Source Code and Rubber

Crazy day. One minute you're in Afghanistan, fighting a war, the next you're on a commuter train to Chicago, sitting across from a woman you've never seen before who's nattering away like she knows you. She keeps calling you Sean. Which is not your name. Very strange. Then the train blows up.

Source Code is a tight little sci-fi thriller with a nice, knotty premise, and it does its job in a commendable 93 minutes. It's a lot of fun, and its time-crunching suspense, heightened by the efficiency of its execution—the nimble way it's been blocked, shot, and edited—sticks in your mind. The director, Duncan Jones, whose low-budget Moon was one of the niftiest surprises of 2009, has a natural facility for science fantasy, and here, given more money to work with, he brings off another small genre gem.

Jake Gyllenhaal is Colter Stevens, the man on the train, an Army helicopter pilot whose life only appeared to end in that fiery explosion. He subsequently finds himself someplace else, with a monitor near at hand on which an Air Force officer named Colleen Goodwin (Vera Farmiga) explains that Stevens has been on a secret mission into the very recent past—only a few hours previously—to find the bomb that blew up that train and, more important, the man who placed it onboard. The bomber, it seems, has planned an even more-lethal follow-up atrocity.

Stevens is still baffled. So Colleen's boss, a frosty doctor named Rutledge (Jeffrey Wright), joins her to help clarify what's happening. Stevens, it turns out, is part of a government experiment involving “source code,” a new technology that allows someone to be inserted into the mind of another person during the last eight minutes of that person's life. Asked exactly how this whatever-it-is works, Rutledge offers a timeless sci-fi explanation: “It's very complicated.”

The rest of the picture follows Stevens on repeated eight-minute missions back to the ill-fated train. Each time, hassling suspicious passengers and desperately searching for likely bomb-hiding places, he unearths a new clue. He also grows increasingly fond of the woman sitting opposite him, the bright, pretty Christina Warren (Michelle Monaghan). But his return visits are inevitably cut short by that ball of fire before he can solve the puzzle.

The structure of Ben Ripley's script, with its cuticle-chewing race against time, strongly recalls Alfred Hitchcock, as does Chris Bacon's nerve-pinch score, which is richly reminiscent of the master's favored composer, Bernard Herrmann. And what might have been a one-note tale blossoms with intriguing ramifications. Slowly falling in love with Christina, Stevens becomes determined to save her life. But Rutledge tells him he can't—she's already dead, the train having been destroyed a few hours earlier. (Here, in traditional sci-fi fashion, the story begins not adding up, but so what.)

Gyllenhaal, competent as always, gets solid support from his costars. Monahan, mainly confined to repeating the same lines of dialog each time Stevens revisits the train, radiates a beaming sweetness that grows on us as much as it grows on him—we understand his interest. And Farmiga, whose character is little more than a face on a screen, manages to convey deepening emotional shifts. But the sharp, tricky story is the real star here, and Jones, a director of clear gifts, knows just how to drive it home.

My country, Saudi Arabia: 'We're all in this together'

The lights are dim. It's almost sunset. Silence pervades. Standing in line next to dozens of

others on colourful rubber mats, I think of the resemblance between Maghrib (sunset) prayers

in Jeddah, demonstrations in the Arab world and my yoga class in New York City's East

Village.

Our young instructor asks us to get closer to each other and try to fit an extra two people

in each line. I smile. Her words remind me of the Imam at our local mosque in Jeddah. "Unite

your lines," the Imam always urged us before leading the prayer. "Don't leave a space for the

devil among you."

Stretching, I meditate on the reason behind the call for mass demonstrations in Arab

countries after Friday prayers. But of course. United, faithful, serene, equal and barefoot,

together we stand, kneel and prostrate ourselves to a higher cause, always making sure there

is no space for the devil to separate us from our comrades or lure us into evil. We're all in

this together. No one could've guessed that, at some point in our history, the serenity of

prayers would release, so naturally, all the rage and frustration that Arab dictatorships

suppressed for decades.

From an early age, I had questions, doubts and rage. It was hard for me to focus and be calm

during prayers. I always felt guilty and ashamed for betraying God in his house of worship. I

daydreamed of my own revolution, when women, courageously inflamed by injustice, would take

to the streets of Arabia and demand freedom.

Now, in Manhattan, as a 32-year-old woman, I listen as my yoga instructor urges us to relax,

to breathe in and breathe out, to free my mind. As usual, I fail. This time I have a good

excuse, and I'm neither ashamed nor scared to declare it. I'm an Arab. Revolutions are

sweeping my part of the world — hurray! I'm happy, very happy and proud. But above all, I'm

restless.

As an Arab, a Saudi and a woman witnessing Arab revolts from a distance, I feel exuberant yet

frustrated that I'm not taking a direct part in making history. My sense of loneliness

deepens, despite my attempts to console myself with standing in line in "secular prayers." My

anxiety accelerates. Glued to Twitter and Facebook feeds, I get news from first-hand sources.

The bravery makes me tear up one second, and the very next crack up at the protesters' sense

of humour. It turns out we're funny too.

Will revolution find its way to my land? Yes, the uprising has indeed reached Saudi Arabia.

As soon as I hear the news my panic vanishes. A group of 5th graders in a public girls'

school in Riyadh has echoed the Egyptians. They yell loudly: "The people want to bring down

the principal."

My fellow sisters and future dissidents, comrades, I have faith in you. Stay close to each

other, shoulder to shoulder. Pray for us. Pray for our salvation and sanity.

Bennett, Mock secure bid to NCAAs

Until 197-pound freshman Zac Bennett pummeled Maryland's Christian Boley 10-4, North

Carolina was winless in six semifinal matches at the ACC Championships. The win for

Bennett matched him up with Virginia Tech's Chris Penny for an ACC title and a trip

to the NCAA championships.

The 197-pound championship was a rematch of a bout that Bennett won 9-6 in Carmichael

Arena in January.

This time, with a 6-3 lead in the final two minutes, Bennett kept Penny from rolling

his back to the mat and squeaked around behind Penny for the clinching reversal. With

the riding time advantage Bennett took the title bout 9-5.

"I just try to stay tight in those positions, hang on the guy, keep moving if you

can." Bennett said. "You never want to start letting go or stop moving."

Bennett's first-place finish was the highlight of the team's fourth place finish.

"We expected it, that's what I expected him to do." UNC coach C.D. Mock said about

his ACC Champion. "I think anything less than that tonight, he and we would have been

disappointed … As far as I'm concerned he's legitimately the best guy in the weight

class."

Even though the rest of the Tar Heels struggled in the semifinals it didn't seem to

negatively affect them in their third-place matches.

For twenty minutes in the middle of the consolation finals, the Tar Heels dominated

both mats on the floor at John Paul Jones Arena and like everything else this season

for the North Carolina wrestling team it all started with Corey Mock.

The freshman 157-pounder took to the mat with a trip to the NCAA championships on the

line against Virginia's Shawn Harris in the consolation final. Mock shot and scored a

take down near the edge of the mat in front of the scorer's table but we quickly

reversed and Harris nearly managed to make Mock's shoulder graze the mat.

Later in the period, Harris held Mock by the left ankle before Mock slid around

behind him for the escape and the reversal giving him a 7-2 lead that he wouldn't

relinquish.

Before Mock's hand was raised in victory in the center of mat one, Thomas Scotton

already had control of his own third place bout at 165-pounds. Down on the mat in the

first period, the senior successfully pushed Virginia's Jedd Moore's right shoulder

to the rubber scoring the full three-point near fall after the takedown. Scotton lead

5-1 after the first period.

"That is my number one move from the high crotch and I never hit it, I only hit it in

practice," Scotton said. "I knew then, I was like this is from God, because I never

turn anybody."

Both Scotton and Mock were waiting for the clock to run out on their opponents and

we're warned about stalling but they leads the two of them had built were too much

for the Cavaliers to overcome.

When Mock's match came to an end, it was redshirt junior Thomas Ferguson's turn to

take control of the circle. Ferguson was matched up with Virginia Tech's Matt

Epperly, a two-time ACC champion, in the 174-pound third-place match.

Ferguson put the nail in the coffin with an emphatic takedown with just less than a

minute left in the bout. The score was 3-2 when Ferguson snatched Epperly between the

legs, lifting him off his feet and pounding him to the mat. The ensuing near fall

gave Ferguson the 8-2 lead, with the point for riding time Ferguson won the match 9-

2.

Freshman Pat Owens and fifth year senior Nick Stabile both fell in the consolation

finals taking fourth place.

Bennett and Mock were the only Tar Heels to secure bids to the national championship

but coach Mock expects a few more of his wrestlers to receive at-large bids.

"I'll be pretty disappointed if Ferguson doesn't get a bid." Mock said. "There's a

very good chance that Giorgio and Scotton could get bids, but we won't know until

Wednesday."

After his third place finish Scotton described the win as bitter sweet and hopes that

it won't be his last bout as a Tar Heel.

"It's not in my hands so you never know," Scotton said. "Hopefully there's a lot of

coaches that are Thomas Scotton fans."

Is Astroturf Eco After All?

Who would have thought that artificial turf would be good for the environment? I know

I have always thought of it as a blight, a replacement for natural grass that didn't

make environmental sense. Turns out I was short-sighted in my judgement of turf. It

saves natural resources and provides another use for a potentially caustic waste

product.

According to the Synthetic Turf Council, replacing natural grass fields with

artificial turf can save substantial amounts of water, three billion gallons in North

America. Also, the turf doesn't require fertilizers or pesticides to keep it looking

green, saving over a billion pounds in chemicals. Mowing is not required, saving

energy and reducing smog emissions. This lack of maintenance is one reason it is the

perfect surface for indoor arenas.

Artificial turf is made of recycled tires, called crumb rubber, keeping them from

inhabiting landfills or being burned. According to Liberty Tire Recycling, over 105

million used tires have been recycled to make turf in North America. Liberty is the

number one provider of recycled tires in the U.S.

The crumb rubber provides cushioning and springiness to the turf, protecting athletes

from injury. It also helps the turf dry quickly, drain excess water, reduce mud and

dust, and minimize freezing. Crumb rubber is also used to make welcome mats,

antifatigue mats, portable speedbumps, and weightlifting plates.

"Synthetic turf is an excellent investment for the environment," said Jeffrey Kendall,

CEO of Liberty Tire Recycling. "It provides an outlet for millions of scrap tires and

helps to keep these tires out of the waste stream. We hope that the work and research

the Synthetic Turf Council performs will help to increase awareness about the numerous

benefits synthetic turf can provide for our environment and our communities."

While it may not single-handedly save the planet, artificial turf can lower the

environmental impact of sports arenas and fields, as well as saving on maintenance

expenses.