Simply put, rent this movie. It’s got performances by Diane Lane, Laura Dern and Ray Winstone — seemingly early in their careers — that definitely point to why they have been so successful over the past two decades. It also bursts with so much energy, style and damned good rock and roll (members of The Clash and Sex Pistols wrote half the songs on the soundtrack and appear in the film) that it re-invigorates the familiar into something fresh and exciting.

Ladies and Gentlemen... tells the story of the rise, fall and return of Corinne “Third Degree” Burns (Diane Lane) and her band The Stains (Laura Dern and Marin Kantner) as she negotiates her identity, the jealousy of an experienced and cynical singer of a rival band and the exploitation by the media and a corrupt manager (David Clennon (The Thing, thirtysomething)). 

Diane Lane’s character enters the film full of spit and fire; she is rebellious youth from the get go and suffering in small town Pennsylvania. But she's got a plan, a vision that involves a "just Rock and Roll, and The Truth." And her vehicle is The Stains. They hook up with The Metal Corpses, 70s glam has-beens, and The Looters, punks stranded in America and headed by a young, less corpulent, Ray Winstone.

When Corinne takes the stage sporting a skunk hair-do, Siouxsie Sioux eyeliner, fishnets and see-through blouse, and excoriates the crowd that she doesn't put out, she inspires hundreds of disaffected youth to do the same — to stand up and take no guff from anybody. The media picks up on this and runs with it. And all this in a month!

Needless to say, the movie is filled with great performances both acting and musical. It made me want to create my own Stains cover band. And the early 80s punk styles are amazing. The hair, the make-up, the clothes. Everything. And while the entire movie is worth watching, I found the ending music video especially memorable; it's such a video of its time, but also because we get to glimpse the characters a little further down the road from what the bulk of the film deals with, and it's the most satisfying conclusion.

A second-runner up for best scene in the movie is where Christine Lahti, playing Diane Lane’s aunt, gives a TV interview. It’s heartbreaking for its honesty and allowing us a glimpse into the character's backstory. It's brief, but powerful.

And the movie wouldn’t have worked without the chemistry between Ray and Diane. Ray's character has been struggling a long time to gain success, but it has eluded him; when Diane's character seemingly captures success practically overnight, it wounds him. However, they are both attracted to each other; when she hears his band perform, she is enraptured; it spurs her on to cement and embrace her identity as Punk.

There's this amazing scene where they share a motel room, and at one point they are on the bed in close proximity starting to undress, and he is reaching out to her, quoting the lyrics of his song; she asks for the lyrics and he becomes evasive, so she moves to the bathroom and slams the door, cutting him off. But when he reveals that he can’t read, she opens the door wearing only a towel. She then enters the shower, and starts telling a story from her past; Ray enters the shower also naked, and the scene ends with a passionate kiss.

As the scene plays out, they are undressing, literally and metaphorically, revealing to each other very personal things; also, the barriers between them grow less and less both physically and metaphorically. It's the closest the two characters get and is very tender.

So I guess that’s three scenes.

Anyway, I highly recommend this film. If you’re curious about the early careers of its future stars, or if you love good rock music or the 80s style, or even if you don’t, you really need to check this out.

Three and a half out of five stars.

Next up, I try not to mess with the Zohan.

ROSE MCALEESE FOR 2008 SEATTLE POET POPULIST

In managing the HIV Prevention Project since August 2008, I have done a whole lot of planning and research in order to ensure that success was achievable. The success of the Stakeholders Meeting was largely due to my high level of motivation, but I will not dare underestimate the hours that I spent preparing the following documents which also guaranteed my success with the HIV Prevention Advocacy Project--at least from the scientific point of view: Advocacy Plan, Advocacy Monitoring & Evaluation Report, Press Release, Media Advisory, Advocacy Introductory Letter, Stakeholders Meeting Invitation Letter, Advocacy Presentation, Stakeholders Database , Advocacy Meetings via telephone and face-to-face, and Stakeholder Meeting Invitation Cards.

I shared my presentation space with Shellie Ann Anderson a wonderful young woman who I met through the social networking site Facebook, who emerged as Top Recruiter of our Facebook Cause and Group. My Advocacy Presentation focussed on the need to complement HIV Prevention programming with the Internet, specifically Web 2.0 technologies, so as to increase interactivity, inclusiveness, and reaching out to youth through avenues that they are already participating in.

A number of issues were raised by meeting participants, which included the need for the revision of the Jamaica Report Card to reflect changes in the national environment since its publication; the need for it to be sensitive to the culture of Jamaica in terms of the use of terminologies such as: rape, buggery, and cult; and the need for the inclusion of minorities, such as Rastafarians and Musicians in HIV Prevention Programming for Youth.

By the end of the meeting, participants came to consensus that there was need for the following next steps:

1. Update of the Jamaica Report Card (2006),
2. Revise the Draft Youth Declaration to reflect the concerns, recommendations, and gaps articulated by the Stakeholders Meeting participants,
3. Facilitate follow-up meeting with stakeholders, in mid January 2009, who signed the Commitment Form to support the National Working Group (NWG) on HIV Prevention for Youth, and
4. Circulate the revised Youth Declaration to participants who committed to supporting the NWG for their feedback within two weeks subsequent to hosting the Stakeholders Meeting.

Some stakeholders expressed concern about the formation of the NWG, because of their belief that it might represent a duplication of work being done by other working groups and boards, which were formed to oversee HIV/AIDS programming in Jamaica. They reiterated the need for collaboration and partnership as an alternative approach to the formation of an independent NWG.

This speech by Louis Farrakhan, leader of the Nation of Islam, is disrespectful on so many levels. Lets just say it sounds like fascism right out of WWII. The Nation of Islam is seeing the Messiah in a man. The man being Barack Obama, Democratic Presidential Nominee.

Louis Farrakhan says, "He is the hope of the entire world", "would God allow Barack to be President of a country that has been so racist, so evil in its mistreatment of Hispanics, Native Americans, Blacks"

And, "This is a sign to you, its the time of our rise", "Barack Obama is the hand of the Messiah", "You are the instruments that God is gonna use to bring about universal change and that is why Barack has captured the youth. And he has involved young people in a political process that they didn't care anything about. That's a sign. When the Messiah speaks the youth will hear and the Messiah is absolutely speaking!"

This clip is from a meeting called the "In the Name of Allah, Saviours' Day 2008" I don't see this being played on any News Network or Cable channel. The build up to the Messiah statement (8:00 min marker) is just as troubling.

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Just realized I need a new purse for my iPhone. There's clearly no pocket for it in my old one.

@mandyconforth I sliced my thumb on a tin lid. It won't stop throbbing.

http://twitpic.com/eny9 - How will I use my new iPhone now???

"just can't get enough" Depeche Mode is playing. Makes me happy!

@mandythompson im sorry. took awhile for my arthritic old fingers to type this reply to you. SHUT UP!

Looks like I'm gonna spend some time writing today. Please pray for clarity and direction?

my stomach just made a Bruce Lee Kung-Fu'ing "Waaaahhh" sound. it was oddly amusing.

@mandythompson thats how i feel about my kids some days..."a booger lodged in my nostril." yup. purdy much.

daughter is getting ready to walk the homecoming court 2nite. shes the freshman class princess. so im letting the 30 minute shower slide =)

http://twitpic.com/flnn - The Prince and Princess. Oh Lord help me now!!!!

The Prince didn't bring my Princess a flower. Negative 3,000,000,000,000 points!

well. ive left my daughter at the dance. im not freakin out. really. serious. what?!

HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND!!!

[vodpod id=ExternalVideo.714977&w=425&h=350&fv=]

Click here for Video

I have a trip planned for Toronto. I would go for the 17th and be home on the 21st. I would meet up with one man for two hours on the 18th and make 300, before going to a Madonna concert and staying in the Hazelton with another. Then on the 20th I would fly to Vancouver where I would meet another man and then take the ferry on the 21st home... where I have no home.

I know how I got here, and I find myself thinking over and over, "What the hell did I do to deserve this."

I have found myself at the mercy of those around me. Not a situation I am comfortable with. I have lost friends this year, lost "love", and lost my sense of self. I have been forced into laughing off all these tragedies in the hopes of not burning bridges. I appear to be something of a pyro as I cannot seem to stop all this destruction. I am young, and intelligent. I should be going home to Prince George and rebuilding myself. I can't stop clinging to this pile of rubble though as I'm haunted by how it once gleamed. The flames burn bright sometimes and look beautiful but they always leave me scorned, ashamed, embarrassed.

I feel so stupid about who I am and how my immature heart has only just begun to heal from it's first love. It has taken so much cruelty to get me over it, but it was needed, as I fell so deep into it. I can't deal with any of this anymore. Not tonight. Benevolence.

I close my eyes and tell myself that all the words and memories mean nothing. With every breath I try to blow it off. And with my feet firmly planted on the ground I suppress my love.

States like Washington and Missouri reflect the nationwide enrollment growth at community colleges. 11.5 million were enrolled in community colleges last year, and according to the American Association of Community Colleges, the number rose during the summer and is likely to rise again during the fall. Charles Earl, executive director of the Washington State Board for Community and Technical Colleges, noted that during times of economic stress, enrollment rates at colleges historically increase.

For many, the economic crisis is a valuable moment to learn for business students and anyone taking economics-related courses. Professors are visibly taking advantage of the educational opportunity, pulling up financial headlines at the beginning of class and discussing the recent stories with students. For a subject that's usually painted in the abstract, this shows how powerful the crisis has grown. It has become so endemic that we, as Americans, are nearly all personally affected in one way our another, recognizing friends and family who have been dragged beneath the undertow of the current of the crisis.

Included in the bailout package is now a provision for student loan assets in financial institutions to be bought off by the federal government. However, similarly to the justified skepticism of the impacts of the rest of the bailout package's provisions on mortgages and credit, students should not depend on the federal government to pay for college. Unfortunately, private loans are growing more and more scarce, so students need to look to other options.

Conservation is probably key. Students are doing a great job of adapting to the circumstances by taking fewer trips home, eating out less, and shopping at used clothing stores instead of brand-name fashion boutiques, just to name a few methods. Campuses are great places to live at an affordable cost because of the centralized resources--where stores, libraries, entertainment and so forth are all just a few blocks down--so students are in a wonderful position to start off with.

However, economic times do not seem to be lightening up anytime in the near future, so students are going to have to dig in for more to come. But they'll be the most ready for economic hardship out of anyone. School is, no doubt, one of the best places to be during times like these.

NEW DELHI, October 10 (Compass Direct News) – After police in the eastern state of Orissa confirmed this week that Maoists killed Hindu nationalist leader Swami Laxmanananda Saraswati, a Hindu extremist group circulated allegedly forged documents in an attempt to implicate a local church in the Aug. 23 murder.

The Hindu Jagaran Samukhya (Society for Revival of Hinduism or HJS) circulated documents saying the plan to kill Saraswati in Kandhamal district was made at a meeting at Bethikala Church on May 25 attended by 17 people following a briefing and command from religious leaders, the Press Trust of India news agency reported yesterday.

Local Christian leaders responded by saying they will file defamation charges.

“We will file both civil and criminal defamation cases against the person who made such allegations,” Father Joseph Kalathil from the Catholic Archbishop House in Bhubaneswar and the Rev. Fr. Prafulla Ku Sabhapati, president of the Bethikala Parish Council of Kandhamal, said in a statement. “Not only our signatures were forged, the contents of the documents were also fabricated.”

On Oct. 6 Orissa state police confirmed that Maoists killed Saraswati, a day after the chief of the Orissa unit of the banned Communist Party of India-Maoist, Sabyasachi Panda, told NDTV 24X7 news that his organization was behind the murder.

The Maoists killed Saraswati because he was a key leader of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (World Hindu Council or VHP), Panda told the channel. The VHP, he said, used non-tribal traders’ money to build VHP’s youth wing, Bajrang Dal, and ran a campaign against Christians, falsely accusing them of forced conversions and killing cows, considered holy by Hindus.

“This forced us to attack him,” Panda said. “We left two letters claiming responsibility for the murders. But the [Chief Minister Naveen] Patnaik government suppressed those letters. It is a BJP [Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party] government; they will support the VHP. The state government made it look like Christian groups were responsible for the attack. The Christian community in Orissa does not have any Maoist organization supporting them here.”

There were also reports, however, of the Orissa police having arrested three tribal Christians in connection with Saraswati’s murder. The Indian Express reported that the three had confessed their involvement.

A representative of the Christian Legal Association told Compass that according to sources, the police had tortured the three Christians to pressure them to confess a crime they did not commit.

After the assassination of Saraswati, Hindu extremist groups blamed local Christians and began attacks on them, their houses and their churches. The worst violence against Christians in modern India erupted in spite of the Orissa police and media stating on the day of the murder that suspected Maoists killed Saraswati.

According to the All India Christian Council, more than 60 people have been killed, more than 18,000 injured and around 4,500 houses and churches destroyed in the “retributive” violence. Two Christian women, including a nun, were also gang-raped. The violence, which later spread to at least 14 districts of Orissa, has left more than 50,000 people homeless.

Attacks Continue

Orissa’s Kandhamal district remained tense even 48 days after the violence began.

Yesterday about 15 houses were burned down by a mob in the Lansaripalli village in Kantamal Block of neighboring Boudh district, The Hindu reported. The attackers came from the Gochhapada area of Kandhamal district.

“Thursday’s was the third incident in Boudh district,” added the daily. “More than 100 houses were burnt down in two separate attacks in the past few days.”

On Wednesday (Oct. 8), a mob burned and looted at least 25 houses belonging to Christians in the Balligada village under Daringbadi police station in Kandhamal’s Nuagam Block, Father Ajay Singh of the Catholic Archdiocese of Bhubaneswar told Compass.

On Tuesday (Oct. 7), over five houses were torched in Jalespanga area under Phiringia police jurisdiction in Kandhamal. Another house was burned in the Sujeli village of G. Udayagiri Block the same day.

The Hindu also said the more than 16,000 Christians living in various relief camps were not returning to their villages, fearing attacks on them if they refused to convert to Hinduism.

Fr. Singh from the Bhubaneswar Archdiocese told Compass that over 12,000 Christians from various relief camps had moved out of Kandhamal to other districts and states, as they feared more attacks.

Supporting Violence

The president of the VHP, Ashok Singhal, told Zee News channel on Sunday (Oct. 5), “What Hindu organizations including the VHP, the Bajrang Dal and the RSS [Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, India’s chief Hindu nationalist group] are doing in Orissa is all legal and is the reaction of the murder of VHP leader Saraswati, who was like Jesus Christ to us.”

In an interview with The Week magazine (Oct. 5), Singhal said that Hindu youth are “ready to die and, if necessary, to kill. [Their] patience is ebbing.”

Singhal added that a “Hindu uprising” had begun, “and the political parties will have to rethink and reinvent themselves, for their own existence. If there is no arrangement for Hindus’ security, they’ll do it on their own. The Hindus will not die. If that self-defence is militancy, so be it … the Hindu never went around the world for suzerainty or to convert ... now they are here, undermining us. That causes anger. In fact many want to fight back this harvesting of Hindus.”

In addition, a leader of the Bajrang Dal in the southern state of Karnataka admitted to supporting recent attacks on churches while speaking to The Week magazine. “We supported those who attacked the churches, as it is a justified fight,” Bajrang Dal convenor Mahendra Kumar said.

The violence in Orissa spread to several other states, including Karnataka, where around 20 churches were destroyed and 20 Christians were attacked in the recent weeks.

As many political parties and rights groups have demanded a ban on the Bajrang Dal for attacking Christians and churches in Orissa and other states, the federal government ruled by the United Progressive Alliance has mandated the National Integration Council to give its recommendations, reported the Times of India today.

The Bajrang Dal, however, warned that any such move would have “grave consequences” for the government politically, saying there was “no legal ground” for such an action.

There are 897,861 Christians in Orissa, which has a population of 36.8 million.  

Report from Compass Direct News

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jlnp-t8tk6k&feature=related
Seamus Stout -- Donald McGallavry

The teacher at the urban Kansas City middle school should be suspended (some are even petitioning to have him fired) for the group of African American students who participated in frat-style presentation making a pledge to strive for excellence and aspire to be great because they supported the Obama campaign in their activity.

On the other hand in the predominately white town Nacogdoches, high school principal Nathan Chaddick finds it acceptable that the school cheerleaders during a pep rally used toy guns to enact a mock execution of other students. 

He was quoted as saying, “Everybody enjoyed it and had a great time.”  He referred to the skit as “simple, innocent satire” according to the daily Sentinel a local area newspaper.

This is absurd and is the pinnacle of behavior that should have both the coach and the principal fired for encouraging behavior that glorifies violence and suggests that using a gun is the way to solve a rift between rivals.

There is nothing positive that can be learned from this and in light of school shootings which have resulted in loss of life, it is an utter embarrassment to have students at the high school level not exercise better judgment.

It goes without saying that the focus is clearly not where it needs to be when spotlighting what is going on in our schools that can have a negative impact on our youth and immeasurable repercussions on our society in a whole.

We got to the Camp (at dark) and un-packed the cars, got situated in our cabins, and then met as a group - sang some songs, played some games, and watched some hilarious skits (pictures are to come in a later post) - before we had a bonfire and ate S'mores! Lesson: Chelsey is one of the best S'more makers this side of the Mason-Dixon Line!

The next morning at 7:45 - we walked to breakfast, ate some good eggs and grits, and walked back (through the woods - around the edge of the lake) to our cabins. We had a quiet time (20 min) where students were encouraged to get their Bible and read Psalm 139. After this, we did a Lower Elements Ropes Course! We had many different objectives and challenges, but with this one particular challenge, we had to get our entire group across a tight wire that went between 4 or 5 trees. We had to rely on each other to help keep balance and to accomplish our objective. This was used to teach us that a lot of the times we need help from our brothers and sisters in Christ to help keep our balance and to accomplish our goals!

Lesson: Don't volunteer to be one of the anchors at the beginning of the course. Standing on a single wire for about 45 minutes is not the most comfortable thing - especially when all you have to hold on to is the back of Nathan Molica's shorts!

One of the last challenges that we had to do was one of the hardest. With this activity we were required to stand on a platform that was about 6 ft off of the ground (against a tree), turn so that we were facing the tree, and fall backwards into the arms of the group! This was crazy and very hard! It took a lot of TRUST in your friends to know that they were going to catch you!

Caitlin was hesitant to fall - as her brother Jay kept whispering to everyone to let her fall to the ground... though he didn't mean it - it still makes you wonder!?!?! --> Lesson: Jay Morris is shady!

Although it was hard, every person in our group did it - and I am so proud of them!

After about 20 minutes of reassuring Lee Jr. that we would indeed catch him - and after he felt like he had reminded us enough how important it was that he didn't hit the ground, he finally TRUSTED us! :) I mean, what was the big deal... I had total confidence in Amos Barkhouse to catch the bulk of me!?

I'll be honest, it is quite an uncomfortable feeling to be standing 6 feet above the ground and falling backwards. Regardless of who is there catching you - it is still hard to stomach. Supposedly the only two people that grunted or squealed when they fell were me and Chelsey... I'm still not sure what that means...?

Lesson: Trusting sometimes takes a lot of faith. This is true with our friends - and this is definitely true with God. Proverbs encourages us in chapter 3 verses 5-6.

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways, acknowledge him and he will make your paths straight."

Much like this exercise - it went everything intuitively normal for us to lean backwards and fall - but we had to trust that our friends were going to catch and hold us. There are times in life when nothing makes sense and things go against everything intuitively normal to us... it is during these times when God calls us to trust Him and believe that He is going to catch and hold us!

[ More pictures and stories still to come! :) ]

Ten tips that will help adults when talking with young people about any tough issue (found at www.talkingwithkids.org) are:

1.      Start early

2.      Initiate the conversation

3.      Create an open dialogue

4.      Talk about sex, love and relationships

5.      Share your values

6.      Listen as much as you talk

7.      Be honest

8.      Be patient

9.      Use “teachable moments”

10.  Talk about it again and again

The Kumon method is proven.  Key facets are repetition and consistency.  Each day he receives a booklet, maths and english.  He is challenged to finish each within ten minutes and with near 100% accuracy.  At five years old, and with many months of daily practice, he is at a level where he can complete each booklet by himself.  Each page is at a level that he is comfortable with - kumon aims to provide material at an individual level free from the competitive edge of peers.  The challenge is gradual, a new word or number sequence here and there.  Most of the time he is repeating answers he has already learned and by doing so builds confidence. 

The best part for me is that it is structured.  Goals are set daily.  If I consider a learning method where I demand results and if I over-impose this method without positive engagement then the ultimate result is failure, because ultimately he disengages.  Because Kumon is repetitious and within the scope of my childs capabilities it automatically attracts his will to achieve.  The Kumon method allows my son to take ownership not only in the results, but also progress.