QUES: On his return to Nuremberg in 1495, Durer opened his own workshop (being married was a requirement for this). Over the next five years his style increasingly integrated Italian influences into underlying Northern forms. Durer's father died in 1502, and his mother died in 1513. His best works in the first years of the workshop were his woodcut prints, mostly religious, but including secular scenes such as The Men's Bath House (ca. 1496). These were larger and more finely cut than the great majority of German woodcuts hitherto, and far more complex and balanced in composition. It is now thought unlikely that Durer cut any of the woodblocks himself; this task would have been performed by a specialist craftsman. However, his training in Wolgemut's studio, which made many carved and painted altarpieces and both designed and cut woodblocks for woodcut, evidently gave him great understanding of what the technique could be made to produce, and how to work with block cutters. Durer either drew his design directly onto the woodblock itself, or glued a paper drawing to the block. Either way, his drawings were destroyed during the cutting of the block.
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MY QUESTION: Durer was able to create larger and more complex woodcuts relative to the majority of other German's because of Durer's experience working where?

QUES: Sam Farragut is a sociopathic business executive in Southern California who forces a team of advertising agency employees to embark on a dangerous dirtbike trip to the Baja California desert in order to compete for his business . The men are Warren Summerfield , a suicidal middle-aged ad executive who has been fired from the agency ; the straightlaced Paul McIlvain who is inattentive to his wife , and brash art designer Maxon who feels suddenly trapped after his girlfriend announces she is pregnant . There are numerous long sequences of motorcycle riding on desert backroads . Summerfield has been having an affair with McIlvian's wife . He has not told his wife that he was fired and is simply serving out his tenure at the agency while looking for a new position . His wife is actually aware of the affair . Farragut convinces the ad men to make the motorcycle journey on the pretext of looking for a location to shoot a commercial . In reality , Farragut is reckless and looking to involve the men in spontaneous edgy adventure of his own manipulation . After they leave , McIlvain's wife suspects that Summerfield is planning to kill himself for the insurance money , but she can not convince Summerfield's wife to instigate a search . The four men travel deeper into Mexico on isolated dirt roads . At one point Summerfield contemplates plunging off a cliff . After being humiliated by a young American couple in a Baja bar , Farragut tracks them down on the beach while accompanied by Maxon .
Do you have any questions?
MY QUESTION: What are the real reasons Frarrugut has planned this trip?

QUES: '' The Octopus , '' a masked crime lord , is bent on crippling the nation with a wave of terror . He starts with the transportation system and then moves onto industry . He demands tribute from railroad magnates and other captains of industry . Richard Wentworth , an amateur criminologist who is friendly with the police , is secretly '' The Spider , '' a masked vigilante equally determined to wipe the Octopus and his gang off the face of the earth . Pleasant and smiling in civilian life , Wentworth is often ruthless as the Spider , slinging two guns against the public enemies who attack him . Wentworth also masquerades as affable underworld lowlife Blinky McQuade . Disguised as McQuade , Wentworth can infiltrate gangland at the hired-gun level and keep current on the gang's plans . The only people who know Wentworth's other identities are his assistants Jackson and Ram Singh , his butler Jenkins , and his fianc e Nita . The Octopus was a villain in a single issue pulp believed to have been written by Norvell Page who wrote most of The Spider pulp stories . He is garbed completely in white and is only ever seen sitting in a chair . Unlike the pulps , The Spider is garbed in a lightweight full length costume with web-like markings on it Which resemble Spiderman's costume . The serial follows the standard formula of fights , shoot-outs , Wentworth's friends being kidnapped at various times and having to be rescued . Each chapter ends with The Spider or his friends in deep trouble , often about to be killed , but the effect is spoiled by a trailer for the next episode Which shows them in full health and fighting the villains .
Do you have any questions?
MY QUESTION: With what national system did the villain "The Octopus" start his reign of terror?

QUES: Representing yourself in court can be a tricky endeavor. There are confusing legal terms to learn, strict procedures to follow and volumes of case law that often need to be understood to prepare a case. Lake County officials and a private agency that assists indigent litigants in Illinois want to make the practice easier by creating a self-help center for people who choose to represent themselves in legal matters. The center, which will be housed in the law library at the main courthouse in Waukegan, could open later this summer. "I think it's going to be extremely helpful," Court Administrator Bob Zastany said. "There is a population out there that will take advantage of this resource." The self-help center will be the only one of its kind in the county. Only a few operate nationwide, officials said. The project is the work of Lake County circuit court officials and Prairie State Legal Services, a statewide agency with an office in Waukegan that provides information and legal assistance to poor and elderly Illinois residents. The organization has received a $25,000 grant from the Illinois Equal Justice Foundation, a nonprofit group that funds programs designed to increase access to legal information and assistance, to help pay for the effort. Prairie State will share the money with the county. The county's law library is on the first floor of the governmental center at 18 N. County St. The new self-help center will be designed to help litigants find the information they need to properly represent themselves in court, an undertaking that can be complicated and confusing. "Some people can do OK on their own, and some people can do OK with some help," said Linda Rothnagel, the managing attorney for Prairie State Legal Services. "But other people can't do it. It's not always easy." Self-representation is a right affirmed by the U.S. Supreme Court. The practice is far more common in civil matters than in criminal cases. In fact, self-represented litigants - formally called "pro se" in Latin, or "for oneself" - in criminal defenses are so rare that statistics about the practice generally are not kept, legal experts say.
Do you have any questions?
MY QUESTION:
Why can representing yourself in court be "a tricky endeavor"?