August 30, 2006, 5:11 AM CT

Does your scheme have one?

What about your scheme for pension? Does your scheme have a website?

Awareness of pension scheme websites is considerably higher among employees than the self-employed, reports research funded by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) e-Society programme.

In a survey of 1,337 individuals, Dr Tina Harrison and Kathryn Waite have found that less than a quarter of self-employed individuals know that their pension scheme has a website, and around half of these have actually used it.

Findings show that pension scheme members who have used their scheme website are benefiting from an increased understanding of pensions and, in some cases, an enhanced decision-making capacity.

Many large occupational pension schemes now provide scheme members with a website. Around three-quarters of the occupational scheme members surveyed were aware of their pension website and similarly high proportions had used it. Facilities and features range from purely informational sites, such as web-based scheme booklets, to fully functional integrated sites that allow scheme members to switch funds, change contribution levels and update personal details online. Most popular features are the modellers or calculators that allow members to obtain projections of their benefits and to model 'what if' scenarios.........

Posted by: Tom      Permalink         Source

August 30, 2006, 4:59 AM CT

Alcohol Exposure Brain Link

University of Buffalo researchersstudying the effects of alcohol on the brain, using zebrafish as a model, have identified several novel central nervous system proteins that are affected by chronic alcohol exposure.

These researchers also confirmed the involvement of additional proteins previously suggested as targets of alcohol toxicity, and observed abnormal behavior in the fish resulting from chronic alcohol exposure.

These results are published in the online edition of the European Journal of Pharmacology.

Researchers have found that five proteins are overexpressed and three were underexpressed. These proteins are thought to be involved in critical mechanisms such as programmed cell death, cholesterol balance, amino acid metabolism, oxidative stress and signal transduction.

"Identification of proteins that show selective changes in abundance after alcohol exposure has the potential to unlock new pathways both for understanding the mechanisms of alcoholism and alcohol toxicity, as well as its amelioration," said Richard A. Rabin, Ph.D., professor in the UB Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology and senior author on the study.

Senthilkumar Damodaran, doctoral student in pharmacology, is first author.

The study involved 16 long-fin striped zebrafish, in two trials of eight each, which were placed as a group in a tank with ethyl alcohol for four weeks. Rabin said the researchers chose zebrafish because they are easy to breed and maintain, their DNA sequences are similar to that of humans and they are sensitive to alcohol concentrations.........

Posted by: Sean      Permalink         Source

August 29, 2006, 8:28 PM CT

Shorts 8 24

Tom Tykwer's Perfume, the Bernd Eichinger-produced adaptation of Patrick Süskind's novel, doesn't open in the States until December 27 and doesn't even open in Gera number of until September 14, but Die Zeit's Katja Nicodemus has seen it. I honestly wish I could report that she likes what she's seen. But:.

Perfume is the work of an assiduous illustrator who doesn't know how to use the novel as a gateway to a world of his own imagination. Tom Tykwer may be a fount of invention and enthusiasm, ideas and visions, but his problem is that the images for all this completely escape him. He's the painter who, equipped with all the paints and brushes, stands in front of his easel, the scene before his eyes, and dreams of transcendence but ends up painting by numbers after all.

Anthony Kaufman on Michael Haneke's forthcoming remake of his own Funny Games with Tim Roth and Naomi Watts: "I can't imagine the English language version will be as cold-hearted and subversive as the original version, but then again, with popular, mainstream films such as Hostel and Saw and the US government making torture an accepted aspect of everyday life, maybe Haneke has an even greater licence to upset than he did in 1997."

Charlotte Higgins talks with Charlize Theron about the doc she's produced, East of Havana: "You have to ask: would I take the free healthcare and education and accept being a prisoner in my soul?".........

Posted by: Gina      Permalink         Source

August 29, 2006, 8:24 PM CT

Interview. Jamie Babbit

You know Michael Guillen from The Evening Class (and if you don't, do see his wonderful and quite personal entry in the Friz Freleng Blog-A-Thon and his latest, on Kenji Mizoguchi's Ugetsu). Today sees his first interview for GreenCine, in which he talks with Jamie Babbit not only about her latest feature, The Quiet, but also about what makes the closet such a resilient fixture in Hollywood.

Most critics have found The Quiet frustrating. Cinematical's Martha Fischer, for example, finds it "a movie seething with unrealized potential."

Manohla Dargis in the New York Times: "Neither ambitious enough to take seriously nor sleazy enough to enjoy, The Quiet flirts with the trappings of exploitation cinema without going all the way."

Ella Taylor (LA Weekly/Voice): "The Quiet has an excellent supporting cast in Edie Falco, Martin Donovan, and Katy Mixon, in a minor but more interesting role as the school vixen, and is competently, even lyrically, directed in high definition by Babbit (with input from students at the University of Texas). But thematically the movie never reaches beyond the ready-for-prime-time mentality that specializes in psychological shorthand."

Leading a furious round of Reverse Shot reviews at indieWIRE, Lauren Kaminsky seems pretty ticked off: "[T]his film somehow manages to surpass even American Beauty (to which the filmmakers no doubt hope their effort will be compared) in hateful representations of women, dopily sympathetic men, and heaps of misplaced misogyny." Yikes.........

Posted by: Gina      Permalink         Source

August 29, 2006, 8:10 PM CT

Tom Cruise Gets New (Smaller) Deal

Well. some would call it a rebound signing. Tom Cruise has himself a new deal just a week after getting dumped by Paramount Pictures. No, it's not with another studio. it's with an investment group.

The good folks over at Movieweb give us the following:

Cruise/Wagner Productions (C/W) has partnered with First and Goal, an investment firm headed by Washington Redskins owner Daniel M. Snyder, homebuilding and mortgage banking company NVR chair Dwight Schar and Six Flags prexy-CEO Mark Shapiro.

According to Variety, the deal gives C/W development and overhead costs for two years, with the option to renew long term. A dollar amount was not disclosed. The pact is said to be part one of a three-step process for C/W in setting up an independently operated production shingle post-Paramount. The other two parts of the deal include distribution and finance elements.

From an objective perspective, this (on paper anyway) looks like a pretty good deal for Cruise and his partner Wagner. No, the money won't be nearly as good as it was with his old Paramount deal, but it does offer him a flexibility and freedom he didn't quite have before.

But considering how stupid he's acted with his freedom and flexibility. maybe what he really needed is someone who could hold his leash for him and keep him out of trouble. It'll be interesting to see how this plays out.........

Posted by: Gina      Permalink         Source

August 29, 2006, 8:02 PM CT

The Sarah Connor Chronicles

The Sarah Connor Chronicles are coming. Yes. the same Sarah Connor from The Terminator franchise. Only she isn't coming to a theater near you. she's coming to a TV screen.

Hot on the heels of the Blade TV series, it look like the Terminator is taking to the airwaves. The good folks over at Comingsoon give us this:

The new installment in the "Terminator" franchise revolves around Connor and her savior son, John Connor. The series will explore what happened to Sarah Connor after the end of Terminator 2: Judgment Day, when the character went on the run.

The franchise seems to be in experienced hands too. David Nutter will direct. he's also directed the pilots for Smallville and Supernatural, so the dude seems to know what he's doing.I'll admit that I think this is a great idea. Sarah Connor is a terrific character and I'd love to see the events after T:2.

There isn't any word on cast yet, but it's a pretty safe bet that it won't be Linda Hamilton which at first I thought was too bad. but she is 50 years old now and probably wouldn't fit the bill. What do you think about this?........

Posted by: Gina      Permalink         Source

August 29, 2006, 6:55 PM CT

Get a Quadski and ditch the hitch

No, you're not viewing a still from a James Bond movie. And, no, it's not a Lotus Esprit, either. But, it is a vehicle that's just at ease on the open road as it is on the open water.

Gibbs Technologies Limited, based in the UK, has harnessed the High Speed Amphibian Technology it perfected into an RTV, sports car and an SUV.

The recently released Quadski combines the fun of a jet-ski with a four-wheeler. This true ATV is more than just for fun, as the manufacturer points out, it has great potential as an emergency vehicle for beach rescuers.

The Aquada sports car [pictured above] and the Humdinga SUV have appeared to date only as concept vehicles, but production is moving along and even the US government has expressed interest in the SUV for military purposes. With it's convertible top and water skiing apparatus, the Aquada is definitely for the fun-in-the-sun crowd.

So, whether enjoying a seaside holiday on your Quadski, outrunning men with steel teeth so you can save the world in the nick of time in your feisty roadster, or performing military maneuvers in the Humdinga, there's sure to be a hybrid vehicle just for you. So, now instead of driving your car to the water with your boat in tow, you can 'ditch the hitch!'.........

Posted by: Jim      Permalink         Source

August 29, 2006, 6:42 PM CT

Your Bathroom TV Set

If you can't afford to give your bathroom the luxury of a waterproof TV set, but, you wish you could! Then we have a wonderful option for you that is affordable too, the IP Rated Bathroom TV. The waterproof TV is designed to fit into a wall space approximately the size of a tile. The chrome-finished panel features Sharp's LCD TFT 5-inch screen (diagonal).

The TV comes with a standard 3 pin mains plug, a waterproof remote control, aeriel connection, A/V leads to connect to a DVD/Video etc. The TV features a contrast ratio of 300:1 and it sells for just pounds169.99.........

Posted by: Gina      Permalink         Source

August 29, 2006, 6:24 PM CT

Cruising With The Camaro

GM Chairman and CEO Rick Wagoner met with members of the media Friday at the Athens Coney Island in Royal Oak, Mich., to talk about the Chevrolet Camaro.

The new Camaro will be built at the Oshawa, Ontario, car plant with early production versions at the end of 2008 and sales in early 2009.........

Posted by: Jim      Permalink         Source

August 29, 2006, 6:21 PM CT

Mazda Recalls Award-Winning Engine on the RX-8

Mazda is recalling almost all of its RX-8 models including 2004, 2005 and 2006. The recall is for the RX-8's award winning rotary engine. Mazda is saying that there is a problem with rotary engine where it can leak oil, leading to severe damage.

Owners of a Mazda RX-8 can bring it in for a vacuum test and if the test fails, Mazda will replace the entire engine. During the recall, Mazda will also be checking the starter and the battery.........

Posted by: Jim      Permalink         Source

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