During "Ghost the Musical" last Thursday, one of the enormous sliding LED panels used to create scenic and special effects slipped off its track and crashed, leading to a 20-minute delay.
Broadway accidents happen. In this case it was like the star of the musical based on the Demi Moore and Patrick Swayze big-screen weepy blockbuster had lost her voice and broken her foot at the same time.
That's because gee-whiz illusions (a specter seemingly walks through a door, for instance), lavish light displays and supersized projections are the main attractions of this English import. Without eye-popping tricks, the show offers zip in the way of wonder. Too bad, since the romance had potential to sing.
Reprising roles from London, Caissie Levy and Richard Fleeshman play Molly, an artist, and her beloved Sam, a broker who's killed. He tries to make contact with Molly through a sham psychic Oda Mae (Da'Vine Joy Randolph) with a mile-long rap sheet. It's the role that won Whoopi Goldberg an Oscar.
The cast makes little impression and the material doesn't help. Bruce Joel Rubin's book, based on his Oscar-winning 1990 screenplay, clunks along. The love story gets swamped by numerous scenes and robotic dance numbers about New York's frantic fast-paced corporate jungle. Some moments seem to exist simply for visuals — Hey, let's use umbrellas!
Pop-rock songs by Glen Ballard (he co-wrote Michael Jackson's "Man in the Mirror"), Dave Stewart (of the Eurythmics) and Rubin are literal-minded and repetitious and fill up space but never fuel the imagination. On the plus side, the classic hit "Unchained Melody" is retained from the film.
Directing "God of Carnage" and "The Norman Conquests" in New York, Matthew Warchus proved himself an ace at comedy. This musical suffers from a jerky tone and by putting a premium on high-tech over heart.
Think back on the movie and the effect that was most special wasn't computer-generated. It was Demi Moore's lone silver tear. It's a crying shame "Ghost" gets it so wrong.
obacco use, excessive alcohol consumption and even the Human PapillomaVirus can put you at risk for this type of cancer, but it's not always the case.
"So, now people who you wouldn't think of getting oral cancer are getting it," said Northpointe Dental Doctor Brian Waggle. "Younger people, people that don't do tobacco or alcohol abuse for that matter are starting to get this problem."
If the cancer is caught in its early stages there's a 90 percent success rate when it comes to beating the disease, detected later and the chances diminish. Dentists can detect any potential problems using a Velscope, which shines an LED light into the mouth.
Who says a landlord and its tenants can't work together to develop green initiatives — and have fun doing it?
Not Parsippany's Morris Corporate Center III, which will hosts its first Green Fair on Friday.
The fair — two days before Earth Day — is the kickoff to the company's "Tenants Go Green" program, according to Dana Getz, the center's general manager. The program is a collaborative effort by tenants and their employees to implement environmentally friendly practices and save energy, she said.
"We want to get the word out about the sustainable options that are available," added Jillene Palestri, the property administrator.
The Green Fair is open to the public, and will be held in the atrium between Buildings B and C at 400 Interpace Parkway.
About 20 area vendors of green products and services will provide demonstrations and exhibits, including light bulb and battery recycling, green furniture, sustainable flooring and wall covering, commercial green cleaning practices, solar panels, e-waste recycling and motor vehicle steam cleaning and detailing.
Representatives of the New Jersey Clean Energy Program will share information about energy reduction programs and incentives, and demonstrate energy-saving lighting alternatives.
Free sustainable food and beverage samples will be available courtesy of Cafe Metro of Denville, Whole Foods Market of Madison, Classic Cafe of Parsippany and the Long Valley-based Mini Mac Farm.
Property management company Jones Lang LaSalle says response to its announcement of the Green Fair already has exceeded expectations. "I didn't think we would have such a large turnout of vendors. Everyone was eager and excited to come in," Palestri said.
Of the 1,300 people who work at the center nearly 600 are employed by health care communications giant Ogilvy CommonHealth Worldwide, the largest tenant.
"I think it's a great idea," said Marty Sillen, Ogilvy's vice president of facilities and procurement. "People are going to learn something, and it's going to be a lot of fun."
Sillen serves as Ogilvy's tenant representative on the newly inaugurated sustainability board of directors — another facet of the Tenants Go Green campaign — which held its first meeting Friday. One item Sillen said he shared with fellow tenants was his company's successful transition a year and a half ago to biodegradable supplies in company pantry areas.
"We want to introduce the sustainability board of directors to the rest of the employees of the complex," Palestri said. "We want them to mingle."
A teenaged girl put up a bloody fight before she was killed and dumped in the Jordan River last month, according to court records.
New revelations surrounding the slaying of 15-year-old Anne Kasprzak came Tuesday as two search warrants connected with her death were made public in 3rd District Court.
The warrants also shed additional light on what led police to arrest two men, Daniel Robert Lehi Ferry, 31, and Veanuia Vehekite, 30, on suspicion of murder.
Ferry, according to the search warrants, has maintained he had nothing to do with the teen's death.
Meanwhile, a month has passed since Anne was killed, but prosecutors have not charged anyone with the slaying. Both Ferry and Vehekite remained behind bars Tuesday on unrelated charges.
"We're obviously investigating the matter," said Blake Nakamura, a Salt Lake County District Attorney chief deputy. "We're still considering the charges. Because it is still an open investigation and charges have not been filed, we don't want to comment on any particulars in this case."
Authorities found Anne's body on March 11 after a passer-by spotted blood and a shoe near a footbridge over the Jordan River near 12600 South in Draper.
The girl's face was so badly beaten that she was nearly unrecognizable and investigators had to use scars, clothing and cosmetic dentistry to identify her, the search warrants say. Anne had a fingernail that was pushed back and she appeared to have defensive wounds on her hands, the warrant shows. Investigators hope the girl got some of her killer's DNA on her hands during the struggle, the warrants state.
Anne's family said they last saw her alive the night of March 10, when she went to her bedroom to listen to music. At some point, she apparently sneaked out and her family reported her as a runaway. Before Anne left her Riverton home, she spent about 30 minutes talking on her cell phone to people with unavailable phone numbers, the warrants state.
An all-around tablet designed for home and away, the Excite 10 tablet delivers an exceptional visual experience, featuring a bright, high definition 10.1-inch diagonal AutoBrite LED Backlit display with 1280x800 resolution and 10-finger multi-touch support, making it an ideal choice for web browsing, reading, games and apps. Measuring just 0.35 inches thin and weighing just 1.32 pounds, the Excite 10 tablet is extremely portable and delivers up to 10 hours of battery life and seven days of stand-by.
Delivering more performance than previous generation tablets, the Excite 10 tablet is powered by a quad-core NVIDIA Tegra 3 processor with GeForce graphics and 1GB of RAM, opening up new possibilities for everyday multi-purpose use and next generation mobile games. Built to do more than the average tablet, users can enjoy easy syncing and sharing between all of their favorite devices, with a selection of built-in ports, including Micro USB, Micro HDMI and a full-size SD card slot.
During a ribbon cutting ceremony aboard Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune, Actus Lend Lease and Atlantic Marine Corps Communities presented their newest Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design community for staff noncommissioned officers and their families in the Watkins Grove housing area, March 29.
The community features 136 three-and four-bedroom duplex and single-family homes boasting 1,667 to 2,024 square feet.
Construction commenced in 2011 with completion expected in the fall. New residents will be able to move into a new Watkins Grove home over the next several months as construction continues to progress throughout the community.
Not only is the housing area the newest aboard the base, it's also the greenest.
All of the homes are LEED-certified, making them better for the environment.
A LEED-certified home is designed and constructed in accordance with the rigorous guidelines of the LEED for Homes green building certification program.
LEED for Homes is a consensus-developed, third party-verified, voluntary rating system which promotes the design and construction of high-performance green homes.
According to AMCC, "the benefits of building a LEED home include lower utility costs by utilizing dual flush toilets, energy efficient appliances, (compact fluorescent light) lighting, insulation and more."
The new homes will also use recycled content material and provide better air quality for residents.
Col. Daniel J. Lecce, commanding officer of MCB Camp Lejeune, said building environmentally friendly houses is just one benefit of the new houses. The biggest benefit is giving families a nice place to live.
The new community for enlisted families is a major accomplishment for the Marine Corps and for Camp Lejeune, he added.
"Lend Lease and Atlantic Marine Corps Communities' mission is to take care of our families in family housing, so the Marines and sailors have nothing to worry about while overseas or preparing for their mission," said Lecce. "Thank you for allowing our Marines and sailors the opportunity to live in quality housing."
The new neighborhood is part of one of the largest green building projects in the country when coupled with other similar communities being built at other nearby installations.
Think of how the sun generates electricity in your home via solar panels and you'll get the general idea. Only, in this case, the electrical current is created through a technology that takes advantage of the difference between the temperature inside the lantern and the cooler air outside. As long as the candle burns, the LEDs emit light.
The 20-centimetre-tall square lamp is made with stainless steel and aluminum. Tempered glass windows let you see the candle inside, adding to the effect. Eight LED lights are housed in the rim of the lantern's peaked roof, which either sits on top of the lantern for illuminating a small area or can be elevated 25 cm on two telescoping supports for brighter light.
With a database of more than 365,000 photos of design projects, Houzz could be overwhelming if you are trying to pick other people's brains for great ideas. Fortunately, the free website organizes the cornucopia into styles (Asian, traditional, eclectic) and space (kitchen, home office, wine cellar).
A navigation tool lets you pick, say, a modern living room. Photos, many with descriptive text, will then scroll across your screen. Save the ones you like to the site's Ideabook and pretty soon you've got an inventory that you can draw on to create your design.
There are also photos of fireplaces, lighting, green design and more, plus a product section with purchase information (it's an American site so you could have trouble finding some items).
Spring makeovers are all about lifting your spirits and filling your senses, according to Susan Phillips. She's an Ottawa interior designer, home staging consultant and owner of Spotlight on Decor who also tipped us off to the Sweet Home 3D.
Big on Phillips' list of makeover essentials: Keeping the cost low. "Go for the high-low effect," she says. "Spend money on a few key items and then dress it all up with inexpensive stuff."
She recently freshened up her own home by shopping at HomeSense for a bright, fuchsia orchid ("It's artificial, but it looks great") for $16.99 and a couple of matching cushions , a trio of huge, decorative green apples ($6.99 each), and a fluffy pea-green throw.
Stores, like HomeSense, Bouclair Home and Home Outfitters, are perfect for inexpensive baskets, artwork and decorative glass balls, she says.
"Don't overlook Value Village — there's stuff that you can repurpose." One of her favourite finds: a $5 lamp that she transformed by painting the base black and the inside of the shade gold so it casts a warm glow when it's turned on.
They don't throw as much light as a professionally installed, 120-volt lighting system, but inexpensive DIY low-voltage kits do a decent job of brightening pathways and setting a warm mood.
The systems consist of a small transformer that's plugged into an outdoor receptacle, low-voltage wiring that can be laid on top of the ground or buried an inch or two, and the lights. Because the system is only 12 volts, the current is harmless. You can also move the lights around easily.
Be sure to read instructions carefully. Transformers and wire are sized to the number of lights and the length of the wire; changing either one will likely require a more powerful transformer or heavier-gauge wire.
A Hampton Bay four-spotlight kit costs $72.99 at Home Depot. It includes cast aluminum lights with tilt heads and halogen bulbs, 30 metres of landscape wire, and a transformer with timer. Home Depot also carries a combination flood/path light kit at $99.99. It includes eight LED lights, but only 15 metres of wire.