here is a link-

Guide to Electronic Engineering

feel free to re-leaK

With Thanksgiving only a week away, here are some interesting facts and histories about this uniquely American holiday. Impress your friends and family with your Thanksgiving knowledge and learn a little extra about a major cultural aspect of American history.

The Pilgrim leader, Governor William Bradford, had organized the first Thanksgiving feast in the year 1621 and invited the neighboring Wampanoag Indians also to the feast. The first Thanksgiving feast was held in the presence of around ninety Wampanoag Indians and the Wampanoag chief, Massasoit, was also invited there. The celebration lasted for three days. The women didn’t participate. Most of them were too busy cooking.

George Washington established the first official Thanksgiving holiday on 1789 and again in 1795.  Magazine editor Sarah Josepha Hale started a Thanksgiving campaign in 1827 and it was result of her efforts that in 1863, Abraham Lincoln issued a ‘Thanksgiving Proclamation’ which established Thanksgiving as a holiday on the last Thursday in Novemeber.

The final date for Thanksgiving and the one we now celebrate was established by FDR in 1939 as the fourth Thursday in Novemeber in order to extend the Christmas shopping season and stimulate the econony during the Great Depression.

Not all of American’s founding fathers liked the idea of Thanksgiving. Thomas Jefferson thought the concept of Thanksgiving was “the most ridiculous idea I’ve ever heard.” Also, it was Thomas Jefferson’s symbol of the eagle as American’s national bird that beat out Benjamin Franklin’s suggestion that America adopt as its symbol the noble turkey.

When it comes to talking turkey, 91% of Americans eat turkey on Thanksgiving and 50% of those American. On the West Coast of the US, Dungeness crab is common as an alternate main dish instead of turkey, as crab season starts in early November. However, Californians are the biggest consumers of turkey year round.

Turkeys were one of the first wild animals in North America to be domesticated. he wild turkey is native to northern Mexico  and the eastern United States. Later it was domesticated in Mexico, and was brought into Europe early in the 16th century. To this day, wild turkeys have a darker meat and taste differently from domesticated ones. A spooked turkey can run at speeds up to 20 miles per hour. They can also burst into flight approaching speeds between 50-55 mph in a matter of seconds.

The annual Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade tradition began on  November 27, 1924 when the first parade was held. For over 75 years, the parade has begun with the song “Let’s Have a Parade!” The first helium balloons where introduced to the parade in 1928. The balloons were released after the parade until 1933 when public safety concerns stopped the practice.

The first television broadcast was on CBS in 1953 but was moved to NBC in 1955. Santa Claus has ended the parade every year except 1933, the only year in which he led the parade, and in 1942-1944 when the parade was canceled due to World War II. The parade managed until 1989 without encountering a snow storm. The parade went on that year, despite a blizzard blanketing the New York City streets.

So, impress your friends and family with Thanksgiving trivia and have a happy holiday!

One of the cutest things I’ve seen in the world was the White House this Halloween. With the President and First Lady handing out candy to local children to professionaly carved pumpkins by local design students to the band of skeletons performing Halloween tunes, the White House staff went all out on Halloween this year. I think its a nice change, embracing the second most popular holiday after Christmas, a holiday that encourages children to embrace imagination and promotes community fellowship through the act of handing out candy to the neighborhood kids.

This is a real change from last Halloween when the only decoration the White House needed was Old Man Cheney standing on the front lawn, letting all the little kiddies know they weren’t welcome, when Halloween was all about Satanism and Devil worship.

The idea of the Prez and the First Lady handing out candy on their front lawn, just like millions of people across their country, really makes them seem like they could be the couple next door. Its just that they live in a house that is tons bigger and whiter than the rest of us.

The fact that they played part in the dress up is great too. Michelle Obama was dressed as a Cat, Robert Gibbs dressed up as Darth Vader alongside his son, and UN Ambassador Susan Rice came as Goofy, among others. The event was sponsored by the National Park Association.

According to the Chicago Sun Times, the goodies handed out at the White House included  “White House M&Ms, a sweet dough butter cookie from the White House pastry shop and, of course, some dried fruit (cherries, apricots, pears, apples and papayas).” Its nice to see they mixed the traditional candy goodies with some healthy Halloween treatas as well.

The Obamas managed to set a pretty good example of being neighborly, treating over 2,000 kids to Halloween treats. Regardless of politics, I think we all can learn a little from this Halloween goodwill.

Here is some more international dance mix music for you to enjoy.

The name of their band in english means “The Grave Band.”

They sound pretty lively and it’s a fast paced song, this would be awesome for cardio.

The Electronic Media Department at MTSU is showing a series of films made by the sixth generation of Chinese filmmakers. The films will be shown every Sunday in November at 6:00 with a discussion following each film lead by a professorial candidate. The screeninsg will be held in room 103 of the John Bragg Mass Communications Building. Here are the films in order:

Nov. 1: You Shoot, I Shoot
Directed by Pang Ho-Cheung, this film was shot in 1999 but not released until 2001. The film is a black comedy about Bart (Eric Kot), a hitman who’s business is suffering doing to a downward turn in the economy. He finally gets a job from Mrs. Ma (Fei-lin Miao), who is being blackmailed with  a sex tape she made. Mrs. Ma tells Bart to kill all of her ex-lovers and film their murders as a final revenge. When the first video comes out terrible, Bart hires his friend filmmaker Chuen (Tat-Ming Cheung), in order to make the films more artistic.

Nov. 8: If You Are The One
This 2008 romantic comedy directed by Xiaogang Feng is about Qin Fen (You Ge), who somehow manages to strike it rich with a silly invention and uses his money to start dating online. After some terrible blind dates, he meets Smiley (Qi Shu), a flight attendant who is definitely out of his league. The couple end up meeting again in Japan where their romance blossoms.

Nov. 15: Gao Xing
Premiering this very in February, this film is probably the newest in the festival. Directed by the up-and-coming Agan and based on a novel by one of China’s best contemporary novelist, Jia Pingwa, this film is about the struggles of Chinese migrant workers. Leaving behind their rural lives as farmers, the workers seek fortune and happiness in the big city. Tao Guo stars as the lead character, Gao Xing.

Nov. 22: The Sun Also Rises
After being in production for five years, actor/director Wen Jiang finally produced this magnificent film with amazingly artistic backdrops and imagery. The film skips around in time a bit, showing how the different paths that cross our lives shape who we become. The film also shifts locations, showing the diversity of China’s landscape from Yunnan village, a campus, and the Gobi Desert. The film won several awards in various film competitions across China.

In the past decade or so, a lot of attention has come to the media emphasis of body image and how real women relate themselves to media images they are exposed to. From super skinny models in magazine ads to bodacious women in bikinis brandishing weight loss supplements to even overly muscular men soaked in oil trying to get you to buy the latest exercise equipment, it’s easy to see how anyone and everyone can feel inferior when comparing their own body to the airbrushed, Photoshopped images they see on a day-to-day basis.

Several Web sites have taken it upon themselves to expose the truths and myths about body image and what is the “norm” versus what media images cause us to think is the “norm.” The government based site Women’s Health is devoted to tons of women’s health issues, body image being one among them. The site emphasizes learning to love your body but also learning to tell what is healthy and what is not.

The National Eating Disorders Association (NEDA) focuses on education, prevention, and treatment of eating disorders. NEDA knows that one of the lead causes of eating disorders is the reflection of media images or trying to attain those media images. The site offers media watchdog services to try and get the media to talk about healthy weights, body sizes, and to promote healthy senses of body image rather than sickly thin models. NEDA even releases this information sheetThis study from UCLA also explains what positive and negative body images are and how a person develops these body images. on positive versus negative body images.

Our Bodies Ourselves is a Web site that focuses on women’s health issues as well, including everything from menopause to violence against women to women’s health in third world and foreign country. The site includes this section on body image and how it relates to the media. The section also includes book excerpts, blog postings, and links and resources about body images.

There are several sites devoted to the exposure of how body image is contorted in the media. The Media Awareness Network is a site that discusses various issues that come from and are portrayed by the media. Highlighting everything from Internet hate crimes to media violence, the site also has a section devoted to body image in the media. They also have a list of several articles dealing with different types of body images and their media influences.

The National Institute on Media and the Family reflects issues parents and their children might face when it comes to media images. The site also has a section devoted to body image as its portrayed in the media, which includes the lastest facts and research on the subject. The site particularly focuses on how media body images affect young girls, though media and negative body images can affect men, women and people of all ages, ethnicites, and backgrounds.

Some sites take a more comedic approach to promoting healthy body images against media stereotypes and fabricated images. Adiosbarbie.com is a site devoted to helping women love themselves and their body. It has a section devoted to media issues but also focuses on healthy diets, exercise, games, and projects to help women love themselves and they way they see themselves. The features section on the site devotes itself to images of women and the issues that arise when media presents unrealistic images of women. The site is a very good resource and a fun place to check out to find out what is going on in the world of women’s body images.

Bodypositive.com is another site devoting to helping people discover the lovable side of their body image and to just say no to false media portrayals. The site devotes itself to issues such as larger women in the media, activist sites on how to change media culture about body image, and healthcare statements on what is and isn’t a healthy shape. The site also dicusses how to determine what is best for your body and how to talk to your children about body images in the media or their own negative body images.

Whatever shape or size you may be, there is definitely a way for you to love yourself and your body, no matter what.

For those who haven’t heard. . .

From www.eonline.com:

Kevin Mazur/WireImage.com

Is it just us, or has Usher been taking courses at the Andy Samberg School of Songwriting?

Either way, he knows how to drive his point home: The man is “ready to sign them papers.”

This, at least, according to the aptly titled “Papers,” a new tune released online by the R&B mastermind this morning, in which he discusses his pending divorce from Tameka Foster and gives a bit of lyrical insight fresh for the mining for fans and gossip hounds alike.

Oh, and all those persistent rumors about his marriage putting a strain on his relationship with his mom? As tends to be the case, they were persistent for a reason.

“I done damn near lost my mama/I done been through so much drama/I done turned into the man that I never thought I’d be,” he croons. “I’m ready to sign them papers.”

Unfortunately, the song, catchy as it is, doesn’t give enormous amounts of insight into his soon-to-be dissolved partnership. But he does offer up some details of his personal life, give or take a bit of artistic license.

“I ain’t afraid to say I got needs,” he sings at one point, following it up with the admission that he’s “tired of sleeping in the other room.”

“I know it’s you I love/I also know it’s you I don’t like,” he continues. “You leave me no options, girl.”

Sounds like he’s ready to sign them papers.

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by
MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page

BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)

“Jesus Christ, Iris, you’re harbouring a lunatic you know nothing about.”
Iris sighs. “She’s not a lunatic.” 

The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox by Maggie O’Farrell
(pg 99)

Got  a book teaser? (as if some of us even need one, egads. ) But no, really, please do share. There’s nothing like building a TBR booklist. List? OK, yes, I mean “stack.”

If you want to do more to help with “Save the Music” or find out more about under funded music education programs across the country, there are several Web sites you can check out.

The primary site is the National Association for Music Education, (MENC), which is one of the largest arts education organizations and has been around since 1907. More than 75,000 active, retired, and pre-service music teachers along with 60,000 music honor students and supporters volunteer through the organization to help restore and teach music to students who do not have access to music education through any other means. MENC also supports Supportmusic.com, a site that offers advice, tips, and resources  for those who want to start up a music program of their own.

The American Music Conference also does its part in helping restore music education to students across the country. The conference puts on events, such as this one, that help bring attention to underfunded music programs or schools where music programs do not exist at all.

Children’s Music Workshop is a Web site devoted to developing music in children’s lives. The site offers links to advocacy, instruments, music sheets, student learning applications, sheet music, music teachers and tutors, and tons of other great music stuff. They also post articles, such as this one on the Benefits of Music and this one, which provides some great facts and statistics on how music education can help children later in life.

To get some good stats on the state of music programs in America and how music benefits students, several sites are available. This article from Essortment.com discusses how music benefits students both in and outside of the classroom.This article from the Arts Journal was written by orchestra guru Henry Fogel on the importance of music education. This list of music facts also shows how music education early in life can prepare students for future success.

Introduction: “When I was your age, I had to walk 10 miles in the snow just to watch YO! MTV RAPS”

I’m almost 24 years old.

Fish dicks.

Even though I haven’t had many (if any) of those feared, “What the fuck are these kids doing?!,” type of moments when I feel a complete lack of understanding about the generation below me, this makes sense.

Obviously, I’m not that far removed from teenage-dom and I am a genuine product of the “MTV boom” generation, the internet, and commercialized hip hop, so I love to hate Spencer and Heidi Pratt along with every other 16 year old in America, I tweet, and despite my personal love-hate relationship with the guy, I understand why millions of kids fuck with Soulja Boy.

Regardless of my age, the rise of social networking platforms has destroyed conventional mentalities on the old generation vs. new generation dichotomy thanks to Twitter, Facebook, and MySpace. Before these sites exploded in popularity, parents, teachers, grand-parents, name your “adult”— a majority of members from older generations openly mocked, criticized, and refused to embrace countless forms of communication taking place on the internet, dismissing most of them as social tools that only a younger generation could use to deploy various schemes of tomfoolery.

Flash forward to 2009.

Today, it seems like every news anchor, celebrity, or random conversation taking place on the street ONLY discusses the most banal aspects of these once feared and unappreciated trends.

Say hello to the NOW network, 3G technologies, Twitterverses and Facebook status updates from the whole world and their mothers.

Say goodbye to reliable news coverage of critical debates: Economic recession, Health Care Reform, Tension in the Middle East, Educational decline in America—all taking a back seat to the latest twitter updates from A-List celebrities.

P Diddy’s sexcapades.

Oh, how the world has changed.

All hyperbole aside, while this change in reporting style hasn’t killed off important news coverage as a whole, some disturbing trends have developed: the only thing worse than mass media outlets reporting unimportant tweets by celebrities are mass media outlets reporting unimportant tweets by celebrities tweeting about important things.

Despite this revision of mass media and its effect on the traditional age-based “clash of the generations”, I am not unaware of the massive differences between MTV kids in the mid to late 90’s and MTV kids now approaching the end of the first decade in the 21st century.

The following anecdotes should be read as my personal, “grandfather like” rants about the MTV of yore:

When I was still considered part of MTV’s key demographics, Kurt Loder and John Norris, routinely provided insightful updates about meaningful shit going on in the music industry in a non-tweet format that strangely, actually resembled the most respected news programs from major media sources like NBC or CBS.

I was only 9 years old in 1994, but Kurt Cobain’s suicide and the coverage that followed on MTV drastically changed my perceptions of the world, and ironically, has fueled my life-long obsession with the pursuit of the same exact lifestyles that not only drove Kurt Cobain over the edge, but also had a hand in the tragic culmination of the 1990’s Biggie East Coast VS. Tu-Pac West Coast rivalry (which has since allowed the mainstream commercialization of hip-hop to flourish; The “Ringtone Rap” era.)

MTV actually played music videos.

The “Real” World, was by all observations, actually real.

Hopefully, you understand where I am going with this:

A New Paperless World with the Same Old Yellow Journalism: The Beat Tweet

The crucial difference between MTV and the much larger institution of mass media, from then to now, (besides its shift in aesthetics, which can be attributed to a simultaneous evolution of culture) is due to the aforementioned advances in paperless, immediate, and wireless based technologies that have both enhanced AND popularized the most horrifying trend in American mass media since yellow journalism: the “beat tweet.” (Yes, I am coining this term RIGHT NOW….via Twitter)

In case you’re wondering, what are “beat tweets?”

Beat Tweets are the often ridiculous, most always unimportant, irrelevant and sometimes maliciously used twitter updates by [insert @ person here] that are determined to be news worthy by mass media outlets, then reported as news on any topic covered by the outlet—as a viable source.

MTV reports tweets by musicians. ESPN reports tweets by athletes. E! reports tweets by celebrities. Currently, the media operates under the following standard: If you tweet it, then we can and we will report it. While the constitution protects the freedom of press, the obvious removal of any sort of context from these tweets frequently puts the media at the risk of infringing upon their ethical responsibility to remain unbiased, a la, the “Beat Tweet.”

Beat Tweets serve absolutely no justifiable purpose for many media outlets.

Beat Tweets routinely infringe on privacy.

Beat Tweets spread unreliable rumors.

Most importantly, Beat Tweets influence public opinion.

My point is that the inherently flawed characteristics of “Beat Tweets” raise far too many ethical dilemmas. Twitter is essentially a brand new form of communication that no one has questioned. So I will play devil’s advocate here.

How should it be used? What kind of responsibility do media outlets have when pulling information from a source as subjective as twitter?

The debate is nearing a mainstream conversation based on a shocking escalation in the number of case studies which have highlighted exactly how malicious the powers of the Beat Tweet can be.  These cases prevent any logical rationalization of why Beat Tweets should be reported in the first place.

News is supposed to be balanced, fair, unbiased, objective. Right? (and left)

Case Study: The 2009 MTV Video Music Awards.

And then, there was Kanye.

Now that I’ve had some time to think about it, I simply still don’t understand why seemingly most of the entire nation responded to Kanye West’s interruption of Taylor Swift’s award acceptance as harshly as they did.

Summary of FOX NEWS coverage after the show:

[some douchebag in a bowtie] “It’s just an absolute shame what has happened to American principles! What happened to respect! What happened to being polite! Here’s a tweet from @billoreilly on the subject

Is it me, or did the entire institution of American mass media somehow forget they were watching the VMA’s?

This is an “award” show that has featured (and PLANNED no less) a laundry list of events that have hit levels of “rudeness” way higher then Kanye Wests outburst of emotion:

Howard Stern as Fartman.

The “Kiss”

A cocaine/alcohol influence Courtney Love interrupting Madonna’s interview (okay, this wasn’t planned either)

Reacting strongly to this event ignores the notion that in reality, Kanye West probably shouldn’t have been invited to the VMAs if this was how the public was going to respond in the event of another “What did Kanye West do NOW?” moment–As if his calling out of George Bush on TV counts as an outrage based on Bush’s handling of the Hurricane Katrina Disaster.

Even after considering Kanye’s history with outrageously rude public actions, the guy was openly chugging cognac before the show:

While I can relate to acting outrageous/rude/and ill-advised when under the influence of too much alcohol, I am not condoning his behavior–Obviously, Kayne didn’t make a wise or carefully planned decision by stealing the microphone during Taylor Swift’s speech, but, really? This event necesitated a previously unscheduled apology on the prime-time debut of Jay Leno’s new show? Was this rant worthy of a prime-time morality check complete with an ill-advised reference to his mother?

Correct me if im wrong here. But I’m sorry, that was quite possibly the most polite interruption I have ever seen in my entire life.

Your (our) personal stance(s) on the matter is irrelevant now, in fact, it never really was in the first place.  Kanye West was thrown into the fire for his actions—and the media didn’t even flinch a muscle: using biased, disrespectful, and sensational  tweets in order to somehow enhance the idea that what Kanye did was wrong, as if the world/american public didn’t get the memo.

Summary of MTV “NEWS” coverage after the show:

[Carson Daly Clone #56]
“Millions of tweets! A new VMA tweet record!!!!! Let’s see what @pink has to say: OMG KANYE WEST IS SUCH A FUCKING DICK!!!!! OMG I WILL NEVER BUY HIS CDS AGAIN!!!!  HOW RUDDDDEEEEE!!!!

Hold on here. Pink? You were really that pissed off?

Are you the same musician who was also nominated for a VMA thanks to your epically boring single, “So What?,” Don’t you profess in the song:

I wanna get in trouble, I wanna start a fight
So What? I’m just a rock star!

Of all the people that reacted via twitter that night, you would think that Pink might have sympathized with Kanye’s “rock star” move.

But once again, that’s not the issue here.

I mean isn’t this precisely what twitter was designed for?

The problem is the perpetual emphasis that media outlets like MTV, E!, FOX NEWS, etc have placed on celebrities, which has reached new levels of danger with  the development of the BEAT TWEETS, which are in Kanye West’s case slanderous.

Millions of Pink fans had their opinions swayed against Kanyes rude, but human reaction.

Kanye is one of the most respected artists in the music industry and despite his celebrity status, I won’’t support the idea that, “just because he’s Kanye,” he felt comfortable enough to walk onto the VMA main stage during its live broadcast and make semi rude and semi confusing confessions about his inner most feelings.

Here are a few theories that no one (to my knowledge) has explored yet:

Maybe Kanye west was so gone, that he accidentally forgot he was on Live TV.

Maybe he lost his blackberry and instead of projecting his angst onto his twitter account, like everyone else was doing, he mistakenly decided to tweet via microphone.

I think his outburst would have fit into 140 Characters

The most disturbing thing that no one has seemed to mention (or tweet about) at this point, is that there is a strong, realistic possibility that even if Kanye never got on stage, but had made a similar opinion accessible on twitter or his blog, people still would have been upset about it….

and it would have ended up on the MTV post show coverage in some sort of expose on what Kanye West tweeted about and how his opinion was outrageous.

The Bottom Line: This kind of reporting needs to end.

Conclusion: Why Do You Got to be so Heartless?

Dave Chappelle is a fucking prophet.

I don’t know if he will ever grace America with a full length, publicly broadcasted stand-up special ever again, but he really is a genius.  Chappelle’s views/discussion on mass media its emphasis and borderline dangerous obsession on celebrity statuses is now remarkably apparent more than ever.

Remember his joke about 9/11 coverage and MTV going to the phones with Ja Rule on the line as if anyone really cared about what Ja Rule was thinking about the tragedy of the attacks?

Nothing has changed.

Dave Chapelle’s brilliant mind and amazingly short career as a celebrity icon was tragically ended by the unchecked practices of American Mass Media.  With constantly evolving communicative technologies and the recent mainstream emergence of  the once misunderstood web-based social networks,   Beat Tweets, as defined,  must remain the opinions within there peer-to-peer based frameworks.

Here’s my nightmare:

Taking the prophetic advice from Dave Chapelle,  Kanye West, a gifted but flawed musician, willfully ends his career early based on his fall from public grace, which was influenced by mass medias reports on how musicians like Pink felt about his actions.

Now that’s a truly frightening scenario.

–Hypothesis

Though there seem to be tons of sub-genres of horror films, I really think there are only two: good horror movies and bad horror movies. There is a thin line between a good horror movie and a bad horror movie. Good horror movies have you cowering in the theater and having a priest bless your bedroom with holy water before going to sleep that night. Bad horror movies usually end up on the comedic side of things or leave the audience wishing the slasher had taken out the writer, director, and executive who greenlit the film, along with all of the movie characters.

As in the case of now flop film “Jennifer’s Body,” critics are blaming a variety of people for the failure. Some articles believe Megan Fox is the cause of the suckage of the movie, even saying the film has effectively ended her career as an actress. Others blame Diablo Cody’s “cheesy-at-best” dialogue for ruining the movie, acting, and special effects.  Amanda Seyfried is the only actor in the film who really escapes negative criticism.

Still, the current bad box office news for the film and the negative press doesn’t mean the film won’t attain the cult status so many other horror films have achieved. In fact, it is the badly made, poorly reviewed horror movies that tend to become cult figured because, in a strange way, they’re so bad they’re good. Making fun of a movie, a la “Mystery Science Theatre 3000,” is the only savior bad films have.

This has led to articles like this one, 11 Horribly Bad Horror films, from Cracked.com about those horrible films that are so terrible you just have to watch him. Then there is this guide on how to survive a bad horror movie that you are being forced to or find yourself watching. There are even entire sites devoted to the awesomely bad of film, like badmovies.org and badmovieplanet.com.

I suppose its safe to say that one man’s flop is another one’s Schadenfreude.

If you love books, you likely love paper. And if you love paper, you love art. And if you love art, you love photos. And if you love photos, you likely love books and, see? It all goes in a grand little circle.

Yesterday we were at a picnic. As I was sitting there for a caricature portrait, a woman sat next to me and began talking.
“I know you can’t turn around while you’re sitting for a portrait, but when I find out someone is from New York, I have to come over and say ‘hello” and talk to them about that beautiful place,” she said.
And I had to smile. I hoped I was smiling the same way as I had been all along so it didn’t mess up the artist but oh, well. It’s not every day you meet another New Yorker.

And so our conversation began, albeit a bit odd with me staring straight ahead and Judith (that was her name) staring straight ahead, too, in a companionable way, and it was lovely to meet her (which was the idea of the Rotary picnic to begin with…!) And when the artist finished, Judith and I kept talking and our conversation moved into books because Ridley Pearson will be speaking at Rotary this week and I asked if she were attending.
“Yes, ” she said. “Are you?”
“Yes.”
“Let’s sit together.” And the pact was made.
And then we discussed what we were reading (oh, isn’t this scintillating dialogue,but honestly, it was so nice to go from “hello, who are you” to “here’s what I’m reading,” because, well, you know how we bookaholics are!)

She asked if I’d read THE ELEGANCE OF THE HEDGEHOG. No, I hadn’t. She took my arm. “You must,” she conspiratorially.
HM was standing right there as I kudo-ed Book Blogworld for already giving me a heads up on the book and fanning my interest, and HM said, “You’ve heard of it?” and I said, “Yes!” and he said, “Would you like to go to Barnes and Noble on the way home and pick it up?”
And I said, “YES!”

Oh, I could nearly have hugged my new friend Judith right then and there.
I DID hug HM.
We went to B&N.
And we found the book, along with fancy coffees and an hour “timeout” at one of the cafe tables.
And the point of all this is Paper. PAPER.

The cover of the HEDGEHOG book is so smooth. Yes, it’s a softcover.So nicely smooth, a very squared binding. Different. And it is “flapped” on the front and back, quite different than our usual softcover (trade) publications. It’s the Euro edition; not because I’m special – anyone who buys it at B&N will get the same edition.And it’s a nice blue. And I got all starry-eyed just holding it.

(switch gears…and topics…I don’t have a better transition.)

And then, like with so many bookaholics (tho’ they’re not all talkin’), there’s the desire to create something  with paper, on paper. Like writing. Art journals. Maybe something more visual. An ornament. 
Still working on it.

Make a stencil out of cardstock.
Trace onto brown paper bag. Trace two of ‘em.
Cut them out. Glue ‘em together, back to back but leave an opening.
Stuff tissue paper between them to “puff” them up a little, give them a soft dimension.
Then glue remaining open seam shut.
Paint both sides (not at the same time) in color you love (this one is in metallic gold).
When dry, paint a border (this one, white.)
Used black marker to create black squares on border.
Punch hole, and tie ribbon through it. (not done yet.)

One star done. A galaxy to go.

Screen shot from Style.com

In addition to the many other things it does for us, the Internet is helping bring the fashion world together, helping everyone from L.A. to Timbuktu figure out the latest it designers and fashion trends with only a few clicks of a mouse. Here are a few websites every fashionista should have saved to her favorites folder.

Of course, Style.com is a no-brainer for any fashion conscious person. Backed by Vogue and with the latest and greatest runway shots, this site has everything in current fashion trends. Users of the site can read blog posts by stylish insiders and even make their own lookbook of their favorite outfits and designers. Videos give up-to-date fashion coverage as well as stylish tips and tricks. There are tons of quick links to designers, including history and all of their past runway shows since the site came into being.

To make your own outfits and keep up with the latest trends, the fashion social networking site Polyvore has become an international favorite. Fashionistas along with artists and interior designers take individual pieces and turn them into sets to share and be commented on by fellow users. The Polyvore blog highlights the best sets on the site and uses them to help predict which fashion items are going to be big next. This is a truly revolutionary site in the terms of grassroots fashion.

For those fashionistas who want to be cutting edge and know what’s going to be hot before even Anna Wintour, check out Indiefashion.com. The site is devoted to under the radar and up-and-coming designers and trends, allowing online shopping, magazine reviews, and up-close-and-personal interviews with models.

For a unique and indie approach, check out what they’re selling on Etsy.com. Anyone can be a buyer or seller on Etsy, which can put a small designer working in her kitchen into the big leagues. Most of Esty’s clothes are homemade or vintage, with speciality jewelry and accesories that no one else will have. For the girl who has to have everything one of a kind, Esty is the site for you.

And of course, perhaps the biggest site for a fashionista to be on is Twitter. There are tons of fashion forward people in the twittersphere, along with basically every major designer, fashion magazine, model, and fashion writer or critic. If you really want to know what’s going on in the wide world of fashion, following all of the major players in the fashion world can’t hurt!

To celebrate International Talk like a Pirate Day, here are a few things everyone can do to be the best buccaneer they can. The Pirate King website is devoted to all things pirate, including this list of every pirate movie ever made. Here are some great pirate terms to help you get down with the lingo and really talk like a pirate. And if you need any more advice, these swashbuckler’s are dolling out lessons in the “5 A’s”.

flags at Missouri Botanical Garden Japanese Festival

The wind refused to blow as I snapped photo after photo of a these flags.  I thought about asking HM to shimmey up the pole and blow on them, but he was kind enough to wait as I stood in the middle of the road to get any shot at all and likewise, he prevented the SUVs and muscle cars from running me down.

Trying to take good pictures always puts me in mind of the fantastic shots we see and take for granted. How often do you wonder where the photographer was in order to get the picture? Was he on a roof, hanging from a glider, pimping his own beliefs to hang with some sort of crowd in order to get their pictures, walking along the edge of something swampy or sly, risking his or her life, or sliding through the ocean or nearly falling off a cliff or hanging in some sort of human twist to catch a glimpse on camera of some gorgeous thing growing out of the skin of a tree twenty feet above ground?

Of course thousands and thousands of photos imply no risk at all. They are the wondrous magic of timing. Of being there. Of seeing. So many blogs willingly and freely put marvelous remarkable shots out there for others to see. Those are my mentors. I learn and learn, and then I go and take a dumb-ass picture anyway. But photos are  another way to communicate. You see them. You feel the stories and look more closely and get even more.

I had no intention at all of talking about photos, but I must express my delight to ALL those who post pictures. Who climb up on their desks and the backs of their couches to get shots of their desks and manuscripts, of their offices, who stand on porches, fences, hills, knee-deep in water, or in the grocery store, the streets of Paris, the waterways of Venice, the Outback of Anywhere – everywhere out there, in places we cannot get to and see without being time travelers.

Back to the topic: Fish.
I am a Pisces. This “fish” thing is important to me when it applies. Thus, the above photo taken at the Festival.

Book recommendations

But what of having read books about fish?
‘”Course there was PINOCCHIO, with the whale, not really a fish but a mammoth mammal and a scary one when you’re a kid….
and then there was MOBY DICK and I pushed the entire senior class in a Maine high school through that book, propelling them towards the apparent final battle between Ahab and Moby….
and then there was THE OLD MAN AND THE SEA and you know what?  I read that book far too quickly. I read it just to say I had read it. Foolish. I must go back. Not to look at the story; I know full well how that goes. I have to go back and look at the language. 
You can buzz on over to Scobberlotch and hear Hemingway’s Nobel Peace Prize acceptance speech, plied with pictures of “Papa” and evocative. Especially for those who write. Have a look. 
And then there was ONE FISH TWO FISH RED FISH BLUE FISH when the kids were little.  Not completely silly, you know. It’s the memories such books create as much as the silly rhymes which they remember as well.

Do movies figure in this aimless rambling riff? Let’s say ‘yes.’ Consdier  BIG FISH. It’s a fantasy. It’s a story of a son and his father and the former trying to understand the latter. (That is a terrible over-simplification!)  Watch it if you haven’t already, just let it happen and avoid making sense. You’ll feel  it, which, we could say, is the essence of fantasy.

OK, here is my book recommendation for this “fishy” entry:  It is…
SHARK’S FIN AND SICHUAN PEPPER – A SWEET SOUR MEMOIR OF EATING IN CHINA by Fuschia Dunlop.
I won’t give you a long complicated review on this one since it would pre-empt the review I just handed in to an editor (but you can read it in October’s SAUCE Magazine.)
Needless to say, anyone I know in book blog world will like it. Not the shark’s fin and maybe not the pepper, but certainly the writing, humor and info all wrapped up in a to-go box with chopsticks. The book is good. She is, in fact, one of the finest “foodie” writers I have ever read. So British, so open-minded, so talented, so humble. Don’t tell me you don’t care much about Chinese food. Me, either. This book, though, I’m telling you, even if you read any chapter, out of order, will weave you true tales, tell you anecdotal history, chat you up on why, why, why an expat in ’90s China longed and lusted to learn cook like a Chinaman (cooking school was rife with guys; Fuschia was odd “man” out in that sense). And she does.

Are there other books with fish in the story or the title? Oh, thousands, likely. But without coffee, this little tug has run out of steam. Wishing you a wonderful week ahead….

A student poses with art work in the Todd Building

Whether you know it or not, the arts are thriving at MTSU. In addition to traveling exhibits that set up all around campus, MTSU has two main galleries that are open weekly.

The Todd Gallery is open Monday through Friday for free admission in the Todd building. Sponsored by the MTSU Art Department, the gallery shows everything from art by current students to exhibits by artists from across Middle Tennessee. The gallery is currently showing the biennal facutly exhibit, which will end on September 17, and the next show is the juried student art show, which starts on September 22.

The Photography Department sponsors the Baldwin Photographic Gallery in the LRC. Another free campus exhibit, the gallery is open Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. until 4:30 p.m., on Saturdays from 8 a.m. to 11:45 a.m., and on Sundays from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. Like the Todd gallery, the Baldwin gallery often shows work by photography students and professors, as well as professional photographers from across the country.

The current exhibit is entitled “Relics,” is by photographer Brad Temkim, and the photographer will be on campus for a reception on Sept. 21 at 7:30. Students can go to the reception and discuss the photographer’s work with him in person. Originally from Chicago, Temkin is a photography professor at Columbia College Chicago.

This semester, both galleries are packed full with tons of exhibits to check out. Its just a quick stop during your daily campus routine and free exposure to some up-and-coming artists, who may turn out to be a friend or professor.

With The Time Traveler’s Wife, Audrey Niffenegger delivered a complex, captivating, and perfectly orchestrated plot with rich, rounded characters who demanded the reader’s interest.  The Time Traveler’s Wife is one of my all-time favorites and I recommend it to anyone looking for a great read.

It is because of my love for The Time Traveler’s Wife that I am heartbroken to report that Her Fearful Symmetry failed to reach any of its predecessor’s achievements.

I had many issues with Her Fearful Symmetry.  Its characters’ actions were inconsistent; its plot was muddled and haphazard; its revelations were predictable and clichéd; and its entire premise was passé and, frankly, far below Ms. Niffenegger’s standards.  I kept waiting for it to get better, and it simply never did.

Truthfully, I wanted to like this book.  I was so excited to get an advanced copy and read it.  I couldn’t wait to shout from the rooftops and spread the word about its brilliance.  However, as much as it pains me to do so, and even though the thought of hurting Ms. Niffenegger’s feelings haunts me, I cannot lie about Her Fearful Symmetry – I simply did not enjoy its plot, characters, or technique and I do not recommend you read it.

But with that being said, The Time Traveler’s Wife is seriously a masterpiece and I wholeheartedly urge you to go pick it up, support the author, and give it a read.  You won’t be disappointed.

After watching the new Quentin Tarantino flick Inglourious Basterds, I was blown away by the performance of one of the actors, Mélanie Laurent, who played the role of Shosanna Dreyfus, a young Jewish woman who seeks revenge on the Nazis for killing her family. Her performance was magnificent and definitely makes you root for her character. However, I did not know a lot about Laurent or her work, which made me wonder exactly who she is.

Laurent is Jewish and was born in Paris on February 21, 1983. She comes from a talented family as her mother is a ballerina and her father is also an actor. Laurent directs as well as acts and won the Best Short Film Prize at the Cannes Film Festival for De moins en moins last year. Perhaps the reason I have not seen Laurent performing before is because, up until Basterds, all of her films are French and thus have not received a wide audience in America. This might also account for the reason that her IMDB profile is sparse, at best.

However, more information can be found on Laurent at her fansite. The site has tons of up to date info on Laurent, including info about her upcoming films, press from her current movie, and interviews with the star herself. Laurent states that her best friend is fellow French actress Marion Cotillard, who one the Best Actress Oscar for portraying singer Edith Piaf in the 2007 film La Vie En Rose.

In this interview for AskMen.com, Laurent discusses her worries about becoming an international star, working with Tarantino and being a French actress in the world of film, which is dominated by the English language. Another interview from Screencrave.com focuses more on her work with Tarantino and her role as Shosanna. Filmsnmovies.com also did this great interview with Laurent about the film.

Despite the fact that Laurent has only a few French films coming up, I hope that she will do some more English language films so it will be easier to gain access to them. I also hope that I can catch some of her French films on channels that occasionally run them, like Ovation TV or the Independent Film Channel. Whatever her next project is, I hope we will be seeing a lot more of Mélanie Laurent.

The release of the Frist Center for the Visual Arts’ calender for 2010 has Middle Tennessee buzzing. Some very big names in the art, fashion, and history world will be making a stay at the Frist next year, so now is the time to start planning your visit.

An Image from the Walter's Heroes: Mortals and Myths in Ancient Greece exhibit

From Jan. 29-April 25 is an exhibit entitled Heroes: Mortals and Myths in Ancient Greece. This exhibits will include relics, artifacts, and artwork that explore the mythological legends of ancient Greece. The exhibit has been organized by the Walters Museum of Art in Baltimore.

From February 19 – May 16 is the Masterpieces of European Painting from Museo de Arte de Ponce exhibit, which will feature artwork from the Baroque period through the Victorian era. Artists such as Rubens and Dante Gabriel Rossetti will be featured among this exclusive collection.

If you can name an Impressionist, their work is on display at the Musée d'Orsay

Of course, the exhibit that will have any art lovers heart aflutter is definitely the last on the list. From Oct. 15, 2010-Jan. 30, 2011, Nashville will be home to a prized collection of Impressionist paintings straight from the famous Musée d’Orsay in Paris. While their gallery is under renovation, this paintings will be vacationing in Nashville and San Francisco, the only two U.S. cities that are being graced with such a prized and exclusive honor.

So, begin planning your artastic trip and remember, fellow college students, with your student ID admission is only $6.50 everyday, but on every Thursday and Friday night from 5-9, your college ID will get you into these amazing exhibits for FREE!

Rather a continuance of yesterday’s pictures…if you can read the sign, you’ll see that this plaque marks the spot/site where Faulkner wrote SOLDIER”S PAY (didn’t read that one yet).
The building was erected in 1840.
On the site of a French colonial prison.

I am glad this building/house/site was not on the ghost tour we took. That would ruin it for me. I prefer literary refernces to haunted hot spots.

When I read Faulkner as a kid, I was anxious for and all about the story.
When I read him in college, I was all about his style.
When I read him now, his sentences and imagery send me spinning off into ideas and imaginings for my own writing and I can barely stay tethered, in a most delightful way, to the words on his pages.

There is much to love about Faulkner.
There is much to love about this building that has no doubt been painted time after time since since his last visits in the mid-20th century.

As soon as you walk in the door of the Faulkner House Books, this little table is there. I snapped these pictures on the down-low because I wasn’t sure what the Proprietess would say.  Though she’s always helpful, if not tolerant. (check out the link which offers professional pictures of the place and wee bit of history – very charming!)

She’s in the picture below, at the little alcove where her “office” is.

This gives a glimpse of how small the shop is. Yet the shelves reach the ceiling, approx 12 feet high.
“How do we see the books on the higher shelves?” Laylou whispered.
“I don’t know,”I answered. “I never even get beyond my own height with all the stuff in here!”

A couple came into the shop and began talking with the Proprietess. It seemed they might have been old friends. Or, not.  The woman kept repeating that she was looking for a book her son had recommended. She would ask him but he had just left for Europe. All he took was a backpack and the only thing in it was books!   The Proprietess smiled and “mmmm-ed” and was very pleasant but was unable to discover exactly what book or what type of book the woman wanted. The couple left with lots of cheery farewells and the bell on the door tinkled and they were gone.

And Laylou and I went back to wondering what was up on the higher shelves but not really because we already had several books in our hand to choose from.

This afternoon,  we lost  the Pulizter-prizing winning author Frank McCourt, who’s memoir of his childhood in Irish poverty during the 1920s and 1930s became the best-selling novel Angela’s Ashes and inspired a film of the same name.

Author, teacher, humanitarian: Frank McCourt

In his follow-up novel ‘Tis, McCourt chronicled his return to America, enlisting in the US Army to serve in World War II, and trying to settle into the life of suburban America in the 1950s. He later became a teacher in the inner city schools of New York, teaching literature among other things.

I read Angela’s Ashes for the first time when I was fifteen years old. My mother was skeptical at first of me reading a novel that dealt with the serious issues of domestic abuse and budding sexuality. However, I found myself engrossed in this tale of a family that seemed bent on self-implosion with an abusive, alcoholic father as the catalyst. Beyond the stereotype of drunk Irishmen and religious Irishwomen, the book showcased the true struggles of poverty, religion, faith, beating the odds, domestic violence, alcoholism, and just about every major theme a book could contain, all seen through the eyes of a young boy.

McCourt hearkens back to the Irish literary tradition from which he is descended. McCourt possesses Jonathon Swift’s turn of the phrase, Oscar Wilde’s wit, and echoes James Joyce in his coming-of-age tale pitting a boy struggling with education and emerging adulthood, pitted against his alcoholic, poverty-stricken father. Like he was taught the works of Swift, Wilde, and Joyce, students across America now read McCourt’s work as part of their literary curriculum.

Though McCourt does emulate his literary forefathers, his work is all his own, a poignant tale of coming of age in one of the hardest times and places to do so. Of course, it is McCourt himself who explains it the best:

When I look back on my childhood I wonder how I survived at all. It was, of course, a miserable childhood: the happy childhood is hardly worth your while. Worse than the ordinary miserable childhood is the miserable Irish childhood, and worse yet is the miserable Irish Catholic childhood.

People everywhere brag and whimper about the woes of their early years, but nothing can compare with the Irish version: the poverty; the shiftless loquacious alcoholic father; the pious defeated mother moaning by the fire; pompous priests; bullying schoolmasters; the English and the terrible things they did to us for eight hundred long years.

It’s hard to believe that Hollywood award season is beginning again, considering it seems like it just ended. The 2009 Emmy awards, the 61st annual show if you’re keeping count, will be broadcast on September 20th, giving you a good two months to hedge your bets on who is going to win.

Though cable seems to have dominated past Emmy awards, it seems that the major networks are taking some ground back this year. Only two of the outstanding comedy series are off of cable, only two lead actors or actresses in a comedy series are off of cable and the same for supporting actor and supporting actress in a comedy. Network shows seem to have found their niche with comedies and reality shows, but where the cable shows dominate is the drama section. If the networks want to beat cable at their own game, they need to brush up on their dramatic skills.

So, without any further ado, the nominees are:

Outstanding Comedy Series
Nominees:
“Entourage” (2004)
“Family Guy” (1999)
“The Flight of the Conchords” (2007)
“How I Met Your Mother” (2005)
“The Office” (2005)
“30 Rock” (2006)
“Weeds” (2005)

Outstanding Drama Series
Nominees:
“Big Love” (2006)
“Breaking Bad” (2008)
“Damages” (2007)
“Dexter” (2006)
“House M.D.” (2004)
“Lost” (2004)
“Mad Men” (2007)

Outstanding Made for Television Movie
Nominees:
Coco Chanel (2008) (TV)
Grey Gardens (2009) (TV)
Into the Storm (2009) (TV)
Prayers for Bobby (2009) (TV)
Taking Chance (2009)

Outstanding Miniseries
Nominees:
“Generation Kill” (2008)
“Little Dorrit” (2008)

Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series
Nominees:
Alec Baldwin for “30 Rock” (2006)
Steve Carell for “The Office” (2005)
Jemaine Clement for “The Flight of the Conchords” (2007)
Jim Parsons for “The Big Bang Theory” (2007)
Tony Shalhoub for “Monk” (2002)
Charlie Sheen for “Two and a Half Men” (2003)

Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series
Nominees:
Simon Baker for “The Mentalist” (2008)
Gabriel Byrne for “In Treatment” (2008)
Bryan Cranston for “Breaking Bad” (2008)
Michael C. Hall for “Dexter” (2006)
Jon Hamm for “Mad Men” (2007)
Hugh Laurie for “House M.D.” (2004)

Outstanding Lead Actor in a Miniseries or Movie
Nominees:
Kevin Bacon for “Taking Chance” (2009)
Kenneth Branagh for “Wallander” (2008)
Brendan Gleeson for “Into the Storm” (2009) (TV)
Kevin Kline for “Great Performances: Cyrano de Bergerac (#37.8)” (2008)
Ian McKellen for “King Lear” (2008) (TV)
Kiefer Sutherland for “24: Redemption” (2008) (TV)

Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series
Nominees:
Christina Applegate for “Samantha Who?” (2007)
Toni Collette for “United States of Tara” (2009)
Tina Fey for “30 Rock” (2006)
Julia Louis-Dreyfus for “The New Adventures of Old Christine” (2006)
Mary-Louise Parker for “Weeds” (2005)
Sarah Silverman for “The Sarah Silverman Program.” (2007)

Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series
Nominees:
Glenn Close for “Damages” (2007)
Sally Field for “Brothers & Sisters” (2006)
Mariska Hargitay for “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit” (1999)
Holly Hunter for “Saving Grace” (2007)
Elisabeth Moss for “Mad Men” (2007)
Kyra Sedgwick for “The Closer” (2005)

Outstanding Lead Actress in a Miniseries or Movie
Nominees:
Drew Barrymore for Grey Gardens (2009) (TV)
Jessica Lange for Grey Gardens (2009) (TV)
Shirley MacLaine for Coco Chanel (2008) (TV)
Sigourney Weaver for Prayers for Bobby (2009) (TV)
Chandra Wilson for Accidental Friendship (2008) (TV)

Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series
Nominees:
Jon Cryer for “Two and a Half Men” (2003)
Kevin Dillon for “Entourage” (2004)
Neil Patrick Harris for “How I Met Your Mother” (2005)
Jack McBrayer for “30 Rock” (2006)
Tracy Morgan for “30 Rock” (2006)
Rainn Wilson for “The Office” (2005)

Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series
Nominees:
Christian Clemenson for “Boston Legal” (2004)
Michael Emerson for “Lost” (2004)
William Hurt for “Damages” (2007)
Aaron Paul for “Breaking Bad” (2008)
William Shatner for “Boston Legal” (2004)
John Slattery for “Mad Men” (2007)

Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Miniseries or Movie
Nominees:
Len Cariou for Into the Storm (2009) (TV)
Tom Courtenay for “Little Dorrit” (2008)
Ken Howard for Grey Gardens (2009) (TV)
Bob Newhart for The Librarian: The Curse of the Judas Chalice (2008) (TV)
Andy Serkis for “Little Dorrit” (2008)

Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series
Nominees:
Kristin Chenoweth for “Pushing Daisies” (2007)
Jane Krakowski for “30 Rock” (2006)
Elizabeth Perkins for “Weeds” (2005)
Amy Poehler for “Saturday Night Live” (1975)
Kristen Wiig for “Saturday Night Live” (1975)
Vanessa Williams for “Ugly Betty” (2006)

Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series
Nominees:
Rose Byrne for “Damages” (2007)
Hope Davis for “In Treatment” (2008)
Cherry Jones for “24″ (2001)
Sandra Oh for “Grey’s Anatomy” (2005)
Dianne Wiest for “In Treatment” (2008)
Chandra Wilson for “Grey’s Anatomy” (2005)

Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Miniseries or Movie
Nominees:
Shohreh Aghdashloo for “House of Saddam” (2008)
Marcia Gay Harden for The Courageous Heart of Irena Sendler (2009) (TV)
Janet McTeer for Into the Storm (2009) (TV)
Jeanne Tripplehorn for Grey Gardens (2009) (TV)
Cicely Tyson for Relative Stranger (2009) (TV)

Outstanding Variety, Music Or Comedy Series
Nominees:
“The Colbert Report” (2005)
“The Daily Show” (1996)
“Late Show with David Letterman” (1993)
“Real Time with Bill Maher” (2003)
“Saturday Night Live” (1975)

Outstanding Reality Competition Program
Nominees:
“The Amazing Race” (2001)
“American Idol: The Search for a Superstar” (2002)
“Dancing with the Stars” (2005/I)
“Project Runway” (2005)
“Top Chef” (2006)

Outstanding Host For A Reality Or Reality – Competition Program
Nominees:
Tom Bergeron for “Dancing with the Stars” (2005/I)
Phil Keoghan for “The Amazing Race” (2001)
Heidi Klum for “Project Runway” (2005)
Padma Lakshmi, Tom Colicchio for “Top Chef” (2006)
Jeff Probst for “Survivor” (2000)
Ryan Seacrest for “American Idol: The Search for a Superstar” (2002)

Outstanding Reality Program
Nominees:
“Antiques Roadshow” (1997)
“Dog Whisperer with Cesar Millan” (2004)
“Dirty Jobs” (2005)
“Intervention” (2005)
“Kathy Griffin: My Life on the D-List” (2005)
“MythBusters” (2003)

Outstanding Variety, Music Or Comedy Special
Nominees:
Chris Rock: Kill the Messenger – London, New York, Johannesburg (2008) (TV)
Kathy Griffin: She’ll Cut a Bitch (2009) (TV)
Ricky Gervais: Out of England – The Stand-Up Special (2008) (TV)
The 31st Annual Kennedy Center Honors (2008) (TV)
Will Ferrell: You’re Welcome America – A Final Night with George W Bush (2009) (TV)

Join us for a Night of Celebratory Mayhem as Night Club Forbidden is transformed to become Studio 54 for a night of dancers, music, Sisters, Michele’s Birthday Party/Cancer Fund Raiser, Pudding Shots, Raffle, Auction and MORE!

Celebrate Michele is a fundraiser for Michele deLaFreniere, a well-known activist and leader in the lgbt community and former member of the Scottsdale Human Relations Commission. Michele was diagnosed with liver and bone cancer this spring. It has now spread to her brain and lungs. Representatives from every segment of the community have come together to organize this fundraiser which is sponsored by Tom and Roberta Anderson of Forbidden. This is an event not to be missed!