text:
var Bodies = require('./lib/factory/Bodies');
var Body = require('./lib/body/Body');
var Common = require('./lib/core/Common');
var GetFastValue = require('../../utils/object/GetFastValue');
var Vertices = require('./lib/geometry/Vertices');

/**
 * Use PhysicsEditorParser.parseBody() to build a Matter body object, based on a physics data file
 * created and exported with PhysicsEditor (https://www.codeandweb.com/physicseditor).
 *
 * @namespace Phaser.Physics.Matter.PhysicsEditorParser
 * @since 3.10.0
 */
var PhysicsEditorParser = {

    /**
     * Parses a body element exported by PhysicsEditor.
     *
     * @function Phaser.Physics.Matter.PhysicsEditorParser.parseBody
     * @since 3.10.0
     *
     * @param {number} x - The horizontal world location of the body.
     * @param {number} y - The vertical world location of the body.
     * @param {object} config - The body configuration and fixture (child body) definitions, as exported by PhysicsEditor.
     * @param {Phaser.Types.Physics.Matter.MatterBodyConfig} [options] - An optional Body configuration object that is used to set initial Body properties on creation.
     *
     * @return {MatterJS.BodyType} A compound Matter JS Body.
     */
    parseBody: function (x, y, config, options)
    {
        if (options === undefined) { options = {}; }

        var fixtureConfigs = GetFastValue(config, 'fixtures', []);
        var fixtures = [];

        for (var fc = 0; fc < fixtureConfigs.length; fc++)
        {
            var fixtureParts = this.parseFixture(fixtureConfigs[fc]);

            for (var i = 0; i < fixtureParts.length; i++)
            {
                fixtures.push(fixtureParts[i]);
            }
        }

        var matterConfig = Common.clone(config, true);

        Common.extend(matterConfig, options, true);

        delete matterConfig.fixtures;
        delete matterConfig.type;

        var body = Body.create(matterConfig);

        Body.setParts(body, fixtures);

        Body.setPosition(body, { x: x, y: y });

        return body;
    },

    /**
     * Parses an element of the "fixtures" list exported by PhysicsEditor
     *
     * @function Phaser.Physics.Matter.PhysicsEditorParser.parseFixture
     * @since 3.10.0
     *
     * @param {object} fixtureConfig - The fixture object to parse.
     *
     * @return {MatterJS.BodyType[]} - An array of Matter JS Bodies.
     */
    parseFixture: function (fixtureConfig)
    {
        var matterConfig = Common.extend({}, false, fixtureConfig);

        delete matterConfig.circle;
        delete matterConfig.vertices;

        var fixtures;

        if (fixtureConfig.circle)
        {
            var x = GetFastValue(fixtureConfig.circle, 'x');
            var y = GetFastValue(fixtureConfig.circle, 'y');
            var r = GetFastValue(fixtureConfig.circle, 'radius');
            fixtures = [ Bodies.circle(x, y, r, matterConfig) ];
        }
        else if (fixtureConfig.vertices)
        {
            fixtures = this.parseVertices(fixtureConfig.vertices, matterConfig);
        }

        return fixtures;
    },

    /**
     * Parses the "vertices" lists exported by PhysicsEditor.
     *
     * @function Phaser.Physics.Matter.PhysicsEditorParser.parseVertices
     * @since 3.10.0
     *
     * @param {array} vertexSets - The vertex lists to parse.
     * @param {Phaser.Types.Physics.Matter.MatterBodyConfig} [options] - An optional Body configuration object that is used to set initial Body properties on creation.
     *
     * @return {MatterJS.BodyType[]} - An array of Matter JS Bodies.
     */
    parseVertices: function (vertexSets, options)
    {
        if (options === undefined) { options = {}; }

        var parts = [];

        for (var v = 0; v < vertexSets.length; v++)
        {
            Vertices.clockwiseSort(vertexSets[v]);

            parts.push(Body.create(Common.extend({
                position: Vertices.centre(vertexSets[v]),
                vertices: vertexSets[v]
            }, options)));
        }

        // flag coincident part edges
        return Bodies.flagCoincidentParts(parts);
    }
};

module.exports = PhysicsEditorParser;


text:
Iwari
$15 flat rate shipping for orders between 1.5kg and 2.5kg.
Iwari is an abstract-like Eurogame in which players represent different tribes looking for their identity by traveling around far lands and expanding their settlements into five different regions on the board. In the game, players use cards for two different actions:
1) Place tents and expand their settlements into five different regions on the board in a majority game that scores on each territory.
2) Construct nature totems to bond with the Titans by placing them on regions and score points based on the totem majorities in adjacent territories.
During the game, players can complete missions that grant small perks and score points by having the majority of tents in each territory after the end of the first card cycle. At game end, the majority of tents will be scored again, along with the majorities of nature totems in two adjacent regions and settlements that players have created (i.e., four or more tents in an uninterrupted sequence along one of the roads on the board).
Iwari reimagines the award-winning game Web of Power by Michael Schacht by adding new layers of strategy, tribe player boards, different maps with their own set of rules, modules that can be added to the game, and unique co-operative and solo modes.
Memoir '44: Tactics & Strategy Guide
Cosmic Encounter - Cosmic Storm Expansion
AlderQuest - Kickstarter
Commands & Colors - Ancients
Blood Rage: 5th Player Expansion

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Re-Roll for Charity! We are excited to announce the availability of a Re-roll for all of our tabletop events over the weekend. This can be purchased at our Child's Play Charity Booth. The overview for this is as follows: A re-roll can be used once per match, over the course of your event. (so if you are playing in the 40K Championships, that is 5 re-rolls, one per game) Re-roll for all 2 day events is $20.00, for all 1 day events is $10.00 All proceeds of this benefit charity! These are to be used for that critical missed save, to hit, or wound roll.
We are looking forward to seeing everyone next week!


A Presbyterian pastor in the Free Church of Scotland, John Brownlie included this text in his 1907 Hymns from the East, a collection of translations he called "suggestions" of devotional material from the Eastern Orthodox tradition. Because no Greek original has ever been found, scholars now assume this "suggestion" is actually an original text by him that reflects his wide knowledge of Greek hymn styles.
It is traditionally sung to MORNING SONG, a folk tune that has some resemblance to the traditional English tune Old King Cole, but was actually written in 1812 by a New England Methodist minister named Elkanah Kelsey Dare. This text may also be sung to CHRISTIAN LOVE, (which you know as Where Charity and Love Prevail) since it follows the same meter.


text:
"""empty message

Revision ID: 0116_another_letter_org
Revises: 0115_add_inbound_numbers
Create Date: 2017-06-29 12:44:16.815039

"""

# revision identifiers, used by Alembic.
revision = "0116_another_letter_org"
down_revision = "0115_add_inbound_numbers"

from alembic import op

def upgrade():
    op.execute(
        """
        INSERT INTO dvla_organisation VALUES
        ('005', 'Companies House')
    """
    )

def downgrade():
    # data migration, no downloads
    pass

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


or the Central East Coast and we'll get in touch.
Crystal & Crates is a specialty rental company serving Melbourne, Vero Beach, and the greater Orlando and Central Florida areas. We offer more than just a collection of vintage finds and props. Our southern roots, and of course, southern traditions, show pride in heritage and family lineage foremost. Our pieces tell stories and instantly show off their personality.
to send us your thoughts!


Topline Equipment has been offering quality Parts and Service in the Material Handling Industry since 1974.
Parts: Topline has a huge inventory of forklift parts and accessories, carrying OEM and aftermarket parts for the industries most popular makes and models.
Service: Let Topline's trained technicians take care of your forklift needs, breakdowns, preventative maintenance and emergency repairs. Our fully stocked fleet of service vans can maintain your equipment, keeping repair costs low and reducing down time.


text:
Radu_A
Hide Spoilers
Sort by: Helpfulness Review Date Total Votes Title Review Rating
Filter by Rating: Show All 1 Star 2 Stars 3 Stars 4 Stars 5 Stars 6 Stars 7 Stars 8 Stars 9 Stars 10 Stars
It's OK but really not that great
The reviews here clearly show the biggest problem this site's been having: there are fewer and fewer real reviews written by real people - the movie / TV nerds who helped build this site into what it is by supplying it with tons of content without asking for anything in return. And there are more and more bot reviews written either by self-replicating AIs and/or paid posters. If a review consists of two lines, chances are high that it's not genuine, because if someone takes the trouble to write anything at all about something, it's usually more than the minimum required number of words.
As for "Good Omens", why would a series that's been so massively hyped resort to boosting its standing with fake reviews? Well, probably BECAUSE it's been so massively hyped. And because it is being streamed on Prime, the service you don't cancel for the free deliveries. And because of the "buy this item" links on your title pages. Manipulating ratings is just another wheel in the machine of e-commerce.
Which is why this series feels pretty much like a product. It does have nice performances by Sheen and Tennant and the Damien substitute, but the story is as predictable as a CSI installment. It is also rather dated - as obvious as it is that these two celestials are into each other, there are just some subtle (yawn!) allusions, while there is a ridiculously superfluous straight sex scene. It's so funny because it's so bad! Frances MacDormand's voice-over is useless and obviously intended to stretch content, which has a distinctly annoying preachy effect. Compared to the other hip Gaiman adaptation "American Gods" (well, the 1st season anyway), there is no edge, no depth, no real creativity. "Good Omens" is nice but duh.
So while it is worth watching if you have nothing better to do, it is by no means an epiphany, and you might find yourself better served by the less hyped, less two-line review heavy competition.
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Of Skin and Men (2017)
It's not THAT bad
Judging by the rating, one might thing this is a complete disaster, but it's obviously voted down because it's about an Arab woman taking semi-nudes of Arab men.
To be sure, the story is a little weird: Amal's husband is killed in a car accident in front of her studio, just as she is reviewing her collection of auto portraits with her father-in-law. He offers to take her in and finance her art, at first seemingly without second thoughts. However, when he finds out she has started to take portraits of men, he - as many others - take her for b**** in heat. Amal stands her ground, with him and others, starts a new relationship with an arts professor who accepts what she does, and eventually reconciles with her father-in-law.
That could be quite interesting, but the actors are stiff and it's a bit unrealistic how she can talk herself out of extremely menacing situations resulting from her hobby. She displays a mind-boggling naivety when it comes to talking to strangers. There are some good points, like when one of her rich friends slaps her at a party, because underneath all that French, high society tolerance towards female freedom is just as limited as in the lower classes, they just pretend harder. But Amal's character is implausible - she lives off others, yet insists on independence; she is an artist, yet makes no effort to exhibit, and the ending leaves no hint as to where she's going (literally).
The gay director includes some gratuitous homoerotic shots, it's beautifully filmed overall, and the topic makes it worth seeing. However, it does seem rather artificial, the script is weak, and the cast isn't very impressive.
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Glossary of Broken Dreams (2018)
Ultimately pointless nerdgasm of overused tropes
First of all, this is not a documentary but an essay. Some reviewers seem to be a bit confused about what genre this is, mainly because the heyday of essay film was in the 60s-80s. Google Chris Marker.
Then some people don't know who the director Johannes Grenzfurthner is. He is a very Austrian phenomenon of multimedia philosopher, a bit like Slavoj Zizek but more cynical. He's done a lot of social theory parodies before this film, so don't let the amateurish production misguide you.
Now for the problems. As rather typical for our current cerebral climate, there is a veritable smorgasbord of social issues addressed here, some in a rather cliché 1960s Marxist way (hard to figure out if that's parody), some in rather original, thought-provoking ways (like the segment on media culture in which Politics consults a shrink in early 1990s 8bit video game animation).
The best point: US-style particularized social movements foster inequality, because they demand more individual rights at the cost of the common good. But then one waits for a resolution, some sort of proposal for taking action, and there isn't any. The biggest weakness of the film therefore: starting a lot of conversations, and then let these peter out into nowhere. This becomes increasingly frustrating as one realizes that there will be no proposition at the end of the film, and indeed: it just ends (clumsily).
Grenzfurthner correctly criticizes at various points the currently hip dismissal of Constructivism, but in not really coming up with anything but concluding that society is effed up, he inadvertently confirms critics who view postmodernists as vacuous relativists. To which I would have said: You know, the murkiness of perpetual uncertainty feels pretty safe compared to the battleground of competing absolute truths.
And as much as I hate the term "mansplaining", that's exactly what much of this film amounts to: Men talking vividly about stuff without checking if anyone cares.
Feel frustrated because there are so many questions but no answers? How about reading some books? Google Ulrich Beck, Anthony Giddens, Silvio Gesell for instance (don't stop there, i.e. Montaigne never gets old).
Find the sections of the film talking about liberalism incomprehensible because you are not Austrian? Google Austrian School / Viennese School of Economics.
The Ballad of Buster Scruggs (2018)
The pros (and cons) of Netflix production
A perfect example for both what's possible if film makers can completely unleash their creativity, and when that very freedom prevents them from trimming down their work to perfect measure.
It's definitely the best Coen film since "True Grit" and at times even better. But an anthology film such as this invariably has stories that are more gripping than others. So for the cinematic release, it would have been advisable to go for a redux version and cut the weakest two, "Meal Ticket" and "The Mortal Remains", which I would rate 6/10. They do not align well with the others. These are the Coens's original stories and they did want people to see them in that order, but this is where more exec control would have helped the film.
"All Gold Canyon" and "Near Algodones" are both OK, I'd say 7/10. They both have Jack London written all over them and give a great homage to the Western themes of fall from grace and nature interaction/violation. They are also very well photographed, with a meticulous attention to detail that is all but forgotten in mainstream cinema. But like those Jack London stories, they're simple - effective, to the point, OK at this length but nothing memorable forever.
"The Ballad of Buster Scruggs" is definitely the highlight and it is understandable that many people feel let down by its brevity, which is why I'd say it's 8/10. That character is screen gold and should be developed into a series. This episode summarizes the themes of the following stories at their most entertaining, so it might have been better to save it for last, as the mood gets progressively darker.
"The Gal Who Got Rattled" is the longest and for my money best story, 9/10. This could have been developed into a full length picture but it's OK as it is. It's just amazing how it builds - coming in 4th, one knows at this point there's calamity on the way, but the resolution is still surprising and very, very well narrated. This is the Coens at their Fargo best, an exclamation mark reminder that these guys are still the greatest living American film makers.
So if I add up all the stories equally, it'd come to pretty much where the IMDB rating is at. But this is such a creative relief over the Disney / DC crap that's congesting the screens these days, so it should be rated 8/10. Let's just hope Netflix can keep this up - the best film of the year (Roma) also being one of theirs. May providence prevent Disney+ from gobbling up their subscribers.
The Tale (2018)
For a subject this personal, it should have been narrated better
Warning: Spoilers
"The Tale" raises important questions about the psychological ramifications of child abuse, however weak storytelling ultimately turns the film into nothing more than an interesting failure.
It's the true story of the film maker trying to reconnect the dots of a childhood trauma after the discovery of her letters and a story from age 13 by her mother. First important point: memories of child abuse are repressed, memory doesn't oblige you to deal with more than you can handle. But that makes it difficult to assess not so much if the abuse happened, but how and why. And these are the questions the narrator / director tries to address. Second important point: she idolized the perpetrator(s) in her memory, giving them credit rather than condemning them, so memorizing the abuse goes along with dethroning her childhood icons. There are snippets of other survivors which indicate that this is a pattern, but because the film is principally about Fox's own story, it doesn't go beyond a brief observation.
Which takes me to the structural weakness of the film: The support characters. It would seem - and is, occasionally, quite clear - that the protagonist does not really interact with anyone. The mother, the lover, the FBI agent say all the right things - to the point that one wonders whether they are not just figments of her imagination. There is a strangely artificial sex scene in which the protagonist "rides" her lover wearing a sports bra, which feels so out of place that one cannot help but wonder whether it is only there to show that abuse doesn't affect sexual activity / control. When the protagonist confronts the perpetrator(s), it is sometimes made to look imaginary and sometimes real - which would be a great approach if there was some sort of resolution in the end. Films that better manage to move between reality and imagination would be, for instance, Laura Dern's own David Lynch collaboration "Inland Empire", or in respect to the subject matter "Images" by Robert Altman. If the borderline territory between imagination and reality is what Jennifer Fox intended to show, it would have been advisable to use (more) visual and narrative consultants.
Instead, there is an almost desperate attempt to be as realistic as possible, even going so far as to visualize sex between the adult and the child. Like the other sex scene, it feels forced, and doesn't really serve a narrative purpose. It seems to be there just for shock value, and that's one of the three big problems I have with this film. Another is that in one of the protagonist's imagined dialogues with the woman she idolized in her youth, she asks why she enabled her abuser, to which the woman replies: "No one saved me". In other words, she imagines that her idol was herself a victim - yet her real attempt at forcing an explanation out of her fails. That is very problematic because the main reason survivors don't talk about / address their experience is the fear of being labeled a potential abuser themselves. Fox probably intends to show that this is her own explanation, in the absence of any real one - which would explain the title "The Tale" as well - but she does other abuse survivors a huge disservice by perpetuating a stereotype. The truth is that while some survivors may indeed end up becoming abusers (thereby becoming visible to the public eye), the huge (invisible) majority is even more horrified by child abuse than the general public already is (and yes, this observation is based on personal experience). Problem number three is the final confrontation scene, which strongly recalls "Celebration" (1998) by Tomas Vinterberg. Anyone who knows that film will see the similarity, which then indicates that the confrontation in this film did not really happen. And if it didn't really take place, why is it there? If the climax of the film is imagined, then why not resolve the film by admitting it was? That would have delivered a much stronger message, because in real life, confronting the abuser rarely happens.
Jennifer Fox has been bold enough for a realistic psychological approach to this immensely difficult subject. It's incredibly hard to express what it feels like to deal with this, so any attempt deserves praise. But unfortunately she has marred her approach with leanings from other sources / other people's expectations, which makes the film less personal than it could have been, thereby diminishing its message and impact.
Catastroika (2012)
An "Infowar" production
How do you make a propaganda piece that gets voted 8.+ on IMDB? Throw together a bunch of facts interspersed with talking heads - so that a gullible audience doesn't notice that the information isn't connected at all.
The film portrays the debt crisis in Greece as an element of cannibal capitalism through privatization and lists Chile, Russia, Thatcherist Britain and East Germany in one breath as examples. Chile was a CIA-fostered coup aimed at curbing Communist expansion; the Soviet Union was bankrupted in the course of the arms race with the US, which enabled new private banks to sell and confiscate assets for a pittance - which is how the oligarchy started; and Greece went several times over the Euro stability criteria to finance political promises and the Olympics, thereby increasing its borrowing costs until the crisis hit. Thatcherism is, indeed, a perfect example of neoliberal capitalism, but in this film, all kinds of non-connected things are thrown together to create the illusion of a global conspiracy. Your head will spin over movie clips, snippets of Slavoj Zizek and Naomi Klein, and how they connect Greece with British rail privatization and Enron.
I can only determine the full scope of disinformation here on the bits about Germany. The "experts" consulted here are with one exception members of "Die Linke", the follow-up of the sole East German party SED. Which means these people were part / benefited from the ruling elite, and since they lost their privileges upon reunification, they have created their own mythology about evil West Germany taking over the innocent East. No word about East Germans being adopted into the Western pension fund and health insurance scheme, financed by a "solidarity tax" of 5.5% on top of income tax - until today! No word about the "Länderausgleich" which obliges states like Bavaria, which generate a budget surplus, to finance states on a deficit, which are the Eastern ones.
But of course, for Greeks Germany and the EU are evil because they insisted on compliance with the Euro stability pact before agreeing to bail them out. Yet had the evil Troika not pressured Greece into this and chosen Grexit instead, there would have been state bankruptcy, and no bank would have vouched for Greek debt. The Greeks would have had to negotiate a deal with private equity funds like Argentina, they would have returned to the Drachma leading to hyperinflation, and the overall situation would have been way worse than it is now. But hey, those are facts, and who gives a damn about those these days. You'll either applaud this fact manipulation because it fits your view of the world, or you'll shake your head over people believing this nonsense.
American Horror Story: The End (2018)
Best. opening. EVER (and then they effed it all up)
After a couple of lackluster seasons, AHS is back with a bang and that's no hype. "Cult" had already put the crazy into high gear, yet lost itself within the characters' various obsessions, couldn't tie them up into a bundle and petered out by dispatching its protagonists with little coherence. Murphy & Falchuk seem to have realized this, so this time, they kill off the world in five minutes, allowing the story to focus on a limited number of people. Good choice, writing wise! And to avoid a Christie-ish "And then there were none" feel, they add another component in the last minute to keep you wondering where this may go.
Update: another case of not delivering on an excellent premise. We all knew there would be a "Coven" crossover, but what we didn't know was that the whole Nuclear holocaust shebang would be tossed aside for a Coven sequel. So it looks like they're wrapping up the franchise in a really messy way - . And Dame Joan was offed way too early - heck, EVERYBODY was. If you like scares, watch "The Haunting of Hill House" instead. AHS has gone Camp Stillborn.
Disenchantment (2018– )
disembowelingly disenchanting
After watching the whole thing, I guess it's fair to say that this will become neither a slow burning mass phenomenon like The Simpsons nor a cult classic like Futurama. Disenchantment feels rather like a half-hearted experiment with next to zero character development, and a storyline that only takes off toward the end. When S2 comes around next year, most people will have all but forgotten this show and feel little enticed to see where it's going.
The relentless hype has already been a deep-red flag. It's a sign of how insecure Netflix are about their content. With the most unimaginatively named leads ever, there was plenty of reason to be insecure about. Who decided to call an elf lead "Elfo" and a demon lead "Luci(fer)"? That can be translated as "we're really not sure what these characters are supposed to be, so we just roll with whatever comes to mind first". Which is what most of this season feels like - lots of half-executed ideas, half-written jokes, a plot that starts and stops and blows like a 1978 Ford Mustang Diesel - it just feels old and slow and smelly.
Apart from Eric André, the voice talent is meh - André seems to be the only one who got an idea about his character. Particularly atrocious: John DiMaggio's oy vey Anatevka-ish parody of King Zog. If he's supposed to sound like Harvey Fierstein, then why not hire Fierstein to do the job?
The one exception that makes this not a complete disaster is Episode 5 "Faster Princess, Kill! Kill!", the only one written by Reid Harrison. That one is fast, zany and has all the craziness one would expect from the creator of "Futurama". It also tops the IMDB ratings. Unless that writer gets more responsibilities for S2, I doubt that many viewers will be back for seconds next year.
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Good Manners (2017)
Fantastic - in every sense of the word
Given how weird this film is, I'm a bit surprised that there's no review about "Good Manners" yet. Horror titles usually get a good deal of attention but perhaps this is an indicator of just how unique this one is.
The story seems straightforward enough at first: Impoverished Lesbian black nurse Clara gets hired by affluent yet unemployed white pregnant Ana - this in spite of giving her landlady as her only reference, who promptly tells her she's being owed rent. However, Clara's touch calms down the kicking baby, so Ana instinctively hires her - and soon their relationship gets very close. However, Ana's behavior becomes increasingly erratic as her pregnancy advances, culminating in... well, among other things, singing. Yup, it's a musical, too.
I've seen a lot of genre movies and it's the rarest of the rare when one of the formulas is injected with something new. Horror often serves as social parables for the exclusion of the different, but here, you will find yourselves drowned in references and allusions, from queer bashing over solitary motherhood to race issues. There's so much to handle that it might be best to not try and process it all, and just abandon oneself to the beautiful weirdness of this film.
Of course, a limited budget limits the scare of the CGI, you got to be open-minded about that. The emotional turmoil makes more than up for this as Isabél Zuaa's performance carries the film from the first shot. The script should have been tighter as it takes enormous leaps and then slows down. I'd recommend watching this late at night, with close friends who are into weird stuff, and after a few joints or drinks.
A Ciambra (2017)
The first realistic film about Romani life
Almost a sequel to American director Jonas Carpignanos' multi-prize winning "Mediterraneo", "A Ciambra" succeeds at something every European director has failed to do so far: To give a realistic, non-judgmental portrait of Romani life, in following 14-year-old Pio Amato's rapid coming-of-age process. Pio already appeared in "Mediterraneo", as did his refugee friend (Koudous Seihon), who was the principal character.
As you can tell from another review here, the attitude towards Sinti and Roma is to this day extremely racist and completely ignorant of the fact that they have been living in Italy for 600 years (Pio's surname is Sinti, i.e. his family has not migrated from the East). In Italian film, gypsies are always thieves and / or murderous psychopaths, "Suburra" and "Jeeg Robot" being the most notorious recent examples. By just reenacting Romani life, "A Ciambra" succeeds in showing how this racist exclusion of Roma (and refugees) creates exactly what it justifies itself with: a marginalized sub-society which perceives the law as hostile, and therefore resorts to crime as a means of survival and defiance. And in this dog-eats-dog world, family is both the only reliable safety net, and the biggest hindrance to an honest living - the film does a good job showing that.
If it's not a masterpiece, then because Carpignano adds nothing to this bleak outlook. There's not a shred of hope for Pio's future, and while this is realistic, it also doesn't give the audience much to work with.
Remember, people: this is a story about an elite military unit trying to foil a dirty bomb plot during a different rescue mission, nothing more, nothing less. Given this story line and its clear focus on action, allow yourselves to be entertained. Its the bang-boom-bang movie of the year, which is why it's on track to become China's most successful movie export ever. Expect more of this with the trade war, as the ending clearly suggests that it's also intended as a line in the sand - pardon, sea - between China and the US of A.
My two cents on the most frequent criticism on this one: there's no story and pretty much constant action. As other people have pointed out: the reason why this movie is constant, uninterrupted mayhem is that warfare really is that crazy, as anyone can learn from a multitude of books, documentaries or (like yours truly) friends in the military. The situation in Yemen - for which the location is a thinly veiled stand-in - is so complex that one should feel grateful that there is no attempt whatsoever to put what happens into perspective, as so many Hollywood propaganda drivels do.
I didn't like the predecessor to this one, "Operation Mekong", because of its truckload of stereotypes about Thais and Burmese. "Operation Red Sea" is a huge improvement because it doesn't pretend to be anything more or less than an action flick with a bit of "China saves the day" on the side.
Some clarity (perhaps) from a gay guy who grew up in the 80s...
I've just seen this for the 2nd time after a festival screening last year where everybody loved it. In this screening and in the reviews here, there's a lot of division, so maybe I can add a few things to help some younger, straighter people out there to know what to expect.
It's a novel adaptation from someone who grew up at the same time I did, and I can confirm that this kind of story is what we fantasized about back in 1983 - from the younger guys´ perspective. This is very much a gay fantasy, but unlike "Moonlight", it isn't bent to straight expectations - if you ask gay friends what they thought about "Moonlight", they'll very likely tell you it's utterly unrealistic, if you ask them about this, they'll very likely tell you that they wish it was true.
A gay teenager in the 80s usually wasn't fantasizing about other teenage boys, because we considered them too immature, and because it was still quite dangerous to test the waters at school. The consequences could range from assault to social death. So we often had this ideal of a sophisticated 25-30ish guy like Oliver as a first romance, especially since "Greek Love", which the film alludes to with the statues, was pretty much the only positive identifier for homosexuality available at the time. There was no internet, there were no films, porn and bars were yet out of reach. So the people here who think this has a pedo touch to it are totally off, it's the other way around. But I give it 9 instead of 10 because the age difference in the book is narrower.
For younger people, the pace must be painfully slow - that's definitely the most courageous aspect of the film, it replicates the narrative structure of the book and allows its story to breathe and slowly grow on you. Many get that, there's no need to point this out expressly, but this is a very realistic approach to first love, for a long time nothing happens and then - boom. This is the reason why I cherish this film, it can make straight viewers understand that we're really not different in our feelings and choices, and that love is love, as Stuhlbarg says in his monologue - which could come across really awkward from a lesser actor.
It's also realistic that Elio experiments with the other sex, most of us did, and as with the girl in the film that usually ended up OK, there were no hard feelings. In that respect, the 80s were probably a better time, interchanges among the sexes were really less forward, more playful, people judged you less harshly for what you were and looked like, the film brings that across really well. It strikes a perfect balance between capturing what the 80s were like for teens, a period of aimless waiting just like the summer, and a nostalgic fantasy of bygone days and a romance that never was.
But it's not for everyone. Stay clear of this if your favorite film is "Justice League". No judgment, it's just not for you, wait a few years. And it's sometimes too subtle for its own good: many people will wonder why Elio is OK with Oliver's decision in the end, and why their story is so definitely over. Well, think about what the Star of David means, and of that scene with the grandma giving the guys water, and then they notice a portrait of the Duce... I only noticed that on my 2nd viewing, so I recommend watching it more than once to catch on to these drifts.
Aligarh (2015)
A punch in the gut - but fortunately times are changing
To get the news out first: India's Supreme Court has granted the Right of Privacy to all in August 2017. The movie ends on a bleak note, mentioning that the 2009 decriminalization of homosexuality by disbanding section 377 was overturned by a Supreme Court decision in 2013. That's over now, even though the law hasn't been disbanded yet.
This film is one of those gut-wrenching reminders that a huge part of humanity is still subjected to discriminatory legislation, and what an enormous battle it has been to overcome these hurdles. It's a bit programmatic, but that can be explained by budget constraints. The biggest strength is Manoj Bajpayee's lead performance, as he gives his character an authenticity few Indian actors would have been able to match. A bit problematic is Rajkummar Rao's character, as his motivation can only be speculated about - the script could have been a bit more straightforward here. The ending is a shock if one isn't familiar with the case, but there's no scandalizing.
Still, this is easily the most accomplished gay-themed film from India yet. So far, this has been a comedy topic, which isn't necessarily bad as a film like "Dostana" obviously reaches larger audiences. But the serious gay-themed efforts were underground so far, it's great to see the New Wave tackling issues like this at long last.
Two Lottery Tickets (2016)
One of very few REAL Romanian films
If you're not Romanian and have seen any film from there at all, it's most likely a festival prize winner by a neo-realist director like Mungiu or Netzer. If you meet a Romanian and ask them what they thought about those, you will quite likely have heard that these films are not really that great, because they do not represent how people live.
There is a scene just like that in this short and mildly black comedy, in which Dragos Bucur explains this to a hitch hiker, giving the plot of "Stuff and Dough" as an example, and how boring it was. The very Romanian irony is that Dragos Bucur was the star of "Stuff and Dough", it was his breakout film, so it's just plain hilarious to hear him trash-talk about it.
There are lots of similar jokes in this little gem produced at a budget of just about €5000. If you're Romanian, you'll constantly snicker because you'll invariably know characters who act like those in the movie. If you're a Westerner, you get a chance to see what we are really like, even if you won't get much of the humor.
This is the perfect film to watch for Eastern - Western couples if you've always found yourself unable to explain just what the difference between us is. It's light, it's fun and unlike most films these days not too long.
And although it says so in the content description, this is not based on some British comedy, but (loosely) on a 19th century play.
Radius (2017)
Idea stolen from a classic anime
This is a very obvious, yet thoroughly flat remake of the "Stink Bomb" Episode in the omnibus anime "Memories" (1995, https://myanimelist.net/anime/1462/Memories?q=memories). So much for "original concept". It's also a picture-perfect example for how adapting an anime in film doesn't work - what is zany, humorous and non-stop action in the original becomes dull and bleak at a comatose pace.
A "keep it to the essential" review
Is this a worthy sequel to one of the greatest films ever made? Yes.
Does it achieve or surpass the brilliance of the original? No.
Are there surprises compared to your usual Hollywood blockbuster? Yes.
Are there surprises comparable to Villeneuve's Francophone films? No.
Will this likely win Academy Awards for F/X, cinematography and camera? Yes.
Will this likely win Academy Awards for any of the actors? No. Liev Schreiber and Robin Wright make a lot out of very little though.
Why will some people love this movie? The optics. The sound effects. Nostalgia. There's nothing else worth watching on the big screen - don't wait to watch this at home, you'll probably be disappointed.
Why will some people loathe this movie? The story makes very little sense. The plot holes are as deep as the Grand Canyon. It drags in the middle for about 30 minutes. The villains are comic book material. From a female perspective the women in here may seem written awkwardly.
In short: It's definitely worth seeing, but not an epiphany. There's a chance for another sequel, but I hope they'll give it a pass.
American Horror Story: Election Night (2017)
It's either going to a great parody of US paranoia...
...or a cash-in on progressive angst, as the other reviews say. For non-Americans, it's a test of patience how much more US neurosis one can take with one's entertainment. There are some signs that this could become a great parody, given how over the top Sarah Paulson's character is (that orgasmic beam on her face when she says "and then Barack got elected"). And Evan Peters' character could become a great parody of supremacist basement boys, because he's got a few great lines of derangement and genuinely scary strategies.
But this could also become another play on hyping paranoia if it presents itself as serious social commentary, which is what ruined "Get Out" for me - because in that case the rampant misogyny of the writing would also be serious (the psycho sis; Lesbian super-neurotic time-bomb, butch = masculine, stable, sane; femme = feminine, weak, deranged). Jessica Lange and Taissa Farmiga gave AHS some pretty awesome female characters in the past, but lately the writing's been the only horror in this show.
Update: I thought it would turn real ugly but halfway in, I got to say they've really dared to swing the series towards social parody, and Paulson's character is less of a stereotype now. It's still waaaay over the top compared to the narratives of earlier days. But I keep watching for the sake of the huge risk the team is taking.
Vlad Tepes (1979)
Some background info about the time this was made
I'm writing this review in response to some nationalistic hyperbole here, just to remind you folks out there what was happening in Romania at the time this film was made.
From the mid-70s, the Ceaușescu regime nationalized all ethnic minority centers. Villages and cities were renamed, non-Romanian schools and businesses closed, non-Romanian employees fired amidst an ever tightening noose of state oppression. In response to this, West Germany paid the government a "head prize" of 10000 Deutschmarks to allow the German population to emigrate. Ceaușescu saw this as incentive to step up the persecution, thus almost the entire German minority (and many Hungarians) left.
The film makes reference to this when the Hungarian nobility is portrayed as treacherous (which indeed it was), and the German merchants as greedy (which is debatable - they didn't trade slaves, for example). There is a scene when Vlad levies a heavy tax on them, which in the context of 1979 could be understood as legitimization of asset confiscation. Also Vlad holds many speeches about the need for firm leadership, which in his time was certainly true, but the wording obviously refers to the "condutatorul" (meaning Führer) Ceaușescu.
Apart from these obvious reverences the film makers had to make to the dictator, this is actually a fairly good portrayal of the historical Vlad, even though his fantastic life story would certainly deserve a huge Hollywood production - it is so much more interesting than that novel concocted by that sexually frustrated, opium-addicted Irishman.
Life Triumphs (1977)
Interesting for not really being interesting...
I'm only writing this review because no one else did, and yet this relatively obscure film shows the usual IMDb Armenia dilemma: there's an obvious contest between down- and up-voters. If you look at the details, roughly half are either 1 or 10 stars.
So I implore on IMDb: please disable Turkish votes on just about anything on this subject. And I implore on the Turks responsible for these results: could you please stop abusing this website for your personal frustrations and get a life? You are fooling no one but yourselves.
About the film: I saw it a long time ago on Romanian TV. It's the only really Armenian film on the subject I know. It's not about the genocide, it's about one survivor coping with the aftermath, slowly connecting with his new wife. When their child is born in the end, he finally accepts his new life, and there just a few seconds showing how his family was killed. There are no accusations against the Turks, there is no propaganda, it's a very personal, unspectacular, even dull story.
Fog in August (2016)
The best German film on the subject...
... given that German films on the subject usually let you feel somewhat detached. Whenever the Holocaust is concerned, German filmmakers tend to try to do everything according to the book, as meticulously factual as possible, so viewers can easily feel lectured.
There is a good deal of that strife for perfection in here as well, as a whole lot of neglected issues are crammed into this one film: the Nazi euthanasia program involving feeding patients nutrition-less food called "Ersatzkost", substitute nourishment. The silent acquiescence of the Catholic church to mass murder carried out in institutions under their formal patronage. The lumping together of all kinds of "undesirables" labeled mentally unfit to live. And in the guise of the lead, the still unfilmed "Porrajmos" (which means "devouring"), the destruction of much of Europe's Romani population no one cares about until today.
It's all a bit much and doesn't help the narrative structure, but there is a lot to learn, even for those who've seen a good deal of films about the subject. Apart from "Schindler's List", hardly any film explains the ideology and motivation behind these crimes. The extremely fascinating - while sickening - quality of this film is that it shows doctors and nurses murdering children without any malice, all in the name of the "greater cause" of racial purity. As incredibly inhumane this seems to the viewer - and the sole heroine of the story, a catholic nun - the sources from that time indicate that this was indeed how the culprits thought. Sebastian Koch, whom I usually find rather wooden, brings this uncanny mix of "scientific" curiosity and complete lack of conscience perfectly across. It's his best film, better than "The Lives of Others".
What this film is not is the heavily overdue film about the persecution of gypsies. It's misleading to call the protagonist Ernst Lossa a Rom, he was a Jenische, they are non-ethnic travellers like in Ireland and don't speak Romanes. They mostly reside in Switzerland, where Jenische children were taken away from their families to "socialize" them until 1968... as you see, there remain many, many more stories to tell.
Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets (2017)
Watch it - you won't get anything better this year
The Hollywood line-up this year doesn't provide anything remotely interesting. So don't let a shaky story-line, unnecessary dialogue and slightly hammy acting dissuade you from watching the most stunning visuals since "Avatar".
Based on 60s French cult comic series "Valerian & Laureline" - mystery to me why didn't they keep that title -, the magnificent opening sequence sets the tone for a more esoteric approach to Sci-Fi than "Star Wars". I won't let on about the story too much so as not to ruin any element of surprise. Let's just say they really should have lost the romantic chitchat. It makes the film drag at inconvenient times. With real writers, this could have become a classic.
The draw is the eye candy and there's plenty of it. Again I cannot in good conscience divulge any details. Again let's just say that one gets treated to the most creative use of lemons in the history of film. I'll have to watch it again to catch all the pop art references. Aliens were never more beautiful, more sophisticated, more varied. And while the Rihanna scene cannot compete with the opera scene in "5th Element", it's the best use of a performance act in film in years.
Alas, when one thinks "5th Element", the main weaknesses of "Valerian" stands out clearly: mediocre acting and a terrible script. Bloodless DeHaan is the most dreadfully miscast lead since Tom Hiddleston in "Kong: Skull Island". Why didn't they cast the likes of Theo James with over $200 mil to burn? Cara Delevingne is cool but no Milla Jovovich - Besson loved Jovovich for real and the camera and editing really showed that. Delevingne's Laureline comes across as a run-of-the-mill heroine even though she's doing a solid job. Clive Owen cannot even remotely compare to Gary Oldman's Hitleresque splendor. Strangely enough, the CGI aliens do the best acting and have all the memorable lines. Besson's script-writing has always been shaky but seems to get progressively worse.
Still, compared to this year's Hollywood fare of sequels, yet another superhero franchise and musicals with thespians who cannot sing, "Valerian" is infinitely more entertaining.
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HyperNormalisation (2016)
Lies about Lies about Lies
As practically any political documentary these days, this one isn't interesting because of the "facts" it reveals, but rather because of what it chooses to omit and how information is manipulated to pass for a chain of events. The most interesting observation can be summarized in an axiom: the broader (not just) a documentary's subject is, the more likely it substitutes hard facts with the film maker's personal beliefs.
One very obvious omission is that Salafism isn't even mentioned once. Salafism has been taught at Sunni theological schools at least since the 1920s, Salafism is the backbone of al-Quaida, all 9/11 attackers were Salafists, Daesh is Salafist, all individual terrorists in Europe had Salafist connections. To claim that the source of modern terrorism is Syria's Shia dictator Assad is definitely a lie. I don't know whether this means that this is a propaganda effort( the Saudis and their dirty war in Yemen are suspiciously omitted), or whether the author is simply going for the ultimate "everything-is-connected" effect - that would be very BBC. Either way, this causality construction presents a deliberate manipulation of facts that can be easily counter-checked.
Another prominent claim of this film is that Ghaddafi was never a real threat to the Western world and merely set up as a stooge to cover up terrorist bombings actually committed by Syria or Hezbollah. There is no convincing argument delivered why this should be the case. The film maker argues that the US wanted to somehow cooperate with Syria, when all the hard facts point to the opposite. If you're into conspiracy theory, one might argue that the Ghaddafi's fall intensified the refugee crisis in the EU, which would then be the ultimate target of everything the US messes up. If you're not a conspiracy fan, you might as well go with "if nobody knows anything, you gotta do something, so that it seems you know everything".
Another claim is that Assad used Hezbollah for suicide attacks against soft targets as a revenge for Kissinger's obstruction of a unified Arab world. That concept, however, originated with Egypt's Nasser in the 1950s, and the first organized terror attack in the Western world was the PLO's assassination of the Israeli Olympic team in Munich in 1972. It was the Sunni PLO that Shia Hezbollah learned terror from, not Hamas from Hezbollah after the Sabra/Shatila massacres of 1982. Just look at the sequence of events, people. The OPEC siege, Entebbe, Mogadischu, all that happened before and had multiple causes.
What is true, however, is the assessment that the failure of the Arab Spring and the failure of Occupy can be traced to what I hold to be the only profound statement made in this film: that the internet may have the power to bring people together against something, but cannot substitute an alternative idea. Today's protest movements all fail because they are not based on an underlying concept. Curtis should have added that, as a consequence, their failure cannot be ascribed to Islam. It's rather the incapability of an internet image culture to formulate strategy and organize leadership - just look at the Pirate Party, or #Black Lives Matter's strategic error not to reach out to Hispanics, which would multiply their base.
Another interesting bit is the piece on Russian media manipulation by Putin's confidant Surkov, supporting both protest groups and right-wing nationalists in an attempt to rile them up against each other - inspired by absurdist theater - which is fascinating. This is, alas, only mentioned in passing - the focus drifts to Trump's campaign and culminates in the common theme of keeping the public in a disorganized state of uncertainty in the face of an ever changing narrative. However, this is not a new idea as this film may make you think, but in fact a cornerstone of postmodern philosophy and media theory (just google Postman).
So watch this with caution. There are some good points to take home with, but the alternative reality this film constructs is just as unconvincing as the official story. The simple truth to a slightly older academic like me is that today nobody knows anything anymore because they're constantly overloaded with useless info. The film maker walked right into this trap himself, by coming up with his specific "what if" scenario, and then eliminating every fact that doesn't work with his interpretation from his film.
Toni Erdmann (2016)
Exceptional German films are like cicadas...
... they hatch once a decade or less. In the 1980s, there was "Das Boot". In the 1990s, there was "Run Lola Run". In the 2000s, for most people "The Lives of Others" (which East Germans consider fake), and for others "Goodbye Lenin". And now, "Toni Erdmann", easily the best German film of the 2010s (so far).
The story is deceptively simple: "Estranged father tries to reconnect with his adult daughter" As it is so often the case with great movies, what fascinates is less the story but the way it is told. Director/writer Maren Ade chose to establish the characters through long, hyper-realistic scenes to highlight the contrast between a quirky jester dad and his career-obsessed daughter. The result is dry-as-can-be satire, strongly reminiscent of "Windows on Monday" by Ulrich Köhler (who served as editing consultant on this film).
What elevates "Toni Erdmann" from other European films this year is the use of Bucharest as a setting for corporate business maneuvering. An Eastern European backdrop is usually just a cliché, where the main characters are confronted with various stereotypes. Here, they interact with the locals in a realistic way, creating a number of culture-clash situations. As a Romanian by birth, I would say that Ade is the first foreign film maker to give an accurate idea of what we are like, and what the differences to Westerners are. There are wonderful scenes of Romanian hospitality, naivety, politeness, obstructionism and savoir-vivre. The Germans, in contrast, come across as goal-driven, practical, hollow, yet fragile and creative.
Tom Tykwer, the most famous German director who isn't Werner Herzog, once gave a famous reply to the question: "Why are German films so rarely successful?" His response was: "Because German film makers don't spend enough time developing their stories." That quote came to mind once having watched this film. The many accolades it received, including the European Film Prize, are no doubt due to the careful character development that is apparent in every scene.
Some people here seem disappointed that "Toni Erdmann" is not what they expect from a German film or comedy, I'd say that is precisely its strength: it defies conventional wisdom of what a German film is. To be sure, Ade's previous film "Everyone Else" was unconvincing because it was impossible to care for its protagonists, but if there's one European film maker who has taken a huge step forward, it's her. Cristian Mungiu won Cannes' director prize instead for "Graduation", and one could argue that this is deserved, given how well-written it is. But it also fits the expectation of what a Romanian film is to a tee, so I'm with the majority of critics who consider Ade's film their favorite of the year.
The one weakness "Toni Erdmann" has is that some scenes are not necessary, making the film about 30 minutes too long and weakening its impact. My guess is that the creators were so enchanted with the characters that they could not let go of any material. The film drags at times, it feels as if some shots were not actually intended to be used in the final cut. And it would have been advisable to end the movie with the pivotal scene the poster shows, which may very well be the most beautiful father-daughter reconciliation ever filmed.
Much Loved (2015)
Forget the low rating, this one hits the mark
When I was much younger and poorer, I used to have a job like the one of the mostly silent gay chauffeur in this film: I drove a group of prostitutes from my Romanian homeland around and checked whether they were safe. Not so rare an occupation for gays, it seems. While watching this, I felt taken back directly to those days in the early 90s, and I still can't believe just how much this film got prostitution right. Every character corresponds to women I've met who did this job, with same goals, same social situation, same characteristics.
The clients are in every detail like the clients I saw; Ayouch doesn't flinch to portray French men as wannabe machos who get deservedly ripped off, and Saudis as rich scum who cannot have sex without degrading the women they're paying, albeit handsomely. That's what may have gotten the film banned in Morocco, but what certainly did it is the scene in which the ladies get a little boy vendor to admit he's "going with the Europeans". The ban is almost ironic because this film is so much more than a portrait of contemporary Moroccan or Arab society; this really can and does happen anywhere.
No film I've ever seen has corresponded so much to the reality of prostitution as I witnessed it, they're usually focusing on family issues to make the issue more palpable. This one doesn't, and Ayouch deserves more viewers and more respect for that.
Son of Saul (2015)
In spite of all the awards, this is Holocaust porn
So this won the Cannes Grand Prix and the Golden Globe and Oscar for foreign film. So this must be a truly excellent film, especially since so many people here seem to be of that opinion, right? I admit: technically, this is a new approach to the theme, in which the face of the protagonist reflects all what is happening around him, and in which an excellent, well-thought sound design carries over the horrors that remain at the edges of the frame. And yet, I'm one of the handful of reviewers who are rather disappointed.
I admit this is because of my partial Romani heritage. At this point, especially with what's been going on in Europe (and particularly Hungary) over the past years, a film that manages to give passing reference to gay and Soviet Auschwitz inmates - and STILL ignores the presence of Sinti and Roma - isn't just unconsciously overseeing the issue. Romani organizations weren't happy with "Schindler's List" back in the day, pointing out that the realistic approach Spielberg chose eradicated an essential part of Romani history. I thought that critique too harsh - "Schindler's List" is a masterpiece of storytelling and it would not have been part of the story to include references to Birkenau II. This film, however, could have easily avoided this negligence, and if you find it hard to understand why anyone should be mad about that, I suggest you watch another Hungarian film, "Just the Wind" (2012). That one gives you an idea of the perpetual hell of Romani existence.
Yet like a number of German critics also pointed out, what really gives me the creeps about "Son of Saul" is the frame composition, with ample use of naked bodies out of focus, and an extensive use of nudity as a symbol of helplessness. I cannot help but agree that this constitutes Holocaust pornography. The images are carefully constructed to elicit shock, yet do not contribute to the story - as was the case in "Schindler's List". The film is carried by the structural idea, which is not at all an original one, but reminiscent of classic Hungarian cinema - particularly "Red Psalm" (1972) by Miklós Jancsó and the work of Béla Tarr, whom this director assisted.
The story, simple as it is, is in fact unrealistic if you go by the memoirs of Roman Frister or Lucie Adelsberger (to name just a few) since there was no freedom of movement corresponding to what you see in this film. The pointlessness of the protagonist's actions, clear to all around him as well as himself, also run contrary to what I've read from survivors, who very clearly describe what animated them and what the dynamics within the inmates were. So if you've not read any books and haven't watched any testimonials or documentaries, I'm afraid this film can easily misguide your perceptions of what the Holocaust was, and deliver and imprint so strong that it may be hard to challenge by more factual depictions. Yet this is of course an extremely important work in the negative sense, in that it shows just how easily content can be styled to elicit a specific response and garner an avalanche of awards.
Perhaps my judgment would not be this harsh if this wouldn't ring so close, and if Hungary wouldn't have the human rights record it has under Orbán. But considering the film culminates in an uprising - if you've devoted some time to the study of Auschwitz, you may understand why I cannot help but wonder when, finally, will there be a film about May 16th, 1944 in Birkenau II. It's very much needed, and the story is so powerful that it wouldn't require as much technical finesse.


When wolf 469F dispersed from the Leopold Pack in 2007, she helped form and lead the later named Quadrant Mountain pack as alpha female in 2008. Her counterpart, alpha male 695M, was of unknown origin. While this pack had minimal territory overlap with other wolf packs, they periodically encountered the Canyon and Blacktail Deer Plateau packs and likely killed the Blacktail Deer Plateau alpha male (302M) in 2009. The following year, an uncollared black female usurped the alpha status from 469F and both females denned, albeit unsuccessfully. In 2011, the Quadrant Mountain pack was likely displaced by the 8 Mile pack, a pack whose previous territory was primarily outside of the park in Montana. Unique coat coloration has led to the speculation that three uncollared grey wolves from the Quadrant Peak pack became core members of the 8 mile pack, including the alpha female. This pack was officially designated as dissolved in early 2012.


So, all of the angels, however many billions of them that exist, were tested by God as to whether they would choose to serve God in obedience or choose to reject God out of prideful disobedience. Not a few, perhaps a third, possibly more or possibly less, chose irrevocably to reject God. In doing so, they chose to serve their own interests, which generally might be described as opposing the will of God. It was the will of God that both angels and men would share God's own life in heaven so that both spiritual and material creatures would be with God for all eternity.
Given that it was the will of God that each one of us would be in heaven and therefore it is His will that all find salvation from their sins through Jesus Christ (1Tim 2:4, 2Pet 3:9) it should not surprise us that the good angels would strive for the salvation of mankind and the fallen angels would work to oppose God's will, that they would do their best to convince us to join them in the miserable depths of hell. If the old adage that misery loves company rings true, then the motivation of the demons is an expression of this truth writ large.
But what does it mean that the good angels work for the salvation of mankind? It is not as if they could be crucified like Jesus. Since they have no body they can't die and since they are not human they could not suffer and die on our behalf for our salvation even if death was a possibility for them. No, salvation is possible through Jesus alone because He alone is true God and true man. In his humanity Jesus could suffer and die for our sins taking on our punishment and in His divinity Jesus could offer infinite atonement – atonement for an infinite number of infinitely grievous offenses – that no mere human or angelic creature could.
Instead making atonement, the ministry of some angels for the salvation of mankind comes through specific divine interventions such as the angels that led Lot's family away from Sodom and Gomorrah (Gen 19:1-29), Raphael's healing of Tobit and protection of Tobiah on his journey, Gabriel's announcement of the births of John the Baptist and Jesus (Lk 1:10-25, 1:26-38), the liberation of the Apostles from prison (Acts 5:17-20, 12:5-11), guiding the Apostles in their ministry (Acts 8:26, 10:1-6) and so forth. But the role of angels in the salvation of man transcends such extraordinary events. The good angels intercede for us in numerous ways in our everyday lives. While we might seek Michael's, Gabriel's, or Raphael's intercession for specific causes, it is our guardian angels that are particularly tasked with our personal wellbeing.
Indeed, it is the sure and certain teaching of the faith that each one of us has a guardian angel assigned to us personally. This belief stems from Jesus' own words: "See that you despise not one of these little ones: for I say to you, that their angels in heaven always see the face of my Father who is in heaven. For the Son of man is come to save that which was lost" (Mt 18:10-11). These guardian angels assist us such that the mission of Jesus – "to save that which was lost" – might come to fruition.
In other words, the Lord has assigned each of us a guardian angel whose primary purpose is to help us obtain heaven. They, having chosen to serve God, will do the will of God in our lives. But they generally cannot act contrary to our will. If we reject God through indifference or through serious sin, our guardian angels respect our choices just as God respects our free will. No matter how deep we dive into the depths of depravity, however, they never abandon us for that would be an act of disobedience. Thus, our guardian angels will be at our side through thick and thin. As friends go, they will be more loyal to us than any human friend could ever be. In fact, they will be more loyal to us than even the best of family members. They, having chosen to do God's will, remain by our sides to help us, if we are willing, to also do God's will.
Arrangements should be made with the Pastor at least six (6) months in advance of the wedding. Marriages for active parishioners only - no destination weddings.


text:
Q: I am getting ERROR TypeError: Cannot read properties of undefined (reading 'filter')" error I have a search bar in which I am filtering the data accordingly in ionic on key in the API is called many times. To avoid this, I have tried to filter.
demo.html file
<ion-toolbar class="ion-toolbar-searchbar">
        <ion-searchbar placeholder="Search documents" (ionChange)="onSearchDocument($event)">
        </ion-searchbar>
    </ion-toolbar>

demo.ts file
onSearchDocument(event: any) {
        this.items = this.search;
        const searchTerm: string = event.target.value;
        if (searchTerm !== '') {
            this.items = this.search.filter((item) => {
                return (
                    item.purpose
                        .toLowerCase()
                        .indexOf(searchTerm.toLowerCase()) > -1
                );
            });
        }
        this.getDocuments(this.items);
    }

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
Gloria Marie Hantz
Gloria Marie Hantz Gloria Marie Hantz, 85, of Cloquet, died Saturday, July 11, 2015, in Inter-Faith Care Center, Carlton. She was born Sept. 23, 1929, in Cloquet, the daughter of Harry and Gunhild Vnuk. Gloria was a 1948 graduate of Cloquet High ...
Gloria Marie Hantz, 85, of Cloquet, died Saturday, July 11, 2015, in Inter-Faith Care Center, Carlton. She was born Sept. 23, 1929, in Cloquet, the daughter of Harry and Gunhild Vnuk. Gloria was a 1948 graduate of Cloquet High School. She married Richard Hantz on Dec. 2, 1950, in Cloquet.
She was a member of Queen of Peace Catholic Church where she was a money counter and a member of St. Casimir's Circle. Gloria was also a member of the Foresters, Moose Club, and Red Hat Ladies. She enjoyed sewing, macramé, crocheting, fishing, baking and spending time at the family lake cabin.
She was preceded in death by her parents and a sister, Madeline Giblin.
Gloria will be deeply missed by her husband of 65 years, Richard; sons, Greg (Dawn) of Minnesota, Scott (Joan) of Montana, and Mike of Washington; daughter, Kim (Tom) Zuk of North Dakota; grandchildren, Valerie (Joe) Fischer of Minnesota, Carlin and Sam Hantz of Montana, Amanda (Ben) Deering of Minnesota, Josh Troge of North Dakota and Cassie (Derek) Cunningham of Nevada; step-grandchildren, Aleesha and Anthony Desjarlait of Minnesota; six great-grandchildren; sisters, Punky (Art) Gleason, Marion Bergeron, Jeanne Toboleski, all of Minnesota and Harriet Haugen of California; brother, Jerry Vnuk of Arkansas; brother-in-law, Bob Giblin of Minnesota; and numerous nieces and nephews.
The family will receive friends from 10 until the 11 a.m. Memorial Service, Wednesday, July 15, 2015, in Atkins-Northland Funeral Home, 801 14th Street, Cloquet. Inurnment will be in New Calvary Cemetery Columbarium, Cloquet, followed by a luncheon in the Fireside Room of the funeral home. Memorials may be made to St. Jude's Childrens' Hospital or St. Luke's Hospice. To leave an online tribute, see www.atkinsnorthlandfuneralhome.com.


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COVID-19 is a call to live differently, live better, love more and care for others, pope says
Pope Francis held the monstrance as he gave his extraordinary blessing "urbi et orbi" (to the city and the world) from the atrium of St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican March 27. The blessing was livestreamed because of the coronavirus pandemic.
Photo Credit: Yara Nardi | pool via Reuters
Pope gave extraordinary blessing 'urbi et orbi' (to the city and the world) March 27 in response to COVID-19 epidemic
Catholic News Service (CNS)
Submitted March 27, 2020 | 1:49 PM
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For information on the plenary indulgence offered with this blessing, click here.
VATICAN CITY — The worldwide coronavirus pandemic is not God's judgment on humanity, but God's call on people to judge what is most important to them and resolve to act accordingly from now on, Pope Francis said.
Addressing God, the pope said that "it is not the time of your judgment, but of our judgment: a time to choose what matters and what passes away, a time to separate what is necessary from what is not. It is a time to get our lives back on track with regard to you, Lord, and to others."
Pope Francis offered his meditation on the meaning of the COVID-19 pandemic and its implications for humanity March 27 before raising a monstrance with the Blessed Sacrament and giving an extraordinary blessing "urbi et orbi" (to the city and the world).
Popes usually give their blessing "urbi et orbi" only immediately after their election and on Christmas and Easter.
Pope Francis opened the service — in a rain-drenched, empty St. Peter's Square — praying that the "almighty and merciful God" would see how people are suffering and give them comfort. He asked to care for the sick and dying, for medical workers exhausted by caring for the sick and for political leaders who bear the burden of making decisions to protect their people.
Pope Francis led a prayer service in an empty St. Peter's Square at the Vatican March 27. At the conclusion of the service the pope held the Eucharist as he gave an extraordinary blessing "urbi et orbi" (to the city and the world). The service was livestreamed in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic.
The service included the reading of the Gospel of Mark's account of Jesus calming the stormy sea.
"Let us invite Jesus into the boats of our lives," the pope said. "Let us hand over our fears to Him so that He can conquer them."
Like the disciples on the stormy Sea of Galilee, he said, "we will experience that, with Him on board, there will be no shipwreck, because this is God's strength: turning to the good everything that happens to us, even the bad things."
The Gospel passage began, "When evening had come," and the pope said that with the pandemic and its sickness and death, and with the lockdowns and closures of schools and workplaces, it has felt like "for weeks now it has been evening."
"Thick darkness has gathered over our squares, our streets and our cities; it has taken over our lives, filling everything with a deafening silence and a distressing void that stops everything as it passes by," the pope said. "We feel it in the air, we notice it in people's gestures; their glances give them away.
"We find ourselves afraid and lost," he said. "Like the disciples in the Gospel we were caught off guard by an unexpected, turbulent storm."
Pope Francis prayed before the icon "Salus Populi Romani," health of the Roman people, during a prayer service in an empty St. Peter's Square at the Vatican March 27. At the conclusion of the service the pope held the Eucharist as he gave an extraordinary blessing "urbi et orbi" (to the city and the world).
However, the pandemic storm has made most people realize that "we are on the same boat, all of us fragile and disoriented," the pope said. And it has shown how each person has a contribution to make, at least in comforting each other.
"On this boat are all of us," he said.
The pandemic, the pope said, has exposed "our vulnerability and uncovers those false and superfluous certainties around which we have constructed our daily schedules, our projects, our habits and priorities."
In the midst of the storm, Pope Francis said, God is calling people to faith, which is not just believing God exists, but turning to Him and trusting Him.
As Lent and the pandemic go on, he said, God continues to call people to "convert" and "return to me with all your heart."
It is a time to decide to live differently, live better, love more and care for others, he said, and every community is filled with people who can be role models — individuals, "who, even though fearful, have reacted by giving their lives."
Pope Francis said the Holy Spirit can use the pandemic to "redeem, value and demonstrate how our lives are woven together and sustained by ordinary people — often forgotten people — who do not appear in newspaper and magazine headlines," but are serving others and making life possible during the pandemic.
The pope listed "doctors, nurses, supermarket employees, cleaners, caregivers, providers of transport, law and order forces, volunteers, priests, religious men and women and so very many others who have understood that no one reaches salvation by themselves."
"How many people every day are exercising patience and offering hope, taking care to sow not panic but a shared responsibility," he said. And "how many fathers, mothers, grandparents and teachers are showing our children, in small everyday gestures, how to face up to and navigate a crisis by adjusting their routines, lifting their gaze and fostering prayer."
"How many are praying, offering and interceding for the good of all," he said. "Prayer and quiet service: These are our victorious weapons."
In the boat, when the disciples plead with Jesus to do something, Jesus responds, "Why are you afraid? Have you no faith?"
"Lord, your word this evening strikes us and regards us, all of us," the pope said. "In this world that you love more than we do, we have gone ahead at breakneck speed, feeling powerful and able to do anything.
"Greedy for profit, we let ourselves get caught up in things and be lured away by haste. We did not stop at your reproach to us, we were not shaken awake by wars or injustice across the world, nor did we listen to the cry of the poor or of our ailing planet," Pope Francis said.
"We carried on regardless, thinking we would stay healthy in a world that was sick," he said. "Now that we are in a stormy sea, we implore you: 'Wake up, Lord!'"
The Lord is calling on people to "put into practice that solidarity and hope capable of giving strength, support and meaning to these hours when everything seems to be floundering," the pope said.
"The Lord awakens so as to reawaken and revive our Easter faith," he said. "We have an anchor: by His cross we have been saved. We have a rudder: by His cross we have been redeemed. We have a hope: by His cross we have been healed and embraced so that nothing and no one can separate us from His redeeming love."
Pope Francis told people watching around the world that he would "entrust all of you to the Lord, through the intercession of Mary, health of the people, and star of the stormy sea."
"May God's blessing come down upon you as a consoling embrace," he said. "Lord, may you bless the world, give health to our bodies and comfort our hearts. You ask us not to be afraid. Yet our faith is weak, and we are fearful. But you, Lord, will not leave us at the mercy of the storm."
Introducing the formal blessing, Cardinal Angelo Comastri, archpriest of St. Peter's Basilica, announced that it would include a plenary indulgence "in the form established by the Church" to everyone watching on television or internet or listening by radio.
An indulgence is a remission of the temporal punishment a person is due for sins that have been forgiven. Catholics following the pope's blessing could receive the indulgence if they had "a spirit detached from sin," promised to go to confession and receive the Eucharist as soon as possible and said a prayer for the pope's intentions.
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PEORIA — With a sigh and a frown, the widow gazes at three holes in the ground.
There, in the 82-year-old's yard, stood three flag poles. Old Glory flew in the middle, flanked by a banner for the Navy (in which her husband served) and the Air Force (in which a granddaughter serves). The display was the pride and joy of the World War II veteran, who died a year ago this week.
But days ago, in a deed as inexplicable as it was dastardly, someone lowered the Navy flag, cut out its coat of arms and raised the flag back up. To avoid further vandalism and protect the surviving banners, her sons have taken down the display after 25 years.
"It's a crime that things like this happen," she says quietly.
Her husband served in the Navy from 1943 to 1946, and the couple wed nine years later. They eventually settled in Rolling Acres in Central Peoria. After years of planning and dreaming, he decided to get work on a flag exhibit.
He drove three PVC pipes into the ground in a straight row, serving as bases for three metal poles. In the middle, the tallest pole stretched about 20 feet, touting the U.S. flag. About five feet below, banners for the Navy and Air Force fluttered from either side.
Lights illuminated the flags each night. They flew not far from the road, always easily visible to passersby.
About every year or so, out of respect to his country, the veteran would replace weathered flags.
"They'd get tattered and torn," she says.
At age 92, he died last March 29. With him gone, the Navy flag got a wee tattered by the elements. Yet the flags flew on.
However, last week while outside the home, the widow happened to glance at the familiar flags. Something seemed amiss with the Navy banner.
She peered more closely. The coat of arms was missing from the middle of the banner.
But later, her sons lowered the flag.
"You could see scissor marks," she says.
She was flabbergasted. You can buy a military flag for under $10. Why risk breaking the law to go after a flag?
"Especially an old one," she adds.
Even more flummoxing, what would prompt someone to not only rip out the heart of a Navy flag, but then raise it up the pole again?
"I have no idea," she says with a slow shake of the head.
She reported the theft to the Peoria police, in case any vandals or crooks might return to the block. But there have been no other signs of problems.
"It's just been the flag, so far," she says.
But the display is now gone. Her sons took down the poles and flags.
"We were afraid those would be next," she says.
The poles and flags are in storage. Will they ever go up again? She just shrugs.
So, on the anniversary of her husband's death, all that's left of his special display are three holes in the ground.
"It's really sad," she says.


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