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For Pima's Sake
Pima Community College has been making improvements, but there's more to do—and many ideas about how to do it
By Chelo Grubb
For nearly half a century, there's been a fountain of opportunity in our desert.
Pima Community College was founded in 1969, immediately opening the doors for Tucsonans who wanted to make something more of themselves. Over the years, the college has grown and evolved. Today, Pima offers a variety of standard educational programs and provides technical career training in industries ranging from nursing to aviation technology.
When it comes to student opportunities, there's no denying it, Pima is a beacon of hope. Internally, however, the years have been less kind to the college. Today, Pima is a few years into reforming itself after a period of neglect. Change never comes easy or, it would seem, without differing perspectives on what kind of change is needed.
THERE ARE CHALLENGES
"My mission is 'Never again.' Never again will the college be brought down by undiscovered weaknesses," board member Scott Stewart says. Stewart is the last remaining board member from what one might call the previous era of Pima. He's been on the board since 1999, and the last five or so years have been pretty rough.
Discontent was apparent at the college in late 2011: Board meetings meant hours of angry public comment and coalitions formed to lobby for change and new leadership. When they felt they weren't being heard, unhappy community members decided to reach out to Pima's accreditor, the Higher Learning Commission.
In January 2013 the HLC sent an investigative team to look into concerns at the college and what they found was troubling.
The investigators reported finding evidence of an intimidation-based work environment, unaddressed sexual harassment allegations against the former chancellor, and policies that conflicted with the mission of the college.
Pima's accreditation—and therefore the college's future—was put on a two-year probation. Pima remained fully functional from an education perspective, but was forced to start aggressively addressing problems. Last February, the college was shifted from probation to "on notice"—a sign from the HLC that Pima was moving in the right direction, but still a step removed from full confidence.
The issues the HLC found are deep seeded and complicated and, fittingly, so are the college's steps to correct them. Updates and details of the Accreditation Improvement Initiatives and other changes at the college are detailed on Pima's website, but here are the highlights:
• Pima recommitted itself to being an open-admissions, affordable institution
• Board meetings and study sessions are now taped, broadcast live and available on the website
• New committees were formed to watch and develop areas of the college that make been marked by the HLC with concern
• The college has had to reevaluate how it measures success, its enrollment plan and that plan's ties to the budget
• A human resources program was developed to allow employees to file complaints without fear of retaliation
While on notice, Pima is still working to repair the damage done to the college in previous years, and is still submitting reports about their progress to the HLC. The next report is due this July, and the HLC will be sending another team to evaluate the college in September.
But Pima's challenges don't end with the HLC's concerns.
In addition to the issues Pima has had to work to correct, the college has had a rough time recently in terms of finances.
Tuition remains a significant source of Pima's annual income and enrollment has been declining over the last five years, a trend that mirrors community colleges across the nation. To make matters worse: Pima's state funding was entirely eliminated last year, which immediately took $7 million away from Pima's budget.
Looking at this combined loss from tuition, expenditure limitations and state funds, Chancellor Lee Lambert says, "We've lost $30 million of spending capacity. So your primary funding sources are through this three-legged stool—state aid, tuition and fees and property tax—and all three are taking a hit. For the college not to adjust on the expense side to that new reality sets us up for a serious fall."
Pima did score one win: Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey's signed Senate Bill 1322, a bill that allows the college to spend money it collects through property tax based on enrollment in different programs.
Put simply, it costs more to educate a nursing student than an English major. This legislation calculates the college's expenditure limitation based on averages of past years' audited actual enrollments.
The college is also working to bring in more income by restructuring the tuition system.
In-state tuition will be increasing by 4 percent in the 2016-2017 school year, while non-resident, international and age 55+ students are all seeing a slight decreases in their per-credit costs. Students will now pay for a max of 15 credits per semester, even if they enroll in more courses.
Lambert says Pima is currently "financially healthy," but that they have to be mindful that the decisions that are made today will impact the financial health of the college in the long term.
His answer? Focus on the students. Focus on retention and Pima's image among prospective students. Be a college students want to attend.
IT'S ALL ABOUT THE STUDENTS
Knowing I started the decade as a Pima student, Lambert asks, "Think about when you were a student. Was it easy for you to apply and pick your courses?" Easy enough, I suppose.
"It wasn't as easy as buying a plane ticket, was it? We have to make it that easy. So, why couldn't I, in less than five minutes, apply to be a student, select my courses and pay?"
Lambert makes the point that Pima has to make itself as accessible as possible. The college needs to be welcoming, of course, but also user friendly. There's no reason to make signing up for Pima a struggle.
"The world is different today," Lambert says. "People have options and when the options are more easily accessible, sometimes you might gravitate that way even though that's not what you might have wanted to do initially."
Beyond simplifying the signup process, Lambert is really looking at what it means to being an institution that is there for its students.
"We've got to really define what we mean by student success and so there's a lot of aspects to that," Lambert says. "Are we offering what people want at a time when they want it? Are we staying on top of it as things evolve over time? Do people get good support at the college in terms of advising?"
Lambert compares his goals for the college to the customer service relationship he has with his Starbucks barista. She remembers him, knows his order and knows what he likes. "That's what I want to get Pima to."
"At the end of the day, it's about us being humans to each other, and human beings should care about each other," Lambert says. "When you're standing in front of me, I need to be present and be there with you. We need to make sure that's consistent and that our systems support people being able to do that on a consistent basis."
And, of course, community colleges are uniquely situated to help people who need extra support from their college.
"We're the place of hope for a lot of people who maybe didn't have that first shot of going to a college or a university," Lambert says. "We're their hope, and so we are sometimes a person's second, third, fourth, final option—and that matters."
BUT PIMA NEEDS TO WORK WITH EMPLOYERS, TOO
If there's a group besides students the college is trying to court, it's employers—a group Stewart jokingly calls Pima County's most endangered species.
"We need to hear more business and industry voices at the college," Stewart says, noting Pima needs to be driven by the business community's needs, not "what we want to teach to."
Here, college leaders all seem to agree: Pima needs to make sure it is training students in a way that appeals to employers.
"We're part of transforming this community," Lambert says, adding he wants Pima "to become a magnet for people as well as business and industry because the quality of life is so high and people know when they come they have opportunities."
When that happens, Lambert says, "we're actually helping the city and this community move from being the fifth poorest community in the country for our size to be one of the leader communities that people look up to. That's what I really hope, that Pima plays a vital role in that."
According to someone who used to work with the potential employers who could make that happen for Tucson, Lambert's dream for Pima is exactly what the region needs.
"People have to leave because there aren't that many jobs in Tucson. You can find it if you're committed to staying here and it's been like that for years," says board member Martha Durkin.
In her work as an attorney with the city and county, she saw the impact Pima could have first hand.
"So, when we would talk to businesses saying 'Come to Tucson' or 'What's stopping you?' it almost always was the education of our workforce and our skills," Durkin says.
Durkin is impressed with the quality and variety of programs Pima offers. She names stand out programs at each campus, from computer assisted design to astronomy, and seems generally impressed with Pima's high tech programs. "High tech" and "variety" are good things when it comes to college programs—but they're also expensive.
"The college is not good at making choices to deal with their financial resources," Stewart says, suggesting that the college is trying to do too much. But, he says, it's difficult to measure which programs have the most economic impact.
Stewart points to the aviation technology program, one of his favorite programs the college offers. It's got a good reputation and lots of employment potential. How does one compare a program like that to one like, say, adult basic education which helps people improve their math and language skills earn a high school equivalency diploma? The latter program teaches skills that are more, well, basic, but impacts more people than the aviation program.
"Adult basic education could very well have a much larger economic impact," Stewart says, "but it's harder to measure."
Regardless of how hard it might be to measure that success, Stewart says it's challenging to get Pima to even look into that information.
"Getting the college to do that has been something I've been pushing for the entire time I've been on the board," Stewart says. With a laugh, he adds, "That's another great reason to replace me with someone who can get it done."
IT'S A BIG ELECTION YEAR FOR PIMA
Durkin and Demion Clinco are recent additions to the board: the two were appointed in August and December, respectively, after longtime members Marty Cortez and David Longoria stepped down.
Their two seats, in addition to Stewart's, are all up for a vote in November. Only two seats, held by Sylvia Lee and Mark Hanna, are guaranteed through next year.
For his part, Stewart says he'd love to see another private sector candidate run for his seat; someone interested in making tough but necessary decisions, someone who understands the economic potential of the college. No such candidate has emerged and, as a result, Stewart will likely run for a fourth term on the board.
Durkin and Clinco also intend to run to keep their seats—and their priorities don't seem too far removed from Stewart's.
Clinco, like his colleagues, expressed an interest in utilizing Pima as an economic powerhouse while maximizing the use of the college's resources.
"It's about really looking at the needs of the community, looking at the sectors that anticipate growth, where our students are physically located, and looking at what are the opportunities to sort of re-envision programs," Clinco says. "We need to be looking at which programs might be able to share resources in an effort to be more granular in how we use our resources."
He feels like the college is doing a good job of moving forward from the damage that got it in trouble in the first place.
"I was impressed and somewhat relieved to hear the systemic commitment to change," Clinco says, adding he agrees with the direction set forth by the Higher Learning Commission.
"I think it's the way the college needs to go to not only perform well and meet the needs of our students but also compete in an ever more competitive marketplace," he says.
Paul Diaz, the former mayor is South Tucson who was ousted in a recall election last November, is also running for the seat—though he has yet to make any public comments about his campaign.
Durkin says she dealt with problems similar to Pima's during her work as an attorney for the city of Tucson and the Tucson Unified School District.
In addition to her 30-year law career, Durkin taught at the college briefly in the '80s. She feels she can use the skills from her career in the public sector and her understanding of Pima's potential to utilize the college as a tool for Tucson.
"I had a lot of experience with these types of problems, so I thought I could bring that to (the board)," Durkin says. "Pima is so critically important and I think most of us didn't realize what was happening. We kept thinking Pima's great, Pima's great. We really came to realize how much we had taken it for granted."
But, she says, the college is hard at work to see itself through the challenges at hand.
"This year, I think we're going to be very successful. The next two or three years are very critical to get better, better, better."
Luis Gonzales, a candidate to take Durkin's seat, sighs when asked why he decided to run. "I've been concerned with Pima College for some time," Gonzales says.
Gonzales adds he is worried about the direction the college is moving in and whether the HR system can adequately address the college's internal problems. Generally, Gonzales feels that "something is wrong."
Durkin and Clinco have both been vocally supportive of Lambert's leadership at the college. As far as Gonzales is concerned, that's a problem.
"The bureaucracy is being followed by this board like a puppy," Gonzales said. "I'm not going to be a yes person for anyone."
A big concern of his is the above-mentioned recent hike in Pima's tuition rates.
Gonzales calls the in-state increase a "slap in the face to all our local students."
"I don't know where their priorities are," Gonzales says. "Will that lead to an increase in enrollment? I don't think so. It has to be system that will work with everyone. They don't seem to care about the system working for everybody."
Pima math and science instructor Francis Saitta is also running for the seat Durkin currently holds. His focus is more on the impact the college could have on people in need of a high school diploma.
"The community college is a unique educational institution serving the educational needs of the citizens of Pima County; whatever those educational needs happen to be," Saitta wrote in an email. He plans to spearhead this agenda if he's elected to the board.
Saitta emphasizes that his program would not be a GED program, rather one that expedites the process and is driven by each individual student's motivation.
"With the technology available, Students need NOT spend four years in satisfying the requirements for a high-school diploma," Saitta writes.
All in all, the candidates are all trying to ensure Pima is doing its part for the community.
"It's sort of disappointing to have opposition. I didn't want to argue with anyone. I'm sure [the other candidates] have the same goals," Durkin says. "They want Pima to succeed. There's no one on the other side, you know."
DON'T FORGET THE EMPLOYEES
It's true, despite the setbacks, there's always been a lot of love for Pima in the community. If there's any one group that exemplifies that, it's the employees that have been working at the college through the hullabaloo of the last few years.
That's not to say it's been easy. In the fall, a Pima faculty committee surveyed staff and found some concerns linked the low morale. If fact, 57 percent of the 263 completed surveys indicated faculty feeling unhappy at the college.
"We must adjust on the expense side, there's no way around that, and that's going to cause uneasiness," Lambert says. "People are going to be afraid, and rightfully so, for their jobs. I have said to people the way forward is to focus on student success and try to attract as many students as we can and keep the ones we have here."
So far, the college steered away from layoffs and has instead tried to cut the staff budget by eliminating vacant positions and restructuring existing jobs. Case in point: There used to be a president for each of Pima's six campuses. Today, there are three campus presidents in charge of two locations each. Changes like that may be why that staff survey reported staff feeling overworked and underappreciated.
"I think folks are naturally—and its not a bad thing—having a hard time with a change, and the mindset shift that has to happen is to understand that we must change," Lambert says. "I have to be part of helping shape that change in a positive way."
But, Lambert adds, it seems like the faculty is coming around to the changes.
At the April 13 board meeting, instructor Mays Imad delivered her monthly faculty report. She talked about the Faculty Senate commitment to helping students achieve their goals, saying the college has "exceptional, dedicated, passionate, selfless faculty that care immensely about the students."
Imad said that there are no "sides." The faculty, board and admin alike are all dedicated to the success of the college and their students. In her opinion, she added, the college is moving in the right direction.
"Communication is improving," she said, noting concerns she had previously brought up on behalf of the faculty had either been addressed or were currently being worked on. "So, I believe we are moving in the right direction."
For anyone still feeling uneasy, Lambert says the lines of communication are open.
"I think the approach I take is I'm willing to sit down with anybody, and listen to their concerns but also share my perspective and why my perspective is that way," he says. "I think just constantly doing that more and more is how I address that segment of the population."
Lambert says his message is pretty simple.
"I'm here to help shepherd the college back to that place where it puts students first and that means we have to take care of some not so pleasant stuff, and we are going to take care of that not so pleasant stuff, so that we can do what we're rightfully here to do," he says. "I'm committed to doing that, and you've seen me doing it already."


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4k00:07Aerial: Pangavini Island covered with tropical rainforest, stone shore belt around woods, top-down aerial view.
4k00:12Aerial: Pangavini Island covered with tropical rainforest, stone shore belt around woods, top-down aerial view.
4k00:15Amazing view of steep cliff in front of the sea near the countryside road with moving cars and people against sunset sky. Shot. Close-up.


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Utah Wants To Kill Zenefits For Giving Away HR Software For Free
from the no-disruption-allowed dept
Wed, Dec 3rd 2014 11:35am - Mike Masnick
Another day, another example of regulators protecting legacy businesses and trying to shut down quite useful disruptive innovations. Zenefits is an incredibly fast growing company that has become the rather de facto standard for HR software for startups in Silicon Valley. Part of the key? It gives away the software for free — software that, from competitors, costs quite a lot (to the point that many startups don't adopt HR software until much later in their lifecycle). A great NY Times profile from a few months ago detailed the rise of Zenefits and how its business model developed. In short, Zenefits had started building some online HR software, and was trying to figure out a business model, when it realized that it could give away the software for free and just get commissions by also acting as an insurance broker. The full story is much longer (and fascinating), but here's a snippet from that profile:
When businesses buy health coverage for their workers, they often go through brokers, who play the role that travel agents once did for the airlines. They are middlemen who figure out the best fit between buyers and sellers of health care, then take a percentage of the sale. And the commissions can be quite hefty. After connecting a small business with a health care provider, a broker collects a monthly fee of about 4 to 8 percent of a company?s health premiums.
The commission rates are set by care providers and aren?t usually disclosed to the small-business purchasers. But the fees amount to several hundred dollars or more per employee annually, and they generally continue for as long as a business keeps its health coverage. The broker collects the monthly fee from the care provider even if the business never talks to its broker again.
?I was thinking, wait a minute, that is a ton of money, and these guys don?t do very much for it,? Mr. Conrad said. This presented an obvious business model for Zenefits. It would become a broker itself. Thanks to the Affordable Care Act, health insurance providers now publish set rates. This meant that Zenefits could offer brokerage online, letting small businesses buy health insurance pretty much the same way people shop for airline tickets.
From there, the "software" just became a hook and a selling point. Yes, it's still the core of the actual "business," but it's just an insanely effective promotion for the insurance brokerage part, which the company has also made super simple. Businesses pay the same exact price they would normally pay for their health insurance — but they get this great HR software as part of the deal (and Zenefits collects the commissions that traditional insurance brokers would have collected for doing much, much less). Of course, as the article also notes, it's not easy to become a brokerage, but Zenefits put in all of the effort to become a registered insurance broker in various states to make this work — and it's made the company grow like gangbusters.
And… of course, traditional insurance brokers absolutely hate it. The NY Times article noted that brokers have complained to regulators in four states, including Utah. And that brings us to the latest story. While the investigations in Texas and Washington went nowhere, in Utah, the Utah Insurance Department — which is run by a former insurance broker named Todd Kiser (founder of Kiser Insurance Agency) — has told the company that it has violated a bunch of rules for daring to give its software away for free. Specifically, the Insurance Department calls out [pdf] the fact that the free software somehow violates rules against "inducements" or "rebates" for insurance.
The full letter is an astounding example of regulations designed to protect incumbents over innovators. First it attacks the use of free software, despite the fact that the end result is better for companies:
Zenefits' providing free software use of its electronic platform and dashboard
violates Utah's inducement and indirect rebate insurance laws. By Zenefits offering clients the
free use of its electronic platform and dashboard, by which employers can control and coordinate
payroll functions and manage tax-related elections; generate tax forms; access FSA, HSA, and
accounts; and administer 401k retirement savings plans and stock options; Zenefits has
created a significant free inducement for clients to purchase insurance products through Zenefits.
This software use is neither part of the insurance contract nor directly related to the insurance
contract. Also, Zenefits connecting of the various HR benefits and insurance together creates
advantages for customers to have a single internet access site to manage all HR and insurance
needs; however, again, because Zenefits does all of this for free, it creates an violating
inducement and indirect rebate for clients to purchase insurance through Zenefits.
Nowhere does the Insurance Department appear to recognize that it's basically saying "offering a better product is illegal." Instead, later in the document, it flat out admits that its goal here is to protect the legacy players who didn't innovate:
Concerning Utah's insurance public policy and State interest, the Utah Insurance
Department has the important responsibility to maintain a fair, competitive insurance business
environment for all licensees. Some of the main purposes of the Utah Insurance Code are to
ensure not only that insurance consumers are protected and treated fairly, but that licensees are
also treated fairly within a financially healthy and adequate insurance market that is not only
characterized by innovation, but also by fair conditions of competition for all insurance
licensees. See Utah Code Sec. 31A-1-102. For these reasons, Utah's specific unfair inducement
and rebating laws are strongly enforced.
In short, disrupting the old way of doing business is illegal, because the non-innovators can't keep up. The Utah Insurance Department further makes it clear that innovation that offers a better solution for companies who buy insurance is flat out not allowed under Utah law:
Insurance Department
Bulletin 2010-7 emphasizes that a licensee that provides a benefit that is not specified in an
insurance contract offered to an insured or potential insured is a violation of state law. This
includes offering benefits not specified in the insurance contract at no cost or at a cost below fair
market value. Also explained is the fact that providing other value added services not specified in
an insurance contract are also insurance violations.
In short: offering insurance buyers a better deal is illegal. The state then says it will fine Zenefits and that the company needs to stop "violating" these rules, and instead come up with a "compliance plan." Of course, for Zenefits, the only really sensible solution is to not do business in Utah, meaning that Utah-based businesses are objectively (and significantly) worse off. That's crazy — but it's the sort of ridiculous regulatory attacks presented to disruptive businesses all too frequently.
Filed Under: competition, disruptive innovation, incentives, innovation, insurance, rebates, regulations, todd kiser, utah, utah insurance department
Companies: zenefits
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LG/Netflix Rebate Site Exposes User Data With AT&T-Esque Hole [Updated]
(Mis)Uses of Technology
from the self-hacking? dept
Wed, Apr 23rd 2014 12:15pm - Tim Cushing
[Update: hole has been closed by ACB's IT team]
The Computer Fraud and Abuse Act is so severely flawed that people are extremely hesitant to report security holes in websites, especially after witnessing what happened to Weev (Andrew Auernheimer), who went to jail for exposing a flaw in AT&T's site that exposed user info when values in the URL were incremented.
The same goes here with this submission from an anonymous Techdirt reader who added this note, along with a link to a post in the Computer Security subreddit.
"I remember a person was recently arrested for finding this same flaw in a website and told (at&t/apple??) about it. He was arrested and jailed if I remember right. This is the type of chilling effects that come when people view techies as hackers and are arrested for pointing out flaws.
The flaw is in:
http://www.acbincentives.com/lgnetflix/claimdetails.asp?txtclaimnum=30345
By changing the number at the end you can harvest personal info.
I won't report the flaw, I could go to jail."
Is that overdramatic? Doubtful. People have reported security flaws to companies only to have these entities press charges, file lawsuits or otherwise tell them to shut up. Weev's only out because the government's case was brought in the wrong venue. The CFAA, which has been used to punish many helpful people, is still intact and as awful as ever.
As the (also anonymous) redditor points out, he or she has tried to contact the company but has found no avenue to address this security hole which exposes names, addresses and email addresses of customers sending in claims for a free year of Netflix streaming that came bundled with their purchase of an LG Smart TV. Incrementing the digits at the end of the URL brings up other claims, some with images of receipts attached. In addition, anyone can upload support documents to these claims.
Here's a screenshot of the hole in question:
As the original poster points out, with a little coding, someone could put together a database of addresses that most likely house a brand new LG Smart TV. And this may not just be limited to LG. ACB Incentives is the company behind this promotion, and it handles the same sort of online rebate forms for a variety of companies. These rebate submission sites all branch off acbincentives.com, which could mean it's just a matter of figuring out how each one handles submitted claims, URL-wise.
Now, I've contacted the company to let them know. Amanda Phelps at the Memphis branch says she's bringing it to the attention of programming. I also let her know that it may affect other rebate pages but that I can't confirm that. We'll see how quickly this is closed*, but all in all, the people at ACB seemed to be concerned and helpful, rather than suspcious.
*Very quickly, it appears. See note at top of post.
But the underlying point remains. Many people who discover these flaws aren't criminals and aren't looking to expose the data of thousands of unsuspecting users. They're simply concerned that this is happening and often incredulous that major companies would be this careless with customers' data. That the kneejerk reaction has often been to shoot the messenger definitely gives those discovering these holes second thoughts as to reporting them, a hesitation that could allow someone with more nefarious aims to exploit the exposed data. The law needs to change, and so does the attitude that anyone discovering a flaw must be some sort of evil hacker — or that the entity must do whatever it takes, even if it means throwing the CFAA at someone, just to prevent a little embarrassment.
Filed Under: cfaa, cybersecurity, promotions, rebates, security, security hole, user data
Companies: acb incentives, lg
DailyDirt: Tuition Debt Is For Chumps?
Too Much Free Time
from the urls-we-dig-up dept
Thu, May 23rd 2013 05:00pm - ITInnovation
Crowds of students are graduating (or have just graduated) from college, and they might be a little nervous about how they're going to pay off their student loans. Student debt can be difficult to pay off, so some folks are trying to avoid it completely in a few novel ways. Here are a bunch of examples of students getting financially creative with their tuition bills.
In 2011, Richard Linder got a college degree from Excelsior College for about $3,000 — without attending any classes in person. Excelsior doesn't require graduating students to have taken any of its own courses, so Linder transferred credits (many of them free) from a variety of online classes. [url]
Ken Ilgunas went to grad school at Duke and lived frugally in his van because he didn't want to get into debt again after paying off his undergrad loans. Ilgunas showered in the school's gym facilities, bummed electricity and internet from the libraries, and wrote a book (Walden on Wheels) about his lifestyle. [url]
Jonathan Hood paid for his graduate education at Auburn University with a TON of mail-in rebate offers. Buying stuff, redeeming the rebates and then eBaying the stuff… it takes a lot of time, but he wrote some automation software to help him keep track of all of it (and he'll likely be able to sell that someday, too). [url]
If you'd like to read more awesome and interesting stuff, check out this unrelated (but not entirely random!) Techdirt post via StumbleUpon.
Filed Under: degree, graduate school, jonathan hood, ken ilgunas, rebates, richard linder, student debt, student loans, tuition
Companies: duke, ebay, excelsior college
Tech Company That Junked Unopened Rebate Claims Pays $10k In Fines
from the isn't-that-where-rebates-belong? dept
Thu, Jul 31st 2008 07:21am - Mike Masnick
It's no secret that most people hate rebate programs. They're a pain to deal with, so many people don't even send in the rebate forms — and then, the various companies that receive them often go out of their way to find reasons to reject them. However, a tech company in San Jose named Vastech went a bit further than that. Rather than coming up with ways to void the rebates, it was caught having thrown over a thousand unopened rebate claims into the garbage. The company has now paid up on all the rebates that it had junked and has agreed to pay a $10,000 fine on top of that. To be honest, that seems rather low for deceiving the public.
Filed Under: fines, rebates
Companies: vastech

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


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DVD/Blu-ray Disc
"Yellowstone"
JustWatch: 'Ghostbusters: Afterlife,' 'Yellowstone' Top Weekly Streamed Movie, TV Show
Erik Gruenwedel
Sony Pictures' Ghostbusters: Afterlife and Paramount Network's "Yellowstone" were the top movie and TV show streamed in the United States for the week ended Jan. 9, according to new data from JustWatch. The content recommendation website tracks more than 20 million users' monthly streaming decisions across 54 countries.
Afterlife, which tracked more than $191 million at the global box office, including $125 million in North America, was made available on digital retail platforms Jan. 4.
Among episodic programming, Montana-based drama "Yellowstone" again led all shows. Indeed, the series, which is in its fourth season, bested Showtime OTT's "Yellowjackets," followed by Disney+ original series "The Book of Boba Fett.
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Streaming access to Paramount Network's original series "Yellowstone" easily distanced the newest Disney+ Marvel series "Hawkeye," according to new weekly data (through Nov. 28) from JustWatch, which tracks more than 20 million users' monthly streaming decisions across 54 countries. Catalog…
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The "Ghostbusters" franchise, old and new, continues to resonate among moviegoers and consumers in the home. The third movie in the franchise, Ghostbusters: Answer the Call, ranked as the most-popular movie streamed through Nov. 21, according to new data from…
'Game of Thrones' Top Pirated TV Show in 2017
HBO's "Game of Thrones" ended 2017 as the most-pirated television show — topping AMC Networks' "The Walking Dead." The popular period fantasy has earned the distinction for the past six years, according to TorrentFreak.com. The site announced 400,000 users illegally…
JustWatch: 'Grinch' Movies, 'Yellowstone' Top Weekly Streamed Content
With the winter holidays approaching, consumers appear to be interested in Christmas-themed movies, especially comedies. New data from JustWatch found that the 2018 animated title The Grinch, along with Will Ferrell's 2003 family comedy Elf, the 2000 Jim Carrey movie…
nine + three =


Omniplex announced as Articulate Global Reseller of the Year, again!
Have you ever sat through a "one size fits all" eLearning course wishing that it was written with you in mind?
One of the advantages how to use variables within Storyline 2 is the ability to tailor content to the specific end user by building in variables. Here are some of the different ways you can use variables to customise eLearning courses to each particular learner and at the end of this blog you can download our step-by-step guide on how to build these variables yourself.
On behalf of everyone at Omniplex, we want to congratulate our Partner, Articulate, on winning the 2015 People's Choice Stevie Awards!
One of the questions I get asked a lot in my role as Certified Trainer for Articulate Storyline 2 is when to use States, Layers or Variables. It's a common question because these features can – on the surface – appear to do very similar things. In many cases it's purely a personal choice which one to use, but it's important to understand that they do have some key differences.


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Former President Bill Clinton admitted to hospital with non-Covid related infection
Published Thu, Oct 14 20219:28 PM EDT Updated Fri, Oct 15 20216:40 PM EDT
Weizhen Tan@weizent
Clinton's spokesman, Angel Urena, said late Thursday that the former president was admitted to UCI Medical Center in California.
Urena announced on Friday that "all health indicators are trending in the right direction" and that Clinton will remain in the hospital overnight to get further IV antibiotics.
Former President Bill Clinton
Adam Jeffery | CNBC
Former President Bill Clinton was hospitalized Tuesday evening to receive treatment for a non-Covid related infection, according to his spokesman.
Clinton's spokesman, Angel Ureña, said late Thursday that the former president was admitted to UC Irvine Medical Center in California.
Ureña announced on Friday that "all health indicators are trending in the right direction" and that Clinton will remain in the hospital overnight to get further antibiotics.
"President Clinton continues to be in excellent spirits, and is deeply grateful for the outstanding care he is receiving and the well wishes that people have sent from across America and around the world," Ureña said.
Clinton's doctors said earlier in a joint statement that he was admitted to the hospital for "close monitoring" and administered IV antibiotics and fluids.
"He remains at the hospital for continuous monitoring," his doctors Alpesh Amin and Lisa Bardack said. "After two days of treatment, his white blood cell count is trending down and he is responding to antibiotics well."
They said that the California-based medical team has been in "constant communication" with the President's New York-based team, including his cardiologist.
"We hope to have him go home soon," they said in the statement.
President Joe Biden spoke over the phone with Clinton Friday afternoon, according to White House principal deputy press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre.
"President Biden and President Clinton look forward to seeing each other again soon. President Biden wishes President Clinton a speedy recovery," Jean-Pierre said.
NBC News, citing a source close to Clinton, said the former president was in intensive care as a "precautionary measure" taken by the hospital to isolate him — not because it was required as part of his treatment. The original infection was diagnosed as urologic, but it turned into a broader one, said the source, according to the NBC report.
Clinton, who is 75, also has had a history of heart problems. In 2004, he underwent a quadruple heart bypass operation to relieve severely clogged arteries, according to NBC News. In 2010, he had another heart procedure to insert two stents to a coronary artery.
Correction: This article has been updated to correct the date that Clinton's spokesman announced the former president's hospitalization.
Former President Bill Clinton: Trump would 'blame, bully and belittle' and Biden will 'build back better'


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Home NEWS Transportation Jebel Ali developer hails access to local Metro station
Jebel Ali developer hails access to local Metro station
By Essam al Ghalib www.thenational.ae
The developer of a Jebel Ali property project has pronounced itself pleased that the Roads and Transit Authority (RTA) has provided direct access to the Jebel Ali Metro station.
The RTA opened what was meant to serve as an emergency access to the south side of the stop after a number of tenants at The Galleries complained they had no access to the station within walking distance. Tenants and visitors can now reach the station, which opened March 11, via a dusty, sandy trail that starts approximately 300 metres from the stop.
"Limitless is delighted that the RTA has opened up passenger access to the Metro station serving The Galleries at Downtown Jebel Ali," said Bahaa Abouhatab, the development's project director. "This … will further cement its position as one of Dubai's most sought-after business hubs and provide a convenient alternative to the car."
Limitless also reported a positive take-up of the Metro among its tenants at The Galleries since the station opened. Nearly 15 per cent of the 150 Galleries staff of US-based Kraft Foods have used or intend to use it this week. The UK-based professional services firm Arup, which moved 70 workers into the Galleries on Sunday, said 10 per cent are commuting by Metro.
Arup is also encouraging Metro use among visiting staff by putting them up in a hotel in the Al Barsha area that is one block from the Metro.
Access to the Jebel Ali station from Jafza South comes by way of RTA bus F54, which runs every 30 minutes daily from 7:10am to 11:15pm. The public cannot enter the station from the north side unless they are employed at the Jebel Ali Free Zone and have identification to prove it.
Jebel Ali Metro Station
Roads and Transport Authority (RTA).
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UAE to reopen air, land and sea borders with Qatar on Saturday


Bashley 3rds travelled to Langley Manor and on losing the toss, were asked to bat first in the overcast conditions.
Ryan Taylor and Tom O'Sullivan made an explosive start and had raced to 43 off the first 5 overs when Taylor was bowled for 19. O'Sullivan continued to score freely until he was caught and bowled for a rapid 46. Graham Pardey and Arno Hattingh built on this good start until Pardey was caught for 33. Hattingh continued his recent good run of form with another fine innings of 67. Late order flourishes from Sam Scott (16) and James Edmonds (21 not out) took Bashley to a challenging 256 for 8 after their 45 overs.
After tea, James Edmonds (2 for 31) struck with an early wicket but Langley Manor made a positive start to their run chase. Michael O'Sullivan (1 for 30) dismissed the Langley Manor skipper Cresswell for 29. Sam Scott bowled an excellent spell of 3 for 28 to remove the Langley Manor middle order. He was well supported by Sam Presland (1 for 23) and Jack Ransom (2 for 40) as the Langley Manor innings faltered. Wicket keeper Chris Gates excelled with two sharp stumpings and a catch behind. A slick throw for a run out by James Edmonds and a smart one handed catch by Ryan Taylor were other highlights of an excellent all round team performance by Bashley. This ensured that they ran out comfortable winners in the end by 82 runs and remain in fourth place in the league with one match of the season remaining.


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Former President George W. Bush issues statement congratulating Biden, complimenting Trump
by Peter Heck · Nov 9th, 2020 8:57 am
Last Updated Nov 9th, 2020 at 7:09 pm
Former Republican president George W. Bush, the last president to deal with a protracted dispute over election results, issued a statement Sunday congratulating Joe Biden, whom he called "a good man."
The only living former Republican president said that he had called Biden to offer his personal congratulations, and in so doing became the most prominent Republican to acknowledge Biden's apparent victory.
In his statement, Bush also complimented President Trump for the "extraordinary political achievement" of earning more than 70 million votes. Bush reminded that those Americans who voted for Trump would have "their voices…heard through elected Republicans at every level of government."
The 43rd president encouraged national unity in his statement, reminding Americans, "There is no problem that will not yield to the gathered will of a free people." He also affirmed the president-elect's commitment to a unifying approach to government.
"I offered him the same thing I offered Presidents Trump and Obama," Bush said. "My prayers for his success, and my pledge to help in any way I can."
Bush joined Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski and Utah Sen. Mitt Romney as the only prominent Republican leaders who have publicly congratulated Biden. Others are waiting for the litigation over potential fraudulent votes to conclude.
Read Bush's full statement here.
"Jeopardy!" host Alex Trebek passes away at 80
21-year-old becomes first person with Down syndrome to complete an Ironman
New report says former AG Barr told Trump that stolen election theories were "bullsh--"
Federal prosecutors withdraw allegation that Capitol rioters wanted to "capture and assassinate" lawmakers
Twitter says Biden won't inherit Trump's 33M followers on @POTUS account
VP Pence calls Kamala Harris to offer congratulations, cooperation


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Q: Akka: Forwarded Messages are being lost Hi I have a intuitive case of message forwarding as you can see below. Actor1 is forwarding multiple messages to Actor2, however Actor2 only receives portions of messages, for some reason some messages get lost without a trace. For example, Actor1 forwards 10 messages to Actor2, however Actor2 receives only 7 of them. I see no exception or ambiguous messages in the logs. Why could this be happening?
Actor1 extends Actor {
   val actor2 = context.actorOf(Actor2.props)
   def receive = {
      case msg: SomeMessage => {
         log.info("Forwarding SomeMessage to Actor2")
         actor2 forward msg
      }
   }
}

Actor2 extends Actor {
   def receive = {
      case msg: SomeMessage => {
          //Do something
          log.info("SomeMessage received from Actor1")
      }
   }
}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


Longtime readers know that we love us some Golden Age Canadian comics at CBD, and over the weekend I got a chance to sit down with Comics Historian and Publisher Rachel Richey to talk about her latest project, bringing back Canadian Hero and icon Johnny Canuck!
Q. So you've just come off your very successful Nelvana campaign and you dive right into bringing Johnny Canuck to the masses. Tell me a bit about Johnny.
A. Johnny is a true hero, unafraid to walk into dangerous situations or take drastic measures to get out of trouble! He's jumped out of planes and windows, punched Hitler and attacked leopards, and has traveled all over the world. He's been beaten, shot and betrayed. And the best part about Leo Bachle's storytelling is that all the stories are like this!
Q. He sounds a lot like our Captain America.
A. He is! He's always making references to Canadian ability, with nothing short of pride. The only difference is that he doesn't have super strength. He is really strong, though!
Q. What sets Johnny Canuck apart? Why is he different?
A. I would say, first and foremost, Leo Bachle's story telling sets him apart. Johnny is by no means a boring comic book, and for just 28 issues, there is a breadth of styles. On top of that, Johnny Canuck is one of the first of its kind to do story arcs. In the series there are 7, and continuing characters throughout the book!
Q. What can fans hope to see from the Kickstarter campaign?
A. The Kickstarter campaign collects all the issues of Johnny Canuck, which have been out of print since they originally came out in the 40s. I currently have all the scans and I'm about halfway through cleaning them up, so, although the book is scheduled to come out in February, I'm pretty sure it will be before that!
Q. You are working with a lot of great industry talent on this project, how did that come about?
A. Many artists are just as passionate about old Canadian heroes as you guys are! Leonard Kirk, Marco Rudy, Cary Nord, Andy Belanger, Francis Manapul, Scott Hepburn, Ramon Perez, Jeff Lemire, Scott Chantler and many others were gracious enough to contribute to this project. The big surprise was Darwyn Cooke! I mean, I can't image how mind blowing that art is going to be!
Q. People like you and Ivan are so passionate about Golden Age Canadian Comics, what would you say to folks who have never had a chance to enjoy them?
A. You have to read them, they are ahead of their time! On top of being genuinely good comics, Canada has such a rich comics industry, now and then. We need to know and value all of it as genuine comics fans!
Q. There are still a lot of Canadian superheroes that the public knows very little about. Do you have plans to bring anymore reprints to our bookshelves?
A. I have the reprint rights for all Bell Features comics, but my first plans are to bring back The Penguin, Rex Baxter, Doc Stearn/Mr. Monster, Thunderfist, Polka Dot Pirate, The Wing, Speed Savage with Ivan, and those just to start! I also have a fondness for Penny's Diary, which is like Archie comics. I also have some exciting stuff in store with modern heroes as well! That's all I'll say for now!
You can support Rachel's Kickstarter campaign here, and if you want to learn more about our Canadian comic book heritage you should be reading Ivan's weekly column here.
One day comic book shows are great!
I can't wait to bring Johnny back! He's such a cool character!


In accordance with Health and Safety legislation it is a requirement that a Decontamination Statement, which has been completed and signed by an authorised person, accompany all liquid handling devices dispatched to us.
If a pipette is used with hazardous material it is essential that a pipette is decontaminated to ensure safety of our Calibration Scientists and others.
It is important to check the manufacturer's recommendations prior to pipette decontamination, especially in relation to autoclaving. This is to ensure that the solutions/procedures used in decontamination are compatible with the pipette.
Please download the below Decontamination Statement and sign for inclusion when submitting your pipettes for calibration.


First time original working out the game Temple Run from studio Imangi Studios was created for devices with IOS system. Players liked it so much as it appeared on the Android smartphones with time. You can not to take a fancy for dynamic exciting game process. It's simply impossible to break away from it! The plot is based on escape from the temple where the character woke up a dark force, something like as three monkeys. They are chase the hero all game, so he need to run fast all the time. It doesn't allow you to take a breath any minute. You can take advantage of this Temple Run Hack and get infinite amount of Coins.
hack Temple Run is created in 3D graphic arts, it is very detailed, with well-defined each element. The picture serially changes in the process of chasing, but the bridge with obstacles like canyons, tree roots and sharp turns, is constant all time. This obstacles you need to jump over or slip under it. You should hold a finger in needed way for turn or jump; there are not buttons in the games. When character is running, he should collect coins that later you could buy different improvements. Different pleasure bonuses come across your way. They can facilitate game for a certain time. You probably know that you can download Temple Run Mod Apk and get Coins, but in that case there are pitfalls. First of all, to use the Mod Apk you need to have Root on your device. Secondly, it's not entirely safe. But if you use our Temple Run Hack, you do not need to have Jailbreak or Root, because these Cheats works without it too.
How to Hack Temple Run?
There are not many ways to hack Temple Run, but we offer you the best way to do this. This method is to use Temple Run Cheats. You will see a list of these Cheats below. The important point is that you can use these Cheats even without Jailbreak and Root. You can use it on iOS and Android devices.
Interface of Temple Run Cheats game is designed very goodly; menu is drawn skillfully. Designers worked on the glory. You can exchange coins to upgrade or interesting bonuses (for example start you way on the big distance from monkeys) in special section. Also Temple Run saves your progress which you can see in the section "Objectives" anytime. You can share it with your friends, if you want. When you will hoard a certain amount of coins, you will could to change skin of player with established variants in the game. With Temple Run Hack you can get unlimited everything. If you asked the question "How to get unlimited amount of Coins", than the answer is simple - use Temple Run Hack.
Well, if you want to pass free time, you can do it joyfully with Temple Run Hack like set a new record for collecting coins or some competition with friends. Graphics is created at a high level, landscape regularly changes for more interesting playing, and the character is controlled just by one touching a screen. All the game runs at a frantic pace, so you will have no time to relax. There is tutorial for those who plays first time. This program help to understand what player should do in different situations, where he should to jump or duck right way. Also you may be interested in this Idle Miner Tycoon Hack. This is cool game too.


Last year the staff at Onwatch Multifire decided to support Crisis Christmas campaign which offer homeless people the opportunity of getting off of the streets for Christmas and after our successful fundraising last year (50 homeless people off the streets for Christmas) the staff at Onwatch Multifire Protection have all decided to support Crisis UK this Christmas. Our success last year was helped by all of our suppliers and we are hoping that you might be in a position to support us again and help us in providing the following on Christmas Day to others less fortunate than ourselves.
To name but a few but we will also be raffling gifts and prizes and this is hopefully where you guys come in if you are able to provide a prize for the raffle or auction i.e. chocolates, wine etc. we would be extremely grateful.
Hopefully when we all sit down on Christmas Day with our families to enjoy our Christmas meal we will hopefully be joined by a number of homeless people who we have helped this Christmas time.
To see our official letter click HERE.


The Anti-Aging Rose'Berry face mask is a product of love made in collaboration with our NC Ambassador Morgan Haley. Our Rose'Berry face mask is nourishing, hydrating and gently cleansing, making it a great mask for all skin types.
We used raw, organic Honey for its healing properties, adding nutritional value to the skin. Rose Clay and Kaolin Clay are included for their gentle cleansing effect. The antioxidant rich organic Cranberry Oil helps diminish the visible signs of aging, as it works to regenerate your skin. Rose'Berry contains the perfect ratio of omega-3 to omega-6 fatty acids, leaving your skin with a hydrated glow.
Raw Honey*, Vegetable Glycerin*, Rose Clay, Kaolin, Cranberry Oil*, Grapefruit Seed Extract, Lemon, Geranium Rose, Frankincense.
Use a generous amount of clay 1-2x week during your PM skincare ritual. Start at your chin, moving upward in a gentle, circular motion. Apply your mask to cover your whole face, making sure to avoid the eye area. Leave the mask on for 20mins. Before rinsing, massage all of the Rose'Berry goodness into your skin for a couple of minutes. Follow the mask with your favorite facial mist and oil. Rose'Berry Face Mask will leave your skin feeling soft and hydrated.


Some types of life insurance policies, including whole life, universal life and variable life, can accumulate cash value during the policyholder's lifetime.
Cash value life insurance: What's it worth to you?
Dec 12, 2017… The cash value account is one reason whole life insurance premiums…. This estimate applies only to the New York Life policy example above.
Is it better to buy whole life insurance or buy term and invest the rest? Our term vs whole life insurance calculator compares cost and future cash value.
Feb 11, 2019… Cash-value life insurance, also known as permanent life insurance,… While variable life, whole life and universal life insurance all have… to calculate potential cash value accumulation of your permanent life insurance policy.


Sally Hayes loves traveling for work and pleasure. She likes to maximize her travel budget while making the most of each day of her trip.
You've spent all year planning your next big vacation. Or maybe your boss has sent you to the other side of the world to make the sales pitch of the century. With so much at stake, the last thing you want is a crippling bout of jet lag.
As a business traveler myself, and someone who often has a hard time getting a good night's sleep at home or away, I've learned a few things about how to reduce travel fatigue. If you're like me, and you don't want to let your next vacation get spoiled by annoying jet lag symptoms, perhaps these tips and tricks I use to keep my energy levels on an even, healthy keel can help you too.
So much to see! So much to do! Don't let jet lag keep you from getting out there and exploring!
The most common side effect of traveling across time zones is feeling sluggish when you arrive at your destination. Depending on the direction of your journey, on the other hand, you may feel overly alert and restless because your internal sleeping and waking clock is out of synch with the local time zone. Fatigue from a lengthy plane trip can also affect your digestion, your mood, and your ability to concentrate.
Whether you are traveling for work or pleasure, jet lag can have a negative impact on your time away. But for business travelers, the adverse symptoms of lengthy plane travel could impact your bottom line.
I often travel out of town to meet with new clients, give workshops, and deliver keynote speeches. Arriving to a business meeting at the last minute after several long flights and lengthy layovers robs me of the time I need to rest and recharge my batteries, organize my presentation materials together, and practice my speech. If people have set aside their time to listen to my presentation, they deserve to see someone who looks and sounds polished ad professional. Spending a couple hundred dollars more for a direct flight or business class seating can help offset the impact jet lag can have on my performance. And when my image and reputation are on the line, it's worth the extra investment.
This is a special note for travelers with disabilities, chronic health conditions, or who are pregnant. If you are a traveler with extra health concerns, the effects of crossing time zones may be more disruptive for you. As someone who sometimes deals with chronic pain, I have to be extra vigilant when it comes to maintaining good sleep habits and preserving my energy levels while traveling across time zones. Before you go on a long flight, talk to your doctor or healthcare professional about ways that you can have a healthier, happier trip that doesn't wear you out.
The more layovers you have on your way to your destination, the more chances your flight could be disrupted and delayed. If you really want to stay ahead of jet lag symptoms, try to book as direct a flight as possible.
Book a Sensible Flight, Even If It Costs More. You're Worth It.
Prevent jet lag by choosing a smart travel schedule and book the best flight possible. One of the easiest ways to curb jet lag is to make efficient flight reservations that get you to your destination as quickly as possible. The faster you get to where you are going, the faster you can start adjusting to your new time zone and start making the most of your trip.
Direct flights and flights with short layovers are usually more expensive than flights with multiple connections and long layovers. Sure, you may save $150 by stopping in three cities with a combined layover time of eight hours, but are the savings really worth it? If you're exhausted from a long day of traveling, it will take longer to get into the groove when you get to your destination. If you're out-of-it for a day and not enjoying the first few days of your trip because you're so tired, how much money are you really saving by choosing a cheap flight?
My partner and I often disagree on the best way to get to our destination. While he likes to save money by taking a longer, multi-stop flight path, I prefer to spend more to get where we're going as quickly as possible. Do you and your traveling companion usually agree with each other on travel plans?
Do you and your partner always agree on how to get to your destination?
We disagree. One of us prefers to save money on the flight while the other likes to get there as fast as possible.
We both agree that getting there faster is better, even if it costs extra.
We both agree that saving money is better even if we have to deal with jet lag symptoms.
What is the point of saving money on airfare if it means you have to spend hours and hours of your precious vacation on layovers.
Get ahead of jet lag before you step out the door. Start your trip off on the right foot by reducing stress triggers before you go to the airport.
Avoid arriving at the airport cranky and frazzled. Getting a good amount of rest before your flight is important. If you're stressed out and feeling harried before you get to board the plane, it will take longer to settle in and relax on your flight. Pack and get organized for your trip well in advance of heading to the airport.
If you can, take a day off of work before your trip so that you can relax a bit and get into vacation mode before you get on the plane. Rushing out the door at work to catch a plane to an exotic destination may sound exciting and adventurous, but it doesn't give you time to mentally switch gears from work mode to vacation mode. Being irritable because you were overwhelmed with last-minute at work details will only aggravate your symptoms.
Don't party hard the night before your flight. Although you may want to celebrate the fact that you're going on a fantastic trip by having a bon voyage party, don't overdo it. Being hung-over on a flight is not fun. Avoid drinking alcohol and caffeine 12 - 24 hours before your flight. If you get caffeine withdrawal headaches when you don't have your morning cuppa joe, drink just enough coffee to keep a headache away. Try drinking half a cup instead of your regular one or two cups.
Although people often complain about airline food, the one thing it's got going for it is that the portion sizes are usually quite modest and well balanced. Sitting in a cramped seat when you are feeling bloated and stuffed is not comfortable.
Travel with comfort in mind. The clothes you wear and the foods you eat can impact the quality of your flying experience.
Avoid eating a rich and spicy meal before your flight. Big meals can make you feel stuffed and bloated. Spicy meals drenched in salt, garlic, and onion will leave a lingering taste in your mouth. Spicy foods can also contribute to embarrassing body odor a few hours after consumption. Do yourself and your fellow passengers a favor and eat a light and refreshing meal instead of a heavy, rich meal before you take-off.
Dress comfortably for your flight. Loose, breathable clothing that can be put on and taken off in layers is ideal for a stress-free flight. Wear comfortable shoes. I like to pack a small toiletry kit of comfort items to keep me feel fresh on the plane. I include items such as facial wipes, hand sanitizers, some touch-up make-up, a toothbrush, eye mask and any other flight-cabin approved items that help me freshen up while on the plane.
Ask for help. One of the best ways to reduce the impact of jet lag on your travel plans is to be your own advocate and ask for help when you need it. I have a few physical limitations that make traveling with excess baggage on a solo trip quite difficult. If you have mobility concerns or special circumstances that make traveling a challenge, plan ahead and find out what accessibility accommodations and extra assistance are available to you at the airport and at your hotel or resort.
You made it! Now that you've arrived at your destination, take time to ease into vacation mode.
Settle in. When you land, try to adapt your schedule to your new surroundings as soon as possible: Eat, sleep, and exercise based on the local time, not your usual home time programmed into your head.
For me, sometimes all it takes to perk up after a long flight is a shower, change of clothes, and a light walk around my vacation destination. Doing this helps give me a boost of energy to stay awake for the rest of the day, and then go to bed at local time.
When you arrive at your destination, try to synchronize your sleep schedule with the new timezone. If local time says it's bedtime, even if you aren't tired, prepare yourself for bed with your regular evening routine.


'That is obvious!' – you may say, but you can't even imagine how many people skip this option. You can expect no or very low interest, borrowing from you close people. If they confide in you and you always return you debts, they will be glad to lend you 500 dollars.
Should you want to make it more businesslike, you could sign a loan contract or a promissory note in order to give your promisee a sense of credence that you will pay the money back. A 0% loan is the best alternative. If this variant is impossible, try to borrow at five percent or less. Be honest! In case you are in trouble and there is nowhere to turn to, make it clear to your lender. This might be an opportunity to get sympathy.
If you wish to get money fast, then you could sell like mad. Generally, people do not understand that they own loads of things they can get rid of at low prices to take up money. Transportation facilities, different gadgets, fashionable clothes, fur, jewellery etc. – all these items can be sold at the pawnshop. Your things can be taken as loan securities or you can make a loan by just selling your assets at a discount.
On the other hand, there is always some trash in your house that you would want to sell. Surf the net to look for people who will buy your old used or unused things.
This method of borrowing is highly expensive, though quite suitable. You may raise money immediately; however, the interest rate is always extremely high.
Your credit score is essential in this case. The better it is, the lower is the charge (between 20% and 50%). As a rule, you can withdraw 90% of the credit limit.
There are always weird (and often unpleasant) jobs that few people want to do. You definitely won't be paid the whole sum at once, but you could do a job that pays 25$ twenty times. Explain an employee your quandary so that you could get some compassion.
Think about a spare space that you can rent out for an advance, find out whether you can do it quickly. Make a list of the estate agencies and start calling. Offer 500$ a year as a charge as soon as a person is ready to pay in advance. There is always somebody who is looking for a low-priced room.
As a matter of fact, you can sell not only this, but also sperm (men) and eggs (women), white blood cells or even hair. Do not misuse this advice! Remember, you may donate blood again in 56 days only and wait 28 days between plasma donations.
If you are in despair and wish to get 500 dollars quickly, use all the possibilities and you will achieve your target. Study the points above and choose the best option or use all the tips.
TweetingYarnie Giving credit to people with bad credit who are trying to build credit is a very bad idea. They need to earn more money.
JazzyBayli Selling my soul for an extra two grand. Any one wanna buy? Two grand plus my loan will get me the car i want with low monthly payments.
Also If you want to make 500 and more dollars a day online, we recommend that you read the manual: "How to Make 1,000$ Per Day With YouTube Videos"


text:
Q: Kotlin Class Reflection Not Working in .kt File I have a .kt Fragment file in my project and I'm trying to start a new activity with the following code:
profilePref?.setOnPreferenceClickListener {
            val profileIntent = Intent(activity, ProfileActivity::class.java)
            startActivity(profileIntent)
            true
        }

I have included both
implementation ("org.jetbrains.kotlin:kotlin-reflect:1.7.10")

in my module build.gradle and
classpath "org.jetbrains.kotlin:kotlin-android-extensions:$kotlin_version"

in my project build.gradle, but the class.java still gives me unresolved reference and I'm not really sure why, any help would be appreciated.


Now that we have our main courses all set to go for St. Patty's day, we needed a dessert. After searching through many recipes I didn't find anything as far as authentic Irish desserts that I wanted for our party. I needed something familiar to the crowd but with an Irish twist. So I started looking up cheesecakes.
Now I have never been a big cheesecake eater or cooker so I had to make up some test batches with quite a few recipes and really I wasn't satisfied with any of them. Finally I took a bit from this recipe and that recipe and just added my own ideas into it and came out with some of the best cheesecake I ever had.
I always noticed that cheesecake many times can be dry, or heavy or both. This recipe makes a light, smooth textured cake that any cheese lover will devour.
1 cup of graham cracker crumbs (just crush some graham crackers finely).
3 tablespoons of unsalted butter, melted.
32 ounces of warm (softened) cream cheese (4 8 ounce packages).
1/4 cup Baileys Irish Cream Liqueur.
1/4 cup of semi sweet chocolate chips.
1/8 cup Baileys Irish Cream Liqueur.
Stir together the crust ingredients and press down on a greased spring-form pan. Make sure the crust is even to keep the cake from cracking. Cook for 10 minutes. While your waiting, prepare the cake ingredients. Set the pan on a wire rack to cool. Lower oven temp to 300.
With a mixer beat together the cream cheese, sugar, and flour until pretty smooth. Add vanilla and Baileys until just blended. Add each egg, one at a time to the mix until just blended (don't over blend).
Add the sour cream until just blended.
Make sure there are no lumps or separated ingredients in the mixture and then pour 3/4 of it into the spring-form pan with the crust. Drop the tablespoons of strawberries evenly around the batter leaving at least an inch from the side of the pan. Using a knife, make swirls of the berries throughout the cake. Pour the remaining mixture on top.
Cook for 1 hour at 300 degrees.
Turn off the oven and let the cake remain in the oven for 15-20 minutes and then place on a wire rack. Using a knife, gently separate the pie from the sides of the pan. Let cool completely.
Cover pan with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 10 hours. The cake will taste best if refrigerated for 24 hours.
After the cake is cooled, make the topping.
Melt the chips in a small bowl in the microwave. This should take no more than two minutes. Start with a minute, stir with a spoon and then 15 second intervals afterwards.
Once melted, add the Baileys and the sugar. Stir strongly until combined and thickened. If you want a thicker topping, try adding a little more sugar.
Remove the side of the spring-form pan.
Take a plain plastic sandwich baggy and place the mixture inside. Using a pair of scissors, cut the corner of the bag. This should be a very small cut. You can now drizzle this mixture all over the cake by squeezing the mixture through the cut hole, and it is ready to serve!


The C-code used for this product is C1725, catheter, transluminal angioplasty, non-laser (may include guidance, infusion/perfusion capability). C-codes are used for hospital outpatient device reporting for Medicare and some private payers.
Peripheral Cutting Balloon is a registered or unregistered trademark of Boston Scientific Corporation or its affiliates. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.


text:
.class Landroid/speech/tts/TtsEngines$EngineInfoComparator;
.super Ljava/lang/Object;
.source "TtsEngines.java"

# interfaces
.implements Ljava/util/Comparator;

# annotations
.annotation system Ldalvik/annotation/EnclosingClass;
    value = Landroid/speech/tts/TtsEngines;
.end annotation

.annotation system Ldalvik/annotation/InnerClass;
    accessFlags = 0xa
    name = "EngineInfoComparator"
.end annotation

.annotation system Ldalvik/annotation/Signature;
    value = {
        "Ljava/lang/Object;",
        "Ljava/util/Comparator",
        "<",
        "Landroid/speech/tts/TextToSpeech$EngineInfo;",
        ">;"
    }
.end annotation

# static fields
.field static INSTANCE:Landroid/speech/tts/TtsEngines$EngineInfoComparator;

# direct methods
.method static constructor <clinit>()V
    .registers 1

    .prologue
    .line 298
    new-instance v0, Landroid/speech/tts/TtsEngines$EngineInfoComparator;

    invoke-direct {v0}, Landroid/speech/tts/TtsEngines$EngineInfoComparator;-><init>()V

    sput-object v0, Landroid/speech/tts/TtsEngines$EngineInfoComparator;->INSTANCE:Landroid/speech/tts/TtsEngines$EngineInfoComparator;

    .line 295
    return-void
.end method

.method private constructor <init>()V
    .registers 1

    .prologue
    .line 296
    invoke-direct {p0}, Ljava/lang/Object;-><init>()V

    return-void
.end method

# virtual methods
.method public compare(Landroid/speech/tts/TextToSpeech$EngineInfo;Landroid/speech/tts/TextToSpeech$EngineInfo;)I
    .registers 5
    .param p1, "lhs"    # Landroid/speech/tts/TextToSpeech$EngineInfo;
    .param p2, "rhs"    # Landroid/speech/tts/TextToSpeech$EngineInfo;

    .prologue
    .line 307
    iget-boolean v0, p1, Landroid/speech/tts/TextToSpeech$EngineInfo;->system:Z

    if-eqz v0, :cond_8

    iget-boolean v0, p2, Landroid/speech/tts/TextToSpeech$EngineInfo;->system:Z

    if-eqz v0, :cond_16

    .line 309
    :cond_8
    iget-boolean v0, p2, Landroid/speech/tts/TextToSpeech$EngineInfo;->system:Z

    if-eqz v0, :cond_10

    iget-boolean v0, p1, Landroid/speech/tts/TextToSpeech$EngineInfo;->system:Z

    if-eqz v0, :cond_18

    .line 317
    :cond_10
    iget v0, p2, Landroid/speech/tts/TextToSpeech$EngineInfo;->priority:I

    iget v1, p1, Landroid/speech/tts/TextToSpeech$EngineInfo;->priority:I

    sub-int/2addr v0, v1

    return v0

    .line 308
    :cond_16
    const/4 v0, -0x1

    return v0

    .line 310
    :cond_18
    const/4 v0, 0x1

    return v0
.end method

.method public bridge synthetic compare(Ljava/lang/Object;Ljava/lang/Object;)I
    .registers 4
    .param p1, "lhs"    # Ljava/lang/Object;
    .param p2, "rhs"    # Ljava/lang/Object;

    .prologue
    .line 306
    check-cast p1, Landroid/speech/tts/TextToSpeech$EngineInfo;

    .end local p1    # "lhs":Ljava/lang/Object;
    check-cast p2, Landroid/speech/tts/TextToSpeech$EngineInfo;

    .end local p2    # "rhs":Ljava/lang/Object;
    invoke-virtual {p0, p1, p2}, Landroid/speech/tts/TtsEngines$EngineInfoComparator;->compare(Landroid/speech/tts/TextToSpeech$EngineInfo;Landroid/speech/tts/TextToSpeech$EngineInfo;)I

    move-result v0

    return v0
.end method

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


Gennaro A. Rodriguez Marino was born on July 8, 1984. An architect, he starts his career formally on 2010, and without any study on plastic arts, he discovers his passion for canvas and color in small format in a very peculiar way.
Inspired on the feminine figure he participates in charitable auctions, murals, and collective work, rapidly making a name of his own commercially.
With over a hundred art pieces sold to homes, business, restaurants and hotels, he has had great review from art critics and general public.
Gennaro's art has been exposed in Ibiza Chic Hotel, Novotel, Sortis Hotel, Addison House and others, and can be found in the renowned Galería Habitante, in which at the end of 2015 he will present his first professional exposition to the public in Panama City.


text:
Q: How to select data from a range within a density in R Not sure about how to tackle this - I have a data distribution where data selection based on standard deviation does not include all data points (data is more variable on one end than on the other). However, when plotting a density plot I can see that all data outside the 8th blue ring are what I want to select.
Example code:
x <- sort(rnorm(1300, mean = 0, sd = 1))
y <- rnorm(1300, mean = 0, sd = 1)
x <- c(x, rnorm(300, mean = 4, sd = 2), rnorm(600, mean = -2, sd = 2))
y <- c(y, rnorm(300, mean = 3, sd = 4), rnorm(600, mean = -2, sd = 2))

mydata <- data.frame(x,y)

ggplot(data = mydata, aes(x = x, y = y)) +
  geom_point(cex = 0.5) +
  geom_density_2d()

A: I adapted this from http://slowkow.com/notes/ggplot2-color-by-density/.
Under the hood, geom_density_2d uses the MASS::kde2d function, so we can also apply it to the underlying data to subset by density.
set.seed(42)
x <- sort(rnorm(1300, mean = 0, sd = 1))
y <- rnorm(1300, mean = 0, sd = 1)
x <- c(x, rnorm(300, mean = 4, sd = 2), rnorm(600, mean = -2, sd = 2))
y <- c(y, rnorm(300, mean = 3, sd = 4), rnorm(600, mean = -2, sd = 2))

mydata <- data.frame(x,y)

# Copied from http://slowkow.com/notes/ggplot2-color-by-density/
get_density <- function(x, y, n = 100) {
  dens <- MASS::kde2d(x = x, y = y, n = n)
  ix <- findInterval(x, dens$x)
  iy <- findInterval(y, dens$y)
  ii <- cbind(ix, iy)
  return(dens$z[ii])
}
mydata$density <- get_density(mydata$x, mydata$y)

Select points based on arbitrary contour
EDIT: Changed to allow selection based on contour levels
# First create plot with geom_density
gg <- ggplot(data = mydata, aes(x = x, y = y)) +
  geom_point(cex = 0.5) +
  geom_density_2d(size = 1, n = 100)
gg

# Extract levels denoted by contours by going into the
#   ggplot build object. I found these coordinates by
#   examining the object in RStudio; Note, the coordinates
#   would change if the layer order were altered.
gb <- ggplot_build(gg)
contour_levels <- unique(gb[["data"]][[2]][["level"]])
# contour_levels
# [1] 0.01 0.02 0.03 0.04 0.05 0.06 0.07 0.08

# Add layer that relies on given contour level
gg2 <- gg +
  geom_point(data = mydata %>%
               filter(density <= contour_levels[1]),
             color = "red", size = 0.5)
gg2


What do I need in order to play with amiibo?
How many games can I save to a single amiibo at the same time?
Do all amiibo work with all compatible games?
Where can I find out which games an amiibo is compatible with?
Can I play as my amiibo figure as a character in the games?
If I already have game data saved on my amiibo, can I still use that amiibo in other compatible games?
How do I set up my amiibo figure with Super Smash Bros. for Wii U?
What does it mean if an amiibo is Read-only or Read/Write compatible?
Can you play amiibo-compatible games without using amiibo?
Visit the Customer Support page for additional FAQ topics.
You will need an amiibo figure or card, a compatible game, and a Nintendo Switch, Wii U, or New Nintendo 3DS XL system.
For use with Nintendo 3DS, Nintendo 3DS XL and Nintendo 2DS systems, a Nintendo 3DS NFC Reader/Writer accessory is required. (Sold separately).
Compatibility information is listed in several places, including this handy compatibility chart.
You can also check out the lineup here, then click on an amiibo figure for a description that includes a full list of compatible titles.
And, you may also search for amiibo figures by compatible game.
Yes, you can still use your amiibo to get bonus items in games like Mario Kart 8 and Hyrule Warriors. However, for other games that save data to your amiibo (such as Mario Party 10), you will need to delete any existing save data on the amiibo before using it with a new read/write compatible game.
An amiibo-compatible game can have either Read-only or Read/Write compatibility with an amiibo.
Read-only compatible means that you can tap an amiibo to the system's NFC reader to get additional content. For example, the Mario amiibo figure will give you a special racing suit for your Mii™ character when used with the Mario Kart 8 game.
Read/Write compatible, on the other hand, means that you can get additional content AND save certain game data to the amiibo. For example, you can customize your character and then save it to your Mario amiibo in Super Smash Bros. for Wii U. One amiibo can hold save data for one game at a time.
You can use an amiibo with save data on it in Read-only compatible games. That means you'll still get the additional content without having to use a different amiibo!
Specific features depend on the amiibo and the compatible game.
In general, some games can save game data to an amiibo. Other games will give you bonus content just for tapping an amiibo to your game system's NFC reader.
For full details, check out the compatibility chart.
Compatibility and functionality of amiibo may vary by game.
Find out which amiibo are compatible by game with the compatibility chart.
Compatibility and functionality of amiibo vary by game.
Some titles allow you to play as your amiibo character. For example, in Super Smash Bros. for Wii U, you can battle, train, and level up your amiibo character.
For full details, please check out the compatible games.
Start up the game. Select "Games and More" in the main menu, then select "amiibo."
Tap your amiibo to the NFC touchpoint found on the lower-left corner of the Wii U GamePad controller, assign it to an owner, select an outfit and give it a nickname.
Press Start (+ button) to confirm, then tap your amiibo to the GamePad again to save.
Select "Smash" mode from the main menu, then on the character select screen, tap the GamePad to send your amiibo into battle.
Remember, when your amiibo is done battling, tap it in again to save your amiibo figure's progress.
You can enjoy the full game experience with all games compatible with amiibo without using an amiibo figure. Using an amiibo will simply add new, optional elements to the gameplay (depending on the game).


Dan Snyder today agreed to dismiss his lawsuit against the City Paper and its reporter, Dave McKenna, with prejudice (this means that the case is over and Snyder cannot file suit again on these allegations). In the stipulation of dismissal, the defendants agree "that they shall bear their own fees and costs in connection with this action." Of course, under the anti-SLAPP statute, if the party filing a special motion to dismiss prevails, the court may award the costs of litigation, including reasonable attorney fees. DC Code 16-5504(a).


text:
Netflix's The Letter For The King takes too long to fulfill its ambitious quest
Photo: Julie Vrabelová (Netflix)
Based on a 1962 Dutch novel, The Letter For The King is Netflix's latest foray into PG action adventure, a kind of How To Train Your Dragon without the dragons. The scrappy young knight-in-training Tiuri (Amir Wilson) receives the titular letter from the dying Black Knight. The older knight tells him the fate of the entire kingdom is at stake, so Tiuri must head out on an arduous quest to deliver it to benevolent King Favian (Yorick van Wageningen). In doing so, Tiuri breaks from his pack of fellow novice knights, who are now tasked to go after him. Naturally, he also encounters a spirited young lady named Lavinia (Ruby Ashbourne Serkis, who shows up here as well) who joins him on his journey and has secrets of her own.
But the question remains: What's the point of How To Train Your Dragon without the dragons? The quest is pretty straightforward, after all (one letter: deliver it). Nevertheless, it takes Tiuri through a variety of gloomy, dusty settings: seeking shelter at a monastery, cooped up on a crowded ship, wandering through an abandoned town. At least there's a welcome element of mystery and magic (including a magical horse), leading up to the inevitable final battle of light and dark. King Favian's nefarious son, Prince Viridian (Gijs Blom), tries to master dark magic to gain peace throughout the realm via absolute tyranny (you know he's the villain because his hair's greasy). Still, his efforts lead to some impressive special effects and moments of actual spookiness, as does a very strange resident of "the monastery at the end of the world." And the picturesque filming locations, in New Zealand and the Czech Republic, are incredible.
ReviewsPre-Air
Tonke Dragt's novel De Brief voor de Koning
Amir Wilson, Ruby Ashbourne Serkis, Thaddea Graham, Jack Barton, Jonah Lees, Islam Bouakkaz, and Gijs Blom
Friday, March 20, on Netflix
Hour-long adventure series; all six episodes watched for review
But the journey through the series is almost as arduous as the teens trekking through snow-covered mountains. The Letter For The King may have made a fine two-hour cinematic release, but it gets stretched pretty thin across six episodes. There's a subplot about King Favian's Crown Prince and his flirtation with young Queen Alianor (Emilie Cocquerel) that gets a lot of screen time mid-series but never reaches fruition. The monastery departure nearly snuffs out the momentum completely in episode three, as the action and dialogue actually appear to be proceeding in slow motion. Things need to pick up considerably in episode four, but don't—the show gets bogged down by a ghost story and the aforementioned overbooked former pirate ship. And both episodes are filmed in such darkness that at times it's difficult to tell what's going on. And Tiuri doesn't reconnect with his fellow novices until much too late in the series.
Like many fantasy creations before it, The Letter For The King focuses on adolescence as the time when your true self emerges, when you find out what you're really made of, hopefully discovering a bit of your own magic along the way. Tiuri, an inexperienced knight-in-training, has no other reason than his own honor to take up this journey that will likely kill him, especially as many evil bands are trailing him to prevent the letter from being delivered. "The world's a horrible place," he explains to Lavinia. "It takes people like us to do something about it."
If only Tiuri's adventurous quest had a bit more adventure in it. His fellow novices are appealing, if stereotypical—the warrior, the musician, the earnest one, the obnoxious one—likable, but could use more to do. Wilson and Asbourne Serkis have a sweet chemistry, and it's hinted that some of the others do as well, if only that were fleshed out. Kids used to movies about Marvel heroes and wizarding schools and colorful dragons may find the journey a bit of a slog (and likely aren't as familiar with the source material). Things perk up again toward the end with some fun sword swashbuckling and the buildup to that inevitable final confrontation. But with so many other streaming options available, who knows whether kids watching will still be on board at that point?
The Letter For The King winds up with a few loose ends, ostensibly opening the door for a season two. If it does get a second season, hopefully the series will expand on its positive aspects—young appealing leads, gorgeous scenery, valuable life lessons—while paring down on the pointless plots and tired meandering. A series with a title this simple shouldn't be so convoluted.
TVReviewsPre-Air


text:
Alphabetical Menu
Chronological Menu
Reviews for January 25th, 2008
- Directed by Jieho Lee.
Based on an ancient Chinese proverb. In four interconnecting subplots, Happiness (Forrest Whitaker) loses a gamble at a horse race and goes through desperate measures to get more money. Please (Brendan Fraser) has the ability to see into the future and falls in love with a Sorrow (Sarah Michelle Gellar), who's singing career is just beginning to flourish. Love (Kevin Bacon) desperately tries to find the right blood type so he could cure his dying lover, Gina (Julie Delpy). Meanwhile, a pernicious mob boss, Fingers (Andy Garcia), invests in a record deal with Sorrow. The messy, convoluted plot unfolds with so many cuts and leaps in chronology that it causes more headaches and confusion rather than any real suspense or thrills. Too many scenes seem pretentious and even silly, as if you were watching the equally mind-boggling Southland Tales, but without the dark humor. There's nothing wrong the performances, which are all pretty solid. However, co-writer/director Jieho Lee fails to engage the audience with poorly developed characters. Not only is it difficult to understand where the plot is going, but, unfortunately, it's not easy to care about it or any of the characters for that matter. Number of times I checked my watch: 9 Entertainment Value: Low. Spiritual Value: Low. Released by THINKfilm. Opens at AMC/Loews Village 7 and AMC Empire 25.
Alice's House
- Directed by Chico Teixeira.
In Portuguese with subtitles. Alice (Carla Ribas) has an extramarital affair with Nilson (Luciano Quirino), who's married to one of her clients at the beauty parlor she works on. Meanwhile, she's losing control of her three sons, Lucas (Vinicius Zinn), Edinho (Ricardo Vilaca) and her youngest, 15-year-old Junior (Felipe Massuia), who comes of age. Alice and her sons still live with her mother (Berta Zemel) who owns the apartment, although they want her to go to a retirement center. Writer/director Chico Teixera does a great job of developing the characters enough so that they seem true-to-life and interesting. Many scenes capture tender human moments while others are more heartbreaking, like when Alice has a breakdown and yells at everyone in her household to get out. What's missing, though, is a focused dramatic core because too much of the plot goes all over the place—kind of like the chaos of life. There's also not enough attention on Alice, the central character. Perhaps Teixeira should have made the grandma the central character instead because she has experienced a lot and wisely observes what goes on around her. A film it feels somewhat similar to in terms of its "slice of life" atmosphere is Raising Victor Vargas, which has a more interesting and emotional powerful plot than this slightly convoluted and underwhelming drama. Number of times I checked my watch: 3. Entertainment Value: Moderate. Spiritual Value: Moderate. Released by FiGa Films. Opens at the Angelika Film Center.
- Directed by Ian Iqbal Rashid.
Raya (Rutina Wesley) befriends Bishop (Dwaine Murphy) and joins his all-male competitive dance team, JSJ. Her older sister recently died from a drug overdose, so she does everything she can to stay away from that kind of lifestyle by showing off her dance moves to a rival dancer, Michelle (Tre Armstrong). She also wants to impress her mother (Melanie Nicholls-King), who initially thinks that dancing is just a waste of time. If you're seen other similar dance movies such as You Got Served and Stomp the Yard, you'll be rolling your eyes at how familiar this by-the-numbers plot feels. Rutina Wesley gives a charismatic performance, though, so that helps to keep you mildly engaged. How She Move only feels exciting during the dance sequences which look very much like flashy MTV music videos, while the drama scenes feel ho-hum and dull by comparison. Number of times I checked my watch: 3. Entertainment Value: Moderate. Spiritual Value: None is required or desired. Released by Paramount Vantage.
Lost in Beijing
- Directed by Li Yu.
In Mandarin with subtitles. Liu Ping Guo (Fan Bingbing) gets raped by her boss, Mr.Lin (Tony Leung Ka-fai), at the massage parlor she works at. When she becomes pregnant, she convinces him that he's the father of her child and must pay for childcare. Meanwhile, Mr.Lin's wife (Elaine Jin) sleeps with Liu's boyfriend, An Kun (Tong Dawei), when he finds out that Mr.Lin slept with Liu. An Kun doesn't believe that the baby's father is Mr.Lin and tries to find out the truth. Such a chaotic plot would typically induce headaches, but in this case, it's actually quite engaging and easy-to-follow thanks to a sensitive, well-written script by screenwriter/director Li Yu as well as convincing performances from each of the four actors. Yu also includes exquisite cinematography of modern day Beijing. Keep in mind that some of the lengthy, eyebrow-raising erotic sex scenes make the NC-17 Lust, Caution look like Disney film by comparison. The second half of the film has some interesting twists and turns in its plot, but it starts feeling a bit tedious and contrived. Number of times I checked my watch: 2. Entertainment Value: Highly Moderate. Spiritual Value: Moderate. Opens at Film Forum.
Orthodox Stance
- Directed by Jason Hutt.
This mildly fascinating documentary follows the rise of Dmitriy Salita, a 24-year-old Russian immigrant and Orthodox Jew who defies expectations by following his passion to become a professional boxer. He started boxing at the age of 13 with his younger brother and since then, he decided to start training in boxing even though he can't fight during the Holy days of the Jewish year. His trainer happens to be the legendary, 80-year-old Jimmy O' Pharrow who trained Hilary Swank for her role in Million Dollar Baby. It's inspiring to watch how he respects his Jewish traditions by davening, observes the Sabbath and keeps Kosher throughout his rise to fame. Director Jason Hutt does a decent job of chronicling the events of Dmitriy's rise in an easy-to-follow way, like an amazing Rocky Balboa tale. Sociologist Erving Goffman once wrote that everyone has a "front stage" life and a "back stage" life. In Orthodox Stance, there's simply too many tedious scenes of Dmitriy struggling to gain publicity and not enough glimpses of him "backstage". More one-one-one interviews with him would have helped to add some much-needed insight into what goes on inside his head throughout his experiences. Ultimately, this lack of insight diminishes the emotional power of this otherwise mildly fascinating and somewhat tedious documentary. Number of times I checked my watch: 4. Entertainment Value: Moderate. Spiritual Value: Low. Released by Oxbow Lake Films. Opens at Cinema Village.
- Directed by Sylvester Stallone.
Please note: This is not a re-release nor is it a remake of the 1982 film of it the same name—it's actually a sequel. In Thailand, John Rambo (Sylvester Stallone) must save a Christian missionary, Sarah (Julie Benz), who's kidnapped and tortured by pernicious Burmese militants. Stallone gives a wooden performance as does Julie Benz. There are also plenty of action sequences and gruesome deaths to entertain Rambo fans who don't expect much. Stallone does an adequate job as the director, filming the action without too many nauseating camera movements. Those who care about a coherent plot or interesting characters or memorable dialogue will be quite disappointed. Just be sure to check your brain at the door before watching this or else you'll feel like you're losing some brain cells. Number of times I checked my watch: 5. Entertainment Value: Moderate. Spiritual Value: None is required or desired. Released by Lionsgate.
Trailer Park Boys: The Movie
- Directed by Mike Clattenburg.
Ricky (Robb Wells), Julian (John Paul Tremblay) and Bubbles (Mike Smith), a group of dim-witted friends living in a trailer park, team up to plan the "Big Dirty" to steal from a large coin collection at a movie theater. Just as you expect, the plan doesn't go exactly as they planned it because of stupid mistakes. Co-writer/director Mike Clattenburg clearly goes overboard with stereotypes: all the male characters are stupid, even the drunk trailer park sheriff, while the women are ditzy and promiscuous. Nobody's seems remotely likable and the excessive stupidity comes off as annoying rather than funny. Old School at least had an intelligent, hilarious script even though its characters were dim-witted and did stupid things, but this silly attempt for a comedy simply has an inane script that quickly runs out of steam within the first half hour. Be sure to check you brain at the door or else you'll feel like you're losing brain cells while watching this. Number of times I checked my watch: 8 Entertainment Value: Low. Spiritual Value: None is required or desired. Released by Cavu Pictures and Screen Media Films. Opens at AMC Empire 25.
U2 3D
- Directed by Catherine Owens and Mark Pellington.
This exhilarating documentary is much more than a U2 concert film: it's like actually attending a U2 concert and experiencing it, mostly, up close. You'll be dazzled by the stylish lighting display as the cameras zoom in and out of the stage. It's a no-brainer that if you're not a U2 fan, listening to their music will bore you and it's difficult to hear the actual lyrics with all the noise. For everyone else, co-directors Catherine Owens and Mark Pellington give you a one-of-a-kind experience for less than the price of a concert ticket. Most importantly, the 3D effects only make the film more captivating and significantly enhance your aural and visual experiences. Stay tuned throughout the end credits for an amazing animation sequence set to U2 music. Number of times I checked my watch: 0. Entertainment Value: High. Spiritual Value: None is required or desired. Released by National Geographic Entertainment. Opens at AMC/Loews Lincoln Square in glorious IMAX.
- Directed by Gregory Hoblit.
FBI agent Jennifer Marsh (Diane Lane), in charge of cyber crimes, hunts down a serial killer who tortures people to death on an untraceable website. The more hits the website gets, the faster the victims die in the live video streams. Her younger partner, Detective Griffith Dowd (Colin Hanks), tries to help her solve the case. What could have been an edge-of-your-seat thriller instead feels dull and tedious because co-writers Robert Fyvolent, Mark R. Brinker, Allison Burnett show you the identity of the serial killer within the first 30 minutes. The rest of the plot simply connects the dots between Jennifer and the killer without any mystery or suspense. For those who have seen Saw, none of the torture methods are particularly surprising or shocking, just somewhat sickening. Director Gregory Hoblit does a satisfactory job of creating creepy moods through cinematography, sound editing and, especially, the setting design of the killer's hidden dungeon. It's too bad that such an intriguing plot becomes more and more contrived and unrealistic as it progresses to its preposterous, over-the-top third act. Number of times I checked my watch: 6. Entertainment Value: Moderate. Spiritual Value: None is required or desired. Released by Screen Gems.
Avi Offer
The NYC Movie Guru
themovieguru101@yahoo.com