An Awesome and Inspiring "Kick-Ass" Movie Trailer...

Happy New Year Everyone!
(It's still January, so I can still say it.)

I just came across something that I wanted to share with you.

It's a trailer for an Awesome Movie titled: "Kick-Ass" (Not to be confused with "jack-ass").

"Kick-Ass" is about a somewhat geeky; not unpopular, just unnoticed (everyday super-power: He "can become completely invisible to girls") high school student who decides to become a Superhero... Superhero costume, Superhero name ("Kick-Ass") and all...

When videos of his crime-fighting exploits go viral on the internet, others are inspired to join him and also become Superheroes, too.

Check it out... I think you'll like it...



Oh My Gawd -
I think Kick-Ass looks Freakin Awesome!

But, what to do until it hits theaters...
Hmm...

Perhaps I'll create a secret alter-ego... have some costumes made... join Real-Life Super(s)heroes... and Fight 'Real Crime'*!

*Which, of course - by definition- Does Not include perpetually pursuing, jacking-up & harassing the homeless.

If I do this... it'll be our little Secret.

Peace.

L.

Being Human = Being Brilliant!

I don't know how you might feel about American Network TV shows...

Personally, IMHO, many - and on some nights, most - Suck.

Enter the BBC... or, to be more accurate, BBCA (BBC America).

In one word... "Brilliant".

Brilliantly original shows, Brilliantly cast, Brilliant acting, Brilliantly clever, smart and funny writing with Brilliant twists and unexpected turns.

Take, for example, the show called "Being Human".

Premise:
"George (Russell Tovey) and Mitchell (Aidan Turner) work in anonymous drudgery as hospital porters in Bristol, England. They lead lives of quiet desperation under the burden of a terrible secret - Mitchell's a vampire and George a werewolf... Not known, historically, to pal around with each other. But, Mitchell and George have become friends and confide in each other. Deciding to start life afresh and leave behind the dark side (the two young men take special measures to try to avoid killing people), they move into a house, only to find that Annie (Lenora Crichlow), the ghost of a woman killed in mysterious circumstances, haunts it. As the monster threesome deal with the challenges of their new life together, they're united in their strong desire to be "normal", to blend in with their human neighbors... to Be Human."

(From: bbca.com)

Regardless of how corny the description may sound... It's a Fantastic show!

I've included three videos - below - that introduce each of the characters... Just to give you a... uh, taste.

Enjoy!

Peace.

L.

Women On The Frontline For Human Rights

(From: Amnesty International (amnesty.org))



Women On The Frontline For Human Rights

10 December 2009

Women often bear the brunt of poverty and human rights abuses; but as activists they use these roles to trigger positive social change. To mark World Human Rights Day, Amnesty International spoke to three women who put their lives on the line in defence of human rights.

Women are affected by poverty, violence and human rights violations more than men because of the discrimination they face the world over. Over 70 per cent of the world’s poor are women. Women earn only 10 per cent of the world’s income but do two thirds of the world’s work.

Three quarters of the world’s illiterate are women. Women produce up to 80 per cent of the food in developing countries but own only one per cent of the land.

In spite of these overwhelming odds, women are often the most active agents of positive social change in their communities, working tirelessly to improve their lives and the situation of their families. Women are responsible for some of the most effective grassroots-based human rights work all over the globe.

The three courageous women interviewed for this Amnesty International article are:

Gertrude Hambira has been threatened and told to leave her job several times

© Amnesty International

1.) Gertrude Hambira, General Secretary of the General Agricultural and Plantation Workers Union of Zimbabwe (GAPWUZ)

Women wanting rights advice go to Zebo Sharifova's League of Women's Lawyers

© Amnesty International

2.) Zebo Sharifova, head of the League of Women’s Lawyers, Tajikistan

Aminatou Haidar has been on hunger strike at Lanzarote airport since 15 November

© Berserk Productions

3.) Aminatou Haidar, Western Saharan human rights defender who has been on hunger strike since 15 November to protest her expulsion from Laayoune in Western Sahara by the Moroccan authorities. She is currently stranded in Lanzarote airport in Spain’s Canary Islands.

To Read The Interviews/Article, Please Go To The Amnesty International Website (<From: Amnesty International (amnesty.org))

HAIGHT STREET MONSTER GIRLS Indie Film Fundraiser Tues 10/20 Annie's Social Club * San Francisco!

(*I Auditioned For And Have Been Cast As One Of The Haight Street Monster Girls! See You At Annie's! ~ L.)

TUESDAY OCTOBER 20TH
A Fundraising event of Monstrous Proportion!

FUNDRAISER FOR THE INDEPENDENT FILM: HAIGHT STREET MONSTER GIRLS
"we don't play with dollies because monsters are much better"

HAIGHT STREET MONSTER GIRLS & DRUNKEN MONKEY Present:

THE BROTHERS COMATOSE
(just the best darn bluegrass band in all of monstertown)
Belly Dancing by blackhoodygrrl
Drunken Monkey Bread served by Brie Wyrd
Monster Karaoke in the Back Room - Hosted by Medusa

$1 Hamms Beers - Free Pool
Raffle, Door Prizes & More!

live at Annie's Social Club
917 Folsom (5th & Folsom)
for a special edition of Country Monkey
$5-15 suggested donation at the door

RAFFLE PRIZES TO INCLUDE:
$100 Gift Certificate for a TATTOO from Kevin @ Cold Steele
A Gift Certificate good for ONE PIERCING from Cold Steel
4 Free Passes to THE RED VIC MOVIE HOUSE on Haight Street
A $20 Bar Tab @ BENDERS
And more more more!

FUNDRAISER FOR THE INDEPENDENT FILM
HAIGHT STREET MONSTER GIRLS
"we don't play with dollies because monsters are much better"

http://www.facebook.com/homephp#/eventphp?eid=150578126066&index=1

Thanks, John Hughes... From All Of Us Oddballs, Outsiders And Outcasts Of The World.

A Legendary Artist/Filmmaker has suddenly, unexpectedly and all too soon '... left the building.'

John Hughes, the man behind an amazing list of iconic movies that were the voice of and spoke to a generation in the 1980's, died from a heart attack that felled him while he was out on a walk.

If you don't recognize his name, perhaps you'll recognize the titles of some of his modern classics of teenage angst, the hell that is High School, and the inner life of 'The Outsider'...

The Breakfast Club



Sixteen Candles



Ferris Bueller's Day Off



If you've never seen any of these films... Go Rent Them, Now, You Dorks!

If you've seen them, now is a great time to see them again... to Laugh With Them... to (Try Not To) Cry With Them... And - Most Of All - To Be Soooo Greatful That You're No Longer In High School...

Thanks, John Hughes... From All Of Us Oddballs, Outsiders And Outcasts Of The World.

Rest In Peace.

L.

The Ballad Of The Little Blue Lab Rat... Neccessary Evil? ... Or Just Plain Torture?

This Little Guy (or Girl?) Just Breaks My Heart. From University of Rochester Med Ctr.: After Suffering Intentional Spinal Cord Injuries, Rats injected with BBG not only regained their mobility but temporarily turned blue...
And... then What? They Were Thrown Out? Composted? Fed to other still-needed lab animals?

Initially, when the first murmurings of this story were trotted out, it sounded Terrific!

What was that?!... The Blue Dye found in drinks like Gatorade, when injected into the damaged spines of lab rats immediately after they were injured, resulted in them being mobile again... albeit with a limp?

Oh my Gd!... It's a Miracle!... The Cure for spinal cord injuries has finally been discovered!... albeit, in a bottle of Gatorade. (smirk.)

And, it only took mauling a few dozen lab rats' little spines and then immediately injecting the blue stuff (BBG) into the injured area.

When do the Human Trials Start? (No, I'm not volunteering.)

What?... You're kidding, right?

What do you mean, "...this method would not be practical for use with spinal cord-injured (human) patients"?

Of course, no one would "... want to put a needle into a spinal cord that has just been severely injured". But, how about intravenously?...

Oh, the compound that you used, the oxidized ATP, "... cannot be injected into the bloodstream because of its dangerous side effects."

Well, then... I have only one question.

You say that the research team isn't calling BBG a cure for spinal injuries, that, "... instead it offers a potential improvement in patients."... That's all well and good...

But, if you can't/won't inject it into the spines of humans who have just been injured (like you could/did to the rats)... and you can't introduce BBG intravenously, either...

Then, why the F*%$ did you do it to the rats?!

Just for fun?... Just to see if they turned Blue? (they did. See above pic.)

What was the freaking point? Please Explain it to me.
You may read the whole story in the article at cnn.com.


But, my op-ed piece is a good synopsis.

Aargh!

Peace.... Especially for the Lab Animals of the World.

L.

I'm In Love W/David Duchovny Or, How "The X-Files" Saved My Life

Here's something that I wrote recently and I thought I'd share it with you.

It's my personal review of "The X-Files" TV series. I originally wrote it for TV.com. I was feeling great pressure to produce something there. The 'Level' that they had assigned to me was "Sweathog" - as in Vinnie Babarino - and I just couldn't leave it at that.

So, with that explanation, I present my latest work - Entitled:




"How The X-Files Saved My Life"

The X-Files may have saved my Life.

In the inimitable words of Sarah Palin: "I kid you not.".

I owe Chris Carter, The X-Files writers, David Duchovny, Gillian Anderson, etc. a sincere debt of gratitude...

For me, "The X-Files" stands alone as a modern classic of science fiction. It is terrific storytelling. The X-Files is Folklore mixed with Legends mixed with Campfire-Stories mixed with Ghost-Stories mixed with some Ripley's mixed with pinches of The Truth... here-and-there.

When The X-Files was at its scary-best - It was Cover-Your-Eyes/"I Can't Watch!"-Scary.

Most every episode - as well as the continuing storyline - was written with a sharp wit and sense of humor. The dialogue was intelligent and thoughtful. The interactions of the characters felt genuine and and there was plenty of mystery, action and hold-your-breath suspense.

The casting of Duchovny and Anderson was brilliant, as they shared great on-screen chemistry and displayed great acting chops. Agents Scully and Mulder - as characters - were beautifully written and were fleshed-out. They weren't one or two-dimensional pseudo-superheroes. They were utterly human - with all the positive and negative character traits and the frailties of two human beings.

I love "The X-Files" and I will always love "The X-Files". I'd recommend it to anyone with a brain - particularly if you have any interest in unusual phenomena/extraordinary experiences. Or, even just to watch something several notches above (and much more interesting than) so-called "Reality" shows.

In my humble opinion, "The X-Files" is Extraordinary Television.

What Was That?
Oh... How did "The X-Files" save my life?

Well, it's kind of personal. Between Chris Carter and I...

O.K., O.K. ~ Let's just say that - a few years ago -I went through a very harrowing experience that was also experienced by a character in one episode. (I won't be more specific than that.)

But, there were two distinct differences between his horrible experience and mine:

In the show, the character's period of torment only lasted about a month/30 days.

Lucky bastard... My real-life experience - on the other hand - went on for years.

The second difference was the clincher for me.

The tormented character - having reached the absolute limit of his ability to deal with his experiences - finally cracked up and murdered someone.

Hmmm... Well, I'll admit that I did - occasionally, in my more desperate moments and at my wit's end - consider taking my own life. But, I would never consider taking someone else's life because of what I was experiencing.

It made me feel so much better about the way I was dealing with those events.

"Hey, at least I haven't killed anyone."

To someone, like myself, who has the occasional extraordinary experience, "The X-Files" was not just thrilling entertainment... Watching the scenarios play out in the series helped me to both deal with and to feel better about how I dealt with the unsettling experiences in my life

It also showed me - at a time when I was suffering and felt utterly alone in the universe - that - Wow! There was someone else who knew about things that I experienced (even if their version was fictional)... that I wasn't entirely alone.

Thank You, The X-Files, you're a Life Saver.