Thor

BOONSBORO -- Nagarajan Rangarajan points to a mark on Thor's left shoulder and explains that it's a seat-belt rub burn."A lot of people get them in car crashes," he says.Thor -- and Rangarajan -- know a lot about car crashes. In the past few months, Thor has been involved in more crashes than most motorists will suffer in a lifetime. There will be many more.Thor is the next-generation auto crash-test dummy, and he's being developed by Gesac Inc., a small research and development company that specializes in safety programs in this small Washington County town.

This week, we asked about your favorite movies from 2011. Here's what you had to say. ••••  “Thor” --A ndrew Daugherty  via Facebook ••••  “The Help” --J ennifer Mundie  via Facebook ••••  I really liked “Hesher”! --K elly Mitchell  via Facebook ••••  “Bridesmaids" was f---ing hilarious and so was "The Hangover 2". --C arol Ann Sonnet-McCall  via Facebook •••• “Midnight in Paris” --R ex Anderson  via Facebook ••••  “Rise of the Planet of the Apes” --T akeeta Baker  via Facebook ••••  “Hugo” --L indsay Wailes  via Facebook ••••  “The Muppets.” I laughed, I cried, I left feeling happy.

Here's the difference between Paul Day and the rest of the world: Where most people see a broken-down ATV on the side of an interstate, Day sees a Transformer. Not only does he see it, but he turns it into one. Which is why, unlike the average citizen, he's an award-winning creator of superhero costumes. "Yeah, I found parts of Bumblebee on the side of I-95," says Day, 45, whose take on the most outgoing of the Transformers, that alien race that can turn themselves into motor vehicles, won 2009's inaugural Baltimore Comic-Con costume contest.

Stan Lee is one proud father these days. You'd be proud, too, if your progeny included Spider-Man, Iron Man, Thor and the Fantastic Four — characters whose films routinely bring in a few hundred million dollars at the movie box office. Not that Lee has much to do with the movies themselves: His connection is restricted to a largely honorary executive-producer credit and a cameo in each film — as a swinging Hugh Hefner-type in "Iron Man," mailman Willie Limpkin in "Fantastic Four," an Army general in this summer's "Captain America.

NEW POSITIONS* DynAir, an aviation support company in Reston, Va., appointed Thor Johnson executive vice president.* CAE-Link Corp. in Silver Spring, a provider of training systems, appointed A. Larry Staudmeister director of businessdevelopment.* UNC Inc., an Annapolis-based aviation company, named Kenneth R. Munkittrick president of the Chemical Dynamics Division in Weatherford, Texas.

Thor Group president earns counselor award Jeffrey H. Hider, president of the Thor Group LLC Business Brokerage and M&A Services in Severna Park, was awarded the Certified Business Counselor designation during the Institute of Business Counselors' 28th annual National Educational Program and Conference recently in Chicago. Hider was given the award after meeting experience requirements and completing continuing education as required by the institute to maintain an accredited status. The institute is a professional association that is devoted to enhancing the knowledge and professionalism of business advisers and intermediaries who are active in the preparation, marketing and sale of privately held businesses.

FRESNO, Calif. -- There's no other way to say it: Tony Presser and Joe Thor believe in aliens from outer space.Not just a vague suspicion that "something is out there."They are true enthusiasts in a global subculture with millions of fellow believers, computer data bases, books and a mishmash of theories.The theories explain everything from strange lights in the sky to secret military bases to the John F. Kennedy assassination to the origin of modern man and Jesus Christ to cattle mutilations.

Moe paced nervously outside the meat locker on the second floor of The Sun building."It's Thor," he said. "He has locked the door and refuses to come out."Thor and Moe are the two enforcers that The Sun keeps on hand in order to encourage good citizenship.If you have ever paid for just one newspaper, for instance, but have taken more than one from a newspaper box, Thor and Moe are the guys who jump out of the bushes and beat a little good citizenship into your skull.Once a year, Thor and Moe also serve as my Poetry Police, enforcing the rules of my poetry contest.

Thor and Moe were manning the telephones and pretending to be the Readers' Representative."Gee, you don't have the late Orioles' score in your paper?" Moe said. "Then howzabout I come to your house and tattoo it on your forehead, you sniveling little geek!""The capital of Sri Lanka is not Cleveland?" Thor said. "Are you sure? We rarely make mistakes. But we value all calls, even those from demented weasels such as yourself."Thor and Moe are the two enforcers who live in a meat locker on the second floor of The Sun building.

Thor sat cross-legged on the floor. He was wearing a tie-dyed T-shirt and cut-off blue jeans. He had flowers in his hair.Moe sat across from him, putting love beads on a string."

now playing "Bridesmaids" (R). A bride to be (Maya Rudolph) worries that her upcoming wedding will be ruined by her increasingly jittery best friend and maid of honor (Kristen Wiig). This is an uneven comedy, but there are endearing performances and a few very funny scenes. Grade: B TownMall Cinemas (1:30, 4:30, 7:10, 10:05) "Fast Five" (PG-13). The latest "Fast and Furious" installment is, er, as fast and furious as ever. Its vaguely plotted story is really about muscles flexing and cars crashing in scenic Rio de Janeiro.

Here's the difference between Paul Day and the rest of the world: Where most people see a broken-down ATV on the side of an interstate, Day sees a Transformer. Not only does he see it, but he turns it into one. Which is why, unlike the average citizen, he's an award-winning creator of superhero costumes. "Yeah, I found parts of Bumblebee on the side of I-95," says Day, 45, whose take on the most outgoing of the Transformers, that alien race that can turn themselves into motor vehicles, won 2009's inaugural Baltimore Comic-Con costume contest.

now playing "Bridesmaids" (R). A bride to be (Maya Rudolph) worries that her upcoming wedding will be ruined by her increasingly jittery best friend and maid of honor (Kristen Wiig). This is an uneven comedy, but there are endearing performances and a few very funny scenes. Grade: B TownMall Cinemas (1:00, 4:00, 7:00, 9:50) "Fast Five" (PG-13). The latest "Fast and Furious" installment is, er, as fast and furious as ever. Its vaguely plotted story is really about muscles flexing and cars crashing in scenic Rio de Janeiro.

Thor, the Marvel Comics superhero, hammered his way into movie theaters over the weekend, saving the world, winning Natalie Portman and grossing about $66 million. Kenneth Branagh's "Thor" is based on Stan Lee's Thor, which is based on the Thor of Norse mythology — god of thunder and protector of mankind. Some pioneering scientists of the early 19th century were so taken with Thor's immortal powers that they named a radioactive element after him. Nearly two centuries later, some modern scientists, including a Nobel Prize laureate, believe thorium could play a major role in saving mankind from global warming.

HP and Fandango are offering $5 off your Fandango.com purchase made by 4/30 at midnight. Just start at  http://www.fandango.com/promo/hpfeefree  and type in your zip code. After that just pick the theater/movie you want and follow the steps as usual and $5 will automatically be taken off at checkout. Now I can afford to see Thor and Vin Diesel vs The Rock!

On November 27, 2009, Thor S. Ramsland, Stacey, and Jill E. Walls and her husband Wesley. Devoted brother of Arnfinn B. Ramsland, Peer S. Ramsland, and Lynn M. Snyder. Loving grandfather of Marissa, Jason, Kristina, Natasha, Ryan, and Elizabeth. The family will receive friends at the family-owned Ruck Towson Funeral Home, Inc., 1050 York Road (beltway exit 26) on Wednesday from 3 to 5 and 7 to 9 P.M., where funeral services will be held on Thursday at 11:00 A.M. Interment Parkwood Cemetery.

Phyllis Rubin drives back and forth to work with a real dummy.Thor doesn't second-guess her driving, doesn't talk back, spill drinks on the seat or fall asleep and snore.In fact, he doesn't do anything but sit there unblinking, stuffed head and all, a silent guard against carjackers and other rogues who populate the streets.Thor is Safe-T-Man, a latex dummy marketed through the American Automobile Association and Sharper Image stores for up to $119, plus tax, shipping and handling. Legs are extra.

Thor loped into the room, removed a gigantic leather sap from his rear pocket and sat down on the couch with a thud."I hate it when they talk back," he said. "It just makes it worse for them."Moe nodded his agreement and slipped brass knuckles off a fist the size of a country ham. "They bring it on themselves," he said. "We are not to blame."Thor and Moe are the two broken-nose enforcers who live in a meat locker on the second floor of the Sun building. They are ambassadors of goodwill.What was it today?

Bowie Community Theatre president Janice Coffey says this season is "all about laughter," and the troupe drew plenty of it last weekend with Larry Shue's The Nerd. Shue died in 1985 at age 39 in a commuter plane crash in Virginia's Blue Ridge Mountains. His sitcom-style play opened on Broadway two years later, mixing a fun plot filled with colorful characters and physical and verbal comedy. As a bonus, it has a surprise ending. Bob Kauffman, former Anne Arundel Community College theater department chairman, recalled meeting Shue while taking students on a 1985 New York theater tour, which included seeing Shue's off-Broadway hit The Foreigner.

KATHLEEN ANN (WITT), wife of the late Dennis Richard Cahill, passed away on January 20, 2007. She is the loving mother of Kimberly Darland (Doyle) of Kentucky, Kelly Frush, Kerry Cahill Creech (Herb) and Kathleen Cahill Christoforou (Nicholas), all of Baltimore. She is the loving grandmother of Steven Kenneth Frush, Jr., Kristin Nicole Cahill, and Thor Steven Christoforou. She is also survived by her sisters, Charlotte Wolf, Mary Stanley, Margaret Deviney, and her brother Thomas W. Wolf.