Oh Roger... He had the third set on his racket, hit it wide, and when he lost it, you could tell his spirit took a hit. So many break opportunities that were blown by unforced errors. Valiant effort in the fourth, and just came up short in the big points. I feel really bad for him...

This. The edit button is irresistible, but a bit confusing now. If you just decide to quit a particular post and go back to start again, the old quote is still there, often twice - quote in a quote, and then it's a hot mess Also, is there a way to take out hotlinks? Thanks! The formatting from articles when posting them here is consistent with the original, which makes things a whole lot easier for those slightly obsessed with them looking just right, double thanks!! p.s. Cool new banner across the top

Testing drag drop photo feature... Photo of the day from National Geographic

Watched Fed/Edberg deftly carve up Wawrinka 4-3-1. I thought it would be a tougher challenge, but luckily he will be nice and fresh for the finals on Sunday.

Fed/Edberg brings out the bag of magic tricks against Gasquet 3-3-1. 50-8 for in winners. 0 break points against. Getting better with every match, hasn't lost a set, which is good because he's got more energy for a tougher semi match against countryman Wawrinka.

Just finished watching FedExpress roll on through another straight sets victory against hard serving, too-tall-for-tennis John Isner. Patiently wore down Isner, figured out how to return his giant serve, and outplayed him with a more complete game in the big moments. This Roger/Stefan Edberg pairing is working out very well. Roger is far more offensively minded, shows more variety to his game, and doesn't stubbornly stick to his way if something's not working; he's more willing to change things up. Opponents can't rely on expecting what he's done before. Old dog, new tricks My sole complaint would be that the camera didn't show Edberg in Fed's player box nearly as often as I'd have liked.

Ok, fair enough. I'm genuinely curious about it as it's a world I know in the most peripheral way, that is, I'm aware it exists and people love it. Apparently in South Korea there are even professional gamers. Great creative outlets in whatever form are interesting, so it's not that I'm precious about Godfather comparisons in general, but if that's the reference point, then the game better be good. Thanks for clarifying. Still not convinced that the "Black Dog" tie in 'exposes' a new generation of fans to Zep in this way, but it's certainly a huge market to tap into.

Ok, but how does that work exactly? There's a small part of a song in a commercial that looks like it has nothing to do with the game. I guess interested gamers seek out the song title, then the band? Just seems a weird reach, but maybe it's effective? I think something more related would be a better crossover, like a song thematically connected to another artistic outlet... With all due respect to gamers, the example below surely can't be an one of 'well written and complex as movies' (though many movies seem more like video games, but they're generally deemed to suck, or just categorized as summer popcorn fun). But... 'The Godfather'? Come on...

he wandering cursor issue on the phone is no longer a problem when typing, but lol as is apparent, emoticons still wander to the beginning even if cursor is at the end-very minor, and only on the phone. I LOVE the wine red bar at the bottom of each thread that takes you to the last page of it, and the search function is light years better than before. And I could now use the B, I, U features on the phone as well-excellent! Far more user friendly.

Footie Poland vs. Germany. Down 2-1 at the half...

^JUST saw this and thought it was me as I caught only the last snippet. Wonder how that came about... To be honest, I don't like hearing Zep in ads. Movies if the context is appropriate, maybe, but I don't get the connection here... It's almost certainly not for the money, so is this just a way to get new fans into great music?

^ I love SYTYCD, too! Earlier tonight I watched Fed decimate some poor opponent 1-2-1 who was just glad to have been out there against a legend. Roger was ever classy, all the more so in such a resounding victory. And now that Fed's being coached by Edberg - I loooooooooved him when he played! RAAARRRGH!!! - I watch pitifully hoping the camera pans to the player's box now again. Win win today

Quotes working - check. Can log in and out on Mobile - check. New tab on mobile to go to previous thread clusters - check. New profile features - check. As for using Word on the phone (on laptop now), that was because the cursor on the phone version kept jumping out of place of where I wanted to type. I'll give it another whirl. This mobile version is far better to look at and use than it's previous version, truly, and I didn't mind the previous one. I like that it's so close to the PC version, too. Both are far more intuitive and have a more visually appealing, user friendly interface through and through. Top marks, Sam, thanks very much, I really appreciate it!

Ha! Yet there it is, oh the ironing Quotes are appearing now in the new format, but old quotes before the change still do not appear. Still on the phone, and trying to get the cursor to go where it should is challenging. Once I press enter for spacing, that seems to lock in the format and the spacing can't be removed. Also, it's great that I can now insert smilies, but even when they're put at the end of a sentence, they jump to the beginning of it. I'm writing in Word and pasting here for ease of use. On a positive note, it's great that users are now listed, and the new profile section looks great. I love seeing user names in the Zep font! Hopefully the friends list will return, that was a nice feature. Glad that the pm's are still there. Looks like more features are continuing to appear after the update. Thanks to all who are putting in the hard work to make it happen.

P.S. How do I sign out on my phone?

Looks fab! Worth the wait! (though I was starting to get withdrawal symptoms lol) Love the clean new look, colours, spacing, new background photo, and cool prominent Zep font for each thread. One observation is that quotes in responses do not yet show up, so one cannot tell what quote is from whom and where the response begins. Another is that on the phone version, there are stars next to some topics, and also there's no option to go back to a previous page (on the PC there's the 'home--main forum--ramble on...' tab that you could choose to go to directly, rather than having to go back several times, or to the main site to then go back to general forum. I know there are still things to be ironed out, but just some forum feedback. On my phone now, and it looks almost the same as it does on the PC. With the previous configuration you could switch to the 'full version', but this one is WAY easier on the eyes and seems easier to navigate. Very positive change overall, glad it's back!!

You're welcome, Strider, I hope you find it and enjoy it. Thanks for the MERU info. It's not showing anywhere around here. Too bad. These are the kinds of films that are best seen on the big screen. Guess I'll just have to wait for the small screen option.

For those who like climbing films, I stumbled upon this: Jäger des Augenblicks - Ein Abenteuer am Mount Roraima Here's a trailer for "Roraima: Climbers of the Lost World" And the site: http://www.jaegerdesaugenblicks.de/ Some more info: http://www.redbull.com/ca/en/adventure/stories/1331587769328/stefan-glowacz-climb-of-a-lifetime Photostory: Roraima With Stefan Glowacz

Re: post #993 - That Tarantino video was spectacularly awkward hahahaha oh my God...

I saw the new UNCLE offering and found it just ok. It was entertaining and fun with the snappy exchanges and quick action, but the flat character construction made me aware of what was lacking throughout. It bothered me that we were just told about the Russian's 'issues' rather than being shown them, which would've been far more effective in conveying why he pops off like he does. Just a minor thing, but it could have easily been added via flashbacks rather than dialogue. I did miss the first couple of minutes of the movie (this is the second time ever) so maybe they touched upon it? V, I suggest you watch again the Daniel Craig Bond films for the eye candy (I was skeptical when he was cast, but he's now my favourite 007!), and as a refresher for the upcoming Bond flick, "Spectre":

Hand made is one kind of craftsmanship, yes? You're welcome, SZ. You know, I truly get the concern of remuneration for one's work, all the more so for those who feel conflicted about giving their time to their craft when the bills are piling up. It's a hard choice to make. Still, there's value in making something and honing one's craft for its own sake, for the pleasure of it, and maybe - because you never know who your creativity will touch - for the pleasure of others as well. There are niche markets out there connecting people who can do something that computers cannot do, give a personal touch, with those who can do it. Best of luck with the job hunt, and may your creativity energize you

There's beautiful penmanship, and then there's the art of a master penman. They’re Dedicated To Preserving A Lost Literary Form. But There Are Only 12 Of Them Left! Becoming a Master Penman is not something that happens overnight; it takes dedication, passion, and years of hard work. At 28, Jake Weidmann is the youngest inductee into this elite society of men and women who are dedicated to the art of long-hand revivalism and his talent is immediately obvious. BUT WHAT EXACTLY IS A MASTER PENMAN? The full, official name of the society is the International Association of Master Penman, Engrossers and Teachers of Handwriting, or IAMPETH. Yes, it’s a mouthful, but when it’s written out it’s beautiful. IAMPETH is an organization dedicated to keeping the art of handwriting alive. Their website says that they were created “to recognize members who had achieved a distinguished level of excellence in penmanship and the calligraphic arts – including Business penmanship, Ornamental and Spencerian script, Engrosser’s script, Engrossing and Illumination, Offhand Flourishing and Text lettering.” There’s a lot to unpack there, but within that sentence is insight into what being a Master Penman is all about; celebrating the many artistic forms that handwriting can (and should) take. Photo: Scranton Lodge Resolution by P.W. Costello / Via IAMPETH The title of Master Penman has a long history. Weidmann explains that, “before the typewriter, this was a booming career path, as nearly every major business needed a competent and proficient penman on hand to manage log books, keep records, write policies, and execute certificates.” There used to be schools where one could learn the art of handwriting. But once the typewriter had reached mainstream use in the early twentieth century, uniform letters and typefaces were only a button’s push away and the need for Master Penmen waned. Nowadays, Penmen are still sought after, if only now for their rarity and high level of skill. Weidmann told The Art Of Manliness that, “many penmen do work for very high-end clients such as celebrities, the President, and even the Pope. The work that I do now lives in the realm of fine art.” Weidmann, as is the case with most members of the IAMPETH, does most of his work by hand, staying true to the art in its original form. He uses hand-carved pen holders and customized fountain pen nibs to execute his pieces, working carefully and meticulously, often times deep into the wee hours of the morning. Weidmann’s wife says that she didn’t understand how hard the work was or how long a piece took until after she married him. But the hard work shows. Master Penman Jake Weidmann | HUMAN With computers diluting our connection to ink and paper, the men and women of IAMPETH remind us how textual expression is an art form. While our brains formulate the words that we’re trying to say, our hand creates the indelible marks on the paper that will represent our thoughts. Think about it. Chicken-scratch implies that the writer was in a rush. By taking a little extra time with your longhand, you can change someone’s perception of what you have to say. Just remember: mind your p’s and q’s, cross your t’s, dot your i’s, and appreciate the beauty that is penmanship. http://writerscircle.com/master-penman/?utm_source=twc-twcfan&utm_medium=social-fb&utm_term=081015&utm_content=link&utm_campaign=master-penman/&origin=

I'm perhaps stretching craftsmanship here, but fewer people, it seems, write letters anymore, so in other Tolkien news, one of his finely penned letters was up for auction: Before He Was Famous, Guess How Much This Author Sold His Archival Material For? What an interesting glimpse into J.R.R Tolkien's business! The following clip from Antiques Roadshow features a letter written by Tolkien to William Ready, director of libraries at Marquette University from 1956-1963. The content of the letter details Ready's (successful) attempt to purchase archival material of some of Tolkien's greatest works! And just look at that penmanship...it's almost gothic and reminiscent of his famed novels. The signature alone is beautiful! Find out more about this letter, including its value, in the video below! 1957 J.R.R. Tolkien Letter | Appraisal | Charleston, Hour 3

A costly trend for libraries as they try to balance services and tech. The skinny: libraries are launching a fair pricing campaign because the Big Five - Penguin, HarperCollins, Macmillan, Hachette, and Simon & Schuster - are charging exorbitant prices for ebooks to the tune of four times that of their print equivalents. Why libraries of the future carry a high price tag Published on Jul 23, 2015 by Carla Lucchetta Research shows, most e-book readers buy copies and also borrow them from libraries. Image credit: Devon Christopher Adams/flickr As e-books grow in popularity, and more people than ever own e-reading devices, libraries are struggling to keep the most popular titles available for lending. E-books cost them far more than printed versions: the latest John Grisham e-book costs $85 per copy even though the bulk-priced printed book is only $20. If e-book demand starts to eclipse regular books, it’s easy to see why libraries find the current model unsustainable. Libraries view themselves as a vital part of the health of publishing by fostering a love of reading, supporting writers and providing free access to a wide range of materials. Even so, accessing e-books from publishers has been a constant struggle. At first, publishers didn’t sell to libraries at all. Now they set costs prohibitively high, put restrictions on use, and require costly proprietary software to protect copyright. Publishers worry that e-book borrowers don’t buy books or that they’ll attempt to copy and share their content but in fact, as the Pew Research Centre discovered when American libraries first began dealing with this issue, most readers borrow and buy books. Armed with this information, libraries are fighting back. E-books make up between 17 and 20 per cent in a publishing industry of over one billion sales per year, and libraries want to expand their e-book collections to meet the demand. Last month, a coalition of Ontario library associations and Toronto Public Library (TPL) launched a fair pricing campaign – a collective effort to encourage publishers to take serious notice. It’s part of a larger advocacy initiative which will include meetings with the federal and provincial governments and Canada’s competition bureau. It’s well documented in Canada and the U.S. that the publishers charging the most for e-books or restricting use are the Big Five: Penguin Random House, HarperCollins, Macmillan, Hachette and Simon & Schuster. They produce the most in-demand, best-selling titles, so if libraries want the books most people are asking for they have to play by their rules. One e-book can run between $85 and $100, costing the library far more than the typical $14.99 retail price. Publishers in the Big Five selling e-books at more reasonable prices put restrictions on number of uses, after which the title needs to be repurchased. For instance, HarperCollins allows 26 check-outs per copy; Macmillan permits 52 over two years and Simon & Schuster e-books expire at one year. Smaller publishers with lesser known authors naturally demand few or no restrictions, and are more affordably priced. E-books are borrowed exactly as their printed counterparts: one book per library member for a one to three week period. Their disappearance from reading devices after that time is handled by the intermediary platform OverDrive. It acts as a publisher’s distribution house, a marketplace for library purchases and a vehicle for user downloads. Author Cory Doctorow, an advocate for fair pricing for libraries in the U.S., and also against the anti-piracy software they use, wrote in Locus Magazine, “These e-books come with restrictions that don’t appear on regular print books; they can’t be sold on as used books once their circulations drop below a certain threshold; neither can they be shared with another library’s patrons through standard practices like interlibrary loan, a mainstay of libraries for more than a century.” The first challenge at the time the market began to take hold in 2008 was that publishers weren’t offering e-books to libraries at all. They didn’t yet see how to protect copyright and author royalties and needed to conceive a dedicated business model. “There was a lot of fear,” says Shelagh Paterson, executive director of the Ontario Library Association. “Authors and publishers needed to be assured that e-books aren’t that different than print books, that we’re educated to protect copyright. And with 3,400 public library points – branches and bookmobiles – across Canada, we’re the best shot for authors to have their work found, read and bought.” At Toronto Public Library, e-book spending has grown from $185,000 in 2009 to $3.5 million in 2015. With next year’s budget in process, and TPL’s main funder, the City of Toronto asking for reductions, city librarian Vickery Bowles says the fair pricing campaign coalition has a solution it hopes publishers will consider: “We’re asking for a new pricing model. For instance, we bought 100 copies of Grey Mountain, the new John Grisham novel, at $85 each, that’s $8500 for just one title. A better pricing model would be we buy 10 copies at a higher price and we have ongoing, or what they call perpetual access to that content. Then we buy 90 copies at a lower price and a year later, they expire.” The campaign has been trying to meet with publishers to propose this idea. TVO.org reached out to publishers and the Canadian Publisher’s Council to get an idea of their worries about libraries, but none has agreed to comment. John Degen, executive director of The Writers’ Union of Canada (TWUC), says that publishers not publicly communicating their decisions could lead people to reduce this to corporate greed, but it’s not that simple. “Institutional pricing for libraries has solid business reasoning behind it that works for everyone – providing library patrons with lots of free access, but protecting, to a certain extent, the value of the book in the market. E-books complicate this picture because they don’t naturally wear out with multiple readings like physical books do, and so will not naturally result in multiple purchases by libraries servicing high demand,” says Degen. A library’s ability to sustain its e-book collection is more difficult in a smaller system, such as Ajax Library whose three branches serve approximately 34,000 members. Last year alone, Ajax’s e-book downloads increased by 25 per cent, causing chief librarian Donna Bright to ask for extra money in her budget. Always on the lookout to find ways to afford more e-books, Ajax Library recently took part in a download drive that won it $2500 toward its collection. Bright says she’s also looked into an idea born in Douglas County, Colorado where libraries develop their own industry-standard platforms, allowing them to purchase digital content directly from publishers and lend it to members, all in their own control at a lower cost and without involving OverDrive. “We could then create a server arrangement for a consortium of libraries and be able to deal with more local authors and independent publishers.” Looking to the American model is not a bad idea since U.S. libraries are a year or two ahead of Canada when it comes to dealing with the Big Five, and have learned by trial and error what might work. Where the Ontario fair pricing campaign has yet to attract a name author to do its bidding and kick the initiative into high gear, south of the border exists a coalition of authors concerned, not only about prices and availability, but moving ahead to the sticky issue of Digital Rights Management (DRM), who exactly owns an e-book and why libraries need locked content – something that could disrupt libraries’ ability to meet their preservation mandate. TWUC’s John Degen suggests two solutions for libraries and publishers: “Libraries should buy few blockbusters and more independent titles,” he says. “That will increase the diversity of offerings, and maybe even provide market incentive to the Big Five to offer deals to libraries.” The other is a question of funding. “If libraries are a valued and well-used public good, fund them properly.” “It’s not about funding,” says Vickery Bowles. “It’s about pricing models. We’re well funded in Toronto and we still have a difficult time.” “I understand publishers are in a challenging situation in a changing business landscape. I’m sympathetic to that,” she says. “We want a strong publishing industry here in Canada. But what publishers need to understand is that libraries are part of a vibrant publishing industry and we’re part of the ecosystem of reading. We need to work together.” http://tvo.org/article/current-affairs/the-next-ontario/why-libraries-of-the-future-carry-a-high-price-tag?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social&utm_content=TroublewEbooksblog/Jul30&utm_campaign=TVO

^ Subtle, that Apparently, another JRR Tolkien release is in the works! 100-year-old J.R.R. Tolkien book to be published this summer BY CORINNE SEGAL August 11, 2015 at 11:14 AM EDT | Updated: Aug 12, 2015 at 1:22 PM John Ronald Reuel Tolkien, author of “The Hobbit” and “The Lord of the Rings,” in 1955. A manuscript from 1914 titled “The Story of Kullervo” will be widely distributed for the first time this August. Photo by Haywood Magee/Getty Images A 1914 manuscript that formed the early basis for J.R.R. Tolkien’s works of epic fantasy will be widely published for the first time this summer. “The Story of Kullervo,” which Tolkien wrote while at Oxford University, has previously only been published in the journal “Tolkien Studies: Volume 7.” It will be widely distributed for the first time in the U.K. on Aug. 27 and in the U.S. on April 5, 2016, according to Amazon. The book follows the story of an orphan seeking revenge on the dark magician who killed his father. Tolkien based the book on the Finnish epic poem “The Kalevala,” which was published in English for the first time in 1888. Tolkien never finished “Kullervo,” but wrote that it was an early exploration of epic fantasy that formed the basis for his later work “The Silmarillion”: “The germ of my attempt to write legends of my own to fit my private languages was the tragic tale of the hapless Kullervo in the Finnish Kalevala. It remains a major matter in the legends of the First Age (which I hope to publish as The Silmarillion).” His reference to the “First Age” also links the story to the Lord of the Rings trilogy, the Daily Dot pointed out. An earlier version of this post stated that the book would be published in the U.S. on Oct. 27. http://www.pbs.org/newshour/rundown/100-year-old-j-r-r-tolkien-book-to-be-published-this-summer/ I'll be checking UK Amazon or abebooks.com in a couple of days. No way is any fan waiting till next April!