This past holiday weekend I had a really good chance to pick my uncle’s brain. We talked about a lot of things that went down in and around 1972. We talked track. We talked music. We talked college. Athletics. Cars. TV. Technology. A bunch of stuff. It was a refreshing series of conversations that were both educational, and a chance for my uncle and I to bond a bit.

He also brought with him an old shoe box full of pictures. Most of them were from his days competing. But a lot of them, probably a third, were candid pictures of my extended family growing up, some pictures of vacations my family and his would go on, and just miscellaneous pictures of various other things he’d done through his life (fishing, golfing, travel). With so many family members at the beach house this Thanksgiving, the pictures offered some really fun family memories and laughs.

I talked to him about wanting to write a screenplay about the first time he made the Olympic Team. Interestingly enough he told me that he’d been approached about writing a book on coaching, and his life in general, and a lot of it would include his collegiate running and Olympic races. Almost immediately he started to tell me what he wanted to see in the movie. He wanted it to start while he was in high school, and then go through all of these events, and other such details.

I tried to explain to him that writing a screenplay has a specific flow. The story is written for the screen, not for your mind. So what reads fine in a book reads horribly in a screenplay. My idea for the screenplay wasn’t a biography about his life. It was about him making the Olympic Team for the first time. A very specific time frame. A very specific series of events.

I wouldn’t say we got into an argument, but I don’t think I ever really got across to him that books and screenplays are different. Then I remembered that he was a big Steven King fan. So I asked him, was “Carrie” the book and “Carrie” the movie the same? He said no, the movie was shorter and left a lot of things out. I told him that’s because you only have two hours in a movie, not an infinite amount of pages and time for the reader to read the book. You write for the screen. And you write for the time frame allotted.

He countered that “The Stand” miniseries was very close to the book. I had to remind him “The Stand” was a miniseries, and had ten hours of screen time to tell the story. That’s not the same as a movie. If it was a movie it would have left out a bunch of what happened in the book. After going over this some of it started to sync in, but I still don’t think he got the total concept of what I was trying to get across.

This whole experience really let me take stock of just how far I’ve come in my understanding of screenwriting. When I started out I thought it was just writing a linear narrative with weird margins and an odd font. I thought it was just like writing a novel or short story. I didn’t understand, or have any idea, about how much effort went into timing and pacing of story events. How each scene is boiled down to it’s most basic components. How you don’t tell the reader, you show them. In other words, when I started out I was just like my Uncle.

Some more news coming up tomorrow, and some notes on how I’m going to go about writing “Pride is Forever.”

Until next time, keep writing!
-Steve

On this snowed in Saturday morning, I thoroughly enjoyed blasting Hudson Mohawke on the Essential Mix along with my morning coffee while whippin up a batch of muffins. Whatever you’re up to when tuning in, do it loud. Enjoy the weekend. 

 http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b006wkfp

Comes from Scotteriology:

Prejean’s fallen humanity is a good example of the gradation of sin in evangelicalism; it’s like a pyramid with homosexuality at the top, and as long as you’re not doing that then you’re OK. The separation of orthodoxy and orthopraxy in some cases becomes nothing more than what I commonly identify as modern evangelical neognosticism: I don’t have to practice anything I believe as  a standard that I would demand from others because I believe in the right standard. I can be freak and have all sorts of illicit sex, but as long as it’s not gay sex, and I believe I shouldn’t be having illicit sex… then I’m good. Build my mansion next to Jesus.

A timely quote, given my latest post.

Truth and Peace,
Rod

Det engelska ordet för “längtan” är “longing“.
Och längtar är precis vad jag gör just nu, efter flera saker.

solen
mina vänner
kärleken
sommaren
studenten
självständighet
glädje
värme

Det är svårt att rangordna, på någon nivå är de nog likställda, eller inte. I alla fall så tryggas jag lite av Carrie Underwoods nya album, det är avkopplande och lugnande när jag nu känner mig som mest stressad. Det är så mycket jag ska göra nästa vecka. Så himla mycket…

Men jag kan inte bara pausa och vila en sekund, jag har inte hjärta att svika ett löfte så.

Ikväll är det “Julgodis” på tonår, så det blir tufft att hålla händerna i styr. Mitt godis/chipsförbud tillåter mig inte… Just i denna sekunden ångrar jag att jag lovade mig själv att inte äta sånt förrän jag har tagit studenten.

Girls,

Não sei quanto à vcs, mas eu AMO a Sarah Jessica Parker… pra mim ela vai ser Carrie forever, acho ela um charme, cool, bonita… enfim,  SuperIn! rs

E quando vi as fotos dela pra Elle, pensei: Ela não é a não-tão-bonita-nem-perfeita mais linda que existe?

Quando crescer quero ser beeem assim! Gorgeuos…

Beeeeijos,

Ciça.

As my first Stephen King novel, I was not disappointed with Carrie. Sure, King might be a pretty twisted guy for all his whacked out ideas, but he definitely knows how to weave a story. From seeing snippets of the movie, primarily the prom scene, I expected more of a typical gory story line. Instead I found that King carefully crafted some very interesting characters and a unique plotline.

The novel is less about the gruesome revenge of an outcast teenager, and more about the mysterious powers of telekinesis. The end of the novel leaves you more with a feeling of tragedy for the events that unfolded, similar to those of after a high school shooting.

Interspersed with the real-time story, King placed clips from various books and articles about the “Carrie White case” which were supposedly published in the future. Adding these scientific studies and news tickers made the whole thing much more believable. Almost from the get-go he references the “incident.” As the novel continues, the articles reveal more. The “incident” becomes the “black prom,” and eventually they even relay how many deaths occurred – all before he even describes the event. Very cool, Stephen King.

I must say I had high hopes for the movie… it was actually one of the reasons I wanted to read the book. I’d seen images from the film of Carrie covered in blood with an eerily psychotic look in her eyes. When that scene actually unfolded in the movie, all I could think was that her eyes were going to pop out of her head. Overall, I was not a huge fan of the movie.

The characters were not developed very well. Tommy Ross, the golden boy of the high school, gave me the creeps (not to mention his comically enormous head of blonde curls). Sue Snell was a mystery, and the gym teacher convinced me that she had inappropriate feelings for her student Carrie. Plus, another great thing about the novel is its use of actual thoughts,

(o King o Stephen King you know how to write)

stream of consciousness style. Though I know it is fairly impossible for a movie to mimic this, I felt like it left a gaping hole in the story. How were you supposed to sympathize with Carrie without really seeing into her mind? The movie also left out a lot of key elements of Carrie’s childhood.

I know that a movie can’t include everything from a novel. I’m not trying to nitpick all the little differences between the two. Overall I just didn’t think that the movie stayed true to the feeling of the novel. King’s Carrie was perfectly eerie, and propelled you forward with cautious curiosity. The movie was very random and confusing until all of a sudden Carrie went berserk.

If you want to rent a slightly cheesy 70s horror movie, Carrie is a great choice. I don’t want to sound too critical, because it did have some great moments. I almost jumped out of my skin at the end. Some scenes might give you a good scare, but most will just have you laughing. At the very least, rent it to see John Travolta in his movie debut. Honestly the best scenes were the ones he starred in!

Miss California - Carrie Prejean

So by now everyone has heard about the Perez Hilton/Carrie Prejean scandal.  There are three issues at work here.

1. Asking the question.
2. The answer.
3. The response to the answer.

Firstly, asking this question.  Let’s say Perez Hilton asked this “what are your personal beliefs on abortion?”  I think we would all agree that question is in appropriate.  Simularly, asking if same sex marriage should be legalized in all 50 states is also a very polorizing, highly opinion based question.  If I was Miss CA, I would have smiled, waived, and said “world peace.”

Second, the answer was actually pretty good.  She said she loves that we live in a land where people can choose.  Ok, I guess people can sort of choose because they could move to one of the states that allow same sex marriage… I do agree that same sex couples really don’t have much of a right to choose right now.  I personally think that’s a shame as we live in a country that really is supposed to be free.  Please see my previous posts on same sex marriage. So granted, that part of the answer was not spot on since the freedom for same sex couples is pretty limited right now.  None the less, she at least aknowledged that there are some options.

Then, since it was an opinion question, she gave her opinion: that marriage in her opinion was between a

Some guy... blogger I think.

man and a woman.  She did even say “I don’t want to offend anyone out there.”  She did not say anything negative about homosexual people, for all we know she has many homosexual friends.  She just commented on her personal opinion regarding marriage (which is the same opinion of Barack Obama, by the way) as she was requested to do.  I don’t see any fault there.

Thirdly the response.  This is where everyone finally is beginning to see what I have been saying for years.  Perez Hilton is nuts, crude, rude, and worse for society than MTV (and that’s saying a lot).  KEEP IN MIND, MY OPINION OF PEREZ HILTON HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH HIS SEXUAL ORIENTATION.  If he was straight, or asexual I would think exactly the same of him.  He’s a blog version of the worst types of tabloid magazine.  I think his site is a plague on culture in the same way celebrity magazines are, and in the same way MTV is.  His actions are not shocking to me at all, unfortunately.

I say this – for every minute that people want to spend reading tabloid blogs or magazines, remember the people who are dying of thirst in other countries and spend some time thinking about them, perhaps donating some money.  I’m telling you, these celebrities are a terrible distraction from very significant things that are happening in the world.  Real people need our help.

-dm

JLo falls onstage...then pops up and keeps it moving

Last night,Dick Clark and ABC television hosted the annual American Music Awards, where all kind of crazy and cool happenings went on,and Lady Gaga and Adam Lambert still stood out.

I like it how every year some new act feels the need to shock and push the limits of the public morals to the breaking point, and this year the winner for that category is Adam Lambert.

Adam,the runner-up for last seasons American Idol competition,decided to out do Katy Perry who kissed a girl, or at least had a hit record about it, by kissing a guy on stage.

And, as if that was not enough to get his point across, he then grabbed a male dancer, and had him kiss,…or do something like that, to his crotch. Many guys have done this on stage before,except with women.

I think the best one was that awards show on Spike TV hosted by Jamie Foxx,when he grabbed Halle Berry’s nice behind and laid a good kiss on her…remember that.

Jamee and Halle...very hotJamee hugs Halle...

Halle hugs Jamee,who hugs her back...

I know that was kind of different, but I think many will get my point. I became a bigger Jamie Foxx supporter after that one.

http://www.ballerstatus.com/2009/06/01/jamie-foxx-and-halle-berry-make-out-fondle-each-other-on-tv/

If you missed Adam’s act…we have the pictures here…

He showed up looking like this…

Edgy…or just another way to market his album…who knows.He is from San Diego, so good luck with that Adam…

Anyhow, here is a selection of the beautiful people who were there, and of course my favorites,Rhianna,Alicia Keyes, and all the other cute sexy and talented musical superstars….and oh yes, JLo fell,see image above article,watch video below before it gets deleted,and read the story in the link provided under the video…

http://www.examiner.com/x-6788-TV-Trends-Examiner~y2009m11d23-Jennifer-Lopez-falls-at-American-Music-Awards-with-video

…Oh yeah…as usual,like clockwork…Lady Gaga got down!…she is the most interesting performer out there currently, and whenever she performs…I simply can not take my eyes off of her,because of her performances.

She has way more concept than the rest of her fellow performers,and I can tell she is having a big influence on others stage shows. Good going Gaga….

Follow the JLo story here,their video may not be deleted very quickly because they got more pull…

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/11/22/jlo-falls-video-amas_n_367094.html

CARRIE BRADSHAW TEM UM DIÁRIO!! Enquanto o STC 2 não vem…

Candance Bushnell, a imortal criadora de STC, vai lançar “The Carrie Diaries” em abril de 2010. Pelo que parece serão vários volumes que contaram as historias de Carrie antes de Sex and The City, na sua fase ainda teenager…. No primeiro saberemos sobre seu primeiro amor, como era sua mãe (sabemos como Ela, com E maiúsculo pode nos influenciar) e como tudo começou na sua carreira de escritora. Candance deu uma deixa do que seria a inspiração de Carrie – “Carrie in high school did not follow the crowd _ she led it. It was there that she began observing and commenting on the social scene.”  Enquanto The Carrie Diaries não chega, o quinto livro de Candance “One Fifth Avenue” saiu nos Estados Unidos em Setembro (ainda sem tradução pro português). Coloque na listinha da Amazon.com!!!

foto: Reprodução

]]> http://glamourparaguaio.wordpress.com/2009/11/21/sjp/ Sat, 21 Nov 2009 15:26:27 +0000 Lívia http://glamourparaguaio.wordpress.com/2009/11/21/sjp/

Doc Matens e big big hair, tá diva!

(Elle US - dez/09)

I randomly stumbled upon a Radiohead remix done by Leftfield. As Idiotheque is definitely my fav Radiohead song, (probably since it’s  their most electronic sounding and  it also doesn’t leave you feeling sad as Thom Yorke is quite capable of doing)  I thought I would share as in my opinion Radiohead and Leftfield are in a  class of their own. I saw Radiohead live in concert at Thunderbird stadium ( 2003)  and the best way to describe it: It Changes your Life!  

Idiotheque remix

To follow, here’s a Leftfield classic from the album entitled  Leftism.

Space Shanty

and to finish off, here’s a track from Gemmy that reminds me of Leftfield  because of the the old electronica  beat mixed in new glitchy wonky sounds. Rainbow Roads is included  on Mary Ann Hobbs’ new compilation Wild Angels. If you still aren’t tuning into her show on BBC Radio 1 Wednesday nights, I strongly encourage you to start. …and it will get you saying “maximum respect”

Rainbow Road

Miss Japan and Miss Trinidad and Tobago...best friends...

Thanksgiving must be in the air, because this month of November has been a  cornucopia of riches for those of you out there, unlike myself, that enjoy watching leaked sex tapes of famous or soon to be famous people. 

Virginal Miss California, and a proud homophobe Carrie Prejean has made at least 8 solo sex tapes, that were for her former boyfriends eyes only, has been offered up to two million dollars by the porno production kings Vivid entertainment.

 Shauna Sands of all people has written an open letter to Carrie, encouraging her to take the money, and maximize her financial earnings by controlling its distribution, which will happen if she gets paid or not.

 Shauna, of course, is speaking from experience, as her former boyfriend released her sex tape, on the eve of ex-husband Lorenzo Lamas and current family had premiered their own reality T.V. program on a major cable network. Shauna has offered to sit down with her over ‘tea’ so she could consult her one on one, sex tape producer to sex tape producer. 

Let’s see what Carrie decides to do…take the devils money, or cash in and blaze new trials as a christian porno actress. Today, singing star, actress, and all around sex goddess, Carmen Electra stepped up to the plate and has leaked her own private porno sex tape, but hers is not a solo affair. 

 What it does mean is that the search for it will on the internet will make her the queen of internet searches for a few days, which should help promote the sale of her upcoming movie or book release. Electra, 37, can be seen wearing nothing but black high heels, stockings, panties, a red bra and a diamond-studded choker in a new short posted on website NucleonForce.com.

The most interesting one out of any leaked sex tape that I have been forced to review as a ‘journalist’ comes from newcomers Miss Japan 2008 Miroko Mima and Miss Trinidad & Tobago Anya Ayoung-Chee who both met and competed in the 2008 Miss Universe pageant with Carrie Prejean. 

Do not be too curious, because why mess up a good gig over some prurient entertainment, unless of course, your job is to report on such news for a blog or other legitimate news reporting services.

 http://fleshbot.com/5405254/alleged-beauty-queen-threeway-tape-rocks-the-internet/gallery 

I predict the two of them will be famous, but that Miss Trinidad and Tobago is flat-out beautiful. She will have an extensive career in front of the cameras, so do not be mad at her.

 I give this one 15 stars out of 10, and the leaked tape speaks for itself.

 It is being reported that the action was stolen off of her Miss Trinidad’s former boyfriend’s laptop, when he left it at a computer repair shop. That sounds to me like a lie, because we all know that most people delete their porn from their desktop before leaving it at a repair shop,….at least I do.

 I am obviously joking here with all of this, but it is amazing to me that there are so many high-profile people out there that film themselves having illicit sex. Carrie Prejean claims that she just wanted to give her boyfriend a gift, and I have heard that before many times from young girls.

I know when I bring gifts to an intimate female companion, I better show up with some flowers and merchandise if I plan on coming back. A sex tape will not cut it for the women I know, …but it would be great for them to make one and give it to me.

 I just would not be in it. Unfortunetly this does send out the wrong message to all the little girls out there that want to become celebrities. It seems as though that a ‘leaked’ sex tape is going to be mandatory for  young lady to rise to fame and popularity in today’s culture.

The viral nature of just such an exhibition has worked wonders for many of todays starlets and that might be a double-edged sword. 

I expect a lot of self righteous declarations of piousness to be espoused in reaction to this sexual exploitation in our culture, and I discourage any of my relatives to go down this path,so I do not have to be exposed to it.

 But, the reality of it is, is that it is not illegal if the parties are of age and consenting adults, it’s just inadvisable.

 I recommend a bit of discretion, but I do understand the pressure that we in Hollywood put on the female stars to stay relevant, and to be noticed.

If you are related to me, I suggest you make something eles for your boyfriend…

 Proceed with caution….as I call to book my one way ticket to Trinidad and Tobago with a layover in Japan!!!

 http://www.examiner.com/x-29916-Davidson-County-Headlines-Examiner~y2009m11d19-Carmen-Electra-leaked-video-Another-leaked-video-draws-attention

Miss Trinidad and Tobago 2008

Miss Trinidad and Tobago 2008

Since Part 1 implies a second part, I figured I’d add one.

Some other things that are nice to do in the rain are sight-reading a Beethoven clarinet trio and playing in an opera rehearsal. At least, that’s what I did with my rainy day the other day. It probably would have been a little more interesting if I had been able to actually be outside for most of it, instead of cooped up in the music building, but it was still lovely nonetheless.

So the other day I decided to work on my Wuthering Heights paper in the library like a good, diligent student. Little did I know that I happened to be sitting right next to the section of the library with the old school musicology journals from the mid 1900s called “Music and Letters”. After scanning a few for topics that particularly interested me, I read a particularly neat article about Tchaikovsky’s death. It’s pretty widely known that Tchaikovsky was gay, and this one was of the reasons that he lead such a sad and difficult life. This article explored the details of the controversy surrounding his death, the cause of which, although commonly accepted to be suicide, is not 100% clear.

It referred to his homosexuality as “unnatural” many times throughout, which made me think a lot about semantics and the way that we use words like this. It’s funny, because nowadays there are whole books dedicated to queer musicology (I would know, because I have two of them sitting on my desk), whereas some of the contributors to these older journals characterized it as unnatural. Hopefully the author was trying to say that it was considered unnatural in Tchaikovsky’s era, but I’m not sure… I wouldn’t count on it.

In other news, the joint forces of mosaicus will soon be reunited after returning to home base from our respective institutions of higher education! Will society be able to handle this much bloggerificness (you bet I just went there) in one place? Outlook unknown. Will update further when a definitive conclusion is reached.

- cjs

Reviewed by Audiegrl

The greatest serial killer in history has never been named. But what if we are looking in the wrong place?

In 1888, a deranged killer stalked his prey on the streets of east London at night. After 121 years since the murder and mutilation of at least five prostitutes, the case remains unsolved and the true identity of Jack the Ripper has never been known. The world’s greatest criminal investigators have focused on searching for answers in London. However, in the 1890s a series of horrific murders took place across the United States in New York, San Francisco, Galveston and Atlanta, that mirrored the attacks in attacks in the UK. In this one hour special, Discovery Channel’s viewers will witness the new evidence, science and analytical techniques being used to reveal the true identity of Jack the Ripper.

NYPD Cold Case Detective Ed Norris

Carrie Brown aka Old Shakespeare

Capt. Ryan,

You think that “Jack the Ripper” is in England, but he is not, I am right here and I expect to kill somebody by Thursday next, and so get ready for me with your pistols, but I have a knife that has done more than your pistols. Next thing you will hear of some woman dead.

Yours truly,

Jack the Ripper

Richard Jones

Known as the From Hell or Lusk Letter

Dr. Thomas Bond

Jack the Ripper victims: Polly Nichols, Annie Chapman, Elizabeth Stride, Catharine Eddowes, Mary Kelly

Broadmoor Criminal Lunatic Asylum

Astonishingly, in 1927…forty years later, a much older Kelly voluntarily returns to the insane asylum and began to chronicle his travels. A typed copy of Kelly’s confession letter survives in the National Archives, and Norris is the first detective to read it. In the letter, Kelly describes having “problems dealing with society“, and being “overtaken with feelings of envy, jealousy, and malice“. Kelly states, “the thing has been hard because of all kinds of ’skank’” (a term he uses to refers to women of low moral character) and “I’ve been on the warpath since I left Broadmoor Asylum.” Also in his letter, he admits to traveling to London after his escape, and more interestingly he tells of traveling to the United States and arriving in New York conveniently before the Carrie Brown murder. He was by profession, a trained upholsterer, and would have known quiet a bit about knives and how to use them effectively for the purpose of murder. Kelly also mentioned traveling to many cities in the US before returning to England and admitted that he came to the US many times over a period of 40 years.

USS Zaandam

Both illustrations of Jack the Ripper

The left composite, was drawn based on 118 year old eye-witness accounts of Jack the Ripper in London. They examined different witness statements and used modern day forensics to come up with a portrait of the killer, even indicating what type of hat he wore.

The drawing on the right, is the result of Mancusi shaving 40 years off of James Kelly’s photo at age 67. As you can see, once they added the type of hat mentioned by eye witnesses, the drawings are a very close match.

In the end, there is no doubt in Norris’ mind that he has found Jack the Ripper. We may never know. John Kelly died of natural causes in 1929 inside Broadmoor Asylum and took his secrets to his grave. In my opinion, Jack the Ripper in America was very well done and is a must-see for all forensic buffs and amateur Ripperologists. I’m interested in seeing further research, analysis and discussion of Norris’ theory. Regarding any factual errors in this post, I apologize in advance, and encourage everyone to let me know what needs to be corrected.

Time After Time

On a lighter note, anybody remember the movie “Time After Time” starring Malcolm McDowell, John Warner and Mary Steenburgen? McDowell played H.G. Wells, who uses his time machine to chase his friend, Warner (aka Jack the Ripper) through the streets of modern day (1979) San Francisco. After watching Norris’ documentary, maybe Hollywood’s silly (but entertaining) version of the Ripper story had a sliver of truth to it after all.

The Secret of Prisoner 1167: Was This Man Jack the Ripper? by James Tully

Hat tip and special thanks to Roy Corduroy for his suggestion to add this book to this post. Casebook: Jack the Ripper gives this book a three-starred review:

A triumphant achievement on the part of Jim Tully, well-researched and written. James Kelly is his suspect, a lunatic upholsterer and wife-murderer who is actually in the Guinness book of world records for his escape from Broadmoor asylum. Tully weaves a fascinating story, regardless of your feelings on Kelly as a suspect. Recommended.”

Related Articles and Sites

Casebook: Jack the Ripper

Maps of Whitechapel, 1888-1894

Ripperological Preservation Society

Jack the Ripper Tours

Serial Killer Database – Jack the Ripper

The Whitechapel Society

Panty shields up, Captain! We’re rebooting the Ovarian Operating System . . .

I know, the title of this blog alone makes you want to click fast and away. But I have to tell you a tale of consumer eco-angst removed from the simple and often expensive decision to buy local, organic products and food. But first, a little herstory . . .

There’s already been enough shame, secrecy, and taboo surrounding “that time of the month” and all the other fine euphemisms invented to be humourous or circumspect about the mystery of menstruation. There are countries where tampons weren’t and still aren’t sold because you’d have to “touch down there.” There are women who follow this practice willingly, even in forward thinking countries. They build huts and red tents and spas for this exact purpose. To wear pampers or to be pampered. Elsewhere.

But it’s moved beyond that to a place where we’re supposed to celebrate and “have a happy period,” a campaign from a company that stupidly chose their brand name to be “Always.” As in, “I’ll ALWAYS bleed, and I’ll ALWAYS wear these things.” At least Kotex, Tampex, and Playtex (all with –ex as a suffix to mean “out, from or away”) sound almost medical or medicinal. And it’s not ALL feminine hygiene, even wounded soldiers are prone to use a tampon (French for “plug” or “stopper”) to halt bullet wounds from weeping. “Always” doesn’t seem to imply medical or even chronic, instead, it implies a life sentence. Doesn’t your uterus protest? Well it should. War is hell and there’s a war in your drawers and the sick folks at Always were also responsible for aerodynamic pantyliners and pads. That’s right – they got your code red covered in homeland security and you can feel secure each month knowing there’s a little, white F-16 in your pants.

It’s not just a troubling war at home either . . . it’s covers many land masses and miles of ocean.

Spastic Plastic

Your average lady uses 16,800 tampons in her lifetime, that’s 250 to 300 pounds of tampons and applicators. Tag on a few thousand pads and panty liners, and your ecological footprint is looking more like Sasquatch. Of particular offense are the plastic applicators some tampons are encased in. They are casually tossed into wastebaskets where they later escape the curb trash or landfill, trotted off by animals, resurfacing in parking lots and playgrounds and a host of other locations you’d rather not see them appear.

They come back from the watery depths to haunt you, too.

Plastic tampon applicators from sewage outfalls are one of the most common forms of trash on beaches. Yeah, you thought food wrappers and glass bottles and needles were the only gross & hazardous materials washing out to sea and coming back in with the tides. You flush them and that’s just the beginning. For building owners, pads and tampons that are flushed down the toilet are the most common cause of plumbing problems. Further down the flow, they end up the sewage treatment plants and surf into a lake or onto a river, and on into the ocean where they pool with the rest of the plastic detritus at the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. There it all sits and breaks down into ever smaller particles until they are the size and color of plankton or worse, are pelletized high-density polyethylene (HDPE) white “nurdles” that resemble fish eggs or food to sea creatures. Then the birds and fish ingest these hormone disrupters and concentrated toxins like PCB and DDE and the circle of life gets a big kick in the nurdles.

But it’s not just the animals somewhat removed from you, you’re an animal too, and guess what it’s doing to you by directly inserting it? Your conventional feminine hygiene products contain a mixture of rayon and cotton. Rayon is in your blouses, dresses, lingerie, linings, scarves, suits, ties, hats, socks, the filling in Zippo lighters, blankets, window treatments, upholstery, tire cord, yarn and diapers. It’s highly absorbent but no good at retaining shape and as far as biodegradability goes, it’s a real loser. Most importantly, synthetic materials like the Rayon used in tampons show an increased risk of toxic shock syndrome (TSS), particularly for superabsorbent tampons. So if you’re a bleeder, you’re a feeder.

And sweet, white cotton isn’t much better up in there. Cotton is highly pesticide-intensive; 25% of pesticides used globally are devoted to growing cotton. To achieve that lily-white look, pads and tampons are bleached with chlorine, a process which creates dioxins, a known carcinogen and those bad boys shouldn’t be placed anywhere near your reproductive organs. And you swear you never smoked a cigar in your life. Especially in a donkey show.

Think Outside the (Tampon) Box

It’s getting easier to select tampons, pads, and panty liners made from organic, unbleached cotton which is cultivated without the use of pesticides, fungicides, herbicides, sewage sludge, irradiation, petrochemicals, or genetic engineering. All of which we now have think about when looking at the towering isle of soothing, pastel colors, reminding us that yes – we’ll be back out there swimming, riding ponies, surfing at the beach and smiling while playing miniature golf in NO time.

O.B. tampons: small box, no applicator. Compact, simple cellophane wrapper covering them, easy to use, and take up very little room in your purse. It is unfathomable, but some women simple aren’t down with getting that up close and personal with their own lady bits and maybe getting their finger a little spotty. Come on darlings – this is no time to be prim and squeamish. If you haven’t seen it in a mirror to understand how it goes together and pushed the buttons to see how it works, you don’t deserve to have sex and should just hang an “Out Of Order” sign over your girdle loop. Get over it. Get into it. It’s yours. Deal.

OG-style Tampax: wrapped in paper, cardboard applicator that breaks down relatively quickly if they happen to get loose in the environment. Preferable to the Pearl brand, which has an indestructible plastic applicator strong enough for shotgun shell casings and is then further wrapped in coated paper. Awesome. Go ahead. Try running them over with your car. You can’t destroy them. They’ll only get dirty . . . and more angry. That plastic rocket launcher is just one more wasteful obstacle between you and your nana. I don’t even want to go into the perfumed varieties. Now on top of your plastic fetish, you’re going to open a vapor-impermeable pouch and stick this vulcanized, alcohol soaked albino vampire into your hoo-ha where no one and nothing but your senseless cervix can smell it? Well it doesn’t work and now you smell of lightly talcumed meat. Fail. p.s. Talc is closely related to the potent carcinogen asbestos and talc particles have been shown to cause tumors in the ovaries and lungs of cancer victims. So hey – go easy on sprinkling the Johnson’s about your leaky basement. It’s a safety hazard. You’ll slip and fall. No need to announce “clean-up on aisle one.”

Natracare and Seventh Generation: chemical-free, non chlorine-bleached, simple packaging which means even less waste. Eco-conscious enough with all the key ingredient and disclaimers including no animal-testing and skin-tested only on fellow humans. You can sleep well in the knowledge that no bunnies had to hop about with a maxi pad strapped to their fluffy bums and instead, some nice lady in a lab got itchy a few times. This is still within the normal scope of your monthly cycle.

Jade and Pearl Sea Sponge: natural tampons inspired by the traditional use of sponges by menstruating women of ancient times. So if you want to bleed like Cleopatra, this is your bag. The Egyptians invented the tampon too – so you can thank them for that little wonder. Sea sponges are available in Teenie, Regular, and Large and you precision(?) fit to size by trimming the sea sponge and experimenting with insertion. Wow. Try not to think about doing dishes or wiping counters or a nice hot sponge bath because really, I can’t see how this is either sanitary OR relaxing. So Sally, if you’re worried about sullying up the seashore, (welcome to my new menstrual tongue twister) this is all the rage amongst mythological aquatic creatures. Apparently, sea sponges are what mermaids use.

Menstrual Cups – i.e.: Diva cup, Mooncup, Instead Softcup, Lunette, Keepercup, LadyCup, Femmecup, Miacup: Ok. Here’s where I drawn the line. This ain’t a Dixie Cup, or a Sippie Cup, a Tommee Tippee Cup or an Ice Cream Cup. This is none of those fun, sweet, childlike associations. But I trust you probably got over that the first time you sprung a leak and wrecked your favorite Underroos or your expensive lingerie for failing to count the days. Maybe I just haven’t been brave enough to go with a new, miserable experience, but let me get this straight . . . i fold a plastic, rubbery cup into a jelly roll, insert this, it pops open like a tulip, i “stir” it around to make sure the umbrella’s been fully deployed, which may take some coaxing and pushing and twisting, and then I pull it out by its dangling tail at intervals, wash it and reinsert it like tiny, portable Tupper Ware?!?!

Oh, hell no!

i am not about to wash my snatch basket in the sink (and carry special, mild, perfume-free, hypo-allergenic fem soap) in between classes or you know, when i take a restroom break to freshen up while out to dinner. i mean, how does one do this discreetly? Oh, and once a month, i get the distinct displeasure of a 5-minute boil for my little traveling jellyfish at the end of the cycle in some dedicated kitchen equipment that never sees food. Or, hey, i can use rubbing alcohol (and not hydrogen peroxide) to sterilize it. But I have to be extremely careful not to soak it too long and allow it to dry completely and not degrade the integrity of the plastic and rinse the residue so I don’t fuck up my vaginal pH.

O.B. tampons sounding better all the time, huh? Can you imagine wringing out your sea sponge? Wouldn’t you rather “touch it” now?

Go With The Flow

There was a time when i worked at a place so uptight, they wouldn’t allow the female staff to carry in a purse. Whether this was for security or to keep outside worldly distractions such as cell phones to a minimum was unclear, but the idea completely incensed my friend Nicole.

“What?” she snapped. “Where are you supposed to carry your tampons, up your ass?”

i explained to her how bad the work environment sucked and how tension and impossible precision reigned, thus, the topic of anal retention seemed a very fitting description. The job had me so upset, i couldn’t poop for a week. Then i quit.

And many light flow days from then, here i was on a Wednesday nite, standing there in the supermarket isle, paralyzed by too many choices and horrible, far-reaching consequences of those attempts at informed decision. There i was: hungry, cranky, wanting ice cream and a heating pad at the same time, thinking about plumbing, and ocean waters and marine life and cancer of the Yoni.

i turn to the woman next to me who is clicking and sucking at her teeth in audible consternation, just like me, and we both smile nervously, amazed at the mini internal crisis over what we’re going to buy. Neither of us will move first, both seem to be wondering how the other will select, looking for a brave trend to follow. Somehow, there’s a preposterous sense of worry over being judged, like bringing a film or a music cd or a book to the checkout clerk, the fear of choosing poorly, unwisely, without taste or sensibilities. “Hmmm,” she says. “Yeahhhhh,” I mutter slowly and drawn out. And we both start giggling.

My cup of joy is overflowing

I consider my internal flowchart for assessing absorbency needs:

junior – aww, isn’t that cute, you inked!

light – Miss Kitty has a nose bleed.

regular – oh, yay. my period’s back.

super – omg that’s a lot of blood.

super plus – jesus, maybe you should go to the hospital!

ultra – uhh, i think that blood clot just asked for a cigarette.

i am looking for regular. Just something in between, just a few tampons, a starter pack, a holdover since i don’t see any of my normal go-tos. And all they have is “a mere scratch” or “Carrie – Prom Scene.”

So i think of the dolphins and the salmon and the seabirds and i grab the 10-pack with the small, recyclable cardboard box and no applicator with the green looking package and eco-claims to fame and the woman next to me does the same. Just enough to soldier on.

It’s all i can do, really. If i don’t want to leave with anymore acronyms. Say, add PTSD to my PMS. Christ Almighty in a hybrid – i can’t even BLEED with out feeling guilty about it in my new sustainable world concept! i leave with my chlorine-free, biodegradable, non-applicator, no plastic, rayon-free tampons and my razors (which are free from animal testing) and a pint of, yes, sorry, blood orange sorbet, and it’s a good thing. While i’m happily eating my cool treat, i don’t need to imagine poor, naked bunnies hopping around with razor burn and nicks with only a maxi-pad to keep them warm. And after all this guilt, i just want to sandwich a washcloth and tuck it in my drawers or just sit on a sock and call it good.

Museum of Menstruation and Women’s Health

for all your bleeding needs . . .

New York destinazione Marrakech!. E’ in Marocco, nella Ville Rouge, che le fashion protagoniste hanno posato le loro valigie Louis Vuitton, per girare alcune scene del secondo film di “Sex & the City“. Forse finalmente si potrà vedere un cambio di look, abbandonando i tacchi a spillo “Jimmy Choo” per indossare delle babouches?. “Mai” dichiara Carrie Bradshaw. Accompagnate da tutta l’equipe delle riprese, le quattro attrici si sono installate per circa sei settimane a Marrakech, sorseggiando thé alla menta e Bloody Mary…le riprese si sono svolte in alcuni Hotels della città tra cui il Mandalina Resort, in fase di costruzione, con apertura prevista per il 2010. Mobili, suppellettili e quant’altro sono stati trasportati dall’America per poter ricostruire parti del set nell’Hotel-Resort, praticamente work in progress.

¿Quien de ustedes no ha visto o por lo menos ha oido mentar a la saga de Star Wars (aqui en Mexico, la Guerra de las Galaxias)? Todos los que hayan nacido en la decada de los 80’s sufrieron los embates mercadotecnicos de estas cintas. Y es natural, cuando uno es un crio que no sobrepasa el metro de altura, queda boquiabierto ante el despliege de rayo lasser, naves intergalactica y esas maravillosas espadas de luz. ¿Que niño no quiso una de ellas? Eran brillantes y hacian ruidos chidos. Y claro, como no te la podian comprar pues ni siquiera existian, pues no quedaba mas que esperar a crecer y comprar una cuando ya las inventaran. Ya pasaron 20 años y yo sigo sin ver ni una sola en venta. Que desilusion…

A grandes rasgos, la primera peli estaba chida (cuando uno es niño no es muy exigente) pero las demas estan de weba. Ya de grande, veo la cintas y me pregunto como pudieron y pueden ser tan populares e influyentes cuando en el fondo todo es el vacio oropel de una producto “impactapendejos” ¡hasta una religion nerd surgio de ellas, y su biblia es un libro escrito por un fan llamado “Yo, Jedi”! ¿Asi o mas idiotas?

Pero siempre hay algo rescatable hasta en las peliculas Lado B (Star Wars tiene todo para ser una, a pesar de su alto presupuesto: Una historia pendeja y llena de huecos argumentales, malas actuaciones, villanos de risa, mostruos cagados, etc.). En este caso en la princesa Leia. Anque toda las saga fue una plasta que no sabia ni donde estaba, en la tercera, el Regreso del Jedi, aparecio de una forma tal que nos marco para siempre en nuestro futuro tiranetero. Vestida con un extremadamente sexy vestido de esclava sexual, atada con una cadena que sujetaba un gordo asqueroso y lujurioso (ejem, nada que ver conmigo) y mostrando esos encantos que tanto tiempo mantuvo ocultos, hizo que cuanto niño viera la cinta disfrutara de su primera fantasia sexual y tal vez, a su primera ereccion. Nuestras inocente mentes fueron corrompidas de forma precoz debido a las torneadas piernas de Carrie Fisher. Y a ustedes ¿no les paso? 

La actriz en sus muuuy buenos tiempos

Es mirada dice: “Estoy a sus ordenes, amo”

¡Que no darias por tener a una hembra en esta forma!

Modelando la ultima moda en esclavas sexuales intergalacticas

 Ante esa mirada y ese cuerpo solo podemos decir: ¡Princesa, estamos a tus patas, ordenados y obeceremos!

La cadena es para practicar la afixiofilia

¡Hooola ma’cita!

¡No me mire asi princesa, yo no estaba intentando verle la tanguita!

Meditando si tiene o no futuro el ser la esposa de Jabba

“¡Que buenota me veo! ¿Verdad?”

Despues de los eventos de Star War, a Leia le gusta escaparse por la noches, ponerse su traje sexy y trabajar en las esquinas

 ”¡Ay papi, que espadota laser te cargas!”  -  “Gracias hija, cuando quieras te doy una… exhibicion de esgrima”

“¡Estoy tan feliz de que me recuerden y me hagan una Chica Tiraneta!”

A life coach?s open letter to Carrie Prejean, including some suggested affirmations:

Dear Carrie –

Since you?ve decided to put yourself in the spotlight by writing a book about your experience in the Miss USA pageant, and subsequently invite all forms of reaction to it, I?m writing to put in my two cents.

I don?t know you, but after reading Still Standing it seems that what you think about gay marriage is small potatoes. Your story is about so much more than that now. It?s about shining a scathing spotlight on that throwback to the 1950s — the pageant circuit. And it?s about speaking to women with religious beliefs that seemingly clash with their healthy sexuality. I?m going to go out on a limb here and say that would put you in a majority in this country.

Believe me, I know this is asking a lot at this stage of the game, but I was wondering if you might consider talking to your peeps about changing your whole media strategy. You see, you are in a unique position to deliver a message that transcends partisan politics and I guarantee you it will get you mucho press. Enough already with the ?I have a gay hair dresser stuff.? That?s small time. Think big picture.

I?m talking about the authentic message just waiting to be expressed. Not the one your family or your church or your Christian college wants you to send, regardless of how supportive they?ve all been. Not the one ?pious? Carrie thinks she should send. Or the one the conservatives who have propped you up to advance their own agendas want you to espouse. But the real, integrated Carrie who has strong religious beliefs and enjoys physical pleasure. You know, the human Carrie.

Look, I completely disagree with you on the whole gay marriage thing, but really that?s just a piece of what?s going on here. I know you think that was your downfall and I know you want to take up for conservative women and how they?re portrayed in the media because you?ve been pilloried. But listen, we wouldn?t even know about your views on gay marriage if women weren?t still putting themselves on display for male edification in beauty pageants. Trust me, women of all stripes would appreciate it if you focused on what?s wrong with that world. A world, I might add, that has been denounced as sexist by mostly impassioned liberal women (ask Gloria Steinem what it?s like to be pilloried).

Honestly, Carrie, I can?t help but think you won in a very significant way. Not to minimize the nastiness you?ve encountered, but when?s the last time anyone on the pageant circuit cared what a contestant thought about anything? The Miss USA atmosphere you describe in your book, rife with cutthroat, catty competition, all to get the ultimate approval and attention of men (and the material rewards that come with that), is like a microcosm of what?s wrong with our societal dynamic.

You let a guy from this creepy insular world talk you into breast implants and I?m happy to see you take full responsibility for that in your book. With regard to the photos that have come to light, you say, ?I blame it all on Carrie Prejean.? Again, fully owning up to your mistakes. That?s commendable and, interestingly, very different from what I?ve been hearing in the press.

You?re still very young, so I know this is a lot to process. And it?s easy for me to say you should take this up a notch and focus on eviscerating the pageant circuit. There is a chilling scene in your book where pageant contestants are put under the scrutiny of Donald Trump and it reduces some of them to tears. It?s despicable. Exposing that is a start, but why make your whole message about political correctness when it could be so much more meaningful and bold? You?ve come this far.

In the meantime, your ex-boyfriend has released video you thought was private and made it a public spectacle. It allegedly shows you pleasuring yourself. Rise above and speak truth: Women are sexual; it is healthy to masturbate; any message given by religion that says otherwise is preaching some superficial utopian idea of what women should be. (In my humble opinion, not embracing your sexuality would make you the Barbie doll you have emphatically stated you are not.)

As a life coach, I offer some affirmation ideas to reinforce all that you?ve learned about yourself through this tumultuous year: I am beautiful and it comes from within. I am smart. I have strong opinions and I?m not afraid to express them regardless of the price. I am powerful. And, yes, I am sexual. Christians are sexual beings just like everyone else and it?s about time we stopped pretending otherwise.

Now that would sell some books.

You?re welcome.

Sincerely,

Nancy Colasurdo

Nancy Colasurdo is a practicing life coach and freelance writer. Her Web site is www.nancola.com. Please direct all questions/comments to FOXGamePlan@gmail.com.

Head of Hooch Regatta means big cash for ChattanoogaHome Intrusion and Marriage

Título: Carrie, a estranha
Autor: Stephen King
Género: Terror
Tamanho: 218
Formato: Pdf

Carrie narra a atormentada adolescência de uma jovem problemática, perseguida pelos colegas, professores e impedida pela mãe de levar a vida como as garotas de sua idade. Só que Carrie guarda um segredo: quando ela está por perto, objetos voam, portas são trancadas ao sabor do nada, velas se apagam e voltam a iluminar, misteriosamente. Aos 16 anos, desajustada socialmente, Carrie prepara sua vingança contra todos os que a prejudicaram. A vendeta vem í tona de forma tão furiosa e amedrontadora que até hoje permanece como exemplo de uma das mais chocantes e inovadoras narrativas de terror de todos os tempos.

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Kommer ni ihåg klänningen som Carrie köpte bara för att ha på sig första dagen i Paris?

Nu kan ni få er egen för 549 kronor…kolla in Nelly.com’s rea…

God save us! No stranger to controversy, former Miss USA contestant Carrie Prejean’s been running the circuit promoting her new book “Still Standing” and is managing to stir quite the sh*tstorm. Most recently and notably was her threat to walk off Larry King’s show last Wednesday because he asked her pointed questions about her motives for dropping her libel, slander and religious discrimination lawsuit against pageant officials.

Since stepping into the limelight, Prejean has been raising questions about her integrity with asinine, hypocritical and bigoted statements. I’m not just talking about her infamous response to pageant judge Perez Hilton’s question about her stance on same-sex marriage. In a recent interview with Christianity Today, Prejean gives poorly tailored responses to questions about her breast implants (compliments of the Miss USA Pageant), recently leaked sex video(s) and whether she has any regrets. If anything, it’s a comprehensive account of how delusional she is. Some highlights:

• I don’t see anywhere in the Bible where it says you shouldn’t get breast implants.
• Did I think I would ever be a celebrity or that my boyfriend at the time, who I sent it to, would ever blackmail me? No.
• We as Christians need to stick together and realize that the Enemy is powerful, and that there are so many people out there who will try and destroy good people.

Towards the end of the interview, she answers the question “How does your faith play into reacting to people who try to bully you?,” with “No one’s perfect, and God’s shown me: ‘Carrie, you just need to stand tall, stand strong, and I’ll get you through this. They won’t win.’” And it’s what I find most annoying about this hot mess. Every time anyone calls on Carrie to defend her verbal diarrhea, she recoils under a “victim of religious beliefs carapace.” It’s the height of disingenuousness.

Her “I’m not who I was back then” canned response to the questions regarding the scandalous masturbation video she sent to her then-boyfriend (who rumors that the videos were actually made when she was 20 and not seventeen) is getting really old. It’s probably safe to say that she doesn’t quite know who she is. Go away for awhile, Carrie. Maybe when you come back, you’ll have done something worthwhile and actually be the agent of change you allude to being in recent interviews. In the meantime, a piece of advice from our 16^th president, Abe: “It’s better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak out and remove all doubt.”

PS – a note to Sean Hannity, Sarah Palin and the like: holding Carrie Prejean up as the poster child for political and religious badgering is imprudent. Her sensationalism might boost ratings and draw attention but—similar to the Palin phenomenon—it’s shortsighted and further detriment to a political party that is hanging on by a mortal thread.

Posted by Elizabeth

Sissy Spacek

Mais um capítulo do meu diário de leitura altamente eclético. Na verdade ele está um pouco defasado (li esses livros há mais de dois meses, e já li outros depois), mas isso é até bom, pois garante conteúdo para mais alguns posts desta série - já que não ando lendo nada ultimamente.

Guardas! Guardas!, de Terry Pratchett (São Paulo: Conrad Editora do Brasil, 2005) foi meu primeiro contato com o Discworld, o mundo fantástico criado pelo (também fantástico) autor inglês. Interessei-me pela obra de Pratchett quando li em algum lugar que ele era uma espécie de “Douglas Adams medieval”. “Não tem como ser ruim”, pensei. E não tinha, mesmo.

Bom, decidido a conhecer o autor, não foi difícil escolher por qual livro começar:  o primeiro, claro. O problema é que não consegui achá-lo para comprar; optei, então, pelo volume que traz um dragão desenhado na capa. Adoro dragões.

Guardas! Guardas! é, em síntese, uma história de aventura envolvendo guardas e dragões. Os guardas são os membros da Vigilância Noturna, uma espécie de guarda municipal da cidade de Ankh-Morpork; o dragão é um bicho gigante da espécie Draco Nobilis, que foi invocado ao mundo por um homem misterioso com pretensões perversas e resolve ficar, fazendo da cidade seu domínio. Por ser um dragão de raça nobre, o bicho decide se tornar o rei do pedaço, mas terá de encarar a (nem tão) valente oposição da Vigilância. A história nonsense é recheada de situações inusitadas e personagens cativantes, com destaque para o ingênuo brutamontes Cenoura e o capitão Vimes, um beberrão cheio de dilemas morais.

Não direi aqui que o livro é perfeito: Pratchett não é muito bom em fazer descrições, e algumas vezes é meio difícil imaginar a aparência dos personagens ou mesmo entender o que está acontecendo. Além disso, como sua obra tem a pretensão de ser engraçada, é natural que algumas passagens soem meio bobas e forçadas. Mas nada disso chega a comprometer o resultado final: um livro divertidíssimo, agradável, viciante, daqueles que fazem você deixar de trabalhar/dormir/estudar para ler “só mais um capítulo”, que você pega e não larga até terminar, e fica desconsolado quando percebe que acabou. INDISCUTIVELMENTE relevante.

Que em nada se parece com Carrie, a estranha, o primeiro livro de Stephen King (Rio de Janeiro: Objetiva, 2007). Este livro até já saiu em filme, embora eu nunca tenha visto. Conta a história de Carrie, uma menina impopular com poderes telecinéticos.

Maltratada incessantemente pelos colegas de colégio e sempre reprimida pela mãe, uma mulher insuportável e extremamente religiosa, a vida de Carrie não é das mais fáceis ou agradáveis. A garota carrega muita raiva consigo, e o ódio se desenvolve na mesma proporção que seus estranhos superpoderes – para o azar de seus desafetos.

A narrativa tem um ritmo meio estranho, misturando romance com documentário, intercalando passado e futuro. O andamento da história é quebrado por depoimentos e trechos de reportagens (fictícios, obviamente) que se passam depois dos acontecimentos do livro. Esses trechos pseudojornalísticos são meio chatos mas acabam sendo úteis, já que aumentam o suspense e servem para dividir os capítulos em partes menores.

Apesar do jeitão meio teen/colegial do livro, algumas das principais características da obra de King estão nele: há suspense, terror, violência, coisas sobrenaturais, personagens moralmente questionáveis e psicologicamente perturbados. Se você já leu outro(s) livro(s) do autor e gostou, provavelmente vai gostar deste também.

Um ótimo livro, embora não dos melhores. Bastante relevante.