Square Enix has just recently announced their plans for a more advanced and improved version to their very popular Play Arts line. The new line pays more attention to detail, adds more articulation plus more additional parts with the first figures out being Chris Redfield and Sheva Alomar from Resident Evil 5 which will retail for about $40 each.
Love the detail on the RE5 figures…Probably guessing they would in the 2k price range here locally.
They will also be doing a reincarnation of their Final Fantasy Master Creatures line with Final Fantasy: Creatures Kai that will be a 5 piece mini statue line which will be $40 for the set. Now, I’m far more excited about this because it has a statue from my favorite game, Final Fantasy VI, being the Magitek Armor with little Terra perched up on top. The rest of the figures in this set are Bahamut Sin from Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children, Brothers from Final Fantasy VIII, Valefor from Final Fantasy X and Zelera the Death Seraph from Final Fantasy XII.
They also released images for the newest Final Fantasy Trading Arts figures that will include Sephiroth and Yuffie from Final Fantasy VII and Zidane and Vivi from Final Fantasy IX which you’ll be able to pick up for $20. With the announcement for their fourth series, they have also restocked the third series of Trading Arts figures that included Aerith, Tidus, Balthier and Fran.
From IGN: He’s played both Hannibal King and Deadpool for Marvel, campaigned for the role of The Flash, and is married to the Black Widow. Now actor Ryan Reynolds has won the title role in Warner Bros.’ film adaptation of DC Comics’ Green Lantern. Talk about luck, this guiy is on a roll and he deserves it. Let’s hope the new Hal Jordan gives the Green Lantern movie the boost it needs to be successful.
Ryan Reynolds is Green Lantern
According to both Variety and The Hollywood Reporter, the 32 year-old Canadian beat out the likes of Bradley Cooper, Justin Timberlake and Jared Leto for the part of pilot-turned-cosmic hero Hal Jordan.
Martin Campbell (Casino Royale, The Mask of Zorro) directs from a screenplay by Marc Guggenheim and Michael Green. Filming is expected to begin this January in Australia after Reynolds wraps the thriller Buried.
THE BEATLES Box Of Vision® Ushers In A New Era For Beatles Fans And Collectors
Deluxe Companion to the Newly Re-mastered BEATLES CDs Includes First LP Size Book Of Complete Album Artwork And Storage For The Entire Beatles CD Catalog
In anticipation of the September 2009 release of The Beatles‘ digitally re-mastered catalog, THE BEATLES Box Of Vision® is now available for pre-order at www.BoxOfVision.com for late August 2009 delivery, and will be available at select retailers this Fall.
Officially licensed by Apple Corps Ltd., the stunning collection includes:
*A 200-page LP-size book containing all of The Beatles’ LP artwork, brilliantly restored in pristine new art prints. This is the first time that all of The Beatles UK and US album artwork has been collected together in a single LP sized book. From PLEASE PLEASE ME and MEET THE BEATLESthrough LOVE, this book includes front covers, back covers, gatefolds, inserts, and the complete LP booklets from MAGICAL MYSTERY TOUR, LET IT BE…NAKED and LOVE, arranged to create the feeling of holding and enjoying the entire LP collection in your lap.
*The “Catalography,” a brand new, full color discography guide with photos, text and track-listings, providing the first-ever side-by-side presentation of the UK albums and their US counterparts, with an exclusive essay by Beatles author and historian Bruce Spizer.
*The BoxOfVision storage book, a unique and elegant way for fans to organize and display all 32 discs of The Beatles’ core catalog. Fans may insert CDs and booklets from their existing collections or the new digitally re-mastered versions-the BoxOfVision was built to store and display the digi-pak boxes that will house the newly re-mastered CDs.
Ideal for fans, collectors and holiday gift giving, the set is housed in an elegant black, linen-covered box with silver embossed Beatles logos and faux Beatles LP spines. The 13″ x 13″ box features the iconic image of The Beatles photographed by Robert Freeman for the cover of WITH THE BEATLES (released as MEET THE BEATLES in the US).
Once a fan inserts their CDs, they are able to store and display The Beatles entire body of work in a single, elegant book.
THE BEATLES Box Of Vision was conceived by Jonathan Polk, a music industry veteran with more than 20 years experience. “It’s the ultimate fan piece,” says Polk, who served as Executive Vice President / Chief Operating Officer for Capitol Records during the period in which it released The Beatles LOVE album, LET IT BE…NAKED, and THE BEATLES CAPITOL ALBUMS VOL. 1 and VOL. 2.
“The Beatles invented the rock album format and it was my goal to help ensure that fans can continue to discover and appreciate this single greatest catalog of music the way it was originally created.”
“I have always been frustrated with the available options for organizing and storing CDs,” continues Polk, who is also the inventor of the Box of Vision’s patented CD storage structure. “And, I hated the fact that the beautiful LP artwork I grew up with was reduced to almost postage stamp size on CDs. The Box Of Vision gives fans the best of all worlds.”
For a limited time, individuals who pre-order at www.BoxOfVision.com will reserve a limited edition, individually numbered first edition/first printing of THE BEATLES Box Of Vision. This collector’s edition will not exceed 7,200 copies. Shipment will commence in mid-August, just prior to Apple Corps Ltd and EMI Music’s September 9, 2009 release of the original Beatles catalog, which has been digitally re-mastered for the first time.
Once again teaming up with director Paul Brown (also directed the music video for “King Without A Crown”), Matisyahu returns with the first music video from ‘Light’, his first full-length album in three years.
“The idea was to create this kind of organic, underground vibe of how the music and the message gets spread, which is kind of how it happened for me the first time around. It’s just people talking to each other and getting out there, spreading the word. In the video you have kids going around the city and putting up posters and fliers and it kind of creates this buzz thing that happens, and ultimately climaxes into this larger thing,” explains Matisyahu.
“It kind of goes along with the message of the song ‘One Day’ and the conscious, positive message. I guess it’s how consciousness and positivity get spread like a wave. It starts with a few people, one person does this one good thing and it’s like a chain, where you go from one good thing to the next. That's the idea of the song, that positivity and goodness can spread in that same kind of way.”
‘Light’ is anything but safe. Produced by David Kahne (Paul McCartney, Sublime, the Strokes), the 14-track collection covers a dizzying amount of stylistic ground, from hard-edged dancehall ("Smash Lies") and ska-inflected New Wave ("We Will Walk") to laidback pop-rock ("So Hi So Lo") and acoustic folk-soul ("I Will Be Light").
While reggae is far from absent here – see the old-school toasting in "Motivate” – ‘Light’ finds Matisyahu edging away from his comfort zone into more daring territory. "Being an artist is about being sensitive to how the world resonates inside you and then being able to express it," he says. "This process is an ever-changing one."
Despite the lengthy and varied guest list, ‘Light’ remains a work traceable only to Matisyahu's unique creative sensibility, an album that reflects more than two years' worth of religious study, particularly the story of the seven beggars by Reb Nachman.
This is the driving spiritual force behind ‘Light’. The story is about two children who get lost in a dark forest after fleeing an invasion of their kingdom. Each night a different beggar, each of which suffers from a different ailment, approaches them with food and water. "I feel this theme, though written as a fairytale in the 1800's, is very relevant to many of the struggles that we face today," Matisyahu says. "From child soldiers to child sex slaves to everyday people trying to awaken their broken hearts."
MATISYAHU ON TOUR
Known for his live shows and ability to connect with fans through music and performance, Matisyahu continues to tour through mid-August. Don’t miss your chance to see Matisyahu perform songs from his new album, ‘Light’. Follow Matisyahu at WheresMatis.at and Twitter.com/matisyahu for live feeds of his whereabouts and your chance to participate in intimate listening sessions, acoustic jam sessions, and fan meetups.
Here’s a taste of what Matisyahu shows are like:
The Perfect Stage Dive – Matisyahu at Central Park 7/9/09
July / August 2009 tour dates:
(Dates and information subject to change.)
07.13.09 – The Opera House – Toronto, CAN 07.14.09 – Main Street Armory – Rochester, NY 07.15.09 – Newport Music Hall – Columbus, OH 07.17.09 – Crossroads KC – Kansas City, MO 07.19.09 – Mile High Festival – Commerce City, CO 08.12.09 – The Metro Theatre – Sydney, AUS 08.13.09 – Prince Bandroom – Melbourne, AUS
Big Wheel Sundays returns in August for another summer season of concerts at the stunning Open Air Theatre in Regent's Park. Guests include British Sea Power, Tunng and Alabama 3.
"This was a thoroughly pleasant way to spend an evening – listening to rich warm music – in a twinkly alfresco setting as a gentle breeze hissed through the trees" (Daily Telegraph)
"One of the great and simple rituals of London life" (Financial Times)
Big Wheel Sundays, now in its 3rd sell out year, presents some of the most exciting music in London's most beautiful and enchanting outside venue.
Taking place on the Sundays between the 16th – 30th of August 2009, you will find London's premium urban festival playing host to British Sea Power, Alabama 3 unplugged and Tunng.
The Experience
Gates open at 6pm for this unique event allowing the crowds to laze around and picnic on the lawn, grab a cold drink from the outside bar or enjoy something sizzling from the BBQ, before checking out the evening's entertainment in this legendary amphitheatre under a blanket of stars.
The Venue
The location, set within the surroundings of Regents Park, is the oldest outdoor theatre in Britain and has had its boards trodden for the past 75 years. This is the perfect ticket to escape from the rush of the city whilst being conveniently smack bang in the middle of it. A one off chance to experience these artists in a very special, intimate and unique setting.
Big Wheel Sundays is now a regular date in the summer calendar and we are tremendously proud and excited about hosting our 2009 line-up.
BSP are a must see live band, having previously won a 'Time Out' Live Band Of The Year Award – these boys have a reputation for elaborate and exciting shows; climbing rigging, tearing down their foliage and occasionally a ten-foot bear names Ursine Ultra makes an appearance. Open Air Theatre is a perfect destination for continuing BSP's habit of seeking out unusual venues. Their style ranges from the sweeping, often epic, guitar pop sound to the visceral and angular. Critics have likened their sound to a variety of groups, from The Cure to The Pixies. And are the first rock band in history with a pronounced interest in bird watching and rambling.
Tickets are Lower tier £32.50/Upper tier £26 – available through
Alabama 3 Unplugged + very special guests – Sunday 23rd August
Named by The Guardian as "the best live band in the country" and Irvine Welsh said “This is the first band I could ever dance to in the daytime hours without chemical assistance." Alabama 3 achieved international fame with their genius bluesy theme tune to the Soprano's Woke Up This Morning. A rare chance to catch the band doing an acoustic stripped down set of their addictive blend of country, gospel and delta blues with haunting harmonies and one-inch-punch lyrics in this unique unplugged set-up.
Tickets are Lower tier £32.50/Upper tier £26 – available through
Tunng + Micachu, Beth Jean Houghton and 6 Day Riot – Sunday 30th August
Anybody who has been lucky enough to see Tunng's triumphant festival shows will be rubbing their hands at the thought of seeing their beautiful blend of finger picking guitars & electronic beats in the Open Air Theatre. Tunng play a mesmerizing mix of folky acoustics and busy electronica, overlaying electronic crackles, gorgeous harmonies, bewitching mantras and synthetic beats that are reminiscent of early Beta Band, ‘The Wicker Man’ soundtrack and Four Tet.
Tickets are Lower tier £32.50/Upper tier £26 – available through
Visionary artist, compassionate human being and Israeli superstar, AVIV GEFFEN, comfortably outsells Madonna, Coldplay and U2 in his home country and has over 2.5 million record sales worldwide.
On September 7, 2009, with all the homeland success he could dream of tucked under his belt, Geffen is approaching a whole new audience with the release of his first English language album.
Self-titled and featuring the enormo-single “It Was Meant To Be A Love Song”, the album has been recorded utilising the talents of a legendary producer triumvirate that includes Trevor Horn, Ken Nelson and Dave Sitek:
Trevor Horn is the Grammy Award winning man behind luminary acts such as Grace Jones, Seal, Tina Turner, Paul McCartney, Simple Minds, Mike Oldfield, Marc Almond, and Belle & Sebastian.
Ken Nelson has won three Grammy awards and two Mercury Music prizes whilst working with acts like Coldplay, Ray LaMontagne, Echo & The Bunnymen, Paolo Nutini & Snow Patrol.
Dave Sitek has produced the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Liars & Foals.
Horn, Nelson, Sitek and Geffen have created an edgier sound to previous Geffen recordings. Having said that, Geffen has always had an edge and always been part of the zeitgeist: in 1993 he released the controversial “Cloudy Now” which rebelliously featured the F-word, was banned from Israeli radio and yet topped the charts.
Two years later he publicly made peace with politician Yitzhak Rabin at a political rally after singing “Cry for You” and moments later Rabin was tragically assassinated. This has never deterred his hopeful spirit and Geffen continues to make hits, sell out 40,000 seater concerts and his female fanbase swells with young teenage women drawn to his sharp and quirky David Bowie-esque style, and his conscious and thought provoking lyrics. Ironically, on Aviv Geffen, he is joined by David Bowie's pianist Mike Garson and now counts Bowie himself and Lou Reed as avid admirers.
For the new album, Geffen has introduced the F-Gen project which involves inviting the next generation of creative talent to be involved in his music video, artwork and styling.
Unlike many similar competitions, F-Gen winners will receive a substantial budget to create their vision and a substantial financial contribution to the nourishment of their talents.
Geffen, by way of a song he wrote called “Everybody's Child” is currently putting pressure on the Israeli government to expedite a deal to bring home a soldier by the name of Gilad Shalit who was captured in June 2006 and has been held hostage in the Gaza Strip since. Remarkably the government seem to be listening and the song is now all over Israeli news. Geffen is donating all profits from the song to the campaign for Shalit's release and urging people to help bring the soldier home.
Music – and the world for that matter – needs people who aren't afraid to speak their minds. It also needs inspiration from men as compassionate and engaging as Aviv Geffen.
A.Human plus support @ Bloody Awful Poetry, Madame Jojo’s, Thursday 30th July, 2009
Bloody Awful Poetry return to the trendiest yet most louche of Soho haunts. The combination of live bands – tonight, the near – genius A.Human – the Confession Booth, the BAP Art Gallery and the world famous (seriously) Bloody Awful Poetry Competition – plus some surprises – is irresistible!
Madame Jojo’s, Thursday 30th July, 2009
Tonight's headliners: A.Human Dalston-based A.Human tell stories about the damned, the lost, the strange and everything in between. Vintage keyboards punctuate soaring triggered samples whilst rolling drums make an epic backdrop to wry and amusing lyrics. Influences range from the art school originality of Talking Heads to the thoughtful dance music of New Order. Chaotic, unpredictable and frantic are some of the words to describe their live performance, but you must see them for yourself!
Their debut album 'Third Hand Prophecy' (2008) was heralded as a masterpiece by the British media, included in the year's round-up of '6 Albums You Should Download' Sunday Times Style, and number 4 in the 'Top 10 Albums of the Year' in the Independent.
They cemented their success at the summer's most high profile festivals including Glastonbury, Dot to Dot, Lovebox and a residency at Ibiza Rocks, with ground breaking and unique shows creating a benchmark for live acts.
“The new hope for live dance music … surreal electronic nursery rhymes-cum-seedy social tales” – The Guardian
“Simply it's fantastic; a really tough, dirty synth-led electro rock brute and you'll be all the better for adding it to your collection, you can trust me on that one” – Room Thirteen
“Frontman Dave Human's voice is cool, dark and addictive. [Third Hand Prophecy is] An extremely mature – and wonderfully different – debut album” – Camden New Journal
Plus more live bands – to be announced.
With sets from BAP DJs That Perfect Fumble, This Handsome Devil and Micky Blue spinning the best in New Indie, Electro, Retro and Hip Hop.
“One of London’s top indie nights” – The Guardian Guide
“A fantastic night of indie, electro and retro … it’s chock full of cool cats, fashionistas and more sexy fellas in skinny jeans than you can shake a quivering stick at!” – QX Magazine
“Get along to a Bloody Awful Poetry night!” – The London Paper
In 2001 composer and multi-instrumentalist Sufjan Stevens released his sophomore album ‘Enjoy Your Rabbit’ – a collection of 14 electronic instrumental pieces, each inspired by a different animal of the Chinese Zodiac.
In the time since that record's release, Stevens has expanded his repertoire to include collaborations with a number of artists including the Osso Quartet, who contributed string arrangements to Stevens' Illinois as well as My Brightest Diamond's Bring Me the Workhorse.
On October 6, 2009 Stevens' own Asthmatic Kitty Records will release Osso Quartet's debut recording on CD and LP – a reimagined ‘Enjoy Your Rabbit’ arranged for the string quartet, titled ‘Run Rabbit Run’.
The idea for ‘Run Rabbit Run’ came to Stevens after he moved to the Ditmas Park neighborhood of Brooklyn in 2005. Among his new neighbors were Aaron and Bryce Dessner of The National and their sister, Jessica. Sufjan quickly became friends with the Dessner clan, and Bryce suggested that Stevens rearrange ‘Enjoy Your Rabbit’ for his other neighbors, Rob Moose (violin), Olivier Manchon (violin), Marla Hansen (viola) and Maria Bella Jeffers (cello) – the Osso Quartet – who had recently collaborated with Stevens on his 2005 release, Illinois.
The project was fully realized when Sufjan approached Jessica Dessner to contribute artwork to the album based on the original record's Chinese Zodiac illustrations created by artist Matt Morgan.
What began as an expression of community amongst the artist-residents of Ditmas Park expanded to include members of a different artistic community as well. Over the next year a series of young composers – Nico Muhly, Michael Atkinson, Maxim Moston and Gabriel Kahane – rearranged pieces from ‘Enjoy Your Rabbit’ for ‘Run Rabbit Run’. Atkinson's arrangements premiered at the Bryce Dessner-curated Music Now Festival in Cincinnati in 2007.
Stevens has released seven studio recordings since 2000 including Michigan and Illinois, the first two entries in an epic series of 50 recordings each based on a different U.S. state, a 5-EP Christmas box set and the aforementioned instrumental electronic work ‘Enjoy Your Rabbit’.
Stevens has also collaborated with fellow indie pop acts Danielson Famile, Rosie Thomas, Denison Witmer, My Brightest Diamond and many others.
Osso Quartet began as members of My Brightest Diamond, the project of Stevens' one-time music director Shara Worden. After touring as members of both Shara and Sufjan's bands, the group made its premiere as the Osso Quartet while engaged as artists in residence at the 2007 Music Now Festival.
In addition to their work with Osso Quartet, each member has a diverse performance background. Multi-instrumentalist Rob Moose plays with a number of ensembles including the Orchestra of St. Luke's at Carnegie Hall and Antony and the Johnsons.
Violinist Olivier Manchon has performed with a broad selection of artists including Charlie Haden and the Miniature Chamber Orchestra and played in the Broadway production of Duncan Sheik's Spring Awakening.
Violist Marla Hansen recorded her debut EP for Standard Recording and has performed alongside the New Pornographers, Jay-Z and Kanye West.
Cellist Maria Jeffers has recorded with the Polyphonic Spree along with her work with Sufjan and My Brightest Diamond.
NY’s Hopewell has been blending vintage fuzz pedal jams with their early space rock and shoegaze roots for over a decade, their 2001 full-length, ‘The Curved Glass’, being the perfect, noisy bridge between the epic psychedelia of '90s acts like Flaming Lips and Mercury Rev and a newer generation of bands that include Dungen, Dead Meadow and Serena-Maneesh.
Now back with their sixth album, ‘Good Good Desperation’ effortlessly slips from cacophonous dueling piano passages, to the Hammond-driven roots rock of The Basement Tapes, while creating something uniquely its own.
‘Good Good Desperation’ is a defining chapter in Hopewell’s lengthy history that includes countless singles and compilations, and opening for My Bloody Valentine on their recent reunion tour, working with producer Dave Fridmann (Flaming Lips, MGMT, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah), recording a Peel session live at Abbey Road Studio, and playing Reading and Leeds Festivals — all without the help of a large label, manager or booking agent.
…breathtaking, soulful psychedelic rock with a dark turbulence at its heart: the two elements tugging at each other until a music that is both disquietingly beautiful and emotionally powerful is all that remains.” — NME
“Uplifting, soulful, psychedelic rock. Welcome to Hopewell, the home of beautiful music.” — TIME OUT
Hot Rockers Filming Cameo As Punk’s Godfathers in Highly Anticipated Flick
St. Louis garage rockers Living Things are about to appear as one of their hero bands, the Ramones in the now-filming The Runaways, the biopic about the groundbreaking 70's all-girl hard rock group led by Joan Jett.
Kristen Stewart of Twilight fame plays Joan Jett, with Dakota Fanning as Cherie Currie and Academy Award-nominated actor Michael Shannon as the band's "Svengali" Kim Fowley.
In the scene, which is shooting this month, the Ramones are playing at Rodney Bingenheimer's notorious English Disco nightclub in Los Angeles circa 1975. Living Things have already recorded a cover of “We’re A Happy Family” for the scene.
In addition to having a useful resemblance in attitude to the punk progenitors, the band has a direct line into the production – singer Lillian Berlin is the husband of the film's writer and director Floria Sigismondi.
"I love Joey Ramone," said Berlin. "He is like the Elvis of punk. It’s a mystical, exotic vacation to step into his shoes for a moment."
Living Things are currently on the road in support of their latest album ‘Habeas Corpus’ which was released earlier this year and has garnered substantial critical acclaim. The band also dropped an iTunes exclusive EP on June 16th based around their latest single "Oxygen" which is currently impacting at Alternative radio.
Medicare Advantage programs receive 13% to 19% more to take care of Medicare patients than is paid through the government program. I just had a patient come in saying that their Medicare Advantage plan will stop operating as of January as they no longer find it profitable despite these higher payments. There was also another plan which I had patients in which stopped operating as of January of this year. I’m glad to hear that they are going away as a few times they have refused to pay for lab tests which were needed, and which Medicare would pay for. Most likely their denials were motivated purely by financial considerations as opposed to medical need.
So much for the greater efficiency of the free market, alon g with the idea that it is government, and not private plans, which “ration” health care.
Instead of a usual thirteen episode season, Torchwood was presented as a five part miniseries for five constructive evenings. Torchwood: Children of Earth was broadcast on the BBC last week and will appear on BBC America later this month as well as becoming available on DVD. The miniseries was a tremendous success both creatively and in terms of ratings and can be enjoyed by those who have not followed the first two seasons. After this recommendation, I must warn that this review contains major spoilers and I recommend that it not be read if you plan to watch the miniseries at a later date.
The miniseries was stronger by having to come up with only one alien menace and having time to both tell the story and develop the back stories of the characters. The romance between Jack and Ianto was further developed, making Ianto’s death in the fourth installment even more shocking. We also saw relatives of both, including Jack’s daughter who appeared older than the immortal Captain Jack, and a grandson. Gwen’s story was advanced as she learned she is pregnant.
The story began with aliens speaking through the children of earth and it came as no surprise to find that the conflict was over the alien desire to take ten percent of the children. As with many science fiction shows it is necessary to enjoy the story without giving too much thought to all the specifics, but such thoughts cannot be helped after wards. If the alien 456 could control the children, it would have been much simpler to have them march off to rendezvous points as opposed to forcing the governments to round them up.
The story had the feeling of The X-Files in dealing with government involvement with the aliens and attempts to cover up their past dealings with them. The decision of the government to kill those with knowledge of their previous deal with the 456 showed questionable judgement but it was easy to believe they would make such a choice. It would have been far smarter to enlist Torchwood to help find a way to fight the 456 as opposed to trying to kill an immortal such as Jack. We saw the members of Torchwood on the run from the authorities, also similar to portions of several seasons of 24.
Torchwood has always been a far darker series than Doctor Who, and this was even more the case with Children of Earth. Sacrifice and loss was a major theme. First Jack watched Ianto die. Much of the show was seen from the perspective of Frobisher, a civil servant placed on the front lines in dealing with the 456 (primarily as this placed him as opposed to the Prime Minister at risk). The Prime Minister told Forbisher he must publicly turn his children over to the 456 so that others will see this as safe. The cover story was that the children were to receive inoculations to protect them, but actually the 456 use children to extract drugs which bring them pleasure.
Like the decision to try to destroy Torchwood, this was a poor choice as, knowing their fate Forbisher was unlikely to comply and might have jeopardized the transfer by going public with is knowledge. It is also questionable if seeing a single civil servant send his children for the inoculations would have calmed any parents who were skeptical. While a poor choice, this was foreshadowed by the attitude of the Prime Minister towards Forbisher in previous meetings. Instead of going along, Forbisher killed his children, his wife, and then himself to spare his children the horrible fate. His decision was also ultimately the wrong one as the transfer of the children was stopped.
Stopping the transfer and defeating the children called for yet another sacrifice as a child was needed to beat the 456 by using the children of earth to transmit a reverse of the frequency that the 456 used to control the children. Jack knew the primary child used would die and the only child available at the base where he was working was his own grandson. This sacrifice meant the loss of his grandson, and probably the loss of any chance at reconciling with his daughter.
While this defeated the 456 for the moment, we do not really know whether they remain a threat. We only saw those already on earth be defeated, but we do not know if more will be coming. Perhaps this is just a renegade group after drugs and there are no more to threaten earth. It is also possible that there are other planets where they obtain similar children and, having been defeated on earth, will stick to easier targets. It is also questionable if the deal with the 456 would have turned out well. The 456 first came in 1965 and settled for twelve children. This time they said they would destroy all life on earth unless they received ten percent of the children. If they broke their promise and returned a second time, it is likely they would return again for more.
The miniseries leaves open the future of Torchwood. The series started with only three surviving members after the events of last season. This year Ianto died, Gwen may or may not continue working after having a child, and the final episode ended with Jack leaving earth. Even their headquarters was blown up. Some see this as the end of Torchwood but, considering the high ratings, I suspect there will be another series.
Most likely Jack will return, perhaps just as a new danger to earth is revealed, and Gwen will join him. Lois Habiba, who assisted Torchwood during this episode, could easily join the team. Early on I thought that Dr. Rupesh Patanjali (seen in the above video clip) was going to be an addition to Torchwood but he did not survive. Martha Jones could return if Freema Agyeman is available. They used the excuse of her honeymoon to explain her absence from this episode. If they return with a full season as opposed to a miniseries they could also develop new characters.
While the miniseries worked very well this year, it might be best to return to a regular thirteen episode format to rebuild both their facilities and a new team. If this does turn out to be the end of Torchwood, it was an excellent way to end the series.
Glenn Reynolds presents the usual conservative hysteria against health care reform. He brings up the usual nonsense lines that reform will bring about “socialized medicine” as he writes about the benefits of modern health care while ignoring the problem that our system denies such care to tens of millions. He ignores the frustration of those of us who practice medicine who realize how far we are falling behind the rest of the industrialized world in so many ways.
As I’ve stated many times in the past, you can tell that an article on health care reform is not worth reading when they bring up scare stories about Great Britain as a government run system of this type is not on the table here. The British system is opposed by virtually all supporters of health care reform. His arguments against “socialized medicine” and the British system may or may not be true, but they have no relevance with regards to the current health care debate. Those who rely on scare stories about “socialized medicine” are just avoiding a discussion of the real issues under consideration.
Of particular absurdity is his argument against preventive medicine because of examples where receiving preventive medicine might not have mattered. This has no bearing on the many cases we see of people who do die because they did not receive routine preventive medicine, or did not have coverage for routine treatment of chronic medical diseases.
I had seen this op-ed as not being worth any time commenting on after writing about the absurdity of equating health care reform with socialized medicine so many times in the past. Then I reached the last paragraph:
It’s ironic that the same Democrats who were pushing the medical prospects for stem-cell research during the last election are now pushing a program that will make such progress far less likely.
While the right claims that it is health care reform which will limit health care, this shows just one example how it has really been Democrats who in many ways have been pushing to expand health care choices and reduce interference from restrictive government regulations. Besides stem-cell research, we have also seen this as conservatives have tried to limit or ban abortion and birth control, and their interference in end of life decisions such as with Terri Schiavo.
Reynolds, with his hysteria about “socialized medicine” and lack of understanding of the harm caused by corporate medicine and practices of the insurance industry, sees irony in Democratic support for eliminating the restrictions on embryonic stem-cell research. While his view that health care reform will make such progress any less likely are based upon his irrational views on the health care system, perhaps at least some readers will see his conclusion and question which side is really the one which is responsible for reducing health care choices in this country.
on amazon.com
on amazon.co.uk
