News for today's 2018

R.I.P.D.: D.O.A.

10:36 AM Tukiyooo 0

<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #5e5e5e; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #5e5e5e; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #5e5e5e; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #5e5e5e; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #5e5e5e; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><b><i>R.I.P.D.</i> </b></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #5e5e5e; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><b>(2013) • <a href="http://trailers.apple.com/trailers/universal/ripd/" style="color: #27a9c5; text-decoration: none;">View trailer</a></b></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #5e5e5e; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #5e5e5e; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #5e5e5e; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #5e5e5e; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><b> </b></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #5e5e5e; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #5e5e5e; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><b>Two stars. Rating: PG-13, for relentless fantasy violence, sexual candor, mild sensuality and some profanity</b></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #5e5e5e; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span></span></span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #5e5e5e; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><b>By <a href="http://www.blogger.com/profile/12885694730612878577" style="color: #27a9c5; text-decoration: none;">Derrick Bang</a></b></span></b></span></span></span></span></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>            <br /><div class="MsoNormalCxSpFirst"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This film is saddled with a salad bar script.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Start with a heaping helping from the big bowl (<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Men in Black</i>), add some variety from the mid-sized tubs (<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Ghostbusters</i>and others), top off with some dressing and a pinch of seasoning swiped from even more fantasy predecessors, and you’ve got a movie.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoSRlGOk61jq0kWEzRoLP4WcdNeiZD1WpwJwzvlsCrR3ChJiPJWzr90oGsc5rKhIHH9JCm-h_czhmvj0gMKriZmMq44NsI9HtM_KTVjCco5mf7ygN0Ltwcn_Il1wi1B-x9H8F3aPdqAFM/s1600/RIPD+blog.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="236" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoSRlGOk61jq0kWEzRoLP4WcdNeiZD1WpwJwzvlsCrR3ChJiPJWzr90oGsc5rKhIHH9JCm-h_czhmvj0gMKriZmMq44NsI9HtM_KTVjCco5mf7ygN0Ltwcn_Il1wi1B-x9H8F3aPdqAFM/s400/RIPD+blog.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">While new R.I.P.D. recruit Nick (Ryan Reynolds, center) watches from the background,<br />veteran lawman Roy (Jeff Bridges, right) and fer-shur bad guy Bobby (Kevin Bacon) try<br />to determine who can out-glare the other. Honestly, that's one of the more genuinely<br />entertaining moments in this lamentable misfire.</span></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Or that may have been the theory, anyway. I call it leftovers. Stale leftovers.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Writers Phil Hay, Matt Manfredi and David Dobkin haven’t an original idea between them; everything here is begged, borrowed or stolen from other sources (some better, some ... just familiar). The premise may have started with Peter M. Lenkov’s cheeky Dark Horse comic book series, which ran for four issues back in 1999, but it turned into something of a derivative mess en route to the big screen.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And while <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">R.I.P.D.</i> would be an unsatisfying film under any circumstances, it’s particularly tiresome during a summer laden with similarly overblown, city-leveling action fantasies. The result, for the viewer, is a serious case of Been There, Endured That.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">If Ryan Reynolds isn’t careful, he’ll squander his 15 minutes of fame. Between this and 2011’s <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Green Lantern</i>, he’ll get a reputation for destroying mid-range comic book franchises.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">At a scant 96 minutes, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">R.I.P.D.</i> certainly doesn’t linger, but director Robert Schwentke’s feverish pace borders on the ridiculous. He and editor Mark Helfrich have orchestrated a film that feels as if it’s on Benzedrine; everything comes fast and furious, the rat-a-tat cutting as breathless and frantic as <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Crank</i> or <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Run Lola Run</i>. But while atmospheric frenzy may have been a solid stylistic choice with those two flicks, here it’s just another annoying affectation ... and something else cribbed along the way.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Actually, Schwentke misses no opportunity to be irritating. He even opens his film with a fleeting, action-laced flash-forward, and then employs a brief voice-over to wind the clock back a few days, to the story’s somewhat quieter origins. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">That move is the first refuge of a nervous director who worries that he can’t hold an audience without employing tactics, and it smells of panicked, eleventh-hour tinkering. Voice-over isn’t used again — a telling sign — and we also wind up watching that opening sequence again, when the narrative catches up to it. Déjà vu, anyone?<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I’d be inclined to write this flick off as a total loss, but Jeff Bridges is too entertaining to dismiss; he makes the viewing experience genuinely worthwhile. Which — as is the case with <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">RED 2</i>, also opening today — explains why stars deserve their salaries.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Boston cop Nick Walker (Reynolds) begins the last day of his life by cuddling Julia (Stephanie Szostak), the wife he adores, and who adores him in return. She thanks him for the new little fruit tree in their back yard, unaware that Nick concealed some contraband beneath the root ball, when he planted the tree late the previous evening, in order to surprise her.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><a name='more'></a><br />  <div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But Nick has second thoughts about the assorted chunks of gold that he and partner Bobby Hayes (Kevin Bacon), ah, “liberated” from a scummy drug lord the previous day. Nick tells Bobby that he intends to file the gold as evidence, as he should have done in the first place. Despite Nick’s assurances to the contrary, Bobby can’t take the chance that Nick will implicate him, as well; during a weapons-blazing skirmish a few hours later, Bobby waits for the right moment to blast his partner to Kingdom Come.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Except, in Nick’s case, his ascent toward heaven in a funnel of light (hello, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">This Is the End</i>) is interrupted when he winds up in a sterile examination room (<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Men in Black</i>), with a crisply dressed Proctor (Mary-Louise Parker) regarding him expectantly. This, then, is Nick’s introduction to the celestial Rest In Peace Department, tasked with identifying, locating and incarcerating — or terminating — the departed nasty souls (“Dead-O’s”) who should have gone straight to Hell, but somehow managed to extend their stay on Earth’s mortal plain.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">At least, I <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">think</i> that’s why the Dead-O’s hang around. This film’s clumsy script never bothers to discuss that detail, just as it never explains why Nick has been tagged for R.I.P.D. duty. Initially, it seems as if he’s being “punished” with this 100-year assignment in a sort of constabulary Purgatory ... but why, in that case (as Proctor explains), would his new colleagues be “history’s greatest police officers”? Surely such dedicated cops wouldn’t <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">all</i> be stuck in Purgatory. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">More to the point, if Proctor and her unseen bosses upstairs in Eternal Affairs know absolutely everything about Nick, as is made clear, wouldn’t they also know about his change of heart regarding the gold stash — apparently the one “bad” move in an otherwise exemplary career — and recognize that he is, in fact, on the side of the angels? So he should have been granted access to Heaven in the first place?<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This film is littered with similar narrative inconsistencies, and they’re all annoying. Oh, and here’s a big one: Based on what we learn later, why would Bobby have left <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">any</i> of that gold in Nick’s possession?<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Sloppy, sloppy, sloppy.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">As the newbie, Nick is assigned to partner veteran lawman Roy Pulsifer (Bridges), a 19th century sheriff in the Wyatt Earp mold, who shoots first and asks questions later. Access to our workaday realm, at least for the Boston branch of the R.I.P.D., is granted via the back room of a somnambulant VCR repair shop: a direct lift from Del Floria’s tailor shop, in television’s <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Man from</i> <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">UNCLE</i>.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Rounding up Dead-O’s generally is a standard procedure that first involves penetrating their human disguises (<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Men in Black</i> again), made easy with the application of the tandoori spices prevalent in Indian cuisine. That sight gag is a minor giggle, since it reveals the undead spirit in all its putrescent, body-mangled glory.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Then, if the Dead-O is unwilling to come along peacefully, it can be snuffed into vapor via the special bullets in R.I.P.D. weapons, which emit a burst that strongly resembles the meson particle ray from a <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Ghostbusters</i>proton gun.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Oh, and in order to do their work without being detected by rank-and-file Earth civilians, R.I.P.D. officers are granted “identities” that make them look like somebody else (a note from <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Heaven Can Wait</i>). Roy’s avatar is a hot supermodel babe (Marisa Miller), while Nick is stuck looking like an elderly Chinese gentleman (the always delightful James Hong). <o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Their weapons, in turn, appear (respectively) as harmless hair dryers and bananas ... although Schwentke cuts those sight gags so abruptly, that we scarcely have time to notice.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So yes, some of this film’s running bits are reasonably amusing, as is the banter between the frustrated Nick and the gruffly condescending Roy. Indeed, Bridges plays this cowpoke-out-of-time to the hilt, his twinkling eyes and often bemused expression put to excellent use as the cranky Roy complains about losing his favorite hat, or laments the rather ghastly way in which his human life came to and end, back in the day.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This might have been a better film, had we been able to spend more time with routine Dead-O trackdowns, and the developing bond between Nick and Roy. But Schwentke and his inept scripters can’t wait to rush into their story’s central Big, Bad Catastrophe, which (naturally) involves leveling great chunks of the surrounding metropolis, much as we’ve recently seen in <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Iron Man 3</i>, and <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Star Trek Into Darkness</i>, and <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Fast & Furious 6</i>, and <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Man of Steel</i>, and <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">White House Down</i>, and <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Pacific Rim</i>, and ... you get the idea.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I’m simply exhausted. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Enough</i>, already.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Bridges’ charm and Parker’s snarky sass aren’t enough to keep this leaky ship afloat, and Reynolds brings very little to the party. Bacon makes a great villain, chewing up the scenery with a panache that this film could use more of, while Szostak makes good eye-candy as the Sexiest Wife Of All Time.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Sure, visual effects supervisor Mark Hawker’s work is polished and convincing, as are Thomas Nellen’s various Dead-O makeup effects. No doubt about it: Plenty of money was thrown onto the screen. But that’s the point; it was hurled like spaghetti onto a wall, rather than applied artfully or logically.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We cannot get emotionally involved without a rational (and consistent!) script, or characters we actually care about, and this film offers neither. Its Rest in Peace Department is no more than random pieces that fail to connect or engage.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Bridges deserved better.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And so do we.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>

R.I.P.D. (2013) • View trailer Two stars. Rating: PG-13, for relentless fantasy violence, sexual candor, mild sensuality and some profa...

Clarity

9:46 AM Tukiyooo 0

I don't generally like labels.  I'm stuck with some, more than I wish I've earned.  Thanks to <a href="http://thesubmissivewife.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Kitty</a> for enlightening me, I have a new one that I kind like in a funny way.  Shelby Cross' post <a href="http://shelbycrosswriter.blogspot.com/2013/07/why-i-need-discipline-because-no-one.html" target="_blank">I'm a dog that shits the bed</a> tells the story.  And this is in the funniest possible way so don't get all fussy about the analogy.  It's completely true.  <br /><br />Only I've crossed the line and there's poo in the bed more often than not.  And while one would want to keep the awesome dog that occasionally poo's the house, nobody wants the dog that's constantly stinking up the place with her shit.<br /><br />So I've got the pesky little ADD thing that's been slowly taking over my entire existence.  Then there's this little OCD thing that hasn't been a real issue in probably 20 years.  Both are waging battle in my head - <span style="color: blue;">Ooooh what's that? Did you hear about...? Wonder what she's doing.  Let's get lunch..</span>.  <span style="color: purple;">You're very capable and can do this perfect.  Just get organized.  Let's sort it out and make a list!  No, lets make many lists and it will all be perfect!  Clean the counter first so the lists are tidy.  Color code the lists!  It'll be so much more organized and easier that way! </span><span style="color: blue;">Did you hear that siren? I'm hungry! I'm bored and I hate being a grown up! What's for dinner? Check your email!!!!  There's too many things to do!  Lets do everything at once! I see a squirrel!</span> <span style="color: purple;">You're right.  You know you won't finish the lists anyway.  And what you get done is either wrong or will be undone as soon as you do it.  There's no point.  I quit</span>.  <span style="color: blue;">Nanna nanna boo boo, I'm the winner...  Let's go yell at somebody for something stupid!  Wooohooo lets go</span>!<br /><br />It doesn't help that hubby and I own our jobs.  Or that I'm responsible for his ability to work effectively.  Or that I have to answer to him throughout the day about what I screwed up this time.<br /><br />We're not doing the whole thing DD thing like most.  It's dawned on me  that we kind of are in our own unofficial way.  We've got very clear roles and  expectations.  No consequences though.  Well there are, I get the look  of death so often I'm starting to think that's what his face really  looks like.  Then there's some immature/sarcastic things he'll sometimes do  because they're effective (as he puts it) but it takes me days of anger  and hurt feelings before I understand what he's trying to tell me.  Communication isn't there yet.  But, he's working from the crack of cock-a-doodle-doo until well past bedtime.  Hoping when this project is done in September, we can go back to our old 50-hour work weeks and function like humans again.  So there's literally been no energy or time to invest in us as a couple.   I have high hopes it'll get better.  But anyway...<br /><br />I had my ADD & daily anxiety medications taken away a few months ago because of dangerous blood pressure.  It's normal now, meaning that one of my cocktail was causing it.  Over these last few months, I've not only become horrible at my job, I've become a terrible mother and just a person you don't want to live with.  I've been flustered and angry.  I never thought of myself as being an angry person, here I am lashing out at everyone.  To use the analogy, I'm shitting the bed all day long.  On purpose.<br /><br />Other problem is that when my ADD is out of control, everybody at work loves me.  I'm bubbly, outgoing, chatty, overly interested in their personal lives... I'm fun.  I'm the boss and I"m not letting them do their jobs.  But darn it, it's fun and I like to have fun!<br /><br />My shrink moved to a new practice. Because of a no-compete agreement with his previous employer, he's not allowed to see me for a year. I was devastated by this originally, now I'm seeing the light. <br /><br />New shrink in place.  I hate her and won't go back.  But we did talk about medicine.  I need it.  No matter how much I try to deny it.  Being stubborn against myself punishes me and everyone around me.  I have a problem and it has to be treated.  Sometimes treatments cause side effects.  My blood pressure can be dealt with if it becomes a problem again. <br /><br />I've been staring at the medicine, toying with the idea of taking it for a while now.  I finally bit the bullet yesterday morning and took it. <br /><br />It's supposed to take days-weeks to notice a difference.  I felt lighter by the afternoon.  Not like "everything's all better" kind of thing.  I just feel better.  Settled.  Peace negotiations have begun between my conflicting inner thoughts.  Calmer headed.  Not angry at all.  Organized in a good way.  I have a game plan for slowly digging myself out of my hole.  So stupid that I can't just do things without someone/something making me do them.  Oh well.  Things are going to get much better now!

Clarity

I don't generally like labels. I'm stuck with some, more than I wish I've earned. Thanks to Kitty for enlightening me, I have...

Worst Architect in the World?

9:30 AM Tukiyooo 0

I never thought I'd be posting a photo of somebody taking a shower, but <a href="http://www.architectmagazine.com/marketing/new-old-spice-ad-the-worst-architect-in-the-world.aspx">Architect Magazine's item about a soap commercial</a> with "the Worst Architect in the World" prompted me to do just that. I'll admit that for most of the 18-second commercial the guy is more of a contractor than an architect, but by the time we see why he's the worst, it goes by so quickly it's hard to see just how many screwy things are going on. So here's a screenshot:<br /><br /><a href="http://www.blogger.com/www.architectmagazine.com/marketing/new-old-spice-ad-the-worst-architect-in-the-world.aspx"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-Nzj_RVnFgGcO1g3Ta8GGE3jeFnbhQbJR6sdNveiupoP85XTmXILuj7xmxcHyCiTQYMugsjgsrvM2SDGbGtYxxjMbibYOSS6LFRTzEJHxnxIYzJ4k7_Ik_FoSmT-g6oOUvbSrffz7_loa/s1600/worst-architect.jpg" /></a><br />[Screenshot via <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k74ZbpkOG5M">YouTube</a>]<br /><br />Check out the commercial via the links above and comment below why this guy might be the worst architect in the world.

Worst Architect in the World?

I never thought I'd be posting a photo of somebody taking a shower, but Architect Magazine's item about a soap commercial with &quo...

NC lawmakers attack voting rights

9:29 AM Tukiyooo 0

The corporate-owned North Carolina Legislature is up to its dirty tricks again. This time, it is trying to take the vote away from its working-class political opponents.<br /><br /><a href="http://abclocal.go.com/wtvd/story?section=news/politics&id=9177237&pt=print">Senate Republicans unveiled</a> a <a href="http://www.ncga.state.nc.us/sessions/2013/H589/H589-CSLB-110-v-6.pdf">voter suppression bill</a> yesterday that would cut hundreds of thousands of citizens from the rolls. And -- wait for it -- a sizable majority of them are registered Democrats. The legislation would not allow student, county or municipal government identification to be used for verification purposes. Nor would public assistance photo IDs or public employee IDs be acceptable either.<br /><br />Why are such changes necessary? Could it be the two voter impersonation prosecutions between 2000 and 2010? No? The answer is all in the state's <a href="http://www.thenation.com/blog/175345/north-carolina-republicans-push-harsh-new-voter-id-law#axzz2ZQTtDplS">numbers</a>:<br /><blockquote class="tr_bq">316,000 registered voters don’t have state-issued ID; 34 percent are  African-American and 55 percent are registered Democrats. Of the 138,000 voters  without ID who cast a ballot in the 2012 election, 36 percent were  African-American and 59 registered percent Democrats. The new draft of the bill  does not allow student IDs for voting, and would charge $10 to obtain an ID  unless a voter signs a form saying they cannot afford it under penalty of  perjury, making it among the most restrictive laws in the country.</blockquote>Taking away the voting rights of the 99 percent who challenge corporate power has long been part of the master plan at <a href="http://www.alecexposed.org/">American Legislative Exchange Council</a> (ALEC). ALEC, the escort service connecting politicians and corporation,has a friend in <a href="http://teamsternation.blogspot.com/2013/02/heres-billionaire-trying-to-destroy.html">Art Pope</a>, North Carolina's budget director. Pope helped bankroll the campaign of Gov. Pat McCrory and many Republican legislators behind the voter suppression effort.<br /><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYNG7LjsQT8fvj8oS-VG57pngCgXWB_bLmXeEkBVX9G13Kw9L7gJWpubaWGTgx1h7Xwa1NOiJQ96UfpC2gq94EXLw45s8ByBZ_RPgRm-K2uhXtmAMpmCKRGwTJRDjycve9KreqfOVHgNnv/s1600/moral+monday.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="112" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYNG7LjsQT8fvj8oS-VG57pngCgXWB_bLmXeEkBVX9G13Kw9L7gJWpubaWGTgx1h7Xwa1NOiJQ96UfpC2gq94EXLw45s8ByBZ_RPgRm-K2uhXtmAMpmCKRGwTJRDjycve9KreqfOVHgNnv/s320/moral+monday.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">11 Moral Monday protests, 800 arrests.</td></tr></tbody></table><br />With Pope pulling the strings, North Carolina is turning into an ALEC paradise as lawmakers pass bills to <span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 16.89px;">punish the unemployed, eradicate public education, oppress women, raise taxes on the poor and working class and eliminate environmental protections. A huge backlash is building with weekly <a href="http://teamsternation.blogspot.com/2013/07/nc-turns-against-gop-as-moral-monday.html">Moral Monday</a> protests that attract thousands of North Carolinians and massive arrests for civil disobedience. More than 800 citizens have taken arrests to protest the assault on working people. </span><br /><br />Look for North Carolina's lawmakers to suppress voting rights in other ways -- by slashing early voting, ending same-day voter registration and penalizing the parents of students who vote where they go to college. And look for more arrests.

NC lawmakers attack voting rights

The corporate-owned North Carolina Legislature is up to its dirty tricks again. This time, it is trying to take the vote away from its worki...

Will You To Try These Absurd Ways To Lose Weight

9:05 AM Tukiyooo 0

<div style='font-style:italic;' class='uawbyline'>By Natalgia Rysen</div><br /><br />  <div class='uawarticle'>Weight loss definitely seems to be of the routine of a lot of people today. Because of this more and more men and women get themselves involved in a few form of diet plan or work out. Some even go through extremes (yes more intense than using <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Arganesque-Moroccan-Argan-Hair-Treatment/dp/B00C8G2VLK">Argan oil</a> regimens through <a href="http://www.amazon.com/shops/lyfeandstyle">Argan oil products</a>), seeking even the most absurd techniques just to lose those unwanted weight.<br />  <br />  Mount a Mirror on the Wall<br />  <br />  A mirror places in front of you when you eat can help decrease the amount of food that you eat at each meal as found out by one research. While shedding pounds every person has their own individual goal and standard. When you meet eye to eye with your reflection in the mirror seems to remind us of our targets and ideas, allowing us all to eat much less.<br />  <br />  Take a Snapshot of Your Meals<br />  <br />  A lot of people going through weight loss objective seek to add up every calorie that they have. It's been discovered that among the best way to make us aware of what we eat is by capturing pictures of it. In this way the individual will become much more conscious of precisely what they have ingested for the day. The cellphone camera be a great help in this quest. In this way you will get personal action in reducing your appetite.<br />  <br />  Try Sniffing at an Apple, Banana, as well as Peppermint<br />  <br />  This has probably never crossed your thoughts but one study conducted by the Smell & Taste Treatment and Research Foundation, Chicago can help curb your diet. They have found out that sniffing with greater regularity such meals mentioned made people much less starving. This will aid an individual consume less and lose weight faster. Sniffing more often is likely to trick the brain into thinking that they are actually ingesting the foodstuff, as one concept suggested.<br />  <br />  Blue as an Appetite Suppressant<br />  <br />  Nearly all takeaway food chains paint their establishments with colors of yellow, red, and orange, but not blue. Many experts have discovered that the color blue acts as an appetite suppressant and that the other colors described serves as an appetite stimulant. So while losing weight try to have blue plates, tablecloth, kitchen table napkins, saucers, among others.<br />  <br />  The Bows Around the Waist<br />  <br />  Some people solely usually float away while on the dinning table and soon they end up consuming more than normal. So as to keep ourselves reminded of our objective and steer clear of having carried away eating. Tie a bow on your waist within that dress or even top before heading to the dinner table. It's going to maintain a close guard how much all of us eat, specially that it gets tighter as the person feeds more.<br />  <br />  </div><br />  <div class='uawresource'><br />  	<div style='font-style:italic;' class='uawabout'><br />  		About the Author:<br />  	</div><br />  	<div class='uawlinks'>Beauty is both inside and out. That's why Natalgia Rysen strongly recommends a healthy diet and a healthy way of life. Of course, it will be far better if you pair it with organic products such as <a href="http://ArganEsque.com">Argan Esque</a> that is widely recognized in <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Arganesque-Moroccan-Argan-Hair-Treatment/product-reviews/B00C8G2VLK/">Argan oil reviews</a> today.</div><br />  </div><br />

Will You To Try These Absurd Ways To Lose Weight

By Natalgia Rysen Weight loss definitely seems to be of the routine of a lot of people today. Because of this more and more men and wome...

Treadmills 101 - What You Need To Know

7:54 AM Tukiyooo 0

<div style='font-style:italic;' class='uawbyline'>By Staci Taylor</div><br /><br />  <div class='uawarticle'>Need For Exercise<br />  <br />  Today's times are becoming more sophisticated and high-tech every second, but the same can't be said for health in general. If you would like your overall health to peak to desirable levels, though, then you have to exercise. If you find it hard to add regular fitness and workout into your hectic schedule, a treadmill at home can offer the flexibility of exercising whenever best. Start searching for some <a href="http://saratimmons.designshuffle.com/blog/2013/06/27/trendy-ways-to-stay-fit/">treadmill reviews</a> for some fitness ideas.<br />  <br />  Advantages Of Treadmills<br />  <br />  What sets the treadmill apart from other equipment is its ease of use-simply hop on it, and you're all set. Such cardio-intensive exercise allows you to shed more calories than a cycling machine or other gym workouts. Depending on your objective, there is a treadmill program for you whether you wish to build some muscle or just boost your endurance. If you want to adopt a healthier, fitter lifestyle, the treadmill is the right equipment for you.<br />  <br />  Common Treadmill Features<br />  <br />  Speed adjustment is a basic and important feature on treadmills. Other basic features include those that let you adjust and vary your workouts as per your health goal. These treadmill features also make workouts exciting and motivate you to continue exercising regularly.<br />  <br />  Modern treadmills have many inbuilt workout programs. The feature works simply: just select the program that corresponds to your health goal, and you're good to go. You don't need to think about changing your speed and incline while you exercise because the machine does the modifications itself. You even have complete control on how you want the adjustments to come, be it gradual or in a set manner.<br />  <br />  Some workouts are meant to control heart rate together with a heart rate monitor. This monitor should be clipped to your body or gripped in your hand. Clipping your monitor to your body offers a much better reading, though, something that treadmills of more modern make have in common. This means that, it can track your cardiovascular fitness level and the intensity of your exercise routine.<br />  <br />  Spare yourself the hassle of entering your personal exercise settings by saving them in the treadmill's built-in memory. This is a useful feature especially if you're not utilizing your own treadmill. Modern treadmills also have the power to keep your exercise history and past fitness levels, perfect for pacifying your obsessive-compulsive side.<br />  <br />  One high-tech feature that makes treadmills exciting workout venues is the iFit Live. In this situation, you can prepare for an event without ever leaving the comforts of your own home. With the iFit Compete Live course, you can pit yourself against other treadmill users training on similar course. For this to function, you only need a treadmill compatible with iFit Live and an Internet connection. Manufacturers realize mixing exercise with entertainment, so they added full-color touch screens and music-playing capabilities on their treadmills to suit this requirement.<br />  <br />  The Different Parts Of A Treadmill<br />  <br />  The very core of the treadmill is its conveyor belt. This belt moves backwards over rollers, so you need to move forward while adapting your walk, jog or run to suit the speed of the belt and prevent falling off. The belt is fitted into a running deck that stretches into the frame of the machine and supports your entire body weight. You may increase or decrease the deck's position as needed. This increases your workout's intensity level and adds variety.<br />  <br />  Damping elements are put under the deck to help in shock absorption. A cushioned belt minimizes the jarring effect on your feet while moving; the tension in the cushioning can be adjusted for your comfort and ease and resistance requirement. It's safe to assume the motor, belt, deck, and rollers are every treadmill's body, heart, and soul.<br />  <br />  You can fold the treadmill frames back or not. The foldable variety are more suitable for home gyms where room is limited. Foldable treadmills, with the deck meeting the arms when folded up, are all about being compact. These strong, compact units often come with a heftier price tag than other models. Non-foldable platform treadmills are excellent for personal training studios, because the treadmills here are constantly in use and need to withstand a lot of wear and tear.<br />  <br />  The Kinds Of Treadmills<br />  <br />  Treadmills are also classified as per the user and particular health purpose. A treadmill made only for walking will be less expensive than a jogger's treadmill; a running treadmill will be the most expensive. More body weight may cause more impact and wear on the treadmill; it needs a much more powerful motor to aid heavy users and thus comes at a more expensive price. Bring your height into play also when selecting among the treadmill models. Will the treadmill be used by a single person only, or will it be a household affair? If the treadmill is for many individuals, opt for the more strong units that can endure the daily wear and tear.<br />  <br />  Conclusion<br />  <br />  Fitness enthusiasts will agree: a treadmill is an important health arsenal in every single home. Yet there are factors to consider before buying one for your needs. Often-overlooked factors include the space at home and the types of treadmill users. Give consideration to your budget too, and when you find a model that most closely fits those criteria, take it!<br />  <br />  </div><br />  <div class='uawresource'><br />  	<div style='font-style:italic;' class='uawabout'><br />  		About the Author:<br />  	</div><br />  	<div class='uawlinks'>Shopping for the perfect workout system is often a tough task. <a href="https://www.apsense.com/article/trendy-workout-options.html">Smooth Fitness treadmill reviews</a> are an excellent area to start. Read up on what people have said and you'll see that these products are top of their class.</div><br />  </div><br />

Treadmills 101 - What You Need To Know

By Staci Taylor Need For Exercise Today's times are becoming more sophisticated and high-tech every second, but the same can'...

Top Three Factors Why Playing Sports Could Help Complement The Program Of A Personal Trainer In Newport Beach

7:54 AM Tukiyooo 0

<div style='font-style:italic;' class='uawbyline'>By Brandon Watkins</div><br /><br />  <div class='uawarticle'>An exercise program should include cardiovascular exercises, weight-lifting workouts, and healthy diet. Each has its important functions to maintain a healthy mind and body. An excellent personal trainer in Newport Beach will tell you that cardio exercises increase your heart. They help lower your blood pressure, burn more calories, and make your heart and lungs get stronger.<br />  <br />  Weight-lifting exercises, on the other hand, firm up your muscles, strengthen your bones, and also help in weight loss, as more muscles equates more calories burned throughout the day.<br />  <br />  A personal trainer in Newport Beach is going to tell you that exercise alone wouldn't make you fit. You have to complement it with the proper diet and the right amount of calories to be consumed in a day.<br />  <br />  Exercising in Newport Beach<br />  <br />  Newport Beach is a lovely city with breathtaking view of the ocean. The weather is very suitable for outdoor sport activities. It's generally sunny but cool all throughout the year. To employ a personal trainer is quite effective in helping you be a better player in your chosen sport.<br />  <br />  Here are the top three reasons why playing sports can help complement the program of a personal trainer in Newport Beach:<br />  <br />  * Sport exercises improve mental functions.<br />  <br />  One of the top three reasons why playing sports can help complement the program of a personal trainer in Newport Beach is that sport activities increase the level of serotonin in a person's body. It is a chemical known to reduce the risk of depression. Regular exercise helps in the balance of the level of serotonin. If you become active in sports, not only do you get fitter, but you get to develop new friendships to make you a balanced person - socially and physically.<br />  <br />  * Sport exercises improve stamina.<br />  <br />  Stamina is defined as an ability to resist fatigue, challenges, and illness. Strenuous sport activities help build your stamina and become a stronger person.<br />  <br />  One of the top three reasons why playing sports can help complement the program of a personal trainer in Newport Beach is for improved stamina and endurance. Improved stamina can make you exercise more in the gym and this will make you stronger and have leaner muscles.<br />  <br />  Sport activities would increase your stamina for they involve a continuous and repetitive motion for a period of time. As you increase the level of your stamina through sports, you can last longer in a training program in a gym. You become fitter, stronger, and more vigorous.<br />  <br />  * Sports lower the risk of heart disease.<br />  <br />  Any type of a sport activity - be it running, surfing, or cycling - is a form of a cardiovascular exercise. It has many benefits like reducing the risk of heart disease when done on a regular basis. It also deters the onset or completely prevents diabetes.<br />  <br />  One of the top three reasons why playing sports can help complement the program of a personal trainer in Newport Beach is that sport activities increase the level of serotonin in a person's body. It is a chemical known to reduce the risk of depression. Regular exercise helps in the balance of the level of serotonin. If you become active in sports, not only do you get fitter, but you get to develop new friendships to make you a balanced person - socially and physically.<br />  <br />  Stated previously are the top 3 reasons why playing sports can help complement the program of a personal trainer in Newport Beach and train you to get stronger mentally and physically.<br />  <br />  </div><br />  <div class='uawresource'><br />  	<div style='font-style:italic;' class='uawabout'><br />  		About the Author:<br />  	</div><br />  	<div class='uawlinks'>Getting in good shape with the aid of <a href="https://plus.google.com/116618666336536176190/about">great site</a> not just boosts your physique but also your health too. The benefits that you can obtain from <a href="http://www.theperfectworkout.com/personal-trainer-newport-beach/">front page</a> are countless.</div><br />  </div><br />

Top Three Factors Why Playing Sports Could Help Complement The Program Of A Personal Trainer In Newport Beach

By Brandon Watkins An exercise program should include cardiovascular exercises, weight-lifting workouts, and healthy diet. Each has its ...

Augusta Library Board elects new president

7:52 AM Tukiyooo 0

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjogmW3ZuDdXhNnu-8wv67z2qJw_EomMGteWc2E6MMRn4mzgQmEiIA6KSPQX7lBavN2dQkPrOdvT0k4ESDqybkzmzrmSY9ItDa0PubsGp44Fcv_8Wa1kFEcrLDloPj7f8qGeJQ3tHOcBOg/s1600/2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjogmW3ZuDdXhNnu-8wv67z2qJw_EomMGteWc2E6MMRn4mzgQmEiIA6KSPQX7lBavN2dQkPrOdvT0k4ESDqybkzmzrmSY9ItDa0PubsGp44Fcv_8Wa1kFEcrLDloPj7f8qGeJQ3tHOcBOg/s400/2.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>Craigsville branch of the Augusta County Library.</i></div><br />A seasoned member of the <a href="http://www.augustacountylibrary.org/node/13">Augusta County Library Board</a> has been elected as president to lead the organization through the 2013-14 year.<br /><br />Mr. Terry Sumey, who represents the South River District and has 22 years of experience on the board, was elected president at the bi-monthly meeting held Thursday night at Pasture District's Craigsville branch. Frank Deckert, Riverheads representative, was re-elected vice president.<br /><br />Board members welcomed a new colleague, Betsy Curry, appointed by Supervisor Marshall Pattie to replace Marsha Elliott, who moved out of the county, as representative of the North River District.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCNYKRPwWEY-vQ0xCGYyzB0rhXqF__NfjxD64_iisgugA8nz-BhuIJyKJmlkVp2ExcHamdQ3020ifdHKsURsQdihzvoCyfSFXGCy_M5WeCSV4IZSFNBIGpcYTVJRPXb1VY33Uw1UkpdeB2/s1600/1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCNYKRPwWEY-vQ0xCGYyzB0rhXqF__NfjxD64_iisgugA8nz-BhuIJyKJmlkVp2ExcHamdQ3020ifdHKsURsQdihzvoCyfSFXGCy_M5WeCSV4IZSFNBIGpcYTVJRPXb1VY33Uw1UkpdeB2/s400/1.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />Craigsville's library branch is an example of how the community comes together to help with projects that have seen cuts to budgets the past few years. Wood for shelves was donated by Blue Ridge Lumber in Fishersville, and the craftsmanship was by Frank Jolly at the nearby Augusta Correctional Center.<br /><br />Photos by Lynn R. Mitchell<br />July 18, 2013

Augusta Library Board elects new president

Augusta Correctional Center Augusta County Library Blue Ridge Lumber Craigsville Library Frank Deckert Frank Jolly Pastures District Terry Sumey Tom Sheets Augusta Library Board elects new president

Craigsville branch of the Augusta County Library. A seasoned member of the Augusta County Library Board has been elected as president to le...

Summer clothes

7:50 AM Tukiyooo 0

<span style="font-size: large;">I've always wondered what it is like to work and live in a hot country.  While Ireland is going through this mini heat wave I'm finding out what it is like.</span><br /><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">Here's what I discovered:</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">1. Working in a building with no AC is not fun when temps go up to 80.</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">2. Finding clothes that keep you cool but look professional can be a struggle. Today I am wearing a light blouse, a cotton skirt and sandals.</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">3. It's a good idea to take a cold drink with you for the 40 min commute home in a black car that's been sitting in the sun all day.</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">4.  When taking your coffee break outside you should wear sunscreen.</span></div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfjxm_5tVKnOPyP7eqDhyphenhyphendZRHojH_5PONZNDIJfAX3Wc6km9SD8yHYvD8tGEa7H0FZRDSimwjWbkOznVjEtdFRTxSasNYRBxwUC70RP9yGdUxyA0PkDyHpWHjE_mVibH0Eshv3DbNu_UeQ/s640/blogger-image--559236927.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfjxm_5tVKnOPyP7eqDhyphenhyphendZRHojH_5PONZNDIJfAX3Wc6km9SD8yHYvD8tGEa7H0FZRDSimwjWbkOznVjEtdFRTxSasNYRBxwUC70RP9yGdUxyA0PkDyHpWHjE_mVibH0Eshv3DbNu_UeQ/s640/blogger-image--559236927.jpg" /></a></div><br /></div>

Summer clothes

I've always wondered what it is like to work and live in a hot country. While Ireland is going through this mini heat wave I'm find...

Exercise Secrets Coming From A Celebrity Personal Trainer Palo Alto

7:33 AM Tukiyooo 0

<div style='font-style:italic;' class='uawbyline'>By Michael Petry</div><br /><br />  <div class='uawarticle'>Are you aware that Palo Alto, California houses some of the most noteworthy personalities around the world? The likes of William Ackerman, James Franco and Terri Hatcher actually are living on this city which is part of the Santa Clara County.<br />  <br />  For this reason, you'll find a lot of celebrity personal trainer Palo Alto. These fitness trainers have trained a number of Hollywood's biggest stars and are known for their exceptional abilities. If you are looking for ways on how to shed off those pounds in the most effective way possible, then consider these workout secrets coming from a celebrity trainer that's based in Palo Alto.<br />  <br />  Work Out Early In The Morning<br />  <br />  Madonna, Jessica Simpson, Jennifer Lopez and Gwyneth Paltrow agree that watching TV while running on the treadmill will distract you in the treadmill, thus, you can no longer keep your focus on your workout. This is the reason why the celebrity personal trainer Palo Alto will often discourage his clients to place a television set right in front of a treadmill machine which most people often do. The TV is a major distraction and you will not realize that you are not actually burning as much calories as you should while running on the treadmill.<br />  <br />  Work Out Early In The Morning<br />  <br />  Cameron Diaz, Lucy Liu and Christina Applegate are just a few celebrities who have proven that working out early in the morning can effectively shed off those pounds. According to the personal trainer Palo Alto, if you wake up early in the morning to work out, you will be able to boost your metabolism more effectively, thus, helping you to shed off those excess pounds faster. So set your alarm as early as five in the morning and exercise as much as you can.<br />  <br />  Always Give Yourself A Break<br />  <br />  Your muscles will be able to build up better if you allocate some downtime in your workout exercises. Although celebrities are often seen almost every day at the gym, they actually give some few days off to rest from their workout routines. This is because a personal trainer Palo Alto believes that the muscles would react better if they are put to rest. Working out just five to six times a week is better. In fact, alternating the days in a week is ideal for those who do not need to shed off quite a lot of pounds and just want to maintain their current body weight.<br />  <br />  Hollywood celebrities and fashion models definitely have the best bodies in the world. And even though a number of them are just fortunate enough to be born with good genes, other people actually work hard in the gym just to achieve the type of body that they want. So remember that having a sexy and fit body will require a lot of effort on your part and of course, a bit of help from your fitness instructor too. Hire the best personal trainer Palo Alto now in order to achieve a body as sexy as your favorite celebrity.<br />  <br />  </div><br />  <div class='uawresource'><br />  	<div style='font-style:italic;' class='uawabout'><br />  		About the Author:<br />  	</div><br />  	<div class='uawlinks'>Becoming in excellent shape by using the aid of <a href="http://www.theperfectworkout.com/personal-trainer-palo-alto/">Personal Trainer Palo Alto</a> not just boosts your own entire body but furthermore your health too. The advantages that you can get from <a href="http://www.theperfectworkout.com/personal-trainer-moraga/">Personal Trainer Moraga</a> are limitless.</div><br />  </div><br />

Exercise Secrets Coming From A Celebrity Personal Trainer Palo Alto

By Michael Petry Are you aware that Palo Alto, California houses some of the most noteworthy personalities around the world? The likes o...

RESULTS ARE IN! 1 month weigh in!

6:09 AM Tukiyooo 0

RESULTS ARE IN! 1 month weigh in!

Here it is, the 1 month (4 complete weeks) weigh in on Belviq. Go back to the 1 week weigh in blog post, can't you see a difference?? A...

Dottie's Weight Reduction: A Concept For All Women Of All Ages

4:46 AM Tukiyooo 0

<div style='font-style:italic;' class='uawbyline'>By Adam Thicke</div><br /><br />  <div class='uawarticle'>Any woman out there, who is having difficulties with weight problems, should know about Dottie Coon. She will be connected with all women out there, who are battling the bulge at this moment. Dottie's weight loss is the genuine story about a lady who faced a multitude of difficulties to lose the extra quantity of weight that she had. She lost a total of 105.5 lbs. Dottie carries on to preserve that reducing weight and keeping it off, carries on to become an ongoing war. Sound familiar? The primary point that Dottie tries to obtain across to her followers is the fact that reducing weight is really a way of life change and never a diet plan.<br />  <br />  Many of us have similar stories about weight loss struggles. A few of us may even come to a point exactly where we are searching for a magic capsule.<br />  <br />  Dottie's weight reduction tale started 1998, when she enrolled in Excess weight Watchers program and point method. To monitor her development she began Dottie's Weight reduction Zone along with a website filled with a lot of info. Guests to the website can discover recipes, calorie counters, cafe listings, photo albums, Dotti's journey, meals lists, healthy lifestyle suggestions and a lot more. This website can be utilized along with factors method. All the groundwork has been carried out by Dottie.<br />  <br />  She has compiled all the dietary data for eating places across the U.S. and Canada. This may help you select healthier meals options and also permit you to definitely preselect your meals choices around the internet. On her internet site, you can also discover a weight reduction support buddy. All that is needed, register at no cost, and the site can help you find an assistance person close to where you reside. There is also a live chat room function where you are able to get all information about Dottie's weight loss. This is a beneficial tool, for all those women who are around the verge on bringing and are in need of immediate assistance. Visitors to the website can also sign up to get a totally free newsletter, which contains weight reduction guidance, recipes, nutrition info and extra assistance.<br />  <br />  Dotti has impressed numerous ladies and carries on to be the source of inspiration for ladies today. If you are utilizing the Excess weight Watcher's stage system, along-side Dotti's web site, your weight reduction experience will be much simpler.<br />  <br />  Excess weight dropping will bring many positive modifications into your life, such as a much better, healthier, and much more stunning you and it is high time to get impressed from Dottie's weight loss and consider the first step towards a healthier lifestyle.<br />  <br />  </div><br />  <div class='uawresource'><br />  	<div style='font-style:italic;' class='uawabout'><br />  		About the Author:<br />  	</div><br />  	<div class='uawlinks'>Any time you honestly would like to lose unwanted weight and would like to follow <a href="http://ewalktc.com/dotties-weight-loss-an-inspiration-for-all-women/">dotties weight loss</a> method, Kindly check out this site to understand more about fat loss.</div><br />  </div><br />

Dottie's Weight Reduction: A Concept For All Women Of All Ages

By Adam Thicke Any woman out there, who is having difficulties with weight problems, should know about Dottie Coon. She will be connecte...

U.S. House schedule for Friday, July 19, 2013

4:00 AM Tukiyooo 0

<a href="http://majorityleader.gov/">From Majority Leader Eric Cantor....</a><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><u><b>FRIDAY, JULY 19TH </b></u><br />                                On Friday, the House will meet at 9:00 a.m. for legislative business. <br />                                First and last votes expected: 10:30 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><b>One Minute Speeches</b><br /><br />                                 <b>Complete Consideration of <a href="http://republicanleaderforms.house.gov/Components/Redirect/r.aspx?ID=349132-6846703" target="_blank">H.R. 5</a></b> - Student Success Act, Rules Committee Print (Structured Rule) <br />                                <i>(Sponsored by Rep. John Kline / Education and the Workforce Committee)</i><br />                                 <blockquote>                                The Rule provides for no further general debate and makes in order the following remaining amendments:<br />                                 </blockquote><blockquote><blockquote>                                <b>Rep. John Culberson Amendment </b>(10 minutes of debate)<br />                                <b>Reps. Fitzpatrick / Meehan Amendment</b> (10 minutes of debate)<br />                                <b>Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee Amendment #24</b> (10 minutes of debate) <br />                                <b>Reps. Cantor / Bishop Amendment</b> (10 minutes of debate)<br />                                <b>Rep. George Miller Substitute Amendment </b>(20 minutes of debate)<br />                                 </blockquote></blockquote><b>Special Order Speeches</b><br /><br />                                 <div style="text-align: center;"><u><b>COMMITTEE ACTIVITY OF THE DAY</b></u><br />                                Natural Resources Subcommittee on Public Lands and Environmental Regulation hearing on “<a href="http://republicanleaderforms.house.gov/Components/Redirect/r.aspx?ID=349133-6846703" target="_blank">Public Lands and Environmental Regulations Legislation</a>” (Friday, July 19th, at 9:00 a.m.)</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><a href="http://republicanleaderforms.house.gov/Components/Redirect/r.aspx?ID=349134-6846703" target="_blank">Printable PDF</a>

Congress Eric Cantor U.S. House of Representatives U.S. House schedule for Friday, July 19, 2013

From Majority Leader Eric Cantor.... FRIDAY, JULY 19TH On Friday, the House will meet at 9:00 a.m. for legis...

Today's Teamster News, 07.19.13

3:13 AM Tukiyooo 0

<a href="http://www.tradereform.org/2013/07/korus-has-cost-the-united-states-40000-jobs/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=korus-has-cost-the-united-states-40000-jobs">KORUS Has Cost the United States 40,000 Jobs</a>  Economic Policy Institute   ...While KORUS has already hurt the U.S. economy, the Trans-Pacific Partnership and an upcoming trade agreement with the European Union could further increase the threat of rapidly growing trade deficits and job losses...<br /><a href="http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887323993804578611940638603204.html">J.P. Morgan Staring at Record Fine Over Energy</a>  Wall Street Journal   ...Bank Set to Pay Hundreds of Millions of Dollars Over Allegations of Electricity-Market Manipulation...<br /><a href="http://www.salon.com/2013/07/17/stop_subsidizing_partner/">Enough subsidizing CEOs’ insane salaries!</a> (opinion)  Salon   ...Part of our income taxes helps pay for sky-high executive compensation, and it needs to stop...<br /><a href="http://bangordailynews.com/2013/07/17/news/penobscot/railroad-union-negotiating-with-montreal-maine-and-atlantic-says-one-man-train-crews-unsafe/">One-man train crews are unsafe, says union negotiating with Montreal, Maine and Atlantic Railway</a>  Bangor Daily News   ...“We have always been and continue to be opposed to one-man trains,” said Mike Twombly, vice president of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen, on Monday. “We have opposed it and tried to negotiate it out [of union contracts] but Mr. Burkhardt [Montreal, Maine and Atlantic Railway Chairman Edward Burkhardt] was equally vehement...<br /><a href="http://www.njherald.com/story/22868484/ap-sources-deal-on-student-loans-would-set-cap">Senators reach deal on student loans</a>  Associated Press   ...Heading off a costly increase for returning college students, a bipartisan group of senators reached a deal Wednesday that would offer students better rates on their loans this fall but perhaps assign higher rates in coming years...<br /><a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/2013/07/18/a8db3f0e-efe6-11e2-bed3-b9b6fe264871_story.html">Detroit goes bankrupt, largest municipal filing in U.S. history</a>  Washington Post   ...Detroit filed the largest municipal bankruptcy in the nation’s history Thursday, marking a new low in a long decline that has left the U.S. automaking capital bleeding residents and revenue, while rendering city services a mess...<br /><a href="http://online.wsj.com/article/APad106ffcb0f7486bb482f3ecb77eefbc.html">OSHA cites Ford's Buffalo plant over asbestos</a>  Associated Press   ...Federal safety officials have cited Ford Motor Co.'s Buffalo-area plant for alleged asbestos violations. The Labor Department's Occupational Safety and Health Administration has proposed fines of $41,800...<br /><a href="http://www.eastvalleytribune.com/article_a4988cb2-ef28-11e2-886b-001a4bcf887a.html">Arizona lawmaker works to keep new voting laws intact</a>  Capitol Media Services   ...Calling a referendum drive misleading, state Sen. Michele Reagan, R-Scottsdale, has launched a campaign to keep voters from overturning extensive changes made by the Republican-controlled legislature to voting laws. Reagan wants to collect funds to counter the petition drive to force a public vote on the provisions of HB 2305...<br /><a href="http://nwlaborpress.org/2013/07/unions-see-mixed-results-in-2013-legislative-session/">Unions see results in 2013 legislative session</a>  NW Labor Press   ...The Oregon Legislature wrapped up what — for organized labor — was a moderately successful session. With Democratic majorities in the House and Senate, legislators passed a law barring public sector union-busting, closed a loophole in the state prevailing wage law, and approved hundreds of millions of dollars in new construction and infrastructure spending...<br /><a href="http://www.abc6.com/story/22868869/rhode-island-to-let-certain-day-care-workers-join-unions">Rhode Island to let certain day care workers join unions</a>  ABC6 News   ...Certain child care workers in Rhode Island will now be able to join unions. The law signed by Gov. Chafee, allows home–based day care workers – who get state subsidies, to negotiate for better pay and benefits. Chafee says it will lead to better trained day care workers...<br /><a href="http://projects.newsobserver.com/node/28035">McCrory signs anti-union bill pushed by construction industry</a>  News & Observer   ...North Carolina’s Gov. Pat McCrory (R) on Wednesday signed an anti-union bill that prohibits government entities from requiring contractors to sign a project labor agreement (PLA) or other agreements with labor unions as a condition for performing work on public construction projects...<br /><a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/james-p-hoffa/congress-shouldnt-outsour_b_3618561.html">Hoffa: Congress Shouldn't Outsource Its Trade Negotiating Authority</a>  Huffington Post   ...The looming Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) is potentially the biggest so-called "free trade" agreement in the world. And you've probably never heard about it. TPP negotiations are being held in secret. Right now. Behind closed doors...<br /><a href="http://www.teamster.org/content/teamsters-applaud-senate-confirmation-tom-perez-labor-secretary">Teamsters Applaud Senate Confirmation of Tom Perez for Labor Secretary</a>  IBT ...The Teamsters Union applauds the Senate’s confirmation of Thomas Perez for Labor Secretary in a vote held yesterday. Teamsters General President Jim Hoffa praised Senate Leader Harry Reid for pushing for the compromise with Republican Senators that led to the 54-46 vote for confirmation...<br /><a href="http://www.ble-t.org/pr/news/newsflash.asp?id=5457">New Agreement For PHL Railroad Employees</a>  BLET   ...BLET operating and maintenance of way members, working on the Pacific Harbor Line railroad have ratified a new, five-year agreement...<br /><a href="http://www.teamster.org/content/chicagoland-religious-leaders-call-dignity-memorial-resume-good-faith-negotiations">Chicagoland Religious Leaders Call On Dignity Memorial To Resume Good Faith Negotiations</a>  IBT   ...Rev. Thomas Mulcrone, Chaplain of the Chicago Fire Department, Metropolitan Iakovos and Bishop Demetrios of Mokissos of the Greek Orthodox Metropolis of Chicago and Bishop Timothy Lyne and Rev. John Boivin of Chicago’s Holy Name Cathedral have joined 46 other area clergy to call upon Service Corporation International to resume negotiations with striking funeral directors and drivers...<br /><a href="http://www.teamster.org/content/ble-photographs-convention-badges-and-other-historical-items-display">BLET Photographs, Convention Badges And Other Historical Items On Display</a>  IBT   ...There are membership cards, caps, photographs and more on temporary display at the Teamsters Union headquarters, Washington, D.C., from the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen (BLET)...

Today's Teamster News, 07.19.13

KORUS Has Cost the United States 40,000 Jobs Economic Policy Institute ...While KORUS has already hurt the U.S. economy, the Trans-Pacif...

best of pinterest - living and dining rooms

2:30 AM Anonymous 0

So going through my <a href="http://pinterest.com/ladybaum/home/" target="_blank">living room</a> and <a href="http://pinterest.com/ladybaum/dining-room/" target="_blank">dining room</a> Pinterest boards made me realize that there is no way I could choose just one single style for either room. They are just too full of possibilities.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4UchVqsBSdTb5hzpg2VcbJGYd2VCJc6wa9asECa6yXW6uQu1FqhEC8SdKXx8Oevr_00VfB5JPU2jFLl_bkzpqEGvjl8wjQHo2iM1MLk07irJ6jMvgDnMOYEMqzNqPlbPe-Auj8ob1GjX4/s1600/bcfe4ae77acdfea28265be9b323baaab.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4UchVqsBSdTb5hzpg2VcbJGYd2VCJc6wa9asECa6yXW6uQu1FqhEC8SdKXx8Oevr_00VfB5JPU2jFLl_bkzpqEGvjl8wjQHo2iM1MLk07irJ6jMvgDnMOYEMqzNqPlbPe-Auj8ob1GjX4/s640/bcfe4ae77acdfea28265be9b323baaab.jpg" width="470" /></a></div><br />For the dining room we've got to have a big round table and super killer chairs. Duh.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRaX_N76eI3i5T7fzxH-EBt4xSnBZghvbK9Z4D1whTl535FQEN0RSvvzcNeu0vw2832ZV1OGBPdLAMDID8AVBLOwsmxide-4nOc4HCH6rphVu9KSUhunfhRD2C-MDFUK0-u5fcrVd-rAbC/s1600/c3025350de7de701e19f208b96aea20b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRaX_N76eI3i5T7fzxH-EBt4xSnBZghvbK9Z4D1whTl535FQEN0RSvvzcNeu0vw2832ZV1OGBPdLAMDID8AVBLOwsmxide-4nOc4HCH6rphVu9KSUhunfhRD2C-MDFUK0-u5fcrVd-rAbC/s640/c3025350de7de701e19f208b96aea20b.jpg" width="526" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWbpB9d-mlLBrPpAJhtyxfYWqFdKhp83bCuilSBxGo4f-N3sp9rBsLLiEv9H9GjRxareLA2qqSuWwkSNSSkLyxVouiO6QC9zSfQVKJIr7vCPBhnGJ4qyttwQMFF_c3soctILlj8xuibDEr/s1600/bb9c32237f907c0e4c0bd71b9a1179d2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWbpB9d-mlLBrPpAJhtyxfYWqFdKhp83bCuilSBxGo4f-N3sp9rBsLLiEv9H9GjRxareLA2qqSuWwkSNSSkLyxVouiO6QC9zSfQVKJIr7vCPBhnGJ4qyttwQMFF_c3soctILlj8xuibDEr/s640/bb9c32237f907c0e4c0bd71b9a1179d2.jpg" width="470" /></a></div><br />I like the idea of books in the dining room. More of a library where they allow food, sort of.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoBqNAih22dsnkGdH1gtI5Mo93MPUsy13tBD2nvVOqm8JYn955RQObjS3J6ilqr3KZ_Jj4quzwXOJjFmDoHkiQ3qU76wDWS4r78Li-mLQL9G-mnCZ3Qxx5slyoaevUB_UYXahyphenhyphenj0TOwtOj/s1600/51087c77daae38a9d9ecaa7a471ab835.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoBqNAih22dsnkGdH1gtI5Mo93MPUsy13tBD2nvVOqm8JYn955RQObjS3J6ilqr3KZ_Jj4quzwXOJjFmDoHkiQ3qU76wDWS4r78Li-mLQL9G-mnCZ3Qxx5slyoaevUB_UYXahyphenhyphenj0TOwtOj/s640/51087c77daae38a9d9ecaa7a471ab835.jpg" width="510" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqtc5bI8VtC3o2fjrtcuFgnulZI6OdCWZuPcpQNb_kL-WPmqEDW0fuwZQ9yAZ1STmMkAlhRg6ZmdppThFF5JtxMiSVuB9U9Ez8n0RJ1MFCzwH7D5g_zjP_k20T-m_z0DIzkh9w33BUcknm/s1600/08fda75bc2410138ba01a068beca6bdb.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqtc5bI8VtC3o2fjrtcuFgnulZI6OdCWZuPcpQNb_kL-WPmqEDW0fuwZQ9yAZ1STmMkAlhRg6ZmdppThFF5JtxMiSVuB9U9Ez8n0RJ1MFCzwH7D5g_zjP_k20T-m_z0DIzkh9w33BUcknm/s640/08fda75bc2410138ba01a068beca6bdb.jpg" width="572" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiu7U4WVvkA9b7N-qi-Rw62gnfMx8oKRnUibLFW8ZQicEFGaZcrl8wxkVCHizOcJhn3XQ9RBU22txcAILfivZ3mtse6VBK45ExLRhDBdMZ90x50APwuPf43LBHxyI_MwZPcl-_-h0V-bbWx/s1600/2461e14a4962b27caada8820b422c00d.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="510" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiu7U4WVvkA9b7N-qi-Rw62gnfMx8oKRnUibLFW8ZQicEFGaZcrl8wxkVCHizOcJhn3XQ9RBU22txcAILfivZ3mtse6VBK45ExLRhDBdMZ90x50APwuPf43LBHxyI_MwZPcl-_-h0V-bbWx/s640/2461e14a4962b27caada8820b422c00d.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpOdP_OZr0zPdHlSJCeDuvQwym7F3fGqkE3wVH2FmvTbTMuM-RXZ097pnrBMxYnRy9Lp7YosZ5Lp_XrW_0AMIhSLayvzLqXzIBiY4-QlSQObdllBQvOpcJtGo54Jn2fuv4XjK5rXbFMkQC/s1600/96473a785dc969339616ab9bcb35719e.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="450" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpOdP_OZr0zPdHlSJCeDuvQwym7F3fGqkE3wVH2FmvTbTMuM-RXZ097pnrBMxYnRy9Lp7YosZ5Lp_XrW_0AMIhSLayvzLqXzIBiY4-QlSQObdllBQvOpcJtGo54Jn2fuv4XjK5rXbFMkQC/s640/96473a785dc969339616ab9bcb35719e.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />OK, this one isn't a round table, but its good.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-nAYo1JoPK0iyrRZ5f2JaERVkhzfwCkuKk19EhUL8MMxuxI0nRAf1JwHwdjwweFAW8fQdXG5ZO6aeEIPLKrJz9xiY7dX3KjUuCiiT1hUoXQzDyHMmpYbXiSmsdko2uc18FQifRHOA__v1/s1600/2b9b5070537c76bced2bed7181fbbffc.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="580" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-nAYo1JoPK0iyrRZ5f2JaERVkhzfwCkuKk19EhUL8MMxuxI0nRAf1JwHwdjwweFAW8fQdXG5ZO6aeEIPLKrJz9xiY7dX3KjUuCiiT1hUoXQzDyHMmpYbXiSmsdko2uc18FQifRHOA__v1/s640/2b9b5070537c76bced2bed7181fbbffc.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />The living room, like the rest of the house will have tall ceilings, lots of beautiful moldings and big huge windows.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYk_5FIReQeJFRH_7BnJ9u10s907laf9n0T9tJfrLw4wKKWy5Lc23tAHjT3yGeB2SE0pyhmql26Ax7JFPkF1aRJvKo9yx-l58Fu7UwFW39R4VxAcddxaZJ4Tq3VViU_GZ88q0M6YAFaR31/s1600/35eded49e0dc1b20e77c0a7c3ef0163e.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYk_5FIReQeJFRH_7BnJ9u10s907laf9n0T9tJfrLw4wKKWy5Lc23tAHjT3yGeB2SE0pyhmql26Ax7JFPkF1aRJvKo9yx-l58Fu7UwFW39R4VxAcddxaZJ4Tq3VViU_GZ88q0M6YAFaR31/s640/35eded49e0dc1b20e77c0a7c3ef0163e.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7f2pw1AuIyBpjUiEU6Z-f4bKdTFK_N0lVIqUDK0NDRC5rr4espIvD4JufI_J8areDsDo1uYGU8OVRPCj7OTL7G8oQeYKicPfHwLkQyQLmIFLcqhFa-Oww8JgUiBFWX6lq6eYbl9wdDptk/s1600/52b28b319a1b42bfb8fda8ac4147f6c9.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="312" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7f2pw1AuIyBpjUiEU6Z-f4bKdTFK_N0lVIqUDK0NDRC5rr4espIvD4JufI_J8areDsDo1uYGU8OVRPCj7OTL7G8oQeYKicPfHwLkQyQLmIFLcqhFa-Oww8JgUiBFWX6lq6eYbl9wdDptk/s640/52b28b319a1b42bfb8fda8ac4147f6c9.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSBSpGc3fTgWCbH3pDON8dFaFVXbl6X_h7PtrKjpqcRVjnVeqsUzN_Pu9m0x21Em4XGRY7LX-d29SRHvN39jnpocXqT3_YlJpBIfNft7sXIMa8vaE786r6C73601I6sCXnRtPRmHLpHSTj/s1600/810215646c77d0ea2ad4e454b6b55bbd.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSBSpGc3fTgWCbH3pDON8dFaFVXbl6X_h7PtrKjpqcRVjnVeqsUzN_Pu9m0x21Em4XGRY7LX-d29SRHvN39jnpocXqT3_YlJpBIfNft7sXIMa8vaE786r6C73601I6sCXnRtPRmHLpHSTj/s640/810215646c77d0ea2ad4e454b6b55bbd.jpg" width="506" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqzKXyeKbSDupqKOv8-JMm0Zd6FyoTDBK1d3vMGs2uaFNwb0kEu4PjUJSQ9-d0OypbqisXma6Wkgi7PlBvJe1TcyRZka3iEuXmm_HSxhuEe_AkvdgL4zcM9Ia8ZKDiE74GaLsDf1bVelEO/s1600/0f2b650698a80e48563ab0d1e05f4fb0.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqzKXyeKbSDupqKOv8-JMm0Zd6FyoTDBK1d3vMGs2uaFNwb0kEu4PjUJSQ9-d0OypbqisXma6Wkgi7PlBvJe1TcyRZka3iEuXmm_HSxhuEe_AkvdgL4zcM9Ia8ZKDiE74GaLsDf1bVelEO/s640/0f2b650698a80e48563ab0d1e05f4fb0.jpg" width="510" /></a></div><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOUThJggfAsvvg6PFkTj3sO49UM1zF6UvFtqbq3lRDVSzw5Evz2jbmgA1f4ZgoIbCHwW4QQNrcldVrkXXfavizBbtzOK5LfYvJzrtwMR3SoGuw9RX-vG_Zpn30ZNbmSv3RbN_c9fWVQK1p/s1600/b506feb8ffdcacd1772d04aa5d116031.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOUThJggfAsvvg6PFkTj3sO49UM1zF6UvFtqbq3lRDVSzw5Evz2jbmgA1f4ZgoIbCHwW4QQNrcldVrkXXfavizBbtzOK5LfYvJzrtwMR3SoGuw9RX-vG_Zpn30ZNbmSv3RbN_c9fWVQK1p/s640/b506feb8ffdcacd1772d04aa5d116031.jpg" width="560" /></a></div><br />And many french doors out to the huge porch.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgES1su5NmrFXORzMfb6WFTa8h2lT3IrtS5PdsBPhGg1wPJNojmmYWZGup7qewEwj5TyXgZr-Bn5QAn9jsGLdQB2WbeFCzBcu2Me8wKwV-exwCxgnwLZc5-wTBClOs034F6ye4qBjnADFvx/s1600/c477e0c1bd82dc522a9b1d9386e38702.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgES1su5NmrFXORzMfb6WFTa8h2lT3IrtS5PdsBPhGg1wPJNojmmYWZGup7qewEwj5TyXgZr-Bn5QAn9jsGLdQB2WbeFCzBcu2Me8wKwV-exwCxgnwLZc5-wTBClOs034F6ye4qBjnADFvx/s640/c477e0c1bd82dc522a9b1d9386e38702.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">CoCo is really good at cleaning windows.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXVHOemyeA9ji2aupvle44nz3I24QVZvPAMYB45Yhr2cr7iQi33uvP498vvNxdF40j0yJymzQr2RvetEtL47WdluO1H_-5yh6wNLqskDr0qnCJg8EdEQzW2ZfdyYUHjHApkfVVV_adPKTV/s1600/76daae18d7d80d73cf6d588391497452.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXVHOemyeA9ji2aupvle44nz3I24QVZvPAMYB45Yhr2cr7iQi33uvP498vvNxdF40j0yJymzQr2RvetEtL47WdluO1H_-5yh6wNLqskDr0qnCJg8EdEQzW2ZfdyYUHjHApkfVVV_adPKTV/s640/76daae18d7d80d73cf6d588391497452.jpg" width="486" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">And he makes a mean cocktail.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>I don't think I even scratched the surface really. There is no way I could narrow it down. That's it, I'm just going to have to have several living rooms and dining rooms.<br /><br />What about you? Do you have a style you dream about but don't have in your own home? Any feature you would add to a space if the sky was the limit? Want CoCo to make you a G&T for the afternoon?

best of pinterest - living and dining rooms

So going through my living room and dining room Pinterest boards made me realize that there is no way I could choose just one single style...

Preview Screening: 3D Wolverine

1:21 AM Tukiyooo 0

<span style="font-size: large;">My twin sister got tickets for the preview of 3D Wolverine yesterday evening.  Security is always tight at these events with security guards asking you to switch off your phone as you enter.  Then during the show there are security guards positioned in different parts of the theatre facing the audience for the whole movie to make sure no one is filming.</span><br /><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">The film was your typical superheroe action movie but I did enjoy the fact that the majority of it was set in Japan - I love Ninja warriors!</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">The best thing about the evening was that we discovered that the cinema served Ben & Jerry's Peanut Butter Cup ice cream. Peanut butter flavour ice cream is so difficult to get in Ireland.  It was delicious along with a scoop of Phish Food.</span></div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3S2J9-g36oPcmIlqwCx4v2yQxabcmyFzXp8l87ZvyveDvkO3Lvr2C0C7xz3S8sZpmyhJQyEUGyXRfDD6UxeTgI4b-izbulMzV4cT3y-e-cT9YpVFIwS9jFixLhycx4eU5FZUXe6-NPHy8/s640/blogger-image-1429898589.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3S2J9-g36oPcmIlqwCx4v2yQxabcmyFzXp8l87ZvyveDvkO3Lvr2C0C7xz3S8sZpmyhJQyEUGyXRfDD6UxeTgI4b-izbulMzV4cT3y-e-cT9YpVFIwS9jFixLhycx4eU5FZUXe6-NPHy8/s640/blogger-image-1429898589.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiw0JeqXK0Ayhf7p2wDpefPQUOUv308kH2Z1Rpi5z8S6hyphenhyphenvCdEPvzR0aSGgNe6Z2jqVY20PxbUzHcuHrl7FDM9b1-U8K1MFcmgnmYjS1KI-kSOK1b-NynLCri67npHM7_fsFlwKsQfUHfOY/s640/blogger-image--239125540.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiw0JeqXK0Ayhf7p2wDpefPQUOUv308kH2Z1Rpi5z8S6hyphenhyphenvCdEPvzR0aSGgNe6Z2jqVY20PxbUzHcuHrl7FDM9b1-U8K1MFcmgnmYjS1KI-kSOK1b-NynLCri67npHM7_fsFlwKsQfUHfOY/s640/blogger-image--239125540.jpg" /></a></div><br /><br /></div>

Preview Screening: 3D Wolverine

My twin sister got tickets for the preview of 3D Wolverine yesterday evening. Security is always tight at these events with security guards...

RED 2: Twice the goofiness

1:00 AM Tukiyooo 0

<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #5e5e5e; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #5e5e5e; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #5e5e5e; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #5e5e5e; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #5e5e5e; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><b><i>RED 2</i> </b></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #5e5e5e; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><b>(2013) • <a href="http://trailers.apple.com/trailers/summit/red2/" style="color: #27a9c5; text-decoration: none;">View trailer</a></b></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #5e5e5e; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #5e5e5e; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #5e5e5e; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #5e5e5e; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><b> </b></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #5e5e5e; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #5e5e5e; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><b>3.5 stars. Rating: PG-13, for constant action and violence, frenetic gunplay and fleeting profanity</b></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #5e5e5e; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span></span></span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #5e5e5e; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><b>By <a href="http://www.blogger.com/profile/12885694730612878577" style="color: #27a9c5; text-decoration: none;">Derrick Bang</a></b></span></b></span></span></span></span></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>            <br /><div class="MsoNormalCxSpFirst"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This one’s a triumph of star power over script shortcomings.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">RED 2</span></i><span style="font-weight: normal;"> doesn’t even try for logic or verisimilitude; it’s a globe-trotting, live-action cartoon that does little but place its characters into improbable situations that prompt wry one-liners from the seasoned cast.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiE2G56Ynrz_BI7WqEtvUDyf2KI0NQ0UUGXGvQOxpvVRfdqrKEm-R00gPjg378HtAdZg6ayZTbKWvlTFUZA3cZVHeSNI_DGVT4UIquUzpj22P9_rar9yWRnijlsWcFpk7IXw0YOFamNOak/s1600/Red+2+blog.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="288" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiE2G56Ynrz_BI7WqEtvUDyf2KI0NQ0UUGXGvQOxpvVRfdqrKEm-R00gPjg378HtAdZg6ayZTbKWvlTFUZA3cZVHeSNI_DGVT4UIquUzpj22P9_rar9yWRnijlsWcFpk7IXw0YOFamNOak/s400/Red+2+blog.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">Having arrived in Moscow, Sarah (Mary-Louise Parker, center) is annoyed to discover<br />that boyfriend Frank (Bruce Willis) and Russian agent Katja (Catherine Zeta-Jones)<br />have some history ... and that Katja seems eager to resume their studies.</span></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In most cases, that’s good enough ... because when the cast is this polished, and their comic timing so well established, we can’t help enjoying the result. Scripters Jon and Erich Hoeber have strayed even further afield from the original graphic novel by Warren Ellis and Cully Hamner, but that really doesn’t matter. Films of this sort may be no more than a guilty pleasure, but there’s no denying the entertainment factor.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I’m sure 2010’s <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><a href="http://derrickbang.blogspot.com/2010/10/red-risible-energetic-and-delightful.html">RED</a></i> was envisioned as a one-off, but the global box-office must have been a pleasant surprise ... and we all know how Hollywood operates. On top of which, it probably wasn’t hard to persuade Bruce Willis, John Malkovich and Helen Mirren to reprise their roles as aging former spies — RED stands for “retired, extremely dangerous” — who are granted yet another chance to show up their condescending younger colleagues.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Hoeber and Hoeber have reprised their scripting chores, but director Dean Parisot is a series newcomer, taking over for Robert Schwentke. It’s a good trade; Parisot helmed 1999’s cheeky sci-fi spoof, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Galaxy Quest</i>, so he clearly understands the tone required by this equally snarky franchise.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Having survived the events of their previous adventure, veteran spy Frank Moses (Willis) and girlfriend Sarah Ross (Mary-Louise Parker) are attempting to solidify their unlikely relationship. They’re crazy about each other, but that doesn’t seem to be enough; the protective Frank wants to ensure that Sarah remains out of harm’s way — rather difficult, given his history — while she pouts over the prospect of missing another dose of dangerous fun.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Be advised: Parker has one of the best pouts in the business. Parisot clearly understands the power of her stricken expressions, and finds ample opportunity to showcase them.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Alas, Frank isn’t destined for a quiet retirement. Paranoid best friend Marvin Boggs (Malkovich) barely has time to deliver a warning, before being blown up by Forces Unknown. Moments later, Frank is snatched by U.S. black ops thugs operating under orders from the malevolent Jack Horton (Neal McDonough, making the most of his deliciously nasty bad-guy role). Somehow, these events have something to do with a next-gen weapon code-named Nightshade: a remnant from Frank and Marvin’s Cold War past.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><a name='more'></a><br /><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Frank manages to escape a fate worse than death, thanks to the timely intervention of Marvin, who merely faked his own demise as a distraction. (Come on; you didn’t expect Malkovich to check out in the first five minutes, did you?) Now well and truly vexed, Horton issues a termination order to contract killer Han Cho Bai (Byung Hun Lee), the “best in the world,” who cheerfully accepts this opportunity to settle his own old score with Frank.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Worse yet, our friends across the pond also get involved when MI6 instructs deadly sharpshooter Victoria (Mirren) to assassinate her former colleagues. The reason? Nightshade has been deemed a weapon of mass destruction, and Horton’s pesky U.S. colleagues have branded Frank and Marvin as terrorists.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Some days, it just doesn’t pay to get out of bed...<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Subsequent skirmishes take Frank, Marvin and Sarah overseas to London, Paris and Moscow, along the way linking up with former Russian adversaries-turned-colleagues Ivan (Brian Cox) and Katja (Catherine Zeta-Jones). The latter’s presence comes as an unpleasant surprise to Sarah, who is further irritated by the realization that Katja and Frank once were An Item.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But revenge is its own reward, and the overly enthusiastic — if aggressively foolish — Sarah will find plenty of opportunities to ignite jealousy’s green fire in Frank’s eyes.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">All clues eventually lead to a befuddled scientist named Edward Bailey (Anthony Hopkins), locked away for more than three decades under an ICE directive (“Incarcerate: Cannot exterminate”).<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But the Nightshade plot, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">per se</i>, is little more than a Hitchcockian MacGuffin: stuff and nonsense that serves merely to propel our characters from one ridiculous event to the next. Thus, our heroes drive crazily through the streets of Paris while trying to catch a wine-loving French spy known only as “The Frog” (David Thewlis), then attempt to break into a secret vault located beneath the Kremlin, then engineer an escape from a secret prison within the Tower of London, and <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">then</i>— for good measure — try to figure out how to wreak havoc within London’s Iranian Embassy.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">On top of which, at every step of the way, the increasingly furious Han shows up again, leveling buildings and crippling various police-types while trying to ace Frank for good. Not since Burt Kwouk’s Cato stalked Peter Sellers’ Inspector Clouseau in the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Pink Panther</i> series, has an adversary so relentlessly pursued — and failed to finish off — a target.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">One scarcely has time to catch one’s breath, which is precisely the point. As long as Parisot and editor Don Zimmerman keep things racing along, we don’t have time to question the ludicrous plot holes large enough to fly Han’s private plane through.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">No matter: Everything is designed solely to encourage witty sniping between our leads, along with ample opportunities to juxtapose their age and assumed frailty, against the supposedly superior younger adversaries who pop up.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Willis and Parker maintain a steady level of mischievous banter, aiming for the wry sophistication delivered by classic film couples such as William Powell and Myrna Loy, and Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn. Hoeber and Hoeber can’t always deliver dialogue quite that tart, but Willis gets plenty of mileage from Frank’s nervous, long-suffering worries over Sarah’s safety, while Parker blithely blunders from one hazardous scenario to another. Her giggly excitement is just as much fun as her wounded sulking.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Mirren does her own sulking, albeit more quietly, every time Victoria is confronted with some young snot who fails to appreciate her talents. The delight of Mirren’s performance comes from the way she sends up so many of her previous oh-so-serious roles, particularly one sequence where she gets to don a queen’s crown again.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Malkovich’s Marvin is funny merely by appearance, his daft clothes sense just as lunatic as his bemused double-takes. Malkovich is more of a goofball this time out, all traces of Marvin’s occasional bursts of sophistication having been left behind in the first film.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Lee delivers plenty of slick martial-arts moves as the exasperated Han, and Thewlis is a hoot as the deceptively mild Frog. Katja, alas, suffers from insufficient character development, even by this film’s flimsy standards; Zeta-Jones does little but purr like a Russian kitten.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Hopkins, as always, is a revelation, his take on Bailey fascinating in every respect. Hopkins may have established a new template for the “absent-minded professor” archetype, while (of course!) layering this performance with his rather unique approach to this intriguing character.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Alan Silvestri delivers an appropriately rousing orchestral score, while production designer Jim Clay has plenty of fun with the various locales. (One hopes the Kremlin isn’t easily accessible from an adjacent pizza joint, in real life.)<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Granted, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">RED 2</i> is little more than empty calories: enjoyed today, forgotten tomorrow. But I suspect this film will enjoy an active home-video afterlife; it’ll be hard to resist spending more time with a seasoned cast having so much fun. And since <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">RED 3</i> already has been announced — pending this initial sequel’s box-office results — we likely haven’t seen the last of Frank, Marvin, Victoria and Sarah.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Fine by me.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>

2013 action Anthony Hopkins Bruce Willis Byung-hun Lee Catherine Zeta-Jones David Thewlis Helen Mirren John Malkovich Mary-Louise Parker Neal McDonough Sequel Series Spy film RED 2: Twice the goofiness

RED 2 (2013) • View trailer 3.5 stars. Rating: PG-13, for constant action and violence, frenetic gunplay and fleeting profanity By Der...

Dzhokar Tsarnaev and Rolling Stone...Sympathy For The Devil

9:00 PM Tukiyooo 0

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj72TW9SVK2LEpkPdkb_TuOcfgCJeyVIj6L59167aqJm-mtYHsfQOo1T19RkEWBe3i3DLEO6K6KlGd620m35pIJfwNqN6atj9v6Orh-XRXY9m8q-gOKukbA1-HyMRPvbKaWVL3kHe0uE54/s1600/Rolling+Stone+Dzhokar+Tsarnaev.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj72TW9SVK2LEpkPdkb_TuOcfgCJeyVIj6L59167aqJm-mtYHsfQOo1T19RkEWBe3i3DLEO6K6KlGd620m35pIJfwNqN6atj9v6Orh-XRXY9m8q-gOKukbA1-HyMRPvbKaWVL3kHe0uE54/s400/Rolling+Stone+Dzhokar+Tsarnaev.jpg" width="292" /></a>Cheers Chuckleheads and Happy Friday to you all!<br /><br />It seems that there is a firestorm brewing over a cup of stewing, and steeping American tea.<br /><br />Rolling Stone magazine will soon be coming out with their August 1 issue which has Dzhokhar Tsarnaev's picture on it.<br /><br />While I am a rabble rouser at heart, I must say….<br /><br />It’s okayyyyyyyyyy.<br /><br />It’s okay that Dzhokhar Tsarnaev’s picture is on the cover of Rolling Stone magazine, because unlike what right wing radio, and FOX News are telling you, it’s not a story about what a good guy that turned out not to be the well-developed American that he portrayed to be.<br /><br />It’s a story about how he was a good guy, who received gladly, I might add, all of the blessings and frivolity that is America, and somehow, after his immigration from the Land of the Lost that is Russia and/or Whateverstan, enjoyed for years the freedom of America, and then, for whatever reason said through word and action…<br /><br /><i>“Innocent Americans Must Die.”</i><br /><br />Why you gotta do that Dzhokhar?  I mean, c’mon?  You had it all you dumb fuck.<br /><br />Look at yourself….Good looking kid.  Captain of the HS wrestling team.  I bet you had your choice of chicks…if you never had to bring them ‘round your brother’s house…<br /><br />Dzhokhar Tsarnaev had it all, and he gave it up in order to kill innocent children and policemen and forever disrupt the lives of people whom he has never met, all the while…<br /><br />Being one of the good kids down the street, as people who have never read Rolling Stone’s depiction of him illustrates.<br /><br />Well folks, the Rolling Stone depiction of Tsarnaev in the article, if you take the time to read it, is less than glamorous.  It depicts him as he is, a terrorist.<br /><br />The article talks about things like the face of terrorism dwells next door to us, in an American kid like us… within us.<br /><br />It isn’t an article of glamorization of Tsarnaev, it is a warning that killers, terrorists, and those who do harm, come in all sizes, colors, shapes, and backgrounds.<br /><br />And sometimes…they look, act, and pretend to feel just like “us.”<br /><br />I hear a lot of complaints that “our” government won’t get off its collective ass…but do you ever see the ones posting such krill ever do that with informative ideas?  Or alternatives?<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRaBO7UQZfA5JV-bZN8moYAZkKclunFssvu8FHcwJTjlea5fQT0D4GoKudA-o4NU3WoaOsBJRAEVWI9UYtCAcvnFXuM47Cyg-j1Bf295ENhyZS7x_z6H_E7pxYlHNvdjxBYGeQzQHdoqE/s1600/Outrage.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRaBO7UQZfA5JV-bZN8moYAZkKclunFssvu8FHcwJTjlea5fQT0D4GoKudA-o4NU3WoaOsBJRAEVWI9UYtCAcvnFXuM47Cyg-j1Bf295ENhyZS7x_z6H_E7pxYlHNvdjxBYGeQzQHdoqE/s400/Outrage.jpg" width="400" /></a>No, because they are scared...<br /><br />And that is how it is with the Rolling Stone/ Dzhokhar Tsarnaev “incident.”<br /><br />Many people are “outraged”, and while not knowing why, they say things like, <i>“Boston Forever!!”</i><br /><br />Y’know..?<br /><br />Shut the Fuck Up.  Dzhokhar Tsarnaev lived in Beantown.  He was a Bostonian, and by all accounts, one helluva good guy.<br /><br />And for what it’s worth,…Dzhokar Tsarnaev got sucked in by his loser brother, was sold a bill of Anti-American goods because his loser boxer brother couldn’t make it, and then?<br /><br />Dzhokar said to himself…<br /><br /><i>“Just like the Doctor Hook song says…On the cover of the Rolling Stone…”</i><br /><br />The thing is…Rolling Stone, unknown to the less than informed, is a great source of true journalism.  They write, print, and publish the facts, and have been for years.<br /><br />They continue to do so in the Tsarnaev matter, and if you don’t like him being on their latest cover?<br /><br />Fuck you…it’s journalism at its best.<br /><br /><i>Cheers!!</i><br /><br />Matt-Man<br /><a href="mailto:mattmaniws@ymail.com">mattmaniws@ymail.com</a><br /><a href="https://twitter.com/MattMan_IWS" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">@mattman_iws</span></a><br /><a href="https://www.facebook.com/mattmaniws" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">My Facebook Page</span></a></div>

Dzhokar Tsarnaev and Rolling Stone...Sympathy For The Devil

Cheers Chuckleheads and Happy Friday to you all! It seems that there is a firestorm brewing over a cup of stewing, and steeping American tea...

Eclos skin care Klout perk

5:49 PM Tukiyooo 0

<div style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3f3jkI27XcVc8ewWZdEgfcYT1Ad8_HoMxMBiQ4a52cSaNZz3d1pQPrsfy9b3s-3_RJF_ffJzLB3-6PtI2wzbixTZNjn4f2b8nSGT5mGYNDB8CqnufDwJ8EAsKH_xX4lxbPgr6ATJ9ndI/s1600/eclos+skin+care+perk.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3f3jkI27XcVc8ewWZdEgfcYT1Ad8_HoMxMBiQ4a52cSaNZz3d1pQPrsfy9b3s-3_RJF_ffJzLB3-6PtI2wzbixTZNjn4f2b8nSGT5mGYNDB8CqnufDwJ8EAsKH_xX4lxbPgr6ATJ9ndI/s320/eclos+skin+care+perk.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><i><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></i><i><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">I was sent some skin care products from <a href="http://www.freemanbeauty.com/eclos">Eclos skin care</a> through Klout because I am an influencer and taking the challenge to go bare with flawless skin thanks to these wonderful products!</span></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">I was sent 3 products total for this perk and will tell you about each one of them!</span></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Skin prep cleanser:</span></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">all you do is just squeeze a small amount of the face wash onto finger tips and rub onto your face then wash away with warm water.</span></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Leaves a dry feeling but this was the first time I used it since I've received this perk so bare with me.</span></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Moisture Therapy Regenerative Cream:</span></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Facial cream that puts the moisture right back into your skin!</span></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">It sort of had a stinging feeling at first but like I said before, it's my first time with these products.</span></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">What's great about these products is you can apply them morning and night.</span></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Daily Hydraprimer :</span></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Repairs, protects and primes your skin aka sunscreen!</span></i></div>

Eclos skin care Klout perk

I was sent some skin care products from Eclos skin care through Klout because I am an influencer and taking the challenge to go bare with ...

The Benefits Of Buying A Treadmill

3:03 PM Tukiyooo 0

<div style='font-style:italic;' class='uawbyline'>By Maddie Ford</div><br /><br />  <div class='uawarticle'>Need For Exercise<br />  <br />  A combination of mobile electronics, automated gadgets, junk food and an inactive way of living today is causing more people to become overweight, out-of-shape and usually unhealthy. If you would like your well being to peak to desirable levels, though, then you need to exercise. One way to come up with a habitual workout is to have a treadmill in your home. <a href="http://blogs.rediff.com/getfitnow/2013/05/08/easy-home-fitness-options/">Treadmill reviews</a> offer insightful thoughts on what kind of workouts you can work on.<br />  <br />  Advantages Of Treadmills<br />  <br />  Running, jogging or even simply walking on a treadmill can actually condition and strengthen your body over time. The treadmill focuses on cardiovascular workouts compared with other machines, and these help lower your calorie count. You can select the treadmill workout program that will fit your goal best, like losing those pounds, for example. If you wish to adopt a healthier, fitter lifestyle, the treadmill is the suitable equipment for you.<br />  <br />  Know Your Treadmill Better<br />  <br />  All treadmills come with a speed-adjustment feature. Apart from speed adjustment, most versions let you tune their parts and features to help you realize your fitness goals faster. Variations in treadmill features add excitement to your workouts, making you more inspired to stick to them.<br />  <br />  Modern treadmills have several inbuilt workout programs. The feature works effortlessly: just choose the program that corresponds to your health objective, and you're ready to go. As you utilize the treadmill, the speed and incline will immediately change at regular intervals. You even have complete control on how you want the changes to come, be it continuous or in a set manner.<br />  <br />  Some workouts are designed to control heart rate jointly with a heart rate monitor. Either you can hold this monitor or attach it on your body. High-quality treadmills use a chest-strap heart rate monitor to accurately track your heart rate and calories burnt. In other words, it can record your cardiovascular fitness level and the intensity of your exercise routine.<br />  <br />  In order to save time, you can save your own workout settings in your treadmill so you don't have to punch them in each time you work out. If other individuals are using the treadmill as well, you are certain to love this feature. Some treadmills also store your workout history; you are able to track your fitness progress with time and boost your previous performances.<br />  <br />  Nowadays, the most high-tech treadmills have the technology called iFit Live. For instance, athletes can train from home for a marathon being held in another city. The iFit Live allows you to "compete" with other individuals who are also on the same training course as yours. Any treadmill that has Internet connection and is compatible with the iFit Live technology can perform this extremely versatile feature. Highly developed treadmills likewise have full-color LCD touch screens and an mp3 player to keep your rhythm going while you exercise.<br />  <br />  Components Of A Treadmill<br />  <br />  The very heart of the treadmill is its conveyor belt. Because the belt is designed to move backward, you need to move in a forward motion and coordinate its speed so you stay on it. The belt is fitted into a running deck that stretches into the frame of the machine and helps your entire body weight. It's possible to change the deck's angle as needed. This offers you a good cardio workout and brings variety to your regimen.<br />  <br />  Damping elements are positioned under the deck to help in shock absorption. The belt is also cushioned for comfort when you're walking or running on it. You can tell alot regarding the quality of a treadmill by checking out its motor, belt, deck, and rollers because these are the bare bones that comprise the equipment.<br />  <br />  The frames of treadmills may be folded or not. If you will be utilizing the treadmill at home, the foldable model is your best bet. Foldable treadmills, with the deck reaching the arms when folded up, are all about being compact. Observe that the long-lasting foldable treadmills cost more compared to their nonfoldable counterparts. The nonfoldable models are perfect for public use, just like training studios, since they can cope with more consistent usage.<br />  <br />  Range Of Treadmills Available<br />  <br />  Treadmills are also built with their users under consideration. A treadmill made only for walking will be less expensive compared to a jogger's treadmill; a running treadmill will be the priciest. More body weight may cause more impact and wear on the treadmill; it needs a much more powerful motor to assist heavy users and thus comes at a higher price. Taller users need to have a treadmill with a lengthier tread belt that can easily support their long strides. If your home gym treadmill will be used by the entire family, take into consideration the increased depreciation that the machine will undergo. You're more content obtaining a treadmill that can go through daily stress; it lasts for a longer period and is more pocket friendly in the end.<br />  <br />  Wrapping It Up<br />  <br />  Simply no home gym is ever complete without having a treadmill. Just before rushing to make a purchase, give consideration to your health, fitness and durability needs, and the features that you will employ often. Throw in the user types, regularity of usage, and purpose into the mixture of selecting the right treadmill for you. Give consideration to your budget as well, and when you find a model that most closely fits those criteria, go for it!<br />  <br />  </div><br />  <div class='uawresource'><br />  	<div style='font-style:italic;' class='uawabout'><br />  		About the Author:<br />  	</div><br />  	<div class='uawlinks'>Selecting the right exercise system is usually a difficult process. <a href="http://fitnesshero.snappages.com/options.htm">Smooth Fitness treadmill reviews</a> are a reliable place to begin. Learn what folks have to say and you'll see that these products are best of their kind.</div><br />  </div><br />

The Benefits Of Buying A Treadmill

By Maddie Ford Need For Exercise A combination of mobile electronics, automated gadgets, junk food and an inactive way of living tod...