All films promptly start at 7:00 PM on Thursday nights. Earth House is located at Lockerbie Central United Methodist Church, 237 N. East Street, Indianapolis, IN, 46204. The church building is on the corner of New York and East Streets.

January 7, Still Bill.

STILL BILL is an intimate portrait of soul legend Bill Withers, best known for his classics “Ain’t No Sunshine,” “Lean On Me,” “Lovely Day,” “Grandma’s Hands,” and “Just the Two of Us.” With his soulful delivery and warm, heartfelt sincerity, Withers has written the songs that have – and always will – resonate deeply within the fabric of our times. STILL BILL presents the story of an artist who has written some of the most beloved songs in our time and who truly understands the heart and soul of a man.District 9

January 14,  District 9.

From producer Peter Jackson (The Lord of the Rings Trilogy) and director Neill Blomkamp comes a startlingly original science fiction thriller that “soars on the imagination of its creators” (Peter Travers, Rolling Stone). With stunning special effects and gritty realism, the film plunges us into a world where the aliens have landed… only to be exiled to a slum on the fringes of Johannesburg. Now, one lone human discovers the mysterious secret of the extraterrestrial weapon technology. Hunted and hounded through the bizarre back alleys of an alien shantytown, he will discover what it means to be the ultimate outsider on your own planet.

January 21, What Are We Doing Here?

This documentary film explores why the charity given to Africa over the last five decades has been largely ineffective and often harmful.  The film tells the story of Brandon, Nicholas, Daniel and Tim Klein who travel across Africa in an attempt to understand one of the great problems of our time; the failure to end poverty.

January 28, Whip It

Rate: 3 of 5

Genre: horror. (it looks like a documentary film). NC 16 in my country.

Paranormal Activity is that you can analysis on an invisible presence. The scientific meaning of “Paranormal” is to find a truth from below a surface. The other meaning is to analysis the supernatural world. I always watch “Ghost Hunter” and “Tape” at AXN but it is not aired currently now. They are also involved in the paranormal activity.

In the beginning of the film, it may be boring scenes as it has no subtitle. It has many dialogues in the film. Few activities from the film are true. One of them is put the salt on the floor to identity the presence. I had tied it before and it works. But in this sence, there is just false footprint (only 3 toes). I do not believe the demonic 3 toes foot.

CrashCam Films & CrashToons year in review.

First off, thanks to all y’all for your help and support in making 2009 such a great year!

Admittedly, we’ve been posting more of the smaller updates on our Facebook pages as opposed to “official” blogs for our multitude of ongoing projects.

Here are the Facebook pages, if you wanna buddy-up:

CrashCam Films: http://www.facebook.com/CrashCamFilms

CrashToons (including APESH!T, Platypus Rex and more): http://www.facebook.com/CrashToons

Hell on Wheels: http://www.facebook.com/HellOnWheelsTheMovie

Rock Opera: http://www.facebook.com/RockOpera

Total Badass: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Total-Badss/117590408128

And for you Twitter-heads: http://twitter.com/crashcamfilms

So what went down over at the CrashCam Films / CrashToons Global HQ in Austin, TX this year of 2009? Behold:

The bulk of elbow grease went into the new feature doc, “Total Badass.” It’s nearly finished and crazy-fun (more info below). We also completed a re-write of the feature-length script for the dark comedy “The Down Side.” Slamdance Script Coverage Service raves about the Down Side “Hilarious and gut wrenching. Pure Storytelling genius!“ On top of that, we finished the story for the new narrative feature “Reign in Blood,” and are now fleshing out the script with hopes of shooting it mid ’10.

Here’s a project-by-project breakdown of what went down this year:

Total Badass

Total Badass is the new feature documentary about my buddy (and notorious sex-fiend, writer-publisher-singer-trashcan-jumper, rabble-rouser and man-about-town) Chad Holt. From May of ’08 through June of ’09 we shoot the new doc. We quickly moved into post-production in the late summer and, as of today, are about 98% through with the edit. The movie is NUTS! You’ll surely be hearing about it a lot in the near future.

www.TotalBadassTheMovie.com and www.facebook.com/pages/Total-Badss/117590408128

CrashToons

Through most of 2009, we were screening the pile of ‘toons we made in ’08. We screened “Spanish Lessons with Chupacabra Volume 7: Conversational Spanish” at SXSW. Various APESH!T ‘toons screened at LA Comedy Shorts Film Festival and Animation Block Party (in both NYC and Austin). And a mound of creatively curated CrashToons unspooled before the Rock Opera 10 Year Anniversary screening at the Alamo Drafthouse in October.

Online, we host all the ‘toons at www.CrashToons.com. And a few ‘toons even popped up on Playboy Magazine’s site, www.Playboy.com.

As for new ‘toons, 2009 was a tad sparse. We were pretty busy finishing up the filming and editing of the new feature doc, Total Badass. But we did complete a new one called “Platypus Rex’s ABC-Hole.” And it’s crazy-fun. ABC-Hole is featured on the CrashToons home page, so swing by and check out the 28 seconds of hilarious and educational fun.

www.facebook.com/CrashToons and the ‘toons at www.CrashToons.com

Hell on Wheels

We released the doc through IndiePix (http://www.indiepixfilms.com/film/hellonwheels) in late ’08, and it was such a blast that IndiePix re-released it in Feb! Double the fun! And then, we launched the doc on SnagFilms (http://www.snagfilms.com/films/title/hell_on_wheels/), where it remains as one of the highest rated docs on the site! You can also catch the flick on Netflix and on Xbox and even on iTunes (http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewMovie?id=333912438&s=143441)

The great reviews continued to pour in over 2009. Check the Facebook page (www.facebook.com/HellOnWheelsTheMovie) for links to many of these reviews. We also got a big plug from Texas Monthly magazine (www.texasmonthly.com/2009-10-01/hollywoodtx.php) and we landed on the homepage for Moviefone.com.

We screened Hell on Wheels in several cities in ‘09, including but not limited to theatrical screenings in Austin, Asbury (NJ), Sacramento, Boston, a fest screening at CineSol Film Festival in McAllen, TX, and even a university screening at The Southwestern University Feminist Studies Program with filmmakers Bob Ray and Werner Campbell and skaters Electra Blu (TXRG) and Smarty Pants (TXRD) in attendance for a lively and enlightening post-screening Q & A.

Hell on Wheels landed on a couple of those end-of-decade lists care of The Onion’s
A/V Club: http://www.avclub.com/austin/articles/10-overlooked-austin-movies-of-the-00s,36275/, and a “Best Documentaries of the Decade” list: http://boomerbust-scooter63.blogspot.com/2009/12/top-documentaries-of-decade.html

http://www.HellOnWheelsTheMovie.com and http://www.facebook.com/HellOnWheelsTheMovie

Rock Opera

Holy poop! We had our ten-year anniversary screening of Rock Opera at the Alamo Drafthouse in October with after party at the Highball featuring a Voltage and Pocket FishRmen reunion. If you were there, you rocked! If not, you missed out on some FUN!

http://www.RockOperaTheMovie.com and http://www.facebook.com/RockOpera

CrashCam Films

http://www.CrashCamFilms.com

http://www.facebook.com/CrashCamFilms

CrashToons

http://www.CrashToons.com

http://www.facebook.com/CrashToons

Twitter: http://twitter.com/crashcamfilms

Whew! So there ya have it, the year in rewind. We promise lots more far-out, and raucous flicks in 2010. Keep up to date by signing up for the email newsletter (http://crashcamfilms.com/index1.htm) or palling around with the Facebook pages, if ya prefer.

Once again, thanks to everyone who helped make 2009 such a fruitful and fun year. We cannot do all this alone, and are really appreciative of your help and support. Best wishes in 2010!

Hugs and Happy New Year!

Bob Ray & the CrashCam Films / CrashToons team

CrashCam Films & CrashToons year in review.

First off, thanks to all y’all for your help and support in making 2009 such a great year!

Admittedly, we’ve been posting more of the smaller updates on our Facebook pages as opposed to “official” blogs for our multitude of ongoing projects.

Here are the Facebook pages, if you wanna buddy-up:

CrashCam Films: http://www.facebook.com/CrashCamFilms

CrashToons (including APESH!T, Platypus Rex and more): http://www.facebook.com/CrashToons

Hell on Wheels: http://www.facebook.com/HellOnWheelsTheMovie

Rock Opera: http://www.facebook.com/RockOpera

Total Badass: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Total-Badss/117590408128

And for you Twitter-heads: http://twitter.com/crashcamfilms

So what went down over at the CrashCam Films / CrashToons Global HQ in Austin, TX this year of 2009? Behold:

The bulk of elbow grease went into the new feature doc, “Total Badass.” It’s nearly finished and crazy-fun (more info below). We also completed a re-write of the feature-length script for the dark comedy “The Down Side.” Slamdance Script Coverage Service raves about the Down Side “Hilarious and gut wrenching. Pure Storytelling genius!“ On top of that, we finished the story for the new narrative feature “Reign in Blood,” and are now fleshing out the script with hopes of shooting it mid ’10.

Here’s a project-by-project breakdown of what went down this year:

Total Badass

Total Badass is the new feature documentary about my buddy (and notorious sex-fiend, writer-publisher-singer-trashcan-jumper, rabble-rouser and man-about-town) Chad Holt. From May of ’08 through June of ’09 we shoot the new doc. We quickly moved into post-production in the late summer and, as of today, are about 98% through with the edit. The movie is NUTS! You’ll surely be hearing about it a lot in the near future.

www.TotalBadassTheMovie.com and www.facebook.com/pages/Total-Badss/117590408128

CrashToons

Through most of 2009, we were screening the pile of ‘toons we made in ’08. We screened “Spanish Lessons with Chupacabra Volume 7: Conversational Spanish” at SXSW. Various APESH!T ‘toons screened at LA Comedy Shorts Film Festival and Animation Block Party (in both NYC and Austin). And a mound of creatively curated CrashToons unspooled before the Rock Opera 10 Year Anniversary screening at the Alamo Drafthouse in October.

Online, we host all the ‘toons at www.CrashToons.com. And a few ‘toons even popped up on Playboy Magazine’s site, www.Playboy.com.

As for new ‘toons, 2009 was a tad sparse. We were pretty busy finishing up the filming and editing of the new feature doc, Total Badass. But we did complete a new one called “Platypus Rex’s ABC-Hole.” And it’s crazy-fun. ABC-Hole is featured on the CrashToons home page, so swing by and check out the 28 seconds of hilarious and educational fun.

www.facebook.com/CrashToons and the ‘toons at www.CrashToons.com

Hell on Wheels

We released the doc through IndiePix (http://www.indiepixfilms.com/film/hellonwheels) in late ’08, and it was such a blast that IndiePix re-released it in Feb! Double the fun! And then, we launched the doc on SnagFilms (http://www.snagfilms.com/films/title/hell_on_wheels/), where it remains as one of the highest rated docs on the site! You can also catch the flick on Netflix and on Xbox and even on iTunes (http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewMovie?id=333912438&s=143441)

The great reviews continued to pour in over 2009. Check the Facebook page (www.facebook.com/HellOnWheelsTheMovie) for links to many of these reviews. We also got a big plug from Texas Monthly magazine (www.texasmonthly.com/2009-10-01/hollywoodtx.php) and we landed on the homepage for Moviefone.com.

We screened Hell on Wheels in several cities in ‘09, including but not limited to theatrical screenings in Austin, Asbury (NJ), Sacramento, Boston, a fest screening at CineSol Film Festival in McAllen, TX, and even a university screening at The Southwestern University Feminist Studies Program with filmmakers Bob Ray and Werner Campbell and skaters Electra Blu (TXRG) and Smarty Pants (TXRD) in attendance for a lively and enlightening post-screening Q & A.

Hell on Wheels landed on a couple of those end-of-decade lists care of The Onion’s
A/V Club: http://www.avclub.com/austin/articles/10-overlooked-austin-movies-of-the-00s,36275/, and a “Best Documentaries of the Decade” list: http://boomerbust-scooter63.blogspot.com/2009/12/top-documentaries-of-decade.html

http://www.HellOnWheelsTheMovie.com and http://www.facebook.com/HellOnWheelsTheMovie

Rock Opera

Holy poop! We had our ten-year anniversary screening of Rock Opera at the Alamo Drafthouse in October with after party at the Highball featuring a Voltage and Pocket FishRmen reunion. If you were there, you rocked! If not, you missed out on some FUN!

http://www.RockOperaTheMovie.com and http://www.facebook.com/RockOpera

CrashCam Films

http://www.CrashCamFilms.com

http://www.facebook.com/CrashCamFilms

CrashToons

http://www.CrashToons.com

http://www.facebook.com/CrashToons

Twitter: http://twitter.com/crashcamfilms

Whew! So there ya have it, the year in rewind. We promise lots more far-out, and raucous flicks in 2010. Keep up to date by signing up for the email newsletter (http://crashcamfilms.com/index1.htm) or palling around with the Facebook pages, if ya prefer.

Once again, thanks to everyone who helped make 2009 such a fruitful and fun year. We cannot do all this alone, and are really appreciative of your help and support. Best wishes in 2010!

Hugs and Happy New Year!

Bob Ray & the CrashCam Films / CrashToons team

CrashCam Films & CrashToons year in review.

First off, thanks to all y’all for your help and support in making 2009 such a great year!

Admittedly, we’ve been posting more of the smaller updates on our Facebook pages as opposed to “official” blogs for our multitude of ongoing projects.

Here are the Facebook pages, if you wanna buddy-up:

CrashCam Films: http://www.facebook.com/CrashCamFilms

CrashToons (including APESH!T, Platypus Rex and more): http://www.facebook.com/CrashToons

Hell on Wheels: http://www.facebook.com/HellOnWheelsTheMovie

Rock Opera: http://www.facebook.com/RockOpera

Total Badass: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Total-Badss/117590408128

And for you Twitter-heads: http://twitter.com/crashcamfilms

So what went down over at the CrashCam Films / CrashToons Global HQ in Austin, TX this year of 2009? Behold:

The bulk of elbow grease went into the new feature doc, “Total Badass.” It’s nearly finished and crazy-fun (more info below). We also completed a re-write of the feature-length script for the dark comedy “The Down Side.” Slamdance Script Coverage Service raves about the Down Side “Hilarious and gut wrenching. Pure Storytelling genius!“ On top of that, we finished the story for the new narrative feature “Reign in Blood,” and are now fleshing out the script with hopes of shooting it mid ’10.

Here’s a project-by-project breakdown of what went down this year:

Total Badass

Total Badass is the new feature documentary about my buddy (and notorious sex-fiend, writer-publisher-singer-trashcan-jumper, rabble-rouser and man-about-town) Chad Holt. From May of ’08 through June of ’09 we shoot the new doc. We quickly moved into post-production in the late summer and, as of today, are about 98% through with the edit. The movie is NUTS! You’ll surely be hearing about it a lot in the near future.

www.TotalBadassTheMovie.com and www.facebook.com/pages/Total-Badss/117590408128

CrashToons

Through most of 2009, we were screening the pile of ‘toons we made in ’08. We screened “Spanish Lessons with Chupacabra Volume 7: Conversational Spanish” at SXSW. Various APESH!T ‘toons screened at LA Comedy Shorts Film Festival and Animation Block Party (in both NYC and Austin). And a mound of creatively curated CrashToons unspooled before the Rock Opera 10 Year Anniversary screening at the Alamo Drafthouse in October.

Online, we host all the ‘toons at www.CrashToons.com. And a few ‘toons even popped up on Playboy Magazine’s site, www.Playboy.com.

As for new ‘toons, 2009 was a tad sparse. We were pretty busy finishing up the filming and editing of the new feature doc, Total Badass. But we did complete a new one called “Platypus Rex’s ABC-Hole.” And it’s crazy-fun. ABC-Hole is featured on the CrashToons home page, so swing by and check out the 28 seconds of hilarious and educational fun.

www.facebook.com/CrashToons and the ‘toons at www.CrashToons.com

Hell on Wheels

We released the doc through IndiePix (http://www.indiepixfilms.com/film/hellonwheels) in late ’08, and it was such a blast that IndiePix re-released it in Feb! Double the fun! And then, we launched the doc on SnagFilms (http://www.snagfilms.com/films/title/hell_on_wheels/), where it remains as one of the highest rated docs on the site! You can also catch the flick on Netflix and on Xbox and even on iTunes (http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewMovie?id=333912438&s=143441)

The great reviews continued to pour in over 2009. Check the Facebook page (www.facebook.com/HellOnWheelsTheMovie) for links to many of these reviews. We also got a big plug from Texas Monthly magazine (www.texasmonthly.com/2009-10-01/hollywoodtx.php) and we landed on the homepage for Moviefone.com.

We screened Hell on Wheels in several cities in ‘09, including but not limited to theatrical screenings in Austin, Asbury (NJ), Sacramento, Boston, a fest screening at CineSol Film Festival in McAllen, TX, and even a university screening at The Southwestern University Feminist Studies Program with filmmakers Bob Ray and Werner Campbell and skaters Electra Blu (TXRG) and Smarty Pants (TXRD) in attendance for a lively and enlightening post-screening Q & A.

Hell on Wheels landed on a couple of those end-of-decade lists care of The Onion’s
A/V Club: http://www.avclub.com/austin/articles/10-overlooked-austin-movies-of-the-00s,36275/, and a “Best Documentaries of the Decade” list: http://boomerbust-scooter63.blogspot.com/2009/12/top-documentaries-of-decade.html

http://www.HellOnWheelsTheMovie.com and http://www.facebook.com/HellOnWheelsTheMovie

Rock Opera

Holy poop! We had our ten-year anniversary screening of Rock Opera at the Alamo Drafthouse in October with after party at the Highball featuring a Voltage and Pocket FishRmen reunion. If you were there, you rocked! If not, you missed out on some FUN!

http://www.RockOperaTheMovie.com and http://www.facebook.com/RockOpera

CrashCam Films

http://www.CrashCamFilms.com

http://www.facebook.com/CrashCamFilms

CrashToons

http://www.CrashToons.com

http://www.facebook.com/CrashToons

Twitter: http://twitter.com/crashcamfilms

Whew! So there ya have it, the year in rewind. We promise lots more far-out, and raucous flicks in 2010. Keep up to date by signing up for the email newsletter (http://crashcamfilms.com/index1.htm) or palling around with the Facebook pages, if ya prefer.

Once again, thanks to everyone who helped make 2009 such a fruitful and fun year. We cannot do all this alone, and are really appreciative of your help and support. Best wishes in 2010!

Hugs and Happy New Year!

Bob Ray & the CrashCam Films / CrashToons team

CrashCam Films & CrashToons year in review.

First off, thanks to all y’all for your help and support in making 2009 such a great year!

Admittedly, we’ve been posting more of the smaller updates on our Facebook pages as opposed to “official” blogs for our multitude of ongoing projects.

Here are the Facebook pages, if you wanna buddy-up:

CrashCam Films: http://www.facebook.com/CrashCamFilms

CrashToons (including APESH!T, Platypus Rex and more): http://www.facebook.com/CrashToons

Hell on Wheels: http://www.facebook.com/HellOnWheelsTheMovie

Rock Opera:  http://www.facebook.com/RockOpera

Total Badass: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Total-Badss/117590408128

And for you Twitter-heads: http://twitter.com/crashcamfilms

So what went down over at the CrashCam Films / CrashToons Global HQ in Austin, TX this year of 2009?  Behold:

The bulk of elbow grease went into the new feature doc, “Total Badass.”  It’s nearly finished and crazy-fun (more info below).  We also completed a re-write of the feature-length script for the dark comedy “The Down Side.” Slamdance Script Coverage Service raves about the Down Side “Hilarious and gut wrenching.  Pure Storytelling genius!“  On top of that, we finished the story for the new narrative feature “Reign in Blood,” and are now fleshing out the script with hopes of shooting it mid ’10.

Here’s a project-by-project breakdown of what went down this year:

Total Badass

Total Badass is the new feature documentary about my buddy (and notorious sex-fiend, writer-publisher-singer-trashcan-jumper, rabble-rouser and man-about-town) Chad Holt.  From May of ’08 through June of ’09 we shoot the new doc.  We quickly moved into post-production in the late summer and, as of today, are about 98% through with the edit.  The movie is NUTS!  You’ll surely be hearing about it a lot in the near future.

www.TotalBadassTheMovie.com and www.facebook.com/pages/Total-Badss/117590408128

CrashToons

Through most of 2009, we were screening the pile of ‘toons we made in ’08.  We screened “Spanish Lessons with Chupacabra Volume 7: Conversational Spanish” at SXSW.  Various APESH!T ‘toons screened at LA Comedy Shorts Film Festival and Animation Block Party (in both NYC and Austin).  And a mound of creatively curated CrashToons unspooled before the Rock Opera 10 Year Anniversary screening at the Alamo Drafthouse in October.

Online, we host all the ‘toons at www.CrashToons.com.  And a few ‘toons even popped up on Playboy Magazine’s site, www.Playboy.com.

As for new ‘toons, 2009 was a tad sparse.  We were pretty busy finishing up the filming and editing of the new feature doc, Total Badass.  But we did complete a new one called “Platypus Rex’s ABC-Hole.”  And it’s crazy-fun.  ABC-Hole is featured on the CrashToons home page, so swing by and check out the 28 seconds of hilarious and educational fun.

www.facebook.com/CrashToons and the ‘toons at www.CrashToons.com

Hell on Wheels

We released the doc through IndiePix (http://www.indiepixfilms.com/film/hellonwheels) in late ’08, and it was such a blast that IndiePix re-released it in Feb!  Double the fun!  And then, we launched the doc on SnagFilms (http://www.snagfilms.com/films/title/hell_on_wheels/), where it remains as one of the highest rated docs on the site!  You can also catch the flick on Netflix and on Xbox and even on iTunes (http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewMovie?id=333912438&s=143441)

The great reviews continued to pour in over 2009.  Check the Facebook page (www.facebook.com/HellOnWheelsTheMovie) for links to many of these reviews.  We also got a big plug from Texas Monthly magazine (www.texasmonthly.com/2009-10-01/hollywoodtx.php) and we landed on the homepage for Moviefone.com.

We screened Hell on Wheels in several cities in ‘09, including but not limited to theatrical screenings in Austin, Asbury (NJ), Sacramento, Boston, a fest screening at CineSol Film Festival in McAllen, TX, and even a university screening at The Southwestern University Feminist Studies Program with filmmakers Bob Ray and Werner Campbell and skaters Electra Blu (TXRG) and Smarty Pants (TXRD) in attendance for a lively and enlightening post-screening Q & A.

Hell on Wheels landed on a couple of those end-of-decade lists care of The Onion’s
A/V Club: http://www.avclub.com/austin/articles/10-overlooked-austin-movies-of-the-00s,36275/, and a “Best Documentaries of the Decade” list: http://boomerbust-scooter63.blogspot.com/2009/12/top-documentaries-of-decade.html

http://www.HellOnWheelsTheMovie.com and http://www.facebook.com/HellOnWheelsTheMovie

Rock Opera

Holy poop!  We had our ten-year anniversary screening of Rock Opera at the Alamo Drafthouse in October with after party at the Highball featuring a Voltage and Pocket FishRmen reunion.  If you were there, you rocked!  If not, you missed out on some FUN!

http://www.RockOperaTheMovie.com and http://www.facebook.com/RockOpera

CrashCam Films

http://www.CrashCamFilms.com

http://www.facebook.com/CrashCamFilms

CrashToons

http://www.CrashToons.com

http://www.facebook.com/CrashToons

Twitter: http://twitter.com/crashcamfilms

Whew!  So there ya have it, the year in rewind.  We promise lots more far-out, and raucous flicks in 2010.  Keep up to date by signing up for the email newsletter (http://crashcamfilms.com/index1.htm) or palling around with the Facebook pages, if ya prefer.

Once again, thanks to everyone who helped make 2009 such a fruitful and fun year.  We cannot do all this alone, and are really appreciative of your help and support.  Best wishes in 2010!

Hugs and Happy New Year!

Bob Ray & the CrashCam Films / CrashToons team

Routine eye exams are important — regardless of your age or your physical health.

During a comprehensive eye exam, your eye doctor does much more than just determine your prescription for eyeglasses or contact lenses. He or she will also check your eyes for common eye diseases, assess how your eyes work together as a team and evaluate your eyes as an indicator of your overall health.

Who Should Get Their Eyes Examined?

Eye examinations are an important part of health maintenance for everyone. Adults should have their eyes tested to keep their prescriptions current and to check for early signs of eye disease. And eye exams for children play an important role in ensuring normal vision development and academic achievement of all kids.

Vision is closely linked to the learning process. Children who have trouble seeing or interpreting what they see will often have trouble with their schoolwork. Many times, children will not complain of vision problems simply because they don’t know what “normal” vision looks like. If your child performs poorly at school or exhibits a reading or learning disability, be sure to have his eyes examined by an eye doctor who specializes in children’s vision to rule out an underlying visual cause.

What Is the Eye Doctor Checking for?

In addition to evaluating your eyes for glasses and contacts, your eye doctor will check your eyes for eye diseases and other problems that could lead to vision loss. Here are some examples of the conditions that your eye doctor will be looking for:

• Refractive Error: This refers to your prescription, including nearsightedness, farsightedness and astigmatism. Refractive error is corrected with eyeglasses, contacts or refractive surgery.
• Amblyopia: This occurs when the eyes are turned or when one eye has a much different prescription than the other. The brain will “shut off” the image from the turned or blurry eye. Left untreated, amblyopia can stunt the visual development of the affected eye, resulting in permanent vision impairment. Amblyopia is often treated by patching the stronger eye for periods of time.
• Strabismus: Strabismus is defined as crossed or turned eyes. The examiner will check your eyes’ alignment to be sure that they are working together. Strabismus causes problems with depth perception and can lead to amblyopia.
• Eye Teaming Problems: Even if you eyes appear to be properly aligned, it’s possible they do not work together efficiently as a team. Such binocular vision problems can cause headaches, eyestrain and other problems that can affect reading and other near vision tasks.
• Focusing Problems: These problems can range from incompletely developed focusing skills in children to normal age-related declines in focusing ability (presbyopia) among older adults.
• Eye Diseases: Many eye diseases, such as glaucoma and diabetic eye disease, have no symptoms in their early stages. Your eye doctor will check the health of your eyes inside and out for signs of early problems. In most cases, early detection and treatment of eye diseases can help reduce your risk for permanent vision loss.
• Other Diseases: Eye doctors can detect early signs of some conditions and diseases by looking at your eye’s blood vessels, retina and so forth. Your eye doctor may be able to tell you if you are developing high blood pressure, high cholesterol or other problems.

  For example, diabetes can cause small blood vessel leaks or bleeding in the eye, as well as swelling of the macula, which can lead to vision loss. Your eye doctor will likely detect this during a complete eye exam. It is estimated that one-third of Americans who have diabetes don’t know it; your eye doctor may detect the disease before your primary care physician does, especially if you’re overdue for a physical.

After a comprehensive exam, your eye doctor will discuss the findings and offer treatment options best suited to your needs.

Why Vision Screenings Are No Substitute for a Complete Eye Exam

Vision screenings are limited eye tests that help identify people who are at risk for vision problems. These are the brief vision tests performed by the school nurse, a pediatrician, other health care providers or volunteers. The eye test that you take when you get your driver’s license renewed is an example of a vision screening.

Depending on who is performing the test and where the test is given, vision screenings may include tests for blur, muscle coordination and/or common eye diseases. A vision screening can indicate that you need to get your eyes checked, but it does not serve as a substitute for a comprehensive eye exam.

A comprehensive eye examination is performed by an eye doctor and includes careful testing of all aspects of your vision. Based upon the results of your exam, your eye doctor will then recommend a treatment plan for your individual needs. Remember, only an eye doctor can provide a comprehensive eye exam — family physicians and pediatricians are not fully trained to do this, and studies have shown that they can miss important vision problems that require treatment.  ~ Allaboutvision.com~

For questions, or to schedule your comprehensive eye exam, contact:
Dr. Moore, Premier Eyecare, #405.513.8150
okpremiereyecare.com

When we started 13 Little Pictures, I never thought we will go on to make this many little films and to be able to share them with audience from Hong Kong to Bangkok to India to Amsterdam. We are just a group of filmmakers who meet regularly for screenings and spend hours talking about cinema. Making films is an excuse to hang out with one another and to experiment with our arguments.

It’s been a great start and a great year for 13 Little Pictures. We’ve premiered 3 feature films (Flooding In The Time Of Drought, White Days and In The House Of Straw) in festivals in Hong Kong, Singapore, Seoul, Bangkok, New Delhi. We are glad they are critically received. Along the way, each of them was also selected to compete for top honours, including Asian Digital Cinema (HK), Golden Kinnaree (BKK), Chameloeon (Seoul), Fipresci (HK), Netpac (BKK).

“Decades from now, these movies are going to serve as some of the most authentic cinematic documents of how we actually lived in Singapore in the early 21st century. I’m impressed.” – Ng Yi-Sheng, Poet, Playwright and winner of the Singapore Literature Prize 2008, on Flooding In The Time Of Drought.

“An impishly enjoyable debut!” - Mathias Ortmann,  Film critic on White Days.

“A brave, complex, crazy, funny, weird, uncompromising coming-of-age film for the facebook generation.” – Graiwoot Chulphongsathorn, NETPAC Juror and writer for Bioscope, on In The House Of Straw.

“A Singapore New Wave that actually warrants the term because of the innovations made and not just referring to the “next generation.”” – Mayo Martin, TODAY Arts critic.

Of the three films, White Days was picked up for a theatrical run for five months at Sinema Old School after playing to a full house audience at the Singapore International Film Festival.

In addition, we’ve completed shoot on 4 other feature films (Memories Of A Burning Tree, Night Lights, Red Dragonflies and one more secret feature project), all in post-production now. We are developing 6 new feature films for 2010.

Next month, Sherman will lead the pack with a hat-trick of premieres in Europe. Flooding In The Time Of Drought, Memories Of A Burning Tree and Ticket (short) will preem at the International Film Festival Rotterdam. Flooding In The Time Of Drought will also screen at the Centre Pompidou as part of the Singapore Malaysia Showcase – Singapour, Malaisie Le Cinema!. One Day In June (short) by Daniel Hui (director of Night Lights) will also have its world premiere at Rotterdam.

We hope to share more of our films more frequently and we invite people who wish to screen them to get in touch with us. We already have a film marathon booking on 13 March in NUS. We are looking at doing a showcase in KL next year. Apart from film screenings, we hope to dialogue with our audience by writing more and writing about the cinema we stand for and envision.

Thank you for your belief in our little films and thank you for letting us share them with you.

“In the times of bigness, spectaculars, one hundred million dollar movie productions, I want to speak for the small, invisible acts of human spirit: so subtle, so small, that they die when brought out under the clean lights. I want to celebrate the small forms of cinema: the lyrical form, the poem, the watercolor, etude, sketch, portrait, arabesque, and bagatelle, and little 8mm songs. In the times when everybody wants to succeed and sell, I want to celebrate those who embrace social and daily tailor to pursue the invisible, the personal things that bring no money and no bread and make no contemporary history, art history or any other history. I am for art which we do for each other, as friends. The real history of cinema is invisible history: history of friends getting together, doing the thing they love.” – Jonas Mekas in his Anti-100 Years of Cinema Manifesto

Wee Keong and Sherman presenting Flooding In the Time Of Drought at the Cinema Digital Seoul Film Festival (CinDi).

Sherman with Philip and Cheuk-To at Cindi.

Bangkok World Film Festival – Flooding In The Time Of Drought and White Days.

Vel (actress – White Days), Tulapop, Big (programmer – Bangkok World Film Festival), Sherman (director – Flooding in the time of Drought), Jiekai (editor – White Days and director – Red Dragonflies), Bee Thiam, Yuan Bin (director – White Days, art director – Flooding in the Time of Drought, Director of Photography – Red Dragonflies).

Victor, festival director of Bangkok World Film Festival and Yuan Bin.

Rate: 4.5 of 5

Genre: documentary, romance and politics

A young lady, Georgiana, was betrothed to a duke by their parents in 1779 ( at least, I remember it is 1779). She asked her mother if the duke really love her and the mother assured her that he did. After her wedding at the church, she was nervous that she had to live with her new husband together at his mansion. She had to learn to face a politic as the duchess. She bore him 3 female children and failed to give him a male heir. During the disappointment, the duke started to seek a solace. Georgiana met a lady, Foster duchess who lived in an abusive marriage and was unable to see her 3 male children due to her position and decided to give her a safe place – her home. (It is common for women to face their abusive marriages in 1700s as there were no woman’s rights) Mrs Foster moved in to her place and became a new family member under the same roof. Georgriana started to be doubtful about her husband’s secret activities. The husband failed to show his love to her and spent more time with his dogs than with his wife as the wife spent more time with her children than him. The wife started to lose the faith in him who had the secret affair with Mrs Foster and met her childhood friend who had ambition for a political position. Charles Grey fell in love with her. and had secret affair with her. The duke suspected about their inmate affairs and warned her about a loss of the political position for continuation of the intimate affairs. It left the choices to her to decide if she lost everything or stay out of the affair.

I am impressive on the lovely true story. I recommend the film for these who are interested in people from the historical caste/era.

Pastiche is what it is, and what it is has a tendency to overstay its welcome.  This trailer for Black Dynamite is a spot-on hoot, but we can’t help wondering if the joke wears thin after a few minutes.

Black Dynamite shows December 13 at the venerable New Beverly Cinema in Los Angeles.

Thanks to my sister, this evening I’m heading over to the Silvercity at Yonge and Eglinton for an advanced screening of “The Younge Victoria” : )

“The film is a romantic dramatisation of some of the events preceding and following the coronation of Queen Victoria, focusing on her early reign and romance with Prince Albert in the 1830s.” (From Wikipedia.com : )

It received 73% on Rotten Tomatoes. I’ll let you know what I think of it via Twitter later tonight!

Exclusive by Periodista Digital’s Gloria Scola
Original text in Spanish, translated here into English
Source: Periodista Digital

There are hundreds of movies on the aftermath of the Vietnam War. On the psychological consequences of other conflicts, however, the number is greatly reduced. In Triage, which means classification and is a term used in emergency medicine to quickly identify patients who require immediate resuscitation, Bosnian Danis Tanovic focuses the germ of the drama in Kurdistan in 1988.

by Gloria Scola

(no video available)

Text From the Congressional Record

[Page: S12028] GPO’s PDF

The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mrs. Gillibrand). The Senator from Washington is recognized.

   Mrs. MURRAY. Madam President, I add my thanks to the Senator from Maryland, Ms. Mikulski, for bringing forth this important issue as we address health care reform in this country to ensure that all our families have access to health care.

   One of the most important things we can do is make sure the caregivers in our families–the women–get access to preventive care so they can take care of their families.

   This amendment will require all the health plans to cover comprehensive women’s preventive care and screenings at no cost to women. That is extremely important. We all understand that–but especially in these tough economic times, when families across the country are struggling. One of the results has been that a lot of women are skipping or delaying their health care. We all know this personally. As moms, you take care of your kids first. When you do that, you often leave your families at risk because you haven’t gotten the necessary preventive care.

   We know that, in 2007, a quarter of women reported delaying or skipping health care because of the costs. In May of 2009, a report by the Commonwealth Foundation found that more than half of women delayed or avoided preventive care because of its cost.

   This amendment will ensure that those women don’t delay their preventive care because they cannot afford it. It is extremely important for this bill, it is important for women in this country, and it is important for men and children in this country as well.

   I add my thanks to the senior Senator from Maryland and all our Senate colleagues who have been down here to make sure that one of the first things we do as we move the bill to the floor is make sure women’s preventive care is covered.

   I yield the floor.

The bolyen girl (noval/movie)

Rate of the movie: 2.5 of 5

Genre: Romance, Envious, Power, Betrayal and Politic

This title was based on a historicial novel by Phillppa Gregora ( my favourite author). It is very enjoyable to read that book. Imgaine being a women in 1500s. The main character is Mary Bolyen, unknown historic figure and the second one is Anne Bolyen, Queen Elizbeth I’s mother and a first known beheaded queen who was guilty of treasoning, witchcraft and incestous crime.

This is a film that is different much from the novel. It did not follow the novel because it was the projected budget and difficult to follow mostly. The novel is better than the film as the novel tell you more details than the film.

Danis Tanovic’s TRIAGE, starring Colin Farrell, Christopher Lee and Paz Vega, will screen as part of the Human Rights Watch Film Festival at TIFF Cinematheque in February. The festival runs February 24-March 6 and TRIAGE will screen at Jackman Hall on February 25, 2010 7:00 PM. To order tickets CLICK HERE

A recent study, conducted by the National Eye Institute, finds that myopia, or nearsightedness as it’s commonly called, is on the rise in the U.S. Statistics from the study show that cases of myopia have risen 66% from the 1970s. Currently, it is estimated that 41% of the U.S. population has some degree of nearsightedness – a marked increase from the 1970s figure of 25% of the population.

Nearsightedness is easily corrected through glasses or contacts, but it is estimated that this increase in cases is currently costing the U.S. government $2-$3 billion annually. Though the aforementioned study did not examine causes for this significant increase, experts have cited a number of possible reason for the sharp increase in myopic individuals. A few possible causes include genetics, a lack of exposure to outdoor light, and the increase of “near work” that we all do daily, including computer work, reading, text messaging, or using a handheld PDA or smart phone. Though near work and computer use cannot be specifically pinned as the culprit, it is suspicious that the increases found occurred during the time when computer use became such a large part of each person’s life. Last year alone, 110 billion text messages were sent in the U.S.

Though we cannot know what’s causing this increase, optometrists agree that there are a few things we can do in response to this news. First, it is extremely important to have regular eye exams. You may be struggling with a distance vision problem and not even realize it. Eye exams also screen for other vision-damaging diseases that cannot be detected by changes in day-to-day vision alone. Second, experts recommend stimulating your “far vision” regularly while doing any extended computer or near work. The American Optometric Association recommends the 20/20/20 rule – every 20 minutes, look at least 20 feet away for at least 20 seconds. And third, experts urge parents to encourage their children to leave the computers and video games and play outside. Not only is it helpful to fight childhood obesity, a growing concern in America, but it may also strengthen and protect your child’s eyes.

Thanks to the Associated Press for this story :Low income women denied free cancer screenings

This is but a shawdow of the DEATH PANELS yet to come through National Health Care !

Albany, NY (AP) — As the economy falters and more people go without health insurance, low-income women in at least 20 states are being turned away or put on long waiting lists for free cancer screenings, according to the American Cancer Society’s Cancer Action Network.

In the unofficial survey of programs for July 2008 through April 2009, the organization found that state budget strains are forcing some programs to reject people who would otherwise qualify for free mammograms and Pap smears. Just how many are turned away isn’t known; in some cases, the women are screened through other programs or referred to different providers.

…

New York used to screen women of all ages, but this year the budget crunch has forced them to focus on those considered at highest risk and exclude women under 50.

…
In New York, the Cancer Society says providers in Manhattan, Brooklyn and western Queens, and in Nassau, Suffolk and Westchester counties project they’ll perform nearly 15,000 fewer free mammograms for the fiscal year ending April 2010, compared with the previous year.

The Cancer Society has no way to count how many women are being turned away, and many providers don’t keep track of how many are denied screening, or whether those women find another alternative. The cost of screening varies, but the average mammogram is about $100, while a Pap screen can range between $75 and $200, according to the society.

…

At least 14 states cut budgets for free cancer screenings this year: Colorado, Montana, Illinois, Alabama, Minnesota, Connecticut, South Carolina, Utah, Missouri, Washington, Ohio, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania and Arkansas.

“This is rationing of health care by offering (screenings) only in the first half of the fiscal year, or by cutting back on those programs,” Brawley said. “It’s rationing that is leading to people dying.”

New York, which has fought for two years with deficits in the billions, used to screen women of all ages for breast cancer, but after $3.5 million in budget cuts this year, women under 50 – … are no longer eligible unless they have the breast cancer gene or a serious family cancer history. …
The issue of when women should get mammograms erupted into controversy last month when the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force recommended that the exams not be given routinely until women are 50, and then every two years.

That broke with the Cancer Society’s long-standing position that women should begin getting mammograms at the age of 40 and annually thereafter; the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists recommends mammograms every one to two years for women in their 40s and every year after age 50.

The American Cancer Society opposes the federal task force recommendations.

…
Oregon, with 57,000 eligible women, now limits free screenings to 6,000 annually, said Amy Manchester Harris, manager of the Breast and Cervical Cancer Program. Many states, including Oregon, still screen women with symptoms, such as a breast lump.

“….
Ohio allocated $2.5 million for 2008-09; state funding dropped to $700,000 for 2009-10. Last year Ohio served nearly 17,000 women, but the state is projected to fund 14,000 screenings in 2009-10.

…
The American Cancer Society’s Cancer Action Network says the economy has forced cutbacks in screenings at a time when more people are uninsured.

The society surveyed programs for July 2008 through April 2009 and found that state budget strains are forcing some programs to reject people who would otherwise qualify for free mammograms and Pap smears.

In some cases women are screened by other programs or referred to different providers.

New York used to screen women of all ages. This year’s budget crunch has forced them to focus on those at highest risk and exclude women younger than 50.

Full Story – HERE

Unfortunately there is only a few pictures, but So Eun looks very pretty nonetheless!

Aww… sitting alone? I’m sure Bummie is sneaking in later XD

This is my last update before I fly off to Korea. Hopefully I’ll get Internet asap there… Sorry I can’t take any pictures of the finished Christmas Project just yet… I’m not finished… sigh. I’m sure our other lovely writers will wow us with much juicier news later XD

Sigh… why did the photographer not take a second photo focusing on So Eun instead of Shin Min Ah?

Do I spot empty seat? XD Saving for someone you’re texting? Tehehe.

The London Perambulator will be screening at Resonance fm’s Media Playground day of events commissioned by Broadcast Media Sculptures. “Media Playground” present movies, discussion and radiophonic sound-art in the distinctive surroundings of London’s Foundry bar, 86 Great Eastern Street, EC2A 3JL

Saturday 19th December 2009 3.30pm, Free adm

The screening will be followed by a  Q&A with John Rogers (director) and Nick Papadimitriou (subject of the film)

Also Class Wargames presents Guy Debord’s The Game of War, followed by discussion with instigator Richard Barbrook, philosopher Stefan Lutschinger and director Ilze Black – plus a collective playing of Debord’s game.

Earlier at 2pm: discussion for broadcast: Pathological Over-Sharing.

More info here

Kim So Eun will attend the special premiere of “Jeon Woo Chi: The Taoist Wizard” on December 14th.

Jeon Woo Chi is an undisciplined womanizing Taoist from the Joseon era, and he ends up in present day Korea causing mayhem with his knack for magic. There is a legendary character in the Joseon Era with the same name, but of course not possessing any magical abilities.

Here is the MV/Trailer, featuring 2PM’s “Tired of Waiting”

(YT Credit: chicana693, synopsis credit IMDB, schedule update from NOA)

I’ve been wanting to see the movie ever since I saw the trailer, and I’m very excited that So Eun will get to see it first.

NOA updated her schedule to reflect that she is attending the premiere for “Jeon Woo Chi”, but why didn’t they report her going to the “Bisang” premiere a couple weeks ago? Fishy fishy…