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Finally, after much anticipation, here's that 2 minute wrap of the past 6 months...
1- I graduated! I'm all done with school for now, having finally obtained my B.A. Specialization in Journalism (Print and Broadcast) from Concordia University, in my hometown of Montreal. As much as I love school, I was ready to get out in the real world, where people are theoretically as committed to their work as I am. How naive of me! Still, I have the stamped piece of paper, and I'm not planning on going back to school until the summer of 2010 so as to not compromise any chances of working on the Winter Olympics in Vancouver in that same year.
2-In early July, I made my way to Calgary for a trip I will remember for the rest of my life. Not only did I meet some wonderful youth in my community, I made some very good friends, albeit much younger ones ;) Though that shouldn't come as a surprise to those who know me well! The purpose of the trip was for the National ISTAR (aka Ismaili Student Total Academic Recognition) Awards. It was the first time these awards were handed out on a national scale. Though I was nominated in a couple of categories, namely Arts and Culture, I didn't make any finalists list or win any prizes. That experience helped me realize that no matter how creative journalism is, most people don't consider it to be an art. I guess it is more of a technical trade in the mind of the general public. But then again, journalism isn't as well regarded a profession as it was in the time of legends like Edward R. Murrow or Walter Cronkite.
3-While I was in Calgary, I got to attend my first ever Stampede. The quick version? LOVE! The awards were purposely timed to correspond with this exceptional Calgary event. The country music fan in me was totally and utterly thrilled. I caught my first ever country shows, Emerson Drive at Nashville North and Dierks Bentley at the Coca-Cola Stage. I also went behind the scenes at the Stampede grounds thanks to my press pass, obtained because of my participation in a documentary on the Stampede that used the Ismailis' values of volunteerism and community as a central character. I was one of three young girls who were chosen - mostly due to timing and availability - to be stalked over three days in Calgary. It was an experience on several levels. I made good contacts with the staff working on the documentary, and I learned a lot about shooting in the field. To be able to understand both sides of a documentary was extremely interesting to me, and I have to admit I had a lot of fun secretly communicating with Mike the sound guy!! For days after the shooting finished, I actually missed knowing someone was listening to my random conversations and lame jokes. Oh, the tapes are going to be a hilarious listen...
The documentary was made for CityTV and should be broadcast nationally sometime before Stampede 2009. I can't wait to see what made the cut, how silly I look and speak, and what ends up on the cutting room floor! And, of course, I wouldn't mind flying out to Calgary for the premiere ;)
4-On my way home from Calgary, I made a pit stop in Toronto, where I got started on my Olympics contract. That's right! I had the honour of working on the 2008 Beijing Olympics with CBC. For the month of August, I was working night shifts covering the events in Beijing - but from Toronto. Basically, with a producer, announcer and editor, we put together 2 minute video highlight updates based on what the main network was putting out. The updates were due every hour and a half, which amounts to about 6 a shift. It was a lot of fun because I got to keep track of a lot of the Olympic happenings. I also got to get re-acquainted with a lot of the people I met and worked with during the NHL playoffs last season.
I'm very proud of myself for achieving my Olympic goal 2 years earlier than anticipated. I'm still working on making a bigger impact for 2010, but as Scott Moore, head of TV Network Sports at CBC said at the wrap party, "Every element, every person who worked on the 2008 Beijing Olympics contributed to our success and made it that much better a product."
That's a loose quote, of course.
This most recent trip to Toronto made me realize that I was psyching myself up for a potential move to Canada's main business hub. And so, I thought I actually wouldn't mind living there too much. What I realized, once I came home, is that the city itself is toxic. In fact, I wouldn't enjoy living there. What I like about Toronto is the people that I know there. I have a whole lot of really good friends in that city, and that's what I miss when I miss Toronto. Also, it helps that whenever I'm there, I have a job and a certain amount of independence that I don't get in Montreal... but that aside, Toronto is no more spectacular than it was before.
My Olympic experience also helped me build new contacts and regain my faith in the ability to successfully work in sports (and media in general) in a city other than Toronto. Hopefully, some of this networking will pan out sooner rather than later!
Also when I was in Toronto, I attended the first ever (hopefully annual) Rhinestone Country Music Festival at Downsview Park. What a blast it was!!! I only went for day 2, but I got to see a bunch of new artists and current favourites: Luke Bryan, Lady Antebellum, and Jason Aldean specifically. Those who have seen the pictures know how much fun I had wearing my cowboy boots, enjoying the sun and singing along to every song.
The trip as a whole helped me centre myself and re-discover my priorities. It wasn't just hanging out with friends I hadn't seen in a while or making new ones. It was about having the time and ability to ask myself what I really wanted and what I really care about. A lot of those conclusions are having an impact on the decisions that I take daily, and in a positive way.
All in all, I'm very satisfied with my summer, although I sometimes wonder where the time - and sun - went! Now back in Montreal after my quick trip to New York City, I have to reacquaint myself with the changing downtown landscape of my city. But with hockey season just around the corner, the city is starting to come alive again like it does in the middle of the winter.
And that's what I love about MY Montreal.
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Saturday, March 19, 2011
Diet and Exercise
When someone says they lost the weight through diet and exercise, I feel as though they are not truly answering the question as to how they did it. So I thought I would try and explain mine.
This is me Dec of 2008.
While in the hospital giving birth to my daughter, I top the scales at 230lbs. In this picture I was approx 175, I dont truly know because at this point I has stopped looking in the mirrors, let alone weighing myself. Pictures of me like this are extremely rare. I happened to stumble upon this one via a friends facebook photo album.
First of all, you have to want a change.
Its a lot of work and its something that you have to always be conscious of. I admit, Im obsessed with it...but I feel as though you will never see a change if you arent to some degree committed to a healthier you.
I avoid most meat, though I dont recommend it and I try to consume what I can for its protein value only. I mainly drink water, rice milk and orange juice. I enjoy all types of salads and soups. Pasta is my down fall and I try to limit my white-carb intake. I also try to avoid sugar in the juice I drink and an excessive amount of salt in the soup I eat. I eat this way, because it is what I enjoy, and its what works for me. I dont consider it a "diet" its just what I eat. My life doesnt revolve around food. I eat when Im hungry and always try to consider is portion size.
I feel as though mixing it up to avoid a routine helps with the longevity of staying with it. It is however good to get in a routine of WHEN you are doing it, so you stay committed to a time. My personal goal it to strengthen and tighten my core and build my cardio. So I combine those in my workouts.
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He suffers so badly from ear infections and they sneak up on him within a matter of hours so tonight when he said his ear was bothering him I knew we only had a few hours until it got REALLY bad. We headed into the E.R. for some late night E.R. memories… you know the odd-bods that are at are lurking in the E.R. at night? The uncovered coughers, the way too large ladies in WAY WAY too small tank tops, the dirty little kids with NO shoes, the strange tattoos and the stranger hair styles? You know! The crazies!
So we laughed, we picked up extra nasty germs, we got antibiotics, we made memories and now were home tucked in bed and ready to sleep for a few hours and face the week.
Happy Monday friends!


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Technically I'm supposed to be retired from blogging. However, that's neither here nor there. Every time I want to step away from the keyboard, there comes an artist who makes me realize why I started blogging in the first place. Today that artist is Jennah Bell. Originally from Oakland the Berklee College of Music trained single has worked with everyone from INXS to Paul Simon, and her soulful, folksy singing has perked my ear.
Jennah's music is simple. No over-produced theatrics here. The production is minimized to allow her voice to shine. Enjoy. (via JCrillz)


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Thursday, July 28, 2011
Feast Your Ears on "The Devil's Orchard"
Well, my wish was granted. The second track, "The Devil's Orchard", from Heritage can be heard over at Stereogum.com.
Sadly, I can't say I was that pleased with my first listen. It is definitely not the heavy, melodic Opeth sound I love. It has more of a jazzy feel to me, which isn't the "feel" I want from Opeth. Don't get me wrong, musically it is intricate and cool sounding, with their usual pinpoint timing and changes, but I prefer their heavier material. I'm also not thrilled to hear that the entire album will feature Akerfeldt's "clean" vocals.
After a couple more listens the song grew on me, so I'm thinking that might be the way the whole album goes for me. Not love at first listen, but it I might have to spend some time with it to fully appreciate the musicianship. The solo towards the end of the song is fucking amazing sounding though.
I can't complain though, this album will be better than most anything else coming out this year...even if it does put me out of my Opeth comfort zone. Go give it a listen and share your thoughts in the comments!
Posted by Ryan at 7/28/2011 07:34:00 AM
2 comments:
- Justin said...
I'm not a big fan of the direction they've been going in the past few albums but I'll still give this album a listen when it comes out. I just feel like they've gotten a little too proggy and jazzy for my tastes.
- July 28, 2011 at 8:57 AM
- Ryan said...
Agreed. I'm definitely a much bigger fan of their heavier material, but I'm still pretty excited for this album. Knowing this band, they'll still deliver some great music
- July 29, 2011 at 7:41 AM
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Today starts the sneak peeks for the new release from CRAFTERS COMPANION called Frou Frou which is CD and stamps and a co-ordinating Serif CD which will be Pick of the Week.
This range is by a lady called Kathleen Francour, her vision for the range is girly, glitz and glamour with a 1920's Parisienne feel.
I made the following 3 cards just using the CD with a few bit of ribbon and gems to embellish.
This first card is trifold shutter card all made with embellies from the CD. Just added card stock, ribbon with gems and wire for the flutterbys.
This second card is a cut away card made with topper on outside and inside from the disk. Gems to finish
The third card is a tri-fold card made on my Ultimate. I used papers and toppers from CD and hand-doodled the swirly edges to the papers to match the toppers.
More sneak peeks tomorrow!


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Thu 6 October 2016 | 10:00 am - 12:00 pm
Google Campus Tel Aviv - Electra Tower, Yigal Alon 98, Tel Aviv,
For all the entrepreneurs in the group- your opportunity to hear from 4 leading VCs at Google Campus.
Join us to hear from Blumberg Capital , Kaedan Capital, Battery Ventures and Carmel Ventureson what kind of startups they are looking for and what makes a great pitch.
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(Matthias Bein/DPA/Lapresse)
Here we are again! Like in 2009 and in 2010, thousands of people (more than 17000 this year!) have gathered in the little german town of Braunlage for the third edition of the world championship of the craziest winter sport ever: Nude Sledging!
(Matthias Bein/DPA/Lapresse)
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In case that wasn't obvious! So why is Ben saying this today? Well I have been setting up a personal domain environment for playing around in – and to be honest it is getting quite complex. By now I have a domain controller, a file server, an iSCSI server, a SQL server (with SQL reporting), a MOM 2005 server and two desktop virtual machines.
Now if that wasn't good enough – all of these virtual machines are stored on my USB 2.0 disk and I have been able to move the entire environment between work and home. Even better than that – I have put the virtual network file (.VNC) on the USB disk as well and configured my home and work computers with loopback adapters configured the same way – so there is no reconfiguration. I just shutdown the virtual machines, take my USB disk home, and start the virtual machines up again where I was.


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WARNING: This posting contains spoilers for series two of Doctor Who! Right, on we go. It's been announced that Freema Agyeman will join the TARDIS for the third series of Doctor Who, to be broadcast next year on BBC1. The new companion is called Martha Jones and I know absolutely nothing more about her beyond that. Everything that follows is merely speculation, okay? Good.
We've just said goodbye to Rose Tyler, the Doctor's council estate companion, plucked from contemporary Earth. Her time in TARDIS also gave the show an extended family, with Rose's mum Jackie, sometime boyfriend Mickey and often dead dad Pete. All of this grounded the show in the here and now, procuring massive audience identification and helping create a family audience for the Doctor's adventures. With a contemporary companion, taking Rose into past or future gave everything a novelty, a freshness.
The question now is how will the new companion affect that dynamic of the show? Will Martha be cut from much the same cloth as Rose, or will the programme makers opt for something more radical? Perhaps Martha will be all ASBOs and attitude, an angry young woman searching for her place in the universe. Perhaps she'll be plucked from the past, so bringing her to contemporary Earth [well, Cardiff, for the most part] will make the commonplace seem new to the viewer, seeing it afresh through Martha's eyes. The same effect could be achieved by having her come from humanity's future, or from another planet - perhaps an Earth colony of tomorrow.
In its first incarnation, Doctor Who ran for 26 years on British TV. During that time, the Doctor's companions were mostly required to ask questions that elicited exposition or fall into jeopardy. The best companions stood out because of their particular qualities. Sarah Jane Smith was an investigative journalist and proto-feminist of sorts, who stood up for herself while asking impertinent questions. Leela was a savage from a human colony, who underwent a Pygmalion-esque transition. Romana was a Time Lady, making her the Doctor's equal - and sometimes his superior. Ace was a troubled London teenager who wanted to escape. More recently, Rose was a bored young woman from Londonn who wanted to escape, but still loved her family - a softened, more nuanced progression of Ace.
So, will Martha Jones resemble any of these past companions, or will she be something entirely fresh and different? What do you think?


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He provided a quote from Richard Nixon's State of the Union speech in 1971 when an unemployment rate of 6% was considered a national emergency.
We must do better for workers in peacetime and we will do better.
To achieve this, I will submit an expansionary budget this year--one that will help stimulate the economy and thereby open up new job opportunities for millions of Americans.
It will be a full employment budget, a budget designed to be in balance if the economy were operating at its peak potential. By spending as if we were at full employment, we will help to bring about full employment.
I ask the Congress to accept these expansionary policies--to accept the concept of a full employment budget. ...
With the stimulus and the discipline of a full employment budget, with the commitment of the independent Federal Reserve System to provide fully for the monetary needs of a growing economy, and with a much greater effort on the part of labor and management to make their wage and price decisions in the light of the national interest and their own self-interest--then for the worker, the farmer, the consumer, for Americans everywhere we shall gain the goal of a new prosperity: more jobs, more income, more profits, without inflation and without war.
I'm certainly not the first one to notice, but you have to wonder if the Republicans we're dealing with these days ever take a moment to reflect just how over the cliff they've gone when compared with their leaders of the past. Where have rational thoughts like "by spending as if we were at full employment, we will help to bring about full employment" gone? These days when President Obama says something like that they call him a socialist and claim he's out to ruin the country.
Sometimes I think that all those Republicans sitting home instead of participating in the primaries and caucuses just might be opting out because they don't recognize their party anymore.


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TYT – On the Wrong Side of History, Justice, and Love: The Young Turks are Pro-Abortion
First, let us not be science deniers: PLEASE WATCH THIS VIDEO – Alexander Tsiaras: Conception to birth — visualized – Image-maker Alexander Tsiaras shares a powerful medical visualization, showing human development from conception to birth and beyond.
The Young Turks, the flagship show of the The TYT Network, which claims to be "the largest online news show in the world", are rabidly Pro-Abortion; therefore they are on the wrong side of history, justice, and love. Why? I do not know, because they seem okay otherwise. Shows one the power of a made-up mind, or of money, or of both, I guess, does it not? Sad. Even Alex Jones is smart enough to be on the right side of history regarding the LIFE issue. Shame on the Young Turks!
The Young Turks think teaching kids in school about the wonder and miracle of life in the womb is "creepy" because they want abortion on demand to remain legal. See VIDEO – Anti-Abortion Fetus Dolls Handed Out In School.
The Young Turks make complete fools out of themselves by first acknowledging science has proven a unique human life begins at conception, and then making the assertion that, because the child cannot live independently from her mother, abortion on demand should remain legal (?!). See: VIDEO – New Strict Anti-Abortion Law.
See: List TYT Pro-Abortion videos
Let us be honest with ourselves please. Watch Alexander Tsiaras' video Conception to birth — visualized. Then watch The Young Turks video: New Strict Anti-Abortion Law. Cenk Uygur of The Young Turks makes a complete fool out of himself in this video by first acknowledging that science has proven a unique human life begins at conception, and then making the assertion that, because the child cannot live independently from her mother, abortion on demand should remain legal (see: 01:52 here).
Have a heart Cenk!
Stop lying and relying on empty arguments Cenk!
"They rely on empty arguments and speak lies; they conceive trouble and give birth to evil." (Isaiah 59:3-4).
The bloody dismemberment of an innocent child in her mothers womb is still "defended" by people today. People like the folks at The Young Turks. Rather than seeking the truth, for themselves and their viewers, they put forth propagandistic slogans and invalid "arguments" in order to distort the truth, slogans such as: "My body my choice!" "No one has the right to intervene between a woman and her doctor!" "It is not a child until it is born!" And, of course: "It is none of your business!" Pathetic.
These tired shibboleths have been put forth by the Pro-Aborts for the past 39 years, in the criminal attempt to justify child dismemberment at the cost of over 50,000,000 dead, bloody, and dismembered human beings — small and wonderful though they are.
Those who, like Cenk Uygur and The Young Turks, defend abortion on demand "rely on empty arguments and speak lies" every time they attempt to defend the inhumane and the indefensible: baby killing for hire. Women and their children deserve better than abortion!
A message for The Young Turks: Get on the right side of history, justice and love. People are not property, no matter how young or how small. The revolution of love is here. Join us. "We are committed to the protection of life, which is threatened in todays world by war, abortion, poverty, racism, capital punishment and euthanasia. We believe that these issues are linked under a 'consistent ethic of life'. We challenge those working on all or some of these issues to maintain a cooperative spirit of peace, reconciliation, and respect in protecting the unprotected. We wish to create a peaceful, just, and sustainable future which respects all of humanity and the planet." Join us.


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Here are 3 days of evidence of emissions and elevated radiation levels:
Today's screenshots of emissions start on page 9 of the pdf.
You can see from the screenshots that the emissions coming from the buildings fuse and dissipate in strange concentrations and dispersions.
Here is a more recent screenshot that is also persuasive:


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I managed to finish one more project for this quarters Finish Along from the original link up list here. I was about 1/2 through this afghan when I added it to the list. I have wanted to crochet one of the stripy afghans using different stitches for a while so I started using the extra yarn that I had left from my daughters afghan and some of the colors that I thought I would use in the Sophie but did not. This pattern is called Spice of Life and was another CAL. You can still get the pattern at Cherry Heart here.
The before picture from the first of the year.
The finish!
I am short, the above picture was taken standing on a chair.
|Close up of the edging I finished it with.
I was happy using up some of the extra yarn I had and the colors work well in one of our guest rooms. I have used Willow Wash yarn for these last two afghans and really like the colors and softness of the yarn. It works up really well.
Out of the list of 4 projects I wanted to finish this quarter, I finished 3. I did get the quilt top put together but did not get it backed and quilted. So I will add that to the next quarters list.
Thanks for stopping by! Blessings from our home in the woods.


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Wat Arun Rajwararam (Thai: วัดอรุณ, Thai pronunciation: [wát arun], "Temple of the Dawn") is a Buddhist temple (wat) in the Bangkok Yai district of Bangkok, Thailand, on the Thonburi west bank of the Chao Phraya River. The full name of the temple is Wat Arunratchawararam Ratchaworamahawihan (วัดอรุณราชวรารามราชวรมหาวิหาร). Wat Arun Rajwararam or the Temple of Dawn, is named after Aruna, the Indian God of Dawn. The Wat Arun is considered one of the most well known of Thailand's many landmarks.
The outstanding feature of Wat Arun is its central prang (Khmer-style tower). Begun in 1809, it may have been named "Temple of the Dawn" because the first light of morning reflects off the surface of the temple with a pearly iridescence. Steep steps lead up to two terraces. The height is reported by different sources as between 66.8 m (219 ft) and 86 m (282 ft). The corners are surrounded by 4 smaller satellite prangs. The prangs are decorated by seashells and bits of porcelain which had previously been used as ballast by boats coming to Bangkok from China. The presiding Buddha image, cast in the reign of Rama II, is said to have been moulded by His Majesty himself. The ashes of King Rama II are buried in the base of the image.
The central prang is topped with a seven-pronged trident, referred to by many sources as the "Trident of Shiva".
Around the base of the prangs are various figures of ancient Chinese soldiers and animals. Over the second terrace are four statues of the Hindu god Indra riding on Erawan.
At the riverside are 6 pavilions (sala) in Chinese style. The pavilions are made of green granite and contain landing bridges.
Next to the prangs is the Ordination Hall with a Niramitr Buddha image supposedly designed by King Rama II. The front entrance of the Ordination Hall has a roof with a central spire, decorated in coloured ceramic and stuccowork sheated in coloured china. There are 2 demons, or temple guardian figures, in front.
The monastery has existed for many years since the days when Ayutthaya was capital of Thailand. At the time named Wat Mokok, situated in a place called Tumbol Bangmakok. The word Bangmakok, meaning " Village of Olive", has since been shortened to " Makok
The central prang symbolizes Mount Meru of the Indian cosmology. The satellite prangs are devoted to the wind god Phra Phai.
Construction of the tall prang and four smaller ones was started by King Rama II 1809-1824 and completed by King Rama III (1824-1851). The towers are supported by rows of demos and monkeys. Very steep and narrow steps lead to a balcony high on the central tower. The circumference of the base of the structure is 234 meters, and the central prang is 250 foot high.
The demons (Thai: Yaksha) at the entranceway to the ubosot are from the Ramakien. The white figure is named Sahassa Deja and the green one is known as Thotsakan, the Demon Rāvana from Ramayana.


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Anderson playing with his bug-a-boo while he practices sitting up.
Anderson has been sitting up for a minute or two for quite some time now, but today he was able to sit up with pillows around him for over 15 minutes and only toppled over 3 times. I think it is safe to say he has reached his sitting up milestone!


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A reference work for those who are concerned with the development of a constitutional Bill of Rights for the United Kingdom. It brings together a collection of writings and materials, drawn from 149 published documents, from the Magna Carta of 1215 to the pre-1997 election Labour/Liberal Democrat joint agreement on constitutional reform and human rights legislation.;An introductory commentary traces the history of events leading to the incorporation of the European Convention on Human Rights into UK law, scheduled for 1998, which represents a political and legal ""first step"" towards a Bill of Rights, and examines the prospects and options for the future preparation and enactment of a homegrown constitutional Bill of RIghts for the United Kingdom.


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Another great recipe from the Debbie Macomber "Cedar Cove Cookbook." Anything with bacon always taste better!
8 oz. bacon
1/2 medium onion, chopped
1 red bell pepper, chopped
2 Tblsp all purpose flour
1-1/2 c. whole milk
1 lb frozen, shredded hash brown potatoes
1/2 c. snipped fresh chives
1-1/4 c. shredded sharp cheddar cheese
Preheat oven to 350* Butter an 8-inch square glass baking dish. Cook bacon in a large heavy skillet over med-high heat until crisp. Remove slices; drain on a paper towel lined plate. In same skillet over med-low heat, cook onion and pepper in bacon drippings for about 8 minutes or until softened; stirring often. Reduce heat under skillet to low. Stir in flour. Slowly pour in milk, 1/2 cup at a time, stirring to incorporate smoothly with the flour. Cook until mixture thickens & comes to a simmer, about 3 minutes; stirring often. Crumble bacon into mixture. Evenly spread potatoes into prepared dish. Top with half of the chives, 1 cup of the cheese & all of the vegetable-bacon mixture. Sprinkle with the remaining 1/4 cup of cheese. Bake for 40 minutes, until potatoes are tender. Sprinkle with remaining chives before cutting into squares.
Serves 6


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d endeared him to litigation, he must needs start his action for slander. By the time that action had been tried, and appealed, and a new trial ordered and held, and the legal proceedings in the respective bankruptcies of the social reformer and the juror were completed, the total of counsels' guineas must have been well on the other side of a thousand.
Everybody had now forgotten that there ever was a stack involved and no one would have recollected that the Insurance Company had had anything to do with it, had not the social reformer, in the course of his public examination, ingenuously attributed his financial downfall to the original misbehaviour of that company in disbelieving their policy-holders when they declared that they were not incendiaries. Thereupon, after a number of applications by counsel to a number of courts, the Insurance Company got itself inserted in the Bankruptcy proceedings, but not before an enterprising newspaper had taken upon itself to assert that there was an element of tr


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(Potential spoilers)
Roger Ebert wrote in one of his recent blogs "There's a difference between caring what happens in a movie, and merely waiting to see what will happen." TERMINATOR SALVATION is a waiting room for action scenes, though in keeping with its tone, it's a suitably withered locale. It's a factory line of set-pieces from beginning to end, one big crashing ride after another. Some of them are even impressive – or would be, if the director, McG, bothered to spend a few seconds on deepening his characters. I understand that summer movies are supposed to be graded with leniency, like they can't help but be idiotic, but a bad movie is a bad movie.
What an ugly, noisy mess this is, devoid of any semblance of humanity as much as its barren matte paintings lack colour. Dystopian visions are often striking, and TERMINATOR SALVATION is blessed with some exceptional sights, but the best shots — a battered electrical tower springs to mind — are buried in its furious rush to excite. The thing about dystopian visions is that they're intrinsically depressing, which can be a real bummer if your bleak tale lacks a strong story and interesting characters. TERMINATOR SALVATION doesn't just suffer from such a condition; it's terminally ill.
Consider the script, which lays waste to plot, character, and logic with astonishing boldness. Calling it a script is a kindness; it's a conveyor belt shuttling us along from one fight to the next. It is a film designed to Entertain, only to think that it actually does so is an insult to real, thrilling entertainments.
Witness the misuse of good actors: Christian Bale struggles in a role that feels simultaneously inflated and underwritten. For a character that spends his free time urging his compatriots to remember that the heart is what separates humans from robots, Bale's sullen Connor is remarkably heartless. In one scene, his men die while pursuing a quarry that he sets free not five minutes later. The senseless waste of his men's lives, of which he bears full responsibility, doesn't register on him. In a smarter film, I'd be inclined to see this as a commentary on the nature of leadership in warfare, but TERMINATOR SALVATION is far too concerned with purposeless pyrotechnics to warrant such a reading. If there are Ideas in this film (and there are, despite the writers' efforts), the editing process has made sure to starve them into submission to the greater cause of pointless kinetics.
Equally frustrating is the sheer idiocy of this future world. Why does SkyNet's main base feature well-lit corridors? Why did they build a big, shiny tower? Why do the machines bother having computer terminals? SkyNet may be self-aware, but not of how stupid it is. The best visionary films create a world that makes sense on their own terms. TERMINATOR SALVATION doesn't even bother with terms, let alone sense. The inanity extends to the characters, in brief, and astonishing moments. Why does John Connor, safely ensconced in his home base, need to yell "evasive maneuvers!" at his embattled pilots, especially when they're clearly in the thick of a dogfight? Why does a technician have to demonstrate what a robot snake will do when such-and-such happens, instead of just telling Connor? She almost takes his face off by "showing" him. I wanted to throw something at the screen.
There is nothing – not one moment – that succeeded in facilitating an emotional bond between its characters and myself, save for Anton Yelchin's earnest and winning turn as a young Kyle Reese. In a film full of across-the-board robotic acting, I'm not sure how Yelchin was able to sneak a lively performance past his director, but he did. He accomplishes the same task as some of his comrades in STAR TREK (and he, as Chekhov, kind of failed to do); he recalls the performance of the role's originator without aping it. It's fitting that the franchise's original protagonist comes off as the most human and vital presence in the film.
The film touches ever so briefly on questions of human identity, not so much because there's an attempt to explore such concepts, but because they are baggage brought along by plot developments. It sniffs at territory covered by the recently ended television series, BATTLESTAR GALACTICA, which often packed more substance into its pre-credit openings than TERMINATOR SALVATION does in 115 minutes.
McG deploys a few moments of homage (single-handed shotgun loading; a motorcycle leaping off a bridge) with dexterity, and drives the rest home with a sledgehammer. It's enough to make you wish that fans had never popularized catchphrases, the way they're bandied about here with a wink and a nudge. Perhaps these moments are irritating because their very presence and tone of execution reveals their purpose: to build cachet between McG and the skeptical fanbase. If he can make enough inside references, he'll be embraced as a serious filmmaker and we'll all forget about CHARLIE'S ANGELS. Instead, the clumsy implementation of classic lines and images reinforces a sense of insecurity. Revealing the Arnold-skinned T-800 isn't enough; it has to be accompanied by a tonally intrusive use of Brad Fiedel's original theme. It's supposed to be exciting; instead it's a jarring aural shift that screams "Look! It's an homage!"
By the time the film winds up on its knees, strangled by the chain of homage in its duller-than-dull factory climax, catatonia has set in. Ever valiant, McG ensures we understand his geek cred by making a Terminator be simultaneously burned by molten metal and frozen by liquid nitrogen, a neat little combination of T2's climax. It's the slavishly devoted icing on a cake of unoriginality, but it functions as a visual summary of the film itself: caught between the fire of fans' expectations and paralyzed by the grip of its predecessors' legacies, it winds up as a totally inconsequential piece of work. I have never seen a film set up such high stakes and then brush aside supposedly massive consequences with a simple voice-over (Spielberg's WAR OF THE WORLDS springs to mind, but it had a sense of finality about it). The roots for yet another trilogy are being laid, but at the expense of the individual impact. In the rush for moneymaking franchises, Hollywood is forgetting why people go to sequels: because they liked the original. Having spent two hours watching humongous things happen for no apparent reason, I'm not eager to see that experience replicated again and again before a supposedly satisfying conclusion.
A day after seeing TERMINATOR SALVATION, I watched John Ford's HOW GREEN WAS MY VALLEY. The two films have nothing in common, except for running times and a lack of colour in the image. Ford's film is a great work, full of warmth, life, tragedy, pain, love, death, and maybe most of all, humanity. It touched me deeply; more than I realized at the time, and even now as I reflect on it, I sense it is one of those films that travels with you for life, like an old friend. In the same amount of time spent on robot chases and heartless set-pieces, Ford's film reached into my own experiences of family and small-town life and increased its presence. It is something of a masterpiece.
I mention this to demonstrate the power that a 115 minute film can contain, for good or for ill. But I also want to mention how, like Ford's film, the TERMINATOR franchise once had life and humanity and vitality. Those days ended with the departure of James Cameron. T3 clung to life enough to deliver an emotionally resonant conclusion, but it was all for naught. McG and his writers have beaten all life from this story, and in doing so, destroyed any enthusiasm I have for future TERMINATOR projects. In crafting the most mechanical, lifeless entry of this series, all they have left to look forward to is the inevitable academic paper arguing the brilliance of a TERMINATOR film that is more machine than human. Thanks, but no thanks. I won't be back.


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From high rise apartments to dirt huts... billions of humans awoke on Thursday morning the 15th of April 2010 just like every morning on planet earth and began their day by eating someone's flesh or drinking another species milk.
Imagine however about 60 men and women on this very same morning waking up from a night of sleep, leaving their comfortable homes and driving hundreds of miles-----to rescue and save the lives of former food animals.
This is exactly what the many caring volunteers and committed staff from Animal Acres did as they rescued 150 neglected nearly starving farmed animals from a dilapidated property near San Diego.
The volunteers had to make a "human fence" to herd the animals uphill to the trailers.
The rescue – under the direction of the Shelter Manager, Frank Allen took four days in total.
Over 50 dedicated volunteers showed up for this effort and the rescue would not have been possible without their hard work and commitment.
But with all that said and done it does not seem out of place to also briefly examine what is at work here and to notice the compassion and commitment of people who care and act so much differently than most other humans do.
Most humans ignore altogether the plight of farmed animals in order to have an obstacle or a veil so to speak, remain.
Without an ignorance the complicity in killing would have to be faced head on which would be a far greater challenge than most people are willing to deal with.
Yet there are those people who care enough to find the strength... to do what needs to be done because they have also found a place in their heart to love. To care.
And in their capacity to act on this love and compassion what is given back to the world is multiplied ten fold. For what comes back to the farmed animals here for instance is not merely love and a chance for a new life but also their dignity as living individuals, which, when they were seen only as property, ceased to exist.
For everyone who volunteered, donated money and have gone vegan, you are a sanctuary.
Thank you.
Over 150 animals are needing to be given sanctuary this week - and we need you to make their rescue possible with your donation today. Currently, all available Animal Acres membership funding is used to provide quality care for the existing sanctuary residents. We are not a large, well funded group, we do not have funds "in reserve", and we simply cannot act unless you act, now.
Animal Acres will begin this Thursday April 15th rescuing goats.
(Here above) the Animal Acres goat resident in charge of new goat greeting committee.
Animal Acres will work through Sunday the 18th to bring all the animals from San Diego to our new evacuation site on our premises.
An Animal Acres security rooster (above)
watching over the new evacuation site.
Please click link Here
Thank You!
MOIRA NORDHOLT-Food Activist
Feel Good Guru's Polenta Pizza
It's really hard to find a good prepared vegan polenta crust for pizza, yet it's soooo easy to make. Don't be intimidated thinking you'll have to stand over the stove stirring constantly for an hour. With this easy-shmeasy polenta crust, you whip it up, cover it and walk away. The polenta takes the shape and size of the pan you cook it in and browns up in the oven on a cookie sheet. Simply top with your favorite sauce and toppings, or follow the recipe below for a perfect vegan polenta pizza!
Polenta Crust:
2 cups organic polenta or cornmeal
4 cups water or vegetable broth
1 tsp sea salt
tiny drizzle of olive oil
Bring water or broth to a boil in a 10 or 12-inch diameter pot with sea salt and olive oil. Whisk in polenta slowly until it's all incorporated. Give it a stir for about a minute, then turn the heat to low, cover the pot and leave it for 40 minutes.
Turn off the heat and allow to sit for another 10 minutes. Turn the pot upside down, carefully dropping the polenta onto a cutting board, and slice it through into two equal round pizza crusts.
Bake on a cookie sheet for about half an hour at 350 or until crispy around the edges.
Heirloom Tomato Sauce:
This can be made in advance. Quarter a pound of heirloom tomatoes and place face up on a lightly oiled roasting pan. Drizzle with a tiny bit of olive oil and sprinkle with sea salt. Add 6-8 whole cloves of garlic and roast about half an hour or until lightly caramelized.
Pulse with an immersion blender or mash with a fork. Add your favorite seasonal fresh herbs.
Slice and chop any and all of your favorite seasonal market veggies and herbs and/or the following:
Maple Shiitakes - in a frying pan on medium, toss sliced shiitakes with a little splash each of tamari and maple syrup.
finely sliced red onions, zucchini rounds, Tofurky Italian sausages
Herbed Cashew "Cheese":
1 cup organic cashews (you can used almonds as well, just soak them overnight in spring water)
1/2 lemon, juiced
1 tsp Himalayan sea salt
1 tsp fresh basil or your favorite seasonal herb
1/4 cup spring water
Blend all ingredients in a food processor and add water slowly until a thick, cream-cheese-like consistency is formed. You want to be able to form little "cheeseballs", so careful not to add too much water.
Taste and adjust seasoning to your liking. (I enjoy a clove or two of garlic and sometimes more lemon juice, depending how juicy the lemon is;) Use a teaspoon to form little balls to arrange on your pizza.
Bake pizza for another 10 minutes just to heat toppings. Garnish pizza with whole fresh basil leaves.
moira nordholt


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Patrick is a bestfriend of nowadays-famous-cartoon-character, SpongeBob Squarepants.
Gee...."who are they??"
For you who doesn't know yet about this cartoon....kasihan deeeh hihihi
Ok well, let me tell you shortly about this cartoon.
SpongeBob Squarepants lives deep down in the Pasific Ocean, in the city named Bikini Bottom. He is a cute square yellow sea sponge, lives in a pineapple with his pet snail, Gary. SpongeBob's bestfriends are Patrick the starfish and Sandy Cheeks, the squirrel.
SpongeBob is the main character of this cartoon, but I just fell in love at once I knew about Patrick. He has no occupation. He enjoys doing everything that SpongeBob does. According to the story, Patrick is the dumbest creature under the sea. That's why he could attract my attention best.
Being the dumbest, Patrick's life is so simple. He is innocent, and sees all aspect of lives in a very simple way. If you see his physical appearance, maybe you can conclude a brief summary. He's so dumb because he has a very small brain (see the size of his head comparing to his stomach!) hahaha.
Sometimes I think....maybe it's nice being so dumb. You won't bother thinking about how complicated your life is. You won't have any tiny idea about politics and dirty games in life. You will just believe at once whatever people say. Your mind won't be bothered with "if...." and "if.....". Your life would be about black and white. You will just smile widely, raise your eyebrows innocently and flow wherever the faith brings you.
Being Patrick...being simple....
Yet Am not.


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Sunday, September 12, 2010
The Sunday Salon - Great House, Wordle Madness
11 comments:
I really want to read this. I loved A History of Love. Her writing is absolutely beautiful. I'm glad that you are enjoying.ReplyDelete
Well aren't you just full of big words this morning...and while all hopped up on cold medication! :)ReplyDelete
- Anonymous9/12/2010 9:06 AM
I seldom leave comments on blogs, but you really impress me, also I have a few questions like to ask, what's your contact details?ReplyDelete
I love your wordle!ReplyDelete
Here is my Sunday Salon post!
I love Wordle! I just used it with my fifth and sixth graders this week to create collages about their school experiences so far this year. Fun, fun, fun.ReplyDelete
Have a great Sunday!
Great House sounds interesting and I have to love Wordle!!ReplyDelete
I'm SO looking forward to reading this. I agree with Christina - I loved the History of Love. I much prefer her to her husband!ReplyDelete
Your wordle was so fun, I had to go make one of my own. I hope everyone gets to feeling great in your house soon!ReplyDelete
Your wordle really made me smile! I loved the little words in there like "oh" and "shout" and "footie"...ReplyDelete
Love this author and I can't wait to read this book.ReplyDelete
Thanks for taking the time to comment! Blogger has been a beast lately, so I hope you do not have any troubles leaving your thoughts.


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The Aries Music and Sports Foundation (AMSF) is organizing 8th Summer-Jam 2010 and the audition would be held at Aries db lounge, NST colony Dimapur on May 6 followed by audio and video recordings. Merang Jamir, director Aries Music and Sports Foundation has requested all the Gospel bands, Rock bands and solo artistes from all over the state to participate.Further, informed that the selection for 8th Summer-Jam would focus mainly on the performances of the band/artiste, personality and interaction/interviews and registration forms can be downloaded from www.ariesfoundation.com.Meanwhile, Aries Music and Sports Foundation is also venturing into sports and would be launching the 'Aries Rifle and Pistol Shooting Academy' indoor shooting range with international standard at NST colony Dimapur by the end of May. The range would soon be equipped with SCATT-professional (computerized) - the leading aim way system and followed by three days coaching camp by medalist in national level and also Aries Air Rifle and Air Pistol championship would be held. All interested shooters have been requested to visit www.ariesfoundation.com for registration.
Ikato Y Kiho, first Naga to join National School of Drama in New Delhi
I must be the perfect role model: Ikato Y Kiho is the first person from Nagaland to study in the prestigious


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Through research we know that whitetail deer uses different sounds: to keep in contact with each other (contact); to express alarm and distress (alarm/distress); to solicit attention from and respond to does (maternal) and fawns(neonatal); to express dominance/threaten other deer (agonistic). Deer also make sounds associated with courtship and breeding behavior (mating).
The Snort is an intense blowing sound produced by expelling air through the nostrils, best described as a loud whew, or whew-whew-whew. Deer that see or hear a disturbance but cannot smell the source often use repeated low snorts, foot stomping, head bobbing and tail flipping, possibly to alert other deer of danger. The head bobbing and foot stomping may be used to startle a predator into moving and giving itself away. A deer's sense of smell is thought to be independent of conscious discrimination, and deer that smell danger usually snort, then flee while flagging the tail.
The Bawl is an intense call used by deer in distress, often when caught by a predator or trapped. The sound is a loud baa. Does often respond to the call by running in, presumably out of maternal instinct.
The Grunt is used in three different forms to express dominance or to threaten another deer. It is also used to locate other deer, which causes them to respond by coming to the call, or by announcing their location by returning the call.
The Low Grunt is used by both does and bucks throughout the year. The call sounds like a soft guttural err. This is the first level of aggression, used to displace lesser deer. If the lesser animal does not move it is usually rushed and may be kicked with a forefoot by the dominant.
The Grunt-Snort is used most often by bucks during the breeding season in more intense situations. One or more snorts are added to a grunt; err-whew.
The Grunt-Snort-Wheeze is the most intense form of an aggressive call. It consists of a grunt-snort followed by a drawn out wheeze through pinched nostrils. The wheeze may sound like a whistle.
Social Contact
The Social Contact Grunt is often performed by members of a doe group when they become separated, and it may help deer stay in contact when they can't see each other. In one study only females performed this call. This call is longer than the low grunt and can be heard by humans as far as 100 meters. It may attract bucks during the breeding season.
The Maternal Grunt is a low, quick grunt performed at short intervals when a doe approaches the fawn's bedding site. The fawn generally leaves its bed and joins the doe. It is audible to humans for only a few meters.
The Mew is used by the fawn when it wants attention, or is given in response to the maternal grunt of the doe.
The Bleat is the fawn version of the bawl, it is given by the fawn when it wants urgent attention, is hungry, or wants care, and may be heard as far as 100 meters by humans.
The Nursing Whine occurs while the fawn is nursing or searching for a nipple.
The Tending Grunt is a low grunt used by bucks when pursuing an estrus doe. It may consist of a single short grunt, several grunts or a long drawn out grunt. It is probably given to alert other deer of the presence of a dominant in order to keep them away; and to attract does.
The Tending Click is a clicking sound bucks may make when looking for of following estrus does. It sounds like someone slowly running a fingernail across the teeth of a comb. It appears to be a slow, drawn-out version of the Tending Grunt.
The Flehmen Sniff is a low sound produced during the lip curl, when air is inhaled to bring urine in contact with the nose or vomeronasal organ, allowing the buck to determine the breeding readiness of the doe.
Although several call manufacturers, writers and speakers claim there is an Estrus Doe Bleat or Doe Mating Call, no call of this nature was noted in the scientific studies I have read. These people may be referring to the social grunt. Because security is essential to doe survival, does probably do not use a loud call that might alert nearby predators.
The statistics on whitetail vocalizations are based on studies by Dr. Larry Marchinton. The duration of the calls is approximate. The tone of the call usually depends on the deer. Larger deer, especially bucks, tend to make deeper sounds.
Call Duration (sec.) Pitch Tone Volume
Snort .25 high low or high high
Bawl 1.00 low-high-low moderate high
Low Grunt .25 level low low
Grunt-Snort .50 low-high low moderate
Grunt-Snort-Wheeze 2.50 low-high-low high low
Social Grunt 1.00 low-high-low-high-low moderate moderate
Maternal Grunt .25 rising low low
Fawn Mew .50 low-high-low low low
Fawn Bleat .50 low-medium-low low-medium low-moderate
Nursing Whine .50 low-high-low low low
Tending Grunt .25-4.00 low low moderate
Tending Click .10-1.00 staccato low moderate
Flehmen Sniff .50-1.00 low low low


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Jonathon Dingman recently wrote a great blog post discussing the possible integration of cPanel with Google Sites.
In the event you don't develop or work with websites for a living, you may want to skip this, because it's kinda geeky. For all the other pocket pen protector wearing nerds, this could be pretty cool.
Google Sites, in case you didn't know, is a free (well, there is a paid version too…see below) web hosting solution for people or companies that don't know how or don't want to waste time creating a site with HTML. Pretty similar to blogger, except much uglier since you don't have a ton of options for layout design. I like to think of it more as just a public or private wiki for throwing stuff up on, since it integrates pretty well with google apps. One big pet peeve- they no-follow every link you put up. Of course, you expected them to do that, didn't you? still sucks, though.
They do offer a paid version ($50/yr per user) for 10gigs of storage space, hosted email with archiving, some support in the event you break something, etc… but no ability to load up other non-google apps, like wordpress, or joomla, or flash files. They are adding new apps and features though, such as the ability to include your company videos into the site, so you can watch your boss ramble on about 'how neat the internet is' or listen to him giving you a verbal video warning from the golf course.
Oh man, now I'm just rambling. Back to the point.
Since you're still reading, you MUST work with websites, which means you MUST've run into cPanel before, since it's at pretty much every hosting company. Well, Jonathon's Inside Google blogpost uncovered some pretty nifty info the other day -After checking out google's robot.txt file (hmmm, never thought to do that…) He writes:
I found this to be quiet interesting. Why does http://www.google.com/hosted/life/ redirect to http://www.google.com/a/cpanel/life/?
Disallow: /hosted/life/
I first noticed the /hosted/life/ string in the Google.com robots.txt file, which is always a fun file to look over. So the /hosted/life/ redirects to /a/cpanel/life/, but the /a/ normally means hosted apps. Does this mean that Google is going to be integrating with cPanel® and its Google Apps together to create a more complete web hosting solution?
Excellent question, Jonathon.
I checked the groups for Google sites and there was certainly a big enough demand for it, at least based on the functionality improvements that users were seeking. cPanel would be a great fit. Does this mean we might be able to run wordpress on Google sites? Doubtful, since their a direct competitor to Google's own blog service.
Still, it'll be interesting to watch.


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|By Admin1 (admin) (ppp-70-245-109-220.dsl.okcyok.swbell.net - 18.104.22.168) on Friday, April 04, 2008 - 11:02 pm: Edit Post
1980: acmedmtlm served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in costa rica in Bribri and San Ramon beginning in 1980
Returned Peace Corps Volunteer acmedmtlm can be contacted at dmcevoyaatgdcom
Country of Service: costa rica
Training Group: eye and ear group
Cities you served in: Bribri and San Ramon
Arrival Year: 1980
Departure Year: 1982
Work Description:
Eye and ear examinations for CR Ministerio de Salud. Trained health professionals.
Other Countries you served in, Training Group Name Arrival Year, Departure Year, Work Description:
training in Alajuela CR Aug. 1980 - Nov. 1982
Bring us up to date on your life after the peace corps:
Currently work with a software co. in Cambridge MA. Lived in LA for 6 years. Married with 3 kids.
Anyone you are looking for or would like to hear from?:
Would love to hear from any volunteers in CR in 1980 - 1983.
Originally posted: April 4, 2008
Related Links:
Peace Corps Annual Report: 1980; Peace Corps Costa Rica; Directory of Costa Rica RPCVs; Messages and Announcements for Costa Rica RPCVs
Looking for another volunteer who served with this Group?
If you know this volunteer or someone from his or her group and are looking to reconnect with them,
leave a message above where it says "Create New Conversation."
If this is your profile, post any additions, updates or corrections to your profile below where it says "Add a Message."
RPCVs: To add your own RPCV profile click here.
| The Peace Corps Library
Peace Corps Online is proud to announce that the Peace Corps Library is now available online. With over 30,000 index entries in 500 categories, this is the largest collection of Peace Corps related stories in the world. From Acting to Zucchini, you can use the Main Index to find hundreds of stories about what RPCVs with your same interests or from your Country of Service are doing today.


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Heading into her second season with the Montreal Stars, there was no question that Ann-Sophie Bettez would be an impact player for their decimated roster. With scoring sensations such as Meghan Agosta-Marciano and Caroline Ouellette answering the call to compete for the Canadian contingent in Sochi, the 25 year-old native of Montreal has managed to lead a high-powered offensive attack that is setting the standard for the rest of the CWHL.
In every game this season, Bettez has recorded at least one point. Teammate Cathy Chartrand (a teammate of Bettez at McGill University), who inherited the team captaincy from Lisa-Marie Breton-Lebreux opened her season with a point in 12 straight games. Her streak would be snapped on January 19 in a road victory over the Boston Blades.
Complemented by talented scorers such as Vanessa (Vinny) Davidson, her former teammate at McGill University, multiple Winter Games gold medalist Sarah Vaillancourt, Marieve Provost, the all-time leading scorer in AUS play, Emmanuelle Blais, an NCAA Frozen Four champion, and Dangerous Dominqiue Thibault, Bettez and the Stars have developed into an offensive juggernaut. Currently atop the scoring race, Bettez is poised to become the fourth Stars player in franchise history to claim the Angela James Bowl.
Her impact on the scoresheet has resulted in a winning streak of eight consecutive games, placing the Stars firmly entrenched on top of the CWHL standings. While their rivals, the Boston Blades, battled with them for first place during the first half of the season, they have been unable to maintain any momentum in the second half.
During her monumental 13-game scoring streak to open her sensational sophomore campaign, the Stars boast an 8-0-0 mark in every game where she has registered at least two points. Her best performances this year were a pair of four point efforts, of which both were in January 2014.
During her monumental 13-game scoring streak to open her sensational sophomore campaign, the Stars boast an 8-0-0 mark in every game where she has registered at least two points. Her best performances this year were a pair of four point efforts, of which both were in January 2014.
A 9-2 whitewash of the Brampton Thunder on January 12 resulted in two goals and two assists. A crucial road win against the Boston Blades just six days later resulted in her first hat trick of the season as Brittany Ott allowed seven goals in a 7-4 loss.
Several scoring milestones have also been reached for Bettez during the sensational scoring streak this season. The 20th goal of her CWHL career was scored on December 14 versus Calgary, while number 25 was reached on January 18 versus the Blades. A December 16 affair with Calgary would provide Bettez with the 25th assist in her CWHL career, while the 50th point would come on January 12 versus Brampton, taking only 34 games to reach the mid-century mark.
The brilliance of Bettez may very well be seen on special teams play. Although she has logged only one goal on the power play, she has responded with six assists. When the Stars are shorthanded, she has contributed with four points (two goals, two assists). Of her 11 goals this season, four were game-winning goals, first among all CWHL skaters.
Following them is Chartrand at third, ranking tops among all CWHL defenders with 16 points, while Davidson also boasts 16 points. As of January 20, 2013, Davidson and Emmanuelle Blais are each less than 10 points away from reaching 100 for their career.
Photo credits: Marc St. Pierre


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Glittery Eye Makeup Has a Moment at Saint Laurent Show
Exclusive: Dakota and Elle Fanning's makeup artist breaks down Wednesday night's look.
Glitter eye makeup, a notoriously tough look to pull off, is having a moment this week. First Lady Gaga wore a sparkling red version to perform at the Super Bowl on Sunday, then it appeared on not only dozens of models walking in Wednesday night's Saint Laurent show, but on actress Elle Fanning in the front row.
"It's funny, there's a collective consciousness, a mood in the air," Fanning's makeup artist Erin Monroe tells Pret-a-Reporter. Though it may have looked as if the actress was let in on the evening's rock 'n' roll theme in advance, she was totally in the dark when she and Monroe conceived her look for the night.
"Her dress had all the sequins, so I wanted something on her face to make an impact that was kind of harmonizing," says the artist who also gave Dakota Fanning a dramatic metallic cobalt eye look for the evening. Furthermore, she says, "We wanted it to look lived in and not too precise. Really it was just black smudged around her eyes, and I flicked on two glitters — gold and silver in different sizes — with a brush. It was very improvised."
Meanwhile, Aaron de Mey was backstage working on the catwalkers, who also wore black liner — theirs in a cat-eye shape — and chunky multi-hued glitter. "We had no idea what the models' makeup was going to be like on the runway, so it was a funny coincidence," says the beauty guru who believes glitter can be worn at any age. "I recently saw a woman in her 60s and all she had on her face was a smattering of glitter on her eyes, and it looked really chic."
The key to making it work: keeping everything else minimal, says Monroe. On Elle, she skipped foundation, and only added cream blush and a stain on her lips. That concept is seconded by celebrity makeup artist Fiona Stiles, whose clients include Jennifer Garner and Elizabeth Banks. "I think it looks coolest when the rest of the face is a little stripped down. You can do a contour or highlight but it should be subtle. A great lip color works as long as the skin has life to it and isn't powdered to death," she says. "Keep it cool and a little raw — that's the key."


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11-foot Statue of Bill Clinton in Kosovo
Kosovo - Thousands of ethnic Albanians braved low temperatures and a cold wind in Kosovo's capital to welcome Bill Clinton yesterday as the former president attended the unveiling of an 11-foot statue of himself on a key boulevard that also bears his name.
Clinton is celebrated as a hero by Kosovo's ethnic Albanian majority for launching a 1999 NATO bombing campaign against Yugoslaviathat stopped the Serb forces' crackdown on independence-seeking ethnic Albanians.
The visit was Clinton's first to Kosovo since it declared independence from Serbia last year.
Many of those gathered waved American, Albanian, and Kosovo flags and chanted "USA!'' as Clinton climbed atop a podium with a poster behind it reading "Kosovo honors a hero.'' Some peeked out of balconies and leaned on window sills to get a better view. To thunderous applause, Clinton waved to the crowd as a red cover was pulled from the statue.
"I never expected that anywhere, someone would make such a big statue of me,'' Clinton said of the gold-sprayed statue.
Clinton also addressed Kosovo's 120-seat assembly, encouraging members to forgive and move on from the violence of the past.
The statue portrays Clinton with his left arm raised, his right hand holding a portfolio bearing his name and the date (March 24, 1999) when NATO started bombing Yugoslavia.
An estimated 10,000 ethnic Albanians were killed during the Kosovo crackdown, and about 800,000 were forced from their homes. They returned after NATO-led peacekeepers moved in following 78 days of bombing.
Clinton last visited Kosovo in 2003, when he received an honorary university degree. His first visit was in 1999, months after some 6,000 US troops were deployed in the NATO-led peacekeeping mission here.
Some 1,000 American soldiers are based in Kosovo as part of NATO's 14,000-strong peacekeeping force.
© Copyright 2009 Globe Newspaper Company.


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Thursday, April 12, 2012
The Alabama Shakes: Postscript
It wasn't exactly a deluge, but what comments were left seem to agree that The Alabama Shakes just don't cut it. Here's what Whattawino had to say:
I liked the first track and got mentally prepped for an experience that never manifested. The vocals are a big part of that disappointment for me. There is a strident quality that just bugs me. Sorry to say, the songs don't seem to go anywhere either. Too many "easy pickins" as to the influences attributed to the band and I disagree with all of them.
But maybe William Repsher nailed it.
I seriously think a lot of the hype has to do with writers who either have no precedents in their (relatively short, compared to ours) musical history/development, or writers who are just generally dishonest and feel the need to hype along to keep their jobs. Besides which, it spares them a few capsule reviews of pretending they like hiphop, so it must be a relief to rave about something up their alley in some sense.
Hype, for the most part, ruins most experiences for me. There is the rare occasion, like Michael Kiwanuka most recently, where something truly lives up to my expectations, or more precisely, what was said about it. I'm sure though, there are many who prefer the Shakes over Kiwanuka.
But is hype necessary? Would a simple, positive review do the trick? Was hype as prevalent "back in the day?" I'm feeling no, but that could be another example of how things always seemed better before. Rodney Crowell found this written on a truckstop bathroom wall:
"Just because the past doesn't seem fucked up in the present, doesn't mean the present wasn't fucked up in the past."
That applies to everything, I guess.
I cherised my Circus and Creem magazines, and even with their rating systems--hearts, or lips to indicate "savory, but for special tastes"--I can't recall anything being forced down our throats.
William Repsher also pointed out how there is a lot of good music floating around these days. I don't disagree. But is it my romantic picture of the past that makes me feel that there was a lot more "great" music floating around then? Maybe this is why we need the hype today.
12 comments:
- Jeff Matthews said...
If there seems to be more hype today, it's because of the Interweb - non-stop availability of newspaper columns, blogs, feeds fueling the echo chamber. I remember getting inundated with hype back in my DJ days - Steve Forbert, Blackjack, Fabulous Poodles etc - but it came from just a few sources.
A second question, though, is whether you can tell the difference between "hype" (feels artificial, inflated) and "buzz" (feels authentic, deserved). I think of The Black Keys as starting with well-deserved buzz who have recently crossed over into hype, although I must say their recent United Center show was fantastic and I am not disappointed to be seeing them again at Lolla.
- April 12, 2012 at 5:49 AM
Sal, gotta respectfully disagree on the statement that the old magazines never forced anything down our throats. I had a subscription to Circus magazine, probably from 75-82 or so. Sadly, I no longer have any of the old issues, but I do recall LOTS of coverage (likely very positive) of Frampton & the Bee Gee's Sgt. Pepper debacle, as well as late 70s/early 80s overexposure of less-than-inspired periods for Kiss, Aerosmith, etc. They may not have hyped up some band you never heard of (during that period, they were definitely more AOR/mainstream focused), but they didn't tell me how bad 'Draw the Line' sucked - - I had to find that out myself.
Don't get me wrong - - I loved the magazine and there was a lot of great stuff covered there. I always liked Lou O'Neill's column on the last page. Once, I even won a contest he had where the prize was a Wings 'Back to the Egg' promotional t-shirt, because I knew Paul McCartney's middle name. But in all honesty they did their part in creating hype for some real crap too.
That said, yes you are correct that there was better music floating around back then, and that Alabama Shakes are not all that & a bag of chips.
- April 12, 2012 at 6:48 AM
I think Jeff hit it on the head. There is just so much music related information out there now compared to the "old days". Between blogs, online sites, digital papers...there is just a flood of "news". The hype machine, which we are all a part of to varying degrees, is now part of the established digital media.
The other issue is the shear volume of music that is accessible. Back in the 70's I had limited funds to get my fix of new music. I played the hell out of those releases. You knew them inside and out, today it is much easier to move on to the next record if you are not immediately grabbed by what you are listening to. My inbox and ReviewShine account are flooded with new releases that I can't even get through, most of which are OK but rarely great.
Hype or Buzz or whatever is different from back then simply by virtue of how easy it is to build in 2012.
I'm not sure if that is good or bad.
- April 12, 2012 at 6:52 AM
- William Repsher said...
The good thing about Creem in its prime was they'd poke fun at anyone, especially bands everyone accepted as great, and get away with it. I still recall their review of Springsteen's The River, particularly the song "Stolen Car": "So, let me guess ... this guy drives around with his little girly in stolen cars ... and he wants to get caught. Right?"
When I wrote about music for money, it was nearly impossible not to hype stuff that struck me as being a notch above ... simply because I spent so much time listening to bad new music! I recall doing this with John Southworth in the 90s, really waving the banner for him ... and look where it got us!
I listen to very little new indie music now for this very reason -- music that is hyped to me as being 4- and 5-star quality, that I know is more 2-3 star. Not bad, but passable. Shadows of stuff that came before that was better. I've seen it far too many times over the past few decade, probably starting with The Strokes. Sometiems, I'll agree (The Decemberists being a good example), most times I'll just shrug.
I'm just glad other types of music I love (celtic, blues, Brazilian, African, country, etc.) aren't used as avatars of hipness. Makes it a lot easier to sort the wheat from the chaff.
- April 12, 2012 at 6:54 AM
- Sal Nunziato said...
All good points, yes.
Troy, I think I had subscriptions to those magazines the same years you did. I clearly remember reading horrid and hilarious reviews of records we now know to be legendary. William points out "The River" as an example. I know, that's one example, but there are days when I can listen to a mediocre Frampton album like "I'm In You," and think, "Well the title songs sucks, but there are 5 great songs that are better anything on (insert hype band dujour's) album."
As OldRockr said, the sheer volume these days is a huge problem. At least Frampton, Aerosmith and the Bee Gees were established, even if you didn't care for "Draw The Line." (I happen to think it's a great record.)
It's too long ago for me to have first hand experience, so I'll just ask this rather than assume...
Do you think The Bee Gees, Aerosmith or Humble Pie...or anyone but The Beatles for that matter, received the hype and coverage that every Tom, Dick & Fleet Foxes gets today?
- April 12, 2012 at 7:39 AM
I don't think this is the case for all hyped bands, but as I see it, the hype on Alabama Shakes came from their live shows. I've seen some clips on YouTube and they definitely deliver. Some friends have seen them live and have also mentioned them to me.
The problem is that when you see a live act that you don't know anything about, you don't really get to bond with the songs. You're more drawn in by the energy or the musicianship. It's only when you can sit down with the album that you can determine if there's anything there.
Sadly, that seems to be the case with Alabama Shakes. I think it's a promising debut, and probably where they should be in their career if not for the hype. I think if they got their songwriting problems worked out they could be a lot better.
- April 12, 2012 at 10:51 AM
- buzzbabyjesus said...
Face it, Music is over.
Back in the '70's when we harbored the fantasy that the Beatles would reunite and make our world whole again there was plenty of good music to keep us occupied. We thought it would never end.
Punk came along and put a pistol to it's temple and that was that, although we didn't want to believe it.
According to what I read, Electric Dance Music is what the kids are listening to today.
From what I've heard it is only nominally music.
I keep thinking of what John said, back in 1970.
"The dream is over
What can I say?
The dream is over
I was the dream weaver
But now I'm reborn
I was the Walrus
But now I'm John
And so dear friends
You just have to carry on
The dream is over"
And John himself went on to become a bitter disappointment. Did anyone like "Double Fantasy"?
This doesn't mean that people won't continue to make music, it's just that it doesn't matter anymore.
I guess we'll just have to carry on, by looking backwards, and that's ok, too. There's plenty of good stuff you missed first time around.
- April 12, 2012 at 12:56 PM
Don't have much to add to this very interesting discussion, but bbj - you should check out the stripped-down version of Double Fantasy that came out a while back. It's so much better without all the polish - I never liked it until now.
- April 12, 2012 at 2:07 PM
Wow Sal, for whatever reason these days I'm digging music you don't like (Shakes & Haertless Bastards) and bored by stuff you love (Soul Rebels).
At least we have World Party & Bruce to enjoy.
And I still hate Todd Rundgren (although my wife has asked me to download a few of his songs)!
- April 12, 2012 at 2:12 PM
- Sal Nunziato said...
You know, different strokes...BUT...
Nobody's calling the Soul Rebels the next Alabama Shakes.
- April 12, 2012 at 3:19 PM
- Big Jim Slade said...
I like the album, but I'm not raving and hyping it. It seems kind of like a 2-person album, singer + guitarist. I kind of like that they mix a bit of that Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings bit with some alt-Arcade Fire-style anthemic eighth notes. It's enjoyable and a bit different. Not amazing or anything, but that's ok.
- April 12, 2012 at 5:44 PM
A week or 2 ago, I stumbled on a link to an Alabama Shakes concert stream. I guess I'm not paying enough attention because I'd never heard of them before. I listened and liked it. A good groove I thought, for lack of a better word. (Oddly, I might be one of the few who likes the band maybe more than the lead singer.) They're not life-changing but much better than a lot of stuff I'd been hearing. I forwarded the link to Sal thinking it'd be something he like as well. We know now how that turned out...
Sal was already thinking how the music didn't match up to the expectations generated by the hype. I can't help wonder how our reactions might have been influenced by advanced expectations; me, zero, Sal, overload. I don't doubt Sal's sincerity for a moment but I think it's inevitable that our reactions to any music are affected by the anticipations we walk in with. In this case I was pleasantly surprised and Sal decidely unimpressed.
And re the discussion of hype, it isn't just the sheer amount of talk but the volume level. Like political discourse, or sports talk radio, it's all gotten so much more extreme. As the reviewers/bloggers/bloviators strive to be heard they have to get louder and louder. So much now seems to be either "FIVE STARS!!!" or "THE BIGGEST PIECE OF CRAP EVER!!" They know that nobody is going to quote or retweet "pretty good stuff" or "I think this band has potential to do some interesting things."
Have to disagree with buzzbabyjesus that "music is over." What's over is the type of music we appreciate being dominant in the conversation. So what's new? It happened to the big bands, it happened to doo-wop, it'll happen to Lil' Wayne and Lady Gaga and this week's dance music "revolutionary new sound." There's a lot still to listen to. It'll be over when the bands we love are doing one of those all-star PBS pledge drive specials...
- April 13, 2012 at 7:20 AM


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Jim Boedeker
Fiction: Paramilitary, Men's Fiction
(Content Rating: Contains material some readers may find objectionable)
When SEAL sniper Robert O'Leary was kicked out of the Navy, he was told he would be fine, that he was a survivor. Not likely. A squid through and through, with serious trust issues, O'Leary's been trained to kill and is very good at it. But he's haunted – not by the shots he made, but by the ones he was ordered not to take. The ghosts of the past won't stand down and let him to adjust to civilian life, and the beast within demands blood and will not be ignored.
While on vacation in Thailand, O'Leary decides to stay in the country that is home away from home for many expatriate veterans. When he falls for a disfigured woman and learns how she was mutilated and tortured, he sees a chance to redeem himself by exacting revenge on her behalf. Suddenly he's on a mission to make things right and ensure no more girls are victimized.
Together with a group of other American expats, he declares war on East European pimps and drug dealers that terrorize local bar girls. The plan is to hit the Romanians hard and let the Germans take the blame. After the Germans and Romanians start fighting, the Russians will get sucked into the fray. Then they all will die. The trick is not to join them in the dying part. But if there's one thing O'Leary knows, it's that any plan can go south in a heartbeat.
This against-all-odds paramilitary action thriller is a triumph for truth, justice, and automatic weapons. It tells of one man's fall from grace, and the journey he makes to reclaim his sanity, his soul, his life.
Available now in ebook at popular online retailers like Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Smashwords. Coming soon in print to Amazon.
Look for the sequel, coming soon!
James Boedeker was born in Lander, Wyoming, and grew up in northeastern Pennsylvania. James enlisted in the United States Navy shortly after graduating from high school. After serving honorably, James entered the private sector, working as an industrial mechanic and technician for Procter and Gamble.
James lives with his wife in the country, enjoying the peace and solitude of the Endless Mountains in Pennsylvania. James enjoys the outdoors and target shooting. James is known for stalking and hunting the wily but dangerous bull woodchuck.
To find out more about the author and his books, visit his web site at...