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Tuesday, June 29, 2010

Movie Review: "The Twilight Saga: Eclipse"

If Only The "Three Strikes" Rule Applied Maybe We Could All Rest Easier

Rated PG-13 for intense sequences of action and violence, and some sensuality.
124 minutes
Summit Entertainment
** out of 5

In order not to be repetitive and strive for a little bit of objectivity, I refused to read my review for “New Moon,” the second installment of the “Twilight” series. I walked in with an open mind and figured why not judge this one on its own merits? All three now have had different directors so maybe third time’s the charm? Unfortunately, even with a director who’s dealt with vampires before (“30 Days of Night”), David Slade seems totally short-changed with most of his inept cast and an even worse Melissa Rosenberg script than the first two.

With “The Twilight Saga: Eclipse,” it’s simply more of the same, take that for what you will. I know, I know, as I do remember saying in my “New Moon” review, I am far from the target audience. But if you’re going to be making these films for mass consumption the filmmakers must realize that they need to instill something that the rest of us can enjoy along with the rabid fans who take these books and films far too seriously.

In order to even know what’s going on in this installment it is imperative to have seen the first two. Oh sure, you’d hopefully not be watching “Eclipse” if you haven’t seen them but you never know, worse mistakes have happened. It’s the age old drama of necrophilia vs. bestiality as Bella Swan (Kristen Stewart) still delivers her excruciatingly angst voiceover monologues pining away for both her beloved Edward Cullen (Robert Pattinson) and Jacob Black (Taylor Lautner).

There’s lots of talk about Bella being in love with both of them while the two of them argue with each other and try to make each the other jealous. It’s no wonder teenage girls love this stuff. It’s tailor made to fit their ill suited fantasies that will one day leave them hopeless and alone. Meanwhile there’s talk about an uprising army of newborn vampires being formed in Seattle lead by the hilarious (intentional or not) Riley (Xavier Samuel).

Whether or not the vengeful Victoria (Dallas Bryce Howard replacing Rachelle Lefevre) is behind the newborns or not is questioned over and over while the Volturi also reappear with Jane (Dakota Fanning) in the lead probably because she’s the only famous cast member in the Volturi clan whenever Michael Sheen is absent. Everything mounts to the climax as the wolves and vampires ban together to protect Bella for each their own lustful reasons (love, marriage, blood, what have you) and after everything is said and done it makes you wonder why a fourth entry is even necessary.

All the loose ends of the first three movies are tied up and over but I guess girls across the country really have themselves fooled into thinking they’re in this for the relationship. If this is what they want then they should have cried foul at the casting of mopey Stewart. She brings Bella “to life” with so much brooding that no matter how many online plot synopses I read describing Bella as a “normal teenage girl” I can’t help but wonder what either of the two dopey males want with her in the first place.

The first film meandered around with Bella’s longing for Edward while the second film was stuffed to the brim with monotonous montages. This time around, director Slade is made the brunt of the series’ joke as he gets to direct himself a whole lotta flashbacks. Anyone who doesn’t need a backstory gets one. From Rosalie (Nikki Reed) and her swinging prohibition days of overly theatrical revenge to Jasper’s (Jackson Rathbone) even more hilarious changeover during the Civil War. This being just one more nail in author Stephenie Meyer’s coffin as to whether her books are simply Sookie Stackhouse rip-offs. If Jasper doesn’t immediately make you think of Bill Compton after his flashback then my apologies, you’re reading the inferior series of vampire novels.

While the random scenes featuring no set-up continue to pile up and Slade tries to decide whether he wants to make a slick and polished production or get in the actor’s faces with the ol’ shaky cam, Bella gets to tell Jacob things like, “Stay!” and he gets to talk to her about the joy of “imprinting.” The subject of said imprinting also manages to get even more hilarious each time it’s brought up and at one point it seems like Jacob is on the brink of doing a little imprinting on Edward while the love triangle is holed up in a tent on an inexplicably snowy mountain top.

Gratefully Fanning gets to wear more clothes than she has lately; Lautner gets to keep his off, which admittedly was a pretty hilarious joke in “Date Night;” the wolves and vampires have a training sequence that’s even funnier than the baseball scene from the first film; Jasper suddenly gains a southern accent, and exposition rears its dull head at every turn. While “Eclipse” may be more boring than the first two installments, at least it’s far more amusing, even if it’s not intentional.

Article first published as Movie Review: The Twilight Saga: Eclipse on Blogcritics.

Friday, June 25, 2010

Movie Review: “Grown Ups”

** out of 5
102 minutes
Rated PG-13 for crude material including suggestive references, language and some male rear nudity.
Columbia Pictures

Article first published as Movie Review: Grown Ups (2010) on Blogcritics.

I would never say that I’m a huge Adam Sandler fan, but from his early work on “Saturday Night Live” and his debut comedy album, “They’re All Gonna Laugh At You,” the man can make me laugh. My first cinematic experience with Sandler, however, was neither “Billy Madison” nor “Happy Gilmore” but the “Midnight Run”/”48 Hours” rip-off, “Bulletproof.” I remember how hilarious that movie was and have since remained at least an interested viewer throughout his career, as hit or miss as it is. Now with Sandler literally scraping the bottom of the barrel and teaming up with almost everyone he’s costarred with before, he unleashes “Grown Ups” upon us, merely one week after we thought summer was saved with “Toy Story 3.”

There are definitely those Sandler films which still make me laugh: say, “Billy Madison,” “Happy Gilmore,” “The Wedding Singer,” “Big Daddy,” “Anger Management,” “50 First Dates,” and even “Little Nicky” if I’m in the right mood. However, there are also those that never have and never will amuse me: “The Waterboy,” “Mr. Deeds,” “The Longest Yard,” “Click,” “I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry,” and “You Don’t Mess with the Zohan.” Things just keep getting lousier as his career progresses and the less said about his ultimate monstrosity, “Eight Crazy Nights,” the better.

To say there's a plot to “Grown Ups” would be a huge overstatement. There is absolutely no plot to speak of here. Simply put, 30 years after their championship-winning junior high basketball season, Sandler & Co. take a weekend together in remembrance of their now-deceased coach with their families in tow in case they have to break up the shit and piss jokes with false moments of heart. Hilarity supposedly ensues but apparently all it took to convince Columbia Pictures to bankroll his latest exercise in aloofness was a pitch that could only have gone something like this: “Hey, let’s make a reunion-type film with me and all my friends. C’mon, Kevin James, Chris Rock, David Spade, Rob Schneider… with enough of my hilarious friends joking around and having a grand time the audience has to laugh.” Somehow they also managed to talk Maria Bello and Salma Hayek into four-year-old-breastfeeding and toilet-seat-cover-stuck-to-their-dress jokes.

Unfortunately they do laugh and at nothing more than improvisation at its worst. The “script” is credited to Sandler and hack screenwriter Fred Wolf (“Strange Wilderness,” “Without a Paddle,” “Dickie Roberts,” “Joe Dirt,” “Black Sheep,” and a stint for “SNL” during its most humdrum seasons). But it’s very obvious that most of the time they just plopped the cast in front of the camera and said, “Make offensive, PG-13 rated jokes the MPAA will allow about this now…” While there may be lots of previously funny comics included, nothing is funny in this film save for one line from Sandler as Schneider’s character roles up to the cabin in his Smart Car. One line an uproarious 102 minutes does not make.

Admittedly, there are some films in Sandler's oeuvre that are nice surprises along the way, with some accomplished directors guiding him for a change. From “Punch-Drunk Love,” “Spanglish,” “Reign Over Me,” and even “Funny People,” when you have the likes of Paul Thomas Anderson, James L. Brooks, Mike Binder, and Judd Apatow leading the way, they find their own ways to fine tune what works best for Sandler’s strengths and try to not let his maniacally egotistical side come out to play the whole runtime.

Director Dennis Dugan has been behind the camera for a lot of Sandler’s career for better and worse. While he may have brought us the likes of “Happy Gilmore” and “Big Daddy,” he’s also responsible for “Chuck & Larry” and “Zohan.” Anything not Sandler-related tends to be even worse for Dugan with so-called “films” such as “National Security” and “The Benchwarmers.” While you could call his directing choices “critic proof,” what they really are is sloppy, lazy, and downright lowest common denominator filmmaking. While the crowds eager to see these films know what they’re getting into, they should be asking for more by now. Having suffered through all of these movies myself for almost two decades, am I wrong to feel deserving of something more than their standard garbage?

Thursday, June 17, 2010

Movie Review: “Toy Story 3”

***** out of 5
103 Minutes
Rated G
Walt Disney Pictures

There’s a time in one’s life when one can become completely washed over by nostalgia. Even if it’s something you own on home video and have seen countless times over the years. Sometimes you know a film, or films, by heart yet can still find something new with each viewing is a marvel unto itself. Save for instance, a threequel is released to such a beloved classic one-two punch as the “Toy Story” films.

It’s been eleven years since the last part of the series was released and you really hope that what they’ve come up with is a spectacular mix of old and new and that’s exactly what we get with “Toy Story 3.” While I may have touted “Iron Man 2” as the summer blockbuster to beat, you really can’t place these two films in the same category. But I will say, “Toy Story 3” is now the best film of the season, if not the year thus far.

When “Toy Story 2” was first announced it seemed like quite a gamble and at first Pixar didn’t think it was the worthy successor it turned out to be. It was originally aimed for a direct-to-video release but after an early screening for some Disney execs they felt the film had honestly improved upon the already instant-classic original. Pixar may produce a powerhouse slew of material, but even they have their own insecurities which I’m sure is why every film is a home run. This studio cares about nothing more than quality – and not just in the animation department.

Head honcho John Lasseter has always put story first. Through eleven films now they have proven themselves the top leader in family entertainment. Even their single throwaway spin-off, “Buzz Lightyear of Star Command: The Adventure Begins,” is an above average entry to the Disney canon of their direct-to-video dumping grounds. And at first “Toy Story 3” director Lee Unkrich (co-director of “Toy Story 2,” “Monsters, Inc.” and “Finding Nemo,” aside from editor on both of the first two “Toy Story” films and “A Bug’s Life”) even had his own reservations this time about how they could possibly top the first two but then came to his own realization that if they couldn’t then who else could? They did it first, they can do it again, and boy do they ever.

The first two “Toy Story” films may have four credited screenwriters each but as with all Pixar films never feel cobbled together or written by committee. With as much going on in “Toy Story 3” it may come as a surprise that only a single writer, Michael Arndt, is credited. Another surprise is that this is only Arndt’s second writing credit after his Oscar-winning screenplay for the dark, R-rated indie hit “Little Miss Sunshine.” That Oscar was no fluke I’m happy to say. There’s so much hilarity, heart, and adventure packed into this film that he should at least receive yet another nomination come next awards season. It will be no surprise to anyone when “Toy Story 3” walks away with Best Animated Feature. Pixar usually does and for good reason.

I won’t go into huge detail involving the plot. The toys are back but have lost a few friends along the way. Andy (still voiced by the same child actor John Morris) has grown apart from his childhood best buds, Woody (voice by Tom Hanks) and Buzz Lightyear (voiced by Tim Allen), and is preparing to move away to college. Andy’s Mom (voiced by Laurie Metcalf) insists that Andy either pack away what he wishes to take to college, pack away items for the attic, or throw the rest away. Andy picks Woody to tag along to college and packs his remaining toys into a garbage bag to stash in the attic.

Through circumstance, the toys accidentally wind up getting thrown away but not before Woody stages another rescue mission and they all wind up in a box marked “Sunnyside” where Andy’s Mom is donating Molly’s (Beatrice Miller) Barbie (the “Little Mermaid” herself, Jodi Benson) and Magic 8 ball. While at first the rest of the gang thinks they’re better off at daycare, Woody knows that Andy wasn’t really throwing them away and wants them all to go back home.

Everyone else feels they should stay after they’re taken in by Lots-o’-Huggin’ Bear (voiced by Ned Beatty), or Lotso for short and given a guided tour along with Barbie’s possible soul mate Ken (voiced by Michael Keaton). Soon enough, the toys learn the harsh difference between the Butterfly Room versus the Caterpillar Room.

*Note: To anyone who’s ever thought children were frightening before, just wait till you see what it’s like to be a toy at a daycare center. Sure enough Woody, with some assistance from the toys at new youngster Bonnie’s (voiced by Emily Hahn) house, and Buzz (with the help of Lotso switching him back to “Demo” mode) learn the truth behind the Sunnyside hierarchy led by Lotso, and they all stage a prison break of sorts to return to Andy before he finishes packing up and heads off without them.

There are so many new toys in this obviously final close to a trilogy of excellence that it’s hard to even think of how many characters there could possibly be. While sources site 302 total, some of the few new that stick out are obviously Lotso and Ken but the others who play a large part are Trixie (voiced by Kristen Schaal), Mr. Pricklepants (voiced by Timothy Dalton), Peas-in-a-Pod (voiced by Charlie Bright, Amber Kroner and Brianna Maiwand), Buttercup (voiced by Jeff Garlin), Dolly (voiced by Bonnie Hunt), Big Baby, Chuckles (voiced by Bud Luckey), Hayao Miyazaki’s own Totoro itself and Chatter Telephone (voiced by Teddy Newton). With so many new characters you’d worry that this installment would feel a little overblown and suffer because of this but everyone plays their part and become pretty integral to the plot. And if you thought after two films you thought you knew Buzz, no has visto nada aún.

There are key ingredients necessary for a complete Pixar experience and thankfully we get them all. Of course you have to have the attached short, in this case the mesmerizing "Day & Night." The short features two classically-animated characters, Night and Day, filled with computer-animated versions of both literally day and night, who meet for the first time and while at first make themselves out to be enemies, eventually learn that they both possess something which makes each other complete. The other ingredient, aside from the film itself, is the inevitable selection of “outtakes.” While we may not get them here, be sure to stick through the credits for some additional scenes that nicely round out the film’s denouement.

Article first published as Movie Review: Toy Story 3 on Blogcritics.

Thursday, June 10, 2010

The "Fresh Prince's" Kid Crowns Himself The New "Karate Kid" While Jackie Chan Finally Finds A Stateside Comeback

Rated PG for bullying, martial arts action violence and some mild language.
140 minutes
Columbia Pictures
**** out of 5

When you walk into the theater to see yet another remake, expectations run wild from one end of the spectrum to the other. Will it suck as many tend to or will it take you by surprise and win you over? With some recent remakes, reboots or reimaginings it has definitely been a case of win/lose. While you may love a particular franchise, sometimes that’s all that keeps you from downright loathing the updated version (I’m looking at you, “Nightmare on Elm Street”).

When it comes to this year’s “The Karate Kid” it also doesn’t help that you have zero faith in the director because all he’s brought in the past is children-friendly drivel by way of “The Pink Panther 2” and “Agent Cody Banks.” Thankfully, somewhere along the way Harald Zwart has either learned a thing or two behind the camera or was just working with such inept scripts to begin with that the final products were all he was able to muster.

When basing a remake on such a beloved product of its era, debut screenwriter Christopher Murphey took Robert Mark Kamen’s original story, placed it in a totally new arena to play with, and came up with his own new characters. These are just the beginning of many tactics that work so well you may just forget there ever was a Daniel-San. But of course one would have to be the most ignorant cinema-goer to forget about Pat Morita’s Mr. Miyagi.

Dre Parker (Jaden Smith) is being uprooted by his mother, Sherry (Taraji P. Henson), from Detroit to China. While they may be living in the “Beverly Hills” apartment complex, it is not the Beverly Hills of Dre’s choice. He does meet instant friend Harry (Luke Carberry) and has a run-in with the apartment complex's maintenance man Mr. Han (Jackie Chan in this version's Miyagi role) when their hot water isn’t working.

While playing basketball out in the park with Harry, Dre is instantly smitten with Meiying (Wenwen Han) while she’s practicing her violin on a park bench. He instantly puts on an American ritual of showing off his dance moves while all she wants is to touch his cornrows. Meiying’s family friend Cheng (Zhenwei Wang) sees the two lovebirds and interrupts, putting the smackdown on Dre and getting his point across that they are not to be friends.

Dre refuses to tell his mother what’s going on with Cheng as tensions rise, with Cheng bullying Dre at school and in the streets. After a great foot chase through the streets and back alleys, Dre is finally cornered by Cheng and his goons but is rescued with a spectacularly choreographed fight between the bullies and Mr. Han as Han manages to defend himself while the bullies only wind up beating each other up.

Han takes Dre to the local dojo where Cheng and his friends are being taught kung fu under the cruel tutelage of Master Li (Rongguang Yu, Beijing’s resident Pai Mei) to make peace with the kids but winds up getting Dre thrown into a kung fu tournament instead. Now Dre must learn kung fu to win the respect and honor of his fellow pupils even if it means he must learn to pick up his jacket, or take it on and off again, a thousand times (something even his mother has never been able to teach him).

The film runs almost two and a half hours but it never drags. When you realize that it takes the first two hours just to get to the kung fu tournament you may be wowed by the rapid pacing and surprised that the filmmakers found a way to extend the film as long as it is. At first I was put off by the length and thought it would just feel too bloated and drag the whole way to the finish line. Before the movie even started I made a joke about how long it was and said to another critic, “What is it? A Chinese production?” and then we both got to snicker when the credits displayed it was a China Film Group production, anyone who’s ever seen the original cut of a kung fu flick or two knows that they like their movies long.

The only thing that really seems slightly out of place is some of the soundtrack choices throughout the beginning. When you have a montage featuring Jaden Smith sleeping on an airplane and the character is from Detroit, the last thing you think of hearing is John Mayer, but I digress. Things get more authentic as it progresses, even if Lady Gaga pops up in one scene but at least it’s when Dre and Meiying are wooing each other over Dance Dance Revolution and thankfully the teen romance never gets overly sexualized and is kept particularly innocent as it should be.

Originally Columbia Pictures was going to title the film “The Kung Fu Kid” but I’m sure they realized that the name was the real selling point, along with Jackie Chan of course. Who wouldn’t want to see a version of “The Karate Kid” with Master Chan?! And some may wonder why a few of the training sequences take place on the Great Wall of China but I say if you have Jackie Chan in your movie, why wouldn’t you? It’s because you can. So while there may be no crane kick to be found and the setup for waxing on and off never materializes, you’ll find yourself just as won over as you were by the original, if not more so this time around as Chan and Smith land all their own punches in a film much more deserving of the title “The Karate Kid.”

Article first published as Movie Review: The Karate Kid (2010) on Blogcritics.

Friday, June 4, 2010

This Weekend, Go "Greek" Yourself!

Rated R for strong sexual content and drug use throughout, and pervasive language.
109 minutes
Universal Pictures
**** out of 5

Apatow Productions returns with a vengeance. Walking into a Judd Apatow production, one should know what to expect but, while it may not be quite up to par with the heartfelt, honest, and brilliantly hilarious beast that was 2008’s “Forgetting Sarah Marshall,” Aldous Snow (Russell Brand) nevertheless returns to the big screen in even more larger than life fashion along with “Sarah Marshall” co-star Jonah Hill in a new role in “Get Him to the Greek.”

Originally conjured up by Jason Segel, who wrote “Sarah Marshall,” he’s still on board as a co-producer. This time around it’s director Nicholas Stoller who’s in control on paper and behind the camera once again. In these kinds of films it’s always hard to tell what was scripted and what came out in the improvisation on set but, rest assured, this tale of a washed up rock n’ roller is far from the let down that some people have said it is.

Aldous Snow is living a sober life now, thanks mostly to splitting up with the love of his life, pop star Jackie Q. (Rose Byrne), after the abysmal release of Snow’s last single “African Child.” After the song is deemed “worst single of the decade,” Snow has a falling out with the industry and has also decided to try the sober life. But, of course, it’s only a matter of time before he’s back to his bad boy antics and all hell breaks loose as he becomes another paparazzi favorite.

In Los Angeles, Aaron Green (Hill) is living a quiet dream of working in the music industry under the voracious rein of Sergio Roma (the surprisingly funny Sean Combs, who’s obviously spent way too much time around people like whom he’s portraying). Sergio knows that his record label, Pinnacle, is floundering and needs a game changer. Sergio calls upon Aaron because he is sitting through the meeting so quietly and asks him for an idea. Aaron suggests a 10-year anniversary concert of Snow’s last record breaking concert held at L.A.’s Greek Theater.

At first Sergio is resistant to the idea, as he knows what kind of person they’d be dealing with in Snow, but Sergio comes around and sends Aaron personally to bring Snow to the States in hopes of the concert kicking off a new tour and resurrecting Snow’s career. Aaron tries discussing his new assignment with his long-term girlfriend Daphne (Elizabeth Moss), who informs him that she has been offered a residency in Seattle and he’s moving there with her to his chagrin. After the world’s most understated couple's fight, Aaron takes off for London to kick start his own future.

With Snow in his grasps and 72 hours until show time, Aaron realizes he is the only person who has any faith that Snow can truly make a comeback. He thinks that discussing Snow’s future with him from a fan’s perspective is the right way to approach things. Soon Aaron learns that old habits die hard, and he’s whisked along on a buddy road trip stretching from London to New York City to L.A., along with a quick pit stop in Las Vegas to see Snow's dearly estranged father/ex-manager Jonathan (Colm Meaney), but not without the requisite alcohol, drugs, orgies, and Sarah Marshall herself (Kristen Bell) along the way.

In Los Angeles, Aaron Green (Hill) is living a quiet dream of working in the music industry under the voracious rein of Sergio Roma (the surprisingly funny Sean Combs, who’s obviously spent way too much time around people like whom he’s portraying). Sergio knows that his record label, Pinnacle, is floundering and needs a game changer. Sergio calls upon Aaron because he is sitting through the meeting so quietly and asks him for an idea. Aaron suggests a 10-year anniversary concert of Snow’s last record breaking concert held at L.A.’s Greek Theater.

At first Sergio is resistant to the idea, as he knows what kind of person they’d be dealing with in Snow, but Sergio comes around and sends Aaron personally to bring Snow to the States in hopes of the concert kicking off a new tour and resurrecting Snow’s career. Aaron tries discussing his new assignment with his long-term girlfriend Daphne (Elizabeth Moss), who informs him that she has been offered a residency in Seattle and he’s moving there with her to his chagrin. After the world’s most understated couple's fight, Aaron takes off for London to kick start his own future.

Director Stoller manages to give Aldous Snow, now not just a side character, his own spin-off film that totally manages to breathe on its own. While Hill is not returning in the same role, the chemistry between the two leads is completely believable, whether they are having what appear to be heart-to-hearts or moments of intensity when Snow seems like a saber-tooth ready to rip Aaron to shreds. A lot of credit is due to Brand being able to stay in character, but he appears to be having so much fun as Snow that it’s no wonder he keeps himself in check. But Brand also brings a darker sense to the character in this outing, making you question just how crazy he is, even if Aaron is continually pointing it out.

Another thing Stoller brings to the table is his sense of timing and pacing. However, not all is perfect. There is one scene near the end in particular that is completely out of place, goes on far too long, and should have been cut altogether. It drags the shenanigans to a screeching halt and almost makes the audience second guess whether they should have ever had any empathy for Snow, Aaron, or even Daphne. It wouldn’t be so bothersome if it didn’t come immediately after a scene giving Snow almost too much humanity for the character’s own good.

Thankfully, the rest of the film is filled with a cast giving their all to make you laugh hard (and way too often) and a director with a spectacular sense for cutaway gags. “Get Him to the Greek” is chock full of so many hilarious sight gags and throwaway lines that most would require a second viewing to catch the funnier ones, as they follow an already side-splitting moment and the audience will be laughing too hard to hear.

As if the film wasn’t already funny enough, producers Segel and Apatow contribute writing credits to multiple humorous songs on the soundtrack. With how much these songs seem like real singles, I personally wouldn’t mind a real Aldous Snow concert because Brand carries the presence of a true rock star on stage and off.

Article first published as Movie Review: Get Him to the Greek on Blogcritics.

What Could Possibly Go Wrong? 2/3 Good, 1/3 Turd

Rated R for disturbing elements including strong sexuality, nudity, sci-fi violence and language.
104 minutes
Warner Bros. Pictures
*** out of 5

Sometimes if you miss something during the Sundance Film Festival you may get the chance to catch it a few months down the line up on the big screen. Lots of movies premiere at Sundance after having already been picked up by a major studio. This time around comes “Splice,” a new Warner Bros./Dark Castle Entertainment pickup from director Vincenzo Natali, who also brought us another Sundance cult classic, “Cube,” back in 1997.

With Guillermo del Toro’s name attached as an executive producer one can’t help but be instantly intrigued as he has yet to deliver anything that wasn’t awesome. Whether behind the camera himself (“Cronos,” “Mimic,” “The Devil’s Backbone,” the two “Hellboys,” “Pan’s Labyrinth”) or as producer (“The Orphange”) he manages to bring something humanly fantastical in every sense to the screen every time.

But when you also throw in Joel Silver and his Dark Castle Entertainment to the mix (“House on Haunted Hill,” “Thir13een Ghosts,” “Ghost Ship,” “Gothika,” “House of Wax,” “The Reaping,” “Orphan,” “Whiteout” and “Ninja Assassin”) one can’t help but wonder how the two will, well, splice together. And that’s exactly what happens. Somewhere around the one hour mark things go completely awry and the markings of one producer’s guiding hand clearly become the other and it’s blatantly obvious which influences came from whom.

Elsa Kast (Sarah Polley) and Clive Nicoli (Adrien Brody) are two leading edge scientists working for a genetics research company called Newstead Pharmaceuticals. They've just combined a mixture of animal DNA to form new creatures they’ve named Fred and Ginger who produce enzymes that can potentially cure everything from cancer to diabetes. Elsa, continually asking “What could possibly go wrong?” wants to take their research to the next level and introduce human DNA to the mix even while Clive is at least slightly resistant but goes along in spite of the ethical and legal ramifications if something happens.

At first they have no luck but then Elsa asks Clive to try one more human sample and of course, as it always goes, the human DNA takes and a new species begins developing at an alarming rate. Clive instantly wants to terminate the project as they originally only wanted to see if they could do it but Elsa decides she wants to keep the new creature alive and bring it to term. A crossbreed is born looking something like a human rabbit with a defense stinger in its tail and a convenient affinity for Tic Tacs the same way Elsa keeps packing them away. Now Elsa and Clive have to keep their new experiment under wraps even though Elsa has named her Dren (Delphine Chanéac, a surefire future Mr. Skin celebrity.)

After all hell breaks loose at a Newstead shareholders conference when Ginger evolves into a male and kills off Fred, Elsa sees Dren as a way to right herself in the science world even though Clive grows increasingly attracted to/frightened by Dren who is evolving into a winged nubile nude model and begins making advances towards him in Elsa’s abandoned family barn where they’ve been hiding her. If you can’t guess what happens by the end of the film based on the Fred and Ginger episode alone then foreshadowing is beyond you as all the plot twists start getting hammered home.

Director Natali, along with his writing partners Antoinette Terry Bryant and Doug Taylor, try to bring something new to the table but their efforts are squandered in the final act. Jeff Vice of the “Deseret News” in Salt Lake City, a fellow Sundance press attendee, came back to see if the new polished version was any better as he said the film ran about two full hours and seemed a bit flabby. What he says was trimmed was all from the set-up where what really needed a do-over is clearly the last half hour.

Things get so dumbed down that after Elsa asks “What could possibly go wrong?” for about the millionth time you can’t help but say to yourself, “Apparently everything.” What starts out as a tongue-in-cheek film that's slightly smarter than most recent sci-fi outings goes for broke with everything from an over-the-top sex scene to the weirdest case of incest in years. So if you don’t mind a hybrid of “Species,” Del Toro’s own “Mimic” and “Gremlins” along with a cliché-riddled finale, then folks, step right up and see Dren: The Asexual Hodgepodge of Science Run Amuck Creature Features.

Article first published as Movie Review: Splice on Blogcritics.


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Sunday, October 23, 2011

Case o' The Week: Ninth Gives Defense Welcome Immunity Shot - Wilkes

California Congressman Randall "Duke" Cunningham (right) took his resignation hard, after being caught in a massive bribery and corruption scandal. Duke's alleged co-conspirator, Brent Wilkes, has cause for a more joyful reaction: the Ninth just sent his case back down after conviction when the defense was denied court-ordered immunity for an important witness. United States v. Wilkes, 2011 WL 4953070 (9th Cir. Oct. 19, 2011), decision available here.

Players: Big win for San Diego Ass’t Fed. Defenders Shereen Charlick and Gabriel Cohan.

Facts: Wilkes’ company converted government docs to an electronic format. Id. at *1. To win government contracts Wilkes spent tens of thousands of dollars on meals, trips, and payments to former California Congressman Randall “Duke” Cunningham. Id. The bribes and contracts escalated for eight years, until a newspaper exposed the scheme and Wilkes was charged with a variety of federal offenses. Id. At trial Wilkes sought immunity for defense witness Williams, whom he contented would contradict the testimony of prosecution-immunized witnesses. Id. at *2. The district court denied the motion, holding that it “could not compel a defense witness’s immunity absent a finding of prosecutorial misconduct.” Id. Wilkes was convicted of thirteen counts, and appealed. Id.

Issue(s): “Wilkes maintains that the district court should have compelled the prosecution to grant use immunity to defense witness Williams because had he been granted immunity, his testimony would have corroborated Wilkes’s testimony and directly contradicted the testimony of immunized government witnesses. The government contends that Wilkes was not entitled to compelled use immunity for Williams because Wilkes failed to provide a valid offer of proof of Williams’s testimony in the presence of the witness’s counsel and counsel for the government. Wilkes’s ex parte proffer to the district court was thus meaningless, the government argues, because there was no reason to believe Williams would have testified as Wilkes proffered.” Id. at *3.

Held: “Here, the district court concluded that Wilkes had proffered testimony by Williams that would have been ‘material and relevant evidence that the defense would want to present to counter some of what’s been presented by the United States through immunized witnesses.’ The district court also repeatedly expressed its concern that not granting Williams immunity would have the effect of distorting the fact-finding process. The court nonetheless refused to compel use immunity because it concluded that it was powerless to do so absent a finding of prosecutorial misconduct.” Id. at *5.

“In view of this court’s ruling in Straub that a finding of prosecutorial misconduct is not required to compel use immunity, this matter must be remanded to the district court for an evidentiary hearing so the trial court can gather ‘greater detail about [Williams’s] proposed testimony and the immunity agreements the government gave to its other witnesses’ to determine whether compelled use immunity was constitutionally required. Straub, 538 F.3d at 1151.” Id. at *6.

Of Note: Sadly, other issues in this long opinion didn’t fare as well as the defense-immunity question. Of particular concern is the Court’s tolerance for withholding proffer sessions from the defense. Id. at *6-*7. Wilkes argued a Brady / Giglio violation when the government failed to disclose proffer sessions of an important witness. Id. at *7. Judge Alarcón, in our view, incorrectly characterizes these sessions as “cumulative” – the defense already knew that the government witness had immunity, and knew of the witness’s involvement of in the bribery scheme. Id. at *7.

However, as anyone who has proffered a snitch knows, Judge Alarcón’s justification misses the point: those secret sessions are where a cooperator’s story is “polished” (or “dictated”) into an acceptable script for the government. It is the changes in a cooperator’s story, revealed in proffer sessions, that is the Giglio gold – not the obvious fact that the cooperator is also a crook.

The disclosure of Gilgio material from proffer sessions is a challenge that needs further work: Wilkes’ analysis gives the issue short shrift.

How to Use: When hunting immunity for defense witnesses, compare Wilkes to another post-Straub case, Flores-Blanco. See blog here. The key difference in the two Ninth Circuit decisions? In Wilkes, there were prosecution-immunized witnesses; in Flores-Blanco, not. That key fact can give much sharper teeth to a Straub challenge to failure to order immunity for defense witnesses.

For Further Reading: President Obama has nominated a replacement for Ninth Circuit Judge Rymer: Paul Watford (above left). See article here. A former AUSA and a Justice Ginsburg clerk, 44-year old Watford will presumably have a different confirmation experience than (now-California Supreme Court Justice) Goodwin Liu.

Image of Randall "Duke" Cunningham from
Image of Judicialnominee Paul Watford from

Steven Kalar, Senior Litigator N.D. Cal. FPD. Website at

Labels: , , , ,

Anonymous Anonymous said...

Watford was actually a Ginsburg clerk, not a Scalia clerk.

Sunday, October 23, 2011 2:30:00 PM
Blogger Steve Kalar said...

Thank you for the correction, Anon.: I misread the cited article, which referred to the clerkship experience of a lawyer interviewed about Mr. Watford. The error has been corrected in the blog posting.

Sunday, October 23, 2011 2:40:00 PM
Blogger it's my blog said...

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if you agreen so please give me reply on this email id:-

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Monday, October 24, 2011 4:14:00 AM
Anonymous Anonymous said...

"Scandle"? Really? That's as glaring a typo as I've seen in a while. Otherwise love the work.

Tuesday, October 25, 2011 2:27:00 PM
Blogger Steve Kalar said...

A "scandleous" error indeed. Thank you for the correction, and the kind words -- typo fixed above. SGK

Tuesday, October 25, 2011 3:16:00 PM
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Tuesday, November 01, 2011 12:36:00 AM

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text:
Monday, February 20, 2012

The Strangers Series: DollFace

Hello Ladies And Gents,
Here Again With Another Character Of My "The Stranger Series" That I Had Going On!
Unfortunately I Had To Make Do With What I Had To Achieve The Look. . .So If It Doesn't Look Identical, Don't Blame Me. . .Blame My Lack Of Moneys! xD

Anywho, DollFace Has Been My Favorite Masked Gal (Besides Pin Up) Since The Day I Found Out They Had Her In My Existence! :3

The Products I Used:
Black/White Cake Paint
Brown/Black/Red Pencil Liners
Red Lipstick
Black Liquid Liner For Minor Detailing
Ivory/White Foundation
Translucent Loose Powder
Orange/Red Eyeshadow

I Attempted The "Anime Eyes" That Everyone Seems To Know And Love With This Look!
It Was Tricky Seeing How The Thing I Was Recreating Was In Fact A Mask. . .I Had To Make My Own Face Look Somewhat Similar To It By Drawing On The Mask and Having It Look Like Its Popping Up From My Own Skin!

(^^As Shown^^)

This Was Not Something I Normally do. . .Seeing How Its Not Much Of A Makeup Look, But More Something You Would Attempt For Halloween/Theater or The Likes! (Plus The DollFace Character Doesn't Wear A lot Of Makeup For My Liking, But Nonetheless It Was FUN!!!)

(Here Is Another Shot Of My Face)

(Hello? Is Tamara Home??)

(Shhhh. . .)

Hehehe <3

And Here Is A Animated GIF:

Thanks For Reading
Hannabal Marie

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text:
915 N Court Street

915 N Court Street

Au Gres, Michigan 48703

2 Beds | 1200 sq.ft. | Built 1972 | Residential

Sold $54,900

Very well kept house & land on large, nearly 2 acre lot. House sits back from road, yet has large backyard. Open floor plan, huge laundry room and inviting sunroom. Furniture & Appliances are negotiable.

Essential Information

MLS#5030040749 | School District: Au Gres Sims | County: Arenac

Property Features

Architecture: 1 Story | Heating: Baseboard | Interior Features: Cable Available | Sewer: Septic-Existing | Directions: W. Huron Rd, East of M-65 to North on Court St.

Want to learn more about this property? Contact Us

All information deemed reliable but not guaranteed and should be independently verified. All properties are subject to prior sale, change or withdrawal. Neither listing broker(s) nor City Living Detroit shall be responsible for any typographical errors, misinformation, misprints and shall be held totally harmless. IDX information is provided exclusively for consumers' personal, non-commercial use and may not be used for any purpose other than to identify prospective properties consumers may be interested in purchasing.

IDX provided courtesy of East Central Association fo REALTORS®, by Dennis D Niec via Berkshire Hathaway HomeService and Realcomp II Ltd, ©2021 Realcomp II Ltd. Shareholders


text:
Goals & Mission Statement

Court Administrator

Valerie Coleman
(865) 215-4311

800 Howard Baker Jr. Avenue
P.O. Box 2749
Knoxville, TN 37901-2749

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Enhance public access to the court;

Maintain a neutral, courteous, and fair forum in the resolution of cases;

To increase the quality of services through education, training, and technology;

To provide a safe, efficient, and productive workplace for all court employees and users of the court.

Interpret and enforce the City Codes in a judicial forum;

Create and sustain a customer-oriented quality service that provides maximum access to the Court and promotes public confidence in the justice system;

Provide judicial services for the public;

Provide procedural remedies that promote due process of law to all individuals involved;

Continue being a contributing partner in government toward preserving the City of Knoxville as a safe and vital community.


text:
Conservation matters are not worth it for Wandsworth Council

Author: Cyril Richert

A planning application for a huge extension of a cottage house located in the heart of a conservation area has been approved in St John’s Hill Grove, near Clapham Junction, despite the protest of many groups and residents of the area, including the Battersea Society, the Wandsworth Society, the Clapham Junction Action Group (see full objection HERE and THERE), and Wandsworth Conservation Area Advisory Committee (WCAAC). While 10 notices have been distributed into the close neighbourhood (ref 2012/3013), 7 people objected (while 3 support were received, but one was also with some objections!).

The Planning Committee approved the application in October, with the blessing of Cllr Vanessa Graham, who is also chairing the WCAAC which objected against the scheme. This councillor is not at her first ambiguous position as one will remember her same attitude during the vote for Peabody’s application last Summer.

In order to explain the reason why this application is in breach of Wandsworth conservation rules and should have been refused, we laid down the following arguments (p.a. ref 2012/3013 and 2012/3390):

Conservation areas are “areas of special architectural or historic interest, the character and appearance of which it is desirable to preserve or enhance” as set out in the Planning (Listed Buildings & Conservation Areas) Act 1990.

In respect of the conservation area, it appears that

  1. The proposed extension is an overdevelopment of a cottage house in a conservation area: the proposed extension represents more than 25% of the existing property.
  2. The proposed rear extension will put the back of the property beyond the building line of existing properties (33, 37, 39, 41 etc) its size and material (brick/stones) will affect substantially the view of the neighbours.
  3. The proposed extension will alter the front of the property as the current cottage frontage will be changed to become a “sort of” terrace house, therefore losing the historical aspect of the property. Although we understand that they will retain a narrow access from the front to the rear garden, this will be detrimental to the characteristic of the building as it forms a pair with No 33.
  4. The proposed rear extension will have detrimental impact on adjoining properties, along with impact of properties in Harbut Road (loss of view and daylight appears to be understated in the report submitted by the applicant).

The proposed extension should be considered in view of the guidelines provided in the Conservation Area Appraisal Strategies document, which states:

3.13 The spaces between the semi-detached pairs of villas in St John’s Hill Grove allow visual penetration through to the trees in rear gardens, thereby reinforcing the sense of greenness.

4.11 Several of the villas have been unsympathetically altered, with some infilling of the spaces between them, as well as the loss of some original architectural features. The infilling of spaces creates an uncharacteristic terraced effect in a street whose special character is derived from distinctive pairs of houses.

Nos 33-35 are one of pairs of villas in the street and the characteristic of the building must be preserved. Therefore any extension on one side to create a “terrace” effect should be prevented. In its conclusion the Wandsworth Conservation &Design report states:

These houses rely on the spaces between each pair as part of their setting and future extensions should be designed to retain this important spaciousness.”

The current application proposes to fill most of the space on the semi-detached part, keeping only a very narrow pathway on the side of the property. This is contrary to the Conservation Area guidelines and should be refused.

In addition, the current application is in breach of Council’s policies as stated in the Development Management Policies Document – Adopted Version (page 49-50):

3.20 Open spaces between buildings are an integral part of the character and appearance of much of the borough, and this is especially important in conservation areas. The contribution that open areas and residential gardens make to the character and appearance of the area is addressed through conservation area appraisals. Development on back gardens can also have a negative impact on other policy objectives including biodiversity and managing flood risk. The development of back gardens is therefore generally regarded as an inappropriate form of development in the borough.

3.22 Rear extensions can also encroach onto useable amenity space, and may be detrimental to the character of an area, or impact on daylight or outlook of neighbouring properties.

Policy DMH5: extensions and alterations to existing residential properties will be permitted where:

ii. an extension, dormer window or other alteration to a roof is confined to the rear of the building but where it is visible from the street or any other public place, it is sympathetic to the style of the building, not visually intrusive and does not harm either the street scene or the building’s appearance;

iii. side extensions do not cause a terrace effect by in-filling the spaces between detached or semi-detached buildings;

If approved, this will set a precedent in the street and of course any further plans for such property alterations will have to be granted (and in case of refusal, will certainly be granted in appeal). Therefore the whole principal of a conservation area (to “conserve” the area, meaning “which it is desirable to preserve or enhance”) will lose all purpose and will have a detrimental impact on the street and the historical heritage of the area.

In its conclusion the officer’s report says: “it is now considered […] [that it] would not have an acceptable impact on the amenities of neighbours”. Although we suspect that the officer wanted to say the opposite, we cannot agree more with the sentence as such.

Of course owners have the right to improve and with certain conditions, extend their properties. But it should be done in respect with the neighbourhood and not have a detrimental impact on the surrounding properties, especially as it is a conservation area. Therefore we urge you to recommend refusal of the application and suggest the applicant to submit a plan that is more sympathetic to the area.

As I said above, all those arguments have been ignored, along with the strong objection of the Conservation Areas Advisory Committee and Conservative members of the Committee approved the plan #2012/3013 in October.

Since then, the Committee has also followed the recommendation of approval submitted by the planning officer for the second application. In December it approved also the plan 2012/3390.

drawing comparison 3013-3390

Although this second proposal does no longer encroached the rear building line (although at its maximum!) – but the planning officer and the committee did not find that being unacceptable even in a Conservation area! – we consider that this is now misleading to keep the same description for the rear-extension, as a part single/ part two-storey rear extension (as displayed in the 2012/3390 application).

Planning officer Laura Nieves returned my call earlier and explained that both applications were only considered similar regarding the front of the property, and that the rear extension, although much more “compact”, was still considered as partly 1-partly 2 storey extension as the first lever was not covering 100% of the ground floor extension on 2012/3390.

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text:
New York wedding photographer’s photo of Mauthausens wedding captured by photographer of Mausausen

New York photographer Kevin Gorman has captured a stunning photo of a wedding reception at Mauthusen in the West Bank city of Ramallah.

Mr Gorman said he was taking the photo for a local newspaper when the couple arrived at the venue and he noticed that a large number of people were seated around a table and that it looked as if a crowd had gathered.

Mr Gurr had been working in Israel when he returned to the US in 2014, and said he had been planning to return to Israel as soon as he was able to do so, and to take a few photos in the area.

Mr Dalia said she was surprised to see so many people sitting in the middle of a crowd.

“The moment you see the crowd, you can tell that it’s a big group of people,” she said.

“But it was a really big gathering and they all looked like they were all very well dressed, which was unusual for me.”

Mr Gurv’s wife, Dalia, who is Israeli, is the photographer for the paper, Mausens Al-Aqsa, and Mr Gurr is the editor of the paper.

Ms Gurr said she hoped to be able to take some of the photos and share them on Facebook with her friends, who would also appreciate the experience.

“I am a big fan of photography,” she told ABC News.

“And when I first got married, I was very curious about the whole process.”

There’s a lot of images that I’ve taken, and I thought I wanted to share with people.

“Topics:weddings,united-states,united.nsw,israel,united,americasFirst posted February 11, 2020 16:14:06Contact Emily WilliamsMore stories from New South Wales


text:
Fall 2012 Russian Film Series: "The Woman with the 5 Elephants"

The Russian documentary film The Woman with the 5 Elephants (2009, 93 min.), directed by Vadim Jendreyko, is a profile of Svetlana Geier who was the pre-eminent translator of Dostoyevsky’s novels into German.

This film will be presented by Dr. Harold Schefski (RGRLL).

Light refreshments will be provided.

For additional information, call 562.985.8525 or email Russian Club President Kendall Veith at csulbrussian@gmail.com.


text:
There’s a tangle of tears

trapped inside like

one of those wire balls

of fairy lights

quivering like a mouse

with stone-giant hands

how to hold the precious things

while the rest gets torn down

walking as ghosts

puppet-shadows loom behind

grotesque approximations

of life split in two rhymes

somewhere cracked open

like a passionfruit, purple rind

waxy, strange, so different to

the gold ooze inside

What I want to say is

there’s an ever-distanting, displaced

version of me

and I’m worried about her because

she’s going on her way

and I’m here trembling

like a rodent

who’s been caught in sharp light

not sure whether to run or die

start a new life

my brain held in

rock-giant hands like

a bowl of bright-smelling ooze

studded with shiny black seeds

and those softspider veins

while cave-light shadows

make small mockery

of insignificant me

with a snarl of tears

caught inside

like a barbed-wire bottle

of fairy lights

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text:
naija blog

March 9, 2015

Special Fried Rice

Good morning! 🙂 Hope we had a great weekend. For […]
February 20, 2015

Burger Meat- Wise Shopping

Hello Foodies! Happy Wednesday, have we recovered from Valentine yet? […]
February 16, 2015

Afang Soup

Happy Valentine’s Day in arears! So on Saturday rather than […]
January 29, 2015

Almonds &Nutella

Happy Thursday! I have shared on benefits of almonds before, so […]


text:
Chatoyant College, Chatoyant College Book 14: Ghost Stories

Chatoyant College Book 14: Chapter 53: Bad Luck

Corrie didn’t have a lot of hope that Professor Lal would be the one on duty, but she headed over to the magic building anyway. Somewhat to her surprise, Professor Lal’s door was ajar and the light was on inside. Corrie glanced around the hallway, but no one else seemed to be there. She knocked lightly on the door.

“Come in,” Lal said.

Corrie opened the door and walked inside. Lal was bent over her desk, a pen in one hand, reading something. “Hi, Professor Lal.”

Lal looked up at her, eyebrows arching. “Hello, Corrie.”

“If you’re busy, I can come back later.”

Professor Lal put down her pen and shook her head. “I am not busy. Do you have some concern about class? You are doing remarkably well—though, I should not say remarkably.” She smiled and stretched her arms above her head. “You are doing precisely as well as I expected, given how you performed in your introductory class, and your control is growing every day.”

Corrie grinned. She hadn’t come here expecting or even hoping to be praised, but it sure was nice, especially coming from such a strict teacher. “It’s not about that. It’s just some research I was doing, and I was curious. You’ve been at this school for a while, right?”

“A hundred and fifty years, on and off.”

Corrie nodded, hoping Lal wouldn’t ask her about what the research was. “Did you ever know a student named Alice Atkins?”

“Atkins.” Lal tapped her lower lip with her finger. “I remember an Otis Atkins. Alice Atkins… the name does ring a bell, but I don’t think I taught her. Of course, I can’t guarantee that I have memorized the names of all the students I have ever taught.”

“No, that makes sense.” Corrie was sure that if Professor Lal had taught a student who had died on campus, that would be seared into her memory. Corrie would certainly always remember the names of Elrath, Sean, Payton, and Elena, and she had barely even known Sean.

Then again, what if Professor Lal had taught Alice Atkins, and it turned out that she hadn’t died on campus? Maybe she was just tied to Mary Thomas because she had been a student there; maybe she’d died years after she graduated and returned to campus. That would help explain why the magic professors seemed to be so certain that there was no ghost in Mary Thomas.

“Maybe Alice Atkins was Otis’ little sister, and he told her not to take any of your classes when she came here,” Corrie suggested, grinning at the idea.

Professor Lal shook her head at Corrie. “I do not think so.”

“What about the Mary Thomas scholarship? Were you around when they were doing that?”

“Yes, I left the school for a time not long before Miss Thomas died, but I remember it had been her intention to leave her house and her money to the school. When I returned, they were giving out a scholarship in her name, and I remember two or three girls who received it before the money ran out.” She pursed her lips. “There was said to be some bad luck associated with the scholarship. I can’t recall why.”

Corrie raised her eyebrows. Maybe Alice had died at the school after all. “That’s weird. Why would a scholarship be bad luck?”

“It was given to girls who could not have attended a college otherwise. Perhaps they were not all well suited to this particular college.” Professor Lal shook her head. “I can’t tell you any more than that, Corrie. What is this research related to?”

Corrie bit her lip. “It’s just personal. I read that Alice Atkins made some contribution to magical theory, and I thought—“

“Corrie.” Professor Lal leveled an unamused look at her. “If this was about magical theory, I would know about it. Who is Alice Atkins?”

“I don’t know,” Corrie said truthfully.

“Are you following that ridiculous story about a ghost in Mary Thomas again?”

Corrie tried to control her annoyance. “Why are you so sure there isn’t a ghost in Mary Thomas?”

“I have personally investigated the story more than once, as have several other professors on this campus. We have seen absolutely no evidence of such a thing. Perhaps you should stop chasing nonsense and focus on your schoolwork instead.”

Corrie nodded, taking that as a dismissal, and left the office, frowning. She hardly saw the campus around her as she walked back to Sayer. How could the ghost have hidden her existence so thoroughly from the professors, when she was so very obvious to Corrie, her friends, and especially Lin?

1 thought on “Chatoyant College Book 14: Chapter 53: Bad Luck”

  1. Hmm, I am strongly reminded of the magic that kept everyone forgetting about those students that became victims of faeries…

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text:
Skill-based Art

Universal skills.
Universal skills in the visual arts include mastery of composition, form rendering, tone values and colour schemes. Control of materials and techniques. Insight into expressive values. All of this at the service of the intrinsic and distinctive meaning of visual art.
Good art is based on mastery of all these ‘skills’.
For a variety of reasons, these skills have been relegated to the background or even lost in large parts of the world. But moved by the wave of time, artists are now motivated to recapture this mastery: ‘skill-based art’ is independent of style directions but is the basis of visual quality.

Cultural differences.
There are major cultural differences worldwide in the use of these skills. In order to gain insight into this, the Classical Art Center maintains a worldwide database of visual artists

Development of skills
In order to promote the development of skills, the Classical Art Center follows two paths: its member, the International League of Fine Art Schools wants to promote digital collaboration and interaction between art schools all over the world. The Classical Art Center itself offers an online art course: the Classical Art College.

Developments can be supported by the exchange of knowledge, by the worldwide bundling of initiatives and know-how and by bringing artists together.

This can be done through the following initiatives:
– International exchange of exhibitions
– International exchange of art education
– International exchange of contacts and ideas


text:
Samuel O. Flores

Profile picture for user

Samuel O. Flores

Assistant Professor, College of Charleston

  • M.A., Classics, The Ohio State University (2008)
  • B.A., English and B.A., Latin, John Carroll University (2007) minors: Greek, Philosophy, Creative Writing
  • PhD, Classics, The Ohio State University (2013)

Samuel Flores is an Assistant Professor in Classics at the College of Charleston. Samuel earned his MA (2008) and PhD (2013) in Classics from Ohio State. His dissertation, "the Roles of Solon in Plato's Dialogues" (dir. Bruce Heiden), focuses on Plato’s employment and adaptation of Solon as a powerful rhetorical figure vis-à-vis the establishment of his own practice of philosophy in fourth-century Athens. Through Solon, it examines how Plato incorporated earlier literary and intellectual trends into his philosophic writing. Samuel’s current research projects include a study of political theory and practice in Herodotus’ Histories and a study of political rhetoric and ideology in Plato’s Timaeus-Critias dialogues. His teaching interests include Greek and Latin at all levels, ancient philosophy, ancient history, and Classical drama and poetry.


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New Year Good Luck Traditions

Mexicans might light a green candle for health in the New Year.
... Stockbyte/Stockbyte/Getty Images

January 1 marks the beginning of a new year and an opportunity to move ahead with a clean slate. In Scotland, burning tar barrels symbolizes the end of one year and the beginning of something new. People around the world celebrate the New Year with traditions and customs designed to promote good luck and cheer. Similarly, The Dutch use Christmas trees to make bonfires on New Year’s Eve. Traditions vary but are rooted in the concept of good luck and fresh beginnings.

1 Fun Food

Across the world, food symbolizes fun, longevity and good luck in New Year's traditions. The Spanish and Portuguese race to eat 12 grapes as the clock strikes twelve. Pomegranates are crushed on Greek doorsteps. The seeds represent the amount of luck bestowed upon the homeowners. The Japanese cultivate good luck by eating long noodles without chewing them. In the southern United States, a spoonful of black-eyed peas are a required item on a New Year's Day menu. The peas look like coins and bring good fortune to those who eat them.

2 Lucky Company

Some people from the United Kingdom maintain an old tradition called the "lucky bird." The lucky bird is not fowl, but instead, a man with dark hair. The tradition goes that the first person to walk through the doorway on New Year’s Day is an indication of luck to come. If the visitor is a man with dark hair, good luck is on the way. The visitor brings items to symbolize good luck, such as a coin for financial success, food and coal for heat.

3 A Noisy Beginning

Loud noisemakers and big fireworks displays are a common way to ring in the New Year. In China, the New Year is often celebrated between December solstice and the March equinox. Fireworks are used to ward away bad spirits. The Chinese believe that the sound of fireworks calls the god of wealth into homes. In the Philippines, New Year’s Eve is thought to be the loudest time of the year. Similar to the Chinese, the Filipinos use whistles, car horns and fireworks to chase away the bad and welcome good luck.

4 Dressy Occasion

Wearing specific clothing is another way to bring good luck for the New Year. In Italy, red underwear is thought to encourage good luck for the New Year. It is also worn to entice love and new relationships. Latin Americans wear yellow underwear to signal joy and wealth. Filipinos believe that polka dots will encourage prosperity. In Mexico, people wear white to encourage good health or new clothing to signal a fresh start. Bright colors such as red and yellow symbolize good fortune.

Dr. Kelly Meier earned her doctorate from Minnesota State Mankato in Educational Leadership. She is the author and co-author of 12 books and serves as a consultant in K-12 and higher education. Dr. Meier is is a regular contributor for The Equity Network and has worked in education for more than 30 years. She has numerous publications with Talico, Inc., DynaTEAM Consulting, Inc. and Kinect Education Group.


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At the Early College High School, I am the dual enrollment instructor for American History. Its a fancy title, but it simply means that my students get both high school and college credits for the same class time. In practical terms, this means my students must meet both sets of curriculum standards, take all te mandated high school exams, and that we follow the college schedule. The last part gets a bit awkward at times since my students and I only meet twice a week for 90 minutes and every other Friday (if their are no field trips, pep rallies, or holidays). Its not really an instructional issue but I have trouble learning names and, since I am introverted, really work hard to develop relationships. Sometimes, through the shear randomness of the district schedule, some classes will not meet for a week. This year my first week long gap occurred after the first week of school. For my Monday/Wednesday students this meant I had 2 class meetings and didn’t see them for a full week.

I made it my mission this year to shake every hand at the door on the first day, to give them their first XP, gold pieces, and storyline introducrions in the first class, and know their names by the end of week the first full week. Succeeded on the first two goals and (I am happy to report) at about 90% on the last. What I am most happy about thought is a throw away joke that a student made to me at on a field trip after we had only 4 class meetings.

On the 3rd Friday, after only 1 full week of school and at most 4 class meetings, we took most of the 99 Junior class to a college fair. Since I only teach Juniors I was scheduled to be a chaperone. While waiting for the bus back to campus I asked students to step back get back onto the sidewalk. One student next to me said to me:

“you’re gonna have to go all APOC on ’em Mr. Powley”

I immediately smiled. I didn’t see him but I know who said it and I’m sure he was smiling too. A few things flew through my mind in an instant. First, APOC stands for the ‘Armed Protectors Of the Constitution’. You’ve probably never hear the acronym. This is the name of the political dictatorship in my distopyian future storyline and its a storyline I have embedded in my recorded flipped lesson. Second, this student portrays himself as the class clown. He knew the storyline and knew his audience well enough to know that the joke would land. It did the students around him laughed. Third, this told me that they all knew the storyline which meant that they had been watching the recordings and paying attention. Fourth, they all felt comfortable enough with me to know that I was in on the joke and that I am good natured enough to laugh with them. I knew they weren’t disrespecting me but were trying to show they were in on it too.

In that one throw away joke I felt affirmed and the students bonded with each other and me. Those moments don’t come often but when they do there is a sudden impact. I went into the weekend riding high and knowing that my storyline, gamification, amd relationship building efforts were all working in concert to make a better community.


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The NHS is managing to recruit more trainee doctors

Health Education England has announced that they will hit the target of 3,250 GPs starting training this year. Professor Ian Cumming, chief executive, said that they achieved recruitment of 3,019 medical graduates after completing the first round recruitment. That’s a 10% increase on the same phase last year.

Image Credit

They now confidently expected to hit 3,250 trainee GPs when the second round recruitment is completed. The figures mean that of all the doctors trained in the UK, 50% are going into general practice.

Plans to cut back locum working

Short-term locum work has become a concern for the health service, and Professor Cumming has plans to restrain it. He stated that patients wanted long-term continuity of care, and that the health service wanted to attract locums into substantive posts.

It has to be said that this wish was greeted with some cynicism in the online comments of the medical press.

Image Credit

Sixty per cent of GPs who completed general practice training five years ago are working either as long-term locums or as doctors in substantive employment. Of course, that means that 40% are not, and this figure has been highlighted by much of the mainstream media.

Professor Cumming pointed to short-term locum assignments as one of the things that the 40% were doing. He stated that beyond five years, every year that passed indicated a rise in the numbers not joining practices in substantive roles, but opting instead for GP locum jobs He questioned how GPs should be trained and what could be done to retain them.

Costs of medical training

He also highlighted the cost to the economy, mentioning a figure of half a million pounds to train a GP. Again, some doctors have queried this figure as pertaining to the entire medical training programme. The British Medical Association (BMA) has confirmed the difficulty of accurately assessing the cost of the various stages of medical training.

However, it seems clear that trained GPs who aren’t working in the NHS represent lost resources. When they are working overseas in popular locations such as Australia and New Zealand, NHS England’s loss is those countries’ gain.

While the Professor’s news on new trainees was good, he didn’t seem to have many suggestions for initiatives that would deter GPs from working as locums.

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Domain Management (2)

How to Add Name servers and DNS records to your Domain

Most Popular Articles

 Sub Domains

Subdomains are not being offered by Domgys.   You must have an Active hosting plan to create...

 DNS Management

How to Manage DNS Of a Domain name.   Follow below Instructions to add DNS entries for your...


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16 People Who Look Exactly Like ‘Simpsons’ Characters

The SImpsons has got to be one of the most widely recognized cartoons in television history. Not only is each episode memorable, but the inhabitants of Springfield have practically burned themselves into our collective memory.
And perhaps these characters have become so ingrained in our minds that some people have actually begun to take on their real-life form.
1. Mr. Burns
This is uncanny. If there were to ever be a live-action Simpsons movie (let us pray that never happens), this would be an excellent casting pick for Mr. Burns.
2. Ned Flanders
OK, this guy looks like he exclusively converses in diddilies and doodilies. He also seems super nice, as if he’d loan Homer Simpson his shovel, lawnmower, and kitchen sink.
3. Chief Wiggum
The Simpsons really plays up the donut-eating stereotype with Chief Wiggum. Although the two have matching uniforms, we can say with near certainty that the Wiggum look-alike is the better police officer.

4. Moe Szyslak
In case you don’t stay up until 3AM watching infomercials (you’re missing out, btw), that’s Vince Offer on the left, more commonly known as the ShamWow guy.
Sham-wow does he looks like Moe in this photo.

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Cube Life: Island Survival Wiki

Template:Infobox example

A Cashew is a type of food item in Cube Life: Island Survival.

Cashews can be gathered by destroying Cashew Leaf blocks. They may be eaten to restore one hunger point or they may be crafted into Cashew Seeds.

Crafting Grid

Cashews have been in the game since its release. They were ported to Steam in Version 1.5 and received an updated sprite in Version 1.6. Later on the game was ported to Android with Version 1.4.5. In this Android specific version, the cashew retains its original look from when the game first came out.


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About the Cloud Index

In 2013, we launched the BVP Cloud Index, which became the benchmark for the rapidly expanding universe of public cloud computing companies. In 2018, we partnered with Nasdaq to form the next generation of our cloud index: the BVP Nasdaq Emerging Cloud Index, listed as EMCLOUD. With one of the largest cloud portfolios in venture capital, Bessemer has been at the forefront of investing in cloud companies over the past two decades.

Our Enduring Companies

We're proud of the partnerships we have with these visionary cloud companies, from their earliest days through growth and beyond.

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We've long believed in the power of the cloud. Explore our thinking on how the cloud has fundamentally changed the way we live, work, and do business.

State of the Cloud

In our State of the Cloud 2021 report, we explore the major milestones and changes within the cloud economy and original analysis on what’s driving today’s private cloud valuations.

Cloud Giants

In this podcast, you’ll hear the conversations Byron Deeter has with exceptional cloud leaders. They talk about how they got started, the struggles and lessons learned as they built and scaled the company, and what it was like to be in the trenches together, not only as business partners but also as friends.

The cloud industry’s growth has been tremendous.

Cloud 100

Since 2016, Bessemer Venture Partners, Forbes and Salesforce Ventures recognize the top 100 private cloud companies in the industry and the leaders shaping the cloud-first world.
The information set forth in the BVP Nasdaq Emerging Cloud Index is provided for informational and discussion purposes only and is not intended to be, and shall not be regarded or construed as, a recommendation for a transaction or investment or financial, tax, investment or other advice of any kind by Bessemer Venture Partners. Bessemer Venture Partners makes no warranty or representation regarding any such information or the data presented in such materials. Bessemer Venture Partners and/or pooled investment vehicles which it manages, and individuals and entities affiliated with such vehicles, may purchase, sell or hold securities of issuers that are constituents of the BVP Nasdaq Emerging Cloud Index from time to time and at any time, including in advance of or following an issuer being added to or removed from the BVP Nasdaq Emerging Cloud Index.For complete index information including methodology, visit NASDAQ.


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In September Clubhouse is changing our name. OurnewnameisShortcut.

Custom Workflows help make Clubhouse work for everyone

Cara Harshman

One of the reasons so many people enjoy using Clubhouse for product and project management is that even though it's build with software development and engineering teams in mind, it’s so flexible that any team can use it — yes, even the non-engineering teams. One customer put it well when he said, “We love Clubhouse because it’s not opinionated.” We love this review. We’re not here to tell you what to do — we just want to make it easier to plan, build, and create with your teams from wherever you are in the world.

Custom Workflows are a crux of what makes Clubhouse so flexible for all teams. In this post, we’ll give examples of different approaches to Workflows, detailing how to use Workflow States creatively so that you can set up a great flow that matches the internal workflow for your team.

By the end of this article you should:

  • Have a stronger grasp on creating custom Workflows and Workflow States in Clubhouse
  • See how Workflow States and projects connect
  • See why Workflows make Clubhouse a viable solution for all teams within your company

If you want to refresh yourself or learn the basics before getting creative, head to our Help Center article, “What is a Workflow?”

What is a Workflow?

A Workflow (we’ll use capital W to refer to the feature within Clubhouse) is the step-by-step process by which a Story moves from creation to completion. Each step in a Workflow is called a Workflow State.

Here are some examples of Workflows and Workflow States:

To Do, Doing, Done

Engineering Euphoria

Unscheduled, Ready for Development, Started, Ready for Review, Ready for Deploy, Completed

Blogging Boogie

Idea, Scheduled, Outlining, Outline Review, Writing, Editing, SEO Review, Designing Graphics, Laying Out, Ready to Publish, Promoting, Done

When creating a Workflow in Clubhouse, you have some options:

  1. You create your own Workflow States and arrange them however you like
  2. You use our default Workflow States
  3. You start with our default Workflow and add/subtract some pizazz to make it your own

Default project management workflows in Clubhouse

Grouping Workflow States into Types, you can accurately measure cycle time to understand where work moves quickly or slowly.

Keep reading to get inspired to edit these default states and create your own. You’ll create and edit Workflows from the Workflows tab under Workspace Settings.

Creating a custom workflow state

Creating a custom workflow state

One more housekeeping item about Workflows before we jump into ideas: the connection between Projects and Workflows.

Workflows and Projects

A Project is an ongoing workstream in your organization such as Billing, Blogging, Employee Onboarding. Think of them as eternal, alway-on workstreams, not time-boxed initiatives. On the Projects Page in Clubhouse, you’ll see your Projects grouped by which Workflow they’re using. You’ll also notice the Workflow States laid out neatly for you so you never have to second guess the process.

In this example below, the organization has designed Workflows for Departments or Teams. Product Development has its own workflow and the Projects that use this workflow are Billing, Integrations and Onboarding.

Projects and Workflows within Clubhouse

The organization has designed Workflows for Departments or Teams. Product Development has its own Workflow and the Projects that use this workflow are Billing, Integrations and Onboarding.

Custom Workflows Get Everyone Using Clubhouse

Custom workflows allow the teams and individuals working within Clubhouse—and hopefully that’s most of your company—to be the unique snowflakes they are with the step-by-step way that works best for them.

Plus, when Engineering, Product, Marketing, Customer Success, Sales, Design, HR are all managing unique workflows in the same tool, communication and alignment get easier. Sharing tasks, staying updated on progress, giving feedback, setting goals all become a little bit less cumbersome when one tool visualizes the majority of the work.

You can even use Custom Workflows as an opportunity for silliness and giggles.

This 36-person team out of London, bills itself as Europe's largest phone charging network with tons of power banks in useful places like concert venues.

Pam Hernandez, Head of Product at ChargedUp told us that the team makes Workflow States funny. “I loved how the team had set it up and made it their own,” Pam said. “One small example: they use funny titles in the workflow state columns rather than more traditional, businessy, scrummaster titles. It makes updating a Story just a little more enjoyable.”

Let teams add bits of goofiness and wit to the Workflow if they want. Give Workflow States funny names that maybe makes fun of the process or calls out a thing that always happens yet no one talks about. Of course don’t force it, but see what emerges while you work together.

She said the flexibility she and the team love about Clubhouse is more than just the ability to insert inside jokes and funny titles for things directly into the software. It’s also about how Clubhouse can act as a single source of truth for ChargedUp projects.

OCV, an app-development agency out of Alabama, is doing awesome customization to get all departments into Clubhouse which is particularly useful when they have such a high volume of tasks with handoffs across teams. They manage everything under one hood: Clubhouse. All the work is in there, from the 60 apps in active development at any one time, to the over 200 apps they currently manage, to the new projects entering the queue from Sales, to the stream of questions funneling in from the Support team.

Workflows can be as infinite as you are—don’t try to make 1 work for everyone. Especially when you have lots of little projects, you may want lots of Custom Workflows. And since multiple Workflows can use the same Workflow States, you don’t need to constantly think of your own phases. Lean on the collective process wisdom from your coworkers.

That’s a lot of needs being tended to with Custom Workflows. Each team at OCV has its own workspace customized with specific the Workflow that fits. The Support team’s Workflow pulls in their Zendesk queue and turns tickets into Stories. The Graphics team setup Zapier to funnel Formsite into Clubhouse.

Even though a lot of the terminology in Clubhouse is specific to agile development and some default workflows are built for engineers, we love seeing the ways teams use Custom Workflows to meet their needs. Turns out people don’t always love the default option.

“Really, Clubhouse has given us a little bit more of a playground because we don't use a typical engineering workflow,” Josh Carter, Engineering Manager at OCV, told us.

So if you are the kind of team that doesn’t want to conform to the default, or you have unique steps to your process (we’re guessing that’s pretty much everyone), try making a custom workflow or two (or eight). We’re excited to see exactly what kind of weird steps your teams take in the process of moving their work from conception to creation to completion.


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3 Great Reasons To Lift Weights | Why You Should Work Out
(303) 979-7772
Mon - Thu 3:45 am - 10:00 pmFri 3:45 am - 9:00 pmSat - Sun 6:30 am - 7:30 pm

3 Great Reasons to Lift Weights : Club USA BlogWhat is your reason for working out? Is it to burn calories? To increase your energy? To lose weight? To release stress? Whatever the reason, lifting weights should be an important part of your routine. It is not always enough to get a little cardio and there are some heavy duty reasons to include those bicep curls and squats.

Research shows that even though men seem to gravitate towards the weight room, only 20% of women strength train more than two times a week.

Here are compelling reasons to guide your steps towards the rooms of weight machines or rows of hand held weights.

• You will burn calories…more of them.

Including a weight routine will increase the calories burned after your workout. So as you relax after dinner your body will still be revving up. Why? After such a workout the muscles used need to repair their fibers, and to do this they need energy. Research shows that including as little as three large muscle lifts can raise the metabolism for over 35 hours! And compared to those that workout but do not lift more fat is burned.

• Your bones will get stronger.

Bone mass decreases as we age, leading many to endure fractures from small bumps and falls. Lifting can interrupt this progression. With only sixteen weeks of resistance training, this means using weight you do not normally have in your daily routine which in turn challenges the muscles, hip bone density is increased. In addition, osteocalcin was increased in the blood by 19 percent which is the marker used to measure bone growth.

• Your clothes will fit better.

Ten percent of your body’s total muscle is lost between the ages of 30 and 50 according to most research. This loss is usually replaced by fat which increases your waist size. Fat takes up more space than muscle, in fact it takes up 18 percent more room.

Check out our state of the art weight training equipment at Club USA in Littleton, Colorado.  Contact us to learn more.

Fill out the information below and a membership specialist will be in contact with you shortly!

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Views - New Construction
236 Marathon Lane # 43 Candler, NC
$ 335,490
Property Attributes
  • ID#3725389
  • TypeContingent
  • CountyBUNCOMBE
  • CityCandler
  • AreaBuncombe County
  • NeighborhoodHolbrook Village
  • Zip28715
  • StyleTransitional
  • Price$ 335,490
  • Bedrooms3
  • Full Bathrooms2
  • Half Bathrooms1
  • Sqr Footage2207
  • Lot Size8,712 SqFt
Listing Provided Courtesy Of:
Coldwell Banker King
Data Source:
Canopy MLS
Property Description

Asheville NC, DR Horton, New Construction Popular Pinehurst floor plan! Open concept with site lines straight from kitchen to the family room. Kitchen features 36" shaker cabinets, granite countertops w/ tile backsplash, upgraded laminate flooring on the first floor, upstairs has 4 bedrooms (one bedroom is configured as a loft & could also be an office or exercise room). Holbrook Village is conveniently located less than 7 miles from downtown Asheville. This home is an incredible value with all the benefits of new construction and a 10 yr. Home Warranty! Our Home Is Connected package includes programmable thermostat, Z-Wave door lock and wireless switch, touchscreen control device, automation platform, video doorbell, and Amazon Echo and Echo Dot. All home features are subject to change without notice. Internet service not included. Sq. footage's are approximate. Pictures, photographs, colors, features, & sizes are for illustration purposes only & will vary from the homes as built.

Elementary School Middle School High School
Sand Hill-Venable/Enka Elementary School Enka Middle School Enka High School
Price History
4/3/2021 Listed $335,490

General Features

Appliances Cable Prewire, Electric Dryer Hookup, Electric Range
Architectural Style Transitional
Association Name HVY Property Mgmt
Builder Name DR Horton
Car Hoasubjectto Required
City Candler
Community Features Cabana, Outdoor Pool
Construction Materials Brick Partial, Fiber Cement
Construction Type Site Built
County Buncombe
Directions From Asheville I-40 take Exit 44. Turn Rt onto US-23 S / US-74 W - go about .2 mi and Turn Rt onto Acton Circle - go about .2 mi and Turn Rt onto Monte Vista at traffic light - go about .5 mi and
Elementary School Sand Hill-Venable/Enka
Elevation 2000
Exterior Features Underground Power Lines
Flooring Carpet, Laminate, Vinyl
HOA Fee 539
HOA Fee Frequency Annually
Heating Heat Pump, Heat Pump
High School Enka
Interior Features Breakfast Bar, Cable Available
Middle/Junior High School Enka
New Construction Yes
Property SubType Single Family Residence
Property Type Residential
Roof Shingle
Sewer County Sewer
Standard Status Active Under Contract
Street Name Marathon
Structure Type 2 Story
Subdivision Name Holbrook Village
TaxAssessedValue 999999
Unit Number 43
Year Built 2021
Zoning Description R-2

Interior Features

Fireplace Features Family Room, Propane
Full Baths 2
Half Baths 1
Laundry Features Upper Level
Living Area 2207
SqFt Garage 356
SqFt Main 896
SqFt Upper 1311
Street Suffix Lane
Total Baths 3
Total Bedrooms 3
Water Heater Electric

Exterior Features

Building Area Total 2207
Foundation Details Slab
Lot Dimensions Per Plat
Lot Features Mountain View
Lot Size Area 0.2
Main Level Garage YN Yes
Model Pinehurst B
Parking Features Attached Garage, Garage - 2 Car
Road Responsibility Private Maintained Road
Road Surface Type Concrete
Water Source County Water

  • Foreclosure
  • Views
  • Short Sale
  • New Construction
  • Adult 55+
  • Lease To Own
  • No HOA Fees
  • Furnished
  • Primary On Main
  • Air Conditioning
  • Seller Finance
  • Green
  • Fixer Upper
  • Horse
  • Golf
  • Fireplace
  • Deck
  • Garage
  • Basement
  • Pool

Property vs Contingent Average in 28715

AVG $410K
AVG 91
Year Built
AVG 1995

Looking for a more comfortable experience?

Download our mobile app for a personalized browsing experience.


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city toyota

Major Sponsor

Emerging Tigers Program 2021/2022

The Emerging Tigers Program is a new initiative to develop the skills of selected U/13 and U/14 CNCC Community Cricket players who aspire to play District Cricket for CNCC.

The aim of the program is to bridge the gap between Community Cricket and District Cricket by giving selected CNCC players, who are not currently in the District program, the opportunity to train with high quality coaches and use excellent facilities.

Players in the Emerging Tigers program can be made available for District Cricket selection throughout the season if opportunities and form allow.

CNCC Community team coaches will also be invited to observe and participate in Emerging Tigers' training sessions to further develop their coaching skills and knowledge of the District program.

Players will be selected to train together over 10 sessions throughout the season, mostly on Wednesday afternoons. It is also planned that the Emerging Tigers Program will play games against other clubs to be arranged throughout the season.

Further information will be provided to players who are offered places in the Program.

Contact -


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Pope encourages people to rediscover the need for prayer

Pope Francis leads his weekly general audience from the papal library in the Apostolic Palace May 6, 2020. (CNS photo/Vatican Media)

By Cindy Wooden
Catholic News Service

VATICAN CITY (CNS) — The coronavirus pandemic is a “favorable time to rediscover the need for prayer in our lives; let us open the doors of our hearts to the love of God our father, who will listen to us,” Pope Francis said.

At his weekly general audience May 6, the pope began a new series of audience talks about prayer, which is “the breath of faith, its most appropriate expression, like a cry arising from the heart.”

At the end of the audience, which was livestreamed from the papal library in the Apostolic Palace, the pope offered a special prayer and appeal for justice for “exploited workers,” especially farmworkers.

Pope Francis said that May 1, International Workers’ Day, he received many messages about problems in the world of work. “I was particularly struck by that of the farmworkers, among them many migrants, who work in the Italian countryside. Unfortunately, many are very harshly exploited.”

An Italian government proposal to grant work permits to immigrant workers in the country without proper papers has shined a spotlight particularly on farmworkers and their long hours, poor pay and miserable living conditions while also highlighting their essential role in ensuring an adequate supply of fresh fruit and vegetables for the country.

“It is true that the current crisis affects everyone, but people’s dignity must always be respected,” the pope said. “That is why I add my voice to the appeal of these workers and of all exploited workers. May the crisis give us the opportunity to make the dignity of the person and the dignity of work the center of our concern.”

The pope’s audience began with reading the story from the Gospel of Mark about Bartimaeus, the blind man, who repeatedly cries out to Jesus for healing. The pope said that of all the Gospel characters who ask Jesus for help, he finds Bartimaeus “the most likable of all.”

“At the top of his voice,” Bartimaeus cries out, “Jesus, son of David, have pity on me.” And he does so over and over again, annoying the people around him, the pope noted.

“Jesus speaks to him and asks him to express what he wants — this is important — and so his cry becomes a request, ‘I want to see,'” the pope said.

Faith, he said, “is having two hands raised (and) a voice that cries out to implore the gift of salvation.”

Humility, as the Catechism of the Catholic Church says, is essential for authentic prayer, the pope added, because prayer arises from knowing “our state of precariousness, our continual thirst for God.”

“Faith is a cry,” he said, while “nonfaith is suffocating that cry, a kind of ‘omerta,'” he said, using the word for the mafia code of silence.

“Faith is protesting against a painful situation we do not understand,” he said, while “nonfaith is limiting ourselves to enduring a situation we have become accustomed to. Faith is the hope of being saved; nonfaith is getting used to the evil that oppresses us.”

Obviously, the pope said, Christians are not the only ones who pray because every man and woman has within themselves the desire for mercy and aid.

“As we continue on our pilgrimage of faith, may we, like Bartimaeus, always persevere in prayer, especially in our darkest moments, and ask the Lord with confidence: ‘Jesus have mercy on me. Jesus, have mercy on us!'”

Copyright ©2020 Catholic News Service / U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. Send questions about this site to cns@catholicnews.com

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