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Aladin ou la lampe merveilleuse. [Note, July 11, 2011. The release of a considerable number of Capellani films on DVD since the 2010 festival has allowed me to add some frames to my examples below. The frames from L'Arlésienne, L'Épouvante, and Pauvre mère are new, and the one from Cendrillon has been replaced by a better copy. For more on the DVD, see the entry on the second half of the retrospective.] Back in the 1980s and early 1990s, researchers into silent cinema became used to the discovery of little-known auteurs. The 1910s proved an exceptionally rich source of directors beyond the familiar names of Griffith, Ince, Chaplin, Feuillade, Lubitsch, Stiller, and Sjöström. In 1986 Le Giornate del Cinema Muto’s epic retrospective of pre-1919 Scandinavian cinema revealed the Swedish master Georg af Klercker. In 1989, a similarly ambitious presentation of pre-Revolutionary Russian films brought the work of Evgeni Bauer to light. In 1990, the “Before Caligari” year added Franz Hofer to the list of obscure directors at last receiving their due. After that quick series of revelations, there has been a dearth of such significant revelations until, some would argue, now. This year Bologna’s Il Cinema Ritrovato presented 24 films directed by Albert Capellani (1874-1931), previously known mainly to specialists for two films, his magisterial adaptations of Hugo in the four-part serial Les Misérables (1912) and of Zola in Germinal (1913). The retrospective has been arranged by Mariann Lewinsky, who, as in previous years, has also been responsible for this year’s “Cento anni fa” program, covering the output of 1910. (The “Cento anni fa” series began in 2003, with Tom Gunning as programmer, and Mariann took over that duty in 2004.) A gradual rediscovery When Georges Sadoul wrote his multi-volume Histoire général du cinéma, the second part (1948) mentioned Capellani a few times. With the lack of available prints of the films, however, he was limited to treating the director primarily as the head of S.C.A.G.L., the prestige production unit launched by Pathé in 1908. Richard Abel’s The Ciné Goes to Town: French Cinema 1896-1914 (1994) devotes considerably more space to Capellani. Dick was able to view and analyze seven of the shorts and four features but was hampered by the incompleteness of some of these and the lack of such key films as L’Arlésienne (1908). As Mariann points out in her program notes, Capellani’s significance has been commented on by several scholars, including our colleagues Ben Brewster and Lea Jacobs. (Ben’s detailed analysis of the acting in Germinal is here, including a citation to a 1993 article on the film by Michel Marie). Mariann, however, has recently been instrumental in bringing Capellani’s films to broader attention. The decision to mount retrospectives of his work has spurred archives to restore several which had been unavailable or lost, and more prints will presumably be ready for next year. Capellani has actually been creeping up on us in Bologna for some time now. In 2006, Mariann’s programs from 100 years ago had reached 1906–the year when Capellani’s career really got started, though at least one of his films appeared in 1905. We saw only one from 1906, La Fille du sonneur. I can’t say that I remember anything about it. In the 1907 program, Les Deux soeurs, Le Pied de mouton, and Amour d’esclave. Again, I probably would have to say that I don’t recall these films, except that I vaguely recognized Le Pied de mouton, a fairy tale about a young man who receives a magic object in the form of a large sheep’s foot, when it was shown again this year. By 2008, however, a pattern had started to emerge, and Mariann showed seven Capellani films, with six of them forming one program devoted solely to the director’s work, “Albert Capellani and the Politics of Quality”: La Vestale, Mortelle idylle, Corso tragique, Samson, L’Homme aux gants blancs, and Marie Stuart. The seventh, Don Juan, appeared in the “Men of 1908″ program.In visiting archives and choosing films Mariann often saw prints without credits and from unknown directors, so the pattern only gradually became clear. In the 2008 catalogue she reflected on her realization that Capellani was showing up regularly in her choices for the annual centennial celebrations: “When organising the 1907 programme, however, in the light of Amour d’esclave, a gorgeous mise-en-scène of classical antiquity, I asked myself for the first time, ‘Who made this sophisticated film?’” She speculated that the relative neglect of Capellani perhaps came from the Surrealists’ campaign against highbrow filmmaking during the 1910s and 1920s: From his very first film on–the memorable Le chemineau of 1905, based on an episode from Victor Hugo’s Les Misérables–Albert Capellani transports the contents and qualities of bourgeois culture to the cinema. He films Zola, Hugo and Daudet–his Arlésienne of 1908 has unfortunately been lost. His many fairy tale films (scène des contes), biblical and historical scenes reveal him as a great art director, who also adopted the latest developments in modern dance and worked with its stars Stacia Napierkowska and Mistinguiette. Highly versatile, he had an unerring sense of the best approach to a given genre. Fortunately, L’Arlésienne has subsequently been discovered by Lobster Films, just in time to be presented this year. The 2009 program contained only two Capellani films, but one was the extraordinary Zola adaptation L’Assommoir. This had been known only from fragments until a complete copy was found in Belgium. It displays an unusual degree of realism that fits the naturalist subject matter and also contains complex and deft staging that moves numerous characters around a scene in a way that shifts the spectator’s attention among them exactly as the flow of the narrative requires. The other, La Mort du Duc d’Enghien, was shown again this year. It’s a rare case of an historical drama of the period that manages to arouse a genuine sympathy for its main character, a young nobleman unjustly arrested and executed upon Napoleon Bonaparte’s orders. More on it later. The 2009 catalogue announced that in the following year, Capellani would graduate from the annual “Cento anni fa” programs to his own retrospective. This year’s films This first full-fledged Capellani retrospective gave a generous though not complete overview of his surviving films from early 1906 to 1914—a few bearing 2010 restoration dates. Capellani also worked in the United States from 1915 to 1922, and the program included The Red Lantern, a 1919 feature starring Nazimova. This, Mariann’s notes assure us, is “a taster for next year’s festival,” which will include further restorations from the French period, as well as more features from his American career. (It would be good to see the other Capellani films shown in previous years repeated, now that we have a sense of his work more generally.) Ideally our examples here should include frames from the films shown at this year’s festival, but none of them is out on DVD. The Brewster article linked above has a generous selection of well-reproduced frames from a 35mm print of Germinal. As far as I know, the only Capellani film available on DVD is Aladin ou la lampe merveilleuse, on the third volume of Kino International’s “The Movies Begin” set. I’m sure it was included there not because it was a Capellani but because it survives in beautiful condition and is an epic with elaborate hand-coloring. I’ve included frames at the top and bottom of this entry, despite the fact that it has not been shown at Bologna. The smaller frames illustrating a few of films shown at Il Cinema Ritrovato come from the Gaumont Pathé Archives website (registration required). This site is the best online source of information on the director’s films, including complete video versions in a few cases. These are, however, quite small screens, and they display the double branding of a prominent timer and a bug of a Pathé rooster superimposed over much of the frame. Capellani had worked in the theater as a director and actor until Pathé recruited him in 1905. In a sense, he became a specialist in literary adaptations, especially after his appointment in 1908 as artistic director of S.C.A.G.L. Yet the films being shown this year include pure melodrama (such as Pauvre mère, “Poor mother,” 1906), crime-suspense films (L’Épouvante, “The Terror,” 1911), classic fairy-tales (Cendrillon, 1907), and historical/biblical costume pictures (Samson, 1908). With his theatrical background, it is not surprising that Capellani was able to cast many old colleagues in his films, notably Henry Krauss, who played Quasimodo in Notre-Dame de Paris (1911) and Jean Valjean in Les Misérables (1912). Wherever his actors came from, however, Capellani was a master at directing performances. In many cases the acting makes characters who would seem completely conventional figures in most films of the day into people with whom the audience can empathize. The staging in Capellani’s shots is inevitably impeccable. The progression of the story is clear even in shots with numerous characters on camera. More of his stage experience coming out, one might say, but he also adapts his technique to the visual pyramid of space tapering toward the camera’s lens. L’Évadé des Tuileries (1910), for example, deals with the Count du Champcenetz, the governor of the Tuileries during the French Revolution, who initially tries to alert the royal family to their impending arrest and subsequently flees for his life from the revolutionary forces that invade the palace. In the most spectacular shot, he rushes in, exhausted and wounded, to speak to the king as the members of the royal family gradually enter and guards surround them. Champcenetz collapses and slides partway under a chair at the foreground right as the revolutionaries burst into the room. The business of the ensuing struggle, the departure of the combatants with the royals under arrest, and a short burst of looting leaves a still scene with the dead and wounded on the floor. Suddenly an arm moves at the far lower right corner of the frame, and we become aware that Champcenetz has survived. David has praised the sustained tableau staging in depth of the 1910s, in the films of Feuillade, Sjöström, Hofer, and others, but here is Capellani doing it all in 1910—and this is not the first of his films to display such control of the complex arrangement of actors in space. None of this is to suggest that Capellani’s films are “stagey.” He is quite capable of a cinematic flourish for purposes of dramatic effectiveness. L’Arlésienne, shot largely on location in the old town of Arles, includes a shot of the young couple atop a tower that looks over the cityscape. The camera begins on the spire, panning right until the couple appear in medium shot, with the town beyond them and the parapet. They wander out right, and the camera pans around the parapet, only catching up with the couple when they are roughly 180 degrees opposite to where the camera started: It is hard to believe that in London L’Arlésienne played on the same program as L’assassinat du Duc de Guise, which, sophisticated as it is in some ways, seems seems downright old-fashioned when contrasted with Capellani’s film. Even flashier is L’Épouvante, which seems at first a simple story of a young woman in danger as she retires for the night, unaware that a burglar had stolen her jewelry just before she came in and is now hiding under the bed. She lights a cigarette and carelessly tosses the match on the floor. The camera tracks slowly back from the bed to bring the burglar into view; he registers fear that the match is still alight and might set the rug on fire. He reaches to snuff it out, and a sudden cut places us at a high angle above the heroine as she looks down and sees the hand appearing from beneath her bed. A return to the long shot displays her reaction: Up to this point our sympathy has been entirely with the heroine. But once she escapes the room and locks the burglar in, his struggle to escape before the police find him takes up much of the remaining action and gradually gains him our sympathy as well. Trapped multiple stories up, he climbs to the roof, only to have to retreat as the pursuers rush up and search there. Moving downward, the burglar ends up hanging by an ominously bending gutter. Only the heroine is left in her flat to discover his plight, and she lowers some drapes for him to climb up. In a touchingly awkward scene, the man is relieved but unable to express his gratitude except by returning the stolen jewelry and silently exiting, while she makes no attempt to stop him. In a way, L’Épouvante reminded us of Suspense, Lois Weber and Phillips Smalley’s remarkable 1913 film of a woman besieged in her house by a burglar, but the unexpected shift of emotional dynamics between the two characters in Capelanni’s film makes it equally memorable. Capellani’s pictorial sense in real locations has been widely remarked upon. Even in La Mariée du château maudit (1910), a relatively slight tale of spooky doings in a deserted castle where a wedding party plays hide-and-seek, becomes impressive in part because of its use of an extensive set of actual ruins. There’s also a remarkable moment after the bride accidentally becomes locked in a room with a skeleton dressed in a bridal gown. She reads an old book telling of the young woman’s fate, and two successive bits of the story appear as matte shots on the right and left leaves of the open book. (Working at Pathé, Capellani could use impressive special effects, as the dream image in the Aladin frame at the top demonstrates.) The sets are masterful as well. I was particularly struck by Jean Valjean’s desk in the second episode of Les Misérables (1912). It creates an effect of forced perspective that is like German Expressionist eight years ahead of its time. Valjean has escaped from prison and become a mayor and successful small-factory owner. Javert, formerly a guard at the prison and now a local police officer, suspects Valjean of being the fugitive. Now he comes to Valjean’s office to introduce himself. Valjean sits at the left behind an enormous desk which dominates the left and center of the screen; its size is exaggerated by rows and stacks of thick volumes ranged across its top. About a third of the screen is empty at the right, where Javert enters at the rear and walks only partway forward. The effect is to make Javert appear smaller than he really is, with the low camera height that Pathé films were using by this point exaggerating the effect; during part of the scene he is also partially blocked by the desk. The suggestion is that he has no ability to follow up his suspicions of such a powerful man. In a subsequent scene, when Valjean brings the ailing worker Fantine to his office, the desk has been moved away from the camera, which frames the scene from further to the right. The result is a far more open space at the right, while Valjean brings forward a chair for Fantine that puts her in front of the desk. Unlike Javert, she is not dwarfed by the desk, which, once Valjean comes to lean over her, is barely visible. Instead, the right half of the screen is left unoccupied so that a flashback can fill it. In the scene like the one with Javert, a German Expressionist film would have exaggerated the size of the desk even further and perhaps tilted the floor up at the rear, but the effect is clear and dramatic enough as it is. Again, it is not an effect one would expect to find in a film of the early 1910s. There is also a contrast between the massive desk and the relatively small, insubstantial table that Javert uses as a desk in the setting of the police headquarters Even the most conventional films receive what I began to recognize as Capellani touches, often to bring a moment of realism into a fantasy or melodramatic setting. In Cendrillon, the gardener who carries in a huge pumpkin to be turned into the heroine’s magic coach exits wiping the sweat from his head with a handkerchief (below left). The little girl who falls out of a window to her death in Pauvre mère leaves a large, dramatic splotch of blood on the sidewalk when her lifeless body is lifted—a realistically gory touch of a sort which I don’t recall seeing in any other film of this era (below right). When the hero finds the magic lamp in Aladin ou la lampe merveilleuse, he blows dust off it and turns it over to shake out further dirt (see bottom). Another sort of touch appears in La Mort du Duc D’Enghien, a carefully executed motif of a sort one doesn’t often see in films of this type. The hero is arrested while at a hunting lodge, and throughout he wears a distinctive hat that’s probably part of a hunting outfit. He throws it defiantly to the floor during the courtroom scene in which he is unjustly condemned; he throws it down again in his cell, this time to indicate despair and exhaustion; in the final execution scene, he tosses it aside as part of his brave resignation, facing the firing squad with open arms and without a blindfold. These moments aren’t stressed, and one could understand the plot perfectly well without noticing the repetition. Still, the motif helps characterize D’Enghien quickly in this relatively short film and indicates the care with which Capellani was crafting even his one-reelers. Mariann was somewhat apologetic about La Glu, a 1913 feature, since it centers around a femme fatale who victimizes three men in the course of the narrative. The title is the heroine’s nickname, and it means what it sounds like, “glue,” and particularly sticky substances like bird-lime that are used to ensnare. But the audience thoroughly enjoyed this distinctly absurd but entertaining and fast-paced tale of a heartless, mercenary woman, played with relish by Mistinguett, and the men foolish enough to fall for her. After all, there are plenty of depictions of love-’em-and-leave-’em men from this period, so why not turn the tables? At least one flagrant coincidence brings all of them to the south of France, where the heroine goes for a vacation, and Capellani contrasts the early scenes of high-society Paris with the stark seascapes in and around a fishing village. Though another literary adaptation (from a novel and play by Jean Richepin), this film certainly stands out among the pre-war features and demonstrates once more Capellani’s versatile ability with a range of genres. After all these treats, the last French feature on offer, Le Chevalier de Maison-Rouge (1914), proved a slight let-down. Capellani had a penchant for substituting letters and other texts for intertitles, but this film pushes the device to the point where sometimes it seemed as if every other shot was an insert. The plot, dealing with a scheme to rescue the imprisoned Marie Antoinette, was also frustratingly complicated and not presented with the admirable clarity that characterizes most of the other films. As I’ve mentioned, Capellani was often able to generate an empathy with the characters which is rare for films of this period, but as a result of the constant plot twists, the Chevalier and his endangered mistress remain rather remote figures. There are some effective moments, though. One exterior view of the protagonist’s home places a door at the upper center, approached by a symmetrical pair of staircases running to the right and left and forming a pyramid shape. A foreground pond elaborates the space still further, so that when a crowd tries to break in, the staging utilizes the frame vertically and horizontally, with intricate movements of individuals to avoid the water. Ahead of his time–up to a point As I remarked in an entry on last year’s festival, L’assommoir struck me as looking like it had been made in 1912 or 1913 rather than 1909. Now it becomes clear that many of Capellani’s films give this sense of trying things that other filmmakers would begin doing routinely a few years later. In some cases, like L’Arlésienne, it’s a focus on acting of a sort that we associate with Griffith’s films like The Mothering Heart or The Painted Lady. In others, it’s the motifs or the subtle changes of framing or the eye for landscapes. Although the editing is not usually flashy, Capellani is good at keeping spatial relationships clear, as the series of shots depicting Valjean’s escape from prison in the first part of Les misérables demonstrates. As Mariann wrote, he seemed able to adapt to any genre. I’m not a particular fan of the historical films so common during this period, but Capellani manages to humanize most of his. It was only with Le Chevalier de Maison-Rouge that the sense of Capellani being ahead of most of the directors of his time largely disappeared, though it seems premature to judge from a single 1914 film. Perhaps during the immediate pre-war era, and especially the creatively fecund year of 1913, the exploration of the cinema by an increasing number of masters created a spurt that he did not participate in. And perhaps more films from 1913 and 1914 will appear in next year’s retrospective and give us a better sense of how his career developed in that crucial period. It will also be interesting to trace his assimilation of the developing classical Hollywood norms once he moved to the U.S. By 1919 and The Red Lantern, he clearly had absorbed the norms thoroughly, and his style had become indistinguishable from that of his American colleagues. Added July 13: Roland-François Lack has kindly written to point out that another Capellani film exists on DVD. (Thanks, Roland-François!) His 1908 version of the French tale Peau d’âne was included as a supplement on the collector’s edition of Jacques Demy’s film of the same name. It is also included in the “Intégrale Jacques Demy” 12-disc set. These DVDs are Region 2 (Europe) and won’t work on other region-coded players. The source of the print isn’t clear on the disc. (It’s another one that hasn’t been shown at Bologna.) Probably Pathé’s own archive, since there’s a little rooster-shaped bug superimposed at the lower left in every shot. It’s a fairly contrasty print with replaced intertitles in French only. It also seems to be running at 24 fps or something close to it. The action zips right along, which is a pity. There’s a lot of carefully executed pantomime-style acting. It’s impossible to catch all the gestures, especially since there are often three or four actors going at it at the same time. It would actually be a good film for teaching about the acting styles of this period if one could just slow it down. I wouldn’t have spotted this as a Capellani film if I hadn’t known its source when I watched it. Still, it has some of the traits we’ve recently come to associate with him. The meeting between the heroine and Prince Charming takes place in a carefully chosen setting with a reflecting pond in the foreground. It looks like the film was shot on a hazy day, but it looks as though the camera may be set up to shoot with the sunlight at the characters’ backs. The film also has the director’s typical elaborate interior sets juxtaposed with a dramatic use of real exteriors. The frame at the left below shows the fairy appearing for the first time to the princess. It’s not easy to see, but the busy interior includes a deep, diagonal space with several arches decorated with portraits that are painted, frames and all on the square pillars. Once the heroine disguises herself and flees to avoid her suitors, Capellani goes on location, using an impressive château and streets that look like they are in the same vicinity. I hope that some of the more realistic films will soon appear on DVD. Lobster in particular could make their newly restored L’Arlésienne available.

Music is what life sounds like ~ Eric Olson Culture is the sum of all the forms of art, of love, and of thought, which, in the course of centuries, have enabled man to be less enslaved ~ Andre Malraux Generally speaking, I think most people like new experiences and would love to be introduced to the "next big thing." It wouldn’t matter if that next big thing were cinema, a new restaurant, an actor or a musician. But, in this case, I suspect that many people — especially self-professed music lovers — will be quite disturbed by what I am going to introduce to you today. Indeed, some people will find today’s introduction upsetting. That is, everyone excepting teenagers; they will go crazy over this. Why? Because you’ve never met anyone like the person I want to introduce you to today. If the plans laid out for this person come to fruition then something truly frightening is heading our way in the form of a cultural and social revolution. Move over Elvis Presley and Michael Jackson, roll over Beethoven; the next superstar of music has been born and she is going to revolutionize the way we think about music and ourselves… And, no, I am not talking about Lady Gaga. "Artists" like Lady Gaga will pale in comparison to the cultural impact that this lady will bring. The artist that I wish to introduce today will not only reshape our culture, she is also going to reshape the music business and music publishing for decades to come, perhaps even for centuries. In one-hundred years from now, when artists like Lady Gaga, Madonna, Britney Spears, even the Beatles are long since forgotten, I suspect today’s artist, or her prodigy, will still be going strong. Big claims? Read on. Even though this artist is unknown in the west, many of her videos on YouTube have well over a million views. Some over two million! That’s not bad for someone who has no recording contract and is only three years old. Very well done for someone who is not even human. Meet Hatsune Miku. She is the next generation of superstar musician. Hatsune Miku is Japanese; but she is not a woman. She is not even a human; Hatsune Miku is an android. You read correctly. The next superstar of music is not of flesh and bones. This is the far-flung future and it’s already happening today. Hatsune means "first sound" and Miku means "music" or "future." Get it? Hatsune Miku means, "The First Sound of Music’s Future." She is called a "Vocaloid." She is a voice synthesizer… In fact, many of the numbers she does feature her voices as instrumentation as a sort of Science Fiction a cappella. She is a synthesized vocal device that was developed by Yamaha Corporation of Japan. Here is what Wikipedia says about "Vocaloid": Hatsune Miku was "born" August 31, 2007 and she is being touted as the next superstar of music. She does everything and is the embodiment of everything that pop music aspires to be. She can sing, compose music, play all instruments and doesn’t need an agent or a manager. She is the ultimate rock star. She is the ultimate Pop Idol. And she doesn’t even really exist. See one of "her" videos here. This will revolutionize advertising, the music industry and, in turn, our culture and society. I know it is difficult for most of us to get our heads around a concept like Hatsune Miku. She is not a cartoon with a human singing. The voice and music are 100% synthesized. The "creator" inputs lyrics into the device keyboard, uploads it, and then others can add animations, alterations, and score from anywhere in the world. So, regardless of what it sounds like, there are no human vocals here. This is a robot singing. Is this still difficult to understand? Maybe it’s easier to understand if I explain this way: Do you remember the girl named Rachel in the movie Blade Runner? Well, I write, "girl" but was Rachel really a woman or was she an android? Do you remember, at the end of the movie, thinking, "Wait a minute, is Rachel human?" I did. Well, that’s what I think when I hear Hatsune Miku "sing." Hatsune Miku is causing a sensation now in Japan and in Europe, especially France, where her songs have been picked up and are covered by real-life musicians. Some of the most bizarre stuff is on karaoke in Japan too! The cultural impact of Hatsune Miku cannot be overstated. This is a real revolution in music. If real humans playing instruments in the traditional sense, since the dawn of time, were to be considered Music 1.0, then perhaps we would think of remix DJ’s sampling music as Music 2.0. Then, maybe we could take the logical progression one step further, and consider Vocaloid music or Hatsune Miku as Music 3.0. The impact of Hatsune Miku and soon to be coming "artists" like her will surely change the world as we know it. Of course there will be "musicians" who will scoff at what I have written here as nonsense, but mark my words; Hatsune Miku is a music revolution that is coming your way very soon. If you are a musician, take heed of what I’ve written here, and be ready to embrace it. Hatsune Miku has several videos on YouTube. Some even have over two million views. If it is any consolation, I guess Hatsune Miku probably does have some things in common with most of today’s pop Diva’s; she doesn’t bother to brush her hair nor even wake up in the mornings either. But, at least, it doesn’t seem like Hatsune Miku has an attitude or drug problem. Mike (in Tokyo) Rogers [send him mail] was born and raised in the USA and moved to Japan in 1984. He is the president of an Internet & Cross Media advertising/marketing agency and a media production company named Universal Vision. He writes about marketing, the Internet and Social Media at the Modern Marketing Japan blog. His book, Schizophrenic in Japan, went on sale in 2005.

Dale had been taken prisoner by a group of Ming’s elite troops, who are now making their way to the nearest rocketship launch pad. Dale has been treated well but now notices that the soldier are uneasy and nervous, there doesn’t seem too be anything amiss, everything looks the same - but then the howling starts and in seconds the troops pick up speed and bundle Dale forward towards the West. This particular chapter is a chase to see who can leave the western edge quicker, Ming’s troops with Dale or……… Board; Using the same 2 foot x 2 foot open terrain board as before but with trees only to the Eastern edge, the troopers and Dale emerge from the tree line and start a dash to the Western table edge, I would expect some cover (stones, shrubs etc, but no trees or heavy cover). Four to six Ming’s troopers, one officer and Dale. Ming’s troopers are armed with either raygun rifles or raygun pistols. Dale has a hidden hat pin and her feminine charms! Use which ever monster models you may have (Orcs, zombies, monkeys, Kroot etc) but make them fast and entering from the North and South edges. The monsters are armed as the model (WYSIWYG). Once killed have them enter again, and again, have some sort of negative morale effect on the Troopers as these monster are normally hunted by Ming and this is their opportunity to kill a few of their hated enemy. A simple race to the table edge. One exception ‘can Dale use the attack as cover for escape?’ Dale will not be targeted by the monsters as they do not recognise her as either their enemy or food! No encounter markers this time, although there could be a random roll to see if Flash or Dr Zarkov arrive in time to have an effect or Hawkmen arrive to help the troopers. I would envisage this particular chapter to be a perfect example of a hunt or chase to the death with the opportunity to ‘chuck on loads of mooks’. If you are still interested, keep a record of the results from all three chapters and see if they have an effect on Chapter four. Coming soon to a cinema near you.

It's not your average sports movie: "Sugar" is a critically acclaimed baseball drama starring Algenis Perez Soto as a Dominican baseball player playing in the U.S. Considering the Rotten Tomatoes consensus says it's an "exceptionally-crafted film -- part sports flick, part immigrant tale -- with touching and poignant drama highlighted by splendid performances," and it boasts an impressive 93 percent on the Tomatometer, it's perfect fodder for my movie-chat series, My 2 Cents. So mark your calendars: We'll watch the film at 1 p.m. Sunday, June 21 at Celebration Cinema North, and discuss it afterwards over coffee -- which means your chances of stimulation are good, whether it's via discourse or caffeine. Hopefully, I'll see you June 21. Be sure to (shameless plug alert!) look for my "Sugar" review in The Press' print edition and here on MLive.com on June 19. In the meantime, check out the trailer: E-mail John Serba: [email protected]

Peter Jackson and JRR Tolkien have consistently proved a potent combination at the box office, so it's no surprise to see audiences turning up in droves for the first of three films based on The Hobbit. However a haul of £11.60m in four days is far from record-breaking, and isn't even the biggest opening of 2012. Skyfall debuted in late October with £20.18m, and The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 2 followed a month later with £15.85m. Both titles achieved these sums in three days with no previews, as did The Dark Knight Rises when it opened in July with £14.36m. Marvel Avengers Assemble kicked off with £15.78m over its initial four days. The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey has thus only achieved the fifth-best opening of the year. - The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey - Production year: 2011 - Country: Rest of the world - Cert (UK): 12A - Runtime: 169 mins - Directors: Peter Jackson - Cast: Aidan Turner, Andy Serkis, Benedict Cumberbatch, Billy Connolly, Cate Blanchett, Christopher Lee, Elijah Wood, Evangeline Lilly, Hugo Weaving, Ian Holm, Ian McKellen, Lee Pace, Luke Evans, Martin Freeman, Orlando Bloom, Richard Armitage, Sir Ian McKellen, Stephen Fry The result for this latest Tolkien adaptation compares favorably with 2001's Fellowship of the Ring, which began its run with £11.06m from five days. The Two Towers followed a year later with a £13.06m opening, also from five days. And then The Return of the King rounded out the trilogy in 2003, debuting with £15.02m, another five-day figure. Considering ticket price inflation in the past decade, and the premium for 3D, initial admissions for The Hobbit are clearly down on all Jackson's previous Tolkien movies. Backers Warners will be hoping that this more family-skewing tale will prove potent throughout the school holiday this Christmas, and that the best is yet to come. The festive battle heats up DreamWorks Animation's Rise of the Guardians predictably drops from the top spot, clobbered by The Hobbit, but its box-office decline from the previous weekend is a relatively slender 22%. Its £5.71m gross so far compares with DWA's Puss in Boots' £6.64m at the same stage of its run last year. Experiencing a sensational hold is Nativity 2: Danger in the Manger!, moving back up two notches in the chart to third place, with a box-office drop of just 3%. The primary-school-set comedy sequel has achieved £5.58m so far, and backers eOne will be hoping for further rich pay days from now up until Christmas Eve. Both Rise and Nativity 2 shrugged off the challenge from Disney's Tinkerbell and the Secret of the Wings, which opened with £529,000 from 383 cinemas. Families with young girls will continue to check out the fairy animation throughout the holiday period. Arthur Christmas, pushed back into 282 cinemas on Saturday and Sunday, added another £98,000 to its tally for a £21.1m total. The hot streak continues Thanks to the arrival of The Hobbit, the market is unsurprisingly up on the equivalent weekend from last year, when Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows and Alvin and the Chipwrecks: Chipwrecked landed in the top two spots. This extends to nine consecutive frames the run of success where grosses have been up on 2011 comparables. Cinemas have never had it so good. The big fallers With The Hobbit and festive-themed films sucking up audiences, many titles experienced big drops, notably Great Expectations (in 10th place), End of Watch (14th) and Sightseers (15th), down 71%, 70% and 73% respectively. Lower down the chart, other titles are plummeting even faster. Miley Cyrus vehicle So Undercover fell 75%, Alex Cross dropped 83% while Hugh Laurie comedy The Oranges collapsed by 86%. With more major new releases arriving for Christmas, all these films face tough challenges holding on to their remaining sites. The arthouse battle While numerous tiny new releases failed to make much impression on the market (see "Other openers", below), awards contenders Silver Linings Playbook and Argo continue to hang in there, and Martin McDonagh's Seven Psychopaths (down 45%) straddles the multiplex-indie cinema divide. Upscale audiences were also wooed by alternative content, notably the New York Met Opera's satellite-relayed live presentation of Aida on Saturday (grosses rumoured to be in the £250,000 ball park), and rival encore showings of the The Nutcracker from both the Royal Ballet and the Bolshoi on Sunday. Apart from Bollywood titles such as Talaash (£839,000 after three weeks), Thomas Vinterberg's The Hunt is the top foreign language film in the market, just ahead of Michael Haneke's Amour. This coming weekend, cinemas can look with confidence for grosses to be up on 2011 for a tenth frame on the trot, based on a decent hold for The Hobbit, and the arrival of two films with potential for significant commercial appeal. Ang Lee's Life of Pi has already grossed $70m in the US, on its way to what could be a significantly bigger total if awards nominations sustain it into January and February. Meanwhile, the a cappella-powered campus comedy Pitch Perfect has reached $64m, and will now be hoping to capitalize on a dearth of female skewing-titles for teens and above in UK cinemas. Jack Reacher, based on ninth novel One Shot in the Lee Child series, and starring Tom Cruise as the eponymous crimefighting drifter, follows on Boxing Day. Top 10 films 1. The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, £11,601,538 from 598 sites (New) 2. Rise of the Guardians, £1,250,469 from 506 sites. Total: £5,713,662 3. Nativity 2: Danger in the Manger!, £938,309 from 508 sites. Total: £5,582,224 4. Skyfall, £809,406 from 434 sites. Total: £97,897,404 5. Tinker Bell and the Secret of the Wings, £528,820 from 383 sites (New) 6. The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 2, £509,872 from 407 sites. Total: £34,420,072 7. Seven Psychopaths, £452,293 from 398 sites. Total: £2,133,948 8. Silver Linings Playbook, £231,714 from 260 sites. Total: £4,104,632 9. Argo, £108,384 from 116 sites. Total: £5,153,262 10. Great Expectations, £100,137 from 206 sites. Total: £1,730,925 Neethaane En Ponvasantham, 14 sites, £27,886 Chasing Ice, 5 sites, £7,625 (+ £5,875 previews) Babette's Feast, 11 sites, £6,385 Love Crime, 7 sites, £5,883 UFO, 1 site, £3,333 (+ £282 previews) What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?, 6 sites, £2,759 Smashed, 1 site, £1,991 Dead Europe, 1 site, £1,288 False Trail, 2 sites, £1,079 Neil Young Journeys, 1 site, £423

Memphis was in the house -- and in the multiplex, the bar, the restaurant, the book store, et cetera -- this past weekend as the Oxford Film Festival celebrated its tenth anniversary with panels (the most impressive participant being Oscar-winning "Pulp Fiction" co-screenwriter Roger Avary), parties and, of course, a slate of film screenings. Memphis is almost always represented at the Mississippi festival, which brings attention to cinema in a town better known for its devotion to the literary arts. This year, however, movies from Memphis -- a city sometimes referred to as the unofficial capital of North Mississippi -- were particularly hard to miss. They included C. Scott McCoy's documentary "Antenna," about Memphis' famed punk rock venue; Mark Jones' comedy "Tennessee Queer"; Mike McCarthy's Elvis-themed shorts, "Tupelove" and "Native Son"; the narrative short, "Pretty Monsters," by G.B. Shannon and Ryan Parker (this team won a top award in Oxford last year for their previous short, "Fresh Skweezed"); and the short "Grand Fugue on the Art of Gumbo," by recent Memphis transplants (by way of Salvador, Brazil) Isabel Machado (who co-directed) and Daniel Wildberger (who created graphics and animation for the film). In addition, the festival's challenging and rewarding block of "experimental" shorts was curated by Memphis artist Dwayne Butcher.

Excited to see our newest contribution for the fabulous Vanity Fair Magazine. Thank you everybody for getting this impossible proposition off the ground and for being part of the team. Especially the Toledos for creating those amazing costumes, Rubens drawings and then even hosting all of us that day. For a little sense of what went on, I really suggest to view the great behind the scenes video that Spreadhouse did for VF.com, and obviously read more about it in the piece by Bruce Handy in the new November 2013 issue of Vanity Fair. On a side note, we upgraded the markschafer.com website today to run on the new and very current HTML 5.0 standard. This makes the pages finally look nicer on the iPad and even the iPhone display is now bare able. As usual i suggest to look at the site on a laptop or even larger screen, it’s all optimized to HD resolution, for better detail. We’re working on the new image delivery system for our clients and have this up soon. Something to seriously think about, upgrading the system would cost $1000 or so (from CS5 Master), the cloud version $50 per month, so in a year (till the next upgrade that’s $600, and then the next upgrade for $500-600 is due). I guess it’s cheaper, but what i really like is the 20GB storage and unlimited iPad App development option. That sounds great and something to look into. I appreciate any thoughts on this as we’re talking to people and do a test drive. We do use photoshelter and APF for image delivery, so that’s not a pressing issue, not paying for updates and freeing the machines from unsused applications that we might need for specific projects is more to the point. Now we have to work in to the workflow. For the video part i like the new head phone out and the ability to adjust the recoding volume. Otherwise it seems the same, i can’t believe Canon is not able to increase the resolution (and bit depth while they’re at it). So on the still image side i feel it’s at a stand still. The high ISO settings feel promising and will be finally giving us the quality we need for the more frequent low light behind the scenes work. Now i just wish it would be truly quite shutter release for that. But overall a nice improvement and the 5D II’s and their support equipment will go on eBay soon. Now a full upgrade of system accessories, it never stops. I wish they could price it at least similar, but there might be more coming in the future… After a long day for Cyndi shooting a TV piece my time with her was shortened to a couple of minutes and we still got 2 great shots. Besides a fantastic musician she’s a great subject that hits the marks perfectly. This was shot for ” I have a dream” segment in Die Zeit Magazine, Germany, March 29, 2012 issue. I’m pleased to announce that Mark Mertens at amprojects.be is now representing this series exclusively in Europe and beyond for resale. I always loved Marks sensibility in creating the most fantastic spaces for residences and commercial projects and see how this series fits into the overall aesthetics and color palette. After years of using Pro 6/7 on generators, then upgrading to the incredible Pro-7b packs, we decided it’s time to change it up and get the newish Profoto Acute 600b with the incredible lightweight LiFe batteries. Mostly due to shooting a lot with 35mm DSLRS which needs less light than in the medium format film days, we can finally downsize this part of the equipment collections as well (not having to travel with a separate case of film was already genius). It’s a fantastic system with the same light quality of the Pro-7 system but in a much smaller package, which can be easily carried all day and fits in a much smaller case. We’re now using the Tenba 38″ Rolling tripod case for 2 kits, stands and some umbrellas/soft boxes. Pure brilliance. And it reduces the weight and cases by half. Much better on everybody’s budgets and joints. If you haven’t heard, and follow this story, the movie was picked up at Sundance by Fox Searchlight Pictures a couple of days ago. I hope that the press coverage, with the images we did, helped this project along to get recognized by the right people. I even got my first NY Post reprint (interesting how this lines up with Fox Searchlight), if that pushed, it i’m extremely pleased with the outcome. So congratulations to Gavin, the producers and the whole crew, and especially the actors, who barely had time to hold for a minute for stills (thanks). You all probably worked as hard as i ever seen somebody, sleep deprived, but always cordial and nice. It’s official: Gavin Wiesen’s directorial debut made it in. My first movie that i shot stills and portraits during the whole shoot. With such a fantastic cast and crew we can only hope it makes it big next year, so stay tuned and come to Utah. But please don’t break a leg, as i did for our friend Steven Sebring and his doc about Patti Smith in 2008 (which worked by the way, but i still suffer today, so don’t don’t). Finally we’re moving into serious snapshot territory with the new iPhone. While it’s all nice and new (and quicker, with higher res. screen), the best part of this is that i finally discovered Hipstamatic. I thought i have to move to Williamsburg to truly enjoy it, but the stuff i shot so far are dangerously fun by themselves. Thanks Steven for the intro on my birthday… After doing research online and reading all the reviews I could get my hands on, testing equipment from Fotocare and Able cinema we got around to put a nice and small system together for better camera handling while shooting moving images with the Canon 5D. What I do find interesting is that the Movie Directors of Photography keep the cameras and accessories small, with prime lenses and very little other equipment, maybe a loupe, maybe a small LCD. But the still photographers try to add everything possible to the unit, large Matt boxes, a separate audio recorder with shotgun mics and huge shoulder rigs in addition to the loupe and monitor. The last resulting in the most comical contraption that’s unwieldy and takes up huge amount of space to transport, rig and move around. Kind of defying the purpose of the small unit with incredible image quality. The solution that I prefer is a simple Redrock rig with two handles upfront and a simple gun stock, while the camera gets a Zacuto loupe mounted on the small LCD. I could see adding a 7″ Marshall LCD at some point, especially when shooting from a tripod. But I really like the feeling of the handheld shooting, conveying and more engaging with an immediate point of view. A great addition to the still image, i can see this mixing well on the iPad and web editions of stories all the while keeping the feel and perspective very close. Emma Roberts and Freddie Highmore on the Poster for the new movie Homework This just in, during my month on the set i got some great photographs. And the shot of Emma Roberts and Freddie Highmore along with a NYC scape made it to become the poster (or One Sheet in movie land dialect). Now we just need national and international distribution for which the film will be showcased in Cannes, France this week. Love it or hate it, but the iPad is here to stay (and it’s fabulous)… The website is now also available in a iPad friendly layout, not quite as slick as the standard site but quick and efficient. In the meantime, my portfolio just made onto my new little friend and looks great I always hated those obnoxious, huge, heavy (and white) lenses. Never shot with them, hate the focal length, you get my drift. But i had to get one for a shoot on a movie set that i was doing for the last month (in case you missed me). And i have to say i’m flored, it’s still heavy white and enormous, but the image quality, handling and pure genius that allows low light photography at exposure times previously unheard of, is pure magic. I got fantastic shots with 200mm at 1/20sec, various ISO, super low light on the film set, at night, i still can’t believe it. I actually prefered the lens over the much lighter 24-105 lens i used on the other camera, just due to the stabilizing abilities and the rendition of the scene. It will be some time till i can post a gallery on the site, the client is getting proofs today and the movie is supposed to be done by the fall. I wonder, will it save publishing, will it replace my print portfolio, will we be able to replace Laptops, will we able to set it up as a preview screen on a shoot, how will my iPhone feel… Anyhow, i can’t wait, my 3G is on the way, perfect for my trip to Europe. The hype is a little overblown, but it will do a lot. I feel we’ll be ending up like those little round guys in WALL-E, sitting on a hover chair and having a iPad strapped in front of us. Interesting to think that Steve Jobs vision of the future is laid out in a children’s animation movie and no one picks up on this (iAd anyone?). I just saw the play on 48th street. Great cast and great use of the set. Even the clothes felt strangely modern yet classic. Flowing coats and skirts and the men somewhat reminded me of the current inspirations of Steven Alan, J. Crew etc. Anyhow, Scarlett was great, we saw her quickly after the show, nice as ever, with her hat pulled down and smoking away. I think it’s her first big show on Broadway and she said she’s exhausted from the schedule, but that’s theater. I remember her, sitting in the back of the car, singing Disney tunes wile we’re driving all the way from MRY to the Ventana for a shoot a couple of years back. Walking out into the street, flashlight mayhem with hundreds of fans, and that according to her, every night. All the while the rest of the cast just walks into the night or even rode their bikes home, love it… Wasn’t there something like this not too long ago. Radio survived and that’s a good thing. Now video is again at it, and the photo world seems to discover a new calling. Only, isn’t there something like a Director of Photography (who are great photographers themselves) on every film set. Nobody is waiting for the still photographers to come and reinvent the wheel. The DP’s are taking the small DSLRS and shoot footage previously unable or only obtainable with very difficult rigging. Maybe that’s the convergence of technologies. And it will be interesting finally and really incorporating editorial photography with video, at least to an extend… My prediction: Still photography will come out of this even stronger than before. It’s hard to hang a movie or video on the wall, and moving images will enhance and add to the still portfolio in any publication (once we all have an iPad). People will go back to actually capturing a moment rather than spending days reviewing, developing and editing RAW RED footage… In the end it’s all about the efficient method to get to the final product. Mailing post cards always makes me think and hope that one day email marketing will replace the paper campaign. But while i’m conviced that it’s still a viable and necessary way of showing off some new work, i’m always concerned about the impact this has on the environment. Our great friend Alysse Bezahler was part of a panel of Movie and TV producers at the Hampton Film festival today, discussing the efforts of making movie productions more environmentally friendly. And I really think there’s a lot that still photo productions can learn. From exclusive digital communication and file exchange in the production phase to renting Hybrid’s, renting equipment so it can be reused, using low power lighting solutions. To cutting down is disposable everything from foam core to foam cups, water bottles etc., and asking suppliers for “greener” and recycled products in general. I’m happy that we implemented already a great deal of these ideas, from preproduction mostly done online; to the actual digital shoot, which requires less equipment, no chemicals and smaller crews; to digital file delivery versus the trusty world wide courier system. And nice side effect was that productions also saved money implementing these changes, something that entirely makes sense. After some quality time with Dreamweaver I’m much smarter about the ins and outs of web design, content and theory, but will never become a web designer, now it’s time for a new site with new features. I did some research over the summer and after looking very deep into livebooks, clickbooq, I decided the best solution for me is to work with Photofolio. I does everything I need, it’s straight forward, but complex enough to accommodate my vision and present my images in an uncluttered and professional way. I guess I’m not taking any phone calls until this is done; my guess is by the end of the week the framework is up and by the end of next week I’ll start inviting people. I fully expect to grow the possibilities over the next couple of month, but the new portfolio with new images shot in the recent past (on and off crutches) is on it’s way. I just couldn’t resist, after some glorious food shopping over the past weekends I had to pack my studio and move east for a week to shoot some stills of the loot. We’ll see what works out, but I’m super exited. Finally I get around cleaning out the equipment room a bit. Now with the digital capture and the trajectory we’re all on I haven’t shot with this little gem in over 2 years. So I’m happy to see that there are still some guys interested in using/learning the classic ways of creating photographs with a vision and the right gear, Pola backs and all. I really think eBay is a huge part of the “green” future of reusing equipment instead of filling up landfills. All our computers, printers and camera equipment in the past decade has been given a second live… Finally I get around to work on the new site. Now it’s all Dreamweaver designed, CSS styled and much deeper than ever before with a bio page, a client login area and links to photoshelter for some art and travel photography ready to license or print purchase, who knew. Otherwise there’s still room to grow, looking forward to integrate the client preview pages, creating a print room to order some actual prints Tested some new lighting setups, all with CFL aka Fluorescent light bulbs. Besides a greatly improved and very energy efficient way to light a digital shoot a real joy to work with. One could even shoot video with this setup. Back to the old “see what you get” Peter Lindbergh sets, just with a very modern twist. And besides the bulbs it all folds and packs very small. Now we have to conceive a kit that can come on location. Another great step toward energy efficient greener shooting habits. What a week this was, had a great meeting to create images for a fashion designer. We actually want to make this a serial mailer and due to budget restrictions we decided to cut out the model, make up, hair department and shoot the outfits on a dress form. Can’t wait to shoot this…I got a call from the principal that night, that she loved my ideas and that i actually should create an Ad agency to do all the work on the project. Funny that there is the other flower client in Connecticut who want me to do the same…just online, we’ll see. Interestingly enough that’s what happened at the first photographer that i assisted with, a year in we had our own little ad company, doing work for various german Fashion brands, and before you moan, BOSS and the Lagerfeld label was on the client list. Otherwise we’re busy getting the finals retouched and uploaded for Chestnuts and updating the online system. Today i met up with my old friend Julian Dufort. We met at Annie’s 10 years ago, he’s doing great now, shooting a lot in the UK and Germany, but published in the US quite frequently. He’s not giving up on film yet, even that he shoot a campaign right now with the P45+. We reconnected last year over an ebay ad, me selling my loved Fuji 690 kit, which he ended up buying. They’re his mainstay bodies and Fuji stopped making them a couple of years ago and i’m happy they found a great home with a friend. Anyhow, due to Polaroid calling it a day, he now has to switch to Fuji-roid…Am i happy i switched to Canon and keep got so much better at the digital capture and post production early on. so here we go: on the way to the Hamptons to shoot my friends daughter who just got accepted to Click models NY. Its going to be a fun weekend. Disney got the Behind the scenes for the upcoming Ariel Ad shot by Annie L. That was a fun and full day at the Universal Studio lot, between Western Town and the tours going by… And Tasha’s next music production goes into the final remix on Monday. We’ll reviewing artwork next week but we exchanged first impressions on the shoot this week.

There are some people who stay away from the spotlight but work quietly in the background to create some amazing stuff. We have one such person at your Adda. He wears multiple hats of Organization Coach and Consultant, Fiction Writer / Critic, Columnist and Theatre Director. He has been awarded the British Council – Charles Wallace Award and was the Writer in Residence at the University of Kent, Canterbury. More about this awesome man, Vijay Nair in this exclusive interview where he speaks about his books, life, frank views and lots more. Q: When and why did you start blogging? A: I used to write a weekly column for Bangalore Mirror. I started blogging when I decided I don’t want to do the columns anymore. The blogging took care of the ‘withdrawal’ symptoms. Q: What topics do you generally blog about? A: Politics, organizations, films, writers, books, theatre…about any of the myriad interests I have. The same topics I used to cover in my columns. Q: Every writer faces writers block. How do you manage to escape from it? A: I have never faced a writer’s block. Whenever I want to write, I can write. Q: Do you promote your blog? What promotional techniques work best for you and why? A: No. I didn’t know you can promote a blog. For that matter I have never learnt to promote anything including myself. But I am ready to learn. Since you guys are blog experts, please educate me. Q: How important is it for the blogger to interact with their readers? Do you respond to all the comments that you receive? A: Not really. I have reacted badly once to an anglophile who wanted to correct my English. I always react badly to anglophiles. They ought to be put behind bars for sedition. Not Arundhati Roy. When there are good comments about something I have blogged, I am embarrassed. I am always diffident when someone compliments me. However my blogs are not really popular. Q: “Twenty years from now, you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do – Mark Twain”. After being for around a decade in the corporate world, you shifted to follow your creative instincts. What prompted this major shift? What were the hurdles that came in your way and how did you tackle it? A: I hated being a manager. I disliked all my bosses and no doubt they disliked me. Owning my creativity seemed like a good excuse to get rid of the 9-7 routine. The only hurdle that came up was the pay cheque that would be faithfully credited to my bank account by the end of every month when I was a manager. More than 16 years after I stopped being a manager, I still miss the pay cheque. Q: Your book, ‘Boss is Not Your Friend’ is recently launched. Tell us something about the book. The title of your book seems enlightening; why did you decide to keep it? A: It is a no holds barred book on Indian organizations. It explores the feudal and oppressive context of Indian companies. It also has tips on surviving the corporate life. It is farcical at one level but it’s also designed to make the reader think. I don’t want to say more. I want all Indian managers to ‘buy’ and read this book. The heading for the chapter on bosses is ‘Banging the Boss’. I wanted to call the book by the same name. But the Editorial Director at Hachette India suggested this name. Everyone who works in my publishing house is refined. I am rather boorish in comparison. Q: You have written another novel, ‘The Colour of Kurinji’ which is also planned to launch later this year. This one’s got a great title! (Assuming Kurinji is about the flower, that blooms once in 12 years). Tell us more. A: Yes…I am talking of the flower that blooms in the Ooty-Coonoor belt. The book is a murder mystery set in Coonoor. Q: You are a movie buff. There are many movies which have been adapted from famous novels. Do you feel if the author himself is the director then he will do more justice to the film? What kind of film would you like to make, apart from any adaptation from your books, if you were a director? A: Not at all. Directing films is rather complex. You need to be conversant with all the technicalities of film making before you get to directing. I don’t want to direct a film. But yes I would like to write scripts for films that explore the darker side of human existence. Something that falls in the same category as the Jack Nicholson starrer “China Town” or the films directed by the Spanish Director, Pedro Almadover like “Talk to her”. Q: In what way do you feel has Indian cinema grown? What are the movies you feel are remarkable ones from the recent times? Are there any movies/directors which you feel have/had the power to create an awakening among the citizens and also go places? A: That there are directors like Anurag Kashyap, Raj Kumar Gupta, Dibakar Banerji, Kiran Rao & Vishal Bharadwaj today speaks for the growth of Hindi cinema. The films they make are sharp and insightful. Imtiaz Ali and Ayan Mukherjee are also capable of making good films. One thing is for sure. The audience is no longer interested in the tripe being pedalled by Karan Johar or Sanjay Leela Bansali or Priyadarshan. That brand of over the top film making is a thing of the past. They will go the same way Subhash Ghai did in the last decade. It’s curtains for them and that means things can only get better. I wish I was more conversant with regional cinema. I catch the occasional Malayalam or Tamil film. For me Indian cinema is Bollywood. Q: Murder mystery is one of the genres which interests you. Can we look forward to a murder mystery based book from Vijay Nair’s pen in the future? A: “The colour of Kurinji” is a murder mystery. Q: Your passions are writing, theatre and working with children. In what way are you working with children and how is it going? A: I love working with children. They are smarter than adults. The dynamics they create between themselves and the politics that plays out between them is endlessly fascinating. They are innocent and clever and both these qualities are very endearing. As we grow older, we lose both these traits. We become stupid and corrupt. I do workshops with children on theatre and writing. I also spend a lot of time in my son’s school doing theatre with the children there. This summer I am going for a fortnight long trek to Sikkim with a group of Class XI kids and their teachers. Q: You have some very interesting perspective on the Aarushi Talwar case. You have also highlighted about parent’s responsibilities. What according to you are the things that worries you as your son grows older? A: I don’t have any worries as such. My son will be okay. He is fond of animals, especially dogs. He cares for the environment. He gets upset when he sees beggars on the roads. He has a lot of friends. At 12, he is a better human being than I am in my forties. I suspect he is much more intelligent than both his parents. He can take his parents for a ride when he wants to. He has a wicked sense of humour. He has enough life skills to do well when he grows up. As a parent I am not paranoid about the internet. I don’t believe in monitoring his surfing or internet games. Our generation was also exposed to pornography through books and films. My son and his friends may have these experiences earlier and over the internet but they will outgrow them just as we did. Technology has just made things faster but at another level, nothing has changed. As for the Aarushi Talwar case, I find the behaviour of parents very suspicious. They may not have murdered their daughter but they know something about the murder that they are concealing. For a day after the murder, the Hindi channel Aaj Tak showed them coming back from the funeral and when the television scribes started pestering the father with questions, the mother pinched him from behind warning him not to say anything. That was enough to convince me that for the parents hiding facts about the murder is more important than getting their dead daughter justice. Not once have they admitted that their system of locking their daughter’s room from outside in the nights was wrong. Just as employing male domestic helps in a household when their daughter must have come back from school, to find the parents at work doesn’t make sense. Especially in a place like Delhi where there are so many murders and robberies that are committed by the live in helps. At the very least they could have employed a female help to keep an eye on their daughter. What I am saying may sound silly but these are the things most working couples with children ensure, although logic can counter all these arguments. But parenting is more about instincts than logic. At the very least Aarushi’s parents are guilty of not listening to their instincts and that may very well have cost them their daughter. Even animals can sense danger and protect their young ones. Q: You seem to be very jilted on the current political scenario, politicians and the number of controversies and scams. What changes would you suggest that should be undertaken, in order to improve the conditions? Also, do you think in the recent times, Indian journalism needs some changes? If yes, then what are those? A: I am not just “jilted” as you put it. I am shocked at the way this country is going. The way this government has sold out to capitalists. The scale of these scams is astounding and we have a PM who equates acts of corruption to granting subsidies. What has happened to Manmohan Singh? We were always high on corruption but right now it looks like there is something wrong with you and me if we don’t think of making money through unfair means, every morning. I think the best way to tackle corrupt governments is to vote for a different one every time so that they don’t have time to settle down. Also that way they would be too busy unearthing the previous government’s scams to think of new ways of swindling money from the people of India. I used to dislike Arnab Goswami at one time. I thought he was a rabble-rouser. But with everything we have learnt in the past few months, I believe we need a few more journalists like him to go hammer and tongs at politicians of all parties. Indian journalism is doing fine. There are bad apples in every profession. Q: Your career graph has always grown and includes a lot many things; like writing columns, managing ‘Still Waters’, training corporates on teamwork and leadership, and writing novels. There is so much on your plate. Being a parent, husband and a writer, how do you manage time for everything? A: There’s also a lot of time I spend in getting pissed off at the things around me so you have to count that in too. I think I can write a lot more if I didn’t waste so much of time of brooding and watching television. I am a reasonably good father. I check with my son from time to time and he says I am doing fine. I am a bad husband. But husbands are always bad. Q: Which Indian and International writer/author is your favorite and why? Tell us what makes them different from others as a writer. Which style of writing have you liked reading the most but wouldn’t want to attempt yourself? A: I have many favourite authors ranging from J M Coetzee, Orhan Pamuk, Kazuo Ishigoro, Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Barbara Vine, Arundhati Roy, Ruskin Bond, PD James…the list is endless. I have my own style of writing and so wouldn’t want attempt the style of any other writer although I admire many. Q: You have read and reviewed many books. What tips, as an experienced writer and author, would you want to give to a budding writer? A: Please read. Unless you read great works of literature, it will be difficult for you to pick up the tools and techniques of writing. Also, please remember it’s not just about writing, it’s also about the ideas that back the writing. Great ideas lead to great works. Q: You have written and launched three books; ‘The Gloomy Rabbit’, ‘Master of Life Skills’ & the recent one ‘Boss is Not Your Friend’. Which book do you feel is your best work as a writer? Or is your best yet to come? A: It’s definitely yet to come. I am not proud of anything I have written so far. I hope to write a great piece of literature some day. That’s what keeps me going. Q: What is your advice to someone who wants to start a blog? A: Be committed to it. Don’t give up after blogging a few times. Q: What do you find to be the most gratifying aspect of blogging? A: That I can blog at will and not worry about someone else’s approval to get it published. Q: How, in general, would you rate the quality of Indian blogs? Share your favourite five blogs. A: I am afraid I hardly follow the blogs by others. But now that I am a member of “BlogAdda” I will start doing it. Can we keep this question for the next interview? Q: Let’s conclude off with a few favorites. Movie: Silence of the Lambs TV Show: Inspector Morse Time of Day: Early Mornings Your Zodiac Sign: Aries Now waiting for ‘The Colour of Kurinji’ and more such awesome reads in the future. Readers, we have one more who left the corporate world to follow his passion. What do you think? If you have any questions for Vijay Nair, feel free to ask him. All those in Bangalore, On Saturday, March 19, between 5:30pm – 8:30pm, at Reliance Timeout, Cunningham Road, Vijay would be launching his book “The Boss Is NOT Your Friend”. Do attend. Your chance to pick Vijay’s brains there! You can buy his books by clicking the links below:

Lent’s article focuses on the change in the depiction of relationships between men and women in films in the 1930s. According to Lent, the screwball comedy which developed in the 1930s, focused on a contemporary relationship between men and women, referred to as “love-companionship,” thus altering and redefining relations between the genders. At a time when Americans were focusing more upon marriage due to the conditions of the Depression, screwball comedy directly addressed love and marriage through sexual and ideological tensions between its two main characters. Lent argues that this divergence from the traditional depiction of love and marriage stems from three major elements: “a redefined image of woman, a redefined view of marriage, and a redefined idea of cinematic comedy” (316). Lent attributes the development of the new woman to the flappers of the 1920s who shared many similar characteristics with classic screwball heroines. Flappers redefined freedom, social behavior, and the role of women in society, all of which were reflected onscreen by actresses. Screwball heroines became characteristically more free and independent, oftentimes dominating their male counterparts. The sexual liberation and power of the flappers were not directly translated to the screwball heroines due to Production Code measures, but as a result, the role of the male was changed as well, to one of “playful companionship” to provide a greater sense of equality between the two genders. This can be seen in Bringing Up Baby, for the film’s heroine, Susan Vance, actually has the power to control the male character and ultimately, get her way. The idea of marriage changed in the 1920s from a social and economic institution to more of a union based on sexual attraction. Lent argues that screwball comedies are essentially stories of courtship that develop from friendship to love and that the fast verbal exchanges and physical comedy act as courting rituals that demonstrate such sexual attraction. In Bringing Up Baby, the many adventures of Susan and Huxley mask the obvious sexual attraction between the two, which in the end, results in their mutual love for each other. Throughout the film, there are also many references to the idea of marriage. Huxley’s engagement to Miss Swallow, a stern coworker more interested in the future marriage for career reasons, is contrasted with his many fun adventures with Susan. In essence, the two relationships contrast the traditional idea of marriage with the new, contemporary idea of marriage of the time, which was based more on friendship and fun. Lastly, Lent states that the appearance of screwball comedy in the 1930s redefined film comedy as well by merging romantic and slapstick comedy into one. This allowed for more sexual innuendo that would have normally not been allowed in romantic movies, but with this merger of comedies, would eventually become known as a comedic element that eventually defined screwball comedy. The physical comedy in screwball also allowed for more intimate touching between characters, reaffirming the sexual and playful nature underlying the relationship between the two leads. The instance when Huxley has to stand closely behind Susan because the back of her dress has torn off, demonstrates this new cinematic gender relationship that eventually helped to redefine intimacy and social ideology as well. Stanley Cavell’s essay provides an in-depth analysis of various aspects of Bringing Up Baby, ranging from the significance of the repetitive dialogue to the meaning of the embrace at the end of the film. The first part of Cavell’s work focuses mainly on this repetition of dialogue and action throughout the film. Cavell argues that the repetition of these two elements results in double entendres that remain unnoticed by the characters but are comedic for the audience. Citing such examples of the repetition of the word “bone,” for example, Cavell believes that the film’s events can be read as is or as a sexual allegory. This resulting ambiguity can seemingly be attributed to the strict standards of the Production Code of the time, which required the development of a new cinematic language to express sexuality or “inappropriateness.” The second part of Cavell’s analysis focuses on the ending embrace between Dr. Huxley and Susan. Cavell argues that the embrace must symbolize something as it is noticeably awkward: “one cannot determine whether the pair’s lips are touching” (282), and it takes place in the museum where the film originally began. Interestingly, Cavell believes that this final embrace is a reenactment of Rodin’s The Kiss, and thus questions whether or not Huxley has really changed from the beginning scene. With this in mind, Cavell also discusses the validation of marriage within the context of the film, stating that the repetition of certain elements within the film seems to indicate that marriage cannot be validated from the “outside,” and thus, the characters work to “move directly to the state of reaffirmation” (288), which is ultimately a source of comedy. The last part of Cavell’s essay examines Bringing Up Baby as a farce. Cavell argues that although the film exhibits many farcical elements such as allusions to other films and has its origins in vaudeville, it is still, oddly, a very self-conscious film. This article, though full of great commentary on Bringing Up Baby is a bit difficult to read without first reading Cavell’s article titled “Pursuits of Happiness: A Reading of the Lady Eve,” found in Vol 10, No. 3 of New Literary History pp.581-601. Shumway’s article discusses the function of romance in screwball comedy as a way of “mystifying marriage.” The author uses writer Stanley Cavell’s Pursuits of Happiness, an analysis of screwball comedy, as a basis and then refutes his argument that screwball comedy enlightens audiences about marriage. Shumway argues that romance essentially contains an element of illusion in itself and this thus translates in screwball comedy, to an illusive view of marriage as well. The idea of illusion also stems from the relationship between romance and desire, which Shumway states is another reason why screwball comedies often involve the rich, for this wealthy world is almost like a false promise that results from romance and love, and functions to heighten desire. One of the most interesting arguments that Shumway makes in this article is that screwball comedies tend to hint that complete desire and complete satisfaction are attainable and that this specific state is known as marriage. Shumway uses examples from It Happened One Night and The Philadelphia Story to demonstrate that in screwball comedies, even women become objects of desire for the men. What is essential in creating this mystified notion of marriage is ultimately dependent on how the audience views the relationship between the characters. Shumway argues that the classic generic elements of screwball, such as the fast-paced dialogue, functions as a sort of electrical attraction that can be sensed by the audience and hints at the blissful ending of marriage. The second half of this article consists of a contrasting analysis of Desperately Seeking Susan which reverses a lot of the generic elements of screwball. Beginning with marriage, and ending in divorce, the film presents an alternative to marriage, which in this case is adultery. In this film, marriage is not shown as the culmination of desire, but rather, the failure of romance. It is interesting however, that Shumway’s analysis does not seem to fit Bringing Up Baby exactly. Despite the implied marriage at the end, which is in a way, mystified by the romance between the two characters, there is also a very realistic view of marriage in the beginning of the film when Huxley is engaged to be married to Miss Swallow, a marriage that would definitely not be one of romance. This could probably be explained by Shumway as a contrast of a “failed” marriage and a successful marriage, to perhaps heighten the illusion of the successful marriage. The seventh article in the novel, titled Classical Hollywood Comedy, this article (p.123-146), analyzes the screwball comedies of the 1930s and 1940s. Karnick argues that although the plots for these comedies were inherently similar, the humoristic elements in these films helped to distinguish themselves. Along with the similar plotlines, these films have common narrative structures that are further complicated by humor. Humor, according to the author, is the result of incongruity between what is expected and what is actually seen onscreen, and is eventually followed by resolution. This relationship of incongruity and resolution is thus a way to break up the narrative and lessen the predictability of the film. Karnick also utilizes Vladimir Propp’s methodology of the establishment of genres to analyze screwball comedies. Propp’s work, which compared the themes of 150 Russian folktales by separating parts of tales into “functions,” “spheres of action,” and “moves,” showed that while characters’ names changed between the stories, their functions and actions within the actual narrative did not. Karnick thus uses this theory and applies it to the screwball comedy to explain the recurring plots, but different elements of humor. Karnick is thus able to categorize screwball comedies into two general groups, “Comedies of Commitment” and “Comedies of Reaffirmation.” Commitment comedies, such as Bringing Up Baby, tend to focus on the establishment a central couple, whereas reaffirmation comedies concern the reestablishment of a couple (131). According to Karnick, commitment comedies actually have multiple plotlines. In the case of Bringing Up Baby, Dr. Huxley is concerned about obtaining financing for his museum, but also about searching for the last bone to complete his dinosaur fossil. Commitment comedies also tend to exhibit the clashing of social classes—Dr. Huxley is a highly-educated man who is paired with Susan, a wealthy young woman with no need for a career. The promise of marriage at the end of the film is another characteristic of commitment comedies. In addition to these common themes, Karnick argues that this particular category shares character roles as well. There is a “first partner” (Huxley), an “initial partner” (Miss Swallow), a “second partner” (Susan), a “conscience figure” (Sarah, Nick, Ned), and a “blocking figure” (Mr. Seton). (133). In the last part of the article, Karnick addresses the reaffirmation comedies, which she argues are essentially continuations of commitment comedies. Thus, like commitment comedies, this particular category also shares common themes, plotlines, and character roles as well. tagged love romantic_comedy screwball_comedy by aknopp ...on 29-NOV-05 Howard Hawks, Storyteller is an interesting biography that takes a look at the life and work of Howard Hawks, the director of Bringing Up Baby. Hawks was born on May 30, 1896 in Indiana and later moved with his family to Pasadena, California. Growing up, Hawks loved reading stories and building machines—the latter interest eventually led to a degree in mechanical engineering from Cornell University. Yet his love for stories and story-telling eventually won out and in 1917 Hawks began his film career as a prop boy for Adolph Zukor‘s merged distribution company, Famous Players-Lasky. His film career spanned forty years and in the process, Hawks earned directing credits for such notable films as His Girl Friday (1940), The Big Sleep (1946), and Red River (1948), and also various other producing and writing credits, all of which amounted to an incredible body of work that reflected his extremely versatile talent. Although Hawks proved that he could direct almost any type of film, one of his specialties was the screwball comedy. The sixth chapter of this novel, titled “Comedies of Youth and Age: Bringing Up Baby and Monkey Business” (pp.133-187) offers an interesting comparison between two of Hawks’s most famous screwball comedies resulting in an in-depth analysis of Hawks’s approach to this particular genre. Author Gerald Mast first mentions Hawks’s creation of his characters in his screwball comedies. Unlike other films of the genre that have characters that eventually come to a turning point and reject their screwball ways, Hawks’s characters have a tendency to adhere to their original screwball manner throughout. In Bringing Up Baby, Hepburn’s character maintains her screwball nature even to the last frame of the film in which she accidentally knocks Dr. Huxley’s complicated dinosaur fossil into pieces on the ground. As Mast describes it, Hawks’s films have a “perfect lunacy [that] redefines ‘normality’ and remakes the world in its own image: the lunatic world itself becomes perfectly normal for those who are perfectly lunatic” (137). Mast then breaks down the film into a five-act structure, where he notes that the ending of the film is usually similar to the beginning—in this case, both scenes take place at the museum. Each act focuses on a slightly different theme or motif to tie together the action and dialogue. One of the most interesting arguments Mast presents is his discussion of symmetry that adds another element of structure to the film. Mast argues that almost the entire film is symmetrical ranging from the characters’ actions to the characters themselves. For example, Dr. Huxley’s life of scientific order is paralleled with Susan Vance’s life of disorder, virtually dividing the beginning of the film into halves. Also, Huxley’s museum is a direct contrast to Vance’s lavish apartment. Many things appear in pairs throughout the film as well—Susan steals two cars, there are eventually two leopards roaming Connecticut, there are two cages, one for humans and the other for animals, etc. This symmetrical patterning, Mast argues, adds to the “wildness” of the film in order to challenge conventional narrative logic—another specialty of Hawks’s. The second chapter (pp. 29-66) of Romantic vs. Screwball Comedy presents an analysis of the genre of screwball comedy. Gehring argues that the main characters in this particular genre tend to exhibit five key characteristics: “abundant leisure time, childlike nature, basic male frustration (especially in relationship to women), a general propensity for physical comedy, and a proclivity for parody and satire” (29). Gehring cites various films from different time periods ranging from George Cukor’s Holiday (1938) to the comedies of today, noting that each film’s “comic antihero” shares these common characteristics. Gehring also uses Howard Hawks’s Bringing Up Baby (1938) as a classic example of this particular genre. In Hawks’s film, Dr. David Huxley, played by Cary Grant, is the epitome of the comic antihero. As an absentminded professor (often a recurring character in such genre films), Huxley is essentially a member of “high-society.” He is a relatively wealthy man, despite his need for a million-dollar research grant, and has time to socialize with other members of high society, whether on a golf course, at a dinner party, etc. Yet his high education, paired with his seemingly paradoxical absentmindedness and bumbling personality, also serves as comic relief throughout the film. Referred to as “comic rigidity,” a term used in Henri Bergson’s theory of comic superiority, which Gehring cites, these comedic elements stem from this “inversion” of what is generally the norm for a professional such as Huxley. Huxley also has a childlike nature, according to Gehring, which is reflected through the dominance of the female character, Susan. Throughout the film it is clear that Susan, played by Katharine Hepburn, is in command—she has the power to alter Huxley’s plans and eventually, his entire future. It is through this dominance that the element of basic male frustration is exhibited as well. Huxley is basically powerless as Susan drags him to Connecticut in hopes of delivering a tamed leopard named Baby. As a source of frustration for Huxley, Susan also draws out Huxley’s displays of physical comedy in various scenes. For example, Huxley often retaliates to Susan’s dominance with physical actions, not words. In a scene where Huxley is simply annoyed with Susan, he pretends to strangle her instead of saying something. Gehring also argues that the presence of physical comedy in screwball comedies is due to the fact that the genre was born out of slapstick comedy from the silent film era. In fact, Gehring mentions that Grant’s character was based on silent film star Harold Lloyd as well as Buster Keaton. The last part of Gehring’s discussion focuses on the satiric elements of screwball comedies, which the author states was Howard Hawks’s specialty. This proclivity for parody and satire is evidenced in many instances, and is a running theme throughout the film. Like other screwball comedies, Bringing Up Baby, has a tendency to make fun of romance and the characters themselves. For example, Huxley’s engagement of convenience to Miss Swallow in the beginning of the film is a direct comment on marriage and the film’s jail scenes as well as the lavish party scenes poke fun at rich society.Gehring concludes his argument by noting that these five characteristics, though not limited only to screwball comedy, serve to help define the complex genre. Christopher Beach’s Class, Language, and American Film Comedy examines the changes that occurred in American film comedy through the portrayal of social class as well as linguistic development. Chapter 2 entitled “Working Ladies and Forgotten Men: Class Divisions in Romantic Comedy, 1934-1937” charts the change from openly satirical screwball comedies originating in the early 1930s to those of the latter part of the decade. It is these comedies that Beach describes as “equal in its subversive potential…yet ends with an unexpected and rather sudden reversal of its underlying social critique.” The chapter begins with a plot summary and assessment of My Man Godfrey. Beach describes la Cava’s satire as being continuously directed towards the “screwball antics of the conspicuously pampered upper classes.” The sensitivity or lack thereof, is witnesses and is done so often. Beach then describes what he perceives as a “radical reversal” of the sociopolitical message of the film as its ending praises the “utopian celebration of private enterprise during the Depression” rather than a more leftist approach stemming from the New Deal. This is seen as Godfrey saves the Bullocks as well as his homeless friends through two different private investments. Beach does state that La Cava still used the juxtaposition of wealth and poverty to create a spectacle for the film audience that was typical of screwball comedies at the time. Beach then argues that romantic comedies of the mid-1930s to early 1940s were less open in their subversion; they were still highly ambivalent in “their exploration of social class, social conformism, and the establishment of social order.” These films adopted a conservative cinematic style (including La Cava) to defuse hostility towards screwball comedy’s “potential subversive form.” It is argued that any type of naively positive portrayal of the wealthy during this time period would have been rejected by a large portion of the filmgoing audience. Beach further continues to discuss the ideological contradictions in 1930s films. He believes that they are indicative of the contradiction in American society, where there was a growth in “consumer ethos” and a heavy reliance upon it despite the increase in poverty. Furthermore, this disparity in wealth and class and the emergence of consumer culture that created the premise of “cross-class interaction.” Thus, the bread-and-butter premise of screwballs—the involvement of one wealthy character seducing one from a lower class—can be explained. Much of this desire and demand for this framework is credited to individual writers and directors of such films. Beach then explains the role and involvement of language to depict the differences in societal classes. It is through linguistic differences that best engage the audience in a more subtle analysis of class relations. The Production Code is credited for screwball comedy’s clever composition of language to further disguise the topic of sex. The rest of the chapter is devoted to the analysis of two films: The Girl from Missouri and Easy Living. tagged Depression_films Gregory_La_Cava class_differences_in_film film_linguistics movie_comedy my_man_godfrey screwball screwball_comedy by lande ...on 29-NOV-05 Chapter 1 in Wes D. Gehring’s Romantic vs. Screwball Comedy presents a clear and well delineated introduction to the five main differences between both genres. Moreover, the chapter outlines the historical circumstances that shaped the two genres. It ends with a description of the post-Depression developments of both genres. The first main difference that Gehring describes is the emphasis on love vs. comedy. Screwball comedies place its emphasis on “funny” as opposed to romantic comedy which “accents love.” This represents the America’s “take on farce,” with its desire to see physical comedy and absurd events. This is in contrast to romantic comedy which grounds itself in reality. The second difference is the depiction of the love process. Screwball spoofs such romance, while romantic comedy keeps the process visible, consciously highlighting it. The third difference Gehring describes involves basic character development. Screwball comedy uses an eccentric main cast, with an equally satiric support cast. Romantic comedy uses a less controlling and more serious heroine and the supporting characters tend to be “more funny than flaky.” The fourth difference is the “dating ritual.” In screwball, the heroine often finds herself in a “triangle” with her desire and his fiancée and the heroine’s role is to separate the serious (and boring) fiancée and to then capture his heart. In romantic comedy, the tension often lies in character differences, as opposed to another character itself. The fifth difference is plot pacing. Screwballs escalate near the end, while romantic comedy drags the tension throughout the end. Next, Gehring discusses “Depression-Era Developments.” The first point Gehring presents the emergence of the “anti-hero” in 1920’s film. The second point is the fascination of the population with the upper classes. The third development is the implementation of the Production Code in 1934. The fourth “period factor” was the film industry’s growing use of sound technology. The fifth discussion point was the influence of “manic comedy of teams.” The chapter then discusses key pictures. My Man Godfrey is described and analyzed throughout this part of the chapter. Analysis of the connection between Marx Brother’s comeback film’s (A Night at the Opera) success and that of Godfrey. It is described as “a surreal lead-in.” Gehring argues that Morrie Ryskind aided in this success as he was the co-writer of both films. The chapter ends with a presentation of “Post-Depression Developments of Both Genres.” There is focus on WWII as a reason for the dwindling demand for screwball comedy. Moreover, a slew of poor remakes is argued as tainting the screwball genre. Gehring then charts screwballs re-emergence in the 1960s and then a “mini re-emergence” in the 1980s. Wes D. Gehring’s Screwball Comedy presents a thorough analysis of the said genre. Chapter 6, “The Screwball Genre and Comedy Theory,” applies comedy theory to screwball comedy. The first part of the chapter presents a “superiority theory” and applies it to the genre of screwball comedy. The model focuses on three key aspects: “the concept of implosion, genre space and conflict, and the comic tendencies of pivotal directors.” Screwball makes fun of the status quo—in particular of the wealthy. However, it is done as to “grow fond of these wealthy wackos, in a superior sort of way.” Moreover, Gehring believes that screwball minimizes “socioeconomic differences of the leading duo and key on their initial conflicts concerning eccentric behavior.” Gehring then reverts back to political implosion and space and conflict. It is argued that the leftist movement of the 1930s was upset that Hollywood focused on the Depression despite the public’s fondness of such topics. Gehring then discusses how screwball doesn’t have “determinate space” and isn’t concerned with “threatened space,” but rather society and attempting to adjust to the “cultural milieu.” The chapter then moves to discuss Henri Bergson’s Theory of Superiority. There are three components of character development that can be applied to screwball comedy: absentmindedness, inversion, and supporting comedy characters as satellites of the lead performer. It is described that absentmindedness usually comes from the lead male performer. It can be seen through rigidity, as is the case with the slightly aloof Godfrey. Inversion is then described as when “‘certain characters in a certain situations’ pull a switch.” This can appear when the antihero male believes he is in charge of his life, but isn’t. Gehring then describes the incident in Godfrey when Irene (Carole Lombard) tells Godfrey (William Powell) that he “is my responsibility now.” Gehring then presents three key items that differentiate female “activity” from that of the male. Firstly, the female assumes the eccentricity mainly to win over the male. Despite her zealousness, Irene (Lombard) displays rationality, telling her sister “you can’t rush a man like Godfrey.” Secondly, there is a double standard with respect to the reversal of “stereotype gender activity.” Thus, the female heroine is allowed to be aggressive. Lastly, is the” battle of the sexes.” It is argued that the female eccentricity is not anti-social because of her desire towards marriage—a societal foundation. The final part of the chapter deals with satellite characters. Gehring describes the supporting characters as antiheroic and sometimes fatherly. This applies to Godfrey as the father character, Alexander Bullet, is indeed the true forgotten man as well as a satellite father figure. David R. Shumway’s article in the 1991 summer issue of Cinema Journal discusses how screwball comedies provide a skewed concept of marriage. It is his argument that the screwball genre is the “affirmation of marriage in the face of the threat of a growing divorce rate and liberalized divorce laws.” Shumway then presents the historical trend towards an increasing population in the United States with a disproportionately high increase in divorces by the end of the 1920s. Hollywood is argued to be partly responsible as movies started to portray the home not as an institution of self-sacrifice and communality but rather “geared” towards self-containment and personal satisfaction. From this argument, Shumway continues to construct that screwball comedy depicts that one can have “complete desire and complete satisfaction” and that such attainment is named “marriage.” Shumway also discusses the triadic pattern seen in many screwballs, where the significance lies in “its figuring of the structure of desire.” Furthermore, the subject of the film is heterosexual, but not necessarily male in gender. Screwball comedy presents women as the desiring subject and not simply an object between two males. This positioning parallels the increasing atmosphere of feminism and independence found in the screwball comedy era (1930s). Shumway also discusses that casting serves to reaffirm and heighten “desire” created by the triadic pattern found in screwball films. Shumway then presents his view of the depiction of the upper-classes in screwball not as a way to depict overcoming class differences, but rather to further enhance eroticism. He believes that luxury is concurrent with erotica. Moreover, he argues that “prosocial thematics” of reconciliation never occur at the expense of the “power and privilege of the rich.” My Man Godfrey is used as an example as Godfrey is only fit to marriage the heiress Irene until his true, blue-blooded, identity is revealed. Shumway then goes back to discuss the depiction of women in screwball comedies. It is argued that there is a couple of “reversals” that serve to affirm marriage while considering the social changes occurring. He mentions that the heroine is a strong pursuer while the man is seen as “bumbling.” While not provided in the article, we can see this at the end of Godfrey where Irene provides a priest and pseudo-forces Godfrey into marriage in his office, irregardless of his confused demeanor. Another reversal is the heightened possibility of life and sex outside of marriage. While screwball sets to affirm marriage, it does so by providing an alternative to it. Bernard Drew’s essay entitled “High Comedy in the Thirties” in The National Society of Film Critics on Movie Comedy serves as an excellent overview on the transition to such comedies in the 1930s and its fading towards the start of WWII. Drew begins with a description of how sound comedies started. He associates this change with the advent and incorporation of sound. Thus, it is argued that many silent comedians were unfit for screen as they had “Pitkin Avenue souls and speech.” Thus, there was increased demand for actors with proper speech patterns and accents; much new talent stemming from Broadway and London theaters. William Powell and Carole Lombard in My Man Godfrey are the exceptions, with Powell being a silent screen star whose accent was Mid-Atlantic and Lombard simply having the appropriate screen presence and aura of class. With this shift in talent and style, film comedies became “artificial comedies of manners.” The association of manners stemmed from society’s perceptions of the wealthy. Moreover, the Depression had created a mystifying effect towards the upper-class as a great majority of the population was suffering or whose lifestyle was impaired. Such an audience couldn’t relate to such a small portion of the population. Drew argues that the wealthy could be portrayed as anything on screen because most filmgoers had no idea regarding the upper-classes societal norms. Thus, as Drew states, allowed for movie heiresses to be “always dizzy, madcap, charming, and irresponsible.” He further draws an example from My Man Godfrey; the scene where Irene discovers Godfrey in a landfill to take back as an object on a scavenger hunt in which she and her socialite friends take part. Drew describes that the bombing of Pearl Harbor and the United States’ subsequently entry into war resulted in the dissipation of screwball comedy. He states that those individuals not at war were working in factories and defense plants, making “more money than they ever had.” Thus, the wealthy weren’t as remote as the majority of the population once felt. Thus, comedy became more reality based and as a result, talent from screwball comedy, such as Godfrey’s Carole Lombard shifted to drama or wartime themed films.

Traders in Bicester have noticed a difference in footfall in the town following the introduction of two hours free parking. Last month the 23 Pioneer Regiment puts its name to a £70million development in the town centre which includes new shops, a cinema, and a Sainbury’s supermarket with a multi-storey car park. Bicester politicians pushed for free parking in the new centre, and the shoppers can now park for up to two hours without charge. Holly Lewis, who works at the family run Lewis’s Butchers in Sheep Street, said with August as one of their slowest months, it was difficult to tell if the parking was making a difference to their bottom line. But she added: “Before, people were rushing around and were always saying they couldn’t stop because they could only park for so long. “But I am seeing people ambling around a lot more. “If they are in a rush they tend to try to shop all in one place, now they have a bit more time to visit places like the butchers. “It has definitely helped, and more free parking would help even more.” Ben Jackson, acting chairman of Bicester Chamber of Commerce said: “Generally speaking people are very quick to tell me ‘I’m not happy,’ and not so quick when they are happy, but I’ve not been picking up any negative vibes from it. I happened to be walking around the town at the weekend, Sunday seemed to be busier in terms of footfall. “And the couple of traders who have given feedback have said they believe footfall is up. “They now just have to get them into their shops and get them spending. I wouldn’t say they have to rise to the challenge but now it has bedded in, it has created a good opportunity for the existing retailers, whether independent or a high street name, to take advantage while it is new. “And they are going to get more to cheer about. As the empty units open, and the ones that are already let open, it is going to bring more and more people into the town. “Where as, some may say, it was disappointing not to have all the units opens at the same time, it does actually mean the gradual process will draw out the publicity and exposure for the town centre.” Mr Jackson said negative comments about Bicester on social networking sites were being shouted down by the majority and there seemed to be more pride about the town. He added: “It means when your family or mates come to visit, you don’t have to take them off to Oxford or Banbury, Milton Keynes or Aylesbury. “You can come into Bicester and enjoy a modern, state of the art cinema and you can enjoy an evening out whether you are a family or young adults.”

Inner-city student in documentary "Waiting For Superman" by Sam Juliano The Wonders in the Dark horror poll has yielded some all-time classics, and this past week has featured some of the best reviews of the countdown. Allan’s run of Japanese cinema has been eye-opening, and Joel’s latest review (on the Dardennes’ The Son) in his ‘Best of the 21st Century’ series has matched his best work. Meanwhile, Marilyn Ferdinand and Tony Dayoub have reported at their sites from the Chicago and New York Film Festivals respectively with some fascinating appraisals. Ed Howard is back in action at Only the Cinema, and Troy Olson has archived his outstanding work for the horror poll at his Elusive as Robert Denby: The Life and Times of Troy blogsite. After a quiet week, I rallied for a very busy weekend in the movie theatres, after spending some time at home with my classic television sets of One Step Beyond and Thriller. I resisted the temptation to see Gaspar Noe’s controversial Enter the Void at the IFC Film Center with a special appearance by the nihilist director and the lead star, in favor of a double feature of Buried and Woody Allen’s latest. I wasn’t in a mood to be depressed. Waiting For Superman **** (Saturday night) Landmark Cinemas Buried **** (Sunday night) Angelika Film Center You Will Meet A Tall Dark Stranger *** 1/2 (Sunday night) Angelika Tokyo Twilight ***** (Sunday morning) IFC Film Center The documentary WAITING FOR SUPERMAN’s main focus was on ineffectual teachers and the “antiquated” system that awards incompetants for years of service, and neglects those educators with special gifts. Dazzling animated sequences and some telling interviews with district superintendents makes for a riveting work, but little attention is paid to sub-standard salaries and the startling neglect of some parents in inner-city districts, who often are to blame for low test scores, and the lagging behind of America’s scholastic infra-structure in global ratings. BURIED is an oppressively claustrophobic film shot entirely in a “coffin” that holds an American prisoner in Iraq, who is armed only with a cell phone and a lighter. The tense interchanges with officials, and the terrifying imprisonment makes for a breathless and riveting watch, even with the bungled conclusion. The lead star, Ryan Reynolds is mesmerizing in this low-budget Spanish-Australian inde, that provides an interesting deviation on the horrifying The Vanishing from years back. There’s nothing terribly new in Woody Allen’s YOU WILL MEET A TALL DARK STRANGER, but it’s a reasonably engaging and plesantly set drama about marital meltdowns with a high octane cast. And it makes good use of “When You Wish Upon A Star” and features an affecting seance sequence. TOKYO TWILIGHT of course is an Ozu masterpiece and one of his darkest films. I’ll have a full report of it in my massive round-up post in November. There are great things going on in the blogosphere: Ace horror scribe Troy Olson has been penning one fantastic review after another for the Wonders in the Dark polling, and the lot is archived at his own site, Elusive as Robert Denby: The Life and Times of Troy, with the terrifying British entry The Descent sitting on top: http://troyolson.blogspot.com/2010/09/descent.html Checking back from the Chicago International Film Festival (CIFF), Marilyn Ferdinand has authored an impassioned piece on the Hungarian film The Last Report on Anna at Ferdy-on-Films: http://www.ferdyonfilms.com/?p=6258 Read Full Post »

"The Red Baron" is an intense, action-packed drama Latest Entertainment News Search Entertainment News >> Published: 5/30/2010 1:15 PM Print this article War movies are certainly popular among moviegoers, and "The Red Baron," a film based on the true story of World War I piloting hero Baron Manfred von Richthofen, is bound to be a hit. The action-packed biographical drama will be available for purchase on Tuesday, June 1. The film chronicles the life of Richthofen (Matthias Schweighöfer) from the beginning of his aeriel career. The celebrated war hero - who evolves into one of the biggest enemy threats in the air - eventually becomes known as "The Red Baron." However, after he meets and falls in love with the beautiful nurse Käte Otersdorf (Lena Headey), Richthofen soon realizes he is being used for government propaganda. His life then takes a new turn as he begins to question the value of war. Those who find the history in "The Red Baron" enthralling may be interested in similar movies, such as "All Quiet on the Western Front." The classic film went on to win the Academy Award for Best picture in 1930. All Quiet on the Western Front Universal Cinema Classics DVD$10.99 Princess Bride 25th Anniversary Edition Blu-ray Disc Charlie Sheen cast as president in 'Machete Kill' The 'Machete' sequel also stars Jessica Alba and Mel Gibson. Liam Neeson returns to action with 'Taken 2' trailer The sequel hits theaters October 5. New Releases: "Twilight: Eclipse" DVD release will come just in time for the holidays Action Movies: "Shrek Forever After" a treat for the entire family Action Movies: Susan Collins talks about "The Hunger Games" film Action Movies: May the force still be with you Action Movies: Fans of "The Lord of the Rings" anticipating "The Hobbit" James Bond Movies Latest Movie News Nintendo DS Games Sci Fi Movies TV on DVD Xbox 360 Games

Journal of the Earth Liberation Movement$4.99 Resistance is published quarterly by a group of veteran earth liberation activists as a vehicle to inform, inspire, and energize the earth liberation movement and provide timely information... The Moon Between the Mirrors of the Night and the Crystal of Day—A Continuing Fable By...$2.50 A collection of writings and communiques from the man behind the mask. Literature, Cinema, Art and the Colonization of American Indians$16.95 The reworking of fact into expedient fantasies is a well-known historical process. In this volume of incisive essays - expanded and revised since the original publication in 1992 - Churchill... Native Struggles for Land & Life$17.00 Native peoples' resistance to environmental degradation and to cultural genocide are intimately linked as these essays by a leading Native environmental activist. She was the Green... Politics & Culture of Revolutionary Asian/Pacific America$22.95 The Black Panther Party and the Brown Berets live on in our historical memory, but what of the revolutionary groups which came out of Asian America in the late 60s and early 70s? Compiled by... New Introduction by Robin D.G. Kelley. Césaire's work, once crucial to the anti-colonial struggles of the 50s & 60s haunts us again. His questions about the role of imperialism & slavery and... A Big Noise Film VHS$25.00 An incredible film documenting the first 4 years of the Zapatista uprising, from 94-98. Includes with Subcomandante Marcos, Insurgent leaders Tach and Ana Maria, Chiapas Dominican priest Pablo... An incredible novel, detailing both a simple love story, and the impact of the arrival of the white man, on the Australian Aboriginals, told from the viewpoint of a native Australian, about to be... El primero de enero de 1994, las comunidades indígenas de Chiapas, México se levantaron en contra de la ALCA (NAFTA en ingles) y la destrucción de sus vidas por el capitalismo... A collection of communiques from the early years of the EZLN. These writings are part poetry, part politics, and always slightly lighthearted even as they are deadly serious.

A gay man in Nottingham has taken his former employer to court over claims he was sacked due to his sexuality. Craig Sambrook worked for the cinema chain Cineworld for 16 years before being dismissed in June 2012. The 33-year-old told Nottingham Employment Tribunal that he was harassed by one of his managers and victimised. Cineworld denies that Mr Sambrook’s sexual orientation had any effect upon the decision to dismiss him, stating it was due to repeated warnings over poor time-keeping and conduct. Mr Sambrook claims on one occasion a heterosexual colleague was late for work and not disciplined. Defending his work ethic, Mr Sambrook said in a statement to the tribunal: “I have always achieved highly appraised performances and appraisals throughout my career. “I have always received a company bonus when it has been determined by self-performance.” Disputing Cineworld’s criticism over his punctuality, Mr Sambrook said: “On the 30 October 2011 I was late for work however I did have mitigating circumstances for this, however the company have not accepted these circumstances. “My partner was hospitalised due to him suffering an asthma attack in the early hours of the morning on 30 October 2011. After leaving the hospital and arriving home I decided to try and get some sleep so I would look a little refreshed for work and the staff meeting. I had every intention of attending work at my scheduled time however due to the events leading me to attend hospital with my partner, I slept through my alarm.” The Nottingham Post reports when asked if he believed line manager Katherine Ogden had treated him negatively because of his sexual orientation, Mr Sambrook replied: “Yes.” Ms Ogden denies the allegations, and cited how she would also give Mr Sambrook time off to attend Pride events. Ms Ogden said: “He would put holiday requests in and I would accept that. I’m raising that because if I had an issue with his sexuality maybe I would have put a stop to his time off.” The tribunal heard Mr Sambrook was issued with a verbal warning in May 2011 after some paperwork went missing. He was then issued with a final written warning in November 2011 for failing to work his rostered hours, before being dismissed seven months later for a similar offence. He claims Ms Ogden mocked his sexuality by repeatedly using the work “peachy”. Mr Sambrook claims this term is slang for a gay person, and that it amounted to harassment. Ms Ogden, however, said the nickname came about as she and Mr Sambrook were talking in her office. She said: “Craig was talking about getting ready for a big night out and about his personal preparations. I said I bet you would be peachy and smooth, and that’s where it came from.” When asked by the tribunal whether she thought “peachy” was a derogatory term for a gay man, Ms Ogden said: “No, certainly not.” The tribunal is now due to make its ruling.

Bridging The Generation Gap: Improving Family Relationships By Shyamola Khanna In this age of nuclear families, statistics reveal that despite the burgeoning population, older people tend to be lonely and isolated. It is understandable in families where youngsters have moved far away to build their own lives – however, when three family generations live in the same city, sometimes even in the same home, it does leave a question mark. Yes, the younger generation tends to have taxing schedules. Many work long hours and even have health issues and other sources of stress. Their parents do not agree with their new values, and so they move out as soon as possible. Lately, a new level of job insecurity has kicked in, and marriage and kids add to the distance from the older generations. A common refrain – “I love my folks, but have no time to spend with them.” Not surprisingly, older people feel the youngsters do not care anymore – now that they have their education and their jobs, they do not want the added burden of looking after parents. The result? Terse or non-existent communication, and little or no time spent together. They would like to see more of the grandchildren, but fear rejection. A common refrain – “We are a burden. They do not want us to interfere in their lives anymore. We have been put out to pasture!” Kids, who form the third arm of this triangle, grow up with mostly absent fathers and mothers, but plenty of material goods. With no appropriate values, they do not know how to deal with many social situations. A case in point: Teen muggings and killings being reported lately from super-affluent Gurgaon, outside Delhi. With busy, working parents, teens are growing up without a sense of connection or good values. We need to bridge the gap between these three generations. A Case Study A family lives in up-market Jorbagh, South Delhi. The grandparents with their only daughter, son-in-law and two grandsons. I have watched them from close quarters – communication flows between the three generations with no apparent barriers at all. There may be occasional lacunae, but they are not big enough to cause any major breakdowns. The grandsons return from school and seek out the 75-year-old grandmother for a snack or a drink. The elder boy comes home alone on the school bus, and the 82-year-old grandfather picks up the youngest. Some time ago, the mother, grandmother and the younger boy went shopping. The elder lady slowed them down, causing the young boy to comment, “Why do you bring Granny? She cannot walk.” The grandmother took no offence. Like any grandparent, she dotes on the little ones and holds no grudges about ‘ill mannered kids’. The home-bound mother tackles all parenting and discipline issues and the grandparents do not interfere, unless the situation gets out of hand or the mother is not at home. The grandparents are a regular fixtures in the house, unlike the parents. This gives the kids a great sense of security – a major plus in Delhi today. Hindi lessons and bedtime stories are the grandmother’s department. The mother helps both the boys with their homework and other assignments. Foul language and rude behavior with the servants are unthinkable. The little chap does throw an occasional tantrum, but never in public. There are ground rules for shopping, too – the boys know that they can ask for any one thing. The mother is very strict on that. The restriction works like magic. On food, they are allowed pizzas or burgers once a week and have to eat their regular home-cooked meals on other days. The vegetarian restrictions have been lifted for the growing boys, and occasionally they send out for kebabs and tandoori chicken. Bridging The Gap In the above case, there is discernible gap, since they all share mealtimes and spend quality time together. The elders go out of their way to do things with the little ones, and the kids reciprocate. However, this seems to be the exceptional, rather than the rule, today. Grandparents do not tend to make their grandchildren feel at home anymore. Nothing special is made for them, and there are no attempts to talk to them at their level. During visits to grandparents, kids are usually left on their own to watch TV or do anything else that keeps them out of the way. They get an occasional toy on festival days. How are kids expected to react? When young ones are coming over, elders should plan to make it a special occasion for them – maybe a visit to the cinema with a pizza treat afterwards, or a trip to the fun fair. The planning of such occasions should not be left to grandparents alone – one of the parents should supervise such a trip so that it becomes a memorable one for all concerned. Having kids and grandparents discuss the day’s events afterward is an excellent way to further bridging the divide. Today’s elders need to learn to laugh at their grandchild’s innocent stories and generally come down to their level. No, it’s not easy to make conversation with a bright little six-year-old, but the effort can make a huge difference. The kids should want to come back for more and not see such visits as dreary rituals. Today, the three generations need to re-learn the fine art of working in unison to make family time enjoyable for everyone. Everyone should contribute in some way, and or the other and no one should be left out. The little ones should be given responsibility too. For a family dinner, ask the little girl to lay the table and bringing the grandparents to it at dinnertime. The boys can arrange the seats after counting the number of heads, and also make sure there are enough plates and glasses available. The elders can bring some favorite sweets or give the kids inexpensive gifts. The idea is to involve everyone at cross-generation togetherness events. If everyone involved puts effort into such times, the gap between the generations will begin to narrow again. Togetherness time and open, non-judgmental communication are the key. This article may be reproduced with attribution to the author and a link back to http://www.lovingyourchild.com Teen Parenting Resources: - Speak Teenager – Win back your son or daughter. I wrote this book from a father’s point of view and not from a psychology point of view. My book is straight and to the point in an easy to understand language. This ebook contains everything you need to know in order to make amends with your son or daughter and become their best friend. - How To Create Life History Videos – Step by step instructions to preserve the life stories of your family. What if most of your “natural” teachers and role models were members of your own family, even if they were a generation or two removed? Capture and archive the life stories of those you love. Share these memories and allow them to enrich other family members. - The Step-by-Step Genealogy Guide – Have you tried Ancestry.com, MyHeritage, and other “Pay to Play” genealogy websites but were forced to give up on them? Here’s a guide that will finally manage to show you how to find your ancestors and complete a wonderful family tree. It offers everything you need to know about getting started with genealogy research.

|Harrison Ford and Nicole Beharie star in "42"| Sharing movie houses with expanding arthouse hits like "The Place Beyond the Pines," "Trance" and "To the Wonder," baseball biopic "42" might not be the most visually striking or thought-provoking film worthy of a Friday night at the cinema this month. The film is exactly what it aims to be, however—a crowd-pleaser with mass appeal. Writer-director Brian Helgeland has a successful past as a screenwriter, winning an Oscar for "L.A. Confidential" and earning a second nomination for "Mystic River." As a director, his most successful film to date is "A Knight's Tale," a lightweight but stylish starring vehicle for the late Heath Ledger. "42" is a handsome film that, while failing to reinvent the inspirational sports film genre, makes for a well spent two hours looking at one of baseball's most important historical figures. Set in the late 1940's during Jackie Robinson's quick and controversial ascent to the top of Major League Baseball, "42" is about as clean-cut as you can get. The movie enjoys a fairly docile existence; its emotional impact failing to modulate in any extreme motion. Only a few moments of high drama occur, almost always involving racial slurs. Though not exploitative, the only reactionary moments in the film are completely in response to the use of the N-word. Manipulating the emotions of the audience is the calling card of these history-infused sports films, so nothing is out of place. "42" fits comfortably under the same umbrella as fellow feel-good sports hit "Remember the Titans," a film whose reputation as a high-school favorite and eventual star generator (Ryan Gosling, Hayden Panettiere, Kate Bosworth) precedes it as anything more than a decent film. I couldn't help but want a montage set to "Brooklyn We Go Hard" to begin at any moment during "42," but this film is more Walt Disney than it is Jay-Z. The Jay-Z song is the edgiest that the film gets—and its only featured use is in the trailer and the ubiquitous television ads. It's not exactly false advertising, but the film's squeaky clean visage does nurture thoughts of the grit that could have been. |Chadwick Boseman plays Jackie Robinson in "42"| "42" possesses the visual charm of a dusty, faded uniform, despite Hollywood filmmakers remaining convinced that a sepia tint is necessary for any film set in a previous era. Though the dulled tones aren't off-putting, they aren't completely consistent either—though, the Dodger blue does pop a bit more in contrast. I suspect that, by year's end, I'll still recall the exuberance of the horn-heavy score by Mark Isham. Though it might have been deemed typical years ago, it bucks the current trends that have moved closer to moody synthesizers and weepy strings. "42" already holds the record for the biggest box office opening for a baseball movie. Good word of mouth and an important historical context right as baseball season gets into full swing should keep the cash flowing in all spring. Filmed in Macon and at Atlanta Film Studios Paulding County (AFSPC) in Hiram (as well as in Birmingham, Alabama and Chattanooga, Tennessee), this marks the second box office hit of the year for Georgia, after "Identity Thief." 3.5 out of 5 stars.

Serving up a slice of American history while raising funds to support the future were PNC and the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. The two organizations sponsored the red carpet premiere of the film "Lee Daniels' The Butler" at the SouthSide Works Cinema Tuesday night. While following the personal history of a White House butler who served eight presidents, the film also tracks the epic changes that occurred during the civil rights movement. Wil Haygood, author of The Washington Post article that inspired the movie and the movie's associate producer, mingled with guests during the party in the theater's lobby. He also signed books and answered questions following the movie. The sold-out event raised nearly $100,000 to benefit Pittsburgh Promise, which offers $40,000 college scholarships to Pittsburgh residents who graduate from the city's public schools. Taking a moment to thank the guests were Promise director Saleem Ghubril, Post-Gazette executive editor David Shribman and Mr. Haygood. Glad to be a part of such a moving evening were PG publisher John Robinson Block, PNC's Eva Blum and Donna Peterman, Lynn Swann, Alan and Pat Siger, Chip Ganassi, Margaret Washington and Judy Horgan. First Published August 20, 2013 4:00 AM

Win-Door North America Approaches by Penny Beverage As the world readies itself for the holiday season and gathers with family and friends, beginning with Thanksgiving, the fenestration industry will have a chance to gather as well in Toronto, Canada, for Win-door North America 2002. The premier event for the Canadian fenestration industry will be held November 20-22, 2002, at the Metro Toronto Centre (South Building) in the midst of the largest city in Canada. Schield Associates, the organizers of the show, have lined up more than 100 exhibitors from 32 countries for the 2002 event. Last year, the show drew a crowd of 2700 and approximately 160 exhibitors. The show will open at 5 p.m. on November 20 and 10 a.m. on November 21 and November 22. Despite the busy show schedule, hopefully attendees will have a chance to get out and see some of the large city and its many landmarks, including the longest street in the world. Among the city’s landmarks are a number of art museums, historical sites and modern-day wonders. Fort York, the original marking spot for Toronto, is still open to the public Monday-Friday 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and until 5 p.m. on weekends. The Fort was the site of one battle of the War of 1812, but was originally founded in 1793 by Lt. Gov. John Graves Simcoe, who wanted a fort to construct and guard the then-new capital of Ontario, Toronto, which he’d moved from Niagara, Ontario. Today, the fort has been reconstructed and is Canada’s largest reconstruction of original War of 1812 buildings. Admission is $5 for adults (Phone: 416/392-6907). Another of the city’s attractions is High Park, the largest of its many parks, and Colborne Lodge, a monument to the couple who founded High Park. High Park comprises a pond, numerous wooded areas, trails, open picnic areas, a pool, ice-skating rink, tennis courts and an “Adventure Playground.” Colborne Lodge, situated on the park grounds, was the home of John George Howard and his wife Jemima, who designed the park and later in life retired to this country retreat. The lodge is open 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. throughout most of the year, with the exception of holidays, and costs $5 for adults (Phone: 416/392-6916). Also of interest to Toronto visitors may be the Gibson House Museum, the restored home of David Gibson. Gibson came to Canada in 1825 as a surveyor and purchased a farm on Yonge Street (which is now known as “The Longest Street in the World”). He was elected to the legislative assembly in 1834 but became disillusioned and joined the Mackenzie Rebellion in 1837, after which his home was burned by government forces and his family was forced to flee to the United States. They finally returned to Canada in 1848, at which time they built the home now open to the public. Admission is $2.75 for adults (Phone: 416/395-7432). Continuing in the trend of Gibson, the Mackenzie House—the home of the leader of the rebellion Gibson joined, Lyon Mackenzie—is also on Toronto’s list of tourist spots. Mackenzie was also the first mayor of Toronto. His former home is a late-Georgian townhouse located at 82 Bond Street and is restored as it would have appeared in Mackenzie’s later years. Admission to the Mackenzie house is $3.50 for adults (Phone: 416/392-6915). Fun Stuff/Sports Scene Toronto is home to the CN Tower that has made Toronto’s skyline one of the most recognizable. More than 2 million people visit the tower each year to take in the view of Toronto from 553.33 meters in the air and to take advantage of its own attractions, including several restaurants, the Edge arcade, the Maple Leaf Cinema and the Marketplace for any shoppers in the group (Phone: 416/868-6937). In addition, a number of companies offer tours around the harbor and the outlying areas of Lake Ontario. Along with its historical and cultural offerings, Toronto is also a hub of sports activity with its own professional baseball, hockey and basketball teams. On the evening following the show, November 23, Toronto’s own National Hockey League (NHL) team, the Toronto Maple Leafs, will take on the Philadelphia Fliers at the city’s own Air Canada Centre (Phone: 416/870-8000). What’s for Dinner? Finally, while there will be tons to do and see, everyone also needs to eat. Thankfully, Toronto is a hub of good food and offers a variety of restaurants. The following is a small sampling of some of the city’s offerings in a variety of cuisines. If you’re craving Italian food while in the nation’s capital, try Joe Badali’s Italian Restaurant Bar at 156 Front Street West. (Phone: 416/977-3064) Also, in the tradition of Julius Caesar, Veni, Vidi, Vici is located at 650 College Street West (Phone: 416/536-8550). If it’s seafood that’s tempting your tastebuds, head to Big Daddy’s Crab Shack & Oyster Bar at 212 King Street West (Phone: 416/599-5200) or Boat House Bar & Grill, located right on the harbor at 207 Queens Quay West (Phone: 416/203-6300). For those who enjoy the tastes of India or those who are feeling a bit adventurous, try DHABA, located at 309 King Street West. DHABA was selected as the restaurant with the most “innovative and taste-intensive food in Toronto” by NOW magazine (Phone: 416/740-6622). To get a taste of Toronto’s own native flavors, head to the Summit House Grill at 40 Eglinton Avenue East (Phone: 416/440-0030). Arlequin Restaurant and Fine Foods is available for those craving a French cuisine and is located at 134 Avenue Road (Phone: 416/928-9521). For those craving a good ol’ steak and potato dinner, try Canyon Creek Chophouse at 156 Front Street West (Phone: 416/596-2240). The Work Day While there is tons to do in Toronto, it will be hard to fit much in with the hours of the busy trade show, but hopefully you’ll be able to extend your stay or take a short break to see the sights of the Canadian capital. During the show, be sure to stop by and visit the DWM/BCM staff in Booth #343/345. We look forward to seeing you there. |Windoor Show to Feature a Variety of Products Look for these products, and much more, from exhibitors who will be at the upcoming Windoor show in Toronto. Penny Beverage is a contributing editor for DWM/BCM magazine. © Copyright Key Communications Inc. All rights reserved. No reproduction of any type without expressed written permission.

Get involved: send your pictures, video, news and views by texting ECS to 80360, or email » In today's Gazette: Charity cash - dad is charged 8:05am Thursday 12th September 2013 in News In today's Gazette: A man has been charged with stealing hundreds of pounds from a charity. Ian Wells, 36, of Queensland Drive, Colchester is due to appear in court accused of keeping £600 he had raised for the Colchester Children's Charity Appeal. * Friends and familiy paid tribute to Kirsty Humphrey by releasing Chinese lanterns. Kirsty, 23, was stabbed to death in her home in Colchester. Mark Czapla, 24, of Queen Elizabeth Way, Colchester, has been charged with her murder. * Crooks were caught on CCTV stealing a slide and scooters from Busy Bees Kindergarten in Lawford. * Retail giant Lakeside has announced a £100 million leisure development to include a cinema, bars, restaurants and a hotel. * Colchester's Visitor Information Centre is to move - across the road to Hollytrees Museum. For more on these and other great stories, see today's Gazette. There is always more in the paper than there is online. Comments are closed on this article.

Apartment | 2 bedrooms | sleeps 3 Part of a pristine development that has extended an existing row of handsome Georgian terraces, this neat The compact contemporary fitted cream kitchen with glossy granite worktop is well organised and provides a gas hob, an electric oven, microwave, small dishwasher, fridge and separate freezer and is well stocked with crockery and cookware. In a separate cupboard is a combined washing machine and dryer. A small dining table seats 3 and a spacious living area has a long leather sofa and tub chair, docking station for both i pods and i phones, and a large TV with DVD. A tall sculptural cabinet has a selection of films and books. The master room has a 5' king size bed, walnut chest of drawers and a large fitted wardrobe with additional drawers, a shelf and space for luggage. There are splendid views across to the mature trees in Henrietta Gardens, The Paragon, and the Spire of St. Michael's Church. The single room has views along Bathwick Street and up to the terraces in Camden. There is a 3' single bed, a walnut chest of drawers, and a small fitted wardrobe also with additional drawers and a luggage shelf. A spacious and contemporary glossy cream bathroom has a bath with shower over, a large handbasin with storage under, a WC and shelf space for toiletries |Size||Sleeps up to 3, 2 bedrooms| |Will consider||Corporate bookings, Long term lets (over 1 month), Short breaks (1-4 days)| |Nearest Amenities||100 m| |Nearest travel links||Nearest airport: Bristol International Airport 30 km, Nearest railway: Bath Spa 500 m| |Family friendly||Great for children of all ages| |Notes||No pets allowed, No smoking at this property| Features and Facilities |General||Central heating, TV, Telephone, Wi-Fi available| |Standard||Kettle, Toaster, Iron, Hair dryer| |Utilities||Clothes dryer, Dishwasher, Cooker, Microwave, Fridge, Freezer, Washing machine| |Rooms||2 bedrooms, 1 bathrooms of which 1 Family bathrooms| |Furniture||Single beds (1), Double beds (1), Dining seats for 3, Lounge seats for 3| |Further details indoors|| Sharp suited and slick, this top floor city apartment for 3, close to Bath city centre, is a smooth move. Part of a pristine development that has extended an existing row of handsome Georgian terraces, this neat apartment has a covered car parking space for one car, a lift to the second floor, good local amenities and a scenic 10 minute stroll to Bath city centre. Awarded 4 star gold by the English Tourist Board. Set under the eaves, this apartment has smart furnishings, pretty views on three sides, elegant period details and a streamlined layout with an open plan kitchen, diner and living room. Sydney Gardens where there are tennis courts, enjoy the art collection at the Holburne Museum, have a coffee or a good lunch and continue down Great Pulteney Street to central Bath with a wonderful selection of shops, restaurants and bars, galleries and museums. It is a convenient location for business people, and those enjoying a city break. Its fun to explore on foot and the major historic sights are all within walking distance as are evening entertainments. |Further details outdoors|| The property comes with a designated space for 1 car. Alternatively the Bath Spa train or bus stations are a 10-15 minute walk away or a short taxi ride For a 2 night stay - Third night complimentary. Bank Holidays charged at full rate. Linens and towels. Weekly clean (min 12 night stay). Weekly linen change (min 12 night stay). Free internet access. 50% booking deposit payable. Final payment 6 weeks before the booking to include a refundable damage deposit which is refundable with in 2 weeks of departure subject to everything being in order. Full terms and conditions available on our website or on request. The West Country region The area within which the city of Bath is found is rich in heritage and culture; with over 800 Grade 1 & 2 listed buildings. In the greater area of Somerset there is much to do and see; with the added benefit of having some of the best of the British weather! Somerset's beautiful countryside has attracted many famous individuals throughout history; including Sir William Wordsworth an English poet laureate of the 19th Century. Somerset has great historical significance, and has played a part in every period including the Roman Conquest, the Norman invasion, the War of the Roses, and even right up till the present day! Bath, a designated World Heritage Site, is one of Britain’s most beautiful and historically significant cities with breathtaking Roman, Medieval, Georgian and Victorian architecture - all within walking distance of its imposing cathedral and romantic riverside park. Bath's appeal is guaranteed to impress the most discerning of visitors; indeed the Royal Crescent, the Circus, Pulteney Bridge and the Pump Room are noted among Britain's finest architectural treasures. The city also offers an incredible range of theatres, museums, award winning restaurants, galleries, gardens, theatre and cinema within the city limits. Day trips to Castle Combe, voted the prettiest village in England, Glastonbury Abbey and the mysterious Stonehenge, to name but a few, also make Bath the perfect place to discover the breathtaking Southwest countryside. There are festivals and activities all year round in Bath. Details of festivals and things to do can be found on our website.

Bringing classic and neglected films back to light and life September 16 (Thursday) 9 pm September 19 (Sunday) 9 pm Directed by Andrei Tarkovsky With Margarita Terekhova, Oleg Yankovsky, Ignat Daniltsev USSR 1974, b/w and color, 35mm, 105 min. HFA Archival Print Russian with English subtitles Tarkovsky poetically depicts the unconscious/ semiconscious reminiscences of a character, confined temporarily to his bed by illness. The film juxtaposes nostalgic visions of the directors childhood in war-torn exile (seen as hypnotic slow-motion dream sequences) with stark World War II newsreels in an oblique, keenly poetic approach which finds no equal in modern cinema. Highly personal yet visually captivating, this film consists of nonlinear series of visions and associations that utilize powerful visual symbolism and fascinating camera work. September 26 (Sunday) 4 pm September 27 (Monday) 8 pm Written and Directed by Jean Eustache France 1973, b/w, 35mm, 219 min. With Jean-Pierre Leaud, Françoise Lebrun, Bernadette Lafont, Isabelle Weingarten, Jacques Renard, Jean Douchet French with English subtitles Viewed by many as the most monumental achievement of the French cinema of the 1970s, not only by dint of scale (the film runs 3 hours and 40 minutes) but by virtue of its lacerating, confessional portrait of a generation people who in director Jean Eustaches words "were desperate because life was passing them by...[and who] could find no explanation for their predicament"The Mother and the Whore is a film like no other. A work consecrated to the word, consisting almost entirely of lengthy monologues and dialogues, the film is Eustaches autobiographical meditation on love, sex, and the malaise of living. Not coincidentally, the film stars two veterans of the French nouvelle vague, Jean-Pierre Leaud and Bernadette Lafont, and is itself a work deeply marked by and indebted to that era while at the same time a work which stands in critical opposition to the cinematic excesses of that period. Winner of the Critics Prize and Special Jury Award at the 1973 Cannes Film Festival. September 29 (Wednesday) 9 pm October 3 (Sunday) 6 pm October 5 (Tuesday) 9 pm Directed by Henri-Georges Clouzot with Pablo Picasso France 1956, color, 35mm, 90 min. French with English subtitles Clouzot could not have followed up his shocking Les Diaboliques, with its impossibly pessimistic view of human nature, with a more different film. Here, the viewer is allowed to watch Pablo Picasso in the act of creation, sketching and painting on a translucent screen, accompanied by a soundtrack ranging from bebop to flamenco. Interspersed are shots of the 75-year-old genius mugging for the camera. Many of the paintings in this technically adventurous and life-affirming work were destroyed after its production, and exist only in this unique film. October 18 (Monday) 9 pm October 20 (Wednesday) 8:30 pm Directed by Peter Greenaway Great Britain/Netherlands 1985, color, 35mm, 115 min. With Brian Deacon, Eric Deacon, and Andrea Ferreal With an unabashed passion for symmetry and the power of systems, Greenaway delivers an intriguing digression on the life cycle as the most complex and symmetrical of systems. Separated Siamese twins find themselves enmeshed with a one-legged paramour and twin daughters while they continue their experiments with the time-lapse aesthetics of decay. October 29 (Friday) 9:15 pm October 30 (Saturday) 3 pm Directed by Kon Ichikawa Japan 1956, b/w, Japanese with English subtitles, 35mm, 116 min. With Shoji Yasui, Rentaro Mikuni, Tatsuya Mihashi Kon Ichikawa first attracted international acclaim with this hauntingly poetic saga of the transformation of a militaristic consciousness into a passionate dedication to humanity and Buddhism. A young Japanese soldier in Burma, horrified by the savagery of war, assumes the role of a Buddhist priest and tries to bury as many bodies as he can. From a script by his wife, Ichikawas ravishingly photographed film deftly examines what he termed "the pain of the age."

A low-fi western science fiction musical comedy, inspired in no little part by German expressionism. Yeah, that got my attention too. This is a fun filled, somewhat absurd movie. The interior of the space ship is kinda like a dingy motel room. Most of the outer space sequences are shown with the use of still images. There are gruff looking men performing what are perhaps the stupidest dances ever committed to celluloid. The music is quite brilliant. Every once in a while it is nice to be reminded that not every movie in this beloved genre of ours needs to be grimdark serious business. Of course, I could easily turn that around and talk about some pretty fucking disturbing themes and undertones; this one has that in spades - but that is not the impression you walk away with. The impression is that you've just visited a very strange vision of the future, one that despite being horribly unfuturistic, still works beautifully. This is culminated pretty early on with an inspired sequence involving a stand up comic plying his trade. Himself and his audience misunderstand the joke because they're looking at it through an entirely different perspective, and it doesn't really make sense to us, the actual audience, from theirs. It actually goes two layers deeper that I'm not going to ruin by outlining here, but I thought that was a touch of absolute genius. Well, at least I think that's what's going on, you can never be too sure with these things. The film showed its sly cunning dressed as nonsense, which I almost would have drawn up to a fluke had it not been for another taking place in an interstellar barn. While the sum of this movie's parts is one thing, when you consider the actual parts, you find something else entirely. You know, I really really wish there were more absurd movies around. Hell, I'll take movies that just use some absurd elements. Maybe I'm just getting jaded and cynical in my old age, but to me, taking something completely out of context and turning it on its head, and then saying something about it is infinitely more interesting than artsy fartsy symbolism along the lines of '...and the fragmented lighting in this scene is a visual representation of the character's inner turmoil...' snoooooooooooozzzzze. Absurdity on film can be powerful, and it really is too bad that it's so criminally underused - I can't think of more than a couple of others, and then those are more just weird for weirdness' sake. Despite all this talk, the movie is oozing rustic charm and an obvious and deep love of early sci-fi cinema by the filmmakers. On the one hand, scenarios are presented simply and with a complete disregard for logic, which contributes to the film's overall sense of offcentre humour and yet on the other they contain such perverse ideas that they can make your blood curdle if stop to consider them. This incredibly strong duality married with all the other weird shit you'll encounter makes for an interesting cinematic experience that is quite unlike anything else.

By Zoe Kleinman Reporter, BBC Dorset The fundraiser will be a performance of Madama Butterfly The Electric Palace in Bridport has begun fundraising to buy the satellite equipment it needs to show a season of live opera straight from New York. The season is part of The Met: Live in HD scheme in which cinemas and theatres around the world sign up to receive broadcasts of matinee performances. The Regent Centre in Christchurch is also a part of the initiative. MP Oliver Letwin will attend a fundraising opera performance at the Electric Palace on 26 August. "I think it is a wonderful thing that new technology is being used to enable Bridport to participate in live performances from places as far away as New York," he told BBC News. The season begins on 9 October with a transmission of Das Rheingold by Wagner. By then the venue needs to have installed a specialist satellite dish, a decoder and, if it wishes to repeat the performances, a way of recording the live feed. General manager Gabby Hitchin says the initial cost is £3,000. "We are entirely self sufficient - for us to put on a fundraiser is unusual. It is a bit of a risk," she admitted. There will also be very little time to practice receiving the signal because of the high cost of satellite broadcasting in HD. "Every venue gets the time and we all have one practice run at switching on for an hour," said Ms Hitchin. "On the actual day we turn on half an hour before the show starts." The Electric Palace first opened in 1926 as a cinema, but according to folklore it was originally intended to be an opera house. "Although the films were silent they all had a live pianist so the sound quality was important," said Ms Hitchin. "Musicians always comment on the acoustics in the main auditorium."

Director: Ion Popescu Gopo This is an engaging burlesque on the struggle for atomic power, and includes a number of penetrating and amusing side-swipes at the customs of the West. Set in an unidentified country, it tells of a group of gangsters who manage to steal a nuclear bomb from its heavily-guarded place of security, but, being pursued, pass it on to an innocent bystander who is not aware of its lethal nature. The remainder of the film takes the form of a hilarious chase, with all parties searching for the missing bomb. From its first inspired sequence, the film is most brilliantly told in silent film technique with no dialogue at all; in many ways reminiscent of the style of Rene Clair. Apart from the obvious satire at the expense of the farcical "gangsters", there are many amusing lilts at such American contributions to civilisation as horror films and jazz cellars. Award: Diploma of Merit, Edinburgh Festival. The love story of a youth, who inspired old mythological legend, succeeds in a statue. ... More » A cartoon review of the evolution of ideas. Man invents the seven arts - drawing and sculpture, architecture, theatre, literature, dance, music, and cinema. ... More » In the beginning, there was the Sun, handsome with features composes of the present planets. The Sun's nose was the Earth which, being wet, gave the sun a cold. A cataclysmic sneeze - and all the fea… More » The Everyman hero of Ion Popescu Gopo's many cartoon films, is bent on solving some mathematical problems, but he is side-tracked by fantasies… ... More » In cartoon form and without any deference to science, pro-historic man is satirically shown progressing from rubbing flints to splitting the atom. ... More »

Bloody Moon (AKA Collegialas Violadas) (1981) First released: 1982 Directed by: Jess Franco Current status: Available uncut Bloody Moon was yet another movie to make the infamous list which, on reflection, shouldn’t really have been on it on the first place. When the film was first submitted for a UK cinema release in 1982, it was cut by a mere 1:37 seconds. In July 1983 is was added to the Video Nasty list and, as with all the titles, became collectible. It was later re-released by Inter-Light in 1992 in two versions, the cut cinema version and an uncut version. Video Nasty favourite Vipco then released the film in 1993 with 1:20 seconds of cuts, ordered by the BBFC. In 2008 the film was made available in region 0 uncut, and the good old MPAA in the US allowed the film a release with no cuts. It is now available in the UK in all its glory and probably the main reason for wanting to own this film is the simple fact that it is a Jess Franco film. Granted the guy wasn’t exactly Steven Spielberg, but boy did he work hard! Jess Franco, the Spanish Takashi Miike in that he has made over 180 films, sometimes releasing several films at the same time. You cannot mistake a Jess Franco film too, for those I have seen are littered with sordid sex scenes, often involving lesbians and dreadful European porn music. Franco’s film would often spend ten minutes filming a girl in the bath, or brushing her hair and getting undressed, lesbian scenes or even sex scenes would just go on and on and on. A Franco film with a running time of 70 minutes would be almost one fifth sex! He very quickly became a cult director, but also a very popular one for his time. He was also able to carve out his own niche and managed to become his own person and was pretty much able to direct what the Hell he wanted. Believe it or not, his journey into the world of film began at the age of six when he would compose music with his brother Enrique. After the Spanish Civil War Franco went on the study piano, became a writer and a bachelor of law until moving into arts and theatre, a workaholic so to speak! Born in 1930 he made his first feature film in 1959 called ‘We Are 18 Years Old’ and from there went from strength to strength making all sorts of movies from horror to porn. Franco would often star in his own movies as someone of importance, or a seedy character, and would add his name to the credits but would also use different names to the point of confusion. He would also have a number of movies on the go at once and actors thinking they were playing the part for one movie would see themselves in an entirely different one! Back in those days things were a lot simpler and no one complained. Franco was an influence to filmmakers all over Europe and even some American directors, and Franco did not stop at just directing, he would also write, compose and edit his own films, as well as be the cinematographer. Franco continues to lead a bust schedule, even today with his last film being released in 2008 called A Bad Day at the Cemetary. Many of his films never see the light of day in the UK, however you may know some of his most famous works, 99 Women, Vampiros Lesbos, The Erotic Rites of Frankenstein but it was Bloody Moon which gained him such huge notoriety. Bloody Moon is not really all that offensive, and is basically a simple slasher like which we have seen hundreds of times, however, not quite like this. See, Franco just loves to eroticise his movies, and even here where we don’t really need the huge amount of nudity and sexual references, Franco finds ways of getting those scenes into his films. There is one scene where one of the female’s fake’s having sex so impress the rest of the girls listening outside her room. As she moans and screams, we are with her for every bit of it, like some dirty old pervert! That’s how you can often feel with a Franco film, like a pervert, but it is fair to say the guy has his own unique style which he exploits to the best of his abilities and, thankfully, he has great taste in women. See, I find with the majority of these older films you tend to end up with one main female who is stunning and the rest aren’t. No with Bloody Moon, every female, from main stars to background dancers, are like angels, beautiful and captivating so we can at leasy give Franco that! His want for gorgeous women on screen works perfectly here as we spend the entire film in a language school in Spain, and a killer is on the lose. Now, the plot is basically that but there are a few minor details which create a sense of mystery surrounding the killers identity. The film opens with a fantastically 80’s European house party, bad fashion, bad music and terrible mustaches and even worse hair cuts. The female’s are all gorgeous with not many clothes and each one of the men look like porn stars. One fella called Miguel is wandering around with a bizarre mask on, on the prowl for someone to have sex with. He finds his target, pretends to be someone else behind the mask and takes her off to bed. Once the girl realises he’s not who she thinks, she panics and Migeul’s attempted rape goes wrong so he decides to kill her in brutal fashion with a pair of scissors. He gets scarred in the violence as the woman slices his face, and after the murder he is locked in a mental asylum for five years. On his release he goes to the language school to live with his sister Manuela, and he wants the pair to re-kindle their sexual relationship. Manuela refuses as people simply won’t understand, and then an idea is hinted at “we could kill them all”. A terrible idea for a killing spree if ever there was one, but a killing spree kicks off and we are kept guessing all the way through. The plot, in all honesty, takes a back seat and simply allows Franco justice to join his scenes of violence or sexual fantasies together. There is also a bizarre owner of the school, a wheel-chair bound woman who likes to shout of Manuela’s name a lot and doesn’t care for Miguel. A terrible actress who looks right at home here as pretty much all the acting is dreadful. Probably the standout piece of acting comes from the female lead, the gorgeous Olivia Pascal as Angela. Angela becomes the infatuation of Miguel who cannot take his eyes off her after seeing her on the train to the school. He watches her as she walks to her new room, knee high boots and short skirt and, to be fair, who wouldn’t. Franco simply shows his actor doing what we would all be doing had this girl walked past, but its the way Miguel watches that unsettles, and it doesn’t stop there. He follows her round like a lost sheep, looking for excuses to knock on her door, and so we are clearly being lead to believe he is the killer. Franco makes it a little too obvious as with each murder, we cut to Miguel usually holding what looks like the murder weapon. Now, the murders themselves are plentiful, and come the end they really mount up but probably the standout murder is the head being chopped off by a rotating saw, the effects are actually very impressive indeed. However, all repulsion is lost by an irritating kid watching the murder and trying to save the girl. We also witness earlier on a brilliant knife though the left nipple moment, however when the body is later discovered the knife is more around the abdomen area! A chainsaw death is impressive, but you can’t help but wonder why the victim didn’t just move out of the way, a spike through the neck is pretty horrific and we even get some animal cruelty as a snakes head is chopped off! So yes, there is plenty of violence on offer here but the overall feel is that of piss take on the slasher genre rather than wanting to seriously offend. It is all so gloriously over the top and silly that it is hard to take serious and become repulsed, and maybe that was Franco’s idea all along? Each murder is accompanied by what sounds like an ambulance siren, another possible indication that Franco was simply laughing at the genre? Who knows, whatever the idea was, Bloody Moon is very very enjoyable and does not require a lot of brains to have get some sense of fun out of it. It has all the ingredients of what you would want not only from a by the book slasher, but also from a sleazy European horror. This is NOT an Argento film, is will not dazzle you with its great moments, stunning camera trickery or soundtrack. This is as simple as it gets, a killer stalking and killing young girls with the odd bit of nudity thrown in for good measure. As I said, the acting is awful, the music will make you want to throw up, the plot is thinner than one of those After Eight Mints, but the kills are good and the sense of fun is never far away. This is possibly one of the most enjoyable films I have watched so far from the list, simply because it is very easy to watch and is very pleasing on the eye. It doesn’t break any new ground and will most certainly never win any awards, but who cares, sometimes you don’t need all the hoo hah, sometimes its nice just to sit and escape and just enjoy a film for all the wrong reasons. Jess Franco, I salute you kind sir! By the way, here is a pointless fact about the films Spanish title, the words Collegialas Violadas translates as ‘Raped Schoolgirls’. Should Bloody Moon have been added to the Video Nasty List: Hard to say, had it been a serious film then yes, but there is far too much stupidity on offer for this to ever be offensive.

In the first part of our conversation with Nagesh Kukunoor, he discussed why he picked actresses Ayesha Takia and Gul Panag in his new film, Dor. As the conversation continued and the cappuccino cooled, Nagesh told Raja Sen about his reasons for setting up the film's climax, and why box office success scares him. Read on for excerpts, but be warned -- spoilers likely: Coming to Shreyas Talpade, the actor is an absolute find. His grin is as integral to your narrative as the story itself. Oh, so true. He's brilliant. I had always conceptualised the film in thirds, the first one-third for Gul, the second for Shreyas and the third for Ayesha. But the first one-third had enough of a balance between Ayesha and Gul, and Shreyas just spilled all over the script. He's a riot and, in my opinion, one of the best characters I've ever written. Growing up watching action films and journey films, I remember there would always be a character who would save the day. Once he was onscreen you, the viewer, would just be able to sit back and relax because you know now there has to be a happy ending. And you just let go and enjoy his antics. So when the bahuroopiya was written, did mimicry feature strongly in his character because of Shreyas' abilities, or did Shreyas have to try and learn how to mimic? Honestly, I knew Shreyas was a great mimic, and we factored that in later. All I knew when I was first thinking of the character was a man of many disguises. Actually, initially I was convinced it should be an older man. And then came this epiphanic moment on a flight, where I somehow saw the three characters dancing on the dunes -- I have no idea why Kajra Re popped into my head -- and I loved that moment. So I started thinking that an old man couldn't dance. Have you ever danced on sand? It's impossibly hard. So I thought maybe we should make him younger. And then it came, the 'maybe we should make him Shreyas' moment that changed it all. What about his lines? His dialogues, even when he's not imitating Bollywood's biggest, are standouts. Thanks. I write in English, and Meer Ali Hussain, a longtime collaborator translates it into Hindi. I can manage some spoken Hindi but not enough to really write the nuances of a film. He's a Professor of Business Management in the US, and he words them beautifully. About Shreyas, there's a point (he introduces himself with a complete Bollywood spiel) where the bahuroopiya starts off with lines from Chalti Ka Naam Gaadi, Sholay and Munnabhai but then we see that there are times he mimics almost subconsciously. And then there's that scene where he gets drunk and confesses his love for Gul. The classic tool of letting his mask slip. Exactly, letting his mask slip. And it's important because audiences are curious. 'He's hanging around her, helping constantly, does he/doesn't he?' And I wanted to play with the traditional Hindi film setup by creating a character in love with a married woman with no hope of getting anything in return. He knows she loves her husband, but he's in love with her and he tells her. What's wrong with that? They can still be friends. All due respect, Nagesh, your cameos are always fun but even you can't quite pull off being called Mr Chopra. Ah, but Mr Chopra's very interesting. He's a bit of a caricature, in that he wears a spotless white kurta-pyjama at night, etc. And I'm very clear that he's not a sleazebag. I mean, in the real world sleazy folks aren't like we see in films, are they? They won't proposition a woman or ask for a bribe while (making faces) twirling their moustache and leering at a girl while scratching their jaw. They'll probably be very cold and casual about it. Very everyday. So I wanted the proposition to come from a seemingly normal guy. As normal as Nagesh Kukunoor. Okay, now it's as cliched as questions get, but I'm curious. What's your favourite part of the film? Hmm. There are two actually. First of all, there has to be the Kajra Re scene. It's such a great moment in this tense, emotionally tight film where the audience gets to see these three characters actually being happy. It's a great release. And Shreyas' face is magical. I remember I was in the editing room and I would have a stupid grin plastered on my face just because his joy was so contagious. Secondly, the part where Meera finally breaks free and runs. The shot from the back as she suddenly lets go and decides to go for it. And Salim-Suleiman had a great piece of music for that, and so Ayesha starts running, the sarangi kicks in, and it's a spectacular moment as Meera is finally going for it. When I put the piece of music onto the shot in the edit room for the very first time, I began to think I must be getting older: my eyes watered. It's quite a climax, admittedly. The train sequence is Bollywood's most overused climactic scene; how did you think of using it here? Again, it's a fine line to tread. I'm sorry, I grew up on Bollywood cinema and I feel films should end on an emotional high. This is something that can be done well or not, and this script makes this end, keeping these characters in mind, anything but predictable. The audience is meant to feel the characters' great fear and elation and that creates the moment. Also, I don't think there is any other Indian film where two female protagonists resolve their crisis without a man's intervention. I can't think of another climax like that. And then there's that passing shot of Shreyas in the conductor's jacket, waving a green flag. Was that an afterthought just to keep the magic alive? Yes, it was to keep the magic alive but definitely not an afterthought. Also, it was for that one person in the entire auditorium who might ask why the train was on the station for so long. The film is doing well colleagues couldn't get tickets at multiplexes on Sunday. And the reviews have been almost unanimously positive. I'm so glad. Yeah, I've heard the film is picking up. You always set out trying to make a well-received film, but you don't know how. It's bloody scary. How to make it work? I never used to think about the impact of cinema, because for me filmmaking was a purely selfish medium of self-expression. Thinking about how people would perceive a film is likely to hinder one's creativity. But after Iqbal I've seen how people react to cinema, and it's very scary the impact is more widespread than I could imagine. The other day I was sitting at a hotel with Shreyas when a father and son came up to us, after hesitating for quite some time. The man apologised for interrupting us but said all he wanted was for Shreyas to tell his son he was Iqbal. Shreyas grinned and said, 'Yes, I'm Iqbal,' the kid smiled and left happily. The level this medium reaches is tremendous -- and, I repeat, scary. Don't miss Part I of the interview: Why I picked Ayesha and Gul

ahwatukee.com on Facebook - Main Street Arts & Life - Special Sections Displaying results 1 - 25 of 83 for cigarette. Subscribe to this search Recently I saw a story about 10 tons of marijuana being seized at the Arizona border, and I couldn’t help but think, “Why?” Why are our brave police officers and border patrol agents wasting their time on seizing marijuana when there are millions of dollars of dangerous hard drugs and thousands of illegal immigrants slipping through the border? Robert Rodriguez's "Machete Kills" is a sequel based on an end-credits joke from a film that was itself based on a joke trailer contained within a half-joke grindhouse homage. Exactly how many degrees such an endeavor is removed from anything resembling serious cinema would require Jean Baudrillard to calculate, yet for more immediate filmgoing purposes, all there is to see here is a surprisingly long-lived gag finally running out of gas. As violent as its predecessor yet noticeably duller and less outrageous, "Machete Kills" is dragged to the finish line entirely by its director's madcap energy and an absurd cast of major stars in strange cameos. First it was bars, restaurants and office buildings. Now the front lines of the “No Smoking” battle have moved outdoors. Editor’s note: This is part five of a continuing summer series on the proposed South Mountain Loop 202 Freeway. High winds and low humidity are creating a danger for the upcoming fire season, the state forester said Thursday, especially for southeast Arizona. Starting next semester, students who smoke will have to find other places to light up between classes. All Arizona State University campuses and buildings will become tobacco-free beginning Aug. 1. The first image you see in "The Place Beyond the Pines" is of Ryan Gosling's shirtless torso, ripped and tatted atop a skin-tight pair of leather pants. Jim Heath doesn't worry that his style of music will go out of style. How many times has this “Medical Advice” column reported a change in prevailing medical recommendations? Here we go again. Humpty Dumpty could certainly identify with the angst a humble egg currently has to deal with. Talk about self-esteem issues. For years, eggs have been slashed from “healthy” diets because they were considered too loaded with fat and, therefore, a leading contributor to heart disease. The general recommendation was no more than two eggs per week. Even yours truly ascribed to that theory and personally was responsible for instructing her patients in that direction. Boy, do I feel sorry for smokers these days. Smoking used to be so fashionable and hip in the James Dean and Steve McQueen days. A state legislator wants to make it clear that marijuana lollipop you bought in a dispensary is not just candy. When people think of Jewish film, their minds tend to jump right to two subjects: religion and the Holocaust. While the Greater Phoenix Jewish Film Festival certainly embraces those subject matters, executive director Jerry Mittelman ensures that they make up only a slice of the wide spectrum of films the fest has to offer. Arizona State University will become a tobacco-free campus beginning next summer, but in protest and to raise awareness of the ban, a student-led group passed out cigarettes to students on the Tempe campus Wednesday. My parents were fairly normal, back in the ’60s. Like something out of “The Donna Reed Show,” they’d get together with their best friends and play bridge. A beloved pet dressed in a Halloween costume, posed next to a lit jack-o’-lantern, sounds like a great photo opportunity — but it’s also a fire hazard. Soaked in sweat and reeking of cigarettes, Southern-fried and smothered in cheese, “The Paperboy” is, quite literally, a hot mess. Peppered with fun facts and cheeky asides, actor Roger Moore’s book looking back on the golden anniversary of James Bond on screen is a treat for 007 fans. He takes us on a lively spin around the milestones of cinema’s longest-running franchise in “Bond on Bond: Reflections on 50 years of James Bond Movies” (Lyons Press). They might not be dressed in tuxes or have a martini in hand, but they’re your body’s go-to defense in the fight against aging. Finally some good news about cholesterol and kids: A big government study shows that in the past decade, the proportion of children who have high cholesterol has fallen. Tempe police have arrested a man accused of trying to sexually assault a woman in the Mill Avenue district near ASU early Saturday. Every cell of the body continuously carries out biochemical processes that require oxygen. The overall term for this on-going process is metabolism. By-products of this cellular metabolic process are unstable electrons called oxidants or “free radicals.” Unfortunately, these free radicals are not harmless. Their chief danger comes from the damage they incur upon internal cellular structures such as DNA. OK, you caught me, I was inspired to write this article on one of my less-than-stellar nights of sleep, and rose at the wee hour of 7 a.m. (give me a break, it was a Saturday), to make some notes. But I am not alone, research shows that 70 to 100 million American adults are struggling with some form of sleep disturbance. The highest ranges are for college students and adults 40 to 59 years old. Less than three weeks after a Gilbert warehouse fire sent black plumes of smoke into the sky, the wholesale company that lost $8.1 million in inventory announced plans to rebuild. Farnsworth Wholesale will move its headquarters to a 30,000-square-foot warehouse near Mesa’s Falcon Field starting July 16, company Vice President Jack Stapley wrote in a letter to customers. Starting tomorrow, all Maricopa County Community College District campuses and district-owned facilities will be smoke-free and tobacco-free.

Nicole Kidman, Matthew Goode, Mia Wasikowska, and Park Chan-wook Mar 25, 2013 Stoker, the first English-language film from South Korean director Park Chan-wook, is not a vampire film. It would be easy to make that assumption, given that its title is a nod to Dracula author Bram Stoker, and that Park's last film, Thirst, dealt with vampires. Stoker is a macabre, gothic film, but there is no blood-sucking, and no fangs are shown. The connection to vampires is metaphoric. Mia Wasikowska plays India Stoker, a withdrawn high-school student who is highly attuned to the sensory world. On her 18th birthday, her father, Richard (Dermot Mulroney), dies in a car crash, and the funeral brings his estranged brother, Charlie (Matthew Goode), to the Stoker family estate. India and her mother, Evie, live together in a secluded house but have a distant relationship. The arrival of the dapper and mysterious Charlie distracts Evie from her grief, and she initiates flirtations with him. But, day by day, Charlie makes it more evident that his interest is in India, setting off a tense, passive-aggressive battle for his attention. Only, Charlie's intentions are unbeknownst to either of them. Kidman remembers a particular conversation she had with her director (who asks to be addressed as Director Park) about the unusual relationship between these family members. "He said this is a movie about bad blood, which I thought was an interesting way of describing it," she says. "I would like the story to be interpreted as many ways as possible, and of course the bad blood aspect is included," Park says. "You could always say that evil is contagious, and we have this mentor, Uncle Charlie, that comes into your life." "She's not evil," Kidman says of Evie, laughing. "Neither is India," Wasikowska says. The script, written by actor Wentworth Miller (Prison Break), who doesn't appear in the film but is a co-producer, allowed for stretches without dialogue. This appealed to Park not only because he was working with English-speaking actors for the first time, it also gave him better opportunities to build the tension and mystery visually. "I think the strength of Director Park is his atmosphere," Kidman says. "The script relies heavily on the language of the images, because there's not a lot of dialogue, so the cinematic language of it has to be very, very strong. When we had a meeting with him, we talked about all that, and it was extraordinary how precise and detailed what he wanted to say was. Also, his use of color and sound is all very specific, and that is something that really fills in a script like this." The film was shot in Nashville, with much of the action taking place in a 1920s mansion. For Park, best known for his film, Oldboy, which won the Grand Prix award at Cannes in 2004, the biggest challenge was adjusting to the pace of production in the U.S. "I had to shoot twice as fast as I was used to," he says. "In Korea, I would watch the playback of each take with all of the actors and spend time discussing each take. I always storyboard each scene, even before pre-production begins, so my vision is already laid out on the storyboard for everyone to see. This enables on-set assembly, so it makes each take into a sequence, and this would enable a steady work flow. I would also look back at the on-set assembly sequences with my actors, and that is why it takes me longer to shoot when I'm in Korea. Looking back on my first film in Korea, I never used any playback or on-set assembly, so I just told myself this film was just like shooting my first film. Then I felt right at home." "Wouldn't it have been amazing if we had twice as much time to make this film?," Goode asks. "Why don't we make more films in Korea?" The opportunity to work with Park and to explore his role with cast mates Kidman and Wasikowska drew Goode to the film. "The role is so psychologically interesting, it was confusing and brilliant and wonderful, and all those sorts of things you would like to be involved in," he says. "I had to read it a couple of times to understand it," Kidman says of the script, "because it has a lot of subtext and layers, so I just wanted to absorb the overall feel of it." Kidman had to understand and empathize with a character that's continually at odds with her daughter. "Director Park, when we first met, said to me, 'Ever since you've held this baby, this baby never wanted to be held.' And that's an amazing way to build the relationship of a mother and child, because that's horrifying as a mother," Kidman explains. "I think that's the thrust of her, this child that she had just doesn't connect with her, and she's always trying in some way to connect. Obviously, that has gotten broken down in years and years, and India had a much stronger connection to her father. Then, I just came up with my own thing, that she's just very starved for love, and that creates a particular personality after a while." At one point in the film, Evie tells India, "I can't wait to watch life tear you apart." "I love the scene because it's so unusual," Kidman says. "From where it starts to where it ends, that's an amazing monologue. But to make it, because of the way Director Park shoots, which is really intense and close, we did it a number of different ways, but we shot it in one shot, which is fantastic as an actor to not be cut up and edited. It just gets to play out that way. So, I just was very, very grateful that he had the vote of confidence in me to be able to do it because it's a really weird, weird scene. But then to ask that, to say to your own child, "Who are you?" that's interesting to me. That's a fascinating sort of dynamic." Wasikowska came in with a healthy approach to making sure that the dark characteristics of the film, and her contentious scenes with Kidman, didn't weigh on her. "I've often found on the films that have a more serious nature, the more goofy and lighthearted and silly it becomes in between scenes, almost out of necessity to counter the intensity of the scene and material," she says. "I felt that we were pretty good at that." The actors also weren't fazed by working with a director that doesn't speak English. "One of my first films that I did was in Spanish, and I didn't speak Spanish, and that's as hard as it's going to get, but boy, do you listen," says Goode. "After the Skype chat I had with Director Park, which lasted an hour, you realized the only thing you should worry about is who you should be looking at. Once you got on set, you really didn't think about it at all." "There were times when you had to clarify words, because particular words mean certain things," Kidman says. "A lot of the times, I would be asking 'is this exactly what he wants?,' because in translation things can get lost. I was just very specific with him." "Actors are professionals who deal with people's emotions. Working with this very intelligent and smart cast meant that sometimes you would only have to speak a word, and they would immediately catch on to what I wanted," Park says. "I really felt that it wasn't an issue." Kidman saw Stoker for the first time at its Sundance premiere in January and was struck by Park's imagery, visual touches that either weren't apparent in the script or that he brought to the scenes in which she didn't appear. One edit employs a dissolve that transitions from a shot of Evie's hair to an image of blades of grass. "You don't see that kind of filmmaking that often," she says. "It's very, very layered, and the metaphor that he uses. The hair scene, I had no idea. He just said we're going to shoot brushing your hair, then I see the film and I thought, 'Aw, that's amazing.' That sort of detailed filmmaking is really hard to do and not have it be pretentious. And then, also to have it tell the story, which is what you're taught, that cinema is the language of images. You should be able to make a film with no dialogue and be able to tell a story, and I really think Director Park should do that next."

The UFA-Palast was opened in 1997 on the former Parcel Post lands next to Düsseldorf's main train station. Another such multiplex cinema can be found in Oberkassel. The UFA-Palast has twelve cinemas and 2,670 seats altogether. The program here is mostly based in the mainstream field and promises good cinema entertainment, which can be enjoyed with the help of pails of popcorn and cups of cola. Reservation and advance purchase of tickets are possible. - Type: Movies - Accept Credit Card: visa, mastercard - Nearest Train: Dusseldorf Hauptbahnhof

Gay Male Porn Stories Page 15 Getting Fucked by Junior, or Hair of the Dog that Bit Me Erotic true-fiction by Outsfguy 09-30-13 - Dedicated to my buddy, Samfreak. This story would be a lot different without his work as inspiration. Thank you. "A lad of life; an imp of flame, Of parents good; of fist most valiant. I'd kiss his dirty shoes, and from my heartstrings, I love the lovely bully." His b*****rs were afraid of him, but I thought Junior was fucking hot. He was like a long-haired teenage Paul Newman, and he knew it. It was a spring Friday, and he had picked m... Continue» "Stop! It Hurts!" I, Brock Steel, echoed in my mind, imagining to myself how it might be to play the role of Wayne Wildman, shackled by chains to the penitentiary walls and being hammer-fucked by the Wardens' BBC. "Oh it hurts so good!" I beacon him passionately as he effortlessly plundered my needy virgin fuck hole. "Mmmm," the Warden murmured erotically, "You are a faggot then aren't you," he seriously inferred with a sinister smile. Wayne Wildman looked back at the Warden with a demonic, sexually satisfied look, "I am now," I envisioned myself replying with a "shit-eating" grin on my face j... Continue» There very few "perfect situations" to be part of, but after my third visit to Fairview Tower's, I knew that Bob was about as perfect of a lover as I was every going to fined! When he and I had first met up on a gay chat-site, and seen his photograph, and read his bio, I was definitely intrigued; but, when he had confessed that because of his diabetes (and especially the medication he had to take for that), that he was no longer able to get, or maintain(!), an erection, AND THAT HE WAS LOOKING FOR A NICE COCK TO SUCK, INSTEAD, that was when I decided to cultivate a connection with Bob! "I caught Mark cheating on me again. That bastard!" "Wow...sorry s*s. What are you going to do?" asked Frank. "I don't know. I need to teach him a lesson." "Why don't you just break up with him," Jerry wondered. "Oh I'm going to break up with him alright. But before I do...I'm going to get him back. This is the third time I've caught him." "What you need is the gay maker," Frank said. "Dude...that's pretty rash," Jerry said. "This guy is fucking it up for the rest. He's pissing off all the women and giving guys a bad name. Besides, this is my s****r man. I can't let that s... Continue» The phone rang. I pulled it from my jeans pocket and saw that it was Brad. Shit! I really didn't want a call from him right now. Maybe I should just ignore it. But somehow he always knew when I'd just ignored his calls. And then that was even worse. I answered it, thinking only fleetingly about "the speech" that I'd composed and honed over the years and knew now that I would never actually give. I don't know why I even thought of it anymore. Maybe it made me feel just a little bit in charge of my life to at least imagine that I'd freed myself from Brad with "the speech." "Hey, Bitch." Th... Continue» James: Gay Sugar Daddy I had just moved to the big city and found myself poor, working odd jobs, and lacking a sex life. After my trip to Europe and finishing school, I had hit a 6 month dry spell. Being a cute 24 year old 5'7 bear cub with dirty blonde hair and an athletic build, I had never before had trouble getting laid, but I was getting older. I thought my wild days were behind me, but then I met James. I found a night job as a bartender at a local gay bar. I made decent tips, always had fun, but the place was pretty much a dive with very little business. I... Continue» Bowling Buddies – Turning Him Into My Sissy It had been a whole week since I had been bedded down and fucked Al, my lover of four months. I had turned this heterosexual man into my bi-sexual cum slut. He was an excellent cocksucker; a born natural, I even told him it was OK to swallow my cum and that all men did this. Well he obliged me and I not only turned him into a great cocksucker, but I he was giving me his tight asshole almost every time I saw him. Well one Thursday afternoon I sent him an E-Mail saying “wife working, got babysitter until 9:00 see you at six”. Well my little gay whore... Continue» Once when I lived in Texas I went to this porno store late at night. As I walked in there was a red car parked very close to the entrance of the porn store's door. I thought it was weird because most patrons park further away. As I got closer to the entrance this older man stepped out of the car. If I had to guess I would say he was in his early 50's. So as I walked pass him he greeted me and I returned his greeting. I thought that was weird because most guys don't look at each other or make eye contact with each other at these places. I looked back at this man's car before I walked inside and... Continue» Shortly after the event at Flamenco Beach, I switched jobs. Although I became mostly paper pusher for the government, it still required some field work and it gave me the opportunity to travel to the US more often. Two years forward, I was working in Amherst, New York. After three months of bureaucratic assignment, I had already been to most of the sites of interest in the area of the City of Buffalo and photographed about every inch of the Niagara Falls. I was a Sunday, and although I wouldn’t have minded spending yet another entire day reading a book under the Goat Island foliage, the ... Continue» (This is written in homage to a very good writer here. It is through his inspiration that I wrote this. Thank you again.) When I awoke it was like was just reliving the past day. My mouth tasted like shit and I was alone in the bed, my wife was no longer at my side. I tried to think what was going on and remembered Jake giving me the Xanax last night and it knocked my ass out. I wondered if everything that had happened last night was just a dream but when I licked my dry lips I could still taste the cum form Jake's cock and my wife’s pussy. I could hardly bel... Continue» Yes, today’s the day I’m going to have a complete check-up, 1 I prolonged for far too long. Nervously I sat in the newly refurbished Doctors Surgery pondering how much longer I needed to wait. And, since I didn’t have my own doctor I wasn’t sure what to expect. I only recall ever having 1 physical prior to my first job about 20 odd years ago; a strangely different experience. Well, it was time; I heard a husky male voice call out my name from behind me, and when I turned around, what should befall me, but a tall, well built, sandy haired, blue eyed fine-looking man. Was this the doctor I... Continue» Last month I was one week in Eindhoven, the Netherlands. I am Dutch and bisexual by myself. I'm an average height, some older, medium build with a very suntanned skin and I have blond hair cut very short. I took a seven days time out in Eindhoven just to visit a male and his female friend, relax too and do a little sight seeing. On my final night in that town I had dinner with my friends after a long day wandering the streets. We stayed at a bar all evening until both of them wanted to go back to their own house in the North of that town. I went back to my hotel also but thought it was a l... Continue» "No, no, no," Coach Hazelwood blared with authority. "You in the middle. Stick your hard cock all the way down his throat so your balls bounce on his chin," he ordered enigmatically. "And you on the end, stroke your hard cock while he's face fucking your throat and spread your ass so we can see your ass hole," he continued to Coach wisely. "And you, bitch boy," he began, "when you ride the BBC you can't play with yourself," I heard him say emphatically. "You'll make yourself cum too quick and we don't want that yet," he told the bitch boy apparently riding a big black cock (BBC). "Sorry Coach,... Continue» I'm Jonah,a H.S. freshman, and I'm in the middle of a sexual awakening. First I had a wild encounter with my P.E. classmate Harry. Now the weekend has arrived, and my cousin Ed is on his way. Ed is two years older than me, and has an amazing body. We play video games, and he lets me massage his back. Harry had been avoiding me at school, so I was totally pent up. Ed, and his mother were heading up for the weekend as a bit of a break for my aunt. We have a nice country home as apposed t their cramped city living. Anyhow, I was beyond excited, and prepared my room for everything. When Ed ar... Continue» My wife called from work and said she wanted to go to a party at a friends house. It was a costume party. She said she had a costume and I was to wear one as well. What, I don’t have one. Yes you do, your going as a girl. But I’ve never done this. Well you’re going to tonight. No one will care because it’s a costume party so get dressed and make it good. This ran shivers down my spine thinking about it. So I shower and shave very close-everything. Since I dress at home a lot, I knew just what to wear. What the hell, it’s a costume party isn’t it? I put on my red gaft, thigh highs, strap... Continue» "I'm so glad you could drop by at such notice!" Bob said, smiling as he closed the door behind me and we headed for his bedroom. "My room mate is away again," he added, "and so, I thought that, if you had the chance, that you could make a quick visit! I'd love another BIG load, like the last time you were here!" He smiled again as he said that. Seeing that impish smirk sent a shiver of anticipation coursing through me! I think he could tell! I already had a nearly fully erect cock; and had had one as I rode the elevator up to the tenth floor where he lived! The door man on the first flo... Continue» There was this book store that I heard a lot about, so on a sunny Saturday night, I was wearing my blue jeans,baseball cap football jersey and sunglasses the cashier look at me as i paid for tokens, I went to the last booth and put a few tokens into the slot, I was masturbating when a finger came through the hole in the wall, I was so naive I didn't know anything about glory holes or such, suddenly a soft voice said still in in the hole, I did and he kissed the mushroom head and tickled by balls so I began thrusting into the hole and his mouth, he said "Damn your thick and long" he was a e... Continue» The summer of my 14th year I discovered masturbation. First I would cum all over myself. I loved my thick cream. I loved it so much I would rub it all over my cock and balls like it was lotion then pulled my underwear up and went to sl**p. But, doing that caused me to stained all my underwear. I’m sure my mother didn’t want to see that. Then I decided to just shoot it on the wall next to my bed but then I started staining the wallpaper on the wall and it wouldn’t come clean. Then I moved to towels but the thought of my parents drying off with a towel that I came on multiple times start... Continue» I was out running some errands on this sunny Southern California Saturday afternoon when Natalie called me. It was great to hear from her since I hadn’t seen her in a few weeks. She asked if I was busy this weekend and even though I had plans, I told her that I was free. I’d basically drop anything I was doing if it meant spending time with her. If you haven’t read an of my other stories, Natalie was my carpool buddy, then my lover, and now we’re just in kind of a friends with benefits situation. I still say she’s my perfect lover but there’s no way it was going to become a fu... Continue» I was just 18 and had finished school. I was at a loose end until I started work some months in the future. Sex was something I was still learning about and I had had a few girlfriends but we hadn't progressed much past groping each other. I found it exciting which had led to some mighty wanking sessions once I got back home. I didn't really think much about gay sex, although I was very curious and at school in the showers the sight of other boys cocks and round buttocks was quite a turn on to me. I had just been to the afternoon cinema show and was making my way home in the early evening. ... Continue»

between Shoaib and Aslam, and here’s where I have a quibble. Any self-respecting goody-two-shoes heroine like Jasmine locked into what used to be such a Hindi cinema staple—the triangle-- should make her interest clear. Why confuse us? You should see this wench making up to Shoaib, and then screaming: ‘Par maine tumhe uss nazar se kabhi dekha nahin’, or words to that effect. Really? Then what was she doing batting her eyelids at him? And she’s a near-avuncular pal to Aslam before she gets all dewy all of a sudden. Such complexity in a lead actress of a movie like this is most unfair. I missed Ajay Devgn and Emran Hashmi of the original, who made credible ‘bhais’, and carried off those rhyming dialogues. Akshay Kumar lacks menace and quickens only when those glasses are off his face, which doesn’t happen too often in the film . And his delivery is a drone, crackling strictly in a couple of moments. Imran is too clean-cut to be a goon, especially one that’s meant to be grimy. Nice to see Sonali Bendre back, though, even if in a cameo: as Shoaib’s wife/consort, she is looking weathered, and more interesting . After all the shoot-outs and bang-bangs are over, you are left with a film which leaves you with so little new that you wonder if there’s any juice left in this style of retro gangsta flick. Or are we heading for a third-time-in-Mumbai-Tibara?

Online edition of India's National Newspaper Saturday, August 09, 2008 Metro Plus Tiruchirapalli Published on Saturdays Crazy kiya re, mobiles It’s the highest point in the bustling Temple City. Sitting pretty atop a hillock called Pasumalai in 60-odd acres of landscaped grounds and with a 1890s colonial building to boot, there is no better spot to unwind than the Taj Garden ... VOICE YOUR VIEWS: POWER CUTS Considering the situation in various States of our country, the position of power cut in Tamil Nadu is far better. The strategy of enforcing cut for a specified period in a specified area is good and works well. People should adapt to the ... Due to increased power consumption, we are facing power cuts. Power should be used judiciously especially during political meetings. All extra decorative lights should be avoided. Power cut in Tamil Nadu is far better than in other States. The ... Instead of blaming the previous Government for everything and comparing the prevailing situation with other States, the government should come out with solid ways and means to solve the problem of power cut. Youngsters can manage but do think ... Almost every house in the country today has electrical appliances like television, air-conditioner, radio and washing machine. As a result, there is an increase in demand for electricity. There is a shortfall between demand and supply due to ... The ongoing power cut in the State is badly affecting the student community. The State Government should urge the Centre to speed up and complete the Koodankulam project and also the new project taken up at Kalpakkam atomic power plant so as ... The Tamil Nadu Electricity Board and the Directorate of School Education should jointly conduct special programmes in schools all over the Sate to make the youngsters aware of the prevalent power crisis and educate them on conservation of ... Recently I went to a private office where I noticed a lone employee working during the lunch hour with all the lights switched on. This only showed that the people, even the educated, have not understood the serious problem prevailing in the ... Down and out Frequent power cuts have made the common man restless. Sweltering heat during the day and mosquito menace in the night without the basic comfort of fans make power cuts irksome. Insufficient power generation from the windmills of the State and ... Are you anxious and afraid? FIGHT FEAR People can overcome their fears with the help of therapy Burning up calories To draw up a proper diet plan, you need to know about macronutrient values and calorific expenditure. Here are the relevant details: A gram of protein and carbohydrate provide 4 calories each while a gram of fat provides 9 calories. The following ... Hand in glove with safety Hand-eye coordination is the best injury-preventing skill one can use while playing cricket Second to none It may be Rajni’s film but Jagapati Babu scores high with ‘Kathanayakudu’ Where travel journals unite Travelblog.org brings together people who posts on travel Lock up your wi-fi at home As we break free of wires at homes and offices, the threats have multiplied Donning different roles R. Sundarrajan has moved from behind the camera to the front with much ease Metro Plus Bangalore Chennai Coimbatore Delhi Hyderabad Kochi Madurai Mangalore Pondicherry Thiruvananthapuram Tiruchirapalli Vijayawada Visakhapatnam See the earlier stories Lead | Life Style | Fashion | Music | Personality | Eating Out | Madras Miscellany | Issues | Arts & Crafts | Information Technology | Shopping | Heritage | Miscellany | News: Front Page | National | Tamil Nadu | Andhra Pradesh | Karnataka | Kerala | New Delhi | Other States | International | Opinion | Business | Sport | Miscellaneous | Index | Advts: Retail Plus | Classifieds | Jobs | Obituary | Features: Magazine | Literary Review | Life | Metro Plus | Open Page | Education Plus | Book Review | Business | SciTech | NXg | Friday Review | Cinema Plus | Young World | Property Plus | Quest | Comments to : [email protected] Copyright © 2008, The Hindu

Nature is something that inspires all artists, designers and photographers on a day-to-day basis. Wherever it is you work, rest or play, there will always be nature around you, and whether you intend to or not it’s always going to influence you in one way or another. This round-up of nature-themed Photoshop artwork is sure to get your creative heads buzzing! This incredible piece of digital artwork uses various manipulative skills to produce a realistic yet natural look of what it may look like if "Mother Nature" were to cry. A fantasy HDR wallpaper using various nature-inspired elements. The idea behind the series is to place natural elements such as rock and greenery into an abandoned place, such as a building. ‘Stay Green, Go Red" is part of a new marketing campaign that encourages people to recycle old images and create new ideas – as well as this piece, the campaign consisted of a poster, a desktop wallpaper download (with an alternate black and white version that uses less energy) and a print advertisement. An incredibly powerful piece with lots of emotion. A piece produced as a companion to a similar piece by the same artist ‘Stay Green, Go Red" (as seen above) – something that was visually and metaphorically the opposite. This is just an absolutely stunning piece of artwork combining hundreds of skills to manipulate and merge so many different elements of the universe we live in. I especially love the area where the man merges into the rock. The artist of this piece is clearly a fan of minimalism and simplicity. With the background being so simple, and not using too many elements compared to others in this article, the work comes together well, especially because of the very close attention that has been paid to detail, such as the single pixel lines found all over the piece. Another minimalistic piece, this time being used as a flyer to advertise Club Fury’s fifth birthday. The manipulation has been produced so well it’s hard to tell the different elements apart. This abstract piece is the second part in the series "Life In The Subconcious Mind" (you can see more by clicking the artwork). The three-dimensional objects were rendered in Cinema 4D and composed in Photoshop. All of these pieces (be sure to click through to see more in the same campaign) were created for one of Cosentino’s brands called "ECO", an eco-friendly company who produce high-quality kitchen worktops from recycled materials. Another highly edited piece of work, and a fantastic one at that. The model is cleverly manipulated to look like a garden statue, making use of strong, colorful vectors and shapes to bring the piece together. A piece that is made up almost entirely of green leaves, providing plenty of green as the title of the project suggests. The awesome three-dimensional typography combined with the realistic shadow and turf make this a truly enlightening piece that’s sure to brighten up your day! An inspirational yet saddening piece of artwork showing us what we are doing to the planet’s natural habitat to feed our everyday lifestyle, such as purchasing gas to drive our cars – we really are running out of time. This piece is part of a series called "Cubic", a personal experimental series of the artist. The main focus of the project is to use cubic shapes and structures and to place them in a non-cubic environment, such as the planet’s natural habitat and land. This piece was a free wallpaper that we distributed on Psdtuts that illustrates various environments blended together and serves to remind us that it’s time to start Changing our Actions to avoid continued climate change and environmental issues. Although originally a photograph, the piece has been highly edited in Photoshop, classifying it as a piece of artwork as well as an awesome piece of photography. The piece shows just what we are doing to the natural environment. A wonderful and highly illustrated piece completed as part of a personal project by the artist. The poster suggests how it is time for us humans to change our act to help protect the planet from climate change. Although global warming is a serious matter, this piece presents it in a comical way to help people join in with the fight to help stop electrical pollution and its devastating effects on the world, such as climate change. An inspiring yet saddening piece of artwork, again as part of a campaign to raise the awareness of global warming and its effects. As a part of a global warming campaign, this poster cleverly illustrates what our next evolution of animals could be like – in this case, a swimming parrot. A poster-style piece of artwork to raise the awareness of global warming, used in an exhibition at Donseo University in Korea. This heavy grunge and straight-to-the-point piece of work is quite violent, yet illustrates its point perfectly by using tools and weapons to literally attack the planet we live on. Photo-editing is Photoshop’s primary use (at least it use to be) and this is a perfect example of what it is capable of. This piece is originally an animated video, the image you see above is a piece of artwork taken from the video. The effects are incredibly realistic, and a little freaky! As the first part of the series "Trust NTR Series", this beautiful limited-color scheme and abstract piece encourages us to love nature because it will never fail us. The use of diagonal lines and vector shapes pulls this piece together to make it as strong as possible. A personal piece of work by the artist. The fact the whole piece has been made to look like it has been produced in an old scrapbook or moleskine pad only makes it stronger. Thin lines throughout the manipulation are used to draw your eyes into certain areas, such as the base of the tree and animals. This piece, for me, combines water (sea) with the life above ground (trees). The use of grunge texture and ink splatters make it a very inspirational piece of work and a pleasure to look at. "The Judge Series" is a dark-art project about corruption and human nature. The piece you see above is the final image in the series – it is definitely worth checking out the others by clicking through to the piece, as the series is losely based on a storyline. This very strange manipulated photographic piece of artwork is actually a person in a rather strange position. At first I saw an elephant, but upon further studying I realized it was not! The piece is part of a calendar series that is worth checking out. "Blue Crystal" is actually a company with an idea of a swimming world of ice off shore of Dubai. It is actually a model of a building, but has such strong and bold features it can quite easily be mistaken for a piece of artwork. Incredible! This highly illustrative and gorgeous piece of artwork was created for company called "Day Spa ZEN" as a primary image to be used on their website. You can see it live in action. The use of colors and the perfect balance between them is one the strongest points of this nature-themed commercial piece for Brooke Burke. The use of simple shapes and three-dimensional natural objects such as the flowers and grapes work tremendously well with each other. "Eleven Sins" is yet another piece that combines vector shapes with various different styles of art, such as photography and photo-manipulation. The outcome is vivid with a strong color contrast, but works very well for this particular image. This surreal piece is made up from various styles and techniques, and the result is absolutely stunning. Wow! "Life" is an extraordinary television series, so it’s no surprise to see an excellent poster advertising it. The large typography and lighting effects in the poster alone are pretty special, but combined with the huge selection of the planet’s coolest animals, it is a very exceptional design! "Fugitive Soul" is a piece of personal work by the artist. Its simple and limited composition work perfectly well with the black smoke, making it a pleasure to look at. This is another piece which is nature themed purely because of clouds. The lighting effects coming from the man are very powerful and look very realistic, especially with those fiery orange and red colors!

The Original Wasn’t Better Puritans don’t die; they just become purists. —Roland Joffe Literary purists often groan about Hollywood adaptations of classic literature, but the genre of the film adaptation has been around since the very beginning of filmmaking, and it’s clearly here to stay. Film theorist and historian Timothy Corrigan, in Film and Literature: An Introduction, mentions several adaptations among the very first commercial films ever made, including very early adaptations of Cinderella (1900), Robinson Crusoe (1902), Gulliver’s Travels (1902), Uncle Tom’s Cabin (1903), and The Damnation of Faust (1904). And another film theorist, Dudley Andrew, once made the claim that “well over half of all commercial films have come from literary originals—though by no means all of these originals are revered or respected.” It’s impossible to verify that astounding claim (made in 1984), though a cursory look at this summer’s American box office offerings suggests something approximating that number, especially if we include adaptations from comic books (Iron Man 2), sequels of adaptations of illustrated children’s books (Shrek Forever After), and adaptations from television (The Last Airbender). Admittedly, the number of intelligent and worthwhile adaptations from literary fiction is much, much smaller, though the genre is generally disproportionately represented in the annual list of Oscar nominees and winners. From the perspective of readers and critics, the question on the table is how serious readers can come to peace with Hollywood adaptations of classic works of literature. (There is also, of course, a growing body of non-western adaptations of canonical western literature, including a pair of highly recommended recent Bollywood adaptations of Shakespeare, Maqbool/Macbeth, and Omkara/Othello—but that’s a subject that deserves its own essay.) Here, I want to suggest that while readers are right to be wary of specifically Hollywood film adaptations of classic British and American literature, there are in fact times when the old truism that the “original was better” turns out not to be true. To begin with, one can think of several instances where adaptations outshine the original literary works from which they are derived. The most obvious cases are the 1939 version of The Wizard of Oz and Francis Ford Coppola’s 1972 film version of The Godfather. With The Wizard of Oz, the source of its cinematic immortality is hard to pin down to a single element: is it the breakthrough exploitation of Technicolor? the exceptionally catchy tunes? Judy Garland? For any or all of these reasons, The Wizard of Oz stands as a massive benchmark, not just in the history of film adaptation, but in the history of American cinema full stop. Interestingly, Victor Fleming’s adaptation of L. Frank Baum’s children’s story is not especially “faithful” to its source text—many episodes are removed, characters are transposed and combined (for instance, the two good witches become one), and most importantly, the world depicted in Baum’s novels as a “real” place exists in Fleming’s film only as a dream. As an author, Baum was able to milk his world for several sequels, but the “it was only a dream” approach taken by Fleming and company made it—thankfully!—impossible to think of “franchising” Oz. (I’m sure someone will try it all the same at some point: imagine a 3-D Oz with heavy CGI à la the recent Tim Burton Alice in Wonderland. Now imagine thirteen sequels, using Baum’s books as sources.) As the Oz example suggests, in thinking about film adaptations more generally it is important to get past a fixation on “fidelity.” At times, it seems most appropriate to consider film adaptations, not as straightforward translations (or, as film theorists say, “transmediations”), but as highly idiosyncratic interpretations of classic literature, given a personal touch by screenwriters, directors, and actors—akin to a modern literary critic’s “reading” of a text, where the director doesn’t attempt to claim an authoritative and representative command of a text, so much as to offer an idiosyncratic (if still faithful) “response.” In a word, this is not The Definitive Interpretation of The Tempest, it’s my interpretation of The Tempest. This is adaptation with a dose of humility—an attribute not normally associated with film directors and producers—and it’s still somewhat rare. More radically, it can be worthwhile to approach film adaptations as entirely autonomous from their source texts—that is, adaptations as wholly new creations, which transform the original in radical, self-conscious ways. One of my own favorites along these lines is Spike Jonze’s meta-adaptation, Adaptation—an instant classic, now widely discussed by film theorists in academic journals. Jonze’s film, scripted by Charlie Kaufmann, is an adaptation of Susan Orlean’s The Orchid Thief, which adds an original element of self-reflexivity: a frame narrative surrounding Orlean’s story focuses on the difficulties of the film’s protagonist in adapting Orlean’s book to a screenplay. The German film critic Eckart Voigts-Virchow calls this approach, where film adaptations self-consciously depict the challenge of creating a film adaptation, metadaptation (according to Voigts-Virchow, metadaptations are “films and other texts that foreground not just the film-making process or other processes of text production, but also the adaptive processes between media, texts and genres”). Another great example of meta-adaptation is Michael Winterbottom’s Tristram Shandy: A Cock and Bull Story, which transfers the spirit of Sterne’s “unfilmable” novel to a contemporary situation: a film crew attempting to film Sterne’s Tristram Shandy. And of course, having brought up The Tempest already, I think of Peter Greenaway’s own meta-adaptation of that play in Prospero’s Books. While we’re downplaying fidelity to the text, it also helps the discussion greatly to put away the imperative to be “true to the period” in adaptations of classic literature from earlier periods. Especially with respect to ancient and medieval literature, there are enough gaps in the historical record that we simply may not know enough to be “accurate,” and filmmakers, costume-designers, and set-designers inevitably operate from guess-work and informed approximation. Even in more recent historical periods where there is no shortage of historical data describing the incidentals of everyday life, filmmakers have to choose how to make a story relevant to their present moment. Since the early 1990s, many intelligent adaptations have explored important aspects of the historical context surrounding their source texts – there have been successful adaptations of Vanity Fair (2004) and Mansfield Park (1999) along those lines, as well as unsuccessful adaptations, like The Scarlet Letter (1995). Highlighting issues of race or empire in adaptations of 19th century novels is sometimes attacked as “political correctness,” but in all three of the instances just mentioned, the justification for exploring these themes actually lies in the source texts themselves. With Mansfield Park, it’s hard to get around the fact, clearly indicated by Austen, that the source of the money that so crucially structures social relationships in Austen’s world is a slave plantation in Antigua. For any number of reasons, Austen does not explore this theme in great depth in her novel (the focus of her critique is more on modern business practices, not racial exploitation per se), but it seems reasonable that Patricia Rozema chooses to elaborate on this aspect in her 1999 adaptation of the novel. In the case of Joffe’s infamous 1995 adaptation of The Scarlet Letter, the motivations associated with the imperative to “make it relevant” may not have been so noble. Among the novelties in Joffe’s adaptation is a scene with the Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale skinny-dipping in a pond, an explicit sex scene in a barn, an entirely new Native American component to the plot, a voyeuristic female African slave, a witch trial, and of course, Demi Moore in the nude. Joffe’s adaptation was widely attacked by critics for its revisionism especially regarding sexuality, a fact that ought to make it of at least some interest to critics who enjoy intelligent revisionism. Unfortunately, upon revisiting the film, I found that Joffe’s Scarlet Letter earns every Golden Raspberry it received. And yet the critics were still wrong about why Joffe’s adaptation stinks so much: the problem is not the revisionism so much as the failure of Joffe’s film to avoid repeated bouts of over-the-top unintentional silliness—the red tanager symbolizing sexual desire that flutters through the film, for example, or Robert Duvall having some kind of seizure with a deer carcass on his head. Despite the numerous absurdities in Joffe’s film, though, most of the criticism immediately following its release centered on Joffe’s choice to insert a semi-explicit sex scene in an adaptation of a hallowed work of American literature. The Washington Times’ reviewer, for instance, condemned Joffe’s steamy take on Hawthorne as “thinly veiled vulgarization.” The title of Newsweek’s review expressed a similar complaint: “Hester Prynne’s Hot Tub.” In response to all the criticism he was receiving, often couched in witty puns (many critics predictably played on “adulteration”/”adultery”), Joffe delivered a worthy bon mot of his own: “Puritans don’t die; they just become purists.” He surely has a point: is it really such a wild idea to include a semi-explicit sex scene in a post-Hays Code adaptation of a story that is, after all, about adultery? That said, it needs to be acknowledged that Hawthorne’s novel is, to a very considerable degree, about the psychological impact of the repression of sexuality on its characters, and on Puritan society as a whole. To refuse this dynamic, as Joffe’s adaptation does, is to risk making the story incoherent. Revisionism, though often beneficial and to some extent inevitable in contemporary film adaptations, may nevertheless have its limits. One of the biggest challenges facing any filmmaker engaged in producing an adaptation is duration: most commercial films have to clock in under two hours, while the complete plot of a novel (or, for that matter, Elizabethan play) might require considerably more time. By contrast, page-turning thrillers and mysteries tend to work quite easily as film adaptations. Even in printed form, thrillers almost require a certain amount of impatient skimming as the reader awaits the next step in the action, and they generally do not take much longer to read than the film adaptations do to watch, nor does one feel that “the original was better.” The film adaptations of The Maltese Falcon, The Third Man, and The Godfather are wonderful, suspenseful films, but they derive from texts that are especially well-suited to the limited duration required by film adaptations. It’s much harder to do condensed versions of literary texts that operate differently from thrillers – one thinks of long Victorian novels, of experimental modernist texts like Ulysses or Mrs. Dalloway, or of more contemporary postmodern works, such as The Unbearable Lightness of Being or Elfriede Jelinek’s The Piano Teacher. In most cases, successful film adaptations of experimental literary texts operate heavily in the mode of transcreation. Sean Walsh’s 2004 version of Ulysses, Bloom, picks up on some of the most accessible and provocative parts of Joyce’s story and reconfigures them into a limited, linear narrative. And the film adaptations of the Kundera and Jelinek novels work in part because they are much more conventional than their source texts. Interestingly, Stephen Daldry’s film adaptation The Hours might be seen as a metadaptation of a different kind: Daldry’s film is an adaptation of Michael Cunningham’s novel, which has itself been described by Seymour Chatman as “an alternative version of Mrs. Dalloway.” Both Michael Cunningham’s novel and Daldry’s film were successful, though Virginia Woolf scholars and biographers found much to complain about in Daldry’s film, from Nicole Kidman’s prosthetic nose (as Hermione Lee wrote, “[she] doesn’t look like Virginia Woolf. She looks like Nicole Kidman wearing a nose”), to the fact that Kidman’s Woolf seemed to be so utterly humorless and dour. Of course, none of this saves us from the occasional Hollywood (or commercial art house) stinker. Why did Joe Wright’s 2007 adaptation of Ian McEwan’s Atonement seem so lifeless? Why did Julian Jarrold’s recent adaptation of Waugh’s Brideshead Revisited fall flat while, a few years earlier, Stephen Fry’s Bright Young Things (an adaptation of Waugh’s often-overlooked satire, Vile Bodies) seemed to hit the nail on the head? There is no formula, and no clear way of predicting what will work. After considering so many examples, we can perhaps make two small claims: adaptations that stress fidelity are generally less interesting than those that stress social or political relevance to the contemporary moment; and adaptations that appear to be star vehicles or Oscar bait are less likely to be interesting than those that seem to be driven by a particular vision on the part of screenplay writers and directors. In a Bookforum “Reflection” on film adaptations in June 2007, Dutch author Tim Krabbé, who was burned by a “Hollybowdlerization” of his unrelentingly dark novel The Vanishing (Het Gouden Ei in Dutch), offers a pair of aphorisms which neatly sum up how best to navigate this complex terrain. To readers wary of film adaptations he said, “If you liked the book, don’t see the film. Why let the images that the words stirred up be overruled by some director? . . . As the goat said after it had eaten a few reels of film, ‘I like the book better.’” But Krabbé doesn’t downplay the potential power of film adaptations, or the possibility that film adaptations can eclipse their source texts, especially in an era so dominated by screen-based media. Accordingly, he addresses film fans as follows: “If you liked the film, don’t read the book.” Amardeep Singhteaches British modernism and Postcolonial literature at Lehigh University, in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. He blogs about matters of interest to South Asian diaspora culture at Sepia Mutiny, and about literature and literary studies at The Valve.

Re: Videos in Spanish Tue, 26 Sep 1995 09:19:38 -0400 We offer a good portion of our collection in spanish language, with and without subtitles. If you would like to receive our catalog, please call (212) 246-5522 or reply by e-mail and I will be happy to send you one. Good luck in your search!. The Cinema Guild, Inc. New York, NY 10019 (212) 246-5522 phone (212) 246-5525 fax

Some footage for Marvel's Thor was recently shown at CinemaCon and a big Marvel character cameo was confirmed for the movie. The character was actually shown in the footage so it's 100% legit info. There's been a lot of rumors about Marvel characters showing up in Thor, but the character I was really hoping to see, actually makes a big appearance in the film. We won't have to wait until 2012 to see Jeremy Renner play Hawkeye in The Avengers because he actually shows up in Thor and his character is more than just a walk on walk off cameo. Hawkeye is actually working with S.H.I.E.L.D. Agent Coulson in the story played by Clark Gregg. according to Cinema Blend "the scene features Hawkeye using his famous bow and arrow and he has multiple lines, so while we’re talking about something a little more than a momentary cameo, there’s no way to know if his involvement will go any further than that one scene." Freakin' awesome! So when you go out to see Thor on May 6th you can all expect to see Haweye in action! I can't wait to see what kind of costume they put him in.

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Cinema Cocktails: "Some Like It Hot" The term "greatest comedy of all time" gets thrown around a lot, and the laurels of this statement frequently fall on the shoulders of SOME LIKE IT HOT. That's quite a weight to bear, and when you think about what tickles your funny bone you don't immediately think of the stylings of a film from 1959. If you haven't already taken the plunge to sit down with this Billy Wilder classic, I promise that you will not be disappointed. Tony Curtis, Jack Lemmon, and Marilyn Monroe have never been better… Show more Created by Austin360.com | Austin American-Statesman | Claim this event 320 E. Sixth St. Austin, TX 78701 Hot Tickets More » |12/12||6:10p||Action Pack: "Elf" Quote-Along| |12/12||8:45p||"The Hobbit" Double Feature| |12/12||9:40p||Action Pack: The Xmas Pops Sing-Along| |12/13||7:00p||Master Pancake: X-Mas Show| |12/13||10:00p||Master Pancake: X-Mas Show| |12/14||2:20p||Laurel & Hardy's Festival of Laffs| |12/14||2:20p||Laurel & Hardy Program| |12/14||7:00p||Master Pancake: X-Mas Show| |12/14||10:00p||Master Pancake: X-Mas Show| |12/15||7:15p||Food & Film: "Home Alone" All-You-Can-Eat Cheese Pizza Party|

For the last few weeks I’ve been out and about filming moments in the developing protest movement against the unconscionable coalition government and its programme of swingeing cuts in every department of social provision. The result has been a number of short videos posted here on Putney Debater. I’ve now been invited by the New Statesman to become its first video blogger, so from now on, that’s where my videos will be posted first (although I’ll continue to post written blogs here). Here’s the first one, which condenses the videos posted here previously with some additional material. The idea I have is to build up a picture of the movement as it evolves, so I’m working on the basis that I’ll end up with a documentary record of three or four months of struggle. The method is simple: to return to Glauber Rocha’s formula for Cinema Novo in Brazil—to go and make films with a camera in the hand and an idea in the head. (Too simple for the section on methodology in a grant application, and there’s no time for that anyway, so I’m not making one.) The last few weeks have seen a new spate of agitational web videos, accompanying the amazing upturn of politicking in Britain in response to the brutal, ill-considered and philistine cuts proposed by the coalition government which took office last May. Continue reading Two letters in the Guardian this week past caught my attention. The first concerns the pauses in Samuel Beckett’s Waiting for Godot. Murray Marshall of Salisbury writes: - The obituary for Timothy Bateson (Obituary, 8 November) mentioned the difficulties that original cast had with grasping the meaning of Waiting for Godot. The author himself was apparently not a lot of help. A friend of mine was assistant stage manager on the first production, and the cast and crew eagerly awaited Beckett’s visit to a rehearsal. They assembled after performing to be enlightened by the great man. After a suitably Beckettian interval, he said: “The pauses were not long enough.” I also have a story about this, which comes from the horse’s mouth, or anyway, Peter Hall, who directed that first production in 1955. Many years ago, when I was taken to visit him at his house near Wallingford, he told us what happened when they played in Blackpool before coming to London, and the audience was mystified and bored. Someone noticed that the last train back to London on a Saturday night left before their scheduled finish, so in order to catch it, they decided to eliminate the pauses. The play went by like a flash, the audience found it very funny and laughed a lot, and they got their train! * * * * * The second letter is an altogether more serious matter. This is from almost 200 student union officers warning MPs that unless they sign a pledge to vote against an increase in fees, they will be named and shamed. Continue reading

- About the Association - Alumnae Awards & Fellowships - Classes, Clubs, & Groups - Online Community - Events & Reunion - Life-Long Learning - Wellesley Magazine - Alumnae in the News Designate your Wellesley Fund gift Direct your gift to The Wellesley Fund—and help support the initiatives that matter most to you. Your years at Wellesley prepared you for a lifetime of adapting and changing, imbuing you with a passion to continue learning long after you closed your last textbook. Wellesley is a bit like that as well: to maintain its beautiful campus and exemplary academics, it needs continual refining and refreshing. This year, you can be part of rejuvenating specific elements of Wellesley’s unique environment. We’ve identified four major areas of specific need. You have the opportunity to support an initiative that is especially meaningful to you. Help attract, admit, and retain the best and brightest students. It’s true—everything about Wellesley is essential, but most especially our students and faculty. Gifts directed to Essential Wellesley will support financial aid and every aspect of our day-to-day operating requirements, from scholarships to competitive faculty salaries, classroom technology, light bulbs, and new books. A century-old campus needs some tender loving care. Did the beauty of our campus inspire you? Gifts directed to Iconic Wellesley will provide funds for repairing leaded windows and restoring the domes and roofs of Cazenove, Beebe, Pomeroy, and Shafer Halls. Your gift will nurture the campus that played such an important role during your time at Wellesley. Sustainable thinking is smart and responsible. We get it. Your gift to Greener Wellesley will support tools and strategies to promote a healthy community and sustainable campus. Your gift will help fund ongoing sustainability efforts, including reducing the College’s consumption of electricity, #6 fuel oil, and potable water. Support academic development on campus and sustainable solutions for the world. Gifts directed to Academic Wellesley will provide support for the engineering, Middle Eastern studies, cinema and media studies, and American studies programs. Your gift will enable students to take part in Wellesley’s empowering learning environment.

Blaze Bayley Checks In From Europe Blaze Bayley, the former singer for Wolfsbane and Iron Maiden, has posted an update from the road. You can check out his tour report below: "So here we are in Italia... "The Tour That Will Not Die, European Tour, started on 25 February in Pisa. We had stayed the night at Blaze’s as we had a rehearsal the day before. The primary reason that we needed rehearsal desperately was that David Leonardo Bermudez was waylaid in the UK due to a load of Visa bollocks. What that means is that he is unable to join us until we play Germany. So... Deputy Dave enters the Blaze Bayley story. "Dave Andrews was guitarist with me in Chokehold so we gave him three days to learn to how play bass and to learn the whole one and a half hour set. As it transpired, it is fine. So if you notice that Dave has changed a bit... that is why. "As an aside, Deputy Dave writes film scores as well as playing metal. Visit his website www.two13.com. The film he’s currently working on is called A Day Of Violence. Cool! "So we arrived in Pisa courtesy of the Evil Empire – Ryan Air. In fact, for the first time ever we had a very helpful lady at check-in. Of course we still got absolutely rinsed of cash for extra baggage... but hey ho. The bus driver Bob was on our flight too. A most righteous chap, from Doodlay. "So we crash-landed on Pisa airport pretty much on time and were met by the bus. Francesco, the Tour Manager, was on board and a jolly fine chap he is. Also, the bus came equipped with the ultimate crew — Mini Max from our last Italian jaunt! Gabrielle (that’s what his Mama called him) is doing our sound this time, which is fantastic. "So we headed to a hotel for a day room and then to the gig. The bus stayed at the hotel. It’s a cool bus: 14 bunks, two lounges, etc etc. Anyway, at the gig we hooked up with the support band Ibridoma who are doing all the Italian dates. Nice blokes. We’re using their backline which took a while to settle in. "Anyway, the gig was cool. But I also wanted to see Pisa and the Leaning Tower. But did I? Well, I saw the telegraph pole of Pisa; the radio tower of Pisa; the tower block of Pisa... but nothing leaning. Bastard! Ah well... next time. "We headed overnight to Torino which was another excellent gig. The owner Tony was über cool. Lots of free food and beer and an enthusiastic crowd. The mighty Angelo was there and it was great to see him again. Also Richard from France – hello mate. The set was settling in nicely. And we were all adapting to bus life. Kind of like living in a U-boat – but without depth charges. Which was another thing…I had to finish my latest book about U-boats so was pretty much stuck on the laptop until last night. Finished! Hurrah! Book number ten and the last one on U-boats for a while. "From Torino to Milano...There we met up with the most righteous Dave and Paolo from Mainpain and their excellent other halves. Angelo was there again being extremely useful. Best of all... there was a SHOWER! Yes, we were clean again. Wunderbar! "A few hassles with bus electrics ensued which led to Bob burying himself in the engine bay until solutions presented themselves. Fortunately he builds buses so is kind of like our Chief Engineer. "The next show was Scandiano which was cool. Unfortunately Nico and I made the mistake of following Francesco and Mini-Max out for food. Well... we walked one way... then another... then five kilometres later we crawled into a supermarket and ate some anticlimactic food. Starvation had weakened both Nico and I mentally and we spent most of the afternoon barely keeping the hysterical manic laughter under control. Then we illegally jumped a bus back to our bus parked at the venue. The moral? Never follow Francesco anywhere... without a day’s rations in your pocket. "It was around this period that we discovered Mini-Max’s startling resemblance to Thompson and Thompsen from Tintin. So from this day forth he is ‘Thompsen’. He appeared disgruntled at first as I think he thought we meant he looked like Snowy the dog. But no! "So we played and then the next day headed to the hotel we were staying in for two days, one of which was a day off. Cue the joy of more showers and some laundry. We played an old cinema in Macerata where I managed to put the pedal through the bass skin. Shit! So, a brief intermission while Blaze entertained the crowd with a puppet show and I searched for a solution as we had no spare. First I thought ‘beer mat’. No good. Then tinfoil pasta tray? Hmmm... too much sauce on it. Aha! A solution appeared when I whipped the head off a floor tom and gaffa taped it over the bass drum skin. It survived the rest of the show and now the support band think I am MacGuyver. "So that’s it in a brief nutshell. Dave and I spent all day drinking Cappuccino at the hotel (1€ per cup and most righteous!) New T-shirt is selling well. Italy is cool as ever. Watching movies and drinking beer and eating pasta most of the time in between shows. Noone has been left behind by the bus yet….but it’s early days. "Conclusions so far: 1. Tortellini rocks. 2. Ibrodima’s drummer’s mother makes OUTSTANDING cakes. 3. Gaffa tape can fix anything. 4. Italy is very cool (but we already knew that)." Please share this article if you found it interesting. - Previous Article: As I Lay Dying Drummer To Miss Tour Dates - Next Article: Judas Priest Guitarist KK Downing Checks In 0 Comments on "Blaze Bayley Checks In From Europe" Be the first to comment! Tell us what you think. (no login required) To minimize comment spam/abuse, you cannot post comments on articles over a month old. 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Sarasota with Teens: A Perfect Family Day There is no better way to start a day than with a scrumptious breakfast! It is hard to beat the amazing breakfast options at Station 400. Indulge in any of the European omelets, or delight yourself with amazing cheeses with a French option. If you are more in the mood for sweets, sink your teeth into the almond crusted, apple-stuffed French toast with berry butter and hard cider syrup. For a more vegetarian-friendly menu and the best coffee in town, check out The Venue in the heart of the Rosemary District. This hip little stop will caffeinate you well, and you will have at your fingertips a wide selection of local, organic flowers, great little vintage shops for local art and jewelry, and great salons and spas. Station 400, 400 N Lemon Ave, Sarasota, FL 34236; 941-906-1400; 8AM-3PM daily The Venue, 500 Central Ave, Sarasota, FL 34236; 941-312-6782 After your jaunt around historic Rosemary, the next thing on your agenda for your family vacation with teens in Sarasota should be taking that carload to the Sarasota Farmers Market downtown. Stop by the Worden Farm booth and stock up on some of the juicy, local fruit for a great beach snack (I promise, whatever is in season and available will be amazing!). Hit Whole Foods on the way out of downtown for water and sunscreen if you aren't prepared because you will need it for one of the best beaches in America! Sarasota Farmers Market, Corner of Main St and N Lemon Ave, Sarasota, FL 34236; 941-225-9256; Every Saturday 7AM-12 PM, rain or shine Siesta Key, how I love your powdered-sugar beaches and amazingly friendly locals! Swing by the main parking lot and see if you can grab a spot. On a Saturday during peak season, this can be a treacherous battle. There are a few secret beach access lots that are small but can usually save the day. Once you feel sufficiently baked but not yet sunburned, head to LéLu Coffee Lounge, caffeinate the teens and send them flying with the kid-friendly parasail crew. All the while, you can kick back and enjoy a few martinis with the lovely, young owner, Jen, before heading out to explore and shop on the Key. If you are like me, you can only take a few hours in the brutal Florida sun. Besides, the kids will be back soon, and I am sure everyone is hungry. Sarasota Visitors' Center, 701 N Tamiami Trail, Sarasota, FL 34236, 800-800-3906; Mon-Sat 10AM-5PM LéLu Coffee Lounge, 5251 Ocean Blvd, Siesta Key, FL 34242; 941-346-5358; Mon-Fri 7:30AM-10PM, Sat 8:30AM-10PM, Sun 8:30AM-5PM Siesta Key Parasailing, 1265 Old Stickney Point Rd, Siesta Key, Sarasota, FL 34242; 941-586-1972; Sunrise to sunset daily, weather permitting; $60 10-minute flight, $70 12-minute flight, or $80 15-minute flight (the 15-minute flight includes 30-40 pictures on an SD card) For some great lunch options where you can get away with beach apparel, at least classy beach apparel, check out Libby's Cafe. Nothing here is short of fantastic! You'll find a mouth-watering vegetarian menu, and the "Libbstacker" will change your outlook on a meatloaf sandwich, from leftovers to seconds, please! For any veggie lovers in the family, the black bean-quinoa burger is delicious, and the four cheese, pear tortelloni will please even the fussiest teenager. Libby's Bar & Café, 1917 S Osprey Ave, Sarasota, FL 34239; 941-487-7300; Mon-Sat 11:30AM-close, Sun brunch 10:30AM-3PM After lunch, you'll be looking to escape the heat of Sarasota with your teens, so head to the Burn's Court area and catch one of the films playing in Burn's Court Cinema. This hidden treasure prides itself on small theaters, great films, and constantly contributing to the amazing film community in town. Many have no idea how involved Sarasota is in the film industry, but our annual Sarasota Film Festival has been going on since 1998 and hosts a variety of national and international films, feature length movies and shorts, documentaries and blockbusters. Burn's Court Cinema, 506 Burns Ln, Sarasota, FL 34236, 941-955-3456; Check website or call theater for current showings and times Are you hungry enough for a snack? I thought so. Head back downtown and stop in at Whiteberry for a healthy and refreshing frozen yogurt. The flavors are rotated, but chocolate is a delicious staple that's never wrong. I like mine topped with mango and strawberries, but when I am feeling saucy, I go with fruity cereal and gummy bears. I won't judge you, if you don't judge me. This may be the perfect time to walk down to Bayfront Park. Sit near the water on one of the creaking front-porch-style swings, or check out the art walk for some great sculptures. Whiteberry, 1473 Main St, Sarasota, FL 34236; 941-366-5050; Mon-Thu 10AM-10PM, Fri-Sat 10AM-11PM, Sun 11AM-9 PM Bayfront Park, 1 Marina Plaza, Sarasota, FL 34236; 800-800-3906 Finish the best family vacation in Sarasota with dinner at Ceviche. This tapas joint has small plates for sharing or dinner sized portions that can still feed two easily. The Espinacas is savory and healthy, perfected with a fig and honey glaze that makes it decadent. The Piquillos Rellenos are highly recommended as well. Every time I stop in, I ask for a recommendation and have never had a bad experience. Try the sangria, which comes as a wine or champagne in pitcher, half-pitcher, and glass sizes. Don't forget to save room for a heavenly dessert. If you are a crème brûlée fan, you found the perfect place to indulge in this delectable custard and caramelized shell. After dinner, check out the roof top for the perfect open-air ending to your night. Ceviche, 1216 1st St, Sarasota, FL 34236; 941-952-1036; Tue-Thu 4PM-12AM, Fri-Sat 4PM-2AM, Sun 11AM-10PM - Overview: Sarasota Travel Guide Add a Comment Find the best offers to compare and save money. Fly Round-Trip to France, Spain, Italy & More this Winter Published by ShermansTravel.com Search for Deals Dec 11th 2013 4:54PM Dec 6th 2013 2:30PM Dec 5th 2013 11:29AM - Adventure Travel - Air Travel - Arts & Culture - Best Of - Food + Drink - Historic Sites - Road Trips - Spring Break - Ski Vacations - Spa & Wellness - Tips & Tricks - Weekend Getaways

Finding much to like and be scared by in Steven Soderbergh's Contagion, Danny Kasman and I engaged in a fittingly geographically separated, electronically connected conversation over a week or so about the film and its director (and even a little bit about politics). As we go into at greater length below, what's particularly interesting about this film (and Soderbergh's films in general) is their granular attention to policies, process, places and systems over broad talking points. We aimed to get specific in what follows. DANIEL KASMAN: I at first thought a better title might be Cluster—a new phrase introduced to me in the film, meaning a localized group of people infected by a disease. But soon I realized the film's original title was far more apt: like recent David Fincher films, this is about connecting isolated people and facts across spaces. The connecting thread of the narratives, that which gathers and links all these Hollywood stars and non-stars, American locations and international locations, is the communication of a disease across space and time. The disease itself, the idea of the disease. RYLAND WALKER KNIGHT: Indeed: the first, striking facet is that first moment, a cough in the dark, perhaps meant to imply that this movie is itself a contagion, a virus, designed to work you over. As that first, brisk twenty minutes goes—skipping between the disparate locations our story will play out within—we see a truly digital film: a literal network narrative (such a tired "category" trumpeted as a "genre") organized like a mosaic, like a CCD chip in a digital camera that gathers discrete points of light as data, arrayed into a cohesive image. Despite its subject matter and title and mode of production, not even Fincher's The Social Network is as much a series of links, of people being linked, so much as time overlapping. Soderbergh's interest in time is far simpler: it's fast, just like the virus and just like the world. KASMAN: Yes, so fast that we barely see "stories" in Contagion, the amount of inter-personal micro-narratives is almost nil, and what exists is mostly the affection that develops between two people associated by the disease. For example, Matt Damon's daughter's empathy for her father seems to be born sui generis because of his nearness to the infection and deaths. I kept waiting for someone to fall in love or something and that assumption kept being cut short by the film's spooky (to steal Manohla Dargis' perfect, concise word choice) attitude towards spaces and people, each defined by its utility in relationship to the virus. It's not hard to imagine every space Soderbergh photographed (he's acting as his own DP again, and seems to be filming on location in every single scene) totally evacuated of human presence, creating a mise-en-scène which in no way needs large-scale epidemic spectaculars...you can already sense where catastrophe lurks simply in the fact that this space is being filmed, this person is on screen. (It's a horror-movie principle too, like a Dario Argento film, where we quickly realize the rules of the film, that anything that is shown is being shown because it's in danger. Nothing is safe; being filmed means being unsafe.) KNIGHT: "Nothing is safe" starts with the cough, but it's continued in both the concrete act of humans touching—I reeled any moment any person touched any other person, totally spooked—and the concrete representations of objects touched—again, I found myself nervous, thinking almost audibly, as in a horror movie, "Don't touch those peanuts!" Which is a way to say that the horror is in the everyday. Unlike most horror movies, this one posits the human as the horror in truly mundane ways. Once our bodies are not our own, thanks to a sickness, they become these generative foces for death and, as panic mounts, plain evil. This is what makes Laurence Fishburne's small, sage speech about the ritual of the handshake, in one uninterrupted shot no less, so powerful: it rejects cynicism. Or, it aims for charity. He is, after all, a doctor. KASMAN: In a way, the film is very mundane; in fact, a lot of recent Soderberghs, Che and The Girlfiend Experience, have been mundane. For me, this film is a success in that it re-contextualizes the filmmaker's weirdly distant, cerebral attitude towards what he's filming: it makes sense here, filmed in this manner. This de-personalization, this distance and mundaneness, these corporate, institutional, office and home spaces, all chilly and functional. If the human characters vanished the spaces would mean nothing, be records of futility. Then again, maybe my problem with these digital Soderbergh projects is my own problem. Have you liked these recent films of his? For me, only The Informant! was a success, and a great one, because I finally understood the angle his filmmaking took on the subject. Same thing here, I feel and understand why he's shooting the movie in this way. In the past, not so much. KNIGHT: I do like Che and was surprised by how much I did like The Girlfriend Experience, but those are, I must admit, more of like essays than movies. Then again, so is Film Socialisme, though that comparison is not one of value; the JLG film is more poem to GFE's prose, which is terse but largely univocal. The Informant!, however, is just plain great. For one, it's truly ironic, speaking two truths at once that almost sort of cancel each other out but also don't. For another, it's hilarious. It would be easy to dismiss as clever were it not so smart, which is the case of a lot of Soderbergh's work, which is, as we have discussed outside of this conversation, an odd problem to recur in conversations around his work. I think the key is his politics, which is a subject I'm often loath to confront in public, but seems unavoidable here in part because Soderbergh's politics aren't Political but Philosophical (though, how do you separate those?). His movies are out to document certain systems at work in this late capitalist world. One Deleuze and Guattari theory I'm drawn to, among so many, posits capitalism as schizophrenia. They wrote two books elucidating the idea—Anti-Oedipus and A Thousand Plateaus—but, for the sake of speeding this along, I'd like to focus on the idea of capitalism as an assemblage (their word for any complex system) of simultaneous forces seemingly at opposite ends: maintenance and dissipation. That is, the world as we know it, as a capitalist system, with all its people (and their money) moving everywhere, is perpetuating itself by spreading out like your fingers from your palm; Deleuze and Guattari use the concept of a rhizome, a series of links where every link creates multiple other links, which is always growing and moving. Part of my enjoyment of Contagion was seeing this idea in action, seeing one person lead to another, one space lead to another, all these disparate locations pointing at each other and, as the plot turns, at another space and another group of people. I saw the movie multiply itself like the virus at the heart of it. KASMAN: "...his movies are out to document certain systems at work in this late capitalist world." Interesting choice of words there. That and "essay"—perhaps what Soderbergh is doing with these non-Ocean films is something akin to fictional cine-journalism? But isn't that term something you've leveled in complaint against, for example, The Wire and Treme? KNIGHT: Yes. But David Simon and his staff don't make images as well, and the things that tick me off about David Simon are largely issues with storytelling. Those shows are aiming for some giant "truth" at the worst; at their best, the shows show people as people plain and simple; but these people are always couched in some NPR-HuffPo-safe argument. And I'm sure you could use that against something like Che but I think that movie is fairly radical, almost as insanely ambitious and galvanizing as its subject, not to mention full of images that pop and sing. Contagion, too, just looks great. I skimmed Hudson's roundup yesterday and was shocked to see some people denigrate the digital photography as simply ugly. A lot of it's gorgeous, and it's all designed to make your skin crawl. Those casino flashbacks, for instance, are elevated beyond exposition because of that weird tilt shift thing that makes the scenes explicitly about focus and detection, about where to look, which is a funny posit of what we're supposed to be doing as viewers. But this isn't just a conceptual beat—it's folded into the storytelling, it's better than the script. I think Simon is too stuck on the script, truly coming from journalism, from words, and Soderbergh's ballyhooed interest in painting (after cinema) speaks to his interest in forms and creating meaning through gestural relationships within frames. There's more art at work in even the less successful movies Soderbergh has made, and a lot more art at work in his best. David Simon does have a gift for casting, though, and that should always be praised and thanked. KASMAN: I'm curious why you think Che is radical but I suppose that's a different conversation; funny you mention Simon's casting, as what Soderbergh was "known for" during his 1999-2000 resurgence was his "skill with actors." And now we have this cast, this strange cast which absorbs Psycho's lesson until it's banal, dropping off female stars with normalized nonchalance. You see Gwenyth Paltrow's face peeled off, for god's sake. With so little melodrama, barring the Matt Damon thread of the story, Contagion has to rely on its cast to effortlessly carry human weight and character with such a process-fact based script. Cotillard, a fleshy Fishburne (almost as good as he is in Predators), Winslet, that actress who I didn't recognize from the CDC...each has to contain something to lend these vaguely threatening places a sense of movement and nuance, a strange inversion of the Oceans movies where everyone has to be caricatures to give the movie meaning. The blend between these two poles is Jude Law's blogger, the only force of conflict in the film, or the only one moving against the flow of the images and who's thus directed to weave between the cartoonish and the plausible. I'm not sure how I feel about that impact on the film, but I suppose it ruffles Contagion's otherwise seamless textures, which is needed. KNIGHT: Funny, is Soderbergh not "known for" his work with actors now? Did Oceans erase that? Because I'm always drawn to the acting in his films. You began to name why, too: he relies on his actors presence, in some cases star power and others the absolute lack of it, to flesh characters. This is more obvious in the Oceans films, but it's at play in Contagion, too, with his desire to upend expectations (about the actresses, yes) a clue into how much he thinks about his audience. One of my favorite things about Soderbergh is his attention to rhetoric, to whom he's addressing. Contagion is packed with ideas (about capitalism, information, "today," etc.) but it's also a totally effective thriller. He's truly learned how to make a movie within Hollywood and place a stamp on it. What's funny is he had to seek it out, to hone a skill at inhabiting a certain role, sort of inverting the auteur role as those Cahiers turks defined it by looking for a job that's largely lost to focus groups and name brand marketing. That is, the director—known as a director—is a brand as much as the film. It's no wonder they didn't put his name on any ads for this film. It would be pretty hard to stomach a medical epidemic disaster movie "from the director of Ocean's Thirteen" so instead we simply have those actors, those other names, pushed to the fore. KASMAN: Let me end this on a serious inquiry, since you baited me: what ideas is Contagion packed with in regards to "capitalism, information, "today," etc."? KNIGHT: Some of the ideas, I'll admit, are rather on the nose. But this film, as well as The Informant!, are certainly "of a piece" with a lot of later Assayas movies. Both directors are very interested in how the world works, how capitalism moves people across the globe like objects, how it creates speed and how that speed begets speed, how everything is connected. Sure, it can seem rote in some sequences. The coda of Contagion is a big sticking point for a friend because he doesn't like how butterfly-effect-y it is. But I like it for the fact that it seals the movie, contains it, much as the scientists have just sealed the virus, in the way a proof is contained. It posits a world of logic amidst the chaos that speed can create. Humans, after all, are only trying to contain or corral the unruly "natural" world with all our systems and laws and scientific breakthroughs. Filmmaking, or a certain tradition of worldly filmmaking that I would argue Contagion is a part of (for all the breadth and expansion, this is no cosmic film), is an extension of that desire. So to see this coda is to see—in literal retrospect—how a human (like, say, Damon's dad filling in the logical gaps between photos on his dead wife Gwenyth's digital camera) might narrativize this cause and effect of this mysterious happening. It's that, and it's also just consistent with how I see the world: brutal, bigger than humans, perpetually at risk of collapsing, always-already decaying, webbed by people and by stories. That we win may be charitable flattery for our understanding of our smarts (we rule the roost, but we're complicit in the decay), but that's the other main thing that motivates the best moments of the film, as it does a lot of great films: charity. There are evil acts in the film, but we're left with a series of charitable acts and people trying to be better people. KASMAN: I wouldn't say that's all we're left with. Those sinister, suggestive scenes of looting and derelict streets, the creation of a kind of menacing off-screen space far away from the shadow-poetry of Tourneur, because this is grounded, exponential—what we see hints of the film suggests is just the edge of a very sharp and precise drawing of chaos. Also: the most frightening moment in the film for me, when the Chinese man kidnaps the French girl in Hong Kong; I had this horrible feeling he was doing it to suppress the potential source of the virus being Chinese, that this girl who was trying to help was going to be taken away and silenced for simply trying to communicate information. The reveal of the true plot-line takes a different tack than this, but I wouldn't call it charitable. The sidelines of the film funnel outward until they reach the near-caricature of Jude Law, who represents the malignant ambivalence of some sides of this film's "charity." Just as the charity funnels outward to reach the near-caricature ending of the Matt Damon plot-line. As in all recent Soderbergh, the film is "fair" above all, borderline ambivalent. I've always been struck by the ambivalence of the director's recent work, and even after a film I like as much as Contagion, I'm not sure what I'm left to do with it.

Lately I’ve been hearing many horror stories from people who have had really awful experiences while at the movies. Everything from having to endure entire conversations from surrounding moviegoers while a film is still in progress, to seeing cellphones disrupting screenings. Others even talk about being in theaters with moviegoers who heckle the screen. For those of us who go to the theater to find solace, to sit in a dark room with strangers in what we hope will be a few hours of undisturbed peace, such behavior from fellow moviegoers is the highest form of sacrilege. There used to be an unspoken agreement between everyone at a theater that once the lights dim and the credit start to roll, we should all respect each other’s moviegoing experience by making as little disturbance as possible. It’s not asking much. It’s just that we’d rather lose ourselves in the world of Narnia or Middle-Earth than in your phone call about picking up your dry cleaning. We’d rather be angry that Lando Calrissian betrayed Han Solo instead of the fact that someone keeps hitting the backs of our seats with their feet. We’d rather watch Bruce Wayne turn into The Dark Knight than listening to someone recite a play-by-play account of the film they’ve seen twelve times yet have permitted none to enjoy even once. We’d rather be mesmerized by the performances that are on the movie screen before us than by the blinding light streaming from your iPad, which by the way, no one in their right mind should be bringing into the movie theater. The cinema has turned into such a hostile environment for moviegoers that it’s no wonder that sometimes, against our personal preference, we decide to sit at home instead and settle for video on demand, or wait for a movie to be released on DVD. To borrow a phrase from Regal Cinemas’ slogan, movies shouldn’t be reduced to a 40-inch LED TV, and yet sometimes we may be forced to settle for that. Speaking of movie theater chains, these are also culpable for the decay of film culture, because some seem to care so little for the enjoyment of their patrons. Cinemas that claim to have zero tolerance policies when it comes to cellphone usage sadly, and more often than not, shirk this responsibility. Not enough seems to be done about ensuring that obnoxiously loud attendees are instantly removed from the theater for disrupting films. Odd, considering that the very existence of such theaters is dependent on the moviegoing audience. When the experience of going to the cinema has become so devoid of peace, enjoyment and last but not least, quiet, what would be the point of going? It would be in the interest of such theater chains to be more vigilant about enforcing no-cellphone and noise policies, because who wouldn’t want to make their target market happy? At the end of the day, however, the issue stems more from a growing disrespect of cinema as a space than corporate incompetence. Blame can be placed on many factors. Some may point to the ADD culture fostered by a barrage of information, dependency on technology and seemingly constant need for social media interaction. Some can point out that one can just as easily watch a movie at home, so going to the cinema isn’t all that sacred to others. Unfortunately we can’t do much with blame. What we can do is make this problem - and it is a problem - known, and hopefully change this culture of cinema to one of mutual respect for shared space. It might seem trifling to some that we care so much about watching our films in peace, but perhaps that’s because cinema isn’t their religion, and they don’t think of the theater as their church. For most of us, the cinema is where we go to explore, discover and feel enlightened. When we get lonely, we go to the cinema and visit our friends, to paraphrase a line from Almost Famous' Penny Lane. So I hope it can be understood that we feel such great loss when this space is trampled on again and again by those who don't comprehend its importance. So let’s take back the cinema. And I’m not talking about picketing theaters or shouting down noisy moviegoers. I’m talking about promoting a culture that respects this space and those who frequent them. If you’re sitting next to someone who won’t stop talking, tell them to please be quiet or leave, and if they don’t, bring this to the attention of the theater ushers. Usually this doesn’t do much, but at least it will make them aware that people do take this seriously. We pay for our ticket and we spend a ton on overpriced concessions. The least we can expect is for legitimate complaints to be heard. If bringing issues to the attention of ushers is not helpful, perhaps taking this to corporate may make some headway. If all else fails, we’ve got the web, and the internet loves a good PR nightmare. Hopefully it doesn’t come to that. Because if you ask me, I’d rather just sit quietly here in my popcorn-smelling seat and enjoy my movie. That really isn’t too much to ask, is it?

Keita Amemiya returns to robot territory with “Mechanical Violator Hakaider”, and seems to have learned his lessons well from his previous efforts. The result is a visually impressive and entertaining film that will satisfy fans of science fiction and Japanese cinema. If only the script relied more on its own ideas instead of others, this could have been a masterpiece. The film opens with a gang of treasure hunters getting more than they bargain for when they uncover a warrior android with a nasty case of amnesia. Unfortunately for our treasure hunters, finding the android proves to be a huge mistake, as the cybernetic amnesiac graphically slaughters them before setting off to learn his identity. His quest takes him to Jesus Town, formerly Jerusalem, now under the oppressive rule of Girjev and his robotic servant Mikail. After learning his true purpose, the android fights to free the people of Jesus Town from their evil ruler. Keita Amemiya gives us a visually gorgeous film, a veritable feast for the eyes and a treat for the senses. The film clips by at a rapid rate and never gives the audience the chance to catch its breath. Amemiya also gives us unique costuming, with the good characters garbed in black and the evil ones wearing white. There’s also plenty of religious imagery to be found, and characters sport angel-like wings and statues of Christ and the Virgin Mary are desecrated. Despite Amemiya’s dark vision of Christianity, he never strays into the realm of the blasphemous, and seems to be instead holding organized religion accountable for its shortcomings. The script by Yoshinori Kitase, from an original story by Shotaro Ishinomori, is fairly good, if a bit unoriginal. We’ve seen all this post-apocalyptic shenanigans before, making it seem as if the writers took the script for “Terminator”, “Mad Max”, and “Guyver” and pureed them in a blender, submitting the results to be filmed. Thankfully the script has some saving graces, offering up decent dialogue and well-developed characters. Even better are the action sequences, scripted with enough adrenaline to keep viewers glued to the screen. As far as the acting is concern, the performances range from excellent to nondescript. Yasuaki Honda gives a spectacular and weird performance as the despotic Girjev, and at times seems to be channeling Michael Jackson on his stranger days. Toshiyuki Kikuchi gives an equally good performance as Mikail. The character displays great compassion and sadness, yet is capable of merciless murder. As a result, Mikail becomes one of the most memorable and conflicted characters in “Hakaider”. Unfortunately the rest of the cast aren’t quite as successful in their portrayals. As the title character, Yuji Kishimoto delivers a one-note performance. The actor is without a doubt very good-looking, but he never manages to become more than a pretty face, an object of obsession for the females in the audience to drool over. The rest of the cast is serviceable, but never manages to transcend the material. Another major plus are the robotic suits, which are very realistic and appear quite formidable onscreen. This is especially true of Mikail’s suit — a beautifully rendered and whitish armor. It’s the perfect contrast to Hakaider’s battered black suit, and gives a nice visual contrast between the two characters. Girjev’s soldiers are equally well realized, with white uniforms covering them from head to toe. They have a menacing and sterile air about them, even if they do resemble the snow troopers from “The Empire Strikes Back”. “Mechanical Violator Hakaider” is a movie that, although imperfect, is still very well done. An amazingly visual and exciting piece of work, it’s a satisfying way to pass an afternoon, even if you can’t help but wish it was more imaginative and had better performances. Keita Amamiya (director) / Shotaro Ishinomori (story), Yoshinori Kitase (screenplay) CAST: Mai Hosho …. Kaoru Yasuaki Honda …. King Girjev Toshiyuki Kikuchi …. Mikhail Yuji Kishimoto …. Hakaider

How much do things cost in Birmingham and Aberdeen? - Aberdeen is 13% more expensive than Birmingham - Gasoline (1 litre) on average £1.38 in Aberdeen and £1.40 in Birmingham - Cinema, International Release, 1 Seat on average £8.00 in Aberdeen and £7.20 in Birmingham - Apartment (3 bedrooms) Outside of Centre per month on average £1147.50 in Aberdeen and £750.00 in Birmingham - Taxi 1 mile (Normal Tariff) on average £3.50 in Aberdeen and £1.80 in Birmingham

Kinotayo is a festival aimed at all film lovers. Sponsored by the Hotel Sezz Paris , this annual event gives the public the chance to discover contemporary Japanese cinema through the screening of a number of new films. Don’t miss the final days of the festival, running until 29th January. Kinotayo or the Japanese perspective on the world This festival was created in 2006 by the Kinotayo association, whose name is taken from the contraction of “Kin no taiyo” meaning «golden sun» in Japanese. Every year, the public discovers a selection of contemporary films which aim to highlight the particular sensitivity of Japanese artists’ perspective on the world and the social trends common to France and Japan. The 7th annual festival offering a rich and varied programme This 7th festival offers a rich and varied programme, with no fewer than 28 films. The 10 films in competition include «Ace Attorney» directed by Takashi MIIKE and adapted from a video game, «Chronicle of My Mother» directed by Masato HARADA, inspired by an autobiographical account of the life of a successful writer, as well as «The Blood» directed by Guillaume TAUVERON, a self-taught Frenchman fascinated by Japanese cinema and who has lived in the Land of the Rising Sun since 2006. Several directors will attend the various screenings. Magnificent «Golden Suns» will be awarded to the directors who win the votes of the Kinotayo Association, the Public and the Press. Special tributes are being paid to Kô NAKAHIRA, the grand master of Japanese cinema, as well as to Kaneto SHINDO who passed away in 2012, aged 100, and whose films received international recognition. Less than a 10-minute walk from the Centre of Japanese Culture in Paris, the Hotel Sezz Paris is proud to sponsor the Kinotayo Association and the Japanese Contemporary Film Festival.

- City of Brighton offices are closed Monday and Tuesday. They will reopen on Wednesday. - Brighton Township Hall is closed Monday and Tuesday. They will reopen on Wednesday at 8 a.m. - The U.S. Postal Service will suspend delivery and branch operations on Tuesday. Regular service will resume Wednesday. - Trash Collection will be delayed one day. Residents whose trash is picked up on Tuesday will be picked up on Wednesday, and residents whose trash is picked up on Wednesday will be picked up on Thursday. - Brighton District Library will be closed Monday and Tuesday and will reopen on Wednesday at 10 a.m. - Banks in the area are closed on Tuesday. - Restaurants that will be closed include Ciao Amici's, Brighton Bar & Grill, Buon Gusto, Yum Yum Tree, The Wooden Spoon, and Great Harvest Bread Company. - Call 911 for police and fire emergencies as well as for any suspicious activity. Things to Do - Skate it out at Rolleram II. The rink is open for open skate from noon – 5 p.m. - Walk it out at Brighton Recreation Area. The DNR’s annual Shoe Year’s Day Hike will kick off at noon at the Bishop Lake Complex. Refreshments and snowshoes provided. - Eat it out at your favorite area restaurant. To help their customers start the year with full bellies, Lynn's Cafe will be open from 8 a.m. - 2 p.m. Need a pick-me-up? Usually limited to weekends, the Bloody Mary bar at Lu & Carl’s Bar and Grill will open from 11 a.m. – 3 p.m. For a dose of caffeine, head to Two Brothers Coffee from 9 a.m. - 5 p.m. Stone Fire Bistro, Stillwater Grill, Bagger Dave’s, and The Pound! Bar and Grill are open during regular hours. - Sit it out at MJR Brighton Towne Square Digital Cinema 20. There are 17 movies to choose from, with options for all ages. Show times begin as early as 10 a.m. - Throw it out at Brighton Bowl. The lanes are open from 10 a.m. to midnight. All bowling is $2.50 a game before 5 p.m., $3.50 after from 5 - 9:30 p.m., and $2.50 after from 5 p.m. – close. Hourly lane rental is $15 per hour before 5 p.m. and $20 per hour after 5 p.m. Rent shoes for $2.75 per pair. Did we forget anything? Tell us in the comments.

PETER COOK AND DUDLEY MOORE THE FROG AND PEACH From ONCE MORE WITH COOK adapted from the BBC TV series NOT ONLY BUT ALSO (1966) transcribed by Judy Harris visit my homepage at http://www.bestweb.net/~foosie/index.htm or E-mail me at [email protected] Subscribe to BEDAZZLED (UK members £6; all others £10), the Peter Cook Appreciation Society newsletter and get an E.L. Wisty World Domination League button: Peter Cook Appreciation Society 15 Temple Dwellings Temple Street, Bethnal Green London E2 6QG |DM:||Good evening. We're talking this evening to Sir Arthur Greeb-Streebling.| |DM:||Oh, I'm terribly sorry, I thought it was Greeb-Streebling.| |PC:||No, Streeb-Greebling. You're thinking of Greeb-Streebling. The "T" is silent, as in "fox". Good evening.| |DM:||We'd like to ask Sir Arthur actually about his rather unique restaurant, the Frog and Peach.| |DM:||Good evening. If you would tell us something about it, Sir. Arthur.| |PC:||Yes, well, ah, the idea for the Frog and Peach came to me in the bath. A great number of things come to me in the bath, mainly sort of mosquitoes and adders, but in this case a rather stupendous idea. I suddenly thought, as I was scrubbing my back with a loofah, I thought, "Where can a young couple, who are having an evening out, not too much money, and they want to have a decent meal, y'know, a decent frog and a nice bit of peach, where can they go and get it?" And answer came there none. And so I had this idea of starting a restaurant specializing in these frogs legs and, er, peaches, and on this premise I built this restaurant.| |DM:||These premises, in fact.| |PC:||In these precise premises. Good evening.| |DM:||How long ago did you start this venture? Was it recently?| |PC:||It was certainly within living memory. Shortly after the First World War.| |DM:||Ghastly business, wasn't it?| |PC:||Oh, absolutely ghastly business. And, er, I started it shortly after that and ever since then, it's sort of been here, y'know.| |DM:||And how has business been?| |PC:||Well, ah, business hasn't been, in the strict sense of the word. Rather, let me answer that question in two parts. There hasn't been any business and nobody's been. It's been a quiet time for the last 15-18 years, really, in the business.| |DM:||But don't you feel in a way you're at some disadvantage being stuck out in the middle of Dartmoor here?| |PC:||I think the word "disadvantage" is awfully well chosen there, yes. This is what we're at. We're at a disadvantage. You see, when I had the idea, I weighed up the pros and cons and I came to the conclusion, rightly or wrongly, or possibly both -| |PC:||Or neither, or nye-the, as they say in some part of the country.| |PC:||Indeed. I thought that the pros outweighed the cons by two and a half ounces, and I thought the people in Britain were crying out for a restaurant where there wasn't any parking problem. In fact, I heard somebody in the street crying out for a restaurant without a parking problem. Norwegian sailor, I believe, on leave. He was saying, "Oh, for a restaurant without a parking problem!" And this sort of inspired me to start this one. There's no parking problem here, situated as we are in the middle of a bog in the heart of Dartmoor. No difficulty parking. Some difficultly extricating your car, but otherwise well-situated. Good evening.| |DM:||Good evening. Don't you feel, again, you're at a disadvantage because of your menu? I mean -| |PC:||The menu! Oh dear! Yes, that is - Oh! This has been a terrible hindrance to us building up a business. The menu is the most - have you seen it?| |DM:||Yes, I have.| |PC:||It's the most appalling thing. There's so little to choose from. You start with - what's that?| |PC:||Spawn cocktail. One of the most revolting dishes known to man. Then there's only two other dishes really. There's frog a la peche, which is a frog done in Cointreau and with a peach stuffed in its mouth And, ah, then, of course, there's peche a la frog, which is really not much to write home about. A waiter comes to your table. He's got this huge peach on it, which is covered in boiling liqueur, you see, and he slices it open to reveal about two thousand little black tadpoles squiggling about. It's one of the most disgusting sights I've ever seen. God, it turns me over to think of it. Squiggle, squiggle, they go.| |DM:||Rather nauseating. Who does the cooking?| |PC:||My wife does the cooking and, luckily, she does the eating as well. An amazing creature. Of course, she's not a well woman.| |PC:||Not a well woman at all, so she very much resents having to go down the well every morning to sprinkle "Swoop" on the toads. An amazing creature, my wife, an amazing creature.| |PC:||I met her during the war actually.| |PC:||Yes, she blew in through the drawing room window with a bit of shrapnel, became embedded in the sofa and, you know, one thing led to her mother and we were married in the hour.| |DM:||Um, yes, I suppose actually -| |PC:||Would you like some pond water?| |DM:||No, I won't actually.| |PC:||It's two shillings.| |PC:||It's revolting stuff. I wouldn't touch it.| |PC:||What are you about to ask me about?| |DM:||I'm about to ask you, um, I suppose this sort of menu could, in fact, appeal to the French.| |PC:||It could appeal to the French and I've tried appealing to the French over Radio Streeb-Greebling which, as you know, is situated in the moat, not a stone's throw from here, but, ah, the response has been - oh - it's not been excessive.| |PC:||It's been nil.| |DM:||Well, it all sounds rather disastrous to me.| |PC:||Catastrophic, I think, would be a better word, really, for it.| |DM:||Do you have any other plans for other business ventures?| |PC:||Nnnnn-- yes and no. I thought of starting a sort of sophisticated restaurant with kind of, ah, sophisticated music somewhere up in Peebleshire. Somewhere where a young couple who're out for the evening, y'see, who've got about 85 guineas to spend to get a really decent meal.| |DM:||Hmm. What are you going to call it?| |PC:||The Vole and Pea.| |DM:||What sort of food?| |PC:||Well, ah, I was thinking largely: simple English roast vole, you know and, ah, a decent British pea. Put the two together and I think you're on pretty good ground.| |DM:||Y-e-s-s, indeed. Do you feel you've learnt by your mistakes here?| |PC:||I think I have, yes, and I think I can probably repeat them almost perfectly. I know my mistakes inside out.| |DM:||I'm sure you will repeat them. Well, thank you very much, Sir Arthur.| |PC:||Thank you very much.| |DM:||And good night.| |PC:||Would you like one for the toad?| |DM:||No, thank you.| © The Estate of Peter Cook 1966, 1996 Click here for a 1-minute soundbyte of Peter Cook, as a repressed father, attempting to teach the facts of life to Dudley, as a naive 17 year old son. Pete and Dud are standing in Madame Tussaud's, surrounded by wax effigies. |PETE:||You've been standing there for hours and I'm afraid you're still not taller than Princess Margaret.| |DUD:||Oh really, how very disappointing.| |PC:||Nope, you're not.| |DM:||I thought I'd be taller than at least one member of the Royal Family.| |PC:||Well you might be taller than Anthony Armstrong-Jones, but of course he's been melted down and recycled since the separation.| |DM:||I gather he's become part of Margaret Thatcher's tie.| |PC:||That's right! A very nice place to be. Yes, a super place to be.| |DM:||I must say I do feel the whole idea of Madame Tussaud's, er, for these wax effigies, is really super.| |PC:||Tremendous. She deserves a round of applause, I think.| |DM:||I think the Queen must be especially grateful for it because, you know, being so busy she can bung one of these wax effigies | |PC:||- in the coach | |DM:||- when she can't get round to doing something. Frightfully useful.| |PC:||So she just bungs out an effigy.| |PC:||One thing that puzzles me. Perhaps you know the answer. You know that radiant smile she has? The one that she uses to win the hearts and minds of people?| |PC:||How do they get that on an effigy?| |DM:||Oh, they do that electronically from the Palace.| |PC:||Oh, laser beams!| |DM:||Yes, yes. So what you're seeing is really happening 20 years ago.| |PC:||Oh, I understand.| |PC:||The coach, I suppose, has to be air-conditioned...| |DM:||Naturally, otherwise the wax melts down to a disagreeable mess...| The following is an excerpt from the book PETER COOK REMEMBERED, edited by Lin Cook © 1996 by Christopher Hitchens, who interviewed Dudley Moore for this tribute after Peter's death. Dudley said: I loved performing with Peter in the latter years of BEYOND THE FRINGE and, although I had the least speaking to do in the show, I got to perform with him more and more. The dialogue from the floor that we had in CIVIL DEFENSE, where I ask how long it will be before normal service is resumed after nuclear Armageddon, and he says he expects something in the nature of a skeleton service, was the start of it. That and the one-legged Tarzan sketch. Jonathan [Miller] could play Mr. Spiggot, the unidexter artiste, but he never really got his essential optimism. So when, in 1966 or so, I was asked to do a [British TV] show produced by Joe McGrath, our first director, I asked Peter. But it could have just as well been Alan [Bennett]. This is what became NOT ONLY...BUT ALSO. It was originally called NOT ONLY DUDLEY MORE BUT ALSO PETER COOK, which I later rearranged in alphabetical order to avoid upsetting him. We were improvising in his living-room at 17 Church Row and he started up: "My wife's not a well woman. That's why she doesn't like going to the well. . . I met my wife during the war. She blew in through the window on a piece of shrapnel, and became embedded in the sofa, and one thing led to my mother, and we were married within the hour." The amazing thing is that it was just like that. No warning - he just started coming out with it. We would get together and improvise into a tape recorder, and then listen. I would do headings of things that we both liked and we would erase the rest and then do it again. We'd do it up to four or five times. A rather higgledy-piggledy approach. Any improvising after that would depend on the response of the audience. But the audience had a tendency to like what we liked, so we didn't alter very much. So the show [NOBA] went well. [In the first episode] we did a long sketch about a janitor in a West End club where only after a bit do you realize that the club is a public toilet. A khazi. John Lennon played the janitor. Peter came up with the line, "This is where the big nobs hang out." I did a parody of the Swingle Singers. The art gallery sketch is still my favourite, because it was so free and easy. We were alive to each other's idiosyncrasies and we had a lot of fun. When I think back on it, I wince because, really, it was very risky to rely on that first run-through. There was no safety-net, and no back-up tape. We relied on mad reminiscences, like being on the top of a bus while I talk about my experiences at school. Another I remember is of me waking up in a drawer full of socks, and Peter smacking me awake with a cricket bat and saying "Thank God you're not Jewish." It slowly emerges that I'm being born again and I'm nine hours late and the doctor is trying to make me cry. There was one [sketch] that didn't get shown. It was an Elf and Tinkerbell sketch, quite dirty, with a randy Tinkerbell who has it off with a water-boatman. Peter could gum on a moustache and put on a deerstalker and become Sir Arthur Streeb-Greebling ... "Good evening...Good Greebling...the "f' is silent as in fox. Of course, we're training ravens here, training them to fly under water. Knee-deep in feathers.". Regarding FRINGE: I do remember the way he used to come on as a messenger in SO THAT'S THE WAY YOU LIKE IT, wearing a crown and carrying a sword and sliding to a kind of halt. And I remember that he never forgot his words. Ever. He was more at home with what he wrote than what others wrote, of course, but we tended to keep what he wrote in any case. We used to cheer Pete on when he was doing the Judge sketch -- we'd settle downstage left and encourage him with gestures. The audience couldn't see us but we were just willing him to take off, and he often did. Mind you, it got longer and longer and sometimes it got very boring. He used to be willing to bore people with endless monologues as long as he could exit on a laugh. NOT ONLY BUT ALSO LINK Peter Cook and Dudley Moore: Grand Old Men of Comedy Part one of a three-part series by James Kew THE EARLY YEARS Peter Cook was born on the 17th of November, 1937. While still at school he began writing comic material, including several items for the magazine "Punch" as well as some pieces performed within the school. Avoiding National Service through a fortuitous allergy to feather pillows, he spend a year in France and Germany, where he visited a number of satirical nightclubs; it was here he had the idea of opening what would later become London's "Establishment" club. In 1957 Cook went to Pembroke College, Cambridge, to study French and German literature. It took him a year to summon up enough courage to audition for the Footlights Club; he is quoted as saying, "I felt the Footlights was a tremendously elite club--I was too bashful to even consider applying for it." He took part in the 1959 revue, "The Last Laugh", and in 1960 became the president of Footlights, writing much of that year's revue, "Pop Goes Mrs Jessup". It was seen by the theatrical producer Michael Codron, who asked Cook to contribute material to a professional revue, "Pieces Of Eight", which played at London's Apollo Theatre in 1960. It was followed in 1961 by "One Over The Eight". In Cook's words, "By the time I left Cambridge I had acquired an agent, and was a 'professional writer'". Dudley Moore was born on the 19th of April, 1937. He told the Observer in 1979: "I was a very serious pompous child. I spent the first seven years of my life siphoned off in hospital beds and wheelchairs with a club foot...It was my leg onto which I projected all my feelings of inadequacy and self-loathing." At school he took to clowning to avoid the inevitable bullying and teasing. A keen musician, he went on to study music at Magdalen College, Oxford, where he became interested in the stage and cabaret and developed great skill in the jazz piano. BEYOND THE FRINGE In 1960 John Basset, another Oxford graduate, was assisting the organiser, Robert Ponsonby, of the Edinburgh Festival--an annual festival of music and drama. Many small theatre and revue companies also mount unofficial productions on the so-called "Fringe" of the Festival. Ponsonby had the idea that the Festival should have its own official late-night revue; Basset suggested Dudley Moore and another Oxford man, Alan Bennett, and suggested that they be balanced by two Cambridge people, Peter Cook and Jonathan Miller. The revue was given the title "Beyond The Fringe", and comprised of the best of the foursome's solo material with some new sketches. It opened to excellent critical reaction at the Lyceum Theatre, Edinburgh, in August 1960, and moved via Cambridge and Brighton to London's Fortune Theatre, where it opened in May 1961. Much of the humour in the show is gentle; Alan Bennett gave an earnestly-delivered spoof sermon, Dudley Moore provided a number of musical interludes, Jonathan Miller delivered a whimsical monologue about the startling number of trousers found in railway Lost Property offices. The sketches poke fun at existing institutions, rather than, as was common in previous revues, putting the performers into imaginary situations. Jonathan Miller: "We resolved not to make these conditional propositions, which were always the basis of old-fashioned revue--'wouldn't it be funny if...'. Our idea was 'isn't it funny that...'--let's observe what actually goes on, imitate it, and remind people by the shock of recognition how absurd things are." Alan Bennett remarks: "It did actually treat the audience as intelligent people who read the papers." Peter Cook contributed to most of the new sketches, and performed a monologue, "Sitting On The Bench", a rambling conversational piece in typical deadpan style delivered by a coal miner who wanted to be a judge. |Cook:||Yes, I could have been a judge but I never had the Latin, never had the Latin for the judging, I just never had sufficient of it to get through the rigorous judging exams. They're noted for their rigor. People come out saying, "My God, what a rigorous exam"--and so I became a miner instead. A coal miner. I managed to get through the mining exams--they're not rigorous, they only ask one question, they say, "Who are you", and I got 75 per cent on that.| Dudley Moore recalls feeling rather intimidated by the other performers: "I don't recall much of the writing process...perhaps because I felt fairly futile in its creativity. I had to win my laurels eventually it seemed through my abilities as a performer." His musical pieces were well received. "I had to construct a solo...I decided to write a sonata movement using one of the silliest songs I knew and one of the greatest composers...Thus, I chose the 'Colonel Bogey March' as used in the film 'Bridge Over The River Kwai' and worked it in the style of Beethoven." "Beyond The Fringe"; was immediately hailed as a satirical masterpiece; a label that the performers found a little uncomfortable. Jonathan Miller: "None of us approached the world with a satirical indignation. There were targets we wanted to hit--I was interested in lampooning productions of Shakespeare, not because I had a burning indignation against them but because I just wanted to get them right." Peter Cook: "Certain parts of it were satirical...'The Aftermyth Of War' upset quite a few people, who thought it was an attack on people who laid down their lives in the war, when in fact it was a parody of the films." |Cook:||We're two down, and the ball's in the enemy court. War is a psychological thing, Perkins, rather like a game of football. You know how in a game of football ten men often play better than eleven?| |Cook:||Perkins, we are asking you to be that one man. I want you to lay down your life, Perkins. We need a futile gesture at this stage. It will raise the whole tone of the war. Get up in a crate, Perkins, pop over to Bremen, take a shufti, don't come back. Goodbye, Perkins. God, I wish I was going too.| |Miller:||Goodbye, sir--or is it--au revoir?| One of the most controversial sketches was Peter Cook's impersonation of the Prime Minister, Harold Macmillan. Cook: "My impersonation of Macmillan was in fact extremely affectionate...but merely because it was the first time for some years that a living Prime Minister had been impersonated on stage, a great deal of weight was attached to it." Macmillan visited the show one evening; Alan Bennett recalls: "Peter has a kind of madness on stage...he has the kind of self-confidence which doesn't take into account audience reactions. One evening Macmillan came to the show. Peter therefore went several steps further, remarking on the Prime Minister's presence in the audience. Macmillan buried his face in the programme, and the audience, out of embarrassment, gradually froze. This didn't stop Peter. On he plunged. Someone with less self-confidence would have been guided by the atmosphere." The show ran for over a year, until the cast took it to America, when it continues for another four years with a substitute cast. "Beyond The Fringe" opened in October 1962 at New York's John Golden Theatre, where it ran for about a year, returning in 1964 in a slightly revised form with Paxton Whitehead replacing Jonathan Miller. "Beyond The Fringe" changed British theatre and revue immeasurably-- old-fashioned revue disappeared completely from London. By pointing humour at previously unexplored targets it opened the road for the new wave of satirical comedy which emerged in the 1960s. Dudley Moore: "They were exotic years and exotic experiences...I don't think I ever had such grand excitement." Peter Cook: "I may have done some other things as good but I am sure none better. I haven't matured, progressed, grown, become deeper, wiser or funnier. But then, I never thought I would." Peter Cook was the only member of the "Beyond The Fringe" team with a conscious desire to be satirical. His experiences of political cabaret during his visit to France and Germany gave him the idea to open his own club and having made some money from his writing, he began putting his plan in motion before "Beyond The Fringe" even opened in London. He got together with the treasurer of Footlights, Nick Luard, and they managed to negotiate a lease on an old strip-tease club in Soho's Greek Street. Cook: "It was all quite chaotic. Because of the advance publicity, about seven thousand people joined before it had even opened: they joined on the idea, at two guineas a time, which roughly financed the opening of it." An excellent cast, including John Fortune, John Bird and Eleanor Bron performed nightly shows at the new club, "The Establishment", with frequent guest appearances. Cook recalls: "I was very very lucky with the cast I got. I also persuaded Dudley Moore to play with his trio down in the basement, at slave labour rates, but he just enjoyed himself a lot and had a fantastic opportunity to meet young women. For two years it was a great place, which I still look back on with tremendous fondness. There was all the excitement of bringing Lenny Bruce over...those were tremendous times. Some of the things we did are as outrageous as anything that has been done subsequently. I think more so...extremely bad taste flourished at "The Establishment"." The cast of "The Establishment" later moved to the States, arriving shortly after "Beyond The Fringe". Their new brand of comedy was well-received, and led to an offer of a TV show from Ed Sullivan. The show was to be directed by Jonathan Miller, but the restrictive nature of network TV led to insurmountable difficulties, and the show was never made. Without the key members of its original cast, and suffering certain financial difficulties, the London "Establishment" was running into trouble. It was taken over and went rapidly down-market. On his return from America, Peter Cook was offered his half-interest back by the new owners. Cook: "I took one look at the club and said 'No'. The whole atmosphere had gone--the place was filled with rather large men, and I didn't think it was salvageable. And so I got out; that was the end of "The Establishment" for me." The club soon became just a typical Soho nightclub and was later converted to a blue-movie cinema. At about the same time "The Establishment" opened, the satirical magazine "Private Eye" began publication. It was a joint venture between Richard Ingrams, Christopher Booker and William Rushton. By April 1962, however, the "Eye" was in danger of sinking through lack of finances. Peter Cook had hoped to start a magazine after the success of The Establishment", but was beaten to it by "Private Eye". He now came to its rescue, and he and Christopher Luard became majority shareholders. Under Cook's guardianship, "Private Eye" prospered, gaining a reputation for scurrilous exposés and their accompanying libel suits; it continues to this day. by James Kew, [email protected] Part two of a three-part series. NOT ONLY...BUT ALSO... On his return from the American run of "Beyond The Fringe", Peter Cook was invited to appear in Bernard Braden's series, "On The Braden Beat", where he performed twenty or so monologues, further developing the character he had introduced in "Beyond The Fringe", and giving him a name: E. L. Wisty. The pieces were usually improvised to tape the day before filming; Cook would then read them from autocue, staring straight at the audience, eyes glazed and unsmiling, seemingly impervious to the audience's laughter. Wisty would hold forth in his droning monotone on the subject of the week, rambling aimlessly, filling in the yawning gaps in his knowledge with totally spurious "facts". Cook I've always wanted to be an expert on tadpoles. I've always fancied being a tadpole expert. It's a wonderful life if you become an expertii tadpolius, as they're known in the trade. You get invited out to all the smart parties and social gatherings. When smart people are making out their lists for the dinner parties they say, "Now who can we have to make up the ten? A tadpole expert would be very nice, he can sit next to Lady Sonia." And at all the smart functions people come up to you and say, "I hear you're a tadpole expert. Tell me, what are tadpoles really like?" And lovely ladies invite you back to their flat and say, "You know, I'm longing to hear about your tadpoles. Hang on a minute while I slip into a gossamer trenchcoat." The BBC asked Dudley Moore to do in a one-off television show, "Offbeat". He invited Cook to join him, and Cook wrote two sketches, one featuring two cloth-capped buffoons discussing their imaginary liaisons with various film stars (Dud and Pete), and one about an upper-class twit (Sir Arthur Streeb-Greebling) who has spent the last forty years attempting to teach ravens to fly underwater. |Moore:||How do you manage to breathe underwater?| |Cook:||Oh, that's completely impossible, nobody can breathe underwater. That's what makes it so difficult. I have to keep bobbing to the surface every thirty seconds. Makes it impossible to conduct a sustained training programme on the ravens. And they're no better, they can't even be taught to hold their beaks. Horrible little animals. There they are, sitting on me wrist, I say, "Fly, fly, you devils!" and they inhale a faceful of water and, er...| |Moore:||I suppose they drown, don't they?| |Cook:||It's curtains, yes. They drown, and, er, topple off me wrist. Little black feathery figure topples off me wrist, spirals very slowly down to a watery grave. We're knee-deep in feathers off that part of the coast.| The BBC were very pleased with the result, and Cook and Moore were offered their own programme, "Not Only...But Also...", which ran for three series in 1965, 66 and 70--the last series being made in colour. Much of the archive material has been lost or destroyed by the BBC, but sufficient footage was found and restored to make up 6 compilation episodes, which were transmitted in 1990. "Not Only...But Also..." featured Cook and Moore's most enduring characters: the fumbling cloth-capped idiots Dud and Pete. Cook: "Pete is the informed idiot, and Dud is the uninformed idiot. They're both idiots, but Pete is always slightly superior. In fact, he knows nothing either." They appeared in numerous sketches, ruminating about life in general. The sketches were surprisingly long for the period, often running to eight or ten minutes, and have an improvised feel. Peter Cook: "We didn't have scripts as such, we had a lot of headings--we'd rehearsed a lot, and we knew roughly what we were going to say, but not word-for-word." In one sketch, Dud and Pete meet in an art gallery: |Dud:||Here, have a sandwich. My feet are killing me.| |Pete:||What's that got to do with the sandwich?| |Dud:||Nothing, I just said it afterwards, that's all.| |Pete:||Well, you shouldn't say things like that together, it could confuse a stupid person| They go on to discuss Vernon Ward duck paintings: |Pete:||If you look at his ducks, you see the eyes follow you around the room.| |Dud:||You noticed that?| |Pete:||Yer, when you see sixteen of his ducks, you see thirty-two little eyes follow you round the room.| |Dud:||No, you only see sixteen because they're flying sideways and you can't see the other eye on the other side. He never does a frontal duck.| |Pete:||No, but you get the impression, Dud, that the other eye is craning round the beak to look at you, don't you. That's a sign of a good painting, Dud.| This leads to an examination of Cezanne's "Les Grandes Baigneuses": |Pete:||The sign of a good painting when its people's backs towards you is if the bottoms follow you around the room.| |Dud:||If it's a good painting the bottoms will follow you around the room?| |Dud:||Shall I test it then?| |Pete:||They won't bloody budge, I'll tell you that much.| |Dud:||I can't look directly at the painting or else they'll know I'm looking and get all cagey.| |Pete:||Are they moving, Dud?| |Dud:||I think they're following me, Pete.| |Pete:||I don't think they are, Dud.| |Dud:||I reckon they are, Pete.| |Pete:||No, those bottoms aren't following you around the room, your eyes are following the bottoms around the room.| |Dud:||The same thing, isn't it?| |Pete:||Course it isn't. There's a world of difference between being followed by a bottom and you following a bottom.| Other memorable sketches include "SuperThunderStingCar", a viciously well-observed spoof of Gerry Anderson's puppet series, "Thunderbirds"; "The Glid Of Glood", an odd fairy-tale told entirely in rhyming verse; and "Bargo", a documentary on the reclusive Finnish star Emma Bargo, played by a surprisingly convincing Peter Cook. The shows had a musical interlude, provided by the Dudley Moore Trio, Moore's jazz band, with a special guest each week. The show ended with Cook and Moore singing "Goodbye-ee" in a very affected twenties fashion, which became their signature tune and was a minor hit when released as a single. A series of three hour-long programmes, "Goodbye Again", was produced for ITV in 1968. They were intended for the American market, and featured a guest American comedian each episode; however, they failed to live up to the quality of "Not Only...But Also...", due in part to dissatisfaction with the hour-long format and a personality clash with the director. Peter Cook returned to television in 1971, when the BBC asked him to front a chat show, "Where Do I Sit?" It was, by all accounts, an unmitigated disaster. Cook, unsure of his ability to handle such a show, asked for a pilot, but the BBC pressed ahead with a series of thirteen. They were slightly worried by his insistence on making the shows live; Cook says, looking back: "I said people will enjoy disasters if they happen. And sure enough, disasters did happen. I found out on that first programme that I was no good at talking to people on television." The shows got good viewing figures, but disastrous reviews in the papers, and the BBC cancelled the series after three shows. In the summer of 1971 Cook and Moore went to Australia to make two TV shows for the Australian Broadcasting Commission, shown in Britain as "Pete And Dud Down Under". They also compiled a new stage show, "Behind The Fridge", which ran successfully in Australia before opening in London in October 1972. The show went to America under the title "Good Evening", running on Broadway for a year and subsequently touring. by James Kew, [email protected] This is the conclusion of a series of articles on Cook and Moore written prior to Cook's death. We've decided to keep the article as it was originally written. In 1967 Peter Cook and Dudley Moore made the film "Bedazzled", which came from an idea he and Moore had. Dudley plays Stanley Moon, an inadequate burger-bar cook infatuated with a waitress (Eleanor Bron). After an attempt to kill himself, be meets a George Spigott (Cook), who he later discovers is the Devil, and who offers Stanley seven wishes in exchange for his soul. Each wish Stanley uses is, in effect, a self-contained sketch, linked together by the narrative device of Stanley's growing friendship with George. One sketch borrowed an idea from "Not Only...But Also...": Stanley, having specified that he and his beloved should enjoy eternal love in quiet surroundings, finds that they are both nuns of The Order of Leaping Berelians--a bizarre order who dedicate themselves to the Lord by perpetual leaping. (This leads to be one of the all-time funniest moments in movie history: Dudley Moore, a nun's habit, and a trampoline. Enough said.) "Bedazzled" was given mixed reviews by British critics, who compared it unfavorably with their television work. Abroad, however, it was popular and given rave reviews. Cook has described it as the only film he's ever worked on that he's remotely satisfied with. Between "Goodbye Again" and 1970's third series of "Not Only...But Also" Cook and Moore made a string of uninspiring film appearances. Cook appeared in the 1968 thriller "A Dandy In Aspic", playing a straight part; Moore co-wrote and starred in "Thirty Is A Dangerous Age, Cynthia"; and in 1969 they both appeared in "Monte Carlo Or Bust!" (known in America as "Those Daring Young Men In Their Jaunty Jalopies"). They did not return to film until 1978's "The Hound Of The Baskervilles", a Sherlock Holmes movie made "from the point of view of the dog," according to Cook. That may have been why it turned out to be a mess of a movie. Dudley Moore continued his film career. A cameo in "Foul Play" led to his breakthrough role in the Blake Edward film "10". He starred opposite Bo Derek. Moore earned a Golden Globe award for his portrayal of cocktail pianist George Webber and became one of Hollywood's most unlikeliest sex symbols. Further success came in 1981 with "Arthur", in which he played the happy drunk millionaire Arthur Bach. He falls in love with Linda Marolla (Liza Minnelli), and finds he must choose between riches and happiness. John Gielgud filled Cook's shoes as Moore's sidekick butler Hobson, and the interactions between Moore and Gielgud provided much of the comedy. Moore deservedly received a Golden Globe and an Oscar nomination; John Gielgud won a best-supporting-actor Oscar. Moore has since starred in a number of films, including "Lovesick", "Micki And Maude" and the uninspiring sequel, "Arthur 2: On The Rocks", of which few have lived up to his earlier successes. DEREK AND CLIVE A departure in style are the "Derek and Clive" recordings. The first album, "Derek and Clive Live" was originally recorded privately during the New York run of "Good Evening"; inevitably, the tapes "escaped" and multiplied on the bootleg circuit. In 1976, three years later, Cook and Moore relented and issued the material on an LP. Their reluctance was due to the nature of the material, much of which depended on language and subject material which made them quite unsuitable for public distribution. The albums "Come Again" (1977) and "Ad Nauseam" (1978) were released after the relative success of "Derek and Clive Live". The comedy on these three albums is rough, improvised stuff delivered by a clearly inebriated Cook and Moore. There is much which is still shocking today: Derek and Clive argue, screeching expletives at each other; Derek composes a filthy song about his mother; a "Bo Duddley" song is dissected in a manner which veers uncomfortably close to racism. There are moments of sheer brilliance, however: Cook's sketch "Horse Racing", a masterpiece of vulgar double-entendre; the rambling 25 minute piece "The Horn", which ends in a vicious spoof of the Moonlight Sonata; "Squatter and the Ant", a surreally twisted war memoir in which two crusty colonials recount the story of a lone fighter facing a menacing ant. Derek and Clive have been variously described as "Pete and Dud on speed" and "a punk Pete and Dud", and the rambling, freewheeling style is certainly reminiscent of Cook and Moore's earlier characters. Maybe the description on the sleeve of "Derek and Clive Live" fits them best: "just a couple of c***s". A film--"Derek and Clive Get The Horn"--was made of one of the "Ad Nauseam" recording sessions, and was recently re-released on video. THE LATE YEARS Peter Cook's career lately has been somewhat patchy. He continues his involvement in Private Eye, makes infrequent appearances on chat shows, where his ready wit and whimsical outlook is still very apparent, and takes the occasional cameo role in comedy films--notably appearing as the murderous Ralph Jolly in the Comic Strip feature, "Mr. Jolly Lives Next Door". His recent work has included a series of shorts for BBC2 based around the Twelve Days Of Christmas, voicing the animated version of the Viz cartoon "Roger Mellie--The Man On The Telly", and a sparkling special edition of "Clive Anderson Talks Back" in which he improvised the roles of all four of the show's guests. Accused of some by laziness, he claims to have fulfilled all his ambitions by the age of 30. "Ambition can lead people to take some fairly desperate measures at times, and I am not that desperate." Dudley Moore now lives in Los Angeles with his current wife, Nicole Rothschild, who he married in April 1994. He continues to work as an actor, his most notable films recently being "Crazy People" (1990), a satire on the advertising industry, and "Blame It On The Bell-Boy" (1992)--a "mistaken-identity" farce. Music is still his greatest love, and he is an excellent pianist, giving charity performances and presenting two major TV series, "Orchestra!" and "Concerto!" "Beyond the Fringe...and Beyond: A Critical Biography of Alan Bennett, Peter Cook, Jonathan Miller, and Dudley Moore" by Ronald Bergan (W.H. Allen 1989, 1-852-27175-2) "From Fringe To Flying Circus" by Roger Wilmut (Methuen, 0-413-50770-X) "The Complete Beyond The Fringe" by Bennett, Cook, Miller and Moore (Methuen, 0-413-14670-7) "Dud and Pete--The Dagenham Dialogues" by Cook and Moore (Methuen, 0-7493-1036-7) "The Best Of...What's Left Of...Not Only...But Also..." (BBC Video) "Derek and Clive Get The Horn" (Polygram) "Beyond The Fringe" (2xCD, EMI) "An Evening With Peter Cook And Dudley Moore/E. L. Wisty" (Polygram cassette, 'funny business' series) "The World Of Pete And Dud" (cassette, Laughing Stock) "Peter Cook and Dudley Moore--The Clean Tapes" (cassette, Castle Classics) "Derek and Clive--Live!" (Island) "Come Again", "Ad Nauseam" (Virgin) Five minutes from start to punchline By William Cook August 2, 2003 He didn't go in for satire or subversion. He just wanted to be funny, in quick-fire bursts. Peter Cook's genius was too original to classify. Not only for his friends, who were lucky enough to enjoy his strange comic genius in private, but also for his fans, who could only marvel at his virtuoso humour in public, on the stage or screen, Peter Cook was simply the funniest man they'd ever encountered. And nine years after his death, his reputation as the most talented comedian of his generation shows no sign of shrinking. "He had funniness in the same way that beautiful people have beauty," said Stephen Fry. And whenever he was being funny, there was always something quite beautiful about Peter Cook. John Cleese called him Peter Amadeus Cook, after Mozart, another prodigy whose precocious creativity felt like the gift of an unusually cheerful God. "Most of us would take six hours to write a good three-minute sketch," says Cleese. "It actually took Peter three minutes to write a three-minute sketch. I always thought he was the best of us, and the only one who came near being a genius." Cook's comic rise and fall has become the stuff of showbiz legend. How he wrote a hit West End show for Kenneth Williams while he was still an undergraduate at Cambridge University. How, fresh out of college, he became a star in Beyond the Fringe - the wittiest revue that Britain, or America, had ever seen. How he opened Britain's first satirical nightclub, the Establishment, importing American comic Lenny Bruce, launching Australian comic Barry Humphries and resurrecting Frankie Howerd. How he saved Britain's sharpest satirical paper, Private Eye. How he starred alongside Dudley Moore in three series of Not Only But Also. Cook wasn't a natural actor. He wasn't even an outright satirist. He wrote no plays or novels. Cook was a miniaturist. He was happiest when working with just a couple of characters. His speciality was a conversation of only several minutes duration. His quick-fire creativity didn't lend itself to longer, more structured genres. "Most of my ideas are only worth about five minutes," he admitted. "He wasn't interested in satire at all," says the writer Alan Bennett, a contemporary. "He was interested in being funny." Like all true artists, Cook was keener on creating his own fantastic other-world than in changing the workaday world around him. "The idea that he had an anarchic, subversive view of society is complete nonsense," says Jonathan Miller, one of his colleagues from Beyond the Fringe. "He was the most upstanding, traditional upholder of everything English and everything establishment." Cook supported worthy causes like Amnesty International, but he always recoiled from the sort of comedy that wants to bring down governments. He even felt sad for Margaret Thatcher when she left Downing Street. Cook's comedy is curiously abstract. His characters inhabit a bizarre hinterland where a man can spend a lifetime trying to teach worms to talk, flowers to walk or ravens to fly underwater. Nevertheless, there is one aspect of his output that is entirely realistic. Like him, his principal alter egos, from Pete and Dud to Derek and Clive, from E.L. Wisty to Sir Arthur Streeb-Greebling, are typically, unapologetically English. And like all Englishmen, they're all helpless prisoners of that terribly English caste system called social class. E.L. Wisty is trapped in the working class, without education or opportunities, but with a wistful yearning for adventure and achievement that he can never hope to fulfil. "I could have been a judge," says Wisty, "but I never had the Latin." Conversely, Sir Arthur Streeb-Greebling is trapped in the upper class, blessed with the wealth to do whatever he wants - but not the sense to know that what he's doing is totally futile. "I've learned from my mistakes," says Sir Arthur, "and I'm sure I can repeat them." As the unique comic counterpoint between Cook and Moore developed, Moore's input increased, but even in their later series he still estimated that he wrote only about 30 per cent - less than half of Cook's contribution. Their special relationship can't be measured in mere percentages, however. Even in the early days, when Cook did most of the writing, Moore still played a crucial part. "Dudley's humour [was] not very largely verbal," says Bennett. "He [was] much more of a clown and mugged a lot and a very good person to bounce off." Miller adds: "It's very hard to imagine the success of the show without Dudley's talent as a performer." Even when he wasn't writing, Moore's presence liberated Cook. At last, Cook had a partner to write for, a more cute and fragile character - a contrast and an antidote to Cook's more aloof and condescending style. Like Lennon and McCartney, whom they knew and in some respects resembled, Cook's caustic wit was balanced by Moore's softer, homespun humour. Cook, like Lennon, could be too acerbic to appease mainstream opinion, while Moore, like McCartney, was sometimes too saccharine to win critical acclaim. Yet as long as they stayed together, audiences had someone astute and sharp to marvel at, and someone warm and homely to relate to. "There was a sort of sweet, proletarian cuddlesome quality about Dudley," says Miller, "and then a lot of this strange, lunatic patrician obsession on the part of Peter." In Cook and Moore's comedy, the proletarian and the patrician collided. A LIFE IN PIECES (1990):

BizBeat: From cakes to cinema Sunday, August 11, 2013 The former downtown Jefferson City location of Chez Monet at 126 E. High Street is being converted to Capitol City Cinema, an independent movie house. The business’ Facebook page said the first phase of the renovations are being completed. “We’ve shelled the space, exposed the brick wall and today we begin repairing and refinishing the hardwood floors,” the posting said last week. The business is owned by Jami Wade, who also owns the business next door, Capitol City Cork & Provisions. We couldn’t reach Wade for comment, but the posting said they plan to host fundraisers and other events in conjunction with the new yoga studio that is awaiting renovations at its new home in Old Munichburg. The posting also said that the projected opening for the cinema is now late November, which is a month later than previously announced. Have a story idea for Biz-Beat? Send your suggestions to [email protected]. More like this story Use the comment form below to begin a discussion about this content. Please review our Policies and Procedures before registering or commenting

Location: Hotel is located in the centre of Amsterdam. Nearby the famous Leidsesquare where you can find all the pubs, restaurants, shops and cinema. Accomodation: The hotel is more for younger people than for elderly people. It is a low budget hotel. You can compare it with a youth hostel. Facilities: The hotel has many different types of rooms. Like twin rooms but also more bedded rooms. The rooms are equipped with a bathrooms with shower and toilet, a small closed and most rooms have bunk beds. Leisure: The hotel has a small underground disco. All hotels in Amsterdam - All hotels in Netherlands

Unlimited Global Academy is an evening of work directed by the British visual artist Rachel Gadsden and born of the notion of "invisible trauma". Handicapped by spinal problems and fast-diminishing sight, Gadsden has been working with a group of HIV-positive South African township dwellers who use art to explore their condition. She made contact with the group after visiting the Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology in Cambridge and seeing a "bodymap" created by the painter Nondumiso Hlwele, who is one of the group. Buy it from This work, a graphic self-portrait illustrating the battle between the HIV virus and antiretroviral drugs, was the starting point for the evening's live performance event, Alchemy, created by the choreographer Athina Vahla. Alongside Gadsden, the piece features Freddie Opoku-Addaie, a contemporary dancer well known to UK audiences, and Sarah Chin, a working NHS physician who also trained in dance. The work opens with Chin's entrance. She is white-coated and wields a syringe with professional intent. Behind her are images of spreading blood. In the foreground, in track pants and battered trainers, Opoku-Addaie is swaying, twitching and shadow-boxing. Anything to remain in motion, so that he can avoid Chin's diagnosis. She rattles off the list of pharmaceuticals he will need to survive, but he runs off, wild-eyed. Eventually he collapses and Gadsden maps out his form on the stage with chalk. "There have been things happening in my sleep," Opoku-Addaie tells us, rigid with fear and denial. "Someone sent demons to have sex with me. That's why I'm afraid to test." Vahla shows us her character's eventual acceptance of his condition and – eloquently embodied by Opoku-Addaie – the ensuing interplay between exhaustion and the will to survive. Beside him, meanwhile, Gadsden is creating an artwork with frantic speed, fighting her own real-life fight against the dying of the light. In the act of painting, she tells us, she is "living in the second". A profoundly affecting reminder of our shared humanity, the work is one of 29 commissioned by the Southbank for its Unlimited festival, celebrating disability, art and culture. Dance fans in search of something completely different, meanwhile, should seek out Alexandre Bustillo and Julien Maury's film Livid (Livide), recently released on DVD. Set in a small town in Brittany, it tells the story of three friends who break into the house of the mysterious and sinister Madame Jessel, played with hideous gusto by former Paris Opera Ballet étoile Marie-Claude Pietragalla. Film reviewers have been flummoxed by its bizarre plot, but dance aficionados will recognise a retelling of the Coppélia story, complete with terrifying automata and a grotesque reanimation scene. Ballet has often featured in dark cinema, most famously in Dario Argento's Suspiria, and more recently in Darren Aronofsky's Black Swan. The tendency harks back to the Romantic ballet's roots in the gothic movement of the early 19th century, when, in ballets such as Giselle and La Sylphide, gas lighting and the pointe shoe combined to present the ballerina as an unearthly and often lethal creature. "So much suffering to achieve beauty," says Livid director Bustillo, drawing comparisons between classical dance and his own work. "For me, there's something sublime about seeing a young girl in a tutu drenched with blood." For those of a like mind, Livid will not disappoint.

You know the origin of Iron Man, but what mysteries surround the Secret Origin of Tony Stark? It’s the biggest story to rock the life of the man behind the suit, and this April, the blockbuster creative team of Kieron Gillen and Dale Eaglesham uncover one of the secrets surrounding Tony’s past in Iron Man #10! But who are the “Stark Seven” and what do they have to do with Iron Man? Out 5/15. (Source: Marvel) Superhero movies have become a staple of summer movie season, for better or for worse. The question often is not whether we’ll see a superhero movie anymore, but how many we’ll see, with The Avengers, The Amazing Spider-Man, and The Dark Knight Rises being released within the last three months alone. Some may point to Christopher Nolan’s 2005 movie Batman Begins as the movie that kicked off superhero mania at the box office. Others might go further and point to Sam Raimi’s 2001 feature Spider-Man or Tim Burton’s 1989 movie Batman as the one that proved the financial viability of superhero movies, while others may cite Richard Donner’s 1978 movie Superman as the true beginner. Regardless of which movie can truly be credited for this, however, the fact remains that superhero movies as a genre have become a firm fixture at theatres, and written themselves into cinema history as a result. Or have they? Despite their ubiquitous presence in the current cinema landscape, superhero movies still seem unable to break the barrier from good to great, and get compared to cinema as a whole. The genre seems to survive in a bubble, only being compared against others of its ilk, and never against movies in general, both for individual components and as a whole. There are some individual exceptions, to be sure, most notable among them being Heath Ledger’s exceptional turn as The Joker in 2008’s The Dark Knight, which received deserved accolades for being a stunning performance regardless of the film it was in, but by and large, superhero movies seem to be stuck within their own echo chamber, and as long as they continue to do so, a true classic will never emerge from the genre. I should clarify at this point, when I say classic, I mean a movie that’s considered a masterpiece of filmmaking first, and classified in a genre second. Apocalypse Now is a classic film, not a classic war film. 2001: A Space Odyssey is a classic film, not a classic science fiction film. The Godfather is a classic film, not a classic mafia film. Superhero movies, for their increased volume, have yet to see a movie that similarly transcends the genre in a similar fashion. For now, it seems that all the “good” superhero movies continue to have that label stuck to it; for all its acclaim, The Dark Knight has slipped out of general film discussion just four years after its release, coming up only in relation to its sequel, The Dark Knight Rises. X-Men 2, adored by many upon its release, is also a footnote unless superhero movies specifically are being discussed; likewise with Spider-Man 2, appearing in the conversation only in relation to superhero or Spiderman movies. Compare that to a movie such as the Coen Brothers’ No Country for Old Men, which regularly comes up in discussion due to its quality, rather than its genre. Likewise for Michel Gondry’s Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, or Mark Waters’ Mean Girls; these movies, despite not quite being labelled as classics yet, have managed to stand the test of time better than superhero movies that have been released after them, and standing the test of time is the first real mark of a classic.Source: soundonsight.org Never have our opinions been of less importance than in discussing Joss Whedon’s The Avengers, the comic-book-movie tentpole to end all tentpoles, but we give it the old college try anyway. Justine Smith, Derek Gladu, and Simon Howel talk up the massively successful flick in both spoiler-free and spoiler-ful flavors, then take a look back, well before Whedon’s current salad days, to 2005′s Firefly tie-in flick, Serenity.Source: soundonsight.org Written by Joss Whedon Directed by Joss Whedon The danger of a film like Marvel’s The Avengers is that it will be treated too much as product. All of the Marvel Studios films are products, no question, but the difference between the two Iron Man films is that the first was product born of love for a character, and the sequel’s character work nearly collapsed under the weight of the various plot threads that set up future installments. Fans, fear not: The Avengers is product born of love, honed by professionals, and it surpasses any film ever made in its genre, period. After each of the major Marvel heroes received his own origin-story film, this is a chance for them to have yet another origin, the tale of how they came together as one to fight a planet-wide menace led by the nefarious Loki (Tom Hiddleston). The key is that each character moves seamlessly from the individual films to the ensemble piece; this film feels as much like a sequel to last summer’s Thor and Captain America: The First Avenger as its own movie.Source: soundonsight.org This is awesome - NEW CARTOON: The #Avengers #fb Here’s a brand-new one I made for College Humor just in time for the premier of Marvel’s “The Avengers” movie. You won’t believe your ears when you hear the Samuel L. Jackson impersonation… Starring: Karr Washington, Josh Ruben, Brian Murphy, and Lacy Wittman Additional animation by Josh Weisbrod. (via burbanked)Source: danmeth.com

John Zapolski is an entrepreneur, designer, and educator. He is the co-founder, along with Peter Thum, of Fonderie47, a luxury brand that catalyzes leadership for African disarmament. A hybrid thinker by nature, John has taught in both art school and business school. As founder of Management Innovation Group, and later as a director of Strategos, John advised industry leaders on new growth initiatives, helping them challenge convention and discover new strategic opportunities. Also an experienced manager, John has held leadership positions at Wells Fargo and Yahoo!. His work at those companies pioneered new approaches for creating customer experiences and won them accolades from their customers and industry analysts. John is currently on the faculty of the MFA Interaction Design program at the School of Visual Arts in New York City, and he has also designed and taught programs on large-scale innovation at Haas School of Business at the University of California, Berkeley. He is a past national board member of the AIGA, and ran its Experience Design Community from 2003-2004. University of Chicago, Cinema and Media Studies, 1995-1998

I'm booked for surgery for a deviated septum on November 27th. My wife has heard 'horror stories' and now my choice is to cancel the surgery and live the rest of my life continuing not to be able to breath through my nose properly, or have the surgery and *allegedly* needing my wife to 'take care of me' for a week and *allegedly* not being allowed to let our baby near my face for more than a month. [more inside] posted by Kickstart70 on Oct 27, 2006 - So I have been reading this biography of Che Guevera, and I find it gives me nightmares... Why? posted by Deep Dish on Oct 5, 2006 - Frightening flicks involving feminine fears? (This is a good question for gender studies, psych, and cinema studies majors!) [more inside] posted by np312 on Oct 2, 2006 - How do I get over my fear of moving? How do New Yorkers deal with this overblown rental market? [more inside] posted by scazza on Sep 12, 2006 - I am flying soon. I would like to bring a bottle of water to security, a nice plain Muji style bottle, with a custom label on it. What should be pasted on it for this lame, meaningless, nearly silent protest? What will not get me violated or detained, but will clearly state the idiocies of fear we are now enduring? Or is this horrible, this idea? posted by kingfisher, his musclebound cat on Sep 6, 2006 - Comfort my wife's fears. She has recently developed a phobia of flying and we are leaving on a flight on thursday. [more inside] posted by Hands of Manos on Sep 5, 2006 - My previously relatively benign aversion to dogs has become cripplingly intense in the last few months, to the point that I can't make it to my house's front door without being accompanied. I'm living in Indonesia, and don't know enough of the language to express my absolute, mortal terror or where to find English-language psychological help. I really need some help here: how can I go home at night? [more inside] posted by mdonley on Sep 1, 2006 - I'm afraid to stop carrying my credit card, and because it's so handy and available, it's getting me into more and more debt. [more inside] posted by willmize on Aug 25, 2006 - My wife is afraid of spiders. We just moved to Portland, Oregon, where the spider population seems to be higher than that even of slackers. I would like to not have to go on spider patrol every night, and I'd like my toddler daughter to not grow up with an irrational fear as well. Is there a way to cure her fear of spiders? posted by sholdens12 on Aug 7, 2006 - I'm twenty five, divorced, done with school, and finally able to get out and see the world. There's just one problem: logistics. [more inside] posted by damnthesehumanhands on Jun 25, 2006 - Should I be freaked out by a random seeming violent act that just took place by my house, or just chalk it up to the risk you take when you life in a big city? [more inside] posted by piratebowling on Jun 6, 2006 - My six year old daughter has recently (past few months or so) had a recurring fear of being kidnapped. I have tried many different tactics to quell this fear of hers, but would love to hear some possible tactics to relax my nervous midget. posted by Ateo Fiel on May 22, 2006 - My obsessive-compulsive disorder isn't disrupting my day-to-day living, but it's annoying as hell. Good news is that I feel like I'm on the verge of being able to make myself stop giving in to the compulsive urges -- should I give it a try? Has anyone else out there with OCD tried to take the leap and just "quit"? [more inside] posted by treepour on May 1, 2006 - I was heavily bitten by bedbugs over the summer of 2005, and although they're gone, I've grown very anxious about the thought of ever becoming reinfested. [more inside] posted by anonymous on Mar 25, 2006 - Money is difficult. I'm familiar with Your Money or Your Life , "pay yourself first", Quicken, The Tightwad Gazette , etc. but my money problems seem to be intertwined with a lot of relationship stuff that is hard to unravel. [more inside] posted by anonymous on Mar 8, 2006 - Oh God, my wife is going to drag me from our home in NYC to live in Philly. Where should I live? How will I survive? [more inside] posted by Hobbacocka on Jan 25, 2006 - How do I learn how to stop worrying, and being anxious, and get on with life? One of my biggest flaws is worrying about a negative outcome in most aspects of my life. Even though I know that in general my life is ok, and indeed I am lucky in many ways, I worry daily about it all going wrong, and this is having a negative effect on my quality of life. How do I learn to live and enjoy life without unnecessary worry? [more inside] posted by anonymous on Jan 10, 2006 - FearOfFlyingFilter: Do you fly Lufthansa? Do you listen to their "Relaxation Program" on the in-flight radio? Do you have any idea who does the guided imagery on it? Or, have any other great suggestions for calming things I could listen to at 30,000 feet? [more inside] posted by Your Time Machine Sucks on Nov 17, 2005 - I'd like to get one of those nice Nikon d50s when they come out. The problem is, I'm completely freaked out at the notion of carrying around a thousand dollars around my neck for fear of getting mugged, or stolen. I'll be moving to Miami in a month and living in an urban area too. And the camera isn't worth it if I leave it at home. Are these fears justified? Am I just freaking out? Any tips on how to make myself less of a target? I'd like to have the camera with me on a fairly occasional basis. [more inside] posted by Stan Chin on May 27, 2005 - I've been driving a car for about a decade now, and it's suddenly occurred to me that I'm now completely paranoid about anyone else driving me somewhere. I'm constantly checking the mirrors while they drive, and getting stressed because I think they should be braking sooner or driving in a different lane. It even happens when I catch a bus. Has anyone else experienced this? How did you get over it? posted by Jimbob on Feb 8, 2005 - How do you help somoene terrified of committment get through their fears and into the relationship you think you both were meant for? This might just be a general "what's the best way to approach someone with emotional baggage" question; be sympathetic, caring and understanding or trying to help them get over it? I know what it is that causes this for him/her but I don't know how to best make them understand I'm not trying to "fix" them when I approach it. posted by anonymous on Dec 11, 2004 - I had a terrifying flight on a small 50-seater plane today. Heavy turbulence, people screaming, lights dimming... I am supposed to fly home on Sunday and although I know it's ridiculous, I just don't think I can step back on a plane so soon. I am planning to rent a car (to drive about 8 hours v. one-hour flight), but am finding this really embarassing (not to mention a waste of time and money). Can anyone offer any advice or online resources that may be of aid and reassurance? [mi] [more inside] posted by amro on Nov 25, 2004 - My boyfriend needs to go to the dentist. He recently chipped a tooth, and hasn't been in ages. The problem is two-fold: One, he's TERRIFIED of going, especially because of his long time away from the dentist, and because of deep-rooted fear of the dentist and two, he has no dental insurance. He's agreed to go if I can find a dentist that will accept him without insurance and I go with him to hold his hand. How do I find a dentist that will see him without insurance and will be accomodating to his fears? 1-800-dentist seems secretive at how they arrive at their recommendations. posted by agregoli on Nov 15, 2004 - In another thread, somebody posted the following bit of advice to a 35 year old woman considering a very long car trip: "if someone stops to help, stay in your car and from behind the closed window smile, tell them you've just called the highway patrol and that they'll be by in a minute... then thank them and wave them on I find this a pretty shocking piece of advice, and said so: "what kind of paranoid freak lives by this advice ... That's a pretty unpleasant mental space to be living in" And JanetLand responded: "Frankly, that's what life is like for a woman. I try not to live there, but any letters sent there will definitely reach me. So, here's my question - is this really where most women spend their mental lives? [more inside] posted by Irontom on Aug 5, 2004 - NERDS, PLEASE ADVISE! ... I have an old (but still treasured) Nintendo 64. I am currently addicted to playing games on my Gameboy SE. A friend tells me you can play Gameboy cartridges on the new Gamecube. I am excited about this, and price a Gamecube with the Gameboy add-on. I find it will be $150 for this. I am only really interested in playing Gameboy cartridges, and not so much interested in Gamecube games. So I have found this gameboy adaptor for the n64 , which I can find all over the place for about $30. This sounds awesome, especially since it's $120 cheaper and since I fear that if I upgrade to the gamecube I'll never play the n64 anymore. My question is: is the gameboy-to-television image as good on this n64 cartridge? Has anyone actually played with this? Or if I'm just interested in playing Gameboy on the t.v. , is the Gamecube worth the money? Thank you for your time on this most important discussion topic. posted by Peter H on Jul 23, 2004 - How do you deal with fear when engaged in a sport that involves risk of physical injury or death? I raced bicycles for a number of years, then quit after having a frightening experience with something that my doctor identified as a symptom of a benign sinus arrhythmia - felt like I was having a heart attack. In a climbing gym, I fell and got flipped upside down and smacked into the wall several times and can't seem to give 100% anymore because I'm afraid of the same thing happening again. Yesterday afternoon I had my first motorcycle crash - I'm fine, and the bike is mostly fine - and I'm now rather spooked. My gear worked well, the bike needs a new shift lever, and all I'm left with is some bruises and a newfound worry. I feel like I'm spooking myself out of all the things that I really enjoy doing after having some reasonably benign experiences. So how do others who love sports or other activities that involve risk manage their fears and regain their willingness to push themselves? Is it silly for me to ask this question? posted by gkostolny on Jul 12, 2004 - Okay, I'm leaving for Boise, Idaho (driving) tomorrow and I'd really like to know from people who live there or have been there if it really is as hazardous to black men who travel there as the stories all seem to go. Should I be scared? I'm already planning not to go anywhere without an escort. [more inside] posted by Slimemonster on Feb 18, 2004 - Does anybody know of alternative ways to get over an extremely irrational fear of public speaking/presenting? [more inside]. [more inside] posted by repoman on Jan 3, 2004 - I'll be flying 8+ hours to London two weeks from today. I have a paralyzing fear of flying, any advice? Also, what should I do once I make it there? [more inside] posted by esch on Dec 12, 2003 -

Part of the NPT co-presented ITVS Community Cinema Nashville series, we screened the Independent Lens documentary “Welcome to Shelbyville” last week at the downtown Nashville Public Library. The film examines a community, 60 miles from Nashville, struggling in an economic downtown with a burgeoning immigrant population. A panel discussion followed with director Kim Snyder and principals from the documentary. Nashville City Paper editor Stephen George moderated. Thanks to the Nashville Public Library for capturing the video. “Welcome to Shelbyville” airs on NPT and PBS stations nationwide on Tuesday, May 24 at 9:00 p.m. CDT.

Alauna McMillen is seen at the Garden movie theatre in Winter… (George Skene, Orlando Sentinel ) The moviemakers in this week's inaugural Starlite Film Festival in Winter Garden didn't need Hollywood-scale financing to get in on the act. In fact, to qualify for the festival, they were limited to budgets that probably wouldn't pay the catering bill for a typical summer blockbuster. In Sanford, the movies accepted in this month's second annual Love Your Shorts film festival didn't have to be cheap to produce, but they did have to be quick. Each of the 70 movies is less than half an hour long, and some last only a couple of minutes. As Central Florida's smaller cities get into the film-festival business, they're focusing on the quirky side of cinema to set themselves apart and to draw movie buffs who will spend money at downtown shops and restaurants. Starlite organizer Alauna McMillen, managing director of the host Garden Theatre, said the four-day event, which starts Thursday night, is the result of a brainstorming session that looked for ways to lure people to downtown Winter Garden and the historic theater. "We wanted something unique," she said. "We're trying to make ourselves a destination point. We want to attract visitors from out of town. … So we tossed around the idea of microbudget film festival." Each of the festival's 10 movies — with titles such as "Schizophrenic Love Story," "The Wonderland Express" and "Fast Romance" — costs less than $100,000, and they come from as far away as Russia and Tajikistan. The budgets are paltry by Hollywood standards — consider that "Spider-Man3" cost $258 million to produce. But city officials hope the microbudget movies will have a big payoff for downtown merchants. "The person that comes to a film festival, they may hit a restaurant, they may also do some shopping and, eventually, we hope, they tell some friends about us," Winter Garden City Manager Mike Bollhoefer said. "So it does provide a tremendous economic boost." That happened in Sanford last year, when the first Love Your Shorts festival had sold-out shows at the Chamber of Commerce building. On Feb. 10, Love Your Shorts will return with a variety of movies, ranging from comedy to drama and animation, each less than 30 minutes long. "If you don't like what you're watching, you know it will be over soon and another movie will come along," said Gene Kruckemyer, a Sanford resident who helped organize and launch the festival last year with a group of friends as a way of drawing people downtown. Organizers received 220 submissions from 15 countries — including Australia, Brazil, Japan, South Korea and the Czech Republic. The lineup includes a two-minute film produced by Jay Nibhanupudy, a third-grader at Heathrow Elementary, about not smoking. The Sanford festival was such a success last year — drawing more than 800 moviegoers — that this year, movies will be shown at the larger Wayne Densch Performing Arts Center, a historic theater in downtown Sanford. "We were surprised by the turnout," Kruckemyer said. "One of the reasons we started this is to promote Sanford and to promote local filmmakers. And it's a good draw. People came here that never knew what downtown Sanford had to offer." Sanford officials pointed to a recent study by their city that estimated most people who show up for festivals — whether film, arts or crafts — spend $45 or more per person. That's a much-needed boost for the downtown district, city Commissioner Patty Mahany said. "Something like this fits in absolutely beautifully with our downtown arts district," she said. "And I think it brings in a lot of people who see what we have and will want to come back." Theo Hollerbach, owner of Hollerbach's Willow Tree Café on East First Street, said his restaurant's tables filled quickly during last year's Love Your Shorts, with the average diner spending about $15. "It shows Sanford in a great positive light," Hollerbach said. Unlike other events that draw people into downtown areas — such as art shows, music festivals or road races — a film festival doesn't cost a city much, Sanford Mayor Jeff Triplett noted. Police officers, for example, aren't typically needed to close streets and control crowds. Winter Garden and Sanford aren't the area's first towns to mount film festivals. The West Orange 5 cinema-cafe in Ocoee hosts the Central Florida Film Festival each fall, and the Cinematique of Daytona Beach offers the Daytona Beach Film Festival. All of these events work in the shadow of the larger, better-known Florida Film Festival held in Maitland for two decades. The smaller festivals give moviegoers a chance to discover a town while seeing a film that probably wouldn't be shown at a suburban multiplex, said filmmaker Matt Toronto.

After discovering relics from across the globe pointing us in the direction to humanity’s possible engineers, The Wayland Corporation fund a space-bound scientific expedition to uncover the true origin of the species. So much nerd-chatter has gone on over the years about the alien ship discovered by the crew of the Nostromo in the first Alien film that a possible prequel always felt plausible, and that besides, I think we all needed something to wash the taste of the brash AvP films out of our collective mouths. By the grace of some nerdy overlord that must exist somewhere out there we are all living in a time where such a film, after much anticipation, is seeing a release. Up front I’d like to state that it’s gratifying see a film that’s not being marketed totally ineptly. It would have been easy to sell a film set in the same world as the Alien franchise with big, splashy Alien tie-ins, but the marketing team seem to have realised that a genuine film of quality needs to develop a reputation off its own back and that building the expectation for something that may not exist will inevitably lead to a certain amount of dissatisfaction and then to bad word-of-mouth, no matter what the end result… or maybe they just wanted to distance it from AvP, either way, Prometheus is being sold as a stand alone entity, which is great, because by the end of the film you have no doubt that it deserves to be seen as its own film. Let’s start by talking about the visuals. If you’re a big enough fanboy that you regularly check out this site, then I’m just gonna assume that you’ve seen at least one of the trailers, in which case, you’ll know the feel and scale that the film aspires to. Well, its aspirations are fulfilled; Prometheus is a visual treat in every sense imaginable. Every part of the design work is wonderful, combining a retro sci-fi edge with more up to date, computer orientated sensibilities that give a sense of classic feeling, high science fiction while simultaneously blazing a brand new trail for itself, meaning that it doesn’t jar when compared to the first two Alien films, but doesn’t stick too religiously to their aesthetics either. Similarly, the vistas and backdrops swing from grand to claustrophobic and back again in a near seamless fashion. Just fantastic. The acting, in a word, faultless! Don’t be mistaken; this is well and truly Michael Fassbender and Noomi Rapace’s film, they command it and are unquestionably excellent, but everyone else puts in fine performances that totally sell every scenario presented. The story is large-scale science fiction to The Max, the kind of story that encompasses the possible beginnings and end of humanity and our relationship to the rest of the universe. It feels like ages since we’ve seen anything of the sort on film and as such brings with it its own grandeur. True, there are a few character driven events within the narrative that may seem unlikely, but no more so than were in any of the other Alien films, and some may find that the conclusion not being quite as cut and dry as one could expect sort of frustrating, but it does leave plenty of wiggle room for forum and pub discussions. The most impressive thing about the film to my mind though is the combination of all the above to manipulate the ever changing feel of the production. It’s so organic that you barely notice but the film kicks off with a sense of hugeness, once the crew get to work we have something that very much has Alien’s sense of intimacy, then builds to edge-of-seat levels of character based tension, all the while building further to a climax of overlapping events that blow the film’s scale right back up again while simultaneously boggling the mind. If you’ve read this far I figure you’ve guessed that I highly recommend Prometheus, but I’ll add that you really should try your level best to catch it while it’s on the cinema because it’s simply one of the true experiences that cinema was invented for. Seriously, don’t miss out. B grade – for storytelling A grade – for design A grade – for acting A- grade – for visual FX Overall grade- A-

Once upon a time, vampires were portrayed as rotting corpses more animal than human. All that changed just over 100 years ago with Count Dracula, the charismatic and sophisticated nobleman who has been creeping across cinema screens ever since. Bram Stoker’s creation soon became loved by cinema audiences – and especially by film producers, who moved quickly to get a bite of the vampire cherry. Since FW Murnau’s influential horror Nosferatu in 1922 – subsequently staked over a rights issue with Stoker’s heirs – Dracula has risen again in various revamped forms, from the iconic Bela Lugosi (model for Sesame Street’s Count von Count) to Christopher Lee’s seductive turn in the nudity-filled Hammer Horror films of the 1960s and 1970s. Dracula has cast a long cinematic shadow (or would if he had one), appearing in more than 200 films across all genres: from animation (Count Duckula, The Simpsons) and parody (Love at First Bite, to name just one of many) to 1970s blaxploitation (Count Blacula). The work involved in the films’ poster art is no less creative and visually striking, reflecting influences such as German expressionism and pulp fiction.

By Leah Ornstein – Radar Style & Beauty Editor It was a fierce day in fashion, as Hollywood’s hottest stars hit the red carpet and the streets dressed to rock and shock in designer duds – and RadarOnline.com has all the photos in our daily Best & Worst Dressed fashion feature. Blake Lively lived up to her style icon status at The Cinema Society & Blackberry Bold Haywire screening in NYC. The glam Gossip Girl rocked a Dolce & Gabbana look with ribbed tights and chunky booties, finishing it off with a cool coat and red quilted Chanel bag. Also dressed to thrill at the event was Elizabeth Banks, who donned black and gold getup, which included a cool Lauren Merkin clutch. Most people wear camouflage to blend into the background but not Amber Rose. The hip-hop muse and girlfriend of Black and Yellow singer Wiz Khalifa was impossible not to spot on the streets of NYC, wearing attention-grabbing military garb with a black leather biker vest and lace-up boots. Other style scores included Kate Beckinsale and Eva Mendes, while Bobby Trendy and Helena Bonham Carter were up to their old attire antics and dressed to shock! For the rest of the best and worst dressed stars of the day, click here.

Rob Zombie's Tyrannosaurus Rex Description: A semi-pro wrestler, Rex Hauser, has been touring the country performing at small-time arenas until the faithful night he and his family run afoul of a blood-thirsty gang of satanic bikers stalking the North Dakota badlands. Movie summaries and listings powered by Cinema-Source Sign up for our free email newsletters and receive the latest advice and information on all things parenting. Enter your email address to sign up or manage your account.

Egyptian Young Actors to Have Lion's Share this Eid Releases The competition continues between old-timers and young blood in the Eid Al Adha film releases. The Eid holiday will witness a showdown between established stars like Nour El-Sherif and Mahmoud Abdel Aziz on the one hand, and newcomers like Ashraf Abdel Baky, Hany Ramzy and Alaa Morsy on the other. If the box office revenues of the latter group exceed those of the former, it will prove that a new era of Egyptian cinema is coming to life, according to a report by Egypt Today. Movies to be on display will include “Al Asheqaan” (The Two Lovers), starred by El-Sherif and his wife Boosy in Nour’s directorial debut. The film, which received several awards at the last Alexandria Film Festival, revolves around the difficulties faced by a middle-aged man and a widow falling in love. “Al Rehla” (The Journey) is the second film by Abdel Aziz this year. His first one, Souk Al Motaa (The Pleasure Market), directed by Ahmed Yehia and co-starring Wafaa Amer, cracks down on government corruption. “Gaheem Taht El Ard” (Hell Underneath) is the third of a trilogy of “gaheem” (hell) movies produced by and starring Samir Sabry. The first was “Gaheem Taht Al Maa” (Hell Underwater) co-starring Layla Olwy and the late Adel Adham, which, incidentally, came out at the same time as “Gazirat Al Shaytan” (the Devil’s Island) starring Adel Imam and shared an almost identical plot. The second one was called “Gaheem II” (Hell II), co-starring Maaly Zayed. The latest in the sequel marks the return of Sabry to the silver screen in Lawrence of Arabia mode. The movie is set in the late 1940s and is about land mines left behind in the aftermath of World War II. The Syrian star Raghda co-stars in this third part. Light comedies starring young up-and-coming actors seem to have the lion's share this season. “Rassha Garee'a” (a Daring Generosity) directed by Saeed Hamed, starring Ashraf Abdel Baky and Yasmine Abdel Aziz, tells the story of two struggling young actors from a remote little village who venture to Cairo seeking their big break. The second film “Saeidy Rayeh Gaay” (Upper Egyptian Back and Forth) marks Hany Ramzy's first starring role. He plays a history teacher who is posted to an Upper Egyptian village where he encounters many difficulties. Director Aly Abdel Khalek offers “Rendezvous” starring a trio of new actors; Ahmed Zaher, who appeared last year as a villain in Mohammed Heneidy's “Belya,” Khaled Abul Naga, and Ashraf Mosselhy. The film is about the three friends' encounter with a call girl. Raafat El-Mehy's “Ashan Rabbena Yehebak” (For the Love of God) tackles the tricky situation that occurs when a man falls in love with a married woman whose husband, by some twist of fate, finds himself falling for that man's wife. Known for his wild and surreal sense of humor, El-Mehey managed to score big in El-Avocato (The Lawyer) in 1984 and Sayedaty Anisaaty (Madams, Mademoiselles) in 1990 – Albawaba.com © 2001 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)

"Cold Case" star Kathryn Morris is set to star in the indie romantic comedy "Confections of a Discarded Woman," which the Motion Picture Corp. of America is producing. Romania continues to draw resourceful producers in need of dramatic backdrops and affordable crews -- and to its credit, it draws shoots such as MPCA projects "William & Kate: A Royal Love Story" and… After rebooting his image in 2008 action parody "JCVD," Jean Claude Van Damme will turn to more familiar ground in the Ernie Barbarash-helmed actioner "Six Bullets." Jennifer Lynch is set to direct scribe Allan Loeb's supernatural thriller "Visibility" for Motion Picture Corp. of America. Brad Jenkel has rejoined Brad Krevoy's Motion Picture Corp. of America, returning to the producing/ financing company he left in 1999. Artisan Pictures has acquired the North American distribution rights to comedy "Boat Trip," starring Oscar winner Cuba Gooding Jr., Horatio Sanz, Roger Moore, Vivica A. Fox and Victoria Silvstedt. Brad Krevoy and the Motion Picture Corp. of America have acquired Charlie Peters' comedy spec script "Bass Hole" for a six-figure advance against a potential $1 million payday if the film gets made. Cable entrepreneur Glenn Jones is considering making an offer for troubled Hollywood independent Samuel Goldwyn Co., Jones said July 19. Also interested in Goldwyn's theater chain is producer Roger… New Line Cinema closed a reported $ 7 million deal Friday with Jim Carrey to star in screenwriter/director Peter Farrelly's "Dumb & Dumber," which is set to start a 45-day shoot in late April or… More “Mpca” on Variety.com Domestic Film DAILY PROVIDED BY: Box Office The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug1Daily: $6.2M Cumulative: $79.8M Warner Brothers / New Line -65.59% Frozen2Daily: $1.6M Cumulative: $166.4M Disney -78.18%

I just came back from South Africa. I've been fortunate to do a lot of touring, and I can tell you that it was by far the most stunning country I've ever seen. I will definitely go back. As for the hotel you mentioned, well, I didn't make it to Sun City, but I'm told it's just like a really expensive version of Las Vegas. We stayed in Protea Hotels in South Africa. I would definitely recommend them to others, particularly the Protea - Paul Kruger Gate at Kruger Park, Sumunye (in Kwazulu-Natal) and the President in Cape Town. Johnboy From United States of America, joined Aug 1999, 2537 posts, RR: 7 Reply 5, posted (8 years 6 months 3 weeks 2 days 21 hours ago) and read 3097 times: I haven't stayed there, but came thisclose to reserving a room during a trip a couple of years ago. The rooms are very pricey, so I stayed at Bakubang Lodge in Pilanesberg National Park instead (thinking, ultimately, that it was better to stay IN the park itself). If i had to do it a second time, I probably would spring for a couple of nights at the Palace just to say I'd done so. I did, however, take a ride over to the Sun City area. There are several hotels there, but the Palace is definitely the top notch facility. They would not even let us in the lobby of the hotel (they had "tours" of the hotel that you had to pay for). There is definitely more to do if you stay in one of the hotels at Sun City....rather that in Pilanesberg at one of the lodges. The casino is actually in a separate building, and I was not impressed with the facilities there. However, there are a few shops, and a cinema complex, as well as an extensive food court (with the usual suspects as in every mall in South Africa). Canuckpaxguy From , joined Dec 1969, posts, RR: Reply 7, posted (8 years 6 months 3 weeks 2 days 21 hours ago) and read 3086 times: We started at Paul Kruger Gate (Protea Hotel) near Skukuza. We then spent 4 hours driving through the park a few days later en route to Swaziland. We stayed mostly in the south end of the park and we're lucky enough to go on a 6 hour safari with a psycho tour-guide. We were pretty lucky to see the animals we did. We saw 4 of the "Big 5" (no lions) and that pack of wild dog were great. The best safari was at Bongani Mountain Lodge (near Nelspruit). Our tour guides took us "off-roading" and we even drove over a small tree to get a better view of a rhino. Unfortunately, we had to cut our trip short due to a family emergency. The good part is that we now have an automatic excuse to go back. We had to skip the Garden Route, but I was fortunate enough to make it to Hermanus and Cape Town before flying home. B747-437B From , joined Dec 1969, posts, RR: Reply 8, posted (8 years 6 months 3 weeks 2 days 20 hours ago) and read 3077 times: I was at a conference in Sun City just last week and spent a lot of time at the Palace. The Hotel itself is very opulent but nothing earth shattering. Definitely not worth the ridiculous price tag they place on it. I was definitely underwhelmed by Sun City overall. Sure, it has great natural beauty and fantastic golf for those who are into that, but the casinos, hotels and other facilities are strictly middle-of-the-road. They don't even come close to Las Vegas and barely even compare to Emperor's Palace (Caesar's Gauteng) or Montecasino down in Joburg. Leskova From Germany, joined Oct 2003, 6075 posts, RR: 71 Reply 10, posted (8 years 6 months 3 weeks 2 days 15 hours ago) and read 3051 times: I'll second B747-437B on his comments about The Palace - rather underwhelming when compared to the price tag. South Africa certainly is one of the most beautiful and diverse countries on the face of this planet - you've got the whole bandwidth from watching animals in the different National Parks through relaxing on a beach to shopping. JGPH1A From , joined Dec 1969, posts, RR: Reply 11, posted (8 years 6 months 3 weeks 2 days 13 hours ago) and read 3040 times: I really liked the Palace at the Lost City, although it is overpriced (the full size bronze elephant is amazing !) The pool area and the water park beyond that are just fabulous. Within Sun City, the Cascades Hotel is probably the best value, it is lovely and set in stunning surroundings. Andz From South Africa, joined Feb 2004, 8360 posts, RR: 11 Reply 12, posted (8 years 6 months 3 weeks 2 days 10 hours ago) and read 3035 times: Quoting United Airline (Reply 6): What if you want to dine in the hotel restaurant? Do they charge you an entrance fee? There are many more places at Sun City to eat than in the Palace. And hundreds more places in the country to visit! I have to attend conferences at Sun City regularly and quite frankly I am sick of the place! Sun City was built in the "independent homeland" of Bophuthatswana in the apartheid days to get round the no gambling/no sex/no fun unless you're white laws of the old South Africa. Unless you have months to tour the country, don't even bother with Sun City, although the Pilanesberg Game Reserve is a good alternative to Kruger if you are in Johannesburg and pushed for time. Cape Town, the Garden Route, the Drakensberg mountains, the Karoo, the Wild Coast, and a trip into Namibia or Botswana are more "African" than Sun City. Quoting United Airline (Reply 6): What's the average rate of a 3 star hotel in South Africa? Shouldn't be too expensive I guess??? If you want the same hotel everywhere and pretty much guaranteed the same standard, check out these: http://www.citylodge.co.za http://www.proteahotels.co.za However guest houses are everywhere, from cheap and cheerful to luxurious and opulent and do offer a better alternative to hotels. If you go to Cape Town you HAVE to stay here: http://www.bluepeter.co.za right on the beach with awesome views and really not expensive at all! This is the view from my hotel room last time I was there: Sun City? Who needs it! After Monday and Tuesday even the calendar says WTF... Nonrvsmdmf From United States of America, joined Dec 2003, 186 posts, RR: 0 Reply 15, posted (8 years 6 months 3 weeks 2 days 9 hours ago) and read 3018 times: I spent 3 weeks in South Africa and barely touched all the great things to do. I would post pics but I took 18 rolls and I am really computer stupid to figure out how to scan and size Joburg was ok. Monte Casino was really nice I thought. Although there was this market north of town, north of the resevoir that was fun. Only locals there, it was actually kinda imtimidating. Down the road from the market, there is a place that makes life size carvings of animals out of stone and wood. Kruger was amazing. I could go on hours about the great time I had there. Capetown was the best. My favorite place was Boulders where there are penguins. You pay a small entry fee and can walk on the beaches and between the rocks where the penguins hang out. The water is so clear and blue it was an amazing place. We also saw the seals and some whales in Hout Bay. We also drove to the Cape of Good Hope. I realized how out of shape I was on the brutal hike but it was worth it. I would go back in a minute. I did not forget...I just misplaced the thought... Nonrvsmdmf From United States of America, joined Dec 2003, 186 posts, RR: 0 Reply 19, posted (8 years 6 months 3 weeks 2 days 4 hours ago) and read 3001 times: Yes, Andz has it. That is it!! It took us a while to get there though. We went to the Rhino and Lion preserve first. Then the dam was closed to traffic so we had to go the long way around. Got some great stuff at that market. Went to SA with one almost empty suitcase, came back home 1 kilo away from paying extra baggage for two bags. The best part of the preserve was we were able to "pet" two baby lions. They were about 9 months old and their paws and teeth were huge. I am glad we were there during the day when they were sleepy. I did not forget...I just misplaced the thought... LooneyToon From United States of America, joined Mar 2005, 444 posts, RR: 1 Reply 23, posted (8 years 6 months 3 weeks 1 day 21 hours ago) and read 2972 times: this thread brings back all the good memories of living in South Africa for 4 years and living a total of 8 in Africa all together. What great memories and South African people are very friendly. Those photos of Kruger Park bring back many more great memories as I have visited the park over 32 times! ahhh, the great memories! nothing like flying the SAA 744 from JFK-JNB nonstop and vice-versa several times a year!

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If Mo Farah, who fled from war-torn Somalia, can become our greatest athlete, then so can any schoolkid SUNDAY, AUGUST 5 Another day, another horrific gun shooting in America. This time, a white supremacist entered a Sikh temple in Wisconsin and murdered six worshippers, wounding three other people – including a policeman. Three weeks ago, a young student dressed as the Joker went on the rampage in a Colorado cinema, shooting 70 people in the country’s worst ever gun-related massacre. On gun control laws: After the Presidential election, will Barack Obama or Mitt Romney (pictured) have the guts to stand up and do something about it In my first month at CNN, in January, 2011, a congresswoman was shot in the head at an outdoor meeting in Arizona but miraculously survived. Six others were killed, 13 more wounded. To me, the most disturbing aspect linking all these terrible crimes is that each of the gunmen bought his guns perfectly legally – yet, incredibly, very few Americans I know have a problem with this. The right to bear arms is so deeply ingrained into the culture in the U.S. that all these outrages get explained away as ‘a few crazies doing crazy things’ and no proper debate on new gun control laws ever happens, let alone actual changes to the law. It all comes down to the precise wording of the Second Amendment to the American Constitution, which reads: ‘A well regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed.’ The pro-gun lobby, one of the most powerful and noisy forces in American society, argues that this amendment authorises every American to own and use guns. The anti-gun lobby argues that the exact placement of the commas shows that the Founding Fathers intended the ‘right to bear arms’ only to apply to members of a militia – which, in the 18th century meant an army composed of ordinary citizens, not professional soldiers. Those commas have thus become the most deadly, expensive and controversial punctuation marks in the history of language. Whatever your view, the idea that what Thomas Jefferson and his cohorts had in mind when they wrote the Constitution was defending the rights of the mentally unstable or violent racists to legally, and easily, buy high-powered assault weapons to murder other Americans is plainly ridiculous. The big question for America, where there are an average 11,000 gun murders a year (Britain averages 35), is whether, after the Presidential election on November 6, Barack Obama or Mitt Romney will have the guts to stand up, say so, and do something about it. Don’t hold your breath. MONDAY, AUGUST 6 Gary Barlow’s wife Dawn has lost the baby they were expecting next month. A little girl, who they named Poppy, was stillborn. As someone who last year became a father to a baby girl for the first time myself, I can’t even begin to imagine the appalling grief they must be enduring at this dreadful loss. I’ve known Gary since before Take That were famous, and met Dawn recently at my Life Stories show recording with Jason Donovan (the Barlows and Donovans are friends). Both are delightfully down-to-earth people. As with all such tragedies these days, social media blew up today with people (celebrities and fans) offering Repulsively, though, it also blew up with internet trolls, led by some vile former Big Brother contestant called Kenneth Tong, making sick jokes about Poppy’s death and even directly abusing the Barlows. It takes a special kind of warped mind to do something like that, doesn’t it? Yet, it’s no isolated thing. Every famous person I know who uses Twitter reels from some of the shocking, horrific things that some people say on it to them. I get it every day, and although I have a thick skin and enjoy a bit of good-natured ‘banter’ myself, when the abuse extends to my family even I get upset by it. It’s driving many celebrities away – Anne Kirkbride from Coronation Street became the latest to say she couldn’t stomach it any more, quitting Twitter after people mocked her for having a ‘saggy neck’, when every- one knows she had cancer in her neck. I’m not going to quit. I have too much fun with the vast majority of decent people on Twitter and find it too invaluable as a breaking-news source. But what I am going to do is go to war with these trolls. I’m going to seek them out, expose them and, if I can, get them closed down. Forget all those who cry ‘What about freedom of speech?’ when you say something like this. Pouring scorn at Gary and Dawn Barlow for the loss of their little girl isn’t anything to do with ‘freedom of speech’ – it’s the behaviour of twisted, nasty, attention-seeking deviants. And they will carry on doing it unless we stop them. SUNDAY, AUGUST 12 The London Olympics ended today, and what a stunning fortnight it was. After all the doomsayers’ grim predictions of inevitable traffic chaos, security shambles and performance flops by Team GB – the complete opposite happened. Mo Farah came to the UK, penniless and helpless, from war-torn Somalia as an eight-year-old boy and turned himself into the greatest athlete we've ever had It was a fabulous success for the athletes and for all the politicians, armed forces, police, and volunteers who collaborated to make it run so I don’t think I’ve ever felt prouder of my country and I’m sure many of you feel the same. But what’s vitally important now is to seize the moment and bring that gold-medal standard back to Britain generally. More from Piers Morgan... - PIERS MORGAN: I was staggered by Mandela's frankness, but then he was frank about everything 12/12/13 - PIERS MORGAN: Sean Penn's a whirlwind of intensity and passion - but great fun, too 05/12/13 - PIERS MORGAN: It's official... I'm more popular with women than the whole of One Direction 28/11/13 - PIERS MORGAN: Monty Python are in danger of becoming the very thing they parodied 21/11/13 - PIERS MORGAN: I've always liked Jemima Khan - despite the fact she once dated Hugh Grant 14/11/13 - PIERS MORGAN: 'Piers looked fat and bloated,' wrote Amanda Holden. I put the book down 07/11/13 - PIERS MORGAN: If you'd invested £5,000 with Buffett in 1966, you'd have £150 million now 30/10/13 - PIERS MORGAN: Woman buzzed around Thierry Henry like mosquitoes - including my wife 24/10/13 - PIERS MORGAN: I'd been duped, conned and exposed as a global laughing stock 17/10/13 - VIEW FULL ARCHIVE For too long we’ve allowed ourselves to wallow in decaying mediocrity. Yet any nation of our relatively small size that can, astonishingly, come third in the Olympics to America and China is a nation that can punch above its weight in all other areas, too. The first thing David Cameron should do is what he’s been hinting at doing – order at least an hour of compulsory daily sport for every state school child in Britain, and make schools enforce it. I tried, unsuccessfully, to get our senior politicians to do this for years, after experiencing both private and comprehensive education. At my prep school I played sport every day. At my state school, once a week if I was lucky. As any social worker or policeman will affirm, fit, competitive, occupied kids don’t feel the same burning need to binge-drink, take drugs, impregnate underage girls, or loot, shoot and stab things. Make them proud of their country – get schools singing the National Anthem in assembly each day, too – and explain to them that if someone like Mo Farah can come over here, penniless and helpless, from war-torn Somalia as an eight-year-old boy and turn himself into the greatest athlete we’ve ever had, then so can they. The Diamond Jubilee and the Olympics have shown the world what Britain’s really made of. Let’s make the most of it. The comments below have not been moderated. The views expressed in the contents above are those of our users and do not necessarily reflect the views of MailOnline. We are no longer accepting comments on this article.

WEDNESDAY, July 13, 2011 — NO. 34 ATKINS (POPE COUNTY) ARKANSAS 72823 ONE HUNDRED AND sixteenth YEAR Winner of the arkansas press association general excellence award The Atkins Chronicle The Heart of the Arkansas River Valley for a Century Body found on SR 247, identified as Doug Price A man’s body was found in a Duvall said the body had vehicle in the 1300 block of State been sent to the state crime lab for your information Highway 247 east of SR 7 Tuesday for positive identification and afternoon, July 5. he declined to provide the ID. The man has been identified Duvall said that no foul play as Doug Price, 43, of Pottsville, by was suspected, and the family relatives, and an obituary appears told reporters that he had been in this week’s paper. The vehicle in a single-car accident. was in a wooded area not easily Funeral services are being seen from the highway and the handled by Humphrey Funeral body had been there about three Service. He was a 1986 graduate Please observe days, Sheriff Aaron Duvall said. of Russellville High School. Due to the extreme Quorum court looks Pope County Judge Jim Ed Gibson has at county noise law By Beckie Tyson county employees from visiting issued a burn ban The Pope County Quorum social networking on county for Pope County as Judges meet with Oates family – Three judges in the Arkansas State Farm Family competition met Court discussed the need for a time for personal use. noise ordinance at its meeting Donna Wall, county trea- of July 8. with the Leslie Oates family Monday morning in the Oates kitchen before going out to survey the farming Thursday, July 7. surer, reported on research she operation. Pictured (from left) are: Leslie Oates, Carson, Gene Martin of Farm Bureau, Patrick Breeding, a PeeWee football retiree, and Donette Stump of Arkansas Beef Council, Melissa Oates, Brett Oates and Garrett Oates. Justice Kim Virden brought the matter up in response to a had done about election workers. Her information stated that elec- Oates family is district constituent’s complaint about tion workers are employees. The loud truck noises on the highway question related to an ordinance near his home. Engine brakes, amendment that required Atkins PeeWee Football will called jake brakes, make a loud county officials to post all job hold signups for grades 3-6 on farm family winner noise when applied and are not vacancies to the Workforce Saturday, July 16, from 9 to always necessary. Services Department after 48 11 a.m. at the football practice County Judge Jim Ed Gibson hours. The ordinance before the field. All players need to bring said he was not sure the county court changes the word “will” to a copy of their birth certificate. could pass a noise ordinance. “shall” in the personnel policies. For more information contact County Sheriff Aaron Duvall Justices wondered if that applied Brian Harrison at 264-7010. The Leslie Oates family, the competition. The other counties in the said his officers can verify loud to election workers. Get military ID 2011 Farm Family of the Year in Pope County have been named He said the Oates operation probably won because of the western district, besides Pope, are Polk, Logan, Yell, Montgom- music complaints but officers would have difficulty verifying The court also • appropriated $3,000 to the registered the district farm family. They competed in the West- diversity of their operation, which includes hay, cattle, ery, Conway, Faulkner, Perry a loud truck complaint. Virden said the person complaining is Rural Fire Association to buy a specialized truck that will be Veteran and/or relative of ern District, of eight districts, wheat and row crops, includ- The judges for the state a day sleeper and said the jake shared by all rural fire department. one, if you have a military ID including eight to 10 counties ing soybeans. They are also farm family were at Pottsville brakes are not necessary on the • appropriated $8,685.51 to card that allows you to go on each. They are now eligible for involved in community affairs, Monday. They are Gene Martin stretch of road near his home. the sheriff’s office to pay accrued bases, the next time you go state farm family of the year, with Leslie serving on the of Farm Bureau, Donette Stump Virden asked the JPs to call sick time and vacation pay for an to the base your card will be and judges were at the Oats Pottsville City Council as well of the cattlemen’s association him this month with thoughts employee who is retiring. put through a scanner to see farm Monday to determine their as being an elder in the church. and Patrick Breeding, a retiree. about an ordinance and sug- • appropriated $8.21 from the if you are registered. If you qualifications for the state honor. Melissa Oats is comptroller for The judges toured the Oates gested the court look at the grant fund to complete a grant are not in the system, you can Phil Sims, Pope County POM Inc., parking meter manu- farm, including the bermuda unnecessary use of jake brakes, for the health department. register at that time. You have extension agent, said no local facturers, in Russellville, where hay fields, wheat and soybean and if a law could be passed. Justices Shirley Chism, Tom until September 2011 to get it committee members can she is in charge of all account- crops in the Arkansas River In other business the court McMillen and Mary Metz-Blalock registered. All must have their remember a Pope County ing operations. She is also bottom, and the cattle herd passed an ordinance prohibiting were absent. cards registered, active, retired, family’s winning a district involved in church activities. behind the house in Pottsville. does not matter. It is global, Hector School Board denies or you will not be allowed on any military base/post. This is a requirement that began Keepsake article transfer, acts on personnel Several people have asked for By Van A. Tyson head softball coach and Jim “keepsakes” from the old high The Hector School Board Simmons as assistant coach; Pharmacy proposed beside school. Among the keepsakes denied a transfer request and • appointing Stacy Taylor suggested were bricks from the took several personnel actions elementary parent involvement building. The demolition con- at its monthly meeting Monday coordinator; night. • appointing Susan Owens Atkins Millard-Henry clinic tractor has agreed to put a pile of bricks just behind the ball The transfer request was mentoring director; goals near the administration from a 16-year-old who wanted • appointing Sherri Palmer a building. Feel free to take a few to transfer to Russellville to cafeteria worker; if you wish. For safety reasons, prepare to be a marine biolo- • appointing Carol Killins as we ask that people not walk gist. Superintendent Walt driver of the vo-tech bus; By Van A. Tyson cial, allowing for a pharmacy. tion at 1106 Ave. Four SE, $3,500; onto the demolition site. Davis recommended against • authorizing Davis to make Rob Harkness, owner of Harkness would still need to get a • Jean Fryer, storage and it, saying Hector can provide an offer to a replacement Eng- Atkins Family Pharmacy, told building permit approved to start garage, 804 NW Second St., needed science classes and that lish teacher from applicants. the Atkins Planning Commission construction. $9,500; he would confer with the Rus- In other action the board: last week that he hopes to build a He said he might have a physi- • Jean Fryer, carport, also at sellville superintendent about • approved a proposed pharmacy north of the Millard- cal therapy center attached, but 804 NW Second St., $2,000; letting the student take a course budget for 2012-13 (year Henry Clinic on Highway 105 that was not certain. • Jim McNutt, storage build- specifically in marine biology after next) including spend- North. The property is owned by Dr. ing, 701 SE Sixth Place, $4,500. while staying at Hector. ing of $4,965,000, including Harkness was checking to see Chris Horan of the clinic. All board members were Davis, presiding over his $2,800,000 for salaries. if he needed the property beside The commission accepted two present, including Charles first regular board meeting as • award a bread contract to the clinic needed to be rezoned, permits at its monthly meeting Baker, chairman, Kathleen superintendent, recommended Hostess and milk contract to and was told by Charles Baker, Tuesday night, July 5. The per- Napier, vice chairman; Janis the following personnel actions, Hiland, the only bidders; commission chairman, that it mits were to: Davis, secretary, Chris Martin, all approved on unanimous 5-0 • approved a high school was already zoned C-2 commer- • Patti Childress, for an addi- and Elmo Bizzell. votes, after and hour and five- handbook that reduced unex- Atkins board hears from K-8 minute executive session: cused absences from 8 to 6 inSiDe • accepting the resignation days; of Lori Houghton as English • approved an elementary Calendar teacher, so she can become a high school counselor at Atkins; • appointing Jordan Price, • scheduled the next regular board meeting for 6 p.m. Aug 8. facility construction company Monday, July 18 — Pea Ridge Fire Department Board, 6 p.m. Pea the new high school principal, All board members were Ridge Fire Station. as equity coordinator; present, including Todd Foun- By Ginnie Tyson present policy leaves several Section 125 (Cafeteria Plan) Tuesday, July 19 — SW Atkins • appointing Jeff Haralson tain, president; Carolyn Cook, The Atkins School Board coaches performing some duties provider. Water User’s Assoc. Annual Meet- and Gary Simmons co-athletic vice president; Terry Epperson, heard a report from Stuart without receiving compensation. The board awarded the milk ing at 7 p.m., Ada’s Bell’s Chapel directors; secretary; Tony Haley and Gary Schichtl of Nabholz Construc- Allowing them payment for those contract for the coming school Assembly of God • appointing Gary Simmons McDonald. tion following the 11-month walk year to Hiland and the bread Wednesday, July 20 — Pope Pottsville hires Van Horn through of the K-8 building. The contract to Hostess. County Library Board, 4 p.m., construction company pledges to The board approved ordering Thursday, July 21 — Atkins Li- have everything in good working software for high school business ons Club, noon, First United Meth- odist Church, visitors welcome- Guest speaker-Steve Gardner as construction manager order on the one-year anniversary of the building project. The list of problems being addressed by classes from SHI Software to be paid for by money from a digital communications grant that has Thursday, July 21 — Hector By Beckie Tyson vation of the elementary library. the contractors and sub-contrac- already funded the purchase of City Council, 7 p.m., city hall The Pottsville School Board, Upkeep done this summer tors includes things like ill-fitting computers for that class. Thursday, July 21 — Ameri- at a meeting Monday night, includes resealing and painting doors, moldings and facings; the The board accepted the resig- can Legion and American Legion approved Van Horn Construction the high school parking lot and fire alarm system; the phones, nation of Cara Jones as elemen- Auxiliary, 7 p.m., W.J. Matthews Company as the construction stripping and re-waxing the floors. clocks and intercom; fire-door tary literary coach, a position Center manager for its multipurpose Dugger also reported the safe issues; finishes on concrete col- that will not be filled at this time. athletic building and reviewed room concrete block walls should inside the plans, drawn by Jo Minden, architect. The indoor facility will be up by the end of this week. In personnel matters, the umns; the partition doors in the cafeteria; an automatic opening of Phil Daniel, new high school Superintendent Boyce Watkins said that at this time district is The Chronicle accommodate physical education board accepted the resignation of a door in case of a tornado; and a principal, at Monday’s meeting. fully staffed. Watkins told the board the Arena.................. 8 classes and all sports. The build- school nurse Jill Riggs; approved Coach Craig Pinion repre- balance of money at the beginning Church................ 4 ing will have brick halfway up the a transfer of Jennifer Curry, high sented the Certified Personnel duties, he said, would cost the of July was $2,982,909.21 in the walls and be metal the rest of the school business teacher, to the Policies Committee in recom- district an additional $15,925 in operating fund, $63,137.60 in the Civic................... 1 way. Instructional Technology Direc- stipends. He also pointed out that mending a change in the way cafeteria fund and $2,095,297.41 Classifieds. ......... 7 Superintendent Larry Dugger tor’s post; hired DeSha Nelson, stipends are given for extra duties. only one other school in the 3A in the building fund. Interest Legals................. 7. said bringing Van Horn in this high school business teacher; The board tabled the matter until conference (Marshall) caps the income on the building funds last Movies..................... 8 early would allow them to work Becky Smith, school nurse; next meeting. The issue involves stipends. Pinion characterized month was $1,477.58. FEMA Obituaries.............. 8 with the architect to do “value and Kenneth White as network the district’s present policy of the district’s stipends as generous funds of $145,656.51 were trans- engineering” to save money. “The administrator. putting a cap on the number of but said the coaches would like ferred into the building fund. Opinions........... 2,3 community has really pitched in School board members to be compensated for the extra stipends a teacher can receive Paul Wayne Duvall presided School. .................. 6 to support this building,” he said. attending were David Potts, Jim and also a cap on the amount of duties they are now willingly in the absence of Philip Haney. Service.Dir.. ........ 7 In other action the board Huffman, Tracy Taylor and Jerry money a coach can receive as a performing without stipends. Other members present were Society................ 5 approved a $142,000 bid from Akin. Board member Clint Hull stipend ($7,085). The board approved renewing Brian Boyer, Carl Warren and Sports................... 6 Van Horn Construction for a reno- was absent. Pinion pointed out that the American Fidelity as the District Shawn Rooke. 2• THE ATKINS CHRONICLE • WEDNESDAY, JuLY 13, 2011 THE GUM LOG by Van A. Tyson law and lamps Last week was educational, About trusts, he said the nal Aladdin company made. first about law, especially wills advantages are, (1) they avoid Doyle said the Aladdin and trusts, probate and (2) are private, Company is back in business and then not required to be filed in the making lamps in Tennessee. about lamps, courthouse, like wills. The Peggy demonstrated the especially main disadvantage is that they tricky nature of lighting the A l a d d i n cost more than wills. delicate mantle of an Aladdin lamps. He also said that there are lamp. The law no estate taxes if the assets at The Cooks said there will lesson came death are less than $5 million. be a national Aladdin show in at Lions Lamps Indianapolis in about a week Club at noon Doyle and Peggy Cook, and they will take some lamps, Thursday speaking at the Pope County from their collection of several courtesy of Historical Association meeting hundred lamps. David Eddy. David had spoken Friday night, began by showing He said his brother, who at a previous club meeting about some flat-wick lamps (coal oil), originally scoffed at his collec- hiking and camping rather noting that they put out a lot tion, now has about 500. than law, and volunteered to less light than Aladdins, which Their presentation drew a lot come back to talk about law. provide as much illumination of discussion from older mem- First, about wills, he said: as a 60-watt bulb. bers of the association, who • a will is valid if written in They showed an assortment remembered using the lamps in the person’s own hand; of metal and glass lamps. The their homes. (I remember them • if typed or written by cobalt blue lamps, if origi- at my grandparents’ house in someone else, it requires two • after death, a person’s nal, are valuable, as much as $1,500. If you find one in an antique store, it is probably a Several people gathered around to examine the lamps South of the Border & Over the Hill property goes to the state only reproduction, Doyle said. after the presentation. By AnnieLaura Jaggers-Grady if there are no descendents, which is very rare; Some of the hispanics in the USA • the order of succession they showed were: Every time I read or hear English so we can communi- was finally approached by a if there is no will is children, • a custard-col- about someone griping about cate with them easily, yet how young man who said, “You do then spouse, then parents, ored heart-pattern the cost to our government of many of us bother to learn not speak Spanish, do you? I then brothers and sisters, then milky glass; medical, education, transpor- Spanish? One summer I went replied that I didn’t. He said, aunts and uncles, then nieces • a green-on- tation, etc. for the Hispanics, to Churubusco (at the edge of “I’ll bet you studied a European and nephews; white milky Vene- I wish I was where I could Mexico City) to study, not the language, didn’t you? Many of • if a child is disinherited, he tian; remind them of a few facts from language, but the culture. A you from the or she must still be mentioned • a ruby red Bee- our past about our dealing with group of us living in the same states do that in the will; hive lamp, worth the Mexicans in particular. boardinghouse were invited to instead of • going through probate about $600; What happened at the go to the owner’s “country club” learning the limits the period of challenge • a Del Comina Alamo? Did we not initiate the in a vacated Spanish monastery. language of to six months, and it can be with flowers on a fight with the Mexicans in the We were out walking mid-after- your neigh- longer otherwise; white background war in the late 1840s? Did we noon when we were deluged bors south of • regarding checking and a gold rim on not have superior resources? with a thunderstorm and pelted you.” I had accounts, “payable on death” is the bottom, one of Did we not win that war and with hail. We ran into a yard to admit that better than joint ownership the last the origi- take one half of their land (the through an open gate and were I had studied rest was rough and mountain- invited into the house or under German. I The hisTory Lesson ous) and all of their arable land—all of south Texas, New the wide porch where a family gathering was taking place him that I had a strong Latin by Kenneth R. Walker Mexico, Arizona, and all of including people of all ages. (I background and, therefore, California? Why should we not learned that it was a typical could sight-read some Spanish, words as Embalmed history: nepotism and Suttee educate them, give them health Sunday afternoon gathering.) but I doubt that he thought that Nepotism now means edge as an illegitimate child custom meant the widow would care, etc.? We were immediately given a good excuse. appointing relatives to political or mistress was sometimes cremate herself on the funeral What group of people is a slice of lime and a jigger I thoroughly enjoyed that office. Originally this practice referred to as a niece, a word pyre of her dead husband. The doing the most of our manual of tequila and were asked to cultural adventure. Further, I came from priests and others that also has nepotism as its word comes from the Hindu labor on our farms, in our fac- extend an open palm to be learned that their culture which appointing nephews (from Latin source. word satti (faithful wife). The tories, and in our households? salted. We were shown how to was directly from Spain was as nepotism) to gainful employ- Whether nephew or niece, system certainly guaranteed The Mexicans, of course. Are drink down the tequila, lick our old as ours. ment. Quite often “nephew” was the older sponsoring person that the wife would have no they capable employees? Most palms, and squeeze the lime a name given to an illegitimate wanted to be sure the protégé economic problems in her wid- of them, yes. Many of them juice into our mouths. This Annielaura Jaggers-Grady male child whom a parent in the was advantageously taken care owhood. The English made the are quite intelligent. Ask any procedure would arm us against has published the following church or aristocracy did not of economically. practice illegal in British India public-school teacher about the a cold or pneumonia. It did. I books: A Nude Singularity: Lily want to acknowledge as a son. Another way of giving in 1829. capabilities of his or her Span- have enjoyed tequila margaritas Peter of Arkansas; Billy Free- Similarly, in the female line, economic security to a relative Kenneth R. Walker, Ph.D., is ish students, and you will get an ever since. man: Florida Keys Sheriff; A a young woman that an older (usually a wife) was through the Professor Emeritus of History ear full. I stood around the edges of Professor’s Unforgettables; and man did not want to acknowl- ritual of suttee. In India this at Arkansas Tech University. We insist that they learn the gathering saying little and Carl & Me & WWII. BEyond ThE BElTwAy A Trio of Events by “Pete Moss” by Donald Kaul When I typed this title, it horse mint and probably many and I headed for this road with brought to mind another event others. It was a joy to drive this road shovels and pails. The rescue opera- President Concession from long ago. There were three munchkins rehearsing for a lip at any time of the growing season. One plant really intrigued me tion was in progress. The blooming period for this plant had already I’m starting to worry about doubts. negotiation and total surrender. sync contest in our front yard. All when I first saw it several years finished for the year and, due to the Barack Obama. I find his unwavering attempts I’m afraid that Obama and three of them had managed to ago. The only other place I have drought, we could only find one, I didn’t to find bipartisan solutions to his Democratic colleagues are stand together on a large, sawed- seen it was in a native plant nursery dried up plant – with seeds. This used to worry controversial problems uplift- going to cave in to Republican off hickory stump. (The massive in Oklahoma. I recognized this lone plant is now tucked in beside a about him. ing and all. Inspiring even. But demands, thus setting the tone tree had been hit by lightning once immediately as a clematis because tree where it can climb next season. I thought he there’s such a thing as carrying for the next two-and-a-half years. too often.) We christened the three of its similarity to C. Texensis, Though its top portion was dead, it was the best moderation too far. My idea of a sensible negotia- of them a “tree-o.” something I’d first seen in the had a fine set of fleshy roots. We’ve Democrat Every time he tries to make tion is for the Democrats to give (1) There is a local country road University of Minnesota Landscape carefully watered it each day and running in nice with the Republicans he in on cuts to the budget and the that has undergone a few transfor- Arboretum many, many years ago. last Friday evening I discovered a the 2008 pri- gets hit in the face with a cream Republicans to let go of the Bush mations over the years. There are This one is known by its common healthy set of fresh leaves poking maries, and pie. That’s not leadership; that’s tax cuts for rich people. That’s a number of spots along its length name, leather flower, or its botani- up from the ground. Whee! Rescue I thought he masochism. pretty much the formula neutral that have been clear cut. I was cal name, Clematis pitcheri. The successful!!! Needless to say, the area was far supe- Which, of course, is exactly observers come up with when pained at first, wondering what this species has lavender, vase-shaped where we dug it from has now been rior to John what my progressive friends they discuss deficit cuts. would do to the bank full of Christ- flowers and has been collected from bladed down to the bare, red clay. McCain in have been arguing for the past 18 Another thing neutral observ- mas ferns. They slowed down a bit, only a few counties in the Ozark and (2) The day before this was not the general election. I still think months. Why doesn’t he articu- ers agree on is that not raising but they survived; it did, however, Ouachita Mountain regions. as happy. I’m sensitive to wasp that. (By the way, did you hear late what he believes in and stand the debt ceiling would be a disas- provide space and sunlight to seeds What a treat it was to first see this stings and managed to inadver- the latest on McCain? He blamed up for it, they keep asking. ter of enormous proportions. that had been dormant for many a little vine, in flower and abundance, tently encroach in some of the the forest fires consuming the I’m running out of answers to But I’m not sure Republicans year. They grow. This happens and beside the road! I made it a point insects’ territory, coming out of the southwest on undocumented that question. see it that way. happen it did. to someday collect a plant or some deal with a sore, swollen paw and immigrants. When he opens What, is he afraid he’ll make They seem to be willing to At one point there was a large seeds from it. Somewhere along the a trip to the clinic. I’m better now, his mouth these days, you don’t conservatives mad? You can’t let the economy go smash if colony of crested iris that sur- line I have developed scruples about but it was a bit scary. know whether to laugh or cry.) make conservatives madder than they don’t get their way, which prised passersby. As the forest has such things, but there might be (3) This past Saturday was a I’ve defended Obama against they already are. They wake up consists of continuing to build regrown, these have receded into circumstances. A number of weeks rummage sale at church at which I his right-wing enemies (that was mad in the morning and spend a society of great private wealth the background. There have been ago this became an urgent thing. had promised to help. I also realized easy because their charges were the rest of the day getting really and equally great public pov- Indian pinks, fire pinks, several At one end of this road there were that the only other rummage sale ludicrous), and I’ve defended ticked off. erty: a society with rotten public types of phlox (some escaped from all sorts of road grading vehicles. here in Dover I’d participated in was him against many of his allies on If he fears alienating potential schools, pathetic public transpor- gardens), wild hyacinth, trout lilies, Someone had decided to be progres- at this same location twenty-some the left (people who yearn for a voters he should consider this: tation, and crummy infrastruc- trillium, bloodroot, many species sive and widen the road, clearing the years ago. First thing in the morn- Ralph Nader-Dennis Kucinich People like leaders who aren’t ture. of violets – I’m leafing through ditches of vegetation in the process. ing it was overcast with a slight presidential ticket). walking around with whipped Those are the stakes in the Carl Hunter’s book, Wildflowers of Vast piles of trees, etc. are stacked breeze blowing – quite bearable. My argument has been cream on their faces all the time. debt ceiling battle. You would Arkansas, to refresh my memory up, awaiting the removal of the burn By the time we were wrapping the essentially this: “Yeah, his health I’m particularly worried about think that a president of Obama’s — redbuds, columbine, May apples, ban. I knew it was time for action. event up, it became hot and sunny. care plan wasn’t good enough, the upcoming battle in Congress rhetorical skill could convince reindeer moss, once a blue star, That Saturday morning, my spouse You know the feeling! and his stimulus package wasn’t over raising the debt ceiling. The the public that the Republicans keep a close eye on as we move helped our state end the year on a the surplus might help fund the tax big enough, and he’s slow to get Republicans have vowed not to were razing the nation’s future forward. positive note. cuts recently put in place. What- out of wars he’s promised to get raise the ceiling unless the presi- in favor of lining the pockets of a Already, some folks have specu- Eventually, the financial ever our action, it is important to out of, but let’s cut the guy some dent agrees to cut the federal few fat-cat political donors. lated just how the state should cushion may be used to help plug remain cautious. slack. He was handed a terrible budget to the bone, then remove But he can’t do it unless he spend its above-forecast funding. some existing budget holes. For Overall, I’m pleased with the situation, with a collapsing econ- the bone. tries, and I’m not sure he’s up Although most of us see the rev- example, the state’s Medicaid apparent shape of our year-end omy, two wars raging, and a toxic Obama in turn has vowed — I for the game. Which is why I’m enue numbers as a positive sign on budget faces a major shortfall in revenue. The last few years have political opposition dedicated to don’t know, to negotiate, or some- worried. the road to financial recovery, we the next two years. Some leaders been tight ones for state finances, his failure. He’s done reasonably thing. He ignores the fact that OtherWords columnist recognize this road is a slow one have suggested the revenue surplus as I’m sure they have been for your well in difficult circumstances.” the current Republican model Donald Kaul lives in Ann Arbor, that could hold unexpected twists should be used to help there, as family’s budget. Hopefully, the But I’m starting to have my doesn’t differentiate between Michigan. www.otherwords.org and turns. Therefore, to stay pre- we work to lower the state’s overall upswing will continue in coming pared, we must continue the same Medicaid costs to prevent future months and as we head into the State Capital Report by Ark. Representative John Catlett conservative budget practices that shortfalls. Others have suggested 2012 Fiscal Session in February. THE ATKINS CHRONICLE (U.S.P.S. 035-740) In a recent column, I men- ally available to spend), total $4.5 one-time year-end transfer of sur- Publishers Mark Murdoch Established 1894 Published every Staff YEARLY tioned the state was expected to billion, which is 5.8 percent above plus fees from the Department of Wednesday by G. L. Parker Office Manager SUBSCRIPTION Periodicals 1894-1898 Van A. Tyson wrap up the fiscal year, which last year’s total. Funds came in Insurance, totaling $16.4 million. The Atkins Chronicle, Inc. Editor & Publisher RATES: ended June 30, with the budget above forecast primarily because However, all categories were postage paid at Mitzi Henderson Fax 479•641•1604 W. F. Turner Pope, Yell and P. O. Box 188 Advertising in good shape. Well, the Depart- collections from individual and not above forecast. Gross receipts Phone 1898-1917 Ginnie Tyson Johnson Counties 204 Ave. One N.E. Business Manager Representative ment of Finance and Administra- corporate income taxes were tax totals, coming mainly from 479•641•7161 Atkins, AR 72823 Ardis Tyson Beverly Davis tion issued its official year-end greater than expected. Individual sales tax collections, grew with the 1917-1959 Beckie Tyson In State revenue report this week, and the collections exceeded forecast by economy, but then slowed toward Circulation $30 www.atkinschronicle.com Atkins Managing $62.2 million, and corporate col- the end of the fiscal year, coming in Van A. Tyson Manager state closed out Fiscal Year 2011 1959-1961 Editor [email protected] Out of State $93.9 million ahead of the budget lections were $16.2 million more $11.1 million below forecast. Ana- Zack Murdoch $35 forecast. than forecast. Analysts say this lysts believe increased fuel prices Thomas M. Gillespie Elizabeth Brown Webmaster 1961-1992 Dover Managing It’s the first time in three years reflects the economic upturn of impacted taxpayer spending and POSTMASTER: send address Editor Card of Thanks & Memorials — 20¢ per that the state has ended the year 2010, reported on 2011 tax filings. caused the slowdown. Neverthe- Mr. & Mrs. changes to The Atkins Chronicle, Van A. Tyson Gail Tyson Murdoch word • Classifieds — 20¢ per wordCombo with more revenue than projected. Another major factor putting less, the overall report was a good P. O. Box 188, Atkins, AR 72823 1992-present Contributing Editor — 32¢• Engagement, wedding Net available revenues (funds actu- revenue above projections was a one, and that is a category we will and anniversary handling fee $15 THE ATKINS CHRONICLE • WEDNESDAY, JuLY 13, 2011 •3 Casey Anthony by Marcus Kilburn I’ll be the first to admit I’m best way to tell she was lying addicted to what my lovely little was whenever she opened her bride calls mouth. Casey Anthony was also “rubber- shown to be a major party girl neck” televi- who enjoyed dancing, drinking, sion. I’ve and serious flirting with both liked “Cops” men and women both before for years. and after her daughter’s disap- “Tru” TV has pearance. A logical motive for many offer- her daughter’s murder was that ings I like a child simply got in the way of including Casey Anthony’s preferred life- all of those style. That Casey Anthony was “World’s a liar and something less than a Worst” edi- June Cleaver-style mother was tions of bad criminals, bad driv- indisputable. Based on media By Moira Murdoch graduate of Southern College No definite action was taken office at Kansas City. ers, bad party people, stupid coverage and common sense, 35 Years Ago of Optometry at Memphis, has by the council, but Commis- B.C. Cagle and family human tricks, brawls, riots, and her guilt was a given. From the Files of July 21, 1976 opened an office here for the sioner Haralson was instructed moved here last Thursday from pretty much any other human This is why her being found Opposition to the new practice of optometry. He will to begin checking on the pos- London. stupid human trick that has innocent was received with fiery method of identifying Atkins be here each Thursday and will sibilities of purchasing land Donald Godbey is attending a good chance of doing great outrage by the general public. streets surfaced last week at the schedule additional hours if nec- in the area around the present a C.M.T. camp at Des Moines, bodily harm. Based on the “evidence,” how on July meeting of the City Council. essary. disposal tank for use in build- Iowa for a month. Even with this embarrassing God’s green earth could 12 ratio- Dr. and Mrs. George Malone, The annual union revival ing ponds of the type used at N.H. Bell, who has been self-admission, I made every nal people find such a lowlife Elmo Haney and Henry Darter held each year by the Pottsville Booneville. teaching in a summer school at attempt not to watch the media person innocent? The answer attended the meeting to voice United Methodist and Asso- At its regular meeting last the College of the Ozarks, has circus known as the Casey it seems is every bit as logical as disapproval with Dr. Malone the ciate Reformed Presbyterian week, the council passed an completed his work and is now Anthony murder trial. I may be the question. principal spokesman. churches is to be Sunday, July ordinance regulating the keep- at home. the consummate rubber-neck One of the 12 jurors submit- James Neal Howard, 19, of 25, through August 1. ing of hogs and cattle in the city. television viewer, but this media ted to an interview a few days Rt. 2 Russellville was killed 100 Years Ago infatuation with tragic death of after the verdict was announced. Saturday when the motorcycle 50 Years Ago 75 Years Ago From the Files of July 21, 1911 an innocent 2-year old child was The young lady calmly and logi- he was riding was hit by a car From the Files of July 19, 1961 From the Files of July 17, 1936 E.A. Darr and J.M. Barker beyond even my tasteless taste in cally explained the jury’s ratio- on state highway 326 about five Jim Carfarno now owns The interior of the Blaylock have each purchased a touring television. Then, the not-guilty nale: “If there was a dead child miles northeast of Russellville the remaining vacant building and Knight Store building is car of the latest models and they verdict came in and the nation’s in that trunk, does that prove on Weir Road. on Broadway Avenue between being remodeled this week in are beauties. broadcast media bombarded us how she died? No idea, still no The 1926 class of Atkins Dover and Church streets. order to give more room for Atkins can now boast of with all things Casey and Caylee idea. If you’re going to charge High School will meet this week Plans for relieving the sewer more floor space. The parti- having eight automobiles and Anthony. someone with murder, don’t you end for a 50-year reunion. A problem in Atkins were dis- tion in the back of the building all of them are first class cars One headline called it the have to know how they killed banquet will be served at 6 p.m. cussed at a special council is being torn out and the main in their makes. Atkins has more Social Media Trial of the Century. someone or why they might have Saturday at the Ramada Inn in meeting, held Tuesday for that store building will extend prac- cars than any town between Fort That’s probably a little melodra- killed someone, or have some- Russellville and plans are to purpose. tically the entire length of the Smith and Little Rock. matic, but underscores the atten- thing where, when, why, how? meet at 8:30 Sunday morning Officials have been named building. Only a small space Dr. Mason has put in a new tion given the Casey Anthony Those are important questions. for breakfast together at the and the schedule listed for the will be left for the cream station livery barn in Peter Arts’ barn. trial. Anthony was accused of They were not answered.” same place. 1961 Pope County Fair, sched- and store room. Joe Gray will have charge of the murdering her 2-year-old daugh- In their rush to sensationalize The Jaycees met Wednesday uled for September 13-15 at the H.M. Jacoway, of Little Rock, barn. ter, Caylee, in 2008. The circum- the tragic death of an innocent night in the meeting room of the fairgrounds in Russellville. former congressman from this John P. Lewis, the present stances of little Caylee’s death are child the national media forget Bank of Atkins to plan future “Story Hour” at the Atkins district, has been appointed assessor, has about decided to bizarre to say the least. Haylee the basics in a murder trial. activities. Public Library began Monday, by the Social Security Board enter the race at the next elec- had been missing 30 days before Before you can convict someone Dr. Robert W. Smalling, a July 17. as legal advisor in the regional tion as assessor. Casey reported her absence. of murder, the prosecution must During these 30 days Casey was seen cavorting with friends and first prove a murder was com- mitted. The prosecution proved Pleasant Grove by Pat LaRue Carlton Jenke at McAlister, Okla. They enjoyed a good visit Monday morning to attend church camp at Hot Springs. partying like it was 1999. Caylee’s that Casey Anthony was a liar, Hope everyone had a good 13th- Johnathan McClain, 14th before the Jenkes returned They will return Friday. body was eventually found near bad mother, and user of people week. It sure was hot, but thank – Lesa McCormick and Terry “T” to their Dallas area home. Amy Teeter left laast Sunday Casey Anthony’s parents’ home. but they did not prove her to be a the Lord for fans. I have heard Duvall, 15th – Dillon Deal, 16th Danny and Carless returned with a youth group from Grace The corpse was duct-taped and murderer because they failed to a lot of the older generation say – Benny Parks, 18th – Haley home Sunday afternoon. Baptist Church to attend a SOAR enclosed in a heavy plastic bag. prove a murder had been com- it was the Dog days of Summer. Goates. Happy birthday every- Gladys Bunton and son Michael (Sold Out and Radical) church Casey Anthony was eventually mitted. Had the prosecution Probably so doggone hot they one and wish you many more. enjoyed Sunday lunch together. convention in San Antonio. They charged with Caylee’s murder. paid a little more attention to couldn’t stand it! Pat LaRue and Denise Duvall Katherine Teeter and Mary returned Thursday evening. Anthony pleaded innocent to all what they learned in law school Bill and Anna LaRue, Pat went to Buttermilk church Creemer enjoyed a Sunday Congratulations to the Leslie charges. and a little less attention to what LaRue, Danny and Donella Sunday evening . Brother Phillip afternoon lunch at La Huerta Oates family of Pottsville, who During the trial Casey they were seeing every night on Willis, Rufus and Louise Wells, Collie is the pastor over there. after Katherine gve platelets at have been selected as the Dis- Anthony was exposed as a CNN, the verdict might have Joyce Metz and Clara Dotson It was good to see everyone. It the Red Cross. trict Farm Family of the Year. habitual liar. Basically, the been different. attended the singing Saturday won’t be long until Conner has Sue Roberts S. J. Robertson, They were previously selected as night at Kenwood. It was good, a little brother. Rachel, you look Charles and Jean Oates and Ben Pope County Farm Family of the and Terry and Denise Duvall beautiful. We are all praying for and Nina Rice attended the Pope Year and will now be considered Prostate Cancer Update the pastors were proud we all all of you. It was good to see some friends I went to school with. County Historical Association meeting Friday night at Saint for the Arkansas Farm Family of By David Bachman, M.D. as tumor growth and proliferation The Pleasant Grove Assem- Don’t forget Vacation Bible Mary’s. Doyle and Peggy Cook Steve, Kassen, Jace Sears, One of the leading cancers although the study did not analyze bly had a fish fry Friday night. It School, Panda Mania will be presented the program on Alad- Angel Sawyer and Wendell and among men around the world is the causes behind the association. was well attended and had some July 25-29 from 6 to 9 p.m. at din lamps. Shirlene Sears went to Bran- prostate cancer. The exact cause The study, largest of its kind awful good food. Thanks to the the assembly. All of the little Sue Roberts visited Jewel son Saturday to meet Steve’s of this malignancy is not known; to date, had some good news for men of the church for cooking ones are welcome. Rodden last week at the Darda- brother, Stan Sears, his wife however, certain things are consid- men who stopped smoking - they the fish and to the ladies who Thought for the week: “Great- nelle Nursing Home. Elaine and children Paige and ered risk factors. found those men who had been made some delicious side dishes ness lies not in being strong, but Robert and Brianna Teeter Erin from Billings, Mont. They Various researchers have smoke-free for at least 10 years had and desserts. in the right use of strength.” and a number of other young enjoyed visiting and going to expressed smoking could be one of the same odds of dying from pros- Birthdays this week are: Eph.6:10. people from the Pottsville Silver Dollar City before return- these risk factors – not only caus- tate cancer (and prostate cancer Assembly of God Church left ing home Sunday. Pottsville • by Katherine Ann Teeter ing this cancer, but aggravating the recurrence) as men who had never condition in those men stricken with the disease. Also, research has shown smok- Those who had stopped smok- ing for less than 10 years at the The Pottsville EH Club will son Jeff Creemer of Sherwood. Cattlemen to meet July 14 ing worsens the side effects of pros- time of their diagnosis and smoked meet Friday, July 15, at 1:30 They and Katherine Teeter ate The Pope County Cattlemen’s Rogers Equipment of Scranton tate cancer therapy. twenty or more pack years (350 p.m. at the Pottsville Method- at Subway before Jeff returned Association will meet this Thurs- and Mark Wedel of Ouachita There are several ways smoking packs of cigarettes) had risks that ist Church fellowship hall for home. day, July 14, at 7 p.m. at the Rus- Livestock Market of Ola who helps progress prostate cancer – it were similar to active smokers. the regular monthly meeting. Logan Eoff spent Thursday sellville First Assembly of God will present the program. All may influence progression through “In summary, smoking at his Dianna Roberson will serve as night with his grandparents, Church fellowship hall for the members, their families and any a process that affects certain genes time of diagnosis was associated hostess and present the pro- Milton and Lachresia Eoff. regular monthly meeting. The interested persons are encour- in the body and also likely alters with substantially increased over- gram, “Update of Dietary Guide- Danny and Carless Teeter and beef brisket meal will be spon- aged to attend. Members are your hormonal balance by creat- all mortality and prostate cancer lines.” grandchildren Conner, Emma sored by Ryan Rogers of Ross asked to bring potluck desserts. SW Atkins Water group ing an environment conductive to mortality and recurrence.” The Carolyn Sears enjoyed a and Kara Jenke, Cheyenne tumor growth. authors wrote. “These results pro- week’s visit from her daughter, Teeter and children Robert, Bri- Smoking can also increase the amount of steroid hormones, vide further support that smoking may increase risk of death from Karen Moyer, and granddaugh- ter Cheyenne of Kirksville, Mo. anna and Jaylie Teeter and Zach West enjoyed a trip to Alma and announces annual meeting androgens, which can fuel the prostate cancer.” They left Friday after visiting the water park Friday. The annual meeting of names have been submitted growth of malignant prostate cells Coffee and Prostate Cancer with many friends and relatives Danny and Carless Teeter the Southwest Atkins Water – Ron Laurence and Major Rud- in the body. Regular coffee drinkers appear who dropped by. and three grandchildren left Users’ Association will be at 7 dell. Four $25 gift cards will be Cadmium is a human carci- to lower their risk for prostate Mary Creemer enjoyed a Saturday morning to meet p.m. Tuesday, July 19, at 1380 given as door prizes for members nogenic metal that inhibits DNA cancer, especially the lethal form, Saturday evening visit from her daughter Leanne and husband Bell’s Chapel West, at the Ada’s who are eligible to vote and are repair in your body, which allows according to a recent research Bell’s Chapel Assembly of God present for the entire meeting. cancer cells to mutate and multiply. report. ers report. Bigot says. “The results were Church. The site will be open from Also, cadmium in tobacco is a Lorelei Mucci, ScD, MPH, asso- The dogs used were Belgium pretty remarkable although it An election will be held prior 5 p.m. until 7 p.m. for voting heavy metal that interacts with zinc ciate professor of epidemiology Malinois, a shepherd breed used for doesn’t sound like a very practical to the meeting for the two board for the annual meeting, which which is in the prostate – this com- at the Harvard School of Public detecting bombs and drugs. method for screening urine sam- positions that are open. Two begins at 7 p.m. bination leads to prostate cancer. Health, found during the follow- The canines were used to iden- ples for prostate cancer.” However, The relationship between pros- up, those who drank the greatest tify urine from patients with con- the researchers hope to identify tate cancer and smoking has been amount of coffee had about a 20% firmed prostate cancer and then which chemical the dog is read- bandied about for years. lower risk of developing prostate discriminate those samples from ing to in order to develop a better Creamy Rigatoni with Bacon The last review of the Surgeon cancer. urine from healthy men. screen’s test for prostate cancer. General concluded the link between Coffee protected even more After about year of training, the Conclusion – Obesity and Ingredients and rest smoking and prostate cancer was against the most lethal form of dog was put to the test. cigarette smoking have long been 8 oz. rigatoni pasta of ingredi- probable. prostate cancer. During 11 runs, the dog faced known as two enormous risks for 5 slices bacon crumbled ents. Then Several research studies have Those drinking one to three six urine samples which came from many diseases, both malignant and ½ red onion, sliced add pasta, shown that men under the age of 65 cups a day, the risk of lethal prostate a man with prostate cancer. non-malignant. Many who ignore 1 cup drained pitted green and add who smoke a pack of cigarettes a day cancer declined 29% compared to The dog’s mission was to sit these repeated health warnings and black olives cheeses for 40 years are at a 100% increased that of nondrinkers. Those drink- in front of the urine it considers endure long suffering and early 1 tsp. grated lemon zest last. Chill, risk of developing the more aggres- ing six or more cups a day found cancer. deaths. Salt/pepper to taste then serve. sive form of prostate cancer as com- the risk of deadly prostate cancer In 66 testes, the dog was cor- Now prostate cancer has been 1 cup ricotta cheese Tip: You pared to nonsmokers. was reduced by 60% compared to rect 63 times. There were three added to that lengthy list of dis- Parmesan cheese shavings can use Also, compared to nonsmok- nondrinkers. In a large pot, cook pasta. any type of Brandy Pitts false positives, in which the dog eases brought on by smoking. ers, current smokers face a 40% Surprisingly, this reduced mistakenly identified samples from Changing lifestyles are most dif- Then drain and set aside. In a small pasta increase in the risk of prostate risk held for both caffeinated and healthy men as being cancerous. ficult tasks, but possible with perse- large bowl, add cooked bacon you like. cancer. decaffeinated coffee – leading the There were no false positives. verance. By not doing so, they pay Recently, researchers from researchers to speculate it is not the And one of the three false posi- dearly for their transgressions. Harvard University, writing in the caffeine that provides the protec- tives might not have been false, Procrastination plays a key role Journal of the American Medical tion. when the man who provided the in changing one’s habits. Subscribe Online Association, analyzed data from The above study was published urine ample had another biopsy But remember, procrastination www.atkinschronicle.com 5,000 men diagnosed with cancer in the Journal of the National and it turned out to have prostate is a thief of time and just another of the prostate from 1986 and Cancer Institute. cancer. way of concealing cowardice. 2006. In addition, other research stud- Those researchers found the ies found coffee can lower the risk men who smoked at the time of their of type 2 diabetes, gallstones, liver COuRTHOuSE NEWS prostate cancer was diagnosed, had cancer and Parkinson’s disease. a twofold increased risk for overall The combination of smoking Marriage Licenses Granted Morrilton, and Mashaya Chris- James Edward Shockley, 30, Amanda Cardenas v. Jeremy mortality. Also, the smokers had a and obesity further adds to the risk Skyler Robert Cobin Bewley, tene Caldwell, 22, Morrilton Atkins, and Heather J. Hughes, Cardenas, divorce 61% increased risk that their pros- for deadly prostate cancer. 17, and Tiffany Michele Staggs, Timothy Anthony S. Keeling, 29, Atkins (7-06) Donald Lee Moss Jr., v. Linda tate cancer would return after ini- Avoiding smoking and main- 21, Atkins 18, Atkins, and Elizabeth Ellen Circuit Court Cases Filed Kay Moss, divorce tial treatment. taining a healthy weight are among Jeffrey Scott Byrd, 21, Rus- Ruffin, 22, Atkins (Domestic) Circuit Court Cases Filed Stacey Kenfield, a research the surest ways to stay prostate sellville, and Amber Noel Talley, Shane M. Lenhardt, 26, Rus- Arkansas Office of Child (Civil) associate with the Harvard School healthy. 20, Russellville sellville, and Ashley N. McNair, Support Enforcement (AOCSE) Federal National Mortgage of Public Health, and the research Dogs and Prostate Cancer Clay Alan Chronister, 22, 26, Russellville and Veronica d. McClanahan v. Association v. Patrick Park or study’s lead author, said, “I think Researchers, led by Jean-Nico- Russellville, and Megan Nicole Jack Nanthalansy, 31, Rus- Gordon L. Perry Sean Park and/or occupants there is sufficient evidence avail- las Cornu, MD of Tenon Hospital in Wright, 20, Russellville sellville, and Tamara Dawn AOCSE and Kimberly M. of 102 Park Place, Russellville, able to now conclusively state that France, used dogs to detect prostate Jeremy Louis Curtis, 24, Spearman, 23, Russellville Byrum v. Justin G. Eakin, sup- unlawful detainer smoking is related to prostate cancer in the urine from patients Atkins, and Cari Nicole Thomp- Toby Edward Pitts, 48, Atkins, port Joel Tippit v. Altman Enter- cancer progression.” with the confirmed malignancy. son, 23, Atkins and Donnia Gail Lemons, 48, Thomas J. Stewart v. Jessica prises, Inc., Terry Altman and He said the correlation could be In early tests, the approach pro- Louis Alan Hardy, 18, Dover, Atkins Stewart, divorce Terri Altman, individually and because the nicotine in cigarettes duced fewer false positives than and Felicia Ann Michelle Rocky Lee Reaves, 35, Brian James Dunbar v. Cyn- as owners of Altman Enter- induces the formation of new blood would be expected with the com- McCloud, 18, Dover London, and Marsha Charlene thia Marie Rodgers and Terry prises, Inc., injunction, posses- vessels and capillary growth as well monly-used PSA test, the research- Raymond Ray Jordan Jr., 24, Johnson, 40, London Rodgers, paternity sion of property (287) 4• The ATkins ChroniCle • WeDnesDAY, JulY 13, 2011 Bible School planned at Mt. Vernon CHURCHCOMMUNITY Bible School planned at Jerusalem Mt. Vernon Freewill Baptist We are looking forward to Class of ‘91 planning reunion The Jerusalem Church of continues today for those who Church would like to invite you spending time with you in worship Christ will have its Vacation are willing to spend time build- The Atkins High School Barre Shannon, Wesley Tack- Bible School each evening, July to join us for Truth Quest B. with the Lord. Call and invite your ing a relationship with Him. Class of 1991 is seeking con- ett, Doug Duvall, Tommy 17-21, at 7-8:30 p.m. O.O.T. C.A.M.P. Vacation Bible friends. They will have a great time Classes for all ages – 2-3 years tact information for a class Moore and Jennifer Bratton The theme is “Upside ‘Down School. It will be a Biblical Out- also. VBS will be July 17-22, starting old to adult – will be offered. reunion. have been working on the Under’” and will be true experi- look & Outreach Training. This at 6:15 pm each night. If you need Refreshments will be served The reunion is planned for plans for the reunion. ences from the New Testament week’s VBS will be based on Eph. a ride, please call 284-4778. If you each evening. All are invited to homecoming in September, Please contact the e-mail where Jesus changed lives. 6:13. We have classes starting at need more details call 264-4055. come and joint the congregation 2011. Please send your contact address for further informa- This possibility of change 0-teens. There will be singing, We are located north of Atkins at the Jerusalem VBS. information to bshannon@ tion and if you would like to playing games, snacks each night, on Buttermilk Road. Take 105 centurylink.net. help in the planning of the and lots, lots of fun and most of all worshiping and learning about north. Turn on St. Joe Road and follow the signs. We are looking A committee consisting of reunion. Shady Grove fund-raiser, clean up our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. forward in seeing you! Patrons of Shady Grove Cem- Donations are sought to help VBS at Oak Grove FWB Church Sweet Home to hold monthly singing etery are asked to come to a work day the third Saturday of each with this project. If you have family or friends buried at Shady Grove The Sweet Home Freewill Brother Jimmy Lee Chronis- month. They can bring tools and would like to help, please mail Join us in Hometown Naza- called God Sightings. Hometown Baptist Church will have their ter invites everyone to attend. and come help at 7 or 8 a.m. your tax-deductible contributions reth, where we’ll explore what life Nazareth will run from Sunday, monthly singing Friday evening, Refreshments will be served The Shady Grove Cemetery to one of the following: was like when Jesus was a kid. July 24 to Friday, July 29. The July 15, at 7 p.m. after the singing. is in need of some maintenance Nina Chronister, 1147 St. Joe We will visit the marketplace, celebration begins at 6 p.m. each that requires more money than Road, Atkins, AR 72823; Delois laugh as we play games, visit with Jesus’ mom, Mary, and have night and ends approximately at 8:30 p.m. Mt. View FWB welcomes new pastors what is in the existing fund. Burnett, P. O. Box 305, Atkins, For more information or if The Mountain View Free Will Pastor Larry Hartwick, Sr. and There are some trees that need AR 72823; or Doris Peugh, 1001 a great time during celebration/ you need a ride, please call Feller Baptist Church would like to youth pastor Domonic Adams to be cut and the chain link NE Ave. 4 Place, Atkins, AR music time. Plus, everyone learns Chambers at 264-2579 or Hollie welcome their new pastor, Larry welcome everybody to come and fence needs a lot of repair. Also, 72823. to look for evidence of God all Brown at 641-5250. Hartwick, Sr. and new youth attend the services. patrons would like to design and For more information call around them through something pastor, Domonic Adams. To reach the church, take State install a sign at the entrance of 641-7284, Nina; 641-1200, Scholarship Fund announces Mountain View Free Will Bap- Hwy. 105 north of Atkins to 247, the cemetery. Doris; or 641-2408, Delois. 14th Annual Catfish Fund-raiser tist Church has services every Sunday at 10 a.m. and 5:30 p.m. turn onto 247 and go 2.3 miles to Hartwick Lane. Turn onto Hart- Hector Alumni Banquet Aug. 5 as well as a Tuesday night service wick Lane and go straight up the The Hector Alumni Banquet teachers, former classmates, and The Pope and Yell County scholarship fund, which has at 7 p.m. mountain 1.8 miles to the church. will be Aug. 5, at the Hector School spouses of our deceased class- Single Parent Scholarship Fund given over 550 scholarships is pleased to announce their 14th Annual Shrimp and Catfish Fest. worth over $350,000 to single parents going to college in the Vacation Bible School at Zion Cafeteria in Hector at 6 p.m. The Class of 1961 will host the mates to the alumni banquet. James Helton will serve as the The event will be held on Friday, July 22, at the First 19 years of its existence. This spring the scholarship fund Lutheran Church, July 18-22 banquet in conjunction with our 50th-year anniversary. The class master of ceremony. If you have any questions call Zion Lutheran Church at Trinity Hope that builds schools of 1961 would like to invite former 479-967-3506. United Methodist Church of gave 34 scholarships totaling Russellville at 301 S. Commerce $23,800 of assistance. Augsburg will have its annual and feeds children in Haiti. The from 5-7:30 p.m. Ticket prices are $20 for For tickets to the event or event- sponsorship information, please Vacation Bible School July 18- 22 from 6-8 p.m. for toddlers boys and girls will be compet- ing to see who earns the most Faucett family reunion planned adults and children 13 and up contact fund treasurer Lisa Cochran to sixth-grade children. The for Trinity Hope. The winning The Richard and Bessie Family and friends are and $10 for children 7–12. Chil- at 479-857-7037 or executive direc- theme for this year’s Bible School team will get to throw a pie in Faucett family is planning invited. Call Burman Fau- dren 6 and under get in free with tor Justin Keller at 479-313-3151. is “SonSurf Beach Bash.” their VBS leader’s face. an annual family reunion cett, Story, Ark., 870-867- a paid adult. In addition to the All proceeds of the event will Activities will include Bible The last day of Bible School on Mount Nebo, July 11-14. 3263. great food there will also be a benefit the Pope and Yell County lessons, snacks, games, crafts, will include a children’s pro- silent auction and door prizes. Single Parent Scholarship Fund, skits, and songs. There will be gram and ice cream social. Par- The all-you-can-eat event a River Valley United Way part- water activities outside so we ask ents are invited to come and see Selling property? Why not finance the loan yourself? Escrow Services of Arkansas, Inc. is the main fund-raiser for the ner organization. that each child bring a change of what their children have done clothes with them each evening. during VBS. Economy & Hopewell • Margaret Wright We also ask that the children bring an offering with them Come and join in on the fun at this year’s VBS. For more When you find your buyer, give us a call! every night to VBS. All offer- information or to preregister for 968-1126 • 1-800-64TITLE • 204 West Main • Russellville I’ve been missing some things Another visitor with us was ings will go to a charity called VBS, call 331-3277 or 264-4478. lately, such as our historical asso- Catherine Cains’ son Bill. Willa ciation meeting Friday night. However, I did unexpectedly get to go to church Sunday because Chris Jackson brought her sister Bobbie and Bobbie’s husband, Bill. Also, Gary came with them, visiting granddaughter very near Tulsa. Of course my sister, Carolyn, her son’s Church Directory Free holiness told me, “I hate to knock you out of again. We had other visitors I family and most of her daughter’s Allen ChAPel AMe GolD hill BAPTisT ChurCh rev. leon Bobo, Pastor 1st & 3rd sundays James Boren, Pastor Phone 641-2777 • sunday going to church, so I’ll stay with didn’t get to meet, but we were very family live there. Carolyn’s grand- Pastor, rev. Byron Miller • 2nd & 4th sundays sunday school 10 a.m.• Worship 11 a.m. sunday school 10 a.m. • Worship 11 a.m. school 10 a.m. • Morning Worship 11 a.m. • satur- day evening 6:30 • sunday evening 5:30 p.m. Jeff today.” It was Chris’ turn to go glad to have them all with us. Bro. son, Will, was visiting Carolyn BeThAnY MissionArY BAPTisT ChurCh Pine riDGe FreeWill BAPTisT ChurCh ATkins ChurCh oF AssuMPTion to church and for me to stay home Charlie gave a powerful message, from the Phoenix area when she hank Duvall, Pastor • Phone: 641-7721 Morris Cloud, interim Pastor • sunday school 10 a.m. • Morning Worship 10:45 a.m. • evening rev. ernest hardesty, Pastor • sunday Morning with Jeff, so I really appreciated Joann Baker and I played organ called Saturday. She commented sunday Morning 10 a.m.• sunday night 5:30 Worship 5 p.m. Mass 8:30 a.m. • holy Days Vigil (evening) 6 p.m. • holy Days 8 a.m. • Wednesday (evening) • 5:30 Chris’ offer. and piano, and Charles Baker led that Will was used to the heat, p.m. • Wednesday 7 p.m. ATkins FirsT FreeWill BAPTisT p.m. • Tues., Wed.8 a.m. We had a good group in Sunday the singing. It was a good service. being from Phoenix! I asked if Will hoPeWell BAPTisT ChurCh (sBC) rev. Charlie Bird, Pastor • sunday school 10 a.m. Pastor, Johnny McCoy 890-5328 • sunday school 10 a.m. • Morning Worship 11 a.m. • CTs 6 p.m. ATkins ChurCh oF ChrisT school. Richard Holcomb taught Jeff and I went to the hospital at had missed that big dust cloud that • sunday Worship11 a.m. • Bible study sunday 6 • Wednesday 7 p.m. neal Chism, Minister • Bible Classes 9:45 a.m. • Worship service 10:45 a.m. • evening Worship 5 the men’s class, Dianne Strain Conway Thursday for Jeff to have enveloped Phoenix for some time ATkins ChrisTiAn CenTer p.m. • Wed. night service 7 p.m. • Tues.ladies Bible Class 11 a.m. took the ladies’ class (I couldn’t an MRI of the brain to try to deter- this week. Carolyn said Will had ADorATion ChurCh (east end of Crow Moun- tain) • Charley Casto, Pastor • sunday Morning 10 205 Ave. one ne robert norman, sr., Pastor sunday morning 10 a.m. • Children's Church PoTTsVille ChurCh oF ChrisT contribute much because of lar- mine the cause of his seizures and just left Phoenix before it hit. That a.m. • sunday evining 6 p.m. 10:30 a.m. • sunday evening 6 p.m. Morning Worship 10:30 a.m. • evening Worship yngitis), and Susie Bird taught the to have a bone density test. The was perfect timing. hAPPY VAlleY AsseMBlY oF GoD Bells ChAPel FreeWill BAPTisT 6:30 p.m. • Wednesday night 7:30 p.m. children’s class. neurologist’s office called Friday My friend in Tulsa, Joe Max- rev. henry Bateman, Pastor • sunday Morning Prayer 9:30 a.m. • sunday school 10 a.m. • Wor- elvis Clark, Pastor • sunday school 9:45 a.m. • Morning Worship 11 a.m. • sunday evening heCTor ChurCh oF ChrisT randy Gray, minister • 967-1562 • 366 oak st. • We had a lot of visitors Sunday. with the good news that Jeff’s MRI field, had a birthday Monday, so I ship service 11 a.m. • Monday evening Prayer 7 Worship 4 p.m. Worship sundays 2 and 7:30 p.m.• Bible study p.m. • sun. evening Worship 6 p.m. • Wednesday Some of our visitors were from Sam turned out “fine” with “no tumors called him to say “Happy birthday.” Family night7 p.m. DoVer FreeWill BAPTisT Tues and Thurs. 7:30 p.m. and Inez Young’s family, who had or anything.” As of this writing Joe, his wife, Jeanette, and I all ATkins AsseMBlY oF GoD herbert Tilley, Pastor • sunday school 10 a.m. • Morning Worship 11 a.m. • evening service 6 Bells ChAPel ChurCh oF ChrisT robert hearne, Minister • sunday school 10 a.m. come to celebrate Sam’s and Inez’s Monday morning we haven’t heard went to college together, and they Pastor Brian ryals • sunday school 9:45 a.m. • Morning Worship 10:45 a.m. • evening Worship 6 p.m.• Wednesday service 7 p.m. • Morning Worship 10:45 a.m. • evening Worship birthdays. Six of their grandchil- the results of the Dexa Scan (bone have remained my dear friends all p.m. • Wednesday service 7 p.m. radio services heCTor FreeWill BAPTisT 6 p.m. • Wed. night service 7 p.m. dren sang a special for us, “How density test.) Dr. Schluterman these years. They are the ones I saturday mornings at 11:30 a.m. AM1490 kevin haralson, Pastor 967-4152 • sunday school 10 a.m. • Worship service 1 a.m. • sunday • sT. John's luTherAn—russellVille Darrell kobs, Pastor • sunday school 9 a.m. • Great Thou Art,” which is Sam’s told us that two of Jeff’s long-term went to the music camp in Waco, Bells ChAPel AsseMBlY oF GoD Chad Duvall, Pastor • sunday school 9.45 a.m. • evening 6 p.m. • Wednesday evening 7 p.m. sunday Worship 10:15 a.m. favorite song. This was a surprise anti-seizure prescriptions can Texas, with two summers ago. We Morning Worship 10:45 a.m. • evening service 6 kenWooD FreeWill BAPTisT ATkins uniTeD MeThoDisT p.m.• Wednesday service7 p.m. for Sam. His comment after the cause bone deterioration, so he had a great time and it was benefi- Pastor Carrell hanna, Jr. • sunday school 10 a.m. • Morning Worship 11 a.m. • sunday evening Danyelle Ditmer, Pastor • sunday school 9:45 BlACkWell Full GosPel AsseMBlY a.m. • Morning Worship 10:45 a.m. song was, “Amen!” The congrega- had ordered the Dexa Scan. cial musically, too. sunday school 10 a.m. • Morning Worship 11 a.m. 6 p.m. • Wednesday evening 6 p.m. tion also had sung “Happy Birth- I heard on Little Rock TV Sat- Our good neighbors, James • evening Woship 6 p.m. • Wednesday night 7:30 p.m. MAPle sPrinGs Free Will BAPTisT PoTTsVille uniTeD MeThoDisT Millie Bryant, Pastor • Morning Worship 11 a.m. • day” to Sam and Inez. Another of urday that Tulsa was expecting a and Loretta Tyson, came over Sat- David Downum, Pastor 970-9041 • sunday school 10 a.m. • Morning Worship 11 Church school 9:45 a.m. • Choir Practice 4 p.m. CeDAr GroVe AsseMBlY oF GoD • Bible study 5 p.m. our members, Wilma Holcomb, high of 107° Sunday. If that hap- urday bringing some produce out rev. Bob Judkins 1024 rock hollow rd., hector a.m. • sunday service 6 p.m. had a birthday this week but was pened, it would be a record for of James’ garden. We are really sunday school 9:45 a.m. • Morning Worship 11 a.m. • evening Worship 6 p.m. • Wednesday hArMonY FreeWill BAPTisT ChurCh Bells ChAPel uniTeD MeThoDisT Danyelle Ditmer, Pastor • sunday school 10:30 ill and couldn’t make it to church. them for that date. I have a son, enjoying this wonderful fresh night 6 p.m. sunday school 10 a.m. • Worship 11 a.m. • evening 6 p.m. a.m. • Morning Worship 9:30 a.m. Wilma is very faithful, and we are daughter, grandson and grand- food. Thanks so much, James and MACeDoniA AsseMBlY oF GoD hillCresT PenTeCosTAl Ch. oF GoD praying for her. daughter in Tulsa, with another Loretta! sunday school 10 a.m. • Morning Worship 11 a.m. • Young People 7 p.m. • evening Worship Pine hill CoMMuniTY ChurCh robert heflin, Pastor rev. Bob and Pat Branch, Pastors 284-4540 • sunday school 10 a.m. • sunday Worship 11 a.m. 7:30 p.m. • Wednesday night 7 p.m. sunday school 10 a.m. • sunday Worship 11 • sunday evening 6 p.m. • Monday Prayer Meet- a.m., 6 p.m. • Wednesday 7 p.m. ing 7 p.m. • Wednesday 7 p.m. MorelAnD AsseMBlY oF GoD Mike Chisum, Pastor • sunday school 9:45 MorelAnD uniTeD MeThoDisT ChurCh APPleTon CuMBerlAnD PresBYTeriAn a.m. • Morning Worship 11 a.m. James shinn, Pastor • sunday Worship 9:45 a.m. richard Falbo, Pastor 331-3187 • sunday school evening service 6 p.m. • Wednesday night 7 p.m. 10 a.m. • Morning Worship 11 a.m. • Bible study oAk GroVe FreeWill BAPTisT 5 p.m. • Wednesday Prayer Meeting 6:30 p.m. CornersTone AsseMBlY oF GoD Mark simmons, Pastor • sunday school 10 a.m. • ervin Petty, Pastor 641-2229 • Worship 11 a.m. • Children's Church 11:30 a.m. • sunday school 10 a.m. • Worship 11 a.m. • All sAinTs ePisCoPAl sunday evening 6 p.m. • Wednesday night7 p.m. Fr. Jose Tharakan, rector, 501 s. Phoenix, rus- wm's,men's, ministry, yth 5 p.m. • Worship 6 p.m. • Wednesday worship 7 p.m. sellville, sunday Worship at 8 & 10:30; sunday PoTTsVille Free Will BAPTisT ChurCh school 9:30; Youth at 5:30 PoTTsVille AsseMBlY oF GoD sunday Morning 10 a.m. • sunday evening 5 p.m. rev. sam Austin, Pastor • sunday school 9:30 ATkins MeMoriAl PresBYTeriAn a.m.• Worship service 10:35 a.m. MT. Vernon FreeWill BAPTisT north Church street (Downtown) • Gail Murdoch, sunday night 6 p.m. • Wednesday worship 7 p.m. Bro. Jamie Burris, Pastor • sunday school 10 a.m. Clerk of session • sunday school 10 a.m. • Morn- • Morning Worship 11 a.m. • evening Worship 5 ing Worship 11 a.m. rehoBoTh AsseMBlY oF GoD p.m. • Wedn. Bible & J.Team 6:45 p.m. rev. Phillip C. Collie ii, Pastor • sunday school MArs hill CuMBerlAnD PresBYTeriAn 10 a.m. • Morning Worship 11 a.m • evening sT. Joe FreeWill BAPTisT rev. Bill Moody, Pastor 968-7722 • sunday service 5 p.m. • Wednesday night study 7 p.m. rev. Jim Mcnutt, Pastor • sunday school 10 a.m. school 10 a.m. • Worship service 11 a.m. • Morning Worship 10:45 a.m. • evening service souTh neW hoPe AsseMBlY oF GoD 5:30 p.m. • evening Worship 6 p.m. PoTTsVille PresBYTeriAn norman Chenowith, Pastor • sunday school 9:45 rev. howard Wheeler, Pastor • Church school a.m. • Morning Worship 11 a.m. • evening service FAiTh hArVesT FelloWshiP 9:45 a.m.• Morning Worship 11 a.m. • Youth 6 p.m. • Wednesday service 7 p.m. revs. Brad and Cindy short • sunday service Fellowship 6 p.m. 10:30 a.m. • Children's Church 10:30 a.m. • WelCoMe hill AsseMBlY oF GoD sunday evening 6 p.m. • sunday Youth service 6 PAlMeTTo ChurCh Pastor,steven schlinker • sunday school 9:45 p.m. • Wednesday service 7:30 p.m. Jackie Townsell, Pastor • sunday school 10 a.m. a.m. • Morning Worship 11 a.m. • evening Wor- • Morning Worship 11 a.m. • evening Worship ship 6 p.m. • Wednesday-Young People 7 p.m. sWeeT hoMe FreeWill BAPTisT 5 p.m. rev. Jimmy Chronister, Pastor • sunday Morning ATkins FirsT BAPTisT 10 a.m. • sunday night 6 p.m. • Friday night uniTeD PenTeCosTAl ChurCh oF ATkins scott Tyler, pastor • sunday school 9:45 a.m. singing 7 p.m. Bro. Wayne long, Pastor • 502 n.e. 4th street • • Morning Worship 10:50 a.m. • Training union sunday services • 10:30 a.m. & 6 p.m. • Wednes- 5 p.m. • sunday evening 6 p.m. • Wednesday MounTAin VieW FreeWill BAPTisT day service 7 p.m. evening 7 p.m. larry hartwick, sr., Pastor Phone: 331-1015 • PoTTsVille FirsT BAPTisT sunday Morning 10 a.m. • sunday evening 5:30 PilGriM resT MissionArY BAPT. ChurCh #2 rev. Jim huffman, Pastor 968-6233 • sunday p.m. • Tuesday night 7 p.m. happy Bend Community • rev. Paul erby, Pastor school 10 a.m. • Morning Worship 11 a.m. • Train- • sunday school 9:45 a.m. • Morning Worship 11 ing union 6 p.m. • Worship 7 p.m. • Wed.Prayer union GroVe FreeWill BAPTisT a.m. • Wednesday Prayer Meet. 7 p.m. Meeting 7 p.m. David Bishop, Pastor • sunday school 9:45 a.m. • Morning Worship 11 a.m. • CTs 5:30 eVAnGelisTiC FelloWshiP heCTor FirsT BAPTisT ChurCh p.m. • evening service 6 p.m. • Wednesday night 2188 Griffin Flat rd., Atkins Jeff Weir, Pastor • ira Taylor, Pastor Phone 284-3701 • sunday service 7 p.m. sunday school 10 a.m. • Morning service 11 a.m. You can still school 9:45 a.m. • Morning Worship 10:45 a.m. • Choir Practice 5 p.m. • evening service 6 p.m. WelCoMe hoMe FreeWill BAPTisT • sunday evening 6 p.m. • Wednesday 7 p.m. • Wednesday night 7 p.m. Jonathan Mcentire, Pastor • sunday school 9:45 eVAns MounTAin Full GosPel ChurCh a.m. • Worship service 10:30 a.m. • evening sunday school 10 a.m. • sunday evening 5:30 neWTon sPrinGs Full GosPel ChurCh Worship 6 p.m p.m. • Wednesday evening 7 p.m. 8686 sr 27, P.o. Box 86, hector • rev. Fred Womack, pastor • sunday Morning 10 a.m. • sun- PoinT reMoVe PriMiTiVe BAPTisT heCTor ChurCh oF ChrisT day evening 6 p.m. • Wednesday evening 7 p.m. J. h. stumbaugh, Pastor 968-7155 • 510 north Minister, randy Gray, 366 oak st., services sunday 2 & 7:30 knoxville, russellville • sunday service 10:30 a.m. Effective June 1, 2009, The Medicine Shoppe will be changing its Bible study Tuedays & Thursdays 7:30 p.m. 201 E. Main name to ATKINS FAMILY PHARMACY. Nothing will be changing at the store – same people, same phone number (of course we may answer Support these businesses that support the churches! it wrong until we get used to the new name), same location and same This change will enable us to do some things in the future that we PHARMACY were not able to do while we were part of The Medicine Shoppe DuVall & ForD, PllC system. CRUSHED STONE Pharmacist Rob, Rosanna, Crystal, Genevieve and Lorie would like to take this Joe DuVall, CPA Duffield Gravel Co. opportunity to thank you for your loyalty and the chance that you serve you over the past 24 plus years. have given us toDeborah Griffin Ford, CPA We hope you will continue to give our FAMILY the privilege of serving your FAMILY DUMP TRUCK ROCK CRUSHER Open Monday-Friday 506 N. Church • Atkins for 24 more years. Main Office Gumlog Plant 8:30 a.m. - 6 p.m. 967-5565 967-5566 1401 N. Church St. • Atkins, AR After hours phone Jim Carfagno 24-hour prescription service 970-8837 Atkins Family Pharmacy your needs. Attorney 408 North Church Street • Atkins • (479) 641-7878 What you NEED, when you NEED it! Come by and let 641-7878 24-hour service Personal attention to every case Bryan and his 408 n. Church, Atkins Russellville • www.arvlaw.com Store • 641-1147 Home • 970-8837 staff help you After hours call 501-329-2692 9-52tp with all your Order online: Frances Deanna Bryan Stephanie Connie Dr. Amy J. s. Daiber www.elmohaneyspharmacy.epicrx.com MAJOR CREDIT CARDS ACCEPTED JOHN CATLETT 317 E. Parkway Dr. 204 N. Front St. www.johncatlett.com 641-2987 967-6113 229-1467 THE ATKINS CHRONICLE • WEDNESDAY, JuLY 13, 2011 •5 Folks you know... Please call Nell Warren at 641-7508 if you have news. Clarence and Nina Haymes of Byrnside and husband Jack Little Rock spent Saturday with from Columbus, Georgia and Emma Brock. They took Ann all of their six children: Frank Goodall out to eat and celebrate Byrnside and wife Nina from her birthday. Fredericksburg, Virginia, David Glenda Luter is visiting in and Michael Byrnside, Deborah New Mexico with Wendell Eoff Algarin and husband Carlos and and family. their children, Victor and Alli- The Walter and Mamie Bur- son and Victor’s friend Elizabeth nett family are having their all from Columbus, Georgia, Joe annual family get-together Sat- Byrnside from Ozark, Alabama, urday at the Matthews Center in Rochelle Hoffman and daugh- Safe sitters — Particpants in the Safe Sitter class were, the girl Atkins. In the afternoon some ters Sabrina, Nicole and Danielle holding the banner: Elizebeth Riley. From left to right: Madi- friends will be stopping by. from Mechanicsville, Maryland; son Schalk, Savanna Sims, Hannah Jones, Breanna Cady (hiding Scholarship winners — Anthony Heathcook Graham, left, and towards the back), Anna Bloodworth and Ashton Gilbert. The two Karisa Russell were presented a $1,500 Lottie McCracken schol- Maryann Echols, Pat and Margaret’s brothers, Warren Eddie Parr of Little Rock and Barge and wife Mary Ann and girls at the top by the banner from left to right: Logan Smith and arship each by Donna Horne of the Pope County Retired Teachers Kaley Jones. From left to right: Selby Bailey, David Abston, Emma Association. Both are upperclassmen at Arkansas Tech majoring in Maxine Finley of Russellville their son Aaron and wife Claudia visited Heartsill and Virginia and girls Esmeralda and Elena, Whitlow, Makaylah Hughes and Airial Maddox. The class was spon- education. sored by Saint Mary’s Regional Medical Center and the U of A Coop- Burnett last week on June 30. all from Greenwood, Arkan- Joyce Moore of Conway, sas and Ralph Barge and wife erative Extension Service. Mary Whitington of Mablevale Melba, from Damascus, Ark., and Phyllis Christsen of Mau- their son Jesse from Oklahoma Pope County Police reports melle were luncheon guests of City, Okla. and daughter Amy Several incidents of thefts had left in a black Ford Focus. Heartsill and Virginia Wednes- and her husband Stuart from and vandalism were reported It was a Blackberry Curve 9300 day, July 6. North Little Rock, and Allan’s to the Pope County Sheriff’s cell pone ($250). Deputy Gary Heartsill and Virginia Bur- nephew Eric Motley and wife Office in recent days. Cobb took the report. nett visited her brother, David Jennifer from Atkins. · A resident of Mill Creek · A worker at Valley Health Moore and wife, Bobbie, in David’s friend Jason Jacovelli Road reported a burglary on Services of Hector reported Russellville Thursday evening. and wife Jen and their children June 30 while she was gone that two windows had been Their grandchildren, Lauren Sarah Elizabeth and Samuel, between 9 a.m. and noon. Miss- tampered with between July 1 and Scott France and Madeline their parents and friends and ing items included a Wii game and July 5 but the suspects had Moore, of Plano, Texas, were vis- Doug Virden, all from Little set and 4 controllers ($219), not entered the facility. Deputy iting them. Rock. Local friends attend- several Wii games ($300), and Darin Kirkland took the report. Landrum and Janelle ing were Paul and Pat Duvall, a black Apple I-Pad ($299). · A resident of Southwest Mothers and cousins – Four daughters of Bobbye and Sam Cawthon of De Funiak Springs, Tommy and Sherry Young, Deputy Shawn Harris took the 12th Street, Atkins, reported Austin pose at McDonald’s after completing their annual “Cousins Fla., are visiting in Atkins. They Kenny and Lola Sanders, Lonnie report. that on July 6 someone threw Camp” Friday. Pictured are the mothers (from left, each with their will be here for about two weeks. and Kathleen Napier, and Caro- · A resident of Augsburg a rock through two windows in children in front of them): Tina Austin Sewell of Longview, Texas, Allan and Margaret Motley lyn and Dale Sears, all of Atkins Road reported that on June 30 the front of his house and that with Austin and Abigail; Lori Austin Smith of Morgantown, N.C., hosted a holiday meal and David and Richard and Alise Powell of as he was working at a fireworks his son’s iPhone ($200) had with Breanna, Serena, and Keenan; Marla Austin Melton of Milan, Motley provided a fireworks show Pottsville and Hosea Andrade tent on Weir Road, he noticed been stolen from his truck. He Tenn., with Tori Beth, and Adara; and Jeni Austin Corum of Knox- for the 4th of July weekend at and his wife Evelyn and her that his phone was missing estimated damage to the win- ville, Tenn., with Elisha, Josiah and Zion. their Pottsville home. Attending father from Russellville. A good from his holder. He believes it dows at $200. Deputy Luke Austins hold annual cousins camp were: Margaret’s sister, Elaine time was enjoyed by all. was taken by two females who Sawdy took the report and Lt. Annual Baby Bathing Beauty contest Rowdy Sweet was assigned. Four daughters of Bobbye event is to let the cousins get and Sam Austin conducted acquainted and make memo- Are you looking for your Pool! So register by July 17 and their fourth annual cousins ries. A part of the program is to child to make a comeback this get ready for a cute and exciting camp last week. let them learn about missions. year or do you want to see a new evening. The camp included placing They gather each year at the winner? The contest will take place at treasure hunt items around home of Bobbye and Sam Austin Are you looking to make your the Morrilton City Pool on July town at a bank, post office, in Bell’s Chapel. child a winner and allow him or 21, starting at 6 p.m. RUSSELLVILLE donut shop, the home of uncle A part of this year’s event was her to have fun while competing? Please pick up applications J.L. Austin and at Ada’s Bell’s use of the Amazing Race theme, Then, whatever the case may and rules from the Morrilton Chapel Assembly of God which included a fund-raiser at be, bring out your 2-5 year olds, City Hall or the Morrilton City Church. the Pottsville Assembly of God boy or girl, nieces, grandsons, or Pool. Applications may also be Seeking Relatives The purpose of the annual Church, where Sam is pastor. even your cousins, to the annual e-mailed. For more information, Baby Bathing Beauty Contest! questions, or concerns, please My name is Luanne Mont- Spam Casserole... “Well, one of the specimens This year will be filled with contact Tai’ Canady by e-mail gomery Franks. My father and mother were Lawrence tested positive for Alzheimer’s acts, music, and even a perfor- at [email protected] or The phone rings and the and the other one tested positive mance from the great staff of call the Morrilton City Pool and and Lucy Kelley Montgom- lady of the house answers, for HIV. We can’t tell which is lifeguards at the Morrilton City ask for Tai’ at (501) 354-9797. ery who lived on Petit Jean. “Hello.” which.” I am looking for any rela- “Mrs. Sanders, please.” “That’s dreadful! Can you do the test again?” questioned Mrs. Atkins EH Club holds meeting The Atkins Nursing & Reha- tives of my ancestors. My The Atkins Extension Home- Red Cross Blood Drive, making bilitation Center’s employee of great-grandmother was “Mrs. Sanders, this is Doctor Sanders. makers Club will meet on Tues- items for nursing home patients, the month is Mandy Slaughter, Josaphine “Josie” Tinsey Pat- Jones at Saint Agnes Labora- “Normally we can, but MEDI- tory. When your husband’s CARE will only pay for these day, July 19, at the Pope County providing school supplies, knit- LPN. She has been employed at terson/Wolf/Staggs/Porter. Extension Office conference ting caps and making pillows for the Center for over two years. She had a sister named Mary doctor sent his biopsy to the lab expensive tests once.” last week, a biopsy from another “Well, what am I supposed to room, 105 West “B” St., Russell- cancer patients and the Arkan- Moore; a daughter that lived Mr. Sanders arrived as well... do now?” ville, at 7 p.m. Anyone who is sas Children’s Hospital and Our dessert trays in Tulsa, Mrs. John Hollis; and We are now uncertain which “The MEDICARE help interested is invited to attend. providing birthday parties and two other daughters, Mrs. W. one belongs to your husband. desk recommend that you The program will be “Update of entertainment each month to a make T. Hulsey and Velma Smith. Frankly, either way the results drop your husband off some- the Dietary Guidelines.” nursing home. perfect Josie’s daughter, Mary Etta, are not too good.” where in the middle of town. Atkins Extension Homemak- EH members have the oppor- ers are a group of people who tunity to participate in district parties was my grandmother. “What do you mean?” Mrs. If he finds his way home, don’t I am trying to learn ANY Sanders asks nervously. sleep with him. meet monthly and learn together. and state meetings. Club mem- happen. They have elected officers and bers receive a regular newslet- information about Josie or education chairmen. The club ter than keeps then posted on Mary Etta that I can locate, Happy 85th Birthday, has monthly program leaders who attend leader training in a subject and these leaders teach this lesson at their club meet- upcoming activities and events. Anyone interested in being a part of the Extension Home- maker program is welcome. This including any photos. You can e-mail me at kel- [email protected]. Call me on my cell: 214-762-4754. 311 West B St. • Russellville • 967-4202 ing. Club programs for the past program is open to all eligible year were: The Mediterranean persons regardless of race, color, Diet, Using Coupons to Stretch national origin, religion, gender, Your Dollar, Getting Your Flower Garden Ready, Shape Up and Lose 20 lbs., Organic and Natural age, disability, martial or veteran status, or any other legally pro- tected status. Persons with dis- Best Little Boot Warehouse in the River Valley Foods, and Going Green: Make Your Own Household Cleaners. abilities who require alternative means for communication of pro- WOODY’S BOOT & REPAIR Programs for the upcoming year gram information (large print, 511 East 4th Street • Russellville • 968-8980 + Justin Brands are still are: Keeping Pesky Critters at audiotapes, etc..) should notify Bay, Brain Games, Preparing for the county Extension office (or a Disaster, Tiny Tastes Can Total Big Calories, Over the Holidays other appropriate office) as soon as possible prior to the activity. on sale at Woody’s Through July 16 and more. Please call the U of A Divi- 15% OFF That’s Even t right! Extension Homemaker clubs sion of Agriculture Coopera- are involved in their community tive Extension Service for more All Justin, Tony Lama he ki Erma Ruth (Williams) Smith and county with service projects like the Relay for Life, working information at 968-7098 or visit at 105 West “B” St. Susan Darter, & Nocona Boots & of Glendora, Calif. as tutors and reading to elemen- tary children, providing college scholarships, working with the club organizer, can also be con- tacted for more information at Love from your family www.atkinschronicle.com • Best customer service in the River Valley! • A Dazzling You DO NOT BE FOOLED SALON by big stores’ $4 prescriptions 204 SE 1st Street • Atkins, AR 72823 Atkins Family Pharmacy can provide many 479-641-5200 of the same drugs for $12.99/100 count. Lindsey Wilson Owner/Cosmetologist At the big store you pay $4/30 tablets = WELCOMES 13.33¢/tablet = $13.33 Atkins Family Pharmacy gives you many of the drugs for = $12.99 Happy Hour cuts all day Thursdays and YOU DO THE MATH: Fridays • $8 Waxes: $4 • Pedicures: $25 WE SAVE YOU 34¢! $10 off ALL chemical services • Personal service by people who know and care about you • No long waits Monday: Senior Citizen day • 10% OFF all services Buddy Tanning Packages for 1 month Bring your $4 • $40 for 2 people (or $10) prescription Atkins Family Pharmacy to us and save. WALK INS are always welcome or call and schedule your appointment today!! • 641-5200 • Transfers Welcome. 6• THE ATKINS CHRONICLE • WEDNESDAY, JuLY 13, 2011 T.L. Gilmore caught this 10-pound 26-inch bass on Lake Atkins June 25. Photo courtesy of Lucky Landing. ARVAC to issue AJHS Cheerleaders selling Recently the Hector Wildcats sponsored by Profitt Logging won first place in the AABA Teeny A district tournament. Above from left , third row, are coaches Larry George, Will Day and Jamie Profitt; 2nd row, Luke Brown, Blake George, Cache Linker, Ty Day and Gunner Garrison; front, Jacob Cheney, Joseph ARVAC, Inc. will issue com- modities at Russellville’s Pope The Atkins Junior High Cheer- support of the community and Freeman, Caleb Profitt, Jasin Bryant and Treys Smedley. leaders are selling Devils sun- look forward to a great year. County Fairgrounds, 519 South Knoxville, for one day only on July glasses. The glasses are red and 22 from 8 a.m. until noon for all black and say “Devils” on the eligible households. Applicants side with a devil logo. They are will need to bring total household $5. They are a great way for the income, number in household and students to show off their school Social Security card. All persons spirit. that have a “Blue Card” must bring Money raised by the cheerlead- it in order to receive commodities. ers will help offset the cost of send- Listed below are the income ing them to camp this summer. guildelines, family size and The cheerleaders appreciate the 1 - $1,180; 2 - $1,594; 3 - $2,008; 4 - $2,422; 5 - $2,836; 6 - $3,249; 7 - $3,663; 8 - $4,077. Add $414 for each additional family member. Persons are asked to bring a sack to carry commodities in. You cannot pick up commodi- ties for more than two households. Giving this information is volun- tary. Rules for acceptance and par- ticipation in the program are the same for everyone without regard to race, color, national origin, reli- gion, age, sex or handicap. Pig Trail 5th Three fishermen on Lake Atkins hauled in some bigger-than-9-pound bass on July 1. Photo courtesy of Stuff the Bus coming to River Valley July 22-23 Fun Run Pig Trail Harley-Davidson on the road to success. This is All children deserve to get Stuff the Bus event. The Stuff in Rogers and the Razorback a good start to the 2011-2012 the Bus program provides chil- made possible by donations of school supplies from everyone Chapter of the Muscular Dys- school year. For that reason, dren in need with new school trophy Association would like to River Valley United Way is coor- supplies to assist them with in the community. Pope, John- son, and Yell county residents invite you to participate in the 5th dinating the seventh annual their studies and keep them Annual Harley-Davidson MDA can “Stuff the School Bus” on Friday, July 22, and Saturday, Fun Run on Saturday, July 23rd. Registration will begin at 9 a.m. 20 Acre Ranch Foreclosures July 23, by donating school sup- plies which will be given to local with the ride starting at 10 a.m. schools. In Johnson County, The ride will take you on the well Near Booming El Paso, Texas supplies will be donated to the know “Pig Trail” and lead you back to Pig Trail Harley-Davidson Was $16,900 Junior Auxiliary of Clarksville’s “School Store” program. for a new and improved lunch Now $12,900 School buses will be parked setup this year “Restaurant Row” including food from Rockin’ Pig at the Wal-mart Supercenters $99 per month Saloon, Jack’s Catering, On the in Clarksville, Dardanelle and Russellville from 5 to 8 p.m. Border, Marketplace Grill and Beautiful Views, Owner Financing, FREE Map/Pictures on Friday and 8 to 11 p.m. on Buffalo Wild Wings. There will Saturday for the event. Volun- also be music, bike games and teers will be staffing the buses door prizes! All proceeds will to assist patrons who wish to benefit the Razorback Chapter of donate supplies. the MDA. Just $25 per rider, this Among the items most in will include a t-shirt and lunch. need are backpacks, paper, For more information, please pens, pencils, crayons, 3-ring contact Mellissa Wood at the notebooks, glue sticks, boxes of MDA office at (479)646-0022 tissue, colored pencils, etc. or by e-mail mwood@mdausa. For more information about org or contact Buck Blanchard at “Stuff the Bus” or to volunteer, Pig Trail Harley-Davidson/Buell call the River Valley United Way at (479) 636-9797 or buck@pig- at 479-968-5089, or visit their trailhd.com website at www.rivervalleyunit- “New Fields” MODEL ENGINE DECK FUEL TANK SPEED 5200 Pup 30hp Kohler 52” 14.5 Gallon 10 mph More than 500 farm and ranch leaders will explore “New 6000 Pup 30hp Kohler 60” 14.5 Gallon 10 mph Fields” July 18-19 through speak- ers and workshops at Arkansas Farm Bureau’s 63rd annual Offi- Prices Starting at $6,799 cers and Leaders Conference. The conference will be at the Hot Springs Convention Center. The conference serves as a training and information event for local Farm Bureau leaders. “Keeping our leaders educated RIVER VALLEY EQUIPMENT 479-968-5900 Designed by ABOUT...the River Valley Magazine and abreast of current issues is a key component of the Officers and Leaders Conference,” said Randy Veach, Arkansas Farm Bureau We now 641-7499 New president. “The conference also have Specialty gives our leaders the opportunity to learn from one another.” stuffed Pizzas The conference has several addi- Taco, Barbecue tional activities, including keynote crust! Chicken, Chicken speaker Rulon Gardner, Olympic Try it today! Alfredo & Chicken- gold medalist in Greco-Roman 502 North Church wrestling and Biggest Loser contes- Bacon-Ranch tant. Gardner will share his story about overcoming adversity. Entertainment for the confer- 1 Medium Deal 2 Large Deal 3 Giant Deal ence will be provided by the band 2 - Medium Any Toppings 2 - Large Any Toppings 2 - Giant Any Toppings Several conference workshops 1 - Small Cheesestick 1 - Medium Cheesestick 1 - Large Cheesestick will be available, including: 1 - 2-Liter Drink 1 - 2-Liter Drink 1 - 2-Liter Drink • Food Security / Farm Bill. • Labor / Immigration Bills. *Additional charge $ for extra cheese & 20 00 *Additional charge for extra cheese & for extra cheese & stuffed crust (tax included) stuffed crust stuffed crust • Policy Development. • Telling Agriculture’s Story. • State Water Plan / Mineral Stromboli Special 2 for $20 • D I N E I N O N LY • Bring in this coupon and receive Issues. 1 - Medium Stromboli 2 - Large Pizzas 10% OFF Arkansas Farm Bureau is a Any Toppings Any Toppings your order between nonprofit, private advocacy orga- 1 - Medium Fountain Drink 5 p.m. and 8 p.m. nightly. nization of almost 220,000 fami- $2000 *Additional charge for lies throughout the state working $6 50 + tax extra cheese & stuffed crust • D I N E I N O N LY • to improve farm and rural life. THE ATKINS CHRONICLE • WEDNESDAY, JuLY 13, 2011 •7 PROPOSED BUDGET OF EXPENDITURES WITH TAX LEVY FOR FISCAL YEAR PROPOSED BUDGET OF EXPENDITURES TOGETHER WITH TAX LEVY FOR BEGINNING JULY 1, 2012 TO AND INCLUDING JUNE 30, 2013 FISCAL YEAR BEGINNING JULY 1, 2012 TO AND INCLUDING JUNE 30, 2013 The Board of Directors of Atkins School District No. 18 of Pope County, Arkansas, in The Board of Directors of Hector School District of Pope County, Arkansas in compli- Small Ads • BIG Deals • 641-7161 compliance with the requirements of Amendments No. 40 and No. 74 to the Constitution of ance with the requirements of Ark. Code Ann.§ 6-13-622 and Amendment 74 of the Con- the State of Arkansas and of Ark. Code Ann. § 6-13-622 has prepared, approved and hereby stitution of the State of Arkansas, has prepared, approved, and does hereby make public a makes public the proposed budget of expenditures, together with the tax rate, as follows: proposed budget of expenditures for the district in 2012-13 together with a supporting tax 1. Salary Fund Expenditures $5,306,000 rate as follows: Manufactured Homes Yard Sales 2. Instructional Expense $1,183,000 Maintenance & Operation Expense $1,001,000 1. Salary Fund Expenditures 2. Instructional Expense 6. Non-bonded Debt Payment $ 0 7. Bonded Debt Payment $295,863 4. Dedicated M & O Expense $ -0- 3. Maintenance & Operati. Exp. $685,000 8. Building Fund Expense $0 (AA) 3 bed 2 bath moved to your prop- Yard Sale: Three family, Friday 7 Saturday, 5. Pupil Transportation Expense $ 733,000 erty only 12K! Won’t last. Call today! 4. Pupil Transportation Expense $300,000 9. Dedicated Maint. & Op. Exp. $ 0 7 to ? 760 Alpine Meadows Rd, on Crow 6. Other Operating Expense $ 770,000 5. Other Operating Expense $285,000 501-407-9500 19D-tfc Mt. Misc. household, comforters, lamps, 7. Non-Bonded Debt Payment $ 22,218 curtains, Home Interior, and boys and girls 8. Bonded Debt Payment $ 701,615 44.50 Total Mills School Tax (AA) 2002 3B/2B 16x80 great condi- clothes and toys. 34-1tnc To provide for the foregoing proposed budget of expenditures, the Board of Directors tion! 22K moved to your property. Act proposes a total school tax rate (state and local) of 43.4 mills on the dollar of the assessed This represents no change from the previous year. The total tax levy proposed above now! This home will go fast! 501-407- Estate Sale: Friday & Saturday, 8 a.m. to 6 value of taxable property located in this School District. The proposed tax includes the includes 25.0 mills for the maintenance and operation of schools, 0 dedicated maintenance 9522 19D-tfc p.m. Everything must go. Items from old uniform rate of tax (the “Statewide Uniform Rate”) to be collected on all taxable property in and operation mills dedicated for 0 purposes, and 19.50 mills for debt service previously to new. Furniture, dishes, glass collectibles, the State and remitted to the State Treasurer pursuant to Amendment No. 74 to the Arkan- voted as a continuing debt service tax pledged for the retirement of existing bonded Got land for sale? We can help! We kitchen, holiday and outdoor items. Cloth- sas Constitution to be used solely for maintenance and operation of schools in the State. indebtedness. The district may use surplus revenues produced each year by debt service have lots of buyers. Call us today. 501- ing, all sizes. 1807 SW 10th St. near Lake As provided in Amendment No. 74, the Statewide Uniform Rate replaces a portion of the millage for other purposes. 407-9366 19D-tfc existing rate of tax levied by this School District and available for maintenance and opera- Given this 11 day of July, 2011. HECTOR School District Atkins, follow signs from Hwy. 64. tion of schools in this District. The total proposed school tax levy of 43.4 mills includes 25.0 POPE County, Arkansas 2011 MOBILE HOME STIMULUS 34-1tnc mills specifically voted for general maintenance and operation and 18.4 mills voted for debt TODD FOUNTAIN, President of Board PACKAGE — cash for clunkers. $2500 Trade in. Landowner’s discount. 417- For Sale service previously voted as a continuing levy pledged for the retirement of existing bonded indebtedness. The surplus revenues produced each year by debt service millage may be TERRY EPPERSON, Secretary of Board For Sale: Leather handcrafted billfolds and used by the District for other school purposes. belts, and clutch purses. Also doing saddle The total proposed school tax levy of 43.4 mills represents the same rate presently being For Sale: Single wide trailer, 3 BR 2 BA, and harness repair. 641-2366. 12-tfnc collected. new floors, new deck, must move to your GIVEN this 13th day of June, 2011. Accepting Applications land. $12,500. Please Call 479-747-5704 or For Sale: Hand-tooled leather billfolds, BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF ATKINS SCHOOL DISTRICT NO. 18 OF POPE COUNTY, ARKANSAS 501-652-0038. 33-3tp and clutch purses. Many patterns to Philip Haney, President of Board choose from. Name or initial for no extra Brian Boyer, Secretary of Board FOR SALE BY OWNER – Land/home, charge. Call 479-641-7097. tfnc 34-1tc $250 deposit, quick, easy, move in. ADMINISTRATION/SUPERVISORY 501-513-2237. 34D-tfc For Sale: RADA Knives, Pottsville EH Legal Notice Public Notice Private Christian Facility 3BD/2BA FOR SALE by owner. 501- Club, 968-3301. 3-tfc The following vehicles will be sold at Some buildings on the old Atkins Middle Clinical Team MD, PH.d, RN, LPN, 513-2214. 34D-tfc For Sale: Okra, $2 a pound, bell peppers, Public Auction by and at Estep Wrecker School Campus contain asbestos materials. Employment | P.O. Box 99 | Harriet, AR 72639 Med Tech, Admin & Floor Staff Service, 5880 Hwy. 62 East, Pottsville, Ark. However, the district has a management 1680 SFT HOME: 4 BD/2BA. Appli- sweet corn. 479-857-1387 Green Acres. within 10 days for storage and tow fees. plan to safely control the asbestos. This plan MAINTENANCE/GROUNDS ances incl. CH/A. Front/back decks. 33-4tp can be viewed at the administration office 1999 Chevrolet, Red S-10 Vin. #1GLCS- Handyman/Mowing/Basic Maintenance Must sell!! 501-513-0262. 34D-tfc For Sale: 1994 Ford Explorer, AC, new tires, 19WOYK141509 during normal business hours. For Sale or Rent runs good. For more information call 479- The sale day is July 16, 2011 at 9 a.m. 34-1tc www.ChristmasCreekVillage.com FLOOR ASSISTANTS Women Campus Christian Program For Sale: 4 choice lots at Rest Haven Send legals to FAX: 501-421-8098 No on campus applications accepted; background check required MenÕs Campus Christian Program Cemetery. 968-3301 34-1tnc For Sale: 1991 Oldsmobile Cutless Sierra, [email protected] excellent condition, one owner, low miles, NOTICE OF QUITE TITLE ACTIONS For Rent: 3 BR, 1 1/2 BA, CH/A, $550 month, good gas mileage, elderly owner, no $550 deposit. Call 479-970-5506. 31-tfc IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF POPE COUNTY longer drives. 479-641-7480 or 479-967- NO. CV-2011-285 For Sale: Building by owner, 10,000 s.f., 2491. 33-3tnc All persons who claim any interest in 205 NE 1st Street Atkins. 479-264-6233. the below described lands or a lien thereon For Sale: Grumman fishing boat and or who can set up any right to the land pur- trailer, with 45 horse power Mercury motor, chased in consequence of any informality or FUNERAL AUTO REPAIR For Sale: 12.1 acres with two homes, two $1800. 479-641-2664. 34-3tnc any irregularity connected with the sale are wells, two septics, two barns, $75,000. Call For Sale: Chest freezer, $100, 870-294- hereby called upon to appear in the court and Martin’s Service 479-641-1262 or 479-857-4620. 29-5tp 5363. 34-1tp show cause why the title of the petitioners to the above described properties should not be For Rent: Two bedroom apartment, call 501-303-0831. 30-tfc For Sale: Antique wicker sofa, chair, two confirmed. New & Used Tires of All tables, in Atkins, call Janelle Cawthon. Call TRACT 1: Commonly known as 410 South 1401 N.Church • Atkins For Rent: 3 BR, 1 BA, house in Hector. 850-419-4449 or 850-585-2009. 34-3tnc Jonesboro, Russellville, Arkansas, 72801 Sizes • Tire Repair All electric, central H&A. $500 MO./$500 whose legal description is: Serving Atkins since 1916 641-2589 641-2076 deposit. 479-886-2833. 33- ? Wanted Part of the NW ¼ of the NE ¼ of Section 8, Township 7 North, Range 20 West, more par- INSURANCE APPLIANCES For Rent: Available Aug. 1, Hwy. 64, His- Want to Buy: Antique kitchen gas ticularly described as follows: toric District Atkins, next to International Cafe, 3,060 S.f. Commercial building. Commencing at the NE Corner of said stove, 1950 or older, iron kitchen sink, NW ¼ of the NE ¼; thence S 01°08’25”W, along architectural antiques. Call Mark 479- the East Line thereof, 1169.50 feet; thence S Life • Home • Auto • Farm • Business Seek Shelter Today! EHEMANN Garage $600/$300. Call 479-264-6233. 33-tfc 264-6233, Old Bank of Atkins 10-tfc Don Daily APPLIANCE & Wrecker 89°38’00”W, 12.00 feet to the Point of Begin- For Sale: 4.98 acres, off of Hwy. 247 in Atkins, 479-970-8304. 34-3tp Employment ning; thence S 01°08’25” W 80.00 feet; thence S 89°38’00” W, 108.00 feet; thence N 01°08’25” 641-7868 Whirlpool Appliances Service 425 N. Church, Atkins, AR 106 NE 1st • Atkins 641-7037 E, 80 feet; thence N 89°38’00” E, 108.00 feet Shelter Insurance Home Office 14245 E. Hwy 64 • Atkins Needed: Five housewives, part-time, to to the Point of Beginning. Containing 0.20 Livestock & Pets start earning money right now. No experi- acres, more or less. Subject to any easements Columbia, MO www.shelterins.com • SALES • SERVICE • PARTS • ence necessary. Call 479-968-5796. 33-2tp of record. BANKING For Sale: Horse manure $10 per load, TRACT 2: Commonly known as 406 South Greg Standridge great for garden and yard; Registered Appaloosa mare, rides $600; Leather Services Jonesboro, Russellville, Arkansas, 72801 & Mark Coffman, saddle $200. 641-1071 25-3tnc Housekeeping: Dependable house- whose legal description is: Owners Part of the NW ¼ of the NE ¼ of Section 8, keeping, reasonable rates, excellent ref- Township 7 North, Range 20 West, described 968-5553 A Branch of the Vine Animal Rescue: erences. Call Tina, 479-968-6324 as beginning at a point 68 poles and 7 ½ feet South from the NE Corner of said NW ¼ of the 700 E. Parkway 15125 E. Hwy. 64, Atkins. Rescued pets 28D-13twp need loving homes. Females have NE ¼ running West with the line of the Col- Russellville Babysitting: Will keep little ones in-home. ored Methodist Church lot 120 feet; North 80 been spayed, all have had shots and Hot meals, snacks, age appropriate mate- feet; East 120 Feet; South 80 Feet to the Point been wormed. Beagle puppies. Call 479-886-1845 or 641-5045. 21-tfnc rials, time for hugs. Experienced. 479-747-3 Of Beginning. RICHARD PIERCE LUTCF 705. 34-1tp Subject to all mineral reservations, leases, AGENT AUTO and conveyances filed of record. Also subject For Sale: Young chickens $4 each, also 812 NORTH CHURCH UPHOLSTERY to all easements and restrictions of record. Office • 479-968-1361 pigeons. 479-968-6324 33-3tnc Attorney for Petitioner: Mobile: • 479-970-1333 MINI STORAGE For Sale: Registered Sheltie puppies, Mark J. Mobley 1500 W. Main • Atkins, AR 1805 East Parkway • PO Box 10400• Russellville 641-2987 $100 each, 870-428-5850 34-1tp 510 E. 11th Mobley Law Firm, P. A. Russellville•Call 128 East Main Street Free: Chihuahua/Blue Heeler mix pup- for appointment Russellville, AR 72801 pies. 870-294-5363 34-1tp 479-967-5171 msg. Wages revised:Layout 1 6/30/11 3:08 PM Page 1 TAXES/ACCOUNTING PHARMACIES AUTO SALES Found JOHNSON SEWING MACHINE CENTER DuVall & ForD, PllC STAGGS MOTORS Found: Male puppy, blonde and white, Joe DuVall, CPA Atkins Family Pharmacy & Wrecker Service medium sized, very friendly. 479-641- What you NEED, when you NEED it! Deborah Griffin Ford, CPA 2646. 33-3tnc 641-7878 800 West Main • Atkins 506 N. Church • Atkins 24-hour service LegaL Notices Unpaid Overtime • Unpaid Commissions • Piece Wages 641-2500 408 N. Church, Atkins After hours call 501-329-2692 BE IT ENACTED BY THE QUORUM COURT Unfortunately, it is not uncommon for some employers to take advantage of its workforce by unfairly underpaying for Robert R. Redfern Elmo Haney’s BAKER OF THE COUNTY OF POPE, STATE OF ARKAN- labor. There are many ways that employers attempt to & Company PHARMACY SAS: AN ORDINANCE TO BE ENTITLED: “AN ORDINANCE Certified Public Accountant 24-hour prescription service circumvent fair pay rules, most of which are illegal. APPROPRIATING FUNDS FROM THE POPE COUNTY GENERAL FUND.” 479-641-7207 Store Home 479-857-0506 SECTION 1. THERE IS HEREBY APPROPRI- That’s where we come in - Holleman & Associate 215 NE 1st Street • Atkins Rodney 501-499-1567 ATED FROM THE POPE COUNTY GENERAL 641-1147 970-8837 Baker [email protected] FUND THE SUM OF $11,685.51 TO BE USED can make certain that the employees of Companies, FOR THE PURPOSES AS REFLECTED BY A Corporations, and Government are paid for the work they do. BUDGET SUMMARY WHICH IS ATTACHED No more, and certainly no less. Roberts Roofing HERETO AND INCORPORATED HEREIN BY REFERENCE. If you have a wage dispute question, please call Cheek Plumbing Inc. & Repair DATE: 7/7/2011 •Gail Murdoch IRAs, Roth IRAs Electric, Heating & Cooling APPROVED: JIM ED GIBSON, COUNTY 501 975-5040 Certified Financial PlannerTM Toll Free 877-667-1150 New construction-Remodeling Free Estimates DATE SIGNED: 7/8/2011 Holleman & Associate, P. A. Attorneys at Law Securities and Investment Advisory Services offered Residential-Commercial 479-641-7416 through St. Bernard Financial Services. ATTEST: LAURA McGUIRE, COUNTY 200 West Capitol • Suite 1620 • Little Rock 72201 Member FINRA/SIPC, AR Ins. Lic. #332949 licensed • bonded • insured We specialize in New Roofs/Tear Offs/Repairs/ CLERK 479-641-7992 Flat-Rubber/Metal Roofs/General Home Repairs In accordance with Federal Register, Volume 76, No. 130, the Department of Week of 7-4-11 Custom Bulldozing William Ehemann Agriculture, Rural Housing Service, Rural STATEWIDE CLASSIFIEDS Ponds, Clearing & Roads Construction Development, notice is hereby given that applications for Housing Preservation Call Eva or Linda at 1-800-569-8762 to place your ad here! Larry LOCKSMITH Grants will be accepted until August 22, HELP WANTED 964-2125 •Jamie McDougal, Harris 2011, 5 p.m. local time, for qualified public agencies, private nonprofit organizations LEAD PRESS OPERATOR - The Courier in Russellville is ac- cepting resumes for a lead press A BETTER OPTION ATTEND COLLEGE ONLINE - from home. Medical * Busi- ness * Paralegal * Accounting * Strength & Conditioning Coach 641-2115 and other eligible entities for grants to pro- operator to run a Goss Urbanite Criminal Justice. Job placement vide repairs and rehabilitation assistance to press five days a week. Send assistance. Computer available. owners of single family houses, rental prop- resume to P.O. Box 887, Rus- Dedicated Truck Financial aid if qualified. Call GUNS/AMMUNITION ADVERTISING erties, or cooperative housing projects. sellville, AR 72811, ATTN: Steve Driving Positions 877-596-6796 LARRY BOWDEN The application closing deadline is firm as to date and hour. Rural Development will Predictable Work Schedule www.CenturaOnline.com. 641-2433 We pay Hauling, Backhoe The Atkins Chronicle HELP WANTED - & Dozer Service not consider any application that is received after the closing deadline. Only qualified $ SIGN-ON BONU$ Experienced Truck Drivers Taking orders now! Call and Place Orders! guns, Call 641-7467 The Dover Times public agencies, private nonprofit organiza- tions and other eligible entities may apply. PROFESSIONAL CLASS A DRIVERS Small co. atmosphere/LARGE co. benefits. Corn Ready Now through July 2�th Corn ready about June 17th gold & or call Jerry at affordable combined Interested public and private agencies, nonprofit organizations and other eligible OTR tractor trailer,good pay, Great home time,health ins., 401K, pd vacation pkg/top ESAU’S - DUMAS, AR guitars 747-3785 advertising rates equip.! Call Blake @888-967-5737 schneiderjobs.com/newjobs Call 870-382-5738 entities may request additional informa- www.driveforpamtransport.com eeoc or 870-382-2623 tion and a pre-application package from Inexperienced drivers or refreshers, call Lavonna the Area Director, Steven M. Mosher, 3913 @ 877-440-7890 or 888-283-0038, EOE M/F/D/V or see website - www.pamdrivers.com Brooken Hill Dr., Fort Smith, AR 72908. Tele- TRAINING/EDUCATION Driver - Pay Raise just an- phone number: 479-646-8300 ext. 121, or “You got the drive, We have the AIRLINES ARE HIRING - Train from Area Specialist, Jamie R. Scott, 3913 Brooken Hill Dr.. Fort Smith, AR 72908. Tele- phone: 479-646-8300 ext. 118. Direction” - OTR Drivers APU Equipped Pre-Pass EZ-pass Pets/passenger policy. Newer equipment. 100% NO touch. nounced! Company, Owner Operators, solos & teams. Con- sistent miles, benefits, all new trucks. CDL-A & 15 mos exp. req for high paying Aviation Career. FAA approved program. Finan- cial aid if qualified - Job place- ment assistance. CALL Aviation HUNTERS & FISHERMEN Notice is hereby given lands belonging to the undersigned are posted against HUNTING, FISHING, 34-1tc 1-800-528-7825 Institute of Maintenance (877) 424-4177. TRAPPING, SWIMMING, BATHING AND TRESPASSING of all kinds by man or dog, day or night and Get All You Need to Succeed! - parties found guilty of same will be subject to fines as the law directs. Post your land here for just $23 a Contractors - Great Equip- Publisher’s Notice Van and Flatbed Divisions. Great ment - No Money Down - No ALLIED HEALTH Career Train- year! All owned and controlled land of: Starting Pay! Plus Lots of Extras. ing - Attend college 100% on- All real estate advertising in this $500 Sign-On for Flatbed. CDL- Credit Check, Earn 72% of Rev- line. Job placement assistance. • All land owned by • Robert & Julia Sorrels land (for- • Lillie Matchett land on enue - Guaranteed $1.02/mile, newspaper is subject to the Fair Hous- A, 6mo. OTR. 888-801-5295 Fuel Surcharge & Great Ben- Computer available. Financial Rafter 4B Farms, Charles and merly Wilkins Heights & St. Joe Road ing Act which prohibits preference, efits! 1-800-277-0212 or www. Aid if qualified. SCHEV certified. Joann Bewley Pete Bruck land) • James David Peak and limitation or discrimination based on Drivers - GOOD MILES! Regional Call 800-481-9409 Truck Drivers start at 37 cpm w/1+ www.CenturaOnline.com • All land owned by • Lynn Creekmore property Jim Peak farms race, color, religion, sex, handicap, • Mary Campbell land on Pea familial status, or national origin, or years experience. HOME EVERY $0 DOWN, $1 BUYOUT Dair Valley Farms, C.D. and Doris • The Old Moore Place, 160 acres WEEK. Affordable family ben- Peugh owned by Troy Burris on Isbell Creek Ridge an intention to make any such prefer- efits. Call 888-362-8608, or visit LAND LIQUIDATION - 20 Acres AVERITTcareers.com. EOE. • $.92 cpm • Utilization $0 Down $99/mo. ONLY $12,900 • All land owned by in Oak Grove • John T. & Marjorie ence, limitation or discrimination. • Service Pay Pay Near El Paso, TX Owner Financ- Jeff and Sandy Russell • All lands owned & operated by Ar- Burris land on Pea Ridge Familial status includes children un- Owner Operators & Fleet Own- • No Credit • Walkaway ing, NO CREDIT CHECKS! Mon- • All land owned by kansas River Valley Farms in Conway • Kathleen Bell land on Feist der the age of 18 living with parents ers - TIRED OF HIGH FUEL Check Lease ey Back Guarantee FREE Color or legal custodians, pregnant women, COSTS?! Average Fuel Network Brochure *800-755-8953* Geraldine Baker & & Pope counties Ridge Some Company Positions Available and people securing custody of chidl- securing custody of chil- savings of 43¢/ gallon. Earn over 1-800-509-2021 Harley Darter in the • All land owned by Berneal Reed in • Ronald J. 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No dumping Appleton Fire Station. dwellings advertised in this newspaper 277-0212 or www.primeinc. • Donald Boren • All Mitchell property erty, Danny, Debra & Jamie Bull are available on an equal opportunity • NO WEST COAST • 95% Drop & Hook! ADOPTION • Pete & Reva Housley East of Atkins. property • NO NORTHEAST • 100%No-Touch Freight ADOPTION = LOVE. A secure, basis. To complain of discrimination, Solos earn up to .33 cpm, Teams earn up to .41 MISCELLANEOUS • C.L. Crites, All property owned • Lance Hern, land on • 40 acres owned by Henry cpm, With Safety Bonus, Passenger Program, happy, loving home awaits your call HUD toll-free at 1-800-669-9777. .10 cpm Bonus for Canada Runs, Practical DISH Network delivers more baby. Expenses paid. Susana & by C.L. & Carol Crites. Murdoch Road “Snooks” Embry, Jr. leased by for less! - Packages starting at The toll-free telephone number for the Miles Pd. Wkly. DRIVERS MUST BE 24 YRS OLD & HAVE 3 YEARS OTR EXP. $24.99/mo, Local channels in- • Loretta Hern Rethard • T.N. Teeter land on Crow Johnny Cummings, near Galla hearing impaired is 1-800-927-9275. impaired is 1-800-927-9275. • Bryant, AR. • St. Louis, MO • Charleston, MO cluded! FREE HD for life! Free (Griffin Flat Community) Mountain Creek Wildlife Management area • Laredo, TX • Call our BLOCKBUSTER® movies for 3 USED HOMES WANTED! - $$$ • All properties owned by • E.L. Stanley property in • Tyson property, north and 1-866-378-5071 Top dollar for trades. Call 501- Circle V & Sharon Coffman Burnett Cove south of Murdock Road 8• THE ATKINS CHRONICLE • WEDNESDAY, JuLY 13, 2011 David Craig Frieda Fischer Mildred Johnson Doug Price press room. Doug enjoyed local stock car racing and was also a David L. Craig, 61, of Russell- Frieda Scheible Fischer, 64, brothers and sisters-in-law, Mildred Dean Johnson, 81, of Doug E. Price, 43, of Potts- NASCAR racing fan. ville, went home to be with the of Monticello, died Friday, July James and Janna Scheible, and Conway, formerly of Pottsville, ville, died Friday, July 5, 2011 in He is survived by his parents, Lord on July 9, 2011. 8, 2011, at the Arkansas Heart Robert and Connie Scheible, all went to be with the Lord on Satur- Pottsville. Kenneth and Charlotte Price, David was born Jan. 26, 1950, Hospital in Little Rock. She was of Dover, a sister and brother- day, July 2, 2011, in Conway. The son Russellville; a brother, Alan and in Hector, to Glen and Kathryn born March 10, 1947, at Devine, in-law, Louise S. and Walter T h e of Kenneth wife, Christine Price, of Green- Hallum Craig. He graduated Texas, to Arthur Milton and Godwin of Monticello, and six daughter of and Char- brier and a niece, Grace Price, of from Russellville High School in Vergie May Clark Scheible. She nephews and nieces, Malinda Frank and lotte Mash- Greenbrier. 1968. David served his country was a former case worker and Godwin, David Godwin, Jon Janie Kinder burn Price, Graveside services will be at as a Navy Corpsman with the 3rd counselor for the State Reha- Scheible and his wife, Jennifer, Burris, she he was born 9 a.m., Thursday, July 14, at Rest Marine Division in Vietnam. He bilitation for the blind, first in Paul Scheible, Johannah Briscoe was born June 22, Haven Memorial Park. Rever- married Patricia Rachel in 1975. Forrest City and later in Pine and Laura Scheible. Feb. 26, 1930, 1968, in Rus- end David Downum will offici- Their marriage was blessed with Bluff, worked for the Southeast Funeral services were Tues- in Pottsville. sellville. He ate. Burial will be by Humphrey two sons, Joshua and Aaron. Arkansas Human Development day at the Shinn Chapel, with She was of was a 1986 Funeral Service. David was ordained a Cumber- Center in Warren, and taught burial in St. Paul Cemetery near the Freewill graduate of Visitation will be at from 6 land Presbyterian minister in at the Sesame School in Monti- Dover, by Shinn Funeral Ser- Baptist faith. Russellville to 8 p.m., on Wednesday, at the October 1979. He graduated from cello, the Portland Grade School vice of Russellville. The family Mildred High School. He had worked for funeral home. Bethel University with a Bachelor and retired from the Hamburg will conduct a memorial service enjoyed traveling, playing cards DOW Chemical in Russellville Internet obituary and online of Arts in 1982. David attended School System. She was involved in Monticello at a later date. with her family and watching as a machinery operator and guest book are available at www. both Memphis Theological with the 4-H Club and the Spe- Memorials may be made to Razorback basketball. Her great- with the Couriers news in the humphreyfuneral.com. Seminary and Louisville Semi- cial Olympics, was a member of Gideon’s International, P.O. Box est love was spending time with nary. During David’s service to the Lord, he served churches in West Tennessee, West Kentucky, Arkansas, and East Tennes- the Southeast Arkansas Geneal- ogy Society and was a member and Elder at the Rose Hill Cum- berland Presbyterian Church at 1604, Russellville, AR 72811- 1604, or to the American Heart Association, P.O. Box 1653, Topeka, KS 66601-1653, or to her family, especially her grand- She was preceded in death by her parents; husband Warren Around the Arena Jackpots bring your friends. see. Besides serving on numer- Monticello. the American Diabetes Asso- Johnson; and sister, Nona Duvall. • The NBHA District #5 will The church is located at 19769 ous Presbyterial committees, She was preceded in death ciation, Little Rock Office, 320 Left to cherish her memory have a barrel jackpot on Friday, State Hwy 154, Dardanelle. David was elected the Modera- by her husband, the Rev. Arthur Executive Court, Suite 104, are her daughter, Sharon Rietzke July 15, at the Big Step arena in For more information call 479- tor of both Memphis Presbytery Fischer, and her father, Arthur Little Rock, AR 72205. and husband, Jimmy, of Green- Benton and will have $600 in 264-7433. and East Tennessee Presbytery. Milton Scheible. The online obituary and brier; two grandchildren, Heather added money. Exhibitions will Tip While in East Tennessee, David Survivors include her mother, guestbook are available at www. Fulmer and husband, Todd, of start at 7 p.m. For more informa- • When working on collec- served several years as Chaplain Vergie Scheible of Dover; two shinnfuneral.com. Conway, and Natalie Rietzke of tion call Julia at 501-470-0736 tion, too many people focus on for the Roane County, Tennessee, Greenbrier; four great-grand- or go to www.arkansasnbha. where the horse’s head is, but He was preceded in death by Harriett Davidson children, Evan Fulmer, Landon Fulmer, Kaylan Fulmer and Tyler com. the secret to achieving true Harriett Lou Davidson, 78, a Memorials may be made to • The Coal Hill Arena will collection has nothing to do his parents and his grandpar- resident of Russellville, died Sat- First Christian Church (Dis- Rietzke; sister, Elease Haney of have a barrel jackpot series on with where the horse carries ents, Lytle and Bernice Kinslow urday, July 9, 2011, at her home. ciples of Christ), 103 South Fordyce; brother, Robert Burris Wednesdays, starting June 15, his head. Your only concern Hallum, and Wesley David and The funeral will be held at Boston Avenue, Russellville, of Texas; and numerous loving and are BBR approved. For more should be with how he feels in Lillie Gertrude Caudle Craig. 10 a.m. on Wednesday, July 13, AR 72801; the Arkansas Hos- nieces, nephews and friends. information go to: www.coal- your hands. Collection should David is survived by his 2011, at Shinn Chapel with the pice, 2405 East Parkway, Suite Funeral services were Thurs- hillarena.com. feel light, not heavy. It’s called a wife, Patty, of Russellville; two Rev. Thom Walker. Burial will 3, Russellville, AR 72801; or the day at Humphrey Chapel. Rev- Junior Rodeo soft feel, not a soft look. So even sons, Josh and wife, Cindy, of be in Oakland Cemetery at Rus- American Cancer Society, 126 erend John Greer and Pastor • The Atkins Riding Club if your horse lowers his neck Gallatin, Tenn., and Aaron of sellville under the direction of Lakeview Circle, Russellville, Duncan Cox officiated. Burial was will have a River Valley Junior and tucks his head in but is still Kingston, Tenn.; a granddaugh- Shinn Funeral Service. AR 72802. at Pisgah Cemetery in Pottsville by Rodeo Friday, July 15, at 7 p.m. leaning on the bit, don’t release ter, Gabrielle Katherine Grace The family will receive friends The online obituary and Humphrey Funeral Service. For more information call Jim at the reins. Only give back to him Craig of Knoxville, Tenn.; three on Tuesday evening from 5 to 6 guestbook are available at www. Memorials may be made to 479-970-1041. when he softens, and as soon as half-sisters, Denise Heimbach, p.m. at the funeral home. shinnfuneral.com. Alzheimer’s Association, 320 Cowboy Church he does, instantly reward him. Debbie Trail, and Donna Davis; North Greenwood Ave, Fort Smith, • Branded by Christ Cowboy Remember, horses learn from a halfbrother, Terry Craig all of and friends. Lemley Funeral of Atkins. AR. 72901. Internet obituary and Church meets every Sunday at the release of pressure, not the West Plains, Mo.; an aunt and Funeral services were Tues- Online obituary and con- online guest book are available at 8 a.m. for breakfast and ser- pressure itself. The quicker you uncle, Jacky and Lila Townsell; day at Lemley Chapel. Burial dolences are available at www. www.humphreyfuneral.com. vices at 9 a.m. and Wednesdays release the pressure, the faster and numerous other relatives was in Palmetto Cemetery by lemleyfuneral.com at 7 p.m. Please join us and he’ll learn. Rebecca “Becky” Ander- Pop Tops for ACH •••••••••••• Congratulations to the Leslie Oates Family son George, 46, of Dover, died Pop tops from aluminum cans Sunday, July 10, 2011, at the are being saved for the Ronald 968-3434 for being chosen District Farm Family. home of her brother. starting Friday, July 15 McDonald house in Little Rock. Tues - Sun Matinees She was born Jan. 24, 1965, Anyone wanting to help can 1 & 3:30 p.m. Starting July 1 at Fort Worth, Texas, to Leonard drop off pop tops (from alumi- $5 Bargains Monday We’re behind you all the way to state! Anderson, Jr. and Syble Francis num cans) at The Atkins Chron- Green Lantern, Cars 2, Larry Crowne, Bad Teacher, Horrible Bosses, Zookeeper, Winnie the Pooh Snoddy Anderson. She was a icle. former substitute teacher for the Monte Carlo (PG) Nightly 7:00 • Matinee 1:00 Dover School System. ation Super 8 (PG-13) She was preceded in deathformsite: ore in by For m our Web m CLASSES Nightly 9:35 • Matinee 3:35 to io.co Age 18 months - adult Bad Teacher (R) Survivors include go daugh-d her WJstu Nightly 7:10 & 9:40 • Matinee 1:10 & 3:40 ter and son-in-law,ww.D968-1620 w Mia and Call 968-1620 Zookeeper (PG) Dustin White of Atkins; Mia’s www.DWJstudio.com Nightly 7:05 & 9:30 Matinee 1:05 & 3:30 father, Billy George and his wife, Shauna; her mother, Syble Horrible Bosses (R) Nightly 7:05 & 9:35 • Matinee 1:05 & 3:35 Anderson of Russellville; two North Plaza Cinema Transformers: the Moon (PG-13) brothers and a sister-in-law, Joseph and Daisy Anderson of 1515 N. Business 9, Morrilton Nightly 7:00 & 9:50 • Matinee 1:10 Dover, and Timothy Anderson of Adults $6, children $4 & $4 matinee Disney’s Cars 2 (G) Russellville; a sister, Nina Gail Nightly 7:10 & 9::35 • Matinee 1:10 & 3:35 Anderson of Heber Springs; a Harry Potter&& theHallows y 3D&(PG-13) Fleet Tire & grandson, Gabriel Lewis White; July 15-21 Nightly 7:00 9:40 • Matinee 1:00 3:40 nine nephews and nieces, and summer Matinees, tues. & thurs., & theHallows y (PG-13) Harry Potter9:40 • Matinee 1:00 & 3:40 1:30 p.m. began June 7 three grand-nephews and grand- nieces. Harry Potter (PG-13) Nightly 7:00 & Funeral services will be 2 Winnie the Pooh (G) Zoo Keeper (PG) (479) 880-0146 p.m., Wednesday, July 13, at the Nightly 7:05 • Matinee 1:05 & 3:35 Shinn Chapel. Burial will be Mon-thurs 7; Fri 7 & 9:15; Green Lantern (PG-13) Nightly 9:35 • Matinee NOt sHOWN at Robertsville Cemetery near sun 2:30, 5 & 7 7118 Hwy. 64 E Jerusalem, by Shinn Funeral Transformers (PG-13) Larry Crowne (PG-13) Service of Russellville. Mon--sat 7 p.m.; Nightly 7:00 & 9:30 • Matinee 1:00 & 3:30 I-40 Exit 88 • Pottsville, AR Online obituary/guestbook: sun 2:30 & 7; Transformers: the Moon3D (PG-13) www.shinnfuneral.com. www.northplazacinema.com Nightly 7:00 & 9:50 • Matinee 1:10 2011 Pope County District Farm Family !! The Leslie and Melissa Oates Family Western District Farm Family 2011 Melissa and Leslie We hope you Locally owned for the benefit of those served! A customer Owned 2797 East Parkway VISIT OUR WEB SITE AT www.arfb.com! Russellville • 968-5030 www.MyAgLender.com the way!

The first few scenes of "Cronicas" are a study in measured contrast. First, there is the lush, natural jungle, a verdant paradise. On a hill is a kind of ruins, impossible to tell from when. And in the river, bathing, is a beautiful but weathered mansloe-eyed, unshaven, his mouth tender All of it is captured on film by Manolo Bonilla (John Leguizamo, in a performance of unusual depth) and his TV crew, who anxiously focus their camera on the goings-on. That the reporters do nothing to stop the lynching is not the only thing that's harrowing here. The real kick to the gut is that the madness is shared; the reporters are, in their own way, as bloodthirsty as the mob. But to assume "Cronicas" is about the media would be to miss its point entirely. Certainly there are keen observations here about how journalists behave and affect the news they cover, but director Sebastian Cordero is not critiquing an industry. His lens is focused on a larger ethics, on what makes human beings heroes and monsters. The film revolves around Bonilla's coverage of the serial killer story for a Miami-based tabloid TV magazine. And while Cordero shows us the power of the camerajail doors fly open, politicians come to the rescuehe is also letting another source of tension subtlety play out. This is an all-Latino filma rarity and a pleasurebut what's most curious and refreshing is that Cordero allows the Latinos to naturally embrace their nationalities, accents and cultural peculiarities. There are no generic Hispanics here, and no ghetto either. The very excellent Leonor Watling plays Bonilla's producer, Marisa Iturralde, a Spaniard and the closest the film comes to a conscience. Jose Maria Yazpik plays Bonilla's cameraman, Ivan Suarez, with all the swagger and vernacular typical of a relatively cosmopolitan Mexican man in his 20s. But it's Leguizamo's Bonilla who really strikes a chord, because Bonilla is Latin-American, but not really. Besides his work for a U.S.-based networkregardless of the fact that it's aimed at Hispanicsthere is in Leguizamo's accent just enough of a trace of awkwardness, just enough of a hesitation when he speaks (though he obviously understands everything and is fully functioning in Spanish) that his outsider status is a mark of Cain. Interestingly, Bonillathe Hispanic-Americanis the only one of the three journalists who code-switches, always assuming his colleagues will understand him when he slips into English (usually when he's a little excited, or scared), though they never speak it. And though Cordero never says it, it's painfully clear tooespecially in the way the authorities deferthat the unspoken American-ness in Bonilla is in and of itself as much abracadabra in this miserable Third World hellhole as any camera. The film comes to a head when a swaggering Bonilla, sure that he has everything under control, agrees to a devil's deal with the man who accidentally ran over the boy. He will do a story on him, a Bible salesman named Vinicio Cepeda, to help generate sympathy to get him out of jail, in exchange for information Cepeda may have on the local serial killer. The identity of the killer, by the way, is only in doubt for so long. That isn't the point of the story but rather what Bonilla chooses to do once he figures it out. The last few scenes of "Cronicas" are chilling precisely because of that. Written and directed by Sebastian Cordero; photographed by Enrique Chediak; edited by Luis Carballaro and Ivan Mora Manzano; production designed by Eugenio Caballero; original music by Antonio Pinto; produced by Alfonso Cuaron and Jorge Vergara. A Palm Pictures release; opens Friday at Landmark's Century Centre Cinema. Running time: 1:48. MPAA rating: R (for violence, a scene of sexuality, and language). Manolo Bonilla - John Leguizamo Marisa Iturralde - Leonor Watling Vinicio Cepeda - Damian Alcazar Ivan Suarez - Jose Maria Yazpik

Produced by Vidhu Vinod Chopra, "Ferrari Ki Sawari" featured Sharman Joshi, Boman Irani and child actor Ritvik Sahore. "I am member of a club that is here to make good cinema or striving towards making good cinema. It is a new club and it assures you that figures will come. That (figures) is secondary and that will happen, primary motive is to strive towards making good cinema," Sharman told PTI in an interview. "We have seen a film like '3 Idiots' being the biggest blockbusters of the year. It is one of the best films. There will be no compromise on box office. But the primary agenda is to make good films. You make a good film you get love and affection from audiences and that will convert into numbers. or sure, I will be striving for blockbuster (film). I can give that assurance. But then we are all humans," he added. Released on June 15, 'Ferrari Ki Sawari' had a low opening, but gradually the film picked up and did a business of Rs 25 crore worldwide. Asked why the film did not pick up on day one, the 33-year-old actor said, "That was meant to be. That was expected. It is my first solo film and I do not have a box office standing. That was a ground reality and we are not shying away from that. Vidhu Vinod Chopra is completely aware of this; we were not expecting an opening." (More)

) and its subsidiary CSC Holdings Inc. to 'BB' from 'BB+' and removed the ratings from CreditWatch. The senior unsecured debt rating on CSC Holdings was also lowered to 'BB-' from 'BB+' and removed from CreditWatch. The ratings had been placed on CreditWatch on Aug. 8, 2002, due to liquidity concerns regarding the company's ability to fund operating, capital, and financial requirements in 2003. As of June 30, 2002, Bethpage, N.Y.-based Cablevision had $7.5 billion of consolidated debt outstanding (including $1.2 billion of collateralized debt) and $1.5 billion of preferred stock. The downgrade reflects the higher degree of uncertainty about the company's ability to grow operating cash flows from its cable services, which include analog cable, digital cable, cable modem, and telephony services. Satellite competition has been exacerbated by the company's ongoing dispute with the YES network. Largely as a result of competitive factors, the company has lost 17,000 subscribers since the beginning of 2002, and projects that basic subscriber losses for the full year of 2002 will be roughly between 1.0% and 1.5%. The company has encountered delays in rolling out its digital cable offering in 2002 and only began to market the service aggressively in May with the introduction of a new customer interface. As a result, only 1.4% of subscribers are digital customers. This is well below the level of digital cable penetration of Cablevision's cable peers, and poses a challenge to company's management, given its strategic goal of significantly ramping up the digital subscriber base in the 2002 to 2003 time frame. To counteract such disappointing performance and to preserve capital in tight financial markets, the company has announced a major restructuring effort aimed at reducing overall costs and accelerating advanced service capability throughout its network. These cost-cutting initiatives include significant headcount reductions. Such reductions largely reflect the closing of about 26 The Wiz consumer electronics stores and the sale of its 59 Clearview Cinema movie theatres. The company has also renegotiated its set-top box agreement with Sony to reduce purchasing commitments with this manufacturer, which previously totaled three million units. Even with such initiatives Cablevision is expected to increase its borrowings at least through 2003 primarily from its existing bank facilities at CSC Holdings, Rainbow Media Group, and AMC/Bravo, which collectively provided availability of about $1.3 billion as of July 30, 2002. Resultant debt to operating cash flow for 2002 is expected to be about 6.2 times (x), excluding $1.5 billion of preferred stock and $1.2 billion of collateralized debt, and including off-balance-sheet debt guarantees. This is comparable with the current 6.1x, based on six months' annualized performance through June 30, 2002. The company's collateralized debt is excluded from this calculation because it is viewed by Standard & Poor's as a forward sale of stock, with no downside risk in the event of a decline in stock price. While these initiatives hold the promise of reducing overall cash requirements in the 2002 and 2003 time frame, including lower capital expenditures for customer equipment, the company still faces the challenge of increasing overall cash flows from the cable businesses in light of its aggressive use of debt in the capital structure over the past few years. Moreover, the company has undertaken numerous business ventures during the past few years that appear to be inconsistent with its current focus, including its investment in Northcoast PCS and a DBS project. Although management has indicated that Cablevision will not compromise its balance sheet for such ventures, such activities remain distractions that may impair management's ability to improve overall operating results. In addition, Cablevision faces some near-term contractual overhang issues from its partnership with Fox. Under two separate contractual agreements, Fox can put its interests in several ventures to various entities owned partially by Cablevision, including Rainbow Regional Holdings and Regional Programming Partners Sports venture. These options commence in December, 2002, and are not exercisable again until December, 2005. This obligation could be settled in a number of ways at Cablevision's election, including the issuance of Cablevision equity. Another option that Cablevision has is to settle the obligation with the issuance of a three-year note to Fox. Such an election would place additional pressure on the company's overall financial profile. The senior unsecured debt rating on CSC Holdings has been lowered to one notch below the corporate credit rating based on two factors. First, it is anticipated that Cablevision's drawdowns under the unsecured bank facility will increase through 2003. This facility carries upstream guarantees from certain restricted subsidiaries, including subsidiaries representing a significant portion of the company's consumer cable subscribers, coupled with a pledge of intercompany loans from other cable subsidiaries. Second, while Cablevision's cable subscribers are still viewed as valuable assets, Standard & Poor's has incorporated more conservative valuations of cable subscribers into its analysis, given industry trends. One of the underpinnings of the previous 'BB+' rating was the high asset value ascribed to Cablevision's attractive cable subscriber base, which was viewed as providing a significant financial cushion given the attractive demographics of the cable franchise areas. However, the realizable value for these assets has likely declined because of the depressed market for cable properties, thus diminishing the financial flexibility imputed to Cablevision. Despite the fact that cable asset values seem to be under pressure, Cablevision's cable properties are particularly valuable assets. These properties, coupled with the company's programming assets, continue to contribute value to Cablevision's overall asset base. Cablevision faces the challenge of growing cash flows from new businesses in the 2002 to 2003 time frame, including the addition of Internet telephony in late 2002. If the company is not able to grow cash flows from the cable businesses in 2003, it could require additional funding in the 2003 to 2004 time frame for which no definitive source has been identified. Programming assets provide some source of potential liquidity, including majority ownership in Rainbow Media Holdings Inc., which, in turn, holds major interests in programming networks such as Bravo, American Movie Classics, and WE: Women's Entertainment. However, the company has not articulated any specific plans for the sale of these investments. The ratings could be lowered if the company is not able to maintain debt to annualized operating cash flow and debt to EBITDA in the area of 7x, excluding collateralized debt and preferred stock and including off-balance-sheet debt guarantees. From Standard & Poor's CreditWire

Newest Review: ... of supersoldiers seek him out everywhere. Simple factory worker Douglas Quaid just wants to stop having nightmares, and when a friend of hi... more Total Recall (2012) (DVD) Member Name: Jojoborne Total Recall (2012) (DVD) Advantages: Not many over the original. Disadvantages: Not as good as the original and rather cold and bland. Many of you will, and no pun intended, recall the original version of this movie that starred Arnold Schwarzenegger in the lead role. It was loosely based on science-fiction writer Philip K Dick's 'We Can Remember It For You Wholesale' and the remake, or shall we say reboot, is loosely based on them both. The movie went into production in May 2011 and finished in September that same year. Not a lengthy filming process for a movie of this blockbuster potential but, then again, most of the editing was concerning special effects and all the acting scenes were cut rather quickly. This may be down to the fact that the cast are all experienced actors and judging by their on-screen rapport they did not have many problems while filming; if they did then they apparently sorted them out with relative ease; at least that is the impression given with the short space of time it took to wrap this one up. The movie hit cinema screens in the United States on August 12th 2012 and was distributed by Columbia Pictures World-wide over the next month. Costing one hundred and twenty-five million dollars to make it was a run of the mill earner considering its gross of one hundred and eighty million dollars and was panned by many critics as not delivering what was promised. At the end of the 21st century, the earth has been devastated by a third World war and nuclear and chemical weapons have destroyed most of the civilised population. What remains is two sectors; namely 'The Colony' and 'The United federation of Britain'. The UFB is naturally situated where Britain is on the map and Australia is now known as the Colony. The Colony is not faring too well and many of its people travel to the UFB to work in order to survive. People travel between the two sectors in a tunnel known as 'The Fall' which runs through the earth. It is a huge elevator which travels at immense speed. G-force is negated and gravity is controlled in the elevator and passengers experience weightlessness at the end of each sector. Douglas Quaid is a factory worker and while on a trip in the fall, he tells a friend that he is thinking of visiting 'Rekall', a company that can implant memories into your brain. He is dissatisfied with his life but his friend tells him it is not a good idea as he has heard bad rumours about Rekall. Quaid visits Rekall and they explain to him that he can have any memory he wants; a successful athlete, a romance, a secret agent or anything he can possibly think of. They also explain that he must undergo a test to check his mind for existing memories as they can't implant a memory that is similar to one that already exists in case they conflict and damage Quaids mind. Quaid agrees to a secret agent implant and also agrees to undergo the test. Halfway through the test the lead technician, McClane, pulls the wires from Quaid and tells him that he has lied to him and that Quaid is a spy. All hell breaks loose and McClane and his workers are shot by a UFB Swat team and government synthetic soldiers. Quaid escapes and makes it back home to find his wife, Lori (Kate Beckinsale) watching the events at Rekall unfold on the news. Quaid tells her that he is the one that killed the Swat team and she reveals that she is not his wife. Quaid believes that he has been married to her for seven years but she explains that she is a UFB agent and he has been implanted with false memories while being monitored by her for six weeks. A titanic fight ensues and Quaid goes on the run, pursued by a woman he thought and still feels that he loves. Quaid learns that he has connections to a resistance that works out of UFB to try and improve the Colony. He has always viewed the resistance as terrorists and cannot believe that he would be involved with the group. After learning of his true identity and meeting Melina (Jessica Biel), Quaid is took to meet Mathias (Bill Nighy), the leader of the resistance and he learns of a plot to take over the existing human world by mass producing synthetic robots that is being put into plan by the leader of the UFB, a man named Cohaagen (Bryan Cranston). Cohaagen convinces Mathias and Quaid that Quaid has been secretly working for him against the resistance as a double agent. Quaid has to decide not only who he really is but whose side he is really on in a race against time to do what he feels is the right thing to do to either save mankind or doom them; but will he make not only the right decision, but make it on time? After watching the movie and looking back at it now I must say that I am a little disappointed. For all its excellent effects and beautiful cinematography it lacked the 'wow' factor. It seems that I am stuck in a mini viewing trend of those sorts of movies at the minute. The original may have been over-looked as a serious commodity in moviedom due to the fact that Schwarzenegger played the lead and is well known for his explosive action movies rather than his thespian credentials, but that said, the original had a stronger plot and less political undertones. A lot of people will disagree that the original had a stronger plot but I mean as a whole package. It did not take itself as seriously as the remake does and I think that that worked a lot better overall. The movie in its essence looks great and Paul Cameron did a great job as cinematographer. When Farrel is running through the masses in the area which he resides the place has a rusty feel to it and a golden tint tinges every building, lit up by sun-like, artificial, coruscating rays. It gives the movie a nice feel and the set looks convincing. This is partly due to the filming technique and the use of Red Epic Digital cameras and the use of anamorphic lenses. The whole movie looks tidy as a spectacle even taking into account that most of it is shot in a world gone to wrack and ruin. The special effects are amazing and none of them look out of place. From a writing point of view I would have liked to have seen something a little more technical than a standard umbrella being used when it rained, especially as we are viewing the latter part of the twentieth century. Maybe some things will always stay the same. It was rumoured pre-production that Michael Fassbender was in contention for the role and I for one would have liked to have seen him take it on. However, Colin Farrel had long been the top target to play the lead role and they essentially got their man. Farrel does a good job as Quaid/Hauser but I just wanted to feel like I knew him a little better. I found that I couldn't really empathise with him. That is more likely to be due to the fact that his character didn't know who he was most of the time rather than any inadequacy in Farrel's acting ability. For the most part he fits into the role well and doesn't try to over-play it as a lot of action actors would have. His scenes with Jessica Biel are believable and his fight scenes with Beckinsale must have left the two actors with a few bruises when the clapboard eventually came down on a take. I think he portrayed Douglas Quaid well but was bogged down by an overly political plot. I do like Farrel as an actor overall and can even put aside the cringe-worthy time he asked a female reporter if she 'Got a buzz' of his fresh minty breath in favour of his obvious talent as a thespian. Kate Beckinsale plays Lori well and I was pleased that the obligatory sex scene between her character and Farrel's was left out of the movie. This may be because she wasn't really his wife but a government agent but I for one am glad that we weren't shown a sex scene just to satisfy Farrel or Beckinsale's fans or to indeed purely glam-up the movie. Jessica Biel plays a fellow member of the resistance and Quaids love interest in the movie and I thought she played it well. She has a subtle approach to the role and comes across as a very capable actress. In 2010, a year before the movie went into production, Arnold Schwarzenegger expressed his interest in once again taking up the role of Quaid but Miramax had already got Farrel on top of their list. There are some similarities between the two movies in that the names of Quaid and Melina are the same, yet funnily enough the characters names were different in Philip K Dick's short story. The original movie used Mars as the second sector to the UFB instead of the Colony. The writers Kurt Wimmer and Mark Bomback had toyed with the idea and when James Vanderbilt came on board to help finish the script they all decided that having the two sectors on earth would allow the story to flow more and make it more believable. I personally think this works better as it makes the story more central to earth and cuts out all the problems that come with having to explain space travel and how the fall would've worked between planets. A lot of anoraks tore holes in the original movies plot and by staying on earth the writers of the new movie were also playing safe. Another play-safe element of the movie was the special effects. Although they really are terrific there is just something about CGI that doesn't seem as impressive as the old make-up effects. In the original the make-up artists made exploding heads and you could see the work that had gone into it. And I am in no way dumbing down CGI as it is an incredible skill and extremely arduous work but I am just a fan of old school effects. I will say here that I was more emotionally involved in the original movie and it also had a few humorous moments that helped lighten the load somewhat. The new movie is almost too serious and although I really enjoyed it I was still feeling like I had left something behind after the end credits. The first hour is really well put together and the story is involving but then it all seems to fall apart into a mish-mash of action scenes and a final scene that could be compared to numerous science-fiction movies. I felt that I wanted more out of the experience and the movie failed to give me that feeling. I wanted to feel liberated and actually have a smile on my face at the end but sadly I felt a little depressed by it all and as beautiful as it looked it ended up being a rather drab affair. It is emotionally bereft of feeling and does not contain the shameless fun of the original movie. Fans of this movie will argue that Farrel was better than Arnie and admittedly Farrel's acting is better but then we already knew that. Farrel's acting may have been better but Arnie wins on charisma and likability hands down. Arnie's one-liners were part of what made the original so scrumptiously delightful and the fact that Farrel doesn't utter one remotely funny one-liner speaks volumes of the gulf between the two different performances and their dynamics. I simply wanted Arnie to achieve his goal in the original movie; by the end of the remake I couldn't really be bothered whether Farrel succeeded or not. Summary: A remake of a cult classic.

The Petrified Forest (1936) Heralding the Warner Brothers Film Version of 'The Petrified Forest,' at the Music Hall. The Warners continue to display their skill at transcribing plays into film. With their excellent version of "Ceiling Zero" scarcely out of the first running, they now have brought in an entirely satisfactory screen edition of Robert E. Sherwood's philosophical melodrama, "The Petrified Forest," which was one of the graces of the Broadway theatre last year. The faithful and letter-perfect copy they set down yesterday at the Radio City Music Hall has been so piously contrived that we fear any revival of the play would only evoke cries of "fraud." Attribute it in large part, of course, to the presence of Leslie Howard in the film edition. So well did he fit the rôle in the play, and so well did it fit him, that Alan Squier and Mr. Howard are one and the same, just as Alan Squier and "The Petrified Forest" are, by nature, inseparable. There was nothing the camera could do, granted that it tried, that could add to Mr. Howard's stature in this his favorite rôle; nor was there anything that could detract from it. His performance is as shrewd here, as delicately balanced and as precisely right as it was in the play. In celluloid, fortunately, it can be imprisoned to be studied, perhaps, by the cinema historians when they consult their records for actors' achievement. And there should be a large measure of praise for Bette Davis, who demonstrates that she does not have to be hysterical to be credited with a grand portrayal; and for Humphrey Bogart, another alumnus of the play, who can be a psychopathic gangster more like Dillinger than the outlaw himself; and, not finally, for Charles Grapewin as the garrulous old codger who sits in the Black Mesa Bar B-Q and lingers lovingly over his memories of Billy the Kid and warms his gnarled hands before the deadly flame that is Killer Duke Mantee. There is a splendid character gallery in Warners' "Petrified Forest" and it comes to life under the canny but respectful direction that Archie Mayo has given to Mr. Sherwood's play. Static scenically the picture may be, for that was the way of the play, but it is animate and vital, nevertheless, under the goad of thoughtful writing and the whiplash of melodrama that its author cracked over the back of a conversation piece. Basically there is a single setting, the gas station and lunchroom on the edge of the Arizona desert. The Maples own it—old Gramp, the bloodthirsty tall-story spinner; Jason, whose refuge from mediocrity is in the uniform of the Black Horse Vigilantes (it was the American Legion in the play, but the cinema is more careful about treading on toes), and Gabby, who reads Francois Villon—even though she can't pronounce the name—and hungers for art and beauty, preferably amid French surroundings. Into this charmed circle stumbles Alan Squier, member of the doomed ineffectual intellectuals, an idealist by birth, a defeatist by experience. On his heels come Duke Mantee and his outlaw band, seeking temporary refuge before burning their way to the border with the law at their heels. Under the menace of their guns the Black Mesa Bar B-Q grows autobiographical and lives are adjusted, somehow, to fit a happier pattern of existence. Well done, although it defies every canon of cinema law, is "The Petrified Forest." Perhaps it was more effective on the stage; all we know is that it does well enough on the screen. THE PETRIFIED FOREST, an adaptation of the play by Robert Emmet Sherwood; screen play by Charles Kenyon and Delmer Daves; directed by Archie L. Mayo; a Warner Brothers production. At the Radio City Music Hall. Alan Squier . . . . . Leslie Howard Gabrielle Maple . . . . . Bette Davis Mrs. Chisholm . . . . . Genevieve Tobin Boze Hertzlinger . . . . . Dick Foran Duke Mantee . . . . . Humphrey Bogart Jackie . . . . . Joseph Sawyer Jason Maple . . . . . Porter Hall Gramp Maple . . . . . Charley Grapewin Mr. Chisholm . . . . . Paul Harvey Lineman . . . . . Eddie Acuff Ruby . . . . . Adrian Morris Paula . . . . . Nina Campana Pyles . . . . . Slim Johnson Joseph . . . . . John Alexander

WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCEBETWEEN MAINSTREAM AND INDEPENDENT CINEMA? By Jess, Holly, Steve and Kaine. WHAT IS AN INDEPENDENT FILM?An independent film, is a professional film production resulting in afeature film that is produced mostly or completely out of the major filmstudio system(also known as the „‟mainstream‟‟ professional circuit. As well as been produced by an independent production company,independent films are also produced or distributed by subsidiaries ofmajor film studios. Independent films are sometimes distinguishableby their content and style and the way in which the filmmakerspersonal artistic vision is realized. EXAMPLES OF MAINSTREAM FILMS..- “Pirates of the Caribbean” was directed by Gore Verbinski.- „Lion King 3D‟ produced by Walt Disney.- „Bridesmaids‟ made by Paul Fieg.- „South Park Movie‟ produced by 20 th Century Fox.- “The God Father” was made by Francis Ford Coppola.- “The wizard of Oz” was made by Victor Fleming.- “Jaws” and “ET” was made by Steven Spielberg. WHAT IS A MAINSTREAM FILM?Mainstream films can best be defined as commercial films that have a that have a widerelease and play in first run theatres (a cinema that run primarily mainstream film fair fromthe major film companies and distributers, during their initial release period of each film.) Hollywood movies are usually considered mainstream and blockbusters are also mainstreamfilms.Bestsellers play a significant role in the mainstream movie industry. There is a long -standingHollywood practice of turning fiction bestsellers into feature films . Many if not the majority ormodern movie „classics‟ began as bestsellers. EXAMPLES OF INDEPENDENT FILMS..- “Four lions” was made by Film4.- “The Texas chainsaw massacre” was made by Toby Hooper.- “Black Swan” was made by Darren Aronofsky.- “Star Wars” was made George Lucas.- “Juno” was made by Jason Ritman.- “The bewitched project” was made by Danniel Mirick and Edwardo Sanchez.- “BORAT” was made by Sasha Barren Cohen.

Versatile mounting options. No overscan with SD or HD video sources. - Cons Poor SD video processing. Limited vertical viewing angles. No component video input. This set's unique and diminutive design allows for a variety of mounting options, but poor image quality with standard-definition sources and a limited selection of video ports definitely detracts from its appeal. Not every room or budget can accommodate a mega-sized flat-panel HDTV. For folks with smaller spaces and wallets, there's the Westinghouse PT-16H610S ($349 list). A compact 16-inch widescreen LCD TV, it can easily sit on a table, hang on a wall, or be mounted under a cabinet. Flexible placement options, however, are tempered by a weak video processor, which leaves standard-definition (SD) material rife with jagged-edge and flicker artifacts. A limited selection of video ports also limits this TV's usefulness. This set's dual-hinged base is the key to its versatility. Folded flat, it's ready for wall mounting. Hang it under a cabinet and the hinges let you tilt the display and move it out of the way when not needed, making it ideal for a kitchen. The set also looks pretty spiffy just sitting on a table. Available in faux brushed metal or gloss white trim, the on-display controls are centered along the front edge of its base and feature touch-sensitive activation. They're also sealed, making it impossible for dust or crumbs to sneak inside. The TV measures 11.3 by 15.0 by 7.0 inches (HWD) although its height can increase by a little over an inch depending on how you position the hinge system. At a relatively light 7.7 pounds, the set shouldn't be too hard to transport from room to room, either. The remote control is the same as those included with other Westinghouse HDTVs, such as the Editors' Choicewinning TX-52F480S. It offered snappy performance at wide angles and long distances, but a handful of its buttons are dedicated to nonexistent features like picture-in-picture and some port inputs. All of the set's A/V ports face outward along the rear of the base stand. Provided connections include HDMI, composite video, and a RF input for receiving analog (NTSC) and digital (ATSC) broadcasts, as well as nonscrambled digital cable channels (QAM). I was somewhat surprised at the lack of component video inputs, since this is a fairly common connector found on many DVD players and other set-top boxes. The widescreen LCD measures 15.6 inches diagonally and provides a resolution of 1,366 by 768 pixels. HDMI input is compatible with video formats up to 1080p60 (60 Hz). Formats that are of a higher resolution than the screen itself are scaled down to match the TV's native resolution. The PT-16H610S exhibited no signs of video overscan with SD and HD video sources, ensuring that every bit of the video picture remains visible on-screen for maximum detail. A check of the TV's video levels confirmed that it was capable of displaying a full-range response, from the darkest details to peak white. Configuring the TV is straightforward, since there aren't many picture settings beyond the basics such as brightness, contrast, and color. I did increase the set's bass audio control by 50 percent to compensate for its out-of-box sound quality, which was tinny and harsh. As is the case with most HDTVs, this set's default picture settings are configured to produce as bright an image as possible (at the expense of accuracy). The movie picture setting, though, created images that came closest to matching the color and detail standards used in HD video production. An ability to maintain consistent color quality from dark to bright levels was also pleasingly linear. Using the movie picture preset with the set's backlight setting left at its default level (maximum), I calculated an average contrast ratio of 424:1. Black-level measurement was 0.4 cd/m2a slightly below-average result. Reducing the TV's backlight to eye-friendly levels for viewing in a dark room decreased the black level by half; this slightly improved the contrast ratio to 475:1. Even slight shifts in vertical viewing angle caused the picture to wash out. As with other Westinghouse HDTVs I've seen recently, however, side-to-side viewing angles were generally nice and wide. This is something to keep in mind when you're deciding where to place this TV. Performance with SD video (480i) wasn't great. The HQV Benchmark DVD indicated that the set discarded up to half of the available video information when displaying a static image. Video depicting motion fared only slightly better; it was riddled with jagged-edge and flicker artifacts. The set's film mode detection using video sourced from 24-fps material (most film and digital cinema) was equally bad. Both the HQV benchmark test and my own selection of classic DVD videos revealed the telltale signs of video detail lossmoiré, line flicker, and lots of jagged edges. A lack of adjustable video noise reduction was also obvious. Basically this TV looks its best when fed clean, noise-free digital video sources such as satellite/cable set-top boxes or upconverted DVD video (via HDMI). Switching to HD video solved some but not all of the issues I saw with SD sources. The TV didn't show any signs of banding (posterization) when displaying my test video clips, and motion-related image smearing was minimal. The set effectively minimized the jagged edges in the waving bars of the HD HQV Benchmark's video reconstruction tests. That said, when I looked at the broadcast 1080i presentation of Star Wars: Episode III Revenge of the Sith, jaggies along the curves of Vader's helmet and on the appendages of some of the bots were clearly visible. The monthly operational cost of the PT-16H610S is a minuscule $0.78 (23W average), based on 8 hours of daily operation at $0.13 kWh (a local average). This set even bests the efficiency of some of the latest Blu-ray disc players I've seen, such as the Samsung BD-P1400 (25W average). The Westinghouse PT-16H610S's small size and flexible design make it easy to shoehorn the set into tight spots like offices and kitchens. You should avoid watching standard-definition video on it, however, because the image quality ranks among the worst I've ever seen. The TV's picture quality certainly improves when given higher-quality progressive video sources such as upconverted DVDs or cable and satellite set-top boxes. These devices can provide material in an HD format, and the set's relatively small screen size helps minimize any artifacts that do sneak through. The PT-16H610S is far from being a stellar HDTV, but it's good enough to serve as a secondary set in situations where space and budget are limited. Benchmark Test Results: Factory default display settings HDMI video input @ 1080p60 VESA Uniformity (black): 87.7% (excellent) VESA Uniformity (white): 88.9% (good) ANSI contrast ratio: 424:1 (good)

It's no fun being old and infirm. I had a taste of it at the weekend, in what I am calling a Woody Allen-related incident. I was rushing to the cinema to catch the documentary about the great man, due to start at 6pm, and because I was anxious to be in my seat in time for the trailers and deodorant ads, I put on a sudden spurt to cross a busy road. I can only assume it was the effort that caused me to tear muscles in my calf and crumple to the ground in pain, before an undignified crawl to a nearby shop doorway to recover my equilibrium. I don't think anyone has ever called a policeman to me before – unlike Woody himself – but a concerned passer-by flagged down a patrol car. With the police, and hecklers in the small crowd that had gathered, asking me if I was all right; slowly, precisely, and rather loudly, I began to feel like one of those unfortunate, bewildered old folk who falls down in the street and has to be put in a taxi back to their nearest and dearest. And the next day when I was limping rather painfully to the train station, a young woman offered to carry my bag for me. Oh, the shame of it. It was clearly time for what is popularly known as a long, hard look at myself in the mirror, and an admission that my days of haring round town may be over. It must have been like that for Woody when he had to accept – about 20 years too late – that he was too old to play romantic leads. Joining those of us in long, hard look territory last week – that's me, Jimmy Carr, various bankers, Wayne Rooney – may have been Venus Williams, after making a first-round exit from Wimbledon for the first time since her debut in 1997. In fairness, Venus is recovering from a debilitating auto-immune disease and is therefore way below her best, and, fans will be relieved to hear, remains some way from the level of decrepitude of your columnist, but pundits Tracy Austin and John McEnroe, on the BBC's Today at Wimbledon, still reckoned it might be time for her to contemplate her future in the way all athletes over 30 eventually must. "The frustration of being a great champion not being able to play at the level you're used to must be overwhelming, almost suffocating," the BBC's doyen of tennis chit-chat John Inverdale put to his panel. "Yes, I had that for many years. You just keep trudging along," said McEnroe, in keeping with the tone of the nightly round-up, best described as extra-wry. But both McEnroe and Austin agreed that tennis professionals – just like those of us who merely want to sprint to the flicks – will rage against the dying of the light, and might just be rewarded with a last hurrah, as Pete Sampras was at the US Open in 2002. I love the programme, not just for the fun of seeing Inverdale up on the roof, looking, as keen reader Jake Yapp points out, "like Arnold Schwarzenegger with the air let out of him", but for the quality of the analysis, from McEnroe, Boris Becker, Austin and others, which is in stark contrast to some of the otiose meanderings we have suffered during the Euro 2012 football. Becker was particularly good on the influence of the coach Ivan Lendl on Andy Murray, noting how he had flattened the Scot's forehand for instance, and inculcated in him a steely commitment the coach himself demonstrated in his playing days. Lendl, said Becker, had almost superhuman determination, employing his own physios, dietitians, and practice team, before almost anyone else. The piece was illustrated with some footage of a match from the 1980s with Lendl playing a floppy-fringed Becker. "Look at that hair," said the German, "So eighties." "I thought it was all right," responded Inverdale, possibly because the presenter himself has been sporting just that style ever since he first appeared on our screens. Inverdale's sports casual look is always worthy of note. This year he seemed to be taking his lead from the 1960s TV show The Prisoner, wearing one evening a grey blazer, with piping around it, exactly like the sort of thing Patrick McGoohan was got up in back then. The picture was made more surreal by little transparent umbrellas held by Invers and his guests – and even one over their TV set – to ward off the evening rain. Finally, the coveted Screen break award for the most national stereotypes in one statement goes to Martin Keown, after the semi‑final between Germany and Italy, who excused the Italians' ebullient celebration, saying: "It's in their culture. They're an emotional people. But the German side – the German machine, really – didn't know where to go. But the German arrogance didn't address the Pirlo situation." Wow, there's a man at the absolute peak of his powers.

The very last day of the year. I slept late and when I awoke I watched THE MIRACLE WORKER where young Patty Duke gave a performance that reminded me of Linda's in THE EXORCIST. The movies are taking Paul's place for now. Got a letter from the TREK group detailing the Convention plans. I'm really doubting now that I'll be able to go. Terry claims he's definitely going. If I don't, I hope he doesn't or I'll never hear the end of it. The letter did tell where to send story contributions as well so if I ever finish mine, I'll have that. I saw most of Paul's funeral today live. I didn't much care for it, maybe because I'm not Catholic. It was very confusing. Afterwards, another brief obituary aired. In just over a week, I will be sixteen years old. Big deal. I feel that fifteen has been very good to me overall. Although being sixteen, everyone's seeming "dream age," means nothing special to me, I do hope 1975 will be even better. IT. One thing's for sure. This time, it was absolutely positively the last time this year! There's no year left! Dad picked me up more APES cards. I finally read a lot more of ALICE. Cut out my last PEANUTS strip. Saw Art Carney, Dyan Cannon and Elliott Gould on with MERV. Thought I glimpsed a very young Linda Blair on a detergent commercial but I was probably wrong! I'm writing this at 10 PM. Two hours away from next year. One year ago today, I was just preparing to begin this book. Tonight I'm going to stay up and see a late New Years show and then I'm going to seal this book and seal my 1974 movie lists inside it, also. Well, it's minutes until Midnight now, nearly 365 days to the minute after I started this thing. This is almost where I came in. I've met a lot of people this year whose very existence I was unaware of a year ago. I hope next year will be just as good. Well...like I said, this is where I came in. Time to go. NOTES: Here in 2012, I echo my younger self. I've met a lot of folks through this blog and its 1976 predecessor who went through everything I went through...even though none of us knew it at the time. We were NOT alone! And we survived. It hasn't always been easy and 2013 is looking like quite a struggle from my end. Hopefully it looks better from where you are. In answer to a large amount of requests (and a few demands), I have decided to leave both 1974 and 1976 online, at least for the foreseeable future. If you're just discovering them, I hope you enjoy them. As I've stated before, I did not keep a journal in 1975 so there is no more. These two are all there is. If you like what you've read here--if you somehow relate to geeky teenage me, we hope that you'll consider a small donation via the DONATE button at top left. Thanks to the many who have already done so and helped us survive a tough couple of years. Also, please keep in mind the other BOOKSTEVE BLOGS which will, of course, be continuing on for the pop culture aficionados amongst you. Happy New Year, thanks and good afternoon. Buh-bye. Watched a special 90 minute tribute to Paul Baby this morning hosted by Tom Atkins. It was even sadder than Jack Benny's! That was probably because it was broadcast right from Paul's studio where the show came from all those years. But no more. It was empty now when it should have been full if he was still alive. They showed a lot of film clips. As funny as they were, I really cried. Oh, it was sad. I wish these things didn't happen. Even Nick Clooney before his previously taped show did a short, live eulogy for Paul even though he was on a different station. Bob Braun did one, too. The special was repeated tonight in prime time. Terry and I went to see THE ISLAND AT THE TOP OF THE WORLD and WINNIE & TIGGER uptown. The last movies of a busy movie year! Later at Woolworths I picked up the two DC dollar books. Saw Chris Connelly on a MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE rerun. Dad wouldn't let me stay up to see the Monkees movie. NOTES: ISLAND was a sub-par adventure film of the type Disney had done much better two decades earlier. It starred David Hartman, soon to become the hist of GOOD MORNING AMERICA and give up acting completely. I assume the reference to a Monkees movie being on was a reference to HEAD, a film I wouldn't see until a midnight showing a decade later. As you can tell, Paul Dixon's passing, especially coming almost immediately after Benny's, affected me greatly. The end of the year and the end of people who had always been there in my life, even if I had never met them. I began reading ALICE when I got up today. Later in the morning, I watched Marlo and The Muppets on WONDERAMA. Went over to Fountain to get THE NATIONAL ENQUIRER. Watched DR WHO & THE DALEKS again. Love that movie! At 7:30, I watched an hour long uninterrupted tribute to Jack Benny. It was live and quite marvelous. Later in the evening, I watched JUDGE DEE AND THE MONASTERY MURDERS. IT. Twice. I've decided that next year I'm not going to try to stop cold, but gradually. Maybe I can slow down until I quit. NOTES: Wow. As I type this up, without having read it in advance, I'm watching a DR WHO episode on Netflix. In 1974, as far as I knew, the only Doctor was Peter Cushing who starred in the two Dalek features loosely adapted from William Hartnell episodes. Things almost didn't work out but they finally did. Terry's Mom took us out to Comic Corner where I got $4.75 for the comics I sold him. I turned right around and bought 5 good mid-sixties books. Steve says the Hilton downtown doesn't have any info about a comic convention next month even though there was another mention of it in today's paper. LAND OF THE LOST actually had an ending today! Mom, Terry and I went to see the third showing of FREEBIE & THE BEAN. We missed about a half hour and had to sit through it again. It was real good! Very funny. Afterwards, Mom went on home and Terry and I stopped at McDonalds. When I got home, Aunt Rosie had been there to deliver our presents--another sweater and two pairs of socks. Mom got me ALICE IN WONDERLAND. Not the version I had been wanting but still should be good. Paul Dixon died tonight. Too bad. I've known who he was all my life but had really just begun watching his show regularly this past summer. NOTES: I had never read ALICE but had long enjoyed the Disney version and had expressed an interest in reading it, The version she got me was an edited, illustrated children's version. In an odd twist, she bought it at the Waldenbooks location where I would be working eight years later. If you aren't from this area, the name Paul Dixon will mean nothing to you. Beginning as a reporter, he ended up with a slightly naughty free-form, ad-libbed talk variety show that ran live 5 mornings a week and was syndicated throughout the Midwest at its peak. It was there where a young and impressionable David Letterman saw Paul. Nuff said. And yes, that's a bad wig. Paul Baby (as he was called by everyone) milked it for a million gags, too. Dad was real sick again today. He went to the doctor with Mom. Because of this, I reverted to my original Friday plans. Terry and I went over the river and caught the bus there right away. We passed the Valley Cinema by at least four blocks. It was only the second time I had been to the Cine Carousel but I remembered it well. FREEBIE & THE BEAN was there, too, but we'd gone to see EARTHQUAKE and we did. Sensurround was fun but I'm sure glad all flicks don't have it! Afterwards we walked back to the Valley, my first time there. It seemed a bit like the old Liberty in Covington. Really! We went in in the middle. It was also good. Linda's role was a small one but I loved it. I should. I waited long enough to see her in it! Now I've seen all of her films except SARAH T... We got back downtown about 6. I got a few things at Fountain. That cute girl was working. Had to go straight to work when I got home. Later I saw the very last APES show--a rerun, of course. I only missed one of the whole run. Bought some more APES cards this morning. Bet they'll be hard to come by now. NOTES: Somewhere in here my dad developed juvenile diabetes but I don't believe this was it. Seems like that was a year or two later...although I don;t recall it from my '76 Journal. Hmmm... I usually thought the cute girl at Fountain News was Mexican but sometimes I wondered if she was Indian...as in "from India." Her parents ran the store for many years. I can't believe I actually planned on and saw two big movies in one day less than a week after I had done the same thing with THE TOWERING INFERNO and YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN. I did, though. EARTHQUAKE was the first and the unnamed second one here was AIRPORT 1975. Sensurround was the new process developed by Universal that made the seats shake in the theater, supposedly to enhance one's filmgoing experience. It kind of worked with EARTHQUAKE but was later used with ROLLERCOASTER, MIDWAY and the theatrical release of BATTLESTAR GALACTICA to lesser success, then retired. I don't believe I ever returned to either the Valley or The Carousel. Too far out from downtown. PS--Due to popular demand, I have decided I will leave both 1974 and 1976 online after the year ends. Tell your friends! UPDATE--In the latest of many parallels between 1974 and 2012, this afternoon I unexpectedly received an early birthday gift from a friend that included AIRPORT 1975 on DVD! So here I am, exactly 38 years after I first saw AIRPORT 1975...and I'm watching AIRPORT 1975! Even weirder, my friend of 20+ years now, actor Bob Hastings, is in the film! Dad called in sick again and he was in bed most of the day. Mom wouldn't leave him to go to the show with me and Terry didn't want to see any others. I'll have to play it by ear now. I did get to pick up the new books that were out, though. I decided to skip a lot that I usually get. I forgot but yesterday, Jeff came to me with a wishbone. He said whoever got the bigger piece would be the first to marry. I got it. I have no idea who I could marry at all but I guess it could happen. We'll see. Everybody's favorite miser, Jack Benny, must have suffered a stroke or something and they said on the news he's been given 'til morning to live. NOTES: Wishbones don't work. Jeff beat me in getting married by more than a few years. Jack Benny had been a favorite since childhood and remains so today. In actuality, he was dying of pancreatic cancer, the same disease that would take my mother just a few years later. He wouldn't last 'til morning. He died on the 26th.

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This story was produced by Steve Lickteig. Jarhead was made. Walter Murch at a New York postproduction facility where the final edit of Walter Murch at a New York postproduction facility where the final edit of Jarhead was made. Sean Cullen In the world of filmmaking, actors and directors dominate the spotlight. The people who actually assemble the film frame by frame and beat by beat toil in relative obscurity. Walter Murch is one film editor whose profile is much higher than most. Jarhead, edited by Walter Murch. Jake Gyllenhaal as Anthony Swofford in Miramax Home Entertainment The English Patient. Juliette Binoche in 1996's Copyright © 2000 Zeotrope Corp. Apocalypse Now (1979). The helicopter attack scene, set to Wagner's "Ride of the Valkyries," from Frances Ford Coppola's Murch has won three Oscars. He has been nominated in sound and or editing categories eight times. His films include Apocalypse Now, all three Godfather films, The English Patient, The Unbearable Lightness of Being, Ghost and The Talented Mr. Ripley. His latest film, Jarhead, is based on former Marine Anthony Swofford's best-selling book about the Persian Gulf War. Murch discussed that film, and his job as editor, in a New York postproduction facility where he had finished up work on Jarhead. Murch is a man of many interests. He composes music, translates Italian poetry in his spare time and if you spend enough time with him, you're likely to hear him quote French philosophers or string theorists. But his definition of what he does is simple. "My job as an editor is to gently prod the attention of the audience to look at various parts of the frame," he says. "And I do that by manipulating, by how and where I cut and what succession of images I work with." Sound is equally important to Murch's work. It's "a huge influence on people's attention," he says. To demonstrate, Murch flips on his computer, clicks the mouse a few times and instantly pulls up a scene from Jarhead. Swofford's character, played by Jake Gyllenhaal, is in combat for the first time and there's an artillery barrage. Everyone else ducks for cover, but he stands up. And the camera moves closer to him. Then, in the distance, there's a muffled explosion followed by dead silence. This fleeting silence is a golden moment for an editor — a chance to put the audience right there on the battlefield. Jarhead's director, Sam Mendes, originally wanted that silence to stretch for several seconds. But Murch came up with a better idea. Pieces of dust and sand from the explosion hit the actor's face in slow motion. Then you hear the sound of the particles hitting his face. "My combat action has commenced," the character says. Murch says the tiniest of sounds can help create the sense of silence in a film. "By manipulating what you hear and how you hear it — and what other things you don't hear — you can not only help tell the story, you can help the audience get into the mind of the character," Murch says. Ironically, Murch begins the editing process with the sound turned off. "If I had the sound up, it would tend to take all of my attention..." he says. "It would crowd out the possibilities for other sound. And then only after the scene has found its shape, then I turn the switch on and let the sound come in. And frequently there will be two sounds that come together, two lines of dialogue and I'll think, that's great that that happened by accident." The editing process is tedious work — viewing hours of footage, then assembling a film a half-second at a time. "I like to think this is sort of a cross between a short-order cook and a brain surgeon," Murch says. "Sometimes you're doing incredibly delicate things. Two frames different will mean whether the film is a success or not..." 'The Invisible Editor' In an excerpt from The Conversations: Walter Murch and the Art of Editing Film by Michael Ondaatje, Murch explains why viewers aren't disturbed by sudden transitions and other forms of editing in films. (Ondaatje's books include The English Patient, the film version of which Murch edited.) Murch: There are underlying mathematical influences that determine how a film gets put together, which are amazingly consistent, seemingly independent of the films themselves. Over the years, I've come to rely on these influences — navigation points — as I work on each film. For instance: 2.5 — an audience can process only two and a half thematic elements at any moment; 14 — a sustained action scene averages out to fourteen new camera positions a minute; 30 — an assembly should be no more than thirty percent over the ideal running length of the film. But these are perhaps just islands above a larger submerged continent of theory that we have yet to discover. Actually, when you stop to think about it, it is amazing that film editing works at all. One moment we're at the top of Mauna Kea and — cut! — the next we're at the bottom of the Mariana Trench. The instantaneous transition of the cut is nothing like what we experience as normal life, which seems to be one continuous shot from the moment we wake until we close our eyes at night. It wouldn't have been surprising if film editing had been tried and then abandoned when it was found to induce a kind of seasickness. But it doesn't: we happily endure, in fact even enjoy, these sudden transitions for which nothing in our evolutionary history seems to have prepared us. Ondaatje: What do you think is going on? Murch: Well, many things — not least of which are the visual dislocations that happen all the time when we dream. I believe that one of the secret engines that allows cinema to work, and have the marvelous power over us that it does, is the fact that for thousands of years we have spent eight hours every night in a "cinematic" dream-state, and so are familiar with this version of reality. On the other hand, here's a wonderfully simple experiment which clearly shows that our visual cortex is also routinely editing our perceptions — while we are wide awake — without our ever being aware of it. Stand about eight to ten inches from a mirror and look at your left eye. Now look at your right eye, and then back at your left eye. Do this five or six times in quick succession. You will not notice any movement — your eyes will seem to be completely still. But this is in fact not the case, as an observant friend will immediately tell you: your eyes move quite a lot with each shift of focus. The blurred swish during the movement of the eye is somehow snipped from our conscious awareness, and we are left with just the significant images before and after the movement. Not only do we not see the blurred movement, we are unaware that anything has been removed. And this is happening all the time: with every movement of our eyes, an invisible editor is at work, cutting out the bad bits before we can ever see them.

Three History Dept. professors receive inaugural Regents’ Outstanding Teaching Award History Dept. faculty members G. Howard Miller, Karl Miller and Penne Restad are among 35 professors at The University of Texas at Austin to receive the inaugural Regents' Outstanding Teaching Award. Posted: August 24, 2009 Three History Dept. faculty receive inaugural ROTA award In November 2008, the Board of Regents introduced the Regents’ Outstanding Teachers Awards (ROTA) for the nine academic institutions of The University of Texas System. In the Call for Nominations, the Regents stated that “They wish to encourage teaching excellence by recognizing those faculty who deliver the highest quality of undergraduate instruction, demonstrate their commitment to teaching, and have a history and promising future of sustained excellence with undergraduate teaching.” Nominees at each campus were carefully evaluated by a selection committee that made recommendations to the university president. Nominations from all campuses were considered by the System’s Office of Academic Affairs on behalf of the Board of Regents. The awards were announced at the August Board of Regents’ meeting. More on each History Department faculty member: G. Howard Miller has received most of the university-wide and College of Liberal Arts teaching awards that exist. And now, he is one of twenty tenured faculty at The University of Texas at Austin to receive the new Regents’ Outstanding Teaching Award. Miller joined the department in 1971 to teach the "History of American Religion." He taught his hallmark undergraduate class, “The History of Religion in America since 1800” for over 30 years while also teaching introductory U.S. History classes, upper-division seminars on topics in American religion, and the graduate colloquium on teaching. His classes were popular and varied, and he received his first teaching award in 1976. There were many other awards including his appointment to the university’s Academy of Distinguished Teachers (1999) and his selection for the Friars Centennial Teaching Fellowship (2008). Beginning in 2003, Miller created seven new classes in the History of American Religion—four new undergraduate seminars and three new upper-division lecture courses. These new classes were inspired by research for his next book on the cultural impact of the nineteenth-century bestselling novel, Ben Hur: A Tale of the Christ, and by the subsequent theatrical and cinematic productions of the novel. Beginning with a seminar on the Ben Hur tradition, “Religion and Popular Culture: Ben Hur in American History,” Miller, next, expanded his research and course innovation to teach “Reel Religion: Jesus and American Cinema and Culture.” He guided students through excerpts of eighteen cinematic depictions of Jesus or Christ figures including the 1925 and 1959 Ben Hur, portions of King of Kings (1927), The Robe (1953), Jesus Christ Superstar (1973), and the controversial The Last Temptation of Christ (1988). In “Jesus in American Culture,” an upper-division lecture class, Miller introduced students to the sometimes surprising historical reality that different American Christians at different times had different ideas about the man, the prophet, or the incarnate God called Jesus. Miller’s lectures drew on art, music, film, and hundreds of digitized representations of Jesus. Other new courses included “Faith in the Fifties: American Religion in the 1950s,” “Religion in the United States, from 1945 to the Present,” and “Unbelief, Doubt and Skepticism in America.” Miller’s new and exciting classes exemplify the way that faculty link scholarship to course development. This is what the superb faculty scholars of the University of Texas at Austin Department of History do; Miller does it extremely well. But new classes, even multi-media classes, do not explain his near-four decade record of recognition for teaching excellence. What does Miller do that has consistently gained the admiration of his students and his peers? Miller’s students often tell him that he sounds like a Baptist minister when he lectures. He was raised in an evangelical church; he does convey the passion of the preacher; and he is on a mission of salvation. Miller is not a minister, and his role is not to save souls or to convert students to religion. He hopes to save students from ignorance. He thinks of himself as an evangelist for the liberal arts, and he is keen to proclaim the “good news" that “the life of the mind is exciting and worthwhile.” This is a hard sell to many 18-21 year olds, but Miller is persuasive. He has a well-earned reputation as a dynamic lecturer, though much of his “teaching” occurs during his office hours. Even in classes of one hundred students, he tries to learn the names of all his students and encourages them to visit him during office hours. Most do. Miller conveys his interest in their lives, his respect for their heritage and goals and their minds. When teachers listen to students, students become more interested in listening to their teachers. Miller attributes his effectiveness as a teacher to his musical education—his B.A. is in clarinet and choral conducting from the University of North Texas. While this is not the usual route to teaching awards at a major research university, Miller has an explanation that makes sense. Having spent years playing and singing in ensembles, Miller knew that the key to making music was listening to oneself and to one’s ensemble colleagues. A music ensemble, he explains, “is a definitive community…choristers and conductor must learn to, literally, breathe together.” In the early 1970s, as an assistant professor teaching a class of five hundred, a young Miller began to think of his class as the largest choir he had ever conducted: “I tried to connect with them as I would with a choir, first of all by persuading them that I really knew that they were there, that I was glad that they were there, that I was glad to be there and that I would listen to them. I reached out to them, literally, with my body. I connected with them with my eyes. I compelled them to follow me as I moved about the stage. It was absolutely exhausting. And exhilarating. And I realized, immediately, that this evangelist had finally found his calling,” said Miller. Professor-as-choirmaster with large and small ensembles, Miller considers his decades of teaching at the university to be “the greatest privilege” of his life. He has taught thousands of students, and he meets former students—and their children—all over the world. “To see what they have made of their lives,” Miller says, “has made me very proud and brought me great joy.” Karl Hagstrom Miller has been teaching at the university for less than ten years, but already has gained a reputation as an excellent teacher. Talk on the street in the early years of Miller’s teaching included comments such as “Karl Miller Rocks!” Once semester students circulated a petition extolling their appreciation of Miller and presented it to the chair of the History Department. Since then, his effectiveness as an instructor has been confirmed by his peers, by the university administration, and now, by the UT System Board of Regents. In June, Miller learned that he had received one of nine of the Regents’ Outstanding Teaching Awards for tenure-track faculty at The University of Texas at Austin. But his first teaching award came in spring 2007 when he was named one of two recipients of the Dad’s Association Centennial Teaching Fellowships. The university Provost makes this award, created by the UT Austin Dad’s Association and endowed by that association and the Centennial Teachers and Scholars Program, based upon recommendations from the college deans. A United States cultural historian, Miller uses music to explore history. He teaches undergraduate courses for the Department of History that include “United States Media, Culture and Commerce,” “Black Music and American Identity,” “United States Popular Music in the Twentieth Century,” and “U.S. History: from Reconstruction to the Present.” He teaches a graduate seminar in U.S. cultural history and serves on Ph.D. exam committees for students in history and Ethnomusicology. He also teaches undergraduates in the university’s Butler School of Music: “Music and Technology in the Twentieth Century,” “The Music of African Americans,” and “Politics, Pleasure and Popular Music.” Miller is well-suited to serve the department and the School of Music. He began college as a music major at the prestigious Berklee College of Music in Boston before he transferred to Macalester College in St. Paul, Minnesota where he majored in history. Describing himself as an “evangelist” when it comes to encouraging undergraduates to think critically, Miller is most concerned to help students become “engaged in historical arguments,” to help students learn what it means to “think historically.” And, what does it mean to help students learn to “think historically?” Miller explains that he wants students to be able to “embrace complexity” when thinking about the past. He is concerned that students recognize “multiple and intersecting causality.” In other words, the past is not just a sequence of disembodied facts and dates; Miller talks to his students about real people in complicated situations. A teacher who presents American history to his students in creative and engaging ways, Miller invests time, energy, and intelligence to the enterprise of teaching undergraduates. It is also clear that Miller is “popular” with students, even in the large lecture classes. But why? Undergraduates are a tough audience. When students write their anonymous course and instructor evaluations, students most often comment on his “enthusiasm.” They recognize Miller’s excitement about the subject and his eagerness to communicate something of that excitement to students. It works. Miller’s enthusiasm is infectious, and students find that the lives, thoughts, dilemmas, mistakes, and triumphs of people long-dead are, in fact, extremely interesting. As an “evangelist”, Miller can claim many converts. Miller has also been recognized for his scholarship. His first book Segregating Sound: Inventing Folk and Pop Music in the Age of Jim Crow, forthcoming from Duke University Press in February 2010, reveals his skill in using popular music to interpret specific aspects of American cultural history. The American Council of Learned Societies awarded Miller with the Charles A. Ryskamp Research Fellowship to further his next project titled, “Sound Investments: A History of Music Ownership and Piracy.” This fellowship, funded by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, is given to non-tenured faculty to support current research. He explains that “Sound Investments” will be “an intervention into recent debates about digital file sharing and piracy.” He notes that “the traditional music industry is crumbling as computer users download millions of tracks off the Internet without paying music creators.” Though “file sharing” is a recent development, possible because new digital technologies have made it easy to copy music, the debate is long-argued between advocates of legal and cultural models of musical ownership. Copyrighted material is protected by law, and unauthorized—and unremunerated—use of copyrighted material is theft. In “Sound Investments”, Miller will argue that “the file sharing debates… are fueled by fundamental historical struggles over the role music should play in our economy, our culture and our everyday lives.” Penne Restad, senior lecturer in American history in The University of Texas's History Department, was one of three to receive the inaugural Regents’ Outstanding Teaching Award for non-tenure track faculty. Plus, her teaching proposal was awarded a grant. She is the first non-tenure-track faculty in the department to win such a prestigious teaching award. Although her excellent teaching was recognized in fall 2003 when she was chosen to receive the Dad’s Association Centennial Teaching Fellowship. Restad has been teaching U.S. History courses at the university for over ten years. She began teaching the same year that her book, Christmas in America: A History (Oxford University Press, 1995), was published, and she was soon recognized as a creative and committed instructor. Read the full story on Penne Restad... Dr. Megan Seaholm, Lecturer and Newsletter Editor, History Dept., 512-472-3261, [email protected]

I’m thinking of starting this blog again. I’ll keep the old stuff I’ll already blogged, but continue from there. I might become anonymous so I can write to my heart’s content without family or friends misinterpreting what I write. I would like some anonymity so I can write almost whatever I want to. I actually miss my blogging days, but during those days I was single, didn’t have a son, went to school and probably lived under mom’s roof. Regardless, I’m going to take some time to figure this out and then I’ll see if I return to writing here or tear it all down. Believe it or not, I’ve actively been trying to find a situation in which I can use the word finagle in. Mulder used it in an X-Files episode I saw many years ago. He told Scully that he’d acquired a certain item through “finagling”. What a weird choice of words, but wonderful nonetheless! One day I’ll finagle. There’s nothing as beautifully sad as a tortured artist. I live on the third floor in a building of four. Now and then I catch myself thinking if I’m on the right floor, opening the right door. Is this door somebody else’s? I turn around and look to the adjacent building and get a feel of the height I’m in, and assure myself that this is indeed my flat I’m about to enter. I feel like it’s only a matter of time before I go one floor too high, or one floor too low. I actually feel intrigued by this, and not disturbed or worried. It’s weird how the brain sometimes plays games with us, but, then again, isn’t the brain “us”? The Icesave debacle is an intimidating subject, even for those who are interested in it. Then there are those of us who have no interest in it but have to understand it as it affects us personally. Everybody here in Iceland is tired of it and everybody changes their position towards it just as often as their underwear. The story goes something like this: Landsbankinn opened the online savings brand in the United Kingdom and Holland. They promised accounts with great interests and it attracted a lot of customers. It turned out that the bank didn’t have the funds to finance the interests and borrowed money from other banks, who in return borrowed from yet another since the funds literally didn’t exist. Anyone with half a brain can see that this circle of lending each other money can not sustain itself, and the banks were in huge debts. Landsbankinn collapsed in early October, 2008, followed by two other big banks in Iceland. The bankers responsible can in no way pay those debts, so it has fallen on the Icelandic government, i.e. the citizens of Iceland. The people are not entirely happy with this, that they (we) have to pay Britain $3.75 billion and the Netherlands $1.72 billion. The Icelandic parliament accepted what has become known as the Icesave bill, that is Iceland would pay those debts. Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson, president of Iceland, refused to sign the bill and sent it to referendum. This might be over simplified, and simply wrong in some aspects, but it only goes to show how complicated the whole issue is. Not only for people interested, but for those of us who are not at all interested in it but are forced to follow it on the news if we are at all interested in our future. This has been an incredibly boring post and I promise never to write anything like this ever again. Bizarrely, the closing of McDonald’s here in Iceland became big news around the world last month. Some reported it wrongly, saying that McDonald’s was leaving Iceland while, in fact, Lyst, the firm running the franchise, was forced to close it down due to financial reasons. The McDonald’s company has been forcing their branches worldwide to import the food goods from centralized stations. In our case, Iceland’s, Lyst had to import almost everything from Germany instead of being able to use local quality sources. The price became too much and Lyst decided to pull out. What probably hasn’t been reported is that the company opened a new restaurant under the name Metro at the same places where McDonald’s had been. Although I’ve not been there myself, personally, I hear stories of how similar the food is to McDondald’s. It seems to attract the same people who loved McDonald’s, but the raw material is all Icelandic, though. Personally, I’m glad McDonald’s is no longer here. Not because I hated the food, I thought it was okay (although I really did like McFlurry), but because of how it has been associated with so many negativity the past years. Some don’t consider any given Western society complete unless it has a McDonald’s, while at the same time it helps cause obesity in America’s kids and adults alike. We don’t have McDonald’s and we don’t either have Burger King. I take pride in that. The majority of people around me are either extremely happy that McDonald’s is no longer here, or they’re indifferent. I’m glad it’s gone for the image is associated with it, not necessarily the food itself. When I want a good burger I go somewhere else. There’s a group on Facebook called “við viljum mcdonalds aftur á ísland” (english: We want McDonald’s back to Iceland). Total members: 3 Tonight the Iceland Symphony Orchestra played a selection of John Williams’s works he has made for the cinema. It’s a rare feast on such a remote rock as Iceland is and I was sure not to be missing out on it (with some insider help, to be honest). Without a doubt, there’s no other film composer better known in the world than John Williams. And no wonder. He’s the man behind the Superman theme, the Star Wars theme (and the fantastic Imperial March), the Indiana Jones theme, the Jaws theme to name just a few! Even though the playlist was stellar (see below) I felt there were so many great tracks missing. But that would require at least another hour or two to perform. Still, I wouldn’t mind sitting through it. In no particular order, the highlights have to have been Theme From Schindler’s List, Main Title (Theme from “Jaws”) and The Imperial March from Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back. The theme from Schindler’s List is such a hauntingly beautiful piece, it really stands apart from the others, while The Imperial March is grandiose and epic and powerful – spine tingling stuff. The theme from Jaws is really a minimalistic piece; so simple yet so unsettling and magnificent. I have mentioned it before that I love scores from movies. I think I’ve liked the music for as long as I’ve loved films, which is pretty much from when I can remember myself. Star Wars and the Indiana Jones films were watched a lot while growing up as a young boy, and John Williams was the first composer whom I began to recognize and like. And for a long time he was the only composer I knew of. But music began to be more and more important of the whole experience to me, and many works began to stand out by themselves, without being set to motion pictures. I really know of few others but my brother and I who listen to film compositions as any other music. All in all, the concert was terrific. - Olympic Fanfare and Theme - The Cowboys, Prelude - Jaws, Main Theme - E.T.: The Flying Theme - Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone: Hedwig’s Theme - Schindler’s List, Main Theme - Jurassic Park, Main Theme - Raider’s of the Lost Ark, March - Music from Star Wars - Main Theme - The Parade - Anakin’s Theme - Heroes Fight - Imperial March - Yoda’s Theme - The Throne Room/End Title I don’t know about you, but whenever I see a matador failing his part and getting caught by the bull, I get an overwhelming sense of justice for the bull. Many years ago I remember seeing an interview with a Spanish matador. He claimed that the death of a bull in a bullfight was much more dignifying than being slaughtered. I fail to see that. The bull enters the ring with no chance of surviving, and it’s pain is extended by poisonous/sedating spears, aggrivation and exhaustion, until a sword is finally thrust into the animal’s back of the neck, executing it. Is this dignifying or humiliating? When a bull is slaughtered it is shot with a needle into the skull, killing it in a split second. How is that compared to an entire bullfight? A bull doesn’t have the intelligence of being able to distinguish dignity from humiliation, therefore the justification of the matador’s is entirely his own, for allowing himself to glorify himself in a self-serving ritual. Damn right I’m against bullfights. I respect that this is a ritual and a spectacle since the early 19th century (in Spain), but we do live in the 21st century now. Two years ago the NFL quarterback Michael Vick served 18 months in prison for organizing dog fights (as well as molestation of dogs, brutally killing them and more). I’m sure dog fights were at some point not considered illegal, but times change, and I think the days of bull fighting should be long since over. For the first time in my life I’m getting up from bed on the left side. No kidding. I’ve never, ever lived where I leave the bed on the left side. I’ve lived here for about 5 months now and I still haven’t got used to it. Sometimes I wake up without opening my eyes, and I find myself on the far left side of the bed, sometimes with my left leg hanging out from the edge, and for just a few seconds I don’t know where I am. The background noise is unfamiliar to me. How can I be slipping out from bed where the wall is? Ahh – I exit on the left now. One would expect getting used to this, but after 30 years of the other way around, it can be quite difficult. It also makes me wonder why my bed has never been arranged like this before. Why has it always been like that until now? I mean, 30 years! Of course, this is not the end of the world, or am I going to rearrange things. This is actually quite interesting. After about a month living here I moved the forks and knives etc. up one drawer. So now it’s in the top-most drawer. Still, four months later, I sometimes open the second drawer for a knife. How come? I didn’t get that used to it. It’s strange how memory can play tricks on you. I remember a conversation about memory from Waltz With Bashir, which I watched for the first time a few days ago [Excellent, excellent film! Perhaps more on that later]. One of the two characters in the conversations was a psychologist, and disgussed how memory often fabricates events, gaps that you’ve forgot. Instead of just remaining blank, a gap in the memory, the mind (the memory) creates something to suit the context of the entire memory. Sometimes it can be something you read long ago, saw on TV, or just created from nothing. Imagination. Memory, sleep and dreams have fascinated me for a long time. And it all seems somehow intertwined. I have a feeling that surrealists would call the waking state an unnecessary realm while absent from sleep. It just so happens that I’m studying a bit on surrealism (again), reading these days the autobiography of Luis Buñuel titled My Last Sigh, and Luis Buñuel: New Readings. In his autobiography he states that you are in fact your memory. It’s hard to deny that. If you forget who your parents/children are, and then ultimately, yourself. Then what are you? Everything changes, for better or for worse. Some changes we accept with open arms, while we wish others wouldn’t have to occur. Some memories are just too painfully sweet to be buried deep down underneath fleeting thoughts and worries of tomorrow. Those memories belong to the changes you wish that hadn’t occurred. The ones you refer back to time and again, just as a reminder of who and what shaped you into the person you consist of today. The scabs of the past you keep peeling off, partly because you don’t want the wound to heal completely. So what if you visit the past regularly? Some people think of regret as a sign of weakness. Regret is a part of the past, and the past is a part of you. You can keep denying the past but it will catch on to you, eventually. Why not embrace it and invite it in every once in a while? Well, you do what you like. I know how I deal with it, successfully or not. At least I learn how to cope with it.

- Posted August 24, 2013 by Cluj Napoca, Romania This iReport is part of an assignment: Photo essays: Your stories in pictures This abandoned place was once a filmstrip stock, where all the copies projected in Cluj Napoca were stored. At spring 2013 gypsy kids found out that the area was unguarded, so they stole all the metal boxes, leaving the strips torned out. Some weeks later, a journalist found out the story, so it appeared in the Romanian media. Cinema fans and filmschool students went there, searching for their favourite movie remains. I decided to make a short movie (video poem) at the store with my friends, of a Hungarian poem, written by Kapecz Zsuzsa. About the poem (there isn't an English translation, so this is only my adaptation) : She is looking for her veil, and her beautiful feathered hat. A few more roses, the music she hears, accompanies her in stuffy rooms. "Gentlemen, I'm coming. " - she sais. They're waiting in the garden, as she musingly walks, her hair swims after her, and on the winding road shadows are more and more darker. As inside her eyes. In front of the gate, the roses fall. The dagger flashes, the mantle will spread at the garden path. And a barrette is left behind in the grass.

In the latest N+1, Marco Roth takes a critical look at the rise of the “neuronovel”: The last dozen years or so have seen the emergence of a new strain within the Anglo-American novel. What has been variously referred to as the novel of consciousness or the psychological or confessional novel–the novel, at any rate, about the workings of a mind–has transformed itself into the neurological novel, wherein the mind becomes the brain. ince 1997, readers have encountered, in rough chronological order, Ian McEwan’s Enduring Love (de Clérambault’s syndrome, complete with an appended case history by a fictional “presiding psychiatrist” and a useful bibliography), Jonathan Lethem’s Motherless Brooklyn (Tourette’s syndrome), Mark Haddon’s Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time (autism), Richard Powers’s The Echomaker (facial agnosia, Capgras syndrome), McEwan again with Saturday (Huntington’s disease, as diagnosed by the neurosurgeon protagonist), Atmospheric Disturbances (Capgras syndrome again) by a medical school graduate, Rivka Galchen, and John Wray’s Lowboy (paranoid schizophrenia). And these are just a selection of recently published titles in “literary fiction.” There are also many recent genre novels, mostly thrillers, of amnesia, bipolar disorder, and multiple personality disorder. As young writers in Balzac walk around Paris pitching historical novels with titles like The Archer of Charles IX, in imitation of Walter Scott, today an aspiring novelist might seek his subject matter in a neglected corner or along some new frontier of neurology. The essay is largely a lament for the decline of pre-neuroscientific novels, which weren’t so infatuated with this “new reductionism of mind to brain, eagerly taken up by the press–especially the New York Times in its science pages.” Here is Roth: By comparison with most 19th-century novels, and even with most 20th-century modernist novels of the “stream of consciousness” school, the neuronovels have in them very little of society, of different classes, of individuals interacting, of development either alongside or against historical forces and expectations. Instead, Roth argues that the new neuronovel subscribes to a cheap oversimplification of reality, in which “the proximate causes of mental function [are explained] in terms of neurochemistry, and ultimate causes in terms of evolution and heredity.” The end result, Roth suggests, is “that the new genre of the neuronovel, which looks on the face of it to expand the writ of literature, appears as another sign of the novel’s diminishing purview.” It’s a perceptive and provocative essay, but I don’t buy it. For one thing, Roth fails to place the new “neuronovel” in its proper historical context. There is nothing new or trendy about novelists borrowing the language and theories of contemporary science, or even indulging in reductionism and determinism when it suits their aesthetic principles. Consider Emile Zola, the proud founder of naturalism who aspired to write “the scientific novel.” The novelist, Zola declared, must literally become a scientist, “employing the experimental method in their study of man.” Unfortunately, this led Zola to proclaim his blind faith in heredity and biological determinism. As he wrote in his preface to Therese Raquin, “I have chosen people completely dominated by their nerves and blood, without free will, drawn to each action by the inexorable laws of their physical nature.” Of course, Zola’s theories are now woefully obsolete. As Oscar Wilde declared, “Zola sits down to give us a picture of the Second Empire. Who cares for the Second Empire now? It is out of date. Life goes faster than Realism.” The point is that the “reductionism” and “chemical determinism” that have supposedly been embraced by 21st century neuronovelists is both 1) not new and 2) far more subtle and nuanced than the reductionism and determinism celebrated by many 19th century realists. There’s a long and rich history of fiction interacting with the latest scientific facts, and I think it’s important to understand the neuronovel in this context. George Eliot famously described her novels as a “a set of experiments in life.” (She was particularly interested in contesting the ideas of “social physics,” the determinism of her day.) Virginia Woolf, before she wrote Mrs. Dalloway, said that in her new novel the “psychology should be done very realistically.” Gertrude Stein did research on automatic writing with William James, before doing research in a neuroanatomy lab at Johns Hopkins. Whitman worked in Civil War hospitals and corresponded for years with the neurologist who discovered phantom limb syndrome. (He also kept up with phrenology, the brain science of his day.) Or look at Coleridge. When the poet was asked why he attended so many lectures on chemistry, he gave a great answer: “To improve my stock of metaphors”. In other words, this dialogue between contemporary art and contemporary science isn’t some newfangled idea, or some 21st century publishing trend designed to sell books. Rather, it’s part of a distinguished attempt to grapple with the implications of scientific theory, to understand how our new facts fit with our experience. The second problem I have with Roth’s essay is his misreading of many of the neuronovels he cites. Let’s begin with Saturday, Ian McEwan’s 2005 retelling of Mrs. Dalloway. The protoganist of the novel is a neurosurgeon, Henry Perowne. Roth reads Saturday as a brief in favor of “stark biological determinism”: We’re always in Perowne’s scientific mind, a mind capable of reflecting on itself in up-to-date terms of neuroscience, though we also catch glimpses of his creator guiding us, as in the surgeon’s reflections on the superiority of neuroscience to ordinary language. When Perowne drives by an antiwar demonstration, a host of half thoughts arise, on war, death, terrorism, the justness of the cause. A voice tells us that all this occurs in “the pre-verbal language that linguists call mentalese. Hardly a language, more a matrix of shifting patterns, consolidating and compressing meaning in fractions of a second. . . . Even with a poet’s gift of compression, it could take hundreds of words and many minutes to describe.” Of course McEwan has almost done just that, even down to the color of Perowne’s thoughts–”a sickly yellow”–but only while conceding the insufficiency of his chosen medium, like a painter ruing the fact that he is not a photographer. I’d argue that Saturday is stuffed full of ambiguity. Instead of simply embracing the one-dimensional world view of the neurosurgeon, McEwan strives to constantly complicate it. As I wrote in Proust Was A Neuroscientist: McEwan simultaneously contests the materialist world his character inhabits. Though Henry disdains philosophy and is bored by fiction, he is constantly lost in metaphysical reveries. As he picks up fish for dinner, Henry wonders “what the chances are, of this particular fish, from that shoal, ending up in the pages, no, on this page of this copy of the Daily Mirror? Something just short of infinity to one. Similarly, the grains of sand on a beach, arranged just so. The random ordering of the world, the unimaginable odds against any particular condition.” And yet, despite the odds, our reality holds itself together: the fish is there, wrapped in newspaper in the plastic bag. Existence is a miracle. It is also a precarious miracle. Woolf showed us this with Septimus, whose madness served to highlight the fragility of sanity. McEwan chooses Baxter, a man suffering from Huntington’s disease, to produce a parallel effect. Baxter’s disease, thinks the neurosurgeon, “is biological determinism in its purest form. The misfortune lies within a single gene, in an excessive repeat of a single sequence–CAG.” There is no escape from this minor misprint. But McEwan doesn’t make the logical mistake of believing that such a deterministic relationship is true of life in general. Henry knows that the real gift of our matter is to let us be more than matter. While operating on an exposed brain, Henry ruminates on the mystery of consciousness. He knows that even if science “solves” the brain, “The wonder will remain. That mere wet stuff can make this bright inward cinema of thought, of sight and sound and touch bound into a vivid illusion of an instantaneous present, with a self, another brightly wrought illusion, hovering like a ghost at its center. Could it ever be explained, how matter becomes conscious?” Saturday does not answer the question. Instead, the novel strives to remind us, again and again, that the question has no answer. We will never know how the mind turns the water of our cells into the wine of consciousness. Even Baxter, a man defined by his tragic genetic flaw, is ultimately altered by a poem. When Henry’s daughter begins reciting Mathew Arnold’s “Dover Beach,” a poem about the melancholy of materialism, Baxter is transfixed. The words “touched off a yearning he could barely begin to define.” The plot of Saturday hinges on this chance event, on a mind being moved by nothing more real than rhyming words. Poetry sways matter. Could anything be less likely? McEwan ends Saturday the way he began it: in the dark, in the present tense, with Henry in bed. It has been a long day. As Henry is drifting off to sleep, his last thoughts are not about the brain, or surgery, or materialism. All of that seems far away. Instead, Henry’s thoughts return to the only reality we will ever know: our experience. The feeling of consciousness. The feeling of feeling. “There’s always this, is one of his remaining thoughts. And then: there’s only this.” McEwan’s work is a potent demonstration that, even in this age of dizzying scientific detail, the artist remains a necessary voice. Through the medium of fiction, McEwan explores the limits of science while doing justice to its utility and eloquence. Though he never doubts our existence as a property of matter–this is why the surgeon can heal our wounds–McEwan captures the paradox of being a mind aware of itself. While we are a brain, we are the brain that contemplates its own beginnings. Update: Be sure to check out Marco Roth’s extremely smart and insightful reply in the comments below.

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Gobbledygeek episode 164, “Spinning Patellas,” is available for listening or download right here, and on iTunes here. This week, Paul and AJ lack a plan. As always, when they lack a plan, they tend to just talk a whole bunch. Like, a whole bunch. First up, AJ gives the audience what he knows they want: an update on his health. (Here at Gobbledygeek, we want to make you feel like you’re part of the family.) Then there’s talk of music, with the 50th anniversary of The Beatles’ second album coinciding with the release of On Air: Live at the BBC – Vol. 2, along with Paul McCartney’s New. On the movie front, Paul falls in love with About Time while AJ falls decidedly out of love with Robert Rodriguez after witnessing Machete Kills. Then they talk about comics. Boy, do they talk about comics. Next: the boys take the week off, while Bat-Turkey sharpens his claws for the annual killing season known as Thanksgiving. The week after, Gobbledygeek returns to talk with friend of the show Joseph Lewis about his upcoming pilot, Nowheresville. (Show notes for “Spinning Patellas.”) Gobbledygeek episode 161, “Big Häagen and the Stuff Dumpsters (feat. Greg Sahadachny),” is available for listening or download right here, and on iTunes here. THE END IS NIGH! Of Gobbledyween 2013, that is. And possibly of the world, if Big Haagen has its way in The Stuff. That’s right, the final film of this year’s horror movie marathon is none other than 1985′s The Stuff, about a sentient yogurt-like substance that wants to turn you into a zombified consumer. Or, if you believe guest Greg Sahadachny, it’s all about gay panic and the AIDS crisis, man. Which, I mean, if you’ve seen the Stuff in The Stuff…well, enough is enough. Plus, Paul went to a So You Think You Can Dance show and the gang pours out a pint of the Stuff for Lou Reed. Next: THE RETURN OF SUPER DIVA JASON TABRYS! And this time he’s bringing BastardCast co-host Jeremy R. Hudson with him! (Show notes for “Big Häagen and the Stuff Dumpsters.”) We’ve already discussed our favorite films, TV series, and comics of 2012. Now, to round things out before the impending season 4 premiere, we’ll “discuss” our favorite albums. “Discuss” is in quotation marks because, as we’ve frequently noted on the show, we are really, really bad at knowing how to talk about music. So we figured we’d let the music speak for itself. Enjoy and check back on Sunday for the season premiere of GOBBLEDYGEEK! PAUL: 10. SOME NIGHTS by fun. Key track: “Some Nights” AJ: 10. LONERISM by Tame Impala Key track: “Feels Like We Only Go Backwards” Gobbledygeek episode 102, “Insolent Musical Peasants,” is available for listening or download right here. This episode was meant to go up last week, but fearless editor Paul was suffering from a case of nearly dying (feel better, Paul!). It’s here now, though! The boys would like to sing a little song for you. Actually, no they wouldn’t, because that would be awful for your ears, but they would like to tell you about songs they’ve enjoyed so far this year. Paul and AJ’s musical interests don’t always overlap; Paul listens to sensitive singer-songwriter types, while AJ’s that guy who actually reads Pitchfork. Still, they’re able to unite over a few weirdos like Jack White, Father John Misty, and Leonard Cohen. AJ also tells you why you should listen to new records from Spiritualized, Dr. John, and The Men; while Paul gives you the low down on Fort Atlantic, Band of Skulls, and even Lana Del Rey. Next: Paul and AJ discuss The Amazing Spider-Man, which, SPOILER ALERT, might prove to be pretty divisive. (Show notes for “Insolent Musical Peasants.”) Gobbledygeek episode 100, “The Best (and Worst) of Bat-Turkey,” is available for listening or download right here. That’s right, gobblers. 100 episodes. Who’da thunk it? Not us, that’s for sure. If you’re a long-time fan of the show, we’ve got a nice trip down memory lane for you, and if you’re new to our ridiculousness, this is a great primer/history lesson/greatest hits CD. The boys play snippets from various episodes throughout the show’s run, going all the way back to our extremely painful first episode. These things used to be three hours long! And live! Wow. You’ll also hear some of Paul’s finest rants, the boys attempting to tackle the issue of feminism in pop culture, AJ’s fascination with dinosaur-on-dinosaur erotica, and our chats with guests like K. Dale Koontz and Ernie Cline. Plus, some old friends drop by to share their thoughts on the show. Next: it’s back to your normal, everyday Gobbledygeek with a discussion of Ridley Scott’s Prometheus. (Show notes for “The Best (and Worst) of Bat-Turkey.”) Gobbledygeek episode 90, “Once Upon a Time…in Nazi-Occupied France,” is available for listening or download right here. Atten-SHUN! It’s the last week of Tarantino Month, so that means one thing, and one thing only: we’re here to discuss Inglourious Basterds, Tarantino’s charmingly misspelled WWII epic. Points of interest for the boys include Brad Pitt’s ridiculous accent, the puzzling nature of Christoph Waltz as Hans Landa, the film’s Spaghetti Western stylings, the greatness of Mélanie Laurent, and what Tarantino has to say about the power of cinema. Plus, AJ recounts his Lez Zeppelin experience and Paul has a few extra thoughts about The Hunger Games. Next: The Geek Challenge returns when AJ challenges Paul to Donnie Darko, and Paul retorts with Real Genius. (Show notes for “Once Upon a Time…in Nazi-Occupied France.”) I’ve often wondered about tribute acts. What’s it like to devote your life to recreating the sounds of another band? Don’t you ever want to play your own material? The tribute groups I’d seen before were Beatles acts, and though some of them were very impressive (I’ve seen Rain twice, and I’d like to see them again), they attempted to slavishly recreate everything about the band, which included adopting fake Liverpudlian accents and calling each other “John” or “Ringo.” Inevitably, a little something was lost in translation. As Lez Zeppelin took the stage at Musica here in Akron, Ohio, this past Saturday, I was curious to see how they would attempt to recreate the sound and fury of Led Zeppelin, especially since their gimmick is that–as their name implies–they’re an all-girl band. Turns out, their gimmick isn’t so much a gimmick. From the moment they launched into a ferocious “Immigrant Song,” all of my questions seemed suddenly irrelevant. Lez Zeppelin rocks so hard that you don’t want to think about why they would perform the music of a decades-gone band; you just want to revel in the how. And how, indeed. Musica is a pretty small place, one that would seem more suited to opening act Thom Chacon, a Dylanesque singer-songwriter. Yet those close quarters played to the band’s strengths. I’m sure they can kick up quite a ruckus in a larger venue, but at Musica, the audience simply found itself dwarfed by sheer, glorious noise. On the new episode of Gobbledygeek, Paul and AJ told you about all the things you should buy this Christmas season, and now here’s a comprehensive guide! (Including a few items that weren’t even mentioned on the show.) Note: Most links and prices are from Amazon. READY PLAYER ONE by Ernest Cline Hands down one of the best science fiction books I’ve read in recent memory. It’s like my admittedly overdeveloped nostalgia gland were milked and distilled onto the page. This book is my geeky, pop-culture DNA printed in ink. ~ Paul Gobbledygeek episode 77, “Buy, Buy, Buy,” is available for listening or download right here. If there’s anything we learned from A Charlie Brown Christmas, it’s that Christmas has become far too commercialized and that the true spirit of Christmas isn’t in the gifts that you receive. So, going entirely against that lesson from our childhoods, we’ve concocted the second annual Gobbledygeek Gift Guide! We’ll clue you into everything you should buy for that nerd in your life, be they into movies (The Tree of Life! Hanna!), music (Nirvana! Pink Floyd!), games (Arkham City! Skyrim!), or more. We also leaven all the cynical buying and spending with genuine, heartfelt appreciations of the movies We Bought a Zoo, Hugo, and The Muppets, plus some Formspring questions and an e-mail. Next: We continue our Christmas celebration with a discussion of Gremlins. Because who doesn’t like to think of Phoebe Cates’ dad getting stuck in the chimney when they’re putting up the tree? (Show notes for “Buy, Buy, Buy.”) Gobbledygeek episode 75, “GobbleCon 2011: Of Records, Ribs, and Rock Band,” is available for listening or download right here. Turkey Day’s early this year! Universes collide, worlds explode, and galaxies collapse as Paul and AJ actually meet face-to-face for the first time ever for GobbleCon 2011! As such, this is one for the faithful: the boys don’t take on any outside topics, just report from the front lines about all the places they’ve visited, all the food they’ve eaten, and all the Rock Band they’ve played. To be fair, there’s also a joint review of Andrew Niccol’s In Time. It’s mostly about food, though. Next: the second annual Gobbledygeek Thanksgiving, which may or may not include some special guests. (Show notes for “GobbleCon 2011: Of Records, Ribs, and Rock Band.”)

Tolkien family files suit for 'morally questionable' marketing of 'Rings' Tolkien family files suit: The heirs of J.R.R. Tolkien are suing producers of two Tolkien moves, 'Lord of the Rings' and 'The Hobbit' for selling digital rights to an online slot machine game. The family filed suit in Los Angeles. Wellington, New Zealand Subscribe Today to the Monitor The lawsuit, filed Monday in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles, comes a week before the premiere of the "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey" in Wellington. The first film in the trilogy hits theaters worldwide next month. The estate of Tolkien is upset at what it calls "morally questionable" digital marketing including a Lord of the Rings online slot machine, according to a copy of the lawsuit obtained by The Hollywood Reporter. The Tolkien estate is seeking $80 million from Warner Bros., its New Line subsidiary and rights holder Saul Zaentz Co. Warner Bros. declined to comment on the claims. Tolkien's family contends a merchandizing agreement extends only to tangible products such as figurines and clothing and not to electronic rights. "Not only does the production of gambling games patently exceed the scope of defendants' rights, but this infringing conduct has outraged Tolkien's devoted fan base, causing irreparable harm to Tolkien's legacy and reputation and the valuable goodwill generated by his works," the family claims in the lawsuit. The family says lengthy discussions with the producers over the disagreement proved fruitless and that it fears the scope of online merchandizing will only increase with the release of the 'Hobbit' movies. Tolkien's heirs settled a lawsuit over the "Lord of the Rings" movies for an undisclosed amount in 2009, allowing production to proceed on "The Hobbit." That lawsuit against New Line Cinema claimed Tolkien's trust received only an upfront payment of $62,500 for the three movies before production began but was due 7.5 percent of the gross receipts. The "Rings" films earned an estimated $6 billion from movie tickets, DVDs and merchandise.

Back Room to host upcoming shows Published: Sunday, December 21, 2008 at 4:30 a.m. Last Modified: Thursday, December 18, 2008 at 7:11 p.m. The Back Room of the Flat Rock Wine Shoppe will present these upcoming shows. The Russ Wilson Jazz Trio will provide a smooth sound for diners to enjoy during the dinner hour from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. Tuesday. Starting at 7:30, the Russ Wilson Trio will be hosting a jazz jam. Along with bassist Steve Sarant and guitarist/vocalist Hank Bones, the jazz jam will feature some of the finest local instrumentalists and singers in our area. The Moon Shine Babies will perform at 9 p.m. Friday. The band is a trio of music makers that coax the muse out of late night festival campfires and celebrate the spirit that gathers around them. Suzanne Schmitt is an independent singer and songwriter who teams up with multi-instrumentalist and singer Jerry Trapp and creative percussionist Jim Trapp to bring a beauty to the music that comes straight from the soul. Schmitt grew up in Newtown, Conn. She sang in chorus in high school and loved the intricate harmonies and vocal dynamics of madrigal singing. Hearing Neil Young and Joan Armatrading in the mid 1970s inspired her to get a guitar and put some tunes together. She made up some chords and started writing songs. Schmitt’s songs are word pictures and colorful observations of life as she sees it. Jerry Trapp, from Lillian, Ala., started playing guitar at age 13, inspired by hours of listening to Hank Williams Sr. on late night radio stations. His masterful and seasoned touch on guitar, dobro and mandolin, along with his down home vocal style, have made him a sought after addition to many venues and festivals throughout the country. Brother Jim Trapp’s understated percussion adds a natural and magical groove to the trio that transports the listener to a world that stirs and delights the soul. Finally, another Trapp has recently joined the Moon Shine Babies. Sara Trapp, the daughter of Jim Trapp and the cousin of Guthrie Trapp, now plays bass. She is a wonderful addition to the group and audiences will have the pleasure of watching the youngest Moon Shine Baby bloom before their eyes. The group is a regular performer at festivals and music venues from the gulf coast to the mountains of North Carolina. The Sways, made up of husband-wife duo Adam Landry and Carey Kotsionis, will perform at 9 p.m. Saturday. Landry has played guitar on tours with Allison Moorer and Ray LaMontagne. Kotsionis has lent her voice to recordings by Bobby Bare Sr. and Jr., Hayes Carll and David Kilgour, to name a few. Its second independent release, “Happy Days are Coming,” is a sparkling collection of Americana pop songs that touch on topics that are at the core of human relations. Jeff Michaels will perform at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 30. Michaels was born in the apple country of New York state, and has been writing songs for more than 30 years. Heavily influenced by the “we can change the world” generation, Michaels’ songs portray both problems and solutions for a pessimistic world. Having lived and played in Frederick, Md., Sacramento, Calif., Staunton, Va., and Seattle, he now resides in Western North Carolina with three growing children and his wife of 20 years. Musical influences include John Prine, Stephen Stills, Neil Young, David Bowie and Randy Stonehill. Enjoy the full service menu from the new kitchen before and during these shows! The Back Room is next to the Flat Rock Cinema in the Singleton Centre behind the Flat Rock Wine Shoppe. For more information, call 697-6828 or visit www.flatrockwineshoppe.com. Reader comments posted to this article may be published in our print edition. All rights reserved. This copyrighted material may not be re-published without permission. Links are encouraged. Comments are currently unavailable on this article

Melinda and Melinda and Look at Me reviewed by Steve Sailer The American Conservative, April 25, 2005 Although the New York critics once hailed him as a genius, Woody Allen was never a Stanley Kubrick-style prophet of the cinema occasionally coming down from the mountaintop with a wholly original new film. Instead, we can see now that he's a talented, hardworking craftsman who churned out a prodigious number of pretty good movies before finally colliding with the law of diminishing returns in this decade. Allen is an upscale, limited edition version of his mass-market idol, the late Bob Hope, from whom he borrowed his film persona as the cowardly but self-absorbed schlemiel who somehow always gets the girl. Indeed, watching one of Hope's ancient "Road" comedies these days generates the odd feeling that Bob Hope is impersonating Woody Allen. Similarly, the post-modern touches in Allen's films trace back to Hope's wildly self-referential late 40s comedies. Like Hope, Allen is an alpha male off-screen (he was captain of his high school basketball team). Blessed with Hope's indefatigability and efficiency, Allen makes a movie every year for what the Wachowski Siblings probably spent on the "Matrix" sequels' catering. Allen can land big stars on hiatus between their high-paying projects because they know he always finishes on schedule. The most popular type of humor might be the startling shift of the frame of reference, as in Allen's joke, "I don't want to achieve immortality through my work... I want to achieve it through not dying." After 35 movies, however, the 69-year-old Allen is hard-pressed to surprise us any longer, so his increasingly indistinguishable scripts have become ever more dependent on the less certain charms of self-parody. In Allen's new comedy-drama, "Melinda and Melinda," the few laughs stem from the wonderfully silly casting of that enormous slab of Gentile cluelessness, Will Ferrell (from "Elf" and all those George W. Bush parodies on "Saturday Night Live") in the stock role of The Woody Allen Character. Unfortunately, Ferrell appears only in the comic half of the movie (and Woody not at all), because Allen insists on retelling the same story -- a suicidal beauty with Madame Bovary's backstory intrudes upon a glittering dinner party -- as a dull drama. If you are in the mood for a good Woody Allen comedy, however, Agnès Jaoui's "Look at Me," which won a deserved Best Screenplay award at Cannes, delivers the Allenesque pleasures of brittle wit among the cultural elite, while also remaining more in touch with economic reality than the typical communiqué from Planet Woody, where all struggling artistes have dazzling 5,000 square foot Manhattan apartments and plenty of time on their hands to discuss their impending adulteries. During the Depression, audiences flocked to "white telephone" films about millionaires so financially secure their interior decorators chose their phones. Perhaps Allen's core audience is people waiting tables while they hawk their screenplays, for whom Woody's movies offer fantasies of effortless entitlement. The subtitled "Look at Me" explores the financial and moral stresses of trying to make a living in the ruthlessly competitive arts. The plump and not terribly talented, but amusingly acerbic, 20-year-old daughter of France's most influential man of letters suspects that every man who asks her out just wants to meet her father. Yet, considering how broke are all the young writers she knows, it's hard to blame them. Worse, her father is a prize stinker who ignores her. To show off his literary taste, he saddled his daughter with an, as they say, inappropriate name: "Lolita." But Lolita today is not the light of his life. He has an exquisite new wife hardly older and much thinner than her, and a new daughter, too. When it comes to children, his attitude seems to be, "The older they get, the cuter they ain't." Too overweight to be an actress, Lolita focuses her wavering artistic ambitions on her chorus' upcoming classical concert. I feared that "Look at Me" would turn into just another "Rocky" remake, with Lolita finally hitting that tricky high C note and earning a standing ovation and a contract at La Scala, but the film has a more European message: performing great music is its own reward. And Lolita's love story is far more appealing than either of the Melindas' because human beings can't help being more intrigued by the young woman's eternal question -- Who will be the father of my children -- than by the adulteress' whim -- With whom will I amuse myself next? Both films are rated PG-13. To read my latest film to The American Conservative

Series: The Basics Consideration of the body as a subject for study has increased in recent years with new technologies, forms of modification, debates about obesity and issues of age being brought into focus by the media. Drawing on contemporary culture, Body Studies: The Basics introduces readers to the key... To Be Published May 31st 2014 by Routledge Since at least the early 1970s, when Claire Johnston observed that despite ‘the enormous emphasis placed on woman as spectacle in the cinema … woman as woman is largely absent’, the relationship of cinema to the construction of gender identities and gendered pleasures has been a central concern... Published October 8th 2013 by Routledge In recent years the ‘body’ has become one of the most popular areas of study in the arts, humanities and social sciences. Bodybuilding, in particular, continues to be of interest to scholars of gender, media, film, cultural studies and sociology. However, there is surprisingly little scholarship... Published March 10th 2013 by Routledge

I am a national award-winning film maker from India who has been exposed to European cinema since I was 15 in a film school, and interacted with the world masters (Antonioni, Kurosawa, Elia Kazan, Costa-Gavras, Zanussi) who visited our school and also in film festivals. Hence, it was not surprising when I embarked on to make a film based on the story and script of one of the greatest writers of the country the late Bimal Dutt. As a very young producer, I always had financial constraints and assisted the script writer only to save money, but in the bargain, I was exposed to his huge library, his depth of knowledge, his love for Marx and Lenin, and his experience in the trade union movement before India's independence. Unfortunately he passed away soon after I made my first film and I was searching for a writer of the same depth who knew cinema as well. I tried contacting a very famous Kerala writer but he was too busy and too far away. Then I met my favorite director, Hungarian maestro, the late Istvan Gaal who had won Grand Prix in Karlovy Vary for his first film Current, where Roman Polanski got the second award for his Knife In The Water. Gaal's Falcon is very popular in the film schools and has been one of my favorites. Gaal was a victim of the state where Istvan Szabo was the blue-eyed boy of the state. Many films of Gaal remain without subtitles to this day. But his last documentary on Bartok has received brilliant reviews in the U.S. and the critics say that he created a new idiom in the language of documentary cinema. Needless to say, Gaal found me different from other Indian makers and agreed to advise me on my script for my second film Abhaas (Prologue). His notes on my script were so valuable that it elevated the script to a greater height. The film went to some major film festivals but could not get enough mileage for couple of reasons -- lack of funds and my choice to take a hiatus to raise my family. After that, I vowed to make a film in English for the international market, wrote a script, and flew down to Hungary for Gaal's advice. I have been developing this project and got interest from some Oscar winners. But the biggest obstacle has been the American system. How can one write a script for the international market living in India without an American agent? In the beginning it did not seem very difficult but lately Miramax, Weinstein, and Fox Searchlight have made it mandatory to have this middleman called AGENT. I had the opportunity to attend Danny Boyle's Master Class where Steven Gilula, vice president of Fox Searchlight, emphasized the fact that Indians have not geared to tell stories for the international market -- and I got up from the crowd and said, "But I do have a script which is for the international audience and appreciated by many intellectuals in Europe and USA but the only HITCH is your American system." He politely said that I should send him the script. But the million dollar question is can they accept my script which is registered with the Writers Guild of America with my Indian solicitorʼs letter? I have not been able to get an answer to my query either from Miramax, Weinstein, or Fox Searchlight.

I write a lot about video games here. Partly because I'm a gaming nerd who enjoys games. Also because I think games are an interesting art form, the first uniquely new medium since cinema. Games have visuals, and sound, and story. And games have something new, interactivity. When those elements come together well it's impressive. In yesterday's NYT Daniel Radosh has a thoughtful op/ed about games as art. He believes, but he claims that games today mostly don't achieve artistic merit. They're trying too hard to be like movies, the typical achievement gameplay is too simplistic, etc. I can't exactly disagree. His hook is his critique of $170M-on-release Halo 3, which "does not succeed as a work of art because it does not even try". Again, I agree. The Halo story is clumsy and poorly told, the visual settings are beautiful but lack poignancy, the music is meh. Halo is a very well crafted piece of gameplay, though, and I respect that part of the gamemakers art. By contrast to Halo, I keep thinking back to Bioshock. That game, I think, does achieve artistic merit. Mostly in the cinematic form; the art direction is truly phenomenal and the story is good. And the gameplay in Bioshock is also quite brilliant, particularly the interaction between the physics and AI. It all comes together pretty well, and Bioshock is impressive. Early cinema has its recognized brilliant movies: Birth of a Nation, Battleship Potemkin, Citizen Kane, M, Metropolis. We don't yet have the perspective in games to crown clear winners, but I think most game fans have ten to twenty candidates in their heads. Just because Halo 3 is a guilty Busby Berkeley pleasure doesn't mean the game medium isn't finding its artistic roots. See also destructoid

Otakuite | Posted 12/13/11 | Reply Many face word! Thank you Airo!! Oh,I am a girl! You are so kind...!!I am happy for talk with you! Otakuite | Posted 12/08/11 | Reply Airo is very interesting! Most Japanese don't say "She's not my favorite character," for somebody picture. You can say your true word, I like your comment Can you write Chinese Kanji? Japanese kanji and Chinese Kanji is not same,I heard. By the way, English face word You know more its? I know only Japanese word type...; Otakuite | Posted 12/06/11 | Reply Nice to meet to Gem! Thank you for watch my picture! I am very happy and you are very kind Please teach me,you found my english miss If you come to Japan someday,I welcome you offcourse What languege can you speak another? I have seen ALF Occasionally! Otaku Legend | Posted 12/06/11 | Reply Your art is terrific<3 Just stopping by to say hello~! Therefore, your English is good You live in America...cool!!! I was often looking at the American drama from the child's time. X-FILE(my father lent videotape!many time!), FULL HOUSE(I watched evening everyday in TV!)! The past several years I watched, I live in Japan ,Saitama-ken.(ken is State in Japan) Saitama is many Anime and manga's stage Otakuite | Posted 12/05/11 | Reply I want to draw very well and funny. I must practise more more more... Quiz and challenge's long English word, I can not understand... I want to understand more English... I want to talk in TheO member in English. more play in Theo, Someday I can ...? Otakuite | Posted 11/27/11 | Reply My best strong pokemon is Lv.95 Gardevoir. Lv.100...Oh...You are too storong I speak Japanese everyday, English is difficult Sorry..Can you understand my comments...?? I watch many English word in TheO, I can study very well Gardevoir japanese name is Sirnight. I check and know just now. I am surprised because it is completely different! Otakuite | Posted 11/25/11 | Reply Oh!I love Haruhi too! They(SOS-dan) are very cute I went to cinema for haruhi's movie watching! Did you watched movie? I am sad to think YUKI... I think,Yuki is so cute girl And,Their character songs I like too If I get DS and new pokemon soft, I want to battle with you Ah~ I want new pokemon~~~~~~ My friend play White and Black too... Otakuite | Posted 11/22/11 | Reply than you for taking a like at my icon.. me too i think its cute and i love haruhi a lot!! I went to shiva's shrine. I forget about it...XD I play pokemon ruby now Nice to meet you! Thank you,you are very kind I am happy Weaver of Dreams (Otaku Angel) | Posted 11/21/11 | Reply Hello! Welcome to TheO. I'm Refi-chan ^-^ If you have any questions, feel free to ask me, I have a 'Big Sister' world that I have dedicated to helping peoples! :3 Otakuite | Posted 11/20/11 | Reply Thank you for watch my pictures and give comment! OK!I call you Lea! You are kind,I am very happy! Please call me Chiro(not my real name too.) Oh,my favorite anime song is too many! old song,new song....I can not choice too many!! After I choise,I comment your Guestbook. Senior Otaku | Posted 11/20/11 | Reply Hi! Hola! Konichiwa! :D Oh, your fan arts are amazing! :O I'm lhtkid, but you can call me Lea (not my real name, though). Welcome to theO! If you ever run into a problem or need help with something, feel free to ask me! Just comment on my portfolio! Hope we can become good friends~~ *subscribes* BTW, if you have any anime songs that you really love, can you please tell me it? I sub anime songs on my Youtube channel and sometimes need ideas for what songs to sub. Feel free to check out my channel here if you want! I want to more good picture! Please give me advice from now on Drachen Herz (Otaku Legend) | Posted 11/20/11 | Reply I just noticed that you joined here and for that, welcome! :D Don't worry, this site will definitely help you in mastering your English in no time, trust me.^^ Also I can already see that you have some pretty nice artwork there. Keep up the good work~! ^_^ Welcome to my Guest book I hope you have happy time in my picture's spase. Please,I want to comment for my picture Because I want to draw more good pictures, and want picturelike friend and if you OK, Twitter and Skype play with me Have fun in TheO Otakuite | Posted 11/19/11 | Reply Nice to meet you Ario! I'm happy for your comment

For what was supposed to be a really relaxed morning, it turned into another early start and manic morning. We separated into three groups. Stephen Barker and the Sheriff went over to Essex County to meet Sheriff Cousins and his team. Tim Garratt and Nick Hammond took the walking tour and myself and the Sheriff’s Lady, Adela took a walk to the world famous Cheers Bar (which was closed as it was too early in the morning) and then onto the Museum of Science, based on the waterfront. Tim will write a guest blog that I’ll add below, but first I need to finish up on yesterday’s visits, with our tour of the USS Constitution. It was built in 1795 and could carry up to 55 huge guns. It’s currently in the process of a very major restoration, which is being part navy funded and part public funded. It still sails four times a year. Old ironsides - The USS Constitution - Officially the oldest warship afloat and still an operational US Navy ship The word authenticity is everything and we were give the opportunity to climb right down into the gunpowder store. In its heyday, this would have been the workplace for 20 hours a day for up to three young boys who worked as gunpowder runners, delivering the powder to all of the cannons on the higher decks. It was horrifically small, amazingly claustrophobic and stiflingly hot – and that is when its sitting in a dock. I can’t imagine what it must have been like in the height of battle in the early 1800’s The gunpowder store at the bottom of the boat and the workplace for 20 hours a day of three boys - in this photo, the resting place for two boys A nice small fact that came out from our bright young tour guide was that if you are in the US Navy and brave enough to win a Medal of Honour, it will have been made from some of the copper rivets on the USS Constitution that are replaced in rotation to prevent fatigue. The learning from this is probably less so than some of the others places we have visited, other than the quality and knowledge of the guide. He is a serving Navy junior and has a two year rotation on this ship before transferring over to Florida to start his training in Avionics, in order to become a aircraft mechanic, working on the aircraft carriers. Whether it’s just the American way or just the Navy way, but he seemed genuinely proud to be serving (even if his role was mainly as a tour guide) on such an important part of American Naval history. So, Cheers Bar. About a mile from our hotel, so we walked it. Boston like most US cities isn’t exactly geared up for walking, but it was worth doing, to see the beautifully clean streets which look like the most grand merchant areas of Manchester and Liverpool. They were mostly flats now, but they were all immaculate. No peeling paint, no scruffy steps and no litter anywhere. Funnily enough, there were no ‘for sale’ signs either. This may be a local byelaw, but it could also be that people never sell them. Cheers Bar is in the Beacon Hill district and is actually a bar called the Bull and Finch Pub. In truth it looks slightly tired, but we didn’t get to see inside as we arrived a good while before they open at 11am. Er, the closed Cheers Pub - or as it's real name is, the Bull and Finch pub It’s interesting though that whilst I was never a particular fan of Cheers and haven’t seen sight nor sound of it on TV in years, I was still pleased to be able to see it. Cheers, The Pub from the TV series in the lovely Beacon Hill District of Town With our own Trip to Jerusalem pub, we have one of the (if not the) oldest pubs in the world and I wonder whether we actually make enough of it as a tourist attraction. I know when we did some research about what people knew about the City, what it stood for and what made it stand out, it was rarely if every mentioned in the 768 responses we got back from the extremely broad sample we poled. I understand it’s a commercial venture and a licensed commercial venture at that, but this place needs to be used far more centrally in the marketing of the city. As we have seen with the USS Constitution being the oldest boat afloat and the Pilgrim hall being the oldest museum being the oldest museum that’s operated continually as a museum, we have to find its angle even if it is a little contrived. If we can mark it out as clear and demonstrably different, then people will come, just to be seen at the oldest inn in Britain. After Cheers, Adela and I kept walking towards the Museum of Science, which is huge, has its own IMAX cinema and began life in 1830 as the Boston Society of Natural History. Museum of Science, Boston The walk there was quite a tough one for quite a few reasons. Firstly there is no signage at all for a pedestrian. Considering this place has been around for such a long time and it is quite so huge, it would seem logical to me, that they include even a few signs for how to get there. Secondly, even without the signs, there is no logical way to walk. You are constantly crossing, recrossing and doubling back in order to get to an area that is anything other than along the side of a freeway. And that water. You can see it from certain places, but you can’t walk along the side of it to get there. In the two l=miles we walked from Cheers to MOS, there could not have been more than 100 metres of waterside walk. It makes me appreciate what a great job they’ve done on the side of the Thames and how little we make of our riverside. And thirdly, there are too many commercial ventures to protect. At the side of the Museum is a huge queue of ducks dragging people in for $30 a time for tours around the city. They are a hop on, hop off event and there are loads of them. Boston had more walkers than other US cities, but there still weren’t many of them, so between the duck companies and the controlling authorities they seem to have ‘tied’ the market up. Maybe you can't really walk there because the city tourism is run by the 'ducks' Inside the museum, there were a few brilliant things. The Foucault clock was slow, and mesmerising and could be watched for hours (if you weren’t rushing) The Foucault Pendulum at the Museum of Science, Boston But my favourite bit and sorry for the quality of the pic, but it was all behind glass and not brilliantly lt for photography, was at the back of the IMAX, where the projection room was part of the display. For a geek like me, who loves this type of machinery, to get to see the working projection room was priceless. The IMAX projection equipment is part of the display Anyway, its off to the hotel, via the most tortured Subway system I have ever seen and then off to New York. Firstly though, Tim Garratt and Nick Hammond did the Freedom Trail around Boston, a sort of walking trail through some of its historical regions and Tim has kindly written me a guest blog, which is here below. Guest blog - Tim Garratt - 15 September 2009 Billed as “The Freedom Trail”, Boston has a historic walk which runs for 2 ½ miles and takes in 16 sites. It starts at a Visitor Center on the edge of Boston Common (a sort of Central Park thing) – and then weaves through the old part of the town. You have a choice of DIY or escorted. Both follow a red brick or painted line in the pavement and eat each interest point there is a brass plaque set in the pavement where you stop and take in the sight. The brass plaque of the freedom Trail We picked up a $3 map and guide – which is badly laid out and reminds you of the old paper origami maps – easy to take apart but impossible to put back together! Fortunately it wasn’t raining – we would have had a soggy mush to help us along. The first stop was very impressive Massachusetts State House – complete with real 23ct gold topped roof. Not sure Nottingham is ready for this! It cost $133,000 in 1798 – five times over budget. The Statehouse with it's 23 Carat Gold roof - is Nottingham ready for this? We then meandered through the ancient streets until we happened upon the Kings Chapel – built originally in 1749. Inside it houses the oldest pulpit in the USA, but the best feature were the individual pew boxes – which were sold to wealthy families! Washington came here in 1789. Back on the Street we continued towards the USS Constitution and stopped by the site of the Boston Massacre in 1770. The site is marked by a stone circle – we were somewhat underwhelmed by the monument. It’s a traffic island! The stone circle to mark the site of the Boston Massacre in 1770 Out of time we opted out of the tour at this point and headed back into town. So our impression. It’s a great idea – and the pathway is something that can transfer. But the destinations are mixed and we walked past a few. At the Kings Chapel we were invited to part with cash; so if you do this at each tour stop it can be quite expensive. The guide was expensive and rubbish – it would have been a liability in rain. It also very clearly marked us a tourists and I couldn’t help but wonder about being targets as we concentrated on finding things. If I am really honest we got bored. I (as a surveyor) found interest in the buildings but the story seemed a bit disjointed. Perhaps we would have been better with the uniformed tour guide. Filed under: Robin Hood | Tagged: Boston, Cheers Bar, Freedom Trail, Museum of Science, USS Constitution | 13 Comments »

Commodore Hull Theatre 65-67 Elizabeth Street, 2 people favorited this theater Dating from the 1920’s, the lobby and stage area of the former Commodore Hull Theatre in Derby have been turned into office space. Even though the cinema has not shown movies in 40 years, though, remnants of the movie house remain in the auditorium, which is now a parking garage. The projection booth still sits high atop the back wall, a mural of medieval times graces the left side wall, and the proscenium remains where the screen and stage used to be. The floor is still sloped, but instead of being covered with seats it is now covered with parking spaces. Just login to your account and subscribe to this theater

Joshua Leonard, star of Lynn Shelton’s wonderful new comedy-drama Humpday, may look familiar. A decade ago, he and some other neophyte actors/filmmakers took cameras into the woods and came away with The Blair Witch Project, one of the biggest, most influential independent films of the past 20 years. Thanks in part to a brilliant viral marketing campaign, Project grossed a fortune and inspired a poorly received quickie sequel and a vast ocean of spoofs. The low profile Leonard has maintained over the past decade while toiling steadily in film as an actor and director actually works in Humpday’s favor. He’s able to disappear completely into the role of an artsy, straight bohemian drifter who ambles into the life of domesticated former college buddy/fellow heterosexual Mark Duplass and ends up agreeing to appear in a gay sex tape with him as a strange post-modern art project. That premise sounds gimmicky, but its execution is thrillingly naturalistic. The A.V. Club recently spoke with Leonard about Blair Witch madness, growing up, and working without a script or a net on Humpday. The A.V. Club: This is your second time being a central figure behind a much-buzzed-about new independent film. How does it compare to the first time? Joshua Leonard: Well, there is so little correlation just in terms of where I am psychically in my own life. Blair Witch was such an anomaly, but it was also the first anomaly. I was 23. I was literally just kicking a heroin habit, and had absolutely no idea what I wanted to do with my life. So I think being thrust into the spotlight at that point was kind of psychically traumatic. Although I was really grateful for it, and I’m still kind of proud of the punk-rock ethos with which that film was made. AVC: People who achieve that kind of success early in life sometimes say they wish it could happened later, when they were mature enough to deal with it. So it seems like you kind of have the best of both worlds. JL: The interesting thing about Blair Witch—and to some extent with Humpday, but maybe a little less, because Humpday is character-driven—the film was really the star. None of us autonomously blew up into huge celebrities. But I got to experience a massive level of fame for about 10 minutes. And I wasn’t prepared for it. It made me realize that I’m not someone who does terribly well with strangers while having a fight with my girlfriend at a restaurant. The multitasking aspect wasn’t something I approached with a tremendous amount of grace. But that said, it kind of came and went, because it wasn’t a situation where I had this huge breakout performance and it was all about me. I was just the guy from that movie that got the crazy amount of success and has a tremendous cult following. So once the hoopla died down, I was able to make a living working inside the film industry, and that really was the conduit that opened the door. But I had a journeyman career, minus a couple highlights, until I figured out who I was creatively and what I had to offer. So I do think this time around, there is so much more comfort, because I no longer do things with career motivation. I want to have a career, I want to keep making a living doing what I do. I love what I do. But this film that we made, I would have been equally as proud of if nobody ever saw it. The outside validation doesn’t change my perception of the movie. If that makes any sense. AVC: Yeah, but the outside validation has to be nice. JL: Oh, the outside validation is awesome! Don’t get me wrong. But that’s what I’m saying—it’s an absolute best-case scenario when you do a project absolutely for the love of doing it, with people you trust and respect, and then an audience responds to it as well. There is not that extra aspect of feeling like an impostor, which I felt like a little bit with the Blair Witch thing. AVC: Blair Witch was such an anomaly that it didn’t even really inspire similar movies, in spite of its success. Even the sequel had to take an entirely different approach. JL: And that’s the tough thing. I live in L.A., and I have a handful of celebrity friends, and I think there really is a difference between being supported and wanted for something that is really uniquely you, and you’re willing to own, and something that is more or less just an anomaly. And when somebody is giving you credit for something you didn’t have all that much to do with, it does nothing but flare up your ego. Because what happened with Blair Witch wasn’t necessarily a situation where the movie was successful because we all did our jobs so well. I was maybe 10 percent of why the movie was successful. You know, I think we did a solid job. I think we made a cool, tight little movie that was unprecedented in some ways. It also had a great marketing campaign, and it came at a time in Hollywood when the paradigm was shifting, and reality TV was coming in, and people were sick of being art-directed out of any true emotion. I think it was also the luck aspect, the time-and-place aspect—huge contributors to why that was successful. That’s stuff I don’t think any of us can take credit for. AVC: Did The Blair Witch Project’s success keep you from getting roles? Did people think it’d be distracting to have the guy from Blair Witch pop up in a movie? JL: I think you have to remember—this sounds like a prick thing to say—I hadn’t grown up wanting to be an actor. AVC: But you come from a theatrical family. JL: Which is partly why I didn’t want to be an actor. My pop was a theater professor, and my mom ran a theater school for children. So it was a traditional form of rebellion. AVC: You were going to show them all by becoming an accountant? JL: Teenage-rebellion form: I was going to do anything but. And when we made Blair Witch, I was just 20 or 21, and in N.Y. living a crazy life. And it was like “Maybe I’ll be an actor! Maybe I’ll write a novel! Maybe—” I was working doing editorial photography for a few magazines at the time—“Maybe I’ll be a photographer!” So it was just a creative project. There was no foresight that I was going to make this little movie on video and look like shit and say some stupid things— AVC: And annoy people. JL: —and maybe it’ll get me on the cover of Newsweek. There’s just no way to see that as a logical end. What I think was trickier at the time, not that I think I was some great actor, but I think I’ve become a far better actor by learning through doing. I’ve had work on a lot more films, and I’ve been able to work with some really great filmmakers and actors, and I think I’ve picked up a lot more—skillwise, craftwise—in the last decade. But I think what was tricky about that film was, there was no real separation between who we were as people and who we were as characters. There was a lot of hubbub about us not even acting. And I guess that really depends on your definition of acting. But I always felt that we shot that film in a state park around a bunch of people; we weren’t actually afraid a supernatural force was coming to kill us. And if a bunch of people come into the audience and believe we were in those given circumstances, then that’s acting. So it bums me out a little bit that people thought there was no acting involved whatsoever. And that might have bit me in the ass, career-wise. But I’ve worked through that. AVC: Do you think if your character had a different name than you, that would have made it easier? JL: Um, I don’t know, man, because I think part of the reason the film worked was because we were just the dudes and the chick you knew from your hometown. There was nothing elevated about us, and nothing elevated about our performances. I think partially because we tried to keep to extreme naturalism with the performances, but also partially because the aesthetic was so home-video. I don’t know. What I do think it did in my own personal life was allow people to feel like they had, in terms of the fan base, a more holistic notion of who I was aside from the movie than maybe they actually did. AVC: After the Blair Witch Project came out and you and the other stars didn’t go on to do high-profile projects, it seemed like there was a perception in the media that you’d fallen off the face of the earth. There was an Entertainment Weekly article that was basically “Where are they now?” Did that bug you? JL: In my life, I can chart back specifically to the release of Blair Witch and say, even if I’ve liked some of my jobs more than others, that I grew up fairly broke. I scrapped around, I did whatever day jobs I needed to do to pay the bills as a kid. And I haven’t had to have a day job in a decade. I’ve been able to make a living in the film industry. That to me is a win. I think that’s specifically why—and I know you work for The Onion, so you guys are probably a far cooler publication—it’s the danger of any kind of celebrity journalism, because it’s set up for failure. As soon as they set us up as the underdogs, there was almost no successful outcome that could have happened that somebody wouldn’t have found a way to tear everybody back down. Especially with us, it’s a perfect example. None of us were movie stars. We were all kids. Including the directors. They were in their mid- to late 20s. I remember the piece, and I thought “How fucking mean-spirited is that?” Especially because [Blair Witch castmate] Mike [C. Williams] has a few kids. He moved upstate. Yeah, he moves furniture sometimes. Yeah, he works sometimes. And he teaches acting. For that to be couched as “They should have been the next big thing, and these guys are all just a bunch of big fucking losers” is just, I find, really mean-spirited. It takes for granted that we had so little to do with the celebrity. The celebrity that happened out of that was really all a press creation. AVC: People who aren’t angling for a big film career not subsequently having a big film career shouldn’t necessarily be seen as failure. JL: I can chart back and say “Look, I got a ton of press off that movie. Why didn’t I become a big movie star?” Because I’ll probably never be a big movie star. As I’ve spent more time directing projects—I think I’m really good at certain things as an actor—I think I have a unique skill set that I’ve gotten to know much better over the years—but I wouldn’t turn myself into a movie star. [Pauses.] I’m trying to figure out what I’m trying to say. I’ve never actually discussed this stuff. Nobody was angling for a big career, so when all the success happened, none of us really knew what we wanted to do next. When given opportunities now, there is a more logical progression for me, with Humpday, because I have a much better understanding of who I am and what I’m good at and who I like to work with. Sure I’d love to be able to play that out to whatever the best version of that career is. AVC: Were there overtures from Hollywood at that point? JL: Sure. But gestures more than anything. My first couple films after Blair Witch, I made a lot of money. I made more money than I’d ever made in my entire life, and more than my dad ever made in four or five years working his ass off as a university professor. So there was that stuff that came along with it. But it’s also a very “throw it against the wall and see if it sticks” mentality. Sure, it happened for a minute, but then we weren’t the new things anymore, and it was somebody else. That’s fine, that’s how it happens. But I don’t think that necessarily speaks to a specific short-terming in either the industry or our careers. We were just some kids who made a movie. And it got a lot of success. That doesn’t necessarily mean that there weren’t another 20 fantastic ideas in the hopper that should have also been huge but just didn’t quite make it. AVC: How did you get involved with Humpday? JL: I was friends with Mark Duplass, who is my co-star in Humpday. I was a huge fan of the films he and his brother made together: The Puffy Chair and Baghead. Puffy Chair, when I saw it in ’05, just blew my mind in terms of guys doing something in cinema that I really connected to, that felt new to me, that felt like it spoke to me generationally and personally. So we got to know each other through mutual friends, and Mark worked with Lynn on another project, and they decided they wanted to work together again. And when they came up with the premise for this film, he sent me an e-mail and said “Hey, do you want to play my best friend in this film?” I said, “Sure, absolutely, I would love to—if we can figure out the schedule.” To which he replied, “Great, it’s a film about two straight guys who try to have sex with each other.” AVC: [Laughs.] So he hooked you in, then told you the premise? JL: I said, “Okay, I trust you and I trust your taste, but please, as my friend, never let me commit to a film without asking what it is first.” AVC: It could have been a snuff film. JL: Technically, it’s a snuff film because it’s gonna be your last. AVC: But you literally go out with a bang. JL: When we do it, we’ll make sure it’s huge on YouTube. AVC: I understand there was no script, just a detailed outline. JL: Exactly. I guess that the point where the three of us were all committed to the concept and to working together was four months before we started shooting. When we all set out to do the project together, there was just a one-line pitch: “Two straight guys hitting crossroads in their life, in their early 30s, decide to make a gay porn because they’re convinced it’s going to fix their psychic discontent and break them out of whatever traps they feel they’ve gotten themselves into.” In terms of designing the story and characters, Lynn is a wonderful director and collaborator, because she really gave us the range to figure out who those guys were. And the three of us spent a lot of time on iChat and spent a long weekend down in L.A. just hammering out the beats in terms of taking this ridiculous concept and reverse-engineering it into something that actually feels human. AVC: The plot almost seems incidental. Was that intentional? JL: I wouldn’t go so far as to agree with you on the plot being incidental. I think at the end of the day, in terms of the skeleton underneath, it’s the plot and it’s the dare that’s thrown down in the first 10 minutes of the movie that propels it forward so you feel like you’re on your way to somewhere. I think that helps the movie keep moving. And Mark and Lynn and I all—as actors and filmmakers—like both those things: a film that’s both completely entertaining to watch, and at the same time doesn’t fall into the conceits of traditional Hollywood fare; where you actually get to explore the nuance of character and what makes people tick. It’s true fallibility and not the Hollywood version of fallibility, where your protagonist is fallible because he works too hard and cares too much. That stuff to me is always kind of bullshit. That’s why I don’t really relate to Hollywood protagonists, because I feel like their idea of a conflicted character is the same conflict you would give if you were in a job interview. Sometimes they’re just so overwhelmed just trying to take care… What really takes people down are these tremendous fears and the sometimes completely absurd, misguided ways in which they go about trying to solve those fears. So I think this was a great opportunity to approach the seriousness of that in a way that wasn’t serious at all. When I watch a movie that is overtly didactic, that’s about drama, I just put walls up. Don’t fucking teach me a lesson. I want to be entertained. But when you can trick me into actually feeling something and relating to a character, that’s when I take my hat off. So I think that’s at least what we were attempting to do with this film: Do something that is really funny and watchable, and yet all the humor in it would really come out of the human vulnerability, as opposed to the pratfalls and dick jokes. AVC: Your character is an artist and has all these vague ideas about the things he wants to do, but he doesn’t have much direction or focus, or a clear idea of what he’s actually going to do next. Sounds a little like what you were describing before you made Blair Witch Project. How much of yourself did you put into your character, both in terms of your younger self and who you are today? JL: Thank you, man, that’s a great question. I think when you’re doing this kind of acting, when you’re improvising—and I guess I should only speak for myself, because maybe there are people who could completely immerse themselves in a character and improv in the moment. But because you’re serving two roles—you’re an actor but also a writer, and it can’t all be about character—you have to have at least half a brain on in continuing to move the story forward. To me, in the moment, I don’t think I’d ever be able to do something that was completely outside my scope. Just because you’re moving, in the moment, and you just want to be able to reach out and have authenticity at your fingertips at all times. Otherwise, I think it just doesn’t work. That said, a lot of the stuff I pulled for Andrew was hopefully from my younger years. Absolutely stuff that I still deal with; I’m far, far from perfect, and still working through a lot of stuff. But also, a tremendous amount of it is stuff I felt I really worked through in my 20s and put enough time into to feel like I could safely throw it out in the open and make fun of it and be able to laugh at myself, and hopefully through that, allow an audience to laugh with me. AVC: It seems like your character has never made it through that post-graduate stage where you’re trying to figure out what you want to do with your life and who you are as a person. JL: That stuff’s so fantastic. I dropped out of high school when I was 15, moved down to Mexico when I was 16, by myself, and I hitchhiked through Central America. I did the whole gig, and I would never trade that for anything in the world. But when I look at my friends who are still doing that in their 30s, it starts looking a little desperate. It’s not so cute anymore. I think internally you have to be careful that you don’t cross over from exploration into fleeing. I think especially in your late teens and 20s, there is a lot to be said about going out into the world and experiencing a lot of stuff. But I think the older you get, the motivations really change, even if it looks the same on the outside. Which is, you’re running away from figuring out who you are. And you’ve done all the exploration, and now you’re just too chickenshit to do anything with it. AVC: What do you think your character is running away from by leading this vagabond, migratory existence? JL: I think he’s running away from taking a risk, running away from taking a stand on anything, to risk putting his true self out into the world for public scrutiny. And he’s really come to a point where the front that precedes him is pretty different from who he actually is. It’s like the Neal Cassady concept, where Kerouac and Ginsberg and all those guys said, “Cassady was just always the truest artist of the group. But he never fucking wrote anything.” I didn’t know the guy, but I think there is a tremendous amount of safety in never actually putting something in a quantifiable form for others to pick apart. I think whatever you do in life, whatever your chosen career is, if you care about what you do and have an opinion, you’re going to put a sense of yourself into it. And it’s really frightening to put that into the world. And Andrew is scared of that. I think [his Humpday character] Andrew is scared of being alone his whole life, so I think part of how he deals with that is by trying to stay one step ahead of his feelings. AVC: Do you think on some level, he envies what his friend has and resents it? They both see each other’s lives as being more idyllic than they necessarily are. In some way does he want to undermine his friend’s orderly, ideal existence? JL: Fuck yes! If you knew Mark and I outside of the context of this film, the reality is that we both got a lot of both of those characters in us. We’re both pretty Type A in overlapping but semi-synonymous ways. I’m certainly not Andrew. I’ve got a career and a mortgage, and I take care of those things. And Mark’s an artist and makes movies and has a totally creative brain, and doesn’t feel trapped in that domestic prison that [Mark’s Humpday character] Ben does. In order to make the conflict of the movie work, you had to put these two characters on radically opposite sides of the responsibility spectrum. I think they look at each other and it projects directly. They’re looking at each other going, “That is the opposite of what I’ll ever be able to have in my life.” I think there is a tremendous amount of envy, resentment, and competition that comes out of putting those two forces up against each other. AVC: It seems like the idea of appearing in a gay porn together is like playing chicken: Andrew is trying to prove that he’s still a bohemian, and Ben is trying to prove he hasn’t sold out, that under this responsible surface, there is still this virile creature. JL: I guess. It’s the hetero-male one-upmanship that has completely blinded them from any iota of good judgment. AVC: The idea of two straight guys having gay sex is very amorphous, in that there is no quantifiable way in the world to prove that people are 100 percent heterosexual or homosexual. JL: Well, that’s up to the individual. You’re either turned on by somebody of the same sex, or not. That’s the only real empirical evidence we’ll have. I was hanging out with an Irish buddy of mine the other day, and he’s a little dude. He was limping profoundly when I ran into him. I was like, “Hey man, what happened?” He was like, “I have this friend of mine in the army, and he came over the other night, and we just started wrestling, and I sprained my back.” You know, straight women don’t do that. They don’t decide to wrestle with each other and then temporarily cripple each other as a way of trying to bond. And I think essentially for a straight guy, it is historically a struggle to find a way to show a profound, platonic love for your buddy. And it’s like Mark says at the end of the film, “I think we might be morons.” We wind up doing some really moronic shit that, at the end of the day, just comes back to two straight dudes growing up with this cultural preconception of what it means to be a straight dude: having a really hard time finding a way to express their love for their bro. AVC: There’s something incredibly narcissistic in the idea that people would be particularly interested in seeing them make out. JL: Absolutely. In fact, that’s the one tricky thing we got from a gay member of one of our audiences, because it’s not a movie about sexual politics, so we’re getting a lot of questions about how the gay audience will respond, and whether we were afraid of this becoming a homophobic movie. I think the fact of the matter is, we were making fun of ourselves. AVC: It’s about the hang-ups of heterosexual men. JL: We’re not taking a stance on sexual politics by any means. It’s a movie about friendship and trying to find self-identity and the weird roads we go down in order to try to do that. And I think people can try to put politics onto it and form opinions about what we’re doing, but I always find those things have far more to do with them than they do with us. AVC: It’s like a Rorschach test. People get what they want to out of it. JL: Exactly. But the one response we did get from a gay gentleman in our audience was, what self-respecting gay man would ever want to watch a porn film starring Mark and I? I said “All right, that’s fair.” AVC: There’s such a lived-in chemistry between your characters. It really feels like you have all this history. JL: And that, I give Lynn and Nat Sanders, our editor, absolute credit for, because the way that Mark and I came up with that organically was to overwrite everything. We knew every moment in those guys’ history: We knew where they met; we knew where they went; we knew when they lived together; we knew their address. We created all that stuff so it would feel very real to us. And then Lynn let us shoot a lot of that expositional stuff knowing that it was completely fucking boring, and probably would never make it into the final cut of the film. And then she and Nat, our editor, went in and cut it down to shorthand, the way people actually talk when they’re not in movies. When it’s not like, “Remember that time in the red apartment on Grand Street, when Trina the lesbian came over?” AVC: They aren’t clumsily delivering exposition. JL: Exactly. And so a lot of that stuff got shot and hit the editing-room floor as soon as they started putting the movie together. So there is a phantom version of that in there. I think as an audience, you sense that that work was done but you don’t have to suffer through any of it. AVC: Can you tell me about the film you’re writing and directing? JL: Sure. I’m writing and directing a film that’s currently called Everything’s Alright. It’s something I’ve been working on for a few years. It takes place in one day in L.A., and it’s about four people who have each done one thing they can never forgive themselves for, also kind of played to a hyperbolic extent. Eddie Izzard is playing a guy who was one of the last systems-checks guys on the Challenger before it went up and exploded. So it’s another kind of dark comedy about human fallibility, and trying to find a connection despite that. Hopefully it’ll be really fun to watch. AVC: And 50 Cent is in it? JL: Yep. An agent I knew who responded to the script and the part gave it to 50. I was in New York, and he and I sat down and took a long meeting together, and we really connected. I think he’s going to be phenomenal in that part. The whole film is set against the backdrop of this politically charged polemic state execution, and he plays the guy on death row in his last days before his execution.

No upcoming showtimes. Matt Creed, 2013 USA | 85 minutes Director Matt Creed and co-writer/actress Amy Grantham in person for Q&A, moderated by pioneering independent filmmaker Amos Poe! Twenty-something Lily as yet to really start her life—radiation treatment for breast cancer had forced her to put many things on hold. But as she finishes treatment and her status changes from cancer patient to cancer survivor, she focuses on life with newfound clarity. Wandering atmospheric New York City streets, she reevaluates her relationship with her older boyfriend and her feelings about her long-absent father. Director Matt Creed’s first feature film lingers on charged moments during this vulnerable period to deliver an intimate and heartfelt portrait, as he lets his camera become a silent observer, able to present events as fresh and new. Loosely based on the experiences of co-writer and lead actress Amy Grantham, Lily is a mature, stylish character piece reminiscent of classic French New Wave cinema.

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This was meant to be the first post-ideological generation, right? This was meant to be the generation that never thought of anything bigger than our Facebook profiles and our TV screens. This was meant to be the generation where the only thing that Saturday night meant was X Factor. I think now that claim is quite ridiculous. I think now that claim is quite preposterous. Barnaby Raine 27.11.10 When everybody’s super, no one will be. Syndrome - The Incredibles 2004 In years to come, people will look back on the first decade of the 21st Century and wonder just what happened to popular culture in the UK. A nation that was once at the vanguard somehow became obsessed with mediocrity, and then, with a typical swagger, began to successfully export it around the world. Big Brother, a Dutch creation that would become a British obsession, has a lot to answer for. Originally posturing as a psychological experiment it degenerated, series on series, into an increasingly putrid parade of wannabes and b-list crazies claiming their Warholian 15 minutes of fame – the problem being that, for an alarming number of these often insipid exhibitionists and incessant attention seekers the fame went on for hours, days, weeks, even years. We voyeuristically watched the shameless spectacle with relish, in a similar way to how, around 200 years ago, people might have paid to view the antics of the inmates of Bedlam, who were being manipulated and mistreated for the entertainment of others. We might not have been poking the inhabitants of the Big Brother house with a long stick in the literal sense for our amusement, like they would have been doing in the early 19th century, but the parallel is clear. BB might have let the cat out of the bag, but the TV talent shows (Popstars, Pop Idol and The X Factor) conspired to take things to a whole new cultural low, producing a conveyor belt of pliable Pop performers, ready and willing to please their paymasters in exchange for celebrity status, none of them with anything new to offer, just a watered down version of what’s been before. The product has included Hear’say, Girls Aloud, Will Young, Gareth Gates, Darius, Leona Lewis, Alexandra Burke and JLS, whilst Cheryl Cole completed the double-whammy by taking the step from contestant to judge, becoming a ‘national treasure’ in the process. However, the real star of the show is Simon Cowell, now one of the most famous people not only in Britain, but America too, establishing a Pop dynasty that has a stranglehold over the UK chart via the relentless releases on his Syco label (which siphons off the most popular acts who appear on X Factor and Britain’s Got Talent, to which he owns the television rights). It’s a monopoly of mammoth proportions. Cowell is in many respects a throwback to Larry Parnes, the English Pop impresario of the late 50’s / early 60’s, but on a far greater scale. Parnes built up a stable of male stars, generally changing their surnames in an effort to enhance their appeal to the teenage girls their music was marketed at (these included Marty Wilde, Billy Fury, Vince Eager, Duffy Power and Johnny Gentle). Hugely successful in the pre-Beatle era, Parnes and his acts were blown out of the water by the arrival of The Beatles, The Stones, The Kinks, The Animals etc – the public no longer wanting manufactured ‘teen idols’ now they had the real deal. Back in June I posted ‘Bumblebee Land’, highlighting an excellent piece written by John Niven for Q magazine following Malcolm McLaren’s death, which makes an insightful comparison between Cowell and McLaren, and their contrasting legacies as impresarios. It’s well worth a read in context of this blog post: The far-reaching power of the X Factor really started to disturb me when I realised that it had pretty much wrecked one of our popular traditions. For four consecutive years the show’s winner claimed the celebrated Christmas number 1 slot – to put this in proper perspective you have to take into account that for as long as I can remember the Christmas number 1 has been something of a British institution, an event that attracts the interest of people who couldn’t care less what happens on the pop chart during the other 51 weeks of the year (it’s similar to the way in which people who never bet, or even watch horse racing, enjoy a once a year flutter when the Grand National comes around). Like the Grand National, the Christmas number 1 was rarely a foregone conclusion – it might be the latest single by the biggest band of the year, cashing in on their popularity, but this wasn’t nailed on as there was always a Mr Blobby, a Bob The Builder or a Cliff Richard to come along and spoil the party. Then there was the completely unexpected, perfectly illustrated by Pink Floyd’s anti-establishment anthem ‘Another Brick In The Wall Pt 2’ in 1979, which took everyone by surprise, or, more recently, in 2003, when Michael Andrews & Gary Jules’s cover of ‘Mad World’ seemed to have come out of nowhere, but had actually caught the groundswell of the movie ‘Donnie Darko’ (it was part of the soundtrack), which, from cult acorns following its cinema release two years earlier, had grown into a runaway word of mouth success story via sales on VHS and DVD formats. The Xmas Factor would have chalked up five Christmas number 1’s in a row by a landslide last year, but for an inspired Facebook campaign instigated by Jon and Tracy Morter, which encouraged people to buy (via download) ’Killing In The Name’, a 1992 recording by the US band Rage Against The Machine, once described as ‘a howling, expletive-driven tirade against the ills of American society’, and summed up by the track’s ‘fuck you I won’t do what you tell me’ hook. This was in order to keep the X Factor winner (Joe McElderry) off the top of the chart during Christmas week, breaking the show’s domination. Here’s an ITN report from the week of the showdown: Simon Cowell had been outflanked for once and he wasn’t a happy bunny, accusing the campaign of being ‘cynical’ and those participating in what came to be known as ‘Rage Against The X Factor’ of ‘bullying’. Needless to say that the words pot, kettle and black sprung to many people’s minds, Cowell having achieved fortune and fame via his cynical persona, not to mention his tell it like it is treatment of contestants, for which he’s often been labelled a bully himself. The fact that Cowell obviously felt that his show had an entitlement to the Christmas number 1 slot added to the communal sense of achievement felt by all who’d supported the campaign when, remarkably, it worked! The whole thing had taken on a momentum of its own, which proved to be unstoppable – the protest vote had been registered and the X Factor, at least for those seven crucial days, had been knocked off its perch. Ultimately his pride may have been hurt, but his bank balance wasn’t – the following week McElderry’s single belatedly topped the chart and the X Factor, plus Cowell’s other cash cows, ‘Britain’s Got Talent’ and ‘American Idol’, continue to endorse his status as one of the most powerful figures in the music industry. It’s business as normal this year as 2010 X Factor winner, Matt Cardle sits at the summit for the festive season. The monopoly strikes back. My problem with the X Factor isn’t so much the show itself, which is in the long standing tradition of middle of the road Saturday night light entertainment that has always been the staple of British television since day one, but when performances that might be politely described as average are acclaimed by the gushing judges as ‘brilliant’ or ‘incredible’, whilst talented kids are spoken of in lofty terms as ‘artists’, I have to take issue. The hyperbole surrounding the show is a constant source of nausea – even the BBC spend a hugely disproportionate amount of time discussing the in and outs of a programme that’s broadcast by their rivals, buying into the hype and re-cycling its bland brand of banality. For the past few years I’ve been saying to anyone who cares to listen that it’s only a matter of time before a new generation of young people stand up and state their outright rejection of the X Factor, Big Brother, and the rest of this celebrity culture they’ve been force fed for so long. Instead they’ll demand substance over style, refusing to accept the second rate scenario currently on offer, placing their support with bands and singers who play their own instruments, write their own songs, and have their own ideas. So, as you can imagine, it was refreshing for me to hear the words quoted at the beginning of this post by 15 year old Barnaby Raine. His speech, relating to the recent student demonstrations, struck a chord with many people and has been seen as a rallying call for the youth in their protest against the increasing tuition fees and educational cuts. Pop has played its part in politics since the 60’s, but, as Raine points out, the years since he was born might well be described as post-ideological – a time when the big issues at home and abroad have paled in significance, whilst important stuff, like why Jordan’s latest relationship isn’t working out, or whether Cher Lloyd is having a nervous breakdown, provides a constant contemporary source of opium for the people. Clean cut sanitized popstars are nothing new, they have their place, but it’s close on 50 years since they ruled the roost in the way they do now. To mistake these entertainers for artists is an insult to all the greats who built the industry these modern pretenders now benefit from. This generation needs their own artists to inspire them, but they won’t find them by watching the X Factor, which they have to renounce in order to create the space to look in the right places. This insane hero worship of the humdrum has gone on for far too long, and hopefully an ever increasing amount of younger heads will wake up to the realisation that the rich culture they’ve inherited, their birthright, has been buried beneath a mountain of mediocrity during recent times. X Factor Wikipedia: Christmas Number 1’s Wikipedia:

Vienna-born actor, writer, and director Erich Von Stroheim worked mainly in the silent film genre (only one of his films was a "talkie"), but he seemed nevertheless to make a lot of noise. As an actor in Hollywood during World War I, he was often typecast as the leering, be-monocled Prussian villain. A visionary, revitalizing force in the New German Cinema of the 1970s, Werner Herzog articulated the dreams of the human spirit. In contrast to his contemporaries, who focused on frenzied, high-tech effects and chaotic jump cuts, Herzog used a lyrical film language to depict quiet spaces of epic unfo "Felliniesque" -- even if you have never watched a scrap of his film, this adjective summons up a world of oddity, magnificence, and pathos that testifies to Federico Fellini's creative genius. Initially part of the Italian Neorealist wave, he soon veered towards an idiosyncratic style all his own. F

Ubisoft's Alain Corre The executive director of Ubisoft discusses the line-up for 2009, Pele, Mizuguchi and Spielberg Ubisoft had a strong showing at E3 this year, with a portfolio of titles that covered all bases. From the hardcore crowd pleasers such as Assassin's Creed 2 and Splinter Cell Conviction, to the casual favourites of the best-selling Imagine series, Hollywood blockbusters from James Cameron and new collaborations in the longer-term from Q Entertainment and Steven Spielberg, the publisher has almost all markets covered. In this exclusive interview with GamesIndustry.biz, Alain Corre, executive director of Ubisoft, discusses the 2009 line-up, how it's betting on five big titles this year, why there's still room for innovation in the Wii market and why the company isn't afraid to take risks by entering the football genre. Q: Ubisoft had a big line-up at E3 this year. Are you confident you've got a strong variety of titles for release in 2009? Alain Corre: We are actually betting on games that we hope will be triple-A sales. It seems that judging from the response we had at the show, the five blockbusters that we are counting on – Assassin's Creed 2, Splinter Cell Conviction, Avatar, Rabbids Go Home and Red Steel 2 – the response is positive. We are confident and we have to continue to show nice products to consumers. The vibes are good. Q: So with Assassin's Creed 2 you're hoping to repeat the success of the first game in terms of sales? Alain Corre: Definitely. What we tried to do with Assassin's Creed 2 was respect the spirit of the first one. Because of the success of the first Assassin's Creed our retailers are keen to get this in store to try to maximise exposure in stores. Splinter Cell is also pleasing many, it's a surprise for most of the people seeing the game and for us also because to an extent the way we are developing games is may be a bit different. We have a lot of people working on the product at once so we don't see the progress very well until is comes above the level of the water. We have spent some time understanding how to modify the gameplay and make the franchise evolve. We've had many tries on this one, I would say that the game has been developed many times and now in the recent 12 months we have found a new angle. We've tried to make the game available to a broader audience but still be challenging to the hardcore gamers. We wanted to bring innovation to the series, a fresh approach. Q: So you're happy to delay big titles if you can turn out a better game? Alain Corre: Yes. The essence of Ubisoft is to create worlds, universes, brands, and these are our jewels. We can't damage what are the assets of the company and Splinter Cell is one of the biggest brands that we have and so quality is number one on the agenda. If we consider it would damage the value of the brand we will always consider reworking the game. Q: Why go exclusive to the Xbox 360 with Splinter Cell Conviction? Alain Corre: It was a decision that we took many years ago. It's been an ongoing process. For us when we decided to do that many years ago it was a logical step. Q: But you're going to miss sales by limiting the game to one home console platform... Alain Corre: But there are also a lot of hardcore gamers who have ownership of both consoles. And everyone has a PC at home. To a certain extent if players want the next Splinter Cell game they will find a way. Q: Ubisoft is working with Steven Spielberg and Peter Jackson on a tie-in to the Tin Tin movie. Is that going to be the same arrangement as you have with James Cameron on Avatar, where you'll be creating assets at your Hybride Technologies studio for use in both film and game? Alain Corre: Yes and it's quite new for Ubisoft. We're considering that games and cinema have a lot to share and a lot to bring to each other. As a videogame company we are experts in developing interactive experiences but we still have a lot of learn in terms of narration and scenarios. Working with Hollywood guys who have been doing that forever and are experts in doing that helps us enrich our interactive experiences. What we want is to go on sharing and ultimately define the next generation of interactive entertainment which will encompass the quality of narration and our expertise. It's very rich and we are very open to share our technologies. That's why we bought Hybride, because we want to consider releasing universes and worlds not only just as videogames but we want consumers to have access to our heroes in different ways, whether that's books or movies or web-based games. Videogames will be at the top of that pyramid. We feel that our consumers are really hungry in doing more with out heroes than they can with just a videogame. An example is the Imagine brand, where we have lot of opportunities with books, Web TV shows and figurines. A lot of girls have been following that in the last three years and we'll be able to do more with that with Imagine Online at the end of the year. Q: Ubisoft was one of the first publishers to follow Nintendo's lead and cater to girls and a more casual audience on the Wii and DS. Are you still happy to push that considering the amount of competition in the Wii market? Alain Corre: If you can surprise the consumers, if you can innovate and bring something new fresh then you have huge opportunities. We're trying to do that and we have a lot of hope with our fitness game Your Shape. For the first time we'll be able to offer a camera with the package and players won't need a controller in their hand. The possibility is to open up interactive entertainment to a new population who have previously been afraid of any controllers. The Wii market still has huge potential, you just need to find the right angle and be different enough and innovative enough to please people. There are hundreds of games and if yours is a 'me too' title it will drown before even existing. Q: You're bundling camera technology with that game - does that up the costs of development significantly for a Wii title, when the format is considered cheaper to develop for? Alain Corre: Well the camera hardware already exists and it's just adapting that to our game to make sure they work well together and are precise. It's a different team and they have different skills to those that develop our hardcore games so cost isn't significantly higher. We also study all the casual groups to make sure the population we're aiming at will be pleased by the product. It's a different way of considering your consumers. There's one thing in common with the development of Assassin's Creed 2 and Your Shape, and that's we are trying to bring something new to the consumer. Q: You're working on a new project with Q Entertainment – what do they bring to the Ubisoft portfolio that the company doesn't already have? Alain Corre: Q Entertainment is excellent in bringing new concepts and different gaming experiences and they are also very advanced and specialised in how to exploit the music genre. We wanted to partner with Tetsuya Mizuguchi because he's a famous character and we can share a lot of about what will be the next videogame market in five to ten years. Sharing ideas with this kind of genius brings a whole lot to the company and all the teams making different kinds of games. Q: So is Ubisoft interested in entering the music genre in the same capacity as Activision has with the Guitar Hero franchise? Alain Corre: We have been researching the music genre a lot. We know some iterations of music games are working very well in the music category. There are a lot of new things to invent in the future with voice or dance, so we're very much looking at what we can do in that respect. Q: You're also entering the football market with Academy of Champions. Are you confident you can offer something different and succeed in a market dominated by FIFA and Pro Evolution Soccer? Alain Corre: It's a challenge for sure. We respect very much the FIFA and PES brands because they are excellent gaming achievements, they are bringing everything to the football genre in a perfect way. So we didn't want to be in that segment. But we feel that especially on the Wii, with the population playing that console, people want more easy and casual games, more fun, and we believe that with Academy of Champions we are taking a different route. We still have all the football rules, and it feels like a soccer pitch. But we feel that there's a opportunity in the Wii market after Mario Strikers to have success. And hopefully Pele will help us promote that. Q: You've certainly pulled in an impressive endorsement of the game by signing Pele to the title. Alain Corre: Exactly. What's impressive is this man has been travelling the world since the age of 16 and has had success all over, but he still remains humble. He's very interested in people in a very genuine way. The fact that he's spending his time trying to promote games that can bring something to kids and he's so passionate about that, for us it's a lesson. He's 69, he could retire. Q: What are your impressions of the new motion control technology from Sony and Microsoft? Alain Corre: What we like is they can offer new ways of experiencing gaming. It gives plenty of possibilities for us as games creators to invent new possibilities of gameplay. It's a revolution because we've always been used to controllers and now you either don't have one at all you have something that isn't intimidating. It's something we have to integrate and invent games that we have never experienced before. And hopefully it will grow the industry and make more consumers come to games because we are getting closer to them and there are less and less barriers to playing. Ultimately that will expand the videogame industry in the next ten years. Alain Corre is executive director of Ubisoft. Interview by Matt Martin.

Best Worst Movies: 10 Essential Bad Movies for your Collection In a post-Sharknado world, there are likely quite a few people out there with a burgeoning new interest in bad, cheap, cheesy or otherwise ridiculous movies. Many film geeks, even the purists and snobs out there, can find deeper appreciation for the art by examining just how badly a film can go wrong. The trick is finding which bad movies to watch—choose wrong, and you’re just watching something vulgar, dumb or god forbid, boring. Indeed, not all bad films are created equally. For every true gem, there are hundreds, if not thousands, of features with almost no replay value. The following are not necessarily “the best of the best,” but they are the films without which no collection can be considered complete. For someone just getting into bad movies, every one of these films is required viewing. Some, you have no doubt heard about before. Some are very obscure. But all are essential. 1. The Room (2003) In any bad movie discussion, it’s practically mandated that you begin by at least acknowledging The Room. The brainchild of bizarre visionary/possible vampire Tommy Wiseau, the film is a prime example of many qualities that tend to elevate a bad movie into a classic. First and foremost is Tommy himself, the quintessentially passionate but hapless director whose name appears in nearly every credit. Writer? Tommy Wiseau. Producer? Tommy Wiseau. Lead actor? Tommy Wiseau. You can see where this is going. In terms of its execution, the film is achingly sincere, a dramatic epic seemingly inspired by some thinly veiled break-up or unrequited love in Wiseau’s past. The rest of the cast is nearly as clueless, in a story that wanders aimlessly and devolves into subplot after subplot, none of which see any kind of resolution. The film is amazingly inviting to repeated viewings, just to soak in the weirdness and ponder how such a thing comes to be. It’s no wonder an entire viewer’s guide exists to guide neophytes in their first public viewing. 2. Birdemic (2008) Birdemic has become a huge cult hit in recent years for reasons very similar to The Room, and the two films show striking similarities. Most notably, they both have a directorial figure who guided every step of the production personally, even when common sense tried to intervene. James Nguyen, the self-styled “master of romantic thrillers,” combined a Wiseau-like naïveté with a complete lack of funding and acting talent to create the most incoherent rip-off of The Birds moviegoers had ever seen. To call the acting bad is to slander the word “bad.” However, that’s nothing compared to the Birdemic special effects. Featuring inarticulate CGI models of birds repeatedly screeching and hovering in place as only the tips of their wings flap, it set a whole new standard for terrible visuals in the digital age. To date, these may still be the worst-looking animal assailants ever produced, and it’s difficult to imagine how the title could ever be wrested away. 3. Hard Ticket to Hawaii (1987) From sincere failure, we turn to gleeful excess. Perhaps no movie better captures the ridiculous spirit of 1980s “adult action” than Hard Ticket to Hawaii, and that’s including Stallone’s Over the Top. Boiled down and concentrated into this beachside Andy Sidaris feature is nearly every cliché that would characterize the best Cinemax or USA Up All Night selections: Former Playboy Playmates, graphic violence, comically inept acting and gratuitous nudity that has to be seen to be believed. Throw in a subplot revolving around a rogue snake “infected by deadly toxins from cancer-infested rats,” and you’ve got perhaps the best summertime piece of schlock ever made. 4. Moron Movies (1983) How does one accurately describe Len Cella, the master of Moron Movies? Imagine a lonely, middle-aged man who has always yearned for some sort of creative outlet. Bitter and jaded from half a lifetime lacking personal fulfillment, he lays hands on a film camera in the early 1980s and starts recording comedic shorts, each less than 15 seconds long. Totally freeform and largely devoid of anything resembling a cogent thought, his work is truly unique, bringing together a head-scratching mix of puns, scatological humor and bitter resentment for the outside world. When screened, the shorts are bizarrely hypnotic, provoking curiosity and incredulity in equal measure. That’s exactly when Johnny Carson was thinking when he had Len Cella on The Tonight Show several times from 1983-1985. Although his 15 minutes of fame are long gone today, Cella’s fever-dream shorts deserve to be discovered again. 5. Battlefield Baseball (2003) One could easily construct a list like this devoted entirely to the island of Japan, but if we’re choosing just one film to convey just how weird a place Japanese cinema can be, Battlefield Baseball is the best option. Combining the tropes of a high-school sports film (such as the “delinquent-turned-star-player”) with the reckless abandon and genre-hopping of the better-known Shaolin Soccer, it takes the absurdist comedy elements of that film and then exaggerates them exponentially. There are teams of zombie players, exploding baseballs, cyborg principals, secret tornado pitches and a body count in the dozens. In short, it should be a cinematic tradition for the opening day of baseball season. 6. Troll 2 (1990) Any movie so notoriously bad that it inspires an entire documentary dedicated to how things went wrong is going to be a good contender for this list. In the case of Troll 2, that 2010 doc, Best Worst Movie, shed some light on how a director of Italian exploitation cinema with no English-speaking ability came to America, cast a small-town dentist in a lead role and proceeded to make an unintelligible mess of a film. From the blank-faced leads to the potentially psychotic extras, Troll 2 features one of screendom’s most colorful casts in a movie that illustrates exactly what happens when a commanding cinema hack exerts complete control over a group of non-actors. You end up with a Troll sequel that doesn’t contain a single actual troll. Plenty of goblins, though. 7. To Die is Hard (2010) Parody is tough to do well in film, especially if a filmmaker’s sense of humor leans toward the juvenile. Writer/director/producer and master of micro-budget filmmaking Glenn Berggoetz set out to make a cheeky, irreverent Die Hard parody in this film, which was shot for only $2,000. To his credit, he made something that is inherently watchable and often hilarious, but rarely for the intended reasons. The forced humor is incredible to behold, as one-liners and snarky comments are shoehorned into everywhere they could conceivably fit. Repetition abounds. By the time the film plays out into a climactic fight scene and the villain throws the same spin-kick move over a dozen times in a row, it’s clear that To Die is Hard is probably the most memorable film $2,000 can buy. 8. Thankskilling (2009) You could get away with showing the kids a few of these films, but you’d be smart to hide this one away. Beyond its fantastically stupid “talking killer turkey” premise, Thankskilling demonstrates a surprising mix of genuine and unintentional humor. For every interesting creative concept, though, its stunningly inexperienced cast members are there to step in and drag the film back down to Earth. Shockingly offensive and shamelessly crude, this bizarre holiday exploitation movie switches gears from gross to titillating at the drop of a buckled Pilgrim hat. You’d be foolish to expect anything else from a feature film that contains nudity in the first second of screen time. 9. She Woke up Pregnant (1996) Yes, that’s a real movie title. Representing the Wonderfully Whimsical World of Lifetime, this made-for-TV movie is exactly as trashy and melodramatic as that moniker would suggest. How does one manage to wake up pregnant, exactly? Well, in this scenario, it involves an innocent mother, a power-mad dentist and large amounts of nitrous oxide. Naturally, being Lifetime, nobody believes the mother’s wild story of impregnation at the orthodontist’s office, and it all builds to a sting operation where the dentist is purposefully tempted by police with a hot female officer willing to roll the dice regarding unconscious sexual assault. 10. Miami Connection (1987) A recently rediscovered classic, Miami Connection was produced by yet another non-English speaker (always a good sign) “Grandmaster Y.K. Kim,” a taekwondo proponent who wanted to make a film about cleaning up the streets with the twin powers of friendship and groin-punching. There are very few films that sound better when summarized: An ’80s synth-rock band of taekwondo students faces off against a rival rock band and a gang of drug-importing ninjas to make the streets of Florida safe for everyone. Throw in some legitimately catchy original songs about friendship and the most randomly melodramatic side plot ever conceived, and you’ve got the recipe for a cult classic.