical Acquisitons
First off, everyone here should know the name ITANO Ichirou. If not, he's the man who directed Violence Jack: Evil Town, Battle Royal Highschool, Megazone 23 Part II, Angel Cop, and most recently/likely most famously, Gantz. Itano's work has fascinated me for quite some time, as it's typically a bit like being handed an uncut crystal who's sparkling jagged edges have lacerated your fingers: you can't honestly say that it's "beautiful" in the way a polished stone would be, but there's so much intensity that you can't help but marvel at the beautiful points and the sparkle that emanates from the rust colored stain running down one side.
For anoyone who's seen any of the above titles, you'll know that he has a few kinks that seem to crop up in nearly everything he does: elegant and vivid destruction of the human body, spectacularly clever minimalism, a love and respect for the young people (by which I mean anarchistic punks), and perhaps most notably, a penchant for total nihilism in which the world as we know it is cut down to its' raw, bleeding roots, and presented in such a sad and beautiful way that it'd be impolite not to stare. In the broadest sense, I think Gantz has been his best effort: it may be a little pretentious, it's certainly evasive, and I'd argue that it drag its' feet in the first season when it should be running forward with guns ablaze and heads a' popping like the Fist of the North Star '86 movie in fast forward, but I think it managed - despite these flaws - to create a brutal and strange world for a team of unlikely (and oft undeserving) anti-heroes to make a choice: wallow in their own selfish view of the world and pretend that the problems out there aren't theirs to face, or wake up and join the fight to see tomorrow with your own eyes wide open. I can't say Gantz is perfect, and I can attribute a lot of the aimless and fuzzy narrative to the manga it was based on, but the last arc in which the title character decides to up the stakes of the game - material that Itano essentially wrote himself - is some of the best in the show, and really drives home every positive quality that the show had going for it.
It also takes a needless pot-shot at America's invasion of Iraq, seemingly just for the hell of it. This is exactly why I love Itano. Nothing says "crazily awesome Japanese director" like a shot of anti-American Imperialistic propoganda inside of a show that literally had nothing to do with politics prior. I'd say Blood+ deserves mention for turning Condoleezza Rice into a slobbering horce-faced vampire monster, but doing so might confuse people reading this blog into thinking that Blood+ was any good. It wasn't. Gantz > Blood+, by at least three-fold in half the number of episodes.
I bring this up because I'm very much looking forward to Itano Ichirou and Nitro+'s* new anime, BLASSREITER. While only a couple short preview videos have been released, it looks (more or less) like Bubblegum Crisis done got raped by Karas, in which men wearing tight fitting bio-machines ride on rocket launching motorcycles and do back flips to puncture spindly looking robo-aliens on those random wrist-spikes I've up until now only equated with Spawn action figures. The show looks extremely CG-heavy, which is no surprise coming from Gonzo Digimation. No, the CG doesn't look as nice as Ex Machina or anything, but it doesn't look horrific, either. All I know is that Itano is directing again, and this gives me wood.
*All I know about Nitro+ is that I fell in love with this PVC figure [s/he/they] designed, and [h/s/t]that they've made a homo visual novel starring kitty-boys who were about 5 minutes late for the .HACK//sign casting call. I mean as a compliment, mostly. For better or worse, my wife is the one who spends free time playing PC games in which you call your 13 year old sister with big ol' titties fat and stupid until she begs you to stick it up her ass. I'd rather just jack off to the CG sets and not listen to her whine about how mean I am for an hour first, but to each their own.
The real story here, however, is the fact that Gonzo is finally so sick and tired of fansubbers pirating their shows that they're beating them to the punch: both Blassreiter and The Tower of DURAGA (a funky looking MMORPG tie-in... eh, I'll watch an episode and get bored, I'm sure), two out of 3 of their Spring season shows, will be streamed with English subtitles on the very same day these episodes air in Japan. Options include the standby YouTube, the controversial Crunchy Roll*, and Bost TV. Each have their own ups' and downs'. YouTube... well, their videos look like shit. CR was basically YouTube, but centered around Asian programming and with the option to pay a nominal $6 fee to watch "high quality" streams instead of those fucking postage stamp sized... things. The issue is they recently got over 4 million dollars from investors, and they're still hosting titles that have been on DVD in America for a decade. In short they've been rewarded for ripping off other people's fansubs and DivX DVD rips, so they're looked at as something of the Streaming Satan by US licensors and fansubbers (who steal shit for free, which is, like, totally different) alike. Bost TV is actually a Japanese run website that offers 2 week rentals for $2 an episode, but seems to have equal quality (if not higher) than CR, and they only host legit content anyway, which means their catalog is... rather limited. Really, does anyone outside of Japan want to watch Keitai Shoujo/Cell Phone Girls? Let alone pay for it?
*For further proof that Crunchy Roll is a bunch of sandy vaginas, AnswerZac got an interview with their spokesman here. lulz away.
All 3 of these websites will offer the content for free on the same day for both shows as streaming video. Crunchy Roll will offer a pay-download, and Bost TV offers a free download with the 2 week rental for the same nominal $1.99 fee per episode. Blassreiter is a 13 episode series, and if you sigh up before April 2nd you get the first episode (including the download) for free. So, guess who signed up for Bost TV today? Oh, did I mention these downloads are DRM free, so you don't have to watch them on only 1 PC, and you can watch them in something besides Windows Media Player? My biggest complaint against the model used by Viz on Death Note was the DRM lock-down, and Gonzo has finally realized the obvious: there will always be a DRM-free fansub made available less than 24 hours after the air time anyway, so why not just offer the same thing faster and make a couple bucks while we're at it?
All this said, I'm not 100% convinced that this will take off the way that Gonzo is (I assume) hoping. In a recent conversation I've heard from a third-party that, as of 2008, selling 2,000 copies of an anime DVD is a "good seller", while even marginally unpopular titles regularly get over 10,000 downloads from fansubs. This number is down from 3,000 about a year ago, and drastically lower than 10,000 some 5 years ago. Sales are reportedly lower than they were in the friggin' VHS era, and as tapes used to cost $20-30 for a mere 2 or 3 episodes, that's fucking depressing. I've tried to look at this issue from several angles, and while I still think that fansubs are far from the ONLY drain on the anime industry, there has been an upswing in fansub quality (with those "in the now" able to download full Japanese DVD-9 discs with custom subtitles patched in), while R1 anime DVDs have consistently offered only minor improvements over bootleg releases. Just as important, it's now common knowledge that any show released now will have a cheaper collection later, and with the insane price drops that started a few years ago even loyal DVD buyers have gotten wise to "waiting for the box set". In other words, you can't give DVDs away in this market anymore... but can you give away cheap downloads?
Let's do the math here, for Blassreiter anyway:
13 episodes x $1.99 = 25.87
4 DVDs x $29.99 = $119.96 (+$10 for the optional box)
On the one hand, the DVDs may include interviews not present on the downloads, to say nothing of packaging and English dubs... if, you're into that. Posessing a high school education and change I have no trouble reading flashing words at the bottom of my foreign entertainment, so short of the DRM-free downloads looking worse than a fansub (which I doubt is even humanly possible... see below for a great example), this honestly sounds like the solution that casual buyers who'd rather get the show now and not wait for the DVD have been waiting for.
So... that is Satoko, right?
Will anyone actually bite? How many of those 10,000+ downloaders will give a rats' ass when they figure out they have to PAY for something that's basically a legitimate fansub? My guess is "about 0.001%". Yes, these are Gonzo shows, and Gonzo titles are popular in America. Yes, Blassreiter is "from the director of Gantz and from Nitro+", but honestly I'm not sure what impact that'll have. Fansubs are popular less because anime is cherished and respected in America, and more because the culture built up around them is the digital non-sexual version of Hippie Free Love: "We do it for the anime, man, before all those evil corporations dub anime and ruin 'em by putting them on cable with all the blood painted out and all the nipples edited." This is, of course, mostly bullshit. There are a hand-full of people who genuinely love anime and use fansubs to help obscure and essentially unheard of titles to the Western masses, but all the speed subbers who are releasing Bleach episode 263: Oh no, Ichigo Needs Glasses!! Can Rukya get to the Ice Cream Social before the Shinigami Lord?* or, whatever, are doing it so they can claim to be the to have done so for the glory this gives them from people they don't know on the internet. Fansubbing was a stop-gap between hardcore crazy fans and R1 licensors to raise awareness in the hopes that 5th generation purple tapes could, someday, be replaced with legitimate and high quality media. This theoretically honorable system has been dead and rotting for years now, and while fansubbing as a whole will always serve a purpose, fansubbing titles that are already licensed for a US release just prove that any old-school ethics that form the system are dead and buried.
*Hmm? Yes, I know Bleach episodes don't have titles. Asshat.
Don't take the above to sound like I'm not going to be a leech in the future: I fully plan on stealing entertainment in the future, and will do so until it no longer seems attractive. But I also do my damndest on my shoe-string budget to support what I love. There are 2 anime TV series' I'm buying on DVD now, and I'd have gladly added Gurren Lagann to that line-up had ADV not lo... well, if I thought for a second that it was coming out in the next few months. And yes, the moment Claymore streets, I will own the box and start to slowly fill 'er up. Will I buy Blassreiter? It's possible. I'll watch the free episode first. If it doesn't turn me off, likely I'll either watch the other 12 streaming or - gasp! - pay to own downloads I can burn to DVR-R. Only time (and a quick parusal of the download's general quality) will tell.
That's right. DEMON CITY SHINJUKU R2 Special Edition fansub patch (menus are in Japanese, but honestly, do you guys care?). HD remastered video, DTS and Dolby 5.1 audio, custom English subtitles, all on-disc extras on a DVD-9. Hit me up if interested.
Labels: Anime, Blassreiter, Demon City Shinjuku, Fansubs
NEW TOY!
While my new Lite On DVD recorder does not have S-Video ports of any kind (the fuck?), I'm still going to call it the best damn DVD-/+RW recorder I've had a chance to play with so far. Playback is better than my fledgling Daewoo player in every single way, and more importantly, the recordings look about as high a quality as I'd expect a VHS tape to look. Normally I'd post screencaps and go "Look at that! Isn't it hideous?!", but I've got a better idea:
Rapidshit that shit
The title of this obscure as crap OAV is DEAD HEAT. It's basically Nascar. With robots. Yup. Welcome to Japan. It was produced by Sunrise in 1987, runs 30 minutes + 7 minutes worth of pencil tests to show off individual animators, despite the fact that the animation is... well, it's not bad or anything, but it's hardly awe-inspiring, either. In short, it's a forgotten project from a forgotten time in which guys pilot robots with no cockpits going 320 kilometers an hour. I can't make this stuff up.
The encode is fairly noisy, but I prefer some noise to softness, and it isn't like a 21 year old VHS tape is a stellar source to begin with. I'll also say that the comb filter (assuming there is one) isn't doing its' job properly, but oh well. Truth be told, it still looks worlds better than the Sanyo recording, and with the exact same bitrate. I'm not convinced it looks as good as anything I could achieve using CCE SP, but we'll find out in due time.
Download. Play with it. Scrutinize it frame by frame, if you so desire. You know where to let me know what you think.
at 8:00 PM 1 comment:
High Bitrate Blunders
So I've been experimenting with raw AVI capture.
No, wait! COME BACK!
...okay. I've backed up some LDs in my day, and more VHS tapes than I'd like to remember while I was at it, but the overwhelming majority of these transfers looked something like...
Satanika pre-record (Extreme and Demonic)
...yeah. Better than a YouTube video? Somewhat, yes. As good as it should be? Well, you be the judge. There's a lot of artifacting around some of those lights in the background, and towards the bottom of the screen you can see some interlacing artifacts, but the transfer is so blurry that said interlacing breaks up and without being consistent, it basically makes any IVTC (even at the DVD player) impossible. This is a reasonably good cap from this sequence, too: when it comes to shots with a lot of reds I'm basically looking at a screen of fuzzy artifacts.
This is on the XP/BEST setting of my now deader than Elvis Sanyo DVD recorder, which managed to fit about 64 minutes at a bitrate of 7 mbps with a 224kbps AC-3 audio track per DVD-R. The trouble is a combination of real-time VBR encoding coupled with a host of filters built into the deck that are meant to "clean up" the source, but without any of these filters being optional it makes everything look rather soft and unpleasant. It did wonders cleaning up chroma noise on old VHS tapes, but... my fancy-pants VCR did a better job of it, so I end up scrubbing the image not once, but twice, and somehow the cheap real-time MPEG encoder built into the machine still spits out a blocky piece of crap. If I knew how you could mathematically wind up with artifacts on something that only has a fucking real-world resolution of 320x240 pixels I'd be glad to let you guys know, but it confounds me. The sad part is the Philips recorder I sent back a week or two ago is even WORSE!
I am getting a new DVD recorder, since it'll be more convenient, and it'll be a new region-free player to supplant my slowly dying several year old region hacked Daewoo which, slowly but surely, is starting to no longer enjoy playing DVD-R/W media. I may use that recorder to create archival copies of VHS tapes and laserdiscs, but as you can see, the results are kinda' lacking in some of my previous efforts. Or maybe I just expect better from cheap hardware?
The video card I currently use is so old it's an AGP, but my ATI All In Wonder 9600 is more than capable of capturing raw NTSC and then converting it all to lossless HuffyUV, which could then be re-encoded with CCE 2.67 for DVD. Sound like a pain in the ass? Oh, it is. It was such a pain that I finally gave up and bought a stand-alone recorder instead a couple years back. This was at the suggestion that the video quality would be the same no matter what I did, which I no longer believe to be the case. Unfortunately, a VHS capture at 352x480 ("Half D-1" resolution) with uncompress PCM audio equates to roughly 7~9 mbps, or the resolution of a maxed out DVD. If I capture at 720x480, this bitrate more than doubles for obvious reasons. The funny thing is if I capture at Half D-1 I'll have less noise to deal with, but if I capture at Full D-1 I'll be able to use noise reduction properly. What is a boy to do?
Regardless, my Lite-On LVW-5115GHC+*,which has been modified to be region free and has some hardware upgrades to boot (32MB video DAC converter? HELL YES!) should be here sometime next week. Me likey the part where it plays DivX, and hopefully the -RW reading powers of this unit will last more than a year, but for under $200, we'll see. IF the quality is notably better than my last recorder, maybe I won't need to capture anything with my PC. Man, wouldn't that be nice and simple...
*At least, I THINK that's the model number. The wacko on eBay who's selling the pre-modded players for $70 less than any stand alone website doesn't say which model it is because it's been modded in hardware rather than just firmware, and as such the specs are very different. It might even be a big-brother model, beats the crap out of me.
Huh. The specs don't list any S-Video connections. I'm going to hope (ie: pray) that's a mistake having plenty of good S-Video cables lying around, though I guess if all I have is VHS/LD to feed it the difference in quality would be pretty negligible, since it's all composite video anyway. I have no clue if cheaper recorders like Lite-On even have comb filters built-in, but there's only one way to find out.
In other news I'm no loner doing KURUTTA BUTOAKI (aka MUSCLE), that "Brownie Violence" gay pinku I hinted at a while back. The reason is simple: the guy who wanted me to work on it found someone else to do it faster than I could with me being so lazy and all, so he's putting me in charge of translating another pinku, which I'll do as soon as I'm done burning a bajillion DVD-Rs for him. (Seriously, I think I'll have burned 30-something discs over the past 3 days alone...) If you're interested in Hisayasu Sato's sick, sick ode to bloody boy love and Pasolini, head on over to Asian DVD Club, and download both Kurutta Butoaki and the "patch" for it. There's instructions on how to do it, but basically you're modifying the IFO files to add subtitles to the already finished DVD. Ginchy, huh? I've tried one patching experiment myself, which failed miserably, but with it being so simple and me being in no position to make any money off of bootlegging anymore, I'm going to keep experimenting. ADC has lots of other cool crap, too, including R2 fansubs (School Days, Gurren Lagann, etc.) rare and overpriced imports (Dr. Lamb!), and of course a fuck-ton of R1 DVDs which y'all reading this should be buying. Though actually, if you know me you're obsessive enough that you probably are supporting the entertainment industry as best you can, so hell, go crazy.
Oh yeah. Watched the first(...?! My mind!) 4 episodes of ZOMG Haruhi, which as I understand it is the accurate translatuion of Suzumiya Haruhi no Yuutsu. While I'd much rather follow a fictional cute and violent Japanese school girl than a self-righteous dead jew on a cross, I can't say that either of these figures are my spiritual savior. The fact that it's not the best thing since sliced mochi out of the way, the show is very well animated and amusing in its' own wink-wink nudge-nudge post-modern sort of way. Yeah, it's worthy of respect and love, but I can't say its' better than Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann, and if Kadokawa thinks the LE's are worth $245 they're smoking something pretty potent. Bonus disc with the same episodes in a different order, CD, pencil board, pillow case, and an alternate cover all sound great, but as someone who just wants the fucking box and maybe the alternate order of episodes I'm more than willing to pass. Plus they're offering vol. 1 (regular edition) with 2 CDs come April for $30. Tsk tsk, devaluing the pack-ins already?
I'm fully expecting at least one reply telling me that I need to die in a fire for disrespecting teh Haruhism. Two words: bring it.
Labels: DVD Recorder, Hardware Capture, Hisayasu SATO, Satanika, ZOMG Haruhi
No Ningen Fucking Way...
For those unfamiliar with DEATH NOTE, the spectacularly smart and stylish manga (and later, TV anime and live action movie) series about a pair of geniuses outwitting one another effectively to the death with a magical notebook, slap yourselves silly and then go watch it. All of it. I know, I was guilty myself for quite some time, going "so it's about a bus?" when pressured by strangers. You all should know I'm exactly one step ahead of US cable and one step behind the fansub circuit, but this is what taking the time to watch "old" movies does to a man.
Speaking of which, TWITCH OF THE DEATH NERVE was pretty awesome. As was MEGAZONE 23 PART I-II. But those are other tangents I owe you at another time.
Viz Media picked up the anime version (37 episodes courtesy of my beloved Madhouse alumni) before it finished airing in Japan, and announced that it would release download-to-own versions making seeing the show via fansubs more unethical than usual after about episode 17. I tend to wait until a show is done or close-to before grabbing batch torrents, since frankly keeping up just frustrates the crap out of me and I somehow have no HDD space left ever, despite milking a 250 GB drive for all it's worth. I was broke, wasn't sure if the title was as good as the world had claimed it to be, and I gotta' tell you, the way the download-to-own market exists right now... not working. Most episode cost about $~5, which means the DVD is cheaper in the long run if you bother to get it at Best Buy, and the majority of these downloads are single-language and extraless affairs with DRM out the wazoo, forbidding me from playing it in anything but media player. In short, they're fucking fansubs that you pay for, and no, getting a slightly better translation and a higher bitrate don't make me want to line up and bend over, particularly when - as in this instance - the translators are making certain... concessions.
Dub-only? No. (Not a DN-specific problem, but plenty of other studios are guilty of it.)
Can't play in Media Player Classic? No.
Sub-DVD quality? No.
To be fair, offering 37 episodes for $64.95 is getting close to the breaking point, but no, a man must have his limits. Paying for anything that's 3mbps is simply beyond me, and the fact that I have no pretty case to add to my saggingly full DVD shelf is just the kick in the nuts that keeps me from caring. I'd have been more than happy to spring for the awesome limited edition DVDs with the 6" figures inside until I found out that Viz managed to tint the transfers green. No, seriously. Even the friggin' Australian NTSC-PAL transfer got the color timing right.
How do you even screw up the color timing on a Digibeta?!
Anyway, my point in bringing all this up is the fact that the second OP appeared on US cable last night, on the [adult swim] network, once the pulsating Aorta of the American anime fan community, which has been bleeding for so long that [as] has said that the ONLY new anime title for 2008 they've picked up is CODE GEASS, and that the blame in not bringing over more rests solely on the crappy ratings that anime brings them. A damned shame that the dozens of anime fans everywhere have already watched Blood+ and Death Note in their entirety, and thus don't really give a rats' ass about seeing it dubbed, but that's the way it goes.
If you've never seen the second OP, check it out here and then come back.
...I'm waiting...
...you done? Okay. At 0:43-1:04, the lyrics are as follows -
HEYHEY! 人間SUCKER! 嗚呼 人間‥人間FUCKER!
Over, and over again.
So what did the US cable version do when faced with a song that screams "fucker" over and over again but wants to keep a TV-14 rating? Absolutely nothing. Some bullshit subtitled about "humanity being full of wretched creatures" or something equally unlike HUMAN FUCKER were slapped at the bottom of the screen, but anyone with a love for Deathnote - or, for that matter, Engrish Hebi Metaa - knows better. Considering they've had to remove nipples in Paranoia Agent and bleep "scheiß"in Neon Genesis Evangelion this was a bit of a jaw dropper.
So the moral of the story is... scream your obscenities hardcore enough and... nobody will notice?
Nah', the moral of the story is I should really look further into MAXIMUM THE HORMONE, the J-Rock band that provided the track. I'm far less impressed by their ending theme ZETSUBOU BILLY, which sounds a bit like it's playing in Hot Topics everywhere... know what I mean, wink-wink nudge-nudge?
Labels: [adult swim], Anime, Death Note, IRONY, Swearing
Whoring Myself: For the good of DVD bootleggers everywhere!
First off I've finished a third disc for my legit work - damnable kanji in the trailer aside - and with that done I'll be translating some titles with a long time friend of mine for release on DVD-R a certain Asian DVD torrent site, though these releases will not be "Kentai Films" DVDs in the traditional sense: I do the Japanese-English part, and they handle the rest by patching them on top of the completed R2. Honestly this will be good for everyone interested, since the way I've always done it is translated the menus and essentially re-built the whole disc from scratch. I don't particularly like the idea of foreign language menus when I know my customer base speaks English, so I'll continue to do my thing... also, this method doesn't let you put additional material on the disc, which makes dropping in additional extras I have kicking around pretty much impossible.
No biggie though: if I can whore myself translating obscure pinku and it does the community at large a favor, I'm all for it. Plus I may be a whore, but I'm not a particularly cheap one.
The first title I've gotten busy with is an infamous little number from 1983, which was given a heavily edited English subtitles DVD release in Hong Kong. It just got a new scope R2 DVD this year, and (for better or worse) I'm actually working from the uncensored pan-scan Japanese VHS for the time being. Also, lots of terrible Engrish. I'll reveal what the title is once the translation has more than 15 minutes finished, since I'd hate to get someone's hopes up and then my basic Nihongo 6ki77z get totally 0wn3d by some obscure early 20th century monologue I can't make heads or tails of.
I'll also be translating some additional dialog and the making-of a project related to TAKAYAMA Hideki, the manga-ka behind the insanity that is Ichi the Killer. I'll trust that any of you smart enough to use google can probably figure out what this one is.
In other news, I bought a new DVD recorder 2 weeks ago. I'm sending it back tomorrow, because it has the nasty habit of dying on me completely at random. It's a region-hacked Philips 3400, and while I wish I could find something nice to say about it, I really can't. Even when it DID work for all of 5 minutes, the recording had massive EE, constant blocking (during basically still footage), and frankly the crappy Sanyo recorder I was using before was a better choice for a quality recording. Thankfully the return will be a hastle-free affair and I'll get a refund, so I can try again. Much as I was hoping a single DVD recorder could also play back all my PAL/Non-R1 DVDs, the general quality of its' PAL-NTSC conversion was awful, creating ghosting and weird stuttering where my $55 Dawoo player from about 3 years ago does an excellent job. (If only it could scale worth a damn.) In short, if I want an awesome region-free player I'll spring for an Oppo. As far as quality recorders go, I'll be doing more research and hopefully just buy a Pioneer or something and be done with it for the next several years.
Kentai VHS/LD to DVD-R transfers will happen... it's just a matter of me buying a unit that works, first.
It's official: I've finally given up on CCE SP 2.70, the overly noisy MPEG encoder that turns everything you feed it into a sloppy and grainy mess not fit to be seen on most Anime Music Video downloads. So I'm experimenting with the earlier 2.67 build, which (while a bit less user friendly) has so far given me MUCH better results than the later build. I'm still toying with the settings to get it "perfect" (ha!) but expect some VHD and/or Angel Cop screencaps in the near future, as these two ugly ducklings are my most favorite guineapigs. I don't know why 2.67 is so drastically better than 2.70, but it is. As I've bitched about in the past CCE SP 2.70 creates video files that, while lacking anything resembling blocking artifacts at high bitrates (TMPGEnc's fatal flaw), also adds in video noise like someone shook salt all over the encode, which is extremely frustrating when you consider that I spent so much time learning AVISynth to get rid of noise in the first place. There's still some additional noise, even on settings that are built to smooth the video out first (...whut?), but the results I'm getting are certainly no worse than I see on plenty of "remastered" commercial DVDs that have access to far better hardware MPEG encoders than I'll ever know exist. In short, I'm still getting better quality than FUNimation would have a year ago, and I'm only a notch or two down below what someone would expect from a "big" studio release, which isn't too bad for a punk hacking MPEG encoders in his spare time.
Looks like it's back to translating for me, either for my partners in crime on my employers in the legitimate world. Either way, they both lead to "Step 3", and we all know how much I like that step.
P.S. - Bugger waiting, here's a quick look at what CCE SP 2.67, mode Animation 4, 2-pass VBR, 5.5MBPS average, can do. "Source" is the AVISynth script, naturally.
None too shabby, eh? It's just a little too soft, but I may have to live with it, since the sharper the video gets the more noise CCE tends to generate. I'll be back with more tests, I'm sure, but to be perfectly honest if I released the Kentai DVD looking exactly like what you see above I'd have zero complaints.


text:
A More Affordable Car From McLaren
The latest addition to the McLaren test driving team, Leo (aged 4 & three-quarters) recently took the first 100% electric P1 around the Goodwood circuit, to put it through its paces before its general release.
The car comes with a brilliant sound system (MP3 player), a reverse gear, in addition to its three-speed forward transmission. Easily started with a stop/start button, this P1 hit its maximum speed in 2 seconds (a wild 3mph).
Watch Leo hit the track below.
So, if you're stumped for a present this year (and Santa is feeling generous in your household!) visit McLaren's website. Retailing at £375, it's a snip when compared to the full scale P1's £1million-plus pricetag!
Newletter McLaren P1

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Are you looking for great gifts to give to friends and relatives for the holidays? Whether it is for the home or the body, many of us like to give wonderful smelling scents as gifts for Christmas, Hanukkah or Kwanzaa. We have previously discussed using essential oils to scent the air with diffusers. Essential oils can also be added to the bath, massaged into the skin, or inhaled directly.
None of us want to grow old gracefully. That's just like giving in and it's unnecessary. No matter what your age is, you can start now to revitalize your skin. If you are 80 years old it may take you longer but essential oils can help you look and feel younger. There are different essential oils to use for different age groups but today we are talking about anti wrinkle oils for those of us over the age of 40.
Get an amber colored bottle in which to keep your synergistic oil blend. Then dilute 10 drops neroli, 10 drops lavender, 10 drops frankincense, 2 drops rosemary, 10 drops fennel, 3 drops lemon, 10 drops carrot, and 10 drops evening primrose in 2 tablespoons of hazelnut carrier oil. Use this blend each morning and night after cleansing your face.
In the morning wash your face as usual and then use ice as an astringent agent. Make your ice astringent by filling a foam coffee cup about 3/4 full with water. Put the cup in your freezer until the water freezes. Peel the cup past the frozen water and gently rub the ice over your face and neck. Dab your face dry with a soft towel and put on your anti-wrinkle essential oil blend. If you wish, you can blot your face with a tissue. You will be looking younger in no time.
We know oregano mostly from its use in the kitchen but before its seasoning properties were discovered, oregano was used for its curative properties. The Egyptians used oregano to disinfect wounds and speed up the healing process as well as for mummification. Other uses throughout the years have been to sooth coughs, calm digestive disorders, relax tension and relieve insomnia. American GIs discovered the Mediterranean herb during World War II and brought it back with them for use at home.
Today, oregano is still very popular in the kitchen, but it also has many aromatherapy uses. Some of those therapeutic uses are: allergies, antiseptic, antiviral, appetite, arthritis, asthma, backache, bronchitis, carpal tunnel syndrome, chronic fatigue syndrome, cellulite, colds, congestion, flu, fungal infections, headaches, immune booster, indigestion, insomnia, lymphatic circulation, menstruation, menstrual cramps, migraines, muscular pain, nervous tension, rheumatism, sprains, and swelling. Tomorrow I will discuss some essential oil applications of oregano.
Your body controls temperature and eliminates toxins by sweating, so stopping underarm sweat with antiperspirant is not healthy and is often thought to be one reason for the rise in breast cancer. The medical profession does not support this idea and considers it a myth but it just makes sense that if toxins are trapped in your body they can lead to health problems. Do antiperspirants contribute to breast cancer? I have no scientific proof but why risk it?
If you want to try a natural alternative it is worth your while to try Crystal Deodorant in either a spray or roll on bottle. It is 100% natural and contains potassium alum mineral salts. It is non-aerosol, ozone friendly, hypoallergenic, unscented, non-staining, contains no alcohol, and kills odor causing bacteria. You can add bergamot essential oil if you like your deodorant to smell nice. The Crystal Deodorant has no scent so you can do scented or unscented.
You are currently browsing the Natural Body Guru weblog archives for December, 2014.


Established in 1990, Blue Skies Art Gallery is the premier fine art and craft membership gallery in Southeastern Virginia, acknowledged by citizens and organizations alike as their gallery of choice for patronage. Our juried membership of over 65 local and regional artists take time out from their studios to work in the gallery and to meet with customers daily. If you are looking for the creative and the original in oil, watercolor, acrylic paintings, pottery, fiber art, photography, one of a kind jewelry, bronze, basketry, stained glass and more, then you need to visit Blue Skies, where you always meet an artist. Free Parking. Gift Registry. Located right across from the Air and Space Center. Visit our website for information on our special events and monthly shows.


A trip is considered an insured journey if (a) the full travel fare has been purchased with a valid international visa card; (b) travel is more than 150 kilometers from the eligible person's permanent place of residence; and (c) the maximum duration of any one trip is no more than 60 days.
For losses resulting from the insured person being unavoidably exposed to the elements due to an accident, the benefits will be payable as if resulting from an injury. Loss must occur within 365 days of the accident.
The company will pay the benefit for loss of life if the body of an insured person cannot be located within one year after the forced landing, stranding, sinking or wrecking of a conveyance in which such person was a passenger, then it shall have suffered loss of life within the meaning of the policy.
If the insured has multiple losses as the result of one accident, the company will pay the single largest benefit amount applicable. The death benefit will be paid to the beneficiary designated by the insured, or if there is no such designation, to the first surviving beneficiary scheduled on the policy.
12. Any loss that is covered by the common carrier insurance benefit on your International Visa card.
This is a summary of the exclusions. Complete exclusions are contained in the policy on file with Visa International.


What are the best affordable flats and plots in Noida and Ghaziabad?
Is Puravankara coming up with a new project in Ghaziabad?
Which city is better to invest in real estate, Noida or Ghaziabad?
Which are the top real estate developers in Ghaziabad?
What salary is required to own a 2 BHK house in the posh locality of Ghaziabad?
Which are the best realtors in Ghaziabad?
What is the complete process of buying a newly constructed apartment from a builder in Ghaziabad?
What are the best areas and best builder to invest in real estate in Ghaziabad?
What is the real estate growth in Vasundhara, Ghaziabad?
What is the latest property buying trend in Ghaziabad?
Which is the best residential property in Ghaziabad?
Is it worth buying a apartment in Ghaziabad? Or Invest same in share markets?
What is the best and reliable real estate builder in Ghaziabad?
What are some of the best areas to invest in Ghaziabad for good appreciation?
Which is the best commercial property to buy in Ghaziabad?
What are the reasons to invest in residential apartments in Ghaziabad?


The western portion of the United States has experienced drought conditions the past few years, adding to the challenge of gardening. Unless you're growing cactus in your garden, you've probably found yourself watering your garden more often – assuming the municipality in which you live allows you to do that.
And even in the eastern half of the country, the lack of rain during certain times of the year can negatively affect a garden, as can the type of soil you have. With most plants, moisture is a key factor in growth and taste. It's important to keep your garden well watered.
Mulch. The mulch you add on top of your soil protects it from drying out and can protect the roots of your plants from the air temperature. Mulch is also important for limiting the growth of weeds.
Weeding. Pesticides can help prevent weeds, but the cost is steep. They can also poison your plants and whoever eventually eats them. And if you have a well or natural water-collection system on your property, you don't want harmful chemicals lurking in your water supply. Weeds steal moisture from your soil, as well as nutrients, so weed your garden regularly.
Water. This one is a no brainer, but it takes more than just a sprinkler or hose if you're not getting enough rain. The deeper you can send the water, the more your plants will flourish because the roots will get what they need. Drip irrigation systems work well.
Shade. Take a look at your lawn after a couple weeks of heat. You'll probably see that the sections with the most exposure to the sun are the shortest and brownest. Shade can help some plants retain moisture and grow much better than they will if they get too much sun, so use burlap shade cloths if they don't receive natural shade.
Arrangement. This is one we don't hear as much about. To keep moisture and nutrients in each area of your soil well used but not used up, plant corn (deep roots), beans (shallow and wide roots) and squash (in between roots) in the same area.
If you can't get enough water in your garden to grow the types of plants you want to, then grow the ones that require little moisture, assuming they are established before they suffer drought conditions. They include beans, eggplant, peppers, cucumbers, Swiss chard, rhubarb and asparagus.
Do you have tricks you've used successfully to keep your garden moist even when there is little rain? What are your biggest water-related challenges? Please share them with us.
Have you heard about the "3 Sisters?" It was used by Native Americans in the southwest. First, use a circular raised bed about 7 to 10 feet in diameter. The 3 sisters consist of Corn, Beans, and squash planted together. Corn supplies a natural trellis for the beans. Beans are a legume, and supply nitrogen for the corn. The squash spreads out and the big leaves supply shade to the soil, reducing soil temps. and the amount of water needed. Look online for more info. HAPPY GARDENING!
To minimize evaporation and ensure maximum availability to the plants, water early in the morning before the sun comes up, after the sun goes down in the evening, or even at night.
When using drip irrigation with mulch, make sure that your irrigation fittings are situated so the water goes into the soil under the mulch layer, rather than running off the top.
Try to plant plants with similar water needs together, so that more drought-tolerant plants are not watered unnecessarily while you're giving thirstier plants the water they need.
I have my garden on a wick system. Dig your garden out, cover the bottom with thick black plastic them fill 1/2 pea gravel & cover with weed barrier, fill area with water, cover with soil and start planting. You need to water just once a month.
garden. He would till the soil then roll out a soaker hose, cover it with black visquine (plastic tarp). Then he would punch a hole for the sets & seeds. He would then put his grass clippings over the black plastic. He would not have to water as often or weed!
My 22 — 100 ft rows need water at times and more O2. I want a way to get water from air and add O2 to it so when watering my rows this ozone water will go to roots thro my injectors each 12 inches in rows. Do this without electricity. Just an example, if 1 tomato bush root system, no dirt, would fill a 1 gallon can, if ozone were added to same bush root system would fill 5 gallon can. This could support a great tomato production for this plant.


Newly married musician,Mocheddah has criticized veteran rapper,Ruggedman for calling on fellow celebrities to speak up against SARS brutality because their fans may be involved.
According to her,it's wrong to force your beliefs and opinions on others.
"Dear Nigerian entertainers, Some of these people being brutalised are your fans. Some are harrassed while coming from your shows. Speaking up for them will not end your career or stop benefits you get from wherever or whoever. They support you, return the favour.


99p Stores is planning to launch a transactional website, as it reported a 55% drop in profits.
The single-price point retailer revealed that it has invested in bringing all website design and development in-house so it can create a transactional site.
Value retailers have found it difficult to launch transactional websites due to their low price points. Within the general merchandise value sector just Pound Stretcher and Home Bargains have opened websites, but a single-price point retailer is yet to make the leap. Poundland has also said it is working on a transactional site.
The strategy comes as 99p Stores revealed a £6m drop in EBITDA to £4.9m in the year to January 31, which the retailer blamed on investment in the buying teams, retail operations, IT, finance and HR and to support its growing 231-store estate.
Gross turnover increased 27% to £391m in the year, while gross profit fell "marginally" by 0.28% due to "substantial" cost pressure from raw material prices and wages.
Lalani said since year-end "trading has been steady. We have seen year to date margin improvement of 1.4%".
99p Stores is planning to open another 120 UK stores by 2017, aiming for a 350-store estate. Lalani said there was scope for 1,000 UK stores.
The news comes weeks after Poundland revealed it wants to grow to 1,000 stores in the UK, while 300-store Home Bargains is aiming to open 400 more stores in the next five years.
Lalani said he has been strengthening the retailer's offer by investing in chilled food distribution and that 99p Stores has the widest offer among the value retailers. It has also invested in building a design studio so it can create its own products such as greetings cards.
In addition, 99p Stores has been fuelling price-cutting competition in the sector after Retail Week revealed earlier this year that rival Poundland stores had been cutting prices to 97p in areas where new 99p Stores had been opening. In these cases 99p Stores has been dropping some prices to 96p.


text:
Gli Unsane sono un gruppo musicale statunitense di genere noise rock formatosi nel 1988 a New York.

Storia

Nel 1988, il cantante/chitarrista Chris Spencer, coadiuvato dal bassista Pete Shore e dal batterista Charlie Ondras (al tempo liceali) formano i Lawn-Chair-Blisters, embrione di ciò che sarebbero diventati cambiando nome in Unsane. Sotto questo nome registrarono un demo presso il Wharton Tiers Recording Studio nei primi mesi del 1989. Successivamente, firmarono con la Circuit Records, con l'intento di far uscire il loro primo album, Improvised Munitions, ma questo non uscì mai.

Gli Unsane hanno quindi cominciato a far parte, attorno al 1990, della scena "di rumori" di New York, suonando con gente come Pussy Galore, Helmet, Cop Shoot Cop e altri. Nell'autunno del 1991, esce l'album di debutto Unsane per la Matador Records, album considerato un caposaldo della nuova scena noise rock, nonché uno dei lavori "estremi" più influenti degli anni '90.

Un anno dopo, nel 1992, il batterista Charlie Ondras muore per overdose da eroina e viene sostituito, dopo una breve parentesi con Anthony DeLuca, da Vinnie Signorelli (prima in Swans e Foetus). Nel 1994, invece, è il bassista Pete Shore a lasciare per motivi non precisati, subentra quindi Dave Curran.

Dopo aver suonato in diversi paesi, pubblicano il loro secondo album ufficiale, Total Destruction, nel 1994 e quindi il terzo Scattered, Smothered And Covered nel 1995 tramite Amphetamine Reptile. Quest'ultimo è probabilmente il più conosciuto e grazie anche al singolo Scrape e al suo videoclip.

Dopo altri tour, tra cui un'apertura agli Slayer, nel 1998 fanno uscire Occupational Hazard per la Relapse Records. Più tardi, nello stesso anno, Chris Spencer viene attaccato da quattro persone dopo un concerto a Vienna, finendo così in ospedale per emorragia interna e sottoposto a un intervento chirurgico. In seguito all'episodio, nel 2000 la band decide di prendersi una pausa.

Riformatisi nel 2003, rilasciano un album di greatest hits, Lambhouse, seguito dal loro quinto album ufficiale, Blood Run, nel 2005. Questo, però, non riscuote lo stesso successo dei precedenti, sia da parte dei fan che della critica. Nel 2007, quindi, viene alla luce il sesto disco, intitolato Visqueen, per la Ipecac Recordings di Mike Patton.

Nel 2010 pubblicano un EP, Coextinction Recordings 1, contenente tre inediti. Il 20 marzo 2012 esce il loro settimo album in studio, intitolato Wreck, per la Alternative Tentacles, contenente tra gli altri brani una ri-registrazione di Pigeon (già nell'EP del 2010) e una cover dei Flipper, Ha Ha Ha.

Progetti collaterali
Vinnie Signorelli, poco dopo la fine della pausa nel 2003, ha formato gli A Storm Of Light insieme a Josh Graham (già parte dei Neurosis), Domenic Seita e Pete Angevine. Il loro album di debutto è uscito nel 2008, seguito da altri due rispettivamente nel 2009 e nel 2011.

Nel 2008, Chris Spencer ha formato, assieme con Ari Benjamin Meyers (Redux Orchestra), Niko Wenner (Oxbow) e altri, i Celan, debuttando nel 2009 con Halo.

Sempre Chris Spencer, affiancato dal bassista Dave Curran, forma nel 1999 i The Cutthroats 9, band che non si discosta di molto dagli Unsane stessi. Hanno all'attivo 2 album, un singolo ed un ep.

Il bassista Dave Curran, insieme al batterista Jim Paradise e al bassista Andrew Schneider, ha formato i Pigs nelle vesti di cantante e chitarrista, con un'uscita prevista per fine marzo 2012.

Membri

Attuali
 Chris Spencer - Chitarra, Voce (1988-presente)
 Dave Curran - Basso, Voce (1994-presente)
 Vinnie Signorelli - Batteria e percussioni (1992-presente)

Passati
 Pete Shore - Basso (1988-1994)
 Charlie Ondras - Batteria e percussioni (1988-1992)

Discografia

Album in studio
 1991 - Unsane
 1994 - Total Destruction
 1995 - Scattered, Smothered & Covered
 1998 - Occupational Hazard
 2005 - Blood Run
 2007 - Visqueen
 2012 - Wreck
2017 - Sterilize

Compilation
 1993 - Singles 89-92, LP/ CD
 2003 - Lambhouse: The Collection 1991-1998

Album dal vivo
 1994 - Peel Sessions
 1995- Amrep Xmas
 1995 - Attack In Japan

Singoli
 Split w/ Cows, Pagans, Bastards (Unsane - "Burn") (Treehouse) - 1989
 This Town single (Treehouse) - 1989
 Concrete Bed single (Glitterhouse Records) - 1990
 Vandal-X single (Sub Pop) - 1990
 Jungle Music single (PCP) - 1991
 Split w/ Slug single (Matador Records) - 1992
 Body Bomb 7" red vinyl single (Matador Records) - 1994
 Sick/ No Soul single (Man's Ruin Records) - 1996
 Committed/ Over me, single (Galaxia Records) - 1998
 This Plan/ Ha,Ha,Ha, single (DC Records) - 2001
 Coextinction Recordings 1 (Coextinction Recordings) - 2010
 Split w/ Melvins (Amphetamine Reptile Records) - 2012

Note

Altri progetti

Collegamenti esterni

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


Brick Ranch On Corner Lot With Extensive Landscaping. One Owner Home. Den-kitchen Combination With Fireplace. Family Room In Basement. Large Formal Dining Room. Large Living Room. Quick Closing Available. Priced Below Tax Assessment.


text:
Gabriel Alborozo has been working as a cartoonist and illustrator since selling his first cartoon to Private Eye at the age of 15. In the following thirty years he has also worked for Punch, The Spectator, The Oldie and Prospect amongst many others.
He has also had books published by Bloomsbury, Walker, Henry Holt's, Candlewick, Egmont and Simon and Schuster, Childsplay, Allen and Unwin and currently, Levine Querido and ABC Melody.
Sprinkled throughout has been work as a background artist for animation in Australia and several years travelling to some astonishingly hot and uncomfortable places as an archaeological illustrator on behalf of the British Museum and other institutions.
He is currently to be found with his wife, happily drawing (and writing) away in East Sussex.
Originals of his some of his work can be found at the Chris Beetles Gallery
All content © Gabriel Alborozo
No content to be used without permission


text:
What do we know about Andrew Muir?
AFKABartram
June 2018 in General Charlton
So it seems increasingly likely that the Australian consortium are the ones expected to take over the club in the near future and Muir appears to be the main man behind it.
I know over the last year there's been bits of pieces said about him amongst the vast ocean that is the takeover thread. It may be helpful to have a specific thread listing what we know about him etc
So what do we know?
How did he make his money?
What business interests does he retain?
Are there any other UK / European based business interests that are known?
Any other sporting interest?
Any interesting interviews / profile articles that are known?
Keep it on topic please, any off topic posts run the risk of being deleted from thread.
moutuakilla
We know he takes far too long buying football clubs
We know he sold the Australian business The Good Guys which seems like a Curry's/PC World type business for a reported amount of $870million.
He has other business interests such as pet care, and a business of how we manage our memories, again another electronic type company.
He is a philanthropist. Which is the complete opposite to Roland. It means that Muir could see the Community Trust and the work they do in the community and The Academy as very important. As a philanthropist, he would firmly believe in giving back, so us as supporters should really be vital for how he will want to run The Club.
He has set up at least one charity/foundation which aims to promote good health and nutrition. He also is stated to believe in positive psychology. All of this is excellent to know personally being a sports scientist.
He has other sporting interests by being on the board of Essendon Football Club (Aussie Rules).
He seems to keep his private life very private, but reportedly bought a private plane for him and his family.
Apparently the market value of his house is currently around $40m. He bought it in 2007 for $17.75m
The 14-seater private jet he bought last year after selling the Good Guys was estimated to cost $10m
He does not use Duct tape on his shoes
Today Andrew's philanthropic interests are a major focus for him. It has long been his belief that business and its leaders have an obligation to give back to the community in meaningful ways.
He is passionate about the topic of nutrition, in particular educating children about healthy eating, and strongly believes that Australians need to take meaningful action to tackle the growing obesity problem. It was his desire to act on this problem, that saw him establish The Good Foundation.
Among his many interests, Andrew believes in the benefits of positive psychology and provided advice and consultation to Professor Field Rickards, Dean of Education at the University of Melbourne, in setting up the University's Centre for Positive Psychology.
He has also been heavily involved with the Rotary Foundation for many years and was recently recognised for his contribution with a Certificate of Appreciation. In addition he has supported programs such as Neighbourhood Watch, helped fund the Starlight Foundation Room at The Royal Children's Hospital and provided support to the Paralympic Training Base in Tullamarine
Halix
If it turns out that he also is a bit of a bastard, it will be a bloody long journey to protest in his home town!
i_b_b_o_r_g
He looks like Bill Gates' and Lewis Walsh's love child
Halix said:
Better start the Australian 20 now
ForeverAddickted
So far as I'm aware he's got nothing to do with Red Bull
Henry Irving
AFKABartram said:
Got no money : - )
JamesSeed
According to etc etc 'he's a really lovely bloke'.
Buy a club from a man in Brussels
Five foot four with duck tape muscles
Muir said 'do you speak-a my language?'
He sneered with a Keohane sandwich
Muir comes from a land down under
Where women glow and men plunder
Can you hear our Valley thunder?
You better run, you better take cover.
Airman Brown
Donald's brother. Frank's son.
Solidgone
Airman Brown said:
You're bluffing...
If we have yet another week of nothing happening I think we can forget about Mr Muir.
Oh ye of little faith!
ChicagoAddick
https://chicagoaddick.wordpress.com/2017/10/21/andrew-muir/
Written last October.
Chizz
Jamie Oliver runs a social enterprise called Ministry of Food, based on an initiative he kicked off in Rotherham ten years ago. Ministry of Food now runs food courses in a number of locations across the UK, including Leeds, Bradford, Newcastle, Middlesbrough and Brighton. Some of these courses have been run in association with - or using the facilities of - football clubs, including Sunderland FC, Burnley FC and, the only presence the Ministry of Food has had in London, at Crystal Palace FC.
Last year, he ran a series of courses at Selhurst Park in June. Interestingly, they have not been repeated this year.
Andrew Muir's Good Foundation works in partnership with Jamie's Ministry of Food in Australia. As part of that association, the Good Foundation has set up fund-raising and auctions in order to secure cash funds to sponsor adults and children to participate in seven-week courses.
I wonder if part of the attraction of Charlton to Andrew Muir is the Community Trust. Its aim is in three parts - Improving Education and Employment, Improving Health and Reducing Crime. All three of those are a perfect match for both the Good Foundation and for Ministry of Food.
The first Good Foundation auction in support of Jamie's Ministry of Food went live on Friday last week. I wonder if that's part of the reason Muir headed back to Australia. And I wonder if we will soon see an announcement that, not only will Charlton have new owners, but the brilliant work of Jason Morgan and CACT will soon have an even bigger media profile..?
ozaddick
Hold my beer...
Weegie Addick
Post Grad Diploma of Financial Management
Harvard Business School - Advanced Management Programme
http://generositymag.com.au/the-art-of-giving-in-business/
Mentions the interesting concept of loyalty.
Found his address, though suggest we hold off on the leafletting for a bit ;-)
dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2826539/Did-discount-paying-cash-Good-guys-founder-buys-19-million-beachside-mansion-named-one-Australia-s-10-best-homes-1961.html
DessieValley
He's got a scarf and still not paid for it
CAFCTrev
Hes going for the world record slowest football club takeover.
cantersaddick
Weegie Addick said:
Good bachelors. I like him already!
The Red Robin
He's going on Love Island.


When a person's teeth or jaw structure do not fit together properly, orthodontic treatment may be necessary to straighten teeth and promote ideal function. These problems, often referred to a malocclusion (or bad bites), can cause speech difficulty, premature wear of the teeth and protective enamel and even increase the chance of injury to teeth and jaw joints, if left untreated.
Spacing problems may be caused by missing teeth of they may only be cosmetic issue.


Scholastic Early Learning titles help children get ready for school. From very simple flash cards to a range of wipe-clean workbooks, the clear, colourful pages present letters, numbers, and other early learning concepts, guiding and encouraging children as they learn.
Scholastic Early Learners: Peek-a-Boo Baby!
Scholastic Early Learners: Look at Me!
Scholastic Early Learners: Touch and Lift Peek-a-Who? Are You My Mom?
Scholastic Early Learners: Playful Pets: Woof!


Our team is proud to be the publisher of your German-language edition. I am happy to announce that today we published the German edition of "Babys Inklusive" as Kindle and Paperback versions. We wish you great customer reviews and good sales.
Isn't it wonderful? BABIES IN THE BARGAIN is now available in German under a new title: BABYS inclusive. Here is the link to the German book.
It already has a five star review and ranks #39 in Kindle.
How I wish I could read German!
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MQSeries.net :: View topic - MQ Java packaging - why jms.jar?
MQSeries.net Forum Index » IBM MQ Java / JMS » MQ Java packaging - why jms.jar?
I've got a simple MQ Java (non-JMS) program that apparently needs jms.jar to work? Running, with just com.ibm.mq.jar in the CLASSPATH, I get a stack trace with the missing class being javax/transaction/xa/XAException (this in response to creating an MQQueueManager object).
I can easily add jms.jar to the CLASSPATH but it makes me wonder if I'm doing something fundementally wrong with MQ/Java if I've got to have jms.jar for a program that doesn't use any JMS support directly.
I just updated with the lastest MQ88_win support pack but have the same situation under Solaris.
O.K., so I'm blind, it not jms.jar but jta.jar that contains javax/transaction/xa/XAException.
I had the same question. I just upgraded to MA_88, and my app now requires that I include jta.jar in my classpath, otherwise I get that exception.
Does anyone know why this jar is necessary?
I'm using non-jms code, in bindings mode.