I'm heading out to L.A. today for a mini vacation but before I head out to the airport, here is another possible manicure for New Year's Eve.
China glaze's Little Drummer Boy and Revlon's Super Top Speed Polish in Comet.
Little Drummer Boy is a darkened sapphire blue with micro blue shimmers, giving this lacquer a beautiful jeweled glow.
Both of these polish are no longer available but you can still find China Glaze's Little Drummer Boy online and as for Comet, there are several grey glitters dupes.
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Today..NW winds 15 to 20 kt, becoming 20 to 25 kt in the afternoon. Gusts to 30 kt. Combined seas 7 to 8 ft dominant period 12 seconds, building to 9 ft dominant period 11 seconds in the afternoon.
Tonight..NW winds 20 to 30 kt with gusts to 35 kt. Combined seas 9 to 11 ft dominant period 9 seconds.
Sun..NW winds 15 to 25 kt with gusts to 30 kt. Combined seas 8 to 9 ft dominant period 10 seconds.
Sun night..NW winds 15 to 25 kt with gusts to 30 kt. Combined seas 9 to 10 ft dominant period 10 seconds.
Mon..NW winds 15 to 25 kt with gusts to 30 kt. Combined seas 7 to 9 ft dominant period 10 seconds.
Mon night..NW winds 20 to 30 kt, becoming 10 to 20 kt after midnight. Combined seas 7 to 8 ft dominant period 10 seconds, subsiding to 6 to 7 ft dominant period 9 seconds after midnight.
Tue..NW winds 10 to 15 kt. Wind waves 2 ft or less. NW swell 4 to 6 ft.
Wed..NW winds 10 to 15 kt. Wind waves 2 ft or less. NW swell 4 to 5 ft.


text:
'Star Wars: Episode 1' 3D Trailer Debuting with 'The Three Musketeers'
by Ben Kendrick
– on Oct 13, 2011
If there's one inside-joke that resonates among all film geeks, it's likely the never-ending parade of Star Wars saga tweaks and re-releases - implemented by creator/director George Lucas. As a result, it was hardly a surprise to hear that, shortly after the series released on blu-ray, the entire Star Wars saga would once again be returning to theaters - this time in 3D.
Considering the first 3D installment, Star Wars: Episode 1- The Phantom Menace is scheduled premier on February 10, 2012, it was only a matter of time before LucasFilms teased fans with a sneak peek at the fan-favorite saga in the third dimension. Apparently, that time will be October 21st - ahead of 3D screenings of Paul W.S. Anderson's The Three Musketeers.
According to a report from USA Today, which actually detailed an animated Clone Wars return for Phantom Menace Sith Lord, Darth Maul (more on that below), the trailer for Star Wars: Episode 1- The Phantom Menace 3D will premier alongside Disney's Musketeers reboot (which stars Logan Lerman, Matthew Macfadyen and Ray Stevenson). Unfortunately, at this point, the article doesn't stipulate the trailer's length or content - only confirming the October 21st debut.
In general, reaction to the Star Wars saga 3D re-release is already mixed - with the normal blend of fans who are peeved that Lucas is once again tampering with the series format as well as other Jedi-lovers who are merely excited to see their favorite sci-fi franchise back on the big screen again. Whether we're talking about questionable narrative changes (Greedo shot first) or continuity adjustments (replacing Sebastian Shaw with Hayden Christensen at the end of Episode 6), fans of the Star Wars saga are no doubt some of the most impassioned moviegoers on the planet.
That said, despite frustrations with the constant re-envisioning of the series, even fans who feel Lucas has somewhat diminished the Star Wars legacy over time still turn-out for almost every format launch (DVD, Blu-ray, etc) as well as every theatrical re-release (Special Edition, 3D) - which makes it hard to criticize the director for consistently exploring new ways for moviegoers to experience the series. But what's next after 3D - aside from the now inevitable 3D blu-ray release? Personally, I'm voting for smell-o-vision - so that we can finally experience just how terrible a Tauntaun smells on the inside.
As for the aforementioned death-defying Darth Maul news, details are still slim as to how the vivisected Sith Lord will return in the Clone Wars animated show - though, Clone Wars supervising director Dave Filoni hints that, "He's suffered through a lot to keep himself alive and implemented the training of his master [Darth Sidious] to do so."
You can check out the Cartoon Network tease below, courtesy of Entertainment Weekly:
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T0HJoli7OwI
Follow me on Twitter @benkendrick.
Star Wars: Episode 1- The Phantom Menace 3D is scheduled to hit theaters February 10, 2012.
The Three Musketeers (and Phantom Menace 3D trailer) opens on October 21, 2011.
Star Wars: The Clone Wars airs on Cartoon Network every Friday night at 8/7 central.
Sources: USA Today & EW
Tags: star wars, the three musketeers
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redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Part 52: Velazquez makes her way to Canada, England, and then back to New York City in time to hear that the Army of Northern Virginia has surrendered.
"No, she don't look like a servant," said the old gentleman.
This was all very satisfactory, so far as it went, and I crept back to my room as softly as I could and went to bed.
"Put down those plates," said the old gentleman, with considerable emphasis, "You can't do any work for me but my house is open to you, and you are welcome to stay as long as it suits you.
I was forthwith installed as a privileged guest, and in the course of a few days I was introduced to a number of Southern sympathizers. Among my new acquaintance was a Confederate soldier who had escaped from one of the prison camps and who was endeavoring to make his way South. From him I learned that Cleveland was a general rendezvous for prisoners, and I accordingly resolved to go there.
I had given my entertainers to understand that I was on some secret errand but did not tell them what, while they appreciated the importance of saying no more than was necessary about such matters and asked me no impertinent questions. When I made up my mind to leave, I went to the old gentleman and told him that I desired to go South, where I had friends, and where I could get money.
He asked me how much money I would require for my journey, and I told him that I thought about six hundred dollars would see me through.
The old gentleman took me to the depot in his buggy and bought me a ticket for Cincinnati. He also gave me a letter to the head of the Copperhead ring there. This document I had, however, no use for, although I accepted it as I did the six hundred dollars. I had at the time the sum of ninety-three thousand dollars on my person and had in deposit in several banks over fifty thousand dollars. The six hundred dollars I accepted as a contribution to the Cause and on the principle that every little helps.
Bidding my aged friend farewell, I took my seat in the train and was soon on my way to Columbus, for I had no intention of going to Cincinnati. On reaching Columbus, I took rooms at a new hotel near the depot and made some inquiries with regard to the prisoners but before I could make any definite arrangement concerning them I received a telegraphic dispatch directing me to go to Canada immediately.
I, therefore, contributed three thousand dollars of the money which I had with me … for the relief of the prisoners and for the purchase of necessary clothing. A Mrs. R. had charge of this prisoners' relief fund, and I had every confidence that the money in her hands would be properly bestowed.
Proceeding as rapidly as I could to Canada, I had a conference with the agent there and then hastened to New York. In that city I found a host of Confederates who were anxiously waiting to receive their instructions from me. One was to go to Nassau as supercargo. Another was to sail by the next steamer for Paris to receive opium and quinine. A third was to proceed to Missouri. A fourth to the northwestern part of Texas, and so on. Giving each his proportion of cash for expenses and telling them whom to draw on in case they were short, I bade them goodbye and wished them success.
These matters being arranged, I went to see the broker with whom I was in partnership and found him considerably exercised. We had a long talk about the situation, and he expressed himself as very uneasy about the march Sherman was making through the Carolinas and its effect upon the Confederate bonds we had on hand. I was not as easily frightened as he was but I could not help acknowledging that if Sherman succeeded in accomplishing what he aimed at, it would be bad for the cause of the Confederacy and that it would do much to kill the sale of the bonds. I therefore allowed myself to be persuaded into making a trip to London for the purpose of a personal interview with our agent there, the idea being, without letting him or others see that we were uneasy, to persuade him to sell off the paper we held at almost any price.
I accordingly proceeded to London by the next steamer, and on finding the agent, was soon plunged into business with him. Confederate bonds were not selling very well just at that time, but as ours cost us very little, we could afford to dispose of them at very moderate figures and still make a handsome profit. I put mine on the market as rapidly as I was able but before I had cleared out the lot, intelligence was received that Sherman had established communication with Grant, and many persons jumped at the conclusion that this was a virtual end of the rebellion. When this news was received, I was on a flying visit to Paris. I did not think that the end was as near as many persons supposed, but saw very clearly that there was no market in London just then for Confederate bonds. … I posted to Liverpool and arrived there just in time to catch a steamer.
As we were going into New York harbor we heard the news of Lee's surrender — which had taken place the day before — from the pilot. He was unable to give us any particulars, and everyone on the steamer was consequently in a fever of anxiety to get ashore and learn the full extent of the disaster to the Confederate arms. No one was more anxious than myself, as no one had reason to be, and the idea that the hitherto invincible army of Virginia … should at last be compelled to yield to the enemy fairly stunned me.
Many of the passengers seemed to think that this was practically the winding up of the war. I could not bring myself to believe this, for I knew that the Confederacy had other armies in the field who were both able and willing to fight, and who were led by generals as skillful and as indomitable as Lee. My heart burned hot within me to continue the fight, and I resolved to stick by my colors to the last and to labor with even more than my accustomed zeal for the Confederacy so long as a shadow of hope remained.
When the vessel reached the wharf I went ashore and proceeded to the Lafarge House, from whence, as soon as I could get some of the sea rust from my person, I called a carriage and ordered the driver to take me as fast as he could to the office of the broker in Wall Street with whom I was in partnership.
Wall Street, especially in the vicinity of the Exchange, was fairly packed with a furious, excited mass of human beings, selling, shouting, cursing, and not a few absolutely weeping.
It was a spectacle to be remembered — nothing that I had ever beheld — and I had certainly participated in many exciting scenes, … Some of the thousands of faces were surcharged with unspeakable horror. Despair, overpowering despair, was written on others. Curses and blasphemies were heard on every side, and it might have been supposed that all the lunatics in the country had been turned loose in this narrow thoroughfare.
Anyone familiar with this section of New York, however, could see at a glance that some momentous event had occurred which had seriously affected innumerable important financial operations, and that in a moment great fortunes had been lost and won.
The next day I met him in accordance with our agreement and presented my statement with a proposition that he should take half the bonds in my hands and we stand equal losses. This he refused point-blank to do and professed to be highly indignant that I should make such a proposition.
I then refused to settle, at which he got very angry and threatened to have me arrested, indulging in some strong language, which did not frighten me a bit, for, apart from the fact that I did not scare easily, I knew that I had the advantage of him and that he would not dare, for his own sake, to carry his threat into execution. I had about sixty thousand dollars of his money, while he had only about eighteen thousand of mine [and so] he finally consented to settle on equal terms — share and share alike, both in the profits and the losses. This matter being arranged, I bade him farewell, glad enough to get rid of him and glad to get out of such a business. Such was the end of my secret banking and brokerage transactions.


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text:
Have Product, Will Travel
Derek Zumsteg
Cubs of Democracy
This is a draft of Cubs of Democracy, which runs about 4,700 words. It's gotten a kind rejection note or two, and it'll go out for submission again soon. As such, it's not released under any license, and I reserve all the copyrights, hopefully until it sells, which would be nice.
In school, I took a part time job in a Portland greenhouse tower as a junior worker bee, wandering the thirty stacked floors, earbuds in, humming along as I went about my rounds. I loved it. They paid next to nothing but offered flexible hours in a calm, quiet environment, and all the work was pleasant and easy: tending the plants, patching PVC runs, watching for the pests that made it through the screens, talking to customers about their backyard gardens, ensuring tastiness of the product through extensive sampling. Despite their place in this near-paradise, the other employees feuded. Who knew more about native plants, who got to repot the tulips, which junior worker bee screwed up patching the PVC run, who got the weekend off, who had screwed who when and with what at which convention. No dispute was too petty for them to not to fight over.
I thought about this while weightless, clinging to a handloop in the near total darkness of the hub, as the other thirty four crew members on station debated whether, having used the last of our uranium to send out the SOS beacons and with little air and heat left, we should play cribbage or go through our next shift, one of six we might, at the outside, have before we all died.
When the argument went twice as long and become four times as stupid as the debate over whether to use the last of our uranium to call for help or give us some extra time running the recyclers, I called for a stop to the debate.
"We're wasting air," I said. "Let's vote. I represent apathy."
"I think we should have a round-robin rock-paper-scissors tournament," Hager said. Boos came from all walls.
"You think we should spend a couple of our remaining hours shaking our fists at each other and… really?"
"Yes," Hager said.
"Fine. There's a third option, rock-paper-scissors tournament. Let's vote."
The other thirty-four crew members drifted to their preferred option. Cribbage won easily. Hager stood alone.
"Cribbage it is," I said.
Nods. The crowd broke to find cribbage sets. I waited until the central hub cleared out and pushed off across and made my way up to Observation.
I'd spent years in Wolf 359, my work shifts divided into 20-minute increments of next action on next action, each peeled off a selected project. I'd never turned off the agents and thought.
With Wolf raging against the long dying of its light, the windows dampened against the tantrum, obliterating the rest of the star field. Outside, the storm lit up the whole electromagnetic spectrum, X-rays pounding on our hull, the radio spectrum blanketed. There was no one to talk to anyway. Our communications array depended entirely on the launcher, and the launcher took ridiculous amounts of energy to fire its tiny messengers, and energy we no longer had. I sat in the observation couch, closed my eyes, and tried to sleep. Sleeping used less oxygen, and gave me the chance to freeze to death.
Hours later, Wolf calmed, the windows relaxed, the change in lighting waking me from my restless sleep. I could see stars, the tethered planetoids, and our giant nearly-destroyed solar cell array. Normally, I'd look up the weather forecast, see if we had an hour or days before things got chaotic again, hoping to get some work in. I didn't care any more. We wouldn't be doing space walks, and while we'd left the mining operations going, the chances we'd ever be making pickups verged on zero.
Wolf 359. A tiny, dim red dwarf with no significant bodies within the first couple of AUs. Possibly all eaten in the life of the star, disintegrated in the shift from happy, yellow star, though our resident astronomer weighed that against other theories, or would until he ran out of oxygen and died.
The majesty of space exploration indeed. We were here because the system was filled with stellar crap, which was great if you wanted to do a lot of mining of objects under the legal standard for autonomous stellar objects. And that we did, setting our bots to unraveling the dumb rocks into usable materials, but in terms of not having your station hit by shards you didn't manage to map in time, it turns out it really, really sucks.
And those stupid rocks. Whee, carbonacous rocks. All the silica, oxides, and sulfides you could wish for. Do you wish you had tons on tons of scorched olivine and serpentine? Come on down, because I have more of that shit than I know what to do with. Nickel-iron, boy, do I have nickel-iron. You would not believe how much nickel and iron I have. Magnesium? My prices on magnesium are crazy!
What I don't have, though, is enough cadmium. Or selenium. There's some cadmium sulfide, and some molybdenum disulfide. But if you need to rebuild your solar arrays and other critical, fragile equipment like, for instance, environmental recyclers, do not, under any circumstances, come to Wolf 359, because you will be well and utterly fucked.
If you're unfortunate enough to be there, holes punched in your vitals, and your launcher batteries don't happen to be topped off – and why would they be, it's a ridiculous thing to waste power on – well, the smart thing to do is burn your miniscule uranium supply to power the chip launcher, shut off everything you can, including the algae vats, salvage what you can to keep the station warm and livable, then settle down to play cribbage and hope when your grain-of-rice-sized beacon blows into Barnard's Star someone is listening and has any kind of rescue capacity and the calculations on the cost of launching a salvage mission come out worth it to fire up the reactors and gate the rescue ship in-system, at which point they would bill us into perpetual indentured service.
The thing about perpetual indentured service is as horrible fates go, it does still beat asphyxiation. The other thing is that I knew no rescue mission was coming. We'd generated a reasonable valuation of the operation including documentary evidence and offered nearly all of it in exchange for the rescue operation. I knew unless someone was coming out here anyway, the numbers wouldn't work. There was no reason someone would be coming out here anyway, because there was nothing worth coming out here for, including us. I was somewhat depressed.
A nascent operation like ours, that's the risk you took: you had to get there, build your way out of eating algae, build the mining operation to self-sustainability, recruit more people, build a launcher, recruit, start firing rare materials back, recruit, build a pharmaceutical fabrication center, or adult zero-g recreation center, or counterfeiting operation, and by then if you're an original settler you've long paid off your launch costs and you sell your equity shares to retire happily, rich beyond all utility.
The other option, of course, is that instead of years of work equally divided between the hard, the monotonous, and the extremely hazardous, you could just die.
"Your agents are off," Schroeder told me, an annoyed, grating tone edging her voice.
I looked back from the couch. She stopped at the threshold, waiting for a nod. "What do you want from me? Is there vital traffic on the station group? Why not just page me?"
She pulled herself in and strapped down to a couch. "You're in a bad mood," she said.
"Smiling exercises too many muscles," I said. "I'm trying to conserve energy. What's your problem?"
"I've been thinking," Schroeder said. "I know it's a taboo subject and all, but as long as we're going to die on this rock, there are some things I'd like to do before I die."
"Are you coming on to me?"
She laughed. I couldn't even flirt when we were all going to die without it coming off as a joke. Oh, I'm that good. "No, look. I know we're all a crew and crews stick together blah blah blah, but let's be honest, Hager's always been a dick."
"See?" she said. "See, you're interested. What I'm saying is, as long as we're all going to die, we reasonably guess things are going to break down towards the end…"
"Ah, there's the flaw," I said. "They won't. The joy of no oxygen, we'll all just get really drowsy, pass out, and then expire. But we'll see a rescue before that."
"I don't believe that any more than you do," Schroeder said. "What I'm saying is, if we all have to go, I really want to kill Hager. If his death means the rest of us get an extra hour of oxygen, and let's be honest, it's going to be more than that because he absolutely will not stop talking ever, then isn't that a good thing?"
"I'm not killing anyone," I said.
"You've already killed all thirty five of us," Schroeder said. "You and me, we're just haggling over the order."
I didn't respond, and we both sat and watched Wolf 359 churn.
The second round of cribbage ended to cheers, and from the volume it was clear that our descent into oxygen deprivation would be well-lubricated.
"Where did the alcohol come from?" I asked.
"You want to head back?" Schroeder replied, quietly. I looked over and could see her eyes heavy with tears not flowing.
"No," I said. "I'll go if you want me to."
She shook her head, and outside, something flickered.
"Wait, what?" Schroeder asked. She wiped her eyes. "I thought –"
"You did," I said. I pulled up the station's meters. We'd detected a huge burst of energy, accompanied by all the bizarre particles that come out on the destination end of a launch. "Someone's here."
"Is this a oxygen-deprivation hallucination?" Schroeder said. "Because this would be a really, really cruel thing to dream up as you died." She looked at the wall air monitor. "Hey, we're still over twenty percent. That's awesome!" She paused. "Unless I'm hallucinating the reading."
"Knock it off," I said.
"I bet it was my miniscrubber. Days of oxygen, days."
"Yes, yes, you're very clever." With a fair idea of where they'd jumped in, I found the ship quickly. This was made easier because the ship was huge, sleek, elegant, and hauling to something else almost half again its size, all spindles and struts. I put it up.
"It's a launcher," Schroeder said. "They brought their own one-time launcher if they needed to get back." She drew on the diagram for me, unfolding it into the familiar wide umbrella shape as I watched.
"Wow. Do you recognize the ship?"
"It's ATS Aerospace. No question."
"We're saved," I said, savoring the words as I said them. "We're saved, we're saved, we're saved."
"I'm so happy I could kiss you," Schroeder said.
"Could. I'd have to unstrap myself from the couch, go all the way to the other side of the room, find a hold, and besides, let's be honest, since I cannibalized the showers, we both smell pretty ripe."
I pushed an announcement and video onto the ship's net and I cranked the antennas around. Silence.
"That's weird," I said. Someone pulled into the room, nodded at us, latched in, then two, then the hallway started to fill, but no response came.
"Is the antenna out?" Hager asked.
"Why would you even ask that? Really, seriously, if you don't leave us alone I'm going to put spacing you to another vote, and I don't know how generous everyone's feeling about subsidizing your air right now."
"No would have sufficed."
"Vote!" I called.
"I'm going, I'm going," Hager muttered, and the other crew in the hall roughly shoved him back hubward.
"Vote cancelled," I said. "I should broadcast."
"Wait," Schroeder said. "Why wouldn't they hail on entry? There's no reason not to let us know they're coming."
I listened to galactic background noise.
"The question is do we hail and what do we say," I said. "We only get one chance, so I need a couple of minutes to think. If no one could interrupt me, please. I'll take ideas in five?" I looked around, got nods. "And if someone could please lock Hager in with the algae tanks, that would be helpful.
It only took Schroeder a minute to figure out the answer to a more important question.
"It's not a rescue mission," she said. "It's salvage."
I felt the cold of realization. She was right. Rescue operations were expensive. If they found the station and operations viable, they'd install a new panel, throw some uranium into the emergency reactor, drop off a new company crew to repair and restart the station, and get our years of start-up work for free. If they didn't find it worth running, they'd salvage all our expensive gear along with the most valuable mineral stocks, load up the launcher, pop back to Barnard's Star.
Surveying the crew in the room and who I could see in the hallway, it was clear they were coming to the same conclusion.
"No problem," I said. "I call vote!"
"Hager's already in the tanks," someone called back, and everyone laughed.
"No, really, I call vote," I said. "Did you stuff Hager into a vat?"
"Without a vote? No way."
We all went back to the hub, where we could cluster on the walls, see each other all at once, and talk easily.
"Here's the problem," I said. "There may be reasons that they're not talking to us that are entirely benign, but Schroder's right, economically they'd like us to die. I love you all, but we're labor out here, and as long as we're alive, from their perspective it doesn't matter what we sign, because maybe we class-action our way out, claim duress, whatever, it's a pain in their ass even if they win. Dead, it's all salvage law, nice and painless.
"I want to lie to them and give them a reason to hurry up. This is going to be illegal, and I want us all to be in on it. The question: can I lie to the ship in order to get them to get here faster or provoke a response or otherwise keep us from choking or freezing to death while they watch?"
I got thirty four yes votes.
"The hit we reported on our solar array had secondary impacts," I said. "The worst of these were multiple pinhole punctures through the hull and the air scrubbers. We've patched the leaks, and improvised some oxygen and energy-generation to buy us more time, but we're lucky to still be here. We might only have hours left," I said.
Schroeder rolled her eyes at me. I paused the recording.
"Would you like to say something?"
"You're boring," she said
I clipped it back on. "In addition, if you have a xenoarchealogist, we require immediate consult." I let a little desperation creep into my voice. "I'd also take a xenobiologist, xenolinguist, even a xenophile at this point."
I signed off, bundled it with a long batch of suitably grim atmosphere data we'd taken off the dying algae tanks, and burst-transmitted the package to the ship, pulling current and shaving seconds off everyone's lives. I set it to repeat when it looked like we had clear line-of-sight, no more than every ten minutes. The conservation was meaningless, lost in someone's cough or a cheer over a won cribbage game. I couldn't help it.
"That's your plan," Schroeder said. "Aliens."
"You said I was boring. I wanted to spice it up."
"Uh huh. Good work with that. Really."
We watched the magnified ship, taking its leisurely, fuel-saving approach, start to change its attitude and drop the towed launcher behind it.
"What do I know," Schroeder said.
Through the rocks, they hailed us.
I recognized the wear in the face of the captain of the Arbuckle. Like me, at some point he'd worked outside and taken too many rads, because labor was cheap and early in our business the really good protective suits were expensive.
"You're not supposed to be here," the captain said.
"We figured out a way to get another couple days of air out of the water recyclers, lucky break for us."
"Your video looks horrible," he said.
"It's a three-year-old system," I said, "and we've got better things to do with our power right now. However, if you would be so kind as to send me the latest in superior video codecs, I would be happy to install them," I said, "except that we're all going to die in a particularly boring way so I'm not sure you'll care if the video quality is up to snuff."
Shroeder groaned, and the captain made an unhappy expression.
"But there will be time enough to talk about that when you get here. I'm so happy to hear from you. Given the nature of our emergency, it might be good to go over what you have before we negotiate terms."
Confusion crossed his face for a fraction of a second, and I knew I had him. He wasn't prepared to negotiate rescue terms.
"Why did you ask for a xenoarchaelogist?" he asked.
"We found something," I lied. "We're all dumb spacers, we don't know what to make of it. Do you have someone?"
"Transmit your files," he said. "We have someone who can look at it."
"Ah, but here's the thing," I said. "The data itself may be valuable. I can't just give you a free sample. It potentially affects the value of our whole operation if it turns out we have claim to alien artifacts. I'd be neglecting my duties as the station's representative—"
"I get it," he said. "But how do I know you really have something?"
"It doesn't matter, does it?" I said, cheerfully. "When you get here, you can come on board and verify it yourself."
He looked off camera for a second and sighed. "Yeah, we're not actually here to rescue you. We're here to set up our own operation."
"Really? Could you be a neighbor and loan us a solar array? We'd be good for it, I promise. After all, you know where we live."
"The thing is," the captain said, shifting. "We're going to start on your station."
"What?" I cried in mock outrage. Out of camera range, the crew bit their fists to keep from laughing. "There's no room here."
He cleared his throat and fidgeted again. "We're going to let things sort themselves out," he said. "And then we're going to claim salvage." He took a breath in between clenched teeth. "I know this is uncomfortable, but from a business standpoint, the difference in our return on investment is enormous."
"Yeah yeah yeah," I said. "We figured that out ages ago."
Surprise, and the crew laughed openly this time, which got the captain's eyes to go even wider.
"If you can't prove you have an artifact, we'll wait it out," he said.
"No, you're not," I said. "It's a chunk of an alien station on one of the rocks. And here's the thing, if you don't here and help us, the bots are going to roll right over it, process the whole thing, and the only evidence you're going to get when you salvage our operation is a particularly weird inventory report." He blinked at me. "We don't want to be dicks about this, but I think you understand that we value our continued survival over advancing human knowledge of alien precursors." I smiled.
"Yes," he said. "I understand."
"In any event, we're prepared to strike a quite favorable deal with you."
"We'll burn through as fast as we can," he said, "but with the rocks and all, I can't give you a figure. A couple hours."
"We'll hold our breath," I said. "Hail us when you're close enough to send a skiff." I cut the line to general applause, and did a zero-g bow, scissoring my body out of the chair.
Schroeder wasn't applauding. Or even smiling.
"I thought that was a nice performance," I said. "And usually I'm a pretty harsh self-critic."
"Genius," Schroeder said, "they come on board, see we have no alien station or data on a station, no artifacts of any kind, they'll kill us, claim salvage rights, and then destroy the evidence."
I thought that through.
"Oh crap," I said, "I hadn't thought of that. I call vote!"
I nominated Schroeder as station leader on the basis that the last few hours had definitively proven she was clearly way smarter than me, at least in this new, oxygen-deprived environment. I won, putting her in charge of my mess, and she stuck her tongue out at me, surrounded by my twenty two votes for her. Hager voted to install himself as station representative. He got one vote.
"You're in charge!" I called. "Have fun with my mess. I'm going to go take a walk."
"Oh no you're not," Schroeder called, but I was already down the tube and started the lock cycle while putting on my suit.
"We need you back here," she yelled over the lock's speakers. I whistled happily, popped the helmet on, checked the tank.
"What in the world are you doing?" she asked in both my ears.
"Hey, look, I can do with my oxygen what I want, it's mine," I said.
"Are you going to try and extract oxygen out of the water we're getting of Eunomia?"
I paused. "Wow, that's a really good idea," I said. "We'd need more time than we had, but it's still inspired. Why didn't I think of that?"
"I knew we didn't have time and didn't want us to waste time arguing about it."
"No wonder you're in charge," I said. "I should have nominated you ages ago."
"So then what are you doing?"
I shut off the channel, clipped some hand-held reaction jets to my suit and cycled the lock to vacuum.
We'd only that month roped Eunomia 40 in to where we could dot it with the mining bots. We'd had our eye on it for a while after we'd noted it had a particular fondness for the three micrometer wavelength, which meant water and a possible shortcut to greenhouses, which in turn meant the vote to reprioritize passed unanimously. You can only spice algae so many ways.
I increased the human population of the rock to one. There were several materials processors, and a set of giant reaction motors we'd dropped on the beast for steering. It was a brutal and inefficient way to move rocks, but we had mass to spare, so we didn't really care. We wanted tomatoes, dammit, and asparagus and carrots. While I made my way, I called the ship and declared myself His Excellency the Great and Powerful Glorious Ruler and King for Life of Eunomia Land. I announced that I would be implementing policies designed to win environmental protection for mixed-composite astronomical objects between 150 and 200 kilometers in average diameter and as a first step had liberated Eunomia to inspire the other asteroids to revolt against the station's tyrannical exploitation.
"Are you sure your tank had oxygen in it?" Schroeder asked me on her delay. "Get back here, Wolf's acting up."
"Stuff it, bourgeois pig," I said, and clipped off again. As life in Eunomia Land became twice as bright, I hijacked the rovers to collect the giant reaction motors and pile them up. During the initial panic, we'd considered trying to convert them, even to use as heat sources to generate horribly inefficient energy, but they'd all required too much labor and too much time.
As motors, though, they remained huge, ugly, and effective. I loaded up tons of nickel-iron for mass, tethered them together, and dragged them out into the debris field, trying to keep rocks between myself and the ship's approach.
Then I floated, trying to slow my breathing, steady my thoughts. With the storm, they'd be reduced to using narrow-band lasers, which wouldn't work through the rocks well, so even before they put out a skiff, they would be close. They might even consider docking directly, so they could better storm the ship.
The question I meditated on, as I hung basking in Wolf's latest tantrum, was this: how could I, without knowing what was happening on the ship, determine if they were dealing with the station fairly or not?
A day later, no answer had presented itself to me as the Arbuckle swung into view backwards, engines exposed.
"Fuck it," I said to my tethered motors. I turned the motors on and tried to control them as best I could with the primitive telemetrics I could do from the suit.
I don't know if the Arbuckle saw what was coming and tried to fire short-range rock-defense lasers at them as they came in, but I like to think so, because then I get to imagine that they had time to realize they were screwed before the missiles went through the back of the ship, where all the expensive, toxic, dangerous, and important stuff lives.
I called in to the station, and they used the Arbuckle's skiff to come get me.
"The landing party was unarmed," Hager told me. "If it wasn't real, they were going to use survey rockets to puncture our hull."
"Really?" I said. "Because it's almost like someone did that to them instead."
Schroeder greeted me at the docking ring.
"Greetings to the His Excellency the Great and Powerful Glorious Ruler and King for Life of Eunomia Land," Schroeder said, offering me her hand. I shook, and she pulled me into the station. "That was some walk."
"Yeah, wasn't it? I want to apply for asylum," I said.
"I'll call a vote," she said, smiling, and we pulled ourselves towards the hub. After some debate over whether I had left or could be granted asylum, in which Hager attempted to argue that as head of my own state, I couldn't apply for asylum from myself, they voted and I won, renounced my title, and station representative Schroeder accepted the insistent calls to open a conversation over narrow-beam laser.
"That was low," the Arbuckle's captain said.
"Your video quality is terrible," Schoreder said. "Is your communication array damaged?"
"You know what you did."
"Wasn't us," Schroeder said, her face even.
"You're the victim of a terrorist attack from Eunomia Land," she said. "It's a self-declared free state on Eunomia 40 trying to win environmental protection for mixed-composite astronomical objects between 150 and 200 kilometers in average diameter."
"That's not funny."
"I'll transmit you the logs, I'm not joking. How's the ship?"
"Screwed, as you well know," the captain said. "The hull's punctured in six places, our engines are gutted, we've got emergency life support functions blowing up."
"Wow," Schroeder said. "That sounds like you're in pretty dire trouble."
"Yes, we are," the captain said. "Now please take our skiff and come help us."
"No," Schroeder said. "No, I don't think we will."
"What are you going to do then?"
"We're going to wait," Schroeder. "Let things settle themselves."
She waited, looking into the increasingly pale face of the Arbuckle's captain. I nudged her.
"I'll have our people draw up some service contracts and we'll vote on which set of terms you'll find most distasteful. I'll call you back when we're done."
She cut off and started to laugh.
"We're going to live!" she yelled. "We're going to get a new array and probably uranium and all kinds of good stuff. I'm so happy I could kiss you."
"Please do," I said, and that time she went for it.
This entry was posted in Free Fiction on May 16, 2007 by DMZ.
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Paycheck (2003)
PG-13 | 1h 59min | Action, Mystery, Sci-Fi | 25 December 2003 (USA)
What seemed like a breezy idea for an engineer to net him millions of dollars, leaves him on the run for his life and piecing together why he's being chased.
Philip K. Dick (short story), Dean Georgaris (screenplay)
Ben Affleck, Aaron Eckhart, Uma Thurman | See full cast & crew »
Ben Affleck's Action Star Evolution in 10 Movies, From 'Dazed and Confused' to 'Triple Frontier'
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Search for "Paycheck" on Amazon.com
Title: Paycheck (2003)
Movie Plot Motivators
How often do you go out to the movies?
Christmas Releases
Disappointing Adaptations from Literature
3 wins & 2 nominations. See more awards »
Ben Affleck ... Jennings
Aaron Eckhart ... Rethrick
Uma Thurman ... Rachel
Paul Giamatti ... Shorty
Colm Feore ... Wolfe
Joe Morton ... Agent Dodge
Michael C. Hall ... Agent Klein
Peter Friedman ... Attorney General Brown
Kathryn Morris ... Rita Dunne
Ivana Milicevic ... Maya-Rachel
Christopher Kennedy ... Stevens
Fulvio Cecere ... Agent Fuman
John Cassini ... Agent Mitchell
Callum Keith Rennie ... Jude - Guard
Michelle Harrison ... Jane
Michael Jennings is a reverse engineer and what he does is technical jobs for certain companies and as soon as he is done, his memory of the work he has done is wiped out. Now the longest he has been contracted is 2 months. But now billionaire, James Rethrick offers him a job that would last 2 years, maybe 3, and he promises that he will probably earn 8 figures. Michael agrees. Before beginning he turns in all of his personal effects. And when the job is done, his memory is erased and he learns he made over 90 million dollars over the three years. When he goes to claim it and his personal effects, he discovers that prior to the erasure of his memory he waived his rights to the money he earned and that the items that were given to him were not the ones he gave when he began. Later he is arrested by the FBI who say that he committed some act of treason and murder. It's while he is in custody that he escapes using some the items that he was given. He later meets with a friend who gives ... Written by rcs0411@yahoo.com
time | pipe wrench | babe scientist | seeing the future | evil corporation | See All (205) »
Remember the future. See more »
Action | Mystery | Sci-Fi | Thriller
Rated PG-13 for intense action violence and brief language | See all certifications »
25 December 2003 (USA) See more »
El pago See more »
Burrard SkyTrain Station, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada See more »
$13,462,374, 28 December 2003, Wide Release
$96,269,812, 18 April 2012
Paramount Pictures, DreamWorks, Davis Entertainment See more »
DTS | Dolby | SDDS | Dolby Digital
One of the items in the envelope is Michael's identification card from Alcom Corporation. In an F.B.I. office scene, there is a close shot of the card with a U.P.C. barcode 071486036043. This code corresponds to Premiere Magazine published by Curtis Circulation Company. See more »
Right before Michael is about to use the bus pass, he runs into someone and drops his envelope. You can see behind him that he clearly drops the hairspray but when they show what he dropped, the hairspray isn't there and he never picks it up. See more »
Holographic Woman: It's time to wake up... and get a life. We live in a 3-dimensional world. Until now, the world of computing has been a flat world, consisting of 2-dimensional imagery. Now, through the use of exclusive breakthrough technology, ARC has made it possible for you to get a life. A-Life, where we can work and play in a lifelike world of 3-dimensional reality. A-Life, the living monitor.
Referenced in The DiCaprio Code (2006) See more »
Minute Waltz in D Flat Major Op. 64 No. 1
by Frédéric Chopin
Performed by Lincoln Mayorga
Courtesy of Townhall Records
Q: Is this film based on a novel?
Intriguing premise is made mildly enjoyable, but ultimately unsatisfying.
9 January 2005 | by Li-1 – See all my reviews
Rating: ** out of ****
I wonder what it says about the state of cinematic science fiction that most of author Philip K. Dick's adaptations generally mix high-octane action with its interesting sci-fi concepts. Paycheck is no exception, hardly a surprise when you note it's from once beloved Hong Kong filmmaker John Woo, who's quickly reaching Michael Bay/Roland Emmerich levels of notoriety in the U.S. with each regressive film.
To be fair, Paycheck isn't unenjoyable, and it even gets off to a pretty good start. Set sometime in the near future, there's not much of a noticeable difference with our present time except for a few elaborate-looking gadgets and computers. Ben Affleck stars as Michael Jennings, a reverse engineer who's hired by major corporations to build products superior to all rival companies. Afterwards, his memory is erased by a partner of his (Paul Giamatti) and he's given a large paycheck for his time and troubles (usually the whole process takes about three months).
His latest offer comes from an old friend of his (Aaron Eckhart), who promises an eight-figure deal at the end of the transaction. The catch is that the whole procedure will take three years. Despite some reluctance, he agrees to the deal and when the three years pass by, Jennings, thinking he's a rich man, is shocked to discover he gave up over ninety million dollars in favor of an envelope containing twenty everyday household items. Now he finds himself on the run from both the FBI and the company that hired him, and must set out to discover what he built during those three years he's missing.
Uma Thurman also stars in the movie as Jennings' girlfriend during that three-year span, but she factors so lazily into the picture, she's obviously only in the film so that a) Jennings can have a love interest and b) he can also have someone to talk to about every little discovery he makes. Then again, function "b" could have worked just as well with Giamatti, but everyone knows a "sexy" chick is a better sell (I have to put quote marks around sexy because Thurman looks positively haggard for almost every minute of screen time she's present; I can't help but feel the much hotter Kathryn Morris would have done better in the role).
There are two concepts in this movie that specifically intrigue me (some moderate spoilers here), the first one is choosing deliberately to erase your own memory, but the notion is forgotten after the first half-hour. I was quite curious to know exactly what the process is like to the subject. Take, for instance, the fact that he lost his memory over the three-year span. Does the last thing he remembers feel like a three-year old memory or an event that happened just a second ago? Instead, all we get is a half-hearted (actually, not even that much) attempt at a sorrowful romance because he can't remember his girlfriend and she's not very happy about that.
The other major sci-fi concept, the ability to see into the future, isn't explored with much more interest and it leads to a number of baffling questions. You see (quite a few spoilers here), it's revealed Jennings sent himself those twenty items because they can come in handy at a specific moment that'll help him survive or escape from a dangerous situation.
But the thing is, Jennings couldn't have known each item would come in handy unless he used the device he built at least twenty times, because there's no way he'd know a motorcycle would come in handy if he never had, say, the bus ticket to escape from the FBI, meaning he used the device to see what he needed to escape the FBI, but still foresaw that he'd be killed in even more future events. That would mean this guy was originally destined to die or get caught in well over ten different scenarios (i.e. he had the bus ticket to escape, but if he didn't have the motorbike keys, he wouldn't have gotten further, and so on and so forth), but this is never really addressed.
By John Woo standards, there's surprisingly only a modest amount of action in the film, but at least the material is competently handled, even if it's not entirely believable. What might work in movies that establish their characters as supercops with impeccable aims doesn't come off quite as well in action scenes that feature scientists beating up a large number of armed goons. But if you suspend disbelief, the action scenes are pretty fun (especially the motorcycle chase and the laboratory battle), and coupled with the relatively fast pace, keep the movie perfectly watchable despite the poor script and mediocre acting (I never got into specifics, but this is Ben Affleck and Uma Thurman we're talking about).
When all is said and done, Paycheck is a wasted opportunity and is never as memorable a mixture of science fiction, mystery, and action as Minority Report, but it's likely to do the trick for undemanding fans of any of these genres. If you expect more, well, you'd do best to remember this is John Woo we're talking about, not Steven Spielberg.
121 of 174 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you?


text:
Q: Symfony Integrity constraint violation I tried cascade remove on the 'file' entity that keeps my 'expanse' entity from removing. But this doesn't work.
The error:
Cannot delete or update a parent row: a foreign key constraint fails (zioo.files, CONSTRAINT FK_6354059F395DB7B FOREIGN KEY (expense_id) REFERENCES expenses (id))
The file entity code:
 /**
 * @ORM\ManyToOne(targetEntity="Expense", inversedBy="files", cascade={"remove"})
 * @ORM\JoinColumn(name="expense_id", referencedColumnName="id")
 */
private $expense;

The expanse entity code:
 /**
 * @ORM\OneToOne(targetEntity="File", cascade={"persist"})
 * @ORM\JoinColumn(name="file_id", referencedColumnName="id")
 */
private $file = null;

/**
 * @ORM\OneToMany(targetEntity="File", mappedBy="expense", cascade={"remove"})
 */
protected $files;

If a expanse gets deleted the file associated with it should be deleted too.

A: Using cascade={"remove"} the entity won't be deleted if it is owned by something else. The issue seems to be caused by doctrine, as the expanse entity has 2 relations to file entity and this causes doctrine to "think" that your file entity is owned by something else and not send a delete to database for it, before trying to delete the expanse.
As a result when it tries to delete the expanse this error is thrown.
To test it, remove private $file = null;relation and will see that it will work.
To overcome this, I suggest to use onDelete="CASCADE" on the owning side:
/**
 * @ORM\ManyToOne(targetEntity="Expense", inversedBy="files", cascade={"remove"})
 * @ORM\JoinColumn(name="expense_id", referencedColumnName="id", onDelete="CASCADE")
 */
private $expense;

In this case, you no longer need cascade={"remove"}:
/**
 * @ORM\OneToMany(targetEntity="File", mappedBy="expense")
 */
protected $files;

Doctrine delete relation options

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


Qigong: the ancient exercise you need to practice.
Qigong involves performing gentle movements that are correlated with the inhalation and exhalation of the breath.
Qigong is suitable for all ages and stages of life.


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Want to find out how we can help you find, buy, manage and handle your portfolio of Los Angeles multifamily, income-generating homes? Contact us now!


text:
Unreleased Green Lantern SNES Game Found
Zack Zwiezen
Gif: Did You Know Gaming? / DC
Video game historian and YouTuber Liam Robertson, with the help of fellow game historian Frank Gasking, found a prototype cartridge of an unfished and never released Green Lantern game from Ocean Software. And luckily for us, they also got the game running, letting us see what might have been.
The story behind this prototype cartridge, the studio behind the game, and the three(!) different versions of it are covered in full in a new short documentary from Did You Know Gaming.
Back in 91, Ocean Software began work on the first version of the Green Lantern game. The studio had success making other DC games and was planning to develop the game for the Amiga and other gaming PCs of the era. But after a few months, the project was shelved. Then in 93, using some assets and tech from other games the studio had completed, Green Lantern was revived. This time it would be developed for the SNES and would feature platforming and flying.
Eventually, after more changes and more delays, Ocean Software would finally cancel the game, as well as another DC game the studio was working on, for good.
Screenshot: Did You Know Gaming? / DC
However, thanks to Frank Gasking, the author and historian behind the book "The Games That Weren't", we can get a glimpse at what the final version of the game that was in development looked liked before it was canceled.
This last version moved to a more action-focused design, using the ring as just a projectile weapon and not a tool, like in previous versions of the project. While this version looked better and was more accurate to the source material, including dialogue ripped right out of the comics, Ocean Software felt the SNES was on the way out and decided to cancel the project instead of investing more money and resources into it.
The Project Trying To Put Every Single Super Nintendo Instruction Manual On The Internet
A lot is made, and rightly so, of the plight of retro video games once they succumb to the passage…
Huge Nintendo 'Gigaleak' Reveals Tons Of SNES & N64 Secrets, Like Luigi In Mario 64
One of the longest-running and most interesting stories of 2020 has been the slow emergence of a…
Kotaku Weekend Editor | Zack Zwiezen is a writer living in Kansas. He has written for GameCritics, USgamer, Kill Screen & Entertainment Fuse.
Adam Withers
Gaaasp! I remember seeing an ad for this as a kid! Or maybe not an ad? Maybe it was a little side-note in a Wizard magazine? Anyway, I thought I had imagined it because clearly it was never released. As a huge Kyle fan, I was really disappointed - though, in retrospect, it likely would have just been another like Death of Superman or Maximum Carnage that were kind of neat but ultimately just ball-crushingly hard and unfun.


text:
Link to help Milford Babe Ruth 14s
Subway collects clothes for Big Brothers, Big Sisters
Crowd packs Milford's Lights for Liberty vigil
Milford judge first woman to lead state's probate court system
Obituaries Prior to 2019
HAN Network live-streams boys lacrosse games tonight and Saturday
Really Dad? College Move In Day
Staneski says taxpayers are on the hook
Reflections on Newtown, five years later
Letter: Smith defends Slossberg as advocate for social justice
The Reel Dad
Delivery Problems
https://www.milfordmirror.com/al-curtain-call/article/Curtain-Call-Warm-up-with-The-Bikinis-13860237.php
Curtain Call: Warm up with 'The Bikinis'
Joanne Greco Rochman
Published 10:53 am EST, Thursday, January 17, 2019
The Bikinis runs through Jan. 20 in Waterbury. — Courtesy of Seven Angels Theatre.
Seven Angels, Waterbury: The thermometer may be reading "frigid," but you'll forget about the cold once "The Bikinis" — a new musical beach party cranks up the heat. Written by Ray Roderick and James Hindman with musical arrangements by Joe Baker, the focus is on four talented young women who do justice to the hits of the 1960s. Set in a trailer park community that is located on a beach, the plot revolves around the fact that a developer wants to buy up the trailers and build a condominium complex. The girls, two sisters, a cousin and a friend sing to raise funds to fight the developer and become so popular that they decide to become a girl group and make a record.
While the plot may seem like a stretch, it's actually based on a true story. A developer really wanted to buy and demolish a trailer park that was located right on a beach. The characters are all talented vocalists who have been perfectly cast in their roles and the song selections they sing. Director/choreographer Foster Reese and music director Benjamin McCormack add plenty of polish to the lively production.
The first act goes by so quickly, it's hard to believe that just about 17 musical numbers have been performed. Most memorable are "It's in His Kiss," which all four vocalists perform. When the four sing together, they do harmonize beautifully especially in numbers such as "Under the Boardwalk," and "Where the Boys Are." Don't think that this is just a musical revue. These performers take the audience back to the sixties and the age of innocence, then move forward to the Vietnam War, and as the times change, so do the songs and so do the four women.
Erin West Reed plays Jodi and delivers a powerful presentation. She has a voice that resonates throughout the theater and, like her character, is confident and poised. When she sings "Mamma Said," you know she means every word, but when she comes on as Elvis, she holds the audience in her hands.
Chelsea Dacey plays Karla and does justice to hits like "Be My Baby" and "Remember (Walking in the Sand)" while Samantha Rae Bass as Barbara will have you eager to jump up and join her in "The Twist." Brittany Mulcahy as Annie gets to show her talent in the second act when she sings "Midnight Blue." Expect skits that pay tribute to Annette and Frankie, Nancy Sinatra and a bubbly "Secret Agent Man" all in the first act.
Act Two opens with a more serious attitude in place as "Time of the Season," "When Will I Be Loved?" "I Will Survive" and "Last Dance" illustrate how far the four women have come since their more carefree beach days of the first act. On opening night there were a few moments when a singer forgot a synchronized hand movement or an opening line of a number was not on spot, but overall the songs were so good that the audience loved every moment and gave the quartet a standing ovation.
The band was wonderful and featured music director Benjamin McCormack, Kate Luurtsema, Mark Ryan, and Jamie Sherwood. Daniel Husvar designed a set as colorful and lively as the music. Two brightly-striped cabanas, a white beach fence that divided the singers and action from the on-stage musicians and backdrop that filled with projected colors.
This production has a short run and plays through Jan. 20. Box office: 203-757-4676.
Joanne Greco Rochman is an active member in the American Theatre Critics Association. She welcomes comments. Contact: jgrochman@gmail.com.
The Ridgefield Press


And this week, like every, week was totally crazy.
And I really only had one goal.
Get home and go to sleep!!!!
I know that feeling well. It's also quite common among most nurses, too.
Love it! I am so like that. I love wearing my pjs, I almost always put them on as soon as I get home.
It's the best way to be. In comfy pants!


text:
Westford's Bourque becomes first girl to…
Westford's Bourque becomes first girl to play on football team
By Luke O'Roark | loroark@lowellsun.com | Lowell Sun
PUBLISHED: December 26, 2019 at 5:13 pm | UPDATED: December 30, 2019 at 8:48 am
Bourque suited up to play during a game this previous season.
WESTFORD — Westford Academy sophomore Julia Bourque is breaking the mold.
Bourque is the first girl to ever suit up on the football field for the Grey Ghosts, coach Pat Gendron said.
And not just as a kicker — a common role girls playing high school football across the nation find themselves in. She's a running back and a defensive back.
She wants the ball and wants to compete with, and against, the boys.
"I'm definitely proud," Julia said of being the first girl to play football in school history. "It took a lot of time and effort and just getting over small obstacles. I loved wearing the uniform."
The previous fall was Bourque's first time ever putting on football pads and running through tackles. She previously played field hockey and soccer, swam and performed gymnastics. She plans on running track in the spring.
But heading into her sophomore year, she decided to trade the hockey stick and shin guards for a football helmet and some shoulder pads. It was her natural, competitive spirit and drive to "be like everyone else" that made her join the team, her father, Andy, said.
"It's a bold move and I support her 100% in the process," Andy said, adding that watching Patriots games with his daughter is "a little more special" now that the 16-year-old has donned the gray-and-maroon jersey.
"She knew she wasn't going to get special privileges and that she was gonna get her hits and licks," he added. "I'm impressed with her decision."
"I'm so in awe," said Julia's mother, Susan. "I think I'm a pretty tough person, but I don't think I could go through what she's doing. This is so outside her comfort zone."
The pinnacle of Bourque's first foray into football came late in the season. She was named captain against Dual County League opponent Newton South and took her first handoff for a 7-yard gain.
She suffered a concussion during the game, Susan said, but made a statement: There's a girl on the Grey Ghosts' football team. And she's here to stay and play.
Julia Bourque before a game.
"It took a little bit at first, being a girl on the team," Julia said. "But then I started joining the sideline conversations and being like everyone else."
Julia is one of many in a slowly growing trend in youth and high school football. As more boys drop the contact sport, more girls are picking it up, Business Insider reported in 2016. Holly Neher, a 16-year-old quarterback, made national headlines in October in Florida after throwing a 42-yard touchdown pass in a varsity game.
Of the 5.5 million Americans who report playing tackle football, 596,000 (or 11%) are female, The New York Times reported in 2018.
"It was a new experience for us," JV coach Joe Sullivan said of Julia. "It's not every day a girl comes out and plays the sport, but she was courageous with it. She wanted to prove to everyone that she belonged there."
There were not technical tryouts for the team, but Bourque said she woke up at 6 a.m. during the summer to work out with the team, running hill sprints and joining workouts in the weight room. She was one of about 40 players who suited up every week.
Sullivan added that Bourque was shy when she first came to team workouts during the summer. The coaching staff — going through their first experience trying to incorporate a female into a male-dominated sport — didn't know what position she wanted to play until Julia said she wanted to try a skill position.
Logistically, she had her own locker and space before practices and games — a double-edge sword, she said. She didn't have to deal with smelly gear or teenage boys' locker-room shenanigans. But she said she also missed talks about the playbook due to being in a different locker room, and some teammates felt awkward tackling her at first.
Julia Bourque, right, along with her mother, Susan.
"We would be doing running back and ball-security drills and I would see gloves, gloves, gloves and then just long nails," Sullivan said. "She was quiet and shy at first but she got more vocal as the season went on."
Through the season, though, Julia said she gained confidence from playing the sport. She started with no experience but ended up understanding the Grey Ghosts' playbook and audibles.
"It was a lot of learning and participating as best I could," Julia said. "A lot was learning to ignore the hits and just getting back up. It hurts for everyone — I'm not the only one.
"Just get up and keep going," she added.
Bourque said she plans on suiting up again next fall.
Luke O'Roark on Twitter: @LukeORoark
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Luke O'Roark
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3. Christmas: Tudor Style!
Some 500 years ago, Christmas was the time where communities outside of politics came together to celebrate; in the Tudor court, greater emphasis was placed on what we call today – networking! Generally, however, it was a time to be with the family, visit neighbours and entertain your tenants or social equals. It was also a time for fasting and on Christmas Eve you were not permitted to eat meat, cheese or eggs. On Christmas day, after three masses were said, the genealogy of Christ was sung and all present would hold lighted tapers before departing for home and enjoying "their first unrestricted meal since Advent Sunday, which was four weeks earlier". It was also a time for rest when all work on the land stopped, with the only exception being to look after the animals. Spinning, the prime occupation for women at the time, was banned and ceremonial flowers were placed on the wheels to prevent their use. All Work recommenced on Plough Monday, the first Monday after Twelfth Night.
Plough Monday Celebrations. Image: Wikipedia
However, the root of this particular midwinter ritual go back long before the birth of Christ for midwinter had always been a time for merry making by the masses. We have to go back to the shortest day, which falls on 21st December. After this date the days lengthened and the return of spring, the season of life, was eagerly anticipated. It was therefore a time to celebrate both the end of the autumn sowing and the fact that the 'life giving' sun had not deserted them. Bonfires were lit to help strengthen the 'Unconquered Sun'.
For Christians the world over this period celebrates the story of the birth of Jesus, in a manger, in Bethlehem. The scriptures however make no mention as to the time of year yet alone the actual date of the nativity. Even our current calendar which supposedly calculates the years from the birth of Christ, was drawn up in the sixth century by Dionysius, an 'innumerate' Italian monk to correspond with a Roman Festival.
Detail from the Oberried Altarpiece, 'The Birth of Christ', Hans Holbein c. 1520. Photo: Historic UK
Until the 4th century Christmas could be celebrated throughout Europe anywhere between early January through to late September. It was Pope Julius I who happened upon the bright idea of adopting 25th December as the actual date of the Nativity. The choice appears both logical and shrewd – blurring religion with existing feast days and celebrations. Any merrymaking could now be attributed to the birth of Christ rather than any ancient pagan ritual.
Feast of Fools By Frans Floris the elder (c.1517–1570) . Photo: Artuk
One such blurring may involve the Feast of Fools, presided over by the Lord of Misrule. The feast was an unruly event, involving much drinking, revelry and role reversal. The Lord of Misrule, normally a commoner with a reputation of knowing how to enjoy himself, was selected to direct the entertainment. The festival is thought to have originated from the benevolent Roman masters who allowed their servants to be the boss for a while.
Boy Bishop. Photo: Wikipedia
Boy Bishops:
The Church entered the act by allowing a choirboy, elected by his peers, to be a Bishop during the period starting with St Nicholas Day (6th December) until Holy Innocents Day (28th December). Within the period the chosen boy, symbolising the lowliest authority, would dress in full Bishop's regalia and conduct the Church services. Many of the great cathedrals adopted this custom including York, Winchester, Salisbury Canterbury and Westminster. Henry VIII abolished Boy Bishops, however a few churches, including Hereford and Salisbury Cathedrals, continue the practice today.
The burning of the Yule Log is thought to derive from the midwinter ritual of the early Viking invaders, who built enormous bonfires to celebrate their festival of light. The word 'Yule' has existed in the English language for many centuries as an alternative term for Christmas. Traditionally, a large log would be selected in the forest on Christmas Eve, decorated with ribbons, dragged home and laid upon the hearth. After lighting it was kept burning throughout the twelve days of Christmas. It was considered lucky to keep some of the charred remains to kindle the log of the following year.
Whether the word carol comes from the Latin caraula or the French carole, its original meaning is the same – a dance with a song. The dance element appears to have disappeared over the centuries but the song was used to convey stories, normally that of the Nativity. The earliest recorded published collection of carols is in 1521, by Wynken de Worde which includes the Boars Head Carol.
Tudor Carol Singing. Photo: Pinterest.
Cnristmas Carols:
Carols became very popular during Tudor time and were seen as a way of celebrating Christmas and spreading the word of the nativity. Winken de Worde's 'Christmasse Carolles', published in 1521, is the earliest recorded published collection and includes the Boars Head Carol describing the ancient tradition of sacrificing a boar and presenting its head at a yuletide feast; the head being garnished with rosemary and bay before being presented to diners. However, celebrations came to an abrupt end in the seventeenth century when the Puritans banned all festivities including Christmas. Surprisingly carols remained virtually extinct until the Victorians reinstated the concept of an 'Olde English Christmas' which included traditional gems such as While Shepherds Watched Their Flocks By Night and The Holly and the Ivy as well as introducing a plethora of new hits – Away in a Manger, O Little Town of Bethlehem – to mention but a few.
Twelve Days of Christmas. Wikipedia.
Twelve Days of Christmas:
The twelve days of Christmas themselves (25th December- 6th January) were all celebrated but not equally. The main three days of celebration being Christmas Day, New Year's Day and Epiphany or Twelfth Night. Nevertheless, these twelve days would have been a most welcome break for the workers on the land, which in Tudor times would have been the majority of the people. All work, except for looking after the animals, would stop, restarting again on Plough Monday, the first Monday after Twelfth Night. The 'Twelfths' had strict rules, one of which banned spinning, the prime occupation for women. Flowers were ceremonially placed upon and around the wheels to prevent their use. During the Twelve Days, people would visit their neighbours sharing and enjoying the traditional 'minced pye'. The pyes would have included thirteen ingredients, representing Christ and his apostles, typically dried fruits, spices and of course a little chopped mutton – in remembrance of the shepherds.
Tudor Kitchen. Photo: HistoricUK.
Serious feasting would have been the reserve of royalty and the gentry. Turkey was first introduced into Britain in about 1523 with Henry VIII being one of the first people to eat it as part of the Christmas feast. The popularity of the bird grew quickly, and soon, each year, large flocks of turkeys could be seen walking to London from Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire on foot; a journey which they may have started as early as August.
Tudor Christmas Pie. Photo: tudortalkand catwalk.
A Tudor Christmas Pie was indeed a sight to behold but not one to be enjoyed by a vegetarian. The contents of this dish consisted of a Turkey stuffed with a goose stuffed with a chicken stuffed with a partridge stuffed with a pigeon. All of this was put in a pastry case, called a coffin and was served surrounded by jointed hare, small game birds and wild fowl.
Wassailing:
This popular Christmas tradition was practiced throughout all levels of society and derives from the Anglo-Saxon 'Waes-hael', meaning 'be whole' or 'be of good health'. Essentially it involved a wassail bowl and a communal drink.
Wassailing. Photo: HistoricUK.
Although most of the descriptions of how wassail was performed date from post Tudor times, there is one surviving description from the reign of Henry VII. It paints a very formal picture; the steward and treasurer were present with their staves of office and then the steward enters with the wassail bowl, calling out "wassell, wassell, wassell" and the court responds with a song. The bowl was a large wooden container holding as much as a gallon of punch made of hot-ale, sugar, spices and apples with a crust of bread at the bottom. The most important person in the household would take a drink and then pass it on. The crust of bread at the bottom of the wassail bowl was reserved for the most important person in the room, the origin of a modern day 'toast' when celebrating. Some believe that most wassails of the time were probably more fun and less grand. Today, communal drinking may sound alien, but it was very common in Tudor times.
http://www.historic-uk.com/HistoryUK/England-History/TudorChristmas.htm
http://www.localhistories.org/tudorxmas.html
https://www.historic-uk.com/CultureUK/Wassailing/
onthetudortrail.com/Blog/resources/life-in-tudor-england/tudor-christmas-and-new-year/
Author norfolktalesmythsPosted on December 18, 2019 December 15, 2020 Categories 16th Century, Christmas, Stories, Tudor, Uncategorized
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We are looking for enthusiastic bilingual (Spanish & English) volunteers to assist with our Victim Impact Panels.
The purpose of the Victim Impact Panel (VIP) program is to help DWI/DUI offenders realize the lasting and long-term effects of substance impaired driving, to create an empathy and understanding of the tragedy, to leave an impression that will change thinking and behavior, and to prevent future offenses from occurring.
Panels give victims a healing opportunity to share their stories in a meaningful way. At a VIP, victims and survivors of substance impaired driving crashes (or others impacted by the crime, such as law enforcement and first responders) speak briefly about the crash in which they were injured and/or in which a loved one was killed or injured, and how it impacts their lives. They do not blame or judge, they simply tell their stories, describing how their lives and the lives of their families and friends were affected by the crash.
Facilitator will make sure offenders attend the class, collect money orders from walk up registration and pass out certificates when the panel is over.


We are your local Forest River RV Dealer!
Have you been looking for the perfect crossover Motorhome? We have it in the FR3 by Forest River. Seamlessly blending the best of Class A and Class C RV's into a roomy, feature packed recreational vehicle, the FR3Motorhome is all you've been hoping to find and more!
The Forest River Georgetown is a great way to get you traveling on the road. The Georgetown motorhome has several amazing floor plans. There is plenty of room in this Class A Motorhome for families with kids or adults who love to entertain.
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The Forest River R-Pod is a great place to begin your camping adventures. The perfect base camp, R-Pod is ideal for tail gate parties, family gatherings or a peaceful weekend getaway. Your practical side will appreciate R-Pod's affordable luxury at the lowest tow weight in its class.
For years the Wildcat Maxx travel trailer has been one of Forest River's best selling travel trailer brands. This exceptional achievement began with innovative/creative floor plans, class defining features, and a rich set of options.
For over a decade, Wildcat has been Forest River's top selling fifth wheel brand. This exceptional record began with innovative floor plans, class defining features and options and more standard features than any other fifth wheel in its class.


Kahal Fellowship, now in its second year, supports religious students and communities on college campuses. We're looking for emerging and established leaders who are looking to make a difference in their community and be a part of this exciting cohort. Fellows will be provided with training, resources, a cohort of peers and mentors, and funding - through Heart to Heart, JLIC, NCSY Alumni, and the Orthodox Union's NextGen department. Contact us and find out more about our efforts at kahalfellowship.wix.com/home, and let's work together to build the future of the Jewish community!
• and additional guidance and resources from our team!
Which of the following offerings interests you?
What Jewish leadership experience do you have?
Where did you hear about this fellowship?


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Labour MPs claim first victory over Team Corbyn in reselection battle
MPs on the party's ruling National Executive Committee forced a change to the "leading and confusing" question the Labour leadership had hoped to put to members.
By Patrick Maguire
Follow @@patrickkmaguire
A LOTO LOTO laughs
Most Labour MPs are looking to this autumn's trigger ballots with a degree of trepidation, but they have already won a small victory. On Tuesday, the party's ruling National Executive Committee met to thrash out the timetable for the reselection process that is already looming large in the minds of the PLP — and crucially, the question that will be put to the grassroots members who will decide whether to subject them to a full selection contest.
Jeremy Corbyn's office preferred a simple yes or no question, and advised the NEC to give it their imprimatur. Drafted by Thomas Gardiner, Labour's head of governance and legal, it merely asked members whether they wanted a full selection process.
That wording would have framed the question in terms that many MPs fear. They say that factional opponents who wish to see them deselected seldom argue explicitly for their replacement as the Labour candidate, but instead argue for a full selection in the interests of democracy. Momentum have made a similar case for open selections nationally.
As far as some MPs are concerned, it is a difficult, if not impossible, proposition to argue against. Added to their existing anxieties about the new lower threshold required to trigger an open selection — a third of local party branches or affiliates rather than half of both — the worry was that a question along those lines would inexorably lead to dozens of full contests.
Unsurprisingly, the PLP's representatives on the NEC, as well as Tom Watson, objected to Team Corbyn's preferred ballot paper. "As was, the wording meant the question was weighted against us," one complained. Another source familiar with their discussions complained was "both leading and confusing".
That second word cropped up repeatedly. Aside from their political self-interest, MPs are also unconvinced about how ballots that asked for a yes or no to a full selection would work in practice. "They've just been using that wording in the Metro Mayor trigger ballots," says one NEC member, "and there has been terrible confusion among some members. If you want to keep Andy Burnham as mayor, then members who support him have to vote No." Multiplying that confusion by 250, they argued, could well have made for an administrative nightmare.
So rather than accept the proposed question, the PLP's NEC members — led by Shabana Mahmood, the MP for Birmingham Ladywood — sought to amend it. Their real preference was for the wording used the last time MPs faced trigger ballots in 2013. That yes or no question asked members whether they wanted to re-select their sitting MP. As one NEC source admits, that was also arguably a question drafted to lead members to an answer in the affirmative ("but in that era," they reflect, "the energy-sapping threat of mass reselection battles was considered a bad thing"). And in any case, there was no chance of it being used again.
Instead, Mahmood and her fellow MPs argued for a choice between two options: do you want a full selection to choose your member of Parliament, or do you wish to re-select your sitting MP without moving to a full selection? With the support of the trade unions, that proposition eventually won a majority at the NEC and will be put before members in September. "The wording we ultimately decided is fair, and gives us a level playing field," one member said. Those MPs who fear the trigger process hope that the new question will give them an additional degree of protection — and that their early victory reflects a lesser appetite for a wave of full selections than many had anticipated.
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Kilian's race ski: light, stiff, and designed to hold an edge in 60° couloirs. The Salomon Minim is a ski with an adventure mountaineering day job and hobby of world-class racing. Slightly wider than a typical race ski, at 68.5mm underfoot, the Minim is designed to be your best friend while accessing faraway stashes of powder, skiing steeps when everybody else has started riding bikes, or being the first to ski a popular ultramarathon course in the dead of winter. It's also a good tool to win ISMF sanctioned races like Mr. Jornet. The core is tried and true Karuba that has been reinforced with strategically-placed carbon fiber to improve handling and power transfer. Sandwiched among the top-secret high-tech innards of the Minim is a sheet of Koroyd placed in the tip, a technology that Salomon has implemented in their free-ride skis for years. Koroyd is a low-density honeycomb structure that deadens impacts and reduces uncontrolled rebound and chatter at high speeds. This contributes to the already stellar downhill performance of the Minim. The binding mounting zone has been reinforced with carbon fiber and acts as a structural reinforcement for increased edge hold. The sidecut is tuned to favor steep skiing on hard snow, which also makes it a confidence-inspiring technical skinner. Instead of a typical pin-line mounting location the Minim employs a mid-sole mounting location for the utmost downhill performance. Did we mention it weighs only 720g per ski? If you want a podium contender race ski with an adventure mountaineering bias, the Minim just may be the one.
CFX Superfiber weave throughout the ski increases torsional stability making it nearly impossible to find the limit of the ski.
Koroyd-infused tip is borrowed tech from Salomon's freeride skis and is 90% lighter than rubber but provides similar vibration-dampening properties.
Mid-sole mounting pattern ensures the highest level of downhill performance, perfectly tuned to the individual skier.
Kilian's personal ski, if that influences your selection. It still is, even if it doesn't.
Update for 17/18: Just a new top sheet.
Notes A touch wider than most race skis.
Bottom Line What Kilian wins on.
Hi IVM, your best bet is the Movement Race Skins.
The Race Pro 71 Pomoca skins are 65mm wide, perfect for the Minim.
I have 30k feet on these skis so far in piste, frozen crud, untouched and chop. I am coming from a ski trab gara aero 70rs in 171. These skis are significantly stiffer, and have a more pronounced rocker. I have found the skiing to be significantly better. The skis are much more capable and predictable and compared to my old race skis i feel as though i do not have to modify my skiing style as much. Very excited to get more time on them, so far they have been the upgrade i was looking for. Highly recommend.
Hey Caroline! Sweet! Send me an email at help@skimo.co and we can chat a bit further about the whole setup. They might be the perfect ski for you, but there's also a really good chance that are potentially some other skis that are more your style! Let's talk and we'll go from there!
Fantastic problem solver. Had a PDG which were amazing in the climb but made me look like a child on the downhills....wildly unstable. As an alpine ski racer, the Salmon is just fantastic on the downhill. Nice carved turns, good stability and still a great climber. This ski allows you to follow Kilian's dream to roam far and wide and LIGHT in the mountains putting in the occasional 14000 foot day. Amaing design. Salomon designers are wizards!!!!!
would these pair up well w/ dynafit boot pdg? if so what bindings would u recommend?
Absolutely Jim! These are essentially race skis which pair really well with race boots and bindings. To find a race binding that would work for you, please visit our binding finder.
With the little extra width do you cut a custom skin? Which skin do you use?
Hey Dan! Custom skin will do great, but the Colltex PDG Race 65mm is the best bet for a kit. You can even go 68-70 for slick conditions.
I was wondering if slightly wider (70mm) and trim to fit for steep climbs (mountaineering climbs/traverses etc) would be a slight plus. Will they fray/shed if this is done? And while we're at it can you recommend a couple of bindings from which to choose (looking at the Plum 150 and the Ski Trab Gara Titan Release)?
Hi Dan, no problems there. In fact some folks even have a full coverage race skin for some missions. For bindings, please visit the binding finder to find one that matches best with you.
If you like light and fast, this ski is the one you want. There's never going to be a question of how fast these things go on the up, but they are also surprisingly capable on the way down. That extra few millimeters width more than a race ski really makes a difference!
The Minim has rapidly become my favorite ski for touring and ski mountaineering. If there's a fair bit of fresh/unconsolidated snow, I might grab something else from the quiver, but otherwise I'm on Minims.
During descent, they are stiff, snappy and have some of the meanest edges I've found on any ski. They eat up ice, corn and even not too deep powder. They do require a solid technique, but can forgive some minor indiscretions, and they are quite capable of being pushed hard and fast in the right conditions.
The only place they struggle a bit is in firm cruddy cut up snow...but if you have these skis, you won't be near anyone else's tracks. My only other minor criticism is that the edges don't quite run long enough in the tip, meaning that mine have some small dings that I've patched up with epoxy.
In summary, this is a ski that has all the benefits of a race ski (including tip notch) but skis much more capably, and should be in serious consideration for those who like to roam far and maximise their quantity of turns in the mountains.
As an update, I'd give this ski a 3.5 - 4 stars for everyday use...They are a lot of fun, but if you encounter variable snow or heavy, wet powder, then they become quite hard to manage. In the right conditions (and as long as you aren't going too fast), these skis are a lot of fun.


Designed for car enthusiasts, the LEGO Mindstorms 4-in-1 Car Building Kit will let your little one construct their very own light-up car while developing their STEM skills. The set includes 56 construction blocks and 1 light up power brick with 3 LEDs for a challenging building set that will spark their creativity and imagination. This car building set is compatible with other construction brands such as Lego, Mega Blocks, Magna Tiles, and Magformers so your child can spend hours creating endless possibilities.


After asking our Harcourts team in 2008 if there was a better way to invest in the communities where we work, live and play, their overwhelming response led to the launch of The Harcourts Foundation in Australia and New Zealand.Our Purpose: To provide support that helps, grows and enriches our communities. As we grow the Harcourts real estate brand across new countries and markets, we also look forward to building this exciting legacy that is The Harcourts Foundation.
Harcourts is dedicated to helping you move more easily. They have been successfully connecting customers to their utilities for over 10 years now. They can also arrange your disconnections and other moving necessities.
Mortgage Express have Mortgage Consultants & Insurance Advisors throughout New Zealand ready to talk with you and discuss your needs. Their brokers and advisors will come to you and provide you with informed advice on your options, and take care of all the paperwork for you!
David Graham began practice on his own account in Panmure in 1984 as David Graham Law Office. After significant growth, David was joined in partnership by Christine Ding in January 2004. At the same time, the firm changed its name to DG LAW. Due to continual growth, the firm is now one of the largest in the Eastern Suburbs, and undertakes a broad range of legal work, providing you with prompt, efficient and effective solutions to your legal needs.
Fencible Law is a general practise Law Firm situated in Howick, Auckland. They are a small but effective team who are committed to providing high quality, cost effective legal solutions that meet your needs. Richard Galbraith and his team have established reputations and connections in the Howick, Pakuranga and Botany areas. Fencible Law aims to secure a leading business and legal role in these local communities.


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Furniture firm owner allegedly smuggled endangered sea species
The totoaba fish on the protected list covered by an international treaty signed by Mexico and the U.S.
(U.S. Fish and Wildlife)
By Tony Perry
The owner of a Los Angeles furniture business was charged Friday with smuggling endangered species of sea creatures from Mexico and shipping them to China, where they are considered a delicacy.
Kam Wing Chan, 61, of Monterey Park, is charged with eight felony counts of smuggling abalone, sea cucumber and totoaba from Mexico to San Diego. He is set to appear in San Diego federal court Feb. 6.
Charges have also been filed against Chan's business, Kaven Co., which imports furniture from China.
The company was used as a front for bringing the abalone, sea cucumber and totoaba, worth more than $3 million, into the U.S. and then shipping them to China to companies owned by Chan's relatives, according to federal prosecutors.
A single dried swim bladder from the totoaba, used for soup, can be sold for $1,400 to $4,000 in Mexico, and up to $40,000 in Asia, according to prosecutors.
Eileen Sobeck, assistant administrator for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Fisheries, said that her agency "will do everything in its power to make sure marine resources are protected and wildlife trafficking is shut down."
Twitter: @LATsandiego
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Tony Perry
Tony Perry is the former San Diego bureau chief for the Los Angeles Times.
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