What did 2009 mean to you? What stories caught your attention, what songs buzzed around in your brain like a fly whacked on speed? Everyone had their own personal ups and downs, of course. For me, it was (is) recovering from a pretty bad car accident. Breaking up with a boyfriend of over five years (my choice, but none the less hard), coping with the backlash of the recession and trying to move past my friends death that happened at the end of 2008. Sorry to be a downer there, but 2009 has been ROUGH! I’m looking forward to a fresh beginning in 2010, but before the year rolled over, I thought I’d blog about the events and happenings that caught my attention in ‘09. 

First off, the recession. It’s almost become it’s own entity, hasn’t it? People talk about it like it’s a living, breathing thing with actions and no conscience. People have lost their jobs, homes, security. Businesses have closed down, new graduates have struggled to find work. It has been a terribly hard year for everyone, but we battled through and its only up from here!

The Recession Trend

The Chris Brown/Rihanna debacle where Chris attacked Ri-Ri while he was driving and she was in the passenger seat. This was brutal and alarming – you don’t think such horrendous behavior happens between celebrity couples. It has highlighted how violence can permeate into anyone’s life, including those who seemingly “have it all”. I won’t go into the he said, she said stuff – google it if you want details. All I want to say is that after it happened, the world was awash with sympathy for the Umbrella singer, and Chris continues to be shunned. Abusing someone is never okay, and I’m just glad that Chris was given the dunce hat on this one as opposed to being excused. I hope a lot of people out there learned from this situation, at the very least. Rihanna will continue to make great music, and seems to have become stronger despite all of the negative media attention and hype. Chris played the “I don’t know what happened, it just wasn’t me” card, but at least owned up to what he did. He didn’t blame her. I just hope he can learn to harness his temper so that the next girl doesn’t cop it too, and I also pray that his fans don’t take direction from his actions and let themselves lash out too. Sad to say, it happens when people are impressionable. This was a big story in 2009 – and I look forward to seeing more and more celebs being pulled up on their behavior in the coming years. I don’t care about sex, drugs and alcohol. That’s personal, it’s not my business. But when it’s something like violence, I do not believe they should get away with it because of their fame. Step one. 

Chris Brown and Rihanna

President Barack Obama had a bit of a full on year. He was elected 44th president (and first African-American one to boot, whoop whoop!)  in November of 08′, but was inaugurated as president on January 20, 2009. Along with that, he also won the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize. What a year, and what a man! The news has been saturated with everything Obama has done, from his decisions regarding Iraq to his economical plans and strategies to beat the global recession. I finally have faith in the US government with him at the reins. 

Barack Obama

The release of the movie The Twilight Saga: New Moon (based on Stephenie Meyer’s bestselling books) was a big event in my eyes! My friends and I, all avid fans of both the books and the first flick, spent most of the year discussing the up and coming release. Edward or Jacob? Could they get across the sorrow of New Moon, the book, into the movie? Could Taylor Lautner pull off Jacobs physical change? Would the movie work with Edward leaving at the beginning? Ahhh, it’s the big questions in life! You may laugh at me, but I was merely one of MILLIONS waiting for the same thing. A bit of Vampire/Werewolf action – oh yeah! 

New Moon Movie Poster

On a sad note, many celebrities died in 2009. A scarily high amount, and a lot of them far too young. This struck a chord with me, and I do believe, with the world. So R.I.P. to the following greats:

* David Carridine – 08/12/1936 to 03/06/2009. An actor, well known for many roles over the years. One of his most recent magic roles was Bill in the Kill Bill movies. He was found dead in Thailand from, err, accidental asphyxiation. Enough said. 

* Edward (Ted) Kennedy – 22/02/1932 – 25/08/2009. A United States Senator and an integral part of the Kennedy family. In 2008 he was diagnosed with a malignant brain tumor, and died from the ensuing complications in 2009. 

* Farrah Fawcett  - 02/02/1947 to 25/06/2009. An actress known most famously for her role in Charlie’s Angels. Died from the complications of rectal cancer. 

* Frank McCourt – 19/08/1930 to 19/07/2009. Teacher and famous author of the books Angela’s Ashes and Teacher Man. He died from metastatic melanoma.

* Jade Goody – 05/06/1981 to 22/03/2009. TV personality and “Queen” of reality television in the UK. Died tragically of cervical cancer. 

* Jett Travolta – 13/04/1992 to 02/01/2009. Jett wasn’t a celebrity, but his parents were (John Travolta and Kelly Preston.) This poor kid captured the heart of the world when he died. It made everyone think, if it could happen to a celebrities child it could happen to mine. So sad. His cause of death was an epileptic seizure

* Michael Jackson – 29/08/1958 to 25/06/2009. This was probably the most famous death of the year, and one that truly stopped people in their tracks. MJ was possibly the most talented performer ever to live (okay, I’m a bit biased, so sue me) and was known world-wide for his amazing music and bizarre lifestyle. He died in his home from an overdose of drugs… It has yet to be determined if this was the fault of his Doctor or just the result of his chosen lifestyle. Either way, we lost an amazing talent. 

* Natasha Richardson – 11/05/1963 to 18/03/2009. An actress in movies like The Parent Trap and Maid In Manhattan. Died far too young due to a skiiing accident which resulted in a fatal epidural hematoma.

* Patrick Swayze – 18/08/1952 to 14/09/2009. Actor and dancer – famous mostly for his roles in Dirty Dancing, Ghost and Point Break. Died of pancreatic cancer. 

* Stephen Gately – 17/ 03/1976 to 10/10/2009. Singer with Irish boyband Boyzone. Died from a pulmonary oedema.

* Walter Cronkite – 04/11/1916 to 17/07/2009. Famous US journalist. Died from cerebrovascular disease.

* Brittany Murphy – 10/11/1977 to 20/12/2009. An actress famous for rom-com roles in such movies as Clueless and Just Married. Her autopsy results have yet to be released at the time of me writing this, but she was found collapsed in her bathroom from suspected heart complications/failure. So young, so sad.

There were more, but these are the people that passed that truly made their mark on the world (in my eyes, at the very least.) R.I.P. to you all, you amazing, talented, wicked bunch. 

R.I.P.

The Swine Flu Pandemic. Now, that lasted through a huge chunk of 2009! A lot of people poo-poo’d it, but at the end of the day, it was a flu that could take down someone with a compromised immune system. The young, the old, the already sick. But it certainly caused an uproar – but with less panic than the Bird Flu (remember that?) At the very least, I hope it taught people to wash their blimmin’ hands. (Pet peeve, don’t mind me!) 

Swine Flu

The Tiger Woods debacle. The car accident, the cheating, the media circus surrounding it. I kind of feel sorry for the guy… I don’t believe in cheating, and his poor wife for having to go through it all, but imagine how it must feel to be them! With the media glare watching their every move – how humiliating. Over a dozen women have stepped forward to say Tiger cheated on his wife with them, and at this point (to be fair), there’s no proof that these allegations are all true. I’d say most of these “ladies” (scoff) are lying just to get into the headlines and on tv. But Tiger has admitted to transgressions in his statement here and most recently, his wife Elin (a model, so why Tiger, WHY?!) has walked out on their marriage with the kids in tow. Looks like this sports star has a rough path ahead of him… But at the end of the day, he is human. If everyone could forgive the rapscallion President Clinton for his “transgressions”, I’m sure we can all move past judging Tiger and leave him and his family to sort themselves out in private. This has been such a major story for 2009 – sad huh?

The Woods Family

This year has been a major year for book to screen adaptations. Of course this is a concept that has been around for ages, and has been gaining real momentum in the past ten years or so. But I found 2009 to be quite heavy with it. The movies that came out in ‘09 that were originally books are:

* The Twilight Saga: New Moon – The sequel to the movie Twilight about two star-crossed lovers, Bella anordinary human girl, and Edward, a tortured vampire. Another dimension is added with Jacob, a werewolf who is also in love with Bella. Based on the series by Stephenie Meyer.

* The Lovely Bones – Directed by Peter Jackson and written by the amazing Alice Sebold. This is about a young girl who is raped and murdered, and how she watches over her family as they fall apart over her death. She is stuck in the “in between”, having not quite passed over and yet not on earth. Her Father strives to find her murderer, and becomes consumed by this. Heart wrenching.

* My Sisters Keeper – A wonderful movie made from the amazing book by Jodi Picoult. It’s about a beautiful teenaged girl who has spent her entire life dying of cancer, kept alive only due to her mothers absolute refusal to give up. When her daughter is diagnosed with cancer, the mother chooses to give birth to a genetically specified child so that she can harvest blood and stem cells etc from this healthy child to save her dying daughter. Heartbreaking, thought provoking and makes you appreciate your family. 

* Up In The Air – Originally a novel by Walter Kirn, this movie has yet to be released in NZ, but has been (just!) in the US. This is about a corporate downsizer and his travels. Where he goes, who he meets and what he learns.

* Invictus – A movie directed by the great Clint Eastwood and based on a book called Playing the Enemy, by John Carlin. A true story about newly elected Nelson Mandela, and how he joined with the captain of the South African rugby team in the wake of the apartheid to push forward his country, leading them to the 1995 world cup championships. 

* Julie & Julia – A movie about the chef Julia Child, based on the book about her experience with Julia’s cooking by Julie Powell. 

* Where The Wild Things Are – A childrens book by Maurice Sendak that has been adapted for the big screen, about a boy called Max who is naughty and sent to bed early, and creates his own world where there are monsters and he is king. 

* Precious – You may have heard of it, because it has Oprah Winfrey’s fingerprints all over it. The movie is based on the book that was originally titled Push (later renamed Precious) by the author Sapphire. The story follows a young african american girl called Precious, who is overweight, illiterate and living in poor-town Harlem. She becomes pregnant after being raped by her own father, and struggles with the help of her teacher to create a real life for herself and her child. 

* Harry Potter And The Half Blood Prince – This is the sixth book/movie in the multi-million dollar franchise that J.K. Rowling wrote as a struggling, single mother. Harry Potter is a teenage wizard who attends Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry with his friends and has to face many challenges along the way. (Usually evil ones)

* The Time Travelers Wife – This novel by Audrey Niffenegger has sold so many copies worldwide that it’s not surprising that it was turned into a movie. About a man who spontaneously time-travels against his own will, and the complications it brings to the absolute love of his life, his wife.

* Angels & Demons – The sequel to The Di Vinci Code, another very smart book by Dan Brown turned into a bit of an action flick for the big screen. 

* Confessions Of A shopaholic – Based on a series of light-hearted books by author Sophie Kinsella, this was easily adapted into a Rom-Com type flick.

* The Road – A book written by Cormac McCarthy, about a father and sons relationship evolving as they are left alive while most of the world is killed. A post-apocalyptic tale about survival. 

* Coraline – A children’s book by Neil Gaiman, turned into a movie, about a little girl called Coraline who finds a way into an alternate world where all her dreams come true. It’s a tale of “be careful what you wish for”.

Honestly, that’s not even all of them, just a few of my picks! Obviously they have caught on to the idea that you just can’t beat a good book – or perhaps they are just relying on the pre-existing fan base? Hmmm…

Adaptations: Books to Movies

Another thing that stuck out in 2009 for me was the iPhone. I know it wasn’t released in 2009, but it has become stronger and stronger in popularity, especially in the past year. From applications, to music, to using your iPhone to update your Twitter/Facebook account, the iPhone is this years must have. 

The iPhone

2009 also brought forward the brilliant Lady Gaga. She truly became an artist of her own standing this year, and I kind of see her as the Madonna of the naughties. Weird, funky, catchy, freaky – she is an odd act, but one no one can get enough of! I have even caught my Mum singing along to her – which has to mean she is saturating the market because my Mother only listens to the oldies stations!

Lady Gaga

Michael Jackson found the uber-talented, Australian born guitarist Orianthi before he died – he even had her set up as his lead guitarist for “This Is It”. She released an album this year due to her sudden popularlity – and it’s okay, she can sing, meh – but OMG her guitar riffs are orgasmic! (I can say that, it’s my blog!) So check her out on iTunes or YouTube – WOW! Best newcomer for 2009, even if it’s for her instrument artistry. 

Orianthi

So, 2009 has been insane for celebs having babies and calling them Sunday-Roast or whatever. But I don’t want to do a run through of that because I don’t have another 12 hours to list them all. So I’m going to list another popular hobby this year for the rich and famous: Breaking up. Doesn’t matter how sexy you are, or how much money you have, there is always someone willing to leave you. Bless.

So here are a list of some of the most famous of golden couples that have decided to walk (according to magazines and gossip websites – I take it all with a grain of salt myself!)

* Kim Kardashian & Reggie Bush

* Joe Jonas & Camilla Belle (Awww… Poor kids)

* Kim Cattrall & Alan Wyse

* Jessica Simpson & Tony Romo

* Jon & Kate Gosselin (Thank god, for the kids sake, sheesh)

* Billy Joel & Katie Lee (Might be the age difference… ?)

* Megan Fox & Brian Austin Green

* Paris Hilton & Doug Reinhardt

* Miley Cyrus & Justin Gaston

* Mel Gibson & Robyn Moore 

* Lindsay Lohan & Samantha Ronson (Not that they ever publicly declared they were together either *shrugs*)

* John Mayer & Jennifer Aniston (Poor Jen )

* Holly Madison & Criss Angel

* Hayden Panettiere & Milo Ventimiglia

* David Cook & Kimberly Caldwell

* Patricia Arquette & Thomas Jane

There are sooo many breakups it’s not funny. And yet, a lot of the big ones stayed together… Tom and Katie, Brad and Angelina, Posh and Becks… Maybe it only happens when your are only so-so famous? PFFT, yeah right.

Heartbreak

One of the really sickening events in New Zealand in 2009 was the Clayton Weatherston case. He was sentenced this year for the murder of his former girlfriend, the beautiful and intelligent Sophie Elliott. He stabbed poor Sophie 216 times in her own bedroom while Sophie’s mother tried to break down the locked door. No one believed his plea of self defense (that she had tried to stab him with scissors first – but even if she had, why retaliate by stabbing her that many times? Who goes somewhere with a knife? One word: Premeditated) and he was sentenced to 18 years non-parole. This was another case that highlighted the culture of brutality between some couples, or at least the potential of it. As awful as it sounds, I hope he rots.

Clayton & Sophie

So thats the things (or as much as I can be bothered to write about) that shaped my year… Events and news that touched me, angered me, stayed with me. What was yours?

The cabinetry and styles utilized for constructing basement bars often have more personality than cabinetry utilized in other rooms of the home. The homeowner feels free to create a more dramatic space in which their personal style can be expressed without the resale fears present when designing a kitchen or other predominant space in the home. The cabinetry style typically falls into one of the following three categories: traditional, contemporary, or transitional family friendly.
Traditional cabinet styles and finishes are often used to create a pub style bar. Typically a designer would suggest a door style with lots of detail and applied moldings in a darker wood species and stain for this style. One way a homeowner can add their personal touch to this style is by ordering the cabinets with distressing or in a rustic wood species. These options give the cabinetry an older more authentic appearance with use of sand through, worm holes, and dents. Decorative wood overlays are another way the homeowner can add their personality to the bar. The overlays make cabinetry appear handcrafted; their intricacy makes the cabinets appear that they are custom built by an artisan. Homeowners should also consider the type of storage they will need in their basement bar.

Typically in a traditional bar you will find stemware holders displaying wine glasses and lighted cabinets with glass doors displaying liquor bottles.
A basement bar found in a contemporary home is typically thought of as very simple; design flair and personality are not added necessarily by the intricacy of the cabinets, like in the traditional bar. These qualities are added by the accessories and cabinet finishes. Vertical lift door cabinets are being offered by most mid-level and up cabinet companies. This type of cabinet hinging is considered a more contemporary alternative to the typical hinging. Integrated appliances fitted with matching cabinet panels, creates a seamless and simplistic design—the bar may house a clear ice maker and the appliance would appear to be just another cabinet. Putting a dramatic finish on a contemporary door style will also create style and personality—cabinet manufacturers are offering bolder and a larger selection of paints and finishes. Although, a homeowner may fall in love with Washington Red Cherry paint, she may feel apprehensive about using it in her kitchen, but in a basement bar she can use the color that she loves.
A family friendly basement bar is possible with some of the options that cabinet manufacturers have. Typically family friendly cabinetry serves a dual purpose: storage for adult items as well as children’s items. The cabinets will often have roll trays and other interior accessories for games and children’s snack items. The adult cabinet storage available consists of locked liquor cabinets, as well as a safe out of reach cabinets for glass stemware. The most popular cabinet styles in family basement bars are simple in style so they are low maintenance and require little cleaning.

There is a great kitchen design book that can help you to design your space. Its Design Ideas for Kitchens (2nd edition) This book talks about layouts, cabinet types & styles, energy efficient appliances, hot new countertop ideas, and more. There is plenty of useful information that you can apply to the design of your new wetbar.

For more information or purchasing cabinets visit www.thecabshop.com

The family of Susan Powell gave a press conference yesterday and stated they were deeply saddened by the news that husband, Josh Powell, has been named a person of interest in his wifes disappearance.

Saddened maybe, but not surprised:

“Susan was an excellent mother. She would not have tolerated her children being taken out of the home after midnight to go camping in dangerously cold conditions,” said Shelby Gifford, one of Susan’s friends who has been acting as the family spokeswoman.

“That’s a huge red flag for us.”

The comments from Susan Powell’s family came hours after surprising statements were made by Josh Powell’s brother.

“I wouldn’t be surprised if he gets arrested in the next seven days,” Kirk Graves told ABC News. “Even if he’s innocent, there’s more than he’s telling us.”

That statement comes on the heels of a different message Dec. 12, when Graves stood next to Josh Powell during a news conference. Josh Powell did not speak to reporters that day. Instead, Graves read a statement asking the public to keep the focus on finding Susan Powell and less on his brother-in-law.

Shocking statment to make and according to Capt. Tom McLachlan with the West Valley police, not true.

“We’re very surprised he would make that comment. We don’t know why, what basis he’s using to make that comment,” Capt. Tom McLachlan said

Police has interviewed Susans 4 year old son and according to reports, he did tell police he went camping with his father and brother. Police are not disclosing much more than that, at this time.

Police have released some details about evidence collected in Susans workplace. They say she kept a journal in her desk in which she documented threats made by her husband about a year ago.

Police are quick to point out that Josh is not the only person of interest, but they are declining to name any of the others. They are saying that Josh continues to be non-cooperative and will only answer general questions, but refuses to answer any questions that are directly related to his wifes disappearance.

Why not?? Family and friends have stated over and over that Susan would never 1) leave her children behind, 2) allow anybody to take the boys camping in that weather, 3) the marriage was one that was controlled by Josh.

If you were innocent, you would do everything within your power to clear this up and allow police to rule you out so they could move along to somebody else. Why would you allow your children to suffer one day longer than necessary, not knowing where mommy was, if you had the power to help and not hinder?

Josh, I don’t know if you are online reading the things said about you or not, but on the off chance you are and you happen into my little corner of the world, I have something to say to you:

By all reports, Susan is a much loved young lady. You two have two beautiful boys together. From photos being shown online, you all appear to be a young, happy family with a bright future together.

If you mucked it up, be a man and stand up to that. You are putting your family, Susans family and YOUR children through hell by clamming up. You will get caught and you will lose everything by staying quiet.

If you are innocent and are just hiding personal stuff because its embarrassing, suck it up. Your kids will not remember that anyway, but they will remember daddy not helping when mommy was missing.

Which way do you want your kids to remember you? A stand-up guy or a coward?

Source/ You Be The Judge

I love Christmas movies.  Every winter, as the season approaches, I feel a battle begin to rage within me, two sides fighting over when it is too early to start watching Christmas movies (the same battle is fought over Christmas music but that’s another post).  Some years November wins, others I survive until December.  There is also a battle over which movies to view each year.  I don’t want to tire of them but there a few, some mentioned on this list, that I find it infinitely difficult to avoid every year, they give me so much joy.  I know, many of you are saying, “Man, Dave, you need to get a life.”, to which I reply, “Any life lived is a life, even if it’s not what you would do with yours.”  But I digress.  I don’t want to talk about what many call ‘the classics’ (although there are many here I would not call that), Christmas Vacation, Miracle On 34th Street, Home Alone, It’s a Wonderful Life (which I do love watching…often), you get the idea. Although there are many ‘alternative’ Christmas movie lists in this crazy internet tube, I have laid out one ground rule for my list:  the piece being watched has to have the December/January holidays as its theme or take place during this period for more than half of its running time.  That way, unlike Warner Brothers, who released a Christmas collection a few years ago with Boys Town included even though only the first few minutes take place at Christmas, mine are TRULY holiday movies.  Of course this will in effect remove some of my favourites from the list, Holiday Inn and Christmas In July, to name two (okay, Christmas In July takes place in JULY but anytime I can give props to a Preston Sturges movie, I will).  Well, let’s see what this fool watches (almost) every year.

On Her Majesty’s Secret Service – “Really?  A Bond movie?”, you may ask.  Well, as a Bond fanatic, and more the books than the movies (Roger Moore almost singlehandedly destroyed the series), On Her Majesty’s Service is my favourite book and was my favourite Bond movie until the new Casino Royale.  The book shows Bond at his most vulnerable, in love, and at his most angry, when that love is threatened, and the movie manages to stick closely to the book.  James Bond becomes Sir Hilary Bray, genealogist,  and spends his Christmas holidays at a ski resort/clinic in beautiful Switzerland trying to finally bring down the elusive Blofeld, played smarmily by Telly Savalas.  Even though, I’m not fond of John Glen’s erratic fight scene editing and George Lazenby, in his only Bond appearance, isn’t Sean Connery (but he’s miles better than the stiff Moore), this one has lots of holiday cheer, skiing, figure skating and Diana Rigg.

The Thin Man – Now I’m really stretching, you may say, but the fact is that the first Thin Man movie takes place almost entirely over Christmas eve and Christmas day and has much holiday cheer, in the form of copious amounts of alcohol consumed by William Powell and Myrna Loy as the mystery-solving Nick and Nora Charles, a rich couple who have some unseemly connections (his, actually).  As in the novel by Dashiell Hammett, the mystery is simply a cover for a romantic screwball comedy, with Powell and Loy throwing around wisecracks like a drunk spilling their drink.  In many ways, it’s the anti-Christmas movie because there’s not a lot of goodwill to men, just murders to solve and this is never more clear than when Nora says, after a few too many Merry Christmases are bandied about, “The next person who says Merry Christmas to me, I’ll kill ‘em.”  By the way, there were 5 sequels, all with the Thin Man moniker, even though the titular Thin Man was a victim in the first movie only.

3 Godfathers – This might be the least known movie on the list.  A John Ford/John Wayne western, 3 Godfathers is a Christmas parable about three outlaws on the run through the desert.  They come upon a pregnant woman who, with the help of the three men, gives birth before dying and her last wish is that the men take care of the baby so they head to the town of New Jerusalem where they find her family but also reparation for their crimes.  This is a terrific movie with strong Nativity themes running throughout and takes place entirely during the Christmas week.  If you haven’t seen this lesser-known gem, search it out.

Remember the Night – Okay, I managed to squeeze a Preston Sturges movie on to the list.  Sturges wrote the screenplay but Mitchell Leisen directed (even though Sturges was very blunt about his less-than-exemplary opinion of Leisen’s skills).  Barbara Stanwyck plays a thief in New York, court-ordered to spend Christmas week with lawyer Fred Macmurray, whose plans to visit his family now have some excess baggage.  The requisite crazy Sturges dialogue and oddball characters keep the laughs coming but the standout is the heart-tugging scene when Stanwyck makes a stop at her childhood home, to find she’s neither welcome nor wanted.

Elf – Every year the studios try to catch lightning in a bottle by releasing a couple of Christmas movies, hoping they catch the public’s fickle attentions.  Usually we get a Deck the Halls or Surviving Christmas (if you haven’t heard of these, be happy) but every once in a while we get an Elf.  Although this one has been catching some speed the last couple of years, Elf is still a bit of an outsider and the most enjoyable Christmas movie in years.  Will Ferrell is a human adopted as a baby by Santa and raised as an elf but realizes he’s not like the other elves so he travels to New York to find his father, curmudgeon book publisher James Caan.  This one successfully mixes some edge with some sweet scenes (especially with sort-of romantic interest, Zooey Deschanel, who shines here) to create very big laughs.  My only complaint is that the movie is almost derailed by a silly (even within the context of this movie) finale in Central Park. 

Die Hard – This is my favourite Christmas movie.  It is actually my favourite movie, period, so by virtue of that, it has to be my favourite Christmas movie.  You may think that this movie is about New York cop John McClane fighting terrorists in a Los Angeles highrise, an action-packed thrill ride filled with violence and inappropriate language and you would be right, but it is also chock-a-block with Christmas music, decorations, holiday cheer, faith in your fellow-man, a negative predilection towards greed and consumerism and family togetherness.  Think about it.

Honourable Mention: Saturday Night Live, December 8, 1990 – I know.  This is an episode of a television comedy sketch show and so, it really doesn’t belong on this list…that’s why it’s an honourable mention.  Saturday Night Live has had a spotty success rate and I’m not patient enough to slog through the crap to find that golden kernel of comedy, however the night this aired, I was otherwise engaged and I heard Edie Brickell and the New Bohemians were the musical guests and I was very into them at the time so I taped it.  Thank you to myself for that prescience.  This was one of the only SNL episodes that worked (for me) from start to finish.  Tom Hanks hosted and once again, brought back my favourite SNL character, Mr. Short Term Memory in a skit that after dozens of viewings still makes me roll on the floor (“Hey!  You’re Tony Randall!”).  ‘The Five Timers Club’, ‘Carl Sagan’s Global Warming Christmas Special’, ‘Sabra Shopping Network”, all absolutely hilarious.  And, oh yeah, Edie Brickell was good, too.

To all my friends, family and readers, may the joy of the season be made manifest in your lives.

Richard Saville-Smith

By Cara Sulieman

VisitScotland ignored their own internal disciplinary policy when sacking the head of PR for the Year of Homecoming, a tribunal heard today (Weds).

The head of HR for the public body, Fiona Reith, said that they found themselves “stuck between a rock and a hard place” when dealing with Richard Saville-Smith.

The 48-year-old had been off work due to a bi-polar episode brought on by work related stress, and Ms Reith said that she was trying to deal with both that and historic disciplinary issues at the same time.

The employment tribunal in Edinburgh heard that Mr Saville-Smith had failed to turn up to work in August 2008 because he was suffering a bi-polar episode brought on by stress at work.

But there had also been previous issues with the PR guru’s performance, and Ms Reith decided to deal with both of the problems at the same time.

“They just wanted him gone”

She went on to say that Paul Bush, Chief Operating Officer for EventScotland, and Marie Christie, the project director for Homecoming, had told her they wanted Mr Saville-Smith “gone”, but that she had insisted VisitScotland had a duty to investigate what was causing his stress.

Speaking at the tribunal, Ms Reith said: “It was only on the August 18 that Marie came back to me and said that Richard hadn’t appeared for work and other the issues hadn’t improved.

“At that point because he had less than a year’s service they just wanted him gone. I said we can’t do that – it wasn’t appropriate and we needed to investigate and see what was causing the stress.

“We were caught between a rock and a hard place. We had to go through the ‘back to work’ procedure but also had to deal with performance issues. We thought ‘do we mention performance’ and decided that we can’t ignore one and do the other so we decided to combine both.”

When asked by Gillian Powell on the tribunal panel what options VisitScotland had considered for Mr Saville-Smith on his potential return to work, Ms Reith admitted they hadn’t considered many options.

“We didn’t feel it was necessary”

She said: “We thought about letting him sit the corner for the next 12 months on full pay but that wouldn’t work for Richard or for the company.

“We also considered giving him specific parts of the PR job and bringing in other people to do the other parts but that wouldn’t work for us either. These are the only two options we considered.”

And when Ms Powell asked why the disciplinary procedure hadn’t been followed, Ms Reith said it was normal for the public body to do this.

She said: “We didn’t feel it was necessary. He had less than a year’s service and only worked for 10 weeks – we didn’t feel it was working out and under these rules we can dismiss someone.

“If someone has less than a year’s service we can contravene the policy.”

When pressed on the point, the HR manager said: “If they’ve worked for less than 12 months then they don’t have full employee status.”

Incompetence

Ms Powell asked: “So because they haven’t got the right to go to an employment tribunal you can just ignore the policy?”

Ms Reith replied: “Yes.”

Mr Saville-Smith, who was employed to mastermind the Homecoming Scotland campaign, was sacked for incompetence in November 2008.

He claims a “bullying” style of management, an increased work load, and a lack of management support led him to suffer an episode of manic depression during which he spent four weeks in a secure unit.

The tribunal reconvened yesterday (Weds), three months after the first four days of evidence were heard in September.

The hearing, which is scheduled to last five days, continues today (Thurs).

See more of our videos at our dedicated channel,  Deadline TV.

Well-known Salt Lake City defense attorney Scott Williams says he has been retained by Josh Powell.

Williams often represents high-profile defendants in criminal cases. Among his recent clients are Wanda Eileen Barzee, who has pleaded guilty to federal charges in the Elizabeth Smart kidnapping, and Christopher Jeppson, one of two men charged in the 1995 murder of Utah County teenager Kiplyn Davis.

Susan Powell, Josh Powells wife, has been missing for a week. Police has stated her disappearance is suspicious.

Josh has told police he left to go camping about 12:30am on Dec 7th and his wife was getting ready for bed.

Weather reports have stated subfreezing temps in that area for that timeframe. What parent, who is the right frame of mind, would allow two small children to go camping, in subfreezing temps, in the middle of the night?

Josh claims he and his sons slept in the van and returned home at 5pm later that day.

Police had broken into the home earlier as family was worried about carbon monoxide poisoning. They found two wet spots on the carpet being dried by fans. So what was the wet spots? {shrug}

And why does Josh need an attorney? He has been very quiet, not using the press to get the word out about his missing wife, why not? {again, shrug}

So many questions….and not near enough answers.

Source

Seven-year-old Jessie Cunningham had made out a list — her sisters, check. Brother? Check. Mom? Check. It was time to find something for her dad.

Jessie and Topeka police Detective Kristi Powell were on a hunt Saturday for Christmas gifts at Wal-Mart, 1501 S.W. Wanamaker, during Big Brothers Big Sisters’ 17th annual “Kids and Cops.”

The items in their shopping cart were being kept secret because Jessie’s older sisters Sarah and Hannah weren’t far away.

“She’s been pretty generous about buying stuff for everybody else,” said Powell, who has participated in the annual event for at least 10 years.

Across the store, John Reedy, who isn’t a law enforcement officer, was shopping with his “little brother,” Jordan Ross, 12, for one of Jordan’s nieces.

“It’s something with Elmo on Sesame Street,” Jordan said.

The “brothers” have been matched up for more than two years. They agreed that shopping wasn’t quite their forte.

“We still don’t shop well,” Reedy said. “We’re a little too typical guy.”

Jordan had found some Barbie clothes for one of his nieces and was making his way down his shopping list to find gifts for his brother, mom and cousin.

The “Kids and Cops” event, formerly known as “Shop with a Cop,” pairs a child ages 5 to 17 with a law enforcement officer from the Topeka Police Department or the Shawnee County Sheriff’s Office. This year, each child was allotted $100 to buy gifts for his or her friends and family members, and maybe even a gift for themselves.

“From past experience, hardly any of the children (buy for themselves),” said police officer Joe Harrison. “It’s really neat to see what the children do.”

Nearly half of the funding is provided by the Kansas City Royals, and the other half is provided by Wal-Mart and the Topeka Fraternal Order of Police. About 100 kids who have been matched or are on a waiting list with Big Brothers Big Sisters were at Saturday’s event.

Additionally, $1,000 is given to each of the pediatrics units at Stormont-Vail Regional Health Center and St. Francis Health Center.

Once the children’s shopping was completed, two check lanes were open especially for them to purchase their gifts. Then they were able to wrap them with supplies provided by Wal-Mart.

“The kids get a kick shopping with us,” Harrison said. “They see us in a different light this way. Oftentimes when they see us, it’s a traumatic or negative experience.”

Nancy Daniels, executive director for Big Brothers Big Sisters, said there are 190 children on the waiting list to be matched up. Of those, 140 are boys. She stressed the need for “big brothers.” She said some of the children on the list have been waiting for two years and get discouraged, but the shopping event is something they look forward to.

“This is a big motivation for them to say ‘I could shop with a cop next year,’ ” Daniels said.

Following shopping with Big Brothers Big Sisters kids at the Wanamaker Wal-Mart, officers were headed over to the north Topeka Wal-Mart to shop with about 15 TARC children.

By Adrielle Harvey

LINK/PICS

Susan Powell has not been seen since Sunday, December 6th. She is 5 feet, 5 inches tall and weighs about 130 pounds. She has brown hair and blue eyes.

Police are now calling her disappearance suspicious. Her pocketbook and phone were found in the home.

Her husband, Josh Powell, and the couples two children, ages 4 and 1, were also reported missing but they have since returned to the home. Mr. Powell told police he had taken the children camping and has no idea where his wife had taken off to. Police are reporting they find his story “suspicious” to say the least. Neighbors reported the couple had had marital issues in the past, but things seemed to be better lately.

At this time, Josh has not been named as a suspect in Susans disappearance.

If you ask me, he knows way more than he is telling. This was a woman who lives for her family. Reports states she gardens, is into canning and an all around homemaker. She also works full time.

My prediction is something horrible has happened to her and her husband knows all about it. We have a discussion ongoing about this at You Be The Judge if you’d care to contribute your opinion. I’ll also update here as information comes out.

It was clear to me this morning at 5:30am what I needed to write about, a new and unexpected Christmas cheer.  Yesterday’s schedule was filled with ‘tinselectomy‘ opportunities and I had an expectation of how each of them would play out.  I was so off base, but it made me understand how I and other people are experiencing a transformation to humble altruism.

Amy had a wonderful idea, to feed the guys in downtown Frisco, the men that are desperately looking for any available work to feed their families.  They stand outside the Exxon, rain or shine, and I know that because it was raining yesterday.  Amy posted this lunch idea on Facebook last week.  Nancy saw it, and loved the idea so much, she planned to do this.  It ended up that all three of us got together and prepared 30 lunches to take to these guys.

Our everyday beaten paths lead us down Main street regularly, enough to know that we would have enough lunches, but not enough to know if these guys would be outside in the very cold rain.   As we approached, they were there, all of them, scanning the passing cars with a hopeful look that someone would have a paid task for them.  As I drove into the parking lot, I didn’t even come to a stop before there were at least 12 men swarming around the car.  We had to wait for them to step away from the doors so we could get out to give them the lunch bags we had prepared.

As we passed out the lunch sacks, all of them were very polite and said “gracias”, Amy and I responded with “de nada”, one of the ten Spanish words we know.  Then Nancy starts having a conversation with them in Spanish.  Who knew?  Oh, she is SO going to Casa Hogar Elim soon!  Nancy was asking if they had any friends that were out on jobs or if anyone was inside, because we would leave lunches for them.  They were so happy to get the lunches and so polite, we had to persuade them to take extras or take some for their friends.  Most of them were well into their sandwiches before we drove out of the parking lot.

As it turns out, we had 5 lunch bags left over.  We drove over to the laundromat to see if there were any people over there that needed lunch.  We gave away a couple more, and as we walking out the door, we ran into another lady.  Nancy asked her if she would like a lunch.  She asked “¿Cuánto dinero?”  Of course, Nancy said it was free and explained what we were doing.  The conversation slowly transitioned from Spanish to English.  We only spoke with her briefly, but we got a chance to talk about church.  She is another one of those people I would have loved to have sat down and talked with.  I think at some point I’m going to go to the laundromat and do my laundry so I will have that opportunity.

Another Facebook thing, Jody (not me), who posted on the PTCC wall that she wanted to donate her hair to Pantene, a place making free wigs for women going through cancer treatments, got her hair cut yesterday.  Since I had done Locks of Love a while back, I wanted to go with her for support.  She was looking for other people to do this with her, and I would do this again, but my hair will have to grow for a long time before I have enough.  I was there while she got her hair cut.  She had the same look on her face that I did.  the ‘oh, crap, I’m really doing this’ look, with the undertone of ‘this is a great cause and so worth it’ look.  This is such an awesome thing to do.  If you’re interested in donating your hair, I will come support you too!  Steve Hodges is our resident expert on hair donation if you need someone to do it.

Finally, I had a photo shoot in downtown Dallas last night.  My expectation?  It’s downtown Dallas and surely I will run into some impoverished or homeless people.  I went down there with some envelopes with money in them, inside the envelopes, a message that God loves them.  I typically don’t like to give cash, because if they do have a drug problem or something like that, I don’t want to enable them.  I realized I have changed my view on that a little bit.  Even though I still believe the statement I just made, I also don’t want to be judgmental.  The cash might help someone get a much needed meal or get them closer to a shelter.  It’s been on my heart to start a program in Dallas, much like the Chicago Shares program, a voucher-based way to give, redeemable only for food and toiletries.

As it turns out, we ran into no impoverished or homeless people, but it did turn out to be a fun evening of photography and hanging out with some of my crazy friends.  If you think this picture is weird, then you probably don’t want to join our photography group.  If you like it, we do go out and play with our cameras on a regular basis.

My reality?  I was somewhat disappointed that I didn’t run into anyone I could help.  The disappointment was based on the knowledge that there are so many people that need help and I had a way to help, but no opportunity to do so.

The unexpected Christmas cheer, or we’ll call it another piece of the Christmas spirit, is encouragement.  I feel like God is leading me to get outside myself.  That’s not the easiest thing for me to do, or for anyone to do.  Well, maybe Mama Lupita, and we can all learn a lot from her.  I could blog all day long about this, but I have to go to work.  I do have one closing thought.  As I was walking home from taking my kids to school this morning, in the 24 degrees of bitter cold, I couldn’t help but think of all the homeless people that are out in this awful cold, all the people I didn’t run into last night.  I can’t even comprehend not having a warm house to go to or not having any other options than to be out in the piercing arctic cold.  I take my house for granted, but I walked into it this morning with a whole new appreciation.  How do I find these people in need and how can I help them?  I hope to answer that within my 25 days of Christmas blogging.

Post by Jonathan Barnes

As an Outreach Educator, my favorite part of the day is usually doing the morning assembly for the school. I love greeting the students as they walk in, getting them excited for the science to come. I often times venture out into the hallway to usher them in. One of my favorite things to say to students as they march down the toward their school’s gym is, “Move fast and quiet; just like a ninja!” Yesterday was no different.
I had just ushered in the first graders at a lovely elementary school near Powell, Ohio when one of those all-too-cute first grade girls looked up at me and, with all of the excitement she could muster, said, “I’ve been to COSI!”

I get this comment quite often and have become fond of saying, “I’ve been to COSI, too!” This tongue-in-cheek joke usually gets one of those adorably indignant and funny responses like, “But you work there!” Yesterday, however, this young lady caught me a bit off guard.

After I gave her my standard line of, “I’ve been to COSI, too!” she looked back up and said, “We got stuck in the elevator there!” I pride myself on my skills as an improvisational comedian, and this tiny dropping of adorable managed to get the improv juices working. Without missing a beat, I squatted down to her level and asked her in a serious tone, “Did we use the teleporter to beam you out?” She looked back at me and said, “Yep!”

Now COSI is THE Center of Science and Industry, and we do have some amazing gadgets that do incredible things, but, unfortunately, Scotty from Star Trek isn’t one of our exhibit engineers. Nevertheless, this girl made me laugh and provided a great start for my week.

The past two days have been some of the hardest of my life.  My dear friend, neighbor, and fellow ward (church) member, Susan Powell, is missing.

I first learned of this Monday morning when her sister-in-law called, desperate to know when I’d last seen or talked to Susan (which was Sunday at noon, walking home from church together). 

You can read some details in these news stories:

Deseret News

Salt Lake Tribune

ABC-4 TV

KUTV-2

Susan is a wonderful person and loved by everyone who knows her.  She is funny, talented (does hair AND is a stockbroker), and a wonderful friend.  She loves to crochet, garden, be a “girly girl,” and play with her two little boys.

Our hearts are breaking with worry and fear.  Please, anyone who reads this, consider posting the information on your blog—Twitter—Facebook—or anywhere you can.  I can’t reach everyone but maybe someone will see something you posted online and remember seeing her. 

There is also a Facebook group called “Friends and Family of Susan Powell” that Facebook people can join to share news and information.

Here are pictures of Susan:

Pictures from Susan’s Facebook page…Amber Hardman Photography and Sweden Studios Photography

Thank you for your help. And above all, keep her in your prayers…she needs every single one.

A portion of the 91 Freeway will be dedicated today in memory of David Powell, a Los Angeles County Sheriff’s deputy killed in the line of duty on Nov. 30, 2002, in Artesia.

Sheriff Lee Baca will join others for the dedication this morning at Artesia Park.

Powell, of Torrance, was an 18-year department veteran who left behind a wife and four children. He worked out of the Lakewood sheriff’s station.

The episode began when sheriff’s deputies received a report of gunfire.

When sheriff’s patrols arrived at that address, the occupant of a house in the front told them his sister was in the home to the rear and was afraid to leave. Believing that a hostage situation was unfolding, three or four deputies surrounded the house. They saw the suspect peering through a window in the front door and then kicked the door in. Shots came from the house,  one of them striking Powell.

Powell, who was pulled away by deputies, had been hit by a bullet that pierced and exited his right arm and then entered his chest through a side seam in his protective vest. He died at a nearby hospital 90 minutes later.

– Shelby Grad

LINK

1.  “Among those inclined to be antiwar, it doesn’t much matter whether they “support” the escalation. What matters is whether they openly oppose it – and, if so, how vocally and emphatically.

There’s a clear and well-trod pathway for ineffectual dissent from members of Congress who end up passively assisting the escalation by a fellow Democrat in the Oval Office. Avid support for the war effort is helpful but not necessary. Scarcity of determined opposition will suffice to keep the war politically viable in Washington.

At the core of the enabling politics is inner space that’s hollow enough to reliably cave under pressure. Typically, Democrats with antiwar inclinations weaken and collapse at push-comes-to-shove moments on Capitol Hill. The habitual pattern involves loyalty toward – and fear of – “the leadership.”
http://original.antiwar.com/solomon/2009/11/30/the-hollow-politics-of-escalation/

2.  More bad faith on everyone’s part:

“Supreme Court Throws Out Order to Release Abuse Photos“

http://news.antiwar.com/2009/11/30/supreme-court-throws-out-order-to-release-abuse-photos/

3.  What a stupid, evil man Friedman is:

“How many Muslims has the U.S. killed in the past 30 years?

Tom Friedman had an especially fatuous column in Sunday’s New York Times, which is saying something given his well-established capacity for smug self-assurance. According to Friedman, the big challenge we face in the Arab and Islamic world is “the Narrative” — his patronizing term for Muslim views about America’s supposedly negative role in the region. If Muslims weren’t so irrational, he thinks, they would recognize that “U.S. foreign policy has been largely dedicated to rescuing Muslims or trying to help free them from tyranny.” He concedes that we made a few mistakes here and there (such as at Abu Ghraib), but the real problem is all those anti-American fairy tales that Muslims tell each other to avoid taking responsibility for their own actions.

I heard a different take on this subject at a recent conference on U.S. relations with the Islamic world. In addition to hearing a diverse set of views from different Islamic countries, one of the other participants (a prominent English journalist) put it quite simply. “If the United States wants to improve its image in the Islamic world,” he said, “it should stop killing Muslims.

…

I have deliberately selected “low-end” estimates for Muslim fatalities, so these figures present the “best case” for the United States. Even so, the United States has killed nearly 30 Muslims for every American lost. The real ratio is probably much higher, and a reasonable upper bound for Muslim fatalities (based mostly on higher estimates of “excess deaths” in Iraq due to the sanctions regime and the post-2003 occupation) is well over one million, equivalent to over 100 Muslim fatalities for every American lost. “
http://walt.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2009/11/30/why_they_hate_us_ii_how_many_muslims_has_the_us_killed_in_the_past_30_years

4.  “Robert Reich: “Shame Won’t Work. Only Political Muscle and Courage Will”

Obama is planning to “shame” the big banks who are not agreeing to modify mortgages.

This is a repeat of Bernanke’s play book … scold the giant banks for failing to lend, but then give them a pat on the back and a wink.”
http://www.washingtonsblog.com/2009/11/robert-reich-shame-wont-work-only.html

5.  “Economist: “What Passes For Help To Homeowners In The Capitol Might Look More Like Handing Out Money To Banks Anywhere Else”

It is extremely unlikely that the vast majority of underwater homeowners will ever accumulate a penny in equity. Keeping them in their homes as owners means wasting thousands of dollars a year on excess housing costs only to be forced to arrange a short sale or face a foreclosure at some future point in time.
…
In some cases the government may pay enough to buy down principle that the homeowner is no longer underwater, but the bulk of this money is a gift to the bank, not the homeowner. If a homeowner is $100,000 underwater and the government pays the bank $50,000 to write the loan down to the current value of the house, then the bank has pocketed $50,000, while the homeowner is essentially left breaking even. This is very generous to the bank, but homeowners have nothing to show in this story.
…
Maybe that’s why a professor of law advises that underwater homeowners walk away from their mortgages, saying that it is not immoral to do so, Congresswoman Kaptur advises her constituents facing foreclosure to demand that the original mortgage papers be produced, and portfolio manager and investment advisor Marshall Auerback argues that a debtor’s revolt would be a good thing.”

http://www.washingtonsblog.com/2009/11/economist-what-passes-for-help-to.html
This is all to be expected.  Ostensible justifications for war are more or less universal, as is the familiar mix of fear, claims of moral necessity (and superiority), and appeals to patriotism and military love that are always hauled out to justify their continuation and escalation.  Beyond that, Bush’s escalation was based on many of the same counter-insurgency dogmas in which Obama’s escalation is grounded, designed by many of the same people.  So it’s anything but surprising that it all sounds remarkably similar.  And it’s possible that once we hear the actual speech, rather than the White House’s coordinated depiction of it, that there will be new elements.

Still, this pretense that Obama spent months carefully deliberating in order to devise some new and exotic thought pattern about the war seems absurd on its face.  At least if his top aides are to believed, what he intends to say tonight should sound extremely familiar.”
http://www.salon.com/news/opinion/glenn_greenwald/

7.  “The Truth of UK’s Guilt Over Iraq

President George Bush was able to disguise his blatant militarism behind the false sincerity of his ally Blair and his own secretary of state, Colin Powell. The president’s task was made far easier given the role of useful idiot played by much of the mainstream media in the US and Britain, where reporters and editors alike dutifully repeated both the hyped-up charges levied against Iraq and the false pretensions that a diplomatic solution was being sought.”

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article24084.htm

8.  “President Sarah Palin

Smug Democrats love to imagine they are a species apart from Sarah Palin, the “pit bull with lipstick.” However, U.S. political history teaches us never to overestimate the intelligence of the American electorate, or trust a Democrat – many of whom were Republicans not very long ago. At root, Palin’s supporters are “white nationalists,” the same people that adored Ronald Reagan and, yes, George Bush. So why is it so hard to imagine a Palin presidency?

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article24083.htm

By WENDY STEWART
Beat Staff Writer

Street parking on San Francisco’s busy Powell Street between Ellis and Geary Sts. would be eliminated to allow for more pedestrian space during one weekend of the busy December holiday shopping season if a proposal by the city’s Sustainable Streets program is approved.

The proposal suggests eliminating metered parking at the curb from 3 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 4 until 9:00 a.m. Monday, Dec. 7. on a two-block length of the street so pedestrians will have more sidewalk space on what’s considered to be a busy shopping weekend in the Union Square area.

Currently, many of the parking stalls are reserved for commercial vehicles during portions of the day and are used by delivery trucks to load and off-load merchandise for many of the high-end retail shops. Other stalls are passenger loading zones used generally by area hotel valets and their guests.

General metered parking for private automobiles is scarce along the portion of Powell St. included in the pilot plan.

Yet it is a very busy street in terms of vehicular and pedestrian traffic. Even on a normal afternoon, shoppers and tourists usually crowd sidewalks on both sides of the street.

The Powell Street Cable Cars share the roadway with regular street traffic and congestion along Powell is common.

The proposal does not call for restricting private auto traffic from Powell St. like other sustainable street trials in other parts of the city.

Cars were banned from a portion of 17th Street between Castro and Noe Sts. so it could be turned into a pedestrian plaza.

Vehicles traveling north on the busy Market St. corridor are now forced to make right turns at Eighth and Sixth Streets.

It may be a headache for drivers trying to navigate the city’s already confusing network of roadways, but the closures are part of a plan by city officials to promote sustainable ways of getting around town.

The proposal to eliminate parking from Powell St. for a weekend is expected to be implemented.

E-mail Wendy Stewart at californiabeat@gmail.com. Join the California Beat on Facebook, and get breaking news headlines, story alerts and previews when you follow us on Twitter.

“I wish I could train martial arts.”  “I would train, I just have this __________ problem.” “There is no way that I could fit training into my schedule.” “I really want my kids to train but…” Tonight, I thought back through my day and realized there are very few things that can keep someone from training martial arts, and the number one is stubborness.

Here was my schedule today:

9:30 AM – 50 Year Old Female with Knee, Ankle and Shoulder Problems- Private Lesson

10:00 Am -  61 Year Old Male Retired Doctor with Knee Problems – Private Lesson

10:30 Am – 44 Year Old Male Engineer – Private Lesson

11:00 AM – Beginners Martial Arts Ages 14 and Up – Group Lesson – today’s class the oldest person was 64 years old.

Then I went to my class myself, as I am in college. I returned to the academy, after lunch at Panera, at 3 PM.

3:30 PM – 32 Year Old Male Entrepreneur/Family Man Private Lesson

4:00 PM – 4 Year Old Boy with Autism and Cerebral Palsy Private Lesson

4:30 PM – Juniors Karate Class – Ages 10-14

5:30 PM – 30 Year Old Man with Cerebral Palsy, trains with crutches or from wheelchair – Private Lesson

6:30 PM – Womens Only Martial Arts Class – Ages 14 and Up (In today’s class the oldest woman was 52).

7:30 PM – 14 Year Old Boy Private Lesson

8:00 PM – 35 Year Old Computer Engineer

8:30 PM – Beginner’s Martial Arts Class Ages 14 and Up

Anyone can train martial arts. Everyone that trains martial arts will run into obstacles and limitations but part of the journey is the ability to conquer these obstacles. Martial arts empowers people of all ages to live their lives to the fullest and enables them to conquer the same obstacles and stress of everyday life that we all face. The intent of this article is to motivate those that have hesitated to begin their martial arts journey due to certain limitations and motivate those that may have quit training for one reason or the other. If you are training now, keep it up! When obstacles present themselves handle them accordingly but never let them stop you from training!

See you on the mat!

Sempai David Corrigan

“Ray Barbee’s First Pro Board came out 20 years ago… his influence helped fuel a revolutionary period in skateboarding’s growth and cultural development. To pay tribute to Ray’s 20 years of Professional skateboarding, Vans has reissued three of his favorite shoes.” – Kyle Demers

Vans, could you please finally give Ray Barbee his own pro shoe? It’s been LONG OVERDUE.

Ray Barbee has been awesome since day one.

Source & More Info: DQM

Coppola e il cast di "Tetro"

Facile associare il Tetro (2009) di Francis Ford Coppola al Red shoes (1948) di Powell e Pressburger presentato e rivisto dall’inizio alla fine dallo stesso regista nella copia restaurata pochi mesi fa. Il film è infatti citato nell’ultimo Coppola, come anche la favola di Coppelia da The Tales of Hoffmann (1951) messa in scena già in Scarpette rosse, e rimessa in scena dal quasi omonimo Coppola in vesti più latinoamericane. Più consigliabile, per consigliarvi un film più originale, La casa del padre (2009) di Sebastiano D’Alaya Valva che tenta di venire a capo del suo complicato rapporto col padre attraverso un documentario che esplora l’unica vera ragione di vita dell’uomo, già discepolo di Frank Lloyd Wright: l’architettura. Consigliatissimo ai figli di architetti di tutto il mondo uniti. Coraggio!

p.s.  Ancora più facile il paragone tra Tetro e alcuni degli ultimi Almodovar: ma preferiamo gli originali, tutto sommato.