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The GBoy Times
Pro-Wrestling, Video Games, Movies, Music, and much more!
September 10, 2018 June 1, 2019
ärt/
the expression or application of human creative skill and imagination, typically in a visual form such as painting or sculpture, producing works to be appreciated primarily for their beauty or emotional power.
"the art of the Renaissance"
the various branches of creative activity, such as painting, music, literature, and dance.
"A picture is worth a thousand words." We've all heard this saying. Everyone has seen a painting or image that has made them feel a certain way. Art evokes emotion in us. But art has a specific definition. As does every word in the English dictionary. But what makes art special? What makes it unique? What makes it worthy and responsible for sparking renaissances and political discussion? Well, art is what you want it to be. That's what makes it so beautiful.
"Ways of Seeing" by John Berger challenges an idea and belief about art. Berger argues that art loses it's worth and power when it's not seen at it's origin. As if it has been diluted and watered down. In the article he uses words like perspective, convention, and mystification a numerous amount of times. To me, the vocabulary i'm seeing is very well thought out and colorful. But it comes across as repetitive, annoying, and overly complicated. But, since I'm reading this from a PDF it must be tainting my experience right? Writing IS a form of art after all. So me not having the original, physical copy is ruining his message and intended meaning right?
Our theme for the semester perfectly captures the true meaning of art, perception. Art is however you perceive it! The artist (whether it be a writer, musician, painter, sculptor, etc.) has absolutely no control over how, when, or where people see their art. Art is universal and when done correctly, acts like water. It's able to adapt, and fit in with the times (be water my friend).
Berger says, " History always constitutes between a present and it's past." That I agree with. Pictures a great tool into a deep dive of history. They are frozen moments in time. They can remind you of hard times, historic moments, or funny memories. What does the photo for you do? While reading the article, I remembered my grandma (who served in the military) had this historical photo hanging in her room. I also remembered her explaining to me it was from the battle of Iow Jima. A battle fought on a Japanese island during WWII. Me not having seen it in it's original form doesn't take away from it's meaning or impact.
I'm aware Berger isn't saying that photos not seen in it's original form loses all intended meaning. I just feel that he is being a bit extreme. But that's the way Berger is perceiving the evolution of art. Art changes with the times. All forms of art can naturally change overtime. That's just the nature of art.
However, there is an interesting situation rising up. And what is that situation you ask? Well, it's the modern twist on art. MEMES. Important videos and photos have been turned into memes (funny videos/images). In a way, memes can be seen as paradoys. In most cases when something becomes a meme, it can toss aside any serious meaning there was supposed to be behind that original of that piece of content. However, that's not modern technologies fault, it's just representative on how the times have changed and evolved. I can see the argument "memes are ruining pieces of important art". A great example for this statement is Donald Glover's latest music video "This is America". Glover delivered a serious, beautiful, and articulate music video that contained many forms of imagery and symbolism. And what happened to this music video? Within 24hrs parts of it were turned into a meme. Does it take away from the video? In a way, yes. But no matter how a video, or picture is seen or heard, it doesn't totally erase it's original impact or meaning.
In the end, art changes over time. To say art is being viewed improperly is simply false. Art is allowed to be seen however the viewer wants to see it. Not seeing the piece in it's original form doesn't change anything.
Being able to see the constitution up close and personal is something special. A document hundreds of years old that carries so much history. If I were to google image a picture of it, would I get that same overwhelming feeling of excitement i'd receive if I was seeing it in person? No, and that's fine. But again that's just my opinion and my way of perceiving it. Someone may feel the complete opposite. Someone could even extract that same feeling of excitement from a google image.
Everyone is different. Everyone perceives art differently. Again, art conveys different emotions for everyone.
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It's no secret that I live in Michigan (United States). In Michigan, we have four distinct seasons, each unique in climate, activities, and appearance. My favorite season is fall (autumn). I love the colors of fall: the crispness in the air, the scent of the leaves, and watching the animals and birds prepare for winter.
The colors of fall in Michigan inspired my Ocean Waves quilt, shown below. I think this is still my favorite quilt of all that I have made. It was machine pieced and hand quilted.
It's difficult to see from this photo, but the quilt has a lot of half-square triangles in blues and greens, surrounded by flying geese patches in the same colors with pieces of gold and burgundy. The quilt is in the Ocean Waves pattern.
The quilt above is a Bear's Paw pattern, also with green, rust, tan and burgundy colors. The quilt is all hand pieced and hand quilted. I worked on this quilt during the last few months of my mother's life as I sat with her. Each time I finished a square, she would put it on her lap and stroke it and say how pretty it was. It's my favorite quilt to cuddle with.
Want to win a free quilting book off my bookshelf?
It's a surprise title, and will be sent to one person who joins in on the fun!
I will visit your blog, along with others who will too, and on October 15th will draw a winner!
Love your pictures! Love, love, love Michigan!
Your Bear Paw story just about broke my heart. I love autumn too, but I think summer is my favorite…it seems so endless at the beginning, and it's the best time to be at the beach! Hm, have I made a quilt using summer colors? I'll have to see!
I love these quilts … all the more because they are made by hand. With a halloween birthday, how could I pick any other season as my favorite … but I do miss the beautiful fall colors of Ohio. Japan has lots of reds and golds but not the in-between orangy shades. Other than a few table runners, there are not any digiital photos of past quilts in Fall colors.


Campos del Rio -:- CCOO denounces that Campos del Rio prison is "a pressure cooker"
The aggression that took place yesterday to a worker of the center in the isolation module is the fruit of the ineffective protocol of aggressions that is in force.
Deficient health care due to lack of personnel, directly affects the monitoring and treatment of mental patients.
The aggression suffered by a worker in the prison of Campos put into question the protocol of aggression that was launched in 2017 and has shown that it is not effective because it is aimed at the consequences of the aggressions and not their causes.
One of the causes that cause the aggressions are the mentally ill and in the prison of Campos del Rio, with a prisoner population of 1097 inmates today, the lack of doctors and makes it difficult to keep an adequate control and follow-up of this type of interns, which undoubtedly affects the proper functioning of the center, as well as the lack of public employees with a current staff deficit of 35 vacancies.
The isolation module of the center, where the assault took place, is at the limit as it has 42 inmates of which more than half are considered very dangerous.


Rita Ambourn has won over 100 awards, including being named the number one hair cutter in the Midwest in a competition judged by Vidal Sassoon. She has been a member of Intercoiffure, the most prestigious hair organization in the world, since 1979. Rita presonally produced two Intercoiffure shows in New York City, receiving standing ovations for both. The head sculpture she created for one of the New York shows was seen at Studio 54 by Andy Warhol who described it as "a true vision of creative art". Rita has acquired a vast and impressive education, studying with the esteemed Alexandre of Paris, Vidal Sassoon of London and Hans and Georg Bundy of Austria. She has also studied extensively with Eva Gabor Wigs. Rita has promoted the industry via interviews in periodicals like Mpls.St.Paul Magazine and has made many appearances on popular television show like Minneapolis-based Good Company and PM Magazine. Rita also designed the hair and costume for Miss Universe. She is truly a master of her profession. Rita is dedicated to customer service. Her salon's unique services and extremely flexible hours are designed to meet the needs of all clients.


You might be in Manhattan for a meeting, but we say it's wise to get yourself over to Brooklyn for some authentic drinking and dining experiences.
Tucked between the East River and Bushwick Avenue is trendy Williamsburg. How to get there? The "L" train subway will remain running until January 2019 before shutting down between Brooklyn and Manhattan for a projected 18 months to repair damage caused by Hurricane Sandy. Alternatively, take a cab or an Uber…it's all quick and easy, just ask a local.
Once there, take a walk down Bedford Avenue, which is filled with the funky shops and restaurants that have helped make Williamsburg a destination. A dining must? Sweet Chick at 164 Bedford Avenue, so super popular it was even drawing a crowd even on a Wednesday afternoon. We sampled the fried chicken sandwich, which is served with spicy honey on the side. We also tried the grilled chicken salad, which comes with a spicy kick. This eatery also serves traditional sweet tea and lemonade made with or without a little kick of alcohol. Guess which one we chose. Hint: Be prepared to sit close to other patrons, and there is a communal table (along with other seating) and a small bar.
Did someone say pizza? Continue your stroll down Bedford, Joe's Pizza is on the corner at 5th Street. We enjoyed a quick slice and though we might sound jaded (we are), you'll find that New York City pizza is the best in the world. No discussion needed.
Want more? Along Bedford, Bagelsmith serves house-made bagels, natch, and then there's the Bedford Cheese Shop. This place has artisanal cheese samples maintained by knowledgeable cheesemongers (yes, we just said that).
Nitehawk Cinema (136 Metropolitan Avenue) shows both new and fan-favorite movies with a twist. This theater has a gourmet concession stand, tableside food and beverage service. We suggest ordering a cocktail in the downstairs bar, Lo-Res, before the show in one of the three theaters. We also suggest checking out the themed-series like Country Brunchin'. This quarterly show brings together country music, brunch and, of course, movies with a splash of Southern fun.
Williamsburg might be a super urban destination, but there is a place to swim and it's at The Mccarren Hotel & Pool on North 12th Street. What we love: Guests of this pool can sip Prosecco while relaxing on one of the lounge chairs or cabanas. Want to take a small group over there? There's a package available for up to 10, which includes Boozy Ice Pops and a chance to soak up the summer sun. (Food and beverage are included in the package.) After a day of swimming, and sunning, you can venture over to the rooftop bar for views of the Manhattan skyline and live music. This is the perfect way to spend a day in one of Brooklyn's hottest scenes. To book a special day at the pool, contact Ronny Baroody ([email protected]), director of events.
Brooklyn, we're not done with you yet. Set along Eastern Parkway near Franklin and Washington Avenues, Crown Heights and Prospect Heights are home to numerous gems for lovers of art, nature and food to check out.
Did someone say, "caffeine?" At the corner of Eastern Parkway and Franklin Avenue is The Pulp & The Bean, which is our pick for the best coffee in the neighborhood (and yes, there is a Starbucks next door). The bagels here are also pretty darn good. Plan on the two sole tables inside being filled while you're there, but do head over to a bench on nearby Eastern Parkway, which is more peaceful than it sounds, and is one of our favorite ways to start off a day in the neighborhood.
The Brooklyn Botanic Garden is a true gem in this favorite borough of ours. We're partial to the blossom-lined Cherry Esplanade, but also to the Japanese Hill-and-Pond Garden (think wooden bridges, stone lanterns and a Shinto shrine). Here, the conservatories display everything from desert plants to a collection of bonsai trees. In town during the autumn months? It's still a great time to visit, the gardens are still fascinating to observe, even if they're not in full bloom. Insider Tip: Check out what's blooming at www.bbg.org/bloom. Better Tip? Admission is free before noon on Saturdays, except for days with special events.
Want to do more? Just next door to the BBG's entrance on Eastern Parkway is the world-famous Brooklyn Museum, with fabulous permanent and rotating collections with a particular focus on feminist art in the Elizabeth A. Sackler Center. As part of the "Target First Saturdays" program, admission is free on the first Saturday of each month. At other times, admission is by suggested donation.
Glady's, part of Franklin Avenue's booming restaurant scene, serves Caribbean food and craft cocktails (they're partial to rum here) and we say the jerk chicken and plantains are menu standouts and for brunch, try the ackee and saltfish.
Cheryl's Global Soul is famous; it serves comfort food in a small space with a garden. If you're in for brunch, definitely check out the salmon hash — it's our favorite.
For authentic Brooklyn Italian fare, visit Bar Corvo, which offers an awesome lineup of homemade, fresh pasta. Be sure to save room for dessert.
Yes, we know you're still thinking of pizza (so are we) and we suggest Barboncino, which serves wood-fired Neapolitan-style pies and a lineup of craft cocktails. If you're there on a Tuesday, expect some live jazz.
Franklin Park is easily one of the most popular bars in the neighborhood, thanks to its outdoor patio and craft beers. We're enjoying its reading series, which hosts an impressive lineup of fiction and nonfiction writers; it's held on the second Monday of each month and includes a draft drink special. It draws crowds but that only makes you feel like more of a local insider.
For something more low key, visit Butter and Scotch, which serves dessert-themed cocktails. It's all a combo of a bar and a bakery and it's a neat way to end an evening. We also love that its brunch menu includes biscuits and gravy.


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August 25, 2017 D	Leave a comment
The first six episodes of Amazon's new version of THE TICK hail from the character's original creator Ben Edlund, and they are amazing.
Voice of Darth Maul (and essential player on Edgar Wright and Simon Pegg's SPACED), Peter Serafinowicz plays the titular tick. And the co-host of Blank Check With Griffin And David, one of the greatest podcasts of ALL TIME, Griffin Newman plays Tick's sidekick, Arthur. In an outstanding, statement-of-intent performance, Newman laces his character with beautiful layers of vulnerability and fragility, as he battles mental illness and grief, and struggles with the notion that he might actually be a superhero. His twitchy sensitivity plays perfectly against Serafinowicz's boomingly cheerful hilarity and positivity. They're a double act for our times, representing the strobelike oscillation many of us have suffered throughout this year, bouncing between the emotional likes of Taylor Swift's "I got smarter, I got harder in the nick of time," and Newman's tremulous, heartbreaking, not-at-all-convincing, "I'm a really together person." Let's face it: We're all Arthur right now, and we all need a Tick to show us the way.
The show is a goddamn delight, full of hundreds of throwaway zingers, some slicing observations, and some excellently named villains (The Terror, Overkill… Lint…). It's bright, bold, beautiful, warm, compassionate, heartbreaking and sensitive in its handling of mental illness… and still really funny. It's a tonal masterpiece, bouncing merrily along its high wire and never missing a step. The show opens with Newman's Arthur struggling hard to just function at all, and ends (this half of its season) with a jaw-droppingly brilliant joke that leaves you cracking up as the credits roll. In between, The Tick rolls deep through genuine emotions while slinging jokes like ninja stars.
It's not just Newman and Serafinowicz who excel. Valorie Curry is quite frankly extraordinary as Arthur's paramedic sister Dot. She combines razor-sharp Friends-era Jennifer Aniston comedic chops with Mulholland Drive-era Naomi Watts emotionality, in a fresh, utterly present performance that's feisty and magnetic. Jackie Earle Haley is in monstrously villainous form as Arthur's nemesis The Terror, and Yara Martinez brings an unexpectedly empathetic streak to the super-evil electro-fingered Lint.
For such a quirky show, it's directed as though it's the Dark Knight, in full 2.40:1 ultra-widscreen, and with genuinely amazing cinematography. This is not a surprise, since Christopher Nolan's DARK KNIGHT trilogy DP Wally Pfister directs the opening episodes, and sets the tone: super-sharp visuals that simultaneously elevate and ground the material. Spending time and money on making the show look so good pays off tremendously, and gives the cast a powerful environment to play against. Also, the sentient A.I. Danger Boat (it makes sense when you see it) looks and sounds like something out of a Marvel movie.
THE TICK is essential viewing. Get yourself some Amazon Prime, and watch these first six episodes. It's unlike anything else on TV, and Newman is the hero we didn't know we needed… but who we really f**king needed. As an actor he's achieving his dream, and in this role he shows us that maybe we can all achieve ours.
July 16, 2017 D	1 Comment
***THERE WILL BE SPOILERS FOR OITNB AND GLOW***
June, 2017.
The month kicked off with the long-awaited, cliffhanger-resolving fifth season of ORANGE IS THE NEW BLACK, and concluded with the debut of the fantastic new show about 80s women's wrestling in L.A., GLOW. What did two of the greatest seasons of TV this year so far have in common, apart from absolutely kick-ass female ensemble casts? Executive producer/showrunner Jenji Kohan.
Kohan, courtesy of THR
OITNB ended on a mother of a cliffhanger last year, with a frantic, uncertain Daya aiming Humphrey's gun at his head.
Kohan and her writers made a bold and brilliant choice for this new season: the show picked up at that exact moment, and the entire season took place over three days. This gave the show a freshness and immediacy that kept adrenaline and interest levels skyrocketing as we followed the evolution of the riot. It allowed for some seriously deep dives into all of the characters. We also got whole new levels to relationships, some unlikely bonds, and even a marriage proposal. The danger and threat level remained absolute throughout, although the show still managed to weave in its signature laughs and sadness. Taystee in particular got some insanely powerful moments, proving that Danielle Brooks is the MVP not just of this show, but also TV, acting, and life. No doubt.
The end result was that the writing was tighter, more precise; the characters more nuanced; the actors had more freedom and opportunity to truly go there with their performances. It was a thrilling and emotionally exhausting ride, the best season of the show yet, which closed with the best episode (with the best use of music in the show to date), and, yes, an even bigger cliffhanger than last year.
What a start to the month for Kohan.
But she wasn't done. Nope. Not even close, baby! Because one awesome and extraordinary cast of magnificent women per month just isn't enough. Enter, GLOW.
Created by Liz Flahive and Carly Mensch (playwrights who between them have worked on Nurse Jackie, Homeland and OITNB), this is a modern take on the 80s cult classic show of the same name (Gorgeous Ladies Of Wrestling), albeit one still beautifully grounded in its gritty 80s setting. It's still colorful, but it's the dirty underside of the day-glo. The sets are grimy and unglamorous, the performances are grounded and nuanced, and the song choices for the soundtrack are always a zig where you expect a zag—no one could have foreseen that one of the best moments of the series would be set to a song from the original Transformers cartoon movie, "Dare" by Stan Bush (and Rocky IV training montage composer Vince DiCola for maximum 80s!).
The amazing "Transformers" sequence in the amazing episode 7 of the amazing GLOW
The show foregrounds the desperation, neediness, hurt, and all the other messy emotions of its protagonists. It's real, in other words. Painfully so, sometimes, and that's one of the keys to why it works so damn well. The writers on this show—including Rachel Shukart, Nick Jones and Sascha Rothchild—do an expert job of contrasting the moments of emotional sweetness and uplift with the exposed wiring of the human heart (not literally, this isn't GAME OF THRONES).
One of the main reasons for GLOW's awesomeness, though, is its glorious cast of incredible actresses. This is a show that is not afraid to foreground its women and take ferocious aim at the gender discrepancy in Hollywood (and, like, the world). The show focuses on struggling actress Ruth, who is played to revelatory perfection by the always great but never better Alison Brie in what is, inexplicably, her first real leading role. Hopefully this pushes her into the acting stratosphere she deserves—incredibly, she had to audition multiple times for what should've been the easiest casting decision of all time (yes yes, I know casting is a truly complicated puzzle in many dimensions that needs to be completed *exactly* right or the whole thing falls apart… I absolutely know this… but c'mon… it's Ali Brie!)…
GLOW opens with Brie's Ruth giving her all in an audition for a female role that is nothing compared to the male role. This sets the tone perfectly: These women have a struggle on their hands. They have to fight, and fight hard, for something that is only in the vicinity of what they really want. Ruth is a great character to drive a show like this. Her neediness and desperation and unflinching desire to transcend her circumstances are powerful engines that keep the story rolling.
This is one of Ruth's more glamorous moments in the show
Brie's performance is fearless and unflinching. But this isn't a one-woman show. There are fourteen amazing women on screen, and any one of them could be the lead, because the writers have made each of them so fully grounded and realized, and because the performances are all so vulnerable and magnetic and empathetic and funny and raw. I could write an essay on each of them, but suffice it to say, they all get arcs and standout moments, and every single actress here KILLS IT AT ALL TIMES.
The combination of breathtaking performances and killer writing forms a shield against conventional wisdom and stereotypes. Very early on, we find out that Ruth has slept with her best friend's husband. Most shows would label her the villain and give her the one dimensionality of a selfish 'slut'. And she wouldn't be a leading character in those shows. Instead, GLOW artfully reveals the emotional complexity at play, and keeps Ruth highly relatable. In short, they do what seems to be so hard for many shows (and movies): they make her a complex person. They also give her an equally complex nemesis in the form of her former best friend, Debbie, AKA Liberty Belle. Betty Gilpin gives an affecting and powerhouse performance that provides a searing counterpart to Brie's drifting Ruth.
Gilpin, owning it as Debbie
There are men of course, most primary of which are WTF podcaster Marc Maron, and former Veronica Mars star (Team Piz!) Chris Lowell. Maron excels as the seedy yet principled, abrasive yet vulnerable director of the show within the show, and Lowell delivers comedy gold as the moneyed producer of the whole thing. Both stand out, which is impressive considering they are surrounded by fourteen of the finest actresses on TV right now.
Maron, Lowell, and a robot. It's the 80s.
In short, GLOW is perfect, we need season 2, and we must bow down to Kohan and her writing teams for bringing forth two such complex and mighty female ensemble shows, in the same month, no less.
Let's be honest: The world needs more powerhouse female ensembles, both in TV shows & movies, and in front of & behind the camera. They're good for everyone: Great actresses want to work with other great actresses, we all want to watch amazing performances and extraordinary characters and relationships, and TV outlets need the immense ratings that ensue. Everyone wins.
We need more. Let's make it happen, Hollywood.
April 9, 2017 April 9, 2017 D	Leave a comment
In truth, there are so many more than just five reasons to watch CLASS.
It's beyond awesome. It's extraordinary TV. It's not just in the highest echelon of DOCTOR WHO storytelling, it's in the highest echelon of TV storytelling… of ANY storytelling of any kind. The show is thrilling, exhilarating, hilarious, emotional, terrifying and utterly, utterly grounded in the authentic lives of five teenagers at the newly remodeled Coal Hill Academy… which just happens to have a rip in space-time that lets through all kinds of horrors.
Here are the five most pressing reasons for you to watch.
The cast of CLASS is a truly bad-ass collection of excellent actors. They all play wounded characters with complex lives and pasts, and they do it brilliantly, with everyone bringing just the right balance of humor and ALL THE EMOTIONS and copious amounts of badassery. That's a tricky and delicate balance, but they all do it: Sophie Hopkins as April, the nice girl who's anything but meek, Fady Elsayed as Ram, the tormented, anguished soccer star (football in the UK btw), Greg Austin as the uptight Charlie who's carrying cosmic levels of baggage, Vivian Oprah as Tanya, grieving for the loss of her father and struggling with being a 14 year-old in a class of 17 year-olds, and Jordan Renzo as Matteusz, Charlie's Polish boyfriend, and in some ways the moral center of the show. That's the gang. But we can't forget the sinister, spiky Miss Quill, played with delicious malevolence by the fantastic Katherine Kelly, who brings rage, nonchalance, and pathos to a powerhouse of a role. Quite possibly the best line-readings you'll find anywhere on TV in 2017. In fact, without a doubt the best. An iconic performance that rivals any in the DOCTOR WHO universe.
THE STORYTELLING
It's hard to talk about the storytelling on this show without (a) destroying my thesaurus in search of enough superlatives and (b) giving anything away. Suffice it to say, the level of storytelling in this show is amongst the best we've ever seen from DOCTOR WHO.
Awesome storytelling very much pictured.
There are individual episodes of CLASS that are top 5 of any in the Whoniverse. The overall arc shifts and evolves powerfully, driving all 8 episodes (each of which works so brilliantly alone but still form part of a stunning whole) to a jaw-dropping, head-spinning, gut-punching finale that BEGS FOR ANOTHER SEASON DO YOU HEAR ME BBC AND BBC AMERICA???? As writer and showrunner Patrick Ness himself put it on Twitter…
Final approvals on ep 8. Man, all I can say is, it's going to fuck your shit up.
— Patrick Ness (@Patrick_Ness) November 23, 2016
Speaking of Mr. Ness…
The rhinoceros-loving, permanently blue polo-beshirted YA megastar author who brought us the stunning CHAOS WALKING trilogy—as well as the frankly traumatic A MONSTER CALLS (novel and screenplay), brilliant sci-fi/contemporary masterpieces MORE THAN THIS and THE REST OF US JUST LIVE HERE, and the forthcoming RELEASE—is the only writer who could have made CLASS what it is.
Not pictured: blue polo. Or rhinos.
His ability to weave thrilling tales about genuinely grounded and authentic teens, stories that are shot through with savagely cutting humor and heart-hurting sadness, is unparalleled (I mean, except maybe by J.K. Rowling and Joss Whedon… they all sit on a single throne of awesomeness. It's a tight fit). His writing in CLASS is on a whole new level. His characters are compelling, complex, beautifully diverse in a way that just reflects the world, funny, fierce, and brave. As they deal with tests, detentions, and, yes, terrifying monsters from throughout the universe, they keep everything painfully grounded and real. The writing here is just a joy to behold. The jokes hit hard, the emotions even harder, and it's genuinely horrifying and scary when it needs to be. It brings a thrilling edge to the Whoniverse that we've never seen before.
THE DIRECTING / CINEMATOGRAPHY / EDITING / EFFECTS / MUSIC
I snuck a few extras in there. Of course, the show couldn't be great without Ness writing some seriously intense scripts and a series of wonderful performances to really bring them to life, but it could have gone horribly wrong elsewhere. Simple things like putting the camera in the wrong place, lighting shots too brightly, editing too loosely or clumsily, adding music that doesn't feel quite right… You know when you're watching a show, and something just feels off? Yeah… you won't have that feeling here. Because this show never puts a foot wrong. It's kind of incredible.
Ed Bazalgette directs 3 of the 8 episodes, while the rest are beautifully shot by Phillipa Langdale, Wayne Yip, and Julian Holmes. They do a phenomenal job. This is fantastic-looking sci-fi that's slick, has depth, looks gritty and ferocious, and really foregrounds the performances. One episode takes place pretty much entirely in one classroom—and it's one of the most visually fascinating and kinetic episodes of all of them. The special effects are amazing, easily on a par with the flagship show, and in some cases, far more convincing. Every element of this show comes together to form one hilarious, emotionally devastating joyride through space and time.
THE FUTURE OF THE SHOW DEPENDS ON IT
At the time of writing, the show hasn't been picked up for a second season… but it hasn't been canceled either. It aired in the UK last year on an online-only channel, and reading between the lines, it seems like the powers that be are waiting to see how it performs on BBC America. So, my geeks, my nerds, my Doctor Who fans, my fans of sci-fi, of great TV, of great storytelling: Deploy! PLEASE WATCH THIS SHOW. We need joyously great TV shows like this. It's genuinely up there with monster hits like STRANGER THINGS and GAME OF THRONES, it hits you in the feels like THIS IS US (OK, maybe it doesn't reduce you to a quivering pile of sadness every single week, but it's not far off), it's at least as witty as BUFFY ever was, and sometimes more so, it introduces some truly scary and iconic new monsters and threats, and it's got a visceral edge that you won't be expecting.
So watch this damn thing. You'll be glad you did.
For more info on the show, head on over to the BBC America CLASS site.
CLASS starts its 8 episode run on BBC America at 10.10pm Saturday April 15, following the premiere episode of Peter Capaldi's final season as DOCTOR WHO.
October 11, 2016 October 11, 2016 D	Leave a comment
Back in the day (well, 2011), I wrote about an emerging TV writer called Cheo Hodari Coker, who was working on the greatest cop show of all time (SouthLAnd, fool), in a blog with the title Coker Plays The Blues. Coker went on to write some of SouthLAnd's greatest episodes, as well as work on Almost Human, NCIS: LA and Ray Donovan.
But now he's stepped up to create and run a show that's been dominating social media for most of the summer, without even being released. So when Netflix dropped the most buzzed about show in its history at the end of September, expectations were sky high.
2016 is an especially charged year for a show about a bulletproof black man, a fact not lost on Coker. So he did the only right thing, the thing he'd been intending to do all along: he leaned into that, hard. Luke Cage dives deep into the African American experience: it's the show's beating heart, the blood in its veins, its soul, and its purpose. And in that respect, the show couldn't be any better.
The show's foregrounding of what it means to be black in America is so long overdue in TV (or on any size screen) it's ridiculous: how has it taken this long? (Yes, I know why: institutional bias, AKA, racism). Luke Cage is what TV (and America, and the world) needs now more than ever. Coker cast people of color in every level of role (which, shamefully for society and pop culture, was a revolutionary act in itself) and hit hard with his signature dropping of references in the scripts, which means the show is stacked deep with truly excellent actors and performances, namechecks everything from Chester Hines to A$AP Rocky… and then there's that soundtrack… damn, that soundtrack is sweet. Adrian Younge and Ali Shaheed Muhammad bring the funk with a gritty, slinky, soulful Wu-Tang meets Shaft vibe that gives the show a whole extra dimension of cool.
It has been called the Wu-Tangification of Marvel (by Coker), but on watching the show, you realize that that's not strictly true… it's more classic and less agitated than that. It's more like the 70s Isaac Hayes-ification of Marvel, which is still intensely, deeply cool, but not quite as savage and frenetic as the Staten Island collective. The reason for that is the pace of the show. When Jessica Jones (which gave us our first look at Cage) dropped, some people complained about its novelistic pacing, and how not every episode stood alone in terms of stuff happening specific to each episode. Personally, I dug the hell out of it, but here's the thing: Luke Cage is paced much more slowly than JJ.
It's beautifully made, but it's also an extremely deliberate, measured, slow burn, which is why it's more Motown than RZA. It's personal preference as to what you make of that. For this reviewer, it did feel early on as though all the bandwidth was being taken up with some very long conversations. The conversations were, of course, important texturally, and in themselves, they're joyously great (that opening scene was beautifully played out); but you can't help wondering if there could have been a way to combine the texture with the action, instead of separating them out. The show makes texture, subtext, theme and action all one thing later on to brilliant effect (e.g. the dashcam video, Misty explaining why an innocent black man would be on the run from cops who think he's guilty and are armed with special bullets), which makes you long for some of that at the start.
Those early conversations are about books, meditations on the nature of power and society, and what it means to be a man. Those are all powerful things to fill a show with, but this is a genre show that's part of the Marvel universe. For the first half of the season, it didn't necessarily feel that way: it lacked fire and, literally, punch.
OK, there's some punching…
Luke Cage is, especially early on, a somewhat passive and reactive character. The premise for the show is that he's hiding out in Harlem, trying to be invisible (I'm not sure we needed the lingering shot of Cage staring at the cover of Ralph Ellison's Invisible Man, but…). That's a low key place to start, but necessary for Cage's arc from hideaway to hero. Thirteen hours is a long time for that type of arc to play out, though. That means the show takes some serious time working through those beats. The pattern for the first few episodes is a lot of talking, and maybe a minute or less of action at the end. You need to get on board with the slowed down rhythm. The lack of fire and tension is compounded too by some head-on framing (perfectly composed and very still wide master shots are a trademark of Sherlock director Paul McGuigan, who directed the first two episodes and set the tone), scenes that are very, very cool but run long (e.g. Cottonmouth walking very slowly towards his picture window to get the perfect framing of the Biggie picture's crown on his head), and editing that lingers slightly too long on some moments, all of which contribute to letting the air out of a lot of scenes.
Don't get me wrong: there's a certain glee to moments in the first three eps. Luke beating down Cottonmouth's thugs at the end of the first, Luke's iconic attack on the Crispus Attucks building to the sounds of Bring Da Ruckus in three (which, although it lacks some visual clarity, is still damn cool), to the closing seconds of that episode, when Cottonmouth shoots a f**cking rocket at Luke—it's undeniably a kickass moment—which kicks us into ep 4, which is full of flashbacks. That ep takes its time, but lets us know exactly what happened to Luke to make him bulletproof, which justifies the speed of the revelation.
The transitional episode is probably the fifth, "Just To Get A Rep." This features some of the most clumsy and purely functional dialogue to date in the show, and it has scenes thrown together that don't really flow, creating a jarring effect. But it's the ep's epic non-dialogue scenes that tilt the show towards its remaining (and generally much more successful) episodes. Firstly, Jidenna singing Long Live The Chief in the club is f**king HUGE. It hits HARD. Goddamn, I loved that. Suddenly, the club and its music IGNITE in terms of storytelling. Chills, baby. Secondly, and, sorry, even more awesomely, is the reappearance of Claire Temple, played by the legendary, extraordinary, miraculous Rosario Dawson. While everyone on the show is phenomenal (more on that later, but gotta shoutout Simone Missick right here), it's Dawson that brings the fire to Luke Cage. She's walking through Harlem, some punk steals her bag… so she runs him down and beats the shit out of him. Perfect. Welcome back, Claire.
And just to point out, those two were actually ONE SEQUENCE. Hats off. Jidenna in the club interweaves with Claire beating down her attacker. It's how the ep starts and it's JUST. SO. GOOD. You're on your feet yelling at the TV because this is exactly what TV should be.
From here on, the fire set in episode five begins to burn more steadily. There are some bumps along the way—the pacing is still uneven, the dialogue can be stilted in places, and the reveal of Diamondback lacked clarity, which detracted from the impact of his appearance (the very low-key, very low-impact handling of shooting Luke with the second Judas bullet didn't help)—and there's another significant dip in episode 10, "Take It Personal", which has much less effective dialogue than ep 5, and in terms of outline and execution, is often confusing and bemusing (so much is made earlier of how catastrophic it would be for Luke to get shot with a second Judas bullet, but ep 10 forgets that second bullet is even there — Claire only takes out one set of fragments. That's severely jarring, and takes you out of the story.).
But, on the heels of that, we get "Now You're Mine," the eleventh and absolutely the best episode by far. Shout out to the writer, Christian Taylor, and the director, George Tillman Jr. It's amazing. It's like the show needed to follow Diamondback's advice in the early moments of the ep: "Later for that pre-written shit… sometimes you gotta freestyle." Hell to the yes. The dialogue sings sweetly, characters spit wisdom and fire, the storytelling is tense, fraught, suspenseful, the directing is ferocious, and the whole thing is just fantastically and gleefully dark and intense. It also features one of Claire and Misty's finest moments as they beat down Shades and help each other try to escape the club. Magnificent, towering performances from Dawson and Missick make this some of the best TV of 2016. This is what the show needed to be. Not in the sense that it had to come out of the gate at an 11, but there needed to be signs that this was coming; that this could happen in this world.
Episode 12, "Soliloquy Of Chaos" (we have to give Coker kudos for naming every episode after a Gang Starr track, because it works perfectly), continues to bring the fire. Which EXPLODES in the finest final moments of any ep in the show: the always brilliant Ron Cephas Jones finally—FINALLY—gets a bunch of lines worth a damn and absolutely kills with them ("What the hell what type of Jean-Paul Gaultier shit is this? What are you, a pimp stormtrooper?" GREATEST LINES ON TV IN 2016), and the show plunges head-on into full genre insanity, when Misty speaks for all of us and says, "kick his ass, Luke." Diamondback, tricked out in his pimp stormtrooper high-tech-as-shit outfit, and Luke finally rush each other… and we cut to black. Genius. Everything about this episode works so perfectly it hurts.
The final episode drops us right into the fight we've been waiting for, and it's refreshing, and appropriate, that it's more of a drag-out, knock-down Rocky style brawl in the street. It does kind of just, end, though — and the hints of sci-fi that have been given during it (lingering shots of the power unit on Diamondback's… back… powering up and down) are not really capitalized upon. And, the fight is at the opening of the episode, which doesn't leave the rest of the hour with too many places to go. The sudden end to the fight, and the story's subsequent adrenaline crash, take us back to a slower pace, which foregrounds the key concern of the show: Luke's lack of agency. Although there are a few key moments when he takes control, for the majority of the thirteen episodes, things happen to him, and he reacts. Which could have worked, except the finale to the show is Luke, in one sense, giving up, reacting one last time and allowing circumstances to dictate his path in life. You can, clearly, read his final decision as noble, and can see some justification for it in his general world-weariness. But it's an oddly low-key, anticlimactic end. That said, the very final shot, applause over the New York skyline, is pretty goddamned amazing and thrilling.
But Luke isn't in that shot, and that reminds us that in this show, some of the things that are the most awesome don't involve Luke at all.
Including, and especially, the other characters. Theo Rossi threatens to steal the show as Shades. Simone Missick gives Misty such a wonderful, wounded intensity. Erik LaRay Harvey tears up Diamondback's dialogue and spits it in finely deranged fashion. Alfre Woodard truly delivers Mariah's tipping between powerful and powerless. Mahershala Ali is positively and ferociously Shakespearean as Cottonmouth. Ron Cephas Jones needed more lines because he could say anything and make it sound kick-ass. Rosario Dawson… shit, why doesn't she have her own Netflix Marvel show at this point? Expose Claire to some experimental rays or serums or some shit and give her powers and let her tear it up! (One of the show's coolest moments is Claire's final shot, where she tears off the number for the self defense classes… she's so gonna own Iron Fist).
But we can't forget the main man, the power man. Mike Colter. He really brings the brooding, haunted, conflicted Cage to vivid life. Despite the fact the Luke has a habit of being pushed to the back of the action, Colter mesmerizes in every shot, and makes it his own. One of the best cast Marvel heroes of all, no doubt.
So this is where we end up: there is so much to love with Luke Cage. It's an important show, an essential show, frequently beautiful to look at and experience, and it does many, many things really f**king well. But in the interest of brutal truth: it is uneven (you can clearly feel the different writers on the show), there are pacing and dialogue issues, and its hero often seems detached from the action (in some cases literally off-screen for major stretches of time). Coker is absolutely one of the finest TV writers we have, and has curated a supremely bad-ass and massively, poignantly relevant piece of iconic pop culture with Luke Cage. For what it's worth, I hope he uses those final few episodes as the template for season 2. This show is too good, and too important, for anything less.
September 4, 2016 September 4, 2016 D	Leave a comment
From the perfectly 80s genre opening title card, through the eerie opening scenes, into that glorious, magnificent, hitting-every-pleasure-center title sequence, STRANGER THINGS started its journey flawlessly, and only got better from there.
It was the breakout hit of the summer — the show we never knew we needed, but that we couldn't get enough of. The showrunners — The Duffer brothers, identical twins — served up a beautiful mix of all the Spielberg movies and all the King novels that we loved from the 80s, along with a massive helping of other 80s movie references, but all done in an aggressively fresh and original way. It tapped those memories of long, hazy summers reading IT and seeing Stand By Me and E.T. And yet it felt so new, so modern, even as it hit those nostalgia buttons, and kept hitting them. Too much was never enough.
What made it perfect?
It all starts with the writing. This was storytelling at its finest. Swift characterization, distinct and authentic dialogue, and the careful unfolding of the mystery. The deeper we got into the story, the more the characters evolved. Over 8 episodes, each titled as a chapter, there were numerous arcs, surprises, reversals, shocks, and SO MANY EMOTIONS.
Without the great writing, we wouldn't all be obsessed with the show. But without perfect casting, the show would be a shadow of itself. And the casting on this show was some of the best casting we've ever seen. The kids — Gaten Matarazzo as fan fave Dustin, Caleb McLaughlin as the conflicted Lucas, Noah Schnapps as the vanishing Will Byers, the epically named Finn Wolfhard as Dungeon Master Mike, and British newcomer Millie Bobby Brown as the mysterious Eleven — all looked like 80s-style Spielberg kids, which was a feat in itself.
Even better, they were all fantastic actors who invested their roles with heart, humor and conviction. But it didn't stop there: David Harbour, Natalia Dyer, Charlie Heaton and Joe Keery all delivered grounding, haunting performances, as did Shannon Purser, brilliant in her first ever role, playing Barb, who ended up being one of the most beloved TV characters of the year. And of course, Winona Ryder and Matthew Modine brought veteran class and skill to their respective roles, Ryder's highly strung Joyce, and Modine's cool, sinister Dr. Brenner.
Assembling a legendary cast like that elevated the show to rare heights.
But those performances still need to be part of a bigger picture, a richer tapestry, and the Duffer Brothers more than delivered. They directed seven of the episodes, with exec producer Shawn Levy taking the eighth. This was such a visually rich show, with incredible cinematography from Tim Ives. Whether it was the wood-paneled suburban feel of Hawkins, Indiana, or the futuristic labs, or the horror-spookiness of the Upside Down, each world felt lived-in and authentic.
They played with the iconography of their favorite movies (E.T., Aliens, Stand By Me, Poltergeist, The Thing, and many others), but did it in a naturalistic way. All this, coupled with the hypnotic, immersive, none-more-80s, instantly iconic synth soundtrack from Kyle Dixon and Michael Stein of the band S U R V I V E (and that soundtrack is available in suitably epic form, 75 tracks across 2 albums, utterly essential listening), brought us a mesmerizingly atmospheric world, rich in detail and emotion.
It's no wonder the show took off and generated instant and sustained buzz and excitement. This show is exactly what TV needed. It turned expectations upside down, and showed us a new way forward.
To be fair, it has had some criticisms, mainly for its supposedly negative treatment of women. But such criticism seems to almost willfully ignore the facts.
The show's most powerful character, in all senses, including agency, was Eleven. No one and nothing on the show had more literal power than her. If it wasn't for her, the boys, who, let's face it, are often hapless idiots, would be dead. Also, probably everyone in the town would be dead. As she goes on her own journey, she helps the boys go on theirs. That kiss with Mike wasn't just for his emotional development — they both needed that moment. Character and story were one in Eleven.
The character with the biggest arc, the one who travels the furthest, was also female: Nancy, who, as played to perfection with always believable emotion and heart by Natalia Dyer, journeys from neat-sweater-wearing-girl-next-door-in-an-80s-teen-movie to Sarah Connor in T2 style badass.
The show's most beloved, legendary character was a woman. Let's take a moment of silence and pour one out for Barb.
Much criticism has been leveled for the fact that she goes out like a punk pretty early on. We should refocus that: she's brilliantly written, and perfectly played, and that's why we all so desperately wanted her to be saved. (And btw, she's not 100%, absolutely, conclusively dead, you guys — sure, things didn't look good at the end there, but she was just cocooned, and as fans of Newt from Aliens know, being cocooned ain't necessarily the end)(apparently switching directors is the end, so let's be grateful the Duffer Brothers are still on board).
The character who first figured that weird shit was going down was a woman — Winona Ryder's heartbreaking Joyce.
It's Chriiiiiistmaasssssss (that's one for fans of UK Xmas music)
Of course, did any of the men in her life believe her? They did not. Kind of like how the boys don't trust Eleven entirely until late in the game. Let's face it, if the men did believe the women right off the bat, that would actually be less believable that the Upside Down and the monster.
Far from having a "female problem," as some articles and commenters have suggested, it's pretty much operating at Jim Cameron levels of female badassery.
It was, basically, a glorious love song to 80s Stevens (and Stephens), but one that couldn't have been more now in its execution. Netflix sure made us sweat it out, but they finally announced that season 2 will be coming, set one year after the first season. Which means that the masterclass in how to make truly great TV will continue.
We can only hope they call it this
Time to go fireball a demogorgon.
Rating: Five out of five Eggos.
March 2, 2016 D	Leave a comment
Star Wars Rebels is one of those rare shows that blasted out of the gate knowing exactly what it was, and what it wanted to be. In the hands of Dave Filoni, Simon "all the franchises" Kinberg, Henry Gilroy, Kiri Hart and Carrie Beck (and the rest of the amazing writers room), Rebels has outdone itself time and time again, tapping into that sweet, sweet Original Trilogy vibe for sure, but also doing a perfect job of integrating everything that was great about the prequels and the Clone Wars too.
Okay, yes, fine Obi-Wan, many of the truths we cling to may well depend on our points of view… but even subjectively, Rebels started magnificently, and has only gotten better from there. Season one was fantastic, but especially so in the second season, the show has powerfully accessed the dark, mystical and beautiful currents that have always flowed through the Star Wars universe.
Shroud Of Darkness somehow managed to eclipse last week's The Honorable Ones, which was itself a powerful series highlight. Both episodes accessed what is greatest about this world: the conflict between light and dark, complex moral situations, humor in the face of challenges, entertaining droid action, and really, seriously awesome sound effects. Shroud Of Darkness takes all that much further.
The episode opens with a ferocious four-way lightsaber battle (which isn't even the craziest lightsaber battle in the episode), and brings back many old friends as the story progresses. It's full of thrills, fear, danger, and a great Freddie Prinze Jr / Sarah Michelle Gellar moment. It also clearly reveals the threat to Ezra's future that has been hinted at before, while also making things a whole lot more difficult for the Ghost and its crew, and further setting up that truly epic showdown that we're all waiting for. You know the one.
No spoilers here: it's just a really, really great episode. It's everything this show is aiming for, and it's a rare show that almost always exceeds its target: Rebels does it consistently.
Rating: five out of five cool lightsaber sounds
December 30, 2015 December 30, 2015 D	Leave a comment
2015 was a great year for pop culture — even aside from the multi-platform global pop culture-consuming behemoth that was Star Wars, this year was inspiringly full of rich, exciting and immersive books, TV shows, music and movies. And awesome droids.
So let's get to it.
Star Wars Episode VII The Force Awakens. Could the movie of the year have been anything else? Spoiler: no. It was beautiful, full of wonderful old and new characters, and so many emotions. And no, Rey wasn't a Mary Sue — she was a complex, capable woman whose entire life had prepared her to be ready when the call to action came (if you don't believe me, read Greg Rucka's excellent Before The Awakening, which gives you backstories for Finn, Rey and Poe. Rey's is particularly engrossing — she really is one of the great characters of the Star Wars universe. (Here's my full spoiler-free Star Wars review)
Kingsman: The Secret Service. This was fresh, inventive, stylish, witty, engaging, with rich characters and a propulsive story, and a genuinely and gloriously bonkers sense of fun and glee. It also showed us how devastatingly great a Matthew Vaughn-directed Bond movie would be… but if he had made one of those (he came close to making Casino Royale), we wouldn't have this. And we needed this. Colin Firth kicked ass entirely convincingly, and newcomer Taron Egerton delivered a swaggering, young Han Solo-like breakout performance. Genius all round.
The Martian. Yes. Yes yes yes! Ridley Scott scienced the shit out of this, giving us one of the great space movies of all time, taking Drew Goddard's sharply funny script and giving it the bad-ass disco soundtrack we never knew it needed. Expertly shot, brilliantly acted by Matt Damon (the majority of whose scenes were alone and direct to camera), and the best Lord of the Rings reference you'll ever see.
Inside Out. This was Pixar to the power of infinity. This was heart-achingly emotional, which you'd expect since it's a movie about emotions, from the company who brought you the most emotionally devastating opening to a movie EVER (Up). What you might not expect was how heartfelt, humorous and bitter-sweet it all was, plus how the mesmerizing story managed to be utterly profound as well as relentless entertaining. Warning: contains achingly funny moments, and some that are utterly gut-wrenching. You will cry.
Straight Outta Compton. Director F. Gary Gray delivered a breathlessly gritty and fiercely kinetic look at the birth, rise and fall of Compton's NWA, from their loose beginnings to the evolution of their personal empires (Dre's Beats, Cube's movie career). The heart of the movie was Jason Mitchell's cherubic, charismatic and ultimately heartbreaking performance as Eric "Easy E" Wright; his story is the true center of the movie, with the others woven tightly around it. It gives you the thrill and danger of the music, the harsh realities that made it necessary, and the often uncontrollable dynamics within the band. A great script kept tight control over the sprawl of events, and excellent performances from the actors playing the band (including Ice Cube's son playing Cube) made this utterly gripping.
Avengers Age Of Ultron / Ant-Man. Marvel's two movies this year both came with some serious baggage. Ultron had to follow up the massive success juggernaut that was Avengers, but do it even bigger this time, while Ant-Man had a hugely troubled production with the removal of Edgar Wright weeks before filming was due to start. Both films were mandated by the studio to fit the wider Marvel Cinematic Universe: oddly, Ant-Man fared better with this, given extra resonance and benefiting from being bolted into the MCU, while Ultron seemed to suffer from one extra layer too many in a movie that was jam-packed with too much greatness — it's a long movie that actually would have been better with an even longer four hour extended cut. There's just so much Joss Whedon genius-level awesomeness to love and not enough time to truly love it. Ant-Man, on the other hand, was short, sweet, quick on its feet, and full of Edgar Wright DNA (no one handles exposition like him. No one!). Both movies were fun; Ant-Man was just a little more so. But Ultron was still a wonderful Whedon-fest, and a towering achievement of screenwriting and direction.
Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation. The best of the MI bunch. Written and directed by Chris McQuarrie, this was tight, entertaining, and it barreled along through plot points and set pieces without ever releasing its grip on us. A huge amount of fun, with crowd-pleasing performances, hair-raising stunts, and the type of twisty-turny plotting you'd expect from the man behind The Usual Suspects.
Book of the year: Illuminae, by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff. This was one of those books that make you realize all the many beautiful possibilities of what books can be. Composed of emails, security logs, and many other things that I won't spoil, this was an utterly engrossing sci-fi story, rich with complex characters you immediately care about, viscerally thrilling space stuff, and fiendish plotting. Totally unputdownable. Full review here.
Close competition: Patrick Ness's The Rest Of Us Just Live Here, and Robert Galbraith's Career Of Evil (Galbraith is actually J.K. Rowling). Two perfect five star novels here. Ness delivered his usual blend of thrills and compassion, while Rowling gave us her most exciting Cormoran Strike novel yet, with an absolute kicker of a throw-the-book-across-the-room ending. *shakes fist at J.K. Rowling!!*
Lost Stars, by Claudia Gray; The Weapon Of A Jedi, by Jason Fry; Smuggler's Run, by Greg Rucka; Moving Target, by Cecil Castellucci and Jason Fry; Before The Awakening, by Greg Rucka. AKA, the Star Wars novels. Lost Stars (reviewed here) was stellar, Jedi, Run and Target were beautifully written standalone adventures featuring Han, Luke and Leia during the Original Trilogy, and Before The Awakening focused on key Finn, Rey and Poe backstories. Fascinating, entertaining stuff.
Two artists dominated: Adele with her insanely anticipated beautiful powerhouse of an album, 25, and Carly Rae Jepsen with her EMOTION album, which was light years ahead of her previous effort. While Adele did exactly what you'd expect her to (albeit brilliantly, beautifully and flawlessly, of course — with I Miss You and The River Lea as particular standouts ), it was Jepsen who delivered the year's biggest surprise: an extraordinary, gorgeously 80s, mesmerizingly hook-y set that didn't have one filler — full of massive choruses drenched with bittersweet melancholy and honesty, all delivered with gloriously soaring vocals. Why this wasn't on more year-end best-of lists is a mystery. It's brilliant.
Special mention for Downton Abbey's magnificent final season and majestic final ever episode, which was this year's Christmas special (for those who have seen it… it airs in the US in January). The perfect send-off, full of warmth, wit, and, yes, feels.
Supergirl. This show is bright, beautiful, full of verve, grit and hope — all about finding your truest self and being it. Melissa Benoist embodies all of that in a vulnerable, complex, utterly engaging performance. She brings Supergirl to life in a way that makes perfect sense.
Jessica Jones. Epically gritty, dark and messed up, but sweetened with some killer sarcastic putdowns, a damaged and soulful performance from Krysten Ritter, and a horrifyingly charming villain in David Tennant's brilliantly played Kilgrave. Thrilling TV throughout, perfectly paced, full of heart and rage and loss and becoming the person you're meant to be.
Supernatural. 11 seasons in, it's still slaying. Here's my breakdown of why this show STILL kicks ass.
The Walking Dead. This half of the current season delivered three monster, high octane, real-time episodes that were likely the greatest consecutive episodes in the show's run… then pulled out of that very suddenly and slowed things way down for the standalone Morgan flashback episode, before reconnecting with the current storyline again. Although Here Is Not Here contained great writing, beautiful character work, and killer acting, it really did stop the momentum in its tracks at a particularly tense moment, and consequently the show took a while to pick up speed again. But by the mid-season finale, it was BACK. It's the best it's ever been, and that's saying something.
Quantico. One of the greatest new network shows in a long time, this is gripping, unstoppable, incredibly tense, and twist and turns and twists and turns, and then does that some more. The cast gives deeply accessible and charismatic performances, and the story just does not quit. Very, very addictive, very tightly written (the show has two ongoing strands, past and present, which interweave and comment on each other and keep the story flowing), and very addictive.
But, if I had to pick the ultimate "things of the year"….
Carly Rae Jepsen's EMOTION
And, if I could only pick one thing overall… It's pretty clear… this little guy won 2015!
The breakout star of Star Wars (with fierce competition from the fresh and energetically great performances of Daisy Ridley, John Boyega and Adam Driver), BB-8 owned 2015. The little droid was the heart and soul of Episode VII, and we loved him. Let's be honest, we would all happily sit there and watch a two hour movie that was JUST BB-8 AND NOTHING ELSE. Search your feelings… you know it to be true.
So, hope you enjoyed 2015… Have an awesome 2016!!!

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


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San Diego Comic-Con 2019: From Marvel's Phase 4 Projects to the Russo Bros Panel, 7 Events We Are Too Excited About!
Hollywood Sreeju Sudhakaran| Jul 16, 2019 08:43 PM IST
One of the biggest comic conventions in the United States of America is happening between July 18 and July 21. The San Diego Comic-Con 2019 is slated to take place on these dates and it is going to be a period of an epic reveal of valuable information about everything geeky. From upcoming movies and TV shows to the current works to cosplay events, there is a lot to get enthused about SDCC 2019. Even if you are not getting to be a part of it, we can expect some of the footage premiered during the event to make it to YouTube, original and bootlegged (snicker, snicker). From Iron Man to Spider-Man: Far From Home, 10 Best Villains in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Ranked! (SPOILER-ALERT).
Of course, every eye and ear will be on the biggest panel of them all - The Marvel Studios. Now that Phase 3 is over, it is time for the studios to lift the veil of all their future projects - movies and web-series - that is linked to Phase 4 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Plus, EndGame directors, the Russo Brothers, are heading their own panel. There will also be separate events for other big movies and shows, both current and upcoming, the full list of which, you can check here.
With so much happening there, here are seven things that we are the most excited to hear about at San Diego Comic-Con 2019.
#1 Marvel Studios Panel
When: July 20, 5:15 pm PT
After Avengers: EndGame and Spider-Man: Far From Home, the Phase 3 of Marvel Cinematic Universe has officially come to an end. So what's next? That's exactly what's keeping all the MCU fans on their toes, and they could get their answers at Comic-Con. There is a panel headed by none other than MCU chief Kevin Feige. So expect him to reveal the slate of movies in Phase 4, with new and some of the old stars of MCU rumoured to join him on the panel. Also perhaps a sneak peek into the Black Widow movie, that is currently being shot. Oh, we have so many hopes here!
#2 The Russo Brothers' Panel
Mandatory Credit: Photo by Dave Allocca/Starpix/REX/Shutterstock (5673762i)
Anthony Russo and Joe Russo
'Captain America: Civil War' film screening, New York, America - 04 May 2016
When: July 19, 11.00 am PT
Anthony and Joe Russo, who have Marvel, two of their biggest hits in Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: EndGame, are splitting from the studios to head their own panel at SDCC 2019. The director-duo will be sharing more insights about their upcoming productions like Chadwick Boseman's 21 Bridges and Chris Hemsworth's Dhaka. They may also talk about the movie they are directing, Cherry, that has Tom Holland in the lead. Plus, for the last few days, the Russo Bros have been tweeting mysterious clips with audios from their shows, Community and Arrested Development. Are we expected future seasons from these shows? Also, there is a pretty good chance that the Russo Bros might turn up on Marvel panel too.
#3 Game of Thrones
Game of Thrones Season 8 Still (Photo Credits: HBO)
Game of Thrones has ended its final season on May 2019, but there are many stories yet to be told. The cast and the crew are expected to share a panel where they will be talking about the controversial final season as well as other stuff. It is not yet confirmed which stars will be attending the panel. There might also be a chance that we could get some sort of tease for the GoT prequel series.
#4 Terminator: Dark Fate
A Still From Terminator: Dark Fate
When: July 18, 11 am PT
Will Terminator: Dark Fate reinvent the franchise to its former glory? Or is the damage too deep to make any repairs? We will get some answer to that at SDCC 2019, for there is going to be a panel for the movie. The movie's lead stars Linda Hamilton, Natalie Keyes, Mackenzie Davis, Gabriel Luna and director Tim Miller are expected to attend the panel.
#5 Netflix's The Witcher
Netflix's The Witcher
When: July 19, 2.15 pm PT
It is now old news that Netflix is adapting the Polish book series The Witcher, which also inspired an acclaimed videogame franchise, into a show. Headlined by Man of Steel himself, Henry Cavill, The Witcher's panel at SDCC may bring us the first trailer of the show, that is filled with magic, monsters and a lot of sword-fighting. Perhaps Cavill might also answer whether he has truly exited DC Cinematic Universe.
#6 Star Trek
When: July 20, 11:30 am PT
Future Star Trek movies are still being held in the cold storage, but Star Trek TV shows are making quite a noise these days. They are also having a panel at SDCC where we expect the cast of Star Trek: Discovery. As well as get a little tease of the upcoming show, Star Trek: Picard, starring Sir Patrick Stewart.
#7 Arrowverse
Ruby Rose as Batwoman (Photo Credits: CW)
When: Saturday, July 20, 10:30 am PT
The DC Movie Universe might not make much noise at the SDCC this year, but their shows are making their presence at the event. As of now, there is a panel for their latest show, Batwoman, with the lead star Ruby Rose expected to be the part of the panel. We are also expecting some info on the biggest crossover event that is happening on Arrowverse - 'Crisis on Infinite Earths'.
Anthony and Joe Russo Anthony Russo Avengers: Endgame Black Widow Joe Russo Netflix Russo Brothers San Diego Comic-Con San Diego Comic-Con 2019 SDCC 2019 Spider-Man: Far From Home Star Trek Terminator Terminator: Dark Fate The Witcher
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Eighth Modification: State of Emergency Declaration
A digital version of the signed declaration: Eighth Modification to State of Emergency
EIGHTH MODIFICATION OF THE DECLARATION OF A STATE OF EMERGENCY FOR THE
WHEREAS, it is in the best interests of the State to protect its citizens from a potential public health emergency that could threaten the lives of those who live and work here; and
WHEREAS, on March 18, 2020 at 2:00 p.m. E.D.T., I issued the Second Modification to the COVID-19 State of Emergency declaration that modified the limitations on public gatherings of 50 or more people and, among other things, placed certain restriction on the operation of certain businesses and facilities in the State of Delaware; and
WHEREAS, on March 21, 2020 at 12:00 p.m. E.D.T., I issued the Third Modification to the State of Emergency declaration to close all Delaware beaches, except to persons using the beaches to exercise or to walk their dogs, subject to certain precautions recommended by the CDC on COVID-19, which became effective as of 5:00 p.m. E.D.T.; and
WHEREAS, on March 22, 2020 at 4:00 p.m. and 4:02 p.m. E.D.T., respectively, I issued the Fourth and Fifth Modifications to the COVID-19 State of Emergency declaration to close all non-essential businesses in Delaware, except those that can offer goods and services on the Internet, and to order a Shelter in Place for Delaware residents; and
WHEREAS, in addition to the 4th and 5th Modifications to the State of Emergency that I issued that require Delawareans to shelter in place and restrict activity in Delaware to essential business operations only, I also directed K-12 schools to remain closed through May 15; and
WHEREAS, the Secretary of the Department of Services for Children, Youth & Their Families ("DSCYF") was authorized in Executive Order No. 38 that I signed on March 19, 2020 to modify or suspend certain childcare regulations during the State of Emergency to respond to an increasing demand on childcare centers; and
WHEREAS, because childcare is critical to enable personnel who work in essential businesses (including healthcare, law enforcement, first responders and others) identified in the Fourth Modification I signed on March 22, 2020 to continue keeping Delaware safe and functioning through the State of Emergency, it has become necessary to incorporate that authority from Executive Order Number 38 into this Modification to permit a comprehensive approach to the provision of childcare in the State of Delaware during the State of Emergency; and
WHEREAS, in the Declaration of a Public Health Emergency I signed on March 23, 2020, I authorized the Public Health Authority to Direct vaccination, treatment, isolation, quarantine and such other measures as may be necessary to prevent or contain the spread of COVID-19; and
WHEREAS, emergency health threats, including those caused by bioterrorism and epidemics, require the exercise of extraordinary government functions; and
WHEREAS, Delaware must have the ability to respond, rapidly and effectively, to potential or actual public health emergencies; and
WHEREAS, without additional action in state buildings and at essential businesses, COVID-19 could overwhelm Delaware's hospitals and health care providers; and
WHEREAS, due to the COVID-19 health emergency and efforts to promote and accommodate telecommuting and social distancing for State employees, it is desirable to allow temporary modifications to the State's internal control procedures including but not limited to certain requirements to make daily or weekly bank deposits pursuant to Title 29, § 6103 of the Delaware Code; and
WHEREAS, it is necessary to further clarify certain provisions contained in prior modifications to the State of Emergency.
NOW, THEREFORE, I, JOHN C. CARNEY, pursuant to Title 20, Chapter 31 of the Delaware Code, in an effort to control and prevent the spread of COVID-19 within the State of Delaware, do hereby order that, except as otherwise provided in Paragraph 2.a., 2.b. and 4.e., the following provisions shall be effective March 30, 2020 at 8:00 p.m. E.D.T.:
1. CHILD CARE
a. The authority granted to the Secretary of the Department of Services for Children, Youth, and Their Families ("DSCYF") in Executive Order Number 38 that I issued on March 19, 2020 to suspend or modify the state's childcare rules and regulations prescribed by DSCYF's Office of Child Care Licensing ("OCCL"), and the authority to suspend any statute, rule or regulation of any agency of the state or political subdivision to ensure access to childcare, including identifying state agency supports and staff to assist in providing sufficient access to childcare, and to issue guidelines in accordance therewith, is hereby continued and fully incorporated herein.
b. In addition to the authority in 1.a. above, during the State of Emergency, the Secretary of DSCYF, in consultation with the Secretary of the Department of Health and Social Services (DHSS), the Secretary of the Department of Education (DOE), and the Director of the Office and Management and Budget (OMB), is authorized to direct all licensed childcare homes and centers (collectively "childcare") in the State of Delaware to provide childcare to "any business deemed essential or open for business, as those terms are used in the 4th Modification to the State of Emergency (hereinafter defined as "essential personnel"), including developing the following guidelines for implementation:
i. Create temporary enrollment forms for parents/guardians who are employed by essential businesses under the Fourth Modification and cannot work from home to enroll their child(ren) in care, such requirement to apply to each parent or guardian of the child.
ii. Create stricter health and safety guidelines, in consultation with the Delaware Division of Public Health (DPH), to ensure each childcare is adhering to health and safety measures required by COVID-19.
iii. Effective April 6, 2020 at 8:00 a.m. E.D.T., childcares that remain open shall only serve children of essential personnel, shall be designated as "Emergency Childcare Sites" and must meet the stricter health and safety standards established by OCCL.
c. Childcares that are not designated as Emergency Childcare Sites are directed to close no later than April 6, 2020 at 8:00 a.m. E.D.T.
d. The Secretary of DSCYF, in consultation with the Secretary of DHSS, the Secretary of DOE, and the Director of OMB, shall have the ability to modify or suspend any childcare rules and regulations, as needed, to accomplish this objective.
e. The Secretary of DSCYF shall have the authority to prioritize essential personnel requests for childcare for eligibility, should there be a shortage of slots.
f. The Secretaries of DSCYF, DHSS, and DOE, and the Director of OMB shall evaluate Delaware's Purchase of Care Childcare Subsidy Program payments (POC) and tiered reimbursement payments for childcares during the State of Emergency and shall establish guidelines for the adjustment of POC payments, which may include, but not be limited to:
i. Full Purchase of Care and tiered reimbursements for all filled and POC-eligible slots, and reimbursements for vacant slots based on a center's licensed capacity using an average of Purchase of Care and tiered reimbursement categories for vacant slots, at Emergency Childcare Sites. "Enhanced Reimbursement" for Emergency Childcare Sites may be used for additional staff pay, sanitation, or meeting additional DPH requirements. Such enhanced reimbursements shall be determined by vacant slots at Emergency Childcare Sites. Additional adjustments may be made for essential staff pay; and
ii. Sliding scale Purchase of Care and tiered reimbursements for childcare facilities that close but choose to pay 100% staff, and those that close and choose not to pay 100% staff; calculations for reduced payments will be based upon the childcare center's enrollment and licensed capacity at the time the childcare closed due to the State of Emergency. Childcare facilities that choose to pay staff must certify such payment to staff.
2. PUBLIC HEALTH
a. Effective April 1, 2020 at 8:00 a.m. E.D.T., state buildings and essential businesses that the Public Health Authority deems high-risk shall screen every employee, visitor and member of the public upon entering. The Public Health Authority shall develop and publicly post the screening tool to be used by high-risk essential businesses.
b. Effective April 1, 2020 at 8:00 a.m. E.D.T., all state buildings and essential businesses shall display signage developed by the Public Health Authority that cautions individuals experiencing symptoms of COVID-19 not to enter the premises.
c. All hospitals, nursing and residential facilities, and ambulatory health care services in Delaware, as categorized by the Division of Small Business, shall comply with the Public Health Authority's guidance for the use of Personal Protective Equipment.
d. The Public Health Authority is authorized to make, amend and rescind orders, rules and regulations under Title 16 necessary for emergency management purposes.
e. The Public Health Authority is authorized to:
i. Suspend all state-required deadlines and timetables for performance of facility and agency licensure activities as the Public Health Authority deems necessary; and
ii. Suspend any regulatory requirement found in Title 16 of the Delaware Administrative Code that the Public Health Authority deems an impediment to staffing facilities and agencies during the pendency of the emergency; and
iii. Suspend any regulatory requirements related to the provision of in-home medical care and personal services under Title 16 of the Delaware Administrative Code as the Public Health Authority deems necessary.
f. The requirement that long term care facilities provide documentation to the Division of Health Care Quality as to the of the amount of direct care time that was provided in an emergency by a Director of Nursing, Assistant Director of Nursing, or registered nurse assessment coordinator as required in 16 Del. C. § 1161(e) is hereby suspended.
g. Long term care facilities must continue to provide 3.28 hours of direct care per resident per day. However, the staffing ratios required in 16 Del. C. § 1162 are hereby suspended.
h. The training requirements found in Section 3215 of Title 16 of the Delaware Administrative Code are hereby suspended. Previously untrained feeding assistants may undergo on-site training for the pendency of the state of emergency.
3. STATE INTERNAL CONTROL PROCEDURES
a. The Division of Accounting (DOA) in the Delaware Department of Finance shall issue Internal Control Policy Guidance for COVID-19 to all State Organizations providing for any temporary modifications to State internal control procedures for the duration of the current State of Emergency.
b. The provisions of Title 29, § 6103 related to frequency of banking deposits are temporarily waived, provided that State Organizations shall be required to provide an alternative plan for cash receipts deposits during the State of Emergency to the Division of Accounting by email to DOA's mailbox at Internal.Controls@delaware.gov.
4. MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS
a. To the extent not suspended by the Second Modification of the Declaration of a State of Emergency, all regulations requiring any in-person contact before or during telemedicine services provided by any medical professional are hereby suspended.
b. The Fifth Modification of the Declaration of State of Emergency, dated March 22, 2020 at paragraph 12 is hereby stricken and modified to read: "All COVID-1 testing shall be made available to those persons who meet criteria for such testing as established and modified from time to time by the Division of Public Health. All health care providers, facilities and entities that decide to offer testing shall make that testing available to people meeting testing criteria without regard to that person's ability to pay, type of health insurance, or participation in any particular provider network. Health care providers shall provide testing free of charge, including eliminating any cost sharing, co-payments or other direct-to-consumer costs."
c. The Sixth Modification of the Declaration of the State of Emergency, dated March 24, 2020, is modified by adding a new subparagraph B.1.e. as follows: "e. The restrictions contained in Paragraphs B.1.a., B.1.b. and B.1.c. shall also apply to any owner occupied manufactured home on leased land as described in Chapter 70, Title 25 located within the state."
d. The Sixth Modification of the Declaration of the State of Emergency, dated March 24, 2020, is modified by adding a new sentence to the end of paragraph E. as follows: "No provision contained in this Order shall be construed as relieving any policyholder of the obligation to pay premium payments due an insured or to comply with other obligations that a policyholder may have pursuant to a covered insurance policy."
e. Effective March 31, 2020 at 8:00 a.m. E.D.T., the restriction on activity on beaches contained in the Third Amended Modification of the State of Emergency I issued on March 21, 2020 at 12:00 p.m. E.D.T. shall not apply to persons using State Park beaches for surf fishing by vehicle, provided that:
i. any vehicle on the beach for the purpose of surf fishing must have a current Delaware surf fishing permit;
ii. any vehicle on the beach for the purpose of surf fishing may not be occupied or accompanied by more than 2 persons, and those persons must be from the same home or place of residence;
iii. every person on the beach for the purpose of surf fishing must be actively fishing, and no other activities shall be allowed by a person occupying or accompanying a vehicle with a surf fishing permit;
iv. vehicles on the beach for this purpose must be at least 20 yards from any other vehicle;
v. all other rules and regulations regarding surf fishing shall apply;
vi. persons on the beach for the purpose of surf fishing must follow the Social Distancing Requirements detailed as part of the State of Emergency; and
vii. should circumstances require it to protect public health and safety, the Secretary of the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control may rescind surf fishing as allowed under this provision.
f. This Order has the force and effect of law. Any failure to comply with the provisions contained in a Declaration of a State of Emergency or any modification to a Declaration of the State of Emergency constitutes a criminal offense. 20 Del. C. §§ 3115 (b); 3116 (9); 3122; 3125. State and local law enforcement agencies are authorized to enforce the provisions of any Declaration of a State of Emergency.
APPROVED this 30th day of March 2020 at 5:00 p.m.


Mavins artist, Reekado Banks, took to his Instagram page to share a picture of himself drinking water while wearing a sagged jeans trouser.
Drink water and mind ur business… don't forget to ease yourself too!
Anyways, he got an epic reaction from his boss, Donjazzy, who told him not to have worn the jeans at all.
You for no just wear Jeans o.
0 Response to "Don Jazzy Reacts To Reekado Bank's Sagged Trouser (Photo)"


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Home / Featured Article / A Review of F1000
A Review of F1000
No Comments on A Review of F1000 1086
Andrea C. Kepsel, MLIS, AHIP
Health Sciences Educational Technology Librarian
Michigan State University Libraries
As more and more research is being published in the fields of science and medicine, it can be difficult not only to stay on top of what is being published, but also to discover research from smaller publications or specialized research areas. F1000, from the Science Navigation Group, provides a suite of three tools designed to help users find, share, and use research: F1000Prime, F1000Workspace, and F1000Research. F1000Prime, an article recommendation service, and F1000Workspace, a reference manager, are available together as a subscription, while F1000Research is an open science peer-review publication platform. The three tools complement each other well and, when used together, can improve how users create, evaluate, and interact with scientific information.
F1000Prime is a post-publication peer-review service that provides recommendations and commentary on top articles from over 4,000 journals across 44 disciplines of biology and medicine. The recommendations are provided by the F1000Prime Faculty, peer-nominated leaders in biology and medicine, and include succinct summaries of an article's key takeaways. Both major and specialist journals are monitored to ensure comprehensive coverage of a discipline, and approximately 80 percent of the papers recommended are published in smaller niche journals. Faculty members assign articles a 1- to 3-star ranking, corresponding to good, very good, or exceptional, respectively. Article rankings are tallied together for total scores that are used to create Top 10 lists in each discipline, as well as a Hidden Jewels list of top articles from more specialized journals. These lists are what make F1000Prime a great tool, especially for new researchers in a field, because they draw attention to articles that may be missed by relying on standard citation metrics that can often be low for publications in smaller, more specialized fields of study.
Searching for article recommendations by key word is easy, and advanced search features allow filtering by publication date, subject area, article type, total score, recommendation history, and whether or not articles have user comments. It is recommended that subscribers register for a free user account to fully experience all features of the platform, including the SmartSearch algorithm that creates a custom homepage that displays relevant articles in a user's areas of interest. For users who prefer searching for articles in PubMed, the PubMed LinkOut feature can be set up so that articles that have been recommended by the F1000 Faculty link directly to their recommendations on F1000Prime.
F1000Workspace is an online reference manager and scholarly writing tool. It is a cloud-based application that can be used on any device with internet access, and available tools for increased functionality include a browser extension, Microsoft Word plug-in, Google Docs add-on, and desktop app for importing PDFs. Access to F1000Workspace is included with a subscription to F1000Prime and users create a free account that can be used across both services. References can be imported into a user's library from online sources using the browser extension, directly from imported PDFs or from other popular reference managers such as EndNote or RefWorks. F1000Workspace has robust collaboration features that include sharing of references and annotations with other F1000Workspace users, as well as the ability to share and edit reference lists in Microsoft Word. Organizational features are equally robust and include the ability to create projects and subprojects, record tagging, and activity tracking.
While many of the features of F1000Workspace are similar to those offered by the other major reference managers (EndNote, RefWorks, Mendeley, etc.), a notable feature is the article suggestion capability. Using the same SmartSearch algorithm as in F1000Prime, F1000Workspace evaluates a user's existing references to suggest other articles that may be relevant. The algorithm is fine-tuned and suggestions improve as a user interacts with suggested articles and chooses whether to add them to a project or discard them. SmartSearch suggestions are also available through the Microsoft Word and Google Doc plug-ins, as well as search options for both PubMed and F1000Prime. The ability for users to search for articles and view suggested ones as they are working on a document enables easy citing without jumping between different programs and disrupting workflow.
Institutional subscriptions for F1000Prime are priced based on the size and type of institution or organization. Individual subscriptions also are available, with discounted subscriptions for students, and a free 30-day trial is provided. Subscriptions include access to F1000Workspace. Subscribing to F1000Prime does not include full-text access to articles, but a wide variety of OpenURL link resolvers are supported, making it easy for libraries to link to content they subscribe to. Detailed support documentation and tutorials are provided online for F1000Prime and F1000Workspace and technical assistance is available via email or a dedicated chat widget built into F1000Workspace.
F1000Research is a peer-reviewed open science publishing platform for research articles, posters, and slides. Over 1,300 institutes are represented on F1000Research, including 94 percent of the top research universities in the U.K., Canada, and Australia. Publication turnaround time is short, typically seven days for articles and one or two days for posters and slides. Upon publication of an article, expert referees are invited to review it and their reviews and names are published along with the article, author responses, comments from F1000Research users, and any revised versions of the article. Upon completion, peer-review articles are indexed in PubMed, Scopus, and Google Scholar. Posters and slides are not peer reviewed, but they are assigned a DOI for easy citing and sharing with others. Article processing charges apply to articles published on F1000Research and are based on the size of the article, but posters and slides are always free. Subscribers to F1000Prime who use F1000Workspace are eligible to publish one short article (less than 1,000 words) free of charge within a year of registering.
F1000Research continues the theme of research discovery through Gateways, personalized portals for institutions or organizations that include links to featured content and other resources. Gateways include information about what they contain and the content undergoes the same editorial checks as other submissions. Since content in a gateway is generally focused on a single overarching theme, it makes it an easy way to view not just articles but also presentations and posters that may otherwise not be easy to find.
F1000 is a unique service that connects readers to the most interesting articles in biology and medicine and is recommended for individuals or institutions that support research in these areas. Because of the focus on biology and medicine, it is of limited value to users outside of these areas at present, but as interest grows, F1000 hopes to expand its scope of coverage into other disciplines. The value of F1000Prime is in the way it highlights articles from niche journals or research areas that otherwise may be missed. F1000Workplace is a powerful reference manager with easy-to-use collaboration features not found in comparable products. F1000Research is a growing open science platform and an easy way for users to broaden the reach of their scholarly research.


As the tree planting season is from autumn to early spring, last week we held our last outdoor planting event until next autumn. The event was a collaboration between the Garden House and St Dominic's School, both in Hambeldon, south west Surrey. The Garden House is a sustainable land use project with a focus on wildlife, education, therapeutic and community benefit. St Dominic's School specialises in the education of children with autism.
We planted a hedgerow. Hedgerows are often a mix of shrub and tree species. You see them criss-crossing the countryside, long rows of bushes dividing up farmland and landscapes. Hedgerows are used as barriers to prevent livestock from escaping fields or to form boundaries between different landowners' land. In addition, they are really helpful for wildlife. Older hedgerows support an amazing diversity of plants and animals, providing wildlife a home and food. Butterflies, dormice, bank voles, harvest mice, hedgehogs, bats and birds all benefit. They also prevent soil erosion and store carbon to help combat climate change so they are fantastic for the environment too.
Cherry Plum, which has an early white blossom, and yellow or red cherry like fruits which birds eat.
Hawthorn, a deciduous native, also known as a May tree because it flowers in May. The flowers are highly scented usually white, sometimes pink. They produce red fruits called Haw which are eaten by migrating birds such as thrushes, and small mammals. The dense thorny foliage makes it good for nesting.
Blackthorn, whose wood has been used for walking sticks and riding sticks. It flowers early which is so good for bees, usually white flowers in March and April. it produces berries in autumn which provide food for birds who like to nest in the dense foliage.
Beech, which can live for hundreds of years, and can grow to 40 meters. Beech are identified by the shape of their wavy edged pointy leaves and smooth bark.
Dogrose, which weaves in and out of other shrubs to support itself while it grows, flowers in May and June large pink or white petals with a faint sweet smell, fruits in September and October which blackbirds like to eat.
In all we planted 75 saplings to form the hedge that will benefit hedgehogs, birds, butterflies, dormice and other lovely critters, as well as the environment itself. It was a beautiful sunny day and everyone got stuck in, loving doing something outdoors for the good of our wonderful planet.
Left to right: Andy from the Garden House, teachers from St Dominic's including Richard, one of our forest school leaders, Francesca from Roots for the Future and Guy from the Godalming Round Table. For safeguarding reasons we weren't able to photograph the pupils from the school.
This workshop was made possible by a grant from the Postcode Lottery and funding from the Godalming Round Table.


This is my own review of a Puget Sound area business. I was not paid or perked to write this review – I just want to help get the word out about Top Gun!
We also got a gas line estimate from them – they were the lowest of three separate estimates. We did not move forward with this project, but just throwing it out there – Top Gun also does gas lines.
Top Gun is basically my go-to plumber. Plumbing emergencies are not fun, but thanks to Top Gun I feel pretty confident that they'll have me covered next time water starts gushing out of something.
Top Gun's got it all: fast phone responses, knowledgeable and friendly workers, same- and next-day work, and the best pricing. For two completely separate projects (a new water line and a new gas line) Top Gun's pricing beat the two competitors I also got quotes from.
They arrive exactly when they say they will!
They call before they arrive!
They get permits for their work when required! (Beacon Plumbing did not even mention a permit, but they were in a hurry to dig up my yard and charge me $7000 for the project Top Gun did for $3500).
Back in November 2012, our main water line (which runs under the driveway between our water meter and our house) blew a leak. A huge leak. This leak went undetected for a couple days until the water utility came out to tell us to knock it off – we had racked up over $1100 in water usage. Holy crap.
Top Gun's first day on the job set us up with a temporary water line (it's basically a hose). They then brought in some fancy digging equipment to tunnel under our driveway, and the new line went in a few days later. Damage to our yard was minimal – they put the grass "chunks" back into place for me and it all healed up in a few months.
This was a huge, messy job, but Top Gun Plumbing did fantastic work.
Everyone who came out to work on the job was friendly and skilled (they even worked in almost non-stop rain).
This one's a shorter story: our hot water tank was old and crappy (and its demise was not unexpected). One day it just started spraying water out the top. Top Gun came out within hours and put in a shiny new one for just over a thousand bucks.
Top Gun Plumbing replaced my hot water tank the same day my old one blew its top. This is a picture of the new hot water tank.
I love Top Gun Plumbing. I wrote this review a full year after both projects were completed, and the work they did has held up perfectly.
PS: I know you're thinking it, so I'll say it. DANGER ZONE!