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The Happening (2008) • USA • M. Night Shyamalan
Confession: I watched this movie and thought it was unrelentingly, embarrassingly bad. It looked pretty good, it had that Shyamalan style, but too much of the dialog felt bullied onto the characters. I couldn't believe how unnatural it sounded, how forced and amateurish it felt for the purpose of filling in plot. And it's a message flick—"we've abused the planet so don't be surprised if it fights back some day"—and message flicks, in my experience, are the worst offenders in the bad movie department because the message, and trying to make the point, often get in the way of making a good film.
Then I read a brief comment from a reviewer at the MRQE: "Shyamalan doesn't conform to the needs of modern movie goer zombies. It doesn't mean he sucks. It means you don't get it. At least someone still takes risks in the ART of cinema. It's not unintentionally hilarious. It's a blatantly comedic satire."
Whoa! That changes everything. Satire gives Shyamalan a free pass from ridiculous straight through to funny; except I'm not sure what he is satirizing. Himself? Message movies? Horror movies? Science? What? Doesn't satire involve an obvious subject in order for the satire to be got? I'm not going to hold the MRQE reviewer to his literal words because if The Happening is "blatantly comedic" I have lost my sense of humor completely. There is the part with the greenhouse guru—who pretty much solves the mystery of the Event by declaring that plants, because they can't run around and throw punches, develop neurotoxins to fight off threats to their existence—and his ironic enthusiasm for bringing hot dogs along on the getaway trip. That was funny. When he asks Mark Wahlberg and then Zooey Deschanel if they like hot dogs, they both respond negatively, but not so much as in "No, they give me the creeps", but more like "Not really, but more importantly your enthusiasm for them is giving me the willies."
Satire can also bring forgiveness to plot wonders and plot holes. One of the more uncomfortable moments in the film for me is when John Leguizamo decides to turn back and go into the dead zone to look for his wife. He is about to entrust his daughter's safety to Mark and Zooey but when Zooey reaches out to take his daughter's hand John barks at her: "Don't take my daughter's hand unless you mean it." On paper the line is in character, perhaps, but in performance it's way out of line. Are we supposed to laugh at the pain in Zooey's eyes as she reacts to this idiotic ungratefulness? I dunno. I don't get it. Shyamalan could very well be forging a new path, creating his own rules for satire, or deconstructing it and tossing aside certain aspects, like humor, for the sake of his art.
There's the famous bit of dialog from the movie trailer where Wahlberg confronts the getaway train conductor (or whatever he is) about why they can't get back on the train and keep going. The conductor says, "We've lost contact." Wahlberg asks, "With who?" and the conductor replies "Everyone." That seems pretty final until a few scenes later where a woman is talking on her cell phone to her daughter who's back in the infected zone. Mark walks up like Jack from the TV show Lost and offers instructions to pass along to the daughter of the hysterical woman who puts the call on speaker-phone so we can all hear her daughter die. Cut. There's the scene where someone whips out an iPhone and plays a high quality video that was just sent to them from someone in the infected zone. I'm not going to tell what the video shows, suffice to say it's blatantly comedic. As is the notion of running away from the wind but I'm not bringing that up.
I have an extremely high tolerance for the gravity of plot as it weighs on a story. I'm not deducting points for any failure to bear that burden; I'm deducting points because so many of the scenes are written badly. And the story is stupid. Yes, playing the satire card shines a new light on everything but I'm not sure it makes anything more attractive. I'm reminded of a Seinfeld episode where an elderly couple are admiring a giant portrait of Kramer and the guy says something to the effect of "It's obscene. I can't turn away." Honestly, that's how I feel about The Happening. It's so bad it has to be brilliant. But blatantly comedic? I'm not sure. Your mileage may vary.
Labels: ★★, 2008, Horror, M. Night Shyamalan, Mystery, satire, supernatural, USA
Unholy Women (Kowai onna) (2006) • Japan
The only reason I picked this one up is because I'm stalking the four women who starred in the fabulous Japanese independent film Strawberry Shortcakes and one of those women is in this film. She's my least favorite of the four but it's probably not her fault, more likely it's due to her character in that film.
Unholy Women is three unconnected thirty minute shorter films packed together to make a longer ninety minute film. My target stars in the first of the three called "Rattle Rattle". She's hanging out with some guy who's married and that's all we need to know in order to proceed to the rest of the film where my heroine runs around screaming, all frightened and sweaty, trying to avoid the clutches of a J-Horror-Goth-Chick—which is another reason I picked this one up. I love the JHGC.
Usually the JHGC is depicted as a ghostly white, youngsterish, somewhat sympathetic, semi-sensuous spirit having a bad hair day. The one in this film is ugly with a capital F, and wears red. I think she is supposed to be more real than her genre sisters but she does have the signature slow, bone rattling shuffle that allows for lots of responsive screaming time. It's hard to say what "Rattle Rattle" is about because I don't remember it having much of a story beyond the running around and the infidelity setup, but I think it's pretty good because of several JHGC moments. I don't remember how it ends.
The second film is called "Steel" and it's pretty funny because it tries to be creepy but doesn't know which way to go. It stars a girl who is a burlap sac from the waist up and likes to sew. Her father pumps (literally, with a pump) gallons of what appears to be liposuction remains through a tube into her sac part and lures young men into dating her by offering them a job and showing them a picture of some hot babe. One guy, with the requisite diversity training I guess, dates her and sees beyond, through, around—I don't know—the burlap sac part and tries to have sex with her. He crawls between her legs in an enlightened post-feminism foreplay maneuver to get under her sac and never comes out. Surprise, surprise.
The third film is called "Sleep My Child", and it's about a cute young boy whose world is mysterious and confusing, has some dead people floating around behind him, a freaky grandmother, and an abusive mother with an overly kind public comportment, all of which is exacerbated by the fact that his mom always seems to be waving goodbye to him when she really means 'come here'. That confused me too.
All in all Unholy Women has some reasonably creepy atmosphere without a lot of plot to get in the way. Look for it in the cheap bin or on late night cable.
Labels: .movie clip attached, ★★★, 2006, Asian Cinema, Horror, Japan, JHGC
Lost In Beijing (Ping guo) (2007) • China
China's weird. Didn't we just learn from the Olympic Committee that there's billions of people living there? I think we did. Why then is this one of only a few films I can think of, off the top of my head, coming from there that has any semblance of lived-life-now? Lived life now under peculiar circumstances, sure, because it is a movie after all, but still. Everything else seems to be costumed drama kung fu palace historical Mao-sanctioned fantasy crap. I'm talking mainland China here. Taiwan and Hong Kong don't count. Ang Lee doesn't count. All the Chinese filmmakers making films in other parts of the world, and getting them financed and released in other parts of the world, don't count—and there's the rub.
Lost in Beijing is banned in China and its filmmakers are banned for two years from making films in China. What kind of nonsensical time-out is that? I mean no disrespect to the Chinese, I just want more of them to fall through the cracks and make films like Lost in Beijing—which is nothing like Farewell My Hero's Kingdom of Flying Yellow Flowers.
Fan Bingbing, known in the west as Bingbing Fan, stars in this film as Liu Ping Guo (Ping Guo, the Chinese title, translates literally as "Apple"), a foot massage girl who is raped by her boss (played out-of-this-worldly great by Tony Leung Ka Fai who's been in enough movies that every Chinese citizen could pick a film of his to see without any two people seeing the same film—western audiences may know him as the guy who has sex with Marguerite Duras in The Lover), and the rape is witnessed by her husband, a window washer who just happens to be hanging from a scaffolding washing the windows of the room at the massage parlor where the rape takes place. Foot massage is big business in China so I guess that's why this massage parlor is some kind of skyscraper that needs these scaffolded window washers, but I digress. The husband sees this as an opportunity to milk a little money from the well to do parlor owner. Lost in Beijing turns a critical eye toward the new moneyed urban class set against the rural, immigrant-in-their-own-country, if you will, working class.
Bingbing's husband confronts Tony's wife with the rape news and demands money for his pain and suffering, yes, you read that right, his pain and suffering. Tony's wife laughs at him and suggests a better revenge would be for him to have sex with her, and then in a moment of barely noticed brilliance while she's riding him cowgirl puts sunglasses on him so she can't see him looking at her.
It turns out Bingbing is pregnant and things get a little more complicated. If you complain when a film uses overly convenient plot devices to move forward you probably won't like this film as much as I do. I'm more concerned with the caliber of the characters. All four of the main performances in Lost in Beijing are magnificent. (Tony's relationship with, and handling of, his over sized wallet/day-planner is hilarious, as is his response of randomly checking the top of his head for bald spots when he's busted for trying to use a mirror to peek at Bingbing in the shower.) The direction is good and the camerawork creative, sometimes a little too creative to the point where I got dizzy a couple times so I'm deducting a point for that. Beijing is the backdrop here, captured in all its beautiful gray and bustling self.
Labels: ★★★★, 2007, Asian Cinema, China, drama, fan bingbing, Li Yu
Next Door (Naboer) (2005) • Denmark • Norway
This is right up there with Michael Haneke's Funny Games in the twisted creepy department. There's a surreal normalcy that pervades the proceedings even when they get completely bent. Something about the story, though, after it is fully revealed might leave you a little underwhelmed. You've seen it before and you'll see it again, but so what?
This film is anything but predictable as you're being dragged through it. I'll wager an episode of Dallas that it won't be until after the final denouement that you'll feel like you knew where things had any possibility of going. If the ending does disappoint it's because the entirety of everything that preceded it has you expecting more. Good films do that. Good films are like roller coasters: you can know where they start and where they end, and many of them are alike but that doesn't prevent you from jumping on and enjoying a ride. Naboer is a well put together film with greasy, seductive characters, a thoughtfully subtle soundtrack, and an eerie set. The girls' apartment, which grows throughout the film mirroring the expanding recesses of their mind fuck, is a character of its own.
By now, if you've heard of this film you've heard about the sex scene (I guess you'd call it a sex scene) where a man and woman bloody one another by sprinkling their lustful moves with punches to the face. If you haven't, now you have.
Part of the intrigue of watching "foreign" films comes from the fact that they usually employ foreign actors. Duh. The visual cues to their personality makeup are different. This guy, Kristoffer Joner who plays the seeming innocent, his face, his body language, they're confused yet curious dread personified. The girls, they're some kind of sleazy, sexy, creepy crawly mash-up teetering between repulsive and titillating. This might be a genre piece with a story arc you've seen before but I'll bet you've never seen it played like these players play it.
Labels: .movie clip attached, ★★★★★, 2005, Denmark, Horror, Norway, Thriller
La Capture (2007) • France
This semi-arty little semi-revenge flick from France features a refreshing performance from Catherine de Léan as Rose, a young woman who wants more than payback for the abuse she witnessed and suffered as a child at the hands of her father. She wants her father to understand that his legacy, and the continued abuse of her mother and younger brother, is wrong. So with the help of a couple friends she captures him, gives him a great big grown-up time out and ties him to a radiator in an empty rehearsal studio and attempts to enlighten him.
La Capture also features some nicely nuanced direction from veteran French actress Carole Laure who also wrote the screenplay. Employing not so much a vignette technique as a chaptered one, scenes fade in and fade out the way someone might illustrate a process using bullet points. Sometimes details are left out or unresolved but that only serves to underscore their unimportance in the telling of this story. For example, a scene of Rose doing a poetic reading to her father of man as social animal philosophy is followed a little later by a scene where several animals populate the rehearsal studio and do nothing more than look upon this man tied to a chair. It's a powerful and interesting scene without explanation of how the animals may have come or gone, but it's not that far-fetched a scenario given the portrait Laure has painted of Rose as a seemingly well-adapted, well-liked, sexually happy and satisfied young woman whose life is grounded in practicing that new-age acting technique where people pretend to be animals.
Catherine de Léan has a tough, natural beauty well suited, for the most part, to the role of skirt and boot wearing Rose. Part of the story arc involves changes to her character that occur after she becomes the one in power exerting control. I wasn't as convinced by her portrayal of the gun wielding crazy sister who rescues her brother from drug dealers, but that may be due to the overall inferior telling of that part of the story. Her brother hasn't fared as well in life, hasn't yet "gotten away" and serves as a more typical case juxtaposition to Rose. Director Laure uses a few provocative, though not too explicit sex scenes showing Rose as more atypical from many victims of abuse. Sexually fulfilled is a necessary ingredient in a happy life, right? There's only an implicit case made for the power of new age consciousness in Rose's well adjusted living.
La Capture does a better job showing us than telling us, but that's not a criticism. This is an engaging film to watch and I think the director set out to make it that way and succeeded. I was in the mood for French and La Capture delivered a well crafted, smartly done package. Nice to see Pascale Bussières as la mère (the mother). It's not a big role, and her character is medicated and abused to the point of numbness—a woman who "floats, barely there ... invisible by choice", but just having her around adds to the film's rep.
And the ending is magnificent!
Labels: .movie clip attached, ★★★★, 2007, art-house, drama, France, indie
Welcome to the Quiet Room (Quiet room ni yôkoso) (2007) • Japan
2007 marked the return to the big screen of ex-model, ex-singer, no longer ex-actress, drop dead gorgeous Yuki Uchida. Her first film in almost 10 years, Glory to the Filmmaker! was written and directed by Takeshi Kitano's (as Beat Takeshi), and in her next film, Welcome to the Quiet Room, her ex-husband is played by Shinya Tsukamoto. Seems like an odd pair for a photobook girl to be jamming with.
Having only this film to go on I can't really give her high marks as a thespian, but ... good lord, the woman's got Ivory Soap charm and the beauty to back it up. Welcome to the Quiet Room is not a good film ... but you can have a little fun with it. I believe Yuki Uchida is in every single scene. Problem is, she shares them with some obnoxious others. It's as if all the direction they got was "get loud and act stupid. You're in a film about a nuthouse." Uchida also plays the first third of the film with splashes of vomit in her hair and smeared on her face. Subtle, but distracting. And not to sound superficial or anything but I hope this woman has hair insurance. It's too bad that when she's styled up in million-dollar-messy she's the sweetest, sexiest looking thing on two legs—except for the puke accouterments. One of her inmate pals combs the stale upchuck from her hair and adds a couple thin braids off to each side causing her to lose a lot of sex appeal. I've never ogled hair so much.
Yûko Nakamura, from the fabulous film Strawberry Shortcakes, has a small role as the reasonable roommate. She's complicated though. Yû Aoi practically steals the show in a supporting role as a sexy bulimic guru of sorts—the one who has "figured out the system." Ryô is scary beautiful good as the head ward nurse and nemesis to all. And just so we have enough for basketball, Mai Takahashi rounds out the dream team of Japanese beauty in a small role as a lifer and musical genius with an eating disorder who's retreated into childlike behavior. Beyond that, the "get loud and act stupid" crowd gets too much screen time. If you're not put off by folks who confuse obnoxious with funny, give this one a visit. If you're looking to enhance your appreciation of fine Asian cinema you should wait a while for a Yuki Uchida fix. I have a feeling this woman is about to do something good.
Welcome to the Quiet Room is plagued with confused writing and bad direction. ***Here comes a spoiler*** It seems odd that such a lightweight film would end so, so ... unfriendly-ly. When Uchida is about to be released, all her "friends" who helped her find her true self again, through song and dance therapy, sign a big bon voyage card for her. Yû Aoi, her mysterious mentor, is the last to sign because plot recently had her get punched in the face by Uchida, and so we wait with baited breath to see if she is going to sign it or not. She does, and writes "Destroy this in one hour or die", presumably meaning "Once you're out of here destroy all connections to the place or you'll be Welcome to the Hotel California." When Uchida leaves she promptly deposits the card, and a beautiful gift she also received, in the trash can. She's still got contact info for her recently released reasonable roommate, played by Yûko Nakamura from the fabulous film Strawberry Shortcakes, the woman who lent her a brush and gave her chocolate and good advice. Maybe Yûko Nakamura dies or is on her way back in (which would be a great big "I told you so" from Yû Aoi), but the glee with which this last attachment is discarded seems selfish and mean.
Labels: .movie clip attached, ★★★, 2007, Asian Cinema, comedy, Japan, Yû Aoi, yuki uchida
The Chair (2007) • USA
Horror films are a gamble but it's easy to tell fairly quickly when it's time to hold 'em and when it's time to fold 'em. The direction, cinematography, and character introductions reveal promptly where the film is aiming at on the stupid scale and how serious of an effort it's going to be. The Chair was shot on video but looks remarkably good to my eyes and Brett Sullivan's direction is smartly done—not so much in the way he captures the scenes but for the way he gets to them—the camera peers around a corner, or from across the room, from inside a closet, or it nestles itself on the ceiling and observes from there. It's not rocket science to make those choices for a film about a haunted house, but Sullivan's execution is inspired.
The Chair begins with a few black & white moments of spooky snippets and background data on mesmerism. Then we're brought to the present in the presence of a blond pony-tail. Uh-oh ... a quick shot of pony-tail girl from the attic of the house she's about to move into, letting us know we're not alone, and she's off to the bathtub to relax and pleasure herself. Umm ...
Alanna Chisholm plays the pony-tail and looks like she could be Nicole Sullivan's twin sister. It's her performance that makes this film a winner. Once she's out of the tub and on to developing her character it's refreshing to see she's not playing it anywhere near bimbo. She's got big expressive eyes and a quirky yet confident mixed-uppedness about her that's appealing, inviting both fear and empathy. We know she's medicated and has a history of breakdowns, which she uses to her advantage. Since she is operating under suspicion of not having both oars in the water, she is unpredictable—but never hysterical. She never imagines anything; it's all really happening. It's just up to her grad school self to find the paradigm it all fits into. When her sister and the cleavage she rode in on arrive to act as the reasonable foil, Chisholm begins playing with a cold determination that works as a transition to the possessed by the never quite dead 100 year old spirit of a killer that invades her body character.
Said spirit belongs to a man who was mesmerized right at the moment of death—while sitting in a spooky chair in the very house Chisholm now inhabits—and then buried alive causing him to remain in a state of horrifying limbo for a hundred years—a fate the mesmerist feels is worse than death for the man who killed his daughter, or something like that ... so there's some plot going on behind Chisholm's performance.
Plot is a difficult thing and even if we give it only a 3.8 on a scale of 10 it could still win a batting title. What interests me more are the nuances and subtle humor Sullivan and Chisholm bring to the proceedings, which also grant the film membership in the much vaunted Horror version2 category.
When it's time to explore the dark and secret room they discover in the house (plot), Chisholm and her sister's cleavage use one of those flashlights you have to wind up to get any light from. It's done without fanfare, making it quite funny. The big race-against-time action sequence toward the end of the film seems to fizzle out empty and unproductive, deliberately, making it funny and absurd. My favorite bits of the film, however, are when Chisholm settles down to research and does a slow roll of her neck, cracking it. Makes creepy noises.
Labels: .movie clip attached, ★★★★, 2007, Horror, Horror v2, USA
The Harmonium in My Memory (Nae maeumui punggeum) aka Organ of My Heart (1999) • South Korea
I love Do-yeon Jeon and what I love about her is that she always appears completely genuine in performance. In this film, however, her every move is riddled with acting. It's hardly her fault as she is given the mighty task of portraying a fifth-grade girl. What is that? Ten years old? Eleven? Her character could be seventeen for all I know, given the poverty and functional illiteracy of her community, but she's still a fifth-grader. All the self-conscious insecurities and pouting of a girl that age—not to mention a girl that age whose day to day life is overwhelmed by a mad crush on her new twenty-one year old school teacher—all the mannerisms are forced. But enough about that. No use crying over spilled milk, or, thank god in this case, unrequited love.
The Harmonium in My Memory is a sweet little nostalgia film set in rural South Korea sometime after the war around 1960, give or take, centering on the teachers and students at a community school. Many of the students can't afford basic school supplies, are often rowdy in class and prove to be quite a handful for the rookie teacher played wonderfully by Byung-hun Lee (A Bittersweet Life; Joint Security Area). It's the youthful idealism of Lee's character who wants to treat the students with respect and tolerance set against the older teachers' old-school values of beating and discipline that serves as the film's basic theme. The other likeable character in the film, played by Mi-yeon Lee, is another young teacher who takes her students outside to make noise and run off steam, much to the chagrin of her elders. She's Lee's love interest, and she and he share a passion for music, providing for many a musical moment in The Harmonium in My Memory. "Don't Break The Heart That Loves You", sung by Connie Francis, captures the torchy milieu of these characters perfectly—perhaps a little too easily.
The Harmonium in My Memory isn't a bad film, but expectations are extremely high for Do-yeon Jeon, and she disappoints; all the characters in the film are cliché; the use of dramatic music seems like a shortcut to emotions the characters aren't capable of making us feel; and the ending is manipulative, tacked on to make us get happy about a film that left us empty.
And what's the deal with kids bringing stool samples to class?
Labels: ★★★, 1999, Asian Cinema, Do-yeon Jeon, drama, Korea, romance
Boarding Gate (2007) • France • Olivier Assayas
If it weren't for the smoldering performance of Asia Argento, and I'm not talking about the parts where you get to see her tattoos, I would admit defeat and zero this one out. I don't know why the film is called Boarding Gate; the plot is thin and confusing; Michael Madsen can whisper and grunt all he wants and nobody is going to mistake it for good dramatic acting; the film seems to meander along in prologue mode for about forty-five minutes and then, BANG! somebody dies with great surprise; despite the fact that the location moves to a new country, the film doesn't seem to go anywhere; and not understanding the story won't prevent me from saying with confidence that the ending is lame.
Ms. Argento doesn't need to act. She lives the role of Sandra, relying on her naturally scary-cool charisma and complex heart to suck us in to her character—the script isn't going to do it. She's transcendentally tough and vulnerable at the same time. From one moment to the next she is spitting razor sharp barbs and then crying but never weeping, never weak. The incomplete script works to her advantage here. It's not clear why she is attracted so deeply to either of her love interests with the net result that she appears twisted, courting danger and abuse to feel alive.
Contrary to what the movie posters might lead one to believe, Argento doesn't parade around the entire film in her underwear. There's one quick shot of her being thrown to a bed by her lover where upon she delivers the most authentic and erotic response I've seen in a movie, and there's an extended scene in Madsen's apartment where she's in and out of her dress a couple times. The latter is the best scene in the film, not for its limited display of flesh but for the warped cruelty in their battle of wits—mirrored in stop/start kinky sex they never manage to get very far along with for one reason or another.
Boarding Gate is billed as a thriller and, given its writer/director's resumé, is supposedly about how selfishly cruel and inhuman the world of contemporary multi-national capitalists can be. Blah blah blah. Who's arguing that point? What emerges from the film is a portrait of a modern day neo-femme-fatale who doesn't dress nice or comb her hair trying to juggle a couple of corporate wackbirds (I stole that word from somebody) to her meager advantage and gets a lesson in betrayal along the way. The action parts of the film, the parts where people run around and shoot guns and stuff, aren't interesting at all. The thriller parts, the parts where mystery and suspense are supposed to propel the film, aren't articulated very well. It's the parts where the players settle down to talking smack on one another to gain psychological advantage that are good. If you are a fan of Asia Argento and like your eroticism dark and implied, or are interested in finding out what Argento is capable of as an actress, then check out Boarding Gate. If you are looking for a good thriller, or a film with a little action and good production values, look somewhere else.
Labels: .movie clip attached, ★★★, 2007, asia argento, France, Hong Kong, sexy, Thriller
Shine a Light (2008) • USA • Martin Scorsese
The Good: the film is staged, shot, lit and (visually) edited extremely well; Mick Jagger has emerged from his tunnel of self-parody and carries the film on his energetic old man shoulders, his voice as strong and as accurate as ever, his lithe little body defying all the rules that apply to most sixty-plus year old bodies; they don't play any of the crap music they've written in the past few decades, sticking to oldies and standards.
The Bad: the Rolling Stones suck as a rock and roll band now, a guitar driven rock and roll band, that is; Keith Richards is mesmerizing in a "What is that thing?" kind of way, but as a guitar player, nope. The unfriendly way to put it would be to say he's lost his chops or has forgotten how to play all the riffs that made him one of the greatest rock songwriters of all time. The friendly way to put it would be to say he doesn't know the difference between what he feels and what he plays—all the riffs and rhythms circulate through his bloodstream perfectly but the technology doesn't exist to send them through the sound reproduction system so all we get is what pulses to his finger tips—all we hear is his accompaniment to his inner self. His approximations to the riffs of "Tumblin' Dice" and "Brown Sugar" are almost forgivable but his butchering of "Start Me Up" is not.
Ronnie Wood. He may be a fine guitar player but he doesn't play well with others. It's as if he doesn't listen to, or hear, what other members of the band are doing. A couple of the film's highlights are the two songs Keith sings featuring Ronnie as the sole guitarist. He plays great acoustic (slide) guitar on "You Got the Silver" and rocks well on "Connection." Throw him into the mix and he plays junk. As soon as you want to excuse either Keith or Ronnie because they are old, Buddy Guy, seventy-plus years old, comes on stage and makes clear what it sounds like when the first thing a good guitar player does is listen to what other people in the band are doing.
The Beautiful: Mick singing "As Tears Go By" accompanied by Keith on 12-string acoustic. Perfect.
The Bizarre: with the caveat that I watched and listened to this film on a standard television set so I don't know what the Dolby 5.1 sounds like, the audio mixing practice of boosting the sound level of the performer in the visual edit, down to single notes sometimes, sounds ridiculous. Luckily, Mick was the visual focus of most of the film, his vocals out front and clear.
The Disappointment: "Lovin' Cup" sans piano. Terrible.
The best parts of the film, and by that I mean the best songs in the film, are the minimal, simpler ones. It's too bad there aren't enough of them. Mick Jagger can channel himself channeling himself all night long, he can be double-plus-good, but he doesn't have a band behind him any more. By showcasing the band's relationship to its music as product delivered to an audience, an audience of hand-picked, paid extras that also includes Bill and Hilary Clinton, Scorsese doesn't shine a light or bring any new insight to the Rolling Stones in this film.
Labels: ★★★, 2008, concert film, documentary, Martin Scorsese, music, USA
Closed Note (2007) • Japan
OMG! And I mean that. What a wonderful weeper. A tad trite with some minor manipulations and big blunders, but it's well played and when crying time came I was a willing participant. This film contains a couple firsts for me: a pen fetish as plot device, (our heroine works in a pen store where they have test units "not ready" for sale); and a mandolin recital that reaches adrenaline rushing heights, (she also plays the mandolin). The performance of the man conducting the mandolin orchestra is worth the price of admission alone.
Closed Note is beautifully shot and set. It's not unusual for a movie to depict locations that promote envy in its viewers, but the lush, lush greenery of this film, embracing beautifully cut old and new Japanese architecture and landscape patterns, at times seeming to swallow them up, instills hope and a peaceful, serene mood without seeming fantastic. The second floor apartment where the girls in our film live, and lived, is reached by descending a large stone staircase which ends at the front door of the building. It's not clear how one reaches the apartment from that front door, but no matter. When loved ones leave the building, they ascend the stairs and arrive at the same level as the window to the apartment making them seem far away and close at the same time; cries of love and farewell are given increased dramatic score.
Hope and love and dreams. Heartbreak and ambition. They're all here, given voice by the school teacher whose diary our mandolin playing pen store clerk reads. It's a little tough at times to attach yourself to the way these matters of the heart are gleaned from interactions with her 4th grade students, but Yuko Takeuchi, as the school teacher, performs with such heart-tapping sincerity (you'll see), I played along willingly. There's a little girl who can no longer attend class because she doesn't feel she has the strength in her heart to live up to the teacher's plea to all be "children of the sun" and "live like a family" which she illustrates by example of someone farting in class. "Not that I'm advocating casual farting in class, but it doesn't matter who farted." Oops. Take a deep breathe. Move on.
Although I think she could use a new hair stylist, Erika Sawajiri, as the diary reader, is as pretty and engaging as an angel; her performance is unimpeachable except for a couple boo-boos during the mandolin recital. Some of her facial expressions made me forget I was watching a movie and was instead reminiscing with videotapes of my own true love.
Yusuke Iseya as the emotionally unavailable, or emotionally naive love object and artist is also good. When he comes into the pen store to try out pens, he waves them around, mumbles pen-love adjectives, scribbles a bit, and returns them to the clerk without looking at her. It's obvious he means business.
Speaking of obvious, when the plot finally revealed itself completely I smacked my head and cried "Doh!" But the beauty of a good film with good performances, cinematography, and direction (performances, mostly) is staying inside the characters, not getting outside of them and thinking about things they are not thinking about. When the curtain is pulled back, we see what they see, as they see it, when they see it. Despite a few over-the-top moments and a couple inexplicable plot holes, Closed Note kept me engaged, inside its characters until the final page before the tacked on epilogue I could have done without because it kind of ruined the film. But no matter.
Labels: ★★★★, 2007, Asian Cinema, Hiromi Nagasaku, Japan, romance
The Chaser (Chugyeogja) (2008) • South Korea
This film is so Korean. The way it is shot and the way the story is told don't conform to the way many Americans think genre clues should be presented and adhered to. At it's heart, The Chaser is a crime drama about a serial killer and the guy who's chasing him, but it evolves from many different angles. It's a comedy of errors in the way the police and politicians are portrayed; a melodrama with its inclusion of the precocious little girl who belongs to the woman serving as the film's primary "chase" and investigative point; a psychological thriller in the way the serial killer messes with the minds of the police; a mildly gory film in the way the bad guy uses a hammer and chisel; a bit of a tragedy in the way it ends. The only thing missing from this film is romance. Thank god they didn't make one of the missing girls a love interest of the pimp—he's only after the money they owe him. That's where the brilliance of the chase begins.
There's a fight scene early on where our protagonist, an ex-detective gone bad turned pimp, is beating the crap out of some guy he thinks has kidnapped and sold some of his girls. A long uphill foot chase precedes the brawl so both combatants are extremely winded when the fighting begins—punches don't land and there's a girly incompetence to the whole thing, which is to say, it's realistic. After finally landing a few punches that subdue his opponent momentarily, the pimp gets up and starts kicking him in disgust. He's very angry, still a bit winded and out of control. One of his kicks only grazes its target causing him to lose his balance and fall on his butt, and because of momentum he begins to roll and his feet fly up in the air. It seems funny, but it's not. You have to sneak in your chuckle as he gets up and continues kicking the guy. When he's finally pummeled his adversary into unconsciousness, he uses his foot to roll him onto his side so he can get to the wallet in his back pocket and ID him. He attempts to sit on him, not to keep him down, but because he's bone tired from all the fighting. He doesn't land squarely which causes the bad guy to shift a bit, and consequently he lands on his butt again. It seems funny but it's not.
After the fight scene both men are brought to the police station for questioning. Because the pimp is an ex-detective with a reputation, the cops initially sympathize with the other guy, thinking the pimp over-reacted—not to mention the causal fender-bender that brought the two men together in the first place. The pimp doesn't know that the other guy just took a hammer and chisel to the head of the girl he is trying to get back, he thinks she's just freshly been sold, making his sense of urgency misplaced, where it remains throughout most of the film. It's kind of awkward for the police to find much urgency in one pimp accusing another of stealing one of his girls. The bad guy insists he didn't sell the girl and then mumbles under his breathe "I killed her", and confesses in great detail how he killed her and several other girls. The pimp screams at the cops, "Can't you see he's just pretending to be crazy now?"
And so it goes. We know there's been killing going on and we know who's been doing it from very early on in the film but it manages to remain suspenseful throughout. The Chaser is a gripping thriller from the beginning until a few minutes from the end. The two main characters are portrayed with impeccable nuance. It's Yun-seok Kim's performance as the bewildered pimp that takes this film to great heights. There are so many things that don't go the way he wants them to, like people hanging up on him when he's talking to them on the phone, a little girl who startles him and asks too many smart questions, the cops can't do anything right; and every time, his subdued response of confused disbelief made me laugh. He brings a Kang-ho Song-ish melancholy humor to the film, (I can't think of an American actor to compare him to), while Jung-woo Ha as the impotent serial killer is so normal and unmoved it's creepy.
There are a handful of groan out loud plot moves in The Chaser, but so what. There are also more than a handful of plot moves this film doesn't do, moves that most people will be guessing it will do, that it more than makes up for it. This is a film I know I'll watch again just for the performance of it. The plot won't matter. It's that good.
Labels: ★★★★, 2008, Asian Cinema, crime, drama, Korea, Mystery, Thriller
Beautiful (Arumdabda) (2008) • South Korea
I am a Kim Ki-duk fan. This film is based on an original story and co-produced by Kim. I'm not psychic but I'm pretty sure that when Kim was shooting Shi gan (Time), a film about a woman who gets extensive plastic surgery in order to become beautiful, he thought to himself: hmmm, how about a film where a beautiful woman is so bothered by her good looks she tries to make herself ugly. Gosh I'm clever. Let's do it. But he gave it up to somebody else to write the screenplay and direct it.
The film begins with scene after annoying scene of a woman being disrespected because she is beautiful. That's not fun to watch. Little girls want her autograph, hair stylists want to do her hair for free, and of course every man in Korea acts like a complete tool. She is raped and the scene in the police station afterward is about as repugnant as one could imagine in a plot like this. One cop says things to her like "I can see where the rapist is coming from, with a body like that who wouldn't want to score it." Another cop, a young patrolman, treats her with respect and tries to help her. His intentions are good so he'll keep an eye on her and be ready at a moment's notice to rescue her from whatever pops up.
He stalks her in scene after annoying scene as she stuffs her face unattractively with junk food trying to make herself fat. She eats too much and throws up and ends up in the hospital. Then she tries to starve herself into looking gaunt. When she passes out in the park, the young patrolman runs out from behind a tree with a plate of dumplings. "This time it's going to cost you" he says. She gets up from the puddle of puke she's been working on and gives him the evil eye. "Only kidding", he says. Ha ha ha. Then she puts on makeup to look like a "bar girl." These are the steps on the ladder of despair she climbs.
I kept waiting for some signature Kim Ki-duk extreme move to happen, like she takes a blowtorch to her face or something. Of course, the nice young patrolman turns out to be suspect. He buys a coffee pot just like the one he saw in her apartment, and you know what that means. The rapist starts appearing everywhere she goes (in a very ineffectual male J-Horror-Goth-Chick sort of way) and it drives her crazy. But not crazy enough to do something really Kim Ki-duky. Nah. She kills, she dies, and they continue to disrespect her. I think. I dunno, they turned out the lights.
Sorry Kim Ki-duk fans, this is a stupid, implausibly written and acted, big zero. Su-yeon Cha is pretty but she couldn't bring any creditability to such an empty script.
Labels: ★★, 2008, Asian Cinema, drama, JHGC, Ki-duk Kim, Korea, nuked, su-yeon cha
Welcome to the Quiet Room (Quiet room ni yôkoso) (...
The Harmonium in My Memory (Nae maeumui punggeum) ...


A family villa is on an oversized double plot of 4,366 m² and has a huge courtyard with a free-form pool and a park space for active recreation and entertainment. This is a great school district, with easy access to shops and major highways.
The house has five bedrooms, three bathrooms, a toilet, a living room, a kitchen and a terrace.
Ceramic tiles, brand new air conditioners.


text:
Winter Storm Brings Heavy Downpours, Hail, Snow to SoCal
By Asher Klein	• Published March 1, 2015 • Updated on March 2, 2015 at 12:06 am
A day of blustery and spotty weather - with some areas sunny and others soaked - ended with strong thunderstorms bearing down on parts of Southern California.
A cold, low-pressure system was expected to move southeast over Southern California through Monday, the National Weather Service said.
Heavy rain, hail, lightning and gusty winds were expected overnight.
A flash flood warning was issued for central Ventura County on Sunday afternoon as two separate, strong thunderstorms developed over the region, the NWS said. The warning expired at 7:30 p.m. Locations in the warning included Camarillo, Santa Rosa Valley, Moorpark and Somis.
The heaviest rain was in Ventura County, just west of the LA County line, the NWS said. A "heavy downpour" was spotted just north of the 101 Freeway near Camarillo, and heavy rain was falling on state Route 118 west of Moorpark.
"It's been crazy, we've seen a lot of lightning strikes," said Sherman Oaks resident Jordan Orenge. "I'd appreciate a little less rain more often than all the rain at once. It was like a shower just unloaded on us today."
Scattered showers had been forecasted throughout the weekend as a winter storm stuck around in Southern California, but little sustained rain had fallen outside of the mountains and foothills until about 2 p.m. Sunday, when the storms developed.
"A moist and unstable air mass in place from a cold upper low pressure system will bring showers and a slight chance of thunderstorms to the area through Monday,'' the NWS said in a statement released at 2:09 p.m.
"A weaker storm system will follow on its heels later Monday, allowing for lingering showers into early Tuesday," the NWS said.
Hail was reported in some areas, including by NBC4 meteorologist Crystal Egger. Rain and thunder were also reported.
The storm between Ventura and Ojai would bring heavy rains, while the one over Santa Monica was expected to briefly bring heavy rain, the NWS said.
Here are the updated #rain totals for this Sunday in #SoCal. http://t.co/KJ88zlcr5Q pic.twitter.com/eytYuNd7fP — Anthony Yanez (@AnthonyNBCLA) March 2, 2015
The City News Service contributed to this report. Refresh this page for updates on this developing story.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


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Are you promoting the phone number for your business?
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Schedule Your Next ER Appointment!
What do you think about systems that permit patients to schedule an ER appointment? http://www.ghs.org/inquicker Some hospitals are trying out the online scheduling system. Have you experience anything like it before in your career? Let's not pretend that all nurses are experts in organizational development and management, but what are your ideas to improve efficiency and decrease wait time in the ER? Sometimes the bright spots (What's working) need to be highlighted. Other times the whole system needs and overhaul. Usually the answer is 'more _________' but more __________ rarely comes when asked so what are the highly effective yet simple things you've seen work at improving the ER?
How's Vacation and Down Time?
Pay Scale the Same for Nurses?
Any anecdotal evidence that there's pay discrepancies in your hospital/clinic. Generally nurses are paid based on experience. Many are unionized but many are not.
However, there are also reports that there's pay discrepancies based on other aspects such as gender (male v female nurse), schooling (where and how many years), and dare we say--race.
Any thoughts and observations? Or is the system pretty equitable?


text:
Journal of Agricultural Science and Engineering
Journal of Agricultural Science and Engineering, Vol. 1, No. 2, June 2015 Publish Date: May 28, 2015 Pages: 89-94
Download PDF(1238K)
Effect of Conservation Agriculture on Sorghum Yield in Rainfed Areas Southern Gedarif State, Sudan
Lotfie A. Yousif1, *, Ebtehag H. Babiker2
1Agricultural Engineering Research Programme, Agricultural Research Corporation (ARC), Gedarif, Sudan
2Agricultural Economic and Policy Research Center, Agricultural Research Corporation (ARC), Gedarif, Sudan
Rainfed agriculture in Gedarif state, Eastern Sudan is the main area for producing sorghum, the staple food crop. The conventional farming (CF) system for sorghum is achieved by the use of Wide Level Disk (WLD) for seedbed preparation and seeding plus use of low inputs. The result is low yield compared to the potential. Conservation agriculture (CA) was tested elsewhere and proves its efficiency. It could be accomplished by seeding crops directly in previous crop residues via special planter concurrently with applying fertilizers and herbicides. Sustainable improvement of sorghum yield is necessary to secure food for the growing population this could be attained through implementing a new adaptive cropping system. The objectives of this study were to assess the performance of sorghum under CF and CA in rainfed areas in addition to perform economic analyses. The CA was conducted during two seasons (2012 and 2013) in farmer's fields Southern Gedarif State and compared with the adjacent CF fields. The soil is heavy cracking clay soil. Effective rainfall occurs during July to September. Data on machines performance, soil moisture content, and sorghum yield were collected from each system. Partial budget and sensitivity analyses were executed. The results indicated that CA saved 26% and 25% of time and fuel, respectively. CA significantly out yielded CF by four folds. Economic and sensitivity analysis showed the profitability of CA over CF. Higher and economic sorghum yield could be obtained by using CA. Effects of CA on environment and soil need more experimentation.
Dry Land Farming, Conservation Agriculture, Sustainable Sorghum Production, Gedarif, Sudan
Received: April4, 2015
Accepted: April 23, 2015
1. Introduction 2. Materials and Methods 2.1. Site Description and Selection 2.2. Systems Description 2.3. Cultural Practices 2.4. Machine Used 2.5. Data Collection and Analysis 3. Results and Discussions 3.1. Machines Performance 3.2. Rainfall Analysis 3.3. Soil Moisture Content 3.4. Crop Performance 4. Economic Evaluation 5. Conclusion Acknowledgements
Rainfed sector is a major part in agricultural production in the Sudan. Gedarif State Eastern Sudan is the most important rainfed sector. It is the largest rainfed areas for sorghum production, the staple crop. Gedarif rainfed area extends from North to South through three climate zones. Rainfall happens during June to October. The soil is heavy clay soils (Vertisols). There is a short-single growing season a year. The land is continuously cultivated without following a distinct rotation. The conventional farming (CF) compromises the use of Wide Level Disk (WLD) harrowing for seedbed preparation and the same machine is used for broadcasting sorghum seeds besides, the use of low inputs. Seedbed is performed after weeds germination, this delays seeding operation resulting in power establishment and low sorghum yields (450 kg/ha). Improvement of yield and conserving resources are necessary to face the increasing demands for food. In this case conservation agriculture (CA) is possible and justifiable, since in Vertisols soils of the Sudan, field conditions govern the selection of suitable seedbed preparation method (Dafalla and Awad, 2008).
CA referred to a way of practicing agriculture through minimum soil disturbance, incorporation of crop residues and use of suitable crop rotations (Lumpkin and Sayre, 2009). There are many cultural practices that qualify CA definition, such as zero tillage, direct seeding or direct drilling. FAO (2007) defined the CA as 'resource saving agricultural crop production that strives to achieve acceptable profits together with high and sustained production levels while conserving the environment. CA could be set up by seeding crops directly in previous crop residues via special planter along with applying fertilizers and herbicides. CA is widely practiced worldwide; such as in South America, United States, Canada and, Australia (Shalander et al., 2011). CA has many advantages over CF. It saves time, labor, fuel and energy compared to CF (Cakir et al., 2003). It also improves soil moisture content (Saeed and Eissa, 2002) and it may reduce operation costs. Therefore, CA seemed to be an alternative to CF (Hobbs, 2007) and is promising and justifiable for rainfed sorghum (Yousif et al., 2009). The Arab Authority for Agricultural Investment and Development (AAAID) introduced zero tillage in rainfed areas of the Sudan. However, the integrated effect of CA package was not investigated. The objectives of this study were to assess the performance of sorghum when using CF and CA under rainfed conditions of Southern Gedarif State, Sudan in addition to perform economic analyses.
A project aiming at disseminating and applying the concept of CA to secure food in Arab world was conducted. This project was implemented by the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Irrigation in collaboration with the Arab Center for the Studies of Arid Zones and Dry Lands (ACSAD). CA was implemented in Southern Gedarif state to demonstrate effect of CA on the yield of some sorghum cultivars during seasons 2012 and 2013. Researchers and Extension staff were involved.
2.1. Site Description and Selection
The CA was conducted in 31ha and 21ha during the two seasons and compared with the adjacent CF fields. The selection of CA sites was based on the following criteria: a) had high annual rain fall, 600 mm and above, b) unplowed fields, c) with acceptable amount of crop residues and d) had not been cropped with sorghum in the previous season, if possible.
2.2. Systems Description
The main features of CF are late sowing date, anonymous source of seeds, plowed seedbed and broadcasted sowing by WLD, and with no use of fertilizers and herbicides. The main features of CA are; early sowing date, row planting with optimum planting density, certified sorghum seeds, fertilization, seed dressing and herbicides.
2.3. Cultural Practices
Three improved sorghum cultivars; namely Wad Ahmed, Arfa Gadamk and Butana were sown adjacently in farmers' fields, in which the concept of CA was applied. Herbicides application and seeding were started simultaneously in early July for CA in both seasons. Sorghum seeds was dressed against pests; and coated with concept at a rate of 0.4 ml/kg seeds to mask the effect of Dual Gold. In the second season Butana cultivar was not used, because it is early maturing and showed lodging at harvest.
2.4. Machine Used
A four rows precision planter with fertilizer boxes was used. It was adjusted to 80 cm row spacing and calibrated to give 14 seeds/m2(1.25 meter length), at 9 cm spacing between plants; and 95.2 kg urea /ha. Tractor of Massey Ferguson was used to operate the planter. Tractor operated field sprayer was used and calibrated to give 119 L/ha. Herbicides like Glyphozate, Dual Gold and Gezaprime were mixed in the sprayer tank and applied at rate of 2.38 L/ha, 1.19 L/ha and 1.19 L/ha, respectively. Row crop planter (RCP) and sprayer were used to establish crops in CA, whereas WLD was used to perform seedbed preparation and seeding operations in CF.
2.5. Data Collection and Analysis
Machines speed, work rate and fuel consumption were recorded. Soil moisture was determined three times during the season at 0 to 20 cm deep. Daily rainfall data for June to October were recorded. Also plant population, plant height and yield were measured. Three to five random samples were taken from each field. Sample size was one square meter for plant population and yield and ten plants for plant height. These data were arranged in a randomized complete block design (RCBD) with four replications. The statistical procedure, analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used to explore the differences between the CA and CF. Moreover, partial budget and sensitivity analyses were conducted. Cost items were collected from project records for CA and from prevailing prices for CF. For sensitivity analysis yield was lowered by 25% and cost was increased by the same rate for CA, while remaining CF parameters as it is. Breakeven point (BEP) was estimated by increasing cost by 25%. The BEP was calculated by dividing the total cost (SDG/ha) by sorghum price (SDG/kg).
3. Results and Discussions
3.1. Machines Performance
Working speeds of used machines were 8 km/h (Table1). The work rate of the RCP was 17% lesser than that of the WLD. The required time to cover one hectare was 0.62 and 0.85 hour for CA and CF, respectively. This indicated that CA saved 26% of the time. The fuel consumed in CA was 8.5 L/ha while it was 11.4 L/ha in CF (Table1), this mean that CA saved 25% of fuel. Similar results were reported by Cakir et al., (2003).
3.2. Rainfall Analysis
The total rain was 1037 mm and 429.6 mm occurred in 36 days and 32 days for the first and second seasons, respectively (Table 2). This indicated good rain in the first season and less than expected rain in the second season. However, 19% and 25% of the rain occurred before sowing in the first and second seasons, respectively; showing that there was enough water to germinate weeds before sowing. In the first season 42% of the rain occurred during early stages of the crop and 39% at vegetative growth up to head filling stages. In the second season 57% of the rain occurred during early stages of the crop and vegetative growth and only 18% occurred at head filling stages. This implies that crop sowing date should be adjusted to cope with crop stages-water requirements while allowing the machines to work. However, rainfall use efficiency can be improved by decreasing water losses (Turner, 2004).
Table 1. Average values of working parameters for the used machines for two seasons
Machine name Working speed (km/h) Work rate (ha/h) Fuel consumption (L/ha)
RCP 8 1.9 5.6
Sprayer 8 10.0 2.9
WLD 8 2.3 5.7
RCP = Row Crop Planter, WLD = Wide Level Disk.
Table 2. Rainfall data at the experimental sites for seasons 2012 and 2013
Months June July August September October Total
Rain (mm) 192 434 216 195 0 1037
Rainy days 8 13 8 7 0 36
Month % 18.5 41.9 20.8 18.8 0 100
Rain (mm) 0 106.4 246.3 66.0 10.9 429.6
Rainy days 0 10 14 5 3 32
Month % 0 24.8 57.3 15.4 2.5 100
3.3. Soil Moisture Content
The results showed that soil moisture content is slightly higher at early season (the first month after sowing) in CF than CA in both seasons (Fig.1). This was due to the effect of tillage operation in CF which makes soil fluffy and absorbs more rainwater. Whereas in mid season (early September) and late season (mid of October) no clear priority between CA and CF, this may due to the inherent characteristics of the soil, the phenomenon of swelling when wet and shrinking when dry. Generally, soil moisture content in both systems followed the rainfall trend.
Fig. 1. Average soil moisture content% at 0 to 20 cm during two seasons in CA and CF
3.4. Crop Performance
Visual assessment of sorghum fields at the early stage showed that CA was free of weeds with good crop establishment compared to CF (Fig.2). This was due to the use of optimum pant density and fertilizer along with herbicides. The average plant densities of sorghum in CA and CF for the first season was 7 and 6 plants/m2, respectively; while in the second season it was 9 and 7plants/m2for the treatments, respectively. These plant densities were lower than the seeded and the recommended (14 plant/m2) as mentioned by Anonymous (2002); this result needs to be considered in further studies. However, CA and CF obtained similar plant height in the first season which was about 126cm; whereas in the second season CA obtained taller plants (135 cm) compared to CF (105 cm).
The highest yield (1961kg/ha) was obtained by Wad Ahmed cultivar in the first season, and Arfa Gadamk cultivar (1579.2 kg/ha) in the second season (Table 3). Yield variability in CA may due to the interacting effects of crop requirements, soil characteristics and climate (Giller et al, 2009). The lowest yield was obtained by CF (432.3 kg/ha) and (361.5 kg/ha) for the two seasons, respectively. Irrespective of sorghum cultivar and rain, CA significantly out yielded CF by four folds indicating its superiority. This is due to the use of good cultural practices and inputs. However, the use of untilled seedbed, row planting and 95.2 kg urea/ha can improve sorghum yield (Yousif and Taha, 2013).
Fig. 2. Performance of sorghum crop under CA and CF in rainfed areas, season 2013.
Table 3. Performance of rainfed sorghum under CA and CF, two seasons
Treatments Plants/m2 Plant ht (cm) Yield (kg/ha)
Arfa Gadamk (CA) 6.1 126.0 1613.9
Wad Ahmed (CA) 8.6 130.8 1961.0
Butana (CA) 6.3 119.8 1623.6
CF 5.8 126.5 432.3
C.V. (%) 13.64 5.32 2.43
± SE 0.46 3.34 17.13
Arfa Gadamk (CA) 10 151.4 1579.2
Wad Ahmed (CA) 8 118.1 1551.4
Butana (CA) - - -
CF 7 105 361.5
± SE 0.429 3.55 23.665
Table 4. Economic analysis of rainfed sorghum production under CA and CF, two seasons
Treatments CA CF
Cultivars AG WA Butana
Cost (SDG/ha) 1287.1 1377.1 1287.1 667.2
Yield (kg/ha) 1613.9 1961.0 1623.6 432.3
Price (SDG/kg) 1.65 1.65 1.65 1.65
Gross benefit 2662.9 3235.7 2678.9 713.3
Net benefit 1375.8 1858.6 1391.8 46.1
Cost (SDG/ha) 2357.0 2379.2 - 725.9
Yield (kg/ha) 1551.4 1579.2 - 361.5
Price (SDG/kg) 2.1 2.1 - 2.1
Gross benefit 3257.9 3316.3 - 759.2
Net benefit 900.9 937.1 33.3
AG = Arfa Gadamk, WA = Wad Ahmed (sorghum varieties).
Table 5. Marginal and sensitivity analyses of sorghum production under CA and CF, two seasons
Seasons Season 2012 Season 2013
Analyses Marginal analysis Sensitivity analysis Marginal analysis Sensitivity analysis
Systems CF CA CF CA CF CA CF CA
Yield (kg/ha) 432.3 1732.8 432.3 1299.6 361.5 1565.3 361.5 1174
Cost (SDG/ha) 667.2 1317.1 667.2 1646.4 725.9 2368.1 725.9 2960.1
Benefit (SDG/ha) 713.3 2859.2 713.3 2144.3 759.2 3287.1 759.2 2465.3
MC 649.9 979.2 1642.2 2234.2
MR 2145.9 1431.0 2527.9 1706.1
MRR 330.2% 146.1% 153.9% 76.4%
MC= Marginal Cost, MR = Marginal Return, MRR = Marginal Rate of Return.
4. Economic Evaluation
Producing sorghum by CA gave the highest cost; gross return and net return for all genotypes throughout the seasons compared to CF (Table 4). Similar results were reported by Ismail et al, (2012). The marginal rate of return (MRR) of CA was 330% and 154% for the first and second season, respectively (Table 5). This indicates that for every one SDG invested in producing sorghum by CA will return back about 2.4 SDG on the average.
This result indicated that producing sorghum under CA was profitable compared to CF. The higher yield and net return obtained from CA makes it as an attractive option for farmers. The BEP was 1000 and 1410kg/ha for CA and 500 and 432 Kg/ha for CF in the first and second seasons, respectively. This also confirms the superiority of CA over CF when comparing the obtained average yields (Table 3) to the values of BEP. The sensitivity analysis revealed that CA is profitable as shown by the MRR of 146% and 76.4 % over CF for the two seasons, respectively (Table 5). This indicated that using CA is stable regarding yield and cost fluctuations (Coutts and Smith, 1991 and Lange, 2005).
CA saved 25% of fuel and 26% of time required to establish sorghum crop and significantly out yielded CF by four folds. Economic and sensitivity analyses proved the profitability of CA. The breakeven point was 964 kg/ha for CA and 375 kg/ha for CF. As aconsequence of these results, in season 2014 the Federal Ministry of Agriculture applied CA in 200 ha in Gedarif State. Moreover, the European Union (EU) applied CA Southern Gedarif State in about 900 ha under the project named: Sudan Food Security Program (SFSP)-Rural Smallholders Component which is implemented by NGO in collaboration with State Ministry of Agriculture involving the private sector in the delivery of the CA package. However, the effect of continuous use of CA on environment, soil and natural resources require further investigations.
This study was carried out under a project funded by Islamic Development Bank (ISDB), through Arab Center for the Studies of Arid Zones and Dry Lands (ACSAD) and the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Irrigation that is called: "Disseminating and applying the concept of CA in Sudan
Anonymous (2002). Extension Guide: Technical Packages for Agricultural Crops. Ministry of Science and Technology, Khartoum, Sudan.
Cakir, E., Erdem A. and Harun Y. (2003). Tillage Parameters and Economic Analysis of Direct Seeding, Minimum and Conventional Tillage in Wheat. Paper presented at 16th International Soil and Tillage Research Organization (ISTRO) Triennial Conference "Soil Management for Sustainability", Univ. of Queensland Brisbane, Australia. P:259-264.
Coutts, R. G. and Smith, K. R. (1991). Production Manual - Economic of No-Till. Manitoba-North Dakota Zero Tillage Farmers Association. http://www.mandakzerotill.org
Dafalla, M.Y. and Awad, S. AG. (2008). Determination of suitable tillage systems for some field crops under different field conditions. Proceeding of the 44th meeting of the National Crop Husbandry Committee. Agricultural Research Corporation (ARC), Wad Medani, Sudan.
FAO, (2007). Conservation agriculture, Agriculture and Protection Department, Food and Agriculture Organization, Rome, Italy, available from http//:www.fao.org/ag/ca/
Giller, K.E., Ernst Witter, Marc Corbeels, Pablo Tittonell. (2009). Conservation agriculture and smallholder farming in Africa: The heretics' view, Field Crops Research 114:23–34
Hobbs, P.R. (2007(. Conservation agriculture: what is it and why is it important forfuture sustainable food production? J. Agric. Sci. 145, 127–137.
Ismail, A.O.M., Elmulthum, N.A.M. and Elamin, A.E. M. (2012). A comparative economic analysis of zero tillage versus traditional technologies in mechanized rainfed crop production schemes in Agadi area, Blue Nile State, Sudan. Sudan Journal of Agricultural Research, 20: 103-109.
Lange, D. (2005). Economics and Evaluation of Smallholdings Conservation Agriculture in Paraguay. mid-term experiences; FAO-GTZ, Asuncion, Paraguay, P. 91.
Saeed, A.B. and Hassan, Y. E., (2002). Influence of Tillage on Some Properties of Heavy Cracking Clay Soils and Sorghum Yield in the Mechanized Rainfed Agriculture. U. of K. J. Agric. Sci., 10 (2): 267–276.
Shalander K., K.L.; Sharma, K.; Kareemulla, G.R.; Chary, C. A. Ramarao, Ch. Srinivasa R. and Venkateswarlu, B. (2011) Techno-economic feasibility of conservation agriculture in rainfed regions of India, current science, VOL. 101, NO. 9,
Turner, N.C. (2004). Agronomic options for improving rainfall-use efficiency of crops in dryland farming systems, Journal of Experimental Botany, 55(407):2416-2425
Yousif, L.A. and Taha, M.B. (2013). Effect of Seedbed Preparation, Sowing Method and Nitrogen Fertilizer Level on Sorghum Grain Yield in Rainfed Areas, Gedarif, Sudan International Journal of Agronomy and Plant Production., 4(S):3864-3870
Yousif, L.A., Elwaleed M.E. and Saeed B.S. (2009). Influence of tillage methods on soil moisture content and sorghum grain yield in Vertisols of dryland farming Northern Gedarif. J.Sc. Tech, 10(2):60-68.
Site Description and Selection
Systems Description
Machine Used
Results and Discussions
Machines Performance
Rainfall Analysis
Soil Moisture Content
Crop Performance


text:
About Telephone Relay Service
Home ❯ ニュース ❯ About Telephone Relay Service
The "telephone relay service" enables people with hearing or speech disabilities to communicate with other people over the phone through sign language interpreter operators, respond 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. This service is provided by the telephone relay service provider designated by Minister of Internal Affairs and Telecommunications (MIC).
What is the Telephone Relay Service System?
Under the Act on Facilitating the Use of Telephones by the Hearing Impaired, etc. (Act No. 53 of 2020, hereafter referred to as the "Act"), this is a system that mandates telecommunications carriers including Colt Technology Services (Colt) to bear part of the expenses required for ensuring the telephone relay service as a public infrastructure. This system works as telecommunications carriers pay burdens to the telephone relay service provider(*1) as a subsidy through the support organization for telephone relay service(*2) which functions to levy burdens and grant subsidies.
*1 The Nippon Foundation Telecommunications Relay Service
*2 Telecommunications Carriers Associations (TCA)
Structure of the Telephone Relay Service System
Based on the amount of the subsidies granted to the telephone relay service provider, Telecommunications Carriers Associations (TCA, the support organization for telephone relay service) estimates the amount to be paid for each telephone number (unit number price), and will be determined with permission by the MIC.
Based on this unit number price, telecommunications carriers pay the fee according to the volume of telephone numbers used by their respective customers to the Nippon Foundation Telecommunications Relay Service through the support organization for telephone relay service.
Customer Fees
In accordance with the intent of this Telephone Relay Service, Colt bills its customers a "Telephone Relay Service Fee" for each telephone number using those of our services subject to the system. We ask for your cooperation and understanding with regard to this matter.
The unit number price for fiscal year 2021 (during Apr. 2020 to Mar. 2021) is total of 7 yen (7.7 incl. tax).
From July 2021, the bill will be 1 yen (1.1 incl. tax) per month per number as shown in the table below.
The months of the telephone relay service fee is charged
Telephone Relay Service Fee 1 yen per number (1.1 yen incl. tax)
For further information, below are the contact information's
About the way to use the telephone relay service, registration, and the service instructions
The Nippon Foundation Telecommunication Relay Service (Telephone relay service provider)
– Reception hours: 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. every day (closed during the end and beginning of the year)
E-mail: info@nftrs.or.jp
Website: https://nftrs.or.jp/
・About the unit price per number, subsidies, and burden systems
Telecommunications Carriers Associations (TCA): Support organization for telephone relay service
– Reception hours: 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. on weekdays (closed during the end and beginning of the year)
Website: https://www.tca.or.jp/telephonerelay_service_support/
・About the Telephone Relay Service system
Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications (Telecommunications Consumer Consultation Center)
Reception hours: 9:30 a.m. to noon/1:00 p.m. to 5.00 p.m. on weekdays
More details: Telephone Relay Service _EN_202107
japostadmin


text:
Q: How to sort twodimensional array by how closely it matches a word? Fiddle here: https://jsfiddle.net/t226j4ox/6/
I have a 2D array which contains an unsorted list of names.
I'm trying to figure out how to sort the names in the array by how closely they match the user's keyword. In the jsfiddle, I set to user's keyword to "Be" for testing purposes. Ideally, when you hit the "Sort Names" button, the array would be sorted so that names starting with 'Be' appear first.
How should this be achieved?
HTML

Display All Names

Sort Names

CSS
#button1{
  background:cornflowerblue;
  height:20px;
  width:200px;
  cursor:pointer;
  text-align:center;
}

#button2{
  background:mediumpurple;
  height:20px;
  width:200px;
  cursor:pointer;
  text-align:center;
}

JS
var nameList = "";

var names = [["name","Bradley"],["id","Brooke"],["name","Bobby"],
             ["name","Bethany"],["id","Benjamin"],["name","Bella"],
             ["name","Blake"],["id","Beatrice"],["name","Baby"],
             ["name","Byron"],["id","Buster"],["name","Bailey"],
             ["name","Betty"],["id","Billy"],["name","Brady"]];

var userKeyword = "Be";

$(document).on('click', '#button1', function(event) {
        for (i=0; i<5; i++){
            nameList += names[i][1] + " ";
        }

        alert(nameList);

});

$(document).on('click', '#button2', function(event) {

});

A: Use sort function

var nameList = '';

var names = [
 ['name','Bradley'],
 ['id','Brooke'],
 ['name','Bobby'],
 ['name','Bethany'],
 ['id','Benjamin'],
 ['name','Bella'],
 ['name','Blake'],
 ['id','Beatrice'],
 ['name','Baby'],
 ['name','Byron'],
 ['id','Buster'],
 ['name','Bailey'],
 ['name','Betty'],
 ['id','Billy'],
 ['name','Brady']
];

var userKeyword = 'Be';

names.sort(function(a, b){
 return b[1].indexOf(userKeyword) - a[1].indexOf(userKeyword);
});

document.write(JSON.stringify(names));

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


Yeah, Nolan and Laviolette are good choices as well.
who else out there is better? just wondering because I don't actually know which coaches are without jobs?
Dave Tippett? They had him and fired him for Crawford? I don't understand, I really don't.
The article posted above offers an explanation.
Sometimes NHL coaches get fired simply because it's time for a change.
Nieuwendyk certainly has the credentials and experience to make an informed decision on who he wants behind the bench.
How the Stars do next year will prove him right or wrong.
Trevor Daley watched Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Finals on Friday and was envious.
"You watch it, and you just want to be there," the Stars defenseman said. "It's everything you work for. It just gets you burning to start the season already."
As much as new general manager Joe Nieuwendyk and Stars management are hoping to pump up the motivation with new coach Marc Crawford, players say they don't need much of a push. Many are already working out in Frisco or playing pickup games.
After missing the playoffs for only the third time since moving to Dallas in 1993, the Stars say they have received a good, hard slap in the face.
"It's killing me, to tell you the truth," winger Steve Ott said. "This is not something we're used to around here."
If the players already seem to be taking things hard after missing the playoffs, why the need to change the GM and the coach?
Owner Tom Hicks said he wanted to give a reminder that the Stars expect to be one of the best teams in the NHL every year. Nieuwendyk also said it's good to shake up the team and get its attention.
Crawford will probably do just that. He demands a lot from players, and he doesn't mind having them compete for positions and ice time. The change of coaches puts everyone on his toes.
"When you think about it, [Dave Tippett] is the only coach a lot of us have known here," Ott said. "There was a comfort level with him, an expectation that you knew where you stood. Now, honestly, that's gone. We're all at step one, and we all have to prove ourselves all over again."
Crawford said he's encouraged to see players already trying to prove themselves to one another.
"The players will dictate what kind of coach I am," he said. "They're the ones who usually decide whether you are a players' coach or a disciplinarian. What you strive for is to have it come from inside your room. In my experience, that's what the championship teams have."
Getting in position for a faster start next season will be a chief goal for Crawford and the Stars.
Asked to explain the Stars' poor training camp and poor start last season, Daley said it was tough to pin down just one or two reasons. But, he said, he already can see a difference in the team's attitude in summer workouts.
"It is different," he said. "Last year, we were probably a little happy. This year, there is no satisfaction."
The Stars have some things in order already as they look toward next season.
They have 18 players under contract, including most of those who put in big minutes last season. In addition, Brenden Morrow (knee surgery) and Brad Richards (hand and wrist injuries) should be ready to go.
Nieuwendyk has to decide if he wants to sign veterans Sergei Zubov and Jere Lehtinen, who have battled injuries the last two seasons, and he probably needs to acquire a backup goalie and a high-level defenseman. But the Stars appear to be in good shape.
"There's some work here, but I don't think it's major work," Nieuwendyk said. "Honestly, if we had to start with the group we have right now and we were healthy, I think we could be very competitive."
"We're a good team," he said. "I feel very good about this team."
ESPN's Hradek and Puck Prospectus' Rothstein suggest how the Stars can stop their their fall, and rise again.
The Dallas Stars had the second least productive goaltending group, with a staggering -25.7 goaltending GVT. The Stars starting goaltender, Marty Turco, also finished last on the team in total GVT, with -9.3. Interestingly enough, Dallas was comfortably above average in the other two even-strength categories in which the offense produced a 6.7 GVT and the defense produced a 11.1 GVT.
Biron's 14.3 GVT would be a huge improvement over Turco's -9.3 GVT and furthermore, because 25-year-old Tobias Stephan is a restricted free agent, the Stars don't have any future superstars waiting in the wings to mind the net. Above average goaltending could swing Dallas' team GVT by at least 20 points, and would put it in contention for the fifth or sixth spot in the West. Despite all of the great potential improvements that the other Pacific division teams could make in the long-term, this signing would have the greatest impact in the short-term.
E.J.'s Take: There's no doubt Turco had a down year in 2008-09. His subpar play was among the many reasons the Stars fell dramatically in the standings. The 33-year-old stopper, who led his team to the Western Conference final in '08, has one year remaining on a contract that pays him an average annual salary of $5.4 million.
I get the sense they'll keep Turco and seek a stronger back-up for the 2009-10 season. In fact, the Stars are among a group of four teams that would like to sign 24-year-old Swedish League star Jonas Gustavsson. I figure both sides might benefit from such a move. The Stars get a talented back-up, who would be positioned to replace Turco, while Gustavsson gets to make a less pressurized entrance into the NHL.
I don't see the Stars making a free-agent pitch for Biron. They would have to first trade Turco, who has a no-trade clause in his current deal. Then, they would still have to find a capable No. 2 to work behind Biron. For me, Gustavsson makes much more sense.
Don't know much about Glennie...but Norman Flynn at RDS says he will compliment Ribeiro...they see him as a power on offense.
FRISCO, Tex. – Dallas Stars General Manager Joe Nieuwendyk announced today that the club has re-signed right wing Jere Lehtinen to a one-year contract for the 2009-10 season. His deal includes a $1.5 million base salary, and as much as $1 million more in incentives.
He's big...he's bald...he's Alex Auld!
Alex extinguished the Flames last night with a very impressive performance in the Saddledome. Maybe Marty Turco has some competition this year.
CALGARY, Alberta -- Alex Auld had a lot of fun in his Dallas Stars debut -- at the expense of the Calgary Flames.
Auld made 21 saves to help the Stars beat the Flames 5-2 on Friday for their first victory of the season. Mike Ribeiro, Brian Sutherby, Tom Wandell, Loui Eriksson and Brad Richards scored for Dallas, coming off season-opening shootout losses to Nashville and Edmonton with Marty Turco in goal.
"I just wanted to make a good impression and the guys did a great job making my job pretty easy, scoring goals early," Auld said. "And every time [Calgary] seemed to get one, we answered right back."
Auld looked pretty confident as he smoked The Cowtown Crew.
davetherave wrote: He's big...he's bald...he's Alex Auld!
The whole time I was watching that game last night, I was thinking "Auld is the goalie the Flames should have targeted." Some unknown, underperforming kid is not the guy that team needs to relieve Kipper -- who'll probably end up having to play 70+ games yet again this year. I just don't understand the logic here.
Anyway, yeah, Auld was a great pick up for the Stars. DAL is going to be a much better team this year.
A 60+ goal season this year?
Seriously, he looked amazing the other night against CLB -- like Heatley of 2006-07 after Spezza went down. It was not a case of Thornton making him look good either. He was doing the work himself -- battling down low and making his way to the net.
Love Auld, wish him nothing but the best.
I think he's gonna steal the starting job from Turco before January.
43 Re: What's Next for the Dallas Stars?


Buzzfeed and Nylon Magazine Praise "Piece Of Me"
"It was supposed to be just a normal, cool + kinda urban performance of her #1 Vegas show, Piece of Me. But it would be anything but that. In the next two days, Britney would perform two shows in nearly flawless form." Read the full article on Buzzfeed here.
"…Spears was popping, locking, dropping, spinning, thrusting, grinding, flying, and hair-flipping with a vigor we haven't seen since the "My Prerogative" era. This is next level." Read the full article on Nylon here.
Get tickets to see Piece Of me in Vegas now!


A survey conducted in 1970 showed that almost every house in America had a common Backgammon board game. Even after so many years it has remained the same throughout the world. But nobody would have imagined that they would be able to play their favorite game online.
Backgammon has earned new audience due to internet facilities. In fact the interests of the older generation backgammon fans have been rekindled now. Though the older generation did not have a computer in their house they are able to easily learn this game. It is not only easy to learn but also fun to master a board game online. One of the main advantages of online Backgammon is that you don't have to learn the set up. It is already done for you. All that you have to do is play the game and win it.
Backgammon has advanced so much once it was started as online playing. Even the audience has experienced the same. There are so many variations to the same game now. The players of online Backgammon are from different age groups and upbringings. A few of them belong to a group who are used to gamble in Backgammon. So they like to play the standard and original versions. There are special sites where you play this for money. So they actually compete with the opponent in tournaments.
There are some others who love to play this game just for fun. Hence they play games with variations which include Turkish version called Tawula. Acey-Deucy is a version of America and Europe. Both these versions are popular as it is but they offer online fans bigger challenges on the standard types. These versions are gaining a lot of popularity which also give a test for your skills. For example in Tawula you need to start with just two checkers instead of 15. And the rest 13 have to be brought only after rolling the dice. This twist gives a lot of attention to the players.
If you are a person who loves board games but have not tried your gaming skills online, you could try out by accessing the free sites that offer online board games. This will help you to get updated with online games. Free Backgammon board games are available on the net that teach you to play the game very easily. These act as training period for trying new techniques. Hence they boost your confidence levels.
There are some sites that offer you the Backgammon gaming software so that you can download it free of cost and then you can install it in your personal computer. So you can play the game anytime that you want and also make yourself well prepared to face online friendly games as well as money games.
In fact there are a lot of Backgammon game forums happening on the net. So you can connect with thousands of similar interest groups of fans. You can post your queries on this site and they give you a lot of information. You will get to know about new online gaming sites, latest industry news, tournaments and also part with your like-minded friends with some own experiences.


We would like to express our sincerest gratitude to all of our sponsors and supporters for this tour especially to JOHO, JBIFC, EVOSS, DIRTY DONUTS, MASBRO, POHON MINDA, NYARING, EMBRACE HALL, JASMINE & SUN, SYOK WASABI and many more. The tour was extremely important to us as a band, we learned a lot of performing, time management, arrangements during the tour. The support given from our japanese counterparts were overwhelming.