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Can there ever again be an 'all-American' beauty?
Wheres her afro? I love black women with afros. This woman is white and black, and she focuses on the white part of her blood. With that being said...shes is extremely beautiful regardless.
The 1995 Judge Dredd movie starring Sylvester Stallone remains a guilty pleasure adventure for plenty of action fans, not to mention a never ending Internet meme generator, but fell short of expectations for many comic book diehards. While Stallone may have been taking the role seriously, the campy one-liners and melod...
Rising above the standard skepticism surrounding franchise reboots, fans as well as action lovers remained cautiously optimistic about director Pete Travis and star Karl Urban's Dredd 3D. Despite the optimism, early plot synopses and feature trailers drew strong comparisons to the premise of Gareth Evans' Indonesian hi...
Dredd was actually scripted long before The Raid became a breakout hit but, considering comparability, the film is now faced with an even steeper challenge. So, does Dredd manage to deliver its own action-packed (and memorable) thrill ride - one that successfully rebrands Judge Dredd as the gritty character longtime fa...
Fortunately, the answer is: yes. Dredd delivers - in a big way. There's no doubt the film shares plot similarities with The Raid, but for every jaw-dropping knife fight in Evans' film, Travis offers a comparably fun gun battle (and plenty of iconic Dredd scowl). Ultimately, Dredd is a grounded action experience - relyi...
Instead of spending time introducing audience members to a backstory of how Dredd became the most feared Judge in Mega-City One, the film presents the character (much like in the comics) as a faceless force of nature that will stop at nothing to enact justice and protect innocent lives. When Dredd and a would-be Judge ...
Anyone looking for a deep Batman Begins character piece will likely be underwhelmed by the storyline in Dredd - as the movie is significantly more interested in the crisis at hand rather than trials the Judge may have faced in the past. Travis is unapologetic in this approach - as even Anderson appears to know better t...
Thirlby as Anderson is also a smart juxtaposition for the callous and veteran Dredd. The actress offers a "rookie" perspective, while appearing at home with the violence around her, assisting in teaching the audience about this version of Mega-City One and the Judges - without in-your-face exposition that might otherwi...
As mentioned, the action in Dredd is grounded and there are no giant robot fights this round. Travis relies almost entirely on practical effects - letting the characters and explosions sell the film experience. Moviegoers who are easily wooed by style-over-substance CGI action fare (like Resident Evil: Retribution) mig...
Dredd is showing in 2D and 3D theaters, and while many moviegoers might be skeptical about the premium upcharge, the 3D is worth the added price. The Slo-Mo drug sequences are especially enjoyable in 3D and, for the most part, the film makes smart (and even artistic) use of the format. Admittedly, a good chunk of the m...
Action fans who expect deep character exploration or over the top CGI visuals might be somewhat underwhelmed by Dredd. However, Travis and Urban were intentional in their approach to the fan favorite hero, delivering a faithful Judge Dredd interpretation and smart Peach Trees "sandbox" - where the characters engage in ...
For an in-depth discussion of the film by the Screen Rant team check out the Dredd 3D episode of the SR Underground podcast.
Let us know what you thought of the film in the comment section below. If you’ve seen the movie and want to discuss details about the film without worrying about spoiling it for those who haven’t seen it, please head over to our Dredd 3D Spoilers Discussion.
Dredd 3D is Rated R for strong bloody violence, language, drug use and some sexual content. Now playing in 3D and 2D theaters.
Global investments in renewable energy skyrocketed in 2017, according to a report.
Thanks to falling costs of solar electricity and wind power, more world governments are seeing the appeal of clean energy—China in particular.
The sovereign state last year added 53 gigawatts of solar power (more than half the global total), and invested $86.5 billion to convert sunlight into electricity.
That’s great news, courtesy of the Global Trends in Renewable Energy Investment 2018 report, released recently by UN Environment, Frankfurt School-UNEP Collaborating Center, and Bloomberg New Energy Finance.
Even better news, for eight consecutive years, global investment in renewables have exceeded $200 billion. Since 2004, the world has invested $2.9 trillion in green energy sources.
“The extraordinary surge in solar investment shows how the global energy map is changing and, more importantly, what the economic benefits are of such a shift,” UN Environment head Erik Solheim said in a statement.
China is by far the world’s largest investing country in renewables, spending a whopping $126.6 billion in total. But other nations are jumping on the clean-energy bandwagon: Australia earmarked $8.5 billion, Mexico $6 billion, and Sweden $3.7 billion for sustainable resources.
Not everyone is so keen to go green, though.
Some big markets (cough US and Europe cough) saw declines in 2017 funding. The United States—under the thumb of a conservative with a preference for natural gas and “clean coal”—dropped 6 percent to $40.5 billion.
The Brits, meanwhile, fell much harder, sliding 65 percent to $7.6 billion; Germany slipped 35 percent to $10.4 billion, while Japan downsized 28 percent to $13.4 billion.
“In countries that saw lower investment, it generally reflected a mixture of changes in policy support, the timing of large project financings, such as in offshore wind, and lower capital costs per megawatt,” Angus McCrone, chief editor of Bloomberg New Energy Finance and lead author of the report, explained.
Even without some nations’ support, the world commissioned a record 157 gigawatts of renewable power last year—more than the 70 gigawatts generated by fossil fuels.
“The world added more solar capacity than coal, gas, and nuclear plants combined,” Nils Stieglitz, president of Frankfurt School of Finance & Management, said.
Based on current levels of electricity generated by renewables, we’ve prevented some 1.8 gigatons of carbon dioxide emissions—roughly the amount produced by the entire U.S. transportation system.
It would be an unusual backyard anywhere — especially, perhaps, among the cornfields and tall grasses of Nebraska.
When Michele Semin wanted to replace an aging swimming pool behind her rural-suburban home, she gave her high school friend Chris Murphy, a designer for nearly 30 years, permission to go wild. Be inventive.
Bands of brightly colored glass now flow like an undulating stream from Semin’s forest-green house toward the wooded back expanse of her three-acre yard. The colored bands cover about 3,000 square feet and are broken up by islands of white river rocks — some meticulously laid — on which lounge furniture, potted flowers...
It’s Semin’s idea of heaven.
The Lincoln, Neb., radiologist works long days, often in a dark, windowless room. When she returns home, she’s greeted by her three dogs and, out back, a riot of color.
Murphy, of Christopher Murphy Designs in Tulsa, Okla., says Semin likes vibrant, abstract and symbolic artwork, and he wanted to incorporate those elements into her garden. The swirls of colored glass, he says, evoke the work of Emilio Pucci, the 20th century Italian designer whose fashionable prints swirled with bold,...
Murphy says the garden plan came to him in a dream. “I have always dreamed in 3-D,” he says.
The garden’s colorful curves symbolize ocean waves, but also waves of energy and even the “waves of grain” familiar to this Midwestern environment.
“We took a pool out that could have waves in it, in theory, and replaced it with a hard wave,” Murphy says.
Semin, 45, says her dogs can run across the glass garden, and she can walk on it barefoot. The recycled glass has been tumbled, so there are no rough edges.
Of course, this garden is not for everyone. For starters, although Semin didn’t want to share how much her garden cost, everyone involved says it was a costly undertaking. Twenty-eight-thousand pounds of tumbled glass — in 50-pound bags — doesn’t come cheap, nor does almost 10,000 pounds of white river rocks, or the la...
Plants were brought in to soften the look, and a porch that overlooks the garden was rebuilt. A large fountain and the red sculpture break up the lines and add interest and vertical forms.
The project took six months and was finished last October. LuAnn Finke of Finke Gardens and Nursery in Lincoln, Neb., says the ground needed to be filled in and leveled, then heavy-duty landscaping fabric was installed — not only to deter weeds but to keep the glass and rocks from sinking into the soil.
“In some ways, the edging underscores (the garden) like a child’s drawing edged in black,” says Finke.
A landscape designer, Finke is more accustomed to working with plants, and her team installed plenty of perennials: ornamental grasses, cascading white roses and spring-blooming bulbs, in particular. Moneywort covers the ground nearest the glass garden.
In its first year, Semin says, the garden has required little maintenance. She puts pieces of errant glass back where they belong and pulls an occasional weed. Rains soak through the glass, and strong winds have, so far, blown leaves and debris off it.
Murphy says his friend may have to “fluff” the glass garden with a straw broom on occasion, but “it’s very soothing to go back and smooth it, rake it, like a Japanese rock garden,” he says.
Homeowners wary of a project this size might incorporate tumbled, colored glass in their landscaping on a smaller scale — anywhere one would install rocks or mulch, says Murphy.
Corbin Layton, sales manager for American Specialty Glass in Salt Lake City, which provided the glass for this project, suggests livening up a flower bed with glass or adding it to a water feature.
Semin says her garden shines in every season. After a snowfall, the glass heats up before surrounding terrain does, melting snow at staggered rates: The dark glass absorbs more light, so melts through first. It gives the winter landscape a burst of color.
“When all the rest of the world around you is gray and dark, this color starts to break through,” says Semin.
The garden is lighted at night, too.
Buckeye Valley guard Nick Hyatt (0), shown driving to the hoop during a recent tournament game against Whitehall, is the Delaware County Boys Basketball Player of the Year. The senior, who complemented his first team All-County nod with first team All-MOAC and third team All-District honors, led the Barons to their six...
http://aimmedianetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/40/2016/03/web1_hyattpoy.jpgBuckeye Valley guard Nick Hyatt (0), shown driving to the hoop during a recent tournament game against Whitehall, is the Delaware County Boys Basketball Player of the Year. The senior, who complemented his first team All-County nod with fir...
Peter Parker, fully back in the spider's seat of his own mind, is returning to the pages of a relaunched Amazing Spider-Man #1 in April, by the creative team of Dan Slott and Humberto Ramos. The NY Daily News just officially confirmed the news that we now know was leaked Wednesday evening by the appearance online of a ...
The series (and character's) return is no surprise to writer Dan Slott, who will continue his web of intrigue that he started in 2008 as part of the rotating writing team of the "Brand New Day" era of Spider-Man; he knew of Peter's return since before he killed him off in December 2012.
“To do that for a solid year of my life, that’s the hardest thing I’ve had to do — to look small children in the eye at a convention and lie to them," Slott told The Daily News. "Inside, part of me was dying." Slott did, however, on a set visit for Sony's The Amazing Spider-Man 2, tell Andrew Garfield that Peter would ...
When Slott first discussed the storyline that would kill off Peter and see Otto Octavius, who debuted in 1963's Amazing Spider-Man #3 as Doc Ock, one of Peter's oldest, most nefarious villains take his place as Spidey with the executives at Marvel, the writer said he was "as cynical" as any fan would be.
Marvel Editor-in-Chief Axel Alonso says that "people will appreciate him a little more after this." He added that he thought "people have been taking [Peter] for granted."
As for the return itself, the Daily News was light on details, but Dan Slott has taken to social media to tease fans that at least some hints will come as early as this coming Wednesday, January 15, 2014. In Superior Spider-Man currently, Otto/Spidey has merged with the Venom symbiote - while Dr. Strange's magic erased...
"This Sunday, January 12th there will be some BIG Superior Spider-Man SPOILERS on news & comic news sites," Slott posted on his Facebook page.
"If you can, you should probably try to avoid them till after you've read your new comics on Weds.
Local residents can dispose of unused or expired medication this weekend in Urbana, Mechanicsburg and North Lewisburg.
The Urbana Police Division and the Mechanicsburg Police Department will collect these items Saturday as part of the Drug Enforcement Agency’s National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day.
Urbana Police Chief Matt Lingrell said property officer Kerrie Kimpel will collect items at Kroger, 1637 E. U.S. Route 36, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Urbana police are partnering with Kroger and its pharmacists, the Mental Health Drug and Alcohol Services of Logan and Champaign Counties, Mary Rutan Hospital and the Drug Fr...
“This event gives citizens an opportunity to turn in unused or expired medications for safe disposal,” Lingrell said. “This program offers another opportunity to help protect citizens, our water and our food supplies and decrease prescription drug abuse by making it easier for citizens to properly dispose of unused or ...
Items residents can dispose of include prescription pills, over the counter medications, medication samples, pet medications and vitamins.
Prohibited items include needles, syringes, lancets, thermometers, aerosol cans, IV bags, hydrogen peroxide and bloody or infectious waste.
Mechanicsburg Police Chief John Alexander said an officer will be at the Mechanicsburg, 18 N. Main St., and North Lewisburg, 60 E. Maple St., police headquarters to collect prescription drugs.
The Mechanicsburg Police Department’s Facebook page notes the collection in Mechanicsburg will take place between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. while the North Lewisburg collection will take place between 10 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. at which time an officer will go to Cherry Arbors to assist in collecting medication.
In addition to Saturday’s collection, residents are also able to drop off unused or expired medication at permanent drug drop boxes located at the Urbana Police Division, Champaign County Sheriff’s Office, both the Mechanicsburg and North Lewisburg office for the Mechanicsburg Police and the St. Paris Police Department...
The Angels relieved Ric Wilson of his duties as scouting director but have offered him another position in the organization, General Manager Billy Eppler confirmed Thursday.
"We'd like to keep him in an evaluative role in amateur scouting, but we felt this was the best decision from an organizational standpoint," Eppler said. "Ric is a tremendously loyal employee and a phenomenal human being. He helps bond scouts together. He is a picture of optimism, the definition of a company man."
The Angels went from having one of baseball's better farm systems under former scouting director Eddie Bane to one of baseball's worst under Wilson, who replaced Bane in 2011.
The only two players drafted under Wilson who have a positive Wins Above Replacement, according to Baseball Reference, are first baseman C.J. Cron and catcher Jett Bandy.
But Wilson was handcuffed by the club's signing of free agents Albert Pujols and Josh Hamilton, which cost the Angels first-round picks in 2012 and 2013, and by philosophical shifts that came with turnover in the front office.
Under Bane, who was hired by former General Manager Tony Reagins, the Angels focused on higher-risk, higher-reward high school players in the draft. When Jerry Dipoto took over as GM before 2012, drafts leaned heavily toward college players who were deemed closer to the big leagues but had less upside. The Angels pursu...
Two of the team's best pitching prospects selected by Wilson — left-hander Sean Newcomb and right-hander Chris Ellis — were traded to the Atlanta Braves last November for shortstop Andrelton Simmons. And hard-throwing right-hander R.J. Alvarez, another Wilson pick, was used in a 2014 trade for closer Huston Street.
Wilson, a former minor league catcher, assumed the role of Angels scouting director after serving as the team's national cross-checker from 2003-1010.
Eppler said he is compiling a list of candidates, with input from the commissioner's office and colleagues throughout the game, to replace Wilson and will begin interviews "in the near term."
Cam Bedrosian experienced the full spectrum of emotions for a closer in his first crack at the job, striking out the side to record the first save of his career in Tuesday night's 5-4 win over the Oakland A's and giving up two hits, three walks and a run while suffering the blown save in Wednesday night's 8-6 win.
But that did nothing to dampen his enthusiasm for the role, which the hard-throwing right-hander assumed from the injured Street.
"Oh yeah," Bedrosian, son of former Cy Young Award-winning reliever Steve Bedrosian, said when asked if he was looking forward to his next closing opportunity. "It's a blast. It's an adrenaline rush like no other."
Pujols' two-run shot to left field in the ninth inning Wednesday was the 12th walk-off homer of his career, which leads all active players, and the 20th walk-off plate appearance of his career, the third-most all-time behind Dusty Baker (25) and Rickey Henderson (21). … Manager Mike Scioscia, a former Dodgers catcher, ...
Sarah Schott is the vice president and chief compliance officer at Northwestern Mutual.
1. Delivering the “why.” One of our objectives is to help people shift their focus away from what they have to lose when making a change to what they have to gain. And that’s often accomplished by delivering the why. We need to answer the questions “What’s in it for me?” and “What’s in it for the company?” when communi...
Your team will need to hear about the why until the change you seek takes hold. A few years ago when our company changed its department structure, we thought we messaged really well as an organization about why we needed to make the change. But within a few months, we realized that expectations of team members were not...
2. Listening. Very few people will change their minds simply because someone gets up at a podium and tells them to think or work differently. People change their minds when they feel heard. They need to believe their opinions matter. So when communicating the need for change, we need to listen by soliciting ideas, impl...
3. Recognizing the stages of acceptance. Change isn’t accepted overnight. Just as there are stages of grief, there are stages of acceptance of change: awareness of the need, desire to participate, knowledge of what change looks like, ability to implement on a daily basis and reinforcement to keep the change in place.
Not everyone progresses through the stages at the same pace, and that’s okay. It’s also not uncommon for people to backslide through the stages of change. For these reasons, we need to regularly reinforce the why and recognize successes along the way so people will stay energized and the change can be sustained.
Isn’t that more productive (and more exciting) than fearing the worst?
Cooper’s portrayal of Chris Kyle is Oscar worthy.
When getting ready to see American Sniper, it could have been difficult for me if I had allowed all the buzz from pundits and critics (online and otherwise) who had already staked their claim regarding the film, the facts, and Chris Kyle (upon whose book the film is based). I consider myself open minded and went in det...
Based on what I saw, director Clint Eastwood has crafted a rather painstakingly deep portrait of his interpretation of the character Chris Kyle (Bradley Cooper). This is where I feel people make their biggest mistake – thinking the person on screen is a second-by-second depiction of the man known as Chris Kyle in real ...
Chris Kyle wrote a book about his real life experience upon which the film is based.
Cooper is an actor playing a character in a fictional version of a true story. That is a qualifier in this and most films that are “based on a true story.” The problem with this is that many viewers immediately start thinking that this is a documentary when it is not. A documentary is a film version of what we like to ...
Getting back to American Sniper, we do not just have people getting upset because of the main character Chris Kyle; we also have those who object to director Eastwood and his film pedigree. Those who look at him and think “Dirty Harry” or “Make my day” or “Do you feel lucky, punk?” are also having issues with separatin...
I used to tell my students in literature courses that they can never mistake the “voice” or “point of view” in a story or the speaker of a poem to be the writer or poet. So when we were reading Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Raven,” for example, and my students would say something like “Poe said” or “Poe is doing” I would caut...
Eastwood is astute at capturing not just the battlefield but the more subtle moments in his version of Kyle’s life that bring home the message that his Kyle, as played by Cooper, is sometimes extremely upset about what he is doing, especially when a little boy and his mother come into the sights of his rifle scope. Coo...
This version of American Sniper, which is to say Eastwood’s interpretation, gives us Kyle as a conflicted and flawed individual who loves his wife Taya (a terrific Sienna Miller) and children. We also get a back story regarding Kyle’s childhood, and we see him learning to shoot with his father and also protecting his l...
Many critics and celebrities have weighed in with negative comments about the film (despite this it has been tops at the box office for the last two weeks), with Michael Moore and Seth Rogen getting the bulk of the recognition for their negative reactions to the film. Of course, everyone has a right to an opinion, but ...

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