text:
Dagon est un film espagnol réalisé par Stuart Gordon, sorti en 2001.

Synopsis
Paul Marsh est hanté depuis toujours par des cauchemars où il plonge dans les profondeurs de l'océan. Il va à la rencontre d'un puits abyssal dont l'entrée est un œil ouvragé en or et où il rencontre une jeune femme à laquelle il semble lié. La jeune femme nage sans masque et ressemble à une magnifique sirène pour Paul jusqu'au moment où elle tente de l'embrasser. Puis il se réveille aux côtés de sa compagne Barbara sur le bateau d'un couple ami (Howard et Vicki), avec qui ils naviguent le long des côtes espagnoles.

Bien que troublé par ces rêves, il n'y prête plus guère attention alors que le bateau mouille au large d'Imboca, petit village de Galice. Un chant mystique s'élève soudain du village. S'ensuit une tempête qui se forme immédiatement, précipitant le voilier sur les récifs. Vicki, alors réfugiée dans la cabine, est blessée dans l'accident. Howard reste avec sa femme tandis que Paul et Barbara accostent au village pour y chercher de l'aide. Le village étant désert, ils se dirigent vers la source du chant, l'église.

Celle-ci arbore le même emblème dont Paul a toujours rêvé. Le tranquille village de pécheurs n'est pas ce qu'il semble être. Un culte étrange y réside, en témoignent le chant et sa tempête, des habitants se déplaçant comme si leurs jambes étaient déformés ou encore les mains du prêtre étrangement palmées.

Pendant ce temps, le sang de Vicki s'écoule dans la mer, telle une promesse de sacrifice au maître des lieux. Le piège se referme sur les deux couples. Le cauchemar commence.

En dépit de son titre, Dagon n'est pas une adaptation cinématographique de la nouvelle éponyme mais du Cauchemar d'Innsmouth de H.P. Lovecraft.

Synopsis détaillé
Paul Marsh est en vacances avec sa petite amie Barbara et leur amis, Howard et Vicki, également en couple, au large des côtes espagnoles sur un voilier. Depuis le début du voyage, Paul fait fréquemment un cauchemar où il se rêve en plongeur en train de nager jusqu'à une caverne en forme d'œil et se réveille au moment où une sirène l'attaque. Soudain, une tempête se lève et leur bateau s'échoue sur des rochers. Howard décide de rester avec Vicki dont le pied est bloqué pendant que Paul et Barbara partent chercher du secours au village d'Imboca tout proche. Pendant leur traversée, Paul et Barbara entendent des coups de feu provenant du bateau et se hâtent d'arriver.

Le couple déambule dans le village sous une pluie battante sans trouver personne et se dirige vers l'église où les cloches retentissent. Paul reconnaît le symbole en forme d'œil sur le porche où il est inscrit "Ordre Ésotérique de Dagon". A l'intérieur, ils y trouvent un prêtre qui décide de les aider et propose à Barbara de téléphoner à l'hôtel pendant que Paul va aider leurs amis avec les pêcheurs. De retour sur le bateau, Paul ne trouve rien à l'exception d'une serviette teintée de sang. Il se rend ensuite à l'hôtel mais ne trouve pas non plus sa femme. Malgré l'étrangeté du concierge, Paul prend une chambre et est de nouveau victime d'une hallucination en revoyant la femme de ses rêves. Entendant des bruits dehors, Paul se rend compte que les villageois convergent vers l'hôtel pour le capturer. Il s'échappe de justesse en atterrissant dans une tannerie.

A l'intérieur, Paul découvre des peaux humaines et celle d'Howard fraîchement découpée. De nouveau poursuivi, Paul se réfugie sous une maison et tombe sur un vieil ivrogne, Ezequiel, qui lui raconte l'histoire d'Imboca. Lorsqu'il était enfant, la pêche était maigre et le village arrivait difficilement à subsister. Le Capitaine Orpheus Cambarro, de retour du Pacifique, expliqua aux villageois qu'il avait rencontré des peuplades qui adoraient un Dieu du nom de Dagon qui leur donnait tous les bienfaits de la mer en échange de leur vénération. Le Capitaine et une partie des habitants appelèrent la créature qui leur donna du poisson et des objets en or. Les récalcitrants furent tués et l'église fût transformée en Ordre de Dagon. Bientôt, le Dieu exigea des sacrifices et des femmes pour s'accoupler. Endoctrinés, le Capitaine (devenu Maître du Culte) et les habitants acceptèrent et tuèrent les parents d'Ezechiel qui s'y opposèrent. Au fil du temps, seuls subsistèrent les enfants de Dagon, des hommes-poissons, qui continuèrent à kidnapper des étrangers pour leur père.

Paul convainc Ezechiel de l'aider et l'homme le conduit jusqu'à la maison du maire qui possède la seule voiture du village. Ezechiel distrait les gardes pendant que Paul s'introduit à l'intérieur et tombe sur la femme de ses rêves, nommée Uxia. Uxia l'empêche d'être découvert mais Paul s'enfuit en découvrant que ses jambes sont en réalité des tentacules. Paul réussit à faire démarrer la voiture mais est victime d'un accident et est capturé. A son réveil, il se retrouve dans une cage avec Ezechiel, Barbara et Vicki. Leur tentative d'évasion échoue et Vicki, violée peu de temps auparavant par Dagon, se suicide. Paul et Ezechiel sont emmenées dans la tannerie où le prêtre les somme de rejoindre le Culte. Tous deux refusent et Ezechiel est écorché vif. Uxia sauve Paul de justesse et lui explique qu'il n'a pas d'autres choix que d'accepter la bénédiction du Culte. Une fois Uxia partie, Paul tue les hommes-poissons restants, attrape un jerricane et part vers l'église.

Là-bas, il découvre un passage souterrain qui le mène vers une chambre sacrificielle où les habitants et Uxia se prépare à offrir Barbara à Dagon. Paul enflamme une partie des habitants et extirpe trop tard sa femme de la fosse. Barbara, qui vient d'être violée par le monstre, lui demande de la tuer mais le Dieu la précipite dans l'eau ne laissant que ses mains ensanglantées. Les habitants survivants attrapent Paul, qui ne doit de nouveau son salut qu'à Uxia, qui dit être sa demi-sœur. Le maire, lui aussi, un homme-poisson, le reconnaît comme son fils. Uxia explique que la mère humaine de Paul, s'enfuit après être tombée enceinte. A nouveau réunis, ils pourront vivre ensemble sous la bénédiction de Dagon. Traumatisé par cette révélation, et constatant que son corps se transforme, Paul s'immole. Uxia le précipite dans l'eau.

Ayant survécu grâce à ses branchies, Paul suit Uxia jusque dans l'antre de Dagon.

Fiche technique
 Titre : Dagon
 Réalisation : Stuart Gordon
 Scénario : Dennis Paoli, d'après les nouvelles Dagon et Le Cauchemar d'Innsmouth, de l'écrivain H.P. Lovecraft
 Production : Carlos Fernández, Julio Fernández et Brian Yuzna
 Musique : Carles Cases
 Photographie : Carlos Suárez
 Montage : Jaume Vilalta
 Décors : Llorenç Miquel
 Costumes : Catou Verdier
 Pays d'origine :
 Format : Couleurs - 1,78:1 - Dolby - 35 mm
 Genre : Horreur, thriller
 Durée : 95 minutes
 Dates de sortie :  (festival du film de Sitges, Espagne),  (Espagne),  (sortie vidéo Canada)
 Interdit au moins de 12 ans

Distribution
 Ezra Godden : Paul Marsh
 Raquel Meroño : Bárbara
 Francisco Rabal : Ezequiel
 Macarena Gómez : Uxía Cambarro
 Brendan Price : Howard
 Birgit Bofarull : Vicki
 Ferrán Lahoz : Le prêtre
 Joan Minguell : Xavier Cambarro
 Alfredo Villa : le capitaine Orfeo Cambarro
 Uxía Blanco : la mère d'Ezequiel
 Javier Sandoval : le père d'Ezequiel
 Victor Barreira : Ezequiel enfant
 José Lifante : le réceptionniste
 Fernando Gil : le prêtre catholique
 Jorge Luis Pérez : le jeune garçon

Production

Lieux de tournage
Le tournage s'est déroulé à Pontevedra.

Distinctions
 Nomination au prix du meilleur film, lors du Festival international du film de Catalogne en 2001.
 Nomination au prix du meilleur film, lors du festival Fantasporto en 2002.
 Nomination au prix de la meilleure photographie et des meilleurs effets spéciaux (David Martí), lors des DVD Exclusive Awards en 2003.
 Nomination au prix de la meilleure sortie DVD, par l'Académie des films de science-fiction, fantastique et horreur en 2003.

Autour du film
 Dagon fut le dernier tournage de l'acteur Francisco Rabal, décédé quelques mois avant la sortie du film.

Bibliographie
 .
 .

Notes et références

Liens externes

Film espagnol sorti en 2001
Film d'horreur espagnol
Film fantastique espagnol
Film inspiré par le mythe de Cthulhu
Adaptation d'une nouvelle américaine au cinéma
Film réalisé par Stuart Gordon


Apartment in residence at Del Molo Bay 20 meters from the sea, with private access to the beach, 5 km from Sciacca, a spa town, 60 km from the Valley of the Temples in Agrigento, 40 km from the Scala dei Turchi 35 km from Selinunte and Torre Salsa, 50 km from Mazara del Vallo, 90 km from Palermo, 110 km from Birgi and Palermo airports.
Apartment with living room and sofa bed, kitchenette, double bedroom, room with a bed, w. c. with shower, laundry room, patio and terrace for outdoor dining facing the sea, barbecue, pizza oven, children's area, free parking, open space for children, free WiFi.
This my little house of the Molo Bay is built on a terrace a few steps from the sea.
The area is fairly quiet and the sea is safe for children.
In the morning we wake up with the birds singing and the terrace you can enjoy the view of the island of seagulls, a flat rock at 100 meters. from the beach, populated by seagulls.
Baia del Molo is so called because there is a walkway connecting the beach to the deep sea, and allows children to have fun, diving into the water.
My house in the Bay Pier is built with the characteristics of the typical fishermen's houses, wooden roof, floor outside fired tile, fixtures made of spruce wood. The decor is very simple. The kitchen is equipped with the essential tools. Externally there is a barbeque to cook your freshly caught fish.
Panoramic apartment with a veranda overlooking the sea, 100 m. arenella beach and 5 km from Sciacca, a spa town, rich in history and traditions, including the Valley of Temples in Agrigento and the archaeological park of Selinunte. Parking, football field soccer-tennis, barbecue, children's playground.
From Catania Highway Catania Palermo and follow the fast Palermo Sciacca.


text:
Sandbach Town Council
Fears privatised market may face ruin
A FORMER trader with 30 years' experience claims Sandbach Market is facing ruin just two months after a private firm took control.
Sandbach Town Council vice-chairman John Moore, 74, ran a card shop at Sandbach Market from 1974. He retired in June just before Town and Country Markets took control of the famous market from Congleton Borough Council.
He claims a 5% increase in stall fees and a demand for two weeks' cash in advance is driving traders away.
Cllr Moore, of Heath Road, Sandbach, said: ' I think it was a big mistake to ask for two weeks' rent in advance from traders, and hiking the rent by 5%.'
Traders fought a year-long battle to stop the market being taken over.
However, once the decision was taken, they promised to work hard with the Shropshire-based company.
The company has spent thousands on improvements since it took over on July 1, including buying gazebo-type stalls for traders and a fork-lift truck.
Jim Nield, spokesman for the traders, led the campaign to stop the market being privatised. He said: 'I still argue that the council could have done everything Town and Country have done. But I am being positive.'
'I think John Moore got his wires crossed. The rent increase would have come anyway under the council.'
Richard Hall, regional manager for Town and Country, said: 'We have experience of taking markets over and wouldn't have taken Sandbach on if weren't confident of its success.'

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
Q: Getting data from dynamic loading Linear Layout I am having a many Linear Layout that are same in layout. Here is hierarchy.

Every entry is like this: that is like LinearLayout {product_list} [0,202][480,455]

Now as I scroll down, it loads dynamically and goes till all results end.
So my first question is how to do this using Appium
I am having this class with me :
public class AllProductsCategoryPage extends BasePage{
    public AllProductsCategoryPage(WebDriver driver) {
        super(driver);
    }
    public void getData() throws InterruptedException {
             List<String> prices;
    }
}

Here I want list of all the prices. The price value in all layouts is being com.myapp.android:id/product_list_product_item_price.
Please help to approach this problem.
The outer Framelayout is com.myapp.android:id/contentFragment
NOTE : On a current screen almost three Linear Layouts can be visible. So can we make use of it ? And then make use of code something like this :
public void scrollPageUp() {
    JavascriptExecutor js = (JavascriptExecutor) driver;
    HashMap<String, Double> swipeObject = new HashMap<String, Double>();
    swipeObject.put("startX", 0.50);
    swipeObject.put("startY", 0.95);
    swipeObject.put("endX", 0.50);
    swipeObject.put("endY", 0.01);
    swipeObject.put("duration", 3.0);
    js.executeScript("mobile: swipe", swipeObject);
}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
Dec 7, 2021, 1:00 AM
Hossein Amir Abdollahian
FM: Iranians should feel agreement's positive results
Tehran, IRNA – Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian wrote on Monday that an agreement must be comprehensive so that the people would feel the positive effects of its good outcome.
Amirabdollahian wrote on his Instagram account that Iran is after achieving a good and serious agreement, that needs to be also quite comprehensive so that the (Iranian) people will feel the effects of its results.
What the Iranian delegation has presented in the form of a written text is quite in the framework of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), and there is no point beyond the JCPOA commitments and demands in that text, he said.
I clearly announce to Mr. Josep Borrell that what is rumored on 90 percent enrichment by Iran are sheer lies, Amirabdollahian pointed out.
It is expected that in continuation of the negotiations the other side, too, will present clear proposals and responses, inclusive of termination of the sanctions, and end the blame-game. In that case a good agreement is well at hand. We will keep pursuing the Vienna negotiations path in the framework of logic and mutual understanding, concluded Amirabdollahian.


text:
Cheap flights from Tennessee (TN) to South Africa
Home Africa South Africa Cheap flights from Tennessee to South Africa
Tennessee to South Africa
How far in advance should I book a flight from Tennessee to South Africa?
Travelers have found it's best to book a flight 51 days in advance to save up to 29% compared to booking the same week of travel. As your travel date approaches, the cost of this flight route may potentially increase. While opting to book 51 days out may not be an option for all, there are still additional ways to secure a deal in the near future. You might find a flight from Tennessee to South Africa 1-2 weeks in advance for as low as $1,045, or $1,414 for flights within the next 24 hours.
What is the cheapest month to fly from Tennessee to South Africa?
Due to multiple factors, expect to potentially pay more when booking in July. For low rates, February can be a great choice for travel to South Africa. Flights to South Africa from Tennessee in February are about $1,222 on average during February, but can be found for as low as $889.
Cheap flights from Tennessee to South Africa in January, February 2021
The best prices found for Tennessee to South Africa flights for January, February
Nashville Intl
Tennessee to South Africa 2021 flight deals
Cheap flights to South Africa from Tennessee found for this year
TYS
Knoxville McGhee Tyson
Last minute flights from Tennessee to South Africa
Late deals on round-trip flights to South Africa from Tennessee, departing today and this week
Useful info, stats and facts about Tennessee to South Africa flights.
From Tennessee to South Africa
Are flight prices decreasing from Tennessee to South Africa due to COVID-19 (coronavirus)?
At this time, Cheapflights has noticed price decreases for many domestic flights due to COVID-19. Travel is not necessarily recommended at this time, and flights may be prone to cancellation: please check with local authorities in both Tennessee and South Africa for travel alerts, and be sure to review the airline's cancellation policy and travel advisories before booking. For more information, please view our post on what to know about COVID-19 (coronavirus) and travel.
What safety measures are being taken by airlines flying from Tennessee to South Africa to control the spread of COVID-19?
Airlines globally have implemented additional safety measures to accommodate you. Delta is one of them. Some of the new policies that have been implemented to accommodate travelers flying from Tennessee to South Africa are improved sanitation, HEPA filters, mask requirements, social distance seating (for a limited time), and pre-flight testing for antibodies and symptoms. Policies will vary by airline.
Which airlines flying from Tennessee to South Africa have flexible cancellations due to COVID-19?
Some of the carriers operating flights from Tennessee to South Africa that may be offering flexible cancellation policies are Delta, British Airways, and Iberia. Our site will let you filter for all airlines offering greater flexibility due to COVID-19.
Can I find flights from Tennessee to South Africa for under $1,000 on Cheapflights?
Yes, there are multiple flights from Tennessee to South Africa for under $1,000. The cheapest flight booked recently is on United Airlines for just $974, but on average you can expect to pay $1,166.
Are there nonstop flights from Tennessee to South Africa for under $1,000 on Cheapflights?
There are no nonstop flights from Tennessee to South Africa, but Cheapflights can provide you with all the information you need to find the fastest route with the fewest stops.
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There are currently 2+ open flights from Tennessee to South Africa within the next 7 days for less than $1,700.
What are the most popular airlines that fly from Tennessee to South Africa?
Consider British Airways, Delta or Iberia when booking your flight. These represent the most popular airlines when flying from Tennessee to South Africa.
What are the most popular routes from Tennessee to South Africa?
While some choose either Memphis - Johannesburg OR Tambo or Nashville Intl - Cape Town Intl, Nashville Intl - Johannesburg OR Tambo is the most popular route from Tennessee to South Africa.
What are the cheapest Flights from Tennessee to South Africa?
The cheapest flight price from Tennessee to South Africa is $772. On average you can expect to pay $1,666. The most popular route, (Nashville Intl - Johannesburg OR Tambo), can usually be booked for $981.
How long is the flight from Tennessee to South Africa?
A quick flight from Tennessee to South Africa can take about 18h 46m. Delta provides one of the quickest options available for as low as $1,792. This flight may include one or multiple stops.
What are the cheapest airlines flying from Tennessee to South Africa round-trip?
Cheapflights users have booked flights from Tennessee to South Africa round-trip from $974. Other airlines that can offer you cheap pricing are British Airways, from $981, and Lufthansa, from $1,038.
Flights to South Africa from Tennessee
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Things to know before you go. Useful info for your trip from Tennessee to South Africa
Nashville (BNA)
Chattanooga (CHA)
McKellar-Sipes Rgnl (MKL)
Tri-City Regional (TRI)
Knoxville (TYS)
Top 3 airlines flying from Tennessee to South Africa
The chart below displays the airlines Cheapflights users traveling from Tennessee to South Africa choose most often. Cheapest and average prices are based on aggregated data from the past 12 months.
KLM $1,918 $1,983 No cancel fee 75%
Search KLM flights
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Flights from Tennessee to Cape Town


text:
What can art tell us about the mind?
Chris Holdgraf
I recently had the opportunity to speak with Amy Cook, a professor at Indiana University, about some interesting new inroads that are being made between psychology and art. Professor Cook exists at the intersection of two fields that have historically been very far apart: theater and cognitive science.
She explained to me that both of these fields are ultimately touching on the same kinds of ideas, albeit from very different directions. While it is quite obvious that cognitive science is concerned with understanding the mind, theater is driven by our knowledge of the human psyche as well. Put the two together, and you have a very powerful combination. In a talk she gave at UC Berkeley, Professor Cook used a cognitive science perspective to look at Henry V, one of Shakespeare's most well-known plays. It turns out that The Bard was actually quite crafty about weaving a story that plays with your mind and deals with some pretty sophisticated mental concepts.
One of the fundamental themes that Dr. Cook sees embodied in Henry V is emergence. The play tells the story of how a small group of men (a "band of brothers", to use the famous quote) performed feats that were far greater than the simple sum of each member's contribution to the group. Through the leadership and charisma of King Henry, they manage to defeat the French against all odds. Such events have been written about for hundreds of years, but they were mostly attributed to the superhuman abilities of a select few leaders, known only in lore and tall tales. However, there's something very real about the ability of a holistic unit of people to synthesize their abilities in an emergent way. One might even argue that such a process is fundamental to the natural world. If the brain is anything, it is a complex system of simple units, producing a chorus of activity and sensation that would be impossible to describe with a picture of only one neuron.
On a more general level, Cook points to the importance of imagination and metaphor in our experience of theater and other forms of imaginative participation. Obviously, we cannot import an entire army onto a stage (nor would we want to watch an actual battle unfold before our eyes), and yet as we watch actors and props, we synthesize a rich representation of a battle in our minds. Taking Cook's cognitive science approach, we can describe this phenomenon as "mental blending," the act of allowing two idea spaces in our minds to briefly overlap, and enjoying the often surprising and powerful synthesis that occurs at their intersection. Understanding this process has implications for our ability to capture people's attention and imagination in other contexts as well. What teacher wouldn't love to have a set of practices designed to stimulate their students and get their imaginations working?
At the end of the day, there is much ground to cover before we can truly appreciate the cognitive/psychological implications of works of art such as Henry V. Creative works have the benefit of being interpreted in a nearly infinite number of ways, but this can make it difficult to take the rigorous empirical approach that modern psychology demands. I am excited about the things that people like Professor Cook will discover by taking a hybrid approach to art and the mind.
art psychology
Science at Cal Day Previous
How I learned to stop worrying and love WikiLeaks Next
Chris is a graduate student in neuroscience. He studies cognitive and computational neuroscience, attempting to link higher-level theories of the mind with information processing in the brain. He used to write a science blog called This Is Your Brain On Awesome, though nowadays you can find his latest personal work at chrisholdgraf.com. Follow him on Twitter at @choldgraf
and Visualizations
Expressing Science Through Art
David Litt


text:
Putin Directs Duma To Expand Russian Naval Forces In Syria
Column 3 News
by Tsarizm Staff December 13, 2017 December 26, 2017 01684
Image by Russian Ministry of Defence
Russian President Vladimir Putin requested the Russian State Duma provide funds to expand the Russian naval presence in the Syrian port of Tartus on the Mediterranean to a full-fledge naval base in order to provide long-term support to the Assad government and its follow-on. Putin requested the base be funded in an enhanced status till 2092.
Russia Shows Off Its Naval Might In The Med
"I hope that in the long run, Tartus will become a full-fledged military base," the deputy chairman of the Federation Council's Committee for Defense and Security Franz Klintsevich told the RBC business portal.
"As the guarantor of Syria's stability, Russia is defending its interests," he said, reported The Moscow Times.
Russia signed another fifty year lease on the site earlier this year as reported by Tsarizm.com.
"According to the document on the State Duma's website, the agreement was based on the "mutual desire" of the parties "to strengthen and develop military cooperation." The Russian Navy's continued presence in Syria would be "defensive in nature and not directed against other governments," the agreement reads. If ratified, the agreement would extend the Russian Navy's lease on the Tartus base by 49 years, after which the agreement would automatically enter an additional 25-year period if neither party decides against it," wrote The Moscow Times.
Russia has used the Syrian civil war as a means to reassert Russian influence in the Middle East, a capability long sought by its predecessor, the Soviet Union. This force structure will allow Russia to counter the NATO alliance in the Mediterranean and preserve a presence on the alliance's southern flank.
Russia Signs 49 Year Lease For Military Bases In Syria
The United States military forces in the region disagree that the fight against the Islamic State is over in the Levant as President Putin declared recently on a surprise visit to visit Russian forces in the region. Much of the drawdown of the Kremlin's military assets in Syria is meant to pay to the Russian domestic audience as the 2018 president election approaches. Putin recently confirmed he will be running for a fourth term.
Bashar AssadRussiaSyriaTartusVladimir Putin
Russia May Turn To Cryptocurrencies To Rid Itself Of Dependence On Petrodollar
US To Resume Visa Processing Via Consulates In Russia
Russia Bleeding Cash At An Alarming Rate
Poland Considers Dispute With EU Over Rule Of Law Closed
3rd Party Article - See Author Below February 21, 2017
Crimea Officially Invites Le Pen


A little known fact about me is: I've got 2 Blue Peter badges!
Senior brand/packaging design strategist looking to move into a more meaningful, human-centered area of design e.g. service design, design and innovation for social causes etc. A people-watcher, interested in people and how they think & behave, and how those insights can be applied to form the basis of great design solutions. Looking to learn new things and make new connections across the world whilst helping try & solve some real social challenges.


text:
Revenge of the Fallen Legends Class Sideways Toy Review
in 2009, Action Figure Review, Decepticon, Movie (2007), Revenge of the Fallen
Release Date: August 2009
Price Point: $5.99 (varies depending on retailer)
Accessories: None
Card Scan
Vehicle Mode (Front)
*Images and text from Transformers.com:
Roll out against AUTOBOT forces as you stage your own battles with this SIDEWAYS figure. Engage with the good guys in robot mode, then quickly maneuver for robot-to-vehicle conversion and speed into action in sports car mode! Add this fierce fighter to your collection and decide the fate of the Universe!
DECEPTICON villain figure converts from robot mode to sports car mode and back again! Ages 5 and up.
It kind of amazes me just how many iterations of Sideways there are considering the character had about five minutes of screen time altogether in "Revenge of the Fallen". He's sort of like Boba Fett, but not as popular or cool. Still, I have a fondness for the design of the character and I do like having a version of him that can bop about my desk with Mighty Muggs Optimus Prime and the Starship Enterprise.
Sideways' design is a slightly different take on the traditional Transformer car to robot design. Like the traditional design, his chest is created from the front of the car, the sides of the vehicle become his arms and the back of the vehicle turn into his legs. The trick is not making him look entirely like he's a bunch of car parts stacked on top of each other. The movie Transformers designs generally reveal a lot of armor panels that are bent to the shape of the robot body, and there are tons of mechanical details. Being a Legends Class figure, Sideways isn't the largest figure, so many of his details are approximated. Among the nice robot mode details are his head, which have several of the line details sweeping up with angled eyes set in a rather evil stare. The inside of the robot arms and the shoulders have mechanical details and claws. His waist and legs are the most detailed portions, with my favorite details being the raised sections on his waist and the V shaped portions on his upper legs.
Most traditional Transformer designs are very humanoid. Sideways sort of fits this profile, but the movie design (and the design of the deluxe figure have back swept "chicken walker" like legs. While his lower legs can indeed swing forward as part of the transformation, his feet are not articulated so you can't really stand him in the "chicken walker" position. Due to this he winds up looking more like a traditional humanoid Transformer.
Sideways is primarily cast in silver and black plastic. Most of the body is silver with black used for smaller parts such as his lower legs and his arm hinges. Paint applications are done up in red, black and silver. Red is used for the robot eyes, keeping with the tradition of giving Decepticons red eyes. His face is painted black along with the front grille and a Decepticon symbol on his chest. Silver is used for the headlight details on his chest. It's a simple paint job, but for the most part it works very well. The silver/black/red combination is alway a nice one to see, but I would have liked to see the additional red details shown on the packaging. If you look at his package photography, he appears to have been originally designed to have red on the legs, but the final product does not.
There are eight points of articulation on this figure, but the lower legs can only kick forward at the knees. His arms are much nicer, with ball joints that allow a wide range of articulation.
Transformation to Vehicle Mode:
Swing the lower legs up against the thighs.
Swing the robot chest up and fold the windshield panel down.
Connect the robot legs together.
Rotate the robot arms back and push them into the side.
Based off the sleek Audi R8 vehicle, Sideways has a really nice looking vehicle mode. This tiny version of the character recreates many of the primary features of that vehicle while altering others (presumably due to licensing issues). The front end has the distinctive curved lines going from the lower edges of the windshield down to the center of the front end. The grille in front is a rectangular shaped box with angled headlights flanking them on either side. Below each headlight is a space where the Audi has vent like details. The sides of the vehicle have a trapezoid like shape that represents a depression designed into the sides of the real life Audi. On the back is perhaps his most distinctive feature, an engine sculpted into the back of the vehicle where you would normally expect to find a rear window. This reflects one variant of the R8 that has an engine built into the back. In this figure the engine has a design partly inspired by the real life R8. The rear section has the curved rear lights that end on angles on the outer edges.
Where this sculpt differs from the Audi R8 are in smaller details. On the center of the hood are raised air intake sections and the front grille has a set of vertical lines instead of the honeycomb type pattern on the R8. Also, the sideview mirrors just come out from the sides in a striaight line whereas the R8 has more "L" shaped side view mirrors. He is of course missing the distinctive four ring logo that represents the Audi brand, normally found on the front of the hood.
Sideways is mostly dark silver in this form. His engine in the back is painted silver along with the headlights. The windows are painted metallic pink, a really nice color that evokes the look of the pink windows from his deluxe incarnation. Black paint is used for the front grille and the Decepticon symbol on his hood. It is also used to paint an L shaped detail running along the sides of the vehicle, a detail inspired by the L shaped sides of the Audi. Overall it's a great looking color scheme and it definitely evokes the feel of the vehicle from the movie.
Sideways is an excellent Legends Class figure. The sculpt is very well done and the colors look great. I feel as if I should be harder on the figure since it doesn't replicate his "chicken walker" legs, but somehow that's not as important as the overall package in my eyes. Highly recommended!


Ready, Set, Rappel for SOTX!
Unleash your inner superhero by rappelling down the 17-story Hyatt Regency Austin Hotel on Town Lake on October 27 and raising funds for Special Olympics Texas.
The first brave supporter will be handed the rope to rappel at 9:00 a.m., with participants going over the edge throughout the entire day. Celebrity rappellers include Special Olympics Texas athletes. MEDIA ONLY: There will be limited opportunities for selected members of the media to go Over the Edge! For more information about going Over the Edge as a member of the media, please contact Tela Mange (tmange@sotx.org) at 512.491.2928.
Participants should be 18 years or older by the day of the event, and weigh between 110 to 300 lbs. No previous rappelling experience is required. Members of surrounding SWAT Temas will be there to assist you. Each participant agrees to raise a minimum of $1,000. Rappel spots are limited so register early.
Brave Texans have the opportunity to raise enough money to rappel off buildings in three or four Texas cities in a four-week period. The event kicks off in Austin on October 27 and then moves on to the historic Milam Building in downtown San Antonio on November 3; heads to the 15-story Oak Cliff Tower on IH-35 in Dallas on November 10; and ends at the 18-story Embassy Suites Hotel in downtown Houston on November 17. Corporate and media sponsorships are available. For more information, contact Melissa Matherne (mmatherne@sotx.org) at 512.491.2927.


text:
Peter Urpeth has more than 30 years experience in the creative industries and in creative talent development. He is co-Director of Emergents Creatives – a social enterprise company funded by HIE and Creative Scotland – that supports and nurtures creative careers and the creative economy in the Highlands and Islands of Scotland, with particular focus on the writing, publishing, fashion, craft, design and textiles sectors.
Originally Peter Urpeth was a jazz musician (pianist) working in free improvisation, and he has worked with some of the leading European musicians of the age including Evan Parker, Maggie Nicols, John Russell and Lol Coxhill. In the 1980s and 90s Peter Urpeth expanded his music career into journalism and artist management, becoming a music editor at Time Out magazine when it was the second highest selling consumer magazine title in Europe, and manager of the internationally renowned South African township pianist, Dollar Brand (Abdullah Ibrahim). In 1989, Peter Urpeth organized the first UK tour of South African township musicians in the Apartheid era, bringing Abdullah Ibrahim's Ekaya to play 13 sell-out nights at London's Jazz Cafe, to considerable critical and political acclaim.
In the 1990s Peter Urpeth started working in music in theatre, performing live music to Steve Berkoff's Fall of The House of Usher and winning a Perrier Award at the Edinburgh Fringe for a musical with Donald Swann (Flanders & Swann). Later he would compose and perform nine further shows at Edinburgh Fringe before starting to write drama for stage performance. He was a regular performer in pantos, including accompanying Barbara Windsor in various seasonal melodies. As a journalist, Peter continued to cover the European and US new music scene, and he had international success with (front cover features for Jazz Hot, Paris, Jazz UK etc) his interviews with New York jazz musicians including John Zorn & Geri Allen, and a few articles that came from spending 8 days flat sharing in the company of young, unknown graphic artist Matt Groening.
Fiction and poetry quickly followed the interest in drama, and in the mid 1990s Peter's poetry was first published in journals and magazines. Peter moved to Scotland and became a freelance arts journalist for The Herald and The Scotsman whilst working as a housing and homelessness advisor for Shelter. Peter's interviews with traditional Gaelic singers began appearing in leading folk and world music magazines in the late 1990s, including regular front cover features for Folk Roots and The Wire.
In 1999 Peter became the editor of the Stornoway Gazette and a feature writer for The Observer. In 2002 Peter founded his own local newspaper, The Hebridean, selling it to its rival title two years later.
In 2003, Peter Urpeth was awarded a Scottish Arts Council Writers Bursary and in 2006 his first novel, Far Inland, was published by Birlinn Polygon. In 2004, Peter became Talent Development Manager for HI-Arts, the arts development agency for the north of Scotland, developing Emergents Creatives after its closure.
In 2012, Peter Urpeth delivered one of the 100 Nights for John Cage concerts – the international celebration of composer John Cage's centenary – and a performance that was broadcast live from Stornoway to New York, and was heard by over 750,000 radio listeners in the States.
Peter Urpeth is currently working (with comedian Stewart Lee) on a biography of the jazz musician Evan Parker, and self-publishes digital poetry pamphlets. Recent music activity has included two major commissions for new scores and performances to silent, b&w vampire movies (Nosferatu and Vampyr) as part of the Faclan Festival.


Shot from the hip, I barely expected to have a shot in focus. I simply LOVE the gesture.
In "eat", "face", "food", "glass", "hip", "itch", "photo", "restaurant", "scratch", "seated", "street", "wine", "woman"
Seeing as how I've been borrowing the Sackville Photo Club's lighting equipment for various photo shoots lately, it seemed fair that one of the organizers of the last meeting asked me to bring along my camera to do some portraits for the incoming executive team. What I didn't expect was that I would shoot basically the entire team!
Not that it would be a technical problem (one light setup for everyone), but I knew that the challenge was in getting a useable shot from each member of the executive that they were happy with. I basically had about five minutes with each person, which is hardly enough time. Luckily, I know most of the people anyway so getting a fairly natural looking headshot wasn't too painful.
Here are some important things to remember if you are getting a headshot done for a professional package, such as business cards, company publications etc.
Relax. Deep breath. It's only a picture, and the photographer is there to help make you look your best. When they tell you to tip your head back, or to the side, it's not to torture you, it's to help you look good!
If you want to smile, think of something you think is funny, or try to remember something that will help you feel good.
If the photographer is operating in a space where you can see the process, observe it. Watch how the photographer interacts with their sitter, what kind of actions are expected. It makes it so much easier if you walk into a set with a clear idea of how it works and what you might want to try.
Don't be afraid to have a little fun. As I said before, you're only getting your picture taken.
If you know you'll have your photos done, be sure to wear your favourite shirt, jewelry or other items that will help you feel more confident.
Guys: Shave. If you have a beard, trim it.
Girls: Makeup shouldn't be overdone, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't wear any. The camera can be ruthless on skin, so feel free to do foundation, cover up, and some clean mascara (no clumps).
There are tons of resources online for how best to prepare for shoot, but I wanted to cover some basics.
If you're interested, here is the lighting setup used on the photos above. As you can see, it's a three-light setup with a softbox as my key, umbrella fill on the right and a gridded deep reflector acting as a rim/hair light. For the photos, I shot exclusively with the 85mm lens, somewhere around f/8.
In "Sackville", "club", "executive", "face", "headshot", "lighting", "photo", "portrait", "studio", "team"
First up, sorry for not having a post mid-week, I've had family visiting all week and have been trying to entertain as well as keep up with photos. I will do a make-up a post for the weekend.
My brother, Scott and his girlfriend Megan were visiting us for the first time in our new place and they were excited to get some new couples portraits taken. I was happy to help them out and we headed over to Point Pleasant park to find a cool place for photos.
Traffic (and my navigation skills) put us a little behind schedule and we were losing light pretty quickly. I did a few photos with the reflector but I wasn't getting the quality of light that I needed and the sun kept diving behind clouds every once in a while, keeping me from getting a good reflected light. It was time to bust out some flashes.
I did a few portraits of Megan to get my feet wet with the flash and using the Ezybox softbox I got some pretty nice results. I took out the 50mm prime lens after getting a couple wide angle photos and dialed it in to 1.8. I got a really beautiful focal range on Megan's face, allowing her eyes and cheeks to be in great focus, but by her ears a beautiful bokeh was forming. I used natural light on this shot as the sun peeked back out from behind the clouds.
The Nifty Fifty is at it again, giving a really nice plane of focus at a great focal length.
Having gotten a few really nice images of Meg, I turned my attention to getting some couples shots. We found a really cool structure in Fort Ogilvie where I set up some really dramatic and artistic light to really focus attention on the couple. I think it turned out okay, but after seeing the results from a bare flash head I think a beauty dish would provide even more drama while keeping the light even where it needs to be.
I processed the image through Nik Software to add some punch to it and I really like the result! As a couples photo it does seem a little dramatic, but it's eye-grabbing!
Scott and Meg have so much fun together!
Finally, we got some really nice sunset photos after putting a warming gel on the flash. The Ezybox was used again on this shot to really pop some warm, smooth light on Scott and Meg. The result is a really simple, but dramatic portrait with sunset lighting the background and smooth wrapping light on the couple.
I look forward to getting these printed, I think they'll look absolutely awesome in frames!
In "beauty", "brick", "camera", "canada", "couple", "digital", "face", "fashion", "fort", "halifax", "megan", "model", "ogilvie", "photography", "portrait", "scott"
I've never found portraits to be that easy. In fact, I've picked up a few tips on portraiture over the last week from watching Scott Kelby's The Grid, specifically the episodes with Joe McNally and Peter Hurley. Each of these guys have a tremendous amount of experience and come from different backgrounds, but offer very important advice.
Nick, a good friend of mine needed some more professional photos for social media and the jobhunt. I offered to help him out and get some good lighting experience as well.
When it comes to photographing people, the technical part of the job is done before you even touch the camera.
Essentially, you've got the model/subject, you have a background, lights, camera, etc. So, what now? Now it's time to get a connection with the person on the other side of your lens. You might, as Peter Hurley discusses, have to become part photographer, part psychologist. I think I find this the most difficult part of photography, but one of my favorite. This is my chance to get behind the mask that people put on, where smiling certainly isn't necessary and the experience you share will wind up immortalized.
Tom, shot near Odell Park in Fredericton. We used the graffiti on the wall to add an interesting background to the photo, something that Tom could use on more 'personal' type social media sites.
That all sounds very zen, but it's quite true. Take, for example, a portrait session I did with someone I just met that afternoon. Tom, an investment professional, was looking for some classy portraits to use on social media sites, company websites, etc. I made sure to provide two locales, one with a simple black background, and another, more creative outdoors type background. Frankly, I prefer the outdoors background but I'm always looking for things of visual interest. The ulterior motive to having two sets was that we would have time to get to know one another a little bit, and asking Tom to move his head a certain way, or smile, but only just a little would be easier for him to do. The more comfortable the subject, the better the portraits will look.
After we got through the 'nice' photos, Nick and I decided that while the lights were up we should have some fun. I think the images with the sunglasses are my favorite from the day, and just shows how props and good interaction between the subject and photographer lead to better portraits.
Something else I learned was the importance of the jawline. I hadn't really spent much time on portraiture posing techniques, but after listening to Peter Hurley discuss the way he treats a jawline in his headshots, I'm beginning to think about it a lot more. Until now, it's been one of those things that eluded me, or that appears in the portraits I like, but not the ones I don't. I won't try to explain the reasoning, but go watch the video that Peter did on Scott Kelby's Blog and you'll be amazed.
I have a lot of work to do to get my portraits to a higher level. These guys have been at it a long time, and I've only just begun. I think that of the specialities I've tried, My work in portraiture so far has been some of my most rewarding.
I could have improved this self portrait tremendously by bringing my ear a bit closer to camera and accentuating the good parts of my jawline. I'll do better next time.
In "camera", "canon", "face", "light*", "photography", "portrait", "professional", "psychology"


text:
USA, Journalist
Thomas L. Friedman is an internationally renowned author, reporter, and columnist—the recipient of three Pulitzer Prizes, the honorary title Order of the British Empire (OBE) and the author of five bestselling books, among them From Beirut to Jerusalem and The World Is Flat.
In January 1995, Friedman took over the New York Times Foreign Affairs column. After spending a great deal of time in the Middle East in the years after 9/11, Friedman decided to do some reporting elsewhere, particularly India. In April 2005, he published his fourth book, The World Is Flat: A Brief History of the Twenty-first Century. The book became a #1 New York Times bestseller and received the inaugural Financial Times/Goldman Sachs Business Book of the Year Award in November 2005. The World Is Flat has sold more than 4 million copies in thirty-seven languages. After 9/11, Friedman began making documentaries for the New York Times–Discovery Channel joint venture. Over the next few years he co-produced, reported, and narrated six.
Friedman and his wife, Ann, reside in Bethesda, Maryland.
For more information: http://www.thomaslfriedman.com/
Boom Country
10:30 am - 11:30 am NCPA - Experimental Theatre
Thank You For Being Late
3:30 pm - 4:30 pm NCPA - Experimental Theatre
Fiction As Fact


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Green your school inside, outside and throughout your curriculum! Join 50 other countries in this international initiative designed to encourage whole-school action for the environment. Become a U.S. Eco-School today!
Scholastic.com's Act Green site. Has the Greenerator and is the Green Team HQ.


If you follow me on snapchat (my username is bakemystyle, check it out! 🙂 ) you may have noticed that I had a super busy day on Tuesday prepping for a dinner party. I'm part of a Come Dine With Me group with some friends from work and Tuesday was the first night of a new round of dinners.


Specialist Support in Cambio COSMIC is a set of business-specific solutions which are fully customised to the processes in which they are used within the healthcare sector.
Cambio COSMIC's specialist support service includes a number of business-specific features. When combined with Cambio COSMIC's general functionality, an integrated business support system is created that can be tailored to the business in which it is used. Through these integrated solutions, several different businesses can use Cambio COSMIC in their own way, whilst still keeping all the patient information together across the whole chain of care. As a result, all the information concerning the patient is always available where and when it is needed.


Travel back to the era of the three-day week with this super new DVD. Classic action and new interviews combine to tell the story of a remarkable decade.
Bob Wilson returns with a short poem on the antics of riders as they prepare at the start.
Garry is an Aces fan and shares his memories and thoughts on the sport.
Jeff Scott launched his new book - 26 Shades of Shale - at Cardiff and it's now available from his Methanol Press website.
Ian McLean is trying to track down the photographer who took a classic snap of Jason Lyons. It looks like it was taken at Elfield Park in Milton Keynes in 1991 - Can You Help?
"Did the programme along with Mike Hunter. Took over as team manager to St Austell along with friend Stevie Gilroy. Borrowed two riders to make up the team and lost the match 38-40. Gutted!!!! The video of the Les Collins meeting should be still available from Mike Hunter. "
Philip Dalling attended his first speedway meeting 50 years ago this week. Here he reflects on fifty years as a fan, journalist and author.
Dudley Jones on the proposed return of speedway to Norwich. Dudley is familiar with the chosen location and believes it to be ideal.
Kel has been a Belle Vue Aces fan since way back in 1938! Unsurprisingly Aces riders dominate this selection.
"This is my favorite question. "What are the worst things about speedway?" And the answer about the promoters and the BSPA."
"As Bill Elliot rightly says, Mike went out of his way to make me feel welcome in 2009 especially since I had been flying for a day and a half. I a m glad to say I was able to make a return trip in 2010 when Mike and I spent a most enjoyable day at Rosebank Speedway in Auckland. He is rightly held in high esteem for his contribution to the sport and simply due to how well known he is, NO ONE questioned who I was as I was allowed to wander around the pits talking to the riders and getting photos taken. Mike Fullerton was and still is a sporting hero of mine and I am delighted to be able also to call him a friend. Till the next time Mike !!"
"I rode at Cradley winter training school 1977 (amongst many other tracks) Started at Ellesmere Port, loved Belle Vue and Crewe, couldn't get to grips with Wolverhampton ! But everything clicked at Cradley, it just suited me, I loved everything about the whole place, even the fence was soft (not like the boards) I had some great races with Sean Willmott (Hagon sponsered) and I was on my old two valve Jawa. Great memories of a great and sadly missed track. Where does life go ???? Still loving Speedway though and I got married this year and my wife had never heard of Speedway ? She's now one of it's biggest fans and we travel all over, wish I could have taken her to Cradley Heath ! "
"Many a good night in The Aces after the speedway in 1980,81,82. Riders and mechanics used to head to the pub after the races for a few drinks and a bit of banter, remember the jap bike well - jimmy mc, Bangor bobby beaton, Larry Kosta, Bernie Collier, the Carr brothers, Rob Maxfield to name just a few! Good nights had by all."
"Used to go here for F1 stock cars in the 70s and 80s. Played in the Commer van under the back straight stand when not watching the racing! Electric atmosphere, quality racing. Too many great meetings to mention. The Vue and Crewe were the best stock car tracks and now, sadly, both gone. "
"What a great piece on Jack Young! I saw him in Edinburgh at most meetings at Old Meadowbank when he rode for the Edinburgh Monarchs. At the time his 'armchair' riding style was revolutionary and looked so very relaxed in comparison to others. It certainly influenced many of the established riders. A bunch of us went as young kids every Friday - bought two programmes - one to fill in with race results and one for ourselves when we re-ran it as cycle speedway! We were so pleased when he became World Champion, but so sad when he went to West Ham. Thanks for the great memory of an unforgettable star!"
Nick Pattison attended the World Under 21 round at Lendava in Slovenia last weekend. Here are some pictures he captured of the track.
Graham has been a Peterborough Panthers fan since the club's first meeting. A couple of meetings from those early years stand out as his favourites.
Birthday wishes this week to Bobby Schwartz - who has (unbelievably) just turned 56 years old! Of course Bobby is stiill riding in the States and Ivan Blacka tells us that 'Sudden Sam' will also be having a spin in the US shortly.
Andy Sheppard is looking for scans of programme covers - Can You Help?
"You can add Clune Johnstone to the list of Canadians. He was at Marine Gardens in 1938 and made one appearance at Glasgow White City in 1939."
"The result of Poppy's first meating was Wembley Lions 39 Belle Vue Aces 39 , the date was July 18th 1970 . Ivan Mauger was mising from Belle Vue and Richard May rode for Wembley . It was a truly fantastic meating. She must of seen Ove Fundin, maybe at the World Team Cup on September 19th 1970."
"I was sorry to hear of the passing of John Berry. My family moved to Ipswich from London in 1975 when I was 15. I was a long-time Hackney fan, but continued to attend Witches meetings until the late 1970's, when I drifted away from the sport. John (much like Hackney promoter Len Silver) could certainly polarize opinion upon occasion, but, also like Len, he was clearly passionate about speedway. One Thursday evening in 1976, a friend and I had just set out on the two mile walk to Foxhall Stadium, when a a big car (possibly a Merc?) drew up alongside us. The window slid down to reveal John Berry behind the wheel. He asked us if we were on our way to the speedway and if we'd like a lift? I'd never been in a car like it, my family had a Hillman Imp at the time! As he drove, John asked us for our honest opinions on the track, the team and speedway in general and he gave his full attention to our replies. I told him I missed the exciting racing at Hackney, with it's banked bends which were so great for overtaking and he went into some detail about the problems inherent in preparing a racing surface shared with stock cars, which of course I'd never really appreciated until then. The fact that I still remember that short car journey and conversation 36 years later probably tells you as much about the man and his love of speedway as any other tribute I could offer. The BSPA certainly missed a golden opportunity in 1987. RIP John and thank you for the lift."
"He will be sorely missed by anyone who had the interest of the sport at heart. He was a great thinker and spoke a lot of sense and his loss will be felt by many. RIP"
"That was a really hard choice for you to pick the riders you did with some many great riders that came out of the USA in that era.."
"Ivor Brown was the most exciting speedway rider I have had the pleasure of watching & I am now 70 yrs old. He regularly won races from the back & I was privilaged to see many classic races wth the top stars of the day who inevatably lost at the Dudley Wood home of Cradley Heathens or any other speedway track for that matter. Until his unfortunate crash with Mr. Fundin, Browny was 'the bees knees'. He was always immaculately turned out in both kit & bike which always shone like a mirror. The loss of his talent when it came took a huge slice from the Cradley faithful which took years to replace until the arrival of messrs.Gundersen, Penhall, Persson and Hancock which gives a good idea of how good he was. This piece has taken too long before stating his value from the fan's point of view. Over to you now Mr.Pearson as you strive to make Cradley the speedway team it once was, under its new name of Dudley, I wish you all the luck in the World. I now live in Streatham in Sth.London & enjoy watching John Cook's Lakeside Hammers, but no team can ever replace 'The Cradley Heathens'7"
Former Ipswich and England manager John Berry has passed away at his Perth home. Berry was Sixty Seven years old.
Kevin selects his All-American Dream Team. The riders span from Autrey in the seventies to Hancock in the present day.
Bob grew up watching speedway at Wimbledon in the sixties, Here he shares some memories from those times and his thoughts on the sport.
Here's Reg Fearman at the Speedway Museum in front of the display of Noel Johnson's leathers. As we reported last week, there's currently also a library display on Noel running in Queensland.
Jim Henry reports that speedway bikes will be amongst those racing on the beach at Kirkcaldy next weekend - more details on Fife Today.
"Always nice to see articles on Canadian riders. But I need to clarify some dates and facts. As far as I have been able to ascertain George had never ridden speedway prior to going to meet up with Eric Chitty in 1937. George had found fame in winning a T. T. style race where he beat such notable American riders such as Floyde Emde and Babe Tancredie. Based on this and with help from the Bellville public George went over to the Isle of Man in 1937. He found it a little daunting on seeing the circuit but once he had done a little practice he was hoping for a good result. Sadly it wasn't to be.
Below is my information on George's Isle of Man trip. As with all Time Trials racers the Holy Grail is to race in the TT Races held in the Isle of Man. So George was off to the Isle of Man for the famous Time Trial races. He left with high hopes and lots of moral and financial support from home. About $350 was raised including $50 alone from the Quinte Motorcycle club. This was to offset the cost of expenses to get George and his two motorcycle across the Atlantic. Considering that the freight alone for the two motorcycles would cost the better part of $50 alone. George told the crowd that went to see him off that "It is swell of the good citizens to help me make this trip and I am going to try hard not to disappoint them"
So on May the 6th 1937 George left Belleville to go to Montreal to board the Duchess of Bedford bound for Liverpool England. Four weeks later he would be riding in the Time Trials on the Isle of Man. In 1937 it had become known to Norton Motors that he had success on their machines and should he enter the race they would supply him with a new machine gratis and that the bike would be guaranteed to travel at 120 mph. Also he would be supplied with a mechanic who was experienced at the Isle of Man who would act as his pit crew. In Georges own words he describes his reaction to seeing the Isle of Man up close and personal. ( in a letter to his friend Ken Colling).
" The morning after we landed the roads were not closed for practice, so Horace Boswell, ( a friend of his manager Bill Spence), took me on the back of the Triumph and showed me which way the course went. My first impression on seeing the course was a feeling of doubt as to whether or not I would make a fool of myself in the races as it looked almost impossible to average even 60 mph let alone a speed like some stars of over 88 mph! After this lap, I started to ride around slowly to try and memorize the corners etc. After a couple of laps I decided to see how quickly I could get around not exceeding 40 mph at any time. I found I took over 1 1/2 hours so I tried it at 50 mph and it was a little quicker. I did 2 or 3 laps each day before practice finally started. I took a little over 3/4 of an hour for the first lap, and each lap after that I was able to cut a little time off until I got down to 30 minutes for a lap on the second to last day of practicing. By this time I was broke, as spare parts etc. had taken a lot more than I had counted on. I had a grant of 30 pounds coming from the A.C.U. if I started in 2 races. Since I had qualified in all 3 races I decided not to take any chances on the last day of practice. Horace and I had figured as near as we could the speed required to get a replica, as after seeing the practice speeds, we knew a replica was the best we could hope for. Finally the race started, and when it came for my turn I was wondering if the motor would start and if I would get away as good as the others. I need not have worried because the motor fired at the first time it turned over and away we went. Nothing much happened on lap 1 or 2 except I passed 2 or 3 riders and 2 riders passed me so fast I thought I had stopped. I had made arrangements to refuel on lap 3 as we figured I could make a faster fill up when I wasn't as tired as I would be on lap 4 or 5. The refilling went off o.k. and I was feeling pretty good as I was well inside replica time, and didn't expect to have anymore stops until the end of the race. Another lap went by and the motor still ran beautifully. Three quarters of lap 5 was completed when suddenly the motor stopped motoring and I had to retire at Hilberry. Later we found the trouble was due to a defective ball bearing which had broken and jammed in the works. I didn't feel too bad about this as I still had two more chances."
George continues with comments on the 1937 lightweight TT race.
"The lightweight race on Wednesday started in lovely weather but I didn't get far as a cam follower broke and I had to retire at the same place as Monday. Still, I didn't feel too bad as it was still possible to do something in the senior race on Friday."
With only one race left George was down to his last chance of getting a replica trophy.
" Friday was clear and bright like Monday and Wednesday had been. I started number 8 and started to feel pretty good because before half a lap had gone I had passed 2 riders - number 7 (C Tattersall - Vincent) and number 2 (S V Vartax - Rudge) and hadn't been passed myself. This feeling didn't last long however as I suddenly felt my right leg getting very cold. I looked down and found fuel was spraying out the side of the tank all over my leg. I shut off the fuel from the other side of the tank and started trying to decide what to do. I figured I had enough fuel to do another lap, then I would refuel each lap. This would have been o.k. except I ran out of fuel half way around the course and had to retire as the only place you were allowed to refuel is at the pits, and they were 15 miles away. The one lap I did was a standing lap and took just under 30 minutes."
Note: If George had been lapping at just under 30 minutes per lap on the Norton he would have had an average speed of over 75 -80 mph. Winner Freddie Frith averaged 88.21 mph. The program for the 1937 Senior TT race shows George being in 6th place out of 22 competitors after lap one. He retired on lap two ending what must have been a very frustrating time on the Isle of Man. George had received a letter fro Eric Chitty inviting him to visit with him at West Ham. ( Most people know that Chitty was given a mandate to find future speedway prospects by John H Hoskins. Chitty did just that in the pre war years supplying nearly half the Newcastle team!) George visited Eric after the ill fated Isle of Man trip. Needless to say he was not an overnight sensation in 1937 after trying speedway for the first time. In his own words he said he found it harder than it looked. But that part of Georges life is another story! "
"Does anyone know whatever happened to former Crayford, Wolverhampton & Crewe rider Geoff Ambrose? I remember Geoff riding for Crayford and in the Silver Helmet at Middlesbrough's Cleveland Park and he was always good for double figures. I know all about his history as a speedway rider and that he retired midway through the 1973 season at Crewe's Earle Street, where he had his own motorbike business outside of the stadium. Rumour has it that he emigrated to Australia but nobody has ever interviewed him in Backtrack or written about him since and it puzzles me because for a couple of years at least he was one of the top riders in the old Second Division in 1969/70."
"Please can you give any details of Bob Duckworth (former Belle Vue Aces), lost touch of how he went on when he went back to New Zealand."
Get in touch if you know what happened to Geoff or Bob.