All the members of the MS46122A series are low cost full-reversing 2-port VNAs aimed at RF and microwave applications in manufacturing, engineering and education. All three MS46122A VNAs have 220 microseconds per point sweep speed and better than 100 dB dynamic range making them suitable for a variety of device test applications.
These new VNAs are in packaged in a very compact 1U chassis and are externally controlled via USB from a user supplied PC running the same Graphical User Interface (GUI) software as the rest of the ShockLine family of VNAs. The series does not have any on board memory which simplifies its use in secure applications. The combination of lower cost, small size and good performance make the MS46122A series VNAs ideal for passive device test applications where performance and small form factor are desired.
Features:
•World's first series of compact VNAs to 43.5 GHz for cost-effective measurements.
•PC control takes advantage of external computer processing power and functionality.
•Compact 1U high package for efficient use of bench and rack space.
•No onboard data storage eliminates the need for data purging in secure applications.
•Time domain with time gating option grants easier and faster fault identification.
•A common GUI interface within the ShockLine family reduces switching costs between models.
•Frequency Options: 1 MHz to 43.5 GHz, type Ruggedized K(m) ports
•Dynamic Range: > 110 dB, 14 GHz to 43.5 GHz, typical
•Sweep Speed: 220 μs / data point, typical
•High Level Noise: 1 mdB, 20 MHz to 43.5 GHz, typical
Broadway fans love to whine about movie adaptations overtaking their beloved theaters. But can’t movie buffs also complain about their favorite films getting ruined by the stage? I will — because I’m mad as hell, and I’m not going to take it anymore!
That’s the signature line from the most recent live mangling, “Network,” the new Broadway play based on writer Paddy Chayefsky and director Sidney Lumet’s superb 1976 film. The story is about a 1970s news anchor named Howard Beale, who goes off the rails one night on air and says he’s going to kill himself on live TV.
It’s a personal — and moral — debacle, but a ratings bonanza. And instead of firing him, greedy execs give Howard his own show on which he sells charismatic, angry opinions. Sound familiar?
Critics today laud Chayefsky for correctly predicting the rise of outrage television, those red-faced talking heads lambasting the day’s events. But relevance is meaningless back-patting without a well-told story around it.
That’s the trouble with British playwright Lee Hall’s concentrated script and Belgian director Ivo van Hove’s flashy staging, which began at London’s National Theatre: They forget that “Network” is more than just a portentous, thinky prophecy, it’s a hot-blooded, swift-moving ensemble piece.
Modal TriggerPeter Finch in “Network” (1976)Everett Collection
Underlining that fact, the straightforwardly directed film won three acting Oscars in 1976: Best Actor for Peter Finch as Beale, Best Actress for Faye Dunaway as Diana, the company climber, and Best Supporting Actress for Beatrice Straight, a spurned wife called Louise.
Now, “Network” is the Howard Beale Show from start to finish, and feels holier-than-thou as a result. Tatiana Maslany plays Diana like a one-off Shonda Rhimes character, and Alyssa Bresnahan’s full-throated Louise is not at home in this IKEA-set production. Whereas Finch’s Beale was stoically crazy, but trustworthy, Bryan Cranston turns the character into a loud sidewalk bum. The actor is devoted, and extremely watchable, but too loony.
Modal TriggerChristiani Pitts as Ann Darrow in “King Kong”Joan Marcus
Over at the musical “King Kong,” it’s the producers who are loony.
“We did not go into this naively,” a production source recently told my colleague Michael Riedel after getting pummeled by negative reviews. “I don’t think we ever thought the critics would be on our side. But we’ve got a great title and the big guy delivers the goods.”
Unfortunately for the team that has supported this musical monkeypox, their giant puppet hasn’t delivered much of anything yet. The awful new musical, if you could call it that, was only about 77 percent sold last week. And while 25 puppeteers manipulate Kong’s muscles and limbs in a realistic manner, the ape is responsible for an infuriating moment.
The core idea of the “King Kong” films is that the giant gorilla is not just a lucrative attraction, but a living, breathing creature with a soul and an emotional life. But in British director Drew McOnie’s idiotic production, when King Kong dies after being shot at by laser-equipped helicopters, the audience applauds. The special effects! The spectacle! The monkey corpse! Imagine if Eponine keeled over in “Les Miserables” and the crowd squealed with delight. That scene is the bow atop the year’s biggest theatrical embarrassment.
Writer Jack Thorne also unwisely tosses some pseudo-feminism into this 1930s story by having the main human character, Ann Darrow, lack the ability to scream. Now, the damsel actress can only roar. Patrons should be roaring at the box office about this narrative cop-out.
Modal TriggerSamantha Barks and Andy Karl in “Pretty Woman: The Musical”Matthew Murphy
Feminism also shows up in “Pretty Woman: The Musical,” a forgettable show that has a major advantage over “King Kong” and “Network”: The 1990 movie is neither a classic, nor critically acclaimed. But it is beloved by fans for Julia Roberts’ smiley performance as Vivian, a hooker with a heart of gold who is offered $3,000 by a rich guy to be his companion for a week. How empowering.
Well, that’s what book writers JF Lawton and the late Gary Marshall were going for in this new version. Composer Bryan Adams provides Vivian a few on-the-nose ballads called “This Is My Life” and “I Can’t Go Back” with the aim of giving her more agency and assertiveness (good luck). But “Pretty Woman” is practically a supermarket romance novel complete with Fabio on the cover — not a tale of female heroism. Every self-righteous onstage change is a Band-Aid.
Look — I’m all for adapting and reworking films for the stage. “Billy Elliot: The Musical,” “Hairspray” and “The Producers” all did a bang-up job of it. But so many have been appallingly bad: “Breakfast at Tiffany’s,” “Ghost The Musical,” “Dirty Dancing,” “Frozen,” “Carrie” and “Bullets Over Broadway,” just to name a few. When tackling a screen property, the creative teams’ first question should be, “Why did we love this movie in the first place?” rather than “How can we fix it?”
The headless body of a 3-year-old Indian boy was found Tuesday after the child was snatched from his home and dragged into the woods by a serial-killer leopard, officials said.
The child, identified as Wasim Akram, was at home with his mother when the animal snuck inside, pounced on him and dragged him away, local officials told Agence France-Presse.
The child’s headless body was handed over to his parents after the grisly discovery was made.
The killing was the third blamed on the same leopard in the last two months. One of the other victims was an 8-year-old boy, who was mauled to death on Dec. 7, according to the news agency.
Wildlife officials equipped with tranquilizer guns have been searching the area for the leopard, while local officials in the northern state of Jammu and Kashmir have called for “elimination orders” from the state government.
“The leopard was spotted this morning but we could not trap it,” Jammu regional wildlife warden Tahir Ahmad Shawl told AFP.
There are between 12,000 and 14,000 leopards in India and an estimated 431 were killed in the last year. As development pushes into forested areas, there have been more encounters with humans.
Last week, a Buddhist monk was killed by a leopard while meditating in a forest in the western state of Maharashtra. It was the fifth such attack in the area this month, according to AFP.
Experts told the news agency while there are no exact figures on the number of humans killed every year, it is thought to be in the hundreds.
Hoda Kotb paid tribute to that special bond Wednesday when Kathie Lee joined her colleagues to discuss her retirement from TODAY’s fourth hour, which she has co-hosted with Hoda since 2008.
“I always felt sitting next to you was like a master class in this broadcasting business, because nobody, nobody, nobody does it like you do it,” Hoda said. “Nobody ever has and nobody ever will. You are all by yourself. And I think everything is contagious. Your fearlessness is contagious.”
“All these other projects have been bubbling up in me, and so exciting — the movies and music and just so many wonderful things. And I need the time for them to do them properly,” she told her TODAY colleagues Wednesday.
Kathie Lee said she informed her bosses nearly two years ago about her decision to leave, saying she wanted to step down from the job at her 10-year anniversary this past April.
“So that was the arrangement until we had some turmoil here in our midst,” she said.
Kathie Lee's on-air partnership with the woman she frequently calls her "Egyptian goddess" will be missed after she steps down in April.Nathan Congleton/TODAY
Kathie Lee said she was asked to stay a little longer and she agreed.
“I said, I don’t want to leave, I just have to do my other stuff. So I said if you guys can work it out for me, that I can still do my projects, I’ll stay,” she said. “And I was thrilled with that decision, but now there are like six other projects.”
Does this offend you? The pregnant Duchess of Sussex, rubbing her belly, has drawn flak on social media.Tristan Fewings/BFC / Getty Images
The duchess looked stunning as always, wearing a sleek, one-shoulder black velvet Givenchy gown. But it wasn’t what she was wearing that has been the subject of admonishment from some on social media, but the fact that Meghan cradled her baby bump throughout the night.
The Duchess of Sussex and her husband, Prince Harry, are expecting their first child next spring.
After the couple shared the news publicly, Meghan’s growing belly has been figuring more prominently during her recent public appearances.
Prince Harry and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, during a walk while visiting Australia in October.AP
But even in October when she and the prince were visiting Australia, she has been photographed placing her hands gently beneath her then-just emerging bump.
Getty Images
But some just don't think the look is appropriate.
“#Meghan Markle holding on to that bump like someone’s about to snatch it,” wrote one Twitter user in response to images of the duchess at the awards show.
When will Meghan "Duchess of Sussex", stop constantly cradling her bump! Like the whole bloody world doesn't know shes pregnant & it's not like she doesnt get enough attention she's craves. "I'm here to give an award but il make sure the attention is on me not the winner" #BFA
It’s somewhat hard for pregnant women to avoid their growing bellies, and rubbing their stomach often helps them bond with their baby. Studies show it helps the child, too.
