text:
Murphy's Law (Thread 2!)
Thread: Murphy's Law (Thread 2!)
CoffeeIncluded
Hi! Welcome to the second thread of Murphy's Law! As you can probably guess, I'm making an OOTS-style webcomic. It's comedic, yet with an ongoing, in-depth storyline. It starts out with a multiclass Fighter/Paladin named Lloyd Zephyr looking to organize an adventuring party, and quickly mushrooms from there into something much bigger...
So, yeah...Enjoy!
Current comic:
#41: That She Lasted So Long Is A Miracle In Itself
#1: Why I Hate Fanservice
#2: Always Use A Pencil
#3: First Impressions
#4: Subversions
#5: Oddly, They Didn't Confiscate His Weapons
#6: This Will Work Out Great!
#7: Off On The Wrong Foot
#8: Well, She IS A Druid
#9: Don't Worry, The Weasel's Alright
#10: Not So Rough
#11: Well, This Isn't Foreboding At All!
#12: Captain Obvious
#13: Rule Of Cool
#14: Roll A Fort Save
#15: Avenue J
#16: Lloyd Zephyr Is Not A Morning Person
#17: Actually, Radic Has a Higher Dex Score
#18: Digging Yourself Deeper
#19: Kid In A Candy Shop
#20: He Really Should Know The Answer To This By Now
#21: Deja Vu
#22: No More
#23: They're Required To Do This Every So Often
#24: He, At Least, Didn't See That One Coming
#25: Tomorrow's Spells Consist Entirely of Cure X Wounds And Atonement
#26: Seatbelts Help Prevent Whiplash
#27: Say What You Will, But He's Got Style
#28: Harmful To Minors
#29: Matt's Best Chance
#30: At This Rate, He'll Command An Entire Army By The End Of The Comic
#31: And You Thought Rogues Got Buckets Of Skill Points
#32: All In Good Time
#33: It Doesn't Start With "U" Either
#34: At Least He's Warm
#35: Genki If There Ever Was One
#36: Ad Campaign
#37: This Happens Every Few Weeks
#38: Gonna Need More Duct Tape
#39: Critical Communication Failure
#40: Insult To Remus
Please critique!
BONUS: Oh! In case you didn't know, I'm originally from the Crack Pairings Thread. So, I love it when people do crack pairings and stuff of this comic! In fact, I'll post it on here! Just make sure that it obeys board rules and the like, okay?
Stuff by Discord:
"YEEEEEESSSSSSS!!!"
Lloyd looked up from the halberd he was polishing to eye suspiciously the party's rogue, Matt. Matt being happy never boded anything good, though thankfully usually more for himself than for the rest of the party since the universe seemed to have taken a level of ranger and chosen Favored Enemy (Matt). Not that he could blame it, really. When you were dressing as tastelessly as he did, you were certainly asking for it. And that was without considering his absurd strand of cyan hair. Astrid, was that thing ridiculous. But at least it scared goblins away.
"What makes you so happy?"
"I finally managed to talk Radic into wearing a bikini!" the rogue replied triumphantly.
Lloyd stared at him for a few seconds before refocusing on his weapon. "Yeah right."
"That's true!"
"And how, exactly, did you manage to convince her?" asked a skeptical paladin.
"Nothing but sheer charisma, ye faithless."
Twenty minutes ago.
"Pleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasep leasepleasepleasepleaseplease!"
"Okay, okay, I'll put on that goddamn bikini! Just get off me now, you freak!"
"Did someone say "Radic" and "bikini" in the same sentence?" asked the resident nymphomaniac as she walked towards them.
"Yeah! Isn't it awesome?"
"It is! I never managed to make her wear anything revealing!"
Lloyd rolled his eyes skywards and prayed Astrid to grant him the strength to not strangle anyone.
"Guys?" The trio turned around to see Radic's blushing head sticking out from behind a tree. "Please don't laugh," she said as she walked into view, wearing a dark green bikini.
Matt bore a huge smile going from ear to ear that swiftly disappeared to be replaced by a look of pure horror when his eyes drifted down to her waist.
"I don't think that's supposed to be there," commented Lloyd.
"Oh, Radic," said Janine as she licked her lips. "I had no idea you combined the best of both worlds..."
As Matt dropped to his knees to scream a ground-shattering "NOOOOOO!" and Janine remorselessly jumped her friend to kiss and grope her, Lloyd walked away, muttering something along the lines of "Astrid sent them to try me..."
Stuff by ShinyDelusion:
"Went down your--" Lloyd began to say.
"And that is all I'm going to say about it," Matt cut him off flatly.
"Whatever," said Lloyd, looking at Matt's weasel-inflicted wounds critically, "You should probably go get Janine to heal you."
"Can't paladins heal?" Matt asked, not sure where Janine was and in no mood to search for her while every scratch on his body was still smarting.
"The technique's called 'Lay on Hands'," Lloyd replied neutrally.
"Oh," said Matt. A few seconds of silence passed. "This sucks," he added in a grumble.
"More than max security?" Lloyd asked as a reminder.
"No," said Matt darkly, staring broodingly into the middle distance.
It was two years ago, back when he was just learning how to get away with things and had recently tried to put a red streak in his hair. The hair was a minor fiasco—he'd bleached first and the red dye wasn't strong enough, leaving the streak an embarrassingly pretty purplish pink; maybe he should try blue next time—but he was getting to be a really good rogue. Or so he thought.
In retrospect he realized that he probably shouldn't have been so cocky—after all it was already the sixth time he'd been caught stealing and he'd only been at it a few months—but back in those days he'd felt like he could do anything, like he was untouchable. Sure, he'd gotten thrown in the local jailhouse once or twice, but those cells were a joke; he watched a party full of Level 2 adventures with not a rogue among them break out in ten minutes flat once. Of course, those were the lowest security cells, not max. He didn't know yet that when they threw you in max, you weren't getting yourself out any time soon unless you were epic level or something.
That day, the day he got caught for the sixth time, they threw him in max.
"I really am sorry, kid," the warden had told him grimly, "But today we got three adventuring parties filled with chaotic types who thought they'd found the second easiest way to get some extra gps; the cells are packed, so you're going to have to go in max."
"Whatever," Matt muttered.
A little annoyed by the boy's indifference, the warden added, "Just so you know, your cell mate got life for massacring a relatively peaceful group of kobold merchants for the XP and…" He gulped. "Accessorizing opportunities."
"Whatever," Matt repeated. Wait a minute, what about accessorizing?
"He gets violent when we try to remove things from his cell," he went on, now honestly angered by the boy's lack of interest, "Such as the beheaded corpses of former cell mates…"
"What do you mean--" Matt began to ask, a little panicked, before regaining his cool. "You're making that up just to scare me."
"If only," the warden said with a sigh, "I suggest you just try to have a conversation with him; some say the solitude's made him snap. Ah, here we are."
At first Matt thought his cellmate was a kobold. Then, gagging, he realized what the warden had meant by "accessorizing opportunities".
"How's it going, Killer?" the warden asked with false joviality.
Clutching a human skull pointed at the warden, the filthy Halfling shrieked, "Fireball! Fireball now, or I'll give you something to Fear you worthless undead piece of crap!"
"This is your new roomie!" the warden continued, forcing himself to smile in the hope that the Halfling would calm down, "His name is Matthew Silver."
Matt was too terrified to correct him.
While the Halfling did something partially hidden but, Matt feared, definitely obscene to the skull that wouldn't obey his commands, the warden very quickly unlocked the cell, shoved Matt in, and relocked it.
"I really am sorry," the warden told Matt again, "If one of those parties breaks out, I'll get you out of here pronto, but…" He glanced at the Halfling. "It'd be a lie to tell you anything but this: From here it can only get worse."
He left Matt alone with this thought. And the delusional, psychopathic Halfling.
It took several minutes for the Halfling to get bored with… what he was doing with the skull, but once he did, he took an immediate interest in Matt.
"You don't look like max security material," he told the boy smugly, "I guess without the Belkster out there to show 'em how it's done, the standards are dropping."
Matt could manage nothing but a deer-in-the-headlights expression. At this point he was so scared he was barely even breathing.
To his wide-eyed horror, the Halfling began to approach him, picking up a severed head that was lying on the floor by its silvery hair on the way.
"Let's get a few things straight," the murderer said, "When they bring the grub in, your plate goes to Mr. Scruffy." He began stroking the hair on the head affectionately. "Of course none of the stuff here's good enough for his carnivore tastes, but he's gotta eat eventually, and when he finally gets hungry enough, he is not going to starve on your account. Got it, wuss?"
Matt managed a nod. Living to see suppertime would be blessing enough. Glances around the room had let him count six different heads, and worryingly he'd only been able to spot four of the respective bodies…
"You really are a wuss, you know? You really shouldn't be here…" As if too distracted by this revelation to hold his concentration on other things, the Halfling dropped the head known as "Mr. Scruffy." He stared at Matt. For a long time.
"Aha!" Before Matt had time to realize anything was happening, the Halfling had him pinned to the ground and was yanking on a lock of his hair.
"Thought you could get a way with that?" the Halfling raved. The hand that wasn't gripping Matt's hair began fishing around in his grubby pockets for something. "Oh… I'll do you for that, you androgynous twit…"
"Wh-what?!" Matt sputtered. Through the haze of pain the hair-pulling was spreading through his skull, he thought that the victimized hair might be that stupid attempt at a red streak, not that that was even remotely important right now…
"Come off it, Ears," the lunatic snapped, yanking what appeared to be a sharpened spoon out of his pocket, "Your friggin' lame disguise has failed epicly." His eyes gleamed. "Then again, you always were one for epic failure, weren't ya, pal?"
"What are you talking about?" Matt asked desperately. And, what did he mean by "Ears"? His voice now laced with disgust, he added, "You think I'm an elf?"
"I said come off it," the Halfling repeated sharply. Then, to Matt's surprise, he let go of his hair and his expression softened. "I guess I should've stopped bringing it up, after you told us everything that happened, but it was just too good; you finally admitted you screwed up."
"Oh, I see," Matt snarled, "An arrogant prick of an elf. Why you--"
"It was worth it, too," the Halfling continued, now mostly ignoring Matt, "When you just kept blowing stuff up, especially when Roy was throwing hissy fits all the time because we wouldn't knock it off. But then," now his face flushed with rage, "You frickin' set me up in this dump of a town with a frickin' epic level prison!" He refocused his gaze on Matt. "And of course you had to come back and gloat," he added, his voice cold.
"Dude," said Matt, "I don't even know what you're talking about, and I'm not an elf! I hate elves!"
"Nice try, Ears," said the Halfling, "But you really should have chosen a disguise that looked like it actually belonged in max security." With a disturbing suddenness, the Halfling grinned. "Since you obviously can't break out of this cell anymore than I can… Do you know what they do to pretty, purple-haired little elf-boys like you in prison, Vaarsuvius?"
"It's Matt," Matt spat, but his face was paling.
Brandishing the lethally sharp spoon, the madman said, "Because I'm about to show you."
One of the adventuring parties did break out eventually, and the warden came to move Matt to another cell as he promised, in the nick of time, at that. Whenever Matt looked back on the whole incident (usually after waking up from a graphic nightmare) he shuddered to think what might have happened had he been left in there longer, but nonetheless wished that he could have been moved sooner.
In the weeks following his stay in prison Matt improved as a rogue very quickly. Before it'd been all about the loot but now he'd learned to focus on not getting caught. He decided he was never going to prison again and would do whatever it took to stay out of maximum security.
"Did you just have a flashback?" Lloyd asked Matt accusingly.
"Yeah," said Matt, "Got a problem with that?"
"I'm the main character and I've already hinted at a dark and interesting backstory," Lloyd said hotly, "I'm supposed to get the first flashback!"
Matt smirked. From here it could only get better.
"Nooooooo!" Matt cried upon abruptly waking, sitting straight up. Rubbing his eyes, he said gruffly but a little sheepishly, "Sorry, I know that's one of the most annoying clichés in the book, but…" He looked around him. All three of the other adventurers were still asleep. "Okay… Nevermind." Shuddering a little and trying to push the nightmare out of his thoughts, he slowly lied back down.
"Mmm… Glad you think so Lloyd… Now come here…"
"What?" Matt sat back up, looking around himself again. Everyone was still asleep. He glanced at Lloyd. Nope, definitely not doing anything to Janine. He glanced at Janine—
"Oh, Lloyd, I think I'm wounded…"
"Wounded?" Matt repeated, raising an eyebrow. He'd never heard that one before.
"You must Lay Hands on me…"
Oh. That made sense. He should've seen that one coming, really. As Janine's words dissolved into little moans that made him uncomfortable on multiple levels, he lied back again, muttering, "Who seriously talks in their sleep anyway?" and tried to go back to sleep.
"Let me show you another use for Water Drops…"
Water Drops? Matt frowned. Weren't those those little pills wizards could make out of water that released mouthfuls of water when you chewed on them?
"That's right, put it there…"
"What the…?" Matt murmured.
"Now squeeze… Ah!"
"Is she…?"
"Mmm… You know, if you're Good…" There was a little snorting sound that might have been Janine giggling, "The water tastes sweet… Oh, yes…"
"Oh, no…" Matt said with a grunt, rolling over and clutching his stomach. He did not want to hear this.
"I also know another use for—"
"Gah!" Matt cried, clapping his hands over his ears. How am I going to get back to sleep with this show playing in the background? Well, he couldn't hear her with his hands over his ears, at least. Okay. I can do this… He started taking deep breaths in an attempt to make himself fall asleep faster while keeping his hands over his ears. Though this method wasn't quite as efficient as he'd hoped for it to be, after about half an hour he felt himself drifting off. His arms relaxed has he sunk into a peaceful slumber, his hands gently falling away from his ears…
"Oh, Lloyd, I didn't know you were a sorcerer…"
"Huh…?" Matt muttered sleepily.
"There really are a lot of uses for Prestidigitation… Mmm…"
Ba-dum, ting! Matt's half-dreaming mind supplied for that one liner as he let out a moan of protest. He tried to sit up again, but realized he was already falling asleep, Janine's words weaving themselves into his dreams…
"Nooooo!" Matt cried out again, awaking while sitting bolt upright for the second time that night. Taking deep breaths to calm himself down, he looked around to find that once again he'd failed to wake up the other three adventurers. It wouldn't have been all that bad, he mused, wiping the cold sweat from his brow, if there hadn't been so much… Lloyd. After shooting a glare at the now innocently silent Janine, he lied back and was asleep within minutes.
Remus raised his head to make his best you-should-feel-guilty sad eyes at the screaming human but to no avail; the little punk didn't even glance at him. Apparently no one cares if they wake up just a dog in the middle of the night. As Matt went back to sleep, Remus put his own head back down with a self-righteous sniff, but raised it again after a few seconds.
Remus heard a sound. It sounded like an animal sound, but it wasn't a familiar sound. A weird tp-tp-tp-tp-tping was prowling in a circle around them. The dog scanned the forest as best as he could, a low growl rumbling in the back of his throat. It was hard to tell now that Radic's friend had started muttering in her sleep again, but after a few seconds it sounded like the tp-tping had stopped. This didn't make Remus feel any better. Whining a little, he nudged Radic's arm with his nose.
"Urg, Remus…" Radic groaned, batting her companion's cold nose away from her, "What is it?"
Remus whined and poked her arm with his nose again.
"Okay, okay," said Radic, sitting up and scratching him behind an ear, "What's wrong, boy?"
"Mmrr… Lloyd," Janine murmured, "You can… Desecrate my temple… Anyday…"
"Well that's nothing new," said Radic, playing with Remus' ears, "Did she wake you up?"
Remus sniffed a little and let out another whimper.
"Northern ambush… Gnnh…" Lloyd was muttering, a sheen of sweat shining on his face.
"Oh," said Radic, glancing over at him, "Poor guy… Wonder what's going on in there?"
Remus settled down with a sigh while Radic sat down near the boy with a horse, stroking his hair occasionally and whispering little sympathetic phrases. It was just his luck that when he tries to warn her about possible danger, she decides she wants to get a head start on mating with something just because it looked pitiful when it slept. Oh well, he still hadn't heard any more tp-tping, so maybe they were safe after all.
Lloyd seemed to be sleeping more peacefully now, and even though the way his face looked so smooth and elegant in the moonlight made Radic feel warm and giddy inside, at last she decided it was time she got back to sleeping too. As she drifted off next to a a sleeping Remus, oblivious to a faint tp-tp-tping sound approaching the camp from a distance, she decided that this was going to be the best campaign ever.
Stuff by Asta Kask
Lloyd looked at the other warrior. He was everything Lloyd admired in a man - self-confident, experienced, tough... yet there was a touch of sadness around him. A feeling that things weren't the way they were supposed to be.
"So, you've been adventuring with these for how long?"
"Oh, we're just starting out. We're looking for a dragon."
The other warrior nodded. He asked a few more questions, and without really knowing how it happened Lloyd suddenly realized he had told the other warrior much more than he intended. Even about Janine...
"I mean, it's like all she wants is sex. Yeah, that's important, but I want something more than that. I want a relationship, and it feels like she'll just go off in search of the next conquest five minutes after she's had me."
"Yes," said the other warrior. "I understand. But let me tell you something - I'm in a relationship with a sylph right now. She's a great girl, but being away from her for so long... you get the itch, y'know. Like this..."
The other warrior leaned over and kissed Lloyd softly on the mouth. Lloyd tensed up at first, then relaxed. He had never dreamt that being kissed by a man could be so wonderful. A whirlpool of emotions welled up inside him and drowned all thoughts of the quests, all thoughts of Janine, all thoughts...
Stuff by CWater
http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...rt/Sketch1.jpg
http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...loydcolor6.jpg
http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...adiccolor1.jpg
http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...Mattcolor2.jpg
http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...ninecolor3.jpg
http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...ndercolor2.jpg
Yes, the orange is horrible, sorry 'bout that...^^'
Hope I didn't miss any. Well, enjoy!
EDIT: Look! Banners! (Well, one now, but two more coming! )
Last edited by CoffeeIncluded; 2010-06-08 at 06:14 AM.
My webcomic!
Currently DMing:
Tales of Aequar: Runite's Rise IC
OOC Map
Playing Natalia Bolts,Jadeite Nocrius, and Soren Lowell
Closak
Where the dragons are
Re: Murphy's Law (Thread 2!)
Yay New thread new thread! *Dances*
*Gives Janine flirtatious letters signed with the Green Dragons name*
*Watches*
Last edited by Closak; 2010-04-02 at 07:28 AM.
Originally Posted by Closak
Closak, promise me one thing: You'll keep your ranting to a minimum over the next few comics, okay? Please?
*Casts Mute on self*
The next two comics. That's all. I promise. Thank you.
Zanaril
Originally Posted by CoffeeIncluded
That seems to imply that the next to comics are more than likely to provoke Closak's ranting.
This post may contain sarcasm.
Grim ranger
Originally Posted by Zanaril
Thank you for masterfully pointing out the obvious
After all, it is backstory time for Dragon
Originally Posted by Grim ranger
You don't know the half of it.
In fact, I best get started right now! After all, it's Friday!
You forgot RoyxLloyd. But it's nothing. It's just that... I thought... we were friends...
Avatar by CoffeeIncluded
Oooh, and that's a bad miss.
"Don't exercise your freedom of speech until you have exercised your freedom of thought."
― Tim Fargo
Originally Posted by Asta Kask
Whoops, sorry. I'll add it right now.
Silverraptor
A nice, sparkly place.
A new thread. One more then my comic. But it's all good.
My own webcomic. Idiosyncrasy.
Paladin Academy: Chapter 2 Part 28
*Avatar by Me*
Yay! *Sits and waits like a good little dragon*
...Or not...
I'm off to do some homework now
Homework? On Good Friday? Don't you know you're supposed to just sit and repent your sins?
Yay! New thread! *starts dancing*
Originally Posted by Silverraptor
This is true. Also, being on the internet gives -10 to my Detect sarcasm roll.
Like Zanaril masterfully pointed out, that means that the next two comics are going to be awesome!
Good boy.
Last edited by Aaron; 2010-04-02 at 10:46 AM.
Your local Cleric.
Cleric of the Murphy's Law Thread
(yes, that is possible)
"Eagles may soar, but weasels don't get sucked into jet engines."
Alright! Time for the first update of the new thread! Enjoy, and please don't forget to leave those comments and critiques!
I call Lawful Evil on those mercenaries...
That was very well done.
I don't know their alignments. Heck, if you wanted to, you could make the case that they're Good.
Wow. Thanks. If I may ask, what did you like best about it?
The last four panels in particular. They flow well, and the joke is delivered with a distinct hint of black comedy. That's hard to do right.
I don't know about that, the fact that they weren't sure that she was a dragon and the vicious banter means that he in particular is not good.
Course, this is the exact sort of thing Discord wanted to avoid so I'll leave it at that...
Good comic, though.
Left-Eye by NamonakiRei
Stick swordsman of the Kyrie fanclub!
My bro's homebrew class.
How to: Glibness
Dark Faun
Don't open this can of worms. Please.
I take it the green dragons' family name is Mybreathdoesn'thitanythingever?
Formerly known as Discord here and Maladin on avatarspirit.net.
Originally Posted by Discord
Yay! *Hugs*
Okay. Sorry. *Closes can*
...Perhaps.
It's especially amusing when you're more used to Warhammer than to Dungeons & Dragons; in Warhammer, a dragon's breath would be a template weapon - and template weapons always hit. They even deny cover saves.
Now, the ranger has an excuse: he has evasion. Lloyd's party, though...
Last edited by Dark Faun; 2010-04-02 at 12:35 PM.
But also, don't forget that this is a flashback to 50 years ago Those mercenaries were at a higher level than Lloyd and Co are at now.
Uh, did you like?
I know. This is why I said the ranger had evasion. It's Lloyd's party not being hit that surprised me.
Would I post here if I didn't?
Being threatened by dragons has an advantage compared to other threats: they always have a huge hoard, so you don't even need to have enough money to reward mercenaries; you just say "save us and keep their hoard!"
Compare the dragon Lloyd and co just fought to his mother. Their battle skills decline sharply when they get angry.
I wonder if we'll find out the mercenaries left the green dragon child alive on purpose because he was too young to be actually involved in the crime ring.
20 gp says he hid.
Good update. Weren't you going to Cornell today? Or was that last Friday?
My theory is that they left him alive because it would make him suffer more than killing him would.
Leaving him alive while his family is dead so they can laugh at his misery.
After all, it would cause less suffering if he got to join them in the afterlife.
So it's more fun to kick him around a bit and leave him alive.
Yeah, my view on those mercenaries isn't very nice...
Or theory B: What Asta Kask said, he hid and they didn't see him.
Last edited by Closak; 2010-04-02 at 01:09 PM.
Discord: We'll find out!
Asta, actually we weren't able to see colleges this weekend.
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text:
An Introduction to Greep Theory
First of all, "greep" is a word I made up. It came to me because it makes "greep theory" sound a little bit like "group theory." I definitely did not invent greep theory itself, nor any of its constituent parts. But I did scrounge it together from scratch, for my own use. I keep looking around, but so far I haven't found anybody else who is working with these ideas in these ways for these purposes. Perhaps the closest thing is partition theory. Enlightenments and elucidations in this matter are welcome.
Greeps are the home-spun rules that I use when sorting and categorizing patterns. Greeps can handle patterns of many kinds, but mostly I use them when dealing with abstract strings, often called "words."
My "greep theory" is definitely more grab-bag of techniques than it is a cogent theory.
Head Count Only
One central idea is to identify "Head-Count Only" (HCO) criteria.
Let us look at a typical situation where greep theory can be useful. Suppose are faced with the task of sifting through dozens (perhaps thousands) of similar patterns of letters. Suppose, further, that the patterns are all five letters long, and finally also that none of the patterns contain any letters except for "a," "b," "c," and "d."
We will not be looking for a single, superior system for categorizing these patterns; rather we want to figure out as many definitive, valid, and consistent schemes as we can.
What HCO rules do is to ignore everything except for the number of letters of each kind that appear. Thus, "aaaaa" and "bbbbb" are similar, and are even considered to be identical in the HCO sense.
The head-count for the letter "a" in the first pattern is five, and the head-count of the letter "b" in the second pattern is also five. Because these fives are identical, the patterns are categorized together. Thus far, we are definitely retracing in a homespun fashion the subject-matter of partition theory.
Let us look at another example. Again using a word-length of size five and an alphabet of size four, the patterns, "abccd" and "dbcad" can also seen to be equivalent by the HCO criterion. This can be made clearer by making use of some terminology from Poker. Think of "abccd" as a pair of "c's" with singles of "a," "b," and "d." A poker player would say "a pair of 'c's." "dbcad" also consists of "one pair," in this case a pair of 'd's," accompanied by singles of "a," "b," and "c." In greep theory, "abccd" and "dbcad" are seen, by HCO criteria, to belong to the same pattern type and in some useful sense to be equivalent or even identical.
One of the most basic and useful tools in my Greep Toolbox is a system for characterizing designating pattern types. The first step in this codification uses the first letters of the lower-case Roman Alphabet.
The codified version for the HCO pattern that is shared by "abccd" and "dbcad" would be "aabcd." The elements that occur the oftenest appear earliest in the alphabet. The number of "a's" is always greater than or equal to the number of "b's," and so on.
A complete codified list of possible pattern types for a word-length of five and an alphabet-length of four would then be "aaaaa," "aaaab," "aaabb," "aaabc," "aabbc," and "aabcd."
I choose to prefer HCO criteria, and I normally use other criteria only when HCO criteria fail to make unique selections.
USIT
There are many further ways of analyzing rules and patterns, and of using them. For me, the most important is a distinction between "Namit" rules and "Usit" rules. These words are again my own, and they derive from "Name it" and "Use it," respectively.
To see the distinction, let us examine the universe of words of length two over an alphabet of length three. This combination is rather wieldy. There exist only 9 possible words in this language. Here they are:
Our task is to divide these 9 two-letter combinations into categories. We will choose, somewhat arbitrarily, to divide them into three categories. With further arbitrariness, we will choose to give these three categories the very same names as the three letters in our alphabet, "a," "b," and "c."
The analyses we will perform and the rules we will develop here are not exclusively HCO. This is an occasion where it is not possible to stick to HCO criteria exclusively and come up with the rules that we choose to look for.
There are many ways to do our categorizings. But by focusing on two specific renderings, we can understand "NAMIT" and "USIT," and begin to understand how greep theory is used.
The USIT Greep for this situation is unique. It is one of my favorites. Here it is, presented in conversational form:
"Looking at the 9 two-letter patterns , one notices immediately that 3 of the 9 pairs feature the same letter twice. Why not allow each of these 3 repeated-letter patterns be represented by the very letter that appears twice in each of them?"
"Thus, aa = a, bb = b, and cc = c."
"This takes care of 3 of the nine."
"A neat way to choose for the other six is to pick the one letter from the available alphabet that hasn't already appeared. Thus, ab = c, ac = b, ba = c, bc = a, ca = b, and cb = a."
This completes the Greep. Here is the table again, this time showing the "answers" along with the "questions:"
aa=a
ba=c
ca=b
ab=c
bb=b
cb=a
ac=b
bc=a
cc=c
This table shows a greep (cogent set of rules) that is an example of "USIT."
NAMIT
To understand the "NAMIT" idea, let us tackle the same task again, with the same 9 two-letter combinations again as our raw materials:
Looking at the 9 patterns, one notices immediately that 3 of the 9 feature the same letter twice. Why not allow each of these 3 repeated-letter patterns be represented by the same letter? Just to be arbitrary, we'll choose the letter "a" to designate "sameness."
Thus, aa = a, bb = a, and cc = a.
This takes care of 3 of the nine.
For the other 6, imagine an endless cycle created by stringing out all three letters of the given alphabet over and over again: "abcabcabcabcabc..." Imagine it continuing indefinitely.
If some given two-letter pattern occurs within the endless cycle, we'll call it "b." If our two-letter pattern does not appear in the endless cycle, we'll call it "c."
Because the patterns "ab," "bc," and "ca" do appear in the cycle, each of those three patterns are designated "b." Because "ba," "cb," and "ac" do not appear in the cycle, each of them is designated "c."
Here is the complete rundown for this realization of a "NAMIT" rule:
ab=b
bb=a
cb=c
ac=c
bc=b
cc=a
Recall that the choices of "a," for "sameness," of "b" for those two-letter patterns that did fit into the cycle, and of "c" for the two-letter patterns that did not fit into the cycle�all three were abritrary choices. There are six possible combinations of "a," "b," and "c," and the three rules. Thus, while this particular "USIT" greep is unique, it can have any of six valid "NAMIT" counterparts.
So where do the words, "USIT" and "NAMIT," come in? Look at the first steps in the creation of each greep. In both cases, it was noticed that 3 of the 9 patterns feature the same letter twice. But in the "USIT" case this distinction was used to choose the very letter that had appeared twice. In the "NAMIT" case the distinction instead became a name. In our example, the letter, "a" was a name for "sameness."
There are several other tools in the greep toolbox. To understand what some of them are, we will focus next on the question of definitive selection.
It turns out that in normal HCO situations, there will be a single NAMIT greep and a variety of USIT greeps, reversing the situation encountered in the example, above. (Remember that the above example did not limit itself to HCO rules.)
Typically too, NAMIT greeps are simple and straightforward, with no ambiguities and no failures to be definitive. But in USITland, the situation is rockier. Difficulties come in making definitive choices when HCO rules do not fully force one outcome over another.
To see why this is so, let us use one further example. This time, both our alphabet length and our word length will be three. Rather than show all 27 possible three-letter combinations over the alphabet {a, b, c}, let us first create the codified chart described earlier:
The first type, here designated by "aaa," occurs three times among the 27; as "aaa," as "bbb," and as "ccc." A poker-player would say "three of a kind."
A pair is represented here by "aab." This includes over half of the 27 patterns; 18 of them in fact. The reader might find it interesting and useful to list all 27 of the three-letter patterns, and also to examine the 18 patterns that fall into this class.
The "abc" type is represented by 6 of the 27. If "a" is placed first, the either "bc" or "cb" can follow. Similarly, there are two possibilities when "b" comes first and two as well "c" occurs at the beginning.
A NAMIT greep would be one that would assign (arbitrarily) one letter to the 3 "aaa" patterns, another letter to the 18 "aab" patterns and a third letter to the 6 "abc" patterns. Thus, all "three-of-a-kind patterns might be "a," all "pair-and-singleton" patterns might be "b," and all "three-singlteons" patterns might be "c." As with the earlier example, other ways of naming the three categories could be chosen. But it turns out that such questions of naming are not as important or as basic as is another kind of ambiguity or choice.
On the USIT side, the task is not to name (as had been with NAMIT, above) but rather to use the "aaa," the "aab," and the "abc" categorizations.
The straightforward way to do this with "aaa" is of course to let "aaa" be characterized by "a," "bbb" by "b," and "ccc" by "c." Again, one could make other choices.
It is with the 18 "aab" patterns, that we see how more than one valid USIT rules might apply in some given situation.
In this particular case, one might choose to choose "a," the doubleton. (We switch from poker to bridge.)
But notice that it would be equally valid to choose the minority vote and go with the singleton, "b." In this particular situation, every "aab" will always have a singleton ("b" as we are calling it), and so it will always be possible to select the singleton definitively.
Not quite so obvious is a third choice, "c." I like to call it the "missington," although bridge players call it a "void." Here, there is a unique missington, and uniqueness makes possible a definitive choice.
Recall that at this stage of things, "a," "b," and "c," stand for other letters or objects. Recall as well that "a," is the most common letter, "b," is next, and so on.
It is with the "abc" type that ambiguity creeps in—where strictly speaking no HCO choice can be made. For with "abc" type patterns, there is one "a," one "b," and one "c." No uniqueness.
This example shows a case of multiple USIT outcome (for the case of "aab" patterns) and also a case of ambiguous USIT outcome (for the case of "abc" patterns). It also introduces the usefulness of the missington.
One of the tasks of the greep user is to figure out which combinations of alphabet length and word size promote ambiguities, and which do not. A few rough rules of thumb include the following:
When word size and alphabet length are the same or when one is a multiple of the other, ambiguities are likely.
When word size is a composite number with several factors, ambiguities are likely.
When word size and alphabet length are distinct primes, ambiguities are less likely.
When word size and alphabet length differ by one, ambiguities are less likely.
All in all, greep theory provides a useful set of tools that permit the selection of colors in virtually every situation where patterns of a certain kind are produced and colors need to be chosen.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Shri Shri Rukmini Dwarkadish or ISKCON Amravatiis located in Saraswati Colony, Rathi Nagar, Amravati and the inauguration was done by H.H Lokanath Maharaj ji. Shri Shri Rukmini Dwarakadish deities stuatues were installed on 19th November 2000 and are the one of the most beautiful deities of ISKCON temples. Whoever takes darshan from the charming and captivating Shri Shri Rukmini Dwarkadhish want to take your darshan over and over again.
The temple has a large hall which has pictures representing the pastime of Lord Krishna and the back of the temple, there are residential quarters for devotees. In addition, there is a room for lodging guests. The city of Amaravati has a special connection with Lord Krishna, as it is only 44 kilometers to the Kuandanyapur Dham, which is the place of Srimati Rukhmini mata.Il birth was Kuandanyapur Dham, Lord kidnapped Srimati Rukmini kills 5000 years ago and had taken in Amravati in the old temple of Ambadevi.
The birthday anniversary of Srimati Rukhmini Mata is widely celebrated and devotees through Maharashtra come from a good opportunity and drown in love with Lord Krishna.


text:
Q: Database Backup Scenario
i want to take backup from 7 client database to 1 server database.
i dont know structure of the db { either server or client db }.
both databases are having old data. now i have to make the tool take the backup for that.
and should possible to backup old data also[if any updates done on old data.]
please help to find the solution for this.
1. how can i proceed with the problem.
2. database not specified, may be MS access or Sql server 2005
3. In which i can implement this [ I am thinking of doing it in c#]
please help me to find the solution

A: I'm not sure why you would want to go about it this way - if you are merely trying to copy the client databases (which I interpret as being "file based") then why not simply take copies of their files as part of the wider backup strategy?
If you to write the backup stuff to place all the data in a server based RDBMS, then you are also going to have to think about how you restore that information later on - which presumably means even more coding for you.
So - I don't think this is a good idea, but if you are determined, I would start off by writing a class (which will be almost abstract) dedicated to the purpose of reading the structure of the client database (tables, fields, views etc). I'd then inherit from that to get a specific class for doing this for each individual type of client DB. Once you have that, you can use ADO.Net to read values from the tables in the Client DB, populate datatables with the information, and then write that information back out to the Server based DB.
I really can't stress enough though that I don't like this idea - it seems overly complicated, and also won't deal with functions etc.
Good luck anyway,
Martin

A: Advisability of doing this aside, one simple answer for a particular subset of the problem would be to create a DSN for a target SQL Server (or any server database) and in Access export table by table to the DSN. You can do this through the Access UI and it can be automated within Access with DoCmd.TransferDatabase. It can be a little fiddly figuring out the proper connect string, and you'd also need to do something about renaming the exported tables so there are no collisions between databases, but that can be handled quite easily in a bit of VBA code.
I post this only because many people overlook the Access capability to export to an ODBC DSN, which requires no writing of DDL and so forth. It may or may not make correct choices about target data types, though, so you'd have to see in any particular situation if it's good enough or not.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


Join us Monday, Feb. 11, 4:00 pm-5:30 pm at the City Hall Council Chambers for a Community Information/Engagement Meeting on the U.S. EPA Brownfield Community-wide Brownfield Assessment Project!
contamination on properties in and around Downtown Perry.
Assessing and cleaning up vacant blighted properties.


Hannah (a) is one of 1,740 characters who have only appeared in one episode. Not much information may be available about him or her.
Hannah (a) is voiced by Hannah Butcher, has appeared in 1 episode, and has received an average user rating of 90%.
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text:
Take what you need, leave what you can: The story of a Calgary community fridge
Mutual aid projects pop up as COVID-19 widens the wealth gap
Aviva Daya Fialkow, Office of Sustainability
The Calgary Community Fridge organizers with the fridge. James Hill, fridge organizer
Community fridges have popped up across Canada and the U.S. in a flurry this past summer. These DIY initiatives are mutual aid projects, where people take responsibility in caring for one another by a redistribution of wealth and resources.
Fridges are accessible 24/7 and housed outdoors, where users can take what they need, and leave what they can, no questions asked. Spaces are then meant to be restocked by anyone, anytime — neighbours, grocers, restaurants, businesses, families and friends across the city can donate food to stock the fridge in the same fashion.
Located at 902 Centre Street North, the Calgary Community Fridge has seen substantial use since it launched on Aug. 17, demonstrating a clear demand for the resource.
A UCalgary community member, along with several friends, was inspired by the vibrantly painted and freshly stocked fridges in cities like Toronto and Chicago, where they saw a level of community care and food access so decidedly addressed. After an initial meeting in late July, the fridge opened to the public three weeks later, thanks to an outpouring of volunteer labour and donations.
Photo above: Community fridge organizers, from left: Sasha Lavoie, Jennifer Jetté, Megan Kirk, Alice Lam. Photo by team member James Hill
"Volunteering at the Distress Centre, working in mental health communications, seeing wealth disparities increase during COVID-19, and how adversely that impacts someone's well-being were real motivating factors for me in getting this project off the ground," says Sasha Lavoie, communications co-ordinator, Campus Mental Health Strategy, and Calgary Community Fridge co-founder.
Being able to obtain sustaining, nourishing food shouldn't be a privilege. The idea of fresh produce sitting in a fridge, available to anyone at any time seemed like good temporary solution we could make happen.
The fridge has been running for close to two months now and has seen a bustle of activity. "Use of the Calgary Community Fridge has kind of been overwhelming," says Lavoie. "We hosted a food drive in late September, and we've pretty much used every last item donated. That being said, we're overblown in the best way by the support and feedback we've received from donors and fridge users.
"I was shocked by how many people donating to us mentioned that they themselves have faced food insecurities growing up and now are in a place where they want to give back."
With cold weather approaching, the Community Fridge team is developing solutions to winterize the fridge. Ensuring that pantry items are protected from the elements and that the fridge maintains proper temperature all winter long are top priorities. In addition, to ensure COVID-19 safety regulations are met, a regular rotation of volunteers cleans and checks the fridge. Food donation guidelines in compliance with Alberta Health Services bylaws are posted outside the fridge and online.
Support the Calgary Community Fridge
Interested in contributing to the Calgary Community Fridge? Here's what you can do:
Donate to the GoFundMe campaign.
Bring food to the fridge to donate.
Share the fundraiser, Instagram page or fridge information with your network.
The Calgary Community Fridge supports United Nations Sustainable Development Goals 1, 2, 3 and 10.
Learn more about UCalgary's Mental Health Strategy.
The University of Calgary's Institutional Sustainability Strategy provides a roadmap for continuous improvement in our pursuit of excellence and leadership in sustainability. We aim to be a Canadian post-secondary education leader in sustainability in our academic and engagement programs, administrative and operational practices and through supporting community and industry in their aims for leadership in sustainability. Learn more about UCalgary's leadership in sustainability.
Annual UCalgary wellness event expands offerings in an online environment
Tips on managing stress and anxiety during transitional times in the pandemic
Educators: Start your semester off with the mental health tools you need
New Swann Mall landscape replicates Alberta grasslands of the 1900s
Changes coming to deskside trash and recycling program at main campus, Spyhill and Foothills
Mental Health Strategy
caring campus


text:
FBI: Most Wanted Season 3 is here with its fifth episode and things are really getting heated up.
With episode 15 wrapping up, the fans are curious to know what happens next. Swipe Up To Read More
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text:
Freedom to Move: Living Among the Greater Yellowstone Migrations
A Rare Look at an Incredible Animal Migration
ByJoe Riis
I love to think about the ever-evolving mixture of science, adventure, and conservation in the West. Old-school science is being combined with current-day media to reach the people that care—and who didn't care. That's my gig. I'm trained in wildlife biology and not in photography, but work as a photographer to tell wildlife and science stories. Over the years, I've worked with Nat Geo on stories in different places, such as frogs in the Tepui Mountains of South America, pumas in the High Andes, and Gobi bears in the Mongolian desert. But my primarily focus is with ungulate (hooved animals such as pronghorn or elk) migrations in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem. Most of the past seven years of my life has been spent living in the woods of western Wyoming.
Pronghorns crossing a river on their migration in Wyoming; Photograph by Joe Riis
Yellowstone National Park (YNP) is 2.2million acres, our first national park, and a real gem. Furthermore, the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem (GYE) is a dozen times that size—some 27 million acres of land and air. In a lot of ways, it's the far-reaching winter ranges of migratory ungulates that define the outer edges of the GYE. The wildness of the core of YNP is dependent on the far-reaching ranch lands—it's all one system and the migrations are the lifeblood.
Mule Deer Migration Project, Western Wyoming, Red Desert to Hoback (RD2H) Migration 2012-2014; Photograph by Joe Riis
Each summer, thousands of elk, deer, and pronghorn move from the edges into the core of the system to feed and give birth. They also feed the predators like bears, wolves, and mountain lions. The cycle continues. And this migration cycle is what I try to show in photographs.
The pronghorn migration; Photograph by Joe Riis
From a storytelling perspective, there are three primary migrations that I've focused on: the Path of the Pronghorn migration from Grand Teton National Park to southwest Wyoming; the mule deer migration from the Red Desert to Hoback; and the Cody elk migration on the Absaroka front. Thousands of animals on the move.
The Adventurists blog series "Freedom to Move" is sponsored by Toyota TRD Pro, which provided a vehicle for this adventure.


text:
Logic Manufacturers
Semiconductor Equipment Manufacturers
Bioprocessors
Specialty Materials
Substrate Handling
Field Support Services
FOUP Services
Refurbishment Services
Regeneration Services
Bare Die/CSP Trays
Chemistries
Gas Filtration and Purification
Hard Disk Component Handling
Liquid Filtration and Purification
Mask and Reticle Handling
Other Substrate Handling
Wafer Handling
Legal/Trademark Notices
Entegris Blog
Legal & Trademark Notices
Site - Investor Relations
Executives and Board of Directors
Entegris to Acquire CMC Materials to Create a Leader in Electronic Materials
Site - IR Quick Links
Dec 15, 2021 at 7:00 AM EST
Adds Leading CMP Products and Technology to Entegris' World-Class Solutions Set, Creating a Comprehensive Electronic Materials Platform
Highly Complementary Combined Portfolio Expands Served Markets and Content per Wafer Opportunity
Opportunity to Unlock Growth and Profitability through Enhanced Innovation, Scale, Execution and Revenue Synergies
Expected to be Significantly Accretive to Non-GAAP EPS in Year 1; Generates $75 Million in Run-Rate Cost Synergies and $40 Million of CapEx Synergies within 12-18 Months from Closing
Entegris and CMC Materials to Host Conference Call Today at 8:00 a.m. EST
BILLERICA, Mass. & AURORA, Ill.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec. 15, 2021-- Entegris, Inc. (NASDAQ: ENTG) and CMC Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ: CCMP) today announced a definitive merger agreement under which Entegris will acquire CMC Materials in a cash and stock transaction with an enterprise value of approximately $6.5 billion.
Under the terms of the agreement, CMC Materials shareholders will receive $133.00 in cash and 0.4506 shares of Entegris common stock for each share of CMC Materials common stock they own. The total per share consideration represents a 35% premium over CMC Materials' closing price on December 14, 2021, and a 38% premium to the 10-day volume weighted average share price. Upon completion of the transaction, Entegris shareholders will own approximately 91% of the combined company and CMC Materials shareholders will own approximately 9%.
CMC Materials is a leading supplier of advanced materials primarily for the semiconductor industry. The addition of CMC Materials' leading CMP portfolio will broaden Entegris' solutions set, creating a comprehensive electronic materials offering. The complementary nature of the companies' technology platforms will enable Entegris to bring to market a broader array of innovative and high-value solutions, at a faster pace. These enhanced materials and process solutions for the most advanced manufacturing environments will help customers improve productivity, performance and total cost of ownership.
Bertrand Loy, President and Chief Executive Officer of Entegris, said, "Acquiring CMC Materials will further differentiate our unit-driven platform and advance our ability to provide a broad range of process solutions for our customers, at a faster time-to-solution. The highly complementary combined portfolio creates the industry's most comprehensive and innovative end-to-end electronic materials offering, as well as significantly expands our growing served market and content per wafer opportunity. In addition, we believe the acquisition will allow us to unlock significant growth through enhanced innovation, scale and execution. We also expect to utilize our significant cash flows to rapidly reduce leverage. We are confident that as a combined organization, we will be poised to deliver significant value for our customers, colleagues and shareholders."
"We are excited to be joining forces with Entegris. The combination provides immediate and substantial value to CMC Materials shareholders and provides meaningful participation in the long-term growth opportunities created by the transaction," said David Li, President and Chief Executive Officer of CMC Materials. "CMC Materials and Entegris share highly complementary businesses and capabilities grounded in world-class innovation and customer collaboration. As part of Entegris' leading platform, we will maintain our strong focus on technology innovation and customer partnerships and provide expanded opportunities for our employees. We look forward to what the combined company can accomplish."
Compelling Strategic and Financial Benefits
Highly Complementary Combined CMP Portfolio Significantly Expands Served Markets and Provides Customers with Comprehensive and Innovative Offering: Entegris will offer a compelling value proposition to customers in the industry through a broader portfolio of solutions and enhanced operating capabilities, in the fab environment and across the supply chain. The addition of CMC Materials' leading CMP slurries and pads will provide Entegris with a full end-to-end suite of CMP solutions, also including liquid filters (POU and bulk), post-CMP cleaning chemistries and brushes, CMP pad conditioners, particle monitors and chemical packaging products, enabling shorter development times for these solutions. The expanded portfolio will increase Entegris' growing served markets in semiconductor applications to approximately $12 billion as well as its content per wafer opportunity, and it will increase Entegris' unit-driven revenue from 70% to approximately 80%.
Accelerates Innovation Capabilities through Greater R&D Scale and Expanded IP Portfolio: As customers transition to more complex device architectures, there will be increased demand for higher-quality, higher-performing technologies, delivered to market faster. Entegris will have greater capability to innovate and meet evolving customer demand through the deployment of proven, industry-leading commercial, operational and R&D capabilities. In addition, Entegris' deep expertise in purification, contamination control and advanced materials will enhance CMC Materials' long-term technology advancement.
Meaningful Revenue Growth and EPS Accretion: The transaction is expected to be significantly accretive to non-GAAP EPS within the first year post-closing. Entegris expects to realize $75 million in run-rate cost synergies and $40 million in CapEx synergies within 12 to 18 months from the closing of the transaction. In addition, Entegris expects to drive meaningful revenue synergies through co-optimized solutions, cross-selling opportunities and stronger customer response and collaboration.
Strong Cash Flow Generation Enables Investments in Growth and Disciplined Deleveraging: Entegris is targeting pro forma adjusted gross leverage of approximately 4.0x at closing. With approximately $1.1 billion in adjusted EBITDA on a pro forma LTM basis including synergies, Entegris will be well positioned to rapidly reduce its leverage to less than 3.0x, while investing in growth opportunities and continuing its dividend policy for the benefit of Entegris and CMC Materials shareholders. Entegris plans to suspend share repurchases until further notice.
Additional Terms, Financing and Approvals
The transaction is to be financed with a combination of equity issued to CMC Materials, new debt and cash on hand. Entegris has obtained fully committed debt financing from Morgan Stanley Senior Funding, Inc.
The transaction is not subject to a financing condition.
The transaction is expected to close in the second half of 2022, subject to the satisfaction of customary closing conditions, including regulatory approvals and approval by CMC Materials shareholders.
Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC is serving as exclusive financial advisor and Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP is serving as legal counsel to Entegris. Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC is serving as financial advisor to CMC Materials, and Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz is serving as legal counsel.
Conference Call and Webcast
Entegris and CMC Materials will host a conference call and online webcast today, December 15, 2021, at 8:00 a.m. Eastern Time to discuss the transaction. The conference call can be assessed by dialing toll-free (877) 270-2148 or (412) 902-6510 for international callers requesting the Entegris and CMC Materials call. A live webcast of the conference call will be available on the investor relations section of each company's website at Entegris investor.entegris.com and CMC Materials cmcmaterials.com/investors as well as the transaction website at www.EntegrisCMCTransaction.com.
A replay of the call will be available from December 15, 2021 to December 29, 2021 by dialing (877) 344-7529 (U.S.), (855) 669-9658 (Canada) or (412) 317-0088 (International) and using the passcode 9724655. A replay of the webcast can be accessed via each company's IR website.
Presentation and Infographic
Associated presentation materials and an infographic regarding the transaction will be available on the investor relations site of each company's website at investor.entegris.com and cmcmaterials.com/investors as well as a transaction website at www.EntegrisCMCTransaction.com.
About Entegris
Entegris is a world-class supplier of advanced materials and process solutions for the semiconductor and other high-technology industries. Entegris has approximately 6,600 employees throughout its global operations and is ISO 9001 certified. It has manufacturing, customer service, and/or research facilities in the United States, Canada, China, France, Germany, Israel, Japan, Malaysia, Singapore, South Korea, and Taiwan. Additional information may be found at www.entegris.com.
About CMC Materials
CMC Materials, Inc., headquartered in Aurora, Illinois, is a leading global supplier of consumable materials primarily to semiconductor manufacturers. The company's products play an important role in the production of advanced semiconductor devices, helping to enable the manufacture of smaller, faster and more complex devices by its customers. CMC Materials is also a leading provider of performance materials to pipeline operators. The company's mission is to create value by delivering high-performing and innovative solutions that solve its customers' challenges. The company has approximately 2,200 employees globally.
Additional Information about the Merger and Where to Find It
This communication does not constitute an offer to buy or sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy or sell any securities or a solicitation of any vote or approval. This communication relates to a proposed business combination between Entegris, Inc. ("Entegris") and CMC Materials, Inc. ("CMC"). In connection with the proposed transaction, Entegris intends to file with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC") a registration statement on Form S-4 (the "Registration Statement") that will include a proxy statement of CMC and that also constitutes a prospectus of Entegris. Each of Entegris and CMC may also file other relevant documents with the SEC regarding the proposed transaction. This document is not a substitute for the proxy statement/prospectus or Registration Statement or any other document that Entegris or CMC may file with the SEC. Any definitive proxy statement/prospectus (if and when available) will be mailed to stockholders of CMC. INVESTORS AND SECURITY HOLDERS ARE URGED TO READ THE REGISTRATION STATEMENT, PROXY STATEMENT/PROSPECTUS AND OTHER DOCUMENTS THAT MAY BE FILED WITH THE SEC, AS WELL AS ANY AMENDMENTS OR SUPPLEMENTS TO THESE DOCUMENTS, CAREFULLY AND IN THEIR ENTIRETY IF AND WHEN THEY BECOME AVAILABLE BECAUSE THEY WILL CONTAIN IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT THE PROPOSED TRANSACTION. Investors and security holders will be able to obtain free copies of these documents (if and when available) and other documents containing important information about Entegris and CMC, once such documents are filed with the SEC through the website maintained by the SEC at http://www.sec.gov. Copies of the documents filed with the SEC by Entegris will be available free of charge on Entegris' website at http://Entegris.com or by contacting Entegris' Investor Relations Department by email at irelations@Entegris.com or by phone at +1 978-436-6500. Copies of the documents filed with the SEC by CMC will be available free of charge on CMC's website at www.CMCmaterials.com/investors or by contacting CMC's Investor Relations Department by email at investors@CMCmaterials.com by phone at +1 630-499-2600.
Entegris, CMC and certain of their respective directors and executive officers may be deemed to be participants in the solicitation of proxies in respect of the proposed transaction. Information about the directors and executive officers of Entegris is set forth in Entegris' proxy statement for its 2021 annual meeting of stockholders, which was filed with the SEC on March 17, 2021, and Entegris' Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2020, which was filed with the SEC on February 5, 2021. Information about the directors and executive officers of CMC is set forth in its proxy statement for its 2021 annual meeting of stockholders, which was filed with the SEC on January 19, 2021, and CMC's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2021, which was filed with the SEC on November 12, 2021. Other information regarding the participants in the proxy solicitations and a description of their direct and indirect interests, by security holdings or otherwise, will be contained in the definitive proxy statement/prospectus included in the Registration Statement, and other relevant materials to be filed with the SEC regarding the proposed transaction when such materials become available. Investors should read the Registration Statement and the proxy statement/prospectus carefully when these become available before making any voting or investment decisions. You may obtain free copies of these documents from Entegris or CMC using the sources indicated above.
Cautionary Note on Forward Looking Statements
This communication contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 that are subject to risks and uncertainties and are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1993, as amended and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. The words "believe" "continue," "could," "expect," "anticipate," "intends," "estimate," "forecast," "project," "should," "may," "will," "would" or the negative thereof and similar expressions are intended to identify such forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements, including statements relating to anticipated results of operations, business strategies of Entegris, CMC and the combined company, anticipated benefits of the proposed transaction, the anticipated impact of the proposed transaction on Entegris' and CMC's business and future financial and operating results, the expected amount and timing of synergies from the proposed transaction, the anticipated closing date for the proposed transaction and other aspects of CMC's and Entegris' operations or operating results, are only predictions and involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond Entegris' and CMC's control, and could cause actual results to differ materially from those indicated in such forward-looking statements. These factors and risks include, but are not limited to, (i) weakening of global and/or regional economic conditions, generally or specifically in the semiconductor industry, which could decrease the demand for Entegris' and CMC's products and solutions; (ii) the parties' ability to meet rapid demand shifts; (iii) the parties' ability to continue technological innovation and introduce new products to meet customers' rapidly changing requirements; (iv) Entegris' and CMC's ability to protect and enforce intellectual property rights; (v) operational, political and legal risks of Entegris' and CMC's international operations; (vi) the increasing complexity of certain manufacturing processes; (vii) raw material shortages, supply and labor constraints and price increases; (viii) changes in government regulations of the countries in which Entegris and CMC operate; (ix) the fluctuation of currency exchange rates; (x) fluctuations in the market price of Entegris' stock; (xi) the level of, and obligations associated with, Entegris' and CMC's indebtedness; (xii) the impact of public health crises, such as pandemics (including coronavirus (COVID-19)) and epidemics and any related company or government policies and actions to protect the health and safety of individuals or government policies or actions to maintain the functioning of national or global economies and markets; and (xiii) other risk factors and additional information. In addition, risks that could cause actual results to differ from forward-looking statements include: the inherent uncertainty associated with financial or other projections; the prompt and effective integration of Entegris' businesses and the ability to achieve the anticipated synergies and value-creation contemplated by the proposed transaction; the risk associated with CMC's ability to obtain the approval of the proposed transaction by its stockholders required to consummate the proposed transaction and the timing of the closing of the proposed transaction, including the risk that the conditions to the transaction are not satisfied on a timely basis or at all and the failure of the transaction to close for any other reason; the risk that a regulatory consent or authorization that may be required for the proposed transaction is not obtained or is obtained subject to conditions that are not anticipated; unanticipated difficulties or expenditures relating to the transaction, the outcome of any legal proceedings related to the merger, the response of business partners and retention as a result of the announcement and pendency of the transaction; and the diversion of management time on transaction-related issues. These risks, as well as other risks related to the proposed transaction, will be included in the registration statement on Form S-4 and proxy statement/prospectus that will be filed with the SEC in connection with the proposed transaction. While the list of factors presented here is, and the list of factors to be presented in the registration statement on Form S-4 and proxy statement/prospectus are, considered representative, no such list should be considered to be a complete statement of all potential risks and uncertainties. For a more detailed discussion of such risks and other factors, see Entegris' and CMC's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including under the heading "Risks Factors" in Item 1A of Entegris' Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2020, which was filed with the SEC on February 5, 2021, and CMC's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2021, which was filed with the SEC on November 12, 2021 and in other periodic filings, available on the SEC website or www.Entegris.com or www.cmcmaterials.com. Entegris and CMC assume no obligation to update any forward-looking statements or information, which speak as of their respective dates, to reflect events or circumstances after the date of this communication, or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events, except as may be required under applicable securities laws. Investors should not assume that any lack of update to a previously issued "forward-looking statement" constitutes a reaffirmation of that statement.
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bill.seymour@entegris.com
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Vice President, Communications and Marketing
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Here are the sheep who give me their fleeces.
Deciding to mix Bluefaced Leicester with Shetland results in a beautiful yarn which is a sheer delight to work and design with.
Using natural dyes from plants, I dyed some skeins at home.
Here they are, blowing dry in the winds of the North Pennines where I live.
Using even more colours, this top was created.
After all the many years I have been knitting all I can say is there is something added to the whole experience when you know exactly where your yarn came from.


 Acelyne - Meaning of Acelyne, What does Acelyne mean?
[ syll. a-ce-ly-ne, ac-el-yne ] The baby boy name Acelyne is of French origin. Acelyne is a variant form of the English Acelin.
Acelyne is uncommon as a baby name for boys. It is not in the top 1000 names.
Baby names that sound like Acelyne include Acelyn, Alaen, Alane, Aleem (Arabic), Allaen, Allain (English and French), Allayne, Allin (English and Scottish), Alonn, Ashlan, Ashlin (English), Ashlinn, Ashlone, Ashlyn, Ashlynn, Aslam (Arabic), Aslan (English and Turkish), Ulane, Ulann, and Acalan.


text:
Last modified 1899 days ago (May 7, 2014)
Theft might be related to string in Chase County
By OLIVIA HASELWOOD
Eileen and Skip Sieger are being more watchful after thieves broke into a shed less than 60 feet from their house in rural Marion last week.
They were enjoying an evening at home when the break-in happened sometime after 8:30 p.m. Eileen said they never heard anything.
"We have lived in this house since 1978 and have never had anything close to this happen," Eileen said.
The next morning Skip discovered the truck, parked unlocked in the shed, had been ransacked sometime during the night.
"When Skip went into our large metal shed, which sits directly west of our house, he noticed the tool box lid was left open on the truck bed," Eileen said. "Then he opened the truck door and saw that someone had opened the console lid and tipped it back and the contents were scattered all around the truck."
The thieves mostly took small easy to carry hand items like hand tools and sockets.
In order to break into the shed the thieves had to walk right past the house, right under a security light.
"They would have had to have gone into the shed by the small storm door on the east side facing the house," she said.
The break-in at the Siegers' follows the same pattern as several break-ins in Chase County. They live less than a mile from the county line. Sheriff Robert Craft believes the two could be connected.
"It's likely," he said. "There has been several like incidents in Chase County in recent weeks, but we can't say for sure it's the same people."
Chase County Sheriff Richard Dorneker said six similar incidents are being investigated, but this is the first incident of this kind in Marion County.
"It seems random suspects take mostly food or other small items," Dorneker said. "Sometimes they break into locked sheds by cutting locks, sometimes they just walk right into an open unsecured shed."
Dorneker said he has three officers working on the case and they have a few tips they're investigating.
He is telling residents to lock and secure their outbuildings and also add motion lights or other night lighting to buildings.
Craft has been in contact with Chase County Sheriff's Department to find the perpetrators.
The whole incident left the Siegers feeling violated and Craft confused. The thieves passed up on several more valuable items like a new lawn trimmer, instead taking less valuable items often located in a short distance away. Luckily, there was no money left in the truck.
"What they took didn't make a lot of sense," Craft said.
This is not a trend around the county he said.
"Lately we've seen a slight increase in steel and scrap iron thefts," he said. "People have been gathering up scrap from abandoned farms to sell for cash, but this is the first incident like this in the county.
Just in case, he is asking rural residents to be aware and observant.
Since the incident, Sieger has been locking up outbuildings, vehicles, and their house and plans to enact more safety precautions.
"Everyone I have told has decided to be more careful, which is good," Eileen said.


I'm no expert but I think your first drawing is problematic because you want your ground on the 1 or 3 lug not the 2 lug. the way drawn it's going to send your entire signal to ground, or it will send the b coil to ground.
You also want the ground hitting the b coil and NOT the live signal... so I would put ground on lug 1, b coil on lug 2, and connection to vm on lug 3. hope that helps and note that there is no implied warranty or liklihood of my answer being remotely correct!
Vb allows the bordoni coil to be variably shunted away to ground, leaving the cantini signal unaffected. Vm then behaves as a master volume affecting both signals overall. The mute switch will operate better if it shorts the signal to ground, rather than disconnecting the signal from the output as you had it drawn.
just to be clear, since i'm newbie at this, the "arrow" is the center pin, right?
any advise about the pot values?
and: the humbucker tone is a little "darker" than the natural tone of the dulcimer and i saw somewhere that the usual tone pot design (250k pot and .022 or .015 cap) cuts high frequecies. is it possible to cut the low frequencies instead?
so, a little problem here: vb pot affects both b and c volumes.
between vb and vb there are two other pots (high and low tones controls), then vm, the switch and the jack.
all works fine, but while the vm volume works as expected the vb acts weird: full down (so to speak) it's almost ball, then suddendly is something like 50/50, then at full up is almost all c.
maybe a diode between vb out and c can help?
You may be asking too much from a single pickup. What's likely happening is that the B coil is also sensing C strings and vice versa. Perfect separation of each signal from one humbucker turned 90 degrees is impossible as the two coils and groups of strings are simply too close to each other.
The other thing that may be affecting your expected behaviour is the noise-cancelling nature of the humbucker itself. Perhaps the way you have the humbucker wired you're adding the C strings in-phase and B strings out-of-phase, so that when Vb is fully up you're mixing the two signals to subtract rather than add. Try swapping the connections on the B coil of the humbucker and see if that improves things.
The 'correct' way to make this work would be to use a piezo under-saddle pickup with one element per string, each piezo element then being mixed to produce the two groups of B and C string outputs for you to control as you need. But that also increases the cost and circuit complexity by a significant amount.
regarding the under-saddle piezo, i thought somethink like what you said: cut the saddle and (somehow) put one piezo under the melody half-saddle and another under the drones, but the luthier that helped me in those "upgrades" told me that one can't cut an under-saddle piezo to a desired lenght... is that true?
So. The "project" is done (for now). Thanks to curtisa i inverted the humbucker output wiring and now It works, the output goes in a balance pot, then to ptb pots and to a volume pot. I added a second jack out so i can have a "monitor" line and a "out" line with a mute switch.


text:
The Wreckage of Occupation and War
A letter from Jerusalem the Magnificent--and Hares the Suffering.
Excerpted with permission from The Shalom Center website.
I am writing from Jerusalem, from a window with a magnificent view above the Old City--both the huge gray stones of the Western Wall and the golden Dome of the Rock.
But just a few days ago, I was visiting two Palestinian villages, sunk in poverty and sorrow.
My wife, Phyllis Berman, and I had asked Rabbi Arik Ascherman, the executive director of Rabbis for Human Rights, to shepherd us in meeting with Palestinians on the West Bank. (RHR is the only organization of Israeli rabbis that includes Orthodox, Reform, Conservative, and Reconstructionist rabbis. It has had a working relationship with Palestinians for eight years, and is one of the few Israeli groups that has been able to keep these relationships going through the last four months of violence.)
He took us to two towns: Hares, a village of 3,000 which lives almost surrounded by Israeli settlements, and Solfit, a larger town. Both places suffered sieges during the last several months.
By "sieges" I mean real sieges, not feeling besieged or even being occasionally shot at. That is, all roads closed by the Israeli army and settlers--in Hares, for two straight months. Sick people prevented from going to hospital. Students prevented from continuing their college education in other Palestinian cities. Schoolteachers from other Palestinian cities prevented from coming to teach. Purchases of food from outside prevented.
Fifteen hundred olive trees uprooted or cut down by the army and settlers.
These olive trees are not decorative. They are the life-support of the village. Some of the trees were hundreds of years old, having produced for this village oil and olives for all that time. Each one of them, as a villager explained, paid the cost of year after year of schooling for a child. Or the cost of a room built for a growing child. Or a dowry for a girl about to be married.
In short, these trees are the family bank accounts. They are also beloved members of the family. Many are now gone.
The Israelis came in the night to cut down the trees while the villagers were asleep. Afterwards, the army said Palestinians were using the trees to throw rocks onto the road which had been built to service the Israeli settlements nearby.
Ascherman said this was probably accurate, in regard to some of the trees. But some, cut by settlers, were so distant from the road that no stones could be thrown or shots aimed from them. The cut-down trees will be affecting not just stone-throwers now but the whole village for decades to come. And the roads are there in the first place purely for the convenience and safety of the settlers.
This village has been under Israeli occupation for 33 years. Its people have paid taxes all that time. But they said never once had the Israelis paved their streets, brought in new electric lines, or built new sewers. The visible evidence bore them out.
Across the roads, within two kilometers, were spanking new "suburbs" with advanced electric wiring, water pipes (drawing on water under the Palestinian land), and some with swimming pools. (The Palestinian village runs out of cooking water every summer, when there is no rain to collect. The settlers' swimming pools are full.)
In the second town, Solfit, we had to approach in a roundabout way because the regular road was closed the day before--adding about 30 minutes to the trip.
We met a young father who had his leg blown off by an Israeli missile that hit his private house one night when the Israelis were firing at Fatah offices in every West Bank city and town. He was asleep in his bedroom. His house is more than a kilometer from the Fatah office.
That he was not lying was manifest to Ascherman, who came the next day and saw the blackened bedroom and shreds of flesh stuck to the walls. The Palestinian father spent months in Saudi Arabia having his wounds treated and serious internal-organ damage partly repaired. He grimaced in embarrassment but showed us the scars across his belly.
He had been a computer worker for the settlement nearby. Many of the villagers had been independent farmers until the Israeli settlements were carved out of their farms and they were forced to get jobs in the settlements. They said the relationship is one of master and slave, not free workers.
Israeli-owned factories are located on nearby hills. These factories were denied licenses inside Israel because they were likely to pollute the soil and rivers. Here they were not blocked by the Israeli authorities. They pour polluted water from the factories, filled with noxious chemicals, into the streams nearby. The villagers say the cancer rate has risen.
The Israeli authorities have offered no apology, let alone recompense, to this father for the maiming of his body or the loss of his income or the traumatizing of his children on the night an Israeli missile was fired into his house.
Rabbis for Human Rights did raise money to help to pay for part of his medical treatment, and also money to replace a few of the olive trees.
During our visit, we heard many Israelis use the word "atrocities" when referring to attacks on Israelis by Palestinians. They are quite right--there have certainly been such atrocities. Three Israelis were killed during the very week of our visit.
But we heard few Israelis speak of the atrocities--almost 10 times as many deaths, about 200 times as many serious, permanently disabling injuries--inflicted by Israeli soldiers and settlers upon Palestinians during the last four months.
It might be an important spiritual discipline for people from both sides who talk of atrocities to be sure to describe in every such occasion the atrocities visited by each people upon the other.
Not, God forbid, to spark some "competition" in regard to counting atrocities, but to remind ourselves that both peoples are made up of human beings, both are suffering, and that indeed one of the peoples is suffering even worse than the other.
The Torah commands: "Justice, justice shall you pursue." The only workable approach I can imagine to apply this principle is to give the Israeli settlers an honorable and compassionate choice: Move back to Israel, or become citizens of a new Palestinian state, living under Palestinian law, just as Israeli citizens of Palestinian culture live under Israeli law without any special protection by the army of any Arab state.
This would have the added benefit of returning the Israeli Army to its core task of defending Israel. (Army officials just this week complained that occupation duty is depriving them of training time for possible defense of the country against military attack.)
It would also have the benefit of making almost all Israeli settlers and soldiers unavailable for becoming objects of the kinds of atrocious attacks that have been committed against some of them by some Palestinian attackers. (Almost all the Israeli deaths of the last three months have been in the occupied territories, not by terrorist attacks inside Israel.)
If as a rabbi I were to apply the rule of Deuteronomy 20:19--"Even if you are at war with a city, do not cut down its trees"--well, what indeed would I do?
And where might I decide to plant trees on Tu B'Shevat, the festival of the renewal of the Tree of Life that comes in deep winter?
Ascherman told us that in these months, fewer than 50 Israeli Jews and hardly any Diaspora Jews had made such visits to towns that are or have been under siege. Partly this was because the Palestinians have said they are fed up with useless "dialogue" and visits that serve only to "normalize" this state of affairs and to make the Israeli or overseas Jews feel they have been nice. So one Palestinian response has been to meet only with Israelis who are taking serious action to protect human rights or to end the occupation.
But partly, Ascherman said, the absence of Jews is because very few Israeli or American Jews are willing to confront their own pictures of reality by visiting these villages or meeting such Palestinians as human beings.
The Talmud teaches: On three things the world stands: truth, justice, and peace. But one of the rabbis responded: All these are one. For where truth is visible, justice is done, and peace is achieved.
Only if both peoples will open their eyes to see the truth of each other can justice be done and peace achieved.


Yesterday, Microsoft has announced the availability of a new SharePoint CSOM package version for Office 365. You can find the latest CSOM package for the cloud from the NuGet gallery with an id of 'Microsoft.SharePointOnline.CSOM'.
Here are the key changes in the released assemblies. Main changes are related on level up with the on-premises CSOM which has been gradually updated during previous CUs.
Office 365 MVP for another Year!
I'm super excited to announce that my MVP status has been renewed for another year making me one of the few worldwide to maintain the status for 6 years in a row (4 for SharePoint Server & 2 for Office 365).
The amazing thing about the MVP program, is it's an award, not a credential. It's always great being associated with such a smart and influential community, it's something that I appreciate a great deal.
Last but not least, I would like to thank my family, my Office 365 community friends, the amazing MEA MVP Community, my blog followers, all those who attended my sessions and all those who helped me progress in my career. Without you guys, I would have never been able to achieve anything.


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Winners of the First Prize and the Amadeus Prize at the London International String Quartet Competition in 2006, the FORMOSA QUARTET is "one of the very best quartets of their generation" ( David Soyer, cellist of the Guarneri Quartet ). Its debut recording on the EMI label was hailed as "spellbinding" ( Strad Magazine ) and "remarkably fine" ( Gramophone ), and the quartet has given critically acclaimed performances at the Ravinia Festival, the Caramoor Festival, the Library of Congress, the...
Commemorative Commissions - Art...
Art of Élan
Song Recollections
Prayers and Songs
Reflections: on humanity
Chen: Returning Souls
Composer: Shih-Hui Chen
Artists: Wayne Lee (Violin); Jasmine Lin (Violin); Che-Yen Chen (Viola); Deborah Pae (Cello)
Ensemble: Formosa Quartet
Returning Souls (10:12) N/A
Liang: Song Recollections
Composer: Lei Liang
Song Recollections (22:45) N/A
Wilson: Hungarian Folk Songs N/A
Composer: Dana Wilson
I - Dudatánc (bagpipe dance) (3:25) N/A
II - Ballada (ballad) (3:57) N/A
III - A Rátóti (people from Rátót) (1:46) N/A
IV - Lancz (chains) (1:17) N/A
V - Porondos (on the river bank) (2:44) N/A
VI - Ej Görbénye (Hey, Görbénye) (2:07) N/A
VII - Maramarosi (dances in Máramures) (1:43) N/A
VIII - Nechoczety (the refusal; sometimes called "Bear Dance") (1:33) N/A
Dorman: Prayer for the Innocents
Composer: Avner Dorman
Ensembles: Formosa Quartet; Hausmann Quartet
Prayer for the Innocents (14:47) N/A
Official Website - Formosa Quartet
http://formosaquartet.com
"We have been very happy with our decision to use InstantEncore for our mobile app. The app is easy to use and a great way to connect with our patrons. The InstantEncore team also provides great support with helpful blog posts and quick email response."
Kate Meacham, Marketing Director, Kennesaw State University School of Music


text:
The Oscars are tonight. I always DVR them and then watch when I get a chance. I had to stay off Twitter and Facebook all night to avoid spoilers. Not that I care all that much because I haven't see any of the nominated movies!
I got to interview George Lopez this morning with other interviewers. We were told to only talk about his new FX show and his career. He did mention in passing the trouble he got into last week. I was hoping he would address the issue and make a joke about it, but I guess not. He seems to have some issues, that's for sure. I read up about him. He's always fighting with someone and he's divorced. I don't know what's gone on in his life, but it's sad that his mom died when he was young and his dad ran off when he was born. I can sorta relate. We're actually the same age so that's interesting. He seemed ok on the interview...not the nicest guy but not a jerk, either. Just somewhere in-between. You read our interviews on our Primetime Articles Page.
I watched the movie "42". I saw a lot of TV actors in it! Nicole Beharie from "Sleepy Hollow"; Christopher Meloni from "Law & Order: SVU" (he was awesome!); Lucas Black from "American Gothic"; Alan Tudyk from "Dollhouse", "Firefly" and so many other shows; Hamish Linklater from "The Crazy Ones"; T.R. Knight and James Pickens Jr. from "Grey's Anatomy"; John C. McGinley from "Burn Notice" and "Scrubs"; Max Gail from "Barney Miller"; Brad Beyer from "Jericho" and many other shows; Brett Cullen from tons of shows like "Person of Interest" and "Devious Maids", going all the way back to when I first noticed him on "Falcon Crest"; Peter Mackenzie from tons of shows (I know him best from "Herman's Head"). There were just so many!
I've just been trying to watch as much as possible on the DVR to make room for more stuff. It gets tough when it's too full.
I'm glad the shows are all back from winter break, though. I really miss some of them!
I've been watching a lot of soaps the last few days... they always bug me. Bold & Beautiful is just annoying because it's just the same stories repeated over and over. I'm at the end of January on most of the soaps still. I'm looking forward to seeing Colin's return on Young & The Restless and seeing Thaao Penghlis on General Hospital. I'm not looking forward to the lame storyline they're using to get Robin out of town, though. I'm sure it will be something really ridiculous and stupid.
I watched the 2 latest episodes of NCIS. It was great to see Robert Wagner back! I always love him. I was half hoping that they would show his new fiancee and it would be Stephanie Powers. Too much to ask for, I guess! Or even his real life wife, Jill St. John, would be awesome. I do have to admit that I noticed that Michael Weatherly is getting a little pudgy, at least in the face. He used to be so handsome. He still is but...I don't know, maybe he was just having an off-week or was sick. It's funny because the other actor, who used to be pudgy (Sean Murray), is now skinny. It's like they switched places!
Today I was watching General Hospital from late January when the little kids Emma, Cameron and Spencer hear Carly cry out for help and get all scared, and then Heather covers it up. That seemed silly to me. The kids were scared when they heard Carly crying out for help. They're supposed to be about 8 so that might concern them but not SCARE them. They should have gone for help at their ages. There's just a whole lot of silliness to soaps. I know I'm always harping on shows being more realistic. They should be. Their first priority should be telling a great story in as realistic a fashion as possible. The story shouldn't be so realistic that it's boring or gross. I don't need to see characters going to the bathroom, but if they occasionally mention someone's hair cut or watch TV like a real life person, that would be great. The story should be the most important thing, and then secondarily, the characters. The characters and story both need to be consistent and grounded in reality. It shouldn't make me shake my head in bewilderment or curse at the TV or wonder why I watch the show when it's so stupid. Soap operas should have lots of romance and thrills, not stories dumbed down to a third grade level. I read that Kimberly McCullough (Robin) said that she thought General Hospital was the best written it's ever been. Not even close. In some ways, it's the worst. It was best in the 80's (at least when I was watching it), although back then there were other problems because soaps were slower moving back then and had certain social or censorship constraints on them. I know that a lot of people hated long-time writer Bob Guza, but he created some really good characters and stories. The current guys are just mediocre with everything. It's like they're writing for not-too-bright teens.
And another thing...One of the things I've long noticed is that people on TV almost never touch, even young people that are in love. That's not realistic. People touch each other all the time, especially when they're young and in love. Soaps are supposed to be romantic, so the young lovers like Michael and Kiki should be touching and kissing a lot. Even older ones like Sam and Silas should be doing that. Not at work, but everywhere else, especially in private. And then I noticed this week (on the January shows I've watching) that Ava and Julian were having this conversation where he was half naked. I guess he had just been working out because he was only wearing these little shorts and nothing else. Who doesn't put on a shirt, especially when their sister is around? Okay, fine, fans wants to see him shirtless, I get that. But Ava shouldn't then go and stand very close to him and then lean on his bare shoulder. That's too creepy. Not only are they siblings, they didn't grow up together. So now they're having siblings touch each other more than the couples in love, which makes it even more gross and creepy. And then lastly, the gay guys were kissing. Which is fine, I have no problem with it, but if you have them kissing, and no one else, then it's kind of like GH is just saying, "See, we have gay people kissing, too, just like other shows!" so it's very contrived and manipulative.
I'm not saying everyone should be touching all the time or having sex constantly. Anyone who is under 30 and in love, certainly. Couples who haven't been together longer than a few years. Family members who grew up together should hug kiss in a friendly way, not hang out with each other undressed and touching bodies. Even when couples are fighting, if they still have passion, they still touch each other. But think about what a great dramatic effect it is if the couple is having a fight then suddenly they're NOT touching? Or if they've been married a long time and don't touch much. It shows how their relationship is going. That's normal. I wonder if soaps are worried that maybe the hair or make-up will get messed up? That's not a good reason. Story and characters should come first. Physical contact is part of character and story, and aids in development of each.
I'm looking forward to seeing my favorite Sunday shows this weekend, The Mentalist and Once Upon a Time! It was great seeing last night's "Big Bang Theory". Always so funny!
Last night I caught up on watching "Supernatural", so that was great fun. I love that show. It was sure nice to see Castiel back, and the episode with the Facers was great. And then the other episode with Kevin was awesome. Too bad he's dead now, but I hope we still see his ghost occasionally.
I still haven't watched the Oscars...I'll have to try to catch that this weekend.
I was supposed to have a conference call interview this morning with the "Bones" guys Hart Hanson and Steven Nathan, but I screwed up the time. Such an idiot! I watched next Monday's episode, which is really good. Freddie Prinze Junior returns!! Good story, too.
I mostly watched soaps today... I'm finally on the Y&R episodes where Billy figure out that Adam killed Delia! Woo hoo!
I did a lot of work today to get our news pages ready. This week's schedule and news is here so check it out.
After we had a fun night out, we watched the last three episodes of HBO's "Real Time with Bill Maher" that we were behind on. Well, we don't watch the whole show, just his monologue and "New Rules" because they're funny.
Have a great week! Lots of good new shows on. Who's watching "Resurrection", "Believe", "Crisis" and "Cosmos"? (Is it me or do most of these shows' titles sound the same?)
Posted by Suzanne Lanoue at 2:36 AM No comments: