Ticking News

Wishing really must have its own blog post because this one is meant to tell you about elf school. [1]

Also known as ?lfask?linn in Icelandic, The Icelandic Elf School teaches students and visitors about the hidden people and the 13 different kinds of elves that inhabit the country of Iceland. [2]

Choose your very own Elf Buddy. [3]

Several organizations in Iceland either currently or have employed a full time folklore researcher to determine the impact of construction projects on hidden communities. [2]

Add a cone-shaped hat and turned-up toes on his shoes and he might appear, for all the world (except Iceland), like an elf or gnome, albeit a relatively tall one. [4]

Track Santa Claus in his sleigh on Christmas Eve. [3]

This very hip, casual 4 piece set includes jean and khaki long pants, as well as a white long sleeve shirt and a Red/Green pullover sweater. [5]

Magnus is both the brother of the leader of one of Iceland’s most influential political parties and the head of The Icelandic Elf School. [...] With a curriculum, classrooms, textbooks, diplomas, and ongoing research, ?lfask?linn (Elf School) teaches about the five different types of elves, hidden people, and other invisible beings that inhabit this island nation. [4]

By trying everything the grown up elves do, from baking cookies to knitting stockings, painting toy airplanes to taking care of reindeer, they find what makes them the happiest! [1]

‘ The North Poles most recent announcements? Santa’s Christmas Greeting, Mrs. Claus’ Message, Rudolph’s Message, Glitter the Elf’s Update, the North Pole Weather Report, and Christmas Around the World. [3]

Sweater and shirt are authenticated with the embroidered Elf Magic snowflake, straight from the North Pole for your 10-inch elf! [5]

I’m Yours, Inc. ‘ Designer of gifts for babies, youths, teens, and adults. [...] Books and CDs designed to promote sleep will have your child sleeping quickly and peacefully… so the elves can get to work! [3]

Magn?s has a full curriculum, and certificate programs for visitors that can be earned in as little as half a day. [2]

Sources:
[1] It’s Back to School Time for the Elves!
[2] Icelandic Elf School - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
[3] Links - Elf Magic
[4] In the Land of the Fairy King: Iceland’s Elf School
[5] “School and Party” Collection | Elf Magic

The highly anticipated film centres on an English aristocrat in the 1930s, played by Nicole Kidman, who comes to northern Australia to sell a cattle property the size of Belgium. [1]

Australia is a 2008 epic romance film directed by Baz Luhrmann and starring Nicole Kidman and Hugh Jackman. [2]

Built on lavish vistas and impeccable production, Australia is unfortunately burdened with thinly drawn characters and a lack of originality. [3]

You’ve arrived at the very first website dedicated to the Baz Luhrmann film simply entitled, Australia. [1]

View company contact information for Australia on IMDbPro. [4]

The film begins as a fish-out-of-water comedy, then changes into a Western, then morphs into a romance, and it finishes as a World War II drama. [3]

Homegrown film Australia has been now been released on DVD and BluRay down under, despite it still showing at some cinemas. [...] After an epic journey across the country with a rough-hewn drover, Hugh Jackman, they are caught in the bombing of Darwin during World War II. [1]

Urged on by both pride and a sense of justice, Lady Ashley wants to drive her herd of cattle to Darwin so she can sell them to the troops, but she’ll require the help of an independent cowboy (fellow Aussie Hugh Jackman) to get them there. [3]

Not because it is a better movie, but because it’s very different and a lot more ambitious. [4]

MOULIN ROUGE’s Baz Luhrman and Nicole Kidman reteam for this epic that pays homage to their homeland. [3]

In Australia, on the brink of World War II, an English aristocrat travels to the faraway continent, where she meets a rough-hewn local and reluctantly agrees to join forces with him to save the land she inherited. [5]

The movie was to be released on 13 November 2008 in Australia and 16 November 2008 in the United States; however, Fox announced that it had pushed back the release dates in both Australia and the United States to 26 November 2008, with subsequent worldwide release dates throughout late December 2008 and January and February 2009. [2]

She is determined to have her estranged husband sell his cattle ranch to a monopoly-craving businessman named King Carney (Bryan Brown), but when she arrives, Lord Ashley is dead, and her plan to sell the ranch changes when she sees an employee named Fletcher (David Wenham) cheating her husband’s business and mistreating a young boy named Nullah (Brandon Walters) because he is of mixed race. [...] March 02, 2009: RT on DVD: Exclusive Australia Scene, Beverly Hills Chihuahua and More! [3]

Sources:
[1] Australia - A Baz Luhrmann Film (Fansite)
[2] Australia (2008 Film) - Wikipedia
[3] Australia Movie Reviews, Pictures - Rotten Tomatoes
[4] Australia (2008)
[5] Australia - Yahoo! Movies

Better yet, set your clocks back an hour before you go to bed on October 31, so the clock is accurate when you wake up. [1]

These countries moved their clocks one hour or more ahead at the start of summers and now since winters are arriving and days will be shorter the clocks will be moved back to the original local times. [2]

Daylight saving time in most of the United States ends at 2 a.m., local time, on Sunday, November 1. [3]

Time change due to change in seasons or, in better words, Daylight Saving Time is a phenomenon which is currently being practiced by many countries around the world. [2]

The federal law first passed in 1918 and, thanks to a 2005 revision that went into practice in 2007, now stipulates areas that observe daylight saving time must switch back to standard time at 2 a.m. [3]

Daylight Saving Time In fall of 2009, DST causes clocks to "fall back" an hour on Sunday, November 1 at 2 a.m. [4]

Daylight Savings Time begins at 0200, but Daylight Savings Time 2009 fall back is confusing for many. [...] London has already gotten to Daylight Savings Time today, but one group wants to change their DST as well, since the longer evenings are deadly on the road. [1]

What are the benefits of University of Washington Time ScheduleThe UW Time Schedule lists credit classes offered at the University of Washington - Seattle. [4]

Daylight Savings Time 2009 fall back is November 1. [1]

Daylight Savings Time 2009 Fall Back: A Change Brings Confusion Daylight Savings Time 2009 fall back is on November 1. [4]

As the name implies, Daylight Saving Time (DST) is a new time which is adopted to save daylight and hence to make more use of daylight. [2]

America eventually started using Daylight Savings time in order to save fuel for the war efforts. [...] Acording to a study in a state, part of which observed DST and part which did not, (I think it was michigan or Indiana) The part that did not observe DST in the past and finally converted to its use saw a gross energy use INCREASE over using only standard time year round. [...] Extending the Daylight Savings Time fall back causes a lot of confusion, especially when other countries still have Daylight Savings Time fall back set for this week. [1]

Sources:
[1] Daylight Savings Time 2009 Fall Back: A Change Brings …
[2] Time Change Fall 2009
[3] Daylight Savings Time 2009: When and Why We Fall Back
[4] TIME CHANGE FALL 2009

The WIAA football playoffs begin Tuesday night. [1]

Union Grove’s Dan Vyvyan rushes the ball during the first quarter of the Broncos’ victory in a WIAA Division 3 first-round playoff game against New Berlin West Tuesday at Union Grove High School. [2]

The south-central bracket is underwhelming, save for what could be an explosive Saturday, Oct. 31 rematch between Arrowhead (7-1) and Waukesha West (9-0). [...] Perennial powers Wisconsin Lutheran (7-2) and New Berlin Eisenhower (8-1) are the top-seeded teams in the south-eastern bracket, jam-packed with eight area teams. [...] The south-eastern bracket is loaded, with a potential quarterfinal game between Kenosha Bradford and Milwaukee Marquette (both 9-0) on tap. [1]

Posted in High-school on Tuesday, October 27, 2009 11:00 pm Updated: 12:59 pm. [3]

Each year, the WIAA (and at least one independent high school sports Web site) promise they have arranged for plenty of bandwidth to handle the crush of hits coming from coaches, players, fans and media from every corner of the state. [...] Milwaukee Riverside (8-1) will have a tough go if it can beat Kenosha Tremper (5-4) in its opener, with possible games against Bradford and then possibly Marquette to follow. [...] One minor event that could hurt Homestead’s chances to win a repeat Division 1 title and its third in the last four years: The school’s athletic director, Charlie Gross, neglected to inform the WIAA that Homestead was interested in playing host to football playoff games. [...] Thanks to the vagaries of the WIAA’s seeding rules, the distribution of the qualifiers has led to some interesting first-round matchups. [...] City Conference champion Bradley Tech (8-1), the largest school (enrollment-wise) in the division, drew the top seeding in the southeastern bracket. [...] Bay Port (8-1) could be headed for a quarterfinal date with the winner of the Homestead-Falls clash. [...] The only area team in the field is St. John’s Northwestern Military Academy of Delafield, and the Lancers (5-4) will be underdogs in their opening game at Winnebago Lutheran Academy (8-1) in Fond du Lac. [...] High-powered Franklin (7-2) is seeded third and plays host to Greendale (7-2) on Tuesday in a game that will be a passing enthusiast’s dream - the Sabers and Panthers have the area’s two most prolific passing offenses. [1]

Sources:
[1] OnMilwaukee.com Sports: WIAA sets state playoff pairings for …
[2] WIAA FOOTBALL PLAYOFF SCORES
[3] WIAA FOOTBALL PLAYOFF SCORES

A balk ordinarily results in an immediate dead ball and nullification of any pitch, and each runner is awarded one base. [1]

Games One of the spaces between the cushion and the balk line on a billiard table. [2]

A balk restricts the actions of the pitcher when there are runners on base. [3]

Baseball To make an illegal motion before pitching, allowing one or more base runners to advance one base. [2]

Most basically, a pitcher is restricted to a certain set of motions and one of two basic pitching positions before and during a pitch; if these are violated with a runner or runners on base, a balk is called. [4]

In general, a balk is called whenever a pitcher interrupts the pitching motion. [3]

In baseball, a pitcher may commit a number of illegal motions or actions which constitute a balk. [...] It should be noted that the pitcher’s acts of spitting on the ball, defacing or altering the ball, rubbing the ball on the clothing or body, or applying a foreign substance to the ball, are not balks. [4]

Our pitcher was in the process of bringing his hands together in the stretch and backed off the rubber and threw to first. [...] If a pitcher balks but the batter puts the ball in play, this is *not* an option play. [...] Simply, if all of the runners and the batter advance at least one base, then the balk is ignored. [3]

If the pitcher should commit an act confusing to the batter with nobody on, or if he stops his delivery or otherwise violates because the batter steps out or otherwise acts confusingly, time is called and the play restarted without penalty (whether or not runners are on base). [1]

If even one runner does not advance, the pitch does not count, the batter returns to bat and all runners are given one base. [3]

A pitcher is allowed to feint toward third (or second) base, and then turn and throw or feint to first base if his pivot foot disengages the rubber after his initial feint. [1]

To stop short and refuse to go on: The horse balked at the jump. [2]

Sources:
[1] Balk - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
[2] balk - definition of balk by the Free Online Dictionary …
[3] What Is a Balk in Baseball?
[4] balk: Definition, Synonyms from Answers.com