Thursday, May 7, 2009
John W Creasy
Though not a movie critic, and certainly not a timely movie watcher, I was struck by this movie in an unusual way. First, some background. The girls (wife and daughter) out for the night visiting a Clay Aiken gala in a different city. I'm alone to do what men do when they are alone. For me, it's woodworking, surfing the net, and watching "man" movies. The guy at the video store recommended this movie: "lot's of action and car chases," he said. "You'll like it." Well, I liked it. And not for the car chases. Wash. plays a former bad guy, who probably worked for the govt as a "black ops" thingie. He's a drunk, unable to love. He takes a set up job (set up by his friend, C. Walken) as a body guard for a kid in Mex. City. Her mom is American, so she's blonde. And cute. And eleven. He falls for her, satisfying the viewer. She's kidnapped and, apparently, killed. He, with his black ops skills, goes on a revenge rampage. Also very satisfying. She's returned to her mother, satisfying. Only one thing to criticize. When he's on his way to killing all the bad guys, I wish he'd become, how shall I say it? Dispensable. In other words, this character, if he had nothing to lose, literally, for the (male) viewer, would be perfect. Usually there's some sort of risk, the girlfriend is in danger, the good guys are going to get it (Magnificent 7). When DW starts to kill, and he starts to succeed, the tension builds that the cops will get him. We definitely don't want that. And so, the filmmaker would have done us a favor if DW was absolutely "cost-free" as a revenge-machine. I pondered whether what I was really asking for was cost-free wrongdoing. And I don't think so; the movie is quite emotional because he's a mess and this little girl is the one who somehow finds the key to unlock his miserable life. But, when she's (apparently) gone, no matter how complicated the plot to kidnap her, nor how corrupt the Mex. police, we are uncomfortable when he's about his bad work because (a) he's taking the law into his own hands (something frowned upon these days) and (b) he may get caught. If we don't care emotionally about him -- no "hostages to fate" -- then we can sit back and take the risks he takes and suffer the consequences. At the end, he is not rescued by the bumbling Mex police who were mere minutes away. And he should have been. But that's a secondary point. If John W. Creasy (DW's character) had disabused us of any emotional connection whatsoever, but only during the revenge part of the movie, I, for one, think it would have been a better movie. Sincerely, Movie Central Mr. Commissar, CEO
ruhama canellis
Segun nos contaron, Ruhama Canellis y El Padre Alberto se conocieron cuando el papacito, perdon, el padrecito comenzo a dar misas en la Iglesia de San Patrick en la playa, a donde asistian famosas como Sofia Vergara y Shakira, hace como cinco anos.Cuentan que ella estaba recien divorciada y comenzo una amistad que termino en una relacion secreta por tres anos. A finales del 2008 terminaron pero regresaron en enero del 2009. De ahi que las fotos, tomadas en febrero, fueran tan romanticas celebrando El Dia de los Enamorados, 14 de febrero.Incluso el jueves de la semana pasada El Padre Alberto, Ruhama y su hijo cenaban en un restaurante de la playa.Dicen en Gen TV, Canal 8 para el que trabaja el Padre Alberto que, ultimamente, se le veia diferente y cancelaba las grabaciones (incluso una con Lucia Mendez) sin previo aviso, alegando que lo habian llamado a una reunion de momento, cosa que tambien es posible pero como estan las cosas, suponemos que el poco tiempo que tendria el Padre lo compartia con Ruhama.Tambien cuentan los chismes que sus amigos cercanos estan que trinan de la ira contra el padrecito por haberse dejado tomar esas fotografias.
First Family
SYRACUSE -- The city was a far cry from sprawling suburban homes when Joseph and Isabella Bodily settled there in the spring of 1877.
In fact, they had the first one-room cabin on an 80-acre homestead at the time. Eventually, that cabin was joined by a house, which burned down in the 1940s.
Those pieces of history are now preserved in a new display at the Syracuse City Museum.
The city is hosting an open house to honor the Bodily family, who was one of the first families to live in Syracuse.
Museum worker Bev Gooch said the Bodily family was believed to be the first in many aspects, from having the first home to the first baby and more.
The display honoring them includes poster boards filled with photos and written information about some of the family descendants. Artifacts, such as old temple recommends from as far back as 1941 and bricks from the old home, are part of the display.
At the open house at 2:30 p.m. Saturday, the Bodily family will be honored. The ceremony will include a performance by Robert Bodily, who is believed to be the oldest living descendant of the Bodily settlers.
Though Robert Bodily, who is in his 90s, left Syracuse in 1946 to live in surrounding cities before settling permanently in North Ogden, he said he has many memories of his original home.
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His love for music started when he was just 14 and living in Syracuse. He remembers having a dream about being in a band. That dream inspired him to walk the seven miles to Glen Brothers Music on 25th Street in Ogden from his Syracuse home.
There he bought a guitar and had one music lesson. He said it took many hours of working on the farm to get the money for that, but it was well worth it.
He remembers singing songs while strumming his guitar to entertain his fellow servicemen during World War II.
He served three years, two months and one day in the Army, spending time in Japan and the Philippines. When he left for the war, his daughter was 2 months old, and he returned to find her a toddler.
Long after that service, though, he still continued with his love for music.
Bob's Band is still playing today. His group used to go to local senior centers. Though it performs less, he said the group still producing its own CDs and he is even writing music.
He is excited to perform at the celebration honoring his family. Even more than that, he thinks the display is a wonderful tribute.
"I was tickled to death when I found out," Bodily said.
Gooch said having such displays is important.
"Kids are forgetting about the history. The land is gone. The farming is gone. We have to keep reminding them and showing them."
Just last month, the museum had 600 school-age children at the museum looking at the different displays.
This new display adds another touch of history. Gooch said it honors people such as Mae Bodily, who was a teacher at Syracuse Elementary for 40-plus years before retiring.
"The kids are really interested in what went on," she said.
The display on the Bodily family will continue to be part of the museum indefinitely.
Gooch said museum organizers hope to continue to add to the city's rich history by building displays of other first settling families.
"We want to keep that history alive in Syracuse," she said.
"We want to honor the families that were the first here in Syracuse."
In fact, they had the first one-room cabin on an 80-acre homestead at the time. Eventually, that cabin was joined by a house, which burned down in the 1940s.
Those pieces of history are now preserved in a new display at the Syracuse City Museum.
The city is hosting an open house to honor the Bodily family, who was one of the first families to live in Syracuse.
Museum worker Bev Gooch said the Bodily family was believed to be the first in many aspects, from having the first home to the first baby and more.
The display honoring them includes poster boards filled with photos and written information about some of the family descendants. Artifacts, such as old temple recommends from as far back as 1941 and bricks from the old home, are part of the display.
At the open house at 2:30 p.m. Saturday, the Bodily family will be honored. The ceremony will include a performance by Robert Bodily, who is believed to be the oldest living descendant of the Bodily settlers.
Though Robert Bodily, who is in his 90s, left Syracuse in 1946 to live in surrounding cities before settling permanently in North Ogden, he said he has many memories of his original home.
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His love for music started when he was just 14 and living in Syracuse. He remembers having a dream about being in a band. That dream inspired him to walk the seven miles to Glen Brothers Music on 25th Street in Ogden from his Syracuse home.
There he bought a guitar and had one music lesson. He said it took many hours of working on the farm to get the money for that, but it was well worth it.
He remembers singing songs while strumming his guitar to entertain his fellow servicemen during World War II.
He served three years, two months and one day in the Army, spending time in Japan and the Philippines. When he left for the war, his daughter was 2 months old, and he returned to find her a toddler.
Long after that service, though, he still continued with his love for music.
Bob's Band is still playing today. His group used to go to local senior centers. Though it performs less, he said the group still producing its own CDs and he is even writing music.
He is excited to perform at the celebration honoring his family. Even more than that, he thinks the display is a wonderful tribute.
"I was tickled to death when I found out," Bodily said.
Gooch said having such displays is important.
"Kids are forgetting about the history. The land is gone. The farming is gone. We have to keep reminding them and showing them."
Just last month, the museum had 600 school-age children at the museum looking at the different displays.
This new display adds another touch of history. Gooch said it honors people such as Mae Bodily, who was a teacher at Syracuse Elementary for 40-plus years before retiring.
"The kids are really interested in what went on," she said.
The display on the Bodily family will continue to be part of the museum indefinitely.
Gooch said museum organizers hope to continue to add to the city's rich history by building displays of other first settling families.
"We want to keep that history alive in Syracuse," she said.
"We want to honor the families that were the first here in Syracuse."
santa barbara fires
From the back of his home in the Santa Barbara foothills, Albert Lindemann and his wife said they watched the fire scorch the mountainside.
The couple, who have lived at their five-bedroom home for more than 40 years, said they chose to stay behind Wednesday night to defend their home from the Jesusita Fire by using a fire-blocking gel.
"We just thought we could defend ourselves," Lindemann said. "Our house didn't catch on fire. I think we did everything right."
Lindemann, a history professor at UC Santa Barbara, said two of his pet donkeys -- Pollyanna and Angelina -- fled their open corral when flames closed in on the Lindemanns' home, situated along Tunnel Road, just south of Holly Road.
Standing outside their home this morning, Lindemann fed grass to Pollyanna, who had returned.
"I don't see any burns on her," Lindemann said, checking the animal's coat. She "seems to be OK. Maybe a little water, I'll just stay right here and wait for her mother to come back, but I'm not hopeful."
Lindemann said the vegetation surrounding his home had been burned. He said he was worried about spot fires and his neighbor's home.
"I feel pretty safe now," Lindemann said. "It might come back and burn this area, but it won't be like that firestorm."
Bob Klein, inspecting his home at the end of Holly Road, said he and a few neighbors had stayed behind too. Firefighters this morning were still camped outside his house. Klein pointed to six goat carcasses scattered on the mountainside.
Goats that had been brought in earlier to clear out the brush were evacuated when flames swept through the area. Klein, however, was unsure whether those were the same goats.
"As far as I know, all the people up here got their animals out," he said, adding, "There will be hell to pay come winter -- mudslides. The erosion will be terrible."
Jim McMullin, 66, a retired contractor, has lived at his home along Holly Road for 23 years. The house, built out of redwood lumber, was not damaged when flames reached the back. McMullin used six hoses to put out spot fires Wednesday night.
"I beat the fire back several times but never like this, this was pretty damn spooky," McMullin said. "I would not do it again, It scared the hell out of me and you're talking to an ex-military motorcycle rider."
At least two homes not far from McMullin's had burned down.
"Nobody's house was saved unless they stayed and fought," McMullin said as embers floated in the air.
He said he had recently taken measures to reinforce the eaves and tiled his back deck.
"If I hadn't tiled the deck," McMullin said, "I would have lost the house."
McMullin said that at one point he attempted to leave, but the fire trucks had blocked the road.
"We saved the house, but this is going to be a nightmare for the next four years, all that construction for the road," McMullin said. "A lot of these roads are not legal anymore, so the people who rebuild will have to conform. It's going to bankrupt a lot of people; this road is just not going to have a lot of people on it."
"There's still hot spots and it's going to blow again, we're not out of the woods yet," McMullin said as firefighters mopped up an area where the Tea Fire had burned last year.
The couple, who have lived at their five-bedroom home for more than 40 years, said they chose to stay behind Wednesday night to defend their home from the Jesusita Fire by using a fire-blocking gel.
"We just thought we could defend ourselves," Lindemann said. "Our house didn't catch on fire. I think we did everything right."
Lindemann, a history professor at UC Santa Barbara, said two of his pet donkeys -- Pollyanna and Angelina -- fled their open corral when flames closed in on the Lindemanns' home, situated along Tunnel Road, just south of Holly Road.
Standing outside their home this morning, Lindemann fed grass to Pollyanna, who had returned.
"I don't see any burns on her," Lindemann said, checking the animal's coat. She "seems to be OK. Maybe a little water, I'll just stay right here and wait for her mother to come back, but I'm not hopeful."
Lindemann said the vegetation surrounding his home had been burned. He said he was worried about spot fires and his neighbor's home.
"I feel pretty safe now," Lindemann said. "It might come back and burn this area, but it won't be like that firestorm."
Bob Klein, inspecting his home at the end of Holly Road, said he and a few neighbors had stayed behind too. Firefighters this morning were still camped outside his house. Klein pointed to six goat carcasses scattered on the mountainside.
Goats that had been brought in earlier to clear out the brush were evacuated when flames swept through the area. Klein, however, was unsure whether those were the same goats.
"As far as I know, all the people up here got their animals out," he said, adding, "There will be hell to pay come winter -- mudslides. The erosion will be terrible."
Jim McMullin, 66, a retired contractor, has lived at his home along Holly Road for 23 years. The house, built out of redwood lumber, was not damaged when flames reached the back. McMullin used six hoses to put out spot fires Wednesday night.
"I beat the fire back several times but never like this, this was pretty damn spooky," McMullin said. "I would not do it again, It scared the hell out of me and you're talking to an ex-military motorcycle rider."
At least two homes not far from McMullin's had burned down.
"Nobody's house was saved unless they stayed and fought," McMullin said as embers floated in the air.
He said he had recently taken measures to reinforce the eaves and tiled his back deck.
"If I hadn't tiled the deck," McMullin said, "I would have lost the house."
McMullin said that at one point he attempted to leave, but the fire trucks had blocked the road.
"We saved the house, but this is going to be a nightmare for the next four years, all that construction for the road," McMullin said. "A lot of these roads are not legal anymore, so the people who rebuild will have to conform. It's going to bankrupt a lot of people; this road is just not going to have a lot of people on it."
"There's still hot spots and it's going to blow again, we're not out of the woods yet," McMullin said as firefighters mopped up an area where the Tea Fire had burned last year.
bobby ray
Bobby R. Inman (born 4 April 1931 in Rhonesboro, Texas) is a retired United States admiral who held several influential positions in the U.S. Intelligence community.
Career He served as Director of Naval Intelligence from September 1974 to July 1976, then moved to the Defense Intelligence Agency where he served as Vice Director until 1977. He next became the Director of the National Security Agency. Inman held this post until 1981. His last major position was as the Deputy Director of the Central Intelligence Agency, a post he held from February 12, 1981 to June 10, 1982.
Inman has been influential in various advisory roles. Notably, he chaired a commission on improving security at U.S. foreign installations after the Marine barracks bombing and the April 1983 US Embassy bombing in Beirut, Lebanon. The commission's report has been influential in setting security design standards for U.S. Embassies.
Since 2001, Inman has been the LBJ Centennial Chair in National Policy at The University of Texas at Austin Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs, and in 2005 was the school's interim dean [1]. Inman graduated from Texas with a bachelor's in history in 1950.
Inman has also served on the Board of Directors of the Council on Foreign Relations, Dell Computer, SBC Corporation (now AT&T) [2] and Massey Energy. Massey, a Richmond Va. based corporation which practices the controversial method of mountaintop removal coal mining to blast the tops off Appalachian Mountains in West Virginia and Kentucky, has come under criticism for water pollution, worker safety and environmental record, including the Martin County coal sludge spill, a 300 million gallon spill of coal sludge waste into two pristine mountain streams in Kentucky in October, 2000.
Career He served as Director of Naval Intelligence from September 1974 to July 1976, then moved to the Defense Intelligence Agency where he served as Vice Director until 1977. He next became the Director of the National Security Agency. Inman held this post until 1981. His last major position was as the Deputy Director of the Central Intelligence Agency, a post he held from February 12, 1981 to June 10, 1982.
Inman has been influential in various advisory roles. Notably, he chaired a commission on improving security at U.S. foreign installations after the Marine barracks bombing and the April 1983 US Embassy bombing in Beirut, Lebanon. The commission's report has been influential in setting security design standards for U.S. Embassies.
Since 2001, Inman has been the LBJ Centennial Chair in National Policy at The University of Texas at Austin Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs, and in 2005 was the school's interim dean [1]. Inman graduated from Texas with a bachelor's in history in 1950.
Inman has also served on the Board of Directors of the Council on Foreign Relations, Dell Computer, SBC Corporation (now AT&T) [2] and Massey Energy. Massey, a Richmond Va. based corporation which practices the controversial method of mountaintop removal coal mining to blast the tops off Appalachian Mountains in West Virginia and Kentucky, has come under criticism for water pollution, worker safety and environmental record, including the Martin County coal sludge spill, a 300 million gallon spill of coal sludge waste into two pristine mountain streams in Kentucky in October, 2000.
nesn.com
NESN, New England's most watched sports network, is owned by the Boston Red Sox and Boston Bruins and delivered to over 4 million homes throughout the six-state New England region and nationally via DirecTV and Dish Network. The definitive source for New England sports programming, NESN has been the top rated regional sports network in the country the past 4 years and was the first regional sports network in the country to originate every game and studio show in high definition.
NESN's Mission Statement
The New England Sports Network is passionately focused on delivering Boston Red Sox and Boston Bruins programming and promotion of unparalleled breadth and quality.
NESN is committed to the creation and distribution of New England Sports content that entertains, informs and enriches people’s lives.
We strive to become the pre-eminent regional sports network while maintaining superior financial performance, a challenging and rewarding work environment, and meaningful corporate citizenship.
NESN's Mission Statement
The New England Sports Network is passionately focused on delivering Boston Red Sox and Boston Bruins programming and promotion of unparalleled breadth and quality.
NESN is committed to the creation and distribution of New England Sports content that entertains, informs and enriches people’s lives.
We strive to become the pre-eminent regional sports network while maintaining superior financial performance, a challenging and rewarding work environment, and meaningful corporate citizenship.
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