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The place where the world comes together in honesty and mirth.
Windmills Tilted, Scared Cows Butchered, Lies Skewered on the Lance of Reality ... or something to that effect.


Monday, January 4, 2010

Our Town Cinemas in Davidson provides a more intimate space to watch

The area's newest cinema shows "Sherlock Holmes," "It's Complicated" and other first-run films.

But other than the popcorn, soft drinks, pretzels and nachos, that's about all it has in common with other big-screen venues.

Our Town Cinemas, with four screens, debuted Dec. 25 in a shopping center space near Davidson College that previously housed a pizzeria and a dollar store.

Refurbishing vacant shopping center space for movie theaters in small towns is unusual, said Patrick Woodie of the North Carolina Rural Economic Development Center in Raleigh. It's often the other way around, with new uses found for abandoned theaters, he said.

Yet Our Town Cinemas has already received inquiries about opening similar ventures elsewhere in the Carolinas and Georgia, and expansion will happen, said 38-year movie industry veteran Curtis Fainn of Concord, who'd dreamed of opening such a theater for years and helped launch Our Town Cinemas.

The more intimate setting is a return to downtown cinemas of old, said Robert Lauer of ADW Architects in Charlotte, who designed Our Town Cinemas.

Our Town Cinemas consists of two 90-seat theaters and two 40-seat theaters. It plans to add an arts and special-film series and open its theaters to community meetings.

"In their heyday, every little town had a cinema, and we're just trying to bring that back," Lauer said.

Its concession stand sells White Castle hamburgers, Nathan's hot dogs and, soon, personal-size pizzas from nearby Brick House Tavern. Draft beer and wine are on the way.

Some of the seats at Our Town Cinemas swivel and can be adjusted for height. They come with bistro tables. Coffee, tea and hot chocolate are served in mugs.

Lauer, who lives in Davidson, has designed more than 250 cinemas across the country over 18 years, "but none like this one," he said.

As a college town with many walkers and bicyclists, Davidson was the perfect setting for such a venture, Lauer said.

Fainn and Lauer teamed with Kosta and Dino Pappas of Vrettos Pappas Consulting Engineers of Charlotte, Tim Smith of general contractor Proline Construction of Davidson, and marketing and advertising veteran Jan Black of Cornelius.

Fainn, whose expertise is in film buying and programming, said plans for Our Town Cinemas took greater shape after he and Black attended a workshop on entrepreneurship at the North Carolina Rural Economic Development Center two years ago.

"How could we do something different with the talents we have?" Black said. "The response has just been amazing."

Moviegoers gave the new venue a thumbs-up last week.

"The swively chairs rock," Elizabeth Mills of Davidson said.

Katie Sumner, 17, of Huntersville said she appreciated the student discount and more personal setting.

"I don't like going to big-box theaters," Sumner said before watching "Sherlock Holmes" with friend Kate Sherrill, 17, of Davidson. "And this is part of the community."

US suspect in Pakistan defends 'jihad' plans

One of five Americans detained in Pakistan on Monday acknowledged their aim to go to Afghanistan to wage holy war against Western forces but defended their plans as justified under Islam.

Full Story

New Year's party ends for snowed-in revelers

Some 60 revelers have been forced to drink beer and play cards for three days after they became stranded in a British pub cut off by snow storms on New Year's Eve.

Full Story

World's tallest tower opens with new name

World's tallest tower opens with new name

Dubai finally inaugurates its long-awaited megaskyscraper, but it won't be called Burj Dubai.

Strategies to boost your 401(k)

Strategies to boost your 401(k)

Squeeze better returns out of your account by making these four moves.

International battle over Dead Sea Scrolls

International battle over Dead Sea Scrolls

Another country is drawn into an ownership struggle between Israel and Jordan over the relics.

How to beat your post-holiday bulge

How to beat your post-holiday bulge

Eating a small, healthy snack every two hours can stabilize blood sugar and reduce food cravings.

Massive arctic blast reaches Florida

Massive arctic blast reaches Florida

A deep freeze sets record lows across the country and now threatens crops in the Sunshine State.

Law allowing secret chemicals under fire

Law allowing secret chemicals under fire

A little-known policy designed to protect trade secrets has gone too far, critics say.

The hottest new job sectors

The hottest new job sectors

These booming career fields offer big opportunities to the next generation of workers.

Once-a-decade head count begins

Once-a-decade head count begins

The campaign to get America's 300 million residents to fill out census forms kicks off.

How to stay healthy, happy this winter

How to stay healthy, happy this winter

Block winter's harsh effects with these tips to boost your immunity and mood.

Why voice of 'CBS News' sounds different

Why voice of 'CBS News' sounds different

The late Walter Cronkite's voiceovers for CBS are being replaced by Morgan Freeman's.

Seven quick dinners

Seven quick dinners

Making a healthy dinner is worry-free with these simple menus for every day of the week.

The 10 best deals on discontinued cars

The 10 best deals on discontinued cars

You can find discounts up to 33% on some of these retired models.

More mammogram screening confusion

More mammogram screening confusion

Two groups recommend screenings for women as young as 30, going against a recent U.S. advisory panel.

Thunderstorms

From Treehugger:

thunderstorm on the great plains photo
Image credit: warrenski/Flickr

In ancient Rome, it was believed that thunderstorms were cause by the god Jupiter, who created lightening by hurling great bolts forged by Vulcan. The Norse believed that Thor's crashing hammer created sparks that rained upon the earth as lightening. Some Native Americans believed that thunderstorms were caused by the coming of powerful birds, servants of the Great Spirit.

Though we have different ideas about the formation and behavior of storms today, we are no less captivated by their drama. Indeed, scientists and amateur photographers alike still train their instruments and lenses on these powerful forces of nature. What they have found is that, like many other natural systems, human's are changing the behavior of storms.

Thunderstorms: The Dark and Stormy Drama Between Heaven and Earth (Slideshow)

Minnesota Slaps North Dakota with World's First Carbon Tariff

From Treehugger:

carbon-tariff-minnesota.jpg
Photo via Reuters

There's been a lot of talk about carbon tariffs--taxing imported goods from polluting industries in nations or states that don't regulate CO2--over the last year or so. Many rust belt and coal state Democrats have called for federal climate legislation to include a such a carbon tariff. This would impose a tax on goods imported to the US from nations with no carbon controls on manufacturing (say, China). So it might come as a surprise to some that the first carbon tariff actually enacted isn't between nations at all--it's between Minnesota and North Dakota.

Factory from Pink Floyd's Animals Has a Rockin' Past and a Green Future

From Treehugger:

animals album cover

There's no band in history with more iconic album covers than Pink Floyd, and there's perhaps no more iconic album cover than that of the band's 1977 album Animals. The photo, with that big inflatable pig soaring between the towers, has become something of a cultural symbol and still conjures notions as surreal as the album it represents. While the acid-soaked 70s and Pink Floyd may be confined to memories from a bygone era, the factory from that album cover still stands. But, just as classic rock albums of yore get to be rediscovered by each new generation, so too might that gloomy old building from one of the rock's most memorable albums get another life.

Infographic comparing health care spending to life expectancy

From National Geographic, an infographic comparing health care costs per person to life expectancy (line thickness indicates the number of doctor visits per year).

No surprise: The USA's line is a crime.

Gene rice on its way in China

China is set to become the first country to sow genetically modified rice cleared for commercial sale.

Gene rice on its way in China

Kepler finds five worlds

Artist's impression of a Jupiter-size exoplanet - NASA/JPL-Caltech/T. Pyle (SSC)
Nasa's planet-hunting Kepler telescope spots its first five worlds beyond our Solar System, scientists report.

Liars and Fools

Liars and Fools

Faux's Morris falsely claims that Americans are "correctly worried" that health care reform will "lead to government-imposed euthanasia".
This idiot can't find his own ass with a map so why listen to a thing he spews?

Ted Nugent lies claiming Obama should be imprisoned because he's a communist.
Just another washed up never-was who doesn't know the definition of what a 'communist' is. so who cares what he thinks.

War Hero, Knut Haugland, Last Kon-Tiki Sailor Dies at 92

Knut Haugland, the last surviving member of the six-man crew that sailed on the Kon-Tiki expedition in 1947, and a leader of the Norwegian resistance who helped carry out one of the most daring acts of sabotage of World War II, died in Oslo on Dec. 25.
He was 92.

Full Story

Scientists say dolphins should be treated as ‘non-human persons’

Dolphins have been declared the world’s second most intelligent creatures after humans, with scientists suggesting they are so bright that they should be treated as “non-human persons”.

Studies into dolphin behaviour have highlighted how similar their communications are to those of humans and that they are brighter than chimpanzees. These have been backed up by anatomical research showing that dolphin brains have many key features associated with high intelligence.

The researchers argue that their work shows it is morally unacceptable to keep such intelligent animals in amusement parks or to kill them for food or by accident when fishing. Some 300,000 whales, dolphins and porpoises die in this way each year.

Scientists say dolphins should be treated as ‘non-human persons’

Science news

From BBC-Science:
Harvested arapaima fish
There may be more than one species of giant freshwater fish lurking in the Amazon, and all are now threatened by overfishing, scientists say.

Cop News

Solution to killer superbug found in Norway


Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus

Aker University Hospital is a dingy place to heal. The floors are streaked and scratched. A light layer of dust coats the blood pressure monitors. A faint stench of urine and bleach wafts from a pile of soiled bedsheets dropped in a corner.

Look closer, however, at a microscopic level, and this place is pristine. There is no sign of a dangerous and contagious staph infection that killed tens of thousands of patients in the most sophisticated hospitals of Europe, North America and Asia this year, soaring virtually unchecked.

The reason: Norwegians stopped taking so many drugs.

Twenty-five years ago, Norwegians were also losing their lives to this bacteria. But Norway's public health system fought back with an aggressive program that made it the most infection-free country in the world. A key part of that program was cutting back severely on the use of antibiotics.

Full Story

The Great 1937 Mistake

Paul Krugman provides a history lesson today in the hopes that we don't repeat history.
The Great Depression wasn't over in 1937 when policy leaders thought it was.
Big mistake.
The Great Recession won't be over in 2010 and policy leaders shouldn't repeat that 1937 mistake:
Here’s what’s coming in economic news: The next employment report could show the economy adding jobs for the first time in two years. The next G.D.P. report is likely to show solid growth in late 2009. There will be lots of bullish commentary — and the calls we’re already hearing for an end to stimulus, for reversing the steps the government and the Federal Reserve took to prop up the economy, will grow even louder.

But if those calls are heeded, we’ll be repeating the great mistake of 1937, when the Fed and the Roosevelt administration decided that the Great Depression was over, that it was time for the economy to throw away its crutches. Spending was cut back, monetary policy was tightened — and the economy promptly plunged back into the depths.

This shouldn’t be happening. Both Ben Bernanke, the Fed chairman, and Christina Romer, who heads President Obama’s Council of Economic Advisers, are scholars of the Great Depression. Ms. Romer has warned explicitly against re-enacting the events of 1937. But those who remember the past sometimes repeat it anyway.

SC high court to hear election case

Can a candidate who loses a primary election run in the general election under a different political party?
The South Carolina Supreme Court will take up that question after it convenes today.

SC high court to hear election case

Burma chief confirms elections to be held 2010

Burma's ruling junta chief confirmed Monday that the country's first general elections in two decades will be held this year but gave no date for the balloting, expected to exclude pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

Full Story

Trial Begins for Woman in Burn Case

Jury selection begins Monday in the trial of a 24-year-old woman accused of throwing hot oil on her boyfriend.

Trial Begins for Woman in Burn Case

Moving Up

13,380
Our ranking keeps climbing thanks to our readers.

Things that Go BOOM in Bars

Was it lightning, some sort of space rock, or ice from a plane?
Fire investigators cannot rule anything out as the cause of a hole in the roof of Red Rock Lounge at 31st and Colorado Avenue in Colorado Springs.

Stray Bullet Kills Boy Up To Three Miles Away

A four-year-old boy has been killed by a stray bullet fired up to three miles away, according to reports

Stray Bullet Kills Boy Up To Three Miles Away

Garlic fights Swine Flu ... in China at least

Chinese Turn To Garlic As Alternative Flu Fighter

Just as some Chinese turned to turnips to prevent the SARS virus in 2003, garlic has emerged as a swine flu fighter in 2009.

Moms-To-Be At Museum For Antenatal Art Class

Babies will be more intelligent if their mothers view works of art while pregnant - at least that's what one museum in Russia believes.

Moms-To-Be At Museum For Antenatal Art Class

Thick thieves earn rare Double Darwin

The people who compile the annual Darwin Awards say 2009 was a busy year for stupidity, and last week awarded the year's top prize for fatally poor judgment.

Thick thieves earn rare Double Darwin

Expect to be surprised by Apple tablet

Expect to be surprised by Apple tablet

One analyst says Apple may unveil a product so surprising that it will leave the industry scrambling.

Today is ...

Today is Monday, January 4, 2010.

There are 361 days left in the year.

Today's unusual holidays and celebrations are:

World Braille Day,
World Hypnotism Day
and
Trivia Day

Our Readers

Some of our readers today have been in:

Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Vicenza, Veneto, Italy
London, England, United Kingdom
Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
Groningen, Groningen, Netherlands
Salmon Arm, British Columbia, Canada
Narre Warren, Victoria, Australia
Berlin, Berlin, Germany
Helsingborg, Skane Lan, Sweden
Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Budapest, Budapest, Hungary
Guayaquil, Guayas, Ecuador
Timisoara, Timis, Romania

Daily Horoscope

Today's horoscope says:

You've been thinking about how to better yourself -- thinking very seriously about it.
Of course, that's not an easy thing for you to do.
You're famous for taking advantage of every opportunity that comes along, and of doing a darned fine job of it, too.
Still, there is one more venue that you'd like to explore, and it will definitely make you more 'marketable.'
Why not get going on it now?
All the cosmic lights are green.

Going for it!