Sunday, November 20, 2011

Gazillion Bubble Machine

Canon EF-S 55-250mm f/4.0-5.6 IS Telephoto Zoom Lens for Canon Digital SLR Cameras

  • Focal Length & Maximum Aperture: 55-250mm F/4-5.6
  • 12 Elements In 10 Groups, Including One UD-glass Element
  • Focus Adjustment: DC Motor, Gear-driven(front Focusing Design)
  • Closest Focusing Distance: 3.6 Ft./1.1m
A magical train ride on Christmas Eve takes a boy to the North Pole to receive a special gift from Santa.One couldn't select a more delightful and exciting premise for a children's book than the tale of a young boy lying awake on Christmas Eve only to have Santa Claus sweep by and take him on a trip with other children to the North Pole. And one couldn't ask for a more talented artist and writer to tell the story than Chris Van Allsburg. Allsburg, a sculptor who entered the genre nonchalantly when he created a children's book as a diversion from his sculpting, won the 1986 Caldecott Medal for this book, one of several award winners he's produced. The Po! lar Express rings with vitality and wonder.



25th Anniversary Edition Includes
To commemorate this special anniversary, a lavish gift edition has been created. The set includes a silver foil border, a CD audio recording read by Liam Neeson, a note from Chris Van Allsburg, and a silvery keepsake "All Aboard" ornament.



Amazon Exclusive: A Letter from Chris Van Allsburg

Dear Amazon Readers,

Over the past twenty-five years, many people have shared stories with me about the effect that reading The Polar Express has had on their families and on their celebration of Christmas.

One of the most poignant was told to me five or six years ago at a book signing in the Midwe! st, on a snowy December evening. As I inscribed a book to a w! oman in her sixties, she told me that it was the second copy she had owned, and wanted to know if she could she tell me what had happened to the first. "Of course," I answered.

A dozen years earlier the woman, who had no children of her own, befriended a neighbor, a boy of about seven, named Eddie. He would often cross his driveway to visit her.

She had a collection of picture books, which she read to him, but around the holidays, the only story he ever wanted to hear, over and over, was The Polar Express. One year she offered to give him the book, but Eddie declined because he wanted to hear her read it aloud to him, which she continued to do every year until the boy and his family moved away.

Years later the woman learned from a mutual acquaintance that Eddie had grown up and become a soldier. He was stationed in Iraq. Since Christmas was approaching, the woman decided to send him a gift box. She included candy, cookies, socks, and her old copy of! The Polar Express. She wasn't sure what a nineteen-year-old battle-weary soldier would do with the book in an army barracks in the Middle East, but she wanted him to have it. A month later, after the holidays had passed, she received a letter from Eddie.

He told her he was very happy to have heard from her and to get the box of gifts. He had opened it in his barracks, just before curfew, with some of his fellow GIs already in their bunks. A soldier in the next bunk spotted the book. He knew it well from his own childhood and asked Eddie to read it. "Out loud?" he asked. "Yeah," his buddy told him.

Eddie, quietly and a little self-consciously, read The Polar Express. When he'd finished and closed the book, a moment of silence passed. Then from behind him a voice called out, "Read it again," and another joined in, "Yeah, read it again," and a third added, "This time, louder." So Eddie did.

He wrote to the woman that he'd stood up and r! ead it to his comrades just the way he remembered she had read! it to h im.

All aboard,

Chris Van Allsburg



Recipes and Activities to Celebrate the 25th Anniversary of The Polar Express
(Click on Images for the Recipe or Activity [PDF])

Snacks for Santa

Candy Cane Sugar Cookies

Polar Chocolate Nougat Caramel Squares
!
Christmas Snowball Cookies

Hot Chocolate


Fun and Games

A Polar Express Word Search

A Polar Express Crossword

A Polar Express Maze !

A Polar Express Drawing Sheet



This telephoto zoom lens is designed with Canon's Optical Image Stabilizer technology while retaining compactness and lightness, in response to demands of photographers. This high zoom ratio lens is equivalent to a focal length of 88-400mm in the 35mm format (when used on Canon EOS cameras compatible with EF-S lenses), and the image stabilizer effect equivalent to a shutter speed about 4 stops faster than the same size lens without Image Stabilizer. In other words, if the slowest shutter speed you could formerly hold a 250mm lens steadily was 1/250th of a second, with Canon's 4-stop stabilization correction, you could hand-hold at shutter speeds as slow as 1/15th of a second. It also uses a UD-glass lens element to correct chromatic aberration for excellen! t image quality throughout the zoom range. This new EF-S telephoto lens with great features delivers excellent performance at an affordable price for all photographers. Incorporating Canon's Optical Image Stabilizer technology, this Canon 55-250mm telephoto zoom lens captures long distance, low-light shots far better than many comparable lenses, helping you photograph the far-off action of athletes or zoom in for an intimate portrait with a blurred background. The high-zoom-ratio lens is equivalent to a focal length of 88-400mm in the 35mm format (when used on Canon EOS cameras compatible with EF-S lenses). More significantly, the image stabilizer effect creates an equivalent shutter speed of roughly four stops faster than the same size lens without an image stabilizer. In other words, if the slowest shutter speed you can hold a 250mm lens steadily is normally 1/250th of a second, this Canon lens will let you hand-hold shutter speeds as slow as 1/15th of a second. The lens ! also boasts a UD-glass lens element to correct chromatic aberr! ation to create excellent image quality throughout the zoom range. Delivering an excellent performance at an affordable price for all photographers, the 55-250mm lens carries a one-year warranty.

Specifications

  • Focal length: 55-250mm
  • Maximum aperture: f/4 to f/5.6
  • Lens construction: 12 elements in 10 groups, including one UD-glass element
  • Diagonal angle of view: 27 degrees (at 50 feet) to 6 degrees (at 15 feet), with APS-C image sensors
  • Focus adjustment: DC motor, gear-driven (front focusing design)
  • Closest focusing distance: 3.6 feet (0.31x maximum close-up magnification)
  • Filter size: 58mm
  • Dimensions: 2.8 inches in diameter and 4.3 inches long
  • Weight: 13.8 ounces
  • Warranty: 1 year

The English Patient: Original Soundtrack Recording

  • OST Full Length Audio CD
With unsettling beauty and intelligence, Michael Ondaatje's Booker Prize-winning novel traces the intersection of four damaged lives in an abandoned Italian villa at the end of World War II.The nurse Hana, exhausted by death, obsessively tends to her last surviving patient. Caravaggio, the thief, tries to reimagine who he is, now that his hands are hopelessly maimed. The Indian sapper Kip searches for hidden bombs in a landscape where nothing is safe but himself. And at the center of his labyrinth lies the English patient, nameless and hideously burned, a man who is both a riddle and a provocation to his companionsâ€"and whose memories of suffering, rescue, and betrayal illuminate this book like flashes of heat lightning.Haunting and harrowing, as beautiful as it is disturbing, The English Patient tells the story of the entanglement of four damaged lives in a! n Italian monastery as World War II ends. The exhausted nurse, Hana; the maimed thief, Caravaggio; the wary sapper, Kip: each is haunted by the riddle of the English patient, the nameless, burn victim who lies in an upstairs room and whose memories of passion, betrayal, and rescue illuminate this book like flashes of heat lightning. In lyrical prose informed by a poetic consciousness, Michael Ondaatje weaves these characters together, pulls them tight, then unravels the threads with unsettling acumen.

A book that binds readers of great literature, The English Patient garnered the Booker Prize for author Ondaatje. The poet and novelist has also written In the Skin of a Lion, Coming Through Slaughter and The Collected Works of Billy the Kid; two collections of poems, The Cinnamon Peeler and There's a Trick with a Knife I'm Learning to Do; and a memoir, Running in the Family.Michael Ondaatje’s Booker Prizeâ€"! winning best seller lyrically portrays the convergence of four! damaged lives in a bomb-riddled Italian villa in the last days of the war. Hana, the grieving nurse; the maimed thief, Caravaggio; the emotionally detached Indian sapper, Kipâ€"each is haunted in different ways by the riddle of the man they know only as the English patient, a nameless burn victim who lies swathed in bandages in an upstairs room. It is this man’s incandescent memoriesâ€"of the bleak North African desert, of explorers’ caves and Bedouin tribesmen,
of forbidden love, and of annihilating angerâ€"that illuminate the story, and the consequences of the mysteries they reveal radiate outward in shock waves that leave all the characters forever changed.With ravishing beauty and unsettling intelligence, Michael Ondaatje's Booker Prize-winning novel traces the intersection of four damaged lives in an Italian villa at the end of World War II. Hana, the exhausted nurse; the maimed thief, Caravaggio; the wary sapper, Kip: each is haunted by the riddle of the English patien! t, the nameless, burned man who lies in an upstairs room and whose memories of passion, betrayal,and rescue illuminates this book like flashes of heat lightening.


From the Hardcover edition.Haunting and harrowing, as beautiful as it is disturbing, The English Patient tells the story of the entanglement of four damaged lives in an Italian monastery as World War II ends. The exhausted nurse, Hana; the maimed thief, Caravaggio; the wary sapper, Kip: each is haunted by the riddle of the English patient, the nameless, burn victim who lies in an upstairs room and whose memories of passion, betrayal, and rescue illuminate this book like flashes of heat lightning. In lyrical prose informed by a poetic consciousness, Michael Ondaatje weaves these characters together, pulls them tight, then unravels the threads with unsettling acumen.

A book that binds readers of great literature, The English Patient garnered the Booker Prize for a! uthor Ondaatje. The poet and novelist has also written In ! the Skin of a Lion, Coming Through Slaughter and The Collected Works of Billy the Kid; two collections of poems, The Cinnamon Peeler and There's a Trick with a Knife I'm Learning to Do; and a memoir, Running in the Family.With ravishing beauty and unsettling intelligence, Michael Ondaatje's Booker Prize-winning novel traces the intersection of four damaged lives in an Italian villa at the end of World War II. Hana, the exhausted nurse; the maimed thief, Caravaggio; the wary sapper, Kip: each is haunted by the riddle of the English patient, the nameless, burned man who lies in an upstairs room and whose memories of passion, betrayal,and rescue illuminates this book like flashes of heat lightening.


From the Hardcover edition.A collection of amusing minutiae revealing the absurdity of our existence.A collection of amusing minutiae revealing the absurdity of our existence.Winner of 9 Academy Awards® including Best Picture, Be! st Director (Anthony Minghella) and Best Supporting Actress (Juliette Binoche), THE ENGLISH PATIENT is a "fiercly romantic" (THE NEW YORK TIMES) epic where love knows no boundaries. During World War II, a mysterious stranger (Ralph Fiennes) is cared for by British allies unaware of his dangerous past. Yet, as the mystery of his identity is revealed, an incredible tale of passion, intrigue and adventure unfolds. Also starring Kristin Scott Thomas, Colin Firth and Willem Dafoe, this powerful motion picture is an experience you will never forget.This is an excellent guide to Michael Ondaatje’s best-loved novel. It features a biography of the author, a full-length analysis of the novel, a comparison of the novel to the film, and a great deal more. If you’re studying this novel, reading it for your book club, or if you simply want to know more about it, you’ll find this guide informative and helpful. This is part of a new series of guides to contemporary novels. The a! im of the series is to give readers accessible and informative! introdu ctions to some of the most popular, most acclaimed and most influential novels of recent years â€" from ‘The Remains of the Day’ to ‘White Teeth’. A team of contemporary fiction scholars from both sides of the Atlantic has been assembled to provide a thorough and readable analysis of each of the novels in question.GradeSaver(TM) ClassicNotes are the most comprehensive study guides on the market, written by Harvard students for students! Longer, with more detailed summary and analysis sections and sample essays, ClassicNotes are the best choice for advanced students and educators. Each note includes: * An author biography * An in-depth chapter-by-chapter summary * A short summary * A character list and related descriptions * A list of themes * A glossary * Historical context * Two academic essays * 100 quiz questions to improve test taking skills!Anthony Minghella's Oscar-winning realization of Michael Ondaatje's intricate romance deservedly earned compa! risons to David Lean's sweeping screen epics derived from strong literary sources. Like Lean, Minghella sought an equally thoughtful, yet ravishing musical counterpart that fleshes out a sympathetic orchestral score with allusions to the story's cultural milieu. The equation begins with Gabriel Yared's tender, brooding symphonic score, which mingles the film's poles of fate and passion with subtlety and restraint, then adds the exotic, mesmerizing voice of Marta Sebestyen (best known for her work with Muzsikas, the brilliant Hungarian folk revivalists, who also appear here), whose presence provides a literate clue to the title character's true identity. The film's '40s time-frame gains resonance and dramatic irony by pop songs from that era, including Benny Goodman swing classics and two versions of Irving Berlin's "Cheek to Cheek" (by Fred Astaire and Ella Fitzgerald, respectively). Add a pivotal Bach cue and this is a film package that works even if you don't know the fil! m--and that much more powerfully if you do. --Sam Sutherla! nd

Conventioneers

Frozen

  • FROZEN (DVD MOVIE)
A typical day on the slopes turns into a chilling nightmare for three snowboarders when they get stranded on the chairlift before their last run. As the ski patrol switches off the night lights, they realize with growing panic that they’ve been left behind, dangling high off the ground with no way down.
Snow-sport enthusiasts, take note: Adam Green's unsettling thriller Frozen suggests that abiding by the rules and regulations of your local ski resort might not only be polite, but essential to your health. Green's hapless heroes--nice guy Dan (Kevin Zegers, Transamerica), his best pal Lynch (Shawn Ashmore, the X-Men franchise), and Dan's new girlfriend Parker (newcomer Emma Bell)--decided to cut a few corners in pursuit of more time on the slopes. Miscommunication with the staff results in the trio getting stuck on a lift some 60 feet in the a! ir just moments before the resort closes for a three-day weekend. The hope for rescue soon dwindles, and the trio faces the decision to either endure the elements or somehow make their way to the ground without injury. All of the gruesome possibilities inherent to the situation--from frostbite and broken limbs to a pack of voracious wolves--are explored in unpleasant detail, but what sets Frozen apart from a simple splatterfest is the quality of the performances, especially Bell, who rises above her character's initial superficiality to present a wholly sympathetic character. Fans of Green's first film, the abysmal slasher tribute Hatchet, might find the pacing glacial (ahem), but those who admired his sophomore effort, the psychological thriller Spiral, will appreciate his attention to pacing and suspense, which puts Frozen on par with the very similar Open Water. The DVD includes commentary by Green and his stars, along with deleted scen! es and a wealth of behind-the-scenes featurettes focusing on c! onceptio n of the project, as well as the crew's struggles with the genuinely contentious weather at the Utah filming location. --Paul Gaita

Hannibal Rising (Unrated Widescreen Edition)

  • In Red Dragon we learned who he was. In Silence of the Lambs, we learned how he did it. Now comes the most chilling chapter in the saga of Hannibal Lecter the one that answers the most elusive question of all why? Written by Thomas Harris, the best-selling author of the Hannibal book series, this fascinating and terrifying journey into the making of a monster (Pete Hammond, Maxim), reveals for the
(Horror/Suspense) The terrifying Silence of the Lambs prequel that reveals the history of the infamous Hannibal and how he came to be a cannibalistic murderer.Though Hannibal Rising's Lecter (Gaspard Ulliel) is a pussycat compared to Anthony Hopkins in Silence of the Lambs, this sequel's story of revenge is grizzly enough to satisfy lovers of Thomas Harris's epic tale. After young Hannibal (Aaron Thomas) is forced to watch his little sister, Mischa (Helena Lia Tachovska), devoured by s! tarving soldiers in his homeland Lithuania, Hannibal vows to avenge his sister's death by slaying those who committed not only war crimes against the Lecters, but also against other families during WW II. In detailing Hannibal's revenge plan, the film investigates the psychological implications of witnessing cannibalism to justify Hannibal's insatiable appetite for human flesh. The most interesting aspect of Hannibal Risingâ€"its analytical connections drawn between Hannibal's childhood traumas and his murderous adult obsessionsâ€"is also the film's weak point. The links oversimplify Lecter's complex character. For example, though titillating to see flashbacks of Lecter's sister hacked up and boiled while Lecter visits a Parisian meat market, the reference is too obvious. One learns why he excels in his medical school classes dissecting cadavers, and we're given explicit explanation for why he slices off and eats his victims' cheeks. The story only complicates when H! annibal interacts with his sexy Aunt, Lady Murasaki (Gong Li).! When Mu rasaki educates him in the art of beheading, the viewer sees Hannibal's sword fetish as a manifestation of physical lust. --Trinie Dalton

Hellboy: Director's Cut [Blu-ray]

  • Condition: New
  • Format: Blu-ray
  • Anamorphic; Color; Dolby; Subtitled; Widescreen
The world's greatest paranormal investigator takes on a carnivorous house, space aliens, a vampire luchador, a vengeful lion demon, and more in this collection featuring the work of comic greats Mike Mignola, Richard Corben, Kevin Nowlan, and Scott Hampton!HELLBOY - DVD MovieHellboy is one of the most celebrated comics series in recent years. The ultimate artists' artist and a great storyteller whose work is in turns haunting, hilarious, and spellbinding, Mike Mignola has won numerous awards in the comics industry and beyond. When strangeness threatens to engulf the world, a strange man will come to save it. Sent to investigate a mystery with supernatural overtones, Hellboy discovers the secrets of his own origins, and his link to the Nazi occultists who promised Hitler a final solution in the for! m of a demonic avatar.Devastated over the loss of his luchador comrade to vampires, Hellboy lingers in Mexican bars until he''s invited to participate in the ultimate wrestling match with a vicious Frankenstein monster!From visionary writer/director Guillermo del Toro (director of Blade II, The Devil's Backbone) comes Hellboy, a supernatural action adventure based on Mike Mignola's popular Dark Horse Comics series of the same name. Born in the flames of hell and brought to Earth as an infant to perpetrate evil, Hellboy (Ron Perlman) was rescued from sinister forces by the benevolent Dr. Broom (John Hurt), who raised him to be a hero. In Dr. Broom's secret Bureau of Paranormal Research and Defense, Hellboy creates an unlikely family consisting of the telepathic "Mer-Man" Abe Sapien (Doug Jones) and Liz Sherman (Selma Blair), the woman he loves who can control fire. Hidden from the very society that theyprotect, they stand as the key line of defens! e against an evil madman who seeks to reclaim Hellboy t! o the da rk side and use his powers to destroy mankind.In the ongoing deluge of comic-book adaptations, Hellboy ranks well above average. Having turned down an offer to helm Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban in favor of bringing Hellboy's origin story to the big screen, the gifted Mexican director Guillermo del Toro compensates for the excesses of Blade II with a moodily effective, consistently entertaining action-packed fantasy, beginning in 1944 when the mad monk Rasputin--in cahoots with occult-buff Hitler and his Nazi thugs--opens a transdimensional portal through which a baby demon emerges, capable of destroying the world with his powers. Instead, the aptly named Hellboy is raised by the benevolent Prof. Bloom, founder of the Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense, whose allied forces enlist the adult Hellboy (Ron Perlman, perfectly cast) to battle evil at every turn. While nursing a melancholy love for the comely firestarter Liz (Selma Bla! ir), Hellboy files his demonic horns ("to fit in," says Bloom) and wreaks havoc on the bad guys. The action is occasionally routine (the movie suffers when compared to the similar X-Men blockbusters), but del Toro and Perlman have honored Mike Mignola's original Dark Horse comics with a lavish and loyal interpretation, retaining the amusing and sympathetic quirks of character that made the comic-book Hellboy a pop-culture original. He's red as a lobster, puffs stogies like Groucho Marx, and fights the good fight with a kind but troubled heart. What's not to like? --Jeff Shannon
web log free